A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 130

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

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half the purchase price for it was unable to pay the balance and gave the land back to Mr. Malick. Then Mr. Malick sold the forty acres west of the town for one hundred dol- lars an acre, which was exactly twice what he had paid for it. He also sold fourteen acres of the fifty acres which constituted his second purchase at Hutchinson to a man who relinquished it to him after having made a heavy payment on it. He also traded twenty acres of his town property for a farm of two hundred acres and sold the farm for six thousand dollars and by various transactions has regained all of his original sixty acres at Hutchinson. His own homestead has changed hands several times and his fruit and shade trees have been removed or destroyed several times, but eventually the property came back to him and he is now in the enjoyment of it with its splendid garden, orchards and vineyards and has the land in a high state of cultiva- tion, amply provided with barns and out- buildings and all modern appliances, includ- ing a wind pump by means of which streams of water are sent in different directions over the place. He owns considerable other town property, including houses and lots and vacant lots, and is regared as one of the successful men of Hutchinson and is often spoken of as a living example of what may be accomplished in this resourceful county by a man of pluck, energy, perseverance and business tact and ability. His opportunities have not been exceptional and he located in Kansas a poor man, lived for years on rented land and experienced all the hard- ships incident to life in a new country, to become eventually a citizen of more than ordinary note. Politically he is a Republican and he takes an active interest in the work of his party, often participating in import- ant conventions as a delegate. He is a Knight of Pythias.

Elzina ( Dunn) Malick, who died in Hutchinson in 1888, bore her husband five children. Their son Frederick, who was born in Lake county. Ohio, is farming five miles southwest of Hutchinson. Their daughter Flora, who was born in Marion county. Indiana, and is the wife of E. B.

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Paine, a popular printer and bookbinder of Hutchinson, is her father's housekeeper. Their son Frank, who was born in Indi- ana, is in the employ of a telephone com- pany in Illinois. Their daughter Nellie, who is a native of Hutchinson, married Lewis Warnick, a well known lumber dealer of that city. Their son Charles is living with his father at Hutchinson.

JOHN H. WORRICK.

The patriot who fought and suffered that the Union might be preserved-that this country, now recognized as one of the great- est among the nations, might continue to be great. increasing in strength and power in the future as it had done in the past, is en- titled to praise and honor, not only in his own generation, but in succeeding ones whose representatives are entering into the heritage made secure to them by the heroism of the brave soldier boys who wore the blue. Among the valiant soldiers of the Civil war was John H. Worrick, who is numbered among the pioneers and leading agricult- urists of central Kansas, his home being in Center township. Jewell county.

Mr. Worrick was born in Stephenson county. Illinois, February 18. 1846, and in his youth attended the public schools of the neighborhood when not engaged with the duties of the home farm. His time was thus occupied until June 18. 1864. He could ne longer content himself at home when his country was engaged in a great civil war. and although only eighteen years of age he joined the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, with which he served continuously until June 14. 185. when he received an honorable dis- charge. for the south had surrendered and peace was restored. He was always in active service except two or three weeks spent in Savannah, Georgia, and was a loyal defender of the starry banner.

Returning to the north. Mr. Worrick then continued his education as a student in Beloit College, of Beloit. Wisconsin, where he remained for five terms. He afterward

engaged in teaching school in Illinois for about nine terms during the '6os and later taught again in that state and in Kansas, proving a capable educator. Hle first came to Kansas in 1870. That year the Indians killed a white man in this locality. The dis- triet was wild and much of the land was still unclaimed. Mr. Worrick obtained a home- stead claim and secured the patent to the land from General Grant, then president of the United States. His first home was a dug-out and he began life here in true fron- tier style.

In 1873 Mr. Worrick returned to Illi- nois and there on the 22d of February of that year he married Emma C. Fehr. In the following April they came to the Sunflower state, but that was the year of the grass- hopper scourge, which rendered farming a most unprofitable work, and accordingly, in 1874, they returned to Illinois, where they remained for three years, devoting his time to farming and teaching school. In 1878 with his family he again came to Kansas and for a number of winters continued teaching, doing much to advance the intellectual standard of the community. Through the summer months he devoted his energies to the cultivation and improvement of his farm. He carries on general farming, but makes a specialty of stock-raising, and keeps on hand fine grades of stock which always se- cure a ready sale on the market. He has two hundred and eighty acres of land. and the place is well improved with modern ac- cessories, making it one of the desirable properties in Center township.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Worrick was blessed with eight children, but the ellest, Estella L .. died when only sixteen months old: Claude Peter enlisted for service in the Spanish-American war and after par- tecipating in the struggle in Cuba, was sent to the Philippines, whence he has recently renturned home after two years' service ; Faith Ella. Dwight Jay. Hope Judy. Jerry Simpson, Clara Grace and Ruth Emma are still with their parents.

Mr. Worrick has always been opposed to secret societies and is therefore identified with none of the old fraternities. However,

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he maintains pleasant relationship with his old army comrades through his membership in Jim Lane Post, G. A. R. He belongs to the Evangelical church, but attends the sery- ices of the United Brethren church. His life has ever been characterized by fidelity to duty and by strict adherence to the prin- ciples which he believes to be right and his trustworthiness and reliability have awak- enel the admiration and respect of his fel- low townsmen.

JOHN VEAL.

Of English nativity, John Veal, of sec- tion 18. Center township, Ottawa county, Kansas, has proven himself to be in all but birth a thoroughgoing American citizen. Mr. Veal, whose postoffice address is Min- neapolis and who has been a resident of Ot- tawa county for thirty-one years and during all that time a factor in the life and pros- perity of his township, was born in Cam- bridgeshire, England, July 30. 1843. about six months after the birth of the late Presi- dent McKinley, of whom Mr. Veal is a pro- found admirer.

Richard Veal, John Veal's father, was an honest hard-working man of inconsiderable financial resources, a laborer and in a small way a farmer who passed all the years of his life in his native country and died there when his son John was a year and a half old, leaving a widow and five children, named in the order of their birth Mary, James, George, Hannah and John, all of whom ex- cept the last mentioned live in England. John was reared in Cambridgeshire with scant opportunities for education, and as a mere boy did such work as his hands found to do to help his mother to keep her family together ; but he had a natural inclination to acquire knowledge and from his youth has been in all his spare time a diligent and i extensive reader, and he has become a man of more than usual general information. He was married at the age of twenty-four years to Miss Susan Lee, a native of England and a daughter of John and Phoebe Lee. In

1870, resolved to work no longer for others but to carve out his own fortune in America, he came to the United States, arriving in New York at the end of a two weeks' jour- ney from London.

Mr. Veal had friends and relatives at Minneapolis, Kansas, and he went there di- rect from New York. When he arrived there his cash capital amounted to twenty- three dollars, and he had little other worldly wealth, but he was accustomed to hard work and was animated by a worthy ambition to succeed and in his wife he had an adequate helpmeet. He took up a prairie homestead of one hundred and sixty acres and built upon it a one-story log cabin covering a ground space of twelve by fourteen feet and entered actively upon his career as a Kansas farmer. He encountered obstacles from the outset and met with many disappointinents, but he persevered and succeeded so well that he is now the owner of eight hundred acres of good land and is one of the largest farm- ers and stock raisers in his township, own- ing usually one hundred and fifty head of cattle and many horses and hogs. His son, John R. Veal, is associated with him in the business and is regarded as one of the pro- gressive young business men of the town- ship.

Mr. Veal is in politics a Democrat and he has served his fellow citizens as town- ship trustee and assessor, and was for years treasurer of his township. He is a man of much public spirit, and has been a delegate to several important political conventions, and may be safely depended upon to aid to the extent of his ability every movement which in his good judgment tends to benefit his township and county. His son, John R. Veal, mar- ried Emma Goure, and has four sons- Harry, George, James and John.

MAHLON C. BERKELEY.

The success which follows unfaltering perseverance, diligence and keen discrimina- tion has crowned the efforts of Mahlon C.

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Berkeley, who in his active career has dis- played those qualities and has thereby won a place among the prosperous residents of Burr Oak, where he is engaged in the bank- ing business as senior member of the firm of Berkeley & Beachy, proprietors of the lowell County Bank. He was born at Meyersdale, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, Whether 5, 1872, and is a son of Peter and Sallie ( Meyers) Berkeley. His father, also a native of Somerset county, died there in 1865. By occupation he was a farmer and he also devoted part of his time and at- tention to the work of the ministry as a preacher of the Dunkard church. He be- longed to an old and prominent family of Somerset county, and his father. the Rev. John Berkeley, was a bishop in the Dunkard church. The mother of our subject has spent her entire life in Somerset county, where she is still living and she is distantly related to the Meyers family for whom the town of Meyersdale was named.

In the schools of Meyersdale Mahlon C. Berkeley began his education, and when he had mastered the preliminary branches of learning he entered Juniata College at Hunt- ingdon. Pennsylvania, where he was gradu- atel with the class of 1883. Believing that the west offered better opportunities to am- biti us and enterprising young men than were offered in the older east where com- petition was greater, he made his way to Nebraska in 1884. locating at Ruskin. There he established a bank with a branch at Byron, Nebraska, and conducted the dual business enterprise until 18944, when he came to Burr Oak, and established the Jewell County Bank. of which he became president, while his partner, Mr. Beachy, is the cashier. Their business has constantly increased. both in volume and importance, for Mr. Berkeley is a well known financier of marked ability and keen discrimination and with his partner is very popular with the public and enjoys their uniform confidence.

Mr. Berkeley has been twice married. He first wedded Ellen Beachy, a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where her cleath occurred. Subsequently he was ie ine ' in wedlock with Olive Livergood, also a na-

tive of the Keystone state. Ly when it bas one som, Robert. Both he and his wife attend the services of the Dunkard church, in which they hold membership, and in his political faith he is a Republican. For two terms he served as school director, but has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to devote his time and energies to his busi- nes- affairs in which he is meeting with creditable success. In the work of the church he is deeply interested, and as a citi- zen he is found as an advocate of all meas- ures for the public good.

RICHARD BEACHY.

Richard Beachy is well known in finan- cial circles in Jewell county, being engage ! in the banking business at Burr Oak. He is a man of superior business ability and ex- ecutive talent and in the conduct of this en- terprise has brought to the town an import- ant addition to its business affairs. He is one of the citizens that Pennsylvania has fur- nished to the Sunflower state, his birth hay- ing occurred in Salisbury, Somerset coll- ty, on the 22d of August. 1863. His father. John W. Beachy, was also a native of that county and there died in 1890, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Lichty, was born in Somerset county and is now living in Nebraska.

Having acquired his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools. Richard Beachy became a student in Juniata College at Hunt- ingdon. Pennsylvania, and later continued his education in Iron City College, of Pitts- burg. Pennsylvania, being graduated in the last named institution with the class of 1883. He then entered upon his business career as a hardware merchant and loan agent at Davenport, Nebraska, where he remained for ten years, and on the expiration of that period came to Burr Oak in 1804. Here he entered into partnership with M. C. Berkeley in the establishment of the Jewell Charty Park, which is titution has continu- ally grown in favor and popularity with the che fers ; din of the county. They

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conduct a general banking business along conservative lines and the well known in- tegrity and efficiency of the partners in- sures the success of the institution and pro- tects the depositors in a perfectly secure manner.

On the 28th of September. 1892, in Salisbury, his native town. Mr. Beachy was joined in wedlock to Mary Keim, a native of Somerset county and their union has been blessed with one son. Jay Keim. The par- ents hold membership in the Dunkard church and are people of genuine worth, tak- ing an active interest in the moral advance- ment and in the promotion of all movements for the general good. Their home is cele- brated for its hospitality and their friends in this locality are almost as numerous as their acquaintances.

J. W. GROOM.

T. W. Groom, who operates a fine farm on section 29. Ninnescah township, was born near Akron, Summit county, Ohio. His father. John Groom, was a native of England, and in the land of his nativity was reared and educated. When a young man he came to the United States. He was married to Mary A. Dixey, who Was also born and reared in England. They he- gan their domestic life on a farm in Summit county. Ohio, and after remaining there for a time removed to Jasper county, Indiana. Six children were born unto this worthy couple.'as follows: William, who makes his home in Harvey county, Kansas : Mary, cleceased ; J. W .. the subject of this review : Elizabeth, Martha and Joseph, who are resi- dents of Indiana. The mother of this fam- ily died in Jasper county, Indiana, in 1890, but the father is still living, having reached the seventy-fourth milestone on the journey of life. He owns a productive and well im- proved farm of two hundred acres in Jasper county, and during his long residence in that locality has so lived as to gain and retain the respect and esteem of his fellow men.

His political support is given to the Repub- lican party, and his religious preference is indicated by his membership with the Meth- odist Episcopal church, with which his wife was also affiliated.

J. W. Groom, the third child in order of birth in the above family, was reared to years of maturity on the old home farm in the Hoosier state, where he was early taught the value of industry as a preparation for the active duties of life, and the public schools of Jasper county afforded him his educational advantages. In 1876 he left the parental roof and went to Texas, where for the following eight years he was engaged in the cattle business near the Mexican line. On the expiration of that period he identified himself with the railroad business, follow- ing that occupation for seven years, and while thus engaged his runs were in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Aban- doning the railroad business, Mr. Groom came to southwestern Kansas, purchasing the farm upon which he now resides. His homestead is now one of the most valuable places of its size in the county and consists of three hundred acres of rich bottom land. one hundred and sixty acres of which is un- dler a high state of cultivation, while the re- mainder is devoted to pasturage.

The marriage of Mr. Groom occurred in 1892, when Miss Tillie Burns became his wife. She is also a member of an old and highly respected family of Jasper county, Indiana, and is a sister of Mrs. John Day, of this township. More extended mention of the Burns family will be found in the sketch of John Day, which appears in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Groom have had no children of their own, but they are rearing a daughter, Grace McGee, whose presence has Frightened and blessed their home and in return she receives the loving care and at- tention due a daughter of the household. In political matters Mr. Groom casts his ballot in favor of Republican principles, and is one of the active workers of the party in King- man county. For the past six years he has held the office of township clerk, and for nine years he was a member of the school

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board. His social relations connect him with Lodge No. 143. I. O. O. F., of Indiana. Mrs. Groom is a member of the Christian church.

GEORGE SEITZ.

George Seitz, the popular pioneer drug- gist of Ellsworth, was born at Kastel, Hes- sen, Germany, November 14, 1827, a son of John and Amelia ( Eichentrig) Seitz. The son received his education at Schwarzburg- Sondershausen, Germany, where he re- mained for a period of three years. He then left his home and native land and sailed for America, arriving in the city of New York, where he spent about ten days with friends. In November, 1865, he came to Kansas, joining his two brothers. Oscar and Herman, in Leavenworth. The former is now a prominent druggist of Salina, Kan- sas. The first work which our subject se- cured in that city was as a clerk and sales- man, and after being thus employed for sale months he removed to St. Louis, Missouri. where he again filled a clerkship for a short time. His next place of residence was Bunker Hill, Illinois, there securing a psi- tion as clerk in a grocery store, which claimed his time and attention for the lowing year. He next joined his Inother Oscar in Salina, Kansas, where he again filled a clerkship for one year, and from the. city he went to Montgomery, Alabama, to take a position with his brother-in-law. T. C. Kothe. In that city Mr. Seitz established his first business enterprise, embarking the cigar trade, in which he continue l i . one year, when he again came to the Sun. flower state. His residence in Ellsworth ciates from 1868, and in company with his brother he established what has

into his present business. For a time Uns ness was carried on under the firm name of O. Seitz & Brother, that relationship conti- uing until 1874, when the brother's interest was purchased by our subject, and bu-ile .. has since been carried on under the letter's name. The store was first located on South Main street. but in 1870 his present fine store building was erected on the corner of

Main and Douglas avenue, where Mr. Seitz now carries a complete line of drugs, med- icines, paints, oils, glass, toilet articles, and in fact everything to be found in a first-class drug establishment. Employment is given to a registered pharmacist and two clerks. Since establishing his business Mr. Seitz has devoted his attention and concentrated his energies toward its improvement, and with a mind to resolve, an understanding to di- rect and a hand to execute he has steadily carried forward his work, gaining for him- self a gratifying competence. His reliabil- ity is above question, and his place among the substantial and trustworthy merchants of Ellsworth is assured. In 1868 he estab- lished a bottling establishment for the man- ufacture of carbonated drinks, and in addi- tion to supplying the local trade he also ships to the surrounding towns, and in this line of trade he has also built up an exten- sive patronage.

The marriage of Mr. Seitz was cele- 1.rated at Salina. Kansas, on the 12th of Sep- tember. 1874, Miss Emma Holzsshuehr, of Posen. Germany, becoming his wife. They have three children : John, who is associated with his father in business: George, an as- sistant surgeon at St. Margaret's Hospital in Kansas City ; and Mary, at home. The family reside in their beautiful home on Lin- coln avenue, which was erected in 1878, and is one of the finest residences in the city of Ellsworth. In his political affiliations Mr. Seitz is a stanch Republican, and on its ticket has been elected a means positions of honor and trust. He served as a member The city council in 1851, and was chosen to represent bis c est in the legislature. In internal circles he is equally prominent, and is a charter member and one of the . :- ganizer of St. Videmar Commandery, No. 33. of which he is past high priest. Relig- iously he is a member of the Lutheran church, in which he has served as a trustee since the erection of the church at Ellsworth. One of the princess of Ellsworth, as well as enel its substantial business men. he is well and favorably known throughout his lo- cality, and the circle of his fring to is co-ex- tensive with the circle of his acquaintance.

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NATHAN J. BLAKE.

One of the honored pioneers of King- man county is Mr. Blake, who was one of the first settlers in Richland township, where he still maintains his home, and who is one of the intelligent and progressive citizens who have contributed in marked degree to the industrial progress and material pros- perity of this attractive section of the Sun- flower state. Since the year 1878 this lo- cality has been his home and he has proved a factor of no slight importance in forward- ing its growth and advancement, having been one of the first to recognize the amaz- ing fertility of the soil, which is so well adapted to the raising of both wheat and cattle.

Mr. Blake is a native of the state of In- diana, having been born in Parke county, in the year 1840, a son of John M. and Mar- garet Ann ( Miller) Blake, the family being one well known and highly respected in that section. John M. Blake was born in Vir- ginia, as was also his father, John Blake, who was of Scotch ancestry. John M. was but a boy at the time when his parents re- moved to Indiana, and there he was reared to man's estate and there married. Mar- garet Ann Miller was born and reared in Ohio, being a daughter of Daniel Miller, and she died in the state of Indiana February 1. 1849, at the age of thirty-nine years, her husband long surviving her, his death oc- curring in Illinois in the year 1881. She left ten children, namely : John, Daniel. William, Samuel, Milton, Lucina and Eliz- abeth, all of whom are now deceased; and Nathan J. and Joseph Newton (twins) and Isaac, who are the three surviving mem- bers of the family. Milton was a member of a Missouri regiment during the war of the Rebellion and died while in the service. and valiant service in the same conflict was also rendered by our subject and his two other brothers, Joseph N. and Isaac. The mother of these children was a consistent member of the German Baptist church and was a woman of noble character and earnest Christian faith.

In 1856 the father of our subject re-

moved by wagon to the state of Iowa, locat- ing in Taylor county, where he purchased a tract of land and where he became quite suc- cessful as a farmer. About the year 1870 he removed to Pu nam county, Indiana, hav- ing previously been engaged for a time in mercantile pursuits, and in the county men- tioned he purchased a gristmill, which he operated for a few years, after which he dis- posed of the same and removed to Douglas county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farming until his death, in 1881, at the age of sixty-five years. His second marriage was to Mary J. Romain, and they became the parents of four children,-Jacob, Charles. Ann and Rose. Mr. Blake was a man who ever held the confidence and es- teem of those who knew him, and his po- litical support was given to the Republican party.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 130

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