USA > Kansas > Atchison County > History of Atchison County, Kansas > Part 33
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Mr. Jackson's career as a public official began in 1901, when he was elected police judge of the city and again elected in 1903, after which he declined to again become a candidate for the office. His career as police judge was marked by uniform fairness and impartiality, tempered with kind- ness in dealing with the city's minor malefactors who were brought before him for judgment in his official capacity. From 1905 to 1909 he was assist- ant city attorney, and in 1912 was elected to the office of city attorney to fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Hooper, deceased. He served out the unexpired term and declined to become a candidate in 1913, because of the growing demands of his large law practice. While serving as city attor- ney many important problems came up before the city for solution, such as the telephone merger, and the renewal of the city's contract with the Atchison Light and Power Company. His wise advice and counsel steered the city government safely over the shoals, incidental to the settlement of these ques- tions. Mr. Jackson found the city finances in bad shape, as related to the renewal of the lighting contract, a condition of affairs brought about by his predecessor's long illness preventing him from attending to business, and he immediately set to work to unravel the tangle and brought order out of
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chaos to the advantage of the city. Another matter to which he gave con- siderable attention while city attorney was the intercepting sewer problem which he handled satisfactorily.
Mr. Jackson is a pronounced Republican in his political views, having become a convert to Republican principles when he became of age, a decision- which he was influenced to make by the panic of 1893. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
He was united in marriage with Miss Maud K. Smith, April 30, 1903. Mrs. Jackson was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Lewis T. and Theresa June (Chadwick) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter a native of Canada. Lewis T. Smith was born in 1846 in West Lebanon, Pa., and is one of the old-time railroad men of the early days.
Mr. Jackson's creed of living is best expressed in his own words, "I be- lieve that every man should do something for the community in which he lives, besides getting a living out of it." It was the practice of his creed which led to the beautiful park in the southeast part of the city being named in his honor, over his personal objections. The Atchison Globe says of his connec- tion with the building and equipping of the park in the issue of August 18, 1913, in part, after quoting Mr. Jackson's creed, as above given :
"That explains the principal reason why he (Z. E. Jackson) has taken such an interest in the park which now bears his name. Another reason is he likes to dig in the ground, and investigate things as he finds them in the woods and wild places. He is also handy at improving on Nature here and there without spoiling the general effect.
"Seven or eight years ago. after spending many of his boyhood and young manhood days in Jackson Park, he saw the possibilities of it for a beautiful playground for young and old. He invited several of his South Atchison neighbors to meet in his law office one night and a park improvement asso- ciation was formed. In order to start a fund for improvements in the park each member present put up five dollars. Other citizens were invited to con- tribute and thus a small fund was raised.
"That proved to be the redemption of City Park, a tract of fifty-six acres of woodland which cost the city $7,500 about thirty years ago.
"With the few hundred dollars raised by private subscription it was shown what might be accomplished if the necessary funds were forthcoming. From the sale of a park bond, issued when the city was trying to put the coal mine on its feet, the committee secured $500 which was used in replacing the dam which makes the lake and other improvements.
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"If effective service is to be rewarded, then the city council made no mistake when it acted on the petition presented to it, asking that the name of City Park be changed to Jackson Park in honor of Z. E. Jackson, a young man who decided that the making of a park was the debt he owed the commu- nity where he makes his living."
The action referred to in the foregoing was taken August 1, 1913, when the official name of Jackson Park was given to the tract in honor of Mr. Jack- son. Besides his work of superintending the park and bringing about its re- demption with the assistance of other public spirited men, Mr. Jackson and others secured a ten-acre tract of land lying between the original fifty-six acres and the Missouri river, which has been added to and is now a part of the park.
THOMAS FRABLE.
Thomas Frable, retired farmer, of Benton township, is one of the oldest living pioneer citizens of Atchison county, both in age and number of years of residence in the county. He was one of the old-time freighters who con- ducted his own freighting outfit across the plains in the days of the Civil war, and before the advent of the transcontinental railroads. Mr. Frable was born in March, 1832, and has spent fifty-six of his four score and four years of life in Atchison county and Kansas. He was born on a farm in Pennsyl- vania, a son of Thomas Frable, who died when the subject was three years of age, leaving his widow in such poor circumstances that she was unable to rear her children in comfort. Thomas was given a home by a man named Queen, who owned a large farm, and he lived with Queen until attaining his majority. Queen owned a farm of 300 acres, and Thomas was started to work when still a small boy, learning to guide a plow across the fields when he was but eleven years of age. When he became of age and was free to do as he liked, the germ of adventure and ambition seized him and he decided to try his fortunes in the great West. In line with this resolve, he crossed the country to Kansas in 1859, in company with another young fellow named Reuben Ferguson, with whom he finally bought a tract of land which they farmed in common for a time, and then made a division. Mr. Frable still owns eighty acres of the original tract which he and Ferguson purchased. Mr. Frable engaged in the freighting business and made considerable money in the old days. He became the owner of two teams which he drove with the great trains which were constantly leaving Atchison in the early sixties,
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en route to the far West, and transported blasting powder to Denver and mining points in Colorado for the use of the gold and silver miners. He also carried corn for the United States Government. During the Civil war Mr. Frable was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State militia, and served at the battle of Westport in the expedition against the rebel, General Price. After the war he settled down to farming in Benton township, and has pros- pered exceedingly, he and his son, Harry, now owning over 560 acres of fine land. The Frable home is one of the most imposing and best built farm residences in the county, and Harry Frable recently erected a large barn in which the live stock of this extensive farm is housed. Mr. Frable and Harry have been life-long Republicans.
Thomas Frable was married in 1862 to Rebecca Graham, a daughter of Richard Graham, who came from Pennsylvania with his family to Atchison county in the early days, and was one of the well known pioneers of this county. Mrs. Frable was born October 5, 1835, and died in November, 1908. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frable, namely: Clara, de- ceased; Margaret, dying in infancy; two died in infancy; and Harry was born January 22, 1865.
JAMES W. ORR.
The reviewer, in attempting to write a comprehensive and truthful biography of an individual, must take into consideration the related facts as to birth and subsequent career, the success attained, the underlying principles which have combined to assist him in achieving his desires and ambitions, and to lay particular stress upon the special talent which has been developed in the life of the subject under review. In reviewing the life career of James IV. Orr, a leading member of the Atchison county bar, the fact is determined that he is truly an able and distinguished lawyer, whose reputation for suc- cess at the bar, for having a profound knowledge of the law, and his ability to successfully practice in the courts of the land, arrayed against the brightest minds of the legal profession of the country, is recognized, not only by the people of the State of Kansas and his profession generally, but by the United States Government, in whose employ he now is as special assistant to the attorney general of the United States.
James WV. Orr was born September 14, 1855, in the town of Reading, Hillsdale county, Michigan. In his boyhood days, and during the struggle
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to educate himself for the practice of his chosen profession, he knew what adversity meant and has the satisfaction of knowing that his education was obtained through his own unaided efforts. He is a son of James and Mary Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr, both of whom were natives of New York City. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, his forebears emigrating from Scot- land to the north of Ireland in the days of old to escape religious persecution. His paternal grandfather left Ireland in an early day and made his home in New York. The Underhill family is of English origin and a very old one in America, several generations of whom have been born and reared in this country. His maternal grandfather was Daniel Underhill, a goldsmith in New York City. James Orr, the father, was a merchant in New York till about 1848, when he left his native city and engaged in merchandising in Rome, Syracuse and Utica, N. Y., (three stores), following which he engaged in wholesale business in Toledo, Ohio. While a resident of Toledo he became identified with some of the enterprises of that day and was a stockholder, director and one of the builders of the Erie & Dunkirk railroad. In 1861 he removed to Coldwater, Mich., and conducted a merchandise business there until 1868, when, in broken health, he settled in Niles, Mich., where he died.
When James W. Orr was fourteen years of age he began earning his own living and educating himself. He and his brother, Louis C: Orr, the present postmaster of Atchison, worked together for several years, sharing their work with each other and pooling their earnings. The boys were fortunate in hav- ing a wise and ambitious mother who was well educated and who taught them at home, thus giving them the education they were financially unable to obtain at school. At the age of seventeen years while employed in a drug store he was reading law at nights and at odd times when his work was not pressing. By persistent endeavor he managed to secure two years of study at Michigan University, at Ann Arbor. He then took his examination for admission to the bar in open court, and was admitted to practice when but twenty years of age. His first employment in his new profession was with the McCormick Harvester Company, settling claims, etc., in behalf of that company. He remained in this position until 1880, and in January, 1881, came to Atchison where he has since continuously resided. It was necessary for him to begin the upward climb of the ladder to fame and success without assistance from any individual or friend. How well Mr. Orr has succeeded during the past thirty-four years is attested by his present high position in the ranks of the legal profession and the competence he has accumulated. He was first employed in Atchison by the New England Loan & Trust Com- pany as attorney to examine abstracts of titles, etc., at a salary of forty
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dollars per month. It was not long until he was receiving a salary of $150 per month and a share of the profits in the employ of the same concern. When the concern moved to Kansas City and became known as the Equitable Loan & Trust Company, Mr. Orr remained in Atchison. In 1883 he was married to Miss Jennie Glick, the only daughter of Governor George W. Glick, of Atchison. He took up the practice of law, purchasing the interest of Judge W. D. Webb in the firm of Webb & Martin, and entered into part- nership with A. F. Martin, which partnership existed from 1882 until April, 1887. During the five years he had been in Atchison he had been extending his acquaintance over the county, and in November, 1866, was a successful candidate for county attorney on the Democratic ticket, being elected over W. D. Gilbert by a substantial majority, despite the fact that the county was then normally Republican by over 800 majority. In April, 1887, he formed a law partnership with B. P. Waggener and Judge David Martin, the
Residence of J. W. Orr.
firm having previously been known as Everest & Waggener, Judge Martin resigning the position of judge of the Atchison district court to join the firm, which was known as Waggener, Martin & Orr. In the year 1895 Judge Mar- tin retired from the firm, and Judge A. H. Horton, then chief justice of the supreme court of Kansas, resigned his office of chief justice, a position he had held continuously for nineteen years, to become a member of the firm. Judge David Martin was appointed to the vacancy so made on the supreme bench. Judge Horton remained a member of the firm until his death, when ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster became a member of the firm known as Waggener, Doster & Orr. During Mr. Orr's association with B. P. Waggener in the
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practice of law they had charge of the legal business for the Gould system of railroads in Kansas and Nebraska; the Western Union Telegraph Company ; express companies, and the Pullman Palace Car Company. They were associated in partnership with three ex-chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas during this period. In June, 1910, Mr. Orr resigned his position as attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, and his connection with B. P. Waggener, which had then continued for twenty-three years, was also terminated. The position of special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States was proffered him by Attorney-General McReynolds in October, 1913, while Mr. Orr was engaged in the trial of a case in St Louis. He accepted and was given charge of the suit of the Government against the Southern Pacific Company and others, including the Central Pacific Railway. to dissolve the relations between those companies. Mr. Orr conducts his cases for the Government in addition to his private practice. His rise has been steady and consistent during the years he has been practicing his profession in Atchison, and it is true that the youth who began his career in the city of Atchison for the modest salary of forty dollars per month now enjoys a lucra- tive private law practice, in addition to his income from the Government and not supplemented by corporation salaries. Mr. Orr has accumulated a com- fortable fortune during the years of his practice and has what is considered the most beautiful home in Atchison. In his home he has his private library of several hundred volumes, including the standard works of literature. His law library lines the walls of his down-town offices and exceeds 2,000 vol- umes in number.
Mr. and Mrs. Orr had but one child, a son, George Glick Orr. who was drowned while bathing in the Pacific ocean, near San Diego, Cal., on July 21, 1909, at the age of twenty-five years. The loss of this talented young man saddened the lives of his parents for years. At the age when most young men are just beginning to gain a higher education, George Glick Orr could read, write and speak six different languages. For seventeen years of his life he was a student, graduated at the University of Kansas, and had been admitted to the bar, showing great promise in his chosen profession and being frequently entrusted with important legal matters.
Mr. Orr has received all the Masonic degrees except the thirty-third, and is a member of several fraternal societies. He attends and contributes to the support of the Christian Science Church, of which Mrs. Orr is a member.
In politics and as a public official and law-maker, Mr. Orr has a record of which any man may well be proud. He became a member of the Kansas Democratic State central committee in 1884 and remained such continuously
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until 1908, and in point of service was its oldest member. He has attended, as a delegate, six National Democratic conventions, and on three occasions was a member of the notification committee appointed to officially notify the presidential candidate of his nomination by the convention, including Cleve- land in 1892; Parker in 1904, and Woodrow Wilson in 1912. His excep- tional career in politics began as early as 1880, when he served as assistant secretary of the committee chosen to notify General Hancock at Governor's Island, N. Y., of his nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Orr was an original Wilson man and one of the committee of five having the floor management of the Wilson forces at the Baltimore convention in 1912 which nominated Mr. Wilson for the Presidency. From 1901 to 1907 Mr. Orr served three terms successively as mayor of the city of Atchison and gave the city one of the best administrations in its history. He served two terms in the State legislature as representative from the Atchison city district, the sessions of 19II and 1913. During the 1911 session he was one of the three legislators selected by the house to draft and did prepare the present public utilities low, under which all railroads and public utilities in this State are now managed and controlled; he was the author of the present comprehensive drainage laws ; the law requiring the attorney-general to pay into the State treasury all fees received by him in the prosecution of State cases; the so-called "Orr viaduct law," which requires railroads to construct and maintain at their ex- pense all necessary viaducts over or tunnels under their tracks in cities, and under which the Fourteenth street viaduct in this city and viaducts in many other cities have been built and the maintained by the railroads, also many other laws of public interest and importance. In the session of 1913 he was chairman of the judiciary committee and was elected majority leader of the house. At the close of the legislative session of 1913 Mr. Orr was presented with a resolution, unanimously adopted by the members of the house, beauti- fully engraved in India ink, artistically framed and containing a reproduction of the great seal of Kansas. This resolution thanks Mr. Orr for the assistance he had given individual members of the house and for his service to the State, both as chairman of the judiciary committee and as majority house leader, and is signed by every member. It follows:
"HOUSE RESOLUTION, NO. 51-BY MR. RIDDLE.
"Resolved, That the members of the house extend to the Hon. James IV. Orr their sincere thanks for the splendid service he has given to them and to the State during the present session. In addition to his work as floor leader
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of the majority party, and his work as chairman of the judiciary committee, he has been tireless, patient, and industrious in giving to individual members the benefit of his learning and ability by helping them in their work. His help has been extended alike to members of all political parties, and has been especially beneficial to members who have had little experience in legislative work. He has the confidence, esteem and love of all the members.
"Done in the city of Topeka, this eighth day of March, 1913."
ANDREW B. SYMNS.
When the late A. B. Symns passed beyond mortal ken on April 9, 1905. Atchison suffered a loss from its business circles which could never be re- placed. He left behind him a monument in the A. B. Symns Grocer Company, one of the largest of the wholesale establishments of the city and State, which was the product of his brain and ability. He was one of the noted pioneer figures of a decade which produced great and strong men. From a modest beginning he rose to become a national character in the business world of the great West and realized his ambition during a long and useful life. He not only succeeded in accumulating a comfortable fortune but left a reputation for integrity and upright citizenship which has never been surpassed by any of his compeers of the building age in Atchison and Kansas. From boyhood to the time he had passed the age of three score years and ten, Mr. Symns was an indefatigable worker and never relaxed except for much needed recreation and rest, occasionally. Early in his career he had great faith in the future of Atchison and that faith was fully justified by his own success in the jobbing field.
A. B. Symns was born in Monroe county, West Virginia, March 27, 1831, and was a son of John and Elizabeth ( Peters) Symns, natives of old Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent.
As a boy he worked on his father's farm, attending school three months each winter. At the age of eighteen he clerked in a store at Petertown and later on attended Lewisburg Seminary one year. He also worked at White Sulphur Springs before coming west in 1853. He listened to the call of the great unpeopled western country for young and ambitious men to develop her dormant resources, and in 1853 crossed the country to St. Joseph, Mo., where he clerked in a store for two years and then went to St. Louis. After clerking in St. Louis for one year he became an eighth owner of the steam-
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boat "Hesperian" and served as clerk aboard the steamer. This boat made its first trip on the Missouri trade in 1856 and it was while passing up and down the Missouri river that he was attracted to the then flourishing town of Doniphan. It far overshadowed Atchison at that time and he determined to locate in Doniphan. During the time he was connected with the steamboat service he had many interesting experiences. He opened a grocery store in 1858, but during the same year the land office was removed to Atchison and Doniphan lost ground, but the Symns store grew in size and importance and was the nucleus around which his great business was subsequently builded. He removed the store to Atchison in 1872, and began wholesaling in a small way in connection with his retail business. In 1877 he was doing business in the corner store room at Sixth and Commercial streets, on the southeast corner. While located in this building he closed out his retail business and engaged in jobbing exclusively. With the impetus given by his splendid business mind and his remarkable energy the business grew rapidly, and he soon found himself at the head of one of the largest wholesale grocery houses in the western country. Thirty men are employed as traveling salesmen by the Symns Grocer Company alone, and the Symns Utah Grocer Company, which he established, has its own force. Customers of . Mr. Symns over Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Colorado and L'tah have always agreed that A. B. Symns was the fairest man with whom they ever did business. He had faith in Atchison as a great jobbing center, and the success of his business fully justified that belief. The immense jobbing house of the Symns Grocer Company on Main street of Atchison was built from plans prepared by Mr. Symns himself and is one of the most complete establishments of the kind to be found anywhere. So extensive did the business become, however, that it was necessary to erect an addition in 1903. The capitalization of the Symns Grocer Company at the time of the demise of Mr. Symins was $300,000 and that of the Utah concern at Salt Lake City was $80,000. Mr. Symns was president of both companies and had a controlling interest in each. He left an estate valued at over $300,000.
One of the interesting episodes of Mr. Symns' mercantile career was the looting of his Doniphan store by Cleveland's band of outlaws, who made Atchison their headquarters in the winter of 1861-62. At the time Mr. Symns was absent in St. Joseph, but his brothers, Sam and William Symns, were in charge when it was surrounded one evening by Cleveland and his gang. They forced William Symns to open the safe and took what money there was on hand in addition to clothing, saddles, etc. While the robbery was
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in progress, Mrs. Symns ran out to arouse the neighbors, but no help was forthcoming because of the fact that everybody was afraid of Cleveland and his gang, and the thieves got away with their booty unmolested.
A. B. Symns was married in 1858, returning to Old Virginia for his bride, Miss Elizabeth Tiffany, who was his boyhood sweetheart. Mrs. Symns was a member of an excellent Virginia family and bore him the following children : Mrs. A. S. Rowan, who died December 31, 1903; Miss Effie Symns, of Atchison ; Charles, Atchison, and Guy. The mother of these chil- dren departed this life September 12, 1900, at the age of sixty-four years, hav- ing been born in 1836. Six children were born and died in infancy at Doni- phan : John, Joseph, Lee, Hugh, Edna and Louis. Mr. Symns died April 9, 1905, at Hot Springs, Ark. He was sincerely mourned and Atchison busi- ness circles suffered a loss which could hardly be estimated.
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