USA > Kansas > Woodson County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 100
USA > Kansas > Allen County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 100
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A staunch and reliable Republiean Mr. Jones labors zealously to ad- vance the interests of his party. He has been called to various public offices, wherein he has demonstrated his public-spirit by the faithful per- formance of duty. For two terms he has held the office of probate judge and for one term he was eounty attorney. In the first named office, every one of his decisions which were appealed were affirmed by the higher courts, and as county attorney his work was equally as thorough, reflecting credit upon himself and his constituents. At the present time he is serving as city clerk and as city attorney of Yates Center. He has also been chairman of the Republican county central committee, and at all times is active in the interests of his party.
On the 12th. of September, 1882, Mr. Jones wedded Miss Minnie B. Smith, a daughter of Dr. N. J. M. Smith and Sarah J. Smith, who came to the west from Virginia. Mrs. Jones is one of a family of six children, and by her marriage she has two children : Zelle M., born June 14. 1892, and Doris. born March 16. 1896. In his social relations Mr. Jones is a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow. He is also identified with the military in- terests of the state, being second lieutenant of company L, First Regiment of the Kansas National Guard. appointed by Governor Stanley. He is one
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ol the eraek marksmen of the company, as his score at target practice re- veals. In a summary of the life record of Mr. Jones these qualities stand conspicuously forth : Fidelity to his clients' interests in the profession of the law ; promptness in the discharge of official duties; correctness in military tacties and absolute obedience to military regulations ; loyalty fraternal principles and devotion to family and friends.
G. A. LAUDE.
For almost twenty years G. A. Laude has resided in Perry township, Woodson County, upon the farm which is yet his home, and has become one of the leading stock dealers of the community, doing a large business. He is a western man by birth and throughout his life has been in touch with the progressive and determined spirit of this section of the country. He was born near Dubuque. Iowa, October 13, 1860, a son of G. F. Laude, a native of Montbellaird, France, who when thirty-five years of age came to the United States, first locating in Oswego County, New York, where he remained until the early '50s, when he emigrated westward, taking up his abode in Dubuque County, Iowa. His mother was born in Germany and at six years of age. with her parents, came to the United States locating in Oswego County, New York. The father of our subjeet died in 1875, and his mother passed away in April. 1893, at the age of seventy years. Mr. Laude has one brother, Chas. A., of Kansas City, and two sisters, Mrs. J. B. Vanter and Mrs. Carrie L. Turner, both of Girard, Kansas; also a niece Ella L. Houck, whose parents died when she was two years old and who has since lived with his family.
Upon a farm in Moniteau County, Missouri, Gus Laude was raised, there spending fifteen years. He attended the graded schools of California, that state, except two years, which was spent in a German school. At the age of eighteen he started out upon his business career by dealing in horses and mules on a small scale, but has since followed that pursuit and is now one of the most extensive representatives of the business in Woodson County, dealing exclusively in Mules, buying and selling first class stock at any time. On coming to this county in 1882 he located on the farm where he has resided continuously since with the exception of a brief period spent in merchandising in Lockwood, Missouri. He purchased here two hundred and forty acres of raw land on sections eighteen and nineteen, Perry town- ship and his labors were at once directed toward its development and culti- vation. Nature is bountiful in her gifts and in return for the care bestowed upon the fields yielded to him good harvests, so that he gained therefrom a comfortable competence. largely increased by his sales of horses and mules.
In California, Missouri, on the 16th of April, 1884, was performed a wedding ceremony which united the destinies of Mr. Laude and Miss Ettie Meyer, a daughter of G. H. Meyer, who came from Germany to the United
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States when a small boy. The marriage of our subject and his wife has been blessed with one daughter. Florence: and six sons; Hilmer, Martin, Herbert, Chester. Clay and Ernest. In political affiliations the Laudes were originally Republicans and our subject supported that party until 1888, when he voted for Streator. since which time he has been active in support of the People's party. He takes an active interest in polities, and was chairman of the sixth Missouri District Populist Central Committee and used his position to aid in securing the election of DeArmond to congress. Since coming to Woodson County he has also done everything in his power to promote the cause of the party he espouses. The cause of education finds mi him a warm friend and his labors in behalf of the schools have been practical and effective. He has frequently written for the press on this and other subjects. He is a member and one of the trustees of the United Brethren church at Maple Grove, and is ever found on the side of progress. reform and improvement in all walks of life.
GEORGE R. STEPHENSON.
In no profession is there a career more open to talent than in that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful prep- aration, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life, or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and privileges. Unflagging application and intuitive wisdom and a determina- tion to fully utilize the means at hand, are the concomitants which insure personal snecess and prestige in this great profession which stands as the stern conservator of justice ; and it is one which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not perch on the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray. but comes only as the direct result of capability. Posses- sing all the requisite qualities of the able lawyer, George R. Stephenson is new an honored and prominent member of the bar of Woodson County, re- siding in Yates Center.
A native of Geauga County, Ohio, Mr. Stephenson was born in 1851, and is a representative of one of the old colonial families. His paternal grandfather, the Rev. Thomas B. Stephenson. was a descendant of one of the members of the "Boston tea party." James E. Stephenson, the father of our subject, was born on Staten Island, New York, in 1819, and in 1825, when a child ,became a resident of Geauga County. Ohio. He now resides in Chardon, that state. He followed merchandising during much of his ac- tive business career, but after attaining the age of fifty-five years he studied law and was admitted to the bar, becoming a successful legal practitioner. During the war he served as a draft commissioner. His wife, Lavinia Stephenson, was born in Geauga County, Ohio. in 1819, and was a daughter of Lebbeus Norton, who located in that county at a very early day. He was
WOODSON COUNTIES, KANSAS.
a native of Killingsworth, Connecticut, born in 1788. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson were born four children: James P., a minister of the gospel who is now a member of the faculty of the Baptist College, in Des Moines, Iowa; Herbert N.,, who is now connected with a banking house in Minnea- polis, Minnesota ; George R., and Charles F., who resides in Chardon, Ohio.
In the schools of his native state Mr. Stephenson of this review ac- quired his education and later studied law in the office of his father. Ad- mitted to the bar he practiced for one year in Chardon before coming to Kansas, but since July 18, 1879. he has resided in Yates Center, and has won distinction as an attorney in the county seat, nor is his reputation limited by the confines of Woodson County for he is one of the recognized leaders among the legal fraternity in this section of the state and his re- markable success in the higher courts has demonstrated his ability as a pleader and given evidence of his profound knowledge of the law. He is uoted as a Jawmaker and in the celebrated case of Briggs versus the Chieago, Kansas & Western Railroad Company he established a precedent that when railways acquire a right of way over mortgaged land by deed from the owner of the fee and the same is sold under the mortgage, the sale in- «ludes all improvements placed on said property by the said railroad com- pany prior to the sale.
While a strong Republican at all times and active in the interests of his party, Mr. Stephenson's legal ability and integrity were such as to overcome all political prejudice and he was appointed justice of the peace by Governor Gliek which is an unmistakable evidence of the esteem in which he is held regardless of his political affiliations. In 1893 he was appointed receiver of the Woodson State Bank. The fact that his bond for fifty thonsand dollars was readily signed by fifty sureties in a time of universal financial distress showed elearly the confidence reposed in his business in- tegrity. In his practiee he is particularly prominent and fortunate, fortu- nate because of his pronounced ability, his thorough understanding of the principles of jurisprudence and the correctness with which he applies the law to the points in litigation.
In December. 1878, Mr. Stephenson married Miss Maria L. Peter, a daughter of Edward Peter, of Tuscarawas County, Ohio. She died in Sep- tember, 1887, leaving three children: Bertha S., James E. and Oliver H. In October, 1888 Mr. Stephenson was again married, his second union be- ing with Mrs. Lanra Carpenter, widow of George D. Carpenter, who was one of the leading citizens of Woodson County in the early epoch of her history. The second marriage was celebrated in Emporia, Kansas, and has been blessed with one son. George E.
In the first half of the nineteenth century the Stephensons were Whigs, but since 1856 representatives of the name have supported Republican prin- ciples and since casting his first vote for General Grant our subject has de- posited a ballot for each presidential nominee of the Republican party. He now gives the greater part of his time to his legal practice which extends
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to all the courts of the state and is of a distinctively representative char- aeter and involves many important interests. He is a man of unquestioned honesty of purpose, despising all unworthy means to secure success in any undertaking or for any purpose, or to promote his own advancement in any direction, whether political or otherwise.
J. H. STICHER.
J. H. STICHER, who is engaged in the practice of law at Yates Cen- ter, has been a resident of Woodson County since August, 1871. He was born in Brunswick, Germany, on the 27th. of November, 1846. His father was a mnufacturer of barometers and thermometers and his trade ex- tended over the greater part of the German empire. He had four sons and four daughters, of whom the subject of this review is the eldest. The one living brother is Frederick, who resides at Cairo, Illinois. One sister. Mrs. Dora Kassebaum, is living in Clay County, Kansas.
During his boyhood Mr. Sticher of this review acquired a good educa- tion in Germany. He was a student in the high school when he was in- duced to come to the United States in 1863. Making preparations to leave friends and native land, he sailed across the broad Atlantic and arrived at New York city on the 1st. of March of that year, making his way thence tu Cairo, Illinois, where he learned the baker's and confectioner's trade. He was in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1866 and the year 1867 was spent in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1868 he became a resident of Leavenworth, Kansas, where he resided for two years following his chosen occupation. From that place he came to Woodson County and took up his abode in Neosho Falls, where for ten years he conducted a grocery and confectionery business. He was associated with C. B. Graves and H. D. Dickson in a social way at Neosho Falls. Through their influence he was induced to take up the study of law. He began his reading under the direction of Mr. Dickson and when he had mastered many of the principles of jurisprudence he was ad- mitted to the bar in Burlington, Kansas, in the fall of 1880, before Judge Payton. Soon afterward he embarked in practice and his first case involved the ownership of a calf and settled a disputed point concerning property. In the fall of 1888 he was elected county attorney in which capacity he served for two years. He was then nominated for re-election on the Re- publican ticket, but owing to the political revolution movement he was de- feated. By appointment, he has served as city attorney and city clerk of Yates Center for four years and is now serving his second term as justice of the peace. He has a large practice of a representative character and his mental qualities, natural and acquired ability, have made him a leading member of the Woodson County bar.
On the 11th. of September, 1871, Mr. Sticher was united in marriage to Miss Katie Dulinsky, whose father was a Polish Prussian and was killed
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il Quantrell's raid at Lawrence, Kansas, in 1863. Unto our subject and his wife have been born the following named: Charles H., who is with the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company as telegraph operator. and married Ger- trude Weckely ; Henry C., a printer, and Dora. Mr. Sticher is a Royal Arch Mason. For thirty years he has been a member of the fraternity and has occupied nearly all of the official positions in the lodge and chapter. He is well informed on the tenets of the order and his record is that he is one of the most proficient Masons in southern Kansas.
S. GRANT KECK.
Among the younger business men of Yates Center is numbered S. Grant Keck, a member of the well known mercantile firm of Keck & Young. Ile was born in Loogootee, Martin County, Indiana. on the 30th of May. 1868, and is a son of A. A. and Jane Keck. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Philip Keck, a native of Germany, who founded the family in the United States. His son, A. A. Keck, was born in Martin County, Ind .. in 1838, and married Miss Jane MeArter. In 1880 he came with his family to Woodson County and was afterward elected and served as sheriff here.
S. Grant Keck. his fourth child. spent his boyhood days on the home farm, working in the field from the time of early spring planting until after the erops were gathered in the autumn. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges in addition to two years in the Kansas Normal College at Ft. Scott, and when his school days were ended he followed farming for seven years, after which he removed to Toronto, in October, 1899, and was there engaged in the hardware business, also dealing in hay. In 1900 he came to Yates Center and has since carried on business as a member of the firm of Keck & Young, the partnership having been formed in 1898.
In October. 1892, in Yates Center, Mr. Keck was united in marriage to Miss May Baker. a daughter of B. P. Baker, of this place. Two children grace their union : Cecil B. and Charles. The parents enjoy the warm regard of many friends and their own home is celebrated for its hospitality. Socially Mr. Keck is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, but has never sought or desired office. preferring to devote his time and attention to his business in which he is meeting with creditable success.
JOSEPH A. HALE.
Few of the residents of Woodson County have so long resided within its borders as Joseph Allen Hale who came hither in July 1866. His name
HISTORY OF ALLEN AND
is associated with progress along intellectual, social, moral and material Lines. As a worthy citizen he is widely acknowledged by all who know him. He was born in Maine, November 15, 1836, his parents being Aaron and Hannah ( Kenney ) Hale, both of whom were natives of the Pine Tree state. His grandfather, Dr. Hale, resided in the city of New Sharron, Franklin County, Maine, and the family were probably residents of that state at the time of the war of the Revolution. The Kenneys were also a prominent family there at an early date and Charles Kenney, the grand- father of our subject, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Subsequently he removed to Lake County, Indiana, where he died in 1857. His wife bore the maiden name of Deborah Rollins. Aaron Hale, the father of our sub- jeet. was born in 1810 and died in 1898. His youth was spent upon a farm and when he had attained to years of maturity he married Miss Hannah Kenney, the wedding being celebrated about 1830. In 1837 he left the tate of his nativity and with his family removed to a farm in Lake County, Indiana. The land on which he settled was then wild and unimproved, but his labors in the course of years wrought a great transformation and the place became a very attractive and valuable one. In his family were ten children : Deborah, who became the wife of Richard Fuller, by whom she had a large family, but is now deceased; Joseph of this review; Laura Ann. the wife of Philander Hart, of Woodson County; Holbrook. who was killed at the battle of Shiloh while serving his country as a member of the Ninth Indiana infantry; James E., a contractor and builder, who served in the Seventy-third Indiana infantry and now resides in Chicago; Jerry M., who was a soldier of the One Hundred and Fortieth Indiana infantry and is now living in Lowell, Indiana; Charles, a practicing phy- sician of Revenna, Nebraska; Nettie. the wife of Charles Henderson, of Chicago; Sarah, the wife of Clinton Shupe, also of Chicago, and Hannah, trho is the wife of William Bigbee, a resident of Clearwater, Kansas.
Upon the homestead farm in Lake County, Indiana. Mr. Hale of this review was reared and in the schools of the neighborhood he acquired his education. He was married in Lake County on the 11th. of December, 1861, 10 Miss Julia MeCann, a daughter of Aaron McCann, who was a farmer of that locality whither he had removed from New York. Mrs. Hale was born in Michigan. September 28, 1842, and by her marriage became the mother of the following named children: James H .. the eldest, who is a resident of Pawnee, Oklahoma, and wedded Mary Wright. He served as a representative to the lower house of legislature, being a member of the session of 1887-8. Jennie L. is the wife of George Bideau, of Buffalo, where he occupies the position as principal of the public schools; Charles .1., who is cashier of the Commercial State Bank at Yates Center, and mar- ried Clara Hisey: Clarence Hale, who married Olive Cullison, and is now with the firm of Lewis & Son, hardware merchants of Garnett, Kansas, with whom he has been associated in business since 1899. Joseph A. Hale came to the west in 1866 in company with a colony of half dozen families.
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"He believed that he might better his condition in a state where the settlers were not so numerous and he secured a claim seven miles south of Yates Center. With characteristic energy he began the cultivation and improve- ment of his land and as the years passed he added to his property until his farm comprised three hundred and sixty acres, constituting a very valuable tract. In 1897, however, he left the farm, taking up his abode in Yates Center where he has since resided. He is now vice president of the Com- mercial State Bank and also a member of its board of directors. His ac- tivity in former years in the line of agricultural pursuits brought to him a handsome competence that now enables him to live practically retired in the enjoyment of a well deserved rest. Although he was reared in the Democratic faith. he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and has since been a stalwart Republican. Since 1862 he has been a member of the Freewill Baptist church and in 1880 began preaching as a minister of that denomination. His influence has ever been given in support of meas- ures calculated to prove of general good and to uplift his fellow men. In all life's relations he has been true to honorable principles and to every trust reposed in him. And all with whom he has been brought in contact entertain for him the highest regard by reason of his genuine worth " character.
CHARLES S. SAFERITE.
Few of the residents of Woodson County have been longer connected with this portion of the state than Charles S. Saferite, who has made his home in this locality for forty-two years. He was but a babe when brought to Kansas by his parents. his birth having occurred in Hendricks Connty. Indiana. October 22. 1858. His father. Asa Saferite, was a native of North Carolina. and when a young man emigrated to Indiana, where he met and married Miss Nancy Berryman. a native of Kentucky. He was familiar with several lines of mechanical work, being a miller, millwright. carpenter and cabinet-maker and his efficiency in those directions enabled him to provide well for his family. In 1859. he eame with wife and children to Kansas, settling first in Leroy where he lived for 12 years. On the expira- tion of that period he removed to Neosho Falls, where he died in 1884, at the age of 54 years. His wife still survives him, and is living in Neosho Falls. at the age of sixty years.
Charles S. Saferite is the second child and eldest son in their family of six children, all of whom are yet living. IIe was only a year old when brought to Kansas, where he has since resided, being one of the honored pioneers of Woodson County. He acquired a common school education and from the age of 13 years was reared upon a farm. He remained with his parents until twenty years of age and then went to Colorado, where he spent a year in viewing the state, after which he returned to Woodson County.
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On the 10th of February, 1880, Mr. Saferite was united in marriage to Miss Susan MeDaniel, and then rented a farm which he continued to cultivate for four years. With the money he had acquired through the ales of crops in that time, he then purchased one hundred acres of timber land on the bank of the river a mile above Neosho Falls. and by untiring labor and capable management transformed it into a very desirable farm. He began raising potatoes and corn and now has in cultivation upon that farm seventy acres of land. In 1896 he purchased one hundred and forty acres a half mile east of his first place, and therefore today owns two hun- dred and forty acres of rich bottom land which never fails to yield a crop. He plants corn, wheat and potatoes and annually gathers good harvests. He is also snece sfully engaged in raising hogs. When he started upon an independent business career he had only thirty-five dollars and a mule team ; today he owns a very fine farm and is accounted one of the well-to-do citizens of the community.
The lady who now hears the name of Mrs. Saferite is a native of Vir- ginia and in 1869, she accompanied her mother to Illinois, whenee they came to Kansas in 1875. Her father, Alford MeDaniel, was a native of Virginia and was killed in the Civil war at the battle of Sharpsburg, Sep- tember 17, 1862. after serving for one year. The mother afterward removed westward with her children and died in Woodson County in 1880. Mrs. Saferite was a maiden of sixteen summers when she came to Kansas and here she has sinee resided. By her marriage, she has become the mother of nine children : Ira Asa, Jennie May, Lee Alford, Iva Etta, Ray George, Ada Ellen. Roy Charles, Ida Susan and Ola Malinda. The family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death, and the children are all under the parental roof.
Mr. Saferite is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the National Aid Association and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. all of Neosho Falls. In his political sentiments he is a Freesilver Republican. There have been no exciting chapters in his career, but a steadfastness of purpose has enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstaeles in his path and advance steadily toward the goal of prosperity. His example in this respect is certainly a commendable one, for the course he has followed has ever been in harmony with upright business principles. As a pioneer settler he also deserves mention in this volume for he has witnessed the growth and devel- opment of the county from the primitive period, has seen the great trans- formation wrought as the district has been settled hy a thriving and con- tented people and has felt a commendable pride in its advancement.
CLINTON A. WOODRUFF.
American history has a new chapter in its war record, for in the eicsing years of the nineteenth century the supremacy of American arms
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