A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 121

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 121

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In politics Mr. Hamilton has always been identified with the Republican party. and while not aggressively partisan, no one is in doubt concerning his position regard- ing the issues of the day. He has frequently been a delegate to state and national con- ventions of his party, and was marshal of the Kansas delegation to the national con- vention, in Chicago, that nominated Harri- son, and thus was admitted to the floor. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Garfield Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic. at Wichita, and is one of its most active and valued representatives. He has also attained the Knights Templar rank in the Masonic fraternity and is a noble of the Mystic Slirine. He is a man of high mental- ity and broad general information, and he reads the best classical and current litera- ture, having in his home an extensive and select library. He is a splendid representa- tive of the best type of American manhood, -reliable in business, loyal in citizenship

and trustworthy in all life's relations. His individuality is insistent, his courtesy un- failing, his reputation 'unblemished, and he is ranged among the representative men of the Sunflower state.

JAMES W. BAKER.

There is probably no business man at Hollyrood, Ellsworth county, Kansas, who has exerted a more potent influence upon the upbuilding of the town than the gentleman whose name is above. James W. Baker, who is a dealer in grain, coal, flour, feed and live-stock, was born in De Witt county, Illinois, August 22, 1845, a son of Daniel and Polly (McCord) Baker. His father was a native of Indiana and his mother was born in Tennessee. Daniel Baker went to De Witt county, Illinois, and was a pioneer there. He bought new land and improved it and was familiar with every phase of the life of early settlers in that part of the coun- try, at a time when the nearest market was at Chicago, to which town he often took wheat, making the journey with teams. He became a citizen of wealth and prominence and owned eight hundred or nine hundred acres of land. After the death of his wife, which occurred in 1846, he moved to Indi- ana and thence back to Illinois, locating in Vermillion county, where he again pur- chased land and improved it and prospered as a farmer. Now, eighty-seven years old. he lives at Potomac, Illinois, and owns land which he purchased upon his arrival in Ver- million county.

James W. Baker had not completed the first year of his life and his sister was not yet two years old when their mother died. He became a member of the family of his uncle, J. W. McCord, and his sister was taken into the family of his grandfather Mc- Cord. Daniel Baker's second wife was a Miss Hall, whom he married in Indiana and who bore him the following children, named in the order of their nativity : Robert, Dayton, Ann, America, Hattie, Amanda, Ada, Emma and Eva. Mr. Baker grew up

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

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as a member of his uncle's household and was reared to the laborious life of a farmer boy of all work, in which his school days were limited to such time as he could be spared from labor and altogether would not have made up a year.

In February, 1863, when he was seven- teen years old, he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. His company commander was Captain Philips and his regimental con- mander was Colonel Osburn. He fought under Grant in the campaign against Rich- mond and participated in many famous en- gagements round about the federal capital and before Petersburg. He was in the charge at Fort Gregg, and at Cold Harbor a shell which exploded almost in his face gave him serious wounds in his head, face and on the back of his head, which are visi- ble evidences of the close call he received that day. He lay unconscious on the ground until he was picked up and cared for, but he did not leave his company and in time re- covered sufficiently to again take up active duty, and he was present at Appomattox when General Lee surrendered. Later he was on police patrol duty at Norfolk, Vir- ginia, and he was mustered out of the ser- vice at Norfolk, Virginia, December 5, 1865.

After the war Mr. Baker returned to De Witt county, Illinois, where for a time he was employed as a farm hand. After that he farmed rented land until 1886, when he sold his stock, utensils and all other per- sonal belongings except clothing and some other small portable property and went to Ellsworth, Kansas, where for six months he was engaged in buying and shipping stock. In October, that year, he went to Holly- rood, Kansas, where he was a pioneer in his line. He built a small warehouse, the first in the town. In 1890, he erected an ele- vator, the pioneer structure of its kind at Hollyrood, which had a capacity of eight thousand bushels. He shipped from Holly- rood the first carload of stock ever sent out of the town and bought the first load of wheat ever sold there. In 1896 he built an- other elevator at Lorraine, of which he was sole proprietor until, in 1897, the firm of

Baker & Edmunde was organized. Mr. Baker's shipments from Hollyrood have been large, sometimes aggregating eight hundred carloads per year, his principal shipments having been to New York city, Galveston, Texas, Kansas City, Missouri, Topeka and Arkansas City. He is the owner of a farm of one thousand and one hundred acres, which he rents to tenant farmers. He has erected a fine residence at Hollyrood.

Mr. Baker was married April 21, 1870, at Farmer City, Illinois,, to Hattie Weed- man, daughter of George and Catherine (Danner) Weedman, and they have three children. Their son, Gilbert L., is associ- ated with his father in business. Their daughter, Mary K. is the wife of F. W. Thomas, cashier of the bank at Hollyrood. Georgia is a member of her father's house- hold. Mr. Baker gave each of his children a thoroughly practical education with a view of fitting them properly for the responsibili- ties of life. Politically Mr. Baker is a Re- publican though he was reared under Demo- cratic influence. He is a high Mason, hav- ing been made a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, Ineffable degrees of the Scottish rite. He is a member of Hollyrood Lodge, No. 343, A. F. & A. M.

Mr. Baker's mother, who was Polly Mc- Cord, was born March 30, 1812, and died June 7, 1846. She was the daughter of James and Mary (Moore) McCord, and her birthplace was in Overton county, Ten- nessee. Charles Moore, of English and Welsh extraction, married Sarah Smith, the daughter of a French woman in North Carolina, and they were the parents of Mary Moore, who married James McCord. Mary (Moore) McCord, who was the youngest of her family, often stated that her grand- parents were Scotch. She died at the home of her daughter Martha at. Point Isabelle, De Witt county, Illinois, May 23, 1858, having been for forty-one years a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. Charles Moore, her father, who was a cooper by trade, served the cause of the colonies in the cause of the Revolutionary war and made canteens for use in the Continental army.

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James McCord was born in Ireland of Scotch parents, in 1739, and died at Spring Creek, Overton county, Tennessee, Novem- ber 4. 1824. He came to America with his father, Captain Robert McCord, when he was four years old, and for a time lived in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and after- ward in Wilkes and Iredell counties, North Carolina, and in Overton county, Tennessee. He was a wagon-master in the continental army during the Revolutionary war, and his great-grandson, J. S. McCord, of Eagle Creek, Oregon, writes that he was under the immediate command of General Washing- ton, and held the office of wagon-master- general. He was married in Wilkes county, North Carolina, to Jane Scroggs or Scruggs. a Scotch woman, who, when ordered to milk hier cow to supply milk for the British troops, did so, but poured the milk on the ground and defied them. She died Novem- ber 12. 1789. James and Jane ( Scruggs or Scroggs) McCord were the parents of ten children. James McCord, son of James and Mary McCord, was born in Wilkes county, North Carolina, February 22, 1779, and died in DeWitt county, Illinois, December 3, 1852. He was married March 29, 1824, in Overton county, Tennessee, to Mary Moore, daughter of Charles Moore, who was born in Granville county, North Carolina, and died in DeWitt county, Illinois, May 23. 1858. They settled on Peterman's Bend on the Ohio river, and afterwards lived in Overton county, Tennessee, where all their children were born and whence they re- moved in 1817 to Spring Creek. In 1832 they went to De Witt county, Illinois. Mr. McCord was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church for thirty-six years. The first James McCord of whom any record is extant, was a highland chieftain in Scotland, who lived in the seventeenth century and was killed in battle in 1689 at Killecrankie Pass. while engaged in a revolutionary movement in behalf of his native land. His son. John McCord, took part in different wars and (lied about 1715-17. His sons were John. David. William, Benjamin, Robert, Samuel and James, who after the death of their

father went to Stewarton, County Tyrone, Ireland, whence about 1720, John, David and William came to America and located in Pennsylvania. David and William were killed by the Indians and John went to North Carolina. John McCord, father of these McCords, was born at Argyle, Skye, Scot- land, and his coat of arms consisted of a shield, gold and black, with three hearts and three lance heads surmounted by a closed helmet. A family of the same name still lives at Tyrone and its members are known as strict Presbyterians.

George Weedman, father of Mrs. James 1. Baker, was a prominent citizen of east- ern Illinois. The American ancestors of the family came from Holland to Pennsyl- vania before the Revolution. There George Weedman, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Baker, was born and married. He moved to Perry county, Ohio, and thence, in 1830. to McLean county, Illinois. It is said that at that time only one log house stood on the present site of Bloomington. A second child of those pioneers was John Weedman, grandfather of Mrs. Baker. John Weed- man was born in Pennsylvania and was mar- ried in Ohio, to Rachel Wilson, a native of Maryland. In 1830, with his wife and five children, he went to McLean county, Illi- nois, whence he removed, in 1836. to De Witt county, same state. In 1850 he removed to Webster City, Iowa, where he died in 1866. George Weedman, father of Mrs. Baker, was born in Perry county, Ohio, March 28, 1824, and was taken to Illinois by his parents when he was six years old. He grew up there and was identified with pioneer life in eastern Illinois. In 1850, in company with four of his brothers and others, he crossed the plains to California and came back as far as Missouri, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mis- sissippi and Missouri rivers. He made his way back to Illinois and became a very pros- percus and successful man, the owner of four hundred acres of land, which was one of the model farms of the county. He was mar- ried April 17. 1845. to Catherine Danner, who was born in Montgomery county, In-

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diana, August 19, 1827. They had ten chil- dren, of whom Mrs. Baker, born April 17, 1852, was the fifth in order of birth.

Mr. Baker is one of Ellsworth county's most enterprising and successful citizens. His success has been won by industry and good management and he has had to over- come many obstacles. While living in Illi- nois he rented a large tract of low land and a succession of bad seasons left him two thousand dollars in debt, but he set himself resolutely to retrieve his fortune and came to Ellsworth county, Kansas, with four thon- sand five hundred dollars in cash. Since then he has met with almost uninterrupted sitccess.

WILLIAM HANDY.

A leading representative of the agricul- tural interests of Rice county is William Handy, who owns and operates a fine farm pleasantly located near Chase. He is most practical and yet progressive, and his untir- ing industry and capable management have brought to him a handsome competence. He was born in Clark county, Illinois, Oc- tober 27, 1850, a son of Austin L, and Han- nah ( Bennett) Handy. The parents were born, reared and married in Illinois. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Handy, was a native of Virginia and became an early pioneer of Clark county, Illinois, where he entered land and improved a farm. In 1855 he sold his property there and removed to California, where he was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, and there remained until his death. He was a plain, honest farmer and had no aspirations for public notoriety. He was the father of six children, namely : Austin, the father of our subject: Albert, a resident of California; Nancy, now Mrs. Malone: Naomi, who became Mrs. Brown: Lonisa, the wife of A. David : and Amanda, who became Mrs. Dawson.

Austin Handy was reared in the state of his nativity, and after arriving at years of maturity he engaged in farming, remaining in Illinois until 1874. In that year he came to Kansas, locating in Rice county, where he

secured a homestead claim. Like most pio- neers he had but small means, having "all to make and nothing to lose." He under- went all the deprivations and hardships in- cident to pioneer life, but he was not afraid of hard work and the obstacles and difficul- ties which beset his path were overcome by determined purpose and unfaltering indus- try. Game was plentiful in this locality at that time, but he had no time to hunt, as his time was fully occupied in his labors to in- prove his farm. He was obliged to go a long distance to mill and his nearest trading point was Raymond, but the rapid advance- ment of civilization soon brought to this lo- cality all the comforts of the older east, and he lived to see the country dotted by thriv- ing towns and cities, well cultivated farms and inhabited by a prosperous and contented people. He was an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party, and on its ticket was elected to a number of positions of honor and trust, including that of justice of the peace. His first wife, who bore the maiden name of Hannah Bennett, was reared in Illinois and was a daughter of James Ben- nett, a native of the Empire state. He he- came an early settler of Clark county, Illi- nois, where he remained until his death. His children were Sanford, James, Susan, Mar- garet and Hannah. Mrs. Handy died on the old homestead in Rice county, in 1883. and the father was again married, his sec- ond union being with Mrs. Sarah Graves, but this union proved an unhappy one and in 1897 he sold his property to his son and joined another son in Missouri. He has been a third time married, and he now re- sides in Barry county, Missouri, living re- tired from the active duties of life. He has reached the ripe old age of seventy-nine years. Unto Austin and Hannah Handy were born eight children, namely: Thom- as, a resident of Missouri ; William, the sub- ject of this review ; James, also a resident of Missouri : Millard, whose residence is not known: Lincoln, a farmer of Rice county ; Douglas, who died when young : Amanda, who departed this life at the age of eighteen years ; and George. a resident of Stafford county, Kansas. Mr. Handy served with

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distinction in the Mexican war, having en- tered the army from Illinois and served until the close of the struggle. In his social re- lations he was connected with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows.

William Handy, the immediate subject of this review, was born and reared in Illi- nois, and remained in that state until the age of twenty-four years. In 1874 he assisted his father in organizing a colony to locate in the Sunflower state, and during the first winter after his arrival here he was employ- ed by the government in freighting supplies to Red river, where a temporary camp was located. On his return trip he went to Ne- braska, where he was employed as a cow boy for one year. On coming to Rice county he had pre-empted a quarter section of land. receiving his title for the same two years afterward, and in 1879 he was married and located upon his land. The place is now under a fine state of cultivation, and there he is engaged in general farming and stock- raising. He keeps well informed on the issues and questions of the day, taking an active interest in everything for the public good, and in the ranks of the Republican 1 arty he is an intelligent and diligent work- er. He has filled many positions of honor and trust, having been justice of the peace for two years, while for one term he was county commissioner. In all his public ser- vice he has ever been found true to the trusts reposed in him.

For a companion on the journey of life Mr. Handy chose Miss Lydia F. Burch, who was born in Warren county, Indiana, Jan- uary I, 1861, a daughter of Moses and Luticia (Moffitt) Burch, the former a na- tive of Warren county, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Their marriage was cele- brated in the Hoosier state. The paternal grandfather, James Burch, was a native of Kentucky, but became an early settler of Warren county, Indiana, where he became a prominent and highly respected farmer. He subsequently sold his property in Warren county and in 1871 came to Rice county, Kansas, where he also became an early pio- neer, and there he remained until his death. His children were Moses, Lydia, Isaac, Nell,

Charles, Josephine, Abner, Sarah, Rachel and Perry. The latter died while serving his country in the Civil war. The mother of these children was a member of the Meth- odist church. In 1871 Moses Burch and his family accompanied his father and a small colony from Warren county, Indiana, to Kansas. The first stop which the party made was at Salina, where all located claims, Mr. Burch securing his land in Farmer township. He afterward improved a num- ber of farms and became a prosperous man. In 1898 he sold his farming property and re- moved to Arkansas City, where he and his wife are enjoying the fruits of a well spent life.

In 1862, in Warren county, Indiana, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becom- ing a member of the Seventy-second Regi- ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He en- listed for three years' service and was elect- edl captain of his company. . He was as- signed to the Army of the Tennessee, where he saw some hard service, but was never wounded or taken prisoner, and on the expi- ration of his term of service he received an honorable discharge and returned to the quiet pursuits of the farm in Warren county.

The mother of Mrs. Handy is a daughter of John Moffitt, a native of Ireland, who on coming to the new world first located in Pennsylvania and later in Warren county. Indiana. He afterward took up his abode in Kansas City, Missouri, where he spent his remaining days. He had four children, -Francis, Lutieia, Thomas and John. Moses and Luticia Burch were the parents of seven children, as follows: Lydia, the wife of Mr. Handy; Dermont and Benjamin, residents of Arkansas City: Emma, wife of J. F. Crocker: Ida, now Mrs. Shafer; Samuel, who resides in Oklahoma; Bird. now Mrs. Bellew of Arkansas City, Kansas; Moses and John, who are residents of Arkansas City. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Handy has been blessed with two children,-Albert, who died at the age of two years ; and Frank, who was born July 11, 1883, and is now op- erating the home farm. The parents are consistent and worthy members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and socially he is

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connected with the Fraternal Aid Associa- tion. He has a wide acquaintance and by all who know him is held in high regard, for his life has been well spent.

JOHN D. GRIFFITH.

One of the most extensive and ener- getic agriculturists of Clear Creek town- ship, Ellsworth county, is John D. Griffith, who resides on section 10. His life illus- trates most forcibly the power of industry and determination in an active business ca- reer. Steady advancement has been his as the outcome of these qualities, and to- day he is accounted one of the most pros- perous residents of his community.

He was born in New York city, Novem- ber 8, 1841. His grandfather, David Grif- fith, was a farmer of Oneida county, New York, and William D. Griffith, the father, was born in Wales, but during his childhood accompanied his parents on their removal to this country and engaged in the dairy business. His brother, Morris, the youngest member of the fam- ily, is now secretary of the Cheese Associa- tion. The father of our subject married Cecelia J. Jones, and John D. is their only child. The father died when the latter was but four months old, and the widowed mother then took her infant son to her pa- rents' home, in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and he was reared and educated there, being cared for by his maternal grandparents, for his mother married again. On complet- ing the course in the public schools he in- tended taking a three years' course in the seminary through a scholarship obtained through the Odd Fellows, but about this time his grandfather died. The grand- mother and her son purchased a farm in Susquehanna county, but the latter lost his eyesight through an accident in the mines and Mr. Griffith felt that it was his duty to remain with them and care for the farm. Accordingly he gave up his scholarship in order to devote his attention to the tilling of the soil. He was thus engaged until the

24th of September, 1861, when he respond- ed to his country's call by enlisting as a member of Company H, Fifty-second Pennsylvania Infantry. He had joined the army the last of July, but lay in camp at Harrisburg until the regiment was com- pleted. He then started out with McClel- lan on the peninsular campaign, and the principal engagements in which he partici- : ated were the siege of Yorktown, the bat- tles cf Williamsburg and Fair Oaks and the seven days' battle of the Wilderness. After the evacuation of the peninsula the army was sent to North Carolina, and thence to South Carolina, participating in the siege of Charleston and Fort Wagner, and Mr. Griffith remained in that department until discharged at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the 5th of November, 1804. He was for- tunate in that he received no serious wounds, but for several years he has not had the use of his left arm, owing to rheu- matism, contracted through exposure while in the army.

Returning to the farm in Pennsylvania he continued its cultivation until after the death of the grandmother, when he made suitable provision for his uncle. Having married he decided to come to the west, and in 1872 arrived in Kansas, first locating in the southern part of the state. But he found that district unhealthful, and after two and a half years there the doctor ordered him to seek a residence elsewhere. He then went to Lincoln county, where he spent two years, and in 1876 he came to Ells- worth, where he secured a soldier's home- stead, comprising the northeast quarter of section ten, township fifteen, range seven, and upon this farm he now resides. At that time extending north from the road for twenty miles there was not an improvement to be seen, but he chose this place owing to a never-failing spring just back of the site upon which he built this house. There was not even a bush on the place. He built a dugout and then began breaking the land with both oxen and horses. He started in to raise grain and he also had a few cows. Soon after his arrival, however, one of his horses died, but he continued his work as

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best he could and each year broke more land. There was a good market for the grain at Ellsworth, and as time passed he persevered in his work. He purchased an adjoining eighty acres of land from heirs of James Nicholas for one of his sons, and in connection with the raising of crops he has engaged quite extensively in raising cattle, finding that this has been a profitable work. His place is now in excellent condition, be- ing improved with a comfortable house, which he erected in 1888. In 1898 he built a new bari, and other substantial build- ings and improvements add to the value and attractive appearance of the home. There is a fine grove back of the house and two ponds, fed from a spring, furnish abundant moisture for the trees. This place is a monument to the enterprise and efforts of Mr. Griffith. He has been the architect of his own fortune, and has builded wisely and well.

It was on the 17th of February, 1866, that Mr. Griffith was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Mary L. Bennett, a daughter of Will- iam Wells, of Pennsylvania, and they now have seven children : William, who is living in Fort Scott, Kansas : Cecelia, the wife of C. R. Galloway, of Ellsworth county ; Charles, a farmer of the same county; George Vesper, who resides upon a farm adjoining the old homestead; J. Burtie, Maud and Oscar, who are still with their parents. In his political views Mr. Griffith is a Repub- lican, and has attended many county con- ventions and some of the senatorial con- ventions. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, and is an ardent worker for the success of the principles in which he believes. For many years he has been central committeeman, and was the first trustee chosen after the organization of the township, but he has never sought office for himself, preferring that his attention shall be given to his business affairs, in which he is meeting with creditable suc- cess. Through a long period he was a member of the Odd Fellows' society. He aided in organizing the first school district in his vicinity, assisted in the erection of a school building, and served for eight or ten

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 121

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