USA > Kansas > Atchison County > History of Atchison County, Kansas > Part 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
The family came from Buchanan county, Missouri, in a covered wagon, driving a yoke of oxen. He preëmpted 160 acres, the site of his son's present farm. He built a small log cabin to shelter his family, and, with the aid of two other men, he began to break the prairie. This was slow work with oxen, and during the first year they cleared but ten acres each. Fifty acres of the farm was in fine wooded land along the creek. This furnished them plenty
550
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
of lumber with which to build their cabin and other buildings. They planted the land, which was in tillable condition, in corn, and were soon able to live in some degree of comfort, but it was still a wild country. An old trail ran near the farm, now known as the "Military trail," and the Indians following this frequently camped along the trail near the farm. They prowled around the house frequently, and the father always kept close to his house to pro- tect his family from possible danger. Those were the true pioneer days, and they had to go to Atchison for their provisions. It was a lonely trip, only one house being between the Wilson cabin and Atchison. But in those days people only bought the barest necessities of life which were all that they could afford. They paid two dollars a bushel for corn meal during the second spring there. Wild game was plentiful and furnished much of the food. Badgers and wolves were numerous and gave danger to the sheep of the pioneers. Many nights were spent with loaded gun within reach in prepared- ness for the wolves which could be heard howling about. On the trips to Atchison to trade travelers and pioneers often stopped at Mormon Grove for a rest. The place was about seven miles west of Atchison, and took its name from the fact that the Mormons, on their way to Utah, frequently camped in this grove over night. Travelers along this road always watered their horses from the pond there.
After two years the settlers began to feel the need of educational ad- vantages for their children, as there was no school near enough for the chil- dren of the pioneers to attend. For the two years they had lived here they had no school advantages, and the men of the neighborhood joined together and built a log school house. It was in the district now known as old Huron school district No. 24. A postoffice also was established near the school house, but when the railroad was built through that section of the county, the postoffice was moved to Huron, where the station was located.
Charles Wilson died in 1897, at the age of seventy years. His wife, Mary K. Wilson, was born October 31. 1831, in eastern Tennessee. She was a daughter of Joseph and Polly (McCurry) Brown. They were natives of Tennessee. The mother is now living with her son, James, the subject of this sketch. She had a great deal to do with the success of her husband. When she came into the wild country with her young husband she was fac- ing a new life, and one which was to test her courage and strength, but she was equal to the occasion. She toiled early and late on the new farm and helped shear sheep and spun wool. The paternal grandparents of James Wilson were Martin and Elizabeth ( Mitchell) Wilson, both natives of Indiana.
James Wilson was reared on the farm where he now resides. He was
551
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
educated in the district school and went to work on his father's farm, and is now farming the place, renting it from his mother. He operates about 115 acres of it.
Mr. Wilson was married in 1880 to Martha Louisa Culpepper, who was born in Dallas county, Iowa, September 5. 1867. She is a daughter of Ben- jamin and Amanda (Lowery) Culpepper, natives of Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of eleven children : Charlie, deceased; Anna Edwards, Dardanelle, Ark .: Archibald, living at home; Edna Gragg, Lancaster town- ship, Atchison county, Kansas ; Frank, living at home; Marie, at home ; Eva, Thelma, Leslie and Vera, all living with their parents, and one child died in infancy. Mr. Wilson is a Republican and is now a member of the school board for his district. He attends church, although he is not a member of any denomination. Mrs. Wilson, mother of James E., is the oldest living pioneer settler of Lancaster township.
FREDERICK W. KOESTER.
Frederick W. Koester is a native of Atchison, born April 6, 1860. He is a son of Fred and Anna ( Bertha) Koester, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Zurich, Switzerland. The mother immigrated to America when she was a young girl, coming to this country with her mother. Fred Koester, the father, was born in Minden, Germany, January 18, 1835, and came to America when he was about twenty-one years of age. He landed in New Orleans, but remained there only a short time when he came up the Mississippi river by boat, and located at St. Louis. He remained there but a short time, however, when he went to St. Joseph, Mo. While there he learned the barber's trade, and in 1857 came to Atchison, Kan., and established one of the first barber shops in the city. He was an industrious and thrifty man and although not highly educated, he was a man of unusual foresight and good judgment. Soon after coming to Atchison he began to invest his savings in real estate and became one of the extensive property owners of the city in the early days. He built several residences which he sold at a good profit and he built one of the first brick houses in Atchison. He also built the first pressed brick house in the city. The building is still standing and is known as the Koester house situated on Second street, between Commercial and Kansas streets. This was considered one of the magnificent residences of Atchison in the early seventies. Fred Koester owned a number of business
552
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
places in Atchison as well as several residences. Frederick W. Koester is the older of a family of two. His sister, Susie Bertha, is now the wife of Carl Hachette, and resides in San Francisco, Cal.
Frederick W. Koester attended the public schools of Atchison, and later was a student in St. Benedict's College, and also attended the Jesuits' College, St. Louis, Mo. His father had advanced ideas in regard to education, and endeavored to give his children the best that could be obtained. After com- pleting school F. W. Koester began life as a clerk in D. C. Newcomb's dry goods store at Atchison. He remained there but a short time, however, when he went to work in his father's barber shop and later opened a six chair shop of his own. He then went on the road as traveling salesman for a barber supply house, and was thus engaged for seven years. He went to California in 1886 where he was employed as timekeeper for a railroad contractor.
Mr. Koester was married in 1883 to Miss Bertha Bracke, a daughter of Albert Bracke, an Atchison county pioneer, who was engaged in freighting across the plains in the early days. Later, he was engaged in a cattle and butchering business in Atchison and was a very extensive dealer.
Mr. and Mrs. Koester are the parents of two children, Albert, born on January 21, 1885, is in the employ of the Seaton Foundry, Atchison, and Fred- erick William, Jr., born July 25, 1895, in San Francisco, is a student in Kansas University, department of journalism, and during his vacations is connected with the Atchison Champion as a reporter. Mr. Koester was appointed by Governor Hodges secretary of the Kansas State Barbers' Board in April, 1913, serving two years. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Red Men, and secretary of the insurance department of Golden Cross. He and his family are members of the Christian Science church. Mrs. Koester died October 13, 1904, and on October 23, 1915, Mr. Koester was united in mar- riage with Miss Lillie Barth Hood, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of J. H. Hood, of McCloud, Okla.
CHARLES MYERS.
Charles Myers, farmer, stockman and contractor, of Lancaster township. Atchison county, Kansas, was born May 13, 1864, in Buchanan county, Mis- souri. He is a son of Augusta and Hulcia (Snyder) Myers, and one of nine children, seven of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 1818 and left there with his parents when a young man, the family settling
553
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of twenty-two he came to St. Joseph, Mo .. and learned the carpenter's trade. Later he engaged in farming in Missouri, and came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought the old Captain Evans farm in Shannon township. He improved it considerably and then sold it, and moved to Atchison, where he resided until his death in 1905. The mother was born in Indiana. She died in 1903, at the age of seventy-four years.
Charles Myers, the subject of this sketch, was reared on his father's farm in Shannon township and attended the district school. He worked for his father until he was twenty years old, and then rented land in Doniphan county, Kansas, and farmed for himself, and later came to Atchison county, where he rented a farm for two years. Having accumulated some capital, he bought 120 acres in section 13, Lancaster township, and farmed this for sixteen years, meanwhile making extensive improvements. He sold this land and bought 160 acres in section 23, Lancaster township, in 1904. The farm was comparatively unimproved and he set to work building the place up. He erected a large, modern, nine room, brick house, superintending the work himself. He also built an excellent barn and a commodious ice house. These buildings were planned by Mr. Myers, who had learned the carpenter's trade at odd times. He selected the materials used in the construction and by his careful supervision thus insured the best of buildings. This work comes natural to Mr. Myers, although he has never spent much time at the work, but it was so easy for him that he just naturally drifted into it. Whenever he had any work to be done he personally took it in hand. Other important improvements were made by Mr. Myers. Several additions to his farm land were made, and he now owns 240 acres of good tillable farm land. Mr. Myers also keeps graded stock and takes pride in keeping up his breeds. Be- sides these activities Mr. Myers holds stock in the Independent Harvester Company of Plano, Ill.
He was married to Eva Kenbal in 1897. Mrs. Myers was born August 19. 1867, in Ohio, and is a daughter of Nelson Kenbal. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Myers: Ora (Snyder), Frazer, Mo .; Edna (Tay- lor), Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas; Merrel, Augusta, Glen, Hubert, Irene, Lafayette, all living at home. Mr. Myers is a Republican in politics and has served on the school board of his district. He belongs to the Baptist church, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Myers, in addition to his occupation as a farmer and stockman, has found time for constructing several buildings in Atchison county, and has been re- markably successful in his construction work.
55-
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
GEORGE H. T. SCHAEFER.
George H. T. Schaefer, contractor and builder, has achieved such a rep- utation in his avocation during his more than thirty years of residence in Atchison, as to place him in the front rank of artisans in his adopted city. History is constantly repeating itself. when we chronicle the fact that "from small beginnings, great things have grown." Mr. Schaefer began contract- ing in a small way, after quitting the first job which he held in Atchison. The results of his handiwork are now seen on every hand, and include the most stately and costly buildings of the city and structures throughout Kan- sas and Nebraska. Through all of his success Mr. Schaefer has remained the same, unassuming, plain citizen, whose motto has been, "honest work for honest money." There are few men in his profession who can point to a more successful career, and who can look back over long years spent in erect- ing abiding places for mankind, and realize that every contract was fulfilled faithfully and the work well and consistently done to the satisfaction of the owners.
G. H. T. Schaefer was born November 11, 1857, in Indianapolis, Ind., and is a son of Rev. J. George and Minnie Schaefer. His father was a native of Stuttgart, Germany, and his mother of Hamburg, Germany. Both came to this country in youth with their respective parents. The father was edu- cated for the Lutheran ministry, and in 1863 left Indianapolis and took charge of a church at Lanesville, Ind .. twelve miles from New Albany, on the stage route in Indiana. From that time on he filled various charges and died in the midst of his pastoral labors in New Boston, Ind. The mother now re- sides in Atchison. He, with whom this review directly concerns, left the parental roof when thirteen years of age and went to Indianapolis, where he learned the trade of carpenter. After serving his apprenticeship he spent two years in the vicinity of his father's home at New Boston, working for an old German contractor. This experience was invaluable, inasmuch as his em- ployer took contracts for erecting barns, churches and bridges from the standing timber. The future contractor here learned to create buildings from the virgin timber of the forests. Desiring to gain a wider experience in his calling, in 1876 he went to Evansville, Ind., then, as now, an important river city. He spent one year in this city, and during that time witnessed the great cyclone which swept this section of the country and destroyed lives and many buildings. Mt. Carmel, Ill., was badly wrecked, and he arrived on the scene of the disaster in time to help bury the dead and assist in the rebuild- ing of the city. In 1879 he went to Greenville, Miss., and during the winter
555
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
the yellow fever, which had been epidemic in New Orleans, broke out in Green- ville, and he managed to catch the last boat leaving the wharf for St. Louis. From here he went to Kansas City, but no sooner did he set foot on the streets of this growing metropolis than he was besieged by real estate men who wanted to sell him property. He became disgusted with Kansas City and took a train for Atchison. Here he purchased a ticket for a point 200 miles west on the Central Branch railroad and landed at Cawker City. Upon alighting from the train and making inquiries about work he was informed that, inasmuch as he did not belong to any lodges, and had no connections in the western town, he could get no work. However, he got a job and was kept busily employed for two years, building in the surrounding country. He erected dwellings and business houses in Jewell and Mitchell counties, at a time when the country was in the initial stage of its development. He in- vested his savings in property, only to see his hopes of gaining a permanent competence swept away, when the hot winds came and ruined the corn crop and scorching everything in its path. Mr. Schaefer promptly left and de- cided to locate in Omaha. On his way eastward he drew matches to decide upon his stopping place and the choice fell to Atchison. This was in 1882. On reaching this city he saw in the Atchison Globe an advertisement, reading : "Competent man wanted to take charge of building," etc. The following morning he applied for the job, and was given the post of foreman by Mr. Jones, a contractor, who had undertaken to erect the Presbyterian church, a stone structure. He received two dollars per day for his services as foreman, with the understanding that his employer was to advance his wages accord- ing to his worth as a foreman. As foreman he did not receive any more pay than the men who were working under him ; consequently, when he had super- vised the erection of the stone structure as far as the roof, he quit the job, despite the fact that his boss offered him three dollars per day to continue working for him. Mr. Schaefer's first contract in Atchison was the erection of a barn on south Third street. Since his first job he has not lacked for contracts, and he has been employed repeatedly by the same patrons who were well satisfied with the work done. His most notable building operations in- cluded the magnificent Ingalls high school building, erected at a cost of $125,000; the G. C. Wattles residence, the Bradley residence, the Blish, Mize Silliman building, costing $125,000; three double officers' quarters at Ft. Leavenworth ; thirty church edifices in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska ; the Presbyterian church in Ottawa, Kan., and the Masonic Temple in Atchison, built at a cost of $65,000, and completed in December of 1915. He employs from ten to seventy-five skilled men, as occasion requires. He formerly op-
556
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
erated a large planing mill on Eighth street, which was destroyed by fire in 1913. Mr. Schaefer was married in 1884 to Lizzie Jacobs, of Atchison, Kan. To them have been born the following children: Clara, wife of John Frommer, Oak street, Atchison ; Minnie, wife of John Krusemark, 915 North Eleventh street ; Etta, wife of Albert Frommer, St. Paul, Minn .; Corrine, wife of Paul Smith, merchant, of Atchison; Julia, Edwin, Laura, and Ruth, at home with their parents. Edwin is a machinist in the employ of the Railway Specialty Company. Mrs. Schaefer was a daughter of J. H. and Catharine Jacobs, who came from Germany in 1860, accompanied by their three chil- dren : Henry, deceased; Mrs. Schaefer, and John E., and a son, Conrad V., was born here. The Jacobs first located in Pennsylvania, and then in Ft. Wayne, Ind., removing from there to Illinois in 1865, and coming to Atch- ison in 1867. J. H. Jacobs was employed by the Hixon Lumber Company, and died February 8, 1896, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife died December 26, 1895, aged seventy-three years.
Politically, Mr. Schaefer is an independent Republican, and served one term as city councilman from the Fifth ward. He is a member of the Luth- eran church, belongs to no lodges, and is essentially a home man when he is not engaged in building. His investments are principally in Atchison real estate and Texas farm lands. His handsome residence at 911 North Eleventh street was remodeled after his own ideas and presents an attractive appear- ance.
AMEL MARKWALT.
Amel Markwalt, farmer, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kan- sas, was born in Germany July 14, 1864. He is a son of Gottlieb and Min- nie (Schraum) Markwalt, and was one of five children, as follows: Gus- tave, Manistee, Mich .; Augusta, address unknown; Amelia (Lidkye), widow, Manistee, Mich .; William, Manistee, Mich .; and Amel, the subject of this sketch. The parents were both German, and died when Amel was but five years of age. He knows nothing of his parents, except that his father was in the German war of 1866, when the Prussians were fighting the Austrians.
The schooling of Amel was neglected, owing to the death of his parents, and he spent his youth working on a farm in Germany. In 1882 he sailed for America, and upon arriving in this country he went to work in the lum- ber mills at Manistee, Mich., remaining there three years. He then came to Atchison, Kan., and worked in the Central Branch railroad shops as a laborer.
557
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
He did various kinds of work of a mechanical nature during his six years of employment there. He then engaged in the retail oil business for himself, and finding this profitable he enlarged his business to include the selling of ice. A few years later he sold his business, and in 1903 bought 160 acres of land in Lancaster township and moved there the following year, where he has since resided. He has built a fine residence and a barn since buying the land, and has a two-acre orchard. His barn is an excellent one, with a capacity of fifty tons of hay.
Amel Markwalt was married in 1885 to Augusta Stolp, who was born in Germany August 2, 1865, and left her native land in 1883 and came to Atchison, Kan. She is a daughter of August and Charlotte (Weisgean) Stolp, both now deceased. Her father came to Atchison, Kan., in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Markwalt have six children: Ida, wife of J. Ziegler, Nortonville, Kan .; William, living at home; Henry, deceased; Charlotte, Elsie, and Otto, living at home. Mr. Markwalt does not affiliate himself with any political party, believing that he can vote more conscientiously by voting independently. He is a member of the German Lutheran church.
RUFUS BENTON PEERY.
Dr. Rufus Benton Peery, president of Midland College, Atchison, is a true type of scholarly and progressive educator, one of that class of men who seem fitted or destined for the high places, and are adapted by profound learn- ing and natural endowments to be instructors and leaders of the youth of the land. His work as the head of Midland College is attracting favorable atten- tion. He has won fame as a lecturer and achieved a measure of renown as an author. Endowed with inherent powers of leadership, he occupies a place among the educators of the nation which is unquestioned, and he is univer- sally recognized as a man of brilliant attainments and a strong personality. Although he has occupied his present position but a few years, during that time Dr. Peery has done much toward advancing the interests of Midland College and pushing this institution forward to its rightful place among the seats of learning in the Middle West.
Dr. Peery is a native of Virginia, born April 9, 1868, at Burke's Garden, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah Henrietta (Repass) Peery. His father was a farmer and stockman, who eventually became an extensive buyer and shipper of live stock in Virginia and Tennessee. He traveled over the region
.
558
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
in quest of cattle and other live stock, buying it up and shipping train loads to the New York City markets. Rufus B. early learned to do farm work and assisted his father as other boys have been wont to do on the farm. After he had entered college he hecame his father's assistant in the live stock business during his vacations, and thus earned the money to continue with his studies. During his boyhood on the farm he raised a fine mare named "Gypsy" which was the apple of his eye. He became ambitious to enter college, but had not the means to make the start. His only recourse seemed to be to part with "Gypsy," and thus get the funds to realize his ambition. He sold his favorite for the sum of $125, and was enabled to matriculate in Roanoke College, Salem, Va., from which institution he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1890. He received his Master's degree from Roanoke in 1895.
Imbued with a desire to enter the ministry, he continued his studies in the theological seminary at Greensburg. Pa., for the next two years, and was ordained in the English Lutheran ministry in 1892. Actuated by a de- sire to assist the Japanese people, he became a missionary and remained in the Orient from 1892 to 1903. For four years he was professor of theology in Japan, and traveled extensively in the Orient, including the Chinese Em- pire. Being a close student and observer of condition in the lands which he visited while pursuing his missionary tasks, he was enabled to write enter- tainingly, the results of his observations, and embody them in an interesting volume "Gist of Japan," in 1897, which has run through eight editions. He has also written and published a volume entitled "Lutherans in Japan," issued in 1900. His "Lectures to Young Men" (Japanese) was issued in 1902. Dr. Peery is a regular contributor to religious and secular journals. His work has decided literary merit, and he has attained high rank as a writer on religious subjects. In the year 1895 he received the degree of Ph. D. from the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg. He took the non-resident course in theology and homiletics in Chicago University from 1898 to 1901. In 1909 Dr. Peery received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Midland College. Upon his return from the far East he lectured in America on Oriental and missionary subjects from 1903 to 1905. In 1905 he received a call and accepted the pastorate of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Denver. He had charge of the Denver church until 1912 when he came to Atchison and be- came president of Midland College. While in Denver he served as president of the Denver Ministerial Association from 1909 to 1910, inclusive. Dr. Peery is a trustee of the Tabitha Home at Lincoln, Neb. ; a member of the Red Cross Society of Japan ; member of the Sons of the American Revolu- tion Society, and the Phi Gamma Delta.
559
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
He was married to Letita Rich, of Wytheville, Va., August 21, 1905. To Mr. and Mrs. Peery have been born six sons, namely : Harold Rich, Thomas Benton and Rob Roy, born in Japan ; Paul Denver, and William Wal- lace, born in Denver, Colo .; Donald Lee, born in Atchison. Dr. Peery, like many other college heads, began at the bottom rung of the ladder, and is essen- tially self-made. His first teaching experience was in the district schools of his native State. While a student at college he served as private tutor to the student son of a wealthy man and thus earned sufficient funds to continue his studies. His father gave him a share of the proceeds of the live stock business which he earned in New York City, during his vacations. Nothing develops the individual more than the necessity of striving for himself, and thus developing his own powers by combining the gaining of a livelihood with the attaining of a higher education. Dr. Peery's aspirations have been noble, and he has been actuated by the high and unselfish purpose of being of service to his fellow men. Atchison is proud of Midland College and the great work being done within its walls, and the reputation of the college is growing under Dr. Peery's management.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.