A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 92

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 92

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They were the parents of three chil- dren,-Isaac, who died in Iowa; Polly, the wife of Thomas Smith: and Eve. the mother of our subject. Unto Job and Eve Smith were born the following children : Elizabeth, who died in Iowa; J. F., the sub- ject of this review : F. M. and I. N .. retired farmers of Rice county and both are resi- dents of Lyons; W. T., also of Lyons ; E. T .. a resident of Baldwin, Kansas : and Mary J., who became Mrs. Summers. 83

Three of the sons were soldiers in the Civil war, and thirteen members of the Smith family took part in that struggle. Although none were killed in active service, two of the number died from the effects of wounds received in battle.

J. Fletcher Smith, the immediate sub- ject of this review, was reared to manhood in Iowa, remaining under the parental roof until 1861, when he enlisted for three years or during the war. He became a member of Company F, Fourth Iowa Volunteer In- fantry, and was consigned to the western department of the army, under command of General Curtis. His command saw some hard service, having participated in many skirmishes and hotly contested battles and also went on many long and fatiguing marches. His first engagement was at Pea Ridge, and he continued in the campaign after General Price until reaching Helena, Arkansas, when the command went into camp and remained there for some time. From there they went to Vicksburg, taking i part in the siege at that place, but during the first attack Mr. Smith had his left hand shot away. Soon afterward he was sent to St. Louis, where he remained in the hospital for about one month and was then honor- ably discharged and received his pay. Mr. Smith was made acting first sergeant of his company, and during his army service he suffered greatly from chills, which he con- tracted at Pea Ridge, being thus afflicted until sent to the hospital at St. Louis. While at Helena, Arkansas. he also suffered from fever. He now receives a pension in compensation for his army service.

After his recovery Mr. Smith returned to his home in Iowa and as soon as able again took up the work of the farm, which he was obliged to do with only one hand. However, he has persevered in his under- takings and has overcome the obstacles and difficulties which beset his path by unfalter- ing determination and resolute will. In 1865 he was married and located on a farm of his own. Later he embarked in the gra- cery business. In 1879 he came to Kan- sas, and for a number of years remained in his father's home, during which time. in 1888. he was again married. A few years

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afterward he purchased a farm of his own, where he remained four years, when he sold that place and moved to a farm belonging to his wife. Later that place became the property of his wife's son and Mr. Smith then bought the half section of land which he vet owns. in 1898, located seven miles northwest of Lyons. The place is under a fair state of cultivation, and he is there engaged in general farming and stock- raising, in which he is meeting with a very high degree of success. His study of po- litical questions has led him to give his support to Republican principles, and while residing in Iowa, in 1870, he was the choice of his party for the office of register of deeds, in which he served for four years. Although never an aspirant for political honors, he has been asked to serve in the same position in Kansas.

Mr. Smith was first married to Mrs. Sophia V. Smith, the wedding being cele- brated in Iowa. She was the widow of James Smith, a distant relative of our sub- ject, who died from wounds received dur- ing his service in the Civil war. She is a daughter of Samuel Craven, a native of Virginia and an early pioneer of Illinois, where he followed the occupation of farm- ing. His death occurred in that state, in the faith of the Methodist church, of which he was a member. He was the father of five children,-Sophia V .. Abner, Eliza- beth, who became Mrs. Linn, and Lucre- tia. Mrs. Smith had two children by her first marriage, and her union with Mr. Smith was blessed with two children, also. -William F., an implement dealer of Win- terset. Iowa, and Ollie M., the wife of Dr. J. A. Lawson, of Winterset. In 1888, in Kansas. Mr. Smith was united in mar- riage with Mrs. Susie Murphy, who was the mother of two children. Mr. Murphy was born in Illinois, but was reared on a farm in Iowa, and followed that occupa- tion as a life work. After coming to Kan- sas he was married and located on a farm in Elisworth county. His children were Arthur, who is engaged in farming, and Stanley, who died at the age of nineteen years. Mrs. Smith is a daughter of E. A.

and Amanda ( Oveith ) Vermilya, natives of Indiana and Ohio, respectively. Their marriage occurred in Iowa, and in 1876 they came to Kansas, locating on a tract of raw land in Rice county, which he im- proved. He later sold that place and re- moved to Frederick, where he engaged in merchandising. Unto this couple were born five children: Wright, who is now deceased; Ovid, a resident of Lyons ; Will- iam B., also deceased; Guy, who died at the age of seventeen years; and Susie, the wife of our subject. The mother died when Mrs. Smith was only eight years of age, and the father was again married, in Iowa, to Miss Eliza Enoch, by whom he had three children,-Percy, who died in childhood ; Charles, who died in childhood; and Grace, the wife of J. F. Olander. The mother of these children is also deceased, but the fa- ther is still living and is a resident of Fred- erick. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been blessed with five children, namely : M. Ethel, who was born December 22, 1890; D. Verna, born September 21, 1892; Nora L., born August 24, 1894; J. Burr, who was born September 19, 1898, and died January 20, 1901 ; and Dwight Bruce. The parents are consistent and worthy mem- bers of the Methodist church, and he is a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic. He is a man of average intelligence and genuine public spirit, and these quali- ties, combined with his sterling integrity, have naturally gained for him the respect and confidence of men.

WILLIAM EDWARD MALLORY.

William Edward Mallory is prominent- ly connected with the business interests of Jewell county, being a well known dealer in drugs and a real-estate and loan agent at Esbon. He cwes his success entirely to his own efforts and an analyzation of his career shows that industry and persever- ance have been the salient features in his prosperity. He was born at Niantic, Ma- con county, Illinois, May 22, 1858, his par-

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ents being R. L. and Mary ( Nesbit) Mal- lory. His father was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, and from that state he came to Kansas in 1870, locating first in Wilson county. The following year he ar- rived in Jewell county and purchased a farm in Limestone township, where he has since made his home, being a well-to-do and en- terprising agriculturist, as well as an hon- ored, early settler of the community. His wite. too, shares in the high regard of friends and neighbors.

Under the parental roof the subject of this review spent his boyhood days and with the family he came to Kansas. His brother, Professor Mallory, is now county superintendent of schools at Goodland, Kansas, and was formerly professor in a college at Oklahoma. Not long after ar- riving at years of maturity William E. Mallory chose as a companion and help- mate for the journey of life Miss Ida Mc- Cammon, the wedding taking place at her home in Esbon township, Jewell county, March 28, 1880. She was born in Glen- wood. Mills county, Iowa. Her father, a native of Jacksonville, Illinois, was born in 1839, and when six years of age accom- panied his widowed mother to Mills coun- ty, Iowa, becoming one of the earliest set- tlers there. Later he became identified with pioneer conditions in Jewell county, Kan- sas. where he arrived in 1871. Here he entered a claim from the government in Esbon township, and made his home there- on until his death, which occurred Febru- ary 17, 1899. He erected a beautiful coun-

Jetho G. Goff, one of the representative and prominent farmers of Kingman coun- ty, whose home is on section 13. Union township, is a native of West Virginia, his try residence and carried on agricultural | birth having occurred in Ritchie county, on pursuits, becoming recognized as one of the prominent and wealthy farmers of the community. He and his brothers had large families, all devotedly attached to one an- other, and theirs is an honored name throughout the county. His wife in her maidenhood was Miss Martha Jane Carter. She survives her husband and is vet living in Jewell county. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Mallory has been blessed with three children: Edith, Hazel and Inez.

After their marriage our subject and his wife resided upon their farm for four-

teen years and in 1892 took up their abode in the town of Esbon, where Mr. Mallory purchased a drug store. Hle pursued a course in pharmacy in the National Insti- tute and is now conducting a well equipped establishment. He has added to his busi- ness a loan and insurance department and now is more extensively engaged in real- estate dealing than any other business man in Jewell county. He has negotiated many important property transfers and his enter- prise has led to the rapid upbuilding of this locality as well as to his individual suc- cess. His political support is given the Re- publican party and he has long been known as one of its leading members, serving as a member of its committees and frequently acting as chairman. For two years he was township trustee of Odessa township, and in 1890 was the census enumerator for the southern portion of the county. Socially he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Knights of Pythias fraternities. In his business and political connections he has become promi- nent and his life history illustrates what it is possible to accomplish when diligence and determination form the keynote of a man's life.

JETHO G. GOFF.

the 25th of September, 1849. His father, | Thomas Goff, was born in Maryland, No- vember 6, 1806, but was only three years old when he removed with the family to West Virginia, locating on the Little Kan- awha river in Gilmore county, during the pioneer epoch of that section. The coun- try was all wild and densely timbered, and abounded in bears, panthers, deer and wild turkeys. Throughout life the grandfather of our subject followed farming, and he died in Ritchie county, West Virginia, whither he had removed from Gilmore

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county. In his family were seven children, of whom John, the eldest, died in 1860. He was a preacher in the Methodist Epis- copal church, South, his circuit being in Ritchie, Calhoun and Gilmore counties, West Virginia. In order of birth the others were Thomas, Strander, George, Alex- ander, Joseph and Benjamin, all farmers.

Thomas Goff, cur subject's father, was reared on a farm in West Virginia, and at the age of twenty-three years was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a na- tive of that state and a daughter of Barnes Smith. For a number of years after his marriage he was engaged in farming in Gilmore county, and then removed to Ritchie county, where he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he cleared and improved, dividing it by fences into nine different fields. He erected good and substantial buildings on the place and made it his home until 1863, when he re- moved with his wife and family to Decatur county, Iowa, but remained there only one year. Going to Marion county, the same state, he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, and lived there until 1880. His last days were spent with a mar- ried daughter in Knoxville, where he died December 1I, 1894. His wife had previ- ously passed away in 1875. In politics he was first a Democrat, but at the outbreak of the Civil war joined the Republican party, and on account of his strong Union sym- pathies left West Virginia and went to Iowa. He made this trip across the coun- try with three teams. While a resident of West Virginia he filled the office of justice of the peace, and took a prominent and in- fluential part in local politics. For sixty years he was a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist church, to which his wife also belonged, and he was a class leader at his early home in the east.

Jetho G. Goff is the twelfth in order of birth in a family of fifteen children, of whom seven are still living. They were as follows: Sarah married Dean Osborn and died in Union township, Kingman county, Kansas, about 1891; Ann married A. P. Hardman and died in Ritchie county, West

Virginia; Eli disappeared during the Civil war while in Texas and all trace of him was lost ; Barns S. is a prominent farmer of Union township, Kingman county, Kan- sas : Simeon served three years during the Civil war as a member of Company E, Sixth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and died in Ritchie county, that state; Jonathan died in childhood in West Vir- ginia; Mary C. is the wife of Joshua Os- born, who served three years in Company E, Sixth West Virginia Infantry, during the Civil war; Joshua died at the age of eleven years in Ritchie county, West Vir- ginia ; Elzara is the wife of Joel Hendricks, a butcher of Omaha, Nebraska; Elizabeth J. married Orril Yates and died in Indian Territory; Thomas M. is a farmer of Ritchie county, West Virginia; Jetho G. is the next of the family; Francis G. is a farmer of Enid, Oklahoma: Cynthia N. is the wife of Oliver J. Rambo, a farmer of Pond Creek, Oklahoma : and Rachel mar- ried Granville Hendricks and died in Knox- ville, Iowa.

The first fourteen years of his life our subject spent in his native state, and his education was begun in its subscription schools. After the removal of the family to Iowa he attended first the district schools and later the public schools of Knoxville, where he spent two years. After attaining his majority he successfully engaged in teaching school in Marion county, that state, for a time. About 1878 he came to Kansas, and first located in Rush county, taking up a quarter section of land in Union township. As this was a tree claim he set out a good grove and also broke eighty acres of the land, making his home thereon for six years. At the end of that period he removed to Kingman county and pre-empted a quarter section of land on section 13. Union township, for which he paid one dollar and a quarter per acre, and a year later he sold his farm in Rush coun- ty. On his new farm in Kingman county he built a sod house, twelve feet square, with a dirt floor, but ceiled overhead. His stock at that time consisted of but two horses, two cows and two calves, which he

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had brought with him from Rush county. but he now gives considerable attention to stock-raising and has forty head of cattle and now sells about twenty head annually. Being unmarried he kept bachelor's hall the first three years of his residence in this county, and worked much of the time for others. The first year, however he broke sixty acres of his land, leaving the re- mainder for pasture, and has since engaged in diversified farming, raising corn, wheat and oats, but makes a specialty of potatoes, of which he raises enormous crops.

On the 23d of October, 1887, in Union township, Kingman county, Mr. Goff was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Wal- ter, who was born in Indiana and reared in Indianapolis, her parents being Henry and Rebecca (Hawkins) Walter. Her pa- ternal grandparents, Lewis and Mary Wal- ter, are of German descent, and are still living in Francisville, Indiana, at an ad- vanced age. In early life her father en- gaged in milling and merchandising, and at one time. in connection with the grandfa- ther, operated a large stave factory. He came to Kansas in 1885, and located on a farm near our subject in Union township, Kingman county, being to-day one of the most prominent farmers and stock-raisers of that community. In his family were nine children, of whom Mrs. Goff is the eldest. the others being John, now a resi- dent of the city of Kingman; May, wife of Fred McCune, a carpenter of Wichita : Lewis, who was drowned in the canal at Indianapolis, Indiana : Bert, deputy clerk at Kingman: Herbert, who is living with his father, and is to-day one of the prominent and successful school teachers of Kingman county: Fred, who assists his father in the operation of the home farm; and Bertha and Nettie, both at home.

In 1899 Mr. Goff bought the southeast quarter of the same section on which his homestead is located, and to-day has about one hundred acres under cultivation, while the remainder is in pasture and meadow land. He also has a good bearing orchard of one hundred apple and cherry trees. which are from five to sixteen years old.

and a beautiful grove of mulberry and box elder trees about sixteen years old. His sod house was in time replaced by a frame dwelling of only two rooms, to which he has since added from time to time until he now has a commodious and pleasant resi- dence. He has also built a good barn, and his farm is supplied with all necessary ma- chinery, which each fall is carefully stowed in a good shed built for that purpose.

Politically Mr. Goff is a Republican, but at local elections he votes independent of part lines. For six years he has been prominently identified with the school board of his district, first as director and since then as treasurer. Both he and his wife are active and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for several years he has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. They receive and merit the respect and esteem of the entire com- munity in which they live, and wherever known are held in high regard.

JACOB B. HAYES.

Jacob B. Hayes is engaged in the prac- tice of law at Great Bend. and though one of the younger men at the bar, he has al- ready attained a position of prominence and sustains a reputation that older men might well envy. He was born in New Albion, Iowa, on the 14th of February, 1872. He is a son of Alfred B. Hayes, a farmer, who emigrated to Wisconsin during the boy- hood days of our subject. He followed farming throughout his entire life and lived to a ripe old age. His son, Jacob B. Hayes, pursued his education in the public schools of Iowa and Wisconsin, and was reared on the family homestead, where he became fa- miliar with the labors of field and meadow. but not desiring to make agricultural pur- suits his life work. he resolved to enter professional life and therefore became a student in the law office of Senator Trewin. of Lansing, Iowa. He was graduated in the high school with the class of 1896 and in the law department of Kent University,

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of Chicago, with the class of 1899. He was then admitted to the bar of Iowa and began practice in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. where he remained until the Ist of Janu- ary, 1901, when he came to Great Bend and opened his office. He now has a pleas- ant office, well equipped and in his practice is meeting with creditable success. He is a fluent and convincing speaker and pre- pares his cases with great care and thor- oughness. In political views he is a Re- publican, and socially is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Maccabees.

JOSEPH LECLERE.

Joseph LeClere is the proprietor of one of the fine farms of Victoria township, Rice county, and he is accounted one of the leading and successful agriculturists of his section of the state. His birth occurred in Lorraine, France, on the 11th of May, 1845. His father, Nicholas LeClere, was a native of the same province and was a shoe- maker by trade. In his native land he served as a soldier in the regular army, under Napoleon. The mother of our sub- ject was in her maidenhood Marie Reine Trognard, and was a native of Lorraine, France. This worthy couple were the par- ents of five children, namely: Tourier, who served with distinction in the Civil war and is now an editor in the state of Washington; John B., who also wore the blue in defense of his country, and resides in Harrison township, Rice county; A. S., a resident of Reno county, Kansas ; Drouot, who resides on the old homestead in Han- cock county, Illinois; and James, the sub- ject of this review.

The last named was only five years of age when his father joined a colony bound for the United States, their destination be- ing Red River, Texas, but on account of sickness the family decided to locate in Hancock county, Illinois, settling near Nauvoo, the old Mormon town. There Mr. LeClere was early inured to the labors of

the farm, and his education was received in the district school of the neighborhood. In March, 1864, he donned the blue in defense of his adopted country and ably assisted in maintaining the Union. During the Red River campaign, under General Steele, he was taken prisoner at Tyler, Texas, and was held in captivity at Hempstead, that state, for four months. During eight months of his army experiences he served in the quartermaster's department. After the close of hostilities Mr. LeClere re- turned to his home in Illinois. In 1872 he sought a home in the Sunflower state. For a time he traveled over different por- tions of the state, being employed in rail- roading and steamboating, and also fol- lowed lumbering in Wisconsin, rafting lumber on the rivers of Wisconsin and Mis- sissippi. In 1875 he located permanently in Rice county, securing a homestead in Vic- toria township, and he now owns two hun- dred and forty acres of valuable land. The place is well improved, and Mr. LeClere is recognized as a leading and progressive farmer of his locality.

In 1900, in Hutchinson, Kansas, he was united in marriage to Emma Law- rence, who was born, reared and educated in Iowa. She is a daughter of Dr. Law- rence. Mr. LeClere is independent in his political affiliations, casting his ballot for the men whom he regards as best adapted for office. He served as postmaster of Pollard, Kansas, proving an efficient and capable officer. In his social relations he is a Mason. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of his adopted coun- try, and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement cal- culated to benefit this section of the state or to advance its wonderful development.

L. P. BEHAM.

The laws of nature have provided that labor always brings change, that effort is always followed by result, and therefore when labor is well directed and effort

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carefully planned the outcome is most de- sirable. Toil thus brings a marketable commodity and brings in greater or less measure that for which every business man is seeking .-- wealth. L. P. Beham is of the class of representative and intelligent farm- ers whose energies have been so prosecuted along well defined lines of activity that he is now in possession of a handsome compe- tence, being the owner of one of the fine farms of Rice county, and here he has re- sided since the 15th of August, 1872.

He was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburg, August 31, 1827, and comes of a family whose indus- try and honesty have been numbered among the marked characteristics of its members. His father, Peter Beham, was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, and was of Irish lineage. He wedded Eliza- beth Powers, whose birth occurred in Al- legheny county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Benjamin Powers, who belonged to an old Virginia family of English lineage and was one of the heroes of the war of the Revolution. Peter and Elizabeth Beham became the parents of the following chil- dren : Margaret Ann Angney, who is liv- ing in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania ; L. P .. of this review : Mrs. Elizabeth Servilla Russell. of Rush county, Kansas; Mrs. Sarah Powers Templeton, of Barton coun- ty, Missouri; and G. M. H., of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The father was a mechanic and engaged in the manufacture of scythes and sickles for a number of years. These implements were of superior workmanship and excellent quality and commanded a good sale on the market. Later he turned his attention to farming. His political support was given to the Whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the new Republican party, with which he affiliated until his demise. He passed away in Pennsylvania, at the age of eighty-four years, and his wife was also eighty-four Years at the time of her death. She was a member of the Presbyterian church and was loved for her kindness of heart and mind.

L. P. Beham was reared on the home

farm in the Keystone state and to the pub- lic school system of Pennsylvania is indebt- ed for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in youth and which formed the foundation for the knowledge which he later acquired through business. experience, reading and observation. He was married in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1857, to Mary Lucinda Foster, a lady of intelligence and culture, who has been to her husband an able assistant on the jour- ney of life. She was born in Indiana coun- ty. Pennsylvania, a daughter of James and Eliza ( George) Foster. Her father was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania, and was a son of Robert Foster, who was of Irish ancestry. His wife, also a na- tive of Westmoreland county, was a daugh- ter of James George, and he, too, traced his ancestry to the Emerald Isle. James and Eliza Foster became the parents of five children : Robert, who is now de- ceased : Wallace: William, who was a sol- dier in the Civil war and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness: Mrs. Mary I .. Beham; and Annie E., wife of G. M. H. Beham, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, a brother of our subject. Mr. Foster, the father of these children, died at the age of seventy-five years. Throughout his busi- nes career he was employed as an engineer or followed farming. In religious belief he was identified with the Presbyterian church. His widow still survives him and is living in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, at the age of ninety-one years, enjoying the friendship and high regard of a large cir- cle of friends.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 92

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