A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 86

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 86

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

On coming to Barber county in 1884 Mr. Stout secured a portion of the tract of land occupied by the Osage Indians. His place comprised one hundred and sixty acres. but to this he has added until he now owns

three hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, constituting one of the finest farms in this portion of the state. He has one hun- dred and seventy-five acres under the plow, : and the fields of spring give promise of abundant harvest in the autumn. The re- mainder of his land is planted to blue grass. There is a good residence, substantial barns and outbuildings, a bearing orchard and a grove, all of which features add to the value and attractive appearance of his place. Mr. Stout exercises his right of franchise in sup- port of the men and measures of the Repub- lican party and for ten years has been a member of the school board, but is not a pol- itician in the sense of office seeking. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen society, and he and his wife are members of the So- city of Friends. As a citizen he is progres- sive and public-spirited and gives his co-op- eration to all measures for the general good. During his residence in Barber county he has become widely known and has gained many friends.

B. F. HORNER.

The distinguished citizen of Rice coun- ty. B. F. Horner, has for many years been a resident of this favored section of the state. As a soldier, pioneer and agriculturist he has won the respect of all with whom he has been associated, and he is widely known as one of the most prominent citizens of central Kansas. He was born in Henry county, Indiana, November 7. 1841. His parents, Richard and Hannah Horner, were natives respectively of Maryland and Ten- nessce, and their wedding was celebrated in Indiana. The mother, who was of German clescent, was a daughter of William Mani- fold, one of the early pioneers of Indiana and a prominent farmer there. He reared a family of six children,-Martha, Betsy, Henry, Joseph, Jessie, and Hannah. The parents were members of the Methodist church, and the father passed away at his old home in Indiana. Richard Horner. the father of our subject, was of Scotch-Irish

1285

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

descent. and was also reared in Indiana. He learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed in the Hoosier state until 1855. when he removed to Iowa, entering land from the government. He placed his farm under cultivation and also followed black- smithing to some extent, but he afterward sold that place and purchased another farm. where he remained until his death, passing away September 13. 1886. He followed farming as a life occupation and was a Re- publican in his political views, but was never an aspirant for political , preferment. His wife survived him for twelve years, dying on the IIth of April. 1898. They were the parents of five children, namely : B. F., the subject of this review : William, who served in the Thirty-second Iowa Volunteer In- fantry during the war of the Rebellion : Jesse, who served in the same regiment, and was killed in battle on Red river : Shepard, a resident of Iowa; and Joseph, who died when young.

B. F. Horner accompanied his parents on their removal to lowa when fifteen years vi age. He remained at home until 1801. when he loyally responded to his country's call for troops, becoming a member of the Thirty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, un- dler Captain John Scott. They were con- signed to the western department of the Sixteenth Army Corps. under General .A. J. Smith, and were at Island No. 10. Fort Pillow, Tennessee; and Columbus, Ken- tucky. During his army service Mr. Hor- ner contracted measles, which went to his lungs, and on account of disability he was then benerally discharged. He then re- turned to his home in Iowa, but for three or four years thereafter he was unable for man- laber, and he has never fully regained his former health. He new receives the small pension of sixteen dollars a month in compensation for his services.

Remaining under the parental roof until 18644. he was then married and began farm- ing in a small way in Iowa. He remained in that state until 1878, when he came with a team and covered wagon to Kansas, lecat- ing in Rice county, and. like most pioneer settlers. he had all to make and nothing t

lose. Mr. Horner purchased a squatter's claim in Union township, on which was lo- cated a small stone house and a few fruit trees had been planted. Thirty acres of the place had been broken and was planted to wheat and sid corn. Mr. Horner purchased a half-interest in the crop and immediately began the further improvement of his land. He lived in the old house for five years, and then built a story and a half frame resi- rence, in which he now resides, also erected a god con trib, barn and other culatiodings. has planted an orchard and in many other ways has improved and beautified his place. As time has passed he has added to his orig- inal purchase until he now owns three hun- dred and twenty acres, and his land is lo- cated nine miles northeast of Little River.

On the 14th of December, 1864, Mr. Horner was united in marriage to Miss Susan Clemens, who was born in Pennsyl- vania, February 3, 1843. a daughter of Da- vid and Mary ( Carbaugh) Clemens, na- tives also of the Keystone state. Their marriage was celebrated in Pennsylvania, and in 1858 they removed to Iowa, where they entered and improved a good farm. and there the father died on the 7th of September. 1866. He was a plain, unassum- ing farmer and never aspired to public fir - toriety. His wife survived him many years, passing away on the Ioth of January, 1890. at the ripe old age of ninety-nine years and nine months. She was of German descont. The children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Com- ens were twelve in number, namely : Cath erine, born august to, 1820, homme Mrs. David Crowe; George, born December 29. 1821, die in Pennsylvania: Christina died

uni aler died after trong : Lewis, le in April

Panelvania; Nicholas. born June resident of Ie : :

In ESE2. aten resides * March 10, 1835. is now living in Oregon: Lydia, born April 23. 1835. 1- the wife of H. Jones: Lu- cinda. born August 23. 1840, is the wife of A. Jones: and Sussex. I go For- ary 3. 1843. became the wife

1286

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

subject. The parents were members of no religious denomination, but were hon- est, Christian people, and were loved and respected by all who knew them. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Horner have been born five chil- dren : Robert R., born September 12, 1865, is a farmer of this township; Oscar B., born June 4, 1868, is also engaged in farming here: Mary A., born January II, 1870, is at home; Sylvester, born November 23, 1872, died April 10, 1881 : and Melissa, born December 19, 1879, is the wife of Jesse Boston. Mr. Horner is a member of the G. A. R. Post of Little River. His life has been one of activity in the industrial world, and the success which he has achieved is the fitting crown of well directed labor.

CHARLES SCHAEFER.

The Hon. Charles Schaefer, of Self- wick. Harvey county, was one of the pio- neers of central Kansas, and he has become well and favorably known for his rec rul in public life, both in war and peace.

Charles Schaefer was born in Hamm, . Westphalia, Germany, December 23. 1842. He came to America in 1848 with his moth- er and two brothers, Richard Schaefer, his father. having come over a short time before and located at Dayton, Ohio, where he en- gaged in manufacturing and printing fabrics and oil-cloths. The father met his wife and family in New York city, where the wife and mother died within a few months, leav- ing three children-Charles, who is the im- mediate subject of this sketch: William, who now lives in St. Louis, Missouri: and Richard, who lives in California and has ten children. After the death of their mother Charles and William lived with an aunt in St. Louis, Missouri. When Charles was only eleven years old his adventurous spirit compelled him to run away from his home and he began his eventful and romantic career by shipping on board the river boat Polar Star, which he left at Fort Leaven- worth. Kansas, where Dr. Leatherman ent- ployed him in taking a horse and buggy

across the plains in the Fauntleroy expedi- tion to New Mexico in 1854. The party was two months en route and met Kit Car- son, the famous border man, in the Raton Mountains, near Ryado.

The boy remained at Fort Union one year and from 1855 to 1860 he remained at Santa Fe, where he learned the Spanish lan- guage. From there he went to Kansas City, Missouri, and thence, in 1860, through New Mexico to San Antonio, Texas. There the excitement incident to the beginning of the Civil war impelled him to enlist in the United States regular army, and he became a member of Company E, Third Regiment, United States Infantry, receiving his mili- tary clothing and outfit in the old Alamo, the scene of the death of David Crockett. Under General Fitzjohn Porter he went north to Fort Hamilton, in March, 1861, and was a member of the first reinforcing party at Fort Pickens. En route to that point on board the Atlantic troop ship, he was promoted to the rank of corporal. La- ter for gallant conduct at the battle of San- ta Rosa Island, he was made a sergeant. He had charge of the only rifle gun used by the Federals during the two bombardments of the fort, and only for his rashness, which amounted to insubordination, he would have been given a commission in the regular ar- my for his bravery at that time. After the capture of Pensacola he started to join his regiment at Camp Lovell and reached White House Landing, on the Pamunkey river. the day before the Confederate General Stuart raided that point. He had been wounded in the head by a piece of shell at Fort Pickens, painfully, but not so seriously, but after that he soon recovered. He partic- ipated in the seven days' fight before Rich- mond, and in the second Bull Run battle was wounded in the back by a piece of an exploded shell. He fought at Antietam and at Fredericksburg under Burnside and un- der Hooker at Chancellorsville, and par- ticipated in the battle at Mine Run. Later he was on duty in New York city, where he had a part in quelling the historic draft riots. At Gettysburg he received a wound, which he immediately had bandaged in order that

+ - -

1287

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

he might press forward in the fight. For a time he was incapacitated for field sert - ice and was engaged in recruiting work at Chicago. It is, and at Wheeling. West Virginia. Rejoining his regiment. then in front of Petersburg with the Army of the Potomac, he was there promoted to the positief quartermaster sergeant, a posi- tin which he held until he was honorably discharged from the service. July 27. 1807. at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after having deste active duty as a > hier six years and ten months. For about a year after his dis- charge Mr. Schaefer was a clerk in the em- ploy of the quartermaster at Fort Harker. Kamers. He then accepted a position at Post Trader, Kansas, and while there en- gagal in the cattle trade, remaining until ING. when he located on his cattle ranch near Sedgwick. Harvey county, Kansas.

Mr. Schaefer's official career in civil life has been most interesting. At sixteen years vi age, already having a knowledge of the German language, he learned to speak the Spanish language fluently and forcibly at · Santa Fe. as has been stated, and became in- terpreter to the general in command of New Mexico. In 1870 he and Mr. Finn reage! in business in Sedgwick before the railway was constructed to that point. . There he proved himself a kind-hearted. open-handed man, who could refuse no reasonable re- quest of the suffering pioneers, and he thit ·only supplied some of them with many nec- essaries . i Nie, but greatly to his own det- riment advanced them in new. stre of which he borrowed at a high rate of interest. It was not until 1875 that he could be induced to apply for a pension, and when he wrote to General Clitz. asking the privilege of re- ferring to him, the latter replied that if there was any man in this nation that deservel well of the general government it was charles Schaefer. Near Gettys- burg. while on the picket line, young Schaefer, who was a dead shot, sighted the commander of the Confederate forces in the distance. He covered the Con- federate officer with his rifle, and. turning to an officer nearly said : "That is General Robert E. Lee. By pulling trigger I can kill

him and thus end the war." His superior, horrified by the boldness of his proposal, forbade him to fire. Mr. Schacier has kept in memory the experiences of the war by membership with Stephenson Post, No. 265, Grand Army of the Republic, which he or- ganized and of which he was first com- mander, and of which he has been cketed commander several times since. During President Cleveland's second administration he was appointed United States consul at Vera Cruz, in Old Mexico. He has several times been defeated at the polls for repre- sentative in the state legislature and for state senator, but has always run ahead of his party ticket. At this time he is chair- man of the Democratic county central com- mittee.

For a time Mr. Schaefer was in the grocery trade with William Finn as a part- ner, under the style of Schaefer & Finn, at Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they did a large wholesale and retail trade. During the period of hard times in Kansas Mr. Schaefer was instrumental in furnishing subsistence to many needy families, which he did liberally without money and without price. For a time he was the proprietor of a creamery, which he sold in 1900, and since that time he has lived in retirement from active business.

Mr. Schaefer was married at Washing- ton. District of Columbia, in June, 1865, to a Mexican lady whose bushand. a close friend of Mr. Schaefer's, was killed at the battle of Gettysburg. She bore him thirteen children, four of whom are living, and died in Sedgwick, Kansas. in 1884. Their daugh- ter. Rose, married Fred W. Hurlbut, of Oswego, Kansas, and they have six chil- dren. Their son, E. J. Schaefer, lives of his father's one-hundred-and-sixty-acre- farm, a mile and a half north of Sedgwick. Their son. John F. Schaefer. lives at Rocky Ford, Con rada, and is married. As a non- her of Company C, Second Louisiana In- fantry. he participated in the Cuban war. Their son, Earl L. Schaefer, who is a chat- macist, is a student in the university at Lawrence, Kansas.

Both before and since the Civil war Mr.

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

Schaefer had a lively experience in Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas with ln- dians and horse thieves, and at one time he was an enthusiastic buffalo hunter. A com- plete history of his life would, perhaps, read more like romance than like reality, but be- ing one of the most modest of men who speaks of heroic and dangerous incidents of his life as though they were only the or- dinary experiences of less adventurous men, he is little likely to furnish the data for such a work, and consequently it is not likely ever to appear. For more than twenty years he has held a captain's commission in the state militia. Had he been a man of more policy and less generosity, had he been more de- voted to himself and less to his fellow man. he might now be one of the wealthiest and most prominent men of the west. As a soldier, as a citizen, as a neighbor and friend and as a husband and father, he has in every way discharged fully all the duties and re- sponsibilities of life, and those who know him best know how richly he deserves more than the measure of worldly success which he has attained, and his many friends express their ardent wishes for his future prosperity and happiness.

R. F. GRIEM.

Among the large landholders and prom- inent citizens, R. F. Griem, of Peters town- ship. Kingman county, takes a leading po- sition. Since 1877 he has resided here and has been one of the important factors in the development of the agricultural and cattle interests of the county. Of German birth and ancestry, he has added to these the best characteristics of the American citizen, and few men in this locality have been more generally successful or are more thoroughly respected.

R. F. Griem, the subject of this biog- raphy, was born in the town of Loge, in the province of Hanover. on October 20. TSto. his family being a leading one in that locality, his honored father being mayor of the town. The parents of our subject were

John H. and Catherine Griem, the latter of whom is deceased. The former took part as a soldier in many campaigns, notably during the rebellion of Kossuth. He is a very substantial and prominent citizen of Loge, where he is passing his declining years. Four children were born to the par- ents of our subject, viz .: R. F., who is the subject of this sketch; R. H., who is a very prominent citizen and old settler of Rochester township; Sophia Ann, who mar- ried H. Winter, who is a well known cit- izen and postmaster of the German city where they reside; and Henry, who is an educated and respected citizen of his native land. The whole family was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church.

R. F. Griem obtained a very fair edu- cation in the well-conducted schools of his native village, but at the age of seventeen he left Germany in order to take advantage of the larger opportunities for agriculturai advancement. which were offered in the western part of the United States. He lo- cated first at Wichita, Kansas, where he remained for two years, engaged in various. lines of industry, but in 1881 he home- steaded a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Peters township, Kingman coun- ty. This first farm he sold advantageously and in 1892 he purchased again and now owns a fine estate of six hundred and forty acres of some of the choicest and most fa- vorably situated land in this township. The Chikaskia river gives him plenty of water, which makes his land well suited for stock purposes, and he keeps two hundred cat- tle on his pasture lands, while he has two hundred acres under cultivation. His home and surroundings are comfortable and he has every reason to take a just pride in what he has accomplished since his location in this state. Mr. Griem believes in sub- stantial improvements and all about his farm shows the effects of careful manage- ment.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Griem was united in marriage to Miss Anna D. Bartels, of this county, but a native of Ger- many. She was reared and educated in Illi- nois, and was a daughter of Dederick and Anna Bartels, both of whom are deceased.

MR. AND MRS. R. F. GRIEM.

1989

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

To Mr. and Mrs. Griem have come five children, three sons and two daughters, namely : Charles 11 .. Sophia Anna, Lena Dora. Renning H. and Frederick.

Mr. Griem is one of the most progress- ive and intelligent citizens of Peters town- ship. In politics he is a Republican and he has efficiently filled a number of the local offices in the township, serving for several terms as township treasurer and also as township clerk. His duties have been per- formed with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the community. In fraternal circles MIr. Griem is active in Lodge No. 347, A. F. & A. M., of Spivey, and also in the Woodmen order. As a capable manager of a large estate and as a successful business man, Mr. Griem is known to the public, but he is more than that. being a devoted husband, a kind fa- ther and a helpful neighbor. His cheerful presence makes him a welcome guest in any circle, and he is one of the most popular as well as most substantial men in this com- munity.

GEORGE WASHINGTON PAGE.

The subject of this sketch, who is a prominent and successful farmer of section 26. Burrton township. Harvey county, Kan- sas, and whose postoffice is at Burrton, was born near Lake Champlain, in Vermont. February 13. 1835. His father. Phineas Page, was born in Vermont about 1804. and died in Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1870. He was of an old Methodist family of New England, and he married Mary Spalding. also of the Green Mountain state, about 1828. They had five children, who were named as follows in the order of their na- tivity : Albert Page was born near Union- town, Erie county, Pennsylvania. He has a son and a daughter, and is a retired farmer in good circumstances. Mary E. married Charles Austin, of Erie county, Pennsylva- nia, and died in 1901, at the age of seventy years, leaving a son and a daughter and some grandchildren. George Washington Page, the immediate subject of this sketch.

concerning whom more will be written fur- ther on, was the third in order of birth. Hel- en married S. Phelps, and died in Erie county. Pennsylvania, in iSgt. Charles 11. Page lives on the old family homestead, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and has four sens. The mother of these children sur- vived the father ten years, and they both sleep in Greenfield cemetery, a beautiful ru- ral burial place. They began life with small means and left a good farm and other prop- erty, including valuable stock. They were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died triumphant in their faith in Christ.

George Washington l'age, in 1845, at the age of ten years, was taken from his birthplace, in Vermont, to Erie county, Pennsylvania, where his father founded a new home. In a little log school house near his fathers' farm he acquired a limited common-school education. When he was between eighteen and nineteen years old he bought his time of his father for fifty dol- lars in gold, which he paid him from the pro- ceeds of work on a farm near Oil City, Penn- sylvania, at fifteen dollars a month. during the ensuing year. Having finished his en- gagement at Oil City he visited his father's home and went thence to Kane county, Illi- nois, where he found employment for a year at eighteen dollars a month. He remained in Illinois three years, working one winter for James Miller at sixteen dollars a month. and then returned to Erie county, Pennsyl- vania, where he was married. December 27. 1859. to Miss Lenora Courtright, who was born in New Jersey, September 21. 1835. a daughter of Samuel and Eleanor ( West- brook) Courtright, members of two old and honored New Jersey families. Mr. Conrt- right, who was a blacksmith by trade, reared seven daughters and three sons of his deven children. of whom Mrs. Page was the third in order of birth. His son, John A. Court- right, died June 15, 1867, aged eighteen years ; Phœbe married and died leaving .ne child. Augusta married Joseph Beach, who died in Pike county, leaving three solls. Frances is the widow of a Mr. Drake. of Brooklyn, New York. Samuel, who is a

1290

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

foreman in the great packing house of Ar- mour & Company, of Chicago, Illinois, has three daughters and one son. Euphrasia married C. C. Mitchell, of Brooklyn, New York, and has two children. Mrs. Page's father died in the winter of 1857, aged forty-seven years; her mother remained a widow until her death, in 1887. They are buried at Milford, Pike county, Pennsylva- nia

George Washington and Lenora ( Court- right ) Page have had six children, as fol- lows: Their first born son, Frank B., died at the age of eight months, August 21, 1861, at Blackberry, Kane county, Illinois. Mary Eleanor, born June 4, 1864. married Oscar Wespe, and lives at Hutchinson, Kansas. John S .. born June 13, 1870, lived for a time in Chicago, Illinois, and is now a citi- zen of Iola, Kansas. He has two daughters. Clarence A., born in Burrton township, Har- vey county, Kansas, June 13, 1873, died August 1. 1874. Tered E., who was born June 4, 1874, lives at Shawnee, Oklahoma, and has one son, two others having died. Nellie M. married Charles Baxendale, of Halstead, Kansas. She was born April 14, 1876, and has three interesting children. two daughters and a son.

September 13, 1861. George Washing- ton Page enlisted in Company I. Eighth Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, for a service of three years or during the war. At the ex- piration of twelve months and fourteen days he was discharged on account of disability. being incapacitated for service by hernia. The United States recognizes his services by the regular payment of twenty-four dol- lars a month. In the fall of 1871 he and his family prepared to leave Chicago for Kansas, and when the great fire of that year broke out they were packed and ready to take their departure. They started on the oth of October, while the city was still burn- ing. and making the journey with a team and covered wagon were on the road about a month. He had sold the team before leav- ing Chicago for four hundred and fifty dol- lars, but on account of the interruption of business in the city by the destruction of

banks with other enterprises, he did not re- ceive his pay for it until he reached Wichita.

Mr. Page homestead'ed one hundred and sixty acres of land where he now lives, on section 26, Burrton township. Harvey coun- ty. The country round about was then un- broken prairie and the railroad had been constructed only to Newton. He rapidly improved a farm and placed it under culti- vation, one of his improvements being the planting of fruit and shade trees. While giving attention to general farming he has raised some fine horses, one of his teams bringing him four hundred dollars. He had one fine team of nearly white Arabian horses, a photograph of which has been shown the writer. The picture, which rep- resents Mr. Page seated in a carriage to which the horses are attached. is a striking one. Formerly a Republican, he had dur- ing recent years been a Populist. He was the first justice of the peace elected in the township, and is a veteran member of the local school board. He is identified with the Christian church. and Mrs. Page with the Presbyterian church. They are typical American farmers-bright, energetic pec- ple who knew a good deal and can tell much of it in an edifying manner.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 86

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