USA > Kansas > Woodson County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 90
USA > Kansas > Allen County > History of Allen and Woodson counties, Kansas > Part 90
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Cyrus B. Goodale spent his youth upon the homestead farm in Illinois, acquiring a common school education and working in the fields as his age and strength would permit. When a young man of seventeen years he be- gan working at the carpenter's bench under the direction of his father and to farming and building devoted his energies until after he attained his ma- jerity when desiring to remove to a district where he could more easily se- cure a farm of his own, he came to Kansas in 1878. Locating in Woodson County he followed carpentering and also operated a tract of rented land until his labors had brought to him a sum sufficient to enable him to pur- chase a tract of eighty aeres three miles west and three miles north of Yates Center.
Mr. Goodale further completed his arrangements for a home by his marriage to Miss Carrie Collmore. the wedding being celebrated July 16, 1881. The lady is a native of the Green Mountain state and came to Kan- sas in 1877 with her parents, Elijah and Sarah Collmore. The young couple began their domestic life upon the farm and with characteristic en- ergy he began the work of improvement. his labors making a great trans- formation in the appearance of the place. He has erected a handsome residence and had added all the accessories needed to make this one of the most attractive and desirable farm properties of the locality. He has also extended the boundaries of the place and now has one hundred and sixty acres. He handles such stock as his farm will support and is in his agri- cultural labors meeting with good success. He also has other business in- terests, being agent for the Page Woven Wire Fence and of the Cooperative Insurance Company, of Topeka. Kansas, of which he is also one of the di- re ctors.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Goodale has been blessed with five children. as follows : Lola E., Grant L .. Lillie M., Frank B. and John O. and the family circle yet remains unbroken. In his political affiliations Mr. Goodale is iden- tified with the People's party and has served as trustee of his township for
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one terin. There is great difference in his financial condition at the present time from what is was when he eame to Kansas, for he arrived in Woodson County with a capital of two hundred dollars, and all that he now posses- ses has been acquired since, indicating that his life here has been char- aeterized by unflagging industry.
FRANK W. BUTLER.
FRANK W. BUTLER. who is engaged in the drug business in Yates C'enter, was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on the 31st. of July, 1868. His father, Charles B. Butler, was for some years a very prominent and in- Huential citizen of Kansas. His birth occurred in Martinsville, Indiana, and he pursued his preliminary edneation in the common sehools, after which he became a student of the State University of Michigan. at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in law. Subsequently he engaged in the practice of law in Bloomington, Illinois. for a time. In 1869 he came to Kansas and devoted the greater part of his attention to the live stock business, which he followed with success. For two years he resided in Leroy, where he en- gaged in merchandising. He served in both the house of representatives and the senate of the Kansas legislature and left the impress of his individ- uality upon the laws of the state. He was a recognized leader in public thought and action and his politieal labors were of benefit and value to the community which he represented. He married Ann C. Depew, and they became the parents of four children, but our subject is the only one how living. He has a half sister, however, Mrs. Clara Mathews. of Yates ('enter. His mother died in Bloomington, Illinois in 1881, when only thirty-nine years of age, and his father passed away in Colorado in 1876, at the age of thirty-seven years.
Mr. Butler, of this review. spent the great part of his youth in his native city and in Leroy, Kansas. He was prepared for business life by the educational training of the public schools and a course in the Kansas State University, where he pursued a course in civil engineering. He came to Yates Center in 1883 and has since made his home in this city. He entered upon his business eareer as a salesman in the drug store owned by Mr. Waymire, where he remained for four years during which time he mastered the business, both in principle and detail. He then opened a store of his own and is now enjoying a good patronage.
Mr. Butler was married in Cameron, Missouri, March 3, 1893, to Miss Stella Ruggles. and they have a pleasant home in Yates Center. Mr. But- lor's father was a Democrat but he has never taken a prominent part in publie affairs, other interests elaiming his attention. He is identified with the Masonie fraternity and is now serving his third term as high priest of Royal Areh Chapter, No. 56. He is also a Knight of Pythias and belongs to Alpha Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, a college fraternity.
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In military circles in Kansas he is quite prominent, being the captain of Company L, 1st Regiment of the Kansas National Guard, which was organ- ized and mustered in November 17, 1899.
JOHN KINGAN.
JOHN KINGAN, who is successfully engaged in the lumber business in Toronto, is a native of Peterboro, Canada, his birth having occurred on the 11th of March, 1853. His father, Robert Kingan, was a hardware merchant of that town, and married Jane Jeffrey, daughter of the Hon. Andrew Jeffrey, of Coburg, Ont. Both parents have died in their Peter- boro home since their son John came to Toronto. They had ten children, seven of whom are living. The Kingans are of Scotch lineage, the family having come to America from Glasgow, Scotland, where the father was born. The grandfather of our subject was a school teacher there and had a large family of ten children. Two came to this country, Robert and Gordon, the latter becoming a wholesale grocer of Montreal, of the firm of Kingan & Kinloch. Of that family there is one surviving sister, Mrs. Cubbin. who is now living near London, England, and has passed the ninety-sixth milestone on life's journey. Robert G. Kingan, a brother of our subject, is a hardware merchant of Peterboro, Canada. Frank is man- ager of an electric light and power company of Sault Ste. Marie, Michi- gan. Fred is an electrician and the sisters are now living in Peterboro, Canada.
John Kingan, the eldest of the family, spent the days of his youth in the place of his nativity, acquired his education in the public schools, and entered upon his business career as an assistant to his father in the hardware store. There he remained for four years, after which he spent five years in Montreal in the wholesale hardware business. On leaving that city he came to the United States, and for about a year was engaged in the grain business west of Chicago on the Chicago & Iowa railroad. He afterward spent two years in Chicago engaged in different occupations and theu came to Kansas, arriving in this state in 1879. He first settled at Mound Valley in Labette County, where he was engaged in the lumber and grain business for eight years. He came to Toronto from Emporia, Kansas, where he was connected with the lumber trade for two years as representative of the firm of S. A. Brown & Company. On arriving in this city he bought the lumber business of S. A. Brown, and now has a well equipped yard and is carrying on a successful trade, his patronage steadily increasing owing to his well-directed efforts, his obliging manner and unquestioned honesty.
In Mound Valley, Kansas, in September, 1881, Mr. Kingan was joined in wedlock to Ida C. Hobbs. a daughter of Jacob Hobbs, who was a farmer in that locality. They now have but two children. Fred and Jennie. Etta,
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*neir eldest daughter age 13, died in April, 1899. Fraternally, Mr. Kingan is connected with the Workmen and the Select Knights. He entered upon his business career with some little financial aid and has worked his way upward through determined purpose and resolute will and has advanced far on the road to prosperity.
DEWITT C. BENNETT.
DEWITT C. BENNETT, who is residing upon a farm of two hundred .and forty acres in Everett township. Woodson County is numbered among the practical and progressive agrienlturists of the community, and is one of the honored veterans of the Civil war who for four and a half years loyally defended the starry banner-the symbol of an undivided Union.
He was born near the famous Otsego lake. in Otsego County, New York, on the 16th of July. 1840. His parents. Elisha B. and Hannah (Pieree) Bennett, were also natives of the Empire state, and the father there died in 1854, while the mother passed away in Illinois, in 1872. when sixty-eight years of age. They were the parents of ten children. four of whom are yet living, Dewitt C. Bennett being the youngest of the family. He resided in the state of his nativity until 1856. When at the age of sixteen he left the great old farm house on the hill side with its garrets holding the uniform his father had worn in the militia at the time of the Mexican war and accoutrements his forefathers in the war of 1812 and also in the Revolution and started westward to make his own way in the world, unaided by pecuniary advantages or influential friends. Going to Il- linois he was there employed by the month as a farm hand, and at the age of 17 years he came to Kansas. loeating in Linn County. This was about the time of the trouble between Missouri and Kansas, known as the border ruf- han war and thus early Mr. Bennett became familiar with the hardships and horrors of war. For some time he was with John Brown and General Mont- gomery, aiding in defending the west side of the line. He also experienced many of the difficulties and trials of pioneer life during his nearly three years' stay in the Sunflower state.
In 1860 Mr. Bennett returned to Illinois, White County. The slavery question and the right of seeession had precipitated the country into Civil war he put aside all personal considerations, and enlisted in Company H. Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, in October, 1861. He served for more than four years and participated in the battles of Fort Donelson. Shiloh, Pitts- burg Landing, the seige of Vieksburg. Island No. 10. the battle of Mobile and many other engagements. When hostilities had ceased the Forty-sixth Illinois was sent to follow the enemy on an expedition through Texas and up the Rio Grande river. so that he was in the service for many months after actual hostilities had ended. In 1866 he received an honorable dis- charge, having given four and a half years of his young manhood to his
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country. His was an honorable record. He always fearlessly and faith- fully discharged his duties, and to such of the boys in blue the country owes a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid.
On being mustered out Mr. Bennett returned to his home and then spent a portion of the next two years in Wisconsin and Iowa, but in De- member, 1868 was married to Miss Mary J. Adams, of DeKalb, Illinois. When Le decided to return to his first love, "beautiful sunny Kansas,"" which resolution he carried into effect in the spring of 1870, he located in Evere't township, Woodson County, where he secured a homestead claim of eighty aeres, on which he resided for twenty years, making many im- provements on the place. He then sold the property in order to find broader seope for his labors, and he and his wife purchased his present farm of two hundred and forty acres, on which he has a good residence; substantial barn and all modern equipments and accessories found upon a model farm of the new century. He also engages in raising as much stock as his farm will support. and his labors are bringing to him a richly- merited income.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have living nine children : Georgia A., wife of Fred Richards ; also Eugene, Frank D., Allie, Elva, Coral, Jesse, Hazel and Jennie, all of whom are still under parental roof. Mr. Bennett belongs to - Post, No. 145, G. A. R., at Yates Center, and in his poli- tical affiliations he is a Republican, unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of the party. His army service is but an example of the loyalty which has ever characterized his entire life in its every relation, and which has made him one of the valued residents of his adopted county.
J. A. ROSS.
J. A. ROSS, one of the extensive land owners of Woodson County, how largely engaged in the growing of hay. was born in Bureau County, Illinois, February 18, 1855. His father, Andrew Ross, was born in Ohio, in 1823, and in 1842 removed to Bureau County, where he yei makes his home. There he married Miss Hannah Randall, who died in 1856, leaving five children : George, yet a resident of Bureau County ; Sarah J., wife of W. S. Mayhall; Margaret, wife of Milton Maston, of Iowa; Mary, wife of John Walter, of Bureau County; and J. A. of this review. After the death of his first wife the father married again, his second union being with Salina Ireland. Their union was blessed with three children : Frank, of Iowa, Eliza and Julia.
Upon the home farm in the county of this nativity J. A. Ross spent the period of youth and childhood, devoting a portion of his time to the acquirement of an education in the common schools, to work upon the farm and to the pleasures in which boys of the period indulged. When youth was passed he there carried on farming until 1881, when he sought a
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home in Kansas, coming to Woodson County. He located on the north- west quarter of section eight, Perry township, and there resided until 1883. when be came to his present home. He now owns 720, acres of valuable land. largely meadows, devoted to the raising of hay, of which produet he yearly gathers large crops and makes extensive ship- ments. In 1900 he began extensive improvements on his farm and now has a commodious and attractive residence, large barn and other substantial ontbuildings for the care of hay and stock, and all of the modern accessories and conveniences found upon a model farm of the new century.
On the 11th of July, 1883, Mr. Ross was joined in wedlock to Miss Grace Brett, and unto them have been born three children: Myrtle. who died in infancy; Vera, who was born January 25, 1886: and Ethel, born December 9, 1888. The family are well known in the community and represent the best class of farming people. Mr. Rass was reared in the faith of the Republican party and by his hallot has always supported its men and measures.
ABRAM F. DARST.
There is ever an element of interest attaching to the history of a self- made man, one who starts out in life empty-handed and wrests fortune from an adverse fate. Obstacles and difficulties are encountered, but to the man of resolute purpose these but call for renewed effort and serve as stepping stones to something higher. The life record of Mr. Darst stands in exemplification of what may be accomplished in this free land of ours, where the man of ambition and determination is unhampered by caste or class. He is numbered among the pioneers of Woodson County, and for more than thirty years has contributed to the material advance- ment and substantial upbuilding of this section of the state. He is an honored veteran of the Civil war, and the same loyalty which he mani- fested on southern battlefields is now manifest in his faithful performance of the duties of citizenship. Such qualities render consonant a detailed ac- count of his life in this volume.
A native of Ohio, he was born in Meigs County. on the 6th of June, 1839. and is of German lineage, the first representatives of the family in Ameriea having come from the Fatherland to the new world. John Darst, the grandfather of our subject, died in 1849, at the extreme old age of rinety-three years. Abram Darst, Sr .. the father, was born in Ohio in 1803, and died in Vinton County. that state, in 1852. He married Nancy Read, whose death occurred in Lake County, Indiana, in 1875. This worthy couple were the parents of ten children: Mary J .. wife of Joseph Marshall, of Ruskin, Nebraska : Sarah A., widow of Francis Andrews and a resident of Iowa: Thomas L., of Wheatland, Wyoming: James S., of Doniphan County, Kansas; Maria L .. who married John M. Fuller, and is
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now deceased; Abram F., of this review; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Wil- Ham Buckley; Jonathan J., who has also passed away: Addie A., the- widow of D. V. Dow, and a resident of Woodson County, and Joseph J., of the same county.
Abram F. Darst spent the first sixteen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then became a resident of Lake County, Indiana, in 1855. There he remained until his removal to Kansas, and in the mean- time he had become familiar with the work of the farm through practical experience in the fields. When the country became involved in Civil war, Le resolved to strike a blow in defense of the Union, enlisting on the 23d of June, 1861, as a member of Company B, Twentieth Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in at Lafayette. that state, and on the Northern Central railroad proceeded with his command from Pittsburg to Baltimore, and from there to Fort Hatteras, North Carolina. The winter was passed at Fortress Monroe, and in the spring he witnessed the famous naval battle between the Merrimac and the Monitor. The regiment afterward proceeded to Norfolk and joined the Army of the Potomac at White House Landing. Mr. Darst participated in the seven day's fight and then joined Pope on the Rappahannock, taking part under his command in the second battle of Bull Run. For a time he was left at Washington on account of disability, and after rejoining his regiment took part in the battle of Frederickburg. He was also in the Gettysburg campaign and was wounded, being shot through the left thigh. He joined his regiment again at Fort Schuyler, New York. whither it had gone to quell the draft riot, and upon leaving that state the Twentieth Indiana returned to the Rappahannock, taking part in the engagement at Chancellorsville soon afterward. Mr. Darst re- enlisted and received a thirty days' furlough, on the expiration of which time he rejoined his command at Brandy Station, later taking part in the Richmond campaign under General Grant. On the 6th of May, 1864, in the battle of the Wilderness he was shot in the right leg below the knee, the ball entering between the two bones, where it lodged. It therefore had to be cut out and gangrene set in. which necessitated Mr. Darst re- maining in the hospital for nearly a year. It was 1873 before his wound erased to discharge, and it still troubles him to this day. Discharged from the service he returned to his home, conscious of having performed his duty for the perpetuation of the Union and for the honor of the old flag which now floats so proudly over every portion of the nation.
In the year following the close of the war, on the 22d of February, 1866. Mr. Darst was united in marriage in Lake County, Indiana, to Miss Eunice, daughter of Jackson and Amy (Cutright) Dumond. and the same vear started with his bride for Kansas, accompanied by Henry Peters. J. H. Hale, Joseph Barker and J. W. Dumond, together with their respective families. They arrived at Humboldt on the 4th of July and secured claims in Eminence township, Woodson County. on the east branch of West Buf- falo creek. That summer all erected homes. each twelve by sixteen feet
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and one story in height, built of cottonwood and sycamore lumber, manu- factured at Humboldt and for which they paid twenty-five and thirty dol- lars per thousand. With characteristic energy Mr. Darst began the de- velopment of his land and continued its cultivation until January, 1897. He added eighty acres to his first tract and devoted his time to the raising of grain and stock. both branches of his business proving profitable so that in the course of years he acquired a handsome competence which now enables him to live retired, enjoying rest from the more ardnous duties of business life.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Darst was blessed with two daughters. Myrtle, the elder, is the widow of Lawrence O. Heffelfinger and has two children. Lillie and Neva. Nellie, the younger daughter, is the wife of S T. White, of Buffalo, Kansas. and has one child, Frank White. Al- though reared in the Democratic faith, for his father was a supporter of that party, Mr. Darst of this review has always been a stalwart Republican and warmly esponses the principles of the party. He belongs to Woodson Post, No. 185, G. A. R., and has frequently attended the state encamp- ments, finding pleasure in recalling the scenes of army life upon the tented field or the firing line amid those who have shared in similar experiences. - His interest in everything which affects the welfare of the people and the growth and development of the county is deep and ahiding and as a citizen le has the respect of all who have knowledge of his straightforward busi- ness methods and his uprightness of character.
ERNEST STOCKEBRAND.
ERNEST STOCKEBRAND is numbered among the extensive land owners of Woodson County, and makes his home in Center township, where he has resided for forty-three consecutive years. He has met the hard- ships and trials of pioneer life in this county and aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for its present development and progress. He belongs to that class of representative German-American citizens, who, loyal to their adopted land, aid in promoting the general progress while advancing their individual prosperity.
Mr. Stockebrand was born January 27. 1828 in Lippe, Detmold, a small dukedom of Westphalia, Germany, at the ancestral home, which had been in possession of the family for about two hundred and eighty years. Ilis father, Adolph Stockebrand, followed farming there and married Justina Meyerjohn, by whom he had eight children. namely: Adolph and August, who have passed away : Frederica, deceased wife of Adolph Beyer ; Wilhelmina, who became the wife of William Klaas and died at Freeport, Illinois : Couradina married to Angust Toedman; Ernest, of this review ; Louisa. wife of August Lanber, and William.
In accordance with the laws of his native land Ernest Stockebrand
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pursued his education. At the age of twenty-eight years he took passage ob a westward bound vessel that weighed anchor in the harbor of Bremen and sailed for New York. He had some relatives living in Freeport, Illi- nois, and went to that place, but after a very short time he sought a home in Woodson County, which offered its rich but wild lands to the settlers who would register a claim therefor with the government. He became the owner of a quarter section on section one. Center township, and with characteristic energy began the development of a farm. As the years passed and his financial resources increased he extended its boundaries until he became the owner of fifteen hundred acres, being therefore numbered among the extensive land holders of Woodson County. His realty is an evidence of an active business career. Continued effort, resolute will, determined purpose and careful management have enabled him to work his way steadily upward until he to-day stands on the plane of affluence.
In 1860 Mr. Stockebrand was united in marriage to Miss Mary Stange, who became a resident of this locality in that year. Their children are Ernest. Charles, Julius, Louisa. wife of Gustav Weide: Mary, wife of William Weide, Justina, Paulina, and Anna. Mr. Stockebrand has been deeply interested in politics since becoming an American citizen and is an earnest Republican. He voted for the free state constitution. and the first political speech made in Woodson County was delivered by a Mr. Perry in his home. He has labored to promote all measures for the public good, and i- a man of worth in his community.
WILLIAM STANGE.
Through almost three decades William Stange has resided upon the farm which is now his home. so that he is numbered among the pioneer farmers of Owl Creek township, Woodson County. He was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, in 1830, and is a son of Christian Stange. The paternal grandfather was a teacher, but his son Christian became a carpenter and cabinet maker. Emigrating to the new world he spent his remaining days in the United States, his death occurring in 1859. his inter- ment being in Cherry Creek cemetery in Woodson County. His wife bore the maiden name of Henrietta Meyer, and at her death was laid by the side of her husband. Their children were: Henry, deceased; William : Sophie, the wife of Paul Jaeger, of Cornwall, New York; John, deceased : Catherine, deceased wife of Fred Ostermeyer: Mary. the wife of Ernest Stockebrand ; Caroline, deceased wife of Henry Dicks: Margaret, wife of William Lange, of Hay Creek, Minn., and Christian, of Woodson County.
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