Chapter XXV. Biographical History (part 1)

George Washington Glick.

George W. Glick, ninth governor of Kansas, was born at Greencastle, Fairfield county, Ohio, July 4, 1827. His great-grandfather, Philip Glick, a Revolutionary soldier, was one of five brothers who came to Pennsylvania from Germany. His grandfather, George Glick, served in the War of 1812, as did also his mother’s father, Capt. George Sanders. Governor Glick’s father, Isaac Glick, was a man of influence in the community in which he lived, took an active interest in State and local politics, and held many positions of public trust. His mother, Mary Sanders, was of Scotch parentage. Both parents lived to a good old age.

George W. Glick was reared on his father’s farm near Fremont, Ohio, and there acquired the habits of industry, economy and self-reliance that made his later life so successful. At the age of twenty-one he entered the office of Bucklin & Hayes as a law student, and was admitted to the bar two years later at Cincinnati by the supreme court. He began practice at Fremont, and soon won an enviable reputation as a hard-working and successful lawyer. He fully sustained this reputation after coming to Kansas.

Locating at Atchison in the spring of 1859, he formed a partnership with Hon. Alfred G. Otis, which lasted until 1874, when an affection of the throat compelled him to abandon the practice of law. Mr. Glick soon took a leading place at the Kansas bar. His practice extended to all the courts. He was a salaried attorney for two railroads and a number of corporations.

Mr. Glick was a natural leader and began early in life to take an active part in politics. When but thirty-one years of age he was nominated for Congress by the Democracy of his district in Ohio, but declined the nomination. The same year he was nominated for State senator and made the race against Gen. R. P. Bucklin, his former law preceptor. He was elected to the Kansas legislature in 1862 without opposition, and reëlected in 1863, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’68, ’76 and ’82.

During his service as a legislator, he secured the passage of many needed and important laws which have settled and fixed the policy of the State on matters of vast interest, that have stood the test of time and experience. In 1876 Mr. Glick was made speaker pro tem. of the house of representatives, although that body was strongly Republican. He was a delegate to Democratic National conventions in 1856, 1868, 1884 and 1892. The Kansas delegation in the Democratic National convention at Chicago in 1892 presented his name to that convention as its candidate for vice-president, after the nomination of Grover Cleveland for President, and, although not the nominee of the convention for that office, he received many votes. He was nominated for governor in 1868 and made the race in obedience to his party’s call, though his defeat was inevitable. In 1882 he was again the unanimous choice of his party for governor and made a memorable campaign, speaking in nearly every county in the State; and, though fighting against great odds, among them being a Republican majority of over 52,000, he defeated that distinguished Republican and Prohibitionist, John P. St. John, by 8,079 votes. Governor Glick was inaugurated January 8, 1883, and his administration was marked by dignity, intelligence, and a careful and discreet management of the material and financial interests of the State. His long experience as a legislator gave him an intimate knowledge of its needs, and many valuable reform measures recommended in his message to the legislature were accomplished. He entered an earnest protest against the burdens imposed upon the agricultural classes by the railroads and asked that legislation be enacted to prevent these exactions. A law creating a railroad commission, and embodying substantially all the improvements asked by him, was passed, and proved of great benefit to the people of the State.

In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland pension agent at Topeka and re-appointed when Mr. Cleveland again came into office. During Mr. Glick’s two terms as pension agent at the Topeka agency, he received and disbursed over $85,000.00.

In 1857 he married Elizabeth Ryder, of Massillon, Ohio, a lady descended from a distinguished colonial ancestry. Her ancestors were among the first settlers of Concord, Mass., and she derived her name from forbears who were well known among the early colonists of New York City. For fifty years and more this noble matron, having with her the best traditions of American life, presided over the hospitable home of George W. Glick, with the grace and dignity inherited from a fine ancestry. She added to the success of his public life the greater blessings of domestic happiness. Two children were born to this union: Frederick H. Glick and Mrs. James W. Orr, of Atchison, Kan. He died at Atchison, Kan., April 13, 1911, aged eighty-four years; his wife and children survive him.

Each State is entitled to place in Statuary Hall at the capitol in Washington, statues of two of its citizens renowned in literature, art, war or civil life, and several years ago one of such places was filled by the State of Kansas with a statue of John James Ingalls, of Atchison, Kan. The regular session of the 1913 legislature of Kansas adopted a concurrent resolution and made an appropriation for the purchase of a suitable statue as a tribute to the memory of George Washington Glick, to be placed in Statuary Hall, where the Nation has granted to its people the privilege of placing it. The statue was designed and executed by Charles H. Niehaus and accepted by Congress as a gift from Kansas, with suitable ceremonies, and is now in Statuary Hall. A cut representing it precedes this sketch. Sixteen thousand five hundred copies of a volume containing the proceedings in Congress, and a plate of the statue, were, by authority of Congress, printed and distributed.

Horace Mortimer Jackson.

He who leaves behind him, when he passes beyond the goal from which no mortal man has ever returned, a pleasant and abiding memory of his existence on this earth, and has bequeathed to his progeny and posterity a heritage of right living and right thinking, has accomplished much. His memory will be revered long after that of the individual who has done nothing but accumulate wealth and has made no effort to leave this earthly abiding place a better place to live than when he came upon it. Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, deceased, was a man who lived an upright life, and was accorded the universal respect of his fellow men and was a legal practitioner of high rank, whose honorable methods of practice and manner of living were such as to commend him for most favorable mention in the archives of his adopted county of Atchison.

Judge Horace M. Jackson was born near Albion, Penn., July 11, 1839, a son of Lyman Jackson, who was the son of Michael Jackson, whose father was also named Michael, and was a native of Ireland. Michael Jackson, the founder of the family in America, came from Ireland and settled near Hartford, Conn. He went to the coast to trade and was not thereafter heard from and was supposed to have been killed by Indians. He had three sons, one of whom, Ebenezer, died in service as a soldier during the French and Indian war. Another son went south, and the third was Michael Jackson, the direct ancestor of Horace M. Jackson. Michael was born March 28, 1735 and on June 4, 1755, was married to Susanna Willcocks, who was born April 19, 1732. They settled in Windham county, Connecticut, later removing to Pownal, near Bennington, Vt. Michael Jackson was a soldier in the colonial army during the French and Indian war, and was a member of Company Ten, First regiment. He was discharged December 12, 1759. He also enlisted in the Seventh Company of the Third regiment of volunteers, Army of Independence, May 5, 1775, and was discharged December 15, 1775. He later volunteered for service in Col. Samuel Herrick’s regiment of “Alarm Men.” Lyman, the son of Michael, also served in the Revolution on the American side. He was born February 29, 1755, at Simsbury, Hartford county, Connecticut. He enlisted eight different times in the American army. Lyman married Deidama Dunham on January 3, 1782. This couple lived at Albany, Otsego and Wyoming, N. Y., at different times. To them were born thirteen children. About 1805, Lyman Jackson settled in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and obtained a dense tract of timber land in the Holland Purchase from which he cleared a farm. Seven sons and a son-in-law of this redoubtable patriot fought in the War of 1812.

Lyman Jackson died March 20, 1835. David Bardsley Jackson, a son of Lyman, born May 29, 1797, at Richfield, Otsego county, New York, married Lucy Hendryx, on April 11, 1822, near Albion, Penn. He was the ninth child of Lyman Jackson and cleared a farm of forty acres in the Holland Purchase on which he resided until the year 1830. He then sold his land, loaded his effects in a farm wagon, drove to Pittsburgh, and took passage down the Ohio river and thence up the Mississippi to Warsaw, Ill., from which landing place on December 15, 1839 he drove to Knoxville, Ill., and bought a farm ten miles west of the village. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1841, driving overland with his team 1,000 miles each way accompanied by his wife and two youngest children. In the year 1846 he removed to a residence in Knoxville and engaged in the grocery business. In 1854 he settled on a farm one-half mile west of Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois. He lived here until 1876, then sold out and made his home at Gilson, for the remainder of his days. This sturdy pioneer died January 18, 1879. His children were: Mrs. Elizabeth Ruth Pierce, Zaremba, Obadiah H., Gershom, David, Francis Marion, Charles Wilmer De Loss, Horace Mortimer, and Mrs. Annie Lucelia Wing.

Horace Mortimer Jackson was reared on the farm, attended the schools of Knoxville, Ill., clerked in his father’s grocery store, sawed wood for forty cents per cord, and did the hardest kind of farm work while yet a boy. During 1860–61, he taught school for $28 per month. On August 7, 1861, he started for De Soto, Neb., by way of Hannibal and St. Joseph. On April 12, 1861, he boarded a steamer at St. Joseph en route for Omaha. Arriving there he joined his brother Zaremba on his farm in Nebraska. He worked here for some time and assisted his brother in tilling the farm with oxen in the most primitive way. He saved his money and in 1862 returned to Cambridge, Ill., taught school during the winter and read law at night. He followed farming, served as deputy sheriff of the county and finally located at Versailles, Mo., in the practice of law. He was a member of the board of education which gave the first public school to the town of Versailles. He married Lavanchia Isabelle Valentine, December 12, 1865. She was the eldest daughter of John O. Valentine. For a time the newly wedded couple were in very poor circumstances.

Their furniture was of crude workmanship, made from store boxes. It was here that the future judge made the friendship of Anderson W. Anthony, a good lawyer whom he esteemed highly, who became his first law partner. He made a journey to Wichita, Kan., in August, 1870, but located at Marysville, Mo., in September of the same year. He became a partner of D. L. Palmer, who later went to Jewell City, Kan. He then formed a partnership with Judge Thomas J. Johnston, and served as prosecuting attorney of the county. In December of 1878 he started for Beloit, Kan., with the intention of locating in that city, but stopped at Atchison where he met W. S. Greenleaf and Gen. W. W. Guthrie. He remained in their law offices during the ensuing winter. General Guthrie at that time was a member of the State senate. He formed a partnership with Mr. Greenlea on March 17, 1879, which continued until Mr. Greenlea’s death in September, 1880. His wife died March 26, 1883, and he later, on February 11, 1886, married Matilda (Adams) Rook, who had one daughter by a former marriage, Effie, now the wife of C. A. Chandler, of Atchison. Matilda Adams Rook was a daughter of Peter and Martha Adams, of England, and sister of J. P. Adams, of Atchison. Horace M. Jackson was appointed judge of the district court on March 1, 1887, and continued as judge until his successor was elected. He and his son, William A., conducted the law business and served as the local attorneys for the Santa Fe and the Burlington railroads until his death, which occurred December 11, 1910. Judge Jackson left two sons, William Anthony and Zaremba Edward. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Elks, Modern Woodmen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He bequeathed to his children and posterity a heritage of an honorable, upright life without stain or blemish and will long be remembered as one of the honored citizens of Atchison.

Zaremba E. Jackson.

The measure of a living citizen is his genuine worth to his community. If he unselfishly strives to make his home city a better place in which to live, and does something by which he will long be remembered, as of lasting good, he has accomplished a task well worth while. While every town and city can boast of such individuals who are striving to do things in behalf of the public welfare, there are not a great number who can act without any ulterior motive and without desire to bring pecuniary reward to themselves. Of the class of better citizens mentioned as doing things for the betterment of the condition of the citizenry, Z. E. Jackson, attorney of Atchison, occupies a prominent place in the city. Gifted as an attorney, upright in all of his dealings with his fellow men, interested to a high degree in the welfare of his fellow citizens, he has striven unselfishly to do good. Jackson Park, named after this gentleman, represents the culmination of one of his dreams and years of endeavor to create a breathing place of woodland beauty and a public playground of which the city may well be proud.

Z. E. Jackson was born in Maryville, Mo., September 23, 1872, and is a son of Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, late of Atchison, and a review of whom appears in this work. He came to Atchison with his parents when six years of age. He received his primary education in the public schools of Atchison and afterward studied for two years in Midland College. He then matriculated in the University of Illinois, with the intention of preparing himself to become an electrical engineer. After studying for two years in the Illinois university, he abandoned his original intention and returning to Atchison, entered his father’s law office in 1893. He studied stenography without a regular instructor and prepared himself to take dictation, filling the post of stenographer in his father’s office while reading law. He studied law under his gifted father’s tutelage and was admitted to the bar in 1899, being later admitted to practice in the higher State and federal courts. At first he practiced alone and was then made a member of the law firm of Jackson & Jackson. This firm was at first composed of Judge Horace M. Jackson, and his son, William A., and when William A., was elected to the position of judge of the district court, it was composed of Horace M. and his son, Z. E. Jackson. Mr. Jackson is local attorney for the Home Building and Loan Association, and a director of the same concern. He is the local attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad System and the Burlington Railroad Company. He is also the legal adviser for several of Atchison’s corporations. Mr. Jackson has the reputation of being one of the ablest and cleanest practitioners of the Atchison county bar who has followed in the footsteps of his illustrious father in never refusing counsel or advice to a public official, religious denomination or to a charitable organization, whether or not any fee was forthcoming—in fact, his office has always been ready to give advice to applicants of the character of the foregoing without charge or recompense of any kind. Mr. Jackson has never turned away a client who had a meritorious cause, because of lack of funds, and in this respect resembles his father in his manner of conducting his legal practice. While Mr. Jackson is not a member of any particular religious denomination, he has always been a liberal contributor to all movements which have had for their intent the betterment of the community. He is owner of Atchison real estate and farm lands in Jackson county, Kansas, to which he gives his personal attention.

Mr. Jackson’s career as a public official began in 1901, when he was elected police judge of the city and again elected in 1903, after which he declined to again become a candidate for the office. His career as police judge was marked by uniform fairness and impartiality, tempered with kindness in dealing with the city’s minor malefactors who were brought before him for judgment in his official capacity. From 1905 to 1909 he was assistant city attorney, and in 1912 was elected to the office of city attorney to fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Hooper, deceased. He served out the unexpired term and declined to become a candidate in 1913, because of the growing demands of his large law practice. While serving as city attorney many important problems came up before the city for solution, such as the telephone merger, and the renewal of the city’s contract with the Atchison Light and Power Company. His wise advice and counsel steered the city government safely over the shoals, incidental to the settlement of these questions. Mr. Jackson found the city finances in bad shape, as related to the renewal of the lighting contract, a condition of affairs brought about by his predecessor’s long illness preventing him from attending to business, and he immediately set to work to unravel the tangle and brought order out of chaos to the advantage of the city. Another matter to which he gave considerable attention while city attorney was the intercepting sewer problem which he handled satisfactorily.

Mr. Jackson is a pronounced Republican in his political views, having become a convert to Republican principles when he became of age, a decision which he was influenced to make by the panic of 1893. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.

He was united in marriage with Miss Maud K. Smith, April 30, 1903. Mrs. Jackson was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Lewis T. and Theresa June (Chadwick) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter a native of Canada. Lewis T. Smith was born in 1846 in West Lebanon, Pa., and is one of the old-time railroad men of the early days.

Mr. Jackson’s creed of living is best expressed in his own words, “I believe that every man should do something for the community in which he lives, besides getting a living out of it.” It was the practice of his creed which led to the beautiful park in the southeast part of the city being named in his honor, over his personal objections. The Atchison Globe says of his connection with the building and equipping of the park in the issue of August 18, 1913, in part, after quoting Mr. Jackson’s creed, as above given:

“That explains the principal reason why he (Z. E. Jackson) has taken such an interest in the park which now bears his name. Another reason is he likes to dig in the ground, and investigate things as he finds them in the woods and wild places. He is also handy at improving on Nature here and there without spoiling the general effect.

“Seven or eight years ago, after spending many of his boyhood and young manhood days in Jackson Park, he saw the possibilities of it for a beautiful playground for young and old. He invited several of his South Atchison neighbors to meet in his law office one night and a park improvement association was formed. In order to start a fund for improvements in the park each member present put up five dollars. Other citizens were invited to contribute and thus a small fund was raised.

“That proved to be the redemption of City Park, a tract of fifty-six acres of woodland which cost the city $7,500 about thirty years ago.

“With the few hundred dollars raised by private subscription it was shown what might be accomplished if the necessary funds were forthcoming. From the sale of a park bond, issued when the city was trying to put the coal mine on its feet, the committee secured $500 which was used in replacing the dam which makes the lake and other improvements.

“If effective service is to be rewarded, then the city council made no mistake when it acted on the petition presented to it, asking that the name of City Park be changed to Jackson Park in honor of Z. E. Jackson, a young man who decided that the making of a park was the debt he owed the community where he makes his living.”

The action referred to in the foregoing was taken August 1, 1913, when the official name of Jackson Park was given to the tract in honor of Mr. Jackson. Besides his work of superintending the park and bringing about its redemption with the assistance of other public spirited men, Mr. Jackson and others secured a ten-acre tract of land lying between the original fifty-six acres and the Missouri river, which has been added to and is now a part of the park.

Thomas Frable.

Thomas Frable, retired farmer, of Benton township, is one of the oldest living pioneer citizens of Atchison county, both in age and number of years of residence in the county. He was one of the old-time freighters who conducted his own freighting outfit across the plains in the days of the Civil war, and before the advent of the trans-continental railroads. Mr. Frable was born in March, 1832, and has spent fifty-six of his four score and four years of life in Atchison county and Kansas. He was born on a farm in Pennsylvania, a son of Thomas Frable, who died when the subject was three years of age, leaving his widow in such poor circumstances that she was unable to rear her children in comfort. Thomas was given a home by a man named Queen, who owned a large farm, and he lived with Queen until attaining his majority. Queen owned a farm of 300 acres, and Thomas was started to work when still a small boy, learning to guide a plow across the fields when he was but eleven years of age. When he became of age and was free to do as he liked, the germ of adventure and ambition seized him and he decided to try his fortunes in the great West. In line with this resolve, he crossed the country to Kansas in 1859, in company with another young fellow named Reuben Ferguson, with whom he finally bought a tract of land which they farmed in common for a time, and then made a division. Mr. Frable still owns eighty acres of the original tract which he and Ferguson purchased. Mr. Frable engaged in the freighting business and made considerable money in the old days. He became the owner of two teams which he drove with the great trains which were constantly leaving Atchison in the early sixties, en route to the far West, and transported blasting powder to Denver and mining points in Colorado for the use of the gold and silver miners. He also carried corn for the United States Government. During the Civil war Mr. Frable was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State militia, and served at the battle of Westport in the expedition against the rebel, General Price. After the war he settled down to farming in Benton township, and has prospered exceedingly, he and his son, Harry, now owning over 560 acres of fine land. The Frable home is one of the most imposing and best built farm residences in the county, and Harry Frable recently erected a large barn in which the live stock of this extensive farm is housed. Mr. Frable and Harry have been life-long Republicans.

Thomas Frable was married in 1862 to Rebecca Graham, a daughter of Richard Graham, who came from Pennsylvania with his family to Atchison county in the early days, and was one of the well known pioneers of this county. Mrs. Frable was born October 5, 1835, and died in November, 1908. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frable, namely: Clara, deceased; Margaret, dying in infancy: two died in infancy; and Harry was born January 22, 1865.

James W. Orr.

The reviewer, in attempting to write a comprehensive and truthful biography of an individual, must take into consideration the related facts as to birth and subsequent career, the success attained, the underlying principles which have combined to assist him in achieving his desires and ambitions, and to lay particular stress upon the special talent which has been developed in the life of the subject under review. In reviewing the life career of James W. Orr, a leading member of the Atchison county bar, the fact is determined that he is truly an able and distinguished lawyer, whose reputation for success at the bar, for having a profound knowledge of the law, and his ability to successfully practice in the courts of the land, arrayed against the brightest minds of the legal profession of the country, is recognized, not only by the people of the State of Kansas and his profession generally, but by the United States Government, in whose employ he now is as special assistant to the attorney general of the United States.

James W. Orr was born September 14, 1855, in the town of Reading, Hillsdale county, Michigan. In his boyhood days, and during the struggle to educate himself for the practice of his chosen profession, he knew what adversity meant and has the satisfaction of knowing that his education was obtained through his own unaided efforts. He is a son of James and Mary Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr, both of whom were natives of New York City. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, his forebears emigrating from Scotland to the north of Ireland in the days of old to escape religious persecution. His paternal grandfather left Ireland in an early day and made his home in New York. The Underhill family is of English origin and a very old one in America, several generations of whom have been born and reared in this country. His maternal grandfather was Daniel Underhill, a goldsmith in New York City. James Orr, the father, was a merchant in New York till about 1848, when he left his native city and engaged in merchandising in Rome, Syracuse and Utica, N. Y., (three stores), following which he engaged in wholesale business in Toledo, Ohio. While a resident of Toledo he became identified with some of the enterprises of that day and was a stockholder, director and one of the builders of the Erie & Dunkirk railroad. In 1861 he removed to Coldwater, Mich., and conducted a merchandise business there until 1868, when, in broken health, he settled in Niles, Mich., where he died.

When James W. Orr was fourteen years of age he began earning his own living and educating himself. He and his brother, Louis C. Orr, the present postmaster of Atchison, worked together for several years, sharing their work with each other and pooling their earnings. The boys were fortunate in having a wise and ambitious mother who was well educated and who taught them at home, thus giving them the education they were financially unable to obtain at school. At the age of seventeen years while employed in a drug store he was reading law at nights and at odd times when his work was not pressing. By persistent endeavor he managed to secure two years of study at Michigan University, at Ann Arbor. He then took his examination for admission to the bar in open court, and was admitted to practice when but twenty years of age. His first employment in his new profession was with the McCormick Harvester Company, settling claims, etc., in behalf of that company. He remained in this position until 1880, and in January, 1881, came to Atchison where he has since continuously resided. It was necessary for him to begin the upward climb of the ladder to fame and success without assistance from any individual or friend. How well Mr. Orr has succeeded during the past thirty-four years is attested by his present high position in the ranks of the legal profession and the competence he has accumulated. He was first employed in Atchison by the New England Loan & Trust Company as attorney to examine abstracts of titles, etc., at a salary of forty dollars per month. It was not long until he was receiving a salary of $150 per month and a share of the profits in the employ of the same concern. When the concern moved to Kansas City and became known as the Equitable Loan & Trust Company, Mr. Orr remained in Atchison. In 1883 he was married to Miss Jennie Glick, the only daughter of Governor George W. Glick, of Atchison. He took up the practice of law, purchasing the interest of Judge W. D. Webb in the firm of Webb & Martin, and entered into partnership with A. F. Martin, which partnership existed from 1882 until April, 1887. During the five years he had been in Atchison he had been extending his acquaintance over the county, and in November, 1866, was a successful candidate for county attorney on the Democratic ticket, being elected over W. D. Gilbert by a substantial majority, despite the fact that the county was then normally Republican by over 800 majority. In April, 1887, he formed a law partnership with B. P. Waggener and Judge David Martin, the firm having previously been known as Everest & Waggener. Judge Martin resigning the position of judge of the Atchison district court to join the firm, which was known as Waggener, Martin & Orr. In the year 1895 Judge Martin retired from the firm, and Judge A. H. Horton, then chief justice of the supreme court of Kansas, resigned his office of chief justice, a position he had held continuously for nineteen years, to become a member of the firm. Judge Dawn Martin was appointed to the vacancy so made on the supreme bench. Judge Horton remained a member of the firm until his death, when ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster became a member of the firm known as Waggener, Doster & Orr. During Mr. Orr’s association with B. P. Waggener in the practice of law they had charge of the legal business for the Gould system of railroads in Kansas and Nebraska; the Western Union Telegraph Company; express companies, and the Pullman Palace Car Company. They were associated in partnership with three ex-chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas during this period. In June, 1910, Mr. Orr resigned his position as attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, and his connection with B. P. Waggener, which had then continued for twenty-three years, was also terminated. The position of special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States was proffered him by Attorney-General McReynolds in October, 1913, while Mr. Orr was engaged in the trial of a case in St. Louis. He accepted and was given charge of the suit of the Government against the Southern Pacific Company and others, including the Central Pacific Railway, to dissolve the relations between those companies. Mr. Orr conducts his cases for the Government in addition to his private practice. His rise has been steady and consistent during the years he has been practicing his profession in Atchison, and it is true that the youth who began his career in the city of Atchison for the modest salary of forty dollars per month now enjoys a lucrative private law practice, in addition to his income from the Government and not supplemented by corporation salaries. Mr. Orr has accumulated a comfortable fortune during the years of his practice and has what is considered the most beautiful home in Atchison. In his home he has his private library of several hundred volumes, including the standard works of literature. His law library lines the walls of his down-town offices and exceeds 2,000 volumes in number.

Mr. and Mrs. Orr had but one child, a son, George Glick Orr, who was drowned while bathing in the Pacific ocean, near San Diego, Cal., on July 21, 1909, at the age of twenty-five years. The loss of this talented young man saddened the lives of his parents for years. At the age when most young men are just beginning to gain a higher education, George Glick Orr could read, write and speak six different languages. For seventeen years of his life he was a student, graduated at the University of Kansas, and had been admitted to the bar, showing great promise in his chosen profession and being frequently entrusted with important legal matters.

Mr. Orr has received all the Masonic degrees except the thirty-third, and is a member of several fraternal societies. He attends and contributes to the support of the Christian Science Church, of which Mrs. Orr is a member.

In politics and as a public official and law-maker, Mr. Orr has a record of which any man may well be proud. He became a member of the Kansas Democratic State central committee in 1884 and remained such continuously until 1908, and in point of service was its oldest member. He has attended, as a delegate, six National Democratic conventions, and on three occasions was a member of the notification committee appointed to officially notify the presidential candidate of his nomination by the convention, including Cleveland in 1892; Parker in 1904, and Woodrow Wilson in 1912. His exceptional career in politics began as early as 1880, when he served as assistant secretary of the committee chosen to notify General Hancock at Governor’s Island, N. Y., of his nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Orr was an original Wilson man and one of the committee of five having the floor management of the Wilson forces at the Baltimore convention in 1912 which nominated Mr. Wilson for the Presidency. From 1901 to 1907 Mr. Orr served three terms successively as mayor of the city of Atchison and gave the city one of the best administrations in its history. He served two terms in the State legislature as representative from the Atchison city district, the sessions of 1911 and 1913. During the 1911 session he was one of the three legislators selected by the house to draft and did prepare the present public utilities law, under which all railroads and public utilities in this State are now managed and controlled; he was the author of the present comprehensive drainage laws; the law requiring the attorney-general to pay into the State treasury all fees received by him in the prosecution of State cases; the so-called “Orr viaduct law,” which requires railroads to construct and maintain at their expense all necessary viaducts over or tunnels under their tracks in cities, and under which the Fourteenth street viaduct in this city and viaducts in many other cities have been built and then maintained by the railroads, also many other laws of public interest and importance. In the session of 1913 he was chairman of the judiciary committee and was elected majority leader of the house. At the close of the legislative session of 1913 Mr. Orr was presented with a resolution, unanimously adopted by the members of the house, beautifully engraved in India ink, artistically framed and containing a reproduction of the great seal of Kansas. This resolution thanks Mr. Orr for the assistance he had given individual members of the house and for his service to the State, both as chairman of the judiciary committee and as majority house leader, and is signed by every member. It follows:

“HOUSE RESOLUTION, NO. 51—BY MR. RIDDLE.

“Resolved. That the members of the house extend to the Hon. James W. Orr their sincere thanks for the splendid service he has given to them and to the State during the present session. In addition to his work as floor leader of the majority party, and his work as chairman of the judiciary committee, he has been tireless, patient, and industrious in giving to individual members the benefit of his learning and ability by helping them in their work. His help has been extended alike to members of all political parties, and has been especially beneficial to members who have had little experience in legislative work. He has the confidence, esteem and love of all the members.

“Done in the city of Topeka, this eighth day of March, 1913.”

Andrew B. Symns.

When the late A. B. Symns passed beyond mortal ken on April 9, 1905, Atchison suffered a loss from its business circles which could never be replaced. He left behind him a monument in the A. B. Symns Grocer Company, one of the largest of the wholesale establishments of the city and State, which was the product of his brain and ability. He was one of the noted pioneer figures of a decade which produced great and strong men. From a modest beginning he rose to become a national character in the business world of the great West and realized his ambition during a long and useful life. He not only succeeded in accumulating a comfortable fortune but left a reputation for integrity and upright citizenship which has never been surpassed by any of his compeers of the building age in Atchison and Kansas. From boyhood to the time he had passed the age of three score years and ten, Mr. Symns was an indefatigable worker and never relaxed except for much needed recreation and rest, occasionally. Early in his career he had great faith in the future of Atchison and that faith was fully justified by his own success in the jobbing field.

A. B. Symns was born in Monroe county. West Virginia, March 27, 1831, and was a son of John and Elizabeth (Peters) Symns, natives of old Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent.

As a boy he worked on his father’s farm, attending school three months each winter. At the age of eighteen he clerked in a store at Petertown and later on attended Lewisburg Seminary one year. He also worked at White Sulphur Springs before coming west in 1853. He listened to the call of the great unpeopled western country for young and ambitious men to develop her dormant resources, and in 1853 crossed the country to St. Joseph. Mo., where he clerked in a store for two years and then went to St. Louis. After clerking in St. Louis for one year he became an eighth owner of the steamboat “Hesperian” and served as clerk aboard the steamer. This boat made its first trip on the Missouri trade in 1856 and it was while passing up and down the Missouri river that he was attracted to the then flourishing town of Doniphan. It far overshadowed Atchison at that time and he determined to locate in Doniphan. During the time he was connected with the steamboat service he had many interesting experiences. He opened a grocery store in 1858, but during the same year the land office was removed to Atchison and Doniphan lost ground, but the Symns store grew in size and importance and was the nucleus around which his great business was subsequently builded. He removed the store to Atchison in 1872, and began wholesaling in a small way in connection with his retail business. In 1877 he was doing business in the corner store room at Sixth and Commercial streets, on the southeast corner. While located in this building he closed out his retail business and engaged in jobbing exclusively. With the impetus given by his splendid business mind and his remarkable energy the business grew rapidly, and he soon found himself at the head of one of the largest wholesale grocery houses in the western country. Thirty men are employed as traveling salesmen by the Symns Grocer Company alone, and the Symns Utah Grocer Company, which he established, has its own force. Customers of Mr. Symns over Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Colorado and Utah have always agreed that A. B. Symns was the fairest man with whom they ever did business. He had faith in Atchison as a great jobbing center, and the success of his business fully justified that belief. The immense jobbing house of the Symns Grocer Company on Main street of Atchison was built from plans prepared by Mr. Symns himself and is one of the most complete establishments of the kind to be found anywhere. So extensive did the business become, however, that it was necessary to erect an addition in 1903. The capitalization of the Symns Grocer Company at the time of the demise of Mr. Symns was $300,000 and that of the Utah concern at Salt Lake City was $80,000. Mr. Symns was president of both companies and had a controlling interest in each. He left an estate valued at over $300,000.

One of the interesting episodes of Mr. Symns’ mercantile career was the looting of his Doniphan store by Cleveland’s band of outlaws, who made Atchison their headquarters in the winter of 1861–62. At the time Mr. Symns was absent in St. Joseph, but his brothers, Sam and William Symns, were in charge when it was surrounded one evening by Cleveland and his gang. They forced William Symns to open the safe and took what money there was on hand in addition to clothing, saddles, etc. While the robbery was in progress, Mrs. Symns ran out to arouse the neighbors, but no help was forthcoming because of the fact that everybody was afraid of Cleveland and his gang, and the thieves got away with their booty unmolested.

A. B. Symns was married in 1858, returning to Old Virginia for his bride, Miss Elizabeth Tiffany, who was his boyhood sweetheart. Mrs. Symns was a member of an excellent Virginia family and bore him the following children: Mrs. A. S. Rowan, who died December 31, 1903; Miss Effie Symns, of Atchison; Charles, Atchison, and Guy. The mother of these children departed this life September 12, 1900, at the age of sixty-four years, having been born in 1836. Six children were born and died in infancy at Doniphan: John, Joseph, Lee, Hugh, Edna and Louis. Mr. Symns died April 9, 1905, at Hot Springs, Ark. He was sincerely mourned and Atchison business circles suffered a loss which could hardly be estimated.

While Mr. and Mrs. Symns were on their wedding trip on the steamer “Carrier” en route up the Missouri river from St. Louis to Doniphan, the boat sank near Hermann, Mo. They easily escaped drowning because the “Carrier” sank slowly, but they lost their newly purchased household goods and a large amount of supplies with which Mr. Symns intended to stock the Doniphan store. Mrs. Symns continued to Doniphan on another boat, while Mr. Symns returned to St. Louis to lay in another stock of household goods and provisions for his store.

The Symns family came of old Scotch Presbyterian stock. Although a southerner by birth, he was a Union man in Kansas. He was an independent Democrat in politics.

Mr. Symns was in active pursuits even after attaining the age of three score years and ten, and was always found early at his desk. He was not only the active head of the business but closely watched the details. He was always hurrying and was ever busy, and it was his custom to walk daily to the postoffice for his mail so as to have the benefit of the exercise. Having always been a man of correct habits he belied his years and his demise came unexpectedly at Hot Springs. He was accidentally killed by a locomotive on a railroad crossing at Hot Springs, where it had been his custom to go for his health during the latter ten years of his life. He was fond of his family and dearly loved his home life. He was quiet, unassuming, and was one of the kindest and gentlest of men, probably no man being more universally admired and beloved in Atchison during his day. His life story furnishes a decided inspiration for any one who may read of his success in Atchison.

Balie Peyton Waggener.

It is not difficult to classify Balie P. Waggener so as to determine his position in the civic body of Atchison, but it is not easy to write a review comprehensive enough to give a proper estimate of this distinguished citizen who has been honored in his home city and in the State of Kansas. When one thinks of Atchison it is only natural to refer to the city as the home of Balie Waggener, who is indisputably grouped among the prominent and widely known figures who have shed fame and luster upon their home city. A leading attorney, statesman, progressive citizen, builder, farmer and stockman, friend of all children, capitalist, and public benefactor are some of the terms which might be applied to him without fear of contradiction from the mass of the people who know him best.

He was born in Platte county, Missouri, July 18, 1847, a son of Peyton R. and Sophronia Briseis (Willis) Waggener, who were American born and descended from old American families. The great-grandfather of Mr. Waggener served in the Continental army as a lieutenant-colonel during the American war of independence, and his grandfather was a major in the United States army during the War of 1812. Balie Waggener attended the public schools until he attained the age of fourteen years and then obtained a situation as toll-gate keeper on the old Platte City & Western turnpike. He was ambitious to become a lawyer and during the interims of his duties in attending the toll-gate, and after his day’s work was done, he read his law books. The next step in his preparation to become a member of the legal profession was to enter the law office of Otis & Glick, in Atchison. This was in 1866, and so assiduously did the young man apply himself to his studies that he was admitted to the bar June 10, 1867. Three years later he formed a partnership with Albert H. Norton, then United States district attorney, under the firm name of Horton & Waggener, which lasted until the election of Judge Horton to the office of chief justice of the Kansas supreme court in 1876. In 1887 Mr. Waggener formed a partnership under the firm name of Waggener, Martin & Orr, which continued until April 30, 1895, when the firm was dissolved and the firm became Waggener, Horton & Orr, Chief Justice Horton having resigned his position and again entered the firm. David Martin, Mr. Waggener’s former partner, became chief justice of the supreme court of Kansas to succeed Chief Justice Horton. In 1902 Judge Horton died, and later his place in the firm was taken by Ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster, under the firm name of Waggener, Doster & Orr. It will thus be seen that Mr. Waggener has been associated in the practice of law with three chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas. In 1913 Mr. Orr withdrew from the firm to become special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States, and the firm is now known as Waggener, Challiss & Crane, being composed of W. P. Waggener, James Challiss and Albert Crane. Mr. Waggener now devotes his time and legal talents almost exclusively to his duties as general solicitor for the Missouri Pacific railway.

The ability of a lawyer having the calibre of Mr. Waggener was bound to attract attention, and on January 4, 1876, he was appointed general attorney of the Missouri Pacific railway for the State of Kansas, and on May 1, 1910, he was made general solicitor for that company for the States of Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, his son, W. P. Waggener, succeeding him as general attorney for Kansas. During the forty-four years Mr. Waggener has been engaged in the practice of law he has won an enviable position at the bar through his own personal efforts. He has never ceased to be a student of all subjects pertaining to that most jealous of professions, and it is worthy of note that he is the possessor of one of the most complete law libraries in the United States, containing upward of 10,000 volumes on every conceivable legal subject. He keeps his library at his residence, which is one of the handsomest and best appointed in the city of Atchison, and he prepares most of his cases in the study of his home where privacy is possible.

Naturally, a man of Mr. Waggener’s vigor and broad-mindedness would engage in enterprises outside of the practice of his profession, and he has done so in such a manner as to profit himself and the community. In 1892 he was elected president of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison, which position he has since held. He perfected and put into operation the Atchison Railway, Light and Power Company in the city, and is the owner of the famous “Green View Stock Farm,” comprising 500 acres, beautifully located a short distance west of Atchison, and which is one of the best equipped and most modern farms in Kansas. Through experimentation and adapting modern methods of agriculture to the cultivation of his land and the breeding of fine live stock, Mr. Waggener has become a recognized authority on agriculture and animal husbandry. The annual sales of fine live stock which are produced on his farm have become an annual event in this section of Kansas and the West, and are largely attended by buyers from all parts of the country.

In addition to his professional and business interests, Mr. Waggener has manifested a public spirit in matters pertaining to the political conditions of his city and State. Firmly grounded in Democratic principles, he has become one of the foremost leaders of his party and occupies a high place in its councils. In 1869 he was elected to the Atchison city council when he had barely attained his majority. In the year 1872 he was the nominee of his party for the office of attorney-general of the State of Kansas, and in 1873 was made city attorney. From 1889 to 1891 and again in 1895–97 he was mayor of the city. In 1902 he was elected a member of the lower branch of the State legislature, which had a large Republican majority, and during the term held the important position of chairman of the judiciary committee. It is generally conceded that he influenced much of the legislation at that session, and his record so commended him to his constituents that in 1904 he was elected to the State senate from a strong Republican district, carrying the district by a majority of 1,500 votes, although at the same election Theodore Roosevelt, the Republican candidate for President, carried the same district by over 3,600, an indisputable testimonial to Mr. Waggener’s personal popularity and his ability. Mr. Waggener served in the senate of the Kansas State legislature in the sessions of 1905 and 1907, and was reëlected by a handsome majority of over 2,000 in November of 1912. He is now holding the position of State senator from this district.

Mr. Waggener is a member of many secret orders, and is prominent in Masonic circles, being a Knights Templar and a Thirty-second degree member of the Scottish Rite, and a member of the Mystic Shrine.

On May 27, 1869, Mr. Waggener married Miss Emma L., daughter of William W. Hetherington, one of Atchison’s prominent citizens, now deceased, a review of whose life and career is given elsewhere in this volume. Two children were born to this union: William Peyton Waggener, a “chip off the old block,” and present general attorney of the Missouri Pacific railway for the State of Kansas, and president of the Exchange State Bank of Atchison; Mabel L., wife of R. K. Smith, vice-president and general manager of the Mississippi Central railway.

Perhaps the trait of character that most endears Mr. Waggener to the people of Atchison county is that liberality which led him in 1897 to inaugurate the system of giving an annual picnic to the children. Every year, at his own personal expense, he furnishes free transportation, free entertainment, and free refreshments to all the children of Atchison county who can attend his picnic, and the larger the crowd the greater is his delight. These picnics are not given for the purpose of increasing his popularity or for any self-aggrandizement whatever, but solely that he may steal at least one day from his business cares and derive a wholesome recreation in contributing to the amusement of the young people. This innovation has occasioned at various times favorable and commendatory comment in the press of the State, and a record of these picnics has been placed in the annals of the Kansas State Historical Society. The report of the secretary of the historical society for the year 1911 has considerable to say concerning the visit of President Taft to Kansas in that year and his attendance upon Balie Peyton Waggener’s picnic to the children of the neighborhood. The President left Topeka on September 27, about one hour after laying the cornerstone of the Memorial Hall building and reached Atchison in time for Mr. Waggener’s twelfth annual picnic. The President spoke words of high praise of Mr. Waggener and presented him with a silver loving cup in behalf of the people of Atchison county. Mr. Taft’s words in making the presentation were: “A token is this, Mr. Waggener, that carries real sincerity of friendship. I present this beautiful vase of silver in the name of the people here assembled as a sign of love and esteem. I congratulate you on the eminence you have attained.” Mr. Waggener responded: “This is a distinction unmerited. I have no words to express my grateful acknowledgment.” Balie Waggener’s picnic has become a feature of Kansas history of a most pleasant nature. He is a life member of the State Historical Society, and has always been an ardent and most liberal friend of the society.

When Mr. Waggener was forced by illness to go to Rochester, Minn., for the purpose of having a surgical operation performed, his safe return to his home was made the occasion of a time of great rejoicing by the children of the city, and a reception was given him, such as has never been given an Atchison citizen before nor since, and which occasioned State-wide comment on the part of the press as a fitting testimonial of the great love and esteem in which he was held by the children and people of his home city. During the time he was at Rochester undergoing a surgical operation and his subsequent recovery, the children of the city had been praying for his restoration to health and his safe return to their midst. It was their great friend who was ill, and, when the word came that he would arrive home on a certain evening the children prepared to receive him in an appropriate manner. All the children of Atchison turned out to give him welcome, and hundreds formed in line, through which Mr. Waggener passed on his way to his home. He and his automobile were pelted with flowers and tears filled his eyes, and he was unable to express his heart-felt appreciation of the reception which his people had given him. It has been described as the most beautiful and touching thing that has ever happened in the life of Mr. Waggener. To quote briefly from the Kansas City Journal, which described the incident: “Few men in this world were so fortunate as to enjoy such an ovation. Men who have done important things have been received by town bands and by citizens covered with fluttering badges. Men have come back to their home people to be received in the opera house, and cheers have echoed in their receptive ears. But it must be understood that no such home-coming as Mr. Waggener’s could come to an ordinary man. It was the tribute of sincere devotion and genuine friendship. It couldn’t be bought with money or earned by material success. These Atchison children didn’t care a rap for Waggener, the railroad attorney, nor Waggener, the politician, nor even for Waggener, the exemplary citizen. It was Mr. Waggener, the good, kind friend they loved, to whom the welcome was given, and it sprung from sheer joy that he had recovered his health and was with them once more. And who can say that the earth holds a more splendid triumph as the crowning glory of a life than this? All other laudations and exclamations are tame compared with the flushed enthusiasm of hundreds of happy children shouting from their hearts:

“‘Waggener, Waggener sis boom ah!
Our friend, our friend, rah! rah! rah!’”

Albert E. Mayhew.

Personal achievement on the part of the individual who accomplishes things worth while for himself and in behalf of his fellow men, is always worth recording. The inherent qualities possessed by an able man will develop and become pronounced in decided results if he be given the proper opportunity. Albert E. Mayhew, legislative representative from the Atchison county district, and a successful merchant, belongs to that type of men who by force of intellect and sheer ability to do things have placed themselves in the forefront of affairs and taken their proper places as leaders in their respective communities. Forty-five years of his life have been spent in Kansas, and he can properly be classed as one of the pioneers of the State. Mr. Mayhew established himself in business in Effingham January 1, 1899, and his success since his advent into Atchison county has been marked and rapid. He began at first with a capital of $3,000 invested in a hardware and implement business. With characteristic energy and enterprise he developed his business to the extent that his extensive stock of goods now requires a capital of $10,000. In 1912 he purchased a lot at the corner of the two principal streets of Effingham and erected a handsome two-story brick building and a warehouse at the same time. This building measures 84×60 feet, including the warehouse and two splendid show rooms, filled with high class goods. The stock of goods in the Mayhew establishment embraces hardware, farming implements and wagons, paints, furniture, and he also conducts an undertaking establishment. Three men are employed to attend to the extensive trade of this store, which is the most important institution of its kind in this section of the county.

Albert E. Mayhew was born March 17, 1866, at St. Mary’s, Ontario, Canada, a son of William, born in 1833, died in March, 1906, and Mary (Lancaster), born in 1833, died December 25, 1878, Mayhew, both of whom were born in England and immigrated to Canada when in their youth. William Mayhew ran away from home and made his way to Canada where he became a farmer and married. William Mayhew and his wife resided in Canada until May, 1870, when they immigrated to Kansas, settling in Nemaha county. They purchased a farm near the town of Centralia, developed it and Mr. Mayhew made a success of farming and stock raising. He began with a large tract of land at first, but soon ascertained that it were better to have a smaller farm, and accordingly reduced his acreage to 160 acres, upon which he prospered. Mrs. Mayhew, the mother of Albert E., died on the home place in Nemaha county. William, as old age crept upon him, removed to San Diego, Cal., where his demise occurred. He is buried in the cemetery of the California city. Five sons and a daughter were born to William Mayhew and wife, namely: John, a merchant, of Denver, Colo.; Robert, a retired farmer and merchant, living in Topeka. Kan.; George, a merchant, of Denver, Colo.; Eliza, wife of A. B. Clippinger, Kansas City, Mo.; Albert E., the subject of this review, and Leonard, of Los Angeles, Cal.

Albert E. was reared to young manhood on the home farm in Nemaha county, and received his education in the public schools of Centralia, Kan., and the Seneca, Kan., high school, completing his education in the normal school at Emporia, Kan. He taught school for a number of years in his home county, saved his earnings and in 1887 embarked in the hardware and implement business at Vermilion, Kan. He conducted this business with fair success until 1897, and then sold out, coming to Effingham soon afterward and engaging in the same line of business in this city. In addition to his extensive business Mr. Mayhew is the owner of two excellent farms in Marshall county, Kansas, aggregating 640 acres in all, which has his attention. He has a beautiful, modern residence in the south part of Effingham.

Mr. Mayhew was married in September, 1887, to Anna J. Tinker, of Vermilion, Kan., born in Humboldt county, Kansas, a daughter of Avery and Ellen Tinker, natives of New York State, born at Hastings Center, that State. Two children have blessed this union of Albert E. and Anna Mayhew: Avery, born in 1889, and died June 2, 1901; Carl H., born January, 1891 and associated with his father in business. Carl H. married Miss Vera Snyder, and has one daughter, Lucille, aged two years.

Mr. Mayhew is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations and has taken an active and influential part in the affairs of his party since coming to Atchison county. In November, 1914, he was the candidate of his party for the high office of State representative from this district and was elected, subsequently serving in the 1915 session of the Kansas legislature with such marked ability as a legislator that his course and activities conferred distinction upon himself and his constituents. During this session he was a member of the committees on insurance, education, legislative appointments, mines and mining, and judicial apportionments. Having always taken a keen interest in educational affairs, his position as a member of the committee on education gave him an opportunity to support and advocate legislation which would enhance the cause of education throughout the State. He succeeded in having passed through the house an act requiring the school moneys of the State to be loaned to farmers. There was plenty of precedence behind an act of this character, and the fairness of its provisions is very evident, although it was opposed by the banking interests of the State. The act, however, failed to take its regular course through the senate, because of the adjournment of the legislative body. It is probable that the act will be finally passed at the next session and it is morally certain to have strong support, if Mr. Mayhew is again representative from Atchison county. He also introduced and successfully fathered an act, allowing districts to levy higher taxes to provide more amply for bridge building and road improvements, two provisions, which were of direct benefit to the farming interests of the State, inasmuch as the movement for better highways is fast gaining ground in Kansas. Mr. Mayhew also assisted in the passing of better automobile laws, and took an active part in all the deliberations of the legislative body, specializing, however, in legislation which had for its ultimate object the betterment of the school system of the State. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church, of Effingham, and is fraternally associated with the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. It is probable that no citizen is more widely or more favorably known throughout Atchison county than A. E. Mayhew, and his course as a successful merchant and public official has been such as to favorably commend him to the masses of the people, who are always found appreciative of honesty and square dealing on the part of men in public life, whom they honor with their political preference. He is well worthy of the confidence and trust which have been bestowed upon him by the people.

Joseph Coupe.

Joseph Coupe, late of Benton township, was born December 6, 1852, in Utica, N. Y., and was a son of James and Jane (Latus) Coupe, both of whom were born in England. James emigrated from his native land when a young man and located in New York, where he married and reared a family, cultivating a farm located one mile from the limits of Utica. He died on his farm. Joseph was reared on the family farm and attended the Utica public schools, receiving an excellent education, after which he took up the study of law and was admitted to practice in his home city. He practiced his profession in Utica until 1881 and then came west and located at Falls City, Neb., where he continued his practice with considerable success until 1906, when he removed with his family to his farm, west of Effingham. Failing health induced him to make the change, and it was thought by his physicians that the open air life would be beneficial to him. He died February 10, 1908.

Judge Coupe was married in 1890 to Miss Anna Mooney, and to this union were born six children: Margaret, a graduate of the county high school, and a teacher in the Effingham public schools; James, who is managing the home farm with his mother; Richard, a graduate of the county high school; Anna, likewise a high school graduate; Mary, a junior in the high school; and Joseph, a pupil in the Sisters’ school at Effingham. The mother of these children was born in Atchison, Kan., confirmed and baptized in St. Benedict’s church, and was a daughter of James, born in 1833, and Julia (Ryan) Mooney, born in 1837, both of whom were natives of Ireland. James Mooney emigrated from Ireland when a youth, was first a resident of Buffalo, N. Y., and in 1857 moved to Nebraska, and was later employed at the nursery in Atchison, Kan. From Atchison he removed to Rulo, Neb., where he still lives. He was married in 1860, and the family lived in Atchison during the Civil war. James and Julia Mooney were the parents of five children, namely: Thomas, deceased in March, 1908; John and James, farmers: Margaret, at home in Rulo with her parents; Mrs. Joseph Coupe.

Previous to locating in Kansas, Mr. Coupe had resided on a farm near Falls City, but was induced to remove to Effingham and here purchased a farm of 194 acres west of the city in Benton township, this farm consisting of 160 acres of excellent tillable land and thirty-four acres of pasture. He was prominently identified with civic and political affairs in Falls City and Richardson county, Nebraska, and had built up a large and lucrative law practice. He was a Democrat in politics and was one of the leaders of his party in Nebraska, serving four years as county judge and was successful in re-election to a third term, but resigned on account of poor health. He was popular with the masses of the people and well liked by all who knew him, being universally admired for his many excellent qualities of mind and heart.

John Seaton.

The name and accomplishments of the late John Seaton appear prominently in the history of the constructive period of the development of Kansas and the city of Atchison. Destiny and natural endowments designed Mr. Seaton to become a creator and builder; inherent ability also made him a statesman and leader of men; design and inducement led him to locate his enterprise, which was the work of his own hands and brain, in the city of Atchison. In the course of time he was the gainer, becoming one of the first citizens of Kansas, and Kansas and Atchison were doubly gainers, because of him and his great work. What John Seaton wrought, in an industrial sense, will live long as a monument to his energy and enterprise; the record of right doing, honesty, plain living and his work in behalf of his fellowmen in the halls of the State legislature will live in the minds and hearts of his fellow citizens in the long years to come.

John Seaton was a builder whose vision of a great industrial enterprise in the city of the great bend of the Missouri came true in a material sense, inasmuch as Atchison will continue to benefit through the continued whirring of the industrial wheels which his genius set going. While the evidence of his handiwork is visible, and the smoke of the factory which he built will continue to be seen day after day as time goes on, the greatest reminder of Mr. Seaton’s life on this earth will be the lesson which his manner of living and his strict attention to the highest duties of citizenship have left to posterity. Atchison suffered a sincere loss when his demise occurred and his departure from the realms of mortal ken created a void which could never be filled, although Mr. Seaton’s work continues to exist after him.

John Seaton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 11, 1834, a son of John M., and Elizabeth (Jones) Seaton, the former a native of Virginia and the latter having been born in Vermont. John M. Seaton, the father, was a soldier in the Mexican War and was killed in battle at the storming of the heights of Cerro Gordo, Old Mexico. When John was three weeks old his parents removed from Cincinnati to Louisville, Ky., where his boyhood days were spent. He was eleven years of age when his father was killed on the field of battle. He attended school until he was fifteen years of age, and then began learning the trade of a machinist. A few years later finds him working as a journeyman machinist in St. Louis, Mo. In 1856 with a cash capital of two dollars and fifty cents, John Seaton started a foundry at Alton, Ill. A natural aptitude for mechanics and machinery appliances, combined with pluck, energy and perseverance, enabled him to make a success of his first undertaking and the enterprise prospered.

At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Seaton offered his services in defense of the Union, and was commissioned a captain of Company B, Twenty-second regiment, Illinois infantry. His first engagement was the battle of Belmont under General Grant, and Captain Seaton was in command of the skirmish line that opened this engagement. One of the precious possessions of his family at this day is the personal letter he received from the famous commander, commending him for the efficient manner in which he performed the task allotted to his command. He served for one year and then resigned his commission and returned to Alton to take charge of his business. After the war Mr. Seaton remained in Alton in charge of his foundry until 1872, when he removed to Atchison with his entire force of fifty employees. He was induced to remove westward by the fact that six months previous to the time of his removal to Atchison, the city had voted $10,000 in bonds to any man who would establish a foundry. He accepted the offer and the result was one of the most beneficial industries ever located in Atchison. The Seaton foundry gave employment to over 200 men, and he built up an industry which today stands without a peer in its line in the West. The secret of Mr. Seaton’s success lay in the fact that every detail of his business received his direct supervision, and he insisted that only first class work be turned out by his factories. For over eighteen years this captain of industry carried his dinner pail with him to the foundry and worked side by side with his men. He continued doing this after he had attained to a position of wealth and affluence which enabled him to own a home at the seashore at Orient, L. I., and could have retired from active work at any time he chose. None but the finest finished products were allowed to leave his establishment, and the name of Seaton and the output of his plant are noted over the West for the excellence of the finished manufactured materials and for their absolute reliability. In addition to general architectural work, he filled orders for the Santa Fe, Missouri Pacific and Ft. Scott and Gulf railroads, such as casting locomotive wheels, smoke stacks, steam cylinders, etc., all known as locomotive finished material products. The business of his large establishment in Atchison was built up until it amounted to over $250,000 annually, and the plant covered an area of 700×400 feet. Mr. Seaton was in business continually from 1856 until the time of his demise, January 12, 1912.

The activities of this noted citizen of Atchison were not confined entirely to his business, but he took an active and influential part in civic and political affairs after his advent in Atchison. His career showed that he possessed statesmanship ability of a high order. For a period of eighteen years Mr. Seaton was a member of the Kansas State legislature, and so great was his influence in the house, and so long and distinguished was his service that he became known throughout the State as the “Father of the House.” His name is associated with many of the important measures enacted into law by the State legislature, among them being the binding twine factory law, which act is responsible for the establishment of a plant for the manufacture of binder twine at the State penitentiary. He probably did more for the success of the “Douglass House,” during the legislative trouble of 1893 than any other member of the Republican body. As a citizen and a legislator he enjoyed the respect and esteem of the people of Kansas without regard to political affiliations. He was opposed to the dominance of “trusts and monopoly,” and it was his firm conviction that the great corporations were devoid of feeling of a personal nature.

April 9, 1857, Mr. Seaton was married to Miss Charlotte E. Tuthill, of Alton, Ill., and this marriage was blessed with five children: Mrs. Lillie M. Hendrickson, of Atchison; John C. in California; Mary, wife of Dr. W. H. Condit, of Kansas City; Mrs. Nellie Taber (Seaton) Byram, deceased, and George L., married Amy Cox, of Weston, Mo., and resides on South Fourth street, Atchison; John C. Seaton married Gertrude Hickman, of Coffeyville, Kan. and resides in Kansas City and Los Angeles, Cal.; Mrs. Charlotte E. (Tuthill) Seaton was born in Alton, Ill., November 10, 1840, a daughter of Pardon Taber Tuthill, who was born and reared on Long Island, N. Y., and was a scion of one of the oldest American families. The great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Seaton, John Tuthill, known as Pilgrim John Tuthill, came from England with early settlers to Long Island. The home built by Pilgrim John on Long Island in the early part of the eighteenth century is still standing in a good state of preservation. The ancestral home of the Tuthills is located in the village of Orient, Long Island. On the maternal side an ancestor of Mrs. Seaton, named Capt. Andrew Englis, commanded a company in the Revolution and was a great patriot. Pardon Taber Tuthill was a pioneer in Alton, Ill. He was a contractor and builder and in his later years devoted his time and talents to horticulture. He was continually experimenting and developed several new varieties of fruit. He was blessed with a scientific mind and became famous as a horticulturist.

John Seaton was a member of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic, the Loyal Legion and the Knights of Pythias lodges. Through him the Enterprise theater was rebuilt and remodeled in Atchison, and he was always found in the forefront of public movements to advance the interests of his home city. Socially Mr. Seaton was a genial, approachable, unassuming gentleman, whose pride was manifest concerning his Civil war record and the fact that he had amassed wealth and attained a leading position in the civic life of his adopted State through his own efforts, and built up his fortunes from the ground. He was a man of undoubted integrity and was a noble character whose demise was sincerely mourned by the whole city of Atchison. He was a kind and indulgent husband and father. In his passing Kansas lost one of her best and most widely known statesmen and Atchison one of her most useful citizens. His was a life well spent in behalf of the city and State where his name will long be remembered and revered as one of the honored pioneers of a widely known city and great State which he helped to create.

Aaron S. Best.

It is meet that considerable space in this history of Atchison county be devoted to the stories of the lives of real pioneers of the county. The old pioneers were the salt of the earth, and a stronger or more vigorous race of men, never conquered a wilderness. In the class of the real, old pioneer settlers, comes Aaron S. Best, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan. Captain Best has lived in Atchison county for nearly fifty-five years, and has seen the country transformed from a vast tract of pasture and grazing land to a region of fertile and productive farms, and well built towns and cities. During all these years he has taken an active and prominent part in county affairs, and in his younger days was a political leader in his own neighborhood.

Aaron S. Best was born June 27, 1839, in Clinton county, Pa., a son of John W. and Catharine (Schaefer) Best, of German descent, and native born and reared in Pennsylvania. John W. Best was born in 1809 and died in 1881. He was the son of Peter Best, a native of Pennsylvania, of German parentage. In the year 1860, John W. Best, accompanied by his wife and seven children, crossed the country to find a new home in Kansas. He had made a trip to Atchison county in the previous year, and, after carefully looking over the ground, made up his mind that the country had a great future, and he decided to move his family so as to make a permanent home in Kansas. The Best family arrived in Atchison in March of 1861, and at once moved to a farm in old Monrovia. In June of the same year, the wife and mother died, at the age of forty-five years. The following children were born to John W. Best and wife: Mary and Elvina, deceased, in Pennsylvania; Henry, living at Parr, Tex.; Louis, Luther and Reuben, deceased; Mrs. Henrietta Lamberson, of Argentry, Ark.; and Michael, deceased.

Aaron Best was twenty-one years of age when the family removed to Atchison county. Being a Free State advocate, it was only natural that he take some part in the struggle which finally made Kansas a free State. When General Price’s threatened invasion of Kansas seemed imminent, he assisted in raising a company of militia among his neighbors and was chosen captain. This company marched to Westport, and took part in the famous engagement which resulted in Price’s retreat to the southward. Captain Best was in command of Company F, Twelfth regiment, Kansas cavalry. Only two companies of the Twelfth regiment were under fire, and Company F was one of these, Capt. Asa Barnes’ company being the other actively engaged. Captain Best’s horse was shot from under him and badly crippled.

After coming to Kansas, he spent one year assisting his father on the home farm, and then moved to a farm of his own, south of Monrovia, which he developed from raw prairie land to a very productive farm, residing on until 1907, when he rented his land holdings and retired to a comfortable home in Effingham. The first land which Mr. Best owned was bought by his father for $750, and he farmed this on the share plan for six years, after which he paid his father $2,000 for 140 acres. His next purchase was eighty acres of land nearby, and he continued to add to his land possessions until he was the owner of 275 acres in all. In the spring of 1914 Mr. Best sold his farm land for $21,000. His farm was one of the best improved in Atchison county, and naturally brought a good, round price, because of the good condition of the buildings and of the fertility of the soil.

Mr. Best was married in February, 1860, to Malinda Bricker, and to this union have been born one son and three daughters, as follows: Mrs. Ella Rebecca Sharp, living at Helena, Mo., and mother of two children, Albert and Twila; Mrs. Mary C. Bonnell, living on a farm southeast of Effingham, and who has eight children, Nellie, Edith, Grace, Ruth, Catharine, Lea, Claude, Malinda; Mrs. Emma Wood, of Council Grove, Kan., and mother of four children, Clara, Beulah Morris, Ralph, Esther; John a merchant, of Monrovia, Kan., father of three children, Leota, Hazel, and Blanche. The mother of these children was born in Hanover township, Daulphin county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1837, and was a daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Lohs) Bricker, both of whom were of Pennsylvania German ancestry, and died in their Pennsylvania home.

Mr. Best has always been allied with the Republican party, and has been a stanch advocate of Republican principles for a long period of years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute generously to the support of that denomination. He is fraternally affiliated with the Odd Fellows Lodge and Encampment, No. 5, and the Modern Woodmen. Physically and mentally, Mr. Best is a remarkably well preserved man, when one considers his age and the fact that he endured so many hardships in his first struggles to attain to the position of affluence and comfort which he enjoys at present.

Louis C. Orr.

Faithfulness to duty on the part of public officials is always appreciated by the people, and an official who regards his office as other than a sinecure, is recognized as honest, capable and well meaning. In Louis C. Orr, postmaster of the city of Atchison, Kan., the patrons and citizens of Atchison have a capable and conscientious public servant, whose sole interest is to see that the affairs of this important Government office are conducted smoothly, and for the convenience of the patrons of the postoffice. Although, in times past, the Atchison postoffice has been looked upon as a sinecure, operated as a well oiled piece of Government machinery with an efficient and well trained force, Mr. Orr, since taking over the duties of his position, has demonstrated that he can work as hard and efficiently as any of the many employees making up the postoffice force. Probably no postoffice in the State of Kansas is better conducted, or the welfare of the patrons more carefully looked after than the Atchison postoffice, and credit is due Mr. Orr for his diligent application to the duties of his office since his appointment.

Louis C. Orr, postmaster of Atchison, was born August 3, 1857, in McGregor, Iowa, a son of James and Man Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr, concerning whom further mention will be found in the biography of James W. Orr, brother of Louis C., in this volume. When Louis C. was eight years of age the family removed from Iowa to Niles, Mich. Louis C. and his brother James W. knew what poverty was in their youthful days, and shared their hardships in common. Louis C. was ambitious to obtain an education, and at an early age was compelled, by force of circumstances over which he had no control, to practically earn his own living and the wherewithal to obtain an education. For some years he and James W. pooled their earnings and worked together for their mutual benefit, and to this day this trait of brotherly devotion is present. Louis C. attended school until he had attained the age of eighteen years, and he then entered a drug store at Niles, Mich., in the capacity of clerk. He remained in Michigan until 1885, when he came to Atchison. Kan., where his brother, James W., had preceded him in 1881. Mr. Orr entered the Government railroad mail service, and was employed in this capacity on the Santa Fe Railway System, on the run from Atchison to Topeka, during Grover Cleveland’s first administration. He then left the railway mail service and was employed as clerk in the drug store of A. W. Stevens for the following period of eight years. For the six years following he was in charge of the paint department of the McPike Drug Company, a wholesale drug firm then operating in Atchison, and since removed to Kansas City, Mo. For four years, from 1907 to 1911, he served as city collector of Atchison. He was engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business until January, 1915. Mr. Orr was appointed postmaster of Atchison December 29, 1914, by President Wilson, to take effect January 4, 1915, although Mr. Orr did not begin his duties until January 15, 1915.

Mr. Orr was married in 1886 to Mary Isabelle Smith, of Richmond, Ind., a daughter of John P. and Mary (Sedgwick) Smith, residents of Richmond, Ind. One son has been born to this marriage, Richard Sedgwick Orr, born in 1888, and at present employed as manager for the Standard Oil Company in Atchison.

Louis C. Orr is a Democrat and is affiliated with the Christian Scientist church. For the past twenty-five years he has been a member of Lodge No. 127, Ancient Order of United Workmen. It can be said of him that he is courteous, efficient and obliging to all with whom he is brought in contact.

Carl Ludwig Beckman.

Successful as an agriculturist, and again achieving success as a live stock buyer and shipper, is a summary of the life and accomplishments of Carl Ludwig Beckman, one of the best known and progressive citizens of Effingham, Kan. Mr. Beckman’s live stock operations invoke the buying and shipping of over fifty carloads of live stock yearly. In addition to his business dealings, he also looks after his fine farm of 200 acres in Benton township.

Mr. Beckman was born April 2, 1861, in Quincy, Ill. As the name indicates, he is the son of German parents, his father, William Beckman, having been born in Germany, in 1830, and was unfortunately killed by a stroke of lightning in Burlington, Iowa, in 1863. When a young man, William Beckman left his native land to seek his fortune in this country. He located at Quincy, Ill., where he married Elizabeth Kipp, who bore him four children, and was also born in Germany in 1824. William Beckman removed his family to Burlington, Iowa, in about 1862. The four children born to this couple were: William, a resident of Parnell, Atchison county, Kansas; Mrs. Hannah Buhrmaster, living on a farm in Benton township; Minnie, and Carl Ludwig, with whom this review is directly concerned. The mother of these children later married Henry Vollmer, a farmer, in Iowa, who gave her and the children a good home and left his widow well provided for. Mrs. Vollmer, mother of C. L., resides at Mediapolis, Iowa.

When Carl was twenty years of age he left the farm in Iowa, and came to Kansas in 1881, and in partnership with his brother, William, rented a farm near Effingham for thirteen years, dissolving partnership in 1894. Through purchase and by inheritance, on his wife’s part, Mr. Beckman and his wife came into possession of 200 acres of land in 1894, upon which they resided until 1908. In that year they bought a small farm of thirty-five acres, one mile west of Effingham, upon which they resided for three years, and then made a permanent home in Effingham. Since 1908 Mr. Beckman has been engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock, with Robert M. Thomas as a partner in the enterprise, and has been very successful in this business, being an accurate judge of live stock and keeping abreast of market conditions.

He was married in 1894 to Miss Lebeldine Gersbach, born in Atchison county in 1863, a daughter of Samuel and Catharine Gersbach, both of whom were natives of Germany, and, after emigrating from their native country to America, settled in Atchison county as early as 1854, and were among the earliest pioneers of Kansas. Mr. Gersbach preëmpted land and built up a fine farm which is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Beckman. Two children were born of this marriage: Rosa, aged twenty years, and a student in the Atchison county high school, class of 1916; and Pearl, aged seventeen, also a student in the high school, class of 1916.

Mr. Beckman is a Republican in politics, and takes an interest in the civic and political affairs of his home town and county. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. Mrs. Beckman and daughters are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Beckman is a stockholder of the Farmers’ Mercantile Association of Effingham, and is generally found in the forefront of all undertakings which are intended for the betterment and progress of conditions in his home city.

James Granville Morrow.

We are taught that life is eternal; that when the course of man has been run upon this earth and his work is done, his spirit returns to his Maker and he is judged according to his deeds while a mortal among his fellow creatures. This thought and belief is comforting alike to the dying and the bereaved ones left behind to mourn their earthly loss for the time being. Longfellow has written: “Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal; dust thou art, to dust returneth, was not written of the soul.” So thought and so lived the late Capt. James Granville Morrow, who at the time of his demise was the oldest living pioneer resident of Atchison, and a man famed for his upright life and beloved for his good and kindly deeds. Life was very “real and earnest” to Captain Morrow and he enjoyed his earthly existence to the fullest extent, the latter years of his residence in Atchison being the fullest and best of all, in the sense that he indulged his taste and talents to doing things which he loved, all the while being surrounded by a loving wife and children whose respect and love he had to comfort him through the greater part of his long and useful life. Captain Morrow lived in such a manner as to endear him to all of his associates and he will long be remembered as one of the noted figures of the pioneer and the present era of Kansas development. It is meet that the life story of this truly noble citizen be recorded in these annals of his county and city for the inspiration and encouragement of the present and coming posterity for all time to come.

James Granville Morrow was born on a farm in Wayne county, Kentucky, June 27, 1827, a son of Jeremiah and Lydia (Holder) Morrow, both of whom were born and reared in Kentucky. Jeremiah Morrow was the son of Matthew Morrow, a native of Virginia, who was one of the early pioneers of Kentucky, and of Scotch descent, his ancestors having emigrated from Scotland to America in the early colonial period of American history. Jeremiah Morrow, father of James G., was born in 1802, and after his removal to Kentucky married Lydia Holder. Six sons and two daughters were born to Jeremiah Morrow and wife, only one of whom survives, Mrs. W. H. Crisp, residing in Kentucky. Their children were as follows: Mahala, wife of Rev. W. H. Crisp, of Kentucky; Floyd, deceased; James Granville, the subject of this review; Nimrod, deceased; Riley, William, Nancy, deceased wife of John Pennington; Percy, deceased. Granville Morrow spent his boyhood days on the family farm in Wayne county, Kentucky, and at the age of sixteen years was sent to a select school. He made his home with his parents until he attained his majority and then set out to make his own way in the world. He dealt quite extensively in horses which he drove from Kentucky to Georgia. He was also associated with his brothers in raising, purchasing and selling hogs, which they drove 400 miles into Georgia, where they were sold to the Georgia planters. Sometimes a single planter would buy 500 head and the price ranged from eight to nine dollars per 100 pounds, live weight. The Morrow brothers frequently drove as high as 13,000 head, traveling only seven miles a day. There were no railroads in those days, but the country was dotted with stations. Hog cholera did not bother swine in those days and it was Captain Morrow’s frequent expression that hog cholera was a product of civilization and high breeding, and, although the hogs were driven as far as 400 miles they did not lose weight on the trip. The business of the Morrow brothers was not always profitable, however, and they lost money on some of the trips. Mr. Morrow abandoned the business in 1850, and in 1854 arrived in Atchison en route to California, but he did not go any farther. On April 5, 1854, he arrived at Rushville Landing, now East Atchison. This was shortly before Kansas was opened for settlement, and the only man living at that time on the townsite of Atchison was George Million, who operated a rope ferry across the Missouri river. Mr. Morrow found on landing at Atchison that the overland train which he expected to join en route to the far West had left, and, as he was ill he decided to wait for the next train. Captain Morrow ate his first dinner in Kansas with Samuel Dixon at Dixon Spring, now included in the city of Atchison. The food was ladled out of a common kettle to which all the diners had access without style or invitation other than “help yourself.” A tree trunk sawed off smooth answered the purpose of a table on which the meal was served. While waiting he found a job with Million and decided to remain in Kansas. In the fall of 1854, he, with John Alcorn, bought out Portumous Lamb’s ferry boat which was operated by horse power and a tread-mill, and from that time on for seventeen consecutive years Mr. Morrow plied his ferry between Atchison and Winthrop. In the fall of 1855 he began operating a side-wheel steam ferry which had been brought here from Brownsville, Pa. In 1857 he became captain of the steam ferry, “Ida,” later running the steam ferry, “Pomeroy,” after which he went to Brownsville, Pa., where he built the transfer boat, “William Osborne,” remaining there eight months while the work was in progress. When he brought the “William Osborne” to Atchison it was loaded with 300 tons of rails for the Central Branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad, now the Northern Kansas Division. This boat also conveyed across the Missouri river the first locomotives used on the road after its construction.

Not long after his arrival in Atchison Captain Morrow began to accumulate land, and in 1869 turned his attention to farming, retiring from the steamboat business entirely in 1871. He accumulated 1,240 acres of rich bottom lands in the Missouri river bottoms near East Atchison which has never failed to produce a crop and is very valuable. He formerly owned a section of land in Osage county, Kansas, near Lebo. He also was the owner of two valuable farms on the Atchison side of the river, 320 acres near Jacksboro, Texas, and owned considerable real estate in the city, all of which has been left to his widow in trust for his children and heirs. He was very successful as a wheat grower, and in this way gained the greater part of his working capital. He erected a beautiful home called “Enidan Heights” at Eighth and U streets, on the south side of Atchison, where he spent his declining years in peace and comfort. About 1875 he opened a general store in East Atchison which he conducted until 1883. Those were still pioneer days, and the settlers in the vicinity were poor and sometimes were unable to pay for the goods they needed. The captain’s big heart and generous impulses frequently led him to extend credit to patrons whom he knew would not be able to pay for their purchases, and it was a favorite expression of his when his clerk would report to him that a poor man wished credit, “Gracious to goodness, if we don’t let him have the stuff he’ll starve to death.” The captain sold hundreds of dollars’ worth of goods which were probably never paid for, but his good heart would not permit him to see a fellow creature in want for the necessities of life. This trait of kindness was the predominating characteristic of his life and endeared him to hundreds of people. After quitting the mercantile business Captain Morrow devoted himself entirely to his farming interests and his transfer business which he established in 1888 with his partners, later becoming the sole owner of the business. He retired entirely from active business pursuits and his farming in 1910 and spent the most of his time working around the gardens of his fine home in Atchison. For years it was his custom to drive back and forth to his big farm on the Missouri side and he was gradually persuaded to abandon this activity. His demise occurred December 2, 1915, after a brief illness, beginning with an attack of la grippe, his great age and depleted vitality militating against his recovery.

James Granville Morrow was married November 20, 1874, to Miss Sarah J. George, and this happy marriage was blessed with the following children: Della, born November 11, 1875, and died in 1904; Mary Etta, born in Missouri March 17, 1880, dying October 2, 1880, and who is buried in Orearville cemetery, Saline county, Missouri; James Granville George, born September 16, 1878, married Ethel Worrell, and is the father of four children: James Granville, Jr., John Worrell, Frances and Robert George; Nadine, wife of John Raymond Woodhouse, who lives with Mrs. Morrow, of Atchison, and mother of John Granville, born December 16, 1914; James G. Morrow resides in Buchanan county, Missouri, and has charge of the immense Morrow farm in the Missouri bottoms. The children of Captain and Mrs. Morrow have all been well educated and afforded every facility for mind cultivation. Mrs. Nadine Woodhouse was educated in Mount St. Scholastica Academy and the College Preparatory School of Atchison, after which she completed her studies at Central College of Missouri. Miss Della Morrow studied in Mount St. Scholastica Academy, Midland and Central colleges, and Washington University, at St. Louis, and was a bright and talented young lady prior to her demise. James Morrow, the son, studied in the Atchison public schools and Midland College. The mother of these children, Mrs. Sarah J. (George) Morrow, was born March 30, 1853, near Orearville, Saline county, Missouri, a daughter of Dr. James Jameson George, a native of Prince William county, Virginia. Dr. George was born in Virginia November 25, 1810, a son of William Henry George, a soldier in the War of 1812, who moved from Virginia to Hardin county, Kentucky, in 1816 with his brothers, Moses and Lindsey George, who settled at Shelbyville, Ky. The mother of Dr. George was a member of the Jameson family, an old Virginia family. The ancestry of both the George and Jameson families goes back to the pre-Revolutionary days of the Virginia colony. Dr. J. J. George was a graduate of the Transylvania College at Bairdstown, Ky., and also studied at Lexington, Ky. He was married in 1841 at Mt. Sterling, Ky., to Mary (Catlett) Orear, a daughter of Robert Catlett Orear, who was born in Mt. Sterling. Ky., January 30, 1814, and departed this life March 27, 1876, in Johnson county, Missouri. Dr. J. J. and Mary George were the parents of the following children: Robert died in June, 1905, on his ranch in Coffey county, Kansas; Joel S., who resides at Peace River Crossing, Alberta, Canada; Mary E., wife of J. H. Russell, died June 28, 1911; Mrs. Malinda Morrison, of Tecumseh, Okla.; Benjamin Franklin, born in Saline county, settled in Coffey county, Kansas, and now resides in Denver, Colo.; Mrs. James Granville Morrow; two who died in infancy; James Nelson contracted fever at Central College, and died October 26, 1875, aged twenty-one years and twenty-nine days; Lee Davis, a ranchman, of Coffey county, Kansas. Four of these children were born in Kentucky, and the last four were born in Missouri, where the family removed in 1850.

Dr. George was a minister of the Gospel and a member of the Methodist Episcopal conference in Kentucky from 1838 to 1839. He came to Missouri to farm and preach the Gospel, but was impressed very early in his western career with the woeful dearth of skilled medical care for the sick and ailing of the backwoods country, and was frequently called to the bedside of people who were supposed to be dying, and whom he realized could be easily saved with some medical attention. Fired with zeal to assist an unfortunate and suffering people, he conceived the worthy idea of studying medicine, so that he could be of material assistance to his people other than in a religious sense. He returned to Kentucky and entered the Medical College at Lexington. After completing his course he returned to Saline county, Missouri, and engaged in the practice of his profession until old age came upon him. He then removed to Cass county, Missouri, and became a local minister. His was a long and useful life, every matured year of which was given in behalf of his fellowmen, unselfishly and devotedly. He was one of the noted missionaries of the early days in Missouri and extended the word of the Gospel to the remotest settlements. He organized churches and Sunday schools where they seemed needed most and his work called him to preach the Word in log houses and the most primitive habitations of man. Dr. George was deeply in love with his great work, and loved the people, and worked tirelessly for their well being in a religious and practical way. He departed this life August 4, 1875. The last public utterance which he made was when he spoke to a Sunday school assemblage in Coffey county, Kansas, in the village of Key West. His end was peaceful and tranquil, and the departure of this good man’s soul to the realms beyond mortal kin marked the passing of one of the truly great men of the western country whose work will go on and on forever. Dr. George and Captain Morrow became great friends in the early sixties.

On Thanksgiving day of 1915, just the day before Mr. and Mrs. Morrow’s forty-first wedding anniversary, the captain’s last illness began which resulted in his passing away. His burial occurred on December 4 from Trinity Episcopal Church, Rev. Otis E. Gray officiating, with the Masonic lodge of Atchison conducting burial service at the grave. He was for many years a Mason and was greatly interested in the Masonic fraternity, rarely being absent from the lodge meetings, his last spoken regret having been that he would be unable to attend the ceremonies held at the laying of the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple in Atchison. The last five years of Captain Morrow’s life were perhaps the most satisfactory and the happiest of his existence. His years of retirement, although few as compared with that of most men, were spent almost entirely at his beautiful home, with occasional visits to his farm lands. He was loath to retire, and did so only at the urgent insistence of his devoted wife, and for quite a long time after he was eighty years of age he would insist on driving across the river to his farm. He took the greatest pleasure with his grandchildren, and especially with his namesake. In his later years he became a specialist in gardening and fruit growing merely for his own satisfaction and would frequently surprise his family with some very choice and rare fruits grown in his gardens and orchards. From his orchard of peach trees he gathered over 400 bushels of peaches in one season, and also set out an apple orchard which he attended assiduously. He became a disciple of the famous Luther Burbank and was a member of the Luther Burbank corporation. Through the exercise of his skill as a fruit grower be produced several kinds of rare berries and was continually experimenting in small fruits and vegetable growing. It was fitting that the life of Captain Morrow should close in such a manner and that during his last years he was permitted to indulge himself in his favorite pursuits, surrounded with the loving and watchful career of his devoted wife, who was always his confidant and adviser, and to whom he went in time of stress or trouble for comfort and advice. His was a life well spent and his memory will live long in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best.

Orlando C. Scoville.

In the northeast part of Benton township, in a comfortable farm home on section 11, range 18, there resides the oldest pioneer settler of that section of the county, the review of whose career takes one back to the days of the Civil war when he shouldered a musket in defense of the Union, and to the early days of Kansas history when the long freight trains hauled by oxen and mules were leaving Atchison for the far West. We are reminded of the Indian troubles which beset the hardy freighters as they convoyed their treasures across the wide reaches of prairie and mountain. In all these things Orlando C. Scoville, Union veteran, old-time freighter, and pioneer farmer, participated, and it is meet that the story of his life and adventurous career be recorded for the entertainment of succeeding generations of men and women in order that they might know how a wilderness was redeemed and what manner of men their forefathers were and whence they came.

Orlando C. Scoville was born February 4, 1846, in Cook county, Illinois, on a farm located just twenty-two miles from the city of Chicago. His father was William Scoville, born in 1820, at Watertown, N. Y., a son of Abijah Scoville, a native of Connecticut, and a scion of an old New England family. Abijah Scoville was a carpenter by trade and his art was transmitted to his descendants. William Scoville received a good education in his native State, and taught school in New York when a young man seventeen years old. As early as 1842 he came west, to Cook county, Illinois, and owned a farm in that county which he cultivated until 1865 when he came to Atchison, Kan., where he first engaged in the handling of live stock. Later he was in the lumber business with a Mr. McCoy, who later sold out to Henry T. Smith, and he and Smith conducted a wagon and lumber business on Utah avenue, just east of the old Episcopal church, between Fourth and Fifth streets. William eventually sold out his business and moved to a farm in Benton township, south of where his son, O. C., lives, and there died in December, 1891. Previous to removing to his farm he was foreman of the Hixon Lumber Company’s interests in Atchison. The mother of Orlando C. was Lucinda Lasher, whom William Scoville married in New York, and who removed to Arrington after her husband’s death, and there died in November, 1893, at the age of seventy-five years. William and Lucinda Scoville were the parents of seven children, two of whom died in infancy: Imogene, wife of A. W. Mulligan, of Blue Rapids, Kan.; Orlando C.; Eulalie, died in Atchison in 1866, and is buried in Oak Hill cemetery; Freeman, a railroad engineer for many years, and who died at Arrington, in 1911; Giles, a successful law practitioner, located in Chicago, and who studied law under the late Senator John J. Ingalls.

O. C. Scoville was reared to young manhood on the farm in Cook county, Illinois, and when eighteen years of age enlisted (1864) in Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-second regiment, Illinois infantry. He served for six months in the Army of the Tennessee, under General Thomas, and took part in the several hard-fought battles, among them being the battle and siege of Atlanta. His command started on the march with Sherman, to the sea, but were turned back by department orders. After his war service expired he came to Atchison and joined the family. His first occupation in Atchison was the operating of a wagon shop, just across the street from the Blair Mill, and it is a matter of history that his shop was used as the first depot of the Central Branch railroad, then building. He ran the wagon shop for two years and then made two trips across the continent in the capacity of freighter and convoying a herd of cattle. In 1867 he was one of the freighters in charge of the first train sent over the Smoky Hill route for Butterfield to Denver. The live stock was run off by the Indians during this trip, and Butterfield came out and found them after four weeks’ search; his next trip was to Salt Lake City. In 1868, he with others, drove a herd of milch cows which had been sold by McCoy to a man named Murray, and consigned to him in California. This trip required eighteen months to consummate, and they were forced to winter in the Antelope valley on Walker river. After taking the cattle to their destination he returned across the mountains to Reno, Nev., and there boarded the train for the rest of the journey home, Reno at that time being the western terminus of the railway. During 1869 he worked for one year in the engineering corps of the Santa Fe railroad, and in that winter his father bought his present farm in Benton township. In the fall of 1872 he moved to the farm where he has resided continuously for the past forty-three years. In 1893 he bought the farm formerly owned by the family and has increased his acreage until he and his son are the owners of 400 acres of land, the latter owning 180 acres, upon which formerly stood three sets of farm buildings, one of which was destroyed by fire in April, 1915. His present residence was erected in 1893.

Mr. Scoville was married in Atchison May 8, 1873, to Virginia Williams, born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, in 1854, and a daughter of Alexander Williams. Her father died when she was very young and she came with her mother and stepfather to Missouri in the early pioneer days when her mother died and she was adopted by Mrs. Miller, a music teacher, of Atchison, Kan. Three children were born to this union, namely: Katie died in infancy; William C., born August 10, 1875, married Myrtle Lollar, and has two children, Earl, born December 13, 1911, and Alice, born May 16, 1914. William C. is the only living son of Orlando C. Scoville. Mrs. Scoville died in October, 1913.

This sturdy pioneer has been a Republican ever since he cast his first vote, and is one of the true blue variety who prides himself on being a “stand-patter,” who believes thoroughly in the principles of his party and will never desert the standard of Republicanism. He has never held office and has never been a seeker after political preferment; has never been a party to a law suit, never served on a jury, and has been called only once in his lifetime to the witness stand. He has endeavored at all times to live at peace with all mankind and has succeeded to such an extent that at a ripe old age, this pioneer settler of Atchison county is living in peace and comfort in the home which he created out of a wilderness.

Mr. Scoville cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in St. Louis, in 1864.

John James Ingalls.

John James Ingalls, author, lawyer, and United States Senator, was born in Middleton, Mass., December 29, 1833, a son of Elias T. and Eliza (Chase) Ingalls. He was descended from Edmond Ingalls, who, with his brother, Francis, founded the town of Lynn, Mass., in 1628. His father was a first cousin of Mehitable Ingalls, the grandmother of the late President Garfield. His mother was a descendant of Aquilla Chase, who settled in New Hampshire in 1630. Chief Justice Chase was of this family. After going through the public schools Ingalls attended Williams College, at Williamstown, Mass., graduating in 1855. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857. The next year he came to Kansas and in 1859 was a member of the Wyandotte constitutional convention. In 1860 he was secretary of the territorial council and was also secretary of the first State senate, in 1861. The next year he was elected State senator from Atchison county. In that year, and again in 1864, he was nominated for lieutenant-governor on the anti-Lane ticket. During the Civil war he served as judge advocate on the staff of Gen. George W. Deitzler with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1865 Mr. Ingalls married Miss Anna Louisa Chesebrough, a descendant of William Chesebrough, who came to this country with Gov. Winthrop in 1630. Her father, Ellsworth Chesebrough, was a New York importer who came to Atchison, Kan., in 1859, and at the time of his death, in 1860, was an elector on the Lincoln ticket. Of this union eleven children were born, six of whom were living at the time of Mr. Ingalls’ death, viz: Ellsworth, Ethel, Ralph, Sheffield, Marion and Muriel.

In 1873, “Opportunity,” of which Mr. Ingalls wrote in his declining years, knocked at his door. He was made a candidate for United States senator at a private caucus one night and was elected by the legislature the next day. His career at Washington, covering a period of eighteen years, was one of great brilliancy. He quickly acquired distinction, and Speaker Reed remarked before he had learned the name of the new senator: “Any man who can state a proposition as that senator does is a great man.” As a parliamentarian he was unsurpassed. Senator Harris, a Democrat from Tennessee, said: “Mr. Ingalls will go down upon the records as the greatest presiding officer in the history of the senate.” His speeches made him famous. He was the master of sarcasm and satire, as well as of eulogistic oratory. His address on John Brown, a speech of blistering satire; the one delivered in Atchison after his vindication in the senate; and his eulogies of Senator Hill and Senator Wilson are classic masterpieces, seldom if ever excelled in oratory. Senator Ingalls was a strict partisan, an invincible champion of any cause, and a bitter and persevering opponent. During his three terms in the senate his greatest efforts were in the advocacy of the constitutional rights of the freedom of the South and the rights of the veterans of the Civil war. When a wave of Populism came over Kansas it found him practically unprepared. He had given little attention to the money question and the tariff, and it was these things which were clamoring for solution. He was defeated by the Populists for senator in 1891. Mr. Ingalls said many times that he valued a seat in the senate above any other honor in the gift of the American people. As an author Mr. Ingalls won his reputation first by a number of articles appearing in the old Kansas Magazine, among which were “Cat-Fish Aristocracy” and “Blue Grass.” His poem, “Opportunity,” is worthy to be classed with the greatest in the English language, and it may yet outlive his reputation as an orator and statesman and be his lasting monument. After leaving the senate Mr. Ingalls retired from active life, traveled for his health, and died in New Mexico, August 16, 1900. In January, 1905, a statue of him was installed in Statuary Hall at Washington with fitting ceremonies, being the first statue to be contributed by Kansas, although Mr. Ingalls during his lifetime had urged upon the State to place one of John Brown in this hall.

Sidney Martin.

A publication of this nature exercises its most important function when it takes cognizance of the life and labors of those citizens who attained prominence and prosperity through their own well directed efforts and who were of material value in furthering the advancement and development of the commonwealth. Sidney Martin came to Atchison county in 1856 when a boy of eleven. He endured the hardships common to the resident of Kansas previous to and during the Civil war period. He made several trips between Atchison and Denver as a freighter; drove over some 400 miles of country infested with Indians and narrowly escaped death at their hands. He bought the first section of land that was sold in the Kickapoo reservation and became one of the most successful farmers and stock breeders in northeastern Kansas. He was actively identified with the development of this section of the State and attained prominence and influence as a citizen.

Sidney Martin was a native of Kentucky, born in Estill county on November 1, 1846, a son of Jackson H. and Polly (Walters) Martin. His ancestors, paternal and maternal, were among the first to settle in the Virginia colony, coming from England in 1607. His father, Jackson H. Martin, best known to the residents of Atchison county as “Uncle Jack” Martin, was also a Kentuckian, born in Estill county on January 15, 1812, a son of Robert and Mary (Harris) Martin, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Robert Martin served in the War of 1812 and was a commissioned officer. The epaulets from his uniform were in the possession of the family until a few years ago. Subsequent to this service he removed to Kentucky and was one of Daniel Boone’s companions and was with him during many Indian fights. He was one of the pioneer settlers of Estill county.

Jackson H. Martin, or “Uncle Jack,” as he was commonly called, was reared in Estill county, married there, and in 1855 brought his family to Buchanan county, Missouri, where he lived one year. In the spring of 1856 he came to Kansas and settled at Mormon’s Grove. The place derived its name through being a former Mormon emigrant settlement. It was about five miles from Atchison. “Uncle Jack” and his family occupied the Mormon cabin until he could build one of his own. He preëmpted a quarter section of land at this point and engaged in farming. A native of Kentucky, a Democrat as well, he naturally became involved in the turmoil of events preceding the Civil war. For the protection of himself and family, he built a double wall of stone and earth around his dwelling. This caused it to be called Ft. Martin. The place was attacked one night by Jayhawkers who were after horses. The attacking party were driven off without booty and several of their number were wounded. “Uncle Jack” continued to reside at Ft. Martin until 1878, when he became a resident of Effingham. He built the Martin Hotel and conducted it for a number of years. He was a success as a host, his hotel was famous for its cookery and hospitality and Effingham the gainer by his coming. His death occurred in April, 1902, at the age of ninety years. He had lived an eventful life, had watched Kansas grow from a sparsely settled, faction-torn border State to one of the most prosperous agricultural commonwealths of the Union. He had met many of the most famous men of her formative period, and was a personal friend of John A. Martin, Paddy Brown, Governor Glick and Charles Robinson. His wife, Polly Walters, whom he married in Estill Springs, Ky., died in April, 1895. They were the parents of four children: Ann Elizabeth, the wife of William Hight, of Fremont county, Colorado; Sidney, the subject of this review; Mary W., widow of Gilbert Keithline, of Atchison county, and Sally, widow of Henry Woodard. Twins died in infancy. Martha died at the age of sixteen years. Sally (Martin) Woodard was born in Estill county, Kentucky, in 1852, and came with her parents to Kansas in 1856. She was reared on the old Martin farm in Atchison county, and in 1869 married Henry Woodard, who was born in Evansville, Ind., in 1844. He was a son of Philander Henry Woodard, who came to Atchison in the early sixties and engaged in the milling business. After his marriage Henry Woodard settled on a farm in Jackson county, where he remained until 1874, when he located in Effingham and engaged in the mercantile business. He followed this line of occupation until a few years before his death which occurred May 30, 1914. He is survived by his widow and the following children: Philander Henry, Jack Martin, Gilbert Campbell, Dorothy, wife of Elmer Percival, of Sheridan county, Kansas; Helen Lee, wife of Rolla Taliaferro; and Sally Bernice, a student in the Atchison Business College.

Sidney Martin acquired his education in the schools of Atchison, and later completed a course in the Platte City (Missouri) Academy. He was reared on his father’s farm, near Atchison, and assisted in its carrying on until about sixteen years of age. He then secured employment with Mr. Teuschau, a pioneer French trader and freighter, who had an Indian wife. He was also with the Scotch freighter, Kisskadden, on several trips. The latter recommended him as a capable guide and driver to G. T. Smith, who wished to secure the services of some one who could take his wife and baby, and the aged wife of his partner, from Atchison to Denver in 1864, where Smith owned a hardware store. Although but sixteen years of age, young Martin secured the job. This was in 1864, a time when the Indians were on the war path and Smith’s wagon with young Martin as driver, started alone, but joined a freighting outfit numbering some forty wagons and drivers. Just before they reached Ft. Kearney at Big Sandy, they met fleeing Blue River ranchmen, who were hurrying to the nearest settlement, and who told them the Indians were on the war path. They stayed all night at the home of a settler and heard the following day that Indians had murdered the settler’s family and burned their house. The wife of Smith’s partner was insistent on a proper observance of the Sabbath day, and while in the Indian country caused Mrs. Smith to order that their wagon remain in camp over Sunday. The wagon train left them behind and the Lord’s day was properly kept by the women, although they were warned by Martin that it was dangerous to leave the protection of the train. As related by Martin “that was the longest day I ever spent.” About midnight he fed and harnessed the team and started on with the intention of joining the train of eleven men and wagons which had preceded them. At sunrise they reached a lone ranch and its owner, who was postmaster, told Martin the wagons were just ahead, over the first hill. Here he mailed a letter to his mother. On arriving at the hill top Martin was able to see the valley where the train had camped. The wagons were in flames, had been robbed of their contents, a large part of which was whiskey. Two women were taken captives and the eleven freighters had been killed and scalped by Indians. The savages had indulged in the captured whiskey and were so thoroughly stupefied that they were incapable of riding a horse and also failed to follow the wagon which Martin drove. He wheeled his team and drove them at full speed to the nearest ranch and found the buildings burned. They drove on to the next ranch where they secured protection, a company of soldiers arriving there the same day. The officer in command was drunk and refused to attack the red-skins that night when victory would have been easy. When the company reached the scene of the massacre the following day, the Indians were not to be seen. Martin’s next stop was at another ranch and here Mr. Smith joined the wagon, having rushed forward in the belief that Martin had been killed and the women captured by the savages. On parting from his charges Martin was given a plain band gold ring by Mrs. Smith with her blessing. He made several other trips across the plains, the last one with his father, “Uncle Jack” Martin, which took them to Montana. When the Kickapoo Indian reservation was thrown open to purchase, Sidney Martin bought the first section that was sold and several years later he bought the last, becoming the owner of 560 acres in one body. He entered actively into the developing of his raw land and brought it up to a highly productive state. He became widely and favorably known as a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, and from time to time purchased additional acreage until his holdings in land were extensive, owning at one time 747 acres, at the time of his demise. He took an active part in political affairs of his section, and, while disinclined to accept office, was called upon frequently for counsel and advice. He was a man of keen perceptions, knew men and the motives which actuated them, and was a student thoroughly familiar with the questions of the day. He numbered among his close personal friends, Governor Glick. His death occurred on January 3, 1904.

Mr. Martin married on February 20, 1868, Miss Mary Elizabeth White, a daughter of George B., born May 10, 1815, and Mary Elizabeth (Lindsay) White, born December 14, 1820, the former a native of Woodford county, Kentucky, and the latter of Carroll county. They were married January 25, 1839. She died September 25, 1860, while the family was residing in Missouri. After the death of his wife, Mr. White came to Atchison and engaged in the grain business. With S. R. Washer he built the first elevator in the city of Atchison. He died in November, 1900. Mrs. Martin was born on May 15, 1848, while her parents were living in Missouri. On the maternal side she is descended from the Blackburn family, members of which fought with the Continental troops in the war for independence. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Martin became a resident of the city of Atchison, where she has since resided.

Robert M. Thomas.

In every community we find that there are some individuals who seem naturally endowed with the ability to go ahead and do things and take a place of leadership among their associates. Robert M. Thomas is one of those who possess the natural endowments, peculiar to leadership and the ability to make things go with which he is connected. A successful farmer, a good citizen and business man, makes an excellent combination, and Mr. Thomas has made his mark in his community as a progressive and enterprising citizen.

Robert M. Thomas was born in Buchanan county, Missouri, February 2, 1868, a son of Moses and Katie (Critchfield) Thomas, who were born and partly reared in old Kentucky. The parents of both were early settlers of Buchanan county. Moses was the son of Robert Thomas, and the father of his wife was Martin Critchfield. They were Southern born, and were descendants of old Southern families. Moses Thomas was born in 1843, and still resides in Buchanan county; his wife, Katie, was born in 1850, and is still living. The Thomas family has a farm of 140 acres in Buchanan county, upon which was reared a large family of eleven children, nine of whom are living: Robert M.; John, deceased; Walter, living in California; Forrest, residing in St. Joseph, Mo.; Harriet and Cecil, at home; Ollie, deceased; Louise, Margaret, Cora and Ellen, at home with their parents.

R. M. Thomas received his education in the public schools of his native State and assisted his father in the operating of the home farm until 1892, when he married and farmed for three years in Buchanan county, Missouri, and then worked his farm in Platte county, Missouri, for four years. His first purchase of land was in 1899 when he invested in a farm of 120 acres in Buchanan county, which he sold three years later at a profit over the original purchase price. In 1902 he bought another farm, and in 1903 located two and one-half miles northwest of Effingham in Benton township. This farm comprises 160 acres and is now one of the best improved places in the neighborhood. Mr. Thomas did so well in Atchison county that he was enabled to buy another farm of 160 acres in 1912. This farm is located in Grasshopper township, about three miles north of Muscotah. Upon the organization of the Farmers’ Mercantile Company in June, 1913, in which Mr. Thomas took an active part, he assumed the managership of the same and attends to his business during the day, while still making his home at the farm. This plan gives him an excellent opportunity to oversee his farming operations at all times.

Mr. Thomas was married in 1892 to Katie Stanton, of Platte county, Missouri, a daughter of William and Cynthia (Hall) Stanton, natives of Platte county, and of Eastern origin. To this union the following children have been born: William, married Pearl, daughter of Thomas O. Gault, and is managing his father’s farm, two miles north of Muscotah; Clara, a graduate of the Atchison County High School, and a teacher in the public schools; Margaret, Ollie and Jessie, students in the county high school; Elva, Emma, Robert M., and Daisy, attending the district school near their home.

Mr. Thomas is a Democrat in politics and has filled the office of trustee of Benton township one term. He and his family are members of the Christian church. He is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows lodge.

The Farmers’ Mercantile Association, of which Mr. Thomas is the manager, was organized in June of 1913 for the purpose of handling grain, coal, feed and seeds. The capital stock of the concern is $10,000, of which $6,800 is fully paid up. The officers of the association were: President, C. A. Taliaferro; vice-president, Stewart Hefflefinger; secretary and manager, R. M. Thomas; treasurer, C. M. Snyder. The directors are: C. A. Taliaferro, S. Hefflefinger, Charles M. Snyder, John E. Sullivan, R. M. Thomas, E. H. Cawley, W. M. Sutter, R. B. Hawk, Reuben Hargrove. The present officers are the same with the exception that Reuben Hargrove is now serving as the vice-president, and Fred Wyatt was elected to fill the vacancy in the board of directors, caused by the demise of C. A. Taliaferro and Edward High succeeded W. M. Sutter. The concern has a grain elevator with a capacity of 8,000 bushels. The largest shipment of grain made in any one year has exceeded 115,000 bushels.

William McADAM.

William McAdam, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan., was born February 6, 1861, in Sterlingshire, Scotland, and is a son of James and Helen (Macnee) McAdam, who, with their children emigrated from their native country in 1882 and settled on a farm near Effingham in Atchison county, Kansas. They reared a family of five children, of whom William is the oldest, the others being as follows: Mrs. Jane Drummond, of Ellenville, Kan.; George, of Holton, Kan.; Mrs. Nellie Drummond, residing in Cottonwood Falls, Kan.; and James, living at Holton, Kan. The father of these children was born in 1820, and died in 1885, just three years after coming to America. He was a hard-working, industrious farmer. The mother was born in 1839 and departed this life in May, 1899.

William McAdam was twenty-one years of age when the family came to Atchison county and for three years after his arrival here he assisted his parents in the operation of the home farm. He then worked out for one year and began renting land on his own account, renting twelve years in all, five of which were in Jackson county, Kansas. His first purchase of land was a tract of ninety-six acres in Jackson county, which he improved and resided upon until 1907, when he moved to Effingham, where he and his family reside in one of the most attractive homes in the city, located on a tract of ten acres. Mr. McAdam is now the owner of 160 acres of good land south of Effingham, over which he has supervision.

He was married in 1888 to Miss Augusta Sutter, a daughter of Frederick Sutter, now deceased, who was one of the earliest settlers in Atchison county, and who became one of the wealthy land owners of the county. (See sketch of Fred Sutter.) Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McAdam, Fannie and Mabel, both of whom are at home with their parents. The mother of these children was born in Atchison county in 1861.

Mr. McAdam is an independent Democrat, who votes as his conscience dictates, and prefers to support the man rather than any one political party or creed, believing in this manner that better government will result. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is fraternally connected with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Claudius Demont Walker.

The citizen who loves his city to the extent that he is willing to devote his energies toward making it a better abiding place for his fellow men, and does his duty in a public capacity, regardless of criticism or adverse comments, is a man worth while. He whose name heads this review is such an individual. As mayor of Atchison, C. D. Walker made a record which will outlive the present generation; as an attorney he has achieved a signal success and ranks high in the legal fraternity of the State of Kansas; as a religious worker he has accomplished much good of a lasting and enduring quality for the community in which he lives. Born of Kansas pioneer parents, his training and education were such as to prepare him for the career which has made him distinguished among his fellow men; and he has proven that a wholesome example set by noble parents is the best incentive that a man can have to guide him through life.

C. D. Walker was born March 29, 1851, at Greenville, Pa., a son of Harvey and Anna M. Walker, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter a native of Ireland. Harvey Walker, the father, was born in 1820 and was a son of Harvey Walker, a native of the Keystone State, who married at Pittsburgh, Pa., Miss Mary Ann Carr, who was born at Mile End, England. The grandfather of C. D. Walker was a wagon and carriage maker by trade and operated a shop in Greenville for many years. The history of the Walkers in America begins with three brothers who emigrated from the north of Ireland in colonial days. One of whom, Samuel Walker, located near Rochester, N.Y., one, Andrew Walker, settled in Virginia, and one, the great-grandfather of C. D. Walker, settled in Pennsylvania. Being north Ireland people it is practically certain that the Walker family is of Scotch descent, their ancestors having emigrated from the ancestral home of the family to the north of Ireland a few centuries ago when the migration of the protestant people from the Isle of Britain to escape religious persecution occurred. Harvey Walker learned his father’s trade of wagon and carriage making, but worked but little at the business. Imbued with the desire to better his fortunes in the great West, he left the old home of the family in about 1854 and migrated to Oneida, Ill., near which town he purchased a homestead. After farming for a few years he sold out and started overland to the new State of Kansas, which at that time was attracting adventurers from all parts of the country. The family possessions were loaded upon wagons drawn by horses, and in due time the Walkers arrived at Ft. Scott in Bourbon county, Kansas, their destination. During the years ’57–’58–’59, the senior Walker traded with the Indians, and eventually located on a homestead, twelve miles northwest of Ft. Scott. Harvey Walker was a stanch Methodist of the uncompromising type and was unalterably opposed to the institution of slavery. He fearlessly and freely voiced his convictions at every opportunity, and his outspoken tendencies frequently brought trouble upon him from the slavery advocates, who had settled in the neighborhood in considerable numbers. He was always introducing new innovations in farming methods and machinery. It is a matter of history that he owned and used the first rake harvester brought to that part of the country. The slavery advocates and border ruffians annoyed him considerably. They stole his horses, broke up his wagons and farming implements and so pronounced were the threats of the slavery men that Mr. Walker was forced to spend most of his time in Ft. Scott away from his family. He was greatly interested in the success of the anti-slavery propagandists and used great influence in determining the ultimate destiny in Kansas becoming a free State. When the war broke out he decided to move north. In the spring of 1861 he arrived in the city of Atchison, which at that time was a small village, and was induced by Capt. Asa Barnes to locate in Atchison county, where he remained about a year. He afterwards purchased and settled on a tract of land adjoining the town of Winchester, Jefferson county, Kansas. Here he located his permanent Kansas home, and developed a fine farm. Here he raised a large family, and gave his children the best education the school facilities at that time afforded. Harvey Walker was married December 24, 1848, to Anna Mariah Nelson, who bore him the following children, namely: Crandall C., an importer of thoroughbred horses, Sioux City, Iowa; Claudius D., with whose career this review is directly concerned; Marion D., a farmer and fruit grower, living near Midland College, Atchison county; Marvin L., a banker of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Ellis Lytle, living in Washington State; Schuyler R., a farmer of Stillwater Okla.; Harvey Mitchell, an importer of thoroughbred horses of Oklahoma City; William Nelson, a farmer of Stillwater, Okla.; Roland Ferris, who died in infancy; Orlina L., widow of William McKenney, deceased, a hardware merchant of Winchester, Kan., and Anna M., wife of William B. Stevenson, a Methodist minister. The mother of the foregoing children was born in north Ireland, September 24, 1824, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Farris) Nelson. James Nelson was agent for an English estate in Ireland, and was the son of William Nelson and Catherine (Stewart) Nelson. His wife, Elizabeth Farris, was the daughter of Robert and Jane Farris, all of English descent. Anna Mariah Nelson came to America when eight years old with a brother, and went to live with an aunt in Greenville, Pa., while her family settled in Bayfield, Canada. She was educated in the schools at Greenville and afterwards became a teacher in the public school where she was wooed and married by Harvey Walker. Harvey Walker and his noble wife were sturdy God-fearing Christians, and the family prayers were a part of the regular regime of the religious creed followed by them through life. They were ardent Methodists who believed in living faithfully according to the precepts of their religion, and the examples set by their upright and consistent conduct throughout their long lives left an indelible imprint upon the lives of their children, who have endeavored to follow in the footsteps of their parents. Claudius DeMont attended the district school at Winchester, and when eighteen years of age left home to enter Baker University at Baldwin, Kan. After two years of hard work in Baker University he entered the agricultural college at Manhattan, which at that time was a college controlled by the Methodists and had the best facilities of any college of the State of Kansas. Here he spent four years and should have graduated in the class of 1873, but on account of ill health was compelled to leave school before the end of the term. In the fall of 1876 Mr. Walker matriculated in the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. During the year previous to this, he had studied law in the office of Boyce & Boyd in Cincinnati, Ohio, and upon his matriculation at Ann Arbor entered the junior class of the university. He graduated from the law department at Ann Arbor in the class of 1878, and immediately located in Atchison, where he began the practice of his profession. From the very beginning his professional career was a success. In February, 1882, he formed a partnership with Judge Gilbert, which continued until Gilbert’s election to the district bench in the fall of 1887. Since that time Mr. Walker has practiced his profession alone for thirty-four consecutive years, which has been filled with gratifying success. The district records of Atchison county show that for many years Mr. Walker was interested in virtually all of the important cases pending. For many years he was attorney for the First National Bank of Atchison, Kan., together with many other large institutions of the city.

During his long successful legal career, Mr. Walker has not neglected the material side of his affairs and early invested his money in loans and real estate. His investments were so judiciously made that he has become one of the largest land owners of Kansas, and is rated as one of Atchison’s wealthiest citizens. His total holdings in Atchison county will exceed 1,700 acres of farm lands, and he also owns other lands in Texas and western Kansas.

The political and civic career of Mr. Walker has been a noteworthy one and portrays the rugged honesty and public spirited feeling which have actuated him during his whole life. He was first appointed to the office of county auditor by Judge Gilbert in 1888, and served for two years; and was elected to the office of county attorney in 1891, and served in this capacity until 1894. His service as county attorney included the most strenuous years of his life, inasmuch as the court docket was continually crowded during his entire incumbency. This was the time that Coxey’s army of unemployed was making its journey from this part of the country toward Washington and on its way committed all kinds of small crimes, and many arrests were made daily. It was Mr. Walker’s duty to prosecute these numberless cases as they came up for trial which overwhelmed him. He has served as a member of the city council of Atchison several terms, and was mayor for two years, 1911 to 1913. Mr. Walker’s administration of the city’s affairs during his incumbency as the chief executive is considered to have been the best that Atchison ever had in a constructive and law-abiding sense. Several miles of street paving was accomplished and many bad streets were repaved thoroughly and well. The first concrete paving in the city was laid on Division street and done in the best manner possible. The city purchased the finest fire apparatus ever brought to a northeast Kansas city. The West Atchison fire station was built. Three large sewer districts were created and the sewers installed. One of these was the intercepting sewer in White Clay creek. For many years the city of Atchison suffered from the filth and stench of White Clay creek until the same became intolerable. The remedy had been thought impossible, but on Mr. Walker’s election he conceived the plan of installing an intercepting sewer which has proved a great success, and a benefit to the city.

The electric light rate was reduced from 15 to 10 cents per kilowatt, thus saving to the consumer thousands of dollars annually. The street lighting was changed from the half night to the all night moon light schedule, with many new lights added and without a dollar’s increase in expenses. The city was freed from joints and gambling places and houses of ill repute within the first few months after Mr. Walker went into office and remained so during his entire term. As mayor he first raised the question of requiring the mills and other large institutions located along railroads, and the railroads entering the city to light their own premises and yards.

Mr. Walker was the promoter and organizer of the first independent telephone company in the city, which company succeeded in putting the Bell Telephone Company out of business for the time being, and until the Home company was sold to the Bell company in 1911, and a consolidation effected.

Mr. Walker is a Republican and has always taken a more or less active part in his party’s affairs. He was at one time a candidate for Congress from the First Congressional district of the State of Kansas, at the time the three-cornered fight for the nomination between Ex-Governor Bailey, Charles Curtis and C. D. Walker was waged, and a deadlock ensued which lasted for more than one week.

His family life has been an ideal one, and in keeping with the career of the man himself. The marriage of Mr. Walker and Miss Lizzie E. Auld took place June 7, 1881, at Atchison, Kan. One daughter has blessed this union, Isabelle, wife of Louis D. Brockett, a son of B. L. Brockett, a leading lumber merchant of Atchison. Mr. Brockett has charge of the loan business established by Mr. Walker. Mrs. Lizzie Auld Walker was born in Brownsville, Pa., a daughter of William W. and Isabelle Mullen Auld, natives of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The Auld family is one of the oldest of American families. Its members are related closely with the Carrolls of Carrollton, Va., whose ancestors came from north of Ireland and were originally of Scotch ancestry. William W. Auld migrated from Pennsylvania to Atchison, Kan., in, 1872, and was a member of the milling firm of Blair & Auld, from that time until his death in 1895. Mr. Walker has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for over thirty years, and has taken a regular course of Masonry, being a Knight Templar. He is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen, Knights and Ladies of Security, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Royal Arcanum. It is only natural that a man reared in a religious atmosphere, as he has been, should take an active and influential part in church and religious work. Mr. Walker has been a member of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Atchison, since 1880, and has been a liberal and cheerful supporter of this denomination. At present he is chairman of the building committee which has charge of the erection of the new building planned by the church for the ensuing year. Since 1889 he has served as a member of the board of trustees of Baker University, of Baldwin, Kan. In 1908 he was a delegate to the National conference of the Methodist denomination at Baltimore. Successful as a lawyer, having achieved substantial competence in his behalf, made history as a public official, followed the teachings of his Christian parents as regards an upright life and doing his duty in a religious sense, sums up the life career of this useful Atchison citizen.

Alva Curtis Trueblood.

Alva Curtis Trueblood, a former Atchison merchant and city official and Union veteran, now deceased, was born in Salem, Washington county, Indiana, in 1838, a son of Dr. Joshua and Zelpha (Arnold) Trueblood, natives of South Carolina, who emigrated from their native State to Indiana in the early pioneer days when the Indians were still camping on the streams and roaming the forests of the Hoosier State. The parents of A. C. Trueblood settled in Salem and he was there reared to manhood, receiving his education in the district schools and the Seminary at Battle Creek, Mich., where he was graduated. After his graduation in the classical course at Battle Creek, he returned to his home town of Salem and embarked in the newspaper business, purchasing the Salem Times, which he edited until the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted at the first call for troops issued by President Lincoln and was mustered in as a member of Company H, Thirteen regiment, Indiana infantry, under Captain Sales, who was later promoted to the rank of colonel, private Trueblood being successively promoted to a second lieutenancy and then to first lieutenant of his company. Later, he was commissioned a captain and remained Captain Trueblood until the close of the war. He saw much active service during the great rebellion and was under fire with his regiment at the very first battle in which it was engaged, at Green Brier Mountain, W. Va. Captain Trueblood fought in thirty-six terrific battles during his term of service, and was engaged in the nine days’ battle at Cold Harbor under General Grant. Captain Trueblood often gave a vivid and heart-rending description of the terrific slaughter of human lives which took place at this great battle, and told of how a person could walk for miles on the dead bodies with which the field was strewn. His time of enlistment expired while the battle of Cold Harbor was in progress, and he then returned to his home, where he was married December 29, 1864, to Hattie Allen.

Mr. and Mrs. Trueblood resided in Salem, Ind., until after the close of the war when he entered the mercantile business in Salem and was very successful. His health failing him it was deemed advisable that they seek a new home in the West. During his business career he had invested in Atchison county land, and they came to this county in 1880, settling on their farm in the spring of that year. They remained on the farm but a short time, however, until Mr. Trueblood regained his health, in a measure, and then removed to Atchison, where he embarked in the queensware business, which he conducted for about three years. He was then elected city clerk and held this office for about ten years. Captain Trueblood died April 16, 1904. Mr. and Mr. Trueblood have reared the following children: Albert, now engaged in the newspaper business at Sacramento, Cal.; Victor T., manager of the Van Nuys News Company, of Kansas City, Mo.; Paul T., a traveling salesman, residing in Grand Island, Neb.; Owen T., of Kansas City, an express messenger of the Missouri Pacific railroad; Nellie, a graduate of Midland College, and a teacher in the Ingalls school; Norvel died in 1867, at the age of four years. The mother of these children was born in March, 1840, a daughter of Thomas and Annis (Brinkley) Allen, both natives of West Virginia, and pioneer settlers of Washington county, Indiana. She was educated in the common schools of her native county and attended the Salem Female College. Thomas Allen, father of Mrs. Trueblood, was proprietor of a cotton and woolen manufactory at Salem, and was forced to pay Gen. John Morgan and his raiders the sum of $1,000 to prevent the burning of his mill, when Morgan and his troops made their memorable raid and burned the depot at Salem and raided the stores. Thomas Allen and wife were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters. Three of the sons were Union soldiers, William Allen, the twin brother of Mrs. Trueblood, serving in the same regiment with Captain Trueblood.

Mr. Trueblood was an efficient and capable city official during his many years of service in the city clerk’s office and had many warm friends in Atchison. He was allied with the Republican party and was prominent in the affairs of his party. He was well known in Masonic circles and was high in the councils of the Masonic lodge, being master of Washington Lodge, No. 5., of Atchison, Kan., for several years, and was a leading member of the Grand Army of the Republic, both of which bodies officiated at the ceremonies held when his body was laid away for the long rest.

William J. Clem.

William J. Clem, deceased farmer and horticulturist, of Shannon township, was born June 9, 1851, in Randolph county, Virginia, a son of Aaron Clem, who immigrated to Kansas in 1863 and settled on Independence creek, near the Doniphan-Atchison county line. On the farm, which his father owned in this pioneer settlement of Kansas, William was reared to young manhood, and married, after which he lived on a farm in the southern part of Doniphan county for four years, then moved to the Myers farm, which he and his wife purchased some years later and cultivated until March of 1898. In this year he purchased the fine farm which is now owned by his widow and immediately began improving it. This farm consists of sixty acres and lays within a few miles of Atchison in a northwesterly direction. Its acreage is divided as follows: Twenty acres of apples and small fruits, and forty acres of farm land and pasture. Realizing that it was necessary to follow intensive farming on a sixty-acre farm, Mr. Clem set out an orchard of 350 trees, which have been bearing prolifically for several years. An attractive farm residence, set in a fine lawn in which shrubbery and flower beds please the eye, together with a good barn and silo, greets the eye as they stand out on a rise of land. Mr. Clem was a very industrious farmer, a good citizen, and a kind father and husband, and will long be remembered by those who knew him best and were aware of his many excellent qualities. He departed this life on May 26, 1906. He was a member of the Baptist church and a Democrat in politics.

W. J. Clem, and Laura E. Myers, his widow, were married June 16, 1879, and to this union were born children, as follows: Mrs. Effie Randolph, of Atchison, who is the mother of two children, Elizabeth and Bernice; Mrs. Clara Waltz, of Shannon township, and mother of one child, Virginia Frances; Mrs. Addie Underwood, residing on a farm in Shannon township, who has one child, Spencer Eugene; Mrs. Laura Demmel, living near Rushville, Mo., and mother of one son, Raymond; Albert, married Ella Turner, and Edgar, at home; Mrs. Lissa Marie Altauf, of south Tenth street, Atchison; Frances and Jessie, at home. Mrs. Laura E. (Myers) Clem was born June 9, 1859, in Buchanan county, Missouri, a daughter of Augustus and Hulda (Snyder) Myers, natives of Germany and Indiana, respectively. Augustus Myers was born in 1825 and died October 6, 1909. His parents with their family immigrated to this country from Germany in 1831. Augustus was reared on a farm, south of St. Joseph, and was there married. His wife, Hulda, was born in 1831 and died October 8, 1907. She came with her parents to Buchanan county, Missouri, in 1841. There were nine children in the Myers family, namely: Hiram K., deceased; Edward S., deceased; William H., living in Doniphan county; Mrs. Laura E. Clem, with whom this review is directly concerned; Winslow, of Gower, Mo.; Charles W. of Lancaster township, this county; Mrs. Dora Augusta Saeger, of Quincy, Ill.; Mrs. Malinda Frances Underwood, of Shannon township; and Ray Evans, of Seattle, Wash. The Myers family came to Atchison county in August of 1875, living in Atchison until February, 1876, and settled on a farm in Shannon township, which he purchased from Andrew Evans, living on their place near Good Intent, until March of 1891, when the old couple sold their farm to Mr. and Mrs. Clem, and retired to a home in Atchison, where they died. Augustus Myers was a soldier in the Union army and served for a few months under Captain Snyder, an uncle of Mrs. Clem.

Mrs. Clem and her children are all members of the Christian church and take an active part in the social and religious affairs carried on by the large membership of this flourishing denomination. She and her sturdy sons carry on the farming operations in a creditable and profitable manner and are happy and contented. The boys are greatly interested in athletics and were an important part of the winning church baseball team during the season of 1915. A happier nor more contented family can not be found in Atchison county. Mrs. Clem is a capable and intelligent woman who did not hesitate to take over the management of the farm upon her husband’s demise and has made a success of the undertaking.

Jared Copeland Fox.

The late Jared Copeland Fox was one of Atchison’s ablest citizens, public spirited, a successful financier and a familiar figure in the leading circles of the city for many years. Merchant, banker, scholar, a kind husband and father, his demise left a void which can never be filled. Coming of a distinguished family, born October 30, 1841, in Chili, N. Y., his life bears out the oft repeated assertion that lineage and birth have something to do with shaping a man’s destiny, and influencing his career. His parents were Jared Ware and Mercy Chapman (Copeland) Fox. Jared Ware Fox was a son of Alanson and Elizabeth (Ware) Fox. His maternal grandfather was Jonathan Copeland, who married a Miss Wells at Charlton, Mass., who was a direct descendant of Ruth, a daughter of John and Priscilla Alden. On April 2, 1816, Jonathan Copeland was commissioned a captain in the militia and adjutant on the governor’s staff of Massachusetts in 1816. In 1819 he was appointed a brigadier commander of the State militia. After his marriage he removed to New York and was there a colonel in the State militia of New York. He held five different commissions in Massachusetts and New York. The Fox family is of English descent and originally settled in Connecticut. The maiden name of the wife of Col. Jonathan Copeland was Rebecca Edwards and she was a connection of the family of which Rev. Jonathan Edwards was a member. Colonel Copeland had three children: Mercy, Elizabeth and the Rev. Jonathan Copeland, a Congregational minister of New York, who conducted an academy in that city and one of whose pupils was Philip Armour of beef packing fame. Jonathan was born October 16, 1786, died in 1858 in New York; Rebecca was born in 1790, died February 6, 1863, in Kansas.

Alanson Fox, grandfather of Jared C., removed from Connecticut to a farm near Sherburne, N. Y., and here Jared Ware was born December 5, 1810. Rev. Jared Ware Fox was educated for the ministry, studying four years in Oneida Institute and one year in a seminary in New York City, and for fifty years preached the Gospel according to the Congregational faith. In the early days he was sent to Kansas by his church to establish and organize churches in the new towns and cities building up on the broad prairies. He formed a church at Burlingame and Ridgeway, Kan., making his home at the latter place and preaching throughout the country serving churches at Kunwaka, Waveland, Valley Brook and one year at Lawrence. He spent one year in Topeka in charge of a church in the capital city. He was a strong abolitionist and was in his natural element when he first came to Kansas in 1860, the year of the “great drought.” He took an active part in the relief work in Kansas at that time and sent his son, Jared C., then but eighteen years of age, back to Galesburg, Ill., where an old friend of the family resided, to gather potatoes and produce for the sustenance of the drought suffers. He died March 2, 1898, leaving the following children: Charles G., on the old homestead at Ridgeway, Kan.; Jared C.; Irving Dwight, deceased; Herbert Everett, of California; Herman Elliot, Davenport, Iowa. The mother of these children, Mercy C. (Copeland) Fox, was born February 16, 1816, and died April 11, 1893.

Jared C. Fox received an academic education in New York and accompanied his parents to Kansas. At the age of nineteen years he was first employed in a general store conducted by Crosby Brothers at Valley Falls, Kan., at a salary of $150 per year and his board. He yearned for a larger field and came to Atchison in 1862, entering the employ of William Smith, who owned a dry goods store. During a part of the Civil war he served as clerk in the commissary department at Rolla, Mo., under Major Grimes for two years. After the close of the war he was deputy county treasurer under Sam C. King, and upon Mr. King’s resignation from the county treasurership, he was appointed to serve for six months finishing out Mr. King’s unexpired term. He then served as deputy United States marshal under Charles Whiting. For some years previous to embarking in the drug business he was associated in the real estate business with H. Clay Park, former postmaster of Atchison and editor of The Patriot, and now one of the editors of the St. Joseph News. In 1869 Mr. Fox made the business venture which was the turning point of his fortunes and launched him on the high road to financial success. He entered into partnership with W. C. McPike, S. C. King and Frank Allen in the wholesale drug business. Later Mr. Fox and Mr. McPike became the sole owners of the business, Mr. Fox disposing of his interest to T. M. Walker and the firm removed to Kansas City, where it is still doing business under the name of the McPike Drug Co. Mr. Fox became interested in banking and at the time of his death was vice-president of the Atchison Savings Bank, the oldest State bank in Kansas. He conducted a loan business as his financial resources increased in strength and he became one of Atchison’s wealthy citizens.

On December 22, 1868, Mr. Fox was married to a charming southern lady, Miss Virginia Alexina Tortat. This union was blessed by the birth of five children as follows: Jared Copeland, Jr., manager of the Howard Manufacturing Co., of Atchison, and father of eight children, Virginia Parker, Marjorie Parker, Jared Copeland, Jr., Parker, Amelia Joanna, Lawton, Edith and William Horan; Edith Fox Jackson, wife of Judge W. A. Jackson, and mother of two children, Jared Fox and Edmund Valentine; Henry Irving, wholesale druggist at Wichita, Kan., and father of Everett Cranson, Florence, Mary Anne and Sarah Virginia Fox; William Tortat, assistant cashier in the Atchison Savings Bank, and father of one daughter, Mary; Florence, at home with her mother. The mother of these children, Mrs. Virginia Fox, was born at Eufaula, Ala., December 20, 1847, a daughter of Henri Sylvest and Nancy (Decker) Tortat. Henri S. Tortat was born in October, 1811, in France. He was destined to be a clergyman by his parents, but, having no intention to enter the priesthood, took part in the three days’ revolution against Charles X. He left home and joined an uncle who was an officer in the French army of occupation in Algiers in 1833. He came to America in 1836 when a young man and was married at Wiscassett, Me., to Nancy Decker, whom he met at Boston, Mass. After his marriage he took his bride to Charleston, S. C., and thence to Eufaula, Ala., and conducted a merchandise store there until he was induced to join a colony of southern people who were going to Kansas in May, 1857. When he came to Kansas he first took up a homestead claim and then purchased a bakery at Tecumseh, Shawnee county, but died July 6, 1858, before he could get fairly settled in the new country. Seven children were born to and reared by Henri and Nancy Tortat: Henri Alexis, deceased; Mrs. Amelia Caroline Barry, deceased; Mrs. J. C. Fox; Jean Paul, deceased; Augusta makes her home with Mrs. Fox; William Marshall, Peabody, Mass.; Mary died at the home of Mrs. Fox. Six years after Mr. Tortat’s demise, the mother and children removed to Atchison, where she died December 20, 1864.

In his younger days Mr. Fox was a Republican, but later became a Democrat and was a strong Cleveland adherent. He was a supporter of President Theodore Roosevelt during his first administration. He was a staunch supporter of Woodrow Wilson when Wilson was a candidate for the Presidency, but was generally broad minded in his political views. He was a member of Washington lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Knights Templar, a Mystic Shriner and an Odd Fellow; he was reared in the Congregational church atmosphere but after marriage chose to attend the Episcopalian church with his wife. His death occurred August 23, 1914, when a strong and noble character passed to the great beyond. Mr. Fox was blessed with a singularly happy temperament which manifested itself even on his bed of illness; he was always good humored and had a strong sense of humor which, combined with a kindly disposition, made him a prime favorite with his friends and acquaintances. He was a great reader, an expert accountant, possessed a strong memory and was a Shakespearean scholar, quoting from Shakespeare while lying on his couch awaiting the last summons, and also quoting the Twenty-first Psalm on his last day on earth. He served the city as a member of the city council and was president of the school board for a term, being of material assistance in handling their financial affairs, because of his genius in this direction.

James Emery Pennington.

The Western Advocate, Mankato, Kan., in an issue of July, 1899, has this to say in part regarding one of the most remarkable family reunions ever held in Kansas or anywhere in the country: “Without doubt the most remarkable family reunion ever held in Jewell county has been for the past week at Burr Oak and among the various members of the family in that vicinity. It is the reunion of the eleven children, together with many of the sixty-four grand children of the late James Pennington and Susan Wisdom Pennington. The Pennington family is a Southern family, the elder Pennington being a native of Tennessee, and his wife of North Carolina. All of the eleven children, however, with the exception of the oldest son, were born and raised in Missouri. The Pennington family is remarkable in that there were just eleven children and they are all living and enjoying good health, although the youngest is now fifty years of age, the eldest being a little past seventy. These family reunions, which are an annual event, prove that the family tree, nourished by the good old warm Southern blood, is still bearing the fruits of hospitality and good cheer. Once a year they get together, parents, children and grand children, and the ties of family, of kinship, and affection are drawn a little closer. Hearts are cheered, lives are brightened and days are lengthened.” Speaking of the gathering on Saturday of the reunion week, the Western Advocate goes on to say: “On this day a company of one hundred gathered around the banquet board, and the eleven brothers and sisters were weighed and their combined weight found to be 1,832 pounds, an average of 166 pounds each.”

The father of this remarkable family was James Pennington, a native of Tennessee, born in that State in 1822, and was there married to Susan Wisdom. They migrated to Missouri in the early thirties and settled in Nodaway county, developing a fine farm until the discovery of gold in California. James then set out across the plains and mountains to the gold fields of the New Eldorado in quest of fortune. While in California he became a freighter and transported flour and provisions to the mining camps afoot. He would carry a fifty pound sack of flour a distance of sixteen miles and was paid at the rate of $50 per sack for transportation, the flour costing $50 per sack at the point of purchase and being valued at $100 when it was taken to its destination by the carrier. James, Sr., remained in California until 1851 and then returned to his home and family in Missouri, where he lived the remainder of his days, dying in 1878, in Platte county. James and Susan Pennington were the parents of eleven children as follows: William W., born in 1837, died February, 1913, at Lebanon, Kan.; John Thomas, California, born in 1839; Mrs. Telitha Thorp, Marysville, Mo., born in 1841; Mrs. Julia Denney, Benedict, Kan., born in 1842; Mrs. Clementine Conner, Santa Ana, Cal., born in 1844, a widow; Mrs. Nancy Miller, California, born in 1845, a widow; James Emery, with whom this review is directly concerned; Mrs. Sarah Robertson, Elk City, Okla., born in 1849; Mrs. Mary Robertson, Burr Oak. Kan., born in 1853; Mrs. Cynthia Jane Judy, Burr Oak, born in 1855; Mrs. Rocksinah Graves, Burr Oak, Kan., born in 1857.

James Emery Pennington, retired farmer of Potter, Kan., was born on a farm in Nodaway county, Missouri, October 30, 1847. He was reared on the farm in Missouri until seventeen years of age, and he then left home and crossed the plains. The occasion of his going was because of the fact that two brothers and three brothers-in-law had already enlisted in the Union army for service in the Civil war, and the father felt that he could not spare his son, James E., so it was agreed between father and son that the boy should go west for a time. He made his way across the Missouri to Ft. Leavenworth and there joined an overland freight train which was bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. At that time all the freight and merchandise west of the Missouri river was transported in wagons, drawn by horses, mules or oxen. These wagons were loaded with from six to twelve thousand pounds of merchandise and were drawn by teams ranging in numbers from twelve to twenty-four animals. From twenty to forty men, wagons and teams constituted what was then known as a “freight train.” The train to which young Pennington attached himself consisted of forty wagons, forty teamsters, two wagon masters, four assistants, two night herders, and two extras, in all, fifty men, four hundred and ninety oxen and a few horses for herding purposes. Being a farmer boy and having a working knowledge of animals, young Pennington soon made himself indispensable to the outfit and received the name of “Our Boy” from the other men in charge of the train. The train proceeded its long way over the plains of Kansas and followed the valley of the South Platte to the Rockies without mishap, other than a few Indian skirmishes. In October of 1864, “Our Boy” stood on the crest of the Rockies with one foot on the Atlantic and one foot on the Pacific slope. Winter soon came on and stock perished and they arrived at their destination in the dead of severe winter. Young Pennington spent the winter in the home of a Mormon family, consisting of a Mormon and his seven wives. From Utah he went north into Idaho and Montana, and in that region took up his favorite pursuit of freighting, which he followed for four years. His operations were mainly from Ft. Benton, the head of navigation on the Missouri river, to which point the river steamers carried the freight destined for the mining camps of the mountain regions. He, with others, transported the first quartz mill to the mining camp, later widely known as Butte City, Mont. He returned home in 1869 and lived there for three years, coming to Kansas in 1872. He had saved some capital which he brought with him to Atchison county, and invested this money in a herd of cattle which he grazed upon the free ranges, in this manner getting his first real start in life, and which was the beginning of his later prosperity. After his marriage in 1872 to Elizabeth Snoddy, he and his wife settled on the home farm of the Snoddy’s, and at the end of one year the father of Mrs. Pennington deeded the young couple eighty acres of land which became the nucleus of their present acreage. This land is four miles east and one-half mile south of Potter. Leavenworth county, and the farm has been increased to 320 acres of well improved land. Mr. Pennington removed to Potter in the spring of 1916, from the farm in Leavenworth county, and has recently completed a fine, modern, ten-room residence which will serve as his future domicile during the remainder of his days.

James E. Pennington was married February 1, 1872, to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Brown) Snoddy, the former a native of Tennessee, and the latter a native of Missouri. Thomas Snoddy first came to Kansas in 1854, and preëmpted the farm which he improved and where his children were reared. He was a Mexican war veteran and the Government gave him for his services a grant of land in northwestern Missouri, which he sold for $1,600, and with the proceeds of the sale built his home on his preëmption in Kansas. The upper part of the house was used as headquarters for the Kickapoo Masonic lodge for many years. Thomas Snoddy was born August 27, 1825, and died October 8, 1909. His remains were interred in the Round Prairie cemetery. A remarkable fact about the Snoddy house is, that the roof existed without repairs for over fifty-five years and at the time of its repair by Mr. Pennington, the excellence of the material which went into the building of the house excited newspaper comment. Mrs. Pennington was born on September 25, 1856, and lived her whole life on the farm which her father preëmpted.

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James Emery Pennington: Rebecca, wife of William Ehart, of Atchison county, Kansas; Bessena, wife of Joseph James, of Atchison county, a farmer and horse and mule dealer; Roxie, wife of John Goff, of Potter, Kan., a thresher and farmer; Thomas W., living on the home farm; Frank P., a lumber merchant, of Burr Oak, Kan., who was associated with his father in the grain business in Potter, in 1906; George, a farmer living in Leavenworth county; Mamie, a student in the Potter High School.

Mr. Pennington, with others in his neighborhood, organized and placed in operation the Farmers’ Elevator Company, of which he was president. This concern built the Potter grain elevator and later sold it to H. A. Ode. He has long been identified with the Democratic party, but has never sought political preferment of any kind. At the time of the organization of the Potter High School district, Mr. Pennington was one of the prime movers in the building of the new high school building. Perhaps the best known trait of this grand old pioneer is his inherent hospitality, which has made him famous and one of the best loved men in his section of the State. Concerning a great Christmas celebration held at the Pennington home in 1911, the Atchison Globe, of December 27, 1911, says:

“J. E. Pennington, a well known farmer of the Round Prairie neighborhood, south of town, always provides a big entertainment for his immediate friends and relatives every Christmas, and spares no pains or expense to make these annual affairs highly enjoyable. The late holiday was no exception to the rule. On Monday quite a crowd gathered at Mr. Pennington’s home, as usual, and spent a day of merriment. A big Christmas tree loaded with almost everything conceivable in the way of holiday gifts, was provided by Mr. Pennington; a big dinner was also served, and in the afternoon the men indulged in a hunt. A long wire was stretched across a field, with a horse hitched to each end of it. The wire was thus dragged across the field and in this manner all of the rabbits were scared up. The men followed behind the wire and shot the rabbits as they jumped out. Four jack rabbits were scared up and one of them killed; also many cottontails. It is said that Mr. Pennington expended nearly $200 on this affair. He is a very prosperous farmer and is noted for his hospitality.”

Dr. Earl A. Gilmore.

Dr. Earl A. Gilmore, veterinary surgeon, of Effingham. Kan., was born September 27, 1887, at Ames, Iowa, a son of William T. and Jerusha (Norton) Gilmore. His father was born in 1850, in New York State, and when an infant accompanied his father, George Gilmore, to Iowa. His mother was born at Zearing, Iowa, November 10, 1855, and died March 7, 1898. William J. was reared on the pioneer farm in Iowa, and was able when a young man to take advantage of the opportunity to amass wealth in the new and rich State, which was being developed during his day and lifetime. He was married September 5, 1869. He became one of Iowa’s most prosperous farmers, and in his later days, when he retired from active farm work, he traveled extensively throughout the country, visiting many points in the West, and the Philippine Islands. On February 1, 1915, while aboard a Missouri Pacific train en route to Kansas City, the train was wrecked, and he was injured to such an extent that he was laid up in the hospital at Kansas City for several weeks, and then returned to his home at Ames, Iowa. There were ten children in the Gilmore family: Mrs. Uretta Stevens, of Star City, Mich.; Mrs. Maria Pellersells, of Grand Rapids, Wis.; Maines Gilmore, now in Alaska; Charles, of Greeley, Colo.; George, living in Iowa; William, a college professor at Winnipeg, Canada; Earl A., the subject of this review; Mrs. Eva Burton, of Ames, Iowa; Ella, deceased: one child died in infancy. The mother of these children was a daughter of Isaac Gilmore, a native of Ireland. The Gilmore family is also of Irish descent, all four of Dr. Gilmore’s grandparents having emigrated from the Emerald isle.

Earl A. Gilmore was educated in the Nevada (Iowa) High School, and studied at Drake University for one year; the Iowa State College at Ames for two and one-half years; then studied for two years in the Kansas City Veterinary College, graduating April 16, 1912. His funds being exhausted, when he decided to become a veterinary surgeon, he found it necessary to work his way through his final college course, by doing reportorial work on the staff of the Kansas City Star. Upon his graduation he immediately located in Effingham and has built up an extensive practice in his profession, covering a territory of twelve miles, north and south, and nine miles, east and west.

Dr. Gilmore is a member of the Missouri Valley Veterinary Association, and the National veterinary fraternity, the Kansas City chapter of the Delta Alpha Psi. He is a Republican in politics and is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge and the Knights and Ladies of Security. Dr. Gilmore takes a keen and active interest in the civic welfare of Effingham and is usually found in the forefront of undertakings which are intended to promote the best interests of the city.

Alfred Jonathan Harwi.

In writing the history of a city and county such as Atchison, the reviewer very naturally finds that among the large number of men who have had much to do with the upbuilding of the community, and who can be counted among the really successful men of the period covered, there are few who stand out preëminently among their fellows, and whose individuality looms far above the average, and who are noted not only for their individual accomplishments on their own behalf, but who have performed deeds which have endeared their memory to posterity for generations to come. In this respect we must consider the late Alfred Jonathan Harwi, founder of the great A. J. Harwi Hardware Company, millionaire, statesman, and philanthropist, of Atchison. Mr. Harwi will long be remembered as one of the leading figures in the business world of Atchison. He was a pioneer in the establishment of the great wholesale houses which have made Atchison famous over the western country. Beginning his career a poor man, endowed with financial and business ability of a high order, blessed with a keen foresight into the future, having confidence in the ultimate development of the country, tireless and industrious in all his undertakings, he achieved a truly remarkable success, and through it all he was a man among men, who never lost the respect and regard of his fellow men because of his great success in the realms of business and finance.

Alfred Jonathan Harwi was born at Ritterville, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1847, the eldest of four sons, born to Michael and Lucretia Harwi. One of the children died in infancy, and the others, Edwin C. and W. H., followed Alfred J. to Atchison and became associated with him in the hardware business which he had established. Edwin C. died September 4, 1903, and Wilson H. Harwi died May 30, 1911. A sister died in Pennsylvania when but a child. Michael Harwi followed the trade of carpenter in heavy construction work during his life, and was engaged in the building of canal locks in the days when the construction of internal waterways was in vogue. He was also a farmer, and at the time of his death was engaged in quarrying and contracting for slate. His sons having all come to the West, he made preparations to join them here in Atchison, but on the point of his departure on October 8, 1882, he was taken ill and died. His widow, Lucretia Harwi, then came to Atchison and resided here with her children until her demise, in November, 1904.

A. J. Harwi received his education in the schools of his native State, attending the district school of his neighborhood until ten years of age, then becoming a student at a Moravian school in Bethlehem, which was located four miles from his home and required him to walk the distance across a mountain both morning and evening. After spending two years in diligent study in this institution he entered a general store at Bethlehem for the purpose of acquiring business experience. However, while learning the art of barter and trade over the counters of the general store he did not neglect the cultivation of his mind. He read, listened and learned, and in his spare time continued his studies until his mind was broadened and he became a man of advanced thought, learned to read and judge his fellow men, and acquire a refinement and polish which in later years assisted him in his undertakings and enabled him to command the respect of his fellows. His ambition was to eventually engage in business for himself, and he saved his money to this end, and in 1868, when he was twenty-one years of age, he became a partner in the furniture business with J. B. Zimmele, but sold out two years later and hearkened to the advice of Horace Greeley, who said: “Go west, young man, go west, and grow up with the country.” While at Bethlehem Mr. Harwi married Cora Wheeler, with whose father he became associated in the hardware and implement business at Butler, Mo. When this partnership was dissolved a few years later, Mr. Harwi went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and for a few months was a clerk in a hardware store. In the year 1875 he came to Atchison equipped with considerable commercial experience, but having little capital. He and C. H. Dearborn began a retail hardware business in a small way in the building at 408 Commercial street. The concern prospered from the start and its success was undoubtedly due to Mr. Harwi’s intelligence and common-sense business methods and his wonderful capacity for hard and unremitting work. This hardware business soon became one of the leading local business enterprises of the rapidly growing city of Atchison. Like other men who have been successful in life, Mr. Harwi was visionary, but his vision did not take on the dream-like character. It was practical and foresaw the inevitable development of the western country and an increased demand for all kinds of products as the country became more and more settled. He believed in common with others of the period that Atchison was destined to become the gateway and the distributing point for a large section of territory. Acting upon this sound, practical belief in the early eighties when the retail business had assumed large proportions and necessitated expansion in other ways, he conceived the idea of engaging in the jobbing business. He did so, and again his wonderful business acumen and ability came into play, with the result that the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company is known throughout the West and middle West, and has done a noteworthy part in making Atchison famous as a wholesale center. The result of its founder’s vision and industry is one of the great wholesale houses of the West, represented by about twenty traveling salesmen covering four States, while over fifty local employes are engaged to handle the vast amount of office work and the great warehouse and shipping details incident to such an important commercial institution as the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company has developed into within thirty-five years. Their commodious four-story office and warehouse building, located on the corner of Commercial and Ninth streets, is one of the handsome modern business houses of Atchison. One can begin to realize the scope and extent of this business when he stops to think that it requires 75,000 feet of floor space to afford ample warehouse facilities. In 1889 the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000.

Mr. Harwi was three times married. His first wife, Cora Wheeler, whom he married in Bethlehem, left one daughter, Mrs. E. P. Ripley, of Boston. His second marriage was with Elizabeth Whitehead, of Atchison, in 1873, to which union two children were born: Mrs. H. P. Shedd, of Bensonhurst, Long Island, and Frank E., president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company. The mother of these children died October 14, 1907. Mr. Harwi’s third marriage occurred June 3, 1909, to Mrs. Mary E. Holland, who survives him. Mr. Harwi passed away September 5, 1910. During his later years the stress of business and the ceaseless activity which had been his lot during life began to tell upon him, and for over twenty-five years prior to his demise he was a sufferer from locomotor ataxia. The things which he accomplished necessarily demanded that he be a hard and tireless worker, but he never spared himself, and at a time when he should have begun to conserve his bodily strength he worked the hardest, with the result that his span of life was shortened under what it might have been.

It is not alone through the magnificent mercantile concern which Mr. Harwi conceived and built up that he is known, but he was a public spirited gentleman who contributed generously to charity and philanthropic work. Although he accumulated wealth outside of his business to exceed a half million dollars and loaned out considerable money on mortgages, he was never known to have taken advantage of a debtor and to foreclose a mortgage. Although he was a member of the Congregational church, he was a trustee of Midland College, Atchison, and established and endowed the Harwi scholarship prizes, which have been of inestimable benefit to many young students. He was one of the trustees of the Atchison County High School at Effingham, and was also a warm advocate of providing well for the education of the youth of the community. Mr. Harwi was elected State senator from the Atchison district in 1884, but did not allow his duties as legislator to interfere with his business affairs, it being his custom while the legislature was in session to spend the day in the legislative halls at Topeka, return home and spend the greater part of the night in the supervision of the business. His ability as a legislator came naturally into the limelight, and there was talk of running him as the party’s candidate for governor of the State, but this talk met with little encouragement from Mr. Harwi, inasmuch as he was wrapped up heart and soul in the reorganized Harwi Hardware Company at the time, the project demanding all of his time and energy.

Frank Edwin Harwi.

Frank Edwin Harwi, president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company, is one of Atchison’s live young citizens who is following in the footsteps of his highly successful father. Mr. Harwi is in charge of the extensive wholesale hardware concern founded and built up by his father, A. J. Harwi. Frank E. Harwi was born October 11, 1884, in Atchison. He received his education in the public schools of his native city and in the Andover Preparatory School at Andover, Mass. He matriculated as a freshman at Yale University, but was called home by the illness of his father, and he became his father’s assistant for the ensuing year. In 1905 he entered the sophomore class of Kansas University, but gave up his college course in 1906 to enter his father’s hardware establishment, and upon his father’s demise took over the active management of the concern and became president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company.

Mr. Harwi was married September 30, 1908, to Miss Florence Cain, a daughter of John M. and Lucy Cain. To this union two children have been born: Alfred J., born August 22, 1909, and Lucy E., born January 12, 1912. John M. Cain, father of Mrs. Harwi, was born July 30, 1839, at Castletown, Isle of Man. He was educated in the select schools of his native island, learned the carpenter’s trade and emigrated from the Isle of Man in 1856, locating in Kansas, where he was successively farmer, soldier, merchant and banker. He was a volunteer soldier in the company organized by A. S. Speck and Asa Barnes, and was accepted for service in 1862, enlisting in Capt. P. H. McNamara’s company, of which he became sergeant, and upon the organization of the regiments of colored troops he was appointed first lieutenant of a company in the Eighty-third regiment, colored infantry. He was afterwards commissioned a captain and did splendid service throughout the Civil war. After the close of the war he farmed in Atchison county, became a merchant, and was connected with the old Atchison State Bank. He died in 1897. Mr. Cain was married May 15, 1879, to Lucy Neerman, a daughter of Frank and Isabella (Rust) Neerman. The following children were born of this marriage Eva, wife of Foster Branson, of River Forest, Ill.; Ralph R., a banker, at Ada, Okla.; Florence, wife of Frank E. Harwi; John Milton, with the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company: William O., an attorney in Atchison, and Alfred Neerman, deceased.

Mr. Harwi is an independent in politics. He was one of the organizers of the Atchison Commercial Club and served as president of this thriving organization in 1913, and is at present a member of its board of directors. He is a member of the board of trustees of Midland College and is a member of the Atchison city board of education. He has likewise been one of the trustees of the Atchison city hospital since its establishment. While the responsibilities connected with the conduct of the great business establishment thrust upon his shoulders at the demise of his father have been such as would probably daunt the young man of average ability, Mr. Harwi has shown that he fully measures up to the requirements of his important position in the mercantile world and has made a reputation on his own individual account as a business head of decided executive ability of a high order.

Joseph Trompeter.

When Joseph Trumpeter departed this life Effingham lost one of its best and most-highly respected citizens and his family suffered the lost of a kind and industrious husband and father, whose sole ambition in life was to provide well for his kindred and those dependent upon him for a livelihood, and to accomplish his purpose in the most honorable and upright manner possible. To him fell the task of erecting the first county high school building in Effingham, and many of the most pretentious dwellings of the city were built by him. He was one of the widely known and successful contractors of the county, whose operations extended over a wide stretch of territory, and whose work was always strictly up to a certain high standard and honestly performed.

Mr. Trompeter was born June 15, 1857, in Prussia, Germany, and when ten years of age he accompanied his parents to America. His father was Maurice Trompeter, who settled on a farm in Illinois and who went from Illinois to Texas, but after a short residence in that State returned to Illinois, where he passed the remainder of his days. Joseph was reared to young manhood in Illinois and there married Hannah Sowers. He also went to Texas and removed from there to Horton, Kan. His father before him was a carpenter and Joseph learned his trade and followed it, becoming a contractor and builder when a young man. He erected several court houses in Texas, and built several school buildings and church edifices in Kansas. His first wife died in Horton, Kan., eight children being born to this union, of whom two are living, namely: Mrs. Tina Demmer, of Effingham. Kan.; Mrs. Bertha Wallace, also residing in Effingham. Mr. Trumpeter removed to Effingham, and at once engaged in building and contracting on an extensive scale. He erected all the buildings on the main street of the town, on the north side of the street, running from the banners and Merchants Bank building to the newspaper office, at the end of the block. He also built the greater part of the finer residences in Effingham and it is due to his handiwork and taste that the city presents such an attractive appearance to the visitor. In the spring of 1912 he and the family moved to his farm of 160 acres southeast of Effingham on which with his own hands Mr. Trompeter erected a handsome farm dwelling and fitted it with all modern improvements, adding an attractive barn at the same time. He did not live to enjoy the comforts of his new home long, however, as illness brought on by overwork, caused him to take to his bed and his demise occurred August 19, 1915.

His second marriage was with Louise Richter, on November 8, 1892, at Effingham. Four children were born of this marriage, namely: Amelia, John, James and Mary, all of whom are at home with their mother. Mrs. Trompeter was born in Austria, in 1874, a daughter of John, born September 2, 1852, and Amelia (Wohletz) Richter, born May 31, 1849. The Richters are of German birth and immigrated to America in 1882, first residing in Atchison and then coming to Effingham. For twenty-eight years Mr. Richter was employed in railroad work on the Central Branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Richter now make their home with their daughter, Mrs. Trompeter, and assist in the farming operations. The Richter children are as follows: Mrs. Joseph Trompeter; Domineck, conducting a meat market in Effingham; Leapold, living at Tacoma, Wash., also a builder and contractor; Mrs. Amelia Hansen, residing in Texas; Mrs. Anna Royer, Tacoma, Wash. There are eleven grand children in the Richter family.

Mr. Trompeter was affiliated with the Democratic party, but was never a seeker after political preferment. He was a member of the Catholic church, and was fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen. Throughout his life he was an industrious and hard-working citizen who did his duty as he saw it and lived an upright and honest life. He was prominently identified with the civic life of Effingham and was highly respected for his many excellent qualities.

Joseph N. Arthur.

Joseph N. Arthur, automobile salesman and garage proprietor, of Effingham, Kan., is one of the progressive and enterprising business men of the second city of Atchison county. Signal success has attended his efforts during the years he has been a resident of Atchison county. He embarked in the automobile business and established a garage in Effingham, despite the fact that predictions were made that the venture would not be a success, and Mr. Arthur as a result is the recognized pioneer automobile man of his part of the county. Since taking the agency for the Ford cars in 1912, he has sold over half the total of Ford cars sold in the county and vicinity. Mr. Arthur first started in business in 1910 and established a small garage in the rear of his real estate office. His business grew to such an extent that larger quarters became necessary, and in 1913 he erected a large concrete building, forty by eighty feet in extent, in which is incorporated his office, display and repair rooms. He employs a skilled mechanic, assistant and driver. Mr. Arthur handles the Dodge Brothers, the Maxwell, and Ford automobiles.

J. N. Arthur was born June 3, 1869, near Corning, Adams county, Iowa, and is a son of John and Martha Arthur, natives of Ohio. Both parents were reared in the old Buckeye State, and were early pioneer settlers in Iowa, coming from Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1855, and driving overland via the ox team route, with all their movable possessions loaded on wagons en route from St. Joseph, Mo., to their destination in Adams county, Iowa. John Arthur homesteaded Government land in Adams county and preëmpted along the river where timber and water were plentiful. He prospered as the years went on and the country became more and more settled, and he became the owner of over 800 acres of excellent Iowa farm lands. He resided in Adams county, Iowa, until his demise, in 1907.

John Arthur settled on the banks of a river for the purpose of having timber, fuel and water, three essentials in keeping alive in the then sparsely settled country in the southwestern part of Iowa. He built a log cabin of logs hewn from trees chopped down with his own hands and chinked the cracks and crevices with mud. When he preëmpted his first tract of land in Iowa he had a yoke of oxen, $10 in money and a favorite bull-dog, things which he was fond of telling about as he grew older and more prosperous. During his fifty-two years of residence in Iowa he accumulated 800 acres of land and had money loaned out to the amount of $10,000. He was the father of eleven children, nine of whom grew to maturity, each of whom as he married was assisted by the father to settle on a farm of his own, and all have prospered—an enviable record for a pioneer family to make.

Joseph N., with whom this review is directly concerned, was reared on the Iowa farm, and knew something about the hardships of the pioneer days in his boyhood. He attended the district school in his neighborhood, and followed farming until he engaged in the implement business in his home county for some years, with a fair degree of success. He left his native State in 1904 and came to Effingham, Kan., purchasing 120 acres of land about one and one-half miles distant from Effingham in Atchison county. One year later he embarked in the real estate business, in partnership with B. F. Snyder. This partnership lasted for two years and then Mr. Arthur engaged in the business for himself. He also began to write insurance, and was reasonably successful in both the real estate and insurance business. He erected a brick building for his office quarters, and, when automobile owners multiplied in Effingham and vicinity he foresaw the need of a repair shop and established one in the rear of his real estate office. He soon afterward rented an abandoned garage and hired a mechanic to do the repair work. It was not long until larger quarters became necessary, and he built as told in a preceding chapter. In July of 1915, Mr. Arthur disposed of his insurance business, and has since devoted his energies entirely to the automobile business.

He was married in 1892 to Lillie M. Ramsey, daughter of Newton Ramsey, a pioneer settler of Adams county, Iowa, and a Union veteran of the Civil war. Four children have blessed this union: Pearl, aged twenty-one years; Jennie, aged eighteen years, and a teacher of music, and an accomplished musician; Le Roy, nine years of age; Charles, three years old. Three children are deceased: Chester A. died at the age of eight years; Milton died at the age of eighteen months; Blanche died at the age of nine months.

Mr. Arthur is a Republican in politics, and has identified himself more or less with the civic life of his adopted community, and is considered as one of Effingham’s best boosters and live wires. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, contributes to the support of the same, and is affiliated with the Odd Fellows lodge and the Knights and Ladies of Security.

Don Carlos Newcomb.

It is a pleasure for the biographer to write a story of the life of a man who has arrived at the evening of life and be able to record something really worth while for the benefit of posterity. The life annals of a man who has succeeded in making a name for himself, achieving a well deserved competence, and been of some use to his community, and has arrived at the time of life when he can look back over the vista of the busy years that have passed, is interesting to a high degree. In D. C. Newcomb, pioneer merchant and patriarch, of Atchison, we find embodied that spirit of the West which enabled men to build up this great country and to achieve things of importance in the business and civic world. Mr. Newcomb loves his home city, its people and prestige and is proud of its standing among the cities of the West. He has had no small part in the upbuilding of Atchison, and it would have been better in the days gone by if the city had more men like him to assist its growth. Ever ready to contribute to any enterprise which might help the growth of the city, his liberality and boosting proclivities became proverbial, and it has oft been a saying of his that Atchison could just as well have been a city of fifty or sixty thousand inhabitants as to be its present size. Such men as he are of decided benefit to any community.

D. C. Newcomb, a pioneer merchant of Atchison, perhaps has had as much to do with the commercial development of Atchison county for the past half century as any other man within its borders. When Mr. Newcomb came to Atchison county in 1858 it was a difficult matter to tell whether Atchison, or its rival town, Sumner, was to be the chief town of the county. Sumner was a thriving frontier town, but Mr. Newcomb picked Atchison as the winner and time has demonstrated that his judgment was sound. D. C. Newcomb was born in Washington county, Vermont, on Friday, July 13, 1836, and is a son of Hosea and Harriet (Bixby) Newcomb, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter a native of Roxbury, Mass., born in 1805. Hosea Newcomb was born in 1803 and came from a prominent New England family of English descent. The Newcomb family was founded in New England in 1635 by Francis Newcomb and his wife, who came from England and located in New England at that time. It is recorded that they made the voyage on a sailing vessel named “Planter.” Hosea Newcomb, the father of D. C., was prominent in the affairs of his native town, Waitsfield, Vt., where he remained until 1859, when he came to Kansas, settling at the new town of Sumner, now extinct, in Atchison county. He took an active part in the early-day development of that promising frontier town and served as postmaster there. However, he returned to Vermont in 1873, where he died in 1889, at the age of eighty-six, and his wife passed away March 17, 1903, age ninety-seven years, eight months and one day.

D. C. Newcomb was one of a family of five children and is now the only one living, except a sister, Mrs. Lydia M. Shephard, of Minneapolis. A brother, Dan J. Newcomb, was a very early settler in Atchison county, coming here some time before D. C. arrived. He was prominent in the organization of Atchison county and was the first register of deeds of the county, D. C. serving as his deputy. D. C. Newcomb was reared in the town of Waitsfield, Vt., where he attended the public schools and later was a student at Newbury Seminary. In early life he clerked in a store at Johnson, Vt., and also clerked for a time in Montpelier, Vt. In 1858 he came to Atchison county and first landed at Sumner, but immediately went to Atchison, and, although the latter town was also in its early stages of development, the location impressed Mr. Newcomb so favorably that he determined to locate there. Soon after coming here he was appointed deputy register of deeds and served in that capacity for three years. He then engaged in clerking in a store, and in 1864 entered into partnership with Samuel Gard, who had been a fellow clerk of his, and they organized the firm of Gard & Newcomb and engaged in the mercantile business. Their capital was limited, perhaps less than $2,500, but they were two industrious young men and had a reputation for honesty and square dealing, which was an important asset. Mr. Newcomb went to New York and bought a stock of goods valued at about $15,000, mostly on credit, and at the end of the first year they had paid for every dollar’s worth of goods which they had bought in the meantime and had a stock of about $15,000 worth on hand. The partnership arrangement continued about four years, when Mr. Newcomb purchased his partner’s interest, who desired to dispose of his business on account of failing health. Mr. Newcomb continued in business alone and conducted the great Newcomb department store, the business of which developed far beyond his most fanciful dreams. Mr. Newcomb continued in the mercantile business until 1905, and for years was the leading merchant of Atchison. He sold his business to Ed Lake, who has conducted it since 1905.

Mr. Newcomb has not only been a merchant prince in northeastern Kansas, but has been identified with the growth and development of Atchison from many standpoints. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank and was closely identified with that financial institution for fifteen years. He served successively as director, vice-president and president, but when he went out of business he disposed of his banking interests.

Mr. Newcomb was united in marriage in 1866 with Miss Anna E., daughter of Capt. George W. Bowman, an early-day steamboat captain, but later engaged in the mercantile business at Atchison. He was a native of Brownsville, Pa. To Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb have been born two children: Hattie May, now the wife of Maj. Harry A. Smith, U. S. A., a graduate of West Point Military Academy. During the Spanish-American war he held the rank of major in the Twenty-first regiment, Kansas infantry, and is now major in the Twenty-eighth regiment, United States infantry, doing duty on the Mexican border. To Major Smith and wife have been born two children: Newcomb, a cadet in the United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y., and William A., a graduate of Shattick’s school, Fairibault, Minn., now a student in the University of Minnesota. George Edgar, the youngest child born to Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb, born March 19, 1869, died March 25, 1909, aged forty years. He was married in October, 1895, to Miss Dorothy Jones, a native of Wisconsin, and three children were born to this union: Clara Forest, D. C., and Charles Jones. Mr. Newcomb has been a life-long Republican and has always supported the policies and principles of that party. He has had many flattering inducements to enter politics, but has refused to accept, preferring to follow his commercial career in which he has been so successful. Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for years have been active in the work of their congregation and both have lived exemplary Christian lives. Mr. Newcomb has held every office within the gift of the church, all of which have come to him without solicitation. In fact, every preferment has come to him unsolicited. In 1896 and 1900 he was elected a lay delegate to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held at Omaha in 1896 and Chicago in 1901.

Wilson R. Smith.

Wilson R. Smith, of the firm of Snyder, Smith & Company, Effingham, Kan., is an admirable type of a successful business man who has been a resident of Effingham for the past six years, and has so identified himself with the life of the community that it seems to the average citizen that Mr. Smith has been a resident of the city and county all of his natural life. The firm, of which he is an active member, handles hardware, implements, grain, coal and feed, and is composed of G. M. Snyder, W. R. Smith and U. B. Sharpless, present county treasurer. This firm was organized in February of 1915 and took over the business of Sharpless & Snyder. The concern also operates a grain elevator of 10,000 bushel capacity, and has two large warehouses and coal-yards, in addition to the business room on Main street.

Mr. Smith is a Virginian by birth, and was born at Salt Sulphur Springs, Monroe county, W. Va., on April 28, 1856. He is a son of Granville and Caroline (Clark) Smith, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia, and were descended from colonial ancestors. A direct ancestor of Wilson R. was the first settled in Monroe county, and headed a long line of tillers of the soil, the parents of Wilson R. living on their farm in Virginia until their deaths.

Wilson R. left his ancestral home in Virginia in April of 1884 and journeyed to the town of Craig, Holt county, Missouri, purchasing a farm in the neighborhood of Mounty City, which he cultivated with considerable success for ten years, and then engaged in the grain and stock business for a period of nine years. He resided in Holt county until 1909 and then came to Effingham, Kan. His first venture here was in the grain and elevator business, which he conducted for a period of four years, and then sold out to the Farmers’ Elevator Company. In February of 1915, he purchased an interest in the business in which he is now engaged. Continuous success has followed Mr. Smith’s efforts, and practically every business venture in which he has embarked has proved to be uniformly successful. His methods of transacting business are above reproach and are such as to commend him to the public in general.

He was married in 1885 to Mrs. Celia C. Zachary, a widow, who was the mother of one child, Edith Belle, by a former marriage. Two children have blessed this marriage: Alberta, wife of Ross Meador, living on a farm, five miles southwest of Effingham; Jennie, wife of C. A. Hawk, residing three miles north of Effingham on a farm.

Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen and the Brotherhood of American Yeoman. He is one of Effingham’s substantial and enterprising citizens, who is ever ready to assist his adopted community to better the conditions of things in general and readily lends a hand when needed to assist the growth and well being of the city.

George E. Hendee.

Mr. Hendee is an automobile salesman, machinist and garage proprietor, is one of Atchison’s hustling business men who has made good in the automobile business. Seven years in the motor industry in Atchison has seen him advance in his chosen work until he now owns the largest and best equipped garage in the city, and has a plant including equipment and cars in stock valued at over $15,000. Mr. Hendee is salesman for the Regal, Chalmers and the White automobiles.

He was born on a farm in Lancaster county, Nebraska, July 31, 1872, being a son of George and Loretta (Kistler) Hendee, who were the parents of five children: William, deceased; Mrs. Margaret Bennethy, of Logansport, Ind.; George E.; Delbert, of Logansport, Ind., and Leona, at home with her parents. George Hendee, Sr., was born in Canada, in 1846, removing from his native country to Indiana with his parents when a boy. He was reared to young manhood in Indiana and served as a soldier in Company G, Twenty-first regiment, Indiana infantry, until the close of the war, in 1865. After the Civil war he migrated to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and homesteaded on 160 acres of Government land. He built up a splendid farm from the raw and unbroken prairie and prospered as he deserved, living on his acreage until 1891, at which time he started a general store at Panama, Neb. He retired from active pursuits in 1898 and moved to Royal Center, Ind., where he is now living. The Hendee family is of French origin, and the founders of the family first settled in the Dominion of Canada. The mother of George E. was born in Pennsylvania in 1842, a daughter of Pennsylvania Dutch parents.

He of whom this review is written was reared on the Nebraska farm and received his elementary schooling at Panama and York, that State. Early in life he displayed an aptitude for machinery and determined to fit himself to become an expert machinist. Accordingly, in 1895, he enrolled as student in the State University at Lawrence, and pursued the machinist’s course, having previously studied electrical engineering at York, Neb. When thirteen years of age, George started out to make his own way, educate himself and at the same time earn his living. While a student in the York Technical School, he worked nights in the electric light plant. For a period of three years he was a fireman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad and the Santa Fe System, being promoted to the post of railway engineer while in the employ of the latter system, He was then employed by the General Electric Company, of Chicago, in the installation of and erecting mining machinery. his duties requiring him to travel in the South for over a year. He was employed by the Chalmers company for one year erecting heavy engines, and was employed as engineer of the Pearsons’ Flouring Mills at Lawrence, Kan., for seven years. For a time he served as master mechanic at the Leavenworth coal shaft on the Government grounds at Leavenworth, Kan. In the year 1901 he built and operated a machine shop at Cripple Creek, Colo., but his plant was destroyed by fire in 1902. He then moved to Grand Junction, Colo., where he worked in the oil fields and was round house foreman for the railroads in that city until he resigned his position and located in Denver, Colo., where he worked as a machinist in the Missouri Pacific shops until he took employment as engineer on the Colorado & Southern railway. After this he was employed as a machinist in the shops of the Santa Fe railroad, but resigned this place to become foreman in the plant of the Locomotive Finished Material Foundry in Atchison. Following this he was chief engineer for the Blair Milling Company, resigning to take employment as an expert machinist with the Atchison Motor Company until 1908. In that year he engaged in business, and has made a name for himself in the motor and business world of Atchison. Mr. Hendee is looked upon as one of the rising and successful young business men of Atchison, and justly deserves all of the success which has come to him.

His marriage with Laura Hall, of Lawrence, Kan., occurred in 1902 and gave him a faithful helpmate who has assisted him in every way to achieve his present success. Two children were born of this marriage, Velva and Kenneth, both deceased. Mrs. Hendee was born in August, 1879, in Wisconsin, a daughter of John and Nettie (Crow) Hall, natives of Wisconsin. She is a well educated lady and is a graduate of the college at Burlington, Kan. Mr. Hendee is an independent in political affairs, and is fraternally allied with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America.

William D. Kistler.

William D. Kistler, prosperous farmer of Shannon township, is descendant of good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and has lived in Atchison county for thirty-six years. He came to this county from his ancestral home in Pennsylvania, in moderate circumstances, if not actually a poor man, and during that time has accumulated a fine farm of 200 acres which ranks among the best and most productive farms of the county. The little shack in which he and his family lived when they first came to Kansas has been superseded by a handsome and comfortable residence and great shade trees have grown up around it. The modest “eighty” in which Mr. Kistler invested all of his small capital on his arrival here has grown steadily with substantial additions from time to time as he was enabled to purchase adjoining tracts. A large red barn alike shows evidence of thrift and good management on the part of the proprietor.

W. D. Kistler was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1853, a son of Nathan J. and Catharine (Dietrich) Kistler, both of whom were born in the adjoining county near Lehigh county. Nathan J. Kistler was born April 6, 1811, and died September 11, 1878. He was a son of Jacob S., who was a son of Samuel Kistler, whose father, John George Kistler, emigrated with his wife, Dorothia, from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, arriving in Philadelphia October 5, 1737. Nathan J. Kistler was a captain of State militia and died at the old home in Lehigh county. Two brothers of W. D. and a sister out of a family of nine children settled in the West. After his public school training Mr. Kistler attended the Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Normal School and prepared himself for the teaching profession. He taught school in his native State for four years, after which he clerked in a general store for four years, previous to migrating to Kansas. He left the old home in Pennsylvania in 1879 and came to Atchison county, Kansas, investing in an eighty-acre tract in Shannon township which he gradually improved. The small house which he first erected was gradually enlarged as the needs of his family demanded more room and his means permitted. In 1883 he erected the present handsome home, which is one of the most attractive places in the township. Mr. Kistler raises cattle, horses and hogs and feeds his grain products to the live stock on his farm, thus managing to keep up the fertility of his acres and being able to market his farm products in the most profitable manner.

He was married in 1876 to Ellen Brobst, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1853, a daughter of Daniel and Lydia (Kunken) Brobst, of Lehigh county, and whose ancestry came from Germany. They are the parents of five children: Mrs. Alice Bunnell, of Lancaster township, this county: Anna, wife of Samuel Du Bois, also of Shannon township; Calvin, a farmer, residing at the Du Bois home, and assisting in the management of the farm; Bertha, wife of James Dooley, residing in Shannon township; William, at home, married Catharine Wolters.

Mr. Kistler is a Republican in politics, but he has never been an office seeker, or sought preferment at the hands of his fellow citizens. He is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He and the members of his family stand well among their neighbors and are highly esteemed by all who know them.

Andrew Keithline.

The late Andrew Keithline enjoyed the distinction of being one of the oldest, if not the oldest living pioneer resident of Atchison. Fifty-six years of his four score and seven years of life were spent in Atchison and vicinity. In the fulness of his years, and satisfied in the reflections concerning a long and useful life well spent he lived a quiet, retired life in his comfortable home at 1121 Santa Fe street until the Death Angel called him. He loved to meet his many friends and speak reminiscently of the days when Atchison was in the embryo stage, and of the stirring scenes during the days when Kansas was in the throes of becoming an integral part of the great American Union. He was one of the city’s grand old men who was universally loved and respected by all who knew him. He came of that sturdy Pennsylvania German stock, noted the country over for their sterling qualities of endurance and the ability to do their share in the transformation of a wilderness to a land of homes and plenty.

Andrew Keithline was born on a farm in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Mary (Neyhart) Keithline. The first Keithline to come to America was Colonel Keithline, who figures prominently in Revolutionary annals and who accompanied Baron De Kalb to this country in 1775. Andrew Keithline’s grandfather, Joseph Keithline, was born in Northhampton county, Pennsylvania, served in the War of 1812, and died in 1850. He was a tailor by trade and contracted to make buckskin breeches for the Government, to be worn by the soldiers during the war. Joseph’s children wore buckskin breeches made by their father. John Keithline, the father of Andrew, operated a wagon shop which also served as the family residence for some years, in fact, Andrew was born in his father’s wagon shop. He prospered, in the course of time and came west in 1863 and invested in eighty acres of land, south of Atchison and later owned 320 acres west of Atchison on the Parallel road. This tract was partly fenced at the time of purchase and cost John Keithline $25 per acre. He made his home thereon and was joined by his family in 1864. The mother of Andrew died in 1865 and John returned to the old home in Pennsylvania where he died in 1868. Nine children were born to John Keithline and wife: Samuel, Catharine, Andrew, Julia, Sarah, Priscilla, John, Peter and Mary E. Of these, Samuel, Sarah and Andrew came to Atchison county.

Andrew left the parental home in December of 1857, and went to Michigan, remaining until 1859, when he came to Atchison, where he resided until the fall of 1864. His first employment was with the firm of Walters & Roswell, who conducted a general store and wanted a clerk familiar with the German tongue. For the two years previous to his locating in Atchison he conducted a coöperative store in Michigan. His first trip to the Far West was taken in 1860, when he went to Denver and disposed of a stock of goods for his firm. He made another trip across the plains later than this. In 1864 he was called out with the Kansas State militia to repel the Price invasion. On October 31, 1864, he moved to his farm west of Atchison, and remained there tilling his acreage until September 1, 1898, and made his permanent home in Atchison until his death. His fine farm consisted originally of 220 acres and when he removed to Atchison he still owned 190 acres of the original farm. Mr. Keithline bought a handsome brick residence on Santa Fe street and by wise investments and carefully husbanding his resources accumulated a comfortable competence for the support of his declining years. He was considered a well-to-do citizen. He was married on November 5, 1854, to Rose Varner, born in 1832 in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of George Varner, whose father was a soldier in the Revolution. Two children were born to this well respected couple, namely: Gilbert, born in 1855, died in Jackson county in the spring of 1915. He was the father of seven children, Herschell, Sydney, Rose, Emma, Mary, Andrew and Laura. Mrs. Cora Warters, a daughter of Mr. Keithline, lives in Atchison. She is the mother of four children: Bessie, Andrew, Cora Willis and Lorene.

Mr. Keithline was one of the original Free State men of Kansas, and was induced to come here by the fact that men in favor of making Kansas a free State were needed in the Territory. He consistently espoused the principles of the Republican party, taking an active part in politics during his younger days and served for two years as justice of the peace. One of the bright spots in his memory of bygone days was his warm friendship for Senator John J. Ingalls, which friendship was reciprocated by the illustrious senator. He always adhered to the Lutheran religious denomination, which was the faith of his fathers. The evening of life must come to us all and happy is the man who can calmly wait for the last call to summon him to his just reward in the world to come, at peace with all mankind and cared for by capable hands; such was the life of this fine old gentleman of whom it has been a pleasure to write this brief review.

Andrew Keithline departed this life December 14, 1915. The end came peacefully, as he had wished. The worn-out body of this grand old patriarch ceased to be able to hold the immortal soul of one of the grandest and best loved men of the early pioneer days of Atchison county. Mr. Keithline was a good and honest citizen whose upright and sturdy character will long prove an inspiration and guidance for the present and future generations of Kansans who may peruse these pages. He was a prominent factor in the building up of Atchison county, and was intimate with the great men of his day and generation. When his time came and the Angel of Death called him to the long rest he was content to go and had no regrets. Death had no terrors for him as his life was unspotted and clean, and in keeping with the attributes of the man himself.

Abram Stever.

Abram Stever, one of the early settlers of Benton township, Atchison county, and now deceased, was born November 3, 1837, and departed this life on July 27, 1881. He was born in Schoharie county, New York, a son of Abram and Nancy Stever, both of whom were born and reared in New York State, the father being a son of German parents, who were founders of the family in this country. Two brothers emigrated from Germany, one of whom settled in New York and the other made his home in Ohio. Abram was reared to young manhood in his native State and when twenty years of age migrated to the new State of Wisconsin, then in process of settlement. He became a farmer in Walworth county and cleared a home from the timber. Five years later he was married, and in 1867 came to Kansas, driving his movable possessions across the country, his wife and children coming by train to St. Joseph, Mo., where they crossed the Missouri river by ferry. The first location of the family was in Brown county, Kansas, where they lived until 1874 and then came to Atchison county, where Mr. Stever purchased 160 acres of wild prairie land in Benton township, one and three-fourths miles northwest of Effingham. He improved his farm, erected a good home and beautified the premises with fine shade trees and shrubbery. After his demise in 1881, Mrs. Stever made her home on the farm until 1893, when she removed to Effingham, and has since resided here, with the exception of a few years’ residence in Mankato, Jewell county, Kansas, with her daughter, maintaining a permanent home in Effingham.

Abram Stever was married December 24, 1862, to Sarah Elecia Bailey, of Walworth county, Wisconsin. To this union have been born the following children: Leona May, died at the age of fifteen years; Jennie Bailey, died at the age of thirteen; Joseph Warren, died when twenty-two years old; Arthur Carlton, a clothing merchant at Wetmore, Kan., who married Maud Hawk, of Effingham, and they have one daughter, Leona May; Carrie Adella Stever, at home with her mother, a graduate of the county high school, and taught for seven years in the Effingham schools, and is a specialist in music, having graduated from Bethany Conservatory at Lindsborg, Kan., in 1906. She pursued a post-graduate course at Lindsborg during winter vacation, and studied during one winter under William H. Sherwood, America’s greatest pianist. She was for five years a successful teacher of music at Mankato, Kan. Returning to Effingham in 1911, she became music director in the Atchison County High School, but resigned to take up studio work entirely; Ray Howard, conducting a suitatorium at Frankfort, Kan., married Inez McFarlan; Ralph Roy Stever, a teamster at Nevada, Mo., married Treva Spell, and has had four children: Lloyd Orr, Warren Clayton, Ralph Vern, Lola Esther, deceased; Ernest Clayton, a graduate of the county high school, proprietor of a suitatorium at Macon, Mo., married Charlotte Henderson, and has one child, Roy Estell; Frank Abram Stever, county high school graduate, located on the family estate in Benton township, married Daisy McFarlan, and is the father of three children: Coral Nadine, Geneva Fay, and Mildred Lorene. Mrs. Stever was born January 10, 1843, on a farm in Walworth county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Perry) Bailey, natives of Maryland and Dundee, Ill., respectively. An uncle, Amos Bailey, was one of the first surveyors in the city of Chicago, and run the first line in what is now the city. Joseph Bailey was one of the first settlers in Walworth county, Wisconsin, at a time when there were very few people in the State and neighbors were twelve miles distant from one another. It was a common custom for a number of settlers to band together and market their produce together in the city of Chicago. Amos Bailey was the owner of several sections of land near Lake Geneva, Wis., which is now the great millionaires’ resort, near Chicago. Joseph Bailey was twice married, his second wife being Mary Catharine Sipperly. It is also worth recording that a brother of Abram Stever, named Washington Stever, was a soldier in the Union army and fought in the Army of the Potomac from the beginning to the end of the war. At the time of Mr. Stever’s death, the oldest son was only thirteen years of age, and Mrs. Stever was left with a large family, the youngest of whom was six months old.

Abram Stever was a Republican in his political affiliations, but will best be remembered for his activity in behalf of the organization of the Presbyterian church in Effingham. He was one of three men who raised the fund to pay for the building of the First Presbyterian Church erected in Effingham, and was a deacon and trustee, having been one of the only two deacons ever installed in the early church. He was active in church work during his entire life and was a thoroughly honest, religious gentleman, who carried his belief into his daily life and in all his undertakings. He was a good husband, a kind parent and an excellent citizen, and loved by everyone who knew him.

Rev. Z. S. Hastings.

Few pioneer citizens of Atchison county have lived more useful or cleaner lives than Rev. Z. S. Hastings, retired minister and farmer, of Effingham, Kan. During his nearly fifty years of residence in Kansas as a farmer, educator, preacher, and statesman, he has worked continually for the well-being of his neighbors and friends. Without fear of contradiction it can be stated that Rev. Hastings has performed a greater number of marriage ceremonies and officiated at the funerals of more deceased residents than any minister in Atchison county. Despite his three score and seventeen years this grand old patriarch bears his age lightly and takes an active interest in the affairs of his community.

Rev. Z. S. Hastings was born March 15, 1838, on a farm near Bedford, Lawrence county, Indiana, a son of Howell and Edith (Edwards) Hastings, natives of North Carolina. On his father’s side the family is of Quaker origin and a very old one in America. The first Hastings having been a follower of William Penn, came from England to settle in the Quaker colony in Pennsylvania. A descendant of the first American Hastings, Joshua by name, migrated to North Carolina and there founded another branch of the family. Here in the Southland, Howell Hastings was reared and married, and with his wife and two sons migrated to Indiana to become one of the pioneer settlers of the Hoosier State. He died at his home in Indiana December 25, 1854, leaving seven children: Joshua Thomas, deceased; William Henry, John Arthur, Nancy Elizabeth, deceased; Zachariah Simpson, with whom this review is concerned; Charlotte Ann, deceased; Rufus Wiley, living in Arkansas. Of the foregoing, Joshua Thomas and William Henry fought in the Union army during the late rebellion of the Southern States; Joshua first fought in the Home Guards of Missouri, and, returning to Indiana he raised a company for service in the war, after fighting under General Lyons at the battle of Springfield. He taught school for a time in Missouri, but returned to Indiana. He died in Kentucky. William Henry enlisted in a Missouri regiment.

Z. S. Hastings was educated in the common schools of his native State, studied in Indianapolis, and also pursued a course at Hiram College, in preparation for the Christian ministry. In 1857 he went to Missouri and taught school for five years, studying in the meantime while teaching. In 1862 he returned to his native State and began preaching the Gospel in the Christian denomination. He taught and preached at the same time while preparing himself further for the ministry. His first experience in the ministry was obtained in 1860 while in Missouri. In 1867 Mr. Hastings came to Kansas, resided in Leavenworth county for one year and in 1868 came to Atchison county and located on a farm near Farmington. He taught the Farmington school for five years and preached in the vicinity of his home during this time. He cultivated his farm of 130 acres and preached at the Farmington church and in the surrounding country for a period of twenty-five years. In 1895 he removed to Effingham and continued preaching until 1903 when he retired from active work in the ministry. Mr. Hastings was an excellent farmer as well as minister and made a success of his farming operations, having the distinction of selling an eighty acre tract of farm land, the first for $100 an acre ever sold in the county up to that time. This farm was located east of Effingham, and was the first tract near the town to bring the price of $100 an acre.

He was married on June 28, 1870, to Miss Rosetta Butler, and to this union have been born seven children: Harry Howell, an electrical engineer, located at St. Louis, and who was educated in Holton College and Kansas University; Paul Pardee, assistant freight and passenger agent of the Santa Fe railroad, with headquarters at San Francisco; Otho Ono, a graduate of the Atchison county high school, taught school for ten years, served as county superintendent of Atchison county four years, and graduated from the Atchison Business College, and is at present bookkeeper for Urich’s planing mill at Independence, Kan.; Wiley Wyatt died in infancy; Clara Charlotte, deceased, formerly a teacher, wife of Charles Sprong, of Potter, Kan.; Edith Eliza, deceased, who was also a public school teacher; Milo Milton, a journalist and author, of New York City. Milo graduated from the Atchison county high school, the State Agricultural College at Manhattan, and pursued a post-graduate course in the State university. The mother of these children was born August 5, 1844, in Sandusky Plain, Ohio, a daughter of the Rev. Pardee Butler, a famous figure in Kansas history, and who was an outspoken advocate of the anti-slavery principles during the struggle which made Kansas a free State. He was so frank and fearless in the expression of his views and so strenuous in the support of the anti-slavery doctrine that his utterances brought him frequently in contact with the pro-slavery men and border ruffians, and on one occasion when in Atchison he was captured by ruffians and sent down the Missouri river on a raft. Complete details of the life and activities of Pardee Butler are given in another chapter in this volume. “Pardee Butler’s Own Book,” begun during the latter part of his life, and finished and published by Mrs. Hastings, tells of his life and adventures in Kansas. Speaking biographically, Mr. Butler was born March 9, 1816, and died October 20, 1888. He first saw the light of day at Skaneateles, N. Y., and immigrated with his parents, Phineas Butler and wife, who came to Ohio in 1818. Phineas Butler was born in New York State. Pardee Butler was reared to young manhood in Ohio and there married Sybil Carlton, of Sullivan, Ohio, who was born July 4, 1823, and died August 7, 1898. She was a daughter of Joseph Carlton, a native of Massachusetts, who immigrated to Ohio in an early day. In his boyhood, Pardee herded sheep on Sandusky Plain, and after his father’s death resided in Sullivan, Ohio. In 1850 he removed to Iowa and settled on a farm in Cedar county, where he lived for five years. While a resident of Iowa he preached in Illinois for two years. In May of 1855 he set out for Atchison county, Kansas, on horseback and settled on a farm at Farmington. For many years he served as a Christian minister and conducted farming operations. He had a remarkably retentive memory, which enabled him to memorize the whole of the New Testament while herding sheep in Ohio. Rev. Butler was the first State evangelist of the Christian denomination to visit Iowa and was also the first State evangelist to take up the work of his church in Kansas. Practically all of his traveling while engaged in missionary work was accomplished on horseback. Night coming on he would picket his horse in a grassy spot and use his saddle for a pillow. Pardee Butler was one of the notable figures in the history of Kansas, and will be remembered as long as history endures, as a brave, useful and faithful patriot, and minister, whose life was full of good deeds and who always stood for the right. He was the father of seven children: Mrs. Rosetta Hastings, Clara Louise, Eugene Pardee, Maria Corintha, all of whom died in infancy; Charles Pardee on the home farm; Ernest, died in infancy; George, living at White City, Kan.

Rev. Hastings has always been a steadfast advocate of prohibition, but has generally allied himself politically with the Republican party principles. In 1876 he was selected by the Republican party in the county as their candidate for the legislature, although at the time he was an avowed Prohibitionist, and was elected, serving in the Kansas legislature during the ensuing session. For eighteen years he served as a member of the school board in his home district, and was for six years a member of the Atchison County High School Board. He believes in education for the young to the fullest and is heart and soul in favor of giving young men and women every opportunity to acquire a higher education, as is attested by the splendid training which he was enabled to give each of his own offspring. Rev. Hastings has baptized hundreds of converts during his ministerial career and started them onward in the better life. His whole life has been dedicated for good.

Knud G. Gigstad.

Knud G. Gigstad, farmer and breeder of fine cattle, was born in Norway September 28, 1856, and is a son of Gulick and Anna Gigstad. He was one of seven children one of whom is now dead. Four of the boys and one daughter are living in the United States. The father was a native of Norway and spent his life in that country.

Knud G. Gigstad left Norway at the age of twenty to try his luck in America. He came without funds and went to work as a farm hand in Brown county, Kansas. He remained at that place two years and then rented 160 acres from his uncle, Benedict Mutson. This was a profitable venture and before long he was able to buy eighty acres of unimproved land in section 28, Lancaster township, Atchison county, for which he paid $16.25 an acre. Mr. Gigstad worked hard to get his farm in workable shape, each year finding him a little more prosperous, and finally he added 320 acres to the farm, besides 436 acres of rice land in Liberty county, near Houston, Texas. Eighteen years ago he built a large house on the farm and has since erected a large barn and other substantial buildings. Mr. Gigstad is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and has made exhibits at the American Royal stock show in Kansas City, Mo., and in 1913 was awarded the prize as grand champion of America on his Shorthorns. This is a high honor and is ample testimony of the quality of Mr. Gigstad’s stock. He is an extensive shipper to all parts of the United States. His reputation as a breeder is firmly established among cattle men all over the country. He is almost sure of one or two first prizes whenever he enters his cattle in a fair. Mr. Gigstad also has a fine three acre orchard. He is a hard working man and has succeeded despite great handicaps, and his financial success has not caused him to neglect the welfare of his county, as he has always been active in supporting measures for the good of Atchison county.

He is married to Lena Olsen, a native of Atchison county, and a daughter of Herrol and Julia Olsen. She was born in 1866. Her parents are natives of Norway and her father was an early settler of Atchison county. Mr. and Mrs. Gigstad have eleven children: Anna Flattre, of Lancaster township; Mrs. Julia Henz, of Lancaster, Kan.; Harry, Clara, Gena, Gilbert, Matilda, Lillian, Gladis, Carl, Charles, all living at home. Mr. Gigstad is a Republican and a member of the Lutheran church.

Albert Barnes Harvey.

The memory of a good and noble man lingers long after his demise in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best. The late Albert Barnes Harvey, of Muscotah, Kan., during the course of a long and notable career, covering ever forty years in Atchison county, accomplished much in a material sense and left behind him an unimpeachable record for integrity and upright living which will long endear his memory to his former mortal associates. He lived in the days when men were more closely drawn together in the great struggle to create a State from a wilderness of prairie and unpeopled waste, and did his part in the development of his adopted county, of which he was one of the real pioneers. Soldier, farmer, banker and religious worker who lived true to his ideals as a man and citizen, he walked with the leaders of the great State which he assisted in upbuilding.

Albert Barnes Harvey was born May 12, 1841, at Williamsport, Pa., a son of Samuel and Margaret Harvey. His parents went from their native State to Illinois in the early days of the settlement of that State, developing a fine farm in Henderson county, Illinois. Samuel Harvey prospered in the State of his adoption, reared a fine family, and in his later days retired to a comfortable home in Monmouth, Ill., removing to the city for the purpose primarily, of giving his children the advantages afforded there for obtaining a good school education. He died at the home of his son in Henderson county after a long and useful life. The subject of this review, Albert Barnes, when a young man twenty years of age, hearkened to the first call of President Lincoln for troops with which to quell the rebellion of the Southern States and enlisted in Company G, Tenth infantry, regiment of Illinois volunteers, and served faithfully throughout the Civil war. He was engaged with his regiment in many great battles, such as Corinth, Island Number Ten, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Siege of Vicksburg, and Capture of Atlanta, and took part in Sherman’s famous march from Atlanta to the sea and the subsequent taking of Savannah. He marched in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., and was mustered out of the service July 12, 1865. He then returned home and engaged in the peaceful pursuit of farming until 1874, when he came to Kansas and settled on a farm southwest of Muscotah. This farm was only partially improved at the time of his purchase and he improved and cultivated it until 1880, at which time he came to Muscotah and engaged in the hardware business in partnership with A. J. Harwi; later he was in partnership with F. S. Roberts, who was succeeded by W. C. Allison. In 1890 he became associated with J. H. Calvert in the banking business at Muscotah, he and his partner purchasing the bank founded by George Storch and changing the name to the Muscotah Exchange Bank. This bank was later changed to the Muscotah State Bank and is one of the thriving financial concerns of Atchison county, now incorporated with the Farmers State Bank. Mr. Harvey was in the banking business for twenty years and served as president of the Muscotah State Bank, and was successful in his business ventures to such an extent that he became one of the wealthy citizens of the county. During his later years he and Mrs. Harvey enjoyed traveling about the country, the condition of his health becoming such that it was practically necessary for him to spend his winters in the Southland. He and Mrs. Harvey spent many happy days in visiting the battlefields of the South over which his regiment had fought and they enjoyed life to the utmost during those later years.

Mr. Harvey was married October 25, 1871, at Stronghurst, Ill., to Miss Viola Allison, who was born October 25, 1841, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of John and Margaret (Carter) Allison. John Allison was born in Pennsylvania and was a second cousin of President William McKinley, whose mother was an Allison. Margaret Carter Allison was born in Scotland and accompanied her parents to this country when twelve years of age, where they settled in Henderson county, Illinois. Both of Mrs. Harvey’s parents died in Illinois, and a brother, John C, who enlisted in the Union army at the age of seventeen years, died at Ft. Donelson. An older brother, Hugh, also served in the Union army, and a half brother, W. C. Allison, now of Horton, resided in Muscotah for many years and was one of the pioneer business men of the city. The Allison family is a very old and numerous one of Scotch descent. No children came to bless this happy wedded life of Albert H. and Viola Harvey, but they reared two adopted daughters, who are now established in comfortable homes of their own, namely: Lela, wife of A. P. Bishop, of Topeka, now a farmer living southwest of Muscotah, and Lula, wife of E. H. Purdy, of Kansas City, Mo. Mrs. Bishop has four children: Albert, George, Dorothy and Ruth. Mrs. Harvey spends the spring and summer seasons in her beautiful residence in Muscotah and invariably travels in the South during the winter. Mr. Harvey retired from active banking pursuits in 1910.

Mr. Harvey was a member of the Congregational church at Muscotah and served as deacon of the church from 1898 until his demise, on Monday, July 22, 1912. For many years he was superintendent of the Sunday school and was very fond of young people, nothing giving him more pleasure than to gather about him a group of intelligent young folks with whom he was always at his best. He took a keen interest in church and Sunday school work and endeavored to follow the precepts of the Greatest of All Teachers during all the days of his long and useful life. He was prominent in Masonic and Odd Fellows lodge circles and served as worshipful master of the Muscotah Masons on two occasions. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a Republican in politics and took a keen interest in the political and civic affairs of Atchison county, serving three terms as a member of the Atchison County High School board and a term as mayor of his home city. Many of the distinguished men of Atchison and the State of Kansas were his personal friends, among them being the late Governor George W. Glick, with whom he spent a winter in Florida, Ex-Governor W. J. Bailey, and the late Judge Horace M. Jackson, of Atchison. He was, withal, a home and church man above everything else. He loved his home and his family and was hospitable to the core of his being, always ready to entertain friends or even strangers at his board, jolly and big-hearted, always.

Martin Klein.

Martin Klein, living a retired life in the town of Potter, Atchison county, Kansas, at the advanced age of four score and two years, is one of the oldest of the Kansas pioneers, who for over sixty-one years of his long life has lived in the Sunflower State, and has seen the steam railway take the place of the overland freight trains, hauled by oxen and mules, and has witnessed the automobile superseding the farm wagon and horse and buggy as a means of transportation. On his lonely claim in the north part of Leavenworth county, near Potter, he could see the great trains passing along the Ft. Riley road from Leavenworth to Salt Lake; he remembers the dread visitation of the grasshoppers in the seventies, when the “hoppers” came in dense clouds, ate up all the growing crops and left devastation and desolation in their wake. Martin Klein is one of the best known of the old-timers in this section of Kansas and took an active part in the slavery contest which was bitterly waged on Kansas soil, and nearly gave his life in defense of his principles, later to shoulder a musket in defence of his adopted country.

Martin Klein was born March 2, 1833, in Alsace-Lorraine, a son of Peter and Teresa (Miers) Klein, both of whom were born and reared in Alsace-Lorraine, and were of ancient French extraction. When Martin was fourteen years of age, his parents in 1847, left their native land and immigrated to Oneida county, New York, where they settled on a farm near Rome. The elder Klein prospered in the land of his adoption and Martin grew up imbued with American ideals, along with the other five children of the Klein family. Martin was the youngest of a family of six children born to Peter and Teresa Klein. Three brothers of Mrs. Klein, Joseph Miers, and two others, were soldiers, who served under Napoleon Bonaparte, and were members of the Grand Army of Napoleon which marched to the siege of Moscow. Two of the brothers were killed at Moscow, and Joseph was one of the few out of the many thousands of soldiers who lived to return home and tell about the ill-fated expedition which cost Napoleon his grand army.

In the fall of 1854, Martin Klein left his old home in New York and set out for Kansas, to grow up with the country. He arrived in Leavenworth on September 18 of that year, and lost no time in taking up a claim in Leavenworth county, which served as his home until 1900, when he retired to a comfortable home in the town of Potter. Six years after his arrival in Kansas he married Miss Paulina Hawley, whom he espoused on March 29, 1860. She was a daughter of Francis H. and Louise Hawley, both of whom were natives of old Virginia, and were early settlers in Kentucky, where Mrs. Klein was born November 12, 1826. She departed this life January 4, 1907, in Potter, Kan. She was a loving and faithful helpmeet to Mr. Klein for forty-seven years, and endured with him many hardships incident to the pioneer life in Kansas.

When Mr. Klein first came to Kansas in 1854, the turmoil and the border warfare waged between the pro- and anti-slavery forces, was just beginning, and he, being a pronounced anti-slavery man, was thrown into the thick of the fight. He was an accurate marksman with the revolver, and often found occasion to make use of his ability with the pistol. He was so active in his work in behalf of the Free State party that he was marked for vengeance by border ruffians. An occasion which is memorable, and marked the savagery of this warfare, is worth recording: “On a Sunday in the spring of 1856, when Mr. Klein was at church, three strangers came to church, ostensibly to buy corn from him. After the bargain had been struck, and he had agreed to sell the men the corn wanted, they insisted on him accompanying them to Easton, Kan., in order to get his pay for the corn. This Klein refused to do. During the parley one of the men had kept a hand hid under his coat on the plea that he had a sore member. The wind blowing the coat flap to one side, Klein noticed that the man was concealing a revolver in his hand. They finally showed him a warrant for his arrest. He then knew that his life was in danger, and again refused to accompany the men to Easton. He turned to go back to the church and they opened fire on him, firing eight shots in all, four of which took effect in his body, one shot striking him in the head, one in the side, and one in the hip. He fell to the ground and the ruffians rode away, leaving him for dead. Happily, the wounds were not fatal, and he recovered, and lived to see the final triumph of the cause which he loved, and for which he had sacrificed his peace and nearly lost his life in advocating. During those early days Mr. Klein served as constable and deputy sheriff and was constantly in danger of his life. In the fall of 1856, he and others of the Free State men deemed it prudent to leave their homes and go to Lawrence, Kan., where they joined the citizen army, which was being organized in defense of Free State principles. He took part in several incipient battles and scraps with the pro-slavery advocates during those years, and when the war broke out he enrolled in the Kansas militia and fought in Captain Baird’s company when it marched to battle against General Price’s army of invasion.

Mr. Klein has a keen remembrance of his first day in Kansas, when he walked a distance of twenty-four miles from Ft. Leavenworth to find his brother-in-law, Charles C. Foster. He was all day finding Foster’s claim. Starting out without his breakfast, he lost his way, and it was 8 o’clock that night before he arrived at his destination, footsore, weary and hungry. The prairie grass in those days grew as high as a man’s head in the bottom lands, and was knee high on the uplands, and the richness of the soil was apparent to a man brought up on a farm. From his cabin door Mr. Klein could look out in the distance and see the old Ft. Riley trail which led from Ft. Leavenworth to Salt Lake. One morning on arising he saw eighty covered wagons standing on the trail, each of which had hitched to it six yoke of oxen. This was a sight worth seeing and entertaining to a plainsman, being an indication of the onward march of civilization as it moved ever westward. On one occasion while serving as an officer of the law, Mr. Klein was sent to the cabin of Jim Foster, a noted border desperado, to effect his arrest, but Foster was absent at the time from his home on the bluffs overlooking Big Stranger creek. After the war was over, Mr. Klein settled down to farming and peacefully tilled his acres until his retirement to Potter. He took an active and influential part in the affairs of his community, and has always been allied with the Republican party, never, however, having been a seeker after political preferment, and never held office except the post of school director in his district.

Barney Cummins.

Barney Cummins, farmer and trustee of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, was born in Atchison December 17, 1859, a son of Patrick and Mary (Faulkner) Cummins, the former a native of Roscommon county, and the latter a native of County Caven, Ireland. Both came to America from their native land when young, and met, and were married in Philadelphia. After their marriage they went to Wisconsin and lived there one year and then came to Atchison, Kan. Patrick was employed on a Missouri river steamboat for a time, saved his money and moved to a farm, which he rented for about ten years, accumulating sufficient capital to then purchase a quarter section of school land in Mt. Pleasant township, the tract now known as the old Cummins homestead. Patrick Cummins succeeded in his farming venture and became prosperous as the years passed. During the Civil war he was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State militia. He was known as a Free State Democrat, and was a member of the Catholic church. He died in 1871, and the widowed mother of Barney Cummins is still living at the age of seventy-six years, on the old home farm. There were six children in the Cummins family, namely: Barney; Charles, on the home place; John, a farmer in Atchison county; Kathrine, living with her mother; Mary, wife of William Rogers, of Nortonville, Kan.; Sophia, wife of Thomas Cavanaugh, of St. Joseph, Mo.

Barney was about four years of age when the family removed from Atchison to the farm in Mt. Pleasant township. He received his education in the district school, near his home, and has lived on the farm all of his life, excepting one year spent in Atchison. Mr. Cummins recollects with sadness the severity of the early-day teachers as compared with the teachers of today. He recalls that he was frequently given his choice of punishments, which included either having his ears cut off, or take a sound whipping with a great gad. This badly frightened him, and he also remembers how the teacher jerked a big boy from his seat and threw him unconscious to the floor of the school room. Happily, the days of brute strength control of pupils in the schools is past, and a new and better era of kindness and forbearance has dawned, years since. Mr. Cummins is the owner of 100 acres of well improved land and is a progressive farmer.

He was married January 9, 1882, to Sarah Maylen, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Maylen. The father was a native of Canada, and the mother was born in Liverpool, England, their children being a product of the intermarriage of French, English and Welsh ancestry. Joseph Maylen was a French Canadian and his wife was of Welsh and English descent. They came to Kansas in the early days and settled on a farm in Doniphan county. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cummins: William, living at Potter, Kan.; Ella, wife of Luther Blodgett, a farmer in Atchison county; Anna, wife of Harry Linsey, living in Atchison county; Joseph, at home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Cummins have reared all of their children on the farm upon which they have lived continuously since their marriage.

Mr. Cummins is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen lodge of Potter, and is a member of the Catholic church. He is a Democrat of the old school, and since attaining his majority he has taken a more or less active part in political affairs. He has served several terms as trustee of Mt. Pleasant township, and it can be said of him that no man ever filled the office more capably or administered the affairs of the township to better advantage or more economically and honestly than Barney Cummins. He was first elected to the office in 1892, again in 1907, then in 1908 and again in 1912, being re-elected in 1914. As trustee, Mr. Cummins has the supervision of eight schools in his township, including the graded high school of Potter. He is a faithful and conscientious public official in whom the people impose every trust.

Alva Clapp.

Alva Clapp, president of the retail hardware company which bears his name, has been engaged in business on Commercial street in Atchison since May, 1907. At that time he purchased the retail store of a local wholesale firm, and has made a pronounced success of the venture. It is one of the most attractive and well stocked stores of the city and is well patronized. Mr. Clapp is popular with his patrons and the citizens of Atchison generally. He takes an active part in city affairs and is especially interested in the public school system. Having been a teacher before he became a merchant, he has never lost interest in the schools, and is now the president of the Atchison city board of education.

Mr. Clapp was born August 23, 1868, at Carthage, Mo. He is a son of Isaac and Susan B. (Eckler) Clapp, natives of North Carolina and Illinois, respectively. Isaac Clapp emigrated from North Carolina to Danville, Ill., when a young man, and married in his adopted State. His parents were slave owners in the southland, and he himself owned slaves, but having a pronounced distaste for the institution of slavery he disposed of his human chattels and moved to the North. After a residence of some years in Illinois, he located in Carthage, Mo., and owned a farm in Jasper county which he cultivated. In 1875 he removed to Cherryvale, Kan., and invested in a tract of land near that city. Here he resided until his death in October, 1913.

Alva Clapp received his education in the schools of Cherryvale, Kan., and began teaching school when a very young man. He taught two terms in a district school and served for two years as high school principal. He had a liking for business and obtained his first experience in the retail hardware trade in a store at Conway Springs, Kan., from 1891 to 1900, or a period of ten years. He then traveled for two years in the interest of a local wholesale hardware company and was then employed for five years in the various departments of the local concern. In 1907 he organized the Alva Clapp Hardware Company and purchased the retail department of the Blish, Mize & Silliaman Company of Atchison. Mr. Clapp has given evidence of a pronounced aptitude for business affairs, and faithfully attends to the numerous details which require the undivided attention of the proprietor of a thriving concern, such as is in his charge.

He was married in September of 1896 to Beatrice Kathrine De Haven, of Wichita, Kan. They had one child, Harold De Haven, who died at the age of one and one-half years. Mr. Clapp refers to Mrs. Clapp as his partner in the business and his best and most competent assistant. Mrs. Clapp is not only a good wife and socially active in the city, but she takes a just pride in assisting her husband in making a success of his business. Mr. Clapp is politically allied with the Republican party and has served for fourteen years as a member of the school board. During his period of service as a member of the board the school system of Atchison has made its greatest advances, and the high school has achieved considerable prestige. New buildings have been erected to accommodate the growing needs of the school system, and others are in course of erection. All of these improvements have received the hearty support of Mr. Clapp and he enjoys the respect and esteem of his brother members to such an extent that when the presidency of the board became vacant he was elected to the position. He was also recently elected treasurer of the Commercial Club of Atchison, another city boosting organization in which he is a prominent figure. Mr. Clapp is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen and the Elks lodges.

Hon. George Storch.

One of the notable and influential figures of the first and second decades in the history of Atchison county was the late George Storch, of Atchison. He came to Kansas when the State was in its infancy of development and was a pioneer merchant of old Kennekuk, becoming in turn a merchant, banker, statesman, and was, withal, one of the most useful citizens of Atchison county of whom the reviewer has had opportunity to write. Mr. Storch was a pioneer with a vision which enabled him to see far ahead into the future. This vision, coupled with faith in the eventual prosperity of Kansas, led him to invest heavily in farm lands which made him one of the wealthy citizens of Kansas prior to his demise. For nearly half a century, Mr. Storch was closely identified with the financial and civic life of Atchison county, and twice represented the county in the halls of the State legislature, each time acquitting himself with credit and honor.

George Storch was born near Poppen-Hausen, Bavaria, Germany, February 22, 1835, and was a son of Thomas and Margaret (Breitung) Storch. Thomas, the father, was a farmer and linen dealer in his native locality and was considered fairly well to do. George was reared to young manhood in his native land and received a good common school education. When seventeen years of age he determined to cross the seas and seek his fortune in America. In accordance with this determination he embarked on a sailing vessel which landed him at New Orleans. From this southern city he made his way by river steamer up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Herman, Mo. Here he joined a brother who was farming in the neighborhood and who assisted George in securing employment on a nearby farm. He worked at farm labor in Missouri for some years and in April, 1859, he came to Atchison, Kan. This city did not offer much inducement for the ambitious young man and he was desirous of engaging in the mercantile business. Kennekuk, in the north central part of the county, was then in the heyday of its prosperity and seemed to offer a better location than Atchison. After a few months’ stay in Atchison he went to Kennekuk and opened a general merchandise store with the capital which he had saved while working on the farms in Missouri. He was successful from the start and his judgment in the matter of Kennekuk being an excellent business location proved correct. Kennekuk was at that time a prosperous and thriving village located on the overland mail and emigrant route and the Storch store made money for its owner to such an extent that he was enabled to branch out and invest in lands and engage in the banking business. Mr. Storch justified his faith in his adopted State by investing heavily in lands which have greatly increased in value since his original purchase of the same. In the early days of the development of the West, the railroad companies were granted large tracts of farm lands along the right of way by the Federal Government. These tracts were placed on sale by the railroads, and were sold for very low prices and easy terms in order to induce settlers to locate in the regions being developed. Mr. Storch took advantage of the low prices of the farm lands and invested heavily. This property comprised many thousands of acres which have since increased enormously in value over and above the original purchase price. Kennekuk had its day, and the time came when the decline of the village was inevitable owing to the building of the Central Branch railway out of Atchison, and which passed to the southward of Kennekuk. Mr. Storch saw the time coming when the once flourishing inland village would be no more, and in 1867 he removed to Atchison and managed his large farming interests from this city.

Upon his removal to Atchison he immediately became identified with the leading financial interests of the city and in 1873 organized the German Savings Bank which was for many years one of the strong financial institutions of the city. He was also identified with the first bank established in Muscotah, Kan. He engaged in the real estate and farm loan business in Atchison and organized the Eastern Kansas Land and Loan Company, a concern which is still doing business and of which his daughter, Mrs. Louisa J. Lips, is president. Mr. Storch served as president of the German Savings Bank until its stock was purchased by the United States National Bank, and also filled the office of president of this bank during the period of its existence. He was engaged in banking pursuits for a period of eighteen years.

He was married in 1859 to Miss Elizabeth Fox, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Fox, who removed from Evansville, Ind., where Mrs. Storch was born, to Carroll county, Missouri, and settled on a farm. Two children blessed this union of George and Elizabeth Storch: George H., who will be remembered as a bright, intelligent and capable Atchison citizen and who was associated with his father in business for several years, and died in July, 1911, and Louisa Justina, widow of Oscar Lips. Mrs. Storch died in February, 1905, and almost three years later followed the demise of the husband and father, who departed this life in January, 1908. Oscar Lips and Louisa Justina Storch were married in 1891, and that union was blessed with a son, Charles, born in October, 1896. Charles Lips received his primary education in the public schools of Atchison, his preparatory work in the Culver, Ind., Military Academy, and is now pursuing a collegiate course in the Kansas University at Lawrence. Oscar Lips was born in St. Louis, Mo., a son of Dr. Charles August Lips, a former practicing physician of St. Louis, and who was of German descent. Oscar was reared and educated in his native city, and when a young man engaged in the wholesale drug business. His demise occurred in Atchison, August, 1905.

George Storch was a Republican in politics and took an active and influential part in political affairs during his long years of residence in Kansas. Not long after establishing himself in business at Kennekuk he became postmaster of the town, and assisted in establishing the first union school in the village, serving as a member of the board of education which had charge of this school. The Horton Headlight has the following historical account of this school in an issue of August, 1905, in part: “The old stone school house was not the first school building in the Kennekuk neighborhood, but it was the first substantial one in this part of the country and marks an important epoch in its development. It was built in 1867. It was a joint district, eight miles north and south. The west line was the road between Atchison and Jackson counties. A strip of country two miles wide and eight miles long was in Atchison county and a corresponding trip of country was just over the line in Brown county. The school house was quite a structure to be builded in that early day, but the settlers did not complain at the high taxes, since their children had a good place to attend school. The cost was about $3,000, quite a good sized sum for early settlers to expend, but it shows their determination to provide an education for their children. The first school board was composed of George Storch, Squire Willis and Henry Claunch....”

Mr. Storch was always greatly interested in the cause of education and after his removal to Atchison he served as a member of the Atchison board of education and was president of this body for a time. While a resident of Kennekuk he was elected to represent Atchison county in the Kansas legislature in 1864. During the ensuing session he voted for Gen. James H. Lane for United States senator and voted to ratify the fourteenth amendment to the National constitution. In 1876 he was elected a member of the legislature from the city of Atchison, and during the session following his election he was a member of the ways and means committee and voted for P. B. Plumb for United States senator. Mr. Storch made an excellent record as an able and honest legislator, who had the best interests of his State at heart. He was active in civic and political affairs in Atchison and served as a member of the city council of which body he was president for one year, declining re-election when his term of office expired. The following tribute to his ability as a city father appeared in the Atchison Champion of April 6, 1873: “One of the best councilmen our city has ever had leaves that body after two years’ service in it. We refer to Hon. George Storch, chairman of the committee on improvements. He has been industrious, independent, and energetic. Having the chairmanship of the most important and laborious committee, he has given his time and attention to the discharge of the duties devolving upon him, and in the decision of all questions in the council he has exhibited a clearness of judgment and a carefulness in guarding the interests of the city that entitle him to general commendation. He declined re-election.”

Mr. Storch served for three years as city treasurer and exhibited the same judgment and careful management of the city’s affairs in this important capacity that has marked the performance of his official duties as a councilman and school trustee. It is worthy of record that in 1865, while in Kennekuk, he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners and served as chairman of that body.

Few pioneer citizens of Atchison lived a more useful or busier life than he of whom this review is written. The name of George Storch figures prominently in the historical annals of Atchison county as a builder and creator and an honorable and upright citizen, who left behind him when his soul winged its way beyond the knowledge of mortal ken, a record imperishable, and a name unblemished and untarnished of which his descendants may well be proud. While opportunities for achieving fortune and fame may not be as great at this day as they were in George Storch’s time and era, the story of this poor German emigrant boy who made his own way in Kansas from poverty to affluence and won an honored place in the history of his adopted county and State is well worth reading and may serve as an inspiration and guidance to others of the present and rising generations.

Thomas Brown.

There is considerable satisfaction in writing the life story of a man who has worked his way upward from poverty to a position of wealth and influence in the space of a lifetime, and accomplished it all with his own strong arms and mind. When one adds to this accomplishment the rearing of a large family to lives of usefulness, and to bring up a bevy of young men and women to comfort their parents in their declining years, there is not much for any one individual to wish for. Thomas Brown, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan., has done all of this and is the proud father of one of the largest families in Atchison county. Had he done no more than to bring into the world his thirteen children, he would have been worthy of praise and been entitled to honorable mention in this volume, as a patriotic and sturdy American citizen. A native of the Emerald isle, he came to America in his youth, and now ranks as one of the Kansas and Atchison county pioneers.

Thomas Brown was born in the little village of Altone, Ireland, and is a son of John and Mary (Dalton) Brown. His birth occurred on February 10, 1847. His father was a farmer in his native country, and made a good living for his family, later moving to the town of Altone and engaging in the transfer business, in which occupation he was fairly successful and enabled to provide for his family in comfort. He was the father of ten children, seven of whom came to America to seek their fortunes in the land of opportunity. The seven who came across the Ocean were: J. P. Brown, a pioneer merchant and capitalist, of Atchison, now deceased; Mrs. Bridget Norton, who died in 1913 at her home in Pittsfield, Mass.; Mrs. Mary Scully, of Troy, N. Y.; Mrs. Anna Elkhorn, of Troy, N. Y.; Mrs. Margaret Hewitt, of Independence, Mo.; Mrs. Kate Waters, deceased, who was the wife of a soldier in the British army. The father of these children died in Ireland, and the mother died in Troy, N. Y.

Thomas Brown emigrated from his native land to this country in 1865, and hired out to a farmer in Orange county, New York, at $20 per month. The farm where he was employed was located seventeen miles north of Newburg, on the Hudson river. He worked there for two years and carefully saved his earnings until he had $300. With this capital he set out for the West and joined his brother, J. P. Brown, who was then located in Atchison. His first employment was on his brother’s stock farm, located north of Monrovia. Unfortunately, he was taken ill not long after his arrival, and lay sick for a long time with typhoid, all of his savings going to pay for medical services and nursing. He remained on his brother’s farm for ten years and laid by another stake during that time. During this period he cultivated three farms, owned by J. P. Brown, who did not require him to pay any rental fees. Even the taxes were paid by his brother who was only anxious to keep the land in cultivation and give his brother, Tom, a start in the world. In the year 1877, Thomas, having saved enough money to buy a farm of his own, invested his savings in a tract of 160 acres of high prairie land, northwest of Effingham, in Benton township. His first land investment cost him $2,250. The land had on it only a small shack which was soon replaced by a comfortable home. It is now one of the best improved places in this section of Kansas, and the Brown farms are among the most productive in the whole State of Kansas. A handsome white farm house graces the home place, which can be seen for miles around, and it is quite imposing. Mr. Brown prospered as he deserved and increased his holdings to the grand total of 640 acres of good Kansas land. The remarkable part about his purchases of land is that he paid cash for every tract of land which he bought and never went in debt for a single acre. This land, purchased at varying prices, is now easily worth $125 an acre. Mr. Brown carried on general farming and live stock raising until February of 1911, when he turned over the management of the home farm to his son, and removed to Effingham, where he has a beautiful and comfortable residence in the west part of the city.

He, of whom this review is written, was married on October 20, 1869, to Miss Anna Neely, born in Ohio in 1846, a daughter of Samuel Neely, who migrated to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1868. Sixteen children have been born of this marriage, thirteen of whom are living, all of whom are married excepting one daughter and a son: John, a farmer, living near Blue Rapids, Kan.; Mrs. Ida Fishburn, living on a farm near Meriden, Kan.; William, Charley, Frank, and Edward, who are located on their father’s ranch; George lives at Effingham; Richard, a successful farmer, living south of Muscotah; Mrs. Pearl Dunn, of Oklahoma; Mrs. Ethel Smith, residing in Oklahoma; Edith, at home with her parents; Mrs. Julia Wagner, living near Mortimer, Kan.; Mrs. Mary Kemp, on a farm near Vermilion, Kan. This worthy couple have thirty-six grandchildren.

Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics, but is decidedly independent in his voting and making up his mind concerning political questions of the day. He believes in supporting the man best qualified to serve the people in a civic capacity, rather than blindly following the dictates of political leaders or so-called bosses, a characteristic of the man in all of his conduct through life. He is a member of the Effingham Catholic church and is a liberal supporter of this denomination, having contributed liberally toward the building of the local church. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons lodge and became a member of this lodge in 1871. It is a matter of historical record that Mr. Brown, Willis Walker and Hump. Henderson, of Effingham, are the three oldest living Masons in Atchison county in point of years of membership in the order. What more honor does a man wish than has befallen this Atchison county pioneer?

Albert H. Blair.

Albert H. Blair, farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, was born March 6, 1862, near Astoria, Ill., and is a son of William and Alcinda (McCormack) Blair. He was one of five children, Daisy being the only other survivor. She resides in Center township and is now Mrs. Warner. Two other children died in infancy, and William died while living on the farm which Bert now owns. The father was born May 18, 1833, in Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of William Blair, and was a glass cutter while living in the East, but when he went to Illinois, he engaged in farming. Later, he farmed in Fulton county, Illinois. In 1863 he came to Kansas and engaged in freighting between Atchison and Denver, with his brother, Edward. They followed this exciting occupation about three years, and in that short time had many experiences which they related with great delight in after years. They were never attacked by the Indians, for the reason that they drove in large numbers, with 100 wagons to the train, and the Indians were shy of such a large force. However, one night they thought that their luck had changed. Mr. Blair can just barely remember the incident, although his father has told it over so many times that it seems to him as if he remembered the original incident. One night the party camped on the trail between Atchison and Denver, lying asleep under their wagons. Indians had been seen that day and the freighting party was a little uneasy, and some of the more nervous members feared an attack. Late in the night the mules became frightened and woke up Mr. Blair. William jumped up, and off in the dark he could see a white object approaching. The cry of “Indians” went out and rifles were aimed. William shot, but could not hit the object. No one else could, for it was very dark and the object could not be seen distinctly. The white object kept approaching, and finally took a definite outline in the darkness. It was a white steer. One night when Indians stampeded the mules of the train, William and a comrade set out in pursuit of the Indians by flaying the mules with arrows and drove them so fast that the pursuers caught up with them by hard exertion and recaptured the horses. These are typical of many narratives which the elder Blair related of his early-day experiences on the plains. After quitting the freighting business, he and his brother engaged in milling in Atchison, Kan. Three years later William sold his interest to his brother, and started a livery business. A year later he went to farming in Doniphan county, Kansas, and moved from one farm to another for several years. In 1882 he was elected sheriff of Atchison county on the Democratic ticket, and his first term was so successful that he was re-elected. After his term expired he continued to live in Atchison for some time. He then bought 160 acres of land in Center township and remained there until 1891, when he removed to Effingham, where he lived in retirement until his death in 1899. The mother of Bert Blair was born January 11, 1842, in Brownsville, Pa. She is a daughter of Alonza and Sarah J. (Hibbs) McCormack, who were natives of Pennsylvania. They came west in the early days and farmed in Illinois and Iowa. The mother is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Daisy Warner, in Center township, Atchison county.

Bert Blair grew up on his father’s farm and in Atchison, and was educated in the district schools and the Atchison public schools. He lived at home until he was eighteen years of age when he engaged in railroading. It may have been the stories of his father about the travelers that prompted him to go into railroading. At any rate he found the adventurous work to his liking and he worked as a fireman on the Missouri Pacific railroad passenger train from Kansas City to Omaha, until he was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer. His run was from Hiawatha to Kansas City, which was a division of the Missouri Pacific then. In 1890 he rented his father’s farm, and at the death of the latter, he inherited eighty acres, and he has since increased his holdings to 160 acres. He has built a fine modern barn on his place, 50×54 feet in size, with a capacity of ninety-two tons of hay, and was designed and built by Mr. Blair himself.

In 1886 he married Sarah P. Jeffery, who was born February 20, 1869, in Missouri. She was a daughter of Ira P. and Mary (Farley) Jeffery, both of whom were born in Virginia. They came to Atchison county, Kansas, in the seventies, and are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Blair have been born four children, as follows: Roberta, deceased; Claude, Effingham, Kan., married Vera Pittman, of Effingham, and has one son, Thomas Albert, who was born December 24, 1909; William C., who married Elsie Stickler, of Lancaster, and has two sons, Chester Eugene, born April 23, 1913, and Bert William, born October 20, 1914. A daughter, Sarah, died in infancy in Kansas City. Mrs. Blair died November 20, 1915, and her remains were interred in the cemetery at Lancaster. Mr. Blair is a Democrat. He attends the Methodist church, and is a member of the Eagles and Modern Woodmen of America.

George H. T. Johnson.

There is considerable distinction in being the oldest practicing physician in Atchison county, and this well merited honor properly belongs to Dr. George H. T. Johnson, of Atchison, Kan., who for nearly half a century has practiced his profession continuously in the city with ever increasing prestige and success which has never abated during the long period of his career. Dr. Johnson is one of the best loved and well respected professional men of the city who has won his place in the front rank of his profession by sheer merit and ability of a high order. Despite his seventy-three years of age he still continues to minister to the ailing and has kept abreast of the wonderful advances made in medical science.

Dr. G. H. T. Johnson was born near Mt. Vernon, Jefferson county, Illinois, October 15, 1842, a son of James and Lydia (Cricle) Johnson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Illinois. His paternal grandfather, George Johnson, was a soldier in the American army during the War of 1812. The father of Dr. Johnson died when he was an infant and his mother departed this life at the age of seventy-eight years. George H. T. was educated in the public schools of Jefferson county and Mount Vernon. He remained at home until the summer of 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Tenth regiment, Illinois infantry. In September of the same year this regiment was assigned to the command of General Buell, then at Louisville, Ky., and first saw action at the battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862. Subsequently, the One Hundred and Tenth was transferred to General Rosecrans’ army and took part in the great battle of Stone River and the campaign which resulted in the capture of Chattanooga, and the great battle of Chickamauga. He was under General Thomas at the battles of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. General Grant in person directed the maneuvers of Generals Thomas’ and Rosecrans’ combined forces during these famous engagements. Subsequently, his regiment was assigned to the command of General Sherman and served under Sherman until the close of the Civil war. He took part in the siege and capture of Atlanta and the famous March to the Sea, which culminated in the capture of Savannah, which city Sherman presented to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. He also participated in the campaign of the Carolinas and was at the last battle fought by Sherman’s army at Bentonville, N. C., and at the surrender of the Confederate army under Gen. Joseph Johnston near Raleigh. From there the victorious army marched to Richmond, thence to Baltimore and on to Washington, where they participated in the Grand Review. Mr. Johnson was honorably discharged from the service and mustered out June 8, 1865. The doctor tells many anecdotes of his long and varied army experience which are all interesting and show that he proved himself not unworthy of the martial blood coursing through his veins and transmitted from his grandfather.

Upon his return home from the war Mr. Johnson taught one term of school and then decided to take up the study of medicine and make the science of healing his life vocation. Accordingly, he entered the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College and subsequently attended the Homeopathic Medical College of St. Louis, Mo., where he was graduated February 26, 1869. While a student at college he heard of the city of Atchison and was impressed with the idea that it would be a good place to locate. After looking around for a few weeks he became convinced that Atchison was a desirable location for a young physician and he came here in April of 1869 and soon built up an excellent practice which grew in volume as the years went on. In 1885 Governor Martin appointed Dr. Johnson a member of the State board of health, and in April of that year he was elected president of the board and retained the position for eight years. He is president of the Atchison board of pension examiners for the United States Government and has acted in that capacity for several years, his service as pension examiner beginning during the term of President Arthur and continuing under the administrations of Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. He always takes an interest in the brothers who fought in the army under the stars and stripes for the preservation of the American Union and does everything in his power to aid the old soldiers. He is a charter member of the Homeopathic Medical Society of Kansas and served two terms as president of this society. He is also a member and has been a senior member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, the oldest medical institute in the United States. For many years he has been a member of the American Public Health Association, as well as the County, State, and American Medical Associations. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and has been a surgeon of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic, since its organization, excepting two years when he served as the post commander. Dr. Johnson is a man of wide and thorough experience, broad and tolerant in his views, who has commanded the confidence and high esteem of the people of Atchison and the surrounding country during the many years in which he has been a resident of the city. He is one of the best known men in the county and holds high rank as a physician whose skill has not suffered abatement as the years have gone by.

Charles H. Johnson

Dr. Charles H. Johnson, his son, practices with his father. He is a graduate of the Kansas State University and completed a course in the medical department of Columbia University, N. Y., and also graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City. For two years he served as staff physician of the Roosevelt Hospital of New York City, where he gained a wide and varied experience in the practice of his profession that has proven to be invaluable to him in his later career. Since locating in Atchison with his father he has built up a fine practice and served for ten years as surgeon of the Orphans’ Home at Atchison.

Thomas C. Treat.

Thomas C. Treat, who is engaged in the investment brokerage business in Atchison, is one of the extensive land owners of Atchison county. Mr. Treat is a native of Atchison county, born March 26, 1865, and is a son of Levi S. and Mary D. (Cooper) Treat, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of England. Mary D. Cooper was born in Exeter, Devonshire, England, and was a daughter of Thomas and Mary A. Cooper. The Cooper family immigrated to America when Mary D. was a child. The family consisted of the parents and three children. They made the trip across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, the voyage taking six weeks. They located at Covington, Ky., where the parents spent their lives. Mary D. Cooper had friends living in Atchison, and came here in 1857, where she later met and married Levi S. Treat. Levi S. Treat was born in Connecticut in 1814, and was a son of Amos Treat, who removed with his family to the Western Reserve, which comprised twelve counties in northeastern Ohio. The Treat family located in that section in 1828, when Levi S. was fourteen years old, and there the parents spent the remainder of their lives.

When a young man, Levi S. Treat was in the employ of the Government, prospecting for copper in the Lake Superior region. He was thus engaged for eight or ten years, and in 1856 came to Atchison county, Kansas. Shortly after arriving here, he preëmpted 160 acres of land, part of which is now included within the city limits of Atchison. Here he followed farming and fruit growing in the early days and prospered and acquired considerable land. He dealt quite extensively in real estate and was one of the early promoters of Atchison, and built the first brick business house in that city. This building was located two doors east of the Byrum Hotel. Levi S. Treat was a successful business man and one of the substantial citizens of Atchison county. During the Civil war he was a colonel of the Twelfth regiment, Kansas militia. He died April 13, 1881, and his wife survived him for several years, passing away March 29, 1913. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Kate married Samuel K. Woodworth, and they reside in California; Frank resides in Arizona; Thomas C., the subject of this sketch; Alice married George Guerrier, of Atchison, Kan.; Grace married William Berry, of Atchison, Kan., and Ethel married Harry McDuff, of Omaha, Neb.

Thomas C. Treat was reared in Atchison and educated in the public schools, and later attended St. Benedict’s College. He then was engaged in fruit growing for a number of years, and in 1889 engaged in the investment and brokerage business in Atchison, and has continued in that business to the present time. Mr. Treat owns over 1,100 acres of land besides various other interests and investments. He is one of the pioneer fruit growers of Atchison county, and owns a fifty-acre fruit farm, which has few equals, if any, in the State of Kansas. The trees on this place are about fifteen years old, and, under normal conditions, are very productive. Mr. Treat has made an extensive study of the fruit business and has developed a scientific system of treating his trees. He was the first fruit man in Atchison county to use the spray method, and he has been very successful in the fruit business.

Mr. Treat was one of the organizers of the Union Trust Company, which was later merged into the Exchange State Bank, and has been a director, or other officer, in that institution since its organization. He is also a stockholder in the Exchange State Bank. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of Atchison county.

Charles H. Fuhrman.

Charles H. Fuhrman, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born in Schleasien, Germany, December 13, 1852. He is a son of Ernst and Louise (Heine) Fuhrman, and is their only child. The father was married again, however, and to his second wife, Johanna Gerlach, twelve children were born, as follows: Ernst, Atchison, Kan.; Caroline (Dierking), Dodge City, Kan.; Louise (Repstein), Jefferson county, Kansas; William, St. Joseph, Mo.; Reinhold, farmer, Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas; Julius, Doniphan county, Kansas; Traugot, Center township, Atchison county; Herman, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Paul, Center township, Atchison county; Emma (Schwope), Center township. Two children died in infancy. The father was born in Germany July 8, 1826, and in 1872 came to America and settled in Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land in section 16, Lancaster township. This was timber and prairie land and there was only a small, poorly built house on it at the time, but during the twenty years which he owned it he built several substantial buildings and made numerous improvements. He then sold the place to his son, Herman, and removed to Lancaster, where he lived in quiet, well-earned retirement for five years, when he went to live with his son, Paul, in Center township, where he died September 2, 1915. The mother, Louise (Heine) Fuhrman, died in Germany when a young woman in 1852. Charles Fuhrman’s stepmother, Joehanna (Gerlach) Fuhrman, was born in Germany, and is now living with her daughter, Emma, in Center township, Atchison county, in her eighty-fifth year.

Charles Fuhrman left Germany with his parents when he was nineteen years of age. He had received his education under the German system, and had been taught the carpenter’s trade, but never followed this occupation after he came to America. He remained with his parents, helping his father on the farm in Lancaster township until he was twenty-five years old, when he bought 160 acres of land in section 18, Lancaster township. When he took possession the farm had no improvements, and he first built a house and a barn, and added other improvements and conveniences. He acquired more land until he now owns 390 acres, including eight acres of fine timber land on his home place and ten acres of timber on the farm which he rents. He has stocked his farm with graded animals. Besides his real estate investments, Mr. Fuhrman is a shareholder in the Huron Telephone Company. He was married in 1878 to Louise Roerchen, who was born in Germany July 16, 1857. She left her native land with her uncle, Karl Schwope, in 1860. They came to Wathena, Doniphan county, Kansas. Her mother died on the ocean while coming to America and the little daughter was reared by her grandparents in Doniphan county and attended the grammar school at Wathena. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fuhrman: Ernst, farmer, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Ida (Tuley), deceased; William, Lancaster township; Selma (Lange), Grasshopper township, Atchison county; Edward, living at home; Mabel, also living with her parents. Mr. Fuhrman is a Republican, and has been road overseer of Lancaster township. He belongs to the Evangelical church, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

Charles Linley.

A true analysis of the growth and development of the manufacturing and commercial enterprises of a city invariably brings forth the fact that while the interested principals furnished capital, energy and ability, its financial institutions were also material factors. The city of Atchison is not an exception to the rule. The policy of her banks has been, since the first one was established, to extend assistance to merchants and manufacturers. Both executives and directors have been keenly alive to the fact that a liberal policy, in so far as was consistent with sound banking, was essential to commercial growth. Among those who have realized success in this field of activity is he whose name initiates this article. He first entered the banking life of the city in the early nineties, subsequently served Atchison county in an official capacity and re-entered financial circles as one of the organizers of the Union Trust Company in 1907, was later elected cashier of the Exchange State Bank, and in 1911 resigned to accept his present position, that of cashier of the First National Bank.

Charles Linley was born in the city of Atchison July 10, 1867, and is the only surviving member of the family of Dr. James M. Linley, a pioneer physician of the city and one of her most influential citizens. Dr. Linley was born in Salem, Ky., the son of a pioneer, and was of English descent. He was reared in his native State, received a good academic and classical education, and subsequently entered Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated with the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. During the closing years of the Civil war he entered the Union army as a regimental surgeon and served until the close of the conflict. Previous to entering the army he had married Mary A. Hubbard, a daughter of Charles Hubbard, of Hickman, Ky., a member of one of Kentucky’s most prominent families, an influential citizen and a widely known and successful physician.

Following his service in the Union army, he came to the conclusion that Kansas spelled opportunity for him, and bringing his family, located in the city of Atchison in 1865. From this time until his death, which occurred November 28, 1900, he continued in the active practice of his profession. He was recognized as one of the most successful physicians and surgeons in northeastern Kansas. He was a man of attractive personality, was intimately acquainted throughout the city and county and held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. His record for continuous years of practice has seldom been equaled in the State. He was a believer in the religion of deed, and his creed was to do good. He believed in the gospel of help and hope. For forty-five years he lived his creed and preached his gospel to the citizens of his adopted State. He was not only a successful physician but also realized a substantial success in a commercial way. He was directly or indirectly interested in many business enterprises. He was one of the active forces in the organization of the First National Bank, and from the establishment until his death was a member of its directorate. He and his wife were prominent in the social and religious life of the city, and the Linley residence was known for its gracious hospitality which was extended to their many friends with true Kentucky spirit. Dr. and Mrs. Linley were the parents of five children, all of whom, with the exception of our subject, are deceased. Hubbard Linley, the eldest, was graduated in medicine and became one of the most prominent surgeons in northeast Kansas. He was division surgeon of the Missouri Pacific railway, Atchison district. His death occurred in July, 1911. Thomas died in childhood; Victor, on November 20, 1915; and Maria died in childhood.