USA > Kansas > A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I > Part 50
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father is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to both the' subordinate lodge and encampment. He votes with the Populist party and he and his family are connected with the Lu- theran church. Coming to Kansas without capital, he began life as a farm hand here. but is now numbered among the prosperous agriculturists, a fact which indicates that his life has been a busy, active and useful one.
WESLEY B. HELM.
While the disposition to do honor to those who liave served well their race or their nation is prevalent among all the en- lightened people and is of great value every- where and under all forms of government, it is particularly inappropriate to, and to be fo stered in, this country, where no man is born to public office or to public honor, or comes to either by inheritance, but where all men are equal before the law, where the race for distinction is over the road of public usefulness and is open to every one who chooses to enter, however humble and ob- scure he may be. and where the advan- tageous circumstances of family wealth in the vast majority of cases count for little or nothing. According to a true democratic doctrine they should never count for any- thing at all. Under our system, whose very existence depends upon the virtue of the people themselves, who are not only the source of all political power, but on whom depends the very existence of our free insti- tutions, those who have distinguished them- selves in the public service, whether in statesmanship or in arms or in any other sphere of usefulness, should not fail of rec- ognition : and this is not only in justice to the people who should not seem unmindful of great sacrifices or of great efforts in their behalf or of notable exhibitions of public spirit, but also in the interests of our insti- tutions themselves. In honoring those who have deserved well of the republic the peo- ple do credit to themselves and also supply
a powerful stimulus to honorable ambition to incite like services or achievements or sacrifices for the public good.
Wesley B. Helm is one of the leading and influential citizens of Ellsworth coun- ty, and has left the impress of his individ- uality upon the legislation of the state, for during eight years he served in the senate. He is a farmer and stockman, residing on section II, Black Wolf township, Ellsworth county. A native of the Empire state, he was born in Sullivan county, New York, October 8, 1844, and traces his ancestry back to Michael Helm, who was a native of Holland and was one of the Knickerbockers who settled in New Amsterdam in the ear- liest period of development in the state of New York. He was in the French and In- dian war and was killed by the red men at Summitville, New York, on the old Conti- mental road. The Indians cut off his hand, as in weighing furs he used that hand as a balance weight, and they, thinking that they had not been fairly dealt with, cut the mem- ber off, but found that the furs had weighed just as he had said. His son, Peter Helm, was the next in line of direct descent to our subject and was the father of Daniel Helm, the great-grandfather of Wesley B. Helm. He served in the Revolutionary war and several of the great-uncles of our subject were in the war of 1812. He was born in' Sullivan county, New York, as was Jacob Helm, the grandfather of our subject. Rus- sell G. Helm, the father, was likewise a na- tive of that locality and engaged in farming and in the manufacture of lumber. When the country became engaged in civil war he aided in the defense of the Union which his grandfather had helped to establish, and re- cruited a portion of the One Hundred and Forty-third New York Infantry. The regi- ment was transferred from the Army of the Potomac to the Army of the Cumberland, but as this queta was full he was notified not to send any more men. He acted as lieutenant of his company, and his son. Wesley B., was one of its members. Al- though the family has been represented in every war in which the United States has been engaged, none of its members- have
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ever received a foci of land from the gov- ernment.
Russell G. Helm was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Travis. Her father. Joseph Travis, was born in Paris and after- ward was sent to the Jesuit College, in Montreal, Canada, but disliking the way affairs were conducted there he wrote to his father that he wished to return home, but his father would not listen to this plan and bade him to stay, threatening to disinherit him. Mr. Travis, however, could not en- dure the open immorality there and left the school and came to the United States. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Helm was blessed with nine children, of whom the subject of this review is the eldest. All are living with two exceptions and are residents of New York and New Jersey. The parents also survive, and the father has reached the age of seventy-eight years. Prior to the Civil war he was a stanch abolitionist and did everything in his power to thwart the cause of slavery.
Wesley B. Helm was educated in the common schools and when seventeen years of age began teaching, following that pro- fession through the winter months, while in the summer season he worked at farming. He remained at home until twenty-four years of age, after which he secured a po- sition as assistant engineer on the Ontario & Western Railroad, remaining in that serv- ice for six and a half years. Subsequently he was for five years employed as principal of the graded schools in his native town and on the expiration of that period resigned his position in order to come to the west. In 1878 he made his way to Ellsworth county and purchased the east half of section II, township 15, range 9. Only a small portion of the tract had been broken and no im- provements had been made thereon. With characteristic energy, however, he began the development of the place and broke the sod with wild ponies and with oxen. He erected a small house and experienced all the hard- ships and difficulties incident to founding a home in this portion of the country when central Kansas was a frontier district. During the second year after his arrival he
engaged in teaching in the school one mile south of his present home, and for eight years he followed that profession through the winter seasons in this locality. His first residence was eighteen by twenty-four feet. Gradually he wrought a transformation in the affairs of his place, which has become one of the most valuable and attractive farms in this portion of the county. He has given most of his attention to the cultivation of grain and has raised wheat in the same fields for twenty-three successive years, a fact which indicates the great productive- ness of Kansas soil. He has also given some attention to stock-raising and to the production of fruit, and is the owner of some valuable orchards.
On the 3Ist of December, 1868, Mr. Helm was united in marriage to Ella M. Tice, a daughter of John N. and Huldah (Gumaer ) Tice. Her mother's family were early settlers here, having come to America with the Huguenots. Her father. Jacob Gumaer, who was a colonel, gave Huldah a table cloth for waiting on the table at one of the meetings, and Mrs. Heln: now has that cloth, a cherished heirloom. John Tice, Jr., was a farmer by occupation and was prominent in church work, holding membership with the Methodist denomina- tion. His father, John Tice, Sr., was of Holland descent. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Helm were born the following children: Clair- mont W., who is engaged in market garden- ing in Leavenworth county, Kansas: an in- fant deceased: Annie, who died at the age of five and a half years: Mamie H., wh is engaged in teaching; John Russell. wh- is studying preparatory to entering the teacher's profession ; Harriet: Josephine : and Elizabeth M.
Mr. Helm is prominent in Republican circles and up to 1890 there were fifty voters in the family at one time, every one of whom voted the Republican ticket. Since the date mentioned Mr. Helm, of this re- view, has acted with the Populists, believ- ing that they are the true followers of the teachings of Abraham Lincoln. He has been honored with a number of public offices. He was first elected justice of the
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peace and subsequently was township treas- urer. Ini 1892 he was chosen to represent his district in the state senate, where he served for two terms of four years each. He gave to each question that came up for settlement his careful thought and consid- eratien and labored earnestly to advance the best interests of the commonwealth. He took a special interest in railroad legisla- tion, in shipping interests and in the legisla- tien concerning mortgages, whereby eight- een months' time is given for redemption. This has been the means of saving many homes to owners who otherwise would have host them. He was also interested in secur- ing the passage of the acts concerning the adoption of text-books in the schools, and his many years of teaching well qualified him for his labors in this regard. He like- wise took a deep interest in the legislation concerning insurance, and as a result of this, many mutual insurance companies have been established in the state and have proven of great value. His labors proved of great practical benefit along many lines of progress and reform. He was one of the organizers and is a charter member, also one of the officers, of the Kansas Mutual Hail Insurance Association, which was estab- lished at McPherson, and this has proven the result of his theories concerning the im- mense good that can arise from mutual in- surance. In 1900 he erected his present commodious residence, which was very thoroughly constructed. It was closely sheathed with lumber, then covered with sheet steel, making it impervious to heat or cold. Mr. Helm is likewise a stockholder and director in the Ellsworth Milling and Elevator Company, and his co-operation has been accorded in many business inter- ests which have proven of public benefit and at the same time contributed to the pros- perity of the stockholders. In connection with his other business affairs he is successfully and extensively engaged in the raising of pure-blooded Leghorn chickens. He is a member of the National Aid Association, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist church.
A strong advocate of temperance, he
does all in his power to promote its welfare. and, happening to be in Topeka when Mrs. Carrie Nation went to give bond, he was one of the three who signed the bond. He has been a leading factor in the progress of his adopted county, and educational, church and social interests owe their promotion in a considerable degree to him. For many years has Ellsworth county been his home, -years largely devoted to the public good. His path has ever been upward, both in the spiritual and temporal sense. As this re- view shows, he is distinctively a self-made man,-one of nature's noblemen, and one whoin no force of circumstances could pros- trate or draw into obscurity. His friends are many and on the list are numbered many of the representative men of the state.
CLAUDE D. DAY.
The last half of the last century wit- nessed as great advance in dentistry as in any other field of human endeavor. The dentists of 1901 are as much superior to the dentists of 1850 as are the electric lights of the present day to the candles which were burned in many parts of our country at that time. One of the most up-to-date dentists in central Kansas is Claude D. Day, of Ells- worth county.
Dr. Claude D. Day was born in Frank- lin, New York, a son of Dr. Clark and Clara (Tibbals) Day. His father was a native of New York state and his mother was born in Connecticut. Dr. Clark Day took his family to Ellsworth, Kansas, in 1876, and was the first dentist there. He practiced his profession continuously until 1888, when he died. Dr. Clark Day was popular not only profesionally but also politically and soci- ally, and the Democrats twice elected him mayor of the city.
Dr. Claude D. Day finished his primary education in the public schools of Ellsworth, and in 1888 he entered the Dental College of Iowa, at Iowa City, where he was a student one year. He was graduated from the Dental College of Kansas City, Missouri, in
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1893. and immediately afterward entered upon the practice of his profession at Ells- worth, where, in a sense, he is the successor of his father. In politics he is a Democrat ; he stands high in Masonic circles and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. . He stands at the head of his profession and has built up a reputation for honest and conscientious work which goes far to insure him a large patronage. He was married October 28, 1897, to Eveline Sheriff, whose father was an early settler at Ellsworth and was prominent in connection with educa- tional and other public matters. Dr. and Mrs. Day have three children,-Dorothy. Janet and Elizabeth.
THOMAS J. HUEY.
Thomas J. Huey, a retired farmer of Kingman, was for many years actively iden- tified with agricultural interests in central Kansas, and is now closely associated with progressive movements in the city tending to advance the best interests of the com- munity. He was born in Robinson county, Tennessee, May 10, 1848. His father, Car- roll Huey, was also a native of Tennessee, and throughout his business career caried on farming, but during the later years of his life he removed to town and there lived re- tired until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-six years of age. His political support was given the Democracy. He married Miss Caroline Walton and they be- came the parents of two children, Thomas J. and Joseph W., the latter a school teacher in Springfield, Tennessee.
Amid primitive surroundings Thomas J. Huey acquired his education, pursuing his studies in a log school house with a puncheon floor and crude furnishings. Reading, experience and observation, how- ever, have made him a well-informed man. He was reared on the home farm and there remained until his health seemed to demand a change of climate, when in 1878 he vis- ited Kansas on a prospecting tour. Being pleased with Kingman county he returned
in 1879 and secured a claim in Conten township. He had one neighbou hong mile to the east, but no settlement had been made to the west. He broke only enough land for a garden, intending to devote the greater part of his time and attention to cattle-raising. He built a one-room house. and as the country was all open he put up a cerral into which he could drive the cattle at night. Success attended his efforts and as his financial resources increased he added to his landed possessions until he owned twelve hundred acres, all in one body. He has placed ( ne-half of this under cultivation, raising corn and wheat, and he also has large herds of cattle, mostly short-horns. He made many excellent improvements upon his farm, including the erection, in 1888, of a six-room residence, with a bay window. a wide porch and other attractive and mod- ern improvements. He also planted trees upon the place and added many of the mod ern accessories and conveniences. There he resided until 1900, when he rented his farm and removed to Kingman, where he has since made his home, purchasing his pres- ent residence on Aventie C. To this he has added improvements and made alterations, converting it into an attractive home. He has also become interested in business prop- erty and was one of the organizers of the Kingman State Bank, in which he has since served as a director.
In Tennessee, in 1875, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Huey and Miss V. E. Holland, who was born December 4. 1854. a daughter of Daniel Holland, a farmer of that state. They have four children: Jo- seph C., who was born December 27, 1877. and is now in the Kingman State Bank : Mary C., born February 16, 1882; Fred Holland, born April 26, 1884; and Henry Clay, born October 4. 1887. In his polti- cal affiliations Mr. Huey has always been a Democrat. He served as township treas- urer for a number of years, but has never desired office or been a politician in the sense of office seeking. As a member of the school board he has labored earnestly to give an impetus to educational advancement in this locality and with his co-workers on
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the board has succeeded in establishing ex- cellent schools. He is also deeply interested in everything pertaining to the substantial growth and development of the town and was instrumental in having good brick walks laid in Main street. Both he and his wife belong to the Baptist church, and they are people of the highest respectability and sterling worth, enjoying the warm friend- ship and regard of many acquaintances.
ROBERT McKINNIS.
In pioneer days in the development of Rice county Robert McKinnis came to Kan- sas and secured a homestead, which has been his place of abode since 1871. His wife was the seventh white woman within the borders of the county, and the first white female child born in the county came to them in their little sod home. Great changes have occurred during the years which have since come and gone, as the early settlers have coped with the hardships and difficulties of pioneer life in transforming the wild land into richly cultivated farms. Good homes have been erected, churches and school- houses. built and the work of progress and civilization has been carried forward until Rice county now occupies a foremost posi- tion among the counties of the common- wealthı.
Robert McKinnis is a native of Hancock county, Ohio, where his birth occurred Jan- uary 28. 1845. and upon the farm he was reared to manhood, while in the common schools he was educated. His parents, James and Lucy ( Wickham) McKinnis, were na- tives of Pennsylvania and New York, re- spectively, and their marriage occurred in the Buckeye state. The McKinnis family, however, is of Scotch lineage and was found- ed in America by Robert McKinnis, the grandfather of our subject, who on coming to the new world settled in Pennsylvania. He served as a teamster in the war of 1812 and later removed to Ohio, where he re- mained for a number of years. There his wife died. and subsequently he went to Iowa,
in 1849. making his home with his son James, in Dubuque county. There he passed away. His children were Philip. Charles. James. John. Rachel. Polly. Sarah and Eliza.
James McKinnis, the father of our sub- ject, was born in the Keystone state, but was reared in Ohio, and a number of years after his marriage he went to Dubuque coun- ty, Iowa, where he purchased some land and also entered large tracts, improving a very extensive farm. He carried on agricultural pursuits, and in addition to the production of grain engaged in raising cattle. He was one of the leading and influential farmers of the community. a successful business man. an excellent financier, and by persistent la- bor and diligence accumulated a competence for old age. He was a broad-minded. in- telligent gentleman, charitable and kindly. and the latchstring of his pioneer home al- ways hung out so that the wayfarer might be sure of a welcome. No one was ever turned from his door hungry, and among his friends and neighbors he was held in the highest esteem, his many excellent qualifica- tions winning him warm friendship. He voted with the Whig party until its dissolu- tion, when he joined the Republican party but later became a Democrat. He held the of- fice of justice of the peace and many minor township positions. At length he sold his property in Dubuque county, Iowa, and in 1876 came to Rice county, where he pur- chased a farm, making his home thereon for twenty years. His death occurred July 8. 1896, at the very advanced age of ninety, and his wife passed away November 20, 1900. at the age of eighty-eight. They were Pres- byterians in religious faith and their Chris- tian belief moulded their entire lives and won for them unqualified confidence. They had eleven children: Crayton, of Kansas : Lovina, who became the wife of J. Pierce. who was a soldier in the Mexican war and1 went to California in 1849. soon after the discovery of gold : John, who was a Union soldier and is now living in Colorado; Bar- bara, the wife of W. H. Kirk, of Rice coun- ty, who also defended the stars and stripes : George, who served for over four years in
MRS. ROBERT McKINNIS.
ROBERT McKINNIS AND GRANDCHILDREN.
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the war of the Rebellion and died in Iowa : Robert, of this review ; Fulton and William, who have passed away ; Elizabeth, the wife of L. Wood; Lydia, who married T. R. Ba- som ; and James, who died in childhood.
Upon the family homestead in Iowa Robert McKinnis was reared, remaining under the parental roof until eighteen years of age, when his patriotic spirit was aroused and he resolved to aid in the defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company G, Ninth Iowa Infantry, for three years, or during the war. The regiment was as- signed to the Army of the Tennessee and he saw some hard service. He was with Sher- man until wounded at Atlanta, on the 22d of July, 1864, after which he was sent home on a furlough. When he had sufficiently re- leigh, North Carolina, and was detailed as assistant cook. Prior to the time when he -was wounded he was always found with his regiment on the field of duty, loyally de- fending the starry banner of the nation. When Lee surrendered the command marched to Washington and participated in the grand review, after which the regiment was transported to Louisville, Kentucky, and there mustered out. Mr. McKinnis was then sent to Clinton, Iowa, where he re- ceived an honorable discharge and was paid off.
covered he rejoined his command, at Ra- of the interior canceled his homestead rights
Making his way to his home in Dubuque county, Iowa, our subject resumed farm work, performing such duties as his health would permit, for he had not then recovered from his wounds, nor has he ever fully re- gained his original health and strength. He had been struck by a minie ball in the left shoulder, which broke his collar bone. The ball was extracted at the lower part of the shoulder blade, and he yet retains the piece of rebel lead as a souvenir of his army ex- perience. Throughout the intervening years he has suffered. to greater or less extent from his wound, which seems to grow worse as the years advance.
After his marriage Mr. McKinnis re- mained with his parents for two years. His marriage was celebrated at the old home- stead in 1869. In 1870 he came to Kansas,
spending the succeeding winter in Crawford county. In the spring of 1871, however, he came to Rice county and secured a home- stead. At that time there were but few settlers within its borders. Only six' white women were living in the county at the time of his arrival. He first built a sod house, with a dirt floor, and within the summer his wife killed upon the table a rattlesnake of considerable length. While they were living in that primitive pioneer home twins were born unto them, a son and a daughter, the latter being the first baby girl born in the county. The home- stead farm comprised one hundred and sixty acres in the valley of Cow Creek, and with characteristic energy he began its develop- ment and improvement. Later the secretary in favor of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company. He then began a fight for the recovery of the property and would ultimately have won it, although at considerable cost, but he effected a compro- mise by paying two dollars and a half per acre, which gave him undisputed title to pos- session. He has made substantial improve- ments, including the erection of a good house and barn and other substantial . utbuildings. He has also planted an orchard, and every- thing about the place is thrifty and neat in appearance. The fields are well tilled, and the farm is pleasantly located two miles west of Lyons. Mr. McKinnis continued the ac- tive cultivation of the land until a few years since, when he rented it. He is familiar with all the experiences of frontier life here, from the days when wild game was plenti- ful and wild beasts, including buffalo, elk and antelope, roamed over the prairies. Tur- keys and prairie chickens furnished many a meal for the settlers, and as Mr. McKinnis enjoyed hunting, wild game was always to be found on the table. He has killed buffalo from his own door-yard and his wife has driven them from her garden. Roaming bands of Indians on hunting excursions fre- quently came to the neighborhood, but they were always friendly, although at one time the community became frightened at the ap- proach of the red men and the MeKinnis
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family spent two days from home on this account, but no harm was done. For ser- eral years they secured supplies from Ells- worth. but in 1876 Lyons was platted, and after the county-seat was located there the rapid work of development and progress was continued. so that Mr. McKinnis is within easy reach of the advantages of the city.
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