A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 75

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 75

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came very successful in their cla sen line. Later on Mr. Peckham also carried on the stock business in partnership with a gen- tleman from Michigan, keeping from two hundred to two hundred and fifty head, but since 1890 he has carried on operations alone, during which time he has annually kept about one hundred head. He ships on an average three car-loads a year, and he also carries on an extensive business in buy- ing and selling stock.

The Peckham homestead is one of the beautiful places of Reno county. His enter- prising and progressive nature is well shown in the graded evolutions which have taken place in his dwellings from the year 1871 until the present time. In that year he erected a one-room sod house, which served as his abode until 1875, when a three-room frame dwelling was constructed. In 1881. at a cost of one thousand dollars, he erected a commodious and attractive home, and this he joined to his second residence, making a ten-room house. During the present year. 1901. this structure was replaced by a mag- nificent dwelling, which is supplied with every comfort and convenience known to the older east. It contains twelve rooms and was erected at a cost of four thousand dei- lars. The hall and stairway are furnished entirely in oak, as are also the outside doors and window casings, while the windows are plate glass. The entire place is heated by a furnace, the grounds are beautiful and ex- tensive, and in both its interior and exterior appearance the home is indeed beautiful. In 1892 Mr. Peckham erected a large barn. the finest in Reno county, forty by ninety- five feet, with a capacity for one hundred tons of hay, two thousand bushels of graiu. thirteen horses and fifty cattle, and when necessary one hundred head of cattle can be sheltered in this barn. It was erected at a cost of twenty-one hundred dollars. Mr. Peckham farms all of his land, and during the past season one hundred and twenty- five acres of his place was planted with wheat, which yielded him three thousand eight hundred bushels : seventy acres with corn; twenty acres with alfalfa, the first three crops of which realized fifty-two dol-

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lui. por aire. His orchard contains about three acres, and in his splendid garden are two hundred grape vines, raspberries, black- berries and many other varieties of small fruits, while his grove of twenty acres con- tains cottonwood, maple, mulberry, csage orange, ash and box elder trees.

The marriage of Mr. Peckham was cele- Lrated on the 19th of February, 1874. when Sarah Hess became his wife, the wedding taking place at the home of her brother, two miles from this city. She was born in Hartford City, Indiana, on the 29th ( f November, 1850, and is a daughter of Abram and Elizabeth ( Gadbury ) liess, na- tives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio and both of German descent. The father followed farming in the vicinity of Hart- ford City, and he and his wife died within a year of each other, leaving a family of five children, who, with courage and de- cision that was truly marvelous and in spite of the remonstrances of their friends, sold their little Indiana home and came to Kan- .sas, the wife of our subject holding her little sister, the youngest of the family, on her lap during nearly the entire distance. On their arrival here they le cated on section 1.4, Ha- ven township, where they remained until Mrs. Peckham's marriage, and her youngest sister then made her home with her. She was one of five children, namely: David, who is employed as a traveling salesman for the Page Fence Company, of Adrian, Mich- igan, and is located in Hutchinson : Sarah, the wife of our subject; Nelson, who op- erates the old home farm: John, proprietor of the Palace livery barn, of Hutchinson ; and Martha, the wife of Ira Fisher, who op- erates a farm adjoining the old home place. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Peckham has been blessed with ten children: John D., who was born on the 5th of November. 1874, is employed as a clerk in Wichita and is also the owner of a farm near Haven, and he was married to Hattie Van Buren, a daughter of George Van Buren, of Haven township: Minnie, born January 19. 1877. is the wife of Everett Bishop, a farmer of Manchester, Oklahoma; Flora, born April

5, 1879. died in childhood, on the 15th of November, 1885: Ella, born January 19, 1881, died February 15, 1900; Arthur Le- roy, born July 7, 1883. is attending the Agricultural College at Manhattan ; Bertha was born November 27, 1884; Cora was born May 27, 1886; Eddie D. was born January 14, 1888: Ira was born May 19, 1889; and Laura P. was born January 4. 1891.

In matters of national importance Mr Peckham gives his support to the Demo- cratic party, but at local elections he votes independent of party ties. lie has served as a member of the school board since its or- ganization : was the first trustee of Haven township, elected in 1873. and served for one terin ; in 1888 was president of the Law and Order League, and during his services in that position, with the aid of the ministers of this locality, he succeeded in ridding Ha- ven of much of the unlawful liquor traffic ; was a delegate to the state Prohibition con- vention at Tepeka : and has frequently been a delegate to the county conventions held at Hutchinson. He was also a member of the original town company of Haven, which owned one-half of the land included in the present town site. During that time, in company with L. O. Smith, he erected the Haven Roller Mills in 1887, at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. He is president of the Farmers' Co-operative Grain and Stock Company, and is a stockholder in the ele- vater operated by this organization. In his social relations Mr. Peckham is a member of the Masonic order and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he is now a past master. Religiously both he and his wife are Universalists, and they formerly held membership relations with the church at Haven, but the organization has since been discontinued. Such is the biography of one of the most successful men of Reno county. He has carved his way to a position of affluence unaided and alene, by constant application and hard work, and he is a worthy representative of the progressive, in- telligent and public-spirited citizens of cen- tral Kansas.

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WILLIAM RICHARD LOVE.

William R. Love is one of the respected farmers of Reno county, where he has made his home for many years, being closely asso- ciated with its welfare. He is a thorough, practical agriculturist and man of business, and has been the architect of his own for- tunes. His fidelity to duty is one of his marked characteristics, and in times of war and peace alike he has ever been true to his honest convictions.

Mr. Love is a native of South Carolina, his birth having occurred on the Ioth of April, 1839. . His grandfather, Richard Love, was a well known planter of that com- monwealth, where he owned many slaves, and there he spent his entire life. He reared six sons and two daughters, all of whom became worthy citizens and were an honor to the good old family name. James H. Love, the father of our subject, was born in South Carolina. April 29, 1803, and in his native state, in 1828, was united in mar- riage to Sarah Bowen, who was there born in 1806, a daughter of Joseph Bowen. In the fall of 1842, when our subject was three and a half years of age, they removed to Mississippi, where they be- came the owners of five hundred acres of land, on which they raised principal- ly cotton and corn, and they also owned from fifteen to twenty slaves. They reared six of their nine children, four daughters and two sons ; and the brother of our subject, Joseph E. Love, is now a prominent farmer of Mississippi, where he owns about seven hundred acres of land and is extensively en- gaged in farming and stock-raising. The mother departed this life in 1863. and her husband survived her until May 8, 1885, when he, too, passed away, dying in Mis- sissippi.

William Richard Love, whose name in- troduces this review, has ever followed the tilling of the soil as a life occupation, and after attaining to man's estate he was en- gaged in farming with his father for seven years. He then left the parental roof, and for a time worked on his own place of four hundred acres. During the

Civil war both he and his brother en- tered the service of their beloved south- land, and both were wounded in bat- tle. At the battle of Franklin, Ten- nessee, our subject was wounded and cap- tured, after which he spent three and one- half months in a hospital at Nashville, going thence to Louisville, Kentucky, next to Camp Chase, Ohio, and finally to Point Lookout, Maryland, having been in the lics- pital most of the time. After the close of hostilities he returned to his home in Mis- sissippi, where he remained until May, 1884. when he came to Kansas and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Part- ridge, the purchase price being twelve hun- dred and eighty dollars. From time to time he has added to his original purchase until he now owns three quarter sections, a half section of which is under a high state of cultivation, while the remainder is devoted to pasturage. He keeps on hand about fifty head of graded cattle, many being full- Llooded sherthorns, and also has from twelve to thirteen mules. Corn and wheat are the principal crops, eighty acres of his land being planted with the latter and one hundred and ten acres with the former cereal. He indeed possesses the enterprising spirit of the west, and the high position which he now occupies in the business world has been reached by his unfaltering industry, his close attention to business and his wise judgment.

On the 4th of September, 1872, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Love and Miss Perneacy Robinson, a daughter of Alexan- der and Pamelia ( Estes ) Robinson, of Mis- sissippi, where the father was engaged in agricultural pursuits. They became the par- ents of sixteen children, six of whom grew to years of maturity. The mother departed this life at the age of forty-seven years, and the father reached the age of sixty-seven years, passing away in Mississippi. Unto cur subject and wife have been born thirteen children, namely : Pamelia, the wife of Pit- son O'Hara, of Ohio, and they have two children: Martha: William: Anna; John; Robert: Frederick : Myrtle : and Edgar and Edwin, twins. Three of the children died

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in infancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Love are members of the Congregational church, and in his political affiliations Mr. Love is a Populist. The family have a wide circle of friends in Reno county and enjoy the hos- pitality of many of its best homes.

BARNETT BURDICK.

The subject of this review has reached the eighty-third milestone on life's journey. His career has been an eventful one in many respects, including almost four years of ser - vice in the Civil war, and now in the even- ing of his life can look back on a well spent past. He was born in Otsego county, New York. November 4. 1819, and is a son of Jonathan A. Burdick, a native of Rhode Island. His paternal grandfather, Allen Miles Burdick, was also born in the same state and was of English lineage, the an- cestry of the family being traced back to two brothers who fought with Cromwell in opposition to the British crown, and when the Protectorate was overthrown they fled to the United States, thus founding the family on American soil. Jonathan B., the father of our subject, wedded Susanna Still- well, a daughter of Barnett Stillwell, who was of French and English lineage. They had twelve children. The father was a millwright and died in Oswego county, New York. His political support was given the Democracy. He reached a very ad- vanced age and died in the faith of the Bap- tist church, of which he was long a member The m ther lived to the age of ninety-three years.

Barnett Burdick was reared in Otsego and Oswego counties, acquired a common school education, and worked in the fields through the summer months and until after the harvests were garnered in the autumn. He was married at the age of twenty-four, in 1842, to Miss Mina Ann Eason, who rep- resented a good family of innate culture and refinement. She possessed literary tastes and was a successful teacher prior to her marriage. Her birth occurred in

New Haven township. Oswego county, New York, her parents being Dr. N. S. and Experience ( Severance ) Eason, who were from Massachusetts, and were people vi high literary culture and very patriotic The second year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Burdick removed to McHenry county, Illinois, and in 1850 he was one of the Argonauts who sought the golden fleece in California, crossing the plains to the Pacific slope with an ox team. He re- mained there for two years and then re- turned home by way of the Isthmus of Pan- ama. In his work in the far west he was quite successful. Mr. Burdick then engaged in farming in Illinois until after the inaug- uration of the Civil war, when in October, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Battery A. Chicago Light Artillery. His son, Henry E., also joined the service, and side by side they fought for the preservation of the Union, being under command of Cap- tain Charles M. Willard. Mr. Burdick par- ticipated in twenty-two engagements, in- cluding the battles ( f Fort Henry, Fort Don- elson, Pittsburg Landing, the siege of Cor- inth, the battle of Memphis, and with Gen- eral Sherman he went down the Missis- sippi river to a point below Vicksburg, and after participating in the engagement at Arkansas Post returned to take part in the siege of Vicksburg. there remaining until after the surrender of the city. He was also in the battles of Jackson, Black River Bridge, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge. Champion Hill, and for some weeks was in the campaign at Larkin- ville, Alabama. Subsequently he was with General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign, taking part in the battles of Resaca and Dal- las, and in the siege of Atlanta, being en- gaged in the battle on the 22d of July, 1864. when General McPherson was killed. With the troops he then proceeded to Savannah, also taking part in the battles of Nashville and Jonesboro. He was never wounded, but at the last named, had a very narrow es- cape. He acted as rammer for the big gun. All through the war he and his son marched together and fought together, and at length they were honorably discharged in July,

Mr & Mrs Barnett Burdick,

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1865, returning home with the most credit- able military record.

The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Bur- dick are: Henry E., who was his father's companion in arms, and now resides in Woodstock, Illinois, while his son, Charles E., is living on a farm adjoining our sub- ject's homestead ; Mrs. Mina Ann Coleman. of McHenry county, Illinois; Barnett, of Arkansas; and Ida Elle Collins, of Arkan- sas.

In the year 1879 Mr. Burdick came to Kingman county and located on a claim in Evan township, and in 1894 he removed to his present fine farm, where he has a good cottage home and many modern improve- ments. In the evening of life he is now liv- ing retired, enjoying a well earned rest. He and his wife are memebrs of the Cumber- land Presbyterian church, and are people of the highest respectability, honored and es- teemed by all who know them.

On the adjoining farm resides Charles E. Burdick, their grandson, who was born in McHenry county, Illinois. As his mother died during his early youth he was reared 'by his grandparents at their home in the Prairie state. He married Prissilla French, and they have six children, namely: Henry Melvin, Lydia Ellen, Cynthia L., William McKinley. Roy and Ray E. Their home is upon a good farm of one hundred and thirty-three acres, which Mr., Burdick has placed under a high state of cultivation, transforming it into a rich and productive tract.

ROBERT N. WATSON.

Robert N. Watson is the proprietor of the { Id Dan Thomas livery, fecd and sale stable at Ellsworth, on Lincoln avenue, op- posite the White House. He is doing a suc- cessful business and is a leader in his line in the town. He was born near Chatham, On- tario, October 18, 1855, and his parents, John and Sarah (Campbell) Watson, were both natives of Canada and were of Scotch origin. The father engaged in merchan-

dising at Ridgetown. Ontario, For many years, and there died in 1867, while the mother passed away in 1863. They were the parents of three children, namely : John, who resides near the old home in Canada: Robert N., of this review; and Sarah. the wife of John Atkinson, of Canada.

Our subject was twelve years of age at the time of his father's death. He then went to make his home with his uncle, Verus Watson, with whom he remained until six- teen years of age. For two years he was engaged in farm work and then entered upon an apprenticeship, in his native village, at the trade of harness-making, serving for three years. On the expiration of that period, finding the trade uncongenial, he re- sumed farming. He was identified with agricultural pursuits in that locality until 1884, when he removed to Colorado and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, near Fort Collins. In that locality he was engaged in farming until 1895, when he shipped a car of horses which he had on hand to Norwood, Wright county, Missouri. There he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and for a year was a repre- sentative of agricultural pursuits in that lu- cality, after which he exchanged his prop- erty for one hundred and sixty acres on sec- tions 33. 14 and 8 in Sherman township. Ellsworth county. He afterward sold eighty acres and then purchased another quarter section. The house which was upon his land burned soon after he took possess- ion, but he believes with Shakespeare that "What's done is done; things without rem- edy should be without record." Therefore he did not spend any time in useless lament- ing but resolutely set to work to retrieve his lost possessions. His second quarter section of land had only about thirty acres broken when he took possession and only seventy acres had been cleared on the last tract which he purchased. He made the neces- sary improvements, building fences, barns and outbuildings, and erected a new resi- dence on the site of the old one. There he engaged in farming and stock-raising with excellent success, keeping on hand from fifty to eighty head of cattle, which he bought.

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sold and shipped. In November, 1900, hou - ever, he disposed of his farming property and purchased the livery stable in Ellsworth. to which he now gives his attention. Mr. Watson has the best stable in the entire county. He keeps a fine lot of carriages. huggies and vehicles of all kinds and splen- (lid horses, being able to meet the wants of his customers on short notice. The main barn is a frame structure, one hundred by sixty feet, with ample accommodations fer the shelter of his horses and carriages. He is also engaged in buying and shipping horses, and in this way has added to his in- come.

On the roth of February, 1886, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Watson and Miss Emma Sainsbury, a daughter of Jo .- seph and Mary ( Gorman) Sainsbury. The lady was born in Wisconsin and with her parents went to Colorado, the wedding being celebrated at Fort Collins, that state. Their union has been blessed with five children. namely: Joseph, Charles, Zenas, Roy and Harry. Roy was accidentally killed in Oc- tober. 1901. In his political. views Mr. Watsen is independent, voting for the men whom he thinks best qualified to discharge the duties of the office, without regard to party affiliations. He belongs to Ellsworth Lodge, Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a reliable, enterprising citizen, a man of upright character and sterling qualities, and whatever he has achieved in life is the reward of earnest purpose and honorable effort.

MIKE GERBER.

This well known farmer and influential citizen of Galesburg township, Kingman county, was born near Bellevue, Ohio, in 1862, a son of Jacob Gerber, who was born 111 Alsace, France, now Germany. The lat- ter received the educational advantages afforded by the schools of his native land until his fourteenth year, after which he laid aside his text-books to engage in the active battle of life on his own account. At the age of eighteen years he sailed for America,

and after his arrival in this country he was employed as a sailor on the Great Lakes for the following three years. He then returned to his native land, but after remaining in Alsace for a short period he again sought a home in the new world, this time locating near Bellevue, Ohio, where he has made his home for the past sixty years. He has now reached the venerable age of eighty-three years, and during all these years he has so lived as to win and retain the love and esteem of all with whom he has had business or social intercourse. He has been twice married, his first union being with Barbara Heitz, by whom he had six children, namely : Jacob, an agriculturist of Evans township, Kingman county ; Barbara, deceased ; Mary, of Ohio; John, a prominent resident of Galesburg township, this county; James. who died in Ohio; and Philopena, who also makes her home in this locality. After the death of the mother of these children the fa- ther married Lena Snyder, and they also had a family of children.

Mike Gerber, the subject of this review, was early inured to the labors of the farm, and the educational privileges which he en- joyed in his youth were those afforded by the common schools of his native lo- cality. In the Buckeye state he contin- ued to make his home until 1890. in which year he came to Kingman coun- ty, Kansas, and his first purchase of land in this locality consisted of eighty acres in Galesburg township, but as time has passed by he has added to this tract until his landed possessions now consist of two hun- dred and forty acres. In addition to the raising of the cereals best adapted to this soil and climate he is also extensively en- gaged in the raising of cattle, finding this a profitable source of investment. His life lias ever been an industrious and useful one. and the success which has come to him is but the result of ceaseless toil and strict at- tention to his business duties. His labors have indeed brought to him a very desirable competence, and he is now numbered among the substantial citizens of the community.

As a companion for the journey of life Mr. Gerber chose Anna Coby, who was born

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in Seneca county, Ohio, a daughter of Vin- cent and Lizzie Coby. The parents came to this country from Alsace, France, and were among the early pioneers of Seneca county, Ohio, where they still continue to make their home. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gerber have been born six children, two sons and four daughters, namely: Ludwina, Edwin, Mar- cus H., Helen, Nora and Sarah. Mr. Ger- ber is independent in his political views, pre- ferring to vote for the men whom he regards as best qualified to fill positions of public trust. The family are members of the Cath- olic church, of which he is a trustee, and during the erection of the present church edifice, which cost thirty-five hundred dol- lars, he was a member of the building com- mittee.

MICHAEL B. HEIST.

This prominent early settler of Kingman county, whose home is on section 23, Hoosier township, is the possessor of a handsome property, which now enables him to spend his declining years in the pleasur- able enjoyment of his accumulations. A na- tive of Pennsylvania, his birth occurred in Bucks county, on the 4th of June, 1839. and his paternal grandfather was the first of the family to come to America. His father, Joshua Heist, was also born in the Keystone state, and nearly his entire business career was passed in an official capacity, having for a number of years served as a tax collector. He was an efficient worker in the cause of the Democracy, and was a worthy and con- sistent member of the Lutheran church. As a companion for the journey of life he chose Barbara Brauchler, and they had five chil- dren, but our subject was the only one of the family to come to the west. One brother, David, is a resident of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and these two sons are now the only living representatives of this once large family.

Michael B. Heist was reared and re- ceived his education in the place of his nativity, and there learned the carpenter's trade. In 1877, on account of ill health, he

came to the Sunflower state. For a time he had been gradually failing in health, hav- ing been reduced from one hundred and eighty to one hundred and fifteen pounds, but within three months after coming to this favored section he had sufficiently regained his strength to resume work at his trade. He then sent for his family, and they located in Sterling. Rice county, where Mr. Heist followed the carpenter's trade for a time. When Lyons became the county seat of Rice county the Heist family removed to that place, and many of the prominent buildings of that city stand as monuments to Mr. Heist's skill and ability. Among the many large buildings which he there erected may be mentioned the Palace Hotel and the Methodist church and he also erected many private residences. He continued to devote his time to the carpenter trade until 1895. and for the following four years was en- gaged in the hotel business. On the ex- piration of that period he came to Kingman and purchased the farm where he now re- sides. Shortly after his arrival here he pur- chased the Brunswick Hotel, which he con- clucted for a short time and then sold, and has since made his home upon his farm. The place consists of one hundred and sixty acres of the finest land to be found in the county, one hundred acres of which is under an excellent state of cultivation. For a num- ber of years before he purchased the prop- erty it had been operated by tenants and was therefore greatly run down, and he was obliged to devote much hard labor to again place it in proper shape. Mr. Heist has now practically retired from the active duties of farm life and his land is operated by his son.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 75

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