A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 99

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 99

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In Muskingum county, Ohio, on the 20tl1 of December, 1848. Mr. Greenfield was united in marriage to Sarah J. Warne, and of their seven children only two are now living. Oliver, who is employed as book- keeper for the Greenfield Company; and Mary, widow of George Alter and a mem- ber of her father's household. The wife and mother was called to the home beyond on the 18th of July, 1884, and in the Buckeye state our subject wedded Elizabeth Pierce, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph Pierce. In political matters Mr. Greenfield has been a life-long supporter of Republican principles, and his

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first presidential vote was cast for Zachary Taylor. Although he has reached the sev- enty-four milestone on the journey of life he still takes an active interest in all mat- ters relating to the pubic welfare. He is emphatically a man of enterprise, positive character, indomitable energy and liberal views, and is thoroughly identified in feel- ing with the growth and prosperity of the locality which for so many years has been his home.

ANDREW FENDRICK.

Among citizens of Macon township. Harvey county, Kansas, of German birth none is more popular or more highly respect- ed than Andrew Fendrick, a farmer in sec- tion 30 of that township, whose postoffice address is Halstead and who was born in Baden, Germany, November 30, 1847, and reared to the work of .a practical farmer.

Mr. Fendrick attended the public school in his native land until he was fourteen years old and in 1868 he and his sister came to the United States, landing at New York city, after a steamer voyage of fifteen days. They had a cousin in Marshall county, Illi- nois, and they joined him and soon Mr. Fen- drick was employed at farm work at twenty dollars a month, which is four times as much as he would have received in Germany for the same service. He remained with his employer two years and in 1870 began farm- ing as a tenant. He had saved enough money, after repaying an advance made to cover his expenses to cross the ocean, to be- gin for himself in a small way, and had bought a team of horses with money which he had earned in the fall of 1869 at husking and marketing a crop of corn at ten cents a bushel. For one year after he began farm- ing for himself he lived with his cousin. Then he took another farm, on which he kept house for himself until he was mar- ried.

September 24, 1874. he married Paulina Krehl, who was born in Prussia, on Janu- ary 7. 1852, and had come to America in August, 1865. For a time after her arrival

in this country she lived with an uncle in Calumet county, Wisconsin. In 1868 she went to live with her sister in Marshall coun- ty, Illinois, where she met and married Mr. Fendrick. For nine years after his marriage Mr. Fendrick worked a rented farm in Pe- oria county, Illinois. In January, 1883, he went to Macon township, Harvey county, Kansas, where he bought two hundred and forty acres in section 30, for nine thousand dollars, involving himself in debt to the amount of six thousand dollars in the trans- action. The farm was improved and pro- vided with ample buildings of all kinds and was productive, and it was managed by Mr. Fendrick to such good advantage that in 1899 he was entirely out of debt. He de- votes his land to general farming. sowing one hundred and fifty acres with wheat, of which he raised three thousand bushels in 1901. He raises horses and mules and usually has on hand eight or ten horses and about twenty head of cattle. While he farmed in Illinois he made money with hogs, but he has not handled them extensively in Kansas.

Andrew and Paulina ( Krehl) Fendrick have four children, as follows: Their daugh- ter Bertha is the wife of John Baumgartner. Their daughter Minnie married John Schlender, of Mound Ridge, Kansas. Their son Joseph and their daughter Anna are members of their parents' household. Bertha and Minnie were both married in the church of their family, October 12, 1898, and eleven months and two weeks later both gave birth to sons; each has a daughter, and. as has been noticed, the husband of each is named John.

In politics Mr. Fendrick is a Democrat and as such he has been elected member of his township school board. He and his wife are identified with the Evangelical church, in which he has served officially as trustee and as a Sunday-school superintendent. Mr. and Mrs. Fendrick labored arduously and faithfully to acquire their fine home and val- uable property and are rightfully taking life more easily now than they did in former years. They feel that they have reason to be thankful not only for their material posses-

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sions but for their worthy and interesting children. In the fall of 1901 they visited their old home in Illinois and other points of interest in the east.

W. H. FREELS.

The mercantile firm of Baldauf & Freels is one of the largest and most successfully conducted houses in its line, in Kingman county, Kansas, and there is no more rep- resentative business citizen of Spivey than is its junior partner, W. H. Freels, who is the subject of this biography.

The birth of Mr. Freels was in 1853, in the state of Tennessee, and he came of a long line of honorable Scotch ancestors who settled at an early day in his native state. His parents were P. M. and Nancy J. Freels, the former of whom was a large planter in Tennessee. He died at his home there, at the age of fifty years, but his widow is still surviving. To these worthy parents Mr. Freels owes an early teaching of the cardinal virtues and the principles instilled in early life he has never forgotten or disregarded.

Mr. Freels has been a resident of central Kansas for a quarter of a century, and its growth and development have made him proud of his adopted state. In 1876 he came to Kansas in the following of his trade, that of carpenter and bridge builder, and for a number of years he held a very responsible position in the service of one of the great railroad companies whose lines now inter- sect the state. He was a skilled workman and many of his structures still attest his ability. For a considerable time he was en- gaged by the railroad as foreman, but later he rose to the responsible position of super- intendent of bridge construction and he re- tained this position until he resigned it for a more restful life. It was with regret that the old connection was severed, as there was attachment on both sides, Mr. Freels enjoy- ing the greatest confidence from his employ- ers ..

cantile business, which has constantly pros- pered and is a leading line in Kingman coun- ty. Mr. Freels has brought to this business a long experience with men and he thor- oughly understands the probable needs of the public and possesses the accommodating manner which wins trade and the honest methods which keep it. The firm style is Baldauf & Freels, and they carry a full line of choice and well selected dry goods, boots and shoes, also groceries of all kinds, and deal extensively in the commodities of grain and coal. The business is on a sound basis and its constantly increasing trade from a wider circle is the best testimonial to its management and assurance of future suc- cess.

Mr. Freels was married, in his native state, to Miss A. E. McDade, who was a daughter of H. C. and M. E. McDade, rep- resentatives of old Tennessee families. Mr. McDade later became a resident of Kansas and died in this state. his widow still resid- ing in Cowley county, Kansas. To Mr. and Mrs. Freels four children were born, name- ly : Mrs. Anna Gascoigne, of Wichita, Kan- sas; Charles A., a youth of seventeen, at home .; Maude, deceased at the age of three ; and an infant, deceased. Mr. Freels has one of the most attractive homes in the village. his cottage costing in the neighborhood of twelve hundred dollars, and he owns twelve acres of land surrounding it, which is well cultivated and productive. In social circles his family is prominent and he is a very pop- ular and esteemed citizen. In both the Ma- sonic and Odd Fellows orders he is promi- nent, belonging to Lodge No. 347, in the former, and taking also an active part in the latter. Mrs. Freels is a member of the Methodist church, where she is valued for her piety and to which Mr. Freels liberally contributes.

SAMUEL DUNKELBERGER.

There will be found in this work a bio- graphical sketch of William Dunkelberger, an old and respected farmer of Macon town-

In 1901 Mr. Freels located in Spivey, Kansas, where he formed a partnership with Mr. John H. Baldauf in an established mer- | ship, Harvey county, Kansas, who married

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Elizabeth Holderman, who bore him a num- ber of children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest.

Samuel Dunkelberger, farmer, section 20, Macon township, Harvey county, Kan- sas, who receives his mail by means of New- ton rural delivery No. I, was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, September 10, 1864. He was educated in district schools in Pennsylvania and Kansas, and re- ceived thorough and practical instruction in farming on his father's farm. Later for three years he was employed in railway shops at Newton, Kansas, and as a locomo- tive fireman on the Santa Fe system, in Kan- sas and New Mexico. He had a home under the parental roof until his marriage. At the age of nineteen years he bought a threshing machine, which in time he replaced by a more modern and more expensive one. and from that day to the present he has devoted him- self to threshing, in season, with consider- able success. He is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-eight acres, which he devotes to mixed crops, raising six to twelve hundred bushels of wheat and four to eight hundred bushels of corn annually ; and he keeps fifteen to twenty head of short- horn cattle of good grade, and three horses.

June 14, 1894, he married Miss Martha Steps, who was born near Leipsic, Germany, a daughter of Amiel and Amelia (Krell) Steps. Mrs. Dunkelberger came to Amer- ica in 1889 with her brother, and Frederica Krehl, her grandmother. She married Gott- leib Krehl, who died in Germany, aged sixty- eight years, leaving four children, two of whom are in America. two in Germany. Mrs. Dunkelberger's father died in Ger- many, in 1887, aged forty-six years, leaving a widow and several children. William, one of his sons, died at the age of three years soon after his father. Alfred, who is em- ployed in the hospital corps at Fort Slocum, New York, has a wife and child. Paul, who is married, lives at Savannah, Missouri. Carl lives with his mother in Germany. Clara, an attractive young lady, came to America in 1901 and is living with Mrs. Dunkelberger. Their grandmother Krehl died in Macon township, in 1901, aged

eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Dunkelberger have an infant daughter named Inez, who was born Julv 3, 1900.

Mr. Dunkelberger is a member of Hal- stead Lodge, No. 46, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of Halstead, Kansas, in which he was received as an Entered Ap- prentice, passed the Fellow Craft degree and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. In political faith he is a Repub- lican, and, being a man of patriotic, public spirit, he serves the interests of his fellow townsmen in every manner possible and has ably filled the offices of township trustee two terms and township treasurer three terms. He and his wife are members of the Evan- gelical church and are helpfully devoted to all its various needs. They are widely known throughout the county and are highly respected by all who have the honor of their acquaintance. Their cosy and attractive home is known for its hospitality.

WILLIAM DUNKELBERGER.

Another of those Pennsylvanians who by their industry and force of character have given an impetus to civilization and pro- gress in Kansas is William Dunkelberger, whose homestead is in section 20, Macon township, Harvey county, and whose post- office address is Newton.

Mr. Dunkelberger was born in North- umberland county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1834. Jacob Dunkelberger, his father, was born in Northumberland county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1802, and died in Schuylkill coun- ty, Pennsylvania, in 1874. John George Dunkelberger, father of Jacob and grand- father of William Dunkelberger, was a na- tive of Holland, who came early to the Uni- ted States and died in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, at an advanced age about 1837. He had four sons. Jacob, the eldest of these, was the father of the subject of this sketch, and John was the next in or- der of birth. The third son. Daniel, became a butcher. Samuel, the youngest son, was an able farmer and a successful horse-breed-

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er, lived and died in Pennsylvania, leaving six or seven children. John George Dunk- elberger's wife died at the old family home- stead in Pennsylvania about 1852, aged ninety-two years.

Catharine Maurer, who married Jacob Dunkelberger and became the mother of William Dunkelberger, was a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Jacob Maurer, a farmer and distiller, who died at the age of eighty-six years, leaving six sons and two daughters, one of whom, Mrs. Julia Clock, aged abont seventy years, lives at Newton, Kansas. Ja- cob Maurer's wife died in Schuylkill coun- ty, Pennsylvania, in 1866, aged sixty years. Their daughter, Catharine, born July 6, 1806, married Jacob Dunkelberger in 1828, and they had four sons and five daughters, all of whom were reared to manhood and womanhood. One of their daughters mar- ried William Hipler and died in Northum- berland county, Pennsylvania, aged forty- two years, leaving several children. All of the others are married and each has three to ten children.

William Dunkelberger received a scant education in the German language in Penn- sylvania and studied English very insuffi- ciently. He passed his earlier years in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where his brother Israel is living and was married May 22. 1864, in that county, to Elizabeth Holderman, who was born there in 1844. a daughter of John Holderman, a progressive farmer, who died in 1889, aged sixty-seven years, leaving a wife (his second) and four children. Immediately after his marriage Mr. Dunkelberger settled on twenty-three acres of land not far from his father's home- stead. There he remained until 1879. in- creasing his land to one hundred and twenty acres, all of which he sold in the year last mentioned for six thousand and two hun- dred dollars, which was a modest price for the property. Removing to Kansas he bought a quarter section in Macon township for two thousand dollars, and later he pur- chased for a like sum eighty acres, which he sold to his son Jeremiah.

The following information concerning

Mr. Dunkelberger's children will be interest- ing in this connection. Samuel, a biograph- ical sketch of whom appears in this work, is a farmer living a half mile west of his fa- ther's homestead, is married and has a child. Clara is a saleslady in Chicago, Illinois, and Mary and Lizzie are employed in the same city; Mary is a ticket-seller in an elevated. railway station ; Lizzie is a saleslady in a dry- goods store. William, who is a member of his father's household, is a farmer and thresher; Jeremiah is married and lives in Newton; Kate married Richard Challand and has two children. Jacob assists his fa- ther on the farm. Francis lives at Newton, Kansas. Maggie died in the sixth year of her age. Albert, Elnora, Edwin J. and John, the last two aged seventeen and six- teen years respectively, are members of their father's household. Royal died in infancy. Augustus, the youngest, is nine years old.

Mr. Dunkelberger does general farming, his principal crop being wheat, of which he raised three thousand and five hundred bush- els in 1901, and he keeps seven horses and sixteen head of cattle. He is a member of the Evangelical church, in which he holds the office of trustee. Originally a Republi- can in politics, he is now an independent voter, who while avoiding office himself, does his utmost to put able and honest men in township and county offices, believing that the administration of no office can be better than the moral and intellectual status of its incumbent. He is a public-spirited man of broad and liberal views who does everything in his power to advance movements which in his good judgment tend to the general good.

LOREN L. SEELEY.

As one of the old settlers and prominent and successful citizens in several important lines of industry. L. L. Seeley, of Spivey, Kansas, has become well known through Kingman county. A prosperous farmer, a large stock-raiser and a successful merchant. Mr. Seeley has still added to his usefulness by acceptably filling a number of the county

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offices, being at the present time a member of the board of commissioners.

The birth of L. L. Seelev, the subject of this sketch, was in 1848, in Jefferson coun- ty, Pennsylvania, and he was a son of Will- iam and Polly (Eastman) Seeley, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, and his father took part in the war of 1812, participating in the battle of Buffalo, where he lost his life. In Cattaraugus county, New York, he was married to Polly Eastman, who was a member of the noted Eastman family, which is one of the most highly re- spected families of that state. Its represent- atives have filled many prominent positions in the world, and it stands for upright and honest living. By occupation William See- ley was a lumberman, and after his marriage he moved into the timber districts of War- ren county, Pennsylvania, later into Jeffer- son county in the same state, where he en- gaged for some time in rafting lumber. He was a very successful business man and ac- cumulated considerable means. His resi- dence was long in Red Bank, Pennsylvania, bitt his last days were spent at Reynolds- ville, in Jefferson county, where he died at the age of sixty-seven years, honored and respected. Fraternally he was connected with the order of Odd Fellows, and politi- cally he was a strong supporter of the policy of President Lincoln. His widow survived to the age of sixty-eight years, leaving be- hind her a memory fragrant with the flow- ers of gentleness, kindness and family de- votion.

Eight children were born to William and Polly Seeley .- four sons and four daugh- ters,-their names being as follows: Ed- ward, who lives in Pennsylvania; Edna, who is the widow of Dr. Bordwell ; Esther. who is the wife of O. F. Smith and resides in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania; Ada, who is the widow of W. Vanskayk, of Blooming- ton, Illinois; Leonard P., who resides in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; Loren L., of this sketch : Ella, deceased, who was the wife of J. S. Gorsline, of Cattaraugus county, New York: and Charles, who is a well known resident of this county and whose large hotel

in Spivey, erected in 1887, burned down in 1894.

Loren L. Seeley was reared as the ordi- nary school boy of the time and locality and was kept busy through youth, in assisting lris father in the lumber business, finally be- coming his partner. The business was re- munerative and the partnership lasted some years. In 1877 Mr. Seeley was married, in Reynoldsville, to Miss Minerva Reynolds, a well educated and most estimable young lady, a member of a family from which the town obtained its name. Her whole life has been passed in Reynoldsville, and she was a daughter of Woodward and Amelia ( Ross) Reynolds, the former of whom was born in Kittanning, Armstrong county, Pennsylva- nia, a member of a prominent family. Mr. Reynolds was an enterprising business man and did much in the founding of the village which bore his name. His wife also repre- sented a prominent and substantial family of Armstrong county. 'They reared twelve children, in which there were four sons and eight daughters, their names being: David and John, both soldiers who fought in the Civil war, the latter being deceased : Albert, who also was a soldier, and now lives in Reynoldsville: Mary J., who married C. C. Gibson: Richard, who died at the age of nineteen years; Isabella, who died young; Minerva, who is the wife of Mr. Seeley; Harriet, who married Joseph Morrow; Rich- ard, who has passed away; Ida May, who lives at home; Eliza, who married Frank Miller; and Mrs. Susan Montgomery, who lives at Sligo, Pennsylvania. The father of these children died in 1861, at the age of fifty years, one of the best known men in Jefferson county, of large means, being financially interested in coal and timber lands, and town property of value, including a hotel. He was connected with the Ma- sonic fraternity and always took an active interest in its work. The mother of Mrs. Seeley lived to the age of eighty-three and was beloved by all who knew her.

The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Seeley are: Enid, who married Charles Wells and resides in Kingman county;

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Adrian, who is a popular and successful teacher ; Victor H., who assists his father ; and Bernice, who is still in school. All of these children have had excellent educational opportunities, their advantages being pro- vided by intelligent parents, careful for their welfare.

In 1887 Mr. Seeley opened up a mercan- tile business in Spivey, erecting for this pur- pose a large and well arranged store build- ing, and has prospered in this line ever since. He also bought four hundred acres of good land and carries on farming and stock-rais- ing and also a very successful dairy busi- ness. Mr. Seeley is a man of excellent busi- ness ability and thoroughly understands all the details of those lines of activity in which he engages. Although his business inter- ests are large, his active intelligence has en- abled him to become also an active politi- cian, and he has been a delegate to a number of county conventions, being an ardent Re- publican. In 1900 he was elected county commissioner to serve three years, and is one of the most useful members of the board, advocating measures tending toward improvement, yet keeping in mind a proper economy.

Fraternally Mr. Seeley is a Mason and was master of Lodge No. 347, of Spivey, and both he and wife are active in the work of the Eastern Star, No. 161. In this order Mrs. Seeley has shown much zeal and she has been authorized to institute a number of lodges, notably those of Norwich and At- tica. She is a lady of most pleasing person- ality and is very popular in all social circles.

G. W. BROWN.

Among the prominent retired farmers who form a large proportion of the substan- tial citizens of Newton, Kansas, is G. W. Brown, who located in Harvey county, Kan- sas, in 1880. He was born in Meade coun- ty, Kentucky, on June 2, 1834, and he was a son of W. K. and Mary ( Nafus ) Brown, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. The father of our subject followed a farm-

ing life and raised much stock, and became well known and esteemed. His whole life was passed in Kentucky, where he died at the age of sixty-six. Both he and wife were consistent members of the Baptist church. Nine children were born to these parents, the five survivors of the family being: Sa- rah A. Smith, the wife of John Smith, a farmer residing in Newton; Adaline, the widow of Frank Shain, a resident of Ne- braska; and the others, with the exception of our subject, reside in Kentucky.

G. W. Brown, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools of his locality of Kentucky, but in the spring of 1865 he moved to Henderson county, Illi- nois, where he bought a small farm. In the spring of 1880 he disposed of this farm and came to Harvey county, Kansas, settling on a farm in Darlington township, bought a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, which he later sold and then bought in Newton township another quarter section. This property Mr. Brown retains and raises upon it large crops of grain. Eighteen acres of his land he has devoted to fruit and makes a specialty of winter apples, the yield being enormous. Since his retirement from activ- ity. Mr. Brown has rented his farm, and now resides in Newton.

On April 30, 1856, Mr. Brown was mar- ried to Miss Jane Hickerson, who was born in Kentucky, and she was a daughter of Rev. E. T. and Ellen (Sims) Hickerson. The former was a Baptist minister of prom- inence, who was born in 1807, and while living on his farm and managing it, attended also to his clerical dutes. preaching every Sabbath. He baptized many converts, often going with them down into the waters of the Ohio river, married the sons and daugh- ters through his locality and was the friend and preacher when the necessity came for burial. His work still lives in the influence he left behind. His faithful wife was born on September 27, 1813, and died in Novem- ber. 1893. She was a model woman and her life was filled with good works. From girl- hood she had been a devoted member of the Baptist church, but her kindness extended to all who came into her acquaintance. Thir-

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. I, Part 99

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