USA > Kansas > A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I > Part 82
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After spending about ten days at home Mr. Townsend again sailed for New Or- leans and from there to Liverpool, later to Caidiff and thence to New York, the en- tire voyage consuming eight months. His next voyage was made on the ship America to Chictiac and other ports and finally they loaded a cargo of deal for London, but most of this was lost in a storm. After re- turning from this voyage to Boston our subject became a member of the crew of the John Wesley, which sailed from Bos- ton to New Orleans, then to Liverpool and back to Boston. On another voyage he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, went to Hong Kong, China, thence back around the Horn, making a two-year voyage, in which he circumnavigated the globe. He was offered a position as second mate but refused it. He spent in all twelve years on the seas, visiting many ports of the civilized world and thus gaining broad knowledge of the different countries and their peoples. Mr. Townsend then left the salt water for the great lakes, going from Oswego, New York, to Chicago. He then purchased a canal boat and for twenty-one years was engaged in boating on the Michigan and Illinois canal and the Illinois river. Dur- ing that time there were few men, women or children along the line but what became acquainted with Captain Townsend as he made the trips up and down his course. He was a notable character in that locality and his genial and obliging disposition won him many lasting friendships.
GEORGE TOWNSEND.
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After following the water for thirty years Mr. Townsend abandoned that life, and in 1874 came to Kansas, purchasing the land which he now owns from the railroad company for five dollars and ten cents per acre, on the eleven-year installment plan. He used this means of purchase because he had lost his savings of years through a company in Ottawa, with which he had in- vested it. In 1878 he had twenty acres of his ground broken and that fall erected a farm house, installing his family in their new home. Since then he has given his attention to farming and stock raising and now owns and operates three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Townsend was married in Illinois to Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Washington, that state, and unto them were born two children: George, of Salmon, Idaho; and * Lydia, the wife of George Corfield, a farmer living near Partridge. The mother died No- vember 14, 1884, and Mr. Townsend was again married, November 25. 1886, his sec- ond union being with Mary Smith, a sister of his former wife. By this marriage there are also two living children: Rachel and Eva. The family is a leading one in the community and their friends are many. They have a pleasant home upon the farm and Mr. Townsend is now engaged in stock raising, retaining his pasture in order to have a grazing place for his cattle, while the remainder of his farm he rents. Cap- tain Townsend was reared in the faith of the Democracy as expounded by Jefferson and Jackson, but did not embrace the tra- ditions of his fathers in this respect, becom- ing, instead, a loyal supporter of the Republi- can party. He has always declined to serve in public office save that he has been a member of the school board. He has ever taken a deep interest in educational affairs and uses his influence toward promoting the standard of the school and toward securing good teachers. For fifteen years he has been a member of the school board. He was made a Master Mason in Henry Lodge, No. 119, F. & A. M., of Henry, Illinois, and he is also a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He is numbered among the early settlers and honored pio- neers of the county, and has borne his part in promoting the welfare and progress of the community. From early life he has been dependent entirely upon his own re- sources and gradually he has advanced financially until he is now among the pros- perous farmers of Reno county.
JACKSON B. BAXTER.
A leading representative of the indus- trial interests of Hutchinson is Jackson B. Baxter, a member of the firm of Baker & Baxter, the proprietors of the only foundry in Reno county. Their business ability, the excellence of the workmanship executed in their plant and their reliable methods have given the firm a commanding position in business circles. Both partners are practi- cal foundry men and well deserve the suc- cess which is now crowning their well direct- ed and honorable efforts.
Mr. Baxter is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurring in Westmoreland county, on the 5th of November, 1852, his parents being Alexander and Eliza G. (Boggs) Bax- ter, both of whom were natives of Pennsyl- vania, residing there upon a farm, on which our subject remained until he was twelve years of age. The family then removed to Butler in that state, where he attended school until he attained the age of fifteen when he entered upon his business career and since that time has been dependent upon his own efforts. He entered the foundry of Butler and learned the trade, being employed along that line in various towns in the Keystone state until 1875, when he arrived in Reno county, Kansas.
For two years after his arrival Mr. Bax- ter lived with his brother upon the latter's farm and in 1877 he entered a blacksmith shop. Later he was employed for two years in the barb wire works of South Hutchinson and in the foundry of the Barb Wire Manufacturing Company, of the same place. In 1890 he joined Mr. Baker in the
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establishment of, the present firm of Baker & Baxter, and for a year they carried on business in South Hutchinson. Their pre- sent location is at Nos. 119, 121 and 123 W. Sherman street, where they began business in 1893. This was the second building in the town and was established by Mr. Christ- enson, who sold it to the party of whom the present firm purchased it. They bought the ground and plant, and the latter has been en- larged and newly equipped with a large en- gine and other modern machinery. It is now the only foundry in the county and they are doing a large, profitable and constantly growing business. The partners are prac- tical foundrymen and their control of the enterprise has shown a thorough understand- ing of the business and has brought to them success. They do a general jobbing and re- pair business and also make a specialty of the manufacture of the Baker & Baxter steel bearing rocking grate bar, an improved fur- nace grate bar combining many advantages over the old grate bar and thus largely fa- cilitating the cleaning of the furnace and pre- venting the clogging by cinders. This de- vice has been manufactured by the firm for the last six years and has rapidly made its way into public favor. It is the result of the combined inventive genius of the part- ners. They also manufacture boiler front and structural iron products, and in the manufacturing and repairing departments of their business they have met with gratify- ing success.
Mr. Baxter has been twice married. He first wedded Mollie Willows, a native of Canada, and unto them were born four chil- dren : David. Logan. Eliza and Jackson. The mother died June 8. 1898. and Mr. Bax- ter has since married Rachel Rabner, of Hutchinson. He has erected a comfortable residence at No. 525 Avenue B. west, and their home is noted for its hospitality. In religio us connection they are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In his politi- cal views Mr. Baxter is a Republican and has served on the central committee and been a delegate to various conventions. He has been a member of the city council and is always on the alert to advance any enterprise
for the general good. Socially he is identi- fied with the Ancient Order of United Work- man and has been a delegate to the grand lodge. As the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well, and is to-day the possessor of a handsome competence won entirely through his own labor.
COLONEL HENRY INMAN.
Colonel Henry Inman, deceased, well known as a frontiersman, soldier and auth- or, was not only interested in the early de- velopment of this locality, but preserved many of the incidents connected therewith by his literary productions treating of such subjects. Among the early settlers of Ells- worth county his name was a household word. His writings were mostly of tales of the plains and of frontier life, for he spent . forty years in the west during the period of its development and early progress.
His ancestors were among the old Knick- erbocker families, who settled at what is now New York at an early day, and prior to that time they were connected with the no- bility of Holland. William Inman, the grandfather of our subject, was of Hugue- not stock. He was born in England and came to America in 1812. For some time he was connected with the mercantile life in New York. He married Jane Riker, whose family name is borne by one of the islands in the East river, and they became the parents of two sons, William and Henry, the latter being the father of our subject. Will- iam Inman entered the navy and rose from the rank of the midshipman to be ranking commodore, when he was placed on the re- tired list. Henry Inman, the father of the Colonel, was a celebrated artist and was president of the National Academy of De- sign. In early life he entered West Point as a military student, but his talent was so marked that a prominent artist made him his pupil, and his attention was thenceforth given to other work. He painted many por- traits of prominent people both in this coun- try and in Europe.
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The birth of Colonel Henry Inman oc- curred on the 3d of July, 1837, and his early education was acquired under the in- struction of tutors at home. He afterward attended Athenion Academy, at Rahway, New Jersey, and in 1857 entered the army, being immediately ordered to the Pacific coast, for the Indians in the northwest were at that time decidedly hostile. He served through all the campaigns through that por- tion of the country until after the inaugu- ration of the Civil war, when he was ordered east. He served in the Army of the Poto- mac as aid de camp to General George Sykes, and was severely wounded in the seven days fight before Richmond. He was afterward brevetted for gallantry and was again bre- vetted major and lieutenant colonel for his work in the Indian campaigns in 1868 and 1869. He served under Generals Phil Sher- idan, Custer, Gibbs, Sully and other famous Indian fighters, and was a companion of Buffalo Bill and Kit Carson and other cele- brated characters who won fame on the west- ern plains. Forty-two years passed on the extreme frontier gave him rare opportunity to become thoroughly acquainted with In- dian characters, a knowledge of which his ability as a writer has preserved in his nu- merous literary productions, prominent among which are the Old Santa Fe Trail, the Great Salt Lake Trail (in which Colonel William F. Cody was made a character). the Cruise of the Prairie Schooner, Buffalo Jones, the Forty Years' Adventure, A Pio- neer from Kentucky, Tales of the Trail, the Dellahoyde Boys and the Ranch on the Ox- hide, the last two named being books for juveniles.
For several years after the war Colonel Inman was assistant quartermaster at Fort Harker, then a frontier post. After seven- teen years service he retired, and it was sub- sequent to 1874 that he did most of his lit- erary work, having in the meantime laid the foundation for it by his long and varied ex- perience in the army and on the plains. He was in charge of the Larned Enterprise from 1878 until 1882, when he went to To- peka, as manager of the Kansas News agency.
At Portland, Maine, on the 22d of Oc- tober, 1862, Colonel Inman was united in marriage to Miss Eunice C. Dyer, and unto them were born three children, a son and two daughters, who attained years of maturity. The Colonel departed this life November 13, 1899. His was in many respects an inter- esting personality. He was endowed with a marvelous memory and accumulated a vast amount of information upon almost every subject. He was extremely considerate, and with him friendship was inviolable. Wherever he went he won friends and never forfeited their warm regard and admiration. His history forms an important chapter in the annals of our western country, and the American people owe him a debt of grati- tude for what he accomplished in subduing the Indians and opening up the way to civil- ization in the far west.
JOHN MARTIN.
John Martin is the owner of a fine farm on section 2, Westminster township, where he is extensively engaged in general farm- ing and stock-raising. He was born in Eng- land, on the 12th of October, 1845, a son of William Martin, who was born in the same locality. In 1847 the latter, in com- pany with his wife and seven children, cross- ed the Atlantic to America, eight weeks hav- ing been spent in the journey from London to Quebec, and after their arrival here they located in Chittendon county, Vermont, where the father worked as a laborer for a time and afterward owned a farm. In 1856 the family emigrated to Cook county, Illi- nois, locating near the Will county line, where he became the owner of forty acres of land, there remaining until 1874. the year of his arrival in Reno county, Kansas. The first land which he owned in this county con- sisted of a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Westminster township, which afterward formed a part of his fine three hundred and twenty acre farm. There he spent the remaining years of his life, pass- ing away at the age of eighty-four years, and
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his remains were interred in Will county. | sold in Hutchinson for from five to eight His death occurred very suddenly. He arose dollars a ton. As the years have passed by prosperity has abundantly rewarded the well directed efforts of Mr. Martin, and he is now recognized as one of the leading and influential farmers and stock-raisers of his locality. He follows diversified farming, his principal crop, however, being wheat, having from one to two hundred acres plant- ed with that cereal. He also raises a fine grade of stock, keeping on hand about one hundred head of cows and sixteen head of horses, and in this branch of his business he has been very successful. one morning apparently well, and after per- forming some light labor about the yard re- turned to the house, where he again sought repose, and when called to breakfast it was found that he had passed away in death. His wife passed away in Illinois in 1863, leaving five children, the four daugh- ters being: Mary A., the widow of James Kellogg and a resident of Will county, Illi- nois ; Catherine, who is now a member of the household of President Angel, of Hillsdale College, Michigan, and with that family she made a trip to China; Marie, the widow of Mickel Farmer and a resident of Will coun- ty; and Mrs. T. T. Hoppin, a resident of Westminster township, Reno county.
John Martin, whose name introduces this review, remained under the parental roof until eleven years of age, when he started out in life for himself. During the war of the rebellion he served as a member of the Thirty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company K, faithfully performing his duties as a soldier for one year, when he received an honorable discharge and returned to his home. In the spring of 1873 he came to the Sunflower state, securing a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Westminster township, Reno county, and his house was the first one built in the town- ship. He also entered a claim for Thomas McSherry, whom he had met in Missouri, that gentleman giving him the power of at- torney. When he arrived in this state buf- faloes were still numerous, and in an early day Mr. Martin had much sport in hunting those animais, often times going as far as seventy-five miles on a hunting expedition. During the year the grasshoppers visited this state in such great numbers he was at the home of a Mr. Broadwells, forty miles southwest of Abbyville, on the Ninnescal river, where he was assisting in the hay fields, and while there he and Mr. Broadwells went on a hunt for buffalo bones, but while roaming over the prairie they became lost. and for three hours they were unable to find their way, finally locating themselves near home. The bones which they found were
In Hutchinson, Kansas, December 1, 1873. Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Kittie Hawkins, a native of Michigan and a daughter of Jay Hawkins. Four children came to bless the home of our subject and wife, but the oldest, Jay, who was born Jan- uary 6, 1875, died February 23, 1876. The three surviving are : Josie P., at home ; Jessie B., the wife of O. R. Click, a farmer in Gray county, Kansas, and they have two children, Kittie Hellon and Orival Russell; and George, who resides near the old farm, and was married to Nettie Sealy. and they have one daughter, Mabel Fannie. Mrs. Martin died January 11, 1882. Mr. Martin gives his political support to the Republican party, and on its ticket has been for three terms elected to the office of township trustee, while for four terms he served as justice of the peace. In his social relations he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic order.
JOHN T. MORRISON.
In pioneer days John T. Morrison came to Barton county and has been actively as- sociated with the improvement, progress and upbuilding of the community in the inter- vening period. He found here a wild re- gion, the greater part of the land being still in its primitive condition, while towns and villages that now afford to their residents all the comforts and conveniences of the older east had not yet sprung into existence or
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were mere hamlets. He has taken just pride in the advancement of this portion of the state and well deserves mention among its representative citizens.
Mr. Morrison was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, May 27, 1842, and is a son of William P. Morrison, who at an early day removed to Wayne county, Iowa, where he followed agricultural pursuits until he re- tired from active business life, his last years being spent in the homes of his children. He died in St. Joseph, Missouri, when more than eighty years of age. In early life he was married to Miss Susanna Tullis, who was born in Ohio, and died when about fifty-six years of age. They had nine chil- dren, namely: John T., Elijah, Elizabeth, Francis, Susan, William D., Mary, Zalina and Malinda.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for John T. Morrison in his youth. He was reared on the old family homestead in Wayne county, Iowa, and in 1878 came to Kansas, locating first in Rice county, whence he removed to Barton county, seeking a location. In the spring of 1879 he entered land in Fairview township, securing the southeast quarter of section 8, township 16, range 15, upon which he built a sod house sixteen by eighteen feet. He there lived for a year and on the expir- ation of that period he built a stone and frame house, which was a story and a half in height, the main portion being eighteen by twenty-eight feet, to which was attached an L fourteen by sixteen feet. This resi- dence is still standing in a good state of preservation and continued to be the home of Mr. Morrison until 1897, when he took up his abode in Great Bend and purchased a quarter section of school land. He has practically abandoned farming operations, his land being now rented. His income from his property supplies many of his needs and enables him to secure many of the com- forts and luxuries which go to make life worth the living. He was a wide-awake, enterprising and progressive farmer whose labors resulted in bringing to him a richly merited competence.
Mr. Morrison was united in marriage to
Miss Clarissa E. Ormsby, a daughter of Levi and Lucretia Ormsby, of Ohio. Her father was a carpenter by trade and followed that pursuit in early life, but afterward turned his attention to merchandising. On coming to the west he settled in Johnson county, Iowa, and later removed to Em- poria, Kansas, where he secured a farm. He died when about forty years of age and his wife passed away at the age of sixty. They became the parents of five children, namely : James, Levi, Clarissa E., George and Cal- vin. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Morrison have also been born five children: Elmer E., a practicing physician of Great Bend ; Thomas C., a merchant of Hoisington, Kansas ; Sid- ney M., who is now studying journalism in the Agricultural College at Manhattan, Kansas; John C., who is also pursuing his studies in the same department; and Clar- ence E., who is a student in the high school at Great Bend.
Mr. Morrison has ever been a loyal citi- zen and at the time of the Civil war he man- ifested his patriotism by offering his services to the government in 1862, enlisting in Company H of the Thirteenth Missouri Cav- alry, and served until the close of the war, displaying marked valor on many a south- ern battlefield. His third son was a soldier, loyally defending the nation in the Philip- pines. He served for one year and five months in the Twentieth Kansas Regiment in the Philippines and was wounded in the right hip hy a ball at the battle of Colacan, on the IIth of February, 1900. Mr. Mor- rison is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in his political views he is a Republican, having served in a number of township offices. In his religious faith he is a Methodist and his life is ever in harmony with high moral principle, with loyal citizen- ship and faithful friendship.
JOSEPHUS DORR.
Josephus Dorr, who follows farming in Rice county, is numbered among the hon- ored veterans of the Civil war, and upon the field of battle he manifested his loyalty to
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the cause of the Union, battling earnestly for its support, that the alliance of states might not be destroyed. He was born in Athens county, Ohio, December 1, 1840, and the common schools provided him his educa- tional privileges. The ancestry of the fam- ily can be traced back to three brothers who came from England to America and settled in Massachusetts, where they engaged in farming. Berrick Dorr, the great-grand- father of our subject, was a descendant of one of these brothers. His son. William Dorr, was the grandfather of our subject and the founder of the family in Ohio, for emigrating westward he settled in Athens county, that state, at a very early day. By occupation he was a farmer and upon the family homestead he reared his children, six in number, namely: Matthew. Joseph, Ed- ward, Lucy, Fanny and Ann. Of this num- ber Edward was a Methodist minister.
Matthew Dorr, the father of our sub- ject, was reared in Ohio, where he remained throughout his entire life, his death occur- ring on the 22d of March, 1882, when he had attained the age of seventy-five years. He engaged in the tilling of the soil and lived the life of a plain, honest farmer, and being respected for his fidelity to duty and his allegiance to his family. His wife still survives him and is yet living in the old home in Ohio, at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. Their children were: Josephus ; Adeline, who died in early girlhood; Ed- ward, who served in the late rebellion and is now in Nebraska; Charles, who is living in Ohio; Leander, who is located on the old family homestead; and Mrs. Elizabeth Poston.
In his parents' home Josephus Dorr re- mained throughout the period of childhood and youth and assisted in the farm work, but after the inauguration of the war he could not content himself to follow the plow when his country needed the aid of her loyal sons, and therefore on the 5th of December, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Sixty- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which regi- ment was assigned to the Army of the Ten- nessee, with General William Sherman in command. He remained at the front until
the close of the war and was a loyal and faithful defender of the Union. He was only five days at home during his entire ser- vice, and never received a furlough, but was detailed on special duty, and while in that capacity, being near home, he embraced the opportunity of visiting his relatives. He saw hafd service and never shrank from duty, no matter how difficult the service re- quired of him. When his first term of en- listment had expired he received an honor- able discharge and then veteranized. thus serving until the close of the war. He par- ticipated in many important battles, includ- ing the engagements at New Madrid : Island No. 10: the first and second battles of Cor- inth, the regiment losing forty-five per cent of its inen in the second engagement ; the battles of Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Moun- tain, Decatur, Atlanta. Jonesboro, Savannah. Georgia ; Pocotaligo, South Carolina : Black River Bridge. Bentonville and many other skirmishies. The regiment was always to be seen in the midst of the fray. ready to march against the enemy. Many of its members were cut off by rebel bullets and were laid to rest beneath the southern soil. Mr. Dorr marched with Sherman to the sea and was near Bentonville when Lee surrendered. He afterward went with his command to Washington, where he took part in the grand review, a most notable oc- casion, being the most brilliant military pageant ever seen upon the continent. He was afterward sent to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was mustered out and then trans- ported to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, Ohio, where he received an honorable dis- charge and was paid off July 8, 1865. He was never taken prisoner and received only slight wounds, yet was always faithful to his duty, whether upon the firing line or picket line.
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