USA > Kansas > A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I > Part 76
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The marriage of our subject was cele- brated in 1861, when Louisa Shade became his wife. She is a daughter of Thomas Shade, a farmer of Pennsylvania. Six chi !- dren have been born unto this union, namely : David, who farms the old home- stead, married Rosa Doner, and they have one child. Thomas; Amanda is the wife of William Brewer, of Columbus, Kansas; William is a resident of Sterling: Sallie is the next in order of birth: Henry died at the age of one year; and Edward is em-
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ployed as a traveling salesman. Mr. Heist votes with the Democracy on questions of national importance, but at local elections he supports the men whom he regards as best qualified to fill public positions. His religious tendencies connect him with the Lutheran church, and he is an active worker in the cause of Christianity.
J. E. LASHMET.
Throughout almost his entire life J. E. Lashmet has been connected with pioneer experiences. He knows what it is to fight the Indians upon the frontier and to live distant from railroads, towns, and all the advantages and improvements which civil- ization affords. But he has the satisfaction of having witnessed the remarkable devel- opment of central Kansas, and has seen the county of Kingman take its place among the leading counties of this commonwealth.
Mr. Lashment was born in Schuyler county, Illinois, March 6, 1834. His father, John Lashmet, was a native of North Car- olina, and his grandfather was one of the heroes who fought for the independence of the nation, serving under General Washing- ton. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Woods, was also a native of North Carolina and her family was represented in the Revolutionary and Civil wars. About 1830 the parents of our subject resolved to seek a home in the Mis- sissippi valley and made their way west- ward to Schuyler county, Illinois, where they cast in their lot with the early settlers. Their children were Mary. Abigail, Ana- nias. John E., Thomas, William, Sarah and Lydia. Thomas joined the Union army as a member of the Sixteenth Illinois Infantry, and lovally aided in the suppres- sion of the rebellion. He is now living in Hamilton county, Kansas. The father of this family was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died in Schuyler county, Illinois, at the age of seventy years, and his wife, who was . Tennessee, and participated in the engage-
born in 1802, passed away at the age of fortv-five.
Amid the wild scenes of the frontier, J. E. Lashmet was reared, and experienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life. He was educated in a log school house. broke the prairie with an ox team and per- formed all the other work of the farm with the primitive implements of the time. He was taught to be industrious and honest. and these qualities have colored his entire career. At the age of nineteen he went to Fillmore county, Minnesota, where lie after- ward secured a claim of government land. He also worked in the woods in making rails with which to fence his farm, but when he felt that his duty was to his country he put aside all personal considerations and in March, 1863, became a member of Com- pany D, Eighth Minnesota Infantry, under command of Captain Samuel McCarty and Colonel Thomas. The regiment performed gallant service in the northwest in protect- ing the frontier of Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana, fighting the hostile Indians. including the Sioux, who fourteen years la- ter again went upon the war path and mas- sacred the army of General Custer. The regiment performed important service in protecting the lives and property of the I frontier people who else would have been sacrificed to Indian barbarity. The troops had a number of skirmishes and battles with the red men, whom they pursued almost to the British line, and westward to about fifty miles above the Yellowstone river, in Montana. For a time they were stationed at Fort Union. Twenty-five men were de- tailed from each company to go to the res- cue of Captain Fisk, who was surrounded by the Indians, and to accomplish this they traveled two hundred miles to a point west of . the Missouri river. The Seventh Iowa Cavalry was with them and the trip was most difficult and hazardous. Returning to Fort Rice, they took flat boats and fifty- two men on a boat and proceeded down the river to Sioux City. Iowa, thus making their way across the state to Dubuque. Later they were sent south to Murfreesboro,
J. E. LASHMET.
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ment at that place against the forces of Gen- eral Forrest. With his regiment Mr. Lash- inet was also in the Carolina campaign, pro- ceeding to Charlotte, North Carolina, and from thence northward, where, with his comrades, lie was honorably discharged at St. Paul, Minnesota. While he did not take part in as many battles as others who wore the blue, his service was in many respects no less dangerous and, in fact, the regular warfare of the plains called for great endur- ance and bravery.
On the 23d of March, 1854, Mr. Lash- met was married to Miss Mary Smith, a native of Wisconsin, and a daughter of J. W. and Jane ( Wells) Smith. Her father is now deceased, but her mother is living in Missouri. They had one son, Levi Smith, who was a member of the Eighth Minne- sota, Company D. during the Civil war, and died in Kingman county, Kansas, in 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Lashmet have one daughter, Clara, who is now the wife of S. H. Ritchie, of Newton county, Missouri, and by whom she had ten children. Mrs. Lashmet, who was a consistent Christian woman, holding membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, died in 1890, and on the 6th of Tune. 1898, Mr. Lashmet married Mrs. O. E. Sutherland, a lady of intelligence and re- finement. She was born in Wisconsin and was reared and began her education in Minnesota, which was completed after her return to Janesville, Wisconsin, where she attended the high school. She belongs to the Seventh Day Adventist church. In 1866 Mr. Lashmet removed from Minne- sota to southwestern Missouri, settling in Greene county, where he remained until 1878. the year of his arrival in Kingman county. Here he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres and at once began the devel- opment of his farm, which is now under a high state of cultivation and yields to him a golden tribute in return for the care and labor he bestowed upon it.
Mr. Lashmet is a stalwart Republican and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He stands to-day as a worthy type of our American manhood, true to the cluties of citizenship, honorable in business and faithful to duty in all life's relations.
HERBERT K. LINDSLEY.
Among the young men of prominence whose enterprise and diligence are in har- mony with the spirit of progress in the west is Herbert K. Lindsley, who is prominently connected with many important industries and business interests in Rice county. He was born in Delaware county, Indiana, June 21, 1874, and is a son of Captain Aaron Kitchell Lindsley, who was born in Morris- town, New Jersey, June 19, 1816. The grandfather, Benjamin Lindsley, was a na- tive of the same locality and was a carpenter and builder by trade. On removing to Ohio he located in Medina county. He first mar- ried Miss Hanna Condit and unto them were born seven children, three sons and four daughters, and with the exception of one daughter all reached mature years and were married, while five of the number had chil- dren. Zenas Lindsley was a farmer of prominence in Osage City, Iowa. The mother of these children was called to hier final rest and the father was afterward twice married. By his third wife, a widow, he inad one son, Henry B. Lindsley, who is now in Brownhelm, Lorain county Chic, where he is residing at the age of sixty-two years. The grandfather of our subject passed away in Medina, Ohio, when fifty-eight years of age.
Aaron Kitchell Lindsley was first mar- ried to Harriet Stowe, of Medina, a daugh- ter of Selden Stowe, and she became the mother of two daughters and one son. namely: Henrietta, the wife of Oscar Her- rick, of Wellington, Ohio; James, who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Flor- ence, the wife of Henry Asliley, of Fari- bault, Minnesota, by whom she has one daughter, Mabel. Mrs. Lindsley passed away in September, 1863, her death occur- ring while her husband was aiding in the struggle to preserve the Union upon the battlefields of the south. On the 28th of April, 1868, he was again married, his sec- ond union being with Elizabeth S. Buckles, who was born November 10, 1840, in Mun- cie, Indiana, a daughter of Joseph S. and Catherine (Williams) Buckles, both of whom are now deceased. Her father was
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born near Piqua, Ohio, July 29, 1819, and died in Muncie, Indiana, April 28, 1897. His wife, who was born in Fairfield county. Ohio, in October, 1819, passed away Sep- tember 3. 1888. The father was a lawyer and served as judge of the circuit court for twelve years. From 1833 until the time of his death he resided in Muncie. Indiana. He was admitted to practice in the state courts in 1841 and in the federal and su- preme courts in 1850. In 1855 he was elected prosecuting attorney and in 1857 was chosen state senator. While serving in the general assembly he acted as chairman of the judiciary committee, and he left the im- press of his individuality upon the legisla- tion of the state. He was a man of much prominence in legal circles, in politics and in business life and was a recognized leader in public thought and opinion. After the de- feat of Stephen A. Douglas he became a Re- publican, and remained a stanch' advocate of its principles. Mr. and Mrs. Buckles were the parents of eight children and reared four daughters, namely : Mrs. Linds- ley : Rebecca, the widow of John McCrea. of Muncie, Indiana; Josinah, the wife of W. E. Yost, of San Francisco, California ; and Cornelia, the widow of W. C. McVay, of Sterling.
Aaron K. Lindsley responded to the first call for volunteers at the time of the Civil war. He was commissioned as a recruiting officer and also raised a company of cavalry at his home in Wellington. This company entered the service and was assigned as Company H of the Second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, with Mr. Lindsley as its captain. The regiment was ordered to Kan- sas. and for a time was stationed at Fort Scott and assisted in protecting the Indians and their property from the border raids. On July 17. 1863. Mr. Lindsley received a commission form David Tod, then gover- nor of Ohio, to a captaincy of Company C of the Eighty-sixth Ohio Infantry. This regi- ment assisted in the capture of Morgan on his entering southern Ohio. On the 8th of September, 1864. Mr. Lindsley was com- missioned by John Brough, then governor of
Ohio, as captain of Company C. One Hun- dred and Seventy-sixth Ohio Infantry, with whom he served until the close of the war, and was mustered out at Nashville, Ten- nessee, on June 14, 1865.
After his marriage, which occurred at Muncie, Indiana, on the Ist of April, 1868. Mr. Lindsley located at Wellington, iu Lorain county, Ohio, where he remained for four years, after which he returned to Mun- cie, continuing his residence there for five years. In 1879 he came to Sterling. Kan- sas. He was a carpenter by trade, and while residing in Wellington engaged in business as a wholesale dealer in cheese. For sev- eral years he was also manager of the large farm owned by his father-in-law, Judge Bitckles, at Muncie. At the age of eighty- five years Mr. Lindsley is an active and pro- gressive man, retaining his mental and physical faculties unimpaired. By his later marriage he had two children, the elder being Joseph B., who was born in Welling- ton, Ohio, March 19, 1870. He is now a member of the well known law firm of Hen- ley, Kellam & Lindsley, of Spokane, Washi- ington, and is recognized as a practitioner of ability. He wedded Miss Alice Briscoll, of Spokane. The parents reside in their attractive and well furnished home, which is one of the pleasant residences of Sterling. In the home is a choice collection of bric-a- brac and many rare and valuable souvenirs, including a silver dollar which Mrs. Linds- ley inherited from her grandfather Buckles and on which is the genealogy of the Buck- les family traced back to England. She also has the powder horn which she inherited from her mother's grandfather, William Williams, who brought the article from Wales and carried it throughout the Revo- lutionary war.
Herbert K. Lindsley, whose name forms the caption of this review, pursued his edu- cation in the public schools of Sterling, whither he came with his parents when only five years of age. Leaving school at the age of thirteen, he accepted a clerkship in a gro- cery store, where he remained for three years. He then became agent for the Pacific
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Express Company, serving in that capacity for three and a half years, and in 1893 he embarked in the broomcern business with Robert Findlay, under the name of Rob- ert Findlay & Company. They are still en- gaged in the trade and are doing an excel- lent business along that line. Mr. Lindsley was also vice-president of the Citizens Bank of Lyons, which he and his partner pur- chased on the 19th of March, 1900. Two months later they converted it into the Lyons National Bank, and our subject was chosen president. The firm is also dealing in live stock, making a specialty of cattle and hogs, which they ship throughout the year. They own a number of farms and are buy- ing lands in central Kansas. Their business interests are very extensive, varied and con- stantly increasing both in volume and im- portance. Mr. Lindsley is a young man of only twenty-seven years, but has already attained a success that many a person of twice his years might well envy.
Socially he is a Thirty-second degree Mason, having attained to that rank in Wichita Consistory, No. 2. November 18, 1897. He is also a member of Sterling Commandery, No. 47, K. T., and is serving as eminent commander. In politics he is a Republican, and for two terms has served as township treasurer of Sterling township. He occupies a very prominent position among the leading business men of Rice county, and for several years has been closely identified with the history of Ster- ling as a representative of several of its most important business interests. He lias won distinction and is to-day numbered among the leading, influential and honored citizens of the community, in which almost his entire life has been spent. A young man, he possesses the enterprising spirit of the west, which has been the dominant factor in producing the wonderful development of this section of the country. Brooking no obstacles that honest effort can overcome, he has steadily worked his way upward un- til. having long since left the ranks of the many, he to-day stands among the success- ful few.
LEVI F. LANDIS.
Levi F. Landis, foreman of the Waggy fruit and tree farm, an extensive tract of fifteen hundred acres on section 31, Grant township, is one of the leading and repre- sentative citizens of Reno county. He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Oct. ber 8, 1853. His father, George Landis. was a native of Scotland, that state, where his birth occurred in 1825, and he passed away in Newville, Pennsylvania, in 1898. He was a blacksmith by trade, following that occupation for sixteen years, and in later life he engaged in the tilling of the soil. His wife, who was in her maidenhood Elizabeth Hoover, still survives her husband. They reared eight of their nine children, one daughter having died at the age of six years. Of the six sons and two daughters who grew to years of maturity all are mar- ried and have families of their own. The mother and three of the children still reside in Pennsylvania.
Levi F. Landis, the subject of this re- view, attended the common schools cf his native county, and remained at home until arriving at years of maturity. On the Ist of January, 1871, he secured as a compan- ion for the journey of life Miss Mary M. Brehm, of Newville, Pennsylvania, and this union was blessed with twin sons, but only one is now living, George Brehm, who is now fifteen years of age. his birth having occurred in Angust. 1886. Fifteen years ago, in 1886. the Landis family became resi- dents of the Sunflower state, first locating in Carbondale, but a year later removed to Scott City, where they remained for two years. On the expiration of that period they took up their abode in Hutchinson, where Mr. Landis was engaged in the real- estate business for three years with the firmn of J. Bailey & Company. In 1898 he as- sumed control of the Yaggy ranch, which was purchased by Mr. Yaggy thirteen years ago for twenty-two dollars an acre, and was then unimproved prairie. Five hundred acres of the place is now devoted to catalpa trees, of which there are about two thou-
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sand to the acre, making a total of one mil- lion trees, while there is an apple orchard of eight hundred acres, consisting of about eighty thousand trees. Forty acres is de- voted to pears, which yielded three thou- sand bushels of fruit in 1900. The fine man- sion on the place was erected in 1895 by Mr. Yaggy. This gentleman has risen from the humble walks of life by his own energy and business enterprise and is now one of the heavy capitalists of Chicago.
In his political affiliation Mr. Landis votes independent ( f party ties, casting his ballot in favor of the men whom he regards as best fitted for public office. His religi- ous belief is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church, in which he is an ac- tive and zealous worker.
HENRY JOHNSON.
A well known representative of the agricultural interests of Kingman county, Henry Johnson is the owner of a fine farm on section 21, Galesburg township. His place is well improved with all modern ac- cessories and conveniences, and the fields are under a high state of cultivation and abundant harvests are garnered. His meth- ods are progressive and practical, his work is vigorously prosecuted, his affairs are ca- pably managed and he is justly regarded as one of the best farmers in his section of the state.
Mr. Johnson is a native of Berrien coun- ty, Michigan, his birth having occurred on the 23d of May, 1835. His maternal grandfather, John Johnson, and his father, Jolin P. Johnson, were both natives of Maryland, and the latter was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was reared in the state of his nativity, and in Ohio was united in marriage to Susanna A. Asher, a native of that state and a daughter of Luke Asher. who claimed the Buckeye state as the place of his nativity. Mr. Johnson subsequently removed from Ohio to LaPorte county, In- diana, and still later became a resident of Berrien county, Michigan. In 1853 he re-
moved from the latter state to Iowa, be- coming one of the first settlers of Floyd county, that state, and after spending a time in that locality he moved to Nicollet county, Minnesota. Subsequently he returned to Iowa, locating in Hamilton county, where he spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of ninety-two years. His wife also died in Iowa in 1868 at the age of seventy years. Unto this worthy couple were born seven sons and four daughters, but only three of the num- ber still survive-Jacob, a resident of Iowa; Nancy Colp, who makes her home in La- Porte, Indiana; Henry, the subject of this review. Those deceased are: Abram, who was a soldier in an Iowa regiment during the Civil war, and his death occurred in Nebraska; Rebecca, Rhoda, Nathan, Har- riet, John, Luke and Lemuel. The lat- named died when young.
Henry Johnson, whose name introduces this review, was eighteen years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal Lo Iowa, but prior to that time he had re- ceived his education in a log school house in Michigan, and much of his youth and early manhood was spent upon the wild western frontiers. From Floyd county, Iowa, he removed with the family to Nic- ollet county, Minnesota, but in 1867 re- turned to Iowa, and in Hamilton county, that state, at the age of twenty-five years, he was united in marriage to Emeline Pres- tage, a native of Minnesota and a daughter of Henry and Emily Prestage. After a short but happy married life the mother was called to the home beyond, passing away in Hamilton county, Iowa. At her death she left two children,-George, a res- ident of Decatur county, Kansas, and Mrs. Emma Lewis, of Montana. For his sec- ond wife Mr. Johnson chose Loretta Ran- del, who was born in Shelby county, Ohio, a daughter of Job and Anna C. ( Garber ) Randel, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Shelby county, Ohio, and they now reside in Floyd county, Iowa. Unto this worthy couple were born nine other chil- dren. namely : Frances R., John N., William J., Martin E., George W., Elmer E., James
MR. AND MRS. HENRY JOHNSON.
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S. and Merritt G. and Rose Ellen, deceased. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has been born one son, Elza, who was born in Iowa twen- ty-four years ago. He married Celia Mc- Guire, and now resides on one of his fa- ther's farms.
Mr. Johnson, of this review, came from Hamilton county, Iowa, to this state in 1896, and in Galesburg township he now owns a well cultivated farm of five hundred acres, on which he has erected a large and commodious residence, barns and other outbuildings, while a beautiful orchard of eight acres further adds to the value and attractive appearance of his place. He is a stanch advocate and an active worker for the Republican party, and is a well known and popular man in his locality.
G. A. BISHOP.
G. A. Bishop, a well-known resident of Atlanta township, Rice county, where he is successfully engaged in agricultural pur- suits. His standing in the community is in- dicated by the fact that he is now serving as justice of the peace, to which position he was elected by popular ballot for the third term in November, 1900. He came to Rice county in February, 1883, and since made his home within its borders, his hearty sup- port being ever given to those measures which are calculated to prove a benefit to the community.
Mr. Bishop was born in Huron county, Ohio, near Havannah, March 23. 1848, and is a son of Reuben and Sarah Ann (Gardiner) Bishop. The ancestry of the family is English and the first of the name to seek a home in America crossed the At- lantic about 1700, locating in Connecticut. In that state Joel Bishop, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 1759. He was therefore a young man at the time of the war for American independence. He joined the American army in order to fight for the liberties of the colonists, and being cap- tured, was sent to a New York prison. The hardships and horrors there endured cannot
be adequately described. Mr. Bishop was one of only three men who survived the prison experience. Reuben Bishop, the fa- ther of our subject, was born in Montgom- ery county, New York, but was reared in Wayne county, that state, and when he had arrived at years of maturity he married Sarah Ann Gardiner, a native of New York. A farmer by occupation, he followed that pursuit in order to provide for his family, carrying on the work of agriculture throughout his business career. His politi- cal support was given the Republican party after its organization. In early life he held membership with the Baptist church but sub- sequently became identified with the Meth- odist Episcopal church. He passed away in Havana, Ohio, in February, 1875, at the age of sixty-four years, but his widow is still living and at the age of eighty-three is en- joying good health. This worthy couple were the parents of ten children, namely : Deloss, who was a soldier in the Civil war; Evaline, deceased ; William H., also a Union soldier ; Alonzo T., who was one of the de- fenders of the Union in the Civil war and had a son, Alonzo T., Jr., who fought for his country in the Spanish-American war; Harriet Malissa; Gardner A .; Eugene M .; Reuben C .; Sarah D .; and Charles E.
In taking up the personal history of G. A. Bishop we present to our readers the life record of one who is well and favorably known in Rice county. He was reared to the work of the farm and lessons of industry and honesty were early instilled into his mind. His literary training was received in the public schools. When a young man he went to Peoria, Illinois, and was there mar- ried in 1875 to Miss Sarah J. Bishop, who has proved to him a faithful companion and helpmeet on the journey of life. She was born in Wayne county, New York, and is a daughter of D. C. and Mary Ann (Mead) Bishop, the former a native of Wayne count- ty and the latter of Ontario county, New York. Her father followed farming and was a man of the strictest honesty and up- rightness, his life being in perfect harmony with his professions as a member of the Bap- tist church, in which he filled the office of
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