A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 7

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 7

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

WILLIAM LAWRENCE.

Among the pioneer settlers and promi- nent agriculturists of Nickerson, Kansas, is William Lawrence, who was born in York- shire, England, May 14, 1827. His father, William Lawrence, was born in 1800 and died of smallpox at the early age of thirty- eight years, leaving children of whom the subject is the second child and oldest son. His mother was Mary Pocklington, who died a widow at the age of fifty-nine years. Our subject thus being left an orphan was bound out to a deep-sea captain and, after serving for five years he continued to follow the sea until his twenty-second year. During that time he was wrecked three times, once on Prince Edwards Island, once near Yar- mouth, England, and the third time in the Irish Channel, barely escaping death. He was reared on the water, his father being a river man, serving as second mate and as first mate one year. His mother loved her boy and could not bear to have him exposed to the perils of the sea and for her sake he left the sea and came to America in 1849. when twenty-two years of age, the voyage from Liverpool to New Orleans consuming eight weeks. After coming to America he was for one year on the Mississippi river running from St. Louis to Galena, Illinois, and on one of these trips he came near dying of cholera, but the clerk of the boat gave him some medicine which saved his life. Though his money was all gone he finally found his uncle, James Pocklington, in Ma- coupin county, Illinois, who was one of the early pioneers of the state, locating there in 1832 after spending seven weeks in New York. He was a poor man and saw very hard times at first but afterward became well-to-do.

When the Civil war was inaugurated our subject, William Lawrence. enlisted as a private in August, 1861, in Company B. First Missouri Cavalry Volunteers, and served until July, 1865, when he resigned on account of ill health, and was mustered out of the service as a first lieutenant, hav- ing participated in forty-four battles, fear- lessly defending the stars and stripes and

the cause it represented. He has had many narrow escapes for his life by land and sea because of his fearless daring and faithful- ness to duty, and believes that his mother is his guardian angel. As a souvenir of his experiences on the battlefield he has pre- served his sword. and of his life as a sailor, a seaman's triangle.

Mr. Lawrence was first married in Gor- laston, England, when twenty-three years of age, but his wife died in seven months after their marriage, and her loss was so deeply felt by her husband that he remained a widower sixteen years and then was again married in Illinois,

in 1866, to Miss Nancy Johnson, by whom he had four children, but lost one. The mother was called to her final rest on the IIth of July. 1873. when thirty-five years of age. Five years later, in 1878. Mr. Lawrence was united in marriage to Miss Martha Brightenstine, of Mahaska county, Iowa, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio. Her father, Peter Brighten- stine, moved to Iowa in 1848, when this daughter was ten years of age. By his sec- ond wife, Mr. Lawrence has three children, namely : May, wife of Frank Pittman, of Argentine, Kansas, and has one son ; Emma, wife of Warren Smith, of the same place, and has four sons; and George A., a farmer, who has two sons and two daugh- ters. The children by the first marriage were Henry, who died in infancy, and Freddie, who died at the age of three years.

Mr. Lawrence owned several farms in Illinois, which he bought and then sold or traded to good advantage, and in 1872 hie drove his mule team from Illinois to Kansas, and after his wife's death, in the fall of that year, he drove back with his children. Later he drove to Iowa and then in the spring drove back to his farm in Salt Creek township, Kansas, to the cabin home, which was fourteen by eigh- teen feet and the first cabin in the town- ship, as his present home is the first house built twenty-one years ago. His farm consists of two hundred and forty acres of excellent land, on which he does general farming, meeting with good success,

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

the well tilled fields yielding abundant har- vests and bringing to him a handsome in- come. He is a very generous man and has spent much money in helping his friends. He also believes that one should enjoy some of the pleasures of life as well as its trials and labor, so he and his wife spent some time at the World's Fair at Chicago and left the farm for a few years and lived in one of the suburbs of Kansas City, but conclud- ing that the dearest place on earth to them was the old home on the farm they returned to it and will there spend their remaining days. His wife has been a most faithful companion and helpmeet to her husband and a devoted mother to his motherless children and there are few, if any, happier couples to be found anywhere than Mr. and Mrs. Law- rence. He is a stanch Republican in his political views and is one of the best known and highly respected citizens of Nickerson.

JAMES M. HOLLAND.

Among the prominent farmers of Bell township, residing on section 19, is James M. Holland who by industry and economy, . combined with most excellent judgment, has become one of the substantial citizens of Kansas. His birth occurred in Sangamon county, Illinois, on May 27, 1857, and he is a grandson of Benjamin Holland, who at one time was a large slave owner and Kentucky planter. He was twice married, rearing two sons and three daughters by his first marriage and four children by the second marriage. The father of our sub- ject was William T. Holland and he was born in the Kentucky blue-grass region, on February 1, 1831, and died in Langdon, in December, 1899. One of his brothers, Monroe Holland, is a resident of Mis- souri. The mother of Mr. Holland, of this sketch, was Julia Ann Hurt, a native of Menard county, Illinois, where she was married to William Holland in 1852. They had a family of five sons and two daugh- ters, all of whom still survive with the ex-

ception of Homer, who died in Atchison county, Kansas, about 1878. William T. Holland was a carpenter by trade and came to Kansas from Sangamon county, Illinois, when our subject was a lad. He preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land in Kingman county, selling the same one year later and then bought one hun- dred and sixty acres near Langdon, adjoin- ing the property of his son-in-law, R. C. Miller, and remained on that farm for twelve years, moving then into Langdon, where for several years he was postmaster and a justice of the peace, and was identi- fied with the growth and development of the town. To the Methodist church he was a liberal giver and both he and his wife were consistent members of the same. The hon- ored mother of our subject still resides in Langdon.

James Monroe Holland enjoyed but limited school privileges during his youth in eastern Kansas, remaining with his fa- ther and assisting in the farm work until his majority, coming then to his homestead. This consisted of one hundred and sixty acres of wild prairie land, and to subdue this wilderness and make of it the beautiful, well cultivated and fruitful farm which now attracts the eye and consoles the owner, Mr. Holland was obliged to set himself some hard tasks. He owned but little capi- tal as far as money goes, but he was young. energetic and industrious, owned a pair of strong young horses, and during the first year he was able to break about forty acres of his land and sow it to wheat. He also built his log house, which was small, but snug and warm. He follows general farm- ing and raises a considerable amount of stock, keeping from forty to sixty head of cattle and horses. He has been very suc- cessful in raising wheat and corn and in 1896 his land yielded three thousand bush- els of that grain. Mr. Holland wisely set out his orchards early and has one hundred and seventy-five bearing trees, thrifty and well cared for. He has never made the mistake of expecting his farm to do every- thing that land in other locations and cli-

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

mates might do, but he has studied its pos- sibilities and has reaped most satisfactory results. The first little home is attached as an outbuilding to his present handsome residence. All his life he has worked hard and although he has not retired, takes pleasure in the honest toil which brings its sure reward.

The marriage of Mr. Holland occurred on November 29, 1885, to Miss Ophelia Pry, who was a daughter of Rev. John H. Pry, a prominent minister of the Baptist church, and the children born to this union are as follows: Cora B., thirteen years of age; Franklin D., five years of age; Elma, seven years of age; Raymond; and Nellie, who is a babe of seven months, all of them bright, intelligent children who promise to become the excellent citizens of the future.

Mr. Holland has been identified with the Republican party all his life, and has effi- ciently served as constable and road over- seer, while socially he is connected with the order of Modern Woodmen. The religious connection of the family is with the Method- ist church, where they are most highly es- teemed.

JESSE BROWN.

Jesse Brown is a retired farmer and civil engineer living in the village of Alden. He was born in Israel township, . Preble county, Ohio, on the 9th of February, 1835. and on the paternal side he is of Welsh line- age, while on the maternal side he is of English descent. His father, Thomas Brown, was born in Georgia, in 1785, and when twenty-one years of age went to Ohio. The grandfather of our subject was Sam- uel Brown, a native of North Carolina and a representative of a family of Friends or Quakers. After arriving at years of ma- turity Thomas Brown married Miss Re- becca Stubbs, who was born in Georgia, in 1793. and when a maiden of twelve sum- mers was taken to the Buckeye state, where she remained until her marriage, which was celebrated in 1815, when she was twenty-

two years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brown were born twelve children, ten of whom reached mature years. Of this num- ber seven were married and six have had children.

Jesse Brown, whose name forms the caption of this review, was reared to agri- cultural pursuits upon his father's large farm and was early inured to the labor of the field and meadow .. He was also pro- vided with good educational privileges, pur- suing a high school course and also studied surveying. For thirteen years he has filled the position of county surveyor in Ohio and Kansas. Before leaving his native state he was married, on the 5th of June, 1866, to Miss Margaret McBurney, a lady of Scotch- Irish descent, her people being connected with the Presbyterian church. There is but one son by this marriage, Elmer Brown, who is now the railroad station and ticket agent at St. John, Kansas. He was agent at Alden for twelve years, and in August, 1900, was transferred to his present loca- tion. He is married and has two children, a son and a daughter.

It was in the spring of 1877 that Jesse Brown came to Kansas and purchased a claim of eighty acres for three hundred dol- lars. There he engaged in farming for fif- teen years, during which time he worked a wonderful transformation in the appearance of his land. He afterward owned another farm, but in 1893 he took up his abode at his present home in the village of Alden. He entered upon his business career with limited capital, owning a small farm in Ohio, on which there was an incumbrance. His determined purpose and resolute will, however, have enabled him to work his way steadily upward, overcoming all obsta- cles in his path and surmounting all diffi- culties. As the years have gone by he has added to his capital and to-day he is the possessor of a comfortable competence, which enables him to enjoy rest from furth- er toil. In his political views he is a Re- publican. He is not a professor of religion, believing in deeds before creeds. He has, however, lived for sixty-six years without

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

using whisky or tobacco, and oaths never cross his lips. He is a man of sterling hon- or, strict integrity and all who know him respect him for his genuine worth.

JAMES P. ENGEL.

James P. Engel is an agriculturist and stock brceder of Valley township, now car- rying on a successful business. He was born in Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania, April 13. 1846, and is a son of Charles and Ellen ( Heller) Engel. The father was born about 1810 and died in 1846, before the birth of their son James, who was his only child. The mother was a daughter of Adam Heller, a native of Germany. She was thrice married, her first union being with John Bruch, by whom she had three children, rearing two sons, Adam and Andrew Bruch, who are yet living in Pennsylvania. Her third husband was Jacob Godshalk.

In the state of his nativity James P. Engel was reared and the public schools af- forded him his educational privileges. On the 18th of November, 1864. he was united in marriage, in Pennsylvania, to Miss Clar- issa Godshalk, a daughter of Jacob God- shalk. She was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. December 10, 1847. and at the time of the marriage the groom was in his twenty-first year, while the bride was eighteen years of age. They removed to St. Joseph county, Michigan, and were connected with farming interests there, Mr. Engel continuing the operation of rented land for a number of years and then pur- chased property. He there remained alto- gether for twelve years, after which he took his family to Indiana, settling in South Bend in 1872. However, he soon returned to Michigan, and in the spring of 1878 he came to Sterling, Kansas. Not long after- ward he settled on a pre-emption claim of eiglity acres north of Alden, and there re- mained for four years, after which he was engaged in business in Sterling for six

years. On the expiration of that period he purchased his present farm, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of the Santa Fe Railroad Company paying eleven hundred dollars for the wild land, upon which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made. Fourteen years ago, in the spring of 1887, he removed to the farm and has since made it his home. In 1884 he had erected a part of his resi- dence thereon and it was occupied by a ten- ant until he concluded to make it his home. He has constructed all of the buildings on the farm and planted all of the trees, includ- ing a good orchard of apple, cherry and peach trees. His fine, large red barn was built in 1899. He has for a number of years been engaged in the breeding of pure blooded Shorthorn cattle, carrying on this industry for more than two decades. He also grows wheat, corn and brcom corn, and in both departments of his business he is meeting with creditable success.

Mr. Engel served for one year during the Civil war, joining the army in the fall of 1862, as a member of Company I. One Hundred and Fifty-third Pennsylvania In- fantry. He was taken prisoner at Chancel- lorsville and held in captivity for two long months, enduring many of the hardships of prison life. He has always been a loyal citizen, as true to the interests of his coun- try as when he followed the stars and stripes upon southern battlefields. In his political affiliations he is now a Populist and was formerly a Republican, but he largely votes independently. For one year he served as township treasurer and for several years he was a member of the school board. He be- long's to the Grand Army of the Republic and for three years was sergeant at arms in his post. His religious faith is indicated by his connection with the Methodist Epis- copal church, in which he has been trustee, steward and Sunday-school superintendent for several years.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Engel has been blessed with four sons. Elmer Franklin, who was born April 7, 1868, in Plainfield, Northampton county, Pennsyl-

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

vania, pursued his education in the Ster- ling high school, after which he engaged in teaching for three terms and then took a five years' course in the State University, be- ing graduated with high honors in the class of 1892. He then became an assistant pro- fessor in that institution, in which he had won the degree of bachelor of arts, and after pursuing a post-graduate course in Harvard College he won the degree of master of arts. He is now pro- fessor of German in the State Uni- versity and is one of the prominent educa- tors of Kansas. He is a man of fine personal appearance and of high mental and moral worth. On the 27th of June, 1891, he mar- ried Miss Essie Powers, and they have two sons and two daughters. William Ezra, the second member of the Engel family, was born in St. Joseph county, Michigan, June 16, 1873, and is a farmer, living upon a tract of land adjoining his father's prop- erty. He has a wife and one daughter. Raymond Jacob, who is married and has one son, also resides upon a farm in this lo- cality. Frederick Austin, born June 27, 1882, is a young man at home. He acquired a good education and is now of great as- sistance to his father in carrying on the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Engel are both young appearing people and are justly proud of their children and grandchildren. For thirty-seven years they have traveled life's journey together, sharing with each other in its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity, and, though they had to work hard in early life, they are now sur- rounded by all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

WILLIAM B. KING.

William B. King is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Barton county, Kansas, who came to this portion of the state when `the work of progress and development lay in the future. Only a few enterprising men from the east had come to this locality to

establish homes and reclaim the wild land for purposes of civilization. Throughout the intervening years he has watched with interest the progress that has been made as the raw prairie has been converted into good farms and as towns and villages have sprung up, while churches and school- houses have been built and the modern im- provements of a thriving and enterprising community have been added. He has borne his part in the work of development and his name is thus inseparably connected with the history of the county.

Mr. King was born in Greene county, Illinois, near Carrollton, June 19, 1844, and is a son of Samuel P. and grandson of Isaac King, who was a native of Ireland and emigrated to America in colonial days. He became one of the heroes of the Revo- lutionary war and afterward located upon a farm in Tennessee, where he reared a large family. Samuel P. King was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and about 1836 re- moved to Greene county, Illinois, locating upon a farm. He died in Carrollton, at the age of fifty-two years. On the 14th of No- vember, 1832, he had married Miss Eliza- beth Sawyer, a native of Alabama, who died when about sixty years of age. Their children were: Rebecca, Sarah, Mary, Mar- tha, Jane, William B., Tletha, John, George and Etta.

In the usual manner of farmer lads of the period William B. King spent the days of his childhood and youth until 1861, when, on the 15th of October, he responded to the president's call for troops, although only seventeen years of age, joining Com- pany B of the Sixty-fifth Illinois Infantry, and remained at the front until honorably discharged on the 25th of October, 1865, having in the meantime re-enlisted in the same company and regiment and partici- pated in many hotly contested engagements, but was only once injured, being wounded in the battle of Nashville on the 14th of December, 1864, when he had the third fing- er of his left hand shot off. His was a most creditable military record, for his valor and gallantry was displayed upon many a south-

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

ern battle-field. When the war was over he returned to his home in Greene county, where he followed farming and railroading until June, 1877, when he came to Barton. county and pre-empted land in Eureka township, thus becoming the owner of a quarter section. He at once began improv- ing the property and also worked on the railroad. After a time he traded his first tract of land for another farm, which is to- day owned by C. Samuels, and there he re- sided until 1892, during which time he erected good buildings and planted a large orchard, which was the best in the county when he disposed of the property. It con- tained one hundred and seventy-five bear- ing fruit trees and a large amount of small fruit. In 1892 Mr. King sold his property in Barton county and removed to Califor- nia, where he remained until 1895, when he returned and resumed farming, which pursuit claimed his attention for two years. He then took up his abode at Hoisington, where he conducted the Arlington Hotel un- til 1900, at which time he came to Great Bend, where he is practically living retired. However, he purchased the Arcade Hotel, in which he resides but rents out the greater part of that property. He also has charge of the city park.

Mr. King was united in marriage to Miss Mary Pinkerton, a daughter of James M. Pinkerton, a native of Tennessee, and a granddaughter of James Pinkerton, Sr., who was likewise born in Tennessee, but in an early day removed to Greene county, Illi- nois, where he carried on agricultural pur- suits until his life's labors were ended in death when he was about seventy years of age. His children were: William, Willie, Randall, John F., Mary, Martha. Rebecca, Rhoda, Paulina and James M. The last named, the father of Mrs. King, was a cooper by trade, and at an early period removed to Monmouth, Illinois, whence he afterward went to Iowa, where his death occurred in 1883. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jane C. Reynolds, was born in North Carolina and died in 1876. Their children were: Cecelia Ann, Annie

J., Sarah E., James B., Mary, Martha, Da- vid and John. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. King has been blessed with eight chil- dren, namely: Sarah E., wife of George Brisbie; Mary J., wife of Elem Crawford; Calvin, deceased; twin sons who died in in- fancy; Iva M., who has passed away; Ger- trude, wife of Joseph Woodburn; and Leon Pearl, who has departed this life.

Socially Mr. King is connected with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the Royal Arch degree, and with the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias societies. In the blue lodge of Masonry and the Knights of Pythias fraternity he is now holding office. He is also a member and the commander of the Grand Army Post at Great Bend and thus maintains pleasant re- lations with his old army comrades with whom he fought for the preservation of the Union on the battlefields of the south.

JAMES RYTHER.

After a long and honorable career as a brick and stone contractor, James Ryther is now practically living retired at his pleasant home in Hutchinson, surrounded by a large circle of friends, who hold him in the highest regard. Born in Erie coun- ty, Pennsylvania, August 24. 1838, he is a son of Hiram A. Ryther, a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Oneida county, in 1807. The first of the family to locate in America was Adolphus Ryther, the grandfather of our subject, who came with a brother to this country about 1780, locating in the Black River country, in New York, near Watertown, where he spent the remainder of his days, passing away in death about 1814. The family, it is believed, is of pure English descent, and as far back as its history can be traced its members have been natural mechanics and artists. The name is a very uncommon one, and it is therefore believed that Ryther's map of the city of London, published in 1600. a copy of which is now in the posses-

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

sion of our subject, is the work of one of his ancestors. A daughter of Adolphus Ry- ther, Dorothy, married David Shell, who be- came prominent in the early Canadian re- bellion. He was captured by the British and banished to the United States.

Hiram A. Ryther, the father of our sub- ject, was only seven years of age when his father died, and at that early age he was thrown largely upon his own resources. When a young man he was noted for his great strength and endurance, and could cut more grain with a cradle in a day than any other one person in that locality. He was united in marriage to Cynthia Wood, a na- tive of the Empire state, but she died at the early age of thirty-six years, leaving two daughters,-Mary, who became the wife of O. S. Boughton and died in Berrien county, Michigan, and Martha, who passed away in the same locality, and was the wife of J. S. Haskins. For his second wife Mr. Ryther chose Caroline Stancliff, a daughter of Charles Stancliff, and that union was blessed with five children, namely : James, the sub- ject of this review; Franklin, who died in battle during the Civil war ; Solon, deceased; Alice, widow of Frank Pugh, who was a millwright by trade and died in Minne- apolis, Minnesota, and in that city his widow was a matron for a number of years in the St. Barnabas Hospital ; and Ellen D., the wife of Arthur Grey, a farmer of Lynch, Nebraska.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 7

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