A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 117

Author: Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York Chicago: The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084

USA > Kansas > A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II > Part 117

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Henry F. Wolfersperger was educated in the common schools and reared to farm

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work. When he attained sufficient age be became a student at Nam VM . College, at Naperville. Hhmois, and after leaving that institution he taught school for a time. When he was nineteen years old he went . to Kansas and engaged in the nursery Intsi- ness an ] in farming, but made little regress because of dry seasons and grasshoppers. In 1874 he turned his attention entirely to farming and stock-raising, in which he has been satisfactorily successful. He was mar- ried January 20. 18,5, at Minneapolis, Ot- tawa county, Kansas, to Augusta M. Ayres, daughter of John Ayres, now of Dickinson o unty. Kansis. Mrs. Wolfer-perger lived only a few months after her marriage, and April 20, 1875. Mr. Weller-perger married Matilda Darfinger, a native of Madison o anty, Ohio, and a daughter of Daniel and Margaret Durlinger, the forpper of when lives in Ohio, and the latter of whom is de-

hdl children as follows : John; Margaret, Di Ottawa her inther's store: Vesta : Roy; Ella May,

are stuck farmers and Daniel is manager ci lais father's creamery.

Bir. W.Hersperger owes eight hundred acres of valuable land. is the proprietor of a pilar general store, and of the Gem Creamery, at Lindsey, and is a business man ei much enterprise. He has made a notable success of life thus far as lane a restaratile expectation of many more years of the- fulness. In p lities he is a Populist, and he al his wife are zeslors and active members of the Free Methodist church, in which he is trustee and has held other offices. He is a frank and genial man of mest cordial and magnetic manner, ard the mi friends is limited only by the extent of 0 acquaintance. His panic sitt he had any times demonstrated and his follow viti- zens know that he may be reliel upon to further to the extent of his ability all meas- ures tending to enhance the welfare of his township and county.

FRANK H. LISCUM.

In a record of those who have been prominently identified with the development and progress of Rice county it is imperative that definite consideration be granted to the subject of this review, for not only is he a prominent representative of the agri- cultural interests of this favored section. Lait has the distinction of being one of the pioneers of the gable west, with whose fortunes he int been Plentiful for twenty- seven years. His career includes a war rec- ord and many years on the frontier, and it is in the interesting and instructive.

Mr. Liseum was Born on the Net

paternal grandfather, Gideon Liscum, was a the war of 1812. His am

inally from Wales. father of car schiec :. v

marriage with Migaii G Connecticut and a career . The union was Hessel will

second lieutenant of the Thirty-third Wis- consin Infantry, was later pr ceted to captain of the Fiftieth Wisconsin In- jantry. and his death occurred at Rich- lan ; Conter. Wisconsin, at the age of

Divs. Skolenger, i- non a widow badly. po ing in Guttenburg. Iowa: and Frank H .. is get of this review. The mother af this family was called to the home bever caddes two years, dying in the of the Boss church, of which she

vived her until 1882, dying at the henne our subject. in Ke o orts, at the age :

r: Mgr and later a Re- He, too. was a leading member of

the Baptist church, and was a : - relax reset | all who knew him.

Frank H. Liscum, the imme Nate sije !

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of this sketch, was but a babe when he was taken by his parents to Alton, Illinois, where they remained for five years. On the ex- piration of that period they took up their abode in Grant county, Wisconsin, where Frank H. was inured to the work of field and meadow. His education was received in the public schools, but he has added great- ly to his knowledge in later life by reading. experience and observation. When the trou- ble arose between the north and the south he was one of the first to respond to the call of his country, enlisting on the 27th of April, 1861, in Company C, Second Wis- consin Volunteer intantry. He was first under the command of Colonel S. Park Coon. next under Colonel E. O. Conner, who was killed at the second battle of Bull Run. afterward under Colonel Lucius Fair- child, who later became governor of Wiscon- sin, and who lost an arm at the battle of Gettysburg : next under Captain David Mc- Kee, who was later promoted to the colonel- cy of his regiment ; and his last captain was George W. Gibson. Mr. Liscum partici- patel in many of the historic battles of the war, including Blackburn Ford, the second battle of Bull Run. Rappahannock Station. Sulphur Springs, Gainsville, Fredericks- burg. Fitzhugh. Chancellorsville, Gettys- burg. Mine Run, the Wilderness, Laurel Hill and Spottsylvania. Mr. Liscum was wounded at the battle of Gainsville. a ball passing through the calf of his leg. He was serving as color-bearer of his regiment, and the old flag was pierced by sixty-nine bul- let holes. In that memorable battle his com- pary suffered a loss of forty-eight men, killed and wounded, out of a total of sixty- two. Mr. Liscum spent eight days in the hospital located in the Odd Fellows' building at Washington, D. C. After rejoining his command he was promoted to second lieu- tenant and later, for meritorious service, was inade lieutenant. He next took part in the battles of Laurel Hill. Spottsylvania. North Anna and Cold Harbor. Mr. Liscum was a member of the famous Iron Brigade. an las such proved a brave and gallant soldier. nobly performing his duty in defending the stars and stripes. After the close of hos-

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tilities he was honorably discharged, and with a creditable military record he re- turned to his home and resuined work at the mason's trade.

On the 22d of March, 1866, at Water- town, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, Mr. Lis- cum was united in marriage to Miss Aurelia L. Mead, who was a popular and success- ful teacher before her marriage. She was born in Burlington, Chittenden county, Ver- mont, and was there reared and educated. Her father, Simeon Mead, was also a native of that county and was a son of Martin Mead, a native of Rutland county, Vermont. The mother of Mrs. Liscum was in her maid- enhood Miss Sarah Lane, a native of Rut- land county, and her father was Cyrus Lane. a native of the Green Mountain state. Sim- eon Mead has now reached the venerable age of eighty-three years, and is a resident of Vermont. He is a farmer by occupation ; a Democrat in his political views, and a zealous member of the Methodist Episco- pal church, in which his wife also held mem- bership. She was called to her final rest at the age of seventy-three years. This worthy couple were the parents of four children, - Mrs. Liscum: Cyrus, who operates the old homestead : Delbert M., of Bakerville, Wis- consin : and Edna, who became Mrs. Bur- nett and also resides at Bakerville. Mrs. Liscum was a capable and efficient teacher in Wisconsin for a number of years, and after locating in Galt township, Rice county, she taught four terms in the Hunt district. while for the same length of time she taught in another district. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Liscum has been blessed with four children, namely: Delbert H. is married and resides on section 7, Galt township : Fred S., who is a graduate of the art school. is now a student in the law die- partinent of the Lawrence University, of Kansas : Alma, who was a successful teacher for a number of years, is now Mrs. Roach, of Geneseo: and Porter I., who is now twen- ty years of age, is at home.

In 1874 Mr. Liscum located in Galt township, Rice county, securing a home- stead claim. Later he became owner of a timber claim, on which he has cut fifteen

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thousand trees, and he now has three hun- dred and twenty acres of well improved land. Ilis place is located three miles south of Geneseo, and there he is extensively en- gaged in general farming. His political sup- port is given the Republican party, of which he is an ardent supporter, and he has many times served as a delegate to county con- ventions. He has also been the choice of his party for treasurer and assessor, and in all his public service he has been true and faith- ful to the duties which have devolved upon him. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades of the blue by his membership in the Grand Army of the Re- public. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church. They are genial, agreeable people, and have drawn about them a host of warm friends, includ- ing many of Rice county's representative citizens.

CHARLES BOYLE.

The late Captain Charles Boyle, of Dar- ling Point, Ottawa county, Kansas, was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, May 13. 1826, and died at his home, in Kansas. March 1, 1897. He was of a family of eight sons and two daughters, and two of his brothers are yet living, residing in Penn- sylvania. He worked on his father's farm until the beginning of the Mexican war. when he enlisted as a private in the United States service. Within one year, and when he was only nineteen years old, he was pro- moted to the captaincy of his company, with which rank he served until the cessation of hostilities. Then returning home. he at- tended school during the following winter. and after that he taught school two terms. In 1851 he was married to Miss Sarah J. Blair, of Center county, Pennsylvania. In 1854 he became a farmer in Grant county, Wisconsin, where he bought a small tract of land. He early attained influence there and was twice elected county clerk of Grant county, and filled other official positions. In connection with his farming he was at ese time a wood contractor for a railway com- pany.

At the outbreak of the Civil war Cap- tain Boyle again felt it his duty to respond to his country's call for soldiers and enlisted in Company C. Twentieth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front. leaving behind him a wife and five little boys, the eldest about nine years of age and the youngest only a few months old. Within a few months after his enlist- ment he was promoted to the rank of cap- tain, and as such he served until the close of the war. In 1863 a message was to be delivered to a distant division of the army 11 which his regiment was included, and its delivery was considered a very hazardous undertaking. Captain Boyle and Thomas Terson, of his company, volunteered to de- liver the message and went by different routes, so that in case one should fail the other might accomplish his mission. In this adventure Captain Boyle was taken prisoner by the Confederates and was tried upon the charge of being a spy, but was not found guilty. He was kept a prisoner five days. He had taken the precaution to dress himself in citizen's clothing and when his capture seemed inevitable he had managed to conceal his papers. It is probable that these precautions saved his life. When he was liberated and permitted to go his way he was deprived of all his raiment except his underclothing. He was mustered out of the service with his regiment in 1865. and in February, 1866, in company with three of his old army comrades. he started for the west.

Captain Boyle arrived in Ottawa county, Kansas, in March, 1866, and located on one hundred acres of land about six miles south- east of Minneapolis. He set about the work of improving his farm and putting it under cultivation, and by the purchase of more land came in time to be the owner of one of the best farms in the county, and of consid- oralde personal property, his landet este comprising two hundred acres. he is a. when the Illard became Marie at I were committing depredations on the Kiss frontier. the magic simples te. son war- again sessenta itself and he enlisted in a military company and endured all the

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dangers and hardships of Indian warfare. He was a man of great resolution and bra- very, but was slow to anger and seldom spoke harshly when aroused, and his dispo- sition was equally generous to friend and foe. He early became prominent in public affairs, was conspicuous in the early county- seat fight in Ottawa county, between Lind- sey and Minneapolis, and was one of the first county clerks elected in Ottawa county. He was a strong advocate of public education, and during his entire active career did every- thing in his power to improve the efficiency of the public schools.

The eldest of the five sons of Captain Boyle above mentioned is M. C. Boyle, of whom more will be said further on. His son, T. A. Boyle, lives at Vinita, Indian Territory. His son, C. B. Boyle, is a far- mer in Blaine county, Oklahoma. Some details of the life history of his next son, L. E. Boyle, are given further on. His youngest son, John Boyle, went further west in 1880.

M. C. Boyle was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1853, and was between twelve and thirteen years old when his father located in Kansas. He ac- quired a good education and for about eight years taught school. In 1889 he engaged in farming and stock-raising near his father's old homestead farm. In 1900 he bought the homestead and his farm now consists of two hundred and five acres of good land, well cultivated and including a fine or- chard and provided with a homelike resi- clence and ample barns and outbuildings. He was married in September 1880, to Alice L. Carney, a daughter of Henry and Helen ( Kesler ) Carney. Mrs. Boyle, whose moti- er (lied in 1885, and whose father is one of the prominent citizens of Concord town- ship, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio. She has borne her husband two sons and a daughter, as follows: Clarence, born in 1888: C. C., born December 23. 1893; and Minnie H., who was born in 1882, died October 6, 1886. Mr. Boyle, who is a Pop- ulist in politics, has been a member of his township school board and was for three years township trustee. He and his wife

are members of the Sons and Daughters of Justice.

L. E. Boyle, fourth son of Captain Charles Boyle, was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, April 3, 1860, and was about six years old when his father came to Kan- sas. He was educated in the public schools and given practical instruction in prairie farming, and spent several of his earlier years in different pursuits in Colorado and other parts of the west. He was married October 3, 1893, to Flora. M. Hampton, a native of Illinois, then living at Niles, Ot- tawa county. Mrs. Boyle, who is a daugh- ter of P. B. Hampton, of Wilson county, Kansas, was reared and educated in Iowa and Kansas. Her father was a soldier un- der the stars and stripes in the Civil war, and his wife is a representative of an old Ken- tucky family. In politics he is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the follows: Stewart Sheridan, Abraham Lin- Christian church. They had five children, as coln, John A. Logan, James Grant and Flora M. Mrs. Boyle has borne her husband two children, named Dorothy J. and John H. Mr. Boyle located on his present farm in 1900. It is distant four miles from Minne- apolis and lies in the Salt creek bottom, be- ing well adapted to grain, vegetables and stock-raising, and provided with good build- ings and all appliances essential to effective cultivation. In politics Mr. Boyle is a Pop- ulist, and he is active and influental in the councils of his party, having frequently been a delegate to political conventions and hav- ing served with credit and honor as town- ship trustee of Concord township. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

The family of Mr. Boyle is of Irish ex- traction and the father of Captain Charles Boyle was John Boyle, an Irishman of much ability and patriotism.

JOHN CROSSON.

No work purporting to give biograph- ical attention to the prominent and success- ful citizens of central Kansas would be com-

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plete if it omitted due reference to John Crosson, of Blaine township, Ottawa county, who has been a factor in local progress for thirty-one years. He was born at Blan- chester. Clinton county, Ohio, September 4. 1845. the youngest of five sons born to Barnard and Sarah ( Hathman) Crosson. The former was born in Pennsylvania, of Irish parents, the latter in South Carolina, of Scotch parents, and both died in Clinton county, Ohio. Unto their union were born seven children, but the first born, a daugh- ter, died in infancy. The eldest son, Colum- bia. was a veteran of the Civil war, hav- ing served in the Seventeenth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and his death occurred in Ot- tawa county, Kansas, March 25, 1893. James, the second son, lives in Kansas City, Missouri. He also was a veteran of the Civil war, having been a three months' vol- unteer, and was a member of the Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. George W. was a volunteer in the Seventeenth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, but his death occurred, of measles, shortly after his enlistment, and he was buried at Lebanon, Kentucky. Mar- garet and Martha Ann reside in Warren county, Ohio.

John Crosson was early inured to the arduous labor of the farm at his old home in Ohio, being taught by his parents the valuable lessons of industry, honesty and pa- triotism, while the public schools of the neighborhood afforded him his educational advantages. At the age of seventeen he en- listed for service in the Civil war, but his father, who already had three sons in the army, reclaimed him under the law and took him home. At the age of twenty he married Mary J. Lyon, a native of Clermont county, Ohio, but at the time of her marriage a resident of Brown county, that state. She was a young lady of many virtues and of the highest womanly character, and she be- came a worthy helpmeet to her husband. She is a daughter of L. B. and Elizabeth (Stouder) Lyon. The former, a native of New York, was born at White Hall, on Lake Champlain, April 8, 1818, and died at Washington, on the 18th of January, 1898, at the age of nearly eighty years. His

wife passed away at the age of sixty seven years. They became the parents of eight children, as follows : Fanny, who was mar- ried and died in Ohio: Jehu, who served as a member of Company K. Seventy-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, married and made his home in Cin- cinnati, and was drowned in the Cumberland river, in Tennessee; John L., Lousen and James W. all died in the month of July, 1851,-the first named on the 3d, the second on the rith, and the third on the 27th: Sa- rah Elizabeth died in childhood: Beulah E. became Mrs. Buffurn and moved to Wash- ington, where she was drowned in the Hazel river; Mrs. Crosson is the only survivor of the family.

In 1871 Mr. Crosson removed to Kan- sas, where he secured a homestead and also purchased the homestead of his father-in- law, thus making his real-estate possessions comprise three hundred and twenty-two acres. On the farm is a commodious and substantial residence and all the outbuild- ings necessary for a well regulated farm, and on this place he is engaged in general farming and stock-raising.

Mr. and Mrs. Crosson are the parents of seven children. Herbert ()., the eldest son, is still at home with his parents, and is engaged in dealing in horses and mules. James E., the second son, is married and re- sides in Pueblo, Colorado. The third son, Esler E., is married and makes his home in Ottawa county, Kansas. Charlie E. is the youngest son and is still at home. He served as a volunteer soldier in the Twentieth Kan- sas Infantry, under General Funston, in the Philippine islands. The sons are all mem- bers of the Odd Fellows fraternity, in which Herbert and Charlie are past grands, and the latter is also a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity. All were born in Ohio. The daughters of the family are: Maggie Beulah, who is married and resides in Pueb- lo, Colorado; Sadie E., who is deceased. her remains being interred in Ottawa county ; and Mabel, who is married and resides in Minneapolis, Kansas. The daughters are natives of the Sunflower state. Mr. Cros- son is liberal in his religious views, and no

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weary wayfarer is ever turned from his door, the motto of himself and his wife be- ing to do unto others as they would have others do unto them.

ALBERT TEMPLIN.

In the paternal line the subject of this sketch is of German descent. He is a son of Lloyd Templin, who was born near Ha- gerstown, Maryland, and who was a child of four years at the time when his father, Richard Templin, removed from, that state to Ohio. Richard Templin, who was an honored pioneer of the Buckeye state and an active participant in the war of 1812, passed the remainder of his life in Ohio. his death occurring near Butlerville, Warren county. In Ohio Lloyd Templin was reared to years of maturity, and there he was united in marriage to Margaret Patton, who was born in Warren county, that state, a daugh- ter of Robert Patton, a native of Scotland. Lloyd Templin became a prosperous far- mer of Warren county, where he died in 1889, his wife having passed away in the preceding year, at the age of seventy-one years. She was a member of the Free Will Baptist church, and was a woman of force- ful and lovable character. In the crucial epoch leading up to the war of the Rebellion the father of our subject was a prominent abolitionist, and he espoused the principles of the Republican party at the time of its organization, having been a man of influ- ence in his community, where he was hon- ored for his sterling character. Of the chil- dren of Lloyd and Margaret ( Patton) Templin we enter the following brief rec- ord : Matilda Smith lives near the old home farm of her father. Richard, who fought under the stars and stripes in the Civil war. located in Ottawa county, Kansas, in 1870, and took up a homestead, on which he made some improvements. He died in 1871, at the age of twenty-nine years, and was the first person buried in the cemetery at Min- neapolis. At his death he left a widow and three children,-Ollie Clayton, who is now

a widow, and lives at Leavenworth ; Grant, of Minneapolis, Ottawa county; and Inez Edmunds, of Chanute, Neosho county. Jo- anna Drayer, the third child in order of birth in the family of Lloyd Templin, is a resident of Arcanum, Ohio; Albert is the immediate subject of this review ; and Eliz- abeth Spence is a resident of Kansas City, Missouri.

Albert Templin was born in Warren county, Ohio, October 3, 1849, and was educated in the common schools near his home. He settled in Ottawa county, Kan- sas, in 1870, and has lived here continu- ously to the present time. He was married in 1877 to Mrs. Ruth E. ( Henry ) Templin, the widow of his brother, Richard Temp- lin. She was born in Warren county, Ohio, a daughter of John and Caroline ( Harold) Henry, the latter of whom died in Ohio, in 1853, and the former of whom survived un- til 1887, his death occurring in Ottawa county, Kansas.

Mr. Templin's farm, at Brewer's Sta- tion, Center township, Ottawa county, Kan- sas, consists of one hundred and sixty acres of good land, well improved and under a high state of cultivation. It is also pro- vided with a good residence, fine barns and outbuildings and a grove and orchard. He is a successful farmer and an enterprising and public-spirited citizen. In politics he is a Bryan Democrat, and he has filled the of- fices of township trustee, assessor and jus- tice of the peace, and has also been a mem- ber of the school board. In her religious views Mrs. Templin is a Presbyterian. They have one son, Alvah Templin, a young man of eighteen years, and he has charge of the Wood elevator, at Brewer's Station.

WALTER MANSON.

For about fifteen years Walter Manson has been a resident of Kingman county, his home being on section 25. Liberty town- ship, where he is engaged in general farm- ing and stock-raising. He was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, June 9 1830, a

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representative of one of the old families of that locality. His great-grandfather was a soklier in the English army, serving for twenty-one years, when he was retired on a pension, spending his last days in Dumfries- shire. The grandfather of our subject was born and lived and died in that local- ity, and in his business career followed the weaver's trade. He married Janet Gong- lock, and both now sleep in the Lochmaben churchyard. The grandfather died in early manhood, but his wife long survived him. passing away at the age of eighty-three years. They had four children: Jessie, who became the wife of John Crockett. a stone-cutter, and who died at the age of ninety-four years; Andrew. the father of our subject; William, who died of cholera. on shipboard, when emigrating to Kansas in 1833. as did also his wife: and Walter, who came to America with his brother Will- iam. and located first in Ohio, whence he removed to Iowa. Walter Manson built a large flouring-mill in Rockdale, near Du- buque, and made his home in that city un- til his death, which occurred when he was seventy-two years of age. He left a son and daughter, and the former is part owner in a fine new mill which occupies the same site as that which his father built.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 117

Author: Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York Chicago: The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York Chicago: The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084