History of Atchison County, Kansas, Part 67

Author: Ingalls, Sheffield
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Lawrence, Kan., Standard Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1032

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John E. Sullivan was born on a farm, near Rulo, Richardson county, Nebraska, January 20, 1873. He is a son of Murty and Mary (Rawley) Sullivan, substantial and well respected citizens of Effingham. The former was born in Ireland in 1847, and the latter is a native of Canada, born of Irish parents in 1852. Murty Sullivan left Ireland in 1865, immigrated to America and settled near Rulo, Neb. He made his own way in this country, and accumulated a large farm in Nebraska, on which he resided until 1910, when he removed to Effingham and purchased a farm adjoining the town on the south. Murty and Mary Sullivan are the parents of the following chil- dren : James and Murty, Jr., living at Hardin, Mont. ; Daniel D., a farmer, of Benton township, Atchison county, Kan .; John E., the subject of this review ; · Mrs. John Vogel, of Falls City. Neb. : Sister M. Teresa, a sister of the Ursu- line Convent, of York, Neb., and a teacher in St. Angela's Academy there. The family are all members of the Catholic church.

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John E. received his primary education in the common schools of his native county in Nebraska, and finished his education in St. Benedict's Col- lege, Atchison, Kan., graduating from the commercial department of that institution in 1894. He then took a special teachers' course at the Lincoln, Neb., Normal School. He taught school for seven years in. Richardson county, Nebraska, and practically all of his teaching was done in two schools of his home county. Upon his marriage in 1897 he engaged in farming in Nebraska, and it is a matter of pride with Mr. Sullivan that he earned more money in two years of farming operations than he had in all of his seven years of teaching, another reason why the farm is the best place for a young and ambitious man to make money. His success as a farmer de- termined his future career, and he decided to stick to the agricultural country for all time, imbued with the belief that there is money to be earned in farming, or in handling farm lands. He left Nebraska in December of 1901, and came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he purchased a farm, one and one-half miles south of Effingham, his first farm being the northwest quar- ter of section 34-618. He is at present the owner of 400 acres of well improved land which is kept in a high state of cultivation by improved methods of farming. Mr. Sullivan raises considerable live stock on his acre- age and aims to feed all the grain raised on the land to live stock. He specializes in Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs and aims to keep only good grade of stock of all kinds. At the time of his purchase of the farm land in Atchison county, the land itself was in poor condition, and the soil had become impoverished by continual cropping of a single staple. Through the modern method of crop rotation Mr. Sullivan is reviving the fertility of the soil, and at the present time the greater portion of his farm is planted to clover and grasses, for the purpose of renewing the strength of the soil, the process being assisted by the raising and feeding of live stock on the place. The Sullivan farm has splendid improvements, which were placed on it by Mr. Sullivan, who erected a modern eight-room house and a good barn. In 1907 Mr. Sullivan was induced to take up insurance work as a side line, in the interest of a Nebraska insurance company, and met with great success in his new line of work. He later took up the real estate business and the handling of loans, and has been likewise successful in establishing a perma- nent business which requires his attention and necessitates an office in Ef- fingham. The Sullivan real estate and loan office is well located in the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, of which concern Mr. Sullivan served as cashier and a director for several years.

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He was married February 16, 1897, to Mary Majerus, a native born res- ident of Richardson county, Nebraska, and a daughter of Jacob and Eliza- beth (Wilker) Majerus, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of Ohio, of German parents. Seven children have blessed this union, namely : P. Justin, aged seventeen, and a student of St. Benedict's College, class of 1916: Leo, aged thirteen years; Nellie, ten years old; Elizabeth, aged eight; Edward, six years old; Agnes, three years of age; and Mary, born January 28, 1915.

Mr. Sullivan is a Democrat who takes an active and influential part in the affairs of his party in Atchison county, having been the candidate of the party for county treasurer in 1914. He is fraternally affiliated with the Modern Woodmen, of Effingham, the Knights of Columbus, of Atchison, and the Central Protective Association.

SAMUEL L. LOYD.

Samuel L. Loyd, an enterprising and successful farmer, of Shannon township, was born June 11, 1860, in Brown county, Ohio, a son of Thomas F. and Celina (McGinness) Loyd, natives of Kentucky and Ohio, respectively. His paternal ancestors were of Welsh extraction. William Loyd, grandfather of Samuel Loyd, after making a home for his family in this country, started on a return trip to his native land, in order to secure a legacy which had been willed to him by a deceased relative, and on the way was afflicted with cholera, and died. With his death, practically all knowledge of the family in the old country passed away, and his widow and two children were left to get along as best they could. Two years later the widow died. Thomas F. Loyd was reared by a Mr. Boyd, and removed from Kentucky to Brown county, Ohio, when he became of age, and there married Celina McGinness. About 1865 he set out for the western country to obtain cheaper land, and make a permanent home for his family. After living for one year in Clark county, Missouri, he loaded his effects on a covered wagon, and with his wife and children crossed the the Missouri river at St. Joseph, and settled on a farm in Doniphan county, Kansas, April 14, 1866. Thomas F. Loyd was a member of the Home Guard in Brown county, Ohio, during the Civil war. He was born in 1825, and died in 1910. His wife, Celina, was born in 1829, and died in 1906. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom are

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HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY

living : William, Mollie, deceased. Charles, deceased, Samuel L. Anna. George, Effie, Otis, Oscar, and Celina, deceased.

Samuel L. Loyd was six years of age when his parents located in Doni- phan county, and consequently knows a great deal about the early days in Kansas, and the struggles of the early settlers to make homes on the prairie. He was brought up on the farm, and attended the district school when pos- sible, and learned very early in life to do farm work. After his marriage he farmed in Doniphan county until 1899, when he came to Shannon town- ship in Atchison county, and purchased 160 acres of fine land, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. During his sixteen years of residence here he has improved his farm to a considerable extent, and has spent over $5.000 in the erection of a handsome brick residence which sets far back on a rise of ground and is reached from the highway by a private driveway. Other improvements on the place in the way of buildings and fences have cost him over $1,500. A severe storm, which swept this section May 3, 1903. did damage to the extent of over $500 to his buildings, and he found it necessary to repair all of this.

Mr. Loyd was married September 2, 1896, to Miss Lulu Voelker, born and brought up in Atchison county, a few miles north of the city of Atch- ison. To this union five children have been born : Myrtle Ceina, Edna Lula, rad Voelker, a wealthy and prominent farmer residing on one of the finest good educations by their ambitious parents. Mrs. Loyd is a sister of Con- rad Voelker, a wealthy and prominent farmer residing on one of the finest farms in the county, about four miles north of Atchison, and who earned the title of "Cabbage King" of Kansas, because of his wonder- ful success in growing that vegetable some years ago. Mrs. Loyd was born July 14, 1872, and is a daughter of Karl Voelker, who immigrated to this country from Germany in 1861, and operated a dairy and truck farm in Shannon township for several years. The mother of Mrs. Loyd was Christina Neuhaus, of German parents. Further details of the history of the Voelker family are found elsewhere in this volume. Conrad M., a nephew of Mrs. Loyd, is county clerk of Atchison county.

Mr. Loyd is a Republican, but gives little or no attention to political affairs, other than to vote as his conscience dictates. He is affiliated with the Central Protective Association, and is a member of Good Intent lodge, of Shannon township. While Mrs. Loyd was reared in the Lutheran faith, the members of the Loyd family attend the Methodist church. For a man who was forced to make his own way in the world, Mr. Loyd, with the

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assistance of his faithful wife, has accomplished a great deal, for which he dleserves credit and honor among his neighbors.

JULIUS KAAZ.

The life story of Julius Kaaz, founder and proprietor of the manufac- turing concern which bears his name, is an account of the achievements of a self-made man who left his native land to seek opportunity and fortune in Atchison, and found it. During the period of thirty-four. years of his life which has been spent in his adopted city, Mr. Kaaz has succeeded even beyond his expectations and has made a place for himself an enviable one in the city. He arrived in Atchison in 1881 without a dollar, but endowed with a willing- ness to do whatever came to hand, imbued with a desire to succeed where the opportunity awaited him. The Julius Kaaz Manufacturing Company is a monument to his industry and ambition. This is one of the thriving and important establishments in the city of Atchison, and is widely known as one of the city's leading industries. The extensive plant covers two floors of a building. 52x130 feet, and from eighteen to twenty men are employed in the mill proper, and from five to thirty-five men are given employment at outside work. The factory is conveniently located at 1200-1208 Main street and is fully equipped with all modern machinery to facilitate the manufac- ture of the high grade products which consist principally of bank, church and store fixtures, made to the order of the purchaser. An example of the high grade work turned out by the Kaaz plant can be seen in the interior fixings and furniture of the German-American State Bank of Atchison. Mr. Kaaz ships his output to Kansas and Nebraska cities and all parts of the United States, and it is unsurpassed in quality and finish.

Julius Kaaz was born March 26, 1854. in Prussia. German Empire, a son of Daniel and Christina ( Schroeder) Kaaz, who were the parents of four children: Wilhelmina Loeproeck, a widow residing in Atchison county ; Ern- est. Atchison ; Mrs. Christina Schmeling, deceased : Julius, the youngest of the family. Daniel Kaaz was a carpenter by trade and came to Atchison from Germany with his family in 1881. He resided with his son Julius upon his retirement from active labor until his death in 1902. His wife, Christina, was born in 1821, and died in 1895.

Julius Kaaz attended the schools of his native land and studied archi- tecture. He learned the trade of carpenter under his father, but could not

Jord. Raaz

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HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY

content himself to settle down in his native land and follow in the footsteps of his forebears. When still a young man the germ of ambition called him to other lands, and his goal was America. His desire to better his condition led him to set sail for this country in 1881, arriving in Atchison, where he at once sought employment. His first work was cutting cordwood in the timber land, south of the city, during the winter, and in the spring of the following year he worked on the Missouri river, making and placing riprap. Soon afterward he was given a job working at his trade for $1.50 per day. For one year he worked for wages, and at length decided to embark in business for himself and began taking contracts at a time when he had no capital worth speaking of. It was even necessary for him to borrow the saw and hammer which he used in his work. In 1885 he formed a partnership with Henry Braun in the contract- ing business which continued until 1909, when they dissolved partnership. In 1907 Mr. Kaaz erected his first planing mill which has grown into his pres- ent extensive establishment consisting of plant, yards and warerooms.

He was married to Ida Schmeling in 1883, and to this union have been born nine children, as follows: Emil, Lena, Robert, Lydia, Julius E., Otto, Fred, Arthur, Martha. Of these children Martha is deceased, Lydia is her father's secretary, Fred is also employed in the office, and Otto H. is employed in the mill. Mrs. Kaaz was born September 6, 1856, in Prussia, German Em- pire, and is a daughter of August and Ernestine ( Polzien) Schmeling. She left her native land when sixteen years of age and came to Atchison.

Mr. Kaaz, while politically allied with the Republican party, is an inde- pendent voter who believes in voting for the individual who seems to be most capable of serving the people, rather than supporting an avowed politician. He and the members of his family are affiliated with the German Lutheran church and are liberal supporters of this denomination.

GEORGE W. REDMOND, M. D.

A greater service in behalf of mankind than a life devoted to healing the sick and curing the halt and the lame can not be considered, and when this service has been rendered far from the comforts of the city and during the storms of many seasons in the open country from the pioneer era in Kansas down to the present time, the value of such service to humanity is inestimable. The unsung heroes of the medical fraternity are the large class of country

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practitioners who go their way year after year, uncomplainingly and satis- fied with the good they are doing for their fellow creatures. Great fortune is not theirs, but the inevitable reward and the satisfaction of a task well and faithfully done is theirs to have. Of this great class the biographer is pleased to record the facts concerning the life and career of George W. Redmond, the second oldest physician in Atchison county, and one of the oldest medical men in Kansas. For nearly half a century Dr. Redmond has practiced his profession among the tillers of the soil in the neighborhood of Potter, and the southeastern part of Atchison county, and in the northeast part of Leaven- worth county, Kansas. During all this time he has remained true to his calling, and resisted the call of the towns and cities, where an easier life might be lived. He has likewise progressed with the profession and en -. deavored to keep abreast of the wonderful developments in the science of medicine, arriving at the point in his career where he is a specialist in his profession.

Dr. George W. Redmond was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, October 19, 1849, a son of Oscar Redmond and Susan ( Orr) Redmond, the former a native of Bourbon county, and the latter a native of Nicholas county, Ken- tucky. Both were born in the same year, 1820, and the mother of Dr. Red- mond was a daughter of William Orr, a captain in the American army in the War of 1812. William migrated to Kentucky from Pennsylvania shortly after peace was declared between England and the United States, and was one of the pioneers of that State. Oscar F. Redmond, father of George W., was a son of William Redmond, was also one of the pioneers in the settle- ment of old Kentucky. Both the Orr and Redmond families were of that sturdy Scotch Presbyterian stock, who were prominent in the early history of Kentucky, and were noted as true pioneers in several of the middle Western States. Oscar F. Redmond was a farmer in Kentucky, and reared a family of twelve children, of whom George W. was the fourth child. In 1856 the Redmond family removed to Cooper county, Missouri, where they remained until 1858, and then settled in Platte county, Missouri, where the father made a permanent home for many years, afterwards ending his days in Muscotah, Atchison county, Kansas. The mother of Dr. Redmond died in Kansas City in 1892.

When the Redmond family left Kentucky, George W. was five years of age. He received his primary education in the district schools of Platte county, Missouri, and graduated from the Gaylord Institute, after which he began the study of medicine with his uncle, Dr. H. B. Redmond, in Saline

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HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY

county, Missouri, with whom he studied one year. He then entered the St. Louis Medical College, of St. Louis, Mo., completed the prescribed two-years course, and graduated therefrom in 1869. While trying to decide upon a location, and almost having his mind set upon a city location, he received a letter from his sister, Mrs. Samuel E. King, in Atchison county, informing him that Dr. John Parsons, of Mt. Pleasant, was in need of a young assistant and partner, and he could have the place if he came to Kansas. This letter decided his course, and he came at once to Atchison county and began his practice with Dr. Parsons. At this period Mt. Pleasant was an important inland town, but it has long since passed into the realm of "disappeared cities." Dr. Redmond remained in Mt. Pleasant a little over two years, and then located in Oak Mills, where he owned a farm, and built up an enormous med- ical practice in the village and surrounding countryside. He practiced in Oak- Mills for thirty years, although prevailed upon by his many admirers in Atch- ison to remove to the larger city and open an office. During the winter of 1903 and 1904 he pursued a post-graduate course in the post-graduate school of Chicago, and upon his return to Kansas, in the spring of 1904, he located in Potter, Atchison county. Of late years Dr. Redmond has become a specialist in the diseases of women, and it is in this branch of practice that he is achieving his greatest successes. Obstetrics has long been his specialty, and he undoubtedly holds the record in Kansas for the number of successful confinement cases at which he has officiated, and it can be said of him, that in all of his many years of practice he has never lost a confinement case, although there have been times in his career when he has had three and four cases of this character in one day.

Dr. Redmond has been twice married, his first marriage occurring in 1874 with Anna Douglass, a daughter of J. M. and Sarah Douglass, who were among the earliest of the Atchison county pioneers. Four children blessed this union : Ethel, of Leavenworth, Kan. ; Edith, wife of Charles Mun- ger, of Atchison county, Kansas; Virginia, living in Leavenworth, Kan .; Georgia Redmond, also residing in Leavenworth. Dr. Redmond's second marriage took place in 1906 with Carrie A. Sprong. a daughter of D. H. Sprong, an early pioneer settler of Kansas, a sketch of whom appears in this volume.

While Dr. Redmond is a Democrat in politics, he has never found the time to take an active part in political affairs. For the past thirty-five years he has been a contributor to various medical journals, among them being the Medical World, of Philadelphia, one of the oldest and most widely read med-

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ical publications in the United States. He is a member of the Atchison County Medical Society, the Kansas State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association, and was one of the organizers of the county society in 186g, and is the only surviving original member of the society. He is a member of Kickapoo Lodge. No. 4. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

FREDERICK W. LINCOLN.

From small beginnings larger things very often naturally grow. The candy and soft drink manufactory of Frederick W. Lincoln on South Fifth street, Atchison, had its inception in a very modest beginning. In fact, Mr. Lincoln first began manufacturing his fine candies at his residence, corner of Seventh and S streets, but the constant growth of the concern soon required larger quarters, and his present factory, erected in 1893, is the result of his enterprise, a building 20x60 feet in extent, with the basement in use. He employs ten people the year round, and is his own traveling salesman, his son, Edward, having charge of the business during his father's absence on the road. The products of the Lincoln factory are in demand, and are noted for their excellency. In 1912 the manufacture of soda and soft drinks was added to supply a demand in Atchison and the surrounding territory. The manufactured goods of the Lincoln factory are distributed to all points in Kansas and western Missouri.

Frederick W. Lincoln was born in England January 29, 1852, a son of Edmund B. and Jane ( Barrell) Lincoln, the father being born in Norfolk, Intwood county, England, and the mother being a native of County Cling- ford, England. They were the parents of four children: Edward, a veteran of the Civil war, and inmate of the National Soldiers' Home at Sandusky, Ohio; Mrs. Mary King, of Michigan ; Mrs. Emily S. Moffit, deceased; Fred- erick W., with whom this review is directly concerned, and who was reared by an uncle, Mr. Barrell, who taught him the baker's trade. The Lincoln family immigrated to America in 1853, and settled in Ohio, where Fred- erick was reared to manhood in the home of his uncle. He worked at his trade of baker until 1875, when he came to Atchison, and was employed in the hardware store of W. W. Marlborough for a few years, after which he worked in a candy shop for W. B. Howe, who taught him the candy maker's trade. About 1880 he embarked in the manufacture of candies with T. L.

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White, with whom he was associated for a short time, and eventually engaged in business for himself, starting in his home, making a very modest begin- ning. His first shop was near his residence, but the business soon outgrew the demands made upon the little shop, and larger quarters soon became necessary. The business is the direct outcome of the persistence, integrity and industry of the proprietor, and the future of this flourishing concern is briglit with promise, as the years see it extend its natural field, and it achieves a natural and deserving growth.

Mr. Lincoln was married January 26, 1879, to Laura Averill, born July 20, at Cooper, Maine, a daughter of Joseph and Julia A. ( Whitney ) Averill, natives of England and Scotland respectively. Mrs. Lincoln came to Atch- ison with her mother and resided with her stepfather and mother until her marriage with Mr. Lincoln. To Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln have been born the following children: Mrs. Leona Andrews, of Atchison; Edward E., born May 11, 1883, educated in the public and high schools of Atchison and brought up with his father in the business, married in 1905 to Freda Spatz, who was born November 9, 1896, in Atchison, a daughter of Jacob and Jose- phine (Latenser) Spatz, natives of Germany and St. Joseph, Mo., re- spectively ; the third child being Frank, a machinist, employed at Horton, Kan.

Mr. Lincoln is a Republican, and is fraternally allied with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the United Commercial Travelers, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and the members of his family belong to the Christian church. Mr. Lincoln's career is an exemplification of the adage, "Success never comes to him who waits," and his standing in the commercial life of Atchison today is due to the fact that he made his oppor- tunity and is justly entitled to proper recognition as one of the city's leading factors.

JOHN C. VALENTINE.

John C. Valentine, owner and proprietor of the Northern Kansas Tele- phone Company of Effingham, for more than forty years has been a resi- dent of Atchison county. The Northern Kansas Telephone Company, of which he is the head, was organized in 1903 as a cooperative concern, but is now owned and operated by Mr. Valentine and his son, A. G. Valentine. The lines of the company cover a section of country within a radius of six to ten miles of Effingham. Twenty-six lines are supplied with good service,

HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY

and the company has over 435 subscribers at the present time. The plant is well equipped and is noted for the excellent service given the patrons.

John C. Valentine is a native of Dearborn county, Indiana, and was born in the Hoosier State July 28. 1845. a son of George and Sarah (Cornforth) Valentine. His father was born in New Jersey, and accompanied his parents to the Middle West, locating in Cincinnati when George was a child. He was reared in Cincinnati, and later settled in Indiana. His mother was the daugh- ter of pioneer stock of English descent, and was connected with the Eubanks family, which figured in the early history of Indiana. Sarah Valentine died in 1863, and George married again, after which he settled in Illinois, and died near Xenia, that State. He was a soldier in the Civil war, and served in an Ohio cavalry regiment throughout the conflict. John C. Valentine enlisted in the 134th regiment, Indiana infantry, in the spring of 1864, and served until his honorable discharge in the fall of the same year. His health be- came poor while serving in Tennessee, and he was transferred to Louisville, Ky., and sent home from that city. He was kept on the reserve force while serving in Alabama, and was in the breastworks at Decatur, Ala. At this place he was exposed to a hot fire, and recalls that it was a very uncomfort- able place in which to be. During the winter of 1866 he taught school in Decatur county, Indiana. He remained at home with an uncle, William Saw- don, at Aurora, Ind., after returning from the war, until September, 1867. at which time he went to Ft. Madison, Iowa, and there met some friends. He worked on farms in the neighborhood until Christmas of that year, and then left for Kansas, arriving at Leavenworth January 1, 1868.

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History of Atchison County, Kansas, Part 67

Author: Ingalls, Sheffield Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Lawrence, Kan., Standard Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1032

Author: Ingalls, Sheffield
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Lawrence, Kan., Standard Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1032