A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 99

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

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No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Itha- more E. Douglass in his boyhood and youth, until at the age of twenty years he respond- ed to his country's call for aid and enlisted at Danville, Illinois, in the early part of 1864, as a member of Company K. One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, for one hundred days' service. He was un- der the command of Captain Laffarty and was stationed the greater part of the time in Missouri, taking part in the movements of his regiment at Pilot Knob, Cape Girardeau and other places where they guarded bridges and performed other similar duties. On the expiration of his term of service he was mus- tered out at Mattoon, Illinois. He then re- turned to his home in his native state, re- maining there until the fall of 1873. when he arrived in Jewell county, Kansas. Here he obtained from the government a tract of land upon which he has since lived, and his enterprising efforts and capable manage- ment have transformed the raw prairie into a highly cultivated tract of land on which he raises good crops. He is also successfully engaged in the stock business and both de- partments of his industry are profitable, so that he is now accounted one of the substan- tial farmers of his locality.

In Vermilion county, Illinois, in 1850. Mr. Douglass was united in marriage to Miss Indiana Pate, who was born in Ver- milion county, in 1849, her parents being the Honorable Davis W. and Mary Anne ( Patterson ) Pate. Her father was born in Indiana, June 22. 1823, and thence removed to Vermilion county, Illinois, where he made his home until 1871. when he came to Jewell county, Kansas, becoming one of the first settlers here. He was a very prom-

inent man, active and influential in public affairs, and was honored by election to the state legislature, in which he took an active part in shaping the early history of the commonwealth. He died April 6, 1883, and his wife, who was born July 25, 1827, has also passed away. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Douglass has been blessed with four living children, but they lost their first born, a daughter, Delila. The others are Stewart. George Pate, Mrs. Agnes Townsend and Pearl. The parents are earnest and con- sistent members of the United Brethren church, and Mr. Douglass has been num- bered among the representative citizens of Jewell county for almost thirty years.' Dur- ing this period he has witnessed its growth and development and has aided in the work of advancement and progress. He co-op- erates in all movements for the general good and is especially prominent as an agricul- turist in a community where farming is the leading industry of a happy, contented and intelligent people.

HENRY V. FARIS.

Among the prominent citizens of Ells- worth county. Kansas. none are held in high- er esteem than Henry V. Faris, who by five years is the oldest of the early settlers both in Ellsworth county and in the Sixth con- gressional district, and of the first five sei- tlers he alone remains.

The birth of Henry V. Faris was on June 8, 1838, in Delaware county, Ohi : and he is a son of Robert and Esther ( Max- well ) Faris. Henry Faris was reared on the farm and attended school through the winter months a part of the time, the four brothers taking turns. as all could not be spared at once, two going one winter and the other two having the advantage during the next winter, forty days being a good attendance for one winter. Our subject would glady have embraced opportunities for a wider knowledge. lait this he could not secure in youth. In later years exten- sive reading and communication with the

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world has made him more than usually in- telligent and well informed.

Until he was twenty years old our sub- ject remained at home, but in September, 1859, he joined his half-brother Irwin, who was temporarily located at Adair, Iowa, hav- ing been absent from Ohio for several years. The latter was about to join an expedition to Pike's Peak, and Henry decided to ac- company him. They procured their outfit at Davenport, Iowa, consisting of four wag- ons and an equal number of ox teams, while there were nine men in the company. They reached Council Bluffs and were there met by persons who gave them unfavorable re- ports and the party decided to go into camp until they could take counsel together and find out what had best be done under the circumstances. They finally agreed to take chances and accordingly set out for Fort Riley, by way of Marysville, reaching the former place about exhausted. There the party engaged in rafting logs down the Smoky Hill river from a point upon the site of the present city of Enterprise to Junction City, there being much good timber here, some of the growth being black walnut and cottonwood. This replenished their re- sources and from June. 1859, to September, 1860. they were employed in this work, spending intervals in hunting buffalo on the Solomon river. The first buffalo killed and the first one that our subject ever ex- amined was a straggler that strayed in among the oxen, and it was killed on the present site of Minneapolis, Ottawa county, by a volley fired by the entire party, each member being anxious to slay the first buf- falo.

While in camp on the river in September, 1859, our subject spent about one month putting up hay on a government contract, to supply Fort Riley. This hay was cut on the Smoky Hill bottom, in the first big bend above Junction City, and the mowing was all done with a scythe. The party at this time consisted of our subject, his half- brother Irwin, and Hector P. Spurgeon, a step-brother by his father's former mar- riage. In September, 1860, with others whose acquaintance they had made in Dick-

inson county, J. J. and C. L. Prather and S. D. Walker, they came to Ellsworth county and these pioneers became prominent later in connection with the Indian out- break.

The two Prathers took up a claim on Cow creek, in what is now Barton county, and a stage station of the Kansas Stage Company, was established on this claim, on the stage road from Fort Riley to Fort Larned. Mr. Walker had charge of the stage for this company and another member of the party, J. Peters, became a partner with the Pra- ters. One morning seven Cheyenne Indians rode to the stage house and after a few min- utes of apparently friendly conversation, suddenly opened fire upon the station party, killing Mr. Walker and taking them all by surprise, Mr. C. L. Prather being the only one who retained enough presence of mind to return the fire. In rapid succession he fired one rifle after the other at the retreating In- dians and succeeded in unhorsing three of them before they were beyond his range, and these were either killed or died of their wounds.

These were days which called for great personal courage and the conditions prevail- ing made the pioneer a man among men, a type which stands to-day for all that is hon- est. brave and self-sacrificing. Mr. Faris lo- cated a squatter's claim, which, upon the sur- vey being made, proved to be the northwest quarter-sections, 27-15-7, and here he erect- ed a log cabin, sixteen by eighteen feet. Pre- vious to coming to Ellsworth county, our subject had taken a timber claim, in Dick- inson county, rented some land and planted a crop but realized nothing from it, on ac- count of the drouth of 1860, so that his real farming in Kansas began in the spring of 1861, when he broke twenty-five acres and obtained a good crop of seed corn. When not engaged in agricultural labor our sub- ject hunted buffalo for hides and tallow, and marketed these in Leavenworth, and thus was able to live through the first year, as at that time buffalo were still plentiful and were easily approached.

In 1863 our subject, with three others, went on a buffalo hunt on Spellman creek,

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in Lincoln county, and killed fifty buffaloes in two hours, stopping then because they could take care of no more, the results from this hunt being very satisfactory.

In 1865 the brother of our subject was married and Henry lived with his brother and wife until February 23, 1871, when he was united in marriage, at Kewanee, Illi- nois, to Miss Emma Pitzel, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary J. (Combs) Pitzel. Mrs. Faris was born in Crawford county, Ohio, and in 1854 the parents removed to Illinois. Amzi Faris, a younger brother of our subject, came to Ellsworth county, in 1866, and from that date until the death of Irwin, the three brothers were associated together, this being a family in which the faternal feeling was strong.

The site of the present home of our subject is a tract of forty acres which he proved in 1879, this being located on sec- tions 34-15-7, and he owns eighty acres on section 34, and six hundred and forty acres on sections 26-27. Gradually he has added one timber tract after another and now owns a valuable stock farm on Clear creek. For some eight years he has engaged extensively in cattle feeding and grazing, keeping from one hundred and fifty to two hundred head and shi ping about one hundred head each year. Mr. Faris cultivates about one hun- drel and sixty acres of his own land and rents land for farming purposes.

In 1879 Mr. Faris erected a two-story store residence, with basement flagged with stone, one of the most comfortable and com- meili us houses in this locality. It is noted for the generous hospitality which is here dispense by our subject and his most es- timable wife. In a way this is a relic of pioncer days, for then each settler found a we'd me in the home of any other, and each took a personal interest in the other's wel- fare. For several years after Mr. Faris In- cated here, not a habitation nor a military post was to be found between his location and the Rocky Mountains.

The family to which our subject be- longs has become known through Ellsworth county for its high character. the name long promising to be an honored one. Our sub-

ject has been identified with almost all of the public enterprises of his locality, from the time of their earliest settlement when they were given the contracts from the gov- ernment and the railroads to supply lumber, hay, etc., to it latet educational movement. Mr. Faris, of this sketch, made the second assessment of the county after its organiza- tion, and was made the first township trus- tee, his service in that capacity being highly satisfactory. as he made the assessment at an expense of but seventy-five dollars to the county, the previous one having cost five hundred dollars. Since then he has declined office, with the exception of that of justice of the peace, which appointment was made by Governor Osborne. However, in 1874 he was given unsought the nomination on the Independent ticket for the legislature, and although the nomination was made but ten days prior to election, he was defeated by but four votes, his friends later believing that he could have successfully contested the decision.

Mr. Faris has invariably been in favor of every educational enterprise which his judgment decided to be the best for the com- munity, and he assisted in the organization of the first school district of the county, and has been an active member of the school board for many years. In religious mat- ters, also, Mr. Faris has been prominent, and was one of the organizers of the Presbyte- rian church at Kanapolis, and since 1866 has been a trustee and elder. In his wife Mr. Faris has a most capable helpmate in both public and social life, as she is a highly intellectual and cultivated lady, of charm- ing personality and has been a factor in pro- m ting good feeling and morality in this section. Although no children have been born to our genial subject and his wife, so many homeless little ones have been reared by them with parental care. that their hos- pitable home has been. kindly mentioned as the "Orphans' Home." a name which re- flect, honor upon its kind inmates.

Mr. Faris most naturally takes a deep interest in the days of long ago, and in those who, with him, have done so much for this section, and he was the prime mover in the

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organization of the Old Settlers' Associaton of Ellsworth county, and was chosen as its first president, serving in that capacity fre- quently ever since and has been active in keeping up the interest. In politics he is a radical Republican, and an active supporter of the principles of that great party, and also he has been one of the leading organizers of the Farmers' Alliance. In every relation of life Mr. Faris has borne well his part and is a type of American citizenship of which his state is justly proud.

FRANK HEWITT.

Frank Hewitt, an enterprising repre- sentative of the agricultural and stock-rais- ing interests of Kingman county, is a gen- tleman who owes his success entirely to his own efforts and well may he be termed the architect of his own fortune. He lives on section 18, Liberty township, and is one of the native sons of Kansas, his birth hav- ing occurred in Wheatfield township, Dick- inson county, August 9, 1872. The family is of English lineage and was founded in New Jersey at a very early period of Amer- ican history. Moses Hewitt, the great- grandfather of our subject, was born in New Jersey and was the captain of a colony that emigrated to Athens county, Ohio, when that region was just emerging upon a state of civilization. At one time he was captured by the Indians, who were prepar- ing to cook him when he managed to slip his hands from the thongs that bound his wrists and make his escape. His son. Pardon Hewitt, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Athens county, Ohio, and spent the greater part of his life in Athens and Muskingum counties. He married a Miss Cranston and devoted his life to farm- ing and teaching school. His death oc- curred about 1874. The family are Meth- edists and hold responsible positions in that church. One of them is now a bishop. In his family were eight children: Newton. a farmer, fruit-raiser and lumberman of Athens county, Ohio; Ephraim, who lives

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on a farm adjoining his brother Newton's home; Isaiah ; George, a soldier of the Civil war, who died in Texas in 1881; Fosy, who was the wife of Jake Wyckoff and died in Dickinson county, Kansas ; James, a farm- er and stockman of Benton county, Arkan- sas, his home being at Salmon Springs ; and two who died in early life.

Isaiah Hewitt was born in Athens coun- ty, Ohio, in February, 1832, and in the com- mon schools acquired his education. After engaging in teaching for a number of terms he entered college and became a well in- formed man. He served with an Ohio regiment in the Civil war and was a brave and loyal soldier. Previous to this time he had married Ellen Crawford, a native of Athens county, Ohio. Her surviving broth- ers and sisters are: John, who is engaged in the real-estate business in Carthage, Mis- souri, and also follows farming and stock- raising ; Letta, the widow of Samuel Stench- field and a resident of Logan county, Ohio; Sadie, the wife of Amos J. Wilson, by whom he had children; and Miley, a foreman in the Santa Fe roundhouse at Jop- lin, Missouri.

Two brothers, William and John Craw- ford, emigrated from the north of Ireland early in the nineteenth century and settled in Muskingum county, Ohio. John Craw- ford's wife died during the voyage and was buried at sea. By her he had four sons,- Samuel, Arthur, William and John. After settling in Ohio he married Sarah Johnson, --- -- -- by whom he had three sons and one daugh- ter who grew to maturity: Wesley, Phile- mon J., James and Mary. Wesley Craw- ford married Sarah Noble and had three sons and one daughter,-William N., Gil- bert B., John S. and Rebecca Jane. Philemon J. Crawford married Mary White, by whom he had two sons and three daugh- ters who reached maturity .--- John C., Miley P., Eleanor A., Lucetta N. and Sarah E. James Crawford married Nancy Allen and had several sons and daughters, among whom were James, William, Nancy Jane and Mary Ann. Mary Crawford married Edmund Marshall, who removed to Wis- : consin before the Civil war. Philemon J.

MR. AND MRS. FRANK HEWITT.

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Crawford was born in 1810 and died in 1805. his death resulting from an abscess in his side caused by an accidental blow. lle was a local preacher in the Methodist Epis- o pal church and a practicing physician. Mary White Crawford was born in isto in Pennsylvania and died in Logan, Ohio, in 1895. Her death was due to old age. Her remains now lie by those of her husband in the burial ground of Salem church, Athens county, Ohio. John C. Crawford married Eliza Sheffield, by whom he had two sons, Gemson S. and Edmund MI. Miley P. Crawford married Luella Smith, by whom he had one son and one daughter,-Earl C. and Nellie. Eleanor A. Crawford married Isaiah Hewitt, by whom she had six sons and five daughters,-Webster J., George C .. Newton, Frank P., Wilbur W., James, Ida MI .. Maggie M., Lenna, Bessie and Ruth. Lucetta N. Crawford married Samuel Stinchfield, by whom she had one son and two daughters,-Albion, Winona and Irma. Sarah E. Crawford married Amos J. Wil- son, by whom she had two daughters, Nellie and Mabel.

After the war the father of our subject returned to Athens county, Ohio, where he engaged in teaching school until 1868, when he removed to Putnam county, Missouri, where he also taught for several years. He then came to Kansas and secured a claim in Dickinson county, and as some of his sons were old enough to carry on the work of the farm he left that task to them while he continued his educational work. Here he remained until 1888, when he went to Medi- cine Lodge township, in Barber county, pre- empting the southeast quarter of section 12. upon which he made his home until his death, which occurred December 28, 1900. His wife died about 1893 and both are buried in Mumford cemetery in that county. They were members of the Methedlist church and were most highly respected peo- pie. The father was at one time a stanch Republican but afterward became a radical Pr hibitionist and an earnest worker in the cause di temperance. Heats bell member- ship in the Grand Army post at Medicine Lodge.

U'nto the parents of our subject were born twelve children,-seven aux and ine daughters : Ida, the wife of P'erry llull, the proprietor di a hotel and livery stable at Banner City, Kansas: Webster, who wa - cl- gaged in railroad work in southeastern Mis- souri in 1886, since which time nothing has been heard from him: Maggie, who was the wife of John Goodrich and died in Port- land, Oregon, in 1891, while her husband is now an inmate of the Soldiers' Home in Dodge City, Kansas: George C., who died in Barber county: Lena, who formerly a school teacher and is now the wife of Jehial Frazee, a stockman of Raymond, Okla- homa; Newton, a minister of the Methodist church at Rush Center, Kansas; Frank, of this review : Wilbur, who operates the home- stead farm in Barber county; James, who resides in township 19, having two hundred and eighty acres, where he intends to make his home: Bessie, who was formerly a school teacher and is now a trained nurse in the hospital in Wichita, Kansas; Isaiah, who died at the age of two years in Dickinson county; and Ruth, who is attending school in Mumford. Kansas, and lives with her brother Will.

Frank Hewitt obtained his education in the common schools of his native county un- til the age of twelve years, when he went with his parents to Barber county. He worked on the home farm until twenty-two years of age and then began working as a farm hand, after which he engaged in farm- ing on his own account for two years. He also followed the butchering business and operated a threshing machine. After sell- ing his farm of eighty acres he worked for two years in a blacksmith and wagon sim at Crystal Springs, Harper county, for Will- iam Rogers, and later he spent a year in Arkansas, returning thence to Barber coon- ty in 1898.

On Christmas day of that year Mr. Hewitt was married at the home of his bride in Valley township, Barber county, to Miss Ida L. Sleeper, who was born in Hammond. Piatt county, Ilinois, a daughter of Vinde C. and Hannah E. ( Leavitt) Sleeper. Her ancestry can be traced back to the Pilgrims

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who came to this country in the Mayflower. Her grandfather, Levi Sleeper, was an only child. his mother dying at his birth. He was reared near Concord, New Hampshire, where he became a prosperous farmer and where he held a number of public offices. The great-great-grandmother Sleeper lived to be ninety-one years old. Vinton C. Sleeper, the father of Mrs. Hewitt, was born near Concord, New Hampshire, and pursued his education in the district schools, later attending an academy. While there the Civil war broke out and he enlisted and served for two years. He then returned to the Granite state and soon afterward mar- ried Hannah E. Leavitt, on June 16, 1866. Using his bounty money, nineteen hundred dollars, he established a butcher shop at Gilmington, carrying on the business for three years, when with his little family he removed to Piatt county, Illinois. While on the steamer going to New York, in the early stage of his journey, his purse, containing most of his money, was stolen, so that when he reached Illinois he had to go to work as a laborer in order to earn the money with which to purchase a farm of eighty acres. In 1873 he returned to New Hampshire to take care of an invalid aunt, who after a time recovered her health and now lives with Levi Sleeper. Vinton Sleeper remained in New Hampshire for four or five years and then returned to Piatt county, Illinois, where he remained until 1880, when he came to Kansas, settling in Wellington, where for two years he conducted a meat market. Then for two years he was a carpenter and contractor. Removing next to Barber coun- ty he pre-empted a claim in Valley township, but in 1886 returned to Wellington in order to educate his children. In the fall of 18:); he once more took up his abode on his farm. In September of that year he went to To- peka and for a period of two or three years superintended the construction of the insane asylum and is credited with saving the state several thousand dollars. He also superin- tended the construction of several other im- portant buildings.

The brothers and sisters of Vinton Sleeper are: Mary A., the wife of W.

Moore, of Loudon Ridge, New Hampshire; John, a resident of Concord. New Hamp- shire; Ida B., who is engaged in teaching school in Concord; Edwin, who is located on the old homestead at Loudon Ridge, New Hampshire. Mrs. Sleeper, the mother of Mrs. Hewitt, was one of a family of eleven children, including a half-brother. Her par- ents were William G. and Mary E. (French) Leavitt, who were of English de- scent on both sides. Her brothers and sis- ters were: Stephen, a successful manufac- turer and inventor of Montrael, Canada, who has invented a skate, hay-press, stump- puller, safe lock and other important and very useful devices: Sarah, the widow of Jed Bachelor, of Loudon Ridge; Maggie, the wife of Charles Smith, of Tilton. New Hampshire; Abbie, the wife of Scott Moo- man, of Isabel, Barber county, Kansas; William G., a farmer of Piatt county, Illi- mois : Herbert, also an agriculturist of that community; Harry, of Piatt county, an in- ventor and manufacturer of a device for de- horning: Luther, a minister of the Meth- odist Episcopal church living in the same lo- cality; and two children who died in in- fancy. Mr. and Mrs. Sleeper became the parents of six children : Anna, who died in infancy in Monticello, Illinois: Birdie, who died in infancy also in Illinois: Mrs. Hew- itt : Mary E., the wife of Mack S. Shinliver, who is connected with the Standard Oil Company at Whiting. Indiana: Victor E., a farmer of Valley township. Barber county, Kansas ; and a son that died in infancy.

Mrs. Hewitt was educated in the Well- ington high school and was graduated in the class of 1891. She also studied instru- mental music for four or five years and has taught both before and since her marriage. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt has been born one child. Floyd Vinton Hewitt.

After his marriage Frank Hewitt en- gaged in farming for one season in connec- tion with his brother Will and then sell his interests. removing to Liberty township. Kingman county, locating where Mr. Hall now resides. There he resided during the remainder of the season and in the spring of 1900 removed to the Carlisle ranch in the

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southern part of the township, where he managed the property and followed farm- ing for a year. In the spring of 1901 he re- moved to his present place of residence, leasing the place for two years. He planted one hundred acres and cultivated ninety acres in wheat, and also rented other land for the same purpose. In the season of tool he purchased a J. 1. Case threshing engine and separator, for which he paid tw. thou- sand dollars, and this he operated during the summer, threshing some sixty thousand bushels of grain. In the spring of 19 2 he sold out his threshing machine and all cher articles pertaining to farming and moved 10 Nashville, where he purchased two lets and built a fine residence and also bought a lot on Main street, where he built a general re- pair shop for repairing all kinds of ma- chinery and for Blacksmithing.

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A biographical history of central Kansas, Vol. II, Part 99

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