USA > Kansas > A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I > Part 59
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In Lockport, New York, in 1869, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Cunningham, and unto them have been born four children, of whom three are living, namely : Ida Frances, who is a grad- uate of the high school and the Empire Col- lege and is now a teacher in the high school ; William H. and Stephen T., who are asso- ciated with their father in business, while the latter also engages in teaching dancing in the winter. Both sons are graduates of the Cincinnati School of Embalming.
He is identified with various social and fraternal organizations, including Byron Lodge, No. 197. K. P .; Dewitt Temple, No. 24, Rathbone Sisters; Hutchinson Lodge,
No. 77, A. O. U. W .: Crystal Lodge, No. 41, Degree of Honor ; Hutchinson Camp, No 566, M. W. A .; Sunflower Camp, No. 16, Royal Neighbors of America; Hutchinson Council, No. 34. Sons and Daughters of Justice ; Supreme Court of Honor ; Hutch- inson Council, No. 137, Fraternal Aid As- sociation ; Winnebago Tribe, No. 1I, I. O. R. M .; Daughters of Pocahontas, and is a noble patriarch in the Royal Mystic Tie. His fraternal relations are many and all his brethren entertain for him high regard. He is not only just but considerate in all his re- lations with his fellow men, and rather than slight any one or perform an action that could be turned against any one in even the smallest degree he will sacrifice his own in- terests and convenience. His friends are many and by all with whom he has become acquainted he is held in high esteem.
W. H. HILYARD.
This well known farmer and honored citizen of Reno county, was born in Fair- field county, Ohio, on the 23d of September, 1846, and is of German descent. His pa- ternal grandfather, Thomas Hilyard, was born and married in that country, and after coming to America he located in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, but after a time there spent he took up his abode in Fairfield coun- ty, Ohio, where he was among the early pio- neers. He followed farming in that locality until his life's labors were ended in death, in 1853. He became the father of twenty children, but only the following can be re- membered : Martha, who became the wife of a Mr. Steman, and her death occurred in Allen county, Ohio; Catherine, the wife of Andy Sawmiller, a farmer of Allen county ; Mary, the wife of a Mr. McDougal, and when last heard from they were living in Cass county, Indiana ; David, a merchant of Lancaster. Fairfield county, Ohio; Wilson, who was a soldier in both the Mexican and Civil wars, serving in the Seventeenth Ohio Volunteers during the latter struggle, and he is now living a retired life in Monroe
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county, Ohio; Elizabeth, who died in Col- unbus, that state; Margaret, whose death occurred in Allen county, Ohio ; Jacob, who was a Baptist minister, and death claimed him very suddenly one morning while he was asking the blessing at the breakfast table at his home in Fairfield county; Simon, who was a soldier in the war of the rebellion and now makes his home in Winfield, Kansas; and Emily, who was the youngest of the family. She was an inmate of the home of General Sherman during the war, and re- mained with the family for many years, until after the General's death, when she was mar- ried to a Frenchman, and now makes her home in Paris.
T. J. Hilyard, the father of our subject, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, November 22, 1822, and when twelve years of age lie was taken by his parents to Fair- field county, Ohio. At the age of twenty- two years, in that county, he was united in marriage to Jemima Springer, a native of that locality. About the year 1850, with his wife and four children, our subject being then in his fourth year, Mr. Hilyard left his home in Fairfield county and located in Van Wert county, Ohio, where he entered a heav- ily timbered tract of land from the govern- ment, making his home thereon until 1857. In that year he removed with his family to Adams county, Indiana, where he purchased an improved farm of eighty acres. There this worthy couple resided for many years, it being their place of abode until the wife and mother was called to her home beyond in 1898, and since her death the father has made his home with his children. He has been a life-long farmer, and during the pe- riod of the Civil war he held the position of assistant provost marshal. During his life- time he has been honored with a number of public offices, and in the various communi- ties in which he has made his home he has ever won the love and esteem of his fellow citizens, his noble characteristics winning for him many friends. In political matters he has ever taken an active part in the work of the Republican party, and socially he holds membership relations with the Odd Fellow's fraternity. Mrs. Hilyard was a member of
the Albright church, and in her daily life she exemplified its ennobling teachings. Unto this couple were born four children : W. H., the subject of this review ; Margaret E., who died in Adams county, Indiana; Edwin H., an engineer of that county; and Joseph P., who follows agricultural pursuits in the same county.
W. H. Hilyard is indebted to the public school system of the Buckeye state for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth, attending school in both Van Wert and Adams counties, and during a part of the time he was obliged to walk a distance of three and a half miles to the school-house. Remaining with his parents until he was twelve years of age, he then secured employ- ment in a store at Decatur, Indiana, but after two years thus spent he entered the railroad shops at Fort Wayne, same state, where he remained until 1867, and on the 12th of De- cember, of that year, he became a brakeman on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, his run being from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Crestline, Ohio. In January, 1868, he was promoted to the position of fireman, which he continued to fill until in November, 1870, and from that time until 1872 he had charge of a freight engine. Dur- ing his career as a railroad employe Mr. Hilyard was in six wrecks. At Elida. Ohio, while he was filling the position of brake- man, an axle on the engine broke. and sev- eral cars were thrown into the river, the water at that point being seven feet deep, and on another occasion, while filling the same position, the train fell through a bridge, Mr. Hilyard sustaining a broken arm. His next two wrecks occurred when he was an engineer and were caused by an open switch, and in the last one he had two ribs broken. In an accident occasioned by a broken rail he had his right arm broken and his wrist put out of place. The last accident in which he was in was caused by the spread- ing of the rails, overturning the engine and completely burying Mr. Hilyard beneath the wreckage, where he lay for about three hours. He was terribly scalded and had his left leg. four ribs and his right hand broken, and for many hours he lay unconscious. In
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spite of these many accidents, however, he was an efficient and careful railroad man, and his services were highly prized by his superiors.
After abandoning railroad work Mr. Hilyard had charge of a stationary engine in a sawmill until 1876, and in that year he came to the Sunflower state, locating on the southwest quarter of section 1, Haven town- ship, Reno county, securing his land from the railroad. At the time of the purchase his property was wild prairie land, and not a stick of timber could be found upon the place. He soon erected a small house, four- teen by eighteen feet, and at once began work by the month, receiving twenty dol- lars a month in compensation for his serv- ices. while at the same time he hired others to place his fields ready for cultivation. Late in the following fall he became the owner of two cows, and during the next season he began the operation of his fields, where he has ever since followed general farming and stock-raising. During the year 1878 he set out about two thousand shade trees upon his place, and two years later he planted five hundred apple trees, and his beautiful grove and orchard are now among the finest to be found in this section of the state. For the past several years Mr. Hilyard has made a specialty of the raising of thoroughbred short-horn cattle, of which he now has a herd of about fifty. Since locating on this place he has made many additions to his residence, and in 1882 he erected a fine large barn, while four years later, in 1886, a commodi- ous building was erected for the shelter of his cattle. Everything about his place is neat in appearance and is suggestive of a practi- cal and progressive owner. During the past year fifty acres of his place was planted with wheat, fifty acres with corn and the remain- der was devoted to the raising of alfalfa, a large orchard and to pasturage. Since his residence in the Sunflower state Mr. Hil- yard has met with many privations and hard- ships. Shortly after his arrival here the grasshoppers came in such terrible ntim- bers, and in 1898, about four o'clock on a May day, the locality was visited by a disas- trous hail storm, which destroyed much of
his fruit and wheat, killed about one hun- dred chickens, broke many of the windows of his dwelling and in many other ways did much damage to his property. On another occasion, while hauling a load of hay, he was caught in a whirlwind and had his col- lar bone and several ribs broken, and later, while watching a game of baseball at Mount Hope, Kansas, he received a "foul tip" from the ball, which broke his cheek bone.
On the 7th of September, 1872, in Adams county. Indiana, our subject was united in marriage to Florence Babcock, who was born in Portage county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Jane ( Ferguson) Babcock, both also natives of the Buckeye state, the father born on the 10th of December, 1822, and the mother on the 26th of April, 1823. In 1876 they joined their daughter in the Sun- flower state, and here the father died on the 24th of March, 1877, but he is still survived by his widow, who makes her home with our subject, having reached the age of sev- enty-eight years. By her marriage with Mr. Babcock she became the mother of five chil- dren : Amelia, who was born September 14,
1844, in Franklin, Ohio, and died in Adams county, Indiana, on the 17th of October, 1848 . Florence, who was born on the 2d of May, 1847, in Portage county, Ohio, and became the wife of our subject : Ethan, who was born July 19, 1849: Harriet E., born July 19, 1849, and died July 19, 1849; and Marvin, born March 10. 1861, and died De- cember 22, 1862. The son, Ethan Babcock, served during the Civil war as a member of the Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, and his death occurred at Larkinsville, Alabama, on the 24th of September. 1864. Mr. Babcock has been a life-long Republican, and dur- ing the war he also served as a member of the Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, which he joined at Decatur on the 19th of October, 1863. During the struggle he was employed as a teamster and was with his command at the attack on Decatur, Alabama, where a ball passed through his whiskers. Our sub- ject has also been a life-long Republican, has always taken an active part in the work of his party, and for the past twenty-five years. with but two exceptions, he has been made
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either clerk or judge at every fall election. In 1880 he was elected census enumerator of Haven township, to which he was re- elected in 1890 and again in 1900, and in 1886 was the choice of his party for the of- fice of township clerk. For many years he has served as a member of the school board, and during a part of the time he served as its clerk. In his social relations he is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity; has been an Odd Fellow for twenty-seven years, in which he has filled all the chairs of his order, and for twelve years has been a member of the grand lodge; has been a member of the Knights of Pythias for twelve years, in which he has also filled all of the offices and has been a member of the grand lodge; is a member of the Elks, his connection being with Hutchinson Lodge, No. 453; and is a member of the Rathbone Sisters and of the Daughters of Rebekah. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Hilyard's life has been a success. but all his achievements are the result of patient effort, unflagging industry and self- confidence. He has so conducted all his af- fairs, whether of private interest or public trusts, as to meet the esteem of all classes of citizens, and no word of reproach has ever been uttered against him.
JOSEPH DEMORET.
Joseplı Demoret, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Reno county, Kansas. is a native son of the Hoosier state, his birth hay- ing occurred in Montgomery county, on the 26th of June, 1860, a son of Samuel Dern- oret, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, near Cincinnati, January 2, 1822. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel B. Demoret, was born near the present site of that city, but the village was then called Los Anterville, the date of his birth being about 1798. His father, in company with his parents and one brother, sailed from France to America, but during the voyage the parents were stricken with some fatal malady and both died, leaving the two sons,
then small boys, to care for themselves, and all trace of the family name was lost. How- ever, the name was supposed to have been Demoree, and the great-grandfather of our subject was called Nicholas Demoret. Gradually the orthography was American- ized to Demoret. On the landing of the ship in this country the two boys were bound out, or virtually sold, to two men and were thus separated, but years afterward, by the merest chance, Nicholas met his brother. The latter had been bound out to a man by the name of Blackleech, and had been given his surname. Nicholas served in the Revo- lutionary war, and was afterward with "Mad" Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians in Ohio, during which the army passed through Los Anterville, now Cincinnati, and, being pleased with the location, Nicholas located there. After the war was over he purchased land where Up- per Market and North Hill now stand, own- ing about four acres in Upper Market and about fifty acres on North Hill, and he also conducted a tavern in the village. He par - ticipated in the war of 1812, serving under Harrison in the battle of Tippecanoe, and his life's labors were ended in death'in Los Anterville. His son, Samuel B., eventually removed with his family to Montgomery county, Indiana, where he followed the till- ing of the soil during the remainder of his life.
Samuel Demoret, the father of our sub- ject, grew to manhood in Butler county, Ohio, the place of his nativity, and there fol- lowed agricultural pursuits. In that coun- ty, on the 26th of January, 1844, he was united in marriage to Katie A. Mahan, and unto that union was born one daughter. Elizabeth Ann, whose death occurred on the 25th of March, 1870, and the mother has also passed to the home beyond. After the death of his wife Mr. Demoret removed to Mont- gomery county, Indiana, where he was a second time married, Sarah Ellen Van Cleve becoming his wife. The marriage was cele- brated on the 26th of October, 1848, and two children were born of the union, --- Mary Catherine, wife of Francis Marion Smith, a carpenter of Montgomery, Indi-
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ana; and Johnson T., an agriculturist of Montana, Kansas. The mother of this fant- ily has also passed away in death, and on the 30th of August, 1859, in Montgomery county, Indiana, the father wedded Amanda Elizabeth Owens, a native of the Hoosier state, born February 19, 1837, and of En- glish and Irish descent. This union was blessed with nine children, namely: Jo- seph, the subject of this review; Frances, the wife of Charlie Hogue, a telegraph op- erator at Pretty Prairie, Reno county, Kan- sas; Samuel G., a banker, postmaster and farmer of Pretty Prairie; Sophronia, wife of T. B. Shadduck, who is engaged in farni- ing near Manchester, Oklahoma; Saralı Jane, the wife of Roll Richardson, a farmer of Freeman, Cass county, Missouri; Rosa, the wife of Frank Richardson, a stock buyer of Freeman, Missouri : Leora, wife of E. A. Green, a butcher and trader of Hutcli- inson; William and Lorenzo, at home.
After locating in Montgomery county, Indiana, Samuel Demoret resumed the voca- tion of farming, there remaining until the spring of 1882, when he sold his splendid farm of two hundred acres in that county. which he had placed under a fine state of cultivation, and came with his family to Reno county, Kansas, locating on the farm which is still his home, on section 18, Valley township. Soon after his arrival here he purchased two hundred and forty acres of raw prairie land on what is now known as the sand hills, but as the years have passed by he has placed his land under an excellent state of cultivation, has added many valt !- able and substantial improvements and has made it one of the most attractive and de- sirable homesteads of the locality. His ef- forts along the line of his chosen vocation have been attended with a high degree of sucess, and from time to time he has been enabled to add to his original purchase until his landed possessions now consist of three hundred and twenty acres on the north half of section 18 and two hundred and forty acres on the southi half of section 7. He has now reached the eightieth milestone on the journey of life, but time has dealt gently with him and he still enjoys good health.
His wife passed away in death on the 26th of February, 1894, in the faith of the United Brethren church, of which she was a worthy and consistent member. Mr. Demoret also holds membership relations with that denomination, and in his political affiliations he is a supporter of Republican principles.
Joseph Demoret, the immediate subject of this review, received his elementary edu- cation in the common schools of Montgom- ery county, Indiana, and in 1878 he became a student in the academy at Alamo, in the same county, while during the years of 1879 and 1880 he pursued a course in the Green Hill College, at Green Hill, Warren county, Indiana. Previous to this time, however, his time and attention had been devoted to assisting his father on the home farm. In the spring of 1882, when twenty- three years of age, he accompanied his fa- ther on his removal to Reno county, Kan- sas, where for several years he followed the teacher's profession in the district schools. During his career as a teacher he taught in the Willow Grove school, Crott's school, McKiver's school north of Arling- ton and in the Swell Head school. After abandoning the teacher's profession he was for a time employed at various occupations, having spent four years as a drug clerk, and for the succeeding two or three years served as a foreman on a railroad. After the death of his mother his father was left without a housekeeper, and as he was then too old to engage in active farm labor our subject re- turned to the old homestead, and here he has since made his home, relieving his aged fa- ther of much care and worry. In the opera- tion of the farm he is assisted by his brother. About one hundred and fifty acres of the place is under cultivation, while the remainder is devoted to pasturage, and in both branches of the business the brothers are meeting with a gratifying and well mer- ited degree of success.
The marriage of Mr. Demoret was cele- brated on the 27th of June, 1889, when Miss Bothelda M. Nelson became his wife. She is a native of Sweden, and came to this country with her mother in 1884. Mrs.
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Nelson pow resides in Hutchinson. In po- litical matters Mr. Demoret is a stanch ad- vocate of Republican principles, and is an active worker in the ranks of his party. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church, and in the locality in which they make their home they have won a large circle of warm friends.
WILLIAM SCHMIDT.
William Schmidt, who follows farming on section 15, Farmer township, Rice coun- ty, is one of the best-known and most highly esteemed agriculturists in this portion of the state. Broad-minded, enterprising, pro- gressive and popular, the circle of his friends is extensive. He has resided in, this locality since 1878,-covering the period of the greater part of the development and up- building of the county.
A native of Wisconsin, William Schmidt was born in Fond du Lac county, April 2, 1855, and, as the name indicates, is of Ger- man parentage. His father, who was born in Germany, is an expert mechanic and has been in the railroad employ for forty-five years as foreman. He is now living in To- peka, Kansas. He came to the United States after his marriage to Christena Stier, who was also born, reared and educated in the fatherland. One of their children died at sea while they were en voyage to the new world. Locating in Wisconsin, the fa- ther there worked at the trade of cabinet- making for a time and continued his resi- dence in the Badger state until 1880, when he removed to Topeka. Unto him and his wife were born four sons and three daugh- ters, of whom four are yet living: William, of this review : Mrs. America Steimauf, of Topeka ; Mrs. Emma Rominger, who is also living in the same city: and Charles, also a farmer in Farmer township. The father is a Republican in his political affiliations and both he and his wife are Methodists in their religious faith. In that belief they have also reared their children. People of the highest respectability, they enjoy the
confidence and trust of all who know them. In the county of his nativity William Schmidt was reared, and the public schools of the neighborhood afforded him good edu- cational privileges, which he improved, be- coming a well-informed man. In early life he was employed as salesman in a drug store for a number of years, and afterward carried on business along that line on his own account. In 1876 he became proprietor of a drug store in Chicago, Illinois, which he conducted for some time, and in 1878 he came to Rice county, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, from which he began the development of a home. Here he has since lived, and by his industry and good management has become the owner of a valuable farm. He now has eight hundred acres of rich land in Rice county, and his home is an attractive resi- dence standing on a natural building site and surrounded by a beautiful grove. Upon the place is an excellent orchard of five acres, a large barn, a granary, windmill, good feed lots, pastures and all modern im- provements and accessories which consti- tute a model farm of the twentieth century. In addition to his farm he has other busi- ness interests, being a stockholder and the vice-president of the Bushton State Bank, and is widely recognized as one of the sub- stantial citizens of the county.
In Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, in 1878, Mr. Schmidt was married to Miss Lizzie Bastian, who was born in Germany but was reared and educated in Wisconsin. She is a daughter of Henry Bastian, now de- ceased, and by her marriage she had become the mother of four children: Lydia, now the wife of A. Cramm, of Farmer township, Rice county ; Emily M. : Ida J .; and Esther Alice. In his political views Mr. Schmidt is a Republican and takes an active inter- est in the growth of the party, doing all in his power to insure its success. He has been honored with local office, serving as town- ship trustee and assessor for fourteen years. He has been a delegate to the county, con- gressional and state conventions and is rec- ognized as one of the leading workers of the party in Rice county. As a citizen he is
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in touch with all progressive and reform movements. The cause of temperance, edu- cation and morality finds in him a friend, and he has done much to promote the ma- terial interests of the county, so that he may justly be regarded as one of the representa- tive and valued citizens of his community.
WILLIAM H. MITCHELL.
William H. Mitchell, a prominent stock farmer of Huntsville township, Reno coun- ty, was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, near Bedford, on the 8th of March, 1844. His grandfather, James Mitchell, was a na- tive of the Keystone state, born on the 14th of October, 1767, and his death occurred in Monroe county, Indiana, June 9, 1846. He wedded Nancy Campbell, and they reared six sons and three daughters, all of whom mar- ried and had families of their own with the exception of one daughter. One son, Jo- seph, removed to Iowa about 1850, and reared a large family of children, his son James having served as a soldier in the Civil war, while another son, George, removed to Iowa in a very early day, and had two sons in the war, Thomas J. and William Oscar. The latter is now a state senator in Iowa, and was twice elected to the legislature. Joseph C., a grandson of Joseph Mitchell, is a lead- ing lawyer of Ottumwa, Iowa, and an ex- judge. Another son of James and Nancy (Campbell) Mitchell, James, removed to Arkansas, and three of his sons served in the Confederate army during the Civil war. Another son, David, removed to Texas. Mrs. Nancy Mitchell died on the 10th of Oc- tober, 1844, at the age of sixty-three years, and she and her husband now rest side by side in a cemetery in Monroe county, Indi- ana.
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