USA > Kansas > Woodson County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 51
USA > Kansas > Allen County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 51
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Before leaving his native State Mr. Ericson was married on the 13th of December, 1888, to Miss Hannah Basser, a native of Sweden. She came alone to America in 1886 at the age of eighteen years, and her parents still reside in Sweden. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ericson have been born five chil- dren: Harold E., born in 1889; Herman E., born in 1890; Hazel W., born in 1893; Glenn H., born in 1896, while Myrtle, the baby, was born Febru- ary 1, 1900. Mr. Ericson is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Ameri- ca in Elsmore. Like his brothers, who are residing in this county, he can claim the distinction of being what the public calls "a self-made man." He has never had a dollar given him, and from early boyhood has earned his own living. Labor has been the key which has unlocked to him the portals of success and from its storehouse he has gained rich treasures. He is numbered among the valued and respected citizens of his community and well deserves mention in this volume.
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J. E. JONES, of Iola, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania August 6, 1853, and is a representative of an old New Jersey family of Welsh lineage. His paternal grandfather, Peter Jones, removed from New Jersey to Washington county and there on the 23rd of March, 1826, John A. Jones, the father of our subject, was born. In his early life the latter resided upon a farm with his maternal grandfather, his mother having died when he was only a few days old. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and throughout his life engaged in the tilling of the soil, owning a portion of the farm on which he was born. In the fall of 1867 he left Pennsylvania and removed to Knox county, Ohio, where his father had resided for a number of years. After two years, however, John A. Jones went to La Salle county, Illinois, where he spent his remaining days. In 1847 he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Hampson, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1826, a daughter of Daniel Hampson, a native of New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Jones became the.parents of four children, three of whom are yet living, namely: W. P., a resident of Anthony, Kansas; D. E., who is living in Grand Ridge, Illinois; and J. E. the subject of this review. The father died in LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1880, and the mother's death occurred in Grand Ridge, that State, in June, 1897.
J. E. Jones the immediate subject of this sketch, spent the first four- teen years of his life upon the old homestead in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, and during that period pursued his education in the public schools. In 1867 he accompanied his parents to Ohio, and in 1869 to Illinois. On reaching his majority he left the home farm and entered the office of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Ottawa, Illinois, where he remained for one year. On account of ill health he was forced to leave that position and spent the succeeding year and a half upon the farm, after which he engaged in teaching school in LaSalle county, Illinois for five years. In 1884 he came to Kansas, locating at Anthony, Harper county, where he followed carpentering. Iu 1886 he purchased a shop and was identified with the building interests of that place until February, 1897, when he came to Iola. Here he engaged in contract work until the fall of 1899. during which time he and his partner, A. J. Servey, had the contract on the New York Store building and the Odd Fellows block. He also prepared the plans for the Masonic Temple at Iola. He now owns · and conducts a mill at the corner of Broadway and South street which is equipped with machinery of all kinds and where he executes all sorts of wood work.
On the 16th of September, 1884, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Sarah Beymer of Coldwater, Comanche county, Kansas. They were the first couple to whom a license was issued in that county, and for this reason they were presented with a lot in the town site of Cold- water. Mrs. Jones was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and is a daughter of Noah Beymer, a native of Germany.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jones resided in Anthony until their
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removal to Iola. They have formed many acquaintances since coming to this city and now have the warm regard of a large circle of friends.
Mr. Jones joined the Odd Fellows at Grand Ridge, Illinois, November 5, 1875, and Ottawa Encampment in March, 1882. He is a member of the Grand lodge and Grand Encampment and is a Chapter Masou.
E DWARD CAIN .- Among the pioneers of Allen county who have performed an active and honorable part in the upbuilding of the municipality is Edward Cain. He settled on Deer Creek, in what is now Carlyle township, April 10, 1858, and homesteaded the northeast quarter of section to, township 24, range 18, which tract he afterward covered with a land warrant. Among the settlers along the creek then were Isaiah Brown, Alfred Decker and Lew Edmundson, well remembered by their few remaining contemporaries, and all of whom have passed to the great beyond.
Ed. Cain brought an amount of funds into the county with him snf- ficient to provide himself with two yoke of cattle and to sustain himself through the first season. With the oxen he broke prairie-aided by Thos. A. McClelland -- at two dollars and fifty cents per acre. In August 1861, he left the plow and enlisted in the Union army to aid in repressing the Southern Confederacy. He joined Company F, Eighth Kansas, under Colonel John A. Martin and served on the frontier till March 1863, when the regiment was ordered east and placed in General Wood's corps. Mr. Cain participated in the battle of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, where he was wounded and put off of the firing line for three months but never left his regiment. He was on the Atlanta campaign and fought in the engagement at Lovejoy Station on the last day of his enlistment. He was discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, December 1864, and at once re- turned to his Kansas claim.
Mr. Cain took up in earnest the improvement and cultivation of his farm. Whereas he had it partially fenced when he entered the army, when he returned to it the settlers liad borrowed his fence and had carried off all his temporary improvements. He gathered in a few cattle as he became able and was soon in the stock business. His farm and his stock have enabled him, from time to time, to increase his acreage until he owns a half section of land, the result of years of industry and persevering effort. For many years. Mr. Cain has been one of the prominent shippers of stock from the Iola yards and the money he has thus distributed among the farmers amounts to a fabulous sum.
Edward Cain was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, October 3, 1834. His father, Watson Cain, went into Ohio from Kentucky, where he was born, at an early date. He was accompanied by his father, Orrin Cain, who was a pioneer farmer in the Buckeye state. Watson Cain grew up in Coshocton county, Ohio, married there Sarah Miller, and in 1856 went to
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Clinton county, Indiana. He cleared up a farin and both he and his wife died there. Their children were: Edward; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Golli- ver, of Independence, Iowa; Malony. wife of Lewis Cass, of Clinton county, Indiana; Henry and George, of the same county; Charles Cain, of Elwood, Indiana, and Maggie, deceased, wife of Andrew McIntyre.
Ed. Cain was first married in Allen county, Kansas, August 10, 1866, to Martha Wright who died in 1875, in March, at the age of twenty-eight years. She left three children, namely: Minnie, wife of John Gregg, of Allen county; Charles Cain, and Sadie, wife of Bert Wiggins, of Allen county. In 1877 Mr. Cain married in Troy, Ohio, Sarah Iddings whose birth occurred in Bethel, Ohio. She is a daughter of Rev. Moses Warden.
Mr. Cain's education was acquired in the country schools, attending three months in the year. Forgetting in nine months much of what he learned in three, the next year he would repeat and in this way he man- aged to get the rudiments of an education by the time he reached man's estate. Experience has been his best teacher but with the two his compe- tition with the world of barter and trade lias yielded amply for himself and family.
In politics the early Cains were Democrats. The events of the Civil war period made a Republican of our subject and, even before that struggle began, he voted for John C. Fremont, In politics as in everything else Ed. Cain is always reliable and always hon orable.
F RANK P. TANNER, a well-known representative of the educational interests of southeastern Kansas, now residing in Iola, was born in McLean county, Illinois, January 8, 1872, and is a son of Samuel F. Tan- ner, who was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1828. The paternal grandfather was a native of Germany, his birth oc- curring in that country near the close of the eighteenth century. He died when his son Samuel was only about five or six years of age, and in con- sequence the latter was early thrown upon his own resources. His educa- tional privileges were such as were afforded at that time in the old log school houses in frontier settlements. During his youth and early man- hood he learned and followed the cabinet maker's trade, and later he worked at the carpenter's trade and at farming.
About the time he attained his majority Samuel Tanner removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, settling near Marietta. There he met and married a Miss Flanders, a native of that state, and they became the parents of the following children: Laura V., wife of L. Chambers; Charity A., wife of B. C. Allenworth; William R .; Iola J., wife of J. S. Sheetz, a resident of Tazewell county, Illinois, as are the other members of the family men- tioned above; Ida M., wife of I,. Shireve, of Lucas county, Iowa; Mary, wife of R. P. Decker, of the same county; and S. Tellford, who is living in Lucas county. The mother of this family died in 1867, and Samuel F.
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Tanner afterward wedded Elizabeth B. Preshaw, the marriage being cele- brated June 11, 1868. The lady was born in Ohio, September 9, 1832, a daughter of Alexander Preshaw, who was born in Ireland, March 17, 1793, but was of English descent. He married Eliza Ann McCracken, who was born in Ireland, June 25, 1796, her people having emigrated from Scotland to the Emerald Isle. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Preshaw occurred in Ireland, April 26, 1816, and about 1819 they crossed the Atlantic to the new world. Uuto Samuel F. and Elizabeth B. (Preshaw) Tan- ner were born four sons, but the subject of this review is the only one now living. In 1869 the parents removed to McLean county, Illinois, and in 1874 went to Tazewell county, that state, whence in 1885 they came to Allen county, Kansas. Here on the 21st of August, 1892, the mother died, and in the following year Mr. Tanner removed to Lucas county, Iowa, where he departed this life on the 4th of October, 1894.
Frank P. Tanner was only two years old when taken by his parents to Tazewell county, and was a youth of thirteen when he came with them to Allen county. He remained home until January, 1891, when he was called to complete a term of school in District No. 65. having in the pre- vious summer been granted a teacher's certificate. Since that time he has been identified with the educational interests of Allen and Woodson counties, and is recognized as a very capable instructor, having marked ability in imparting to others a knowledge of the subjects which constitute the curriculum of the schools with which he has been connected.
In 1892 Mr. Tanner was united in marriage to Miss Mattie L. See, who was born in Allen county, Kansas, March 18, 1874, and is a daughter of R. W. See, a native of Virginia, born on the 6th of March, 1842. Three children have been born of their union, but they lost their only daughter, Lena M. Alta R. and Ralph. O. are still with their parents. In February 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Tanner removed from their farm five miles west of Iola to the county seat, where they now reside, having a pleasant home at No. 802 North Jefferson avenue. They occupy an enviable position in social circles where intelligence and true worth are received as the passports into good society.
D ANIEL HOUSTON SCOTT, of Iola, whose residence here has been extended over a period of nearly a quarter of a century, was born in Blunt county, Tennessee, November 21, 1842. His father, Daniel Scott, was born in the same county and state in 1805 and died in Sullivan county, Missouri, in 1862. Our subject's paternal grandfather was William Scott. He was born in old Virginia in 1778 and died in Blunt county, Tennessee, in 1855. He married Phebe Marr and was the father of six children: Daniel, James, Sarah, wife of John McBrin; Mary, wife of William McBrin; Jane and Charles.
Daniel Scott married Jane, a daughter of Richard McBrin. She died
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in 1870 at the age of sixty-eight years. Her children were: Charles T., deceased; William H., of Livingston county, Missouri; Nancy J., who re- sides in Sullivan county, Missouri; John Tipton Scott, deceased; James M., deceased, and Richard and Elizabeth C., deceased; the latter was married to Andrew Johnson and left a family in Sullivan county, Missouri; Isaac A., of Fulton, Kansas; Phebe A., deceased, who married John Ruble; Daniel H ; Sarah I .. , wife of Byram Chapman, of Bourbon county, Kansas.
At the age of twelve years Houston Scott went with his parents to Sullivan county, Missouri, and was there limitedly schooled in the rural schools. He was a resident of that county till the year after the Civil war. He was married in 1865 to Hannah M., a daughter of John G. Anderson, who moved from Kentucky to Ripley county, Ohio, resided there some years and continued his journey westward to Livingston county, Illinois, and still another move to Linn county, Missouri. In 1868 he took up his final location in Kansas, settling at Iola in 1867. He moved to Neosho county, Kansas, where he died in 1868.
Mr. Scott settled temporarily in Bourbon county upon his advent to Kansas. He entered Allen county in 1874 and three years later he came into Iola. He was essentially a farmer up to the date of his location in this city, since which time he has been engaged as a mechanic. He has done much of the mason work in old Iola and only within the recent past has his physical condition forced his retirement from active work.
Mr. Scott is one of the well known Grand Army men of Allen county. November 2nd, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-third Missouri Infantry, which regiment was a part of Sherman's army. At the battle of Shiloh Mr. Scott was taken prisoner. He was in the Rebel prisons at Montgomery, Alabama, and at Macon, Georgia, seven and a half months and was exchanged. He reached his regiment again December 25th and served with it till December 30th, 1864, when he was mustered out at Savannah, Georgia. He was in the battles of Lovejoy Station, Peachtree Creek, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta and Snakehead Gap.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott's family consists of the following children: James Winfield, of Coffeyville, Kansas; May L., of Blackfoot, Idaho; Anna M., of Whittier, California; Lottie Alice, of Blackfoot, Idaho; William H., one of the leading barbers of Iola; Bertha and Ruby Scott. The first three daughters are well known and efficient teachers in their respective homes and May L. Scott was named by the Republicans of her county for the office of County Superintendent in 1898, and again in 1890 and was elected to the office.
The political history of the Scotts reveals the fact that they have been Whigs and then Republican, as those parties existed. Houston Scott be- came a Republican when his attention was first turned toward politics. His fealty to the principles of that party has been constant and such steadfastness is a matter of personal pride to himself and of satisfaction to his party.
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F C. MOONEY was born in Fayetteville, West Virginia, July 5, 1837. · and is the eldest of eight children born unto J. S. and Margaret ( Bailey ) Mooney. His father died in 1854, at the age of forty-five years, and the mother passed away in 1885 at the age of sixty six years. Their surviving children are: Mrs. L. V. Garrison, of Ladonia, Missouri; Mrs. Susan Nall, of Kansas City, Missouri; and the subject of this review. In his early youth F. C. Mooney learned the tanner's trade and followed this pursuit until nineteen years of age, when he went to Bowling Green, Mis- souri, where he learned the plasterer's and mason's trades. He was en- gaged in business along those lines until 1860 when he went to Mexico, Missouri, but soon returned to Bowling Green where he resided until after the inauguration of the Civil war. He then enlisted in Company D, Tenth Missouri Infantry, and was made drum-major of the regiment. In 1863 he received an honorable discharge on account of disability. He participated in the first battle of Corinth, in the engagements at Inka, Shiloh, in the second battle of Corinth and in the siege of Vicksburg, and was discharged at St. Louis, Missouri, November 18, 1863.
Mr. Mooney returned to Bowling Green where he continued to reside until 1880,-the year of his arrival in Kansas. He settled in Elsinore, Allen county, upon a farm of eighty acres which he purchased and im- proved, continuing its cultivation until 1892 when he sold that property and took up his abode in Elsmore. There he purchased a home and has since worked at his trades of plasterer and stone mason. He is an excel- lent workman and is therefore always able to command a good position.
In 1864 occurred the marriage of Mr. Mooney and Miss Catherine Beisley, a native of Pike county, Missouri, and unto them have been born ten children. In order of birth they are as follows: William; Edgar: Charles: Catherine, the wife of William Sullivan; Lee; Anna, the wife of Walter Samuels; Mary A., died 1877; Lilly V., died 1882; Robert and Herbert, who are still with their parents. The family is well known in Elsmore and its representatives enjoy the high regard of many friends. In his political views Mr. Mooney is a Populist and is now serving as a notary public. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Elsmore Post, No. 13, G. A. R., and in its gatherings there are recalled many incidents that occurred upon the tented field or on the firing line. As a citizen Mr. Mooney is public spirited and progressive, manifesting the same loyalty to his duties as when he followed the nation's banner to the south.
E. C. PRICE-No man in Allen county is more entitled to credit for . success in life than Mr. Price who today owns and operates one of the fine farms in Elsmore township. He was born in Lawrence county, Arkansas, on the 17th of May, 1855, a son of L. C. and Elizabeth ( Huston) Price. The father was a native of North Carolina, and when a young man
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emigrated to Arkansas. Three children were born to him and his wife, and in 1861 he started with his family for Illinois, leaving the south on account of the danger that threatened the Union men who lived in that portion of the country. They took passage on a boat going up the Missis- sippi, and while on the voyage the wife and mother, together with two of the children, was taken ill. All three died and the boat anchored by the shore in order that the bodies might be interred on the bank of the river.
After reaching Illinois Mr. Price placed his surviving child, the subject of this review, with a family and enlisted in the Union army, with which he served throughout the remainder of the war. He returned to Illinois and was again married and moved to Arkansas. In 1873 he came to Kan- sas, locating in Bourbon county on the 22nd of December, of that year. Subsequently, however, he removed to Linn county. From there he re- turned to Illinois, leaving the son in Linn county, Kansas.
During his minority E. C. Price continued work by the month as a farm hand, his father collecting his wages until he was twenty-one years of age, when for the first time he was allowed to enjoy the benefit of his own labors. He determined to own a team of horses, and at the end of one year, as the result of day labor, he had capital sufficient to make the purchase. During the second year he rented land and engaged in farming on his own account. At the age of twenty-four he was married and rented for two years, then purchased eighty acres of land, making arrangements to pay for the same in six years, but when only two years had passed his farm was freed from all indebtedness. About three years afterward he sold the place and came to Allen county, purchasing a claim on the league land, for which he gave eleven hundred dollars,-all of the money that he had received from his eighty acre farm. Not long afterward the courts made a decision whereby he lost all of his property. He then rented until three years ago, then removed to the southeastern portion of the county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on which few improvements had been made. He saved enough to make a payment on the land and arranged to make payments at stated intervals and now has the farm almost free from indebtedness. In the meantime lie has made many improvements, erecting a good residence and a large barn. A nice grove surrounds his home, which occupies one of the finest locations in the county, standing on the northeastern corner of his farm about three miles from Savonburg. The place is one which any person might be proud to possess, for the fields are well tilled, the fences and buildings are kept in good repair and everything about the farm is neat and thrifty in appearance, showing that the owner is a man of progressive spirit.
In 1880 Mr. Price was united in marriage to Miss Jeanette Smith, a native of Johnson county, born on the 2nd of August, 1862, her parents being Thomas and Lucy ( McKnight) Smith. Her father was a native of Ireland and when five years of age was brought to America. His wife was born in Osage county, Missouri, and died at the age of twenty-three years, while he was murdered in Colorado by traveling companions, who took
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that method of obaining his money. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Price have been born four children, namely: Thomas Elmer, who is now married and resides near his father; Zacharialı W., Ardella and Dora Etta. With the excep- tion of the elder son all are at home
In his youth Mr. Price had very few advantages. At an extremely early age he started out to earn his own living. His educational privileges were very meager, yet by reading, experience and observation he has ac- quired a good practical knowledge and keeps well informed on the ques- tions of the day. He was not even allowed to profit by the wages of his labors until he had attained his majority. Notwithstanding all the difficul- ties and hardships in his path he has worked his way steadily upward, his trials seeming to serve as an impetus to renewed effort. His advancement has been sure and steadfast, for he possesses that determined nature that will brook no obstacles that can be overthrown by honest labor. Today, numbered among the well-to-do citizens of his adopted county he is certain- ly deserving of honorable mention among the respected and representative residents of this portion of the State.
M RS. AGNES L. FUNK-For twenty-two years Mrs. Funk has been a resident of Allen county, and is recognized as one of the leading ladies of Elm township. While the names of women figure less conspicu- ously on the pages of history on account of the more quiet part they take in the affairs of the world they are no less worthy of mention and exert 110 less an influence than do the husbands, fathers and brothers. Since her husband's death Mrs. Funk has manifested excellent business ability in the care of her farm, at the same time displaying those womanly qualities which ever command respect and admiration. She was born in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1852, and in her maidenhood was Agnes L. Lightcap. The family is of Holland lineage. Her great-grand- father was born in the land of dykes and crossed the Atlantic to the new world, locating in Pennsylvania in the early part of the eighteenth century. Solomon Lightcap, her grandfather, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and Foster Lightcap, her father, was born in Westmoreland county, in 1832. He married Margaret Baldridge, and they became the parents of six children who are still living, namely: Mrs, Funk, Mrs. Mary Lasley, of Cass county, Missouri; Mrs. Lydia Kintigh, also of Cass county; Alex. who is living in the same county; Samuel, who is a professor of schools in St. Clair county, Missouri; and Charles, who makes his home in Cass county. The parents are likewise residents of the same county and are people of the highest respectability.
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