A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 79

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 79

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C. C. Stahl, whose name forms the cap- tion of this review, was reared on a farm in Knox county, where he was trained to hab- its of industry and integrity. He acquired a good education and for a number of years was a successful and popular teacher. As a companion and helpmate for the journey of life he chose Miss Olive Leora Horn, the marriage being celebrated in Richland coun- ty, Ohio, in 1876. She was born in Knox county, Ohio, and was a daughter of Josiah Horn, whose birth also occurred in Knox county, Ohio. His parents were Benjamin and Anna ( Post) Horn. Josiah and Nancy Jane Horn had eight children, two sons and six daughters, namely: Olive L., now Mrs. Stahl; Mrs. Sarah Lodina Wahlford, of Harper county, Kansas : Mrs. Anna Spayd, of Ohio: William, who is also living in that state: Mrs. Eunice Cutnow, of Ohio; Mrs. Elizabeth Stahl, of Ohio; Mrs. Mary Stot- ler, of the Buckeye state; and Robert, who died at the age of ten months. The father died at the age of seventy-nine years. He was a blacksmith and carpenter who pos- sessed excellent mechanical ability and he

also carried on farming. His wife, at the age of sixty-nine years, now resides in Rich- land county, Ohio. She is a member of the Evangelical church, as was also her husband, and they have ever been people of the high- est respectability.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stahl resided in Ohio until 1884, when they came to Rice county, Kansas, and took up their abode upon the Grove Valley farm, which place obtained its name from the splendid groves here seen. The farm is situated at the junction of two railroads and is one of the pleasant country places in this portion of the county. The large barn is thirty-six by fifty-four feet. In close proximity to this are good sheds and feed lots, while the pas- tures are green with rich grasses. The fields are well cultivated and the farm is splendidly adapted for the production of grain and the raising of stock, to which work Mr. Stahl is devoting his energies.

The union of our subject and his wife was blessed with three children: William Walter, now twenty-one years of age, is pur- suing a five years' classical course in Cooper College; Ethel Keturah, now eighteen years of age, is also a student in Cooper College; and Sarah Jane is nine years old. Mrs. Stahl passed away in death April 9, 1901, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal churchi, of which she was a worthy member and with which Mr. Stahl is also connected. He is an ardent Republican, inflexible in his sup- port of the principles of the party. The cause of religion, of temperance and moral- ity find in him a friend and earnest worker.

JESSE AINSWORTH.

Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Lyons who occupies a more en- viable position than Jesse Ainsworth in in- dustrial and financial circles, not alone on account of the brilliant success which he has achieved, but also on account of the honor- able, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. He possesses untiring ener- gy, is quick of perception, forms his plans

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readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to- day his. He is now superintendent for the Bevis Rock Salt Company, of Lyons, an in- dustry which has made this city known throughout America.

Mr. Ainsworth is a native of England, his birth having occurred in North Stafford- shire, September 13, 1857. He represents a good family of that country. They came to the United States in 1876, and located in Illinois. His father, Samuel Ainsworth, is a mining superintendent now having control of the well known Taylorsville mines, of Illinois. He was born, reared and educated in the "merrie isle," and in his native county of Staffordshire he wedded Miss Mary Ann Hall, who was also a native of the same lo- cality, and proved to her husband a faithful companion and helpmate on the journey of life. They became the parents of eleven chil- dren, nine of whom, three sons and six daughters, reached years of maturity.

Mr. Ainsworth of this review acquired an excellent education in the Mechanics' In- stitute, at Hanley, England, where he be- came a mining engineer. He stood well in his classes, his scholarship indicating his thoroughness in his work. Well prepared for the practical and responsible duties of life. he then put aside hiis text-books and at the age of nineteen bade adieu to family, friends and native land and sailed for the United States, believing that better oppor- tunities were afforded to young men in the new world than could be obtained in the older countries of Europe. where competi- tion was greater. He was strong and hope- ful, had an accurate knowledge of his pro- fession and was possessed of a laudable am- bition. Good health, honesty and industry stood him instead of fortune and proved the foundation upon which he reared the superstructure of his present prosperity. After arriving on the Atlantic coast he made his way westward and secured a situation in the mines in Collinsville, Illinois, where he remained for four or five years. He then went to Colorado and was engaged in min-

ing at Canyon City for the Colorado Coal and Iron Company. Later he returned to Illinois and entered the service of the Leb- anon Coal Company, with which he was con- nected for eighteen months. He next went to Smithboro, Illinois, where he sunk a shaft for the Smithiboro Coal Company and re- mained in charge of their mining interests for a period of eighteen months. On the expiration of that time he entered the em- ploy of the Consolidated Coal Company, of St. Louis, Missouri, with mines at Richland and White Oak, Illinois, acting as superin- tendent of the company for four years. His advancement had been steady, continuous and well deserved, and at the age of twenty- six he occupied a very important position, one entailing great responsibility as well as a comprehensive knowledge of mining oper- ations. In 1890 Mr. Ainsworth came to Lyons as superintendent for the Bevis Rock Salt Company, and the industry of which he has control is the leading one in Rice coun- ty. The business was established in 1890 and the plant was erected at a cost of a quarter of a million of dollars. Employ- ment is furnished to over one hundred work- men, and the salt which is mined is equal in quality to any produced in the entire world. This has made Lyons famous, and the enter- prise has proved not only of practical benefit to the stockholders, but has largely promot- ed the welfare, prosperity and advancement of the community in which it is located. Mr. Ainsworth is well qualified for his position, having a thorough understanding of mining and the great scientific principles which un- derlie the work. He has great executive and business ability and is capable of controlling the efforts of those under him. Kindness, amiability and courtesy not only character- ize his social relations but are a marked feature in his business life, and the humble employe never sees a trace of the overbearing task-master in him. In addition to his other business relations he is now vice-president of the Lyons National Bank.

Mr. Ainsworth was married in Casey- ville, Illinois, on the 9th of October, 1883. to Miss Catherine Jones, a lady of intelli- gence and culture and a daughter of Will-

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iam L. and Mary ( Morgans) Jones, both of whom came from western Wales. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Ainsworth has been blessed with eight children, namely: Ida, Samuel, Jesse, William, Lydia, Bessie, Da- vid and Alfred. They lost one child, Lewis William, who died at the age of three years. Mr. Ainsworth was reared in the Episcopal faith, and he and his wife are now identified with the Methodist Episcopal church. In his political affiliations he is a stalwart Re- publican and was president of the Mckinley club in 1896 and 1900. He does all in his power to advance the growth and insure the success of his party and keeps well informed on all political issues, thus being able to sup- port his position by intelligent argument. He is a prominent and valued Mason, having at- tained the Knight Templar degree in the York Rite and the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, being a member of Wich- ita Consistory. In manner he is frank and genial, in all business transactions is honor- able, straightforward and reliable, and throughout this portion of Kansas he is known as one of the popular and valued cit- izens of Lyons. He takes an active interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community and his devotion to the public good is unquestioned and arises from a sin- cere interest in his fellow men. His career has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confidence of the business world, for he has ever conducted all transactions on the strictest principles of honesty and integrity.

WILLIAM F. HENDRY.

William F. Hendry, proprietor and edi- tor of the Nickerson Argosy, a weekly jour- nal, was born in Meigs county, Ohio, June II, 1842. He was of Scotch, Irish and English lineage. His paternal grandfather, Edward Hendry, was born in the old coun- try, of Scotch ancestry, and after coming to America settled near Knoxville, east Ten- nessee, where he died at a ripe old age, hav- ing reared eight sons and three daughters. One of his sons, Charles E., was an able and

prominent lawyer of Kokomo, Indiana, where he died about 1892. He was also the publisher of a paper during the Civil war. Another son, James MI., was an attorney in Lawrence, Kansas, where he went in 1856 and was in Quantrell's raid, in which he narrowly escaped death, while his part- ner was cruelly murdered by the despera- does. He was probate judge of Douglas county twelve years. The father was a slave owner. All of his children grew to mature years and some settled in the south, while some located in Ohio. The family in America, especially in the south, are all descended through this line. The maternal grandfather of our subject was John Carr, a prominent planter of Virginia, but a na- tive of Ireland, who married a Miss God- frey, a native of England. When his daugh- ter was married he had to be surety for his son-in-law that he could support a wife, which was the requirements of the law in Virginia.

Isaac Newton Hendry, the father of our subject, spent the days of his childhood and youth under the parental roof and in 1835, when twenty-one years of age, married Miss Louisa Carr, who was born in Virginia but was reared in old "Tuckahoe," near Fairfax Court House, and was only fifteen years of age at the time of her marriage. Their union was blessed with eleven chil- dren, ten of whom grew to years of ma- turity, seven sons and three daughters, and five of the sons were in the Union army during the Civil war. Sarah Elizabeth was a very successful teacher in southern Illi- nois. John E. served three years in the Sixteenh Illinois Infantry, in the ranks, and was lieutenant in the Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry. He died near Brinkley, Arkansas, September 6, 1891, and left a wife and two children. William F. is the subject of this sketch. James M. served as sergeant of the Eleventh Kansas Cavalry until the close of the war and is now living in Ibapah, Utah. Isaac W. served in the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio Regi- ment during the Civil war, also served as clerk of the district court and deputy sheriff, and is now living in Kingman county, Kan-

W. F. HENDRY.

MRS. W. F. HENDRY.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

sas, where he located eighteen years ago. Charles M. served in the One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Ohio Infantry and is now farming in Indiana. Stephen E. died tin- married in 1876, at the home of our sub- ject in Reno county, Kansas. Ami F. is a farmer in Bonham, Texas. Livonia is the widow of G. A. Dudley, of Salem, Arkan- sas; and Mrs. Hettie L. James is living in Sylvia, Reno county, Kansas. The mother of this family died in 1872, at Carthage, Missouri, and the father died on the 10th of May, 1876 at the home of William F., in Reno county, his funeral being the first Masonic funeral in the county.

William F. Hendry, whose name forms the caption of this sketch, was reared to farm life and from early boyhood assisted in all the labors of cultivating the fields and harvesting the crops. He attended the dis- trict schools but his educational advantages were very limited. When the Civil war was inaugurated he enlisted on the 12th of August, 1861, in Company H, of the Thir- ty-sixth Ohio Regiment and served in the ranks until May, 1864. He was only in the regimental hospital for a short time and was sent home to die of hemorrhage of the lungs, but instead, his health improved so that he was able, in August, 1865, to go to Lawrence, Kansas, where he engaged in farming. In the spring of 1867 he went to Fort Dodge in the employ of the govern- ment, to aid in the construction of the fort, and in 1868 he served in the same capacity at Fort Supply in the Indian Territory. In December, 1869, he returned to Law- rence.

On the 24th of February, 1870, Mr. Hendry was married, in Ohio, to Miss Ruth Rigg, a daughter of John and Matilda ( Mitcher) Rigg, and their union was blessed with two children: May, who be- came the wife of J. W. Thorp, the marriage taking place at Fort Scott, Kansas, and they now have two sons; and John R., a very manly and promising youth who was stricken with lung fever and died in 1887, when fifteen years of age. Our subject and his wife began their domestic life at Garnett, Anderson county, Kansas, where 31

in 1872 he bought a farm of eighty acres of land and engaged in farming, after locat- ing his family there in March, 1873. In July, 1886, he purchased the Nickerson Ar- gosy, a weekly journal, at a sheriff's sale, and in August the firm of Hendry & Humphrey began publishing the paper. On the Ist of January, 1896, the firm dissolved, Mr. Humphrey taking the paper, which he- conducted until 1899, when Mr. Hendry and J. L. Magee, of Sterling, bought out Mr. Humphrey. Later Mr. Hendry bought ont Mr. Magee's interest and has since pub -- lished the paper alone, meeting with success in the undertaking. The paper is now a six column, eight page quarto weekly and is the leading paper in the county outside. the county seat.

Fraternally Mr. Hendry is connected' with the Odd Fellows society and has taken the degrees of the encampment and Rebekalr lodge. He is also an active member of the- Grand Army of the Republic, of which or- ganization he served as the assistant adju -. tant general of the state in 1887, and for six or seven years has served as the adju- tant of Reno Post, No. 83, being also com- mander for one year. The Grand Army Hall Association of Nickerson was formed in 1887, and Mr. Hendry, as one of the or- ganizers, was made secretary and manager of the hall for nine years. He is now serv- ing as its treasurer. He takes an active in- terest in everything pertaining to the pro- gress and welfare of the community and is: one of the trustees of Nickerson Normal! College, which position he has held since its organization in 1898. The first board of trustees comprised the following gentlemen = L. C. Brown, W. E. Detter, W. F. Hen- dry, J. H. Jackson, E. B. Smith, George Turbush and J. A. Wilson. Mr. Hendry bought a beautiful residence in Nickerson . Kansas, in 1887, in which he was very happy with his wife and children until 1895 .. when the wife and mother was called to het final rest on the 17th of August. She was born on the fifteenth of November, 1845. She was a noble, Christian woman, a faith- ful wife, and devoted mother and the fine memorial of her published by her husbandk

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but faintly represents her unselfish and use- ful life. She was superintedent of the Con- gregational Sunday-school, a member of the Woman's Relief Corps and the Rebekah and Eastern Star lodges at the time of her death. All children called her "Aunt Ruth." Mr. Hendry is one of the most progressive and enterprising citizens of the community in which he makes his home and well de- serves representation in this volume.

CHARLES F. TAYLOR.

Charles F. Taylor is the owner of a very valuable and attractive farm of three hun- dred and twenty acres on section 3, Dale township, Kingman county. He is pleas- antly and conveniently located near New Murdock and its neat and thrifty appear- ance indicates the careful supervision of a progressive owner. Upon this farm he lo- cated in 1879 and through the passing years he has devoted his time and energy to its development and improvement, with the re- sult that he has now one of the most desir- able country places in this portion of the state.

Mr. Taylor was born in Mason county, Kentucky, May 9, 1853, and is a son of John W. and Elizabeth D. ( Knight) Taylor, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of the Blue Grass state. In 1861 the family removed to Chariton county. Mis- souri, where they maintained their residence until 1879, when they came to Kingman county. The father was a mechanic and a shoemaker and for a number of years he also followed the occupation of farming. His life was at all times in harmony with his professions as a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which he served as elder for many years. His death occurred when he was seventy-three years of age, but his widow still survives and has passed the ·seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey. She makes her home with her son Charles F .. and is still well preserved. mentally and physically. This worthy couple were the parents of five children, of whom three are

now living, as follows: Ashburn, of Chari- ton county, Missouri ; Mary C., the wife of C. C. Stevenson of Galesburg township; and Charles F. A daughter died in infancy, and Clarence, who was a farmer in Kingman county, passed away leaving a widow and one child.

In taking up the personal history of Charles F. Taylor we present to our readers one who is widely and favorably known in Kingman county. He was reared in Ken- tucky and in Chariton county, Missouri, where he early became familiar with farm work and at the same time lessons of indus- try and honesty were instilled into his mind by the family fireside. His literary educa- tion was acquired in the public schools of the two states mentioned, but as his school boy days fell during the period of the Civil war, he found it impossible to attend as much as he would otherwise have done. On starting out in life for himself, like most other young men, he sought a companion and helpmate for the journey and at the age of twenty-three was married to Miss Mary C. Willingham, who has been to him an able companion. She was born, reared and edu- cated in Chariton county, Missouri, and is a daughter of George Willingham, who is a farmer by occupation. At the time of the Civil war he joined the Confederate army and his death occurred in Arkansas. He held membership in the Methodist Episco- pal church and was a man of many sterling qualities. His wife, Mrs. Permelia Willing- ham, is now living in Arkansas. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor has been blessed with eight children, namely : Blanche L., the wife of J. S. Endicott, of Waterloo, Kansas; Walter W .; Nellie M .: Lewis E .; Susie B .; Emmit: Lizzie and Ruth C., but the last named died at the age of four years.

Mr. Taylor continued his residence in Missouri until 1879, when he came to King- man county, where he has since lived, his attention being given to the further develop- ment of his farm as the years have passed. It is supplied with all modern improvements and two hundred acres is under cultivation, He raises both grain and stock, and in both branches of his business is meeting with cred-

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itable success. His political suppart is given the Democracy, and he capably served as justice of the peace in Dale township, dis- charging his duties without fear or favor. He has also been a member of the school board and is ever found on the side of pro- gress and improvement along material, edu- cational and moral lines. He is now a leader in the Cumberland Presbyterian church of Galesburg township and is an ex- emplary member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the principles of that fra- ternity being manifest in his daily life. His career shows the possibilities that lie before young men of determination and strong character, and his example should serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others.

JOSEPH W. CALHOUN.

Joseph W. Calhoun is one of the enter- prising young agriculturists of Kingman county, possessing the energy, determina- tion and sound judgment of his ancestors. He was born near Sullivan, Crawford coun- ty, Missouri, in 1874. His father William Calhoun was a member of a prominent Irish family and was reared in Scotland. When a young man he came to the United States, locating in Missouri, and he was there mar- ried to Elizabeth Blair, a native of that state, as was also her father. In 1883 Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun removed from Missouri to Vinita township, Kingman county, Kansas, where they improved one of the best farms of the township. He was called to his final rest while a resident of Wichita, Kansas, when he had reached the good old age of seventy-one years. He was a Democrat in his political views, and in his township he held a number of local offices, while for many years he was a member of the school board. His social relations connected him with the Masonic fraternity. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun were born nine children, namely: James, Umphrey, Joseph W., John W., Ed- ison, Martha Andrews, Mary, Kate and Willie. The last named died when young. Three of the sons, Edison, Umphrey and

John, were engaged in mercantile pursuits in New Murdock for a number of years

Joseph W. Calhoun, the immediate sub- ject of this review, spent his youth and early manhood on his parents' farm, where he was early taught lessons of industry and honesty. He is now the owner of four hun- dred and eighty acres of excellent land, three hundred acres of which is under a fine state of cultivation, and his place is improved with modern and well constructed buildings. Everything about the farm is neat in its ap- pearance and shows that constant care and effort on his part is made to keep the build- ings and fences in good repair and the land under effective cultivation.

When twenty-four years of age Mr. Cal- houn was united in marriage to Flora E. Warrell, a daughter of Mark Warrell, the history of whose life will be found on another page of this volume. On the 12th of April, 1899, a son, Lloyd, blessed this happy union. In his social relations Mr. Calhoun is con- nected with the Woodmen. His a gentle- man of excellent education, is broad-minded and patriotic and merits the genuine regard which every one accords him.

JOHN W. WELLS.

John W. Wells, who is extensively en- gaged in farming and stock-raising on sec- tion twenty-four, Dale township, Kingman county, has been a resident of this common- wealth since 1879, and during the years which have since come and gone he has so lived as to win and retain the esteem and confidence of all with whom he has had busi- ness or social intercourse. His paternal grandfather, James Wells, was a native of the state of Kentucky, but after reaching years of maturity he removed to Indiana, and was there married to Sarah J. Walker. Dur- ing the struggle for American independence his grandfather was called upon to lay down his life on the altar of his country, having been frozen to death while performing guard duty. His son Joseph was a farmer and a Kentuckian and his son, James Wells, also

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claimed Kentucky as the state of his nativ- ity. He was married to Sarah J. Walker, and she. too, was a native of the Blue Grass state. Their union was blessed with nine children,-Caroline, Margaret, Ellen, John, Chimera, Mary J., Oliver and Sherman, twins, and Rebecca. Three of the number died when young. After their marriage the parents removed to Osage county, Kansas, where they still make their home. The fa- ther is a farmer by occupation and is Re- publican in his political views. During the Civil war he loyally responded to the call of his country, entering the Fourteenth In- diana Infantry, also the Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry, and during his military career he took part in the battles of Mobile, Antietam, Rich Mountain, and many of the other hard- fought engagements of the war. He now holds membership relations with the Grand Army of the Republic, and religiously he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

John W. Wells, of this review, is a native of the Hoosier state, his birth having there occurred in Greene county, in 1855. He was there reared and educated, and in that state he made his home until his removal to cen- tral Kansas, which event occurred in 1879. In 1883 he came to Kingman county and se- cured Osage Indian trust land, and here he has ever since continued to reside. He now owns a fertile and well cultivated farm of three hundred and twenty acres, where he is extensively engaged in farming and stock- raising, and in the line of his chosen voca- tion he is meeting with a high and well merited degree of success.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 79

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