A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 116

Author: Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York Chicago: The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 970

USA > Kansas > A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I > Part 116

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

he is a member of the Knights of Pythias I fraternity. He is a man of marked intelli- gence, broad and progressive in his views, firm in his convictions and honorable in all business transactions.

JAMES F. BAKER.

James F. Baker is the genial and popu- lar proprietor of the Baker Hotel at Ells- worth and has won many friends among the traveling public and the guests of his house. He was born April 5, 1856, in Elmira, New York, and his parents, James M. and Frances C. (Beckwith) Baker, were also natives of the Empire state, the father hav- ing been born in Ithaca, the mother in El- mira. In the east the father carried on agri- cultural pursuits until 1883, when he re- moved to Kansas, locating on a ranch of nineteen hundred acres five miles south of Ellsworth, in Lincoln township, Ellsworth county. Here he engaged in the general stock business, raising cattle, hogs and horses. He followed that vocation until 1889, when he disposed of his ranch, for in 1888 he had located in Kanopolis, where he embarked in the real-estate and insurance business. He still devotes his energies to handling real estate and is interested in much city property in Kanopolis. In this enterprise he is associated with his son, James F., and the firm is a very reliable one, enjoying a liberal patronage, which has come to them by reason of their well known business ability and integrity. James F. Baker is one of four children, of whom three are living, namely : Ella, the wife of Charles C. Densmore, who makes his home in Buffalo, New York, and is employed in the distribution of time tables for all of the railroad companies of the east; Hollis C., who is foreman of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western Railroad Company and makes his home at Elmira, New York ; and James F., of this review.

Our subject was reared upon his father's farm, where he early became familiar withi the work of field and meadow. He attended

716

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

a ward school of Elmira, completing his pired term as clerk of the county and has education with an academic course. He en- ever given his support to advance the meth- ods which he believes will prove of general good. Fraternally he holds membership with Ellsworth Lodge, No. 309, I. O. O. F., with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. He has hield offices in these organiza- tions, and in the last named has served as representative to the grand lodge. He also belongs to the National Aid Association and to Arbutus Lodge, No. 1319, of the Royal Neighbors. Mr. Baker possesses the true enterprising spirit of the west-,a spirit which has wrought the wonderful develop- ment of this section of the country, placing it upon a par with the older east. In busi- ness he is prompt, energetic and notably re- liable, and his public career is one which in many respects is well worthy of emulation. tered upon an independent business career in connection with the manufacture of tobacco and cigars, carrying on operations along that line for several years. He then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed until 1883, when he came to Kansas and worked upon his father's ranch until 1889. In that year he established a creamery in Ellsworth and later he filled the office of assessor of the county for two years. Resigning that position, he came to Kanopolis, in December, 1889, and has since engaged in the hotel, real-estate and insur- ance business. This line of enterprise still claims his attention and in all branches he is meeting with creditable and well merited success. He is a man of splendid business ability, resolute, energetic and of sound judgment. He carries forward to success- ful completion whatever he undertakes and his connection with any enterprise is a guar- PETER TELLIN. antee of its prosperous continuance. He was one of the organizers and directors of the Ellsworth Telephone Company and one ci the organizers of the Ellsworth Creamery Company, of which he served as secretary for two and a half years.

On the 28th of May, 1879, Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Harriet L. Barber, of Elmira, New York, a daughter of James M. and Calfenna (Burgess) Bar- ber, natives also of the Empire state. Tlie marriage ceremony was performed by Dr. Thomas K. Beecher. For eight years they traveled life's journey together and were then separated by the death of the wife, on the 16th of May, 1887. She left two chil- dren : Fannie F., now the wife of Harry Rice, a resident farmer of Ellsworth town- ship, Ellsworth county; and Harry B. On the 4th of November, 1890, Mr. Baker was again married, his second union being with Lottie V. Jury, and they now have an inter- esting little son, Bruce H. In his political views Mr. Baker is an adhierent of Democ- racy and takes quite an active part in public affairs. In the fall of 1890 he represented liis county in the congressional convention at Colby, Kansas. He served out an unex-

One of the most trusted engineers on the Santa Fe Railroad is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. Although not an old man, he is a veteran employe of that system, and has the entire confidence and respect of the company with which he has now been connected for almost a third of a century.

Mr. Tellin was born in Sweden on the 20th of August, 1845, and grew to man- hood in his native land, receiving a good common-school education. At the age of fourteen he began learning the machinist's trade in a foundry, and later was employed in wire and nail factories of his native land. During his last year there he was foreman of a factory and made samples of twenty different sizes and varieties of nails for the Paris Exposition in 1867.

Not long after this Mr. Tellin came to the new world and first located in Rock Island. Illinois, where he worked in a lum- ber yard for three months and for the same length of time was engaged in railroad con- struction. In February, 1868, he started for California, but on reaching Omaha, Ne- braska, he remained there nine months, and

717

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

then came to Topeka, Kansas, where he soon found employment in grading the Santa Fe road bed. In his railroad career he began at the very bottom, handling a shovel until the work was completed to Emporia. On his emigration to America Mr. Tellin was neither rich nor empty-handed, like many of his countrymen, but had a few hundred dol- lars, and fortunately he has never since been without some money in his pocket. He was, however, entirely unfamiliar with the English language, and never can forget the trials and discouragements of those first years in America. His purpose was to get work in the railroad shops, but being unsuc- cessful in this he worked on construction until a better position was offered him. In June, 1870, the Santa Fe Railroad Com- pany gave him his choice of taking charge of a section or going to Topeka as fireman. and he chose the latter. He fired and worked in the shops until August, 1872, when he was given his first engine, and has now served the company in the capacity of engineer for nearly thirty years. In Febru- ary, 1873, he was on a special train running out of Topeka with a hunting party to the frontier on the western boundary of the state. His next orders were to run a train from Dodge City west to Sargent, now Cool- idge, and that spring he had the construction train running to Granada, Colorado. On the 4th of July, 1873, he took the first en- gine across the Arkansas river, this being engine No. 32, named Kansas. It was a memorable occasion, as nearly all the citi- zens went on a wild spree. Mr. Tellin's next train was a mixed one running from Dodge City to Granada, and a year later he was given a passenger train on the same route. He was in the passenger service on the different divisions east and west of Dodge City until 1889. Being in poor health he asked for a transfer to the Larned branch in 1889. and his request was granted. His run was afterward extended from Larned to Nickerson and from the latter place to Newton, where he now makes his home, his run at the present time being on a mixed train between Newton and Jetmore, a dis- tance of one hundred and fifty-three miles.

At Maridalil, on the Big Blue river, Mr. Tellin was married, April 12, 1882, to Miss Emma Swanson, also a native of Sweden, who came to this country in 1868. They liave made their home at various places along the line of the Santa Fe Railroad, first locating at Dodge City, and later living in Nickerson at three different times. In 1869 Mr. Tellin bought a farm in Greenwood county, Kansas, and on selling that place purchased another, which he still owns, and on which the family resided for four years. He has three children, namely: Anna M., born June 29, 1883 ; William G., born Feb- ruary 4, 1885 ; and Lena I., born April 23, 1888.

Although afflicted with malaria for many years, Mr. Tellin is still a well preserved man and is always found at his post of duty, giving strict attention to the company's in- terests. He is one of the pioneer railroad men of this section, running an engine through this state when it was on the west- ern frontier. He has seen probably as many buffaloes as any other man in existence, and also large droves of antelopes. The winter of 1875-6 was very hard on the lat- ter. the ground being covered with snow for over six weeks. It is a sad thing to him that these creatures have been so ruthlessly killed. The same winter the Santa Fe Rail- road west of Dodge City was blockaded by snow for twenty-four days, and for sixteen days east between Dodge City and Kinsley. Food supplies and coal were almost ex- hausted at Dodge City and neighboring towns. The railroad company brought their entire force from Topeka and also hired all the men they could along the line to help open the road, the cuts being filled with sand and snow which formed into ice. Thou- sands of head of cattle perished that same winter.

Mr. Tellin has seen the rough side of railroad life in the west, yet has always been treated well by all classes, and although he has had some thrilling experiences and many narrow escapes he has never met with a serious accident. Pleasant and genial in manner, he makes many friends and is held in high regard by all who know him.

718

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

J. E. JOHNSTON.

Among the enterprising business men of Frederic is the subject of this review, who is now at the head of an extensive mercantile establishment. His marked ability has done much to promote the commercial activity upon which the welfare of every community depends, and in trade circles he enjoys an unassailable reputation.

Many years of his life have been passed in the Sunflower state, and he is numbered among the native sons of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Pickaway county, near Circleville, February 25, 1854. His father, the Rev. John K. Johnston, was a well known and prominent minister in the United Brethren church in Ohio for a few years. He was a man of excellent education and was an active and zealous worker in the cause of the Master. In later life he re- moved to Steuben county, Indiana, where he was in the ministry for about fifteen years, and later he purchased and improved a farm, remaining there until 1878. In that year he went to Rich Hill, Bates county, Missouri, but is now' a resident of Augusta, Oklahoma, having reached the seventieth milestone on the journey of life. His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Jane Doudt, and was a native of Seneca county, Ohio. They were the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, namely : J. E., the subject of this review; May Klotz, who died in Rich Hill, Missouri; Royal, a resident of Kansas; Mrs. Lottie Gravely, of Salina, Kansas; Alma, the wife of Rev. P. W. Brown, a minister of the Congregational church at Joplin, Missouri ; Azalia, the wife of W. A. Swisher, of Eureka township, Rice county ; and one who died in childhood.

J. E. Johnston was reared to farm life in Indiana, and was early taught lessons of industry, honesty and economy. He re- ceived an excellent education in Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, and when seventeen years of age he engaged in teach- ing, following that profession in Indiana, Missouri and Kansas. He proved a capable instructor, being able to impart clearly and

concisely to the others the knowledge which he had acquired. In 1879 he came to Rice county, Kansas, securing a tract of wild land, but by industry and close attention to business he placed his land under a fine state. of cultivation. His farm, which consisted of four hundred and eighty acres, was lo- cated four and a half miles south of Fred- eric and was one of the finest farms to be. found in central Kansas. In 1888 he took up his abode in Frederic, and for the past thirteen years he has been one of the lead- ing merchants of the city. His large and well appointed store, with its extensive and carefully selected stock, is a credit to the proprietor as well as to the city, and in its management Mr. Johnston displays that executive force and able management that ranks him among the leading business men- of the community. His stock, which is val- uted at about twenty-five thousand dollars, consists of dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, furniture, lumber, hardware, threshing ma- chines and all kinds of tools. He is one of the most enterprising and successful mer- chants in Rice county and his reliable busi- ness methods and honorable dealing have gained him the confidence and good will of all with whom he has been brought in con- tact. His first store building was a small structure, twelve by sixteen feet, but his present building covers an entire block, his implement department alone covering an area of thirty-six by one hundred and forty feet. He now owns eight hundred and. fifty acres of land, all in Rice and Lane counties.

On the 4th of November, 1876, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mr. Johnston was united in marriage to Emma Klotz, who was born, reared and educated in the Hoosier state, a daughter of Andrew and Catherine ( Car- omy) Klotz, both now deceased. Their union has been blessed with four children, namely: Daisy, the wife of R. C. McCaw- ley, a merchant of Frederic, and they have two children; Getrude, who is attending the high school at Salina, Kansas; Homer K .: and Marjorie J., who died July 7. 1901. Mr. Johnston is a stanch supporter of Re- publican principles, and for three years

719

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

served as county commissioner of Rice county, also serving as a delegate to county and congressional conventions. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias fra- ternity, and both he and his wife hold mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Hs mercantile career is above reproach, and during his residence in Rice county he has worked his way upward until he now occu- pies a leading position among its repre- sentative citizens.

JOHN H. FRANKLIN.

One of the pioneers of Burrton town- ship, and probably the oldest farmer who has won for himself a place among the pros- perous agriculturists in this portion of the country, is John H. Franklin, who first opened his eyes to the light of day in Penn- sylvania on the 5th of February. 1833. He is of Irish lineage, but his parents are na- tives of this country. His father was born in 1796, in Long Meadow, near Boston, Massachusetts, who during the war of 1812 engaged in teaming, and in 1813, when a lad of seventeen years of age, left home to become a sailor, the ship on which he served running to and from the West Indies and other islands along the coast. For seven and one-half years he pursued this life, but finally left the water and engaged in work- ing at iron smelting and forging at Middle Sligo, Pennsylvania, where he remained for eighteen years. While there he met and won for his wife Miss Susanna Womer, who lived at Bald Eagle Furnace. They were the parents of nine children, of whom four are now living. They lost an infant son and a daughter of about three years of age, and three sons were killed in the Civil war namely: Joseph; Erastus, who died from wounds sustained in the war; and William, who contracted a disease while in camp, from which he did not recover. The children now living are: John H., the sub- ject of this review; Jerry Irving, who is now living in Oklahoma with his family; and George, a carpenter living in Iowa.

The two latter sons served in the war of the Rebellion, Jerry remaining in the service during the entire period of the struggle be- tween the north and south. Eliza Jane, the only surviving daughter, married Joseph Holland and is living on the old homestead in Pennsylvania. The parents both passed away in Van Buren county, Iowa; the father in 1873, his wife surviving him but a short time.

John H. Franklin received a most lim- ited schooling and was early taught the la- bors and duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. Until the time of his mar- liage he remained at home, working at lum- bering at the old water-power sawmill in Cambridge county, Pennsylvania. October 18. 1852, when twenty years of age, he was joined in marriage to Margaret J. Hollen, a native of Pennsylvania, who was born July 23. 1827. She is now in her seventy-fifth year, yet is able to attend to the duties of her own home. She was the mother of ten children, of whom six are now living, namely : Erastus, who is at home operating the farm with the assistance of his brother Charles E. ; Samuel, a resident of eastern Kansas, who has one son; Charles Edward, born in Decatur county, Iowa, March 30. 1860, living on the home farm; L. I., a stone-mason and plasterer; Susan, wife of Joseph Mckenry, of Burrton township, and the mother of two children; and Benjamin, a traveling man, who has two sons. The children who are deceased are: Lucy, the second child in order of birth, born in Penn- sylvania September 31, 1854, and died in Iowa in 1855: Elizabeth, who died in 1877, having lost her infant child; John, who suc- cumbed to an attack of diphtheria when five years of age; and Robert, who died at the age of twenty months, within eight days after the family arrived at Burrton.

John H. Franklin arrived in Kansas on the 8th of April, 1871, with his family and all his worldly possessions, which consisted of a pair of good horses, one cow and one dollar in cash. On a barren tract of eighty acres of open prairie land he erected an abode for his family,-a little log cabin twelve by sixteen feet. Their only neigh-

720

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

bors were the family of John Blades, who had also settled in this section of the coun- try, and these two men began the test of cultivating this unimproved land. The vegetation was scant: no trees or shrubs were to be seen nearer than those in the sand hills or along the little Arkansas river, but in spite of the discouraging outlook they labored unceasingly. In time trees were planted, fields and pastures were laid out, and the land was transformed into a flourishing and productive farm. Mr. Franklin now has a large grove of cotton- wood, walnut, honey locust and hackberry trees, as well as an orchard of three acres. Everything about the homestead, from the comfortable residence and substantial barns and outbuildings to the well tilled fields rich with golden harvests, indicates the care ful supervision and indefatigable labor of the owner. Mr. Franklin also purchased eighty acres of land adjoining his farm, but afterward sold it.

Politically Mr. Franklin is a Populist from the Republican ranks, having voted for Fremont in Iowa, and twice for Abraham Lincoln. He prefers not to hold office, but for nine years, however, served on the school board in Kansas, and was also elected road supervisor, performing his duties with such intelligence and industry that he is considered the most competent man that has held the office. Both Mr. and Mrs. Franklin are consistent members of the Christian church, and are greatly beloved by all who know them. The family were for three years residents of Washington terri- tory and while there voted for the admis- sion of it as a state.

PETER DECK.

Peter Deck, a prominent farmer of Westminster township, Reno county, Kan- sas, was born in Noble county, Indiana, August 6, 1850, a son of Isaac Deck, a na- tive of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred on the 4th of March, 1820, while his death occurred in

Westminster township, Reno county, Oc- tober 6, 1898. His father, Peter Deck, was a native of the Keystone state, born in 1790, and he reached the seventy- third milestone on the journey of life, passing away in 1863, in Williams coun- ty, Ohio, where he was one of the pio- neer farmers and blacksmiths. He fol- lowed that trade until reaching advanced years, and during his earlier years he was engaged in work as a journeyman. He wedded Miss Ann Oaks, who was of Eng- lish parentage, and their family consisted of eleven children, nine sons and two daugh- ters, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. Most of the children re- mained in the east, but Isaac Deck, the fa- ther of our subject, joined the tide of emi- gration moving westward, and first located in Ohio, but in 1844 continued the journey to Indiana. In October, 1844, he was united in marriage with Julia Johnson, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1827, and at the time of her marriage was only seventeen years of age. Her father, William Johnson, was a shoemaker by trade and also owne a farm, but after his nine children had reached mature years he gave his farm to them and devoted his attention exclusively to his agricultural pursuits. In the spring of 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Deck removed to Mis- souri, but his political sentiments were not popular in that state and he was obliged to remove to Iowa, locating in Decatur county, that state, in the spring of 1861, and in the spring of 1876 he joined his son in Reno county, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Deck were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters, namely: Hannah, who be- came the wife of H. Hatfield, and died when about twenty-five years of age, leaving three children; Lucinda, the wife of Hiram Stan- ley, of Reno county, Kansas; William, a resident of Hutchinson, Kansas, and the father of seven children; Peter, the subject of this review ; Gideon, who resides at Gar- den City, Kansas, and has six children; Laura, the wife of J. M. Taylor, of Medford township, and they have six children; Lin- coln, a prominent farmer of Reno county ; and Florence, the wife of J. F. Norris, of

eller drie alors D. Lelk

721

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

Westminster township. The mother of these children now makes her home in Ab- beyville.

Peter Deck, whose name introduces this review, received but meager school privi- leges during his youth, and was early in- ured to the duties of the farm, having fol- lowed the plow as soon as he was large enough to reach the handles. He remained under the parental roof until after his mar- riage, and in the spring of 1874 he left his Iowa home for the Sunflower state, lo- cating on a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in this township. His landed possessions now aggregate four hundred and eighty acres in Westminster town- ship and one hundred and sixty acres in enterprise township, but he rents all of his land with the exception of the original homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, where he is engaged in gen- eral farming and stock raising. He keeps on hand about forty-five head of shorthorn and black polled cattle, has a number of good horses and mules, and also raises a good grade of hogs. From eighty to one hundred and sixty acres of his land is devoted to the raising of wheat, and he also raises some corn.

The 13th of February, 1870, witnessed the marriage of Mr. Deck and Miss S. L. Anderson, a daughter of WV. D. and Sarah' (Lowder) Anderson, both now deceased. They removed from North Carolina to Indiana in 1851, and in the fall of 1859 re- moved to Decatur county, Iowa, where the father died in 1887, at the age of seventy-six years, and one week later the mother joined him in the spirit world. They were prom- inent farming people and were the parents of eight children who grew to years of ma- turity. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Deck have been born five children. The family is a promi- nent and highly respected one of their lo- cality, and the daughters are excellent musi- cians. In political matters our subject is a Republican, ever taking an active part in the growth and success of his party. He has attended many of the state and county con- ventions, and in 1900 was a mein- ber of the senatorial convention, while

in local political affairs he has been equally prominent, having served his township as treasurer and as trustee. In his social rela- tions he is a Master Mason, and both he and his wife are active and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is now filling the position of trustee. Mr. Deck is a public-spirited and progres- sive citizen, manifesting a commendable in- terest in everything pertaining to the pub- lic welfare, and his honorable record in bus- iness circles has won him the confidence and respect of the entire community.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 116

Author: Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York Chicago: The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 970

Author: Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York Chicago: The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 970