History of Butler County Kansas, Part 65

Author: Mooney, Vol. P
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Lawrence, Kan. : Standard Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 946


USA > Kansas > Butler County > History of Butler County Kansas > Part 65


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96


He was engaged in silver and gold mining in that section about twenty-two years, and while there served as a member of the Leadville fire department for three years, and held the position of lieutenant in that organization. On March 17, 1904, he came to Whitewater, Kans., and entered into partnership with his brother. G. W. Neal, who was engaged in the hardware business there. G. W. Neal died January 1, 1905. and at the death of his brother, L. J. Neal bought the entire in- terest of the heirs and has conducted the business alone since that time. In 1909 he erected a new store building, which is now occupied by the business. He carries a full line of hardware, and is one of the extensive dealers of Butler county. Mr. Neal is a Republican and belongs to the Masonic lodge.


L. M. Pace, a prominent hardware merchant of Whitewater, was a pioneer railroad agent of Kansas. Mr. Pace was born in Weldon, Ill .. June 16, 1858, and is a son of Robert A. and Isabelle (Mason) Pace. both natives of Cumberland county, Kentucky. Robert Pace was a son of John and Lucy (Alexander) Pace, natives of Henry county, Vir- ginia. The Pace family are of old Virginia stock, and was founded in the colony of Virginia in 1665, and is of English origin. John Pace was the founder of the Pace family in Virginia, and so far as known, all members of the Pace family in America are descendants from him. John Pace, Jr .. son of John Pace, the founder of the family in this coun- try, was employed in the early days in Virginia as an overseer of slaves on a plantation. Three of the descendants of John Pace served in the Revolutionary war.


L. M. Pace, the subject of this sketch, first came to Butler county in charge of the commissary during the construction of the Missouri Pacific railroad, which was built through Towanda, and he was the first station agent at that place. Towanda was a little frontier town at that time and an Indian trading post had been located there for a number of years, conducted by J. R. Meade. Mr. Pace was agent at Towanda for three years, when he went to Peabody and entered the employ of the Rock Island railroad as station agent, and remained there three years, and in 1892 came to Whitewater as station agent for the Rock Island road. He remained in the employ of that road until 1899. when he engaged in the hardware business at Whitewater in partner-


604


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


ship with C. B. Dein. Ten years later Mr. Pace purchased his partner's interest in the hardware business, and conducted it at the old stand until 1913, when he moved his stock into the building formerly occupied by the Neiman Hardware Company. His son, Walter R. Pace, is now associated with him in business, and Mr. Pace has succeeded in shifting most of the detailed management of the business to the junior member of the firm. The Pace hardware store carries one of the best stocks of general hardware to be found in the county, and they are also extensive dealers in all kinds of farming implements and machinery.


Mr. Pace was married at Towanda, Kans., October 12, 1887, to Miss Florence Wait, a daughter of Clark and Hannah (Putnam) Wait, natives of New York, and early settlers of Towanda, Kans. The Put- nam branch of the family traces its ancestry back to Gen. Israel Put- nam of Revolutionary fame. Clark Wait died in 1903, and his wife preceded him in death a number of years, she having passed away in 1875.


To Mr. and Mrs. Pace have been born one child, Walter, born in 1893, Enterprise, Dickenson county, Kansas. Walter was only three years old when the family came to Whitewater, so for all practical pur- poses, Whitewater is his native town. He was educated in the public schools of Whitewater, including the Whitewater High School, after which he took a course in a Wichita business college, when he entered the hardware business at Whitewater with his father, as above stated.


L. M. Pace is a member of the Masonic lodge, the Modern Wood- men of America, and his political affiliations are with the Democratic party.


H. M. Nolder, the present mayor of Whitewater, is one of the most extensive poultry dealers in central Kansas. Mr. Nolder began busi- ness in Whitewater in 1910, and since that time his small beginning has developed into one of the most important business concerns in this section of the State. His business extends over a radius of sixty or seventy miles from Whitewater and by his method of square dealing he has built up a reputation for paying top notch prices for poultry and eggs throughout the section where he does business, which has been a dominant factor in the rapid development of his business. He ships poultry by the car load lots to the principal markets of the East, in- cluding New York, Boston and Philadelphia, and in the other direction he markets his produce as far west as Los Angeles.


Mr. Nolder is a native of Kansas, having been born in Harvey county, June 8, 1872, and bears the distinction of being born in a dug- out. His parents were George and Mary (Lemons) Nolder, both na- tives of Ohio. When the father first came to Kansas he was employed on the construction of the Sante Fe railroad from Topeka to Emporia, and by the time that the railroad was extended to Newton he went to work for the company in the capacity of fireman and was thus engaged for a few years. He died in 1876, and his wife departed this life in 1883,


605


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


and thus H. M. Nolder was left an orphan in early childhood. He went to live with J. A. Commons, a farmer in Harvey county, at about the age of ten. When he was about fifteen years of age he ran away from his employer and went to Wichita. Here he obtained employment with a farmer near that city by the name of August Gabrison, a Swede, and worked for him for two years and remained in the vicinity of Wichita about six years. He then returned to his former employer in Harvey county. Mr. Nolder obtained a very good education under the circum- stances that surrounded his boyhood days. He attended the district schools and Lewis Academy at Wichita, and later was a student in the Halstead High School and the Normal School at Great Bend, Kans. He was married March 15, 1900, to Miss Hattie, daughter of W. S. Evans, who settled at Halstead, Harvey county, at an early date. To Mr. and Mrs. Nolder have been born three children: Howard E., Ella Millicent and George Oscar.


Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Nolder engaged in farming, renting land in Harvey county, which he followed until 1910, when he came to Whitewater and engaged in his present business. His capital was limited and for the first few years he was compelled to proceed with caution, and by strict economy he has accumulated a substantial work- ing capital and today controls one of the important business enterprises of Butler county. He has been a life long Republican, and has served for five years on the city council of Whitewater. In 1915 he was elected mayor and is now serving in that capacity. He is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and Kansas Fraternal Citizens, and holds membership in the Christian church.


E. L. Neal, Whitewater, Kans .. is a native of Sheyboygan county, Wisconsin, and is a son of G. W. Neal. For a geneological review of the Neal family, see sketch of L. J. Neal in this volume. G. W. Neal, the father of E. L. Neal, whose name introduces this sketch, was a Civil war veteran and served three years and four months in Company D, Third regiment. Wisconsin infantry. He was one of the veterans who saw much service in camp, on the march and on the field of battle. He was with Grant in the early part of the war with the Army of the West, and was with Sherman on his memorable march, and was severely wounded at the battle of Resaca, which ended his military career, as he was soon afterwards discharged by reason of disability, and returned to his Wisconsin home.


Shortly after the war the family removed to Michigan, where they remained for a time, when they went to Illinois, locating in De Kalb county, and in 1871 came to Kansas, locating at Coneburg, on the line of the Santa Fe railroad, which was then in the course of construction. About that time the name of Coneburg was changed to Peabody. in honor of F. H. Peabody, then president of the Santa Fe railroad. Mr. Peabody donated to the town a $10,000 library in consideration of the


606


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


honor conferred upon him in giving the town his name. Soon after coming to Coneburg, or Peabody, G. W. Neal engaged in the grain and lumber business about the time the railroad was ready for operation. and he received the first car load of lumber that was shipped over the new railroad, and was one of the first to buy grain and other produce from the early settlers and ship it from that section. He also conducted a coal yard and continued in business in Peabody until 1884. In June. 1885, he removed to the new town of Brainerd, where he established a lumber yard and also engaged in the hardware business, and in 1889 lie moved his stock of goods to Whitewater, where he and his son con- ducted the business until 1904, when L. J. Neal bought a half interest in the business and the brothers conducted it in partnership until the death of G. W. Neal in January, 1905. After the death of his father, E. L. Neal was in Wichita for a number of years, engaged in the hardware trade and during the last few years has been in Whitewater with L. M. Pace.


Mr. Neal was united in marriage December 15, 1891, to Mrs. Lil- lian (Horner) DeTalente, a daughter of Dr. John Horner. She died October 17, 1904. Mr. Neal is a Republican, and has always taken a keen interest in local politics. He has been a member of the White- water council and for six years was city clerk. He is perhaps one of the best posted men on local history in northwestern Butler county. In 1906 the Whitewater "Independent" published a historical edition, and Mr. Neal wrote the history of that section which appeared in the edi- tion, and it stands today as one of the most authentic historical re- views of that section ever published.


Samuel Waterfall, a Kansas pioneer and veteran of the Civil war, is a native of Switzerland. He was born about twelve miles south of Berne. December 16, 1843, a son of Jacob and Barbara (Weber) Water- fall, natives of Switzerland. The name Waterfall was spelled Wasser- fall in Switzerland, which translated into English is Waterfall. The Waterfall family immigrated to America in 1854, and when Samuel was eleven years of age they landed in New York, and shortly afterwards went to Massillon, Ohio. After remaining there about a year they re- moved to Clinton Station, Ohio, and from there to Loudenville, and later to Knox county, Ohio. The father was a stone cutter and an unusually fine workman.


Samuel Waterfall was following the peaceful vocation of farming when the Civil war broke out, and President Lincoln called for volun- teers to defend the Union. At the first call he offered his services, but was rejected on account of being under size, but he enlisted again Au- gust 19, 1861, and was mustered into service as a member of Company A, Twentieth regiment, Ohio infantry, and at the expiration of his term of enlistment was discharged December 6, 1863. The following day he re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer in the same company and regiment. During his long and hazardous term of service as a soldier


607


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


he participated in the following engagements: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Iuka, Harkinsberry, Raymond, Champion Hills, siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Baker's Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Savannah, Pocotaligo, Orangeburg, Cheraw. Bentonville, and at the surrender of Johnson near Raleigh, N. C., and numerous other engagements and skirmishes. During his ser- vice in the army Mr. Waterfall was with his command in nearly every Southern State, and they were at many places several times. He had many narrow escapes and was seriously wounded at the battle of At- lanta, and was on two occasions overcome by heat, once while on the fir- ' ing line in battle, and another time while on the march. After the sur- render of Lee and the grand review at Washington, he was discharged and mustered out of service July 24, 1865, at Camp Chase, Ohio.


At the close of the war Mr. Waterfall went to Madison county, Illinois. where his people moved while he was in the army. He re- mained in Illinois until the fall of 1868, when he went to Springfield, Mo., remaining in that State until 1871, when he returned to Madison county, Illinois, and followed farming near East Alton, Ill., until 1873. when he removed to El Dorado. Butler county, Kansas. The following spring he went to Harvey county, and from there to Carroll county, Arkansas, but soon afterward returned to Butler county and rented a farm in Glencoe township on the south branch of the Little Walnut, and the following year he filed on a claim of government land in that township. On February 20, 1880, he sold his claim and removed to section 2, Lincoln township, Sedgwick county, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1902, when he came to Whitewater, and has been prominently identified with the community of that vicinity since.


Mr. Waterfall was married January 10, 1867, to Miss Emeline V. Childers, a native of Nashville, Tenn. She was born May 5, 1850, and is a daughter of Jacob and Jane (Scott) Childers, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Water- fall have been born the following children: Maggie A. married Al A. Warren, farmer, Whitewater; Grace F., married W. D. Chaney. White- woter; James S., Alton, Ill .; Effie J. married Henry N. Jessen, White- water; Charles J., Harvey county, Kansas ; L. G .. Whitewater. The eld- est child, Andrew, and the youngest. Joseph R., are both deceased.


Mr. Waterfall is a Republiacn and has steadfastly supported the policies and principles of that party since casting his first vote for Lin- coln while in the army in 1864. He has always taken an active part in local political affairs, and while a resident of Sedgwick county he served as constable and was also justice of the peace for seven years. He was elected justice of the peace in Whitewater in 1904, but refused to accept the office. In 1913 he was elected police judge and still holds that office. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and was commander of the W. C. Ward Post, No. 375, Whitewater, Kans., in 1899, and since


608


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


that time has been adjutant. In 1910 he was appointed assistant deputy inspector.


Mr. Waterfall has had an eventful career as a soldier and pioneer. He was one of the early mail carriers of southwestern Kansas and an early day freighter. He carried mail from New Excelsior to Quito, and when Hickory postoffice was established he carried mail between Hickory, New Excelsior and Quito twice each week for three and three- quarter years, and is now living retired, never having fully recovered his health since the war.


Joel Parker, a prominent farmer of Glencoe township, and Butler county pioneer, is a native of Illinois. He was born in 1840, and is a son of George and Cynthia Ann (Rhoades) Parker. Joel Parker is one of the following surviving children, born to George and Cynthia Ann (Rhoades) Parker: Mrs. Nancy Clark; Mrs. Mary Jane Morris; Mrs. Anna Davis, all of whom reside in Alton, Ill .; Jesse Parker, Wenachie, Wash., and Joel, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Parker came to Kansas in 1870, and located in Harvey county for four years and then located in Glencoe township, where he has since been successfully engaged in farming and stock raising. He now owns 480 acres of land which is considered one of the best farms in Butler county, for general farm pur- poses. He has been quite an extensive stockman, and Mrs. Parker is a chicken fancier, making a specialty of Plymouth Rocks.


Mr. Parker was married in 1865, to Miss Martha Sinclair. Mrs. Parker is a native of Illinois, and was born in 1843, a daughter of Abra- ham and Nancy (Jones) Sinclair. Her father was a prosperous farmer in Illinois. Mrs. Parker was the youngest of a family of twelve chil- dren, and has one living brother, Alex Sinclair, who resides at Alton, Ill. To Mr. and Mrs. Parker have been born the following children, who are now living : C. E., resides at Plains, Colo .; J. E., Benson, Ariz .; Mrs. Emma Scott, Freeman, Mo., and Mrs. Cora Seward, Leon, Kans.


Mr. and Mrs. Parker located in Butler county at a time when its future was uncertain, but they always had faith in the future of this county, and they have lived to see this section of Kansas even excel their expectations. They passed through all the discouraging features and various vicissitudes incident to frontier life and, notwithstanding drouths, crop failures, grasshoppers and cyclones, they have not only survived, but have prospered, and today rank among the well-to-do and influential citizens of Butler county.


Mrs. Parker recalls the early days when they had very little farm produce to sell, except butter, and when neighbors met on the streets of El Dorado, the first question that one would ask another was, "What did you get for your butter?" Usually it was not very much, for this was before the days of the high cost of living. Even though money was scarce and luxuries almost unknown, the early pioneers enjoyed themselves, and got much out of life, perhaps more than we do today. They lived closer to nature, and were less disturbed by the rivalry of style and dis-


MR. AND MRS. JOEL PARKER AND FAMILY


609


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


play. They had no ambition to have a bigger automobile or a better hat than their neighbor, and after all, the early pioneers are not deserv- ing or asking as much sympathy as we might think, for they were happy and lived the pure out-door life unaffected by much of the gorgeous arti- ficial deception of a later day and age.


Mr. Parker is a republican, not of the hyphenated variety, and Mrs. Parker holds the same political views as her husband, thus insuring the immunity of this family circle against any political rows. The Parkers are well known throughout eastern Butler county, and are highly re- spected and have many friends.


Albert E. Smith, prominent farmer and stockman of Plum Grove township, is almost a native son of Butler county. He was born in Michigan on September 8, 1870, and was only two months old when his parents came to Kansas and located in Butler county. There were three other children in the Smith family who were born after their parents located in Butler county : Harvey, now living in Wichita, and Herbert, who died at the age of fourteen years, and Laura, who married Mark Wilson, Dirks, Ark. She was a Butler county teacher for a num- ber of years before her marriage.


I. Y. Smith, the father, like most of the other pioneers of the West, had very little capital when he came to Butler county. He homesteaded and in the spring of 1871, the next year after locating here. he built a small one-room house, 12x18 feet, which is still standing.


The father's health was poor for a number of years and he died in June, 1880, and the mother, with the aid of the children, conducted the farm and thus responsibility fell to the lot of Albert E. Smith at a very tender age. His boyhood days were crowded with work and responsi- bility, and when he was eleven years old he raised his first crop of corn. This was in 1881, the year after his father's death. From that time on he continued to operate the home farm and in 1890 the family bought a half section of land, being the north part of section 25, Plum Grove township. This is one of the finest locations in Butler county, and is a fine productive and well kept farm. Albert bought the interests of the other heirs and is now the sole owner of this place. He is an extensive stock breeder, making a specialty of Herefords and has an excellent herd of pure bred Hereford cattle, having thirty-four head of registered cattle on hand at this writing. He also raises and feeds a great many beef cattle, feeding and shipping approximately two carloads annually. His herd of Herefords comes from the best strain of Herefords in the State of Kansas, sired by "Old Anxiety." Mr. Smith bought his original Herefords from Robert H. Hazlett, of El Dorado.


Mr. Smith was married to Miss Leona Scott, a daughter of John and Mary (Trimdle) Scott, natives of Ohio and early settlers in Cowley county, Kansas, settling there about 1876. The father was a successful farmer and stock raiser there and died in 1896, and the mother now lives in Arkansas City, Kans. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born


(39)


610


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


the following children: Wayne, Helen, Hazel and Hayward. Helen is a graduate of the Arkansas City High School. Mr. Smith is a Democrat and one of Butler county's most progressive citizens.


I. Y. Smith, the father of Albert E., was a Civil war veteran. He was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, and was reared and edu- cated in his native State. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment and served three years. He took part in some of the most important battles of that great conflict. He was wounded on the head at the battle of Malvern Hill and at the battle of Gettysburg was wounded in both legs. His last wounds being very severe, he was afterwards discharged for disability as a result of these wounds. He then returned to his Pennsylvania home and shortly after- wards went to Michigan, where he was engaged in the himber business, where he and his wife resided for two years before coming to Kansas. His wife bore the maiden name of Serepta Ellenberger, and was also a native of Pennsylvania. She now resides at 329 Sherman avenue, Wichita, Kans.


John A. Hopkins, a former sheriff of Butler county and a prominent farmer and stockman of Plum Grove township, is one of the survivors of the old time cattle men of the plains who were engaged in that busi- ness here during the days of open range. Mr. Hopkins was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 28, 1850. His father, Robert Ilopkins, was a native of Maryland, born in 1832, and was a descendent of Colonial ancestors. When six years old, he came with his parents from the Maryland home to Cincinnati, Ohio, and here the family lived for many years. He was station agent for a number of years for the Miami Valley railroad, and also operated considerable farm lands on the Miami bottoms while he was in the employ of the railroad company. In 1865 Robert Hopkins migrated to Illinois with his family and settled in Moultrie county, where he followed farming until 1871, when he came to Butler county with his family and settled in Clifford township, where he spent the remainder of his life.


John A. Hopkins received his education in the public schools of Cincinnati, and was about fifteen years of age when the family removed to Illinois. He was engaged in farming there until 1873, when he came to Kansas, but the following spring, returned to Illinois, where he was engaged in the grain business until 1875, when he came to Butler county where he has since made his home. When he came here, he had about a thousand dollars in cash, his capital having been considerably reduced on account of helping his father through the bad years of the early seventies in this county. Upon returning to Butler county, he bought a homestead right on the northwest quarter of section 12, and built a two room house 14x24 feet, and proceeded to make other im- provements preparatory to engaging in the cattle business. In 1877 he began to invest in the cattle industry quite extensively. There was any amount of free open range at that time, and he soon had a herd of


61T


HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


between four and five hundred head of cattle which he grazed over a radius of ten miles. He was the only cattle man in this immediate vicinity, and his brand, "J. H.," was known over a broad scope of coun- try. His corral occupied about a half a section of land, and in those days, the building of a corral was a serious problem to the cattle man. as building material was scarce and barb-wire which had just been introduced, cost about twelve cents per pound.


Mr. Hopkins has continued in the cattle business up to the present time, and as free range disappeared, he conformed to the new condi- tions, and kept right on. In 1898, he handled 2,000 head of steers, and while he was successful with this large herd, he found many obstacles ยท in the way of profitably handling so many cattle. The problem of water supply alone was a serious one, and in recent years, he seldom has more than 600 head of cattle on hand. He feeds a great many cat- tle which he buys on the Wichita market, and usually markets his cattle in Kansas City or St. Louis. For years he was an extensive buyer and shipper of cattle, hogs and sheep in addition to his feeding and farming operations. He bought Texas cattle. "On the Trail" at Wich- ita, buying his first bunch there as early as 1873. He next bought a bunch of cattle at Ft. Scott, Kans., and drove them across the country to his Butler county range. He now owns 800 acres of land in Pluim Grove and Clifford townships, and also land in Oklahoma. He still owns his father's old homestead in Clifford township. His is one of the best farms in Butler county. He has 700 acres under cultivation. and uses both horses and gasoline tractor motor power in his farming opera- tions. For years, he supplied the Kansas City stock yards with 3,000 tons of hay annually. His place is well equipped with all modern farm conveniences, including two silos with a capacity of 250 tons each, con- structed of concrete, and they are probably the best silos in the State.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.