History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas, Part 41

Author: Duncan, L. Wallace (Lew Wallace), b. 1861. cn; Scott, Charles F., b. 1860
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Iola, Kan. : Iola Register
Number of Pages: 1066

USA > Kansas > Woodson County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 41
USA > Kansas > Allen County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 41

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Martin Feeley lived in Lockport, New York, until lie was twenty-five years old, when he moved to Indiana. Before leaving his native State he learned the cooper's trade at which he worked for several years, and when he came west he continued it. He saved money enough in New York to purchase a farm in the west. In 1884 he settled in Carlyle township, Allen County, but in the spring of 1889 he sold his farm there and purchased a better one near Humboldt where he has since lived. He owns 120 acres well improved and stocked, and everything about the farm denotes the presence of a careful and successful farmer.

Before leaving New York Mr. Feeley was married to Miss Julia Johnston. Eleven children have been born to them, all of whom are still living. They are: Mary, Francis and Rhoda, living in Kansas City; Mollie, Daniel, Viola. Julia, Clara, Florence, Emma and Regina, all at home. The family have had the rare good fortune not to have had a death, nor any serious illness.

In politics Mr. Feeley has always been a Democrat, but has taken no active part in political campaigns. He has allowed his judgment as to the best man for the office to rule him.

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L YLE A. GARRETT-Nature has evidently intended that man sha 11 enjoy a period of rest in the evening of life. In his early manhood he possesses great energy, vigor, strong purpose and ambition and fears not the arduous labor necessary toward the acquirement of success. In the prime of life his powers become ripened and mature, and his efforts may be discerningly directed along well defined lines If a man therefore im- proves his opportunities through the years of early and middle manhood he will find that in the evening of life he is the possessor of a competence sufficient to supply him with all the necessities and many of the luxuries which make existence a pleasure. Such has been the case with Mr. Garrett, who is now living retired in his pleasant home in Humboldt. He has steadily worked his way upward and the competence that crowns his labors is well merited.

A natiye of Ohio, he was born in Highland County, on the 18th of March, in 1823, and is a son of William Garrett, whose birth occurred in South Carolina, in 1798, Having arrived at the age of maturity, however, he wedded Miss Mary Dean, a native of Pennsylvania. He had accom- panied his parents to the Buckeye State when ten years of age, and the Deaus had also located there at an early date. The Garrett family was of Scotch-Irish lineage and the original Americani ancestors came to this coun- try from the north of Ireland. Many of the sterling characteristics of the two races William Garrett manifested in his career. He began farming in Ohio in 1809 and in 1847 he removed to Des Moines, Iowa, where he made his home until 1870, in which year he took up his abode in Kansas City, Missouri. He died at the home of his son in Allen County. Kansas, in 1891, at the age of ninety one years, but his wife passed away in Kansas City in 1881, at the age of eighty years They were the parents of ten children, of whom four are now living, the daughters being: Mrs. Elizabeth Elson, of Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Alma Murray, of Ohio, and Mrs. May Evans, of Spring Hill, Kansas.

Lyle A. Garrett, who was the eldest of the family, resided in Ohio until his twenty-fourth year and was married in that State to Miss Eleanor B. Stewart. Two children were there born to them. The son, Cyrus W., grew to manhood and became a soldier during the Civil war, serving with the Eighth Iowa Cavalry. The mother died in Iowa in 1849, the daughter passing away only three days previous at the age of three years. Mr. Garrett was married again in 1858, his second union being with Miss Mary Hamilton.

In his early business career the subject of this review followed farming in Ohio, and in 1847 removed from that State to Des Moines, Iowa, which was his place of residence until 1852. About that time the country became excited over the gold discoveries of California, and the fortunes that were rapidly acquired by men in the mines on the Pacific coast, so that our subject, in company with his brother and Dr. Mordice, fitted out an ox team of four yoke of oxen. They also had four cows, and thus equipped, they crossed the plains and mountains which lay between them and Cali-

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fornia. After traveling four months they reached their destination and Mr. Garrett engaged in mining and prospecting four years. He returned home by way of the Isthmus of Panama, riding on a train for the first time when making his way across the isthmus. By steamer he proceeded to New York and thence returned to his home in Iowa. He remained there until 1867, the year of his removal to Kansas City, Missouri. In the latter locality he engaged in fruit raising for twelve years. On the expiration of that period he came to Allen County, locating southeast of Humboldt, on a farm which he purchased and which he still owns, comprising five hun- dred and forty five acres of fine land. He carried on general farming and stock-raising, keeping about one hundred head of cattle and about the same number of hogs. In 1896, however, he put aside the arduous cares of business life; rented his farm, and is now spending the evening of his days in a fine residence in Humboldt, surrounded by all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

At the time of the Civil war Mr. Garrett earnestly espoused the cause of the Union and manifested his loyalty in 1862 by enlisting as a member of Company C, Twenty-third Iowa Infantry. He went into the service as a private, but at Vicksburg he was promoted for gallantry to the rank of first lieutenant. He participated in many hard fought battles, and skirmishes of lesser importance, the banner of his regiment being pierced by the bullets of twelve hotly contested engagements. He was in the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Fort Gibson and Fort Spanish thirteen days and nights, yet he was never wounded nor taken a prisoner. He lay in the trenches at Vicksburg from May 18 until July 4, 1863, getting rest and sleep at odd moments, and never being able to take off his clothing in all that time. He crossed the Gulf of Mexico on five different occasions dur- ing his service and was ever found where duty called, loyally defending the starry banner of the nation. In the fall of 1865, when the war was ended and the country no longer needed liis services, he was discharged from the army in Texas. He immediately returned to his home in Iowa and resumed again the pursuits of civil life.

When Mr. Garrett started out upon his business career he was the possessor only of a horse. His father allowed him the use of a field, free of rent for the first year, but from that time he made his way independent- ly, adding to his accumulations as the years have passed by. He has met many of the hardships, trials and difficulties of life, but has overcome these by his determined purpose. In all his business relations he has com- manded the confidence and good will of his fellowmen by his honorable and systematic methods, his force and his enterprise.

R OBERT M. WORKS .- Fourty-four years upon the plains of Kansas, more than four decades a resident of Allen county and above two score of years a central figure in the industrial sphere of his commonwealthi

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marks the record of our worthy pioneer, Robert M. Works. A lifetime of intense and profitable activity along the banks of the placid Neosho and the last of a race of determined and indigent pioneers express to the world in a few words his physical achievements. If there were no substantial rewards for industry, if there were no appreciation for things done and tasks accomplished, how, then, could the world repay her planters of civilization and establishers of society for the hardships and misfortunes they have endured. Tenacity is the chief ingredient in the mechanism .of a typical pioneer and the few who have possessed this trait to a marked degree are the few who answer to roll-call after a quarter of a century of prosperity and adversity, of successes and reverses, each in allopathic cases.

The time seems never to have been when R. M. Works was not a citizen of Humboldt township. He settled on the river near the old county seat at a date farther back than most men now remember-1857-and be- gan the task of opening a farm. The most that was known then about Kansas soil was that the best land lay near the streams and in this know- ledge Mr. Works was particularly fortunate. His homestead all lay in the bottom and when its wild nature had been destroyed and the abundance of its yield beheld, the prosperity of its owner was no longer a subject of wonder. As a grain farmer and as grain producers Mr. Works and his broad acres are unequaled in Allen county. Away back in the seventies when the prairies were settling up and when the grass-hoppers and floods made it impossible for the new men to tide over on their crop they called on "Uncle Robert" and paid him in money and in notes, a dollar a bushel for big white corn. There was always one place where corn or wheat could be had, in the olden time, and what was true of that farmer then is true of him still. Mr. Works absorbed acre after acre of land adjoining him till in all fourteen hundred acres along and near the great Neosho Valley represent the partial fruits of his labors.

At eleven years of age Robert Works was thrown out upon the world to battle with the elements. He was left an orphan at seven years of age by the death of his father and it was as a farm hand and at other forms of hard work that he started in life. He was born in Essex county, New York, February 20, 1831, and was a farmer's son. His father was George Works and his mother, who died in 1880, was Julia Collidge. The father was born in Massachusetts in 1803 and his mother's birth occurred in 1805. They were the parents of four children: George, Robert M., Clark and Obadiah Works. George and Clark are in New York and Obadiah is in Wisconsin, near Eau Claire.

In 1838 the Works family passed through the Erie canal bound for Illinois. Soon after reaching their destination the father died and the mother took her children back to New York state. The indigency of the family made work necessary and placed education beyond the reach of young Robert. Having tasted of the western air lie longed to try his for- tunes there and in 1855 he went into Iowa. He spent two years there in the employ of farmers and while there heard of Kansas. Following a de-

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sire to see and know the new Territory himself he came hither and "took up" the best tract of land in Allen county.

The first events of the Civil war found Mr. Works busy with his new farm. When the country called he was not too busy to help put down rebellion against the flag. The second call for troops brought him to the proper officer to subscribe his name and to offer his services, and his life. if need be, that we might be preserved a nation and not a league of states. He joined Company G. Ninth Kansas and was in the field three years and four months. The regiment's marches through Arkansas and Missouri and the battles and skirmishes incident thereto furnish many of the excit- ing reminiscences of Mr. Work's life.

When the war ended Mr. Works returned home and was married the same year to Mrs. Caroline Butterfield, Two children were the result of this union: Julia E., wife of James W. Hamm of Humboldt, and C. Wilbur Works, the active young aid to his father's large enterprises. The latter is married to Alice Michael and lias two children. In 1872 Mr. Works lost his wife by death and in 1874 he was married to Mrs. Frances Parker, a danghter of John Woodin. Of the four children of this marriage three survive, viz: Robert L., George C. and Mary Works. In June, 1892, Mr. Works lost his second wife.

Throughout all the years of his active, and somewhat eventful life, Mr. Works has maintained himself pure and righteous among men. The taint of suspicion or reproach has not pointed in his direction and in his quiet and unobtrusive manner he has made and retained warm friend- ships at every turn. His whole life illustrates the adage that one should never weary of well-doing.

JAMES S. McKAUGHAN settled in Elm township. Allen county, in 1881. He settled upon a piece of prairie land and began its cultivation and development with a team and a small bunch of cattle. His success is observable in the ownership of a half section of land, instead of a quarter as at first, and in the fact that his place is improved and stocked. Labor, alone, has brought about this gratifying condition. The element of man- agement, of course, is a valuable aid to industry in the accumulation of wealth and both these characteristics are abundantly present in the compo- sition of "Jim McCoin."

Mr. McKaughan was born in Lewis county, Illinois, August 14. 1863. He is a son of the late Edward McKanghan who died at the home of our subject August 24, 1899. The latter was born in Pulaski county, Ken- tucky, in 1819. He was married there to Eliza Noflet who died in John- son county, Kansas, in 1880, at the age of sixty years. Their children are: John McKaughan, of Johnson county. Kansas; Harvey McKaughan, of the same county; Elizabeth, wife of Abe Larick, of Johnson county, Kansas; Eliza, wife of Levi Williams, of Butler county, Kansas; Serena,

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deceased, wife of Spencer Sloan; Rhoda, wife of Ed. Montgomery, of Coffeyville, Kansas; Lissie, who married J. B. Williams, of Allen county, and James S., our subject.

James McKaughan was schooled in the country. He was brought up in Johnson county, Kansas, and received his first lessons in farming there. He was married in Allen county in 1884 to Rosa Mills, a daughter of C. K. Mills, one of the well known farmers of Deer Creek township. The children of this marriage are: Jay and Edith McKaughan.

James McKaughan has filled an important niche in the citizenship of Allen county. He has not only done his share in local development and improvement but in other ways bas he shown his interest and pride in his county and patriotism on public questions. He has trained with Democ- racy because he believed its policies to be best adapted to the needs of our country but a conviction to the contrary would cause him to hold personal interest above party and to cast his ballot accordingly.

[AMES W. LOCKHART, County Commissioner of Allen County, and

J .

one of the well known farmers of Humboldt township, was born in Mercer County, Illinois, May 1, 1852. His father, Josiah Lockhart, one of the characters of Allen County for nearly thirty years, was born in Columbia, Pennsylvania, in 1815, and died in Allen County, Kansas, March 20, 1894. He was married in the State of his birth to Elizabeth Lemon, who died at the family homestead August 5, 1900, at eighty-six years of age.

In 1843 Josialı Lockhart and wife moved into Mercer County, Illinois. He resided there till his advent into Kansas in 1866. He devoted his life to the farm and to stock and when he settled in Allen County it was three miles southeast of Humboldt that he purchased his farm. The daytime of his life was all activity. He was one of the old school of citizens, with no pretense toward religion, with little regard for sacred things and with, apparently, a strong belief in the doctrine of "eat, drink and be merry" in its literal sense. He was a conspicuous character at all public gatherings and when his friend was with him he was particularly jocular and pointed.

James W. Lockhart was the sixth of seven children. When of age he went to Texas and spent six years. He passed another year in the Indian Territory. He returned then to the family hearthstone and took charge of the farin and supported his parents and provided for their comfort in their decline. In 1889 he was married to Clara Wiggins, a daughter of William and Sarah Wiggins. Mrs. Lockhart is a native of Pennsylvania and ac- companied her parents to Kansas in 1884. Her children are two daughters, Myrtle and Sylvania, respectively seven and four years of age.

As a farmer Mr. Lockhart is one of the progressive and successful ones in his vicinity. His property he maintains in good repair and order and his faim is one of the old and attractive ones along the highway. His

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standing with his fellows is unusually high, for he maintains a business and social honor not easily assailed. It was this popularity that gave him the nomination for County Commissioner in 1896. Notwithstanding the Republican majority in his district he was elected. After a service of three years his worth was fully recognized and he was re-elected as the candi- date of the Fusionists. His official conduct has been fair and honorable and has been as free from partisan bias as the exigencies of the case permit. First of all Mr. Lockhart is an American and when it comes to matters of public policy in Nation or State liis views coincide with modern Democratic ideas. He is a Democrat with a friendly feeling for other parties.

D AVID T. NASH-For almost a third of a century David Thomas Nash has resided in Allen County, the period of his connection with agricultural interests of Elm township covering thirty years. He was born in Delaware County, Ohio, July 18, 1839, and was the second son of Samuel L. and Catherine (Early) Nash. His paternal grandfather was a native of Ireland and located in Pennsylvania at an early day. Both he and the maternal grandfather served their country in the war of 1812. Samnel Nash was born in Pennsylvania in 1801. Going to the South he became overseer of slaves on a Kentucky plantation, and while in that State he married Miss Early, a relative of General Early, of Civil war fame. Subsequently he removed to Ohio, and there reared his family upon a farm in Delaware County. He had two sons and two daughters, David T .; Henry, a resident of Delaware County, Ohio; and Mrs. Amanda Gregory and Mrs. Anna Hall, who are also living in that county.

Upon the home farm David T. Nash aided in the labors of field and meadow until he had attained his majority, when he responded to the country's call for aid to crush out the rebellion, and enlisted as a member of Company C, of the Fourth Ohio Infantry. He served for three years and three months and was ever found at his post of duty, loyally defending the stars and stripes. His regiment was organized under Colonel Andrews who three months later was succeeded in the command by Colonel Mason. It was attached to the Army of the Potomac, and Mr. Nash participated in twenty-one engagements. On one occasion he could easily have shot General Robert E. Lee, but not daring to expose himself he remained concealed until the General had passed by. In 1864 he was mustered out of the service and with a creditable military record returned to his home. He continued farming in Ohio until 1870, when he came to Kansas. After spending a year in Iola he located upon his present farm in Elm township, and has since devoted his time and energies to the further cultivation and improvement of his land. His home is presided over by a most estimable lady, who in her maidenhood bore the name of Louisa F. Gunn. She was born in Edwards County, Illinois, in 1845, a daughter of Tyler and Jemima (Root) Gunn, the former a native of Massachusetts.

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Their three children are: Mrs. Nash; Henry, of Perkinsville, Indiana, and Nelson B., of Elmwood, Indiana. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Naslı was celebrated in 1865, and unto them have born born seven children; Mrs. Rosa E. Walker, of Coffeyville, Kansas; Mrs. Ada Lemaster, of Carlisle, Kansas; Samuel L., a locomotive engineer, of Springfield, Ohio; Mrs. Ida F. Ellison, of Drexel, Missouri; Mary E .; Lulu Pearl and Nelson Ray, both at home. The parents are members of the Presbyterian church, to which Mr. Nash has belonged for eighteen years, while his wife has been a member for nearly forty years. For five years he served as trustee of Elm township. His long continuance in that office indicates his faithful service and the confidence reposed by his fellow townsmen in his ability and tustrworthiness.

B ENJAMIN I. WALLIS-The arrival of few of the citizens of Allen County antedates that of Mr. Wallace who came to it in 1856, locat- ing north of Iola. In the years of his residence here he has watched with interest the progress of events which have placed this county on a par with many counties of the older east and to measures which have contributed to the material upbuilding and substantial development of the community lie has given endorsement and support.

A native of Virginia he was born in Lee County, in 1833. His paternal grandfather emigrated from Scotland to the Old Dominion at an early day and the maternal grandfather left his home in Holland to take up his abode in the new world when Virginia was a part of the colonial possessions of England in America. The parents of our subject were both born in Lee County in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and in 1834 removed to Indiana, locating on a farm where they spent their re- maining days.

Benjamin L. Wallis spent his boyhood days in hard work upon his father's farm and as he lived in a new settlement he had but limited oppor- tunity to secure an education. He learned the carpenter's trade and in 1856 came to Kansas. Here he foilowed carpentering for six years, and in 1862 he returned to Indiana, there to enter his country's service as a mem- ber of the Forty-sixth Indiana Infantry, which was attached to the Western army. He served under Generals Hovey and McClarran, and participated in many important engagements, including the battles of New Madrid, Fort Pillow and St. Charles. In 1864 he was mustered out of the service. During the term of his enlistment he was always found at his post of duty, faithfully defending the old flag.

In 1865 Mr. Wallis was united in marriage to Miss Sophia McCool, whose parents were born and reared in Ohio, and removed to Indiana in the early '50s. Mrs. Wallis has two brothers, Jacob and John, who are married, and reside with their families in Fountain County, Indiana. Mr. Wallace also has two brothers, John and

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Henry, who, with their families, reside in the Hoosier State. His sisters are Mrs. Louisa Grubbs, a widow now living in Muncie, Indiana; Susan McKinley, also of Muncie, and Mrs. Nellie Shipley, of Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Wallis have five children: William C., who is with his parents; Scott A., blacksmith in La Harpe, and is married; Charles B., who is a member of the Thirty-fifth regiment of United States Volun- . teers, in the Philippines; Mrs. Emma Morrison of Moran, and Mrs. Gertie Wooten, who is living near Iola.

For a number of years after his return from the war, Mr. Wallis resided in Indiana, but like most people who have once lived in Kansas, he desired to return to the Sunflower State, and in 1879 took up his abode once more in Allen County. He purchased a farm south of LaHarpe and although it was then a tract of open prairie, he made it one of the best im- proved farms in the county, continuing its cultivation until February, 1899, when he put aside the more arduous duties of farm life and moved to La- Harpe. He is a staunch advocate of the Populist party, and since his boyhood days has been a consistent member of the Christian church. His advancement in the business world has resulted from his own energy, prompted by a laudable ambition, and his prosperity has been well and worthily achieved.

A RCHIBALD J. FULTON. M. D., of Iola, Kansas, was born on the 18th day of October, 1847, on his father's farm, near Port Stanley, in the county of Elgin, Ontario, Canada. His father, Samnel Fulton, was born at Ballmaena and educated in Belfast, Ireland. His mother, Jean ( McDearmid) Fulton, was born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland. The two families emigrated to western Canada in an early day, where Samuel Fulton and Jean McDearmid were married, purchased heavily timbered lands, chopped, logged, cleared and cultivated the same, at a time when their machinery consisted of the cradle, hand-rake and flail and they were obliged to travel sixty miles by ox wagon to have their wheat ground into flour. Yet they labored successfully and lived to see their neighborhood populate and flourish. To them were born five sons and one daughter. Of these, three sons, John Fulton, Andrew L. Fulton and Archibald J. Fulton, took up the profession of medicine and surgery. Dr. John Fulton (now deceased) was professor of surgery in Trinity Medical College, of Toronto, Canada, for many years and was rightly considered at the head of his profession in Canada. He had taken degrees in London, Edin- burgh. Paris, Heidleburg and Berlin. Dr. Andrew L. Fulton gratuated at Trinity Medical College of Toronto, Canada, and Bellevue Hospital Med- ical College of New York City. He has been professor of surgery in the Kansas City Medical College, of Kansas City, Missouri, for a number of years, and for two years has been dean of the faculty of that college.

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History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas, Part 41

Author: Duncan, L. Wallace (Lew Wallace), b. 1861. cn; Scott, Charles F., b. 1860 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Iola, Kan. : Iola Register Number of Pages: 1066

Author: Duncan, L. Wallace (Lew Wallace), b. 1861. cn; Scott, Charles F., b. 1860
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Iola, Kan. : Iola Register
Number of Pages: 1066