History of Atchison County, Kansas, Part 79

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

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the controlling interest in the State Savings Bank at Leavenworth, of which Mr. Mains is now the vice-president. He re-organized the Arrington State Bank at Arrington, Kan., in 1903, and is still interested in its affairs. He organized the Citizens State Bank at Elmo, Mo., in 1913, and is the principal owner of this bank, and is a stockholder in the Union State Bank at McLouth, Kan. It is a noteworthy fact that every financial institution with which Mr. Simmons has been connected has prospered, and is in sound condition. In every bank in which he has been interested he has displayed ability of a high order as a financier and manager.

Mr. Simmons has been twice married, his first wife being Margaret Mains, whom he espoused in 1902, being a daughter of James Mains, of Oskaloosa, Kan. She died in 1907. His second marriage, in 1910, was with Mary Frances, daughter of J. H. Barry, a substantial and well known citizen of Atchison (see biography of J. H. Barry). Two children have blessed this union : John Barry, born December 17, 1911, and O. A. Simmons, jumor, born March 9, 1913.

From farmer boy to banker and capitalist in the short period of a little over forty years, with no initial capital to begin with, but a keen mind and strong body, is the gist of the career of him of whom this review is written. When a boy he worked for fifty cents per day in Jefferson county. Coming from the soil, and being reared on the farm, he has never entirely lost a love for the land itself, and is heavily interested in various tracts of good farm land, and owns 400 acres of Atchison county farm land, and 700 acres in eastern Colorado, which, together with holdings in Missouri and Texas, will aggregate over 1,500 acres. His financial interests are varied, and in Atch- ison are of such nature as to be of distinct benefit to the welfare of the city. He holds stock in several of the city's leading mercantile concerns. His first work was as a farm laborer at $10 per month. His commercial career prac- tically began in a general store at Winchester, Kan., at a salary of $17 per month, and during the twenty-three years following, he has amassed a for- tune of over $100,000. Yet. there are those who say that opportunity for attaining wealth and position are gone, and that a young man has no chance to succeed because of the great competition of the financial trusts of the country. The life story of O. A. Simmons is a direct contradiction to the wail of the pessimist, and furnishes a decided inspiration to any young fellow blessed with mentality and strength to go and do likewise in his favorite line of endeavor. While Mr. Simmons is a stanch Republican, he does not take an active part in political affairs, and has declined political preferment.

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H. B. WALTER.

H. B. Walter, of Benton township, Atchison county, Kansas, is one of the most widely known and successful live stock breeders in Kansas, and has made a signal success as a breeder of Poland China hogs during the past ten years. He first began the breeding of fine live stock in Republic county, .Kansas, and while he has been a resident of Atchison county only since 1909, he has become known the length and breadth of the county for his fine live stock production. Mr. Walter did not venture in the breeding department of specialized agriculture for the purpose of producing show animals, but began his work purely as a commercial venture, and has succeeded even be- yond his most sanguine expectations. He is the owner of 160 acres of fine farm land, located three and one-half miles northwest of Effingham, on which are excellent improvements. His farm is headquarters for supplying breeders with registered stock in all parts of the country, and he has the distinction of having developed the world beater of big type litters, and has produced and sold a world's record type of Poland China swine of the big variety. For the past four years he has made the sales record for the State of Kansas in the numbers produced and the prices obtained. His farm pro- duces 200 head of registered Big Type Poland China swine annually, and he holds two sales each year, in the months of October and February. In February of 1915, Mr. Walter sold fifty head of hogs, at an average price of sixty dollars per head, to buyers who attended the sale from all parts of the West. In February of the preceding year he sold at his regular sale fifty head, which brought an average price of seventy dollars each. The output of his breeding pens is shipped to points as far west as Oregon, and to places ranging from Minnesota to the Gulf States. In July of 1915 he filled an order for three high priced hogs sent in from Connecticut. He has done no exhibiting except at the local stock shows.

H. B. Walter was born on a farm in Jay county, Indiana, July 31, 1871, a son of Thomas S. and Sarah (Sherman), the former a native of Indiana, and the latter a native of Ohio. The family migrated from Indiana to Re- public county, Kansas, in 1892, and settled on a farm in that county, where Thomas S. still resides. H. B. received his education in the public schools of his native county and State. and studied at Ridgeville College. Indi- ana. He prepared himself for the teaching profession, and taught school in Indiana for one year, and taught for nine years in Republic county; after moving to Kansas. He held the highest average grade possible to obtain in his teacher's certificate, and met with considerable success in his profession,

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but abandoned teaching to engage in farming, in which avocation he began with the same determination to succeed as he had been imbued with when he began to teach. He purchased a farm in Republic county, which he cul- tivated, later buying a place in Brown county, Kansas, which he sold in 1000, and made the purchase of his present farm.

He was married in 1895 to Fanny Kunkel, a daughter of Noah and Car- oline Kunkel, who were residents of Republic county, Kansas, from 1867 until their death. Mrs. Walter was also a teacher for eight years, and lived in Republic county over forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Walter have two living children : Frank, born in 1898, and Ruth, born in October, 1902.

Mr. and Mrs. Walter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically, Mr. Walter is an independent voter, who is not tied to the prin- ciples of any political party or leader. He is a member of the Central Pro- tective Association.

HEKELNKAEMPER BROTHERS.

This firm has the distinction of operating the oldest soda and vinegar manufactory in Kansas, which was founded by William H. Hekelnkaemper, father of the present proprietors, in 1863. The first factory was located in a little shed, 14x14 feet, one door east of the A. J. Harwi hardware store on Commercial street, Atchison, Kan. Mr. Hekelnkaemper operated the business for ten years, and gradually enlarged his quarters as much as his limited means would allow, and about 1873 removed the plant to the present location on the corner of Ninth and Laramie streets. He erected a brick structure, 22x50 feet, and also built an ice house. His business prospered from the start when he moved to his new location, and was confined to the trade in Atchison with the exception of supplying the towns within a radius of fifty miles in northeast Kansas, and western Missouri. In the old days patrons drove in wagons for a distance of fifty miles and more to purchase the products of the factory, and many of the former patrons are still buying from the sons. After the founder's death in 1881, the business was allowed to languish to some extent owing to the enforcement of the State prohibition law, for the reason that the products of the factory, while not intoxicating, were largely purchased by saloons. Trade naturally fell off for a time until conditions were adjusted to the new regime, and new demands were created in other retail circles than the saloon business. The plant was closed. for about a year and the widow then leased the buildings for ten years to M. L.

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Greenhut, who later retired. The sons then took charge in 1900, and it has since been operated by F. W. and G. A. Hekelnkaemper. The boys had 110 capital to begin with, but had a wonderful amount of determination and per- severance which stood them in good stead and enabled them to make good. The business had to be built over again, but fortunately paid a small profit during the first years. In time other additions were made to the plant and the capacity has been increased to over 15,000 bottle of soda water per day. This is the main product of the factory which also produces fruit syrups and flavoring extracts of a superior grade and quality, in addition to fifty thou- sand gallons of high grade vinegar each year. During the busy season four- teen men are employed and Hekelnkaemper Brothers has grown to become one of the important manufacturing concerns of Atchison. During the past eight years the business has practically doubled itself over that of each pre- ceding year.

William H. Hekelnkaemper, Sr., was born in April of 1837. in West- phalia, Germany, and emigrated from his native land when a young man. He landed at New Orleans from a sailing vessel and then came by river boat to St. Louis where he lived for a number of years and engaged in the grocery business. His store was burned and he left St. Louis and came to the town of Rollin, Mo., where he again established a grocery store about 1861. In the spring of 1863. he came to Atchison, Kan., and opened and operated the first pool and billiard room in the city. One year later he disposed of part of his equipment and moved a part to Seneca, Kan., where after operating a pool room for a time, he sold out and returned to Atchison. In about 1863 he embarked in the soda manufactory as stated in the preceding paragraph. While a resident of St. Louis, Mr. Hekelnkaemper was married to Theresa Houk, who was born in St. Louis, Mo., of German parents, who both died during the great cholera epidemic when Theresa was about three years of age. The children born to this union are as follows: Gustave A., Frederick W. : William G., Frank V., Laura, Edith, Emma and Anna.

F. W. Hekelnkaemper was married September 17. 1901, to Pauline Oster- tag, a daughter of George Ostertag, one of the pioneer wagon makers of Atchison, and to this union have been born two children: Irene and Lucille. He is a Democrat and is a member of the Elks, Eagles and the Moose.

(. A. Hekelnkaemper is associated with F. W. in the business as above mentioned. He was married in August, 1901, to Lydia Weik, a daughter of Christian Weik, an Atchison county pioneer, and to this union have been born two children : Marie and Louise. G. A. is a Democrat in politics.

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William H. Hekelnkaemper died August 20, 1881. He was politically allied with the Republican party during his life, and was a member of the Atchison city council for a number of years, having been a particular and close friend and admirer of the late Senator John J. Ingalls. He was one of the founders of the famous Turner Society, and was its first president. He was prominently identified with the affairs of the society and the civic affairs of Atchison until his demise. He was a man of great resourcefulness which aided him in making a new start on occasions when everything looked dark- est for his future. He had many warm friends in Atchison and was uni- versally respected by all who knew him.

CLEM P. HIGLEY.

Clem P. Higley, farmer and stockman of Center township, Atchison county, was born there March 25, 1869. He is a son of Russell and Carrie ( Hooper) Higley, who were the parents of nine children, as follows : William. deceased; Otto, deceased; Emma Winsor, Las Vegas, N. M .; Hallie Nelson, Las Vegas, N. M .; Theodore, a traveling man; Clem, the subject of this sketch; Frank, farming the old home place, and Gilbert and Mina, both de- ceased. The father was born just west of New York City, January 3, 1833. In his early manhood he followed the blacksmithing trade, and at the age of twenty went to Illinois, where he remained for two years. Coming to Atchison county, he preëmpted 160 acres of land in section 3, Center town- ship, and sold it shortly afterward and bought 80 acres in section 35, a mile east of old Pardee, Kan. He made extensive improvements on this place and farmed it until he retired in 1895. He now lives with his son, Clem. Russell Higley's life did not run as smoothly as it might seem from this ac- count of it. In his early days in Kansas the drought destroyed his crops one year. He gathered only one bushel of corn from his field that year. Having started out with no capital, this misfortune was a serious one. He and his twin brother, Russell, worked for Pardee Butler, while he returned to Illinois. They worked for Mr. Butler all summer and in the fall of 1856 started to walk back to Illinois, so as to be home during the winter. A winter in Kansas was a serious thing in those days, and with the best of provisions, it was a fierce ordeal. In the spring of 1857 they returned to Kansas, hav- ing the confidence in this country to develop into a prosperous district. Rus- sell was a son of Francis Higley, and his mother died when he was a very

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small boy. Carrie Higley, the mother of Clem, was born in Tennessee in 1837: Her father was a freighter from Missouri to Santa Fe, N. M. Mrs. Higley died in 1899.

Clem Higley, the subject of this sketch, attended school at Pardee, Kan., and when twenty-one years old, started out to work by the month. A year later he rented a farm in Benton township, five miles south of Effingham. Kan. Then for a period of nine years he rented in Benton township, and the following three years rented his father's farm and in 1903 bought 105 acres. The place was not well improved and he set to work erecting build- ings, and now has a large two-story home and two barns, one 24x50 feet and the other 40x42 feet. The latter has a cement basement. Hig- ley's total holdings now number 185 acres of land. He keeps graded stock, including fine Poland China hogs. In 1896 he was married to Margaret Hawk, who was born March 21, 1877, in Ohio. She is a daughter of La- fayette and Hattie ( Pitt) Hawk, both natives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Higley have had six children born to them, the second child dying in infancy. The others are, Newell, Wilber. Morris, Marie, Dale. All are living with their parents. Mr. Higley is a Republican and is a member of the Christian church.

WILLIAM E. HUBBARD.

William E. Hubbard, farmer and stockman, Kapioma township, Atchi- son county, was born September 8, 1861, in Henderson county, Illinois. He is a son of Simeon and Mary Ann ( Pence) Hubbard, who were the parents of the following children : Mrs. Lillie O'Connor, widow living in Muscotali : Mrs. Cora Routh, Kapioma township; Lewis, farmer, Kapioma township; William, the subject of this sketch, and two children who died in infancy. Simeon Hubbard, the father of William, was born March 10. 1840, in In- diana. He was a farmer in his young manhood, and on coming to Kansas in 1874, followed the same occupation. Settling near Muscotah, he ren'ed land for four years, and during this time saved his earnings for future in- vestment. At the end of four years he had accumulated enough to buy the farm, and he became a landowner and led a prosperous career as a farmer. He fed stock for the market as well as grew crops. He now resides in Mus- cotah, Kan. The mother of William Hubbard is also living.

William E. Hubbard grew up on his father's farm in Illinois and attended the district school in Kapioma township, Atchison county. When he was

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of age he began farming in partnership with his father. At the age of twen- ty-eight he was married and located on a rented farm near his father's place. He lived there until 1895, when he bought 180 acres just south of where he had rented. After working this place seven years, he sold it and bought the 160-acre farm which he now owns. On this place William has invested a considerable sum in improvements which include a fine granary. He is a stockholder in the Grange elevator at Muscotahı, Kan. It should also be men- tioned that William keeps graded stock on his farm.

In 1889 he married Martha Routh, who was born near Leavenworth, Kan., in 1869. They are the parents of seven children as follows: Jesse. Atchison county ; Mrs. Bessie Roberts, Kapioma township: Fred, Lola, Ollie, Mabel and Frank, all living at home. Mr. Hubbard is a Democrat and is now serving as a member on the school board in his district, Rose Valley, No. 49. He is a member of the Mission church. Mr. Hubbard is a citizen interested in the welfare of his community and is always active in any project that will improve his neighborhood.

DRENNAN L. DAWDY.

Drennan L. Dawdy is a stockman first, last and always. Pedigrees and prices are his stock in trade, and to talk with Mr. Dawdy without hearing about his fine stock is impossible. Next to his family his stock is his pride. Mr. Dawdy confines his stock raising to the best strains. It is his theory that it never pays to bring up a scrub. The same amount of feed and the same amount of care, if intelligently applied to registered animals, will bring in double and treble returns, Mr. Dawdy believes, and it is his policy not to waste time on inferior breeds. Mr. Dawdy has a cow that cost him $75. The former owner of the cow did not see any marks of good blood in the animal, but Mr. Dawdy did, and he has made $4,000 out of that one cow in the last seven years. The buying of this cow at the price, however, was simply a very fortunate investment, as Mr. Dawdy says, generally speaking, "The highest priced cattle were much the best investments, and he has paid as high as $800 and $900 for cows and $1,000 for a bull. He sold one of the calves for $755 and another for $500. He learned his business well, for he learned it in the best way possible, from his father. The father, John W. Dawdy, was a breeder of fine cattle in Illinois and probably inherited that trait from his pirents, who were Kentuckians. The father was born in the blue grass

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country March 30, 1840, but at the age of seven was taken by his parents. Jef- ferson and Elizabeth (Amos) Dawdy, to Illinois, where he remained until 1910. While he was living at Abingdon, Ill., he met Sarah J. Latimer, to whom he was married May 7, 1847. She was a daughter of Alexandria and Julia Ann ( Hart) Latimer, natives of Tennessee, and was the mother of six children, three of whom are living. Drennan, the subject of this sketch, is the oldest. The others are Norval M. and Daisy E., who live in California. In 1910 the parents removed to Napa, Cal., where the father is now living. The mother died' August 12, 1915.

After attending the country school near his Illinois home, Drennan at- tended Hedding College at Abingdon and later went to business college at Chicago. But he was a natural born stockman and could not resist the lure. So he went back to his father and joined him in the livestock business and be- came associated with his father in the breeding of Shorthorn cattle under the firm name of J. W. Dawdy & Son. In the latter part of 1889 he and Walter Latimer purchased the entire herd of cattle known as the Shannon Hill herd owned by the late Ex-Governor George W. Glick, of Atchison, Kan. This herd was the largest collection of pure Bates cattle in America at that time, and were dispersed by D. L. Dawdy & Co., at auction in Kansas City, Mo., April 11-12, 1900, the ninety-one head bringing a total of $20,460, which was considered a remarkable sale for an entire herd, which included a number of aged cows, the general average of the sale being $225 per head with a top price of $800 for the "Second Dutchess" of Atchison, the buyer of whom was the late W. R. Nelson, of the Kansas City Star. Mr. Nelson bought fifteen head of cattle at this sale at an average price of $415 per head. In June of the same year this firm bought the entire herd of Scotch and Scotch topped Shorthorns of J. T. Kinmouth & Son, Columbus Junction, Iowa, paying $11.000 cash for the 100 head. This was one of the most notable private deals in registered cattle of recent years. In 1901 they bought sixty-five head of registered cattle in one lot. D. L. Dawdy & Co. have made many success- full sales both private and public. In 1899 Mr. Dawdy came to Atchison county, Kansas, and took charge of the George W. Glick farms, near Atchi- son. Kan. This position gave him charge of a herd of registered Short- horns. In 1901 he bought the farm which he now owns, consisting of 405 acres, lying one-half mile north of Arrington, Kan. On this place he has devoted himself to the breeding of fine cattle and has made that his principal work. His exhibits have taken high honors at the stock shows in Kansas City and Chicago. A number of years ago he bought "Sunshine," a fine cow in the herd owned by Senator W. A. Harris, paying $225 for her. Four of

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her calves have brought him $1.365. He has owned three cows which sold for $800 each, and in 1902 he sold thirty head of cattle at $266.66 each.

On May 15, 1901. Mr. Dawdy married Nellie B. Prim, who was born on a farm near Atchison, Kan., April 3, 1881. Her father, Charles S. Prim, was a native of Tennessee, while the mother, Sophia ( Christian) Prim, came from the Isle of Man. Both parents are now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Dawdy have four children, all of whom are living at home : Ruth, John, Helen and Glenn. Two died in infancy. Mrs. Dawdy carries her husband's hobbies into the domestic end of the farm. She makes a specialty of raising fine turkeys, raising the bronze variety. She sells eggs from her turkeys for fifty cents apiece, and often gets as high as $7.50 for a turkey. She saved $150 from the sale of eggs and bought a Shorthorn calf which is worth $300 today. Mr. Dawdy is working to make his home an ideal country place. His house is on one of the finest locations in the county. By installing 15.000 feet of drainage, at a cost of $1.200, he has reclaimed fifty-two acres of soil, . which previous owners of the place had thought to be too wet to cultivate, but since installing the drainage system Mr. Dawdy has raised annually fine crops of corn and wheat on it. The Delaware has a habit of overflowing and Mr. Dawdy was one of the first farmers to suggest the organization of County Drainage District. Number One, comprising 8.300 acres, and is nine miles in length as the crow flies, while the Delaware river course is at present nineteen and one-half miles, and the drainage system shortens the run seven and one-half miles, doubles the velocity of the stream and increases its carry- ing capacity four and one-half times. The expense or total cost of the ditch will be $100,000 and will increase land values tremendously. Mr. Dawdy is one of the directors of the enterprise. Mr. Dawdy owns 40512 acres of land which has a fine large residence on it. The location is one of the most beautiful in Atchison county. On a clear day Horton, fifteen miles north, can be plainly seen : Holton looms up twelve miles west, Muscotah, seven miles north, Valley Falls, twelve miles southeast, Larkin, two and a half miles west, and Arrington, one-half mile south. Mr. Dawdy has a complete set of volumes of American herd books, and knows the pedigree of every animal on his place. He is a member of the American Shorthorn Breeders' Asso- ciation of Chicago, and knows the latest facts about the cattle business. His home is highly improved with silos and drainage facilities. He is a Demo- crat in politics and a member of the district school board and the drainage dis- trict No. I, of Atchison county, Kansas. He belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Muscotah.

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JOHN M. PRICE.

John M. Price, deputy county treasurer, farmer and stockman, of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, is a native born Kansan, and son of John M. Price, deceased, who was one of the most distinguished members of the Kansas bar, and who practiced his profession in the city of Atchison for forty years.

John M. Price, the father, was born in Richmond, Madison county, Kentucky, in October, 1829, a son of Thomas S. and Sarah ( Jarman) Price. His paternal grandfather was Moses M. Price, and his maternal grandfather was John Jarman. Moses M. married Catherine Broadus, and John Jarman married Elizabeth Broadus, the two women being distant relatives. Moses M. Price and wife were both natives of Virginia, and removed to Madison county, Kentucky, in the early part of the nineteenth century, with their re- spective parents. After his marriage in Kentucky, Moses M. made his home in Estill county, Kentucky. He was the father of ten children, the fourth of whom was Thomas M. Price, father of John M., the elder, and who mar- ried Sarah Jarman in 1828. Sarah (Jarman) Price was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Broadus) Jarman. This marriage was blessed with three children : Thomas E., John M., and Mary W. The mother died in 1836, and in 1838 Thomas M. Price married Miss Elizabeth Combs, of Clark county, Kentucky, and the following fall removed to a home in Johnson county, Mis- souri. From Johnson county he removed to Pettis county, Missouri, and farmed there until 1845, after which he returned to Estill county, Kentucky. In 1853 Thomas S. and family started for Texas, where he resided until his demise at Mt. Pleasant, Titus county, in 1857.

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History of Atchison County, Kansas, Part 79

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