Biographical History of Barton County, Kansas
Great Bend, Kansas, Great Bend Tribune, 1912
BIOGRAPHICAL
HISTORY OF.BARTON COUNTY. KANSAS.
DEDICATED
To the pioneers of this section of Kansas to whom too much credit
cannot be given for undergoing the hardships and privations that were necessary
in reclaiming that part of the Great American Desert now known as Barton
County. Kansas, one of the richest and most prosperous sections of the country
where the homes of the residents are surrounded by all that makes life worth
living, where the best of educational and religious advantages are found and
where the people are happy, progressive and contented. .
GREAT BEND, KANSAS
PUBLISHED BY GREAT BEND TRIBUNE
Copyright Applied For 1912.
PREFACE
The publication of this volume was made possible by the people of
Barton County, who responded liberally when called upon for subscriptions to
cover the cost of getting the data and printing the book. We undertook this
work as the result of many requests that we publish a book of this kind. We
realized the enormous amount of work that would be necessary before the book
could be completed, and we also knew that it would require the outlay of
considerable money. However, we began the work in the summer of 1911 and
maintained solicitors on the road until the weather became such that the work
had to be abandoned in the field until the month of March of this
year—1912—when the work was again taken up and in so far as possible every land
owner and old timer of the county was seen personally and given an opportunity
to subscribe for a copy of the book. This work was continued until the first of
August at which time we had a sufficient number of orders for the book to
insure its publication, and while it has not been a profitable venture for us
as far as the financial part is concerned, we have profited by the knowledge we
have gained about the county's history, and have found that the people of the
county appreciate the efforts of anybody when they are applied to the interest
of progress and enterprise. If the reading of this volume gives pleasure to the
old timers who helped to make the history contained herein, and the younger
generation can get some inspiration and guidance from the stories of their
fathers our efforts have not been in vain and we are satisfied with the work we
have done.
TRIBUNE PUBLISHING CO.
We make grateful acknowledgement to the following for their aid in
compiling these pages: B. B. Smyth, D. N. Heizer, "Inman's Tales of the
Trail," the Newspapers of Barton County, and others who in any way
contributed to the success of this work.
THE first white
man who ever saw the New Kansas was the Spaniard, Coronado (Francisco Velasquez
de Coronado) from Mexico, who passed through in the winter of 1541-2 in search
of the famous and mythical "Seven Cities of Cibola" in the mythical
and Unknown province of Quivera. He was accompanied by quite a small army of
knights, common Spaniards, and Indians.
The object of the
expedition, as was the main object of nearly all early expeditions, was the
hope and expectation of finding gold in vast quantities.
Coronado's route
lay, as well as can be learned from the most reliable accounts, in a general
northeasterly direction, entering the territory near the Medicine Lodge river
in Barber County, thence northeasterly across the Arkansas somewhere near
Wichita, thence still northeasterly to the Missouri river near the northern
line of the State, or the 40th parallel of latitude, between which and the 30th
parallel, and between the 95th and 97th degrees of longitude the province of
Quivera was supposed to be.
After reaching
his most northeasterly point, and meeting with nothing but hardships and
disappointment, he returned somewhat the same way he came, though more to the
westward.
This expedition
having taken place before the settlement of Massachusetts, New York, or any of
the Eastern States, it thus appears that Kansas has an earlier history than any
of the eastern or northern states, if we may except the incursions made by
Norsemen and Icelanders into Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia about the
year 1,000, accounts of which, however, are not generally accepted.
The following
little poem nicely tells the story and the change in the territory between that
early day and 1879:
Eugene F. Ware, in Ft.
Scott Monitor
ln the half forgotten era,
With the avarice of old,
Seeking cities that were told
To be paved with solid gold,
In the kingdom of Quivera--
Came the restless Coronado
To the open Kansas plain;
With his knights from sunny Spain.
I11 an effort that, though vain,
Thrilled with boldness and bravado.
League by league in aimless marching,
Knowing scarcely where or why,
Crossed they uplands drear and dry,
That an unprotected sky
Had for centuries been parching.
But their expectations. eager.
Found, instead of fruitful lands,
Shallow streams and shifting sands.
Where the buffalo in hands
Roamed over deserts dry and meager.
Back to scenes more trite, yet tragic,
Marched the knights with armored steeds;
Not for them the quiet deeds;
Not for them to sow the seeds
Front which empires grow like magic.
Never land so hunger stricken
Could a Latin race remould;
They could conquer heat or cold--
Die for glory or for gold--
But not make a desert quicken.
Thus Quivera was forsaken;
And the world forgot the place
Until centuries apace
Came the blue-eyed Saxon race,
And it bade the desert waken.
Sturdy are the Saxon faces,
As they move along in line;
Bright the rolling-cutters shine
Charging up the State‘s incline,
As an army storms a glacis.
Into loam the sand is melted,
And the blue grass takes the loam
Round about the prairie home,
And the locomotives roam
Over landscapes iron-belted
Cities grow where stunted birches
Hugged the shallow water line,
And the deepening rivers twine.
Past the factory and mine,
Orchard slopes and schools and churches.
* *
* * *
* * *
We have made the State of Kansas,
And today she stands complete;
First in freedom, first in wheat,
And her future years will meet
Ripened hopes and richer stanzas
But if Coronado failed to discover the "Seven Cities,"
it was only because he started too soon. Those "seven cities with houses
five stories high, and shops in which the workmen work in gold and silver
exclusively," are yet to be found on that same identical ground. Those
cities are growing. They have not yet reached the wealthy condition pictured
out by those early Spaniards, in 1530 to 1540; but it is only a question of
time. It remains for some later explorer to discover those rich cities. All the
difficulty with Coronado was that he started out several hundred years too
early. How long yet will it be before they are discovered?
SUBSEQUENT EXPLORATIONS
THE first Americans to visit this region was Lieut. Zebulon M.
Pike's exploring party on their way west to the Rocky Mountains in 1806, the
same year that Aaron Burr was making such grand attempts to "make a
settlement on the Washita" in the territory of Louisiana. They followed
the trail of Spanish soldiers from the Pawnee village till they lost it among
the "numerous buffalo paths between the Smoky and the Arkansas."
Near midnight, on the 13th of October, 1806, the party reached the
most northerly bend of the Arkansas river (section 32, 5 or 6 miles east of the
city of Great Bend). The party arrived in a drenching rain, and remained two
weeks to rest and recruit their animals and lay in a supply of meat. At 10
a.m., October 28th, Pike, with most of his party went west along the north bank
of the river, and Lieut. Col. Wilkinson, Pike's superior officer, with a small
party, went down the river by boat. However, finding the river unnavigable,
they abandoned their boats after going down five or six miles, and landed on
the southwest bank of the river, near where the southwestern end of the
Ellinwood iron bridge now rests.—From Pike's Expedition.
In 1812 this trail was first traveled with pack mules by
McKnight's party. in 1818 Mr. Bringier came up the Arkansas.
In 1818 Mr.
Bringier came up the Arkansas, and speaks of finding a "large body of
blind coal, (anthracite), equal in quality to the Kilkenny, and by far the best
he had seen in the United States, immediately on the bank of the Arkansas in
latitude 38 deg. and longitude 98 deg," (about the place where Hutchinson
now is.)
—Marcy's Rep. p.
158, citing Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 3, p. 80.
In 1820 Maj.
Long's expedition passed through toward the west, the object, similarly to that
of Lieut. Pike, being to find, if possible, the sources of the Red river of
Louisiana.
On August 9th the
expedition reached "the narrowest part of the valley, at the great bend of
the Arkansas," (the same place that Lieut. Pike stopped, five or six miles
east of the city of Great Bend), and finding good feed for their horses, staid
over the 10th.—Long's Expedition.
In 1821, a
pack-mule train, sent out by Cooper & Bucknell of Boonvilie, Mo., went
through to Santa Fe. This was the commencement of the commerce of the plains.
In 1825, the
Santa Fe Trail, a wagon road from Independence, Mo., to Santa Fe, was
established by Major Sibley, under an act of congress.—Annals of Kansas.
The trail from
the east strikes the Arkansas river half a mile west of Ellinwood. Gregg's
Commerce of the Prairies, page 313, has the following:
DISTANCE TABLE
Independence, Mo., to-
Round Grove 35
35
Narrows 30
65
110 Mile Creek 30
95
Bridge creek 8
103
Big John Spring 40
143
Council Grove 2
145
Diamond Spring 15
160
Lost Spring 15
175
Cottonwood Creek 12
187
Turkey Creek 25
212
Little Arkansas 17
229
Cow Creek 20
249
Arkansas River (Ellinwood) 16
265
Walnut Creek 8
273
Ash Creek 19
292
Pawnee Fork 6
298
Coon Creek 33
331
Caches 36
367
Ford of Arkansas 20
387
Sand Creek (leave Ark. R.) 50
437
Cimarron River 8
445
Middle Spring (upper Cimarron) 37 481
Willow Bar 26
507
Upper Spring 18
525
Cold Spring (l've Cim. R.) 5
530
McNee's Creek 25
555
Rabbit-Ear Creek 20
575
Round Mound 8
583
Rock Creek 8
591
Point of Rocks 19
610
Rio Colorado 20
630
Ocate 6
636
Santa Clara Spring 21
657
Rio Mosa 22
679
Rio Gallinas (Vegas) 20
699
Ojo de Bernal (spring) 17
716
San Miguel 6
722
Pecos Village 23
745
Santa Fe 25
770
In 1832, Washington Irving visited Kansas as a tourist, came to
the Arkansas Valley, and gave this glowing account of its wilderness charms:
"After resuming our march we came in sight of the Arkansas.
It presented a broad and rapid stream bordered by a beach of fine sand,
overgrown with willows and cottonwood trees. Beyond the river the eye wandered
over a beautiful campaign country of flowery plains and sloping uplands,
diversified by groves and clumps of trees and long screens of woodland; the
whole wearing the aspect of complete and even ornamental cultivation, instead
of native wilderness. * * "We were overshadowed by lofty
trees, with straight, smooth trunks like stately columns; and as the glancing
rays of the sun shone through the transparent leaves tinted with the
many-colored hues of autumn, I was reminded of the effect of sunshine among the
stained windows and clustering columns of a Gothic cathedral. Indeed, there is
a grandeur in our spacious forests of the West that awaken in me the same
feeling I experienced in those vast and venerable piles; and the sound of the
wind sweeping through, supplies occasionally, the deep breathings of the organ.
"It was a bright, sunny morning with a pure, transparent
atmosphere that seemed to bathe the very heart with gladness. Our march
continued parallel with the Arkansas through a rich and varied country;
sometimes we had to break our way through alluvial bottoms and matted with
redundant vegetation, where the gigantic trees were entangled with grape vines
hanging like cordage from their branches; sometimes we coasted along sluggish
brooks, whose feebly trickling currents just served to link together a
succession of glassy pools imbedded like mirrors in the quiet bosom of the
forest, reflecting its autumnal foliage and patches of clear blue sky.
Sometimes we scrambled up broken and rocky hills from the summit of which we
had wide views, on one side over distant prairies, diversified by groves and
forests, and on the other, ranging along a line of blue and shadowy hills, beyond
the waters of the Arkansas."
In 1846, during the Mexican war, Gen. Kearney and Col. Doniphan
crossed to Santa Fe and stopped at the "Great Bend," August 18th. A
Mormon battalion also went west with their families, and having their ox yokes
tied across the bases of the oxen's horns after the primitive style pictured
out as having been followed in the east 5,000 years ago. Francis Parkman, Jr.,
historian, met this "the first army to pass through the Valley" on
his return from the Oregon Trail.—Parkman's Oregon Trail..
In 1849, during the California hegira, and subsequently, "the
Great Bend" became a noted point on this most noted of highways. For a
century, the Great Bend of the Arkansas has been known as the grand feeding
ground of the buffalo, and favorite hunting and bloody battle ground of the
Indian.
SCOUTING ADVENTURES IN 1853
By James M. Fugate of Barton County
INDIAN FIGHT AT THE ARKANSAS
IN April, 1853,
young, vigorous, and never having seen as much of the world as generally fills
the ambition of fellows in their early days of manhood, I engaged as teamster
to drive through with a train of ox-wagons loaded with merchandise for the
Santa Fe trade. We left La Fayette County, Missouri, the 24th day of April; our
company comprised 45 men, armed with the old-fashioned long-range rifles, each,
a Colt's navy revolver and bowie knife. Our teams numbered 210 head of cattle
in all.
Kansas was then
one vast wild plain, over which roving bands of hostile Indians were constantly
cutting off emigrant and freight trains on their way to New Mexico and the
Californias.
After leaving the
settlement some distance, we overtook twelve men with three wagons, who had
discovered there was danger ahead and were awaiting reinforcements before
venturing farther. This increased our fighting force to 57 robust, well-armed
men.
Our first serious
trouble began after reaching the Arkansas Valley, at a point near where
Hutchinson now stands, and where we had gone into camp about noon of May 21st.
While at dinner we were suddenly startled by the alarm cry "Indians!"
Before we had got
our teams and wagons fairly in corral, they were charging around us on their
horses, yelling and firing like demons. Taken at such a dangerous disadvantage
and surprise, we were just in that position which makes men fight with
desperation, and instantaneously our rifles were pealing forth their notes of
defiance and death to the dusky murderous foe.
We were
completely encircled by the savages, who proved to be Comanches, swinging upon
the opposite side of their ponies exposing but little of themselves to our aim
by firing under their horses' necks. Their deadly missiles were soon playing
havoc among our cattle. The creatures were madly surging and bellowing around,
endangering us to a death beneath their feet, worse to be feared within the
enclosure than the foe without. This new danger soon drove us outside the
enclosure of wagons in full view of the Indians.
We had now fairly
got our hands in and were tumbling their ponies at a rapid rate. Few Indians
after their ponies fell, escaped a rifle bullet. The Indians were narrowing
their circle until twenty-five yards scarcely intervened between us. But the
motion of their steeds unsteadied their aim until it was but random, while the
closer they pressed us the more destructive became every shot we fired.
Such fighting
could not last long. After the first few rounds the savages mostly substituted
the gun with the bow and arrows. Finding themselves getting most terribly
worsted in the combat, they made a dash to ride down and tomahawk us all in one
death struggle. I tell you, then, we had no child's play. Outnumbering, four or
five to one in a hand-to-hand fight to the death, is a serious thing. We were
soon mingling together, but driven against the wagons, we could dodge or parry
their blows with the tomahawk, while the rapid flashes from the celebrated
"navy" in each man's hand, was not so easily avoided by the savage
warriors. We made the ground too hot for them, and with yells of baffled rage,
they broke and fled, carrying off all their killed and wounded but three, which
they had to leave.
Now for the first
time since the fight began we had time to take in our situation. One of the
bravest and best of our comrades, young Gilbert, was shot through the heart
while fighting the savages back with clubbed rifle, his revolver having missed
fire. He lay as he fell, with his hand clenched around the stock of his gun as
though he would take the weapon with his departed spirit to the other world
where he might avenge his death upon the savages who had paid such a dear
penalty for their last work. Many others of our company were wounded, two of
them severely. The dead and dying ponies were scattered about on the prairie
with the arms and accoutrements of their savage owners about them; while
several of our cattle were also dead and dying from wounds made by missiles
aimed for us.
The remainder of
the day was spent in burying our poor comrade on the spot made sacred by his
life's blood (which we did as well as we could under the circumstances,) caring
for our wounded, and gathering up the spoils of the fight. We destroyed
everything belonging to the Indians that we could not carry away, and along
towards night-fall moved a mile up the river, where we went into camp.
After the
excitement consequent upon the fight began to subside, we had much to talk over
about our chances of fighting our way with such a small force through the
entire boundless plains before us to New Mexico. The future looked hopeless
indeed, but J. W. Jones who commanded the outfit, swore he would go to Santa Fe
or go to —. We dare not show the white feather, then.
FIGHT ON THE WALNUT
OUR progress was
necessarily slow. No adventure of any consequence happened until we reached the
Walnut Creek. Here we camped some 200 or 300 yards below the old trail, in a
horse-shoe bend, on the west side of the creek. No event occurred during the
night to show the presence of Indians; but about dawn of the next morning, as
the guards were turning the cattle out of the corral to graze, the
Indians—Cheyennes, some 500 of them, some mounted and more afoot,—immediately
tried to get possession of the cattle. Those on foot engaged the guards, while
those mounted tried to get between the catttle and the corral, thus cutting them
off. The firing immediately roused the camp to arms; and in the face of the
firing by the Indians we surrounded the cattle, and drove them back into the
corral.
Then the fighting
began in good earnest. At first we proved too much for them, and they retreated
into a low sag south of the corral; but quickly returned with more desperate
energy than at first. Then forming solid lines, six or eight deep, made a
forced charge on the wagons from the south, yelling like demons, and firing
through under the wagons. It never seemed as if so few men could stand such an
assault. Our men were prepared for them, however, and, firing from behind and
under the wagons, gave them a warm reception as they came up.
At the east end
they broke through and came into the corral; but of those who came through it
is a question if any ever returned. They were immediately shot and clubbed with
the guns. I broke my own gun-stock over the head of one of the miscreants.
There were nine of them left within the corral dead. The Indians, seeing the
fate that had befallen their comrades who went through under the wagons, began
a hasty retreat, and were quickly followed by the entire pack as fast as they
could run. They took refuge in a low range of sand hill along the Arkansas
river, some 60 or 80 rods to the south, from which they emerged occasionally
during the morning to harass us.
We followed them
up toward the sand hills, firing at them to the best possible advantage; but
when we had got as far as the low sag, we were ordered to retreat to the
wagons. Our wagon master, after the dead Indians, outside and in, were all
counted, reported 60 Indians killed. Our own loss was five killed and several
wounded, none mortally.
There was another
camp of 35 men, sent out by Majors & Russell of Missouri, about half a mile
west; and about 9 or 10 o'clock they formed a line and came down toward the
Indians. Seeing this we formed a line and advanced to join them, and move
together upon the Indians. They, upon the other hand, seeing our movement, beat
a hasty retreat across the river.
We buried our
dead on a point between two draws a little southwest of camp; and about 2
o'clock broke camp, and in company with Majors Russell's outfit, started
westward.
About 5 or 6
miles west we had a slight brush with the Indians, but nothing serious until we
arrived at Pawnee Rock, which we reached about 2 or 3 o'clock next day.
FIGHT AT THE ROCK
WE camped about
200 yards to the south of the rock. Nothing unusual transpired during the
night. About 8 o'clock next morning, just as we had brought our cattle up to
the corral, and were yoking them up, a band of Cheyennes, to the number of
about 300, suddenly made a dash from the north, part of the Indians coming in
on each side of the Rock, and immediately surrounded our corral of wagons, with
a terrible war-whoop.
The usual manner
of making such a corral was to form a circle with the wagons, running them as
close behind each other as possible, with the left-hand or driver's side
innermost. When the circle was complete, an opening the size of a wagon was
left for a gate, which was closed by a single wagon just inside the circle, so
placed that it could be run aside or back into the gap, or "gate,"
during the night, and times of danger, the cattle are kept within this enclosure
or "corral," as it is called; at other times they were turned out to
graze, in charge of several men. On the left-hand side of the wagon bed, above
the wheels, there was a small box about five feet long, prepared with a hinged
cover that pitched so as to shed rain. This box contained, in a convenient
position, the arms, ammunition, lunch, trinkets, etc., of the driver.
Leaving our
cattle as they were, some yoked, some partly yoked, we instantly seized our
weapons and pitched in vigorously to repulse the assault.
The Indians
opened a heavy fire from the start. They made strainers of our wagon boxes by
perforating them with bullets and arrow heads. The Indians who were mounted
fired high, and may possibly sometimes have hit some of their own men on the
opposite side of the corral.
After firing in
this way for a while, and finding they could gain nothing, they beat a hasty
retreat to the south, taking with them their dead and wounded, who were in
nearly all cases tied to their ponies, as was shown by the thongs that lay by
some of the dead ponies, where the riders had cut loose and got away.
In this fight we
had one man wounded, and several cattle killed.
From here on we
had to fight the Indians every few days. We had engagements at Pawnee Fork,
again near Dodge, again at Cimarron, here by the Apaches and Arrapahoes, again
at Mount Aubrey, Kearney County.
FIGHT AT MOUNT AUBREY
AT this place we
arrived the next day after the slaughter of a party of Spaniards who were going
east from Santa Fe, to purchase goods. We found ten dead Spaniards, and one
wounded, still living, with his scalp off, though he died the morning after.
At the first peep
of day, the next morning after we arrived there, the Indians—Apaches and
Arrapahoes attacked us, first firing on the guards, and then coming up by slow,
cautious movements, seeking every buffalo wallow, or other slight protection to
cover themselves. So stealthily and steadily did they advance that almost
before we were aware of it we had eight men lying dead. All this time we kept
up a vigorous and pointed fire, always aiming and firing with intent to kill.
About 10 o'clock,
finding they could not capture our train, they retreated the way they came,
leaving their dead on the ground. These, amounting to between 50 and 80, we
piled up on the plain and left for the coyotes and buzzards.
We remained here
four days, and buried our dead and the Spaniards—19 in all—in one trench. In
the meantime—and this we tell in a whisper—we amused ourselves at target
shooting, using for a target the head of some luckless Indian, which would be
placed in all conceivable positions to be shot at.
We had some more
fighting now and then until we reached Fort Bent, after which we were out of
the hostile country; and reached Santa Fe in safety, with what we had left of
men and animals. We lost no wagons, and carried our cargo entirely through.
INDIAN FIGHT ON LOWREY’S ISLAND OPPOSITE LARNED IN 1860
IT was a
magnificent September day in the early part of that month in the year 1860. The
amber mist of the glorious Indian Summer hung in light clouds over the rippling
Pawnee, and the sheen of the noon-day sun on the Arkansas made that silent
stream, where it broadens out lake-like, towards the now thriving little
village of Garfield, sparkle and scintillate until it was painful for the eyes
to rest upon. The low group of sand-hills loomed up white and silvery, like the
chalk cliffs of Dover. The box-elders and cottonwoods that fringed the
tributaries to the rivers were rapidly donning their Autumn dress of russet,
and the mirage had already, in the early mornings, commenced its weird and
fantastic play with the landscape.
Under the shadow
of the bluff, where Larned now reposes so picturesquely, hundreds of buffaloes
were grazing, and on the plateau above the crest of the hill, a few sentinel
antelopes were guarding their charge, now quietly ruminating their morning's
meal in the ravines running towards the river.
Near where
Brown's Grove is now located, under the grateful shade of the thickest clumps
of timber, about forty wigwams were irregu1arly scattered, and on the hills a
herd of two or three hundred ponies were lazily feeding, guarded by half a
dozen superannuated squaws, and a troop of dusky little children, who were
chasing the yellow butterflies from the now dried and dying sun flower stalks
that so conspicuously marked the broad trail to the river. This beautiful spot
was selected by Black Kettle, chief of the Cheyennes, for his winter camp,
where only a few weeks previously he had moved from the Canadian, and settled
with his band to hunt on the Arkansas Bottom, and watch his enemies, the
Pawnees, who claimed the same ground, and where year after year the most
sanguinary battles between the two tribes had been fought. Apart from the remainder
of the wigwams, and near the edge of the stream was the magnificent lodge of
Yellow Buffalo, the war chief of the Cheyennes. This lodge was formed of
beautifully porcupined and beaded robes, and its interior was graced with a
long row of scalps—the trophies of his fame as a great warrior.
On the morning of
the date above mentioned, I had reached the Arkansas at a point a few miles
east of the mouth of the Pawnee, on my way to Fort Larned from my ranch on
Sharp's Creek, (now in McPherson county,) and when near where Larned now stands
I noticed a large body of Indians in a stooping attitude, as though hunting for
something, and I supposed them to be some of my Knowa friends on the trail of
an enemy. I spurred my horse and rode toward them, when all of a sudden they
dropped in the grass, which convinced me of the error of my first supposition.
I was acquainted at that time with nearly all the tribes on the plains, and
particularly those who would probably be in that vicinity then, and with a fair
knowledge of the Indian character, I readily concluded that my covey in the
grass were a band of "Dog-Soldiers," of some tribe, either on the
war-path against some of the other tribes that roamed in the valley of the
Arkansas, or a party to steal horses, and in either event I had nothing to
fear, as the report of a gun would be the last thing they would want to hear
just then.
So I rode on, and
when within a hundred yards or so of the Indians, one rose, and holding both
hands up with palms to the front, in his own dialect called my name. I then
felt considerably relieved for I found myself among thirty-two Pawnees, who, as
I first supposed, were there to steal horses from the Cheyennes or Kiowas. On
hearing this fact, I told them that a few miles back on the trail, I had seen a
large number of Indians on the high prairie, scattered out as if surrounding
buffalo, or elk, but that I had seen no game, and now I knew their presence was
known to the Arkansas tribes, and that there were so many of these wild Indians
that the few Pawnees would all be killed if found.
They then told me
they wanted to reach the island in the river, and there they could fight all
the "Ingins" that would dare come, and if they got to the island before
the wild Indians found them, I must go to them and tell them that they were
there, and myself come and see the fight. That if I stayed on my horse, either on the east or
west side of the island, or on the hill on the northwest, I could see it all
and be safe from their bullets; and if they all got killed I should tell their
people how grandly and bravely they died.
I left them and
went on towards the Fort, and when within three miles of it, met "Yellow
Buffalo" with some two hundred of his warriors, with their paint on and
beating their drums.
"Yellow
Buffalo" was then about thirty years old, and as grand a looking Indians
as I ever saw. I delivered my message from the Pawnees to him, immediately upon
which the two hundred warriors raised the war-cry, which echoed and
reverberated in all the splendor of its savage grandeur over the prairie, and
which none but those who have heard it under such circumstances, can
appreciate.
Stung to the
heart by my message of defiance, "Yellow Buffalo" appeared the true
savage that he was, and the ferocity of his wild nature glared in his eyes as
he thought of the deep wrongs done to his tribe by the "dogs of
Pawnees!" as he called them, and appealed to his men that "now was
the time presented to them, to not only reap an adequate revenge, but add
lasting laurels to their wreaths as brave and skilful warriors."
We were a little
south of the old Santa Fe Trail, and he ordered his band to turn nearly due
south and then we loped off in the direction of the island. As we neared the
river bank we saw the last of the Pawnees, who had been watching our approach,
plunge into the stream and reach the island in safety, as our advance halted on
the spot where now rests the north end of the Larned bridge. It was now about 2
o'clock in the afternoon. The Cheyennes dismounted, and every tenth man went to
the rear to hold the horses and guard them from a possible flank movement on
the part of the Pawnees. I was honored by "Yellow Buffalo" with the
privilege of taking care of my own horse—which I am happy to say I did from a
position on the south end of the hill west of town, and as near the river as
was prudent for a non-combatant. Nearly all the Cheyennes were armed with
muzzle-loading rifles, and a third of them had large Colt's army revolvers. At
the command of their chief, "Yellow Buffalo," the Cheyennes formed a
line of battle, which seemed to extend up and down the river the whole length
of the island, while five or six of them acted as flankers.trying to be seen.
In those days the
island was covered only with thick willows, which concealed the watchful
Pawnees, who were rather better armed than the Cheyennes each having a Spencer
carbine and two revolvers, either army or navy pattern, besides their bows and
quivers well filled with arrows. When all was in readiness, and "Yellow
Buffalo" had made a proper disposition of his forces, he gave the order to
charge! Upon hearing his clear voice ring across the prairie, his warriors
responded with a most unearthly yell, that seemed to shake even the eternal
dunes of sand on the opposite side of the river, and then rushed pell-mell into
the Arkansas. The water was waist high, and as they advanced they still kept up
the infernal yell until they reached within ten feet of the island, when, like
a flash of light from a clear sky, came a sheet of flame from the edge of the
willows, promptly responded to by the braves in the water.
In an instant
however, much to my surprise, the Pawnees delivered from their ranks another
volley, followed immediately by the quick sharp crack of revolvers, which
seemed to completely overwhelm and discomfort the Cheyennes, all of whom beat a
hasty retreat to the main land. Their war-whoop ceased the instant they
commenced their backward march, and in a moment some twenty of the Pawnees
appeared above the willows and kept up a well directed fire on their foes until
the latter reached the bank of the river.
In this single
charge of the Cheyennes, thirteen were killed and twenty-three wounded evincing
a coolness and deliberation on the part of the Pawnees, not excelled by the
best organized troops. The Cheyennes, in their charge, showed their
characteristic recklessness and daring, but which counted for nothing in
results, as all the bullets were carried clear over the heads of the Pawnees
who were concealed by the friendly willows.
While the main
body of the Pawnees were keeping up their almost incessant fire upon the
retreating Cheyennes, three or four others rose at opposite ends of the island,
and opened with some well delivered shots with their carbines at the Cheyenne
flankers, so that the whole number became demoralized, and "Yellow
Buffalo" with all his painted warriors, fled as far back as where the Rev.
R. M. Overstreet's church now stands on Main street, and held a council.
"Yellow
Buffalo" then dispatched a messenger for reinforcements, and in about an
hour they arrived from south of the river to the number of some four or five
hundred, and upon their joining the other, "Yellow Buffalo" made the
same disposition of his now augmented forces as he had with his original army,
and then turned his command over to "Black Kettle," who had come on
the ground.
"Black
Kettle" kept his Indians in close order, and when they reached within
shooting distance of the island, the Pawnees opened upon them with a terrible
volley, and the most deafening and diabolical yells, and kept it up for at
least ten minutes. The poor Cheyennes returned the fire as best they could, but
invariably overshot the Pawnees, whom they could not see, so closely were they
hidden by the willows.
Meanwhile
"Black Kettle" ingloriously retreated, and then "Yellow
Buffalo" felt himself no more disgraced than the "head war
chief" and his chosen warriors. Thus ended this rather remarkable fight. I
never could learn definitely how many of the Cheyennes were killed and wounded
in the second charge, but the Pawnees told me they were double the number of
the first charge, and coming as it did from the victors, I always made a
reasonable allowance. The Cheyennes utterly refused to tell me the number of
their loss, but I saw their wounded that night, and helped dress most of their
wounds. There were twenty-eight in "Black Kettle's" camp.
On my return from
the Fort next day with my mail, the Cheyennes informed me that these same
Pawnees charged through the guards, and actually drove off about 200 of the
Cheyenne ponies.
The Pawnees
assured me they had but forty warriors, all told, and that they lost in killed
and wounded but two. The Cheyennes stated however, that they found five graves
in the sand, under the edge of the water, which they exhumed and left the
bodies to rot, and the bones to bleach on the prairie like a coyote.
A PIONEER’S EXPERIENCE
IN 1863, I left
Michigan with the purpose of taking a look over Kansas, principally with a view
of making a home and going into business. At Kansas City I met with Kit Carson,
the famous Indian scout, and Wm. Bent, the builder of Bent's old Fort, near the
mouth of the Purgatoire river in Colorado. They were then preparing to take a
trip west, and knowing I would never have a better chance, I gladly accepted
their invitation and accompanied them.
From Kansas City
Kit Carson, Mr. Bent, Charley Rath and myself went up the river to Leavenworth;
there we joined a mule train of about ten wagons. We came by way of Topeka
(then quite a small town), and Council Grove.
In September we
arrived at the mouth of Walnut Creek, and went into camp about an hour before
sunset, and, while knowing full well that we were 100 miles from the nearest
white settlement, yet we saw large numbers of human beings coming to us on
horseback, which, on their arrival, proved to be wild Indians; but as they were
peaceable at that time we had nothing to fear, and upon taking a view of the
broad green prairies, dotted here and there with clusters of Indian lodges and
groups of ponies, and in the distant background could be seen large herds of
buffalo, waiting quietly to become food for the Indians. It was truly the
happiest hour of my existence—for it was my first sight of wild Indians and
buffaloes.
The Indians
arrived at our camp and dismounted, and, after shaking hands all round, with
their "how, how," they sat down, we all smoked the pipe of peace, and
after an hour or so in a chat, we all lay down on the ground for a sleep.
Next morning
several Indians with Kit and myself went out on a buffalo chase, and within
half an hour ran into a fine herd of them, and after a short run we had several
of them lying dead on the ground, some killed with arrows by the Indians, and
some with our bullets.
We remained in
the Indian camp several days, for rest, and decided to open a trading post with
them; and, after a few days more were spent in an Indian feast and making our
camp convenient for business—building a corral for our stock, etc.—we opened up
and sold such goods as we had brought for that purpose. After several weeks of
life with the Indian families, enjoying the company of the beautiful Indian
maidens, eating out of the same skillet with them, and partaking of their dish
of "fat dog," I bade my dusky beauties adieu, and went up to Fort
Larned to accept the situation of clerk in the quartermaster's office for the
winter. At that time Fort Larned was a small adobe fort. We had a long spell of
intensely cold weather, with considerable of "the beautiful snow" on
the ground; and during that winter many freighters lost much of their stock by
freezing to death and stampeding and remaining with the buffalo. Several
"bull-whackers" also froze to death that winter. But, as everything
has an end, so did our bitter cold winter, and with it came our spring, when I
resigned my clerkship and returned to Walnut Creek, where I built a ranch that
lasted me many years during my frontier life. I located it close to the creek
for the purpose of obtaining water without endangering myself from the hostile
attacks of the Indians, who were then threatening to break out and go on the
war-path. I had not half finished my ranch (it being slow work to cut the sod
with an ax), when the Indians made a break on some freight trains enroute to
Mexico, cutting off some of the hind wagons, capturing the stock and killing
the drivers. This of course opened the warfare and put us all on our guard. I
finally finished my ranch, and began to trade for poor and lame cattle that
were brought from Mexico by freighters and drovers; and during that year found
myself in possession of a nice large herd of cattle, and by keeping them well
guarded from the Indians I lost none of them. During the year the Indians made
a great many attacks on trains, seldom failing to get the best of the bargain
and carry off the scalp of some poor unfortunate who happened to be away from
the main party; but as the season closed the Indians retreated to the Medicine
Lodge, where they spent the winter, and made ready for a continued raid and a
season fight of plunder and massacre next year.
The winter being
a very mild one, my herd of stock went through in fine condition, and in the
following year I increased the herd to several thousand head, and as the
freighting season again opened, everything seemed lively.
It was nothing
uncommon to see 100 wagons in a double line, moving across our "Great
American Desert," and it was almost a daily occurrence to see from 30 to
100 "Prairie Schooners" at once. These wagons, when under a full
load, would contain from 4 to 6 thousand pounds, and were hauled by six yoke of
oxen or six mules. All these wagons would camp on the creek, at or near my
ranch, making it contain quite an army nearly every night. Such nights would
usually be spent in telling yarns until a late hour, when all would take their
"gunny sack" and lie down for sleep on the ground, except the night
herders who were constantly on the watch till the break of day when they drove
in the stock. In a moment all was astir, and within half an hour on the move,
and I left alone again, with the exception of my hired help.
Thus the season
continued, except an occasional attack on some poor pilgrim or unguarded train,
in which, after a few moments of the most intense excitement, the Indians would
usually come out victorious, having one or more bloody scalps at their belts,
and were stampeding the stock across the prairies at full speed.
While engaged in
herding my cattle one day one of my men (Jack) being near by but out of sight,
fishing in the creek, a small war party of Indians came up from the river near
by, and seeing a mule train about a mile off, they all made a dash on the train
except one Indian, who, upon seeing me, set up such a yell as only a red devil
can give, and with a drawn lance made a dash at me with the utmost speed,
intending to run me through. When about a rod from me I fired. With a piercing
yell he jumped from the pony, the blood spurting from his bare breast. As he
came to the ground we clenched, each one trying to get away with "his
Injun." Part of the time he was on top, then again I had him down; and he,
though weakening from loss of blood, got a knife from his belt and made a lunge
at me, while I was grasping him in a genuine rough-and-tumble for dear life,
and trying to restrain his hand. He finally succeeded in thrusting the knife
through my hand, and was about getting away with me, when my herdsman came in
timely to the scene of action. The Indian relaxed his hold of me and fell to
the ground, with a bullet through his head, and before he breathed his last I
had his scalp with his own knife; and, while he has "gone to the happy
hunting ground," I still carry "as a trophy" the scars of that
event and the long scalp of my enemy.
The Indians would
occasionally make a dive on some train and get the worst of it, having their
scalps taken, which all white frontiersmen would do whenever they killed a
red-skin. This was done, they said, to keep the dead warriors from going to the
"happy hunting ground," the Indians claiming that anyone losing their
scalp will never go there.
And so the season
wore on; we usually got our supplies from the passing trains; so that, in
reality, our life was an easy one, yet full of excitement on account of the
Indians who often tried to get our stock, but failed; until September, when
they made a grand successful rally, and drove off all my stock, killing my
herder.
The loosing of
several thousand head of cattle gave me the blues, and shortly after I accepted
a situation as mail carrier on the Santa Fe stage line of Barlow, Saunderson
& Co., where I remained more than three years, but still keeping up my
ranch, having to pass it weekly going out and returning to the States. During
that time I crossed the plains 150 times.
During the fall
of 1867 the Indians attacked a mule train, enroute for Mexico, near the mouth
of Walnut Creek, cut off an ambulance from the rear end and killed an old lady
and gentleman, cut the old lady in quarters, piled her clothes n the remains
and set them on fire, and carried off the bleeding scalps of both at their
belts.
This was the year
that Fort Zarah was built and occupied by troops. During this same fall, a
short distance this side of Walnut Creek four government teams loaded for Fort
Larned were attacked by Indians, who succeeded in killing and scalping the
drivers, and running off the stock. The Post Commander, thinking it not a safe
place for him, kept his quarters, and gave us what we could get oust of the
wreck; we went out and made a nice haul of coffee, sauerkraut, beans, flour,
sugar, etc.
Cow Creek
crossing had many a fight between freighters and Indians, and many killed on
both sides. Once, when a small party (three men and one woman) with an
ambulance, were going to Fort Harker, they were attacked about a mile east of
Cow Creek crossing; they stopped over a deep buffalo wallow, and all got down
into it for protection. While in this condition a company of troops commanded
by a captain who had been sent out to look after them, came up on the west bank
of Cow Creek in plain view of the scene, and after looking at them a few
moments, turned his command around for the west, without attempting to render
them any assistance. One sergeant in his company begged the captain to cross
the creek and relieve them, but instead of so doing the captain put the
sergeant under arrest and returned to Fort Zarah with his company, thus leaving
the small party to perish at the hands of the red devils, which they most
certainly would, had it not been for the timely arrival of a dozen scouts on
their way from Fort Harker to Fort Larned, who arrived on the spot just as the
deserted party had used their last shots at the Indians. They killed three or
four Indians, and on the other hand the Indians wounded the entire party. The
cowardly captain was cashiered and dismissed from the service for the act.
We raised onions,
tomatoes and potatoes, that year (1867) near the ranch on spaded ground, they
being the first vegetables ever raised in Barton County by white men. We had
rains enough to keep them in good growing condition, and they matured of good
size, and shape.
That fall
everything went on in the usual way, the Indians taking the west end of the
road above and around Fort Dodge. A mild winter followed; and when spring
returned so did the Indians, who kept up their attacks during the summer at
every opportunity. They kept things livelier than usual for us.
During the fall
of 1868 we fought the last Indian fight of Barton County, four miles below
where Great Bend now stands, on the Arkansas River. We numbered twelve men and
the Indians about seventy-five. We fought them for three hours, killing and
wounding several, also killing several ponies. We lost two men in that
engagement; shot with both bullets and arrows. The Indians finally left the
battle ground, carrying of their dead and I sent my colored man out for some
stray stock; the Indians cut him off from the ranch, captured him, cut off his
feet and one of his hands, skinned the muscles off his limbs, skinned the whole
top of his head—taking every hair, ripped him open from end to end, and left
him. He crawled several rods in that condition, until he reached an elevation
in sight of the ranch, and expired.
During the same
fall, and a short time previous, the Indians killed and scalped a white man of
mine, near where now stands the Great Bend Stockyards.
Another
engagement was had in September, (I think), that same fall, only a short time
previous to the last one mentioned, just this side of Walnut Creek, and near
where the railroad bridge now is, between the Indians and soldiers of the Fort.
The red devils captured the teams and killed some of the soldiers. Indian fights
were frequent along the Santa Fe Trail, that season, and many of good white man
was put under the sod on that account.
Cholera extended
from ranch to ranch, nearly crossing the plains, in 1867, and many died in
consequence.
ANOTHER INCIDENT
WE are informed by Mr. T. J. Richardson, a settler near Rush
Center, that in September, 1860, while returning from a trip over the Rocky
Mountains, he stopped over night at "Peacock's Ranch," an abode
concern then situated a short distance below the Walnut, about where Fort Zarah
was built. There he learned of the massacre of Mr. Peacock and five others,
part of them members of his family, by the Kiowa Indians, one or two weeks
previous. One man escaped whose name he did not learn. Our informant did not
know where Mr. Peacock was from, and did not state how long he had lived at the
ranch. The Indians carried off all the stock connected with the ranch, and
committed sundry other depredations on emigrants.
OLD FORT ZARAH
FORT ZARAH was
established September 6, 1864, by Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, then in command of the
military district, and named in honor of his son, Maj. H. Zarah Curtis, who was
killed at the Baxter Springs massacre while on the staff of Gen. Blunt. October
6th, 1863. It was completed in 1867, and spoken of as an outpost.
The site of the
Fort is well known to all—at the southeast of the Walnut. It stood on a gentle
eminence, nearly surrounded by a shallow creek which might easily be made a
means of defense by filling with water.
It was built of
sandstone, quarried in the neighboring bluffs about three miles off. These
rocks were mostly of a deep purplish brown, varying to a light brown. They were
usually hewn to a pretty smooth face, and laid up in the rough, in good solid
mortar. The outer walls were about 16 inches thick, the inner walls one foot.
The walls inside were all well plastered. The roof of the building was often
plastered. The roof of the building was of tin, 116 feet, with an average width
of 50 feet. The main portion was divided into 7 rooms, somewhat resembling a
"hop-scotch" bed. It was two stories high except 24 feet of the
eastern part. The main entrance was at the eastern end, opening into the
officers' quarters. There was only one window in the entire building, and that
was at the eastern end. There were loop-holes along the northwest and south
sides. At the southeast and northwest corners there were hexagonal, two-story
towers, with two sets of loop-holes for musketry. These loop-holes were
arranged in sets of three on a side in each story, and presented a face opening
of two inches wide by 16 inches high, widening in the wall to a breadth of
about 16 or 18 inches on the inside. Beneath the rooms running across the ends,
there were cellars dug 8 feet deep and walled with stone. To the west, at a
distance of 20 feet, was the magazine, which was 12 feet square, and connected
with the west cellar by an underground passage 4 feet wide. A short distance to
the southeast of the fort stood the guard house, a stone building about 14 feet
square. We herewith present a plan of the fort:
OTHER RUINS.
There are many evidences of occupation surrounding the Fort, such
as cellars, remains and traces of ranches, huts, shanties, tents, etc. On
section 36, township 19 south, range 13 west, about 100 rods south of the
southeast corner of the reservation, near where the old toll-bridge crossed the
Walnut, appears the most formidable ruins of any. At first sight there would
seem to have been a fort there once; but it must be remembered that in those
days herdsmen were obliged to build for defense. Besides, the "oldest
inhabitant," Mr. H. H. Kidder, assures us that there was never a fort
there—only a ranch. The main building is 70 feet north and south, by 30 feet across.
A cross wall divides it into two rooms, the north one being 30 feet square, the
south one 30 by 40. There are still some very heavy rocks in the foundation of
the walls, though most of the material of which the walls were composed has
long since been carried off. The debris is still 18 inches to 2 feet high.
Attached to the southeast corner appears a hexagonal ruin of earth and rock,
each of the sides about 12 feet long. On the west side of the building are
earth-works, about 60 by 80 yards, with various cross-works and walls. These
were the walls of the corral, which was divided into apartments. The present
owner of the ground has some field crop growing over the ruins; but it seems
like farming under difficulties, for the soil is not so rich and damp as ordinary
prairie soil.
About 300 yards
northeast of these ruins, in Section 31, T. 19, R. 12 W., is the old grave
yard. This bears evidence of more recent use. There are about 18 or 20 graves
in all; though many were difficult to distinguish, and there may be more or
less. Many of the graves have no stone or stick to mark the spot, and can only
be detected by a slight ridge or depression. Several have sandstones raised at
the head and foot.
Only one grave
has a stone with any inscription. This, a brown sandstone, is broken down, and
bears the following well carved, but partly effaced, inscription:
IN MEMORY OF
CHARLES WELCH,
Who Died Mar. 22d, 1872.
Age 1 yr and 2 Months.
The age was the
most effaced, and may have been something else. At the foot a neat cross is
engraved on a standing brown sandstone. The grave is covered densely with
buffalo grass, and appears much older. At the foot of one grave there is a
cottonwood board, without any inscription. At the heads and feet of a few,
small stones are stuck in the ground.
Three of the
graves, which are probably those of soldiers, are surrounded by stone walls 18
inches high, which are filled within with earth. These are in the best
condition of any of the graves.
Fort Zarah
Military Reservation was established September 30th, 1868, by order of the
president, and surveyed and laid out the same year. It is about two by two and
three quarters miles in extent, and reaches from the railroad north to the
hills. It contains about 3,698 acres.
On February 24,
1871, an act of Congress provided for bringing into market the lands of the
Fort Zarah Reservation; and on August 11, 1871, "the Surveyor General was
authorized to extend the lines of the public surveys over the same."
In July, 1874,
"the lands having been appraised at from $3 to $10 per acre," were
offered at public sale at Salina, at which sale "only two lots, containing
together 45.20 acres, were sold at $4.00 per acre, leaving the balance subject
to private entry at the appraised value."
The
Fort was "dismantled" in 1869. Among other work of dismantling was
the removal of the tin roof at an expense to the government of $20,000; and the
removal of the same to Fort Harker at a further expense of $10,000; —fat jobs
for some poor contractors. On arrival of the tin roof at Fort Harker, the
receiver wouldn't receive her; so the thing was dumped down on the prairie a
short distance from the fort; and it has since done good service in sheltering
various settlers on government lands. The original cost of Fort Zarah was
$110,000.
After the
abandonment of the Fort it became a den of thieves and general rendezvous for
bats and marauders. These occupied it day and night by turns,—the former hiding
by day, the latter by night.
Settlements commenced
in 1871. Almost immediately the hand of the granger was laid upon it, and it
began to disappear little by little. Capt. E. V. Rugar was appointed a marshal
to take care of it, which he bravely did by going to California in 1874, and
letting the Fort take care of itself.
Shortly after the
sale of lots mentioned above, Mr. E. C. Sooy put up a notice forbidding anyone
to remove any rock from Fort Zarah, as the property had been purchased and now
belonged to private individuals. The notice held good until all the best rock
had been hauled away from the Fort by various parties at Great Bend, who made
quick work of it for a short time, when the rumor was spread that there had
been no sale, and the valuable stone remaining at the old Fort lasted but a very
short time after; and today only a heap of rubbish, overgrown with rank weeds
is left to mark the spot where the proud Fort once stood. Fort Zarah has passed
into history.
In 1868, Indians
were very troublesome to the settlers and ranchers in the country at that time.
They would attack ranchers and wagon trains, run off the horses and cattle, and
some times kill the people.
On or about the
12th of August, 1868, word came to Fort Zarah that the Indians were murdering
the settlers on the Saline, and Col. Menteen, with his company of 7th Cavalry,
"marched swiftly" to their relief, and run the Indians about ten
miles.
On October 2nd,
1868, Gen. Hazen reports that "about 100 Indians attacked the Fort at
daylight, and were driven off; then they attacked a provision train, killed one
of the teamsters, and secured the mules from four wagons; then attacked the
ranch eight miles below (near Ellinwood) and drove off the stock."
On the 10th,
Lieut. Kaizer, 3rd Infantry, reports that "at 4 p.m. a party of Indians
surrounded and drove off six horses and two mules from citizens near Fort
Zarah."
By Ed. W. Dewey
ABOUT the 7th of
July, 1871, I came into Barton County from the town of Russell, Russell County,
Kansas. At that time the population of Barton County consisted of but few
inhabitants and they were scattered along the banks of Walnut Creek. There was
no settlement on Blood Creek at that time.
One of the first
settlers in Great Bend township was Mr. John Cook who, in June, 1871, built a
dugout on the bank of the creek, about three miles from the present site of
Great Bend. There was no stone or frame house in the county at that time. Mr.
A. C. Moses and Mr. J. H. Hubbard were preparing to build frame houses. Mr. A.
C. Moses had a few boards put up like a tent, and Mr. Hubbard was hauling stone
for a foundation. They had located about two miles below Mr. Cook, on the
creek. The country was overrun with buffalo, which kept us awake at night with
their continual bellowing and stamping. I settled on a piece of land on the
creek—the southwest quarter of section 4, township 19, range 13—and took out my
papers about the 15th of July, 1871. The section on which Great Bend now stands
was then vacant.
There was no
reliable survey of that township, as there were no corners marked within the
township by the government surveyors. At this time there was a surveyor by the
name of H. Meriton, camped at the old fort, and laying out a town site near
where old Fort Zarah used to stand, with whom I had worked during the fore part
of the summer, and so I helped him lay out the town-site of Zarah—as it was
called—and we also ran several lines for different parties, mine among the
rest.
That, I think,
was the first survey in the county, after the government survey. At that time
there were no section corners marked in any way within township 19, range 13
west. About the last of August there was a government surveying party at work
sectioning the land lying south of the river. At that time the river was nearly
dry—no water running above the mouth of the Walnut. The land south of the
Arkansas was not then considered good for anything by the settlers.
Early in
September a party of Pawnee Indians, numbering about 400, all on foot, passed
through the settlement, going south to trade for ponies with the southern
Indians. They were all armed, and occasioned considerable alarm among us; but
they were peaceable, and committed no depredations. They returned late in
October, having plenty of ponies and but few arms. Two or three of them were
sick, and annoyed the settlers a good deal by begging, etc. One of them died on
Blood creek.
We had to send or
go to Salina, on the K. P. R. R., to transact all our land business. The
railroad land had not yet come into market.
There was not
much land broken that summer, and the only crop raised was a small piece of sod
corn, about five miles up the creek from my place, which did very well. No
wheat of any importance was sowed that fall.
The town site of
Great Bend was surveyed out, and a large house (now the Southern Hotel) was
built, the lumber being hauled from Ellsworth, on the K. P. R. R., a distance
of 50 miles. A few other houses were built during the fall.
Winter coming on,
I made a dugout on the banks of the Walnut, on my land, and my family cattle
about the 16th of November. The next day it began to rain and sleet, finally
turning to snow. Our things had not yet arrived, and we were compelled to sleep
on some old hay in one corner of the dugout. The rain and snow beat in at the
door. It became terribly cold before morning, and we came near freezing to
death. The creek froze nearly solid.
As the winter
progressed the wolves and coyotes became very savage, and it was dangerous for
a person to be out on the prairie after dark. Sometime in December I had an
adventure with wolves, which I will relate to illustrate the terrible ferocity
of the wolves at that time:
One evening as
myself, wife and babe were returning from Mr. E. J. Dodge's (whose family had
recently arrived, and where we had been on a visit). I had on a pair of skates,
and my wife and babe were on a rude sled, which I had constructed, and was
pushing it before me on the ice on the creek. When we had proceeded about
one-half the way, we heard the wolves howl on the banks of the creek right
ahead of us; and pretty soon their gaunt forms were outlined against the sky.
It looked like certain death to go ahead, and almost as certain to turn back,
so I pushed ahead and the wolves ran along on the banks beside us until we were
nearly home. Then, as if they were afraid that we would get away, they became
bolder, and finally, as we turned a bend of the creek, there on the bank, not
10 feet off, stood about half a dozen hungry, howling wolves. As we swung
around the bend, two big grays made a leap for the sled, but we were going so
fast that they fell short of their intended prey, and as they tried to stop
themselves their nails scratched on the ice right beside me, and I felt their
hot breath in my face. Immediately I heard them coming behind, and now it was a
race for life. I skated as I never skated before or since, and in a few minutes
we arrived at the dugout. We ran in, and grabbing my gun I shot two dead within
a few feet of the door. I shot at several more, and soon they disappeared.
The winter of
1871, was one of the coldest that I have experienced in this country. A man by
the name of Jamison had about 4,000 head of Texas cattle in the bottoms, by the
creek, and, as the river and creek were both frozen nearly solid, the settlers
had to cut holes in the ice for the cattle to drink from. The cattle suffered
terribly with thirst, and became very ferocious. They would often attack a
person unless he was on horseback. Several people were attacked by them, and
the settlers killed some to protect their lives, and for meat, as the cow-boys
had run all of the buffalo out of the valley for several miles. Considerable
trouble grew out of this, but no lives were lost.
The settlers
lived on corn bread, molasses, and meat, and sometimes a little flour
everything we obtained had to be hauled from the K. P. R. R., and that made
prices very high. Flour was $8.00 per cwt., and molasses $1.50 per gallon;
bacon, 20 cents per pound; corn meal, $5.00 per hundred weight, and everything
else in proportion.
There was some
little talk of a railroad coming up the Valley, but the prevailing opinion
seemed to be that it would cross the Arkansas at some point east and go down
through the Medicine Lodge country. Many settlers came in during that fall, and
several houses were built.
The spring opened
very fine, and the prairie schooners carrying settlers came in very fast, and
the talk of a railroad in the near future assumed more definite shape.
Considerable land was broken and planted to corn, etc., and the desert, which
has since developed into a full blown rose, began to bud. Breaking was worth
$4.50 to $5.00 per acre. The town of Great Bend commenced to build up, and
things were lively. Hauling from the K. P. R. R. made work for those who had
teams and some for those who had none.
The railroad
reached Barton County sometime in the month of June, 1872, and thus opened up
communication with the east.
There were
several houses built on the town site of Zarah during the fall of 1871 and
spring of 1872. There was a big dance in Buckbee’s store at Zarah on Christmas
eve, 1871, and a merry time enjoyed by all.
By David N.
Heizer of Colorado Springs, Col.
I CAME to Barton
County in May, 1871, in company with J. H. Prescott of Enterprise, Miss., W. W.
Weymouth of Springfield, O., and Wm. Finn and Albert Griffin of Sedgwick,
Kansas. We were looking for a location to engage in stock raising.
We arrived at old
Fort Zarah about the 18th of May, 1871. On the night before our arrival we
camped with the officers and directors of the A., T. & S. F. railroad, who
were returning from a prospecting trip up the Arkansas Valley, over the
proposed line of their road. They assured us they would build their road as far
west as Fort Zarah within two years.
With this
information, upon seeing the magnificent body of land on the Big Bend, as it
was then called, we concluded that. here would be a favorable place to commence
and build up a settlement. Accordingly we spent several days in surveying and
tracing out section lines in township 19, range 13, and after concluding to
locate a town on section 26, and making a survey and plat of the same, we
organized a town company with J. H. Prescott as president, and authorized him
to go to Salina and file on said land, under the Town Site Preemption Act—which
he did. I must here recount the scenes of our first buffalo hunt
On our arrival
there were myriads of these noble animals on the south of the Arkansas. J. H.
Prescott, Al. Griffin, and myself mounted three horses and set out. Griffin had
a Henry rifle and a pair of revolvers, I had a needle gun and a pair of dragoon
revolvers, and Mr. Prescott not being a marksman, but very fond of adventure,
went along to enjoy the fun. We crossed the Walnut just opposite the old fort,
and came to the river. It was high, the sand-bars being covered; we knew
nothing about it, and felt very doubtful about being able to cross, as it
looked very angry and deep. After debating some time as to whether we would
venture, we concluded not to give up unless we were obliged to, and that one of
the party should doff his apparel and investigate. As I was the only swimmer it
fell on me to explore. I prepared myself after the manner of a theater
actress—only more so. The water seemed to be deepest near the bank; I expected
to be thoroughly baptized at the first jump. I made a tremendous jump, and lo
and behold, the water, mud, sand and all was not knee deep. The spectators
encored me, and the rest of the performances consisted in my running and
skipping along in water from six inches to five feet deep.
We then crossed,
and within a mile of the river came to where a small herd of buffalo bulls were
grazing in the sand hills. Griffin and I dismounted and taking our rifles crept
to the crest of a ridge about 300 yards of them. I had formerly thought buffalo
were about the size of ordinary cattle, but as I looked at one through the
sights of my gun, thinking what a terrible beast a wounded buffalo was reported
to be, he looked to be as large as an elephant or a common sized barn. I
concluded there must be telescopic sights on my gun, and drew it back to look
it over; the gun also seemed to have the ague. We finally concluded to both
fire at the same bull, and becoming brave, we did so, but without any great
damage to the bull, as he went galloping off with the rest. He was hurt,
however, as he limped badly. This was encouraging; and getting very brave, we
mounted our horses, left our rifles with Dr. Prescott, and pursued with our
revolvers.
The flight of the
bulls had startled a large herd just beyond another hill, which we had not
seen; we, taking a southeasterly and they a southerly course, we flanked them
about the middle of the herd. We then went wild, and dashed right into the
midst of the herd, determined to have a buffalo. I could, with the fast horse I
had, ride onto any of them, and finally succeeded in shooting a fat cow through
the loins, so that she fell out of the herd, disabled. I was so close onto her
when I fired that I could have kicked her. The rest of the herd passed on, and
Griffin came to the rescue. After about a dozen shots, made in circling around
the enraged beast, we brought her down.
We were not yet
satisfied, and seeing a small herd of cows and calves off to the northeast,
concluded we must have a calf, as they would be better meat. We dashed for
them, and after a two mile chase, got one, which we dressed, threw across my
horse, and then set out for camp, leaving the old cow for the coyotes and
wolves, which were then here by the thousands.
It was some time
before we could find the doctor, whom we had left behind, and almost night
before we reached camp, tired and hungry. Never did meat taste better than did
steaks from that young buffalo. We ate and were satisfied, for we had possessed
the land and proven ourselves worthy hunters of the chase. But to business.
At about this
time there were several prospecting parties camped near us on the Walnut, among
whom was M. W. Halsey, now of Lakin township. I made up my mind to stay, as did
Wm. Finn, of Sedgwick City. Messrs. Weymouth and Prescott went with me to
Ellsworth, where they took the train east for Ohio, to return in July or
August.
After making a
tour up the Saline River, I returned to our ranch on the Walnut, as we had
taken possession of and left our stores in an old deserted stone ranch near
Fort Zarah.
Finn and I
remained at this ranch until about the 20th of June, when E. J. Dodge and Aaron
Hartman called on us one evening, having walked across from Russell, and about
perishing on their way from thirst. I shall never forget a little incident that
occurred that night.
Messrs. Dodge and
Hartman had made their bed on the floor (a dirt floor) and were about to
retire. As I walked by the foot of our bunk I heard a familiar sound; calling
for Finn to bring a light, which he did, we proceeded to kill a very healthy
young rattlesnake and cast him out. Dodge and Hartman proceeded as vigorously
to gather up their bed and divide the same, preparatory to climbing a tree or
seeking some other safe place to sleep. However, Mr. Dodge has always insisted
that he felt safer when I told him that was only the second one we had killed
that evening, when usually we killed five or six before retiring.
LAND AGENT BUSINESS
COMMENCED.
Next day, in true
land agent style, we proceeded to locate Mr. Dodge, who wanted claims for
himself and sons. He then selected the quarter in section 10, T. 19, R. 13., on
which he now lives; but we did not get through until he succeeded in getting my
team stuck in the Walnut—a little episode I have never fully forgiven him for.
About the 4th of
July of that year, T. L. Morris and Judge Mitchell of Quincy, Ills., made a
trip to this point, on a buffalo hunt and a prospecting tour for the Great Bend
Town Company. They prospected some and hunted enough for the Judge to get
heaped on the plain by an unruly buffalo bull. The said bull did about
"Testy-eye dollars worth of goring on the Judge's horse—no computation
made as to amount of damages done to the Judge's dignity, as the liveryman made
no claim on that.
About the same
time, a survey for the town of Zarah was being made by one Meriton, for the
Zarah Town Company, with Judge Miller of Ellsworth as president. Also, in the
latter part of June, John Cook, John Hubbard, A. C. Moses, Ed. W. Dewey, and D.
E. Benedict made calls, and Logan Reynolds and J. P. Bissell followed soon.
When I first came there were no settlers below Section 14, in township 9, range
16, on Walnut Creek.
Later, either in
July or August T.L. Morris came out again in the interests of the Great Bend
Town Co, and selected section 34, township 19, range 13, as the site for their
town. Geo. N. Moses, A. B. Robinson, Frank Day, and Hiram Bickerdyke were in
the party with him. Afterwards, he changed the location to section 28, the
present site of the town.
In September he
began the erection of a hotel, now a part of the Southern Hotel, which was
completed during the winter and occupied by Thos. L Stone.
Considerable
rivalry was rife between the Zarah and Great Bend town folks, which finally
resulted in the downfall of Zarah and the triumph of Great Bend.
The winter of
1871-2 was a very hard one for this latitude, and not much was done for the
advancement of the town and settlement until spring, The prospect of the early
completion of the railroad, thereby making Great Bend with its rich grazing
country a desirable shipping point for Texas cattle attracted the attention of
business men who had been identified with the Texas trade at other points; and
during the spring of 1872 the town made a very rapid growth. Business houses
sprang up around the square as if by magic.
By Edward J.
Dodge of Great Bend
I LEFT Wisconsin
on the 6th of May, 1871, to settle on a piece of government land in some part
of Kansas and arrived in Kansas City on the morning of the 8th. After stopping
in the city until the 12th, and posting up as best I could in regard to
different points in Kansas. I left by the afternoon train on the K. P. road
bound west.
I stopped at
Junction City, where there was a land agent named Pierce, who was a wonderful
man to advertise the broad acres of Kansas which could be had for little or
nothing, and it would cost nothing to look. I thought he would be just the man
to advise with, so I soon bowed myself into his office. I found the gentleman
in, and after half an hour's conversation with him, I made up my mind he was
willing to help a stranger in more ways than one, as he very kindly offered to
take me out in the country three or four miles the next morning, and show me
some of the most beautiful land in Davis county all for the trifling sum of
$20, assuring me that if I would get some one to go with me and got him to pay
half of the amount he would let me off for $10, seeing it was me and I had come
so far, thanking him for the interest he had taken in me, I told him if I
concluded to go I would be on hand early the next day.
That night I put
up at the Hale House or "Bedbug Corral," just across the street. Next
morning I arose early, though not until some of the boarders (bedbugs) had been
to breakfast, of which I was a smarting witness. Thinking my old correspondent
was more eager to get my $20 than he was to find me a good location; and not
caring to ask him what his charges were for advice. I left on the morning train
for the west, and stopped at Ellsworth.
Ellsworth, having
been the terminus of the K. P. road for some time, had become notorious for its
rushing way of doing business, its cattle trade, and for being one of the
roughest and most desperate cities in Kansas. I secured lodgings at one of the
best hotels in the city, and next morning rambled about and witnessed the
off-hand way in which all business was done.
At the ringing of
the bell I walked in to breakfast, and sat at the table alone. Presently
another gentleman walked in and took a seat directly opposite me, placed a
heavy revolver by his plate, and inquired of the waiter what kind of meat he
had for breakfast. "Beef and pork," said the Waiter. At this the
boarded swore and said "That will not do for me; I will have a piece of a
man!" and suiting his action to his words, he gave me a terrible demoniac
look; but only for a moment. I met his gaze with a steady countenance, and he
quailed. He got up, with revolver in hand, stepped to the door, and shot dead
the milkman, who was just then passing and whom this fiend had never seen
before. In five minutes a crowd had gathered about, placed a rope around his
neck, run him across the street, and stood him upon a barrel under a tree, with
the rope thrown over a limb.
As the mob came
up, "Rowdy Jo," a German who was keeping saloon near by, inquired
what they were going to do with that man, saying that their prisoner owed him
$2 for whisky, and that they must make some arrangement to pay that before they
fixed him. They frankly told Jo that their prisoner had killed a man without
cause and they were going to hang him for it. Jo simply said, "Hold on
then; I won't let anybody hang on my tree midout I say sometings," and at
the same time ran into the house and brought out an English bible, and
undertook to read a verse in English; but made a poor job of it, and, throwing
the bible down on the ground, said it was "no use making so much fuss and
trouble over such a little thing as dat," and immediately ran up and
kicked the barrel from under the wretch and sent him swinging into eternity.
And the executors of the law and justice adjourned to the nearest saloon (Rowdy
Jo's) to congratulate each other on their prompt, willing and ready way to
punish crime.
After a little
review of the morning's exercises I concluded I did not want a claim just
around there, as I did not like the way they did business quite as well as I
thought I should.
The next train
bound west took me to Wilson station where I stopped off a couple of days to
look up land; then went to Fossil, at present Russell. This was the 16th day of
May. At this time, aside from railroad buildings, the county of Russell
contained only three houses and not more than twenty-five inhabitants. Here I
was convinced that I had gone far enough west if I wanted to make farming a
profession in Kansas. The land was high and dry. I couldn't make up my mind
that Russell County looked like a farming country.
While looking
about, a gentleman that afterward proved to be Lo. Reynolds, came up to me and
with a "how are ye? are you going to stop wih us?" waited for an
answer. I told him I was, at least until the train went east. He very politely
asked me if I would stop at his house. Not knowing his house from any other I
said "Certainly, I would as soon stay with you as anybody." So saying
he picked up my valise and walked to a small shanty made of rough lumber. I
asked him if that was his house.
"It is. How
do you like it?"
"First rate
how long have you been here?"
"Eight days.
Sit down, sit down, sir; my wife has gone out on a buffalo hunt; she will be
home in a couple of hours, and we will have some supper."
"Where did
you say she had gone?"
"Out on a
buffalo hunt sir, We have lots of fun hunting buffalo in Kansas," which he
walked out doors, leaving me alone to consider the consistency of Kansas fun.
I reasoned thus:
"A lady out on a buffalo hunt! A new thing to me! Having never seen my
mother, sisters or neighbor women engaged in that kind of sport, it really
seemed novel to me. This was my mental picture of her. "A large,
masculine, red headed freckled woman,voice gruff and harsh; gray eyes; thin
lips; and uneven tusky teeth.A good description, of a female buffalo hunter.
I had not much
more than completed my fancy picture when in walked a lady of more than
ordinary beauty; she was small and graceful; had a full black eye, which
bespoke good language, modesty, and refinement; easy in her manners; and a very
pleasant conversationalist. This was the woman I had so misjudged in my idea of
a female buffalo hunter.
I afterward
learned it was the common custom of this country for ladies to join in the
sports of hunting buffalo, elk, and antelope, in which the western part of
Kansas abounded.
On the 17th 1 got
a livery rig of a young man by the name of Flack and drove northwest from
Russell, in company with a couple of gentlemen from Baltimore 23 miles and back
the same day, found the country hilly, rough, and stony. Shot a buffalo and
brought home the hams, out of which the whole city of Fossil had beefsteak the
next morning. Every man would come and cut off a piece without a word.
Having a
curiosity to visit the Valley of the Arkansas, I started, the morning of the
18th, in company with Rev. Mr. Annis, a Baptist minister from Omro, Wis., in a
two-seated buggy. We started south at a rapid rate, making Smoky Hill River in
less than two hours, a distance of ten miles. At this time the river was quite
low being only eleven feet wide and three inches deep. At 12 am, we found
ourselves at the head of South Fossil, a brook skirted with elm, ash and
cottonwood. In a few minutes our dinner was ready. This consisted of dried
buffalo meat, crackers, coffee, and canned fruit. After resting about an hour
we resumed our course, traveling over a beautiful country of rolling prairie a
distance of about ten miles, to Blood creek, one of the pleasantest valleys in
Kansas.
Keeping our
course we soon came in sight of the valley of the Walnut Creek .I can say I
fell in love with it at first sight. The broad extent of beautiful prairie it
contains—level without being low, flat, or marshy; undulating without being
hilly, rough, or stony; and about equally divided by one of the most beautiful
streams of water that ever coursed its way over the green prairie—the Walnut
creek. The banks are fringed with elm, hackberry, ash, cottonwood, and black
walnut; the very sight of which made the traveler feel like pitching his tent
and possessing himself with as many acres as Uncle Sam would allow him to own.
We reached Walnut
Creek at a point a few rods east of where the upper iron bridge now stands.
Seeing a young man and a small house on the south side, we made direct for it;
and I was not a little surprised to find G. F. Mecklem, an old Wisconsin
neighbor its inmate and possessor. I felt comparatively happy that night. I
felt as though I had found a paradise in the house of a friend, he being the
first settler and built the first house in Barton County. May 19th, we took
leave of this frontier hermitage and found our way down to Fort Zarah, a
distance of about ten miles.
Fort Zarah was at
this time occupied by outlaws. We came to the fort about noon, and found a man
known as Jo Bowers dead drunk, lying on the dirt floor. Within thirty minutes
there came in six other young men, well dressed, and fine looking. They seemed
to be well supplied with whiskey, and the bottle passed around quite freely.
They soon got quite lively and musical, and turning Jo over on his back commenced
playing cards on his stomach, asking us our business and if we had money to buy
land. Elder Adams, not feeling at home in just such a meeting as that, remarked
to me "I guess we had better go and run that herd of buffalo across the
river." I consented and told Paddock to hitch up, and in five minutes we
were ready.
"Where are
you going?" said one of the gentlemen.
"To run that
herd of buffalo across the river"
"How long
will you be gone?"
"It will not
take us long."
"Will you be
back here tonight?"
"Most
certainly; where else should we stay? You keep the only hotel in Barton
County."
"Ha! Ha!
That is so! But don't forget to come back as we have something to say to you
that will interest you more than anybody else."
"What time
will you have supper?"
"Early.
Don't fear, you shall hear the second bell before you go to sleep."
All right! Drive
on, Paddock! How many miles can you drive before dark?"
Thirty, if
necessary.
A herd of buffalo
was feeding near where now stands the school house three miles west of
Ellinwood. We soon came up to them, and a few shots stampeded them across the
Arkansas river, after which we returned to the buggy.
"Well,
Dodge, which way shall we go now? Are you anxious to go back to the Fort?"
"Not at all anxious,
Elder; my advice is that we leave that range of bluffs to the left, and go
north as fast as those two bronchos can take us."
"That is my
mind, exactly."
In less than
three minutes we were driving at the rate of ten miles an hour, toward the east
side of Cheyenne Bottoms. Leaving the hills to the left, and running into a
clump of timber now known as Daiziel's grove, we soon fed and watered our
ponies and made coffee for ourselves. As soon as possible we were on our way
again, expecting that every hill we passed over we would be able to see some of
the Fort Zarah outlaws on our track.
Evening came and
we found ourselves camped on Coal creek in Russell County. We drove back to
Fossil the next morning, it being the 20th day of May, thus making a running
trip through Barton County. I saw enough of the broad and beautiful valley of
the Arkansas and Walnut Creek. blended together as they are, to make such an
impression on my mind as prompted me to return.
By Fred W. Warren
ON the night of
December 24th, 1874, Ellinwood had the first Christmas tree in Barton County.
It occurred somewhat after this manner.
Our town, being
so fortunate as to have five or ten of the most wide-awake, go-ahead ladles to
be found in Kansas, thoroughly alive to every social interest of the town and
country, determined to make one happy time for the children during these
grasshopper times. Accordingly a committee consisting of Mrs. Hollinger, Mrs.
Landis, and Mrs. Bay, went to work in good earnest thus showing their motherly
aptitude in providing for the little ones of the community, made all necessary
arrangements, and in due time had a very respectable evergreen in position, in
the school house, profusely decorated and literally loaded down with beautiful
cornucopias and large, neatly ornamented and embroidered stockings, well filled
with candies, nuts, and goodies of all kinds. These, and the material of which
the cornucopias and stockings were composed, were bountifully furnished by
Messrs. Landis & Williamson, but very little help having been given by
other parties. The expense of the tree was defrayed by Mr. Geo. W. Hollinger.
Indeed the profuseness and generosity with which the tree was furnished is very
creditable to the liberality of our citizens.
Reaching
Ellinwood's handsome school house at an early hour we were astonished to find
the house literally jammed from parquet to dome;—not even a seat in the gallery
could be obtained for love or money. We have attended many a similar
gathering—have often seen the lamps shine "o'er fair women and brave
men," but never such a crowd as this. Not our least surprise was the large
number of handsome young and married ladles (the committee by no means
expected) who adorn this vicinity.
The exercises of
the evening were conducted by Mr. Chalfant with a masterly hand; and
considering that the program in which had been previously arranged was
"noncomeatable" on account of the failure or lack of promptness on
the part of those who had had parts assigned them, the impromptu programme was
carried through very creditable and successfully.
A melodeon was on
hand, furnished by Miss Etta Avery, and played by J. H. Bross, who conducted
the musical exercises of the evening.
The exercises
were opened with music—"Let the Master In"—by the choir, consisting
of Messrs. Chalfant, Shannon, Geo. Barngrover, J. H. Bross, A. R. Huffman, of
Nickerson; Mrs. Royal Harkness, Mrs. John Shimmins, and Mrs. W. W. Shannon.
Opening Prayer by
Mr. Shimmins
Music by Choir.
Opening
address—Our Sunday Schools—Mrs. Shimmins.
Solo and Duet—The
Old Mountain Pine—by Messrs. Huffman and Bross.
Followed by a
very amusing description of Santa Claus by Mr. B. B. Smyth, teacher of the
school, during which the tinkling bells and swift hoofs of reindeer were heard
and suddenly in rushed Santa Claus, in the person of Mr. F. W. Warren, covered
with fur and frost from head to foot, and loaded down with presents; and was
introduced to the audience by Mrs. W. C. Bay, amid much commotion and merriment.
While Santa was
behind the curtain placing the presents on the tree a piece of music—Meet Me
Darling Josie at the Gate—was sung by Messrs. Bross and Huffman by special
request.
Here a short and
pithy address was made by Mr. A. McKinney on Christmas Customs.
Music by the
choir.
Then came the
unveiling of the Christmas tree, by Mrs. Bay, who made a very neat and
appropriate speech showing the enterprise of Ellinwood in getting up a
Christmas Tree in such hard grasshopper times.
Here Rev. Mr. Reed
was introduced, who made an address to the children on "Our First
Christmas Present." In the meantime the lights were rapidly burning on the
tree, and the children were anxiously waiting. The distribution of presents, by
the committee, assisted by the little Misses Lottie Towers and Kittie Halsey,
as pages, and assisted also by Messrs. Chalfant, Warren and McKinney. Old Santa
remembered every one of the 150 children present, by giving each one something
to remember him by. Among the amusing incidents of the distribution were the
reception, by Misses Carrie Bacon and Ida Forsyth, of immense dolls, dressed in
the height of fashion. Mr. Bross' loneliness, too, was remembered; and he was
presented with a very neat and pretty young lady in the shape of a doll. A
young gentleman from Cow creek was presented with a penny American flag with
which to celebrate the centennial. Simy Avery was presented with a broom, not
to show, like a schooner, that he was the fastest young man in town; but to
assist him in his prospective housekeeping. Mr. Halsey received a candy marble,
and several other important personages received a stick of candy each.
The exercises
closed with music—Waiting On, by the choir; and "Larboard Watch
Ahoy," my Messrs. Dross and Huffman.
The evening's
entertainment closed harmoniously, and everybody went home to enjoy a Merry
Christmas.
By Luther Frost
of Liberty
I CAME to Kansas
early during the spring of 1872. Great Bend was then in its infancy, with only
a part of what is now the Southern Hotel and two other small houses built.
During the month
of August, 1872, some of my neighbors and myself, concluded to try our hand at
killing buffalo, as the grasshoppers had destroyed our little crops of sod
corn, gardens, etc.
August 13th, we
fitted up and started for the present site of Dodge City. While eating dinner
near the lone tree on the Arkansas River 25 miles below Fort Dodge, a flock of
black birds lit down near us and I made a proposition to kill a dozen and have
a stew for our suppers as we were out of fresh meat. Some of the boys laughed
at the idea of killing a dozen at one shot. I fired one shot and we picked up
sixty-two birds and many more were scattered over the prairie that we did not
get. We had not finished picking up the birds when the cry of
"Indians!" was heard. Everything was packed into the wagons and we
started pel-mel for a rocky hill on which we intended to sell our lives as
dearly as possible.
After getting in
position, we discovered that the supposed Indians were a company of U. S.
cavalry that had come down to the river to get water. We were very much
relieved, palpitating hearts resumed their natural motion, and trembling nerves
were steady as iron.
Our greatest loss
was that of the birds which we had left in our haste to get to a place of
safety.
16th. Arrived on
the hunting ground south of the river and saw a sight new to most of us. As far
as we could see, to the east, west, and south, was a vast herd of buffalo. We
estimated that we could see over 500,000 at one sight. We pitched our camp and
made preparations for work; cleaned our rifles; sharpened our knives; and
prepared to stretch hides by the wholesale.
17th. Imagine my
feelings as I approached the first herd of old bulls. I could not possibly get
nearer than three hundred yards. A natural instinct of danger seemed to keep me
at a safe distance. I had read of hair-breadth escapes and terrible encunters
with these giants of the prairie and was not overly anxious to make a close
acquaintance with them. The fact is they looked dangerous; and they would
naturally impress a person that they meant business by shaking their heads at
him and pawing up great clouds of dust. My first impression was that I had
better try my hand at long-range shooting, so if they were inclined to be
vicious I could take leg ball and have a good start. Shooting at long range did
not pan out very well, as my nerves were a little unsettled, and every time I
would fire some old fellow would look toward me, lick out his tongue, and shake
his head, as if to say "Don't come any nearer; you might get into
trouble." I tried several times to muster up courage and crawl nearer; but
at last made up my mind to shoot at long range if it took all summer to get our
wagons loaded with hides. The result was I fired about forty shots, killed
seven buffalos, and crawled clear out of sight of the herd, leaving over one
hundred buffalo standing looking at me as I crawled away. I suppose they
imagined that I was a cowardly coyote.
We soon loaded
our wagons with hides, recrossed the river, and camped on the site of Dodge
City. "Now boys, we can take a good sound sleep tonight, no danger of
Indians," was the general word.
I had an aching
tooth that would not let me sleep. About midnight I heard a horse approaching.
It was a dark night and I could just see the outlines of a man on the horse. I
did not think strange of this as there were several railroaders camped near us
and several loose horses had come to our camp. I took my gun and crawled out to
the horses, without awakening the boys. The fellow rode up within 20 paces,
took hold of a picket rope, and commenced drawing the horse toward him. I could
not tell whether it was one of our boys or one of the strays. So to be on the
safe side and not shoot an innocent man, I said "Look here, my
friend!" He put spurs to his horse and was off like a shot. I sent a
couple of caliber 50 after him but he made good his escape. All was confusion
in camp, "Shoot him!" came from all sides. Several of our neighbor
camps lost horses that night. The thieves made a general raid along the line of
the road, and but for aching tooth we would have lost our horses.
We finally got
home to Great Bend safe and sound. All but one of our Party are still in Barton
County.
A little incident
happened to one of our Barton County boys which was laughable as well as
serious. We were out killing buffalo about seventy miles south of Great Bend. I
had purchased a new gun and expected to do wonders in the line of killing buffalo.
It was a cold windy morning in November and I could not or did not do good
execution. I do not blame the boys for finding fault with me. One of them said
that he could do better himself. I gave him the gun and told him to try his
hand. He crawled up to a herd of old bulls and knocked three of them down at
three successive shots. "That's well done!" the boys said. "He's
a rattler! He's after their pelts?" The herd suddenly stampeded. They did
not like to see the heels of their companions flying up so rapidly. Our hero
followed in rapid pursuit, passing the supposed dead bulls. He had passed them
about one hundred paces when one of them rose to his feet and started straight
toward our hero. Louy did not hear the approach of his pursuers until the bull
was upon him. He turned his head just in time to find himself going one way and
the gun the other. The bull paid no attention to him; but kept on his course,
to the great relief of Louy and the rest of us. No damage done, except a badly
torn shirt and coat.
At another time
we were camped on the headwaters of the Ninnescah. One morning I took my gun
and started to a herd of buffalo that were grazing about a mile from camp. When
about a quarter of a mile from camp the boys commenced hollering at me and
motioning for me to come back. Before I could get to camp they had the teams
hitched up, and were going at a run down the creek to another camp. I finally
came up to them, after a run of about half a mile, and wanted to know what was
causing such a stir. The answer was we had better be making tracks if we did
not want our hair lifted. The red devils were coming, and there was a host of
them, with red blankets and banners flying. I just told my companions that I
would go back and meet the whole host and see if they were on the warpath. So I
marched boldly back to meet the enemy, which proved to be an innocent buffalo
herd marching quietly down toward our camp. The joke was, I had seen the
buffalo coming and had an idea that the boys had seen them and taken them to be
Indians, so I could afford to be brave while my companions ran away to
reinforce another camp. We finally got things righted and had a good laugh over
the affair. One of my companions declares to this day that he saw Indians and
could plainly see their bows and arrows.
Life Story of One
of the Bravest Men Who Ever Tramped Across the
Santa Fe Trail; an Early Barton County Pioneer
GEO. N. MOSES was
the tenth of a family of 14 children, seven boys and seven girls. The oldest
member of the family died when but a few years of age. George was the youngest
of the four brothers who went to the defense of their country when the civil
war broke out. The two youngest brothers, Charles of Chicago and E. R. of this
city were too young though Charlie, the oldest of the two ran off twice to join
the army but was returned home each time. George Moses was born in Olean, New
York State April 15. 1844. He died in Great Bend, September 10, 1911. When he
was eleven years of age the family moved to Illinois and later moved again to
the frontier state of Missouri, locating in Sedalia. The father was a mason and
the older boys followed this trade in their younger days. George was just
attaining manhood when the civil war broke out and he joined Company I, 15th
Illinois Infantry though his older brothers tried to prevent this because of
his youth and later with his brother, R. H, re-enlisted, both joining Company
C, 146th Illinois infantry.
After the war he
saw service in the border war in Missouri, against the bushwhackers. As member
of what was known as the Jim Turley gang under command of Capt. Montgomery,
hardly a day passed but what they had exciting adventures. This company was
composed of about thirty men all expert horsemen and dead shots and their
duties consisted principally of chasing down the guerillas of the rebel army
who were raiding all parts of Missouri where northern sympathizers lived.
When the war was
over he was still a young man, just entering manhood. A man with a reputation
of being able to take care of himself under any circumstances and a man whose
word could be depended upon. He was of a roving disposition at that time and
Missouri was becoming too well settled. He wanted to get out into the world as his
brothers had done before the war. Striking out for himself he came to Kansas,
hunted buffalo all over this section of the state, wandering over the mountains
through Colorado and down into New Mexico. Then he returned to Colorado and met
John Tilton of this city in the Gunnison country, stayed there awhile and they
returned to Kansas and were working near Salina when a man came out from Salina
to get G. N. to guide them to a fit place in this part of the country for the
location of a townslte, it being known that he had hunted all over this section
and down through the Medicine Lodge and Texas cattle country. A company of
Quincy, Ill., citizens had determined to locate a town on the Santa Fe railroad
which was building through Kansas and wanted to beat the railroad company to
it. G. N. guided them to this section and they located the town as it stands.
Fort Zarah at that time had two or three stores and a general colony and the
railroad company resenting the efforts of outsiders to start a town instead of
their obtaining the townsite attempted to break Great Bend but Great Bend
outlasted them all.
He was the first
sheriff of the county and did much to kep this a lawabiding community. The
"gun men" of the West knew him and that there would be little chance
of their intimidating him. For the average "gun man" is not a man who
is a killer because he is quicker than others on the draw but because he is
trlckier and because he intimidates officers of the law. G. N. had been in the
camps of the pioneers all over the West. He had met the bad men of Dodge City,
of Sargent and of the mining camps of Colorado and always he had been on the
side of decency and right. He was never known to be afraid and the bad men were
afraid of him because they knew he was not afraid of them.
None of the Moses
boys have ever been apologetic or timid. They have been true to their
convictions but they have done what they believed to be right regardless of the
opinion of others.
An instance of G.
N.'s boyhood will show considerably the trend of his character. As a boy of 7
or 8 he was out getting nuts with a couple of his sisters when a woman who was
a terror of the neighborhood when it came to demanding what she called her
rights came upon them and attempted to frighten the children and did succeed in
scaring the little girls pretty badly. G. N.'s anger blazed forth and he dared
the woman to come any nearer to attempt to take the sack of nuts which she
claimed. He drove her back and took the booty home for booty it was. And
throughout his life the dominant trait has been to help others and to take the
side of the oppressed. Hundreds of stories might be written about this side of
the man't nature.
He was a born
leader and though not seeking leadership was naturally selected for this in most
enterprises in which he engaged. If he believed a cause was worthy he followed
it strong in the assurance of its success sometimes to his financial
disadvantage. Naturally he made opponents as all strong men do but never did
opponent question his integrity or honesty.
With his marriage
in 1873 to Miss Ida Mitchell, step-daughter of Squire Odell, one of the
locaters of the town and member of the town company and went into business in
Great Bend in the firm of Burton, Odell & Moses. When the Gunnison country
in Colorado was opened up Burton withdrew from the firm and went to Gunnison
where he opened a store in which G. N. was also interested. A few years later
E. R. Moses, then only a young man came here and went to clerking in the Great
Bend store and in a short time Mr. Odell retired, the firm becoming G. N. &
E. R. Moses, which it remained until about ten years ago when G. N retired, E.
R. buying his interest and naming the firm the E. R. Moses Mercantile Co.,
which it remains to this day. The firm saw many a bad year in the early days
when settlers were few and crops were bad but it went ahead and carried many a
man who is rich today but who would have been unable to have farmed at all but
for this firm.
He served as
mayor of the city three different times, in the 80's, and two terms in the
nineties. During the Populists days he was the Republican nominee at one time
for the legislature, but was defeated. He served as sheriff of the county
several terms, principally in the early days and was the first sheriff of the
county.
During the time
the cattle trade was coming from Texas to Great Bend and before it shifted to
Dodge City a Texas gun fighter became abusive and chased most of the citizens
off the street while he ran the town. The marshal and assistant considered
discretion the better part of valor and hid out to find G. N. while the gun
fighter amused himself while sitting on his pony by shooting at the occasional
citizen who showed in sight. G. N. was informed of the circumstance and telling
the marshal to stay where he could come into the fight in case he was shot
walked down the street and up to the Old Rome where the tough man was viewing
the country. The man started swinging his gun hand towards G. N. when the
latter spoke to him pleasantly enough and he stopped to see what was coming
next. G. N. wasn't trying to pull a gun and still kept coming. It puzzled him.
As the sheriff got near enough he reached up his hand as thought to shake hands
and the next minute the gun man was off his pony and G. N.'s grip on his
shoulder made him forget all his belligerency. G. N. turned him over to the
marshal after a lecture on the matter of getting drunk and making a fool of
himself and the gun man when turned loose made a bee line back to Texas where
they didn't have sheriffs who were foolish enough to go around without drawing
a gun on sight.
The town of
Sargent, now Coolidge, was for a few months the toughest place in the west. It
was when the Santa Fe construction camp was located there and the gamblers,
painted women and thugs were robbing the several hundred railroad laborers. One
of the gamblers had some months before borrowed two hundred dollars from G. N.
who pitied his condition and thought him a man of his word. G. N. while
prospecting in the west heard of the town of Sargent and stopped there finding
his man running a saloon. He broached the subject of being paid and the man who
had joined the gang of ruffians running the town repudiated the debt and said
he didn't intend to pay it. It made G. N. mad and he kicked him out of the
place and took charge of the saloon himself. We believe that Jim Gainsford was
with him at the time. The saloon man went out and gathered his gang and went
back to fix G. N. The latter was ready and had Gainsford stationed behind the
door. When the gang filed in G. N. trained two guns on them and invited them to
get out and stay out. Gainsford was also there and they got. He ran the saloon
for two days, took in $68 and then turned it back to the owner and said that he
had collected the interest due at least. While in Sargant he heard the story of
an old man who had been robbed of his team by the gamblers. G. N.'s sympathy
was aroused for the old man and going with the latter to the camp corral had
the old man point out the team. They hitched it up and the old man started to
drive out of the town. One of the gang saw the man on the front seat of the
wagon and notified others of the gang and they started to take the team away
from the old fellow. As they got up to the rig they found G. N. sitting on the
back end of the wagon load, his needle gun across his knees and after
expostulating a little gave up the claim to ownership of the rig and the old
man drove out of town. G. N. accompanied him a little ways and then came back.
They didn't care to tackle him. D. N. Heizer, then a surveyor for the Santa Fe
related this story.
E. R. Moses tells
a story of the time he went to Gunnison to visit his brother George. The town
was really two towns divided by a vacant area and in this section there was a
large lumber yard. G. N. lived across on the other side from the store. The
first night of E. R.'s visit he waited until late at night to accompany G. N.
home. The latter was counting up the money and placing it in a sack in his
pocket when E. R. noticed a man peering in the window. He spoke to G. N. about
the matter but he said he guessed it didn't amount to much. They started home
and as they got to the lumber yard G. N. started on through his accustomed way
instead of going around. He had given E. R. a gun to carry from the store and
as they got in the lumber yard they noticed the two men standing back in the
shadows. G. N. walked straight towards them with his gun ready for action and
E. R. following with some trepidation. The man backed to one side and they
passed on and were not molested. But that was enough of the wild Gunnison
Country for E. R. and he returned home in a day or two.
Early day
sheriffs had their own conceptions of the forms of law and one of the returns
made by G. N. as first sheriff of the county is held as a treasure by a
prominent state official into whose possession it passed some years ago. A
horse thief came to Barton county and committed some depredations which
resulted in a warrant being sworn out for his arrest. G. N. took the warrant
and started north after the thief. Seventy-two hours later he returned to Great
Bend late at night, without any rest from the time he had started, making the
whole trip in the saddle. Getting in late at night, tired and worn out from the
trip and nearly dead for want of sleep he went into the justice of the peace
office and left the warrant writing across the same, "Received this
warrant blank date and served same by shooting the ........." The facts of
the story were that G. N. went to Hays City where he induced a comrade of the
man wanted to confess that the man was in that part of the country and then
taking his deputy rode out to cow camp where he found the man. As they rode
over the hill and down towards the wagons the man they were after jumped up and
grabbing a gun commenced shooting at them. A minute later he died suddenly and
the trip home was begun. The cowboys heard the firing and started to
investigate and threatened to kill the sheriff and his deputy. Thoroughly
aroused now, the sheriff sent the deputy back a little way, rode up to the
cowboys and invited them to start the proceedings at once if they felt it
necessary. They decided that monkeying with the law would be unpopular and the
sheriff and deputy rode home.
From the trend of
these stories it might appear that G. N. was of a tough order but his history
is different. Men were men in those days and had hard work to perform but the
testimony of his old comrades has always been that G. N. stood for the moral
things and was himself a moral man.
The first time Ed
Tyler, W. W. Hartshorn, Louis and Jerry Frey ever met G. N. Moses was on
October 16th, 1871. They drove from Quincy, Ill, to this point. G. N. Moses, He
and Jim Bickerdyke and John Tilton were camped on the ground where the Fair
Building now stands. They had hauled a load of lumber from Russell on the U. P.
railroad and built a shack by putting up some posts and built the shack like a
tight board fence there being a room about the size square of the length of the
board and had been added to until there were several rooms about, four. The
Moses party were glad to meet them and allowed them the use of half the shack
until they could do better. At that time there was no railroad and little
money. There were plenty of buffalo and other game for meat, but there was
little else to eat. The Hubbard store on the Walnut was the only one for miles,
the next nearest being on the U. P. north, 45 miles, and nothing south or west.
When the Quincy crowd arrived here G. N. Moses wore an army hat, shirt and coat
and buckskin pants and the others were clad something like G. N.
Up to that time
there had been no buffalos killed about here for the hides only, as it would
not pay to haul them to the U. P. for the price offered and there were very few
horses to do the hauling. Later a good many cattle were used. However, buffalo
hides were used for partitions in the shack and many other places for which
they had no lumber. One day in the fall of 1871 G. N. Moses and Ed Tyler were
sitting in a window of the old Southern hotel, situated where the Brinkman Bank
is now situated. The hotel had not been finished at that time and even the
frames in. They were looking down the trail toward Fort Zarah and they noticed
something coming west. It was decided that it was not a man, a buffalo or a
horse, but finally it developed that it was a man carrying an umbrella and when
he arrived they found that it was Judge Tom Morton of Illinois. He was dressed
in broadcloth, white shirt, collar, and Cuffs, blackened boots, in fact, was in
regular town style. He had come to Fort Zarah with a bunch of soldiers from the
east. He stopped here with the camp and in a few days he had bought Ed Tyler's
team, also another team for one of the Quincy party and suggested to G. N. Moses
that they go out on a regular buffalo hunt. They left this point in December,
1871 and went to the southwest where the buffalo were plentiful and they got as
far as the Medicine Lodge country before returning. From that time they made
buffalo hunting a regular business and hundreds of hides were ready to ship
from here when the Santa Fe railroad arrived. The first hunting party was
composed of G. N. Moses, John Tilton, Hy Bickerdyke and Judge Morton. Messrs.
Moses and Tilton continued it for a few days. Bickerdyke went west after a year
or two and Judge Morton was a resident of Great Bend until the late seventies.
Moses and Tilton
in those days had traveled over many miles of the west and before coming here
they had first met in Colorado and traveled a foot over most of the country
that has developed so well. From Colorado they came to about where Salina is
and from there here. From the time they met in Colorado they have been bosom
friends at all times. Prior to the time of the meeting of Moses and Tilton in
Colorado Mr. Moses had gone from Sedalia, Mo., where he had been a peace
officer after the war part of the time and was also a deputy United States
marshal to Arizona and New Mexico where he spent some years looking over that
country.
FIRST CENSUS OF
BARTON COUNTY 1872
The names
included in this list are those of people who resided in this county in the
spring of 1872. The work of securing this information was done by D. N. Heizer
who now resides at. Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was compulsory to get these
names before the county could be organized. The following gives the name, age
and a description of the land owned by each individual settler. Some of the
names in this list are of people who have long since left this part of the
county, but will be remembered by those who were here when the county was
organized:
John Hartley, 38.
Henry Cogle, 20.
John W. Meltor, 27.
Myron S. VanPelt, 25.
David E. Benedict, 23.
Elvin R. Benedict, 22.
Arsula M. Benedict, 1.
Jul. P. Bissell, 24, sec. 10, se qr 19.13w.
Ella M. Bissell, 24.
Minnie Bissell, 4.
Anna Bissell, 2.
Cora Bissell, 1.
David A. Greever, 23. sec 34, nw qr 19 sr, 12w.
Samuel Davis, 21.
E. J. Dodge, 50, sec. 10, w. hf sw qr 19, sr 15w.
Elizabeth Dodge, 43.
W. Dodge, 24, se qr s 4.
Don Dodge, 22, sec. 10, e hf sw qr w hf se qr.
Jennie Dodge 17.
Lizzie Dodge, 15.
John Dodge, 13.
Maggie Dodge, 8.
Mary Dodge, 2.
Dave Dobson, 22.
Charles E. Dodge, 26, sec. 9, s (the
writing at
this point in the list is obliterated.)
T. Scherzmyer, 22.
Ira Lake, 47.
A. C. Moses, 45, sec. 10 nw qr 19, sr 13 w.
Naomi A. Moses, 32, sec. 9, ne. qr 19 sr. 13 w.
Arthur Moses, 21, sec. 10, ne qr 19, sr. 13 w.
Clayton L. Moses, 19, sec. 9, nw qr 19 sr. 13 w.
Edward W. Moses, 16.
William A. Moses, 14.
Lincoln E. Moses, 11.
Cassius M. Moses, 7.
Seward E. Moses, 4.
Edward W. Dewey, 22 sec. 4, sw qr.
Hattie A. Dewey, 20.
Frank H. Dewey, 2.
William Dewey, 74.
Evan Thornburg, 44, sec. 4, 20-14 w.
Julia A. Thornburg, 32.
John S. Thornburg, 10.
William Thornburg, 1.
John McMullen, 35.
Lizzie McMullen, 32.
John McMullen, Jr., 13.
James McMullen, 4.
Benjamin McMullen, 3.
U. S. Hutchinson, 23.
H. C. Fox, 55, sec. 26, nw qr 20-15.
U. C. Bryant, 27.
J. F. Carter, 33, sec 26, sw qr 20-15.
Sandy Brown, 21.
Thomas Sublett, 22.
Lester Horn, 29.
J. D. Carpenter, 39, sec. 26. nw qr 20-15.
John W. Smith, 30, sec. 26, se qr 20-15.
F. C. Polk, 26.
L. M. Carter, 28.
A. C. Hunter, 22.
R. C. Graves, Jr., 21.
E. W. Hoch, 23, (afterwards became gov-
ernor of the the State of Kansas.)
C. H. Milton, 24.
C. H. Bates, 22.
J. A. Arnold, 21.
W. F. Hoch, 27.
Geo. M. Jackson, 31.
Bland Searce, 21.
Henry Lytle, 25.
Wm. M. Smith, 32.
M. L. Burks, 22.
Robert Heckle, 23.
Wm. Bahier, 24, sec. 14, ne qr 19-14.
John Reinecke, 30, sec. 10, se qr 19-14.
Mary Reinecke, 28.
Anna Reinecke, 4.
Louisa Reinecke, 2.
Mary Reinecke, 1.
Henry Schultz, 30, sec. 10 ne qr 19-14.
Wilhelmina Schultz, 28.
Louisa Schultz, 3.
Levi H. Lusk, 39, sec. 3 sw qr and ne qr sec.
9 and sec. 10, nw qr 19-14.
Orson Howard, 43, sec 6, nw qr 19-13.
B. F. Putinan, 40, sec 4, sw qr, all of sec.
5 but ne qr.
O. Buckner, 35, sec. se 14.
M. Falkner, 30, sec 9, nw qr r 14.
Thomas MeCoughan, 22.
James, Holland, 35.
Sarah Holland, 26.
Wm. H. Odell, 39, sec. 30, no qr 10-3.
Melda Odell, 37.
George H. Odell, 17.
Charles S. Odell, 15.
Edward Odell, 11.
Thomas Mitchell, 14.
Ida A. Mitchell.
Mary B. Mitchell, 14.
Jessie Odell, 4.
John Typer, 40.
L. C. Zollairs, 22.
Charlotte Zollairs, 22.
Ellsworth Zollairs, 10.
J. H. Taylor, 35.
S. H. Hedrick, 24, sec. 6, ne qr 19-14.
Lucy A. Hedrlck, 22.
Wm. L. Hedrick, 1.
James Hart, 23.
Charles Roudebush, 22, sec. 28, se qr 18-15.
George Reynolds, 25.
M. Brining, 21, sec. 30, se qr 18-15.
Charles B. Worden, 28, sec. 34, n hi nw qr
s. hf sw qr, sec 27.
C. F. Brining, 48, sec. 30, ne. qr 18-15.
Christina Brining, 44.
Fred Brining, 8.
Henry Brining, 5.
Rosa Brining, 11.
Christina Brining, 14.
Wm. W. Graham, 22, sec. 26 s. hf, sw qr and
n. hf nw qr sec 35.
Mary J. Graham, 18.
Marsene Graves, 35, sec. 28, n hf sw qr and
s hf nw qr.
Julia Graves, 34.
Louisa Graves, 6.
Aster Graves, 2.
Henry Cyr, 22.
Andrew Albright, 46, sec. 29, nw. qr 18-15.
Wilhelmina Albright, 51.
Champ Mayfield.
Wm. Mayfield.
James Smith,
Sol. Basham.
Prudence Eller, 33.
Alex Keller, 33.
Margurite Keller, 12.
Margurite Keller, 12.
Catherine Keller, 8.
Charles H. Keller, 2.
James S. Hill, 35.
George Brandagee, 26.
Henry Thatcher, 23.
W. Stotts, 23.
E. C. Campbell, 33.
P. Q. Myers, 35.
George Lane, 22.
Hiram Collan, 25.
Henry Collan, 35.
A. L. Choat, 36.
L. T. Hedrick, 22.
G. Allen, 32.
Richard Sutton, 23.
Andrew Proctor, 22.
Nathan Field, 24, sec. 31, se qr 8-14.
George H. Barry, 24, sec. 33, sw 14.
Thomas Gibson 22, sec. 5, ne qr 19-14.
Henry Myers, 35, sec. 4, nw. qr 19-14.
William Yontz, 30, sec. 4, i e. qr 19-14.
F. Warring, sec. 34, s hf, sw qr 18-14.
Ed Mecklem 22, sec. 3, nw. qr 19-14.
George F. Mecklem, 45, sec. 3, ne qr 19-14.
Antone Wilke, 25, sec. 3, se qr.
A. H. Annis, 49, sec. 3, sw, 19-14.
Sylvia A. Annis, 48.
E. N. Swan, 23, sec. 11, s hf sw qr 19-14.
Ellen Swan, 19.
J. Moffat, 34, sec. 2, nw. qr 19-14.
R. Moffat, 37, sec. 2, ne qr 19-14.
Jessie, Swan, 1.
N. Douglass, 49, sec. 14, s hf, sw qr and s
hf of e qr.
William L. Cotton, 27, sec. 14, n hf sw qr and
n hf se qr 19-14.
William C. Gibson, 47 sec. 14, ne qr.
Mary A. Gibson, 47.
Joseph Gibson, 12.
James Gibson, 8.
Charles F. Kinney, 30, sec. 12, nw qr 19-14 w.
Marguerite J. Kinney, 18.
Charles N. Kinney, 1.
Nate McKown, 35, sec. 12, sw qr.
Martha McKown, 3.
Nancy McKown, 3.
Hiram McKown, 1.
James MeRoberts, 23, sec. 12, se. hf of ne qr.
Samantha McRoberts, 20.
Florence McRoberts, 1.
John Gruber, 33, sec. 12, se. qr 19-14.
Catherine Gruber, 32.
Antone Gruber, 12.
Mar Gruber, 4.
Julius Both, 26, sec. 20, n. ff sw, qr and s.
hf nw qr 19-15 w.
Anna Both, 24.
Matilda Both, 2.
Henry Glen, 45, sec, 8, nw. qr 19-13.
Elizabeth Glen, 40.
Harry Glen, 12.
Lizzie Glen, 9.
John Glen, 5.
Laura Glen, 18.
August Myers, 24, sec. 12, w. hf ne. qr 19-14.
Fred Strohmyer, 30, sec. 4, ne qr e. hf.
Frank Shyher, 27, sec. 4, nw. qr e. hf.
Nick Raefler, 24, sec. 4, ne. qr w. hf.
John Cook, 33, sec. 8, e. hf nw. qr w. hf ne qr.
William Cook, 23, sec. 8, sw qr.
Louisa Cook, 26.
John Cook, 5.
George Cook, 4.
William Cook, 3.
Henry Cook, 1.
Jewel Lusher, 29, sec. 4., w. hf nw. qr.
James Moreland, 30, sec. 7, se. qr.
William Gilpin, 30., sec. 6, e. hf se. qr.
John Gilpin, 28, sec. 6, w. hf se. qr and e.
hf sw. qr.
John Dennis, 36, sec. 5, se. qr 19-13.
Nancy Dennis, 33.
Zura Cunningham, 11.
James Cunningham, 10.
Andrew Godsien, 33.
Clayton Zunzalos, 37.
John W. Light, 24.
Zack Light, 19.
James Edwards, 19.
Clem Jones, 33.
Isaac Barry, 25, sec. 32, ne. qr 19-12.
Nettie Buckbee, 20.
Titus Buckbee, 24.
Michael Stanto, 27, sec. 26, s. hf se qr sec
35, n. hf ne. qr 18-15 w.
A. W. Strong, 51, sec. 28, se qr 19-12.
Sarah C. Strong, 48.
Anna C. Strong, 17.
Wilkins A. Strong, 10.
R. A. Avery, 57.
Henry Beal, 28, sec. 14, sw. qr 19-15.
Sydney Sterling, 22, colored.
Charles Williams, 30, colored.
Frank Day, 26, sec. 34, ne. qr 19-13 w.
Percy Preston, 23.
John Roberts, 28.
Harland B. Truesdell, 23, sec. 28, sw. qr
19-13.
J. P. Brady, 26.
Nicholas Hauser, 25, sec. 20 se. qr.
Mrs. Addie Haouser, 23.
George Hauser, 1.
Nelson Carpenter, 35.
Mary E. Carpenter, 28.
Merrill Carpenter, 3.
John W. Pascoe, 38, sec. 18, nw. qr 19-13.
Grace Pascoe.
Rebekah Pascoe, 18.
Paul J. Pascoe, 11.
Libby Pascoe, 9.
Worth J. Pascoe, 5.
Maria L. Pascoe, 3.
Clara Pascoe, 1.
E. L. Morphy, 31, sec. 30, uw. qr 19-1.
A. B. Robinson, 28, sec. 2, sw. qr 20-14.
Albert Sloan, 31, sec. 26, se. qr 19-14.
R. Taylor, 25, (the first lumberman in the
country.)
C. A. Houston, 31.
S. S. Heath, 42.
William Ditts, 24.
George Yorksall, 22, sec. iS, no. qr 19-13.
Alva Stanton, 23.
John Shepard, 22.
Simon Rilter, 42.
Erastus Propper, 22.
Caroline Rilter, 26.
Dona Rilter, 11.
Allie Propper, 22.
Limon Wilsey, 20.
Frank Emery, 24.
Thomas Decker, 26.
Flora Propper, 5.
John D. Glenn, 45, sec. 20, sw. qr 19-13.
Clara M. Glenn, 45.
Mack B. Glenn, 18.
Mary E. Glenn, 15.
Leliah Glenn, 13.
Wm. T. Glenn, 11.
Byron O. Glenn, 8.
Kittie Glenn, 5.
Wm. J. Morgan.
Morgan Morgan.
John M. Williams.
Ivan Jones.
Wm. James.
Elias Davis.
Eleanor Burnsides, 21.
Wm. Bell.
Richard E. Jones.
Daniel Gammon.
Charles Zeiber, 22, sec. 18, sw. qr 19-13.
Henry Shaffer, 38, sec. 30, se. qr.
Mina Shaffer, 35.
August Shaffer, 13.
Martha Shaffer, 2.
Henry Shridde, 35, sec. 6, n. hf n. qr and n.
hf ne. qr 20-13.
Mary Shridde, 30.
Anna Shridde, 13.
Sophia Shridde, 7.
Henry Shridde, 4.
William Shridde, 1.
William H. Lette, 25.
A. A. Hurd, 25.
Theo. Hurd, 50.
James McFarren, 32.
G. L. Brinkman, 31.
James Rice, 32.
Mrs. Rice.
Louis P. Frey, 27, sec. 24, se. qr 19-14.
Kate Frey, 27.
Wm. W. Hartshorn, 25, sec. 2, ne. qr.
Lucy Hartshorn, 22.
Eliza Hartshorn, 60, sec. 10, nw. qr 20-14.
Charles Ross, 5.
Henry Fruit, 29, sec. 10, ne. qr 20-14.
James G. Pounds, 22, sec. 22, se. qr 19-14.
Thomas Frey, 25, sec. 24, sw. qr 19-14.
Paul Schneck, 33, sec. 24, ne. qr 19-14.
Melissa Schneck, 28.
Leona Schneck, 4.
Lizzie Schneck, 2.
Luther Frost, 22, sec. 9, se. qr 20-14.
Lydia. E. Frost, 21.
Arthur Frost, 1.
Reuben Fry, 32, sec. 24, nw. qr 19-14.
Alice Frey, 24.
Arthur Frey 4.
Antone Brenner, 28.
Edward Tyler, 28, sec. 2, nw. qr 20-14.
Lydia. Tyler, 26.
Leroy Tyler, 5.
Carrie Tyler, 3.
Barnum Tyler, 1.
A. Giddons, 24, sec. 34, se. qr 19-14.
Robert Johnson, 30.
Dan Rasure.
F. Word.
E. H. Vauness, 28.
M. Michael.
A. Parker.
J. McRea.
Charles Cemester.
N. C. Calhoun.
M. J. Koones.
Ed. S. Stone, 28.
G. L. Stone, 40, sec. 3, se. 19-13.
Jane Stone, 38.
Georgia Stone, 16.
Dolla Stone, 14.
Josie Stone, 8.
C. W. Wiley, 38.
Emma. P. Wiley, 28.
William Bruner, 45.
Thomas Keogh, 25.
James Keogh, 28.
Charles Minor, 23.
Frank Wood, 35.
J. C. Brien, 37.
George Wilkins, 26.
Abe. Cutler, 38.
Louisa Cutler, 30.
George Cutler, 12.
Captain Eddy, wife and child.
Charles Adams, 24.
James P. Davis, 38.
James O'Neil, 21.
David Wheeler, 22.
John Bagley, 35.
M. E. Welsh, 28.
Maggie S. Welsh, 27.
Manford Welsh, 3.
Robert Furrough, 33.
Susan J. Furrow, 33.
William N. Furrow, 12.
Ida B. Furrow, 10.
Alice I. Furrow, 4.
Clara E. Furrow, 1.
D. Bowles, 22.
W. R. Smith, 28.
George Murray, 22.
John Relay, 24.
U. E. Price, 35.
Harry Lovete, 25.
Sarah Carver, 25.
Jennie, Ziegler, 17.
George Towers, 21, sec. 12, se. qr 19-13.
Maria A. Towers, 28.
Lottie Towers, 5.
Frank Towers, 3.
E. V. Reuger, 40, sec. 20, sw. qr 19-12.
Maria Reuger, 30.
Emmet Reuger, 3.
Ella Reuger, 3.
Marguerite Reuger, 80.
Andrew McKinney, 36, sec. 28, ne. qr 19-12.
Maria McKinney, 30.
Liberty McKinney, 11.
Mary B. McKinney, 7.
Frank McKinney, 7.
Charles McKinney 4.
Flora McKinney, 1.
Arthur V. Halley, 27, sec. 30. sw. qr 19-11.
George Halley, 22, sec. 30, se. qr 19-11.
William Hager, 24, sec. 26, se. qr 10-12.
John Halpin, 40.
Cyrus Winston, 24.
A. Burlinson, 29, sec. 32 nw. qr 19-11.
Mrs. W. W. Burlison, 28.
Sarah J. Burlison, 3.
Thomas Corbitt, 60, sec. 20, sw. qr 19-11.
Albert G. Corbitt, 30, sec. 20, se. qr.
Mrs. Corbitt, 60.
Miss Corbitt, 21, sec. 20, nw. qr.
Erastus Carriens, 30, sec. 6, n. hf ne. qr and
se. qr of ne. qr and ne. qr of the n qr 20-11.
William H. Grant, 21, sec. 32 ne. qr 19-11.
Wilton W. Halsey, 30, sec. 32, sw. qr 19-11.
Mary Halsey, 27.
Ellsworth Halsey, 11.
Wallace Halsey, 5.
Estella Halsey, 2.
W. W. Halsey, 32, sec. 32, se qr 19-11.
Mary P. Halsey, 30.
Eliza C. Halsey, 4.
William C. Halsey, 2.
Michael Murphy, 26.
George Laws, 20.
John Lissur, 22.
Lawrence Baily, 18.
Alonzo Baily, 26.
James Broderick, 28.
James McCarthy, 23.
William Burke, 24.
Marion Whitney, 22.
W. H. Smith, 24.
Lee M. Collins, 35, sec. 4, n. hf se. qr and s.
hf ne. qr. 20-11 w.
Laff Shouse, 23, sec. 12, nw. qr 20-11.
Sarah Shouse, 18.
Laff Shouse, Jr., 1.
Emanuel Dubbs, 29.
Noah Broombaugh, 25.
Francis Broombaugh, 21.
Angelina Dubbs, 21, wife and child.
Luella Broombaugh, 2.
John Dinsmore, 21.
M. Black, 30, sec. 2, w. hi, sw qr and s hf
nw. qr 20-11.
J. M. Reaugh, 53, sec. 10, ne. qr 20-11.
Melissa Reaugh, 47.
John T. Reaugh, 25.
Clarke Reaugh, 22.
Ellen Reaugh, 19.
Addie Reaugh. 17.
Laura Reaugh, 29.
David Reaugh, 4.
E. L. Houston, 32, sec. 12, ne. qr 20-11.
Carrie Houston, 30.
James W. Houston, 7.
Frank Houston, 2.
Lena Houston. 1.
Charles Meacham, 35, sec. 12, se. qr 20-11.
Mary Meacham, 34, (five girls and on boy.)
Lute Bannon, sec. 12, sw. qr 20-11.
Robert Dickenson, 42, sec. 2, ne. qr 20-11.
Henry Huffines, 32, sec. 22, ne. qr 10-14.
S. S. Hutchinson, 36, sec. 34, se. qr 19-11.
William W. Hutchison, 12.
C. L. V. Hutchison, 10.
L. L. Hutchison, 7.
J. C. Hutchison, 4.
Dan Dodge, Sr., 53, sec. 34, sw. qr 19-11.
Dan Dodge, Jr., 7.
Josiah Carr, 28, sec. 34, nw. qr 19-11.
Elizebeth Carr, 25.
Ohio Belle Carr, 5.
Hattie Carr, 3.
William Wiley, 23, sec. 34, ne. qr 10-11.
Seth D. Hubbard, 24.
C. J. Hilt, 21.
T. L. Morton, 35, sec. 14, se. qr 19-15.
C. J. Whitney, 23.
W. Leak, 31, sec. 32.
Nelson H. Ritchie, 32, sec. 32, se. qr.
Henry Dacus, 24.
A. J. Jones, 30.
J. C. Fairchild, 22.
Michael Riney, 21.
Charles Anderson, 27.
Peter Brown, 29.
John Riney,28.
Cleia Riney, 30.
J. C. Martin, 60.
B. Cullen, 35.
Miram Brooks, 26.
Ellen Brooks.
Carrie E. Brooks.
William Magova, 28.
Martha A. Smith, 36.
Thomas T. Smith, 13.
Anna C. Smith, 11.
Charles B. Smith,
James L. Smith, 4.
Rasa Smith, 1.
Leslie B. Smith, 7.
Dannie Jackson, 28.
James Jackson, 7.
Thomas Jackson, 4.
William Cornwall, 14.
Bettie Cornwall, 12.
Thomas Cornwall, 18.
Mrs. Cornwall, 50.
George Cooper, 22.
T. Baker, 25.
R. C. Jackson, 33.
S. E. Day, wife and two children.
Thomas King, 40.
Biddie King, 38.
Thomas Carroll, 8
OFFICIALS OF BARTON COUNTY FROM 1872 TO 1912
The following
list, gives the names of all
people who have served Barton County in
public offices since the county was organized
in 1872, together with the time of their elec-
tion or appointment:
COMMISSIONERS—FIRST DISTRICT.
May 16, 1872—Thomas L. Morris—Appoint-
ed special commissioner by Governor James
M. Harvey.
July 1, 1872—M. W. Halsey.
Nov. 5, 1872—M.. W. Halsey.
Nov. 4, 1873—J. L. Roberts—Resigned.
Nov. 3, 1874—A. R. Heckensmith—Appoint-
ed May 29, 1875 to fill the vacancy caused by
resignation of J. L. Roberts.
Nov. 2, 1875—Wm. Wintermantel.
Nov. 6, 1877—H. S. Williams.
Nov. 5, 1878—J. T. Spring.
Nov. 8, 1881—H. J. Roetzel.
Nov. 4, 1884—H. J. Roetzel—Resigned.
Jan. 17, 1887—C. A. Willms—Appointed to
fill vacancy caused by the resignation of H.
J. Roetzel.
Nov. 8, 1887—Henry Langford.
Nov. 4, 1890—Joseph Strothman.
Nov. 7, 1893—C. D. Montgomery.
Nov. 3, 1896—Matt Dick.
Nov. 7, 1899—Matt Dick.
Nov. 4, 1902—W. B. Pickerell.
Nov. 3, 1906—N. W. Kiepper.
Nov. 8, 1910—Matt Dick.
COMMISSIONERS—SECOND DISTRICT.
May 16, 1872—John H. Hubbard—Appointed
special commissioner by Governor James M.
Harvey.
July 1, 1872—John Cook.
Nov. 5, 1872—John Cook.
Nov. 4, 1873—John M. Taylor.
Nov. 3, 1874—C. M. Fessler—Resigned June
17, 1875.
June 17, 1875—S. S. Dennis—Appointed to
fill vacancy caused by resignation of C. M.
Fessler.
Nov. 2, 1875—G. N. Moses.
Nov. 6, 1877P. G. Bonewitz.
Nov. 4, 1879—R. C. Bailey.
Nov. 7, 1882—J. K. Humphrey.
Nov. 3, 1885—W. W. Carney.
Nov. 6, 1888—G. N. Moses.
Nov. 3, 1891—C. L. Moses.
Nov. 6, 1894—C. L. Moses.
Nov. 7, 1897—Theodore Griffith.
Nov. 7, 1899—Chas. E. Dodge—Appointed to
fill vacancy caused by resignation of Theo.
Griffith.
Nov. 6. 1900—S. S. Shattuck.
Nov. 3, 1908—Frank Wood.
COMMISSONERS—THIRD DISTRICT.
May 16, 1872—Geo. M. Berry—Appointed
special commissioner by Governor James M.
Harvey. July 1, 1872—L. H. Lusk.
Nov. 5, 1872—L. H. Lusk.
Nov. 4, 1873—C. B. Worden.
Nov. 2, 1875—J. Zimmer.
Nov. 6, 1877—B. I. Dawson.
Nov. 2, 1880—C. Williams.
Nov. 6, 1883—Henry Schwier.
Nov. 2, 1886—Henry Schwier.
Nov. 8, 1889—C. Coughlin.
Oct. 17, 1891—D. O. Gray—Appointed to fill
vacancy caused by death of C. Coughlin.
Nov. 3, 1891—W. P. Bruce.
Nov. 2, 1892—W. P. Bruce.
Nov. 5, 1895—Thomas Harper.
July 6, 1896—J. W. Howard—Appointed to
fill vacancy caused by death of Thomas Har-
per.
Nov. 3, 1896—H. C. Merhoff.
Aug. 31, 1898—Robert Merten—Appointed to
fill vacancy caused by death of H. C. Merhoff.
Nov. 8, 1898—J. Zimmer.
Nov. 8, 1901—T. C. Brown.
Nov. 8, 1901—S. J. Williams.
Nov. 3, 1908—P. E. Murphy.
COUNTY CLERKS.
May 16, 1872—W. H. Odell—Appointed
special clerk by Governor James M.
Harvey.
July 1, 1872—W. H. Odell.
Nov. 5, 1872—W. H. Odell.
Nov. 4. 1873—W. H. Odell.
Nov. 2, 1875—M. C. Campbell.
Nov. 6, 1877—Ira D. Brugher.
Nov. 4, 1879—Ira D. Brougher.
Nov. 8, 1881—Ira D. Brougher.
Nov. 6, 1883—E. L. Teed.
Nov. 3, 1885—E. L. Teed.
Nov. 8, 1887—D. R. Jones.
Nov. 8, 1889—D. R. Jones.
Nov. 3, 1891—R. P. Typer.
Nov. 7, 1893—R. P. Typer.
Nov. 5. 1895—M. B. Fitts.
Nov. 7, 1897—M. B. Fitts.
Nov. 7, 1899—F. M. Lutschg.
Nov. 8, 1904—H. D. Ashpole.
Nov. 3, 1906—H. D. Ashpole.
Nov. 3, 1909—C. F. Younkin.
Nov. 8, 1910.—C. F. Younkin.
TREASURERS.
July 1, 1872—E. L. Morphy.
Nov. 5, 1872—E. L. Mohphy.
Nov. 4,1873—A. W. Gray.
Nov. 2, 1875—A. W. Gray.
Nov. 6, 1877—John Alefs.
Nov. 8, 1881—Cal Weaver.
Nov. 6, 1883—L. F. Weaver.
Nov. 3, 1885—L. F. Weaver.
Nov. 8, 1887—L. M. Krause.
Nov. 8, 1889—L. M. Krause.
Nov. 3, 1891—D. Bosse.
Nov. 7, 1893—F. H. Miller.
Nov. 5, 1895—D. Bosse.
Nov. 7, 1897—D. Bosse.
Nov. 7, 1899—Theo. Griffith.
Nov. 8, 1901—R. C. Bailey—Appointed to fill
vacancy caused by resignation of Theo. Grif-
fith.
Nov. 4, 1902—E. E. Epperson—Short term.
Nov. 8, 1904—Frank Millard.
Nov. 3, 1906—Frank Millard.
Nov. 3, 1908—J. W. Sodderstrom.
Nov. 8, 1910—I. W. Soderstrom.
SHERIFFS.
July 1, 1872—G. N. Moses.
Nov. 5, 1872—G. N. Moses.
Nov. 4, 1873—G. N. Moses.
Nov. 2, 1875—W. W. Winstead.
Nov. 6, 1877—W. W. Winstead.
Nov. 4, 1879—M. Gillmore.
Nov. 8, 1881—M. Gillmore.
Nov. 6, 1883—J. S. Dalziel.
Nov. 3, 1885—J. S. Dalziel.
Nov. 8, 1887—F. D. Wilson.
Nov. 8, 1889—F. D. Wilson.
Nov. 3, 1891—G. J. Spencer.
Nov. 7, 1893—G. J. Spencer.
Nov. 5, 1895—L. P. Aber.
Nov. 7, 1897—L. P. Aber.
Nov. 7, 1899—J. R. Johnson.
Nov. 4, 1902—J. R. Johnson.
Dec. 28, 1903—W. R. Bunting—Appointed
to fill vacancy caused by death of J. R.
Johnson.
Nov. 8, 1904—J. S. Dalziel.
Nov. 3, 1906—J. S. Danziel.
Nov. 3, 1908—M. Dailey.
Nov. 8, 1910—M. Dailey.
REGISTERS OF DEEDS.
July 1, 1872—T. L. Morris.
Nov. 5, 1872—D. N. Heizer.
Nov. 4, 1873—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 2, 1875—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 6, 1877—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 4, 1879—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 8, 1881—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 6, 1883—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 3, 1885—C. E. Dodge.
Nov. 8, 1887—F. G. Strothman.
Nov. 3, 1891—F. G. Strothman.
Nov. 7, 1893—Henry Klein.
Nov. 5, 1895—Henry Klein.
Nov. 7, 1897—E. S. Brodie.
Nov. 7, 1899—E. S. Brodie.
Nov. 8, 1891—Flora A. Smith.
Nov. 8, 1904—Flora A. Smith.
Nov. 3, 1906—E. E. Epperson.
Nov. 3, 1908—E. E. Epperson.
Nov. 8, 1910—E. E. Epperson.
COUNTY ATTORNEYS.
July 1, 1872—J. B. Howard.
Nov. 5, 1872—G. W. Nimocks.
Nov. 3, 1874—G. W. Nimocks.
—— 1876—S. J. Day.
Nov. 5, 1878—S. J. Day.
Nov. 2, 1880—G. W. Nimocks.
Nov. 7, 1882—C. F. Diffenbacher.
Nov. 4, 1884—C. F. Diffenbacher.
Nov. 2, 1886—E. C. Cole.
Nov. 6, 1888—E. C. Cole.
Nov. 4, 1890—E. L. Hotchkiss.
Nov. 2, 1892—E. L. Hotchkiss.
Nov. 6, 1894—G. W. Nimocks.
Nov. 3, 1896—C. F. Diffenbacher.
Nov. 8, 1898—C. F. Diffenbacher.
Nov. 6, 1900—J. W. Clarke.
Nov. 8, 1904—P. C. Kopplin.
Nov. 3, 1906—J. W. Clarke.
Nov. 3, 1908—J. W. Clarke.
Nov. 8, 1910—R. C. Russell.
SURVEYORS.
July 1, 1872—John Fanrow.
Nov. 5, 1872—J. B. Howard.
Nov. 4, 1873—J. B. Howard.
Nov. 2, 1875—C. Chamberlain.
Nov. 6, 1877—C. Chamberlain.
Nov. 4, 1879—C. Q. Newcombe.
Nov. 8, 1881—C. Q. Newcombe.
Nov. 6, 1883—Byron Majors.
Nov. 3, 1885—C. Q. Newcombe.
Nov. 8, 1887—B. Markey.
Nov. 8, 1889—B. Markey.
Nov. 3. 1891—S. A. Newcombe.
Nov. 7, 1893—S. A. Newcombe.
Nov. 5, 1895—S. A. Newcombe.
Nov. 7, 1897—S. A. Newcombe.
Nov. 7, 1899—S. A. Newcombe.
Nov. 8, 1904—S. A. Ncwcombe.
Nov. 3, 1906—S. A. Newcombe.
Nov. 8, 1910—S. A. Newcombe.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.
July 1, 1872—A. C. Moses.
Nov. 5, 1872—J. R. McClellan.
Nov. 3, 1874—H. A. Brundidge.
....... 1876—Wm. Chalfant.
Nov. 5, 1878—Wm. Chalfaut.
Nov. 2, 1880—L. Baldwin.
Nov. 7, 1882—C. C. Wolfe.
Nov. 4, 1884—J. Baldwin.
Nov. 2, 1886—C. C. Wolfe.
Nov. 6, 1888—W. H. Grant.
Nov. 4, 1890—A. McTaggart.
Nov. 2, 1892—F. G. McKinney.
Nov. 6, 1894—F. G. McKinney.
Nov. 3, 1896—M. L. Harrison.
Nov. S, 1898—M. L. Harrison.
Nov. 6, 1900—Ben Hennessy.
Nov. 8, 1901—C. R. Aldrich—Appointed to
fill vacancy caused by the resignation of Ben
Hennessy.
Nov. 4, 1902—C. R. Aldrich.
Nov. 8, 1904—C. R. Aldrich.
Nov. 3, 1906—Ed Opie.
Nov. 3, 1908—Ed Opie.
Nov. 8, 1910—Jennie B. Momyer.
CLERKS OF THE DISTRICT.
July 1, 1872—J. B. Howard.
Nov. 5, 1872—T. C. Polk.
Nov. 4, 1873—T. C. Polk.
Nov. .., 1876—C. Faussel.
Nov. 5, 1878—J. J. McClimans.
Nov. 4, 1879—A. C. Schermerhorn.
Nov. 2, 1880—A. C. Schermerhorn.
Nov. 7, 1882—A. C. Schermerhorn.
Nov. 2, 1886—Ira D. Brougher.
Nov. 6, 1888—W. R. Bunting.
Nov. 4, 1890—W. R. Bunting.
Nov. 2, 1892—R. A. Charles.
Nov. 6, 1894—R. A. Charles.
Nov. 3, 1896—F. G. Strothman.
Nov. 8, 1898—F. G. Strothman.
Nov. 6, 1900—W. B. Lucas.
Nov. 8, 1904—Sam Kellam.
Nov. 3, 1906—Sam Kellam.
Nov. 3, 1908—Sam Kellam.
Nov. 8, 1910—Sam Kellam.
PROBATE JUDGES.
July 1, 1872—D. N. Heizer.
Nov. 5, 1872—T. S. Morton.
Nov. 3, 1874—E. L. Chapman.
Nov. .., 1876—E. L. Chapman.
Nov. 6, 1877—E. L. Chapman.
Nov. 5, 1878—E. L. Chapman.
Nov. 2, 1880—E. L. Chapman—Resigned to
become postmaster.
Oct. 1, 1881—James Clayton—Appointed by
Governor.
Nov. 7, 1882—G. Toepke.
Nov. 2, 1886—B. F. Ogle.
Nov. 6, 1888—B. F. Ogle.
Nov. 4, 1890—T. H. Brewer.
Nov. 2, 1892—T. H. Brewer.
Nov. 6, 1894—H. McCorkle.
Nov. 3, 1896—L. C. Breeden.
Nov. 8, 1898—L. C. Breeden.
Nov. 6, 1900—W. P. Feder.
Nov. 8, 1904—W. Torrey.
Nov. 3, 1906—W. Torrey.
Nov. 3, 1908—H. A. Hall.
Nov. 8, 1910—H. A. Hall.
REPRESENTATIVES.
Nov. 5, 1872—G. L. Brinkman.
Nov. 4, 1873—J. T. Cummings.
Nov. 3, 1874—G. L. Brinkman.
Nov. 2, 1875—C. J. Frey.
Nov. ..., 1876—W. H. Keeney.
Nov. 6, 1877—G. L. Brinkman.
Nov. 4, 1879—D. N. Heizer.
Nov. 7, 1882—J. D. Bain.
Nov. 4, 1884—W. H. Campbell.
Nov. 2, 1886—H. J. Roetzel.
Nov. 6, 1888—W. H. Rice.
Nov. 4, 1890—M. W. Cobun.
Nov. 2, 1892—M. W. Cobun.
Nov. 6, 1894—E. C. Cole.
Nov. 5, 1895—B. F. Lorimer.
Nov. 3, 1896—Isom Wright.
Nov. 8, 1898—Isom Wright.
Nov. 6, 1900—M. W. Cobun.
Nov. 4, 1902—Henry Langfield.
Nov. 8, 1904—Bert Steckel.
Nov. 3, 1906—W. M. Chatten.
Nov. 3, 1908—W. P. Feder.
Nov. 8, 1910—W. P. Feder.
CORONERS.
July 1, 1872—D. B. Baker.
Nov. 5, 1872—A. W. Strong.
Nov. 4, 1873—J. D. Bain.
Nov. 2, 1875—A. C. Moses.
Nov. 6, 1877—B. S. Lewis.
Nov. 4, 1879—Frank Lightfoot.
Nov. 8, 1881—J. D. Bain.
Nov. 6, 1883—S. J. Shaw.
Nov. 3, 1885—S. J. Shaw.
Nov. 8, 1887—S. J. Shaw.
Nov. S, 1889—J. R. McIlvaine.
Nov. 4, 1890—D. B. Shant.
Nov. 3, 1891—A. R. Lash.
Nov. 7, 1893—G. L. Koch.
Nov. 5, 1895—S. J. Shaw.
Nov. 7, 1897—S. J. Shaw.
Nov. 7, 1899—G. L. Koch.
Nov. 8, 1904—E. E. Morrison.
Nov. 3, 1908—F. L. McCauley.
Nov. 8, 1910—F. L. McCauley.
COUNTY PRINTERS.
Nov. 6, 1900—D. T. Armstrong.
Nov. 4, 1902—D. T. Armstrong.
March 2, 1903—W. E Stoke—Appointed.
Nov. 8, 1904—W. L. Townsley.
Nov. 3, 1906—W. L. Townsley.
Nov. 3, 1908—Roy Cornelius.
Nov. 8, 1910—Roy Cornelius.
WAY back in the
early days when George N. Moses was sheriff of the county. Great Bend at that
time was the stopping place of notorious bad men. It was in 1873 that Harry Lovet
then of Newton, came to Great Bend with an outfit consisting of the remnants of
a dance hall which he had operated at Newton. The town company would not let
him have a lot but he managed to get in debt to Colonel Tom Stone, refused to
pay him and hiked for Dodge City. The sheriff (George Moses) told the Colonel
to get him a pony. Mounting the pony and with his old needle gun ready for
action he went west on the trail like greased lightning. After reaching a point
about where Henry Fruit's farm is located George overtook Lovet's outfit.
Dismounting and leveling the needle gun at Lovet he ordered him to hold his
hands up. Lovet raised his hands and asked: "What is wanted?" George
said, "I want that money you owe Tom Stone." "Then come and get
it." said Lovet, and George got it.
On another
occasion a man by the name of Crockett was in town and said he was looking for
the marshal, that he had three of them to his credit and that he was a
dangerous man to trifle with. George Moses was notified and being the sheriff
he went out to look for Crockett. He met him on the street, walked up to him
and said: "How do you do?" Crockett stuck out his hand, and as he did
so George grasped it and with a quick wrench threw the man to the ground,
disarmed him and took him to jail. The next morning the fellow had sobered up
and George gave him back his gun and told him the next time he came to town to
keep sober and keep out of trouble.
IRRIGATION CAMPAIGN
BEGAN IN GREAT BEND
IT is not a
generally known fact that the big irrigation projects that have been
successfully completed in the western part of the state are due in a large
measure to the action of the first meeting of irrigationists in this part of
the country which was held in Great Bend.
The irrigation
campaign that swept over this western country was started by Lutellus Baldwin
at Great Bend, Kansas, on July 17th, 1893, by calling a meeting of the citizens
to consider the subject of irrigation. Previous to that time he had been
carrying on a general agitation on the subject among the people, in this
portion of Kansas, endeavoring to arouse interest in the subject. A dozen or
more farmers, editors and other citizens attended this meeting, and some
scoffed at the idea but an interest was aroused. Mr. Baldwin then called a
delegate convention to meet at Great Bend on the 7th of August following. This
convention was called to order by Lutellus Baldwin, who read the call and
organized the convention and handed it over to its officers, D. M. Frost of
Garden City and F. B. Cowgill of Topeka, president and secretary respectively.
This meeting was well attended, representatives being present from all parts of
Kansas, and much enthusiasm was shown. This meeting was followed by meetings at
Salina, Wichita, Omaha and by a large meeting at Los Angeles, California, at
which meeting the Kansas delegation took a prominent part. At this meeting the
name "National Irrigation Congress" was adopted at the suggestion of
the Kansas delegation.
CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF
BARTON COUNTY
As early as 1877,
Rev. Father Swenberg used to come from Newton to visit the missions of Barton
County, among which was Great Bend. A little later on, Rev. B. Wolf,
Benedictine, who was stationed at Windhorst, Ford County, took charge of the
Great Bend mission and built a church. From 1882 to 1885, Father Epp attended
from Ellinwood. Then came Father
Disselkamp, who is credited with moving the church to its present site and
honored with the 1912 State Convention. Renovating its interior. From 1885 on,
Great Bend has had as resident priests Rev. Fathers Walsh, Kelly, Brown,
Podgorsek, Wiersma, Shutz, O'Sullivan and Hermann. The present pastor is Father
Hull, who has been here two years. There are about 40 families in the parish
and it is the expectation to erect soon a new and larger church. The Knights of
Columbus have a flourishing council and were honored with the 1912 State
Convention.
The first church,
St. Mary's, at Odin, was built in 1878 by Father Hundhausen, who visited once a
month from Ellinwood. Rev. J. C. Schurz visited for a while. In 1881 Father
Emmerich came to reside. He built the rectory and the first school, and started
on the new church. Father Heiman was appointed in 1896 and under him the new
$30,000 stone church was completed. Rev. B. Drath supplied for a year. Father
Heiman returned and set to work to build the $20,000 school, which was
completed in 1908. The present pastor, Father Niederprum, has been in charge
two years. The Sisters of St. Dominic manage the school, 80 children attending.
There are over 100 families in this prosperous parish.
At the time the
M. P. R. R. was run through this section, the Catholics around Claflin built a
school house, where Father Emmerich held regular services, until Fathers Heiman
and Drath built the present beautiful church in 1905. It cost about $4,000.
Rev. Reinschmidt was the first resident pastor, and a cosy home was purchased
for him. Rev. Joyce, the noted entertainer, enlivened the neighborhood for two
years and then went to cheer the Soldiers in the U. S. army as a chaplain.
Fathers Heiman and O'Sullivan visited for a while, till the appointment of
Father McErlane, the present rector. The parish contains thirty-five families.
A small church,
named after St. Catherine, was erected in 1882 by Father Emmerich, who
continued to visit regularly till 1896. Previous to his coming, during 1881,
Rev. Lager held services in a school house. Rev. Dragun attended for a year
from Wilson. After Father Emmerich, it was visited by Father Heiman, who began
the construction of a new church. In 1898 Father Hermanus came to reside. He
continued the building of the new church, and put up a comfortable home. After
nine years of devoted service, he resigned his place to Rev. J. Birrenbach. The
old church happened to burn down. The new one was then soon finished. It had
been a mighty task for the 75 families of the parish to raise the necessary
$5,000.
The old St.
Joseph's church was started in 187, when Father Swenborgh of Newton visited
occasionally. In 1878 Rev. Emmer came to reside and was succeeded the same year
by Father Hundhausen, who built the first priests house. Rev. J. C. Schurz came
in 1880 and was followed by Father Epp in 1892. He had the first school built.
In 1896 came Father Emmerich, under whose able administration a new church,
rectory, and school have replaced the old ones at an outlay of $50,000. The old
rectory now serves for a convent. There are over a 100 substantial, German
families in the parish and in the school, taught by Sisters of the Precious
Blood, 60 pupils. There is a council of the Knights of Columbus, who have
erected a $20,000 hall. In the towering spire of the church is a large town
clock donated by the citizens, which automatically rings the bells at the
appointed intervals of the day and night.
St. Peter and Paul’s Church Five Miles North of Ellinwood
The first church
at St. Peter and Paul`s was built in 1877, by Father Swenborgh, and was
attended from Ellinwood. In 1882 Father Epp established a school and erected
the hand-some brick church. Rev. B. Disselkamp was the first resident pastor
and put up the present rectory in 1898 After two years under Rev J. Mantz, came
Father Weichniann who enlarged the school and added a new sanctuary, the 75
families of the parish and on the church. Rev. J. East is now caring for the 75
families of the parish and the school is flourishing under the management of
the Sisters.
Olmitz Church
As early as 1878,
Olmitz was visited once a month by Rev. B. Wolf, a member of the Benedictine
Order. In 1SSl Father Emmerich began to came from Odin and in 1882 he built the
first church. The next year Father Disselkamp came to reside. His successors
were Rev. Dr. Dipolder, Hartmann and Sklenar.After the building of the
M.P.R..the church was moved to town. Father luna,who has been fourteen years at
Ohnitz, has been an active supervisor. He has enlarged and decorated the
church, built a rectory and a convent. He is very interested in his school and
entrusts it with the Sisters of the Precious Blood. The 100 families of his
congregation are of German, Bohemian and Irish descent.
Hoisington
Catholic Church
Shortly after the
building of the M. P. R. H, Rev Emmerich used to hold services at different
houses in Hoisington. Later, Father Kelly of Hutchinson attended and built the
first church it was afterwards supplied from Great Bend and has been visited by
Fathers Podgorsek, Wirma, Schulz, Hermanns and O`Sullivan. The last named built
a beautiful Rectory and took up his residence in it six years ago. He has added
to his great achievements by the erection of a $20,000 church, the grandest
structure in the town.
THE BLIZZARD OF
1871
Edwin Tyler, one
of the best known of Barton County`s old, timers, tells in his own way about
the big blizzard that visited this section in 1871. "l had been here but a
short time and had but forty—five dollars in money, a second-class team, a ten
dollar wagon, a good wife and three children. I had failed as a buffalo hunter
and as that occupation offered about the only means of getting money, the
outlook for me was anything but bright. However. I had come to Kansas for my
health, and by the way was only one here for that purpose. I looked forward to
better things. A few days after my arrival in Great Bend, Lute Morris said to
me, ‘you had better take a lot, and he also stated that the terms would be one
dollar down. He also added that I could build a house within sixty days. I
selected a lot. About this time Judge Morton came with a pocket full of money
and began to buy teams for buffalo hunting I sold him mine for $25. This money
enabled me to build a little house to live in until spring. L.R. Odell had a
house on the Hess quarter 12 by 14 about a half mile east of the veterinary.
The house had no floor and the walls were held together by bolts. He said to me
that if I wanted to I could live in his house until spring as he was going back
east. I moved what few things I had and myself and family took up our residence
there. The weather had been fine up to that time, similar to other mild winters
since. November 17, 1871, dawned bright and clear. Rube Frey went by the house
that morning without his coat and asked me to go with. him to Dry creek for a
load of wood, but Mrs. Tyler was afraid of the Indians and stayed at home.
About nine o’clock the wind began to blow and I have never been in such a hazy
atmosphere as that which surrounded us that morning. It grew colder and the
wind grew worse, increasing every minute, and very soon I saw Rube Frey and team coming down the
trail at a two forty clip. He stopped at the house and came in to get warm. We
began to crack jokes. he and I had served three years in the same regiment in
the war and things had to look mighty blue if we could not joke a little. He
soon departed for his house. Shortly after noon the sleet, snow, and hail struck us with great force. By three
o`clock it became so dark that it was
impossible to distinguish objects ten feet away. Myself and family
huddled inside the house and looked at each other, being in no mood for
conversation. We could not keep warm and every minute expected the shanty to
blow over, but the house had been securely fastened to posts sunk deep into the
ground and had it not been for this fact I guess we would have been victims of
the storm. Luckily my wife had brought along two feather beds and I had
included in my pack a couple of tarpaulins such as are used in the army. With
these we made a bed on the floor of the building and with all our clothes on
prepared to retire. We were comfortable but frightened as the wind howled
around the house and the storm grew in volume and violence. We ate very little
that day and the next, spending most of the time in bed where we could keep
warm. It grew mighty cold by the afternoon of the 18th, when the storm began to
abate somewhat. On the morning of the 19th the sun rose bright and clear and
the storm was over, but it was exceedingly cold. That storm is remembered by
all who were here at that time as one of the worst in the history of this part
of the state.
BUFFALO HUNTING
BYTENDERFEET
EDWIN TYLER tells
about his experience in hunting the
Monarchs of the Plains, during the early days of Barton County ; "When I
came to this part of the country but buffaloes and antelope roamed the prairies
of Western Kansas in countless numbers. While coming through the central part
of the state, nearly everybody we met this side of Emporia told us that
tomorrow we would find buffaloes in plentiful numbers. At Atlanta in Rice
County we were told that we would find them the next day on the Arkansas river.
We were quite anxious to find them as we were hungry for some fresh meat. Our
arms consisted of two double barreled shot-guns, one of which had two hammers
and the other but one. We had traded a dog for the one with a single hammer. We
traveled late that night and camped in the sand hills. The next morning we got
an early start. We soon encountered large numbers of antelope but we paid no
attention to the mass it was buffaloes we were after. Soon after we had reached
the Arkansas Valley we saw three old bulls crossing the trail a short distance
ahead of us. Bill Hartshorn and I soon had our fastest horses unharnessed. We mounted
them and with the reins in one hand and our guns in the other we charged on the
game. As soon as we got within shooting distance we dismounted and prepared to
fire. By this time the game was too far away for our arms. We made three
charges on the animals and finally gave up in disgust and decided to postpone
our feast of` buffalo meat. A few days after our arrival at a point where Great
Bend now stands. D. N. Heizer invited me to go with him and a party up Dry
Creek where he was going to locate the party on a homestead. When we arrived
where T.O Brandt lived. Heizer told me I could take my gun and go up the creek
where I would find plenty of game. He told me to keep near the brush on the
creek, and I could get near enough to the game to make my shots effective. He
told me to shoot a buffalo just behind the fore leg to get the best results. I
obeyed all his orders but saw no game until I arrived at a point that is now a
part of Chas. Button’s home place. Here I saw three buffalo bulls standing not
twenty feet away, their heads partly hidden by the brush. I could make no
attempt to raise my gun, nothing going up except my hair and heart. I ducked
down low and sneaked back to where I could climb a tree on an instant‘s notice.
My nerve finally returned and I crept up close to the animals, aimed at the
point designated by Mr. Heizer and pulled the trigger. Then, I ran for the tree
I had selected to climb. When I was up about ten feet from the earth I looked
back expecting to find a dead buffalo. However I finally located all three of
them some miles and a half away. They were in behind some plum bushes. Made
another stealthy advance but they were on the lookout and long before l got
within shooting distance they ran towards the river as fast as they could go and
I never saw them again.
"My next
experience was with a genuine old buffalo hunter, John W. Tilton. One day he
proposed to me that we go to the Five Mile Timber to get a load of wood. He
took a 22 caliber revolver and I took an ax. We had not thought of finding any
buffaIo but as my reputation had suffered in the hunting line I was rather in
hopes that something would happen so that I could distinguish myself. As we
were driving around a sand hill where Capt. and Ed Moses have their cattle
sheds we spied a buffalo cow. John stopped the team `and sneaked up behind the
hill until he was within twenty feet of the animals. He then began firing the
pistol. The cow dropped and we found on examination that she had been shot
through the lungs and shoulders. The animal had no more than touched the ground
when John was on top of her and was holding her· down by the horns, while he
called to me to bring the ax. I had lost the ax in the excitement and was
Iooking for a tree. I found one but after John had coaxed and pleaded with me
for some time, I took the ax to him, and then returned to my tree. lt took John
but a short time to kill and skin the buffalo. I then remarked to him that. we
had done very well. And you should have seen the look on his face when I said
“We.” I often wanted to go with the hunters after that but none of them seemed
to want my company.
"A short
time after ‘we` had killed that buffalo cow, Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn and my wife
and I started out to visit the neighbors in our vicinity. I took my gun and two
Shepherd dogs with us. I had forgotten that my wife had trained those dogs so
that they would drive cattle, sheep, etc., in any direction that might be
indicated by a wave of the hand. We had driven but a short way when we saw a
buffalo lying in the grass. I crawled up to within about a hundred yards of it
when all of a sudden my wife motioned to the dogs. and they ran by me like shot
out of a gun. They ran around the buffalo and it started for me with the dogs
in pursuit. I beat it back to the wagon slightly in the lead. After running
around the wagon twice I got together enough courage to turn and shoot at the
animal. I sent about a dozen buck shot into it and at last I could say I had
killed a buffalo. It has always been a wonder to me that I did not shoot the
dogs instead of the buffalo.
AN INDIAN BATTLE
By A. J.
Hoisington
One of the best
known old timers tells of an Indian battle that was fought by the Pawnees and
Arapahoes on ground that is now included within the borders of Barton County,
long before it was organized. The story as told by Mr. Hoisington is as
follows:
"One of the
numerous battles between bands of Plains tribes, within the memory of and known
to white men occurring within the limits of Barton County was one fought in
July, 1849, on sections eleven, one and two, in northeast Buffalo township and
on sections thirty-four, thirty five and thirty—six in southeast Eureka
township, between a band of Arapahoes and Pawnees.
"As related
by a writer of the old Santa Fe Trail the story of the battle as told to him by
the Arapahoes was substantially as follows:
"The
Arapahoes had traveled down the Walnut from the far west on a hunting
expedition and were in camp on the south or west side of the creek, opposite
Shaw`s house on section eleven over night. The next morning a part of the bucks
were left to guard the squaws and pappooses, and the remainder started in a
northeasterly direction for the Cheyenne Bottoms, Gaining the highlands, a band
of Pawnees suddenly came into view. The Arapahoes dispatched it messenger to
their camp for re-enforcements and to have the camp prepared for attack. ln the
meantime the Pawnees dashed forward while the Arapahoes made for the high point
on section twelve. The former evidently supposed the latter’s force was all in
sight and hastened onward, In the meantime the Arapahoes reenforced were
rapidly coming into view from the creek timber. The Pawnees apparently hoped to
attack their enemy and route those who had retreated behind the hill before the
others could arrive. The Pawnees divided their band and deployed around the
hill to attack the enemy from both east and west. The first onset was terrific.
Several warriors on both sides were killed or disabled. The hunting party soon
arrived and the Pawnees retreated to the north side of the hill where they
hoped to make a stand and allow the Arapahoes to attack them in turn as they
had done the former a few minutes before. But the Pawnees were so closely
pursued that with great difficulty they placed themselves in a position for the
attack. Each band maneuvered for position, but the Pawnees were outclassed and
sorely pushed. Thinking they had the fleetest ponies they attempted—knowing
where their enemies’ camp was located—to turn their western flank and make a
dash for the camp. In this way they were partly successful. but were crowded so
far north and west they were not able to make a bee line for the camp. Besides
the Arapahoes knowing their design crowded towards their own camp attacking all
the while. The Pawnees were getting very much the worst of the deal and were
forced to scatter and make for the timber in the upper bend of the creek. So
hard pushed were they that no two of them reached the timber at the same time.
The ones nearest the camp were a mile or more west. At a safe distance from the
timber the pursuing Arapahoes made for their camp which of course by this time
was in motion down the creek on the south side. Fearing a renewal of the
attack, and probably with re—enforcements besides the Arapahoes moved southward
to the Arkansas river where they camped unmolested for several days. Evidently
the Pawnees had no other force of warriors. in reach or the desire for revenge
would have caused another attack. The Arapahoes claimed afterwards that they
took the scalps of the Pawnees and that the Pawnees got ‘heap little scalp.’
The Arapahoes claimed their own band had altogether about 100 warriors besides
squaws and pappooses and the Pawnees had about sixty. Many other engagements of
this kind some of them having hundreds engaged occurred in what is now Barton
County. Scarcely an acre of ground in the county but that has at some time been
the scene of battle between warring tribes of Indians.
WHEN WATER WAS
HARD TO GET
Mr. SOWARDS tells of early days in Union
township when water was the most valuable possession:
"l located a
soldier claim in what is now in
September, l877 were but four settlers there at that time. There were tree
claims taken in most of the sections and in July, 1878 the township was
organized out of territory taken from Homestead township. There were fifty eight voters at that time, at large
majority of whom were· ex-soldiers. This fact was the cause of the name Union being selected. All the settlers
except three or four were natives of America came from Iowa and Illinois. The
township is located on what is known as the Smokey River Divide. The lack of'
water in this was its greatest drawback. Shallow wells could not be gotten only
in the creek beds, at other places one would have to go several hundred feet
into the ground and as a result of' this it was necessary to haul water in
wagons.
‘On one occasion
Fred Prindle had four barrels of water slide out of his wagon when going up a
small hill and the thermometer·was twenty below zero thus making; the conditions
anything but favorable for prayer
Another time when the value of
water was brought forcibly to the notice of another settler, it by the name ol`Williams, when he spilled
three barrels of water when his wagon upset. After bringing the liquid five miles
with oxen. Another time Jay Verbeck fell into a well while hauling water for
cattle The mercury stood at zero when this occurred. Very few of the old
settlers who suffered these hardships are now living in the township most of
them having gone to places where there is more water. Those were great days in
the history of Barton County.
HENRY FRUlT’S
EXPERIENCE
Henry Fruit, an
old timer of this section of the state recalls his arrival here and tells of a
trip to Dodge City in the early days. Mr. Fruit says:
"l landed in
Great Bend on the 12th day March, 1872, and found here some old friends from my
native state, Illinois. l was well pleased] with the appearance of the country.
and on the 13th, my brother-in-law, WW. Hartshorn and I started out to locate a
claim. We had no trouble in finding a good location, and after I had made the
necessary improvements to hold it, I began to look for a job and let it be
known that if anybody wanted :a carpenter I was their huckleberry. I did not
wait long for there was one Harry Lovett, then living in Zarah, about four
miles east of Great Bend, who wanted a frame work put inside his big wall tent,
so he was sent to me. To tell the truth I did not fancy the job a great deal. I
had heard of Mr. Lovett and did not fancy his style, for a short time before he
had pumped a cowboy full of lead and then finished him by beating his brains
out with a revolver. Knowing all of this I began to make excuses, but he would
not hear them: "D—n it," he said, "I want the work done,"
he said it as though he meant it too. Remembering the fate of the cowboy I
concluded to go. I got through with the desperado in two days and got seven
fifty for my work, and got back to Great Bend O.K. By the middle of May the
cattle trade began to blossom, buildings began to bloom up, houses, stores, barns, saloons, and
dance halls were to be seen at frequent intervals and carpenters were in good
demand, so I had plenty of work at my trade until about the middle of August. The
word soon went out that Great Bend was a haven for carpenters and by the first
of August there were more carpenters here than there are fiddlers in Helena or
anywhere else. There were more
carpenters than jobs I concluded to try my hand at buffalo hunting. Mr.
Frost, W.W Quincy, or "Tough"
as he is better known and myself started for the buffalo range about twenty miles south of Dodge City
where we heard there were thousands of
buffalo. We had no adventure to speak of until the second day, out, when we stopped to feed and get
our dinner. Just after dinner· there was
a big flock of buffalo birds lit in some
weeds along the trail, and Frost said to Quincy, "if you will let me have
your shotgun I‘ll bet you a quarter l can kill fifty of them birds at one
shot." The bet was made. Frost fired into the bunch and such a slaughter l
never saw. He picked up and counted l36 and was not through when we happened to
look southward and there we saw something that caused us to pause and our hair
to stand up It was about 150 men on horseback coming straight for our camp. We
at once jumped to the conclusion that it was a bunch of hostile Indians for we
heard they were on the warpath. The party was too far off for us to tell
exactly what they were but we imagined we could see the paint on their faces
and the feathers on their heads, so what were we to do'? We were too far from Fort Dodge to think of
making It there, they would overtaken us before we had covered half the
distance, so we concluded to drive about a half mile north of a hill covered
with loose stone and build a fort, and then sell our· lives as dearly as
possible. We had two needle guns. By this time the front of the line had
reached the river and the horses were drinking leisurely. By this time we were
ready to start and the horsemen were at the river. We looked again, and oh;
joy, our hearts gave a great bound and
our· hair began to settle down for we saw coming out from the sand hills a
covered wagon drawn by four mules, and just behind it two men on horses. one of
them carrying an American flag. We knew at once no band of Indians would be
carrying Old Glory nor would they have a covered wagon. I never was so glad in
my life to see the American flag, for I knew no harm could come to us from that
source. Now to explain why Uncle Sam’s Cavalry was out. It was not for the
purpose of scaring the life out of three hunters.
"Two or
three nights before a gang of` horse thieves mostly white men, stampeded about
fifty horses and mules, belonging to a Railroad
Contractor·, then working about five
miles west out of Dodge City. The Commander at Fort Dodge had sent out
two companies of cavalry after the thieves ’they caught them in ·the brakes
Medicine Lodge river recaptured the stock and killed some of the bandit when we
saw them they were on their way back with the stolen stock. We started on our
journey mighty glad that we had escaped alive having forgotten about the bet
Frost won, We got to the old government crossing about one mile west of Dodge
City. and found old Bob Robinson. a buffalo hunter of great. Fame We found a
great deal of water in the river at this point. Robinson and a man from
Ellsworth doubled their teams and got across the river. We tried it alone and
got across O. K. We found the buffalo by the thousands at the heads of Mulberry
and Indian creeks. We succeeded in killing about 200 in ten days after which we
started on the return trip. When we got
to the river it was much lower but we had to make several trips in order to get
our loads across. At Dodge we traded our green hides for dry ones and camped
for the night about a mile east of the city. About three o`clock in the morning
we were awakened by somebody galloping across the prairie, the moon was about
two hours high and we could see quite plainly. Frost raised to see what it was.
I asked him "what do you see‘?" He replied, "two men on
horseback." They stopped near our horses and one of them dismounted, and l
heard Frost. say, "Halt, hold on there what do you want.‘?" and in
the same breath he whispered, " -Bob, they have your horses." Bob
said. "shoot the son-of-a gun," and the crack of` Frost‘s rifle broke
the stillness of the midnight air. 'This was followed by several shots in quick
succession. by this time the would-be horse thieves began to think it was
getting mighty hot, for they mounted their ponies, and ran for their lives.
They had cut the rope tied to Bobs horses, and were making off with them when
we called a halt. They made a water haul that time. We got to Great Bend without any more adventures and
sold our hides for $1.15 each and that was the end of my first buffalo hunt,
but it was not the last one."
'THE GARDEN SPOT
OF THE WORLD
By John F. Lewis
BARTON COUNTY,
KANSAS, is a moderate undulating landscape affording more high class tillable
land in proportion to its acreage than any county in the state, except possibly
two or three counties.
The slight swells
and valleys afford excellent natural drainage, and a view over the country that
is delightful. Commencing in the north part of the county the entire distance
east and west, and north and south is typical vheat land, out of the vast
plains of buffalo grass once traversed by buffalo, but now dotted with
beautiful groves of trees, elegant farm huses and barns, with good natural
roads for vehicles and the honk honk of the farmers' automobile may be heard
any hour of the day. The soil is a dark chocolate loam, enriched by the silts
deposited by thousands of years of water overflow in the glacial period and
from the Rocky Mountains. As we go south we encounter the breaks leading into
the valleys of Blood and Deception creeks, where appears the croppings of lime
and sandstone in sufficient quantities to afford the people with building
material, which are in evidence in the many stone houses, barns and corrals.
The earth has not
been penetrated to sufficient depth or of such frequency to venture upon much
of a geological showing of its formation, however one well sunk within four
miles of Great Bend discovered a bed of merchantable rock salt 163 feet in
thickness.
The lime stone
disappears south of Blood creek, some five miles north of the center of the
county, and now comes the various hues of sand-stone that exists in sufficient
quantity to supply the demand, which continues until the Walnut creek is
reached running from east to west, a little south of the center of the county,
where is found a rich deep black soil equal to the richest prairie soil of
Illinois or Iowa, where alfalfa is successfully grown without irrigation, and
where sheet water abounds at a depth from the surface of the ground that no
drouth or heat diminishes the supply for man or beast, nor has the time ever
been in this county that wells went dry or water had to be hauled for stock.
The Walnut creek
valley extends its width and mingles its matchless soil with the Arkansas
Valley, where in rich profusion may be seen the alfalfa, corn and wheat fields.
The endless fields of grain are so blended that the road ways can only be
marked by the fringes of trees that embellish the country with flamboyant
denial that this could ever have been the great American desert.
Here in this vast
sccpe of country between the Walnut creek and the Arkansas river is a soil that
has also received the rich deposit of the silts that came from the west in the
mighty currents that swept down the Arkansas river, when everything south of
the Walnut creek was a vast body of water which grudgingly yielded to man its
rich producing qualities, and Barton county encompasses the richest spot in the
state.
The occasional
discovery of limbs and logs of wood at depths from 15 to 60 feet are
incontrovertible evidences that this land was accumulated drifts and fills at
great depth from the floods from the west, which gives assurrance of a long
lived soil in the producing qualities, continuing to rise to the surface,
replenishing the top formation much more rapidly than it can be consumed in
cropping the land.
We now pass to
the south side of the Arkansas river where we find the once much doubted sandy
land, once almost destitute of vegetation, but now rivals the fields of all of
the states of the Union. In the mighty floods once covering this country for
thousands of years, the slacked limestone of the Rocky Mountains with its rich
conglomerate of decomposed vegetable and animal matter in a formation variously
estimated from 25 to 60 feet deep. This rich sub-stratum is rapidly coming to
the surface with a tenacity that will soon resist the blowing of soils by the
winds, that was once much feared.
The occasional
bare patches of sand that once glared the eye with a suggestion of desert
lands, have now changed into a dark rich productive soil, and with the tardy
efforts being made by the farmers to grow fruits come results that give promise
in the near future of a great fruit country. The popular acknowledgement that
the south side of the river is the great corn belt of Kansas brooks no
contradicticn, and the largest yield of wheat per acre ever recorded in the
state came from these lands. The banner vegetable production of this country is
on the south side, all admit, and had this marvelous country been exploited
with anything like the energy California has, it would have been as notable for
its wheat, corn, alfalfa, melons, vegetables and fruits as any country in the
world.
There has been no
little discussion over the amount of moisture we receive in this country and
while it must be admitted that previous to 1897 we quite often suffered for
want of rain, and the cause is now known to have been the unobstructed heated
winds by the parched uncultivated plains of Texas and Oklahoma which are now
being plowed up and planted to crops and whether successful to the owners of
said fields or not, they are the depository of rains which once ran away like
water from the roof of a house, whereas now they throw off vapor that create
clouds that are blown to us by the never varying south winds, that give us an
assurance of rainfall in normal years that no other state can boast, and when
in our feeble efforts to justly, truthfully and explicitly exploit the
beauties, excellencies and advantages of Barton County, Kansas, our mind runs
to those matchless words of Senator Ingalls, who must have had in his mind
Barton County, when he said, "Kansas is the nucleus of our political
system," etc.
"Kansas is
the nucleus of our political system, round which forces assemble, to which its
energies converge, and from which its energies radiate to the remotest
circumference. Kansas is the focus of freedom, where the rays of heat and light
concentrated into a flame that melted the manacles of the slave and cauterized
the heresies of state sovereignty and disunion. Kansas is the core and kernel
of the country, containing the germs of its growth and the quickening ideas
essential to its perpetuity. The history of Kansas is written in capitals. It
is punctuated with exclamation points. Its verbs are imperative. It's
adjectives are superlative. The commonplace and prosaic are not defined in its
lexicon. Its statistics can be stated only in the language of hyperbole. The
aspiration of Kansas is to reach the unattainable; its dream is the realization
of the impossible. Alexander wept because there were no more worlds to conquer.
Kansas, having vanquished all competitors, smiles complacently as she surpasses
from year to year her own triumphs in growth and glory. Other states could be
spared with irreparable bereavement, but Kansas is indispensible to the joy,
the inspiration and the improvement of the world. It seems incredible that
there was a time when Kansas did not exist ;when its name was not written on
the map of the United States; when the Kansas cyclone, the Kansas grass-hopper,
the Kansas boom and the Kansas Utopia were unknown. I was a student in the
junior class at William College when President Pierce, forgotten but for that
signature, approved the act establishing the Territory of Kansas, May 30, 1854.
I remember the inconceivable agitation that preceded, accompanied and followed
this event. It was an epoch. Destiny closed one volume of our annals and,
opening another, traced with shadowy finger upon its pages a million epitaphs,
ending with Appomattox. Kansas was the prologue to a tragedy whose epilogue has
not yet been pronounced; the prelude to a fugue of battle whose reverberations
have not yet died away. Floating one summer night upon a moonlit sea, I heard
far over the still waters a high, clear voice singing:
"To the
West! To the West; To the land of the free.
Where the mighty Missouri rolls down to the sea;
Where a man is a man if he's willing to tail,
And the humblest may gather the fruits of the soil." +
The grassy
quadrangle geographers call Kansas. Her undulating fields are the floors of
ancient seas. These limestones ledges underlying the prairies and cropping from
the foreheads of the bills are the cemeteries of the marine insect life of the
primeval world. The inexhaustible humus is the mold of the decaying herbage of
unnumbered centuries. It is only upon calcareous plains, in temperate
latitudes, that agriculture is supreme, and the strong structure and the rich
nourishment imparted essential to bulk, endurance, and speed in animals; to
grace, beauty and passion in women; and in man to stature, courage, health and
longevity."
And to properly
finish the picture with the music of rhyme in quoting Walt Mason's epigrammatic
ode.
"Kansas:
Where we've torn the shackles
From the farmers leg;
Kansas: Where the hen that cackles
Always lays an egg;
Where the cows are fairly achin',
To go on with record breakin',
And the hogs are raising bacon
By the keg."
HIS FIRST FEE AND
OTHER REMINISCENCES
By James W. Clark
THE writer hereof
located in Great Bend November 6, 1884. During that month Judge Strang held his
last term of court in this county, the same being the last court here as a part
of the 16th judicial district. The sixteenth judicial district when it was
created in 1881 consisted of the counties of Barton, Stafford, Pratt, Barber,
Comanche, Edwards, Pawnee, Rush, Ness, Hodgeman, Ford, Clark Meade, Foote,
Buffalo, Lane, Scott, Sequoyah, Arapahoe, Seward, Stevens, Grant, Kearney,
Wichita Greeley, Hamilton and Stanton.
In February,
1885, the 20th judicial district was created, and consisted of the counties of
Barton, Rice, Stafford and Pratt. Hon. George W. Nimocks of the local bar was
appointed as judge of this new district until the following election when Judge
Clark was elected. The members of the Barton county bar at this time consisted
of S. J. Day, W. H. Dodge, Joshua Clayton, James Clayton, Theo. C. Cole, E. C.
Cole, Samuel Maber, William Osmond, C. F. Diffenbacher, Judge D. A. Banta, L.
R. Nimocks, B. F. Ogle and the writer. The court docket was large, and most
every little case was fought out to the finish with but few compromises or
friendly settlements. The policy of the bar seems to have changed in this
regard during more recent years. Now the attorneys and clients look upon
lawsuits more as matters of business and seek just and fair settlements rather
than unnecessary and expensive trials tinged with spite and vengenee.
The first case the
writer tried after locating here was rather comical. The lot where the Odd
Fellows' Hall now stands was owned by Mrs. I. T. Flint. Her husband had placed
this property with A. J. Buckland, a real estate agent, for sale, and D. R.
Jones who tried to buy the property from Buckland and failing concluded he
would go to Eureka township where the Flints lived and make the deal with them,
and Buckland learning of this started out, procured a conveyance and he and
Jones had a horse race to see who could reach the Flints first. Jones won the
race and bought the property, and then Buckland brought suit before C. J.
McIntosh, a justice of the peace in South Bend township, for his commission for
the sale of this property. Your writer represented Mr. Flint, who was very
pugnacious, and James Clayton represented Mr. Buckland, who was rather schrewd
and cunning in his ways, and doubtless had a purpose in the selection of his
court to try the case. A jury was demanded, the case hotly contested, and even
the parties themselves insisted on making arguments to the jury. Flint spoke
first with much feeling, noise and abuse, and on finishing left his memorandum
book on the little school house table. Then Mr. Buckland commenced his argument
by referring to Flint as a sneak thief, whereupon Flint rose to his feet and
made a break towards Buckland for revenge and everyone kept out of his way as
he rushed up the isle towards Buckland, but he simply picked up his memorandum
book, walked back and took his seat amidst an uproar of laughter. No one was
hurt. Flint won his case on the ground that his wife, the holder of the title,
had not authorized the placing of the property for sale. The writer received
for his services a bright new ten dollar bill his first fee in Kansas.
The oldest contractor
in the county in point of service is still engaged in the business and
apparently as young as ever. He is Frank Kramer of this city. He came here from
Pennsylnia in the early '70s and was noted for years as one of the finest band
men and ball players in the state. And Frank says that it has always been a
wonder to him how he ever managed to hold on to his trade, support a family and
follow these two professions when either one is enough of a detriment to a man
in a small community where neither pays salary. Chas. Morrison is the next
oldest contractor in the city.
The first bank in
Barton County was established in 1873 by Samuel Maher and others. It ran for a
year then got into difficulties over a check for $17,000 in which cattle buyers
and the Santa Fe were involved and went out of business. The J. V. Brinkman
Company Bank organized in 1874, which is now one of the big banks of the state,
was really a continuation of this bank.
The Barton County
court house was built by the Santa Fe railroad. The company owned most of the
taxable land in the county in the year 1872 and the few citizens of the county
managed to get a special election call through and had the court house built,
the taxes paid by the Santa Fe paying the most of the expense.
THE KILLING OF
ARCHIE B. CLEMENTS
By G. N. Moses
THE following
description of Archie B. Clements' death in Missouri after a streneous career
is told by George N. Moses who was active in the early day life of that part of
the country before he came to Barton County. It is printed as an interesting
event in the life of the first sheriff of Barton County.
At the close of
the Civil War, the country was in a very unsettled condition and more
especially so in the border states. There were roving bands of men, composed of
the worst elements of both armies, who did not accept the condition of peace or
abide by the civil law but took the law in their own hands and travelled the
country, burning, murdering and committing all kinds of depredations. Such was
the condition of affairs in LaFayette County, Mo. A band of men, headed by
Archie B. Clements, who was a lieutenant under Quantrell at the time of the
Lawrence massacre, would ride into Lexington shooting, killing and robbing
banks in broad day light. Reports of these outrages coming to the ears of Gov.
Tom Fletcher, he sent Bacon Montgomery cf Sedalia, Mo., and ordered him to
raise a company of men and go to Lexington and quiet the troubles.
Montgomery
returned to Sedalia and raised a company of thirty-two, consisting of such men
as J. M. and George Turley, Dave Thornton, Tom Tibbs, Monte Cantrell and others
of like character. They were men who had carried their lives in their hands all
through the war; they were dead shots and could be relied upon to face any
danger. They were as daring a lot of men, taken as a whole, as were ever banded
together. We left Sedalia for Lexington but the date of our leaving I cannot
recollect. It was, however, in the winter of 1866. On the way we were notified
by friends, that Clements and his band would meet us at the LaFayette County
line and that we were never to be permitted to cross the line. Sure enough when
we came to the line there was a squad of men but at sight of us they scattered
into the brush and we went into Lexington without any trouble, remaining there
several days without anything of note happening. One day, a company of nearly
500 men, headed by Dave Poole came into town and it was reported that they came
for the purpose of taking the oath, registering or something of that kind. We
didn't just like the looks of things so we gathered our squad in the court
house, remaining there until they left town. Shortly after they left,
Montgomery came to Turley, Tibbs and myself and said that Clements, and
Hickland had come back and were at the hotel which was run by one of the
Hicklands. He further stated that there was a reward offered by both Kansas and
Missouri for Clements and he wanted us to go and get him. We started at once
and on the way, discussed the situation, finally determining that we would take
them if possible, without shooting. Our plan was to get them into conversation
and then ask them to take a drink and while drinking get the drop on them and
cause them to surrender. Meantime, Montgomery, fearing there might be more of
them than we could handle, sent Joe Wood with two or three men, to our
assistance.
Just as we were
in the act of taking a drink at the bar, Wood came to the door and commenced
hollering, "Surrender." Immediately, Clements and Hickland sprang
back, Hickland jumping over a billiard table. As he jumped, I shot him in the
leg. Clements ran through a side door into the office and I ran into the
opening leading into the office. Just as I slipped into the door Clements.
turned and fired at me the ball going through my clothes but not drawing blood.
I fired at him hitting him in the right breast, crippling him badly which
accounts for his poor shooting after that for he emptied eleven six shooters at
us and never hit a man and he died with the twelfth gun in his hand trying to
cock it.
When I shot him
he fell but before I could reach him he sprang to his feet and started running
towards the Virginia Hotel Livery Barn, in front of which he had his horse
tied. I was so busy taking care of myself up to this time that I did not
realize what Turley and Tlbbs were doing, but when I came to myself I found
that all three of us were running after Clements. Clements reached his horse
when we were within ten or fifteen feet of him and we continued shooting at him
as fast as we could but in spite at it all, he mounted and swung his horse
around and started towards Market Street. As his horse came around he ran into
the lead horse of a four horse team that was coming up the street and we
followed still shooting at him and shot and killed the lead horse of the team.
Clements' horse was hit several times but kept going, reaching Market street
and then up that street as far as Dr. Cooley's residence; there his horse gave
out and stopped. Turley and I were the first to reach him and took him off his
horse and he was then vainly trying to cock his last six shooter but had not
the strength left to do so. We laid him on the ground and he stretched out,
gave a few convulsions and the last words be spoke were, "Oh, he—ll,"
and he was dead.
We took the body
to the court house where an examination disclosed that Clements had been hit,
thirty-three or thirty-four times, of which number, twenty odd wounds were in
the body. We then placed his body against one of the columns of the court house
and had it photographed.
I had one of
these pictures but have been unable to locate it. When we brought Clements'
bcdy to the court house, I told Montgomery that I thought Hickland was wounded
at the hotel. Several of us went back there and found a trail of blood from the
billiard table, through the office and up the stairs where it stopped.
Montgomery then found the landlord and demanded Hickland, telling him that if
he did not deliver him up we would set fire to the house and smoke Hickland
out.
There was
certainly a scene of commotion then. The landlord, his wife and two grown
daughters, crying, wringing their hands and swearing that Hickland had left the
hotel. Montgomery would not believe them and sent John Jackson to a drug store
for some turpentine which he soon brought and Bake emptied the can on the floor
and was just about to touch a match to the turpentine when the mayor and Dr.
Cooley who were old friends of his, came in and persuaded him not to burn the
house.
That afternoon we
received word from a farmer, that the Poole band had returned to old man
Hickland's place, two miles from town, and were coming in to kill every one of
us. We went through the city, taking all the arms and ammunition we could find
and drafting a lot of negroes and then establishing headquarters at McDowell
College. From there we sent out pickets and spies to watch their movements. I
went through fields and along hedge rows to their camp until I was close enough
to hear what they were saying. Some of them wanted to come in and some hung
back. They lacked a leader. They wanted Poole to lead them in but this he
refused to do and that settled it. They never came after us while we were at
the College. I might here add, that we never found Hickland.
There was a
newspaper published on the other side of the river by a man named Williams and
he was giving us a terrible scoring as robbers and murderers, so Turley took a
few of us with him and we crossed the river, captured the printer, broke the
presses and scattered the type up and down the street. We brought Williams back
with us and for several days kept him prisoner under a stairway in a dark room
and then let him go. This escapade, however, proved quite an expensive joke for
us for we were afterwards compelled to pay for the property destroyed.
Soon after this
we moved back to the court house. Some of the good citizens who did not like us
nor the idea of our staying there any longer, sent all kinds of terrible
reports about us to President Grant and these reports were so bad, describing
us as robbers and murderers, that Grant, without taking second thought ordered
two companies of infantry from Fort Leavenworth to Lexington by forced march.
The day these U. S. troops arrived there was a young lieutenant sent ahead to
procure quarters. This lieutenant had evidently just entered the army and gave
every evidence of having bought his commission for he lacked any of the traits
of a true soldir or gentleman. He came to the court house dressed in a new
uniform with bright shining buckles and buttons and his sword dangling by his
side and you could tell from his looks that he considered himself a great
soldier and of vast importance. I happened to be standing in the doorway and he
addressed himself to me, asking "What men are these here?" I remarked
that they were Gen. Montgomery and his men. "Gen. Montgomery," he
replied with a sneer. "Where is this man Montgomery?" I felt the
blood coursing a little swifter through my viens but held my peace knowing that
Bake could answer him much better than I could, and followed him in saying to
him that the General was back there by the stove, playing seven-up with some of
his men. The lieutenant marched in very pompously and said, "Where is this
man Montgomery?" Bake looked up and said, "That's my name, sir."
The lieutenant, said, "Capt. Williams is on his way here, sir, with U. S.
troops and we want these rooms for our quarters." Again Bake looked up and
said, "How many troops has Capt. Williams?" "Two companies of
infantry, sir." "Well," said Bake, "You go back and tell
Capt. Williams that I have thirty Missou rians here and I will contest with
him, God damn you sir, for these quarters," and Bake went on with his game
paying no further attention to the lieutenant who stood there a few minutes then
turned and walked out like a whipped cur.
Meantime, George
Turley had got hold of an old musket and constituted himself a guard and halted
the lieutenant when he got to the door. The lieutenant drew his sword and
ordered George to get out of the way but George took after him and ran him
clear past the court house square, pricking him with the bayonet at every jump.
When the U. S. troops arrived they camped in the court house yard. Bake went
and telegraphed Governor Fletcher who immediately wired the president that he
had state troops at Lexington, that he had made no requisition for U. S. troops
and asked that they be ordered back. The troops soon left for Fort Leavenworth.
It did not suit
the old moss backs that we were left in control of the situation so they swore
to charges against us of wilful and malicious murder. (By the way, in the
shooting fracas with Clements, there were one or two citizens accidentally
killed.) Se we were indicted for murdering Clements and these citizens. A
United States marshal named Poole, a cousin of Dave Poole, was sent to arrest
us. He came to Lexington, sent for us to come to the hotel and told us he had a
warrant for our arrest.
Montgomery told
him to produce his warrants and if they were all right we would go with him but
this he refused to do and for several days we parleyed back and forth,
Montgomery demanding to see the warrants and Poole declining to show them,
claiming it was not necessary. Finally he sent for us and said he would show us
the warrants if we would promise not to harm the prosecuting witnesses. Bake
told him he would guarantee and he would read the warrants to us. Bake told him
we would be ready when us.[sic] Bake told him we would be ready when the next
stage left. We were a good deal suspicious of Poole as he was so closely
related to Dave Poole the noted bushwhacker and feared he might steer us into
an ambush where they would kill us all so Montgomery told the boys to saddle up
and follow us to Warrensburg for fear Clements' friends would ambush us on the
road. The next morning we started. There was no one else in the stage but the
marshal, Bacon Montgomery, James Turley, Tom Tibbs and myself. Poole's son was
on horseback as guard. After going some distance on the way to Warrensburg
without any trouble the boys began to feel develish and thought they would have
some fun with the guard so they commenced shooting up the dirt around him and
he soon took to the brush. Poole thought his time had come and shook like a
leaf but Montgomery quieted him by assuring him that neither he nor his son
were in any danger for the boys were just in fun. We reached Warrensburg all O.
K. and there took the train for Jefferson City. Just as the whistle blew for
Sedalia, one of the complaining witnesses opened the car door, came in and took
a seat by the door. Tibbs and I were seated a few seats in front when the door
opened and Tibbs looked back to see who came in. As soon as he discovered who
it was, Tlbbs said, "See me wing that s—n of b—h," and before I could
realize what he was doing he pulled his gun and shot the old fellow through the
ear. He did not wait for the train to stop but just got off and took the next
train. When we reached Jefferson City, Poole took us around to lock us up but
we politely tipped our hats and bade him "good evening." He then
followed us around, stopping at the same hotel we did until we had our
preliminary hearing. We were placed under one hundred dollar bonds which we
declined to give and we also declined to be locked up.
Most of our boys
had come down and all were heavily armed. I had the least number of guns of any
in my belt and I had four six shooters.
Trouble was
averted by Gen. Miller of St. Louis, Col. Boyd of Springfield and Bill Fletcher
going on the bond. I think this was arranged by the late C. P. Townsley who was
in attendance at the Legislature as a Senator from Sedalia. When our trial came
off we were all acquitted and the boys scattered to their homes, Turley, McCabe
and I returning to Sedalia.
THE MENNONITE
COLONY NEAR DUNDEE
SHORTLY after the
completion of the Santa Fe railway through Barton County, in the spring of
1875, that company through its emigrant bureau extensively advertised its lands
throughout all sections where it was possible to reach those seeking new homes,
and this literature was scattered broadcast over sections of Russia and agents
were stationed in New York to meet and guide them to this locality. By these
means a large proportion of the present population of Barton County were
induced to settle and improve the lands to their present state of
productiveness, and became factors in making this county what it is today. That
these people had long been in search of a land in which to make their homes is
proven by their past history which is that in 1802 their ancestors emigrated
from Germany to Russia on an agreement with the Empress of Russia that they
were to make their own laws and govern themselves in a limited way for
ninety-nine years; be exempt from military duty and be free in religious
observances. When their descendants left Russia for America this period would
soon expired and they left rather than submit to the laws that would soon be
forced upon them, the adoption of the Greek Catholic religion, and service in
the Russian army.
The majority of
those who settled here had lived in small communities or villages in Russia and
were weavers, lumber sawers and farmers by trade. They had been supplied by
companies stationed at a distance with the material and work, and had depended
more on this means of subsitance than on that of agriculture. To govern such a
village it had been found necessary to form themselves in a compact body with a
responsible head, and that manner of organization was at first attempted here
by the colony which settled one mile east of the present town of Dundee. There
were fifteen families in this colony, and they entered the whole of section 16,
under the homestead act, and bought the whole of section 9 from the Santa Fe
railway Company on payments covering eleven years. Both sections were divided
originally into twenty equal parts and this gave to each family a tract of
thirty-two acres on each section; or sixty-four acres in all. On section 16
they built houses out of 4x6 lumber and there made their homes and gardens, and
on section 9 they pitched their crops. The fifteen cottages formed a village,
and near the center of this was built a stone school house, which also served
as a church building. The ruler or head officer was called "the
schultz," and for convenience he had his home near the school building,
and his residence served as a council house. Abraham Seibert was the first
pastor of this Mennonite congregation but he was not a resident of the villege,
but lived with his parents about two miles southeast of the settlement, and now
lives in Michigan. Those who made up the village are the families of Cornelius
D. Unruh, (deceased), Cornelius Thomas, (deceased), Henry Seibert, (deceased),
Christian C. Schultz, Mrs. Lizzie Rudiger, Andrew L. Unruh, Jacob Seibert,
(deceased), Benjamin Unruh, (deceased), Andrew B. Unruh, first schultz,
(deceased), Peter Unruh, Cornelius P. Unruh (deceased), Andrew A. Seibert,
living in Marion County, Mrs. Susan Unruh, (deceased), Benjamin P. Smith and
Peter H. Dirks. Henry B. Unruh also purchased his first home from this colony,
but as he was not a resident until March, 1876, is not included in the original
settlers. It will also be seen that the original intentions of the community
were never carried out as the plans were for twenty families and only fifteen
came under the agreement. The scheme was found impractical in this country
after about three of four years trial and the various members became better
acquainted with the freedom of the laws in America. As their holdings were
independent of their village agreement they finally decided to become in fact
free American citizens and one by one sold their first little homes and bought
larger and better farms in other localities and are now classed among Barton
County's most substantial and best citizens.
At that date
there were other German-Russian settlers in this same and other localities in
the county, and the Santa Fe system and other railways realized that they were
of the proper make-up to make good citizens and provided emigration houses
along their lines. There was one at nearly all depots for the accommodation of
these new arrivals and in these they settled temporarily, lived while they
provided permanent homes for their families. Where these houses were not yet
built box cars were often put to use for temporary homes, and it was in a car
on a siding in Pawnee Rock that Jacob P. Dirks, of "Mount Pleasant
Hillside Farm" was born, and in an emigrant house at Newton, Kansas, that
Jacob A. Dirks, of "North Slope Farm," first breathed the breath in
free Kansas.
SETTLEMENTS
Buffalo Township
THE U. S. Census
of 1870 found two people in what is now Barton County. These were undoubtedly
John Reinecke and Henry Schultz who made settlement on the Walnut in April,
1870. Their locations were in section 10-19-14, about six miles northwest of
Great Bend.
The only other
settlers within the countys limits in 1870 were: W. C. Gibson, Gideon F.
Mecklem and son, Henry Meyer, Wm. Jans, Rudreas Albrecht, Antone Wilkie, George
Barry, N. Fields, C. F. Brining, A. Kellar, C. B. Worden, Mike Stanton, E.
Warring. These men settled close together in what is now Buffalo and Walnut
township. Their residences generally dugouts were from four to seven feet deep
in the earth, covered with grass and earth. They were usually constructed in
some secluded place near the creek bank where good drainage could be had, or in
some side-hill, so that the roof or occasional smoke would not be noticed. It
is said one might go the entire length of the creek and even pass within one
hundred yards of these dugouts without being aware of their presence. There was
one log house in 1870 built by Mr. Mecklem. It was built with loop holes and
very small windows and designed as a means of defense against the Indians. The
principal occupation of the settlers during the first years was the slaughter
of buffaloes, the flesh of which during the cooler months was at Russell and
Ellsworth, thirty and fifty miles distant respectively, but in the summer
months aside from the flesh for eating the only available proceeds were from
the hides which when dried sold at 50 to 90 cents each. A few plowed and tried
to raise crops which were generally destroyed by the buffaloes. Henry Schultz
succeeded in 1870 in raising six acres of corn, and two acres of oats.
Attempts at cultivation
were made more fully in 1871 since the Indians were not deemed troublesome any
more. In this year some corn was raised but much of the crop was destroyed by
the corn worm. Spring wheat was a failure and oats but little better.
Corn was then
worth $1.00 to $1.50 per bushel but there was very little to sell. Since this
time Buffalo township has grown in population until in 1912 it has a population
of 467 and is one of the best townships in the county.
Great Bend Township
The first
settlements in Great Bend township were made in 1871, the first settlers being
E. J. Dodge and Sons, D. N. Heizer, A. C. Moses and sons, John Cook, E. W.
Dewey, Nicholas Hausherr, S. P. Bissell, J. F. Tilton, G. N. Moses, James R.
Bickerdyke, W. H. Odell and others. The earliest settlers located on the banks
of Walnut creek which, of course, had the advantage of plenty of fuel, running
water, shelter and promised a deeper and a richer soil than could be found in
the surrounding country. The date and location of filing declaratory statements
as copied from the records are as follows. These entries are all in township
19, range 13.
Name— Date
Sec.
E. J. Dodge 6-23-71 10
David N. Heizer 5-23-71 22
Chas. E. Dodge 6-20-71 4
Amasa C. Moses 6-28-71 10
Arthur H. Moses 6-28-71 10
Thomas B. Morris 7-12-71 26
Ed. W. Dewey 7-19-71 4
N. Hausherr 8-10-71 10
Julius P. Bissell 8-18-71 10
J. F. Tilton 8 25-71 32
W. H. Odell 8-29-71 30
J. R. Bickerdyke 8 29-71 14
H. B. Bickerdyke 9- 3-71 32
G. N. Moses 9-14-71 30
Henry Schaffer 9-18-71 30
Warren Peck 9-22-71 14
Edwin P. Reynolds 12-16-71 14
S. S. Dennis 3----72 22
E. B. Cowgill 3----72 22
John Cook 4- 8-72 8
There were about
thirty other filings made during the year 1871 by people who shortly afterwards
abandoned their claims and moved.
The first settler
in the township was D. N. Heizer, the second one being E. J. Dodge, who first
came in May, 1871. He stopped at Heizer's ranch during the latter's absence,
and went back to the Smoky and returned in June, taking out homestead papers on
the twenty-third of the month, his being the first entry in the township. This
township now has a population of 435 and adds greatly each year to the products
of the county.
Lakin Township
On May 20, 1871,
there were six different exploring parties on the Walnut, near the site of old
Fort Zarah. Among those were D. N. Heizer, M. W. Halsey, Dr. Prescott and
Captain Guffin. Most of these outfits went into camp Saturday, a few having
been in camp for several days.
About September
20, 1871, a party of five from Atlanta, Rice County, came to look for claims in
Lakin township, near where Ellinwood now stands. Considerable trouble was had
in finding section corners, the settlers finally going to Fort Zarah
reservation where they commenced running east, and continued as far as section
10, township 20, range 11 W. M. W. Halsey selected the first location, the
southwest quarter of 32-19-11. Then followed locations by the following:
Name-Date. Location
Aaron Strong . .... ..106-71 28-19-12
A£ll`O1l 1.su1·l1son ...... 10-11-71 32-10-ll
Andrew Mcliiniiey 1-15-72 2<-19-11
Wm. X. Halsey ...... 1-19-72 32-19-13
Lee . Colline ........ 3-15-72 -1-20-ll
Thos. Corbett ....... 3-21-72 20-19-11
Albert C. Corbett .............. Same
A. 1\Ierrifield ........ 3—3(_l—T2 20-19-12
John H. Duncan .... 49-72 19-19-11
Moses D. Fletcher .. 4-20-72 25-19-11
Edwin Sew and
James Saw ....... 4-29-72 30-10-11
Benj. Halley .... . . . . 5-13-72 30-19-11
Eneas Pendergast . .. -18-72 2-20-11
Geo. T. Gill ...... 03-72 14-19-11
Win. W. Shannon .... 05-72 20-19-11
Alex. Forsyth ....... 71-72 18-19-11
Jos. B. Howard ....... 772 3-1-19-12
Nelson Davis ........ 7-10-72 4-20-11
Geo. Towers .. ...... S-20-72 26-19-12
John C. Smith ...... 10-11-72 22-19-12
Austin B. Lynch ..... 10-. .-72 20-19-11
David .1. Whitten .... 11-15-72 24-19-12
Chas. Grant .... . .... 25-73 28-19-11
Grabil Landis ....... 2-20-73 23-19-11
R. A, Avery ........ 3-22-73 0-20-11
James Thompson .... 51-73 10-19-11
Wm. H. Misner ...... 5-10-73 14-19-12
Mahlon Ward .... 5-19-73 10-19-11
Geo. Bacon ......... 5-23-73 24-19-11
lilllll K\V£lll1ll ........ 5-23-73 5-19-11
Thoinas Blair and
Wm. Blair .... .. .. 0-10-73 4-19-11
Royal Harkness ..... 6-23-73 34-19-11
Daniel Hodge ....... 12-73 34-19-11.
Henry Strohtneyer 7-15-73 20-19-11
Sam S. Avery ....... 7-32-73 34-19-12
Philantler Reed ..... 75-73 3-19-11
Wallace C. Bay ...... 73 S-19-11
Stephen A. Shilling . 9-25-73 23-19-11
Otto C. Lebbin ...... 114-73 10-19-12
J. lvl. Robe ......... 115-73 14-19-11
O. M. Botson ........ 116-73 10-19-11
Wm. Joy ...... . ..... 11-11-73 14-19-11
Mort. B. Fitts . ...... 11-15-73 22-19-12
Wilson E] Chalfent ..11-30-73 26-19-11
Jas. E. Reaugh ...... 11-26-73 S-20-11
David N. Howard .... 124-73 22-19-12
Amos McDowell ..... 12-19-73 14-19-11
John J. Maydole ..... 1-17-74 22-19-12
W. L. Robbins ....... 1-20-74 24-19-12
Robert Robe ........ 1-22-74 22-19-12
John Salmon ........ 3-26-74 26-19-12
Luman W. Storey 34-74 4-19-11
Sain B. I-Iainon ...... 3-14-74 12-19-12
Benj. H. Prescott .... 4-16-74 12-19-12
Jas. B. Patrick ...... 7-23-74 28-19-12
John F. Lewis ...... 92-74 2-10-12
Bernard B. Smyth .... 9-..-74 23-19-12
Calvin A. Loomis .... 10-11-74 34-19-12
Thos. M. Bailey..... 10-20-74 30-19-11
Lakin township
now has a population of 633 and with one or two exceptions has the largest
population of any of the townships in the county. Very few of the old timers
are left, most of them having died or moved away.
Walnut Township
In this township
some of the first settlements in the county were made. It was originally a part
of Buffalo township. The first to take a filing in this terriotry was Rudreas
Albright, he having made his entry November 26, 1870, on 32-18-15. This entry
was followed by those of Alex Kellar, on section 24; Christian F. Brining, on
section 30 and Narsene Graves on section 28. These filings were made during the
month of December, 1870. Those who came during the following years were:
Charles Roudebush, S. M. Basham, Martin Brining and Edwin C. Rest, all of whom
arrived in 1872. Adam Krause came in 1873. The year 1874 saw Henry Halderman,
Sylvester E. Demming, C. E. Dean, Leonard Krause, Daniel Leininger, Cyrus J.
Fry and A. Kellar located in this township. In 1875 Joseph Zimmer, Anton
Springer, Ambrose Baier, Johann Schneider, Josef Baier, Karl Kriessel, Francis
Keast, Johan Zimmerman, Otto Burger and Henry Nordmann were added to the
township's population. Walnut township now has a population of 693 and contains
among its list of residents some of the most enterprising and successful
farmers in the county.
The first settler
in Eureka township was Charles B. Worden, who located on township 18, range 14,
in 1871. The next entries following were: George Barry, John Pascoe, John K.
Humphrey and James Mecklem, who came in 1873. They were preceded by L. G.
Mecklem, who arrived in 1872. In 1874 Elbert Warring, Wyland D. Robbins, Wm.
Humphrey, Nathaniel White, David F. Spires, Benj. I. Dawson and Frank Patterson
arrived and made locations. They were followed in 1875 by Aaron P. Jones, James
C. Powers, Rhoda H. Keeney, James Hughes, Stephen Power, John Corrigan, M. M.
Shields, John R. Harris, Richard Caxon, John Jones, John Lynch, Elizabeth
Smith, Alexander Dennis and James W. Brown. Eureka township now has a population
of 302.
T. S. Morton was
the first settler in Clarence township and he located on section 14, in 1871.
He first engaged in the cattle business but he soon gave it up for farming.
Daniel Curry and E. M. Chapman located on section 14, in 1873. Julius Both
settled on section 20 in 1872 and for the first few years after his arrival was
one of the best known and most successful buffalo hunters in this part of the
country.
In the same year
John Bennet and L. S. Pursell settled on section 30. They were soon followed by
T. J. Byrne. During the same year D. C. Stephens, G. S. Bennet and T. F. Craig
located on section 20, and by the fall of 1873-4 that part of the county was
well settled and farming was in full swing. Two of the largest wheat growers in
the county were added to Clarence's population in 1874. They were Robert
Campbell and Joseph Patterson. Mr. Campbell located on section 14 while Mr.
Patterson located on section 17. By 1876 there was no unoccupied land in the
township and it had three good schools, the first having been built in 1874 on
section 20, the second in 1875 on section 11 and the third on section 34 in
1876. The following names are found among those who settled in this township in
the early days: W. A. Chapman, David Curry, David C. Stephens and W. H. Brown
in 1873; Peter Schlim, Almon M. Button, Wesley E. Loomis, M. F. Campbell, Geo.
S. Bement, Tammen C. Tammen and Isaac Goatley in 1874. During the year 1875 the
following settled in Clarence township: Wm. Morris, Jas. K. Grier, Mahala
Allison, John H. Rhodes and Thomas Irons. The township now has a population of
374 and contains within its borders rich, fertile and well cultivated
agricultural land.
Comanche township
includes within its borders land that in the early days a great many thought
was practically worthless but this was proved to be untrue by the results
obtained after the soil had been cultivated. The first settler in Comanche was
Joseph Plaisted, who located just across the river from Ellinwood in 1871.
Among others who followed Mr. Plaisted's lead were Carl Herter, John Herter,
Chas. B. Darr, Will H. Grant, John C. Proctor, David T. McIntyre, John
Hamilton, J. S. Province, all of whom made good and made of this township one
of the best and most productive in the county. It now has a population of 688.
The settlement of
South Bend township was begun in 1872, the first person to locate government
land being Samuel Maher, Matthew Schmitz, Henry F. Schriddle and A. J.
Buckland. They were followed in 1873 by W. H. H. Keeney, J. M. Albright, Hallis
Chaffee, H. H. Kidder, Theo. Dahm, James Barke and Peter Lefevre. Those who
located in this part of the county in 1874 were: T. C. Coker, T. Vancil, Fred
Dahm, Daniel Shuhl, Richard S. Atkins, George Denna, James G. Dawson, Wm.
Torrey, Richard L. Howell and Edwin C. Renkin. In 1875, A. C. Sowle, Canton D.
Alford, Hiram Brownell, Ira D. Brougher, Wm. Hood and C. J. Mackenroth made
entries on land in this township. It has always added its share to the
production of the county and now has a population of 422.
The first
settlement was made in this township when the Kentucky colony, consisting of
twenty persons arrived. In the party were T. C. Polk, John W. Smith and George
M. Jackson, who was the leader of the colony. Mr. Jackson first located near
Ellinwood but at a meeting which was attended by all the members of the colony
it was decided that the land in Pawnee Rock township was the best to be found
in the county. Accordingly it was decided that they would take up their land
there. On March 23, 1872, a celebration was held in honor of their arrival at
the historic pile of stone known as Pawnee Rock. In addition to those already
named the following were among the first settlers in this township: Will. C.
Hatter, Dennis Logan, S. P. Leitner and D. M. Sutherland. In 1874 the following
were added to the township's population: W. M. Jenks, F. J. Jason, Charles C. Lewis,
Eli, Wm. H. and Hiram Bowman, Robert J. Smith, Aaron F. Miller, Joseph Hanon,
John W. Graves, John Ren, Isaiah Pelsor and J. F. Pearce. This township now has
a population of 356.
Settlement was
begun in this township early in 1872. Among those who selected claims were the
following: In 1872, Wm. Hartshorn, Ed. Tyler, Luther Frost, John McMullin, Evan
Thornberg, Nelson H. Richie, Willis M. Howerton, Henry Fruit, Eliza Hartshorn,
Wm. H. McGreevey, John H. Doel, Joshua Lyle. In 1873, Charles B. Rose, Andrew
J. Acton, George N. Welch, Oscar O. Hartshorn, Wm. H. Quincup, Frank Sheldon,
Thomas Keenan, and in 1874, Sample S. Sanford, John Lyle and Lorenzo Leach.
That portion of the township known as Washburn precinct was settled in 1874 by
A. C. Barnes, Wm. Hayes, Vincent Coale, Samuel H. Mitchell, Chas. B. Morgan,
Robert M. Shields, Wm. Dunn and Wm. R. Julian. This township now has a
population of 387.
This township was
originally a part of Lakin township and the first settlements were made within
its borders in 1872. During that year, and in 1873, the following took up their
residence in this part of the county: Richard Yielding, Henry Galloway, W. D.
Fairbairn, Wm. Landman, Thos. F. Mahan and John L. Barngrover. In 1874 a number
of new settlers were added to the township's population. Among those who came
after 1873 were: Geo. W. McClimans, Chas. C. O'Bleness, Geo. M. O'Bleness,
Joseph Ozenberger, Benj. F. Moore, James B. Montgomery, Stephen Branch, Myron
H. Young, Christopher Bock, Edward H. Grizzle, Aaron W. Ward, Joseph N. Ward,
Frank Nichols, Joseph Lunz, A. Barngrover and Theo. F. Harris. This was one of
the first townships in the county in which the railroad land was all bought by
the settlers and all the government land was taken up. It now has a population
of 370.
J. H. Burnham was
the first settler in Homestead township and he, with his father-in-law, A.
Baker, settled in 1873. During the summer and autumn of that year, F. A. Speece
and family, S. P. Coan, O. Belsyle, J. M. Hughes, F. M. Phillips, S??uhn and E.
D. Campbell arrived and made locations. Some of these were frightened away by
the grasshopper scare of 1874. The hoppers retarded the settlement of this part
of the county and and it was some time before the bad impression was changed to
one of confidence. Since the early days this township has come to the front and
is now one of the most important ones of the county and has a population of
699.
This township is
located in the northwest corner of the county and the first to make settlement
within its borders were: James and John Johnson, Henry McCorkle, James Cox,
Oliver A. Martin, M. V. B. Hedrick and J. J. W. Sutcliff, all of whom arrived
in 1877.
The first
settlement in Beaver township was made in 1876 and among those who located
during this year may be mentioned: Abraham R., John and George H. Dressler,
John H. Beard and Robert S. Bruce. In 1877 John M. Rearick, Miranda Fothergill,
John F. Dale, James and L. H. F. Brinson and John and Thomas Bryant took up
locations in this township. It now has a population of 318.
The first
settlements in the townships of Union and Wheatland were made in 1877. In that
year Union had three resident families, but within a little more than a year
there were fifty-seven voters within its borders. Wheatland enjoyed about the
same kind of a growth. The first settlers in Union township were: Joseph
Weatherby, Daniel R. Wyatt and John Dundas, who came in 1876. They were
followed by Jacob, Michael ., and Martin J. Sessler, James H. Butler, Anna S.
Verbeck, Benj. and Oliver P. Dunning, Benj. H. and Wright F. Downing, Geo. M.
Gillet, Stanley F. Prindle, Jerome B. Huntley, P. B. Leigh, James Welty, J.
Wonsetler and Richard Wehr who came in 1877.
Among the first
to arrive in Wheatland township were: Washington Spencer, James Gaibraith and
Wm. B. Mitchell, who come in 1875. During the following year the following
located in Wheatland: George W. Watson, Francis Millard, Dr. Norman Baker,
Howard N. Fordham, Rial R., Henry J., and John Whipple, Geo. C. Gray, Silas S.
Wilkerson, Israel D. Spencer, James E. Savage, George Kell, Richard Kittle,
John W. Beaman and Charles Hall. The township of Wheatland now has a population
of 443 while Union has 347.
The first
settlers in Cheyenne township were Phillip Smith, Henry Smith and J. G. Hine,
who came in 1873. In the following year, 1874, J. G. Lewis and family and A.
Golay and family, made a location on Cow creek making a total of four families
residing on the creek banks, in that section of the county. In the spring of
1875 C. Frankie settled on section 14 and a man by the name of Miller took up a
location on section 30. By the year 1876 nearly all the government land in this
township was taken up and among the early settlers not mentioned above may be
mentioned the following: J. A. Krum, 1874; Henry J. Gifford, Herman Hesse, N.
A. Miller and W. Kilesen, 1875, and the year 1876 saw the arrival of John
Machin, W. N. Godren and Henry Smith. Mr. Newcomb was the first resident in the
county to take up the raising of thoroughbred stock. This township now has a
population of 710.
Cleveland
township was not organized until long after the early days, that is the really
pioneers times were passed. However, it is now one of the good townships of the
county and has a population of 305.
The first
settlement in these townships was made in 1873 by Hugh Henry and John Boyle and
they were followed in 1874 by Henry and Putnam White. Those who followed
closely with locations in these townships were: Joseph Bahr, D. Linder, Robert
Benton, Chas. Chamberlain, Isaac T. Flint, A. Stiver, John Hancock, Carl
Wonderlich, Johann Schneider and J. O. C. Rathbun. Blood Creek traverses these
townships from the northwest and is said to have derived its name from the fact
that after the close of the Mexican war Colonel Doniphan and his troops engaged
the Cheyenne Indians in a battle that caused the banks to be spotted with blood
which colored the waters for several miles. This is said to have occurred in
1849 and was one of the most terrific Indian battles of those times. These
townships are now among the important ones of the county, Grant having a
population of 341 and Albion 318.
The first
settlement made in this township was in 1874 by A. C. Schermerhorn, Jacob T.
Spring, James Dalziel, Arthur Dougan, Frank Lorence, Gustav Toepke, Geo. W. Arters,
Henry Rohlfing and Wm. H. Travis. It is a most productive section of the county
and has a population in 1912 of 351.
I CAME from
Wisconsin with a colony to Fossell, now called Russell. About sixty persons
came out on the first train. us each a business lot and a residence lot.[sic]
I think it was about April 15, 1871, at 3 p. m., we landed at Fossell. A
section house and a water tank of the K. P. railroad were all the buildings we
found there, and these were run by the section foreman. His name was John Cook.
Many of the old settlers know him now. Before we got there the Indians killed
two of the section men and they were Captain Ruger and myself were partners. It
cost us $20 each to join the colony. That gave buried on what is now Main
Street, Russell. We all took homesteads of pre-emptions and broke up land and
planted sod corn, beans, potatoes and other vegetables, but the dry weather set
in and hot winds prevailed, and farming was not a success. Some of us heard
what a fine valley there was on the Arkansas river. So we made up a small party
of men, composed of J. H. Hubbard, E. M. Benedict, John Cook, Edward Swan,
Edward Dewey, Art Moses and his father, J. E. Dodge and George Towers. The
first day we made Walnut creek, Barton County. There we found the only two
settlers of the county. Their names were Mecklem and John Reinicke. We camped
that night with them. They told us about the land down the creek and said the
A. T. & S. F. R. R. surveyors were coming west laying out the road. It was
only completed at that time to Newton. They told us the number of the section
they were on, so we very soon knew what section we could locate on. As the odd
sections were claimed by the railroad John Cook staked the first claim down the
creek, Edward Dewey the next and then J. E. Dodge. Benedict and Swan the next
ones in rotation. Hubbard staked the Goforth ranch. The next night we camped at
Walnut creek at old Fort Zarah, which had just been abandoned. All the other boys
staked claims on the creek or as near as they could. The second morning they
said: "George, where did you put your stake?" I told them I had found
no place to put it. I said "Let us go up the river and see how it
looks." When we got to where Great Bend now stands the whole counttry was
covered with buffalo. We killed a buffalo near where the court house now
stands. 1 looked around and said to the boys: "Well, you have all taken
timber claims, so I will put my stake here for a homestead." As there were
so many buffalo around I told them while they had staked timber claims I had
staked a stock ranch. My stock soon disappeared. We then started back for
Fossell. When we got there we reported uhat we had found and done. In a short
time the most of the boys returned to make improvements on their claims. As I
was in partnership with Nick German in a blacksmith shop I would not then get
away to make my improvements. John Hubbard and Capt. Ruger went into
partnership and put up a little above on Hubbard's claim. Capt. Ruger run the
store, while Hubbard went into the land business making out filing papers, and
sending them to the land office in Salina. I gave him my money and my discharge
papers and told him to find out if my stake was on a government section and if
so to make out a soldiers homestead. About two months after he came up to
Fossell for supplies, when he told me he was sorry he had not made out my
homestead papers and that a colony from Quincy, Ill., had jumped my claim and
had laid out the town of Great Bend. The ones who located and laid out the town
were D. N. Heizer, Geo. Moses, Thos. Stone, Morris, and Murphy, A. S. Allen,
Edw. Tyler were the first settlers of the colony. In the month of January,
1871, Capt. Ruger came up to Fossell and said that they had laid out a town
about one mile east of Fort Zarah and had named it Zarah City and were going to
make a railroad town of it, and wanted me to go down there and start a
blacksmith shop and they would give me two lots if I would do so. Next day Capt.
Ruger and I started for Zarah City. The captain had taken a claim north of
Zarah City, where we stayed all night. Next morning we went over to the city.
We found a good sized store in operation, owned by Perry Hodgen and Tike
Buckley from Salina. They were the head men of the city. There was a two-story
hotel and restaurant owned and run by Dick Strew. A livery stable owned by John
Roberts and John Moore, and a saloon owned by Lee Herzigg from Ellsworth, and
run by Edw. Martz. They gave me a corner lot next to the livery stable. A
stcckman by the name of Jack Jamieson, who had wintered a thousand head of
cattle there and drove them in the spring to Montana, said he wanted me to
start in business to do his blacksmithing as he had considerable work he wanted
done before he started the drive sometime in June. About the first of March,
1872, 1 moved dawn to Capt. Ruger's where both our families lived together. I
put up a small shop and had a good trade while it lasted. The A. T. & S. F.
R. R. was then completed to Hutchinson. Then Zarah City and Great Bend got to
fighting, over the question as to which was to be the railroad town. Great Bend
won out and I never will forget the first dance in Great Bend. It was at the
Stoneham hotel, run by Thos. Stone. Capt. Ruger and myself furnished the music;
I want to say we had a gay old time. Everyone had a jolly good time while at
the dance. I met Sid Crane, one of Jamieson's herders. He told me that he had
filed on some land about one and one-half miles west of Ellinwood. He had done
a little plowing on it and would take five dollars for his rights. I gave him
the money and put my homestead papers on it. They had laid out a town at
Ellinwood. Capt. Ruger, Joe Howard and I went down and helped lay out the town.
The railroad company gave each of us a lot for doing the work. Capt. Ruger and
Howard put up a hotel. They gave me the corner lot where the Cyclone store now
stands. I bought the adjoining lot for $40. I put up a small shop and did
blacksmithing for the settlers and cowboys. As many of the settlers were people
of limited means they soon run through with what they had and could not pay for
their smithing. I told them I would do their work and they could break up some
land for me on my claim and I would allow them three dollars per acre. In that
way I got sixty acres under cultivation. I built a small house and had a good
well of fine water and one acre of orchard. The first year I rented it to Jim
Wilkinson on shares, each one-half of the produce. We did very well. The next
year I rented it to John M. Harris. Each furnished one-half of the seed. I got
one-half of the crop of forty acres of wheat which yielded well. The next year
I rented to a preacher, Hackensmith. He raised a fine crop of forty acres of
wheat which he cut with a header and put it into fine stacks; sixteen acres of
roasting ears, when one of the Kansas hail stone storms and blizzards came and
destroyed everything I had. Our wheat stack was blown for miles away. The corn
and vegetables were all gone when the storm cleared away. I did not have enough
left to fill my hat. That sickened me of farming, so I sold out for almost
nothing and in 1880 came to Colorado. Although I know now if I had stuck to old
Kansas I might be in better circumstances than what I am now in or perhaps I
might have been in the pen. My brother, Matt Towers, came to Hoisington since I
left Kansas. He has now two hundred acres of land and has made a success of
farming, but has had worse luck, losing a good wife, a great deal worse than
losing a little old 40 acres of wheat, as I think I might be worse off after
all. I made more money in Kansas killing buffalo than I have made in the hills
of Colorado hunting gold.
EARLY POLITICAL
HISTORY
AMID the hurry
and bustle of business in the spring of 1872, men did not altogether forget
their political duties and privileges and, it being the year of a presidential
election, the duty of "saving the country" rested with scarcely less
weight on the minds of the pioneers of Barton County than on those nearer the
center of civilization and political corruption. Meetings were held by the
Republicans in each of the three townships—Lakin, Great Bend and Buffalo—in the
month of July, to select members of the Republican central committee. At the
meeting in Great Bend A. J. Buckland, who had arrived here a short time before
from New York state, was chosen chairman of the first political caucus in Great
Bend and probably was first one in the county. The committee thus selected soon
after met and organized by electing W. H. Odell as chairman and D. N. Heizer,
secretary.
The time of
holding the county convention was set. It was to consist of twenty members,
five from Lakin township, five from Buffalo township, and ten from Great Bend
township. The convention assembled in a building then standing at the corner of
the court house square. M. V. Halsey of Lakin was elected township chairman. In
addition to the delegates already mentioned, five delegates not in the call
were sent down from the colony at Pawnee Rock and claimed admission. An angry
discussion arose on the question of admitting them, when a large number of
delegates, including the chairman, withdrew from the convention. Those
remaining reorganized by electing A. A. Hurd, chairman, and proceeded to
nominate a county ticket.
During the
campaign of that year—1872—Hon. W. H. Smallwood, candidate for secretary of
state; Hon. S. A. Cobb, candidate for congress, and Hon. S. C. Pomeroy,
candidate for United States senator, addressed the citizens of Great Bend on
the issues of the campaign.
The first
political discussion in Great Bend was between G. W. Nimocks, a young lawyer
from Iowa, on the Republican side and D. S. Copeland, also a lawyer, from New
York, on the side of the Liberals. This discussion took place in the old
Holland building which, at that time, stood on the north side of the square.
The vote for president in that year was as follows: U. S. Grant, 160; Horace
Greeley, 64. The county election was held without much friction and resulted,
as shown in the table to be found in another part of this book under the
heading of "County Officials of Barton County."
The delegates to
the state convention at Topeka that year were: T. S. Morton and G. W. Nimocks;
and to the congressional convention at Lawrence, J. B. Howard and Amerine.
During the
following winter Barton County was detached from the county of Ellsworth and
the Fourteenth judicial district, and became a part of the Ninth judicial
district.
FIRST TOWNSHIP
ELECTIONS.
(In the following
article the following abbreviations are used: Tre—trustee; C—clerk;
T—treasurer; J—justice;—Ces—constables.)
Independent
township was organized in 1875 and originally comprised all that portion of
Lakin township north of a line between townships 18 and 19. The following officers
were chosen at the first election held in the fall of that year: Tre., J. L.
Bangrover; C., A. C. Schermerhorn; T., J. T. Soring; Jus., H. E. Barngrover and
Chas. O. Blennis.
South Bend
township was organized in 1876 and comprised all that portion of Great Bend and
Buffalo townships south of the river except range 23. The officers chosen at
the first election in November of that year were: Tre., Ira Brougher; C.,
George C. Kinkaid; T., S. S. Mitchell and Jus., Wm. Hood and O. Powell.
Walnut township was
organized in 1876 and comprised all that portion of Buffalo township north of
the line between townships 18 and 19. The first election was held in November
of that year and resulted as follows:
Tre., B. I.
Dawson; C., Peter Fox; T., T. Harper; Jus., John Pascoe and H. White; Cos.,
John Westover and H. Nordmann.
Homestead
township was organized in the fall of 1876 and comprised originally all that
portion of Great Bend township north of the line between townships 18 and 19.
The first election resulted in the election of the following officers: Tre.,
Marsh Meeker; T., D. B. Linder; C., F. Hall; Jus., J. Humphrey and J. Gere.
Union township
was organized in July, 1878, and comprised all that portion of land included in
township 16, range 13. The first election held in that year resulted in the
selection of the following officers: Tre., B. H. Downing; C., Oliver A. Verity;
T., Joseph Weatherby; Jus., Jacob Sessler and A. S. Verbeck.
Pawnee Rock
township was organized in 1878, but previous to this, in 1872, it had been made
a voting precinct. It comprised township 20, range 15. The election resulted in
the selection of the following officers: Tre., Geo. Pool; C., Chas. Lewis; T.,
Reuben Kemmerling; Jus, Joseph Hannon and James M. Depew; C., Frank Hallowell and
W. C. Hatter, ter.
Beaver township
was organized in August, 1878, and comprised township 16 of range 12. The first
electicn was held in that year and the following officers were elected: Tre.,
R. Bruce; C., Willis H. Norton; T., P. B. Freeman; Jus., C. Norton and C. W.
Hoffmeister.
Cheyenne township
was organized in August, 1878, and comprised townships 17 and 18 of range 12.
The officers elected were: Tre., C. B. Gillis; C., J. N. Reading; T., Wm.
Linder; Jus., Albert Lent and S. S. O. Warren.
Wheatland
township was organized in August, 1878, and comprised township 16 of range 14.
The officers elected at the first election were: Tre., Chas. Hall; C., E. J.
Hatton; T., M. Sauser; Jus., N. S. Hayes and Fred J. Spencer; Ces., Henry J.
Whipple and O. T. Shook.
Fairview township
was organized in October, 1878, and comprised township 16 of range 15. At the
first election held in November of that year the following were chosen as
officers of the township: Tre., J. W. Brown; C., D. C. Burrows; T., John Johnson;
Jus., Will H. Clark and Henry Webb; Ces., Robert Jordan and W. A. Brown.
Clarence township
was organized in October, 1878, and consisted of congressional township 19 of
range 15. The first election was held in November of that year and resulted as
follows: Tre., M. F. Campbell; C., John W. Slinn: T., L. S. Pursell; Jus,, A.
M. Button and T. F. Craig; Ces., J. H. Rhoades and W. H. Allison.
Eureka township
was organized in 1878 and comprised township 18 of range 18. The first officers
elected in November of that year were: Tre., Frank Patterson; C., John R.
Harris ;T., Alex. Dennis; Jus., Aaron P. Jones and James Cummins; C., J. F.
Smith and C. Plaisted.
Hayes, Seward,
Lincoln and Zion Valley townships were organized in 1878 from the territory
that originally was a portion of the unorganized county of Stafford. Hayes
comprised congressional townships 22 and 23 of ranges 11 and 12. Seward, which
was at first called Warren township, comprised comprised townships 21 and 22 of
range 13. Lincoln comprised townships 21 and 22 of range 14; and Zion Valley
comprised township 23 of ranges 13 and 14. Later they were all included in the
organization of Stafford County. county.[sic]
Grant township
was organized in July, 1879, and was composed of township 18 of range 15. At
the first election held in November the following were chosen for officers:
Tre., Chas. P. Wunderlich; C., John W. Burke; T., C. Cox; Jus., W. M. Butler
and C. Ramsier; Ces., Joseph Gleissner and J. W. Brown.
Logan township
was organized in July, 1879, under the name of Calumet. In November the name
was changed to Logan. It was composed of township 18 of range 11. No election
for officers was held in this township, it being governed by the officers of
Independent township.
Comanche township
was organized in July, 1879, out of territory formerly in Lakin township and
was composed of township 20 of range 11 and 12, south of the Arkansas river.
The first officers, elected in November of that year were: Tre., J. . Brewer;
C., W. H. Grant; T., J. W. Wilson; Jus., J. S. Province and C. Fields; Ces.,
Noah Province and D. Hagan.
Albion township
was organized in July, 1879, and was composed of township 17 of range 14 and
the first officers who were selected at the election held in November of the
same year, were: Tre., C. G. Smith; C., C. W. McMasters; T., D. W. Linder;
Jus., G. L. Murdock and John W. Linder; Ces., Thomas Murphy and Joseph Shields.
Liberty township
was organized in October, 1879, and was composed of township 20 of range 14.
The first officers were: Tre., Wm. Howerton; C., Wm. Brady; Ces., Milton
Mossberger.
The commissioners
districts as arranged in 1878 were as follows: First: Independent, Cheyenne,
Lakin and Hayes townships; second: Beaver, Union, Homestead, Great Bend, Seward
and Zion Valley; third: Wheatland, Fairview, Walnut, Clarence, Pawnee Rook,
Buffalo and Lincoln.
AN EARLY DAY
CAMPAIGN AND BARBEQUE IN BARTON
By Elrick C. Cole
THE political
campaign in Barton County in 18S0 was a warm one and among the various
gatherings held that year, the barbecue at Daizeil's grove was, perhaps, the
largest political gathering ever held in the county until the advent of the
Populist party. At that time the Republican party, locally, was suffering
severe defeats and the struggle for delegates from the state to the national
convention had intensified party differences. That was the year when the great
meeting of Arkansas valley politicians took place in Great Bend and the
patriots gatherd from Topeka to Coolidge and fought out the proposition of
Grant or Blaine and ended in a draw. The rival candidates for the Republican
nomination for representative were A. J. Buckland and D. N. Heizer and a count
of the delegates after the holding of the caucuses showed that Dave Heizer was
the winner. When this fact was ascertained Buckland declined to have his name
used in the convention and after an ineffectual attempt had been made to draw
the delegates to some third man, he bolted the nomination of Heizer. Hon. F. A.
Steckel of Ellinwood was the Democratic nominee, and the seceeding Republicans
nominated P. G. Donewitz, who was prominent in politics at that time, for
representative, and Judge Townsley for attorney against G. W. Nimocks. This
made a three-cornered fight and at that time every vote counted. It must be
remembered that in 1880 we had no railroads in this county except the main line
of the Santa Fe. Ellinwood and Pawnee Rock were the only points which could be
reached save by wagon road, but one could travel angling then from the time you
crossed the Walnut until the northeast or the northwest corner of the county
was reached. Of course there were no towns aside from those on the railroads,
but the rural population was almost, if not fully, as large as now, and an
effort was made to reach nearly every school house in the county to hold a
meeting. Up in Wheatland was Frank Millard, Charles Hall, Smed Wilkinson and
others. In Albion W. H. Rice, Captain Peck, Murdock, Dave Gray and others. Over
in Fairview lived Kirk Barrows, John W. Brown and his son; over in Independent,
which then included Cleveland township, were Al Schermerhorn, Jude Sping, Jim
Daiziel and Charles Montgomery and the Dugans. In Buffalo, Levi Gunn, always
true and faithful, the Everetts and L. H. Link and in Pawnee Rock were the
Bowmans, Tom Brewer, Aaron Garverick and many whose names I do not now recall.
Ellinwood was the Democratic stronghold and was only canvassed quietly but the
rest of the county was alive with Republican meetings. I remember there was a sod
school huse called Alliance school house over near where Claflin now stands,
where a large meeting was held. The crowning rally, however, was held at
Dalziel's grove, the clans gathering from all the surrounding country. Great
preparations were made for this meeting and the grove was filled with people.
There was roast ox and everything else in the eating and drinking line in
abundance. Among the speakers was a man named Minear, from Illinois. He was
interested in the campaign by reason of the fact that his nephew, named
Anderson Williams, at Pawnee Rock, was the candidate for commissioner from the
Third district. Minear was a powerful speaker on the common homespun order and
he reached the people in great shape. The crowd was so large that there were two
speakers talking at the same time in different parts of the grove. I can see
the old man now standing in a header barge, tall, angular and bony. His
powerful voice and plain talk pleased his hearers and he received a hearty
ovation at the close of his speech. There was a good glee club present and
between speeches it sang popular campaign songs. It was way in the night before
the meeting closed and many camped in the grove until the next day before
returning to their homes. This was one of the most successful political
meetings ever held in this county, and, while feeling was high, there was the
utmost good nature and hearty enjoyment of the occasion. It was a day of
pleasant meetings for people who seldom met as the means of travel were few and
far between, and much slower than now. The place was ideal and the day a
perfect one.
NEWSPAPERS OF
BARTON COUNTY
THERE is no
single institution that has more to do with the development of a new county
than the newspapers. People look to a newspaper for a true story of what one
may expect to find in a community or settlement where the paper is published.
Barton County has
been fortunate in having had gentlemen in the newspaper business who have done
a great deal of work in helping to bring new blood and energy to the county, as
well as capital, essentials that are so needful in a new country that is being
developed from its virgin state. The first newspaper published in the county
was "The Arkansas Valley," edited by S. J. McFarren. There were but a
few issues of this paper, the first edition being published in July, 1872. It
was a seven-column paper, well ruled with interesting news reading matter,
local news and advertisements. It was printed at the office of the Tribune in
Lawrence. Kan., and was owned by T. L. Morris and others. The salutatory
editorial in the paper consisted chiefly of an apology for publishing a
newspaper in the heart of the Great American Desert. The principal articles
were those under the following headings: "Kansas," from the Pittsburg,
Kan., Real Estate Register; "Enormous Cost of Fencing Land,"
"Stone Houses," "Tree Culture," "Swindling
Immigrants," from the Kansas Farmer; "Exemption Laws of Kansas,"
"Barton County—Soil, Climate, Rainfall, Health," "Information to
Immigrants," "New Homestead Law," "Homesteads,"
"Tree Planting," "Bounty for Tree Planting," "Bounty
for Hedges," "How to Come to Kansas," and various miscellaneous
articles and useful information. Its local columns made mention of T. L.
Stone's Great Western Hotel—the Southern; E. L. Morley, hardware dealer; A. S.
Allen, druggist; Dahm Brothers, bakery; Rice and Brinkman, lumber merchants;
Yoxall Sons and Company, lumber; Poole and Bell, livery stables; John Typer,
resaturant building, a 20x60 foot hotel; Markwort's store to have a glass
front; A. C. Moses and Sons running the store of W. D. Hart and Company on the
north side of the square; Harpham and Giddings, blacksmiths; Samuel Maher,
banker; John Cook, grocer; T. L. Morris, postmaster; W. H. Odell, county clerk;
A. A. Hurd, M. S. Ketch and others, many of whom have long since passed away.
The
advertisements in the first newspaper consisted of a three-column ad from the
Western Homestead Co.—A. A. Hurd and T. L. Morris; a column of solid reading
matter for the Illinois and Kansas Colony association, and smaller ads from W.
D. Hart & Co., grocers; Hubbard and Heizer, groceries, lumber and real
estate; John Typer, restaurant; S. Amryne, boots and shoes; Dahm Brothers,
bakers; Jacob Collar and Co., millinery; Stone and Williams, dry goods; Great
Western Hotel, which was run by Stone and Hudson; John Cook, groceries; Pioneer
Grocery, Edward Markwort, Poole and Bell, livery stable; Mrs. J. Holland, news
depot; James Holland, furniture; M. S. Ketch, gents' furnishing goods; Ed
Tyler, restaurant; A. S. Allen, drugs; E, L. Morphy, hardware; Rice and
Brinkman, lumber; Yoxall Sons and Co., lumber, etc.; Samcox and Fry, bakers; A.
A. Hurd, lawyer, and Valley Printing office, and a number of smaller ads. The second
number was issued in 1873. The outside was printed by A. N. Kellogg of St.
Louis and was dated January 14, 1873, the inside—printed later—was dated
January 27, 1873, and the advertisements were nearly all dated in April, 1873.
It contained a directory of Barton county and Great Bend, articles on society
in the country, articles favoring the erection of a court house and the
Arkansas river bridge, forest trees, three election notices, an account of the
farmers meeting for the organization of the County Agricultural society and a
number of local raiders. The new advertisers were: G. W. Nimocks, lawyer; D. N.
Copeland, lawyer; J. C. Martin, justice of the peace and police judge; J. H.
Hubbard and Co., real estate; Samuel Maher, banker; W. H. Odell, county clerk;
Typer House; Wilcox, Lehman and Gray, hardware; Benedict and Moffat, painters;
A. Giddens, horseshoeing; E. J. Dodge, blacksmith; J. H. Hubbard and Co., dry
goods, and a big advertisement telling about the job office of the paper.
The price of the
paper was $2.00 per year and since it was published only twice a year, the
paper cost the subscribers $1.00 a copy. Mr. McFarren did not remain in the
business very long, his place being taken in the publication of the paper by
Samuel Maher, who continued the paper under McFarren's name until March, 1873,
when McFarren's name was dropped.
In April, 1873,
the name of the paper was changed to the "Barton County Progress."
Mr. Maher moved the office to the Dubois building on the east side of the
square. In May, Mr. Maher discontinued the publication of the paper on account
of his inability to secure competent help. No paper was published until the
following June, when H. Perrine Stults purchased the office for $1,000 and
continued publishing the Progress until the fall of 1873 when he grew weary and
sold out the paper to J. F. Cummings of Topeka. Cummins paid $1,100.00 and
assumed a debt of $750.00 against the plant which was held by Samuel Maher. At
first Cummings improved the paper and at the fall election was elected to
represent this county in the legislature. During Mr. Cummings' absence the
paper was in charge of D. M. Sells.
After Cummings
returned from Topeka he did not give the paper the attention necessary to make
it a success, and it was but a short time until G. L. Brinkman bought the
mortgage against the plant, held by Samuel Maher and took possession. The plant
was moved to the old Holland building which had just been moved to the north
side of the square. A company was organized for the purpose of publishing a
newspaper and conducting a job printing shop. The company was composed of G. L.
Brinkman, G. W. Nimocks, D. N. Heizer, W. H. Odell, Joseph Howard and A. S.
Prescott.
Cummings, the
former editor of the paper, is said to have died of yellow fever at Memphis in
1878.
In 1873, Frank
Sheldon started a monthly publication under the name of the Farmers' Friend. It
was made up mainly of reprint matter from the Progress and had but a short
existence.
The next paper to
be published in Great Bend was the Register, which was built upon the ruins of
the Progress, which in 1874, had ceased publication. It was first edited by W.
H. Odell with A. J. Hoisington as business manager. In June, 1874, Mr.
Hoisington was placed in full charge as editor and manager. He got out a good
paper and made it a powerful influence for good in the community.
In August, 1876,
the 12th, to be exact, the first number of the Inland Tribune made its
appearance as a weekly paper, it was edited and published by C. P. Townsley who
had been circuit judge of the Fifth judicial district of the state of Missouri.
For several weeks it was composed of all home print, but finally the
"patent inside" was adopted. This paper was the beginning of the present
publications known as the Great Bend Daily Tribune and the Great Bend Weekly
Tribune Published by Will Townsley, a son of C. P. Townsley, and Warren Baker.
In May, 1877, a
stock company was formed under the name of the Great Bend Publishing Company, which
had for its purpose the publication of a Democratic weekly newspaper, under the
name of the Arkansas Valley Democrat. Isaac T. Flint of Ottumwa, la., was
chosen editor and manager.
The first number
of the paper appeared July 21, 1877. After four weeks, Jos. B. Fugate, of
Ottumwa, Ia., was taken in as a partner and five weeks later Mr. Flint sold his
remaining interest to B. B. Smyth of Ellinwood, who had been an employee of the
office since it began business.
Election was
approaching and it was discovered that a successful campaign would depend on
Smyth's being ousted from the office. Accordingly possession was demanded by
the company and the demand was refused by Smyth. Then a replevin was issued
from the circuit court and a redelivery bond of $2,000 was given by Smyth.
Later the company became fearful of losing their interest in the concern and
they made a deal whereby they bought Smyth's interest. He was succeeded by J.
B. Fugate.
In 1878 the
Kansas Volksfreund, a German Democratic weekly newspaper, was started in Great
Bend. It was edited by Phillip Schmitz. This office introduced the first power
press in the county, a handsome Cottrell and Babcock. In 1879 this paper was
consolidated with the Stern des Westens, (Star of the West), of Wichita and the
two plants were consolidated and moved to Topeka where the new publication was
issued under the name of the Staats Anzieger.
The Ellinwood
Express was started in 1878 by Sheperd and Sterling, and for some time it was
printed in the office of the Sterling Bulletin. During the same year Thomas L.
Powers of Sterling took possession of the paper and established a printing
office at Ellinwood. The Ellinwood paper now is called the Leader and is
published by John McMullin.
The above gives
an idea of the early newspapers in the county and since those days there have
been a number of papers started that met with indifferent success and were
finally either discontinued or absorbed by other publications.
Among those mey
be mentioned: The Item, Graphic, Evening News, Rustler and Morning News.
The Register,
after A. J. Hoisington severed his connection with it the first time, was owned
by E. L. Chapman, Morgan Caraway, J. H. Borders, A. J. Hoisington and Ira
Clark. Warren Baker and Ed Vollmer bought the Register and Daily Item and
consolidated with the Tribune August 1, 1908. In 1909 Vollmer sold his
interests to Townsley & Baker, the present owners.
In the fall of
1880 Tracy and Adams started the Barton County Democrat. This firm sold to A.
Wolf, who in turn sold to W. H. Bright of McPherson. He sold to D. Langford in
March, 1886. Will Stoke bought a half interest in the paper and later bought
the remaining half from Langford. Mr. Stoke sold a half interest to W. P. Feder
in 1904. in 1905 this firm bought the Beacon which was started by D. T.
Armstrong in 1895. Stole sold his interest in the plant to Mr. Feder in 1906.
Later Mr. Feder organized the Feder Printing Co.. which has since owned and
published the Barton County Democrat.
In January, 1910,
the Morning News was started in Great Bend by the firm of Gunn A. Wattson. This
paper was consolidated with the Great Bend Tribune in September of the same
year.
The newspapers
now published in the county are the Great Bend Tribune, daily and weekly, by
Townsley & Baker; the Hoisington Dispatch by Roy Cornelius, the Ellinwood
Leader by John McMullin, Pawnee Rock Herald by Grant Lippincott and the Claflin
Clarion by Bert Fancher. All these papers except the Tribune are weekly
publications.
A FEW INCIDENTS
By Ira H. Clark
I MAY be pardoned
for mention of an incident at Hoisington in the summer off 1895, which was
largely of a personal interest to me. I mention this because it tells of the
largest Republican township caucus ever held at Hoisington up to that time and
the largest since with the single exception of the caucus held in 1904 about
which I will have something to say later. This 1895 caucus was for the purpose
of naming delegates to the county convention which was to place in nomination
the county ticket. The writer was a candidate for the nomination of county
clerk that year and it may be said that he had some good healthy political
enemies in his own baliwick as well as some mighty good and true friends. These
enemies were determined to keep me from getting the delegation if possible and
in that manner take me entirely out of the running, if the entire delegation
could not be secured then it was the desire of these people to divide it with
me so that neither one of us would stand a ghost of a show when it came to the
county convention. The man selected to defeat me for the delegation was Tommy
Moore, a railroad shop man, who was popular with the numerous railroad men and
at the same time was quite a lodge man. A stronger man locally for the purpose
intended could hardly have been selected. He was practically unknown outside of
a small territory but he was well known in Hoisington and generally liked. He
would not have had a look-in for the nomination even had he secured a solid
delegation from Homestead—but the purpose of his backers to defeat me would
have been accomplished. The attendance at this caucus was about 110 which was
very near the voting strength of the party in the township at that time. The
test came in the selection of a chairman and my supporters were successful,
although by but a small majority. We pushed the fight on the issue of the two
candidates for county clerk—my friends demanding that I either be given the
entire delegation or none—with the result that a motion prevailed that I be permitted
to select the delegates to the county convention. Right here I want to say that
I did something that branded me as a novice in politics, something that my
later years of experience taught me was a radical mistake. In politics never
give back a concession that has been granted, take all you can get and grasp
for more. Upon the granting of the usual privilege by the caucus there was a
storm of protests from the opposition, chief among which was Col. Wash. Sowards
(now gone to his long rest) who loudly—I speak literally—proclaimed that should
I secure the nomination after having taken advantage of this unusual privilege
he would spend every minute of the time from convention time until election
tramping over the county electioneering against my election.
I did not at that
time fully appreciate or realize the great favor the Colonel was voluntarily
proffering me. I thought by conciliating with the opposition and allowing them
a fair share of the delegates with instructions that they should support me unanimously
for county clerk would make me stronger and bring about a better feeling. And
this was the plan followed against the wish and protest of one of my valued
supporters—Captain J. P. Francis—who knew politics from A to Z and who though
never making a brilliant success himself had keen foresight and excellent
judgment on matters of this kind. I found out later that I had made a mistake
for it took all the time that I should have devoted to increasing my following
outside in keeping my own delegation in line and preventing them frcm violating
their instructions. This caucus will always be remembered by those in
attendance as the most hotly contested of any held in Homestead township. This
was the year that M. B. Fitts was first nominated for county clerk. The writer
had the largest following of any individual candidate up to the next to the
last ballot when he lacked five votes of a nomination. At this juncture
practically all the delegates supporting George Gano of Pawnee Rock, were swung
into line for Mr. Fitts.
In the spring of
1892 Hoisington had a very bitter city election. The town had been incorporated
for a number of years but there had been no improvements made whatever and a
number of the progressives were in favor of electing a city ticket that would
mean some much needed sidewalk and street crossings. The moss-back element
proclaimed loudly that the city would be thrown hopelessly in debt if this
progressive ticket was successful, and this element succeeded in rallying to
their aid a certain element in the churches that was made to believe that the
progressive ticket was an extreme favorite with the whiskeyites. This was a
favorite city election argument, by the way, for a number of years but it
mattered not which ticket was successful in any of these years whiskey was sold
freely in Hoisington at all times. This progressive ticket was headed by Capt.
W. F. Peck and was successful at the polls. The sidewalks and crossings were
put in and a great deal in the way of improvement accomplished. I was identified
with the progressives and the morning after election six men filed up to my
office, paid the subscription on their papers and ordered its discontinuance to
their address. I did not enter into any argument with them or attempt to have
them continue taking the paper but as courteously as I knew how took their
money and gave them receipts. Some of my friends heard of the incident and
before sundown they came in with thirty-seven new paid in advance subscriptions
by the paper, so I was not very much loser after all.
Speaking of
persons stopping their subscription to a newspaper reminds me of an incident
when Jerry Simpson was making his second campaign for congress. When Simpson
made his first campaign of course I had more or less to say through my paper—the
Dispatch—of a disparaging nature relative to Simpson and his fitness for the
position he sought. When Simpson was making his second campaign his followers
got up a monster demonstration at Hoisington, there was a great parade and the
affair was about the biggest political event that ever happened in the county.
There was an Irish lady living in Hoisington by the name of Grandma Johnson who
had been a constant subscriber to the Dispatch and was a very good friend of
the writer. She was, however, an ardent Democrat and a strong believer in the
perfection of Jerry Simpson. A grandson was assisting in the Dispatch office on
press day having the important position of roller boy for the Washington press
in use in the office. Immediately after the big Simpson political demonstration
Grandma Johnson sent word by this boy to the editor that if he wrote up Simpson
in as lying and contemptible manner as he had done two years before she was
coming in and would stop her paper. Of course the Dispatch that week had a
great deal to say about Simpson and the Caraway-Simpson episode that was pulled
off on the occasion of that particular meeting, and in the editor's own weak
way Simpson got his. The next morning after the paper was issued Grandma
Johnson went to the postoffice and getting her copy of the paper examined it
and found what she was looking for in reference to Simpson. She immediately
ascended the steps to the printing office and tearing the paper to shreds,
threw the remnants at the face of the editor, placing the amount of her
delinquency on the desk said, "There is your old paper, it's the damndest
lienest shate in the state, except the Great Bend Register." I was glad
she made one exception in the case.
By way of
explanation I will say that at that time the Register was in the hands of
Morgan Caraway, who was chairman of the Republican congressional committee, and
was about as virulent writer and hard a fighter as ever showed up in these
parts. Grandma Johnson's temper did not last long and she was soon a valued
subscriber to the Dispatch and the writer always counted on her and her family
as among our best friends.
During the
campaign of 1888 there were two papers published at Hoisington. The Echo,
published by Chas. R. Vert, espoused the Republican cause, while the Mascot,
published by Tom Shaughnessy upheld the Democratic banner. During the coursing
meet, which at that time was the most noted annual meeting in the county, the
two papers issued daily edi tions. Neither one of the editors were gifted with
an over-abundance of editorial gray matter and as this was in the midst of a
heated campaign in the nation, state and county, and the two papers were ultra
partisan and it was necessary that each edition contain a number of good strong
editorials calculated to inform the common voter as to his duty on election
day. Neither editor was capable for the task, and be it said to their credit,
they both realized this fact. It was therefore necessary to get someone to
furnish this necessary copy. The Echo secured the services of Hugo Carlander, a
Swedish gentleman who ran a harness shop and who was a rabid Republican who
usually expressed himself in very forceful language. The Mascot secured the
services of A. H. Baker who at that time, and is yet, a land agent at Hoisington.
Mr. Baker was a Missouri Democratic of the rock-ribbed variety and could go
some when it came to telling his side of the political story. The editor of the
Echo did not know that the Mascot had an assistant in the way of an editorial
writer but thought the political stuff appearing in the Mascot was from the pen
of the editor. The controversy in the two papers became personal to such an
extent that they engaged in personal combat over the accusations, charges and
counter charges that were daily appearing in the two papers. It is needless to
say that the personal combat of the two editors was a source of much merriment
to the two writers who were furnishing the ammunition for the fracas while they
themselves were engaged in a bloodless warfare.
There is an
interesting story connected with the first nomination of the late Senator G. L.
Chapman that is not generally known. This story reveals how very close cur
present townsman, Joe Walters,then the candidate of Stafford county for the
senatorial nomination, came to being the nominee of that convention, or I might
better say how very easy it would have been for him to have secured the
nomination had the delegates from his county had any idea of the intention of
Mr. Chapman. A little history of the condition of things is necessary before
going on with the real story. Senator Robert Findlay had been in the senate but
one term and it was generally conceded that he was a one term man. He and
General Chapman were very good friends at that time and before General would
enter the race for the senatorship he had assurances from Bob Findlay that he
would not be in his way but would assist in the nomina- of Chapman. Assurances
of support were also secured from other prominent Republicans of Rice county.
Senator Findlay wanted to be let down as easily as possible, as it had been the
custom to give an office holder two terms and the retirement of Senator Findlay
at the expiration of his first term was a divergence from this usual custom. It
was therefore agreed that in the selection of the delegates to the senatorial
convention from Rice county that these delegates should ostensibly be for
Senator Findlay for a renomination, and then the program was that after a vote
was taken and the Rice county delegation cast a vote for Senator
Findlay—Senator Findlay was to come forward and after thanking his home county
for their loyalty was to withdraw from the race. This was the thought of a
number of the delegates from Rice county, but it seems that Bob was smooth
enough to tie them up with some sort of an agreement by which they were to stay
by him until he would personally release them from any allegiance to him. After
he had secured the Rice county delegation and had this agreement Bob concluded
that he would like to stick in the senate for another term and became a
fuilfledged and bonafide candidate for nomination.
Stafford county
had not been getting hardly her share of district honors and therefore felt
—and very justly too—that she was entitled to the nominee for senator. Findlay
knew very well just how the Stafford county folks felt about this and there
rested his hope for securing the nomination. While the Stafford county
delegates personally felt much more friendly to Chapman than they did to
Findlay their soreness for Barton county not coming to their aid might take on
such a form as to cause them to go to Findlay before they would to Chapman
through a feeling of revenge. This was Chapman's danger and it was right here
that a plan was evolved whereby Findlay became an impossibility if the Stafford
delegation would be alert and onto their job. By necessity this plan had to be
kept very quiet and I may say there were only two persons besides General
Chapman that knew of the plan. One prominent delegate on the Stafford county
delegation was told to keep a very close watch on the proceedings and be ready
to act quickly should anything transpire that needed quick action. Nothing more
could be said, and although this delegate could not figure out just what the
purport of this intelligence was it is needless to say that he paid mighty
strict attention to the proceedings until a nomination was made. This
convention was held at Ellinwood and was presided over by Sam Jones of Lyons.
By a rule of procedure in conventions of this character when a vote is being
taken on a nomination any delegation has a right to change its vote already
cast provided the change is made before the vote is announced by the secretary.
A large number of votes were being taken with little difference.
In the roll call
of counties Barton always cast the first ballot. The plan was that should
Stafford county get so sore at Barton as to prefer the nomination of Findlay to
Chapman and the Rice county delegates persisted in their support of Findlay
then the chairman of the Barton county delegation would immediately, before the
announcement of the ballot, change the vote of Barton county to Walters and
then it would be up to the Stafford county chairman to quickly announce a
change of vote from Findlay to Walters. Had the Stafford county folks had any
idea of this intention they could easily have brought about the nomination of
Walters.
One of the most
prominent men in the early history of Hoisington was A. S. Cooke, who was the
cashier of the first bank established in the town. Mr. Cooke was not one of the
first men in the town but was one of the pushers when he did come. It was
through him that the writer was first induced to locate in Hoisington in
February, 1889. Mr. Cooke took an active part in all things of a public nature
and was a very social fellow. After retiring from the bank he became interested
in the lumber business with the late Henry Wildgen. Soon after the hard years
in the nineties he sold out his interests and went to Plttsburg to take charge
of the Pennsylvania business of a Chicago electrical supply business. I am
informed that he has prospered greatly in his new home and now has his country
home, two automobiles and his city residence. While in this county he was
active in Masonic circles but has since renounced all allegiance to secret
orders and is now a devout and active worker in the Catholic church, his oldest
daughter having taken the veil in that church.
WILLIS W.
WINSTEAD
THERE are few men
who had more to do with the early history of Barton County, and especially that
part of it that has to do with the City of Great Bend.
He was the second
sheriff of Barton County and filled the office of city marshal of Great Bend at
a time when it required a man of strong nerve and a determined nature to deal
with the vicious element that made up a part of the town's population. He was
born in the little town of Dukedom, Tenn., in 1844, and came to Barton County
in 1873. He married Miss Georgia Stone, a daughter of T. L. Stone for whom
Stone street was named. She, with her sister, were the first young ladies to
arrive in Great Bend. Mr. and Mrs. Winstead were the parents of three children
as follows: Wirt W., who died when he was 24 years of age; George M., who for
some time was in the jewelry business in Great Bend, but about a year ago moved
to Hutchinson and established one of the largest and most complete stocked
jewelry stores in this part of the country; Thomas E., who is proprietor of the
Duncan Bottling Works in Great Bend. Mrs. Winstead's father ran the old
Southern hotel which, when it was first built, was known as the Drovers
Cottage, and was the first building on the townsite of Great Bend. At this time
Mrs. Winstead was 15 years of age and her two sisters, who are now Mrs. Honnen
and Mrs. Crath, were 5 and 13, respectively. Mr. Winstead was deputy marshal
for some time and in all his public duties proved himself a man whose nerve
enabled him to deal with delicate conditions with forethought and
determination. He had to deal with some mighty tough characters during his
terms as marshal and sheriff but the evil-doers learned that Mr. Winstead was a
man who placed his duty above everything else. He was a kind and considerate
father and his death, which occurred a few years ago, caused a great deal of
sorrow among his relatives and friends who knew him for a man in every sense of
the word.
JOHN EVERS
THE improvements
just completed at "Wheat Valley Farm," the home of John Evers, 12
miles west of Great Bend has made such a change in its appearance that one
hardly recognizes it as the same place, although the land is just as rich and
the same care has been given to the cultivation of the crops. A large two story
frame, containing ten rooms and a kitchen, has taken the place of the former
residence, and it will stand as a monument to the skill of Mr. Evers as a
carpenter for many long years, as he has been both its architect and builder.
That it is swell built, and that the lumber of its construction is first class
is an admitted fact, because Mr. Evers served an apprenticeship at the
builders' trade in the Old Country before coming to America, and then worked as
a journeyman carpenter for a number of years. Since coming to Kansas he has
worked at his trade while farming, and has kept in touch with the improved
methods in vogue in this country. He therefore felt that he was competent for
this task and the building stands to prove that he made a just estimate of his
ability. The barn, sheds and other outbuildings are in keeping with the home
and care for the grain and stock of the farm. There is an abundance of shade
and the whole presents a beautiful appearance.
John Evers was
born in the Province ot Hanover, Germany, on May 11th, 1857. He worked on the
farm and at his trade until March 5th, 1882, when he came to America and first
settled in Nebraska City, Nebraska. There he again farmed and worked at his
trade, but in May, 1893, came to Barton County, Kansas, and purchased the one
hundred and sixty acres where he resides. He also owns a half section in Pawnee
County which is farmed by his son John Herman Evers. He was married in June,
1884, to Miss Johanna Ekhoff, of Germany, and thirteen children have blessed
them; all of whom remain at home and assist the parents except John Herman, who
is married and lives on the farm in Pawnee County.
AMEND BROS,
DENTISTS
IN writing the
different articles for the history of Barton County and Great Bend, there is
none that is more a story of success and enterprise than this one, which recounts
the building up an establishment of which the people of Great Bend and Barton
County, as well as those of surrounding counties, are justly proud. This
establishment is known as the Amend Brothers Dental Parlors which are located
over 1417 1-2 Main street. Those who visit the parlors for the first time,
after having become accustomed to the ordinary dentists' office,
are compelled to exclaim,
"Wonderful!" And it is wonderful when it is taken into consideration
that without any attempt at flattery, or stretching the imagination it can be
truthfully said that nowhere in the state of Kansas nor in Kansas City or St.
Louis, can there be found a dental parlor that will excel the Amend Brothers
establishment when it comes to completeness of equipment., sanitary methods or
general beauty and convenience. The firm of Amend Brothers consists of Walter
A., Eldon R., and Leslie L. These young men are sons of Mr. and Mrs. John W.
Amend, who were early settlers in the eastern part of Kansas, having come to
this state from the state of Missouri.
Mrs. Amend was
left a widow twenty-two years ago and it is largely due to her guidance and
pride in her boys that they have made a success in their work.
Walter was born
in Brown County, Kansas, in 1884, and when he arrived in Great Bend in 1901, he
accepted a position in the dental office of A. D. Raffington. In 1905 he
graduated from the Western Dental College of Kansas City, Mo., and shortly
after he had received his diploma he opened the business that has since grown
to its present importance. In 1907 Eldon R. Amend received his diploma from the
same college and joined his brother, Walter, in the parlors in this city. Eldon
was born in Iowa, in 1877. Leslie L. became a member of the firm in the spring
of 1912. He graduated from the same college where the other members of the firm
studied and mastered their profession. Leslie was born in Missouri, in 1882,
and received his diploma from the above mentioned college in 1906, and before
coming to Great Bend practiced at Sterling, Kansas. Associated with the Amend
Brothers in their business are: Dr. Fred C. Pressl and Dr. Roy R. Johnson, both
of whom are well fitted to maintain the reputation of the parlors. In addition
to enjoying an extensive local practice representatives of this firm make
frequent and regular trips to towns surrounding Great Bend and Barton County
where the Amend Brothers' quality of dental work is well known and appreciated.
These towns are locaied on the Santa Fe railroad as far west as Garden City and
as far east as Geneseo on the Missouri Pacific and to Ness City on the latter
road, and as far south as Pratt. Within this radius there are forty towns which
are regularly visited and where this firm's practice is steadily growing as a
result of modern methods and painstaking, careful attention. The Amend Brothers
Dental Parlors in Great Bend are furnished with everything known to the modern
practice of dentistry. The furniture is of mahogany, while the walls are
finished in pure white with green trimmings. Three operating booths are
equipped with the finest instruments which are kept clean and sanitary by the
most advanced methods. The instruments used at the parlors are of the modern
kind, many of them being operated by electricity and they are the kind that
reduces pain to a minimum and makes operations that were formerly painful
almost devoid of any unpleasant sensation.
Every appliance
that will in any way add to the up-to-dateness of the parlors have been
supplied by the firm regardless of expense and time. It is indeed fortunate for
the people of this section of Kansas to have an establishment of this kind in
Great Bend, because when they seek treatment at this modern institution they
can do so with the knowledge that no matter how far one may travel or to
whatever city they might go better treatment cannot be found nor can one have
higher class work done at more reasonable prices.
L. G. MECKLEM
THERE are very
few old timers of this county who do not know the Mecklem family, as it is one
of the families that arrived here in 1870. The subject of this sketch, L. G.
Mecklem, is a son of G. F. Mecklem, who it will be remembered was killed in a
cyclone in 1900. He with his family came to this county in the fall of 1870 and
he located on the northeast quarter of section 3, Buffalo township, while L. G.
later homesteaded the northwest quarter of the same section. L. G. now owns 400
acres of land all in Buffalo township, except 80 acres, which is in Eureka
township. He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and came to this county with
his parents. He was married to Miss Rheta Wilkins and to this union there were
born two children, Ira, 32 years of age, and Jennie, 30 years of age. The
former is a wheat buyer located at Heizer and Jennie is now Mrs. Henry Boyle,
and resides on Blood creek, in this county. Mr. Mecklem survived his first wife
and in 1886 was married to Miss Clara Baldwin in this county. They are the
parents of three children as follows: Mollie, 21 years of age, is now Mrs.
Walter Wallerstedt of Lynsburg, Kansas; Marie, 17 years, and Bess, 14 years of
age, are residing at home. The home place is beautifully located on the south
bank of Walnut creek. The residence which contatins[sic] eight rooms, in
addition to closets, pantries, etc., is surrounded by shade trees and
shrubbery. The barn is 32 feet square and the other outbuildings are well built
and commodious. Altogether Mr. Mecklem has one of the best improved and HIGRIG
are very few old timers of this most attractive home places to be found in that
township. He maintains a small orchard and a good grade of live stock and is
one of the best known farmers in that section of Barton. He has held township
and school board offices and always takes an active part in any movement that
he thinks is for the benefit of the community in which he lives. One thing of
interest about Mr. Mecklem should be mentioned. He is the author of the famous
Heizer Yacht Club notes that have been running in the Tribune for the last
three or four years.
JAKE MILLER
THE pioneer
photographer of Great Bend is Jake Miller who still operates a studio on
Broadway a few doors east of the federal building. Mr. Miller was born in Adams
County, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1848. He came to Great Bend in 1872 and soon
after his arrival opened a photograph gallery and nearly all the well known old
timers have posed before Mr. Miller's camera.
Many of the
illustrations of the old time scenes and people in this book are cuts made from
photos furnished by Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller helped to set the type from which
the first newspaper in Great Bend was printed. He was married in 1878 to Miss
Carrie E. Rankin and they are the parents of two children: Leon, who is now a
telepgaph operator employed by the Associated Press at St. Joseph, Mo., and
Anna, who is now Mrs. David Gordon of this county. Mr. Miller was well
acquainted with the old timers and pioneers of this section of the state and
knows a great deal about the early history of Barton County, he is one of the
men who helped to make it.
JOSEPH H.
TROILLET
JOSEPH H.
TROILLET was born December 21, 1843, at Bagnes Valais, Switzerland, of French
parents. He was married in March, 1881, to Miss Anna Bobeck and they were the
parents of three girls: Lillian, Elsa and Alma. Mr. Troillet arrived in Barton
County in 1873 and was, therefore, among the pioneers of this section of
Kansas. His first business venture was a tailor shop which he and his brother,
Francis Troillet, opened. This partnership continued for some time after which
Mr. Troillet opened a French restaurant which he conducted until 1887, when he
established a cigar factory and confectionary story on Forest avenue, opposite
the postoffice, in a building which he erected in 1876. Mr. Troillet was always
known as an enterprising, progressive citizen and always took a part in any
movement that had for its purpose the betterment of the community in which he
lived. The confectionery store is now being run by his daughters and there are
few if any of the old timers who will not remember Mr. Troillet and the part he
took in the upbuildlng of Great Bend and Barton County. Mr. Troillet was one of
the original organizers and directors of the Citizens National bank and was
also one of the largest stockholders. Mr. Troillet's death, which occurred on
February 24, 1911, was a great shock to the community and he was sincerely
mourned, not only by his relatives, but by scores of friends in all parts of
the state of Kansas. Mr. Troillet survived his wife who died August 10, 1908.
The Troillet girls, Lillian, Alma and Elsa are well fitted to look after the
different business interests left by their parents. Lillian was married in
July, 1912, to Ernest Frey. The girls are among the best known in the younger
society set of the county, all of them being accomplished musicians, Lillian
being a singer of exceptional ability. Mr. Troillet was one of the best known
pioneer business men of Great Bend and before his death had the satisfaction of
seeing the town and county reach a place of importance which was made possible
by the early struggles of the pioneers of whom he was one.
W. H. KERR
WILLIAM HENRY
KERR was born at Toulon, Illinois, January 20, 1855. He went with his parents
to Missouri when he was about one year of age and it was in the latter state
that he was raised and received his early education. Mr. Kerr came to Kansas
from Missouri in 1876 and located in Barton County. He first took up a tree
claim and pre-emption in Beaver township, the former being changed to a
homestead. At this time there was but one family in that township which was not
then known as Beaver but was included in another township. Mr. Kerr was married
August 30, 1881, to Miss Florence P. Lindsay of Bunker Hill, Kansas, and they
are the parents of eight children, six of whom are living. One of the children
died in infancy and Albert was killed by lightning June 20,1900,when he was 12
years old.
The remainder of
the children are: Mary Belle, who is now Mrs. Clarence Markel; Winifred, who is
employed by the Merrit-Schwier Creamery as stenographer; Ethel Florence, who is
a stenographer and is em ployed by C. B. Ellis & Co., brokers, of San
Francisco; Robert Henry, who is employed in Great Bend, and Josephine and
Alice, who are living at home. Mr. Kerr has always taken a great interest in
his children and they are all well educated and well known in this part of the
state. Mr. Kerr now owns 720 acres of farm land in Barton County, all of which
is being worked by renters. He also owns considerable town property in Great
Bend and 180 acres of land in Texas. Mr. Kerr is the founder of the Church of
Humanity, a society that is gaining many new members in all parts of the world.
The membership roll contains representatives from forty states in this counttry
as well as in Germany and England. Mr. Kerr is the publisher and editor of the
monthly magazine called "The Truth About God and Life," which spreads
the propaganda of the society to all parts of the civilized world. He is also
the president of the society and devotes a great deal of his time to study and
in the preparation of copy for the magazine. Some time ago he purchased the
Morrison hotel building, which is one of the largest in the city of Great Bend,
and it is his intention to found a school in the building to prepare students
for taking up the work of spreading the beliefs of the society. Mr. Kerr is an
enterprising and progressive citizen and is one of the really old timers of
Barton County who have remained here through good and bad years and established
a home and raised a family that is a credit to him and the community in which
he lives.
JACOB A. DIRKS
THE general
appearance of "North Slope Farm," the name recently given to the home
of Jacob A. Dirk's, thirteen and one-half miles west of Great Bend, has been
greatly changed by the erection of a two story frame residence containing ten
large airy rooms, and all other conveniences and accessories usually found in a
modern up-to-date home. This building stands on an elevated position and well
above ground, and seems to tower above its surroundings. It is enclosed by
porches, north and south, and the sleeping apartments face in those directions.
Ventilation and comfort have been the chief aims in its construction, and Mr.
and Mrs. Dirks can congratulate themselves that they have secured these
blessings. It is furnished in the most modern style, and will take rank with
the best homes in the county. There is a good barn with mow and stall room for
all hay and stock necessary on the farm, and a granary and other outbuildings.
New trees, plants and shrubs will be set, and these will blend with the
tastefully painted buildings and brighten the scene.
Jacob A. Dirks
was born in Newton, Kansas, on April 8th, 1877, and attended the district
schools of Barton County. He is the oldest son of Abraham H. and Nettie Dirks,
and grew to manhood on the homestead one- half mile west of his present home.
He is one of the progressive farmers of the county, and his two hundred and
forty acres of tillable land show that he is a model husbandman. His farm
covers one hundred and sixty acres, and he owns an additional eighty, two miles
west in Rush county. These twa tracts are cultivated by him personally, and his
fields and granaries both show that he understands his business. On December
5th, 1900, Jacob A. Dirks and Miss Carrie Ratzlaff, of Harvey County, Kansas,
were united in marriage, and four children bless them: Chester, 9; Harvey, 8;
Daniel, 6, and Mae Leona, 2.
BENJAMIN H. UNRUH
"HILLSIDE
FARM," the country home of Benjamin H. Unruh, stands on a a gently sloping
hillside thirteen miles west of Great Bend. The farm embraces three hundred and
twenty acres of beautiful lying land, and the soil is very fertile. Mr. Unruh
also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Pawnee County, and both tracts are in
a high state of cultivation. The "Hillside Farm" is improved with a
one story and a half frame containing nine rooms, and is furnished modernly.
The barn is 32x60 and has stalls for fifteen horses and ten cows. There is a
granary, model milk house, and other outbuildings, and some metal grain bins
scattered about. The house is painted gray, the barn red, and these shades
harmonize well with the green of the orchard leaves and the shade trees about
the premises.
Benjamin H. Unruh
was born in Central Russia on September 5th, 1864, and came to America with his
parents, Hein and Katherine Unruh, when ten years of age. They arrived in
Newton, Kansas, on December 24th, 1874, and little Benny spent his tenth
Christmas in the new world. They finally settled at Pawnee Rock, but eventually
entered a homestead three miles south of the farm here described. The father
died in November, 1884, but the mother still resides on the homestead. Benjamin
H. attended the public schools of his disirict and assisted his father and
mother on the farm, and entered and proved up on a claim of a quarter section.
On April 14th, 1899, he married Miss Anna Smith, of Harvey County, Kansas. They
have five living children: Alvin, 10; Ruth, 8; Augusta, 6; Paul, 4, and Freida,
3.
CLARENCE E.
HOLMES
CLARENCE E. HOLMES
was born April 2, 1882, at Fredonia, Wilson County, Kansas, and is a son of Mr.
and Mrs. R. E. Holmes, who came to the Sunflower state from Iowa in 1877.
Clarence lived in his native county for six years after which he went to Elk
County with his parents. From there he went to Butler County and resided in the
town of Douglas until 1908, during which year he came to Barton County and
engaged in the drug business in Great Bend. The elder Holmes followed the
business of
farming and
cabinet making. After 1880, and previous to this date was in the drug business
for thirty years. Clarence was educated in the grammar and high schools of the
different counties in which he lived and in 1907 graduated from the
pharmaceutical department of the Kansas university at Lawrence. Soon after
graduation he successfully passed the examination and fulfilled the other
requirements of the state board of pharmacy and is now a registered pharmacist.
When Clarence was a boy he took a great interest in outdoor sports and became
proficient as a baseball pitcher and after playing in amateur teams for some
time, in 1903 he signed a contract and pitched professional ball on the Cedar
Rapids club of the "Three I." league. He made an excellent record as
a left handed twirler and quit the game only because he wanted to go into
business for himself. He still takes a great interest in the national game and
his store is headquarters for sporting goods and is popular with everybody who
is in any way interested in sports.
Mr. Holmes was
married in 1907 to Miss Daisy Hollenbeck of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and they are
the parents of one child, a boy two years of age who bears his father's name
and is known as Clarence Holmes, Jr. Mr. Holmes is one of the best known
business men of Barton County and his store is a standard for all goods in the
drug line. During the hot months the soda fountain maintained at the Holmes
store is the mecca for those who want the best in the soft drink line. The
prescription department is always in charge of Mr. Holmes or another registered
pharmacist and this department is maintained on the highest standard.
JOHN F. LEWIS
THE history of
Barton County, Kansas, would not be entirely complete without a short biography
of John F. Lewis, who came here in 1873, when there was but a single row of
houses around the square, and the cowboy element dominated the town.
Mr. Lewis was
born in Holmes County, Ohio, August 9, 1842, wherefrom his family moved to
DeWitt County, Illinois, in 1844, where he grew to manhood and in July, 1862,
enlisted in Company G, 107th Infantry, Illinois Volunteers for service in the
civil war. His father, Dr. B. S. Lewis, having recruited said company and was
elected its captain and he, John F. Lewis, was made duty sergeant, afterwards
promoted to first sargeant and again to second lieutenant. Mr. Lewis served
with his regiment in the Kentucky, East Tennessee, under General Burnsides in
its battles and seiges, thence in 1864 with Sherman in his march upon Atlanta,
then in the campaign when Hood marched upon Nashville and the battles of
Columbia, Duck River, Franklin and Nashville was fought, thence going with his
corps to Fort Fisher, thence on up the coast in various engagements to the close
of the war, in the capture of Johnson's army.
Soon after the
close of the war Mr. Lewis was commissioned lieutenant in the Fourteenth
regular infantry and was stationed on Governors Island, New York harbor, during
the following summer, where he passed through the cholera epidemic and suffered
an attack of that dread disease.
He joined his
regiment in the spring of 1867, via the Isthmus of Panama and San Francisco and
across the Yuma desert to Arizona. Very soon after reaching his command he was
ordered on an expedition against the Apache Indians in command of Troop G,
First U. S. cavalry, in the Chiricahua mountains, and encountered the Indians
in force in the Guadaloupe canon near the present town of Douglas, Arizona, and
went into action, capturing their stock, defeating them and killing a large
number.
He was engaged in
battle with the Indians on many other cccasions, one of which was notable, that
of being surrounded and beseiged two days and nights in a mining corral, from
which he successfully extricated his command with the captured stock, though he
was constantly engaged until reinforcements arrived.
Mr. Lewis was
promoted to first lieutenant of the Thirty-second infantry, and was afterwards
transferred to the Twenty-first, became quartermaster at Camp Crittenden, at
which post he constructed the post buildings the remains of which can be seen
by any person traveling into Mexico over the Guaymas branch of the Santa Fe
railroad. In 1871 Mr. Lewis enjoyed the opportunity offered by the government of
accepting a year's pay upon the reduction of the army from forty-five to
twenty-five regiments, arriving home in July, 1871, thus giving the government
nearly tour years of continuous Indian service.
Mr. Lewis married
Miss Frances M. Morton, at Corning, Adams County, Iowa, September 13, 1873, and
immediately came to Kansas, locating a homestead and tree claim four miles
north of Ellinwood, Kan.
During his stay
on said land the movement of large herds of cattle from Texas northward gave
great annoyance to the farmers in the destruction of crops. Mr. Lewis organized
the farmers and made physical resistance to said encroachments to the end that
said damages to crops ceased and resulted in the people of the county bringing
out Mr. Lewis as a candidate for sheriff. However, the political trickery no
less common those days than now, thwarted the wishes of the people and he was
defeated.
Mr. Lewis has
until late years ever inter ested himself in the public uplift of our town and
county, pushing with enterprise and unselfishness any improvement that promised
benefits to our town.
He organized the
Great Bend Gas and Fuel Company and was instrumental more than any other
citizen in sinking a deep well on section 13-19-13 in an effort to develop
coal, gas or oil, reaching a depth of 1,365 feet, finding only salty artesian
water that is still flowing out of the ground, and which is said to possess
valuable medicinal properties. Soon after this he brought about a vote of
$10,000 bonds in the city for the erection of a salt plant. However, the land
boom, then at its apex, commenced to wane and promised monies from other
sources failed to come and the venture came to nothing.
Mr. Lewis also
organized by his energy the Great Bend Foundry Company, which constructed its
buildings immediately south of the present grain office of the Walnut Creek
Milling Company, which burned to the ground a few years ago.
Mr. Lewis
occupies the office he then occupied twenty-six years ago, being a quiet and
conservative real estate business, where he yet cheerfully caters to the
occasional demand for information and events of the long, long ago in the early
history of Kansas.
ELRICK C. COLE
ELRICK C. COLE was born in Burlington, Racine County, Wisconsin,
October 21, 1856. He moved with his parents in 1863 to Kenosha, Wisconsin,
where he received a common school education, finishing the high school course.
He studied law in the office
of his father, Albert G. Cole. He was clerk of the circuit court
of that county, and was admitted to the bar in December, 1878, and to the
supreme court of Wisconsin in February, 1879. He moved to Great Bend, Kansas,
in March, 1879, where he began the practice of law with his brother, Theodore
C. Cole, under the firm name of Cole Brothers. He is the dean of the Barton
County bar and one of the most prominent lawyers in Kansas. The firm was
dissolved by the death of his brother in October ,1890. He was elected county
attcrney of Barton County in 1886 and re-elected in 1888. He was elected a
member of the legislature in 1894 and resigned in March 1895, after the close
of the session to accept the appointment of judge of the Kansas court of
appeals, which place he held until January, 1897, when he returned to the
practice of law in Great Bend. On January 1, 1900, he formed a partnership with
Wm. Osmond, which still continues. He was married November 22, 1880, to Miss
Minnie O. Webb of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and they are the parents of one child,
Frances, who is now Mrs. Eldon J. Lowe of Coffeyville, Kansas. He is a
prominent member of the Masonic order and this year is deputy grand master of
the Grand Lodge of Kansas, and deputy grand high priest of the Grand Chapter of
Royal Arch Masons of Kansas. Judge Cole has gone through many of the hottest
political campaigns in the state; during the past thirty years, and when he
took an active part in the campaign his friends were glad and the enemy knew
they were going to have a battle. On different occasions Mr. Cole overcame
difficulties in winning an election that seemed almost impossible. He has been
connected with some of the largest legal battles in the state and has always
been found to be a hard working, conscientious attorney and counselor. He
served the city of Great Bend as attorney a number of times and is one of Great
Bend's substantial and enterprising citizens.
O. W. DAWSON
THE MOST important office in the city administration is now held
by O. W. Dawson, who is serving his second term as the city's chief executive.
Mr. Dawson was born in the state of Iowa in 1868 and came to Kansas with his
parents in 1876. After completing his education he taught school for several
years and was later connected with the Walnut Creek Milling Company in capacity
of bookkeeper. For a number of years he was court reporter of the Twentieth
judicial district and about ten years ago formed a partnership with Louis
Zutavern in the real estate, loan and insurance business and they now have one
of the leading offices in these lines in this part of the state. Under Mr.
Dawson's administration the city of Great Bend has made long strides forward
until today it is counted one of the most progressive and up-to-date cities in
the state of Kansas. Mr. Dawson has proved himself a faithful and efficient
public servant and he is untiring in his efforts to discharge the duties of his
office in a way that will reflect credit. not only upon himself but upon the
city as a whole. Mr. Dawson's office is located in the Citizen' National Bank
block at the corner of Forest avenue and Main street.
Bank block at the corner of Forest avenue and Main street.
Mr. Dawson at this writing is a candidate for the office of
congressman from the Seventh congressional district on the Republican ticket He
is of the type of men who makes friends wherever he may go and if he is chosen
to represent this district at the national capital the people can rest assured
that their interests will be looked after as they should be.
THE BRINKMAN FAMILY
IN THE MEMORY of the old timers of Barton County and Great Bend
there are few men who are occupying as prominent a place as John V. Brinkman,
the head of the Brinkman family which came to Barton from Ohio in
874 at a time when this section of Kansas needed just such men as
John Brinkman and his sons have proven to be. John V. Brinkman was born in
January, 1841, near Bolivar, Ohio, on a farm. He was married November 19, 1863,
to Miss Susan Liebold of that
state and they were the parents of nine children as follows: Nora,
Katie J., George, Charles V., Lillian, Ola, Mabel, Eloise and Louis. Mrs.
Brinkman was born in Ohio in 1842 and died April 23, 1908, she having survived
her husband by three years, he having passed away June 27, 1905. In 1874, the
year following Mr. Brinkman's arrival in this county, he crganized the J. V.
Brinkman & Co., bankers, private banking establishment with a capital of
$10,000. It was while he was actively engaged in this business that he endeared
himself to the people of this section of the state. He was a man who took a
deep inerest in the welfare of his neighbors and the upbuilding of the
community in which he lived. Many are the incidents known to his friends of
which he would never speak regarding his charitable acts, and the aid he
rendered those who were in need at a time when aid was hard to obtain. From the
very beginning his business was a success and when he died after having lived a
noble life the people of Baiton County mourned as they have seldom mourned the
loss of a man. The bank which he established has grown until now it has a
capital of $50,000, with deposits approximatmg half a million dollars. The
officers of the bank are now: J. George Brinkman, president; Charles V.
Brinkman, vice president, Frank Brinkman, cashier, and W. O. Vollmer, assistant
cashier, and the same policies followed by the elder Brinkman are being carried
out by the sons to the end that it will always stand as a material evidence of
the business sagacity of its founder.
In 1877 Mr. Brinkman, together with E. C. Sooy, built a flour mill
in the county on the banks of Walnut Creek east of Great Bend. It was the
intention to utilize the water power furnished by Walnut creek, but it was
learned within a year that just at the times when the power was needed there
was not sufficient water in the creek to furnish the necessary power, and in
1878 the mill was moved to its present site, just south of the Santa Fe tracks
on Main street in Great Bend. The mill as originally built was known as
Three-Run French Burr with a capacity of 100 barrels per day. When the mill was
erected on its present site, Dave Roberts was taken in as a partner and was
head miller until 1886, when the company was incorporated under the name of the
Walnut Creek Milling Company, with the following officers: J. V. Brinkman,
president;. E. C. Sooy, vice president; Dave Roberts, general manager. It was
in 1886 that Nicholas Smith became identified with the company and after the
death of J. V. Brinkman in 1905, Charles V. Brinkman became president and
Nicholas Smith was made secretary and manager. Dave Roberts severed his
connection with the mill in 1887 and now lives at Grand Junction, Colorado,
where he is engaged in the milling business. The mill property consists of a
square block of ground and the milling building is 80x180 feet in dimensions
and is equipped with the latest and most improved milling machinery. Its main
product, "Imperial" flour, is shipped to all parts of the country and
is one of the chief reasons why Great Bend is called the Milling City, and this
flour's quality maintains the city's reputation as a producer of all that is
best in the line of flour quality. Charles V. Brinkman, the head of this
milling business founded by his father, was born in Bolivar, Ohio, July 6,
1869, and came to Barton County with his parents in 1874. He attended the
public schools of this section and also took a course at Washburn college of
Topeka. Before going into the milling business he was connected with the J. V.
Brinkman bank for four years. J. George Brinkman, who is president of the J. V.
Brinkman Co., bankers, was born at Sandyville, Ohio, June 21, 1867. He was
married November 8, 1894, to Miss Pauline Wilner of Kansas City, Kansas, and
they are the parents of two children, Marion and John V. Nora is now Mrs. Fred
Zutavern of Great Bend; Katie is now Mrs. Nicholas Smith, also of Great Bend;
Ola is now Mrs. G. L. Chapman and resides in Great Bend; Eloise is now Mrs. N.
A. White of Fremont, Michigan, while Lillian and Louis are residents of Great
Bend, the latter being connected with the Walnut Creek Milling Company. Many
who read this brief synopsis of the Brinkman family will recall the many kind
deeds of John V. Brinkman and remember him as one of the men who made possible
the development of Barton County's resources, and as a man who at all times
found time to listen to the words of woe from less fortunate people who came to
the new country without means to see them through the periods of hard times. He
was a man whose friends were numbered by his acquaintances and he died happy in
the thought that his life had not been a failure and knowing that he was
leaving behind him a heritage of which any family might be proud.
HEIZER
WHEN work was begun on the railroad track now known as the Scott
City branch of the A. T. & S. F. railroad, a demand was made for some
smaller towns along the rightof-way northwest of the county seat in this
county. This was in the 80s and Heizer is one of the towns established as a
result of this demand. It was named after D. N. Heizer, a former resident of
the county, and at one time owner of the land that is now taken up by the
townsite of Heizer. The first store in the town was established by D. E.
Freyberger, who later sold out to Reinicke & Sons. A creamery was
established in the town of Heizer by Schwier and associates shortly after the
town was laid out. This was operated for a few years, but in 1909 the building
which had not been used for any purpose for some time was torn down and the
material taken to Great Bend where it was reused. 
Heizer now has three elevators, two general merchandise stores,
one hardware store, hotel, blacksmith shop, lumber yard and other business
establishment. It has a population of about 100 and is a busy little town at
most times..
ALBERT
IT was back in the early 80s when C. B. Worden and other residents
of his township realized the necessity for a town where they located Albert,
which is on the Scott City branch of the Santa Fe railway, seventeen miles
northwest of Great Bend. Albert, like other towns in that section of the
county, never had a boom, but a short time after it was laid out it served the
pur pose for which it was intended and offered the people of that section of
the county a trading point and it was not long until nearly all lines of retail
business were represented. The first store was started by Charles Hayes who
later sold out. Albert now has a bank, four elevators, hotel, livery and feed
stable, two general merchandise stores and a population of about 170. It was near
the townsite.
OLMITZ
OLMITZ was laid out and began in growth in 1885 and is the trading
point for an Austrian settlement that surrounds it. When Peter Brack and his
brothers and mother came to this section of the state they were accompanied by
a number of natives of Austria and for several years after their arrival it was
only by the greatest economy and by dint of hard work that they succeeded in
bringing the soil in that section to a state of productiveness that would yield
them a profit for their efforts. Olmitz is located on the Missouri Pacific
railroad, 10 miles west of Hoisington. It has at the present time three general
stores, three elevators, a bank, hotel, hardware stores, and establishments
that represent other lines of business. The first store was started by Peter
Brack, who later sold out and within a few years started the bank that bears
his name. C. M. Kreiser established a store in 1885 and later sold out to Sig
Jacoby, who is still in business. Olmitz has some nice residences and enjoys the
trade from a large territory.
THE DODGE FAMILY
IN THE history of Barton County there is no family that has taken
a more active part in its making than that of Edward Judson Dodge. He was born
at Breedshlll, near Hannibal, in Oswego County, New York, November 25, 1822. He
came with his parents to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1836. Here he went to school
and lived his boyhood years. It was in Kenosha that he met Miss Elizabeth
Possen whom he married December 31, 1846. They were the parents of eight
children as follows: Charles E., Wallace H., Don D., Giles B., Lizzie, Jennie,
Mary and Maggie. In 1871 the call of the west became too strong for Mr. Dodge
to withstand and he came to Barton County, Kansas, in that year and at once
took an active part in the development of the county's resources. He located on
a homestead about four miles north of Great Bend where he built an abode that
consisted of a dugout on the bank of Walnut creek. Here the family resided for
a number of years and were among the best known and most highly respected of
the early settlers of this part of the state. Mr. Dodge came here alone but was
joined by his family after he had secured a location and made arrangements for
the making of a home. He farmed for a number of years and finally retired and
moved to Great Bend where he took up his residence. Mr. Dodge was a blacksmith
by trade and followed this line of business until a short time before his death
which occurred October 16, 1910, after he had reached the age of 87 years, 10
months and 27 days. Mr. Dodge's first wife died November 1, 1889. In June he
was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Wells, who still re sides in this county. The
Dodge family always took an active part in the public affairs of the county and
Charles E. was register of deeds for seven terms, administering the affairs of
this office for fourteen years. At the end of his seventh term he gave up
politics and since that time has been engaged in the abstract business. He has
also served on the school board a number of years and upon his arrival in this
cuntry he first followed the occupation of school teacher. Wallace Dodge is one
of the best known real estate men in this section of the state and has offices
in Great Bend. Don also lives in Great Bend and is a retired farmer; Giles is a
painter and paperhanger and is actively engaged in this line of work in Barton
County; Jennie is now Mrs. Ingersoll of Claflin; Mary is now
Mrs. W. P. Feder, her husband being the editor of the Barton
County Democrat; Lizzie is now Mrs. George Spencer of Great Bend and Maggie is
now Mrs. Jones of Hollywood, Calif. The head of the Dodge family came to this
county when the buffaloes were stlil roaming the prairies in this part of the
country and he enjoyed the distinction of having built the first bridge to span
Walnut creek north of the town of Great Bend. We print herewith a picture of
the Dodge home on Walnut creek and from this picture one can get an idea of how
the people lived in those days and see the conditions with which the early
settlers had to contend. Mr. Dodge's death came as a great shock to the
community where he had scores of friends which were made and kept by his
kindness and many manly qualities. the call of the west hetvatne too strsng for
ALBERT NICHOLAS MERTEN
ALBERT NICHOLAS MERTEN was born in Keokuk County, Iowa, May 4,
1864, and came to Barton County with his parents when he was twelve years of
age. He is a son of Robert Merten, one of the early settlers in this part of
the State of Kansas. The family came to this county in 1876 and since that time
have had much to do with the development of the county's resources and the
upbuilding of the towns and cities contained within its borders. Mr. Merten was
married to Miss Ida A. Coss, October 30, 1895 and they are the parents of four
children: Bessie, 16 years; Elsie, 14 years; Maisie, 12 years; Grace, 3 years.
Mr. Merten farms three quarter sections in Clarence township and in addition
owns another half section in the same township and a quarter in Rush county all
of which is being worked by renters. The home place is nicely located, the
residence and other buildings being surrounded by shade trees and other foliage
which makes it one of the most attractive farm homes in that part of the
county. The residence contains ten rooms in addition to the bath, closets and
pantries. The barn is well built and contains room for a number of head of live
stock. Mr. Merten maintains a good grade of live stock and is an enterprising
and progressive farmer. He is one of the many Barton County farmers
who took up the work where
their parents left off in the developing of the soil and maintaining this
county's prestige as one of the most important agricultural sections of the
country. Mr. Merten in addition to his private interests has found time to take
an active part in the public affairs of his community and has served in the
capacity of school board director and has held township offices. He has been
actively engaged in farming in this county twenty-seven years and is one of the
best known men in this part of the state.
JACOB B. and PETER C. BRACK
ANOTHER prosperous farmer who was born in this county and has seen
it grow from a most undesirable place in which to live to one of the best
counties in this State of Kansas, is Jacob B. Brack. He was born March 6, 1883
and attended the schools of the county until he began farming for himself. He
is the son of Henry U. Brack one of the really old timers of the county. His
father was born in Russia and came to Barton County in 1876. He located a
homestead which he worked and developed a number of years and is now living in
Rush County where he is also engaged in farming. His sons, Jacob and Peter, are
among the best known residents of the northwest part of Barton County and are
up-to-date and progressive farmers. Jacob was married to Miss Sophia Schiegel
of Otis and they are the parents of two children, Arthur, aged 7 years and
Harrison, aged one year. He farms over 400 acres of land in Grant township. His
home is located ten miles north of Albert. The home contains four rooms and is
located in pretty surroundings. Mr. Brack has been a member of the school board
and has also held township offices.
PETER C. BRACK—Another member of the Brack family who is well
known in this section of the state is Peter C. Brack. He was married to Lizzie
Schiegel of Otis and they are the parents of four children: Floyd, 12 years of
age, Hannah, 11 years of age; Edwin, 9 years of age, and Edison, a year and a
half old. He occupies a nice home of four rooms north of Albert and is a
brother of Jacob Brack and a son of Henry U. Brack, one of the first settlers
of that section of the county. He was born April 15, 1879 in this county and is
one of the best known young farmers in Barton County. He farms about 400 acres
of land, 330 acres of it being his own and the remainder being rented. Both the
Brack boys understand farming thoroughly as they were both raised in the
business and since they were old enough to take an active part in the affairs
of their community they have had a great deal to do with the development of the
resources of the county and are enterprising and progressive citizens.
ALFRED L. POWELL
ALFRED L. POWELL was born January 22, 1859, in Peoria County, Illinois,
and came to Kansas in 1880. He first located in Jefferson County where he lived
for a number of years. Most of the time he was in the threshing business and
made his first trip to Barton County in 1900. He did not locate in this county
until 1903 and since that time he has done a large part of the threshing work
in this part of the state. He was married in 1880 to Miss Lou M. Cahill in
Stark County, Illinois and they are the parents of three children: Gertrude, 30
years of age, is now Mrs. E. H. Rulison of Eskridge, Kansas; Frank B., 26 years
of age is a resident of the city of Great Bend and is a carpenter by trade;
Pearl, 21 years of age, is living at home. Mr. Powell and family occupy a
residence at 700 Stone. Mr. Powell's threshing outfits consist of the very best
of machinery and his services are in great demand during the harvest season in
this and adjoining counties. It was during Mr. Powell's first trip to this
county that he decided to make this his future home and he at once made
arrangements for the transfer of his machinery, etc., from Jefferson County.
Since that time he has been closely identified with the farming interests of
Barton County and he has always been an enterprising citizen.
AMOS JOHNSON
ONE of the really old timers of Barton County and one who
had a great deal to do with the upbuiiding of Great Bend and the development of
the county is the subject of this sketch, Amos Johnson. He was born in
Champagne County, Ohio, November 12, 1838. He resided in his native state until
1859 when he went to Texas. He stayed there a year. Then he went to Illinois.
He came to Barton County in the month of November, 1875. He purchased a quarter
of railroad ,land and took up a homestead in Lakin township. He was actively
engaged in the farming business until 1898 when he retired and came to the
county seat to live. He has, however, given his personal attention to
superintending the work on all his farm land which is now operated by renters.
He was married in Clinton, Illinois, in 1860, to Miss Emma Nagley and they are
the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living: Charles, 51 years, is
farming in Oklahoma; Clearchus, 49 years, is at home; Clarence, 46, resides in
Hutchinson; Clay, 44 years, is farming in Gray County; Clyde, 42 years, is farming
near Conway Springs; Clara, 40 years, is at home, Clinton, 38, is in the
banking business at Ellinwood; Eason, 31 years, is farming on his father's
land; Pearl, 29, is living at home, and (Emma who died when she was ten years
of age.) Mr. Johnson was a member of the Forty-first Illinois regiment and
belonged to Company F. He served three years and twenty days, from August 7,
1861 to August 27, 1864. He took part in the battles of Fort Donaldson, Shiloh
and was at Jackson and the Siege of Vicksburg. He is a member of the Pap Thomas
Post G. A. R., and was commander of the Post in 1911. Mr. Johnson now owns
three quarters in Lakin township and a quarter in Great Bend township all of
which is under cultivation. He also owns nine lots in Great Bend and five dwelling
houses in addition to his residence which is located at 1814 Broadway. The
residence is thoroughly modern and contains ten rooms in addition to bath,
closets, pantries, etc. Mr. Johnson spent five years in the mining business in
Chaffee County, Colorado and still retains some interests in that state. With
all his private business he has found time to take an active part in the
affairs of the community in which he lives and has held township offices and
served on the school board. He is one of those men who made Barton County from
an almost barren wilderness and by development work has made of it one of the
best in the State of Kansas. It is to such men as Mr. Johnson who came here in
the early days and withstood all the adverse conditions with which the old
timers had to contend that this county owes its high place among the best
agricultural sections of the entire country..
GUSTAVUS A. WOODBURN
GUSTAVUS A. WOODBURN was born February 23, 1847, in La Porte, County, Indiana. He arrived in Barton County April 20, 1886. Soon after his arrival he took up the occupation of farming and is one of those men who came here at a time when the county was in need of enterprising men, and men who could take the good years with the bad and continue to develop the soil to its present high state of productiveness. He was married August 13, 1867 to Miss Emma J. Harriott of La Porte County, Indiana. They are the parents of four children, three of whom are living. (George, 25 years of age died in 1893;) Jessie, 40 years of age, is now Mrs. Fred Wells of Comanche County; Ida, 39 years of age is now Mrs. G. W. Durand of Eureka township, this county, and Joseph C., 37 years of age, superintends the work on the home place. The home place consists of the northwest quarter of section 29, and the north half of the southwest quarter of 29 in South Homestead township. The elder Mr. Woodburn retired in 1909 and now resides in Hoisington. He spends part of the time on the home place which contains a good set of improvements. The residence contains five rooms, closets, etc., while the barn is 32 by 36. The buildings are surrounded by shade and fruit trees and it is a most desirable country home. Joseph C. was married in March, 1897 to Miss Gertrude King and they are the parents of seven children: Gustavus, 14; Mildred, 13; Bailey, 11, Ruth, 10; Daisy, 9; Cecil, 6 and Delbert 3 years of age. All the children are at home and are being educated in the schools of the county. Mr. Woodhurn is an engineer on the Missouri Pacific Railroad but spends all the spare time on the home place. The Woodburn family is well known in all parts of the county and Joseph C. and his father have had a great deal to do with the development of the county's resources and have helped to make it one of the best in the State of Kansas.
JOSEPH SCHNEIDER
ONE of the best known men in Barton
County, and one of the men who have had so much to do with the development of
the northwestern part of the county is Joseph Schneider, who landed in this
county with his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. John Schneider, in a blizzard,
April 20, 1875. He was born in Austria March 19, 1865, but left his native
country when he was ten years of age. The family consisted of the parents and
five children besides Joseph. On their arrival in Barton County his father took
up a homestead two and one-half miles north and east of Albert. Joseph
Schneider has always been a progressive and enterprising citizen and now owns
2,280 acres of land in the county. He farms three quarters of land himself and
the remainder is rented. He is president of the Farmers State Bank of Albert
and is well known in the financial life of the county. He was married in 1889
to Miss Theresa Kober of this county and they are the parents of seven children
as follows: Joseph, 22 years of age; Bernard, 20 years of age; Mary, 18 years
of age; Leonard, 16 years of age; Francis, 14 years of age; Irwin, 12 years of
age and Lottie, 6 years of age. All the children are at home and are being
educated in the schools of the county. Mr. Schneider's home place is one of the
best developed and most modernly improved to be found in that part of the
county.
The residence is well built and
substantial, and contains nine rooms in addition to the bath, closets,
pantries, etc. The barn is 46 by 56 feet in dimensions and it like all the many
buildings on the place is built especially for the purposes for which they are
used. Mr. Schneider has always maintained on his farm a good grade of live
stock, both horses and cattle. With all his private interests he has found time
to take an active part in the affairs of his township and has been on the
school board, has been township clerk and trustee and is known as a good
citizen. Mr. Schneider has taken a large part in the work of developing his
part of Barton County and he came here at a time when it required men of
experience and enterprise to develop this county into one of the best in the
State of Kansas.
SAMUEL GIBSON YEO
SAMUEL GIBSON YEO was born July 19, 1848, in Guernsey
County, Ohio. He was born and raised on a farm and has followed this occupation
all of his life. He remained in his home state twenty-five years after which he
went to Iowa where he resided for one year. Then he went to Wisconsin and spent
eight years and from that state came to Kansas in 1888. He first located a
claim in Sheridan County and stayed there for six years and then came to Barton
County where he rented a farm near Claflin, later buying land which now
comprises his home place in Liberty township where he owns one-half of section
12. All of this land is under cultivaticn and is being farmed by Mr. Yeo. He
was married in 1886 to Miss Katie Dew at Fairfield, Iowa. They are the parents
of four children: Maud, 32 years of age, is now Mrs. A. J. O'Blenness of
Kinsley, Kansas; Clyde, 30 years of age, is married and lives near his parents
and is engaged in the farming business; Earnest, 26 years of age who resides at
home and George, 25 years old, is farming in Stafford County near Seward. Mr.
Yeo's home place is well equipped with buildings and all the necessary
machinery and live stock for successful farming. He makes a specialty of
raising and breeding short horn cattle and maintains a flock of fancy Buff
Cochin chickens. The residence on the home place consists of seven rooms in
addition to the pantries, closets, etc. The barn is ample for all the needs of
the farm being 45 by 60 feet in dimensions. Mr. Yeo is a practical farmer
having been engaged in this line of work all of his life. Mr. Yeo farms
according to modern methods and is one of the successful farmers who have done
so much to develop that part of the county lying south of the river from the
city of Great Bend.
JOHN EDWARD COSS
JOHN EDWARD Coss was born in Lucas County, Iowa, in 1866. He
came to Barton County with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Coss. He is one of
four children born to this pioneer family, the others being Molly, Clarke B.
and Blanche J. Miss Molly married D. E. Freyburger, a well known resident of
this county who died in November, 1901. She is now Mrs. Walter Speck of
Chicago; Clarke B. is president of the Heizer State Bank and one of the
prominent business men of the county; Blanche J. is now Mrs. F. A. Garrett and
they reside on the family homestead in Clarence township it being the northeast
quarter of cection[sic] 12. The estate also owns another half section in
this township. John was married to Miss Clara Bell in this county in 1899 and
they are the parents of two children; Lester, aged 9 and Ruth, aged 7 years.
John Edward Coss is one of the best known business men in that part of Barton
County he having been engaged in the mercantile business in Heizer at different
times during the past thirteen years. He bought his present business last July
and he and his partner, J. E. Turner, now have one of the best stocks of
general merchandise to be found in any small town in this part of the state.
The Coss family came to Barton County in June, '74, and the elder Coss who died
April 28, 1911, had a great deal to do with the early history of the county and
was one of its best known citizens. He with the other pioneers began the work
that the present generation is continuing and his name will always be
remembered by the old timers and read with reverence by younger people in years
to come. They will read of him with other men to whom Barton County owes its
high standing among the best counties of the state of Kansas and among the
leading agricultural sections of the world.
JOHN FRANK BALES
JOHN FRANK BALES, or Colonel John Bales as he is better
known, was born in Green County, Tennessee, April 18, 1876, and went with his
parents to Missouri when he was four years of age. He remained there until 1900
when he came to Barton County, Kansas, where he has since resided and taken an
active part in the development of the county's resources. He owns 320 acres of
land in section 6, Great Bend township and farms a section and a half in that
part of the county, and for the past several years has made a specialty of buying
and selling cattle. It is doubtful if there are a dozen farmers in Barton
County who do not know John Bales personally because whenever there has been a
public sale of any nature during the past four years, almost invariably his
name will be found on the sale bills. In this profession Mr. Bales has earned
more than an ordinary reputation. His keen business sense, his knowledge of
values on all goods he is called upon to sell, and his belief in a square deal
have all contributed to his success in this line of work. As an auctioneer
there is no man who is better or more favorably known in this section of the
state than Mr. Bales. His home place has a good set of improvements including a
five room residence, a barn 72 by 42 feet in dimensions and all other necessary
outbuildings. Mr. Bales was married in 1905 to Miss Dora Kay of Coffeyville,
Kansas, and they have one bright little girl, Ruth, three years of age, and
another, Helen, who at this writing is eight months old. Mrs. Bales is a native
of this county, having been born south of the river. Mr. Bales has always been
among the most active residents of the county in its development and making of
it one of the best in the State of Kansas and placing it among the most
productive in the entire county.
JOHN BERSCHEIDT, JR., was born in Aurora, Illinois, October
1, 1873, and came to Barton County with his parents when he was four years of
age. The family located near Claflin in Logan township and John, Sr., at once
took up the occupation of farming. He was one of the really old timers of this
part of the state and had a great deal to do with the development of the soil
and reclaiming this part of Kansas from the Indians and buffaloes. John, Jr.,
attended the schools in this county and began farming for himself in 1906. He
was married in Ellinwood in 1910, to Mrs. Lizzie Weisburg. At the time of their
wedding Mrs. Weisburg had one child, Mamie who is now fifteen years of age and
she and Mr. Berscheidt are the parents of one child, John, Jr., who is five
months of age and makes the third John in the Berschetdt family. Mr. and Mrs.
Berscheidt own the home place, 160 acres about 1-1/2 miles west of Ellinwood
and 380 acres one mile west of there. The home place is farmed by Mr.
Berscheidt while the remainder of the land is rented. The residence which is
thoroughly modern and one of the neatest in that section of the county contains
9 rooms with a bath and all the necessary closets, etc. The barn, 30 by 38 feet
is ample to take care of the stock used by Mr. Berscheidt in his farming
operations. They have lived on this place a little more than one year and are
improving it in such a way that it will be one of the most attractive places in
the county in a very few years. Fine shade trees have been set out, many of
them being of the fruit bearing variety. Mr. Berscheidt is experimenting with
irrigation methods and has a fine pumping plant on his place and if the writer
is not mistaken he will open a new era in farming methods in this county
providing the water supply is ample to carry on the experiments he has in mind.
NICHOLAS WILLIAM KLEPPER
NICHOLAS WILLIAM KLEPPER was born in Germany, December 24,
1851, and came to America with his parents when he was 12 years of age. The
family located at Aurora, Illinois, where they remained until 1878 when they
came to Barton county and at once took up the occupation of farming. Mr.
Klepper has been a most successful farmer and helped in no small way in the
work of developing that section of the county that is adjacent to Ellinwood where
Mr. Klepper now lives in a fine modern residence. Mr. Klepper now owns thirteen
quarter sections of land in Barton County and a half section in Ford County.
All the Barton County land is being farmed by renters, Mr. Klepper having
retired in 1905. He was married in 1872 to Miss Mary Madenach in Aurora,
Illinois, and they are the parents of seven children as follows: Lizzie, 36
years of age, is now Mrs. John Schwartz, residing in this county; Mary, 34
years is Mrs. Peter Schwartz, residing south of the river in this county;
Peter, 31 years of age, is farming near Ellinwood; Anna, 29 years of age, is
now Mrs. Henry Webber of Ellsworth County; John, 24 years of age, is farming in
this county; Maggie, 22 years of age, is Mrs. Edward Patz of this county; and Frank,
30 years of age, is now attending Bethany College at Lindsborg, Kansas. Mr.
Klepper has always found time to take an active part in the public affairs of
the county although he has always been a busy man. He served his district on
the board of county commissioners for six years and made a record of which he
and his friends may well feel proud. He has always been a sound, substantial
citizen and is one of the best known men in Barton County. Their home place in
Ellinwood is thoroughly modern in every way and is one of the most beautifully
surrounded residences in the town.
PAUL SCHMIDT
ONE of the best known men of Barton County and one who has
had a great deal to do with developing its resources and making of it one of
the most important counties of the state is the subject of this sketch, Paul
Schmidt. He was born in Germany in 1864 and came to this county when he was
twenty years old. He came direct to Barton County and at once took up the
occupation of farming which he has followed for twenty-eight years. By using
the best methods and giving his personal attention to the supervision of all
work on his land he has been most successful and during the present year he
decided to move to town and remain. However, Mr. Schmidt is and always has been
an active man and the call of the farm was too strong for him to withstand and
after a short time in town he moved back to his place which is located about
six miles north of Great Bend. Mr. Schmidt was married in 1890 to Miss Anna
Bloomer of Claflin. They are the parents of four children: Peter, 19 years of
age, is in Salt Lake City; Katie, 18 years of age, is now Mrs. John Ehlers;
James, 16 and John 14, are living at home. Mr. Schmidt's home place contains
ten rooms besides bath, closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 32 by 48 feet in
dimensions and it as well as all the buildings on the home place are well built
and commodious. A fine orchard is found on the home place. It occupies about
two acres of land and produces all varieties of fruits common to this part of the
country. Mr. Schmidt is an enterprising and progressive citizen and one who has
had a great deal to do with the development of Barton's resources and making of
this county one of the best in the state.
AMASA C. MOSES AND FAMILY
TO ATTEMPT to write a complete history of Amasa Moses at this time would be an impossibility, and even though the work had been attempted when he was still alive, it would have been found difficult. Amasa Moses was not the kind of man who bid for recognition for every kind act he did, but rather evaded all publicity. He was of that disposition that endeared him to all with whom he came in contact, and his friendship was something to be prized. There never was a man in central Kansas who had more to do with its upbuilding, and there never was a man in Barton County who was so universally respected, or whose counsel was more eagerly sought by those who were in need of sympathy and advice. In the early days of this county there were many who went to Amasa Moses for aid and guidance,
and not one is known who was refused.
It was these elements in his makeup that made him a leader among men and it was
these same elements that sustained him and made his efforts successful in
aiding in the reclamation of that part of the Great American desert now known
as Barton County, Kansas.
Amasa C. Moses was born August 22,
1826, at Ticonderoga, New York. He spent his childhood there and at the age of
eleven years went with his parents to Vermont. The family located at the town
of Benson where Amasa remained until 1843, when he returned to New York and
located in Chautauqua County. It was there that he met and won the heart of
Miss Naomi Terry and on April 12, 1848, they were married. They were the
parents of seven boys: Arthur H., Clayton L., Edward W., William A., Lincoln
C., Cassius M. and Seward E. It is seldom that a family containing seven boys
can be found without one or more sisters and it is seldom that a family can
point to seven boys and say: "They have all made good."
Like many other eastern boys, Amasa was
seized with the western fever and in 1871, he decided to bring his family to
Kansas. Whether or not he knew the conditions that were to be encountered is
not known. Be that as it may, it required but a short time for him to lay the
foundation for a home. Soon after his arrival, and before Barton County had
been organized, he located a homestead which comprised the northwest quarter of
section 10, Great Bend township, and situated two and one-half miles north of
the city of Great Bend. Then began the struggle to raise crops. For seven years
he tilled the soil with little or no success in the beginning, but by
sticktoitiveness and well applied effort he finally had the satisfaction of
seeing his labors rewarded by the harvest of grain. It was on this homestead
that Mr. Moses erected the first frame house to be built in this county and it
is still in use today and stands on the old homestead which is now known as the
Griffith place, and is one of the interesting parts of the county. Amasa was
accompanied to this section by his wife who proved her worth by sharing the
hardships uncomplainingly and gladly accepting the burden that was thrust upon
her, and his seven sturdy boys only one of whom Arthur had reached his
majority. When they reached what was to be their new
home, buffalo and othe animals roamed this part 
of the state in an almost unmolested
state. Armed with Henry rifles the Moses boys soon became known as expert
buffalo hunters and many a tale can be related by them of how they crawled upon
the ground sometimes as much as a quarter of a mile in order to get within
rifle range of the animals. Later the boys secured Sharp's rifles and with
these—the highest class of firearms in those days—their hunting was rewarded by
much better results.
In those days the returns realized from
the sale of buffalo hides and meat represented about all the money that could
be raised in this county. The crops were not giving very satisfactory returns
and had it not been for the fact that the population of the county, small as it
was, the people composing it, like Amasa Moses and his sons, were made of the
right kind of stuff to withstand the hardships and
building an empire by the force of their genius.
In 1872, Mr. Moses embarked in the mercantile business, his
establishment having been located on the north side of the park square, on lot
16, block 78. This ground is not included in the site of the new federal
building. At his store was found a complete stock of general merchandise. The
old store building is still in use and serves the purpose of a residence near
the Missouri Pacific depot. Mr. Moses operated this store until the spring of
1873 when he formed a partnership.with J. H. Hubbard. This firm continued until
1875 when the stock was divided, at which time Clayton bought his father’s
interest which consisted of a stock of remnants. Clayton operated the store in
the same building used by his father until 1877, when he and his brother,
Edward, formed a partnership and started the store known as the Moses Brothers
on lot 4, block 90, this ground being now occupied by the Cyclone store on Main
Street.
In 1872, when the people were called upon to choose their first
set of city officials, it was only natural that Amasa Moses was selected to
fill one of the most important offices. Accordingly he was elected the first
city clerk of Great Bend and served with great credit and as the town was new
it required a mon of Mr. Moses’ ability to discharge the duties of this office
in a satisfactory manner.
In 1872, when the people were called
upon to choose their first set of city officials, it was only natural that
Amasa Moses was selected to fill one of the most important offices. Accordingly
he was elected the first city clerk of Great Bend and served with great credit
and as the town was new it required a man of Mr. Moses' ability to discharge
the duties of this office in a satisfactory manner.
Mr. Moses always took a leading part in
matters religious and municipal and he was one of five christians who organized
the Congregational church in 1873. He served the county as superintendent of
public instruction during the first years after schools were established in the
county. He organized Barton County's first Sunday school and was its
superintendent. This work was not so easily accomplished in those days as it
might seem to those who know of the conditions that prevailed at that time only
by reading, and by hearing the old timers tell of them. However, Mr. Moses was
the kind of man who met all difficulties with fortitude and determination which
accounts for the fact that success met his every effort and he never was
happier than when he was accomplishing something that resulted in good for
others.
When the Moses family arrived in Barton County there were a
large number of Indians roaming this part of the state, and on their trips back
and forth from the Platte river in Nebraska they frequently visited Mr. Moses'
home. However, he met them in a friendly spirit and as a result they came to
like him and his family almost as did the white settlers.
It was the first Sunday the family
spent in their new home that a band of 5,000 or more Pawnees stopped at the
Moses homestead. One of the number was ill. Mrs. Moses gave him some medicine
and brought him around in fine shape. The Indian had given Mr. Moses a pony as
a present, but when the band was ready to continue their journey, the
buck—Indian like—insisted on getting his pony. Of course Mr. Moses gave him
back the present but after that he was known among the Indians as "Old
Mose." When the Indians would become hostile and show indications that
they were going to commit some depredation the government would send troops to
this section. As soon as the Indians saw the troops they would move away but
with the troops on their way back to the fort from which they came the Indians
would return. Mr. Moses had treated them so kindly that he never was molested
and his family was held in great respect by all the tribes that were found in
this section of the state.
After Mr. Moses had sold his store to
his son he still aided him in its management and when the firm of Moses
Brothers was formed he was a great help to the boys in the conduct of the
business. He had always led an active life and up until the time of his death
was hale and hearty. When on Wednesday, February 9, 1887, at the age of 60
years, 5 months and 18 days, he was suddenly stricken with paralysis and died,
he passed away, happy in the thought that his life had not been a failure.
Nothing so fitly describes Amasa C. Moses as the quotation: "The elements
so mixed in him that all the world could rise up and say, he was a man."
Mr. Moses' death was a great shock to
the community. Not only did his sons and other relatives mourn his loss deeply
and sincerely, but scores of those who knew him best were bowed down with a
weight of woe that seemed almost unbearable. The Congregational church of Great
Bend,
of which he was one of the five
organizers, was filled with sorrowing friends and relatives when the funeral
sermon over the remains of Amasa C. Moses was preached. The new house of
worship of this church contains a beautiful memorial window placed there by his
sons to their father's memory. This is not the only memorial to Amasa Moses;
there are others of a material kind, but the most desirable of them all is the
memorial he wrote by his deeds upon the hearts of men.
There are none of the old timers and
very few of those who arrived in the county after the disappearance of the
buffaloes and Indians that did not know the Moses boys. The old timers knew
them for their sterling worth as friends and neighbors and they knew them for
the active part they took in aiding their father and mother in building a home
in the land. Every one of the seven sons of Amasa Moses has made good in the
different lines they have followed.
Three of the boys: Clayton, Edward and
Lincoln stayed with Barton County and have been closely identified with its
agricultural cattle, commercial, milling and banking interests. The remainder
of the boys have cast their lots with other sections of the country, but
without exception they look upon Barton County as their home.
Ed and Clayt Moses, as they are
familiarly known, were born in Chautauqua County, New York, the former at
Clymer, on July 23, 1856, and the latter at Clymer, January 19, 1854.
In 1871, when the family arrived in
Barton County, Clayt hunted buffaloes until the fall of the year when he went
to the town of Russell, in Russell County, and was employed as a clerk in the
store owned by George Hart. He remained there a year and returned to Great Bend
where he was employed in the stare owned and conducted by his father and J. H.
Hubbard. Clayt's principal duties consisted in buying hides from the hunters.
This poistion required tact and knowledge in sorting the hides into their
respectve classifications, buffalo bull hides bringing $3.00, spike, or young
bull and heifer hides, $1.75, while a cow hide brought $2.25. Many of the
hunters would claim that some of the hides belonged to a classification higher
than they really did and this was where Clayt's tact came in. These hides were
brought for many miles on wagons and gave the farmers and professional hunters
a good source of revenue. After the hide business had run its course and the
animals were scarce Clayt went into the store where he remained as a clerk
until the division of the stock in 1875. Clayt took over his father's interest
and conducted a store in the same building until 1877, when he and Ed formed a
partnership and opened the store on Main street, where the Cyclone store now stands.
This firm continued until 1889 when they sold out to Theodore Griffith, the
present postmaster of Great Bend. This sale included only the grocery
department of the store and in the following year the dry goods and furnishing
goods were sold to Hacker Brothers.
By this time the land of Barton County
had begun to yield grain in good quantities and Clayt went into the grain
buying business in earnest. The firm had been buying wheat that was hauled to
town in sacks, saving it until a carload was secured when it could be shipped
to the markets. In 1878 Clayt formed a partnership with R. C. Bailey and they
built an elevator on the Santa Fe track. This firm continued until 1892 when
they bought an elevator at Pawnee Rock and one at Olmitz. Then Ed was taken into
the firm and later Clayt and Ed bought Bailey's interest in the business and
the new firm was known as the Moses Brothers Grain Company. The home elevator
was destroyed by fire in 1898. Work was at once begun to rebuild the elevator
and a much larger and more substantial one
was a much larger and more substantial one was finished in 1899.
In 1901 a flour mill was added to the firm's holdings and the firm name was
changed to the Moses Brothers Mill and Elavator Company. By this time the firm
had increased its holdings by adding elevators on the main line of the Santa Fe
from Dodge City to Dartmouth, from Great Bend to Scott City on the branch, and
from Great Bend to McCracken on the Missouri Pacific.
This string of elevators made a total
of thirty-five with the home elevator at Great Bend. The flour mill as
originally built had a capacity of 350 barrels per day. In 1903 this capacity
was increased so that the mill could turn out 600 barrels of flour every
twenty-four hours, and in 1908 the mill was again enlarged to a capacity of
1,000 barrels per day.
In 1908 the company was incorporated
with a capital stock of $200,000 with the following officers: C. L. Moses,
president; E. W. Moses, vice president and treasurer, and C. N. Moses,
secretary. In 1909 half the stock of the company was sold to L. E. Moses, who
became president of the company with C. L. Moses, vice president, and R. W.
Arndt, secretary. The mill and elevator was operated by this company until
January 1, 1912, when it, with six other of the largest milling companies in
Kansas, formed a merger which resulted in a company being formed with a capital
stock of $7,000,000 and known as the Kansas Flour Mills Company. Since that
time this company has acquired two more big mills by purchase. L. E. Moses is
president of this company, the other officers being: Andrew Hunt, secretary,
and J. H. Holdrige, treasurer.
Early in the year 1910 E. W. and C. L.
Moses, together with other substantial citizens of the county, decided to go
into the banking business and, as a result, the German American State Bank was
opened for business August 8 of that year. The bank was organized with a
capital stock of $100,000 and $5,000 surplus. The first board of directors was
composed of E. W. and C. L. Moses, Ira Brower, Elrick C. Cole, Ben P. Unruh, E.
C. Davis and Dr. Morrison, and at this writing it is the same with the
exception of Mr. Unruh whose place on the board was taken by Fred Moore. The
officers of the bank are: E. W. Moses, president; C. L. Moses, vice president; Clarence
Aldrich, cashier, and Earl Wright, assistant cashier. Since the bank was opened
for business its deposits have grown steadily and it has made a most enviable
record for square deal methods, and for carrying on its business according to
the most approved and conservative ideas. The stock of this bank is
owned by men who have spent their time
and money to make Barton County and Great Bend what they are today. The bank is
operated for the people of this county and during the approximately two years
of its existence has gained the confidence of all the people with whom it has
had business relations.
Following in the footsteps of their
father, the Moses boys have led most active lives and with all their other
interests have found time to successfully operate one of the largest
thoroughbred stock ranches in this part of the country. In 1898 Ed and Clayt
began the breeding and raising of thoroughbred Hereferd cattle. The product of
this ranch is known among cattle fanciers as one of the best strains of
aristocratic Herefords in the country. The fame of this stock has been almost
world wide and the Moses Brothers have shipped animals from this ranch to all
parts of the countrty and to far away Brazil. Since 1898 they have marketed
about 1,000 head of stock from their herd and at this writing have 500 fine
animals on their 4,000-acre ranch in Ness County. In addition to this ranch. Ed
and Clayt own 3,600 acres of farm land in Barton and Stafford Counties, most of
it being farmed under their personal supervision and the remainder being farmed
by renters. Their cattle are known in all the states surrounding Kansas and in
many parts of this country and Mexico.
Since the Moses boys came to Barton
County all of its members have taken a leading part in its unbuilding and while
some of the boys have removed to other parts of the country the work they did
in this countrty in its early history is still vivid in the memory of the old
timers.
Clayt Moses was married December 12,
1879, to Clara J. Mitchell of Quincy, Ill. They are the parents of two
children, Earl C., 28 years of age, who is foreman of the flour mill owned by
the company of which his father is a member; Lillian Alice, 25 years of age,
lives at home. He served as councilman of Great Bend city from 1888 to 1892 and
as county commissioner from 1892 to 1898.
Edward Moses was married March 21,
1882, to Miss Anna J. Wood of Great Bend. He was chosen as mayor of the city of
Great Bend in the years 1884, 1885, 1893, 1905, 1907 and 1909 and always served
with distinction and in a way that was very gratifying to his friends and the
people of the town. Much of the progress the city has made was accomplished
during the time that Mr. Moses held the highest office within the gift of the
people of the city.
Ed and Clayt Moses are home loving men
and occupy modern residences in Great Bend and are among the best known
citizens in the state of Kansas.
Arthur H. Moses was the only one of the
boys who was of age when the family arrived in this county. He took up a
homestead that comprised the northeast quarter of section 10, Great Bend
township. He was married in 1872 to Miss Ella Snowden at Russell, Kansas, and
they are the parents of four children. One of them died in infancy and the adult
ones are: Clyde, who became the wife of Alva Adams, Jr., of Pueblo, he being a
son of Alva Adams, who was three times governor of the state of Colorado. She
died in 1905 at Pueblo, Colo. Matie, the next child, is the wife of Frederick
C. Briggs, formerly of Pueblo, Colo., but now in the jewelry business in
Hutchinson. Wm. B. is married
and lives at Osceola, Okla. Arthur H.
Moses remained in Barton County until 1885, when he went to Pueblo, Colo., and
there took an active part in the politics of that state. He was elected sheriff
of Pueblo County in the nineties. He went from Colorado to Seattle, Washington,
where he holds a responsible position as wharfmaster for the United States
government. He was born February 21, 1851.
Will Moses came to Barton County when his parents arrived
here, as stated in the beginning of this article. in 1879 he went on the road
for Julius Kuhn, wholesale grocery house of Atchison. He remained in this
position until 1882, when he went to Pueblo, Colo., and engaged in the grocery
business. December 21, of that year, he was married to Miss Grace Buckland of
Great Bend. He was elected sheriff of Pueblo County in 1891 and succeeded
himself in this office in 1893. In 1898 he went to Kansas City and since that
time has been in the grain business. Mr. and Mrs. Moses were the parents of two
children, Arthur C. Moses, 22 years of age, who graduated from K. U. in June,
1912, and Elinor, 11 years of age. Mr. Moses survived his first wife, she
having died July 15. 1906, and in April, 1908, he married Mrs. Stella Weaver of
Los Angeles. California.
Cassius M. Moses was born in Clymer, Chautauqua County, New York, January 31, 1865, and was the sixth of the seven sons of Mr. and Mrs. Amasa C. Moses. He came with the parents to Barton County in 1871. He married Miss Betsy Coningham of Frederick, Illinois, October 14, 1890, and they are the parents of two children, Donna, born December 13, 1894, and John Campbell, born August 20, 1896. In 1889 he enlisted in the Colorado national guard. He was commissioned lieutenant in October of that year, was advanced to captain in December, 1890, and to the rank of major in 1893. He was appointed and commissioned adjutant general of the state of Colorado in January, 1895. He organized the First Colorado regiment of infantry, United States volunteers, in 1898, after war had been declared with Spain. He resigned as adjutant general of Colorado in 1898. He was commissioned major of the regiment he organized, the First Colorado. He was mustered out of service at the Presidio in San Francisco, September, 1899. He participated in many of the important engagements before Manila, P. I., during the war and distinguished himself as a soldier. He served during the insurrection in the islands until he was wounded June 9, 1899, being unfit for further service.
After coming to Barton County, his
early boyhood days were spent on the Moses homestead, just north of Walnut
creek, punching cows, working on the farm and living the usual strenuous life
of those pioneer days, when the buffalo, the other animals of the plains and
the Indian were all here.
In the spring of 1882, he went to work
for Moses Brothers and continued with them until the autumn of 1887 when they
retired from the general merchandise business. He then went to Pueblo and
Denver, Colorado, where he made his home until he removed to Los Angeles,
California, in the latter part of 1902.
Seward E. Moses, youngest of the seven
brothers, was born in Chautauqua County, New York, and came to Barton County
with his parents in 1871, at the age of three and one-half years. He worked for
Moses Brothers in their general store until 1887, when he went to Pueblo,
Colorado. He was in the grocery business there until 1902. He returned to Great
Bend at that time, being interested in the Barton County flour mills until
1907.. Then he moved to Kansas City, Mo.,
becoming interested in The Moses
Brothers Grain Company. He married Edith G. Balcon of Pueblo, Colo., in 1899.
The following incident, related by S. K
Moses, will recall the old times to those who were here in those days:
"Although quite young in the
buffalo and Indian days, I distinctly remember my first and only buffalo hunt.
It was soon after our arrival in Barton County. The family were on the old
homestead, north of the creek, where it was no uncommon sight to see buffalo
come over the hills down to the creek for water; occasionally one would come up
to the water trough at our well to drink.
"One day an old bull buffalo
drifted down over the hill leisurely and finding the grazing about a quarter of
a mile from our home to his liking, made himself quite at home. Brother Ed,
being at home, and considered some hunter, evidently resented our farm being
used for feeding grounds and prepared for action. His favorite gun was within
easy reach, and feeling confident the buffalo had no chance against his
markmanhip, he grabbed me by the hand and said, 'Come on, Sew, and we will kill
the buffalo." We went through the tall grass to a ravine and made a fine
stand on the game. Ed waited for the old bull to turn so that he could hit him
in a vital spot. His aim was evidently good as the buffalo fell at the first
shot and he made our way cautiously to the fallen monarch. When within a few
feet the buffalo looked so very dead that Ed prepared to cut its throat and,
having me to drag along, Ed laid down his gun and drew his hunting knife; as he
started to stick the knife into the buffalo things commenced to happen. First,
a bellow was let loose that scared me out of a year's growth. Then Mr. Buffalo
got up with blood in his eye and started on a campaign of his own. Ed picked me
up bodily and started for home. I am sure his time has never been equaled
since, although we had no stop watches in those days. The buffalo did not
follow us far, as he was hard hit and, no doubt readily recognized Ed's speed
as well as markmanship. After landing yours truly at the house, your former
city mayor armed himself with another rifle and shortly put an end to my only
buffalo hunt."
Lincoln E. Moses was born October 14,
1860, in the state of New York. He was married to Miss Gertrude Tucker at Three
Rivers, Michigan, May 12, 1891, and they are the parents of three children:
Edward, Walter and Marguerite. He now makes his home at Wichita, Kansas, since
he became president of the Kansas Flour Mills Company.
Arthur H. Moses was born February 21,
1851, in the state of New York, and is therefore the oldest of the seven Moses
boys. He was married to Miss Ella Snowden of Russell, Kansas, April 20, 1872,
and they are the parents of three children: Wm. B., Mary E., and Clyde L., the
latter having died in 1905 at the age of 23 years. While in Barton County Art,
as he was better known, was engaged in the farming and threshing business. He
is now located at Seattle, Washington, where he is wharfmaster for the United States
government.
FREDERICK SCHUELKE
THE property of Frederick Schuelke,
"Locust Grove Farm," thirteen miles west from Great Bend, takes its
name from the many locust trees included in a five acre grove surrounding the
home. These trees are forty years old, are very beautiful and thrifty, and are
the result of a timber claim set in trees in 1871 by John Bement.
Frederick Schuelke was born in Germany
on February 19th, 1840, and came to America in May, 1874. He first located in
Wauwatose, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, where he worked in a nursery and a
pickling factory for a time, and also engaged in farming and at other work. He
remained until March 4th, 1885, when he removed to Greattinger, Palo Alto
County, Iowa, and engaged in farming on his own account as a renter, and then
in 1888 was employed as the manager and superintendent of a large farm on
salary. Resigning this position after several years he purchased a farm of four
hundred acres and cultivated this until he sold out and came to Barton County
on March 1st, 1901. He purchased his present one hundred and sixty acres from
John Bement and paid for the quarter three thousand dollars. Since then he has
built a very nice seven room, story and one-half frame dwelling, large barn,
granary and other buildings, at a cost of $2,500, and today has one of the most
desirable little farms in the county. It is well improved, well fenced, well
shaded, and the house and grounds are in the coolest spot in the county on a
summer's day, and well sustains the name given the farm.
Frederick Schuelke was married on
February 16th, 1863, to Miss Anna Giesel, of the same section of Germany from
which he came, and she died in Barton County on August 2nd, 1907, slightly over
six years after coming to Kansas. They are the parents of six children, two of
whom still live in Wisconsin. Those who reside in this state are: Mrs. Ida
Hans, of Great Bend; Mrs. Minnie Gruenwald, of Rush Cunty; Herman Schuelke,
Lyons, Kansas and Conrad Schuelke, who is married and resides on the place with
his father and manages the farm. Conrad Schuelke was married on April 18, 1906,
and they are the parents of three children: Elmer, 4; Arthur 3, and Goldie, 1.
WILLIAM HENRY ROGERS
WILLIAM HENRY ROGERS was born in
Ontanagon County, Michigan, May 1, 1863. His first trip west was when he was
eight years old, at which time he accompanied his parents to Colorado where
they remained about six months. They returned to Michigan and resided at
Marquette four years, after which they came to Barton County, Kansas. The
family located in Eureka township. For several years after his arrival here Mr.
Rogers went to school, and later took up railroading as an occupation. He was
employed by the Union Pacific Company in Colorado. Mr. Rogers began farming in
this county in
1890, on his home place which comprises
one-half of section 1, South Bend township. Mr. Rogers superintended the
farming of all of this land and has had a great deal to do with the development
of the soil in that part of the county. He was married in Great Bend to Miss
Sarah Williams in 1886. They are the parents of six children as follows: Harry
E., 24 years of age; Stella, 21 years of age; Alice, 19 years; Irene, 17 years;
Annie 16 years; Willie 12 years. All of the children with the exception of
Stella are at home and are being educated in the schools of the county. Stella
is now Mrs. Frank S. Moore and they reside near Spearville, Kansas. Mr. Rogers'
home place is one of the best improved and most attractive in the county. The
residence consists of nine rooms in addition to the bath room, closets,
pantries, etc. The barn is well built and is 42 feet square with a big loft.
Granaries, storage sheds, auto garage and all the other outbuildings usually
found on a modern Barton County farm are to be found here. The trees that
surround the home afford ample shade and the orchard which covers about an acre
and a half of ground contains many varieties of fruits common to this section
of the county. With all Mr. Rogers' private business he has found time to take
an active part in public affairs and has served as trustee and clerk of his
township and has been a member of the school board for sixteen years. He is a
progressive and enterprising farmer and a most prominent citizen.
We must add to the above the fact that
Annie passed from this life May 19, 1912, at a time when she had many expected
years of happiness stretching out before her, and when she was beloved by her
relatives, school mates and all with whom she had an acquaintance
She was valedictorian of the 1912 class of the common
schools of Barton county. Her school mates were deeply affected by her death as
was evidenced by the beautiful floral tribute sent for the funeral. She was a bright,
intelligent girl whose life was a beautiful example of truth and simplicity and
it was a hard blow to her relatives and friends when in the course of things
she had to go to a better world. She was, at the time of her death, aged 16
years, 6 months and 10 days.
HENRY C. COOK
ONE of the first white children born in what is now Barton
County is the subject of this sketch, Henry C. Cook. He was born in Great Bend
township October 6, 1871. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. John Cook, pioneers of
this county and the parents of some of its leading citizens. The elder Cook
died October 16, 1897 and Mrs. Cook died February 13, 1891, after having taken
an active part in the development of the county's resources for about thirty
years. His death was a great shock to his many friends who knew him for his
high character and enterprise. Henry C. was married November 22, 1894, to Miss
Elizabeth Amerine and they are the parents of four children as follows: Velma,
15 years;
Lawrence, 14 years; Elmer, 11 years and Helen, 6 years of age. The
family home is located on the northwest quarter of section 8, Great Bend
township and is one of the most attractive country homes in the county. The
residence consists of 12 rooms in addition to the bath, closets, pantries,
etc., and is thoroughly modern throughout. It is lighted by a modern acetylene
gas plant and is supplied with water by an individual pumping system. The barn
is 46 by 80 feet in dimensions and is well built and modern. Mr. Cook will add
a number of other buildings to his improvements and when these are finished he
will have one of the most modern farms in the county. The home place is
situated in a bend in the Walnut creek and is surrounded by excellent shade
trees and foliage that adds greatly to its appearance. Mr. Cook has always
taken a great interest in improving the breed of the cattle and horses on
Barton County farms and makes a specialty of breeding and raising thoroughbred
Shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses. He now owns one of the best Percheron
horses in the county, "Martin," a registered, black Perchercn that has made a fine reputation in the stud records. Mr. Cook is an enterprising and progressive citizen and has had a great deal to do with the upbuilding of the county and in the developing of its resources.
EDWIN TYLER
EDWIN TYLER was born in Richfield, Illinois, November 27,
1842. He remained in his native state until he was eighteen years of age when
he joined the Fiftieth regiment Illinois volunteers. He became a member of Co.
C and served his country three years. He took part in the battles of Fort
Henry, Fort Donaldson, Shiloh and Corinth and numerous other engagements. He
lost the sight of one eye during his soldier service. This was due to exposure
and fever. He came to Barton County October 16, 1871. He was married to Miss
Lydia F. Moseley December 31, 1865, at his home town of Richfield, Ills. Mr.
and Mrs. Tyler have had five children but unfortunately only one of them is
living, the others having passed away. The one living child now is Mrs. Sam J.
Pratt, her maiden name having been Dora May. Mr. Tyler tells in his own way a
number of his experiences in articles in this book, so we will only add that he
always has been an enterprising and progressive citizen and has done a great
deal in developing the county's resources.
LEVI GUNN
LEVI GUNN was born on July 2, 1833, in Franklin County, Massachusetts, and at the age of 18 months his parents moved to Brattleboro, Vermont. When he was nine years old they took him with them to Davenport, Iowa, and, finally, at a later period, to Putnam County, Illinois. His education was obtained in the public schools of the
Eighty districts where his parents lived and he became a
farmer under the tutelage of his father. He married at the age of twenty-three
and lived happily for seven years, when his companion died. It was then that he
faced the greatest hardships of his life but this was righted by a second
marriage and his coming to Barton County Kansas, in 1874, and the purchase of
240 acres from the Santa Fe railway company. Later he purchased eighty acres
adjoining and at this time his farm covers one-half section. In the spring of
1877 Mr. Gunn removed his family to this county and began improving by building
the best house, barn and other necessary buildings in his neighborhood, and by
planting and cultivating many trees about the premises. A fire destroyed his
house on August 2, 1911, and he has just replaced this building with a story
and one-half cottage with five large, airy rcoms. There is a good barn, granary
and other outbuildings, and located as it is in a nice grove of cedar, pine and
locust trees is very inviting.
Levi Gunn first married Miss Sarah K. Wierman of Putnam County, Illinois, on November 13, 1856, and she died in April, 1865. His second wife was Miss Sarah C. Lewis o( Marshall County Illinois, in November, 1865. who died in December, 1899. They were survived by the husband and the following children: Wm. W. Gunn of Jewell County, Kansas; Charles Lund Gunn, Francis Levi Gunn and Lewis J. Gunn of Great Bend, Howard A. Gunn of Pratt, Kansas; Mrs. Lacy Harrison of Great Bend, and Fred A. Gunn, who resides on the farm with his father and manages the place.
MERRITT-SCHWIER CREAMERY CO.
THE first creamery in Great Bend was
established in 1895 by W. G. Merritt. In 1903 a stock company was formed under
the name of the Merritt Creamery Co. The present company is a consolidation of
the Merritt Creamery Co., and the Larned Creamery Co., of Larned, Kansas, this
consolidation going into effect January 1, 1909.
The company operates one hundred and
one cream buying stations in twenty-five counties in central and western Kansas
and northern Oklahoma, and expects to put in more stations wherever the deliveries
of cream justify a station.
The largest amount of butter
manufactured by this company in any one month since organized was made in the
month of June of this year. They manufactured 246,749 pounds of butter, or
about 20 pounds for every man, woman and child in Barton County.
For the cream and milk used in the
manufacture of this butter, their patrons were paid the sum of $46,720.60. At
the present time the company employs twenty-three people in their plant. The
pay-roll for the month of June was $5,070; this includes salaries and
commissions paid to their cream station operators for the buying and shipping
of cream.
The company has an excellent market for
their butter, shipping as far east as Boston and west to California. Their
brands, "Merritt's Best" and "Crown" are well and favorably
known all over the west.
The present board of directors are W.
G. Merrit, William Schwier, W. F. Schwier, Henry Schwier and C. V. Brinkman.
Officers are W. G. Merritt, President; William Schwier, vice-president; W. F.
Schwier, secretary-treasurer
JOHN DONOVAN
AMONG the old timers, who came to Barton County in the 70's
none is better known than John Donovan who lives on a half section of land in
section 8, Great Bend township. Mr. Donovan was born in Ireland in 1839. He
came to New York in 1870 and to Kansas in 1879 at a time when it required a
great deal of nerve to make a substantial start in the cultivation of the soil
and the building of a home. However, Mr. Donovan is made of that kind of
material and as soon as he arrived here he began to farm and successfully
combatted the bad years and made a success of his occupation. He was married in
New York state to Miss Louisa Hettinger and they are the parents of four
children, Emma, Agnes, Alice and Anna. Emma is now Mrs. A. Wyman and lives at
Macksville; Agnes is now Mrs. Jack Neeland and they live near the home place in
this county; Alice is now Mrs. B. Hingy of Stafford county; Anna is living at
home. Mr. Donovan had the misfortune to lose his eyesight about twelve years
ago but still superintends the operations on the farm. The home place has a
fine set of improvements, the residence containing eight rooms in addition to
closets, pantries, etc. A small orchard is found near the house where nearly
all varieties of fruits are grown. When Mr. Donovan arrived in this county he
was compelled to do his farming with a yoke of oxen and he relates how one time
in the early days they ran away with him while he was attempting to plow with them
and for a time he did not know whether he liked Kansas or not. He served a term
as Justice of the Peace and has always been an enterprising citizen. Mr.
Donovan gives due credit to his wife, a hard working little women who shared
her part of the burden with her husband when they were beginning the home that
they have since built. Mrs. Donovan is one of those kind hearted motherly women
without whose aid the work of developing the great west could not have been
done.
TOBIAS McGILL
TOBIAS McGILL
TOBIAS McGILL was born November 9, 1837 in Bartholomew County, Indiana. He remained in his native state until 1858 when he went to Iowa and remained for twenty-six years. He then continued his way westward and arrived in Barton county in 1884. He bought land near Dundee, the quarter section formerly belonging to J. B. Williams, and later purchased another quarter from John Lile. Mr. McGill was actively engaged in farming until 1897 when he retired and moved to Great Bend. He still superintends the work on his farming land which is worked by renters. Mr. McGill was married September 6, 1860, to Miss Farilla Youtsey near LaGrange, Iowa and they are the parents off nine children, six of whom are still living. Hilas N. is farming
in this county; Etta, is now Mrs. J. H. Harris of Great
Bend; Charlotte is now Mrs. Sherman Mosbarger of Pawnee Rock; Crandon O., is
now an attorney at law in Idaho where he also teaches school; Elva is at home
and George is county attorney of Sedgewick county, Kansas, and lives in
Wichita. Mr. McGill is a veteran of the civil war and is a member of Pap Thomas
Post G. A. R. He enlisted September 6, 1864, in Company G. Sixteenth Iowa,
known as Crocker's Iowa Brigade. He served until the close of the war and was mustered
out July 19, 1865. He was with Sherman's Army from Atlanta to the Sea and took
part in the battles of Fayetteville, Bentonville and was present at the siege
of Savannah. He saw much active service during the time of his enlistment.
Since coming to Barton county Mr. McGill has always taken a great interest in
affairs of a public nature and held township and school board offices as well
as having been assessor for his district and justice of the peace. He is one of
the men who had so much to do with the development of the county's resources
and saw it grow to its high standing among the counties of the state. He came
here at a time that it required men of strong nerve to combat the adverse
conditions with which they had to contend.
C. B. WORDEN
THE subject of this sketch, Chas. B.
Worden, together with C. L Roudebush, planted the first crop in Walnut township
near Albert. This was in March, 1871. The crop consisted of corn, potatoes and
sorghum, and after making a nice start was destroyed by the dry weather which
followed in that year. The remnants of the crop were eaten by the buffaloes
which were plentiful in this county at that time. Mr. Worden was born in West
Virginia January 1, 1844. He came to this county in 1871 and immediately began
the work of farming. He located a homestead near Albert in Walnut township. He
farmed until 1910 when he sold his farm and moved to town and now occupies a
nice residence at the corner of Ninth and Holland streets, in Great Bend.
He was married Dec. 15, 1875 to Miss
Ada Brown of Walnut township and they are the parents of ten children as
follows: Ella L., 35 years, is now Mrs. John Gallon of Great Bend; Hattie D.,
34 years of age, is now Mrs. F. E. Peugh of Hoisington; Marsena L., 32 years,
is farming near Albert; Alice, 28 years, is now Mrs. E. P. Cowman of
Coffeyville, Kansas; Ira L., 27 years, is an optician and jeweler in business
at Albert; Alvin H., 25 years, is in the postal service at Albert; Charles L.,
17, is employed at the McLaughlin Produce Company's establishment in Great
Bend; Blanche E., 15 years, is a student in the Great Bend schools. (John W.,
nine months and Julia A, two years and one month, are deceased.)
Mr. Worden is one of the really old timers to whom this county owes its development and high standing among the best counties in the
Mr. Worden is one of the really old
timers to whom this county owes its development and high standing among the
best counties in the State of Kansas. During his residence in this county he
has served as county commissioner, and has held township and school board
offices in the district where he lived. He is one of those hardy pioneers who
reclaimed this section of the country from the buffalo and Indians and he
played no small part in the early history of this county and is one of the best
known men in this part of the state. He sold his farming interests when he
retired but owns his residence and a number of lots and is an enterprising and
progressive citizen.
Mr. Worden is a member of the Pap
Thomas Post, G. A. R., Great Bend. He served almost four years in the Eighth W.
Virginia Infantry, Company F and Seventh W. Virginia Cavalry; also in Company
F. He took part in the battles of Cross Keys, Freeman's Ford, White Sulphur
Springs, Second Bull Run, Droop Mountain and Lynchburg as well as others. He
served three years and ten months and saw much active service in his country's
defense.
AUGUST FENN
AMONG the well known men of Buffalo township is the subject
of this sketch, August Fenn. He was born in Clinton County, Illinois September
25, 1868. He came to Barton county in 1886 at a time when this section of the
state was going through some mighty hard times and it required men of strong
nerve and an unflinching faith in the future to remain and develop the soil.
Mr. Fenn is now farming in Buffalo township and his home place is located on
the northeast quarter of section 7. He was married in 1893 to Miss Louisa
Schultz and they are the parents of five children as follows: Lillie and Luella,
twins, 18 years of age; Oscar, 13 years; Earnest, 9 years and Irene, 4 years of
age. The home place has a set of good improvements, the residence consisting of
nine rooms in addition to the bath room, closets, etc. Mr. Fenn has always
maintained a good grade of live stock, both horses and cattle and in addition
to his private interests has always found time to take an active part in all
public matters that are for the benefit of the community in which he lives. He
has been a member of the school board nineteen years, has held the office of
road overseer as well as other township offices. A small orchard is maintained
on the home place which adds greatly to its general appearance and in which a
number of different kinds of fruit are raised. The residence is located in a
most desirable spot and is surrounded by well kept shade trees and other
foliage that makes it one of the most attractive places in the township. Mr.
Fenn is an enterprising and progressive citizen and enjoys a large acquaintance
in all parts of Barton county. Mr. Fenn was the butter maker at the Heizer
Creamery in the early days and was the first man in this part of the country to
use the combined churn and when it was installed it created a great deal of
favorable comment.
JOHN EVERETT
ONE of the pioneers of Barton County
who is still actively engaged in farming is John Everett who resides on the
east half of section 9-19-14, Buffalo township. Mr. Everett was born November
12, 1842 in Putnam county, Illinois. He came to Barton County in 1874 and
located on the southeast quarter of section 9 and there erected a stone house,
but not until after he had spent a long time in making preparations for the
building of a home. Only the old timers know of the real conditions in those
days, when it required men of strong nerve and backbone to combat the many
adverse conditions with which they had to contend. The younger generation can
learn of them only by reading. Mr. Everett came here at a time when the county
needed just such men. He lived in Illinois until he came to Barton County in
1874 except for the time he spent in the army.
He enlisted in Company H, One
Hundred and Fourth Illinois and served until June 5, 1864. He was in the
battles of Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Kenesaw Mountain and on August 2,
1863, he was severely wounded and saw no more service until the following
February. He made a fine record while in the service of his country and after
the close of the war he returned to his native state and farmed until 1874.
He was married March 7, 1867 to Miss
Anna M. Bothwell of LaSalle, County, Illinois, and they are the parents of
three children: Cora Jane 48 years of age is now Mrs. H. J. Dukes of this
county; George W., 45 years of age is on the home place as is also Oliver N.
who is 42 years of age. The residence on the home place consists of seven rooms
besides closets, pantries, etc. The out buildings are well built and Mr.
Everett has made a specialty of raising Red Polled cattle and he always
maintains a good grade of horses and cattle. The home place is nicely located
with shade and fruit trees surrounding it on all sides. Mr. Everett is one of
those men to whom Barton County owes its high standing in the list of the best
counties of the State of Kansas
FRED V. AMERINE
AMONG the young farmers in Buffalo township none is better
known than the subject of this sketch, Fred V. Amerine. He is a son of J. W.
Amerine one of the old timers of that part of Barton County. The elder Amerine
farmed in this county for thirty-two years and is now farming in Kiowa county.
The younger Amerine is farming 160 acres of good land in Buffalo township, six
miles northwest of Great Bend. He was born January 21, 1884, in this county and
has seen it grow from the hard times of the 80's to its present high standing
and importance among the counties of the State of Kansas. He was married in
March, 1912, to Miss Emma Bortz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Bortz of Rush
county who are also old timers of this section of the state. Mr. Amerine farms
all his land himself and has a nice set of improvements which are located in
close proximity to Walnut creek, the residence and other buildings being
surrounded by large, well kept shade trees which add greatly to the beauty ot
the home. The residence contains eight rooms, in addition to the bath, closets,
pantries, etc. The place is stocked with a good grade of cattle and horses
although Mr. Amerine has never dealt in thoroughbred stock of any kind. He has
learned by experience the best methods to use in cultivating the soil in Barton
county and applies these methods in all his work. He is one of the young men
who are now taking the places of the old timers and continuing the work so ably
begun by them in the 70's and 80's and it is these young men who are making
good progress in the work left them in bringing Barton County to its present
high state of cultivation.
JOHN GRUBER
ON writing up the old timers of Barton County there is none
that is better or more favorably known than the subject of this sketch, John
Gruber who came to this county in 1871 at a time when there were very few
people but a large number of buffalo and antelope. Mr. Gruber is one of the old
timers who upon their arrival here began their first work and made a living by
hunting buffalo. Mr. Gruber located on land in Buffalo township where he still
resides. He was born in Austria, July 2, 1839. He was married in 1863 to Miss
Katie Wilka, and they are the parents of seven children as follows: Antone, 4S
years of age, is farming near the old home place on land given to him by his
father; Joseph, 38 years of age, was born in this county and is living with his
parents on the home place; John, Jr., is in the automobile business in Great
Bend and is 28 years of age; Mary, 37 years is now Mrs. E. G. Reidle of this
county; Annie, 31 years of age, is now Mrs. Stanley Patterson; Rose, 26 years
of age, is Mrs. Pearl Holmes and John, who died when he was four months of age,
was the first white child born in Barton County. Mr. Gruber is one of the
really old timers of this section of the state and has seen Barton County grow
from an abiding place of animals and Indians to its present high state of
cultivation. The home place has a fine set of improvements; the residence
contains five rooms in addition to closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 20 by 30
and a two acre orchard is found near the house which bears all varieties of
fruits common to this part of the country. The place is well improved and is
one of the historical spots of the county. Mr. Gruber has been a member of the
school board and held other offices and is one of the county's oldest and most
widely known citizens. It is to such men as Mr. Gruber that Barton County owes
its high standing among the leading agricultural sections of the world and
makes it one of the best counties in the State of Kansas.
ANTON GRUBER
ONE of the men who has seen this county
grow from an almost barren waste is the subject of this sketch, Antone Gruber.
He is a son of John Gruber who located one of the first homesteads in Buffalo
township. Antone was born in Austria and came to this county with his parents
in 1871 after having spent three years in the State of Michigan. When the
family arrived in this country Antone was seven years of age having been born
in 1864. He first worked in this county helping his father hunt buffaloes,
thousands of which were roaming what is now the most highly cultivated land in
the county. He now farms 80 acres of land in Buffalo township on which is
located his home place. He has a good set of improvements. The residence
contains five rooms in addition to the closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 32
by 20 in dimensions and is arranged for taking care of a large number of head
of stock. He was married in 1892 to Miss Lena Schlim who was also born in this
county in Clarence township.
Her parents were also among the first
permanent settlers in the county. They are the parents of three children as
follows: Mary, 17 years of age and (Marguerite who died when she was seven
years of age, in 1907) and an adopted boy whose name is George and is seven
years of age. Mr. Gruber is one of the men who came to this county when he was
yet a child and has had a great deal to do with its development and upbuilding.
He has always taken an interest in public matters and has held township and
school board offices at different times. He is one of the few residents of the
county who can recall the days of Old Fort Zarah and who saw the buffalo when
they were almost as thick as ever they were and saw them gradually disappear
and make way for plowed fields and cultivated farms. His home place is located
just east of his father's home and his brother who is now dead and mentioned in
another part of this history was the first white child born in Barton county.
FRANK P. SHAFFER
FRANK P. SHAFFER was born in Rich land county, Ohio, in 1859 and
came to Rush county, Kansas, in 1890 and has lived in the State of Kansas since
that time.
He came to Barton county in 1901 and bought land in section 17
Great Bend township. He was married in 1880
o Miss Mary Fesser in indiana and they are the parents of four children
as follows: Cora L., 31 years of age, now
rs. James Mclnnes of Cokeville, Wyoming; Franklin A., 26 years of age, living
at home as is also Paul who is 16 Years of age and Mary M., 27 years of age,
new Mrs. Alton Dale of this county. Mr. Shaffer has nice well improved home
place three miles northwest of Great Bend where he owns 320 acres of land. His
residence consists of eight rooms in addi- tion to bath,‘closets,· pantries,
etc. The barn is 50 by 30 feet in dimensions, is well built and affords room
for a large number of horses. Mr. Shaffer raises a variety of crops and is ably
assisted in the operation of the farm by his son, Franklin A. The home place is
located in one of the best parts of the county and the shade trees and other
surroundings add in no small way to the general appearance of the place. Mr.
Shaffer is one of the men who came to Kansas at a time when it needed farm- ers
who could take the land and by well applied effort. make it produce crops in a
way of which it was capable but needed more modern methods in its cultivation.
Mr, Shaffer farms according to methods learned by experience and taking the good
years with the poor ones he has succeeded in making them average with a good
production of crops.
HENRY SCHWIER
HENRY SCHWIER is one of the old timers of this section ofthe state who is still engaged in farming. He was born in Prussia,
January 19, 1843 and came to this country when he was eighteen years of age. He
first located in Cincinnati where he remained for a year, after which he went
to Dearborn County, Indiana, and farmed until the spring cf 1878 when he came
to Barton County. He had bought land the
year previ- ous and now owns 560 acres all of which is being worked by renters.
He was married in September, 1866 to Miss Elmira Lempe and they are the parents
of four children: Dollie, 44·years of age is now Mrs. D. C. Merhoff of this
county; William, 42 years of age, is at Larned where he is interested in the
Merritt- Schwier Creamery Co; Lizzie, 40 years of age, is now Mrs. John Hiss of
Great Bend and Sophia is now Mrs. Frank Trauer. Mr. Schwier and his son
William, with the farmers of Buffalo township started a creamery at Heizer in
the early days and later started one at Larned in 1898. lt was consolidated
with the one that was in operation at Great Bend, and the out come of this was
the now famous Merritt Schwier Creamery Company which is, one of the largest
institutions of the kind in this part of the country, Mr. Sehwiers home is well
improved and he is one of the men who had so much to do with the development of
that section of 
The county in which he lives. The residence contains seven rooms
and the closets and pantries. The barn is 54 by 56 feet and the other
outbuildings are well built and coinniodious. Mr. Schwier has always found time
to take an active part in publicaffairs and served his district as county
commissioner for two terms, an office in which he made a good record. He has
also held township and school beard offices and is an enterprising and
progressive citizen.
EDWARD GRANT BUCKLAND
EDWARD GRANT BUCKLAND, a former
resident of this county is now living at Washington, D. C. At least he
spends a large part of his time in the Capital city. He ) is vice-president of
the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and maintains offices at
Washington, D. C , New York City, New Haven, Conn., and Providence, R. I. He
was born at Buffalo, N. Y., December 31, 1866. His parents were Andrew J.
Buckland and Julia Turner Buckland. The latter died in 1869. Mr. Buckland came
to Barton County with his father and three sisters, May 26, 1872. He lived in
Great Bend until 1887. In September 1882 he went to Topeka where he attended
Washburn College. He graduated from that institution in 1887. He then went to
New Haven where he entered the Yale Law School in the autumn of 1887 and
graduated in 1889. He became an instructor and later assistant-professor in the
law school and in Yale College, at the same time being engaged in the general
practice of law with the firm of Townsend & Watrous, afterwards Watrous
& Buckland. June 21, 1898, he was appointed attorney for the New York, New
Haven & Hartford Railroad Com~ pany with offices at Providence, R. I. He
re— mained there until January 1, 1904 when he
returned to New Haven as attorney for the road and located at its main
office. January 1, 1906 he was appointed vicepresident of the New York, New
Haven & Hartford Com- pany and again moved to Providence, R. I, where he
represented that company’s steam railroad, street railway and steamship
interests. On March 1, 1910, he again returned to New Haven as a general
executive, vice·president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad
Company. He now has offices in Providence, R. I., New Haven, Conn., New York
City and Washington, D. C., and repre- sents the company’s interests. He was
married to Sally Tyler Clark of New Haven, Conn., June 21, 1898. They have two
sons and two daughters. The family
residence in New Haven, Ccnn.
FRANK MERTEN
FRANK MERTEN was born in Keokult County, Iowa, February 28, 1870, and came to
this county wth his parents when he was six years of age. He now occupies the
old home place which was located by his father Robert Merten and comprises the
southwest quarter of section ll., Clarence town ship. Frank attended school for
several years after he came to this couniy and began farm- ing for himself in
1891. He owns a section of land in Pawnee county which is being worked by
renters while he gives personal attention to the work of farming the home place.
He was married February 13, 1895 to Miss Matilda Both, a daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Julius Both who are also old timers of this section of the state and who
are mentioned in another part of this book. Mr. and Mrs. Merton are the parents
of six children: Roy E., 15 years of age; Ralph A., 13 years of age; Lillie
May, 11 Years of age; Rosie Marie, 8 years of age; Georgia, 2 years of age and
Arthur who is two and .a half months old. The home place is situated in one of
the most desirab1e parts of the township and the shade trees and other
improvements make it one of the most attrac- tive places. That one could find in the county. The residence
contains nine rooms in addition to the bath, closets, pantries, etc. The barns and
other outbuildings are well built and comodious, the elevator having a capacity
of 9,000 bushels. The Merten family is one of the best known in the county and
are mention- ed frequently in the pages of this book. The elder Merten retired
several years ago and is now living in Great Bend where he is inter- ested in
the banking business and is one of the best known men in the county. Frank
Merten has found time with all his private affairs to take an active part in
the public affairs of his community and has held township and school board offices
as well as taking an interest in anything that is for the benefit of the
county.
BERT TRESTER
For the young farmers who
are developing the soil in Eureka
township none is better known than the subject of this sketch, Bert Trester. He
is a son of J. B. Trester who has been a resident of this county forty years.
The elder Mr. Trester is one of the really old timers of the county having come
here at a time when the county needed men with strong nerve, a knowledge of
farming and faith in the future sufficient to make them stay through the hard
years of the seventies and finally develop the soil to a state of
productiveness. The younger Mr. Trester is now farming three quarters of land
which be- longs to his father. He was
born in this county December 29, 1886 and is therefore a pro- duct of the
county. lt is due to this fact and the fact that he has always been in the
farming business that he knows the way to farm to get the best results. He has
learned the best methods by actual experience. He was married in 1910 to Miss
Margarett Weege of Eureka township, and they are the parents of one child,
Margery May who is about two months old at this writing. Mr. Trester is an
enterprising and progressive farmer and well prepared to take up the
development work of the land where his father left off.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN LANGFORD
Is of the best known families in Barton County and one whose members have had a great
deal to do with the devel- opment and uphuilding of the county. is that of
Thornton Langford who is the father of the subject of this sketch and came here
in 1877. He bought the southwest quarter of section 35 in Eureka township and
up until the time of his death was actively engaged in farming. He died in 1900
and his death was keenly felt by the large circle of friends whose friendship
he enjoyed. A. L. was born in Appancose County, Iowa, October 9, 1862, and
arrived in this county with his father when he was fifteen years of age. He was
married to Miss Emma Schultz whose
parents are also old timers of the county, her father having been among the
very first men to settle in the county. Mr. Langford farms all his own land and
has a fine set of improvements. The residence contains five rooms in addition
to closets, pantries, etc., and the barn is 24 by 40 feet in dimensions. The
improvements are situated amid beautiful surroundings and Mr. Langford has a
most attractive country home. He has always taken an active part in the affairs
of his township and has held the office of constable and other township offices.
It is to such families as the Schultz and Langfords that this county was
developed from an almost barren waste in the seventies to its present high
state of cultivation and high standing among the best counties in the State of
Kan- sas and made of it one of the most productive agricultural sections of the
country. It is such men as the subject of this sketch that the work is being
continued to the end that the future that was seen by their elders will be
realized and fulfilled. Mr. Langford is an enterprising and progressive citizen
and enjoys a wide acquaintance in all parts of the county. His long residence
in the county has made him familiar with the conditions with which the farmers
have to contend and his success is in a large measure due to the knowledge he
has gained by practical work.
SEVIER H. HEDRICK
One of the really old timers of Barton County still living on his old homestead is
the subject of this sketch Sevier H. Hedrick. He was born in Preble County
Ohio, September 16, 1847. He came to Barton county in 1871 and took up a
homestead near Heizer. It comprises the northeast quarter of section 6, Buffalo
township. Mr. Hedrick has married twice,
his first wife having been Lucy Parks of
Illinois. To this union was born one
child, William, who is. 42 Years of age and lives in Illinois. He. later
married to Miss Maggie Chasteen they are the parents of five children, as
follows: Florence, 22 years of age is now Mrs. Ed, Noffsinger and resides in
Brown County, Kansas; Hallie, 19 years of age; May. 18 years of age; Edith, 16
years of age; Grenna, 12 years of age, all of whom live at home. Mr. Hedrick
was actively engaged in farming until about a year ago but now superintends.
The work of renters. He has a nice set of improvements the residence containing
seven rooms in addition to closets, pantries. The barn is 28 feet square and
like the other buildings is well built and commodious. The home place is
beautifully situated and is sur- rounded by a iine set of shade trees, a half
acre of orchard altogether is one of the most attractive places in that section
of the county. Mr. Hedrick was the first:. trustee of Barton township and is
one of those men who came here at a time when the buffalo were still roaming
the prairies and it is due to such men as Mr. Hedrick that the county was de-
veloped and made one of the best in the State of Kansas and it is due to their
efforts that it is one of the most important agricultural sections of the
entire country. Mr. Hedrick has always taken an active part in the public af-
fairs of his county and is an enterprising and progressive citizen.
WILLIAM CHRIST OTTE
Of the many young farmers
in the county who are products of this
county none better.known than subject.on this sketch, William Christ Otte who
is now farming 200 acres of land in Buffalo township. He has been on this land
for the past seven years and as he was born and raised in this county he has
learned by experience the methods that will give the best results under the
condi- tions that are found in this section of the county. He was born January
30, 1881 and is a son of William Otte who is mentioned in another part of this
book. The elder Otte is one of the old timers of this county who came here in
the early days and has seen this county grow from almost a barren waste to its
present high state of cultivation. The younger Otte was married to Miss Georgia
Miller in 1007 sum is a daughter of Henry Miller who will also be found
mentioned in another part of this book. He also is one of the old timers who
had so much to do with the upbuilding of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Otte are the
parents of two children as follows: Walter who is four years of age and Wilmer
who is two years of age. They occupy a neat residence of four rooms. The barn
is 20 by 36 and it and all the outbuildings are well built and have plenty of
room. The home place is surrounded by a grove of nice shade trees that add
greatly to the home—like appearance of the place and altogether Mr. Otte has
one of the most ideal country homes to be found in that section of the county.
It is to such families as the Ottes and Millers that this county owes its high
standing among the best counties of the State of Kansas and one of the best
agricultural sections of the entire country.
DANIEL GREEN BIRD
Those who read this volume will be struck with the nativity of the
citizenship, no doubt, and note that the southern states rarely have a
representative. The county’s history has been forged by the sturdy
German—American, and by men from the mid- dle, northern and western sections of
the United States. Of course most nations are represented, and most states; but
the southern gentleman is noticeable by his absence. he is either clannish and
prefers to herd by himself, has not forgotten the border ruffian days, or has
harkened to the stories about a cold and cyclonic Kansas. We are pleased,
there- fore, to record the success of a native Vir- ginian. A man hitherto
unused to the rough life of the frontiersman. Daniel Greene Bird was born near
Jackson- ville, Floyd County, Virginia, January 19th, 1849, and at an early age
removed to Raleigh County, West Virginia. Returning to the Old Dominion he
settled in Wythe County, twenty miles north from Wythville. Shortly after his
twenty eighth birthday on March 3rd, 1875 he arrived in Barton County, Kansas,
determined to make a home for himself and posterity; or never to set foot on
Virginia soil again. He selected a location thirteen miles west from Great Bend
and there purchased his first quarter of land on payments from the Santa Fe
Railway Company. Disastrous years followed and he was forced to forfeit his
holdings. Buying again from the same parties in September, 1884, he cotracted
for three hundred and twenty acres, and paid fifteen hundred and sixty dollars,
in payments as before. This time he was successful and paid out according to
agreement; and at this date his home place contains seven hundred and twenty
acres Besides this he owns in the counties of Barton, Pawnee and Rush five
separate tracts of land amounting to eighteen date his.home place contains
seven hundred and twenty acres Besides this he owns in the counties of Barton,
Pawnee and Rush five separate tracts of land amounting to eighteen hundred and
forty acres, or a total of twenty- five hundred and sixty acres. These various
tracts are all well improved and in a high state of cultivation. They are
stocked with the best farm implements procurable, and the buildings are new,
modern, and of a size to comfortably house his numerous tenants, store the
grain grown on the various farms, and stable the live stock bred and in
service. Mr. Bird is also a stockholder in the Citizens National Bank, Great
Bend; Pawnee Rock Elevator Co., and the Independent Harvester Co., Plana, Illinois.
The home of Mr. Bird, thirteen miles north- west from Great Bend, is very
attractive in appearance and supplies all modern comforts. It is surrounded
with shade trees, grass plot and garden, and is all that a farmer’s home should
be. The combination dairy and pantry, through which cold sparkling water always
flows, is the culmination of the dream of every housewife. Then there are
barns, grain ele- vators, feeding lots, sheds and a garage, all of proportions
sufficient to house the grain and care for the stock bred and in service on an
immense farm. Mr. Bird inherited a love for domestic ani- mals and has bred,
bought, fed and dealt in them for thirty years. At first he hoped that this
branch of his business would supplement the earnings of the farm and help over
some of the rough places, but latterly he has con- tinued to handle them merely
because he prefers to have them on the place so that he can admire their beauty
and satisfy a fancy. Miss Martina Ellen Lee and Daniel Greene Bird were married
June 25.th, 1884 in Barton County, and as a result nine children have been
born. Three have passed from them by death; a son of twelve years being killed
by lightning, and one of seventeen by drowning. Those living are: Anna May,
Harry Clay, Elmer Joseph, Daniel Dee, Mary Frances and Ruth Allen. Mrs. Bird
was born August 12th, 1859, in Knox County, Ohio, but is a member of and a
close relation to the General Robert E. Lee family of Virginia, whose mother
was a Custus and a near relative of Martha Washington.
JULIUS BOTH
" STONE BRIDGE HOMESTEAD the home of Julius Both, fourteen miles west of Great
Bend, takes its name from the first and only stone bridge built on Dry creek
and was used as a lookout, or point of observation by Mister Both at a time
when he thought it was necessary to keep an eye on roving bands of Indians, and
on the buffalo, antelope, deer, gray wolves and coyotes that infested the
country in 1871. He came to the county in the spring of that year, and first
worked for John Cook, Sr., and then engaged in hunting buffalo and other game
for the first four or five years. In 1873 he entered his claim to a homestead,
and that and later purchases make up the valuable farm of three hundred
and twenty acres included in his home
farm. He owns another half section in Pawnee county, and both places are well
improved and in a high state of cultivation. Julius Both claims to be the first
white set- tler in Clarence township, and had as neigh- bors Judge Morton who
doctored the commun- ity, and D. M. Woodburn, who were between him and the
county seat. His first acquired property was a half starved horse located from
his perch in "lookout tree," and this served to transport the game
which he killed, but was not sufficient to break the soil to be culiivated, and
what corn that was planted was placed in holes made in the turf with a hatchet.
The garden was prepared in this way and cultivated with improvised implements
made from whatever would best stir or turn the soil. There was little
cultivated the first five years, and Mr. Both, John Gruber and others hunted
the plains and often went as far west as Dodge City. They got their supplies
and mail from Russell and Ellsworth, Kansas, and were usually absent from home,
leaving the care of the family and little ones to the faithful wife. Her lot
was not enviable, and the pioneer mothers of Barton County deserve great praise
for their fortitude and devotion to their husbands and families. Julius Both
was born in the village of Linde, Germany, September 28th, 1844; served an ap-
prenticeship as a miller, and followed the trade until coming to America in
1870. He first located at Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin, and found work in a sash
factory. In the spring of 1871 he came to Barton County. He married Miss Anna
Baruth shortly before sailing from his home in Germany, and they are the
parents of four children: Mrs. Matilda Marten, Mrs. Mary Spies and Kate and
Tina Both. The children all reside at home and assist their parents on the farm
with the exception of Mrs. Merten, and with the grand children make up a happy
and contented family.
WILLIAM ESSMILLER
Thirty two years has brought great
changes in the life of William Essmiller, and it is a pleasant task to
record his success as a citizen of Barton County. He was born December 9, 1849,
in the Province of Hanover, Germany, 011 a farm, and worked for his parents
until coming to the United States in 1871. He iirst settled in LaCrosse County,
Wisconsin, and worked as a farm hand until 1879, when he came to Barton County
and made his home with Fred H. Miller, (a former school mate in the Old
Country,) from whom he drew pay at the rate of $15 per month. Finally he and
his brother Deitrich inherited about $2,000 from an estate in Germany and they
formed a partnership under the name of Essmiller Brothers and bought railroad
land. Their business was farming, but they bought,improved, sold and traded i11
lands when they had earned a surplus invested, and until a few years ago both
families occupied the home on the D. Essmiller farm. Recently they have made a
division of their holdings, and Wm. Essmiller owns his home farm, four miles
west of Great Bend, which covers four hun- dred and eighty acres; eighty acres
near Heizer, four hundred and eighty in Pawnee County, and a half interest in
another section in Pawnee County north of Rozel These several tracts are all
well improved and in cultivation, and are the choice bodies in their
localities. The home farm is improved with a one story six room frame dwelling;
a 36x66 barn with large hay loft and stalls for twenty horses; twenty—fonr milk
cattle, and accommodation for twenty—four loose animals. The granary is 24x4U
and there is a dairy and other small outbuildings. Wheat, corn and alfalfa are
the principal crops grown, but stock breeding is fast taking root on this farm,
and a herd of thoroughhred Shorthorn cattle were in evi- dence, and numerous
horses and mules of the best breeds for farm purposes. Mrs. Essniiller has her White Leghorn chickens and grows them for market, and in her model dairy makes
fifty pounds of golden butter weekly to supply her city trade. She is a model
house- wife and has labored faithfully with her husband to achieve
success.William Essmiller and Miss Mary Nietiield, of Hanover, Germany, were
married on September 12, 1882, in Barton County, Kansas, and they have one son,
Robert H. Essmiller, who resides with his parents and assists in the management
of the farms.
HANS JURGENSEN
Among the many German—Americans who A have made a success at farming
in Bar- ton County Hans Jurgensen has won his place, and is the proud owner of
four hun- dred of as nice acres as there is to be found, twelve miles northwest
of Great Bend. He has this all in a fine state of cultivation and highly
improved, there being an imposing two story white frame residence to greet you
as you enter the grounds and swing up the driveway, which is through waving
meadows of alfalfa exuding sweet perfume. About the house is a large grass
plot, and there are plants and shrubs and lofty trees forming the usual
windbreak. The location is elevated and this building and the barns, elevator,
granary, wind- mills, and other numerous outbuildings stand out prominently and
seem to tower above others of the neighborhood. Here one can im- agine the
animation in the barn lots at night time, "when the lowing herds come home
and the numerous work animals are being unhar- nessed and fed; chickens and
turkeys feeding for the night and the milking under way. It is then that the
whole farm seems to rejoice and return thanks For the accomplishments of the day
for there is a thankfulness overshadowing man, beast and fowl, if one
can
interpret the sighs of the
weary work horses, the lowing of the kine, the laughter of childhood and the
tunes whistled and sung by the farm help as they complete the days labors. Hans
Jurgensen was born in Germany on January 23rd, 1863, and came to the United
States with his parents when six years of age, who located first on a farm twenty-five
miles west of Nebraska City, Nebraska. He came toBarton County on December
24th, 1874, with his father, Alarquardt Jurgenseu, who home- steaded an eighty
in section 28 and filed on eighty acres as a timber claim. In 1892 Hans began
farming his own fields having purchased a quarter section for $2,100. In 1898
he added another eighty, paying for it $1,600, and at the death of his father
he inherited one hundred and sixty acres. On March 22nd, 1886, he was married
to Miss Josephine Burgtorf, of Buffalo township, and six children have been
born, all of whom are at home with their parents: August William Christian, 24;
Edward John, 22; Fred H-enry, 21; Anna Dorothy, 19; Ida Mary, 17, and William
Marquardt, 15.
GEORGE ADAM GEIL “
It has always been a pleasure to trace the open picture of a
really successful man in any calling, and when that life has been passed close
to nature the pleasure is ten fold. Trees, plants and flowers all serve a
purpose and are beautiful beyond comparison, but growing crops have an added
commercial attraction which have enchanted since time began. The people a land
and sustain life, and the influence of the tiller is only gaged by the number
of bushels produced. If that be true George A. Geil’s influence is far
reaching, because he owns and cultivates
eight hundred acres in Barton, Pawnee and Ford counties, and at harvest time
his granaries are filled to overflowing. That, in substance, is the result of
thirty three years of continued effort farming on the plains of Kansas. George
A. Geil is a native of lowa and came to Barton County in the spring of 1878 a
poor man, and for some years rented the land he farmed. Then he bought railroad
land at a low price and on long time, but failing to make the payments it
reverted to the original owners. Then the Santa Fe Railway Company added a few
dollars to the price and resold him the land, and that time he made good and
paid according to contract. He now owns the two hundred and forty on which he
resides, fourteen miles west from Great Bend; eighty acres six miles west from
Great Bend; one hundred and sixty in Pawnee County; one hundred and sixty
midway between Rush Center and Rozel, and one hundred and seventy- flve acres
near Spearville, in Ford County. All
these several tracts are in
cultivation and have good improvements. The improvements at the home farm is
an attractive eight room cottage,
surrounded by a neat lawn and towering forest trees. It is painted a cast of gray and with its green
surroundings looks cool and inviting on any
day. The barn is a large, roomy affair capable of housing much hay and
grain, and the stabling capacity must be ample for the farm. This is painted
the usual bright red cast and seems to light up and enliven the scene. The soil
is good and the farm is in a high state of cultivation.George A. Geil was born
August 27th, 1857, near Martinsburg, Wapello County, Iowa. He was married on
December 13, 1905, to Miss Minnie Schroeder, of Cedar County, Iowa. They have
three bright. little boys: Louis Jacob,4 years of age; Herold Henry, 3 and
Elmer Herman, 2. The mother, Mrs. Louise Geil, wife of Jacob Giel, deceased,
makes her home with her son, She was born in Germany, October 26th, 1833,
and is seventy·eight years of age. She
came to kansas with her husband and eight children, George.Adam, Andrew and
Mrs. Katte Leroy in 1878, Mrs. Henry Schroeder be- ing born in Kansas and
passed through all the rough periods ofthe formitive stage of the County .She
is bright, strong and healthy and 0ne can hardly imagine her age so advanced.
Her husband Jacob died December 11th, 1907 And lies buried in the Luthern
cemetery near The farm of his son. she was the mother Of nine children in all,
four boys and five girls. One boy died in infancy and a boy and three girls
died from diphtheria the second year after coming to Kansas.
WILLIAM WERHAHN
Among the large planters and property owners of Barton County
William Wer- hahn deservedly takes his place, and although not a native born
Kansan he is so much a Barton County product that he rernem- bers little prior
to his boyhood here. he was born in the Province of Hanover, Germany, November
20th, 1875; came to America the spring of1882 with his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Christian Werhahn of Great Bend, and they settled first near Grinnell, Iowa, on
a farm. They also lived in Pouche and Marshall coun- ties, iowa, for about four
years, and then came to Kansas, settling permanently in Paw- nee Rock township,
Barton County. William Werhahn was then but eleven Years old. He attended the
public schools of the district, chased rabbits, hunted game on the open
prairie, broke bucking broncos and helped his father on the farm. His days were
passed in the open and the Dutchmans son soon became a full fledged Kansas kid,
with all his aims and desires. It is not wonderful then that he was early
bitten by the "land—grabbing" microbe, and soon determined to own and
farm his share of the face of the earth. When mar- ried and settled he bought a
quarter section from his father; later he bought one hundred and sixty acres
from Peter Dirks, and still later he rented two
undred and eighty acres adjoining, and today farms a total of six hun-
dred acres. During the time he also acquired by purchase three hundred and
twenty acres near Greensburg, Kiowa County, and three hundred and twenty near
Offerle. These two last named tracts are improved and rented, and his total
holdings in fee are nine hundred
and sixty acres of the finest land as.there is in the state. His
residence is thirteen and one- half miles west of Great Bend, and the
improvements are a two story white frame house, a 32xG6x16 red frame barn,
having stalls for eighteen horses and twenty cattle. Then there are other small
buildings, sheds and numerous windmills, with a nice grove surrounding all.
William `Werhahn and Miss Bertha Fleske, of Wausau, Wisconsin, were married on
February lst, 1905, and they have been blessed with three interesting children:
Bertha, 6; Hilda, 4 and Martha, 3.
" GOLDEN GRAIN FARM" the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Drehle, is six miles west
of Great Bend, and it has been properly named, because it was the intention of
the owners to honor for all time the golden cereal that has made the name of
Bar- ton County famous wherever wheat producers are in use. This is the “banner
oounty," and it is Mr. Drehle’s intention io make his the "banner
farm} and if one can judge from the character of cultivation the soil is
getting this season his future crops will tax some of his neighbors to beat. he
is a good and success- ful farmer, as
his fields and granaries both prove, and when he has been a resident of
the county for twenty five years his history, it written then, will appear just
as miraculous in a iinancial way as do some of the others at this date. Henry
Drehle was born on May 1, 1869, and has been a farmer all his life. His first
ven- ture at farming was in Carroll County, Mo., and he remained there until
1900, when he removed his family to Barton County, Kansas. and rented land for
three years. ln 1903 he bought the one hundred and sixty acres where he now
resides, and that, and a quarter that is leased, make up the three hundred and
twenty that is cultivated. The improvements consist of a modern one story frame
cottage contain- ing seven rooms, which is high above ground, enclosed by a
neat fence in which there are a number of forest trees, shrubs, plants and
flowers. The barn is 32x50, is well arranged, and accomodates large quantities
of hay and has many stalls; and there is a granary and other necessary
buildings, besides several windmills and a young orchard. These build- ings are
all new, and beautifully painted, and from the roadway presents a scene of comfort and thrift. Henry Drehle
and Miss Ellen Stork, 0f Carroll County, M0., were married in February, 1896,
and they have five very interesting living cliildren, Willie, 14; Katie, 12; George, 10: Annie, 6
and Charlie, 3.
MRS. KATIE LEROY
The struggle and prirations of earlier days on the farm in Barton County were still fresh
in her memory when Mrs. Katie LeRoy was left a widow, in 1899, with six
dependent boys, the oldest being about twelve. But she has proven that she was
equal to the task of rearing them: and manag- ing her farms at the same time by
the condi- tion of both; for the boys are as fine, healthy and gentlemanly a
bunch of youngsters as one meets any day, and the fields are in a high state of
cultivation. lt is true that some of these boys are young gentlemen now, and
all are able to do a man’s work on the place; but this was not always so, and
the mind that controlled them and the hand that guided de- serves to be revered
above all others. Women farmers are rare and deserve great praise when
unhampered by other ties, but when we find one who has carried a double burden
through to success we feel that all should wor- ship at her shrine and say
"well done." That she has made a great success is proven by the fact
that she owns one hundred and sixty acres where she resides, eight miles west
of Great Bend, and another tract of eighty acres one and one-half miles south
and six and one- half miles west of the same city. Both of these tracts are
improvements,and under cultivation, and the home farm has a large frame
residence, surrounded by a beautiful grove of forest trees, a large barn that
will house the stock of the farm, and numerous other build- ings that have
their uses on a place like this. The sons, one and all, must follow the lead
taken by their mother and must all be rustlers born, because the farm looks as
well tilled as any of the adjoining fields, and we saw the very best span of
young mules, bred and broken on this farm that has been produced in the county
in years. Phillip O. LeRoy and Miss Katie Geil were married in Barton County,
March 20th, 1896, and Mr. LeRoy died January 31st, 1899, and lies buried in the
Lutheran cemetery, near the farm of George A. Geil in the western part of the
county.Mrs.Katie LeRoy is the daughter of Jacob and Louise Geil, who came to
Barton County in May, 1878, and settled in the Westernpart of the country. She is the mother of six
boys: Andrew,George, Harry, Jacob and Ray, the latter two being twins.
HERMAN TAMMEN
THE IDEAL FARM," the home of Herman and Augusta Neese Tammen,
thirteen miles west of Great Bend, covers three hundred and twenty acres of the
best farm land in Barton County. The soil was naturally rich, but after
nineteen years of constant effort it has been brought.to such a high state of
improvement that it is now one of show places of the county. The chief feature
to at- tract is a wall-like grove of locust and box elder which surround and
cover five acres about the residence and effectually isolates.it. But if you
enter the driveway, beneath a row of overhanging bows, a court and grass plot
meets the view of the center. A one—story, eight room framed residence, setting
high and balconied, stands to the right. On the left stands a 32x54 barn and an
l5x50 shed and an 9,000 bushels capacity elevator and good Fairbanks scales. To
the rear of these is the orchard. In front is the garage, chicken houses, dairy
and other buildings, Cement walks lead to these, and the well kept lawn is
relieved by plants and flowers. The deep shade and ever changing natural tints
are relieved by the tastefully painted buildings and the flowering plants. An
engine supplies water distributed through the house and other buildings, and an
electric dynamo lights them and supplies the power to propel a separator,
churns and washing machine. A 10 horse pow- er engine is used to elevate the
grain and to clean and grind the feed of the farm. The house is furnished both
tastefully and elegantly and its hospitality is dispensed by a model housewife.
In fact there is nothing cheap about the farm or premises and it is well named,
"The Ideal Farm." Herman Tammen was born September 2, 1875, in
Hanover Province, Germany, and in 1892 when 10 years of age, came to
America and his education was acquired
in the mother country with a few terms in our public school. His parents died
when he was a small boy. He soon purchased two hundred and forty acres of land,
and later a tract of eighty acres more, and these make up the resident farm,
besides this he owns a section in Pawnee
County, and a half section in Ford. Herman Tammen and Miss Agusta Louisa Mary Neese were
married October 28, 1898, in the brides home in Rush County.They have been
blessed with five lovely children Minnie Christina Mary 9, Harry Conrad 8,
Hilda Frances 6, Rosa Louisa 4, Herman August 2.
1892, when 16 years of age, came to America and his education was acquired in the mother country, with a few terms in our public schools. His parents died when hc was at small boy. He soon purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, and later a tract of eighty acres more and these make up the res- ident farm. Besides this he owns a section in Pawnee county, and a half section in Ford. Herman Tammen and Miss Augusta Louisa Mary Neese were married on October 28, 1898, at the brides home in Rush County. They have been blessed with five lovely children: Minie Christina Mary, 9; Harry Conrad, 8; Hilda Frances, 6; Rosa Louisa, 4, and Herman August, 2.
"GREENWOOD FARM"
THE "Greenwcod Farm," The country home of Chris and Mary Johnson, four and one—half miles west of Great Bend, is one of the best improved farms along the road on which the residence fronts. The house is one and one-half story frame containing ten rooms; and the barn is 32X42, and has mow and stable room for all animals bred and in service on the farm. Then there are other necessary outbuildings, windmills, an artificial lake, an orchard, and a fine grove of forest trees. This farm was not purchased until 1894, and has not been in cultivation as long as some others, but the improvements are all of a substantial character, and the cultivation of the fields stampsMr. Johnson as a painstaking farmer and one sure to succeed in his chosen calling. The fencing is in a good condition and everything about the premises is neat and tidy. Chris Johnson was born on October 22nd, 1859, in Denmark, and came to America in 1878, when nineteen years of age. He first landed in New York and from there went into Illinois, where he secured work making tile to drain the low lands of several counties. His headquarters were in Champaigne County until March 12th, 1884, when he came to Bar- ton County, Kansas. At first he rented the McBride farm, three miles west of Great Bend, and put in a crop and then on February 13th, 1885, married Miss Mary Hanson, of Jackson, Kansas. They have been blessed with five children: Herman O., 23; Gilbert M., 21; Victor D., 18; Alexander H., 11, and Mary Christina, 9. The farm owned by Johnson covers one hundred and sixty acres and cost $1,500 in 1894, but he rents an adjoining quarter and cultivates three hundred and twenty acres. This makes a nice farm, and as he and his family are economical and good workers it is expected that they will be among the large future land owners of Barton County.
HENRY WITTE
HENRY WITTE was born December 4th 1842, in the Province of Hanover, Germany, and is on his sixty—ninth year. He emigrated to America in the spring of 1867, when twenty-four years of age; and located first in LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, where he was told of the great possibilities of the country being reclaimed from the desert in Kansas. He went, however, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in three or four years returned to Wisconsin where he remained until the spring of 1880, when he came to Barton County, Kansas. He was at first a renter of land in the neighborhood of his present home, two and one—half miles south of Heizer, but finally purchased a half section of land from the Santa Fe railway company, paying five or six dollars per acre, in payments which run from three to eleven years. He was married on February 22, 1884, to Miss Sophia D. Meyer of LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, and of this union was born eight children. A few years since he separated from his wife and family, deeding to them the south eighty, and retaining the north half. He has since built ahouse, barn and other buildings on his portion and has it in a fine state of cultivation. During his residence in Barton County he has passed through several disastrous years, but has been able to improve both the north and south halves of his original quarter in a substantial manner. Taking the circumstances into account Mr. Witte’s success has been phenomenal, and could only have been possible on land as productive as that which he owns.
FRANCIS SPANIOL It has always been a saying, "That the man who drinks from a Kansas stream will later return," and this trite proverb has proven true in the instance of Frank Spaniol, who, in 1895, was a resident of Reno County for two seasons, but, on account of crop failures, returned to his former home in Illinois thoroughly disgusted with Kansas, and Kansas farming. He had, however, "drank from the tream and after a nine year struggle with the Kansas microbe he returned to this state and has since made his home five miles west of Great Bend. As he is now well satis- fied with conditions in his adopted state we give his history. Francis {Frank) Spaniol was horn August 27, 1870, on a farm in Livingston County, Illinois, and was educated in the public schools of that state. He grew to manhood there and be- came a successful farmer under the instruction of his. father, and at his death inherited eighty acres of choice land near Flanagan, Illinois. This he still owns; has it in a high state of cultivation and rented to a tenant. Ln 1892 he was married and began farming this tract; but at the instance of his father he came to Reno County, Kansas in 1895 and attempted to make a home in this state. After two unsuccessfu1 crop seasons he decided he had enough at this poverty stricken state and returned to his old home and farm. The next year after he left this state crop conditions changed for the better and the Kansas gran- aries would hardly hold the harvests. Then he saw his mistake and on April 1, 1906, came to Barton County and purchased the hundred and sixty acres on which ln- lives. This is in a high state of cultivation and is improved with a six room frame cottage, a good barn, granary and other out buildings. He rents an adjoining quarter and farms 320 acres. There is a young orchard and a niee grove of forest trees surrounding the home that attracts and screens the home from the roadway. Francis Spaniol and Miss Lena Gerdson, of Livingston County, lllinois, were united in marrige on April 19, 1892, and this union has been blessed with two children: Katherine Mary, 18, Alfred Adam. 14. They are both at home and gladden "Fruit Farm." the name recently given their new Kansas home.
FREDERICK HENRY WOLF
GOLDEN CEREAL FARM," the home of Frederik Henry and
Lizzie Wagner Wolf`, is located five and one—half miles west. from Great Bend,
and is so named be- cause the soil has- been proven to be so well adapted to
growing the "golden cereal" that has made the county so famous as a
wheat grower. lt contains four hundred acres of as fertile soil as there in Buffalo township, or in fact in the whole
of Kansas. lt is improved with a story and a half frame residenee with six
large airy rooms; a large 40x5O barn, granary and other outbuildings, and these
are so located that they show to the best. advantage. The crops are corn,
kaffir corn, wheat, alfalfa and native grasses, and is adapted to growing these
and other crops and the breeding of horses, mules, cattle, hogs and poultry.
Stock and poultry are bred to a limited extent. But wheat the staple crop of
this section is king of this farm and covers the major portion of the
fields.corn and wheat are the crops most grown in Illinois. where Mr.Wolf grew
to manhood. and it was natural that he should attempt them here where they grow
best of all crops, and with less labor than in
The fields. however, show the constant effort of 
an industrious husbandinan, and the granaries that his labor has been rewarded. Frederick H. Wolf was born on September 25th,1869 in Madison County, Illinois, and was married to Miss Lizzie Wagner of Norborne, Carrolton, County, Mo., on September 24th, 1893. They have one interesting child of ten, Tillie Annie Mary, who gladdens their hearts and brings sunshine to the home. They came to Barton County in the fall of 1901 bought the four hundred acres on which they reside and are classed among the most substantial and most highly respected citizens of the county.
THOMAS BUTLER JOHNSON
THE hundred and sixty acres, eight miles west of Great Bend, which is the farm of Thomas Butler Johnson, has been christened "Pleasant View Farm." because it lies in a spot that affords a fine view of the surrounding counry. lt was first the home of his parents, John W. and Rosanna Johnson. who in 1874 homesteaded eighty acres of this tract, and bought an additiznal eighty. They came to Barton County, Kansas, in1872 from Madison County, Iowa, when Thomas B. was but three years of age; and the father, John W. Johnson, was born in Indiana March 13, 1835, and died February 15th, 1902; and the mother, Rosanna Jchnson, was born in Pennsylvania in 1836 and died November 4th, 1906. Both are buried in the Everett cemetery, eight miles west of Great Bend. They were survived by two children,:Franklin Henry and Thomas Butler Johnson. The interests of these heirs were purchased by Thomas B. Johnson, who is now the sole owner, and it appears ta be a valuable property. It is well improved and in a high state of cultivation. The residence is a story and a half frame, with six airy rooms. The barn is large and will accommodate much hay and many farm ani- mals; and there is a combined granary and buggy shed; other out buildings, windmills, etc. Thomas Butler Johnson was born on January 19th, 1872, and was married to Miss Myrtle Ivo Showers, of Grundy County, Mo., on No- vember 22nd, 1899. They have been the parents of four children, two of whom are living: Lil- lie Belle 9, and Mabel Fern 7. Mr. Johnson owns twenty lots in College Grove Addition to Great Bend and has other interests in the county.
WILLIAM MULL
THE life story of William Mull who owns a four hundred and eighty acre farm ten miles southwest of Great Bend, deserves a proninent place in the History of Barton County, because of the success he has made of life. He was born July 4, 1872, in Staunton, Illinois, his father’s death occurring shortly after. His mother, Mrs. Louisa Mull, married Frederick Viehl and he came with them to Barton County, Kansas, arriving on September 10, 1878. His step-father homesteaded eighty acres, but died on August 17, 1895, the mother also died in October, 1900. Their real and personal property was heavily mortgaged and was sold ·to pay their debts, and at twenty- three William Mull faced the world without credit or money. He had, however, in the fall of 1892, begun farming on rented land with a part of his step-father’s mortgaged horses and implements, and to hold them for use paid interest as high as 18 per cent to 24 per cent. The period between 1893 and 1896 were disas- trous and all was lost or paid out on debts; but in 1897 a crop was made and he purchased his first hundred and sixty acres, which is a part of his present farm. Later he bought three hundred and twenty acres adjoining and farms four hundred and eighty acres, the equal of any in the county. He has this improved with a two story frame residence containing eleven rooms; a very attractive barn 32X38, with large hay loft and stalls for sixteen horses; an elevator with capacity of 10,000 bushels, and sundry other outbuildings. He cultivates wheat and orn exclusively, and breeds only a limited number of horses, cattle and hogs for his own needs; but he makes every acre a productive one and the hard times of the ’90’s seems far back in the distance. It took, however, great will power and fortitude to pass that period, and he learned lessons then that will last for all time. William Mull and Miss Anna Puttner, of Olmitz, Kansas, were married on November 10,
1895, and they have been blessed by five chil- dren: John Frederick, 15; Mary Louisa, 13; William Joseph, 9; Elmer, 5, and Lillie Josephine, 2. William Mull is not old and the boys call him "Bill for this reason he loves "the whole Bill family? Sometimes he becomes reminiscent and tells things happening in the past. When we met him Bill Townsley was in his mind, and for fear that Bill might fail to mention the circumstance in his own biog- raphy, wants it known that Will Townsley worked for him in the harvest of 1897; and that the pay was 75 cents per day. He labored faithfully for two days, but on the third quit at noon. Going to town he found his parents had left for Denver, and followed, but on ar riving there he failed to make connection with the family purse and became stranded in a strange city. How he got home is the best treasured joke of Bill Mull’s life, for a month after harvest Bill Townsley and a centenarian burro drew up in a ramshackle cart at the gate; collected $1.87% and departed for town. When "Bill" denies and "Bill" affirms, it-is hard for a historian to record it as a positive fact. Ask "Bill."
CHRISTIAN S. SCHULTZ
HE life story of Christian S. Schultz, of Upland Farm‘ six miles north of Pawnee Rock, stamps
him as more enterprising and skilfull than the average immigrant from Poland,
West Russia, who came with him in 1875, and settled the Menonite colony one
mile east of Dundee. He was born on March, 11 1842.
born o, on a farm in Russia- Poland, attended school for about one month and at the age of fifteen left his home for South Russia. He worked for two years on a farm to accutnulate enough to clothe him- self for the next three years, and then apprenticed himself to a manufacturer and learned to be a blacksmith and wheelwright. This took three years and he worked for his board; but in 1862 he began drawing pay, and this was increased from time to time during the next twelve years with the factory, until he became one of their very best workmen and the best. paid. During this time he built a carriage for the Firm which took first prize in competition with the builders of other nations at the Worlds Fair held in St. Petersburg in 1871. ln 1874 he came to America and worked for one year in a wagon factory in Latonia, Ohio, and in 1875 came to Barton County with neigh- bors from the section of his birth place and became a member of the settlement near Dundee. At that date he was thirty-three years of age and by strict economy had saved from his earnings about $3,000, and with this he bought a quarter section for the use of the colony; built the best house in the settlement, and assisted others less fortunate to make their start in this new world. When this colony disbanded he purchased the hundred and sixty acres called "Upland Farm," and this he has improved with a large two story frame, with nine large rooms, a large barn and other outbuildings, and it. is one of the best stocked and best cultivated tracts. of the neighbor- hcotl. He also owns another quarter in Pawnee Rock township; a quarter in Liberty town- ship and another near Greensburg, Kansas, a total of six hundred and forty acres. One year after his arrival in this country Christian S. Schultz and Miss Lena Rudiger, of Russia—Poland, were married in Barton County, Kansas, and to them fourteen children were born, twelve of whom survive. They are: Samuel, C., Henry and Abrani Schultz and Mrs. Lizzie Dirks, all of Pawnee Rock township; Mrs. Eva Base and Mary Richert, near Greensburg: Mrs. Minnie Boese, Dundee; Mrs. Susan Smith, Pawnee County; Miss Tena Schultz, a nurse in a hospital at Newton, and Peter, Lena and Martha Schultz, who reside at home. Mrs. Lena Rudiger Schultz died on March 29, lilo, and lies buried in the Dundee cem- etery, mourned by her husband and children and a large circle of neighbors and friends by whom she was loved and respected after many years of association in this new land
John C BAUER
HOME-MAKlNG has been the sentiment that has peopled the plains of Kansas and settled its towns and cities, and to this one sentiment is due the present pros- perous condition of a great state. lt. has been fostered by a generous government and state; assisted by the great railway and the press, and today is the ruling passion in the breast of every true l1ouse—holder. lt tired the ambi- tion of the early pioneer and sustained his frail arm and weak body until he performed herculean feats in taining an unwilling soil until it. gave up its treasures in blzssoms and grain. The tirst has made the land worth liv- ing in and the last sustained life and provided a heritage for coming generations. lt was this sentiment that induced Mr. and Mrs. John C. Bauer, three and one-half miles northeast of Pawnee Rock, to come to Barton County, Kansas, endure the privations of the pioneer days and hold sieadfastly to this one senti- ment when there appeared no hope of accom- plishing their cherished dream. But pluck and energy prevailed and today they own one of the neatest homes in the entire county, and a half section of its best land. John C. Bauer was born on November 16, l837, in the Province of Bavaria, Germany, and in 1347 came o America wizh his parents, who remained in New York City for nine months and then permanently settled at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was educated in the public schools of that city, and learned the trade of boilermaker, and followed that trade in some ofthe largest works of that city until January, 1873, when he came to Barton County. He at first bought eighty acres of railroad land and entered a timber claim of eighty acres; and then in 1885 bought an additional quarter section. On this he has built a neat cottage with six rooms; a good barn, granary and other outbuildings; planted trees and put the whole in the highest possible state of cultivation. John C. Bauer was married on October 22, 1860, to Miss Margaret Batter of Cincinnati, O,. and they have four living children: John G. Bauer, Radium, Kansas; Mrs. Anna Shafer, Sterling, Kansas; Mrs. Lena Hartman, Morrel, Ohio and Robert L. Batter of Pawnee Rock township.
J O H N L I L E
AMONG the pioneer citizens of Barton A County, John Lile, who lives two and one-half miles west of Dundee, may be classed, because it was on May 2, 1872, that he first settled ill the county on a homestead entered in the neighborhood of his present home. At that period he says he was not favorably impressed with the locality as a farming locality; but as he was a young man then, and game was plentiful on the plains he considered it wise to set up a home. Buffalo, antelope and other wild game was in abundant and he at first made good wages by following lowing the chase, and he killed and skinned buffalo for a number of years and sold the meat and hides. In this business he became acquainted with most of the cld timers of the early days, but hunted most with Newt Smith, of Pawnee Rock, Judge Morton, (deceased,) and George Lile, a brother who died some years ago. They had great sport and often went as far west as Dodge City on their trips. By that means he was permitted to see that frontier town when it was passing through its toughest. period, and it he would he could recount some thrilling encounters between some of the bad men of that day. When the buffalo got scarce he gave his time to farming with about. the same result as others of his section: but after a number of bad crop years sold his homestead for a small price and has rented the land since farmed. At present he is a tenant of his daughter,Mrs. Sarah Gilbert, and at seventy—nine years of age is able to do most of the work. His wife is also well preserved and has been a true helpmate during a life of exposure on the plains.John Lile was born December 11, 1832, in Adams County, Illinois, and grew to manhood on a farm. He married Miss Evaline Duff, of Adams County, lllinois on October lll, 1881, and they have been the parents of eight children. Six are siill living, as follows: Albert Lile, Pawnee Rock; Mrs. Ida Smith Pawnee Rock; Wm. Henry l.ile, near Pawnee Rock: Mrs. Sarah Gilbert, Pawnee Rock: Harry,X Lile, near Pawnee Rock and Mrs. Ada Gallo, of Hutchinson, Kansas. Mr. Lile is at this time great believer in the wonderful productiveness of the soil of Barton County, but when he first came here he considered it of little agricultural value, Grass,trees or vegetation could hardly be coaxed to grow, and the soil was so hard that the rain would not penetrate the earth. His testimony is that cultivation made the seasons and the crops what afterward came, and that a great debt is due these who come first and persisted until the present conditions prevailed.
THE KEENAN ESTATE
THE family of Thomas and Mary Malia Keenan, who located
homestead six miles southwest of Great Bend, are probably as well and favorably
known as any in Barton County. They were the first to show their confidence in
the soil by building the best country residents in the county two story with
ten rooms and otherwise improving a farm of fire hundred and forty acres. This
was built by.Luther Frost, one of the
first builders to locate in Great Bend and
stands today as a inontiment to his skill. Thomas Keenan sr was born in
Irel on and February 1 1834, and came to the United States in 1861, marrying Miss Mary Malia, of
Lowell, Mass., in March. 1871. They iirst made their home in Massachusetts but
later moved to Utica,Mo. While in the
last named state Mr. Keenan found work in the construc tion department of a
railway and i)t‘(‘il.lllt' pro- ficient as a builder: and when he came to
Barton County, Kansas, in the fall of 1872,he · soon found employment with the
Santa Fe system, which was then building westward through the state. He first
held the position Of train running
betweeii Newton, Kansas, and the Colorado line: but later, in order to be near
his family, took charge of a section between Great Bend and Dundee. He served
this company for five years and then retired to his farm.he died 0n June 11
1900 and Mrs. Mary Malia Keenan 
also died on April 30, 1910. They were the
parents of ten children: John Keenan, who died July 23, 1886; James Keenan, of
Grove, Arizona; Sirs. Ellen Nally, San Francisco, Calif.; Frank Keenan, Kansas
City; Martin Keenan, near Heizer; Thomas B. Keenan, who died April 7, 1906;
Miss Mary Keenan, Michael James Keenan, Miss Kathleen C. Keenan and Williain
Patrick Keenan. Since the death of the parents the estate has been divided and
the home farm reduced to two hundred and forty acres. This has been named
Keenancroft is owned by Miss Mary Miss Kathleen C., and William P. Keenan the
latter being in charge of the farm. The residence and surroundings have grown
more beautiful with the years, and the grove of forest trees is very inviting.
A new barn 32x36 has just taken the place of one destroyed by fire, and some
granaries, machine sheds, etc., built, which adds to the conveniences of the
place. It is provided with all late day im- plements and the better grades of
stock, and continues to hold its place among the best tilled farms of Barton
County.
SAMUEL C. AND. LIZZIE. SCHULTZ, who have named their farm in Liberty town- ship,
four milesnorthwest of Dundee, and ten miles southwest of Great Bend,
"Fairhaven," are among the younger generation of farmers in this county. Mr. Schultz is the
eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian S. Schultz of Pawnee Rock township, and
was born on July 12, 1876. The prlvations of his earlier years were such as to
make him learn the value of money and
the results to be ob- tained by hard work, and these two characteristics are
stamped on every feature of his surroundings. He owns in fee simple one hun-
dred and sixty acres of as fine farm land as there is in Bartcn County, and
rents one hundred and forty adjoining. His farm, therefore, covers three
hundred acres, and is in the highest possible state of cultivation. His
residence is a two story frame containing ten large airy rooms. It is
surrounded by numer- ous forest trees and a young orchard, and there are enough
shrubs and plants within the baled yard to make the place very inviting. The
barn, granaries, automobile garage, and various other outbuildings are all new,
commodious and in fine condition, and make the farm present a very substantial
and prosper- 
ous condition. Mr. Schultz also owns three
acres near the town of Dundee and has just built. thereon a good four room
cottage for rent to a tenant. On February 13, 1898, when the prospects for
crops were about the same as they had been for the past five years—total
failures- Samuel C. Schultz and Miss Lizzie Unruh, of Lone Tree township,
McPherson County, Kansas, were married, and the two went to farming for
themselves. That they have succeeded is proven both by their surroundings and
by the five handsome children of which they are the parents: Lena, 13; Clara,
12; Edward, 10; Lincoln, 8 and Ella, 7.
HENRY C. SCHULTZ
When Howard Paine, the poet—diplomat, wrote "Home, Sweet Home," he was exiled far from his native land and the comforts of home. Sick and near death he gave his soul to a song that is sung and cherished in all lands, and its influence is worldwide. Until recently this simple song was his only monument; but before it all nations bowed and by example made their home- life more endurable. When this song was written Kansas was a plain over which buffalo roamed; but when settlemeiit came and good crops with it the home sentiment took root and today there is a strife between the resident farmers to see who can make their home the most attractive. Henry C. Schultz, of Hillcrest Farms," five and one-half miles north of Pawnee Rock, has been most fortunate in his effort. to beautify his hundred and sixty acres. His. residence, a two story frame, with nine rooms and a basement, is perched on a hill that it may be seen from afar. It is painted white and enclosed by a fence, impaling plants, shrubs and flowers. The barn, granary, dairy and other buildings add to the effect and complete a picture of one of the most attractive residences in the county. Henry C. Schultz was born on July 15th, 1877, in Pawnee Rock township, Barton County, and has lived close to nature all his life. He was educated in the public schools of his district and assisted his parents on their farm. On February 23rd,1897, he was married to Miss Effie Dirks, of Barton County, and they have been blessed with three children: Lorena, 12: Dorris, 9 and Bert 6. He purchased his farm on April 12, 1904, and began his improvements, and today has one of the choice tracts in his vicinity. The soil is very rich and productive, and when one looks over his fields it is easy to see that he is a painstaking farmer.
ANDREW J. DECKERT
THE man who can pay 36 per cent. interest on borrowed money, through a period of hard times and poor crop years is bound to come out on top. That sort of perse- verance tells shortly and plainly how and why Andrew J. Deckert of "Plainview Farm," six miles north of Pawnee Rock and 15 miles southwest of the county seat has amassed the comfortable fortune that he possesses. Andrew J. Deckert was born January 13, 1865, in Russian—Poland, and while only a baby his father died. His mother married Peter H. irks and Andrew Deckert was eight years of age when he came to this county with his mother and step-father in the winter of 1863. The family located on the timber claim of 160 acres on section 6, two and one-half miles northwest of Dundee, but now live ten miles southwest of Great Bend. Andrew started out for himself.when.he became of age and on November 13, 1886 was married to Miss Susan Boese of Pawnee Rock township. Ten children were born to the land at first and while crops were of varying yields managed to get along. Then is 1891 when he had saved $1,000, he bought a farm and made this as a payment on the same. There were four years of bad crops and he lost the entire payment. undaunted he went ahead, paid 36 per cent interest on borrowed money and in 1896 paid out on a new contract which he had made for farm land. He now owns 320 acres of land in section 7, the home place, 160 acres over in section 8 and 160 acres in Pawnee County. The home place is union: Minnie who married Henry Jantzen and Anna who niarried Louis Jantzen, both of Pawnee County. The other children live at home. Mr. and Mrs. Deckert. started in 1886 with.nothing and it wasnt long until they thought they had even less than that. They rented one of the modernly improved farms of the county and is fixed up in the best of shape. The house is a one and a half story structure, containing ll rooms, the upper story being arranged with dormer windows in the gables which give the house a good appear- ance and leaves plenty of room. There are large barns and other buildings and one of the chief buildings of interest on the farm is a large elevator, which houses 9,000 bushels of grain.
FRED TRAUER
ONE and one-half miles south of Heizer, Barton County, Kansas, is the one red and sixty acre tract of Fred Trauer, and it is as pretty a piece of tillable land as one would care to farm. lt contains a small orchard and is planted with wheat and corn. He purchased the place in 1898, it formerly having been the homestead of A. M. Burt. Lt is nicely fenced and divided into fields,and is in a high state of cultivation; but the buildings are those purchased with the farm and are hardly as good as he would like and it is his intention oo replace them with more modern structures at no distant day. Fred Trauer was born on November 1,1866 1866, in Holland, Germany, and his parents emigrated to the United States in 1868 and settled in Dearborn County, indiana, and in 1878. when he was twelve years of age, they came to Barton County, Kansas. He was ed- ucated in the public schools and assisted his parents on the farm until he was a man in stature, and then he became a renter on his own account and farmed for several years; or until 1898, when he bought the quarter section on which he lives. The period between 1893 to 1897, when he was struggling to make enough on the rented land to make the first payment on land he might purchase he recalls with many shakes of the head, because that was the saddest period of his entire life and his greatest struggle. Fred Trauer and Miss Matilda Burg; orf were married on September 16, 1897, and the>` are the parents of six children, to-wit Betta, 12; Louis, 11, Lena, 9; Albert, 6, Edna, 4 and Freddie, 2. Mrs. Matilda Trauer is the third child of August and Caroline Burgtorf, who settled in the county, two and cne half miles south of Heizer, about 1872. They drove overland from Cape Geradeau County, Mo., and on the way fell in with the teams of E. L. Chapman, who was enroute with his family to make their home in this county. Mr. Burgtorf died in 1882, leaving a widow and six children who are still residents cf the county.
WILLIAM JAMES FEE
To attempt the biography of William James Fee in the space at command would be impossible,because he has probably lived more in his alloted time than most of the resident farmers of Barton County He was born June 16th 1838 on a farm near Laurel, Clearmont County Ohio, and in 1859 twenty-one years of age, was attracted by the gold excitment in California and decided that that was the shortest route to attain both fortune and fame among those with whom he had grown to manhood. An expedition was fitting out in Omaha, Nebraska, to cross the plains by ox teams via the Northern Platte route, and this he and his companions joined and consumed six weary months in the journey. The California-Oregon trail was conceded to be a favorable passway,but those who made the trip recount the many hardships and the written history of that time proves that those who made the trip possessed stout hearts.In haying time Honey Lake Valley, California, was reached and Mr. Fee piled hay until fall and then took up placer mining for a company and was launched in the business that he had crossed many weary miles to attempt. and his eyes at last feasted 0n the gold that had lured. and which has been the making and unmaking of man in all ages. A farm hand in Ohio received at that time $8 per month, and $2.50 a day mining seemed a fortune for a time, but as the golden microbe assumed dominion, and as he had learned during his experience how to do all classes of mining; prospect work was taken up with more or less favorable results. The year 1862 found him in Idaho, where he worked for others, prospected on his own ac count, owned a pack train which made regu- lar trips out of Boise City; and at one time owned a flume in California that conducted water to the mines. His mining experience covered districts in California, ldaho, Nevada. Arizona and in the Black Hills in Dakota, during the excitement of 1875-6, and ended at Tomestone Arizona, in 1886. During ;his years of search he was rewarded many times and had fortune within his grasp; but owing to many causes—the lack of sufficient capital being the greatest obstacle-he was forced to abandon them to the next claimant, who fre- quently made his fortune. One instance re- called sold for $100,000 after slight additional clevelopment, and there were others that promised as well. His labors were often in a coun- try over-run with histile Indians, and where if their claims had any shadow of right in the eyes of the government at Washington the regular troops took the side of the Redman and the miner was at the mercy of both factions. The reward. however, while fought for in contes s that tried the man, netted as much in dollars as could have been earned in a life time of peace on an Ohio farm, and Mr. Fee is now well satisfied to rest at ease on his Kan- sas acres and recount what he has passed through. Satisfied that he could not "buck nature single-handed" in February, 1886, Wm. J. Fee, wife and son came to Barton County and purchased the right to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, entered by one Hemingway, seven miles west from Great Bend.This he afterward proved up in his own name, and later buying another quarter, he now owns and cultivates a half section. It is well improved and in a high state of cultivation. William James Fee and MissElizabeth T. Haines, of New Richmond, Clearmont County, Ohio, were married in September, 1881, at Santa Fe New Mexico, and have one son, Charles Haines Fee, 27, who resides. With them.
MICHAEL JAMES KEENAN
O the old settler who blazed the way f:r the present generation the time seems short since they themselves were the principal actors in the tragic occurances which transpired while building the foundation for the "Banner County" of the great State of Kansas: but a new people are fast taking their places as workers in the field that is so inviting and among these is Michael J. Keenan, the fifth son of Thomas and Mary Keenan, who came to Barton County in 1871 and located three and one-half miles northeast. of Dundee. He has christened his place "Alfalfa- dale," and it covers two hundred acres of the most fertile land of his locality and if one may judge by the appearance of his fields he learned industry and management from the teachings. of the father. His house is a two story white frame building containing six rooms, neatly enclosed by a wire fence. There are a few stately trees and enough plants and shrubs on the grass plot to make it inviting. The barn is large and contains grain bins, hay loft and stalls for numerous horses and cattle, and there are several outbuildings. These buildings have all been recently erected and painted and present. the appearance of a newly made home. Michael J. Keenan was born on April 30, 1875, in Great Bend, Kansas, was educated in the public schools of the district, and grew to manhood on his fathers farm in the neigh- borhood of his present home. He made two attempts at home making in Oklahoma previous to his purchase of the home described above, when the government was allotting lands in that territory. One was a claim near Cleo, Oklahoma and the other twenty miles northeast of Hobart, Oklahoma. The first of these was contested and lost by a suit in the courts, and the second was sold for a small sum because of its minor estimated value. Michael J. Keenan and Miss Catherine Murphy, the eldest daughter of Patrick E. and Margaret Welch Murphy, of Barton County, were united in marriage on November 3, 1904, and they are the parents of four interesting children:. Marguerite Mary, 6; Lorene and Norene (twins), and Mary Eileen, 1.
ARTHUR LERAY FISH
One of the neatest appearing of the many fine farm homes in Barton County is that of Arthur Leray Fish, located about seven and one·half miles northeast of Great Bend. Mr. Fish came to this county with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Fish when he was seven years cf age. This was in 1878. He was born in Lee County, Illinois, June 13, 1871. He lived there until he was four years old when the family moved to Iowa and after spending three years in that state continued on westward and arrived in Barton County in 1877. The elder Mr. Fish located 0n school land on what is now Mr. Fish's home place in Lakin township. This place consists of 160 acres and it is apparent to the casual observer that Mr. Fish takes a great pride in his home as is evidenced by the neat arrangement of the buildings, orchard,, shade trees, etc. Mr. Fish was married in Barton county in 1898 to Miss Marie Hor- ton and they are the parents of two children: Avis Laura, 12 years of age and Grace Ellen, four years of age. Both the children are be- ing educated in the schools of the county. Mr. Fish is a member of the National Short Horn Breeders’ Association and until recently made a specialty of breeding and raising Short Horn cattle. He still owns everal head of this well known breed of animals and later on may again go into the business of breeding and raising them on a mere extensive scale. The residence on the home place contains eight rooms with bath, closets, etc. The barn is well built and is 40 by 42 feet in dimen- sions. Mr. Fish is a typical citizen of Barton County who came here at a time when it re- quired all kinds of faith in the future to stick to the land and develop it until it reached its present high state of cultivation.
CHRISTIAN KOOPMAN ESTATE
CHRISTIAN KOOPMAN was born in Germany in 1845, and came to America when he was twenty years of age. He located first in Indiana where he remained for fifteen years and where he was married to Miss Minnie Panne in 1880. They are the parents of seven children. They came to Barton County in 1880 and Mr. Koopman at once took up the business of farming. He died May 15, 1900, and was survived by his wife and all the children. The children are as follows: George, 31 years of age, is now en- gaged in the plumbing and fitting business and is a member of the firm of Koopman & Fankhauser of Great Bend; Emma, 29 years of age is now Mrs. George L. Lucas; William, 28 years; Carl, 25 years; Edward, 22 years; Leo, 19 and Lillian 16 years, are all living on the home place east of Great Bend. The estate consists of 240 acres of land in Great Bend township about two and a half miles east of Great Bend, and a quarter section of land in Stafford County. The home place is being farmed by the four younger boys and they maintain the home place in a most productive manner. The residence consists of eight rooms in addition to the closets, etc., and the barn is 56 by 42 feet in dimensions. Mrs. Koopman also owns 127 acres two miles north of the home place and a quarter section three miles north of the home place. Mr. and Mrs. Koopman came to Barton County at a time when the land needed development and it required a great deal of hard work to bring the soil to a state of productiveness where farming could be done at a profit. Mr, Koop- man succeeded however and he was known and liked by the people of the county who came here in the 80’s and withstood the hard- ship that were necessary in making a home. The Koopman family is one of the best known in the county and Mr. Koopman’s name will always occupy a prominent place in the history of the county of Barton.
THOMPSON OAKLEY COLE
THOMPSON OAKLEY COLE was born in Wakefield, England, March 6, 1844. He came to America with his parents in 1850 when he was eight years of age. They first located in Ohio where Mr. Cole remained until 1872 during which year he came to Bar- ton County. During the Civil War Mr. Cole was a member of Company K., 96th Ohio. Among the important engagements in which Mr. Cole took an active part are the battles of Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, near Mobile Bay. These engagements took place when Farragaut and his followers were forcing their way up the big river. Upon Mr. Cole’s arrival in Kansas he immediately took up the occupa- tion of merchandising and since that time has had a great deal to do with the development of the soil and the upbuilding of the county. For fifteen years he owned and managed a grocery store in Great Bend and then bought land which now comprises his home place and consists of one half of section 12 and one- half of section 7 in Great»Bend township. He was married in Great Bend in 1874 to Miss Jane Hull and they are the parents of two children as follows: Herbert Lee, 33 years of age, who resides at home; Claude, 29 years of age, is a practicing dentist in Iola, Kansas. Mr. Cole survived his first wife and in 1884 was married to Miss Agnes Hess and to this union there was born one child, Agnes, who is now 18 years. of age and resides at home. Mr. Cole is a member of the Great Bend lodge of Elks. On the home place is found a neat well built residence consisting of five rooms, a barn that. is 30 by 60 feet in dimensions, granaries and all other necessary outbuild- ings. Mr. Cole is one of the best known men in the county and has always been found with the progressive element in furthering the interests of the county.
RUDOLPH LUDWIG BOESE
AMONG the younger of Barton County none is better known for their progressive methods and enterprise shown in the cultivation of the soil, than the subject of this sketch, Rudolph Ludwig Boese. He was horn September 7 1887. His parents were John and Julia Boese who came to America from Poland—Russia. His father first settled in Ohio and after remaining there two years came to Barton County when Rudolph was born. His mother first settled in Pennsylvania and came to Kansas in same year as her husband. He has one brother, Frank, and three sisters, Martha, Grace and Louise. He was married in April, 1909, to Miss Emma Rudiger and they now reside on a farm con- sisting of 200 acres, a short distance south of Dundee. They also own a quarter section in Pawnee County. The home place where they now reside is owned by Mr. Boese`s father Mr. Boese has a fine equipment of machinery dand good live stock and his principal crop has been wheat. He learned the best farming methods from his father who came here when it required the best of farming to produce anything like a crop, but by persistent effort he managed to improve his land and make it most productive. On the place where they now reside there is a well built ten room house, a fine barn 32 by60 feet and all the necessary outbuildings including an automobile garage. The barn is well built and contains stall room for a large number of ani- mals and the loft permits storing a large quantity of hay. Mr. Boese gives personal attention to the supervision of his farm and has one of the best improved and most highly cultivated places in that section of the county. He is an enterprising and progressive young man and being at product of this county takes a great interest in any undertaking that he thinks is for the benefi: of the community and the betterment. of the county.
ORRIS ALBERT BROWN
ORRIS ALBERT BROWN was born near Des Moines, Iowa, July 12,1866 He came to Kansas in 1872 and is now residing on his home place about ten miles southeast of Great Bend where he owns three quarter sections of land in section 31, Comanche township. He was married in Russell County, Kansas, in 1887, to Miss Elizabeth Scharp. They are the parents of five children as follows: Henry Fredrick, 21 years; Elias Edward, 23 years; Viola Eldara, 13 years;An- nie May,10 years; Albert, 3 years. Henry and Albert. are employed in the mercantile business in Great Bend, while the. remainder of the cliildren are studying in the schools of the county. The home place is well improved and in addition to it Mr. Brown superintends the farming of the three quarters he owns in Comanche township. The residence consists of 8 rooms besides closets, pantries, etc. The Barn is large and commodious and has stall room for a large number of horses and a loft that will permit the storing of a large quantity of hay. A small, well kept orchard adds great- ly to the beauty of the surroundings of the home place. Mr. Brown came to Barton county at a time when only those who had faith in the future could withstand the conditions found here and remain. He remained however and bv consistent effort together with using modern farming methods in the cultivation of the soil has succeeded in bringing his part of the county to a high state of cultivation and development. He had a large part in the work of reclaiming the section of the county south of the river from a barren waste and making of it one of the most desirable in the county of Barton.
GEORGE WASHINGTON TUCKER
GEORGE WASHINGTON TUCKER was born February 3, 1860, in Southern In- diana and came to Barton County twenty—six years ago at a time when the out-look for the future was anything but bright. However, Mr. Tucker could see the wonderful possibilities of Barton County and decided to cast his lot with the other old timers who by their faith in the future and hard, consistent effort succeeded in building a home and devel oping the land to a state where it would pro- duce crops in paying quantities. Mr. Tucker owns 240 acres of land seven miles south of Great Bend and a section of land in Gray County. He was married February 2, 1888 to Miss Mattie M. Schaeffer whose father built the first house in the city of Great Bend. They are the parents of four children all of whom are at home. They are as follows: Delbert Lee, 23 years; Elsie May, 18 years; Clifford M., 13 years; Ruby M., six years. Mr. Tucker came here at a time when many of the old timers were getting ready to leave but after he had purchased the land which is now his home place he decided that the future would turn out as it has if the proper effort was made with scientific farming methods. That Mr. Tucker’s judgment. was good is evidenced by the high state of cultivation found on the land in that section of the county. He has had a great deal to do with the development of the resources of this county and is one of that body of men whose staying qualities in the face of difficulties made it possible to make a. rich agricultural section out of what was in the early eighties almost a barren waste. Mr. Tucker is an enterprising and progressive citizen and knows a great deal about the history of Barton county and the people who came here in the early days to establish homes.
AUGUST MAUSOLF
ONE of the really old timers of Clarance township and one of the best known men in Barton County is August Mau- solf, son of John and Amelia Mausolf who located in Rush County 1879. August Mausolf was born in West Prussia, November 20, 1868. He came with his parents to Jersey City, New Jersey, when he was four years of age. His parents remained there seven years and then came to Rush County, locating on a home— stead that is two and a half miles west of` August's present home. Mr., Mausolf took up his residence on this quarter which is located fourteen miles northwest of Great Bend in 1892. In 1898 he married Miss Henrietta Scheilfelheim and they now have one bright boy, Walter, aged 6 years. Mr. Mausolf has al- ways been an enterprising and progressive citizen and in addition to the quarter on which he lives he owns eighty eighty acres of land in Clarence township, and three eighty acre tracts in Rush County twentyfive miles west of his home place. All of this land is in a high state of cultivation and shows that Mr. Mausolf has always worked on a policy of im- provement. His home place is well stocked with cattle and horses and he takes a special pride in his flock of fancy White Leghorn chickens which attract the eyes of visitors on the Mausolf place. A fine six room residence is found on the home place., glt is neatly and comfortably furnished and affords Mr. Mausolf and family all the comforts of a modern home. The barn, sheds and other necessary buildings on the Mausolf place are well built of the best material and altogether the Mausolf place is one of best improved nd most modern to be found in the country. T‘o make this complete we must add that Mr. Mausolf’s home was de- stroyed by a cyclone during the month of May, 1912. He and his wife had a narrow escape. They are now living in Great Bend. The dis- aster happened after the foregoing was written.
JOSIAH CLINTON WEATHERS
JOSIAH CLINTON WEATHERS was born in Putnam County, Indiana, October 14, 1856. and came to Barton County in 1884, and located six miles south and four miles west of Great Bend in a section where a plow had never been used, The first few years that Mr. Weathers spent in this county were hard ones, but he is made of the kind of stuff that makes pioneers and with an unflinching faith in the future he set about to make a home for himself and family. He erected a building 14 by 16 which was used as a residence for three years. Additions were added to the house as they were required and in 1900 Mr. Weathers built a fine modern, eight room house which is now one of the most neatly furnished homes in that section of the county. In the early days Mr. Weathers bought corn for fifteen cents per bushel and the wages at that time were 75 cents per day with a team; Mr. Weathers was married in November, 1881 to Miss. Marguerite F. Reigel in Indiana. They are the parents of eleven children: Dennis, 29 years; Allva 27 years; Leroy, 25 years, Ora 23 years; Paul, 21 years; Pearl, 19 years; Jes- sie, 17 years; Blanche, 14 years; Chester, 12 years; Roscoe, 10 years; Herman, 4 years. The first named four are married and living in the county, and the remainder are living at home and receiving educations. Besides three quar- ter sections of land which Mr. Weathers sold to his sons he still owns three quarters in ad- dition to the home place. Mr. Weathers’ farm is known as "Cedar Grove," the home being surrounded by well kept cedar trees which add in no small way to the beauty of the land- scape. llr. Weathers has been township treasurer for eighteen years and has also serv- ed as a member ofthe school board. On Mr. Weathers’ place is what is supposed to be the oldest windmill tower in the county. It was erected by E. L. Chapman in the early days and has received a number of coats of paint and is now in fair condition. Mr. Weathers is an enterprising and progressive citizen and one of the best known cf the old timers of the county which he has seen grow from a barren waste to its present high state of cultivation.
MRS. F. E. ELLIOTT
MRS. F. E. ELLIOTT has resided in Bar- ton County for the past thirty-six years, having come here with her hus- band in 1877, at the time when the county‘s his- tory was just beginning, Mr. Elliott died in June 1909 the work on the home place with the aid of help" She gives personal attention to its management and is among the most successful business women of the county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Elliott are natives of Massachusetts. They were married in June, 1877. They are the parents of one child, Minnie, who is thirty four years of age. She is now Mrs. Roy Weathers, having been married in 1910 and lives near her mother on the same section line. Mrs. Elliott’s home is one of the most modern and neatly arranged to be found in the county. It consists of eleven rooms with a large commodious basement and garret. The rooms are on two floors and are connected one with the other in a way that makes it possible to go from one room to another with the minimum of walking. The home is furn- ished with up-to-date furniture and that Mrs. Elliott takes a pride in her home is evidenced on every hand. The house is lighted with a large acetylene gas lighting plant of a modern design. A well improved water system supplies water to the house and bath room, both hot and cold water being supplied. Mts. Elliott's daughter is a graduate of the Great Bend High School having received her diploma with the class of 1898, and she is also a grad— uate of the Centrad Normal College. The surroundings near the Elliott home are pleas- ing and make of it one of the most attractive farms in that section of the county. lt is located eight and a half miles west and south of Great Bend and is in a high state of cultivation. Mrs. Elliott also owns eighty acres of land two miles south and west of the town- site of Great Bend.
JOHN OLIVER TUCKER
JOHN OLIVER TUCKER was born in the southern part of Indiana in December, 1865.and came to Barton'County in 1899. He left Indiana when he was nineteen years of age and went to Illinois. He stayed here six months and then went to Missouri where he remained a short time after which he made his first trip to Kansas twenty five years ago. He remained in the Sunflower state but a. short time after which he returned to lllinois and spent several years there and in Missouri be fore he finally decided to locate in Kansas. Then he came to Barton County on the date mentioned above, and immediately began the development. of 160 acres of land which now comprises his home place seven miles south oi Great Bend. He was married in 1895 to Miss Hattie B. Giddings of Minonk, Illinois. They are the parents of two children, Albert R., sixteen years of age and Helen A., fifteen years old, both of whom are students in the schools of Barton County,Mr.Tucker is of an optimistic turn of mind and says that considering everything during his residence in this county he considers the twelve Years most prosperous ones. His home place is nicely improved and contains a six room residence which has been built at intervals, the first building being one room 18 by 24 feet. A fine an up-to—date farmer using modern methods in all his work and his place is equipped with all the necessary machinery and live stock barn is maintained which is 32 by 40 feet, ex- clusive of the corn crib which adjoins it on the south and is 20 by 32. In addition to the 160 acres on the home place Mr. Tucker owns a half section of land in Morton county. He is for the successful cultivation cf the soil. He is an enterprising and progressive citizen and has helped in no small way to make that. section of Barton County one of the most productive and one of the best in the State of Kansas.
LOUIS PLANKENHORN
THE subject of this sketch, Louis Planken- horn, was born in Wayne County, Indi- ana, April 14, 1859, He came to Barton County in 1892, and bought land in South Bend township which is now his home place. This land is located in the northwest corner of section 16 and is in a high state of cultivation. In addition to this land Mr. Plankenhorn farms seventy-five acres ofland adjoining the home place cn the west. He was married August 17, 1882, to Miss Florence Job, in Wayne County, Indiana. They are the parents of two children: Ethel Christina, 26 years of age, who is now Mrs. F. W. Stewart and resides on a farm five miles north of Great Bend and Glenda Irene who is fifteen years of age and living at home. She is a student in the Bar- ton county schools. Mr. Plankenhorn has taken a great interest in his home place as is evidenced by the fact that with all the regular work of raising a crop of staple products he has found time to improve the surroundings, and south of his home he has a line orchard in which are found apple, plum, peach and other fruit trees. The residence consists of seven rooms in addition to bath, pantries, closets, etc. The home is well built and neatly ar- ranged and the shade trees about the house are well arranged and maintained in a most inviting manner. The barn is 30 by 52 feet and has an addition that is used as a cow barn which is 20 by 48 feetin dimensions. Mr. Plankenhorn has one of the nicest home places in that section of the county and farms his land according to the best methods and is an enterprising and progressive citizen and has done much to make the part of the county south of the river one of the best of the crop producing sections.
WILLIAM HENRY MAYBACH
WILLIAM HENRY MAYBACH was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, November 10, 1858. He received his early education in the public schools of that county he took a normal course which fiitted him teaching. He taught in the schools of ana for three years and returned to his ‘e state at the end of that time and taught e schools there for nine years. In May. he arrived in Barton county and began the building of a home and the development of the land on the southwest quarter of section 24 in Liberty township. This is the home place and is now known as "Cottage Grove Farm." He owns in all 8OO acres of land, three quar- ters of it being in section 25 of Liberty town- ship, and one quarter in South Bend township. Of this land Mr. Maybach farms a half section, the remainder being rented. Mr. Maybach was married in 1889 to Miss Ella Reicbenbach of Orville, Ohio. To this union there was born one son, Fred, who is now 21 years of age. After finishing a course in civil engineering at the Agricultural College at Manhattan he accepted a position with the Santa Fe Railroad and is now in that companys employ with headquarters at Arkansas City. Mr. Maybach survived his first wife and was married to Miss Cora Waddle of Barton County in 1898. They are the parents of two children: Carl Henry, eleven years of age, and Marie Eliza- beth, five years of age. Mr. Maybach has a well equipped farm, having all the necessary outhuildings and a residence of 8 rooms. One of the features of Mr. Maybacbls farm is the orchard in which are found apple, pear, peach and plum trees as well as many varieties of berries. Mr. Maybach has been most success- ful in raising fruit as he uses modern methods and understands tree culture. He maintains good live stock and owes. his success to using the best methods in the cultivation of the soil.
JOHN ALLISON HOGE
OF the old timers of Barton County who came here in the 8O’s the subject of this sketch. John Allison Hoge, is one who has remained and made a success of the farming business. He was born September 16, 1855, in Green County, Pa.and came to Barton County in 1886. He immediately en· gaged in the farming business and now owns three quarter sections of land in Liberty town- ship all of which is under cultivation and be- ing farmed under Mr. Hoge’s supervision. He was married in Witzel County, West Virginia, in 1878, to Miss H. E. Haught. They are the parents of four children: Charles, 32 years of age, who is a practicing dentist at Kinsley, in this state; Ira, 28 years of age, engaged in the farming business near Offerle, Kansas; Sol, 26 years old, who is operating a farm near Lewis, Kansas and Thomas, 13 years of age who is a student in the Barton County schools. The home place has a modern eight room residence, a fine well built barn and other outbuildings. Mr. Hoge maintains a fine orchard in which he grows nearly all varieties of fruits common to this section of the country. Mr. Hoge has made a specialty of breed- ing and raising Galloway cattle and is considered an authority on all matters pertaining to this breed of cattle and he has done much to encourage the breeding of high class cattle in the county. Mr. Hoge owes his success to the practical farming methods which he has used in developing his farm into one of the most desirable in that part of the county. While Mr. Hoge takes an interest in all public affairs he has never held any public office other than at times being an officer of the township in which he resides. His place is located about three and one-half miles from Great Bend and is one of the best developed and most highly improved in Barton. Mr. Hoge came here at a time when the outlook for the future was not the brightest but by good management and a thorough knowledge of farming he has made a success of which he can justly be proud.
ROBERT ARTHUR BIDLEMAN
ROBERT BlDLEMAN is one of those pioneers who came to Barton County in 1878, at a time when things were looking bright for the future and the new comers thought they had at last found vegtable garden spot. However. this year was followed by a most unsuccessful one. Then came the bad times and only those who were made of the kind of stuff of which real pioneers are made were possessed ot the nerve to stick it out. Mr. Bidleman was one of these and he now lives on his home place which is located in section 23, South Bend township. It consists of 160 acres, all of which Mr. Bitlleman farms in addition to a quarter section on which he farms in section 24.Mr. Bidlelman was born November 5, 1859 at Schoolcraft. Kalamazoo County, Michigan. He went to school, and learned to farm in his home state before coming to Barton County on the date mentioned. He was married July 2, 1900, to Miss Minnie Witte of Great Bend. Mr. Bidie- man has been on his home place about five years and is making improvements every year and this year will add a summer kitchen to his residence. The barn is 36 by 40, well built and commodious and always contains a good grade of work stock. A young -orchard cover- ing a piece of ground west of the residence is adding greatly to the beauty of the surround ings and contains fruit of several varieties that are common to this section ofthe country. Mr. Bidleman has held township offices and is an enterprising and progressive citizen. One of those who helped to make that part of the county lying south of the river one of the most desirable in its borders. He has seen a great deal of the early history of this county and knew the men who made it possible to make Barton County one ofthe best in the State of Kansas.
HENRY BENJAMIN UNRUH THE subject of this sketch, Henry B Unruh , came to Barton county in 1870 from Pennsylvania where He first located after leaving the old country where he was born in Russia—Poland, in 1852. By trade he is a weaver and sawyer but upon his arrival in this county he immediately took up the business of farming and located in the Mennonite Colony near Dundee. His home place con- sists of about 220 acres of land all of which is in a high state of cultivation. Mr.Unruh was married in 1873 to Miss Susan Dirks. Mr. Unruh survived his first wife who died in 1901. They were the parents of ten children. Mr.Unruh married Miss Kate Johnson of South Dakota, in 1902, and they have been blessed with four children. Mr.Unruh‘s mother died in the Old Country and his father passed away in this country in 1910. Mr. nruh’s farm is one of the best developed in that part of the county and he has always had it well stocked with the best of horses and cattle and all the necessary machinery for successful farming. With all Mr. l`uruh`s work he has found time to work out and perfect an invention on which he has the patent that is some day des- tined to revolutionize the science of railroad building. The invention consists of an endless or continuous rail. It has received the en- dorsement of some of the leading railroad men of the country and had Mr.Unruh been so in- clined he could have sold the rights to manu- facture the rail to an eastern outfit but as they wanted it all without giving anything in return their offer was not accepted by Mr. Unruh. The invention is one of the most perfect of contrivances and it will do away with the jar and noise caused when a train goes from one rail to the next on the ordinary railroad. Mr. Unruh is in no hurry to dispose of his patent but is now contemplating the organization of a stock company to manufacture and sell th e rails of his construction. Mr. Unruh is one of the best known men in the county and his invention has brought him no little fame and will in time reward him in a more substantial way.
ELDRIDGE YORK
AMONG the well known residents of Wal- nut township and one who had a great deal to do with the developing of that section of Barton County is Eldridge York. He was born October 12, 1863, in Ulster County, New York, and came to Barton County when he was twenty·one years of age. He pur- chased 80 acres of land on the Dry Walnut and later bought the old Gallon homestead in section 34 of Walnut township. He recently sold a part of his land but still owns 204 acres in Walnut township, and a quarter section of land in Ford County. He was married Novem- ber 14, 1890, to Miss Sarah Gray of Ulster County, New York, and they are the parents of three children as follows: Walter E., 20 years of age; Emery G., 14 years of age, and Elmer L., 12 years of age. All the children are at home and are being educated in the schools of the county. The York home is nicely situated and the improvements are substantial and well built. The residence contains seven rooms in addition to closets`, pantries, etc., while the barn is 50 by 62 feet in dimensions. The other outbuildings are all that one requires in the successful operation of a farm according to modern methods. Mr. York has always maintained a good grade of horses and cattle and until recently made a specialty of raising Chester White hogs, and thoroughbred Short Horn cattle. Mr. York gave this work a great deal of attention and was one of the most successful breeders of fancy hogs and cattle in that part of the county. He has been a member of the school board and has always taken an active part in the affairs of his community. Mr. York came here at a time when it needed men of experience and men who had faith in the future of the county to make it one of the best counties in the State of Kansas.
WILLIAM HARRISON RUSSELL
WILLIAM HARRISON RUSSELL. Was born April 20, 1841, in the State of ln- diana and is one of the really old timers of Barton County, having come here in 1874, during the month of September. He first located in Beaver township about a mile south of the county line. He remained there until 1901 when he moved to his present home place in South Bend township about eight miles south and west of the City of Great Bend.Mr. Russell enlisted in Co. E. 94th Illinois Infantry August 7, 1862, and served throughout the war. He was engaged in the battle of Vicks- burg, and was with Grant all the way down the Mississippi, and took part in the Mobile cam paign, one of the severest ot the war. He can tell many interesting reininiscenses of the big conflict and has a soldier's record of which he can be justly proud. He was married in Mc Lean County, Illinois, to Miss Mary Newton in 1868 and they are the parents of three chil- dren: Ira, 40 years of age, who is now book- keeper for the Butcher Packing Co, of Salina, Kansas. Ray, 26 years of age, who is one of the best known veterinarians in this section of the state. His office being in Great Bend where he with Dr. Cheney have one of the most up—to—date animal hospitals in this sec- tion of the country. Guy, who is 12 years of age, assists his father in the work of operating the farm. The home place consists of 160 acres of land in addition to which Mr. Russell owns a half section of good land in Ford County. On the home place is found a well built, commodious seven room house, a good barn and all the needed outbuildings that are usually found on the modernly equipped farms of Barton County. Mr. Russell came here at a time when it required nerve for the residents to stay and fight it out with the elements which seemed to make it harder and harder every year. It is to such men as Mr. Russell that Barton County owes her present high standing among the leading agricultural sections of the world. He has always been a progressive citizen and has seen this county grow from an almost. barren waste to its present high state of cultivation.
WILLIAM GAGELMAN
BORN near Madburg, Prussia, May 4, 1848, Wm. Gagelman came to America with his parents, Christopher and Katie Gagelman in 1864. They located near Bloom- ington, Illinois. In 1877, William was seized by the western fever and came across the plains and secured a location in Barton County by buying railroad land and since that time no man in the county has had more to do with its development and upbuilding than has. Mr. Gagelman. For thirty one years he was actively engaged in the farming business and by consistent effort and skillful management he accumulated more land, and at one time owned 1,600 acres in this county. He was married in 1873 to Miss Dora Barstal and to this union there were born eight children: Lena, 38 years; Bertha, 37 years; Fred W., 36 years; Harry E., 33 years; Matilda L , 31 years; Clara Augusta, 29 years; Rosa, 27 years; Ida, 24 years. Mr. Gagelman’s second wife was Miss Matilda Belz and they were married in 1894. They are the parents of two children: Martha Mary, 16 years and Olga Elsa, 14 years. All these children are living in the county with the exception of Matilda L., who resides in Kansas City. Mr. Gagelman retired in 1908 and since that time has been living in Great Bend. He occupies a comfortable, modern res- idence at 1205 Holland street and in addition to this property owns four other residences in the city and 1,060 acres of farm land. The farm land is being worked by Mr Gagelman’s sons and sons—in-law, all of his children being married with the exception of Ida, Martha and Olga, the latter two being students in the Great Bend schools. Mr. Gagelman is a member and trustee of the Lutheran church and with all his personal interests has found time to take a most active part in anything that has for its purpose the betterment of the county and city. He is a progressive and enterprising citizen and in addition to his holdings in this state is interested in mining properties in Missouri.
GEORGE RICHARD HARDERS
IF years count George Richard Harders of "Wheat Land Farm" is neither an old man, an old citizen of the United States, or an early settler in Barton County. He is, however, one of its best citizens, and has bought and improved one of the best farms of his locality, which may be reached by travel- ing one mile north from the court house in Great Bend, and then twelve miles due west. In 1903 he purchased the Calvin Reeder farm of one hundred and sixty acres and paid twenty—five dollars per acre——and the wise ones shook their heads. He, however, knew what he was doing and went to work improving the place and at this writing has about the neatest little farm along the drive. He built a new house with nine rooms and a hall; a barn which will accommodate twelve head of horses and nine milk cows, and feed for the same; an elevator and granary; a cement milk house and several windmills. Then he picketed the lawn, garden and horse lots, wired the various fields. and painted the buildings so that they stand out and attract universal commendation. There is a young crchard and a grove of forest trees, a number of plants and shrubs, and these give a setting of green that is most delightful. The interior is furnished with all modern con- veniences and is in the same good taste dis- played outside, and as a home it is worth all in comfort that it has cost in dollars. This trans- formation has not been accomplished without much labor and thought and redounds to the credit of both Mr. and Mrs.Harders. George Harders was born in Ostfriesland, Germany, March 6th, 1871, and came to America October 29, 1893. He first settled near Flannagan, Livingston County, lli., where he rented and tilled the soil. ln 1903 he purchased the land above described, and in January, 1904, removed his family here. He married Miss Anna Gerdsen on December 29th, 1899, in Liviiigstcn County, Illinois, and two children have blessed the union: Fred Herman, ll, and Mary Christina, 10.
DIEDRICH ESSMILLER
THE name Essiniller is the synonym of prosperity in Barton
County, because the Essmiller Bros. have made a success of farming, breeding
and selling stock just west of Great Bend, and are well known and highly
respected in the community. The second brother, Diedrich Essmiller, came to
Barton County in 1880, and settled one mile south of` his present location. He
now lives five and one-half miles northwest of the county seat on the best
improved section of land in the county. His first purchase was the Noah
Brumbaugh homestead, and later the other three quarters. He has the entire
tract in the very highest state of cultivation and his build- ings are among
the best, most convenient and commodious in his neighborhood. His house and
barns are located about midway of the section on the east side, and are on the
highest point on the farm. The house has 13 rooms, is a frame building and
painted pure white. 
Farm Home of Diedrich Essmiller
He has a number of windmills pumping spark- ling water from deep driven wells on the premises, and this is piped to the house for drinking and bathing, and to the barns and lots for watering stock. His buildings are lighted by an acetylene plant and supplied with other conveniences. The barns are among the largest in the county and will store the crops produced on the section, as well as house the Work animals, cattle and hogs grown and in use on a place of this size. Diedrich Essmiller was born in the Prov- ince of Hanover, Germany, “ September 27th, 1853, and is fifty·three years of age. He came to this country in 1872 at the age of nineteen and settled in LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, where he pursued the occupation of a farm hand for the succeeding eight years. In November, 1878, he was married to Miss Dora Weingarten,of LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, and they have a daughter and son, Lillie D., and Arnold F.both children making their home with their parents on the farm, although Miss Lillie was united in marriage to Kirby Evers on October 11th, 1906. There is a grandson, Elmer, a sturdy little farmer of eleven years, who assists his grandfather in the management of the estate. Besides the section men- tioned above Mr. Essmiller is a joint owner with his brother Will in three quarters in Pawnee County, Kansas, which is well improved, and is known to have other interests and in- vestments in the county. When Mr. Essmiller settled in Barton Coun- ty he was a comparatively poor man, and what he has been accumulated by the hardest of work under adverse circumstances. The last few years, however, he has retired from labor- ous work, contenting himself with looking on and directing while his son and son-in-law, who lease the farm, perform the heavier duties. His success is the result of good judgment and hard ork, and hy being fortunate in selecting a kind of soil which has responded to his continued effort.
HENRY MILLER THE subject of this sketch was born May 27th, 1857, near Bremen, Germany, and at this
writing is in his fifty-fifth year. He came to America with his parents when
seven years old and settled in LaCrosse Coun- ty, Wisconsin. He received his
education in the public schools of the neighborhood, and until he was twenty
five worked for his father on the farm. In the spring of 1883 he came to Barton
County, and in 1890 bought a part of his present holdings from Fred H. Miller,
who was an earlier purchaser from the Santa Fe Railway Company. He has since
added other parcels until his home place embraces a whole section. His.
location is six miles west of the court house at Great Bend, and his farm is in
the highest state of cultivation. His buildings are new, commodious,
substantial and conven- ient, and built to house a growing family and to care
for the crops and stock necessary on a large farm. His machinery and farm
imple- ments are of the up to-date Kansas farmer kind, as is everything else on
the Miller homestead. Besides the section on which he lives, Mr. Miller owns a
quarter out of section 5, near Heizer; one hundred acres of section 2, Buffalo
township, and four hundred and eighty acres in Rush County, one mile south of
Necoma. ln November,1883, Henry F. Miller was un- ited in marriage to Miss
Sophia Sandman, of LaCrosse County, Wisconsin. The ceremony was performed in
Great Bend, Miss Sandman having journeyed from her northern home to assist her
future husband in making his for- tune on what was then considered the Kansas
plains. The union has been blessed by five children, viz: Georgia N., the wife
of W. C. Otte, a farmer, living northeast of Heizer; Edna, wife of Frank Case,
farmer, four miles north of I-Ieizer; and Ernie, Robert and William who are
still single and at home. The success of Mr. Miller is the result of good
judgment, economy and hard work during the first years of his residence in the
coun- ty. He has faced conditions that were trag- edies, which is the usual lot
of the man who 
tills the soil and depends on the elements to
provide the moisture that makes them grow. During the twenty-eight years which he
has resided in Barton County there has been harvests that were almost complete
failures, and which barely provided seed and feed for the next year. Many crops
have been bumper yielders and have made Barton County famous as a wheat.
producer.
JOHN ALBERT MAUSOLF
THE beautiful "High Valley Farm," the scene
portrayed above is the home of John Albert and Lena Mansolf, twelve and
one-half miles west from Great. Bend, and it stands on a farm of four hundred
acres that cannot be excelled in Barton County. The soil is a rich, brown, dark
sandy loam, and every acre of it is tillable. lt is well fenced and shows
careful cultivation, and the growing crops and well filled granaries proves the
management is not lacking. The residence is a story and a half frame, "'l"`
shaped; has an en- closed porch across the front, and contains ten rooms. lt is
modernly furnished and supplies all the conveniences to be had in a city home
of the same size and character. Around it are clustered beautifully leaved
forest trees, and inside the iron paled lawn is a carpet of grass, and there
are shrubs, plants and flowers sulfi- cient to make it very inviting. A model
cream- ery and wash house, built of concrete blocks, stands back in the yard,
and across the drive- way is the garage. To the right of this stand the barns,
granary, elevator and other build- ings which house the farm implements and
shelter the stock. John A. Mausolf was born in West Prussia Province, Germany,
on December 20th, 1869, and came to America with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John
G. Mausolf, in 1873, who first settled in New York City, remaining two years;
removed to Jersey City where they remained five years, and then removed to
Kansas and made a home in Garfield township, Rush County. The father died in
Great Bend on Feb- ruary 5th. 1911, and the mother occupies il home in Great
Bend. The marriage of Mr. Mansolt occured in April, 1896, and the follwing
summer he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm,paying
there- 
for $1,750. In 1899 he purchased eighty acres at a cost of $1,000, and in 1906 he bought one hundred and sixty acres more for $5,500. The four hundred acres cost $8,250 at the time of purchase, and would probably sell for $40,000 today. John Albert Mausolf was married to Miss Lena Gagelman of Barton County, on April 16th, 1896, and they have six interesting chil- dren—three boys and three girls, Alma, 15; Harry, 11; Erna Lt, 9; Alfred 6; Carl, 4; and Loreine, 1.
IRA D. BROUGHER
Of the old timers who came to Barton County in the early ’70’s none is better
known than Ira Day Brougher, who ar- rived in this county in 1874. He was born
May 14, 1843, in York County, Pennsylvania. He received his early education in
the schools of that state and at the beginning of the war he enlisted in the
13th Pennsylvania and was a member of
Company F. He began his enlistment June 9, 1862, and was honorably dis- charged
January 3, 1863. He re-enlisted in the U. S. Military Railroad Department and
saw active service until 1866. He took part in the battle of South Mountain,
Maryland, and later lost his right arm as the result of a wound received at the
battle of Antietem. At the close cf the war he went to Philadelphia where he
took a course in the Bryant-Stratton Business College. He graduated from this
in- stitution in 1868. This course of study fitted him for the occupation of
book-keeper which he followed for several years in Philadelphia and New York
where he held responsible posi- tions with wholesale houses, He remained in New
York City for two years and was there · when he was seized with the idea to go
west and grow up with the country, as was advised by Horace Greeley. He came
direct to Barton County, Kansas in 1874 and homesteaded a 
claim in what is now South Bend township, about six miles southwest of Great Bend. He helped to organize this township and was the first trustee. He was engaged in the farming business from then on until he retired from active work on the farm in 1889. Mr. Brougher was elected county clerk of Barton County at the fall election of 1877, and held this office for three consecutive terms or six years. In 1889 he was elected to the office of Clerk of the District Court which office he held when Judge Clark was district judge of this judicial district. When Mr. Brougher first came to this section of the state the outlook was anything but bright for the future and although he was handicapped by having but one arm, he plunged into the thick of the development wzrk and from his public service which is mentioned above it can be seen that he had time to take an active part in public matters as well as look after his private affairs. Mr. Brougher was one of those men who made this county one of the best in the State of Kansas out of a barren prairie waste. For a time after his arrival here there was a period when things looked mighty fine for the early settlers, but this was followed by several years which tried the hearts and souls of the pioneers, when they were compelled to combat not only the uncertainty of moisture but had to con- tend with the grasshoppers and other condi- tions over which they had no control. How- ever it was fortunate that the population of Barton County at that time contained men, who like Mr. Brougher, could see the possibilities cf the future and in spite of the undesirable conditions remained and developed the county's resources until it is now one of the most important in the State of Kansas. Mr. Brougher owns nine quarter sections of land in this part of the state; seven of them being in Barton and one each in Stafford and Hodge- man counties. He is also one of the directors » of the German-American Bank of Great Bend and was one of the organizers and is still president of the Barton County Fair. Association, an office which he has filled since the association was formed in 1900. He also has in- terests in the mercantile line in Great Bend and is counted as a progressive, enterprising citizen, and one of the men who blazed the way for others to make of Barton County one of the most productive agricultural sections in the world. quested his two young sons to assist him in placing the stone over the opening at the top. And, while in this act the three were stricken down in an instant by a flash of lightning with death as the result. During a residence of three years in one community Mr. Patterson and his family had endeared themselves to most of the settlers over a considerable section and the tragic incident caused comment for years fol- lowing. Joseph Patterson was born May 6, 1838, in Virginia. Mrs. Patterson‘s maiden name was Millikin, and she was born November 23, 1838, in Osgood County, Indiana. She was left an orphan at an early age and was adopted by a relative and grew to womanhood on a farm in Madison County, Ohio. She married Joseph Patterson at Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio, on November 14th, 1860. She was the mother of ten children. A daughter named Mary Sayler, who died August , 1909, John and Frank, the two sons mentioned above as being stricken by lightning, and these following: Wm. Patter- son, residing in Los Angeles, California; Joseph Patterson, jr., married Katie Tolbert, and resides near Albert; Stanley F'. Patterson, mar- ried Anna Gruber, residence, Hutchinson; Sarah Patterson, single, residing with her mother; Orr Patterson, married Clara Goeld- ner, residence, Great Bend; Err Patterson, married Grace Zimmer, residence, home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Patterson, Sr., came to Barton County on March 5th, 1876, and purchased cne hundred and sixty acres of land from the Santa Fe railway company at four dollars and forty cents per acre. Failure of crops caused them to forfeit this contract, and they repurchased a few years later, this time having to pay six dollars. The premises are well improved and grows good crops.
CHARLES E BUTTONS
THE birth of Charles E. Button autedates that of Barton County by about two years, because he was born Feb. 25, 1869, and was among the first organized body of pioneers assembled on the townsite of Great Bend in the Spring of 1871. Thus it happened that the two lives began almost simultaneously and their histories are practically one and the same. Mr. Button first saw the light in Peoria County, Illinois, and came to Barton County, Kansas, when but five years of age, accompanied by his parents, Aimon H. and Annie E. Button. They arrived in the county in March, 1875, and settled four miles northwest of the farm described in this sketch, and it was then that life really began for little Charles, because his blood throbbed with the life of a new country. He saw Indians as they passed and repassed his father's home; saw buffalo as they fed majestically on the range, and saw his father bring them to earth with a trusty gun with popular skill. The cowboy and his bucking broncho were the idols of his imagi- nation and he longed for the day when he could be trusted with a pony and gun to roam the prairie and chase the Texas cattle as he saw them do. The stores then told of "Dutch Henry" and his gang of horse thieves are still fresh in his memory, as well as other frontier day yarns. He is a man who had a great deal to do with the early day history of his part of the county. He has improved his home place with exceptional skill and made of it one of the most attractive farms in his township. Mr. Button has always taken an active part in the affairs of his part of the county and is an enterprising and progressive citizen.
JOSEPH THIES
The life history here recorded of Joseph Thies, is the record made by one of the largest renters of land in Barton Coun- ty. He was born in Belgium on May 15th, 1878, and emigrated to the United States in 1893, when but fifteen years of age, and has imbibed more of American ways than of the Fatherland. He stopped first near Chicago, Illinois, where he hired himself to a farmer to learn how to grow and till the rops of this country; and later he was employed by a transfer company in the city for nine years and came face to face with the business world in the busiest city on the American continent. Thus he fitted himself for the strenuous life he has pursued since coming to Kansas, which was in September, 1902. He first rented the six hundred and forty acre farm of W.N Klepper, six miles southeast of Great Bend, and re- mained there until 1905. Then he tried his fortunes for three years nine miles southeast of Ellinwocd, on a section owned by Henry Roetzel. He then returned to the Klepper farm and remained there until the fall of 1911, when he took charge of the Gus. Werhahn farm of three hundred and twenty acres. fourteen miles west of Great Bend, and he now hopes that he has secured the farm where he can put in practice the theories he has for conducting a large farm on an economical basis. Joe has always had several side lines here— tofore; such as owning and operating a threshing machine, corn sheller and trading in live stock. He has discarded the thresher and sheller, and will sell and breed horses, mules and cattle, and cultivate corn, wheat, oats and alfalfa in the future. He is a great hustler and Mr. Worhahn is fortunate in having him. Joseph Thies was married to Bliss Anna Frances Grommes, of Aurora, Illinois, on August 20th, 1902, and they have three interesting children: Elizabeth Cordelia, aged 8 years; John Nicholas, 7, and Frank Henry, 5. Mrs. Thies was born in Aurora, Ill., on March 16th, 1881, and has adapted herself to farm life in Kansas amazingly well. She is a true helpmate for her hustling husband and is content with her chickens, butter making and the domestic department of a large farm, and much prefers the life to that of a crowded and overrun city.
PAWNEE ROCK·
FOURTEEN miles southwest of Great Bend in one of the richest agricultural sections of Barton County is the town of Pawnee Rock. It derives its name from the histioric cliff of sand-stone that for countless ages has stood a silent sentinel of the plains, just north of it what is now the townsite. lt was a stopping place for the hardy men and women who came from their eastern homes to find wealth and fortune in the boundless west, and the entire length of the Santa Fe Trail, noted for its historic points of interest affords no spot that has woven around it more real history of the early days than this old pile of rock. Before the advent of the white man it marked a way for the indians in their periodical migrations from what is now Southern Kansas to the valley of the Platte river in Nebraska. For years and years Pawnee Rock was a point at which the Comanche, Kiowa, Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians held their councis of war and peace. Within the shadow of Pawnee Rock many famous Indian battles were fought, battles that never found a plane in United States history. but were described to the early white settlers, by descendants of the noble warriors of the plains who took part in them.countless bones have been dug out of the soil adjacent to the Rock. and they bear witness to the bloody history that was made before civilization claimed it for the abode of the white man.
BEGINNING OF THE TOWN
The first building to be erected on the site in this part of
the Great American Desert, of the town of Pawnee Rock was the Rock Hotel which
still stands today and has been the stopping place of hundreds of old timers
who came to this part of the country in the early days, and it has housed some
famous men and women since it was built in 1874. The town grew in population
and area, slowly at first but in 1887 the progressive citizens of the town
began the work that resulted 
in the town being incorporated. The first set of officers
were elected April 1, 1887.previous to the election a rather exciting campaign
was carried on by the two opposing factions, the main issue being pool rooms,
and whether or not they should continue in the town. There were two tickets in
the field and after the votes had been counted it was found that 2. part of
each ticket had been elected and the iirst council cf Pawnee Rock was com-
posed of the following gentlemen, all of them men who had an interest in the
town and stood for progress and growth: Wllliam Bunting, mayor; L. K.
Benefield, Jolm Hepler, William McDougal, W. H. Bowman and William Weitcn,
councilmen. At one of the first meetings
of the council the following city officers were named and sworn in to serve: J.
D. Welch, city clerk; 
J. W. Raicliff, city attorney; Alvin llcs, city marshal;
Earnest Smith, city treasurer. This administration laid the foundation for the
building of one of the most important small towns on the main line of the A. T.
& S. Railroad. The first elevator in
the town was built in the year 1878 by WH Bowman, Aaron Garviek and Eli Bowman.
They also built a flour mill and operated it until 1899 when it was purchased
from them and moved to Garfield. near Larned. The year 1878 was a good one for
the town, many new buildings having been erected, some of them fine residences.
At this writing Pawnee Rock has three general stores. two banks, two furniture
stores, two hardware stores, five elevators, a fine electric light and ice
plant, owned and operated by home people, three churches, Christian, Methodist,
New Jeruselem, fine public schools 
and everything and more than is found in many towns of twice its population. The present officers of Pawnee Rock are: John Bowman,mayor A. S. Gross, clerk R. G. McDougal, E. L. Robinson, W. C. Lamb and Grant Lippincott, councilmen. Pawnee Rock contains some of the nicest and most modern residences in Barton County. lt is a supply point for a large territory in Barton, Pawnee and Stafford counties and as a shipping point for grain, cattle and other live stock it ranks well up among the best in this part of the state. Fronm lnman`s Tales of the Trail: "lf this sentinel of the plains might speak, what a story it could tell of the events that have happened an the beautiful prairie stretching out for miles at its feet. All over its scarred and weatherbeaten front, carved in quaint and rude letters. are the names of hundreds who in early clays made the dangerous and exciting passage of the Santa Fe Trail. Some names are roughly chiseled there, too, who were not ambitious at the time of more enduring fame. and gave no further thought of their effort than was concentrated in the bare idea of re lief from the ennui of the moment. while their horses and mules were resting, but who will go down to history cursed or praised——as view- ed from varying aspects—long after the storm of centuries shall have obliterated ever mark of this isolated mass of sandstone. Conspicu- ous among these is that of Robert E. Lee, the famous leader of the Confederate armies, who, in 1843, crossed into the borders of Mexico as an officer ofthe Mounted Rifles. Under the shadow of Pawnee Rock, perhaps Coronado, the celebrated Spanish explorer, and his little band of faithful followers rested on their lonely march in search of the mythical Quivira. The Rock alone is all that remains, in all probability, upon which the Spaniards looked, for the mighty interval of nearly four hundred years relegated all else—trees, water courses and the entire landscape, that the hardy ad- venturers looked upon, to the domination of vast modification—-—and this iron-bound hill-whose unsusceptihility to change is almost as the earth itself—the only witness of their famous march.
"During the half century included between the years 1823-73—which latter date marked the advent of
the railroad in this
portion of Kansas—Pawnee Rock was considered the most dangerous place on the
central plains for en counters with the Indians, as at this particular point on
the Trail the Pawnees, Kiowas, Comanches- 
Arrapahoes and Cheyennes madetheir not infrequent successful raids upon the
pack and wagon trains of the freighters acrossthe continent.
I well reineinher, in the earliergeographies, that most exciting and
sensation-al of all the illustrations—to my boyish mindat least-which depicted
the Santa Fe traders attacked by Indians, but that was long ago, and such
scenes have passed away forever."In those primitive days of the border,
KitCarson, Lucien B. Maxwell, John Smith,the Rents and the Boones, with other
fron-tiersmeu. commenced their eventful lives inthe far West-—mere boys
then-—·but whose exploits have since made for them a world-widereputation, Kit
Carson, Maxwell, Smith and Bents are all cloud with the harness on, and on the
confines of the civilization which is rapidly closing up the gap at the foot.
of the mountains, amidst which there would have been nothing congenial, so they
passed away while there still remained fresh prairics and quiet
streams."Kit, one of the most noble men it has been my fortune to know, is
sleeping peacefully under the gnarled old Cottonwoods at Fort Lyon,on the
Arkansas that river he loved so well--every foot of whose silent margin could
tell a story of his daring. It was at Pawnee Rock many, many years ago, that
Kit, then a mere boy, had his first experience with the Indians,and it was
because cf this fight that the Rock received its name."In those days the
Pawnees were the most formidable tribe on the eastern plains, a11d the freighters
and trappers rarely escaped a skirmish with them either at the crossing of the
Walnut, Pawnee Fork, or at Little or Big Coon creeks. Today the historic hill
looks down only upon peaceful homes and fruitful fields where for hundreds of
years it could tell of nothing but death; where almost every yard of the brown
sod at its base covered a grave; where there was nothing but shadow,now all is
sunlight. ln place of the horrid yell of the savage, as 1 wrenchecl the reeking
scalp from his vanquished victim, the whistle of the locomotive and the
pleasing whirr of the reaping machine is heard; where the death cry of the
painted warrior rang mournfully over the silent prairie, the waving grain is
singing in beautiful rhythm as it blows to the summer breeze. Almost every day
in the opening spring, or before the grain planting in the dearly fall for
several years during the first settlement of the country in the vicinity of
Pawnee Rock, the skeletons of those killed there
in the long years gone by sometimes the bones of the white man, sometimes the bones
of the red man were plowed up; and even now where new fields are opened, the Rock thus
gradually unfolds the sphinx—like secrets of its dead." ·
PRESERVING THE ROCK
In the year of 1903, the women’s Kansas Day Club contracted with the owner of Pawnee Rock, to raise $3,000 to improve Pawnee Rock, and he was to deed about five acres to the state park to be open to the public at all times. The monument was to cost not less than $1,500. The entire expense has been about $4,700 and the citizens of Pawnee Rock have raised $1,500 of this amount.Pawnee Rock ccvers about four acres and rises abruptly from the surrounding valley.It is about fifty or sixty feet in height and on its sunilit stands a granite shaft, towering thirty feet in the air, placed in honor of those who in the long ago blazed the way for civilization.Pawnee Rock has changed through the agency of man, much since the advent of the railroad. Its once lofty summit has been stripped and the stone used for all sorts of purposes by the railroad and others, until now.if some of the old scouts and Indian hunters were to review it, they would not recognize it as the scene of their earlier lives.On May 24, 1912, the monument situated on Pawnee Rock, was unveiled and dedicated to the State of Kansas, of which event, a program of the services will be found elsewhere in this book.How the Money Was Raised The following table shows how the money.was raised that made the preservation of what reniainetl of the Rock possibleMrs. J. S. Simmons. president, 1908.andmembers of the Park Board to 1912.$2738.31Mrs. A. H. Horton, president. 1909 .... 100.00 Mrs. E. W. Hoch, president. 1910 ...... 200.00 Mrs. Cora G. Lewis, president 1912 .... 55.00 Total ................ . .............. .$3093.3l Daughters of Americaii Revolution, one Bronze tablet valued at $50, cash $155,total ............................205.00 Woman’s Relief Corps, the flag that veiled the monument. and ........... 159.00 State Federation of \\'omens` Clnbs.. 50.00 W. C. T. 17 .......................... 50.0) Citizens of Pawnee Rock-· ............. 1359.34 Money paid into the fund from sales of "Echoes of Pawnee Rock," compiled by Miss Margaret Perkins, and all expenses of publising, shipping, mailing, etc., paid for by Mrs. J. S. Simmons, president of W. K. D C., with money from proceeds of sale of said book, approximately $800 above all expenses.Total receipts ........................ $5715.65.The following letter from Governor Hoch written in 1905 shows how the interest in the matter was aroused in the state's chief executive. It required years of hard work after this time however to get the matter adjusted in a.way that brought the work to such a successful conclusion on the date mentioned:State of Kansas, E. W. Hoch, Governor, Topeka, July 25, 1905.Mr. T. H. Brewer, Pawnee Rock, Kansas.My Dear Sir: I share most heartily with you the sentiment of your letter concerning the preservation of what remains of old Pawnee Rock. I remember it well as I first saw it in the spring of 1372. Hundreds of names had been carved up it, some of them dating batrit,I remember, as far as 125 years ago. It seems incredible that people should be so devoid of sentiment as to blast and destroy a historic monument like this for ballast and other Commercial purposes. Better, a thousand times to have hauled the stone a thousand miles than to have done this.I was one of 14 young fellows who built the first house and dug thef irst well in Pawnee Rock, and will be glad to do anything I can to preserve what remains of the historic relic of the old trail.
Cordially yours, E W. HOCH
PAWNEE ROCK’S BIG DAY
The unveiling of the monument erected in Pawnee Rock park to the memory of the pion-
eers who withstood the hardships and fought the battle that resulted in making this part of the State of Kansas one of the leading agricultural sections of the world was witnessed by fully 8,000 people. Some of them came from distant states to take part in the celebration and as was truthfully said by one of the speakers of the day, "It is Pawnee Rock’s supreme moment, and the greatest day in her history."May 24, 1912, was the date chosen by those who had the arrangements in charge, and the elements seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion and it resulted in an ideal day. All day long the air was filled with music and promptly at 1:30 in the afternoon, the big flag that had been wound around the shaft was pulled aside and the park became the property of the people of the State of Kansas, a permanent memorial had been erected to the memory of the pioneers and what remained of Pawnee Rock was protected for all time against further destruction and will remain to attract the eyes of countless thousands yet to come.F'. C. Woodbury, one of the leading citizens of Pawnee Rock and to whom great credit is due for arranging and carrying out the celebration program gave the address of welcome. He paid a beautiful tribute to the pioneers and welcomed the people to the city in a way that made a deep impression,Mr. Woodbury introduced Mrs. George Barker of Lawrence, Kansas. who told in an interesting manner the part the wcmen had played in securing the ground for the park and the money for the monument. She compared the old and the new Pawnee Rock, and while she spoke the words that made this historic spot and the beautiful monument the property of the State of Kansas, the ropes were pulled that released the flag and it fell away.Lieutenant Governor Richard Hopkins followed Mrs. Barker and accepted the park and monument on behalf of the people of the state.He painted a beautiful word picture that made a lasting impression on those who heard it.The young people were afforded all kinds of entertainment. There was a Ferris wheel, a merry-go round, a hallxon ascension, a baseball game and dozens of other features to make the day one of fun and frolic.
The speech of Mrs. Milo D. McKee of Independence, who acted in lien of Mrs. George Guensey, state president ot the D. A. R. of Kansas who followed Governor Hopkins was especially iine. She brought greetings from 1,500 women, and she asserted that in the history of battle fields, there was record of no greater one than Kansas. The best money a state can spend, she said, in closing, is that used in inculcating patriotism and reverence. Mrs. Cora Deputy, a past state president of the Womeus’ Relief Corps, speaking in behalf of Mrs. L. A. Mendricks, the president,gave a patriotic address and presented a flag to the city, a gift of the state W. R. C.Perhaps no speech of the afternoon was better received than that made by Mrs. W. D.Atkinson of Parsons, president. of the State Federation of Womens‘ Clubs. Six thousand women she represented, and as a native Kansan she spoke with feeling and authority on pioneer life as lived by her parents. The key-note of her speech was the keynote of the afternoon: "We necessarily are living largely in the past today, with Coronado, in Quivera, with Pike, the emigrants, the ’74ers, the pioneers."Mrs. C. W. Mitchner, state president of the W. C. T. U, told how proud she was to bring the best wishes of the 10,000 women of the’state union to Kansas, "higher in per capita,lowest in death rate, lowest in illiteracy, highest in college education; the state where 25,000 school children never saw an open saloon."History and reminiscences of remarkable interest filled the remarks of Mike Sweeney of Pawnee Rock, who has lived 4 years in the western land, and saw the Rock in all its original highness. He introduced ex—Gov. E. W.
Hoch, who gave the address of the afternoon.In the beginning Governor Hoch took occasion to say how much he disliked the task of following his feminine predecessors, and trying to "live up to them.""If I had not been for suffrage before (as I always have been,") he asserted, "I should certainly have been converted this afternoon,for such eloquent speeches argue as intelligent use of the ballot as. man can exercise."Judge D. A. Banta of Great Bend closed the speaking program with a few remarks which were well received. He told how the men should feel ashamed that they had allowed the women of the state to accomplish some-thing in the way of preserving the Rock which should have been done before it had been despoiled of a great deal of its beauty and historic features.
JIM GIBSON’S THRILLING EXPERIENCE From Inman’s Tales of the Trail IT was old Jim Gibson-—poor fellow—heI went under in a fight with the Utes over twenty years ago, and his bones are bleaching somewhere in the dark canyons of the range, or on the slopes of the Spanish Peaks. He used to tell of a skirmish he and another fellow had on the Arkansas with theKiowas in 1836. Jim and his partner, Bill——-other name unknown-—had been trapping up in the Powder river country during the winter,with unusual good luck. The beaver were mighty thick in the whale Yellowstone region,in those days. Jim and Bill got an early start on their journey for the river in the early spring. You see they expected to sell their stuff in western Missouri, which was the principal trading point on the river then. They walked the whole distance—over fifteen hundred miles driving three good mules before them, on which their plunder was packed, and they got along well until they struck the Arkansas River at Pawnee Rock. Here they met a war party of about sixty Kiowas, who treed them on the Rock. Jim and Bill were brave and dead shots."Before they reached the Rock to which they were driven they killed ten of the Kiowas,and had not received a scratch. They had plenty of powder and two pouches full of bullets. They also had a couple of Jack rabbits for food in case of siege, and the perpendicular walls of the Rock made them a natural fortification, and one that was almost inpregnable.They succeeded in securely picketing their animals on the west side of the Rock, where they could protect them by their unerring rifles, but the story of the fight must be told in .]im’s own way. He was a pretty well educated fellow and had been to college. I believe in his younger days he lost the girl he was going to marry, or had some bad luck or other and took to the prairie when he was about twenty years of age. I will try to tell it as near as possible as he told it to me."After· the darned red cuses had treed us they picked up their dead and packed them to their camp, at the mouth of the creek a little piece off. In a few minutes, back they all
came, mounted witl1 their fixings and war paint on. Then, they commenced to circle around uscoming closer, Indian fashion every time, until they got within easy rifle range, when they slung themselves on the far sides of their ponies and in that position opened on us. Their arrows fell like a hail storm around us for a few minutes, but as good luck would have it none of them struck. I was afraid that first of all they would attempt to kill our mules,but I suppose they thought they had the dead wood on us and the mules would come mighty handy for their own use, after our scalps were dangling at their belts. We were taking in all the chances and whenever we saw a leg or head we would draw a head on it and would tumble its owner over every time, with a yell of rage. Whenever they attempted to carry off their dead, that was the moment we took the advantage, and we poured it into them as they rallied for that purpose, with telling effect. We wasted no shots, and we now had only about twenty bullets between us, and the miserable cusses seemed as thick as ever. The sun was nearly down by this time, and at dark they did not seem anxious to renew iight. I could see their mounted patrols at a respectful distance watching to prevent our escape. I took advantage of the darkness to go down and get a few buffalo chips to cook our supper as we were mighty hungry, and we changed the animals to where they could get a little more grass. I got to our camp on top without any trouble, when we made a little fire and cooked a rabbit. We had to go without water and so did the animals, though we did not mind the want of it ourselves. We pittied the mules which had had no water since we broke camp that morning. It was no use to worry about it as the nearest water was the spring at the Indians` camp, and it would be certain death to attempt to get there. I was afraid the red devils would fire the prairie the next morning, and endeavor to burn us out. The grass was in a condition to make a lively blaze. We might escape the flames and we might not. We watched with eager eyes the first gray streaks of dawn, that would usher in another day. Perhaps the last one for us. The next morning the sun had scarcely got above the horizon when, with an infernal yell the lndians broke for the Rock and we knew thatsome new idea had entered into their heads.The wind was springing up fresh and nature seemed to conspire with the red devils if they really meant to burn us out, and I had no doubt from their movements that that was what they intended doing. The derned cusses kept at such a respectful distance from our rifles that it chafed us to know that we could not stop the infernal throats if some of them with our bullets. We had to choke our rage and watch events closely. l took occasion during the lull in hostilities to crawl down to where the mules were and shift them to the east side of the Rock where the wall was the highest, so that the flames of the smoke might possibly pass by them without so much danger as on the exposed other side. I succeeded in doing this and also in tearing away the grass for several yards around the animals,and was just starting back when Bill called out, "They have fired the prairie? I reached the top of the rock in a minute and took in at a glance what was coming. The spectacle for a short interval was indescribable. The sun was shining with all its power on a huge cloud of smoke as it rolled down from the north. I had barely time to get under the shelter of the Rock when the wind and smcke swept down to the ground and incidentally we were enveloped in the darkness of midnight.We could not see a single object, neither Indian, horses, prairie or sun and what a terrible wind. I have never experienced its equal in violence since. We stood breathless, clinging to the mass of rock and did not realize that the fire was so near until we were struck in the face by the burning buffalo chips that were carried towards us with the rapidity of the wind. I was really scared as it seemed we must sufocate, but we were saved,the sheet of flame passed us twenty yards away, as the wind fortunately shifted when the fire reached the Rock;
Yet the darkness was so perfect that we did not see the flames.We only knew that we were safe as the clearsky greeted us behind the dense cloud of smoke. Two of the Indians and their horses were caught in their own trap and perished miserably. They had attempted to reach the east side of the Rock where the mules were,either to cut them loose or crawl up on us while we were bewildered in the smoke. They had proceeded only a few yards when the terrible darkness of the smoke cloud overtook them. The fire assumed such gigantic proportions and moved with such rapidity before the terrible wind that even the Arkansas river did not stop it for a moment, and we watched it carried across the water."My first thought after the danger had passed was of the poor mules. I crawled down to where they were and found them badly singed. They were not seriously injured how-ever, and I thought so far so good. Our traps and things were all right so we took courage and began to think that we could get out of the nasty scrape. In the meantime the Indians with the exception of four or five, left to guard the Rock. had gone back to their camp on the creek, and were evidently concocting some new scheme to capture or kill us.We waited patiently for two or three hours for the development of events, snatching a little sleep by turns until the sun was about four hours high, when the Indians commenced their yelling again, and we knew they had hit upon something, so we were on the alert. The devils this time had tied all their horses together, covered them with branches of trees that they had cut on the creek, packed all the lodge skins on these and then driving the living breast works towards us themselves followed close behind on foot. They kept moving in the direction of the Rock and matters began to look serious."Bill put his hand in mine and said, "Jim boy, we got to fight, we aint done nothin’ yet,but this means business." I said, ‘Bill, you are right, old fellow, but they cannot get us alive. Our plan was to kill their ponies and make them halt. As I spoke, Bill, who was one of the best shots on the plains, threw his eye along the barrel of his rifle and one of the ponies tumbled over in the blackened sod One of the Indians ran out to cut him loose,as I suspected, and I took him clean off his feet without a groan. Quicker than it takes to tell it we stretched out twelve of them on the plains and then they began a council of war.We watched the devils’ movements for we knew they would soon be busy again. The others did not make their appearance immediately from behind their living breastworks,so we fired and killed some of the horses. The Indians drew away and after holding a consultation we saw one of their number approaching. He held aloft a part of his white blanket, in token of peace. He came within hearing and asked us to talk with him. We answered yes. We could expect very little and were surprised at the proposition made to us.He came nearer and said the war chief leading them was old O‘Ton-Sone—Var and "wants you to come to their camp, and the tribe will adopt you as you are brave men." He also added that they were on their way to the Sioux country north of the Platte and were going there to steal horses from the Sioux. They expected a. fight and wanted us to help them.Bill and I knew them too well to swallow their chaff so we told him we could not think of accepting their terms. We told him to go back and tell his chief to begin the fight again as soon as they pleased. He started back and before he had reached the creek they came out and met him, had a confab and then began the attack on us at once. We made each of our four leads tell and then stood at bay almost helpless. We were at their mercy. We be-gan throwing stones and held them off for a short time. Then another white flag appeared and they wanted to talk some more.
"We knew that we must accept most anything they offered. One of their number spoke and told us that the Kiowas were not prisoners and they know brave men. ‘We will not kill you, though the grass is red with the blood of our warriors who died at your hands.We will give you a chance for your lives and let you prove that the Great Spirit of the white man is powerful and can save you.’ ‘Behold,’said the Indian pointing to a cottonwood tree that stood on the bank cf the river, a mile or more away. ‘You must go there and one of you shall run the knife gauntlet from that tree two hundred steps of the chief towards the prairie. If the one -who runs escapes both are free, for the Great Spirit has willed it.O’Ton—Sone-Var has said it and the word of the Kiowa is true.’ ‘When must the trial take place," said I. "When the sun begins to shine upon the western edge of the Rock} replied the Indian. ‘Say to your chief we will accept the challenge and will be ready," said Bill,motioning the warrior away.l am sure I can win, said Bill and can save our lives, O`Ton—Sone—Var will keep his word} I know him.‘ ‘Bill, said l, shall run that race` and taking him by the hand I told him that if he saw I was going to fail to watch his chance and in the excitement of the moment mount one of their horses and fly to Bent`s Fort. he could escape. He was young, it made no difference with my life as it was not worth much, but he had all before him. ‘No,’ replied Bill, ‘my heart is set on this. Itraveled the same race once before when the Apaches got 1ll€, and their knives never struck me once. I asked this favor forI know how to take advantage of them and can win.’ The sun had scarcely gilded that portion of the Rock that puts out toward the west before all the warriors with O'Ton-Sone—Var at their head marched silently towards the tree and beckoned us to come. We soon were beside them when they opened a space and we walked in their center without saying a word.There were only thirty left. of the band of warriors. The Indians were worked up to an aw-ful pitch and wanted to avenge their dead but the chief kept them from it. As soon as we reached the tree, the chief paced the two-hundred steps and arranged his warriors on either side who in a moment stripped them-selves to the waist and each seizing his long scalping knife and bracing himself held it high over his head so as to strike a hard blow. The question of who should be their victims was settled immediately, for as I stepped forward, the chief signalled me backand pointing to Bill told him he should make the trial. I protested but the chief was firm.The two rows of savages stood firm, their knives held high with vengeance gleaming in their eyes. It looked almost hopeless. It was truly a race for life. As Bill prepared himself I wished ourselves back on the Rock. Billwas cool and collected and had a perfect faith in the result. The chief motioned Bill to start. Bill tightened his belt and looked down the double row of Indians with their upheld knives. It seemed an age to me and when Bill started I was forced by an irresistible power to look upon the scene. At the instant Bill darted like a streak of lightning from the base of the tree and cutting at poor Bill the Indians tried their hardest to kill him. Bill evaded their efforts. He tossed savages here and there and now creeping like a snake he squirmed through the lines for a distance, then leaping like a wild-cat he passed more of the redmen who were bent on taking his life and finally he reached the place where the chief stood and passed through the terrible ordeal unharmed. I threw myself into his arms andgave thanks. The chief motioned the warriors away and with sullen footsteps followed them.In a few moments we retraced our way to the Rock where our mules still were. We then passed on in the direction of the Missouri. We camped on the banks of the river that night only a few miles from the Rock and while we were resting we could still hear the Kiowas chanting the death song as they buried their lost warriors under the sod of the prairie?
WILLIAM S. McDOUGAL
WILLIAM S. McDOUGAL was born in Wood County, West Virginia, September 5, 1844, and came to Pawnee County when he was thirty-three years of ago.He located a homestead in section 18-2214,which is on the line dividing Pawnee and Stafford counties. He farmed this land for eight years and then came to Barton csunty and located at Pawnee Rock. He was in the livery business in Pawnee Rock for sixteen years.He sold out and retired about twelve years ago. Since that time he has looked after his farming interests, owning 400 acres of land in Pawnee and Barton counties. He was married in 1872 in West Virginia to Miss Maggie Uhl and they are the parents of three children as follows: Romey 42 years of age is engaged in the hack line business in Great Bend; Dora, 32 years of age, is now Mrs Henry T Ratcliff of Hutchinson and Goldie, 22 years of age resides at home. Mr.McDougal is one of those men who made up the pioneers of this section of Kansas as he came here at the time when Indians and buffalo were disputing the advance of the white man and he has seen this section grow from an almost baren waste to its prsen high state of cultivation Mr McDougal has always been identified with the progressive element in this part of the state and is one of the best known men in Barton County where he has lived for twenty-seven years. All of his farming land is beingworked by renters and in additionthese.holdings he has a fine ten room residence in a most desirable location in Pawnee Rock. He is one of the boosters of the town who never tires of speaking a good word for Pawnee Rock and Barton County.Hehas served the town as councilman and always taken an active part in all public matters and is an enterprising and progressive citizen Mr. McDougal is one of the men who came to this section at a time when it required nerve to stay and battle it out with the many adverse conditions with which the old timers had to contend He did so however and his success is due to good management and an unfailing faith in the4 future of this section and could see this county where it is today, one of the best in sathe state of Kansasa
FARMERS AND MERCHANTS STATE BANK
TOWNS and cities are often judged by their their banking institutions. and in the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Pawnee Rock, the people of that section of the county have an institution that meets every demand made upon it, and by straight forward business methods has gained a most enviable reputation in all parts ofBarton County.This bank was organized in 1908 by gentlemen who have had a great deal to do with the development of the county`s resources and the upbuilding of Pawnee Rock. This bank was organized with a capital of $15,000 and the deposits have grown larger each year and when the April, 1912 statement was issued it showed a total of approximately $132,000, the capital and surplus at the same time being $20,000.This bank occupies a fine brick building in the center of town. The building was arranged especially for banking purposes and contains modern, up—to—date fixtures. The latest style Manganese steel vault assures the safety of all money and valuables left at this bank. All the safeguards that are usually found in a progressive banking establishment are maintain-
ed by this eatabiishinent, and in addition to this the deposits are guaranteed by the Bank Depositors` Guaranty Fund of the State of Kansas. This is a strictly home institution, all the stock in the bank being owned by men whom have made this section of Kansas one of the most important in the state. The officers ofthis bank are men who stand high in the community and financial life of Barton County and are known through their progressive methodsand public spiritedness. Customers of this
bank are granted every accommodation that is consistent with safe banking methods. Theofficers of this bank are: H. H. Woodbury,president; D. R. Logan, vice—president; F. C'.Woodbury, cashier. The directors are: W.H. Bowman, T. H. Brewer, G. F. Spreier George Smith, George Washer, D. R. Logan,and H. H. Woodbury. This bank has won its high standing in the count.y by conducting a general banking business according to themost approved methods, and by making of the establishment a bank for all the people of the territory adjacent to Pawnee Rock.
PAWNEE ROCK STATE BANK
BARTON County is noted for its sound, substantial banking institutions andthere is none that stands better with the people of the county than the Pawnee Rock State Bank which was organized in August,1901. It was the first bank in the town and was made possible by E. R. and G. N. Moses,Robert Merteu, Peter Bloom, Charles Gano,J. T. Kell, M. E. Heynes and other well menwho took a leading part in the commercial life of the county. All of the organizers with the exception of the first two named are pioneers of Pawnee Rock while the Moses Brothers helped develop that part cf the county lying closely adjacent to Great Bend. The bank was Organized with a capital of $5,000, which has been increased to $25,000 from the earnings and not by assessment of the stockholders. Lt now has a surpltts of $3,000 and deposits of approximately $95,000. The bank has grown steadily since it was organized and has gained the confidence of its patrons by square deal methods and untiring efforts in meeting every demand made upon it by customers. The bank occupies a fine brick building on the Main street. It has a modern steel lined vault,which contains the latest improved Manganese
steel safe and as. additional protection the bank is equipped with an electric burglar alarm system which renders. it absolutely impregnable to burglars. On top of all this the depositors in this bank are secured by the Bank Depositors’ Guaranty Fund of the State of Kansas. This bank offers exceptional advantages to new depositors. It pays liberal interest on savings and time deposits and grants to customers every favor that is in keeping with safe banking methods. These features have made this bank popular with the people of Pawnee Rock and vicinity and is a great aid in teaching the young people that the only dollars worth two hundred cents are those saved in youth. The officers of this bank are: E. R. Moses, president; Peter Bloom, vice—president; A. Dring, cashier and A. S. Gross, assistant cashier. The directors are E. R. Moses, Jr., J. T. Kell, E. R. Moses,Peter Bloom and Robert Merten. All of these are men who enjoy the utmost confidence of the people of Barton County as they are among the men who made this county one of the best in the State of Kansas and are well and favorably known in the commercial andfinancial lite of the state. This bank has enjoyed its growth from the fact that it is a home institution officered and owned by home people and conducted for the people of Pawnee Rock and this section of the county. The success of this bank is due to the enterprise of its stockholders and officers who have gained the confidence of the people.
GRANT LIPPINCOTT
One of the well known newspaper men of Western Kansas, and one who is always working for the interests of his paper and the town in which it is published isGrant. Lippincott, publisher and proprietor of the Pawnee Rock Herald. Grant, as he is best known, was born in Atchison County, KansasFebruary 7, 1884; his father being J.H Lippincott who had a great deal to do with making the history cf Grant’s home county until 1893 when he went to Oklahoma where he now resides. Grant came to Barton County in 1904
and established the paper known as the Herald, in Pawnee Rock and since that time has taken an active part in the affairs of his town and county. He learned the printing trade in Hutchinson where he spent four years us an employee of the Hutchinson News. He is an expert printer, a brilliant writer and stands for the principles which he thinks are best for the majority. He was married September 2,1908 to Miss Myrtle L. Woelk whose parents who live seven miles southeast of Pawnee Rock and are old timers of that section of the state.Grant and his wife are naturally proud of their twin boys, Virgil Alvus and WilburAlfred. They were born August 25, 1910, and are children of whom anybody could be proud.Mr. Lippincott has been a member of the city council and has also served the town as clerk for two terms. He is a prominent,member of the Masonic order, and belongs to the lodge at Larned. He is also a member of the Great Bend Lodge of Elks, is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Yeoman lodge.He is an enterprising and progressive citizen and took an active part in the work that finally resulted in having Pawnee Rock, or what remains of it, in 1912, preserved as a historic point on the old Santa Fe Trail. Since he came to Pawnee Rock he has done a great deal to further the interests of the town not only through the columns of his newspaper but by his personal efforts.
THOMAS HENDERSON BREWER
THOMAS HENDERSON BREWER was born October 5, 1844, in Morgan County, indiana. He left there when he:was twelve years of age and went to Iowa with his parents where he remained until thefamily came to Kansas in 1857. They first located in Nemaha County where the elder Brewer engaged in farming. in September,1862 Mr.Brewer enlisted in the 13th Kansas regiment and was a member of Co. G. He served throughout the war and in addition to service that was most active in Arkansas and Missouri he took part in the battle of Prairie Grove one of the big engagements in the State of Arkansas. Shortly after the war he went to Nebraska where he remained for seven years. ln the fall of 1876 he came to Barton County and located at Great Bend where he engaged in the blacksmithing business. He was there for two years and in the spring of 1878 he purchased railroad land in Pawnee Rock township, buying the southeast quarter of section 23. He farmed until a short time ago when he retired and now occupies one of the nicest residences in Pawnee Rock. Hewas married December 22, 1867 to Miss Mar-garet E. Cummins of Nemaha County and they are the parents of six children: Ora A.,41 years of age, is now in Helena, Ok.; Eunice,39 years of age, is now Mrs. Albert Lile of Pawnee Rock; Emma, 38 years of age, is now Mrs, Charles Ross also of Pawnee Rock;Charles, 36 years of age, is living at Pryor, Oklahoma; Maggie, 31 years of age is now Mrs.H. E. Purlee of Red Bluff, California; Jessie,29 years of age, is Mrs. C. T. Belt and resides a short distance north of Pawnee Rock.Mr. Brewer owns a half section of land well improved in this county and a half interest in a half section in Hodgeman County. He is one of the directors of the Farmers and Merchants Bank and owns in addition to his residence another house and lot in the west part of town. Mr. Brewer takes an active part in all public matters and was probate judge of this county from 1890 to 1895. His residence contains eight rooms in addition to bath,closets, pantries, etc. Mr. Brewer is one of the best known men in this part of the state and has done a great deal in developing the resources of the county and making of Pawnee Rock one of the important towns of the county. He is one of the really old timers who saw this county grow from an almost barren waste to its present high state of cultivation.
NEWTON PHILLIP SMITH
NEWTON PHILLIP SMITH was born Sep tember 7, 1856, in Woodford County,Kentucky.he remained in his native state until he was fifteen years of age at which time he came to Barton County. This was in 1872 and he saw the county grow from an abode of buffalo and Indians to its present high state of cultivation. After he had been here a few years he pre-empted a claim of 80 acres in section 10, Pawnee Rock township and also the same amount of land in section 25 cf the same township. he ran a threshing machine and farmed for a number of years and in 1890 established a blacksmithing and repairing shop in Pawnee Rock. This is the pioneer shop of that section of the county and the work that is turned out there is known all over the county as the best that can be obtained. lt was while he was constable, an office that he held for several years that he broke up the Taylor gang of outlaws and horse thieves. This gang, led by George Taylor, terrorized this section of the country for a long time until Mr. Smith took up their trail and finally located them south of Fort Supply where he rounded up the gang and recovered a number of horses belonging near Pawnee Rock This was one of the most desperate gangs that ever infested this part of the state And before they were captured it was necessary to kill their leader.For this excellent work Mr. Smith received many words of praise and the heartfelt thanks of the entire community He also served as city marshal of Pawnee Rock an office in which he made a most enviable record. He was married in 1878 to MissMary Jane Lile and they are the parents of four children: Edwin G., 33 years of age, a contractor and builder who has built some of the finest buildings in Pawnee Rock among them being the school building and all the good buildings in the town; Garfield, 32.
years of age. aids his father in the blacksmith shop and is a skilled workman; Earl, 25 yearsof age, is manager of` the Rock Mill and Elevator Company`s interests in Great Bend;Blaine, 28 years of age, is a clerk in one of the biggest stores in Pawnee Rock. Mr. Smith has always been an enterprising and progressive citizen and is one of the really old timers of this section of the state and has had no small part in making of Barton County one of the largest in the State of Kansas.For the men who have taken an active part in the upbuilding of Pawnee Rock and the development of Barton County none is better known than the subject of this sketch, James H. Flick. Mr. Flick was barn October 10, 1851, in Lycoming County, Pa.When he was thirteen years old the family moved to Illinois where James remained for twenty years. He came from there to Barton County in 1887. He took up a homestead and bought land near Pawnee Rock and at once took a part in the development of the county`s resources. His old home is now known as theFish place, he having disposed of all his farming interests several years ago when he moved to Pawnee Rock and went into the hotel business, and it is safe to say that there is no hotel in the state that is better known than the Rock Hotel of Pawnee Rock. He still ownsthe hotel building but gave up the operating of it six years ago. In addition to the hotel Mr. Flick owns a nice residence and considerable other town przperty. He was married in Illinois to Miss Sarah Keith. They had two children, Daniel and Florence, the latter of whom is dead. Mr. Flick survived his first wife and in 1884 was married to Miss Sarah David and to this union there were born seven children all of whom are deceased except Jessie who is now lving in Pawnee Rock. Mr.Flick has always been one of the leading citizens of Pawnee Rock and has had a great deal to do with its upbuilding and making it one of the important towns of the county. He enjoys a wide acquaintance in all parts of the state of Kansas and is well known among the traveling fraternity. He is one of the really old timers who saw this county when it wasstruggling with the hard times and has seen it grow to its present high standing in the State of Kansas.
FRANCIS T. BELT
FRANCIS T. BELT, who now lives in Topeka, Kansas, is one of the really old timers of Barton County, he having come here in 1878 from the State of Illinois.He took up the occupation of farming imme-diately upon his arrival and his home place is located in section 21, township 20, range 15, where he resided for a number of years and cultivated the land. He remained here until 1901 when he retired and took up his residence in Topeka where he now lives. he was .married June 14, 1880, in Brussels, Illinois, to Miss Mary Jane Flanagan and they are the parents of four children: George F., 32 years of age, is in the real estate business in Kansas City; Charles T., 27 years cf age, is engaged in the farming business in Barton County; Nellie A., 26 years of age, resides in Topeka and Caroline, who died when she was one year of age. Mr. Belt is a prominent member of the G. A. R. and served his country in the civil war from February 28, 1862, until April 9,1865. He was a member of the 5th Missouri Cavalry which for a time was actively engaged in the capacity of body guard to General Schofield, and saw much service in skirmishes in Missouri and Arkansas. Mr. Belt was born in St. Louis, Mo., July 23, 1842, and during his residence in Barton County was one of the most active in the upbuilding of the town and the development of the soil. Mr.Belt’s family now owns 1,520 acres of land in this section of the state and are among the best known people who had a part in making Barton County one of the best in the State of Kansas. Mr. Belt says he held one public office while living in this county, that of justice of the peace but he resigned after a short time because he could not spare the time from his private affairs and when his first case was brought to him he acted as adviser and succeeded in settling the case of out of court.Mr. Belt is one of the few men who turned down a senatorial nomination in the Seventh congressional district of Kansas. He can relate many interesting incidents of the early days and is cne of those men to whom this part of the state owes its present high state of cultivation and high standing as one of the most productive counties in the country.
P. H. WILLIS
In writing up the history of Barton county the Pawnee Rock department would beincomplete without mention of P.Bair Willis- who is one of the best known men in Barton County. He was born October 23, 1845, Hartford, Conn., and came to Barton County in 1876 and went through the hard times with which the early day settlers had to contend .He took up a homestead near Pawnee Rock and farmed for ten years. He then moved to town and for the past twentyfive years has been closely identified with the upbuilding of Pawnee Rock. He was married in 1866 to Miss Christina Wrisle of Glastonbury, Coun.,and they are the parents of four children.Albert, 41 years of age, lives in Pawnee Rock,Nellie 38 years of age is now Mrs. Cal Reid of California, Earnest, 30 years of age, is in Pawnee Rock and Rosie, 28 years of age. is Mrs. B. Rose of Anthony, Kansas. Mr.Willis is a veteran of the civil war and was at member of the 6th Connecticut, having been enlisted in Company B. He was in the service sixteen months and saw much active duty most of it being in skirmishes. Since his residence in Pawnee Rock he and his sons have been engaged in the painting business and by doing only first class work and using the best of material they have gained the confidence of the people and enjoy a large patronage. Mr.Willis owns a nice residence in the town of Pawnee Rock and is one of the town’s most enterprising and progressive citizens and is one of those old timers who has seen this county grow from an almost barren waste to its present high standing among the best counties ofthe State of Kansas.
THOMAS HENRY MORRIS
THOMAS HENRY MORRIS was born in Jacksonville, illinois, February 16, 1860He came to Barton County from his native state when he was twenty three years of age, and took up the occupation of‘ farming one and one-half miles west of Pawnee Rock.
He has always been closely identified with the development of that part. of the county andis one of those men who came to this section at a time when only the stout hearted andthose who had faith in the future could remain and overcome the adverse conditions with which they had to contend. He was ried in Pawnee Rock, July 25, 1883 to Miss Ella M. Williams and they are the parents ofthree children as follows: Mabel N., 26 years of age, is now Mrs. A. S. Gross, residing in Pawnee Rock; Beatrice, 23 years of age, is now Mrs. E. B. Duncan of Liberty, Mo., and Leland, 16 years of age, is living at home. Mr.Morris owns one of the nicest residences in Pawncc Rock, a beautifully surrounded home,with eight rooms in addition to bath, closets.pantries. etc. Mr, Morris` country place consists of 320 acres of good farm land which is being farmed by renters. He is also interested in the Farmers and Merchants Telephone Company, the Farmers elevator Co. the Pawnee Rock State Bank and owns a large number of town lots. Although Mr. Morris has always had a large number of private interests to look after he has found time to take an active part in the affairs of his home community He has been a member of the city council, served as a member of the schoolboard and is known as an enterprising and progressive citizen, His home place in Pawnee Rock is located south of the depot and is surrounded by beautiful shade trees and neat well kept lawn and it is one of the pleasing sights that greets a stranger when arriving in Pawnee Rock.
WILLIAM M LEWIS
MONG the old timers of Pawnee Rock and Barton County, none is betterknown thanWilliam Lewis who came to this part of the state in 1874. He was born at Morrison, Illinois, April 12, 1862, and came here with his parents when he was twelve years of age. His father located a homestead two miles west of Pawnee Rock
and began the work of developing the soii.William attended school in this ctnnty and when be was twenty one years of age began farming near Pawnee Rock. He farmed for six years and then accepted a position with the Santa Fe Railroad Company, and was withthem for twelve years. One year of this time he was employed in Rice County and the remainder of the time was agent at Pawnee Rock. In 1900 he left the railroad company’s employ and established a grain elevator at Pawnee Rock which he has operated since that time. The elevator has a capacity 10,000 bushels and when established was owned by the firm of Logan & Lewis, Mr. Lewis becoming sole owner in 1908. Mr. Lewisowns 260 acres of land in Pawnee County which is worked by his boy, a fine residence in Pawnee Rock which contains eight rooms in addition to closets, pantries, etc., a number of town lots and private interests. He has served the town as mayor, has been a member of the council, police judge and has been one of the most popular citizens of the town, always standing for its best interests and advancement. He was married in this county June 6,1834 to Miss Della Hall and they are the parents of four children: Edna, 27 years of age,is now the wife of Dr. Button of Great Bend;Harry, 25 years of age, is in the postal service: Charles, 23 years of age, is farming on his fathers land near Pawnee Rock and Ruth,20 years cf age, is living at home. Mr. Lewis is one of the men who came here at a timewhen the county was in its infancy as far as agriculture goes and has seen it grow from an almost barren waste to its present highstate of cultivation.
WILLIAM T. WARNER
WILLIAM T. WARNER was born in Ohio March 22. 1859 and came to Pawnee Rock when he was twenty one Years of age. This was in 1881 and since that time he has been one of the best known men in that part of Barton County. I-Ie first worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and for twenty-fouryears was foreman of the section in which Pawnee Rock is located. Mr. Warner was married in 1880 to Miss Martha Booze in Ohio and they are the parents of seven children: Bertha, 32 years of age is now Mrs. A.M.Thomas and lives in Colorado; Lena, 28 years of age is now Mrs. W. H. Franklin of Pawnee Rock:Eva,26 years of age, is now Mrs. I. S. Brady residing two miles east of Pawnee Rock; Geo.L. is employed as traveling representative of the Merritt—Schwier Creamery Company; Everettt E., 20 years of age, is in the produce business in Pawnee Rock; Wm. J., Jr., 16 years ofage and Herold, 13 years of age, are living at home with their parents. Last April Mr. Warner opened a modern meat market in Pawnee Rock and since the beginning it has enjoyed good trade. He handles only the very best of fresh and salt meats and has his shop equipped for the proper handling and keeping of meats of all kinds. Mr. Warner owns a fine modern residence in Pawnee Rock. It consists of six rooms and is located on two acres of land.During Mr. Warner's residence in Pawnee Rock he has taken an active part in the affairsof the community and has held the office of mayor, has been a member of the city council and has also held township offices at different times} He is an enterprising and progressive citizen and enjoys a wide acquaintance in all parts of Pawnee Rock and Barton County.
STEPHEN J. WILLIAMS
STEPHEN J. WILLIAMS was born in Hawkins County, Tenn., October 17,1850. He resided in his native state until 1866 when he moved to Iowa where he remained for ten years before coming to Kansas in 1878. His parents came here four years before his arrival and the Williams family is one of the best known in this part. of the state. Mr. Williams bought railroad land three miles east of Pawnee Rock and at once began the development of the soil. For a num-ber of years he lived on a rented farm and farmed it in addition to his own. Then he bought a half section north and east of Pawnee Rock and about five miles from his home place. He farmed for a number of years, and seven years ago moved to town and now lives in a nice residence in Pawnee Rock. He was married in August., 1867, to Miss Myra McDavid and they are the parents of eight children as follows: Margaret M., 36 years of age, is nowMrs. S. P. Hill of Pawnee Rock; Mary L.,34 years of age is now Mrs. G. E. Conkle of Colo.;Lydia C., 31 years of age is now Mrs. JamesA. Lowhorne of Wichita; Andrew E.29years of age is farming near Pawnee Rock; WilliamE.26 years of age lives in Pawnee Rock John J., 23 years of age and Thelma, I6 yearsof age and Esther, 13 years of age, are also living in Pawnee Rock. Mr. Williams served his district as county commissioner for four years, has held township and school board offices and is one of the best. known men in the county. He is acne of the men who helpedto make this county one of the best in theState of Kansas.
WILLIAM H. BOWMAN
WILLIAII H. BOWMAN was born February 27, 1847, near Annapolis,Crawford County, Illinois. He was raised on a farm and came to Barton County in October, 1873. He located cn the southeast quarter of section 34, township 15, range 20 which adjoins the townsite of Pawnee Rock on the east. Since that time he has added to his holdings at different times until he and his sons now own, 2,200 acres of land in the vicinity of Pawnee Rock. Mr. Bowman was married April 26, 1868, in Illinois to MissCacepine Schamniahorn, and they are the parents of six children as follows: W. Walter, 13years of age, is farming in Pawnee County about two miles from Pawnee Rock; Richard H., 36 years of age, is farming near town; John E., 32 years of age, lives in Pawnee Rock andis now mayor of the town; Earl J., 30 yearsof age, lives in town as does Ross G., 28 years of age, and Ivy Grace, 21 years of age. Mr.Bowman has deeded a great deal of his land to his children who have the active management of their father’s holdings. In 1878 he.together with his brother Eli Bowman, and Aaron Garverick, built a flouring mill in Pawnee Rock and was in the milling and grain business, with the exception of one year, until1887; he was elected as a member of the first city coucil of the city of Pawnee Rock and has served as a member of the school board.He now lives permanently in town and owns a modern six room residence, on north Mainstreet and also owns other town property and is a stock holder and director in the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, and owns stock in the local Farmers` Elevator, the Farmers’ & Merchants Telephone Co., and the Electric Light, ice & Power Co. He has always taken an active interest in the progress of Pawnee Rock and vicinity and has had a great deal to do with the upbuilding of the town and the development of that section of the county. In addition to his Pawnee Rock holdings and farming interests in this county Mr. Bowman also has property in other states, but he always counts Kansas as his home and Pawnee Rock as his place of residence.
HENRY SMITH EVERITT
1. AMONG the first settlers of Barton County the name of Henry Smith Everitt, of"Evergreen Farm eight miles west of Great Bend, should be enrolled, because he selected this for a residence place in September,1874. He was born near Magnolia, Lasalle County, Illinois, on January 3, 1845, and until his eighteenth year assisted his father on the farm and attended the public schools of the neighborhood. In 1864 he enlisted for a term of three years as a private in Company H,104th Illinois Infantry, and after a trying service of one year and six months was discharged at the termination of the civil war. During that time he passed through the Atlanta campaign and followed Sherman on his march to the Sea, and has preserved an interesting diary of the movements, marches, skirmishes andhappenings of his command during several weeks of that period, and cherishes it as a sacred relic of the times. After his discharge he returned to his former home and resumed farining until coming to Barton County in 1874; when he bought three hundred and twenty acres from the Santa Fe Railway Company,and paid five dollars per acre, on eleven years time. In 1909 he purchased an additional adjoining forty acres at $50 per acre and at this time owns and farms three hundred and sixty acres. The whole is improved and in a high state of cultivation, and the residence, barn,and other buildings are ample for a farm of its size. Tree culture seems to have been an important feature when this place was first set- tied, and Mr. Everitt is nowenjoying the fruitsof his labor in a magnificent park which surrounds the home.ln February. 1869. Henry S. Everitt andMiss Elizabeth Ann Lewis. both of La Salle County, illinois. were united in marriage at the bride`s home in that county. Six children were born,and only two survived Three were taken in infancy, and a daughter, Elizabeth Rebecca, wife of David Ewing, on June 29,1911. William Everitt, who married Miss Myrtle Lloyd, resides on the northeast quarter of the same section, and George Nathan Everitt,who married Miss Anna Christianson, resides in Comanche County, Kansas.Mrs. Elizabeth A. Everitt, the mother and wife, departed this life on February 24, 1906,and is buried in the Everitt cemetery, near the residence.
A N D R E W G E IL
The country home-· of Andrew and Eva Florence Wallace Geil, "Westlawn Farm." takes its name from the beautiful park and lawn which surrounds the residence, a two story frame standing in the center, and is approached by pedestrians by a walkway bordered by sweet scented flowers,while rose bushes and ornamental plants and shrubs adzrn the grass covered lawn. Two circuitous driveways enter from either side and wind their way to the rear, and there become roads extending into the farm. In the rear are the barns, granary, tool sheds and other buildings, and windmills fanning the air.Thenthe farm is seen with its golden wheat and oats; its green corn, and meadows of alfalfa and native grasses, where horses and cattle graze, calves and colts, gamble, and fat swine mosey about. The gray coat of the house and the carmine of the outbuildings contrasts so well with the foliage of the trees and growing crops that they lend animation and enliven the picture. But when one enters and finds all the comforts of a city home he is impressed with the culture and refinement of the inmates,and the success of their venture on a Kansas homestead.The home place of Andrew Geil contains two hundred and forty acres and is in a high state of cultivation. The soil is good and it produces good crops. The buildings, imple-ments and stock on the farm are all in good condition and prove that the controlling spirit has his soul in his work. He both farms and breeds stock, and has designed his farm with this end in view. He also owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Rozel, Pawnee County, which is occupied by a tenant.Andrew Geil was born in Keokuk County,Iowa, on February 2nd, 1860, and came to Barton County, Kansas, in 1878, accompanied by his parents, Jacob and Louise Geil, who made their home on Walnut creek in Clarence township. He at first assisted his parents in their farm work, then was a renter and laterpurchased land. He was married on September28, 1888, to Miss Eva Florence Wallace, form-erly of near Bedford, Iowa, and they are the parents of ten interesting children. They are all at home with their parents.
WlLLlAM OTTE
THE home of William Otte is located oneand onefourth miles south of Heizer and the farm covers two hundred and sixty acres of choice farming lands. It was originally high, rolling prairie, but has been transformed into one of the most habitable places in Barton County. The house, barn andother improvements are all modern and attractive, and there is sufficient timber to light the landscape with green. The growing crops prove the soil to be fertile and in a high state of cultivation, and that the ruling spirit is a past master of agriculture.Williani Otte was born in Hanover, Germany, September 3rd, 1848, and came to America in 1868, when he was twenty years of age,and settled first in Rock County, Wisconsin.He remained there four years and then went to Cedar County, Iowa, where he remained un-til he came to Barton County in 1878. He bought school land in this county and also took a homestead, a part of which is now included in the home place, which comprises 260 acres of land. He also owns 100 acres four miles northeast of Heizer, 400 acres in Ness County and some town lots in Heizer. Mr, Otte married Mrs. Alvina Jackal November 7 1880 and they are the parents of seven children: William, George, Henry, Warner, Anna Frederick,Bertha, all of whom are residents of the county. Mrs. Otte was born December 16th, 1860,in Germany and is a kind mother and faithful housewife.
B O Y D E V E R S
The Evers home, four miles northwest of the court house in. Great Bend is one of the most inviting in the county. The grass plot in front of the house, the trees and plants growing in the yard and the paint on the house and other buildings harmonize so well that it is a relief to the eye as one approaches this model home. Much taste is displayed within the Evers home. Mr. Evers is a successful farmer and his wife is a model housekeeper. The order and harmony extend to all parts of the farm. The fence rows are guiltless of weeds and the ground is free from litter and idle farm machinery. This seems to be a place with room for everything and everything in its place. The soil which is naturally quite rich has been
properly fertilized and cultivated and is in splendid condition after twenty-seven years of continuous cultivation. It was i11 March, 1884, that Mr. Evers homesteaded the eighty acres where his home place is located. lt has been seven years since he purchased 160 additional acres at a price of $3,500. He bought this land on credit and paid for it with the crops he raised in the following three years. The price of land has advanced so rapidly during this time that. This quarter could be sold at any time for $16,000.This price has been refused by Mr. Evers because he could not get another quarter equally as good for that money. This is the story that is true of many quarters in that neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Evers are both natives of lndiana, having been born, reared, educated andmarried in or near Rockville in that state.This probably accounts for their success in Kansas, because a Hoosier is not to be outdone no matter where he may be transplanted. They are the parents ot five children. Otis married Miss Maud Barker; Kirby Evers who married Bliss Lillie Essniiller; Alice is now the wife of Frank Westman and Mabel who resides at home. lt will be seen from this that all the children are residing in this county.
J . P . D l R K S
FIFTEEN and a half miles southwest. of Great Bend and six and a half miles northwest of Pawnee Rock, in Pawnee Rock township, one of the finest wheat producing sections in the world, is one of the pretty farms in a pretty country. It is the property of Jacob P. Dirks, the eldest son of Susan and Peter H. Dirks. Born February 12,1875, and educated in the public schools, he took to farming early for himself. He was married on February 23, 1898 to Miss Lizzie C. Schultz of Clarence township. They are the parents of three children: Maggie, twelve years of age, Elmer Jacob, ten years and PearlLena, five years of age. They bought the land they live on, 160 acres, and on it have a one and a half story frame residence with eight rooms and basement. A good barn, granaries, chivhen houses, etc., are found on the place and it is one of the well improved farms of the neighborhood. The family is a popular one and merits its standing in the community. He rents and farms two hundred acres of land. Mr. Dirk‘s birth will long be remembered by those who came to this country with his parents because it is said they occupied a box
car on a siding in Pawnee Rock at the time of his birth, and that he first saw the light in such surroundings. From that fact it was then argued that he would be a great traveler and never settle down to a peaceful life, but he has and is one ot the most contented in his community and rarely rides in anything fasterthan an automobile.
GEORGE BAUER
GEORGE BAUER who lives four miles northeast of Pawnee Rock was born February 14. 1841, in the Province of Bavaria, Germany, and came to the United States with his parents in 1852. They at first made their home near Cincinnati, Ohio, where they settled permanently. He was educated in the public schools and tound employment there until August, 1861, and then enlisted as.a private in Company B, 25th Ohio Volunteers,and served four years, being discharged at Atlanta, Georgia, while on the March to the Sea under General Sherman. He was wounded in the left hip in the battle of Chickamauga and was in the battle at Mill Springs, where General Zollacoffer was killed, also at Perryville,Kentucky, and numerous other smaller engagements and skirmishes. He was in the division and corps commanded by Gen, Thomas and the brigade commanded by General Cook,and as they were fighters of note it is evi-dent that this soldiering experience was no child's play although Mr. Bauer is inclined least beastful than many. George Batter came to Barton County, Kansas, in the spring of 1875 and being an ex-soldier, entered a homestead of 100 acres. This he proved up and at a later period bought an additional eighty on the same section which makes a farm of 240 acres. lt is in a high state of cultivation and improved with a one story frame cottage, containing nine rooms. A good barn, granary and other outbuildings are also found on the place. Tree culture seems to be a thankless task in this neighborhood and attempts in this line have heretofore been ot no avail, but Mr. Bauer still hopes that his efforts will be crowned with success and that he may in time enclose his premises with a park. George Bauer wasmarried to Miss Maggie Stump of Cowley county Kansas, April 12, 1874. She died on August26. 1905. Mr. Bauer has three living children as follows: Mrs. Ada Shorpy who lives withher father and cares for his home. Mrs. Emma Lamb of Pawnee county and Miss Laura Batter residing in Larned, Kansas.
PAUL FRANCIS AND MELISSA
ANN SCHNECK
THE subjects of this sketch, Paul Francis and Melissa Ann Schneck, were members of the first party of emigrants to arrive on the townsite of Great Bend, and they possibly erected the first house. This little frame structure is shown as the L in the picture of their residence taken in 1871 and it first stood on a lot in the town. lt has,however, quite a history, as it has made several journeys between the village and their homestead before becoming a part of its permanent structure. These first settlers suffered many hardships and were persecuted continuously by bands of roving Indians, and those who attempted to work the land on claims only a short distance from the town experienced great fear. For this reason, Mr. Schneck for a long time kept a truck that conformed to the size of his little shack, and the rumor of a massacre in another part of Western Kansas often drove the family and their house onwheels back to the settlement.
The mules which brought this party from Illinois werethe main dependence of the family, untl whennot engaged breaking and cultivating the land helped to haul the material to build the present court house, the old Southern Hotel and the iirst Santa Fe depot. Mr. Schneck was lured by the game so plentiful at that period and made his pleasure a source of profit by hunting buffalo, deer, antelope, prairie chickens, etc., and selling the meat and pelts. He often made trips extending over weeks, leaving his wife as the protector of the home and little ones, and this she remembers as one of her greatest trials; for it was during an absenceof this kind that the death of little William Francis occurred on January 4th, 1872. He was encased in a coffin made by a willing carpenter and laid to rest by loving neighbors.Paul Francis Schneck served during the civil war as a private in Co. H, 2nd Illinois artillery. He died in Great Bend, Kansas, February 26th, 1911, and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Great Bend by sorrowing but loving friends. He was a noble comrade, faithful soldier and pathfinder and his good deeds redeem his few faults.Melissa Ann Fowler Schneck was bornOctober 27, 1842, on a canal boat on the Millionrille river, Ohio, and is the daughter of William and Mary Fowler of Perryburg, Ohio.The father was a miller and owner of a canal boat, but both parents died before Melissa was six years of age and she grew to womanhood in the home of an aunt at Florence, Michigan.On December 26, 1866, at the age of twentytwo she married Paul Francis Schneck, at Florence, Michigan. She is the mother of nine children, six of whom are living: Mrs. James McDonald, six miles south of Stafford; Mrs.Lizzie Ruble, Great Bend; Mrs. Rosa Belle Land, Great Bend; Frank Schneck, farmer of near Larned; Bertie Lougee Schneck farmer on home place and Miss Emma J. Schneck.Early in 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Schneck left Michigan for Quincy, Illinois, where they made their home for five years, or until August, 1871 when they came to the newly located town of Great Bend. They came overland in a wagon drawn by mules, and were accompanied by their three children, Mrs. Lewis P.Frey and Thompson Frey. The homestead located by them is four miles northwest ofthe court house, is a part of their present well tilled farm, and is very fertile.
PETER J. DECKERT
THE life story of Peter J. Deckert of "Silver ,Medal Farm." three miles north of Pawnee Rock if told in any otherstate or county would read like fiction, He was born April 8. 1872, in Russian Poland.and his father died shortly afterwards. ln the spring of 1874 his mother was married to PeterH. Dirks now living in Liberty township and with them he came to the United States and Barton County, Kansas, in the spring of 1875.'l`hey at first were members of the Mennonite Colony which settled near Dundee, but in 1877 the step-father purchased a heme near the western border of the cornty and it was there that young Peter grew to manhood on the farm, and received his educated in the schools of that district. At an early age he learned the value of money and how to save it by passing through the hard times that followed, or really only began in 1893 when he had reached the age of twenty-one. There had been hard periods previous to that. time but for four years there were almost complete crop failures and when in 1897 the good crops came Mr. Deckert had learned the lesson that was necessary to make him the practical farmer and prudent business man that he is today. Two good crops enabled him to marry and purchase a quarter section of land and from that date he began to accumulate and lay the foundation for his present prosperity. Today he owns four hundred acres of the finest agricultural land in Pawnee Rock township and he has it in the best possible state of cultivation His home is a three story frame with thirteen large airy rooms. lt is well and modernly furnished,beautifully painted and surrounded by a grass plot in which there are set numerous trees,shrubs and plants. The barn is 30 by 46 and has a large hay loft and stall for all stock in use on the farm. There is a good granary,machinery shed and the other necessary out-buildings, and three good windmills. There is also another two story, eight room tenant house with a good barn 40 by 60 with machine sheds and other buildings and this is occupied by his farm help. In the front is a blue grass plot and a number of evergreens. Peter J Deckert and Miss Susan Ratzlaff of Pawnee Rock township were married November 9, 1893,and they have been blessed with the following children: Lyndon, 12; Erben, 9; Otto, 7; Arbin, 4; Louise, 2, and Ivan, an infant of two months, at this writing.
WILLIAM VARNUM ADAMS
WiLLIAM VARNM ADAMS was born in Armstrong County, Pa., July 22,1866 He resided in his native state until 1904, at which time he came to Barton County,Kansas. he located on land south of the riverwhich was purchased by his father, Captain James Adams, from D. N. Heizer, in 1884, in South Bend township, four miles south of the city of Great Bend and began the building of a home. How well he has succeeded evidenced by the tine improvements to be found there. This land which consists of 200 acres,is located in section 21, township 20, range 13.His residence which has recently been finished consists of two stories with eleven rooms, exclusive of the garrct and baseent.lt is built according to plans made by Mr.Adams and is one of the best arranged homes to be found in Barton County. The front and half of the south and north sides of the building are enclosed by a cement floored porch with a roof like the roof on the building properand and known as a sweep design. The interiorof the building is finished in stucco ceilings and walls with the wood work stained a light oak shade The parlor and dining room open one into the other with a wide passage way on either side of which are heavy pillars.The kitchen and other rooms are well supplied with closets and pantries. On the upper floor are found the bed rooms, bath room and billiard room all of them being finished inkeeping with the lower floor. The lower rooms are furnished with leather upholstered furniture of modern design and altogether Mr.Adams has a home of which he should be proud. The barn which is 32 by 40 with a loft capable of containing a great amount of hay is equipped with autotnotic lifts, has a cement floor and stall room for all the animals that;Mr. Adams needs in his business. There are two large granaries and all the other out-buildings needed to make a thoroughly equipped farm. The place is equipped with an individual electric lighting plant. Pressure water system and the live stock maintained by
Mr. Adams while not of the thoroughbred or fancy kind is ample for all needs. Mr. Adams was married in 1891 in Kittaning, Armstrong County Pa., to Mia Allie Phillips. They are the parents of five children: Frank, 20 years of age; George, 19 years of age; Willis, 17 years of age; John, 15 years of age; Hazel, 12 years. All the children are at home and are being educated in the schools of Barton County. Mr. Adams has been a most successful farmer as he farms according to modern methods and to this fact and that he has taken the good years with the bad and made an average of them, without being discouraged he owes his success.
J. W. SODERSTROM
Of the men who came to Barton County in the early days, at a time when Indians and buffaloes disputed the encroachment of the white man, on what they considered their sole territory, none is better or more favorably known than J. W. Soderstrom.He was born in Altoona, Knox County, Illinois, in 1859, and came to Kansas with his parents John Olaf, and Mrs. Louisa Soderstrom,in 1878, when he was eighteen years of age.The elder Soderstrom purchased land in Osage County, just west. of the Osage Indian reservation and J. W. remained there for ten years,spending; part. of the time on the farm and theremainder of the time he was following his trade of carpenter in different parts of that section of the state. He came to Barton County in 1887, and bought land one and a half miles north of Hoisington. He remained on this farm for eight years and then moved tothe town of Hoisington and in the fall of 1902
was elected to the office of county treasurer He came to Great Bend in 1903 to assume the duties of this office and has remained here since that time. He served this term and gave way to Frank Millard who served two terms and he in turn retired in in 1908 in favor of Mr. Soderstrom who was again elected in1907. He was re-elected in 1910 and is now finishing his second successive term. Mr. Soderstrom has always taken an active part in public affairs and in addition to the office he now holds he has been a member of the school board at district No. 97, a member of the council in Hoisington and in 1908 was deputy assessor in Great Bend. Mr. Soderstrom is the fatlier of three children: Frank A., twenty-six years old, assistant cashier of the Peoples State Bank of Hoisington Elma B, who graduated from the State University in 1905 and is now teaching in the schools of Hoisington; Winnie, fifteen years of age, a pupil in the Great Bend High school. Mr. Soderstrom is a member of the Great Bend lodge of Elks,the A. O. l'. W. and wears a "2.5" year emblem cf the Odd Fellows. having been a member of this order for twenty-seven years. ln all his work for the public Mr. Soderstrom has always given his best efforts from the time he was township clerk and trustee, to his present position as one of the most important officers of the county. His recollections of the early days would make a volume inasmuch as he was here at a time when the development of the county was just beginning and he has seen it grow from almost a barren waste to its present high state of cultivation and standing among the counties of the state. During all this tin1e he has always been found with the progressive and public spirited element and has been a sound, substantial citizen.
GEORGE LEWIS BESSLER
GEORGE LEWIS BESSLER was born in Germany in 1876 and with his parents came to America in 1882. His parents located at Toledo, Ohio, where George went to school. In 1898 when the war with Spain was declared he enlisted in the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and he was with his company in Cuba.He served thirteen months in the army and upon his discharge returned to Toledo where he remained a short time before going to New York where he accepted a position as steward on one of the big ocean liners. He followed this business for three years after which he again returned to his home town, Toledo, andfrom there came to Barton County in 1904 during the harvest season. He accepted a position with the E. R. Moses Mercantile Co. and was connected with this firm utnil1908. He then took up the occupation cf farming which he followed for two years at the end of which time he again entered the mercantile business and at the time of this writing is preparing to open a modern second hand store where he will also carry a good stock of new furniture.His business is located in the Cook Building on the east side of the public square. Mr.Beseler is an enterprising and progressive citizen and finds time to take a deep interest in the public affairs of the community in which he lives and in all public matters is foundwith the progressive element.
WILSON M. ZIEBER
WILSON M. ZIEBER was born November 14, 1859 at Philadelphia. Pa. He remained in the Quaker State until he was twenty years of age, and received his early education there. He entered what is now known as the North Indiana University where he was a student for two years. He came to Harvey County, Kansas, in 1882, and taught in the schools of that county for two years. From there he moved to Barton County in 1884 and engaged in the nursery business, traveling all over this section of the country supplying the farmers with nursery products. Realizing the necessity for a first class nursery in the coun-ty, he purchased the business of Wilsom M Zieber located a short distance east of Pawnee Rock. He immediately made a number of improvements and as his business grew in volume it became necessary for him to have more land. In 1891 he bought eighty acres one mile and a half northeast of Pawnee Rock, and in 1893 added another eighty acres adjoining.This nursery is now recognized as the leaderin this line of business in this section of the country and its products are shipped to all parts of the Great Southwest. Mr. Zieber carries a fine line of trees and shrubs as well asflowers and plants and makes a specialty of Maple and Elm trees. in addition to the land mentioned above Mr. Zieber owns three quar-ter sections of land in Barton County and 160 acres in Ness County. He was married in November, 1890, to Miss Armeta Miller and they are the parents of eight children: Lester, 20 years; Gertrure E., 18 years; George A, 17 years; Warren M., 16 years; Eva A., 14;Mary L., 12 years; liatheryn J., 6 years; Florence 4 years. All of these are living at home: Lester being at home when he is not attendiiig the Agricultural College at Manhattan where he is now a student. Mr. Zieber has had a great deal of experience in the nursery business and the products from his establishment are known in all parts of this and surrounding states where the best in trees, flowers and shrubbery are appreciated.His home place is located a short distanceeast of Pawnee Rock.
JAMES R. EWING
THE J. R. Ewing Thoroughbred Stock and Alfalfa Farm," which is located eleven miles west of Great Bend, covers four hundred acres of the choicest of Barton County’s tillable land and is all that its name implies. its owner, James R. Ewing, is a fancier of thoroughbreds, and his specialties are Black and Gray Percheron horses, Short-horn Cattle, Big Boned English Berkshire hogs and Rhode Island Red chickens. The house is a two story frame with eleven rooms; thebarn 40x64; the poultry house large and modern. and there is an automobile garage, wind-mills and numerous outbuildings. The farm is set in corn, wheat and forage crops, and agoodly portion in alfalfa and native grasses.In fact it has been planned for a breeding farm and has the necessary appurtenances.On it at this time is "Kansas King," a thoroughbred registered Black Percheron stallion and eleven registered brood mares of the same breed. Two of these mares are said to be Worth above $1.000 each, and the value of"Kansas King" has not been fixed as he is not yet two years old and is said to be one of the largest colts ever bred in the county. "Deering Archerand six Shorthorn cows—all from imported stock. A herd of Big Boned English Berk-shire hogs and a flock of Rhode Island Red chickens. These animals have been bred for sale from sires imported at great cost, with a view to bettering the stock of the county, and are the result of many years of effort, and Mr.
Ewing deserves much credit for being the pioneer in his line.James R. Ewing was born February 10th,1840, in Crawfzrd County, Pa., but in 1857 moved to Webster County, Iowa, where he engaged in farming. On July 1-ith, 1861, he was married to Miss Hannah Elizabeth Cline, of that county. and they have four children: David A., Fred H. and Harve Ewing, all farming in Barton County, a11d Mrs. Blanche Nairn of Pawnee County. On August 22nd, 1862. He entered the United States army as a private in Co. l, 32nd Iowa Volunteers and served during the remainder of the civil war. He was in eight general engagements, many skirmishes. and was at one time for thirty-one days un-
der fire; but escaped with a scratch across the forehead, a grazed arm, and a hat shot from his head. He faced Price, Marrnadnke, Bee and Dwight at the battles of Ft. DeRusa, Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, Old Oaks, Lake Checot,Mineral Point, Big Blue and Nashville, and was at the taking of Ft. Blakeny, Ala., on the 14th day of April. 1865. After the close of the war he returned to his home in Iowa and took up farming again until coming to Barton County on November 13th, 1885. when he bought a section of land where he now resides. Although about seventy—two he is well preserved and actively engaged every working day, and drives his automobile as recklessly as the younger generation. Mrs. Ewing is also a well preserved lady. and has been a true helpmate for her energetic husband. She can yet attend to her household work and assist out of doors, and is very proud to do so.
HENRY ESSMILLER
TWENTY-EIGHT years ago this spring Henry Essmiller was employed by Fritz Hagleman as a farm hand to labor on the farm which he now owns and iuhabits is his home at the meager wage of $150 per annum. Ten years later, in 1893-he purchased the farm, and today is the owner of thirteen hundred and forty acres, located as follows:The home place, seven and one—half miles west of Great Bend, contains three hundred and eighty acres; one hundred and sixty in a nearby section; an eighty acre tract, and a two hundred and forty acre tract near Heizer, and four hundred and eighty acres near Rozel inPawnee County. These various tracts are all well improved and in a high state of cultivation. The soil is rich and these are choice farms, selected for their productiveness from the best body of lands in the entire State of Kansas. Besides this Mr. Essmiller has other investments of considerable magnitude and some money drawing a good rate of interest.When the family home, barns and various other buildings were erected, we imagine that as he is today, although everything is comfortable and of a substantial nature. What we mean is that there has been no attempt at display in fashioning his surroundings, but every care has been taken that his family, help and live stock should have all that is necessary for their comfort at the present, in order that greater and better buildings may take their place at a future date. every dollar in-vested has been made to represent one hundred cents in betterment. and has played its part in earning another dollar to buy more Land during harvest. time and the thrashing season these farms present a busy scene with their army of laborers garnering the golden grain, while other men work at plowing corn,mowing alfalfa breaking the fields for seeding time. Then again at morning, noon and night, when they gather around the board to partake of the bounteons fare, and go singing about the barns and lots "doing their chores”which include the milking of fifteen to eighteen cows, and caring for other cattle, hogs,horses and mules which aere bred and worked on a farm like this.Henry Essmiller was born in the Province of Hanover, Germany, on January 30th, 1862,Immigrated to America when eighteen years of age-Hemade his home in LaCrosse County, Wisconsin, for three years, and in 1883 came to Barton County. He was miarried to Miss Delia Sandman of La Crosse County,Wisconsin on Febuary 28, 1889, and they have two children: Zelphia, wife of HenryOtte and William D. Essniiller, who assists hisfather on the farm when not in school.
HARRY HOARD HOLMES
THE homee of Harry Hoard and Violet Louise Sowards Holmes, "Riverside Stock Farm," distant three and one half miles southwest from Great Bend. lies between the Santa Fe tracks and the Arkansas river. The residence and surroundings are very pleasing to the eye. The house, located on a mound, is approached through an avenue of towering locusts, the boughs meeting overhead. Forest trees of other kinds tower in the background protecting the grass plot which is kept green and plentifully sprinkled with flowering plants and shrubs. The house is a two story white frainc, with nine large airyrooms, sits high on its foundation, the ceilings are high, and the many gables and porches add to its attractiveness. The furn-ishings are both moder and elegant, and it is piped for lights and water. The main barn is 24x32, with a fifteen foot shed on three sides.Then comes the garage, cattle barn, granaries,chicken and hog houses, etc., and there are two cottages for tenants on other parts of the farm. The place covers five hundred acres of the most fertile of the famous Arkansas Valley and is in a high state of cultivation; but it more properly classes with the stock farms of the county, and is stocked with thorough-bred Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs that have taken many prizes at. the Nebraska State Fair. Hutchinson, Kansas City and St.Louis. Fiftyfive or sixty Shorthorns browse the meadow lands, and the head herder is "Royal Rainsden." who has never been defeated for a prize as a calf, yearling, senior yearling, ora two year old at the Nebraska State Fair.Then there are two or three females that have never been defeated in their class, having taken first at Hutchinson in 1910, and a high_prize at the American Royal Stock Show atKansas City. His hogs are the best bred in the state and are Duroc Jerseys; being sired by"Helen’s Wonder" and by "Mayboy," grand champion at the Worlds fair, St. Louis. Harry Hoard Holmes was born February20, 1868, in Chicago, and is the son of George
Lincoln Holmes and Helen C. Kellog. Thefather, before coming to Great Bend on June
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6, 1884, was cashier of the Chicago postoffice and connected with the Merchants National Bank of Chicago. He made his home on the ranch for twelve years and died on August 23,1896.George L. DeVilliars Holmes, a son, who died August 14, 1886, was a member of the family when coming to this county, as well asMrs. Sophia Hoard Holmes, the mother and grandmother, who died June 3, 1908. Henry Hoard Holmes was sixteen years of age when he arrived here and was educated in the publicschools of Chicago and Great Bend. he became infatuated with railroading and prepared himself for an engineer, and for one year held a position as engineer on the Michigan Central out of Chicago. He transferred to the Santa Fe system and for six years ran out of Chicago, Newton and Dodge City. His earnings were invested with his father in the purchase of the nve hundred acres surrounding his home, and in improvements and in stocking the ranch. He is now well contented with farm life and the pleasure of breeding thoroughbred stock for the market.Harry Hoard Holmes and Miss Viola Sowards, the only child of Marion F. and Mary `Rowell Sowards, of Barton County, were un-ited in marriage on April 13, 1890, and they have one interesting daughter, Miss Helen Hoard Holmes, as a pledge of that union.
FARM OF RUHE BROS.
THE history of the Ruhe Bros.’s farm, begins with the marriage of William Ruhe and Miss Christina Franka, both of Westphalia, Germany, which occurred on October 3, 1853, and their arrival in America in 1860. Wm. Ruhe was born in 1832,and Christina his wife, on February 21, 1836. The father learned the trade of stone mason, married and two years later they sailed away to this new world to seek their fortune.How they and their children have succeeded is the object of this sketch. They first made their home in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they lived for thirteen years, and then removed to Manchester, Dearborn County, Indiana, the husband earning his living by his trade. On October 20th, 1877, they landed in Barton County,and their possessions were somewhat limited.On their arrival in this county their real struggle began; the father securing work at his trade or otherwise, while the wife and children herded cattle and did what they could to help.Finally forty acres of school land was bought,seven miles northwest ot Great Bend, and a.home made, and with the soil under them prosperity began. This home was finally sold and another tract of school land, three and one-half miles west of the county seat was bought, and as this contained two hundred and forty acres they have since made it their home. The estate now includes this home farm, one hundred and sixty in Liberty town-ship, and a half section near Dodge City. The father died on April 19th, and the mother on November 16th, 1905. The surviving children are: Carrie, wife of August Rodenberg, near Dundee; Emma, wife of Fred Windhorst, Belpre; and William F., Fred, John H., Chris.W., Henry H., Christina and Herman W all living on the homestead.The home farm is in a high state of cultivation and shows that the Ruhe Brothers are up to-date farmers. and the improvements are both substantial and ample for the needs of the place. The home is a one story frame, and there is a good barn, granary and other out-buildings. These are surrounded by a grove of trees which break the winds and afford shelter for stock and fowls.
THOMAS HENRY WHITE
THOMAS HENRY WHlTE was born in Ontonagon County, Michigan, May 28,1861. He remained there until he was twenty nine years of age. He learned the blacksmithing trade and came to Barton County in 1889. He is a son of Thomas White who came to this county in 1877 and locatedon land in Walnut township, He died in 1897 after having been among the foremost men in developing that part of Barton County. His death was a shock to all his friends of whomhe had scores in all parts of the county. The youngerWhite was married to Miss Eva Lang in Eureka township, November 26. 1891,and they are the parents of seven children as follows: Leah, 19 years; Agnes S. 17; Clarence T., 14 years; Lydia, 11 years; Leonard, 9 years; Lola 7 years and Odah who is four Months of age at this writing. Mr. White farms 240 acres of landin Eureka township all of
which he owns and he has one of the most attractive home places to be found in that sec-tion of the county. The residence which is nicely situated and surrounded by trees contains eight rooms in addition to closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 60 by 28 feet and will be replaced by a larger and better one in the near future time to take an active part in the affairs of his township and is a member of the school board. He is one of the men who has had a great deal to do with the developing of the resources of that part of the county and is one of the men to whom Barton County owes its high standing among the best of counties of the State of Kansas and one of the most productive agricultural sections of the entire country. Mr.White is an enterprising and progressive citizen and enjoys a large acquaintance in allparts of the county.
FRED DUMKOW
THE fall of 1885 saw Fred Duinkow thoroughly disgusted with life in Chicago and he determined to try his fortune in Kansas. He had come from Berlin,Germany, five years previously to try his trade as a bricklayer, but he found that the pay of four dollars per day was not piling up the fortune he had come to America to make fast enough, and he must seek other fields. He desired to be identified with the soil; get down in it and dig, and see his fat and sleek herds come home at night. Uncle Sam offered free homes to naturalized Dutchmen and this was the lure that located him in Barton County.He arrived in Great Bend November 8, 1885,and located a homestead of forty acres fifteen miles northwest. Later he purchased enough at ten dollars per acre to make out a quarter section, and is now a contented farmer reaping his crops and owing no man. He has improved with a comfortable cottage, barn and other buildings, and his fields show the most careful tilling. He also has another farm of a half section seven miles northeast of Ness City, which is also well improved and in cultivation, so he takes life easy, and says he much prefers this life to his former existence in Chicago where the week‘s wage was usually spent before the next pay day.During his first five years in the county he followed his trade and at first layed brick for one dollar and fifty cents per day. That was the scale paid here then and he was glad to get the work, although he had moved away from a city where there =was plenty to do andthe wages. much better. He finally got work from the county and built several abutments for county bridges, and also laid the brick in the Walnut Creek Mill flue.Frederick Dumkow, born in the vicinity of Berlin, Germany, May 14th, 1851, and Matilda Baruth, born January 17th, 1852, in the same county, were married September 29th, 1874.They have two married daughters living in their neighborhood: Bertie, the wife of Daniel M. Converse; and Minnie, the wife of John Oetken."Cottonwood Grove," as this farm is now called, occupies a place in Barton County’s history, as it was for a number of years a post-office and stage stand during the pioneer days,and there the hungry were refreshed and the mail dispersed by Postmaster Wilkinson, who will be remembered by many now living. The advent of the railroad and rural routes changed this for the better years ago, but the memories of those early days still cling to this farm, and are often mentioned by those who talk over "old times."
GUSTAV SELLE
ONE of the most successful of the enter prising and progressive farmers of South Bend township is Gustav Selle,whose home place is located in section 10 of that township where he owns a half section of land. Mr. Selle was born in Westphalen, Germany, February 10, 1872. He came direct to Barton County from Germany in 1884 with his parents who located north of Ellinwood. His parents are now living in Pratt County. But Gustav has resided here since his arrival all of the time with the exception of vacation trips to California and other parts of the country. He lived north of Ellinwood until1897, when he moved to South Bend township.Mr. Selle is an enterprising and progressive farnier as is evidenced by the high class of improveinents to be found on his home place.A neatly arranged and well built residence contains six rooms in addition to pantries,
closets, etc. The barn is roomy and well built and including the automobile garage is 36 by40 feet in dimensions. The elevator is 24 by34 feet and has a capacity for holding 7,500 bushels of grain. Mr. Selle was married in 1902 to Miss Emma Souders and they are the parents of two children: Lorena, six years of age and Clyde, three years of age, the former having begun her education in the schools of the county while Clyde will probably begin his studies the coming school term. The surroundings on Mr. Selle’s home place are pleasing, there being plenty of shade trees, and shrubbery. The buildings are neatly and conveniently arranged and altogether Mr. Selle has one of the most desirable locations in South Bend township.
GEORGE WASHINGTON HART
GEORGE WASHINGTON HART was born February 22, 1843, in Erie County, Pa.He resided in his native state until he was thirty-three years of age. He came direct to Barton County from Pennsylvania in 1878 at a time when there were very few houses in Great Bend, and the county was not developed to any extent. He bought land south of the river in South Bend township. This land is now his home place and consists of 280 acres all of which is farmed under the personal supervision of Mr. Hart. The home place which is but a mile and a half from Great Bend has on it one of the most modern and substantial residences to be found in that part of the county. The building consists of 8 rooms in addition to the bath, closets, pantries, basement, etc. The house is lighted with an acetylene gas plant, heated by furnace and is modern throughout. The house is 30 by 80 feet in dimensions and has beautiful surroundings.Mr. Hart was married at Erie, Pa., in 1877, to Miss Hattie Elliott. They are the parents of three children: Jessie May who is 32 yearsof age and is now Mrs. E. E. Smith; Roy E.is 26 years old and is engaged in the farming business near Macksville, Kansas; Forrest, 20 years of age, is a student in the Great Bend High School. ln addition to the residence the barn and other outbuildings are constructed in a substantial manner and a small orchard
consisting of about one acre and a half and containing a large variety of trees is also found near the home building. The farm is stocked with a good grade of cattle and horseand Mr. Hart has taken no small part in the work of development of that part of the county lying south of the river and making of it one of the most desirable sections in this part of the state. Mr. Hart is familiar with the early history of the county as he is one of the really old timers and took an active part in reclaiming the land in this county and making it what it is today, one of the best counties inthe State of Kansas. _
F. H. EWING
THE "F. H. Ewing Pedigreed Stock Farm," located eleven and one-half miles west of Great Bend, is owned and managed by F. H. Ewing & Co., a firm composed of the father and sons. They breed and sell thoroughbred Black Percheron horses, Shetland ponies of the Scotch type. pure blooded Shorthorn cattle, Poland China hogs and White acres in Pawnee County. Both are well improved, well cultivated, and are valuable bodies of land. "King wheat" seeds most, of the acres, but corn, oats, Kaffir corn, alfalfa Wyandotte chickens. This farm covers three hundred and twenty acres, and Mr. Ewing owns another farm of four hundred and eighty and native grass all are grown, and the meadows are dotted with thoroughbred stock, whose ancestry came from across the ocean. This branch of the farm business has been of slow growth, but Mr. Ewing has gradually collected his herds and will eventually make it his leading business, although his stock has been
shipped to many counties in the state since he has been a breeder. He has been an exhibitor and has many prizes to show that prove his animals to be the very best of their type in the state. The improvements on this farm are a two story white frame house of eleven rooms; a barn 48x80; an elevator, garage,poultry house and numerous other small buildings. The premises are well fenced and well cared for and many trees and plants add beauty. Fred H. Ewing was born April 7th, 1873, near Lehigh, Webster County, Iowa, and is the second son of John R. and Hannah Elizabeth Ewing. He came to Barton County in 1885 with his parents and grew to manhood here.He was educated in the public schools of his district and at the Central Normal College of Great Bend, and was trained as a farmer and breeder by his father. On June 8th, 1898, he married Miss Lucy Gilmore, of Great Bend,and they have been blessed with four children: Lionel Frederick, 12; James Lowell, 6; Clevalolene, 3; and Olita Margaret, 1.
JAMES THOMAS McDONALD
JAMES THOMAS McDONALD was born February 15, 1871 in Hampshire County,West Virginia. In the same year he came to Missouri with his parents. He remained there for eleven years and then came to Franklin County, Kansas. After living in that county for five years he came to Stafford County and from there came to Barton County in 1901, and immediately began the business of farming. He owns a well improved quarter section six miles south of Great Bend which he farms himself. In addition to his home place he also farms a quarter section of land west and from this it can be seen that he is a mighty busy man. In 1895 he was married to Miss Daisy D. Piper and to this union there were born three children: Earl Thomas, seventeen years of age; Edna D., twelve years of age, and Elma Viola who died in 1910 when she was seven years of age. In 1904 Mr. Mc-
Donald was married to Miss Leana Ollie Schneck. The home place has a residence of eight rooms, a large barn 32 by 40 feet with a big loft. Mr. McDonald made one of the best farms in that section of the country, of his home place and of course has seen good and bad years during his eleven years residence in Barton County. On an average how ever he has done well and his place is maintained according to the best farming methods. best of live stock, both cattle and horses are maintained by Mr. McDonald and that he is a good farmer and understands modern methods is evidenced on every side. He is one if the many farmers who came here early In the present century and it is due to their efforts as much as those who came in the wiid and wooly days that Barton County occupies such a prominent position in the list of best agricultural counties of the state.
PAUL JAMES PASCOE
PAUL JAMES PASCOE was born in Rockland, Ontanogan County, Michigan, July29, 1861. He is a son of J. W. Pascoe,and was one of the first English speaking boys in Barton County. His father whose biography is found in another part of this book came to Kansas in the spring cf 1871 and first located in Russell County where he remained a short time and then returned to Michigan. He stayed there for a year and returned to Kansas and since that time has been one of the best known farmers of Barton County. Paul James Pascoe has been farming for himself for the past twenty-two years and owns the west half of section 30, Eureka township. He was married in June. 1885, to Miss Mary Anne White and they are the parents of six children as follows: John Thomas, 25 years of age; Richard West, 24 years; Myrel Grace, 22 years; Paul James, Jr., 17 years;May, 10 years and Lillian, 6 years. All the children are at home with the exception of Myrel Grace who is now Mrs. Phillip Dyer of this county. Mr. Pascoe has one of the best
improved and most attractive country homes to be found in that township. The residence has 8 rooms in addition to the bath room,closets, pantries, etc., while the barn is 32 by40 feet with a lean—to 16 by 40. The other out-buildings are well built and show that Mr.Pascoe is an enterprising farmer. The home place is surrounded by fine shade trees and a small orchard adds to the general appearance. Mr. Pascoe has been a member of the school board for a number of years and always takes a great interest in affairs that concern the welfare of the community in which he lives. The Pascoe family is one of those whose members have had so much to do with the development cf the county and the subject of this sketch can recall the times when the buffaloes were disputing the territory that is now Barton County. He is familiar with the early day history which he had no small part in making. The home place was located by his father in 1873 and is located on the north side of Walnut creek
JOST WARNKEN
THE History of Barton County cannot he written without giving due credit to the German American who helped first in its settlement and sowed the seed of good citizenship. The customs and laws of the mother country had bred in them habits of industry and economy and they began their lives here better fitted to battle with the trials incident to a new settlement than were their neighbors of American birth. The result has been an industrious, economical population,cultivating their fields with scrupulous care, and the erection of improvements of a permanent character. One race has learned from the other; both have been benefitted and neither is like the original stock. The German has progressed until the most enterprizing citizens of the county are of that class; while the American has become more conservative in his investments and manner of doing business.That is one reason why Barton County has been so blessed in the past, and is so firmly founded in frugal ways that it will always continue to be a prosperous county.Jost Warnken was born on a farm near Bremen, Germany, March 4th,, 1859, and emigrated to America in the fall of 1879. He first went to Pueblo, Colorado, where he was employed on a farm for one year; but not liking the country came to Barton County in the autumn of 1880. Here he hired himself out as a farm hand and worked for two seasons and then bought forty acres of school land, paying six dollars per acre. This he improved and in 1885 bought an interest in a threshing outfit and for three years he and his partners, Hans Jurgensen and William Otte, toured the county threshing the wheat, oats and rye of their neighbors. His was one of the pioneer crews and is remembered by many. He was engaged in this business at different times for seven years, but finally abandoned it in 1893, and has contented himself with farming since. His home farm, one mile south of Heizer, contains three hundred and twenty acres and is well improved and in a high state of cultivation.The residence is a two story frame, containing eleven airy rooms. It is painted white and sits back from the road with a nice lawn in front.There are plenty of shade trees, shrubs and plants in the yard, a nice orchard and a grow-ing garden. The barn is 32x64 and will house the stock and store the grain of the farm Besides this he has twelve acres adjoining Heizer, and two dwellings in the town which he rents.Jost Warnken and Miss Anna Reinecke, of,Wa1nut Creek, were married Jan. 16, 1886, and they are the parents of seven children: Herman, who married Miss Clara Hennning; Maliuda, who married Charles Lang; William, 19;Sylvia, 16; Delia, 13; Lillie, 8, and Virgil, 1.
AUGUST MEYER
ONE of the most successful farmers in Barton County, residing south of the river,is the subject of this sketch, August Meyer. He was born in Germany, January 8,1847 and came to America when he was twenty years of age. He with his brother, Henry
Meyer, first located in Chicago where he remained for about a year. He then came to Salina, Kansas, where he spent about six months. then going to Ellsworth, where he remained about the same length of time. He came to Barton County in 1869. He took up a homestead in Buffalo township at a time before the lndians and buffaloes had left this partof the country. He is the oldest settler now residing south of the river and has one of the nicest home places to be found in the county.The home place contains 160 acres in section 12, South Bend township, and he also owns a quarter in section 13, eighty in section 19 and owns a half section in Gray County and the same amount of land in Meade County. He farms a half section and rents the remainder of his land in this county. He has a. fine, modern home which contains nine rooms, a bath, closets and pantries. It is thoroughly modern in every way. Mr. Meyer hasbeenmarried three times and is the father of six children: Frank, 30 years of age; August, 23; Emma, 21; Charlie, 19, and Edward, 17, and William 15 years of age. The home place has a fine barn 30 by 36 feet well built and modern and a fine elevator with a capacity of 7,000 bushels of grain. Mr. Meyer is one of the most successful of the farmers of Barton County and has earned all that he has by intelligent farming methods applied with knowledge gained by experience. He is one of the really old timers of this county and can tell many interesting incidents of the early days in which he took a large part.
JOHN PHILLIP GALLON
Of the old timers here who came when they were children and saw this county grow from a barren waste to its present high state of cultivation none is better known than the subject of this sketch, John `Phillip Gallon, who now lives in a modern residence at the corner of Tenth and Heizer ,in Great Bend. Mr. Gallon was born March .20, 1866, in New York City and came to Barton County with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Gallon, in 1872. The family located in Walnut township where the elder Gallon took up a homestead two and a halt miles east; of Albert.Then began the work of building a home and they, like many others had to contend with the hardships which beset the pioneers on every hand. Mr. Gallon remained on the farm until he was sixteen years of age. During thistime he attended school and was taught by Charles Dodge, another of the old timers of this county. This school was located on the Roudebush farm. Mr. Gallon farmed continuously until 1910 when he retired and moved to Great Bend. He was married Thanksgiving Day, 1896, to Miss Ella Worden and they are the parents ot seven children, six of whom are living: Linsurd E., 1i years; Elmer P., 13 years; John W., 12 years; (Chas. L., deceased,was a twin with John W. and died when he was tour months of age); Ruth C., 9 years; and Margaret L., 1 Year old. Mr. Gallon still owns his old home place which was formerly the Cyrus Frey farm near Albert, in fact it adjoins the townsite on the south. This farm is new being worked by Mr. Worden, a brother-in-law of Mr. Gallon. He also owns nine acres of land in the town of Albert and in addition to his residence owns. three houses and and seven lots near his- home in Great Bend.Mr. Gallon has been road overseer and assessor for his district and was deputy sheriff at Albert during the administration of Lute Aber.He also has held township offices and has been a member of the school board. He was appointed justice of the peace by Governor Hoch and at all times has been an enterprising and progressive citizen and one who has had a great deal to do with the upbuilding of the county.
ALBERT FRED BATCHMAN
ALBERT FRED BATCHMAN was born in Erie County. Ohio, March 27, 1859, and came to Barton County in 1878. He first.located at Ellinwood where he remained for ten years, with the exception of about eight months, while he was in Colorado and New Mexico. He then began the farming business in Stafford County and was there eight years before he returned to this county and bought 280 acres of land in section G of Comanche township. Mr Batchtman farms all of this land and owns 160 acres in Stafford countywhich he rents, and 160 in South Bend township which he also rents by the Year. Mr.Batchman was married in 1890 to Miss CarrieNesting of Ellinwcod, Kansas. They are theparents of three children: Pearl, 19 years of years; Hildred, 12 years of age; and Albert,9 years old. All of them are students in the schools of the county. Mr. Batchmans home place is one of the most desirably located and most highly improved to be found in his township. The residence consists of seven rooms in addition to the closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 30 by 38 feet in dimensions with a large loft and is well built and conveniently arranged. The orchard which is found near the home is well kept and contains a wide variety of fruits common to this section of the country. The home is situated in neat,pleasing surroundings, there being ample shade trees as well as trees and shrubbery for ornamental purposes. Mr. Batchnian has had a great cleat to do with the development of the land lying south of the river and is an enterprising and progressive citizen. He uses modern farming methods and his success is due to this fact and the fact that he has gained the knowledge necessary to successful farming by going through the bad and good years thathave elapsed since he took up his home here.
FRANK GILLMORE McKINNEY
THE old Glenn homestead, one and one half miles northwest of Great Bend, is one of the best quarter sections in the county. lt is now owned and farmed by Frank G. McKinney, who has gone into the growing of alfalfa hay almost exclusively, and appears well satisfied with his venture. Of course he still raises sufficient corn and wheat for his own consumption, but his meadows, horses and cattle appear to be his chief concern. He owns some thirty head of horses and one hundred cattle, and has the foundation laid for a breeding farm.Frank is the son of Andrew McKinney and Marie Gillmore, the sister, of Myron Gillmore,for two terms sheriff of Barton County. The parents came to this county in 1871, when the subject of this sketch was seven years of age.They resided for one year on Walnut creek,and then removed to a homestead six miles east of Great Bend. As the country was thinly settled at that period, and the prairies covered with cattle, horses, antelope, buffalo, coyotes,and other wild animals, and as the home was not far from the Cheyenne Bottoms, the elder McKinney developed a fondness for hunting and soon became a companion of G. N. Moses, M. B. Fitts, J. B. Howard, Paul Schneck and others, who followed the buffalo as far west as Dodge City. In 1873 or 1874 he killed five buffalo in one day in the Bottoms and there are other feats of a similar kind which are still talked of among the early pioneers.It was while living at his second Kansas home that Master Frank first came face to face with death and crime. Near his father‘s home two Frenchmen were engaged sinking a well.One morning early the little fellow returned to the scene of the well digging, and noticing the absence of the men employed, he looked for them in their shack close by and was horrified to find one cold in death on the floor,while the other had been murdered on his bed. A party by the name of Hefty was later arrested for the crime, prosecuted by County Attorney Nimocks, and was acquitted and left the county after several years.Frank G. McKinney was born in Livingston County, Illinois, October 27, 1864, and atthis time is 47 years of age. he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Margaret Maur,in October, 1894. They have been blessed with five children; the eldest being 15 and the youngest 3 years old. Besides the home place described above Mr.McKinney owns 640 acres on Walnut creeknear Ness City. There is 240 acres of this tract under cultivation, and the houses, barn and fencing are all in good condition. This we think a good showing and proves the productiveness of Barton County, and the opportunities it offers when combined with pluck and a willingness to work.
AND LUCY HULL
HARTSHORN
THE life history of William W, and Lucy Hull Hartshorn, if written in full,would make interesting reading, because both have passed through more adventure than most persons content to end theirdays as peaceful farmers. They cultivate the quarter section as a homestead, four miles west of Great Bend, and reside in a two story frame nestling among the trees. They also own a tract of two hundred and eighty acres near Ford City, Kansas, and the revenue derived from these two tracts allow them to take life comfortably. William W. Hartshorn and Lucy R. Hull of Adams County, Illinois, were married August 3, 1871 and they came overland to Kansas, arriving on the townsite. Of Great Bend on October 16, 1871, and were among the second party of imigrants to settle here. They brought with them a wagon and team, bedding. dishes and cooking utensils, a cow and a coop of chickens, and were the first to possess these luxuries in the colony. Mrs. Hartshorn also enjoys the distinction of having set the first table in Great Bend; the table having been constructed by her own hands. Previously meals had been eaten "any old way," and when she owned a table, a cow and a flock of chickens, was considered rich beyond price. They soon adapted themselves to their surroundings and Mr.Hartshorn became a huntsman, and his wifebecame accustomed to a life on the plains, and
if the life was rugged and full of dangers it also had its pleasures as well. We have attempted a description of the early colony days in another part of this volume and will not repeat here, simply saying that this couple experienced the worst of these trials, and contributed their mite to alleviate them.William W. Hartshorn was born July 25th,1847, on a farm in Adams County, Illinois. He was educated and grew to manhood there, and in 1864 enlisted as a private in Company C,50th Illinois Volunteers and served one and a half years. He accompanied Sherman on his March to the Sea, and through South and North Carolina. He was first under fire at Resacca and at the Battle of Altoona Pass Georgia, and is one of the heroes of that engagement, having helped to hold the Pass under a heavy and destructive fire. Out of a company of thirty-nine men there were five killed and eighteen wounded; and Mr. Harts-horn was slightly wounded in the foot. He was also at the battle of Columbia, Resacca,Bentonville and Savannah; the last being a seige of one week. At the close of the war he returned to his home in Adams County, Illinois, and resumed farming until his marriage and coming to this county. Mrs. Lucy R.Hartshorn was horn on May 10th, 1849, in Hampshire County, West Virginia, and this union has been blessed with eight children.
HENRY SCHAEFFER
THE subject of this sketch, Henry Schaeffer, is the father of the first white child born in the city of Great Bend. Mr. Schaeffer is a native of Germany, having been born in that country in 1855. He canie to Barton County in 1871. He is a carpenter by trade and helped to build the Barton County court house and had charge of the work on the Southern Hotel, the first building to be erected in Great Bend. His daughter, Emma,who is now Mrs. Will Armstrong and lives with her husband in Stafford County, was born April 20, 1872 and enjoys the distinction of having been the first white child born in the city of Great Bend. Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer now resides across the Barton County line in Stafford County. They are the parents of four other children: August, 53 years of age; Charles, 37 years of age, and Mattie, 43 years of age, who is now Mrs. G. W. Tucker and resides in this county seven miles south of Great Bend; Marie, 32 years of age, is now Mrs. Lot Ewalt residing in Arkansas. Mr. Schaeffer took up a claim upon his arrival in this county and the land that comprised his claim is now taken up by the cemetery west of Great Bend. Mr.Schaeffer had an active part in the building of Great Bend and was associatedwith all the old timers who have helped to make Barton County famous and productive.We show here a likeness of Mr. Schaeffer.
FERDNAND C. MANETH
FERDNAND C. MANETI-I was born in Austria March 7, 1872, and came to Bar- ton County with his parents when he was six years of age. This was in 1878 and his father took up land in Walnut township and he was one of the men who had so much to do with the development of that part of Barton County. His father`s name was Ferdnand Vincent Maneth and up until the time of his death in 1906 was one of the best known men in this part of the state. The younger Maneth now farms his home place consisting of 320 acres of good land. Mr. Maneth was married to Miss Anna Cook October 25, 1893, and they are the parents of six children as follows: Fred, 12 years; Anna, 10 years; Henry 9 years; William, 6 years; Mary 3 years and Louise, 6 months of age. The residence consists of eight rooms in addition to bath, closets, etc. and is surrounded by shade trees and an orchard covering about an acre of ground and con-taining trees of several varieties of fruits common to this section of the country. The barn is 32 by 76 feet in dimensions and is arranged for taking care of a large number of animals.The Maneth family is one of the best known in Barton County on account of the fact that they came here at a time when the county was being developed and just emerged from the frontier stage. This family passed through the hard times of the 80’s and had much to do with the work of making this county one of the best in the State of Kansas and one of the leading agricultural sections of the world. Mr.Maneth’s mother lives with him and his brother on the home place which is one of the most attractive farms in the county. Mr.Maneth always maintains a good grade of cattle and horses and gives personal attention to all his farming work. He has learned the farming business by experience and is one ofthe successful young farmers of that part of the county.
CHARLES B. HOWELL
CHARLES B. HOWELL was born atWinterset, Madison County, Iowa, November 10, 1867, and came to Barton County in 1878. He was married September 7, 1893, to Miss Mary Ellen Langford of this county.They have four children as follows: Jennie Evelyn, 17 years of age; Ada Gertrude, 15years of age; Edna Gladys, 14 years of age and Virgil Vernon, 8 years of age. The children are being educated in the schools of the county. The family resides in Great Bend in a modern residence at 2912 Broadway with the exception of three months of each year which they spend on the country home place.lt is located fourteen miles northwest of Great Bend and comprises the east half of section 36 in Walnut township. In addition to this land Mr, Howell owns a quarter section in Clarence township which he farms in addition to the home place. He also owns a quarter of land in Ford County. The Howell country home is one of the most attractive to be found in that part of the county. It is beautifully situated in a bend in Walnut creek and is surrounded by large, well kept shade trees which are found on three sides of the buildings. The residence contains nine rooms in addition to bath, closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 30 feet square and among the other buildings are found an automobile garage,granary and all the other necessary buildings usually found on a modern Barton County farm. Mr. Howell is one of the best known men in the county and has had a great deal to do with the development of the county’s resources. In addition to his own interests Mr.Howell has found time to take an active partin affairs that concern the welfare of the county and has served on the school board and is one of those men who came here in the early days when the county was in need ofdevelopment and went through the hardships that were sustained by those men to the end that Barton County could be made one of the best counties in the State of Kansas.
OTI S EV ERS
OF the many younger farmers in Barton County none is better known than Otis. He was born in indiana April 7 1879 and came to Barton County with his parents when he was five years of age. His father, Boyd levers, is one of the old timers of the county who is still actively engaged in farmng. and is mentioned in another part of this book. Mr. Evers was married November13, 1893, to Miss Maud Barger of Stafford County and they are the parents of five children: Leslie. S years of age; Claire, 6 years of age; Elmer, 4 years of age; Hazel, 2 years of age, and Harley who is 4 months old. Mr.Evers farms 320 acres of land, 160 of which belongs to his brother. He has been farming for himself for several years and his home place is the northwest quarter of section one.bufffalo township. The residence contains nine rooms in addition to the bath, closets, etc., and is situated in a beautiful spot surrounded by trees and other foliage. The barns of which there are two, are 28 by 56 feet and 16 by 24 feet in dimensions. The other out buildings are well built and show that Mr. Evers is an enterprising farmer. He is contemplating the erection of an elevator and when this and other improvements he will make this year are finished he will have as fine a set of improvements as can be found in that part of the county. The Evers family is one of the best known in Barton County as they have had a great deal to do with the developing of its residences and have helped in no small way in making Barton County one of the best in the State of Kansas and one ot the most important agricultural sections of the country. ln addition to the other improvements Mr. Evers has a well arranged orchard which covers about four acres of land andcontains trees representing nearly all varieties of fruits that are common to this section of the state.
JAMES SHELDON WINGET
ONE of the best known men in Barton County and one who has had a great deal to do with the upbuilding and develcping of that part of it lying adjacent to the town of Albert is James Sheldon Winget.He was born in Deleware County, Ohio, March 24, 1856. He was raised in the state of lowa and came to Barton County in March, 1878.Upon his arrival he took up a homestead in Ness County but soon after he had proved upon it he took up his permanent residence in this county. He is well known in all parts of the county and enjoys a most enviable reputation as an auctioneer. He has had charge of a majority of the big sales that have been held in his section of the county in recent years.His services have been sought in this capacity by people in all parts of Barton, and his experience and knowledge cf values and wide acquaintance makes it possible for him to always give satisfaction to both the buyer and seller. For the past twenty-iive years he has practiced as a veterinarian and has been most successful in this profession. He has by actual experience gained a great deal of knowledge about the equine family, their diseases and ailments and he is called by some of the leading horse and cattle owners of the county when the services of an experienced veterinarian are required. He was married March 23, 1881, to Miss Della Bridges of this county and they are the parents of six children as follows: Clara, 30 years of age, is now Mrs.M. L. Worden of Albert; Myra, 26 years of age, is a teacher in the schools of the county; John G., 24 years of age; May, 19; Roger, who died in January 1911, when he was 21 years of age and James, 15 years of age. Mr. Winget’s home place adjoins the town cf Albert on the north where he owns 200 acres of land.He also owns 175 acres in Oklahoma, a half section in Scott County, a section in Rush County and has always taken an active part in the business of farming. His residence contains 10 rooms and surrounded by a fine set of improvements, and is one of the most attractive homes in that part of the county.Mr. Winget has always taken an active part in the affairs of his community and has held township offices and is known as an enterprising and progressive citizen.
HENRY MEYER
ONE of the best known families of Buffalo
township is that of Henry Meyer who came to America from Germany where he was
born September 18, 1842. He first located in Chicago where he remained for
about six months before he went to New Orleans where he resided until 1870 when
he came to Barton County, Kansas. He came to this part of the state with the
Reinecke and Schultz families and since his arrival here has always taken an
active part in the farming business in Buffalo township. He was married in 1877
to Miss Mary Jilg and they are the parents of ten children as follows: Henry,
35 years, lives in Heizer and runs a threshing outfit; Charles, 30, is farming
in Comanche County; Mary, 33, is now Mrs. Jacob Weltmer of Rush Center; August,
27, is a carpenter by trade and lives at home; Antone, 21, lives at home;
Annie, 25, is now Mrs. Wm. Shuss of Garfield;
Flora, 23, is at home; William, 19, is also at
home; Eddie, 17, lives at Garfield, and Fred, 14, lives at home. The home place
is located on the northwest quarter of section 4, Great Bend township and is
one of the nicest farm homes in that part of the county. The residence contains
eight rooms in addition to the closets, pantries, etc., and is a modernly built
dwelling. In addition to the land on the home place Mr. Meyer owns a quarter
section of land in Comanche County and it is being farmed by Mr. Meyer's son
Charles. The home place contains a three acre orchard which contains trees that
bear nearly all varieties of fruits common to this section of the country. The
barn is 75 by 35 feet in dimensions and is arranged for the accommodation of a
large number of animals. Mr. Meyer is one of the best known men in that part of
the county and is an enterprising and progressive citizen.
LESLIE JAMES CARAWAY
LESLIE JAMES CARAWAY was born June 8, 1888, in
Barton County, Kansas, is one of those native products who has taken up the
work of farming and will continue the development of the county's resources
which was so ably begun by their fathers in the early days. He is a son of Mr.
and Mrs. George H. Caraway who came to this county in 1885. Mr. Caraway died in
1900 and since that time Leslie James Caraway has carried on the management of
the home place which comprises the southeast quarter of section 19, Great Bend
township. Mr. Caraway's mother died June 2, 1907. She was survived by Leslie
James, who is now 24 years of age; Beatrice, 20, Kent, 16 and George 22 years
of age. The elder Caraway was one of the best known men in the county and for a
number of years after his arrival he taught school but finally took up the
occupation of farming which he followed until his death which was a great shock
to his many friends in all parts of the county. The residence on the home place
consists of eight rooms in addition to the closets, pantries, etc. The barn is
42 by 44 feet in dimensions in the main building, and like the other
out-buildings and residence, is well built and substantial. The home place is
nicely situated and is surrounded by a small orchard and shade trees. In
addition to the land on the home place Mr. Caraway farms another quarter which
he rents. This land is located south of the home place. The Caraway family is
one of the best known in that section of the county and it is one that has had
a great deal to do with the development of the county's resources and in making
it one of the best in the State of Kansas.
GEORGE PARKER WILSON
GEORGE PARKER WILSON was born in Jefferson
County, Kansas, April 10, 1863 and came to Barton County In July, 1885. In
September of the same year he moved to the county with his family and took up
his permanent residence. He first lived in Albion township where he remained
until 1900, when he moved to his present home place which comprises the
southwest quarter of section 13, Eureka township. Mr. Wilson was one of the
first Barton County farmers to take up the modern idea of giving his farm a
name, and it is now known and is registered, "The Eureka Golden Rule Stock
Farm." It is located ten miles northwest of Great Bend and is one of the
most attractive and best improved places in that section of the county. The
residence contains ten rooms in addition to closets, pantries, etc. The barn
which is neatly painted and bears the name of the farm is 44 by 60 feet and is equipped
with modern appliances for handling hay and manure. Mr. Wilson has always taken
a great interest in improving the breed of the horses, cattle and hogs of the
farmers of the county and has made a success of breeding and raising Short Horn
cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs and now owns two of the finest stallions in the
county. The horses are known as "George Dewey," a big, fine Percheron
that enjoys a good reputation; and "Tom," a well built "Clyde
and Coach." Mr. Wilson has every reason to be proud of these horses as
they are known wherever good horse flesh is talked in the county. Mr. Wilson
was married November 12, 1885, to Miss Ida M. Ingram in Jefferson County and
they were the parents of five children as follows: Nannie S., 26 years of age,
is now Mrs. Charles Younkin of Great Bend; George Grover, 25 years of age, is
residing in Rush County; Rhoda May, 23 years of age, is now Mrs. Frank French
of Hoisington; Gertrude Pearl, 21 years of age, is now Mrs. James M. McCutchan,
also of Hoisington, and Lora Edith, now Mrs. Harry Rogers, 2, years of age, of
Spearville, living at Spearville. Mr. Wilson survived his first wife and in
1900 was married to Miss Flora Gale Mitchell of this county and they are the
parents of two children: Valeria Josephine, 8 years of age and Fleta Marie, 3
years of age. With all Mr. Wilson's private interests he has found time to take
an active part in the affairs of his township and has served as trustee of
Albion township and has also been a member of the school board. Mr. Wilson came
to this county at a time when it required men of experience and men who had
faith in the future of this section to make it one of the best counties in the
State of Kansas.
HOISINGTON
WHEN the main western line of the Missouri
Pacific railroad was being built west from Kansas City, and the construction
force had reached a point near where is now the townsite of Hoisington, a
company of well known Kansas men began the laying out of the town that takes
its name from the head of the company, A. J. Hoisington, one of the pioneers of
Barton County and for many years engaged in the newspaper business in Great
Bend.
The townsite company was composed of A. J.
Hoisington, C. Samuels, H. T. Weaver, E. L. Chapman, Edward and Clayton Moses
and S. V. Brinkman of Great Bend, these gentlemen having a one-half interest in
the company. The remainder of the interest In the company was owned by S. V.
McCracken and Brothers and E. C. Moderwell.
The first substantial building to be erected
on the townsite was a two-story structure which was occupied by the firm of
Brooker and Brown with a stock of general merchandise. This was in 1886,
shortly after the townsite company was organized. The first agent of the town
company was A. Mitchell, who served for about a year, when he retired and the
place was taken by A. H. Baker in 1887.
In 1887 a great many people from Iowa, Illinois
and other eastern states, began to arrive and the town began its growth which
has been remarkable from the fact that it was not of the spasmodic, boom kind,
but has been steady and substantial until now the town has a population of
2,200. This number will be greatly increased when the Missouri Pacific shops
are in operation with a full force of men.
The town was incorporated in 1888 as a city of
the third class, and at the first city election E. M. Carr was elected mayor.
The council was made up of men who were progressive and steps were immediately
taken to make the town one that offered good advantages for home making.
The territory surrounding Hoislngton is among
the best and most productive in Barton County, and with the beginning of the
town a great many names were added to the rural districts' population through
the sale of farm land to eastern people. As the soil was developed and made to
produce more and more each year the demand for supplies grew and a number of
good stores were added to Hoisington's business section. The first bank was
established by A. J. Hoisington in 1887.
The schools of Hoisington have always been
maintained on the same high standard as is found in all parts of Barton County.
The city schools are among the best attended in the county. There are two fine
buildings, one on the east and one on the west side of town. In these buildings
there is plenty of room to take care of all the pupils enrolled and the future
has been taken care of by provision for a large increase in the attendance.
Hoisington's population is made up of lawabiding people and the religious
advantages offered by the town are second to no town in this part of the
country. The following denominations are represented by large congregations and
commodious and modern houses of worship: Catholic, United Brethren, Christian,
Methodist and German Lutheran. All the societies usually found in connection
with churches of these denominations are active in Hoisington and have large
memberships and accomplish a great deal of good in the field of religious
endeavor.
The business section of Hoisington is well
built and the stores which represent nearly all lines of the mercantile trade,
contain large and well selected lines of goods. There are six general stores,
three banks, three drug stores and many other stores that are operated on a
high standard of excellence.
Hoisington has a municipal water plant that
supplies water for domestic and other purposes at a nominal cost to the
consumer. A fine sewage system was recently completed at a cost of $45,000 and
it adds greatly to the advantages of the town as a place in which to make a
home. A local company operates a modern electric and ice plant that meets the
demands of the town in a most acceptable manner.
The officers of the city at the present time
are: Charles Hall, mayor; F. A. Soderstrom, treasurer; J. L. Pieper, clerk; B.
F. Jones, police judge; J. C. Ready, marshall, and J. R. Williams, water
commissioner. The council is composed of the following: T. C. Morrison,
president; H. E. Willard, Phil Ochs, Jr., J. M. Lewis, M. H. Beckett, A.
Kindsvater, G. W. Cooney and J. F. Stoskopf.
Hoisington is a freight and passenger division
on the Missouri Pacific railroad and the company operates at this point the
largest shops between Sedalia and Pueblo and, next to the Sedalia shops, are
the largest owned by this company on its entire system. The pay roll of the
railroad men in Hoisington adds greatly to the prosperity of the city and makes
it not alone dependent on the famers in the surrounding country for trade.
September 28, 1910, work was begun on the
first building that makes up the large number composing the Missouri Pacific
shops. This building is the roundhouse and has a concrete foundation with
fifteen 63-foot engine pits. It is a brick building with the most modern
apparatus and appliances. Two sides of the structure are composed of glass
which allows plenty of light to filter in. It contains 2,000 yards of concrete,
has a turntable with a diameter of seventy-five feet, a 100,000-gallon capacity
hot well for the purpose of washing boilers, etc.
The coal chute has a capacity of 500 tons of
coal and is the type made by the Robinson & Schafer Co. It has elevators
with a capacity for lifting 125 tons of coal per hour and a storage capacity
for fifteen tons of sand. Green sand is made ready for use after it has been
lifted by a Holeman elevator system to the top of the chute where it is dried
by a steam drying apparatus. From the dryer it is conducted through chutes to
the storage bins from where it is supplied to the engines as needed. This
system almost entirely eliminates hand work and results in a high class
product. Near the coal chutes are found two 100,000-gallon water tanks that
afford an endless supply of good water. The water is forced into the tanks by
modern pumping systems and their close proximity to the coal chutes makes it
possible for an engine to be supplied with coal, water and sand in the shortest
possible time.
The cinder pit on which work was begun October
24, 1910, is 225 feet in length with a depressed track which allows the work of
cleaning the fire box of an engine to be done quickly and thoroughly.
The blacksmith and machine buildings are large
and equipped with all the latest labor saving machinery and are capable of
turning out a great amount of work in the shortest possible time and when in
full operation will give employment to a large number of men.
The system by which water is supplied to all
parts of the different buildings is composed o three wells near the
powerhouse—powerful pumps that force water into the pipe lines that conduct it
to all parts of the works. The reservoir for the reserve supply of water has a
capacity of 100,000 gallons.
The power for the plant is furnished by
powerful engines and boilers housed in a large building from where power is
transmitted to all parts of the works by twenty-four wooden poles strung with
wire of high carrying capacity.
On the grounds are found a number of other
buildings which include the offices of the different heads of departments and
when the shops are working at full capacity it is expected that a force of
1,600 men will be required. The total cost of the plant is about $1,000,000.
All the buildings are amply protected against fire by the latest and most
approved methods.
The Missouri Pacific shops is an establishment
of which the people of Barton County are justly proud and it is a big thing for
the town of Hoisington from a business standpoint.
PEOPLES STATE BANK, HOISINGTON
The Peoples State Bank of Hoisington, Kansas,
was organized May 25th, 1903, with E. R. Moses, president, O. P. Putman,
vice-president, W. B. Lucas, cashier, and the following directors, Henry
Wildgen, D. J. Lewis, T. C. Morrison, Robt. Merten, R. H. Moses, E. H. Heath,
G. N. Moses and E. R. Moses.
The bank opened for business June 15, 1903 in
the back room of T. C. Morrison's Mercantile house. In a very short time it
moved to its present quarters in the J. B. McCauley Opera House Building, which
they purchased in May, 1904. They immediately enlarged the opera house to its
present size and extended their banking rooms to its present dimensions, making
one of the finest banking rooms in the State of Kansas, being finished with
marble on the outside and marble and mahogony on the inside. With rooms for
customers' use, directors' room, and private rooms for its officer including
all the conveniences modern science can give such as electric lights, hot water
heat, lavatories and rest rooms for its customers. The officers find it a
pleasure to do business in its present quarters. Since the bank was organized
Mr. O. P. Putnam, Henry Wildgen and G. N. Moses have passed away. E. R. Moses,
Sr., has been president from its beginning. Mr. W. B. Lucas has been cashier
from its beginning. Frank Soderstrom who was bookkeeper is now assistant
cashier and Miss Eva Goodwin has been book-keeper since July, 1910. The bank
has had a regular semi-annual dividend since 1905 and has increased its surplus
each year until January, 1911, the capital stock was increased from $10,000 to
$25,000 with a surplus of $2,500. This increase was practically made from the
earnings of the bank.
The present directors are T. C. Burton,
vice-president and director, M. H. Beckett, B. C. Wildgen, E. R. Moses, Jr., Robt.
Merten and E. R. Moses, Sr.
The deposits of this bank are over $160,000
now and are constantly increasing. The loans and discounts are over $140,000.
The success of this bank has been from its very beginning and one of its
reasons for its success is the manner in which it treats its customers and
people in general. Once a customer, always a customer. The deposits of this
bank are guaranteed under the state law. The bank pays interest on all time and
saving deposits.
RAILROAD Y. M. C. A.
ANOTHER institution of which the people of
Hoisington and Barton County are justly proud is the Railroad Young Men's
Christian Association which is a branch of the International Y. M. C. A., and
was established in Hoisington in 1902. The money for the work was obtained by
private subscription, donations by the Missouri Pacific railroad and Miss Helen
Gould. The building is in the center of five 25-foot lots on the main street of
Hoisington in close proximity to the M. P. depot. In addition to the cash which
Miss Gould gave the society for the erection of the building she also aided it
with special donations consisting of books for the library, musical instruments
and she also provided for an emergency hospital, but this department of the
institution was abandoned when the hospital was opened. The building is 60 feet
square, and the big dormitory room gives ample accommodation for forty beds
which are kept neat and clean and are rented to members of the association for
15 cents per night in the buildings are found in addition to the dormitory room
and foyer, a reading room, bath room, library, correspondence room, all of
which are equipped neatly and conveniently. The bath room contains three tubs
and five shower baths, is strictly sanitary and all articles used in bathing are
furnished the members free of charge. The reading room is nicely furnished and
on the tables are found scores of daily and weekly papers, magazines and
periodicals all of which are for the free use of the members. The library
contains twelve large cases filled with 2,000 volumes that cover every subject
for entertaining and educational reading. The correspondence room is supplied
with writing material and is furnished in keeping with the remainder of the
rooms. The lobby is large and is used by the members for playing chess,
checkers, etc. The institution is not intended for railroad men alone, but
contains on its membership rolls a large majority of the men of Hoisington. The
membership averages around 600 but at times the list contains as many as 800 names.
In addition to the privileges mentioned above,
at frequent intervals the members are given the benefit of lectures on
practical subjects in the auditorium or assembly room.
The religious education of the members is not
overlooked and an air of good fellowship permeates all the work of the
institution. The price of membership is $5.00 per year. The place is managed by
a board of directors consisting of seven members, but the active part of the
work is most ably done by T. C. Straw, secretary, and H. R. Popejoy, assistant.
Mr. Straw devotes his entire time to directing the work of the association and
he is untiring in his efforts to make it a place where men may come and feel at
home and get the benefit of living in clean, wholesome surroundings.
LIND HOSPITAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL
The Lind Hospital and Training School was
established by Rev. W. J. Lind in the city of Hoisington and was thrown open to
the public in February, 1912. It is a general hospital for the treatment of
medical and surgical cases and is one of the best equipped institutions of the
kind in this part of the country. The building, which is three stories in
height, is located in a most desirable spot in the northwest part of Hoisington
within eight blocks of the business section. The building is made of brick with
re-enforced concrete floors. The building of this hospital was due to the fact
that Dr. Lind, while a minister of the gospel, has always been interested in
the treatment and cure of diseases of the human race. He was born near the Ural
mountains, in Russia, April 11, 1881. He came to America in 1902 and spent the
first year after his arrival in travel during which time he visited all parts
of the United States and Canada. In 1903 he entered the Concordia Seminary at
Concordia, Illinois. He finished his studies at this institution in 1910.
During the year 1908 Rev. Lind was in the field as a missionary. At the
conclusion of his studies he was ordained a minister of the German Lutheran
church, and at once accepted a call from Milberger, Kansas, where he remained
until he started the hospital in Hoisington. He still has charge of
congregations of this denomination at Galatia and Wilson. The hospital has room
for thirty patients in addition to the rooms that are maintained by the
Missouri Pacific railroad. The operating room at the hospital is equipped with
all the most modern appliances and devices for the practice of surgery in its
most intricate forms. Dr. Lind spent two and a half years in the study of
medicine in the old country before coming to America. He was married September
1, 1910, to Miss Matilda Borell and they have one bright boy, Alexander, who,
at this writing, is one year old.
In connection with the hospital a training
school has been established under the supervision of the superintendent of
nurses, assisted by a competent corps of physicians. The course comprises three
years, which will render them thoroughly qualified to receive a diploma. While
the didactic work is carried on in the class room, the pupil nurse has every
possible chance to study her chosen profession in its practical lines by
personal contact with the different phases of her work. During the probationary
term the applicant has ample opportunity to discover whether she wishes to
continue in the work and also to demonstrate whether she is qualified to
remain. Applicants may enter at any time.
HENRY A. C. HARTMAN
ONE of the best known of the really old timers
of Logan township was Henry A. C. Hartman. He was born in Prussia in 1840 and
came to this country with his parents when he was a child. He was raised in the
state of Ohio and came to Barton County in 1875. He located a homestead in Logan
township, one mile north and three miles south of the township of Claflin. In
1876 he brought his family to the new country and began the work of building a
home. Until the time of his death which occurred in July, 1907, he took an
active part in the development of the resources of the northeastern part of the
county of Barton. His death was due to drowning in Cow creek, where as the
result of the water being exceptionally high his wagon in which he was riding
was overturned and he was thrown into the water while he was attempting to
cross. Mr. Hartman was married to Miss Anne Elizabeth Shellhase in Ohio and
they were the parents of eleven children. Mrs. Hartman came to America from
Russia where she was born in Hess-Cassel province. She arrived in America in
1845 at a time when this counttry was in the throes of a scare due to the
cholera, which caused the death of a great number of people. Mrs. Hartman at
that time was six years of age and many of her relatives and people who came
over on the boat with her died as a result of being afflicted with this
disease. Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hartman, two of them died
in infancy. Those who are living are: Louise, who is now Mrs. F. W. Waknitz of
Ness County; Lydia, who is now Mrs. W. H. Barnes of Preston, Kansas; Charles
A., who resides in Reno County, where he is interested in farming; Matilda H.,
who is the wife of Dr. S. B. Russell of Yuma, Colorado; John H., who was born
in Logan township, February 15, 1877, and now resides in Hoisington where he is
vice president of the First National bank, an institution which he founded. He
is also engaged in the insurance and loan business in that city. He was married
to Miss Dale Nimocks, daughter of G. W. Nimocks of Great Bend, January 1, 1902.
They have two children, Blanche and R. Lynn. Edwin E. is a traveling
representative of the Acme Harvester company with headquarters at Wichita;
James F. is in the hardware business at Preston; Jesse S. is now Mrs. E. R.
Jukes of Boise, Idaho; Benjamin H. is farming near Preston; Mrs. Hartman is now
living in Idaho with her daughter, Mrs. Jukes. There is no family that is
better known in Barton County than the Hartmans and John H., who is mentioned
above is one of the best known business men of Hoisington and is an enterprising
and progressive citizen.
ROY CORNELIUS
ROY CORNELIUS was born in McPherson, Kansas,
March 31, 1883, and came to Hoisington in 1902 and bought the Hoisington
Dispatch which was established in 1889 by Ira H. Clark, who later sold it to
Franklin Brothers, who, in turn, sold it to Roy. Mr. Cornelius learned the
printing trade in Great Bend under Ira H. Clark and D. T. Armstrong. He was
married in 1908 to Miss Theresa Helfert and they are the parents of two
children: Helen, 3 years of age, and Esther, about a year and a half old at
this writing. The Dispatch office, which is the pride of its owner, is one of
the best equipped printing plants in this section of the state. It contatins a
modern linotype, a good press for newspaper work and good presses for the job
department. The Dispatch is a weekly paper devoted to the interests of
Hoisington and Barton County and since Mr. Cornelius has been guiding its
policy has made a great number of friends. Roy is a capable, enterprising
business man and numbers his friends by the score both in the newspaper
profession of the state of Kansas and among the people with whom he comes in
contact in other lines of business. He occupies a nice residence in Hoisington
and devotes all his time to the management of his business. At the present time
he is official printer for the County of Barton having been elected at the
county election in 1910. He has filled this office in a satisfactory manner and
in a way that reflects credit on himself, his office and his many friends in
all parts at the county.
ELLINWOOD
THE certificate of ownership and dedication of
the original plat of Ellinwood is dated September 6, 1873, and signed by Alden
Speare, president of the Arkansas Valley Town Company. It was acknowledged
before George L. Goodwin, a notary public, in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
The plat was certified to by John M. Cummins, a surveyor, but bears no date. He
did not do the actual work of survey, neither did Colonel Ellinwood, but it is
understood that J. W. Jackson, one of the quaint characters of that time did
the field work. The town company could not file the plat until it got title
from the railroad company, and the latter could not obtain title from the
government until the road was built to the west line of the state. This was
done in 1872 in the month of December. This caused delay in the filing of the
town plat, but the plat was finally filed for record with Register of Deeds D.
N. Heizer, October 28, 1873 at 9:05 p. m. The first plat included the south
half of block 1, and all of blocks six, seven, ten and eleven. The railroad
right of way, a short side track on the north side of the main track, and the
depot were shown on the blue print of the plat. The depot was shown to be directly
south of the Wolf hotel building. Santa Fe, Topeka and Atchison avenues and
Humboldt, Washington and Bismark streets, named and located as they are now.
There was nothing south of the railroad included in the original plat.
Ellinwood is located on section 31-19-11, and
the center of the section is the southeast corner of the lot on which a part of
the business section of the town is built. Washington street is commonly called
Main street, it being the main business thoroughfare.
The supplemental plat which includes all of
section 31, north of the river, except the forest reservation of 25 and
71-100ths acres and all south of the railroad and east of Schiller street, was
filed for record July 8, 1873. The name of the surveyor does not appear. The
plat shows the same uneven banks of the river as on the plats of the original
government survey. The river has receded from a great distance since this work
was done. Both the Catholic and Protestant cemeteries appear on the plat.
All the streets extending north and south were
given German names except the main business street which was named Washington.
The north and south streets beginning on the east side are Wielan, Gothe,
Schiller, Bismark, Washington, Humboldt, Arndt, Wilhelm and Fritz. The avenues
beginning on the north in their order are Northern, Colorado, Barton,
Ellinwood, Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe, and south of the railroad are Chestnut,
Maple, Walnut and Cedar. The names of all the streets remain the same as when
platted. As the original settlers were not German, nor was the controlling
element of the old timers, the Arkansas Valley Town Co., that owned this town,
German. The query has often been asked why the streets are given German names.
The answer usually is, all the settlers will remember C. B. Smith, probably the
ablest German immigration agent who ever did business in the State of Kansas.
He happened to select this locality as one of the points on the Santa Fe road
where he would colonize German buyers of real estate. On his maps for
circulation among the Germans he marked the territory adjacent to Ellinwood
Germania. C. B. Smith, the German immigration agent of the Santa Fe Raliroad
Co. caused this part of Kansas to be settled by Germans.
City Government
Ellinwood became a city of the third class,
April 22, 1878. On that date a petition signed by nearly every qualified
elector on the townsite was presented to District Judge Samuel R. Peters at
Newton, Kansas. The judge immediately issued an order creating the City of
Ellinwood. Its boundary lines were the exterior lines of section 31-19-11,
according to the original government survey. The order directing the first
election was given and the election was held on the first day of May, 1878, at
the office of J. D. Donstadt, and George Bowers, George B. Gill, and Vancil S.
Musil selected to be judges, and W. B. D. Monow, clerk. It also named J. D.
Ronstadt, George W. Ashton and Charles W. Williamson to act as the board of canvassers.
The latter were ordered to meet at the close of the polls and canvass the
returns. The board met as directed and chose J. D. Ronstadt as clerk. The
election resulted as follows: Mayor, F. A. Steckel, 43; J. D. Ronstadt, 14;
Councilmen, Wm. Mangelsdorf, 56; Wm. Meisner, 46; George W. Ashton, 41; John W.
Conroy, 39; O. M. Dotson, 35; L. M. Story, 20; W. W. D. Monow, 20; John Mousel,
15; James Ward, 9; John Wind, 1. Police judge, George Towers, 56. Certificates
of election were issued as follows: Mayor, F. A. Steckel; councilmen,
Mangelsdorf, Meisner, Ashton, Conroy and Dotson. Police judge, Towers. The
first council met and with all present, organized. H. J. Reints was city clerk
by appointment, and the mayor appointed all the councilmen a committee on
ordinances and then adjourned to May 7. No other business was transacted and
the first business meetsing of the council was held May 14. At this meeting a
petition was granted Beal and Phipps to keep a dram shop, and a like petition
was granted to Hess and Harmick. The council passed ordinance Number 1, which
provided for the drafting and compiling of ordinances for the city of
Ellinwood. At this meeting fourteen ordinances were passed, all relating to the
duties of the city officers, except thirteen, relating to elections, fourteen
concerning animals running at large and 15, relative to the sale of
intoxicating liquors. The first council of Ellinwood laid the foundation for
the building of a city and their work was thorough and had for its purpose the
betterment of the community and the people residing therein.
Schools
Ellinwood was included in the second school
district to be organized in Barton County, in 1872, and was known as school
district number 2. The first school was taught by Miss Carrie Bacon, daughter
of Isaac Bacon. Later she married Thomas Towers. The first term of school began
September 1, 1873, and ended January 1, 1874. For teaching this term Miss Bacon
received the sum of $125.00. The scholars were housed in a small frame building
owned by William Misner. The school was later taught in a frame school building
built especially for a school on the ground now occupied by the modern school
building of which the town is so justly proud. Among those who attended the
first school in Ellinwood may be mentioned Kittie Ellsworth, Wm. Halsey, John
and Sina Hewitt, May Whitten, Lotta and Frank Towers, Charles L. Bacon, James
and Lillie Hutchinson and Abraham Forsyth. The schools of Ellinwood have
progressed with the town and nowhere in the state can there be found better
educational advantages than are obtainable in Ellinwood.
Ellinwood has a populaticn of about 1,300 and
is growing every year in importance as a trading point and as a shipping point
for agricultural products. It is on the main line of the Santa Fe railroad
about forty miles west of Hutchinson and eleven miles east of Great Bend. It is
also the western terminus of the Florence branch of the Santa Fe. This line
runs through some of the richest portions of the state. Ellinwood has modern
stores representing nearly all lines of retail trade, the best of churches and
schools and its population is steadily growing in like proportion to other
parts of Barton County.
THE WOLF MILLING CO.
The Wolf Milling Company's establishment at
Ellinwood is one of the largest and best equipped flour mills in the state of
Kansas, and its products have had a great deal to do with earning Barton
County's enviable reputation as a producer of the best of milling wheat. The
mill is operated by John Wolf and his son, Fred. It was established in 1908,
and has a capacity of 600 barrels per day. Since the first mill building and
elevator was erected in the year mentioned additions have been made from time
to time and the machinery and process in use have been kept up to the highest
standard. John Wolf is one of the old timers of the county having come here
from Ohio in 1877. He was born in Bremen, Germany, November 23, 1848. He was
married in Toledo, Ohio, to Miss Kate Haas, July 5, 1871, and it was in that
city that Fred was born May 23, 1872. Fred was married to Miss Lotta Schaefer
of Kansas City, Mo., July 1, 1901, and they are the parents of two children,
one of whom is an infant at this writing, and the other being John Frederick.
The elder Mr. Wolf has another child, Kate, who is now Mrs. George M. Heim of
Ellinwood. The mill buildings and surroundings cover about a square block of
ground and in addition to this interest the elder Mr. Wolf owns considerable
town property in Ellinwood and Great Bend as well as two sections of farm land
in the county of Barton. The flour sold under the name of "Wolf's
Premium" has made a most gratifying record wherever it has been used and
reflects great credit on the establishment where it is made. The Wolf family is
one of the best known in this section of the state, the members of it being
enterprising and progressive and among the most substantial citizens of the
county.
JOHN McMULLEN
JOHN McMULLEN was born July 21, 1881, in Barton
County and since 1895 has been engaged in the printing and publishing business
with the exception of five years while he was engaged in farming west of Great
Bend. He received his education in the schools of Barton County and began to
learn the printing trade in the office of the Barton County Democrat in 1895.
He was married October 7, 1892, to Miss Mabel DeMotte and they are the parents
of five children, four of whom are living, two boys and two girls, while their
first child died in infancy. January 1, 1911, Mr. McMullen took charge of the
Ellinwood Leader having purchased the plant, and since it has been under his
management he has made of it one of the leading weekly publications of this
part of the state. The Leader was established in September, 1896 by J. W. A.
Cook who published it until the fall of 1909 when John C. Meyers was appointed
manager of the plant. Mr. Meyers continued the publication of the paper until
Mr. McMullen took charge.
There are few, if any, young business men of
the county who are better or more favorably known than John McMullen. Being a
product of the county he is naturally very proud of his home town and county
and he devotes his paper and his personal efforts to the best interests of the
community in which he lives.
EDWARD L. SMITH
EDWARD L. SMITH was born in Edwardsville,
Illinois, February 5, 1864, and is is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian P. Smith.
He remained in his native state in his boyhood and attended the public schools,
later finishing a course at the Central Wesleyan at Warrenton, Mo., in 1884. He
received the degree of A. M. at this institution which is the Alma Mater of
some of the country's best known statesmen and business men. While Mr. Smith's
parents did not come to Barton County, they invested in Kansas land, after
their son had located here. Soon after Mr. Smith arrived in Barton County he
with others organized the Citizens Bank of Ellinwood and since that time he has
been closely identified with the financial and commercial life of the county.
This was in 1889 and soon after the organization of the bank and at different
times in the early nineties farmers living in the neighborhood of Ellinwood
became discouraged with the prospects and it was frequently the case that a
farmer would request Mr. Smith to return the farmer's note in return for which
he would give him a deed for his land. Mr. Smith being possessed of unlimited
confidence in the future of the county invariably advised against this
procedure and many of the farmers who had grown discouraged and afterwards
"made good" thank Mr. Smith for his advice. Mr. Smith also owns the
Smith Hardware Company's establishment in Ellinwood. Before coming to Ellinwood
Mr. Smith taught school for three years in Illinois. After the organization of
the Citizens Bank Mr. Smith was appointed assistant cashier and after serving
four years in this capacity he became cashier and president which offices he
now holds. Mr. Smith is a prominent member of the Elks, Eagles, Masons and Odd
Fellows and is one of the best known men in Barton County. He was married in
November, 1891, to Miss Mattie S. Harrison, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. L.
Harrison of Barton County, and they are the parents of two children, E. Aubrey,
17 years of age and Elbert, 14 years of age, both of whom are being educated in
the schools of the county. Mr. Smith in addition to his business interests owns
considerable farming land in this and other counties and his mother and father are
also interested in Kansas land. Mr. Smith has served the city of Ellinwood as
mayor and has been a member of the school board a number of years and is at
present treasurer of the board. He is an enterprising and successful business
man and is well known in all parts of Kansas and Barton County.
CITIZENS STATE BANK, ELLINWOOD
Along in the latter 80's E. L. Smith and other
well known residents of the eastern part of the county of Barton decided that
Ellinwood needed a good bank. Therefore in 1889 the Citizens State Bank was
organized with a capital of $5,000, with an authorized capital of $50,000. It
first bore the name of the Citizens Bank but when it was chartered under the
new state banking laws five years later it became known as the Citizens State
Bank and the capital was made $15,000. The officers of this bank are: E. L.
Smith, president and cashier; Robert Shouse, assistant cashier and secretary
and these with P. B. Kimpler, G. H. Ernsting and H. P. S. Smith form the board
of directors. The bank now has a surplus of $32,000 and the deposits are
approximately $175,000. This bank has gained the confidence of the people by
square dealing methods and by extending to its friends and customers every
accommodation that is consistent with safe banking methods. The bank occupies a
modernly equipped building with an electrical burglar alarm and all modern
appliances for protecting the valuables contained in the vaults.
PEOPLES STATE BANK
The Peoples State Bank of Ellinwood waa
organized in March, 1908, with a capital of $25,000, with the following
officers and directors: J. H. D. Bosse, president; D. C. Johnson, cashier;
Charles Mellies, assistant cashier and C. Buck, Fred, Fred Wolf, E. D. Isern
and the president make up the board of directors. The bank has enjoyed a steady
growth since its organization and at this writing has a surplus and undivided
profits of $10,221, and the approxmate average deposits amount to $210,000.
This bank has the largest deposits of any bank in the county outside of Great
Bend and is one of the county's substantlal financial institutions. The bank is
located on the main street in a building that is furnshed and equipped in a
neat, convenient manner for the carrying on of a general banking business. The
interests of the bank's customers are carefully looked after by the officers of
the bank and by careful management and by the use of modern banking ideas this
institution has gained the Confidence of the people of that section of the
county.
J. H. D. BOSSE
JOHANN HERMAN DIEDRICH BOSSE, or D. Bosse, as
he is better known in Barton County, was born in Hanover, Germany, November 1,
1852. He came to America in 1871 and located first in New York state where he
remained two years, after which he went to Ohio, and from that state came to
Barton County, Kansas, in 1875. He married Miss Catrina Lampe, in June, 1876,
and they are the parents of two children: Marie, who is now Mrs. E. S. Brodie
of Wichita, and Milton August Bosse, who resides in Ellinwood and is engaged in
the farming business with his father. Milton August married Moneta Butts of
Wichita, Kansas, in 1910. The elder Bosse farmed for twelve years after his
arrival in Barton County and has been one of the most successful of the old
timers of Lakin township. After Mr. Bosse moved to Ellinwood he accepted a
position as book-keeper for the Edwards & Fair Lumber Co. He was twice
elected to the office of treasurer of Barton County, Kansas. The first property
he obtained title to was railroad land northwest of Ellinwood. He now owns
about 1,760 acres of land in the county, all of which is under cultivation and
is being worked mostly by renters.
Although Barton County lays no claim to being
an exceptionally good fruit country, this line of business has been made a
specialty by Mr. Bosse and he has met with success in raising many varieties of
apples. Near the town of Ellinwood Mr. Bosse maintains an orchard consisting of
twenty acres in which are found trees bearing apples of such well known names
as Jonathan, Grimes' Golden, Nero, Akin, Arkansas Black, Wine Sap,
Schackleford, Black Twig, Missouri Pippin, etc. Here can also be found choice
varieties of cherries. Mr. Bose's orchard has attracted a great deal of
attention not only at home, but it has been visited by government experts who
on different occasions have spent a great deal of time in observing the ideas
that have have been used by Mr. Bosse in the cultivation of his trees. The
trees are suppiled with moisture by a large irrigating system; the water being
conducted to all parts of the orchard by the means of tiling placed under the
surface of the ground. The water is pumped from below the surface by two large
windmills and rotary pump supplied with power by a 5-horse power gasoline
engine. The pump has a capacity of 200 gallons per minute. When moisture is
supplied by rain the pumping plant is not needed but when the seasons are dry
it is sometimes found necessary to operate the pumps as much as three weeks at
different intervals during the year. A large pond confines the water that is
pumped until it is needed. The pond has six outlets that make it possible to
irrigate two acres of the orchard at a time. In all there are about six miles
of tiling in the orchard and it is safe to say that Mr. Bosse is the leading
orchardist in this part of the state of Kansas. He is an enterprising and
progressive citizen and in addition to the property mentioned above he owns a
great deal of town property in Ellinwood where he is well known and recognized
as one of the old timers of the county who has done a great deal to further its
interests and make of it one of the most desirable from an agricultural
standpoint, to be found in the entire country.
GREAT BEND
IN JULY 29, 1871, the company was chartered
that had been previously selected for the townsite of Great Bend. This company
consisted of Thomas J. Mitchell, C. R. Curtis, Clark H. Charles and Robert T.
Shinn of Quincy, Ills.; James Israel of Mount Vernon, Ohio.; Samuel D. Houston
of Manhattan, Kansas; John T. Norton and A. L. Williams of Topeka, Kansas, and
Thomas L. Morris of Barton County.
It was the intention of the company to locate
the town on the north half of section 34, township 19, range 13, which is
southeast of the site finally decided upon. There were several reasons why the
site was changed, the principal one being that the present site is on higher
ground and safer from the flood waters from the creeks and rivers.
The new town was christened Great Bend by
Hiram Bickerdyke on account of the fact that it is located on the north bank of
the Arkansas river at a point where the big bend in the river forms almost a
half circle and the townsite is at the apex of this bend.
One year after the town was organized the
first city election was held and it resulted in the election of the following
officers: A. A. Hurd, mayor; A. S. Allen, G. W. Poole, M. S. Kutch, Ed Markwort
and D. Cooley, councilmen. Mr. Cooley moved from the city within a month after
his election and his place was taken on the council by Edward Tyler. James C.
Martin was the first police judge and A. C. Moses the first city clerk, while
D. R. Smith and James Gainsford were the first treasurer and marshal,
respectively.
At this time the principal business activity
was in the cattle trade and large herds of cattle from northern Texas, Indian
Territory and Oklahoma were driven from the pastures in those states, north to
the nearest railroad point from where they were shipped to the eastern markets.
Until the town of Great Bend was organized, this business was monopolized by
Newton, Abilene and Wichita. However, the A. T. & S. F. railroad had been
built west to Great Bend at the time the first city election was held and Great
Bend's closer proximity to the southern ranges gave it an advantage that
finally resulted in a large part of this business being shifted to this point.
George N. Moses was one of the pioneers in Great Bend in 1872 this business and
drove the first herd of cattle to pass through Great Bend from Texas to Newton
in 1872.
The first building to be erected on the
townsite of Great Bend was the Drover's Cottage, afterwards the Southern Hotel,
of which Colonel Thomas L. Stone was the first landlord. The first store
building was erected by Tyler and was also used as a residence. The hotel was
located on lots 1 and 2, block 90, which is the ground now occupied by the
Brlnkman bank building. In all there were forty-two buildings erected on the
townsite during the year 1872.
The first city administration accomplished a
great deal in attracting business to the town and encouraging the building of
business and residence buildings. The principal work of the administration was
in getting a part of the cattle trade from the towns farther east.
In 1873 the administration of A. A. Hurd was
endorsed by the people of the town and he was re-elected as well as nearly all
the members of the first council. W. H. Odell was elected as a member of the
city council at this election.
Like all western towns of that period, Great
Bend was a typical border settlement and was made up of a population that
included many cattle men and buffalo hunters. The hunters sold their hides in
Great Bend and the cattle men loaded their stock on the cars in which they were
ttaken to the markets.
In 1873, one year after the county was
organized, there were 2,500 acres of land under cultivation and the harvest
that year gave a yield that was considered mighty good and consisted of the
following: 48 acres of wheat, 30 acres of barley and 75 acres of oats, as well
as a large number of acres of hay and small acreage of corn.
It was in 1873 that work on the court house
was begun, this being the first building of any size to be built within the
limits of the townsite.
In 1874, at the city election, the following
were elected to fill the different offices: Samuel Maber, mayor; councilmen, C.
W. Gray, E. C. Sooy, H. H. Kidder, G. N. Moses and A. S. Allen; treasurer, I.
H. Upton; police judge, J. C. Martin; city clerk. A. J. Buckland and W. W.
Winstead and William Leak, marshals. It was during this administration that the
court house was completed and on July 4, the new building was dedicated with
appropriate ceremonies.
The year 1874 was famous or notorious for a
plague of grasshoppers, and has since been referred to as "Grasshopper
Year." For several days these pests were in evidence in such great numbers
that at times they obscured the sunlight and devoured everything with which
they came in contact that was not proof against their hunger and ferocity. It
is related by old timers that the hoppers would swoop down on a field of corn
and when they rose there would be nothing left to denote that there had been
anything on the spot except the bare prairie. They also tell of the pests
having often eaten clothing, and incidents are cited where they actually
stopped a railroad train by piling up on the tracks in such numbers as to make
it impossible for the engines to push their way through them.
It was during this same year that a genuine
Indian war dance was held on the court house square. The Indians to the number
of about 200 were led by Spotted Horse, chief of the Pawnees. The Indians
danced themselves into an awful frenzy, much to the amusement of the people of
the town and Indians who did not take part in the dance.
During this year a change was made in the city
administration and D. N. Heizer became treasurer; A. C. Moses, city clerk, and
James Gainsford took William Leak's place as one of the city marshals. It was
also during this year that the famous trial of "Hefty," a noted
character of the county, was held. He was charged with murder but was acquitted
by Judge W. R. Brown, sitting in the district court. "Hefty" was
acquitted after having been accused of brutally murdering two Frenchmen, new
arrivals in the county.
In 1875 the following officers were elected
and appointed: R. Taylor, mayor; G. N. Moses, William Torrey, A. J. Buckland,
E. W. Burton and John H. Taylor, councilmen; A. C. Moses, city clerk; E. L
Chapman, police judge; James Gainsford, marshall; D. N. Heizer, treasurer and
A. A. Hurd, city attorney. It was during this year that "Mother
Bickerdyke," the famous civil war nurse came to Great Bend on a visit to
her sons, James and Hiram Bickerdyke. She was prominent in the work of
relieving sufferers from the famine caused by the grasshopper pest.
In 1876 the city election resulted in the
following officers being chosen to carry on the affairs of the rapidly growing
town: C. F. Diffenbacher, mayor; E. W. Burton, John Taylor, R. C. Bailey,
William Odell and A. S. Barnes, councilmen; A. C. Moses succeeded himself as
clerk; Josiah Clayton, city attorney; E. L. Chapman, police judge; A. S. Allen,
treasurer, and George B. Hayden, marshal.
Like all western towns of that period Great
Bend was infested with a number of men and women who belonged to the rough
element and the work of the administration of 1876 was directed towards ridding
the town of this undesirable class. By this time the cattle trade had drifted
farther westward and Dodge City was the town where most of the
cattlemen and the cowboys made their headquarters.
The administration succeeded in ridding the city of dance halls and obnoxious
things that were a part of them. With the disappearance of this element the
population which was enjoying a steady growth was made up of settlers and men
who came here to engage in business or take up the work of farming. In fact
this administration marked a new era in the life of the town.
The election of city officers in the year 1877
was marked by an issue that brought out some little argument. The question was
whether or not the city officers should receive salaries, and A. C. Fair who
stood for no salaries, received a majority of the votes and was elected mayor.
The remainder of the city offices were filled as follows: G. H. Hulme, Joseph,
Gray, T. C. Cole, Chas. Rozel and E. C. Bailey, councilmen; W. H. Odell was
appointed police judge; W. H. Dodge, city attorney; A. S. Allen, treasurer and
A. B. Underhill, marshall.
The administration of 1878 was composed of the
following: G. N. Moses, mayor; C. W. Gray, J. C. McClure, A. A. Power, C. B.
Chapman and Fred Vollmer, councilmen. This council appointed E. L. Chapman,
police judge; W. H. Dodge, attorney; A. S. Allen, treasurer; W. H. Odell, clerk
and J. T. Airhart, marshal.
In 1879 the election of city officers resulted
as follows: A. W. Gray, mayor; R. T. Ewalt, R. C. Bailey, A. J. Buckland, M. B.
Fitts and A. C. Fair, councilmen. The following were appointed: G. W. Nimocks,
attorney; E. L. Chapman, clerk; C. Goit, police judge; A. S. Allen, treasurer
and W. W. Winstead, marshal.
The affairs of the city were looked after
during the year 1880 by the following: E. L. Chapman, mayor; A. J. Buckland, M.
J. Fitts, F. Vollmer, A. C. Fair and Henry Moss, councilmen. During this period
R. T. Ewalt was police judge; A. S. Allen, treasurer; Fred Long, clerk; W. H.
Swift, marshal and street commissioner.
In 1881 the following city officers were
elected: H. M. Kline, mayor; G. H. Hulme, Henry Moss, A. Laidlaw, A. C. Fair
and A. J. Buckland, councilmen; R. T. Ewalt, police judge; James Clayton, city
attorney; A. S. Allen, treasurer; W. P. Mellen, clerk and James Airheart,
marshal.
The year 1882 was a good one for the
cultivation of the soil and a number of new settlers arrived and located south
of the river from Great Bend. At the election the following officers were
elected: S. V. Brinkman, mayor; H. M. Kline, C. Goit, G. H. Hulme; Wm. Bruesser
and A. Laidlaw, councilmen. This council appointed the following: R. T. Ewalt,
police judge; Elrick Cole, attorney; A. S. Allen, treasurer; C. Goit, clerk and
James Airheart, marshal. It was during this year that the town was visited by a
smallpox epidemic that caused the death of fourteen people as well as making
business poor in all branches. The disease continued in its spread for several
months and at times a panic was threatened that might have resulted in
depopulating the town.
In 1883 the spring election resulted in G. W.
Nimocks being elected mayor with the following councilmen: J. C. Gwinn, E. R.
Moses, R. C. Bailey, A. C. Fair and E. W. Moses. Mr. Ewalt continued as police
judge, B. F. Ogle was appointed attorney; James Clayton, clerk; A. S. Allen,
treasurer and J. T. Airheart continued as marshal.
The election of 1884 was without any
particular interest as the town was enjoying a good growth and the people
seemed to work with a community of interests. The following were elected: E. W.
Moses, mayor; G. N. Moses, T. O. Cole, J. C. Gwinn, E. E. Benedict and Wm.
Bruesser, councilmen. Mr. Ewalt was again appointed as police judge; C. Gait,
attorney; R. A. Charles, clerk; A. S. Allen, treasurer. The police department
remained the same.
In 1885 E. W. Moses succeeded himself as mayor
and had with him as councilmen: Dr S. J. Shaw, F. M. Burson, Wm. Bruesser, C.
H. Patterson and W. H. Keeney. A. J. Buckland was appointed police judge; C. E.
Castle, clerk; A. S. Allen, treasurer; J. W. Clarke, attorney, and Cal Crilley,
marshal.* This administration accomplished a great deal of good for the town.
The first drainage system was established and consisted of a ditch running from
the west boundary of the city through the town to Walnut street, with laterals
from both north and south.
In 1886 the city was changed from a city of
the third class to a city of the second class. The officers of the city who had
been elected in 1885 were appointed by Governor John Martin to serve until an
election could be held under the new order of things. The election was held on
the day appointed by the governor and resulted as follows: D. N. Heizer, mayor;
A. S. Allen, treasurer; L. R. Nimocks, police judge; J. W. Clarke and A. J.
Buckland, justices of the peace; John Dawson and L. P. Aber, constables. It was
during this year that the first election of councilmen was held by wards and resulted
as follows: First ward—J. Alefs and G. W. Poole; second ward—W. G. Merritt and
A. Laidlaw; third ward—D.. Jones and D. C. Luse; fourth ward—D. Roberts and
Fred Vollmer; treasurer of board of education, J. V. Brinkman; members of the
board of education, A. C. Shermerhorn, D. M. Woodburn, G. W. Nimocks, C. F.
Culver, A. H. Connett, A. R. Moss, D. Turner, S. H. Moss. S. M. Rusk was
appointed street commissioner; C. E. Castle, clerk; F. Patterson, marshal and
C. Q. Newcomb, city engineer. In November, 1886, at a special electicn F. J.
Kramer was elected councilman to take the place of W. G. Merritt, who resigned.
It was this year that the city of Great Bend was separated from the township as
far as poitical matters were concerned.
In January, 1887, C. E. Castle resigned as
city clerk and his place was filled by the appointment of C. W. Murphy and at
the same meeting of the council Wm. Osmond was appointed city attorney.
It was during the administration of 1887 that
the city of Great Bend voted aid in the sum of $23,000 for the Kansas &
Colorado Pacific Railroad company. This company built the road that is now a
branch of the Missouri Pacific from Great Bend to Hoisington. At the election
in that year the following were selected to fill the different offices: Mayor,
A. S. Buckland; police judge, W. H. Odell; treasuier, James Clayton; treasurer
of the board of education, R. F. Typer; justices of the peace, George Crummack
and John W. Brown; constables, L. P. Aber and Parker Corbin; councilmen—First
ward W. O. Morrison; second ward, George Spencer; third ward, F. B. Caldwell;
fourth ward, F. B. Schuster and S. H. Moss; members of the board of education,
J. W. Thompson, S. J. Shaw, D. Turner, Charles Allison and Charles E. Hedges.
C. W. Murphy was chosen for city clerk; attorney, D. A. Banta; marshal, J. W.
Dawson; street commissioner, J. T. Airheart. G. . Poole resigned as a member of
the council and at a special election held April 25, .........................
was elected to take his place. In July of this year C. W. Murphy resigned as
clerk and the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Will E. Stoke.
In 1888, at the spring election, the following
were chosen to fill the city offices: Councilmen, W. E. Harper, C. L. Moses, G.
N. Moses, J. B. Daniels; school board, A. C. Schermerhorn, C. F. Culver, J. C.
Gwinn, W. W. Culver.
It was during the administration of these
office
rs that the first city water works system was
installed, a franchis being granted to the Great Bend Water Supply Company. The
franchise was to run for twenty-one years. The city voted aid for the Chicago,
Kansas & Western ailroad Company in the sum of $15,000. The road extended
from Great Bend to Scott City and is now a branch of the Santa Fe Railroad
Company. In November of this year Charles Chamberlain was elected councilman to
fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of J. B. Daniels.
In 1889 O. B. Wilson was elected mayor with
the following councilmen: John Langham, W. B. Cornell, C. H. Hulme, C. B.
Gillis and C. Q. Newcomb. The board of education was composed of C. F.
Diffenbacher, G. W. Nimocks, J. K. Humphrey and William Torrey, with C. W.
Murphy, treasurer. The following were appointed by the city council: W. H.
Odell, police judge; James Clayton and John F. Lewis; justices of the peace, L.
P. Aber and John W. Dawson, constables; O. J. Richmond, treasurer. The
remainder of the city offices were filled with the same as during the previous
year. At a special election in 1889 J. S. Dalziel was elected a member of the
city council to take the place of W. E. Harper, who resigned and M. Gilmore was
elected to take the place of Charles Chamberlain.
In 1890 the city election resulted in the
following being chosen to look after the affairs of the city: Councilmen, John
Taylor, C. L. Moses, W. P. Coles and M. Gilmore. The boad of education was
composed of A. C. Schermerhorn, A. J. Buckland, A. H. Connett and Fred Vollmer.
In 1891 the city offices were occupied by A. Laidlaw,
mayor; Parker Corbin, police judge; O. J. Richards, G. L. Chapman, treasurer of
the board of education; John F. Lewis and James Clayton, justices of the peace;
J. W. Dawson and L. P. Aber, constables. The council was composed of John
Langham, J. B. Hannum, Wm. Kelley, W. W. Culver and the long term members
elected at the election of 1890. The board of education was made up of C. F.
Diffenbacher, Charles E. Dodge, S. J. Day and Wm. Torrey. R. A. Charles was
clerk; G. W. Nimocks, attorney; W. W. Winstead, marshal and street
commissioner.
The election of 1892 resulted in the following
being elected: Wm. Friend, R. C. Bailey, G. H. Hulme and W. H. Swift,
councilmen; A. C. Schermerhorn, A. J. Buckland, D. C. Luse and W. H. Keeney,
members of the Board of education; R. A. Charles, clerk; G. W. Nimocks,
attorney and R. T. Ewalt, marshal.
In 1893 E. W. Moses was elected mayor; C. M.
Smith, police judge and O. J. Richards, treasurer; C. L. Hobart, clerk; J. W.
Clarke, attorney and W. P. Cone, marshal. The council was composed of the
holdovers and L. P. Aber, Geo. W. Moore, A. R. Moss and I. N. Woodward who were
elected at the election in this year. The board of education was composed of
Bruce Jones, Charles E. Dodge, W. H. Hulls and C. W. Murphy.
The succeeding council, the members of which
were elected in 1894, together with the holdovers, was one that did a great
deal of good for the town in the way of public improvement. Those elected at
the election of 1894 were: John Hiss, Theodore Griffith, George Kincaid and I.
N. Woodward.
The board of education elected at this
election were: Albert Weiss, A. J. Buckland, D. G. Gibbons, Wm. Torrey and Fred
Vollmer. C. L. Hobart served this year as. city clerk, James W. Clark as
attorney and R. T. Ewalt as marshal. It was in September of this year that C.
M. Smith resigned as police judge and J. W. Brown was elected to fill the
vacancy.
In 1895 the following were elected and
appointed to fill the offices in the city administration and they, together
with those who already were holding seats in the city council, continued the
work of building the town and making it better in every way: G. N. Moses,
mayor; W. M. Gunnell, police judge; J. Geo. Brinkman, treasurer; L. P. Aber,
John Dickson, A. R. Moses and H. L. Shore, councilmen. The new members of the
board of education elected were: J. H. Borders, Chas. E. Dodge, D. C. Luse and
Fred Vollmer. During this administration G. L. Chapman was treasurer of the
board of education; B. F. Ogle and J. H. Jennison were justices of the peace
and J. W. Dawson and W. F. Cone served as constables, while F. V. Russell was
attorney; C. L. Hobart, clerk and R. T. Ewalt, marshal.
On January 6, 1896, C. L. Hobart resigned as
city clerk and the vacancy was filled by James A. Townsley, who received the
appointment and it was during the same year that L. P. Aber and A. R. Moss
resigned as members of the council and their places were not filled until the
city election of the spring of 1896.
The election of 1896 resulted as follows:
Henry J. Meyers, James E. Savage, Theodore Griffith, A. H. Schaeffer, George C.
Kincaid and E. G. McNown were chosen for members of the council, and Pat
Boughan, H. J. Kline. A. J. Buckland, Isaac Reynolds and D. J. Newton were
chosen to serve on the board of education. George Crummack was appointed as
clerk, F. V. Russell, attorney, and R. T. Ewalt succeeded himself as marshal.
In 1897 George N. Moses was re-elected mayor
and the following councilmen were chosen: James E. Savage, John Dickson, I. N.
Wilhide and Thomas Clayton.
The following members of the board of
education were elected: Edwin Tyler, Wm. Osmond, D. C. Luse and E. P. Smith.
This was the first election in the city after the new law made the offices of
clerk, marshal and street commissioner elective ones, and George Crummack, R.
T. Ewalt and W. A. Rush were elected to fill these offices, respectively.
During the administration W. M. Gunnell was police judge; Louis Zutavern and J.
W. Dawson were constables and G. L. Chapman was treasurer of the board of
education.
In 1898 the following were elected and
appointed: Peter Jordon, marshal; George Crummack, clerk; B. S. Dale, street
commissioner; Henry Meyers, M. Eppstein, R. A. Allison and H. L Shore,
councilmen; Pat Boughan, Martha L. Moore, A. R. Moss and W. R. Bunting members
of the board of education, and F. V. Russell served as attorney. In January,
1899, Frank Brown was appointed clerk to fill the vacancy caused by the
resignation of George Crummack.
G. H. Hulme was elected mayor in 1899 with the
following members of the council: C. G. Morrison, John Dickson, Thomas Clayton
and I. N. Wilhide. J. F. Lewis, R. A. Charles, O. W. Dawson and I. N Woodward
were elected as members of the board of education. It was during this election
that the new law went into effect which made the office of city attorney an
elective one and F. V. Russell was chosen. This year found W. M. Gunnell as
police judge; Louis Zutavern, treasurer; G. L. Chapman, treasurer of the board
of education; B. F. Ogle and J. H. Jennison, justices of the peace and W. H.
Zutavern and W. H. Cone, constables. R. T. Ewalt again served as marshal and D.
J. Newton, street commissioner.
In 1900 W. M. Gunnell died and B. F. Ogle was
appointed to fill the office of police judge. In this year the following
councilmen were elected: J. F. Durkin, L. P. Aber, A. H. Schaeffer, R. A. Allison
and H. L. Shore. The following members of the board of education were elected:
Ira H. Clark, F. M. Russell. H. E. Lindas and W. R. Bunting. During this
adminstratlon P. Cooprider was marshal; F. E. Brown, clerk; William Osmond,
attorney; W. P. Cone, street commissioner and R C. Bailey, assessor.
In 1901, the law was changed and the offices
of clerk, marshal, attorney, assessor and street commissioner became appointive
ones. It was at the election of this year that L. P. Aber was elected mayor; D.
D. Page, police judge; Louis Zutavern, treasurer and G. L. Chapman, treasurer
of the board of education. The following councilmen were chosen at this
election: J. F. Durkin, L. J. Barker, Thomas Clayton, B. S. Dale and F. B.
Newcomb. The members of the board of education elected were: John F. Lewis, R.
A. Charles, O. W. Dawson and I. N. Woodward. M. B. Fitts was appointed city
clerk; F. V. Russell, attorney; Frank D. Wilson, marshal; S. H. Luttrell,
street commissioner. B. F. Ogle and J. H. Jennison were justices of the peace,
while W. P. Cone and H. M. Wells served as constables. On June 3, F. D. Wilson
resigned as marshal and his place was filled by the appointment of George E.
Webber. S. H. Luttrell resigned as street commissioner and Frank Harvey was
appointed to fill the vacancy. In July, M. B. Fitts resigned as clerk and his
place was taken by Wm. Woodward. In December, George Webber reslgned from the
office of marshal and his place was taken by F. D. Wilson. January 7, 1902, Mr.
Woodward resigned from the office of clerk and W. P. Feder was appointed to
fill the vacancy.
In 1902, the following were elected to fill
the offices of the city: Councilmen: W. T. Kendall, H. J. Smith, B. S. Dale and
Alfred Miller. The election resulted in the selection of Ira H. Clark, F. M.
Russell, H. E. Lindas and W. R. Bunting to serve on the board of education. The
following were appointed: W. P. Feder, clerk; F. V. Russell, attorney; Joseph
Schaeffer, marshal; James A. Airheart, street commissioner.
At the election of 1903 Martin Weirauch was
elected mayor with the following councilmen: L. C. Miller, J. G. Slentz, J. B.
Rediger and F. B. Newcombe. For the board of education, J. F. Lewis, R. A
Charles, O. W. Dawson and I. N. Woodward were elected.
This administration made the following
appointments: Police judge, D. D. Page; treasurer board of education, G. L.
Chapman and Louis Zutavern continued as city treasurer.
In July of 1903, Mr. Weirauch resigned as
mayor as did also Mr. Slentz as councilman. A special election was held July
28, 1904, which resulted in the election of E. W. Moses as mayor, and H. E.
Dean to fill the vacancy in the council. Mayor Moses appointed F. D. Wilson,
marshal. In October of that year Mr. Morrison died and his place as clerk was
taken by W. E. Torrey.
The election of 1904 resulted in the choosing
of the following councilmen: W. F. Honnen, N. J. Smith, Thomas Clayton and
Alfred Miller. For the board of education the following were elected: Ira. H.
Clark, F. M. Russell, H. E. Lindas and Wm. Rubart. W. E. Torrey was appointed
clerk; Wm. Osmond, attorney; F. D. Wilson, marshal and E. Price, street
commissioner.
In 1905, E. W. Moses was again elected as
mayor of the city with the following councilmen: J. F. Durkin, H. E. Dean, C.
S. Allison and W. R. Bunting. Louis Zutavern, treasurer; Ed. L. Chapman,
treasurer of the board of education and for members of the board the following
were elected: H. H. Whiteside, R. A. Charles, Porter Young and M. Simpson. The
following appointments were made: W. P. Feder, clerk; Elrick C. Cole, attorney;
F. D. Wilson, marshal and E. Price street commissioner.
At a meeting of the council February 6, 1905,
after some discussion had been indulged in regarding the advisability of
erecting a city building W. F. Honnen, N. Smith and Thomas Clayton were
appointed a building committee. Then began systematic work which resulted in
the building of a fine brick and stone structure to be known as the Great Bend
City Hall. It is located at the corner of Williams and Lakin streets and is
ample for all needs of the city for years to come.
In 1906, the new city building was dedicated
and thrown open for the use of the city officers. At the election held in the
spring of this year the following were named: W. F. Honnen, N. Smith, C. N.
Moses and F. H. Miller, councilmen; S. J. Newcombe, W. J. Sama, E. E. Morrison
and D. C. Luse, members of the board of education. Elrick C. Cole continued as
attorney; F. D. Wilson as marshal and E. Price as street commissioner.
In 1907, E. W. Moses was elected mayor with
the following councilmen: Amos Johnson, G. N. Moses, B. E. Giles, W. R.
Bunting. Members of the board of education: W. J. Sama, A. M. Collins, Lester
Cox and Porter Young. H. A. Hall was elected police judge; Louis Zutavern,
treasurer and Ed. L. Chapman, treasurer of the board of education; James
Clayton and J. H. Jennison continued as justices of the peace with W. T.
Bennister and W. B. King as constables. F. D. Wilson was appointed marshal;
Frank Hitchcock, assistant marshal; E. Price, street commissioner and F. A.
Moses, clerk.
In 1908, the following councilmen were
elected: W. F. Honnen, N. Smith, E. H. Miller and W. C. Merritt. For the board
of education: S. A. Newcombe, E. E. Morrison, J. E. McMullin and Wm. Rubart.
The appointive offices were filled by the same gentlemen as were appointed in
1907.
In 1908 O. W. Dawson was elected mayor with
the following councilmen: W. L. Smith. G. N. Moses, B. E. Giles and O. M.
Frazier. The same appointive officers were chosen with the exception of F. D.
Wilson, whose place was taken by the appointment of Axel Wemmergren as marshal.
Louis Zutavern was again elected treasurer and James Clayton police judge. Ed
Chapman continued as treasurer of the school board, for which the following
were elected: E. W. Seward, F. V. Russell, Porter Young and Lester Cox.
In 1910, the following councilmen were
elected: W. F. Honnen, J. F. Lewis to fill the vanancy made by the resignation
of W. L Smith, E. W. Moses, W. E. Hayes and W. G. Merritt. For the school
board: S. A. Newcombe, E. E. Morrison, J. E. McMullin and Louis Omer. The
appointments were the same as the previous year.
It was during the administration of 1910 that
steps were taken that finally resulted in letting a contract for a sewage
system for the city. The contract was let December, 1910, and called for an
expenditure of approximately $100,000. The contract was awarded to Bash &
Gray of Joplin, Mo. It was found, after work had been begun that the original
plans were too small to give the city a proper system, therefore, they were
enlarged and the work on the sewer was finished in the south half of the town
in the spring of 1912. It is expected that the entire city will be afforded
sewer connections within the present year. The same council appropriated
$35,000 for a drainage system for the city. The work on this was done by home
people under the supervision of a construction company.
In 1911, O. W. Dawson was re-elected mayor,
and J. F. Lewis, G. N. Moses, D. C. Luse and S. P. Giddings were elected as
members of the council. The appointments were the same as in 1910. The
following were elected as the members of the board of education: Lester Cox,
Porter Young and F. V. Russell. The treasurer and justices of the peace were
the same as in 1910.
In 1912, the following councilmen were
elected: Louis Hans, R. A. Ewalt, W. P. Deal, L. P. Aber and Warren Baker was
elected to fill the unexpired term of G. N. Moses. The appointments were the
same with the exception of Clyde Allphin who took the place of E. C. Cole as
city attorney. The offices of sewer and electric inspectors were created and
Fred Hans, and F. K. Zutavern received the appointments.
The present administration of the city of
Great Bend is a most aggressive one and is continuing the work so ably begun by
their predecessors in making Great Bend an ideal home city with the best of
religious and educational advantages.
BUSINESS HISTORY OF GREAT BEND
IN 1872 H. H. Kidder realized the necessity
for a store at Great Bend and to him belongs the honor of having established
the first general store on the townsite. The store was located on the east side
of the park square. Mr. Kidder soon became aware of the fact that although he
had had the advantage of the merchants who came later, in selecting a location,
the greater part of the town's business was done by stores on the west side of
the square. Therefore, he moved his building to the corner now occupied by the
First National bank.
A. S. Allen opened the first drug store in
1872 on the west side of the square and later moved into the first stone building
to be erected in the town in 1876.
B. Negbaur from Leavenworth started in the
clothing business in the spring of 1874. Later he added dry goods to his stock
and had one of the best lines of goods to be found in the state at that time.
In 1874 J. W. and J. Lightbody started in the
dry goods business on the west side of the square and their business grew in
volume until the building became too small to answer the purpose of the store.
In 1878 a dissolution of the firm took place and J. W. Lightbody built a large
store building a few doors to the north and, in connection with W. J. Wilson of
Burlington, Kansas, and Saunders & Wilson of Newton, Kansas, put in one of
the finest stocks of goods ever shown in Barton County. The store occupied two
floors and was known as the "People's Store."
A. W. Gray engaged in the hardware business in
1872 on the west side of the square in partnership with E. Wilcox of
Hutchinson, and S. Lehman of Newton, Kan. In the spring of 1876, Mr. Gray
erected a large brick building. Some idea of the volume of business done at
that time can be gleaned from the fact that during the year 1878 Mr. Gray's
total business amounted to $130,000 for hardware and machinery.
In 1874 the firm of Burton & Johnson,
which was composed of E. W. Burton of Lansing, Mich., and A. Johnson, bought
the E. L. Morphy hardware stock and began business at the northeast corner of
the park square. Later they moved to the west side of the square and occupied
the T. L. Stone building which was later used by Moses Brothers.
In 1876, W. H. Odell and G. N. Moses bought
Mr. Johnson's interest and in the spring of 1877 Mr. Odell sold out to Ed R.
Moses when the name of the firm was changed to Burton, Moses & Brother.
In 1878, J. H. Hubbard erected a large stone
building 25x140 feet with a basement, and at that time it was said to be the
largest hardware store in the state of Kansas. The second floor of the building
was used as a hall and was known as Union hall where all kinds of functions
were held. The Hubbard store did a total business of $120,000. In 1879 the
store was damaged by fire to the extent of $7,000.
None of the stores mentioned above are being
operated now by their original owners, about the only firm that remained in
business that began in the 70s is the E. R. Moses Mercantile Company.
The first attempt to build a flour mill in the
county was made by parties from Iowa in 1875 on the banks of the Walnut, near
Dry creek. Various subscriptions in the way of a site, riparian rights, rock,
etc., were given to the company. It was required that 30,000 bushels of wheat
be loaned to the company by the farmers, they to take their pay in flour at
stated intervals. A site was selected for the mill but the wheat loan did not come
in and although work was begun on the mill it never was completed.
In the fall of 1875 a mill was built at
Ellinwood by Musil & Steckel. It consisted of a single vertical burr and
was capable of grinding about 100 bushels per day. During the same year the
foundation for a mill was built by the firm of Brinkman & Sooy but was
abandoned until 1878 when Brinkman's elevator was built on it.
In 1876 W. P. Clement came to Great Bend from
Kalamazoo, Mich., and immediately took steps that resulted in a steam mill
being erected near where the depot stands, and by August of that year the mill
was ready to begin operations. It was completely overrun with work. The mill
ran three sets of burrs and had a capacity of 350 bushels per day.
In 1877 Sooy & Brinkman built a large
water power mill on Walnut Creek below the railroad bridge. It was nearly
completed when a tornado demolished it. This tornado swept a path about six
miles wide and came from the north. It did a great deal of damage from Carr
Creek in Mitchell County to No. 3 school house west of Ellinwood. This was on
August 16, 1877.
This misfortune did not deter Sooy &
Brinkman and before long another mill was erected in a better and more secure
manner and it began grinding in December, 1877. This mill was a four-burr and
had the best appliances known for the manufacture of flour at that time.
It was soon found that there was insufficient
water in the creek at times to keep the mill in operation, but the firm with
characteristic enterprise, built a race at a point a mile and a half up the
Arkansas river in order to get an additional supply of water. The fall from
that point was ten feet in addition to that already atttained on the Walnut,
and during the high water in the Arkansas the plan worked nicely. When the
water fell in the Arkansas, as frequently happened, the head of the race would
become filled with quicksand from the bed of the river. After various
experiments that had for their object the remedying of this condition the
business was finally abandoned and the mill was moved from its site to a point
just south of the railroad tracks and it is now one of the biggest and best
mills in the state of Kansas and is operated by the Walnut Creek Milling
Company.
During the years from 1872 to 1880 there were
numerous manufacturing enterprises started in Great Bend but none of them
survived any great length of time. These included a broom factory, cigar
factory, etc.
In the early days of Great Bend it was the
place of residence of a large number of cattlemen who grazed their herds in the
valleys of the Ninnescah, Chicaskia and Medicine Lodge rivers. The cattle
business seemed to thrive at times when farming life was very discouraging on
account of droughts, grasshoppers, wind and other undesirable conditions. The
first cattle in the country were from Texas and it was a peculiar fact that
high bred stock, natives of northern climates could not live in the vicinity of
Texas herds without contracting a fever that ofttimes proved fatal. However, if
the native cattle withstood the first year's contact they were immune there
after. The best success in the cattle business was achieved by crossing Texas
stock with northern cattle.
An effort was made in the early 70s to
establish herds of sheep in the county, but all that were brought here seemed
to be unable to become acclimated and the industry never thrived as did the
cattle business.
The first to attempt to raise thoroughbred
stock in the county was C. Q. Newcombe whose farm was known as Bloomingdale
Park and was located in Cheyenne township. He came to the county in 1876 and
engaged in breeding fine cattle and horses. His horses were of the Messenger
and Black Hawk stock. He had one brood mare, known as Nellie Seeley, that had a
record of 2:30 when she was 10 years old. His cattle were of the best shorthorn
stock. He was also a breeder of Berkshire and Suffolk pigs many of which he
imported.
BUILDING THE COURT HOUSE
A PETITION signed by E. L. Morphy and
fifty-one others was presented to the board of county commissioners on
September 2, 1872, asking for an election to be called for the purpose of
issuing bonds to the amount of $25,000 for the building of a court house and
jail.
On October 8, a special election was held at
which the bonds were voted on and resulted as follows:
Township— For. Against. Total.
Lakin 1 32 33
Great Bend 156 1 157
Buffalo 5 3 8
Total 162 36 19
On March 26, 1873, a contract was made with John
McDonald of Emporia to build the court house for $24,200 in bonds of the
county, the court house to be completed during that year, according to the
plans and specifications on file with the clerk. Bonds in the sum of $50,000
were given by McDonald for the faithful performance of his part of the
contract, W. T. Soden and P. B. Plumb being sureties.
In April the A. T. & S. F. railway got out
an injunction restraining the issuing of the bonds for the building of the
court house and certain bridges. A. A. Hurd was employed by the defense. The
matter was finally adjusted, the bonds issued and the necessary taxes were paid
by the railroad company.
In May, 1873, John H. Taylor was appointed to
superintend the work of construction on the court house building, and at the
close of December, 1873, the building was not completed acccrding to contract
and McDonald had stopped work after drawing all the money that was due him.
Early in 1874, the board of county commissioners took possession of the
building and materials on hand in the name of the county. The work was finished
and the cost of the part undone when McDonald quit was assessed against his
bondsmen and suit begun to collect the amount. This matter hung fire in the
courts for some time and was finally settled in November, 1879, by McDonald's
bondsmen, Plumb and Soden paying the county the sum of $2,000, and paying all
expenses of the litigation.
ST. ROSE HOSPITAL
IN 1893, after having lived in Great Bend for
about a year, during which time the preliminary work was done, representatives
of the Dominician Sisters established St. Rose hospital. No public undertaking
in the city of Great Bend ever met with a more hearty response from the
citizens than did the work of soliciting aid for the establishment of the hospital.
On June 9, 1902, the following resolution was unanimously adopted by the Great
Bend Commercial Club:
"Great Bend Commercial Club, Great Bend,
Kansas, June 9, 1902.—To the Rev. Mother Superior of the Nuns of the Third
Order of St. Dominic, Great Bend, Kansas:
"I have the honor to transmit to you the
following resolutions which were unanimously adopted by the members of the
Great Bend Commercial Club at their regular meeting on this date, to wit:
"'Whereas, It has come to the knowledge
of the general public that the Rev. Mother Superior and the Rev. Sisters of the
Nuns of the Third Order of St. Dominic, now residing in our midst, contemplate,
or are considering the expediency of establishing and maintaining a general
hospital in our city; Now, therefore, be it
"'Resolved, By the Great Bend Commercial
Club, that the movement in question is one which commands our hearty support
and most cordial endorscment;
"'That we have long recognized the
pressing need of such an institution in this vicinity;
"'That there is a large and
well-populated district tributary to Great Bend which is entirely without
modern facilities where the sick and afflicted may receive proper hospital
care, treatment and nursing;
"'That it is a matter of common knowledge
that patients from this large expanse of country are continually traveling to
and from the cities east of us in search of expert surgical relief and
treatment;
"'That it is equally well known that
large numbers of people are financially unable to meet the extraordinary
expense of such a trip, or are physically unequal to the fatigue of the
journey, and hence are compelled to remain at home, there to languish, suffer
and die from lack of expert care, treatment and nursing, such as can be
procured only in connection with a modern and well-equipped hospital;
"'That neighboring cities and villages
have frequently signified their willingness to co-operate with this city, and
to lend their moral and financial support to the promotion of such an
institution;
"'That in our opinion the movement is a
worthy one in every respect, and will command the instant and profound respect
and sympathy of all classes of our people;
"'That we confidently believe that a
hospital here under the auspices of these Reverend Sisters would receive a
cordial and generous patronage from the entire western half of Kansas and from
portions of Eastern Colorado; "'That our railway connections are good, our
climate unsurpassed, all local conditions most favorable, and the time most
opportune; "'In consequence of all of which, we believe the proposition
would be a pronounced success from the beginning, and that it would be not only
a benediction to the general public but a source of revenue to the founders;
"'Wherefore, We bid these Reverend Sisters God-speed in their great and
glorious work and give them strong assurances of our cordial sympathy and good
will.' "Most respectfully submitted,
"F. V. RUSSELL, Sec."
The only institution of its kind in Central
Kansas. Is a commodious, substantial, fireproof, brick structure, fully
equipped for efficient hospital service for forty patients.
Situated on the crest of a high ridge of land
on West Broadway the hospital is surrounded with beautiful lawns, shade trees,
flower beds, and all that can add to its natural beauty.
The building has two stories and a basement.
The arrangement is such that sunlight enters every room. Steam heat, electric
lights, elevator and all modern conveniences have been installed. A separate
building for the laundry work of the hospital is located on the grounds. A
brick addition was constructed and equipped in 1910 at a cost of $25,000.
Both private rooms and wards are available.
Private rooms are located on the first and second floors. They are egantly
furnished by various business firms of the city and every eff:rt was made to
impart a homelike atmosphere and eliminate the ordinary features of hospital
life.
There are several semi-private rooms tor
patients of more moderate means.
The men's ward is on the first floor and will
accommodate eight patients. It is large, well lighted and ventilated. The same
nursing and attention will be given as to those occupying private rooms.
The women's ward is on the second floor and is
neatly furnished.
The drug room has an ample stock so that all
prescriptions can be filled at the hospital.
The hospital is equipped with a
Morton-Wimshurst-Holtz machine of the latest design; a new Scheidel
sixteen-inch coil X-Ray, capable of taking skiagraphs through the body when
desired.
An electrical vibrator is used for patients
unable to leave their apartments. An electric bath cabinet and hot air
apparatus have been installed especially adapted for the treatment of chronic
arthritis and rheumatic cases.
On the first floor is located a room equipped
for free dispensary work. There are many of the poorer class who take advantage
of this and receive both medical and surgical service.
The operating rooms are located on the second
floor; the main operating room is used only for non-infective cases and was so
designed as to afford plenty of light and be readily fumigated. The second
operating room is for all infective cases.
The sterlizing room adjoins the operating room
and has all mcdern equipments.
Most careful attention is paid to the dietary.
Expense, time and attention are not spared in providing the best.
The hospital has two fine ambulances for the
service of its patients which can be called at any hour.
They are all Sisters of St. Dominic and of
long hospital experience. Special nurses will be provided for patients desiring
services of same at additional rates.
ST. MARY'S ACADEMY
Another Catholic institution that was
established in 1901 was St. Mary's Academy. This academy or school was
established by the Dominican Sisters, they being of the same order as those who
later established the St. Rose Hospital. The school was located in the building
on West Broadway formerly used by the Central Normal College and was built in
1880. The school was operated until 1909 when it closed for a time after which
it was and is now being used as a school where Sisters are trained for school
and hospital work. It is the intention of the Sisters to again take up the
school work within the near future. During the time that the school was
operated it had a good attendance and was well conducted along modern ideas of
education.
BARTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
THE history of the public schools of Barton
County since the first district was organized in '72 has been one of steady
progress and consistent improvements. New buildings have been added and
additional teachers employed as fast as demands made it necessary. The first
school district was established June 3, 1872, by A. Hownson, superintendent of
public instruction of Ellsworth County, Kansas, and included the following
territory. Sections 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 31 in township 19, south of
range 13 west. It was known as District Number 1, and included the City of
Great Bend. The first meeting of the board which consisted of J. C. Martin, G.
W. Nimocks and D. N. Heizer, was held in the store of John Hubbard in Great
Bend June 15, 1872. It may be of interest to some to know that the teachers in
those days were paid very small salaries as can be seen from the following. The
teachers in the first district were James Bickerdyke, $45 per month; Mrs. H.
Ingersoll, $20 per month: J. A. McClellan, $75 per month; Charles Dodge, $23
per month; Miss C. Storrey, $50 per month; Miss Haddie Hartman, $50 per month;
Miss C. Bacon, $50 per month and Andrew McKinney, $40 per month. Soon after the
establishment of the first district other districts were added until now there
are in the county 104 districts, with 150 teachers and 107 buildings. The first
superintendent of public instruction was A. C. Moses and the present incumbent
of the office is Jennie B. Momyer. The schools of Barton county are among the
best in the stale of Kansas and in 1912 the attendance is the largest in the
history of the county, it being slightly over 1,000 in Great Bend alone.
GREAT BEND SCHOOLS.
The increased attendance during the past year
is evidence of the increasing population of the county. So crowded has the two
grade buildings become that it has been necessary to open three rooms for grade
purposes in the high school building and next year additional room will need to
be provided for grade purposes. At the present rate of increase it is only a
matter of a very short time before a new ward building must be built to
accommodate the children of the city. The course of study followed is the one
used in most of the first and second class cities of our state.
The Great Bend High School is organized under
the Barnes High School Law and therefore belongs to the whole county. The
school is well equlppd with a splendid modern building, apparatus of latest
kind in every department. This year a faculty of nine members, including the
superintendent, is necessary to take care of the increased enrollment, and the
new departments which are being added.
The school enrolled in 1911 about 200 pupils
from Barton County and adjoining counties. This is an increase of nearly forty
per cent over the enrollment of the previous year. Prospects for a still larger
enrollment are bright for the coming school year.
Some conception of the many lines of work
offered in the high school may be obtained by briefly considering the various
courses of study.
The college preparatory course is designated
for those whose ambitions direct them to a college course. It includes Latin,
Mathematics, English, History and Science. Those completing this course are
admitted to the Freshman class of the Kansas University and the other colleges
and universities of this and other states.
The Normal Training Course is arranged for
those who intend to teach. This course includes about the same subjects as
those found in the college preparatory course but includes besides Psychology,
Methods and Management and a thorough review of most of the common branches.
Persons completing this course and passing a state examination in eight
subjects indicated above, are given a state certificate good for two years and
at the end of that time renewable.
Young people who are contemplating teaching
and teachers who wish to become better prepared for their work should make
arrangements to take this course. It is possible to complete the Normal
Training Course and at the same time complete work sufficient for college
entrance.
The Business Course is composed of the regular
commercial subjects, book-keeping, shorthand, typewriting, commercial
arithmetic, commercial geography, and commercial law, similar to those found in
the leading business colleges, and in addition this course includes a greater
amount of academic work. A great many difficulties on account of immmaturity found
among eighth grade graduates who complete a course will be overcome by the time
a good high school course is completed. Such a course gives one who enters
business life an advantage that is worth securing. Knowledge is power, and the
broader the culture the greater chance of success. If a business course without
such training is good, a business course with such training is very good.
The Manual Training department which was
established two years ago, and which has been in charge of experts during this
time has proved very popular as well as profitable to the boys of the school.
No young man whatever his station in life
finds the ability to use his hands in the production of some useful article
detrimental to his success. All persons are not endowed with power to become
proficient in classical or professional courses, hence the popular demand for
courses which train for useful vocations along practical lines. The work done
in this department has called forth much favorable comment on account of its high
grade.
Tables, chairs, tabourets, pedestals and
dozens of other useful articles suitable for any home have been made by the
students. This work is carried by the pupils while doing regular high school
work in English, Mathematics and Science.
A visit to this department would reveal a busy
work shop or laboratory filled with busy contented boys, happy in the joy which
comes from the conscious direction of muscular effort to the accomplishment of
some useful end. No one can well deny that there is just as valuable kind of
training coming from this effort as that which comes from the translation of a
Latin sentence or the conjugation of a Greek verb. It is not the purpose to
turn out finished workmen but young men with the power to direct the hands to
execute what the mind constructs.
The coming year will see installed Domestic
Science and Art for the girls. A room is being arranged with tables, sinks,
cupboards, stoves and cooking utensils of all kinds. There under the direction
of a competent instructor the young ladies of the school will be taught
household economy. It is doubtful if a more useful or practical line of work
can be found than this which teaches the future mothers of our state how to
prepare food and care for the home.
The Domestic Art room will be fitted with
sewing tables, chairs, machines and rockers. The work in sewing is just as
essential as either Manual Training or Domestic Art. It may never be necessary
for many young ladies to sew for themselves or others, but it certainly will ever
be a source of satisfaction to know when a garment is made correctly and fitted
accurately. It is believed these courses will prove very popular among the
girls.
Another course for next year, which should
reach practical needs in our county is agriculture. It is not the purpose of
this study to do demonstrative work, but to teach in a practical way the
science of agriculture. The course will be outlined by the state department and
will include a thorough study of soil; its formation, kinds, properties, moisture
holding power, methods of enriching and tillage; seeds; their structure,
selection and planting; rotation of crops; principal crops, dairying, stock
raising, etc.
This article should not close without calling
attention to the school organization, which go to make up the school life as
well as give a very useful training. These are the two library or rhetorical
societies, the Y. M. C. A. and the chorus, the orchestra and the entertainment
association. The latter conducts a splendid course of lectures and
entertainments during the school year.
It is hoped the young people of Barton County
will avail themselves of the opportunity to secure an education in this well
organized and well equipped school.
GREAT BEND CHURCHES
GREAT BEND is blessed with a large number of
churches representing nearly all denominations of Christian faith. Their
history has been printed before but their growth has been most gratifying to
those who work for the cause of religion in this section of the country and is
most interesting. The history of these churches has been one of continuous
struggle during the early days but all are now on a sound financial basis and
have accomplished a great deal of good among the people and they add greatly to
the desirability of Great Bend as a home city.
First Congregational Church
In the spring of 1872 a Sunday school was
organized in Great Bend which was the foundation for what is now the First
Congregational Church, the same being organized August 10, 1872. But one of the
original charter members remains today in the person of Mrs. G. N. Moses, then
Miss Ida Mitchell.
The Reverend Mr. Brundige was the first
pastor, remaining three years, Rev. I. D. Phillips following for a period of
four years. The following named pastors have served the congregatlon from one
to eight years. Revs. Palmer, Prior, Bosworth, Carson, Schnacke, Sutherland,
Brehm, and the present pastor, is Rev. Victor Lynch Greenwood, whose ministry
began in 1912.
The Congregational church has always filled a
large place in the community and now has one of the most beautiful and modern
houses of worship to be found in this part of the state.
St. John's Episcopal Church
It was in the late 70s that the Rt. Rev. T. H.
Vail, the first Bishop of the Episcopal church in Kansas, visited Great Bend
and baptized the children of some of the church families then living here.
Among these pioneer members of the church are found the names of Poole, Grimes,
Livington, Shore, Manning, Ogle and Moss. These all at one time or another have
done good work for the church, and of these only Mrs. and Miss Poole are left
to recall the early struggle of this Mission.
Several years after Bishop Vail's visit, his
successor, Bishop Thomas, came to Great Bend and after looking over the field,
arranged for services in the court house, which were held by the Rev. Dr.
Beatty of Newton, and, afterward, by the Rev. Kersey Thomas of Larned. These
occasional services, however, soon lapsed, but with the advent of the Rev. B.
Hartley who gave regular services from Larned, things began to look up. The
German-Methodist church was rented for services and the prospect seemed to be
very encouraging. Then came, as the first resident pastor, the Rev. W.
Richmond, who was followed by Archdeacon Watkins giving occasional services.
While the Archdeacon was in charge, the
congregation purchased the church, and now having a building of their own,
church work began to take on a more roseate hue. The Rev. L. G. Morony now came
as pastor, and was followed by the Rev. Geo. Belsey, and the Rev. A. H. W.
Anderson, all of whom did good work for the Master. Then came days of decline,
the church, losing her strength chiefly by removals and the pastors who have
come in the later days have been able to do scarcely more than minister to the
few faithful ones left. These have been the Rev. H. M. Green, the Rev. J. C.
Anderson and B. T. Bensted.
The present pastor of the church is Rev.
Robert Francis Hill who is doing good work.
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal church was organized
in March, 1873, by Rev. A. Hartman, who remained for some time as the first
pastor. The Rev. John McQuiston was presiding elder.
The first church building was erected in the
fall of 1877, and dedicated on January 20, 1878, by Bishop Bowman. This church
was sold in 1887, a new site, the present one was bought and the present church
and a parsonage built. The church was dedicated January 16, 1887, by Rev. J. C.
Hall, assisted by Rev. Enyart, the pastor. The present membership of the church
is 500, and all matters in connection with the congregation are in excellent
condition. The present pastor is Rev. H. J. Cockerill.
Baptist Church
The First Baptist Church of Great Bend,
Kansas, was organized April 2, 1887. It started with sixteen members, viz: Fred
J. Lewis and wife, S. M. Smith and wife, Lucinda Tucker, Mrs. C. J. Crilly, J.
E. Patton and wife, J. A. Miller and wife, David Mathewson, wife and daughter,
C. C. Lewis, Morgan Caraway and Mrs. M. E. Fouch. Rev. N. G. Collins of Dodge
City, presided over the meeting at which the organization was effected. What
are known as the New Hampshire Articles of Faith were read, and it was agreed
that they fairly expressed the Scriptural views of those entering the new
church.
The following were the first officers:
Deacons, Fred J. Lewis and David Mathewson; clerk, Morgan Caraway; treasurer,
David Mathewson; S. S. Supt. J. E. Patton; trustees, S. M. Smith, J. A. Miller,
M. Caraway, J. E. Patton and C. C. Lewis. The young church seems to have gone
without a pastor until October, 1887, when Rev. G. E. Burdick entered upon the
work, which, however, he soon resigned.
The present pastor, Rev. E. H. H. Tubbs, is a
native of Pulaski County, Ky. In his young manhood he was a school teacher in
his native county. His first pastorate was with his home church in the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville, Ky., after which he was pastor at
Browntown, Ind., four years, Freelandville, Ind., four years and Alfordsville,
Ind. seven years. Then he came to Stafford, Kansas, for three and one-half
years. This last work he resigned to accept the call to this field.
Presbyterian Church
Monday, May 5, 1885, by previous appointments,
Revs, J. C. McEnroy, D. Kingroy and J. H. Ralston, representing the Home
Missionary Committee or Larned Presbytery, convened in the M. E. church of
Great Bend, for the purpose of organizing a Presbyterian church if the way
appeared clear. Rev. D. Kingroy preached a sermon on "Church Order."
The way being clear an organization was effected, eleven members being
received. Present membership 148. Present value of the church building; and
manse, $15,000. Rev. Wm. Westwood is the present pastor.
Christian Church
The Christian Church of this city was
organized on October 14, 1899 by Rev. J. M. McConnell, who was the first
pastor, and under whose supervision the present church building was erected in
the spring of 1900. The present pastor is Rev. B. E. Parker. The membership of
the congregation is 150, and the Sunday school has an enrollment of 120. The
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor has a membership of 65.
Roman Catholic Church
St. Rosa of Lima Church was built in 1878
under the directlcn of Father Lelix P. Swenbergh and Father Ferdinand Wolf. For
many years before that the community and Fort, while there was nothing here but
Indians, were visited by Catholic Missionaries. Father Wolf held services here
while he was stationed at Dodge City, until October 23, 1881, when Father
Schurtz succeeded him. He was located at Ellinwood, as was also Father Epp, who
followed him. In 1885 Father Disselkamp took charge and held until 1888. Under
his pastorate the church building was moved to the location it has at this
time. He also made some extensive improvements. His successor was Father
Hartman, and he was succeeded in 1888 by Father Kelley, who was the first
resident priest. During his administration the bells were purchased. He was
succeeded in 1893 by Father Browne, who was here during the hardest years that
any pastor of the congregation has ever seen. His successor was Father
Podgorseck, and under his term the parish house was built. In 1901 he was
succeeded by Father Weirsma, who in 104, was succeeded by Father Schultz then
who was in turn succeeded by Father Hermanns. Father Hull is the present
pastor.
German Lutheran Church
Regular Lutheran preaching was begun in the
city of Great Bend in September, 1905, services being conducted by the
neighboring ministers alternately, first in the old school building and later
in the present Baptist church. A congregation was organized August 30, 1908,
professing the doctrines as taught by the Evangelical Lutheran Missouri Synod.
In the year 1910 the congregation, still very small in numbers had the courage
to do what seemed necessary for the progress of Lutheranism is this city, ie.,
to build a church house of their own. The new structure shown in the picture
was dedicated July 31, 1910, and bears the name Evangelical Lutheran Trinity
Church. Two weeks after the dedication the first permanent pastor, R. Graebner,
was installed into office.
The Colored Churches
Great Bend has two colored congregations, the
Baptists and Methodists. Both have handsome church edifices and have grown
greatly since their establishment. The Baptists organized about thirty years
ago and the Methodists some time later. Rev. Raimy is pastor of the Baptist.
Rev. Greenlee is the pastor of the Methodist church.
A CAKE THAT BROUGHT $677.50
FEBRUARY 25, 1874, the Odd Fellows lodge of
Great Bend gave a grand ball which was the event of the season, and on this
occasion there was a cake given to the one who received the largest number of
votes at 25 cents per vote. According to old timers who attended the ball it
was a swell affair. The following taken from the Barton County Progress, a
newspaper published in Great Bend at that time, will give an idea of the event.
We also print a likeness of the cake and Miss Typer, the winner. Miss Typer is
now Mrs. Crocker of Hoisington:
"Of course it was an Odd Fellows ball and
if the secret meetings of this order are as pleasant and harmonizing as was the
ball of last night the order is truly symbolical of the letters F. L. T. The
music was excellent and the Great Bend string band's repertoire would do credit
to a musical organization of the largest cities.
Dancing commenced about 8 o'clock and
continued until 5 in the morning. The ladies toilets were magnificent. A great
many of Great Bend's women were dressed richly and handsomely and exceedingly
good taste was displayed. We venture to say that the toilets displayed at the
gubernatorial ball at Topeka recently were not superior to those seen at the
ball last night. The dancing was in the courtroom at the court house while the
refreshments were served in the clerk's office. The refreshments were delicious
and ample provision had been made for all who were there.
"After supper Judge Martin, at the
solicitation of some of his friends, consented to auction off a big cake that
had been made by Mrs. Faussel, and presented to the lodge. The cake was a
handsome pyramid of the sweeteat compounds, welghiig about 60 pounds and highly
ornamented with symbols of the Odd Fellows lodge.
"The cake was offered to be voted for at
25 cents per vote, and was to be given to the most popular young lady in the
ha!1. The voting commenced with four votes for Miss Hattie Wells. Miss Mollie
Typer received twenty votes, and somebody just in fun dug up six bits for three
votes for Pollie Parkins, there being no such person in the assemblage. At the
end of the first ten minutes the vote stood: Miss Typer, 180; Miss Wells, 170.
By this time Mr. Markwort was championing the cause of Miss Typer while G. L.
Brinkman was leading the Wells forces in the battle of ballots. After twenty
minutes the vote stood; Miss Typer, 500; Miss Wells, 490. Then the voting was
fast and furious and, finally after 2,700 votes had been cast, the auctioneer
announced that Miss Wells and Miss Typer were tied with 1,350 votes each. Then
there were ten votes added to Miss Typer's list and as the other side made no
more offers she was announced the winner and the lodge was richer by
$677.50."
FIRST NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION
(From Great Bend Tribune, January 29, 1909.) A
couple of weeks ago we received a letter from Dr. Lightfoot. The letter is
published first, and is then followed by considerable matter from the Tribune
of Janury 3, 1880, concerning the reception of that date, and other New Year's
news:
Mr. Will Townsley, Editor Tribune, Great Bend,
Kansas. Dear Sir: In reading your account of the New Year festivities in Great
Bend, my mind went back to the beginning of the custom, and I thought it might
be of interest to your readers to hear of it.
Eighteen-eighty being leap year I suggested to
some of the then young men of the town, that on New Year's Day we entertain the
ladles. At that time I had an office over Allen's drug store. Cal Weaver and E.
W. Moses had a nicely furnished room near mine, and after some consultation we
decided to use these rooms for our purpose—my office being used as a kitchen,
presided over by Mose Wells, an old time darkey and the other room was
converted into a reception room, by removing the bed and instituting a dining
table in its place.
The reception party of five consisted of Cal
Weaver. E. W. Moses, Will Moses, Ora Dodge and myself. I was apuolnted to
receive at the door, Ora Dodge and E. W. Moses took charge of the refreshment
table, and Will and Cal took a hand where it would do the most good. Quite a
number of ladles, married and single, called, also some of the gentlemen.
Prominent among the young girls who are still living in Great Bend were Miss
Jennie Pursell, now Mrs. Castle and Miss Annie Wood, now Mrs. E. W. Moses.
The next year many of the ladies received
calls, and D. N. Heizer originated the idea of a reception in the evening, he
inviting those who received and made calls to his home, then the little cottage
on the east side next to the Diffenbacher residence. This custom continued for
some years, but even when the calling was dropped the evening reception has
continued until the present day. It has been a great element in the social life
of Great Bend and I hope it may long continue. Of the original five who received
in 1880 all are living but Cal Weaver. I am,
Very respectfully yours,
DR. FRANK LIGHTFOOT,
Excelsior Springs, Mo., 1-12-'09.
In his letter Dr. Lightfoot says, the custom
of having a ball in the evening originated the next year with D. N. Heizer. D.
N. was undoubtedly instrumental in promoting the matter, but that same night of
which the doctor writes, a big Leap Year ball was given at which the gentlemen
were the guests of the ladies. Many of the couples noted in the write-up of the
affair were afterwards married to each other, but we expect the ladies will
deny that Leap Year had anything to do with the matter. The write-up of the
ball from the Tribune of January 3, 1880, is as follows:
"The Leap Year ball was the most pleasant
one of the season. It was gotten up by the ladies who took advantage of the
fourth year wherein they enjoyed certain privileges not accorded them often.
They managed the affair in a business way, selected their company to suit
themselves and for once in their lives—if never before—had things all their
way. We give the names of all who took part in the exercises, and will say now,
should there be any emission, we hope the ladies will not pounce on us, for it
was with much labor and exceeding great embarrassment that we procured the
list, in so large an assembly. It is possible that some may have escaped our
observation: Mary Birdsell and James Hinchcliff, Mrs. Sooy and husband, and E.
W. Johnson, Mrs. E. R. Moses, husband and M. B. Fitts, Miss Zachary and John
Cegan, Jennie Pursell, Ed Dunaway and Mr. Losecamp, Ada Birdsell and W. Kelly,
Mrs. Frank Wilson and W. W. Kearney, Bessie Johnson and Frank Wilson, May Kelly
and Dr. Castle, Mrs. Hulme and Geo. Kellar and Mr. Hulme, Emma Mitchell and
Will Webster, Lizzie Dodge and Frank Peffer, Luella Miller and Will Stoke,
Nettie Dick and Mr. Osmond, Mrs. Long and D. N. Heizer, Mrs. Heizer and Fred
Long. Mrs. Wells and J. M. Fugate, Mrs. Doty and Wm. Maher, Lillie Arnold and
G. W. Wells, Mrs. John Lightbody and husband, Mrs. Evans and James Sweet, Mrs.
Sweet and G. A. Evans. Mrs. S. B. Stokly and husband, Flo Diffenbacher and Will
Dunaway, Ella Brown and John Taylor, Mrs. J. B. Mulks and husband, Mrs. Chaffee
and Mrs. A. S. Allen and husband, Jennie Flint and Dr. Gebhart, Grace Buckland
and Will Moses, Laura Lewis and W. M. James, Belle Brown and Ora Dodge, Mrs.
Chapman and W. W. Winstead, Mrs. Winstead and E. L. Chapman, Anna Wood and Ed
Moses, Mrs. Kidder and husband, Stella Eastey and Fred Zutavern, Mrs. Rowell
and husband, Maggie Dodge and George E. Mitchell, Mrs. G. L. Brinkman and Dr.
Bain, Hattie Wells and G. L. Brinkman, Jessie Prescott and Clarence Birdsall,
Mrs. Pickering and husband.
The dance lasted until five o'clock the next
morning and the large hall was densely crowded. Supper was served at the Typer
house. The managers of the ball will have enough left for new spring bonnets
and other absolute necessities. The ladies established a rule forbidding any
gentleman from leaving the hall until the close of the ball. Numerous efforts were
made during the evening to escape on one pretext or another, but George Moses
being doorkeeper, it was a waste of time to plead for 'breath of air.' The
ladies set an example for the men in the expeditious manner In which they
filled their engagement cards which occupied a remarkably short interval.
The result of it was that those who came late
were unable to find partners.
In the Tribune of January 3, 1880, we find the
following notices: Cal Weaver, Ed and Will Moses, Dr. Lightfoot and Ora Dodge
kept open house Thursday and were visited by all the ladies who made calls.
They received in the rooms of these gentlemen in Allen's building up stairs and
were elegantly fitted up with a beautiful supply of good things. They were the
happiest set of mortals on earth and only regret that they had but one short
day in three hundred and sixty-five to throw themselves away on ladies.
The following ladies honored the Tribune
sanctum with their presence Thursday: Jessie Prescott, Stella Eastey, Mary
Birdsall, Ada Birdsall, Jennie Flint, Emma Mitchell, Mrs. E. R. Moses, Mrs. G.
L. Brinkman, Jessie Miller, Belle Zachary, Mrs. Sooy, Mrs. Long, Miss Dick,
Jennie Pursell, Ella Brown, Belle Brown, Mrs. John Lightbody, Mrs. A. S. Allen
and Mrs. A. C. Moses.
We tender our thanks to the above ladies who
won us with a call. We appreciate the compliment greatly, enjoyed their visits
and wish them all a happy new year, and fondly hope that each succeeding day of
1880 to its close may be as happy a one to them as the first one was to us.
Signed, Wm. Moses. Cal Weaver, Dr. Lightfoot,
Ora Dodge and Ed Moses.
But though these dashing young blades were the
ones to follow the idea of a reception, the idea spread, as witness the
following notice in the paper of the week before, and which was largely as a
joke on the part of the editor of the Tribune: "January the first is the
beginning of the Leap Year and we are authorized to announce that the following
young gentlemen will keep open house for the accommodation of such young ladies
as may feel inclined to assert the privileges which the new year accords to
them: Wm. Naher, assisted by his brother, Stanley, and George Stovall; E. W.
Johnson assisted by Ed and Will Dunaway; Cal Weaver, assisted by Drs. Gebhart
and Lightfoot; W. M. James, assisted by M. D. Skinner and Henry Moore; Frank
Eastey, (If he don't go to the country,) assisted by Ora Dodge and Lynn Moses;
Ed Moses, assisted by his brothers Will and Cash: (N. B.—Owing to the peculiar
circumstances of which the public seem better posted than he does, Clayt will
not take an active part in this business.) Clarence Birdsall, assisted by James
Hinchcliff and John Cogan; Joe Howard, assisted by Ran Goit—no providential
hindrance—and Ira D. Brougher; Will Stoke, assisted by James Clayton and Elrick
C. Cole; (this is regarded as a sure thing all around.) Joey D. Fugate,
assisted by the following kids: Ned Goit, Albert Kergs and Sammy Keifer; Wm.
Webster, assisted by Wm. Kelly and Frank Peffer; Henry Moss, assisted by John,
Al and Art; ladies over thirty ruled out; Wm. Osmond, assisted by Tom Clayton
and Charley Carney; girls under fifteen strictly. W. W. Carney, no
discrimination as to age but brunettes preferred; Wm. Losecamp, assisted by Wm.
Teed and others. No reserved seats.
And then the Tribune of January 3, 1880,
backed down. Witness this: We owe the ladies an apology for misleading them in
our last issue by giving the names of young men who would receive on New Year's
day. They left their names for publication as presented. but from some cause or
other very few adhered to their promises. But at the same time the ladies are
indebted to us for the few who did receive as they felt in duty bound to follcw
the program after their announcements were published.
A BANQUET IN HONOR OF CASSIUS M. MOSES
IN 1899 the City of Great Bend welcomed Cash
Moses back from the Spanish war with a big banquet, the following account of
which is taken from a newspaper of that time. The banquet was held in October
and was attended by Great Bend's leading citizens:
"A reception was given to Colonel Moses
Tuesday at the Woodman lodge room. Upwards of 150 people were in attendance.
The evening was spent in a free and easy way, the guests being given the
liberty to enjoy themselves in any way they saw fit. The Colored Glee club
furnished inspiring music during the evening. Various amusements were to be had
until the arrival of Cash Moses, in whose honor the party was given. In company
with his wife he arrived on the Missouri Pacific at 11 p. m. On entering the
hall Judge Cole welcomed the colonel as follows:
There was a sound of revelry by night
And Barton's capital had gathered there
Her wit, her wisdom and her chivalry.
Then spoke a stranger and he said,
What means these actions rash?
The answer came all down the line
'We're here to welcome CASH.'
"After receiving a cordial greeting by
those who knew her, and after taking a glance at the hall and its appointments,
Mrs. Moses excused herself and withdrew. An elegant lunch was then spread,
presided over by Commodore W. B. Cornell, the director general of the banquet.
"Colonel Moses made an informal talk to
the boys on the war and gave some interesting details, after which the
following was delivered by C. P. Townsley:
"'Here's to the health of our honored guest,
Who visits us for a little rest,
But when he's through with this banquet night
He'll wish he were back in old Cavite,
For after all I feel assured
A man can die from being bored.
That the battle-field with its leaden hall
Is not more risky than Kansas quail—
When mixed with other things.
We honor Cash for he bears a scar.
Received in this Aguinaldo war
In defense of the flag that proudly floats
Where Dewey placed it with his boats,
And in years to come when things expand
Cash will be glad he took a hand
In helping to save what the fathers left,
And in adding more to give it heft—
When mixed with other things.
And we drink a health to this jolly crowd
Who'd have gone to war had they been allowed
But some were too young and some too old
And the women could not be left in the cold.
For the winter was long and the spring was late
And somebody had to care for the state,
And very properly that was us,
And we tended to it without any fuss—
When mixed with other things.'
"The festivities were continued until
about 1 o'clock, though many people left earlier. It was a very pleasant affair
and all had a merry time"
FIRST SETTLERS IN GREAT BEND
EDWIN TYLER tells about his arrival here with
the first people to locate on what is now the townslte of Great Bend. In
speaking of those times Mr. Tyler said: "On October 16, 1871, there camped
upon the present site of Great Bend Mr. and Mrs. Louis Frey, Thompson Frey,
James Pond, Lute Morris, Paul Morphy, Henry Schaeffer, Chris Zeizer, G. N.
Moses, John Tilton, W. H. Odell, James and Hi Bickerdyke and those who arrived
on that date were Mr. and Mrs. E. Tyler, with their three children; Mr. and
Mrs. Gromans and two children and Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Hartshorn. Those who were
here gave us a warm welcome. The people began to establish their new homes and
everything went well until the blizzards of November 16 and 17. They caused a
great deal of discomfort. After the blizzard the Gromans left us. The first
buildings consisted of the old Southern Hotel at first called the Drovers'
Cottage, and one shack made of stock boards. There were no carpets on any of
the floors excepting Mrs. Kate Frey's parlor, which was covered with a layer of
grass.
One house consisted of four poles sunk into
the ground with three buffalo hides, tacked to them. There were several of the
old timers who spent most of their time scouting and making things as
comfortable as possible for the women folks, some of whom were quite timid.
There never was a bunch of men who looked more
carefully after the welfare of the women than did Barton County's early
settlers. On the first evening after our arrival here the Pawnee Indians made
the camp a visit while on their return from an expedition down to Medicine
Lodge. Some of us tenderfeet were alarmed but G. N. Moses assured us that there
was no danger but to keep near our guns. At that time there was nothing to
hinder us seeing in all directlcns for many miles. In fact, we could see what
was then known as Five Mile Timber and Twelve Mile Timber. A few days later
while we were looking down the trail, G. N. Moses and myself were somewhat
excited at seeing a black object coming towards us. We watched and patiently
waited until it came near enough for us to recognize Judge Morton, dressed in a
fine suit of black clothes, black hat, kid gloves and umbrella. The old timers
eyed him as an antelope would a red flag. The judge was highly respected by our
community. He was a good man for the times, and he helped many of the old
timers over rough periods of frontier life. The first milch cow on the townsite
was brought by W. H. Hartshorn, who led her behind his wagon more than 500
miles across the prairies. Louis Frey brought the first mule team. There was
but one building between here and Atlanta at that time and that was T. Buckby's
at Fort Zarah. The places of note were called ranches in those days.
ROBERT MERTEN
ONE of the men who came here in 1875 and has
had a great deal to do with the farming and commercial life of Barton County,
is Robert Merten. He was born in Elberfeldt, Germany, December 13, 1839. He
came to America with his parents when he was eight years of age, the family
first locating in Keokuk County, Iowa. Robert remained there until 1863 when he
took up the occupation of freighting across the plains. He continued in this
business until 1865, when he went to Denver and spent one summer, after which
he returned to St. Joe, Mo. Then he went back to the old home place in Iowa and
in 1875 came to Barton County and in the following year brought his family to the
new country. He was married May 1, 1861, to Miss Maria Becker and they are the
parents of six children as follows: Albert N., who is farming in this county in
Clarence township; Annie, who is now Mrs. A. B. Willcutt and resides in
Clarence township; Mary, who is now Mrs. H. J. Campbell, also resides in
Clarence; Frank, resides on the old home place in this county; Edwin M., who
lives in town and is in the farming business, and Susie, who is now Mrs. E. E.
Bohl, and lives in Ottawa, Kansas. When Mr. Merten arrived in this county he
bought railroad land and from time to time added to his holdings and now owns
in this county 320 acres of land and also owns 700 acres in Pawnee and Rush
counties. Mr. Merten is vice president of the Citizens National Bank of Great
Bend and is a director of the Pawnee Rock and Hoisington State banks. Since his
retirement from active farming he has occupied a fine residence at 2423 Forest
avenue in Great Bend. Mr. Merten has held township offices and served as county
commissioner for one year. He has always taken a leading part in the
development of the county's resources and has been closely identified with its
business and agricultural interests. All of his land in this county is being
worked by renters and is in a high state of development.
FRED C. LUDWIG
FRED C. LUDWIG was born in Germany, January 1,
1871, and came to America when he was fourteen years of age. He came to Barton
County in 1886 and began the business of farming. He with his brother farms a
half section of land in section 36, South Bend township. He also owns 640 acres
of land in Texas. He was married in Kansas City in 1892, to Miss Annie Alt and
they are the parents of two children: Eliza, 16 years of age and Rudolph, ten
years of age, both of whom are students in the Barton County schools. Mr.
Ludwig's home place is located in an ideal spot, the residence consisting of
eight rooms in addition to closets, pantries, etc., is well built and neatly
furnished. The barn is 34 by 40 and has a large loft where it is possible to
store a good quantity of hay and grain. A small orchard is found on the home
place and it contains nearly all varieties of fruits that are common to this
section of the country. Mr. Ludwig is a farmer that believes in modern methods
and his long residence in Barton County has given him the experience necessary
to get the best results from his efforts in cultivating the soil. The home
place is located about nine miles south and east of Great Bend and Mr. Ludwig is
known as an enterprising and progressive citizen. He belongs to several German
orders and is one of the best known men in the county.
JIM
GAINSFORD
WHAT
little is known about Jim Gainsford is what such men as John Tilton and other
old timers have been able to remember. Jim is chiefly noted as far as this
country is concerned, for his having been marshal of Great Bend at a time when
it required a great deal of nerve to control the lawless element. He was
marshal during the years 1871-72-73, and was also deputy sheriff under G. N.
Moses, and at one time held the office of deputy U. S. marshal. He had been a
soldier in the civil war and after the war was over he came west, first to
Abilene and from there to Great Bend. He was not the kind of a men who cared
for farming so never took up a government claim, in fact he was never known to
do a day's work, but preferred the job of an officer where he could exercise
his authority and at times show his skill with a gun. He was a good marksman
and had plenty of courage, although he was known too as being a big bluffer,
and proud of dressing as a fierce frontiersman, with a belt of cartrldges about
his waist and a whole battery of guns displayed about his body. Jim accompanied
G. N. Moses on many of his trips after criminals and was never known to show
the white feather. However he backed down one time for G. N. Moses. John Tilton
tells the incident as follows: "In those days soldiers were equipped with
needle guns and none but government employees were supposed to carry them. Jim
had been blustering about a great deal as a deputy marshal and had taken needle
guns from many of the settlers and buffalo hunters, although it is doubtful if
the government ever realized from them. George Moses and I, each bought a gun
from the soldiers at Fort Dodge. Jim went up to George when he learned of this
and told him he wanted that needle gun. George told him that we had those guns
over there in our dugout and if he wanted them to come and get them, but he
thought he would find a warm reception. It is needless to say Jim never came
after those guns." As the county filled up and things became a little more
civilized Jim moved westward where his wild spirit could have freer rein. He is
now an old man, an inmate of the National Soldier's Home in California.
JOHN
TILTON
JOHN
TILTON was born in Noble County, Ohio, May 28, 1841. He was married to Mrs.
Adeline Eastey in Barton County, Kansas, November 26, 1872, and Mrs. Tilton is
the mother of two children by a former marriage, their names being Frank H.
Eastey and Estella Eastey, (now Mrs. Elmer H. Dean of Kansas City.) Mr. Tilton
enlisted in the U. S. Army in September, 1861, as a private in Company G., 10th
Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He served in many important engagements
during the war; among them may be mentioned the campaign against Vicksburg,
Jonesboro, Evacuation of Atlanta and other important engagements. He was
honorably discharged from service August 16, 1865. Mr. Tilton came west in 1867
and was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad Co., having had numerous
contracts for grading and for furnishing timber for bridge work, etc. He went
to Denver in 1869 and was employed in Gomer's Mills in Bijou Basin near that
city. It was here that he met George Moses the first time. In March, 1870, he
and George Moses bought two yoke of oxen and in company with Bill Leak, Joe
Townley and W. H. White—better known as Heck White—started for Kansas following
the U. P. right of way. They finally landed at Ellsworth after encountering a
terrific storm near Cheyenne Wells. It was by the merest chance that they were
not all frozen to death. They located claims near Ellsworth in the form of
soldiers' homesteads and made some improvements, but threw them up and came to
Barton County after hearing of the wonderful country near the big bend in the
Arkansas. George came ahead to the new country while Tilton remained and looked
after a big hay contract they had secured. John pre-empted the northeast
quarter of 32 on the
J. F.
Tilton
southwest
outskirts of Great Bend while Geo. was to take the southwest quarter of section
28, which is now in the townsite of Great Bend. While John was on his way to
Salina to file he was overtaken by George who told him not to file on the
quarter originally picked for him as it had been decided to locate the town on
it. George later filed on the northwest quarter of 32. This was in July or
August of 1870. They hunted buffaloes until 1874, but John could not pay out on
his preemptious, so he got Bill Leak to homestead who then gave John the north
eighty acres of it as his share. John laid out the Ireland's addition to Great
Bend in 1887. He was the first constable in the county and served Great Bend as
city marshal. He hunted a great deal with George Moses and W. C. Gibson and can
tell of some mighty interesting incidents. In 1871 he with George Moses, Jim
Gilmore, Jim Travers and W. W. Winstead was hunting buffaloes on Bluff creek.
He and George furnished the outfit, two yoke of oxen for which they had been
offered $500. These were the same oxen that brought them from Colorado. They
had but little more than started when a band of about fifty Indians came
charging up about an hour after sundown, but when they saw that the hunting
party was ready to fight they laid down their arms and became very docile. That
night the hunters' oxen were stolen. They hunted for days but were
unsuccessful. George Moses who was using Gilmore's horse came upon a party from
east of Wichita who were camped on the Ninnescah and got them to go after the
other boys who were marooned on Bluff creek. The party finally were reunited
but the oxen were never found. A claim was later allowed by the government for
the loss of the oxen. Mr. Tilton is one of the really old timers of the county
who are still here and knows the early day history of Barton County and Great
Bend.
E. R.
MOSES MERCANTILE CO.
The firm
of E. R. Moses Mercantile Company is an evolution of the firms of Burton &
Johnson, Burton, Odell & Moses, Burton, Moses & Brother and C. N. &
E. R. Moses. The first named firm came here from Argonia, Kansas, and bought
out the store of Mr. Morphy who owned a stock of hardware in a building on the
north side of the square on lot 18, block 20. This was in 1874 and in the
following year Mr. Johnson sold his interest to Odell and Moses, the firm name
being changed to Burton, Odell & Moses. This firm was composed of E. W.
Burton, W. H. Odell, Geo. N. Moses. In April, 1877, E. R. Moses bought out Mr.
Odell and the firm name became Burton, Moses and Brother. In 1881 Mr. Burton
retired and the firm became G. N. & E. R. Moses. In 1900 George N. sold his
interest in the business to E. R. Moses and since that time the business has
been run under the name of E. R. Moses Mercantile Company. This firm is the
result of many ups and downs with the latter in the minority and the men who
helped in building up the business had to contend with all the hardships and
trials incident to all pioneer firms in a new country. This business was built
up in a part of the Great American Desert where sand and wind, grasshoppers,
and crop failures prevailed in the early seventies. The life of the business
was as uncertain as the crops and when the crops were continued failures the
different lines of business were a continual nightmare and many of them finally
changed hands or petered out. All have gone when this business was started in
1874 as have also many who came afterwards. It is hard to think of those brave
fellows who worked early and late, hard and earnestly and left too soon to reap
where they had sown, having grown tired of waiting in vain for good crops and
better times that never came. In those days class distinction played no part in
the work of upbullding and everybody aided in making things as pleasant as
possible for his neighbors. The senior members of the firms that ran the E. R.
Moses Mercantile Company business before this time have all passed away. Mr.
Burton died in 1886, Mr. Odell a few years later, Geo. N. Moses in 1911. The
business carried on by the E. R. Moses Mercantile Co. is a department store and
one of the largest in the west and carries everything in the the general
merchandise line from a pin to a piano, and supplies everything that is needed
by the people of this county from the cradle to the grave. The principal lines
are hardware, stoves, tin, copper, granite, nickle and aluminum ware, dishes,
novelties, watches, clocks, jewelry, silver and cut glass ware, kodaks,
furniture, carpets, curtains, trunks and valises, sewing machines, pianos and
organs, and smaller musical instruments, farm implements and machinery, wagons,
buggies, pumps, windmills, tinning, plumbing and heating, paints, oils, glass,
undertaking and embalming. They say it takes three classes of people to settle
a country, the pioneer, the tenderfoot and the sticker. There are many more
chances than this in a business life. In the hardware and implement line we
count the following names that have come and gone: A. W. Gray, Dodge & Co.,
William Friend, John Frank, Brinkman and Gwinn, Balm and Balm, Sterrit and Co.,
J. A. Sterrit, Charles Culver, Hulme, Patterson, Kern and Co., Cook and
Panning, S. P. Bell, F. H. Miller and Fred Hemker and several transient ones
who are coming and going all the time. In 1880 the firm of Burton, Moses &
Brother opened a branch store in Gunnison, Colorado. Mr. E. W. Burton and G. N.
Moses took charge of this store and E. R. Moses ran the Great Bend store. Two years
later the partnership of Burton, Moses & Brother ceased, Mr. Burton taking
the Gunnison store and C. N. and E. R. Moses the Great Bend store. In 1891 G.
N. Moses and E. R. Moses opened two branch stores; one at Hoisington and one at
Claflin Mr. D. J. Lewis was put in as manager of the Hoisington branch and Mr.
John A. Barth as a manager of the Claflin store. These stores were developed
into large department stores. In 1901 Mr. E. R. Moses sold the Claflin store to
Barth and Herthel on account of engaging in the banking business and not
wanting the care of it. Having organized the Citizens National Bank of Great
Bend and later on the Pawnee Rock State Bank and the Peoples State Bank of
Hoisington, all of which he is president of. The store at Hoisington has been
increased from time to time until it is one of the most complete stores in the
state of Kansas. Carrying goods in addition to what they carry in Great Bend,
boots, shoes, hats, caps, gents' furnishing goods, and they also manufacture
harness. It has a frontage of 150 feet with a building 125 by 100 feet, two
stories with a nice plate glass front. For two years G. N. and E. R. Moses were
engaged in the real estate business with W. M. Gunnell, but when G. N. retired
from business E. R. Moses having enough to attend to, sold his interest with G.
N. Moses to W. M. Gunnell. This business was a success. When Mr. Gunnell died
the firm of Dawson & Zutavern bought the business and made it a much
greater success. The Great Bend store occupies two rooms on Main street 50 by
140 feet, two stories and a basement, another building on Williams street 300
by 100 feet. E. R. Moses believes if anybody wants to make a success of his
business he must stick to it, hug it closer and watch it more when times are
hard and after a number of years he can take it easier, but he must stick to it
for there is nothing he can do so well as to keep busy watching his business
grow as long as he lives. He also believes that too many changes are liable to
cause failure. E. R. Moses, Jr., looks after the mercantile business at the
present time while E. R., sr., advises with him. He is a young man who has made
good by close application and constantly sticking to it, backed by a good
education and right living. He knows what it is as he has passed through every
department and has learned every detail. He is pleasant, whole-souled, kind and
generous and well liked by all who know him.
The E. R.
Moses Mer. Co. is an incorporatcd firm. The officers are E. R. Moses, sr.,
pres., E. R. Moses, Jr., vice-pres, W. W. Nimocks, secretary, D. J. Lewis,
treasurer. Mr. Nimocks sold his interest to Mr. E. R. Moses, jr., who was made
vice-president and secretary.
In the
fall of 1891, G. N. Moses, E. R. Moses and D. J. Lewis bought the little two
story 25x70 frame building, and the hardware business it contained, of Alex.
Dennis. The next year they added a two story building of steel 50x100 and
filled it with good new goods. Almost each year since they have added new
buildings and equipment until now the store has a frontage of 125 feet of
modern plate glass show windows and the building contains over 25,000 square
feet of floor space, and over fifteen men are employed the year round.
In May,
1905, this store, with the one at Great Bend, were incorporated, and the name
changed from Hoisington Hardware and Implement Co., to the E. R. Moses
Mercantile Co. The management of the store has been in charge of Mr. D. J.
Lewis since its founding, and the firm has always been ready to aid and assist
in Hoisington's growth and development. They have full confidence in Hoisington
and her people and see nothing but a bright future for the town.
Mr. Lewis
was born in Wales, coming to America when a young man, first working in
Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade of contractor and builder. From there
he went to Cleveland, Ohio, then to Wisconsin and Illinois, and finally came to
Kansas in the 70s. He farmed and contracted in Rice County and later in Barton,
until taking up the management of the business at its beginning.
The
business began with hardware and this department has always been kept up in
first class shape. One of the most complete and best arranged paint stocks in
the state is a part of the department.
The
jewelry department has charge of the Missouri Pacific Railway watch inspection
for Hoisington to Pueblo and carries a fine stock of railroad watches,
diamonds, cut glass, fine china and silver. A fully equipped optical
department, in charge of a graduate optician is a feature of the department.
The shoe
and furnishing department is fully stocked and the very best lines of goods
produced in the country are well represented in the stock.
The
furniture department contains a complete stock of house furnishings of all
kinds and the finest equipped and stocked undertaking rooms in Kansas west of
Kansas City on the Missouri Pacific.
The
heating and plumbing department is in charge of thoroughly efficient mechanics,
and their strongest bid for new work is the satisfied customers they have
worked for in times past.
The
harness department make all kinds of harness and leather work, and is in charge
of a first class harness maker. A large stock of harness, nets, collars, whips,
etc., is carried.
The
implement department carries a big display of farm implements and wagons,
windmills, fencing, scales, gas engines, buggies and cream separators.
The
store's policy has been liberal and progressive, and ever abreast of the times.
No worthy man ever asked credit or help, without receiving it, and the great
busines the store does year after year shows that it nerits the confidence of
the people.
E. R.
MOSES, Sr.
THE
subject of this sketch, Mr. E. R. Moses, has had a more varied life than falls
to most people. He was born in Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York. At an early
age his parents moved to Pechonica, Ill., where he lived until eleven years of
age, when they moved to Sedalia, Mo. Here he graduated from the common schools
and was admitted to practice law in the courts of Missouri. In 1873 he went to
California overland with three other young men, camping out for a few months
for their health, notwithstanding it was very dangerous at times with the
Indians, there being no railroads built at this time south. For a while they
despaired of all hope of ever arriving in California because of the Indian
outbreaks. He arrived in San Diego, California, December, 1873, and for three
years made his home in California, Oregon and Washington. In 1876 he went east
to attend the Centennial at Philadelphia, and from there he came to Great Bend,
having visited this place in 1873. He came back to Great Bend to go into
business with the firm of Burton, Odell & Moses. He bought an interest in
this firm, Mr. Odell retiring. Then G. N. and E. R. Moses bought out Mr. Burton
in 1881. In 1900 Mr. Moses bought out his brother G. N. Moses who wished to
retire from business. Since then the business has been conducted under the name
of the E. R. Moses Mercantile Co. Mr. Moses has given the greater part of his
life in building up this business and has today stores in Great Bend and
Hoisington, that are second to none in the State of Kansas. In 1901 he, with
others started the Citizens National Bank of Great Bend which is one of the
most progressive and solid institutions in the state. The year after he started,
with others the Pawnee Rock Bank, and the year following started The Peoples
State Bank of Hoisington. All of the banks are prosperous and not a dollar's
worth of stock is for sale in either one of them.
In 1879
Mr. Moses married Miss Retta I. Newel of Ottumwa, Iowa, who at this time was
visiting her sister, Mrs. G. W. Nimocks. To this union were born two children,
Mr. Edward R. Moses, Jr., who is manager of the Mercantile business, and Miss
Grace Moses, who married Mr. Chas. Lee of Salina, Kansas, and now lives there.
Mr. Moses
has been quite successful and has often been asked why he did not move to
Chicago, Kansas City or some other large city. He has always given the reason
that he liked to live in the city and state where he made his money, and that
he was too old to start in a new business. That he wanted to work as long as he
lived, and he could work best in the business he had started in and worked up
from the very beginning. Mr. Moses is a loyal Kansan and like his wife likes
the sunshine and the climate of Kansas, and would prefer to live in the country
that had less rain than in one that had all rain and no health.
E. R.
Moses, Jr.
MR. E. R.
MOSES, JR., is a Kansas product. He was born in Great Bend, Kansas, and has
lived here all his life, save the time he spent at the State University and the
Musical Institute of Warren, Ohio. He was a member of the Phi Delt Fraternity
and boarded there while attending the State University at Lawrence. He is a
graduate of the Great Bend High School and State University of Law of Lawrence.
He passed a creditable examination before the supreme court to practice in the
State of Kansas. Alter considering whether to practice law or to go into
business with his father, he chose the latter and is now vice-president,
secretary and general manager of the E. R. Moses Mercantile Co., of Great Bend
and Hoisington. He has worked himself up from every department to this position
in order that he might understand how to make it a greater success, which he is
doing. He puts most of his time into this business. He is also director af the
Citizens National Bank of Great Bend, Kansas, Pawnee Rock State Bank of Pawnee
Rock, Kansas, and of the Peoples State Bank of Hoisington, Kansas.
In 1908 he
married Miss Jessie Isabel of Iowa. They have two girls, one eighteen months
old and the other three years old. He is nicely located in one of the nicest
homes in Great Bend, Kansas. He is a thorough Kansan and nothing is too good
for the city, county or state in which he lives. He is a member of the Masonic
Fraternity, Elks and the Business Men's Club.
He is a
young man that does things. Not waiting for them to turn up. He goes to work
and turns them up himself. He is courteous, frank and open, which makes him a
friend to everyone.
CITIZENS
NATIONAL BANK
The
Citizens National Bank of Great Bend, Kansas, was organized March the 11th,
1901, with the following directors: E. R. Moses, Robt. Merten, G. N. Moses,
John Sterett, M. F. Sowards, and Jos. Troilett. The officers were E. R. Moses,
president; Robert Merten, vice-president; R. H. Moses, cashier and F. A. Moses,
assistant cashier.
The bank
started business in the room occupied by the J. V. Brinkman Banking Co., for
many years located back of the Allen Drug Store. They remained here until
December, 1906, when they moved into their beautiful and capacious quarters,
which has the very latest of modern furniture and fixtures, with ladies'
waiting room, directors room, safety vaults and everything to make it the very
latest ot modern banks.
It is
located on the corner formerly occupied by the Allen Drug Store, which the bank
bought at this time.
The
officers are the same as before with the addition of Edward Opie as assistant
cashler and Hylas Butler book-keeper and stenographer. The directors at the
present time are E. R. Moses, sr., Robt. M. Merten, Edward Merten, O. W. Damson
and E. R. Moses, Jr.
The bank
has been prosperous from the very start, which is credited to the progress and
energetic ways in which it has been run. Today it stands as one of the most
solid institutions in Western Kansas. It is a great believer in grasping hold
of everything and anything that is good for the people's interest. They not
only believe that it is absolutely necessary to treat every man, woman and
child courteously and kindly and look after their interest with fidelity and
zeal but to protect their money just as far as they can get means to do so. For
this reason they insure in one of the best insurance companies in the United
States.
Every
dollar deposited in their bank is insured against loss of any kind and from any
source. The people can rest assured that their money is secure in this bank in
hard and panicy times as well as good times.
The
officers of this bank started the Pawnee Rock State Bank of Pawnee Rock,
Kansas, and the People State Bank of Hoisington, Kansas, and have ever since
been connected with it. They are promoters in everything that benefits the
community in which they live. They stand up first, last and always for Great
Bend, Barton County and the State of Kansas. The depositors of this bank are
not confined to this community in which they are located but they have
depositors in several states of the Union. They are members of the State
Bankers' Association and the American Bankers' Association. Some officer
attends each one of these associations each year, in order that they might keep
up with the times. It would do one good to visit this bank and see how nicely
it is equipped for business. They do not take a back seat to any bank in the
State of Kansas in this way.
DAN WORTH
BANTA—Violinist
MR. BANTA
was born in Great Bend, Barton County, Kansas, January 23rd, 1887, and has
studied music since the age of 8. His first musical studies were given him by
his mother at the piano. Not satisfied with the piano, his longing for
something more to his temperament was cleared upon the hearing of an artist
violinist and from that time on this instrument has claimed his attention. He
is an artist pupil of Signor Guido Parisi of the Royal Conservatory of Music,
at Milan, Italy, and taught the two years prior to his return to his home, at
the residence of Judge D. A. Banta of this city, in the Strassberger
Conservatories of Music at St. Louis, as assistant to Signor Parisi. He was a
favorite of this great teacher, who wished to take him to Europe for study, and
even wished to will his $3,000 Gagliano Violin to him. Signor Parisi said of
him:
"Mr.
Dan Worth Banta has been a pupil of mine for the last four years. He is a good
performer and teacher, having appeared in concerts here in St. Louis, and
taught the violin as assistant teacher in the Strassberger Conservatories.
GUIDO
PARISI,
Dir. Violin Dept. Strassberger,
Cons. St. Louis."
Mr. Banta
was a pupil of Richard Poppen, one of the greatest harmony teachers who have
come to this country, and under whom he received his knowledge of Musical
Theory, Composition and Harmony. He was a pupil, also, of "Hugo Oik"
a great pupil of "Joachim," and Concert-Meister of the St. Louis
Symphony Orchestra, and of "Rose Reichard' who is, with Maud Powell, one
of the greatest of our few great lady violinists in America, and who was a
favorite pupil of "Isaye," the greatest living violinist, and of
Marteau, the great French master.
In
speaking of Mr. Banta, Miss Reichard said: "Dan Worth Banta is a violinist
of ability, and a young man of high ideals. During his study with me, he made
rapid progress, proving himself a student of talent and intelligence.
Possessing good technique and artistic temperament, together with an attractive
personality and stage presence, he is assured of success.
I am very
glad to recommend him to the music loving public.
"ROSE
REICHARD."
Dir. Violin Dept, of
Drake Cons. Des. Moines, Ia.
Has played
with the St. Louis Symphony orchestra, and has directed his own orchestra the
last four years, and holds graduate, postgraduate and artist medals and
diplomas, with the medal of honor from the Strasaberger Cons., under Parisi.
He has a
growing class of bright pupils in Great Bend, and is developing an orchestra of
a class above the average.
He has had
numerous calls for his services, both as a teacher, and as a performer, but has
decided to carry on his work here until September, 1913.
This will
benefit all who wish to study the violin, and harmony, under an artist, for
this length of time, here, as it is taught by European teachers.
LUTELLUS
BALDWIN
LUTELLUS
BALDWIN was born in the State of Pa., and came to Barton County from that state
in 1876. He was educated at the Washington and Jefferson College of Washington,
Pa. He at first intended to take up the practice of law and studied to this
end, but after his arrival in Kansas he gave most of his attention to work
along educational lines and served Barton County as superintendent of schools
for two terms, and afterwards taught school for a number of years. He finally
grew interested in geology and made a most enviable reputation as a student of
this science. He gave a great deal of time to the study of the rock formation
of Kansas especially the Dakota sand stones and he has received most gratifying
recognition from the Department of Geology at Washington, D. C. Mr. Baldwin is
given credit for having been one of the first to agitate the subject of
irrigation of the arid lands of the west and in the nineties wrote a great deal
on the subject of irrigation for some of the leading newspapers of the country.
It was a direct result of his call that the first irrigation convention to be
held in the state convened at Great Bend in August, 1893. The result of this
meeting and Mr. Baldwin's work afterwards had a great deal to do with the
hurrying of the big irrigation projects that have since been completed in
Kansas and other states. Mr. Baldwin has also made a study of soil formations
and water supplies and his knowledge on these subjects makes his opinion on
these matters worthy of great consideration. He is a member of the National
Geographical Society, the headquarters of which are at Washington D. C. Mr.
Baldwin was married in 1881 to Miss Martha Gunn and they reside in Great Bend
at the present time. Mr. Baldwin is well known all over the state and
especially in Barton County where he and his wife have taught school and in
other ways helped in building up the county of Barton and city of Great Bend.
CHARLES
ANDRESS
CHARLES
ANDRESS is one of the many many old timers of Barton County who left here and
journeyed afar, but still retained a material interest in the county, and has
made frequent trips back to look after his interests and renew the
acquaintances formed in the early days. Although Mr. Andress has traveled all
over the world, most of the time being engaged in the show business he has
always owned land in Barton County and it was while here on one of his frequent
trips that we got the information from which to make the article for this book.
He was born in Brockville, Canada January 15, 1852—also his mother's
birthday—and when Charles was two years of age his parents moved to Chesaning,
Michigan, a lumber and shingle camp in Saginaw County. His father was a turner
and cabinet maker by trade and he had a very strenuous time making both ends
meet, and to make things worse after the family had been there about two years
the elder Andress was injured in the machinery and died after three weeks of
suffering. This left Mrs. Andress with five boys, the oldest not quite sixteen
at that time and the youngest only two years and Charles about four years of
age. The family was fourteen miles from the nearest railroad station and money
was mighty hard to get. The country was sparsely settled, the nearest town
being Owosso. We quote from Mr. Andress' interview:
"My
mother certainly had a very hard time of it raising her boys and I well
remember the many trials she went through to hold the family together. Why, I
have known her to sit up all night to finish knitting a pair of socks so she
could trade them for groceries the next morning to prepare our breakfast so we
could go to school and as she could not buy shoes for us she would wrap our
feet in cloth rags and send us to school and when we arrived at the school
house we would take off the rags and lay them by the fire to dry out so we
could have them ready for wearing home at night after school. The two older
brothers of course helped all they could and as we were all more or less
musically inclined we soon found considerable income from playing for country
dances, but enough of this, for I know you are anxious to know how I started in
the show business. I was always gifted with the power or knack of imitating
birds and animals and doing different stunts in so-called ventriloquism, and in
those days every hotel had a hall over head in which all dances and shows were
given and the shows all traveled by stage or private conveyance, and in 1862 a
magician came along by the name of Prof. Hertz, a foreigner, and offered my
mother $10 a month if she would consent to my traveling with him and would send
her the money in advance every month and would clothe me, etc., and as the two
oldest brothers were now inlisted in the army she very much disliked to part
with me but finally consented to let me go. Well I had been out with this
magician nearly two years when he was taken sick and died in Pontiac, Michigan,
and his wife soon left for England and left me to shift for myself. My two
years schooling with him had advanced me very materially as he was a good
violinist and we always played for a dance after the show and I was a good
"fiddler" for a boy and he bought me a violin and made me a present
of it, and this, with a fairly good suit of clothes, was all I possessed when
Mrs Hertz left for England. I soon joined bands with an old minstrel performer
by the name of Zeke Filliman who played a banjo and with him I used to play for
dances in and around Pontiac until he went into retirement on a farm, which
left me to shift as best I could for myself. It was then I organized my first
show which consisted of a few tricks in magic, which I had learned from the
professor, and my ventriloquist act. A set of cambric curtains and the
"fiddle," and 500 little programs which I had printed in Lapeer,
which cost me $3.50, and the outfit when packed consisted of a sack containing
a small cambric curtain, some small tricks in magic and my talking figure. With
this equipment in the sack which I carried over my shoulder, and my fiddle in
one hand I would travel on foot from one place to another giving shows and
occasionally playing for a dance after the show."
From this
primitive beginning Mr. Andress by dint of hard work and careful management his
possessions grew until he finally had gotten together a good opera house show,
consisting of trained birds, dogs, monkeys, goats, ponies and other animals. In
1874 he decided to go to California with a little show. It was when he was
making this trip that he came to Great Bend and put on a show. There being no
opera house he got permission from the sheriff to show in the court house for
four nights. He stretched a rope across the street from Allen's corner and gave
an exhibition with the birds. One of the feathered creatures walked the rope
wheeling in front of it another bird in a wheel barrow. Mr. Andress gave
presents away at the inside performance and although times were very hard just
at that time the show made a big success. This show will always be remembered
by the old timers who were here at that time as having been one of the big
events of the year. The show was a novelty for the town and was well
patronized. At the hotel—the Old Drovers' Cottage—Mr. Andress was seated at the
same table with Mrs. T. L. Stone whose husband had recently died. She told Mr.
Andress that she would sell her farm which consisted of a homestead and timber
claim of 320 acres with a granary and other improvements for about what the
improvements cost, about $1000. Mr. Andress bought the property but it was only
a few days when he began to realize that he had paid a good price, as he was
beseiged on all sides by farmers who wanted to sell him their holdings on
practically the same basis. One man who made an offer to Mr. Andress is best
told in his own words:
"Are
you the man who bought Widow Stone's property? Was asked by the farmer. I told
him I was, and he remarked, that he would have done better by me had he seen me
first, and when I asked him what he had for sale in the way of farm land, and
he said he said he had a good quarter two miles nearer town than Mrs. Stone's
with eighty acres in wheat, a small house and granary, etc. He said he had a
good team of mules which he said cast him $150. He said if I would buy his mules
he would throw in the farm, implements and improvements. I bought the mules and
the remainder of the things mentioned. I had several similar offers and one
farmer who was anxious to leave the country had a half section as good as any
in Barton County and he offered either one of his quarters for $150 and would
throw In the other quarter for good measure. These same quarters are worth $100
per acre today."
Mr.
Andress has been offered $100 an acre for his holdings in Barton County but he
says he will not sell yet awhile at any rate. In fact the last time he was in
Great Bend he practically closed a deal for three more quarter sections of land
in the county. Mr. Andress says although he might spend a great deal of his
time in other parts of the country he always calls Barton County his home and
is going to continue in the future as in the past to do all that is within his
power to make it bigger and better in years to come.
AMERICAN
COURSING CLUB
ONE of the
institutions that flourished for awhile in the eighties in Great Bend, and
afterwards became only a part of the history of the town, was the American
Coursing Club. This club was the first of its kind to be organized In America
and had for its purposes the racing of greyhounds and by these tests bring out the
good points, and by eliminating the bad ones improve the breed of these fleet
footed animals. The club was organized in 1886 after a meeting had been held at
Topeka when the following were present: Dr. Royce of Topeka, Col. Taylor of
Emporia, D. C. Luse of Great Bend, A. Allison of HutchInson and John Kelly of
Dodge City. After the club was organized the officers immediately began looking
for a suitable site for a course. They went all over the western part of the
state but found nothing that was so well adapted for the purpose as Cheyenne
Bottoms in Barton County. Therefore this site was selected and in October,
1886, the first meet was held. The meet was attended by people and dogs from
all parts of the country and the entries included some of the fastest dogs in
the world. The first officers of the club and the ones who had charge of the
meeting were: Colonel Taylor of Emporia, president; Dr. Royce of Topeka,
secretary and J. V. Brinkman of Great Bend, treasurer. There were two stakes
run at each meet, one of them being for dogs of all ages, a free for all, with
a ??? dollar entrance fee. The entrance money was divided into prizes and for
the all age course a cup and a hundred dollars in cash was given by Dr. N.
Rowe, editor of the sportsmen's magazine, "American Field." To this
was added a silver medal fcr the winner given by the National Greyhound Club of
New York City. D. C. Luse of Great Bend also donated a silver cup which had to
be won twice by the same kennel to gain permanent possession. The winner of the
first all age stake was "Midnight," owned by Colonel Taylor of
Emporia. The other stake run at the annual meetings was known as the Puppy
Stake for which similar prizes were given as were awarded the winners in the
all all age stake. These meets brought thousands of people to Great Bend and
during the coursing at the Cheyenne Bottoms the country was literally alive
with men and women on horseback and in buggies. D. C. Luse of Great Bend at one
time owned seventy-five dogs and his animals won the prizes at the second
meeting of the club to be held In Great Bend. Among those who were keenly
Interested In this sport were: D. C. Luse, Ira Brougher, J. V. Brinkman, D. N.
Heizer, W. W. Carney and many others of Great Bend; C. S. Page of Aurora,
Illinois; H. C. Lowe, at Lawrence, Kansas; Robert Smart of Ellinwood; Dr. N.
Rowe of Chicago; August Belmont of New York; H. W. Huntington of Brooklyn; John
E. Thayer of Lancaster, Massachusetts; A. C. Lightall of Denver, Colorado;
Colonel R. S. McDonald of St. Louis; Colonel David Taylor of Emporia, and
Alfred Haigh of Cable, Illinois. All of the names mentioned held offices in the
club at different times during the time the club's coursing grounds were in
Barton County. The winner of the all age stake was known as the Champion of
America. After the meets had been held in Great Bend ten successive years the
club was reorganized and the meets are still continued but are held at
different points each year, the town or city offering the best financial
inducements being given the preference. Many of the old timers will remember
the exciting times that attended meets in Great Bend when numerous bets were
made on the outcome of the different races.
EARLY
BARTON COUNTY HISTORY
By D. N.
Heizer, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
(Editor's
Note—The followig article was furnished us by D. N. Heizer, who perhaps more
than any other man, is capable of telling about the stirring incidents that
took place in the early days of Barton County. He was among the first to arrive
and took a leading part in the laying out of the townsite of Great Bend and in
the organization of Barton County.)
Upon
request of the editors of the History of Barton County to contribute some
account of myself and my experiences in the early settlement of the county
which I became a citizen of nearly forty-two years ago and lived in for
twenty-two years, I know of no better way than by contributing extracts from
letters written in those days now in my possession, and extracts from a Diary,
kept somewhat irregularly, giving an idea of the early life on what was then
considered and called, "The Plains of Kansas," a somewhat modified
term of the "Great American Desert," as explored and named by Major
Long in 1819. I was born November 11, 1846, in Ross County, Ohio. I belonged to
a race of pioneers; my great-grandfather, Samuel Heizer, was a pioneer in
Virginia when the Blue Ridge Mountains marked the line of the frontier, and
lived there at the time of the Revolution. My grand-father, Samuel Heizer, was
a pioneer in Ohio and moved from Virginia to Ross County in 1816. My father,
Edward Heizer, and his brothers all moved to Iowa on the admission of Iowa as a
state into the Union, and a part of them before. I was raised on an Iowa farm
fifteen miles north of Burlington until I was seventeen years of age, when I
enlisted in the latter part of the civil war in Company "M" Second
Iowa Cavalry, and served eighteen months of active service and was mustered out
at the close of the war at Selma, Alabama. On returning home, I spent a year on
the old home farm and during the next five years, spent the greater part of the
time taking a course in the Iowa State University and in teaching school.
In May,
1871, within two days after our arrival at Ft. Zarah, Dr. John Prescott, W. W.
Weymouth, Wm. Finn, Captain Griffin and myself, organized the Zarah Town
Company. Dr. John Prescott was elected president, D. N. Heizer secretary and W.
W. Weymouth treasurer. We were all directors. We at once proceeded to select a
location for our town and decided on the west fractional half of section 26,
township 19, range 13. William Finn, who had a transit and surveyor's chain
with him, directed the survey and we staked out a street running north and
south, as I remember, for about two blocks, a row of blocks on either side of
the street. This was not intended to be a complete survey, but only such a
survey as would enable us to make filing on this land under the
Townsite-Preemption Act, as in force at that time. Mr. W. W. Weymouth and Dr.
John Prescott were supposed to be the heavy capitalists in this enterprise and
the next day after the survey were taken by me to Ellsworth where they took
train for their respective homes. Mr. Weymouth to Springfield, Ohio, and Dr.
Prescott to Meridan, Miss., both with the avowed determination of arranging
their business as speedily as possible, to return with their families for
settlement and to develop the new town.
As
mentioned before, they were to furnish the capital and Finn and I, especially,
were expected to do the heavy hustling. Dr. Prescott was a man of culture and
of wonderful energy and had had much experience in frontier life in Northern
Iowa in the Ockebogee Lake county, when the Sioux were making their last stand
in that portion of Iowa. Mr. Weymouth was a cattle dealer of Springfield, Ohio.
He was a man of means; Protestant Irish blood; of fine appearance; a good
talker, good natured and jolly; thoroughly companionable and always ready with
his Irish wit and blarney. Wm. Finn was a young man of about 28; lived at the
then starting town of Sedgwlck, where he joined us to make the trip to Ft.
Zarah. He was a quiet young man of good education, thoroughly good principle
and a good all-round reliable young man. Captain Griffin was also a young man
less than 30, had been in the war and lost a leg; was a small man, but he
possessed enough spirit and energy to fully make up for his size. He could
cover as much territory with his one good and wooden leg, as many men with two
good ones. He was full of dash and afraid of nothing, and when later in that
season, the Indians brought him to bay in a buffalo wallow in the Medicine
Lodge country, seventy empty needle gun shells were found with his body,
showing he had made a game defense.
These
gentlemen, with myself, laid off the first town in Barton County—the town which
was destined never to be a town—but no matter, we had done what seemed to be a
new Kansan's first and highest duty, i. e., to lay off a town. No man ever
amounted to much in Kansas, unless somewhere at some time in his experience in
the state, he laid out a town, or at least, helped to do so or got laid out by
some town. Many prominent Kansans can point with pride to the latter
experience.
The
representatives of the Great Bend Town Company appeared on the scene about the
1st of July, headed by Judge Mitchell of Quincy, Ill., who was a brother of
Mrs. W. H. Odell. I returned from a trip on the 4th of July, 1871, the day they
had taken their departure. They were apparently on a buffalo hunt, from what
Finn related to me, and seemed to be having a good time. In charging a buffalo
on the north aide of the Bottoms from Ft. Zarah, Judge Mitchell had a horse killed,
but escaped unhurt himself. Later, I believe in August, came Thomas Luther
Morris, as agent of the Great Bend Town Company and at about this time came
Geo. N. Moses, "Mose," as he was familiarly called among the
plainsmen. "Mose" impressed me, and I shall never forget the time he
came to my camp, then on the northwest quarter of section 22, township 19,
range 13, on the Walnut. He rode up on a fourteen hand white Texas pony; he
dismounted from a big high backed cowboy saddle with two cinches and wooden stirrups
a foot wide. "Mose" and the saddle were larger than the broncho. He
stood before me six feet high and straight as an Indian arrow; he had on a
weather worn cowboy hat with a rattlesnake band, a navy blue woolen shirt, a
pair of much worn buckskin pants with fringe down the seams, cowboy boots, a
heavy belt of cartridges with two Navy 44's in its holsters, a five day growth
of beard and about a three-ply coat of tan on his face. He reached out his hand
and said, "How," like an Injun. As I took it and glanced him over, I
made up my mind at once that this was a man I would rather have with me than
against me.
Lute
Morris, on the other hand, had just come out of the band-box of civilization;
he was a gentleman of the Drawingroom type and had never had any experience
roughing it and being a man rather of a delicate type physically, with more
effeminate tastes, it was perfectly natural that he should make up with
"Mose" at Salina and interest him in coming with him into the great
and wild Arkansas Valley. It was just as natural for Lute to lean on such a
nature as "Mose's" as is for "Mose," in his strength, to
permit himself to be leaned upon; they became fast friends. It was through
council with George Moses that I afterwards agreed to assure Lute Morris and
the Great Bend Town Company, that If they meant business and were ready to
proceed at once to improve their town site, (Sec. 28, Township 19, Range 13,)
we would not be in the way with ours. We all then went in together to push the
Great Bend enterprise along.
Lute
Morris began at once to draw lumber from Ellsworth to build the Great Bend
Hotel, which I think was started early in September. Henry Shaffer was brought
from Quincy to superintend the carpenter work and I think Henry Shridde came in
this connection. E. L. Morphy also came at this time. The Town Company, or the
main men of it, made a trip in the early fall; Dr. Curtis, Judge Mitchell,
Archie Williams, then attorney general of Kansas, and others. Morphy was a very
interesting, bright little Frenchman; a good observer; had a keen sense of the
ludicrous; fond of fun at anyone's expense, but never cruel; was a fine singer,
a natural born actor and mimic; a general all round campanionable fellow and
cultured gentleman. "Morf," as we called him, never missed anything
and always entertained us with the little funny things he observed of any of
us. It was rumored that the Great Bend Town Company had brought a goodly supply
of whisky along with them as they had learned that a colony of Prairie Dogs had
long been squatters on their townsite and as rattlesnakes were reported to live
with the dogs, the whisky was brought lest the town company might, in an
unguarded moment, be bitten on its Charter or By-Laws, or most anywhere, at any
rate, they had the whiskey. It seems that everyone bragged to the different
members of the Town Company of the integrity of wild life in the wooly west.
Nobody ever thought of looking anything up, never had anything stolen and left
everything right out in the open. The next morning the Great Bend Town Company
had its Charter, By-Laws, Plats, Specifications, boots and shoes, wearing
apparel, bags and baggage all right, but they didnt have any whiskey. No one
was drunk, faces not even red, but Morphy always said that the next morning
when any member of the Town Company would undertake to engage Henry Shaffer in
conversation, Henry would smack his lips, turn his liquid blue eyes toward
heaven and exclaim that the "Kavincy down Gompany vos yust all right and
would make a bigger down as anybody."
Henry
Shridde was as nice a little gentleman as ever came to the settiment, but with
that fine tender feeling In his heart for old associations, which the Germans
possess above all other people, Henry used to get homesick once in a while.
Henry would say, "Dawn at Kavincy on a Sunday morning, we used to go down
by the Mississippi river, und de boat would take us by de river out, and we
vould land by de grass out mit de drees, und der sun a shining, und der boids a
singing n de drees, und we'd ave some music und some beers. Oh, dat Kavincy was
a burty blace," and the tears would fill Henry's blue eyes.
Dr. Curtis
was a very lofty, dignified man. He had brought with him a new dangerous looking
butcher knife; he asked Morphy to conduct him to the Arkansas river; every now
and then he would make a lofty sweeping stab into the soil with his butcher
knife and getting some of the said soil on the knife, he would pose with lofty
demeanor as be gazed at it. After a long surgical stare at the sample of soil,
he would cast a deliberate sweeping glance around over miles of the beautiful
valley and with unction, exclaim, "Morphy, the resources of this country
are vast, vast." They came to the river bank; the river was dry. Morphy
proposed they should cross. "Dr." said Morphy, "Can this river
be crossed?" (Yes.) "Are there any quicksands in this river?"
(No) "Can it be safely crossed on horseback?" "Yes) "On
foot?" (Yes) "Is there no danger?" (No) "All right, go
ahead." and all the way across he would follow Morphy, carefully stepping
in his tracks.
Morphy
used to entertain us by the hour after the Town Company had gone, mimicking the
peculiarities of different members.
The Great
Bend Hotel was completed in the early winter and Col. Tom Stone came from
Missouri and took possession as landlord, also brought with him a stock of
goods. Col. Tom was a genial, hospitable landlord and all the settlers liked
him.
The Great
Bend Hotel began to be the center of interest for the settlers up the Walnut
Valley but a decisive event cccurred about the first of March, 1872, when the
officiais of the Great Bend Town Company came out from Quincy and made a deal
with the Arkansas Valley Town Company (The A. T. & S. F. R. R.,) to combine
their interests and push the town of Great Bend, and it was agreed to put in
section 28, township 19, range 13, which the Great Bend Town Company had
secured, and section 33. town 19, range 13 which the railroad company owned as
the townsite. This began to look like business and gave the settlers west of
the Walnut, an additional interest in the town nearest to them.
About the
same time, in the summer of 1871, July 1st, when the Great Bend Town Company
began to act, a town company was formed at Ellsworth. Kansas, by Titus J.
Buckby. John Light & Bros., Perry Hodgden, Judge Miller and others, called
the Zarah Town Company, and located on the fractional part of section 30, town
19, range 12, lying just outside of the southeastern part of Ft. Zarah
Reservation. Tite Buckby built a store and had it stocked and in operation in
the early fall of 1871. Dave Greaver built a saloon and restaurant, and Dick
Strew and his wife moved down from Plum Creek and built a hotel in the early
winter of 1871. TIte Buckby was a bright, business-like young man and he and
his wife, Mrs. Nettie Buckby (nee Light), were very amiable and popular among
the settlers, and really carried with their personal popularity, a very kindly
feeling for the town of Zarah. In the early spring, each side began to show
jealously and watch each other.
Captain
Ellinwood, the chief engineer of the Santa Fe R. R., made his camp during the
spring while at work on the survey near Zarah and it was said, Tite was
entertaining the captain just as though he were the whole railroad company. It
was even hinted that Tite had imported a two gallon keg of the best rye whisky
in the State of Kentucky, and was every day putting a little of it in the
captain's canteen to kill the alkali, and up to the first week in March all
feared that it was doing its deadly work as we could see plainly that Captain
Ellinwood was very friendly to Zarah and its proprietor. We did not know any more
about town building than Tite did and supposed the chief engineer might be the
whole "push." There was Tite's mistake; he depended upon his
hospitabe entertainment of the engineer corps too much, instead of going to
headquarters, Archie Williams, who was interested in the Great Bend Town
Company, knew a thing or two and I have always g1vn him the credit for bringing
about the deal between the Quincy people and the railroad company.
The first
week in March, 1872, the officials of the Great Bend Town Company came on the
ground and started a complete survey of section 28, town 19, range 13, with the
announcement that they had formed a combination with the railroad company. They
employed E. B. Cowgill as surveyor and prcceeded at once to business, and this
fact coupled with the foregoing announcement, gave to the settlers new
confidence in the town of Great Bend.
On the
evening of March 14th, I was invited to spend the evening with Col. Stone's
family at the Great Bend Hotel, for a social sing. Late in the evening, Lute
Morris and W. H. Odell called me out into the bar room and showed be a petition
they had drawn up for the organization of the county and the appointment of
county commissioners and county clerk. It had my name on for commissioner and I
tried in vain to have them change it for another but they asked me how I liked
the remainder of the ticket. After changing one, we laid our plans for
organization and then being warned that it was very late in the night, we all
went to bed, I staying at the hotel. On March 15th and 16th we circulated the
petition, got it signed and the papers all made out. We had the people with us
and not a man refused to sign the petition. Of course, as it was intended to be
a quiet move, we did not present it to anyone for signature we had any doubt
about being in full sympathy with Great Bend for the county seat.
On March
18th, Lute Morris went to Topeka to present the papers in person to Gov. James
Harvey, who was the governor of Kansas and whose duty it was to act upon the petition.
In about two days he returned posthaste, having found on his arrival at Topeka,
that a new law had been made by the legislature during the winter, providing
that a census taker should be appointed in organizing a new county and that it
should be his duty to find six hundred inhabitants therein before the governor
could name temporary county officers and county seat. This new law had just
been published and gone into effect, and he at once returned to make a new
start before the Zarahites should get ahead of us. He came after me in the
evening at my dugout on Walnut creek; we went over to the Great Bend Hotel and
got the petition ready and concluded that we would have the papers ready for
him to take the train at Ellsworth the next evening at six o'clock, as we
learned the Zarah people were making a move. I rode all that night to get the
requisite number of signatures and by noon of the next day, the petition was
ready to go. Lute took it and drove to Ellsworth, a distance of fifty miles, in
six hours and caught the train. This was on March 21, 1872, for I was appointed
census taker in and for Barton county, on the foll3wing day. On March 29th, 1
went over to Great Bend and here learned our petition had reached the governor
first and E. L. Morphy and I secured a buggy and drove to Zarah and found my
commission from James M. Harvey, as census taker, with instructions to proceed
at once to enumerate the inhabitants of Barton County. We now had victory in
our grasp if we could but find the six hundred inhabitants. Fortunately, we had
a hotel register and grading camps were being established every day to do
grading work on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and the prairie
schooners of the homesteaders were all coming to our assistance, six hundred
strong.
On
Saturday, March 30, I began taking the the census. In the evening I came home
to my dugout about ten o'clock and found a light n the window. I peeped in very
cautiously and somebody was in my bed, and it looked like a rosy cheeked, curly
headed girl, who was sleeping very peacefully in the only bed on the
plantaticn; here was a fine kettle of fish—what right could this intruding
young lady have for absolutely taking possession of the only home I had on
earth? There were dying embers in the fireplace and egg shells scattered over
the hearth. She had made herself comfortable with fire from my Sunday wood and
appeased her prairie appetite with a three dollar setting of Black Cochin eggs
and then deliberately gone to sleep right in the middle of my sole and only
bed. After surveying this sublimity of nerve, I noticed on my buffalo settee, a
pair of trousers, then I was aroused to self again and with the point of a Navy
44, I punched this intruder and to my great surprise, it proved to be Tom
McCaughan, my future brother-in-law, who afterward went with me and helped in
my census work and who also became a great favorite with the buffalo bunters as
he was afraid of nothing; always genial and pleasant, a good cook, good story
teller and all round good fellow. The Indians always called him
"Man-Squaw" because of his clean, rosy face and long curly hair. Had
Tom staid on the plains, he would have made a character for a book of
adventures as he was always falling into the most thrilling experiences.
Monday
morning, April 1st, Tom and I started out on census business, went to Great
Bend and found some men who wanted to go six miles west to find their land and
locate building places. We went and showed them their lines and then went to
Pawnee Rock and enumerated the Kentcuky colony. This was a colony of young men,
brought out under the leadership of Geo. M. Jackson, Hon. E. W. Hoch and
brother, of Marion, Kansas, who were members of this colony. They had already
put up a frame house on the townsite of Pawnee Rock and Geo. Jackson, in his
earnest, assuring manner, announced that Pawnee Rock was going to make a great
place, for "Don't you see," he said, "it is geographically
situated and historically known." They were a bright, enterprising lot of
young men and it would be interesting to know where they all are now. After
partaking of a camp meal with them, we went north to Walnut creek to section
10, northwest quarter townshIp 18, range 14, where we stayed all night with
Levi H. Lusk, who had built a nice little frame house. Next morning, April 2nd,
we went up the creek to the county line, enumerating all as we went; where we
took dinner with another tribe of bachelors. We came back down the creek a few
miles to section 26, township 18, range 15, where we staid all night at Bill
Atchison's camp with another tribe of Bachelors. Bill had located there with
forty Texas cow boys whom he was trying to domesticate. He had laid aside his
religion, temporarily, during the domesticating process. Bill was an exception
of a cattle man. You could get milk at his camp; he would have it and he would
lasso a Texas cow and get it.
Milk was a
part of his hospitality and that made Bill's camp famous in the valley. The
rule in cattle camps was, the more cattie they had the scarcer were milk and
butter. Bill made no pretentions to either, but you could always get a good
drink of milk. In this camp were Chas. Worden, Henry Kellar, Mr. Brining, Mr.
Albright and Charlie Roudebush. Lower down in the edge of section 18-14, were
Nate Field and Geo. Berry. Still farther down were some German families. On
section 3 was Mr. Mecklin and his son and Antone Wilke, who is now a prosperous
business man in Denver, Colorado. On section 10, Henry Schultz and his family; John
Reinecke and family and Bill Bahler. On section 14, Robert Gibson.
Most all
of the early settlers, were young, married men and old bachelors. When a new
caravan would come in, these single-blessed creatures would almost ask in
chorus, "Have they any gals?" Fortunate was the homesteader who had a
"gal" in the family. He could command the best we all had of
everything.
The
following offices were held by D. N. Heizer while he was a resident of Barton
County:
First notary
public commissioned in the county. Commission dates January 9, 1872, issued to
D. N. Heizer and signed by James M. Harvey, governor and W. N. Smallwood,
secretary of state.
Appointed
as census-taker of Barton County to take census far organization of county,
March 22, 1872, by Gov. James M. Harvey.
Elected
July 5th, 1872 to office of probate judge of Barton County.
Elected
November 5th, 1872 to office of register of deeds of Barton County.
Rail road
assessor of 4th Judicial district, composed of the counties of Barton,
Ellsworth, Ellis, Lincoln, McPherson, Russell, Saline and Wallace. Commission
signed by W. N. Smallwood, secretary of state.
Appointed
deputy county serveyor, July 13th, 1872, by John Favrow, county surveyor.
Appointed
city treasurer of Great Bend, Kansas, July 14th, 1874, by Samuel Maher, mayor.
Elected
November 2nd, 1880, to office of representative of the 120th district, Barton
County.
Appointed
April 2nd, 1881, Member republican state central committee of Kansas, J. B.
Johnson, chairman.
Appointed
27th of June, 1883, appraiser of Ft. Larned Reservation by secretary of
interior. U. S.
Elected
1886 to office of mayor of Great Bend, Kansas.
Extracts
From an Old Diary Kept by D. N. Heizer, 1871-72
Oct. 2,
1871—Went out to see the Pawnee Indians and traveled all day on the trail with
them. Bought one pony and had a merry time with the Indians. Stayed all night
at Landon's Ranch on the Smoky River.
Nov. 14,
1871—Up in the morning early, traps together, we set sail with three yokes of
bulls to a bull wagon, Henry Huffines principal "whacker." Company
consisted of Charlie Prescott, George N. Moses, (commonly called Mose,) Henry
Huffines, Albert B. Robinson (Bob) and D. N. Heizer. After a drive of a few
miles with no excitement, we pitched our camp at what is known as the
"12-Mile Timber" on the Arkansas. Here Charles, an unerring rifleman,
shed the first blood for the company by slaying a swan, a beautiful bird and we
ate it. I committed the next murder, which, need not be told, it could be
smelled.
Sunday,
Oct. 29, 1871—Rev. D. J. Glenn, a Presbyterian minister, preached at J. H.
Hubbard's. He came last week with a large family and they are occupying my
dugout temporarily. He was robbed of what little money he had on his way out.
He lived at Meridian, Miss., several years, but being a Pennsylvanian, the Ku
Klux made it too uncomfortable for him in the south.
Was on my
way to Ellsworth when in hills three miles out of Ellsworth I met a muley ox
team. A short, fair haired man was Lording it over them, who, from the brogue
cn his tongue and the limburger expression on his countenance was evidently of
Teutonic origin. His wagon was freighted with flour, bacon, some farming and
cooking utensils, a pig in a box,—these making his sole earthly possessions.
Behind, with slow and measured pace, in keeping with the gait of the oxen, came
his loving frau, bareheaded and barefooted. They halted and after a few
inquiries of me concerning the land of their destination, they kept on their
way toward the Star of the Empire. This was the last I saw of the Teutonic
Tinker and his gentle Frou for more than a week when I was again returning to
Ellsworth. Away out on the wild prairie, out of sight of house, friends or
anything, save buffalo or antelope, stood the tinker's muley team, and there
too, stood the tinker. They had started across the Cheyenne Bottoms, the oxen
had given out, and growing discouraged, had given a long look homeward and were
now trying to urge the oxen in that direction. He told me his sorrowful story.
There sat his frou, weeping and bitterly reproaching her lord for having brought
her into that wild country and meekly he sat on his wagon tongue like longour
on an hour glass, timing the duration of woe. I condoled and encouraged them
and to some purpose, as I put them on a plan to get back on the road and they
finally landed safely in the valley and took up a homestead on section
20-18-13. Soon after their arrival, a son was born to them, the first white
child born in the county. Nick was a bugler and the next morning after the
arrival of the boy, there rang out through the valley, every bugle call known
to the bugle and then some. He was the wildest Dutchman in American.
Nov. 15,
1871—Broke camp in the morning and jogged along on our way. Weather clear with
cool breeze from southwest. Passed Pawnee Rock about noon. (Said Rock named
from a fight the Pawnees had at that place.) Arkansas Valley very flat and low
on the left. Came to Boyd & Beal's Ranch and stayed over night.
Nov. 16,
1871—Went to Ft. Larned and laid in more supplies and in the afternoon went on
to the river and camped on the old Sully Trail. Day bright and clear until late
that night.
Nov. 17,
1871—Awakened before daybreak and heard the gentle patter of rain, first from
the southwest, but while getting breakfast, it wheeled around to the north.
Rained all forenoon, then began a sleet which finally ended in a snow. During
this cold, bleak rain, we sat around, stood around and stamped around. Getting
colder, we took off our boots, packed our pedestals in a heap and packed a
blanket about them—Sang songs, told stories and made merry. After noon it began
to sleet and Chas. Henry and I took the cattle and drove them back to the Boyd
Ranch, where we stayed all night in a hard crowd of bull whackers and buffalo
hunters.
Saturday,
Nov. 18, 1871—Still housed in the ranch and still a fearful storm is raging.
Around some are smoking, some playing cards and others reading newspapers, such
as you find at Western ranches being "The Day's Doings,"
"Sporting Times," etc. One thing favorable, no whiskey.
Sunday,
Nov. 19. 1871—Spent the day on the ranch. In the morning, "Mose" and
"Bob" came in from the camp after a lay-a-bed of forty-eight hours.
Henry and Charles then went down, the storm being over. The boys at the ranch
spent the day in playing cards and vulgar jesting. Three of them gambled all
night.
Monday,
November 20, 1871—In the morning "Mose" and I set out for the camp
and on our way, saw three buffalo lying on the river bank. We went to camp,
found Henry and Charles all right, took some cartridges, crawled down along the
river bank and killed three bulls. Skinned and cut them up. Took some meat to
camp, cooked it in skunk oil and ate our fill. At night we came back to the
ranch.
Tuesday,
Nov. 21, 1871—Went out again from ranch and "Mose" killed two more
buffalo. We then went to camp, got dinner, skinned the two buffalo that
"Mose" had killed Sunday morning, got supper and started back to
ranch. Came by and skinned the two he had killed in the morning and came on in.
For the last few days weather moderately warm, some clouds but thawing.
Wednesday,
Nov. 22, 1871.—Started home on old "Satanta" but it was very cold and
he could not travel, so I turned back, took the team out and we gathered up the
load to start home the next day.
Thursday,
Nov. 23, 1871—Started home and got as far as the old "12-Mile Timber"
on the Arkansas and camped at Boyd & Beal's hay train camp. Came in late at
night, cold and the wolves made music with their howling.
Friday,
Nov. 24, 1871—Kept camp. Took breakfast at 12 M, and started on a hunt.
"Mose and I" killed one buffalo and put out wolf bait.
"Ike" (one of the hay train men) killed a mess of grouse and quail.
Saturday,
Nov. 25, 1871—Came home by night time and lay our booty down, tired and weary,
glad the trip was over.
Sunday,
Nov. 26, 1871—Henry, Charles and I spent the day at Capt. Rugers. Enjoyed a
wild turkey with him. Bitter cold and stormy.
Wednesday,
Nov. 29, 1871—Bill showing prices:
1 gallon molasses $1.25
6 2-3 lbs. sugar 1.00
5 bushels corn at $1.25 6.25
1 pair gloves 3.25
4 lbs. lard 1.00
12 lbs. butter at 35¢ 4.20
1-4 bushel apples .60
Buffalo meat 3 cents per lb
Monday,
Dec. 25, 1871—First dance in Barton County. During the day nothing of interest
occurred, excepting that a party and dance which had been intended by the
settlers, was given up on account of bad weather. Mr. Buckby invited a few of
us to come down to Zarah and eat oysters and dance. Capt. Ruger and wife, Logan
Reynolds and wife and daughter, Ed Reynolds, wife and daughter, E. J. Dodge,
wife, son and two daughters, Ed Dewey and wife, John Light and Miss Josie
Cunningham were of those attending a good supper and dance all night and
Christmas was duly celebrated.
Tuesday,
Jan. 23, 1872—First "candy pulling" in Barton County. 12 M. tonight I
am all alone in front of my own fire place for the first time as an actual
resident of my own house. Have been spending the evening at Mr. Hubbard's to a
"candy pulling."
Sunday,
Feb. 4, 1872—Cold and stormy. Alone in the dugout all morning. Dressed up to
stay at home. People are concerned about what the Indians will do in the
spring. Jack Jamison has just been down among the Osages and Kiowas and thinks
they will be hostile in the spring.
Wednesday,
Feb. 7th, 1872—Exploits of the "Great Buffalo Trio," Chas. Prescott,
E. W. Morphy and I started for a hunt. Camped in the evening at 12-Mile Timber.
Fair weather and we sat around our bright, blazing campfire and gazed on the
starry heavens. We poetized, moralized, sang songs, and our gallant Morphy was
unmindful of the saying "Laugh and grow fat," excited our risibles by
all sorts of comical scenes from his stock of theatricals. We lay down after
smoking the pipe of peace and slept. But lo, in the dead hours of the night,
Morphy, feeling the heat at his toes, raised the cry of fire. Our bed was
ablaze and we presented a wierd spectacle as we had to hustle and put it out,
it would have done for the witch scene in Richard III.
Up in the
morning early, had breakfast and went south. What a country we saw. Range after
range of sand hills, barren and desolate. No tree in sight. A long, weary drive
had we reached Rattlesnake creek, where our spirits were revived by the sight
of a herd of buffalo. Charles and Morphy tried to steal up to them but the
flatness of the country was against them. It being night, we pitched our camp
on the wild, desolate prairie and here we sat, our horses tied to the back of
the wagon, our bed made beside it on the ground. Alongside is our camp fire of
buffalo chips. Charles has retired and Morphy, with the ease and comfort of a
King in his Palace, site on a stick and smokes his pipe, while "Dick
Turpin," my dog, races back and forth after the wolves prowling around our
camp. We have formed our plan of attack and with the rising sun, the ball will
open.
Friday,
Feb. 9, 1872—While eating our breakfast, the impudent wolves came in numbers
within two hundred yards of the camp. "Dick Turpin" ran out at them
and at one time, formed an interesting tableau. Three stood in a row, stone
still, while he stood a few paces from them, intently eying them, each afraid
of the other. How they dared each other. After breakfast, we sat out after
buffalo and Morphy and I chased them on foot all day long with ill luck. They
were very wild and we only succeeded in wounding a few. Late in the evening, he
and Charles killed an old bull; we took his pelt, cut his llver out, cut it in
chunks an inch square, seasoned each with strychnine and distributed them about
his remains for wolf bait. Camped near by for the night, and such wailing and
howling was never heard before.
Found
eleven dead wolves within fifty feet of His Majesty's carcass and there would
have been more had there been more bait. Again we renewed the chase; Charles
took a horse and killed a cow that had been wounded the day before; rain set in
and we, with our meat, started on our hunt for timber. Drove about ten miles,
facing a bleak, cold rain and getting colder, down came the snow; no tree
appeared and our team being tired, we halted and fixed for the storm. Tried to
cook in the wagon box by building a fire in the Dutch oven. No go! Sheltered it
and cooked a meal outside, after which we went to bed in order to keep warm. A
cold north wind howled all night—so did the wolves—although we did get some
sleep.
Sunday,
Feb. 11, 1872—After breakfast, three men came to our camp with them, we drove
back to the hunting ground and killed three fine buffalo that evening. We sold
our coyote pelts for 65 cents each.
Thursday, Feb.
15, 1872—Reached the Arkansas river by noon, fed our teams and started across
with half our load. The last two days thawing had started the ice in the river
and today it again turned cold with a gale from the northwest. Great chunks of
ice were floating and the river seemed to be rising. Got in the main current
and horses mired in the quicksand. I had to plunge out into the icy water up to
my arm pits, loose the horses from the wagon, turn them over to get their feet
loose from the quicksand and then go to Great Bend, where I got Louis Frey with
his team of mules, to come and help pull us out. All this time, I left Charles
and Morphy sitting in the wagon in the middle of the river. I was mad at them
because they would not get out in the water and help me. My clothes froze stiff
on me but after we got the load over, I trotted all the way home, five miles,
behind the wagon to keep warm. Got home late in the evening.
"Labor
omnia vincent improbus."
Went to
Sunday school. It was a pleasant day and everybody was out and glad to see me
back to lead the music. Mr. A. C. Moses, who came with his family from New York
and built the first frame house in the county, and who was the Sunday school
superintendent, asked some questions on the lesson—the subject being, "The
Brazen Serpent and the Healing of Children of Israel." He asked in what
respect we were like the children of Israel and his wife, who was not partial
to frontier life answered, "In that we are in a wilderness and
dissatisfied with our lot." It created a great deal of merriment. She is a
cultured woman and has never before seen any frontier life. Went to Great Bend
Hotel where a new family had taken possession, by the name of Stone and who had
also started a store.
NOTE—(Out
of this first Sunday school established by these good people grew the First
Congregational Church of Great Bend.)
Monday,
Feb. 19 1872—I hunted my cattle and started to plow for Uncle Dick Demis at
$5.00 per acre. Plowing by myself with two yoke of Texas cattle I found not
calculated to cultivate the most elegant manner or style of expression. The
leaders would turn and look at me and the furrows were very crooked.
(NOTE—I
think this the first land broken in Barton County.)
Thursday,
Feb. 22, 1872—Went to a ball given by Tom Stone at the Great Bend Hotel, a
party of pleasant people and a good time. After plowing prairie all day with
two yoke of Texas cattle, just the thing to go to a ball and ease my mind. I
danced like a good fellow. I shined my boots and wore a standup collar. I danced
with every lady there and some of them, two or three times. We danced
quadrilles and the Virginia Reel. Got home very late.
Tuesday,
Feb. 27, 1872—Bad day. Got Hubbard interested in going to Topeka to find out
what the railroad was going to do in regard to building the town. Whether it
was going to favor Zarah or Great Bend. Also to try to secure the agency for
selling their lands for him and me. I secured the first notary commission in
the county.
First
Notary Commission D. N. Heizer, January, 1872.
Saturday,
Dec. 16, 1871.
FIRST
SCHOOL MEETING IN BARTON COUNTY.
Tonight we
had a school meeting and next week our school house will be built, after the
school meeting closed we had a meeting to determine what we should do for
Christmas. Concluded to have a general meeting of the settlers. Have one grand
supper, social and dance. The supper to represent all the different kinds of
game the country afforded. We will have it at the New Hotel, which is about
completed at Great Bend. A committee on arrangements was appointed, consisting
of six ladies and five gentlemen, myself being one of the number.
Tuesday,
Jan. 18, 1872—I am somewhat anxious about the Indians in the spring. We are on
the extreme frontier and if there is any trouble, we must suffer first, being
the most exposed. If they are disposed to be ugly, there is nothing to prevent
them from attacking us. Within the last few days we have had reports that they
have driven some of the settlers out of the country south of us. As soon as
grass comes so that ponies can live, they may try us. We now get mail at Zarah
most every week. It is a new office and there was no regular mail carrier.
Tuesday,
April 23, 1872—We have had a lively day in town today. A great many new men
came in and thirteen business sites were chosen since noon. I have been busy as
a bee with the lumber trade and directing men where to find claims. At the rate
the town is going now, we will have quite a place by next fall. It already
makes quite a showing and every day records a new house.
Friday,
May 3, 1872—How this week has gone. Have been as busy as a bee all the time. We
have sold a great deal of lumber this week to put into houses at Great Bend.
There are now some very good ones being built in town. Monday I went two miles
to survey and did not get back until late at night. Tuesday I went eight miles
and located four men and was late in getting home again. That evening, April
31st, there was a horrible murder committed at Zarah. Zake Light, a clerk and
brother-in-law of Mr. Buckby, who was about eighteen years of age, shot a young
man who had been here two weeks looking for land. He went into the store in the
evening and asked for some crackers and cheese. Zake gave him the crackers but
said they had no cheese. The young man made a joking remark about such a store
keeping nothing to eat. Zake was insulted and ordered him out of the store. He
refused to go and Zake shot him through the head. It was unprovoked and Zake
ought to be hung if it was right for any man to be hung.
Monday, May
6, 1872—Today I have been out on the range surveying. When I got back to town
in the evening, Capt. Heath of the Santa Fe engineer corps, told me of having
seen three hundred Arapahoes and Cheyennes within about thirty miles of here,
he was in their camp and talked to them and says they are disposed to be sulky
and mad. Have no squaws, lodges or dogs with them and are well armed and well
mounted, and he thinks we are going to have trouble. He is acquainted with a
great many of them and says they mean no good. This valey is beginning to look
like a little Paradise, with its green waving grass and blooming flowers.
Friday,
May 16, 1872—Went up to the west line of the county to where an old German
couple live. His wife cannot talk English, but they both thing a good deal of
me and when I go there she always wants to talk with me and has to talk in
German to her husband and he interprets it in English to me, she never knew
until today that I had no Frou and when I told her she said I ought to be
ashamed of myself. The old gentleman said, "You brings de Frou mit de
dugout first, and yen you makes more money you makes un better house, und makes
tin better Frou." It is worth riding eighteen miles just to hear othese
old people talk and see how happy and contentedly they live in a dug-out.
Monday,
May 20, 1872—We moved today to the town of Great Bend to live. Tom and I shall
continue to dwell here henceforth.
Wednesday,
May 22, 1872—All week we have been kept busy with settlers and locating land
and have put several men on the lookout. Would have taken some men out today,
but that Walnut is on a bender and cannot be crossed except by swimming. We had
some sport today. Just before noon two buffalo came just in sight of town, and
in less than ten minutes every horse in the livery barn was out in pursuit or
rather, to meet them. After they had chased them out of sight seven more
buffalo came into the Walnut north of town. Everybody, including women and
children, came out in a stampede to see the fun. A skirmish line of men with
guns started out on foot. I seized an Indian pony, belonging to Mr. Hubbard
which was hitched outside the store, and after giving Mr. Hubbard by pocket
book to take care of, off I went with a needle gun on the pony. I soon got
beyond the footmen and away I went for the burly old fellows across the
Bottoms. When about one-fourth of a mile from them, they turned and ran
northeast toward the bend of the creek. I was lucky enough to shoot one just as
he was going down into the creek. Hubbard, the trustee of my pocket book, lost
$5.00 of my money on my success. There was a big crowd standing in the northern
part of town watching me, and Jack Conkie pulled out a bill and wanted to bet I
would get one and Hubbard took him up.
Sunday,
May 26, 1872—This is a hot, sultry day. My first Sunday as a resident of the
town of Great Bend, a city now of over forty houses. Most all having been built
during the last six weeks. My census report was received and accepted by the
governor and we have just had our county clerk and commissioner appointed and
now in about thirty days, we will hold an election. Several of the leading
citizens have been at me to run for probate judge. Have not yet made up my mind
whether I will or not.
Sunday,
June 2, 1872—Dr. Truesdale just came rushing up stairs and wanted to get the
keys to Dr. Baker's desk as he wanted his case of instruments. A man at the
hotel had shot himself and he must help him. Dr. Baker had gone to Quincy and
taken his keys with him and the only thing to do was to break open his desk,
which we did and have since performed the operation by way of extracting the
ball. He was intoxicated and was fooling with a six-shooter when it went off,
shooting him through the left side, the ball lodging in his back. Poor fellow,
he should have learned when he was a little boy that it was very naughty to
play with fire arms and get drunk on Sunday.
This
morning I drove over to Hubbard's to Sunday school with Jake Miller, our new
photographer. We had some new recruits at Sunday school. Last week I went from
ten to forty miles per day; we have been having competition now in another land
firm. One of their firm is agent for a town company and last Wednesday we had
some little excitement over their movements. It became known they had formed
another company to start another town fourteen miles west of this place and men
who had invested money here could not see how they could run two towns in the
same locality and be true to the interests of both. The citizens got up a
petition for their removal from the agency for this town. Said petition was
being carried around and everybody was signing it when the gentlemen got sight
of it. They tried to tear it up but did not succeed. A crowd collected and very
exciting was the talk. Hubbard made some rather sarcastic remarks, as was his
custom, and Morris struck him. Hubbard kicked Morris out of doors and there the
matter ended. A meeting was called and said gents tried to explain their
connection with the Pawnee Town Company but did not do so to their
satisfaction. First the citizens voted to send me to Quincy, Ill., to see the
Town Company of this place and have them come out here to look after the
interests of this town. After talking the matter over more fully, concluded as
Dr. Baker was going back on the next day, a letter should be written to the
company, stating the facts and send it by Dr. Baker.
Saturday,
June 8th, 1872—I have had a busy week and the prospect of a day's rest so near
at hand, is refreshing. I am always away all day long; get home late in the
evening and am generally tired and hungry and have a whole raft of papers to
make out, or letters to write, to some one wanting to come west, or inquiring
about homesteads, etc. The people here seem to be very much dissatisfied with
the way the affairs are conducted by the town company and there is so much
bickering that I am almost disgusted. "I am somewhat in doubt about these
mushroom towns, as some call them. I do think this (Great Bend) will some day
make a fine town; it has the country to support it but it is now stepping far
in advance of the country and men are investing widely, expecting to make their
fortunes out of the cattle trade this summer. I really think from present
prospects that it will not amount to anything great for this point. Some days
here, everybody seems to be excited and carried away by some influence almost
unaccountable, and other days everything will be dull and everybody discouraged
and despondent.
Friday,
June 13, 1872.
THE FIRST
CITY CAUCUS.
Have been
in Great Bend all day, busy in the lumber yard. In the evening attended the
city caucus for the nomination of city officers for Great Bend. Not being able
to claim my residence in the city, (having a claim outside the city limits), I
took no part in the city caucus. (My recollection is, that this caucus was held
in a frame building on Allen's corner or near that place.)
Saturday,
June 5, 1872—Today I worked at the lumber yard until noon and then drove with
Tom to the eastern part of the county to attend a township convention. Drove
home in the cool of the evening, got our supper and then went down to see
Morris about election matters, as the county election was coming on and we were
all interested in working for Great Bend as the county seat. In this interest,
I had made a visit to the township convention in the eastern part of the
county.
Monday,
June 17, 1872.
THE FIRST
SUNDAY SCHOOL ORGANIZED AT GREAT BEND.
In the
morning, John Favrow, one of the railroad engineers, asked me to take him over to
Hubbard's to Sunday school, where we stayed until after dinner. We drove back
to Great Bend and at four o'clock we attended the organization of the first
Sunday school at Great Bend. In the evening we took supper with Mr. W. H.
Odell, our nominee for county clerk, at his home.
Wednesday,
June 19, 1872.
OUR FIRST
COUNTY CONVENTION.
Our county
convention came off today and we made our nominations. I was honored with the
nomination for clerk of the district court, which was afterward changed to the
office of probate judge. I was secretary of the convention. I am feeling very
much flattered by the people telling me that I could have any office I desired.
We had a great time. A clique of the more adventurous class tried to run the
meeting by tricks and fraudulent voting but we managed to out number them
sufficiently and fought them clear back into their seats. Being unexperienced
in politics, I was very much displeased at the methods attempted.
I have
begun the erection of a house on block 95, which is 16x24 in size and one story
high.
Wednesday,
June 24, 1872—Am a little discouraged about this country here of late. It has
been very hot and dry now for some time and there is so little farming being
done in proportion to the number of settlers that it does not look right.
People do not seem to have the faith in the country that they should have.
Perhaps I am giving way to temporary influences and something may occur to
banish all my fears. Another thing, we have a very tough class of people coming
in here along with the good; a class that have no respect for virtue, morality,
decency cr anything else. It is true, there are many refined and cultivated
people coming with the idea of permanently making their homes and it almost
looks now as though they might be out numbered by the other class.
Sunday,
June 30, 1872—During the past three days, I have ridden over one hundred and
fifty miles canvassing the county in the interest of our county election, and
particularly in the interest of Great Bend as our county seat. All has been
rush and hurry with us for the last few days.
Monday,
July 1, 1872—Our county election came off today and it has been a lively day
and a day of anxiety as to the contest over the county seat. I acted as one of
the clerks of the election from 8 o'clock in the morning until after 2 o'clock
at night. All passed off quietly and in good order and the results were very
satisfactory. Our town, Great Bend, has nearly 100 majority for county seat. I
received about 150 majority for probate judge. We had a great deal of sport
over the election and some of those in the habit of imbibing, tonight made
merry music on the street in exaltation over our great success.
Wednesday,
July 3, 1872—According to instructions, Miss Ida Mitchell and I, as a committee
to select picnic grounds for the 4th of July, went on a trip up the Walnut
Valley seven or eight miles. We finally selected suitable grounds for our first
4th of July celebration at a bend of the creek on the southeast quarter of
section 10-19-14, the claim of Henry Shultz. On the way up the creek we had a
chase after a bunch of buffalo.
Thursday,
July 4th, 1872—Most everybody went up the creek to our 4th of July celebration
grounds in buggies, wagons and on horseback. There was quite a respectable
crowd of us. We hung swings in the trees for the children and young folks and
had plenty of ice cream and lemonade, and a bountiful dinner. After dinner I
read the Declaration of Independence and E. W. Cowgill made a speech. We then
had singing and a general good time, after which we all went home. The day was
ideal and was very pleasantly spent. We had a delightful place for the
celebration, which was the first one ever held in the county, unless by the
Indians.
Saturday,
July 6th, 1872—In the evening a gentleman called at the store and asked for me.
I went down and found there a law student from Iowa City, who was there the
last year I was. That was the first appearance ot George W. Nimocks, who was
touring the state in a wagon with a camping outfit and who had established his
camp near the southeast corner of the public square.
Sunday,
July 7, 1872—I am considering a trip to Iowa very soon on very important
business. The railroad will be completed to that place by the last of next week
and I will be able to make the trip from my own town on the frontier by rail. I
feel very much elated over this fact. Just to think how a person must feel,
having came here only one year ago when the country was almost as wild as the
day it was made, inhabited solely by the wild game of the plains and now the
iron horse is about to come dashing in, bringing all the changes of
civilization. Bringing stout hearts and sturdy hands to subdue these wild
prairies and make them contribute to the advancement and wellfare of mankind. "'Tis
strange! 'Tis strange, how quickly all this has come about."
Friday,
July 12, 1872—I have concluded to go to Iowa as soon as possible and if nothing
prevents, will be there during the week, probably about Thursday.
T. L.
STONE
Proprietor
of Great Bend's First Hotel
THE
subject of this sketch was one or the early settlers in Barton County, and a
man almost intimately acquainted with all of our citizens, a brief account of
his life will be appreciated by our readers.
Thomas
Longdon Stone was born near Lexington, Ky., June 27, 1830, only lacking a few
days of being 48 years old at the time of his death, June 2, 1887. When about 7
years old his parents moved to Paris, Mo., living there about five years, when
they returned to their old home in Kentucky, where they remained until 1849,
when they returned to Missouri, making their home in Shelby County. On the 12th
of September, 1849, T. L. Stone was married to Miss Jane W. McCracken, with
whom he lived happily until his death. In 1852, during the gold excitement, Mr.
Stone went to California, where he spent two years in the gold mines, and
accumulated some money. He traveled all over that state and like all the early
emigrants, endured many hardships, and doubtless contracted rheumatic
afflictions thero, from which he never entirely recovered, and which laid the
foundation for other bodily infirmities. He came to Great Bend in 1872, being
one of the first settlers, and for two years kept a dry goods store and was
proprietor of the Drover's Cottage, the first hotel in this place, later the
Southern. He afterward opened a meat market which he operated successfully for
about two years, when he went to farming. He had 240 acres of land about 9
miles south of Great Bend, nearly all of which is in cultivation. He leaves a
wife and three children, the oldest being the wife of Sheriff Winstead, Mrs.
Crain and Josie, a little girl. Three daughters and two sons died when quite
young.
For the
last two years, Mr. Stone's health had been gradually but steadily failing, and
though every attention was given him he found but temporary relief. He died of
general dropsy.
The Odd
Fellows of this place took part in the burial ceremonies, showing that respect
which was due to the deceased both as a citizen and former member of the order.
The
deceased was a man of many excellent traits of character, a warm friend, genial
and happy in disposition, and generous to a fault. The community deeply
sympathize with the grief-stricken family and relatives, in their hour of
suffering. "Earth hath no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure."
PATENT
ISSUED FOR CITY OF GREAT BEND
During the
summer of 1872 Great Bend was organzied as a city of the third class with A. A.
Hurd as mayor. In September, 1872, final proof was made and a patent for
section 28 issued to the mayor in trust for the use and benefit of the
occupants. These, under the laws of Kansas, were considered to be the Great
Bend Town Company, most of whom resided at Quincy, Ill. Accordingly a deed was
made to said town company * by the mayor. The U. S. courts afterward decided
that the provision making a non-resident town company occupants was not in keeping
with and according to the spirit of the law of congress and that the deed must
be made by the mayor to each of the actual occupants, according to his
respective interest. Accordingly, suit was brought by the occupants against the
Great Bend Town Company to set aside the deed from the mayor to them. However,
a compromise was effected wherein it was agreed that a decree should be entered
setting aside said deed, and the mayor should proceed to appoint commissioners
to divide the property according to law, giving to each actual occupant his
quota of lots, and that each occupant should deed one-half of the same to the
Great Bend Town Company. Thus the question of title was settled, and each
occupant found himself to be a great deal richer than he had supposed.
*The
officers and stockholders of the company, as appears from the Arkansas Valley,
published in July, 1872, were as follows:
Officers
J. L. Curtis, President, Keokuk, Iowa.
M. F. Bassett, M. D., Vice-President, Quincy, Illinois.
C. R. S. Curtis, M. D., Corresponding Secretary, Quincy, Illinois.
Directors
Hon. D. L. Lakin, Land Commissioner A., T. & S. F. R. R., Topeka, Kansas.
Hon. T. J. Peter, General Manager A., T. & S. R. R., Topeka, Kansas.
Hon. A. L. Williams, Attorney of Company, Topeka. Kansas.
Additional stockholders
James Israel, Esq., Mt. Vernon, O., Judge T. J. Mitchell, Quincy, Ill., Rev. R.
F. Shinn, Paysor, Ill., Rev. W. E. Johnson, Jacksonville, Ill., T. L. Morris,
Great Bend, Kansas, Hon. John T. Morton, Topeka, Kansas.
MAYORS OF
GREAT BEND
A complete
list of the men who served the city of Great Bend as its chief executive from
1872 to 1912:
Name— Date.
A. A. Hurd 1872
and 1873
Samuel Maher 1874
Richard Taylor 1875
C. F. Diffenbacher 1876
A. C. Fair 1877
G. N. Moses 1878
A. W. Gray 1879
E. L. Chapman 1880
Henry Kline 1881
S. V. Brinkman 1882
G. W. Nimocks 1883
E. W. Moses 1884 and
1885
D. N. Heizer 1886
After 1886 mayors were elected for two-year terms.
A. J. Buckland 1887
O. B. Wilson 1889
A. Laidlaw 1891
G. N. Moses 1895
G. N. Moses 1897
G. H. Hulme 1899
L. P. Aber 1901
Martin Weirauch 1903
E. W. Moses 1905
E. W. Moses 1907
E. W. Moses 1909
O. W. Dawson 1911
BARTON
COUNTY SPORTSMEN'S ASSOCIATION
IN the
early days of Barton County it was a sportsman's paradise, but after the
extermination of the buffaloes and antelopes from this part of the state,
hunters were compelled to be satisfied with quail, prairie chickens and water
fowl. Each year when the ducks and geese and other migratory birds pass over
this part of the country in the spring and fall, many of them stop and are
found on the marshes, creeks and rivers in large numbers. The people of Barton
County are hunters by heredity because of the fact that the first settlers in
this section depended a great deal on their prowess with the gun for their
food. In 1905 a number of the citizens of the county got together and organized
the Barton County Sportsmen's Association, the object being to maintain hunting
privileges in different parts of the county. The organization was a success
from the beginning and it now controls the hunting privileges on about six
sections of land in the Cheyenne Bottoms which is but a short distance
northeast of Great Bend. Here the ducks and other water fowls are found in
large numbers at certain times of the year and here the members of the
organization enjoy what many believe to be the grandest of all sports. The officers
of the organization are C. D. Spaugh, president.; Lester Cox, secretary and
treasurer, and these together with E. W. Seward, Ben McMullen and C. W.
Scherzer form the board of directors. The association now has about 125
members.
JOHN WEST
PASCOE
PROMINENT
among the really old timers of Barton County is John West Pascoe who came here
at a time when the county was just in the beginning of its history. He was born
in Cornwall, England, October 28, 1833. He came to America May 8, 1856, and
landed at Philadelphia. From there he went to Ontanogan County, Michigan, and
from there came to the State of Kansas and arrived in Russell County April 19,
1871, and from there came to Barton County in July of the same year. He located
on the west line of Great Bend township, the land comprising the northwest
quarter of section 18. He went back to Michigan June 2, 1872, where he remained
until July 19, 1873. He located in Eureka township and until 1903 was actively
engaged in farming. In that year he retired and now lives in Great Bend at 1607
Williams street where he has a neat comfortable home. He was married January
26, 1854 to Miss Grace Dyer. To this union there were born seven children, five
of whom are living. Elizabeth and Clara are both dead, and those living are as
follows. Paul is farming in this county and is mentioned in another part of
this book; Rebekah is Mrs. William Thomas of Kansas City; Elizabeth Anne is now
Mrs. Edward Harper and resides in Great Bend; Martha is now Mrs. William White;
and Maria is now Mrs. Samuel White of Great Bend. Mr. Pascoe's first wife died
February 28, 1889. September 28, 1889, Mr. Pascoe married Mrs. Anna Watts of
Great Bend. They have one adopted child, Ruth Anne who now is nine years of age.
Mr. Pascoe is one of the best known residents of Barton County. He is a
prominent member of the Masonic fraternity. His son Paul and grandsons are also
prominent in this order. The elder Mr. Pascoe has been a member of the Blue
Lodge and the Chapter for .... years.
He had the
pleasure of seeing his son Paul and two grandsons initiated into the Royal Arch
and the Knights Templar degrees of Masonary at the same time. They also are
members of the Coinsstory at Wichita and are 32nd degree masons. Mr. Pascoe is
one of those hardy men who blazed the way that made possible the development of
this county to one of which all its residents are justly proud.
Since the
above was written John W. Pascoe has passed from this life to his reward in
Heaven. The following is from the Daily Tribune of July 13th, 1912.
John W.
Pascoe died this noon at 10 minutes of 1 at his home in this city. He had been
suffering from a general breakdown and the last several months had been very
feeble in health. No arrangements have yet been announced regarding the funeral
services but they will undoubtedly be held under the auspices of the Masonic
order of which he was a devoted member. Mr. Pascoe had been a resident of this
county for nearly forty years, coming here from Michigan. He was born in
England and grew to manhood in that country. He was a man of absolute honesty
and integrity and enjoyed the respect of everyone who knew him. Further
particulars regarding the deceased will be given in a later issue.
Mr. Pascoe
was a zealous Mason and it was his pleasure to see his son and two grandsons
join the lodge of which he thought so much. It is not often that such a
distinction is enjoyed by any lodge, that of three generations belonging to the
same lodge.
The
funeral services will be held Monday afternoon, July 15, at 2:30 o'clock at the
Methodist church.
He was a
man of absolute honesty and integrity, was devoted to his family and enjoyed
the respect of all who knew him. He was a devout Christian and during most of
his life was a consistent member of the Methodist church. He was a prominent
member of the Masonic fraternity of this city and a member of the Consistory in
Wichita.
He leaves
to mourn his loss a wife, five children, twenty-three grand-children, two great
grand children and a large circle of friends.
Funeral
services were held this afternoon from the Methodist church, this city.
RICHARD
TAYLOR
THERE are
very few, if any, old timers of Barton County who did not know Richard Taylor,
or "Dick," as he was commonly called by those who knew him best. Dick
arrived in America shortly after the close of the civil war in 1865, a typical
Englishman, whose love for his native land—where he belonged to the farming
classes—made him believe that outside of England there was very little worth
while. Small of stature, but possessed of unlimited physical energy, he at once
entered the field of active effort in this country, his first venture being in
the brokerage business in Milwaukee, Wis., with an uncle, Richard Peough. He
remained there a few years, after which he came to Kansas and located first at
Russell in Russell County. This was in 1872 and it was but a short time after
his arrival there that he engaged in the lumber business with Mr. Yoxall in Great
Bend. In those days lumber was sold by this firm to parties in Barton County,
the lumber being freighted in wagons. It might be interesting to know that
white pine was about the only lumber obtainable at that time, and with the high
freight rates and big expense in handling it sold for about the same price that
it brings today. In 1875 Dick engaged in the farming business a short distance
northwest of Great Bend where he still resides. His home place is known as
Walnut Hill Stock Farm and is one of the most desirable and highly improved
farms in the county. Mr. Taylor makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred
Hereford cattle; his herd is one of the finest in this part of the country. Mr.
Taylor was born in Hereford, England, July 10, 1844, and left there for America
when he was 21 years of age. His liking for Hereford cattle is due to the fact
that his birthplace is the home of this famous breed. He was married November
21, 1875, to Miss Rachel Slack and they are the parents of three children as
follows: Annie R., Arthur E., and Thomas R. Annie and Thomas are residing at
the old home place while Arthur E. is in the real estate, insurance and farm
loan business in Great Bend. Arthur was born in Barton County April 17, 1880,
and was married January 4, 1905, to Miss Mable Brinkman and they are the
parents of two children: Lillian and Elizabeth. When Dick Taylor arrived in
Barton County he was accompanied by two brothers, Harry, who died after he had
been here about two years and Thomas, who is now engaged in the cattle business
in Kiowa County. Mrs. Taylor is a daughter of Rachel Slack, who arrived in
Barton County in 1873 from Oswego, New York. Her husband was killed in the
civil war. She located on land two miles north of Dartmouth. She was born
November 29, 1827, at Leeds, England, and died January 1, 1812.[sic] Dick
Taylor was the third mayor of Great Bend and also served as the county assessor
in the early days. In 1910 Mr. Taylor took a trip back to England and while he
had always pointed with pride to England as the leader in everything, he found
that the methods that he had learned in the United States wore superior to
thosee in use in his native land. In the free and easy days of the first
settlements in this county there were numerous tests of physical skill and
strength in the way of boxing and wrestling bouts and in these lines Dick
Taylor was frequently pitted against men much larger than himself and always
came out of the frays with flying colors much to the surprise of his larger
opponents. When Mr. Taylor arrived in this country he had only seventeen suits
of clothes, but unfortunately the style worn at that time by the best dressed
people of England did not fit very well with some of the dictates of fashion in
America. However, as soon as possible Mr. Taylor secured for his wardrobe a
number of suits containing the highest class of American style and quality. Mr.
Taylor is justly proud of his ancestry and native country but has always been a
patriotic and progressive American and a citizen whom any community might
desire, especially a community such as Barton County was at the time he took up
his residence here. This is true because it is such men as Mr. Taylor who were
required to withstand the hardships and make a productive section out of barren
prairie land.
GREAT BEND
POSTOFFICE
GREAT BEND
was designated a postofoffice of the fourth class in 1872 the first postmaster
being Mr. Fossil. The first building used as a postoffice—a likeness of which
is shown herewith—is now used as a residence in the northeast part of town.
Great Bend was designated a postoffice of the second class in 1902 and in 1906
had reached a point where it was possible to make successful application for
free delivery in the city. City free delivery was established that year with
three carriers, the number having been added to as demand required. The first
rural route out of Great Bend was put on September 1, 1904, and in 1912 this
number had been increased to six. In 1890 the receipts of the office were
$5,666, this being the amount for the year ending June 1, 1890. For the year
ending June 1, 1893, the amount of receipts of the office was $5,175, for 1902,
$7,484, for 1905 $10,977, for 1909 $17,875 and at the close of the postoffice
year June 1, 1912, the preceding twelve months showed a total of $18,102. By an
act of congress in 1908 an appropriation was made for a federal building at
Great Bend to cost $65.000. It will be completed and ready for occupancy before
the first of the year. It is a fine building, built of granite. Is fire proof
throughout and will be furnished according to the latest ideas and the well
known demands of the government for substantial quality and beauty. The present
postmaster is Theodore Griffith who has served since August, 1902. He has been
an efficient and conscientious official and has discharged the duties of the
office in a way that has met universal commendation.
BENEVOLENT
PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS No. 1127
THE Great
Bend Lodge No. 1127, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks was organized Oct.
1908. Previous to this there were a number of gentlemen of Great Bend belonged
to the Hutchinson lodge but in 1908 Great Bend had reached a population of
5,000 and a charter was issued for a lodge. There were fifty charter members
and in 1909 the membership had increased to something over 400, when steps were
taken which resulted in the building of the beautiful home for members of the
order in Great Bend. The home was dedicated March 17, 1910. The exalted rulers
of the lodge since it was organized have been R. C. Russell, 1908-09; Dr. R. H.
Meade, 1910; William Smythe, 1911 and J. L. Cox, 1912. At the present time the
lodge has a membership of 607 and the officers are: J. L. Cox, Exalted Ruler;
F. W. Brinkman, Esteemed Leading Knight; Dr. Stinson, Esteemed Loyal Knight;
Wells Thompson, Esteemed Lecturing Knight; W. L. Bowersoxx, secretary; E. L.
Chapman, treasurer; W. L. Delaplane, Inside Guard; Justus Sandrock, Outside
Guard. The Great Bend Lodge is known in Elkdom as being one of the livest
organizations of the order and this is saying a great deal as all Elk bodies
are live ones.
CHARLES A.
HOOPER
AMONG the
few business men of Great Bend who came here in the '80s and went through the
good and bad times, and are here today and still in business is Charles A. Hooper.
He was born in Adams County, Indiana, September 29, 1860, and came from there
to the State of Kansas in 1878. He first located at Atchison where he remained
until 1886 when he came to Barton County and opened a drug store on the lot now
occupied by the Ideal Bakery. At the end of six months the business had grown
to such an extent that more room was needed and the stock was moved to the
corner of Lakin and Main street where the Wagaman store is now located. Mr.
Hooper remained there a year and moved to his present location, 1507-9 Main
street. Before coming to Kansas Mr. Hooper attended the Valparaiso College and
Notre Dame College of Indiana where he fitted himself for a pharmacist and is
now registered in the State of Kansas. Mr. Hooper was married September 4,
1883, to Miss Margaret Kennedy of Atchison and they are the parents of six
children, five of whom are living as follows: Irene, who is now Mrs. J. P.
Healy of Oklahoma City; Chas. Warren is attending John Hopkins University of
Baltimore, Maryland; Ulanda, Jacob and Muriel are living at home. Mrs. Healoy
is a talented singer while her sister, Muriel, is a violinist of exceptional
ability. Mr. Hooper's busines in this city has grown steadily since its
inception and his establishment is now recognized as being one of the largest
drug, music and book stores in this section of the country. The stores occupy
two large rooms with balconies making a total floor space of 105,000 square
feet. In the drug department can be found an exceptionally fine line of drugs,
chemicals, toilet articles and the soda fountain is one of the best equipped
and most sanitary to be found in Central Kansas. In the music department Mr.
Hooper carries a line of pianos that compare favorably with the stock found in
the largest cities and here one can obtain any kind of a musical instrument as
well as sheet music, Victor talking machines and a complete line of records for
these instruments. Then Mr. Hooper also makes a specialty of wall paper, books,
stationery and he has built his business to its present high standing by
correct methods and square dealing policies. When Mr. Hooper located in Great
Bend it required men of great fortitude and keen business knowledge to overcome
the adverse conditions with which they had to contend. However, Mr. Hooper was
equal to the occasion and saw his business grow until it stands today among the
leading mercantile establishments of Barton County and the State of Kansas.
FIRST
NATIONAL BANK
THE first
steps for the organization of the First National Bank were taken on May 9, 1885
when the call was issued by Mr. McBride for a meeting for that purpose. Mr.
zation committee and was the first vice-president of the bank.[sic]
The first
board of directors consisted of Mr. McBride, E. M. Parlin, W. H. Campbell, G.
H. Hulme, R. C. Bailey, E. L. Chapman, C. F. Willner, J. H. Hubbard and John
Lindas. The charter was issued by H. W. Cannon, then comptroller of the
currency, on the 7th day of July, 1885 and it began the transaction of business
with E. M. Parlin president and R. C. Bailey as cashier.
Officers
of the bank since the date of its organization have been:
Presidents—E.
M. Parlin, July 7, 1885 to July 31, 1888; J W. Rush, July 31, 1888 to October
6, 1892; E. L. Chapman, October 6, 1892 to June 13, 1894; G. H. Hulme,
vice-president and acting president, June 13, 1894 to January 14, 1895; G. L.
Chapman, January 14, 1895 to March 20, 1911; R. L. Hamilton, March 20, 1911 to
July 1, 1911; Chas. Lobdell, July 1, 1911.
Cashiers—R.
C. Bailey, July 7, 1885 to January 10, 1888; S. E. Prentis, January 10, 1888 to
July 23, 1891; C. M. Wickwire, July 23, 1888 to November 2, 1891; G. L.
Chapman, November 2, 1891 to January 14, 1895; H. J. Klein, January 11, 1898 to
January 14, 1902; Ed L. Chapman, January 14, 1902 to June 1, 1912; F. H.
Miller, June 1, 1912.
The real
history of the bank began with the election of G. L. Chapman as cashier in 1891
and he was from that date to the date of his death, the active manager and
guiding genius of the bank, carrying it through the panic of 1893 and the years
of depression that followed. The story of the bank has been one of remarkable
success—it having notwithstanding the necessary losses incident to the collapse
of the boom of 1886 and '87 and the panic of '93, made a net earning during the
period of its existence, up to July 1st of the present year of $167,455.98 and
with its capital of $100,000 and surplus of $20,000, it is today one of the
strongest financial institutions of the Southwest.
September 9, 1912, the First National
completed a business arrangement which resulted in nearly doubling its deposits
and which has made it the strongest bank in the State of Kansas in a town the
size of Great Bend and one of the strongest in the country. The deal resulted
in the consolidation of the J. V. Brinkman Company Bank with the First
National. The Brinkman Bank was the oldest institution of the kind in the
western part of the state and its deposits were among the largest of any state
bank of Kansas.
The
consolidation of the banks resulted in a slight change in the directorate of
the institution. C. E. Lobdell remained president of the institution, with
Chas. V. Brinkman vice-president. Peter Brack of Olmitz was added to the
directorate and Frank Brinkman was made assistant cashier. The officers and
directors of the bank are as follows: C. E. Lobdell, president; R. H. Hamilton,
vice-president; Chas. V. Brinkman, vice-president; Fred Miller, cashier.
Directors: C. E. Lobdell, C. V. Brinkman, Peter Brack, Ola B. Chapman, R. L.
Hamilton, F. V. Russell, W. Torrey, E. J. Eveleigh. The institution has
deposits amounting to nearly one million dollars.
E. L.
CHAPMAN
E. L.
CHAPMAN was born in Bath England, and came to Great Bend in 1873. Immediately after
his arrival he took an active part in all public matters and up until the time
of his death which occurred June 13, 1894, he was one of the best known men in
the state. He took up a homestead in Buffalo township, in this county. He was
elected Probate judge on an independent ticket in 1874 and was also elected to
this office two successive terms on the Republican ticket. He was appointed
postmaster of Great Bend by President Garfield and served nearly five years.
During the Harrison-Cleveland campaign he was nominated for presidential
elector from the Seventh District of Kansas at a convention held in Garden
City. He later resigned this office to become a candidate for state senator and
was elected by a flattering majority. He served but one term in this office,
resigning to accept the appointment of receiver of the U. S. land office at
Larned. This appointment was made by President Harrison. He organized the First
National Bank of Great Bend in 1885 and it is now one of the leading financial
institutions of the state.
The
following is taken from the Kansas State Directory of 1889:
"E.
L. Chapman, of Great Bend, Barton County, representing the Thirty-sixth
Senatorial District, has long been identified with the interests of Central
Kansas, his name being connected with many of the enterprises having for their
obect the development of the Arkansas Valley. As editor and publisher of a
newspaper he has always advocated all legitimate propositions tending to
benefit the people of Barton County, and his paper—The Register—has always been
a power for good in Barton County. During the last campaign (1888) Senator
Chapman had a hard battle but succeeded in gaining a victory over his
opponents. He is a member of Pap Thomas Post, G. A. R. of Great Bend and was
among the number whose names appeared on the charter for this organization. He
entered the U. S. army in 1861 and was mustered out in 1865, having served as
Provost Marshal of the Department of the Cumberland. He was married to Anna
Jones at Paducah, Kentucky, in 1864, and they are the parents of four children:
General L., Laura, Leo and Edward." Mr. Chapman numbered his friends by
the score and his death was an occasion for much grief in the community where
he had proved himself to be a kind and generous man.
PETER
BRACK
ONE of the
most notable examples of what a harbor of freedom the United States is, and a
proof that all men in it are free and equal is Peter Brack of Olmitz, Barton
County. He was born in the village of Popotchnaja, Russia, and was one of four
children and with the usual prospects offered those residents of the Czar's
realm who are not fortunate enough to be classed among the land owners or
nobility. In Russia a man may have enough land to be called a farmer but he
rents that and as a rule it is a little one to four acre patch of ground on
which he raises mighty small crops, considering the amountt of work he puts in
on it, and he meets the taxes, the rent and cost of repairs as though he owned
the land, and no matter how poor the crop might be, the share system only works
when the owner of the land gets his share first and the tenant takes what is
left. Mr. Brack was fired by the stories of riches to be found in America but
did not imagine that money grew on trees, and could be had for picking it off,
but he thought of the injustice of the system which denied him and his
brothers—although as intelligent as the other children of the country—the right
of freedom. The stories of the new world appealed to him, satisfied that if
given a chance he could make good, he with his young wife, mother and three
brothers and families, joined a coloney starting for America. They arrived in
New York October 21, 1876. Peter was then nineteen years old. His first
position in Barton County after he arrived here was with L. M. Krause, working
on his farm at $8.00 per month. Later he took up farming with three brothers
near Olmitz and after a short time he went to Colorado where he worked for the
railroad for some time. In 1883 he started a country store on his eight acre
farm in this county, with a stock consisting of $800 worth of goods. Looking
ahead to the development of his land, he having always lived in a farming
country, knew that it was in farming that money was to be made. He was
interested in seeing that his people got a good start and was a great help to
other families that came to Barton County from his old home in Russia. These
people were part of the colony of which the Bracks made up a part, and which is
explained more fully in another article in this book. Mr. Brack has always been
a leader among his countrymen in this country and those who were helped by him
helped him in return when the fruits of their labor on the farms were
successful. But if the farm had not paid well, he would never had received
anything in return for what he loaned. The farm land made good and his money
was returned to him. He invested in lands and saw that they paid. In the '90s
when there were years of crop failures the Russian colony knew that it was only
a cycle of poor years like they had known in Russia, and they stayed by the
lands. As land got cheaper the young merchant saw his chance and began
investing with the result that he now owns in Western Kansas nearly 100 quarter
sections of land owns stock in several banks, is president of the bank at
Olmitz—which became a necessity as the community prospered and gave up his
store to retire from active business a few years ago. Two years ago he made a
trip to the old country and on his return wrote a most interesting account of
his travels. He is a shrewd, thorough business man, well content to live among
the neighbors with whom he has shared joys and woes for thirty-five years and
yet is a modern American business man. He is a product of the United States and
proves the opportunity it has offerer to the people of all nations. Blessed
with no children of his own, he and his wife have an adopted daughter, now Mrs.
Constantine Schneider who with her husband share their palatial home in Olmitz,
one of the finest appointed houses in the county.
ANDREW
JACKSON HOISINGTON
THERE are
a number of biographies in this book but none that will be read with more
interest than the one concerning A. J. Hoisington who was one of the best known
pioneers of the state or at least that section of it now known as Barton
County. No one person did more to further the interest of Great Bend and Barton
County than did the subject of this sketch and his memory is revered by all who
knew him for his kindly deeds and unswerving manhood. Andrew Jackson Hoisington
was born near Quincy, Illinois, July 2, 1848. When a boy he removed with his
parents to Greene County, Iowa; and later to Madison County, where he grew to
manhood on his father's farm. After teaching school several terms he went to
Des Moines, Iowa, where he learned the printer's trade in the office of the Des
Moines Register. After a few years he returned to Madison County and became
part owner of the Winterset Madisonian. He came to the State of Kansas in 1874
and first located at Newton where he taught school a short time after which he
came to Great Bend and followed the same occupation. After teaching school
northeast of Great for a few weeks, he was asked to take charge of the Great
Bend Register which had just been established. This he did and ultimately
purchased the paper and continued as its publisher until 1883. It was during
this year that he was appointed receiver of the U. S. land office at Garden
City to which place he took his family. He sold the Register to E. L. Chapman.
Shortly after entering the land office at Garden City he organized and became
president of the Finney County Bank. During the next few years he organized a
string of banks throughout Southwestern Kansas, these establishments being
located at Santa Fe, Ulysses, Arkalon and Hugoton. In 1890 he sold his
interests in Garden City and moved to Kansas City where he organized the
Hoisington Loan & Trust Co., and the Hoisington Publishing Co., which he
managed for several years. In 1895 he returned to Great Bend where he again got
possession of the Register and had for partners in the business his sons, Earl
and Roy. He died at Winterset, Iowa, in February, 1896. He was married to Miss
Mary Smith of Madison County, Iowa, December 31, 1874, and they were the
parents of three children: Morris Earl, Roy Albert and Arthur Frank, all of
whom are living. Mrs. Hoisington died in Kansas City November 1, 1890.
Morris
Earl Hoisington was born in Great Bend, January 20, 1876. In 1890 he became
associated with his father and brother in the publication of the Great Bend
Register. In 1895 and '06 he published the Clarion at Claflin where he also
served as postmaster. He is a linotype operator at Grand Junction, Colorado,
employed by the Sentinel of that city. He was married August 28, 1905, to Miss
Bessie Henderson of Grand Junction and they are the parents of one son, Robert
Morris Hoisington.
Roy A.
Hoisington was born in Great Bend, November 21, 1880, and began his newspaper
career with the Register in the latter '90s. He purchased the Standard at
Leoti, Kansas, in 1901 and continued as owner and publisher until 1911. He was
postmaster at Leoti six years. He married Miss Margaret Riley of Leoti and they
are the parents of four children.
Frank A.
Hoisington was born at Garden City, Kansas, November 27, 1886. He was
associated with his brother, Roy, in the publication of the Leoti Standard for
several years. He is now foreman of the Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction,
Colorado. He was married in 1910 to Miss Peal Greenawalt at Leoti, Kansas, and
they are the parents of one son, Carl.
DR. AARON
HENRICK CONNETT
AARON
HENRICK CONNETT was born at Milford, Clermont County, Ohio, December 31, 1848.
When he was three years of age his parents moved to Madison, Indiana, where his
father died the following year and Aaron was sent to live with relatives on a
farm some distance from Madison. He remained there until he was sixteen years
of age and attended the district schools a number of years and finished his
public school education at the high school in Madison. After his graduation
from the Madison schools he took up the trade of carriage making and worked in
a factory for four years. In 1867 he, with his mother and brothers came
overland to Bedford, Iowa, arriving there October 1, 1867. Here he followed the
farming business until 1874 when he took up the study of medicine in the drug
store and office of his brother, M. C. Connett, who had been actively engaged
in the practice of medicine in that town for several years. In 1878 he
graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, now a department of the
Drake University of Iowa, at that time located at Keokuk, Iowa. He also
attended the Rush Medical College of Chicago. He practiced in his home town in
Iowa until 1881 when he came to Barton County, Kansas, and located at Great
Bend and since that time has been one of the best known physicians and surgeons
in this part of the state. Dr. Connett was married to Miss Harriett Fordyce of
Bedford, Ia., March 14, 1878, and there were three children born to this union:
Bess Mary and Helen G.
Mrs. Connett died in April, 1886. In April, 1887 Mr. Connett was married to Miss Lizzie J. Fordyce whom he also survived, she having died in November, 1896. In 1907 Dr. Connett married Elizabeth J. Rothell of Kansas City and they now occupy a neat residence at 1111 Morton street. Dr. Connett has always taken a great interest in the affairs of the community in which he lives and for four years was a member of the school board and served as city and county physician during the times when the community was suffering from a small pox epidemic. Dr. Connett handled the disease in a most acceptable manner and confined it to a limited area by prompt and efficient action. Dr. Connett stands high in the Masonic fraternity of Kansas. He became a member of the Masons in Iowa before coming to Kansas. He is a member of the local lodge Number 15, A. F. & A. M., and at different times has been Master of the local lodge, and served in the same capacity in his home town in Iowa. He is also a member of Mt. Nebo Chapter No. 36 R. A. M.; Zabund Council No. 4 R. & S. M.; Wichita Consistory No. 5, 32nd degree, Wichita, Kansas; Isis Temple, A. A. O. N. M. of Salina, Kansas; St. Omer Commandery No. 14, K. T.; is Past Grand High Priest, Grand Chapter R. A. M. of Kansas; Past Grand Master Grand Council R. & S. M. of Kansas, and at present is Grand Treasurer of the Grand Chapter and Grand Council having held the latter office since 1903..
CHRIS GILSON’S TRIAL
By D. N. Heizer
IN February, 1873, T.
J. Peters, general manager of the Santa Fe road, wired me to go to the end of
the road at the west line of the State of Kansas and survey the town of
Sargent. I had an order to Mike Green, the famous track layer, for such
assistance as I needed, who, having finished his labors in building the road to
that point, was in camp there for the winter with a gang of track layers. There
roamed in that country from Dodge City west, a gang of outlaws and horse
thieves as daring and as desperate a set of robbers as could be found anywhere.
Many of them were young men who had grown wild out of the buffalo hunting trade
and wanted to be bad men; others had drifted away from civilized centers
because they were had and had to leave; others were naturally bad and when they
found themselves in a free open country, free from the restraint or law, acted
out their natural tendencies. At any rate they were a bad lot.
After leaving Dodge
City in a caboose on the rear end of a construction train with Mose Weyman as
conductor, at some little station west of Dodge, Cimarron, I think, two of
these characters boarded the caboose, who, in the parlance of those days, were
called "wolves." Each one of them had a pair of navy 44s strapped on
his hips. Mose came around for their fare, which they flatly refused to pay. He
went away about his business. After a while, biding his time and opportunity,
having said nothing to irritate or arouse them, in passing along near where
they sat and observing that they were off their guard, quick as a flash, he
grabbed one of the pistols out of the holster and with it cocked in their
faces, demanded their fare and got it, and took the rest of the pistols away
from them. He was a little fellow, not over five feet, six inches high, but
quick as a flash and perfectly fearless.
I reached the town of
Sargent in the evening and found that there had already been built in a line a
row of houses, tents and improvised places of business some forty or fifty in
number, 400 feet north of the track. I found also that the "wolves"
in the absence of any organization or establishment of law or official
authority were running the town. I found my old friend, Bob Wright, an old
pioneer on the Santa Fe trail, and a store in full operation. I took my
blankets and transit and went to his store to stay all night. We made our beds
down on the floor and surrounded them with sacks of shelled corn to afford us
protection from stray bullets while we slept, as the so-called
"wolves" were in the habit of shooting up the town at night as an
evening pastime. On investigation the next morning, I found I would have to
organize a camping outfit and go back down the road to Holidays burg and carry
out a line from the limit of the government survey as there was a sixteen-mile
strip east of the state line which had not yet been surveyed, and I must do
this in order to find my location. In the morning I also found my old friends
Mose and Jim Gainsford, who had come into that point from somewhere on a hunt.
Mose was glad to see me and said he wanted my help. It seemed that an old
Scotchman by the name of Alexander Gourley had come into this point from a
buffalo hunt with a team of horses and wagon and had sold his pelts, got his
money and the wolves were trying to get both away from him, and Mose and Jim,
both strapping young fellows, good shots, fond of adventure and daring, found
nothing more suited to their liking than to take up the old man's cause and
help to get him out of the clutches of these self same "wolves." They
told me their plan was to get the old man to hitch up his team and drive out on
the street ready to go when they knew the wolves would gather around the wagon
to stop him. They asked me to get my gun ready to be on the ground as a
careless looker on when they were ready to start, and in case of any trouble to
govern myself accordingly. I carelessly wandered around to the starting place
to where the old Scotchman had driven his team from the rear. The wolves
gathered around as they had expected, and Jim Gainsford climbed up on the front
seat beside the old man and pulled one of his revolvers out and just laid it
across his knee. Mose got up on the rear end of the wagon with his needle gun
across his lap cocked and ready for business. When all was ready, without any
apparent concern Mose called out to the old man to drive on, he was all ready.
Two of the wolves had gotten around in front of the horses, but when they saw
the determined mien of these two men they did not interpose any opposition to
their going. They knew if they did that somebody would be hurt, and it might be
they. There was nothing more said, but I could see as they drove away the look
of disappointment and chagrin on the faces of these men who threw a glance at
each other and seemed to come to a definite understanding that there was a job
they had better not undertake as it was very likely to be more than a day's
work. Nothing further occurred during the day of an exciting nature, except the
robbing of a hunter who came in with hides and got some money and had taken a
little too freely of whiskey when they fleeced him completely in broad day
light. That night, as far as excitement was concerned, was a repetition of the
night before. The "wolves," though, seemed to be on a general carouse
and spent most of the time drinking in Chris Gilson's saloon, marching up and
down the street yelling and shooting and making night hideous as only wolves
can. They were bad men from the head waters of Bitter Creek, and it was their
night to howl and they did howl.
Chris Gilson was an
intelligent, bright Irishman who had, from Newton west, run a saloon tent to
supply the demands of Mike Green's 300 track layers and associate trade. The
railroad men said Chris was a good fellow, honorable in his dealings with them,
and sold them whiskey for their money, but would never permit any crooked
business in his saloon. About a month before this time he had gotten into a
controversy down at the old town with one of this same band of
"wolves" who was attempting to rob a man in his place and to shoot
him dead; consequently the gang had it in for Chris, and on this particular
night they had gone to his place and, about "ninth drink time" It began
to look very threatening, when Chris slipped out and went over to the railroad
carpenter's train and stayed all night in fear of his life. The
"wolves" took possession and compelled old Dad, his barkeeper, to mix
drinks for them all night, as wanted, while they made merry and had a good
time. I hired an old Irishman with his mule team, who had been teamster for
Chris Gilson, to haul my camp equipage and baggage the next day down to
Hollidaysburg. The next morning he hitched up his team and drove it up opposite
Gilson's tent so that the tail end of the wagon reached out over the sidewalk
or path in front of the buildings. I was helping the old Irishman load the
wagon from the rear end when Long Jack and one armed Sam Wright came along.
Just as they were turning out to go around the end of the wagon, and where I
stood, Chris Gilson popped out of the front of the tent with a double barrel
shot gun in his hand, and, directing his attention to them, said, "You — —
—; I'll fix you," and fired one load of buckshot into Sam Wright's heart,
and he fell dead within six feet of me. Long Jack started to run towards the
railroad train and he gave him the other barrel through his arm. He got to the
train, which was starting, and got away with a shattered arm. In but a few
moments more Tom McClelland came up half dazed with drink, saying he guessed
Chris would not hurt him, but Chris did hurt him, for he had no sooner come
within range of the tent than out he came again, and at the first shot
shattered his arm; when he started towards the railroad, with Chris after him.
He finally stopped, exclaiming, "Oh, for God's sake, don't," and
received the other barrel through his chest, which killed him instantly.
The respectable
business men of the town at once came to the front and asserted themselves, a
thing they had been afraid to do before. They at once assembled in Bob Wright's
store and then began Chris Gilson's trial by a jury of his peers. Bob Wright
was elected chairman of the meeting and somebody else secretary, and motion was
made and carried to the effect that Chris Gilson be tendered a vote of thanks
for the services he had just rendered the town, and the motion carried
unanimously. A motion was also made that the rest of the gang of
"wolves" be given five minutes in which to quit the town, never to
return. The motion carried unanimously. No other notification was necessary.
During the next five minutes you could look in almost any direction and see a
man going. Then the hat was passed and thirty-five dollars was contributed and
passed into the hands of the committee who were instructed to purchase a new
shot gun, the best that could be purchased for the money, and present it to
Chris Gilson as a testimonial of the services rendered by him. The meeting
adjourned and from that time forth there was not a more orderly town in that
country than Sargent. The bad blood was all spilled or gone and men of even
doubtful conduct found their manners at once.
I became very well
acquainted with Chris Gilson after that and found him to be a royal good fellow
of manly qualities and good, decent intentions. He had been headquarters
teamster during the war, under Phil Sheridan. He was a good musician and
entertained me a whole evening singing songs and playing the guitar. He was as
tender hearted and as gentle as a woman, but he was driven to desperation by
this lawless gang, who were in the wrong. He knew they were in the wrong and he
had the nerve to take up his gun and shoot them right. The business men
recognized that it was the only thing to do, and they justified him in full for
doing it. Long Jack escaped on the train and went back down to Florence,
Kansas, where he had grown up among decent people. I saw him years afterward
attending John Robinson's circus at Florence. He told me that his experience
"broke him of sucking eggs," and I dare say he became a respectable,
good citizen. Mose and Jim Gainsford took the old Scotchman with them down to
Great Bend to the old Fort Zarah settlement, where the old man took up his soldier's
homestead and became a permanent settler. He was a sturdy old son of Scotia's
soil, nearly eighty years old, and had served four years and seven months in
the army of the Union during the Civil war. He went on numerous hunting
expeditions from that point, and a young German, who had just come to America
and taken out his first papers, taking advantage of his absence from his
homestead, jumped his claim and contested his right to hold it. I defended the
old man in his suit at the land office and Mose was his principal witness. The
case was fought through the land department to the secretary of the interior,
and I secured a decision in the old man's favor, without hope of reward, and
the only compensation. In fact, I did not expect any compensation, but years
afterwards when the old man's failing strength and years compelled him to
secure quarters in the Soldier's Home at Leavenworth, just before departing
came into my office and with tears in his eyes and in the most feeling words
acknowledged the friendly acts I had done for him and his inability to
compensate me in money, and, with a "God bless you, my brave lad,"
presented me with a pint bottle of whiskey. While I did not drink whiskey I
nevertheless appreciated the spirit that bestowed the gift just as much as if
it had been a bottle of gold dust.
Mose was a staunch
character. He had been during the war a soldier in the Union army in Missouri.
After the war he had been with the United States marshal's forces as a deputy
marshal in helping to restore civil order. He belonged to a good family of
people, who, through the war, had come into contact with the most thrilling
scenes in it. About '67 he had driven cut from Missouri to Western Colorado and
had had gone through many wild experiences, a miner in California Gulch, a
prospector and hunter in Taylor Park, South Park and all over New Mexico, and
finally drifted to old Fort Zarah, where I first became acquainted with him in
1871. He was six feet high, straight as an Indian, good features, steady steel
blue eyes, strong as a giant, a splendid shot, and, while I have seen him in
many tight places, I never saw him exhibit the least excitement or feeling of
fear. Under excitement his features looked a little sterner and his countenance
perhaps a little paler. He was a man of splendid impulses of heart, and while
he had come through all phases of excitement incident to frontier life and
become familiar with the hardest, yet when civilization overtook him he
naturally settled down and assimilated with it and became one of the most
prosperous citizens in his section of the country. Jim had gone through much
the same experience, was more sensational in temperament but with undaunted
courage. He settled down to the marshalship of a Texas cattle shipping town and
was a terror to the lawless element of the cowboy fraternity. In keeping them
regulated and submitting them to
lawful authority he had to kill a number of them, but he did it in the full
performance of his duty. There were but few better shots with a Navy 44 than Jim.
He never pulled his gun until the last extremity, but when he did, he rarely
missed.
DUNCAN
BOTTLING WORKS
T. E. Winstead, Proprietor
THERE are very few
people in this day and age who do not enjoy a bottle of soda pop as it has
gained a place among the summer beverages that nothing else can fill, and the
pleasure derived from drinking a bottle of pop is greatly enhanced if you get
the product of the Duncan Bottling Works of Great Bend. This is one of the
manufacturing interest of Great Bend that has been built up on merit. It was
established in Hoisington where it was operated for some time before it was
moved to Great Bend in 1909. It was operated by Mr. Duncan until March, 1911,
when he sold a half interest to Mr. Winstead who bought the remainder of the
business in November of the same year. Mr. Winstead was born in the City of
Great Bend in 1881 and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Winstead, the former
having been marshal of the town and sheriff of the county and whose biography
will be found in another part of this book. Mr. Winstead was married June 5,
1907, to Miss Carrie Collins of Great Bend and they have one child, a boy,
Kenneth, who was born on the 4th of July, 1908. Mr. Winstead has given his
personal attention to the management of his business and ships the products to
all parts of this and surrounding counties within a radius of 150 miles. The
plant has a capacity of 400 cases of soda water per day and it is found on sale
at all drink emporiums that appreciate the best in the beverage line. Mr.
Winstead makes his own flavoring extracts which is a guarantee of their purity
and strength. All mixing and bottling is done under Mr. Winstead's personal
supervision and during the busy season the place gives employment to five
people which number is increased as the demand grows greater. This is one of
Great Bend's manufacturing enterprises which has gained its high standing among
the people of this part of the state by turning out only the best of goods at
all times. Mr. Winstead was one of the first two mail carriers in the City of
Great Bend.
JUDGE DAN A. BANTA
DAN A. BANTA was born
near Union City, Ohio, in the year 1851, and it was in that state that he
received his early education. He went to the state of Indiana in 1866, where he
remained until 1884 when he came to the state of Kansas. Before leaving Indiana
he studied law with the firm of Steele & St. John and in 1879 was admitted
to the bar in the town cf Marion, Indiana. After his arrival in Kansas Judge Banta
tool: up the practice of law and has made a record in the different courts of
the state of which he may well feel proud. Early in 1910 the Republican party
wanted a candidate for district judge who had earned a place in the district by
his untiring efforts in fighting for right and justice and when Dan A. Banta
name was suggested, the party workers knew that he was just the man they needed
for this important place on the ticket. That their judgment was correct was
proven at the election in the fall of 1910 when Dan Banta was elected judge of
the Twentieth judicial district of Kansas by a most flattering majority. Since
Judge Banta has been called upon the bench he has been called upon to decide
some important cases and the record he has made has been most gratifying to his
friends in all political parties. Judge Banta is married and has three boys:
Dan Worth, George and Dan Worth is a
musician of rare ability, George is an expert mechanic while Arthur is engaged
in the practice of law in Great Bend. Judge Banta is of that type of man that
makes friends and retains them by ’ his universal genial manner, and high sense
of right and justice.
CHARLES L. GUNN
CHARLES L. GUNN was
born at La Salle,Illinois, August 24, 1859. He came to Barton County with his
parents in 1877 and for some time worked for farmers in thehe acquired 160
acres of land and and began farming for himself. He is one of nre boys of whom
Levi Gunn is the father, his brothers are Frank, William, Lou and Howard, all
of whom are mentioned in another part of this book. Charles L. was married in
1882 to Miss Fannie Lee of this county and they are the parents of six children
as follows: Walter, Leonard, Grace, Ray, May and Edward. Walter is vice-president
of the Barton County Milling Co., Leonard is secretary and treasurer·, while
their father is president and manager. The remainder of the children are at
home and are being educated along modern lines.
The Barton County Milling Co., of rich Mr. Gunn is the president, was
organized in 1903, and since that time its product has added greatly to Great
Bends’ fame as a milling city. The mill owned by this company was formerly the
property of Moses Brothers but seven years ago Mr. Gunn purchased a two-thirds
interest and later acquired possession cf the one-third. Since Mr. Gunn has had
control of the mill he has added to its efficiency by the addition of the
latest approved machinery and by using only the best methods in flour making
which has made for it. Amost enviable reputation. Mr. Gunn gives personal
supervision to the management of the mill and in addition to the milling
business owns a thousand acres of land near Heizer and other farms in different
parts of the county. Most of this land is farmed under his direction. The Gunn
family is one of the best known of the early comers and they are famil-iar with
the early history of this section of Kansas.
DR. SIMEON JESSIE SHAW
MANY there are who will read this biography with sorrow as it is a brief account of the life of one who during the ’80s in Great Bend gained for himself a warm place in the hearts of the people who made up the population cf the town and Barton County. Dr. Simeon Jessie Shaw was born in Ohio and came to Barton County in 1884. He was a graduate of the Starling Medical College of Columbus, Ohio, and immediately upon his arrival here took up the practice of his profession. It was but a short time until he was known and respected in all parts of Barton and surrounding counties, not only as a careful, painstaking physician but as a citizen whose council was eagerly bought and whose friend-ship was highly prized. He was married to Miss Orlinda G. Lewis of Ohio and they were the parents of cue child, Vida, who is now the wife of Dr. E. E. Morrison of this city. Dr. Shaw died in December, 1901, and never in the history of Great Bend had there been a funeral previous to his where such genuine sorrow was shown by so many people. 'The funeral was one of the largest that ever was held in this part of the state and was attended not only by local people but by friends of the dead physician from all over Kansas. Dr. Shaw with all of his practice find time to take an interest in public undertakings and served the county as coroner several times. He ran for the office of representative but like all the candidates on his ticket was defeated. In the eighties Dr. Shaw opened a drug store but later sold it and bought land and at the time of his death owned about 720 acres of land in Barton County. He was a member of the Masons, A. O. U. W. Modern Woodmen and in the Masonic fraternity was a member of the Shriner’s and belonged to Isis Temple of Salina. He will always be remembered by the old timers of Barton County and all who knew him as a good, conscientious doctor, and a citizen of which any community could be proud. The professional life of Dr. Shaw in this community is well pictured in the story of Ur. Wm. McClure, by Ian McLaren. He was indeed a doctor of the old school, through rain and sleet, over rough roads and at all hours of the night he drove on his errands of mercy. No thought of financial returns gave him strength for his labors and his cheery smile brought hope and comfort wherever he went. It is not too great a need of praise to give to his memory that he gave his life to the people of Barton County as fully as a soldier on the field of battle or the pioneer on the western plains.
FRED NUTTLEMAN--(Nuttleman Manufacturing Co.)
AMONG the manufacturing industries of Great Bend the Nuttleman Manufacturing Company occupies a prominent place as its products are shipped all over the country and add to Great Bend’s reputation as a place where they do things. The Nuttleman Manufacturing Company’s establishment is owned and operated by Fred Nuttleman who gives his personal attention to the management of the plant. Mr. Nuttleman was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, February T, 1875, and remained there until he was twenty-two years of age when he came to Great Bend and entered the employment of the firm of Miller&Hemker, hardware dealers. At the end of three years Mr. Nuttleman purchased Mr. Miller’s in· terest in the business and the firm name was changed to Hemker & Nuttleman. Four year’s ago Mr. Nuttleman sold his interest to Mr. Hemker and established the Nuttleman Manufacturing Co. The factory is contained in a building two stories high and 50 by 100 feet in dimensions and is located on Williams street between Forest and Lakin in Great Bend. Here are made wheat bins, tanks and culverts and it has become known all over this part of the state that anything bearing the name of the Nuttleman Manufacturing Co.,represents all that is best in the line of goods made of sheet metal. This concern employs seven people and adds in no small way to the pay roll of the city. Everything in the sheet metal line is manufactured and no job is too small or too large for this concern to success- fully undertake. Mr. Nuttleman is the active manager of the plant and all work is done under his supervision. The material used in the work at this plant are the best that can be obtained and the prices charged are consistent with the very best material and workmanship. The business of this establishment has grown each year and is growing bigger all the time as the merit of its products becomes generally known. Mr. Nuttleman was married February 6, 1903, to Miss Rosa Brandt and they occupy a nice residence at 2923 Forest. Mr.Nuttleman has always been identified with the business interests of Great Bend since his arrival here and he has done much to add to Great Bend`s reputation as a manufacturing city.
GEORGE H. HULME
In business circles in Barton County there is no man who is better known than George H. Hulme who was one of the pioneer merchants of Great Bend. George H. Hulme was born February 4, 1844, at Man chester, England and came to America with his mother in 1849, two years after his father had arrived in this country. The family first located at Fall River, Massachusetts, where they remained two years. They went from there to Magnolia, lllinois, and remained there until 1875. When George came to Barton County Kansas. He brought with him a $7,000 stock of general merchandise which he placed on sale in a building located on lot 1, block 103 which is the ground now occupied by the First National Bank Building. Later the stock was moved to the opera house block at the corner of Williams and Forest Avenue This was in 1888 after the completion of the opera house building which was erected by Mr. Hulme and C.F. Wilner. Later the merchandise stock was moved from there to a building on Forest Avenue next to the post-office where it remained under Mr. Hulme’s management until July 1911. When he sold out the stock to George O. Hunt. The Great Bend Flour Mill which Mr. Hulme still owns was built by W. W. P. Clement in 1876 and at that time had a capacity of 25 barrels per day. ln 1886 Mr. Huhme and William Kelley purchased an interest in the mill. This partnership continued until 1898 when Huhne and Kelley bought out Mr. Clement and in 1915 Mr. Hulme bought out Mr. Kelley and became the sole owner of the mill. lt. now has a capacity of 400 barrels per day. The leading brands of flour made by the Great Bend Mills are "Perfection," for the export trade and "Sunbeam" both of which are noted for their quality. Mr. Hulme was married to Miss Anita M. Bosley at Magnolia, Illinois, November 11, 1875, and they are the parents of seven children, five of whom are living. The children are: Georgia, who is now Mrs. G. W. Green; James H., who aids his father; Raymond, who is engaged in the farming business in Barton County; Charles looks after his father’s farming interests; and Vivian, the baby of the family, lives at home. In addition to the above Mr. and Mrs. Hulme are the parents of two children, Clara, who died when six years of age and Vivian who died when he was four years of age. Since making his home in this county Mr. Hulme has always been known as a substantial business man and in addition to his business interests in Great Bend he has accumulated considerable farm land. He owns nineteen quarter sections in Barton County, three quarters in Cowley County and six quarters in Stevens County. nearly all of which is being farmed by renters. 'l`here are few if any of the old timers of Barton County who have not bought goods of Mr. Hulme as his store was one of the first general stores in the City of Great Bend Mr. Hulme has held public offices on different occasions and has always found time to take an interest in the public affairs of the community in which he lives.
DON A. WELTMER
Don A Weltmer as everybody knows him, was born in Eureka township, Barton County, February 4, He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian A. Weltmer, who came to this section of he state in 1878. The family moved to Great Bend in 1886. In 1900 Don and his brother Pete established the name of Weltmer Brothers and for five years they conducted the grocery business now owned by Turner & Son. In 1905 Don bought out the soda water bottling business owned by H. E. Dean. It occupies a building on Kansas first electric light plant in the City of Great Bend. The business occupies a building on Kansas Avenue 25 by 65 feet in dimensions and during the busy season employs eight. people. In addition to manufacturing all kinds of pop and soft drinks Mr. Weltner is the exclusive hottler of Cocoa Cola and Jer- _sey Creams in this territory. The works are equipped with the most modern machinery and appliances for bottling in a sanitary manner. Mr. Weltmer was married in 1904 to Miss Lelia A. Giddings who came to this part of the state from Connecticut. They have one bright eyed baby boy two years old. His name is Donald, Jr., and while Donald, Sr., is manager of the bottling works, the junior member at the firm is sole manager of the house—hold.
LOUIS P. AND KATE A. FREY
SEPTEMBER 23 will always be celebrated in some manner by the descendants of Louis P. and Kate A. Frey, because it was on September 23, 1871.. that they married on the town-site of Great Bend. and were the first party of emigrants to join those who located the town. Starting at Liberty, Adams County, illinois, on August 26, 1871, and accompanied by Mr. and Paul F`. Schneck and three children, and Thompson Frey, the party had covered tl1e distance in three wagons drawn by mules. They, of course, had been preceded by the members of the town-site company who had surveyed and plotted the site, and who had been notified of their coming; otherwise this little hand would driven past the ground laid out had it not been that Wm H. Odell discovered the passing wagons and followed them a distance on horseback and directed their return. The mules driven were the first animals of their kind to join the colony, and Mrs. Frey was tl1e first white woman to set foot within the confines of what is now the corporate limits of a great metropolis. She, of course, was soon joined by Mrs. Schneck who arrived in the second wagon of the same party; and following was Thompson Frey, driving the rear team. What they found was a waste plain with stakes driven in a portion of it marking the outlines of lots and streets, and two six foot pieces of a scantling that remained after making these pegs. There were no houses or tents to house them nearest lumber, provwild animals had possession of the field, anda few days after their arrival the party were rogaled by cowboys who had roped some buffalo and tried to stampede these newcomersby a rush through the town-site. In time such happenings as this, the pilfering of friendly Indians, and the reports of massacres in other parts of the state became common and the women folk less afraid and they screwed up their courage and determined to conquer. A little home was first built on the town-site, and then Mr. Frey entered a homestead of
eighty acres. where the widow now resides with her only son, Adam G. Frey and wife They call the place "Freyhurst," and it is three miles northwest of the court house at Great Bend; has a comfortable residence, barn and other buildings, and the soil is very fertile and grows corn, wheat, and four or five cuttings of alfalfa yearly. Louis P. Frey was born in 1845 in Illinois and died March 7, 1903, and rests in the Great Bend cemetery, sadly missed by all his associates who helped to tame this then farthest west" and make it inhabitable for the present generation.
GREAT BEND ICE, FUEL AND STORAGE CO.
0NE of the industrial enterprises of which the people of Great Bend and this part of the state are justly proud is the new, modern plant of the Great Bend Ice, Fuel and Storage Co., located near the Missouri Pacific depot in Great Bend. It is safe to say that but few people of this section realize the magnitude of this establishment or have an under-standing as to the amount of money it required to say nothing of the work and faith in the future of the city that was manifested by the promoters of the enterprise when they resolved to establish in Great Bend an ice cream and ice factory along the lines of the most modern plants in the world. The plant is housed in a thoroughly modern building of sufficient size to allow plenty of room for all the different departments. The plant is owned by home people and is under the management of George L. Seeley, a gentleman who has had years of experience in the manufacture of ice and ice cream and knows the business in all its details The plant has been producing a high grade of ice for the past year and at time the demand for the product has been so great that it was necessary to run the plant to capacity which was twenty-five tons per day ordinarily the plant produced between twenty and twenty—five tons per day. The plant is equipped with two 100 H. P. high pressure boilers, two 50 H. P. Murray-Corliss engines and two powerful ammonia compressors. To this equipment there was recently added another big engine which brings the capacity of the plant up to thirty tons of ice per day. The steam after passing through the engines and compressors is conveyed t0 the rear of the building in pipes where it is condensed and piped to the filters where it passes through two charcoal filled tanks in the shape of distilled water. From there it passes through another tank filled with fine grain sponges and finally it is filtered through a series of closely woven cloths before it reaches the tanks where it is frozen and come forth a cake of absolutely pure ice. There are three hundred and twenty-five of these tanks and after the water contained therein is frozen the result is cakes of ice weighing three hundred pounds each. The water is frozen by ammonia evaporation system. The ammonia is compressed until it has a pressure in the pipes of 150 pounds to the square inch and in this form it is conducted to the brine tanks where it escapes as a gas at a pressure of 15 pounds to the square inch, and by the evaporation thus caused the heat is taken from the tanks to such an extent that the temperature is reduced sufficiently to cause the water to freeze. It is possible to produce ice at a much smaller expense but it is the determination of this company to spare neither work nor expense in producing the best that can be obtained and it can readily be seen after reading the foregoing that some of the features of this plant's product is that 1t is absolutely pure. The ice cream department is in charge of Mrs. George L. Seeley who has had years of experience in the manufacture of ice cream and from the time the cream is delivered at the factory until it comes from the freezer it is under her careful supervision. First the cream must be of the very best grade before it can be used at this establishment. Its purity and quality being determined by treating it in a modern tester which shows its purity and worth in butter fat. After having passed the test successfully the milk and cream is placed in a big tank from which it is piped into the pasteurizing machine where it is heated to a temperature of 160 degrees. It is then reduced to a temperature of 40 degrees while passing over a series of coils containing brine which cools the pipes to any point desired. From there it is run back into the cans and is ready for the agitator where the other ingredients and the milk and cream are mixed and allowed to ripen. After the mixtures have been in the agitator a sufficient length of time it is then ready for the freezer from which it comes out a finished product that is known wherever ice cream is eaten in this section of the state as the acme of ice cream perfection. The room in which the ice cream is made is a model of neatness and is thoroughly sanitary in every way and the different pieces of machinery are so arranged that a minimum of work is required in handling the materials and the finished products. The plant has been running over a year now. The machinery that is used in this department is the very latest to be had and the pasteurizing apparatus will not absolutely be necessary is another evidence of this company’s policy to produce nothing that is not absolutely pure in every way.
This company handles all grades of coal and have bin room for a large quantity which is obtained from the best Colorado mines. The company will buy in large quantities nothing but the very best, and is equipped for delivery in any size lots to all parts of the city on the shortest possible notice.
George L Seeley the manager and majority stock holder of this company, was born in Scranton, Pa. in 1874 . He was married in Topeka, Kansas, in 1902, to Miss Susan A. Deyo and they are the parents of three children: George Lee, Kay Guernsey, and Helen Elizabeth, all of whom are still living at home Under Mr. Seeley’s management the business of this company has been extended until it’s products are now shipped to all points within a radius of 100 miles of Great Bend, besides having a large patronage at home. This is due to the fact that this company’s output is composed of the very best of material, mixed and made ready for use by the latest improved methods.
MARION F. SOWARDS
MARION F`. SOWARDS of "Santa Fe Trail Farm," three and one-half miles southwest of Great Bend, was born June 2nd,1847, on a farm in Columbia County. Wisconsin. He assisted his father and attended the public schools until September 1863 and then enlisted as a private in the 4th Wisconsin Light Horse Battery and served in the Army of the Potomac until July, 1865. He was in the battles of the Wilderness; fought in front of Petersburg and on James River, and was in n continuous fight every day for six months. In 1864, at a skirmish at Signal Hill, eight or ten miles out of Richmond, he was wounded in the calf of his leg and taken prisoner and the confederate surgeons wanted to amputate the limb, but at his earnest. entreaty he was spared this indignity and recovered. As a prisoner he was taken to Richmond and confined for three or four weeks in Libby and Castle Thunder, and then exchanged. Later he returned to his command and was mustered out at the conclusion of hostilities. He then returned to the farm and remained until October 8, 1869, and was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Rowell, of Columbia County, Wisconsin, a near relatives of Geo. P. Rowell, the head of the Geo. P. Rowell Advertising Agency of Chicago and New York. They have one child: Mrs. Violet Louise Holmes, of Barton County. Marion F. Sowards and family first came to Barton County in October, 1873, making the journey in a wagon and was six weeks on the road. He remained for a short period, and going farther west into Edwards county. entered a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres five miles southwest of Kinsley. He sold out in 1881 and returned to his old home in Wisconsin by wagon. where he remained one year. And in the fall of 1882 returned to Barton County to remain permanently. His home farm covers three hundred and twenty acres: he owns three small parcels amounting to one hundred and twenty-six acres in the neighborhood a half section near Dundee, and a quarter section in buffalo Township making nine hundred and twenty-six acres in all.
This is all well improved and under cultivation, and is set in wheat, corn and alfalfa. Stock breeding is a prominent feature of this farm, and there is a herd of eighteen or twenty registered Shorthorns, and some of the better classes of draft horses, mules and hogs. The residence is a two-story white frame, setting well back from the highway, surrounded by forest trees, plants and flowers, and is approached by a driveway through meadows of alfalfa. It is modernly furnished and has acetylene lights, bath and water connections. The barn is 36x48, and there are sheds, granaries, garage and other outbuildings, besides some tenant cottages on the estate.
THE LAKE IN CHEYENNE BOTTOMS
FOR a number of years. during the early nineties, Central Kansas was visited by drought, and the farmers began to despair and gave their thought and attention to the question of irrigation. Here in Barton County, and especially at Great Bend a number of large land owners council with Mr. F. B. Koen, who had made a success in the construction of irrigation canals in Colorado and Western Kansas, and was a practical irrigation canal builder. It is probable that at first, at least so far as the Barton County men were concerned, they did not have in mind the construction of a great lake, but as the plan developed this became an essential part of the scheme. Seven miles north of Great Bend lay the Cheyenne Bottoms, an immense area of land which doubtless once formed the bed of a great lake. For its entire length, some twelve or fourteen miles, and varying in width from two and a half to five miles, surrounded on three sides by bluffs of about one hundred feet in heighth, nature seemed to have provided a reservoir such as was needed at that time to supply water to the drought stricken region in Barton County. Among the local people who were much interested in this plan were J. V. Brinkman, G. N. Moses and others and a company was formed known as the Grand Lake Reservoir Company. This company proceeded to construct an irrigation canal from a point on the Arkansas river as far west as Dundee to the Cheyenne Bottoms. It was the idea of the projectors that the lands in the Bottoms could be secured at a price not to exceed a dollar per acre, taken as a whole, but when the owners realized the immensity of the project values suddenly increased, and thousands of acres that had been always considered worthless were valued at a high figure. Of course trouble had been expected along the line of the canal but this was easily disposed of and was only a small affair compared with the other difficulties which now met the company. To add to this Mr. Koen, with a knowledge of what the success of the enterprise really meant to this county had considerable personal trouble with the owners of tracts of land and this tended to abstract the success of the operations. It became necessary to have some special legislation, granting the right of condemnation for the reservoir, and this being procured the company proceeded to condemn land and deposited with the county treasurer the amounts allowed by the condemnation commissioners. Meanwhile work had proceeded upon the canal, and at the next flood tide of the Arkansas river a volume of water fifty feet in width, was carried into the reservoir for some three or four days. To the casual observer it had the appearance, for a portion of the distance of running uphill, but there had been a first class engineer over the line and his skill had solved the problem successfully. It was indeed a great sight, and many of the people interested concluded that a way had now been found for providing moisture during the drought periods. In the meantime a number of Kansas City parties had been interested in the proposition and Mr. W. J. Hallack who had been active in enterprises at Detroit, Michigan, and had lately moved to Kansas City, undertook to engineer the financial part of the plan. The company was reorganized under the name of the Lake Koen Navigation, Reservoir and Irrigation Co. and there was added to the irrigation purposes the idea of having the lake of sufficient size to accommodate boats of a considerable size. A further condemnation was made along the line of the canal so that the canal might be widened to one hundred feet. Most of the owners of land in the Bottoms appealed from the award of the commissioners and a flood of litigation as well as water met the projectors of the enterprise. About this time A. E. Stillwell of Kansas City, builder of the Kansas Southern and Orient Railroads became interested and _ through his efforts the project seemed destined to be entirely successful, but the further use of the canal was delayed, pending the settlement of the litigation. There is no doubt however that the plan was feasible and that an immense lake could have again been made where nature had once provided one. The scheme however proved a failure and the main reason for the failure was one which never entered the minds of its projectors. A change came over the natural conditions and bountiful rains supplied the moisture needed for the crops in the Arkansas Valley, and even those interested in the project awoke to the fact that irrigation was no longer needed. Today the holders of the same lands which were to be covered by the waters of the great lake are interested in the formation of a company to drain a large part of the land which was to have been covered by the waters of this lake. Subsequent events have also shown that the plan would have failed for the reason that the rapid growth of the irrigation systems in eastern Colorado and western Kansas have eliminated from the central portion of Kansas practically all of the flood waters of the Arkansas river. Those who were closest in touch with this plan from its inception and who still live in Barton County realize that aside from any value for irrigation purposes the construction of this lake would have brought immense benefits to the whole of the surrounding country. At least for the present the lands in the old lake bed still remain uncovered, yet the time may come when this plan so far as the construction of the lake is concerned will reach a successful realization.
WILLIAM R. BUNTING
WILLIAM R. BUNTING, or Bill, as he was better known, had been a prominent figure in the life and history of Barton County since he arrived here in the seventies, until the time of his death. At different times he was engaged in business and in the public life of the county he took a prominent part. lt. was but a few days before he died that he brought his photograph for a cut to the office of the Tribune, where he was a trusted and faithful employee, and it did not seein possible that we would have to write his obituary for this volume. However this proved to be true and in losing "Bill" all the members of the Tribune force from the proprietors to the carrier boys lost a faithful friend and the community a loyal citizen. W. R. Bunting was born March 14, 1858, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. At an early day the family moved to Missouri locating in Sedalia and after the death of his father, the mother and children came to Kansas overland in 1876, when the subject of this sketch was 18 years of age. They located on a claim in Stafford county and later Will took a claim himself. On July 4. 1876, he was united in marriage to Miss Retta Kinney. who survives him, and of the union six children. Mrs. Ray Brown of this city, Mrs. Loine Sherwood of Linton, Ind., Mrs. Edith Johnson, of Indianapolis, and Tom, Blaine and Vivian of this city survive.
The following was written for the Tribune by Elrick C. Cole and it pays Mr. Bunting a deserving Tribute for his public service to the people of Barton County: "My first intimate acquaintance with Will Bunting was formed in 1888 when he was elected clerk of the court. Prior to that time he had been active in the political affairs of the western part of the county and had proven himself a tireless worker. After his election, our offices adjoined and the duties of our respective positions brought us into close contact. "No more active, painstaking official has ever served this county and his popularity at the close of his first term, caused not only his nomination, but also his endorsement by the Democratic party. In after years, he served this city, both as councilman and member of the board of education and he also served a short term as sheriff. In every position of public trust he exhibited splendid executive ability and a constant effort to faithfully serve the people who had chosen him. Honesty and strict integrity marked n‘s every official act. His public service was splendid but he was never able to serve himself. A man of great heart and great capabilities, he lacked a balance wheel. In his going from us as well as in his life with us, I am glad to remember him as my friend."
AN INCIDENT IN 1865
By George W. Crane
WHILE the editors of this volume were getting together the material for its pages, we had occasion to write to Geo. W. Crane & Co., publishers, of Topeka, Kansas, to get permission to run the story at "Old Jim Gibson? We received the following letter from Mr. Crane in regard to the story and he adds a very interesting story of days before Barton County had begun to be settled. The story of Jim Gibson will be found on page 151. Topeka, Kans., June 24, 1912. Tribune Publishing Co, Great Bend, Kansas. Dear Mr. Townsley: Responding to yours of the 21st, we say, yes. Use the story of Old Jim Gibson. It would be proper to add "From the Tales of the Trail by permission of Crane & Co." An incident occurred while I was at Fort Larned in 1865, which always comes to me as illustrating the trait of the Anglo—'Saxon to be cool and collected in times of great danger. Dr. McNeal, the post surgeon at Fort Larned was, with a dozen soldiers, escorting a train from Fort Zarah. About at the west line of Barton County they were attacked by a band of Indians. The train was corralled and it was agreed that whoever saw an opening should make the race through the Indian lines. The doctor was well mounted; he saw an opening and made the race.
Bullets and arrows blew thick around him but he got through safely. He reached the trail by a circuitous route and immediately saw two couriers who had been killed, stripped and scalped. He hurried on to the Post, and returned with a company of cavalry. No more Indians were seen. They picked up the dead couriers and conveyed them to Fort Larned in an ambulance. The doctor dressed them for burial and after all was attended to came to the Suttler’s store and asked me for a glass of whisky. I handed him a bottle and large goblet. He was trembling and very pale. He took care of two goblets full quickly. I asked what was the matter and if he was seriously hurt. "No, George, I am simply scared to death." He soon recovered composure but retained the opinion that he was scared to death. "And so it is, at times of extreme danger and when action is necessary, we are cool and nerved to perform the duty. When the trouble is all over and the nerves subside, we are liable to go to pieces. "This story I am writing, Townsley, is partly to illustrate a trait of character but principally as a reminiscence of the Old Trail in 1865.
"Very truly yours,
GEO. W. CRANE."
PLEASANTDALE——(Schoenthal)
PLEASANTDALE or Schoenthal, as it is called in German, was the name of a village established by the colony of German emigrants who arrived in Barton County in the 70·s and located on the Smoky river in Rush County and near what is now the town of Olmitz in Barton County. The following story of the settlement is given as told by Peter Brack, one of the members of the colony and now a prosperous merchant of Barton County. About 186 years ago by the provisions of an edict issued by the Czarwitch Katherine of Russia, thousands of Germans moved from their native land into the domain of the Czarwitch. They were induced to make the change on account of the fact that Katherine had promised them exemption from military duty, gave them tools with which to till the land and by other provisions made what seemed at that time an excellent opportunity. How-ever, Alexander, the third ruler of Russia after Katherine took away these privileges, destroying the royal edict and the luckless Germans were compelled to serve in the army and other privileges were taken away. By this action the part of Alexander, the liberty loving people who were affected by the new order of things, at once rebelled and decided that they would again seek freedom and opportunity in another land. Accordingly they emigrated to the United States. A colony was made up in the village of Popotchnaja which included a large number of the members of the Brack family-now well known in this county-and forty-seven other families, making in all a to- tal of 527 people. These hard working. persecuted people left their adopted land September 8, 1876. They were compelled to pay $100 each for passports, when the price should have been not more than $10. They went first to Bremen, the trip requiring two weeks time and there waited for the boats that were to bring them to the new country. The leaders of the party, after a great deal of effort succeeded in getting the steamship companies interested to the extent that many of them wanted the business and therefore the emigrants were enabled to get a rate of (32 rubies) about $16.00 each for passage, but what the company lost in making this comparatively low rate they made up by charging big prices for everything on the trip over. The emigrants sailed on the ship "Salle" and arrived in New York October 21, 1876. They spent but one day in the big American city changing their Russian money for American bills and coin, and then started for Kansas City. Long before the immigrants arrived in this country they had made up their minds to locate near Great Bend, Kansas, having heard good news from friends who were already located. The fare from New York to Kansas City was sixteen dollars. Upon their arrival they were besieged by agents of the Union Pacific and Santa Fe railroads. These agents were both German, one by the name of Smith, representing the [T. P. and the other being a Mr, Reigleheimer. Each wanted the big party of emigrants on the line of their respective roads. Finally an offer of the Santa Fe of free transportation to Lawrence, Kansas, was accepted. After their arrival there they occupied an old factory building, sleeping on the ground and cooking food as best they could. At Lawrence a meeting was held which resulted in the selection of eight men, known for their ability in judging soil, to go to points on the U. P. and select a location. This party was taken all over Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas, as far west as the Colorado line. The U. P. company paid all the expenses of this trip which required about ten days time after which the party returned to Lawrence. Then the Santa Fe company took the same representatives out con the same kind of a trip. The eight men on their return reported that the best soil they could find adapted to wheat raising was between Russell, in Russell county, and Pawnee Rock, in Barton County. As all the members of the party wanted to be on a river the colony was divided, half going to Russell on the Smoky river and the other half to Pawnee Rock on the Arkansas river. By the time they had all secured homesteads between these two points they were practically in one community. The members of the colony who arrived at Pawnee Rock lived in a big emigrant house, formerly used as a saw mill were making trips to Larned and Hays City where they had business at the land offices. After about three weeks most of the colonists had obtained land, Mrs. Brack, Peter Brack‘s mother, having bought seven quarters for $7,000. At this time Charles Lindas was running a big store at Pawnee Rock and he got most of the trade from the colony. Many of the emigrants paid the railroad company $5.00 per acre for land which it was. afterwards learned could have been purchased for $2.50 direct from the company. the increase in the price being the profit of the agents. During the first winter after their arrival the members of the colony held a meeting to decided on building together in a village, as was the custom in the old country. It was the intention to have a set of officers, schools, etc., as near like the custom in the old country as possible. Therefore a site was selected on sectionn11-17-16, just across the line in Rush county. It was given the name of Schoenthal, which in English means Pleasant-dale, and for a year and a half the little village prospered, but the residents finally learned that to prove up on a homestead it was necessary that the homesteader live on his own quarter, therefore Pleasant-dale was abandoned and the settlers took up their residence on their own land. After about four years, the colony by hauling rock to Otis were enabled to build a church. and even after the town of Pleasantdalewas abandoned the church was and still is maintained. During the first few years of work done by the colony the returns were poor, crops did not grow as well as could be expected and it was only those who were possessed of oxen who could accomplish much in the way of development work. Those who owned beasts of burden helped their neighbors. The Brack family in the years 1877-78 got fairly good returns, raising about forty bushels of wheat to an acre, for which they received $1.15 per bushel. During the first 10 years many of the men members of the colony went away and worked on the railroad grades and in that way kept their families alive. In this way they struggled along until some of them were enabled to prove up on their land, and they then began to borrow money and buy horses and other animals so that they could farm with better results. Many of the settlers thought they had accomplished a great deal when after proving up on their land they were enabled to borrow $800; some of them taking the mortgage money and left thinking they had done well. However, most of them stayed, and a majority of those who went away came back broke and began all over again. There were incidents of people trading their homestead for a cheap shotgun or some such article of about the same value. There was one man who traded his quarter for an $8 watch and said it didn’t cost him much as it only cost him four dollars at that, meaning that he had paid that much to prove up after five years on the land. It was the custom of these people for the bride’s parents to take a newly married couple into the groom’s home, and as a result of this the Brack brothers' mother had thirty six in her family at one time. The oldest of the Brack boys was a leader in the community, and after about ten years residence in this country he had saved a little money, sufficient to buy some quarters adjoining his land near Olmitz. Then Mr. Brack began to send back to the old country for friends and relatives and when they arrived here they would be given land with a chance to pay for it on easy terms and since that time the community around Olmitz, Albert and in that part of Barton County has grown and prospered but the little village of Pleasantdale has passed away and remains only asa memory with those who made the trip on the Salle in 1875. The following were the members of the colony from Russia that founded the village of Schoenthal near Olmitz: Elizabeth Brack and three married sons. Henry W. Brack and wife, Marilies and four children. George Brack and wife, Marick and one child. Peter Brack and wife, Sophia. Phillip Brack, single. Johannas Brack and wife, Justine and two married sons. Phillip Brack and wife, Christine and two children. Heinrich Brack. J. H. Brack and wife, Krethe. J. C. Brack, single. Peter J. Brack, single. John Brack, single. Kate Brack, single. Phillip Hergert, wife and son-in—law. Hy Schenernian, wife and several children. Adam Hergert, wife and several children. Philopp Peter Kleweno, wife and son. Henry Kleweno, wife and son-in-law. Henry Rapp, wife and several children. Christian Kleweno, wife and children. Johannes Schenerman, wife and children. George Schenerman, wife and children. Heinrich Schenerman, wife and one child. Conrad Schenerman, wife and children. Adam Schenerman, wife and two children. Karl Goetz and wife. John Weigant, wife and two children. Phillip Hardman, wife and children. Andrew Lesser, wife and children. David Lesser and wife. Adam Ruhl, wife and one child. Johannes Kleweno, wife and two children. Johannes Stang, wife and one child. Johannes Miller and wife. Conrad Schenerman, wife and one child. Heinrich Schenerman, wife and four children. Conrad Schenerman and wife. Conrad Wilhelm, single.Dominick Burghart, wife and two children. Of the names mentioned in the above list many have left this part of the country and gone to other points. The last mentioned, Dominick Burghart, was the village black-smith and tinner in Schoenthal for several years. Later he and his wife went back to Austria but the children, Frank and Rachel are both married and living in this state. Many of the Schenermans, Klewenos and Millers, Ochs and Schlegels have gone to the western part of the country. Those who have remained in Barton County are still living are as a rule well fixed and contented. Of course many of them have died during the years since Schoenthal was established, but their children are still here to go on with the work of building a home under more desirable conditions than those which caused them to leave their fatherland for the new world.
C. F. DIFFENBACHER
MONG the old timers of Barton County who took an active part in the political and general history of the county was C. F'. Diffenbacher. He was born April 5, 1835, in Pennsylvania and came west in 1856. He settled in Illinois and for several years taught school in that state. When the civil war began Mr. Diffenbacher enlisted and was discharged at the end of the war as First Lieutenant Company G. 18th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. During his residence in Illinois he held several positions of trust among them being assistant revenue assessor for the 9th Congressional District of the state, having received this appointment from President Andrew Johnston. He resigned this office in September, in September, 1868 to run for the office of clerk of the circuit court and ex—office recorder of Cass County. He was elected and served several years. Mr. Diffenbacher came to Great Bend in 1873, his family following in 1874. Before coming to Kansas he studied law in the office of Pollard & Phillips of Beards town, Illinois and was admitted to the bar after coming to Kansas. For a number of years he practiced in the state and federal courts of the state and for some time was associated with G. W. Nimocks in the law business. In 1884 he formed a partnership with D. A. Banta which continued until the campaign of 1890. Mr. Diffenbacher was elected mayor of Great Bend in 1876. (His administration is mentioned more fully in the article in this book under the head of Political History of Great Bend.) In 1889 he was elected a member of the board of education and served two terms. At different times he held the offices of county attorney, 1882-84; was chosen delegate from the 7th congressional district of Kansas to the national Democratic convention at Chicago and helped to nominate Grover Cleveland for the presidency; he was the nominee of the Democratic party for attorney general in 1886; a candidate for county attorney in 1890; was a delegate to the convention that nominated Wm. Jennings Bryan the first ti1ne for the presidency. He was married to Harriet Smith of Princeton, Illinois, September 1, 1859, and they were the parents of seven children: Mrs. E. C. Kent, of Clinton, Mo., Mrs. J. S. Ewalt of Springdale, Arkansas; Howard Diffenbacher of Slater, Mo., and Harry Diffenbacher of Barton County, survived their father while those who went before him were Mrs. Lucy Brands, Dora and Frederick. Mr. Diffenbacher was a man who made a great many friends and his death which occurred in March, 1907, was the cause of a great deal of sorrow in the community.
GEORGE W. NIMOCKS
GEORGE W. NIMOCKS was born in Jefferson County, Iowa, May 31, 1844. He received his early education and grew to manhood in his native state. He came to Kansas in 1872 and immediately located at Great Bend where he was known and respected as a good citizen, an able lawyer and a most estimable neighbor. He was appointed county attorney of Barton County after its organization in 1872 and always thereafter took a great interest in the politics and general life of the county. He was married in 1872 to Miss Elvira Newell of Ottumwa, Iowa and to this union there were born five children: Blanche, Gertrude, Retta, George W. jr., and Dale. Blanche is now the wife of Dr. B. A. Gardner of Great Bend, Gertrude is now Mrs. Charles Walker, living in California; Retta is now} Mrs. Lynn Dana of Warren, O.; George, Jr. is a banker living in Scandia, Kansas, and Dale is the wife of J. H. Hartman of Hoisington. Mints Nimocks' early life was spent on a farm where [ he attended the district school and before he J had attained his majority he joined the union;} army and served faithfully until the close of the war. After he had returned home from his military service he attended the Iowa State University in which institution he received the degree of Bachelor of Law, June 28, 1871. In, July 1872, he, with a team and wagon, a few law books and some personal effects, landed in Great Bend. The county had just been or- ganized and soon after his arrival he was appointed to the office of county attorney, which position he filled with fidelity and credit. He also filled the same office by election a number of terms before his death. He was the first judge of this judicial district. He filled many other positions of trust with great credit to himself and his friends. Great Bend was his home from the time of his arrival in the county until his death which occurred in February, 1905. He practiced his profession all of the time in Great Bend. He was present and participated in every term of court until his death. The following is quoted from one of the newspapers published in Great Bend at the time of his death: "In the death of Judge Nimocks this community and state lost a worthy citizen. His neighbors and friends a truly good friend, the bar an able, upright and worthy member and his clients an attorney and friend who never forgot their interests or the duty he owed them. He among his associates and friends was open and frank and was loyally loved by them, and his enemies respected him for his true and noble qualities. His honor was never questioned and his loyalty to his friends never doudted
ANDREW SEIBERT·-—-" Dundee Valley Farm"
ONE of the most progressive of Barton County’s citizens are Russia born, and, coming to this county when land was cheap now ride in their automobiles andltake life easy. Of this class is Andrew Seibert, seven miles southwest of Great Bend-. He was born February 25, 1870, on a farm in Russia, and came to America with his parents, Andrew and Luffintine Seibert, in the fall of 1874. They first settled east of Dundee, and later moved to Rush County, but at this time they reside in Barton County, Kansas. Andrew, J, was educated in the public schools of this state and be- came a successful farmer under the instruct tion of his father, and in 1890, when he began farming on his own account was well qualified to meet the obstacles in front of him. He at first rented the one hundred and sixty acre farm which he has owned for years, and began life on his own account with little beside a good team. The first two years. were reasonably successful and he determined to buy and get married and this he did. Then followed the bad years from 1893 to 1896, and failure seemed to stare him in the face. His little all was invested and he could not leave; and so he stayed on and by courage and determination won. The farm is in a high state of cultivation and the improvements are good. The house is a one and one—half story frame with eight large rooms. There is- a nice grass plot in front enclosed by a neat fence, and in it are many plants, shrub—s and flowers. At the back is an acre of towering box-elder trees which furnish shade. The barn is 14x32, and the cow shed 12x32. Then come the automobile garage, granary, chicken house and other out- buildings, which form a comfortable picture. Andrew Seibert and Miss Carie Beese of Barton County, were married on October 23, 1892, and they have been blessed by three interesting children: Elvena May, 14; Grant Louis, 11; and Victor Charles, 6.
LOUIS DAMM----“Fairfield Farm”
THOUGH he had no choice in the matter of seeking a new home, Louis Damm has never regretted the choice of his parents which led them to migrate from Germany when he was only 1 year of age and come to America. He was born October 16, 1863, in the Rhine country of Germany and in 1864 the family moved to the United States, settling in Ohio where they lived for 11 years. The Santa Fe railroad was built across Kansas in 1872 and stories of the great fertile plains here were the talk of the day in the east. Two years later, in 1874, the family moved to this country where the parents, Peter A. and Elizabeth Damm, bought the Chas. Rose homestead, west of town, for $1,100. It was a good price in for a number of years so that it was problematical whether too much had been paid or not. The value today has extended itself ten times, it might be remarked in passing. Louis and brother assisted the parents in farming the place and in 1888 Louis was married to Miss Caroline Windhorst, of Germany. A year later both parents died and Louis and wife assumed the management of this farm which they still own and which is one of the most productive pieces. of land in the county. To them have been born three children, Henry Louis, age 20, Lillie, age ll and Minnie Esther, age 9. The parents have provided well for their children. They knew the hardships of the earlier years and profiting thereby have lived carefully and frugally and have farmed the place to good advantage. They live six and one—ha1f miles west of Great Bend.
MAX CRESTON SHAFER
MAX CRESTON SHAFER was born March 1, 1861, at Ashland, Ohio. He came direct to Kansas from his native state in 1884 and located at Seneca where he remained a short time after which he went to Iowa. Like many others who have lived a short time in the Sunflower state and left he returned in about a year and located in Barton County where he has since resided. For ten years he was engaged in the mercantile business in Great Bend and Claflin but recently it has required most of his time to look after his farming interests. He owns a quarter section of good land in Union township and a like amount in South Bend township. All of this land is being cultivated and worked by renters. Mr. Shafer has made a study of farming and is recognized as an authority on things horticultural when they apply to this county. He came to this county at a time when it required knowledge and study to get the best results from farming and Mr. Shafer has profited by this fact and made a study of farming methods in all branches that apply to the soil and conditions in this country. He was may- ried July 8, 1892, to Mrs. Anna Bell and they occupy a fine modern residence at 2915 Broad- way in Great Bend. The residence contains seven rooms, bath and all the necessary closets and a room that is given over to Mr. Shafer as a den. Mrs. Shafer is the mother of three children, Emma Bell, who is now Mrs. W. W. Garry, 39 years of age, of Wichita, Kansas Ray, 30 years of age, in the cattle business in mexico, and Lee, 28 years of age, is farming in Stafford County. Mr. Shafer is an enterprising and progressive citizen and has had a great deal to do with the up-building and development of the county‘s resources since he came to this section of the state. Mrs. Shafer and her former husband, Mr. Bell, ran the old Southern Hotel and for a time Mrs. Shafer taught school in the city of Great Bend and many of the best known men and women in Great Bend today are former pupils of Mrs. Shafer. Mr. Bell’s death was the cause of a great deal of sorrow in this community as he was a popular and well known citizen and always took a leading part in the affairs of the town and county.
HUGH B. BYERS
OF the old timers who came to Barton County in the 70’s none is better known than Hugh B. Byers whose home place is the southeast quarter of secti:11 36 in Eureka township and in addition to this land Mr. Byers rents 160 acres more which he also farms. He was born in Jones County, Iowa, August 24, 1859, and came to Barton County in 1876. He has been actively engaged in farm- ing since that time and is one of those men who made this county one of the best in the State of Kansas. He was married October 1, 1884, to Miss Matilda Wilkins, who is a daughter of John Wilkins, who located in this county north of Ellinwood in 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Byers are the parents of eight children as follows: Grace, 26 years of age, is now Mrs. A. A. Smith of Kingman County; Aletha, 24 years of age; Earl, 21 years; Pearl, 19 years, Hal, 15 Years; Marion, 12 years; Stella, 9 years and Charles, 6 years cf age. All the children are residing at home with the exception of the first named. The residence which is beautifully situated, consists of eight rooms in addition to bath, closets. pantries, etc. The barn is 32 feet square and the other outbuildings including granary, sheds, etc., are well and substantially built. With all Mr. Byers’ private business, he has found time to take an active part in the affairs of his township and has held the office of trustee as well as being a member cf the school board. He is an enterprising and progressive citizen and one of the best known old timers in the county who are still actively engaged in farming in Eureka township. It is to such men as Mr. Byers that the County of Barton owes its high stand- ing among the best in the State of Kansas as well as being one of the most important agricultural sections of the country.
TOB IAS B. UNRUH
T OBIAS B. UNRUH was born in West Russia, in 1862, and came to America with his parents in 1874. They located east of Dundee in this county and immediately began the development of the land. Mr. Unruh was married in 1885 to Miss Eva Jontz. They are the parents of seven children: Albert, 24 years; Lydia, 22 years; Annie, 19 years; Gilbert, 17 years; Clara, 15 years; Edna, 13 years; Ira, 6 years. Mr. Unruh owns 1,200 acres of land, all of which is under cultivation, being rented or farmed by himself. The home place, which is occupied by Mr. Unruh, is owned by his father who is now engaged in the farming business in the State of Oregon. Mr. Unruh has always been an active citizen and takes a great interest in all matters that pertain to the betterment of the country. He is now serving his second term as a He has twice been appointed deputy assessor for his district and is counted one of the most substantial citizens of that section of Barton County. Mr. Unruh's home place is well stocked with cattle and horses and the improvements are of the best to be found in the county. Mr. Unruh’s history in this county began at a time when the future of the western part of Kansas was anything but bright. How- ever, he is made of the kind of material that it required of the old timers to bring this county to its present standing among the counties of the state. Mr. Unruh is an enterprising and progressive citizen and is entitled to all the success he has achieved.
JOHN WILSON DENBO
JOHN WILSON DENBO was born May 22. 1847, in Crawford County, Indiana, where he remained until 1880, when he came to Kansas and located in Atchison County, where he resided for six years before coming to Barton County. Upon his arrival here he purchased 160 acres of land in section 26 in South Bend township. His land comprises the south- west quarter of this section, all of which is- being farmed under Mr. Denbo's supervision. Mr. Denbo was married in 1890 to Miss Marguerite L. Hawk of Atchison and they are the parents of six children as follows: Edna,21 years of age; Vernon, 20 years of age; Edith, 17 years of age; Clarence, 14 years of age, Hazel, 13 years of age and Chester who died December 9, 1910. The home place is located about nine miles southeast of Great Bend and it is Mr. Denbo’s intention to erect a new, modern residence within the very near future. The home now consists of four rooms with closets, pantries, etc. The barn is 40 by 56 feet in dimensions. The other improvements consist of granaries and other outbuildings that are needed for successful farm management. Mr. Denbo enlisted in the 144th Indiana Regiment January 31, 1864, and was. honorably discharged August 5, 1865. In addition to the home place Mr. Denbo owns the northwest quarter of section 27, in South Bend township, and 240 acres of land in Gray County, Kansas. Mr. Denbo farms all the land in South Bend which all together makes a total of 320 acres. Mr. Denbo farms according to best methods, having gained by experience the knowledge that can be obtained only by experiencing the years, both good and poor that have made the agricultural history of the country since he came to the County of Barton.
SAMUEL BENJAMIN COMFORT
SAMUEL BENJAMIN COMFORT was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 26. 1857. He remained in his native state until he was eighteen years of age and then went to Nevada where he resided for four years. He then came to Kansas and located in Barton County on what is now his home place, in section 18 of Great Bend township, where he owns and farms 300 acres of land. He was married in 1886 to Miss Annie Majors and they are the parents of two children: May, 24 years of age, is now Mrs. Edward Hermis, of Ellinwood, and Bernard, who is 19 years of age, aids his father in the operation of the farm. The home place has on it a neat, well arranged residence that contains eight rooms in addition to closets, pantries, etc. The barn is well built and is 30 by 52 feet in dimensions and there are also found on the place all the necessary outbuildings including granaries, etc. Mr. Comfort was raised on a farm and has learned by experience the best methods to be applied under the conditions to be found in this section of the country. Mr. Comfort came to this county when it required men of knowledge to get anything like results from the soil while it was in the condition found by the early settlers. Mr. Comfort is one of that number of old timers who raised this county from a barren waste to its present high state of cultivation. It was men like Mr. Comfort who had unflinching faith in the future who took the bad years with the good and made them average enough profit to peg along and enable them to build homes and reclaim the soil from the Indians and buffalo. Mr. Comfort had no small part in developing the resources of the county and it is to him and those who came at the same time that Barton County owes its high standing among the best counties of the state of Kansas and the entire country.
FRANK NICHOLAS BATCHMAN
FRANK NICHOLAS BATCHAIAN was born December 6, 1867, in Sandusky, Ohio.He came to Barton County with his parents in 1878. His father, Jacob Batchman, bought land and immediately began the cultivation of the soil. The subject of this sketch went to school for several years and took up the same occupation as that followed by his father and his home place is now one of the most desirably located in Comanche town- ship. The home place consists of 160 acres in section 19. In addition to this land Mr. Batchman owns and farms 40 acres of land adjoining his on the north. He was married in 1886 at Ellinwood to Miss Lillie Wonders. To this union there were born two children: Elmo, 25 years of age, who resides north of Great Bend. and Mabel, 22 years of age, is now Mrs.V. Dantzman and resides near St. John, Kansas. Mr. Batchman survived his first wife and was married to Miss Louise Schrepel of Ellinwood. They are the parents of five children: Fred, 13; Dora, 10; Frank, 8; Alfred 7; and Lola 5 years of age, all of whom are students in the schools of Barton County. The residence is located on a high spot of ground and consists of six rooms in addition to the closets and pantries. The barn is 40 by 44 feet in dimensions and has a large loft. A small orchard is found on the home place where trees representing nearly all varieties of fruits, common to this section, are raised. Mr. Batchman has a good grade of cattle and horses and is an enterprising and progressive farmer and has taken a large part in developing that part of the county lying south of the river.
DENNIS RUDOLPH LOGAN
DENNIS RUDOLPH LOGAN was born August 22, 1848, in Huntington County, Pa. He came to Barton County in 1872 and located a homestead near Pawnee Rock. it being the southeast quarter of 32-15-20. He proved up on this claim, residing there four years. Then he went to Barber County where he was in the cattle business for two years. At the end of this time he returned to Pawnee Rock and formed a partnership with Chas. Gano. This partnership continued for several years when Mr. Gano sold out to E. W. Smith. The firm of Logan & Smith continued for sev- eral years in the same business after which Mr. Logan became the sole owner of the store which carried a fine line of general merchandise. Mr. Logan has been engaged in mercantile trade in the town of Pawnee Rock for thirty-five years and at the present time owns a big general store and a completely stocked furniture store both of which are under his personal management. Mr. Logan was married to Maggie T. Mardis of Johnson County, Kansas, July 25, 1847. They are the parents of six children: Earl, 29, assists his father in the management of his business interests; Helen. 15 years of age, resides at home and is being educated in the schools of the county; Arthur, 17; Lloyd, six months. Effie, three years and Roy, two years, died at the ages given. The cause of their deaths being an infection of the throat which was so common among the children of this section in the 80's. Mr. Logan has always taken an active part in the up-building of Pawnee Rock and the development of this section of the county. In addition to his business interests, Mr. Logan owns a fine etc. Several town lots and "60 acres of farming land which is being cultivated by renters. He is vice—president and a director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank and owns both the business houses which are occupied by his stores. Mr. Logan is one of those pioneers who came to this county at a time when it required nerve and great faith in the future to remain here and withstand the hardships incident to home building and development work at that time in the State of Kansas. Mrs. Logan en joys the distinction of having been mayor of Pawnee Rick. She is one of the few women in the State of Kansas who has held the highest office in a municipality. The Logan family is one of the best known in Barton County and Mr. Logan is especially well known in commercial circles and has done a great deal to make Barton County one of the best in the State of Kansas.
HENRY GAGELMAN
HENRY GAGELMAN was born in Prussia in 1854, and came to this country with his parents in 1864. He followed his brother William west, coming to Barton County in 1887, ten years after William had arrived. He bought railroad land and like his brother, became one of the substantial citizens of the county. He remained on his farm twenty-three years and cultivated the soil and during that time he accumulated he still owns. Since his retirement from the farming business in 1910, the land has been cultivated and managed by his sons. Henry Gagelman was married to Miss Adele Buscher in 1882 and they now have five children as follows: William F., 27 years; Edward W., 25 years; Annie, 23; Lillie, 21; and August, 19 years. Of these, William, Edward and Lillie are married and all five of them are living in Barton County. Mr. Gagelman owns a fine, modern residence at 2222 Broadway in Great Bend. His original home place is located thirteen miles west of Great Bend in one of the richest sections of the county. Although he has always taken an active part in any movement that was for the benefit of the country he has never mixed in politics and never held a public office of any kind. He came to this county at a time when only the stout hearted could see anything but disaster in the future, but he, like a number of the other old timers, could see the future that was in store for this county by the right kind of development work and he always took an active part in this work and his success has been due to consistent effort and a never lacking faith in the county’s ultimate importance as an agricultural section second to no place in the country.
SAMUEL H. GWINN
GOODLAWN PLACE," three and one- half miles west of Great Bend, covers two hundred acres and is the home of Samuel H. and Adda Bratton Gwinn. It is so named because of the gigantic growth of woodland surrounding the residence and covering ten acres in its immediate vicinity. The orchard is a part of this, and when in full bearing supplies much dainty fruit. The house is a large two story frame and stands well to the front, and as the location is at a turn of the main Larned road it is very conspicuous well back in the rear is a large barn and other outbuildings, and across the roadway are still others. There are fifty acres in pasture lands, and on it graze many cattle. In fact, Mr. Gwinn divides his time between farming and breeding bovines, and when crops are good grows, buys and feeds quite a few. The near proximity of this farm to the city, its immense growth of timber and its high state of cultivation makes this one 0: the valuable and attractive farms of the section. Samuel H. Gwinn was born July 13, 1857, in Carroll County, Indiana. He grew to manhood on a farm and received his education in the public schools of the Hoosier state. In 1878, when twenty-one year of age, he came to Bar- ton County to begin life, and first found work as a farm hand. In 1884 he conducted a livery barn in Great Bend and in 1890 bought the two hundred acre farm on which he resides. Samuel Gwinn and Miss Adda L. Bratton, of Great Bend, were married on August 1, 1883, and they are the parents of three living children: Fay Jennie; Edward J. and George Robert Gwinn, all residing with their parents at their home.
JACOB ALEFS
THE life story of Jacob Alefs is more of a success than of adventure, although his first recollections are so intertwined with the early history of Barton County that it is hard to separate the one from the other He came to the county when about thirteen years of age, accompanying his parents, Henry and Katherine Alefs, who settled on two quarters of land in the Cheyenne Bottoms, seven miles north of Great Bend. The father and mother were German, born and bred and the family that crossed the ocean in 1860 were the parents, a brother, John, and little Jacob, only seven months old. They first settled in Michigan, then in Chicago, where the father owned a furniture store. This was burned in the great Chicago fire and shortly after, in 1873, the family came to this county to make a new home. The father’s health soon became impaired and at the age of sixteen the management of the farm fell to Jacob and he was the main support of the family until their death, Henry Alefs dying in 1884, and Mrs. Katherine Alefs on September 13th, 1887. The death of an only brother, John Alefs, occurred on January 31st, 1888, and Jacob Alefs became possessed of the lands and property of the deceased. He had, however, begun farming on his own account in 1884 and was fast laying the foundation for the fortune he has since ac- quired, and this rugged education and preparation for the handling of a large landed estate has probably been the chief reason for his success. It has been acquired by great effort and self denial and he richly deserves the retirement he no doubt longs for. Jacob Alefs owns and farms eleven hundred and twenty acres of the best wheat, corn and alfalfa land in the county. It is located four and one-half miles northwest of Great Bend, and is practically in one body. lt is in a high state of cultivation and the buildings, fences, etc., are in good repair. The residence is a two—story frame, containing twelve rooms and a hall; it is enclosed within a neat yard and this plot is set with grass, shrubs and flowers. The large barn, granary, elevator and other buildings cluster about and they are all painted so tastefully that they harmonize with the green foliage of the trees which park the whole surroundings. Jacob Alefs and Miss Elizabeth Miller were united in marriage on August 13th, 1884, and they have had four children born. Two died in infancy, and Daniel Alefs, 18, and Mae Alefs, 11, add sunshine to the home.
PATRICK EMMET MURPHY
HIS life story of Patrick Emmet Murphy would be unusual in any other country than this where it seems all are self- made; but when spread on paper and the rough places glossed over one can read between the lines the struggles and hardships heand his family must have endured while making their start in this county. He landed at the depot in Great Bend in the spring of 1884 with his household goods, a team of mules and two cows, and when he had paid the freight had but one dollar left with which to begin his struggle for existence. Land was plentiful and tenants in demand and he soon had his family located and began the fight. When harvest came he worked for seventeen days with his team at good wages, and during the first year as a renter he kept things going by working for others when opportunity offered. The second year he decided to purchase railroad land the price being around ten dollars per acre; divided into eleven yearly payments. To make this trade he had to raise $136 for the first payment. Fortunately one hundred of this could be had, but the other $36 was, as he first thought, an impossibility. Finally by mortgaging his mule team and paying 36 percent interest, he secured the loan and became possessed of the first quarter section of his present farm of three hundred and twenty acres. Since then life has been less strenuous, and his farm has been made one of the most fertile and best improved of his neighborhood, which is seven miles southwest from Great Bend. He has built there a two and one- half story frame, with nine large rooms. Grown a grove of three acres of beautiful forest trees, has a barn 40x40. a cow barn 18x28, and numerous other outbuildings. Patrick E. Murphy was born on August 10. 1856, near Montreal, Canada, and in 1866 came to Chillicothe, Mo., with his parents, John and Margaret Murphy, where they settled on a farm. There he was educated and remained until coming to Barton County, Kansas, on March 7, 1884. In addition to conducting his farm Mr. Murphy has been manager of the Moses Bros} elevator at Dundee for thirteen years, and was elected commissioner of the Third district in 1908. His term is for four years and expires this year. He will no doubt be retained as his duties have been performed conscientiously and to the satisfaction of all. Patrick E. Murphy was married on January 10. 1882, to Miss Margaret Theresa Welch, of Livingston County, Mo., and they are the parents of ten children: Mrs. Catherine Keenan, of Liberty township; Thomas Emmet and John Francis Murphy, conducting a grocery store at Hoisington; Mary Magdaline. Agnes Bernadine, Ralph Michael, Margaret Grace, William Walter, Lawrence Patrick and Edward Mathew all living at home.
HENRY JAMESNCAMPBELL
HENRY JAMES CAMPBELL was born September 17, 1862, in Stark County Illinois. He remained in his native state until he was twelve years of age when he came to Barton County. He was accompanied by his father, they having made the trip from Illinois in a wagon. They located on the John Atkin farm in Clarence township. Henry’s first work was on Ellinwood-McPherson branch of the Santa Fe Railroad. He began farming for himself when he was nineteen years old. He now farms 560 acres of land in this county and owns three quarters in Rush County and a section in Ford County. He was married in 1889 to Miss Mary Merten and they are the parents of four children. Mrs. Ca1npbell‘s parents are old timers of the county and are mentioned in another part of this book. The children are Arthur, 22 years of age, is farming In Spearville Frank, 20 years of age, Leslie, 18 years of age and Nellie, 14 years of age are. living at home. Mr. Campbell is one of those men who came here when he was but a child and has seen the country grow from an abode of buffalo and Indians to its present high state of cultivation. He is one of the large number of younger farmers who have taken up the work of developing the soil where their elders left off and are maintaining its high standing among the best counties of the State of Kansas. Mr. Campbell’s home place is well located and is surrounded by fine shade and ornamental trees. The residence contains seven rooms besides the closets. pantries, etc. The barn is 60 by 28 feet in dimensions, is well built and has a great deal of room. Mr. Campbell has found time to take an active part in the affairs of the community and has served on the school board as well as having held township offices. Mr. Campbell is one of the best known 1nen in that part of the county and is an enterprising and progressive citizen.
JOHN TULLIS MORRISON
BEFORE becoming a peaceful farmer and retiring to Great Bend John T. Morrison was a member of Co. H, 13th Missouri Cavalry and he served in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado and Wyoming during the war of the rebellion, 1861-5, and participated in a number of battles, but as his regiment was stationed for the greater part of the time on the frontier their duty was to protect the lives of citizens from the depredations of the Indians on the border. In 1865 he found himself stationed at Ft. Zarah where the city of Great Bend has since been built, and he now claims an earlier knowledge of this section than is possessed by those who came later. In describing the country he says it was a barren waste, covered with tufts of buffalo grass and inhabited by Indians, prairie dogs land ant beds. That there was little timber on the streams, and one taking a position about where the court house now stands, the barren mounds of sand across on the south side of the river looked like shocks of wheat. Rattle snakes, wolves, antelope and buffalo were too numerous to be comfortable, and the latter were so thick that one in a low place often mistook a herd on a rise in the distance for a cloud or coming storm. John T. Morrison was born May 2'Feb, 1842, in Gurnsey County, Ohio, on a farm, and when two years of age his parents moved to Wayne County, Iowa. While receiving his schooling at the public schools of his district he worked for his father on the farm, and in 1861 volunteered as a soldier and joined the 13th Missouri Cavalry. Three years after the close of the war, on January 26th, 1868, he married Miss Clarisa E. Ormsby, of Wayne County, Iowa, and they are the parents of five sons: Dr. Elmer E. Morrison, of Great Bend; Thomas C. Morrison, merchant, Hoisington; Sydney l\l. Morrison, who died in 1903; John C. Morrison, civil engineer, supposed to be in the Klondyke country, and Clarence E. Morrison, jeweler, of Barton County, Kansas, in the fall of 1878, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres in Fairview township, and later purchased another quarter of school land. He also owns his residence at the corner of Kansas Avenue and’ Eighth street, and he and his estimable wife take life easy.
DANIEL MILLER, Sr.
FOUR miles northwest of Great Bend is the 80 acre homestead of Jake Miller, now the property of Daniel Miller, Sr. It is a comfortable little body of land and in a high state of cultivation. About two acres is set in orchard; a part of timothy and alfalfa and the remainder reserved for corn and wheat. It is enclosed with stone posts and wired, and then divided into fields of the most convenient size. There has been no attempt atdisplay in the erection of the improvements, yet every convenience necessary for the com- fort of man and beast is there to be found. It represents the life work of a man born on a farm, who expects to die as he has lived. 'To part Mr. Miller from the soil which he loves would be cruel, but to separate him from the breeding and feeding cf horses, cattle and hogs would be a crime. He was born March 11, 1842, and is 70 years of age. The first twenty years were passed on a farm in Pennsylvania, the next nineteen on a farm in Ohio, and the past thirty—three years improving the farm on which he now resides. On March 25, 1878, when Daniel Miller, Sr., came to Barton County and took possession of this place he had little besides the bare land, a wife and a large flock of youngsters. lf the crops failed, which was not unusual, he knew that he would have to face a condition, and not a theory. Remembering that once in Ohio he had followed butchering for a time, Mrs. Miller suggested that he take up that calling in addition to his farm work and he decided to do so provided he could induce some good soul to trust him for the first animal to be slaughtered. John Cook, Sr., now deceased, sold him a steer for $15, and when dressed and delt out netted a profit of $7.00. Then others were bought and killed and a business established that fed the wife and little ones, and at the same time proved that Mr. Miller understood the buying, selling and slaughtering of stock, and that he was prompt pay and worthy to be trusted. John V. Brinkman became advised of this and when Dan Miller decided that there was money to be made in buying, feeding and shipping cattle and hogs to the market backed him with what money he desired. He then began buying and shipping and was soon known as "Miller, the cattle man," over several counties, and it is said that he was the first man to ship in car lots from Barton County. He has not become as wealthy as some, yet for honest dealing he stands at the top and we consider that his life work has been a grand success. He married Miss Margaret Elizabeth Hatter early in life and from that union these children were born: Mrs. Jake Alefs, Warren Mil- ler, Mrs. Chas. Gabbert, Arthur Miller, Mrs. William Schroeder, Daniel Miller, Jr., Mrs. Jas. A. Currey, Robert Miller, Mrs. Ed Schultz and Mrs. Walter Boyd. They are all prosperous and healthy and located within a day's drive of the old homestead.
JUDGE CHANNEL P. TOWNSLEY
THE ancestors of the subject of this sketch were of English origin. His father was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, his mother, Mary Griffin, in Baltimore, Maryland. When sixteen years of age, his father entered the American navy, and after four years service, he engaged in whaling in the Pacific ocean, during which service his vessel twice rounded Cape horn, a very dangerous under- taking in those days. After serving a year and a half in this business he spent four years on the Sandwich Islands, being the only white man on the Islands. On his return he married and settled in Huntington, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the manufacture of carriages. From thence he removed to Pittsburg and afterwards to Boonville. Missouri, and established himself in his former business. When the gold fever broke out he joined a party of gold seekers, and crossing the plains went to California, being eventually engaged in trade with the islanders who occupied the islands between San Francisco and China. He died there in 1856.
Channel P. Townsley was born in Huntington, Pennsylvania. February 4, 1833. After the removal of his parents to Boonville, Missouri, he came under the instruction of Proffessor Kemper of the Kemper Institute at that place. His vacations and leisure time he occupied in acquiring the trade of carriage making in his father`s shop. After arriving in his eighteenth year he remained in Boonville one year after his fathers departure for California. then went to California, Moniteau County, Missouri and began the manufacture of carriages at that place. Devoting his spare time to the study of law at the expiration of three years he removed to Georgetown, Pettis County, and was there admitted to the bar and began the practice of law. He became city attorney and continued his practice until 1861 when he enlisted in the 40th Regiment Missouri State Militia. He was commissioned adjutant and joining General Lyons’s command was in the battle of Wilson Creek. He served four years in the state service with the rank of captain, his regiment being most of the time engaged in defending theborders against Price’s troops and ridding the state of predatory brands of guerrillas and bush—whackers. Returning to Pettis County at the close of the war, he settled at Sedalia, and again took up the practice and profession of law. In 1886 he was elected county and city attorney and in 1867 was elected to the State Senate on the Re- publican ticket. He was chairman of the penitentiary committee, and a member of the judiciary establishing the State Agricultural College and State Normal School. being a member of the visiting committee. and also a regent of the State university. He was elected judge of the Fifth Judicial district, holding the position six years. On the expiration of his term of office he resumed the practice of law for another year, when the Democratic party, advocating measures not in accordance with his views, naturally induced him to remove to the Republican State of Kansas. He came to Great Bend in 1875 and started in his profession. The next year he established the "Inland Tribune? Devoting his paper to the interests of the Republican party and the farming community, he obtained for it a wide circulation throughout the Arkansas Valley, where its influence was strongly felt. He married Miss Laura A. Moses, December 7,1865. She was a resident of Rockford, Illinois, and daughter of A. G. Moses, formerly of New York. Ten children were born to the union, five of whom are still living. They are Chan P. Townsley of New York, Mrs. S. Leland. of Troy, Kansas, Will Townsley, Charles Townsley and Laura Townsley of Great Bend. As a representative of the people. Judge Townsley was deservedly popular. He was an able lawyer, keen-sighted and practical. As a resident of Barton County from the first he felt the need of letting the outside world know the advantage of county and state and he established the Inland Tribune which has grown continuously and which is a monument to him. A few years after the paper was started he changed the name to the Great Bend Tribune which name has continued. He was noted as a writer of clear, concise English, and his editorial ability was such that the Tribune was a favorite among the re- viewers of newspapers as long as he contributed its editorial columns. He had opportunities to accept positions as editorial writer on large publications but preferred to be absolutely free, to own his own paper and to work for himself,-—his family and community. He had a deep faith in the future prosperity of Kansas and never an issue of the Tribune contained a delightful note concerning this locality. Plague or drought might destroy crops, bad years might come, but he constantly preached the value of the land and the fact that conditions could not be bettered elsewhere. There was an optimism about the paper that undoubtedly did its share in attracting the eyes of the outside world to this locality and in a favorable way. As an editorial writer any subject which he did not subscribe to would appear ridiculous under the shaft of his ridicule and sarcasm. As a writer on topics of national interest he was unexcelled. His knowledge of the Bible and of Shakespeare was such that he could quote from these books upon any subject. It would be hard to state in which particular he excelled. That the majority might fail to sub- scribe to his beliefs did not affect him. He was unswerving in his fidelity to the people, honest in his beliefs and politically often took a stand foreign to the desire cf party bosses, but which in the end proved him in the right.. He left his impress upon the community in which he lived and much of the up -building of Barton County is due to his stand for the right, during the crucial clays when it was easier to over- look such things than to take a stand against them. The end came to him August 4, 1907, after at period of nearly three years suffering from a nervous breakdown. during which time he tried in vain changes of climate and location to improve his health. At the time of his deathhe was 74 years. 5 months and 21 days of age. His widow and five children survive him.
CALVIN QUINCY NEWCOMBE
HISTORY of Barton County would be altogether incomplete without a sketch of C. Q. Newcombe, who, although not one of the very early settlers of the county came here when the country was in a formative state and did much toward the development of the earlier years. Mr. Newcombe was born in Batavia, New York, in 1823, and came from Flint, Michigan, in January of 1876, locating a homestead and timber claim on the east half of section 24 in North Cheyenne township. For a short time after coming to Kansas he located his family at Peace (now Sterling) in Rice County. At the time of his coming he purchased two sections of land from the Santa Fe Railway Company, being sections 17 and 19 in Independent township, and was at that time one of the largest land holders in that locality. He paid $2 an acre for this railroad land. Mr. Newcombe shipped the first full blood Shorthorn cattle to Barton County, also the first full- blood Berkshire and Suffolk hogs. He shipped four car load of live stock from his old Michigan home, part of which was high grade and part full-blood stock. For one bull of his herd he was offered $500 which was an enormous price at that time. Many of the better herds of the earlier days were here as a result of these shipments of fine stock in 1876. He shipped a very fine trotting mare to this county at the same time which was doubtless the best in the county at the time, having a record of 2:30. The name of the mare was Lady Nellie Seely. In the earlier years of his life Mr. Newconibe gave special attention to mathematical studies and might be classed as an expert along that line. From the time he was nineteen years of age he was engaged in civil engineering work, being employed in constructing locks along the Erie Canal, railroad work of various kind and sewer work. It was but natural that within a few years after his location in Barton County, when his special qualifications became known, that he should be elected to the office of county surveyor, which office was tendered him by a very large vote in 1879. He served as county surveyor for three terms, moving to Great Bend at the time of his first election. His work as surveyor was of the very best. In 1889 he established a nursery business in Great Bend and conducted this for about twelve years. Mr. Newcombe has been a devoted member of the Masonic lodge since his early life and has the record of being a Knight Templar longer than any other man now living in the State of Kansas, having been a member of that degree of the order for nearly fifty-five years. At the time of the writing of this history, although well up in years. and physically feeble, his mind is clear- and bright, and he delights to talk of his early day experiences in Barton County. Mr. Newcombe has three children, all of whom live in Great Bend and vicinity: Fred B., Sidney A. and Mrs. Millicent Treat.
PATRICK BOUGHAN
0N March 18, 1848 the subject of this sketch as born in Limerick, Ireland, which fact is intimation enough as to why his parents named him Patrick. That he would still be a son of the "ould sod' is probable but for the fact that he had nothing to do with his removal to this country, the parents bringing where young Patrick grew up among Germans but retaining his Irish brogue. At the age of 16 he was making his own way in the world and got a job as fireman on the old Ohio & Mississippi railroad, now the Cincinnati and Southern. He remained with that road four years being promoted to the pzsition of engineer and then went to work in that capacity for the M. K. & T., in Missouri. He was an engineer out of Sedalia and in 1886 when the Missouri Pacific was built across Kansas he was made a conductor by the officials of the road and sent to the front in charge of a construction train. He was in charge of one conductor ot the first construction train to reach Great Bend, his runs being out of Council Grove. He is now conductor on the Missouri Pacific, the oldest man in point of service in this section of the state and we believe the oldest man in point of service on the road. He is a kind hearted, generous man. liked by everyone who knows him and is inclined to hide his charities and little kindnesses under a gruffness that is assumed. For years no man in this section was better known than "Pat" Boughan and the only difference between the Pat of the old days and Capt. Boughan of the present is that he is a little more generous than ever, likes the youngfolks more and has received a promotion in title. He was married in 1870 in Vincennes, Ind., to Miss Emma McDonald. Three children, born to the union are living, Mrs. Jen-, nie Bishop of Kansas City, Mo., Mrs. Ella Fish. of Eau Claire, Wis., and Will Boughan of Hoisington. His wife died in this city, January 3, 1891.
ARKANSAS VALLEY TELEPHONE
When you take the receiver from the hook on your telephone and within a few seconds are in conversation with a party sometimes miles away, did you ever stop to think how much money was re- quired and how much time 2-ind energy had to be expended in order that you might enjoy this boom of modern civilization? Very few of us have done this and in writing the history of the Arkansas Valley Telephone Co., it will be seen that were it not for the fact the officers of this company are untiring in their efforts to make their system one of the best in the country, this section like other sections of the state would still be using the old style ring on. ring off phones. This company has kept just a little ahead of the demands made upon it for the best service and in October, 1911, the Great Bend Telephone Co., absorbed the system of the Larned Telephone Co., The Stafford Telephone Co., and later after these systems had been put under one management and were known as the Arkansas Valley Telephone Company‘s system the company purchased the Dodge City system and the Kinsley system and all these formerly small exchanges are now merged into one of the most extensive exchanges in the State of Kansas. The wires of this company branch out in every direction from Great Bend and this consolidation into one organization has resulted in the construction of continuous, uniform toll lines which greatly improved the utility of the telephone in Central Kansas and has reduced the rates to a minimum consistent with the best of service. In the fall of 1911 work was begun which resulted in the entire reconstruction of the company’s exchange and equipment. This work was finished in June, l9l2, and on June 15 the "cutover" was made and the old exchange was abandoned and Great Bend became the possessor of one of the most modern, up-to-date telephone exchanges in the country. This exchange employs in Great Bend in the neighborhood of two more people and during the construction work periods this number is greatly increased. The first telephones that were installed in Great Bend were put in along in the eighties. These telephones were crude and not of much success. Later a company was organized and telephones put in all over town. By an order emanating from the supreme court regarding patents. all these instruments were taken out and burned. The town was without a telephone system again until a few years ago, when the late William Grimes started a new telephone company. The plant was originally an automatic affair. but was not a success. Later a central energy system was connecting the several towns in which The Lindas Lumber Company was operating lumber Yards. for the purpose of placing the different yards In close touch with each other. In 1903 The Great Bend Telephone Company was organized taking over the properties of the Rock Telephone Company and the telephone interests of the Grimes company. During all of this time the telephone interests of this section of the state, and especially those in anti around Great Bend before the above mentioned consolidation was made, have been in the bands of Dr. H. E. Lindas and under his management the policy of the company has always been one of advancement. The result of the company`s efforts are shown in the size. The system as now being operated has all its wires in cables, most of them being under-ground. and the remainder will be there possible. The exchange is located in one of the most modern buildings in Great Bend at the corner of Lakin and Main streets. Every convenience for the employees of the company have been arranged for in laying out the different rooms for the switch board, operating rooms, offices, repair rooms. etc. Great Bend’s history as far as the telephone part of it goes is far ahead of the times, but it is the intention hacked by a firm determination on this company’s part to give the people of this section of the state the best that is possible in telephone communication, in both local and long distance service. The people have seen this company's interests grow from a private telephone its present high state of development and utility. This company has 4.5tlO subscribers all of whom are enabled at any time to talk with the outside world at a small cost and it must indeed be gratifying to Mr. Lindas, the manager of the company, to know that he has in his charge one of the best telephone systems in this part of the country. Dr. Lindas invites the public to call at the company`s offices and secure permission and a guide to show them the many intricate details that make up a modern telephone system. This invitation is open to the public and those who accept it will find that they owe this company all the support they can possibly give them for keeping their system right up to the minute in this branch of public utilities.
In the write-up of Mr. Mull and family failure was made to mention all the members of the same. Grace May, the latest member or the family was born March 17, 1912, some- time after the first article on Page 118, was in type.
CLAFLIN
THE city is located 011 the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which was built during the years of 1885-86; the depot was built in 1887 and was occupied by M. A. Cummings as agent who remained as such until his retirement from railroad work a few years ago. The first business building was erected by J. H. Cannon on the site now occupied by the J. A. Watson Co. He carried a small stock of general merchandise and also had a bank in one part of the same building. After a few years Mr. Cannon sold his interests in the store to the Degens who enlarged the business and then in turn sold to B. J. Meyer & Co., who later sold to Watson & Tampier, Mr. Watson later taking over the interests of Mr. Tampier. From the time the depot was built the business enterprises were established to fill the needs of the people. The S. H. Chatten Lumber Co. soon unloaded a stock of building material and also coal. Jas. Williamson erected the first hotel in the city, the building now being occupied by the post office and the Clarion office. The livery and feed barn was built by E. J. Ingersoll and did a good business under the different managers until the automobile put the horse and buggy out of business. The first line of drugs was placed in a small building on the corner now occupied by the Evans- Mayo Mercantile Company by Dr. F. M. Camp- bell Who remained in the business until his retirement from active business a few years ago. The Elmore Bros. put in the first stock of hardware and implements but after a few years the E. R. Moses Mercantile Co. placed a much larger stock and the former company sold out. G. A. Dusenberry at one time run the hardware on what is now the Miller corner. The Farmers and Merchants State Bank was organized about 1892 under the management of O. 13. Looney who was at that time the cashier of the institution and remained as such until the bank changed management. The present building was built expressly for the business. The Citizens State Bank was not organized until a few years ago but has built up a good business. The school house for District 80, was erected during the year 1889 and a few years ago an addition was built to it, but it being far too small to meet with the needs it was abandoned and during the year 1911 a new building costing $17,000, was erected which is a valuable asset to the town. In the early days the Methodist and Christian churches were built and during the past few years the German Lutheran and Catholic were erected. Claflin has today two as modern stores as any city of its size could ask for, two banks that are substantial, two hardware stores, two hotels that offer the best of accommodations to the traveling public, three lumber yards, five elevators and two mills. also all of the various other businesses that make up a city of its size. Among the early settlers who still live in this vicinity are J. S. Dalziel, W. D. Fairbairn, Frank Reesler and W. L., J. R, and E. O. Jordan. These people can tell of some of the early experiences that they had to contend with. The present city administration is composed of the following gentlemen: Mayor, S. G. Earlenbaugh. Councilmen, W. B. PC. Schumacher, D. J. Crowe, C. T. Mayo and J. W. Miller; City Treasurer, H. A. Staeber, Police Judge, G. C. Gilstrap. The first mayor of the town was H. E. Hill, who at that time was connected with W. B. Pickerill in the grain business, and who is now living at Larned, Kansas, and is in the same business there. Those who followed him as mayor of the town are as follows: J. F. Evans, Hez Gibler, C. T. Mayo, W. B. Pickerill, Clin- ton Gibler.
BERT FANCHER
ONE of the important agencies in making Claflin a live town is the Clarion, the newspaper owned and edited by Bert Fancher of that city. The Clarion has had a long career which has never been more prosperous than it is at present. It fills its field creditably and there are few things of interest in that section of the country that are not duly chronicled by the Clarion. Under the table position on the Daily Rustler. In 1907 he saw the chance which he had been looking for and bought the Claflin Clarion which he has since owned and edited. He was married in 1900 to Miss Lillie Sanner of Newton and they are the parents of two children, Gladys, 8 years of age and Gerald 6 years of age. Mr. Fancher is an active man in whatever he undertakes and is identified with the Elk, A. O. U. W. and Odd
management of Mr. Fancher it is one of the best small town weeklies in the west and is an agency for good that the town could not get along without. Mr. Fancher is a thorough printer and the paper typographically is neat and well balanced. Mr. Fancher is yet a young man. I-Ie is 38 years of age. As a Fellow lodges.He is also postmaster at Claflin and is serving his second term in that position. He is popular in his community and has worked and stood for those things which would be of benefit to the section of the state in which he lives. The Clarion will undoubtedly con- tinue to grow and prosper under his able management.
IRA HAMILTON CLARK
CADIZ, Hamilton County, Ohio, was the birthplace of Ira Hamilton Clark, of Great Bend, who was born in that town, in 1866. At the age of 11 years he move to Harvey County, Kansas, with his parents in 1875. When twenty—one years of age he published the "lndependent’ at Walton, Kansas. He owned this paper for two years, 1886 and 1887 and then established the "Independent" at Frederick, Kansas, in 1888, March 1st, 1889, he became a resident of Barton County when he established the "Dispatch" at Hoisington, remaining there as editor and owner of that paper for ten years or until 1899. He has always been one of the prominent men of whatever community he may have lived in and in Hoisington he was city clerk for one term, and Republican township committeeman of Homestead township for five years. In 1899 he moved to Great Bend where he bought the Register. In connection with this paper he established the Daily Item in August, 1900. In 1908 he sold his two papers to the Tribune Publishing Co., and retired from newspaper work. In 1905 he was president of the Southwest Kansas Republican Editorial Association and for six years was a member of the Congressional committee of the Seventh district. He served for two terms as member of the Board of Education of Great Bend. He was married June 27, 1889 to Nellie G. DeLong at Walton, Kansas, and they are the parents of seven children, Mary Hazel, now Mrs. Walter Healzer, Bessie Margaret, Ethel Gertrude, Flora Janette, Dwight DeLong, Edna Louise, Elizabeth Lorene. Since retiring from the newspaper profession Mr. Clark has been in the land business and his duties have been such as to prevent his taking as active a part in public affairs as in v former years but his interest has never flagged and he may always be found working for those things which will be of benefit to his town and community. Quiet and unassuming he has done much to forward the progress of Barton County. As an editor he was a writer of force and ready and capable of Barton County has been fortunate in having him as a citizen and that he has many years of usefulness still ahead of him.
THE GREAT BEND TRIBUNE.
IT is with considerable satisfaction that The of Barton County and we hope that in the Tribune presents the Biographical History future the experience gained in arranging this edition may be utilized in the preparation of auxiliary volumes that will be a complete and accurate account of the county, its events of historical interest and of its citizens. No book of this sort can be as complete as its compilers would like to make it but as it is the book represents a great deal of detail work and expense. The Tribune is one of the oldest institutions of Barton County, established in 1876, and in the years that have gone by has enjoyed its small share of prosperity and its years of adversity. Through it all the key-note of optimism and belief in the future of the county as expressed in every issue by its founder, Judge C. P. Townsley, has been preserved and The Tribune of today has seen the county become one of the richest and most substantial farming communities in the world and has seen this optimism and belief substantiated. Elsewhere will be found an account of the founding and growth of the Tribune and the changes in ownership. The present owners and publishers are `Will Townsley and Warren Baker. Warren Baker was for a number of years superintendent of the city schools of Great Bend and later moved to Eldorado. Since 1909 he has had the business management of the paper. His family consists of his wife and two children, Vernon and Lucile. Will Townsley is known to practically all the people of the county having been born and raised in Barton County and being raised in newspaper work. He is married. His family consists of his wife and baby daughter, Helen. The standing of The Tribune is well de- scribed by the following article from "Retail Equipment/’ one of the larger trade journals of the country, which has been investigating trade conditions generally: "The Tribune, of Great Bend, Kansas, is published every afternoon except Sunday, with a weekly edition on Friday. The tendency as well as the evolution of the modern newspaper toward a conservation of energy and effort is well exemplified in the career of the Tribune. The Tribune was founded in 1876. Since then it has incorporated the Great Bend Weekly Register, Great Bend Daily Item, Great Bend Rustler and the Morning News. I do not know what were the character and characteristics of these defunct newspapers, but it is a universal law that the fittest survive, and in the survival of the Tribune amid the wreck of its contemporaries, we have really an excellent evening newspaper, edited by Mr. Will Townsley, one which covers the local field fully; that goes into the homes in Great Bend, is read and appreciated. Great Bend has a population of five thousand, and ninety percent of these are subscribers and readers of the Tribune. On the six rural routes leading from Great Bend, eighty per cent of the people take the daily Tribune and fifteen per cent the weekly Tribune. In the other parts of Barton County and surrounding counties contiguous to Great Bend, the daily only reaches ten per cent of the population, while the weekly Tribune is taken in by fifty per cent. Of course the discrepancy is due to the diversity of rural postal delivery facilities. The Weekly is disappearing on the trail of the rural free delivery, and as a consequence of it Mr. Warren Baker, the business manager of the Tribune, informs me that the combined circulation of all the papers in the territory which his papers cover, including one weekly in Great Bend, is less than the combined circulation of the daily and weekly Tribune, with rates only one-fifth as much as the combined rates of the other papers. Barton County, I am told, is the greatest wheat county in the world, and its farmers are as a class correspondingly wealthy, owning their own homes and farms, there being one automobile to every eighteen of population, men, women and children. Great Bend has three departments stores ten grocery and provision stores, four banks with deposits amounting to two million dollars. There are other material indications of wealth and prosperity in abundance in Great Bend." Press Work. In order to facilitate the issuing of this volume the press work has been done by Gunn & Wattson.
A ........
Adams, Williams Varner .................. 172
Albert ........... . ...................... 79
Albion Township .............. . . . - ...... 56
Alefs, Jacob ........ . ................... 305
Amend Brothers ......................... 67
Amerine, Fred B ................ . ......... 100
Andress, Charles .................... .251, 252
Arkansas Valley Telephone Co ............ 310
B
Baldwin, Lutellus ..................... ..251
Bales, John Frank .................... 84
Banta, Judge D. A .................... 286, 287
Banta, Dan Worth .................... ....256
Baptist Church, Great Bend ........... ....235
Barbecue ............................ . .. . 60
Barton County Flour Mill ................. 288
Batchman, Albert Fred ................... 186
Button, Chas. E .... . ..................... 142
Bauer, George ........................... 169
Bauer, John C ........................... 120
Beaver Township ........................ 55
Belt, Francis .......... . ........ . .... ....161
Berscheidt, John .......... . ............. 84
Beseler, George Lewis .................... 173
Bidlernan, Robert Art11ur.... .............. 136
Bird, Daniel Green ....................... 105
Birdseye View of Great Bend ............. 270
Blizard of 1871 ........................... 41
Blood Creek Settlers ................. 56
Boese, John ............................. 128
Bosse, J. H. D ........................ 209-211
Bosse, Milton ............... . ........... 210
Both, Julius ......................... 106, 107
Bowman, William H .................. ....164
Boughan, Patrick .................... ....309
B. P. O. E ............................ ....277
Brack, Peter ............................. 280
Brack, Jacob B .......................... 81
Brack, Peter C ....................... . .... 81
Brewer, Thomas Henderson ........... .159
Brinkman Family ........................ 77
Brinkman, J. V ....................... 77
Brinkman, Mrs. J. V .................. . 77
Brinkman, Chas. ........................ 78
Brinkman, Louis ....................... .. 78
Brown, Orris Albert .................. 128, 129
Brougher, Ira D .......................... 141
Buckland, Edward Grant ................. 102
Buffalo Bill ......... . .................... 152
1 Buffalo Township . ....................... 51
Building Court House .................... 225
· Bunting, W. R ............................ 296
Batchman, Frank N ...................... 303
Byers, Hugh JB .............. . ............ 302
C
Campbell, Henry James ................... 306
Caraway, Leslie James ........... . ....... 192
Catholic Churches .................... 38, 235
Census of 1872 .......................... 30
Central Normal College .................. 230
Chapman, E. L ................... . ....... 279
Chapman, G. L ....................... 65, 278
Christian Church, Great Bend ............. 235
Christian Church, Pawnee Rock ....,...... 154
Christian Church, Hoisiugton ............. 196
Cheyenne, Bottoms ...................... 295
Cheyenne Township ...................... 56
Citizens State Bank, Ellinwood ........... .207
Citizens National Bank, Great Bend ...... 249
Clarence Township ...................... 53
Clark, Ira H .................... . ..... 313, 63
Clark, James W .......................... 47
Claflin .......................... . ....... 312
Clements, Archie B ....................... 48
Clevelnd Township. ...................... 56
Cole, Elrick C .......................... 60, 75
Cole, Thomas Oakley ..................... 127
Comanche Township ..................... 54
Comfort, Samuel B ....................... 303
Congregational Church .............. 233, 262
Connett, Dr. A. H ..................... 281, 282
Cook, A. S ................................ 66
Cook, Henry C .......................... . 94
Cornelius, Roy .......................... 202
Coss, John Edward ...................... . 84
Coursing Club ........................ ...253
Court House Views .............. ....213-215
Crane, George W. ........................ 297
D
Damm, Louis ............................ 301
Dawson, O. W .......................... 75, 76
Deckert, Andrew J ........ . ..... 123, 124, 268
Deckert, Peter J .......................... 171
Denbo, John W .......................... 303
Dewey, Ed. W ........................... 19
Diffenbacher, C. F ........................ 300
Dirks, Jacob A .......................... 71
Dirks, J. P ............................... 168
Dodge Family ........................ 80
Dodge, E. J ..................... 21-24, 80, 272
Donovan, John ........................... 97
Drehle, Henry ........................... 111
Dry Creek Stock Farm ................... 110
Dumkow, Fred ........................... 178
Duncan Bottling Works .................. 285
Dundee Valley Farm ..........,.,.,,..... 301
E
Earliest Explorations .............. . .... . 7
Elks Building ........................... 276
Ellinwood ........................... 203-211
Elliott, Mrs. F. E ........... . ............ 132
Ernsting, G. H ............................ 204
Essmiller, Diedrich .. .................... 138
Essmliler, Henry .................... 175-176
Essmiller, William ....................... 108
Eureka Golden Rule Stock Farm ........... 193
Eureka Township ............... .. ...... 53
Everitt, John ............................ 99
Everitt, Henry Smith .... . ........... 164, 165
Evers, Otis ...... . ....................... 190
Evers, John ............................. 66
Evers, Boyd ............................. 167
Ewing, James R ...................... 174, 175
Ewing, F. H ............................. 181
I!
Fairview Township ...................... 55
Fairfield Farm .......................... 301
Fancher, Bert ....................... 312, 313
Farmers & Merchants State Bank ......... 156
Fee, William James ...,.................. 125
Fenn, August ...... . ...................... 99
Fire Company ................. . ......... 260
First Christmas Tree ..................... 24
First National Bank ..................... 278
First Settlers ............................ 240
Fish, Arthur L ............... . ........... 126
Flick, James H ...................... 160, 161
Fort Zarah .............................. 17
Fossil, Mr. .... . ......................... 274
Frost, Luther ............................ 25
Frey, Kate A ............................. 292
Frey, louis P ......... . ................... 292
Fruit, Henry ............................ 44
Fugate, James M ......................... 10
G
Gagelman, William ....................... 137
Gagelman, Henry .............. . ......... 304
Gainsford, Jim ...................... 242, 243
Gallon, John P ........................... 185
Geil, Andrew ..,..................... 165, 166
Geil, George Adam ................... 109, 110
German American State Bank ............. 91
German Lutheran Church, Ellinwood ...... 208
German Lutheran Church, Great Bend .... 236
Gibson, Jim ............................. 151
Gilson, Chris ........................... 283
Golden Grain Farm .......... . ........... 111
Government Building .................... 275
Grant Township ......................... 56
Great Bend .............................. 212
Great Ilend City Hall ............... , .... 220
Great Bend High School .................. 231
Great Bend Hotel ........ . ............... 71
Great Bend Ice, Fuel and Storage C0 ...... 293
Great Bend Mills ........................ 291
Great Iiend Officials .................. 213-221
Great Bend Town Company ............... 22
Great Bend Township ........ . ........... 52
Greenwood Farm ........................ 114
Gruber, Anton ........................... 101
Gruber, John ............................ 100
Gunn, Charles L .......................... 288
Gunn, Levi .............................. 95
Gwinn, Samuel H ........................ 305
H
Harders, George R ....................... 137
Hart, George W .......................... 180
Hartman, Henry A. C ................... 201
Hartshorn, Lucy Hull ..................... 187
Hartshorn, William W .................... 187
Hedrick, Sevier H ........................ 104
Heizer .......... . ....................... 78
Heizer Creamery ........................ 79
Heizer Diary ........................ 262-267
Heizer, D. N .................. 20, 283, 255-261
Herald ........ . ........................ 158
Hitchcock, Frank ........................ 221
Hoge, John Allison ....................... 135
I-Ioisington ........ . .................. 194-202
Hoisington, A. J ...................... 43, 281
Hoisington, Incidents of ................ 63, 64
Holmes, Clarence E ....................... 72
Holmes, Harry _Hoard .... . ........... 176, 177
Homestead Township .................... 55
Hooper, Charles A ........................ 277
Howell, Charles B ........................ 189
Hulme, George H ........................ 290
I
Independent Township ................... 56
Indian Fight ........................... 10-14
Inman, Major Henry ...................... 12
Inman’s Tales ........................... 151
Irrigation ............. . ................. 38
J
Johnson, Amos .......................... 82
Johnson, Chris ...................... 114, 115
Johnson, Thomas B ................... 117, 118
Jurgensen, Hans ........................ 109
K
Keenan Estate .......................... 121
Keenan, Michael James ............... 125, 126
Kerr, W. H ........................,..... 70
Kidder, Homer H ......................... 14
Klepper, Nicholas W ...................... 85
Koopman, Christian ..................... 127
Kramer, Frank .......................... 47
IJ
Lady Barton ............................ 253
Lakin Township ......................... 52
Langford, Abraham L .................... 104
Leader, Ellinwood ............ . ......... 206
Lewis, John F ......................... 45, 74
` Lewis, William M ......................... 163
Le Roy, Mrs. Katie ................... 112, 113
Lile, John .............................. 120
Lind Hospital ....................... 200, 201
Lippincott, Grant .................... 158, 159
Logan Township ........................ 55
Logan, D. R .............................. 304
Lowrey’s Island ........................ 12
Luse, D. C ............................... 253
Ludwig, Fred C .......................... 242
M
Maher, Samuel ..................... 48, 222
Maneth, Ferdnand C .................. 188, 261
Marker On Santa Fe Trail ................ 151
Mausolf, August ......................... 130
Mausolf, John A ............ . ............ 140
Maybach, William H ...................... 134
Mayors of Great Bend .................... 270
Mecklem, L G; .............. . ..... , ...... 68
Mennonite Colony ....................... 50
Merritt-Schwier Creamery Co ............. 96
Merten, Albert N ......................... 81
Merten, Frank ........................... 103
Merten, Robert .......................... 241
Methodist Church, Great Bend ............ 234
Methodist Church, Hoisington ............ 197
Mehodist Church, Pawnee Rock ........... 149
Meyer, August .......................... 184
Meyer, Henry ...,....................... 192
Miller, Daniel, Sr ......................... 307
Miller, Henry ........................... 139
Miller, Jake ............................. 69
Missouri Pacific Shops ................... 197
Mitchell, Tom ............................ 88
Monument Day, Pawnee Rock ..... . .. ..... 155
Morris, T. L ........................... 21, 162
Morrison, John Tullis ........ . ............ 307
Morrison Hotel .......................... 71
Moses, Amasa C. and Family ............ 86-93
Moses Brothers ........ . ................. 87
Moses Brothers’ Mill ...................... 90
Moses, Arthur H ......................... 91
Moses, Cassius M ..................... 92, 240
Moses, C. L .............................. 88
Moses, E. W ........................ 88, 89, 91
Moses, Lincoln E ......................... 93
Moses, Seward E ......................... 92
Moses, Will .............................. 91
Moses Homestead ....................... 92
Moses, George N ....................... 27, 48
Moses, E. R., Jr ......................... 248
Mos·es, E. R., Sr ...................... 247, 248
Moses, E. R. Mercantile Co., Great Bend. . .245
Moses, E. R. Mer. Co., Hoisington .... 198, 246
Mount Aubrey ........................... 12
Mull, William ........................... 118
Murphy, Patrick Emmet ............... .306
McDonald, James Thomas ................ 182
McDougal, William S ..................... 155
McFarren, S. J ........................ 61, 62
McGill, Tobias ........................... 97
McKinney, Frank Gillmore ................ 186
McMullen, John ......................... 206
N
Newcombe, Calvin Quincy ................. 309
New Jerusalem Church ................... 149
Newspapers .......... . .................. 60
New Years Reception ................ 238, 239
Nimocks, George W ....................... 300
Nuttleman, Fred . ........................ 289
0
Odd Fellows Cake ....................... 237
Officials of Barton County .... . ............ 3 5
O-Ton-Sone-Var .............. . .. ........ 152
P
Olmitz ...... . .......................... 79
Otte, William ........................ 166, 167 ’
Otte, William Christ ...................... 105
Pascoe, John West ................... 271, 272
Pascoe, Paul James ....................... 183
Patent for Great Bend .................... 270
Patterson, Mrs. Isabel .. ................. 141
Pawnee Rock ........................ 145-164
Pawnee Rock Park ....................... 148
Pawnee Rock State Bank ...... . .......... 157
Pawnee Rock Township ................... 54
Peoples State Bank, Ellinwood ........ 207, 208
Peoples State Bank, Hoisington ....... 198, 199
Plankenhorn, Louis .................. 133, 134
Pleasant Dale ...... . ................. 297-299
Political History ......................... 58
Post Office, Great Bend ............... 274, 275
Powell, Alfred L .......................... 82
Presbyterian Church, Great Bend ......... 235
Q
Quivera ................................. 7
B
Railroad Y. M. C. A .................. 199, 200
Rock Hotel ............................ .161
Rogers, William H ..................... 93, 94
Ruhe Bros ............ .. ...... . .......... 177
Russell, W. H ........... . ................ 137
S
Santa Fe Oepot .......................... 267
Santa Fe Trail .......................... 9
Schaeffer, Henry ........................ .188
Schmidt, Paul .................... . ...... 85
Schneck Home ......., . .................. 170
Schneck, Paul Francis ........ . ........... 169
Schneck, Melissa Ann .................... 169
Schneidc r, Carl ......................... .268
Schneider, Joseph ....................... 83
Schcential, ........................ . .297-299
Schools of Barton County .... . ............ 231
Schuelke, Frederick ..................... 93
Schultz Christian S ...................... 119
Schultz, Henry C ........................ 123
Schultz, Samuel C ........................ 122
Schwie r, Henry ......................... 102
Seeley, George L .................... . .... 293
Seibert, Andrew ......................... 301
Selle, Gustav ............................ 179
Shafer, Max C..L ........................ 301
Shaffer, Frank P .....................,... 101
Shaw, Jim ................... . ........... 88
Shaw, Dr. Simeon ....................... 289
Sheriffs, First Seven ...................... 217
Sheriffs of Barton County ................. 217
Smith, Edward L ......................... 206
Smith, Newton Philip ................ 159, 160
Soderstrom, J. W .................... 172, 173
Sod House, Last in County ................ 259
South Bend Township .................... 54
Southern Hotel .............. . ........... 269
Sowards, Marion F .........,. . ........... 294
Sowards, W. W ............,.............. 44
Spaniol, Francis ......................... 116
Sports1nen's Association ....,............ 271
Stone, T. L ............................... 269
Street; Scene, Great Bend ................. 223
St. J(h11'S Episcopal Church .............. 233
St. Mary’s Academy ....................... 230
St. Rose Hospital ..................... 226-230
T
Tammen, Herman ............. . .......... 113
Taylor, Richard .......................... 273
Thies, Joseph ............................ 143
Tilton, John F ........................ 243, 244
Towers, George .......................... 56
Townsley, C. P ........................ 61, 308
Township Elections .................... 58, 59
Trauer, Fred ............................ 124
Trester, Bert ............................ 104
Tribune .............................. 61, 314
Troillet, Joseph H ............... . ......... 69
Tucker, George Washington .......... 129, 130
Tucker, John Oliver .................. 132, 133
Tyler, Edwin ....................... 37, 42, 95
Typer, Mollie ............................ 237
U
Union Township, ........................ 55
United Brethren Church .................. 196
Unruh, Benjamin H ....................... 72
Unruh, Henry Benjamin ................... 136
Unruh, Tobias B .......................... 302
W
Walnut Creek ........................... 11
Walnut Creek Mill ....................... 224}
Walnut Township ........................ 53
Walter, Joe .................... _ .......... as
Warner, William T ....................... 163
Warren, Fred W .......................... 24
Warnken, Jcst ......... . ................. 183
Weathers, Josiah Clinton ................. 131
Weltmer, Don A .......................... 290
Wemmergren, A. A ....................... 221
Werhahn, William ................... 111, 311
Wheatland Township .................... 55
White, Thomas Henry .................... 178
Williams, Steven J ....................... 164
Willis, P H ............................... 161
Wilson, George P ......................... 193
Winget, James Sheldon ................... 191
Winstead, T. E ........................... 285
Winstead, W. W .......................... 66
Witte, Henry ............................ 115
Wolf, Frederick Henry ............... 116, 117
W01f‘s Mill .............................. 205
Woodburn, Gustavus A ................... S3
Worden, C. B ............................. 93
Y
Yeo. Samuel Gibson ...... . .............. 83
York, Eldridge ........................... 136
Z
Zieber, Wilson M ..................... 173 ,174
Zutavern, Louis ......................... 216