A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 131

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

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Nathan J. Blake, the subject of this sketch. was reared on a farm and attended school in Indiana, while in 1856 he accom- panied the family on their removal to Iowa. When the call for troops came, five years later, he was one of the first to respond, en- listing in 1861, as a member of the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and while he was in camp at Rollo, Missouri, he suffered from an attack of measles, the result of which was that he became incapacitated for service during the balance of his term of enlistment, and he was honorably discharged on this ac- count. In 1864 Mr. Blake was united in marriage to Nancy J. Bates, a lady of intel- ligence and education, who was born in Fay- ette county, Indiana, in 1835, being a daugh- ter of John and Elizabeth (Noble) Bates, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Ohio. In 1866 they located at Oakland, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and there the father was engaged in farm- ing until his death, at the age of eighty-one years. In politics he was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. The mother of Mrs. Blake died at the age of eighty-four. Of her eleven children three died in infancy and Gilbert at the age of nineteen years, and the others were as follows: Ambrose, Lu- ciuda, Noble, Nelson, Elizabeth, Nancy J.

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and Thomas, the last named having been a Union soldier in the Civil war.

Mr. Blake continued to reside in Iowa until 1878, at which period he cast in his lot with the early settlers of Richland town- ship. Kingman county, Kansas. He dis- played excellent judgment in the selection of his home. this part of the county having icon particularly favored by nature. His one hundred and sixty acres of land has shown wonderful productiveness, and his excellent methods of management have kept the land up to its maximum of fertility. Un- til 1899 Mr. Blake continued to devote his attention to his farming business, and since that time he has lived practically retired. having rented his farm and taken up his resi- dence in the attractive village of Basil, where he enjoys those comforts and that freedom from care which are the just reward of his years of ceaseless toil and endeavor.

In many ways Mr. Blake has been a very fortunate man, and in no respect is this more ! true than in the possession of an admirable family of children, the surviving members being as follows: Alfaratta Duggan. of Kingfisher, Oklahoma: Margaret Jackson, of Indiana: Nettie Jackson: Irvin, the sta- tion agent at Basil : and Zella McCurtin, of Kingman, this county.

Politically Mr. Blake adheres to the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and frater- rally he is a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Blake is a con- sistent member of the Methodist church and is a lady well known in the community on account of her neighborly kindness. No social gathering in the vicinity is quite com- plete without the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Blake, whose genial personalities make them welcome visitors in all circles. Many are the changes our subject has witnessed in Richland township, and he has done his full share in all public-spirited .enterprises.

MRS. SABINA B. COURTNEY.

Mrs. Sabina Baker Courtney is one of the pioneer women of Ottawa county and now makes her home in Delphos. She is a

native of Monongahela county. West Vir- ginia, born in 1848, a daughter of Thornton and Minerva ( Bright ) Baker, who were a'so natives of the same state. There her father carried on farming as a means of livelihood. His death occurred in 1879 and his wife passed away in 1858, being survived for many years by her husband.

Mrs. Courtney came to Delphos, Kanst. with a brother-in-law in 1873 and here she formed the acquaintance of Mr. Courtney. whom she married in April of that year. She has one brother, Samuel L. Baker, who is living in eastern Illinois, and a sister. Mary, who resides in Kansas City. Her husband, the late Joseph Courtney, was also a native of Monongahela county, West Vir- ginia, born in 1848, and was a son of Will- iam and Sarah Atha Courtney, who were likewise natives of that state, in which they lived and died. Joseph Courtney left the place of his nativity in 1870 and removed to McLean county. Illinois, where he re- mained until the fall of 1871, when he went to Topeka, Kansas. In the spring of 1872. however. he emigrated with a team to Ot- tawa county and secured a homestead about three miles northwest of Delphos, and in April of the following year married Sabina Baker. The young couple began their do- mestic life upon his claim, but the homestead was not then self-supporting, and they had a hard! tine in the pioneer days. Wild gare furnished their meat supply.

Mr. Courtney built a house of two rooms and gradually improved his place. to which he added a tract of one hundred and sixty acres prior to 1880. On the Both of May. 1879, his home was destroyed by a cyclone. The family fortunately were visiting at a neighbor's at the time and Mr. Courtney was in the field. He put his horses in the barn and then went to join his family. They escaped, but witnessed the destruction their home and all their household effects. together with their chickens and stock. A calf tied to a tree had most of the flesh torn from its body. exposing the bones of the animal, although the rope which fastene 1 it to the tree did not break. After the de- struction of his first home Mr. Courtney

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erected a comfortable residence, a story and a half in height, and containing six rooms. He engaged in raising and shipping stock and hogs, following that business until his death, which occurred in 1885.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Courtney were born the following children : Flavia M., who was born in August, 1875, is the wife of a Mr. Balance ; Matilda Mertie, born February 22. 1877, is a graduate of the high school of Delphos and is now engaged in clerking in a store in Des Moines, Iowa; Edith Maud was married in 1900 to Fred Warren, a farmer of Cloud county, Kansas: Charles Garfield was born March 7. 1880, and Jo- seph Otis was born January 24, 1884. For two years after her husband's death Mrs. Courtney conducted the home farm and then rented the property, removing to Delphos in order to give her children good educational advantages. In 1898, however, she returned1 to the homestead. her sons Charles and Jo- seph assuming the care of the place. They are now engaged in raising stock and wheat, having one hundred and five acres planted to wheat in the past year, 1901. They also raise alfalfa and corn and annually har- vest good crops. The farm is well im- proved and comprises two hundred acres of valuable land, on which is a good residence. Larns, granaries and hedges. The sons are intelligent, industrious young men, being re- garded in the community as rising young farmers and stock dealers.

ANDREW W. WILSON.

This influential and enterprising agri- culturist of Ninnescah township is the owner of an excellent farm on section 22. and his management of the estate is marked by the scientific knowledge and skill which char- acterize the modern farmer. He was born in Peoria county, Illinois, in 1864, and his ancestors were among the very early settlers of that locality. His paternal grandfather, William Wilson, was a native of Virgin a. and his son, William C., the father of our subject, was born in Peoria county, Illinois.

in 1835. The latter was reared in the place of his nativity, and there learned the black- smith's trade, which occupation he followed for thirty years. As a companion on the journey of life he chose Mary Proctor, a native of Peoria county, where her people were also early pioneers. In 1876 Mr. and Mrs. Wilson went to Nodaway county, Mis- souri, locating near Arkoe, where they re- mained until 1885. In that year they came to the Sunflower state, taking up their abode in Kingman county, but after residing here for a time they removed to Billings, Okla- homa. They became the parents of eight children, namely: Emelisa Long, who also resides in the territory of Oklahoma; Charles, a resident of California ; Andrew W., the subject of this review ; Monroe, of Oklahoma ; Fannie Lewis, of Kansas City, Missouri ; Perry ; Loyd, a resident of Okla- homa : and Olean, who died at the age of seventeen years. The father of this family is identified with the Democratic party, and the mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

A. W. Wilson, whose name introduces this review, remained in his native state 1111- til eleven years of age, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Nodaway county, Missouri, and in both Illinois and Missouri was reared to farm life, early be- coming familiar with the duties that fall to the lot of a farmer boy. In 1883 he made the journey to Kansas, and after his arrival in this state he spent five years as a sales- man in a business house in the city of King- man, while for two years he was employed in Garfield county. In 1894 he purchased the farm on which he now resides, consist- ing of four hundred and eighty acres, where he is engaged in general farming and stock- raising. Upon his place are good and sub- stantial buildings, and everything about the farm testifies to the skill and ability of the owner in his chosen calling.

In 1890, in Wichita, Kansas, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Wilson and Miss Gertrude Moore, who was born near Corydon, Wayne county, Iowa. Her father, Houston Moore, was a native of Indiana, and during the Civil war he proved himself

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a brave and loyal defender of the cause which he espoused. He died at the age of twenty-six years, leaving a widow and three children .- Frank. of Oklahoma: Gertrude. the wife of our subject : and Anna Hobson, of Kingman county. Mrs. Moore bore the maiden name of Margaret Dean, and her death occurred in Wichita, Kansas, in 1900, at the age of fifty-two years. She was twice married, and by her second union had one son, N. McCort, a resident of Renfrow. Oklahoma. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson has been brightened and blessed by the presence of two daughters, -Edith, who was born in October, 1891, and Edna. born in November, 1893. The Democracy re- ceives Mr. Wilson's support and co-opera- tion. The cause of education has ever found in him a warm friend, and for a number of years he has been a member of the school board. In his social relations he is a mem- ber of the Woodmen. He has always been prominent in public affairs and no one has been more actively or commendably inter- ested in the welfare and development of this section of the state. His life is exemplary in many respects, and he has the esteem of his friends and the confidence of those who have had business or social relations with him.

T. R. WILSON.

T. R. Wilson, who is occupying the po- sition of register of feeds in Ellsworth con- ty, has resided in this locality since 1884 and is one of the leading and influential citi- zens. He was born in Ireland, in 1850, and! m his youth was employed at clerical work in a flour mill. In 1884, when eighteen year's of age, he resolved to seek a home in the new world. believing that he might thereby benefit his financial condition. Crossing the Atlantic to America, he decided to locate in Kansas and came direct to Ellsworth. After a year here passed as a clerk he completed a set of abstracts from the records, and for the next four years was with E. W. Wel- lington.

In his political views Mr. Wilson has al-

ways been a Republican, unswerving in his support of the principles as set forth in the platforms formed at the national conven- tions. He has been a delegate to conven- tions of his party, and in 1891 he received the nomination for the position of register of deeds and in November of that year was elected to the office, which he has held con- tinuously since by re-election. At the first election he received a majority of two hun- dred, but at the succeeding elections he gained a majority of four hundred and fifty and four hundred and seventy-five. Hle never has any opposition in his own party, and his long continued service in office is an indication of his fidelity to duty and the high respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellow townsmen. It was Mr. Wilson who originated the idea of making public quarterly statements of the county's in- dehteiness so that it could be constantly before the people. The plan he originated has been followed, and has shown a decrease in the indebtedness each year with the ex- ception of the year 1895. In 1892 the in- debtedness was one hundred and thirty-four thousand. two hundred and fifty-one dollars : in 1893, thirty-three thousand, three hun- dred and thirteen dollars: in 1804. thirty- two thousand, one hundred and eighty-two dollars; in 1896, thirty-seven thousand, seven hundred and thirty-seven dollars: in 1807. twenty-one thousand, four hundred and seventy-five dollars : in 1898, one hun- drel and ninety-seven thousand. nine hun- dire land sixty four dollars : in 1800. twenty- fear thousand, four hundred and eight del- lars: and in 1000. fifty-six thousand, two Indeed and thirty-five dollars. In 1805 the increase with thirteen thousand, three hun- red and forty-four dollars. Of the pres- out indebtedness from seventy-five to eighty per cent. is for the purchase price of lands. Mr. Wilson does all of the work si the office himself and takes great pains to keep the records in an excellent condition. On the 220 of November, 1803. occurred the marriage of Mr. Wilson atel Miss Eva S. Baker, a daughter of John F. Baker, of this city. They now have one son and one daughter. Alleyne and Thomas Baker. In

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addition to their home in Ellsworth, which is one of the commodious and pleasant res :- dences of the city, Mr. Wilson owns a half section of valuable land two miles east of Ellsworth, where he raises short-horn cattle. having an excellent herd. Socially he is a prominent representative of the Masonic fra- ternity, belonging to Ellsworth Lodge, No. 146, F. & A. M .. in which he has passed all of the chairs; Ellsworth Chapter, No. 54, R. A. M. : Ellsworth Council, No. 9, R. & S. M .; St. Aldemar Commandery, No. 33. K. T., in which he is senior warden; and Isis Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Salina ; and his name is likewise on the member- ship roll of the Modern Woodmen Camp of Ellsworth. He is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and is the chairman of its board of trustees. Mr. Wilson is a public-spirited citizen, taking an active in- terest in everything that pertains to the wel- fare of his adopted county, yet it is not be- cause of special prominence in public affairs that he has and is justly entitled to the re- spect and esteem of his fellow men, for his personal qualities are such as to make men honor him. In manner he is genial. affable and courteous, and he has won popularity in the city of his adoption.

GEORGE W. MINOCKS.

George W. Minocks is the senior mem- ber of the bar of Great Bend in years of con- tinuous connection with its legal interests. for he established an office in this city on the Ist of July, 1872, and has since engaged in practice. He was born in Jefferson county, lowa, in 1844, a son of Rowell Minocks. Having prepared for the bar, he came to Great Bend in the days of the early develop- ment of the city and served as the first coun- ty attorney, having been appointed to the office in August, 1872, and elected the suc- acceding fall. He was likewise chosen to that office in 1882 and 1884, serving eleven years in all. In 1885 he was elected dis- irict judge, and again, from 1890 until 1892, he was county attorney, being elected

upon the Republican ticket. He engages in general practice in the county, district, state and federal courts and is a capable lawyer, having a comprehensive knowledge of the science of jurisprudence. In addition to his law practice he has also bought and sold large amounts of land, and in this direction has contribtued in no immaterial degree to the development and progress of his adopted county .. The cause of education has always found in him a warm friend, and for several years he has served as a member of the school board of Great Bend and has been president and treasurer of the Central Nor- mal College. He has thus been closely as- sociated with three very important interests in the substantial progress and development of any county, and in the history of Great Bend he certainly deserves honorable men- tion.

REGINALD H. MEAD, M. D.

Reginald H. Mead occupies a position of distinction as a representative of the med- ical fraternity in Great Bend, in Barton county. His entire business career has been devoted to the alleviation of human suffer- ing and as a representative of one of the most important and valuable professions to which man can devote his energies. His life has proven of great benefit to his fellow citi- zens. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1870, and is a son of David Mead. D. D .. whose successful life permitted him to live in quiet retirement during his last days. He died in 1889, at the age of fifty-nine years.

The Doctor attended the public schools. there acquiring his literary education. which was supplemented by a course in the St. Louis Medical College, of St. Louis, Mis- souri, and on completing the course in that institution entered the Beaumont Hospital Medical College, in whch he was graduated in March, 1896. For a year thereafter he en- gaged in hospital practice and then opened an office in St. Louis, where he remained un- til 1899. when he came to Great Bend, Kan- sas, where he began practice alone. He was equipped with a broad and complete knowl-

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edge of the science of medicine and with splendid medical and surgical appliances. He has been successful from the beginning, bis beautiful parlors and consultation and operating rooms making his office very at- tractive, and his patronage is constantly growing as he demonstrates his skill.

Mr. Mead married Miss Cora F. Hop- pie. a daughter of Joseph F. Hoppie, of St. Louis, and they now have one child, Arthur Heber. The Doctor belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is past grand of the independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of and examining physician of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen, the Maccabees, the Na- tional Aid, Woodmen of the World and the Royal Neighbors. Dr. Mead has won high praise from his professional brethren and also secured a liberal public patronage, and is to-day justly accounted one of the promi- nent physicians of his adopted county, for he keeps in touch with the most advanced thought of the day, is devoted to his pro- fession and is very painstaking in diagnos- ing disease and his methods of treating the same.

NAPOLEON B. BLANTON.

Captain Napoleon B. Blanton, one of the old and respected pioneer settlers of Kan- sas, came to the Sunflower state as early as 1854, and he was a prominent factor in the early history of the commonwealth. He was born in Ray county, Missouri, on the 2d of November. 1829, and his maternal ancestors were among the early pioneers of Missouri, removing from Tennessee to that state as early as 1816. The paternal grand- father of our subject, John Blanton. was born in Kentucky, and was de- scended from an old Huguenot fam- ily that came to the United States from Holland prior to the Revolutionary war. John Blanton died in Kentucky, and at his death left a widow, who bore the maiden name of Webb, and was his third wife. One of their children became the wife of Governor Boggs. of Missouri.

William O. Blanton, the father of our subject, was born and reavel in Kentucky, 1out When a cung tran moved to Chariton county, Missouri, and was there married to Mary McCreary, She was born in cast Ten- messed, in 1810, but when six years of age, in 1816, was taken by her parents to Mis- suri, where she was reared and educated. U'hito this worthy couple were born the fol- leaving named children: Napoleon B., the subject of this review ; Salina, the wife of Moses Taylor, of Hennessey, Oklahoma: Melvina, the wife of Talton Whitlock, of California : Benjamin, who died at Mound City, Missouri ; Jane Williams, a resident of Windward county, Oklahoma : Frank, who died in Douglas county, Kansas, at the age of nineteen years ; and John, who died in the same county at the age of sixteen years. The father of this family, who was born in 1809, passed away in death at Perryville, Alabama, at the age of sixty-two years, and the mother died in Douglas county, Kansas, when she had reached the age of seventy years. During the Civil war her home in Lawrence, Kansas, was robbed and burned. but she was a brave woman and bore the trials of pioneer life and the dangers of the war with Christian fortitude. She passed away in the faith of the Presbyterian church. of which she was a worthy and consistent member.

Napoleon B. Blanton, the immediate sub- ject of this review. was reared to farm life in the county of his nativity, and to its school system he is indebted for the educa- tional advantages which he received in his youth. The schools which he attended. how- ever, were of the most primitive kind, con- taining slab seats and benches, and he was obliged to ride a distance of seven miles on horseback to attend school. The year 1854 witnessed his arrival in the Sunflower state. and his first work here was in building the toll bridge across the Wakarusa river. four miles south of Lawrence, but prior to this time. in 1848, he had charge of a govern- ment train of wagons on the old Santa Fe trail, during which time he had many Indian fights on Walnut creek. During the bor- der wars he served under Captain John

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Brown, with whom he took part in a num- ber of battles, was also with Captain Walker, another noted "free soiler" during the bor- der troubles, and was also with Colonel Jim Lane at Titus Place, near Lecompton, Kan- sas. After the troubles had subsided Mr. Blanton embarked in the real-estate and stock business at Humboldt, Kansas, and was one of the founders of that town. In 1862 he raised a command for the Union army, which became known as the Fourth Kansas Infantry, and his regiment made a gallant record during that memorable struggle. During his army career he saw much active service in Missouri and Kansas, participat- ing in the battle of Fort Scott, the two se- vere battles at Newtonia, Cain Hill, Prairie Grove and Sheffield. At the latter place he was taken sick and for many months there- after was an invalid. After his recovery he was transferred to the Twenty-second Army Corps and was sent to Greensburg, Ken- tucky. He afterward served as captain of Company K. Ninth Veteran Reserved Corps. and was on duty at Washington, D. C., and at Georgetown for a time. Later he served under General Sheridan at New Orleans, was thence ordered up the river to an in- terior parish of Louisiana, where he had command of the freedman's bureau for five months.

Before leaving for the war Mr. Blanton had represented his district in the state leg- islature, and in 1868, on the Republican ticket, he was again elected to that import- ant position. He afterward went from Al- len county to Abbyville, Kansas, where he served as president of a land company of that city, and in 1878 came to Barber coun- ty. Two years later, in 1880. he became the owner of his present fine farm of two hun- dred and forty acres, forty acres of which is devoted to an orchard, and on his place he has erected a two-thousand-dollar resi- dence. His marriage was celebrated in Cof- fey county. Kansas, in 1857, when Miss Harriet Godfrey became his wife. She was born in Warren county, Indiana. a daugh- ter of James and Eliza ( Nichols) Godfrey. The mother was descended from an Indian chief, whose daughter married an Ohio

pioneer. Mr. Godfrey died in Montgomery county, Kansas, at the age of fifty-eight years. During his active business career he carried on farming and stock-raising, was a Republican in his political views and was a member of the United Brethren church. He became the father of the following chil- dren : Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson, of Med- icine Lodge, Barber county ; Perry, who be- came a member of an Illinois regiment for service in the Civil war when seventeen years of age, and his death occurred in the Black Hills, South Dakota: Henry, a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in the Chickasaw nation : Peter, a prominent cattle man of Indian Territory; Edward, who is also a resident of the Territory and is en- gaged in the same business as his brother ; and Baxter, who died in the Indian nation. The mother of this family is still living, also making her home in Indian Territory, and she has reached the good old age of eighty years. Mrs. Blanton was reared and edu- cated in Indiana, near Monmouth, Warren county, Illinois, and for forty-five years has proved to her husband a true and loving companion. The following children have blessed the union of our subject and wife. namely: Addie, the wife of Hon. Den- nis Flynn, of Oklahoma: Terry, who had the honor of having the free homestead bill passed in Washington, D. C .: Emma, the deceased wife of T. L. Lindley, of Medicine Lodge, Kansas : Fannie, the widow of Frank Street- er, of Barber county : Charles, who was ac- cidentally killed in Texas at the age of nine- teen years : Sally, the wife of D. P. Crowl. of Dallas, Texas: Nellie, the wife of H. E. Julian, of Lawton. Oklahoma, where he is serving as register of deeds: John, at home; Frank, also of Lawton, Oklahoma : and Bes- sie, the wife of L. A. Heckard, of Kara. Kansas.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 131

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