Chapter XXV. Biographical History (part 2)

Charles Linley was reared in the city of Atchison and received his early education in its public schools. Subsequently, he entered Kansas University, where he completed a course in English. He initiated his commercial career in 1887 when he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Atchison in the capacity of collector. In 1892 he was appointed deputy treasurer of Atchison county. That he filled this position satisfactorily is attested through his having been elected treasurer of the county in 1899 and re-elected to that office in 1902. His second term expired in 1905, but he held over until 1907, as the gentleman elected to the office in the fall of 1904 died before being sworn in. The administration of the affairs of this office under Mr. Linley was marked by efficiency, economy and courtesy. During the last two years of this service he was the junior member of the Antle-Linley Grain Company of Atchison. In 1907 he was actively concerned in organizing the Union Trust Company of Atchison, and was elected secretary and treasurer. He filled this position until 1909, when the Exchange State Bank was organized. This institution took over the Union Trust Company, and Mr. Linley was elected cashier. He remained with the Exchange State Bank until 1911, when he was elected cashier of the First National Bank, the institution in which he had received his first business experience some twenty years previous, and in the organization of which his father was an active factor. To the banking fraternity Mr. Linley is known as an energetic, able and progressive executive, one who has brought the administrative policy of his bank to a point of high efficiency. He has extensive commercial interests aside from the bank. He is a stockholder in the Globe Publishing Company, the Bailor Plow Company, and the Cain Milling Company. Since attaining his majority, he has been active in the political life of the county, and is one of the influential members of the Progressive party. Mr. Linley is a member and past exalted ruler of Atchison Lodge, No. 647, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is also a member of Atchison Lodge, No. 404, Loyal Order of Moose.

On June 26, 1890, in Atchison, Mr. Linley married Miss Roberta Wilson Riddell, a daughter of Mrs. Josephine E. Riddell. They have one child Robert Wilson Linley, born in Atchison, March 8, 1894. He was educated in the public schools of his native city and graduated from its high school. In 1911 he entered the law department of Kansas University, remaining until 1913, when he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he completed a course in English. In 1915 he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Atchison in the capacity of collector and remittance clerk.

William H. Bush.

William H. Bush, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was born January 16, 1856, in Hanover, Pa. He is a son of Elias D. and Sarah (Keithline) Bush, and was one of six children, as follows: William, subject of this sketch; Samuel, deceased; John, deceased; Andrew, foreman of tailoring establishment in St. Louis, Mo.; Charles F., signal man for the Missouri Pacific railway in Colorado; Minnie, Atchison, Kan. Elias D. Bush, the father, was born December 16, 1834, in Pennsylvania. He was a stationary engineer and also followed farming for a time. During the eighties he came to Atchison county and took up farming in Shannon township. For a few years he rented his land, but later bought 160 acres in section 26, Lancaster township, which is now owned by Amel Markwalt. Elias D. Bush followed farming here until 1904, when he sold his place and removed to Atchison, where he is now living in retirement. William H. Bush’s mother was born February 27, 1834, in Hanover, Pa., and died in 1890, and is buried in Lancaster cemetery.

William H. Bush attended the common schools in Hanover, Pa., and later worked in the coal mines. In 1876 he left the East and came to Atchison county, Kansas, and for five years worked for his uncle, Andrew Keithline, and then rented land in Shannon township for eleven years. He was successful in this venture, and in 1890 bought the farm of 160 acres which he now farms, in Lancaster township. When he took the farm it had only the most meager improvements, consisting chiefly of a small house and an old barn, both in a dilapidated condition. Mr. Bush has built a fine eleven-room house and a large barn, 64×60 feet. This barn cost him $3,000, and he is willing to wager that it is one of the best, though perhaps not the largest, in Atchison county. He now owns 320 acres of land in Lancaster township and has a number of head of high grade stock, including Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. Mr. Bush is a practical farmer, who, with practically no start, has, by hard work and diligent economy, become a man of comfortable circumstances. He holds a position of high esteem among the many acquaintances he has made in Atchison county.

On March 30, 1881. Mr. Bush was united in marriage with Ellen J. Christian, a native of the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish sea lying between Ireland and England. She was born January 24, 1857, a daughter of Charles and Mary (Kneale) Christian, both of whom were natives of the Isle of Man. Mrs. Bush died in February, 1911. They had six children, as follows: Cora, Atchison, Kan.; Harry, Atchison, Kan.; Mary Smithson, Lancaster, Kan.; Ina, deceased; Sarah, Atchison Kan.; Jessie, Atchison, Kan. On October 29, 1913, Mr. Bush married Mary E. Christian, a niece of his first wife, and a daughter of Charles and Ellen J. (Wade) Christian, natives of the Isle of Man. She was born near Pardee, Atchison county, March 21, 1869, and attended the Catholic parochial school of Atchison. They have no children. Mr. Bush is a Republican and attends the Methodist church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America of Lancaster. He also is a member of the Atchison County Protective Association, of which he was one of the organizers, and served as president of the association for a number of years.

Mr. Bush is one of the most successful farmers in Kansas and is the owner of a highly productive tract of land. As an illustration of his success as a farmer, the records show that from a tract of twenty-one acres there was corn produced at an average of 108 bushels to the acre the first year, ninety-seven bushels to the acre the second year, and eighty-four bushels to the acre the third year, after which the land was sown to wheat in the natural order of crop rotation and the yield was thirty-eight bushels to the acre. Mr. Bush is a firm believer in crop rotation as a means of preserving the fertility of the soil.

Michael J. Hines.

For an individual to come to Atchison county without funds and with practically no influential friends to assist him to achieve success, it is remarkable for him to accomplish in the rather brief period of twenty-six years as much as has been done by Michael J. Hines, of Lancaster township, Atchison county. It is apparent that Kansas presents unusual opportunities for a man to better his condition, if one man can accumulate 480 acres of land, become president of a flourishing banking concern and a stockholder in another important city bank. The main reason for Mr. Hines’ wonderful success must lie in the ability of the man himself, and the reviewer must of necessity conclude that the power to achieve was inherent in his mental and physical makeup, which, combined with industry, decided financial ability, honesty and uprightness has made him one of the leading citizens of his adopted county. Mr. Hines is a scion of old southern families, and comes of good old Virginia stock on his mother’s side, being descended from the well known Hunter family of Virginia, who were among the founders of the Baptist church in the southland. Mr. Hines is a large stockholder and director, and was formerly vice-president of the Antelope Peak copper mines of Arizona. He is the owner of a 320–acre irrigated ranch in the Valier valley of Montana, near Valier.

Michael J. Hines was born July 5, 1863, in Roanoke county, Virginia, and was one of the twelve children of Henry and Katherine (Jeter) Hines, six of whom are living. The father was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1833. He was a Confederate soldier during the Civil war, having enlisted in Virginia but was not in any battles during the war. His life was spent in farming except for a time when he speculated in Confederate money. At the close of the war he had a sack full of Confederate scrip which could not be redeemed. He died at his home in Abington, Va., in 1898. His father, Richard Hines, was of Irish descent and was a plantation owner in Virginia. His mother was Sallie (Howmaker) Hines, and was of German descent. The mother of Michael Hines was also a Virginian, having been born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1841. She died in 1890. She was a daughter of Allison Jeter. Her mother was a member of the Hunter family, who were among the first members of the Baptist church.

Michael Hines was reared and educated in Virginia and left that State in 1883 when he was twenty years of age, settling in Morgan county, Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for six years. He then came to Atchison, Kan., and was engaged as foreman by the Greenleaf & Baker Grain Company. Six years later he bought his present farm of 160 acres. It was unimproved and none of the land was broken. Since buying the land he has made $10,000 worth of improvements on his place and has set out fifteen acres of orchard. This evidence speaks for the thrift and good judgment of Mr. Hines. He also has bought 480 acres of land in Lancaster township. He is a live, progressive farmer and stock raiser and keeps graded stock of all kinds on his farm. Mr. Hines is a shareholder and president of the Lancaster State Bank, and is also a stockholder in the German-American Bank of Atchison, Kan. In politics Mr. Hines is a Democrat, but votes independently in county and State affairs, and for the individual.

Mr. Hines was married in 1890 at Alexander, Ill., to Lillie Kaiser, who was born August 27, 1870, and six children have been born to this union, as follows: Samuel, who was graduated from the Atchison business college, and is now farming at home; Frank, Helen, Louise and Lillian, all living at home, and one died in infancy. Mr. Hines is a member of the Methodist church and is a trustee and steward in the Shannon Methodist Episcopal Church. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Lancaster, Kan.

Charles H. Falk.

Charles H. Falk, of Shannon township, is the owner of the first tract of land which was filed upon in the Atchison county land office in 1854. This farm was preëmpted by Capt. William Jackson, who was a justice of the peace and a captain of home guards during the Civil war, and died at Ft. Worth, Tex., in 1911. The first house built on the place was made from material taken from the cabin of a river steamer sunk in the Missouri river. Henry Falk, father of Charles, and his son, have made so many excellent improvements on the dwelling that the dining room of the present residence is the only part of the old cabin now in use. This part of the home was built in 1857. The original owner set out a grove of cottonwoods in 1857 which was cut down in the fall of 1892 by the present proprietor, and erected a barn from the lumber sawed, which made over 112,000 feet of good merchantable lumber. Mr. Falk’s barn was built from this lumber, with the exception of the shingles. Captain Jackson sold the land to Frank Fisher, who died in 1877, six months after the purchase, and it was bought by Henry Falk, father of Charles H., in 1878. After Henry Falk’s death, Charles H. came into possession of the land by inheritance, and by purchase of the interests of the other heirs. He has made very extensive improvements since becoming the owner and despite that the soil has been in constant cultivation for more than sixty years the yield of crops is greater now than ever before, and the wheat crops in late years have exceeded twenty-two bushels an acre. The farm residence is attractively situated, in the center of the tract of 155 acres and is reached by a splendid driveway, kept in first class condition by Mr. Falk. In fact, the private road to the Falk residence is kept in far better condition than many of the country roads in Atchison county, and is in keeping with the general appearance of this fine farm.

Charles H. Falk was born May 23, 1864, in Watertown, Wis., a son of Henry, born in 1815, and died, 1894, and of Wilhelmina (Clout) Falk, born 1819, and died in 1901. Both parents were born on the River Rhine in Germany, and married in their native land. Henry Falk was a cabinet-maker and immigrated to Wisconsin in 1857, and worked at his trade until 1866, when he settled on a farm. He came to Atchison county with his family in 1879, and on February 2, of that year, moved on the farm which he had purchased the preceding year.

Charles H. Falk was married in 1885 to Elizabeth Wolters, a daughter of John Wolters, a native of Holland, who was one of the first brick-makers in Atchison and Doniphan counties. John Wolters emigrated from Holland to Doniphan county, Kansas, in 1857, and came to Atchison in 1858. During his long residence in Atchison he has been a manufacturer of brick, and the results of his handiwork are seen in the construction of many of the brick buildings in the city. Mr. Wolters was born in May, 1827, and is now over eighty-nine years of age and the oldest Atchison county resident at the present time. He lives a retired life on South Second street. Mr. and Mrs. Falk have children as follows: John H., a resident of Beattie, Marshall county, married Margaret Gressel, and they have two children, Karl and Pauline; Henry, in the employ of the Symns Grocer Company; Anna, a seamstress, living with her parents; Rose, wife of John McGrath, a traveling salesman for the Symns Grocer Company, and they have one child, Rosemary; Herbert, aged twenty years, and Irene, aged ten years, both of whom are at home with their parents.

Mr. Falk and his family are members of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and Mr. Falk is a member of the church committee of four councilors. He is a Democrat, but is inclined to be independent in his voting, having a decided leaning toward the support of those candidates that seem best fitted for the office. He has filled no civic office but that of township trustee, which he held for one year, having been appointed by the county commissioners to fill a vacancy in Shannon township. He is affiliated with the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and the Central Protective Association and is a member of the St. Joseph society.

George Dorssom.

George Dorssom, one of the oldest living pioneer settlers of Lancaster township in point of residence, now living retired at Lancaster, Atchison county, was born August 4, 1864, in Lancaster township, Atchison county. He is a son of George and Sophia (Storm) Dorssom, and was one of thirteen children, four boys and five girls of whom are still living. The subject of this sketch was the seventh child of the family. The father of George Dorssom, whose name also was George, was born in Germany January 8, 1820. He sailed to America and settled in New Orleans when a young man and worked as a tailor there. He then went to Wayne county, Ohio, where he worked as a tailor for a time, when he engaged in farming. In 1860 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought forty acres of prairie land in section 21, Lancaster township, which he broke with oxen. He farmed on this place until his death in January, 1895. He came to America a stranger and without funds, but by hard work he accumulated considerable means and reared ten out of a family of thirteen children. His wife, Sophia, was a devoted helpmate, and when they were struggling to make their farm pay, she would load up a small hand wagon with vegetables and garden truck and pull it to Lancaster, where she would sell or exchange the produce for goods. This trip was two miles, and it was a great exertion for Mrs. Dorssom, but she was glad to be able to help her husband in whatever way she could. After the death of her first husband she was married again on February 19, 1896, to Jacob Merkel, a native of Germany. He died March 12, 1908. His wife is still active, despite her age, and lives in Lancaster with a maid. She is able to be about her work and takes a keen interest in life. Her children are: Mrs. Margaret Kleppe, a widow, residing in Brown county, Kansas; Mrs. Katherine Hinz, a widow, Lancaster, Kan.; John, farmer, Lancaster township; Mrs. Caroline Kloepper, deceased; Mrs. Sophia Myer, living in Soldier, Jackson county, Kansas; Adam, Lancaster township; Louisa Henrietta, dead; Mrs. Lizzie Myer, of Lancaster; Dora W., deceased; Adam, of Lancaster, Kan.; Mrs. Louisa Fridel, Brown county, Kansas; Henry, farmer, and three children who died in infancy. She has forty-five grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren and is very proud of them all. Her descendants all carry the idea of an industrious woman with them and the influence of the life of this woman will stay with them all through their lives.

George Dorssom, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm of his father. He attended school in the Bell district and worked on his father’s farm until he was twenty-five years of age. He then bought eighty acres of land from his father in section 21, Lancaster township, and followed farming for fifteen years. He has added forty acres to his farm and made extensive improvements to the extent of $7,000. He now owns 138 acres of land and a fine residence with about five acres of residence property in Lancaster, Kansas. Mr. Dorssom was a breeder of Berkshire hogs, to which he paid special attention. In 1909 he retired and moved to Lancaster, Kan. He is a Republican and was a member of the city council for four years. For a term of seven years he was road supervisor of Lancaster township. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs of his community. He has led a useful life and looks back on one of the longest careers of living citizens who were born in Atchison county. He has traveled in many parts of the United States, but is glad to have settled down in retirement in Atchison county, believing it to be the happiest country he has ever seen.

On December 31, 1890, Mr. Dorssom married Hulda Hinz, who was born in Germany October 1, 1860. She came to America when she was twenty years old. Her father, Edward Hinz, died in Germany in 1895, at the age of fifty-eight years. The mother, Caroline (Lutce) Hinz, came to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1896, and now resides at Leavenworth. Mrs. Dorssom attended school in Germany. She was one of nine children. A brother, Richard, is a florist at Leavenworth, Kan., and two brothers are in the same business, one, Rudolph, at St. Joseph, Mo., and the other, Amiel, at Leavenworth. Mr. and Mrs. Dorssom have no children, but they adopted a child, Gustave Hinz, a nephew of Mrs. Dorssom. They reared and educated him, and he is now farming on the home place. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dorssom are members of the English Lutheran church. He is a charter member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been a member of the Lancaster Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 355, since October, 1891, nearly twenty-five years. Mrs. Dorssom is a charter member of the Daughters of Rebekah Lodge, No. 431.

Cyrus E. Davis.

Cyrus E. Davis, founder and proprietor of the firm C. E. Davis & Sons, plumbing and heating contractors, at 509 Kansas avenue, is one of Atchison’s leading citizens, and a successful business man who has built up his business from a modest beginning in a few short years. He first started with a small shop on Commercial street, and in October, 1914, moved to his present location. A complete stock of plumbing, heating and steam fitting goods is carried in the shop, exceeding a value of $2,500. The excellence and thoroughness of the work done by the Davis establishment is marked, and the business is constantly on the increase.

Mr. Davis was born October 10, 1864, in Frederick county, Maryland, son of George W. and Belinda (Saunders) Davis. The Davis family is a very old one of Welsh extraction in America. The founders of this family were four brothers, who crossed the ocean and left their native land of Wales early in the seventeenth century. George W. Davis was also born in Frederick county, Maryland, and became a contractor and builder. He followed his trade in his native State until 1873, when he migrated to Nebraska with his family. Later he went to Texas, where he died in 1900. He was the father of nine sons, as follows: George W., a contractor and builder, of David City, Neb.; Harry W., a building contractor, of Houston, Texas; Theodore E., a contracting painter, of Columbus, Neb.; Mahlon, a tailor, located in Norwalk, Ohio; William M., deceased; Lewis A., a tinner and coppersmith, of San Bernardino, Cal., in the employ of the Santa Fe railroad; Cyrus E., with whom this review is directly concerned; Frank H., business agent for the Carpenters’ Union of Oklahoma City, Okla. The mother of these children was also born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1825, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Saunders, natives of England. Walter Saunders came of a good English family and studied in a boarding school of Southhampton, England, and became a school teacher in Maryland. He had the distinction of having taught for forty years in one school district in Frederick county, Maryland, and became well-to-do. Mrs. Davis died in 1889.

Cyrus E. Davis was educated in the public schools of Columbus, Neb., learned his father’s trade when a young man, and after taking a correspondence course in bridge engineering, he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company as bridge constructor. He remained with this road for five years and came to Atchison in 1886. He was employed by the Missouri Pacific Railway Company until 1905 and then entered the plumbing and heating department of the Farwell Heating Company for one and one-half years, and then became foreman for the Thayer Supply Company of Atchison. In the year 1912 he started a shop of his own on Commercial street and was successful from the start. It became necessary for him to seek larger quarters, and in October of 1914 he moved his business and shop to his present location.

Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Ida Mayhood in 1889, and to this union have been born seven children, as follows: Frank M., George E., Reynold, Fred, Norma, Charles, and Verner, deceased. All of Mr. Davis’ sons are associated with him in his business, and have learned to become expert plumbers and steamfitters under their father’s tutelage. The mother of these children was born November 9, 1869, in Leavenworth county, Kansas, a daughter of George and Mary (Carr) Mayhood, natives of Ireland, and Canada, respectively. George Mayhood emigrated from Ireland in an early day and settled in Leavenworth county about 1865, where he engaged in farming. He and his wife were married in Lowell, Mass.

Mr. Davis is a Republican, and has taken an active and influential part in the civic life of his adopted city, having served two terms as a member of the city council. He and his family are members of the Christian church, and he is fraternally connected with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Active Lodge, No. 158, and the Modern Woodmen of America, in both of which lodges he is much interested.

Henry Buttron.

The life story of Henry Buttron, late of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, reveals the accomplishments of a poor German emigrant, who began his career in Kansas with no money, and rose to become the practical leader of the German colony in the township, and to amass considerable wealth. His large farm of 960 acres which he owned at the time of his demise was left intact, to be held in trust for his children and heirs.

Henry Buttron was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, October 12, 1831, and he was one of the five sons of Jacob and Margaret (Zimmer) Buttron, two of whom came to America from their native land. Two brothers of the family, Frederick and Henry, came to America in 1852; Frederick settled in Pittsburgh, as did Henry, and he resided there until 1854, and then came to the West. In his native land, Henry Buttron had learned the trade of blacksmith; he worked at his trade in Pittsburgh, and after he came west, he was employed as a smith at Elgin, Ill., until 1857. He then came to Kansas and preëmpted a claim on section 22, Lancaster township, Atchison county. He brought a small amount of money with him, and was enabled to build a very small house, and then began to improve his farm. The crops failed in 1860, and he found it necessary to resort to the hammer and anvil in order to gain a livelihood for himself and his family. He, accordingly, removed to Atchison and was employed at his trade by Tom Ray, of the firm of Ostertag & Carmichael, and Anthony & Ostertag, consecutively for nine years. He then returned to his claim, redeemed the unpaid taxes, and entered upon a new era of progress and industry which led to his great success in the ensuing years. In 1882 he erected a large, handsome farm house, which at the time was one of the most conspicuous homes in the county. He added to his possessions as he was able, and accumulated a total of six quarter sections of good land, of 960 acres in all, all of which he left to his widow, who resides on the old home place.

Henry Buttron was married in Atchison, Kan., in 1866, to Rosa Scheu, whose father, Andrew Scheu, came from Wittenberg, Germany. The following children were born to this union: Rosa, wife of Louis Gerhardt, of Atchison; Emma, wife of Charles Kammer, of Lancaster township; Kate and Jacob, at home; Henry, who married Bertha Kemmer; Fred, married Louise Meek, lives near Nortonville, Kan.; Anna, wife of George Schulz, Lancaster township; Karl, married Anna Hegland, Lancaster township; William, George and Louis, at home. The mother of these children was born in Germany, in May, 1845, and came to America with her parents when nine years of age. She was a daughter of Andrew and Rosena (Baner) Scheu, both deceased.

Mrs. Buttron has grandchildren as follows: Kathrine, Rosa and Henrietta Kammer; Henry Buttron’s children, three, Clarence, Esther and Ruth; Fred Buttron has three children, Karl, Ralph, Mildred; Mrs. Anna Schulz has two children, Gilbert and Karl; Mrs. Rosa Gerhardt has one son, William; Karl Buttron has one child, Edward; Jacob Buttron has four children, Bertha, Emma, Alice and John.

Henry Buttron died February 8, 1913. During the Civil war he was a member of the Kansas State militia, and was in the engagement fought at Westport, and which resulted in the rout of the forces of the rebel general, Price. Mr. Buttron always took a keen interest in local and county affairs, and took a prominent part in affairs of importance to the well being of the people. He was always modest and unostentatious in his conduct, and was greatly respected by the people of his neighborhood for his cool judgment and patriotism at all times. Henry Buttron was a good citizen, and a kind parent who was highly esteemed by all who knew him.

W. H. Smith.

Some men are natural organizers and blessed with such a deep love for the well being of their fellowmen that their activities are to a considerable extent devoted to spreading the gospel of good fellowship among mankind. The social and fraternal orders which are popular among men of any locality are simply the outgrowth of that desire, for the realization of a great dream for the “Brotherhood of Man,” which was predicted 2,000 years ago. A man who furthers the growth of organizations which have the welfare of the individual, singly and collectively, at heart is doing a considerable amount of definite good for the betterment of social conditions. Such a citizen is W. H. Smith, the widely known and efficient clerk of the district court of Atchison county, and a likeable and able personality, who figures prominently in the history of his county.

Mr. Smith was born February 3, 1855, at Knoxville, Ill. He is a son of John and Harriet (Gibbons) Smith, natives of England. John Smith, the father, was born in 1808, and died in the year 1863. He was a scion of an English family and was a graduate of Oxford University. He became a contractor and builder in his native land, but immigrated to America with his wife and three children in 1852, settling in Knoxville, Ill., where he died eleven years later. He was the father of the following children: Mrs. Sarah Ann Simpson, deceased; Mrs. Harriet Ann Webb, of Burlington Junction, Mo.; Charles E., of Sierra Blanca, Texas, employed as a stationary engineer by the Texas Pacific railway since 1880. The mother of these children departed this life February 2, 1890, aged seventy-eight years, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Simpson.

W. H. Smith was reared in Knoxville, Ill. Being left an orphan at an early age, by the death of his father, it was necessary for him to start work when a boy and practically earn his own living and educate himself. By working on neighboring farms during the spring and summer he was enabled to attend school during the winter months, and succeeded in attending the Knoxville high school. He did farm work until 1865 and then learned the printing trade in Knoxville, being attached to the staff of the Knoxville Republican during the winter of 1866 and ’67, and remained until 1874 in that capacity. At the early age of twenty years he wedded Elmira Kistler, and then settled on a farm in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, on which was located a tannery. He operated both farm and tannery until 1880, when he decided to cast his fortunes in the western country. March 2, 1880, he came to Atchison with his family and moved to a farm near Good Intent, five miles northwest of Atchison. The year before this he had made a trip to Atchison county and invested in eighty acres of land which was partly improved. He developed this tract into a very fine farm and sold it at a considerable advance over and above the purchase price in 1895. In the spring of 1890 Mr. Smith removed to Atchison and for three years served as night agent at the union station for the Wells, Fargo and American Express companies. He then bought an interest in the Home Show Printing Company, and was connected with this concern in active capacity for a period of twelve years, or until 1905. The printing company was then taken over by other parties and he continued working in the office until 1909.

During his residence in Atchison county previous to this time, Mr. Smith had become prominently identified with the Republican party and had become known as a “wheel horse” of the organization and universally esteemed by the rank and file of the party. He was elected to the office of clerk of the district court in the fall of 1908, and began the duties of his office in January of 1909. He was reëlected in 1912 and again in 1914. He was elected without opposition from any source in 1912, and overcame his opponent in 1914 by the immense plurality of 3,010 votes. For a period of three years he was secretary of the Republican central committee, and was for six years a member of the first Atchison county high school board, being one of the surviving members of the original board which erected the county high school at Effingham, and was likewise a member of the board which rebuilt the school house when it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Smith was a member of this board while still a resident of the county and took a prominent part in the inauguration of this worthy institution, which has been so much appreciated by the people of Atchison county.

In religious matters Mr. Smith is identified with the Episcopal church. Probably no man in Atchison county is identified with a greater number of fraternal organizations than is he. He became a member of the Odd Fellows August 2, 1882, and is also a member of the encampment. Since January 1, 1915, he has served as a secretary of Friendship Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 5, and has been scribe of the encampment for the past fifteen years. For eighteen years he has been secretary of the board of trustees of the Odd Fellows lodge and is affiliated with the Rebekahs, and is a member of the canton. Since 1880 he has been a member of the Central Protective Association and was practically its originator, and has been the grand secretary of the order since 1886. The first of the annual outings and picnics held by this famous association was conducted in the grove on Mr. Smith’s farm. Visitors and guests to the number of 10,000 people have attended these picnics. Mr. Smith has been a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen since 1895, and recorder of the order for thirteen years. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World and has been their banker for six years past. He is affiliated with the Knights and Ladies of Security; the Kansas Fraternal Citizens; a member of Atchison Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles, No. 173, and its secretary since 1904. Before removing to Atchison he was secretary of the Central Protective Association at Good Intent for five years. He is at present serving his second term as State secretary of the Kansas Eagles, and has held various offices in the State aerie, including the important post of State representative. Since 1895 Mr. Smith has been a member of the Modern Woodmen; is a member of the Fraternal Aid Union, and the Improved Order of Red Men, and is an honorary member of the Typographical Union.

Mr. Smith’s happy wedded life began July 4, 1874, when he married Elmira, daughter of Joel and Matilda Kistler, of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, members of an old Pennsylvania family. Joel Kistler was a large land owner and tannery operator in Lehigh county. He and his brother, Stephen, operated a number of tanneries, and were extensive farmers, and were very wealthy. Joel Kistler came west, located in Knoxville, Ill., and invested heavily in Illinois land. He died at Stony Run, Berks county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Kistler died at Schnecksville, Pa. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born the following children: Estella, born July 14, 1875, deceased; Harriet Matilda, born June 6, 1876, wife of J. A. Wilkinson, of Hershey, Pa., and the mother of two children, John J., aged twelve years, and Michael aged eight years; Isabelle, born December 15, 1880, wife of Dr. J. E. Exter, of Atchison, and mother of one child, Eugene, aged five years; Pearl, born October 12, died April 25, 1890; Helen, born May 1, 1885, wife of R. H. Jones, chief train dispatcher for the Missouri Pacific railroad at Falls City, Neb., and mother of one child, Mary Elmira, aged six years; Frank Gibbons Smith, born August 8, 1891, and died February 23, 1901.

W. H. Smith is considered as one of the best officials who has ever filled a county office, and he is held in high esteem for his many excellent qualities. To his many friends and associates he is affectionately known as “Big Bill,” an appropriate name on account of his large stature, and an appellation which can well be applied to his heart and mind. While large of body, he is also big-hearted and blessed with a breadth of mind and good will which embraces all mankind.

Joseph W. Allen.

For over forty-five years Joseph W. Allen, veteran, merchant, and descendant of an old and distinguished colonial family, has been identified with the civic and mercantile life of the city of Atchison. He comes of rugged New England stock, noted for their integrity, honesty and proverbial industry throughout the United States, and has been one of the builders of Atchison’s largest wholesale grocery house. Mr. Allen has grown up with Atchison, and has come to be one of its best known and highly respected citizens, having risen from moderate circumstances at the outset of his career to a position of affluence and decided prestige among the commercial men of northeast Kansas.

Joseph W. Allen was born in Craftsbury, Orleans county, Vermont, March 2, 1841, a son of Hollis F. and Sophia (Root) Allen, natives of Massachusetts. The father was a merchant and when a young man removed from his native State to Craftsbury, Vt., where he was engaged in the mercantile business for a number of years, and in the latter part of his life he came to Atchison, Kan., dying in 1874. He had three sons who served in the Union army: Frank H., who later came to Atchison and was a member of the wholesale drug firm of McPike & Allen; George R. Allen, a retired manufacturer, living at Alton, Ill., and Joseph W., with whose career this review is directly concerned. A daughter, Anna H., wife of the late Frank Howard, founder of the Frank Howard Manufacturing Company of Atchison, died in 1915 at her home in this city. Another daughter, Nellie, makes her home with her brother, Joseph W., in Atchison, and is now in Honolulu. The Allen family is of Scotch origin, and Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame, was a member of the same family.

Mr. Allen was reared to manhood in Vermont and received a good common school education, attending the Craftsbury Academy. On October 2, 1861, in answer to the President’s call for volunteers to defend the Union, he enlisted for three years in Company I, First regiment, Vermont cavalry. He was mustered in with the regiment November 19, 1861, at Burlington, Vt., as bugler, and was mustered out of the service November 18, 1864. He left Burlington December 12, 1861, for Washington, D. C., and remained there with his regiment until February, 1863, at which time he was detailed at General De Forest’s headquarters as musician. Afterwards, he was detailed to General Kilpatrick’s headquarters as musician and remained there until General Wilson took command of the division in April, 1864. He was then detailed to General Sawyer’s headquarters until October, 1864, at which time he came to Burlington Vt., where he was mustered out of the service. Mr. Allen was in thirty-seven engagements during his three years of service, and was never wounded nor captured, nor was he absent from duty a single day on account of sickness. His regiment did notable service under Generals Sheridan and Custer, and he was engaged in the famous battle of Winchester. An incident of Mr. Allen’s army career is well worth recording. He effected, single handed, the capture of four Confederate soldiers, and the story of the capture is one of the historical incidents of the great conflict. The incident took place near Lightersville, Md., and it was after the regiment had taken part in the battle of Huntersville, Pa., July 2, 1863, and the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, the battle of Monterey on the Fourth of July, Lightersville on July 5, and on the sixth of July occurred the battle of Hagerstown. The men were all fatigued and had been deprived of both sleep and rest for several nights in succession, Joseph Allen among the rest. When they had ridden nearly all night to a point near Lightersville, they halted for rest in the small hours of the morning. Many were dismounted and fell asleep on the ground, Mr. Allen doing likewise. He slept so soundly, however, that when he awoke his comrades were gone. It was dark and he was uncertain in which direction the command had gone. He mounted his horse and let the animal pursue its own way without guidance. Dashing down the road, horse and rider came out into a main highway and unexpectedly came upon four men who were as much taken by surprise and fright as Allen himself. The rebels, supposing that there was a larger number of Union men following, made haste to surrender without waiting for an invitation. Allen promptly accepted their surrender and took them along to the main body which was some distance ahead. His prisoners proved to be a major, a captain and two lieutenants of the Eighth Georgia regiment.

Mr. Allen rode during the war a very sensible and intelligent cavalry horse, and thereby hangs a tale. In one of the cavalry engagements in which he participated he and his comrade were riding together under heavy fire. His riding partner was shot from the saddle and Mr. Allen felt his own horse sinking under him. Believing that the animal was mortally hurt he dismounted and jumped on the back of his dead comrade’s mount and rode away to safety. That night while lying in his blankets with the earth for his couch and the starlit sky for a canopy overhead he felt something soft and gentle nudging him. Startled, he arose hastily and was overjoyed to find that it was his favorite horse which had returned safely, but badly wounded, from the battlefield, and had hunted out his master from among the hundreds of recumbent and sleeping forms on the camping ground.

He returned to Craftsbury after his war service and engaged in mercantile business which he continued until 1870, when he came to Atchison at the solicitation of his brother, Frank H., who was at that time the junior member of the firm of McPike & Allen, wholesale druggists of Atchison. Mr. Allen entered the employ of the company as traveling salesman and was thus engaged for a period of three years. He then embarked in the grocery business in partnership with Colonel Quigg under the firm name of Quigg & Allen. Colonel Quigg commanded the Thirteenth Kansas infantry regiment during the Civil war. The firm of Quigg & Allen carried on a wholesale grocery business for about three years. Then Mr. Allen purchased his partner’s interest, and three years later consolidated with the A. B. Symns Grocer Company. A. B. Symns became the president of the company and Mr. Allen became vice-president. When Mr. Symns died in 1905 Mr. Allen became president and held the position until 1911 when he retired from active participation in the business, although he still retains a substantial interest in the company. Mr. Allen was one of the dominant individuals in the development of the Symns Grocer Company in the extensive concern which it is at the present time. When he joined forces with Mr. Symns their combined capital did not exceed $15,000, and during his period of association with this company their business developed into enormous proportions, and the capital of the Symns Grocer Company now amounts to $300,000. Mr. Allen was a natural salesman and had complete charge of the traveling sales department of the Symns Grocer Company, and, in fact, during the first few years was the entire traveling sales force himself. Later, as additional salesmen were added to the force he continued to direct the sales department of the business. Mr. Allen is a prominent factor in the business world of Atchison, and is vice-president of the Atchison Savings Bank. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in his political views is absolutely independent.

Ralph U. Pfouts.

Ralph U. Pfouts, a leading young attorney of Atchison, is a native son of Atchison county. He was born at Monrovia December 4, 1890, and is a son of William A. and Ollie (Sharpless) Pfouts. William A. Pfouts, the father, is also a native Kansan, born in Nemaha county in 1861 and is a son of James and Caroline (Kellam) Pfouts, natives of Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married, and in 1860 came to Kansas, locating in Nemaha county. The father, James Pfouts, died a few months after coming to this State and his wife returned to Pennsylvania with her little family. A few years later, however, the Pfouts family returned to Kansas, locating at Lancaster, Atchison county, and here William A. Pfouts was educated and reared to manhood. He followed farming in early life and for eighteen years was a school teacher. In 1896 he engaged in the general mercantile business at Lancaster. To William A. and Ollie (Sharpless) Pfouts were born two children, as follows: Ralph, the subject of this sketch, and Mabel, deceased. The wife and mother died in 1901, and in 1905 William A. Pfouts married Miss Sadie M. Monnies.

Ralph U. Pfouts was educated in the public schools of Atchison county, and Kansas University, at Lawrence, Kan., graduating from the law department of the latter institution with the class of 1914. Shortly after graduating he passed the State bar examination and engaged in the practice of his profession at Atchison where he is meeting with well merited success. He has appeared in connection with important litigations in both the State and Federal courts and is enjoying a lucrative practice. He possesses the natural qualities of an able lawyer and is an untiring student, and those who know him best predict for him a successful career in his chosen profession. Politically, he is a Republican. Mr. Pfouts is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Atchison Aerie No. 173, Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Ole G. Gigstad.

Ole G. Gigstad, farmer and stockman, Lancaster township, was born in Norway, October 25, 1856. He is a son of Gulick and Anna (Grannan) Gigstad. He was one of seven children, one of whom is now dead. Four sons and one daughter are now living in the United States. A brother, Knud G. Gigstad, is also a farmer and stockman in Lancaster township. The father was a native of Norway and spent his life there. Ole Gigstad left Norway in May, 1883, and came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he worked a year for his brother, Knud. Then for three years he rented a farm from his uncle in Brown county, Kansas, and in 1887 bought the farm in Lancaster township. It is an eighty acre farm and Mr. Gigstad has made improvements to the extent of $5,000, including a fine house and barn. He now owns 320 acres of well improved land, 160 acres of which are being farmed by his oldest son, Gustave, and it has a comfortable residence.

Ole Gigstad attended school in Norway, but when he sailed for America he could not speak the English language, and when he arrived here he was in debt to the extent of fifty dollars, which was an additional handicap. But his industry has brought him to the front rank of Atchison county farmers. He owns a fine herd of graded stock and is a successful farmer and stockman. He rented eighty acres additional in 1915 and he had 100 acres in corn last year.

Mr. Gigstad was married in 1888 to Severine Knudson, who was born in Norway, September 23, 1866. She left her native land in the spring of 1883 and settled at Everest, Kan., where her brothers were living at the time. In 1884 she removed to St. Joseph, Mo., where she worked four years. Her parents were Knud and Inger Sofie (Berntson) Knudson, natives of Norway. Her father was born in 1814, and immigrated to America in 1891, coming to Atchison county, Kansas, where he lived with his children until his death, in 1894. The mother was born in 1827, and died in her native country in 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Gigstad have eight children: Gustave A., farming the 160 acres west of his father’s farm; Ida, Charles, Albert, Emma, Edna, Alice, Benjamin, all living at home. Mr. Gigstad is a member of the Lutheran church and is a Republican.

John H. Barry.

John H. Barry, chairman of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Atchison, is one of the well known citizens of the city who has figured in the development of Kansas, especially the eastern portion of the State, for a period of many years. For fifty-seven years he has been a resident of the State, and has made his own way from comparative poverty in his youth, to a position of affluence which compares most favorably with that of the men of his day with whom he has been associated. He has seen the Sunflower State develop from a wilderness, unsettled and unpeopled, except by the wild animals and Indians, to become one of the fairest and greatest of the sub-divisions of the American Union. He is proud of Atchison and her prestige, and has played no small part in the task of advancing his adopted city to the forefront of western municipalities.

J. H. Barry is of Celtic origin, having been born in the city of Boston, of Irish parents, in 1849. His parents, Michael and Ellen (Roach) Barry, were natives of County Cork, Ireland, where they were reared and married, and crossed the Atlantic to seek their fortune in the new world. Settling in Boston in the early forties, Mr. Barry plied his trade of tailor with fair success and owned and conducted his own tailoring establishment. He died there when John H. was a small boy. His widow, accompanied by her son, then journeyed across the country to Leavenworth in 1858. Here the boy was brought up until he was fifteen years of age and in 1862 became a freighter in the employ of the Government. He was a “mule whacker,” or driver, who had charge of a team of six mules which he drove from Ft. Leavenworth across the Great Plains to New Mexican points. Saving his earnings, he embarked in the freighting business at Leavenworth for himself in 1866, driving his outfit over the route of the Ft. Scott & Gulf railroad, via Baxter Springs, Kan., through the Indian Territory to Indian agencies in the territory and Texas, carrying wagon loads of merchandise and trinkets on the outward bound trip, and bringing back a load of furs, hides and osage orange seed. The trinkets taken along were intended for the Indians who exchanged their furs for adornment. The osage orange seed was in great demand at this period inasmuch as the settlers were then girding their lands with osage hedges. Mr. Barry’s freighting venture proved profitable, and he made considerable money during the two years in which he made trips to the Southwest. In 1870 he engaged in railroad contracting, and was fairly successful until 1873. He graded and built many miles of railroad in southern Kansas and through Oklahoma, and in the building of the L. L. & G. R. R., he reaped excellent profits. He had his ups and downs, like other contractors, however, and one experience in particular very nearly proved his undoing. This was in the building of the M. K. & T. R. R., in which Mr. Barry had contracted to build a twenty foot embankment for a distance of one mile. It was understood with the railroad officials that the grading was to be completed by the first day of the following year, but he rushed the work so as to have it completed before the fall rains began. He succeeded in doing this early in the fall, but the head contractor, Stewart McCoy, would not accept the work as finally done before the time limit of the contract, unless he would deduct twenty per cent, from the contract price agreed upon. This arrangement meant the complete dissipation of his profits, and he finally came through with only his outfits. This experience ended Mr. Barry’s contracting career, as far as railroad building was concerned, and disposing of his outfits, he came to Atchison in 1873 with a small capital. Here on March 17, 1873, he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad as switchman and remained in the employ of this road until 1879, filling various positions, such as baggageman, trainman and yardmaster. While engaged in railroading he became interested in the civic and political life of Atchison, and possessing an engaging and candid personality, he made many warm friends, and was given political preferment. In the spring of 1879 he was elected constable and held the post and various others for three years. Following this office he was appointed chief of the Atchison city police in 1883 by Mayor C. C. Burns and served until 1885. In 1885 he served as superintendent of the Street Railway Company. Since then he has taken a more or less active part in political matters in the city and county, and is considered one of the political leaders of his party. While serving as city marshal he was a United States deputy marshal under United States Marshal Ben Simpson. In 1885 he established the Barry Coal and Wood Company, which he successfully conducted along with other commercial propositions until 1910. He became interested in the Atchison Paving Brick Company, and was active in the affairs of this manufacturing concern for over fifteen years, being still interested in the company. Upon the organization of the Commercial State Bank in November, 1906, he was elected president of the institution, and upon its consolidation with the First National Bank of Atchison he became chairman of the board of directors of the new organization.

Mr. Barry’s marriage with Kate Curtin occurred November 28, 1874, and to this marriage have been born the following children: John, engaged in business in New Mexico; Henry, Helen and C. W., deceased; Frances Barry Simmons, and one son, who died in infancy. The younger daughter is the wife of O. A. Simmons, whose biography appears in this volume. The mother of these children was born and reared in Leavenworth, Kan., a daughter of John and Helen Curtin, natives of Ohio, who came to Leavenworth in 1856. John Curtin was a landscape gardener by profession.

Mr. Barry has always been a Democrat. In 1885 he became a candidate for sheriff of the county, but was defeated by only four votes. In 1887 he was again a candidate for the office and was elected by the large majority of 1,150 votes. This, too, in the face of the fact that Atchison county has generally been considered a stronghold of Republicanism. So well did he perform the duties of his office, and so popular did he become that he experienced no difficulty in a second election to the sheriff’s office in 1889, with a majority of 850 to his credit. It is stated that his majority when elected sheriff of the county was the largest ever given a candidate for the place. He is a member of the Catholic church and is fraternally connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Columbus, and the Elks. Mr. Barry’s success has been due to a strong and winning personality, squareness in the conduct of his business transactions which have been proverbial, a genius and capacity for organization, which enabled him to plan and carry out his various undertakings to a successful issue, and the ability to make and retain friends.

Warren W. Guthrie.

It is given to relatively few men to leave this world for the mysteries of the next, contented with what they have done here, and without regret for duties unfulfilled. At the end of a lingering illness, giving ample time for reflection, and as a last utterance, General Guthrie called closer to his bedside his faithful wife and companion and his six living children then gathered about him and whispered to them: “I know that I am about to leave you forever. I want you to know that I am going without regret except for our separation. I have raised a family in which I have had only pride. I have tried to prepare you to be good members of your own families and useful citizens. I have fought the fight and my work is done. I am ready to go. I want you to know that I leave you feeling that I have never done any man an intentional wrong, or left unfulfilled any duty I was capable of accomplishing, and that I go content.”

These last whispers give a fair index to the life and character of this sturdy pioneer Kansan. He was a type of a product of the early years of struggle in Kansas, now largely passing away. Diplomacy was a word of which he might never have known the meaning. He at least never practiced it to the prejudice of frankness. Whether as a friend who could be depended upon in any emergency and regardless of consequences to himself, or whether as a foe who could not be placated by excuses or offers of advantage personal to himself, and equally regardless of consequences his cards in the game were always upon the table face up. He despised sham and pretense in every form, and whether in business, politics or the judicial forum, he always fought his way double-fisted, straight for the goal.

Born June 9, 1834, on a flinty hillside farm on the banks of the Housatonic river in Connecticut, and ambitious for a broader field, W. W. Guthrie struck out for himself early in life. At seventeen he was providing for his further education by teaching a rural school in New Jersey, on the present site of Long Branch, where the chief qualification for the teacher was his ability to thrash the biggest young fisherman in the school. In his later years it was one of the delights of General Guthrie to tell of his experiences in instructing the youth of New Jersey with a clapboard.

In 1857 under the well known general advice of Horace Greeley, Mr. Guthrie, then admitted to the bar, came, seeking his fortune, to Kansas by way of steamboat up the Missouri river from St. Louis, landing at Whitecloud, thirty-one miles north of Atchison, then one of the cities upon the Missouri with small population but unlimited future possibilities. Shortly afterwards he moved again westward to Hiawatha, the county seat of Brown county, where he established himself in practice, his business radiating to the surrounding counties, which were reached principally on muleback. General Guthrie was over six feet in height, and he loved to tell how, as a lanky young lawyer with a small mule, it was difficult to keep his feet off the ground in traveling from county seat to county seat. At Hiawatha he and the late Gov. E. N. Morrill were close friends, kept “bach” together, and had the usual quarrels as to whose turn it was to scrape the skillet.

Elected to the Territorial legislature, his service attracted such attention that in his absence, and without his knowledge, he was given by the Republicans the first nomination under State organization for the office of attorney general; he was duly elected and served as the first attorney general of the newly created State. It was from his incumbency in that office that he became known as General Guthrie. He was not acceptable for military service and took no part in the Civil war except as a volunteer in the organization hastily effected to repel the invasion of Gen. Sterling Price, which was cut off by his defeat at the battle of Westport.

Some of General Guthrie’s friends have felt that he would not have been nominated for attorney general if he had been at the convention where he was nominated, or had known that he was to be suggested as a candidate. While General Guthrie subsequently served with credit in the Kansas State senate and was an influential factor in Kansas politics for many years in the interests of others, he was not a successful politician as a candidate in conventions not made up of a majority of men who personally knew him well. He was thrice a candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress, and once nominated by one of the two factions of a convention which split up in a row and nominated two different candidates. When it came to bodies made up of trading delegations dickering for local advantages, General Guthrie’s straightforwardness, his aversion to crooked deals and trades, and his unwillingness to offer personal reward for political assistance put him at a serious disadvantage. If he thought a man or thing was wrong he never hesitated to say so, even though he understood what the results would be. It is said that at the last congressional convention in which he was a candidate, and in which he was the favorite candidate, the balance of the power was held by a delegation amenable to the allurements of promise of office, or more direct substantial and immediate reward. His less scrupulous friends tried to “dope” the General with some medicine that would put him out of action while they used the necessary means to the end. But the General refused to be either doped or to retire and shut his eyes to the situation, preferring an honorable defeat.

General Guthrie had physical as well as moral courage. Contesting the candidacy of a former prominent citizen of Atchison who had come from another State under a cloud, General Guthrie collected the record of this candidate in his former home and announced that he would read it at a meeting to be held in old Turner Hall. This was in the early days when Atchison had her quota of “roughneck” citizens. General Guthrie was notified that they would attend and that he would read his documentary evidence at the peril of his life. He had never owned or carried a firearm except during the preparation to resist the Price raid, but on the night of the meeting he stepped out on the platform at Turner Hall, and laying upon the table a pair of old army revolvers, he looked down on the “roughnecks” in the front row and advised them that he was about to proceed with his speech, and that persons who didn’t like trouble had better leave before it began. He made the speech. The trouble did not start. The candidate he was opposing was defeated.

From the time Kansas became a State until his death, General Guthrie was a citizen of Atchison contemporary with that circle of brilliant and able men who in the early days made Atchison the mother of the political history of the State, such as Senator John J. Ingalls, Governor John A. Martin, Governor George W. Glick, United States District Judge Cassius G. Foster, Chief Justices Samuel A. Kingman and Albert H. Horton, and such early-day business men as David Auld, the Challiss brothers, Jacob Leu, and Samuel Hollister.

After his election as attorney general on December 21, 1863, General Guthrie, accompanied by his friend, Chief Justice Albert H. Horton, as best man, crossed the Missouri river to St. Joseph upon the ice, crawling upon their hands and knees, the ice being too treacherous to support a man walking upright, to be married to Julia, daughter of Capt. William Fowler, of St. Joseph, also a pioneer, the first county clerk in the territory of which St. Joseph is now the county seat. There were born of this marriage eight children, two of whom died in infancy, the others and the wife surviving General Guthrie. W. F. Guthrie, the eldest son, practiced law with his father until about the time of the death of the latter, when, with his wife and three children he removed to Kansas City and is still in practice. The second son, F. L. Guthrie, a retired banker, with wife, resides at Paola, Kan. Mary Louise Guthrie is the wife of A. E. White, head of the commissary department of the Burlington system, residing in Chicago, and the mother of four children. Warren W. Guthrie, Jr., practiced law in Atchison in association with his father and brother, and afterwards practiced alone until his death on August 17, 1914, being one of the most beloved men personally of all the people of Atchison. Theodore F. Guthrie, also the father of four children, is, as he has been since before his father’s decease, the manager of the Guthrie ranch in Chase county, Kansas. Gilbert L. Guthrie has been the wanderer of the family, a metallurgical engineer who has seen distinguished service on every continent of the globe, but has given up his work to be a companion to the widow, residing on the old Guthrie homestead adjoining Atchison.

From the first General Guthrie became and until ill health overtook him remained a notable figure at the bar, not only of Atchison, but of the State at large, and particularly northeast Kansas, where his early successes brought him in as a consultant in the territory he had formerly covered on muleback, long after that territory had developed many able lawyers of its own. His name appears frequently in the reports of the supreme court of Kansas, and in connection with the establishment of many new and novel precedents in the courts. General Guthrie was an original thinker along legal lines, and not over-tolerant of the law as he found it in the books. When it did not suit him his vigorous mind would discern logical modifications and novel applications of old doctrines to meet the new necessities of his litigation.

Every fight for the general good of the community found General Guthrie in the front of battle. No difficulty daunted him. All that was required for him was to decide as to what he thought right, and his hat was in the ring. Perhaps the greatest personal, direct service rendered by General Guthrie to the community was in connection with the failure of the Peoples Savings Bank. The Peoples Savings Bank was an auxiliary of the United States National Bank, the closing of which was brought about by the circulation of rumors affecting its solvency. It paid its liabilities in full before it closed, but the assets of the Peoples Savings Bank were invested chiefly in real estate mortgages and bonds not immediately payable, and as times were then, not readily convertible, so that its closure, following that of the United States National, left hundreds of citizens with their needed savings not immediately realizable. General Guthrie was a holder of one share of stock only in each of these banks, for the purpose of qualifying as a director as an accommodation to the operating officers, his friends. This double failure, at a time of general financial uneasiness, helped by stories circulated by enemies of the bank officials anxious to bring them into disgrace, filled Atchison with excitement. Nightly meetings, attended by hundreds of depositors, were held, and in their ignorance measures were initiated which would have resulted in a sacrifice of the assets and the realization to the depositors of but a small per cent. of their claims. General Guthrie undertook to stem this tide and save the depositors from themselves. He arranged with his co-directors to advance a sum to buy up at face value the deposits of the smaller and more needy depositors, and out of his own funds advanced the moneys necessary to protect the assets from sacrifice, and lent his own uncompensated efforts to their realization at their actual value, with the result that within a year every claim of the bank was paid in full.

Like many successful men who have been born and spent their early years upon a farm. General Guthrie was interested in farming and in farm development and in showing what could be done through proper cultivation and stock development. He left ample provision for his widow and younger children, chiefly in farm lands. He gave personal attention to the operation and improvement of his farms, and took particular delight in the management of his 6,000 acre ranch in Chase county, Kansas, and in the development of a grade of cattle originated by himself, the Polled Herefords, a strain of Herefords, from which he succeeded in breeding off the horns. Nothing gave him greater pleasure in the later years of his life than to explain his farming and cattle operations to his friends and intimates. He was ready to put aside the most intricate litigation at any time for a chat on this subject.

While General Guthrie’s open-handed warfare upon the things he thought wrong made him many enemies, his untiring energy, integrity and readiness to help anyone or anything he believed to be right, brought him a host of friends, not only among the young lawyers he raised and trained, but among the public at large, and he died an honored and respected member of this community on April 22, 1903, at the old home place adjoining the city of Atchison.

John Peter Adams.

Faithfulness to duty is generally recognized and rewarded by the people of an average American community. Atchison county is singularly fortunate in having as its officials men of whom it can be said are above the average type of county officials. The office of probate judge of the county is no exception, and is ably filled by the present incumbent of whom this biography treats. John Peter Adams is an able member of the Atchison county bar and a painstaking and conscientious public official. In the performance of the duties of his high office he has won the esteem of the people of the county and showed such marked ability in his judicial capacity that he was elected to the office for the third time without opposition from any source.

Judge John Peter Adams was born in the town of Lock Berlin, Wayne county, New York, June 7, 1855. His parents were Peter and Martha (Eldridge) Adams, and Judge Adams was one of six children.

Judge Adams received his early education in the schools of his native State and the Macedon Academy, following which he completed a business course at the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He practically worked his way through school by teaching, becoming a teacher at the early age of eighteen. He came to Atchison in 1879 and entered the law office of Judge H. M. Jackson, as a law student, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1880. A short time following his admission to the bar he opened an office for himself, and later became a partner with Roy C. Crawford. A partnership with Charles J. Conlon was formed some time afterward, which continued until the election of Mr. Adams to the office of probate judge in 1910. Judge Adams was reëlected in 1912, and again in 1914, without opposition for the nomination or election. He is a Republican and a firm believer in a high protective tariff. Previous to his election to the probate judgeship, he served as judge of the Atchison city court, having been appointed by Governor Bailey in 1902, and reëlected three times following his appointment without opposition. Judge Adams has always earnestly advocated Republican principles and has been a faithful party worker.

Judge Adams was married in Albion, Mich., June 24, 1885, to Mary Stevens, a native of Lock Berlin, N. Y., and a daughter of Wells J. L. and Nancy Stevens. To Judge and Mrs. Adams have been born three children, who are the pride of their parents, as follows: Eldridge, born November 30, 1892. He received his classical education in Kansas University and graduated in medicine from Rush Medical College at Chicago in 1914, after a thorough course of study in the University of Chicago, now a practicing physician and surgeon in the Illinois State Hospital for eye, nose and throat, at Chicago. Dr. Adams is a rising young physician of marked ability and was an apt student, and is ambitious to succeed in his chosen profession. He graduated from the Atchison High School at the age of fifteen, from the Kansas University at the age of nineteen, and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Rush College of Medicine when but twenty-three years of age. It is safe to predict a brilliant future for this Atchison boy. A daughter of Judge Adams, Eleanor, aged twenty, is a student of Knox College, Galesburg, Ill., class of 1916, where she is specializing in music—violin and voice. Genevra, the youngest child of Judge and Mrs. Adams, is eighteen years old, a graduate of the Atchison High School, and a student in Baker University. The Adams family has resided in the same house at Fourth and Laramie streets for thirty years, or since the marriage of Judge and Mrs. Adams. They believe in giving their children the advantages of a good education, as the best preparation possible for their future success.

Judge Adams was reared in the Episcopalian faith, which was the church of his fathers, but is an attendant with the members of his family at the Methodist Episcopal church. He became a member of the Masonic lodge in 1876.

William Anthony Jackson.

While we reverence the courts and look upon them as the final refuge of the citizenry in time of oppression or trouble, we realize that the tribunals of the people for safeguarding our inalienable rights as citizens are measured in their usefulness by the character of the men chosen to sit at the head of the judiciary. Society is protected from those criminally inclined, and we accept without criticism the decisions of the judges with whom we come into personal contact, because of the fact that the masses of the people have an abiding faith in the integrity of the courts. This confidence is more in evidence in a community where all have an opportunity of judging at close range the qualifications and personal integrity of those chosen by the people to administer the judicial affairs of the people. It is meet and necessary that the judges in whom we place implicit confidence be men of the highest calibre, broad-minded and sympathetic in dealing firmly with the many diverse cases which are brought before them for adjudication. The district court of Atchison county is presided over by a learned jurist who has the confidence and esteem of the people, and who enjoys the universal respect of the citizens of the county. Hon. William A. Jackson, judge of the district court of Atchison county, is such a man wisely chosen to fill the highest office within the gift of the people in his district. His career as presiding officer of the court has been marked by a display of ability, legal acumen, broad-minded and sympathetic discernment of right and wrong in handing down his decisions that have satisfied the most exacting. He was born in Versailles, Morgan county, Missouri, October 6, 1866. He is a son of Judge Horace M. and Lavanchia Isabelle (Valentine) Jackson, a review of whose life is given in this volume.

Judge Jackson has a reputation for fairness and impartiality in his judicial decisions which has gone far beyond the borders of his county. The Atchison Daily Champion in its issue of September 25, 1913, has this to say of his high honor and integrity:

“In these days of alleged lawless lawyers and corrupted courts it is a good thing to know that Atchison county has an honest and efficient judge to administer justice from the district bench. Many big men,—men of splendid qualifications and sterling integrity—have occupied the important position now held by Judge Jackson, but never before has this county had a judge whose service on the bench commanded more universal satisfaction than that rendered by Judge Jackson. It is the unanimous opinion of the Atchison bar that he is the best district judge in the State. Absolutely fair, impartial, capable, he performs the functions of his office with a high sense of duty and responsibility to the law and to his fellow men, a duty and responsibility which precludes all other results, save only unqualified justice for each case that comes under his supervision.”

The supreme test which could be applied to a man in his position came on an occasion when the father and brother of Judge Jackson appeared for the defendant in a case which was tried in the Atchison court with Judge Jackson on the bench, and he was not found wanting. Quoting from the Atchison Daily Champion in its issue of April 19, 1909, concerning this unique situation and the conduct of Judge Jackson during the course of the trial of the case:

“Many people have attended court the past week as witnesses, jurors and spectators in the Norris-Mapes trial, and the fact was freely commented upon that the appearance in the trial of father and son as attorneys for the defendant and another son was on the bench, presented a situation that was quite unusual. Some at first indulged in unfriendly criticism of the circumstances and it is therefore a pleasure for the Champion to say that it has heard nothing but the most universal praise for the fairness, the impartiality and the splendid integrity of purpose Judge Jackson displayed in his rulings on every disputed question of law and evidence in the case. It is a fact worthy of comment that the Champion takes pleasure at this time in giving public recognition to so important a matter. There is nobody in Atchison who has a stronger following of loyal friends than Will Jackson, and it is because of his manhood, his honesty and fine sense of honor that he has earned them and retains them.”

William Anthony Jackson was trundled in a home-made baby-cart and dressed in clothing spun and made by his devoted mother. Few were the luxuries in which he was indulged; the plainest of fare was his sustenance during his childhood days. In 1870 he was placed in school at Marysville, Mo., and after coming to Atchison with his parents he attended the city schools. He attended the Monroe Institute and later entered Kansas University at Lawrence, graduating therefrom in 1888. He was admitted to the bar and in 1889 was made a member of the law firm of Jackson & Jackson. His success in the practice of his profession has been marked and he is widely known as a capable lawyer and jurist. His first public office was that of city attorney, to which he was elected in April, 1905, and served until 1909. During the four years of his incumbency of the office of city attorney he lost but one case which came up for trial under his care for the city. He was elected judge of the district court, second judicial district, in November of 1908, and resigned the office of city attorney to take up his duties on the bench in order to qualify in January, 1909. His career on the bench speaks for itself and the fairness of his decisions is proverbial. Judge Jackson is remarked frequently for his kindness of heart, and soon after he was admitted to the bar the opportunity came to him to “return good for evil” in one particular case. A lad with whom he had come into contact on the school ground at Marysville, and who had tried to impose on him, with the result that strained feeling existed for many years between them was the beneficiary of his goodness. This lad, then grown to man’s estate, came to the judge in Atchison and asked him to assist him in getting employment. The judge did so and earned the thanks of his boyhood enemy.

Judge Jackson’s wedded life began April 26, 1894, when he was united in marriage with Edith Fox, of Atchison. To this union have been born two children: Jared Fox Jackson, born November 19, 1895, and now a student in the law department of Kansas University; Edward Valentine Jackson, born June 6, 1900, a student in the Atchison High School. The mother of these children is a daughter of Jared Copeland. (See sketch of Jared Copeland Fox elsewhere in this volume.)

Judge Jackson is fraternally affiliated with the Masonic Lodge, Washington, No. 5, of Atchison, the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity of the Kansas State University. He is a liberal contributor to charitable and religious denominations, and is usually found in the van of all projects which have for their purpose the betterment of his home city and county.

Roy C. Trimble.

In Roy C. Trimble, sheriff of Atchison county, the people have an efficient and capable public official, who believes that his duties are paramount over all other considerations, and he has shown by his steadfast and unswerving loyalty to the ethics of his office that he is a man eminently fitted for high public office. Mr. Trimble is a young man to hold such an important office, but is old in ability and experience. He is a native of Atchison county, and a son of James M. and Margaret E. (McCreary) Trimble.

Roy C. Trimble was born August 11, 1877, on a farm, four miles southwest of Atchison. His father, James M. Trimble, was born September 10, 1843, in Buchanan county, Missouri, and died in January, 1910, in Atchison county. He was the son of Benjamin F. Trimble, a native of Kentucky, who immigrated to DeKalb, Mo., where he conducted a blacksmith and wagon repair shop, and later removed to Texas. After a residence of some years in Texas he settled in Atchison county, where the son, James M., bought a farm which he cultivated until 1905, when he disposed of his land and invested in a livery business. He was thus engaged until his death. During the Civil war, Mr. Trimble was enrolled in the State militia. Benjamin F. Trimble was one of the early pioneer settlers of Atchison county and owned a farm near Effingham. The children of James M. Trimble are J. P., a railway mail clerk on the Central Branch railroad; A. F., a rural mail carrier; K. S., a farmer, south of Atchison; E. S., a resident of Lake Ballinger, Wash.; Roy C., and T. O., a ranchman, near Seattle. Wash.

The mother of the foregoing children was Margaret E. McCreary, born in 1850 and died in 1890. She was a daughter of Solomon McCreary, a pioneer settler of Atchison county, who had a farm eight and one-half miles south of Atchison. Solomon McCreary was born in Clay county, Missouri, in 1822, and died in July, 1911. He was a son of Elijah McCreary, and was the youngest of a family of thirteen children. The family is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and originally settled in South Carolina. S. K. came to Kansas in 1854, first settling in Leavenworth county, and four years later moving to Atchison county. He bought a land patent from a Mexican war veteran, and made his home on the pioneer farm until his death. His children were as follows: Mrs. B. Frank Trimble, Mrs. Margaret Trimble, deceased; Mrs. Nellie Adams; Cora, deceased; W. S., deceased; Mrs. Nettie Perkins, Leavenworth; S. K., and Mrs. Grace Salmon, of Los Angeles.

Roy C. Trimble was educated in the district school No. 5, located south of the city, and resided on the farm until 1905 when he was engaged in the livery business with his father, continuing until the latter’s death, after which he conducted the business for a few years and then traded it for some real estate. He was first a candidate for sheriff in 1912 on the Republican ticket, but lost out by 288 votes. He was again a candidate in 1914 and won by the considerable margin of 700 votes.

Sheriff Trimble was married November 2, 1904, to May Florence Hartman, who was born near Purcell, seven miles southwest of Atchison, and is a daughter of Ex-Sheriff F. C. Hartman, now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Trimble have been born the following children: Guy Roy, born August 7, 1905; Cynthia Grace, born May 2, 1907; Clara May, born May 10, 1913, and Henrietta Gale, born June 4, 1915.

Mr. Trimble and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Fraternal Aid. Mr. Trimble is likeable, and has a winning personality which goes far toward making him a successful and popular official. Such encomiums and praise as have come to him for his conduct of the duties of the sheriff’s office are well deserved and he is constantly widening his circle of friends.

Charles J. Conlon.

Charles J. Conlon, a prominent attorney of Atchison, who is now serving his second term as county attorney, is a native of the Empire State. He was born at Orwell, Oswego county, New York, October 31, 1860, and is a son of James and Anna (Bowen) Conlon, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ireland. Anna Bowen, the mother, came to America with her parents, William and Nancy Bowen, when she was thirteen years of age. James Conlon was born in Oneida county, New York, and was a son of Charles Conlon, a native of Ireland, who immigrated to America in 1814 and settled in Oneida county, New York, where he spent the remainder of his life. James Conlon grew to manhood in Oneida county, and in 1859 was married and about a year later removed to Oswego county, bought a farm and followed farming there until 1867. He then returned to Oneida county, where he remained until 1870, when he came to Kansas, locating in Atchison county. He bought a farm about a mile and one-half southwest of the city of Atchison, where he was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising until about a year prior to his death, November 1, 1899, at the age of seventy-three. He was a very successful farmer and a highly respected citizen, and at the time of his death owned 200 acres of valuable land, which is still owned by the Conlon family. He was a life-long Democrat and a member of the Catholic church. His wife died September 22, 1898, aged sixty-three years. They were the parents of the following children: Anna M. married Peter Donovan, now deceased, and three children were born to this union, Peter, Fredrick and Charles, and after the death of her first husband, Anna M. married John McInteer, who is also now deceased and she resides in Atchison; Charles J., the subject of this sketch; William H. resides on the old homestead; John F., farmer, Atchison; James D., plumber, St. Louis, Mo.; Letitia M. McKenna, Denver, Colo., and Fred J. died in Atchison at the age of thirty-three years. He was a machinist and well and favorably known in Atchison county. Charles J. Conlon was educated in the public schools, St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, Kan., and Whitestown Seminary, Whitestown, N. Y., graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1882. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, Mich., and was graduated in the class of 1884 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then engaged in the practice of his profession at Atchison, Kan., and has continued in the practice to the present time. He was elected county attorney of Atchison county in 1912 and reëlected to succeed himself in 1914. Mr. Conlon is a capable lawyer and is a fair and fearless prosecutor. Mr. Conlon was united in marriage February 14, 1903, to Miss Mae Flanigan, a native of Oswego county, New York.

John F. Conlon.

John F. Conlon, farmer, was born October 15, 1865, in the town of Orwell, Oswego county, New York. He was educated in the common schools of his native town and later attended the Whitestown Seminary at Whitestown, N. Y. After coming to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1885 with his parents, he studied at St. Benedict’s College. He remained with his parents on the home farm southwest of Atchison until their death, and managed the estate for several years thereafter successfully.

Thomas O. Gault.

Personal achievements of the individual are always worth recounting when he has accomplished something worth while. There is considerable satisfaction in the latter years of the life of an industrious couple, who, having begun at the foot of the ladder of success and having climbed upward by degrees, have attained to a state of wealth and comfort by the time middle age has been reached. Thomas O. Gault and his wife, residing in a beautiful farm home in the northeast part of the city of Effingham, are among the most respected citizens of Atchison county. Mr. Gault is one of the large land owners of the county, and while not an old resident he can lay claim to the fact that he was a homesteader in Kansas back in the “grasshopper” era, and has had as many ups and downs as the average western pioneer.

Thomas O. Gault was born November 7, 1849, in Wycomico county, Maryland, a son of Archibald and Eliza (Littleton) Gault, natives of Maryland, and descendants of old American colonial families. The ancestry of the Gault and Littleton families dates back to the earliest days of the settlement of the eastern coast of America. Archibald was the son of Obid Gault, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was an early pioneer settler of Indiana. Eliza Littleton was a daughter of Thomas Littleton, and died when Thomas O. was seven years of age. Archibald Gault emigrated from Maryland to Ripley county, Indiana, about 1859, and settled on a farm south of Pierce City, or near Stringtown. This was in a timbered country, and he lived there only three years, returning to Maryland during the dark days of the Civil war, where he remained until the war was over. In 1865 he returned to his farm in Ripley county, and cultivated his Indiana farm until old age overtook him, and he finally returned to the old home in Maryland, there spending his declining years, dying in 1900, at the age of eighty years.

Thomas O. Gault was educated in the district schools of Ripley county, Indiana, and began working at the hardest kind of farm labor when yet a boy. When he attained his majority he came to the great West, where opportunity seemed to beckon with a more lavish hand than among the hills and forests of his native county and State. He located in Jasper county, Iowa, and worked at farm labor until twenty-five years of age, then came to Kansas and homesteaded a Government claim in Phillips county. This was a sad experience, however, as the grasshoppers came along soon afterwards and “cleaned out” the crops of the homesteaders in his neighborhood, and he abandoned his claim and left the country. He returned to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1873, where he remained for three years, after which he remained in Iowa, locating in Pottawattamie county in 1878, where he had purchased a farm. He and his wife developed the farm and prospered for a period of fourteen years. Selling out their Iowa farm at a good round price in 1903, they located in Effingham, where they have resided since March of 1903. Mr. Gault invested his capital in Kansas and Missouri lands and has made money since he came to Kansas. Being gifted with the moneymaking instinct and capacity, he has dealt somewhat in land and been successful in his farming operations in Atchison county. He is the owner of an eighty acre tract of valuable land, purchased in 1902, adjoining Effingham, Kan., on the northeast, and has one of the most attractive modern farm homes in the county. He owns at the present time a total of 582.5 acres of land, 262.5 acres of which is located in Grundy county, Missouri, and the rest in Atchison county. He has a large farm of 240 acres near Pardee in Center township, which is one of the best improved tracts in the vicinity. This farm was purchased in 1902 and is equipped with excellent buildings, including a house of twelve rooms and three good barns.

He was married on March 4, 1888, to Miss Melissa Drury, of the town of Drury, Rock Island county, Illinois. They are the parents of two children: Essie, at home with her parents, and Pearl, wife of William Thomas, a son of Robert M. Thomas, of Effingham. Mrs. Gault was born March 4, 1861, in Drury, Rock Island county, Illinois, a daughter of Eli and Margaret (Hubbard) Drury, natives of Wayne county, Indiana, and Bedford county, Pennsylvania, respectively. Mr. Drury served as postmaster of the village named in his honor in Rock Island county for thirty-five years, and was filling the office at the time of his death, in 1892.

Mr. Gault is a stockholder in the Farmer’s Mercantile Company of Effingham. He is a Republican in politics, but is an independent voter, who believes in doing his own thinking as regards the merits of respective candidates for office and the principles which influence good government. He became an Odd Fellow in Marshall county, Iowa, in the early eighties, and has continued in good standing in the order to the present time. One of the incidents of his early career which left an impression on Mr. Gault’s memory, which time has never been able to eradicate, was his first Kansas experience. He was so thoroughly cleaned out during the great grasshopper scourge in the seventies, in Phillips county, Kansas, that he was forced to walk the entire distance from Blue River, Kan., to Atchison.

Wilfull A. Stanley.

Wilfull A. Stanley, a Civil war veteran, who perhaps has had more military experience than any other man in Atchison county, is a native of New Jersey. He was born at Salem, November 26, 1838, and is a son of Joseph C. and Rebecca D. (Gosline) Stanley, both natives of New Jersey and descendants of colonial ancestors, who trace their family genealogy back for several generations in this country. The first white child born in the English colony that settled in New Jersey, opposite Egg Harbor, was an ancestor of Wilfull A. Stanley. Joseph C. Stanley, the father of Wilfull A., was a son of Friend Richard Stanley, who was a soldier in the War of 1812. The Stanley’s were Quakers, but there were a great many fighting Quakers distributed along the line of descent. Friend Richard was a son of John Stanley, who was a Revolutionary soldier and served in Lighthorse Harry Lee’s cavalry. He was captured and confined in a British prison ship for some time. He lived to be a very old man and died in 1845, at the age of 102. He was very active physically and mentally to a very old age. Wilfull A. Stanley was reared in New Jersey and received a common school education. On December 22, 1860, he enlisted as a private in the United States marine; and after making a trip around the world was detailed in 1861 as orderly to Admiral Dahlgren at Washington, D. C. He also served as orderly to Commanding Officer C. R. P. Rogers. Mr. Stanley was at the taking of Hatteras Inlet and the operations on Roanoke Sound in conjunction with General Burnside’s expedition. He was at the engagement of Port Royal and served as orderly to Capt. C. R. P. Rogers there. He was also at the engagement at Ft. Walker. The “Wabash,” upon which he was serving then, joined Admiral Farragut’s fleet at New Orleans. Here Mr. Stanley was transferred to the “Hartford,” Admiral Farragut’s flag ship, and served as orderly to Farragut and participated in the engagements at Fts. Jackson and Phillip, and was at the capture of New Orleans when he was again detailed to the “Wabash.” Shortly after that he was taken sick with a fever and sent to the marine hospital at Brooklyn, N. Y. After recovering he was discharged, and with his discharge received a very complimentary letter from Admiral Rogers. After remaining home a short time he enlisted in the Second regiment, New Jersey cavalry. He participated in the battle of Nashville and was at the siege of Mobile. He went from there to Montgomery, Ala. About this time the war closed, but Mr. Stanley’s regiment was kept in the South for nearly a year during the reconstruction period, and in 1866 he was discharged and returned to his New Jersey home. Mr. Stanley had learned the plasterer’s trade when he was a young man and at the close of the war worked at it for some time, when the military spirit took possession of him again and he enlisted at Philadelphia, Pa., and was assigned to Troop L, Seventh United States cavalry, and was sent from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Morgan on the Platte river. Capt. Michael V. Sheridan, a brother of “Little Phil,” commanded this troop and they were mobilized at Ft. Hayes for a winter campaign against the Indians in the Wichita mountains. This campaign was against the Arapahoes, Comanches and some other tribes. After an engagement with Lone Wolf’s band the soldiers were forced to retreat, but soon after were re-inforced at Big Timber by a Kansas regiment, and after that captured Lone Wolf and Satanta, chief of the Kiawas, and returned the Indians who had been on the war path to the Ft. Sill reservation. After that Mr. Stanley returned to Ft. Leavenworth and had charge of the hospital stores for two years, when he was transferred to Wingate, N. M., where he also had charge of the hospital stores until 1872, when he was discharged and returned to New Jersey. In 1889 he came to Kansas, locating in Atchison, where he has since worked at his trade most of the time. He had lived in Philadelphia for some time and in Georgetown, S. C. before coming to Kansas, and came to this State on account of his wife’s health. Mr. Stanley was married in 1877 to Mrs. Mary E. (Ingram) Fpuntain, a widow. She is a native of Bellefont, Pa., born June 25, 1842, a daughter of Isaac D. and Deborah (Grant) Ingram, natives of Pennsylvania and descendants of old Pennsylvania stock. Joshua Bloomfield Williams, a major in the Revolutionary war, and at one time colonial governor of New Jersey, was a grand-uncle of Mrs. Stanley’s mother, and Mrs. Stanley is a Daughter of the American Revolution. She is a member of the Ladies’ Corps of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is past department president of Kansas, and National press correspondent, and has filled all the offices from the local circle to the National. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley have one child, Leon Glen, born in 1881. He served in Troop B, Sixth United States cavalry. He was in China at the rescue of the foreign legations and suppression of the Boxer uprising and later served in the Phillipine Islands, and after three years’ service he was honorably discharged. He was the first post printer at Ft. Leavenworth, and is now in the employ of the Atchison Globe, in the capacity of pressman and mailing clerk. He married Sadie Wiggins, and two children have been born to them, as follows: Inez Leona and Richard. Wilfull A. Stanley is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has been adjutant of the Atchison post for ten years and is past commander.

Christian W. Stutz.

Christian W. Stutz, a substantial farmer of Center township, Atchison county, was born and reared in Lancaster township, this county, and is a son of pioneer settlers of the county. The Stutz family came to Kansas from Missouri in 1859. Christian W. is a son of Christian and Catharine (Schweitzer) Stutz, both of whom were born in Germany from whence they came to America in 1855, and first settled in Jackson county, Missouri, coming from there to Lancaster township in Atchison county four years later. Christian, the father, was born in Germany, March 25, 1825, and when thirty years of age decided to locate in the new country where there were better opportunities for gaining a livelihood and laying up a competence. Accordingly, we find that after a residence of four years in Jackson county, Missouri, he came to Atchison county, and with his savings invested in eighty acres of timber and prairie land in Lancaster township. He hired a man to break this land with ox teams, and proceeded to cultivate his land. He made extensive improvements on his farm from time to time as he was able, and added to his acreage to such an extent that at the time of his death, December, 1898, he was the owner of 380 acres of land. Christian Stutz was the father of seven children as follows: Mrs. Caroline Demel, of Central City, Neb.; Mrs. Katherine Wilkins, of Atchison, Kan.; Frederick, a member of the Atchison police force; Christian W.; Gustave, a prosperous farmer of Lancaster township; John, a farmer in Center township; one child died in infancy. The mother of these children was born in Germany in February of 1829, and died in Lancaster township, in December, 1888.

Christian W. Stutz, whom this review directly concerns, was reared on the old home place of the Stutz family in Lancaster township, and educated in the Lancaster school. He assisted his father in the operation of the home farm until he was twenty-three years of age, and then began farming for himself on land which he rented from his father. He continued to till the rented land for four years, all the time saving his earnings, with a view of eventually owning a farm of his own. He made his first investment in 1891 when he purchased and inherited, partly, eighty acres of improved farm land in section 8, Center township. He at once began to remodel the home and make extensive improvements, and it might be said that he has never ceased to improve his surroundings. In 1908 he erected a new barn, 50×50 feet, and now has one of the attractive places of his township and county. Mr. Stutz has continued to add to his land holdings until he is now the owner of 393 acres of land, all of which he has secured through his own efforts. During 1915 he had planted 160 acres to corn which gave him an excellent crop. He keeps good graded stock and maintains a herd of Shorthorn cattle. He has made quite a reputation as a breeder, and in 1914 exhibited a “Mahrath Jack” at the Atchison county fair which was awarded the second prize. In addition to his farming interests he is a share holder in a copper mine located in Arizona.

Mr. Stutz was married in 1891 to Kathrine Walz, and of this union have been born ten children, as follows: Charles F., William, John E., Clara, a graduate of the Atchison County High School; Arthur, Mary and Margaret (twins), the latter deceased; Francis, Nora B., Reidel, all of whom are at home with their parents. Mrs. Stutz was born September 8, 1868, in Atchison, Kan., a daughter of Charles and Kathrine (Reidel) Walz, both natives of Germany. Charles Walz emigrated from Germany to Cincinnati, Ohio, and there learned the butcher business and trade. When nineteen years of age he left Germany to seek his fortune in America, and about 1857 came to Atchison and worked in the first butcher shop ever operated in that city. He later bought the shop of Phillip Link, and after operating it for a time bought a farm in Shannon township, where he lived until his death, in 1891, at the age of sixty-one years. Kathrine, his wife, was born in 1842, and died on the old home place in Shannon township.

Mr. Stutz is a Democrat, but has never sought political preferment, having no time other than for the management of his large farming interests. He is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Michael Joseph Horan.

In observing the management of the leading commercial houses of Atchison, the fact is determined that, invariably, the executive departments are in charge of young men who have practically grown up with the business. The Dolan Mercantile Company is one of the oldest wholesale institutions of the city, and one of the most successful and substantial. Its affairs are conducted by young men who entered the employ of its founder when boys, and have advanced, step by step, in the management of the concern. M. J. Horan, the president of the Dolan Mercantile Company, began his career in a humble capacity in the business of which he is now the chief executive, and has become an honored and able member of the body of commercial men who have made Atchison preëminent among the cities of the West. The story of a self-made man is always interesting and this review is a story of a self-made man.

Michael Joseph Horan is a native of Atchison, born November 12, 1875. He is a son of Michael Frank Horan, a native of Bir, Kings county, Ireland, born in 1824. The elder Horan left his native heath when a young man, with his young wife, who died later in Atchison. He first located in Peru, Ind., and there met William Dolan in 1840. He came to Kansas in 1865 and located some land at Wetmore, proved up on his homestead, and one year afterward located in Atchison. Here he engaged in the real estate business, and became fairly well to do. For years he was a well known figure in Atchison and took an active interest in Democratic politics. He died in 1888. His second wife was Anna Dean, whom he married in her native county of Queens, Ireland. She was born in 1844 and died in February, 1910. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. John A. Reynolds, Atchison; Miss Bridget Horan, Atchison; Anna, at home; Michael Joseph, Atchison; Frank, Marshalltown, Iowa; Charles L., secretary of the Dolan Mercantile Company, and in charge of the shipping department.

M. J. Horan was educated in the parochial schools and St. Benedict’s College, of Atchison. At the age of sixteen years, or in 1892, he entered the employ of the Dolan Mercantile Company, as office boy. He applied himself diligently to his duties and promotion step by step followed, as a matter of course. His next position was that of bill clerk. This was followed by his promotion to the post of bookkeeper and then buyer. When the company was incorporated in 1900, he was elected vice-president. He succeeded Mr. Dolan as president of the company, upon the latter’s death in 1913.

Mr. Horan was united in marriage in Kansas City, Mo., with Martha Emma Malone in 1909. To them have been born four children: Michael Joseph, Mary Ann, Francis and William. Mrs. Horan is a daughter of Edward Malone, formerly a resident of Atchison, and who died here, after which the mother and all of the family except Martha Emma removed to Chicago. In political affairs Mr. Horan is an independent Democrat, who favors good and efficient government, and believes that it can best be obtained by good and capable officials regardless of their political adherence. He is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the United Commercial Travelers. Mr. Horan is recognized as one of the substantial and progressive business men of the city, and he and his wife have many warm friends among the best families of the city, who esteem them for their many excellent qualities of mind and heart. Mr. Horan’s dignified and courteous demeanor in the conduct of his business affairs has won him universal respect and esteem both of patrons and employes of the concern of which he is the head.

Rinhold Fuhrman.

Rinhold Fuhrman, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born in Germany February 11, 1863. He is a son of Ernest and Johanna (Gerlach) Fuhrman, and was one of twelve children born to them. The others are as follows: Caroline Deaking, Dodge City, Kan.; Louise Repstein, Jefferson county, Kansas; William, St. Joseph, Mo.; Julius, Doniphan county, Kansas; Trauget, Center township, Atchison county; Herman, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Paul, Center township, Atchison county; Emma Schwope, Center township, Atchison county; Ernest, Atchison, Kan., and two children who died in infancy. The father by an earlier marriage to Louise (Heine) Fuhrman had one son, Charles, a farmer and stockman of Lancaster township, Atchison county.

Ernest Fuhrman was born in Germany July 8, 1826, and immigrated to America in 1872, settling in Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land in section 16, Lancaster township. This was timber and prairie land and had only a small, poorly built house on it at the time, but during the twenty years that he owned it he built several substantial buildings and made numerous other improvements. He eventually sold the place to his son, Herman, and then bought 160 acres in Doniphan county, where Julius lives, and moved into Lancaster where he lived in retirement. He bought eighty acres in Center township. Five years later he went to live with his son, Paul, to whom he sold the eighty acre tract, in Center township. He died on Paul’s second farm of 160 acres in Center township September 2, 1915. The mother, Johanna (Gerlach) Fuhrman, was born in Germany and resides with her daughter, Emma, in Center township, Atchison county, at the age of eighty-five years.

In 1872 Rinhold Fuhrman left Germany with his parents who came to Atchison county, Kansas. He was reared on his father’s farm and attended school at Rock district No. 59, and when eighteen years of age began life for himself as a farm hand for $15 a month and proved himself a capable worker and later was given $20 a month, which was more than the average farm hand was paid at that time. He worked three years as a hired hand and then rented his father’s farm for five years, and later bought it. The farm consisted of 160 acres in section 20, Lancaster township. He improved it considerably after he took charge of it in 1899, erecting a house at a cost of $1,000, and he also built a barn which cost $500. He has built sheds and other improvements since and did most of this work with his own hands. He has always been a hard worker and obtained all that he now owns by hard labor. He has a fine little orchard which is in a thrifty condition. He keeps graded stock and takes great care to keep his animals up to the standard.

On October 8, 1890, he married Emma Kammer, a native of Lancaster township, who was born April 18, 1868. She attended school at Rock district and is a daughter of Karl and Johanna Kammer. She has a brother, Karl, who is a farmer in Atchison county. Mr. and Mrs. Fuhrman are the parents of three children, as follows: Mrs. Laura August Poos, Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Edna and Karl, both living at home. Mr. Fuhrman is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church. He is a conscientious, hard working farmer who has deservedly attained success. In March, 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Fuhrman left the farm and retired to a home in Lancaster, where Mr. Fuhrman purchased a residence. He has rented his farm after accumulating a competence which will enable him to live in comfort the remainder of his days.

John E. Remsburg.

The past half century has witnessed the transformation of the section of Kansas known to the world as Atchison county from wilderness to a smiling and peaceful land of thriving towns and cities and checkered with fertile farms, a development which has been duplicated many times over in the great State of Kansas. While this wonderful transformation was going on as the handiwork of man—particular individuals from out of the mass of men who were working wonders in giving to this Nation a new commonwealth, were likewise developing mental attributes with which they had been gifted—statesmen, soldiers, and men of letters were in the making. Atchison county, Kansas, has been made famous by several illustrious sons who have achieved more than ordinary renown in the world of letters, as well as in other lines of endeavor. John E. Remsburg, editor and publisher of the Potter Kansan, educator, author and lecturer, during nearly a half century of residence in the county, has become as widely known in the realm of literature as any Kansan citizen. He has achieved a reputation as a writer and lecturer of force which is world-wide and deserved by the recipient. Mr. Remsburg came to Kansas from his native State of Ohio in 1868. Two years after his arrival in Atchison county he was married to Miss Nora M. Eiler, of Walnut township, this county, who came with her parents from Missouri to Kansas in 1855. Seven children were born to this marriage: George J., John J., Reullura R., Wirt A., Charles B., and Claude A., all of whom are living, and Eugene, deceased.

“The International Who’s Who,” printed in English, German, French and Italian, and published in London, Paris and New York, contains the following biographical sketch of Mr. Remsburg:

“John E. Remsburg. Teacher, lecturer, author; born near Fremont, Ohio, U. S. A., January 7, 1848. Of German-English descent, his paternal ancestors emigrating from Germany to Maryland about 1760; his maternal ancestors emigrating from England to Boston in 1640. His father was George J. Remsburg, son of John P. Remsburg, who removed from Maryland to Ohio in 1831; his mother was Sarah A. (Willey) Remsburg, daughter of Eleazer Willey, who removed from New York to Ohio about the same time. Educated in the public schools of Ohio and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, New York, continuing his studies after leaving school. Entered Union army at 16, serving until close of Civil war. For fifteen years engaged in educational work in Ohio and Kansas, serving as superintendent of public instruction of Atchison county, Kansas, four years (1872 to 1876). Married in 1870 Nora M. Eiler, daughter of Jacob Eiler, a Free State pioneer of Kansas. In 1880 became a lecturer and writer in support of free thought and State secularization. Delivered over 3,000 lectures, speaking in fifty-two States, Territories and Provinces, and in 1,250 different cities and towns, including every large city of United States and Canada. In the performance of this work traveled over 360,000 miles. Author: ‘Life of Thomas Paine,’ 1880; ‘The Image Breaker,’ 1882; ‘False Claims,’ 1883; ‘Bible Morals,’ 1884; ‘Sabbath Breaking,’ 1885; ‘The Fathers of Our Republic,’ 1887; ‘Abraham Lincoln,’ 1893; ‘The Bible,’ 1903; ‘Six Historic Americans,’ 1906. Portions of his writings have been translated into French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Bohemian, Bengali, Singalese and Japanese.”

It may interest Mr. Remsburg’s Atchison county friends to know in what esteem he is held as a speaker and writer by the world at large. From the hundreds of reviews and commendatory notices of his lectures and books which have appeared a volume of testimonials like the following could be compiled:

“One of the best speakers and writers to be found in the West, if not in the whole country.”—Charles Robinson, first governor of Kansas.

“His lectures are models of logic and good sense.”—Arnold Krekel, LL. D., Judge United States District Court, Missouri.

“Mr. Remsburg’s address was given with great eloquence and power.”—E. W. Howe.

“A brilliant lecture.”—San Francisco Chronicle.

“Most eloquent words.”—Boston Globe.

“An interesting and eloquent address.”—Rev. J. F. Wilcox, Chicago.

“It is lit up with such flashes of genius, it is so poetical and picturesque that one never wearies of hearing it.”—E. M. Macdonald, New York, President American Secular Union.

“He retired with the reward of loud and long continued applause.”—Kansas City Star.

“Came in for his full meed of praise today.”—New York Herald.

“J. E. Remsburg was paid at the rate of two dollars a minute for his New York address; probably the highest price yet paid for a Kansas talk.”—Noble L. Prentiss, 1882.

“A noble lecture.”—Ernestine L. Rose, noted reformer, London.

“He has given to the world several volumes of priceless worth.”—L. K. Washburn, editor Boston Investigator.

“This volume of 600 pages is a digest of all that is known on the subject.”—Franklin Steiner, author, New York.

“Nothing equal to it has been published within my recollection either in America or Great Britain.”—Charles Watts, President British Secular Union.

“It is indeed excellent—nothing could be better.”—Sir Hiram Maxim, London.

“In many respects the most important volume on the subject that has yet appeared.”—Le Pensee, Brussels.

“Excellent, bold, direct, unanswerable.”—James Parton.

“Mr. Remsburg is an orator of high and wide reputation.”—Washington Post.

“One of America’s noted orators.”—Montreal Times.

“A most able lecturer and writer.”—Charles Bradlaugh, M. P., noted orator and statesman of England.

“My translations of Bradlaugh’s and Remsburg’s writings have an enormous circulation in this country.”—Kedarnath Basu, India.

“His [Remsburg’s] lectures have an immense circulation in India.”—Calcutta Gazette.

“One of the most promising orators in America.”—Secular Review, London.

“His style is simple, earnest and attractive, and in these qualities he is eloquent.”—W. H. Herndon, law partner of Abraham Lincoln.

“I have listened to all of our great orators from Clay to Ingersoll, but I have never heard a more polished oration than Remsburg delivered last night.”—Hon. William Perkins, associate counsel of Lincoln in several important cases.

“A graphic, yet concise sketch.”—Rev. S. Fletcher Williams, Liverpool, England.

“Imparted in language clear and forcible and not seldom with grace and beauty.”—Thomas Gray, author, Edinburgh, Scotland.

“I have never heard the case so fairly and so ably stated as he has stated it tonight.”—Richard B. Westbrook, D. D., LL. D., Philadelphia.

“I have asked a bookseller to order twenty copies of Remsburg’s work.”—U. Dhammaloka, President Buddhist Tract Society of Burmah.

“Such an admirable book is always welcome.”—Rev. J. Lloyd Jones, LL. D., Chicago.

“This effort to right the wrongs of Thomas Paine is, in my opinion, a service to mankind.”—Andrew D. White, LL. D., first president of Cornell University, minister to Russia and ambassador to Germany.

“The most fair and honest of all the biographies which have yet appeared of the great iconoclast.”—Boston Herald.

“It will help restore to honor a much abused name and forward the cause of human rights the country over.”—Rev. Charles Wendt, D. D., Ex-President Taft’s pastor at Cincinnati.

“May this brilliant work bring its author the praise of posterity.”—Der Freidenker.

“A very strong case.”—Public Opinion.

“A valuable contribution to literature.”—Wm. McDonald, author, Canada.

“His lectures have as large a circulation in Europe, India and Australia as in this country.”—S. P. Putnam, author, New York.

“A most interesting lecture.”—New Orleans Delta.

“A large audience and frequent applause.”—Baltimore Sun.

“Skillfully and vigorously written.”—Unitarian Herald, Manchester, England.

“His style is pleasing and his arguments incontrovertible.”—The Universe, Berhampur, India.

“A noble and eloquent work.”—Charles Bright, lecturer, Australia.

“It is really a remarkable work.”—Yoshira Oyama, President Japanese Rationalist Association, Japan.

“Clearly, Mr. Remsburg has done his duty as he sees it, and has had the fairness to present at the outset the opposite view of the question.”—New York World.

“Given in evident fairness and remarkable completeness.”—Chicago Times.

“J. E. Remsburg, of Kansas, who addressed the Congressional Committee on the Sunday question at the Capitol yesterday, made a good impression. Every member heartily applauded him.”—Washington Star.

“My views are well expressed by him.”—Hon. George W. Julian, one of the founders of the Republican party and a prominent leader in Congress.

“I will gladly contribute to his work.”—Rear Admiral George W. Melville.

“I have the pleasure to inform you that at the meeting of the Committee held this day (January 5, 1910) you were elected an ‘Oversea’ member of the Authors’ Club.”—Reginald H. B. Giller, Secretary Authors’ Club, London.

“Member Authors’ Club, London; National Geographic Society (Washington); life member American Secular Union (president three years).—Who’s Who In America.

“I have watched with interest his growing influence.”—Hon. John J. Ingalls, president pro-tem United States Senate.

“Ably and well have you done your work.”—Parker Pillsbury, noted Anti-Slavery leader.

“When truth and freedom triumph at last your name will be known and honored by all men.”—Eugene V. Debs, four times the nominee of his party for President of the United States.

George J. Remsburg.

George J. Remsburg was born in Atchison county, Kansas, September 22, 1871. His life has been devoted mainly to horticultural, journalistic, archaeological and historical work. He spent many years on a fruit farm, removing to Atchison in 1892, where he engaged in newspaper work on the Daily Champion, the oldest newspaper in Kansas; he was a reporter, city editor, and even did editorial work on that paper up to 1900, when he returned to the farm on account of ill health. In 1894–95 he was editor of the Missouri Valley Farmer, now the leading agricultural journal west of the Mississippi. During the winter of 1905–6 he was on the reportorial staff of the Leavenworth Daily Post, and editor of Western Life, published in that city. He has also acted as special correspondent of the Leavenworth Times, St. Joseph Gazette, Kansas City Journal, Topeka Mail and Breeze, Topeka Capital, Atchison Globe, and other well known western newspapers, besides having been an editorial contributor to many different magazines and other publications.

He has spent many years in archaeological explorations, principally in northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, has opened a number of ancient mounds and identified and explored old village sites of the Kansa Indians, visited by Bourgmont in 1724, and Lewis and Clark in 1804, on the Missouri river. He has published a pamphlet describing one of the more important of these old villages, entitled, “An Old Kansas Indian Town on the Missouri.” In all, he has discovered and examined more than 100 old Indian village, camp, workshop and grave sites in the region mentioned and gathered one of the most extensive private archaeological collections ever assembled in Kansas.

In 1897 he was elected a corresponding member of the Western Historical Society upon the unsolicited recommendation of United States Senator George G. Vest, of Missouri. In 1901 he became associated with Hon. J. V. Brower, of St. Paul, Minn., in important archaeological investigations relative to the ancient Indian province of Quivira, visited by Coronado in 1541, and upon the organization of the Quivira Historical Society by Mr. Brower, he was made a life member. In 1905 he was elected president of this society to succeed Mr. Brower, deceased. The Quivira Historical Society erected a number of costly monuments to commemorate historical events of Coronado’s time in Kansas.

At the annual meeting of the McLean Historical Society of Illinois at Bloomington in 1909 he was elected an honorary member in recognition of his researches regarding the Kickapoo Indians, of which tribe the McLean society is making a special study. He has thoroughly explored the old village of the Kickapoos near Ft. Leavenworth, occupied from 1832 to 1854, and visited these Indians on their reservation in Brown county, Kansas, on several occasions, gathering a vast amount of ethnologic and historic material pertaining to the tribe. He is also a member of the Kickapoo Club, of Bloomington, Ill.

Mr. Remsburg is a member of the National Geographical Society, having been elected at the annual meeting of the society in Washington in 1911. He has been a member of the International Society of Archaeologists since its organization in 1909; was appointed an associate editor of the Archaeological Bulletin, official organ of this society, in 1910, and elected vice-president of the same society in the same year. In 1901 he was elected a member of the American Society of Curio Collectors; was elected vice-president of the same in 1902, and appointed a contributing editor of the society’s official organ in 1906. He is also an active member of and contributor to the Kansas State Historical Society, and is a member of its committees on archaeology and Indian history.

Brower’s “Memoirs of Explorations in the Basin of the Mississippi,” Volume VII, contains a summary account of Mr. Remsburg’s archaeological work, and says of him: “He has long been a capable and painstaking archaeological explorer in the Missouri Valley.” Chappell’s “History of the Missouri River” says he is an acknowledged authority on early western history and the archaeology of the Missouri valley.

He has held a number of local offices, such as justice of the peace, member of school board, and secretary of various clubs and societies. He was at one time a member of the Kansas National Guards. He is now connected with the staff of the Potter Weekly Kansan and doing special correspondence for several newspapers. His home is at Potter, in this county. He is a son of John E. Remsburg, whose sketch appears elsewhere.

Wirt Hetherington.

Heredity, undoubtedly has an important bearing upon the choice of a life vocation for the individual citizen, and it is evident that this maxim governing the destiny of man himself holds good in the life of Wirt Hetherington, cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison. In the city of Atchison, three generations of bankers from the Hetherington family have toiled in the financial activities of the city, the first of whom was William Hetherington, grandfather of W. Wirt, the present scion of the family, engaged in banking. Following William, the pioneer banker of Atchison, and who established the first banking concern in the city, came Webster Wirt Hetherington, father of him whose name heads this review.

William Hetherington, the first of the line in Kansas, was born in the town of Milton, Penn., May 10, 1821, and was there reared and received his education. When he became of age he was married, at Pine Grove, Penn., to Miss Annie M. Strimphfler, who was born in Womelsdorf, Berks county, Pennsylvania, September 24, 1827. This marriage occurred May 9, 1848, and William and his bride, shortly afterwards, became residents of Pottsville, Penn., where he engaged in the operating of a flouring mill. Three children were born to them in this city, namely: Mrs. Balie P. Waggener, of Atchison; Webster Wirt and C. S. Hetherington. In 1859 they removed to Atchison and the youngest child of the family, Mrs. William A. Otis, was born here. Mr. Hetherington first located in St. Louis, when he came west, later going to Kansas City, and from there to Leavenworth, Kan., where he purchased a bankrupt stock of goods, which he hauled by wagon to Atchison in 1859. He at once established the Exchange Bank, which absorbed the Kansas Valley Bank, at that time owned by Robert L. Pease. When Mr. Hetherington came into possession of the bank it was located in a basement at the corner of Third and Commercial streets. A short time later he moved it to the building now occupied by the water works company, and it was here that an attempt was made by the outlaw Cleveland to rob the bank, but the attempt was unsuccessful, Cleveland being frightened away by some freighters who were working nearby. Some years later, Mr. Hetherington erected a bank building at the northwest corner of Fourth and Commercial streets, which was the home of the bank until the erection of the handsome Exchange National Bank Building, two blocks further west, in 1885. In 1882 the Hetherington bank was merged into a national bank, and it was known as the Exchange National Bank, one of the successful banking concerns of the State of Kansas. Mr. Hetherington was a man of considerable ability, whose efforts to advance the growing city of Atchison were worth a great deal, and he became a leading factor in the material advancement of the city. His influence on public thought and movement was marked and it was the more powerful, for he was largely unbiased in his judgments. He died in 1890.

Webster Wirt Hetherington, father of the subject of this review, was born in Pottsville, Penn., December 19, 1850. He was educated in Gambier College in Ohio, and came directly from his studies in that institution to enter the Exchange National Bank of Atchison, of which his father was the founder and president. He became cashier of the bank, and upon his father’s demise, in 1890, he became the president of the bank, remaining in this position until his death, January 28, 1892. Mr. Hetherington, during his financial career, became widely known in banking circles, and had many valuable acquaintances among New York financial men, with whom he had many transactions in western securities. When the Rock Island road was building in Kansas and Nebraska, Mr. Hetherington made arrangements to purchase all the municipal bonds the road received from the counties and townships through which it passed. The deal was successful, and won him the confidence of the New York brokers through whom he sold the bonds. In 1889 he received, as a reward from W. P. Rice, of New York City, $10,000 in cash and also traveling expenses for himself and wife on a tour in Europe, in payment for his services in going to London and assisting Mr. Rice in interesting English capitalists in investing in American enterprises. Mr. Hetherington was married November 18, 1875, to Miss Lillie Miller, the oldest daughter of Dr. John G. and Anna B. (Bennett) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania. This marriage was blessed with five children as follows: Ruthanna, wife of Dr. L. A. Todd, of St. Joseph; Mary Louise, wife of Lieut. J. G. Pillow, U. S. A., of Honolulu; Webster Wirt, cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison; Gail, wife of B. R. Allen, of Atchison; Harry Hale, Seattle, Wash.

Wirt Hetherington, third in line of the bankers of this estimable family, was born in Atchison, February 21, 1881, and received his education in the public schools of the city, after which he became a student in the Military School at Orchard Lake, Mich., from which institution he was graduated in 1900. Soon after his graduation, he entered the Exchange National Bank in the capacity of receiving teller and bookkeeper, and since that time he has advanced to higher positions of trust and responsibility in this important banking institution, learning the banking business in a thorough and painstaking manner as he passed from one position to a higher one. In 1905 he became assistant cashier, a position which he held until February, 1914, when he became cashier of the bank, of which he is also a director. Mr. Hetherington is unmarried and makes his home with his widowed mother.

Politically, Wirt Hetherington is a Democrat as were his father and grandfather before him. He is a communicant of the Episcopalian church, which is the church of his forefathers, who were of English origin. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Hetherington is destined to follow in the footsteps of his able and distinguished father and grandfather, and has already given decided evidence that he has inherited and is developing marked financial ability of a high order. His demeanor in the conduct of the duties of his important position is commendatory and his pleasant and courteous manner of greeting those with whom his duties bring him in daily contact betokens the innate gentlemanly attributes which he possesses to a considerable degree.

Harry L. Sharp.

Harry L. Sharp, secretary of the Atchison Commercial Club, is one of the “live wires” of the city and has given evidence of great ability in his chosen profession. He is industrious, frugal, sincere and unpretending. His accurate knowledge as to the departmental matters is a constant surprise to those who have occasion to consult him with reference to any branch of public service. He realizes that facts, and not theories, must be the working forces in this organization. He is not only able, intelligent and practical in the discharge of his duties as secretary of the Commercial Club, but is thoroughly conscientious and always shows the courage of his convictions.

Harry L. Sharp was born in Moravia, Iowa, January 14, 1883, a son of John Wilson and Cora Wright Sharp, who trace their ancestry to Thomas Brown and Col. William Crawford, of Pennsylvania. Thomas Brown was one of the early pioneers in western Pennsylvania and founded the town of Brownsville, that State, in the year 1776. Col. William Crawford was a confrere of George Washington. Colonel Crawford married a daughter of Thomas Brown, which closely related both sides of Mr. Sharp’s family, his father’s people being the Crawfords and his mother’s the Browns. He was graduated from the Moravia High School, after which he entered the restaurant and bakery business for himself, conducting the same for a period of three years. Disposing of this business, he came to Atchison and was for a time associated with Sawin & Douglass in the undertaking business, qualifying and obtaining a license to do embalming in the State of Kansas. Following this, he was clerk at the Byram Hotel for a period of three years. During the following year he wrote life insurance and resided in Hiawatha, Kan. Returning from Hiawatha, he took a position as yard clerk in the Missouri Pacific railroad yards. From this position he worked up to that of claim clerk for that company, which position he resigned to become traffic manager for A. J. Harwi Hardware Company. Upon the death of A. J. Harwi, Mr. Sharp succeeded F. E. Harwi, as buyer of the house furnishings goods department of this concern, continuing his traffic work. He held this position until he was tendered and accepted the secretaryship of the Atchison Commercial Club. While Mr. Sharp is a Democrat, he has always been inclined to be independent in his views of things political. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Elks and Eagles and other fraternal societies. In December, 1906, Mr. Sharp was married to Mary, daughter of Edward C. Wolters, a native of Germany, and a resident of Atchison, where Mr. Wolters was a contractor for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp have one child, LeRoy Edward, born May 31, 1909.

Mr. Sharp is one of the most capable and efficient experts in his particular vocation that can be found in the West. He seems to be naturally adapted for the difficult and exacting position which he holds, and is gifted with rare tact and diplomacy which is so necessary in handling the various affairs which are placed in his hands in the interest of Atchison and the Commercial Club. He is possessed also of decided literary ability, evidence of which talent will be readily seen in the perusal of the chapter on Atchison Industries which was written and compiled for this volume by Mr. Sharp.

Henry Kuehnhoff.

Henry Kuehnhoff, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was born August 3, 1869, in Lancaster township. He is a son of Charles and Caroline Kuehnhoff, who were the parents of nine children, six of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 1841 and left there when a boy of sixteen years, sailing for New York. He remained there a short time and then went west, arriving at St. Joseph, Mo., where he enlisted in Company B of the Volunteer infantry, serving in the Civil war. He was discharged at Lexington, Mo., at the close of the war, having made a good military record.

He returned to civil life and worked at St. Joseph, Mo., as a laborer for $8 a month. Shortly afterward he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought eighty acres of land in section 10, Lancaster township. Using oxen, he broke the ground on his newly acquired farm and began to improve it as far as his resources would permit. In 1894 he retired and went to the National Soldiers’ Home at Leavenworth, where he died in 1903. The mother was born in Germany, in 1845, and died in 1899. Henry Kuehnhoff grew to manhood on his father’s farm and attended the Eden district school No. 37, and also attended No. 3 school for one term. He worked on the farm until he was twenty-one, and, then with his brother, William, rented the old home place. At the death of his father he became heir to a share of the place, and in 1905 bought the farm where he now lives in section 9, Lancaster township, Atchison county. He now owns 157 acres of well improved land and has a large amount of graded stock, and is a stockholder in a telephone company.

In 1901 he was married to Caroline Kloepper, who was born July 20, 1882, in Atchison county. She is a daughter of Crist and Caroline (Dorssom) Kloepper, natives of Germany and Atchison county, respectively. The mother is now dead, but her father resides at DeKalb, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Kuehnhoff have one child, John, who lives at home. Mr. Kuehnhoff is a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge. He is a member of the school board of district No. 3, Lancaster township.

Mrs. D. N. Wheeler.

The average woman, left penniless, destitute, and even burdened with debt at the hour of her greatest sorrow in life, the demise of a loved husband, is very likely to throw herself upon the more or less doubtful mercies of friends or relatives, and make no attempt to take up the burden of gaining a livelihood by her own exertions. However, this may be the case in many instances, but the exact opposite has been the career of Mrs. D. N. Wheeler, one of the wealthiest real estate proprietors in Atchison, who, during the thirty-four years that have elapsed since the demise of her husband which left her with a small home burdened with debt, and otherwise penniless, has amassed a competence which has placed her in the ranks of the largest individual taxpayers in the city of Atchison.

She was born in Chautauqua county, New York, a daughter of Ezekiel and Almirah (Trowbridge) Rooks, both of whom were natives of New York. Her father died when she was four years of age, and she was reared in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where her mother removed after her father’s death. Rooks county, Kansas, is named in honor of the Rooks family of New York, who formed one of the first settlements in Rooks county, during the pioneer days of the early sixties in Kansas. While a student in the academy at Erie, Penn., she met her future husband, who was then traveling passenger agent for the Chicago & Northwestern railway. After their marriage in Erie in 1869, they went to Omaha, Neb., where Mr. Wheeler was connected with the Union Pacific railway. They had the honor of being the guests of George Pullman of the Pullman Car Manufacturing Company, as passengers on the first Pullman train run over the Union Pacific tracks, en route from Omaha to San Francisco. Upon their arrival in San Francisco they attended a reception at the Occidental Hotel, after which Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler traveled in California visiting points of interest. They had some interesting experiences during their travels over the country while Mr. Wheeler was engaged in his duties in connection with the Union Pacific railroad. S. H. H. Clark, president of the Union Pacific railroad, was a very dear and warm friend of the Wheelers, and after Mr. Wheeler’s death, she accompanied the Clark family to San Francisco and was domiciled at the Palace Hotel as their guest. She was with the Clarks at St. Louis when the Union Pacific railroad was sold for $60,000,000, and she was in New York when Mr. Clark signed this transfer. Mrs. Wheeler still retains the friendship of the Clark family and frequently visits them.

Mr. Wheeler had charge of the expedition to North Platte when Generals Grant and Sherman made the treaty with the Indians, and Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler became personally acquainted with the famous generals. A souvenir of this experience is a pack of playing cards which General Sherman gave Mrs. Wheeler when the party was on the return trip, and which was used in playing Bezique by the two generals to while away the time. Mr. Wheeler was the conductor of the train which brought in the survivors of the Plum Creek, Neb., Indian massacre, in which many of the settlers were killed and scalped by Indians. Mr. Wheeler died in 1881, leaving his young wife practically destitute, in the little three room house which they had undertaken to buy in Atchison for $600. At the time of his death there was an incumbrance of $400 on this house, and Mrs. Wheeler was so poor that a load of coal which she had ordered for delivery at the home was returned because it was thought she would be unable to pay for it. She at once began to display the spirit which has enabled her to triumph over all difficulties, and earned her living by teaching drawing and painting in the old Monroe Institute, supplementing her salary by giving private lessons at her home on Saturdays. She managed by dint of the strictest economy to pay off the mortgage on her little home, and has since remodeled it into one of the most attractive places in Atchison. This beautiful home is situated high up on the bluffs, bordering the Missouri river, and offers a view from the east windows over broad reaches of the Missouri which is unsurpassed for beauty and distance anywhere in the West. Mrs. Wheeler, while without business experience of any kind whatever, at the time of her husband’s demise, embarked upon a career of investing her savings in residence properties until she is now the owner of twenty fairly valuable pieces of real estate in Atchison. She followed the time tried plan of the cumulative method of buying houses, which she would place in good repair for rental purposes, going in debt for a house and then gradually paying out, and eventually buying another and so on, until she is now paying taxes on a property valuation of over $40,000, her taxes alone amounting to $2.00 per day, or over $730 yearly. At the same time she has gained a valuable knowledge of real estate, she has learned to know and accurately judge human nature, a combination of wisdom which is irresistible in achieving success. She is a saleswoman of great ability, and has frequently been pitted against some of the shrewdest traders in Atchison, and has never been worsted in an encounter. Endowed with a keen observant mind and a remarkable memory, she has made many prominent friends during her career, and has often been called upon to assist them in various capacities, an instance of which is found in the aid which she gave Bishop Tuttle in the preparation of his reminiscences of the Old Santa Fe Trail. To quote the words of a prominent friend of hers, who has known her for many years and witnessed her struggles to attain affluence, “Mrs. Wheeler is a very remarkable woman.”

Napoleon B. Pike.

Napoleon B. Pike, farmer and stockman, was born May 10, 1856, in Washington county, Iowa, and is a son of Charles and Maria (Salers) Pike, and was one of eleven children, seven of whom are living. The father of Napoleon Pike was born in New York State, November 13, 1826. He came to Ohio with his parents and after his marriage went to Iowa. For a time he was engaged in a small mercantile business in Iowa, but later engaged in farming. He also farmed a place of his own near Atchison, Kan., where he removed in 1882, but his larger holdings were in Iowa. He died in 1903. The mother was born in New Jersey in 1836, and died in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1898. Both were members of the Methodist church.

Napoleon Pike grew up on his father’s Iowa farm. He was married there and came to Kansas with his father in 1882. For a year he rented land in Doniphan county, Kansas, when he came to Atchison county, and rented a farm in Lancaster township. In 1907 he bought the forty-acre farm which he now works. When he took the place it had few improvements, but he has invested $8,000 since then, and made a modern farm and keeps graded stock.

In 1878 he married Julia Utterback, who was born in Lancaster, Iowa, July 17, 1856. She is a daughter of Nels and Matilda Utterback, both natives of Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Pike have been born five children, as follows: Charles, Center township; Alta (Higley) Lancaster township; Walter, farmer, Lancaster township; Willard, farmer, Center township, and Warren, deceased. Mr. Pike is a Republican and a member of the Christian church of Atchison. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America at Atchison.

John A. Scholz.

During the thirty-seven years in which the Scholz family has resided in Atchison county, its members have made a record for each and every one which is a credit to their parents and themselves, individually and collectively. John and August Scholz, farmers and live stock breeders of Lancaster township, take high rank in the county as enterprising and successful agriculturists, and have both achieved success, and attained a reputation as specialists, being well known breeders of Shorthorn cattle. Their father, the late August Schulz, was wise in his day and generation, in that when he came to Atchison county, a comparatively poor man, he secured enough land which would require that his sons remain at home and become farmers. He was successful in his plan, and the result is seen in the enterprising sons whom he trained to till the soil in the best manner possible, and who have been successful, as their father had wished. John Scholz is a native son of Kansas, and was born and brought up on the farm where he now resides. He has one of the attractive country places in the county, nicely located, with a well built farm residence, good barns and out-buildings for housing his live stock and storing the harvests of the Scholz fields. He and his brother, August, have long held their land in common, and worked together on a partnership basis in a manner satisfactory to both and productive of good results.

John A. Scholz was born November 27, 1879, in Atchison county, and is a son of August and Johanna (Seidel) Scholz, who were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Pauline McCowin, Renton, Wash.; Herman, Doniphan county, Kansas; Charles, Lancaster township; Mrs. Louise Thoren, Los Angeles, Cal.; Caroline, wife of J. W. Louthian, Lancaster township, Atchison county; George, Lancaster township; Paul, living near Lancaster, Kan; Mrs. Anna Stockebrand, Yates Center, Kan.; August, farming in partnership with his brother, John, in Lancaster township; John A., farmer, Lancaster township; Robert, Lancaster township. The family was reared on the father’s farm and the sons were all taught farming. The father was born in Schlesien, Germany, November 25, 1835. He learned the blacksmith trade from his father, and worked at the trade until he left Germany in 1870. He was a son of George Frederick Scholz. His mother died when he was an infant. Coming to America with his family of six children, August Scholz resided in St. Joseph, Mo., for a time when he bought a farm of 160 acres in Doniphan county, Kansas, which he operated about six years. He broke the soil on this place with oxen and made all necessary improvements himself. After leaving Doniphan county he rented a farm in Atchison county, and then bought 480 acres of prairie and timber land in Lancaster township, Atchison county, in 1882. He bought the farm of Morgan Osborne, and paid $15,000 for it. The place is known as the “Three Springs Farm” and is located on the northwest quarter of section 9. This name comes from the fact that the farm has a fine natural water supply coming from springs located on it. The springs furnish water enough for the stock on the farm even in the longest drought and supplies the neighborhood when necessary. The father bought an unusually large farm for a special purpose. He wanted his boys to grow up with him, and did not want to see them go out as hired hands for other farmers, so he went into debt to buy enough land so that the boys could work it themselves and make a living on it. He had very little capital, but he was industrious and his family was also industrious. This enabled them to go in debt for the farm without fear of not being able to pay for it. The farm was paid for in due time and improvements were made constantly. The father farmed until his death, in 1901. The mother of John Scholz was a daughter of Godfred and Rosanna (Schwartzer) Seidel. She was born in Schlesien, Germany, April 10, 1840. The father was a farmer in his native land. The mother lives with John Scholz. John Scholz attended the Atchison County High School at Effingham, Kan., having previously gone to school in District No. 3, of Lancaster township. He remained at home after leaving high school, and helped his father on the farm. When the father died John was married and began life for himself. He and his brother, August, bought 160 acres each from the heirs, and engaged in farming. They bought 320 acres comprising the old home. March 1, 1915, they bought eighty acres additional in Lancaster township, making 400 acres in all. John and his brother began to take a fancy to high grade stock and they are now breeding fine Shorthorn cattle. They have a herd of twelve head of thoroughbreds. They have a graded stock of horses and breed Poland China hogs also. John A. especially takes great interest in mules, and at one time had the largest span in the county. These sold for $600. They were five years old and weighed 3,300 pounds.

John Scholz married Ida R. Meyer, October 1, 1913. She was born March 3, 1882, in Center township, Atchison county, and is a daughter of John and Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer. John Meyer was born in Switzerland, and came to Atchison county when he was four years old, with his parents, John and Verena (Slaughter) Meyer, natives of Switzerland. They were early settlers in Center township where they died. John Meyer was born May 8, 1854, and his wife, Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer, was born in Elgin, Ill., April 2, 1859. Mrs. Meyer was the daughter of Nicholas and Katherine Schroeder, natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Scholz have one child, Ralph Edward, born August 17, 1914. Mr. Scholz is a Democrat, and he and his wife belong to the Evangelical church.

Walter E. Brown.

Walter E. Brown, of the law firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane, and the present city attorney of Atchison, is a native son of Kansas. He was born at Whiting, Jackson county, Kansas, November 17, 1887, and is a son of William E. and Martha W. (Gilmore) Brown, natives of Pennsylvania. William E. Brown, the father, came to Kansas with his parents in 1872 at the age of sixteen. He is a son of Michael Brown, a native of Ireland. The Brown family settled in Brown county, Kansas, where the parents spent their lives.

In 1879 William E. Brown removed to Jackson county and engaged in the lumber business at Holton, where he is still an extensive lumber dealer and one of the substantial business men. To William E. and Martha W. (Gilmore) Brown were born three children, as follows: Walter E., the subject of this sketch; Bernice and Harold.

Walter E. Brown was reared in Holton and educated in the public schools, graduating from the high school there. He then entered Kansas University, Lawrence, Kan., and was graduated in the class of 1909 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then came to Atchison and became associated with the law firm of which he is now a member. Some few changes have taken place in the personnel of the firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane within the last few years, but it substantially remains the same.

Mr. Brown is a Republican and since coming to Atchison has taken an active part in political matters. He was elected city attorney in 1913 and reëlected to succeed himself in 1915. He is a Knights Templar and Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Brown is a very capable attorney and has a wide acquaintance in northeastern Kansas.

E. G. Burbank.

E. G. Burbank, proprietor of the Burbank printshop, is a native son of Atchison county. In 1905 Mr. Burbank founded this printing establishment in a very humble way, which within ten years has developed into one of the leading printing plants of eastern Kansas. The phenomenal success of this enterprise is, no doubt, due to the fact that Mr. Burbank was an expert job and edition printer when he embarked in the business for himself. Burbank’s printshop catered to high class printing from the start, which has been its specialty and in which it has made a clean record. They do a large amount of high class catalog printing and other high grade work of a kindred nature. They are also well known as book printers and binders and printers of high class stationery. The plant has a floor space, 30×50 feet and is equipped with all modern machinery and methods for up-to-date printing.

When Mr. Burbank started in business for himself he was able to do most of his work alone, but he now has ten people on his payroll, and the plant is now one of the most prosperous concerns of Atchison.

E. G. Burbank was born at Muscotah, Kan., January 17, 1881, and is a son of Henry N. and Mina S. (Hazlett) Burbank. Henry N. Burbank, his father, was a native of Vermont and came to Atchison county with his father, George S. Burbank, in the pioneer days of Atchison county. He died in 1913, and his wife now resides at Billings, Mont. E. G. Burbank was reared in Muscotah, and after receiving a high school education began his printing career as “devil” in the office of the Muscotah Record. Shortly afterwards, he entered the office of the Atchison Globe and was connected with that paper as a printer for four years, when he organized the plant which now bears his name.

Mr. Burbank was married in 1908 to Miss Millie Anderson, and they have two children: Millie Ervin, born in December, 1910, and John Maxwell, born in July, 1912. Mr. Burbank is of the type of business men who are making Atchison the commercial and center that it is. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

H. C. Hansen.

The story of a young man who has been successful in his chosen field through sheer force and energy and aptitude is always interesting. Consequently, it is fitting that the biography of one of the most successful life insurance men of northeast Kansas have a proper place in the pages of the history of Atchison county. The rise of H. C. Hansen in the insurance field has been rapid and substantial until his high place among the business men of his home city is assured. Born in the little kingdom of Denmark and reared on American soil, he has given evidence of possessing the sturdy qualities peculiar to the Danish people which have led them to the forefront in America wherever they have settled. It is probable that no people coming here from foreign shores and speaking an alien tongue have shown greater adaptability and more acumen in being assimilated into the great American body of citizens than those who have come from Denmark.

H. C. Hansen was born in Denmark January 17, 1867. His parents were Hans and Anna Hansen, who left their native land to seek their fortunes in America in 1869. Hans Hansen was a blacksmith, and the family first located in Atchison. From here they went to Brown county, and a few years afterward settled in Doniphan county. Mr. Hansen operated a blacksmith and wagon-shop at Severance, Kan., until 1890. He then removed to Graham county and settled on a farm where he still resides. His first wife, Anna, died in 1875, leaving four children, as follows: Mrs. Mary Kellenberg, of Brown county; Mrs. Minnie Knoop, of Canton, Okla.; Mrs. Ellen Moore, of Cottonwood Falls, Chase county, Kansas, and Hans Christian.

H. C. Hansen was reared in Doniphan county and was forced by circumstances to look after his own education. When still a boy he learned the blacksmith’s trade and also worked as a farm hand. He had little opportunity to secure an education and received no encouragement from his parents to acquire knowledge. It was necessary for him to earn money to support himself while attending school. He studied for two years in the Christian Brothers College of St. Joseph after he became of age. Beginning with December 20, 1892, he served twelve years as salesman for the Edward Heeney Hardware Company, of Severance, Kan. He then became local agent for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company at Severance. So successful was Mr. Hansen in his new vocation that in a short period of eighteen months he was tendered the position of general agent of the company, with headquarters in Atchison. He has written as high as $200,000 in life insurance policies yearly and his success still continues. A strong and amiable personality combined with energy and persistence have been factors in enabling him to advance with such rapid strides in a field which is full of able competitors. In addition to his duties as general agent of the Penn Mutual Insurance Company, he looks after his farm of 120 acres, located five and one-half miles east of Potter. Mr. Hansen has purchased this farm with money earned in selling life insurance, and he is displaying the same energy in developing his farm acreage that placed him to the forefront in the life insurance field. An old, rundown orchard of about ten acres was located on his farm. He had this orchard placed in shape for fruit bearing by trimming the trees and spraying with a power sprayer. The results are seen in the fine quality of fruit which the trees have yielded. He has been awarded three first prizes at the Atchison county horticultural display.

Mr. Hansen was married August 20, 1891, to Katie Browning, a daughter of Frank Browning, an early pioneer settler of Doniphan county. To them have been born the following children: Anna, a graduate of the public school and high school, and now a teacher in the schools of Sparks, Kan.; Bettie, a trained nurse, who graduated from the Sisters of Charity Hospital, at St. Joseph, in October of 1915; Crystelle, a milliner in the Ramsey store; and William Penn or “Pat,” the youngest of the family.

Politically, Mr. Hansen is an independent Republican, inclined to be progressive in his ideas of government by the people, and favoring those candidates for office who seem to be capable of serving the people to the best advantage of all. He is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus.

Julius Deutsch.

Julius Deutsch, retired merchant and capitalist, of Atchison, is a citizen who has made his own way in the world, and achieved a satisfactory measure of success in the mercantile field. He was born in Lorraine, the French province of Germany, November 27, 1858, a son of Molling and Melanie Deutsch, who were born and reared in Lorraine. Molling Deutsch was a wholesale grain and flour merchant in his native town. Melanie Deutsch was a daughter of M. Friend, a soldier in the Napoleonic wars, and who was awarded the Medal of St. Helena for bravery on the field of battle. Both parents lived their lives and died in the land of their nativity.

When Julius Deutsch had completed his education at the age of fourteen years, in 1872, he immigrated to America, coming direct to Atchison, where he made his home for a short time with an uncle, L. Friend. Later, he entered the employ of another uncle, I. Friend, a merchant, doing business in Seneca. He worked in the store at Seneca for two years, sold goods in Atchison for another year, spent one year in a mercantile establishment at Topeka, and then embarked in business for himself. Mr. Deutsch established a general store at Muscotah in 1878, which was a successful venture. Prosperity attended his efforts, and it was not long until he and his brothers embarked in the mercantile business at Horton, Kan., and established a store which they still own. He was associated in his business ventures with his brothers, Sylvain, Maurice, Simon, and Isaac. Simon is now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. Isaac is deceased. The brothers established a chain of stores and operated them at Beloit, Atchison, Valley Falls, Muscotah, and Concordia, which were generally successful, and made money on the investments. Mr. Deutsch continued in active mercantile pursuits until his retirement to Atchison in 1902. He first came to Atchison from Muscotah in 1885, turned over the business at Muscotah to his brother, and then engaged in business in this city. His brother, Maurice, now operates the store at Horton, Kan. Sylvain Deutsch makes his home principally in Kansas City. During later years the Deutsch brothers have disposed of a number of their various stores, and now operate the Horton concern only. Their capital is mainly invested in real estate, consisting of city property and farm lands in Kansas and the West. Isaac Deutsch was the first of the family to come to America to seek his fortune, and his brothers followed, and a community of interests which held them together at all times, resulted in all becoming well-to-do.

Mr. Deutsch and his brothers are interested in a number of financial institutions, and he has many friends among the substantial citizens of his home city. He took an active part in the incorporation of the town of Muscotah, serving as city councilman. He is of the Jewish faith, and is prone to assist all religious denominations to the extent of his ability, being tolerant and broad-minded in this respect. He is fraternally allied with the Odd Fellows and the Elks. Mr. Deutsch possesses a likable personality, which, coupled with a kindly and courteous demeanor at all times, makes him well liked by his associates and esteemed for his many excellent qualities.

Stark Wilbor Adams.

Stark Wilbor Adams, general manager for the Aetna Life Insurance Company, with offices in the new Masonic Temple, and secretary of the Atchison County High School board, is a native of the Buckeye State, born in May, 1866, at Huron, Ohio, and a scion of an old American family which traces its lineage back to the colonial days of New England. His father, Stark Adams, and his mother, Mary (Chandler) Adams, were born in Milan, Ohio, and Birmingham, Ohio, respectively. Stark Adams was a son of Philo, a son of Daniel Adams, of Vermont, who was a soldier in the Continental army during the American war of independence, and was a brother-in-law of Ethan Allen, of Vermont. Daniel was second in command of the “Green Mountain Boys” at the capture of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In recognition of his services in behalf of the new nation, he was given a grant of land in the Western Reserve. His son, Philo, rode horseback from Middlebury, Vt., to the Huron river valley in 1816 and took possession of the tract which had been granted to the family by the Government. He also traded a horse for an eighty-acre tract in addition to his own grant. He and three brothers settled on the land lying along the course of the Huron river, Philo locating at the mouth of the river where it flows into Lake Erie, and upon which the town of Huron was eventually built. The brothers became the owners of about 600 acres of land in the neighborhood. They cleared the land of standing timber, planted corn, harvested and shelled it during the first season, then crossed the lake to Buffalo to trade grain for supplies, which they again traded with the Indians for furs. They conducted a general trading business and the settlement grew from this beginning, in course of time to be of considerable importance. Philo Adams was a first cousin of John Quincy Adams, and was appointed the first collector of the Port of Huron. The first of the family to come to America was Henry Adams, who came to Plymouth on the “Mayflower,” when the good ship made its second voyage to bring over the Puritans, and he settled at Mt. Wolaston, (now Quincy, Mass.) in 1638. Joseph Adams II was the son of Henry, the founder of the family in America; Joseph III, son of Joseph Adams, was next in line, and was the father of Daniel and President John Adams, second President of the United States. Daniel Adams was the father of Philo Adams, and direct ancestor of the Adams family.

Stark Adams, accompanied by his family, left the old home in Ohio in 1878, crossed the country to Hays City, Kan., and there homesteaded on 160 acres of land, taking up a timber claim of the same number of acres at the same time. Settlers were few and far between in that part of Kansas in those days, and the country was settling up slowly because of the droughts and other vicissitudes with which the farmers had to contend. Ten years after locating near Hays City, Mr. Adams came to Atchison and eventually bought a farm four miles south of the city, on which he lived until his retirement to a residence on the corner of Q and Sixth streets in Atchison. He was born October 14, 1827, and died August 30, 1909. His children are: Augusta J., at home; C. B., of 714 Park street; James Otis, on a farm, eight miles southwest of the city; Stark Wilbor; Margaretta L., at home, associated with S. W. in the office located on the second floor of the new Masonic Temple; J. D., at the family home in Atchison at 517 South Seventh street.

S. W. Adams and family came to Atchison from the farm in February, 1908, and engaged in the insurance business, the mother and father and family coming to the city in December of the same year. He opened his present office May 1, 1914, when Mr. Adams was appointed manager of the Aetna Life Insurance Company for northeast Kansas. His career as an insurance solicitor and manager has been very successful. The real estate and loan business conducted in the same office is in charge of Jay D. Adams.

Mr. Adams was married December 25, 1899, to Miss Mary Speck, who was born on a pioneer farm in Atchison county on Stranger creek in Mt. Pleasant township. She was a daughter of Archimides S. and Sarah E. Speck, natives of Kentucky and North Carolina, respectively, who emigrated from Indiana to Kansas, driving a team the entire distance, during the year 1855. (Further data concerning Mr. and Mrs. Speck will be found elsewhere in this volume.) To this union have been born, Dorothy M., Sarah E., Mildred J., Lorena Wilberta, Wilbor Speck.

Mr. Adams is a Republican in politics and has taken a more or less active part in political and civic affairs. For the past five years he has served the county as secretary of the Atchison County High School board. He and the members of his family are affiliated with the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is allied with the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

George Scholz.

George Scholz, farmer and stockman of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born in Germany, April 22, 1870, and is a son of August and Johanna (Seidel) Scholz, who were the parents of seven children: Mrs. Pauline (McCowin), Renton, Wash.; Herman, Doniphan county, Kansas; Charles, Lancaster township, farmer; Louise, wife of C. Thoren, Los Angeles, Cal.; Caroline, wife of J. W. Louthian, Lancaster township; Paul, living near Lancaster, Kansas; Mrs. Anna Stockebrand, Yates Center, Kan.; August, farming with his brother, John, in Lancaster township, and John, farmer, Lancaster township; Robert, Lancaster township. The family was reared on the father’s farm where all the sons were taught farming. The father was born November 25, 1835, in Schlesien, Germany, and learned the blacksmith trade from his father, and worked at that trade until he left Germany in 1870. He was a son of George Frederick Scholz. His mother died when he was an infant. Coming to America with his family of six children, August Scholz resided in St. Joseph, Mo., for a time and then bought a farm of 160 acres in Doniphan county, Kansas, which he worked about six years. He broke this place with oxen and made all necessary improvements himself. After leaving Doniphan county he bought 480 acres of prairie and timber land in Atchison county, Kansas. This was in 1882. He bought the farm of Morgan Osborne and paid $15,000 for it. The place is known as the “Three Springs Farm.” It is located on the northwest quarter of section 9. The name comes from the fact that the farm has a fine natural water supply from springs located on it. The springs supply water for the stock on the farm even in the longest drought.

The father bought an unusually large farm for the reason that he wanted his boys to grow up on his own farm. He did not want to see them go out and work for strangers. His capital was limited but he and his sons were industrious, and they were able to go into debt to acquire more land, and the farm was paid for in due time and improvements were made as rapidly as possible. The father farmed his place until his death, in 1901. The mother of George Scholz was a daughter of Godfred and Rosanna (Schwartzer) Seidel, and was born in Schlesien, Germany, April 10, 1840, and is now living with her son, John. The father was a farmer in his native land.

George Scholz attended the Atchison county schools, finishing at the Rock district school. He remained at home until he was twenty-six years old, when he rented a farm which he operated in partnership with his brother, Charles A. In 1905, George bought the farm which he now owns, and which consists of 120 acres in section 24, Lancaster township. The place was comparatively unimproved, having only an old house and barn. Since then he has built a modern eight-room house, electric lighted and modern in all respects. In addition, he has erected a fine barn, 40×36 feet in size. It is electric lighted and equipped with up-to-date conveniences. Mr. Scholz keeps graded stock on his farm and is a progressive farmer and conducts his farm in an efficient manner. When he and his brother were farming together, ten or more years ago, they sold corn from the field as low as fourteen cents per bushel.

Mr. Scholz was married to Anna Buttron, February 10, 1909. She was born October 20, 1877, and is the daughter of Henry and Rosanna Buttron. Mr. and Mrs. Scholz have two children: Gilbert, born December 31, 1909, and Karl, born January 16, 1914. Mr. Scholz is an independent voter. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge, of Lancaster, No. 355, and attends the Lutheran church, of which his wife is a member. Mr. Scholz made his first investment in 160 acres in Sheridan county, Kansas, for $1,100 in 1902, and sold it three years later for $2,400.

Thomas E. Horner, M. D.

Diligence in the pursuit of success is inevitably rewarded, be it in the marts of finance or in the ranks of the learned professions. The profession of medicine has from earliest times offered opportunity for honor and social prominence, as well as giving its members a chance for bettering the condition of mankind in general as well as physical. The physician is at once the friend in need who alleviates our ills and is often the family adviser. To him very frequently are intrusted the secret troubles which beset his patients many times and he thus becomes a benefactor to mankind in more ways than one. Thus, the needs of this noble profession require a high type of individual who is at once a learned and skilled practitioner and gentleman in whom the people can place their trust. Dr. Thomas E. Horner is of the type of physician in whom one can have confidence and whose ability in his life work is marked, the best evidence of which is his large practice in and near the city of Atchison.

He is a native born Kansan, born on a farm on Independence creek in Doniphan county August 8, 1875, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Farrell) Horner, natives of Ireland. His father was born in 1836 in the town of Coleriyne, Ireland, and his mother is a native of County Cavan, North Ireland, born in 1842. Isaac died in Atchison county in 1911. He immigrated to America with his father, James Horner, who bought a farm near New York City, returning to Ireland where he resided for twelve years, after which he located in western Pennsylvania. From there Isaac removed to Kansas in 1859 and became a freighter across the plains, operating his own outfit. He married in 1866 and settled on Independence creek. Isaac left the farm in 1880 and removed to Atchison where he engaged in buying and shipping live stock until his death. He became well-to-do and was the owner of over 1,000 acres of land in Doniphan and Atchison counties. He was an excellent business man and a keen trader who was honest in his dealings and enjoyed the respect and esteem of those with whom he came in contact during his long life. Coming of an excellent Irish family, he was a younger son and had a brother named Samuel who was educated in Oxford University, and was an early settler in Atchison county, dying in Jackson county, Kansas, in 1886. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Horner are as follows: Mrs. Elizabeth McGurk, Frankfort, Kan.; Mrs. Ella St. Peters, Denver, Colo.; James, who married Nellie Deigan and resides in Parnell, Kan.; Rose, at home with her mother, and Dr. Thomas E. Horner, with whom this review is directly concerned; Mrs. Marie Farrell, widow of James Farrell, of Atchison; and Samuel, who married Mollie Butler, and resides at Jarbalo, Leavenworth county.

Dr. Horner was educated in the parochial schools and Christian Brothers College at St. Joseph, Mo., from which academic institution he graduated in 1893 with the highest honors of his class. He then pursued the study of medicine and graduated from the Kentucky College of Medicine in 1897. For two years he practiced medicine at Vliets, Marshall county; then at Severance, Doniphan county, for a period which ended in 1911, prior to his location in Atchison. He has built up an excellent practice and has a beautiful home at 1114 Santa Fe street.

In politics Dr. Horner is a Democrat; he is a member of the Catholic church, and is affiliated with the Knights and Ladies of Security, the Fraternal Aid Societies, the Mystic Workers, and the Knights of Columbus. He is likewise associated with the Atchison County, the Kansas State and the American Medical associations. He served as police surgeon of the city of Atchison.

Dr. Horner was married January 11, 1898, to Sadie E. Armstrong, and to them have been born three children: Elizabeth, aged fifteen years; Mary, fourteen years of age, and Thomas, aged seven years. The mother of these children is a daughter of Thomas T. and Mary J. (White) Armstrong. Thomas T. Armstrong was born in 1846 in Canada and came to Kansas when a young man and entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad. He is now living a retired life in Atchison. His wife, Mary J., died January 9, 1902, leaving one son, Fred, a resident of Seattle, Wash.

Joseph E. Gibson.

Joseph E. Gibson, farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, Kansas, and a widely known breeder of Shorthorn cattle, has one of the attractive and well kept farm homes in Atchison county, located directly on the White Way, a much traveled and fairly well kept highway, crossing Atchison county from east to west. Mr. Gibson was born August 22, 1861, in Union county, Ohio, and is a descendant of good old Virginia stock. His parents were John and Susannah (Westlake) Gibson, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of the Buckeye State. John Gibson, the father, was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, June 17, 1824, and was the son of Leven and Mary (McClure) Gibson, who were among the early settlers of the State of Ohio, migrating from their old homestead in Virginia in 1833 and settling in Ohio, where they lived on a pioneer farm the remainder of their days. John Gibson was reared to young manhood on his father’s farm, and after his marriage settled on a farm of his own in Union county, Ohio, where Joseph was born and reared. John Gibson was the father of seven children, namely: Arthur, a farmer living in Union county, Ohio; Joseph E.; Mattie, deceased; Mrs. Rosa F. Staley, of Union county, Ohio; Thomas, a farmer and sawmill operator in Louisiana; Mrs. Lizzie Schuler, residing in New Dover, Ohio; and Asa, a farmer, of New Dover, Ohio. The father of these children died in 1899. The mother was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1829 and departed this life in 1907. She was a daughter of Josiah and Christena (Knughouf) Westlake.

Joseph E. Gibson, of whom this review directly treats, was brought up on his father’s farm in Union county, Ohio, and there attended the district school. He remained with his parents until 1891 and then migrated to Kansas, to become a foreman in the fruit orchards owned by J. W. Parker in Atchison county. Eight years later he rented a farm three miles north of Shannon, Kan., and in 1901 purchased the farm of eighty acres which he is now cultivating in Center township. This tract of eighty acres lies in sections 10, 6 and 19 of this township and is well improved. The improvements which Mr. Gibson has placed on his farm since buying it will exceed $1,400. For some years he has been a breeder of pure bred Shorthorn cattle and ships the product of his farm to all parts of the country. He has a herd of high grade Shorthorn cattle to the number of twenty-eight head. The cattle bring good prices at private sale, the buyers visiting the farm for the purpose of purchase. He also is a breeder of Big Type Poland China hogs of the best breed obtainable.

Mr. Gibson was married November 8, 1888, to Miss Virginia I. Weaver, and to this union the following children have been born: Imogene, a graduate of the Atchison County High School; Walter S., at home, attending business college at Atchison; one child died in infancy. The mother of these children was born on April 17, 1864, near Lockburn, Franklin county, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel and Isabella (Gavel) Weaver, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter a daughter of German parents. The mother of Mrs. Gibson is aged eighty-one years and makes her home with her daughter.

Samuel M. Weaver was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, May 20, 1826, a son of George and Isabel (McConnell) Weaver, who were the parents of six children. The father, George, was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1806, when he came west and located in Pickaway county, Ohio, near where the city of Circleville is now located. He was a tailor by trade, and for many years held the office of deputy sheriff of that county. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in 1848. Samuel Weaver was well educated. When twenty years of age he went west and traveled in different states for ten years. When thirty years old, while traveling in Iowa he met Isabel Gavel, to whom he was married December 16, 1856. She was born in Germany and immigrated with her parents to America when one year old and was reared in Franklin county, Ohio. She was born April 3, 1835. Samuel and Isabel Weaver were the parents of five children: Mrs. Catharine E. Cunningham. She died at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1911; Mrs. Virginia I. Gibson; Mrs. Mary F. Southern died at Marysville, Ohio, in 1900; George H. and Samuel, deceased. Samuel, after a residence in Franklin county, located in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1869 and farmed until his death, July 26, 1904.

Mr. Gibson is a Democrat who has taken an active interest in political and civic affairs in the county, and is now serving his third term as trustee of Center township. It is needless to remark that he is satisfying the people of the township and is an efficient and capable official who looks after the township affairs as carefully as he does his own personal affairs, he is fraternally affiliated with the Odd Fellows lodge, the Modern Woodmen, and the Central Protective Association.

Mrs. Gibson takes a just pride in keeping the place in spick and span condition and she has a beautiful lawn fronting the White Way road which attracts the attention of travelers.

Benjamin Patton Curtis.

Benjamin Patton Curtis has been for sixty-one years a Kansan. Looking back what wonderful changes do these years present to the onlooker! The privations, vicissitudes and perils of those days in which the State was born; the beginning of her commerce when the ox team and flat-boat were the principal means of transportation; the five long drawn-out years of civil strife in which the Union was preserved; the era of agricultural development, when the wild prairies were transformed into fruitful fields of golden grain; the epoch in which railways were keeping pace with the settler, the merchant, the manufacturer, and steam and electricity displaced the ox team and stage coach. Sixty-one years in Kansas, from the days of the prairie schooner, flat-boat and pony express, to the days of the automobile, air-ship and telephone; to have done his share in connection with these great developments; to have through his unaided efforts and with determination and energy achieved success to have so lived that he is honored by his friends and neighbors, entitles the man whose name initiates this review to a prominent place in this publication, the history of the county in which he is passing the sunset years of his life.

Benjamin Patton Curtis, pioneer, successful farmer and Civil war veteran, since 1904 a resident of the city of Atchison, was born on the twenty-seventh day of March, 1839, while his parents were encamped in the wilderness of Missouri, a terrific snow storm having interrupted their journey to Illinois. His father, John M. Curtis, was a native of southern Tennessee. He had married when a young man, Mary Ann Warren, also of that State, and with his young wife had settled in Missouri. They were both of Scotch-Irish ancestry and came from a remarkably long-lived line of forebears, one of whom lived to the age of 104 years. In 1839 the family removed from Missouri and settled in Adams county, Illinois, where they remained until 1854, when they came to Kansas Territory, settling just across the Missouri river from St. Joe. John M. Curtis became a stanch Republican after seeing the abuse of slaves while in Missouri, and he was one of the fearless men who came to Kansas for the purpose of making her a free State. He preëmpted a quarter section of land and then engaged in “following the river,” as it was then termed, flat-boating, rafting and steam-boating. His three sons, among whom was our subject, also followed that occupation for a time.

Ben P. Curtis spent the first fifteen years of his life in Adams county, Illinois. His schooling was scant and that little was acquired in the country schools. In his fifteenth year he came to Kansas Territory with his parents, as has been previously stated, and within a short time was employed on the Missouri river. The free life of the plains called him, but as his two brothers had run away from home, and he was the only son left, his longing to become a freighter was unsatisfied, as he preferred to remain with his father. He was one of the first in his section of the State to heed President Lincoln’s call for volunteers, and in May, 1861. he enlisted in Company A, First Kansas Volunteer infantry, under Capt. B. P. Chenowith. He was with his regiment in all its engagements, and is Atchison’s only survivor of the battle of Wilson’s Creek. After the burning of Holly Springs with $2,000,000 worth of supplies; the First Kansas was compelled to live off the country. During the march to Memphis, and while out foraging, Ben Curtis was captured and taken to Ripley, Miss. He was paroled, and while waiting to be exchanged he and a companion, Alverton Abbey, decided to exchange their uniforms for the rebel grey and join the Union lines as deserters and reënlist in some regiment other than their own, knowing full well they would be shot if they were again captured while serving with the First Kansas. They were successful in securing the rebel uniforms and gained the Union lines, Curtis taking the name of C. F. Barker and his comrade, Abbey, that of William Payne. He enlisted in the Fifth Illinois cavalry, and Ben Curtis, under the name of C. F. Barker. At the time of his capture he was serving as sergeant, and when enlisting under Captain Chandler he showed him his parole as Sergeant B. P. Curtis. The captain assured him he would not lose his rank and he was accordingly made a sergeant and served as such until mustered out in February, 1864.

On conclusion of his military service he returned to Doniphan county and resumed his old employment of “following the river,” remaining in this field of occupation until 1867, when he bought a quarter section of land in Doniphan county and engaged in farming. He made a success as an agriculturist, was an active and influential factor in the life of his section and reared a family of six daughters, all of whom are women of education, intellectuality and refinement. In 1901 Mr. Curtis’ health failed and he disposed of his farming interests and became a resident of Troy, and in 1904 came to Atchison, where he has since resided.

On July 23, 1865, Mr. Curtis married Mary Eliza Ashcraft, a daughter of Jeddiah Ashcraft. She was born July 23, 1844, in Larue county, Kentucky, her marriage being on the twenty-first anniversary of her birth. The first eight years of her life were spent in her native State, the following three in Missouri, and in 1855 her father brought his family to Kansas and took up a claim near Mt. Pleasant, where she lived until her marriage with Mr. Curtis. She was for a time a teacher in the Doniphan school. They are the parents of the following children: Bird, the wife of Judson F. Thayer, of Stormsburg, Neb.; Anna, the wife of Julian Tait, of St. Joseph, Mo.; Mable, the wife of William Maynard, of Cologne, S. D.; Maude, the wife of A. W. Toole, of St. Joseph, Mo.; Jessie, the wife of C. H. Allison, of Chicago, Ill.; and Frances, the wife of A. E. Williamson, of Troy, Kan.

On July 23, 1915, their children, sons-in-law, grandchildren, friends and acquaintances gave them signal honor in a fitting observance of their golden wedding anniversary. The Atchison Globe of that date says in part: “Fifty years ago today Miss Mary Eliza Ashcraft and Benjamin Patton Curtis were married in Doniphan.” Of their first meeting it states: “The Ashcraft home was on the old Military road, and when Ben Curtis, a soldier in the Civil war, passed there Mary Ashcraft handed him a cup of water which he drew up from the well. However, that was not the beginning of the love affair which culminated in the marriage of Mary Ashcraft and Ben Curtis. They fell in love with each other in Doniphan, where Miss Mary Ashcraft went to teach school, and Mr. Curtis does not accuse his wife of ‘chasing’ him. He asked for an introduction to the pretty school teacher. After he received it he never took another girl.” Mrs. Curtis is the type of woman everyone admires. Her home is her kingdom and she rules it wisely and well. She has never belonged to a woman’s club, but when there is sickness or trouble at her own home, or in the neighborhood, Mrs. Curtis is on hand, capable, gentle and sympathetic. She rules her home with a velvet hand, and her husband says that he notices as the years glide by he gets off at the stations for which she has bought the tickets, not because he has to, but because he wants to.

Of Mr. Curtis it states: “If you don’t know Ben Curtis there is missing from your acquaintance one of the most companionable of men. Friends who have hunted and fished with him say that he is a seventy-seven year old prince. A lover of wild life, he has thoroughly enjoyed his retired life, which has now covered a period of fourteen years. In the summer he hunts the best game and fishing resorts of the North, and the winter is liable to find him down around Corpus Christi, Texas, or some other locality that is attractive when this climate isn’t. At Leach Lake, Minn., a famous resort on Leach Lake, if you tell the people that you are from Atchison and a friend of Ben Curtis, the place instantly belongs to you.” Without sons of his own, he has naturally taken a great interest in his nephews and is justly proud of the position attained by the following, all of whom are Doniphan county boys: Edward Franklin, formerly of the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, now professor of chemistry at Leland Stanford University; Thomas Franklin, a prominent insurance underwriter, of Chicago; and Professor Will Franklin, of Lehigh University. The latter is also the author of several text books which are in general use.

Mr. Curtis has been a life-long Republican, and during his residence in Doniphan county took an active part in its political affairs. Political office has never appealed to him, and, although often urged by his friends to accept nomination, he refused. He is a member of Severance Post, No. 391, Grand Army of the Republic, and is prominent in Masonic circles. He has attained the Knights Templar degree and is affiliated with Abdallah Temple, Mystic Shrine.

John W. Abner, M. D.

John W. Abner, M. D., although recently locating in Atchison, his skill and ability as a capable and painstaking physician has met with ready recognition and he has a large and growing practice. Dr. Abner is a native of Kentucky. He was born in Clay county, in 1867, a son of John and Matilda (Robinson) Abner, both natives of Kentucky. Dr. John W. Abner was one of a family of three children whose parents died when they were very young and the children were reared by friends and neighbors.

When Dr. Abner was fifteen years old he started out to make his own way in life. He was always of a studious turn of mind and by his own efforts obtained a very good education. At an early age he determined to be a physician and bent his every effort in that direction. He learned the carpenter and cabinet maker’s trade, and after working at his trade for some time he entered the Eclectic Medical College of Kansas City, where he was graduated in the class of 1912 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy. He engaged in the practice of his profession in Kansas City. Mo., where he remained until February, 1915, when he located in Atchison, Kan. He has a fine suite of offices at 712 1–2 Commercial street and is meeting with well merited success. Doctor Abner was married in 1902 to Ada Pearl Wade, of Kansas City, Mo., and they have one child, Dorothy, born January 6, 1905. Dr. Abner is a member of the Christian church and takes an active part in the work of his denomination and has served on the board of trustees. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. Dr. Abner is a past noble grand and senior warden of Subordinate Lodge, No. 577, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and past chief patriarch of Encampment, No. 27, of Kansas City, Mo., and is a member of the Patriarchs Militant, No. 14, Kansas City, Mo.

Politically, he is an independent Republican and takes a keen interest in political as well as current events generally. He is a close student of the science of his profession and aims to keep himself thoroughly posted in the rapid advances that are constantly being made in the world of medicine and surgery.

William Henderson.

William Henderson, one of the most industrious farmers of Benton township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born December 29, 1872, in the locality where he now lives. His parents, George and Amelia (Stockwell) Henderson, had six children, of whom the subject is the oldest. The others are James, Atchison, Kan., in the employ of the International Harvester Company; Josie married Walter Kelsey, and now dead; Ella married Clayton Davidson, of Effingham, Kan.; Etta, wife of Arthur Olinger, Jefferson county, Kansas; Iva, married Elmer Grabiel, Garden City, Kan.; George Henderson was born in Platte county, Missouri, in 1844, and came to Leavenworth county, Kansas, with his parents when eleven years of age. Seven years later he came to Atchison county, where he has since lived, and is now retired, making his home in Effingham. The mother of William Henderson was born in Missouri in 1846.

William Henderson was reared on the farm and attended the district school near the farm, and the Effingham high school one year. He worked for his father until he was married to Nettie R. Jenkins September 5, 1900. His wife was born in Mitchell county, Kansas, in 1883, and is a daughter of James Q. Jenkins, who came to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1894, from Nebraska, but was born in Illinois. Mr. Henderson owns 180 acres of land which is all well improved, the improvements costing $5,000. Of four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, three died in infancy. The living child, Floyd, was born May 28, 1904.

Mr. Henderson is a Democrat. He belongs to the Elks lodge of Atchison, Kan., and the Masonic lodge at Effingham. Though not a church member, he attends regularly. Mr. Henderson has made a success by hard work and good management. He is always in favor of movements which benefit the community and is a public-spirited citizen.

Lumas M. Jewell.

Potter is one of the coming and enterprising towns of Atchison county and Kansas. During the past few years the town has taken wonderful strides in the matter of public improvements and new buildings. A considerable portion of this push and enterprise is directly due to the energy and influence of Lumas M. Jewell, retired merchant and banker, who can well be called the “father of the present day Potter.” Mr. Jewell has been a consistent booster for the town ever since his advent in the town, and has given of his time and money toward its development. Mr. Jewell is a self-made Kansan, who has had an interesting career, and whose rise from a poor boy to a position of comparative wealth and affluence is well worth recording in the annals of Atchison county.

L. M. Jewell was born on a farm in Wayne county, Kentucky, December 3, 1861, a son of Heman S. and Susan Mary (Weaver) Jewell. His father was a native of Vermont, who immigrated to Kentucky when a young man, and engaged in farming operations. He followed farming during his life, until a few years before his demise, at the home of his son, G. W. Jewell, at Kidder, Mo., in 1913. L. M. Jewell received a meager education in the schools of his native State, and his later success in life has been due entirely to his own efforts. His greatest education has been received in the stern school of experience, which is the best after all, and most useful, in developing the real attributes of a man. When he was seventeen years of age, he left home and went to the home of an uncle in Michigan, where he attended school for a time. When he had attained his majority in 1882, he went to South Dakota and homesteaded a tract of prairie land. He stayed in South Dakota for two years and developed his homestead to such an extent that he was able to dispose of it for a good round price, and he then moved to Caldwell county, Missouri, and bought another farm, which he cultivated with a fair degree of success. Later, he embarked in the mercantile business in Marvel, Mo., for a period of three years, disposing of his business in 1892, and locating in Potter, Kan. His first employment in Potter was with the general merchandise firm of Paxton & Kemper. Three years after entering the employ of this firm, Mr. Jewell purchased Mr. Paxton’s interest for $1,500, paying $400 cash, and borrowing the remaining $1,100 with which to complete his purchase. It is remarkable that he could have so established a reputation for business ability and integrity in that time as to be able to command that amount of capital to swing his first business deal in Kansas. His later successes date from that time on, and in the short time of three years he was out of debt, and the business had taken on larger proportions. W. T. Kemper, his partner, then sold his interest in the store to a cousin, Madison Kemper, from whom Mr. Jewell purchased the remainder of the business and became the sole owner. During this time the stock of the store had been increased, and the business had taken on a wider and a more general scope through Mr. Jewell’s enterprise and the exercise of his decided business ability. He became sole owner of the store in 1897, and during the next three years the business was placed upon a permanent and stable footing, which yielded large profits for its owner. In 1900 Mr. Jewell conceived the idea of engaging in the real estate business, primarily for the purpose of building up the town of Potter and attracting more residents to the place. He acquired several business lots and began to erect buildings to such an extent that Potter soon began to take on the airs of a growing city. Where there was but one store building on the side of the street occupied by the Jewell store, he erected five new store buildings, which are occupied by merchants who have moved into the town in the past fifteen years. It is due to Mr. Jewell’s enterprise in this regard that the business part of Potter has been developed. Whereas, when he first came to Potter the town boasted but three stores—his own store, a small hardware shop, and a grocery. All the stores were small and the town did not have a bank. At the present time Potter has two banks and every line of business is represented. As Mr. Jewell’s business expanded his enterprises included a lumber yard, furniture stock and a grain elevator. Seeing the need of a bank, he started a plan of organizing the Potter State Bank in 1899, and after almost a year’s effort, he received the assistance of O. A. Simmons in effecting the organization, and Mr. Simmons was the first cashier of the bank. Mr. Jewell later served as cashier, and is now the president of this bank. In 1910 Mr. Jewell disposed of his mercantile interests, and is interested mainly in real estate and farm lands in Jackson county, Missouri, and Atchison county, Kansas. He has also made a number of large trades in merchandise stocks.

Mr. Jewell was married in 1897 to Sinnie M. Shaw, a daughter of Henry Shaw, who was an early settler of Kansas. One child was born to them, Edna Fern Jewell, born in 1901. Mr. Jewell is a Democrat in politics, and Mrs. Jewell is a member of the Methodist church.

Mr. Jewell’s efforts to advance Potter among the Kansas municipalities have not been confined to commercial activities alone, but he has always had in mind the welfare of the people along other lines. He had not been a citizen of the town but a few years when he conceived the idea that a newspaper would be of great benefit to the community in more ways than one. Consequently, he used every effort to have a paper established in the town, and the Potter Kansan, one of the best edited small weeklies, and one of the most prosperous newspaper enterprises in the State, is the result of his dream. He has been foremost in the cause of education, and he worked unremittingly toward the erecting of the present modern school building and the establishment of a graded school system in the town. Such men as Mr. Jewell are the kind of citizens every town needs, and Potter has been the gainer for his civic enterprise and the fostering of the growth of his adopted city.

William R. Donnellan.

William R. Donnellan, hardware merchant and postmaster of Lancaster, Atchison county, Kansas, was born June 25, 1868, at Lancaster. He is one of six children of John and Mary J. (Davidson) Donnellan, as follows: Anna A. (Ostertag), of Atchison; Thomas E., Parsons, Kan.; William R., the subject of this sketch, Lancaster, Atchison county, Kansas; Emma B., Atchison, Kan.; Margaret (A. Manglesdorf), Atchison, Kan.; Junia (J. Cleary), Shannon township farmer. John Donnellan, the father, was born in Ireland in 1827. When twenty years of age he left the Emerald Isle to trust his fortunes in America. Landing at Ellis Island, N. Y., he set out for the interior of New York State and found employment on a dairy farm. After a few years of hard labor there he went to Crawfordsville, Ind., and worked in a hardware store. In 1856 he left Crawfordsville and came to Kansas, where he preëmpted 160 acres of land in Lancaster township, Atchison county, and built a small, four room house and lived in the most primitive way. When he first broke the soil on his farm he used oxen, but later, as he prospered, he used improved methods of farming. He died on his farm in 1893. The mother of the subject of this sketch was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and died in 1892, a year preceding the death of her husband.

William R. Donnellan was born and reared on his father’s farm in Lancaster township. He attended the public schools of Lancaster, and at the age of twenty-one went to Kansas City, Mo., and secured employment as a motorman and conductor in the service of the Street Railway Company there. Three years later he became shipping clerk for the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company of Atchison, Kan., and a year later returned to his home and engaged in farming on the home place. He remained on the farm until 1903 when he moved to Lancaster and purchased the hardware stock of H. O. Whittaker. This is a large store, carrying $8,000 worth of stock. In politics Mr. Donnellan is a Republican. He was elected mayor of Lancaster in 1907 and served until 1911. In 1903 he was appointed postmaster.

Mr. Donnellan was married in 1893 to Lillian M. Sanders, who was born February 12, 1870, at Lewisburg, Pa. She is a daughter of George L. and Elizabeth (Harrison) Sanders, both natives of Pennsylvania. They have one child, Eva M. (Carson), living in Lancaster. She is a graduate of the high school and business college. Mr. Donnellan is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America, and the Knights and Ladies of Security lodges.

Lafayette T. Hawk.

The biographical annals and the history of Atchison county, Kansas, record three distinct periods of settlement in Kansas and Atchison county. The first was the real pioneer era, when an influx of settlers came, who were the first to break the prairie and lay the foundation for future development. The second was directly after the Civil war, when many people came from all parts of the East and European countries. The later period was in the eighties, when there came from Ohio and Pennsylvania many excellent American families who have prospered and taken leading places in the civic and agricultural development of the county. The Hawk family, of old Pennsylvania German stock, came to this county in the latter era. Lafayette T. Hawk, substantial and well respected, and prominent farmer of Benton township, was among this number, who can be reckoned among the latter-day old settlers of the county, and who has resided here for over thirty-four years, and has worked his way upward from the station of comparatively a poor man to a position of affluence in the county.

L. T. Hawk was born August 22, 1849, in Coshocton county, Ohio, a son of Jonathan and Margaret (Neede) Hawk, both of whom were born and reared in the Buckeye State. Jonathan Hawk was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in 1822, and was a son of Leonard Hawk, born in Pennsylvania, of German parents. Leonard Hawk was an early immigrant in Coshocton county, Ohio, and settled in that county when the whole region was a wilderness and carved a farm from the dense woods which covered that part of the Buckeye State in the early part of the nineteenth century. He first came to Ohio in 1814. Jonathan Hawk came into possession of the old home place of his parents’ in Coshocton county, but sold out in 1883, and came to Kansas, to join his son, Lafayette T., who had preceded him to Atchison county by one year. During the first year of his residence here, he made his home on his son’s farm, and then purchased the Shell property in Effingham, where he made his home until his demise in December, 1889. He was the owner of eighty acres of land which he farmed. Jonathan Hawk was the father of eight children, namely: Sarah died in Ohio; Lafayette T., of whom this review is written; Mary Jane Roll, widow of Samuel Roll, and residing in Effingham; Samuel, living in Oklahoma; Mrs. Margaret Denbow, of Great Bend, Kan.; George Leonard, of Oklahoma; Edith Elzina died at the age of four years; John, deceased. The mother died in January, 1891, at the age of sixty-six.

Lafayette T. was reared on the ancestral farm in Coshocton county, Ohio, and received his education in the district schools of his neighborhood. He learned in his youth to do the hardest kind of farm work and was taught by his parents the best methods of tilling the soil. When a young man he became imbued with the desire to locate in the West where opportunities seemed to be greater than in his home State, and he saved his earnings toward this purpose. Not long after his marriage he came to Kansas, in 1882, and located in Benton township, Atchison county. His cash capital being limited to the sum of $300, he deemed it advisable to rent land for the first year, then bought his first farm of 160 acres at the purchase price of $25 per acre. This farm was necessarily bought on time, but with good management and industry, Mr. Hawk was enabled to pay out and add considerably to the improvements of his place, which is one of the most attractive in the county and one of the most fertile and productive. Mr. Hawk also added ninety acres to his land holdings in later years, and invested his surplus in western land which he traded for the Effingham Hotel property which he now owns. He is a stockholder and director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Effingham, he is also a stockholder in the Midnight Oil Company, a producing concern with headquarters at Morris, Okla.

Mr. Hawk was married March 21, 1874, to Miss Harriet Pitt, of Coshocton county, Ohio, and who was born in Kentucky. To this union have been born the following children: Charles, who served in the Twenty-second regiment, United States infantry, during the Spanish-American war, and is at present chief of police at Shawnee, Okla.; John D., a prosperous and progressive farmer in Benton township; Margaret, wife of Clem Higley, a farmer living in Center township, near Pardee; Homer, who was killed in a railway accident in October, 1913; Fred, died in April, 1913, and who had held the position of cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Effingham prior to his death; Wilbur D. Hawk, business manager of the Atchison Daily Champion, and former deputy warden of the Federal penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga.; Mrs. Mary Foster, of Trenton, Mo.; Robert, a farmer in Benton township; Clifford, a farmer and auctioneer in Benton township, and Vera, at home with her parents. The mother of these children was born, November 8, 1851, in Kentucky, a daughter of William and Frances (Phillips) Pitt, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Vermont. In 1853 Mrs. Pitt and their children removed to Coshocton county, Ohio, Mr. Pitt having died when Mrs. Hawk was an infant. Two of the three children were reared: Mrs. Hawk and Mrs. Lenore (Miller), who died in September, 1915, at Carlton, Ohio. Mrs. Pitt’s second marriage was with Dr. Ephraim P. Stewart, of Coshocton county, Ohio, where he practiced after moving from Carroll county, Ohio, his birthplace.

With the exception of a few years spent in Atlanta, Ga., with his son, Wilbur D., when on duty as deputy warden of the Federal Penitentiary, Mr. Hawk has lived continuously in Atchison county, since 1882, and has taken an active and influential part in the affairs of the county. He is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, but has never sought political preferment. He and the members of his family are affiliated religiously with the Lutheran denomination, which was the faith of his father. He is prominent in lodge circles and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights and Ladies of Security. He is one of the original Central Protective Association members and is a charter member of Sunny Hill Lodge, No. 158, of Effingham, and is prominently connected in Central Protective Association circles throughout the State of Kansas, having organized seven lodges in this State.

James R. Gragg.

For nearly fifty-nine years James R. Gragg, wealthy farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, and the present township treasurer, has lived in Kansas, and is one of the real pioneers of the State. Since a lad six years of age he has been a resident of Atchison county, and has lived to see the once wild and barren prairie become one of the garden spots in America, and has seen the towns and cities grow within the borders of the county where once was a wild, unbroken waste. When a boy he was taught by his father that the greatest returns from the pursuit of agriculture could be obtained by the raising and feeding of live stock, and he has endeavored to follow his father’s teachings in this respect and has met with success, resulting from following a definite plan of getting the best results from his efforts. He is a descendant of a southern pioneer family, who were among the original settlers of eastern Tennessee, and again were pioneers in Clay county, Missouri, early in the nineteenth century. It is a topic of interest to compare the comfortable residence and farm buildings of Mr. Gragg, at this day, to the log cabin in which he was reared, and the stock shed made of poles and slough grass, which his father was forced by necessity to erect in the early days of the settlement of Kansas. Few families settled in Lancaster township as early as the Graggs, and in point of years of residence, James R. is probably the third oldest living settler of the township.

James R. Gragg was born February 5, 1851, in Clinton county, Missouri. He is a son of Jefferson and Mary (White) Gragg, to whom fifteen children were born. Four children, two sons and two daughters, are still living, as follows: Mrs. Mahala Martin, Gower, Mo.; James R.; Mrs. Alice Muks, near Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Bishop or Bascomb Gragg, Stafford, Kan. The Graggs are of Irish descent. The father of James Gragg was born in 1814 in eastern Tennessee. When he was a child his parents removed to Clay county, Missouri, where he grew up as a farmer. In the spring of 1856 Jefferson Gragg came to Kansas and settled in Leavenworth, where he had taken a claim. He sold this a year later and came to Atchison county, and preëmpted 160 acres in section 24, Lancaster township, on which James R. is now living. He paid $1.25 an acre. As soon as he took charge of the land he built a log house, twelve feet square and also erected a hay barn with a slough-grass roof. He brought a covered wagon to Kansas and lived in it until the log house was ready for occupancy. During the border war he was forced to return to Missouri for three months, but at the end of that time came back to Kansas and continued to improve his farm. It was slow work, as he did most of the plowing with oxen and this took a great deal of time, but he was able to accumulate a little money slowly, and in ten years erected a better house on his place. He had a hard fight for existence the first few years in the face of crop failures, droughts and grasshoppers, but when he retired, about 1890, he owned 640 acres of land which he divided among his children, and lived with them until his death, April 10, 1910. His wife, the mother of James R. Gragg, was born in Clinton county, Missouri, in 1816, and died in 1912. She was the daughter of Robert White, and her mother bore the maiden name of Cooley. Both parents were members of the South Methodist church, and helped to organize and build the Bethel church in Grasshopper township, which was one of the early Methodist churches in Kansas. Both parents are buried in old Huron cemetery.

James R. Gragg, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm where he now lives, and attended school in Lancaster and Huron, Kan., although his early educational opportunities were limited. In early days the father and his son were stock buyers on a large scale. The father did the actual buying, and the son had charge of the herds on the prairie. They did a large business in trading and buying and selling stock, and the son has continued this until the present time. James has always lived on the Gragg land and was with his father until the latter retired in 1890 and the land was divided. James later bought out the other heirs and now owns 1,040 acres in Atchison and Wabaunsee counties, 560 acres of this land being located in Atchison county, with three sets of farm buildings. He gives a great deal of attention to the stock selling part of his business, and feeds and winters 150 head each winter. On December 25, 1872, Mr. Gragg married Mrs. Viola A. Norris, who was born May 26, 1855, in Buchanan county, Missouri. She is a daughter of David and Martha (Cook) Norris. The father’s family came from Kentucky and the mother’s from Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Gragg have two children: Jefferson K., born February 23, 1875, in Atchison county, Kansas; married in October, 1894, to Ella Walls, and has two children, Paul, aged twenty years, and George, aged twelve years. He is now engaged in the live stock commission business in Kansas City, Mo., and Arch, born May 3, 1889, who is farming on the home place, married March 11, 1914, to Edna Wilson, of Lancaster township, a daughter of J. E. Wilson. Jefferson, the older son, completed a course in the Atchison Business College. Mr. Gragg is a Democrat, and has been a member of the school board, and is now treasurer of Lancaster township. He is a member of the Methodist church and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America.

Uri Seeley Keith.

Uri Seeley Keith is one of the grand old men of Atchison. His career has been interesting, and borders upon the romantic, when many incidents in which he has figured are recounted. A valiant soldier of the Union during the Civil war, it fell to him to perform the arrest of Vallandingham in Ohio when his activities in favor of the Confederacy had rendered him obnoxious to the State and Federal governments. Few men in Atchison have had a more varied or active life than Mr. Keith. He was born June 27, 1841, in Massillon, Ohio, the son of Fordyce M. and Parthena J. (Seeley) Keith, natives of New York and the Western Reserve of Ohio, respectively. Mrs. Keith was a daughter of Uri Seeley. Fordyce M. Keith was born in 1816 and died May 14, 1906. He was a son of Ansell Keith, a native of New York. The Keith family is descended from two brothers who were sons of General Keith, at one time a field marshal in the Russian army. He was a Scotch-Englishman, who quarreled with Queen Elizabeth and left England to take service under Peter the Great of Russia. His two sons immigrated to America in 1690, one settling in New York and the other going to the Southland. Two branches of the family thus sprang from these sons of Marshal Keith. Brigadier General Keith served under General Washington during the Revolution and the General lived at the Keith home in New York for a time. Ansell Keith served in the War of 1812. The Seeley family originally settled in Connecticut. Uri Seeley was born in 1791 and settled in the Western Reserve on a land grant of 100 acres where he died. Ansell, the father of Fordyce M., and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled in Lorain county, Ohio, in 1832, near Elyria and was a contractor and builder. Data regarding the members of the family is as follows: Ansell Keith was born June 24, 1786, and Betsy M., his wife, was born January 2, 1794; Uri Seeley was born May 25, 1791, and died August 10, 1877, and his wife, Abbey, was born October 23, 1792.

Fordyce M. Keith was born April 27, 1816, and died May 12, 1906. His wife, Parthena, was born August 4, 1816, and died at Seneca, Kan., February 18, 1893. He received an excellent education and was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, practicing for some years at Massillon. He served in the Union army, enlisting in the One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, and later the First Ohio heavy artillery. His service extended throughout the war from August 30, 1862, to August 1, 1865. He was a major in the One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, and was created a lieutenant colonel in the heavy artillery August 1, 1863. He came to Kansas in 1866 and practiced law in Brown county where he served as county attorney. In old age he resided with his granddaughter in Oklahoma. He was the father of the following children: Uri Seeley; Fordyce M., Jr., who died in Pueblo, Colo., August 1, 1900; Clarence M., and Herbert Brewster died in infancy; Lamar Burrett, born February 22, 1847, and lives at Seneca, Kan.

Uri Seeley Keith was educated in the common schools of his native State. He enlisted April 20, 1861, when Lincoln issued his first call for troops. His first enlistment was in Company I, Eighteenth regiment, Ohio infantry, for a period of three months, which was extended to five months. He again enlisted in Company E, Eighty-seventh regiment, Ohio infantry, June 2, 1862, for four months. November 4, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, for a period of three years, or until the close of the war. He was promoted to the second lieutenancy of Company C, First Ohio heavy artillery, December 23, 1863. The One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment was transferred to the heavy artillery organization May 2, 1863 with Mr. Keith as second lieutenant and later as first lieutenant of his company. He was regimental quartermaster sergeant of the One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, and received his final discharge at Knoxville, Tenn., July 25, 1865, and was mustered out at Camp Denison, Ohio, August 1, 1865. This valiant soldier participated in the following engagements: Chickamauga, September 10–20, 1863; Knoxville, November 16 to December 9, 1863; Campbell Station, October 16; Carter Station, December 21; Lowden, October 15, 1863; Rogersville, December 19; Taylorsville, December 19, 1863; Seaversville, October 9, 1864; Charleston, October 19, 1864; Cleveland, October 24; Columbus, October 27; Franklin, November 30; Nashville, December 12 to 16, and Duck River, December 18, 1864. He served as quartermaster of the Second battalion of the First Ohio heavy artillery from April 1, 1864, to the close of the war. Other engagements in which he fought were: Rich Mountain, July 7, 1861; Gainesville, July 24, 1861; Red House, July 29, 1861 (Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry) and Harper’s Ferry, September 14 and 15, 1862; South Mountain, September 13, 1862; Antietam, September 17, 1862 (Eighty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry) Paintville, January 11, 1863; Peach Orchard, January 27, 1863 (One Hundred and Seventeenth Ohio volunteer infantry). An interesting episode in Mr. Keith’s career which has been published in various newspapers is worth recording. He was the man who arrested Vallandingham at Dayton, Ohio, May 1, 1863. Early in 1863 while he was an officer in the heavy artillery, General Burnside, then in command of the Department of the Ohio, issued general order Number 38, which was especially obnoxious to southern sympathizers, the Knights of the Golden Circle, and Associated Sons of America, and kindred organizations which had for their object the placing of every obstacle in the path of the Federal Government and the overthrow of the Union. Vallandingham made an incendiary speech at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on May 1. Captain Hutton of General Burnside’s staff was detailed to effect the arrest of Vallandingham, who was to be transported to the rebel lines. Lieutenant Keith was second in command of the expedition. They reached Vallandingham’s home at midnight, and knocked at the door, but the woman of the house stated that the object of their capture was not at home. Lieutenant Keith did not believe her and pushed open the door and rushed up stairs to find Vallandingham, who was in bed. When Keith broke open the bed room door his prisoner rushed to the window and called “Asa,” presumably in search of assistance, but no one came to his aid. He was then taken to Cincinnati and sent through the Union lines to the Confederate general, Bragg, for safe keeping.

Mr. Keith came west to Doniphan county September 8, 1865, and located in the town of White Cloud for a time and then came to Atchison. He bought a farm a few miles west of White Cloud which he cultivated until 1872, and then followed railroading for a time. In 1872 he was in the employ of the United States Government on the Great Nemaha Indian reservation. In 1875 he again returned to White Cloud and from there went to his farm, remaining until 1885 when he engaged in the hotel business at Hiawatha until 1890. He removed to Atchison in 1890, and was employed for a number of years as inspector of city contract work. He has superintended practically all of the paving and contract work which has been done in the city except during the past few years since his retirement. Many miles of paving have been honestly done under Mr. Keith’s supervision and he has had charge of the building of practically all of the concrete culverts erected in the city. For four years he served as deputy sheriff of Atchison county.

Mr. Keith was married September 11, 1866, to Mary Frances Grossman, who was born in Massillon, Ohio, August 24, 1842, the daughter of Daniel and Martha Grossman, natives of Pennsylvania, and pioneer settlers in Ohio. The Grossmans moved to Ohio in 1836 and both died in Massillon. To Mr. and Mrs. Keith have been born the following children: Minnie L. born July 24, 1867, wife of J. R. Bailey, of Enid, Okla., and the mother of one child, Mildred, wife of Dr. Lee J. Render, of Falls Valley, Okla., and who also has one child, Bailey Adrian; Mrs. Ruby V. Doyle, born April 1, 1870, and residing in Lincoln, Neb., the mother of one child, Halbert K.; Edward C., and Charles R., born June 6, 1875, of whom Charles R. died May 24, 1898, and Edward C. married Elsie Schmitt, engaged in United States mail service. Mr. Keith’s daughter, Mrs. Bailey, is a talented writer and has issued a volume of poems which has decided literary merit. She is counted among the leading authors of the “New State” and is fast gaining a place in the world of letters.

Mr. Keith has always been aligned with the Republican party and has been active in its councils during his long and busy life. He is a Mason and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 93, having been quartermaster of the local post for the past eight years. He served as post commander at White Cloud, Hiawatha, and of E. C. Johnson post, of Atchison, which was later consolidated with Post No. 93. Few men can look back over long years crowded with incidents and with such activity as has fallen to the lot of Uri S. Keith, one of the last of the Old Guard who offered their lives that the Union might be forever preserved. As the years pass and time rolls on the ranks of those brave men who wore the blue are becoming thinner and their steps more feeble. It is only the more vigorous who have survived thus far and Mr. Keith is one of them.

Charles H. Burrows.

Charles H. Burrows, Union veteran and clerk in the Missouri Pacific railroad offices at Atchison, has had a long and varied career in the railway service of the country. He is a native of the Buckeye State and was born at Cincinnati, November 19, 1843, a son of James H. and Nancy A. (Lynchard) Burrows, both of whom were descended from old American families. James H. Burrows was born in Maryland and his wife was a native of Kentucky. The Burrows family settled in America in about the year 1647. There were at first two branches of the family, one of whom settled in Maine and the other on the south shore of Maryland. The great-grandfather of Charles H. settled first in Maryland and here his grandfather, William Burrows, was born and reared. The sons of the family were sea-faring men and several of the descendants of the first Burrows have been officers in the United States navy. Nancy A., wife of James H., was a daughter of Mr. Lynchard of Virginia, who became a pioneer settler of Kentucky, and married a member of the Talbot family, of Virginia. He had two sons and four daughters and came from Kentucky to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1838. In 1845 James H. Burrows was married in Cincinnati where he made his residence. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war both father and son, C. H., enlisted. The family removed to Springfield, Ill., in 1858 and here James H. operated a cooperage shop. As before stated, father and son enlisted in the same regiment, the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois volunteer infantry, on September 10, 1862, for a period of three years. The father died in the Union hospital at Cairo, Ill., after his honorable discharge on account of sick disability, in February, 1863. Charles H. fought in the battles of Champion Hills, Vicksburg, Spanish Fort, Blakely, and took part in many other engagements until the close of the war. He was also engaged in the Mobile campaign. Charles H. was the eldest of a family of five children, namely: Charles H., James died in 1856; Mrs. Alice A. Direen, of Jacksonville, Ill.; William C., deceased; Emma D., wife of Judge Henry Phillips, of Beardstown, Ill.

In 1873 he, with whom this review is directly concerned, left the old home in Illinois and began his railroading career which was eventually to end with his present berth in Atchison. Forty-two years of railroading, or rather fifty years of railway service with the exception of two years in the practice of law at Mondamin, Ill., is the proud record of this sturdy patriot. During this long period he has served as telegraph operator, superintendent of telegraph, engineer, brakeman, conductor, etc. He was in the employ of the Chicago & Alton railroad, the Wabash, the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield railroads, while located at Springfield, Ill., and was in the employ of the Vandalia when it was building out of St. Louis. As early as 1868 he was in the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad and was with the Denver and Rio Grande in the early days of its operation; was with the Ft. Scott & Memphis railroad one year; the St. Louis & St. Joseph road; was station agent on the old Hannibal & St. Joe road; served on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad in Missouri and Iowa; the Chicago & Northwestern; the Sioux City & Pacific; the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley roads. After a railroad experience in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, he came to Atchison in September of 1890, as a clerk in the offices of the Missouri Pacific railroad system.

He was married August 10, 1871, at Lawson, Mo., to Susan E. Morrow, a native of Missouri, and daughter of Vincent Morrow. To this union has been born one child, Pearl, wife of Adolph Frailey. By a former marriage with B. F. Shumalt, Mrs. Frailey had two children, Ruth E. and Frances Shumalt. Mr. Burrows has been and is now an independent voter, not allied with any particular political party or creed. He is fraternally connected with the Sons and Daughters of Justice, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and has served as commander of the Grand Army Post, No. 93, of Atchison, for the past two years. Commander Burrows has the great distinction of having been one of the original organizers of the Grand Army of the Republic and has been prominent in the affairs of this great organization since 1866. In February of 1866, he assisted in the organization of Springfield, Ill., Grand Army Post, No. 2. He served as officer of the day when this noted post (the second in America) was organized.

James Edward Wilson.

James Edward Wilson, farmer, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was born December 14, 1865, on the farm which he now manages. He is a son of Charles and Mary K. (Brown) Wilson, who were the parents of eleven children, as follows: Sarah E. died in infancy; Louise C. died when two years old; William M., deceased; Andrew J., Hill City, Kan.; Martha E., deceased; Nancy J., deceased; James E., subject of this sketch; Julia A. Martin, Wabaunsee county, Kansas; Charles T., Atchison county, and Samuel H., deceased. The father, Charles Wilson, was born February 7, 1827, in Bartholomew county, Indiana, a son of Martin and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Wilson, who migrated to Missouri. Charles Wilson left the farm in Buchanan county, was married and came to Kansas. In 1855 he settled on the farm which his son now owns in section 14, Lancaster township, Atchison county. The father with his wife and infant child went through many hardships in their pioneering days.

The family came from Buchanan county, Missouri, in a covered wagon, driving a yoke of oxen. He preëmpted 160 acres, the site of his son’s present farm. He built a small log cabin to shelter his family, and, with the aid of two other men, he began to break the prairie. This was slow work with oxen, and during the first year they cleared but ten acres each. Fifty acres of the farm was in fine wooded land along the creek. This furnished them plenty of lumber with which to build their cabin and other buildings. They planted the land, which was in tillable condition, in corn, and were soon able to live in some degree of comfort, but it was still a wild country. An old trail ran near the farm, now known as the “Military trail,” and the Indians following this frequently camped along the trail near the farm. They prowled around the house frequently, and the father always kept close to his house to protect his family from possible danger. Those were the true pioneer days, and they had to go to Atchison for their provisions. It was a lonely trip, only one house being between the Wilson cabin and Atchison. But in those days people only bought the barest necessities of life which were all that they could afford. They paid two dollars a bushel for corn meal during the second spring there. Wild game was plentiful and furnished much of the food. Badgers and wolves were numerous and gave danger to the sheep of the pioneers. Many nights were spent with loaded gun within reach in preparedness for the wolves which could be heard howling about. On the trips to Atchison to trade travelers and pioneers often stopped at Mormon Grove for a rest. The place was about seven miles west of Atchison, and took its name from the fact that the Mormons, on their way to Utah, frequently camped in this grove over night. Travelers along this road always watered their horses from the pond there.

After two years the settlers began to feel the need of educational advantages for their children, as there was no school near enough for the children of the pioneers to attend. For the two years they had lived here they had no school advantages, and the men of the neighborhood joined together and built a log school house. It was in the district now known as old Huron school district No. 24. A postoffice also was established near the school house, but when the railroad was built through that section of the county, the postoffice was moved to Huron, where the station was located.

Charles Wilson died in 1897, at the age of seventy years. His wife, Mary K. Wilson, was born October 31, 1831, in eastern Tennessee. She was a daughter of Joseph and Polly (McCurry) Brown. They were natives of Tennessee. The mother is now living with her son, James, the subject of this sketch. She had a great deal to do with the success of her husband. When she came into the wild country with her young husband she was facing a new life, and one which was to test her courage and strength, but she was equal to the occasion. She toiled early and late on the new farm and helped shear sheep and spun wool. The paternal grandparents of James Wilson were Martin and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Wilson, both natives of Indiana.

James Wilson was reared on the farm where he now resides. He was educated in the district school and went to work on his father’s farm, and is now farming the place, renting it from his mother. He operates about 115 acres of it.

Mr. Wilson was married in 1880 to Martha Louisa Culpepper, who was born in Dallas county, Iowa, September 5, 1867. She is a daughter of Benjamin and Amanda (Lowery) Culpepper, natives of Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of eleven children: Charlie, deceased; Anna Edwards, Dardanelle, Ark.; Archibald, living at home; Edna Gragg, Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas; Frank, living at home; Marie, at home; Eva, Thelma, Leslie and Vera, all living with their parents, and one child died in infancy. Mr. Wilson is a Republican and is now a member of the school board for his district. He attends church, although he is not a member of any denomination. Mrs. Wilson, mother of James E., is the oldest living pioneer settler of Lancaster township.

Frederick W. Koester.

Frederick W. Koester is a native of Atchison, born April 6, 1860. He is a son of Fred and Anna (Bertha) Koester, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Zurich, Switzerland. The mother immigrated to America when she was a young girl, coming to this country with her mother. Fred Koester, the father, was born in Minden, Germany, January 18, 1835, and came to America when he was about twenty-one years of age. He landed in New Orleans, but remained there only a short time when he came up the Mississippi river by boat, and located at St. Louis. He remained there but a short time, however, when he went to St. Joseph, Mo. While there he learned the barber’s trade, and in 1857 came to Atchison, Kan., and established one of the first barber shops in the city. He was an industrious and thrifty man and although not highly educated, he was a man of unusual foresight and good judgment. Soon after coming to Atchison he began to invest his savings in real estate and became one of the extensive property owners of the city in the early days. He built several residences which he sold at a good profit and he built one of the first brick houses in Atchison. He also built the first pressed brick house in the city. The building is still standing and is known as the Koester house situated on Second street, between Commercial and Kansas streets. This was considered one of the magnificent residences of Atchison in the early seventies. Fred Koester owned a number of business places in Atchison as well as several residences. Frederick W. Koester is the older of a family of two. His sister, Susie Bertha, is now the wife of Carl Hachette, and resides in San Francisco, Cal.

Frederick W. Koester attended the public schools of Atchison, and later was a student in St. Benedict’s College, and also attended the Jesuits’ College, St. Louis, Mo. His father had advanced ideas in regard to education, and endeavored to give his children the best that could be obtained. After completing school F. W. Koester began life as a clerk in D. C. Newcomb’s dry goods store at Atchison. He remained there but a short time, however, when he went to work in his father’s barber shop and later opened a six chair shop of his own. He then went on the road as traveling salesman for a barber supply house, and was thus engaged for seven years. He went to California in 1886 where he was employed as timekeeper for a railroad contractor.

Mr. Koester was married in 1883 to Miss Bertha Bracke, a daughter of Albert Bracke, an Atchison county pioneer, who was engaged in freighting across the plains in the early days. Later, he was engaged in a cattle and butchering business in Atchison and was a very extensive dealer.

Mr. and Mrs. Koester are the parents of two children, Albert, born on January 21, 1885, is in the employ of the Seaton Foundry, Atchison, and Frederick William, Jr., born July 25, 1895, in San Francisco, is a student in Kansas University, department of journalism, and during his vacations is connected with the Atchison Champion as a reporter. Mr. Koester was appointed by Governor Hodges secretary of the Kansas State Barbers’ Board in April, 1913, serving two years. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Red Men, and secretary of the insurance department of Golden Cross. He and his family are members of the Christian Science church. Mrs. Koester died October 13, 1904, and on October 23, 1915, Mr. Koester was united in marriage with Miss Lillie Barth Hood, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of J. H. Hood, of McCloud, Okla.

Charles Myers.

Charles Myers, farmer, stockman and contractor, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born May 13, 1864, in Buchanan county Missouri. He is a son of Augusta and Hulcia (Snyder) Myers, and one of nine children, seven of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 1818 and left there with his parents when a young man, the family settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of twenty-two he came to St. Joseph, Mo., and learned the carpenter’s trade. Later he engaged in farming in Missouri, and came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought the old Captain Evans farm in Shannon township. He improved it considerably and then sold it, and moved to Atchison, where he resided until his death in 1905. The mother was born in Indiana. She died in 1903, at the age of seventy-four years.

Charles Myers, the subject of this sketch, was reared on his father’s farm in Shannon township and attended the district school. He worked for his father until he was twenty years old, and then rented land in Doniphan county, Kansas, and farmed for himself, and later came to Atchison county, where he rented a farm for two years. Having accumulated some capital, he bought 120 acres in section 13, Lancaster township, and farmed this for sixteen years, meanwhile making extensive improvements. He sold this land and bought 160 acres in section 23, Lancaster township, in 1904. The farm was comparatively unimproved and he set to work building the place up. He erected a large, modern, nine room, brick house, superintending the work himself. He also built an excellent barn and a commodious ice house. These buildings were planned by Mr. Myers, who had learned the carpenter’s trade at odd times. He selected the materials used in the construction and by his careful supervision thus insured the best of buildings. This work comes natural to Mr. Myers, although he has never spent much time at the work, but it was so easy for him that he just naturally drifted into it. Whenever he had any work to be done he personally took it in hand. Other important improvements were made by Mr. Myers. Several additions to his farm land were made, and he now owns 240 acres of good tillable farm land. Mr. Myers also keeps graded stock and takes pride in keeping up his breeds. Besides these activities Mr. Myers holds stock in the Independent Harvester Company of Plano, Ill.

He was married to Eva Kenbal in 1897. Mrs. Myers was born August 19, 1867, in Ohio, and is a daughter of Nelson Kenbal. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Myers: Ora (Snyder), Frazer, Mo.; Edna (Taylor), Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas; Merrel, Augusta, Glen, Hubert, Irene, Lafayette, all living at home. Mr. Myers is a Republican in politics and has served on the school board of his district. He belongs to the Baptist church, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Myers, in addition to his occupation as a farmer and stockman, has found time for constructing several buildings in Atchison county, and has been remarkably successful in his construction work.

George H. T. Schaefer.

George H. T. Schaefer, contractor and builder, has achieved such a reputation in his avocation during his more than thirty years of residence in Atchison, as to place him in the front rank of artisans in his adopted city. History is constantly repeating itself, when we chronicle the fact that “from small beginnings, great things have grown.” Mr. Schaefer began contracting in a small way, after quitting the first job which he held in Atchison. The results of his handiwork are now seen on every hand, and include the most stately and costly buildings of the city and structures throughout Kansas and Nebraska. Through all of his success Mr. Schaefer has remained the same, unassuming, plain citizen, whose motto has been, “honest work for honest money.” There are few men in his profession who can point to a more successful career, and who can look back over long years spent in erecting abiding places for mankind, and realize that every contract was fulfilled faithfully and the work well and consistently done to the satisfaction of the owners.

G. H. T. Schaefer was born November 11, 1857, in Indianapolis, Ind., and is a son of Rev. J. George and Minnie Schaefer. His father was a native of Stuttgart, Germany, and his mother of Hamburg, Germany. Both came to this country in youth with their respective parents. The father was educated for the Lutheran ministry, and in 1863 left Indianapolis and took charge of a church at Lanesville, Ind., twelve miles from New Albany, on the stage route in Indiana. From that time on he filled various charges and died in the midst of his pastoral labors in New Boston, Ind. The mother now resides in Atchison. He, with whom this review directly concerns, left the parental roof when thirteen years of age and went to Indianapolis, where he learned the trade of carpenter. After serving his apprenticeship he spent two years in the vicinity of his father’s home at New Boston, working for an old German contractor. This experience was invaluable, inasmuch as his employer took contracts for erecting barns, churches and bridges from the standing timber. The future contractor here learned to create buildings from the virgin timber of the forests. Desiring to gain a wider experience in his calling, in 1876 he went to Evansville, Ind., then, as now, an important river city. He spent one year in this city, and during that time witnessed the great cyclone which swept this section of the country and destroyed lives and many buildings. Mt. Carmel, Ill., was badly wrecked, and he arrived on the scene of the disaster in time to help bury the dead and assist in the rebuilding of the city. In 1879 he went to Greenville, Miss., and during the winter the yellow fever, which had been epidemic in New Orleans, broke out in Greenville, and he managed to catch the last boat leaving the wharf for St. Louis. From here he went to Kansas City, but no sooner did he set foot on the streets of this growing metropolis than he was besieged by real estate men who wanted to sell him property. He became disgusted with Kansas City and took a train for Atchison. Here he purchased a ticket for a point 200 miles west on the Central Branch railroad and landed at Cawker City. Upon alighting from the train and making inquiries about work he was informed that, inasmuch as he did not belong to any lodges, and had no connections in the western town, he could get no work. However, he got a job and was kept busily employed for two years, building in the surrounding country. He erected dwellings and business houses in Jewell and Mitchell counties, at a time when the country was in the initial stage of its development. He invested his savings in property, only to see his hopes of gaining a permanent competence swept away, when the hot winds came and ruined the corn crop and scorching everything in its path. Mr. Schaefer promptly left and decided to locate in Omaha. On his way eastward he drew matches to decide upon his stopping place and the choice fell to Atchison. This was in 1882. On reaching this city he saw in the Atchison Globe an advertisement, reading: “Competent man wanted to take charge of building,” etc. The following morning he applied for the job, and was given the post of foreman by Mr. Jones, a contractor, who had undertaken to erect the Presbyterian church, a stone structure. He received two dollars per day for his services as foreman, with the understanding that his employer was to advance his wages according to his worth as a foreman. As foreman he did not receive any more pay than the men who were working under him; consequently, when he had supervised the erection of the stone structure as far as the roof, he quit the job, despite the fact that his boss offered him three dollars per day to continue working for him. Mr. Schaefer’s first contract in Atchison was the erection of a barn on south Third street. Since his first job he has not lacked for contracts, and he has been employed repeatedly by the same patrons who were well satisfied with the work done. His most notable building operations included the magnificent Ingalls high school building, erected at a cost of $125,000; the G. C. Wattles residence, the Bradley residence, the Blish, Mize Silliman building, costing $125,000; three double officers’ quarters at Ft. Leavenworth; thirty church edifices in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska; the Presbyterian church in Ottawa, Kan., and the Masonic Temple in Atchison, built at a cost of $65,000, and completed in December of 1915. He employs from ten to seventy-five skilled men, as occasion requires. He formerly operated a large planing mill on Eighth street, which was destroyed by fire in 1913. Mr. Schaefer was married in 1884 to Lizzie Jacobs, of Atchison, Kan. To them have been born the following children: Clara, wife of John Frommer, Oak street, Atchison; Minnie, wife of John Krusemark, 915 North Eleventh street; Etta, wife of Albert Frommer, St. Paul, Minn.; Corrine, wife of Paul Smith, merchant, of Atchison; Julia, Edwin, Laura, and Ruth, at home with their parents. Edwin is a machinist in the employ of the Railway Specialty Company. Mrs. Schaefer was a daughter of J. H. and Catharine Jacobs, who came from Germany in 1860, accompanied by their three children: Henry, deceased; Mrs. Schaefer, and John E., and a son, Conrad V., was born here. The Jacobs first located in Pennsylvania, and then in Ft. Wayne, Ind., removing from there to Illinois in 1865, and coming to Atchison in 1867. J. H. Jacobs was employed by the Hixon Lumber Company, and died February 8, 1896, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife died December 26, 1895, aged seventy-three years.

Politically. Mr. Schaefer is an independent Republican, and served one term as city councilman from the Fifth ward. He is a member of the Lutheran church, belongs to no lodges, and is essentially a home man when he is not engaged in building. His investments are principally in Atchison real estate and Texas farm lands. His handsome residence at 911 North Eleventh street was remodeled after his own ideas and presents an attractive appearance.

Amel Markwalt.

Amel Markwalt, farmer, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born in Germany July 14, 1864. He is a son of Gottlieb and Minnie (Schraum) Markwalt, and was one of five children, as follows: Gustave, Manistee, Mich.; Augusta, address unknown; Amelia (Lidkye), widow, Manistee, Mich.; William, Manistee, Mich.; and Amel, the subject of this sketch. The parents were both German, and died when Amel was but five years of age. He knows nothing of his parents, except that his father was in the German war of 1866, when the Prussians were fighting the Austrians.

The schooling of Amel was neglected, owing to the death of his parents, and he spent his youth working on a farm in Germany. In 1882 he sailed for America, and upon arriving in this country he went to work in the lumber mills at Manistee, Mich., remaining there three years. He then came to Atchison, Kan., and worked in the Central Branch railroad shops as a laborer. He did various kinds of work of a mechanical nature during his six years of employment there. He then engaged in the retail oil business for himself, and finding this profitable he enlarged his business to include the selling of ice. A few years later he sold his business, and in 1903 bought 160 acres of land in Lancaster township and moved there the following year, where he has since resided. He has built a fine residence and a barn since buying the land, and has a two-acre orchard. His barn is an excellent one, with a capacity of fifty tons of hay.

Amel Markwalt was married in 1885 to Augusta Stolp, who was born in Germany August 2, 1865, and left her native land in 1883 and came to Atchison, Kan. She is a daughter of August and Charlotte (Weisgean) Stolp, both now deceased. Her father came to Atchison, Kan., in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Markwalt have six children: Ida, wife of J. Ziegler, Nortonville, Kan.; William, living at home; Henry, deceased; Charlotte, Elsie, and Otto, living at home. Mr. Markwalt does not affiliate himself with any political party, believing that he can vote more conscientiously by voting independently. He is a member of the German Lutheran church.

Rufus Benton Peery.

Dr. Rufus Benton Peery, president of Midland College, Atchison, is a true type of scholarly and progressive educator, one of that class of men who seem fitted or destined for the high places, and are adapted by profound learning and natural endowments to be instructors and leaders of the youth of the land. His work as the head of Midland College is attracting favorable attention. He has won fame as a lecturer and achieved a measure of renown as an author. Endowed with inherent powers of leadership, he occupies a place among the educators of the nation which is unquestioned, and he is universally recognized as a man of brilliant attainments and a strong personality. Although he has occupied his present position but a few years, during that time Dr. Perry has done much toward advancing the interests of Midland College and pushing this institution forward to its rightful place among the seats of learning in the Middle West.

Dr. Perry is a native of Virginia, born April 9, 1868, at Burke’s Garden, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah Henrietta (Repass) Peery. His father was a farmer and stockman, who eventually became an extensive buyer and shipper of live stock in Virginia and Tennessee. He traveled over the region in quest of cattle and other live stock, buying it up and shipping train loads to the New York City markets. Rufus B. early learned to do farm work and assisted his father as other boys have been wont to do on the farm. After he had entered college he became his father’s assistant in the live stock business during his vacations, and thus earned the money to continue with his studies. During his boyhood on the farm he raised a fine mare named “Gypsy” which was the apple of his eye. He became ambitious to enter college, but had not the means to make the start. His only recourse seemed to be to part with “Gypsy,” and thus get the funds to realize his ambition. He sold his favorite for the sum of $125, and was enabled to matriculate in Roanoke College, Salem, Va., from which institution he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1890. He received his Master’s degree from Roanoke in 1895.

Imbued with a desire to enter the ministry, he continued his studies in the theological seminary at Greensburg, Pa., for the next two years, and was ordained in the English Lutheran ministry in 1892. Actuated by a desire to assist the Japanese people, he became a missionary and remained in the Orient from 1892 to 1903. For four years he was professor of theology in Japan, and traveled extensively in the Orient, including the Chinese Empire. Being a close student and observer of condition in the lands which he visited while pursuing his missionary tasks, he was enabled to write entertainingly, the results of his observations, and embody them in an interesting volume “Gist of Japan,” in 1897, which has run through eight editions. He has also written and published a volume entitled “Lutherans in Japan,” issued in 1900. His “Lectures to Young Men” (Japanese) was issued in 1902. Dr. Peery is a regular contributor to religious and secular journals. His work has decided literary merit, and he has attained high rank as a writer on religious subjects. In the year 1895 he received the degree of Ph. D. from the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg. He took the non-resident course in theology and homiletics in Chicago University from 1898 to 1901. In 1909 Dr. Peery received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Midland College. Upon his return from the far East he lectured in America on Oriental and missionary subjects from 1903 to 1905. In 1905 he received a call and accepted the pastorate of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at Denver. He had charge of the Denver church until 1912 when he came to Atchison and became president of Midland College. While in Denver he served as president of the Denver Ministerial Association from 1909 to 1910, inclusive. Dr. Peery is a trustee of the Tabitha Home at Lincoln, Neb.; a member of the Red Cross Society of Japan; member of the Sons of the American Revolution Society, and the Phi Gamma Delta.

He was married to Letita Rich, of Wytheville, Va., August 21, 1905. To Mr. and Mrs. Peery have been born six sons, namely: Harold Rich, Thomas Benton and Rob Roy, born in Japan; Paul Denver, and William Wallace, born in Denver, Colo.; Donald Lee, born in Atchison. Dr. Perry, like many other college heads, began at the bottom rung of the ladder, and is essentially self-made. His first teaching experience was in the district schools of his native State. While a student at college he served as private tutor to the student son of a wealthy man and thus earned sufficient funds to continue his studies. His father gave him a share of the proceeds of the live stock business which he earned in New York City, during his vacations. Nothing develops the individual more than the necessity of striving for himself, and thus developing his own powers by combining the gaining of a livelihood with the attaining of a higher education. Dr. Peery’s aspirations have been noble, and he has been actuated by the high and unselfish purpose of being of service to his fellow men. Atchison is proud of Midland College and the great work being done within its walls, and the reputation of the college is growing under Dr. Peery’s management.

John L. Raterman.

From office boy to manager for one of the most widely known concerns in the United States, or the civilized world, is the story of the life of him of whom this review is written. The history of J. L. Raterman, manager for R. G. Dun & Company, Mercantile Agency, shows what can be accomplished by beginning at the lowest rung of the ladder, learning every detail of the business, and eventually fitting himself for the important and responsible position of manager.

The business of R. G. Dun & Company was first established in Atchison in 1886, with G. T. Bolman as manager. Other managers succeeded Mr. Bolman in the course of time, but Mr. Raterman has held the position longer than any of his predecessors. He began as office boy in 1890, when but fourteen years of age, it being necessary for him to leave his school studies when a pupil of the sixth grade. During his idle moments around the office, young Raterman practiced on the typewriter, and it was not long until he was able to do typist’s work efficiently and satisfactorily. He was soon promoted and became a regular typist, and mastered shorthand at the end of three years of study. Seven years later he was advanced to the post of chief clerk, and in 1900 was promoted to the important post of manager of the Atchison branch of R. G. Dun & Company. As manager, Mr. Raterman travels over seven counties, collecting necessary data regarding the business concerns of his territory, including the six counties of northeast Kansas and DeKalb county, Missouri. He is personally acquainted with practically every business man in his district.

J. L. Raterman was born in Atchison, Kan., October 25, 1876, a son of John and Elizabeth (Myers) Raterman, both of whom were born in Germany, immigrated to this country in youth and were married in Cincinnati, Ohio. John Raterman came to Atchison in 1857, and was one of the well known pioneer merchants of the city, operating a grocery store here in the early days. He conducted his grocery store for twenty-five years, and died December 21, 1902. Mrs. Raterman is living in Atchison at the advanced age of eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Raterman left a family of seven children.

Ulysses B. Sharpless.

Ulysses B. Sharpless, treasurer of Atchison county, is one of the most successful citizens and business men of the county. He is the son of pioneer parents. Reared on a pioneer farm, successful as a merchant and public official, he is universally recognized as one of the most influential men of Atchison county today. Mr. Sharpless is a descendant of old American stock, his ancestors having been among the original 100 Quaker families brought over from England by William Penn, and colonized near and within the city of Philadelphia, in 1682. Joseph Sharpless, the direct ancestor of U. B. Sharpless, erected a stone house on the ancestral farm of the family in 1700, near the city of Chester, Pa., which is still standing in an excellent state of preservation. One room of this old and stanch dwelling is still in exactly the same condition as the original builder left it. The timbers and boards of this house were drawn together by means of wooden pins instead of nails.

U. B. Sharpless was born January 18, 1870, in Delaware, a son of Benjamin T. and Susan (Green) Sharpless, the former of whom was a native of Delaware, and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. The family resided in Delaware until 1878 and then migrated to the West, settling on a farm near Pardee in Atchison county, Kansas. Here Benjamin T. lived and reared his family of six children, as follows: Mrs. Cora E. (Burdick), deceased; Mrs. Olivia R. (Pfouts), deceased; Mrs. Susan Ella (Shifflet), of Atchison; Ulysses B., with whom this narrative is directly concerned; Carrie died in infancy; Mrs. Emma M. Hulings, Center township, Atchison county. Benjamin Sharpless died in 1894, and the mother of the foregoing children departed this life in 1908.

He of whom this review is written was eight years of age when the Sharpless family came to Atchison county. He was reared to young manhood on his father’s farm and learned to cultivate the soil under the tutelage of his father, who was a successful farmer. He was educated in the common schools and early learned to apply his education to the best advantage for himself. When twenty-one years of age he obtained his first position as manager of a general store at Monrovia, Kan. This position entailed a number of duties which kept him busily employed for a number of years. From 1891 to 1903 Mr. Sharpless managed the Monrovia store, served as postmaster, and performed the duties of station agent for the railroad company. However, he found time to take an interest in politics and became active in the affairs of the Republican party when yet a young man. In 1903 he removed to Effingham, Kan., and engaged in the hardware and implement and grain business with considerable success. He still retains his interest in this business, although now a resident of Atchison. Mr. Sharpless has also become a land owner in the county and has farm lands near Effingham.

He was married in 1892 to Sadie A. Cook, born and reared in Atchison county, and a daughter of Thomas F. and Margaret Cook, who were pioneer settlers of this county, coming here from Missouri in 1860. To Mr. and Mrs. Sharpless have been born five children: Gladys A., Margaret S., Edith Aubine died at the age of seven years; Lois A., and Alice Marie. All of the living children are attending the Atchison public schools.

The civic and political career of Mr. Sharpless has been an interesting one and he has risen from the rank and file of the Republican party to become one of the recognized leaders of his party in Atchison county and Kansas. His first civic office was as police judge of Effingham. He also served a term as mayor of that city. He was elected a member of the State legislature from legislative district No. 3, in Atchison county in 1910 and again elected to succeed himself in 1912. He was also a member of the Atchison County High School board and served as treasurer of this organization. In the fall election of 1914 he was elected to the office of county treasurer by a large and handsome majority—evidence of his great personal popularity among all classes of citizens. He assumed the duties of the treasurer’s office in October of 1915, and is bestowing the same care and application in the discharge of his public duties in this capacity as he has always taken in the conduct of his personal business affairs.

Mr. Sharpless is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Blue Lodge, No. 48, and is a Knights Templar and Royal Arch Mason. He is past noble grand of Spartan Lodge, No. 250, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Effingham, Kan., and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, of the latter city. He is also fraternally allied with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Fraternal Aid Union of Atchison.

Conrad M. Voelker.

It is certainly a distinction to be known as the youngest county clerk, and in all probability the youngest county official ever elected in the State of Kansas. Such is C. M. Voelker, the efficient and justly popular county clerk of Atchison county. Political honors and preferment rarely come to a really young man, unless he is especially qualified for the work, and has a host of friends who are willing and able to support him and his candidacy. Although young in years, Mr. Voelker is performing his duties in a manner which would reflect distinct credit upon an older individual.

Conrad M. Voelker is a native of Atchison county, having been born May 20, 1889, on a farm, four miles north of Atchison, in Shannon township. His father is Conrad Walker, who was born in Germany November 20, 1856, a son of Karl and Christiana Voelker, who immigrated to America in 1861, and settled on a farm, two miles north of the city, where he operated a dairy and truck farm until his demise. To Karl and Christiana Voelker were born the following children: Conrad; Mrs. Joseph Biddle, of Atchison; Henry, residing in New Orleans; Karl Voelker was twice married, Mrs. S. L. Loyd, of Shannon township, being a daughter of the second marriage. Conrad, father of C. M. Voelker, was reared to manhood in Atchison county, and when he became of age, settled on a 160 acre farm, four miles north of Atchison, which is now one of the best improved farms in the State of Kansas. For a number of years he specialized in the cultivation of cabbage, making a success of the venture, and accumulated considerable money. He became known far and wide as the “Cabbage King” of Kansas, always having the first cabbage on the market, and shipped the product of his fields to points in Kansas and Nebraska in carload lots. The Voelkers have a beautiful, well appointed home, with excellent out buildings. Conrad Voelker married Jennie Mueller, who was born in Cooper county, Missouri, November 15, 1862, a daughter of German parents. To Conrad Voelker and wife were born the following children: Fred C. W., a farmer, living north of Atchison; Conrad M. The Voelkers are members of the Lutheran church.

Conrad M., with whom this narrative is directly concerned, was educated primarily in the district schools, his education being supplemented with one year’s study in the German school in Atchison, and a course in Midland College, where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1909. He then completed a course in commerce and bookkeeping in the Atchison Business College. While a sophomore of Midland College he won first honors in the oratorical contest, and represented his alma mater at the State oratorical contest, held in Salina, Kan. While yet a student he received the appointment of deputy county clerk under Edward Iverson, March 13, 1910. He was elected to the office on the Republican ticket in November, 1912, and again elected without any opposition in the fall of 1914.

A more intimate personal view of this rising young man was published in the Atchison Champion just previous to assuming the duties of his office after his election:

“Conrad M. Voelker, county clerk elect, when he takes office January 1, 1913, will have the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to the office of county clerk in Kansas. Mr. Voelker, while he appears to be much older, is but twenty-three years old. He is popular; this was proven by the fact that he was elected by a majority of 955 votes.

“Mr. Voelker is the son of Conrad Voelker. He was born four miles north of Atchison. He never passes up an opportunity to learn something. When four years old Mr. Voelker started to school. He was graduated from the eighth grade at ten years of age, and in 1909 he was graduated from Midland College. When he finished the common schools he studied in a German school for one year; so he both reads and writes German. He completed a double course at the Atchison Business College in five months, graduating in March, 1910, and a few days later he was appointed deputy county clerk. When Mr. Voelker was eighteen years of age he took part in the Kansas intercollegiate oratorical contest, which was held at Salina. There were nineteen other contestants, several of them being men twice the age of Voelker, who were going through college for the second time. Voelker won fourth place in the contest, which in addition to being quite an honor, demonstrated that he has great ability as a public speaker.

“There is no doubt that he will be re-elected two years hence. He undoubtedly will prove to be one of the most efficient county clerks in the history of the county.”

The last paragraph was prophetic, as Mr. Voelker’s second election to the office in 1914 will testify. His re-election was the best evidence of his success and strong personal popularity. Mr. Voelker is affiliated with several fraternal societies, an active party worker, what is known as a good mixer, and a rising young citizen of the county, whose future career will be well worth watching, inasmuch as he is bound to gain greater honors in the years to come, and to climb to a still higher place in the civic life of his home county and State.

Samuel S. King.

Samuel S. King, a member of the board of county commissioners of Atchison county, was born in Moorestown, N. J., May 16, 1856. One year later, in 1857, he came to Atchison with his parents, John and Violet King, on a boat owned by Dr. Challiss. The King family arrived at Atchison in April of 1857. John King soon afterward settled on a farm six miles southwest of Atchison, where Samuel S. lived until he was fifteen years of age. He then came to Atchison for the purpose of attending the city schools. During vacations he worked for McPike & Allen (later McPike & Fox). After finishing his public school education Mr. King was employed as bookkeeper for some time by White, Washer & King, now the S. R. Washer Grain Company. He was also employed as bookkeeper by McPike & Fox, W. F. Dolan and others until 1881. In that year he was appointed by Senator John J. Ingalls to a position in the United States railway mail service and was sent to New Mexico and Arizona as railway mail agent. Here he remained in the United States Government service for about two years and then resigned to enter the employ of P. B. Brannen & Company as bookkeeper and manager at Flagstaff, Ariz. This firm conducted a jobbing house at Flagstaff which was then the largest town on the railroad between Albuquerque, N. M., and Los Angeles, Cal. In June, 1886, he and his family returned to Atchison and Mr. King became the confidential bookkeeper of McPike & Fox, wholesale druggists, and remained with this concern until the fall of 1897, when he resigned to take up his duties as county clerk.

Mr. King had always been more or less interested in politics and he was elected to the office of county clerk on the Republican ticket in the fall of 1897. He was subsequently reëlected and held the office for nine years, or until January, 1907. He then engaged in the real estate and insurance business which he still follows with offices at 106 North Fifth street. Mr. King was elected mayor of the city of Atchison in April, 1907, and served as the city executive for two years, and later was appointed city clerk to fill out the unexpired term of C. A. Hawk, who resigned. In the fall of 1914 he was elected county commissioner, an office which he is at present filling in a capable and efficient manner.

Mr. King was married April 14, 1885, at Flagstaff, Ariz., to Miss Sarah Hawks, of Newton, Kan. Two children have been born of this marriage, namely, Grace and Victor. Mr. King is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which lodge he is a trustee, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Mystic Workers, and the Central Protective Association. There are few citizens who are more highly esteemed, and Atchison county has not a more popular public official than S. S. King.

Charles T. Gundy.

This history of Atchison county is issued not only for the purpose of inscribing a record of those who have built up the county and were here during the pioneer days and endured the hardships of the pioneer life, but for recording as well the life stories of those who came later and have won places of merit and distinction in the affairs of the city and county of Atchison. It is probable that few men have attained such eminence as Judge Charles T. Gundy of the city court of Atchison during his brief residence here. The esteem in which he is held and the successful manner in which he has performed the duties of his judicial position are decided evidences of his ability. His standing among the members of the legal fraternity is high and he well merits the confidence of his fellow citizens. The conduct of his court is marked for the fairness of his decisions in suits of equity and the settlement of such cases as come under his jurisdiction have been accomplished to the satisfaction of the parties concerned.

Judge Charles T. Gundy is a native of Scotland county, Missouri, and he was born and reared on his father’s farm, eight miles northwest of the thriving and progressive city of Memphis. He evinces much of the characteristics of the good people of Scotland county, who are noted for their hospitality and kindliness. He was born February 10, 1878, and is a son of George M. and Margaret M. (Needham) Gundy, natives of Illinois and Missouri, respectively. George M. Gundy was born in 1845 and is a son of Jacob Gundy, a native of Holland, who settled in Scotland County, Missouri, as early as 1846. George M. still resides on the old home place of the Gundy family. This farm consists of 160 acres of well tilled land on which have been reared six children out of a family of seven, as follows: Charles T., with whom this review is directly concerned; Louis W. and Jacob R., farmers of Scotland county, Missouri; Mrs. Corda Crawford, of Scotland county; Gladys, deceased; Pearl and Merl at home with their parents. The mother of these children is a native of Scotland county, and was born in 1858, a daughter of David Needham, a veteran of the Civil war and a scion of an old Kentucky family. He served three years as a soldier in the late rebellion, and after returning home met an accidental death by a falling tree. The ancestral home of the Needhams is near Frankfort, Ky. The Gundy family is held in high esteem in their home county and the members of the family are well respected by their friends and acquaintances.

Charles T. Gundy was educated in the rural schools and attended the Memphis Academy for one year. Circumstances were such that he found it necessary to do considerable studying at home and “burned the midnight oil” in the pursuit of an education. He fitted himself for teaching and taught for four years in the schools of his native county. In the meantime he read law and was successful in being admitted to the bar in 1902. For three years thereafter he practiced his profession in Memphis. He then secured a Government position in the postoffice department at Washington, D. C., and pursued his law studies in the National University at Washington. He graduated from that institution May 30, 1908. Having small desire to become a mere cog in a great machine, as seemed to be the lot of thousands of Government employes, he resigned his position in October of the same year and located in Keokuk, Iowa, and had charge of the farm loan department of the State Central Savings Bank. He resigned this position in March of 1910 and came to Atchison, opening an office in the Auld building on Commercial street. Since this time he has built up an excellent practice. He was appointed city judge in December of 1910 to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge J. P. Adams. He was elected to the office in 1912 and again elected in 1914.

Judge Gundy was united in marriage with Eleanor M. McCormick on August 12, 1909. Mrs. Gundy was a resident of Washington, D. C., and is a daughter of John McCormick, who died in 1905. Judge Gundy is a member of the Baptist church and he and Mrs. Gundy have a wide circle of friends who esteem them for their many likable qualities.

The Republican party has always claimed the allegiance of Judge Gundy and he takes an active and influential interest in political affairs.

Louis R. Kuehnhoff.

Louis R. Kuehnhoff, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born January 1, 1880, on the farm where he now resides. He is a son of Charles and Caroline Kuehnhoff, and is one of nine children, six of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 1841, and left there when a boy of sixteen years and sailed for New York. He remained there a short time when he went west, arriving at St. Joseph, Mo. He had not been there very long when the Civil war broke out and he enlisted at St. Joseph in Company B of the Volunteer infantry. After the war was over he was mustered out at Lexington, Mo., having won a praiseworthy military record in his country’s service. He then returned to civil life in St. Joseph, Mo., where he worked for a time as a laborer, receiving eight dollars a month. Shortly afterward he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought eighty acres of land in section 10, Lancaster township. Using oxen, he broke the ground on his newly acquired farm and began to improve it as rapidly as his resources would permit. In 1894 he retired and went to live at the National Soldiers’ Home at Leavenworth, Kan., where he died in 1903. The mother was born in Germany in 1845, and died in 1899.

Louis R. Kuehnhoff grew up on his father’s farm, and attended Eden district school, and also District No. 3, Lancaster township. He remained at home until he was nineteen years of age, and the next five years worked as a farm hand, and then he bought the old home place of 200 acres. Louis Kuehnhoff is an industrious worker. He keeps graded stock of all kinds and takes a special interest in fine mules. He always attends the county fairs in Atchison county and occasionally makes entries. On April 26, 1905, he was married to Lena Werner, who was born in Germany November 2, 1881. Her parents were John and Marie (Earhart) Werner. The father was born in Germany in 1815. He belonged to the Masonic lodge in Germany. In 1889, when he was quite an old man, he came to America and settled at Leavenworth, where he died in 1891. The mother was born in Germany January 17, 1843, and is now living with her children, of whom there are six, as follows: Adam, teamster, Leavenworth, Kan.; Martha Nolan, deceased; Lizzie Loman, Bowling, Kan.; Katherine Weimer, Wallula, Wyandotte county, Kansas; Lena, wife of Mr. Kuehnhoff, of this review. Mrs. Kuehnhoff attended the Pleasant Ridge school and the German school, north of Potter, Kan. She is a good, loyal, hard-working mother, and has three children: Marie, Edna and Edwin. The last two are twins and are three years old. In politics Mr. Kuehnhoff is independent. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a progressive farmer and is constantly on the lookout for improvements in agricultural methods. He has a fine eight-room house and a large barn equipped with modern conveniences. He also has a stone milk-house which was built by his father years ago. He has a small but thriving orchard and has twelve head of fine cattle. Besides these, he has four horses and a span of excellent mules. Mr. Kuehnhoff takes a lively interest in his stock and in his farm generally.

Benjamin Franklin Sanders.

All honor to the pioneer settlers of Kansas. It was they who broke the way in the unpeopled wilderness and endured the hardships and privations on the frontier of advancing civilization in order that the path of empire might be pushed steadily westward, ever onward toward the setting sun. Their work is done; the halcyon pioneer days when this broad land was but a vast unbroken wilderness of waving prairie grass, dotted here and there with belts of timber along the streams, is no more; towns and cities have sprung up; the locomotive shrieks its way over the ribbon-like rails, hauling the products of the land to the millions in need of sustenance, where once the hardy freighters drove their mule teams and guarded the precious freight overland to the homes of the settlers in the West. Benjamin Franklin Sanders is one of the few remaining members of the “old guard,” who sixty years ago began the task of reclaiming a wilderness. He is one of the ranking old pioneer settlers of Atchison county and has lived a record which is thrilling and interesting to a high degree. He is the only living “ye old time fiddler” in Atchison county, who with his comrade was wont to play at the old-time dances and “hoe downs” in northeast Kansas fifty years and more ago.

Benjamin Franklin Sanders is now living retired in Center township, Atchison county. He was born August 8, 1833, in Franklin county, Missouri, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Graham) Sanders, who were the parents of the following children: Nancy married William McQuillan, and by her second marriage became Mrs. William Burns, and died in Benton county, Missouri; Robert, deceased; Oliver died in Jewell county, Kansas; Lydia married Fred Wilming, and died in Shannon township, Atchison county; William died in Franklin county, Missouri; and Benjamin, the subject of this sketch. Benjamin F. Sanders was sent to the country school in Franklin county, Missouri, but the school was poor and the roads were bad in the winter time, and, altogether, he had little opportunity to learn. His whole time in school, he estimates, did not amount to more than three months. His father was a Kentuckian and followed farming all of his life, and died in 1856, at the age of fifty-five years. The mother was a native of Missouri and of Scotch descent. She died in Kansas, in 1872, at the age of seventy-six years.

At the age of twelve Benjamin F. Sanders was apprenticed to a carriage and wagon-maker in St. Louis, Mo. He remained there twelve years, coming to Kansas in 1856. He returned to Missouri for a short time and then came back to Kansas the following year. He opened a wagon-maker’s shop at Monrovia, Atchison county, which he operated for two years. He then engaged in farming, taking up a claim near where Effingham now stands. This was ten miles from any settlement then and Mr. Sanders, fearing that the district would not be settled, gave up his claim and preëmpted eighty acres one and one-half miles north of where he now lives, in Center township, and began his life as a real farmer. He hired a man from Iowa who had six yoke of oxen to break up his land. He lived in the most primitive way during the first years on this place. Coffee, for one thing, was very high in price at that time, and there also was very little money in the territory, so a substitute for coffee was used. They mixed wheat and rye, calling it essence of coffee, and used this as a beverage in place of the regular coffee. It was the same way with flour. When he needed flour he would take a quantity of wheat to the gristmill where it would be ground into coarse flour, nearest mills being at Valley Falls and Kickapoo. His nearest postoffice was at Oceana, just north of Pardee, where the postoffice was located later. In 1860 Mr. Sanders bought more land. At one time he owned as high as 400 acres of land in Center township, Atchison county, Kansas. He went through the whole evolution of civilization, beginning in a little log house on his first eighty acres of land and passed through the wild days of the border war. In 1863 he was a member of Captain Whittaker’s company of Colonel McQuigg’s regiment of the Kansas State militia. He participated in several skirmishes and was honorably discharged at Ft. Leavenworth in 1864.

In 1859 Mr. Sanders married Margaret Ramsey in Putnam county, Ohio, who was born in 1840. She was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Dorothy) Ramsey, natives of Ohio. She died in 1868, leaving the following children: Ira, farmer, Whiting, Kan.; Bertha (Mrs. C. G. Moore), deceased; William and Little Joy, both deceased. Mr. Sanders was married a second time in 1870 to Mrs. Elizabeth (Ramsey) Keirns, a sister of his first wife. She died in May, 1904. She was the widow of Rufus Keirns, and by her last marriage three children were born: Henry R., farmer, Pardee, Kan.; Mrs. Etta C. Browne, Pardee, Kan.; Benjamin, Jr., died when seventeen years of age.

Mr. Sanders is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is now living with Arthur Keirns, a son of his step-son. In these days his life is rather quiet compared with the early-day existence which he passed through. Indians camped near his farm when he first came to Kansas. The trail to the Kickapoo reservation passed near his farm and the Indians were constantly traveling back and forth along it. He has a hobby of “fiddling.” He calls himself a “fiddler” in distinction from a violinist. He played at the first corn carnival held in Atchison and won a prize. He used to play with Samuel King, a well known “fiddler,” and they played for all the old “hoe down” or “break down” dances. Although he is eighty-three years old, he still plays his “fiddle” with as much vim as ever and his ear is just as ready as it was when he was a young man. In addition to being a farmer, Mr. Sanders has done a large amount of carpenter work in Kansas. He has built a number of barns and other buildings. Mr. Sanders was elected to the office of township trustee and held the office two terms, having been reëlected at the close of his first term.

Karl August Kammer.

Karl August Kammer, farmer and stockman, Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born on the farm where he now lives, October 12, 1869, and is a son of Karl and Joehanna (Hida) Kammer. He is one of six children: Joehanna (Gutzman), deceased; Emma (Fuhrman), Lancaster township; Karl, subject of this sketch; Julius, Lancaster township; Bertha H. (Buttron), Lancaster township; one child who died in infancy. The father was born in Germany in 1840. Leaving there in 1862, he came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he worked in a vineyard for two years. The following four years he was employed in a brewery at Atchison, and then farmed two years in Lancaster township. At that time he had a chance to buy 160 acres in section 16 of Lancaster township, and with the aid of a partner, the land was bought. He built a one-room shanty and a thatched barn, and broke prairie with the oxen and planted the first crop. Later a better house and barn were built, and gradually, other improvements were added and a fine orchard planted. At the time of his death, in October, 1910, Mr. Kammer owned 240 acres of land. The mother was born in Germany, February 20, 1840, and married in her native land just before coming to America. She died in 1904.

Karl Kammer, the subject of this sketch, was reared on his father’s farm in Lancaster township. He attended High Prairie district school, No. 3, and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-six years old, when he rented some land from his father, and six years later he was able to buy the land he had been renting. He improved the farm considerably and stocked it with graded cattle, and now has an excellent farm, modern in every respect, consisting of 160 acres of land, and also has a fine orchard of two acres.

Mr. Kammer was married October 23, 1895, to Emma Buttron, a native of Lancaster township, Atchison county, born August 14, 1870. She is a daughter of Henry and Rosa (Scheu) Buttron, the father a native of Germany, born in 1833. When a young man he left his native land and came to America, locating in Pennsylvania where he worked as a blacksmith. From there he went to Elgin, Ill., and continued at his trade, and in 1857, he moved to Atchison, Kan., following blacksmithing for a short time. He then preëmpted 160 acres of land in Lancaster township, where he built a house. The first crop was destroyed by grasshoppers, and he was forced to return to his trade during the following winter. When spring came, he went back to his farm and that year was successful and his start was assured. Mr. Buttron bought more land and continued to make improvements, and after a long and prosperous career he died in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Kammer are the parents of three children: Katherine, Rosa and Henrietta, all living at home with their parents. Mr. Kammer is a Republican, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Kammer and family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church of High Prairie neighborhood.

Marshall J. Cloyes.

The demise of Marshall J. Cloyes May 5, 1915, marked the passing of one of the sturdy figures who assisted in developing Atchison county, and was one of the grand old men of the city. At the time of his death he was probably the oldest living pioneer settler of Atchison county, in point of age and years of residence in the county. For over half a century he had been one of the well known and distinguished characters whom people trusted and respected. In the days when strong men were required to redeem a wilderness and make it habitable for men and their progeny, Marshall Cloyes was one of those who never gave up the fight. During the terrible drought of 1860, when scores of families deserted their homes and left the State, he and his family were among those who decided to remain and win out over the vagaries of nature. His faith in the future of Kansas was amply justified as the years rolled on and ever increasing prosperity came to him and his, as a just and equitable reward for a faith and confidence bestowed upon the new country during a time which tried men’s souls and caused weaker mortals to give up the fight.

He was born at Salisbury, Vt., October 24, 1826, and descended from sturdy New England ancestry. His parents were Elijah and Mary (Beach) Cloyes. On his father’s side his ancestry can be traced back in the centuries to two brothers who settled in New England in the seventeenth century. His grandfather was William Cloyes, who fought for his country in the War of 1812. The boyhood days of Marshall were spent in the town of Salisbury, where he attended the public schools and later pursued his education in a private school. He learned the trade of shoemaker but did not follow it to any great extent. In 1847 he engaged in the lumber business at Ripton, Vt., and was there for twelve years prior to coming to Kansas. From the town in which he was born he came to Kansas, arriving here in Atchison June 2, 1859. The following autumn his wife and sons followed him and during the ensuing winter the family lived in a two room hut, on the rear of the lots where Mrs. Jacob Leu’s residence now stands. On February 21, 1860, they loaded all their goods in a wagon, and with an ox team moved to a farm north of Lancaster. During the night an old-time Kansas blizzard gave them a cold reception in their new home. When Mr. Cloyes had agreed to pay $650 for his first quarter section of land he was still shy $2.50 of the necessary amount, and was forced to borrow this small sum from a kind neighbor. During the following summer he worked in Oliver Davis’ sawmill and got enough lumber to build a shanty on his farm. While this was building the family lived in two rooms in the home of John S. Rust. In the fall of the bad year of 1860, Mr. Cloyes decided to try to cash in on the reputation he had left behind him in Vermont, and applied to an uncle for a loan of $400. The uncle readily responded with the statement in his letter, “If you are ever able, I know you will pay it back; if you are never able to pay it back I can get along without it.” During the summer Mr. Cloyes put in his spare time cutting prairie hay and stacking it. When fall and winter came on, the returning freighters from Pike’s Peak were willing to sell their oxen and wagons for almost any price. Mr. Cloyes invested a part of his $400 capital in these outfits, wintered the cattle on the hay, and in the spring was able to dispose of the oxen for more than double the purchase prices. During the next two years he was enabled to pay off all of his debts, and prosperity attended his efforts from that time on. By the hard work and good management of himself and his two sons he increased his holdings to an entire section of land. He remained on the farm until 1872, then gave the farm to his sons and removed to a home at 417 North Seventh street in Atchison.

On July 5, 1848, Mr. Cloyes was married to Miss Betsy Henderson, of Middlebury, Vt., who died in Atchison in 1893, leaving two sons, Frank E. and Mark S. On September 15, 1909, he took a second wife, the bride being this time Mrs. Matilda Franke, of Atchison. She was born at Thuringen, Germany, November 16, 1855, a daughter of John and Christiana (Temme) Franke, who immigrated to America in 1858, making the long sea voyage in a sailing vessel which took six long weeks to make a trip, which is now made in six days. From New York City the Frankes came directly to St. Louis, and there made their home until their removal to Atchison. At the outbreak of the Civil war, John Franke volunteered his services in defense of the Union which had given him a home. He served in a Missouri regiment of volunteers for one year, and was then discharged on account of serious disability, caused by the hardships which he had undergone. He was never the same man afterwards, and died in 1865 as a direct result of his disabilities incurred in behalf of his adopted country. The mother and family lived in St. Louis until 1883 when they removed to Atchison. Mrs. Franke died some years later at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Cloyes. Matilda Franke was first married to Theo A. Franke, a native of Saxony, Germany, in 1879, and who came to America when a youth of eighteen years of age, and settled in Pittsburgh, Penn. Theo A. Franke was also a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in 1861 in Company D, Seventy-fourth regiment, Pennsylvania infantry. He served throughout the great conflict and was wounded several times while participating in the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac. He enlisted again, after being discharged on account of a serious wound, and was a brave and valiant soldier who fought for sheer love of his adopted country. Mr. Franke’s first trip to Atchison was made in 1859, but he returned to Pittsburg upon the outbreak of the Civil war and there proffered his services as stated above. He returned to Atchison after the close of the war and here met, in the course of years, Matilda, who was visiting friends in Atchison. Their acquaintance ripened into a warm friendship which gave place to love and they were married March 10, 1879. A happy wedded life endured until Mr. Franke’s death in 1882. Children blessed this union as follows: Rose M., wife of Bert Gilmore, an electrician of Atchison; Elsa, wife of Fred Moore, a railway engineer of Falls City, Neb.; Theo Franke, of Pierce, Ariz. During Mr. Franke’s first year of residence in Atchison he was a freighter across the plains. Upon his return in 1865 he entered the grocery business and prospered, accumulating considerable property interests. He was well known in Atchison and was considered to be one of the city’s most substantial men.

Mr. Cloyes was prominently identified with the political affairs of the county and was an influential leader of the Republican party for many years. Even before coming to Atchison from the farm he had taken an active interest in politics in his home township and county. He was elected to represent his district in the State legislature in 1867, leaving the impress of his individuality upon laws passed in the following session. For eight years he served in the Atchison city council and in 1891 was elected mayor. Two years later he was reëlected. Honorable and thoroughly upright in all his dealings, his administrations were characterized by integrity, sound judgment and an unusual amount of good sense. He was a member of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and all who knew him respected him for his sterling worth.

Mark D. Snyder.

Mark D. Snyder, retired farmer, living in Monrovia, Atchison county, Kansas, is a native son of Kansas, having been born in Atchison county November 2, 1858. He is a son of Hon. Solomon J. H. Snyder, one of the influential figures of the early pioneer days of Kansas, and who was a stanch and uncompromising adherent of the Free State principles. The father of Mark D. was born in Washington county, Maryland, February 7, 1812, and died at Monrovia, Atchison county, November 28, 1873. When eight years of age he accompanied his father to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he was educated in the district schools and a graded school at Canton, Ohio. Between 1830 and 1833 he cleared a farm of 160 acres of heavily timbered land. In 1838 he married Susan Winklepleck and then cleared and cultivated a tract of timber land which he purchased until 1848. His wife died in that year, leaving him with three small children. He sold all of his holdings, placed his children with neighborhood families and then traveled 4,000 miles in an endeavor to forget his great loss and overcome his grief over the death of his wife. Later, he married Eliza Fisher, and in 1852 removed to Indiana, and then came west to Ft. Leavenworth in 1854. On the morning of May 4, 1854, he made the first legal homestead claim ever entered in the State of Kansas, comprising the land upon which the southern part of the city of Leavenworth now stands, and then returned to Indiana for his family. On his return to his homestead he found his claim “jumped” and the country in the hands of border ruffians. He was driven from the polls at the first election held in the Territory on account of his Free Soil principles. Two other claims which he bought were wrested from him by a pro-slavery “squatter court,” his life threatened, and he sought refuge in an unsettled part of the State where Monrovia now stands. Here he made his home and became prominently identified with the politics of the new State of Kansas. In 1862 Mr. Snyder was elected to the State legislature and served for two terms in the house of representatives, and one in the senate, where he did faithful and conscientious work in behalf of the people of Kansas.

Solomon J. H. Snyder was a devoted Christian, and was one of the organizers of the first Lutheran church organization in the State, at Monrovia, of which he remained a member until his demise. He was a great Sunday school worker and wrote two very interesting and valuable Sunday school books, “The Lost Children” and “Scenes in the Far West,” and at the time of his death was engaged in the preparation of a work entitled, “The Evidences of Christianity.” His influence was ever in behalf of the betterment of mankind and his Christianity was of the practical kind which introduces helpfulness, kindness and forbearance into our daily lives. The children of S. J. H. and Eliza (Fisher) Snyder were as follows: Angeline (Conley), deceased; Mrs. Sarah Dunn, of Anadarko, Okla.; Mrs. Cora Shifflet, deceased; and Mark D. The three children by his first wife were: Mrs. Susan Reck, deceased; Mrs. Anna Berndt, of Mexico City; and J. H., San Diego, Cal. The mother of these children was born in Ohio in 1838, and died at her home near Monrovia, in 1896.

Mark D. Snyder, with whom this review is directly concerned, was born, reared, and reared his own family in Atchison county. He is one of the real native born citizens of the county. Upon the death of his father he took charge of the old home place, and when his mother died he purchased the family estate. By the exercise of industry and economy, aided by good financial judgment, he has become the owner of 240 acres of excellent land which is well improved and one of the most productive tracts of land in northeast Kansas. He cultivated his broad acres assiduously until 1909, when he turned over the management of his farm to his son, and retired to Monrovia, where he now resides.

Mr. Snyder was married November 30, 1881, to Helen M. Maxfield, and this union has been blessed with eight children, namely: Elsie and Minnie, deceased; John, who is farming the home place; Mark, living in Omaha, Neb.; Mildred, deceased; Margaret and Marguerette, twins, deceased; James, a boy twelve years old, living with John on the home farm. The mother of these children was born in Henry county, Illinois, a daughter of David and Anna (Freeze) Maxfield, who first emigrated from Illinois to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and in 1873 came to Atchison county. Mrs. Snyder died in 1909. Mr. Snyder has always been a loyal supporter of the Republican party, is an attendant of the Lutheran church, and is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of Effingham, Kan.

Edward Perdue.