USA > Kansas > Butler County > History of Butler County Kansas > Part 63
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Bruce R. Leydig attended the public schools in Muskingum county, Ohio, before the family removed to Kansas, where his education was continued in the public schools. In 1877 he returned to Ohio, and attended Spencer's Normal School, at Adamsville, Ohio, until 1881, when he returned to Butler county and followed teaching until 1884. He then read law in the office of Judge A. L. L. Hamilton, and was admitted to the bar, May 20, 1885. Shortly after Mr. Leydig was ad- mitted to the bar, his stepfather died, and he returned to the home place in Clifford township to assist in its management, and remained there until 1890. He then became associated with Judge Hamilton in the practice of his profession, under the firm name of Hamilton & Ley- dig, and this firm continued for twenty-six years. On March 1. 1916, Mr. Leydig became associated with Karl M. Geddes, under the firm name of Leydig & Geddes. They have well equipped and commodious offices on West Central avenue, opposite the court house, and the pro- fessional association of Messrs. Leydig and Geddes has resulted in a large clientage to the firm, both of these gentlemen being well known
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throughout Butler county and this vicinity of Kansas, as capable law- yers of broad experience.
Mr. Leydig was married in 1888 to Miss Lizzie Spier, of Fairmount township. She is a daughter of Robert Speir, a Butler county pioneer who bought his place in Fairmont township in 1873, and brought his family here three years later. To Mr. and Mrs. Leydig have been born three children, as follows: Marie, a graduate of the El Dorado High School, and afterwards taught in the El Dorado schools ; Robert, a grad- uate of the El Dorado High School, and now a student at the State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kans. : and Raymond, a student in the El Dorado schools.
Since casting his first vote, Mr. Leydig has always supported the policies and principles of the Republican party. In 1907, he was elected to the State legislature, and, during the following session, was a mem- ber of the judiciary committee, and was active in the furtherance of much important legislation that was enacted during that session. Mr. Leydig has taken a commendable interest in local affairs, and has served as a member of the school board, and has also been a member of the city council, and city attorney of El Dorado. Mr. Leydig is a close student of the law, and is recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers and counsellors of Butler county, and has the reputation of being able, fair, and fearless as a lawyer.
Alden J. Davis, chief engineer of the El Dorado waterworks, is a native of Buttler county. He was born in El Dorado in 1881, and is a son of L. G. and Melissa A. (Aldridge) Davis, the former a native of New York State, and the latter of Canada. They were the parents of the fol- lowing children : R. L., died in El Dorado at the age of forty ; Glenn, de- ceased ; John, employed in D. W. Ow's grocery store ; Artie, a farmer in Colorado ; Alden J., the subject of this sketch ; Frank L., a farmer in Col- orado; and three daughters who died in infancy.
The Davis family came to Butler county in 1879, and settled in Chel- sea township. About a year later, they came to El Dorado, where the father was engaged in the grocery and butcher business, then he ran a brick plant here and later was interested in truck gardening. He died at El Dorado in 1906, and his widow still survives.
Alden J. Davis received his education in the public schools of El Dorado, and in early life assisted his father in various ways, and for a number of years has been employed by the city of El Dorado at times, and in various capacities. On April 1, 1916, he was appointed chief en- gineer of the waterworks, and is now capably filling that position.
Mr. Davis was married in 1903, to Miss Evelyn Frank, of El Dora- do, Kans. She was an orphan, and was reared in the family of George F. Hayman of El Dorado, and came to Butler county when she was ten years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have two children : Luther, aged ten years ; and Ollis, aged one year. Mr. Davis is well known in El Dorado and vicinity, and has won a reputation for reliability and efficiency.
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W. N. Harris, a prominent hardware merchant and implement deal- er of Rose Hill, Kans., is a Butler county pioneer. Mr. Harris was born in Joliet, Ill .. April II, 1865, and is a son of Walter James and Ann E. (Radcliff) Harris. The Harris family came to Kansas in 1877, and first settled at Topeka, where the father worked for two years at his trade, which was that of a blacksmith. In 1879 they came to Butler county and settled near Rose Hill where the father bought eighty acres of land and was successfully engaged in farming for a number of years. He died in August, 1915, and thus closed a useful life of one of the honored pioneers of Butler county. His widow now resides on the home place not far from Rose Hill. The following children of Walter James and Ann E. (Radcliff) Harris, survive: Mrs. Ida Berry, Mecca, Ind .; W. N., whose name introduces this sketch; Mrs. Anna McWilliams, Pleasant town- ship; Laura, resides on the home place with her mother; Mrs. Emma Vickers, Wichita, Kans .; Sarah, resides on the home place with her mother ; and Mansfield. Chicago, Il1.
W. N. Harris received a good public school education and when a youth, he learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for ten years, when he engaged in the hardware, implement and lumber business at Rose Hill. Since engaging in this business Mr. Harris has built up a large trade over an extensive scope of territory in the vicinity of Rose Hill. It can be truthfully said that he is a successful merchant and his business has perceptibly increased each succeeding year. In addition to carrying a full line of hardware and lumber, he aims to sell the most approved and satisfactory makes of agricultural implements, harness windmills, harvesting machinery, wagons and vehicles.
Mr. Harris was united in marriage in January, 1896, to Miss Enola Skinner, a daughter of M. J. Skinner, of Douglass, Kans., and two chil- dren have been born to this union : William J., and Enola, both residing at home. Mr. Harris is a supporter of the policies of the Democratic party in National affairs, but in voting for local officers, he permits himself to be governed in his choice of candidates, purely upon the per- sonality of each individual candidate. By his policy of honesty and in- tegrity, in dealing with the public. Mr. Harris has built up a reputation upon which his many customers can and do safely rely.
H. C. Staley, an early pioneer of Butler county is now living retired at Rose Hill, after an active and successful business career. Mr. Staley was born in Chatham county. North Carolina, June 3. 1845, and is a son of G. W. and Margaret (Hinshaw) Staley, both natives of North Carolina, and descendants of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors. They spent their lives in North Carolina.
H. C. Staley was reared in his native State, educated in private schools and Guilford College, near Greensboro, N. C. He was con- scripted during the Civil war and forced into the Confederate service, and served for a time as a sort of a cabin boy on a receiving ship at Wilmington, N. C. At the battle of Fort Fisher, young Staley rowed
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ashore with some officers and after landing, went on home, which ended his military career unceremoniously. He remained at his North Carolina home until 1870, when he went to Indiana, and after remain- ing there one summer, came to Emporia, Kans., which, at that time, was the end of the railroad. He remained there during the winter of 1870 and 1871, and in the spring, came to Butler county, driving from Emporia. He preempted a claim one mile east and two miles north of the present site of Rose Hill. Soon after coming here, he built a house which was blown away by a cyclone in 1879. He also built a store a mile east of where Rose Hill now stands, and conducted a general mer- cantile store there, and was postmaster for six years. He then engaged in buying and shipping grain and stock, and, for a number of years, did an extensive business in those commodities, and was the largest dealer in that section of Butler county, although, for the last few years, has been practically retired. He is now one of the large land owners in that section, owning three quarter sections, and his son owns eighty acres.
When Mr. Staley came to Butler county, he colonized a settlement of Quakers in 1871 near Rose Hill, Kans., who were among the sub- stantial early settlers of the southwestern part of the county. When he came here there was not a house in sight, in the vicinity of where Rose Hill now stands. Nothing could be seen but the tall waving blue stem, and Mr. Staley was very much impressed with the luxurious growth of grass and the fertile appearance of the country. Wichita was just in the beginning, and it had a population of about 665, and Augusta boasted of a population of only a few, while the now thriving city of Winfield had one house, a log structure, and one day when Mr. Staley was there, a man was digging a trench, and Mr. Staley asked him what he was doing. He said he was building a hotel. Mr. Staley couldn't see any good reason for a hotel there, but he says he supposes the fellow went on and built it, as Winfield rapidly developed into quite a town shortly after that. When Mr. Staley came here, there was plenty of deer and antelopes and some buffalo, but the buffalo was rapidly dis- appearing about that time, but could be found farther west, and Mr. Sta- ley went on one buffalo hunting expedition after coming here, but never aspired to be much of a hunter.
Mr. Staley was married September 29, 1869, to Miss Cox, a native of North Carolina, and a daughter of Isham and Lavina (Brower) Cox. Her father was the man who raised the money from all parts of the county to build Guilford College, which is located near Greensboro, N. C.
To Mr. and Mrs. Staley have been born three children, as follows : C. W., resides near Lane, Kans. ; F. B., connected with the Union Stock Yards at Wichita, and Fred, a farmer and cattleman, Rose Hill. Kans .; Louie G., deceased.
Mr. Staley is a prominent factor in the business and civic affairs of
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Butler county and has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs since coming to Kansas. He has served as justice of the peace for twenty-eight years and as an illustration of the confidence in his integrity and judgment, of the many cases that have been tried in his court, not one appeal has been taken from his decision. In the early. days Mr. Staley was a Republican, later a Prohibitionist, and in the evolution of political events, he has finally become a staunch sup- porter of the policies and principles of the Democratic party.
James McCluggage, a Butler county pioneer and prominent citizen of Richland township, is a son of Thomas and Eliza J. (Kerr) McClug- gage, who were born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, but spent most of their lives in Holmes county, Ohio. The McCluggages were descended from Irish stock. In his earlier life in Pennsylvania, Thomas McCluggage freighted with a large six-horse wagon from Pittsburg to various frontier points. In their early married life Thomas McCluggage and his wife immigrated to Holmes county, Ohio, where ten children were born to them, of whom there are now living four boys and five girls. The parents and most of the children moved to Kansas in the ear- ly eighties, and the parents settled at Douglass, in this county, where their eldest son. Dr. J. R. McCluggage, was a practicing physician. They both died there.
James McCluggage, the subject of this sketch, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1846. He spent his boyhood there, helping make a home in the frontier, and attending the short winter school terms. He learned from his father the main points of farming and stock raising, and in 1872, he set out from Mason City, Ill., where he had spent four years, to make a home for himself in the Osage lands of Butler county. He preempted a quarter section, one mile south of the present site of Rose Hill in Richland township, and this has been his home ever since. His country home, one of the best in this section of the State, is on 200 acres of his land, which he retained after dividing up many acres. nearby, among his four sons. Mr. McCluggage is an example of the successful farmer, and like most other farmers in this section, his success has been brought about mainly by stock raising and breeding. The Galloway cat- tle of the McCluggage farm have been a marked feature in the annals of stock raising in this county for years.
In 1877 Miss Jennie McMillian, of this county, became the bride of James McCluggage. They are the parents of five children, four boys and one daughter: Miss Jennie C. McCluggage, who is the youngest of the children and is in college. She had the distinction of being the youngest to graduate in any Butler county high school in 1915. J. Ralph McCluggage, the eldest son, after attending Lewis Academy, Wichita, settled on farming as his life work and resides a mile northeast of his fa- ther's home. Francis J. McCluggage, second son, is assistant cashier of the Rose Hill State Bank. He is married and lives at Rose Hill. The two younger sons, T. V. and R. T., were inclined toward the law. The for-
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mer graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor in the class of 1910, and is a member of the law firm of Hawks & McCluggage, Wichita, Kans. R. T. McCluggage, the young- est son, finished the law course at Kansas University in the spring of 1915 and is now located at Augusta.
James McCluggage has always been prominent in furthering the things that benefited his community. He served several terms as town- ship trustee and treasurer, but he never aspired in politics. In 1906, he was one of the organizers of the Rose Hill State Bank, and became presi- dent of that institution, which position he has since held.
Besides the late Dr. J. R. McCluggage, now deceased, a sketch of whom appears in this volume, James McCluggage has been cheered by the association of several brothers and sisters who have made their homes in this county. M. S. McCluggage, a bachelor brother, makes his home with him; Mrs. Robert Warrender, a sister, lives on a farm in Richland township; Mrs. George Warrender, another sister, lives at Augusta, Kans., and Mrs. Will Cutting, resides in Pleasant township. Morgan McCluggage formerly lived in this county, but now resides at Mason City, Ill. A sister, Mrs. Mart Thompson, lives at Minneapolis, Minn., and Mrs. Frank Beedy at Aitkin, Minn.
Mr. McCluggage has a wide acquaintance over Butler county, and is well known as one of the substantial men of this section of the State.
Francis J. McCluggage, assistant cashier of the State Bank of Rose- hill, is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. James McCluggage, of Richland township. (See sketch of James McCluggage in this volume.) He was born March 28, 1881, and reared on the McCluggage homestead, one and one half miles south of Rose Hill. After completing the common school course at district No. 81, known as the McCluggage school, the school house being across the road from the McCluggage home, Francis J. Mc- Cluggage attended high school at Douglass, and after graduating there, he attended Lewis Academy at Wichita and finished a course in the commercial department of Wichita Business College. After leaving the latter institution in 1901, he secured a position with the State Bank at Douglass, and prior to the founding of the Rose Hill State Bank, he farmed for a number of years. He has shared with his cousin, J. Freer McCluggage, the active management of the Rose Hill State Bank for a number of years, and has had the pleasure of witnessing that institution grow, in a few years, and become one of the strong institutions of the county.
Francis J. McCluggage was married in 1912, to Miss Estella Mc- Cune, daughter of C. W. McCune, a successful farmer of Richland town- ship. They have one son, Francis Melvin, born in 1913. They attend the Church of Christ of Rose Hill. Mr. McCluggage is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Rose Hill.
Mr. McCluggage is a courteous and capable gentleman, and well qualified in every respect for the responsible position which he holds.
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Edward Wilford, son of John and Elizabeth (Hardy) Wilford, was born in South Croxton, Leicestershire, England, in 1838, and came to Sheboygan, Wis., in 1858. There was a gale at sea during the voyage, and three sailors drowned. He soon journeyed to Iowa, where he spent four years, when he returned to Wisconsin. He came to But- ler county, Kansas, in 1874, and filed on a quarter section of land two and one-half miles northwest of Douglass, which has been his home ever since. He has added considerable land to the original quarter, and has engaged extensively in farming and stock raising.
In 1877, Mr. Wilford married Miss Mary Anderson at Wichita, Kans. Mrs. Wilford is a native of County Armagh, Ireland. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilford are hale and hearty, despite advancing years, and their autumn of life is made cheerful by their four children, who grew to maturity. The Wilford home is on an elevation overlooking the winding Walnut valley for many miles in either direction of its course. Mrs. Wilford is pleased to call her home her castle, and says, that when they get her to leave it, they will have to carry her out. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilford are fond of the progressive farm life which they have made there for so many years. They have no longing for town or city life. They take the best daily papers and periodicals, and keep thoroughly posted on the doings of the world.
The kitchen part of the Wilford home is one of the early landmarks in southern Butler county, it being the original dug-out on the south slope of "Mount Wilford," and in years past, as at present, has been the scene of marked hospitality. The old cellar has been modernized, and a spacious frame house has been built over it, but Mrs. Wilford spends much time in the original room, in which she cooked her first meal in Butler county.
Thos. E. Wilford, an only son, is married and occupies a model cottage close by the old homestead. He conducts the farm work. Other children are: Mrs. Arthur Vint, of Hutchinson; Mrs. Bert Shanks, of Douglass, and Mrs. Jesse Darter, of Douglass.
E. J. Boland, the present mayor of Leon, is one of Butler county's progressive business men and belongs to that type of successful men who do things. Mr. Boland was born in Henry county, Missouri, in 1872, and is a son of J. A. and Emily (Beggerly) Boland. J. A. Boland was a native of Indiana, his father was a Scotchman, and his mother was an English woman. E. J. Boland's mother was a native of North Caro- lina. The Boland family came to Butler county, Kansas, in 1886, the father trading his farm in Missouri for 240 acres of land in Butler coun- ty, located about seven miles from Leon. He was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising here until his death, January 6, 1911, and his wife died two days later and both were buried in the same grave. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are living, E. J., the subject of this sketch, and B. F., who resides at Carthage, Mo.
Mr. Boland was reared on a farm, and was successfully engaged in
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E. J. BOLAND
MRS. E. J. BOLAND
EUBOLARI
GARAGE
E. J. BOLAND'S GARAGE, LEON, KANSAS
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farming and stock raising until 1913, when he left the farm and removed to Leon where he has since been engaged in the automobile business. While still on the farm, in 1911, he took the agency for the Ford auto- mobile in Leon and vicinity, and his business in that connection devel- oped so rapidly that in 1913, he gave up the farm and has since devoted himself to the automobile business. Upon coming to Leon, he opened a garage and in addition to his sales department, initiated a repair depart- ment. His business rapidly developed, and he rented an adjacent room to accommodate it, and it was not long until he found that his enlarged quarters were too small to accommodate his increasing business. In 1916 he built a garage, fifty by one hundred feet. The building is prac- tically fire proof, being constructed of pressed brick with concrete floor, well lighted and is the best equipped garage in Butler county and one of the best in the State. It was completed and occupied about January I, 1916. Mr. Boland has installed an electric dynamo in connection with his garage and his plan is to furnish electric light for the town, and there is no doubt but what this plan will soon be materialized, as Mr. Boland has a reputation for finishing almost everything that he has started up to the present writing.
Mr. Boland was united in marriage in 1894 to Miss Mina Bean, daughter of John and Hattie (Bridges) Bean, of Atchison, Kans., and to this union have been born four children, as follows: Earl, Lavon, Bertine and Kenneth, all attending the public schools of Leon, Earl be- ing in the second year of high school.
As mayor of Leon, Mr. Boland is wide-awake to every idea that tends to the upbuilding and the betterment of the town. Being a man of pleasant manner and good personal address, he has many friends, and there is no doubt that the very best possible administration of the city's affairs will continue under his leadership.
J. A. Barkalow, M. D., a prominent Butler county physician and surgeon, located at Rose Hill, is a son of T. P. and Mary (Lloyd) Bark- alow, who spent most of their lives in Montgomery and Warren coun- ties, Ohio. Dr. Barkalow, the subject of this sketch, was born near Dayton, Ohio, in 1855. His father was a farmer and moved with his family to McLean county, Illinois, in 1864, where they made their home until 1885. when they went to Florida for their health and spent the re- mainder of their lives here. Dr. Barkalow received a good education, and entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1881. He engaged in practice at Lawndale, Ill., until 1883, when he went to Elkhart, Ill.
In 1881, Dr. Barkalow was married to Miss Leonora H. Berry, of Towanda, Ill. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Berry, and family came to Butler county, and settled on a farm, one mile east of where Rose Hill now stands, in 1884. A year later Dr. Barkalow came with Mrs. Barka- low and established themselves here, Dr. Barkalow maintaining his of- (38)
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
fice at the Berry farm house. At that time what was called Rose Hill consisted of two stores and a blacksmith shop. Walter J. Harris, father of W. N. Harris, the well known merchant of Rose Hill, conducted the blacksmith shop. H. C. Staley kept one of the small general stores and also the postoffice, and Ferdinand Meeker ran the other store and was postmaster when the administration at Washington changed. When the present Rose Hill was laid out in 1888, Dr. Barkalow established his of- fice and residence there, where he has since been engaged in practice.
With the death of Dr. J. R. McCluggage and the election of Dr. J. D. Hamilton to the office of county treasurer. Dr. Barkalow observes, that only Dr. S. T. Shelly of Mulvane and himself are left, of the "Old Guard" of country doctors who have answered the call of the ailing. at all times of day or night, and in all kinds of weather, during the past thirty years in southern Butler and eastern Sedgwick counties. During this time, Dr. Barkalow has been called upon to exert his skill in a wide range of practice. He has enjoyed much satisfaction through this prac- tice and the associations with the wholesome farming community, yet he has not been entirely satisfied with his lot. He has ever striven to gain higher knowledge and skill, and endeavoring to better his condition by improving the social and material welfare of his community.
Dr. Barkalow is independent in politics. He is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge of Rose Hill, and the Masonic Lodge as Douglass. Dr. and Mrs. Barkalow have one daughter. Lulu, now the wife of E. H. Brettmann, of Wichita. In his professional work of considerably over a quarter of a century, Dr. Barkalow has not only built up a large practice, but has won a host of friends among his wide ac- quaintance.
Chas. R. Cline was a son of Samuel F. and Elizabeth (Hargett) Cline, who were natives of Fleming county, Kentucky. The elder Clines moved to Missouri, following the Civil war, and thence to Illinois. Later they came to Butler county, and the father farmed three years in Pleas- ant township. He and his wife then moved to Independence, Kans., and later both died in Missouri. Charles R. Cline, the subject of this sketch, was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, January 29, 1843. He spent his boyhood there and helped his father and nine brothers and sisters in the farm work, and attended the three-months subscription school terms during the winters. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Cline enlisted in Company D, Twenty-fourth Kentucky infantry, and served three and one-half years in the Second division of the Army of the Cumberland. He was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, being struck by a minnie ball which fractured his left arm, and incapacitated him for furih- er service.
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