_G. W. Glick_
Statue of Gov. George W. Glick, in Statuary Hall, Washington, D. C.
]
CHAPTER XXV.
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
GEORGE WASHINGTON GLICK.
George W. Glick, ninth governor of Kansas, was born at Greencastle,
Fairfield county, Ohio, July 4, 1827. His great-grandfather, Philip
Glick, a Revolutionary soldier, was one of five brothers who came to
Pennsylvania from Germany. His grandfather, George Glick, served in the
War of 1812, as did also his mother’s father, Capt. George Sanders.
Governor Glick’s father, Isaac Glick, was a man of influence in the
community in which he lived, took an active interest in State and local
politics, and held many positions of public trust. His mother, Mary
Sanders, was of Scotch parentage. Both parents lived to a good old age.
George W. Glick was reared on his father’s farm near Fremont, Ohio, and
there acquired the habits of industry, economy and self-reliance that
made his later life so successful. At the age of twenty-one he entered
the office of Bucklin & Hayes as a law student, and was admitted to the
bar two years later at Cincinnati by the supreme court. He began
practice at Fremont, and soon won an enviable reputation as a hard-
working and successful lawyer. He fully sustained this reputation after
coming to Kansas.
Locating at Atchison in the spring of 1859, he formed a partnership with
Hon. Alfred G. Otis, which lasted until 1874, when an affection of the
throat compelled him to abandon the practice of law. Mr. Glick soon took
a leading place at the Kansas bar. His practice extended to all the
courts. He was a salaried attorney for two railroads and a number of
corporations.
Mr. Glick was a natural leader and began early in life to take an active
part in politics. When but thirty-one years of age he was nominated for
Congress by the Democracy of his district in Ohio, but declined the
nomination. The same year he was nominated for State senator and made
the race against Gen. R. P. Bucklin, his former law preceptor. He was
elected to the Kansas legislature in 1862 without opposition, and
reëlected in 1863, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’68, ’76 and ’82.
During his service as a legislator, he secured the passage of many
needed and important laws which have settled and fixed the policy of the
State on matters of vast interest, that have stood the test of time and
experience. In 1876 Mr. Glick was made speaker pro tem. of the house of
representatives, although that body was strongly Republican. He was a
delegate to Democratic National conventions in 1856, 1868, 1884 and
1892. The Kansas delegation in the Democratic National convention at
Chicago in 1892 presented his name to that convention as its candidate
for vice-president, after the nomination of Grover Cleveland for
President, and, although not the nominee of the convention for that
office, he received many votes. He was nominated for governor in 1868
and made the race in obedience to his party’s call, though his defeat
was inevitable. In 1882 he was again the unanimous choice of his party
for governor and made a memorable campaign, speaking in nearly every
county in the State; and, though fighting against great odds, among them
being a Republican majority of over 52,000, he defeated that
distinguished Republican and Prohibitionist, John P. St. John, by 8,079
votes. Governor Glick was inaugurated January 8, 1883, and his
administration was marked by dignity, intelligence, and a careful and
discreet management of the material and financial interests of the
State. His long experience as a legislator gave him an intimate
knowledge of its needs, and many valuable reform measures recommended in
his message to the legislature were accomplished. He entered an earnest
protest against the burdens imposed upon the agricultural classes by the
railroads and asked that legislation be enacted to prevent these
exactions. A law creating a railroad commission, and embodying
substantially all the improvements asked by him, was passed, and proved
of great benefit to the people of the State.
In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland pension agent at Topeka
and re-appointed when Mr. Cleveland again came into office. During Mr.
Glick’s two terms as pension agent at the Topeka agency, he received and
disbursed over $85,000.00.
In 1857 he married Elizabeth Ryder, of Massillon, Ohio, a lady descended
from a distinguished colonial ancestry. Her ancestors were among the
first settlers of Concord, Mass., and she derived her name from forbears
who were well known among the early colonists of New York City. For
fifty years and more this noble matron, having with her the best
traditions of American life, presided over the hospitable home of George
W. Glick, with the grace and dignity inherited from a fine ancestry. She
added to the success of his public life the greater blessings of
domestic happiness. Two children were born to this union: Frederick H.
Glick and Mrs. James W. Orr, of Atchison, Kan. He died at Atchison,
Kan., April 13, 1911, aged eighty-four years; his wife and children
survive him.
Each State is entitled to place in Statuary Hall at the capitol in
Washington, statues of two of its citizens renowned in literature, art,
war or civil life, and several years ago one of such places was filled
by the State of Kansas with a statue of John James Ingalls, of Atchison,
Kan. The regular session of the 1913 legislature of Kansas adopted a
concurrent resolution and made an appropriation for the purchase of a
suitable statue as a tribute to the memory of George Washington Glick,
to be placed in Statuary Hall, where the Nation has granted to its
people the privilege of placing it. The statue was designed and executed
by Charles H. Niehaus and accepted by Congress as a gift from Kansas,
with suitable ceremonies, and is now in Statuary Hall. A cut
representing it precedes this sketch. Sixteen thousand five hundred
copies of a volume containing the proceedings in Congress, and a plate
of the statue, were, by authority of Congress, printed and distributed.
HORACE MORTIMER JACKSON.
He who leaves behind him, when he passes beyond the goal from which no
mortal man has ever returned, a pleasant and abiding memory of his
existence on this earth, and has bequeathed to his progeny and posterity
a heritage of right living and right thinking, has accomplished much.
His memory will be revered long after that of the individual who has
done nothing but accumulate wealth and has made no effort to leave this
earthly abiding place a better place to live than when he came upon it.
Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, deceased, was a man who lived an upright
life, and was accorded the universal respect of his fellow men and was a
legal practitioner of high rank, whose honorable methods of practice and
manner of living were such as to commend him for most favorable mention
in the archives of his adopted county of Atchison.
Judge Horace M. Jackson was born near Albion, Penn., July 11, 1839, a
son of Lyman Jackson, who was the son of Michael Jackson, whose father
was also named Michael, and was a native of Ireland. Michael Jackson,
the founder of the family in America, came from Ireland and settled near
Hartford, Conn. He went to the coast to trade and was not thereafter
heard from and was supposed to have been killed by Indians. He had three
sons, one of whom, Ebenezer, died in service as a soldier during the
French and Indian war. Another son went south, and the third was Michael
Jackson, the direct ancestor of Horace M. Jackson. Michael was born
March 28, 1735 and on June 4, 1755, was married to Susanna Willcocks,
who was born April 19, 1732. They settled in Windham county,
Connecticut, later removing to Pownal, near Bennington, Vt. Michael
Jackson was a soldier in the colonial army during the French and Indian
war, and was a member of Company Ten, First regiment. He was discharged
December 12, 1759. He also enlisted in the Seventh Company of the Third
regiment of volunteers, Army of Independence, May 5, 1775, and was
discharged December 15, 1775. He later volunteered for service in Col.
Samuel Herrick’s regiment of “Alarm Men.” Lyman, the son of Michael,
also served in the Revolution on the American side. He was born February
29, 1755, at Simsbury, Hartford county, Connecticut. He enlisted eight
different times in the American army. Lyman married Deidama Dunham on
January 3, 1782. This couple lived at Albany, Otsego and Wyoming, N. Y.,
at different times. To them were born thirteen children. About 1805,
Lyman Jackson settled in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and obtained a dense
tract of timber land in the Holland Purchase from which he cleared a
farm. Seven sons and a son-in-law of this redoubtable patriot fought in
the War of 1812.
Lyman Jackson died March 20, 1835. David Bardsley Jackson, a son of
Lyman, born May 29, 1797, at Richfield, Otsego county, New York, married
Lucy Hendryx, on April 11, 1822, near Albion, Penn. He was the ninth
child of Lyman Jackson and cleared a farm of forty acres in the Holland
Purchase on which he resided until the year 1830. He then sold his land,
loaded his effects in a farm wagon, drove to Pittsburgh, and took
passage down the Ohio river and thence up the Mississippi to Warsaw,
Ill., from which landing place on December 15, 1839 he drove to
Knoxville, Ill., and bought a farm ten miles west of the village. He
returned to Pennsylvania in 1841, driving overland with his team 1,000
miles each way accompanied by his wife and two youngest children. In the
year 1846 he removed to a residence in Knoxville and engaged in the
grocery business. In 1854 he settled on a farm one-half mile west of
Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois. He lived here until 1876, then sold
out and made his home at Gilson, for the remainder of his days. This
sturdy pioneer died January 18, 1879. His children were: Mrs. Elizabeth
Ruth Pierce, Zaremba, Obadiah H., Gershom, David, Francis Marion,
Charles Wilmer De Loss, Horace Mortimer, and Mrs. Annie Lucelia Wing.
Horace Mortimer Jackson was reared on the farm, attended the schools of
Knoxville, Ill., clerked in his father’s grocery store, sawed wood for
forty cents per cord, and did the hardest kind of farm work while yet a
boy. During 1860–61, he taught school for $28 per month. On August 7,
1861, he started for De Soto, Neb., by way of Hannibal and St. Joseph.
On April 12, 1861, he boarded a steamer at St. Joseph en route for
Omaha. Arriving there he joined his brother Zaremba on his farm in
Nebraska. He worked here for some time and assisted his brother in
tilling the farm with oxen in the most primitive way. He saved his money
and in 1862 returned to Cambridge, Ill., taught school during the winter
and read law at night. He followed farming, served as deputy sheriff of
the county and finally located at Versailles, Mo., in the practice of
law. He was a member of the board of education which gave the first
public school to the town of Versailles. He married Lavanchia Isabelle
Valentine, December 12, 1865. She was the eldest daughter of John O.
Valentine. For a time the newly wedded couple were in very poor
circumstances.
Their furniture was of crude workmanship, made from store boxes. It was
here that the future judge made the friendship of Anderson W. Anthony, a
good lawyer whom he esteemed highly, who became his first law partner.
He made a journey to Wichita, Kan., in August, 1870, but located at
Marysville, Mo., in September of the same year. He became a partner of
D. L. Palmer, who later went to Jewell City, Kan. He then formed a
partnership with Judge Thomas J. Johnston, and served as prosecuting
attorney of the county. In December of 1878 he started for Beloit, Kan.,
with the intention of locating in that city, but stopped at Atchison
where he met W. S. Greenleaf and Gen. W. W. Guthrie. He remained in
their law offices during the ensuing winter. General Guthrie at that
time was a member of the State senate. He formed a partnership with Mr.
Greenlea on March 17, 1879, which continued until Mr. Greenlea’s death
in September, 1880. His wife died March 26, 1883, and he later, on
February 11, 1886, married Matilda (Adams) Rook, who had one daughter by
a former marriage, Effie, now the wife of C. A. Chandler, of Atchison.
Matilda Adams Rook was a daughter of Peter and Martha Adams, of England,
and sister of J. P. Adams, of Atchison. Horace M. Jackson was appointed
judge of the district court on March 1, 1887, and continued as judge
until his successor was elected. He and his son, William A., conducted
the law business and served as the local attorneys for the Santa Fe and
the Burlington railroads until his death, which occurred December 11,
1910. Judge Jackson left two sons, William Anthony and Zaremba Edward.
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Elks, Modern Woodmen and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He bequeathed to his children and
posterity a heritage of an honorable, upright life without stain or
blemish and will long be remembered as one of the honored citizens of
Atchison.
ZAREMBA E. JACKSON.
The measure of a living citizen is his genuine worth to his community.
If he unselfishly strives to make his home city a better place in which
to live, and does something by which he will long be remembered, as of
lasting good, he has accomplished a task well worth while. While every
town and city can boast of such individuals who are striving to do
things in behalf of the public welfare, there are not a great number who
can act without any ulterior motive and without desire to bring
pecuniary reward to themselves. Of the class of better citizens
mentioned as doing things for the betterment of the condition of the
citizenry, Z. E. Jackson, attorney of Atchison, occupies a prominent
place in the city. Gifted as an attorney, upright in all of his dealings
with his fellow men, interested to a high degree in the welfare of his
fellow citizens, he has striven unselfishly to do good. Jackson Park,
named after this gentleman, represents the culmination of one of his
dreams and years of endeavor to create a breathing place of woodland
beauty and a public playground of which the city may well be proud.
Z. E. Jackson was born in Maryville, Mo., September 23, 1872, and is a
son of Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, late of Atchison, and a review of
whom appears in this work. He came to Atchison with his parents when six
years of age. He received his primary education in the public schools of
Atchison and afterward studied for two years in Midland College. He then
matriculated in the University of Illinois, with the intention of
preparing himself to become an electrical engineer. After studying for
two years in the Illinois university, he abandoned his original
intention and returning to Atchison, entered his father’s law office in
1893. He studied stenography without a regular instructor and prepared
himself to take dictation, filling the post of stenographer in his
father’s office while reading law. He studied law under his gifted
father’s tutelage and was admitted to the bar in 1899, being later
admitted to practice in the higher State and federal courts. At first he
practiced alone and was then made a member of the law firm of Jackson &
Jackson. This firm was at first composed of Judge Horace M. Jackson, and
his son, William A., and when William A., was elected to the position of
judge of the district court, it was composed of Horace M. and his son,
Z. E. Jackson. Mr. Jackson is local attorney for the Home Building and
Loan Association, and a director of the same concern. He is the local
attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad System and the Burlington Railroad
Company. He is also the legal adviser for several of Atchison’s
corporations. Mr. Jackson has the reputation of being one of the ablest
and cleanest practitioners of the Atchison county bar who has followed
in the footsteps of his illustrious father in never refusing counsel or
advice to a public official, religious denomination or to a charitable
organization, whether or not any fee was forthcoming—in fact, his office
has always been ready to give advice to applicants of the character of
the foregoing without charge or recompense of any kind. Mr. Jackson has
never turned away a client who had a meritorious cause, because of lack
of funds, and in this respect resembles his father in his manner of
conducting his legal practice. While Mr. Jackson is not a member of any
particular religious denomination, he has always been a liberal
contributor to all movements which have had for their intent the
betterment of the community. He is owner of Atchison real estate and
farm lands in Jackson county, Kansas, to which he gives his personal
attention.
Mr. Jackson’s career as a public official began in 1901, when he was
elected police judge of the city and again elected in 1903, after which
he declined to again become a candidate for the office. His career as
police judge was marked by uniform fairness and impartiality, tempered
with kindness in dealing with the city’s minor malefactors who were
brought before him for judgment in his official capacity. From 1905 to
1909 he was assistant city attorney, and in 1912 was elected to the
office of city attorney to fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Hooper,
deceased. He served out the unexpired term and declined to become a
candidate in 1913, because of the growing demands of his large law
practice. While serving as city attorney many important problems came up
before the city for solution, such as the telephone merger, and the
renewal of the city’s contract with the Atchison Light and Power
Company. His wise advice and counsel steered the city government safely
over the shoals, incidental to the settlement of these questions. Mr.
Jackson found the city finances in bad shape, as related to the renewal
of the lighting contract, a condition of affairs brought about by his
predecessor’s long illness preventing him from attending to business,
and he immediately set to work to unravel the tangle and brought order
out of chaos to the advantage of the city. Another matter to which he
gave considerable attention while city attorney was the intercepting
sewer problem which he handled satisfactorily.
Mr. Jackson is a pronounced Republican in his political views, having
become a convert to Republican principles when he became of age, a
decision which he was influenced to make by the panic of 1893. He is
affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
He was united in marriage with Miss Maud K. Smith, April 30, 1903. Mrs.
Jackson was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Lewis T. and Theresa
June (Chadwick) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the
latter a native of Canada. Lewis T. Smith was born in 1846 in West
Lebanon, Pa., and is one of the old-time railroad men of the early days.
Mr. Jackson’s creed of living is best expressed in his own words, “I
believe that every man should do something for the community in which he
lives, besides getting a living out of it.” It was the practice of his
creed which led to the beautiful park in the southeast part of the city
being named in his honor, over his personal objections. The _Atchison
Globe_ says of his connection with the building and equipping of the
park in the issue of August 18, 1913, in part, after quoting Mr.
Jackson’s creed, as above given:
“That explains the principal reason why he (Z. E. Jackson) has taken
such an interest in the park which now bears his name. Another reason is
he likes to dig in the ground, and investigate things as he finds them
in the woods and wild places. He is also handy at improving on Nature
here and there without spoiling the general effect.
“Seven or eight years ago, after spending many of his boyhood and young
manhood days in Jackson Park, he saw the possibilities of it for a
beautiful playground for young and old. He invited several of his South
Atchison neighbors to meet in his law office one night and a park
improvement association was formed. In order to start a fund for
improvements in the park each member present put up five dollars. Other
citizens were invited to contribute and thus a small fund was raised.
“That proved to be the redemption of City Park, a tract of fifty-six
acres of woodland which cost the city $7,500 about thirty years ago.
“With the few hundred dollars raised by private subscription it was
shown what might be accomplished if the necessary funds were
forthcoming. From the sale of a park bond, issued when the city was
trying to put the coal mine on its feet, the committee secured $500
which was used in replacing the dam which makes the lake and other
improvements.
“If effective service is to be rewarded, then the city council made no
mistake when it acted on the petition presented to it, asking that the
name of City Park be changed to Jackson Park in honor of Z. E. Jackson,
a young man who decided that the making of a park was the debt he owed
the community where he makes his living.”
The action referred to in the foregoing was taken August 1, 1913, when
the official name of Jackson Park was given to the tract in honor of Mr.
Jackson. Besides his work of superintending the park and bringing about
its redemption with the assistance of other public spirited men, Mr.
Jackson and others secured a ten-acre tract of land lying between the
original fifty-six acres and the Missouri river, which has been added to
and is now a part of the park.
THOMAS FRABLE.
Thomas Frable, retired farmer, of Benton township, is one of the oldest
living pioneer citizens of Atchison county, both in age and number of
years of residence in the county. He was one of the old-time freighters
who conducted his own freighting outfit across the plains in the days of
the Civil war, and before the advent of the trans-continental railroads.
Mr. Frable was born in March, 1832, and has spent fifty-six of his four
score and four years of life in Atchison county and Kansas. He was born
on a farm in Pennsylvania, a son of Thomas Frable, who died when the
subject was three years of age, leaving his widow in such poor
circumstances that she was unable to rear her children in comfort.
Thomas was given a home by a man named Queen, who owned a large farm,
and he lived with Queen until attaining his majority. Queen owned a farm
of 300 acres, and Thomas was started to work when still a small boy,
learning to guide a plow across the fields when he was but eleven years
of age. When he became of age and was free to do as he liked, the germ
of adventure and ambition seized him and he decided to try his fortunes
in the great West. In line with this resolve, he crossed the country to
Kansas in 1859, in company with another young fellow named Reuben
Ferguson, with whom he finally bought a tract of land which they farmed
in common for a time, and then made a division. Mr. Frable still owns
eighty acres of the original tract which he and Ferguson purchased. Mr.
Frable engaged in the freighting business and made considerable money in
the old days. He became the owner of two teams which he drove with the
great trains which were constantly leaving Atchison in the early
sixties, en route to the far West, and transported blasting powder to
Denver and mining points in Colorado for the use of the gold and silver
miners. He also carried corn for the United States Government. During
the Civil war Mr. Frable was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State
militia, and served at the battle of Westport in the expedition against
the rebel, General Price. After the war he settled down to farming in
Benton township, and has prospered exceedingly, he and his son, Harry,
now owning over 560 acres of fine land. The Frable home is one of the
most imposing and best built farm residences in the county, and Harry
Frable recently erected a large barn in which the live stock of this
extensive farm is housed. Mr. Frable and Harry have been life-long
Republicans.
Thomas Frable was married in 1862 to Rebecca Graham, a daughter of
Richard Graham, who came from Pennsylvania with his family to Atchison
county in the early days, and was one of the well known pioneers of this
county. Mrs. Frable was born October 5, 1835, and died in November,
1908. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frable, namely:
Clara, deceased; Margaret, dying in infancy: two died in infancy; and
Harry was born January 22, 1865.
JAMES W. ORR.
The reviewer, in attempting to write a comprehensive and truthful
biography of an individual, must take into consideration the related
facts as to birth and subsequent career, the success attained, the
underlying principles which have combined to assist him in achieving his
desires and ambitions, and to lay particular stress upon the special
talent which has been developed in the life of the subject under review.
In reviewing the life career of James W. Orr, a leading member of the
Atchison county bar, the fact is determined that he is truly an able and
distinguished lawyer, whose reputation for success at the bar, for
having a profound knowledge of the law, and his ability to successfully
practice in the courts of the land, arrayed against the brightest minds
of the legal profession of the country, is recognized, not only by the
people of the State of Kansas and his profession generally, but by the
United States Government, in whose employ he now is as special assistant
to the attorney general of the United States.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_James W Orr._
]
James W. Orr was born September 14, 1855, in the town of Reading,
Hillsdale county, Michigan. In his boyhood days, and during the struggle
to educate himself for the practice of his chosen profession, he knew
what adversity meant and has the satisfaction of knowing that his
education was obtained through his own unaided efforts. He is a son of
James and Mary Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr, both of whom were natives of
New York City. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, his forebears
emigrating from Scotland to the north of Ireland in the days of old to
escape religious persecution. His paternal grandfather left Ireland in
an early day and made his home in New York. The Underhill family is of
English origin and a very old one in America, several generations of
whom have been born and reared in this country. His maternal grandfather
was Daniel Underhill, a goldsmith in New York City. James Orr, the
father, was a merchant in New York till about 1848, when he left his
native city and engaged in merchandising in Rome, Syracuse and Utica, N.
Y., (three stores), following which he engaged in wholesale business in
Toledo, Ohio. While a resident of Toledo he became identified with some
of the enterprises of that day and was a stockholder, director and one
of the builders of the Erie & Dunkirk railroad. In 1861 he removed to
Coldwater, Mich., and conducted a merchandise business there until 1868,
when, in broken health, he settled in Niles, Mich., where he died.
When James W. Orr was fourteen years of age he began earning his own
living and educating himself. He and his brother, Louis C. Orr, the
present postmaster of Atchison, worked together for several years,
sharing their work with each other and pooling their earnings. The boys
were fortunate in having a wise and ambitious mother who was well
educated and who taught them at home, thus giving them the education
they were financially unable to obtain at school. At the age of
seventeen years while employed in a drug store he was reading law at
nights and at odd times when his work was not pressing. By persistent
endeavor he managed to secure two years of study at Michigan University,
at Ann Arbor. He then took his examination for admission to the bar in
open court, and was admitted to practice when but twenty years of age.
His first employment in his new profession was with the McCormick
Harvester Company, settling claims, etc., in behalf of that company. He
remained in this position until 1880, and in January, 1881, came to
Atchison where he has since continuously resided. It was necessary for
him to begin the upward climb of the ladder to fame and success without
assistance from any individual or friend. How well Mr. Orr has succeeded
during the past thirty-four years is attested by his present high
position in the ranks of the legal profession and the competence he has
accumulated. He was first employed in Atchison by the New England Loan &
Trust Company as attorney to examine abstracts of titles, etc., at a
salary of forty dollars per month. It was not long until he was
receiving a salary of $150 per month and a share of the profits in the
employ of the same concern. When the concern moved to Kansas City and
became known as the Equitable Loan & Trust Company, Mr. Orr remained in
Atchison. In 1883 he was married to Miss Jennie Glick, the only daughter
of Governor George W. Glick, of Atchison. He took up the practice of
law, purchasing the interest of Judge W. D. Webb in the firm of Webb &
Martin, and entered into partnership with A. F. Martin, which
partnership existed from 1882 until April, 1887. During the five years
he had been in Atchison he had been extending his acquaintance over the
county, and in November, 1866, was a successful candidate for county
attorney on the Democratic ticket, being elected over W. D. Gilbert by a
substantial majority, despite the fact that the county was then normally
Republican by over 800 majority. In April, 1887, he formed a law
partnership with B. P. Waggener and Judge David Martin, the firm having
previously been known as Everest & Waggener. Judge Martin resigning the
position of judge of the Atchison district court to join the firm, which
was known as Waggener, Martin & Orr. In the year 1895 Judge Martin
retired from the firm, and Judge A. H. Horton, then chief justice of the
supreme court of Kansas, resigned his office of chief justice, a
position he had held continuously for nineteen years, to become a member
of the firm. Judge Dawn Martin was appointed to the vacancy so made on
the supreme bench. Judge Horton remained a member of the firm until his
death, when ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster became a member of the firm
known as Waggener, Doster & Orr. During Mr. Orr’s association with B. P.
Waggener in the practice of law they had charge of the legal business
for the Gould system of railroads in Kansas and Nebraska; the Western
Union Telegraph Company; express companies, and the Pullman Palace Car
Company. They were associated in partnership with three ex-chief
justices of the supreme court of Kansas during this period. In June,
1910, Mr. Orr resigned his position as attorney for the Missouri Pacific
Railway Company, and his connection with B. P. Waggener, which had then
continued for twenty-three years, was also terminated. The position of
special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States was
proffered him by Attorney-General McReynolds in October, 1913, while Mr.
Orr was engaged in the trial of a case in St. Louis. He accepted and was
given charge of the suit of the Government against the Southern Pacific
Company and others, including the Central Pacific Railway, to dissolve
the relations between those companies. Mr. Orr conducts his cases for
the Government in addition to his private practice. His rise has been
steady and consistent during the years he has been practicing his
profession in Atchison, and it is true that the youth who began his
career in the city of Atchison for the modest salary of forty dollars
per month now enjoys a lucrative private law practice, in addition to
his income from the Government and not supplemented by corporation
salaries. Mr. Orr has accumulated a comfortable fortune during the years
of his practice and has what is considered the most beautiful home in
Atchison. In his home he has his private library of several hundred
volumes, including the standard works of literature. His law library
lines the walls of his down-town offices and exceeds 2,000 volumes in
number.
[Illustration:
Residence of J. W. Orr.
]
Mr. and Mrs. Orr had but one child, a son, George Glick Orr, who was
drowned while bathing in the Pacific ocean, near San Diego, Cal., on
July 21, 1909, at the age of twenty-five years. The loss of this
talented young man saddened the lives of his parents for years. At the
age when most young men are just beginning to gain a higher education,
George Glick Orr could read, write and speak six different languages.
For seventeen years of his life he was a student, graduated at the
University of Kansas, and had been admitted to the bar, showing great
promise in his chosen profession and being frequently entrusted with
important legal matters.
Mr. Orr has received all the Masonic degrees except the thirty-third,
and is a member of several fraternal societies. He attends and
contributes to the support of the Christian Science Church, of which
Mrs. Orr is a member.
In politics and as a public official and law-maker, Mr. Orr has a record
of which any man may well be proud. He became a member of the Kansas
Democratic State central committee in 1884 and remained such
continuously until 1908, and in point of service was its oldest member.
He has attended, as a delegate, six National Democratic conventions, and
on three occasions was a member of the notification committee appointed
to officially notify the presidential candidate of his nomination by the
convention, including Cleveland in 1892; Parker in 1904, and Woodrow
Wilson in 1912. His exceptional career in politics began as early as
1880, when he served as assistant secretary of the committee chosen to
notify General Hancock at Governor’s Island, N. Y., of his nomination
for the Presidency. Mr. Orr was an original Wilson man and one of the
committee of five having the floor management of the Wilson forces at
the Baltimore convention in 1912 which nominated Mr. Wilson for the
Presidency. From 1901 to 1907 Mr. Orr served three terms successively as
mayor of the city of Atchison and gave the city one of the best
administrations in its history. He served two terms in the State
legislature as representative from the Atchison city district, the
sessions of 1911 and 1913. During the 1911 session he was one of the
three legislators selected by the house to draft and did prepare the
present public utilities law, under which all railroads and public
utilities in this State are now managed and controlled; he was the
author of the present comprehensive drainage laws; the law requiring the
attorney-general to pay into the State treasury all fees received by him
in the prosecution of State cases; the so-called “Orr viaduct law,”
which requires railroads to construct and maintain at their expense all
necessary viaducts over or tunnels under their tracks in cities, and
under which the Fourteenth street viaduct in this city and viaducts in
many other cities have been built and then maintained by the railroads,
also many other laws of public interest and importance. In the session
of 1913 he was chairman of the judiciary committee and was elected
majority leader of the house. At the close of the legislative session of
1913 Mr. Orr was presented with a resolution, unanimously adopted by the
members of the house, beautifully engraved in India ink, artistically
framed and containing a reproduction of the great seal of Kansas. This
resolution thanks Mr. Orr for the assistance he had given individual
members of the house and for his service to the State, both as chairman
of the judiciary committee and as majority house leader, and is signed
by every member. It follows:
“HOUSE RESOLUTION, NO. 51—BY MR. RIDDLE.
“Resolved. That the members of the house extend to the Hon. James W.
Orr their sincere thanks for the splendid service he has given to
them and to the State during the present session. In addition to his
work as floor leader of the majority party, and his work as chairman
of the judiciary committee, he has been tireless, patient, and
industrious in giving to individual members the benefit of his
learning and ability by helping them in their work. His help has
been extended alike to members of all political parties, and has
been especially beneficial to members who have had little experience
in legislative work. He has the confidence, esteem and love of all
the members.
“Done in the city of Topeka, this eighth day of March, 1913.”
ANDREW B. SYMNS.
When the late A. B. Symns passed beyond mortal ken on April 9, 1905,
Atchison suffered a loss from its business circles which could never be
replaced. He left behind him a monument in the A. B. Symns Grocer
Company, one of the largest of the wholesale establishments of the city
and State, which was the product of his brain and ability. He was one of
the noted pioneer figures of a decade which produced great and strong
men. From a modest beginning he rose to become a national character in
the business world of the great West and realized his ambition during a
long and useful life. He not only succeeded in accumulating a
comfortable fortune but left a reputation for integrity and upright
citizenship which has never been surpassed by any of his compeers of the
building age in Atchison and Kansas. From boyhood to the time he had
passed the age of three score years and ten, Mr. Symns was an
indefatigable worker and never relaxed except for much needed recreation
and rest, occasionally. Early in his career he had great faith in the
future of Atchison and that faith was fully justified by his own success
in the jobbing field.
A. B. Symns was born in Monroe county. West Virginia, March 27, 1831,
and was a son of John and Elizabeth (Peters) Symns, natives of old
Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent.
As a boy he worked on his father’s farm, attending school three months
each winter. At the age of eighteen he clerked in a store at Petertown
and later on attended Lewisburg Seminary one year. He also worked at
White Sulphur Springs before coming west in 1853. He listened to the
call of the great unpeopled western country for young and ambitious men
to develop her dormant resources, and in 1853 crossed the country to St.
Joseph. Mo., where he clerked in a store for two years and then went to
St. Louis. After clerking in St. Louis for one year he became an eighth
owner of the steamboat “Hesperian” and served as clerk aboard the
steamer. This boat made its first trip on the Missouri trade in 1856 and
it was while passing up and down the Missouri river that he was
attracted to the then flourishing town of Doniphan. It far overshadowed
Atchison at that time and he determined to locate in Doniphan. During
the time he was connected with the steamboat service he had many
interesting experiences. He opened a grocery store in 1858, but during
the same year the land office was removed to Atchison and Doniphan lost
ground, but the Symns store grew in size and importance and was the
nucleus around which his great business was subsequently builded. He
removed the store to Atchison in 1872, and began wholesaling in a small
way in connection with his retail business. In 1877 he was doing
business in the corner store room at Sixth and Commercial streets, on
the southeast corner. While located in this building he closed out his
retail business and engaged in jobbing exclusively. With the impetus
given by his splendid business mind and his remarkable energy the
business grew rapidly, and he soon found himself at the head of one of
the largest wholesale grocery houses in the western country. Thirty men
are employed as traveling salesmen by the Symns Grocer Company alone,
and the Symns Utah Grocer Company, which he established, has its own
force. Customers of Mr. Symns over Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri,
Texas, Colorado and Utah have always agreed that A. B. Symns was the
fairest man with whom they ever did business. He had faith in Atchison
as a great jobbing center, and the success of his business fully
justified that belief. The immense jobbing house of the Symns Grocer
Company on Main street of Atchison was built from plans prepared by Mr.
Symns himself and is one of the most complete establishments of the kind
to be found anywhere. So extensive did the business become, however,
that it was necessary to erect an addition in 1903. The capitalization
of the Symns Grocer Company at the time of the demise of Mr. Symns was
$300,000 and that of the Utah concern at Salt Lake City was $80,000. Mr.
Symns was president of both companies and had a controlling interest in
each. He left an estate valued at over $300,000.
One of the interesting episodes of Mr. Symns’ mercantile career was the
looting of his Doniphan store by Cleveland’s band of outlaws, who made
Atchison their headquarters in the winter of 1861–62. At the time Mr.
Symns was absent in St. Joseph, but his brothers, Sam and William Symns,
were in charge when it was surrounded one evening by Cleveland and his
gang. They forced William Symns to open the safe and took what money
there was on hand in addition to clothing, saddles, etc. While the
robbery was in progress, Mrs. Symns ran out to arouse the neighbors, but
no help was forthcoming because of the fact that everybody was afraid of
Cleveland and his gang, and the thieves got away with their booty
unmolested.
A. B. Symns was married in 1858, returning to Old Virginia for his
bride, Miss Elizabeth Tiffany, who was his boyhood sweetheart. Mrs.
Symns was a member of an excellent Virginia family and bore him the
following children: Mrs. A. S. Rowan, who died December 31, 1903; Miss
Effie Symns, of Atchison; Charles, Atchison, and Guy. The mother of
these children departed this life September 12, 1900, at the age of
sixty-four years, having been born in 1836. Six children were born and
died in infancy at Doniphan: John, Joseph, Lee, Hugh, Edna and Louis.
Mr. Symns died April 9, 1905, at Hot Springs, Ark. He was sincerely
mourned and Atchison business circles suffered a loss which could hardly
be estimated.
While Mr. and Mrs. Symns were on their wedding trip on the steamer
“Carrier” en route up the Missouri river from St. Louis to Doniphan, the
boat sank near Hermann, Mo. They easily escaped drowning because the
“Carrier” sank slowly, but they lost their newly purchased household
goods and a large amount of supplies with which Mr. Symns intended to
stock the Doniphan store. Mrs. Symns continued to Doniphan on another
boat, while Mr. Symns returned to St. Louis to lay in another stock of
household goods and provisions for his store.
The Symns family came of old Scotch Presbyterian stock. Although a
southerner by birth, he was a Union man in Kansas. He was an independent
Democrat in politics.
Mr. Symns was in active pursuits even after attaining the age of three
score years and ten, and was always found early at his desk. He was not
only the active head of the business but closely watched the details. He
was always hurrying and was ever busy, and it was his custom to walk
daily to the postoffice for his mail so as to have the benefit of the
exercise. Having always been a man of correct habits he belied his years
and his demise came unexpectedly at Hot Springs. He was accidentally
killed by a locomotive on a railroad crossing at Hot Springs, where it
had been his custom to go for his health during the latter ten years of
his life. He was fond of his family and dearly loved his home life. He
was quiet, unassuming, and was one of the kindest and gentlest of men,
probably no man being more universally admired and beloved in Atchison
during his day. His life story furnishes a decided inspiration for any
one who may read of his success in Atchison.
BALIE PEYTON WAGGENER.
It is not difficult to classify Balie P. Waggener so as to determine his
position in the civic body of Atchison, but it is not easy to write a
review comprehensive enough to give a proper estimate of this
distinguished citizen who has been honored in his home city and in the
State of Kansas. When one thinks of Atchison it is only natural to refer
to the city as the home of Balie Waggener, who is indisputably grouped
among the prominent and widely known figures who have shed fame and
luster upon their home city. A leading attorney, statesman, progressive
citizen, builder, farmer and stockman, friend of all children,
capitalist, and public benefactor are some of the terms which might be
applied to him without fear of contradiction from the mass of the people
who know him best.
He was born in Platte county, Missouri, July 18, 1847, a son of Peyton
R. and Sophronia Briseis (Willis) Waggener, who were American born and
descended from old American families. The great-grandfather of Mr.
Waggener served in the Continental army as a lieutenant-colonel during
the American war of independence, and his grandfather was a major in the
United States army during the War of 1812. Balie Waggener attended the
public schools until he attained the age of fourteen years and then
obtained a situation as toll-gate keeper on the old Platte City &
Western turnpike. He was ambitious to become a lawyer and during the
interims of his duties in attending the toll-gate, and after his day’s
work was done, he read his law books. The next step in his preparation
to become a member of the legal profession was to enter the law office
of Otis & Glick, in Atchison. This was in 1866, and so assiduously did
the young man apply himself to his studies that he was admitted to the
bar June 10, 1867. Three years later he formed a partnership with Albert
H. Norton, then United States district attorney, under the firm name of
Horton & Waggener, which lasted until the election of Judge Horton to
the office of chief justice of the Kansas supreme court in 1876. In 1887
Mr. Waggener formed a partnership under the firm name of Waggener,
Martin & Orr, which continued until April 30, 1895, when the firm was
dissolved and the firm became Waggener, Horton & Orr, Chief Justice
Horton having resigned his position and again entered the firm. David
Martin, Mr. Waggener’s former partner, became chief justice of the
supreme court of Kansas to succeed Chief Justice Horton. In 1902 Judge
Horton died, and later his place in the firm was taken by Ex-Chief
Justice Frank Doster, under the firm name of Waggener, Doster & Orr. It
will thus be seen that Mr. Waggener has been associated in the practice
of law with three chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas. In 1913
Mr. Orr withdrew from the firm to become special assistant to the
attorney-general of the United States, and the firm is now known as
Waggener, Challiss & Crane, being composed of W. P. Waggener, James
Challiss and Albert Crane. Mr. Waggener now devotes his time and legal
talents almost exclusively to his duties as general solicitor for the
Missouri Pacific railway.
[Illustration:
_B. P. Waggener_
]
The ability of a lawyer having the calibre of Mr. Waggener was bound to
attract attention, and on January 4, 1876, he was appointed general
attorney of the Missouri Pacific railway for the State of Kansas, and on
May 1, 1910, he was made general solicitor for that company for the
States of Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, his son, W. P. Waggener,
succeeding him as general attorney for Kansas. During the forty-four
years Mr. Waggener has been engaged in the practice of law he has won an
enviable position at the bar through his own personal efforts. He has
never ceased to be a student of all subjects pertaining to that most
jealous of professions, and it is worthy of note that he is the
possessor of one of the most complete law libraries in the United
States, containing upward of 10,000 volumes on every conceivable legal
subject. He keeps his library at his residence, which is one of the
handsomest and best appointed in the city of Atchison, and he prepares
most of his cases in the study of his home where privacy is possible.
Naturally, a man of Mr. Waggener’s vigor and broad-mindedness would
engage in enterprises outside of the practice of his profession, and he
has done so in such a manner as to profit himself and the community. In
1892 he was elected president of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison,
which position he has since held. He perfected and put into operation
the Atchison Railway, Light and Power Company in the city, and is the
owner of the famous “Green View Stock Farm,” comprising 500 acres,
beautifully located a short distance west of Atchison, and which is one
of the best equipped and most modern farms in Kansas. Through
experimentation and adapting modern methods of agriculture to the
cultivation of his land and the breeding of fine live stock, Mr.
Waggener has become a recognized authority on agriculture and animal
husbandry. The annual sales of fine live stock which are produced on his
farm have become an annual event in this section of Kansas and the West,
and are largely attended by buyers from all parts of the country.
In addition to his professional and business interests, Mr. Waggener has
manifested a public spirit in matters pertaining to the political
conditions of his city and State. Firmly grounded in Democratic
principles, he has become one of the foremost leaders of his party and
occupies a high place in its councils. In 1869 he was elected to the
Atchison city council when he had barely attained his majority. In the
year 1872 he was the nominee of his party for the office of attorney-
general of the State of Kansas, and in 1873 was made city attorney. From
1889 to 1891 and again in 1895–97 he was mayor of the city. In 1902 he
was elected a member of the lower branch of the State legislature, which
had a large Republican majority, and during the term held the important
position of chairman of the judiciary committee. It is generally
conceded that he influenced much of the legislation at that session, and
his record so commended him to his constituents that in 1904 he was
elected to the State senate from a strong Republican district, carrying
the district by a majority of 1,500 votes, although at the same election
Theodore Roosevelt, the Republican candidate for President, carried the
same district by over 3,600, an indisputable testimonial to Mr.
Waggener’s personal popularity and his ability. Mr. Waggener served in
the senate of the Kansas State legislature in the sessions of 1905 and
1907, and was reëlected by a handsome majority of over 2,000 in November
of 1912. He is now holding the position of State senator from this
district.
Mr. Waggener is a member of many secret orders, and is prominent in
Masonic circles, being a Knights Templar and a Thirty-second degree
member of the Scottish Rite, and a member of the Mystic Shrine.
On May 27, 1869, Mr. Waggener married Miss Emma L., daughter of William
W. Hetherington, one of Atchison’s prominent citizens, now deceased, a
review of whose life and career is given elsewhere in this volume. Two
children were born to this union: William Peyton Waggener, a “chip off
the old block,” and present general attorney of the Missouri Pacific
railway for the State of Kansas, and president of the Exchange State
Bank of Atchison; Mabel L., wife of R. K. Smith, vice-president and
general manager of the Mississippi Central railway.
Perhaps the trait of character that most endears Mr. Waggener to the
people of Atchison county is that liberality which led him in 1897 to
inaugurate the system of giving an annual picnic to the children. Every
year, at his own personal expense, he furnishes free transportation,
free entertainment, and free refreshments to all the children of
Atchison county who can attend his picnic, and the larger the crowd the
greater is his delight. These picnics are not given for the purpose of
increasing his popularity or for any self-aggrandizement whatever, but
solely that he may steal at least one day from his business cares and
derive a wholesome recreation in contributing to the amusement of the
young people. This innovation has occasioned at various times favorable
and commendatory comment in the press of the State, and a record of
these picnics has been placed in the annals of the Kansas State
Historical Society. The report of the secretary of the historical
society for the year 1911 has considerable to say concerning the visit
of President Taft to Kansas in that year and his attendance upon Balie
Peyton Waggener’s picnic to the children of the neighborhood. The
President left Topeka on September 27, about one hour after laying the
cornerstone of the Memorial Hall building and reached Atchison in time
for Mr. Waggener’s twelfth annual picnic. The President spoke words of
high praise of Mr. Waggener and presented him with a silver loving cup
in behalf of the people of Atchison county. Mr. Taft’s words in making
the presentation were: “A token is this, Mr. Waggener, that carries real
sincerity of friendship. I present this beautiful vase of silver in the
name of the people here assembled as a sign of love and esteem. I
congratulate you on the eminence you have attained.” Mr. Waggener
responded: “This is a distinction unmerited. I have no words to express
my grateful acknowledgment.” Balie Waggener’s picnic has become a
feature of Kansas history of a most pleasant nature. He is a life member
of the State Historical Society, and has always been an ardent and most
liberal friend of the society.
When Mr. Waggener was forced by illness to go to Rochester, Minn., for
the purpose of having a surgical operation performed, his safe return to
his home was made the occasion of a time of great rejoicing by the
children of the city, and a reception was given him, such as has never
been given an Atchison citizen before nor since, and which occasioned
State-wide comment on the part of the press as a fitting testimonial of
the great love and esteem in which he was held by the children and
people of his home city. During the time he was at Rochester undergoing
a surgical operation and his subsequent recovery, the children of the
city had been praying for his restoration to health and his safe return
to their midst. It was their great friend who was ill, and, when the
word came that he would arrive home on a certain evening the children
prepared to receive him in an appropriate manner. All the children of
Atchison turned out to give him welcome, and hundreds formed in line,
through which Mr. Waggener passed on his way to his home. He and his
automobile were pelted with flowers and tears filled his eyes, and he
was unable to express his heart-felt appreciation of the reception which
his people had given him. It has been described as the most beautiful
and touching thing that has ever happened in the life of Mr. Waggener.
To quote briefly from the _Kansas City Journal_, which described the
incident: “Few men in this world were so fortunate as to enjoy such an
ovation. Men who have done important things have been received by town
bands and by citizens covered with fluttering badges. Men have come back
to their home people to be received in the opera house, and cheers have
echoed in their receptive ears. But it must be understood that no such
home-coming as Mr. Waggener’s could come to an ordinary man. It was the
tribute of sincere devotion and genuine friendship. It couldn’t be
bought with money or earned by material success. These Atchison children
didn’t care a rap for Waggener, the railroad attorney, nor Waggener, the
politician, nor even for Waggener, the exemplary citizen. It was Mr.
Waggener, the good, kind friend they loved, to whom the welcome was
given, and it sprung from sheer joy that he had recovered his health and
was with them once more. And who can say that the earth holds a more
splendid triumph as the crowning glory of a life than this? All other
laudations and exclamations are tame compared with the flushed
enthusiasm of hundreds of happy children shouting from their hearts:
“‘Waggener, Waggener sis boom ah!
Our friend, our friend, rah! rah! rah!’”
ALBERT E. MAYHEW.
Personal achievement on the part of the individual who accomplishes
things worth while for himself and in behalf of his fellow men, is
always worth recording. The inherent qualities possessed by an able man
will develop and become pronounced in decided results if he be given the
proper opportunity. Albert E. Mayhew, legislative representative from
the Atchison county district, and a successful merchant, belongs to that
type of men who by force of intellect and sheer ability to do things
have placed themselves in the forefront of affairs and taken their
proper places as leaders in their respective communities. Forty-five
years of his life have been spent in Kansas, and he can properly be
classed as one of the pioneers of the State. Mr. Mayhew established
himself in business in Effingham January 1, 1899, and his success since
his advent into Atchison county has been marked and rapid. He began at
first with a capital of $3,000 invested in a hardware and implement
business. With characteristic energy and enterprise he developed his
business to the extent that his extensive stock of goods now requires a
capital of $10,000. In 1912 he purchased a lot at the corner of the two
principal streets of Effingham and erected a handsome two-story brick
building and a warehouse at the same time. This building measures 84×60
feet, including the warehouse and two splendid show rooms, filled with
high class goods. The stock of goods in the Mayhew establishment
embraces hardware, farming implements and wagons, paints, furniture, and
he also conducts an undertaking establishment. Three men are employed to
attend to the extensive trade of this store, which is the most important
institution of its kind in this section of the county.
Albert E. Mayhew was born March 17, 1866, at St. Mary’s, Ontario,
Canada, a son of William, born in 1833, died in March, 1906, and Mary
(Lancaster), born in 1833, died December 25, 1878, Mayhew, both of whom
were born in England and immigrated to Canada when in their youth.
William Mayhew ran away from home and made his way to Canada where he
became a farmer and married. William Mayhew and his wife resided in
Canada until May, 1870, when they immigrated to Kansas, settling in
Nemaha county. They purchased a farm near the town of Centralia,
developed it and Mr. Mayhew made a success of farming and stock raising.
He began with a large tract of land at first, but soon ascertained that
it were better to have a smaller farm, and accordingly reduced his
acreage to 160 acres, upon which he prospered. Mrs. Mayhew, the mother
of Albert E., died on the home place in Nemaha county. William, as old
age crept upon him, removed to San Diego, Cal., where his demise
occurred. He is buried in the cemetery of the California city. Five sons
and a daughter were born to William Mayhew and wife, namely: John, a
merchant, of Denver, Colo.; Robert, a retired farmer and merchant,
living in Topeka. Kan.; George, a merchant, of Denver, Colo.; Eliza,
wife of A. B. Clippinger, Kansas City, Mo.; Albert E., the subject of
this review, and Leonard, of Los Angeles, Cal.
Albert E. was reared to young manhood on the home farm in Nemaha county,
and received his education in the public schools of Centralia, Kan., and
the Seneca, Kan., high school, completing his education in the normal
school at Emporia, Kan. He taught school for a number of years in his
home county, saved his earnings and in 1887 embarked in the hardware and
implement business at Vermilion, Kan. He conducted this business with
fair success until 1897, and then sold out, coming to Effingham soon
afterward and engaging in the same line of business in this city. In
addition to his extensive business Mr. Mayhew is the owner of two
excellent farms in Marshall county, Kansas, aggregating 640 acres in
all, which has his attention. He has a beautiful, modern residence in
the south part of Effingham.
Mr. Mayhew was married in September, 1887, to Anna J. Tinker, of
Vermilion, Kan., born in Humboldt county, Kansas, a daughter of Avery
and Ellen Tinker, natives of New York State, born at Hastings Center,
that State. Two children have blessed this union of Albert E. and Anna
Mayhew: Avery, born in 1889, and died June 2, 1901; Carl H., born
January, 1891 and associated with his father in business. Carl H.
married Miss Vera Snyder, and has one daughter, Lucille, aged two years.
Mr. Mayhew is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations and has
taken an active and influential part in the affairs of his party since
coming to Atchison county. In November, 1914, he was the candidate of
his party for the high office of State representative from this district
and was elected, subsequently serving in the 1915 session of the Kansas
legislature with such marked ability as a legislator that his course and
activities conferred distinction upon himself and his constituents.
During this session he was a member of the committees on insurance,
education, legislative appointments, mines and mining, and judicial
apportionments. Having always taken a keen interest in educational
affairs, his position as a member of the committee on education gave him
an opportunity to support and advocate legislation which would enhance
the cause of education throughout the State. He succeeded in having
passed through the house an act requiring the school moneys of the State
to be loaned to farmers. There was plenty of precedence behind an act of
this character, and the fairness of its provisions is very evident,
although it was opposed by the banking interests of the State. The act,
however, failed to take its regular course through the senate, because
of the adjournment of the legislative body. It is probable that the act
will be finally passed at the next session and it is morally certain to
have strong support, if Mr. Mayhew is again representative from Atchison
county. He also introduced and successfully fathered an act, allowing
districts to levy higher taxes to provide more amply for bridge building
and road improvements, two provisions, which were of direct benefit to
the farming interests of the State, inasmuch as the movement for better
highways is fast gaining ground in Kansas. Mr. Mayhew also assisted in
the passing of better automobile laws, and took an active part in all
the deliberations of the legislative body, specializing, however, in
legislation which had for its ultimate object the betterment of the
school system of the State. He is a member and trustee of the
Presbyterian church, of Effingham, and is fraternally associated with
the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. It is probable that no citizen
is more widely or more favorably known throughout Atchison county than
A. E. Mayhew, and his course as a successful merchant and public
official has been such as to favorably commend him to the masses of the
people, who are always found appreciative of honesty and square dealing
on the part of men in public life, whom they honor with their political
preference. He is well worthy of the confidence and trust which have
been bestowed upon him by the people.
JOSEPH COUPE.
Joseph Coupe, late of Benton township, was born December 6, 1852, in
Utica, N. Y., and was a son of James and Jane (Latus) Coupe, both of
whom were born in England. James emigrated from his native land when a
young man and located in New York, where he married and reared a family,
cultivating a farm located one mile from the limits of Utica. He died on
his farm. Joseph was reared on the family farm and attended the Utica
public schools, receiving an excellent education, after which he took up
the study of law and was admitted to practice in his home city. He
practiced his profession in Utica until 1881 and then came west and
located at Falls City, Neb., where he continued his practice with
considerable success until 1906, when he removed with his family to his
farm, west of Effingham. Failing health induced him to make the change,
and it was thought by his physicians that the open air life would be
beneficial to him. He died February 10, 1908.
Judge Coupe was married in 1890 to Miss Anna Mooney, and to this union
were born six children: Margaret, a graduate of the county high school,
and a teacher in the Effingham public schools; James, who is managing
the home farm with his mother; Richard, a graduate of the county high
school; Anna, likewise a high school graduate; Mary, a junior in the
high school; and Joseph, a pupil in the Sisters’ school at Effingham.
The mother of these children was born in Atchison, Kan., confirmed and
baptized in St. Benedict’s church, and was a daughter of James, born in
1833, and Julia (Ryan) Mooney, born in 1837, both of whom were natives
of Ireland. James Mooney emigrated from Ireland when a youth, was first
a resident of Buffalo, N. Y., and in 1857 moved to Nebraska, and was
later employed at the nursery in Atchison, Kan. From Atchison he removed
to Rulo, Neb., where he still lives. He was married in 1860, and the
family lived in Atchison during the Civil war. James and Julia Mooney
were the parents of five children, namely: Thomas, deceased in March,
1908; John and James, farmers: Margaret, at home in Rulo with her
parents; Mrs. Joseph Coupe.
Previous to locating in Kansas, Mr. Coupe had resided on a farm near
Falls City, but was induced to remove to Effingham and here purchased a
farm of 194 acres west of the city in Benton township, this farm
consisting of 160 acres of excellent tillable land and thirty-four acres
of pasture. He was prominently identified with civic and political
affairs in Falls City and Richardson county, Nebraska, and had built up
a large and lucrative law practice. He was a Democrat in politics and
was one of the leaders of his party in Nebraska, serving four years as
county judge and was successful in re-election to a third term, but
resigned on account of poor health. He was popular with the masses of
the people and well liked by all who knew him, being universally admired
for his many excellent qualities of mind and heart.
JOHN SEATON.
The name and accomplishments of the late John Seaton appear prominently
in the history of the constructive period of the development of Kansas
and the city of Atchison. Destiny and natural endowments designed Mr.
Seaton to become a creator and builder; inherent ability also made him a
statesman and leader of men; design and inducement led him to locate his
enterprise, which was the work of his own hands and brain, in the city
of Atchison. In the course of time he was the gainer, becoming one of
the first citizens of Kansas, and Kansas and Atchison were doubly
gainers, because of him and his great work. What John Seaton wrought, in
an industrial sense, will live long as a monument to his energy and
enterprise; the record of right doing, honesty, plain living and his
work in behalf of his fellowmen in the halls of the State legislature
will live in the minds and hearts of his fellow citizens in the long
years to come.
John Seaton was a builder whose vision of a great industrial enterprise
in the city of the great bend of the Missouri came true in a material
sense, inasmuch as Atchison will continue to benefit through the
continued whirring of the industrial wheels which his genius set going.
While the evidence of his handiwork is visible, and the smoke of the
factory which he built will continue to be seen day after day as time
goes on, the greatest reminder of Mr. Seaton’s life on this earth will
be the lesson which his manner of living and his strict attention to the
highest duties of citizenship have left to posterity. Atchison suffered
a sincere loss when his demise occurred and his departure from the
realms of mortal ken created a void which could never be filled,
although Mr. Seaton’s work continues to exist after him.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_John Seaton_
]
John Seaton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 11, 1834, a son of John
M., and Elizabeth (Jones) Seaton, the former a native of Virginia and
the latter having been born in Vermont. John M. Seaton, the father, was
a soldier in the Mexican War and was killed in battle at the storming of
the heights of Cerro Gordo, Old Mexico. When John was three weeks old
his parents removed from Cincinnati to Louisville, Ky., where his
boyhood days were spent. He was eleven years of age when his father was
killed on the field of battle. He attended school until he was fifteen
years of age, and then began learning the trade of a machinist. A few
years later finds him working as a journeyman machinist in St. Louis,
Mo. In 1856 with a cash capital of two dollars and fifty cents, John
Seaton started a foundry at Alton, Ill. A natural aptitude for mechanics
and machinery appliances, combined with pluck, energy and perseverance,
enabled him to make a success of his first undertaking and the
enterprise prospered.
At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Seaton offered his services in
defense of the Union, and was commissioned a captain of Company B,
Twenty-second regiment, Illinois infantry. His first engagement was the
battle of Belmont under General Grant, and Captain Seaton was in command
of the skirmish line that opened this engagement. One of the precious
possessions of his family at this day is the personal letter he received
from the famous commander, commending him for the efficient manner in
which he performed the task allotted to his command. He served for one
year and then resigned his commission and returned to Alton to take
charge of his business. After the war Mr. Seaton remained in Alton in
charge of his foundry until 1872, when he removed to Atchison with his
entire force of fifty employees. He was induced to remove westward by
the fact that six months previous to the time of his removal to
Atchison, the city had voted $10,000 in bonds to any man who would
establish a foundry. He accepted the offer and the result was one of the
most beneficial industries ever located in Atchison. The Seaton foundry
gave employment to over 200 men, and he built up an industry which today
stands without a peer in its line in the West. The secret of Mr.
Seaton’s success lay in the fact that every detail of his business
received his direct supervision, and he insisted that only first class
work be turned out by his factories. For over eighteen years this
captain of industry carried his dinner pail with him to the foundry and
worked side by side with his men. He continued doing this after he had
attained to a position of wealth and affluence which enabled him to own
a home at the seashore at Orient, L. I., and could have retired from
active work at any time he chose. None but the finest finished products
were allowed to leave his establishment, and the name of Seaton and the
output of his plant are noted over the West for the excellence of the
finished manufactured materials and for their absolute reliability. In
addition to general architectural work, he filled orders for the Santa
Fe, Missouri Pacific and Ft. Scott and Gulf railroads, such as casting
locomotive wheels, smoke stacks, steam cylinders, etc., all known as
locomotive finished material products. The business of his large
establishment in Atchison was built up until it amounted to over
$250,000 annually, and the plant covered an area of 700×400 feet. Mr.
Seaton was in business continually from 1856 until the time of his
demise, January 12, 1912.
The activities of this noted citizen of Atchison were not confined
entirely to his business, but he took an active and influential part in
civic and political affairs after his advent in Atchison. His career
showed that he possessed statesmanship ability of a high order. For a
period of eighteen years Mr. Seaton was a member of the Kansas State
legislature, and so great was his influence in the house, and so long
and distinguished was his service that he became known throughout the
State as the “Father of the House.” His name is associated with many of
the important measures enacted into law by the State legislature, among
them being the binding twine factory law, which act is responsible for
the establishment of a plant for the manufacture of binder twine at the
State penitentiary. He probably did more for the success of the
“Douglass House,” during the legislative trouble of 1893 than any other
member of the Republican body. As a citizen and a legislator he enjoyed
the respect and esteem of the people of Kansas without regard to
political affiliations. He was opposed to the dominance of “trusts and
monopoly,” and it was his firm conviction that the great corporations
were devoid of feeling of a personal nature.
April 9, 1857, Mr. Seaton was married to Miss Charlotte E. Tuthill, of
Alton, Ill., and this marriage was blessed with five children: Mrs.
Lillie M. Hendrickson, of Atchison; John C. in California; Mary, wife of
Dr. W. H. Condit, of Kansas City; Mrs. Nellie Taber (Seaton) Byram,
deceased, and George L., married Amy Cox, of Weston, Mo., and resides on
South Fourth street, Atchison; John C. Seaton married Gertrude Hickman,
of Coffeyville, Kan. and resides in Kansas City and Los Angeles, Cal.;
Mrs. Charlotte E. (Tuthill) Seaton was born in Alton, Ill., November 10,
1840, a daughter of Pardon Taber Tuthill, who was born and reared on
Long Island, N. Y., and was a scion of one of the oldest American
families. The great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Seaton, John Tuthill,
known as Pilgrim John Tuthill, came from England with early settlers to
Long Island. The home built by Pilgrim John on Long Island in the early
part of the eighteenth century is still standing in a good state of
preservation. The ancestral home of the Tuthills is located in the
village of Orient, Long Island. On the maternal side an ancestor of Mrs.
Seaton, named Capt. Andrew Englis, commanded a company in the Revolution
and was a great patriot. Pardon Taber Tuthill was a pioneer in Alton,
Ill. He was a contractor and builder and in his later years devoted his
time and talents to horticulture. He was continually experimenting and
developed several new varieties of fruit. He was blessed with a
scientific mind and became famous as a horticulturist.
John Seaton was a member of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand Army of
the Republic, the Loyal Legion and the Knights of Pythias lodges.
Through him the Enterprise theater was rebuilt and remodeled in
Atchison, and he was always found in the forefront of public movements
to advance the interests of his home city. Socially Mr. Seaton was a
genial, approachable, unassuming gentleman, whose pride was manifest
concerning his Civil war record and the fact that he had amassed wealth
and attained a leading position in the civic life of his adopted State
through his own efforts, and built up his fortunes from the ground. He
was a man of undoubted integrity and was a noble character whose demise
was sincerely mourned by the whole city of Atchison. He was a kind and
indulgent husband and father. In his passing Kansas lost one of her best
and most widely known statesmen and Atchison one of her most useful
citizens. His was a life well spent in behalf of the city and State
where his name will long be remembered and revered as one of the honored
pioneers of a widely known city and great State which he helped to
create.
AARON S. BEST.
It is meet that considerable space in this history of Atchison county be
devoted to the stories of the lives of real pioneers of the county. The
old pioneers were the salt of the earth, and a stronger or more vigorous
race of men, never conquered a wilderness. In the class of the real, old
pioneer settlers, comes Aaron S. Best, retired farmer, of Effingham,
Kan. Captain Best has lived in Atchison county for nearly fifty-five
years, and has seen the country transformed from a vast tract of pasture
and grazing land to a region of fertile and productive farms, and well
built towns and cities. During all these years he has taken an active
and prominent part in county affairs, and in his younger days was a
political leader in his own neighborhood.
Aaron S. Best was born June 27, 1839, in Clinton county, Pa., a son of
John W. and Catharine (Schaefer) Best, of German descent, and native
born and reared in Pennsylvania. John W. Best was born in 1809 and died
in 1881. He was the son of Peter Best, a native of Pennsylvania, of
German parentage. In the year 1860, John W. Best, accompanied by his
wife and seven children, crossed the country to find a new home in
Kansas. He had made a trip to Atchison county in the previous year, and,
after carefully looking over the ground, made up his mind that the
country had a great future, and he decided to move his family so as to
make a permanent home in Kansas. The Best family arrived in Atchison in
March of 1861, and at once moved to a farm in old Monrovia. In June of
the same year, the wife and mother died, at the age of forty-five years.
The following children were born to John W. Best and wife: Mary and
Elvina, deceased, in Pennsylvania; Henry, living at Parr, Tex.; Louis,
Luther and Reuben, deceased; Mrs. Henrietta Lamberson, of Argentry,
Ark.; and Michael, deceased.
Aaron Best was twenty-one years of age when the family removed to
Atchison county. Being a Free State advocate, it was only natural that
he take some part in the struggle which finally made Kansas a free
State. When General Price’s threatened invasion of Kansas seemed
imminent, he assisted in raising a company of militia among his
neighbors and was chosen captain. This company marched to Westport, and
took part in the famous engagement which resulted in Price’s retreat to
the southward. Captain Best was in command of Company F, Twelfth
regiment, Kansas cavalry. Only two companies of the Twelfth regiment
were under fire, and Company F was one of these, Capt. Asa Barnes’
company being the other actively engaged. Captain Best’s horse was shot
from under him and badly crippled.
After coming to Kansas, he spent one year assisting his father on the
home farm, and then moved to a farm of his own, south of Monrovia, which
he developed from raw prairie land to a very productive farm, residing
on until 1907, when he rented his land holdings and retired to a
comfortable home in Effingham. The first land which Mr. Best owned was
bought by his father for $750, and he farmed this on the share plan for
six years, after which he paid his father $2,000 for 140 acres. His next
purchase was eighty acres of land nearby, and he continued to add to his
land possessions until he was the owner of 275 acres in all. In the
spring of 1914 Mr. Best sold his farm land for $21,000. His farm was one
of the best improved in Atchison county, and naturally brought a good,
round price, because of the good condition of the buildings and of the
fertility of the soil.
Mr. Best was married in February, 1860, to Malinda Bricker, and to this
union have been born one son and three daughters, as follows: Mrs. Ella
Rebecca Sharp, living at Helena, Mo., and mother of two children, Albert
and Twila; Mrs. Mary C. Bonnell, living on a farm southeast of
Effingham, and who has eight children, Nellie, Edith, Grace, Ruth,
Catharine, Lea, Claude, Malinda; Mrs. Emma Wood, of Council Grove, Kan.,
and mother of four children, Clara, Beulah Morris, Ralph, Esther; John a
merchant, of Monrovia, Kan., father of three children, Leota, Hazel, and
Blanche. The mother of these children was born in Hanover township,
Daulphin county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1837, and was a daughter of
Joseph and Rebecca (Lohs) Bricker, both of whom were of Pennsylvania
German ancestry, and died in their Pennsylvania home.
Mr. Best has always been allied with the Republican party, and has been
a stanch advocate of Republican principles for a long period of years.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and
contribute generously to the support of that denomination. He is
fraternally affiliated with the Odd Fellows Lodge and Encampment, No. 5,
and the Modern Woodmen. Physically and mentally, Mr. Best is a
remarkably well preserved man, when one considers his age and the fact
that he endured so many hardships in his first struggles to attain to
the position of affluence and comfort which he enjoys at present.
LOUIS C. ORR.
Faithfulness to duty on the part of public officials is always
appreciated by the people, and an official who regards his office as
other than a sinecure, is recognized as honest, capable and well
meaning. In Louis C. Orr, postmaster of the city of Atchison, Kan., the
patrons and citizens of Atchison have a capable and conscientious public
servant, whose sole interest is to see that the affairs of this
important Government office are conducted smoothly, and for the
convenience of the patrons of the postoffice. Although, in times past,
the Atchison postoffice has been looked upon as a sinecure, operated as
a well oiled piece of Government machinery with an efficient and well
trained force, Mr. Orr, since taking over the duties of his position,
has demonstrated that he can work as hard and efficiently as any of the
many employees making up the postoffice force. Probably no postoffice in
the State of Kansas is better conducted, or the welfare of the patrons
more carefully looked after than the Atchison postoffice, and credit is
due Mr. Orr for his diligent application to the duties of his office
since his appointment.
Louis C. Orr, postmaster of Atchison, was born August 3, 1857, in
McGregor, Iowa, a son of James and Man Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr,
concerning whom further mention will be found in the biography of James
W. Orr, brother of Louis C., in this volume. When Louis C. was eight
years of age the family removed from Iowa to Niles, Mich. Louis C. and
his brother James W. knew what poverty was in their youthful days, and
shared their hardships in common. Louis C. was ambitious to obtain an
education, and at an early age was compelled, by force of circumstances
over which he had no control, to practically earn his own living and the
wherewithal to obtain an education. For some years he and James W.
pooled their earnings and worked together for their mutual benefit, and
to this day this trait of brotherly devotion is present. Louis C.
attended school until he had attained the age of eighteen years, and he
then entered a drug store at Niles, Mich., in the capacity of clerk. He
remained in Michigan until 1885, when he came to Atchison. Kan., where
his brother, James W., had preceded him in 1881. Mr. Orr entered the
Government railroad mail service, and was employed in this capacity on
the Santa Fe Railway System, on the run from Atchison to Topeka, during
Grover Cleveland’s first administration. He then left the railway mail
service and was employed as clerk in the drug store of A. W. Stevens for
the following period of eight years. For the six years following he was
in charge of the paint department of the McPike Drug Company, a
wholesale drug firm then operating in Atchison, and since removed to
Kansas City, Mo. For four years, from 1907 to 1911, he served as city
collector of Atchison. He was engaged in the real estate and fire
insurance business until January, 1915. Mr. Orr was appointed postmaster
of Atchison December 29, 1914, by President Wilson, to take effect
January 4, 1915, although Mr. Orr did not begin his duties until January
15, 1915.
Mr. Orr was married in 1886 to Mary Isabelle Smith, of Richmond, Ind., a
daughter of John P. and Mary (Sedgwick) Smith, residents of Richmond,
Ind. One son has been born to this marriage, Richard Sedgwick Orr, born
in 1888, and at present employed as manager for the Standard Oil Company
in Atchison.
Louis C. Orr is a Democrat and is affiliated with the Christian
Scientist church. For the past twenty-five years he has been a member of
Lodge No. 127, Ancient Order of United Workmen. It can be said of him
that he is courteous, efficient and obliging to all with whom he is
brought in contact.
CARL LUDWIG BECKMAN.
Successful as an agriculturist, and again achieving success as a live
stock buyer and shipper, is a summary of the life and accomplishments of
Carl Ludwig Beckman, one of the best known and progressive citizens of
Effingham, Kan. Mr. Beckman’s live stock operations invoke the buying
and shipping of over fifty carloads of live stock yearly. In addition to
his business dealings, he also looks after his fine farm of 200 acres in
Benton township.
Mr. Beckman was born April 2, 1861, in Quincy, Ill. As the name
indicates, he is the son of German parents, his father, William Beckman,
having been born in Germany, in 1830, and was unfortunately killed by a
stroke of lightning in Burlington, Iowa, in 1863. When a young man,
William Beckman left his native land to seek his fortune in this
country. He located at Quincy, Ill., where he married Elizabeth Kipp,
who bore him four children, and was also born in Germany in 1824.
William Beckman removed his family to Burlington, Iowa, in about 1862.
The four children born to this couple were: William, a resident of
Parnell, Atchison county, Kansas; Mrs. Hannah Buhrmaster, living on a
farm in Benton township; Minnie, and Carl Ludwig, with whom this review
is directly concerned. The mother of these children later married Henry
Vollmer, a farmer, in Iowa, who gave her and the children a good home
and left his widow well provided for. Mrs. Vollmer, mother of C. L.,
resides at Mediapolis, Iowa.
When Carl was twenty years of age he left the farm in Iowa, and came to
Kansas in 1881, and in partnership with his brother, William, rented a
farm near Effingham for thirteen years, dissolving partnership in 1894.
Through purchase and by inheritance, on his wife’s part, Mr. Beckman and
his wife came into possession of 200 acres of land in 1894, upon which
they resided until 1908. In that year they bought a small farm of
thirty-five acres, one mile west of Effingham, upon which they resided
for three years, and then made a permanent home in Effingham. Since 1908
Mr. Beckman has been engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock,
with Robert M. Thomas as a partner in the enterprise, and has been very
successful in this business, being an accurate judge of live stock and
keeping abreast of market conditions.
He was married in 1894 to Miss Lebeldine Gersbach, born in Atchison
county in 1863, a daughter of Samuel and Catharine Gersbach, both of
whom were natives of Germany, and, after emigrating from their native
country to America, settled in Atchison county as early as 1854, and
were among the earliest pioneers of Kansas. Mr. Gersbach preëmpted land
and built up a fine farm which is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Beckman. Two
children were born of this marriage: Rosa, aged twenty years, and a
student in the Atchison county high school, class of 1916; and Pearl,
aged seventeen, also a student in the high school, class of 1916.
Mr. Beckman is a Republican in politics, and takes an interest in the
civic and political affairs of his home town and county. He is a member
of the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. Mrs. Beckman and daughters
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Beckman is a
stockholder of the Farmers’ Mercantile Association of Effingham, and is
generally found in the forefront of all undertakings which are intended
for the betterment and progress of conditions in his home city.
JAMES GRANVILLE MORROW.
We are taught that life is eternal; that when the course of man has been
run upon this earth and his work is done, his spirit returns to his
Maker and he is judged according to his deeds while a mortal among his
fellow creatures. This thought and belief is comforting alike to the
dying and the bereaved ones left behind to mourn their earthly loss for
the time being. Longfellow has written: “Life is real, life is earnest,
and the grave is not its goal; dust thou art, to dust returneth, was not
written of the soul.” So thought and so lived the late Capt. James
Granville Morrow, who at the time of his demise was the oldest living
pioneer resident of Atchison, and a man famed for his upright life and
beloved for his good and kindly deeds. Life was very “real and earnest”
to Captain Morrow and he enjoyed his earthly existence to the fullest
extent, the latter years of his residence in Atchison being the fullest
and best of all, in the sense that he indulged his taste and talents to
doing things which he loved, all the while being surrounded by a loving
wife and children whose respect and love he had to comfort him through
the greater part of his long and useful life. Captain Morrow lived in
such a manner as to endear him to all of his associates and he will long
be remembered as one of the noted figures of the pioneer and the present
era of Kansas development. It is meet that the life story of this truly
noble citizen be recorded in these annals of his county and city for the
inspiration and encouragement of the present and coming posterity for
all time to come.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_James G. Morrow_
]
James Granville Morrow was born on a farm in Wayne county, Kentucky,
June 27, 1827, a son of Jeremiah and Lydia (Holder) Morrow, both of whom
were born and reared in Kentucky. Jeremiah Morrow was the son of Matthew
Morrow, a native of Virginia, who was one of the early pioneers of
Kentucky, and of Scotch descent, his ancestors having emigrated from
Scotland to America in the early colonial period of American history.
Jeremiah Morrow, father of James G., was born in 1802, and after his
removal to Kentucky married Lydia Holder. Six sons and two daughters
were born to Jeremiah Morrow and wife, only one of whom survives, Mrs.
W. H. Crisp, residing in Kentucky. Their children were as follows:
Mahala, wife of Rev. W. H. Crisp, of Kentucky; Floyd, deceased; James
Granville, the subject of this review; Nimrod, deceased; Riley, William,
Nancy, deceased wife of John Pennington; Percy, deceased. Granville
Morrow spent his boyhood days on the family farm in Wayne county,
Kentucky, and at the age of sixteen years was sent to a select school.
He made his home with his parents until he attained his majority and
then set out to make his own way in the world. He dealt quite
extensively in horses which he drove from Kentucky to Georgia. He was
also associated with his brothers in raising, purchasing and selling
hogs, which they drove 400 miles into Georgia, where they were sold to
the Georgia planters. Sometimes a single planter would buy 500 head and
the price ranged from eight to nine dollars per 100 pounds, live weight.
The Morrow brothers frequently drove as high as 13,000 head, traveling
only seven miles a day. There were no railroads in those days, but the
country was dotted with stations. Hog cholera did not bother swine in
those days and it was Captain Morrow’s frequent expression that hog
cholera was a product of civilization and high breeding, and, although
the hogs were driven as far as 400 miles they did not lose weight on the
trip. The business of the Morrow brothers was not always profitable,
however, and they lost money on some of the trips. Mr. Morrow abandoned
the business in 1850, and in 1854 arrived in Atchison en route to
California, but he did not go any farther. On April 5, 1854, he arrived
at Rushville Landing, now East Atchison. This was shortly before Kansas
was opened for settlement, and the only man living at that time on the
townsite of Atchison was George Million, who operated a rope ferry
across the Missouri river. Mr. Morrow found on landing at Atchison that
the overland train which he expected to join en route to the far West
had left, and, as he was ill he decided to wait for the next train.
Captain Morrow ate his first dinner in Kansas with Samuel Dixon at Dixon
Spring, now included in the city of Atchison. The food was ladled out of
a common kettle to which all the diners had access without style or
invitation other than “help yourself.” A tree trunk sawed off smooth
answered the purpose of a table on which the meal was served. While
waiting he found a job with Million and decided to remain in Kansas. In
the fall of 1854, he, with John Alcorn, bought out Portumous Lamb’s
ferry boat which was operated by horse power and a tread-mill, and from
that time on for seventeen consecutive years Mr. Morrow plied his ferry
between Atchison and Winthrop. In the fall of 1855 he began operating a
side-wheel steam ferry which had been brought here from Brownsville, Pa.
In 1857 he became captain of the steam ferry, “Ida,” later running the
steam ferry, “Pomeroy,” after which he went to Brownsville, Pa., where
he built the transfer boat, “William Osborne,” remaining there eight
months while the work was in progress. When he brought the “William
Osborne” to Atchison it was loaded with 300 tons of rails for the
Central Branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad, now the Northern Kansas
Division. This boat also conveyed across the Missouri river the first
locomotives used on the road after its construction.
Not long after his arrival in Atchison Captain Morrow began to
accumulate land, and in 1869 turned his attention to farming, retiring
from the steamboat business entirely in 1871. He accumulated 1,240 acres
of rich bottom lands in the Missouri river bottoms near East Atchison
which has never failed to produce a crop and is very valuable. He
formerly owned a section of land in Osage county, Kansas, near Lebo. He
also was the owner of two valuable farms on the Atchison side of the
river, 320 acres near Jacksboro, Texas, and owned considerable real
estate in the city, all of which has been left to his widow in trust for
his children and heirs. He was very successful as a wheat grower, and in
this way gained the greater part of his working capital. He erected a
beautiful home called “Enidan Heights” at Eighth and U streets, on the
south side of Atchison, where he spent his declining years in peace and
comfort. About 1875 he opened a general store in East Atchison which he
conducted until 1883. Those were still pioneer days, and the settlers in
the vicinity were poor and sometimes were unable to pay for the goods
they needed. The captain’s big heart and generous impulses frequently
led him to extend credit to patrons whom he knew would not be able to
pay for their purchases, and it was a favorite expression of his when
his clerk would report to him that a poor man wished credit, “Gracious
to goodness, if we don’t let him have the stuff he’ll starve to death.”
The captain sold hundreds of dollars’ worth of goods which were probably
never paid for, but his good heart would not permit him to see a fellow
creature in want for the necessities of life. This trait of kindness was
the predominating characteristic of his life and endeared him to
hundreds of people. After quitting the mercantile business Captain
Morrow devoted himself entirely to his farming interests and his
transfer business which he established in 1888 with his partners, later
becoming the sole owner of the business. He retired entirely from active
business pursuits and his farming in 1910 and spent the most of his time
working around the gardens of his fine home in Atchison. For years it
was his custom to drive back and forth to his big farm on the Missouri
side and he was gradually persuaded to abandon this activity. His demise
occurred December 2, 1915, after a brief illness, beginning with an
attack of la grippe, his great age and depleted vitality militating
against his recovery.
James Granville Morrow was married November 20, 1874, to Miss Sarah J.
George, and this happy marriage was blessed with the following children:
Della, born November 11, 1875, and died in 1904; Mary Etta, born in
Missouri March 17, 1880, dying October 2, 1880, and who is buried in
Orearville cemetery, Saline county, Missouri; James Granville George,
born September 16, 1878, married Ethel Worrell, and is the father of
four children: James Granville, Jr., John Worrell, Frances and Robert
George; Nadine, wife of John Raymond Woodhouse, who lives with Mrs.
Morrow, of Atchison, and mother of John Granville, born December 16,
1914; James G. Morrow resides in Buchanan county, Missouri, and has
charge of the immense Morrow farm in the Missouri bottoms. The children
of Captain and Mrs. Morrow have all been well educated and afforded
every facility for mind cultivation. Mrs. Nadine Woodhouse was educated
in Mount St. Scholastica Academy and the College Preparatory School of
Atchison, after which she completed her studies at Central College of
Missouri. Miss Della Morrow studied in Mount St. Scholastica Academy,
Midland and Central colleges, and Washington University, at St. Louis,
and was a bright and talented young lady prior to her demise. James
Morrow, the son, studied in the Atchison public schools and Midland
College. The mother of these children, Mrs. Sarah J. (George) Morrow,
was born March 30, 1853, near Orearville, Saline county, Missouri, a
daughter of Dr. James Jameson George, a native of Prince William county,
Virginia. Dr. George was born in Virginia November 25, 1810, a son of
William Henry George, a soldier in the War of 1812, who moved from
Virginia to Hardin county, Kentucky, in 1816 with his brothers, Moses
and Lindsey George, who settled at Shelbyville, Ky. The mother of Dr.
George was a member of the Jameson family, an old Virginia family. The
ancestry of both the George and Jameson families goes back to the pre-
Revolutionary days of the Virginia colony. Dr. J. J. George was a
graduate of the Transylvania College at Bairdstown, Ky., and also
studied at Lexington, Ky. He was married in 1841 at Mt. Sterling, Ky.,
to Mary (Catlett) Orear, a daughter of Robert Catlett Orear, who was
born in Mt. Sterling. Ky., January 30, 1814, and departed this life
March 27, 1876, in Johnson county, Missouri. Dr. J. J. and Mary George
were the parents of the following children: Robert died in June, 1905,
on his ranch in Coffey county, Kansas; Joel S., who resides at Peace
River Crossing, Alberta, Canada; Mary E., wife of J. H. Russell, died
June 28, 1911; Mrs. Malinda Morrison, of Tecumseh, Okla.; Benjamin
Franklin, born in Saline county, settled in Coffey county, Kansas, and
now resides in Denver, Colo.; Mrs. James Granville Morrow; two who died
in infancy; James Nelson contracted fever at Central College, and died
October 26, 1875, aged twenty-one years and twenty-nine days; Lee Davis,
a ranchman, of Coffey county, Kansas. Four of these children were born
in Kentucky, and the last four were born in Missouri, where the family
removed in 1850.
Dr. George was a minister of the Gospel and a member of the Methodist
Episcopal conference in Kentucky from 1838 to 1839. He came to Missouri
to farm and preach the Gospel, but was impressed very early in his
western career with the woeful dearth of skilled medical care for the
sick and ailing of the backwoods country, and was frequently called to
the bedside of people who were supposed to be dying, and whom he
realized could be easily saved with some medical attention. Fired with
zeal to assist an unfortunate and suffering people, he conceived the
worthy idea of studying medicine, so that he could be of material
assistance to his people other than in a religious sense. He returned to
Kentucky and entered the Medical College at Lexington. After completing
his course he returned to Saline county, Missouri, and engaged in the
practice of his profession until old age came upon him. He then removed
to Cass county, Missouri, and became a local minister. His was a long
and useful life, every matured year of which was given in behalf of his
fellowmen, unselfishly and devotedly. He was one of the noted
missionaries of the early days in Missouri and extended the word of the
Gospel to the remotest settlements. He organized churches and Sunday
schools where they seemed needed most and his work called him to preach
the Word in log houses and the most primitive habitations of man. Dr.
George was deeply in love with his great work, and loved the people, and
worked tirelessly for their well being in a religious and practical way.
He departed this life August 4, 1875. The last public utterance which he
made was when he spoke to a Sunday school assemblage in Coffey county,
Kansas, in the village of Key West. His end was peaceful and tranquil,
and the departure of this good man’s soul to the realms beyond mortal
kin marked the passing of one of the truly great men of the western
country whose work will go on and on forever. Dr. George and Captain
Morrow became great friends in the early sixties.
On Thanksgiving day of 1915, just the day before Mr. and Mrs. Morrow’s
forty-first wedding anniversary, the captain’s last illness began which
resulted in his passing away. His burial occurred on December 4 from
Trinity Episcopal Church, Rev. Otis E. Gray officiating, with the
Masonic lodge of Atchison conducting burial service at the grave. He was
for many years a Mason and was greatly interested in the Masonic
fraternity, rarely being absent from the lodge meetings, his last spoken
regret having been that he would be unable to attend the ceremonies held
at the laying of the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple in Atchison.
The last five years of Captain Morrow’s life were perhaps the most
satisfactory and the happiest of his existence. His years of retirement,
although few as compared with that of most men, were spent almost
entirely at his beautiful home, with occasional visits to his farm
lands. He was loath to retire, and did so only at the urgent insistence
of his devoted wife, and for quite a long time after he was eighty years
of age he would insist on driving across the river to his farm. He took
the greatest pleasure with his grandchildren, and especially with his
namesake. In his later years he became a specialist in gardening and
fruit growing merely for his own satisfaction and would frequently
surprise his family with some very choice and rare fruits grown in his
gardens and orchards. From his orchard of peach trees he gathered over
400 bushels of peaches in one season, and also set out an apple orchard
which he attended assiduously. He became a disciple of the famous Luther
Burbank and was a member of the Luther Burbank corporation. Through the
exercise of his skill as a fruit grower be produced several kinds of
rare berries and was continually experimenting in small fruits and
vegetable growing. It was fitting that the life of Captain Morrow should
close in such a manner and that during his last years he was permitted
to indulge himself in his favorite pursuits, surrounded with the loving
and watchful career of his devoted wife, who was always his confidant
and adviser, and to whom he went in time of stress or trouble for
comfort and advice. His was a life well spent and his memory will live
long in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best.
ORLANDO C. SCOVILLE.
In the northeast part of Benton township, in a comfortable farm home on
section 11, range 18, there resides the oldest pioneer settler of that
section of the county, the review of whose career takes one back to the
days of the Civil war when he shouldered a musket in defense of the
Union, and to the early days of Kansas history when the long freight
trains hauled by oxen and mules were leaving Atchison for the far West.
We are reminded of the Indian troubles which beset the hardy freighters
as they convoyed their treasures across the wide reaches of prairie and
mountain. In all these things Orlando C. Scoville, Union veteran, old-
time freighter, and pioneer farmer, participated, and it is meet that
the story of his life and adventurous career be recorded for the
entertainment of succeeding generations of men and women in order that
they might know how a wilderness was redeemed and what manner of men
their forefathers were and whence they came.
Orlando C. Scoville was born February 4, 1846, in Cook county, Illinois,
on a farm located just twenty-two miles from the city of Chicago. His
father was William Scoville, born in 1820, at Watertown, N. Y., a son of
Abijah Scoville, a native of Connecticut, and a scion of an old New
England family. Abijah Scoville was a carpenter by trade and his art was
transmitted to his descendants. William Scoville received a good
education in his native State, and taught school in New York when a
young man seventeen years old. As early as 1842 he came west, to Cook
county, Illinois, and owned a farm in that county which he cultivated
until 1865 when he came to Atchison, Kan., where he first engaged in the
handling of live stock. Later he was in the lumber business with a Mr.
McCoy, who later sold out to Henry T. Smith, and he and Smith conducted
a wagon and lumber business on Utah avenue, just east of the old
Episcopal church, between Fourth and Fifth streets. William eventually
sold out his business and moved to a farm in Benton township, south of
where his son, O. C., lives, and there died in December, 1891. Previous
to removing to his farm he was foreman of the Hixon Lumber Company’s
interests in Atchison. The mother of Orlando C. was Lucinda Lasher, whom
William Scoville married in New York, and who removed to Arrington after
her husband’s death, and there died in November, 1893, at the age of
seventy-five years. William and Lucinda Scoville were the parents of
seven children, two of whom died in infancy: Imogene, wife of A. W.
Mulligan, of Blue Rapids, Kan.; Orlando C.; Eulalie, died in Atchison in
1866, and is buried in Oak Hill cemetery; Freeman, a railroad engineer
for many years, and who died at Arrington, in 1911; Giles, a successful
law practitioner, located in Chicago, and who studied law under the late
Senator John J. Ingalls.
O. C. Scoville was reared to young manhood on the farm in Cook county,
Illinois, and when eighteen years of age enlisted (1864) in Company B,
One Hundred and Thirty-second regiment, Illinois infantry. He served for
six months in the Army of the Tennessee, under General Thomas, and took
part in the several hard-fought battles, among them being the battle and
siege of Atlanta. His command started on the march with Sherman, to the
sea, but were turned back by department orders. After his war service
expired he came to Atchison and joined the family. His first occupation
in Atchison was the operating of a wagon shop, just across the street
from the Blair Mill, and it is a matter of history that his shop was
used as the first depot of the Central Branch railroad, then building.
He ran the wagon shop for two years and then made two trips across the
continent in the capacity of freighter and convoying a herd of cattle.
In 1867 he was one of the freighters in charge of the first train sent
over the Smoky Hill route for Butterfield to Denver. The live stock was
run off by the Indians during this trip, and Butterfield came out and
found them after four weeks’ search; his next trip was to Salt Lake
City. In 1868, he with others, drove a herd of milch cows which had been
sold by McCoy to a man named Murray, and consigned to him in California.
This trip required eighteen months to consummate, and they were forced
to winter in the Antelope valley on Walker river. After taking the
cattle to their destination he returned across the mountains to Reno,
Nev., and there boarded the train for the rest of the journey home, Reno
at that time being the western terminus of the railway. During 1869 he
worked for one year in the engineering corps of the Santa Fe railroad,
and in that winter his father bought his present farm in Benton
township. In the fall of 1872 he moved to the farm where he has resided
continuously for the past forty-three years. In 1893 he bought the farm
formerly owned by the family and has increased his acreage until he and
his son are the owners of 400 acres of land, the latter owning 180
acres, upon which formerly stood three sets of farm buildings, one of
which was destroyed by fire in April, 1915. His present residence was
erected in 1893.
Mr. Scoville was married in Atchison May 8, 1873, to Virginia Williams,
born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, in 1854, and a daughter of
Alexander Williams. Her father died when she was very young and she came
with her mother and stepfather to Missouri in the early pioneer days
when her mother died and she was adopted by Mrs. Miller, a music
teacher, of Atchison, Kan. Three children were born to this union,
namely: Katie died in infancy; William C., born August 10, 1875, married
Myrtle Lollar, and has two children, Earl, born December 13, 1911, and
Alice, born May 16, 1914. William C. is the only living son of Orlando
C. Scoville. Mrs. Scoville died in October, 1913.
This sturdy pioneer has been a Republican ever since he cast his first
vote, and is one of the true blue variety who prides himself on being a
“stand-patter,” who believes thoroughly in the principles of his party
and will never desert the standard of Republicanism. He has never held
office and has never been a seeker after political preferment; has never
been a party to a law suit, never served on a jury, and has been called
only once in his lifetime to the witness stand. He has endeavored at all
times to live at peace with all mankind and has succeeded to such an
extent that at a ripe old age, this pioneer settler of Atchison county
is living in peace and comfort in the home which he created out of a
wilderness.
Mr. Scoville cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in St. Louis, in
1864.
JOHN JAMES INGALLS.
John James Ingalls, author, lawyer, and United States Senator, was born
in Middleton, Mass., December 29, 1833, a son of Elias T. and Eliza
(Chase) Ingalls. He was descended from Edmond Ingalls, who, with his
brother, Francis, founded the town of Lynn, Mass., in 1628. His father
was a first cousin of Mehitable Ingalls, the grandmother of the late
President Garfield. His mother was a descendant of Aquilla Chase, who
settled in New Hampshire in 1630. Chief Justice Chase was of this
family. After going through the public schools Ingalls attended Williams
College, at Williamstown, Mass., graduating in 1855. He then studied law
and was admitted to the bar in 1857. The next year he came to Kansas and
in 1859 was a member of the Wyandotte constitutional convention. In 1860
he was secretary of the territorial council and was also secretary of
the first State senate, in 1861. The next year he was elected State
senator from Atchison county. In that year, and again in 1864, he was
nominated for lieutenant-governor on the anti-Lane ticket. During the
Civil war he served as judge advocate on the staff of Gen. George W.
Deitzler with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1865 Mr. Ingalls
married Miss Anna Louisa Chesebrough, a descendant of William
Chesebrough, who came to this country with Gov. Winthrop in 1630. Her
father, Ellsworth Chesebrough, was a New York importer who came to
Atchison, Kan., in 1859, and at the time of his death, in 1860, was an
elector on the Lincoln ticket. Of this union eleven children were born,
six of whom were living at the time of Mr. Ingalls’ death, viz:
Ellsworth, Ethel, Ralph, Sheffield, Marion and Muriel.
[Illustration:
_John J. Ingalls_
]
In 1873, “Opportunity,” of which Mr. Ingalls wrote in his declining
years, knocked at his door. He was made a candidate for United States
senator at a private caucus one night and was elected by the legislature
the next day. His career at Washington, covering a period of eighteen
years, was one of great brilliancy. He quickly acquired distinction, and
Speaker Reed remarked before he had learned the name of the new senator:
“Any man who can state a proposition as that senator does is a great
man.” As a parliamentarian he was unsurpassed. Senator Harris, a
Democrat from Tennessee, said: “Mr. Ingalls will go down upon the
records as the greatest presiding officer in the history of the senate.”
His speeches made him famous. He was the master of sarcasm and satire,
as well as of eulogistic oratory. His address on John Brown, a speech of
blistering satire; the one delivered in Atchison after his vindication
in the senate; and his eulogies of Senator Hill and Senator Wilson are
classic masterpieces, seldom if ever excelled in oratory. Senator
Ingalls was a strict partisan, an invincible champion of any cause, and
a bitter and persevering opponent. During his three terms in the senate
his greatest efforts were in the advocacy of the constitutional rights
of the freedom of the South and the rights of the veterans of the Civil
war. When a wave of Populism came over Kansas it found him practically
unprepared. He had given little attention to the money question and the
tariff, and it was these things which were clamoring for solution. He
was defeated by the Populists for senator in 1891. Mr. Ingalls said many
times that he valued a seat in the senate above any other honor in the
gift of the American people. As an author Mr. Ingalls won his reputation
first by a number of articles appearing in the old _Kansas Magazine_,
among which were “Cat-Fish Aristocracy” and “Blue Grass.” His poem,
“Opportunity,” is worthy to be classed with the greatest in the English
language, and it may yet outlive his reputation as an orator and
statesman and be his lasting monument. After leaving the senate Mr.
Ingalls retired from active life, traveled for his health, and died in
New Mexico, August 16, 1900. In January, 1905, a statue of him was
installed in Statuary Hall at Washington with fitting ceremonies, being
the first statue to be contributed by Kansas, although Mr. Ingalls
during his lifetime had urged upon the State to place one of John Brown
in this hall.
SIDNEY MARTIN.
A publication of this nature exercises its most important function when
it takes cognizance of the life and labors of those citizens who
attained prominence and prosperity through their own well directed
efforts and who were of material value in furthering the advancement and
development of the commonwealth. Sidney Martin came to Atchison county
in 1856 when a boy of eleven. He endured the hardships common to the
resident of Kansas previous to and during the Civil war period. He made
several trips between Atchison and Denver as a freighter; drove over
some 400 miles of country infested with Indians and narrowly escaped
death at their hands. He bought the first section of land that was sold
in the Kickapoo reservation and became one of the most successful
farmers and stock breeders in northeastern Kansas. He was actively
identified with the development of this section of the State and
attained prominence and influence as a citizen.
Sidney Martin was a native of Kentucky, born in Estill county on
November 1, 1846, a son of Jackson H. and Polly (Walters) Martin. His
ancestors, paternal and maternal, were among the first to settle in the
Virginia colony, coming from England in 1607. His father, Jackson H.
Martin, best known to the residents of Atchison county as “Uncle Jack”
Martin, was also a Kentuckian, born in Estill county on January 15,
1812, a son of Robert and Mary (Harris) Martin, both of whom were
natives of Virginia. Robert Martin served in the War of 1812 and was a
commissioned officer. The epaulets from his uniform were in the
possession of the family until a few years ago. Subsequent to this
service he removed to Kentucky and was one of Daniel Boone’s companions
and was with him during many Indian fights. He was one of the pioneer
settlers of Estill county.
Jackson H. Martin, or “Uncle Jack,” as he was commonly called, was
reared in Estill county, married there, and in 1855 brought his family
to Buchanan county, Missouri, where he lived one year. In the spring of
1856 he came to Kansas and settled at Mormon’s Grove. The place derived
its name through being a former Mormon emigrant settlement. It was about
five miles from Atchison. “Uncle Jack” and his family occupied the
Mormon cabin until he could build one of his own. He preëmpted a quarter
section of land at this point and engaged in farming. A native of
Kentucky, a Democrat as well, he naturally became involved in the
turmoil of events preceding the Civil war. For the protection of himself
and family, he built a double wall of stone and earth around his
dwelling. This caused it to be called Ft. Martin. The place was attacked
one night by Jayhawkers who were after horses. The attacking party were
driven off without booty and several of their number were wounded.
“Uncle Jack” continued to reside at Ft. Martin until 1878, when he
became a resident of Effingham. He built the Martin Hotel and conducted
it for a number of years. He was a success as a host, his hotel was
famous for its cookery and hospitality and Effingham the gainer by his
coming. His death occurred in April, 1902, at the age of ninety years.
He had lived an eventful life, had watched Kansas grow from a sparsely
settled, faction-torn border State to one of the most prosperous
agricultural commonwealths of the Union. He had met many of the most
famous men of her formative period, and was a personal friend of John A.
Martin, Paddy Brown, Governor Glick and Charles Robinson. His wife,
Polly Walters, whom he married in Estill Springs, Ky., died in April,
1895. They were the parents of four children: Ann Elizabeth, the wife of
William Hight, of Fremont county, Colorado; Sidney, the subject of this
review; Mary W., widow of Gilbert Keithline, of Atchison county, and
Sally, widow of Henry Woodard. Twins died in infancy. Martha died at the
age of sixteen years. Sally (Martin) Woodard was born in Estill county,
Kentucky, in 1852, and came with her parents to Kansas in 1856. She was
reared on the old Martin farm in Atchison county, and in 1869 married
Henry Woodard, who was born in Evansville, Ind., in 1844. He was a son
of Philander Henry Woodard, who came to Atchison in the early sixties
and engaged in the milling business. After his marriage Henry Woodard
settled on a farm in Jackson county, where he remained until 1874, when
he located in Effingham and engaged in the mercantile business. He
followed this line of occupation until a few years before his death
which occurred May 30, 1914. He is survived by his widow and the
following children: Philander Henry, Jack Martin, Gilbert Campbell,
Dorothy, wife of Elmer Percival, of Sheridan county, Kansas; Helen Lee,
wife of Rolla Taliaferro; and Sally Bernice, a student in the Atchison
Business College.
Sidney Martin acquired his education in the schools of Atchison, and
later completed a course in the Platte City (Missouri) Academy. He was
reared on his father’s farm, near Atchison, and assisted in its carrying
on until about sixteen years of age. He then secured employment with Mr.
Teuschau, a pioneer French trader and freighter, who had an Indian wife.
He was also with the Scotch freighter, Kisskadden, on several trips. The
latter recommended him as a capable guide and driver to G. T. Smith, who
wished to secure the services of some one who could take his wife and
baby, and the aged wife of his partner, from Atchison to Denver in 1864,
where Smith owned a hardware store. Although but sixteen years of age,
young Martin secured the job. This was in 1864, a time when the Indians
were on the war path and Smith’s wagon with young Martin as driver,
started alone, but joined a freighting outfit numbering some forty
wagons and drivers. Just before they reached Ft. Kearney at Big Sandy,
they met fleeing Blue River ranchmen, who were hurrying to the nearest
settlement, and who told them the Indians were on the war path. They
stayed all night at the home of a settler and heard the following day
that Indians had murdered the settler’s family and burned their house.
The wife of Smith’s partner was insistent on a proper observance of the
Sabbath day, and while in the Indian country caused Mrs. Smith to order
that their wagon remain in camp over Sunday. The wagon train left them
behind and the Lord’s day was properly kept by the women, although they
were warned by Martin that it was dangerous to leave the protection of
the train. As related by Martin “that was the longest day I ever spent.”
About midnight he fed and harnessed the team and started on with the
intention of joining the train of eleven men and wagons which had
preceded them. At sunrise they reached a lone ranch and its owner, who
was postmaster, told Martin the wagons were just ahead, over the first
hill. Here he mailed a letter to his mother. On arriving at the hill top
Martin was able to see the valley where the train had camped. The wagons
were in flames, had been robbed of their contents, a large part of which
was whiskey. Two women were taken captives and the eleven freighters had
been killed and scalped by Indians. The savages had indulged in the
captured whiskey and were so thoroughly stupefied that they were
incapable of riding a horse and also failed to follow the wagon which
Martin drove. He wheeled his team and drove them at full speed to the
nearest ranch and found the buildings burned. They drove on to the next
ranch where they secured protection, a company of soldiers arriving
there the same day. The officer in command was drunk and refused to
attack the red-skins that night when victory would have been easy. When
the company reached the scene of the massacre the following day, the
Indians were not to be seen. Martin’s next stop was at another ranch and
here Mr. Smith joined the wagon, having rushed forward in the belief
that Martin had been killed and the women captured by the savages. On
parting from his charges Martin was given a plain band gold ring by Mrs.
Smith with her blessing. He made several other trips across the plains,
the last one with his father, “Uncle Jack” Martin, which took them to
Montana. When the Kickapoo Indian reservation was thrown open to
purchase, Sidney Martin bought the first section that was sold and
several years later he bought the last, becoming the owner of 560 acres
in one body. He entered actively into the developing of his raw land and
brought it up to a highly productive state. He became widely and
favorably known as a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, and from time to time
purchased additional acreage until his holdings in land were extensive,
owning at one time 747 acres, at the time of his demise. He took an
active part in political affairs of his section, and, while disinclined
to accept office, was called upon frequently for counsel and advice. He
was a man of keen perceptions, knew men and the motives which actuated
them, and was a student thoroughly familiar with the questions of the
day. He numbered among his close personal friends, Governor Glick. His
death occurred on January 3, 1904.
Mr. Martin married on February 20, 1868, Miss Mary Elizabeth White, a
daughter of George B., born May 10, 1815, and Mary Elizabeth (Lindsay)
White, born December 14, 1820, the former a native of Woodford county,
Kentucky, and the latter of Carroll county. They were married January
25, 1839. She died September 25, 1860, while the family was residing in
Missouri. After the death of his wife, Mr. White came to Atchison and
engaged in the grain business. With S. R. Washer he built the first
elevator in the city of Atchison. He died in November, 1900. Mrs. Martin
was born on May 15, 1848, while her parents were living in Missouri. On
the maternal side she is descended from the Blackburn family, members of
which fought with the Continental troops in the war for independence.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Martin became a resident of the
city of Atchison, where she has since resided.
ROBERT M. THOMAS.
In every community we find that there are some individuals who seem
naturally endowed with the ability to go ahead and do things and take a
place of leadership among their associates. Robert M. Thomas is one of
those who possess the natural endowments, peculiar to leadership and the
ability to make things go with which he is connected. A successful
farmer, a good citizen and business man, makes an excellent combination,
and Mr. Thomas has made his mark in his community as a progressive and
enterprising citizen.
Robert M. Thomas was born in Buchanan county, Missouri, February 2,
1868, a son of Moses and Katie (Critchfield) Thomas, who were born and
partly reared in old Kentucky. The parents of both were early settlers
of Buchanan county. Moses was the son of Robert Thomas, and the father
of his wife was Martin Critchfield. They were Southern born, and were
descendants of old Southern families. Moses Thomas was born in 1843, and
still resides in Buchanan county; his wife, Katie, was born in 1850, and
is still living. The Thomas family has a farm of 140 acres in Buchanan
county, upon which was reared a large family of eleven children, nine of
whom are living: Robert M.; John, deceased; Walter, living in
California; Forrest, residing in St. Joseph, Mo.; Harriet and Cecil, at
home; Ollie, deceased; Louise, Margaret, Cora and Ellen, at home with
their parents.
R. M. Thomas received his education in the public schools of his native
State and assisted his father in the operating of the home farm until
1892, when he married and farmed for three years in Buchanan county,
Missouri, and then worked his farm in Platte county, Missouri, for four
years. His first purchase of land was in 1899 when he invested in a farm
of 120 acres in Buchanan county, which he sold three years later at a
profit over the original purchase price. In 1902 he bought another farm,
and in 1903 located two and one-half miles northwest of Effingham in
Benton township. This farm comprises 160 acres and is now one of the
best improved places in the neighborhood. Mr. Thomas did so well in
Atchison county that he was enabled to buy another farm of 160 acres in
1912. This farm is located in Grasshopper township, about three miles
north of Muscotah. Upon the organization of the Farmers’ Mercantile
Company in June, 1913, in which Mr. Thomas took an active part, he
assumed the managership of the same and attends to his business during
the day, while still making his home at the farm. This plan gives him an
excellent opportunity to oversee his farming operations at all times.
Mr. Thomas was married in 1892 to Katie Stanton, of Platte county,
Missouri, a daughter of William and Cynthia (Hall) Stanton, natives of
Platte county, and of Eastern origin. To this union the following
children have been born: William, married Pearl, daughter of Thomas O.
Gault, and is managing his father’s farm, two miles north of Muscotah;
Clara, a graduate of the Atchison County High School, and a teacher in
the public schools; Margaret, Ollie and Jessie, students in the county
high school; Elva, Emma, Robert M., and Daisy, attending the district
school near their home.
Mr. Thomas is a Democrat in politics and has filled the office of
trustee of Benton township one term. He and his family are members of
the Christian church. He is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows
lodge.
The Farmers’ Mercantile Association, of which Mr. Thomas is the manager,
was organized in June of 1913 for the purpose of handling grain, coal,
feed and seeds. The capital stock of the concern is $10,000, of which
$6,800 is fully paid up. The officers of the association were:
President, C. A. Taliaferro; vice-president, Stewart Hefflefinger;
secretary and manager, R. M. Thomas; treasurer, C. M. Snyder. The
directors are: C. A. Taliaferro, S. Hefflefinger, Charles M. Snyder,
John E. Sullivan, R. M. Thomas, E. H. Cawley, W. M. Sutter, R. B. Hawk,
Reuben Hargrove. The present officers are the same with the exception
that Reuben Hargrove is now serving as the vice-president, and Fred
Wyatt was elected to fill the vacancy in the board of directors, caused
by the demise of C. A. Taliaferro and Edward High succeeded W. M.
Sutter. The concern has a grain elevator with a capacity of 8,000
bushels. The largest shipment of grain made in any one year has exceeded
115,000 bushels.
WILLIAM McADAM.
William McAdam, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan., was born February 6,
1861, in Sterlingshire, Scotland, and is a son of James and Helen
(Macnee) McAdam, who, with their children emigrated from their native
country in 1882 and settled on a farm near Effingham in Atchison county,
Kansas. They reared a family of five children, of whom William is the
oldest, the others being as follows: Mrs. Jane Drummond, of Ellenville,
Kan.; George, of Holton, Kan.; Mrs. Nellie Drummond, residing in
Cottonwood Falls, Kan.; and James, living at Holton, Kan. The father of
these children was born in 1820, and died in 1885, just three years
after coming to America. He was a hard-working, industrious farmer. The
mother was born in 1839 and departed this life in May, 1899.