USA > Kansas > Woodson County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 30
USA > Kansas > Allen County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 30
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In the year 1892 he was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Donnan, a native of Livingston County, New York, and a sister of W. J. Donnan, one of the substantial settlers of Allen County. The hospitality of the best homes of LaHarpe is extended to Mr. and Mrs. Hackney and many friends enjoy the good cheer of their pleasant home. Since attaining his majority
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Cinby H. Hackney has exercised his right of franchise in support of men and measures of the Republican party, but has never been an aspirant for office. His attention has been closely given to business and his reliability. keen discrimination, and unflagging purpose have enabled him to advance steadily on the highroad to success. He comes of a family of the Quaker faith and the honesty and uprightness so proverbial of that people are mani- fest in his career.
R OYAL S. COPELIN, a representative of the farming interests of Allen County, was born in Oneida County, New York, on the r4th of February, 1856, and is of English lineage. His father, John Cope- lin, was a native of England, and during his boyhood came to America with his parents. He was born in 1821, and in 1854 was united in marriage to Sarah Ann Perry, a native of New York. . By trade he was a miller and followed that pursuit for some time, but subsequently turned his attention to farming. In 1860 he removed to Illinois, miking his home in Kanka- kee, County, until his death, which occurred July 22, 1883. His widow still survives him and is living in Kankakee County, at the age of sixty- three. They were the pireats of three children: Eliza, wife of John Coasch, of Wilmington, Illinois; Royal S., of this review, and Julia, wife of Patterson Patchett, of Kankakee County, Illinois.
Mr. Copelin, whose name introduces this record, accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois when he was four years of age, and acquired a common school education in that State. He was reared upon the home farm and assisted his father in the cultivation and development of the fields until twenty-four years of age, when he was married and be- gan farming on his own account. On the 14th of February, 1880,-his twenty-fourth birthday,-he wedded Miss Alice Amelia Armitage, who was born in Kankakee, Illinois. Her father, James A. Armitage, was a native of Pennsylvania, born April 22, 1826, and is still living. He wedded Miss Margaret E. Gruer, a native of the Empire State and they became the parents of nine children, namely; Agnes A., Albert A., Anthon A., Alice A., Winfield S., Charles W., Mary A., Jessie J. and James H. The fami- ly circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Copelin have been born two children: Stella Mand, a young lady of nine- teen years, and Perry A., a lad of seven summers.
Mr. and Mrs. Copelin began their domestic life upon a farm in Illinois, and there remained until 1887, when they removed to Colorado, locating on a ranch of five hundred and sixty acres in Kiowa County. There our subject engaged in the cattle business, buying, raising and shipping cattle on an extensive scale, meeting with very creditable success in this venture. After he had lived in Colorado three years, he sold his Illinois farm and invested the money in his business in Colorado. He was there elected county commissioner of Kiowa County for a term of three years. The
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county was thirty-seven by eighty-eight miles in extent, and the office of commissioner is one of importance, paying a salary of five hundred dollars and mileage per year, but Mr. Copelin's family were not satisfied in Colora - do, and, consequently, he sold his ranch and came to Allen County, Kan- sas. Here he purchased the excellent farm which he now owns, buying the property of C. H. Pratt. It is located a mile and a half northeast of Humboldt and Mr. Copelin has placed it under a very high state of cultiva- tion. To the north of his pleasant residence is a beautiful grove and drive way leads from the main road to his home, standing on an eminence, com- manding an excellent view of the surrounding country. He trades, buys and ships both cattle and hogs, and thus annually augments his income. He votes with the Republican party, but takes little part in public affairs, his attention being directed to his business interests.
C HARLES BALAND, one of the few old settlers that remains in Allen county, was born in Sweden December 5, 1816. He came to Kansas in 1859 and took a claim on Coal Creek, three miles east of Humboldt, and has gone through all the hardships that go to make up a man's life in a new country.
Mr. Baland served in U. S. Grant's company in the Mexican war, a distinction of which he is justly proud. He was also in the army in the war of the Rebellion, which makes him a veteran of two wars. He has been one of the leading men in this county, serving as Register of Deeds for three terms. He has served almost continuously for thirty-five years as Justice of the Peace of Humboldt township and was post-master of Hum- boldt for many years.
S' IMEON B. WILLHITE is one of the substantial farmers of Allen county, his home being in Humboldt township, where he owns three hundred and twenty acres of fine land. He is a western man by birth, and possesses the true western spirit of enterprise and progress. A native of Missouri, he was born in Clay county, on the 15th of January, 1832, and was the eldest in a family of nine children. His father, Henry Willhite, was a native of Kentucky, and married Sarah Flora, a native of that state. Soon afterward they removed to Missouri and became early settlers of Clay county. The father died in 1871, at the age of sixty-two years. Seven of his nine children are still living, namely: Simeon B .; Albert and James, of Oklahoma; Henry W., whose home is in Barton county, Missouri; Mrs. Margaret Aiken, of Olathe, Kansas. Those deceased are James M. and Donelson Willhite, M. D.
The subject of this review was reared in Missouri, and the public
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schools afforded him his limited educati mal privileges. At the time of the Civil war he did not enter the service as a volunteer, but participated in the battle of Lexington. When he heard that the Confederates were ad- vancing on that town, he went down to help defend it, was given a gun and with the others participated in the engagement.
January 3rd, 1851, Mr. Willhite was united in marriage, in Missouri, to Miss Martha Elliott, who was a native of that state. She long proved to him a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey but was called to her final rest December 13, 1899. Sixteen children were born unto them as follows: A. Robert, who is living in Allen county, James M.,. of Okla- homa; Henry, of Iola, Jesse H., who resides in California; S. Walter and John P., at home; Octavia; John, of Allen county, Kansas; Kate Marshall, who died leaving two children, Frank and Edith who are with their father in Worth county, Missouri, Mattie, wife of Eli Ellsworth, of Gas, Kansas; Sida Clara Veer Laveer, at home; and Mahala. wife of Riley Moore, of Allen county.
Mr. Willhite came to Kansas in 1880 and purchased the farm on which he now resides. At the time of his marriage he owned but 'one horse, and on this both he and his wife rode when they went to visit their neighbors. This horse he used for plowing and cultivating his land for two years before he was able to buy another. Eventually success attended him and as the years passed he has added to his possessions until he is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of well improved and valuable land. He has upon his place good grades of stock and his fields are under a high state of cultivation. His home is a nice country residence, sur- rounded by fine shade trees, and everything about the place indicates his careful supervision. His capital is now sufficient to enable him to put aside the more arduous duties of life. In politics he has been a Democrat since casting his first presidential vote for Buchanan, but he has never sought or desired office. preferring to devote his time to his business affairs, in which he has met with signal success.
W ILLIAM OVERHOLT was born in Hancock county, Ohio, June 4, 1857. his parents being Henry and Sarah (Fritz) Overholt, both natives of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer by occupation, following that pursuit throughout his active life. He died during the early part of the Civil war at the age of forty-five years. His widow, however, is still living in Ohio, and has now attained the ripe age of eighty one. They had two sons who loyally entered the Union ser- vice during the war of the Rebellion, one of whom was taken ill soon after joining the army and died, giving his life as a ransom for his country's preservation. David served throughout the entire struggle and is now living in Ohio. John C. and Henry are also residents of that state.
William Overholt, the youngest of the five children, was reared under
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the parental roof and as a companion and helpinate on life's journey he chose Miss Gertie Redfern, also a native of Hancock county, Ohio, and a daughter of Peter C. Redfern. Her mother bore the maiden name of Frances Wineland and was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania. Mr. Redfern died in 1893 at the age of fifty-four years, and his widow is still living at the age of fifty-four. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Overholt has been blessed with five children, namely: Floyd L., Alma Edna, Willie E., Merle R. and Orpha H. I. Overholt. The initial letters of the youngest daughter spell Mr. Overholt's native state-Ohio.
In the year 1889 our subject came with his family to Kansas, and after residing in Humboldt for a short time purchased the Maple Grove farm in Salem township, comprising two hundred and forty acres of rich land, which he placed under a very high state of cultivation, there residing for seven years. He then rented his farm and came to Humboldt, where he is now engaged successfully in operating a corn sheller. In his political affiliations he is a Republican, and for one term served as trustee of Salem township. Both he and his wife are members of the Knights and Ladies of Security and in Humboldt and the surrounding country they have a large circle of friends limited only by the circle of their acquaintances. Classified among the substantial citizens of the community Mr. Overholt owes his creditable position to his well-directed efforts in business and his indefatigable energy.
W ILLIAM A. CHOGUILL, a practitioner at the bar of Allen county,
recognized as one of the most prominent representatives of the legal fraternity of Humboldt, was born in Morgan County, Ohio, March 25, 1848. His father, Samuel Choguill, a contractor and builder, was born in the Buckeye state in 1823. He married Sybilla Todd, an Ohio lady, and in 1884 removed to Kansas, wliere his death occurred in 1890. His widow still survives him, and is living on the home farm in Woodson County at the age of seventy-two. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are: Sarah E., who is living with her mother; Louis G., who resides . on the home farm in Woodson County and William A.
William Alkanzor Choguill is indebted to the public school system for his early educational privileges, which were supplemented by study in the Hopedale Academy in Jefferson County, Ohio. Later he entered the Lebanon Normal School in Warren County, Ohio, where he completed his education and then served an apprenticeship in a drug store. Subsequent- ly he matriculated in the Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio, in which institution he was graduated in 1870. After this he studied law with the firm of Stewart & Metcalf and was admitted to the bar in McConnells- ville, Ohio, in 1879. Believing that there was a better field of labor offered to young men in the west where competition was not so great he started for Kansas, arriving in Humboldt on the fifth of March, 1880. He purchased
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a farm in Woodson County, a few miles west of Humboldt, made it his place of residence and engaged in its cultivation for three years at the end of which time he took up his abode in Humboldt where he has since engaged in law practice, rapidly winning his way to a foremost place in the ranks of the legal fraternity.
In 1874 Mr. Choguill married Miss Laureta M. Millner, of Ohio, and the hospitality of many of the best homes of the locality is cordially extend- ed them. Mr. Choguill is independent in his political views, supporting the men and measures that he thinks will best promote the country's wel- fare. He is, however, a man of superior oratorical power, an eloquent and convincing speaker, and on more than one occasion he has entered into the campaign work, delivering addresses both in his adopted and in his native state. In his fraternal sentiment he is connected with the Odd Fellows and the Maccabees.
Mr. Choguill's career has been one of untiring industry. During the years of liis residence in Allen County he has championed every movement designed to promote the general welfare; has supported every enterprise for the public good and has materially aided in the advancement of all social, educational and moral interests. His knowledge of law, his ability in argument and his masterful treatment of the intricate problems of juris- prudence have resulted in gaining him a creditable standing among his professional brothers.
S AMUEL G. CECIL, one of the prominent builders and contractors of Iola, and a citizen whose interest in the public affairs of his city are positive and constant, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, March 12, 1853. His father. B. Cecil, was a teacher and was engaged in educational work in Belmont County many years and was, himself, born there in 1824, dying in 1854. He was descended from French parents, his father having emi- grated to the United States from the Kingdom of France at an early period. Our subject's paternal grandfather was a farmer and is buried in the county of Belmont where he seems to have settled.
B. Cecil married May Jordan, a daughter of Abel Jordan, a Quaker, whose abiding place was once Mayfield, Pennsylvania, and whose calling was that of a cabinet maker. Mrs. Cecil died in 1881 leaving two children: Jolın E. Cecil. who died in 1880, leaving one child at Berea. Ohio, and Samuel G. Cecil, our subject.
S. G. Cecil spent his youth on a farm till his sixteenth year. At that age he undertook the task of learning the carpenter trade, around Urichs- ville, Ohio, and finishing or completing it, in Cleveland, Ohio. He re- mained with his native State till 1884 when he came west and located in Larned, Kansas. In that western town he took up contracting prominent- ly and remained in that section until 1897 when he became a resident of Iola. In his last location he has been as prominently identified with the
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building interests as any of his competitors, as many of the buildings he constructed will serve to show what class of work, in a measure, he has been identified with.
Mr. Cecil married first in Urichsville, Ohio, in 1878, Anna Harris, who died in 1890. Her children are; Harry H. and Ralph E. Mr. Cecil was again married in 1895, to Sarah E. Tabor.
The Cecils are Republicans, early and late, and our subject has evinced an active interest in local public matters wherever he has resided. In Larned he was the city's public servant for a time and soon after locating in Iola he was called to the city council. While he is a gentleman with positive convictions he is not an extremist to such an extent as to prejudice and bias his usefulness as a public officer. During his membership of the council while the "gas question" was uppermost his position was rather that of a mediator and pacificator, or harmonizer, of the two strongly an- tagonistic factions. In 1899 he was elected a member of the board of edu- cation for the first ward of his city. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow.
W TILLIAM J. IHRIG, one of the best known masons and plasterers of Allen County, and a citizen who has spent more than a gener- ation as a resident of the county, came here in March 1879, from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He is a native son of the Keystone State, having been born in Philadelphia, Pa., January 21, 1842. His father, Adam Ihrig, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1811 and, about 1853, came to America with his family and located in the city of Philadelphia. He was known among the early hotel keepers of Strasburg, Alleghany City, and in the counties of the Oil Region and his last years were passed in Cleveland, Ohio. He married Margaret Ihrig and died in 1894, his wife dying at Cleveland in 1872. Their children are: William J .. the first to grow up; Catherine, wife of John Meyer, died in Cleveland in 1898; and Adam Ihrig, of the city of Cleveland.
W. J. Ihrig's boyhood was passed in the manufacturing districts of Pennsylvania, in the counties of Schuylkill, Alleghany and Lancaster. He was schooled in both English and German and remained under the parental roof till his enlistment in the army. September 12, 1861, he became a member of Company C, 79th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Col. Hambright's regiment. He belonged to the Army of the Cumberland and began his active service at Louisville, Kentucky. The 14th corps, to which he belonged, was in the battles of Perryville, Nashville, Murfrees- boro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and in the Atlanta campaign. In this campaign our subject was wounded at the battle of Kennesaw Moun- tain, and taken prisoner. He was confined in Andersonville nearly four months, was transferred to Florence, South Carolina, where on the eve of an exchange of prisoners, with two others he made his escape. They fell into a squad on detail for wood and when outside broke the guard line and fled. They were piloted through the strange country by negroes and
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reached the Union lines some six weeks after their escape. A pass was issued to Mr. Ihrig to enter a parole camp at Alexandria, Virginia, where he found his regiment, and he returned home with it in June, 1865. From the battle of Murfreesboro Mr. Ihrig was on detail in the 4th Indiana Battery, serving a gun, till after the battle of Lookout Mountain. He then returned to his regiment.
On coming out of his long army service Mr. Ihrig's first work was in the oil fields as a driller and he followed this work much of the time till he left the State. He conceived a desire to see the west and left Lancaster in 1879 on a prospecting tour. He met with our townsman, Henry F. Travis, on the train and, upon their reaching Kansas City they decided to run down the Santa Fe Railway and see Iola. Their coming settled the fate of both, for Ihrig bonght the Perkins place (the Goodner property) and Travis located in Elm township and both brought their families out the next year.
Mr. Ihrig learned the masons and plasterers trade in Lancaster, Penn- sylvania, and he has practically. followed nothing else in Kansas. He has worked on nearly every good brick or stone building in Iola and his pros- perity has enabled him to build a house for himself every year for the past ten. With the end of 1899 he sought retirement and is in ample financial freedom to remain so.
July 26, 1865, Mr. Ihrig was married in Lancaster, Pa., to Mrs. Annie Gminder, a daughter of Archibald Warren, one of Lancaster's merchants. One of his sons, William Warren, served in the regular army and was stationed in some of the western posts. He went to South America when his enlistment expired. A daughter, Lizzie, married Peter Frank and re- sides in Saginaw, Michigan. George Pinkerton. of Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, married Amanda Warren and Susie Warren married James Buchan- an, of Philadelphia. The youngest, James Warren, is still in Lancaster. Mrs. Ihrig has a son, Harry Gminder, by her first marriage. The Ihrig children are two sous, Albert W., who married Maggie Duncan and has six children: Annie, Bertha, Lillian, Lloyd, Eugene and Charlie. Arthur Eugene Ihrig was born in May, 1871, and is W. J.'s younger son. He was married to Nellie Bean in Iola and has no children.
Harry Gminder married Emma Riggs and resides in Concordia, Kan- sas. Their three children are: Anna, Lillian and Edna.
As a citizen W. J. Ihrig is one of our most pronounced and positive in his views. There are no more staunch Republicans than he and his in- terest in and connection with McCook Post, G. A. R., is especially strong and permanent. He is a member of many of our mutual insurance orders and is, on the whole a social and agreeable gentleman.
A NDREW D. INMAN, of Osage township, Allen county, has passed twenty years within the boundaries of the county. He came to it in April 1881 and settled upon one of the old pioneer farms of eastern Allen
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county. It is the southwest quarter of section 18, township 24, range 20, and there Mr. Inman has maintained a continuons and honorable resi- dence. Mr. Inman came to Kansas from Benton county, Indiana, but he was born and reared in Blackford county, that state. His birth occurred January 12, 1849, and his training and education were entirely rural. He is a son of Samuel Inman, who was reared in Ohio, but whose active life was spent largely in Blackford county, Indiana. He was married to a lady of Scotch descent, Abigail Dickson. A streak or strain of Irish also coursed through her veins for her ancestors were from the north of Ireland. Samuel Inman was married in Ohio and died in December 1876 at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife died in 1856. Their children were: John, who died in Blackford county, Indiana and left a family; Elizabeth, wife of Solomon Geyer, of Piqua, Kansas; Mary, wife of John Waters, of Moran, Kansas; Eli, of Blackford county, Indiana; Sarah, deceased, was married to Jacob Clapper and left a family in Indiana; Isaac, of Lawrence- burg, Tennessee; Jane, deceased, wife of Daniel Daily, and Andrew D., our subject.
Andrew D. Inman acquired the necessary elements of an English edu- cation and became responsible for his proper conduct and personal main- tenance in his sixteenth year. For some eighteen years he was a laborer, by the month or day, and on December 23, 1880, he was married at Mound City, Kansas. In September, 1871, he lett Indiana and spent the years intervening, till 1880, in Allen and Linn counties, Kansas. Upon pur- chasing, or arranging the terms for his farm, he found it necessary to mort- gage it in order to provide himself with the implements and other adjuncts necessary to cultivate it. His twenty years of residence upon, and cultiva- tion of, an Osage township farm have been both pleasant and profitable to him. His idea, that everything was wrought by industry and nothing without it, was the proper one and he and his loyal wife have witnessed their labors bear substantial fruit.
Mr. Inman married Miss May Dow, a daughter of Isaac Dow, who was born in New York state in 1832. The latter was from Vermont parents, a thrifty and industrious people. Mr. Dow was a mechanic, came to Kansas in 1866 and settled in Linn county. He married Phebe Daggett, a daughter of Harvey Daggett, of Massachusetts. Mr. Dow belonged to Company E, Fourth Iowa Cavalry during the Rebellion and served three years in the western department. He received a sun stroke on the battle field, was discharged on account of it and it finally caused his death, April 1899.
The Dow children are: Mary A., wife of our subject, born November 5, 1860; Frances, wife of A. B. Houser, of LaHarpe, Kansas; Loren Dow, of LaHarpe, and Miss Bulah, with her widowed mother at LaHarpe, Kansas.
The politics of the Inmaus, early, was Democratic, that of the Dows Republican. Andrew Inman voted with the Democrats till 1884, since then he has been a Republican.
Our subject's only child, Charles, was born January 29, 1885.
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T THOMAS B. SHANNON .- One of the enterprising merchants of Iola, successfully conducting an extensive hardware establishment is T. B. Shannon, who since 1897 has been a well known factor in commercial circles in this city. He was born in Attica, Indiana, January 28, 1871, and is a son of G. W. Shannon, whose birth occurred in Virginia, May 31. 1835. The grandfather, Thomas Shannon, was also a native of the Old Dominion, born at Sharon Springs, Bland county, March 20, 1817, and in that state the father of our subject resided until 1855, making his home upon a farm. He then removed to Fountain county, Indiana, where he again followed farming until the spring of 1871, when he came to Kansas, settling in Woodson county, on the present townsite of Vernon. In 1873 he removed to Neosho Falls, where he learned the tinner's trade under the direction of ex-Governor Finney. In 1880 he engaged in the hardware business in Toronto, Kansas, where he remained ten years, and in the fall of 1890 he became a resident of Anacortes, Washington, where he is now successfully conducting a hardware establishment. He was married in Wythe county, Virginia, to Miss Callie Brown, who was born in Wythe county, Virginia, October 7, 1831, a daughter of Josiah Brown, also a native of Virginia. She died in Neosho Falls, Kansas, August 26, 1874, leaving two children, namely: T. B., of this review, and G. D., who is connected in business with his father in Anacortes, Washington.
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