A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 97

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 97

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Upon the old homestead in Ohio Levi Plank spent his childhood days and was ed- ucated in both Ohio and Indiana. He re- mained with his father until his marriage and then began farming upon his own ac- count in the Hoosier state, but in 1879 he sold his property there and came to Kan- sas, settling in Rice county, where he pur- chased land and began the improvement of a farm. Agricultural pursuits were then carried on on a small scale. Lyons was a little village and the work of progress seemed scarcely begun in this portion of the state. Since his arrival he has wit- nessed the rapid growth of towns and vil- lages, the introduction of all the improve- ments and business facilities known to the older east and in the work of improvement and development he has borne an active and beneficial part. His labors in his private business affairs have been attended with a high measure of success. He has added to his estate by purchasing other farms and now owns four improved farming proper-

Isaac Plank spent his youth in Ohio and thence removed to Indiana, where he improved a farm in the midst of the heavy timber. In his frontier home he reared his family and lived the life of a quiet, indus- trious and energetic agriculturist. He has i ties. On the homestead he has made ex-

MR. AND MRS. LEVI PLANK AND FAMILY.

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cellent improvements, has erected a com- modious, two-story frame residence, a large barn and substantial outbuildings. Ilis place is divided into fields for cultivation and for pasturage, and he annually raises good crops of wheat, corn and other cereals. His place is pleasantly located three miles north of Lyons. For two years after his arrival he did his marketing in Sterling. but with the rapid growth of Kansas mar- kets were established much nearer his home and his close proximity to Lyons now en- ables him to enjoy the comforts of city life.

Mir. Plank was united in marriage to Miss Emma Lehmer, a lady of intelligence, who was born in Ohio January 19, 1848. her parents being Henry D). and Nancy (Neff ) Lehmer, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They were married in Ohio. They were of German lineage and in pioneer days removed to Ohio, where the father followed the blacksmith's trade and subsequently engaged in farming. He voted with the Whig party and was prom- inent in politics and public affairs, serving for some time as justice of the peace. He died in 1856, and his wife passed away in 1875, in the faith of the Dunkard church. in which she held membership, while he was a member of the Lutheran church. They had six children: Mary, the wife of C. Smeltzly; Jacob, of Michigan; Isaac. of Indiana : Emma. now Mrs. Plank: Ira, of Omaha : and Levi, who is living in Wyom- ing. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Plank has resulted in the birth of seven children : Ira W., who is engaged in the jewelry busi- ness in Lyons; Salome, the wife of Elmer Cassingham, now deceased; Adeline, who married B. W. Forney; Robert, a resident farmer of Rice county; Nora, who married J. Debacher, and after his death became the wife of J. Blessing: Charles, an agricult- urist : and Pearl. who completes the fam- ily. Mr. and Mrs. Plank have carefully reared their children, instilling into their minds lessons of industry and honesty, and they have become a credit to the untar- nished family name. For some time Mr. Plank voted the Republican ticket. but more recently has affiliated with the Re-

form party. He has held a number of township offices, and is now serving for the second time as justice of the peace, in which position his decisions are strictly fair and impartial, being unbiased by fear or favor. The success which has come to him in business life has been the result of his own efforts. He recognized the value of industry in the practical affairs of life and indolence has found no part in his nature. Along the line of business activity and honorable dealing he has achieved a hand- some competence.

WILLIAM N. PETERS.

William N. Peters is a western man by birth, training and now by preference, and he possesses the true western spirit of en- terprise and progress-a spirit which has led to the rapid and substantial development of the broad district west of the Mississippi and made its residents prosperous repre- sentatives of agricultural and commercial interests. Mr. Peters was born in Polk county, Iowa, March 23, 1857, and now re- sides on his excellent farm on the northwest quarter of section 7, Eureka township, Kingman county. The family, as far as can be ascertained, is of Jewish origin, and tradition has it that the ancestry can be traced back to the apostle Peter.

William Peters, the grandfather of our subject, was a resident of Orange county. Indiana, at the time of his death, which oc- curred when he was forty-one years of age. He was a cousin of the late distinguished Judge Walter (). Gresham, of Chicago, who was a brigadier-general in the war of the Rebellin. Throughout his business career he carried on farming, thus providing for the support of the family. He married Elizabeth Stevens, who long survived him. reaching the advanced age of Recent-in years, when she met a violent death, being killed by a ram. After the death of her first husband she married Andrew May. By her first marriage she had ten children : Charles, a farmer who died in Indiana :

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Hannah, the wife of George Roll, a rail- road contractor residing in St. Louis, Mis- souri, and also the owner of a large ranch in Texas; Simon, who was killed in Ken- tucky during the Civil war; Jonathan, a farmer of Indiana; Benjamin F., the father of our subject; Becky, the widow of Jacob Stallcup, her home being on the old family farm in Orange county, Indiana ; William, who served as a soldier in the Civil war and is now engaged in farming in Oklahoma; John A., who was a successful school teach- er in his younger days, and who is now en- gaged in farming in Clay county, Illinois ; and two who died in childhood. By her second marriage the grandmother of our subject had four children, but only one is now living: Dr. James S. May, of Hutch- inson, Kansas.

Benjamin F. Peters was born in Orange county, Indiana, on the old family home- stead, May 27, 1837, and spent his boy- hood days there. When about twenty-one years of age he took up the study of medi- cine with his uncle, Dr. Stevens, but never practiced. His first business venture was in trading in produce on the Mississippi river, from Louisville, Kentucky, to New Orleans, Louisiana. He was married in Floyd county, Indiana, about 1856, to Phoebe C. Keith, a native of that county and a daughter of Nehemiah and Mary (Hardy ) Keith, who were natives of Ken- tucky. The latter was stolen when a child and was reared in Louisville, Kentucky, by a man of the name of O'Neil, who was en- gaged in the boot and shoe business in that city, and on his deathbed told Mrs. Keith that he had stolen her. The maternal grand- parents of our subject both died in Ken- tucky,-Mr. Keith in Nelson county, his wife in Louisville.

After his marriage Benjamin F. Peters began farming in Polk county, Iowa, pur- chasing a tract of land about ten miles west of Des Moines, and later he took up his abode in that city. His uncle, John Stev- ens, had originally farmed forty acres of land now included within the corporation limits of Des Moines. About 1858 Mr. Peters went to Pike's Peak. remaining for

a year, when, on account of having con- tracted mountain fever, he returned to Des Moines, where he engaged in teaming for several years. He next located on a farm about twelve miles east of the city and con- tinued its cultivation for fourteen years, on the expiration of which period he conduct- ed a hotel at Runnells, Iowa, for a time. He eventually became quite well-to-do, and now owns a valuable farm property east of Des Moines, and also town property in Runnells, where, in connection with his son William, he has a flouring mill. His fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, have frequently called him to posi- tions of public trust, and he has filled all the township offices, to which he has been elected on the Democratic ticket. Both he and his wife belong to the Hardshell Bap- ; tist church. This worthy couple became the parents of five children, all of whom are living, as follows: William N .; Mary E., the wife of George Tildern, a deep-sea diver, of Portland, Oregon; Emma C., the wife of Robert Anderson, who is living on the old homestead east of Des Moines, Iowa; Charles F., a farmer residing near Kremlin, Oklahoma; and Etta M., the wife of S. P. Thompson, in Comanche county, Oklahoma.

To the public-school system of Des Moines, Iowa, William N. Peters is in- debted for the educational privileges he re- ceived. He there continued his studies un- til fourteen years of age, after which he aided in the cultivation and improvement of his father's farm, east of the city, until he had attained his majority. In 1878 he first came to Kingman county, Kansas, locating where he now resides. He was one of the earliest settlers here and his nearest neigh- bor was Willard Foster, a resident of Reno county. There were not more than nine or ten families in all this part of Kingman county. Upon his claim he built a plank house, twelve by fourteen feet, and also a stable. He broke fifty-five acres of the land and planted one hundred and ten peach trees. He had brought with him a span of mules and a pony, which was all the stock he possessed. He bought seed wheat in

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Reno county, but as it had been heated in the stack it never germinated, so his work of planting was all in vain. After proving up his claim he returned to Iowa, in 1879, and for two years engaged in the operation of his father's land. After his marriage, in 1881, he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of partially improved land in Greene county, lowa, upon which he re- mained for two years, and then traded it for a flour mill in the town of Runnels. He then operated the mill for two years, after which he removed to the old home place, twelve miles east of Des Moines remaining thereun for several years, after which he re- turned to his Kansas farm, which has since been his home.

This was in the spring of 1889. He found that his dwelling had totally disap- peared. so he built a dug-out, in which he resided for a time, and in 1890 he erected a small house, fourteen by eighteen feet, to which he built an addition in 1892 and another one in 1899, making it a pleasant residence. The house is twenty-four by thirty-two feet in dimensions and contains six rooms. His farm is all enclosed with fence, and fences also divide it into fields of convenient size. He has one hundred and ten acres under cultivation and has good granaries and cribs, and two acres con- stitute his peach orchard. He is devoting his attention almost exclusively to the rais- ing of wheat but he expects to devote part of his time to stock-raising in the future.

On the 14th of April, 1881, Mr. Peters was united in marriage to Miss Lydia A. Reese. a daughter of William and Eliza- beth (Lappin) Reese, who are residents of Grand Junction, Iowa. Mrs. Peters died in 1886, and on the Ist of March, 1889. Mr. Peters was again married, his second union being with Estel Bishop, the wedding taking place in Marion county, Iowa, where her birth occurred. She is a daughter of John and Amanda (Sparks) Bishop. Her father. a native of Ohio, was of Irish de- scent on the paternal side. but on the ma- ternal represented an old New England family. He served for three years as a member of Company E. Eighth Iowa In-

fantry, during the Civil war and partici- pated in the siege and capture of Vicks- burg. His wife, who was born in lowa. in June. 1850, is of French descent on her father's side, while, her maternal ancestry was Dutch and English. Mrs. Peters is the eldest of their family of nine children, the others being: Millie, the wife of Albert Anthony, a farmer of Warren county, lowa: Edith, the wife of Elmer Harding, who is the engineer for the City Light Com- pany, at Knoxville, Iowa; May, the wife of Ira Anderson, a farmer of Marion county, Iowa: Bige, who married Marrietta Bivens, of Marion county : Luella, Jennie and Glen, who are still with their parents; and one who died in infancy. Mr. Peters has a fam- ily of six children : May, John. Carrie, Ben, Lee and Mary, all still on the home farm.

Mr. Peters is a stanch Democrat, and for three years he filled the office of super- visor, and since coming to Kingman county, in 1899. he has been a member of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend. He withholds his support from no measure or movement calculated to prove of general good. He is a successful farmer and prominent citizen and as such well deserves representation in this volume.

ALONZO YOUNG.

Among the prominent and representa- tive citizens of Ellsworth, Kansas, is Alonzo Young, the senior member of the mercantile firm of Young & Hutchings, one of the largest houses in this line in Ellsworth county.

The birth of Mr. Young occurred in Davenport, Iowa. on March 29, 1849, and he is a son of William and Elizabeth ( Mc- Gregor) Young. William Young was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, on June 14, 1818, remaining in his native state until manhood, when he became a pioneer in Marion county, Missouri, accompanying his parents thither. Leaving the farm he tried the adventurous life of boating and rafting

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on the Upper Mississippi, and while on one of his trips met Miss Elizabeth McGregor, at Davenport, Iowa. After marriage to this young lady Mr. Young remained a resident of Davenport until the gold excitement of 1849. With thousands of others he made the long trip across the plains to California. and in company with his brother Davis en- gaged for several years in mining, meeting with encouraging success. The return jour- ney was made by way of the Isthmus. Then he returned to Marion county, Missouri, and engaged in farming and stock-raising on a farm located two miles south of Palmyra, which was the county seat.

Here Mr. Young made his home until he removed to Randolph county, Missouri, remaining there until the death of his wife, in 1866, this grief breaking up his home. Since that time he has made his home with his children. In former days Mr. Young was a large landowner and slaveholder, but from principle remained a Union man during the Civil war, although of southern birth and rearing. In religion he has always been an earnest and zealous member of the Methodist church. For the past fifteen years he has been an honored member of our subject's family.

A family of ten children was born to William Young and wife, two of whom died in infancy, the others being as follows: William, who is a farmer and stockman in Mercer county. Missouri: Alonzo, who is our subject; Thomas, who died in Cali- fornia in 1898; Catherine, who died in Mis- souri in 1864, at the age of eighteen years; John A., who is a farmer and. stockman of Chariton county, Missouri; Galena, who married Samuel McGuire, of Butte City, California : Mary, who married Butler B. Anderson, a merchant of Knox county, Missouri ; and Lawson M .. who is a farmer in Oklahoma.

The McGregor clan, to a branch of which the mother of Mr. Young of this sketch belonged, is noted in Scotch history from its earliest days. The parents of Mrs. Young were John and Elizabeth McGregor, the former of whom was born in Scot- land, and after coming to Ohio he en-

gaged in teaching, removing later to Dav- enport, Iowa, where he became identified with educational matters, was the principal of a school and at the time of his death was the city superintendent of schools. In his family were two sons and three daughters, as follows: Alexander, who is a prominent attorney in Davenport, prominent in poli- tics and has served several terms in the state legislature ; Helen, deceased, who was the wife of a Mr. Rankin, of Ohio; Rhoda, de- ceased, who was the wife of Charles Wesley Reynolds, who served through the Civil war in the hospital service, his wife being known and beloved as matron of the hospital in New Orleans, much of the time in associ- ation with "Mother Bickerdyke;" John, who is an attorney in Pontiac, Illinois ; and Eliza- beth, who was the beloved mother of our subject.

Until he was sixteen years of age Mr. Young remained on the home farm. having obtained his education in the common and high school at Huntsville. At this early age he displayed such mercantile ability that his services were retained for nine years by his first employer, F. M. Robinson, of Missouri, during the last three years, being in charge of a large branch store in Kirksville, Mis- souri.

In 1878, in association with his cousin, F. A. Young, our subject established a mer- cantile business at Russell, Kansas, the firm style being Young & Company. This part- nership was continued until 1882, when it was dissolved, another similar one being es- tablished at Canton. Illinois, later opening a store at Lewiston, Ililnois, but in April, 1885, our subject sold his interest to his cousin. For one year he was a traveling salesman. in the meantime looking for a suitable location for establishing a large business. This he found at Ellsworth, Kan- sas, and here he opened up a large line of dry goods, boots, shoes, etc., which he con- ducted until in February, 1901, when he sold out to Beatty, Santry & Company.

In 1890, in association with W. H. Hutchins. a brother-in-law, he had estab- lished an exclusive boot and shoe business, at Lawrence, Kansas, under the firm style

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of Young & Hutchins, and this business is still carried on there, with Mr. Hutchins in charge. In 1901, after selling to the above- named company at Ellsworth. Mr. Young established a branch shoe house at Topeka, and this he personally superintends.

Mr. Young was one of the founders of the State Bank of Ellsworth and was made its president, but after six months he sold his interest to II. McManus. In the year following his arrival in Ellsworth, he erected his elegant home, one of the most attractive in the city, fitted with all modern appliances, and he owns much other valuable property here. His first location was on the east side of Douglas avenue, opposite the Central National Bank, from which place he re- moved to the Captain Hoeman building and then to the Larkin building, and from there to the new Wellington block, where the business still is conducted.

In politics Mr. Young has taken a citi- zen's interest only, his private business hay- ing required his energies, but as an ardent Republican he has voted with that party, and has served in the city council several times. actively supporting all measures for the benefit of the city. For many years he has been a consistent member of the Baptist church and has taken a deep interest in the Sunday-school. He is a large contributor to religious work, and materially assisted in the building of the present Baptist church.

The marriage of Mr. Young was on December 4, 1879. in Macon county, Mis- souri, by Rev. Dr. Sawyer. to Edith Norris, who was a daughter of Washington and Elizabeth (Galwith) Norris. Mrs. Young was born in Calloway county, Missouri, but her parents were natives of Hagerstown. Maryland. The family was an old one of Virginia and Maryland, in which states it was. known for generations. Mr. Norris was by trade a cabinet-maker, but gave his attention largely to architecture, designing many of the public buildings in Calloway county. His birth was in 1814 and his death was in 1876. During the Civil war he was a soldier in the Ninth Missouri mil- itia and participated in all the battles of his

regiment. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812.

Mrs. Young was the youngest in a fam- ily of nine children born to her parents, the survivors being these: Ezra F., who is a retired farmer in Missouri; Anna, who has made her home with her sister. Mrs. Young, since the death of her mother : Emma, who married Captain William H. Lewis, of Brookfield, Missouri: Gabriella, who mar- ried W. H. Hutchins, who is Mr. Young's partner in business ; and Edith who is Mrs. Young. The one daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Young,-Dora Roberta-is a student in Hardin College, at Mexico, Missouri.

The refined and elegant home life of Mr. and Mrs. Young is now excelled in this city. Mrs. Young is a lady of culture and literary tastes, and Mr. Young is one of the most estimable, respected and esteemed citi- zens of both business and social life in Ells- worth county. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic fraternity and the Com- mercial Club, and is public-spirited and lib- eral in all enterprises promising to benefit Ellsworth county.

JOHN A. WELCH.

Practical industry wisely and vigorously applied never fails of success. It carries man onward and upward, brings out his in- dividual character and powerfully stimulates the action of others. It is this unflagging spirit of industry that has laid the founda- tion and built the grand superstructure of commercial and industrial greatness in the western division of our vast national domain and the career of the subiect of this sketch happily illustrates the foregoing observa- tions, while in the even rapid limning of his genealogical history we find many salient points of definite interest, indicating that the name which he bears has been long iden- tified with the annals of our great repub- lic. and that in the various generations have been those who have well played their parts on the stage of life's activities and exempli-

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fied industry, loyalty, patriotism and good ' celebrated their golden wedding anniver- citizenship. As one of the representative : citizens of Harvey county, Kansas, and as one who has been conspicuously concerned in the business affairs of the thriving little city of Burrton, as a merchant and banker, it is incumbent that a resume of the life his- tory of Mr. Welch be incorporated in this volume. He has practically retired from active business life and is now enjoying the otium cum dignitate which is the just re- ward for past years of earnest toil and en- ; deavor, still retaining his residence in Burr- ton, to whose material and civic advance- ment he has contributed in large measure through legitimate lines of enterprise.

saries, and it is worthy of note that in past i generations each member of the family to whom was given the name of John became the father of seven children. The first wife of George Welch died in the prime of life, when her son John R. was about fifteen years of age, and her husband eventually con- summated a second marriage, of which were born one son and two daughters. George Welch was a man of indefatigable industry and sterling character, and he did not abate his active labors until shortly before his death. He was successful as a farmer of - Edgar county, Illinois, though he did not gain large wealth, and his position was one - of independence as the result of his unre- mitting and well directed efforts.

John A. Welch is a native of the state of Illinois, having been born in Paris, Ed- gar county, on the 24th of November, 1834, The marriage of John R. Welch, father of our subject, to Missa Matilda Lowrey, was solemnized in the year 1826. She was born near the Kanawha Salt Works, in Greenup county, Kentucky, but previously to her marriage had removed with her pa- rents to Paris, Edgar county, Illinois, where her husband was engaged in the work of his trade, that of blacksmith, until 1835. when he removed to Decatur, that state. In 1836 he purchased a farm in DeWitt county, Illi- nois, and thereafter devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits there until 1843, having erected a blacksmith shop on his farm and having continued to work at his trade to a greater or less extent, in connec- tion with his farming enterprise. In the year last mentioned he removed with his family to Jefferson county, Iowa, and in the spring of the following year he filed a pre- emption claim to land which now lies within the borders of Marion county, that state. There he was engaged in farming and in the work of his trade until 1867, having in the meanwhile acquired a half-section of ex- cellent land in that locality. He then dis- posed of his property there and removed to Butler, Bates county, Missouri, where his cherished and devoted wife died in 1880, a son of John R. and Matilda (Lowrey) Welch. The former was born in Bath county, Kentucky, on the 24th of May, 1805, and he died in Salem, Oregon, on the 18th of May, 1891, within six days of the date upon which he would have celebrated his eighty-sixth birthday anniversary. He was a son of George Welch, who was born in the state of Maryland, about the opening year of the war of the Revolution, and who died in Edgar county, Illinois, in his eighty- fourth year, the family having been found- ed in America in the middle of the colonial epoch. George Welch became a resident of Kentucky when a youth and thence re- moved to Indiana, becoming one of the ear- ly settlers of that state, where he remained two years and then removed to Edgar coun- ty, Illinois, in 1825, thus becoming num- bered among its earliest pioneers and con- tributing a due quota to the development and progress of that section of the Union. He was married in Kentucky when a young man, about the year 1795, and of this union were born five sons and two daughters, of whom only one is living at the present time, Isaiah Welch, who maintains his home in the city of Emporia, Kansas, and who has now attained the patriarchial age of more , on her seventy-third birthday, and soon af- than ninety years. He and his two broth- . terward he retired from active business. ers, Thomas and John R., the latter of , eventually joining his son, William T .. of whom was the father of our subject, all

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 97

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