USA > Kansas > Butler County > History of Butler County Kansas > Part 83
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Peder Paulson, a prominent farmer and Butler county pioncer is one of the large land owners of this county, and it may be said that all of his vast acres have been accumulated by his own industry and unaided ef- forts. Mr. Paulson was born near the city of Alborg, in the southern part of Denmark, October 4, 1849, and is a son of Paul and Anna (Nesh- bey) Anderson. According to the Danish custom Peder Paulson was named Paulson, that being the Christian name and a part of the surname of his father.
In 1867, when Peder Paulson was seventeen years old, he immigrated to America with his father, and after landing here went directly from New York to Chicago. Here young Paulson obtained employment, working on the streets. At that time he was unable to speak a word of
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English, and he met a number of his countrymen who had been in this country for ten or twelve years, who understood the English language no better than he. This condition did not appeal to him, as he real- ized that to make progress in this country it was necessary to learn the language. Accordingly, he left Chicago and went to Wilmington, Ill., and got employment from a man who spoke English, working for him about a year at $15 per month. During that time he applied himself to the study of English in conversation, as well as making use of school books, until at the end of the year he was able to speak English quite well.
He then secured another position at an advanced salary and in 1870, he and his brother came to Kansas; coming by rail as far as Emporia, and taking the stage from there to El Dorado. He came here for the purpose of getting some land, and after working a short time on a hay farm, he homesteaded a quarter section in Towanda township which he owns. Ile engaged in farming and stock raising, and as prosperity came he bought more land from time to time, and now owns 2,000 acres and is one of the large farmers and cattlemen of the county. His land is well improved with fences, buildings, etc., and most of it is under a high state of cultivation. He has raised cattle and hogs extensively, as well as followed general farming, and is one of the large wheat growers of the county.
Mr. Paulson was married in 1873 to Miss Ida Margon, who died in February, 1886. In the following December, he was united in marriage with Miss Martha Jones, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Braden) Jones, the former a native of Kentucky, who when a boy migrated to In- diana with his parents and settled in Decatur county, and later removed to Green county, where he grew to manhood and met and married Eliza- beth Braden. She was a native of Ohio and a daughter of Edward Braden of Tennessee. There were nine children in the Jones family. They came to Butler county in 1876. The following children were born to Mr. Paulson's first marriage : William J., Pearl A., C. H., and Anna May, now the wife of A. W. Tierle, and Emmet P., all of whom reside in Butler county.
Mr. Paulson is not only a successful farmer and stock raiser but he is active and influential in local politics. He is a Republican, and in 1904 was elected county commissioner of Butler county, and served on that board when the splendid new court house was built at El Dorado. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
J. P. Long, an early settler and one of the substantial citizens of Clif- ford township, is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born in Mercer county, February 14, 1845, and is a son of John J. and Isabel (Griffith) Long, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish and the latter of English descent. In 1855, when J. P. Long was ten years of age, the family left their Pennsylvania home and went to Schuyler county, Il- linois, where they made their home until 1870 when they came to Kansas. When they came from Pennsylvania to Illinois they made the trip by
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boat down the Alleghany and Ohio rivers and up the Mississippi and Il- linois rivers to La Grange. When they went from Illinois to Kansas they drove overland, crossing the Mississippi between Quincy and Hannibal when it was at flood stage; they drifted down stream in the ferryboat for a distance of seven miles, landing at Hannibal. After coming to Kansas they remained in Montgomery for a short time, and the same year came on to Butler county. John J., the father, homesteaded a government claim in Butler county in 1870, and the following year, J P., the subject of this sketch, homesteaded a claim in Clifford township, on section 30. He immediately proceeded to make moderate improvements and built a cabin which served as his home until 1876 when he built a substantial stone house which is still his home.
Mr. Long was married in 1877, to Miss Harriet Spencer, a daughter of J. W. and Mary (Stephens) Spencer. Mrs. Long was born in Con- necticut, May 10, 1858, and her parents are also natives of that State. The Spencer family came to Kansas in 1872 and settled in Clifford town- ship, near where the Long family lived. To Mr. and Mrs. Long have been born the following children : LeRoy, born October 3, 1878, died Au- gust 21, 1879 ; Mary, born January 15, 1880, died February 27, 1881 ; John J., born April 25, 1881, farmer, Butler county ; Louis L., born January 13, 1883, resides on the home place ; Margaret A., born September 25, 1884, married Charles T. Edwards, Marion county ; Winifred, born March 2. 1887, married D. C. Ashenfelter, Butler county ; Esther M., born October 9, 1889, married H. E. Hoss, farmer, Butler county ; George P., born July 9, 1891, resides on the home place, and a son born in 1894, died in in- fancy. The wife and mother departed this life in February, 1894.
Like many of the other early settlers of Butler county, when Mr. Long came here. his financial means were limited, and he was compelled to make every effort to get by the early years of failure. After his crops were destroyed by the grasshoppers in 1874, he spent the following win- ter in Joplin, Mo., where he drove a team in connection with lead and zinc mines there. He returned to his Butler county farm in the spring of 1875. and prosperity gradually came to him; and for years he has been one of the substantial and well to do farmers and stockmen of Clifford township. His farm is wll improved with good buildings and is one of the fertile and productive farms of Butler county.
During the early days on the plains, Mr. Long endured many hard- ships and inconveniences. At one time he was caught in a blizzard and narrowly escaped being frozen to death, but fortunately reached the home of Charles Cain in time to save his life, but was not able to continue his journey homeward until the next day. Game was plentiful when he came here, and he has hunted buffalo just west of Wichita. He went on a hunting trip there in 1872, returning in about a week with a plentiful supply of buffalo meat. He did considerable freighting between Em- poria and Old Plum Grove in the early seventies. It required five days to make the round trip between these points. He would camp by the
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wayside, roll himself up in his blanket, and it was not an uncommon thing to find himself completely covered with snow in the morning when he awoke.
Mr. Long was affiliated with the Democratic party for a number of years, but recent research and investigation of political policies of dif- ferent parties have convinced him that the policies and principles of the Socialist party are more in harmony with his personal views. He is an extensive reader and a close observer, and has been a student of men and events all his life.
Edward T. Eaton, one of the sturdy pioneers of Butler county and a veteran of the Civil war, comes from an old and distinguished Colon- ial family. Mr. Eaton was born in Hancock county, Illinois, March 14, 1841, and is a son of David J. and Agnes (Avise) Eaton, the former of New Jersey, and comes from an old New England family of Eng- lish descent. A number of the Eatons came to this country in the early Colonial days. Francis Eaton came on the Mayflower in 1620, and John Eaton landed in New England after making the voyage on the Elizabeth Ann in 1635; William came on the Hercules in 1637, all of whom were brothers, and Edward T., the subject of this sketch is a descendant of one of these brothers. Isaac Eaton, who lived at Hope- well, N. J., and died in 1776, was the great grandfather of Edward T., and founded the first Baptist school in America, at Hopewell, N. J.
David J. Eaton, the father of Edward T., was a wagon-maker, and he and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of thiss ketch was the oldest, and Isaac was the youngest. Isaac also served in the Civil war, being a member of Company I, Sixteenth reg- iment, Illinois infantry. He had some difficulty in getting into the service on account of being under age and under size, but he was deter- mined to pass muster, and after being rejected once by the recruiting officer, he went to the nearest shoemaker and had high heels put on his shoes, and, the next time, was successful in passing. He served throughout the war, and at its close was mustered out of service and honorably discharged.
Edward T. Eaton worked at the carpenter's trade in early life, and, during the Civil war, enlisted in Company C, Fiftieth regiment, Illinois infantry, and served until the close of the war. He was with Sherman on his great march to the sea, and in the campaign in North Carolina, when Johnson surrendered. He acted as brigade headquarters clerk while in the service, and participated in the grand review at Wash- ington, after the close of the war. He was mustered out of the service, July 13, 1865, and then returned to Illinois, and resumed work at his trade, and also followed contracting.
Mr. Eaton was married, in 1863, to Miss Rebecca Welsh of Fulton county, Illinois. Her parents were Thomas J. and Jennie (Baldrich) Welsh, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of South Caro- lina. To Mr. and Mrs. Eaton have been born four children, as follows:
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Curtiss Powell, deceased : Minnie B., deceased ; Edith A., deceased, and William E., born February 28, 1880.
In the spring of 1870, Mr. Eaton came to Kansas, first stopping at Humboldt. He started to walk from that point to Butler county, but was fortunate in getting a ride with an emigrant who was driving through. After reaching Butler county, he worked at the carpenter trade in various places while his wife and children remained in Quincy. Ill. When he came here he had less than $5, and after saving his money for a season, he was able to bring his family to their new home in Butler county, which was a one room affair, 12×14 feet, located on his claim on section 20, Milton township. Here the little family began life on the plains and joined the struggle of the early pioneers to make a home for themselves and develop a new country. Notwith- standing they experienced many hardships in the early days, they were always satisfied with Kansas and never once thought of retracing their steps. Mrs. Eaton taught school for three or four years after coming to Butler county, and bears the distinction of having taught the first school in Milton township. Money was scarce in those days, and Mr. Eaton says his entire income, in cash from all sources for one entire year, was twenty-five dollars. Provisions and various articles were used for barter, and he frequently would take in trade articles for which he had no immediate use.
Mr. Eaton was postmaster at Holden for twelve years. This was the first postoffice in Milton township. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and Mrs. Eaton are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Whitewater, and Mr. Eaton has been chairman of the building committee. Mrs. Eaton is a charter member of the Woman's Relief Corps, No. 178.
J. B. Spangler, a Butler county pioneer and one of the most substan- tial citizens of Fairmount township, has been a resident of this county for forty-five years He has contributed his share towards converting this section of the State, from an unpeopled plain, the future of which at times seemed uncertain, to one of the populous and prosperous counties of Kansas.
J. B. Spangler was born in Carroll county, Indiana, January 30, 1844. a son of Samuel and Katherine ( Louther) Spangler, both natives of In- diana, where they spent their lives. He was reared in Indiana, remaining in that State until 1886, when he went to Minnesota and was, shortly aft- erward, married to Miss Julia Olinger. She was born in Carroll county, Indiana, March 25, 1840, a daughter of George and Mary (Ferguson) Olinger, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Tennessee, and of Scotch ancestry. The father died in Indiana, and the mother spent the last few years of her life at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Spangler, and died in 1881.
Mr. and Mrs. Spangler remained in Minnesota about two years, but were not favorably impressed with that section of the county on account
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of its rigorous climate. In 1870, they drove from Minnesota to Missouri, settling at Pleasant Hill, Cass county, and remained there until April, 1871, when they came to Butler county, driving across the plains from Missouri with two yokes of cattle and a wagon, the trip requiring two weeks. They homesteaded eighty acres of land in Fairmount township, which has been the family home since that time, and an unusual thing in connection with the record of this place, is that it has never been in- cumbered by a mortgage or any other form of lien, and it is the only place in Fairmount township of which this can truthfully be said. Some years after settling here. Mr. Spangler bought eighty acres more, three quarters of a mile north of his homestead, and his son now resides on that eighty.
When the Spangler family came to Butler county, their earthly pos- sessions consisted of their two yokes of cattle and the covered wagon with a few household goods ; and from March 22 to April 22, they camped on the bank of the Whitewater, while they were building a little shack on their claim into which they moved on the latter date. They endured many hardships and inconveniences in the early days, but with all, they have never had reason to regret taking up their home in Butler county. They have prospered and are now of the influential and well to do people of this county, and recognized leaders in their locality. When the Spang- lers settled here the country was in quite a primitive condition ; prairie fires were frequent and their little cabin home was threatened on num- erous occasions by the flames that swept over the plains. During the first few years here Indian stragglers frequently happened along the trail. begging for food at the few cabins along the wayside, the Wichita trail being within half a mile of the Spangler home. In those days great herds of cattle were driven over this trail, and the cowboys on their ponies and the cattle as they moved across the plains presented a picturesque sight which is still fresh in the memory of the early pioneers
To Mr. and Mrs. Spangler have been born the following children : Mary Ellen. married B. D. Cooper, lives in Butler county ; Amy, married Scott Kelsheimer of Marion county, Kansas; Lewis F., farmer, Fair- mount township, and Ida J., married S. R. Holden, Elbing. Kans. Mr. Spangler is a Democrat and since casting his first ballot, has steadfastly supported the policies and principles of that party.
J. K. Nellens, now deceased, was a prominent farmer and stockman of Fairmount township and the pioneer thresher of northwest Butler county. Mr. Nellens was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, February 25, 1846, and was the oldest of eleven children, born to Moses and Lu- cinda (Strosnider) Nellens, both natives of Ohio. Moses Nellens was a son of Patrick Nellens, a native of Ireland, and an early settler in Ohio. He came to that State when a young man, and married a Miss Tipton, a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent. Moses Nellens grew to manhood in Ohio where he was married, and in 1847, removed to Fulton county, Indiana, and he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives there.
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J. K. Nellens was reared on the farm in Fulton county, Indiana, and in 1875 he was united in marriage with Miss Emeline Myers, a native of Stark county, Indiana. She is a daughter of Jacob and Tem- perance (Dipert) Myers, natives of Ohio. The parents were married in that State, and removed to Stark county, Indiana, where they spent their lives. In 1876, J. K. Nellens came to Butler county, Kansas, to operate a section of land which his uncle, Thomas Nellens, had pur- chased in 1873. He had bought the place for his children, but they were not favorably impressed with this part of the country, and refused to remain on the farm.
J. K. Nellens came here with his wife and two small children, con- ing by rail to Peabody. The day he reached here, was one of those windy days of the early times, and his first impression of Kansas was unfavorable. He thought wind was bad enough, but when it was mixed with sand, as it was on that day, he felt that he would never get used to it. However, he proceeded to the farm in Fairmount township and soon got busy, and forgot about the wind. The first year he raised a splendid crop, his corn making seventy-five to eighty bushels per acre, and oats made from seventy-five to 100 bushels. That fall his uncle was here when he threshed, and insisted that he could measure the oats by putting it in sacks as fast as it came from the machine, but when he started to accomplish this feat and take care of an eight inch stream of oats in the old fashioned way, he soon discovered that he was not a Kansas farmer. Indiana methods were too slow here, even in those days, and he gave up the task, and saved himself from being buried in oats.
Mr. Nellens operated this farm for two years and in 1878 bought the northwest quarter of section 3 for $5.50 per acre, going into debt for the entire purchase price. When he came to Kansas his working capital was limited to $26 in money and a span of mules. He now owns one of the best farms in Fairmount township, for which he has re- repeatedly refused $100 per acre. His place is well improved with com- modious, modern residence, lighted with acetylene gas. His barns are of the most modern type, with concrete floors, and his corn crib has a capacity of 3,000 bushels.
In addition to his farming operations, one of the first enterprises in which Mr. Nellens engaged after coming to Butler county was thresh- ing. In 1876 he bought a threshing outfit and that fall his engine ex- ploded. He then discontinued threshing for a time, and in 1880 he bought another rig, and he and his sons have been engaged in threshing every season since that time. He owned the first threshing rig in Fair- mount township, and the first wind stacker in northwest Butler county. He and his sons met with unusual success in the threshing business. They operated as many as three threshing outfits during a season, with a total value of $6,200, and for a number of years they were the only threshers in northwest Butler county.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Nellens were born the following children: George M. conducts a garage at Newton, Kans., and also follows threshing; Benjamin F. lives in California; Stella M. married Charles Spangler, Walton, Kans .; Mary M., married John Cunningham and lives in Har- vey county ; Charles R., Potwin, Kans; James F., Butlet county, Kan- sas ; John C., Butler county, Kansas ; Brodies, at home ; Jacob J., farmer, Butler county ; Andrew J., at home; Delta E. married Milton Kimber- lin and lives in Butler county. The sons all possess a natural aptitude for mechanics and all of them are expert engineers like their father, and all are following mechanical pursuits except Benjamin F., who is a minister. The Nellens family is well known and highly respected.
On February 26, 1916, as J. K. Nellens was driving to Elbing in his automobile, he was struck by a Rock Island train. The car was completely demolished, and Mr. Nellens received injuries from which he died the following day without ever regaining consciousness. The exact details will never be known, as there was no one close enough to tell how it happened.
Marion Worline, now deceased, was a Butler county pioneer in the truest sense of the word. He came to Kansas at a time when the west- bound trail almost vanished when Butler county was reached. Marion WVorline was born in Delaware county, Ohio, February 1, 1847, and was a son of Abraham and Susanna Magdalena (Worline) Worline. While the parents bore the same name they were not related. The parents were both natives of Pennsylvania, of German descent: Abraham Worline's fa- ther was rearer in Pennsylvania, and his father came from Germany. Ab- raham Worline was born December 25, 1815 and was married to Susanna Worline, August 6, 1844. He died February 16, 1885. They were the parents of twelve children, and Marion, the subject of this sketch, was the third in order of birth. He grew to manhood on the pioneer farm in Ohio, where his parents had settled at a very early date in the history of that State. When he was twenty-one years old, in 1868, the Worline family migrated to Cass county, Missouri, and here the parents spent the remainder of their lives. The father died February 16, 1885, and the mother passed away August 28, 1893.
Marion Worline remained with his parents until November 3, 1870, when he was married to Miss Harriet Eyestone in Fayette county, Il- linois. Harriet Eyestone was a native of that county, born March II. 1850, a daughter of Martin and Nancy (Lock) Eyestone. Her father was a native of Baden, Germany, and came to America when a young man, and Nancy Eyestone was a native of Ohio, where they were married. About a year after their marriage, they removed to Michigan and after re- maining there about two years, went to Illinois, and settled in Fayette county. Like most pioneers they were poor and endured many hand- ships on the plains of Illinois. They needed a cow and the father traded his only pair of boots for one, and the first wheat that they raised the mother fanned the chaff from the grain with a bed sheet. These are some
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of the incidences in the early life of that family. However, prosperity soon came, and at the time of his death, the father owned 900 acres of Illinois land. He spent his life in Fayette county, Illinois. He died April, 1898, aged eighty-six years, and his wife died October 22, 1897, aged eighty- two years.
Two weeks after his marriage, Marion Worline and his wife went to Cass county, Missouri, and remained with Mr. Worline's parents until April, 1871, when they loaded their earthly possessions into a wagon, or prairie schooner, and started for southwestern Kansas. They joined a pary of other emigrants and the outfit consisted of five wagons, hauled by oxen. It was a long and tedious trip and frequently after their oxen had trudged all day through the mud, the party could look back and see where they had camped the night before. After reaching Butler coun- ty, Mr. Worline filed on eighty acres of land in Fairmount township and built a little shack which afforded meager shelter, during the first year. but in the fall he built a more substantial cabin, 12x16 feet, which served as the family home for a number of years. When they came here they were poor. About all they owned was their oxen, and when Mr. Worline started for Kansas he had $15 in money, but lost his pocketbook, which contained this money, and he landed in Butler county penniless. How- ever, his money was found by a freighter along the trail, who afterward returned it to Mr. Worline. Mr. Worline, after having passed through the trials and various vicissitudes incident to the settlement of a new country, finally met with success and was one of Butler county's pros- perous and most substantial citizens. At the time of his death, August 4, 1914, he owned 280 acres of land, and for years had been a prominent farmer and stockman of his community. He took an active interest in political affairs and during his lifetime supported the principals of the Democratic party, and took a deep interest in its policies. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge at Peabody. Marion Worline and wife were the parents of the following children: Edna C. and Addie G., died in infancy ; Nora W., married J. B. Moore, of Butler county ; Vely Perry. farmer and stockman. Plum Groe township; Frederick Morton, traveling salesman for the International Harvester Company, resides at Peabody. Kans .; Robert Hite, attorney-at-law, resides at Kansas City. Kans .; Corby Olin, farmer and stockman, Fairmount township; Bonnie G., married Ernest Weaver. Clifford township, and Charles Ross. living on the home farm with his mother. All of the Worline sons are successful and prosperous and representative citizens of worth and responsibility.
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