History of Atchison County, Kansas, Part 82

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

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HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY

home which he erected in 1856 is still standing. His duties as Indian agent were arduous and exacting, but he was equal to the emergencies which arose. He was a small, wiry man of slight build, blue-eyed and had light hair. Three children were born to Royal Baldwin and wife, of whom two died in infancy. Jennie L., widow of John S. Dollinds, was born January 9, 1851, in Meigs county, Ohio, and was married in 1883 to Mr. Dollinds.

John S. Dollinds was born in New Orleans January 1, 1832, of French- Spanish parents. When he was a small boy his parents removed to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he was reared to young manhood. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company A of the Sixty-second regiment, Pennsyl- vania infantry, serving in the Fifth army corps and participated in many hard-fought battles, among them being the battles of the Wilderness and Gettysburg. He was wounded at the battle of Antietam, but remained in the service until the close of the war, after recovering from his wound. After the war closed Mr. Dollinds became a river boatman on the Ohio and Missis- sippi rivers for sixteen years, plying between Pittsburgh and New Orleans. He then came to Kansas and settled in Pottawatomie county. He invested in land, but never actively farmed to any extent. He was a gifted individual of great versatility of mind and was a photographer of more than ordinary ability. He died June 1, 1914. Mr. Dollinds was a member of the Odd Fellows, and of the Grand Army of the Republic, Black Eagle Post, Horton, Kan.

Mrs. Dollinds was formerly a member of the ladies' aid auxiliary of the grand army post at Horton, and was invited by the Grand Army of the Re- public to attend the National grand encampment at Washington. She is an honorary member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and had served as a delegate to the grand encampment held at Pittsburgh, Pa.

DAVIS W. COLLINS.

Davis W. Collins, M. D., a prominent physician, of Arrington, Atchison county, Kansas is one of the leading professional men of his town. He is a Pennsylvanian, having been born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, March 9. 1875. His parents, James C. and Phoebe (Woodward) Collins, were the parents of four children, as follows: Eliza Rowland, Lane, Kan .: Effie Mocherman, Wellsville, Kan. ; Davis, the subject of this sketch ; Roy, operator, Yale, Okla. The father was born in Ohio and spent his early years on the

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farm. In 1878 he came to Kansas and settled in Franklin county, where he is now engaged in farmning at the advanced age of seventy, an example of good health through right living. The mother was born in Pennsylvania and lives with her husband on the farm.

Dr. Collins grew up on his father's farm in Kansas and attended the district school near the home place. Later, he attended the high school at Wellsville, Kan., and then took a business course at Dixon, Ill. In 1894 he entered the Kansas City Medical College and was graduated from that institu- tion with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1898. He was at Baldwin, Kan., a short time and then came to Arrington, where he has built up a large practice by his excellent skill and high ethical standards. He owns stock in the Arrington bank and holds considerable property in the vicinity of Arring- ton.

In 1900 he was united in marriage with Minnie Case, who was born November 20, 1880, in Atchison county, Kansas. She is the daughter of Frank and Anna (High) Case, carly settlers of Kansas. The father was a merchant in Arrington. Both parents are now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have two children : Claire and Carmen, both living at home. Mr. Collins is a Republican and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America. Although he is not a church member, he is a regular attendant at church and contributes liberally to the support of religious activities.

GEORGE GOODWIN.

George Goodwin, one of the pioneer settlers of Atchison county, and farmer of Grasshopper township, was born in 1857, in Illinois, a son of Thomas and Helen ( Bevens) Goodwin, both of whom were born at Gravesend, Eng- land, about thirty miles from the city of London on the Thames river. They were reared to maturity in England, there married and immigrated to Amer- ica, first settling in New York, where they resided for a short time, and then made a home in Illinois. In 1860 the parents of George, with the family. came to Kansas. For a short time they lived at Ft. Leavenworth, and then came to the city of Atchison, where Thomas Goodwin became a manufacturer of brick in partnership with Henry Bevens, his brother-in-law. They made the first kiln of brick ever burned in Atchison county, and soon afterward sold the brick kiln and moved onto a farm owned by John Russell, the banker.

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After working for Mr. Russell for a few years, Thomas moved on to a farm of his own, where he spent the remainder of his days. He became quite prominent among the early pioneers of the county, was a Republican in, poli- tics, and was an Odd Fellow. Seven children were born to this pioneer couple, of whom George, the subject of this review, was the youngest.

George Goodwin was eighteen months of age when the family came to Kansas, and he was reared in the city of Atchison and on the farm where his parents settled. He received his education in the public schools, and is residing on his eighty acre farm in Grasshopper township. When he became of age he married Hester Adams, to this union have been born two children, namely: Thomas N. Goodwin, who is cultivating the old Goodwin home- stead, and Edmund E. died at the age of eight years. The mother of these children was born in Iowa, a daughter of Nathan Adams, a native of New York State, and an early settler of Iowa. He was of English parentage, and his wife was a daughter of French-Canadian parents.

While Mr. Goodwin is allied with the Republican party, he prefers to vote independent of party dictation and makes up his own mind concerning the qualifications of respective candidates regardless of their political quali- fications. He is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security.

RICHARD B. CLEVELAND.

Richard B. Cleveland, retired farmer and old settler, of Muscotah, Kan., was born December 29, 1830, in New York State. He was a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Mead) Cleveland, who left New York when Richard was a small boy and settled in Illinois. The Cleveland family are of English descent and can trace their ancestry back to the settlement and colonial days of New England. Richard, the father, was a successful merchant in New York, who suffered considerable losses on account of an absconding partner, who left after looting the business. Richard then decided to make a new start in the West, and again succeeded in rehabilitating his fortunes on the rich farm lands of Illinois in Cook county. When he first went to Illinois he was too poor to do otherwise than to rent land, but as time went on he gradually got on his feet and became a prosperous land owner.

Richard B. Cleveland was reared to young manhood in Cook county, Illinois, and was married there. In 1862 he left Illinois and came to Kansas

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with his wife and family, first living for a few years on a farm in Jackson county, north of Holton. He then bought 160 acres of land in Grasshopper township which was unimproved. Before he built his home on this tract he lived for a time at New Eureka on the old Salt Lake trail and operated a small grocery store. All of Mr. Cleveland's worldly goods when he came to Kansas in company with Isaac Gordon, an old Englishman, consisted of a teamteam and wagon and a few household goods. He bought 160 acres of un-improved land, his mother's watch being applied on this deal. In 1863 he enlisted in the Second regiment, Nebraska infantry, and was engaged in fight- ing the Sioux Indians on the border for over nine months. He was mustered out of the service at Falls City, Neb., late in the winter of 1864, at a time when a deep snow covered the ground and he had difficulty in reaching his home after his long absence. He then took a job of carrying the mail for a Govern- ment contractor named Darlington The route which he traveled extended from Falls City. Neb., to Indianola and Mr. Cleveland received the munificent salary of twelve dollars per month for carrying the mail on horseback between these two cities and furnished his own horse. The farm which he purchased near Eureka was located on Straight creek, and there was plenty of timber growing on the banks of this stream which was a favorite camping ground of the Indians of the Pottawatomie tribe. Sometimes a large band of over 100 would camp in the timber along the stream. An incident which occurred is well worth recording. Mrs. Cleveland had a fine flock of turkeys which were running in the woods and prairies. One day she heard the sound of a gun, and looking out of the doorway of the cabin she saw an Indian buck . going toward one of her turkeys which he had shot. This incensed her and

she ran toward the Indian. A neighbor woman also started toward the Indian with a gun in her hands, ready to shoot him if it became necessary. She shook her fist at the buck, who said in explanation: "Me thought prairie chicken." Mrs. Cleveland replied : "You thieving rascal, that was my turkey, now you get." The Indian sulkily moved on and the Cleveland family feasted on turkey the next day. In the spring of 1864 the soldier returned to his family and began building up his farm, settling down to farm life and endea- voring to make good. He succeeded and is the owner of a fine farm of rich lard. By the exercise of thrift and industry he accumulated a competence and reared a fine family. Like the other farmers of his neighborhood he had to go through the experience of the "grasshopper" years, and it is recalled that he was very skeptical of the news of the coming of the "hoppers" when trav- elers and grasshopper victims came through his country. He "pooh-hooed"

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the idea that the "hoppers" were coming in vast clouds and would not believe it, but he soon had serious reason to change his mind when they came in vast swarms and ate up his crops. Mr. Cleveland was married in Lockport. Ill., to Rhoda A. Perrin, who was born November 21. 1832. and departed this life July 11, 1907. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cleve- land, as follows: Orrin Almeron, a farmer of Atchison county ; Mead Cleve- land, a farmer in Oklahoma, and Hattie, at home with her father.

In politics, Mr. Cleveland has always been a Republican of the stalwart variety. He is a member of the Congregational church of Muscotah, and is one of the highly respected citizens of his township and city, and is one of the last of the old-time Indian fighters and pioneers who paved the way in the wilderness for the thousands of settlers who have come to this great land after him and his fellows had endured the hardships necessary for the redemption of the unpeopled prairie. It is to such men as he that this volume of historical annals is respectfully dedicated.

GEORGE V. ANDERSON.

George V. Anderson, farmer and stockman, of Arrington, Kapioma township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born February 3, 1876, on a farm in Platte county, Missouri, son of Vincent and Mathelda (Pitts) Anderson. Vincent Anderson was a native of Tennessee, farmer by vocation, immigrated from Tennessee to Missouri, where he became the owner of a farm, and during the late fifties was a shipper and freighter across the plains. Vincent Anderson was married to Mathelda Pitts, and the following children were born to this marriage: Mrs. Mary Dyer, deceased; Eliot, deceased; and George V., the subject of this sketch. The mother of these children was born April 17, 1845. in Fleming county, Kentucky, a daughter of James and Anna (Eliot) Pitts. James Pitts was a native-born Kentuckian who immigrated to Missouri, and died at the age of seventy-four years. He became an exten- sive land owner in Missouri. A few years after the death of Vincent Ander- son his widow married John H. Calvert, who is also deceased. Mrs. Calvert. the mother of George V. Anderson, still resides in Kapioma township.

George V. Anderson was reared on a farm and when twenty years of age started to work at twenty-two dollars a month. His stepfather, John Calvert, migrated from Platte county, Missouri, to Kansas in 1883 and settled on a

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farm near Muscotah, where he rented land for a few years, and in 1892 bought an eighty-acre farm in Kapioma township. He improved this farm and erected a six-room residence which presents a good appearance. He died June 24, 1913. In 1897 George V. Anderson rented a tract of land which he cul- tivated for three years, saved his money in the meantime, and made his first investment in eighty acres of land in Jackson county, Kansas. He improved this tract and sold it at a good profit in 1902. A few years later he purchased 160 acres of land in Kapioma township. This tract he at once began to im- prove, built a house and erected a nice barn. Mr. Anderson has added to his acreage from time to time until he now owns 252 acres of well improved land. He keeps sufficient graded stock on his place to consume the grain which is raised, enabling him to market his farm products in a convenient manner and keep up the fertility of the land.

Mr. Anderson was married in 1892 to Frances Brosig, and to this union have been born four children : Carl, Minnie, Vernon, and Scott, all of whom are at home with their parents. Mrs. Anderson was born August 13, 1865, in Germany. She is a daughter of Carl and Theresa Anderson, who immigrated to America when Frances was a child and settled in Kansas. Mr. Anderson is a Democrat in politics, a member of the Christian church, and affiliated with the Modern Woodmen lodge.

GEORGE L. BROWN.

George L. Brown, one of the younger members of the Atchison county bar and an able attorney, is a native of Chattanooga, Tenn. He was born March 25, 1890, and is a son of George T. and Mary E. (Scott)' Brown. The father was a native of Washington, D. C., born in 1860. He was reared to manhood in the vicinity of Washington and studied civil engineering in Mary- land. He came to Kansas in the capacity of civil engineer on the construc- tion of the Rock Island railroad in the eighties and while there met and married Mary E. Scott. She is a native of Doniphan county, Kansas, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Frances (Helm) Scott; the former is now de- ceased and the latter resides in Atchison with her daughter. The Scott fam- ily were early settlers in Kansas, locating in Doniphan county in 1857.

After their marriage George T. Brown and his wife located in Chatta- nooga, Tenn., where he was engaged in business for a time when he removed

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to St. Louis and was engaged in business there until the time of his death which occurred in November, 1900. After the death of her husband Mrs. Brown returned to Kansas with her two children, George L., the subject of this sketch, and Donald Scott, now aged fifteen years. Mrs. Brown located in Atchison and engaged in teaching which had been her profession prior to her marriage. She is one of the most successful teachers of Atchison county and is now engaged in her work in the Ingalls school, Atchison.

George L. attended the public schools of Atchison and was graduated from the Atchison High School in the class of 1909. He then entered the law department of Kansas University, Lawrence, Kan., and was graduated in the class of 1914 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Mr. Brown did not attend the university continuously from the time that he entered until his graduation. He was employed for a year in the meantime as clerk in the offices of the Missouri Pacific shops at Atchison and in this way helped pay his way through the university. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1914, and immediately engaged in the practice of his profession with offices at 304 Simpson build- ing. He has a very satisfactory practice for the short time that he has been engaged in his professional work and is recognized as a young man with con- siderable more than ordinary ability who gives close attention to his pro- fession. Politically, he is a Democrat and comes from a long line of Dem- ocratic ancestors. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and his fra- ternal affiliations are with the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity, and the Loyal Order of Moose.

JOHN A. REYNOLDS.

Time and experience have demonstrated that if an individual remain for a number of years in an avocation and devote his energies and mind to becom- ing proficient in his particular profession he is certain to become a valued citizen of his community and amass a competence. John A. Reynolds, rail- road engineer. is a citizen of this type, who for forty years has been in the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad, and has arisen to become one of the substantial and well respected citizens of Atchison. Mr. Reynolds is a direc- tor of two of the most important banking concerns of northeast Kansas and has taken a leading part in city affairs for many years.

Speaking in a biographical sense, Mr. Reynolds was born in the city of St. Louis, Mo .. June 7. 1858, a son of Thomas and Bridget (Glancy ) Rey- nolds, both of whom were natives of Roscommmon county, Ireland. Thomas

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Reynolds. after his immigration to America became wharf clerk for a navi- gation company at St. Louis, where he resided until July 28, 1861, at which time he came to Atchison, Kan., and entered the employ of Theodore Barkow as bookkeeper. He remained in this, position until his demise, on April I, 1870. The mother of Jolin A. Reynolds died February 25, 1915. at the great age of ninety-six years. It is to the everlasting credit of John that when his father died he at once began doing his share of supporting the family and cared tenderly for his mother until her death. Mrs. Reynolds, the widow. was left with very few resources, and John was but twelve years of age at the time. Seven children were born to Thomas Reynolds and wife, of whom John was the only survivor at the time of his father's death.

John A. Reynolds received his education in the public schools of Atchi- son, attended a private school, and also studied in St. Benedict's College. At the age of sixteen years he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company as a fireman and brakeman and remained with the railroad at Atchison until January 1, 1881, when he entered the service of the Mis- souri Pacific at Sedalia, Mo., as engineer of a freight run for a period of five years. He was then ( 1886) promoted to the passenger service, in which department he has since been employed as one of the most trusted and reliable engineers of the system. Mr. Reynolds' first experience as an engineer, how- ever, was in the passenger service of the road, and it came about in this wise : The engineer for whom he was firing ( George W. Slade) had been promised a vacation and a trip to New York State. This promise had been made to Mr. Slade time and time again, and at his suggestion the master mechanic of the yards placed young Reynolds, then twenty-two years old, in charge of the engine on the run between Kansas City and Atchison, Kan. Mr. Slade took the responsibility of any errors or mistakes that Reynolds would make. but the young engineer ran his train successfully without mishap for a period of six weeks and was then promoted to the post of locomotive engineer on the freight run as stated above. Mr. Reynolds at this time is in charge of the through passenger run between Atchison and Downs, Kan.

Mr. Reynolds was married in 1898 to Kathrine Horan, and the follow- ing children have blessed this happy marriage : Mary Anna, John, Kathrine, Ruth, Ellen, Marselene, all of whom are at home with their parents. The mother of these children is a daughter of Michael and Anna ( Dean) Horan. both of whom were born in Tipperary, Ireland. (See biography of M. J. Horan. )

Mr. Reynolds is a member of the Locomotive Engineers' Union. the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Elks lodge, the Fraternal Order of

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Eagles, and is affiliated with the Democratic party in politics. For the past six years Mr. Reynolds has been connected with the Atchison Savings Bank and is a director of this financial concern, as well as being a stockholder of the First National Bank of Atchison. One of the finest things which can be said of Mr. Reynolds concerning his career as a railway engineer is that dur- ing all his long experience and constant work he has never had a serious acci- dent, and no passengers have been killed or injured who were intrusted to his charge, and he has had but two trifling rear-end collisions to account for, which did very little damage and resulted in no injuries to persons. This record is a remarkable one and is in keeping with the character of the man himself, who from his earliest boyhood has known what it is to shift for him- self and learned the art of being self-reliant and cool-headed in any emergency. A brother of Mr. Reynolds, Andrew by name, was a Union soldier who served in the cavalry and was wounded, later dying at home from the effects of his wound. Another brother, James, was also a soldier in the Union army.

WILLIAM SUTTER.

William Sutter resides on the old home place of the Sutter family in Benton township, about two miles west of Effingham. This farm is one of the finest and best cultivated farms in Atchison county, and the residence grounds and farm building's are among the most attractive and best kept in the State of Kansas. The farm is widely known as the "Maple Lawn Stock Farm." and is noted for its production of fine live stock. Mr. Sutter is an able farmer, having been well schooled in the art of agriculture by his capable father. The Sutter family erected the handsome farm residence of seven rooms in 1892, all modernized with hot and cold running water and electric lights. The barn is an immense affair and well built, in dimensions, 60x70 feet and erected with an eye to appearance as well as convenience. Mr. Sut- ter has long been a breeder of Percheron horses and keeps pure bred stock of this variety. He generally has about thirty head of horses and mules on the farm and aims to feed all of the grain which he produces to live stock on the place. He keeps only full bred Poland China hogs and good grades of cattle. When the Sutter estate was apportioned among the children of the late Frederick Sutter, William received 160 acres, the home place, as his share, and afterwards bought an additional quarter section, making 320 acres in all,

THE SUTTER HOMESTEAD William A. Sutter, Owner.

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which he owns. He formerly owned 160 acres south of the home place, but sold it.

William Sutter was born October 18. 1856, on a farm in Walnut town- ship, a son of Frederick and Fredericka Sutter, natives of Germany, and pio- neer settlers in the town of old Sumner. (See biography of Fred Sutter for further details.) William Sutter accompanied his parents to Benton town- ship in 1880, and assisted his father in the accumulation of his large estate and cared for his parents until their deaths. After his father's death he continued to reside on the old home place and tilled the farm of which he is now the sole owner.

He was married October 18, 1915, to Miss Dorothy Nickle, of Muscotah, Atchison county, a daughter of William Nickle, an old resident of Atchison county. After a honeymoon trip to the Panama-Pacific Exposition and Pa- cific coast points extending into old Mexico, covering a period of nearly two months, Mr. and Mrs. Sutter returned to the home farm, near Effingham.

Mr. Sutter is a Republican in politics, is a member of the Presbyterian church and is affiliated with the Central Protective Association and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is truly a product of the pioneer days in Atchison county, and in his youth knew what real hardships were and assisted in the struggle to achieve a comfortable competence for the Sutter family in common, and has had the satisfaction of seeing the family fortunes increase as the years have passed, and seeing his home county improve with age and gain in prestige and wealth. He is a genial, popular gentleman, who has a deep and abiding love for the county which he has helped to develop and is proud of the fact that he was one of those who assisted in its upbuilding.

JAMES ISHAM HOLMES.

James Isham Holmes, of Shannon township, Atchison county, is a pioneer of eastern Kansas and western Missouri, and for seventy-three years has lived within a radius of twelve miles from Atchison. He is a native of Indiana and was born in Putnam county March 22, 1841. He is a son of William and Nancy (Hartsock) Holmes, the former a native of England, born in 1812, and the latter a native of Germany. William Holmes, the father, immigrated from England with his parents when he was a small boy. The family located in Kentucky, where they remained but a short time when they removed to

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History of Atchison County, Kansas, Part 82

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