USA > Kansas > Butler County > History of Butler County Kansas > Part 53
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J. D. Robson was married in 1901, to Miss Lillian B. Carter, of Em- poria, Kans. Mrs. Robson comes from a prominent Kansas family, her parents having settled in Lyon county in the sixties. Her father, Simri Carter, is the oldest living member of the Emporia Masonic Lodge. He was born in Chatham county, North Carolina, January 29, 1838. He became a Mason in Monrovia. Ind., in 1862, by special dispensation receiving the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry in one evening on
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account of the Civil war. He joined Emporia Lodge September 24, 1868. He became Master in 1901. On account of his skill and knowledge he was made "the official poster" of the lodge, and all candidates from 1902 to 1914 became his pupils. Mr. and Mrs. Robson have one child. Rob- ert, aged twelve, a student in the Augusta schools. Mr. Robson is a Knights Templar . Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine; the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World and the Anti- Horse Thief Association.
Mrs. Abner Hadley, an aunt of Mrs. Robson, was the first white woman to come to Emporia, Kans., after the town was laid out.
W. H. Taylor, a Butler county pioneer and prominent farmer and stockman of Murdock township, is a native of Indiana. He was born January 7, 1853, and is a son of R. L. and Jane Taylor, the father being of Scotch descent. The Taylor family came to Kansas in 1870, locating in Murdock township, Butler county, where the father homesteaded 160 acres of Government land. That was an early date in the settle- ment of Butler county, and there was much Government land to be had at that time. They built a log house of the crude primitive style on their claim, common to the early days, which was later replaced by a more pretentious structure.
The early days on the plains of Butler county was a struggle for existence, and few, if any, of the early pioneers could foresee, at that time, the great future possibilities that were in store for this uninviting and practically uninhabited great stretch of prairie. It seemed as though the early settlers were beset by one calamity after another. One season would be too dry, the next too wet, then the hot winds would burn the country to a crisp, and if they had a crop, the grasshoppers would find it out, in some way, and hasten to the scene to collect their toll. But, the early pioneers were not of the kind to be discouraged, and finally fortune smiled on them and many of the early day hardships have been forgotten, and Butler county has developed into a land of prosperity and plenty, equalled by few sections of the country and excelled by none.
For a few years after coming to Butler county. R. L. Taylor en- gaged in freighting from Emporia, in connection with his farming. He died in 1878, and his wife died in 1912. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Harriet Casebere. Rockyford, Colo .; W. H., the subject of this sketch: Mrs. Mary E. Ohlsen. (deceased) : John, Toronto, Kans .: James, Stafford, Kans .; H. T., Pueblo, Colo., and Grace, Benton, Kans.
W. H. Taylor was about seventeen years of age when the family settled in Butler county, and as a young man, saw much of the pioneer life of this section, and he recalls many incidents in the early history of the county. He tells of one time that his father bought one thousand pounds of floor which became damaged with coal oil. He, says that they used it, and that it lasted much longer than flour does without the
W. H. TAYLOR AND WIFE
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coal oil added. And yet, with all their hardships and disadvantages they managed to create considerable amusement and have good times. The early day dances were great attractions for the young people, and Mr. Taylor relates with much amusement his experiences in learning to dance, and attending dances. On one occasion he was unable to return home on account of high water, so he just remained, and they had another dance the following night.
Mr. Taylor was married October 25, 1877, to Miss Sallie K. Liggett, a daughter of Nelson and Amanda Liggett of Illinois. The Liggett family was composed of the following children: Mrs. Mary Bruce, Ardway, Col .; Sallie K., wife of W. H. Taylor, the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Emma McMorris, Brothers, Ill .; Harmon, Muncie, Ill., and Mrs. Jennie Parker, Muncie, Ill. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born the following children: Robert, Spring Valley, Wash. ; E. W. Benton, Kans .; Mrs. Edith Moore, Whitewater and K. W., Benton. The Taylor family are well and favorably known through the western part of Butler county, and have many friends.
Mr. Taylor relates the story of six big Indians coming to their home, and asking for food. His mother made them some coffee and gave them bread and meat. They refused to eat off the table, but took the food out under a cottonwood tree and ate the meal there.
Rev. James Hayes .- The reverend gentleman whose name intro- duces this sketch has been actively identified with Butler coun- ty for the past ten years, and his efforts in behalf of the spiritual welfare of the communicants of his denomination, as well as of the community in general, are of the kind that makes this a better world in which to live, as well as inspiring a confident and abiding faith in the future. Father Haves is a native of England, born in Preston, 'Lancashire, in 1865. After obtaining a good preliminary education, at the age of thirteen, he entered St. Cuthbert's College, Durham, Eng- land, where he received a thorough education, especially in the classics, theology and philosophy, common to the lot of him who would aspire to the sacred obligations and responsibilities of the priesthood.
Father Hayes comes from well-to-do and prominent families, both on his maternal and paternal sides. His father, Robert Hayes, was a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, and his mother, Sarah Duckett, was of English birth, having been born in Lancashire.
At the close of his college career of thirteen years, Father Hayes was ordained to the priesthood, after which he was engaged in mission- ary work in Liverpool, England, for fifteen years. In 1900 he came to America and was located at Custer, S. D., and after having spent six years in the Black Hills, came to Augusta, Kans., and since that time, has been active in his parochial work here, and in addition has charges or missions, at El Dorado, Cassoday and Spring Branch. He is an un- tiring worker and invariably gets results. Since coming to Butler county he has built a new church at Augusta and other churches at El
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Dorado, Cassoday and Spring Branch. He also has had a fine parson- age erected at Augusta, and a parochial school and a residence for the sisters,. All these improvements mean a vast amount of work and great sacrifice on the part of the priest who successfully promotes such enterprises and carries them through to a successful completion, but Father Hayes feels amply repaid. in the fact that his efforts have been successful and in the satisfaction that his work has not been in vain.
Ed Weidlein .- Augusta has won a reputation among the towns and cities of Kansas as a city that does things, and no small amount of credit for the reputation which has been established by Augusta is due to the capability and progressiveness of Ed Weidlein, who is now serv- ing his fifth year as mayor of that thriving city. Of course, Mr. Weid- lein has received the hearty support and co-operation of many of the leading citizens, otherwise he would have been unable to accomplish the many things that have been brought about during his administra- tion of the city's affairs. He was first elected mavor in 1911. and re- elected to succeed himself in 1913 and again in 1915. During that time the city has built a filtering plant, at a cost of $16,000 and an electric light plant at a cost of $15,000. The city had acquired its own gas fran- chise, prior to the election of Mr. Weidlein. At the present time, Au- gusta has a sewer system under construction which will cost $50,000 when completed. The various city utilities including gas, water and electric light, have been handled with such efficiency and maintained on such a sound business basis that when all the improvements con- templated are completed, they will have been paid for, and the city will be free of indebtedness. In view of the vast number of improve- ments made and the amount of money expended, it is probable that no other city of the size of Augusta in the United States can show such a record.
Ed Weidlein is a native of Henry county, Illinois, and a son of John W. and Nora (Emmert) Weidlein, natives of Germany. They were the parents of the following children: A. Weidlein, Geneseo, Ill .; Philip, Kansas City, Mo .; Louis, Lawrence, Kans .; Jacob, Leaven- worth, Kans .; George, Wellman, Iowa; J. V., Lawrence, Kans., and Ed, whose name introduces this review.
Ed Weidlein received a good common school education in Henry county, Illinois, and when he reached manhood, began life as a farmer, in his native county. In 1878, he came to Kansas, locating near Pea- body, Marion county, where he was engaged in farming until 1884. He then came to Butler county, locating at Augusta, where he engaged ex- tensively in farming and stock feeding, and has been one of the leading patrons of the Wichita stock market for years. Recently he has become interested in the oil and gas development of Butler county and has made a great many profitable investments in that' rapidly developing field.
Miss Pansy Wiley has been city clerk for the past four years and
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has been an able and efficient helper to the mayor and city officials. The records of the city are a model of neatness, and she has every item pertaining to the expenditure of the city's money carefully recorded and filed, to be had at a moment's notice.
C. D. Pimlot, a Kansas pioneer and Civil war veteran, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Summit county in 1841, and is a son of Joseph and Joanna Pimlot. They were the parents of thirteen children, two of whom are now living : Horace, Carmen, Okla., and C. D., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Meralda Harbor, of Streator, Ill., died April, 1916. C. D. Pimlot was educated in the public schools of Ohio and Indiana, his parents removing to the latter State when he was a boy. He lived the life of the average boy of his time until the Civil war broke out when he enlisted, October 16, 1861, in Company E, Forty-fourth regiment, In- diana infantry. He took part in some of the important engagements of that great conflict, among which were Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone River and Fort Donelson. He was severely wounded at the battle of Fort Donelson, but refused to go to a hospital, preferring to remain on the line of battle. During his term of service, which extended over a period of three years, one month and six days, he never asked for a fur- lough, and was never absent from duty. He was discharged November 22. 1864, and mustered out at Chattanooga, Tenn., and shortly after- wards was appointed a member of the metropolitan police at Chatta- nooga, under Governor Brownlow, and served in that capacity for four years.
Mr. Pimlot worked at the carpenter's trade in early life and in 1879 came to Kansas, locating at Augusta. A year later he engaged in farm- ing, and followed that occupation for twenty-three years when he re- turned to Augusta and again took up carpenter work and was engaged in building there until 1914, when he retired.
After an absence of fifty-one years, Mr. Pimlot made a trip back to Illinois to visit his brother and sister who resided at Streator, and his description of that visit makes a much stronger story than the case of Rip Van Winkle. He says not a person there knew him, not even his brother or sister. Mr. Pimlot was united in marriage September 1, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn., with Melcenia Pearson and five children have been born to this union, as follows: Joseph A., Augusta, Kans .; Mrs. Georgia McDonald, Trinidad, Colo .; Mrs. Kittie Craig, Seattle, Wash .; Myrtle O., who resides with her father, and Mrs. Lulu Foltz, resides in Augusta. Mrs. Pimlot departed this life in 1911 and her remains rest in the Augusta cemetery. Mr. Pimlot is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, L. E. King Post No. 5, Augusta.
J. H. Skaer, a Butler county pioneer, now residing at Augusta, is a native of Illinois. He is a son of George and Caroline (Seibert) Skaer, natives of Germany. The Skaer family consisted of the following chil- dren : Henry, lives in Perry county, Illinois : William, Augusta ; J. H .. the subject of this sketch: Edward; Albert: Arthur; and Walter, all
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residing at or near Augusta, and Mrs. Carrie McVay, Ingersoll. Okla., and James, Wichita, Kans., The father died in 1912. the mother having preceded him in death five years.
The Skaer family came to Butler county in 1877. and made their home in the town of Augusta about a year. The father bought a farm of 320 acres, four miles east of town, and later bought 640 acres. a mile east of Augusta. George Skaer, the father, was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. In 1849 he joined the great host of fortune-seekers and went to California, making the trip across the plains and over the mountains. He walked the entire distance, and before reaching his destination his shoes became worn out, but he continued his journey and after months of hardship reached California with torn and bleeding feet. He remained on the coast for three years when he returned to Kansas by way of the Panama route.
J. H. Skaer has made farming the principal occupation of his life and has been unusually successful. When the Cherokee strip was opened up to settlement, he took a Government claim there which has developed into very valuable property and which he still owns. He has been active in the oil and gas development of the Augusta field, since that section of Butler county has begun to yield its underground treas- ure in such unlimited and profitable quantities, and altogether Mr. Skaer is one of Butler county's most progressive and prosperous citi- zens.
He was united in marriage, in 1902, to Miss Eva Marckley of An- gusta, Kans., whose parents were pioneers of that section. To Mr. and Mrs. Skaer have been born three children as follows: Ray, a daughter, died October 1, 1907, and Myrle and Evlyn, residing at home. Mr. Skaer is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Skaer family are well known and highly respected in Butler county.
J. J. McCool, a prominent real estate and insurance man of Augus- ta, is a real Kansas pioneer. He was born in Ohio in 1847. and is a son of David and Eliza (Johnson) McCool, both natives of Ohio, and now deceased. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are now living : D. S., Los Angeles, Cal., and J. J., the subject of this sketch. The McCool family were early settlers in Kansas, coming to this State in 1859, and locating in Lyon county seven miles west of Emporia. When the Civil war broke out the father enlisted and served throughout the war, the wife and children remaining on their Lyon county farm. After the father returned from the army he removed to Ohio with the family.
J. J. McCool did not remain in Ohio very long before he came back to Kansas and, after a short stay at Emporia, settled in Butler county, where he bought 160 acres of land, just south of Augusta. Shortly aft- erwards he sold this place and rented land for a time and later engaged in the grocery business at Augusta, which he conducted for four or five years. He then followed farming again for a period of about ten years when he again took up the grocery business in Augusta, and followed
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that line of business until he engaged in the real estate, loan and insur- ance business at which he has been unusually successful. Mr. McCool just missed being a veteran of the Civil war but it was not his fault. During the war he was enrolled in the Eleventh regiment Kansas caval- ry at Emporia, but he was only sixteen years old at the time, and his father, who was then in the service, refused permission for the boy to enlist.
Mr. McCool is one of the pioneers who saw Butler county in its primitive period. He was here in 1861, and has a distinct recollection of many of the early day landmarks. He saw the old log house on the trail, near the ford of the Walnut river at El Dorado, which was the first house in that section, and he recollects Jacob Landis who had a cabin at the forks of the Walnut river where he conducted a trading post with the Indians. He says that after they located in Kansas that his father made regular hunting trips a short distance west, about as far as the present location of Hutchinson, and killed any number of buf- falo and thus kept on hand a supply of buffalo meat. He saw the Wal- nut river in 1860, the dry year, when it was perfectly dry, with the ex- ception of a few little pools. He has a vast store of interesting remin- iscences concerning the early history of Butler county, and possesses the faculty of narrating them in an entertaining way. Mr. McCool is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has an extensive acquaintance in Butler county.
A. L. Skaer, of Augusta, who is a prominent factor in the develop- ment of the oil and gas industry in Butler county, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Ashley, Washington county, in 1872, and is a son of George and Carolina (Seibert) Skaer, natives of Germany, who were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom are living, as follows: Henry, Tamora, Ill. ; James, Wichita, Kans. ; Mrs. Carrie McVay, Ing- ersoll, Okla .: E. C., Augusta; William; Walter; A. W .; G. P. and J. H., all residing at or near Augusta. A. L. Skaer came to Augusta with his parents in 1878, when he was about six years old. The family lo- cated about three miles east of town where the father bought 320 acres of land. He bought additional land from time to time until he owned 1,100 acres, which is now divided among his children.
A. L. Skaer received a good education in the public schools of Au- gusta and began life as a farmer and later engaged in the automobile business at Augusta, which he has conducted in connection with his farming operations to the present time. For a number of years he handled the Ford and Buick cars, but now represents the Dodge Bros and the Chalmers companies. He does an extensive automobile busi- ness, and is considered one of the best posted men in that line of indus- try in this section. He owns 160 acres which was a part of the old home place, and which is located in the heart of the rich oil and gas producing district. There are now three producing wells on his farm and preparations are being made for drilling others. Mr. Skaer and four
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of his brothers constitute the Skaer Gas & Drilling Company and now have twelve producing wells, which are a source of immense profits to them. They are among the extensive operators of the district, and are carrying out extensive plans of development, and Mr. Skaer is now devoting his time largely to the oil and gas business.
In 1895, A. L. Skaer and Miss Nora Jones were united in marriage. Mrs. Skaer is a native of Augusta, and her parents were pioneers of that locality. To Mr. and Mrs. Skaer have been born two children, as follows : Fremont, a student in the Augusta High School and a member of the class of 1916, and Fern, who was graduated from the Augusta High School in the class of 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Skaer are well known in Augusta, where they have many friends.
G. F. Holmes, police judge and justice of the peace, Augusta, Kans., is a Civil war veteran who for a quarter of a century has been identified with the interests of Butler county. Judge Holmes is a native of In- diana, born in 1842, and is a son of William S. and Elizabeth (Iseming- er) Holmes. The father was a native of North Carolina, and when a child twelve years of age went to Indiana with his parents; the family, how- ever, had lived in Kentucky about twelve years preceding their removal to Indiana. The mother came from an old Pennsylvania family of Ger- man descent. G. F. Holmes was one of a family of seven children, as follows: Mrs. Mary Wirt, lives at Benedict, Neb .; Daniel, died at Cres- ton, Iowa; Mrs. Margaret A. Badger, of Chariton, Iowa; Martha B., died in infancy ; G. F., the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Kalista Martin, of Chariton, Iowa, and William S., also of Chariton.
G. F. Holmes received his education in the common schools of In- diana and Iowa, his parents removing to the latter State when he was twelve years old. He remained at home following the peaceful pursuits of the average boy until the Civil war broke out, when at the age of nineteen, July 8, 1861, he enlisted, becoming a member of Company B, Sixth regiment Iowa infantry. He participated in many important bat- tles and at the battle of Shiloh was severely wounded, a musket ball passing through his right lung but being a young man of excellent phy- sique and good health, he recovered from this severe wound in an unusu- ally short time. He was discharged October 22, 1862, and after fully recovering from his wound, he reenlisted at Chariton, Iowa, and served until the close of the war. During his second term of service in the army, his regiment operated in the Army of the West and did consider- able guarding of railroad property, especially in the locality of Mem- phis, Tenn. Mr. Holmes was finally discharged from the army at the close of the war with an unusually good military record. Besides re- ceiving the wound above mentioned he experienced many narrow es- capes. On the same day that he was wounded, his canteen was shot off.
At the close of the war he returned to Iowa where he was engaged in farming until 1870, when he was elected sheriff of Lucas county, and served in that capacity for ten years or until 1880. He then removed to
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York county, Nebraska, where he bought a farm, and for twelve years was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1892 he disposed of his inter- ests in Nebraska and came to Butler county, Kansas, and bought a farm adjoining the town of Augusta, on the west, where he resided until 1908, when he sold his farm and removed to Augusta.
Judge Holmes has served as police judge and justice of the peace for the past five years, and as a judicial officer, has won a wide reputa- tion for fairness in the administration of the equity side of his court, as well as a broad knowledge of the law in the application of legal prin- ciples. Although Judge Holmes has passed the three score and ten milestone, he is a man of unusual physical and mental activity, and he has enjoyed the best of health during his long career. He says that he never took a dose of medicine until he was past sixty years of age, and that statement sounds very reasonable as he has every appearance of a man who does not need any medicine.
Judge Holmes has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Phoebe Badger, to whom he was married in 1863; she died in 1904, leav- ing the following children : Kalista Frickey ; U. G., a farmer near Augus- ta; Martha D. Chance, Wichita, Kans .; Walter E., lives near Latham; Mrs. Bess M. Arnold. El Dorado, and Charles D., Augusta. Mr. Holmes's second marriage took place November 15, 1905, when he was united in marriage to Mrs. Henrietta DeMoss, of Augusta, Kans. Mrs. Holmes is a native of Kentucky and was left an orphan at an early age. Her mother died when she was three years old and shortly afterward her father was killed by bushwhackers in Kentucky during the Civil war. She was brought to Butler county when a mere child by an uncle, J. K. Withrow.
J. L. Beck, who is engaged in the United States mail service as rural mail carrier out of Augusta, is a native of Missouri. He was born at Weston, and is a son of J. F. and Sophia (Wirth) Beck, natives of Germany. They came to America and located at Weston, Mo., in 1857, where they still reside; the father is eighty-four years old and the mother, seventy-nine. They were the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom are living , as follows: Mrs. Carrie Lamar, Platte county, Mo .; Mrs. Louise Roberts. Jackson county, Mo .; W. C., Weston, Mo .; Miss Katie Beck, Weston, Mo .; J. L., the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Clara Ford, Jefferson county, Kans. ; Mrs. Rosa Smithers, Platte county, Mo .; Mrs. Anna Thompson, Platte county, Mo .: A. H., Platte county, Mo., and Chris, resides in Colorado.
J. L. Beck received his education in the public schools of Missouri, and at the age of twenty-two, engaged in farming for himself in Mis- souri, and five years later, came to Kansas, settling in Butler county. In 1894, he bought 140 acres of land near Augusta, where he lived for seven years, when he sold it for $1,400 and bought 160 acres two miles south of Augusta. He recently sold this farm for $8,000, the increase in value being largely due to the oil and gas development. Mr. Beck
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