USA > Kansas > Cherokee County > History of Cherokee County, Kansas and representative citizens > Part 26
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and he has in connection with his two sons Arthur and Frederick been actively engaged in supplying the city of Columbus with light and power since that time. The business is now managed by his son Frederick, and Mr. Crowell is withdrawing from any active participation in business affairs.
In politics Mr. Crowell is a Republican, having served two terms as mayor of Baxter Springs and one term as a member of the Leg- islature from the southern district of the coun- ty. He is a member and elder of the Presby- terian Church of Columbus.
OHN W. SPENCER, a well known citizen of Columbus, and an extensive coal operator in Cherokee County, has been identified with this section of country since 1869. He was born in 1840 in Washington County, Illinois, where his parents died.
Mr. Spencer is not the only member of his family to come to Kansas, a sister also finding a home here, and two brothers, C. A. and D. A., now being residents of Wichita.
The subject of this sketch was reared on his father's farm in Washington County, and first attended the local schools, and later, Lebanon College, and the institution at Marshall. Illi- nois, again returning to Lebanon. While at this college, in December, 1863, he enlisted in the Union Army and served about 18 monthis. or until the close of the war, as a member of Company D. 13th Reg., Illinois Vol. Cav., his field of activity being in Arkansas. Good for- tune followed him, and he returned to Illionis without serious injury, at the close of his serv- ice. His location in Cherokee County was something in the nature of an accident, as he came here first only as a visitor to see his sister. He liked the country, saw what possibilities the
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fertile soil and rolling prairie offered to the farmer and stock-raiser, and decided to make a permanent home here. He located two miles north of Hallowell, taking up a claim and buy- ing others, until he soon owned 1,000 acres in claims. This was all originally Indian land, held by the railroad companies.
Mr. Spencer developed 480 acres of this land and operated it extensively in farming and stock-raising for about 20 years. He sold it about four years ago to W. J. Moore, since which time he has given his attention exclu- sively to the coal business. He operates as the Columbus Coal Company, incorporated in 1881. which owns two of the mines in the Cherokee district, while he is privately interested in two additional mines. He has actively promoted three coal companies. Mr. Spencer has, at various times, owned lead and zinc interests, and is at present interested in silver and lead mines in Colorado.
In December, 1869, Mr. Spencer was mar- ried to Ambrosia E. Favor, who was born in McHenry County, Illinois, and came to Kan- sas in 1868. Her brother, P. M. Favor, who died some years ago, was then a merchant at Sherman City, and later. in partnership with Mr. Spencer, conducted a hardware store at Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have two children .- Charles F. and Lyda Ambrosia. The former was born in December, 1872. in Cherokee County ; he was reared at Columbus. attended the city schools, and then became clerk for the Columbus Coal Company, of which he is now superintendent. He is a very reliable young man, and formerly took charge. for a year. of the Fidelity Coal Company, at Fidelity. He then returned to take charge of the new shaft of the Columbus Coal Company. He married Clara Hughes, and they have two sons,-Harold Hughes and Kenneth Aldridge. Lyda Ambrosia Spencer was born July 8. 1884; she graduated from the Cherokee County
High School in the spring of 1903, and is now attending the State University at Lawrence, Kansas.
Mrs. Spencer was born in McHenry Coun- ty. Illinois, in 1841, and is a daughter of Jona- than and Mary M. ( Pingry) Favor, who re- moved in 1854 to Vernon County, Wisconsin. Mrs. Spencer is a thoroughly educated lady. and prior to her marriage taught 23 terms of school in Wisconsin, two terms in Iowa, and one in Kansas. She was one of a family of five sons and six daughters.
In political views, Mr. Spencer is a Repub- lican and Prohibitionist. and has served on the School Board and in the City Council. Mr. Spencer and his wife and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have many pleasant social connections in Columbus, and are considered representatives of the best educated and most refined element of the city.
GAYLOGG OHN LANE MYERS, an esteemed resident of Cherokee township, was born in 1854 in Pennsylvania, where he lived until he was 24 years of age. Farming was his chosen occupation. In 1878 he came with his parents to Kansas, and settled on a quarter section of land in Cherokee town- ship, Cherokee County, near which he now lives. His present home consists of 160 acres of fine land, which formerly belonged to his wife's father, who had, among the early Kan- sas settlers, chosen it for a home.
Martin Myers, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1818, in Blair County. Pennsylvania, and died at the old home in Kan- sas at the age of 79 years. During his lifetime he followed the occupation of farming. His wife, also a native of Blair County. died at the old home in 1897.
John Lane Myers is one of a family of II
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HON. ROBERT M. CHESHIRE
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children born to his parents, seven of whom are still living. as follows: Sarah J. (Mrs. W. T. Ferguson), of Cherokee township ; Dillie (Mrs. Alonzo M. Duncan), who also lives in Chero- kee township; Emeline (Mrs. William C. Helm), who lives in Armstrong County, Penn- sylvania : John Lane; Maria M. (Mrs. John Cloak), of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania ; Caroline ( Mrs. Charles C. Holler), of Kansas ; and Annie ( Mrs. Henry Helin), of Weir City, Kansas.
Mr. Myers was married in 1881 to Tillie E. Smithpeter, who was born in Tennessee and is one of nine children constituting the family of her parents, John and Sarah (Cable) Smith- peter. She has one brother now living, James S., a resident of Galena, Cherokee County, and three sisters,-Nancy, wife of Anthony Gilten- mier, living in Chicopee, Kansas; Mary, who married a Mr. Miles; and Sarah, wife of Wal- ter O. Manley. Mrs. Myers's father came to Kansas from Iowa in 1870 and settled on "Joy" land, which he afterward bought. Ilis death occurred in 1892, at the age of 78 years, and his wife died five years later, at the same age. Mr. and Mrs. Myers have nine children, all born in Cherokee township, Cherokee Coun- ty, as follows: Arthur M., Lizzie S., Anna L., Ella, Ethel, Bertha, Leona, Clara and Jewell Evangeline.
In the splendid development which has come to Cherokee County Mr. and Mrs. Myers and their several connections have played a helpful part. Their citizenship is of that sterling char- acter which looks upon no sacrifice as too great which has for its object the uplifting of human- ity about them. From the earliest day, schools, churches, good roads and good government have in turn commanded the full and hearty support of these different members of the fam- ily, and they are now able to rejoice with good consciences at the unmistakable evidences of a high type of Christian civilization, which con-
front them on every side. Mr. Myers takes but little interest in politics as such, but is careful on election day to support by his vote the prin- ciples enunciated by the Republican platform.
A progressive and up-to-date farmer, a loyal and patriotic citizen, and a courteous Christian gentleman, Mr. Myers merits the high measure of esteem in which he is held by all classes in the county.
h ON. ROBERT M. CHESHIRE, for- mer mayor of Columbus, ex-Probate judge of Cherokee County, and one of the leading attorneys in this sec- tion of the State, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, was born in 1844 in Ogle County, Illinois, and is a son of Michael and Margaret J. Cheshire.
The family is of English extraction, and, as the name indicates, at one time probably owned large estates in the shire of Chester. Early in the settlement of Virginia, this family was represented. The father of Judge Cheshire was born in Virginia, and in 1839 removed to Ogle County, Illinois, where he resided for more than 60 years, becoming prominent and wealthy as a farmer and stockman. In early life a Whig, he later adopted the principles of the Republican party. His death occurred in Jan- uary, 1903, at the age of 87 years. On the maternal side, Judge Cheshire is of Scotch ex- traction, his mother being a McAllister. She was born in Ireland in 1823. Her father mi- grated to Canada at an early day, but died be- fore his family joined him. The mother and her children came to America in 1836, but she died shortly afterward, and the children were reared by strangers. Of the five children born to his parents, Judge Cheshire is the eldest of the three survivors ; the other two are living in Illinois.
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The subject of this sketch was reared in Ogle County, his boyhood being passed on his father's farm. He was favored with school privileges and attended a seminary of local note, at Mount Morris. Later he read law, and took a special course of two years at Har- vard University. In 1881 he was admitted to practice in the courts of Illinois by the Su- preme Court, being examined before the Appel- late Court at Ottawa. After a practice of two years at Oregon, Ogle County, he went to Colorado, but not finding conditions there favorable for success in his profession, he came to Kansas and finally located in Cherokee County, where he soon entered actively into politics. In 1886 he was nominated by the Democratic party for the office of county attor- ney, and in 1887 he was elected mayor of Columbus, to which office he was subsequently re-elected. It was during the second year of his administration that occurred his noble ap- peal for law and order, which resulted in the suppression of mob violence in connection with the arrest of two desperadoes, William and John Blalack, of Columbus. When popular indignation had reached such a height that it seemed almost impossible to save the lives of the wretched men, Mayor, Cheshire mounted a convenient wagon in the street, and delivered an impassioned address calling upon the law- abiding citizens to avoid violence, and to en- trust the prisoners to the care of the sheriff. It is still remembered that Mayor Cheshire thus placed his own life in jeopardy in the inter- ests of law and justice.
In 1892 he was elected a member of the Columbus Board of Education and served four years,-two years as its president. In 1894 he was again his party's candidate for county attorney. In 1900 hie was elected Probate judge of Cherokee County, and served from January 13, 1901, to January 13, 1903. He was defeated for re-clection by only 300 votes,
his former majority having been 600. He has served as chairman of the Democratic Con- gressional Committee for two years, and on sev- eral occasions and for various periods has served on the Democratic County Central Com- mittee.
Judge Cheshire has been twice married,- first, in 1869, in Western New York, to Emma J. Bartholomew, a native of New York, who died in 1876, aged 28 years. She left one daughter, Mrs. Viola F. Brown, born in 1870, who died in 1897. Mrs. Brown left twin daughters who live with their father in West- ern Iowa. In 1884 Judge Cheshire married Sarah E. White, who was born in Rhode Island. They have three daughters, viz : Mary M., Hilah G. and Minerva White, all of whom are attending school. The family home is a handsome residence which Judge Cheshire erected in the outskirts of Columbus, near the Cherokee County High School building. In addition to this valuable property, he owns other property in the city and vicinity.
Judge Cheshire has always been public spirited, and has done much to promote the progress of the county, and for the advance- ment of the city's welfare. He was chairman of the committee of five appointed by the Com- mercial Club of Columbus to secure for the city the Cherokee County High School. On this board he rendered most efficient service, and much credit is due to him for advancing and fostering the idea which culminated in secur- ing to the city and county the magnificent insti- tution above named. He wrote and delivered, before the Commercial Club, of which he was a charter member and which he has served as chairman, a general address in favor of the location and erection of a county high school at Columbus. An issue of 5,000 copies was dis- tributed in pahphlet form, the perusal of which by the voters led ultimately to the calling of a general election. The result is shown by
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the beautiful, completed structure, which was built in 1900. It stands as a testimonial to his public spirit, enterprise and ability, and is most creditable to this intelligent and cultured community.
It was while Judge Cheshire was president of the Commercial Club that he, with T. P. La- Rue, C. R. Atchison, L. F. Williams, J. C. Murdock, of Galena, and others cooperated with Richard Nevins, Jr., a railroad promoter, by promising him financial support and moral encouragement at any time when needed, to such an extent that he ( Nevins) succeeded in inducing the officials of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company to extend the mineral branch of the railroad to Joplin, which has proved of so much value to all points reached by the road. Public acts of this character cione at the right time by the right man are what bring about all needed improvements.
C LINTON McMICKLE. The high standard of intelligence among the agricultural class of Cherokee Coun- ty is a subject of frequent comment. This is evidenced by the many rural telephones and rural free delivery routes, and the generally tasty and refined appearance of the homes of the people. Prominent among those who take de- light in mental acquisition, is the gentleman whose name appears above. Though a man of but little scholastic training, owing to lack of opportunity in his youth, Mr. MeMickle has by close observation and study during his mature years become enviably proficient in the differ- ent lines of astronomy, geology and physics, and still takes great delight in the pursuit of knowledge in those three fields. Mr. McMickle is one of the oldest continuous residents in the county, having settled on his present farm in section 30, Lola township, in the spring of
1866, after having spent the previous five years in saving to the nation "Old Glory," intact and without stain.
The subject of this sketch is a Hoosier by birth ; he was born in Orange County, Indiana, December 1, 1838, and is a son of Lorenzo Mc- Mickle. When he was 10 years of age, his par- ents moved to Davis County, Iowa, where the war found him eager and anxious to do, and if needs be die, for the old flag. In April, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company G, 2nd Reg., Iowa Vol. Inf .. Capt. James Baker com- manding, under Col. Sam. R. Curtis. For the greater part of the war this regiment was brig- aded with the 15th Army Corps, saw much active service in the Middle West and marched with Sherman to the sea. Mr. McMickle got to the front in time to take part in the fighting at Fort Donelson. Then followed Shiloh, the two Corinths and Iuka. He participated in all the principal battles of the Atlanta campaign, marched up through the Carolinas, and was present at that matchless parade of the defend- ers of the flag, known in history as "The Grand Review." He was honorably discharged as 2nd sergeant of his company, a position which he had held for about two years. He received a bayonet wound in the face at Frederickstown Missouri, was wounded in the leg at Fort Don- elson, and at Atlanta was struck in the breast by a bullet ; but none of these was sufficient to put him in the hospital. As an instance of the fact that not all the gallant deeds of the boys in the army received proper attention and re- ward, Mr. McMickle relates that at the Jones- boro fight, he was ordered by an officer on Gen- eral Howard's staff to take several men and make a reconnaissance to find out whether the enemy was in retreat. He immediately set out on his perilous trip, and so well was it done that on his report, General Howard was able to order an advance that cut off about 500 of the enemy's wagons, loaded with supplies. Mr.
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McMickle received no reward, indeed no notice was taken of his gallant action.
The war over, Mr. McMickle passed the winter of '65 in Linn County, Missouri, and in February came to Cherokee County, making the trip alone on horseback. Ile secured 160 acres, So of which he still owns, in section 30, Lola township, and immediately began the erection of a log house, 13 by 13 feet, in size, there being but three others in the township. This with all his other possessions he lost by fire the following year, but he again built, and continued his fight for a home. And it was a fight, especially for the first few years. But the man who had faced death in a hundred forms in the army was not the one to be daunted by anything short of impossibilities, and so as the years passed Mr. McMickle found life becom- ing somewhat easier, and its rewards greater. As he looks out now on his splendid farm prop- erty, he has the satisfaction of knowing that it is all his in a double sense of ownership, based on the fact that every building and tree and fence is the result of his own hard labor.
Passing now to the consideration of facts pertaining to the family of Mr. McMickle, we note that on both sides he is of Scotch lineage, the original immigrants to this country being six brothers who enlisted in the English Army from Midlothian, Scotland, and, being sent to America during the Revolutionary War, were so impressed with the justice of the patriot cause, that they all deserted to a man and joined the American Army. Later they were joined by their father who was serving in the Eng- lish Army in India. This was Dougal Mc- Mickle, the great-grandfather of Clinton. He was accidentally killed by the falling of a tree, having attained the remarkable age of 102 years. Lorenzo McMickle, father of Clinton, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in December, 1808, and died in Linn County, Missouri, at the age of 95 years. In his earlier manhood
he was a printer, and spent many years in New Orleans, setting type on the Picayune. Later he was connected with what is now the Courier- Journal of Louisville, as assistant editor. In his later years he became a farmer. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, and a mem- ber of the New Light Church. He first mar- ried Ruth McWilliams, a native of Tennessee, who died when her son Clinton was three years of age, leaving three children. The eldest was Marinda, who married a Mr. Wise and is now deceased ; and the youngest was Elizabeth, Mrs. McCallum, now of Kansas City. To the second wife were born 10 children, eight of whom are living. On the paternal side Mr. McMickle's grandmother was a Barton, a Spanish lady, for whose father was named Barton County, Missouri.
Mr. McMickle was united in marriage in April, 1868, to Bina Sanders, daughter of Jer- emiah and Catherine Sanders, who were of German descent and natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. Her birth occurred August 6, 1848. She came to Cherokee County with her parents in the late "sixties." Her children are: Bertha, now the wife of Albert Jolinson, a farmer of Lola township; and Theda, who married James D. Duncan, and also resides in Lola township.
It is unnecessary to speak of the high char- acter which Mr. McMickle sustains in Chero- kee County. Suffice it to say that none knows him but to respect him. He is a worthy mem- ber of the Seventh Day Adventist denomina- tion, a Republican in politics, and a gentleman by birth and training.
ILLIS HENRY WHEELER, a prominent and successful agricult- urist of Crawford township, Cher- okee County, Kansas, owning 178 acres in section 26, is one of the early settlers
COL. R. W. BLUE
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of this region, having been in the vanguard which entered Cherokee County in 1868. Mr. Wheeler was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, in 1849, and is a son of Nathan and Margaret (Milliken ) Wheeler.
The Wheeler family is of English extrac- tion, and of Quaker religious belief. Many of the name still reside in North Carolina, but the parents of the subject of this sketch moved to Indiana in 1859, and located in Morgan Coun- ty, where the mother died in 1860. The father continued in Indiana until 1868, when he came to Cherokee County, Kansas, where he died in 1881, at the age of 60 years. He was a mason by trade, but spent his later years en- gaged in farming. Like his father, he was a devoted member of the Society of Friends, and assisted in establishing a meeting house in his section of Kansas, in 1869. He was a man who commanded the respect of all who knew him, and whose life was in full consonance with his religious belief. The subject of this sketch has four brothers and one sister, the sister being Mrs. Phobe Jane Stanley, of Lowell, Chero- kee County. The brothers are all well known citizens in their respective localities. Isaac C .. Benjamin Albert and Samuel E. live in Car- thage, Missouri, and John F. lives in Los An- geles, California.
Willis Henry Wheeler was reared in In- diana, and attended the common schools. Farming has been his chosen occupation and in it he has met with much success. After com- ing to Cherokee County, in November, 1868, he located in Quaker Valley, Crawford township. In 1878 he purchased 40 acres of his present farm, now consisting of 178 acres, and moved onto the place in 1879. Mr. Wheeler is a man of taste, as his fine improvements show. The 14 by 16 foot shanty, on the place when he pur- chased it, has been replaced by a handsome modern residence, with commodious and sub- stantial buildings, and all the necessary con-
veniences for scientific and successful farming. When Mr. Wheeler first made his home in Cherokee County, Baxter Springs was the near- est town, and where is now the busy little city of Columbus, with its fine residences, churches, schools and business houses, stood but a single log house, forlornly situated on the wide prai- rie. His neighbors were some distance away, several farm houses being just in sight. Mr. Wheeler made spring wheat his first crop, but since then he has carried on diversified farm- ing.
In 1875, Mr. Wheeler was married in the Indian Territory, where he was employed for five years as farmer at the government Indian school of the Sac and Fox Agency. During 1873 and 1875 he was superintendent of the absentees' Shawnee school, of which Mrs. Wheeler was matron from 1875 to 1878. Mrs. Wheeler was formerly Elma J. Coltrane, who was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, and is a daughter of Jesse and Abigail Coltrane, who located in Johnson County, Kansas, as early as 1867, Mrs. Wheeler having located in Douglas County, Kansas, in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have two children : Horace, who married Viola Smith (born in Cherokee Coun- ty. Kansas) and resides near the homestead ; and Flora, who is at home. The family belong to the Friends' Meeting in Crawford township, in which Mr. Wheeler is one of the elders. Po- litically, he is a Prohibitionist. Few men in this locality are more universally esteemed than Mr. Wheeler, and the family represents the best intelligent element of Crawford township.
OL. R. W. BLUE, of Columbus, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, has been identified with the professional and political life of Kan- sas since 1871, and is now one of the promi- nent members of the Cherokee County Bar. in
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partnership with J. J. Bulger. He was born September 9, 1841, in Wood County, Virginia, now West Virginia, and was reared in the vicinity of the present city of Grafton, West Virginia.
Colonel Blue attended Monongalia Acad- emy, at Morgantown, West Virginia, and finally became one of the teachers of that insti- tution. He went from there to Washington College, Pennsylvania, where he remained un- til half through the junior year, when he entered the army, enlisting as a private in the 3d Regiment, West Virginia Vol. Inf., but was later transferred to the 6th Regiment, West Virginia Vol. Cav., and served in the mountains of West Virginia and in the Shenandoah Val- ley. Later he took part in the campaigns against the Indians in the Platte Valley. He spent the winter of 1865-66 at Fort Casper, Wyoming, earning his promotion, first as lieu- tenant, and later as captain. He was mustered out at Leavenworth, Kansas.
Returning to West Virginia, the young sol- dier engaged in teaching and also studied law in Taylor County, and in 1871 came to Kansas. He taught school during the first year, at Pleas- anton, Linn County, and then entered upon the practice of his profession. Soon afterwards his ability was recognized by his election as Pro- bate judge of Linn County in 1872, and again. in 1874. In 1876 he was elected county attor- ney, and was reelected in 1878. He became a potent factor in politics, and in 1880 was elected State Senator from the district com- posed of Johnson, Miami and Linn counties, and at the end of his term was reelected. His public services to his State were of such a char- acter that he was awarded still higher marks of confidence and appreciation, by being elected to the 54th Congress in 1894. He was renomi- nated by acclamation in 1896, but met with defeat in the Populist landslide of that year.
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