History of Butler County Kansas, Part 91

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

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After passing through the first few years of uncertainty and meager returns, he began to prosper, and in 1885, bought 140 acres more land, and about five years later, added still another eighty to his holdings, and now owns 320 acres of well improved and valuable land, which he and his eldest son, J. M., operate in partnership. They are extensively engaged in general farming, and give special attention to the feeding feature of the stock business, handling on an average of about 400 head of cattle annually, however, they have fed as high as 700 head in one year. They sometimes buy their feeders on the Kansas City mar- kets, and sometimes they buy in the country, conditions determining

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which course to pursue. The Liggetts thoroughly understand the cat- tle business, and as a whole, their business has been very profitable. and yet they have sometimes, as have all other cattle men, fed at a loss.

The Liggett ranch is an ideal location for the cattle business. It is situated on a gentle slope, overlooking the old Wilcox place, which was famous in the early days as one of the largest cattle ranches in this section of the country. J. M. Liggett, the junior member of this firm, is one of the prominent stockmen of this State. He is a member of the Kansas Live Stock Association, and takes a prominent part in the annual meetings of that organization.

J. M. Liggett was married, in 1888, to Miss Mary J. Ferrier. a daughter of Thomas L. Ferrier, and three children have been. born to this union: Edna, deceased : Jessie and Bernice. Mr. Liggett's second marriage took place, in 1901, to Miss Pearl Cretsinger, daughter of John J. and Josephine (Clark) Cretsinger, natives of New York, the former of Erie county, and the latter of Niagara county. The father was born May 24, 1856, a son of John and Barbara (Rushman) Cretsin- ger, both natives of Germany, who came to this county with their re- spective parents, when they were children. Mrs. Liggett's father, John J. Cretsinger, left New York when he was about twenty-five years of age, and went to Flint, Mich., where he was married to Josephine Clark. She is a daughter of Sylvester Clark, a native of New York, and a son of Pendleton Clark, in whose honor the town of Pendleton was named. To Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Liggett has been born one child. Josephine Mil- ford, who is now thirteen years of age, and gives every promise of a brilliant future as a vocalist.

J. T. Liggett has spent several years in California recently, and now spends a great deal of his time in Peabody, where he has extensive interests.

A. J. Barker, a Civil war veteran and Kansas pioneer, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Schuyler county September 3. 1844. and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Stephenson) Barker. William Barker was a native of Virginia and of English descent. He was an early set- tler in Schuyler county, Illinois, where he received a government land grant for having rendered meritorius service in the Black Hawk Indian war. The Barker family were well known cutlery manufacturers in England.

A. J. Barker was one of a family of ten children. He spent his early life on the pioneer farm in Illinois, engaged in the peaceful pur- suits of the average boy of his time. Before he was eighteen years old, on July 19, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Fif- teenth regiment, Illinois infantry, under Colonel Moore. His command was attached to the army of the Cumberland under General Thomas, and Mr. Barker participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Buzzards Roost, Buzzards Roost Gap, and was captured at the latter place and kept prisoner with 8,000 other

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Federal soldiers and two weeks later was paroled. He served through- out the war with distinction and was discharged with an enviable military record, June II, 1865, on account of the close of the war, lacking eight days of serving three years. He saw much hard service but has never regretted the sacrifices that he made on the march, under fire or in Con- federate prisons, that the Union might triumph over her vanquished , foes.

After receiving his discharge from the army, Mr. Barker returned to Illinois, where he was married in 1867, to Miss Elizabeth Bean, a na- tive of Illinois of Kentucky parentage. Mr. Barker and wife remained in Illinois, where they engaged in farming until 1870, when he sold his farm of eighty acres at a good profit and he and his family came to Kansas, locating in Brown county. He bought eighty-five acres of land there and from time to time. bought additional land until he owned 303 acres. In 1895, he sold his Brown county property for $25,000 and came to Butler county and bought 480 acres of land in Milton township. which he later sold at a profit and bought 400 acres, to which he added 120, and afterward bought 240 acres more in Oklahoma.

Mr. Barker has been extensively engaged in the cattle business and has met with marked success in that industry and in addition to his general farming and stock operations, he has been a money loaner for over twenty years and is very heavily invested in farm mortgages. His career has been one of unusual success which he largely attributes to the fact that he has always followed the policy of sticking to his busi- ness. In 1910, Mr. Barker retired from active business and gave each of his children 160 acres of land, but this act of generosity by no means impoverished him as he has enough of this world's goods left to proper- ly classify him among Butler county's wealthiest citizens.

J. L. Kimberlin, of Clifford township. belongs to one of the pioneer families of Butler county, coming to this county with his parents in 1870. when he was six years of age. He is a son of M. D. L. and Wini- fred (Hourigan) Kimberlin, both natives of Kentucky. The mother was born in Marion county, and was a daughter of James and Susan Hourigan. James Hourigan was a native of Ireland and a Kentucky pioneer. He was the first man to plant an orchard in Marion county, Kentucky. M. D. L. Kimberlin was born in Washington county, Ken- tucky. in 1824, of Irish and Scotch ancestry. John Kimberlin, his father, was a Kentucky pioneer, settling in that State, not far from the date of Daniel Boone's settlement there.

M. D. L. Kimberlin came to Kansas in 1870, and after spending about a year in Bourbon county, came to Butler county in 1871, and bought a quarter section of land upon which he built a two story house, 20x36 feet, which was considered one of the finest houses in that section at the time. He had more capital than the average pioneer of that time. He had been a tobacco raiser while in Kentucky, and had made considerable money there. Shortly after buying his first quarter sec-

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tion here, he bought an additional quarter, and at the time of his death in 1886, he owned a half section of land and was fairly prosperous. He died about the time that the development of Butler county had really begun, and was thus denied the privilege and pleasure of seeing his faith in Butler county fully verified. When he came here, he built his house exactly on the old trail leading from Emporia to the Southwest, and after that the trail made a circuitous route around the place. It the early days, great herds of cattle were driven over this trail from Texas and New Mexico to Kansas City. Old Plum Grove was quite a frontier town then, and had a general store, a blacksmith shop and a saloon, and the cowboys and cattlemen generally camped in this vicin- ity with their herds, and now and then, after some of them had a plenti- ful supply of the "oil of joy," they would celebrate the event by shoot- ing up the town of Old Plum Grove in true frontier style. Most of the land in that section at the time was what was known as speculator land and a great deal of it was owned by Mr. Potwin, after whom the town of Potwin was named, who had bought this land for thirty-two cents per acre.

J. L. Kimberlin was born in Washington county, Kentucky. Feb- ruary 1. 1864. and was one of a family of eight children. After coming to Kansas he grew to manhood, surrounded by the primitive pioneer con- ditions and had very little opportunity to obtain an education. How- ever, he has been a student all his life and an extensive reader, and is what might properly be termed a thoroughly self educated man, and is one of the best posted men on current events to be found in Butler county. In early life he followed the cattle industry on the open range. more or less. and has been a cowboy in New Mexico and Texas as well as Kansas, and has an interesting stock of reminiscences of the early days and happenings on the plains when he was a boy. One of his first business enterprises was herding hogs for the neighborhood, long before the days of fences. He herded a drove of 400 hogs one season for $12 per month in the early seventies. Another one of his early boyhood enterprises was trapping and shooting rabbits and prairie chicken which he shipped to St. Louis in considerable quantities, which developed into quite a profitable business and the money, which he received in this way, gave him his first real start in life. He invested it in calves. and gradually developed quite a herd. He worked some at the stone mason's trade in the early days, building cellar walls for the settlers, and for a time, rented land and carried on the stock business, and later he and his brothers, Frank and George, bought a half section of land. going into debt for most of the purchase price, which they paid in six years. When they divided their interests. J. L. got the southeast quar- ter of section 33, which is now a very well improved farm. He is one of the successful fruit growers of Butler county, and has a fine apple orchard as well as an abundance of small fruit. He finds the fruit industry to be profitable and much to his liking in connection with his

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

other work, and always finds a ready market for his fruit of all vari- eties. He has made careful study of horticulture, and uses the most modern methods of spraying and caring for his trees generally. Mr. Kimberlin has perhaps the best barn in Butler county. The plan of it, which is entirely his own, is unique in many ways. The building is 56x40 feet with a circular roof, with every convenience for handling grain and hay. His place is well equipped with other farm buildings, affording the most modern and scientific methods of farming.

Mr. Kimberlin was married to Miss Minnie Van, a daughter of J. G. and Evelyn (Adams) Van, the former a native of Missouri, and the latter of Illinois. J. G. Van was a son of William Van, a native of England who was one of the earliest settlers of Butler county and who homesteaded near where Towanda now is. Mrs. Kimberlin was one of a family of six children. Mr. and Mrs. Kimberlin have a wide acquaint- ance in Butler county, and are well and favorably known.

Ed C. Varner, one of the most conspicuous men in the development of the Augusta gas and oil field, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Jackson county in 1867, and is a son of Jesse V. and Olive (Orr) Varner. The father was a native of Washington county, Ohio, born in 1828, and a son of Joseph and Martha (Drumm) Varner, natives of Ohio. He died in 1904. The mother, Olive Orr, was a native of Mahoning county. born in 1837, a daughter of Russell and Eleanor (Winans) Orr. She is one of Butler county's pioneer women and now resides in Augusta.

Ed C. Varner came to Kansas with his parents when a boy eleven years of age. He received his education in the public schools of Illinois and in Butler county after coming here. He was reared on his father's farm and as a boy became familiar with general farming methods and stock raising. He began farming on his own account in 1891, and in 1894 bought a farm, upon which he has lived for eleven years. In the fall of 1902, he bought the northeast quarter of section 17. Walnut town- ship, for which the paid $2,600. He bought the place from Merle Karn- ahan and here he engaged in general farming and stock raising, and by his industry and good business judgment has met with success and profited.

While Mr. Varner was more successful as a farmer and stock raiser than the average man, his real success, which made his name familiar to the oil producing world from one end of the country to the other, came with the development of the Augusta field, which today is the mecca of the oil investors and producers of the country.

Mr. Varner owns 285 acres within the oil belt, and the first gas well brought in on his place was on April 28, 1914, and there are now five good producing gas wells, besides several offsets. The first oil well brought in on Mr. Varner's place was on July 12, 1915, and there are now ten producing oil wells, some of the best in the country, located on his property. The last one brought in was on May 24, 1916, and as a producer far excels any well in the district up to date. The most con-

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

servative estimate of the production of this well places it at 7,000 barrels per day.

Ed Varner's brother, Frank, is also a large land owner in the Au- gusta oil and gas district, owning 277 acres upon which there are now ten good producing oil wells, and in all fairness to the Varner brothers, and to others interested in the Augusta oil fields, it can be said that the Varner brothers were prominent factors in bringing about the deep tests in this district, which have been so prolific in production to date. The original intention of the operators of this district seemed to contemplate gas production only, but Ed and Frank Varner insist that deeper tests should be made than those contemplated before leasing their properties. The world knows the result.

Ed C. Varner was united in marriage at Augusta, September 23, 1894, to Miss Ona Carr., daughter of D. M. and Nancy (Dobbins) Carr, both deceased. The Carr family located at Augusta in 1882. To Mr. and Mrs. Varner have been born five children, as follows: Ethel, was graduated from the Augusta High School in the class of 1916; Ralph. a student in the Augusta High School, and member of the class of 1917; Chester, in his second year in the Augusta High School; Cecil, a student in the grade school of Augusta, and Velma.

Mr. Varner is a conscientious man, and his business methods have always been straightforward and candid, and he has the absolute confi- dence of his fellowmen with whom he has had dealings, and the friend- ship and well wishes of his many old friends and acquaintances.

Joseph Mead, a prominent farmer and stockman of Plum Grove township and a veteran of the Civil war, is a native of Delaware county, New York. He was born February 26, 1844, and is a son of Jabez and Lucetta (Nickason) Meade, natives of New York and of English de- scent. When Joseph Mead was a child, the family removed to Michigan and settled on a farm in Kalamazoo county. There were nine children in the Mead family. The parents spent their lives in Michigan.

Joseph Mead served in Company C, Sixteenth regiment, Michigan infantry, during the Civil war and experienced much hard service. His command served in the Army of the Potomac under General Grant. At the siege of Petersburg, he was one of a small detachment that became separated from his regiment and for five days, while endeavoring to get back to his regiment, he was without food, however he came upon his regiment one morning just as they were at breakfast which was a very opportune moment for a hungry soldier to join his comrades. After the surrender of Lee he participated in the Grand Review at Washington and later was discharged at Jeffersonville, Ind., and mustered out at Detroit, Mich.

After the war Mr. Mead remained in Michigan and followed lum- bering to some extent. In the winter of 1878 he took a contract to cut 300 cords of wood and in order to fulfill his contract he and his men were compelled to work in snow, four feet deep, and had to shovel the tim-

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ber out of the snow. They endured much hardship that winter, which led Mr. Mead to the conclusion that if there was any other place on earth where snow and winter weather were not the dominant features of the climate he wanted to see what it looked like. With that end in view he bought a ticket to Hutchinson, Kans., where some friends of his lived at that time. That section of the State seemed a little too treeless to a man from the woods of Michigan, and after looking around considerably he found a location to his liking in Plum Grove township, Butler county. He had very little capital and at first invested in a small tract of land upon which he built a small house, and later he bought eighty acres of land on Diamond creek, making a payment of $10.00 and going in debt for most of the purchase price. He raised a big crop of corn the first year, which gave him a good start, and he now owns 200 acres which is one of the best farms in Plum Grove township.

Mr. Mead was married in 1871, to Miss Hattie Thair, a daughter of Orleius Thair, a native of New York and a pioneer of Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. Mead have been born the following children : Henry, But- ler county; Joseph R .. Butler county ; Maude, married Samuel Thomas. Butler county ; Lily, married Elias Eckhardt, Oklahoma ; Frances, mar- ried Joseph Wilson, Butler county ; Matty, married Rowe Ullem.

Mr. Mead is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Ma- sonic lodge, and is a Democrat.

John H. Poffinbarger, a Civil war veteran who is now a prominent farmer and stock raiser in Plum Grove township, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Ross county, April 30, 1844, and is a son of John and Sorrenia (Simmerl) Poffinbarger, both natives of Ohio, the former of German and the latter of English descent. John H. was the eldest of a family of three children. When he was six years of age, the family mi- grated from Ohio to Illinois, locating in Cumberland county. They left their native State on Christmas day in 1850. The father died a short time after the family settled in Illinois and the mother married again and soon afterward the family removed to Missouri, where John H. grew to manhood.

He was yet a mere boy of sixteen when the Civil war broke out, but even at that early age, he enlisted in the home guards and in December, 1861. he enlisted in Company B, Twenty-third regiment, Missouri in- fantry, serving under Capt. John Fisher and Colonel Robison in General Prentice's division. They were first engaged in northern Missouri against the Confederate guerillas which infested that section of the State. Later they were transferred to the army of the Cumberland, go- ing by boat from St. Louis down the Mississippi and up the Ohio and Tennessee rivers. They reached Shiloh just in time to participate in that memorable engagement. They disembarked at six o'clock on Sat- urday evening and the battle began at daybreak on Sunday morning, be- fore many of the soldiers had breakfast. The battle raged all day but darkness ended the conflict, only for a time, to be resumed at daybreak

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the following day which was ended at noon by a Union victory. Mr. Poffinbarger was severely wounded about six o'clock on the evening of the first day, being struck on the hip by an ounce ball. He remained all that night and until noon the next day on the field where he fell, when almost exhausted from loss of blood, pain and exposure, he was re -- moved to a field hospital and later sent to a hospital at Louisville, Ky. He remained. there about a year when he was transferred to a hospital at Gallipolis, Ohio, remaining there another year. He finally recovered. sufficiently to leave the hospital but still carries the effect of that great conflict, in which he nearly gave his life to the cause of the Union. He was finally discharged on account of disability and went to his old home in Ross county where he remained with an uncle about six months, dur- ing which time he was under the care of a physician, and later went to Cincinnati where he remained in the hospital until he recovered. After returning to Harrison county, Missouri, he went to Vernon county, that State, where he remained three years.

On June 17, 1866, Mr. Poffinbarger was united in marriage at Kick- apoo, Kans., to Miss Rebecca Jeffries, a daughter of Mathias and Mar- garet (Miller) Jeffries, natives of Ohio, the former of Fayette county and the latter of Clark county. Mrs. Poffinbarger was one of a family of six children. When she was ten years old her parents removed from Ohio to Harrison county, Missouri, and settled in the neighborhood where Mr. Poffinbarger's people had settled. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Poffinbarger resided in Vernon and Platt counties, Missouri, until 1870. In the fall of that year they came to Butler county, Kansas, and homesteaded a quarter section of land on Four Mile creek in Plum Grove township. At that time there was not even a trail across their claim and only three families lived on Four Mile creek and surrounding country. Here they engaged in farming and after passing through the pioneer struggles of the first few years prosperity came and in a short time. Mr. Poffinbarger bought another quarter section of land and has continued to add to his homestead until he now owns 560 acres of some of the best land to be found in Butler county. His place is well im- proved with good farm buildings, and is an ideal stock farm. Mr. Pof- finbarger is not only an extensive stock raiser and farmer but one of the successful. feeders of this section. He has conducted his business in a way that bespeaks for him marked business ability and keen fore- sight.

To Mr. and Mrs. Poffinbarger have been born the following chil- dren : Charles P .. Butler county ; John H .. Jr., on the home place ; War- ren, Butler county; Fannie, married B. O. Graham, St. Louis, Mo .; James, Butler county, and Grace, married Clyde Harper, El Dorado, Kans. Mr. Poffinbarger is a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic and is a Republican, although he has never sought political office.

Philip Smith, a Civil war veteran and early settler of this county. has been a successful farmer and stock raiser of Plum Grove township

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for a number of years. He was born in Armstrong county, Pennsyl- vania, May 17, 1841, and is a son of Adam and Mary Ann (Shoemaker) Smith, both Pennsylvanians, the former a native of Northumberland county, and the latter of Westmoreland county, and of Holland descent.

Philip Smith was reared on the home farm in Armstrong county. He was one of a family of eight children, and is now the only surviving member. The old homestead in Armstrong county, which Mr. Smith has visited four times since coming to Kansas, is still in the family, now being owned by a son of his oldest brother. Philip Smith and two of his brothers served in the Union army during the Civil war. J. E. enlisted July 4, 1861, in Company D, Sixty-second regiment, Pennsyl- vania infantry, and served in the army of the Potomac, at first under Gen. George B. McClellan. W. A., a younger brother, enlisted in Octo- ber, 1864, serving in the Seventy-eighth regiment, Pennsylvania infan- try, until the close of the war. On August 14. 1861, when he was a few months past twenty, Philip Smith enlisted in Company B, Seventy- eighth regiment, Pennsylvania infantry. His command was attached to the army of the Cumberland under General Thomas at first, and after joining the army at Pittsburg, Pa., he went to Camp Nevin, near Louis- ville Ky., and from there to Bacon creek, Knolluns, Green River and Bowling Green, Ky., and then to Nashville, Tenn., and guarded rail- road bridges and other property in that vicinity, and went from there to Murfreesboro and participated in the battle of Stone River. They then participated in the battle of Chickamauga, and his regiment was the first to cross Lookout Mountain on their way to the battlefield at Chickamauga. After that battle, they fell back to Chattanooga, and remained there until May 3, 1864, when they joined Sherman on his march to Atlanta and from Atlanta to the sea. After the battle of Kene- saw Mountain, Mr. Smith's regiment was sent back to Chattanooga with General Thomas' army to guard supply trains to Sherman's army, and they operated back and forth between the base of supplies and Sherman's army during that campaign. They were detailed in squads of about twenty soldiers to each train and had many interesting and exciting clashes with rebel guerillas who were harassing the Union sup- ply trains. After that campaign they went from Chattanooga to Nash- ville, where the Seventy-eighth regiment embarked on a steamboat, and went up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Pittsburg and from there to Kittanning. Pa., where Mr. Smith was discharged and mustered out of service, October 4, 1864.

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History of Butler County Kansas, Part 91

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

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