History of Butler County Kansas, Part 69

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 69


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Mrs. Ogden endured the many hardships incident to the life on the plains, in the early days when the settlers were beset by many dangers, as well as inconveniences. On one occasion while the men of the neigh- borhood were away on a buffalo hunt, prairie fires swept the plains, and only by the greatest effort did Mrs. Ogden succeed in saving her home. She carried water a considerable distance and saturated the prairie grass around her home, and then started back fires and in that way saved her home. She succeeded in getting the horses out of the stable which was a straw roofed affair, by putting blankets over their heads and backing them out. It would take a volume to entimerate the heroic deeds of this brave woman of the plains. When she was a girl. her fath- er tattght her to shoot and ride horseback, and even today there are few men who can handle firearms with the dexterity of Mrs. Ogden. She belongs to that type of pioneers who should long be remembered by the present and future generations.


J. H. Havner of Potwin, Kans., is an extensive Kansas land owner and one of the progressive men of the community. For years Mr. Hav- ner struggled against adversity, but by persistence and industry, he finally overcame the many obstacles which confronted him until his efforts were finally crowned with success and prosperity. He was born in Raleigh, N. C., January 15. 1854, and is a son of Levi L. and Clarissa (Lenhart) Havner, natives of North Carolina. In 1858, when J. H. Hav- ner was four years old, his parents removed from North Carolina to Iowa, and settled in Lee county. They drove the entire distance from North Carolina, which was a long journey. The Havner family was poor, they had little money, and their earthly possessions consisted of their team and wagon. They engaged in farming in Lee county, and the parents spent the remainder of their lives in that locality.


J. H. Havner grew to manhood in Iowa and remained there until he . was twenty-five years old. He then started out with his team and wagon with $15 in cash and went to Missouri, and about the first thing that he did after reaching there was to loan his $15 to a fellow who never repaid him. He worked at almost anything that he could get to


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do, and, for a time, worked for wages, and was unfortunate again, for he was unable to get his pay. His next move was to rent a small farm, which he moved to with his two horses, one cow and $2 in cash, which he had accumulated between times. He worked hard but money was scarce, and he had no feed for his horses and very little for himself, but he struggled on, and that year, raised a good crop, but prices were low, and he only received ten cents per bushel for his corn. While rais- ing his crop that year, he cut cordwood on shares, receiving one cord for cutting two. One Saturday night he would cut two cords of wood, and the next Saturday he would haul his wood to town, for which he received $2, and that would pay expenses for two weeks, until he hauled another cord of wood. During'that season, a man volunteered to loan him a load of corn, to be paid out of the crop, and it was paid cheerfully at the end of the season. The man who made the loan was a stranger to Mr. Havner, but saw that he needed it for his horses. He cut cord- wood, laid stone wall, and, in fact, did all manner of things to earn an honest dollar, then bought forty acres of land, which he paid for within two years, and then bought eighty acres more on ten years' time at ten per cent. interest per annum. He paid that off in three years, and had saved considerable money, besides clearing and improving his farm and building a good home. About that time, his wife's health failed, and physicians advised that she go farther west, and accordingly, Mr. Hav- ner took her to Pawnee county, Kansas, where he bought half a section of rough prairie land for $6 per acre. This was in 1900. He improved his Pawnee county ranch for which he had paid cash.


He engaged in wheat farming there, principally, and has met with unusual success. In the last sixteen years, he has had only one total crop failure there. In the season of 1904. he and his two sons, with the assistance of three men, raised 37.000 bushels of wheat, which he sold for eighty-five cents per bushel. This is a mere illustration of the kind of wheat raising that Mr. Havner has been doing in Pawnee county. Mr. Havner and his sons are not only engaged in wheat raising, but are extensive horse breeders as well. He gave one of his sons two mares, and seven years later, the young man held a sale and sold the increase of these brood mares for $3,500. This same son raised $4,000 worth of wheat last year and 2,000 bushels of corn. Mr. Havner still owns his Pawnee county ranch, for which he has refused $75 per acre. It is located eleven miles northwest of Larnard, in the Ash valley. In 1912, Mr. Havner came to Butler county and bought forty acres of land near Potwin, where he has a good, comfortable home. He says Kansas has been good to him, as before coming here, there was not a year of his life but what he borrowed money, and since coming to this State, he has never borrowed a dollar, but, on the other hand, is a money lender. Mr. and Mrs. Havner are the parents of four children, as follows: W. S., lives in Worth county, Missouri; C. H., farmer, Worth county, Missouri; A. L., on his father's ranch in Pawnee county, Kansas; and


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Mattie, wife of Clarke Barnes of New Mexico. All of Mr. Havner's children are prosperous and well-to-do. He is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and politically is a Democrat. Mr. Havner bought his Butler county place as a residence and expects to spend the balance of his days in retirement, as he can well afford to do. He can look back upon his efforts, and reflect that while many times the future looked discouraging, he has, in the main, been much more successful than the average man. He has worked out some fundamental principles of business, upon which his success has been built. He has an original philosophy applicable to the world of commerce and finance, which, if followed out, can only lead to success.


Andrew Jackson Boyles, a Butler county pioneer, and one of the largest land owners in Fairview township, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Hamilton county, December 20, 1845, and is a son of Cyrus and Mary (Crall) Boyles. Cyrus Boyles was a native of Pennsylvania, and when a young man, went down the Monongahela and Ohio rivers as far as Cincinnati. He was a carpenter and cooper, and was employed in Cincinnati, building keel boats which were operated in the Ohio river. Here he was married to Mary Crall, a daughter of James and Margaret Crall, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of Ohio. Thirteen children were born to this union, of whom Andrew Jackson Boyles was the eighth in order of birth.


Andrew Jackson Boyles grew to manhood in Hamilton county, Ohio, and learned the carpenter and cooper trades with his father. He was married in May, 1867, to Miss Emma Stewart, a native of Ripley county, Indiana. She was a daughter of John Stewart, a native of Ohio. In the fall of the same year that they were married, Mr. and Mrs. Boyle came west, locating in Johnson county, Missouri, where they farmed rented land for three years. In the spring of 1870, they came to Kansas, locating in Allen county, and from there they came to Butler county, They drove through, from Johnson county, Missouri, and brought eigh- teen head of shoats, some young heifers, and a barrel or pork, and $50 in cash. They had a unique way of inducing the hogs to follow the emi- grant outfit. Mrs. Boyles rode in a spring wagon, and now and then dropped some shelled corn in the road, and the drove of hogs followed close after her, eargerly looking for more corn. While in camp one night on Harrison creek, in Greenwood county, the hogs strayed away, and after searching in vain for them for some time, through the tall blue stem, Mr. Boyles came on without them. However, the hogs were found later in that vicinity, on a little stream which was called Hog creek, from that day.


Upon reaching Butler county, Mr. Boyles homesteaded the north- west quarter of section II, Fairview township, and now owns an entire section in that township. He has followed general farming and stock raising, and dealt quite extensively in cattle for a number of years, and has also been largely interested in mules. He began with a small capi-


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tal, and has been very successful. Mr. Boyles is a man who has a wide re- putation for honesty and integrity, and has never endeavored to violate an agreement, regardless of whether the fulfillment of it meant profit or loss to him. He has always regarded his word of more value than pro- fit. He is a man of whom it can be said, that his word is as good as his bond.


When Mr. Boyles came here, game was plentiful, and he hunted a great deal, and in fact, obtained the meat supply with his rifle, which was not only profitable but furnished him with a great deal of sport, as he was an expert marksman when he was younger.


The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Boyles: P. C., operating the home farm in partnership with his father; Charles, de- ceased ; Earl Lee, resides on the home farm ; and Ida, wife of John Wad- dell, El Dorado, Kans. Mrs. Boyles, the mother of these children, and faithful pioneer wife, departed this life January 17, 1916. She will long be remembered by her many friends and acquaintances, as well as by her immediate family, as a noble Christian woman, who bore her part nobly and well, in the pioneer days and the subsequent development of Butler county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Boyles were of the hospitable kind of people who never turned a stranger from their door, and during the forty-six years that they have lived in Butler county, they have taken many weary way-farers in, and given them lodging and a square meal, and sent them on their way rejoicing. The world is made better by ยท stich people as Mr. and Mrs. Boyles, having lived in it.


Walter Newbury, now deceased, one of the early settlers in Milton township, and a prominent Butler county pioneer, was a native of Che- mung county, New York. He was born February 9, 1822, a son of Steven and Ester (Turner) Newbury, natives of New York, and of Irish descent. The Newbury family removed to Wisconsin in 1843, and set- tled in Rock county. They were among the very early settlers of that county. Walter Newbury was a young man of twenty-one when he went with his parents to Wisconsin.


On February 21, 1849, Walter Newbury and Lydia Pember were united in marriage. She was born in New York, December 12, 1830, and was a daughter of Joseph S. and Mary (Thompson) Pember, both natives of New York. Joseph S. Pember, the father, died when compar- atively a young man, and some years later, his widow married Daniel Farnham, also a native of New York. In the fall of 1843. Daniel Farn- ham and his family went from New York to Wisconsin and settled in Rock county, in the neighborhood where the Newbury family resided, and here Walter Newbury and Lydia Pember met and were afterwards married. Lydia Pember was a girl about thirteen years of age when she went to Wisconsin with her mother and stepfather.


After their marriage, Walter Newbury and his bride went to Green county, Wisconsin, and bought 160 acres of land, and while they en- countered the hardships and trials of the pioneers, they were contented,


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happy and prosperous. They remained in that section of Wisconsin until 1872, when they came to Butler county, Kansas, and homesteaded the northeast quarter of section 34, Milton township. They came by rail as far as Peabody, where they bought a team and wagon, and loaded up their goods and drove to their new home in Milton township. Mr. Newbury engaged in farming and stock raising, and was successful. He was a man, prominent in the affairs of his community, and was held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. He held various township offices of trust and responsibility, and was township treasurer for a number of years. He was active in local politics, and a devout member of the Presbyterian church. He died December 7, 1909, and thus closed the useful career of one of Butler county's respected pioneer citizens.


To Walter Newbury and wife were born the following children : E. C .. Long Beach, Cal .; Adelade, married F. B. Ewing, and is now de- ceased ; Mary Esther, married George Tolle, El Dorado; D. S., lives on the old homestead in Milton township; John P., Troy, Kans .; R. T., present address unknown; Walter S., Portland, Ore .; Frank Maude, married Fred Betz. Long Beach. Cal. Mrs. Newbury; the mother, is now living on the old homestead in Milton township, and is one of the grand old pioneer women of Butler county. She has seven living children, twenty-eight grandchildren, and twenty-two great-grandchildren. She spends much of her time visiting her children, and has spent consider- able time on the Pacific coast with her children who live there; in fact, she divides her time between Kansas and California.


Rev. Isaac Mooney .- The first sermon I ever heard preached in my life came from the lips of Rev. Isaac Mooney, and it gave me a favorable impression of the ministry. It was in the little old Diamond Creek school house that stood in what is now the western edge of the town of Potwin. I was about six years of age, and it was before the days of churches in northwest Butler. The country was sparsely settled, but the neighbors came from great distances to hear the sermon, which was the first to be preached in the community for a long time. I well re- member the particularity with which I was cautioned by my good mother as to my behavior, and my childish curiosity as to what a ser- mon was like and how a preacher would look. I had heard of preachers. but had never seen one, and had only a vague idea of what a sermon was like. There were no song books in the neighborhood and the ser- vices were conducted without music. Rev. Mooney did not charge for preaching, and the "hat" was not passed. It was the primitive begin- ning of a religious awakening in the community. Rev. Mooney came up from Towanda about once a month to preach and the "neighbors" all attended, and if Isaac Mooney left the same impress upon others as he did upon me in my early childhood, as he no doubt did, his memory will brighten with an imperishable luster throughout all eternity.


Isaac Mooney was born in Miami county, Ohio, May 22, 1820. He died at Towanda, Kans .. October 20, 1902. Coming to Kansas in 1869,


REV. ISAAC MOONEY


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he purchased from J. R. Mead, the old Indian trader, the land lying south of Main street, upon which the town of Towanda now stands, and homesteaded the land north of Main street, moving thereon in 1870. In 1871 he platted and laid out the town site.


Isaac Mooney was married to Eliza Rhodehamel, of Miami county, Ohio, in 1848, and was the father of nine children: Mrs. G. W. Lane, of Pomona, Cal .; Sol R. Mooney ; Vol P. Mooney, author of this history of Butler county ; Mrs. Dr. F. T. Johnson, now deceased ; Mrs. A. Swig- gett, Walter Mooney, Mrs. E. A. Spalding, Joseph Mooney and Mrs. M. Orban, Jr. Mr. Mooney became a Christian in early life and was or- dained a preacher in 1843. He never preached for pay. His first ser- mon in Butler county was preached in June, 1870, and he continued preaching till the time of his death. He was a farmer before coming to Kansas, preaching on Sundays in the summer time, and holding meet- ings every Sunday, and almost every night during the winter season. He married more than 1200 couples during his ministry and preached about the same number of funeral services.


The first funeral sermon I ever heard was also preached by Rev. Mooney in the same old Diamond Creek school house. A little baby daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cornelius died, and my father rode down to Towanda and notified Rev. Mooney, who came and per- formed the last sad rites. Strange and incredible as it may appear. I still remember the text which Rev. Mooney used, although I was very young. It read: "Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh." Rev. Mooney's last act was a double wedding about a week prior to his death, and it was said of him that he had either married or buried almost every one he had ever known. His patriarchial presence in the community in which he lived so long, was like a perpetual benediction, and he compelled by his good- ness, his gentleness, his patience and his rectitude, the respect, affec- tion and reverence of all who knew him, and especially of the little children, to whom his arms, like the Master's were always outstretched in sympathy and kindness.


The Walnut Valley "Times," through my beloved friend, its editor, Alvah Shelden, who attended the funeral, said: "Elder E. Cameron of Sycamore Springs, associated for a quarter of a century in church work with Rev. Isaac Mooney, preached the sermon yesterday. The attendance was the largest ever known at a Butler county funeral. He was the founder of churches, an establisher of Sunday schools, and a preacher of the Gospel, without money and without price. At his death he left surviving him, eight children, thirty grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.


I seized a brief respite from the never-ending cares of business to at- tend the funeral myself of the good man who had preached the first ser- mon I ever heard, and whose daily life had ever afterwards charmed me with the perpetual perfume of its unbroken and uninterrupted good-


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ness. The sentiment that possessed my heart on that occasion was shared by every person present. I have known many good and worthy men, but should I be called upon to select from among them the one who, in my opinion, had come nearest to living a perfect, unselfish. unblemished, patient, forbearing, tireless and effective Christian life, I should unhesitatingly name Rev. Isaac Mooney ; and with a heart full of affection, admiration and gratitude, I pay this tribute to the rich and radiant memory of this beloved pioneer, patriarch and preacher of Butler county. His good deeds live after him.


Written by J. B. Adams.


L. J. Fuller, a prominent farmer and stockman of Prospect town- ship and early settler of Butler county, is a native of Michigan. He was born in Washtenaw county. December 14. 1850, and is a son of James H. and Mary Ann (Bonny ) Fuller, natives of New York State and early settlers of Michigan. Levi Fuller, grandfather of L. J. Fuller. was a Michigan pioneer and came from Utica, N. Y., to the wilds of Michigan at an early day, and here located in the wilderness and made a home for himself and his family.


In 1869. L. J. Fuller removed to Missouri with his parents and settled in Newton county. They remained there about ten years. when they came to Kansas and located at Columbus, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. their deaths occurring within seventeen days of each other. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are now living, two daughters being dead.


In 1890. L. J. Fuller traded for the property in Prospect township, where he now resides. At first he had 320 acres, but later sold 160. He has been quite extensively engaged in the stock business and has also carried on a large dairy business. Mr. Fuller is one of the substantial farmers and stockmen of the county and has made a success of his under- takings.


Mr. Fuller was united in marriage in Newton county, Missouri, in 1874, to Miss Lucy E. Koontz, a daughter of Levi and Charlotte (Key) Koontz. Mrs. Fuller is a native of Montgomery county, Missouri. Her father was a native of North Carolina and of German descent, and her mother was a native of Virginia and of French descent. When Mrs. Fuller was six weeks old her parents drove across the plains to Iowa and settled in Clarke county. that State. After making their home there for sixteen years, they went to Newton county in 1869. The mother died in 1884. and six years later the father came to live with Mrs. Fuller, where he spent the last sixteen years of his life. He died October 12. 1902, aged eighty-two years and six months. He was a grand old man and a repre- sentative of that type of pioneers whose work is well done.


To Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have been born the following children : Fred. Peck, Kans .. married Bessie Fuller, and they have two children. Alvah and Edna ; William Leonard, Prospect township. married Viola


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Locke, and they have two children, Ruth and Ruby, twins; Myrtle, mar- ried Frank Brown. Latham, Kans .; Levi, Latham, Kans .; Ernest, died at the age of five months ; Clyde, resides at home ; Mary, married William Jones, Prospect township, and they have one child, William.


Mr. Fuller is a member of the Grange and the Knights of the Maccabees. He is independent in politics and one of the substantial men of Butler county. He has taken a commendable interest in local affairs and has served as township clerk, although he has never aspired to hold political office.


Renwick P. Ralston, one of the successful oil men of Butler county, whose present income from that industry, can hardly be estimated, is a native of Butler county. He was born in Towanda township, October 22, 1888, and is a son of J. R. and Ida ( Bennet) Ralston, natives of Ohio, and Butler county pioneers. They came to this county in 1869, and homesteaded a quarter section of land in Towanda township. The father served in the Union army through the Civil war. and is now one of the substantial citizens and honored pioneer settlers of Butler county, and has been a successful farmer and stock raiser.


Renwick P. Ralston grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the Towanda schools, and the Brumback Academy at El Dorado, and has been successfully engaged in farming and stock raising. He was one of the first to become interested in the oil and gas develop- ment of Butler county in 1914, and drilling was commenced on his first well in the latter part of November, and at a depth of 1.450 feet, gas was found in abundance. In the spring of 1915, two more wells were drilled on his place, both of which were good gas producers, and another well followed which was also a good gasser. On October 20, 1915, the fourth well was begun, and at a depth of 2,369 feet, a great oil well was struck, which. at first, flowed 2,200 barrels daily, which gradually settled down to a steady flow of 1,500 barrels a day, and he now has five producing wells, and more wells are being drilled on his place, all of which bids fair to be the richest section of the great Augusta oil field. He also has good prospective oil land in the vicinity of El Dorado and is interested in other oil property in this field.


Mr. Ralston was united in marriage January 31, 1912, to Miss Mar- garet L. Loncer, of Towanda. She is a daughter of Augustus and Mary (Yurgenson) 'Loncer, the former a native of Indiana, and of German descent, and the latter of Pennsylvania, and of Danish ancestry. Au- gustus Loncer came to Towanda in 1884, and engaged in the drug busi- ness, and also the general mercantile business. He was a successful man of affairs and a large land owner. He was one of the organizers of the Towanda State Bank, and was vice-president of that institution for a number of years. He died June 18, 1908, and his widow now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Ralston.


Mr. Ralston is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and since his boyhood, has showed marked business ability. His success in the oil


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business is in thorough keeping with his business career and the logical outcome of well directed capabilities, and an inherent ability to make the best of opportunities as they present themselves.


Elisha Mosier, a well to do farmer and stockman and substantial citizen of Fairview township, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Mor- gan county. August 23, 1838, and is a son of Eleazer and Abigal (Fall) Mosier, natives of Maine, who went to Ohio with their respective par- ents at an early day. The Mosier family is of English descent; Elisha Mosier's great-grandfather, Daniel, was a native of England.


Elisha Mosier was reared to manhood and educated in Ohio, and in 1866, was married to Miss Lucy Ann Eveland, a daughter of Daniel and Louisa Eveland, natives of Ohio. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Mosier lived on a farm in Morgan county, Ohio, about ten years. They then went to Iowa and settled in Wanplow county, where they remained four years, and removed to Jasper county, Iowa. They followed farm- ing with indifferent success here until 1885, when they sold their land and came to Butler county, Kansas. Upon coming here, they bought a quarter section of land in section 27, Fairview township. This land was unimproved with the exception of a little one-room stone house, 6x8 feet. This building was torn down and the stone used in the construc- tion of his present. residence. When Mr. Mosier bought his place here, he went in debt for a large part of the purchase price. He engaged in the stock business and general farming and has met with very satisfac- tory success. His place is an ideal stock farm, being amply supplied with good water, and the soil is of a rich and productive character.




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