A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 82

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

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MARION F. SINSLEY.

Within the confines of Kingman county are to be found many men of energy and progressive ideas, who have here attained independence and marked success through well directed efforts applied to the great lasic art of agriculture and to the allied industry of stock-growing. Among this

number is the subject of this review, who came to Kansas in early manhood and who has had the wisdom to take advantage . i the opportunities afforded and to win suc- cess ere the prime of life has been reached. His excellent farm property, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, is located in Vinita township, is well improved and has been brought to a high state of cultivation, while such has been the course of our sub- ject's life that he has gained a firm hold on the confidence and respect of the community in which he has lived and labored. His farm is located on section 36, and his post- office address is Cheney.

Mr. Sinsley is a native of the old Key- stone state, having been born in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of October, 1860, the son of John and Cath- erine ( Lowe) Sinsley, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Pennsylvania, she being the daughter of John Lowe, likewise a native of that state. John Sinsley was reared and educated in the fatherland, whence he came to America when a young man, locating in Pennsyl- vania, where he has since maintained his home, devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits and being one of the reliable and honored farmers of Westmoreland county. In politics he gives his support to the Demo- cratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife also was a devoted member, her death occurring at the age of forty-two years. Of their six children five are living at the present time, and of the family we offer a brief record as follows: Jonas and John, residents of Westmoreland county. Pennsylvania: Marion F. the subject of this sketch : Samuel, who resides in West- m reland county, Pennsylvania; William, deceased: A Belle, the wife of Amzy Hixon. of Pennsylvania.

Marion F. Sinsley grew up on the old to mestead isam and as a boy began to con- tribute his quota to the work thereof. thus gaining that respect for the dignity of hon- est toil which has made industry and energy dominating traits in his character. His ed- ucatienal & lvantages were such as were af-

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forded in the public schools, and at the age of seventeen he started forth to face the personal responsibilities of life, first work- ing by the month at farming, and by econ- omy and industry securing a start in con- nection with the world's normal activities. He came west as far as Carroll county, Iowa, where he remained one year, engaged in farm work, and then, in 1885, he came to Kansas, first locating in Sedgwick county, and four years later coming to his present location in Kingman county, where he purchased his farm of one hundred and sixty acres and has since given his atten- tion to its improvement and cultivation, be- ing known as one of the reliable and pro- gressive farmers and stock-growers of this locality.

On the 5th of December, 1888, while residing in Sedgwick county, Mr. Sinsley was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Farlow, who was born in Indiana, the daughter of George W. and Amanda (Williams) Farlow, the former of whom was born in Indiana, and the latter in Vir- ginia. The family removed from Indiana to Iowa and thence to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and at the present time the parents of Mrs. Sinsley are residents of Jackson county, Michigan. In the family were six children, namely: Kate M., who resides with her parents: Henrietta, the wife of George Gregg, of Michigan: Emma, the wife of Steven Seward, of Iowa; Minnie, the wife of the subject of this review ; Anna, the wife of Samuel Brown, of Ohio; and Bruce, who died in Michigan at the age of forty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Sinsley are the parents of four sons and two daugh- ters, namely: Leota, Grover C., John F., Lillian, Frank and George M.

Mr. Sinsley is a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, but has never aspired to the honors or emoluments of political office, though he maintains an active interest in public affairs of a local nature, giving his influence in favor of all enterprises projected for the general good of the community. Frater- nally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is dis-

tinctly popular, as he is also in all other relations of life. As one of the representa- tive men of his county he is well entitled to consideration in this work.

DAVID BURTON LONG.

Conspicuous for many years in public life, of prominence among the pioneers of Ellsworth county, Kansas, Mr. Long is widely known as a loyal, patriotic citizen and as an ideal American. From his hon- est, sturdy great-grandfather, Ludwig Long, who came from his native Holland and founded an honorable family in Pennsylva- nia, our subject has inherited qualities which have made his life one to admire and emu- late.

Grandfather Samuel Long was a son of the immigrant, was born in Pennsylvania and there married Catherine Piper, who be- longed to one of the early settlers of that great state. The parents of our subject were Samuel and Catherine (Goodman) Long, the former of whom was born in Franklin county, and the latter in Cumber- land county, both in Pennsylvania, who re- moved to Ohio in 1835, and located near Wooster. where the father opened a black- smith shop, but later moved again, settling in Knox county, Ohio. There the family remained until 1844, when they removed to Lawrenceville, Illinois, remaining in that state one year and then returning to Lo- rain county, Ohio, and there the father of our subject died, in 1883. at the age of eighty-two years. The mother was born in 1804 and died in Lorain county, in 1888.

The children born to the parents of our subject numbered ten, their names being as follows: Sarah J., who married Jerry Meyers, of Galion, Ohio, who was one of the first engineers to run a train over what is now known as the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road, which was then known as the San- dusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mevers are deceased : Sammel, a retired farmer of Ellsworth: William, a retired farmer of Gratiot county, Michigan;

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Benjamin, who for many years was in the employ of Mund ch & Company, in Kansas City; Catherine, who was the wife of Peter Ostrander, of Lorain county ; Simeon, who is a farmer and dairyman, of Youngstown. Ohio: Joseph, who died in lineis, at the age of fourteen years: John, who came to Ellsworth e auty in 1878, removed to Ok- lahoma in 1800, and died there in 1898; David B .. the subject of this biography : and Elizabeth, who married H. H. Stark, of Ohio, and moved to Wichita, Kansas, where she died in 1805.

David Burton Long, the distinguished subject of this sketch, was born at North Liberty. Knox county, Ohio, on June 14. 1830, and he was the seventh son and the ninth child born to his parents. He was reared on his father's farm and until he was fifteen years of age attended school for three months during the winter seasons, working through the summers, this being the universal custom. At the age of fifteen he entered into the mercantile business, be- coming a clerk in the store of George Whit- mire, a Dunkard minister, who was a son- in-law of Jacob Studebaker, the founder of the great Studebaker firm of wagon-makers at South Bend. Indiana. This store was located at the cross roads at Pleasant Ridge. in Ashland county. Ohio, and here he spent one year. although he intended this as but a stepping stone.

Ambitious and energetic even at that early age, his aim was to pre- pare himself for entrance into Oberlin Col- lege. and this he accomplished, spending his sixteenth year within its classic shades.

For the following five or six years our subject lived a busy and useful life, alter- nating between the farm, the scho frem and his beloved college, working at age cultural pursuits during the summer, touch- ing others. Beginning at Wellings .. (Mi). during the winters, and gaining instruction himself at Oberlin during the spring and fall terms.

On March 17, 1861, he was united in marriage, at Huntington, Ohio, to Miss Harriet M. Sage, who was a daughter ri Samuel and Emeline : Bailey, Sage, and

who came of distinguished ancestry. She was the fifth in line of dsecent from David Sage, who emigrated from Wales in 1670, and located at Middletown, Connecticut. Her birth was in Huntington, Ohio, on January 6, 1840, coming of the same fan ;. ily as Russell Sage, the great New York financier.

For one year after marriage our -pijeet engaged in the business of buying and sell- ing cheese, still continuing to teach. being assisted in the conduct of a select school by his wife at La Grange. Ohio. Into this peaceful life came the certainty of continued strife between the north and the south, and Mr. Long could restrain himself no longer. On August 30, 1862, he enlisted for serv- ice in Company F. One Hundred and Twen- ty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel O. H. Payne, who is now the tren- urer of the great Standard Oil Company. Mr. Long remained in the service of the United States government until in March, 1868. He was made sergeant at the or- ganization of the regiment and at the lot- tle of Chickamauga was promoted for gal- lantry to the position of first sergeant, the former officer, John Crapsey, being killed in that struggle. At the battle of R cky Face Mountain, Georgia, he was seriously wound- ed in the thigh, which incapacitated him from duty in the field. He had participated! in all of the battles and skirmishe- of the Atlanta campaign, under General Sirvan. but was now sent to the hospital at Cleve- land. Ohio, where he remained until his wound was sufficiently healed to castle him to undertake some duty. Here he had formed the acquaintance of General Ster- berg, who was a hospital surgeon, and it- tween them sprung up an attachment which continues until this day. By his recomen- datin our subject was app hotel bereit steward on March 17, 1865, and was made chef steveand of the general In spital at Cleveland, under General Sternberg, who n w is the well known surgeen general of the regular army. Mr. Long served as chei steward one year at Jeffers :1 Missouri.

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It was during his service in Cleveland, in 1865. that it became the honorable but melancholy duty of our subject to command a body of three hundred veteran soldiers who guarded the remains of President Lin- coln, while he lay in state in the city of Cleveland. this company being given its conspicuous position on account of its be- ing composed of veterans.

From Jefferson Barracks Mr. Long was ordered to Fort Wallace, Kansas, and here he had many experiences before his hon- orable discharge on March 17, 1868. Be- ivre being incapacitated he had taken part in seventeen regular engagements, but in Kansas he was called upon to act as sur- geon when others had been wounded in Indian skirmishes. His family accompa- nied him, and his brave wife consented to act as matron in the hospital at Fort Wal- lace. As far as Wamego, Kansas, they were able to travel by rail, but from there on they were obliged to journey across the plains in a government wagon train, first to Fort Riley, from there to Fort Ellsworth, and then to Fort Wallace by ambulance. The trip was a long and wearisome one and was surrounded by dangers on every hand.

The party left Jefferson Barracks, Mis- souri, on August 20, 1866, and reached Fort Wallace on September 16. After leaving Fort Ellsworth an accident happened which might have ended disastrously. They were encamped on Wilson Creek, and here their mules escaped, and the escort had to hasten back to Fort Ellsworth, leaving the party one day without protection, in a country full of hostile Indians. On this journey the party was obliged to make a number of stops, even on the site of the present flour- ishing town of Hayes City, in order to al- low vast herds of buffalo to pass. On Sep- tember 19, the day after the party safely reached Fort Wallace, the Indians made a raid and drove off all the horses and mules at the fort. none of which were ever re- covered. These were stirring times on the frontier, and our subject and party wit- nessed a fight between Captain Barnett's company and a company of colored infan-

ry of the Seventh United States Cavalry, in which a number of soldiers were killed and wounded. The care of these wounded men fell upon Steward Long, and it was a se- rious matter. In three cases he was obliged to adopt heroic measures. The Indian ar- rows which lodged in the flesh had to be pushed with the barb far enough to en- able him to cut off the arrow heads before he could withdraw them. It may be re- called that at this time the anasthetics used by the surgeons of the present day were lit- tle used or unknown. This remarkable case of the nerve and skill of Mr. Long was de- picted in Harper's Weekly of July 27, 1867.

Dr. Sternberg was already at Fort Ells- ; worth when our subject stopped there on his way to Fort Wallace, and they both located claims on the Smoky Hill river, south of Fort Harker, and after the close of his hos- pital service our subject located on his claim and there he built the first frame house in Ellsworth county, outside of Fort Harker. This was eighteen feet by twenty-eight in dimensions, and a story and a half high. Mr. Long, as a precaution, also constructed a dug-out fort, arching it over with timbers and earth, leaving port holes from which the inmates could protect themselves, and on several occasions when danger was antici- pated from the Indians the neighbors would gather here for safety.

Until 1881 Mr. Long remained on this place, engaging in stock-raising and dairy- ing, and added land until he owned one thousand and seventy-five acres, the most of which he has since disposed of. although he retains the original homestead. Grazing of cattle has formed the chief occupation and he continually keeps some two hun- dred and fifty head. In 1881 he purchased the magnificent estate which is known as "The Oak Hill Place," which comprises two hundred and forty acres, on sections 22. 15 and 7; his ranch on Smoky Hill river com- prising six hundred and forty acres. Here Mr. Long has permitted himself the pleas- ure of making an ideal country home, erect- ing a beautiful two-story. twelve-room mod- ern residence. barns and granaries, and here

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he las set out orchards and shade trees, all these improvements adding to the natural hearts of the location.

Not only has our subject been on- cerned in the advancement of his personal interests, as is the duty of every sensible and foresightol man, but he has taken an active part in all of the enterprises which have done so much in the development of the county. Mr. Long was one of the or- ganieers and was the first president of the Kimmopolis State Bank, and he was also one of the organizers and a director of the Cen- tra: National Bank of Ellsworth. It was Mr. Long that bought and shipped into this . county the first threshing machine, and it was first used at his place in his grain. His progressive spirit has been imitated by his fellow citizens, but he was the leader both in thought and action.

The public life of our subject has been one of distinguished service to his section. Often with great personal sacrifice he be- came an official in minor positions. In 1869 he was made justice of the peace, has filled the office of township clerk and in the above year was nominated for probate judge, but declined the office. In 1876 his fellow citi- zens testificil to the esteem and confidence in which he is held by electing him to the state legislature, where he served through three consecutive sessions, and during this time he introduced the Fish bill, as it now stands, and also another of great interest to the residents of his section, the bill of- fering a bounty for scalps of wolves, wild cats and rabbits, and in 1878 he was ap- printed fish commissioner by Governor An- thony, and served with great efficiency for six years.

In 1886 Mr. Long was elected deputy commander of the Union Veteran Army, an organization similar to the G. A. R., and formed for the object of securing equitable pension laws. In 1889 he was elected com- mander-in-chief of the order for the United States, and he held this office for the two succeeding years. In educational matters. also. Mr. Long has been prominently iden- tified. He was the organizer of school dis- trict No. 4. took a prominent financial part

in the building of the scho House, and for ten years served on the board of directors. Among the various business enterprise - with which Mr. Long has been connected with a view to promoting and advancing fe in- terest of Ellsworth county, was the earth- lishment of the All-werth Sale Weiss. an important industry. At the organization of the company which proposed the build- ing of the railroad from Beatrice, Nebraska, to Great Bend, Kansas, our subject was chosen as vice-president of the corporation. but complications arose and the read was never built. Among the pioneer settlers of the county. Mr. Long is held in high es- teem, and served as the president of the Old Settlers' Society from 1888 to 1898, and has been its secretary since that time.

Mr. Long has taken great pride in the building up of the neighborhood near his home and has made many valuable improve- ments to the town of Ellsworth. In 1876 he built a portion of the buildings known as the Commercial Block, owning this prop- erty until 1890, and also erecting the two- story store building now occupied by L. M. Reynolds & Company, and he was one of the three capitalists who erected the building which stood on the site of the Wellington block. for use as a postoffice. Mr. 1. 11g still owns two residences in Ellswach. In 1886 he platted Long's addition to Elle- worth.

Although an ardent and active Repub- lican. Mr. Long has also supported the tet- perance movement from conscientious Per- tives. He cast his first vote for President Lincoln. in 1860. and has voted for every can bidate of his party since that time. He has been very prominently identified with political matters in the county, was chair- man of the county central committee, and has been a delegate to county, state and congressional conventions. Mr. Long was reared in the Presbyterian faith, and he has been active in the organization of the IT -- worth church, and has served in the First Presbyterian church of this city in an official capacity for the past twenty years.

Mr. Long has been a valued member of various fraternal organization for nel;

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years. In the I. O. O. F. he was first con- nected with Lodge No. 109, of Ellsworth, but for the past twenty-six years he has been past noble grand, and he was a charter member of Golden Belt Encampment, No. 47, and was the chief patriarch; also, was the first noble grand of Charity Lodge, No. 39, Daughters of Rebekah; grand master of the grand lodge of Kansas, and has served as a representative to the sovereign grand lodge at Los Angeles, California, and at Columbus, Ohio; he is a charter member of the Ellsworth Post, G. A. R., and was a representative to the grand lodge; and he also has filled all the chairs in the A. O. U. I.

On October 23, 1893, Mrs. Long died, having been the mother of nine children, eight of these still surviving, as follows: Cora Belle, who is the wife of H. C. Roth, ci Ellsworth: Georgia, who was born at Jefferson Barracks while her father was in charge there. married J. R. McLauren, of the Lake Superior Lumber Company, of this city : Agnes, who is the wife of Frank Hodg- den, of Enid. Oklahoma: Alice, deceased, who was the wife of H. R. Teague, and she died in Santa Paula, California, in 1899; Arthur J., who is an electrical engineer for the Westinghouse Company. in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Paul, with his brother Ar- thur: Ora H., who married Charles Fad- den, of Lowell, Massachusetts; Mildred, who is a graduate of the Ellsworth high school of the class of 1901 ; and Ralph Bur- dette, now with the Westinghouse Com- panv.

The second marriage of Mr. Long was on January 17, 1895, to Mrs. Alice Belle- ville. of Dawson, and one daughter, Mir- iam, has been born to this union. The birth of Mrs. Long was on July 5, 1859, and she was a daughter of Captain John C. and So- phia (Eliot) Belleville. She was educated at Bloomington, Illinois, and came to Kan- sas in 1876, and for several years previous to her marriage was a popular teacher in Colorado and Kansas. She comes from a long line of illustrious ancestors. her great- grandfather. Jacob Belleville, having been an officer during the Revolutionary war.

under Lafayette, while her grandfather, Samuel Belleville, fought in the war of 1812, and during the Civil war her fa- ther was a captain in the heavy artillery and was stationed at Fort Halleck. Her grand- father, Arnold Sink, was in the Civil war, also, and was wounded at Antietam. On her mother's side she traces her ancestry back to John Eliot, the "Indian apostle" of early colonial days.

Soon after coming to Kansas Mrs. Long became active in the order of Rebekalı, and joined the lodge at Salina, becoming the noble grand of the order in 1887, and in 1888 she was present at the organization of the state assembly when the grand lodge met at Salina, and she was elected vice-presi- dent by acclamation; and in 1889 at To- peka she was elected president. In Sep- tember, 1890, when the sovereign grand lodge met at Topeka she made an address of welcome, she being the first lady who ever had that honor since the organization of the order. In 1890, at the joint conven- tion of the order of Rebekah and the I. O. O. F., in Topeka, a resolution was passed admitting a delegation of ladies from the assembly to visit the grand lodge, and Mrs. Long was chosen as chairman and was the first lady who ever entered the grand lodge and addressed it. At the last session of the assembly she was presented with a beautiful jewel, and also was still more highly hon- ored by an election as president of the Past Presiding Officers' Association. Both Mr. and Mrs. Long have earned the gratitude of the members of the order of Rebekah for their efforts in promoting its best interests. Mrs. Long is a lady of dignity, intellect and great charm of manner. and takes a prom- inent position in the educational and social circles of Ellsworth county.

CHRISTIAN L. WALKER.

Christian L. Walker was born in Som- erset county. Pennsylvania, on the 25th of December. 1849, the second son in a fam- ily of eight sons and one daughter born to

MR. AND MRS. C. L. WALKER.

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John Christian and Catherine Walker, na- lives of Germany. The father died in INS and the mother is still living, in Mich- igen, cath one of her sons.

Until his eighteenth year Christian L. remained on the old farm in Pennsylvania, assisting ! father in the work of the farm and on the manufacture of brick. He then accompanied his parents on their removal to Franklin county, Tennessee, remaining un- c.c. .... parental roof until he had attained to xis . i maturity. In 1871 he returned to the Keystone state, where he spent about ihr years in working by the month on a fann and digging coal in the mines of Fay- ette county. He then returned to Tennes- sec. where he rented land and engaged in farming until 1878, when he joined his brother John in Reno county, Kansas. After his arrival in this state he worked in wages in that locality and in McPherson county until ISSo, when he went to Chaffee county. Cobrado, and engaged in construc- tien work on the Denver & Rio Grande railroad and also worked in the lead and silver mines for one year. On the expira- tive of this period he returned to Keno county. Kansas, and once more resumed the quiet pursuits of the farm, remaining in that locality until 1883. Mr. Walker then removed to Kingman county, which was fast being settled up, and pre-empted a claim on section 19, Rural township, event- ually pr ving up on the same and there making his home until 1897.

Stee taking up his residence in the Sun- Il wer state Mr. Walker has met with many trying experiences. In 1893 and for the four succeeding years his wheat crops prowel abmost entire failures, and like a great many others in those dry years he be- come involved in debt and found it neces- cell his place. A year later he Www a farm et one hundred and sixty acres in Unin township, where he resided until the spring of 1901, when he again soll ent in order to take charge of his father-in-law's farm of one hundred and sixty acres and also the land belonging to his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. com- prising three hundred and sixty acres addi-

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 82

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