USA > Kansas > Cloud County > Biographical history of Cloud County, Kansas: biographies of representative citizens. Illustrated with portraits of prominent people, cuts of homes, stock, etc > Part 47
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Mr. Giroux was married in 1896, to Irene Longton, a daughter of Naphile Longton, who has been a citizen of Clyde for many years. Mr. Giroux has been engaged in various enterprises : clerking and was in the
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
restaurant business in Washington. Kansas, two years. They are members of the Catholic church.
Amedie Lavalle, the junior member of the firm is a young man of pub- lie spirit and progressive ideas. He is a native of Kankakee, Illinois, born in 1868. le came with his parents to Kansas in 1879, and settled in Con- cordia, where he received his education in the high school of that city. Before taking up his residence in Clyde in 1899, he was engaged in business in Beatrice and Riverton, Nebraska. In 1902 he became associated with Mr. Giroux in the hardware store. He was married in 1808 to Jennie Longton, a sister of Mrs. Giroux. Mr. Lavalle is interested in a half sec- tion of land with his father-in-law, two miles east of St. Joseph, Kansas, which is mostly pasture land. They have a herd of one hundred head of native cattle. They are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Lavalle is a member of the order of Catholic Foresters and Triple Fie.
The firm of Girous & Lavalle have one of the most handsomely ap- pointed hardware establishments in the county. They make a specialty of the Dempster and Fairbanks windmills and pumps and have a large patron- age in that line. They have an established trade in the Garland, Majestic, Quick Meal and Acorn ranges and are gratified with the record they have made in that line. Their stock is composed of clean, well selected goods, both shelf and heavy hardware. They are enterprising young business men and are on the road to success. Individually are held in high esteem as good citizens.
JOHN M. DAVIDSON.
The subject of this sketch, J. M. Davidson, is one of the original set- tlers of Republic county. He left his home in Belleplain, Marshall county, Illinois, in the autumn of 1870, and wintered in Nebraska. In March of the ensuing year he emigrated to Kansas and homesteaded land on Elk creek, in Richmond township. Republic county. At the age of fourteen years Mr. Davidson was apprenticed for three years to G. W. Derry. of Vermont, Illinois, a blacksmith. at thirty dollars per year.
Our subject was married in 1856 to Miss Mary Hull. of Vermont. Illi- nois. She died in Cuba, Kansas, in 1888. To this marriage three sons and one daughter were born, viz: Levi, born in 1857, is a resident of Norwalk, Ohio. John A., born in 1858. a liveryman of Cuba, Kansas, is an extremely successful business man. Mary Etta, born in 1860. is the wife of G. W. Warren, of Hastings, Nebraska. Mr. Warren is a railroad conductor now in the employ of the Michigan Central. Robert, born in 1861, is a miner of Leadville, Colorado. Mr. Davidson was married to his present wife in 1891. She was Mary F. Campbell, of St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents died when she was a child. leaving three orphan children. The others are Mrs. VanGordon, wife of Dr. H. N. VanGordon, a veterinary surgeon of Clyde. A brother. William Edward, is a farmer of Phelps county, Missouri.
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
Mr. Davidson built the first dwelling house in the town of Cuba, Republic county, and established the pioneer blacksmith shop there. He owns a busi- . ness house and a residence property there at this writing.
He did blacksmithing from the founding of Cuba until 1894, when he became associated with John Frederick in a shop in Clyde, succeeding Mr. Frederick's father. Clyde's pioneer smith. The firm has recently dissolved partnership. Mr. Davidson has sold his residence and expects to return to Cuba in the near future. When Mr. Davidson came to Kansas his finances were limited and he witnessed many discouraging days, living on corn bread and corn coffee. There was not much demand for blacksmithing in the early 'seventies and Mr. Davidson secured a job of cutting cord wood. He pro- cured a new ax and about the first time he made use of it almost amputated a foot which practically disabled him, but the wolf stood at the door, and for months he rode ten miles to his work. Mr. Davidson has participated in numbers of buffalo hunts. Would often take his family and go camping. While on one of these trips they were in the midst of a stampede, the buffalo coming in droves down a ravine and almost capsized their wagon. From this herd Mr. Davidson killed three. When on a hunting expedition with a friend. John Garrett, they arose early one morning to find the country east and west of them a perfect sea of buffalo. They killed nine of them before breakfast. By way of expressing their feelings on this occasion, Mr. David- son archly remarked, "Roosevelt's overcoat would not have made us a vest that morning." as they reported their bounty. When hunting buffalo to secure their hides they have brought down as many as one hundred and fifty in one trip and sold them as low as fifty cents each. Upon one of these hunts they were caught in a snow storm near the Colorado line. When they arose in the morning they found upon the swell of ground where they were camped the "beautiful" had fallen to a depth of about three feet. They were not pre- pared for such a storm and with their horses came very nearly perishing. Luckily they had plenty of feed for their horses and buffalo meat for them- selves, but their clothing was insufficient for such a storm. During this blizzard a herd of thirty or forty buffalo passed near the camp, but with their benumbed and gloveless hands they could not prepare for action and allowed them to pass unmolested. On several occasions they brought home buffalo calves, one of which he raised to be more than a year old.
Mr. Davidson is an old veteran of the Civil war. He volunteered his services to the Union army in the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. Company G. under Captain Harvey D. Cook, with Colonel T. Lisle Dickey in command. He continued in this capacity from September, 1861, until he was discharged and relieved in 1864. He was chosen orderly to General Wallace. For a considerable length of time his regiment was body guard to General Sher- man. At the national encampment held in St. Louis a few years ago Mr. Davidson was the means of identifying and bringing together two brothers of his company who had not seen each other since the war.
Mr. Davidson's parents are both living in Mackinaw, Taswell county,
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
Illinois, at the advanced age of eighty-eight and eighty-seven years. His mother was Mary Ann Hill, a daughter of Colonel Ira Hill, who partici- pated as a leader of a regiment in the war of 1812. The Davidson family had a reunion in 1899, after a separation of seventeen years. The eldest and youngest children of the family had not met for twenty-four years. This venerable couple celebrated their golden wedding and upon this occasion about four hundred guests partook of a wedding feast spread on long tables in a grove. that fairly groaned with its weight of good things.
Mr. Davidson is a "dyed-in-the-wool" Republican and the first police judge in the town of Cuba. He is a Mason of prominence and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for seventeen years, and has been associated with the Clyde Grand Army of the Republic since its organiza- tion. Since the above data was prepared Mr. Davidson and his family have removed to Cuba, their former home. Mr. Davidson and his wife are good citizens. hence Clyde's loss is Cuba's gain.
LOUIS J. BANNER.
Louis J. Banner, the genial and accommodating agent for the Missouri Pacific Railway at Clyde, was transferred to that city from Glen Elder, where he had been stationed for several years-March 1, 1898. O. K. has doubtless been stamped to his credit in the various branches of his railroad career, for he has been associated with the present company since 1893, with but sixty days respite.
Mr. Banner is a native of North Carolina, born in Banners Elk, a sum- mer resort named in honor of his father's loyal patriotism during the stir- ring times of the south. Our subject's paternal and maternal grandparents were slaveholders, but freed them during the war. All the Banners in the mountain district of the Carolinas were slaveholders, but they were Repub- licans, freed their slaves and fought in the Union army. His father, Will- iam D. Banner, was a sergeant of Company A. Fourth Tennessee Regiment of Volunteers. He also had four brothers who served under the stars and stripes. Several of the relatives were southern sympathizers, among them a maternal uncle, who was visited by a band of Confederates, with a batter- ing-ram and tried to compel him to join their forces. He shot one of the rebels and the body was left on the doorstep all night. The uncle afterward joined the Union.
Although born in the south Mr. Banner is a Kansan and was reared in the vicinity of Clyde. . He visited the place of his birth about ten years ago and after being introduced to a score of relatives, a "darkey," who had been a family slave, was presented as a "cousin," bringing to mind the story of an unsophisticated old lady, whose husband had been elected "squire." When the announcement of his honored position was made, the half dozen or more of children clamored around the maternal parent and eagerly plied her with questions, one hopeful saying: "Ma. are we all squires?" Where-
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
upon the supercilious mother, with lofty pride, responded to the inquiry of her offspring : "No, you silly ; no one but your .Pap' and I."
Mr. Banner's father came to Kansas in 1870 and located in Clifton. Ten years later he removed to Vining, which was then a flourishing town. where he was postmaster for fourteen years, and where he still resides. He owns a drug store and does an extensive business.
Mr. Banner's mother was Sally B. VanCannon, of North Carolina. Her mother is enjoying life at Banners Elk, at the age of ninety-one years. She passed through a siege of la grippe in 1901.
Mr. Banner was married in 1892 to Ida Z. Miller, a daughter of J. T. Miller, who homesteaded near Palmer, Kansas, in 1870. He later resided in Clifton, where he conducted a merchandising business for fifteen years. He is now retired and lives in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Banner are the parents of two little daughters-Vera, aged ten, and Margaret. aged six. In 1901 Mr. Banner established a marble works in Clyde, under the name of the Clyde Monument Company, situated at the corner of Wash- ington and French streets, with A. H. Lewis, a practical and competent workman, in charge. Their trade is far reaching. receiving orders from many outside towns in northwest Kansas and various Nebraska towns. Mr. Banner plays the saxophone in the Clyde Military Band and to him is con- ceded much of the success of this popular company.
Socially Mr. and Mrs. Banner are among Clyde's most esteemed citi- zens and as a railroad agent our subject is universally admitted to be one of the most congenial in their employ.
WV. A. HUFF.
W. A. Huff, editor and proprietor of the Clyde Republican, is one of the rising young newspaper men of Cloud county. He has been practically reared in a printing office : began setting type as a printer's "devil" when eleven years of age in the office of H. J. Hulaniski, the well known journalist, at that time of Glen Elder, now editor of the Ouray Plaindealer of Ouray. Colorado. Since that time Mr. Huff has been continuously associated with newspaper work and has been interested in different enterprises along this line, leasing offices, etc. Mr. Iluff has recently put in a one and one-half horse-power gasoline engine and removed the plant from his small frame building, near the foot of Washington street, to the second floor of a substan- tial brick structure in the business part of the city. The Clyde Republican is a well printed four-page sheet, with a large circulation. Mr. Huff is a Repub- lican. not aggressive in his opinions, yet has the moral courage and fearless- ness to express his views through the columns of his paper. Beside newspaper work all kinds of job work is done. Beginning with 1890 Mr. Huff edited the Huron World of Huron, Atchison county, Kansas, for five years.
Mr. Huff was born in Eddyville, Wapello county, Iowa, in 1874, and came to Kansas with his parents in 1880. After living in Concordia three
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
years, they removed to Glen Elder, where they resided ten years and where Mr. Huff attended the high school, and later received an academic educa- tion in the Goelette Academy, of Mitchell county. Kansas. Mr. Iluff's maternal grandparents were instrumental in establishing this school, which is a Quaker institution. Mr. Huff's parents are M. A. and Ruth ( Hadley) Huff, both descendants of old Quaker families. Our subject's grandfather, who was at one time at the head of the Quaker church in Mitchell county, is now living with his daughter in Iowa and is ninety-seven years old. His father. M. A. Huff. now lives in Jackson county, Kansas. The Bluffs orig- inally came from Germany. His grandfather came to America and settled in Indiana, where M. A. Huff was born. The Hadleys came from England and were of the William Penn sect of Quakers.
Mr. Iluff was married in 1896 to Cora Godown, of Beloit, a daughter of A. I. Godown. She is a graduate of the Beloit high school and a refined gentle woman. Her mother was a Dixson and in her father's family is a deed for one hundred and sixty acres of land where a part of the city of London is located, written some two hundred years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Huff are the parents of two bright little boys, Gerald and Harold, aged four and two years, respectively. Mr. Huff has been for more than two years a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and is master workman of the Clyde lodge. He is a member of the Sons and Daughters of Justice and several fraternal orders. Ile is also interested in the Beaumont Lawton Oil Company, of Lawton, Oklahoma, he being assistant manager of the cor- poration.
HONORABLE JAMES J. MCFARLAND.
The subject of this sketch. J. J. McFarland cast his destiny with the fu- ture of Clyde on the afternoon of St. Patrick's day. 1871. He is of Irish parentage but of English birth and emigrated to America when a lad of less than a dozen years and settled in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie in the state of New York. After having lived a short period in several of the New Eng- land states, Judge McFarland removed to Michigan in 1854. The state militia was organized under Captain Gibbons and after an effort to enter the ranks of the 10th, 12th and 13th regiments, they were taken into the 13th Michigan.
Judge McFarland was appointed lieutenant through service rendered but the Governor was desirous of bestowing special concession upon the son of an old friend, and our subject surrendered his papers that the young recipient of the Governor's favor might be commissioned to the office of lieutenant. Judge McFarland was then assigned to the Quartermaster's department where he remained until the close of the war. They were cap- tured twice having their horses confiscated and their wagons burned. Their movements were confined to West Virginia and the regiment witnessed the sur- render of Lee at Appomattox. After this event took place Judge McFarland
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
entered the employ of the Government and was stationed at Richmond, Vir- ginia, until coming to Clyde in 1871. In the meantime he had read law in the city of Richmond and was admitted to the bar of Cloud county in 1876, and during his professional career has managed many technical cases with dexterity and skill.
Judge McFarland was married in 1869 to Mary Frances Dandridge, a cultured southern woman who traces her antecedents in a straight line to the ancestors of Martha Washington. Judge and Mrs. McFarland are the parents of eight sons and one daughter, all of whom are living ex- cept one. Their eldest son served in the Philippine war. Two Claude. the are residents of Saint Louis and two in Chicago.
youngest son, lives at home. The Judge and Mrs. McFarland live with their widowed daughter. Mrs. Mary Bechard, who is one of the most charming and accomplished young women of Clyde and a popular favorite with her associates. Mr. Bechard died in 1901. leaving his young wife and one little daughter, a remarkably bright and interesting little girl, Mary Frances, named for her grandmother.
Judge MeFarland has been a life long Democrat and has been elected to several local offices : Mayor of his town. a member of the council several times and police judge. He was appointed postmaster under Cleveland's administration and Mrs. Bechard as his assisstant made a very efficient clerk.
C. F. LESLIE, M. D.
In gathering material for biographies of the representative citizens, Doetor Leslie is found among the foremost-not only as a zealous, pains- taking and faithful practioneer. but one of Clyde's best and most esteemed citizens. Doctor Leslie pursued his medical studies at Dartmouth, New Hampshire, and Bowdoin College. Bowdoin Maine, graduating from the lat- ter institution in 1874, and entering upon the practice of medicine in Sunapee the Saratoga of New England. After a successful career there of seven years he removed to Windsor, Vermont. There he contracted lung trouble and came west with the intention of locating in California, and stopped enroute to visit friends in Clyde. It was in the boom days of 1885, and he was very favorably impressed with the country and its prospeets. Here he found not only a good country but remained permanently and recovered his health, gaining from one hundred and twenty-five pounds. (his weight at that time) to one hundred and eighty pounds.
Doctor Leslie was born in Patton, Maine. April 16. 1847. He was reared on a farm. His father was a second cousin of Salmon P. Chase. The Leslies were of English origin. Doctor Leslie's intentions were to study law and he mapped out a career for that profession, but changed to the study of medieine. He was married in 1875. to Ellen I. Balloch, of Cornish, New Hampshire. Their family consists of a son and a daughter. William B. graduated from the Emporia college and entered upon the study
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
of law in the office of Mr. VanDeMark, of Clyde, later entering the law school at Ann Arbor. Michigan, where he continues at the present time. The daughter Alice. is talented in music and is a graduate of the Clyde high school.
Doctor Leslie affiliates with the Republican party. Hle is the surgeon for the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacfic railroads and was one of the board of pension examiners. The family are members of the Presbyterian church of which Doctor Leslie is an elder. He has been a Mason for a dozen years and is a member of the order of Woodmen and the Ancient Order United Workmen.
CHARLES 1. ANGEVINE, M. D.
The subject of this sketch, Doctor C. H. Angevine, traces his lineage back to the old Huguenot family who originated from Anjon. France, where
PORTRAIT OF DR. C. H. ANGEVINE AND A VIEW OF HIS BEAUTIFUL MODERN HOME.
the Angevine Castle stills stands as a monument to the race. One branch of the family were wine merchants of Bordeaux and the wine that bears their name originated with them in the vineyards of that locality. Doctor .Ange-
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
vine's paternal grandfather was a weaver of silk and followed that occupa- tion after their advent in the state of New York, and our subject remem- bers hearing the merry hun of the spinning wheel and witnessing the deft fingers transform the silken threads into beautiful shimmering cloth. He was a personal friend of Tom Payne, the celebrated author. He was also a seafaring man for many years and gathered many relices from different countries and ports. Of these interesting heir-looms a number are in pos- session of Doctor Angevine: among them his old log books, giving detailed accounts of shipwrecks, experiences at sea, etc. He was among the early settlers in the primeval forests of Ohio before there was a shadow of the now populous city of Cincinnati. A portion of the old estate is still retained by the Angevine family. He lived to be a very old man and with his venerable wife of fifty years celebrated their golden wedding. On this important oc- casion he exchanged a $100 bank note for one hundred gold dollars, present- ing one to each of his guests who congratulated them. He had two left. the aged couple each keeping one for themselves. Dr. Angevine was a guest of this memorable golden wedding.
Doctor Angevine has an ancient Bible which contains a list of the con- tributors who subscribed towards having the volume published. He also has a silver plate that was a bridal present to his grandmother over a cen- tury ago. His father was one of seven sons, none of whom ever reared a male child except the father of our subject. The great commonwealth of Ohio was the birth place of Doctor Angevine. He was born in the month of July, 1856. At the age of eleven years he removed with his parents to Ottawa, Illinois. In 1872 he returned to Cincinnati and apprenticed himself to A. C. Hill, a druggist of that city and subsequently entered the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy, graduating from that instituion in 1876.
He came to Clyde in May, 1887, and became associated with E. S. Pit- zer in the drug business. In 1890 he purchased Mr. Pitzer's interest, be- came sole proprietor and in addition to his profession continues to conduct an extensive drug business. Doctor Angevine's preliminary medical studies were pursued while engaged in pharmacy and supplemented by a regular course. In December, 1901, he was granted a certificate to practice medicine by the Kansas State Board of Medical Examiners. His aim has been to keep abreast with the advances made in the science of the medicai world and with this commendable object in view he has been a careful student and reader of current literature along those lines. His life has been an active one and he is now in the prime of his useful career with bright prospects for in- creasing success.
Doctor Angevine was married to Miss Julia Leland, of Ottawa Illinois, in June, 1889. Their beautiful and modern home is brightened by the presence of three children, two sons and a daughter, viz: Leland Charles, Dorothy Lou, and Monfort Edward, aged eleven, eight and five years, re- spectively. Doctor Angevine is a staunch supporter of the Democratic party and takes an active interest in political and legislative affairs.
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HISTORY OF CLOUD COUNTY, KANSAS.
SAMUEL DOR.IN.
Samuel Doran is one of the early settlers and prominent men of Cloud county, emigrating to Kansas in January. 1868, homesteaded a claim in Elk township and has been a continuous resident ever since. Mr. Doran was born in West Virginia in the year 1838 and was reared on a farm. His parents both died when he was but twelve years of age and their orphans took diverging paths. Mr. Doran drifting to Ohio when seventeen years of age, followed soon after by a broth- er and sister, who married and moved to Kansas, which was the main-spring of the others emigrating to the state of great pos- sibilities, where fortunes do not lie scattered loosely about but can be dug out of the soil. Mr. Doran has two brothers. David, of Re- public county, and Daniel, of Cloud. Both of their grandparents were slaveholders.
Mr. Doran received his education at Otterbein University, Ohio. After teaching a short period he entered the Lebanon Nor- SAMUEL DORAN. mal School and later the Central College at Amalthea. Mr. Doran is self-educated and from his emoluments as a teacher paid for instruction at schools and colleges. From the age of nineteen until his enlistment in the army Mr. Doran taught school. His duties of army life were in the signal service of the Western Army, where he remained for two years and three months. He was mustered out at San Antonio, Texas, going thence to Pike county, Illinois, where he taught during the winter of 1866-7.
While in college he studied civil engineering. In the years 1869-70 Mr. Doran was appointed probate judge to fill out the unexpired term of John Fowler. In the year 1870 he was elected county superintendent, hold- ing the office with credit six years. In 1872 he was elected surveyor and held that position two years and by appointment was given the same office in the year 1879. For the first two years he held both the offices of superin- tendent of public instruction and surveyor. At the expiration of that time he drew a salary, but could not attend both; as the greater part of his time had to be given to the duties of county superintendent, he resigned his office as surveyor. He later took up surveying, which he followed from the year 1884 to 1892. Was elected to the office of county surveyor in 1898 and has held the position up to the present date. During the session of the last con- vention some of his friends asked him "How long he was going to hold forth?" Mr. Doran took the strap off from his compass box that he had carried thirty years and replied, he wanted it replaced by one that would last
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