USA > Kansas > Atchison County > History of Atchison County, Kansas > Part 49
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Wirt Hetherington, third in line of the bankers of this estimable family, was born in Atchison, February 21, 1881, and received his education in the public schools of the city, after which he became a student in the Military School at Orchard Lake, Mich., from which institution he was graduated in 1900. Soon after his graduation, he entered the Exchange National Bank in the capacity of receiving teller and bookkeeper, and since that time he has advanced to higher positions of trust and responsibility in this important banking institution, learning the banking business in a thorough. and pains- taking manner as he passed from one position to a higher one. In 1905 he became assistant cashier, a position which he held until February, 1914, when
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he became cashier of the bank, of which he is also a director. Mr. Hethering -. ton is unmarried and makes his home with his widowed mother.
Politically, Wirt Hetherington is a Democrat as were his father and grandfather before him. He is a communicant of the Episcopalian church, which is the church of his forefathers, who were of English origin. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Hetherington is destined to follow in the foot- steps of his able and distinguished father and grandfather, and has already given decided evidence that he has inherited and is developing marked finan- cial ability of a high order. His demeanor in the conduct of the duties of his important position is commendatory and his pleasant and courteous manner of greeting those with whom his duties bring him in daily contact betokens the innate gentlemanly attributes which he possesses to a considerable degree.
HARRY L. SHARP.
Harry L. Sharp, secretary of the Atchison Commercial Club, is one of the "live wires" of the city and has given evidence of great ability in his chosen profession. He is industrious, frugal, sincere and unpretending. His accu- rate knowledge as to the departmental matters is a constant surprise to those who have occasion to consult him with reference to any branch of public service. He realizes that facts, and not theories, must be the working forces in this organization. He is not only able, intelligent and practical in the discharge of his duties as secretary of the Commercial Club, but is thoroughly conscientious and always shows the courage of his convictions.
Harry L. Sharp was born in Moravia, Iowa, January 14, 1883, a son of John Wilson and Cora Wright Sharp, who trace their ancestry to Thomas Brown and Col. William Crawford, of Pennsylvania. Thomas Brown was onc of the early pioneers in western Pennsylvania and founded the town of Brownsville, that State, in the year 1776. Col. William Crawford was a con- frere of George Washington. Colonel Crawford married a daughter of Thomas Brown, which closely related both sides of Mr. Sharp's family, his father's people being the Crawfords and his mother's the Browns. He was graduated from the Moravia High School, after which he entered the restau- rant and bakery business for himself, conducting the same for a period of three years. Disposing of this business, he came to Atchison and was for a time associated with Sawin & Douglass in the undertaking business, qualify-
Harry Sharp. For y Jubason Commercial Cloud.
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ing and obtaining a license to do embalming in the State of Kansas. Fol- lowing this, he was clerk at the Byram Hotel for a period of three years. During the following year he wrote life insurance and resided in Hiawatha, Kan. Returning from Hiawatha, he took a position as yard clerk in the Missouri Pacific railroad yards. From this position he worked up to that of claim clerk for that company, which position he resigned to become traffic manager for A. J. Harwi Hardware Company. Upon the death of A. J. Harwi, Mr. Sharp succeeded F. E. Harwi, as buyer of the house furnishings goods department of this concern, continuing his traffic work. He held this position until he was tendered and accepted the secretaryship of the Atchi- son Commercial Club. While Mr. Sharp is a Democrat, he has always been inclined to be independent in his views of things political. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Elks and Eagles and other fraternal socie- ties. In December, 1906, Mr. Sharp was married to Mary, daughter of Ed- ward C. Wolters, a native of Germany, and a resident of Atchison, where Mr. Wolters was a contractor for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp have one child, LeRoy Edward, born May 31, 1909.
Mr. Sharp is one of the most capable and efficient experts in his par- ticular vocation that can be found in the West. He seems to be naturally adapted for the difficult and exacting position which he holds, and is gifted with rare tact and diplomacy which is so necessary in handling the various affairs which are placed in his hands in the interest of Atchison and the Commercial Club. He is possessed also of decided literary ability, evidence of which talent will be readily seen in the perusal of the chapter on Atchison Industries which was written and compiled for this volume by Mr. Sharp.
HENRY KUEHNHOFF.
Henry Kuehnhoff, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchi- son county, was born August 3, 1869, in Lancaster township. He is a son of Charles and Caroline Kuehnhoff, who were the parents of nine chil- dren, six of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 18.4I and left there when a boy of sixteen years, sailing for New York. He re- mained there a short time and then went west, arriving at St. Joseph, Mo .. where he enlisted in Company B of the Volunteer infantry, serving in the Civil war. He was discharged at Lexington, Mo., at the close of the war, having made a good military record.
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He returned to civil life and worked at St. Joseph, Mo., as a laborer for $8 a month. Shortly afterward he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought eighty acres of land in section 10, Lancaster township. Using oxen, he broke the ground on his newly acquired farm and began to improve it as far as his resources would permit. In 1894 he retired and went to the National Soldiers' Home at Leavenworth, where he died in 1903. The mother was born in Germany, in 1845, and died in 1899. Henry Kuehnhoff grew to manhood on his father's farm and attended the Eden district school No. 37, and also attended No. 3 school for one term. He worked on the farm until he was twenty-one, and, then with his brother, William, rented the old home place. At the death of his father he became heir to a share of the place, and in 1905 bought the farm where he now lives in section 9. Lancaster township, Atchison county. He now owns 157 acres of well im- proved land and has a large amount of graded stock, and is a stockholder in a telephone company.
In 1901 he was married to Caroline Kloepper, who was born July 20, 1882, in Atchison county. She is a daughter of Crist and Caroline (Dorssom) Kloepper, natives of Germany and Atchison county, respectively. The mother is now dead, but her father resides at DeKalb, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Kuehnhoff have one child, John, who lives at home. Mr. Kuehnhoff is a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge. He is a member of the school board of district No. 3, Lancaster township.
MRS. D. N. WHEELER.
The average woman, left penniless, destitute, and even burdened with debt at the hour of her greatest sorrow in life, the demise of a loved hus- band, is very likely to throw herself upon the more or less doubtful mercies of friends or relatives, and make no attempt to take up the burden of gaining a livelihood by her own exertions. However, this may be the case in many instances, but the exact opposite has been the career of Mrs. D. N. Wheeler, one of the wealthiest real estate proprietors in Atchison, who, during the thirty-four years that have elapsed since the demise of her husband which left her with a small home burdened with debt, and otherwise penniless, has amassed a competence which has placed her in the ranks of the largest indi- vidual taxpayers in the city of Atchison.
She was born in Chautauqua county, New York, a daughter of Ezekiel
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and Almirah (Trowbridge) Rooks, both of whom were natives of New York. Her father died when she was four years of age, and she was reared in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where her mother removed after her father's death. Rooks county, Kansas, is named in honor of the Rooks family of New York, who formed one of the first settlements in Rooks county, during the pioneer days of the early sixties in Kansas. While a student in the academy at Erie, Penn., she met her future husband, who was then traveling passenger agent for the Chicago & Northwestern railway. After their marriage in Erie in 1869, they went to Omaha, Neb., where Mr. Wheeler was connected with the Union Pacific railway. They had the honor of being the guests of George Pullman of the Pullman Car Manufacturing Company, as passengers on the first Pullman train run over the Union Pacific tracks, en route from Omaha to San Francisco. Upon their arrival in San Francisco they attended a reception at the Occidental Hotel, after which Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler traveled in California visiting points of interest. They had some interesting experiences during their travels over the country while Mr. Wheeler was engaged in his duties in connection with the Union Pacific railroad. S. H. H. Clark, president of the Union Pacific railroad, was a very dear and warm friend of the Wheelers, and after Mr. Wheeler's death, she accompanied the Clark family to San Francisco and was domiciled at the Palace Hotel as their guest. She was with the Clarks at St. Louis when the Union Pacific railroad was sold for $60,000,000, and she was in New York when Mr. Clark signed this transfer. Mrs. Wheeler still retains the friendship of the Clark family and frequently visits them.
Mr. Wheeler had charge of the expedition to North Platte when Generals Grant and Sherman made the treaty with the Indians, and Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler became personally acquainted with the famous generals. A souve- nir of this experience is a pack of playing cards which General Sherman gave Mrs. Wheeler when the party was on the return trip, and which was used in playing Bezique by the two generals to while away the time. Mr. Wheeler was the conductor of the train which brought in the survivors of the Plum Creek, Neb., Indian massacre, in which many of the settlers were killed and scalped by Indians. Mr. Wheeler died in 1881, leaving his young wife practically destitute, in the little three room house which they had undertaken to buy in Atchison for $600. At the time of his death there was an incum- brance of $400 on this house, and Mrs. Wheeler was so poor that a load of coal which she had ordered for delivery at the home was returned because it was thought she would be unable to pay for it. She at once began to dis- play the spirit which has enabled her to triumph over all difficulties, and
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earned her living by teaching drawing and painting in the old Monroe Insti- tute, supplementing her salary by giving private lessons at lier home on Saturdays. , She managed by dint of the. strictest economy to pay off the mortgage on her little home, and has since remodeled it into one of the most attractive places in Atchison. This beautiful home is situated high up on the bluffs, bordering the Missouri river, and offers a view from the east windows over broad reaches of the Missouri which is unsurpassed for beauty and distance anywhere in the West. Mrs. Wheeler, while without business ex- perience of any kind whatever, at the time of her husband's demise, embarked upon a career of investing her savings in residence properties until she is now the owner of twenty fairly valuable pieces of real estate in Atchison. She followed the time tried plan of the cumulative method of buying houses, which she would place in good repair for rental purposes, going in debt for a house and then gradually paying out, and eventually buying another and so on. until she is now paying taxes on a property valuation of over $40,000, her taxes alone amounting to $2.00 per day, or over $730 yearly. At the same time she has gained a valuable knowledge of real estate, she has learned to know and accurately judge human nature, a combination of wisdom which is irresistible in achieving success. She is a saleswoman of great ability, and has frequently been pitted against some of the shrewdest traders in Atchi- son, and has never been worsted in an encounter. Endowed with a keen observant mind and a remarkable memory, she has made many prominent friends during her career, and has often been called upon to assist them in various capacities, an instance of which is found in the aid which she gave Bishop Tuttle in the preparation of his reminiscences of the Old Santa Fe Trail. To quote the words of a prominent friend of hers, who has known her for many years and witnessed her struggles to attain affluence, "Mrs. Wheeler is a very remarkable woman."
NAPOLEON B. PIKE.
Napoleon B. Pike, farmer and stockman, was born May 10, 1856, in Washington county, Iowa, and is a son of Charles and Maria (Salers) Pike, and was one of eleven children, seven of whom are living. The father of Napoleon Pike was born in New York State, November 13, 1826. He came to Ohio with his parents and after his marriage went to Iowa. For a time he was engaged in a small mercantile business in Iowa, but later engaged in
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farming. He also farmed a place of his own near Atchison, Kan., where he removed in 1882, but his larger holdings were in Iowa. He died in 1903. The mother was born in New Jersey in 1836, and died in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1898. Both were members of the Methodist church.
Napoleon Pike grew up on his father's Iowa farm. He was married there and came to Kansas with his father in 1882. For a year he rented land in Doniphan county, Kansas, when he came to Atchison county, and rented a farm in Lancaster township. In 1907 he bought the forty-acre farm which he now works. When he took the place it had few improvements, but he has invested $8,000 since then, and made a modern farm and keeps graded stock.
In 1878 he married Julia Utterback, who was born in Lancaster, Iowa, July 17, 1856. She is a daughter of Nels and Matilda Utterback, both natives of Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Pike have been born five children, as follows: Charles, Center township; Alta (Higley) Lancaster township; Walter, farmer, Lancaster township; Willard, farmer, Center township, and Warren, deceased. Mr. Pike is a Republican and a member of the Christian church of Atchison. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America at Atchison.
JOHN A. SCHOLZ.
During the thirty-seven years in which the Scholz family has resided in Atchison county, its members have made a record for each and every one which is a credit to their parents and themselves, individually and collectively. John and August Scholz, farmers and live stock breeders of Lancaster town- ship, take high rank in the county as enterprising and successful agricultur- ists, and have both achieved success, and attained a reputation as specialists, being well known breeders of Shorthorn cattle. Their father, the late August Scholz, was wise in his day and generation, in that when he came to Atchison county, a comparatively poor man, he secured enough land which would require that his sons remain at home and become farmers. He was successful in his plan, and the result is seen in the enterprising sons whom he trained to till the soil in the best manner possible, and who have been success- ful, as their father had wished. John Scholz is a native son of Kansas, and was born and brought up on the farm where he now resides. He has one of the attractive country places in the county, nicely located, with a well built farm residence, good barns and outbuildings for housing his live stock and storing the harvests of the Scholz fields. He and his brother, August, have
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long held their land in common, and worked together on a partnership basis in a manner satisfactory to both and productive of good results.
John A. Scholz was born November 27, 1879, in Atchison county, and is a son of August and Johanna (Seidel) Scholz, who were the parents of the following children : Mrs. Pauline McCowin, Renton, Wash .: Herman, Doni- phan county, Kansas; Charles, Lancaster township; Mrs. Louise Thoren, Los Angeles, Cal .; Caroline, wife of J. W. Louthian, Lancaster township, Atchi- son county ; George, Lancaster township; Paul, living near Lancaster, Kan: Mrs. Anna Stockebrand, Yates Center, Kan .; August, farming in partnership with his brother, John, in Lancaster township; John A., farmer, Lancaster township; Robert, Lancaster township. The family was reared on the father's farm and the sons were all taught farming. The father was born in Schlesien, Germany. November 25, 1835. He learned the blacksmith trade from his father. and worked at the trade until he left Germany in 1870. He was a son of George Frederick Scholz. His mother died when he was an infant. Coming to America with his family of six children, August Scholz resided in St. Joseph, Mo., for a time when he bought a farm of 160 acres in Doniphan county, Kansas, which he operated about six years. He broke the soil on this place with oxen and made all necessary improvements himself. After leaving Doniphan county he rented a farm in Atchison county, and then bought 480 acres of prairie and timber land in Lancaster township. Atchison county, in 1882. He bought the farm of Morgan Osborne, and paid $15,000 for it. The place is known as the "Three Springs Farm" and is located on the northwest quarter of section 9. This name comes from the fact that the farm has a fine natural water supply coming from springs located on it. The springs furnish water enough for the stock on the farm even in the longest drought and supplies the neighborhood when necessary. The father bought an unusually large farm for a special purpose. He wanted his boys to grow up with him, and did not want to see them go out as hired hands for other farmers, so he went into debt to buy enough land so that the boys could work it themselves and make a living on it. He had very little capital, but he was industrious and his family was also industrious. This enabled them to go in debt for the farm without fear of not being able to pay for it. The farm was paid for in due time and improvements were made constantly. The father farmed until his death, in 1901. The mother of John Scholz was a daughter of Godfred and Rosanna ( Schwartzer) Seidel. She was born in Schlesien, Germany. April 10, 1840. The father was a farmer in his native land. The mother lives with John Scholz. John Scholz attended the Atchi- son County High School at Effingham. Kan., having previously gone to
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school in District No. 3. of Lancaster township. He remained at home after leaving high school, and helped his father on the farm. When the father died John was married and began life for himself. He and his brother, August, bought 160 acres each from the heirs, and engaged in farming. They bought 320 acres comprising the old home. March 1, 1915, they bought eighty acres additional in Lancaster township, making 400 acres in all. John and his brother began to take a fancy to high grade stock and they are now breeding fine Shorthorn cattle. They have a herd of twelve head of thoroughbreds. They have a graded stock of horses and breed Poland China hogs also. John A. especially takes great interest in mules, and at one time had the largest span in the county. These sold for $600. They were five years old and weighed 3,300 pounds.
John Scholz married Ida R. Meyer, October I. 1913. She was born March 3, 1882, in Center township, Atchison county, and is a daughter of John and Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer. John Meyer was born in Switzer- land, and came to Atchison county when he was four years old, with his parents, John and Verena (Slaughter) Meyer, natives of Switzerland. They were early settlers in Center township where they died. John Meyer was born May 8, 1854, and his wife, Caroline ( Schroeder) Meyer, was born in Elgin, Ill., April 2, 1859. Mrs. Meyer was the daughter of Nicholas and Katherine Schroeder, natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Scholz have one child, Ralph Edward, born August 17, 1914. Mr. Scholz is a Democrat, and he and his wife belong to the Evangelical church.
WALTER E. BROWN.
Walter E. Brown, of the law firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane, and the present city attorney of Atchison, is a native son of Kansas. He was born at Whiting, Jackson county, Kansas November 17, 1887, and is a son of William E. and Martha W. (Gilmore) Brown, natives of Pennsylvania. William E. Brown, the father, came to Kansas with his parents in 1872 at the age of sixteen. He is a son of Michael Brown, a native of Ireland. The Brown family settled in Brown county, Kansas, where the parents spent their lives.
In 1879 William E. Brown removed to Jackson county and engaged in the lumber business at Holton, where he is still an extensive lumber dealer and one of the substantial business men. To William E. and Martha W.
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(Gilmore) Brown were born three children, as follows: Walter E., the sub- ject of this sketch; Bernice and Harold.
Walter E. Brown was reared in Holton and educated in the public schools, graduating from the high school there. He then entered Kansas University, Lawrence, Kan., and was graduated in the class of 1909 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then came to Atchison and became associated with the law firm of which he is now a member. Some few changes have taken place in the personnel of the firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane within the last few years, but it substantially remains the same.
Mr. Brown is a Republican and since coming to Atchison has taken an active part in political matters. He was elected city attorney in 1913 and reelected to succeed himself in 1915. He is a Knights Templar and Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Brown is a very capable attorney and has a wide acquaintance in northeastern Kansas.
E. G. BURBANK.
E. G. Burbank, proprietor of the Burbank printshop, is a native son of Atchison county. In 1905 Mr. Burkank founded this printing establishment in a very humble way, which within ten years has developed into one of the leading printing plants of eastern Kansas. The phenomenal success of this enterprise is, no doubt, due to the fact that Mr. Burbank was an expert job and edition printer when he embarked in the business for himself. Burbank's printship catered to high class printing from the start, which has been its specialty and in which it has made a clean record. They do a large amount of high class catalog printing and other high grade work of a kindred nature. They are also well known as book printers and binders and printers of high class stationery. The plant has a floor space, 30x50 feet and is equipped with all modern machinery and methods for up-to-date printing.
When Mr. Burkank started in business for himself he was able to do most of his work alone, but he now has ten people on his payroll, and the plant is now one of the most prosperous concerns of Atchison.
E. G. Burbank was born at Muscotah, Kan., January 17, 1881, and is a son of Henry N. and Mina S. (Hazlett) Burbank. Henry N. Burbank, his father, was a native of Vermont and came to Atchison county with his father, George S. Burbank, in the pioneer days of Atchison county. He died in 1913,
S. W. ADAMS, Aetna Life Insurance Co.
II. C. HANSEN, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.
JULIUS DEUTSCH
E. G. BURBANK
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and his wife now resides at Billings, Mont. E. G. Burbank was reared in Muscotah, and after receiving a high school education began his printing career as "devil" in the office of the Muscotah Record. Shortly afterwards, he entered the office of the Atchison Globe and was connected with that paper as a printer for four years, when he organized the plant which now bears his name.
Mr. Burbank was married in 1908 to Miss Millie Anderson, and they have two children : Millie Ervin, born in December, 1910, and John Max- well, born in July, 1912. Mr. Burbank is of the type of business men who are making Atchison the commercial and center that it is. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
H. C. HANSEN.
The story of a young man who has been successful in his chosen field through sheer force and energy and aptitude is always interesting. Conse- quently, it is fitting that the biography of one of the most successful life insurance men of northeast Kansas have a proper place in the pages of the his- tory of Atchison county. The rise of H. C. Hansen in the insurance fiekt has been rapid and substantial until his high place among the business men of his home city is assured. Born in the little kingdom of Denmark and reared on American soil, he has given evidence of possessing the sturdy qualities pecu- liar to the Danish people which have led them to the forefront in America wherever they have settled. It is probable that no people coming here from foreign shores and speaking an alien tongue have shown greater adaptability and more acumen in being assimilated into the great American body of citi- zens than those who have come from Denmark.
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