USA > Kansas > Crawford County > A Twentieth century history and biographical record of Crawford County, Kansas > Part 15
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a variety of interesting scenes and incidents. Many funerale, viten involving many hours of wearisome travel across the prairies, must be attended. Calls, clerical service at the marriage altar by day and night demand a favorable response regardless of consequences. Think of attending a wedding at four o'clock in the morning, seven miles from the minister's home, facing a Kansas blizzard all the way. We took precaution on one occasion and made the trip the night before, Judging comfortably at the bride's home. At the appointed hour, in a storm of wind and blinding snow, the wedding party arrived and the marriage vows were taken. Think again of a marriage scene enacted in a sparsely settled community, where the guests, so far from home, were entertained over night by friendly neighbors; where in the darkness of the stormy night, and the obscurity of the prairie roads, the greatest (langer of losing the way was a constant menace. Fortunately for wife and myself, we were assigned quarters at the bride's home. Others, not so fortunate, started out in rain, sleet and darkness to reach their des- tination. All were successful but one couple, who. becoming confused and bewildered, wandered over the prairie until nearly morning. As the gray light began to appear, they saw where they were, and much relieved. though weak from exposure and loss of sleep, they soon reached the bride's home and were tenderly and affectionately welcomed.
By a large majority of the voters of Crawford county, we were called to fill the office of county superintendent of public instruction. with a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year. This new responsibility brought with it a sense of obligation that led to the holding of the Normal School for teachers-the first of its kind in the state of Kansas. We were ably assisted by a corps of teachers which we were enabled to secure at Girard and other neighboring towns. The school continued in session for four weeks and the following summer was renewed, result-
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ing in a higher standard of qualification and an enlarged degree of scholarship. District schools claimed and received our closest attention. Township associations were also organized and conducted with much profit to those engaged in teaching. In every possible way the cause of education was made to assume a degree of importance corresponding with the nature and dignity of its claims.
The limited number of ministers in those early days, and the many places where whole communities were destitute of gospel privileges re- quired at our hand a large amount of itinerary work. Walnut, a small village in the northwestern part of the county; Mulberry Grove, in the eastern portion : Cato neighborhood on the north, McCune on the south, and Pittsburg on the southeast, all places of prospective importance, demanded and received our time and service. At Pittsburg, our first sermon was delivered in a public hali above the postoffice, where two country roads crossed. This was the first preaching service ever held in the village by a Presbyterian minister. At McCune, long before the town was organized, we preached in the public school house in the after- noon. At many times and places we presided at Sabbath school associa- tions and assisted in making out an interesting and successful program.
The County Sunday School Association was organized in the sum- mer of 1869, on the banks of Lightning Creek, near the village of Craw- fordsville. Here the writer was chosen president and retained in office during his ten years' residence in the county. The annual conventions of this association never failed to elicit the deepest interest on the part of every township in the county. Public addresses of a high order by speakers from home and abroad, reports of the different schools, dis- cussions of practical subjects having a hearing upon the work, inter- spersed with music often by the children of different neighborhoods, all served to arouse a deeper interest and lead to better results.
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At the close of our educational work as county superintendent, the church at Girard, then without a pastor, extended a unanimous call for our service during the coming year. This was now the tenth and last year of our missionary work in southeastern Kansas. We had in this time become thoroughily acquainted with all parts of Crawford county, knew personally a large number of its citizens, had preached the gospel or made Sabbath school addresses in their school houses, had visited many of them in their homes, had presided at their educational and religious assemblies, had pronounced the marriage benedictions at their weddings, and had performed the sad rites of burial at their graves. WVe liad seen the fruits of our humble labors in the organization of three churches and the promise of many more in the development of out- stations under our care. Places where the gospel had won its first converts and reared its first temples were then evidencing what they have since become, important centers of commerce, education and re- ligion. The first normal school held in the state, with its strong corps of teachers and liberal roll of attendance, we have since seen multiplied on every hand, patronized on the largest scale and upheld by legislative enactment and public favor.
For all these achievements along material, educational and spiritual lines to which our labors may have served in any way to contribute. we give the praise and honor to Him whose name alone is worthy. Profoundly grateful are we, that our lot was cast among a people whose chief joy was the glory of the Lord in the advancement of his kingdom. But for their communion and fellowship, their counsel and admonitions, and above all the sustaining and guiding hand of Providence, such results never could have been attained. S. T. MCCLURE,
Topeka, Kansas.
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
S. H. LANYON.
In the midst of a life of strenuous activity, little abated by the pas- sage of sixty-year cycles, S. H. Lanyon was stricken down by death at the close of his day's business. September 13. 1897. and by this lament- able event Pittsburg and the county of Crawford, as also the entire industrial world, were deprived of a producing factor and energizing, vitalizing character.
Living contemporaneous with the epoch of modern industrialism and a potent power in that phase of development which has changed the currents of civilization in recent years, Mr. Lanyon's life repre- sents more than the humdrum of existence and its definite results have helped swell the tide of material prosperity and social progress which are the wonders of our nation and our time. If his contribution to the world at large was of no mean degree, his worth and influence in the city of Pittsburg, where he was one of the earliest settlers and a founder of its industrial wealth, were indeed inestimable. He came to Pittsburg in 1878, when the place was unknown by name outside of the imme- (liate neighborhood. `He was one of the first to realize the value and make use of the possibilities of the great undeveloped coal fields of this region. In company with Robert Lanyon he founded the great zinc smelter with which the name and fortunes of the Lanyons have since been identified, and which have been at the foundation of the progress of Pittsburg. Thenceforward from that pioneer year of the city's his- tory he was intimately connected with all the enterprises of a public nature and many of business and industrial kind which expanded Pitts- burg from a village to the proud city of thirteen thousand inhabitants as was its status when he was called from earth's labors. Throughout this history of Crawford county and in the biographies of the Lanyon family members to be found in the following pages can be read many of the achievements of the men of this name, as also much of personal and family history, and at this point only the briefest resume of the life and character of Mr. S. H. Lanyon will be given.
Atthanyou
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Born in Zelah, a village of Cornwall. England, on September 2. 1837. he had just rounded out the full sixty years of his life when death came upon him. With his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Simon Lanyon, he came in infancy to America, settling in Iowa county, Wisconsin, near Mineral Point. After growing up he became a blacksmith's apprentice. and learned his trade thoroughly, conducting a shop at Mineral Point, and later for a period of five years having one of the most complete blacksmith and horseshoeing establishments in San Francisco, California. In 1862 he went back to the land of his birth and in his native village met and married Miss Emily Dabb, who survives her honored husband and resides at Pittsburg. He returned with his bride to this country. and for some time following was at Mineral Point. In the seventies he became connected with the zinc industry, first at Mineral Point, later at LaSalle, Illinois, and about the date mentioned transferred the industry to southwestern Missouri and to this county, the Lanyon smelter being the great industry which made the city of Pittsburg in its present-day attainments possible.
Mr. Lanyon was a man of unlimited industry and activity, and his death, brought on by heart failure, occurred while he was attending to his business transactions in Pittsburg. In the course of the day he had conversed with many of his friends and associates, had mingled with men and affairs in his customary way, so that when the news of his sudden death spread from person to person it seemed incredible that the honored citizen had passed from the throngs of the living to the abodes of silence. "In the midst of life we are in death."
Henry Lanyon was a rare character, rugged and sturdy. Meas- ured by the closest standards, his life was remarkably successful, and successful not alone in the fact that by frugal care and perseverance he had amassed a competency. His life was grand in nobler attributes. He was more than ordinarily reticent. yet aggressive in what he believed to be right. and when an opinion was formed as to a proper course to pursue that course was pursued without vacillation or swerving. His
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was a charitable nature, and what finer eulogium could be pronounced upon any man than that "Many a poor person will miss him this win- ter," a sentiment expressed and echced by many in Pittsburg at the news of his death. Simplicity always marked his giving, which was tactful and without ostentation. He was not a little in public life, where his influence was steadying and conservative, and his performance marked with utmost fidelity to the public weal and with untiring energy. De- voted to ideals which had led him to personal success, he could not easily be turned aside from applying these same principles to all matters in which he participated, and seldom indeed was his judgment or action at fault. However counterwise the winds of adversity might blow he kept his rudder true and at last made the port of noble ideals.
It has been mentioned that Mr. S. H. Lanyon was a native of Cornwall, England, and it will be of interest to append here some items concerning the ancestral history and the family seat in that ancient Eng- lish shire. The Lanyons in origin were Norman-French, dating back perhaps to the time of the English conquest. The estate of the family in Cornwall was in the parish of Gwinear, where it is said the first pro- genitors settled along with Isabella, wife of King Edward II : in which parts the Lanyon posterity have ever since flourished in gentle degree. That they originally came from the town of Lanyon, situate upon a seahaven of France, is proved by the fact that the family coat of arms is the coat of arms of that town of Norman-France : namely, in a field sable a castle argent, standing on the waves of sea azure, over the same a falcon hovering with bells. Locally the name Lanyon was pronounced "La-nine."
In the parish of Madron, Cornwall, is Lanyon, properly Lanion. which was in former days the property and residence of the ancient family of that name. The site of the old mansion is occupied by a sub- stantial farmhouse. The estate measures four hundred and seventy-one acres. This place has unusual historic interest, especially for the arch- eologist, for it is one of the spots of England associated with the life
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and customs of the earliest aboriginal inhabitants of the island. a> some remains of primitive architecture in the vicinity indicate.
On the coarse land of this estate, by the side of the highway leading from Madron churchtown to Morvah, stands the celebrated cromlech ( perhaps more properly dolmen ) called Lanyon Quoit. It consists of a large granite table 17 1 3 feet in length, and at its greatest breadth 834 feet: its form is irregular, and its average thickness about eighteen inches. This table or capstone is supported by three unhewn pillars also of granite, its elevation being about five feet.
Borlaise describes this ancient monument as high enough for a man on horseback to pass under it, but this cannot now be done.
About one-half mile west of Lanyon farmhouse, in the middle of a hilly field on the same estate, is another cromlech, known as West Lan- yon Quoit. It was discovered in 1700 within a mound of earth and stone, after one hundred cartloads had been removed. The capstone. which had slipped off. measures 18 2, 3 feet in length by 1072 feet in breadth. In digging under this cromlech there was found a broken urn with ashes, half of a human skull, and most of the other bones of a human body. thus indicating the sepulchral character of this ancient monument.
On the boundary of the parish near the Lanyon estate is the mentol or holed stone, locally called "crickstone." It is claimed that a person crawling through the hole in the stone will be cured of rheumatism and cricks.
The Mien-Scriffys spoken of by Hals is about one mile northeast of Lanyon. It is a rough granite pillar 934 feet long, 1 2/3 feet wide and 112 feet thick, and has this inscription "Rialobram the son of Conoval." The popular tradition is that a great battle was fought near this pillar : that one of the leaders was slain and buried here: that this stone marks the place of sepulture: and that its length was the height of the war- rior.
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MORRIS CLIGGITT.
Morris Cliggitt has for some years been noted among the legal fraternity of Crawford county as one of the capable men in the pro- fession, and his success has been deserved. His talents in this line were recognized while he was still a law student, and during the past twenty years he has fought on many a legal battlefield, and with many victories to his credit. He has also been prominent in the political affairs of the county and state, and here likewise his learning and judgment have given him power as a debater and wielder of political forces. Pittsburg has in him a staunch and public-spirited citizen, and has never lacked his interest in matters pertaining to the general welfare and progress of the city.
Mr. Cliggitt was born in Oswego, Kendall county, Illinois, in 1854, being a son of Morris and Julia ( Russell) Cliggitt, both of whom were born in Ireland, and on coming to the United States located on a farm in Kendall county, where they made their home till death.
Mr. Cliggitt was reared on the farm, and in the interims of farm labor attended the district schools, and later the academy in Oswego. He spent three years in Northwestern College at Naperville, Illinois, and during a part of that time and for some years following taught school in that section of Illinois. He took his law course in the Union College of Law at Chicago, graduating in the class of 1883. He took the highest honors, and carried off the prizes during both his junior and senior year. The afterward famous William J. Bryan was a member of the same class. From June, 1883, to March, 1884. Mr. Cliggitt practiced with his brother John at Mason City, Iowa, and then went to Hastings. Nebraska, where after a short period in the law he was chosen assistant cashier of the Exchange National Bank of that place, and continued in that position until January, 1887. He was then engaged for some time in the conduct of a bank in Culbertson, in western Nebraska, but finally returned to his legal practice and remained in that town until January,
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1890. at which time he came to Pittsburg, Kansas. During his life in Nebraska he took a prominent part in politics, as a member of the Demo- cratic party, and was conspicuous for his stand against free silver and the fiat money advocates.
Mr. Cliggitt began practice in Pittsburg in partnership with Ed Van Gundy, a prominent and well known attorney of the city. but at whose death in September. 1804. the partnership ended and Mr. Cliggitt has since practiced alone. For several years he has been attorney for the National Bank of Pittsburg, and the smelter industries and coal companies which represent the largest corporate interests in southeastern Kansas.
After coming to Pittsburg Mr. Cliggitt continued to take interest in broader politics, and gave especial consideration to the financial problems of those years. He wrote some papers in favor of sound money that attracted wide-spread interest, and indicated the thorough study he had made of the subject, expressing original views in a con- vincing way. In December. 1893. he was appointed, under the Cleve- land administration, assistant United States district attorney for Kansas. and to discharge the duties of that office removed to Topeka, but in the following July resigned and returned to Pittsburg. He held the office of city attorney of Pittsburg for four years, and was among the national Democratic electors from Kansas in 1896. He is now president of the Pittsburg Library Board.
Mr. Cliggitt was married in Nebraska in 1891 to Miss Celia Grier.
JOHN H. GOULD.
John H. Gould, the well known implement and grain dealer and prominent business man of Opolis, Kansas, has been a leader in the agricultural, commercial and civic life of Crawford county for almost as long a period as any other man in the county. He made settlement near the present site of Opolis in the year 1868, which was a pioneer time
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in the history of the region thereabouts. Stock-raising was then the most profitable line of business, and he grazed his herds without let or hindrance over the fertile prairies for some years, wire fences and osage hedges furnishing no barrier in those days to the herdsman's free range. He accordingly was a witness and a real part of the development and material progress which went on so rapidly during the latter third of the past century, and his business interests have kept pace with the coun- try's growth. Furthermore, his activity has not stopped with individual success, but has found a broad scope in the public affairs of his com- munity, and he has devoted himself public-spiritedly and disinterestedly to the advancement of the welfare of the county's institutions.
Mr. Gould was born in Adams county, Illinois, in 1839, being a son of Benjamin and Rebecca (Jones) Gould. His father was a native of Connecticut, whence he came west to Illinois and Adams county in the early year of 1832. He was a prosperous farmer, and attained to a great age, his death occurring in Hancock county, Illinois, when he was ninety-one years old. His wife was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and died in Adams county, Illinois, at the age of seventy-five.
Mr. John H. Gould was reared to manhood and had the experi- ences of youth and his educational advantages while living on the farm in Adams county. In August, 1862, he enlisted, at Chicago, in Com- pany C, Seventy-second Illinois Infantry, that regiment being attached to the Army of the Tennessee. He was at the battles of Champion Hill. at Franklin, Tennessee. and other engagements in the latter state and in Mississippi, and was also present at the siege of Vicksburg. During the winter of 1864-5 he was a prisoner in the Andersonville prison, and after his release from this pen he received his honorable discharge and returned home.
In 1868 Mr. Gould came out to Crawford county, and as this has been his home ever since he is certainly one of the old-timers. He located in the southeast corner of the county, where Opolis now stands situate, and he still owns a farm adjoining this town. He came to this county
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with his brother-in-law. E. B. Hoyt, whose history is given on other pages of this work. The two were engaged quite extensively for some years in the cattle business, and had large interests about Opolis. In 1882 Mr. Gould moved from his farm into Opolis, where he engaged in the grain and implement business. The town had received a great impetus from the construction of the railroad through it in that year. and has since been one of the thriving towns of Crawford county. In addition to his property in Crawford county, Mr. Gould owns a farm across the state line in Missouri.
Mr. Gould's prominence in local affairs began during the first years of his residence here and has continued to the present. He has been a justice of the peace, township treasurer, notary public, was postmaster for four years under President Harrison, and has been president of the school board for twenty years.
Mr. Gould was first married in Adams county. Illinois, to Miss S. J. Hoyt. She died in 1867, leaving one child, who is now Mrs. Jennie B. Michie. Mr. Gould's present wife, Sarah E. ( Michie ) Gould, is a native of Canada. They have five children : Mrs. Emily R. Wilson ; Mrs. Ina E. Bateman, John B. Gould. Mrs. Edith L. Lyngar and Frank Leslie Gould.
L. H. LASHLEY.
L. H. Lashley is a retired farmer and one of the most extensive landowners of Crawford county, his possessions aggregating fourteen hundred and fifty aeres. He has been very successful in business, and his life record proves what can be accomplished by strong and deter- mined purpose when guided by intelligence and sound business discern- ment .. His example may well serve as a source of emulation and courage to others who have to begin life as he did, without financial assistante or particularly fortunate environment in youth.
Mr. Lashley is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred
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in Bedford county, that state, on the 7th of August, 1846. His parents were William and Mary E. ( Hullinger) Lashley, and the father was for many years a merchant. carrying on business along that line until his death, which occurred in 1881. when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-one years. His wife passed away in 1800 at the age of eighty years.
To the public school system of his native county L. H. Lashley is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. He was only seventeen years of age when. in the spring of 1864. he responded to his country's call for troops and enlisted as a member of Company A. Twelfth Pennsylvania Cavalry, serving under General Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley. He participated in the battles of Winchester and Charleston and several other engagements and was honorably discharged at Winchester. Virginia, in the fall of 1865. In the meantime, however. he had become familiar with all the hardships of southern prison life. for he had been captured and was held as a prisoner of war at Libby. at Salisbury, North Carolina, and at Pemberton, the period of his incar- ceration covering four months.
When the country no longer needed his services Mr. Lashley re- turned to his home in Pennsylvania and gained his early business experi- ence as his father's assistant. Some time after the war he began mer- chandising on his own account at Chaneysville, where he continued for fifteen years. He had in 1866 made a trip to Dixon, Illinois, but after a short period there again returned to Pennsylvania, where he carried on his mercantile pursuits until his removal to Kansas. He became a resident of this state in 1885. and for two years was engaged in the hardware and lumber business at Englevale. He then turned his atten- tion to farming and became one of the most successful and prosperous agriculturists of this portion of the state. As his financial resources increased he added to his realty holdings, and his investments now cover fourteen hundred and fifty acres of fine farming land in Washington and Lincoln townships. The first land which he ever owned in the state was
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located in Washington township, and was purchased by him in 1883 when on a visit to Kansas. He has been extensively engaged in the raising and shipping of grain, hay and stock, but has now retired from active connection with agricultural interests. In 1902 he rented his farm and removed to Girard, where he now owns a nice home. He is now enjoying the fruits of his former toil without further recourse to labor. save for the supervision which he gives to his property interests.
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