History of Butler County Kansas, Part 75

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 75


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W. M. Butts, a prominent farmer and stockman of Glencoe town- ship, is a native of Kentucky, born in 1873, and is a son of J. S. and Cora (Sweeney) Butts, both also natives of the "Blue Grass State." They were the parents of the following children, who are now living: Mrs. Alice Squier, Mrs. Leola Rumsey and Mrs. Anna Hopp, all of Beaumont, Kans., and W. M., whose name introduces this sketch. The Butts family came to Kansas in 1879, when W. M. was six years of age, and the father preempted a quarter section of Government land in Glencoe township, where W. M. now resides.


W. M. Butts was reared on the home farm in Butler county. educated in the public schools, and has made farming and stock raising the principal occupation of his life. His father was quite an extensive sheep man in the earlier days. Shortly after settling in Butler county, he went to Buler, Mo., and bought 200 head of sheep, which he drove through to Butler county, and on their way here with the sheep, Mr. Butts was forced to guard them every night to prevent them from being stolen by the ambitious denizens by the wayside. Thus, it will be seen that, in the early days of Kansas, sheep had other enemies besides wolves, dogs, etc., for there was sometimes a human element in the disappearance of a sheep. When W. M. Butts was a boy, his father gave him a sheep, and by the time he had reached the age of twenty-one, his sheep had multiplied, until he had 300 head. This sounds almost incredible, but if you'll take your pencil and figure it out, you will find that it is only another case of the blacksmith and the horseshoe nail. Each fall the Butts family loaded their household goods in a wagon and drove their sheep to the bottom lands of the Arkansas river where they would spend the winter, returning to Glen- coe township in the spring.


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W. M. Butts was married in 1900 to Miss Bernice Blankenbaker, a daughter of S. A. and Mattie (Dunlap) Blankenbaker. The Blanken- baker family were early settlers in Butler. county, and when they came here, they settled on a quarter section of land, about a mile west of where they now live in Glencoe township. To Mr. and Mrs. Butts have been born the following children: Glencoe; Melvin; James; Ila, and Leatha, all living at home with their parents.


Although a young man, Mr. Butts is quite an old pioneer of Butler county, from the fact that he has spent most of his life here. He was only a small boy when he came here, however, he has a distinct recol- lection of many of the hardships and inconveniences, experienced by the early day settlers. He has seen many devastating prairie fires ยท sweep over the plains, which was one of the great menaces to life and property during the early days in Butler county. Through his thrift and industry, Mr. Butts has succeeded to a very satisfactory degree, and is now one of the substantial men of Butler county.


William Hutton, of Beaumont, Kans., is one of the pioneer railroad men of Kansas, and has been identified with the Frisco Railroad, as di- vision foreman for thirty-five years. Mr. Hutton was born in Illinois in 1859, and is a son of James and Charlotte (Snyder) Hutton. His father now resides in Los Angeles, Cal. They were natives of Ohio and came to Kansas in 1877, and settled on the plains where the father built a tar paper house in which he lived for two years. The varying Kansas winds toyed with this frail structure in a way that did not add to its appear- ance, and at the end of two years it was a dilapidated and ragged look- ing domicile, but had served its purpose and had sheltered the little fam- ily of pioneers from the wintry blasts of Kansas zephyrs, and the scorch- ing heat and hot winds for two years. The father took up a claim and did his little farming with a yoke of oxen. and made many long drives with this primitive motor power of the plains, for with oxen the drives were always long regardless of the distance.


William Hutton came to Kansas in 1874, as he says, to see the grasshoppers, which shows the kind of courage that he had in the early days. Soon after coming, he settled on eighty acres, where he built a sort of a combination sod house and dugout. He dug about eighteen inches below the surface, which he covered with poles, and made a roof of sod. This was his home for the first few years in Kansas. Shortly afterward he entered the employ of the Frisco Railroad Company, and as above stated, has been division foreman of that railroad for the last thirty-five years.


Mr. Hutton was married in 1887, to Mrs. Susan S. McPaul, of Neo- desha, Kans., and eight children have been born to this union, as follows Mrs. Martha R. Axtell, Beaumont, Kans. ; William A., Beaumont ; Wil- bur J., Beaumont ; Mrs. Mabel Wason, Fredonia, Kans. ; James, Beau- mont ; Gladys, Beaumont ; AAdaline. Beaumont, and Marion T., Beau- mont.


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Mr. Hutton is the oldest male resident of Beaumont, and is hale and hearty, and takes a keen interest in all that concerns the welfare of But- ler county. He is justly proud of his large family of intelligent children and is constantly planning for their future welfare.


L. D. Himebaugh is one of the pioneer settlers of Butler county.


PIONEER FARM VIEW


L. D. HIMEBAUGH


The illustrations show pioneer and progress on the southwest quarter of section 33. Richland township, pre-empted and still owned by L. D. Himehaugh. The cabin was built in the PROGRESSIVE FARM VIEW early spring of 1870. In 1872 the southwest quarter was pre-empted by Miss Watson, which later was merged into one farm at a meeting held in Waukesha, Wis., in August, 1882. In September, 1884. the cabin was vacated for the more modern home and has been occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Himebaugh for twenty-four years. In March, 1908, they moved to Wichita, their son, R. W. Himebaugh and family, succeeding them on the farm.


L. D. Himebaugh is a native of Ohio, coming to Kansas soon after reaching his majority, in the early spring of 1868. via a river transport, being nearly three weeks en route from Marietta, Ohio, to Kansas


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City, from which point he paid ten cents per mile over the Kansas Pacific railroad to Topeka, his destination.


Being then about financially stranded, he spent the summer in the employ of a practical farmer near Topeka at twenty dollars per month. He taught a four-month term of school in district No. 9 that winter, and spent the following summer in the employ of the county superin- tendent, P. Kirby, near Burlingane, Osage county.


At the close of his winter term of school in district No. 3, he came direct to Butler county, locating on and pre-empting the land which he still owns, unincumbered to date (forty-six years) other than an oil lease recently given, in compliance of which a test well is now being sunk (March, 1916) by the Merchants Oil and Gas Company, of Wichita, with hopes and favorable prospects of a gusher when the oil sand is struck.


C. F. Shriver, owner of the well known "Craigton Farm" of Glen- coe township. belongs to a Butler county pioneer family. Mr. Shriver was born in Indiana in 1869, and is a son of Joshua and Nannie E. (Mc- Guffin) Shriver, the former a native of Indiana and the mother of Vir- ginia. The Shriver family located on a farm in Towanda township, But- ler county in 1871, and were among the very early settlers of that sec- tion where the parents still reside. The following children were born to Joshua and Nannie E. (McGuffin) Shriver: C. F., the subject of this sketch; John W., Pine Bluff, Ark .; Ed A., Towanda, Kans .; Mrs. Ella Otten, McPherson, Kans .; Mrs. Bertha C. Stewart, Benton, Kans .; James L., El Dorado, Kans .; F. G., Towanda, Kans., and Mrs. Nellie M. Bishop, Amarilla, Tex.


Mr. Shriver was reared in Towanda township, and educated in the public schools, and has practically spent his life in this county. Farming and stock raising has been his chief occupation .- He has a splendid farm of 300 acres in Glencoe township which is known and legally registered as "Craigton Farm." He makes a specialty of raising white faced cat- tle, usually keeping between eighty and one hundred, and is one of the successful stockmen of Butler county.


Mr. Shriver was united in marriage in 1903 with Miss Vida Mac- Ritchie. She is a daughter of John and Adelia (Leaming) MacRitchie. They were pioneers of Kansas, coming to this State in the early seven- ties. There were three children in the MacRitchie family, as follows: Mrs. Christian Hardie, Wichita, Kans. : William D., Winnemucca, Nev. : and Vida, the wife of C. F. Shriver, the subject of this sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Shriver have been born five children, as follows: John M. : Charles F. Jr. ; William D. ; James L. ; and Margaret H. Mrs. Shriver's father was a native of Scotland, and was born in Edinburgh. The Mac- Ritchie family is connected with the Reid-Robertsons family of Stralock. Scotland, and related by marriage to many of the prominent families of Scotland and England. Mr. Shriver is one of the prosperous and pro- gressive farmers of Butler county, and owned the first automobile in


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Glencoe township. He is well posted and takes a keen interest in cur- rent events, and is a representative Butler county citizen.


J. W. Vinson, a prominent farmer and stockman of Logan town- ship, is a native of Illinois, born November 21, 1864. He is a son of James C. and Mary Ellen (Vickery) Vinson, both of whom came from England with their respective parents at an early age. J. W. Vinson is one of a family of six children, as follows: Mrs. Ella Evers, Aurora, Ill. ; Mrs. Emma Devereaux, Yorkville, Ill .; Walden, Yorkville, Ill .; Mrs. Elydia Heap. Minooka, Ill .; Richard, Yorkville, Ill .; and J. W., the subject of this sketch.


Mr. Vinson was reared in Illinois and received a good common school education. He was married, in 1889, to Miss Anna M. Bundy, a native of Illinois and of English descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Vinson have been born seven children, as follows: Mrs. Florence Dunn, La- tham, Kans .; Clarence, Latham, Kans .; Clara Kelly, Atlanta, Kans .; John, Latham, Kans .; J. C., Latham; Frank, Latham; and Alva, La- tham.


In 1908, Mr. Vinson came to Butler county with his family, and bought 240 acres of land in 'Logan township, where he has since been successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. His place is known as "Vinson Ranch," and is one of the best farms in Butler county. It is well watered by natural springs and an ideal stock farm. Mr. Vinson has his place well stocked with cattle and hogs, and is quite an extensive alfalfa raiser. His land is easily worth $1oo per acre, and in conformity with the general trend of land values, is gradually increasing in value. Mr. Vinson is an enthusiastic Butler county booster, and belongs to that progressive class of agriculturists who are meeting with well earned success by the application of combined practical and scientific farming methods, and who are neither faddists nor fogies. He is a strong advocate of the value of sweet clover, as a suitable crop for semi-arid districts, and is of the opinion that in the near future it will be a boon to that section of Kansas, which receives an uncertain and meager amount of moisture, although he contends, that the soil in this section of Kansas will hold moisture much longer than the average soil. He is a strong advocate of good roads, and is one of the progressive and substantial citizens of Butler county.


W. S. Martick, a leading farmer and stockman of Logan township, is a native of Illinois, born in 1868. He is a son of Joseph and Nancy (O'Dell) Martick, who were married about 1865. Joseph Martick was born in Pennsylvania, November 20, 1837. When the Civil war broke out, he was a resident of Missouri and cast his lot with the lost cause, enlisting March 9. 1862, in Company A, Sixth regiment, Missouri infan- try. He distinguished himself as a soldier and was awarded a gold medal for gallantry on the field of battle which his son, W. S., cherishes in sacred memory of his father, keeping it in a safety deposit box in the Butler county State Bank.


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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


W. S. Martick came to Butler county in 1897 with eleven dollars in his pocket, which was the extent of his earthly possessions. He was a veterinary surgeon, but there was nothing.to be done in his line of pro- fessional work. He therefore found employment, feeding a hay press at 50 cents per day, and boarded himself. Ilis first few years in Kansas were difficult ones. It was hard to get a start, under the then existing conditions. His first venture in the cattle business was disastrous, and he lost heavily on account of the black leg; money was scarce and he has sold hay as low as ten cents per ton in order to get a small amount of necessary money. However, after passing through all these days of adversity, the time came when he prospered, and he now has 240 acres of land in Logan township, which is considered one of the best farms in Butler county for stock raising and general purposes. The place is iin- usually well watered with natural springs, located in a beautiful section of the country, and is known as "Martick Ranch."


Mr. Martick was married in 1895 to Miss Alzina Wood, a daughter of Zachariah and Harriet (Jones) Wood, the former a native of England and the latter of Ohio. Mrs. Martick is one of a family of six children. Mr. and Mrs. Martick have two children, Archie and William Sherman.


Mr. Martick was one of the pioneer kafir corn men of southeastern Butler county. At an early day in the introduction of this crop, he bought a pound of seed from John A. Selzer, which he planted and the following years peddled it out to his neighbors at ten cents per bushel. Like all other advanced movements, Mr. Martick met with strong oppo- sition in the introduction of kafir corn, which has since proved to be a great boon to the semi-arid agricultural districts of the West. About the first year that he introduced kafir corn one of his neighbors had fed some of it to his hogs, and afterwards, a few of his hogs died from some cause or another, but the neighbor insisted that the kafir corn was the cause of losing his hogs. He reasoned that his hogs did not die until after he had fed them kafir corn, therefore, kafir corn killed them. This was a difficult line of logic to overcome, but time and experience have overcome it. The hogs are still dead, but kafir corn is going on, and is one of the leading products of Butler county, that is making it the great county which it is.


Mr. Martick was the first man to advocate the building of concrete bridges in his section of the county, and today they are practically the only bridges being constructed there. He is progressve and public spir- ited and one of Butler county's best citizens.


J. J. Getz, a prominent farmer and cattleman of Logan township and Butler county pioneer, was born in Pennsylvania in 1847, and comes from Revolutionary ancestry. He is a son of Thomas and Bar- bara (Wise) Getz, both natives of Pennsylvania. The great grand- father of Thomas Getz served in Washington's army in the Revolution- ary war. The parents of Barbara Wise were Germans, and came to this country from Wurtemburg, settling in Pennsylvania. The Getz


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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY


family consisted of nine children, as follows: Mrs. Ellen Shaffer, Jer- sey Shore, Pa .; Mrs. H. E. Myers, New York; Mrs. Regina Dice, Lock Haven, Pa .; Mrs. Mary Myers, Lock Haven, Pa .; T. J., Hope, Kans .; M. E., Jersey Shore, Pa .; George W., Lock Haven, Pa .; George B. M., Lock Haven, Pa .; and J. J., the subject of this sketch.


Mr. Getz has been twice married, first in 1876, to Miss Anna Probst, and his second wife, to whom he was married in 1909, bore the maiden name of Virginia F. Smith, of Boonville, Mo. Mr. Getz came to Kansas in 1878, and preempted a quarter section of land in Logan township. He encountered many features of pioneer life that made a lasting impression on his mind. When he came to Butler county, like many other early settlers, he was not abundantly supplied with this world's goods, and was actually barefooted. When he came, money was scarce, and there was no demand for labor. The average price paid to labor, whenever there was any employment, was less than twenty-five cents per day. Mr. Getz broke the first prairie on his claim with a team, which was composed of the odd combination of a horse, ox and a cow. This statement should furnish the present age material for reflection, when we consider that we have advanced from this primitive mode of motor power and transportation to the point where some people fear that they will be held up to ridicule if they own an automobile, manufactured by a certain peace advocate, costing less than a thousand dollars. After the horse, ox and cow, Mr. Getz's next team was a yoke of Texas steers, which won a reputation as "The Runaway Texans." They would run away every chance they got, and were considered pretty speedy for oxen. Mr. Getz tells of running a race with Fred Frank, who drove a team of Indian ponies. and the oxen won, althought they never had any special track training. He was breaking prairie one day with these Texans and another yoke of cattle, with the Texans in the lead, and all of a sudden, the leaders took a notion that they wanted a drink of water, and they headed straight for the creek and with the other yoke of oxen, plow and all, went over a twelve foot embankment into six feet of water. Mr. Getz had many experiences with these cattle, their pranks furnishing him much amusement, and some excitement at times, when there was not much else happening on the frontier. A prairie fire was approaching one day, being fanned along at a lively rate by a high wind, and when Mr. Getz saw the fire approaching, he turned his Texans loose, and they outran the fire, a feat that would require a very good horse.


Mr. Getz not only had to fight prairie fires, but was a victim to other forces that lurked in the elements. While plowing with his Tex- ans one day, he was struck by a cyclone, and after the twister had hur- ried past, Mr. Getz was left unconscious on the field. He received a very severe, internal injury, causing a hemorrhage of the lungs, but as usual, the Texans escaped, unscathed. Mr. Getz lived in Butler county during the halycon days of the "Bad Man" of the plains, when


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horse stealing and other outlawing was a business, and Mr. Getz had occasion to look into the dangerous end of a shot gun or other weapon of destruction at times. After passing through the pioneer days of hardships, he began to prosper, and has successfully carried on general farming and stock raising to the present time.


Mrs. Getz is a chicken fancier, and one of the successful poultry women of Butler county. She specializes in the blue Andalusian breed of chickens, and has about 700, the income of which, in eggs, averages about $50 per month. Mrs. Getz is an expert wing shot, and is almost sure death to chicken hawks, having shot over thirty on the wing.


William Skaer, one of the successful and well known farmers and stockmen of Spring township, is a native of Illinois. He was born in 1861, and is a son of George Skaer. Willam Skaer came to Butler coun- ty in 1876. He drove from Illinois with two younger brothers to this county, and the trip required three weeks. The father bought 320 acres of land in Spring township and engaged in farming and stock raising. A part of the first house which they built on the claim is still standing. Mr. Skaer now owns 680 acres of land, which is one of the valuable farms of Butler county. He was an extensive wheat grower in the early days and when the price of wheat declined some few years ago, he en- gaged more extensively in the cattle business. In whatever Mr. Skaer has specialized, whether it has been wheat or cattle, his efforts have always been marked by success.


Mr. Skaer was married in 1886 to Miss Genevieve Brooks, a daugh- ter of William C. and Katherine (Donnell) Brooks, natives of Kentucky. Mrs. Skaer is one of a family of the following children: Mrs. Mary Warner, Augusta, Kans .; Mrs. Ada Black. Winfield, Kans .; Mrs. Kate Hutton, Kansas City, Mo .; George Brooks, Kansas City, Mo .; Paul Brooks, Kansas City, Mo .; and Genevieve, the wife of William Skaer, whose name introduces this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Skaer have four liv- ing children, as follows : Stanley W., Augusta, Kans. ; George, Ingerson, Okla. ; Mrs. Opal Hyde, Augusta, Kans. ; and Pauline, Augusta, Kans.


Mrs. Skaer's parents were very early settlers in the territory of Kansas. They came here prior to the Civil war and settled near Law- rence, and resided in that locality at the time of Quantrill's raid. They experienced all the dangers and trials, not only of pioneer life but the border war was raging in all its malicious details, during the early years that the Brooks family lived in the Kaw valley. The family came to Butler county when Mrs. Skaer was a child ten years of age and drove from Lawrence in an old time prairie schooner. Mrs. Skaer was one of the pioncer school teachers of Butler county, and taught for several years prior to her marriage.


Mr. Skaer is familiar with much of the early history of Spring township, and relates many interesting incidents in an entertaining way. He recollects the old time prairie fires that swept over the plains like a seething furnace, and at one time, saw a hundred tons of hay


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destroyed by one of these visitations of destruction. The spring, from which Spring township takes its name, is located on Mr. Skaer's farm, and the story goes that Henry Moyle and others held a sort of prelim- inary meeting at this spring where arrangements were made for the organization of Spring township.


Mr. Skaer's father was a "forty-niner." He went across the plains to California with a party of gold seekers in 1849. The train with which he went, was made up of ox teams and after a few years on the coast, he returned home, bringing with him about $1,500 worth of gold. Mr. Skaer is one of Butler county's representative citizens, and has a wide acquaintance and many friends.


H. C. Morgan, a prosperous farmer and stockman, and pioneer of Spring township, was born in New York in 1848. He is a son of Brad- ford and Sylvia (Gillette) Morgan, both natives of New York. Bradford Morgan's grandfather was a soldier in the American army during the Revolutionary war, and served throughout the entire period of seven years of that great conflict for independence.


H. C. Morgan has two brothers and one sister living, as follows : Mrs. Cora Smith, Smith Center, Kans .; Isaac, El Dorado, Kans .; and Frank, Smith Center, Kans. The Morgan family migrated to Missouri in 1865, and later the father came to Butler county. H. C. Morgan, the subject of this sketch, came to this county in 1871, and therefore has spent forty-five years of his life here. He settled on a quarter section of land in Spring township, and has since resided in that part of the county. He was favorably impressed with this country from the first. He says he could notice considerable advancement over Missouri, and even at that time there were iron bridges in the county. He raised a good crop the first year, and built a comfortable cabin, and for the first three years here "batched," as did most of the homesteaders in those days. He says, he always had money in the early days, and the way he managed to do that, was that he carried a twenty-five cent piece for a pocket piece, which he refused to spend under any circumstances, which accounts for his always having money. He did his own cooking and daily menu consisted of hot corn bread for breakfast, corn meal cakes for dinner, and cold corn bread for supper.


When Mr. Morgan settled on the plains, there was not a church nor a schoolhouse in sight, and the nearest railroad was fifty miles away. However, Mr. Morgan has seen all this changed, and the marvel- ous advancement and improvements that have been made in Butler county since he came here would seem almost an impossible accomplish- ment within the scope of a lifetime. He has been extensively engaged in general farming and stock raising since locating here, and is one of the progressive agriculturists of this section of the State. He owns 720 acres which are well improved with good buildings, and well watered, The place is known as the "Cedar Circle Farm," and is one of Butler county's best farms. The following is approximately the product of one


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year, from Mr. Morgan's farm; $3,000 worth of hogs, twelve to fifteen thousand bushels of kafir corn, and $500 worth of cattle.


Mr. Morgan was married in 1875 to Miss Eudora Starrett, a native of North Carolina, and a daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Gray) Starrett, natives of North Carolina, the former of Scotch descent and the latter of Irish ancestry. Alexander Starrett and wife were the parents of the following children : Preston, Standberry, Mo .; Thomas G., Rober- son, Kans .; Samuel W., New Raymes, Colo .; Mrs. Luella L. Reed, Law- rence, Neb .; and Eudora, the wife of H. C. Morgan, the subject of this sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have been born the following chil- dren : Cora, Godhra, India; Emily, Kingman, Kans .; Mrs. Annie Colter, Leon, Kans .; Ada, Leon, Kans .; Elbert, Leon, Kans .; Grace Eckle, Leon, Kans. ; George, Florida ; Alex, Leon, Kans .; Edna Calbeck, Black- well, Okla.




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