USA > Kansas > Atchison County > History of Atchison County, Kansas > Part 58
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Myrtle S., Mable, Maude, and Irene, at home with their parents. The father of Mrs. Bishop is the owner of the old Penseneau farm, which is the first piece of land ever tilled in Atchison county.
The Republican party has generally had the allegiance of Mr. Bishop, and while he has not taken an active part in political matters, he was one of the stanch supporters of the movement which resulted in the estabishment of the high school at Potter. It is only natural to learn that he, like others who have succeeded in Kansas, has always been a live stock man and believes in feeding the grains and grasses raised on his land to the live stock on his place, in order to preserve the fertility of the land and make marketing the output much more convenient. He maintains a dairy herd of thirty well bred Hol- stein milch cows and is a well known breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs, having 200 head or more on his farm.
HARRISON W. RUDOLPH.
Harrison W. Rudolph is not only a leading photographer of Atchison, but ranks among the best in his profession of the entire country. Mr. Rudolph is a native of the Keystone State, born at Allentown, Pa., May 30, 1866. He is a son of John and Levina (Messer) Rudolph. The Rudolphs are of old American stock of German descent. Sometime during the seventeenth cen- tury, two Rudolph brothers immigrated to America. One settled in Pennsyl- vania, and the other went farther West, locating in Ohio, and Harrison W. Rudolph, whose name introduces this review, is a descendant of the one who settled in Pennsylvania. Mrs. James A. Garfield bore the maiden name of Rudolph, and was a member of the Ohio branch of the Rudolph family, and James Rudolph Garfield, son of the former President, retains his mother's maiden name as his middle name. John Rudolph, the father of H. W., is not living and has reached the ripe old age of eighty. He resides in Allen- town, Pa.
Harrison W. Rudolph was reared in Allentown, and after receiving a good common school education served an apprenticeship at photography in his native city, and later completed a course in the Atchison Business College. About the time he was twenty years old he obtained a position from an Atch- ison photographer through correspondence. He came here and worked at his profession for M. A. Kleckner about nine years, when he opened a studio of his own at 509 1-2 Commercial street, where he has been located for twenty
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years. Mr. Rudolph is recognized as an artist and has a large patronage from all over northeastern Kansas, and he even gets work from Kansas City. The excellency of his work is readily recognized by particular people who know and appreciate art. Mr. Rudolph has been awarded five prizes and medals for his work by the Kansas State Photographers' Association, and his work is always in great demand. He is a member of the Kansas Photographers' Association, the National Photographers' Association of America, the Mis- souri Valley Photographers' Association, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Rudolph was married in Denver April 9, 1889, to Miss Martha Hausser, of New York City, and two children have been born to this union, as follows: Rodney, born January 21, 1892, is a traveling representative for the Standard Oil Company, and Fred, born June 2, 1894, a clerk in the Atch- ison office of the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Rudolph is not only a success- ful artist, but has made good in a financial way and is one of the substantial business men of Atchison county. He is a member of the Atchison Com- mercial Club and the Young Men's Christian Association.
EDWARD B. MCCULLOUGH.
Edward B. Mccullough, deputy sheriff of Atchison county, was born on a farm in Atchison county in 1880, and is a son of Hugh Elden and Sarah J. (Rankin) Mccullough, both of whom were born and reared to ma- turity in Pennsylvania, married there and shortly afterward set out for the West, settling in Atchison county. Mr. Mccullough bought a farm in Lan- caster township, and improved it, but did not live long after settling here. He died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving one son, Edward B. At the time of his father's death, Edward B. was but fifteen months old, and soon afterward his mother moved to the village of Lancaster where she has since made her home, with the exception of some years spent on her cousin's farm near Lancaster. Edward B. was reared to young manhood in Lancaster and attended the public school. When still a youth he learned to hustle for him- self and became self-reliant and self-supporting at a time when most boys are still in the coddling stage. When but sixteen years of age he bought a team and outfit and engaged in business for himself. He continued as a teamster and in draying until 1914 when he removed to Atchison to enter upon his duties as deputy sheriff under Sheriff Roy Trimble. During the course of his teaming experience he became the proprietor of a livery barn in Lancaster.
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On October 28, 1903, he married Mildred May Lowe, a daughter of Aus- tin and Anna Lowe, of Atchison county. They have one child, Gayle Mateel, born September 23, 1904. Mr. Mccullough is a member of the Modern Woodmen, and is a Republican. Since early young manhood he has taken an active part in political affairs, and loves the game for its own sake, as well as he loves baseball and kindred sports, for he is and has been quite an athlete, being a proficient baseball player.
For the past eight years he has been one of the wheel horses of the Republican party in Atchison county and has naturally attained a wide ac- quaintance among the voters of both parties. He assiduously campaigned for his favorite candidates during the campaigns of 1912 and 1914, but has never been a candidate for office. He was appointed to the post of deputy sheriff in November, 1914, and took up the duties of his office January II, of the following year. It is needless to state that he is faithfully performing the duties of his position and is gaining more friends as his general worth is be- coming more widely known.
THOMAS E. BALLINGER.
Thomas E. Ballinger is one of the substantial and well respected resi- dents of Atchison who has accomplished much in a material and civic way since first coming to the county in 1869. He has acquired and improved one of the finest farms of the county, served the people well and faithfully in an official capacity, and, best of all, has reared a fine family, every member of whom is a useful addition to society, and a credit to their parents and the communities in which they reside. What more could any man expect to ac- complish during a long and busy life? A man who accomplishes so much with the assistance of an intelligent and faithful wife can well be content to retire to a pleasant home, imbued with the satisfaction of knowing that the future of himself and his is well provided for during the declining years which can be likened to a beautiful sunset at the end of a long and glorious day spent in gleaning from mother earth her treasures.
Mr. Ballinger is a native of New Jersey and comes of good, old English stock. He was born in Salem county, that State, November 21, 1845. His parents were John G. and Sarah Ann ( Reeves) Ballinger, also natives of New Jersey. His paternal grandfather was John G. Ballinger, who married
This &. Ballinger
Julia He Ballinger
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a Quaker woman and died when Thomas E. was but a boy. His mother was a daughter of Stephen Reeves, a scion of an old eastern family and a leading shipbuilder of New Jersey. The Reeves family settled in Alloway township, Salem county, New Jersey. John G. Ballinger, the father, was born in 1827, and died in 1906. He was a miller, and operated a mill during the active years of his long life. His wife, Sarah Ann, died in 1850, leaving three chil- dren : Stephen R., a miller, who resided in New Jersey, and died October 15, 1915; Samuel E., a retired farmer, living in the suburbs of Atchison, and Thomas E., with whose career this review is directly concerned. John G. Ballinger married a second time, to Sarah Austin, who bore him the follow- ing children : John, Charles, Walter, Ellen, Sadie, Emma and Minnie.
The elder Ballinger had both the means and the incentive to give his children an education. Accordingly, Thomas E. had the advantages of thorough schooling and, after attending the district school of his home neigh- borhood, he studied in the Cumberland County Academy at Bridgetown, N. J., the Crittendon School in Philadelphia and the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, completing his course in the latter institution in 1865. He then became a clerk in a grocery store at Glouster, N. J., and was later employed in a drug store. All the while, however, he was hearkening to the call of the West, which had reached the ears of thousands of young men in the East. The call proved so strong that in 1869 he made the long journey to Kansas to become one of the pioneers of the new State. For the first two years he worked out as a farm hand in Shannon township, Atchison county, saving his funds in order that he might begin farming for himself. In 1871 he made his first purchase of eighty acres of unimproved land in Lancaster township, Atchison county, at a cost of $15 per acre. On this tract he built a two room house in which he lived for two years, and was there joined by his brother, Samuel E. He then married, and the first five years of a happy wedded life were spent on this farm. He traded this farm for eighty acres of land in Shannon township, which served as the family home until 1888. He then exchanged the Shannon township farm for 240 acres, near Huron, Atchison county, which lie retained for two years, and then made his last trade for 160 acres in the east central part of Lancaster township. For seventeen years, until his retirement to Atchison in 1907, this fine farm was the family home. Mr. Ballinger greatly improved this farm, added to it another forty acres, and with its two sets of buildings and well kept fields, is one of the finest and most productive agricultural plants in the county.
He was married on Saturday, March 21. 1874, to Julia H. Holland, and to this union have been born the following children : Ralph, a talented physi-
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cian of Chicago, married Flora Groom, of Indiana; Mrs. Marie Shuffleberger, Doniphan county, Kansas, mother of three children, Dorothy, Reeves and Wayne; Adel, at home; Grace, wife of J. W. Coleman, of Atchison, having two children, John Ballinger, born June 14, 1911, and James Henry, born November 3. 1915: Thomas Edward, Jr., on the home farm, married Nellie Colgan and is the father of one child, John Edward; Julia Gladys resides at home with her parents. Father, mother and daughters reside in a handsome brick residence, erected by Mr. Ballinger at 210 North Eleventh street. Mrs. Ballinger was born December 29, 1853, in England, and is a daughter of Joshua and Maria (Relph) Holland, who immigrated to America in 1856, and first settled on an Illinois farm. The family came to Kansas in 1860, settling in Nemaha county, going from there to Ft. Leavenworth, where Joshua Holland followed his trade of stone mason. During the Civil war Mr. Holland served in the commissary department at Ft. Leavenworth. In 1870 he came to Atchison county and cultivated a farm of 120 acres near Lane until his death. Mr. Holland was born in April, 1822, and died in . September, 1884. Mrs. Holland was born in November, 1824, and died in April, 1894. They were the parents of the following children : Emma, de- ceased; Misses Mary and Harriet Holland on a farm near Lancaster; Mrs. Julia Ballinger, and William, a retired farmer in Lancester.
Thomas E. Ballinger has always been a Republican in politics and took an active part in political and civic affairs in his home township, serving as township clerk for a number of years. He was elected to the office of county commissioner in 1910, and served from January, 1911, to January, 1915. While a member of the board of county commissioners the best interests of the county were paramount with him, and he was an honest and capable public official. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church.
ROGER PATRICK SULLIVAN.
The accounts of many of the prosperous and substantial families who are the backbone and substance of the rural population in Atchison county are very similar, beginning far away, across the ocean, in one of the older coun- tries from whence the parents came to seek fortune in America. The Sulli- van family had its origin in Ireland and it was from the Emerald Isle that the father of the family came when twelve years of age, struggled from poverty to comparative wealth and left his sons well provided for, as a reward for
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their filial devotion to the parents when old age came upon them. Roger Sullivan, a progressive farmer of Benton township, is one of the best known men in his section of the county. The Sullivan home is an attractive one, and the home farm of Mr. Sullivan is one of the most fertile and best kept in Atchison county.
Roger Patrick Sullivan was born December 4. 1862, in Atchison, a son of Michael and Bridget (Tobin) Sullivan, natives of Ireland. Michael Sul- livan was born in 1826 and lived in his native land until he was twelve years of age when he made his way to America. His travels while seeking fortune in the new country took him ever westward and he was married in Keokuk, Iowa, to Bridget Tobin, who was his faithful helpmate during the years when he was rising from poverty to affluence. In 1860 they came to Atchison. Kan., where Mr. Sullivan engaged in railroad contract work and assisted in the grading of the Central Branch railroad. He made money in his railroad contract work and was enabled to purchase a farm in Grasshopper township, or rather traded for it. While living in Atchison, with true Irish thrift, he and his wife managed to become owners of a home which they exchanged for eighty acres of land in Grasshopper township, upon which they moved and de- veloped it into a fine farm. Mr. Sullivan in the course of time bought an additional quarter section and with the help of his sturdy sons he increased his acreage to 320 acres of well improved farm land. When old age crept upon Michael and his wife they turned over the farms to their two sons, who cared for them in their declining years, which were spent in peace and com- fort. Mr. Sullivan died at the home of his son, John Edward, December 24, 1906, and his wife followed him to the great beyond two years later, Feb- ruary, 1908. Three children were born to this worthy couple, namely : John Edward, a farmer residing in Grasshopper township: Roger Patrick, the subject of this review, and Mary, deceased.
Roger P. learned when a youth the art of cultivating the soil, and dili- gently applied himself to the task of helping to build up the family estate, and received as his share of the farm lands owned by his father a fine quarter section of land upon which he resided until his removal to his present location in the spring of 1908. Prosperity has smiled upon his efforts, and he is now the owner of 360 acres of land, 160 acres of which are comprised in his home . farm, eighty acres is located five miles west of his home in Kapioma town- ship, and he still retains 120 acres of the original Sullivan farm, which is en- tirely devoted to pasture. If one should ask Mr. Sullivan how he had man- aged to attain the considerable acreage which he now possesses, his answer would probably be, "By hard work," which would be true, but the reviewer
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is also of the opinion that the "hard word" was also supplemented by intelli- gent effort, self-denial at times, sobriety, and good financial judgment.
Mr. Sullivan was married January 1I, 1892, to Miss Mary Linehan, who was born in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1865, a daughter of James and Kathryn Linehan, natives of Ireland, and who were pioneer settlers in Atchi- son county. To this union four children have been born, namely : Catharine, aged seventeen years, and a student in the Atchison County High School, class of '17; Daniel, fifteen years old, a freshman in the county high school; Mary, aged twelve years, and Helen, aged nine, pupils in the parochial school at Effingham.
The Democratic party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Sullivan and his father before him was a Democrat. He and his family are members of the Catholic church which was the faith of their fathers. He finds time to give attention to the social side of life, and is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Atchison. Mr. Sullivan is a thorough Kansan, and is proud to be numbered among the real pioneers of Atchison county, and in his opinion there is no better spot than the county which has always been his home.
JOHN FLEMING.
John Fleming, a successful merchant of Atchison, was born October 29, 1864, in Holland. When four years old his parents left the land of their birth and came to America in 1868. He was one of twins, the other twin brother dying during the ocean voyage to America. His parents were Lambert and Rosena (Johnson) Fleming, who set out from their native land imbued with the desire to better their condition in America and finally located in Atchison. The elder Fleming had been a skilled wooden-shoe maker in his native land, and he plied his trade in Atchison, being able to market the product of his skilled workmanship through the kindly assistance of John Ratterman, who exchanged groceries and the necessities of life for the shoes which Mr. Flem- ing made. The family finally located on a farm south of Atchison, and re- sided there until the death of the father in 1882, at which time John, his mother and two sisters, Bertha, now widow of Henry Nass, deceased: Ida Van Benthen, residing at Seventeenth and Atchison streets, removed to Atchison.
John Fleming was four years old when his parents took up their resi-
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dence in Atchison county, and he was reared on the farm, south of the city, attending the district schools, and was able to secure a limited education in this manner. Upon coming to the city to reside he worked in various gro- cery stores for several years. With true thrift, for which those of Holland birth are noted the world over, he carefully saved his money over and above actual living expenses, and in 1898, equipped with a capital of $500, he started in business with this amount and some borrowed money. For over seventeen years he has been conducting a grocery business at 321 North Seventh street and his business has been constantly on the increase. The de- mands of his growing trade and the expansion of his business became such that in 1907 it became necessary for him to erect the modern brick buildings which now houses his excellent stock of goods at 321 North Seventh street. It is one of the most attractive and best kept establishments of the kind in the city, and is noted for the tasteful manner in which the goods of the very best quality are displayed and the unvarying courtesy with which the patrons are treated. Prosperity has come to Mr. Fleming, and in 1908 he invested his surplus in the erection of a four-suite apartment house, each apartment of which contains six rooms. He is also the owner of other real estate in north Atchison, and is rated as one of the city's enterprising and progressive business men.
Mr. Fleming was married in 1889 to Emma C. Hilligoss, a daughter of Alfred and Anna Eliza (McLain) Hilligoss, who located in Atchison when she was twelve years of age. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fleming, four living: William J., associated with his father in the grocery business ; Henry A., also his father's assistant ; Agnes R., John Edwin ; Bertha died at the age of four years; Ruth died in infancy, and Theodore died at the age of four months.
Mr. Fleming is a member of St. Benedict's Catholic Church, and is fra- ternally connected with the Modern Woodmen of America.
MARK H. HULINGS.
For an Atchison county man to start out in life with a capital of fifteen dollars, which was given to him by a loving mother, with the injunction that he purchase an article for personal adornment, and then to invest said fifteen dollars in a span of mules, which became the nucleus to a fortune, and for this citizen to rise to the position of being one of the large landed proprietors
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of Kansas, sounds like a tale from modern fiction. But the tale is true, and the incident which marked the starting point of the career of Mark H. Hul- ings, of Center township, is the keystone of the man's character, and shows wherein lies the material from which he was created. Mr. Hulings decided that a pair of mules would do him more material good than adorning his per- son, and therein used rare and capable judgment. Mr. Hulings is a Kansas man, who during a career in agricultural pursuits embracing but little more than thirty years, has achieved a success which is truly remarkable. Not con- tent with just common everyday farming, as has been practiced with indiffer- ent success by others, Mr. Hulings became a specialist and has taken his right- ful place among the many skilled cattle breeders of this county, who in time to come will receive the credit and honors which are theirs by right. By in- ‹lustry, persistence, intelligence, and keen financial judgment he has risen to become one of the leading farmers of Atchison county and Kansas. Born in the old Buckeye State, of Virginia parents, he is a loyal and steadfast Kan- san, and takes pride in the fact that he is one of the real pioneers of this sec- tion of a great State.
Mark H. Hulings, farmer and stockman, of Center township, was born February 14, 1862, at Walnut Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a son of Samnel and Louise (Brown) Hulings. They had four children, as follows : Mrs. Lillie High, widow, Atchison, Kan .; Cincinnatus, deceased; Mark, the subject of this sketch, and Ruth J., twins, the latter deceased. The father was born in what is now West Virginia in 1832. He was a baker by trade, and his early days were spent on a steamboat, where he was employed as a cook and baker. When a young man he came to Cincinnati, where he worked for some time, and then he began farming. In 1867 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land, and built a seven-room house of brick, which was considered a fine residence in that day. He was a success- ful farmer and his crops were always good, with the exception of one year when they were destroyed by the grasshoppers. The father conducted his farm until his death in 1898. The mother was born in New York and died about 1905, aged about seventy years. An accident in an Atchison hardware store elevator which injured her leg led to her death.
Mark Hulings attended the school in District No. 28, Center township, and later the Pardee Seminary. When he started out in life for himself he had only fifteen dollars which his mother gave him to buy a ring for himself. But caring little for personal jewelry, bought a span of mules instead, for which he paid the fifteen dollars as the first payment. This was his first investment, but it was a profitable one, and he has continued to invest until
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he is now an extensive land owner. He and his brother, Cincinnatns, bought land of their own after their parents died, and farmed together about eight years when each bought a farm of his own. Mark bought land in Center township and now owns 810 acres, a large part of which is well improved. He was a breeder of registered Hereford cattle for a time, but now devotes his attention to Shorthorns. He has worked his way to the first rank of Atchi- son county farmers, and now holds land that makes him one of the largest land owners of the county. On April 27, 1890, he married Emma Sharpless, who was born September 22, 1871, in Delaware. (See sketch of U. B. Sharp- less for a sketch of the Sharpless family history.) To Mr. and Mrs. Hulings have been born two children: Mark S. and Susie E., living at home. Mr. Hulings is a Republican. He and his wife and children are members of the Christian church at Farmington.
FRANK SUTTER.
Frank Sutter, owner of "Highlington," a splendid farm of 245 acres, in Benton township, Atchison county, located one-half mile west of Effingham, is a native of Atchison county, and is one of its most successful and pro- gressive farmers. A beautiful, modern farm home of eight rooms occupies a rise of land fronting the main highway, running east and west from Effing- ham, and is fully equipped with a water system and private gas plant installed by Mr. Sutter. A large red barn stands in the rear of the home. This farm is operated as a dairying plant, and Mr. Sutter maintains a herd of fifteen milch cows of the Jersey and Shorthorn breeds.
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