USA > Kansas > Barton County > Biographical History of Barton County, Kansas > Part 28
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has ample opportunity to discover whether she wishes to continue in the work and also to demonstrate whether she is qualified to re- main. Applicants may enter at any time.
HENRY A. C. HARTMAN
O NE of the best known & the really old timers of Logan township was Henry A. C. Hartman. He was born in Prus- sia in 1840 and came to this country with his parents when he was a child. He was raised in the state of Ohio and came to Barton Coun-
ty in 1875. He located a homestead in Logan township, one mile north and three miles south of the township of Claflin. In 1876 he brought his family to the new country and began the work of building a home. Until the time of his death which occurred in July, 1907,
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
he took an active part in the development of the resources of the northeastern part of the county of Barton. His death was due to drowning in Cow creek, where as the result of the water being exceptionally high his wagon in which he was riding was overturned and he was thrown into the water while he was attempting to cross. Mr. Hartman was mar- ried to Miss Anne Elizabeth Shellhase in Ohio and they were the parents of eleven children. Mrs. Hartman. came to America from Russia where she was born in Hess-Cas- sel province. She arrived in America in 1845 at a time when this counttry was in the throes of a scare due to the cholera, which caused the death of a great number of peo- ple. Mrs. Hartman at that time was six years of age and many of her relatives and people who came over on the boat with her died as a result of being afflicted with this disease. Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hartman, two of them died in infancy. Those who are living are: Louise, who is now Mrs. F. W. Waknitz of Ness County; Lydia, who is now Mrs. W. H. Barnes of Preston, Kansas;
Charles A., who resides in Reno County, where he is interested in farming; Matilda H., who is the wife of Dr. S. B. Russell of Yuma, Colorado; John H., who was born in Logan township, February 15, 1877, and now resides in Hoisington where he is vice president of the First National bank, an institution which he founded. He is also engaged in the in- surance and loan business in that city. He was married to Miss Dale Nimocks, daughter of G. W. Nimocks of Great Bend, January 1. 1902. They have two children, Blanche and R. Lynn.
Edwin E. is a traveling representative of the Acme Harvester company with headquar- ters at Wichita; James F. is in the hardware business at Preston; Jesse S. is now Mrs. E. R. Jukes of Boise, Idaho; Benjamin H. is farming near Preston; Mrs. Hartman is now living in Idaho with her daughter, Mrs. Jukes. There is no family that is better known in Barton County than the Hartmans and Jolin H., who is mentioned above is one of the best known business men of Hoisington and is an enterprising and progressive citizen.
ROY CORNELIUS
R OY CORNELIUS was born in McPher- son, Kansas, March 31, 1883, and came
to Hoisington in 1902 and bought the
Hoisington Dispatch which was established in 1889 by Ira H. Clark, who later sold it to Franklin Brothers, who, in turn, sold it to Roy. Mr. Cornelius learned the printing
trade in Great Bend under Ira H. Clark and D. T. Armstrong. He was married in 1908 to Miss Theresa Helfert and they are the parents of two children: Helen, 3 years of age, and Esther, about a year and a half old at this writing. The Dispatch office, which is the pride of its owner, is one of the best equipped printing plants in this section of the state. It contatins a modern linotype, a good press for newspaper work and good presses for the job department. The Dispatch is a weekly paper devoted to the interests of
made a great number of friends. Roy is a Cornelius has been guiding its policy has Hoisington and Barton County and since Mr.
capable, enterprising business man and num- bers his friends by the score both in the newspaper profession of the state of Kansas
and among the people with whom he comes
business. At the present time he is official votes all his time to the management of his cupies a nice residence in Hoisington and de- in contact in other lines of business. He oc-
printer for the County of Barton
having been elected at the county election in 1910. He has filled this office in a satisfac-
Roy Cornelius
tory manner and in a way that reflects credit on himself, his office and his many friends in all parts of the county.
OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
203
. Ellinwood .
T HE certificate of ownership and dedica- tion of the original plat of Ellinwood is dated September 6, 1873, and signed by Alden Speare, president of the Arkansas Valley Town Company. It was acknowledged before George L. Goodwin, a notary public, in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The plat was certified to by John M. Cummins, a sur- veyor, but bears no date. He did not do the actual work of survey, neither did Colonel Ellinwood, but it is understood that J. W. Jackson, one of the quaint characters of that time did the field work. The town company could not file the plat until it got title from the railroad company, and the latter could not obtain title from the government until the
Humboldt, Washington and Bismark streets, named and located as they are now. There was nothing south of the railroad included in the original plat.
Ellinwood is located on section 31-19-11, and the center of the section is the southeast corner of the lot on which a part of the bus- iness section of the town is built. Washing- ton street is commonly called Main street, it being the main business thoroughfare.
The supplemental plat which includes all of section 31, north of the river, except the forest reservation of 25 and 71-100ths acres and all south of the railroad and east of Schiller street, was filed for record July 8, 1878. The name of the surveyor does not ap-
Main Street, Ellinwood
road was built to the west line of the state. This was done in 1872 in the month of De- cember. This caused delay in the filing of the town plat, but the plat was finally filed for record with Register of Deeds D. N. Heizer, October 28, 1873 at 9:05 p. m.
The first plat included the south half of block 1, and all of blocks six, seven, ten and eleven. The railroad right of way, a short side track on the north side of the main track, and the depot were shown on the blue print of the plat. The depot was shown to be directly south of the Wolf hotel building. Santa Fe, Topeka and Atchison avenues and
pear. The plat shows the same uneven banks of the river as on the plats of the original government survey. The river has receded from a great distance since this work was done. Both the Catholic and Protestant ceme- teries appear on the plat.
All the streets extending north and south were given German names except the main business street which was named Washing- ton. The north and south streets beginning on the east side are Wielan, Gothe, Schiller, Bismark, Washington, Humboldt, Arndt, Wil- helm and Fritz. The avenues beginning on the north in their order are Northern, Colo-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
rado, Barton, Ellinwood, Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe, and south of the railroad are Chestnut, Maple, Walnut and Cedar. The names of all the streets remain the same as when platted. As the original settlers were
Smith, probably the ablest German immigra- tion agent who ever did business in the State of Kansas. He happened to select this local- ity as one of the points on the Santa Fe road where he would colonize German buyers of
Plowing Outfit of G. H. Ernsting Near Ellinwood
not German, nor was the controlling element of the old timers, the Arkansas Valley Town Co., that owned this town, German. The query has often been asked why the streets are given German names. The answer us- nally is, all the settlers will remember C. B.
real estate. On his maps for circulation among the Germans he marked the territory adja- cent to Ellinwood Germania. C. B. Smith, the German immigration agent of the Santa Fe Railroad Co. caused this part of Kansas to be settled by Germans.
City Government
Ellinwood became a city of the third class, April 22 1878. On that date a petition signed by nearly every qualified elector on the town- site was presented to District Judge Samuel R. Peters at Newton, Kansas. The judge im- mediately issued an order creating the City of Ellinwood. ts boundary lines were the ex- terior lines of section 31-19-11, according to the original government survey. The order directing the first election was given and the election was held on the first day of May, 1878, at the office of J. D. Donstadt, and George Bowers, George B. Gill, and Vancil S. Musil selected to be judges, and W. B. D. Monow, clerk. It also named J. D. Ron- stadt, George W. Ashton and Charles W. Wil- liamson to act as the board of canvassers. The latter were ordered to meet at the close of the polls and canvass the returns. The board met as directed and chose J. D. Ron- stadt as clerk. The election resulted as fol- lows: Mayor, F. A. Steckel, 43; J. D. Ronstadt, 14; Councilmen, Wm. Mangelsdorf, 56; Win. Meisner, 46; George W. Ashton, 41; John W. Conroy, 39; O. M. Dotson, 35; L. M. Story, 20; W. W. D. Monow, 20; Jolin Mousel, 15; James Ward, 9; John Wind, 1. Police judge,
George Towers, 56. Certificates of election were issued as follows: Mayor, F. A. Steckel; councilmen, Mangelsdorf, Meisner, Ashton, Conroy and Dotson. Police judge, Towers. The first council met and with all present, or- ganized. H. J. Reints was city clerk by ap- pointment, and the mayor appointed all the councilmen a committee on ordinances and then adjourned to May 7. No other business was transacted and the first business meet- ing of the council was held May 14. At this meeting a petition was granted Beal and Phipps to keep a dram shop, and a like peti- tion was granted to Hess and Harmick. The council passed ordinance Number 1, which provided for the drafting and compiling of ordinances for the city of Ellinwood. At this meeting fourteen ordinances were passed, all relating to the duties of the city officers, ex- cept thirteen, relating to elections, fourteen concerning animals running at large and 15, relative to the sale of intoxicating liquors. The first council of Ellinwood laid the foun- dation for the building of a city and their work was thorough and had for its purpose the betterment of the community and the peo- ple residing therein.
OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
205
Schools
Ellinwood was included in the second school district to be organized in Barton County, in 1872, and was known as school district num- ber 2. The first school was taught by Miss Carrie Bacon, daughter of Isaac Bacon. La- ter she married Thomas Towers. The first term of school began September 1, 1873, and ended January 1, 1874. For teaching this term Miss Bacon received the sum of $125.00. The scholars were housed in a small frame building 'owned by William Misner. The school was later taught in a frame school building built especially for a school on the ground now occupied by the modern school building of which the town is so justly proud. Among those who attended the first school in Ellinwood may be mentioned Kittie Ellsworth, Wm. Halsey, John and Sina Hewitt, May Whit- ten, Lotta and Frank Towers, Charles L. Ba-
con, James and Lillie Hutchinson and Abra- ham Forsyth. The schools of Ellinwood have progressed with the town and nowhere in the state can there be found better educational advantages than are obtainable in Ellinwood.
Ellinwood has a population of about 1,300 and is growing every year in importance as a trading point and as a shipping point for agri- cultural products. It is on the main line of the Santa Fe railroad about forty miles west of Hutchinson and eleven miles east of Great Bend. It is also the western termimus of the Florence branch of the Santa Fe. This line runs through some of the richest portions of the state. Ellinwood has modern stores rep- resenting nearly all lines of retail trade, the best of churches and schools and its popula- tion is steadily growing in like proportion to other parts of Barton County.
THE WOLF MILLING CO.
The Wolf Milling Company's establishment at Ellinwood is one of the largest and best cquipped flour mills in the state of Kansas, and its products have had a great deal to do with earning Barton County's enviable reputa- tion as a producer of the best of milling wheat. The mill is cperated by John Wolf and his son, Fred. It was established in 1908, and has a capacity of 600 barrels per day. Since the first mill building and elevator was
Lotta Schaefer of Kansas City, Mo., July 1, 1901, and they are the parents of two chil- dren, one of whom is an infant at this writ- ing, and the other being John Frederick. The elder Mr. Wolf has another child, Kate, who is now Mrs. George M. Heim of Ellinwood. The mill buildings and surroundings cover about a square block of ground and in addi- tion to this interest the elder Mr. Wolf owns considerable town property in Ellinwood and
WOLF'S.
PREMIUM FLOUR
Wolf's Mill, Ellinwood
erected in the year mentioned additions have been made from time to time and the ma- chinery and process in use have been kept up to the highest standard. John Wolt is one of the old timers of the county having come here from Ohio in 1877. He was born in Bremen, Germany, November 23, 1848. He was mar- ried in Toledo, Ohio, to Miss Kate Haas, July 5, 1871, and it was in that city that Fred was born May 23, 1872. Fred was married to Miss
Great Bend as well as two sections of farm land in the county of Barton. The flour. sold under the name of "Wolf's Premium" has made a most gratifying record wherever it has been used and reflects great credit on the establishment where it is made. The Wolf family is one of the best known in this sec- tion of the state, the members of it being en- terprising and progressive and among the most substantial citizens of the county.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
JOHN McMULLEN
J OHN MCMULLEN was born July 21, 1881,
in Barton County and since 1895 has been engaged in the printing and pub- lishing business with the exception of five years while he was engaged in farming west of Great Bend. He received his education in the schools of Barton County and began to learn the printing trade in the office of the Barton County Democrat in 1895. He was married October 7, 1892, to Miss Mabel De- Motte and they are the parents of five chil- dren, four of whom are living, two boys and two girls, while their first child died in infan- cy. January 1, 1911, Mr. McMullen took charge of the Ellinwood Leader having pur- chased the plant, and since it has been un- der his management he has made of it one of the leading weekly publications of this part of the state. The Leader was established in September, 1896 by J. W. A. Cook who published it until the fall of 1909 when John C. Meyers was appointed manager of the plant. Mr. Meyers continued the publication of the paper until Mr. McMullen took charge.
There are few, if any, young business men of the county who are better or more favora- bly known than John McMullen. Being a pro-
duct of the county he is naturally very proud of his home town and county and he devotes his paper and his personal efforts to the best interests of the community in which he lives.
John McMullen, Editor of Leader
EDWARD L. SMITH
E. L. Smith, Pres. of Citizens State Bank, Ellinwood
E DWARD L. SMITH was born in Edwards- ville, Illinois, February 5, 1864, and is is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian P. Smith. He remained in his native state in his boyhood and attended the public schools, later finishing a course at the Central Wes- leyan at Warrenton, Mo., in 1884. He re- ceived the degree of A. M. at this institution which is the Alma Mater of some of the country's best known statesmen and business men. While Mr. Smith's parents did not come to Barton County, they invested in Kansas land after their son had located here. Soon af- ter Mr. Smith arrived in Barton County he with others organized the Citizens Bank of Ellinwood and since that time he has been closely identified with the financial and com- mercial life of the county. This was in 1889 and soon after the organization of the bank and at different times in the early nineties farmers living in the neighborhood of Ellin- wood became discouraged with the prospects and it was frequently the case that a farmer would request Mr. Smith to return the farm- er's note in return for which he would give him a deed for his land. Mr. Smith being possessed of unlimited confidence in the fu- ture of the county invariably advised against this procedure and many of the farmers who
OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
209
had grown discouraged
and afterwards "made good" thank Mr. Smith for his advice. Mr. Smith also owns the Smith Hardware Company's establishment in Ellinwood. Be- fore coming to Ellinwood Mr. Smith taught school for three years in llinois. After the organization of the Citizens Bank Mr. Smith was appointed assistant cashier and after serving four years in this capacity he became cashier and president which offices he now holds. Mr. Smith is a prominent member of the Elks, Eagles, Masons and Odd Fellows and is one of the best known men in Barton County. He was married in November, 1891, to Miss Mattie S. Harrison, a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. B. L. Harrison of Barton County, and they are the parents of two children, E. Aubrey, 17 years of age and Elbert, 14 years of age, both of whom are being educated in the schools of the county. Mr. Smith in addi- tion to his business interests owns considera- ble farming land in this and other counties and his mother and father are also interested in Kansas land. Mr. Smith has served the city of Ellinwood as mayor and has been a member of the school board a number of years and is at present treasurer of the board. He is an enterprising and successful business man and is well known in all parts of Kansas and Barton County.
CITIZENS STATE BANK, ELLINWOOD
Along in the latter 80's E. L. Smith and other well known residents of the eastern part of the county of Barton decided that El- linwood needed a good bank. Therefore in 1889 the Citizens State Bank was organized with a capital of $5,000, with an authorized
cashier and secretary and these with P. B. Kimpler, G. H. Ernsting and H. P. S. Smith form the board of directors. The bank now has a surplus of $32,000 and the deposits are approximately $175,000. This bank has gained the confidence of the people by square deal-
Citizens State Bank, Ellinwood
capital of $50,000. It first bore the name of . the Citizens Bank but when it was chartered under the new state banking laws five years later it became known as the Citizens State Bank and the capital was made $15,000. The officers of this bank are: E. L. Smith, presi- dent and cashier; Robert Shouse, assistant
ing methods and by extending to its friends and customers every accommodation that is consistent with safe banking methods. The bank occupies a modernly equipped building with an electrical burglar alarm and ail mod- ern appliances for protecting the valuables contained in the vaults.
PEOPLES STATE BANK
The Peoples State Bank of Ellinwood was organized in March, 1908, with a capital of $25,000, with the following officers and direc- tors: J. H. D. Bosse, president; D. C. John- son, cashier; Charles Mellies, assistant cash-
ier and C. Buck, Fred, Fred Wolf, E. D. Isern and the president make up the board of di- rectors. The bank has enjoyed a steady growth since its organization and at this writing has a surplus and undivided profits of
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
$10,221, and the approxmate average deposits amount to $210,000. This bank has the larg- est deposits of any bank in the county outside of Great Bend and is one of the county's sub-
banking business. The interests of the bank's customers are carefully looked after by the officers of the bank and by careful man- agement and by the use of modern banking
Peoples State Bank, Ellinwood
stantial financial institutions. The bank is located on the main street in a building that is furnshed and equipped in a neat, conven- ient manner for the carrying on of a general
ideas this institution has gained the confi- dence of the people of that section of the county.
German Lutheran Church, Ellinwood
209
OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
J. H. D. BOSSE
J OHANN HERMAN DIEDRICH BOSSE, or D. Bosse, as he is better known in Bar- ton County, was born in Hanover, Ger- many, November 1, 1852. He came to Amer- ica in 1871 and located first in New York state where he remained two years, after which lic went to Ohio, and from that state came to Barton County, Kansas, in 1875. He married Miss Catrina Lampe, in June, 1876, and they are the parents of two children: Marie, who is now Mrs. E. S. Brodie of Wichita, and Mil- ton August Bosse, who resides in Ellinwood and is engaged in the farming business with his father. Milton August married Moneta Butts of Wichita, Kansas, in 1910. The elder Bosse farmed for twelve years after his ar-
cess in raising many varieties of apples. Near the town of Ellinwood Mr. Bosse main- tains an orchard consisting of twenty acres in which are found trees bearing apples of such well known names as Jonathan, Grimes' Golden, Nero, Akin, Arkansas Black, Wine Sap, Schackleford, Black Twig, Missouri Pip- pin, etc. Here can also be found choice vari- eties of cherries. Mr. Bosse's orchard has at- tracted a great deal of attention not only at home, but it has been visited by government experts who on different occasions have spent a great deal of time in observing the ideas that have have been used by Mr. Bosse in the cultivation of his trees. The trees are sup- plied with moisture by a large irrigating sys-
D. Bosse
rival in Barton County and has been one of the most successful of the old timers of La- kin township. After Mr. Bosse moved to El- linwood he accepted a position as book-keeper for the Edwards & Fair Lumber Co. He was twice elected to the office of treasurer
The
of Barton County, Kansas. first property he obtained title to was railroad land northwest of Ellinwood. He now owns about 1,760 acres of land in the county, all of which is under cultivation and is being work- ed mostly by renters.
Although Barton County lays no claim to being an exceptionally good fruit country, this line of business has been made a spe- cialty by Mr. Bosse and he has met with suc-
tem; the water being conducted to all parts of the orchard by the means of tiling placed un- der the surface of the ground. The water is pumped from below the surface by two large windmills and rotary pump supplied with power by a 5-horse power gasoline engine. The pump has a capacity of 200 gallons per minute. When moisture is supplied by rain the pumping plant is not needed but when the seasons are dry it is sometimes found necessary to operate the pumps as much as three weeks at different intervals during the year. A large pond confines the water that is pumped until it is needed. The pond has six outlets that make it possible to irrigate two acres of the orchard at a time. In all
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Residence of D. Bosse, Ellinwood
Residence of Milton Bosse, Ellinwood
OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
211
there are about six miles of tiling in the orchard and it is safe to say that Mr. Bosse is the leading orchardist in this part of the state of Kansas. He is an enterprising and progressive citizen and in addition to the property mentioned above he owns a great deal of town property in Ellinwood where he is
well known and recognized as one of the old timers of the county who has done a great deal to further its interests and make of it one of the most desirable from an agricul- tural standpoint, to be found in the entire country.
Scene From D. Bosse's Orchard, Ellinwood
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
.
Great Bend
+
0
I N JULY 29, 1871, the company was char- tered that had been previously select- ed for the townsite Great Bend. This company consisted of Thomas J. Mitchell, C. R. Curtis, Clark H. Charles and Robert T. Shinn of Quincy, Ills .; James Israel of Mount Vernon, Ohio .; Samuel D. Houston of Manhat- tan, Kansas; John T. Norton and A. L. Wil- liams of Topeka, Kansas, and Thomas L. Mor- ris of Barton County.
It was the intention of the company to lo- cate the town on the north half of section 34, township 19, range 13, which is southeast of the site finally decided upon. There were
the election of the following officers: A. A. Hurd, mayor; A. S. Allen, G. W. Poole, M. S. Kutch, Ed Markwort and D. Cooley, council- men. Mr. Cooley moved from the city within a month after his election and his place was taken on the council by Edward Tyler. James C. Martin was the first police judge and A. C. Moses the first city clerk, while D. R. Smith and James Gainsford were the first treasurer and marshal, respectively.
At this time the principal business activity was in the cattle trade and large herds of cat- tle from northern Texas, Indian Territory and Oklahoma were driven from the pastures in
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