USA > Kansas > Cherokee County > History of Cherokee County, Kansas and representative citizens > Part 50
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EORGE W. HEFLEY, a well known farmer of the county, living on his 100-acre farm near Baxter Springs, in Spring Valley township, was born in Montgomery County, Illinois, December 13, 1866.
His father, Daniel Hefley, who was a native of North Carolina, moved with his parents from his native State when 13 years of age to Montgomery County, Illinois. There he fin- ished his education in the schools of the county, and then learned the trade of blacksmith, which occupation he followed until an accident while at work deprived him of the sight of one eye. From that time on, he turned his attention to farming, and, although two years after the accident he became blind, he still managed his farm work until his death, which occurred Feb- ruary 3, 1900.
Daniel Hefley married Catherine Shearer, a daughter of David Shearer, a farmer of Montgomery County, Illinois, who was a na- tive of North Carolina. Her death occurred in Montgomery County, Illinois, in 1874. Seven children were born to this union, namely : Camilla, widow of George Sharp, who was a farmer of Cherokee County; Mary, residing near Columbus, who is the widow of Charles Houser, of Montgomery County, Illinois ; Wil- liam, who died at the age of three years ; David C., a gold miner of Alaska; Elizabeth, wife of M. L. Downs, an implement dealer of Colum- bus, Kansas: James A., a farmer of Chehalis, Washington; and George W., the subject of this sketch.
George W. Hefley received his early edu- cation in the schools of Ilinois. Coming to Cherokee County, Kansas, with his father, when he was 18 years of age, he entered school again, and at the age of 21 finished his educa- tion in the public schools of the county. After leaving school, he began farming on his own account, making his home with a sister until February 27, 1898.
On that date he was united in marriage to Minnie Braman, daughter of William and Phœbe (Maddox) Braman, the former a lum- ber dealer of Columbus, Kansas. To this mar- riage a son has been born, to whom was given the name of Floyd.
After his marriage, our subject located on a farm in Spring Valley township, where he re- trained three years, when he removed to the place where he now resides. Here he busily engaged in carrying on the work of general farming and stock-raising, besides operating a hay press, putting up hay in his immediate neighborhood. His farm of 100 acres is all under cultivation, and has many improvements, such as good buildings, not the least of which is a comfortable house. Mr. Hefley, believing that under the surface lie greater riches than the
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agricultural products of the farm, has leased the right to drill for oil and mineral on his land, which there is every reason to believe will be a profitable venture.
Our subject has been a lifelong Republican. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, of which organization he is a well known and valuable member. The family name is one well and favorably known in the community, and is held in the highest regard.
OHN H. JUNKENS, a well known farmer of Cherokee County, who has many warm friends throughout the county, has a farm of 160 acres of land in Ross township, in section 22, township 31, range 23. He is a native of Rush County, Indiana, and was the first settler in this sec- tion. He is a son of John and Mary (Mc- Hatten) Junkens, the father being a native of Jamestown, Ohio, and the mother of Bourbon County, Kentucky. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, spent most of his years, until the age of 21, in Ohio, and then went to Rush County, Indiana, where he married. To this marriage were born a family of six chil- dren, three of whom are living. Both parents died in Indiana when John H. was very young. and he was left to the mercy of strangers.
John H. Junkens spent his early years in Rush County, Indiana, and was compelled to work very hard as a boy. He enjoyed little. if any, chance to obtain an education, but grasped the few opportunities he had. In May, 1872, although only 22 years of age, he de- cided to go Westward, and choosing Kansas as the most desirable State, came to Cherokee County and located on 160 acres of wild prairie land in section 22, township 31, range 23. It was a pretty wild life, with no neighbors, and only the seemingly endless prairie, without
fences, or any sign of improvement, to be seen. But the pluck and energy that carried him through an orphaned childhood was brought to bear here; work on the unbroken land was begun, and the foundation of a future good home was laid.
In 1877, the subject of this sketch married Harriet Claussen, a native of Illinois. To this union one child was born, Deuard F., who married Kate Jones, of Columbus, Kansas, and with his wife resides with his parents on the farm.
Mr. Junkens has made his home in the township in which he first located. The im- provements on the land are due to his unceas- ing toil and perseverance and the farm is one of the many fine ones in this section. On it are produced all kinds of grain, and the rais- ing of horses, mules, cattle, hogs and sheep is also carried on.
At the breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Junkens enlisted when but a youth. He served as a member of Company K, 134th Reg., Indi- ana Vol. Inf., in the 20th Army Corps, under Capt. Joseph R. Silvers, and Col. James Gavin. He participated in a number of important bat- tles, and was discharged May 24, 1864.
Mr. Junkens supports the Republican ticket on election day, but cares little for politics. He takes an intelligent interest in the affairs of his local community, where his long resi- dence and upright character have made him a man of much influence. He and his family are highly regarded by all.
HARLES E. DAVIS, a well known resident of Lola township, where he owns over 78 acres of good land, in section 34, township 33, range 22, resides at Sherwin Junction, where he was en- gaged in the grocery business for a number of years. Mr. Davis was born in Fountain
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County, Indiana, October 14, 1844, and is a son of Henry and Phoebe (Curtis) Davis.
Stephen Davis, the grandfather of Charles E., was born in North Carolina, and went as a pioneer to Indiana, where he entered land and founded a family. Henry Davis, the father, was born in Indiana in December, 1818, and died there on his farm in 1897, aged 78 years. The mother was also born in Indiana, where she died in 1852, aged 30 years. They had the following children: William, of Clay County, Kansas; Stephen and Joseph ( twins). the former, living in Indiana and the latter, de- ceased; Charles E .; George W. and Mrs. Parthenia Shoemaker, deceased; and Mrs. Susan Shade, of Indiana.
The subject of this sketch remained at home until he enlisted for service in the Civil War, in September, 1862, entering the 18th Indiana Light Artillery, under Capt. Eli Lilly, in which he served faithfully for three years until the close of the war. He took part in many very important battles, including Stone River and Hoover's Gap, and participated in all the fighting until General Rosecrans cap- tured Chattanooga. His command was then with General Sherman until the fall of Atlanta, when his battery was sent with General Thomas to Nashville. Later he was transferred to Gen- eral Wilson's cavalry corps, and Mr. Davis saw almost continual skirmishing until the end of the war, taking part in 65 different engage- ments. He was never absent from his regiment and reached Indianapolis safely, where he was honorably discharged June 30, 1865. Under the old law, Mr. Davis was accorded a pension of $8 per month. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and has a record in which he may take justificable pride.
After the end of the war, Mr. Davis re- turned to his home in Indiana, and remained there until he came to Kansas in 1879. After farming about six years, he went to work on
the railroad and for two years of that time was section foreman. Then he embarked in the grocery business at Sherwin Junction. This business he conducted for II years, and also served as postmaster for nine years, under the administrations of botlı Cleveland and McKin- ley. In addition to his good farm, Mr. Davis owns two dwellings and eight lots at Sherwin Junction, and is a man of ample means.
In 1872, Mr. Davis was first married, to Minerva Beaver, who was born in Indiana and died there aged 21 years, leaving one child, Franklin E., who resides at home, being a widower with three children,-Gertrude M., Floyd and Goldie May. Mr. Davis married, for his second wife, Mrs. Ellen ( Moore) Wright, who died December 30, 1903, aged 55 years, three months and four days. She left one daughter,-Lillie O. Wright.
In politics, Mr. Daves has always been a strong supporter of the Republican party. He has taken a very active part in local affairs, and has served four years as justice of the peace, and eight years as a notary public. Fra- ternally, he is an Odd Fellow. Mr. Davis be- longs to the United Brethren Church. He is a man who is held in very high esteem in the village, and is known to almost every one.
RANT CLABOURN, one of the prominent business men of Cherokee County, and superintendent of the Red Rose Mining Company, of Shawnee township, was born April 12, 1864, at Russellville, Cole County, Missouri, and is a son of Lawson and Sarah (Kennon) ( Bar- low ) Clabourn.
Lawson Clabourn was born in Greentip County, Kentucky, in 1816, but removed to Missouri at an early age, accompanying his parents, who settled in Cole County. There
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he passed his whole life, engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. He married Mrs. Sarah ( Ken- non) Barlow in Missouri, and seven of his eight children grew to maturity, viz: John B., of Cole County, Missouri; Francis and Mary (twins), the former, of Cole County, and the latter of Fort Scott, Kansas; Russell, of Shaw- nee township; Louisa; Grant; and Margaret. The mother of Grant Clabourn was married first to a Mr. Barlow and her only son by that marriage, Charles William Barlow, is a resi- cent of Jefferson City, Missouri. The family is well and favorably known in Cole County, where the grandfather had a plantation of 600 acres, owned slaves and was an extensive raiser of good stock.
Grant Clabourn attended school in his na- tive locality until he reached the age of 16 ycars, when the death of his mother broke the family entirely up, his father having died when he was eight years old. For several seasons he assisted an aunt with her farming, and then was appointed a guard at the Missouri State Penitentiary, where he remained on duty for about six months. After this he became in- terested in mining, and has been for the most part identified with this work, in Missouri and Kansas, since he was 18 years of age. He has been connected with many large developing en- terprises, and has been very successful in them. In 1900 he organized the Red Rose Mining Company, which is operating on the Badger M. & M. Company's lease. The company has four lots, comprising 1,600 square feet, a shaft 135 feet deep, a complete 150- ton mill, and the best equipment in the camp. Mr. Clabourn has opened up several other mines in his time, among which may be mentioned "Crown Point," on the North Empire. He has also been in the drilling business for many years, and has two drills at present. He has a 52- acre lease on Mrs. A. B. Brooks' land at
Zincite, Missouri, which pays a handsome royalty.
In 1896, Mr. Clabourn was married to Lona Heddens, who is a daughter of Noah H. Heddens, of Galena, and they have one daughter,-Opal. Politically, Mr. Clabourn is a Democrat, but has little disposition, and less time, to engage actively in politics. His fra- ternal associations include Mineral Lodge, No. 3. Knights of Pythias, in which he has filled the office of chancellor; the Elks and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is well known all over the county, and is con- sidered an authority on mining and mining properties. Honorable business dealings have brought him respect and esteem, and good man- agement has been rewarded with business suc- cess.
HARLES N. ROACH, the proprie- tor of the "Neosho Stock Farm," Neosho township, is one of the self-made, representative men of his section of the county. He was born in Jackson County, Iowa, September 8, 1859, and is a son of Jeremiah J. and Maria (Woods) Roach.
The father of Mr. Roach was born in Ohio, and died in Iowa, in 1898, at the age of 74 years. The mother was born in Indiana and is a resident of Iowa, aged 69 years and well pre- served. They had seven children, four sons and three daughters, the subject of this sketch being next to the oldest. Jeremiah J. Roach moved from Ohio to Iowa in young manhood, and was a pioneer in Kansas, in which State he lived for four years, two of which were spent on the farm of his son, Charles N. He was a carpenter by trade.
Charles N. Roach accompanied his parents to Kansas, and located on his present farm in
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1876. Later he spent many years in other parts of the State, working by the month at farm labor. About 1900, he purchased the old homestead, and has converted it into a large stock farm. It consists of 165 acres located in sections 10, II, 14 and 15, and 125 acres in section 17, all in township 35, range 22. His property borders on the Indian Territory and the tract in section 17 has the Neosho River for its northern boundary. Mr. Roach raises horses, cattle and hogs, having at present 50 head of horses and mules, 60 head of Shorthorn and Red Polled cattle, and 115 head of hogs. He has had much experience in handling cattle and stock. About 19 years ago, with Captain Jones, of San Antonio, Texas, he disposed of 1,300 head of horses in six months' time. To conduct a large enterprise like the one in which Mr. Roach is engaged, requires great good judgment, careful attention and unremitting labor. The cattle and stock of his farm are widely known, and are considered representa- - tive of the best efforts in this line in Neosho township. In addition to his cattle and stock business, Mr. Roach runs a hay press.
Mr. Roach has been thrice married, first to Elmyra High, who at death left one daugh- ter,-Mary. His second marriage was to Ly- dia Owens, and nine children were born to this union, viz. : Mrs. Maude Vanatta, of Chetopa, who has one child,-Lloyd; and Claude, Leo, Essie, Owen and Ona (twins), Wayne, and Myral and Myrtle (twins), all of whom are at home. The third marriage of Mr. Roach was to Mrs. Amanda Lemley.
Mr. Roach is identified with the Republi- can party, but takes only a citizen's interest in politics, his time being too fully occupied to permit of office holding. He is very prominent, however, in fraternal life. For the past 20 years he has been a Master Mason, and he be- longs also to the Odd Fellows, Modern Wood- men of America, and Fraternal Aid. For many
years, until it was discontinued, he was treas- urer of the local organization of Select Friends. He belongs also to the A. H. T. A.
Mr. Roach deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in comparatively a few years. All has been done through his own efforts, and untiring industry. He is looked upon as an authority in stock matters in Neosho township, and the farm, on which he has spared no expense, is carefully and honestly con- ducted.
A RTHUR LEROY HUBBARD, one of the successful farmers of Spring Valley township, and a member of a very prominent family of this sec- tion, was born at Galena, Kansas, February 5, 1881, and is a son of John Clabourn and Olive (Maynard) Hubbard.
John Clabourne Hubbard, who is a promi- nent farmer of Cehrokee County, owning 200 acres in Shawnee township, was born in Wash- ington County, Indiana, December 16, 1839, and is a son of Joseph and Mary Ellen ( Frank- lin ) Hubbard, the former of whom was born in Indiana and the latter in Kentucky. Joseph Hubbard was a carpenter, farmer and stock raiser. The mother was a daughter of Cla- bourn Franklin, of Kentucky. Nine children were born to Joseph Hubbard and wife, and four of them grew to maturity, as follows : John Clabourn; William G., a member of the 66th Regiment, Indiana Vol. Inf., during the Civil War, who fell at Collierville, Tennessee ; David, who is deceased ; and Nancy, who is the widow of Thomas Wier, of Indiana. Joseph Hubbard was a class leader in the Methodist Church, but he and his wife at length became identified with the Christian Church.
The grandfather of our subject died when John Clabourne Hubbard was 10 years old, and the latter's early boyhood was spent on the
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farm of his uncle, P. C. Franklin. Later an- other uncle, Rev. Aaron Hubbard, who was a prominent elder in the Christian Church, gave the youth employment as a clerk in his store. Two years later he began to farm on rented land and was so engaged when the Civil War opened.
In August, 1861, John Clabourn Hubbard enlisted in Company C, 38th Reg., Indiana Vol. Inf., and was discharged in August, 1865, hav- ing veteranized at Rossville Gap, Tennessee, in 1864. The 38th Regiment was in the Ist Brig- ade, Ist Division, of the 14th Army Corps and was one of the "star" regiments of the war. Mr. Hubbard participated in many battles but escaped with but few wounds. After the close of the war, he opened a grocery store at Little York, Indiana, which he conducted about a year and a half. In 1867 he removed with his family to Iola, Allen County, Kansas, and lived on a farm there for about seven years and then sold out and went to Granby, Missouri, where he embarked in a grocery business with Jacob Mingus, under the firm name of Mingus & Hubbard, which continued until 1879, when Mr. Hubbard sold his interest to his partner and went to Leadville, Colorado. It was in the spring of the year and until snow came he was engaged in furnishing transportation for a railroad survey between Leadville and Georgetown.
The closing of the business in the moun- tains by the advent of winter caused Mr. Hub- bard to remove to Leadville to engage in busi- ness and he bought a feed store there, which he continued until spring, when he was obliged to leave that climate on account of rheumatism, and returned to Granby. In the spring of 1883 he went to Texas, but conditions there did not attract him, and in a few months he came North and stopped at Galena. Here he began pros- pecting and mining and met with fair success and remained a resident of Galena until 1892.
He was then elected register of deeds and re- moved to Columbus, where he resided during his occupancy of that office.
In 1896 Mr. Hubbard bought his present farm of 200 acres, on which he raises grasses and grain, and keeps more than the average of stock, having between 50 and 60 head of cattle and 50 head of Poland China hogs. He owns one of the finest Shorthorn herds in the county. His registered bull is "Albion Duke Second," No. 202.385, and his Poland-China boar is from "Western Wilkes." Mr. Hubbard has made splendid improvements on this place. His fine residence was remodeled in 1903, the frame of which was erected in 1877, entirely of the best white pine. It contains II rooms and 10 large closets, and 25 windows insure plenty of fresh air and sunlight. In 1903 he also built his substantial bank barn, the posts of which on one side are 14 feet in height and on the other, 20 feet. It will accom- modate eight head of horses and 75 tons of hay. In addition, Mr. Hubbard has an imple- ment building of the same size as the barn, with 10-foot posts; it is furnished with grain bins and has hay racks overhead. Mr. Hub- bard is credited with having the finest corn cribs and grain bins in the county, every pro- tection being given the cereals to keep them in the best marketable condition. In making other improvements, Mr. Hubbard has not neglected his fruit orchards, having 700 hundred apple, peach, cherry and plum trees, in fine bearing condition. His vineyards contain four varieties of grapes and they have been selected with the idea of continuing the season as long as possi- ble. This is one of the ideal rural homes of Cherokee County.
The first marriage of John C. Hubbard was to Olive Maynard, who was born in Indiana, and was a daughter of A. K. Maynard, of that State. Of their II children, seven grew to ma- turity, viz : Flora, a well known educator, who
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is principal of the First Ward School, at Ga- lena ; Francis M., a mechanic of St. Louis, who married Catherine Watson, a daughter of James Watson, of Pittsburg, Kansas, and they have one daughter,-Marjorie ; Walter G., who is in the undertaking and livery business at Bisbee, Arizona, and lives in that city with his wife of Katherine; Calvin, a general merchant of Appalachie, Oklahoma, married Eva Wade, of Columbus, Kansas, and they have one son, -- Harold; David Albert, who married Katherine WViles, of Joplin, Missouri, and resides with his father on the home farm; Annie, who is the wife of John McMillin, of Joplin, Missouri; and Arthur Leroy, the immediate subject of this sketch. The mother of these children passed away on November 9, 1888, aged 44 years. She was a consistent member of the Christian Church. The second marriage of John C. Hubbard took place August 15, 1900, Minnie Van Metre, a native of Wisconsin, be- coming his wife.
Until he was 12 years of age, Arthur Le- roy Hubbard remained in his native place and attended the local schools. Then he went to Orangeville, Orange County, Indiana, and there completed his school course. In 1895 he returned to Galena and made a visit, but sub- sequently went back to Orange County and engaged there for a year in farming. A sec- ond year was spent in Washington County, In- diana, where he continued to farm, and he then came back to Galena. Here he engaged in lead and zinc mining until the spring of 1902 when he became an agent for the Prudential Insur- ance Company, at Webb City, Missouri, and remained in the employ of that corporation until the following winter.
On August 31, 1902, Mr. Hubbard was united in marriage with Minnie M. Stone, who is a daughter of J. WV. Stone, with whom Mr. Hubbard now resides in Spring Valley
township, engaged in extensive farming and in the hay business in the Indian Territory.
Mr. Hubbard is politically identified with the Republican party. Formerly he was a member of the Fraternal Aid Association. He is one of the enterprising young men of Spring Valley township, well posted on matters of pub- lic importance and highly regarded for his ster- ling traits of character.
m ARCUS LAFAYETTE SMITH, of Galena, a representative man of this section, belongs to one of the earliest pioneer families of Chero- kee County. He is a son of Marcus and Sarah ( Rowark) Smith.
To a true American citizen there can be no more absorbing study than that of the settle- ment and development of the country he loves so well, and there must be few indeed who do not feel an interest in those whose pioneering feet made the first paths of civilization through wildernesses where before only wild creatures had trod. Every section has had its heroes as every section has its advantages. Cherokee County with its gently undulating prairie, with its rich, loamy soil and its meandering streams could not help appearing a goodly land to those in search of pleasant homes, and despite its un- settled portions, its bands of Indians who still claimed it as their heritage, it looked so attract- ive to the three brothers, as they drove their, ox-teams within its borders, in 1840, that they decided to face the dangers and to settle on the banks of a pleasant stream near by.
These early pioneers into Cherokee County, -Marcus, Moses and Isaac Smith, - had started from Knoxville, Tennessee, had paused in Missouri and then had come, unbidden, to this land of the Indians. They established the first homes on Short Creek and until about
1
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1856 were the only settlers on this stream. Later, Moses removed from his farm, on the present site of Central City, and went to Ar- kansas, where he was lost sight of. Isaac, who located on the State line, on the present site of Cave Springs, lost his life through being acci- dentally shot.
Marcus Smith, a man of courage and de- termination, was also one of justice and con- sideration, these qualities being exhibited in his association with the Indians, with whom he soon established friendly relations and ever found them reliable in word and deed. He built a log shanty on Short Creek, about two miles from the present city of Galena, and this served as a shelter until he could erect one of hewed logs. When the latter was completed, the former was used for a workshop, as he was a mechanic and was able to make or repair both tools and furniture and fashion many necessary articles, from household utensils and furniture to the coffins in which the dead were laid away. He also built the looms on which both the whites and Indians made cloth, and he also cultivated his land and kept "open house" for all who chanced to come that way. When the tired circuit rider came within sight of this hospitable home, he knew that a wel- come awaited him. The affairs of the little settlement were discussed under Smith's roof, his opinion and judgment being consulted as long as he lived. Game was abundant at that time, wild turkeys and prairie chickens were plentiful and pigeons were so numerous that they darkened the sun in their flight. All the clothing was necessarily made at home from the flax and wool raised on the farm and the excellent dinners, which built up brawn and muscle, were cooked in the great fireplace. Fish were abundant, bass and others of the finny tribe being caught in every stream, and the family never suffered for food, Nature sup- plying the larder.
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