USA > Kansas > Butler County > History of Butler County Kansas > Part 43
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He died at Wichita, Kansas, May 7, 1906, at the ripe age of four score years, and his body rests in the Hillside Cemetery at El Dorado, where so much of his life work was done. His soul is returned to God, who gave it and whom he served. The old stone church on North Main street, El Dorado, is his memorial, more than the stained glass window in the new Church of Christ on Central avenue, which bears his name. He rests from his labors and his works do follow him.
Emma Harvey Johnson.
Joseph Sharp, of El Dorado, Kans., was for a number of years one of the extensive contractors and builders of Butler county, but in recent years has not been actively engaged in that work. although his sons, operating under the name of Sharp Brothers, are the largest contractors and builders not only in Butler county, but probably in the State of Kansas.
Joseph Sharp was born in New York in 1851. His parents, John and Zella (Payne) Sharp, natives of Yorkshire, England, died when Joseph was about eighteen months old. He had one brother, Frank, who was reared by a family named Tipton, near Columbus, Ohio, and Joseph, the subject of this sketch, grew up in the home of his cousin, near Worthington, Ohio. Joseph learned the mason and stone cutter's trade when a youth and in 1870 he and his brother came to Kansas, locating in Butler county. Frank took a claim and after proving up on it, went to Wichita, where he became a successful carriage and wagon manufacturer within a few years. He died at the age of thirty-six.
When the two brothers came to Butler county they came by rail as far as Emporia and from that point came by stage to El Dorado, landing at the latter place August 13, 1870. At that time the old trail
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which the stage coach followed crossed what is now Mr. Sharp's front yard, and the early supplies and building material for El Dorado were hauled over this trail. At that time El Dorado was a small hamlet, there being practically no settlement west of the Santa Fe railroad and a part of the present court house square was occupied by a cattle corral, and the old El Dorado Hotel, remembered by early day wayfarers, stood on the corner now occupied by the Citizens Bank.
Upon arriving at El Dorado, Joseph Sharp engaged in the butcher- ing business, his shop being located on South Main street, where Seth Frazier's office now is. Mr. Sharp also homesteaded a claim in Fair- view township and managed to spend enough time on that, in connec- tion with his butchering business, to comply with the homestead law, finally proving up and receiving his deed from President Grant. In the meantime he had been engaged in building, his first work in that line being on the construction of the Farmers and Merchants Bank build- ing. During the last forty years he has erected a number of important buildings in El Dorado and has also built a great many bridges in Butler county. He built the Central school building, which was later destroyed by fire, the opera house drug store building, the Smith building on North Union street, the I. O. O. F. building, which was built in 1881, the Conley building and the building occupied by Ora Wyant and also a great many private residences. He built the arch bridge on North Main street, and also the bridge on South Main street, and furnished stone for the bridge near the pumping station, as well as a great many stone and concrete bridges throughout this section of the State.
In addition to his activities as a contractor and builder, Mr. Sharp is one of the pioneer horticulturists of Butler county. He has been very successful in raising small fruits, including cherries, graps and a variety of berries, and also peaches. He started out to demonstrate that small fruit can be profitably grown in this section and has succeded beyond a reasonable doubt. He probably holds the record as a strawberry grower in Kansas, having raised 206 bushels on one acre, which he sold at $2 per bushel. He has twenty acres under fruit culture and his vineyard and other small fruit should act as an object lesson as well as an inspira- tion to the average Butler county farmer.
Mr. Sharp was united in marriage April 13, 1879, with Miss Rosa L. Burnham, who at the time of her marriage was a resident of El Dorado. but was born in Indiana and came to Kansas with her parents when she was a girl. Twelve children have been born to this union, as fol- lows: Earl J., who was county register of deeds of Butler county for two terms, ending in 1915, resides at El Dorado: John E., a member of the firm of Sharp Brothers, contractors and builders, El Dorado : Zella, married Will Opperman, El Dorado; Charles H., a member of the firm of Sharp Brothers, El Dorado; Ray W., a member of the firm of Sharp Brothers, El Dorado; Mattie, married Nat Scribner, El Dorado: Hazel,
r
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married Ernest Elson, El Dorado, Kans. ; Nettie, married Elmer Neilson, El Dorado; Nina, Russell, Theodore, Ruth and Mildred residing at home.
The Sharp Brothers are known throughout the West as one of the extensive and reliable firms of general contractors and building en- gineers. They were brought up in this line of work with their father, and since the withdrawal of the senior Sharp from the active conduct of the business, the sons have gone on with the work and each year has added new developments and extended their sphere of operations. They have erected a number of large concrete bridges, doing a great deal of this class of work in Colorado, and in recent years they have built a great many expensive and modern school buildings in the State of Kan- sas, and at the present time are building a State college at Hays, Kans., which will cost $100,000, besides over $150,000 worth of other work on hand. Their experience and financial standing give the Sharp Brothers a standing in the building world equaled by few in their line.
During the forty-six years of his residence in Butler county, Mr. Sharp has seen a great many changes take place. When he came here buffalo were plentiful just a little west of El Dorado, and in the early days he frequently went buffalo hunting, and during his time killed a number of buffalo. ITe has killed these animals in Sumner county and his last trip was as far west as Medicine Lodge, in 1877. Antelopes, wild turkeys and prairie chickens were to be found in great numbers in Butler county when he first came here.
Mr. Sharp has been a Republican since he was a boy and has taken on active part in the local affairs of his party, and at the present time is a member of the Republican Central Committee, having served in that capacity for a number of years. He has been a delegate to most of the county conventions and has been an important factor in the local coun- cils of his party, and for a number of years was a member of the El Dorado city council. In the early days Mr. Sharp was interested in Wichita county and recalls the county seat fight there between Coro- nado and Farmer City, where, as he says, they moved one hotel back and forth between the two towns until they wore it out.
Mr. Sharp is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been a member of that lodge since 1882. He also belongs to the Anti-Horse Thief Association and the Kansas Fraternal Citizens. He is one of the men who can look with pride on what he has accomplished since coming to Butler county, and he has the additional satisfaction of seeing the work which he commenced carried on in such an efficient manner by his capable sons.
J. N. Harshman, a prominent Butler county farmer and stockman. was born near Niles, Mich., November 29, 1854. He is a son of Moses and Elizabeth ( Everharding) Harshman. The father was a native of Preble county, Ohio, and of German descent, and the mother was a Vir- ginian. The Harshman family removed from Michigan to Indiana when
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J. N. was thirteen years old. The father was a miller in early life and worked at his trade in Michigan and Indiana for some time but after- wards followed farming. In 1880 the Harshman family came to Kansas, settling in El Dorado township, south of the city of El Dorado, on the place where W. B. Thompson now lives. The place had a substantial stone house upon it which was built by a man named Snow. Here the father engaged in farming and spent the balance of his life on that place. He died November 1I, 1902, and the mother passed away March 4, 1907.
J. N. Harshman has made farming and stock raising his life's study and occupation. He began farming on his own account with eighty acres and has added to his acreage from time to time and now has one of the best farms in Butler county which consists of 320 acres, a large part of his farm being fertile, productive bottom land, and he has met with a great deal of success as a grain farmer as well as a stock raiser. He is an advocate of mixed farming both as a means of soil conservation and as a means of avoiding a complete failure in any one season or in other words he is not a believer in having all his eggs in one basket.
Mr. Harshman has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Martha Smith, a native of Indiana, to whom were born three children, as follows: Addie, married Oscar Berner. Latham, Kans .; Eva, married Leslie Covert, Mulvane, Kans., and Willard, resides near Hopkins Switch, Fairwiew township .. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Harshman married Miss Jennie Bless, a native of Illinois.
Mr. Harshman is a Republican, and takes a commendable interest in local as well as State and National affairs and is a man who keeps himself well posted in the events of the times. He has served as a member of the school board and is a member of the United Brethren church. He is public spirited and progressive, and is well known in the community for his uprightness and substantial citizenship.
Granville P. Aikman, El Dorado, Kans., former judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District, is not only a leading lawyer of Butler county, but is recognized as one of the able representatives of the legal profession throughout the state. He is a native of Laurel county, Ken- tucky, and a son of William A. and Martha A. (Graves) Aikman, both natives of Kentucky and descendants of colonial ancestors. William A. Aikman was a pioneer of Butler county, coming here in 1871, with his wife and three children, locating in Benton township. Later the family removed to Towanda township, and in 1898 the father retired, and spent the sunset of his life in El Dorado, where he died December 16, 1906, and his wife now resides in El Dorado.
Granville P. Aikman was studious from his boyhood days, and the foundation of his mental attainments was laid while he was a student at London Seminary, one of the most thorough educational institutions of the Blue Grass State. After coming to Butler county with his parents, he continued his studies for five years, when he entered the law office of Sluss & Hatten, where he read law, and was
GRANVILLE P. AIKMAN
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admitted to the bar in Wichita. He immediately began the practice of his profession in El Dorado. Shortly after his admission to the bar, he was elected judge of the probate court of Butler county, and has the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to that posi- tion in the county. He served in that capacity for four years and discharged the duties of that office in a capable manner.
Later, Mr. Aikman was elected judge of the Thirteenth judicial district, and was re-elected to that office for two terms, serving twelve years in all. As a judge he made a record equalled by few and excelled by none. His decisions evinced a profound knowledge of the law, and the supreme court frequently paid him the highest compliments for his ability as a trial judge. William Allen White said of him, "That his decisions made, necessarily upon the spur of the moment, have been sustained by reviewing courts, after months of close exam- ination and deliberation, prove him to be an able lawyer, as well as a just judge. Few Kansas judges have such a creditable record." Dur- ing the time that he was district judge, many important civil and criminal cases were tried in his court, including one of the most famous criminal cases ever tried in the country, which not only attracted wide attention in this country, but in foreign countries as well.
Since retiring from the bench, Judge Aikman has been engaged in the practice of his profession at El Dorado, where he has a large prac- tice, and is recognized as one of the ablest lawyers of the state. Judge Aikman is recognized as a capable trial lawyer, as well as a profound jurist, and has won the reputation of being a fighter, and uses every ethical and honorable means in behalf of his clients' interest. He stands high in the councils of the Republican party, and has been active in politics for years, and bears the distinction of having written and offered in a Republican state convention, the first resolution endorsing women's suffrage in Kansas. He did this against the advice of many leading Republicans in the state, who opposed the measure and pre- dicted that such a course would ruin him politically, but Judge Aikman presented the resolution in pursuant to his honest conviction, and it carried. He not only fought for the resolution in the convention but returned to Butler county and canvassed the county in behalf of women's suffrage, and was the only political speaker in Butler county who took that position during the campaign.
Judge Aikman married Miss Carrie Sandifer, a daughter of the late George M. Sandifer, a well known citizen of El Dorado. A more extended history of the Sandifer family appears elsewhere in this volume. To Judge and Mrs. Aikman have been born two children: Harriet and Eleanor. Judge Aikman is a member of the time honored Masonic lodge, and also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. Judge Aikman is a genial and courteous gentleman and has many friends, social, political and pro- fessional.
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J. H. Armstrong, a Civil war veteran and one of Butler county's substantial and well-to-do farmers and stockmen, is a native of New York. He was born near Deposit, Delaware county, New York. Jan- uary 26, 1846, a son of Samuel and Hannah (Mills) Armstrong, natives of New York, and who spent their lives in Delaware county, that State.
Before J. H. Armstrong was eighteen years old he became imbued with a patriotic desire to participate in the great Civil war, which was being waged at the height of all its fury about that time, and in January, 1864, he ran away from home and enlisted at Norwich, N. Y., in Com- pany H. Second New York heavy artillery. The organization to which he belonged was changed to infantry the following spring and in that capacity served with the Army of the Potomac. They received their baptism of fire at the battle of the Wilderness, and also participated in the battles of Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor and in the operations in front of Petersburg. They were in the battle of Hatches Run and Farmsville, and at the latter engagement half of a division was killed or wounded. Mr. Armstrong was with his company in front of Appo- mattox when Lee surrendered and they helped guard Lee's army until it was paroled. Mr. Armstrong had several narrow escapes incident to the life of a soldier who participated in some of the hardest fought battles of the Civil war, but escaped without a wound.
After the surrender of Lee, he went to Washington, where he was discharged by reason of a general order from the war department. He then returned to his home in Delaware county, New York, where he remained until 1872, when he went to Kalamazoo county, Michigan. After remaining there six years, he came to Kansas in, 1878, locating in Spring township, Butler county, where he bought land. Shortly afterwards he returned to Michigan, when he came back to Kansas the following spring and engaged in farming and stock raising on his Spring township farm. He first bought eighty acres and from time to time added to his orig- inal holdings until he now owns four hundred and twenty-five acres of some of the finest land in Butler county. In 1898 he removed to El Dorado, where he has a fine modern residence, but he also retains his residence in Spring township, where he spends a part of his time. Al- though he rents his land, he continues the general supervision of the place.
Mr. Armstrong was united in marriage in New York State to Miss Henrietta Groat, now deceased, to whom were born three children : Lewis, farmer, Spring township; Nicholas, who resides in British Col- umbia, and Edith, now the wife of Rev. Arthur McVeigh, an Oklahoma minister. Mr. Armstrong's second wife was Mrs. Jennie Fisher, a resi- dent of Kalamazoo county, Michigan. Two children have been born to this union : Roscoe C., a bookkeeper. Calusa, Cal., and Mildred, the wife of H. C. Ray, Wiehita, Kans.
Mr. Armstrong is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. He is inde-
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pendent in local politics, but on National issues he supports the policies and principles of the Democratic party. He is a director in the El Do- rado National Bank and one of the progressive men of Butler county.
Karl Marshall Geddes, of El Dorado, one of Butler county's ablest lawyers and a member of the law firm of Leydig & Geddes, was born at Fountain Green, Hancock county, Illinois, April 13, 1882, a son of Cyrus M. and Lissa (Marshall) Geddes.
The Geddes family is of Scotch origin and was founded in America by James Geddes, who came with his wife and three sons to America about 1752, settling at Derry Church, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. Karl M. Geddes, our subject, is descended from James Geddes through the following persons: William Geddes, son of James, born in Ireland in 1735, died in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, in 1789; Paul Geddes, son of William, born near Carlisle, Pa., June 9, 1768, died October 22, 1832. His brother, James, was a prominent man in Onandago county, New York, a district judge, member of Congress, and one of the pro- moters of the Erie canal, called Geddes' canal at the inception of con- struction ; Thomas Geddes, son of Paul, born at Path Valley, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1805, removed to Fountain Green, Han- cock county, Illinois, was commissioned colonel of the Eighty-seventh Illinois militia and served during the Mormon troubles ; Cyrus M. Geddes, son of Colonel Thomas, was born at Fountain Green, Ill., Feb- ruary 26, 1842, and is the father of Karl M. Geddes.
Cyrus M. Geddes spent his earlier career in his native State. He came to Kansas in 1900 and settled in Butler county, where he has lived, and retired from active business cares since 1906 He gave loyal services to the Union cause during the . Civil war as a member of Company A. One Hundred and Eighteenth Illinois infantry. Companies A, B, C, E and H were all formed from Hancock county volunteers and responded to the president's call of July 2, 1862. The regiment was mustered into the United States service for three years in November, 1862. Alexander Geddes, a brother of Cyrus M., was commissioned captain of Company A and served with his regiment until killed at the battle of Champion Hills, Miss. On the request of Cyrus M. to the colonel for permission to send his dead brother's sword home to his parents, he was told, "You can carry it until the end of the war," and was promoted to the cap- taincy of the company. This regiment saw much hard and active serv- ice. One of the most serious engagements in which it participated was the siege of Vicksburg, and it was at Champion Hills during that siege that Alexander Geddes lost his life. The regiment was mustered out of service October 1, 1865, and Mr. Geddes received his honorable discharge as captain.
Karl Marshall Geddes was educated in the public schools of Han- cock county, Illinois, and at the Kansas State Normal School at Em- poria. From 1900 to 1904, inclusive, he taught school and in the mean- time read law in the office of Hon. G. P. Aikman and E. B. Brumback,
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of El Dorado. Upon his admission to the bar at Topeka in 1905, he formed a partnership with his roommate and fellow student, R. B. Ralston, under the firm name and style of Ralston and Geddes, and opened a law office at El Dorado. In 1908 both were nominated to office by the Republican party. Mr. Ralston was nominated for pro- bate judge and Mr. Geddes for county attorney and both were elected by flattering majorities. They were the youngest men in the State holding similar offices. In 1910 they were renominated and re-elected without opposition and served two terms in those offices. Mr. Geddes' administration of the affairs of the county attorney's office was pro- nounced in the enforcement of law without fear or favor. On January I, 1910, Mr. Geddes formed a partnership with Judge C. A. Leland. In 1913, Mr. Ralston became a member of the firm of Leland, Geddes & Ralston, and on March 1, 1916, Mr. Geddes and Mr. Leydig formed the present partnership, and the firm of Leydig & Geddes is recognized as one of the leading law firms of southern Kansas and commands a large and lucrative practice.
Mr. Geddes is a member of the Kansas State Bar Association and of the Kansas County Attorneys' Association. He served as secretary of the Butler County Republican Congressional convention at Wichita in 1906. He was vice-president of the Kansas Day Club in 19II and 1912, and in 1912 and 1913 was president of that organization. He affiliates fraternally with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a member of the Presby- terian church.
On December 24, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Geddes and Miss Gertrude Blankinship, the daughter of Asbury A. Blankin- ship. of El Dorado.
M. S. Munson, now deceased, was a Butler county pioneer business man whose activities in the industrial world, perhaps, did as much to develop Butler county in the early days as any other man. M. S. Mun- son was born in Sheffield, Mass., July 5, 18.42. He was a son of Stephen and Nancy (Nash) Munson, natives of Massachusetts, who spent their lives in that State and the old Munson homestead, which has been in the family for generations, is now owned by a brother of M. S. Munson.
The Munson family is of English descent, and they trace their an- cestry back to the peerage of that country. The first record that we have of the Munson family in America is at Hartford, Conn., in 1637, where a'record of Thomas Munson, who was the founder of the family in America, appeared. He was prominent in the Piquot war and a number of his descendants were conspicuous for their service in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war. Members of the Munson family have been prominent as soldiers, statesmen and pro- fessional men. Nancy Nash, the mother of Mr. Munson, was born in Connecticut, although a descendant of old Virginia stock, Governor Nash, one of the colonial governors of Virginia, having been a direct ancestor of hers.
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M. S. Munson grew to manhood in his native town in Massachu- sets and was attending school when the Civil war broke out, and on September 22, 1862, he enlisted and on October 28, 1862, he was mus- tered into service as a member of Company H, Forty-ninth regiment Massachusetts infantry. He served throughout the Civil war, being located at New Orleans for a time, and his regiment was discharged and mustered out of service, September 1, 1863.
In June, 1869, he went to Chicago and later engaged in the com- mission business for S. P. Brownell, South Water street, Chicago, and for seven years was a member of the Board of Trade of that city. For several years he had the contract for furnishing the street car company of Chicago, of which John Lake was president at that time, with grain and hay for their horses. He first came to Kansas in 1875 in connection with his Chicago business. He came here to arrange for pasture for broken down street car horses, and was at Burlingame for a time and in 1876 operated in Council Grove, where he was buying corn for the Chicago market. In 1877 he came to Butler county and engaged in the lumber business at El Dorado in partnership with Capt. J. T. Anderson. At that time there were no railroads in Butler county and all their lumber had to be hauled from Florence. However, the railroads were built the following year and about one year later Mr. Munson bought his partner's interest and conducted the business alone until he retired. He also handled coal as well as lumber and general builders' supplies and bought grain.
In addition to his vast business enterprises he owned a farm of 640 acres in Chelsea township, where he made a specialty of raising Galloway cattle. His widow still owns this place. He exported the first car load of kafir corn ever shipped from Butler county. This was in 1900. He was also active in the introduction of alfalfa, which has proven to be one of the most profitable crops in Butler county. During his business career in Butler county, when many of the settlers were hard up, Mr. Munson sold them lumber with which to build their homes and waited for his pay. He also loaned a great deal of money to the settlers and in that way made it possible for many a poor man to get a start in life that in many instances led to the accumulation of a fortune. In his dealings he was lenient with his delinquent customers and often waited for a number of years and never foreclosed a mortgage. He had the confidence of the people and his losses from bad accounts were very few, notwithstanding the fact that he was not inclined to press his claims. He bought the land for the Santa Fe Railroad Company where the depot is now located, and it was through his efforts that the Santa Fe switch east of the depot was put in. The railroad company had been making an effort to place this switch there for several years and failed. Mr. Munson completed this piece of track one morning before breakfast, and it is still there. He was one of the righit-of-way ap- praisers of the Orient railroad at the time of his death. He was an un-
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