A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 53

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

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seph A., and Mary (Jameson) Patterson. The father passed away in death in Ida coun- ty, Iowa, in 1896, but is still survived by his widow, who makes her home in that county. Ten children have been born unto this union, nine of whom are still living,-James A., David F., Eva J., now Mrs. Hoofnagle, John H., Joseph W., Verdie A., Elmer R., Robert C. and Sarah. The second child in order of birth, a daughter, died at the age of six months. Mr. Birney is independent in his political views and support. He is em- phatically a man of enterprise, positive char- acter, indomitable energy and liberal views, and is thoroughly identified in feeling with the growth and prosperity of the locality which for so many years has been his home.

SAMUEL MATHEWS.

One of the most progressive and enter- prising business men of Hutchinson is Sam- uel Mathews, a member of the well known fırın of Collins & Mathews. That the plenti- tude of satiety is seldom attained . in the affairs of life may be considered a beneficial deprivation for where every desire is satis- fied ambition and effort would cease and ac- complishment would have little place in the world, but men of enterprise and determina- tion push forward the wheels of progress with the result that individual success is not only won but the general prosperity is aug- mented and improvement is seen along many lines. Mr. Mathews, by his progressive spirit and unflagging energy, has contrib- uted in large measure to the business activ- ity and upbuilding of Hutchinson and is re- garded as a man of force and worth in the business world. The firm of Mathews & Collins owns and operates the Hutchinson Pure Salt Works, which is a leading in- dustry of this locality.

Mr. Mathews was born in the county of Tyrone, in the province of Ulster. Ireland, in 1845, and is a son of William Mathews, also a native of the same county and one of the prominent landed proprietors of that province, owning and superintending the

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operation of a large farm. He was origin- ally . [ Scotch lineage and was a leading member of the Presbyterian church. In his native province he wedded Miss Mary Knox, who was also of Scotch descent and was a direct descendant of the illustrious John Knox, the apostle of Christianity in Scot- land. William Mathews died in c uuty Ty- rone when our subject was only eighteen months old, and his wife survived him until 1870. remaining a resident of her native county through the intervening years. Like lier husband she lived and died in the Pres- byterian faith. In their family were six chil- dren. of whom five are now living William. the third in order of birth, having passed away in 1871. The others are: Robert, who is now living a retired life in Ireland : James, a wealthy ranchman of New Zea- land, located at Houcks Bay, where he is engaged in the raising of cattle and sheep ; Hugh. an extensive real-estate owner of city property in Belfast, Ireland : Samuel, of this review : Dora, the wife of William Irvin, who is engaged in the dry goods business in Belfast. Ireland.

In the public schools of Londonderry, Ireland, Samuel Mathews began his educa- tion which was continued in the high school ' and later in the Royal Academy. When his . education was completed he became connect- ed with the grocery trade of Belfast, Ire- land, where he in time became the senior member of the firm of Mathews & Company, wholesale grocers. Almost phenomenal suc- cess attended the enterprise. He built up an enormous business, the volume of which amounted to five hundred thousand dollars per annum and thirty employes were required to aid in conducting the enterprise. In this line Mr. Mathews continued until 1882, when he determined to ally his interests with those of the new world and sailed for Amer- ica. On landing in this country he made his way to Topeka, Kansas, and after a short time came to Hutchinson. He brought with him from the Emerald Isle thirty thousand dollars, a part of which he invested in a ranch of twenty-four hundred acres, located in Troy township, Reno county, about twen- ty miles southwest of Hutchinson and em-

bracing sections 9, 17 and 21 And about three-fourths of section 16. all of which he purchased from the Santa Fe Railroad Com- pany. He proceeded to stock his ranch with ab: ut four thousand sheep and one hundred and fifty head of cattle and for four years he engaged in the stock business, on the ex- piration of which period he sold his farm ard stock to J. W. High and came to Hutchinson, where for a period of eight years he engaged in the loan business, rep- resenting an English company, known as the Western Mortgage & Investment Com- pany, loaning money on both city and farm- ing property to the amount of several hun- dred thousand dollars. About 1898 the company he represented appointed him man- ager of the Hutchinson Pure Salt Works. which they owned at that time, and he occu- pied the position until the latter part of 1900 when in connection with Charles Ccl- lins, of Hutchinson, he purchased the plant. which he has since been operating. The plant was erected about 1889 at a cost of eleven thousand dollars and at present fif- teen employes are upon their pay roll, at- tending to the various departments of the work. Their capacity is about forty car- loads per month and shipments are nade to Missouri, California, Nebraska, Indian Ter- ritory, Oklahoma and Utah. Since pur- chasing the plant the present owners have made and 'are making many improvements and their plant is now equipped with mod- ern machinery and all accessories for facili- tating the work and rendering the product of value on the market by reason of its ex- cellent quality.

In Belfast. Ireland, in 1868, Mr. Math- ews was united in marriage to Miss Annie F. Leece, who was born in Liverpool, Eng- land, a daughter of George and Jane ( Kel- ly ) Leece, the former a native of England, while the latter was born in the north of Ire- land. Mrs. Mathews is connected with some of the most prominent and aristoc atic people of the British isles, including mem- bers of the nobility. She was the youngest of four children: Elizabeth, the eldest, is the widow of Charles Wilson, who was at one time the leading ranchman in Australia.

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He went to that country nearly sixty years ago and accumulated an enormous amount of land, extending over a broad area equal in size to almost the whole of Reno county, Kansas. He kept thereon millions of sheep and won a vast fortune. About 1870 he re- turned to England and took up his residence at Cheltenham, the place where many people of old and aristocratic families live. There his death occurred. His son Harold inher- ited a part of the great estate in Australia and also owns a ranch of two hundred thou- sand acres in New Mexico. His winter home is located at Norfolk, England, and his summer months are spent at St. An- drews, Scotland, where he has a palatial residence. John, the second member of the Leece family, is now deceased. He was at one time an extensive ranchman of New Zealand, owning about forty thousand acres there, whereon he engaged in the raising of sheep. Fannie resides at Cheltenham. Eng- land, and Mrs. Mathews is the youngest of the family. She is an aunt of Sir George Baden Powell, now deceased, and also of Baden Powell, his brother, who won fame in connection with the events whereby Mafe- king has become celebrated.

Mrs. Mathews is a lady of superior cul- ture and refinement, capable of gracing any circle of society, and her home in Hutchin- son is celebrated for its gracious and pleas- ing hospitality. The family occupy a beau- tiful residence in one of the most fashion- able districts of the city. It is a large mod- ern house and was erected in 1889 at No. 526 Sherman street, east. They have three daughters, Frances Adeline, Mary Emily and Anna Lynette. The daughters have all attended the city schools of Hutchinson and the college at Emporia, and the eldest is an accomplished musician, having studied under the best instructors in Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews hold membership in the Pres- byterian church in Belfast and he was form- erly an elder in the church in Belfast. In politics he has always been a stanch Repub- lican and has never sought or desired office, but has given an unwavering support to. the principles in which he believes and the cause which he thinks right and just. His char-

acter has been molded along such lines, his business policy shaped in accordance there- with and as man and citizen he commands the highest respect and confidence.

ISAAC N. SMITH.

Isaac N. Smith is one of the intelligent and enterprising farmers of Rice county, whose entire life has been passed in the Mis- sissippi valley, and he was born in Morgan county, Illinois, on the 20th of May, 1843. His father was James Job Smith, who came to Rice county in 1873. He was born in Cumberland county, Kentucky, in 1813, and was a son of James Smith, who removed to North Carolina during the boyhood of James Smith. The latter was there reared and married, Miss Mary E. Job becoming his wife. She was a native of North Caro- lina. A few years after their marriage they started on horseback over the mountains to Kentucky, with their two children, and set- tled in Cumberland county, that state. They became the parents of nine children, namely : Samuel, Jane, Thomas, Levi. Ruth, James Job. William and Elijah. In 1829 James Smith removed to Morgan county, Illinois, where he remained until 1845, when he went to Cass county, that state. Subsequently they took up their abode in Madison coun- ty. Illinois, where both the grandparents of our subject died, their death being occa- sioned by a fever, when they were seventy- three years of age.

James Job Smith, the father of our sub- ject, was married in Morgan county, Illi- nois, at the age of twenty-two years, to Eve Miller, who was born in Indiana, a daugh- ter of Henry Miller, one of the pioneers of the Hoosier state, who was forced to flee to the fort in order to seek protection from the Indians. He had come to the west from Pennsylvania and was of German ancestry. His death occurred in Indiana. His wife, Hester Miller, died in Illinois. In 1845 the parents of our subject removed to Cass county, Illinois, where they resided until. 1853, when they became residents of Iowa,

Isaac M. Smith

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settling in Mahaska county. At a later date they removed to Madison county, Iowa, taking up their abode twelve miles east of Winterset, among the pioneer residents of that locality. There the father carried on farming until 1873, when he came to Rice county, Kansas, making his home in Lincoln township, where he resided for a number of years. In 1896 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away at the age of eighty-five years and twenty days. They had lived together as man and wife for sixty-two years, sharing with each other in the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity of life, their mutual love and con- fidence increasing as the years went by. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, loved and respected by all for her many good qualities of heart and mind. This worthy couple were the parents of six chil- dren, who are yet living. In his political views the father was in early life a Whig and afterward joined the Republican party. and all of his sons have adhered to the same faith. He too is a devoted member of the Methodist church, in which he has served as class-leader for fifty years, and his children have been brought up in the church and have become honored and respected members of society. They are: Elizabeth, who died at the age of eighteen; J. F., who served as a soldier in the Fourth Iowa Infantry and is now living in Lincoln township, Rice coun- ty : F. M., who was also a Union soldier and is now a resident of Lyons; Isaac Newton, of this review; Elijah T., who makes his home in Douglas county, Kansas; and Will- iam Thomas, and Mrs. Mary J. Summers, both of Lyons.

Isaac Newton Smith spent his early youth in Illinois and afterward accompanied his parents to Madison county, Iowa, where he assisted in the work of clearing and de- veloping a farm. His education was ac- quired in the schools of two states, and on the 21st of March, 1864, about the time he attained his majority, he offered his services to the government as a defender of the Union canse, enlisting in the Fourth Iowa Infantry, under Captain A. J. Tisdale, who commanded Company F. He served until 21

the close of the war and was engaged in ac- tive duty with General Sherman's army. He was in the battle in which General McPher- son was killed. He participated in the en- gagements at Resaca and Atlanta, and went with Sherman on the memorable march to the sea. He also took part in the battles of Savannah and Goldsboro, marched on to Richmond and thence to Washington, D. C., to participate in the grand review, the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere. He was then honorably discharged and returned to his home in Iowa.

In the year 1873 Mr. Smith came to Rice county, where he took up a claim, and in 1876 hie further completed his arrange- ments for a home by his marriage to Miss Amanda M. Young, an intelligent and cul- tured lady, who was born in Harrison coun- ty, Missouri, and was there reared and edu- cated. Her father, Jeremiah Young, was one of the first settlers of Harrison coun- ty, but is now deceased. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been blessed with three children: Claude J., who is engaged in farming on the old homestead in Lincoln township : Paul Palmer ; and Anna Maud.

Mr. Smith owns a very valuable farm of three hundred and forty-six acres, well im- proved and equipped with all modern con- veniences. His attention is devoted to its cultivation, and the rich fields annually yield to him golden harvests. His political sup- port is given the Republican party, and both: he and his wife are members of the Method- ist Episcopal church, in which he has served as steward and class-leader. The causes of education, of temperance and of the right in every form find in him a warm friend and lie heartily endorses every movement that is calculated to benefit the community and up- lift his fellow men.

MARTIN CROW.

Martin Crow was born in Noble county. Ohio, August 22, 1835. His father was Ja- cob Crow and his grandfather was Freder- ick Crow, and they were both natives of

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Pennsylvania, where in early days Freder- ick Crow achieved fame as an Indian fighter. Jacob Crow began his active life as a farmer i .: Pennsylvania. but early sold his interests there and with relatives and other emigrants went to Ohio. He bought a half section in Noble county, then densely timbered, and in- fested by hostile Indians and dangerous wild animals. For many years his life was one of toil, hardship and peril and he was frequently engaged in desperate fights with savages. in one of which his brother was killed. He was an earnest worker in the Methodist Episcopal church and as a Demo- crat was active and prominent in political work. A man of forceful character and ready resource. he came to be known as the leading citizen of Noble county. In all re- spects he was a model farmer. He cleared and fenced his farm property, planted or- chiards and erected necessary buildings, and when he died. about fifty years ago, the property which he had redeemed from the wilderness was worth at least five thousand dollars. He married Mary Lasher, whose parents came early to Ohio from Pennsylva- nia and who survived him many years, until she was more than eighty years old. He died at the age of forty-five years, a victim of a disease known in that locality at that time as black tongue fever.

The subject of this sketch was reared on l:is father's farm and when scarcely more than a youth began farming on his own.ac- count on a portion of the family homestead, f. r which he paid rent to his mother. His early educational advantages were limited to those afforded by the public schools near his home, but by reading and observation he has become a well informed man. After farming several years, as stated, he went to Clark county, Illinois, where for a year he was em loyed by John Briscoe. a leading farmer. Returning to Noble county, Ohio, he located at Frederick, where he opened a dry goods store, which he disposed of one year later and resumed farming. While he was engaged in trade at Frederick he mar- ried Martha Ray, of that town.

In 1859 Mr. Crow sold his possessions in Noble county, Ohio, and removed to Gen-

try county, Missouri, where he bought a farm of two hundred acres, but in that bor- derland country, where the community was divided between union and southern senti- ments and where war seemed imminent, pub- lic feeling ran so high that residence there was almost impossible to one who was in- clined to be at peace with his fellow citizens, and Mr. Crow soon sold his farm and re- turned to Ohio, where he farmed until the summer of 1862. August 20 of that year he enlisted in Company K, Ninety-second Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and leaving a fine crop awaiting the harvester went to the seat of war. His regiment was sent to West Virginia, where it participated in the work of driving the Confederate force out of the Kanawha valley, a movement which cul- minated in a severe engagement at Loop creek late in the fall. The weather was ex- tremely cold for the season, storms were frequent and the regiment was without tents and as a consequence of such exposure Mr. Crow and others became ill. He contracted a fever which shattered his health to such an extent that he was deemed unfit for fur- ther military service and was honorably discharged January 1, 1863.

On his return to Ohio Mr. Crow was still too feeble to again take up the arduous work of the farm and he engaged in cabinet-mak- ing and in undertaking until 1878, prosper- ing in a material way and gradually regain- ing his health to a considerable extent. In the year last mentioned he went to Kansas and bought the southwest quarter of section 17, in Reno township, Reno county. Dur- ing the first spring after his arrival he broke about eleven acres of his ground and planted it with corn, also erected a frame house, a story and a half high, covering a ground space of eighteen by twenty-two feet. For several years thereafter he devoted himself successfully to general farming and stock- raising. building outbuildings and an addi- tion to his house, adding three hundred acres to his farm and improving his property in every way. About 1886 he removed to Hutchinson, where, in company with his son. J. W. Crow. he engaged in important real- estate transactions, buying ninety lots in the

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town, which became known as the fourth ad- dition to Hutchinson and selling them after three months at an advance of eight thou- sand dollars on the purchase price. After that they bought eight thousand acres of land in Rice and Reno counties for forty thousand dollars, which they later sold at a handsome profit. Since then Mr. Crow has not dealt much in farm property, but from time to time he has handled other real estate to good tdvantage. He bought four lots at North Main and Fourth streets in Hutchin- son for six thousand dollars and subsequent- ly sold them several times and in each case they reverted to him with some profit in money, and eventually he sold two of them for seven thousand dollars. reserving the other two as building lots for himself and son. In 1887 he had practically gone out of business and considered that he had re- tired permanently, but later opportunity was presented for profitable real-estate transac- tions on quite a large scale and he took ad- vantage of it, buying three fine business houses in Hutchinson from his son, J. W. Crow. and trading them for a large hotel at Clinton, Iowa, which had been built at a cost of eighty thousand dollars, but which was traded to Mr. Crow at a valuation of only forty thousand dollars. Mr. Crow later disposed of that property advantageously through his son, who was his agent in the transaction.

His reputation for business integity and honesty is beyond reproach and he is known as a man whose word is literally "as good as his bond." He bought his present home in Hutchinson five years ago. In politics he was a Democrat until 1888, when he cast his vote with the Republican party for President Harrison and since then he has been a zeal- ous Republican. Since he was fourteen years old he has been a faithful and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of Joe Hooker Post, No. 17, Grand Army of the Republic, and for two years he has been its junior vice commander.

Jacob and Mary (Lasher) Crow had twelve children, as follows: Isaac, who is a farmer in Reno township, Reno county, Kan- sas : Martin, the subject of this sketch; Rob-

ert, who lives at the National Military Home at Dayton, Ohio; Diantha, who married Joht Long, and is living in Wyandot coun- ty, Ohio: Elizabeth, who married John Jor- dan, and died in Noble county, Ohio; Mary and Rhoda, both of whom died in Noble county; Ann, who married William Mast- ers and died in Washington county, Ohio; Nancy, who became the wife of John Cald- well and died in Ohio; Jacob, who died at the Belle Isle Confederate prison during the Civil war; Jane, who married a Mr. Her- ron, who was killed in battle during the Civil war, and she died in 1866; and George, who died in Kansas. Martin and Martha (Ray) Crow had seven children : John W. Crow, who is a railway land agent with headquarters at Chicago, Illinois; Martin, Jr., who lives in Kentucky; Humphrey, a farmer in Reno county, Kansas; Sarah El- len, who died in Ohio; Columbus, who died in Reno county, Kansas; Eveline, who mar- ried R. Coggsdell and died in Hutchinson, Kansas; and Jane, who became the wife of Alexander Miller and died in Reno county. Kansas. Mrs. Crow died in May, 1871. December 13. 1876, Mr. Crow was married, in Noble county, Ohio, to Linda Hallett, daughter of Orlena and Lucy ( Blake) Hal- lett.

JOHN YUST.

There will be found in this work a bio- graphical sketch of Frederick Ynst, father of John Yust. The latter is a prominent farmer of Hayes township, Reno county, Kansas, and his farm is located on section 20. His postoffice address is Plevna and he lives on a rural delivery route. For much that is interesting concerning his family his- tory the readers are referred to the bio- graphical sketch mentioned above.

John Yust was born in Missouri, August 31, 1857, and passed his boyhood there and attended the public schools until he was sev- enteen years of age. In 1875, with his mother and sister, he removed to Haves township, Reno county, Kansas, where his father and three of his brothers had located

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the previous fall. He was a member of his father's household until he was twenty-two years old and did his full share in improv- ing the land and putting it under cultiva- tion. January 21, 1880, he married Eliza J. Groseclose, a native of Missouri, a daugh- ter of Adam and Mildred Ann (Asher) Groseclose. Mrs. Yust's father was a native of Virginia and her mother of Kentucky, and they were early settlers in Missouri, where they prospered as farmers. Mr. and Mrs. Yust began domestic life in a fourteen by eighteen foot sod house, which Mr. Yust built on a hundred and sixty acres of home- stead land in Hayes township. He began farming there on new prairie land and now has six hundred acres all connected, which he devotes to mixed husbandry. One hun- dred and thirty-seven acres is given to wheat and one hundred acres to corn. He has about forty acres of shade and fruit trees and twenty acres of timber, including five acres of fine black walnut trees. He keeps about forty-five head of high-grade Here- ford cattle, about twenty horses and from sixty to seventy-five Poland-China hogs. In 1881 he moved out of his old sod house into a part of his present modern dwelling, which is an attractive residence, homelike in all its appointments, including a well fur- nished parlor. His large red barn, which is one of the landmarks of his part of the town- ship. was built in 1892. Politically Mr. Yust is a Republican. He served his fellow citi- zens two years as township trustee and also filled the office of school director. He and his family are members of the United Breth- ren church, in which he fills the office of trustee and Sunday-school superintendent. He is progressive, prosperous, generous and public-spirited, a man of exceptionally broad information, and his counsel is sought by all who know him.

John and Eliza J. (Groseclose) Yust have had children as follows : Robert J., born October 14, 1880, is a young man of de- cided literary and musical ability. He has given much attention to musical culture and is an accomplished performer on the cornet and organ. When not studying at home or at school he assists his father about the work

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 53

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