USA > Kansas > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Kansas > Part 27
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boys of his native land, he had heard the stories of the wonderful pos- sibilities and opportunities in America, and determined to come to this country and learn a trade. His ancestors for generations had been butchers, but the boy determined not to follow in their footsteps in choosing a vocation. He wanted to learn some other trade. Pursuant to his determination on June 24, 1857, when only fifteen years old, he em- barked on the sailing vessel "Endymion" at Liverpool, England, bound for New York. He was accompanied by no friends or relatives and six weeks and three days after setting sail from Liverpool they reached New York. After spending a few days in the great American metrop- olis, he went to Vermont where an uncle, Peter Murphy, lived. He remained in Vermont, with the exception of one year that he spent in Massachusetts, until 1866, when he came to Kansas, locating in John- son county. He entered the employ of the Barlow, Sanderson & Com- pany stage line, as a hostler at the stage station, one and one-half miles north of Olathe. He remained in that position for two years and in 1868, when the Kansas City & St. Scott railroad was built, he entered the employ of William G. Davis, as clerk, at "Old Town," Spring Hill. Mr. Davis kept a general store and was also postmaster. Mr. Murphy remained in that position with Mr. Davis and his successor, M. F. Moore, until 1872, when he engaged in the grocery and drug business. for himself, and remained in that business continuously until April, 1914, when he sold out. He conducted his business at the same location all these forty-two years and was very successful, accumulating a com- petence. The story of Mr. Murphy's career is the story of what can be accomplished by a poor boy whose only assets at the beginning were industry and honesty, with a determination to succeed. When he came to Kansas he had $2.40. Today he is one of the well-to-do men of John- son county. He owns two valuable farms, besides business property and his residence in Spring Hill. Mr. Murphy was united in marriage January 1, 1877, to Miss Mary E. Daugherty, a daughter of Edward and Catherine (Buckley) Daugherty, natives of Roscommon county, Ire- land, who immigrated to America in 1865 and settled in Miani county, Kansas. To this union were born seven children, one son and six daughters, two daughters now residing with the father at Spring Hill. The wife and mother departed this life January 25, 1905. The family are members of the Catholic church, and Mr. Murphy is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and politically is a stanch Democrat.
G. W. Elliott has spent over a third of a century in Johnson county, and during that time he has been a prominent factor in the history of Holliday. Mr. Elliott was born in Cass county, Illinois, in 1849, and is a son of John Elliott and Margaret Frye, who were married in Con- necticut in 1844. They were both natives of Ireland, the former born County Antrim and the latter in County Tyrone. John and Margaret (Frye) Elliott were the parents of the following children: William,
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resides in San Francisco, Calif .; Thomas, resides in Colorado; G. W., che subject of this sketch, Robert, resides in St. Louis, Mo .; David, resides at Bairdstown, Ill .; and Lucy resides at Superior, Neb. G. W. Elliott received a good common school education in Cass county, Illi- nois, and followed farming in early life and also worked at the carpenter trade some, when a boy; later he entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company and for six years followed railroading. In 1882 he came to Kansas, locating at Holliday, July 3, of that year. When he reached here he found that his knowledge of the carpenter's trade was of considerable importance, for carpenters were in demand in the little settlement of Holliday. He immediately began work as a carpenter and contractor. He built the first schoolhouse in District No. 100, which was afterward destroyed by fire ; he also built a number of residences in Holliday, including his own cozy home on Jefferson Street. There were only three houses at Holliday when Mr. Elliott arrived at that place, and these were the residences of S. R. Cole, Robert Aikens and Mrs. Charles, a widow. Mr. Elliott lived in a tent during the first summer that he was here. Since coming to Johnson county, he has taken a live interest in public affairs. and has held a number of important offices of trust and responsibility. In 1901 he was appointed postmaster of Holliday by President McKin- ley and for over thirteen years faithfully and efficiently discharged the duties of that office. He was elected constable in 1896 and was twice re-elected to that office serving three terms in all. He was appointed justice of the peace by Governor Leedy, and was afterwards elected to that office for four terms, and is now a notary public receiving his first commission from Governor Stubbs and now holding one from Governor Hodges. Mr. Elliott is one of the substantial men of Johnson county and one of its leading citizens. Mr. Elliott has been appointed post- master again.
Andrew Smith, cashier of the De Soto State Bank, is well known in financial circles of eastern Kansas. He is a native of Ireland, born in County Antrim, November 26, 1872, and is a son of James and Mar- garet (Faulkner) Smith, natives of Ireland. Andrew Smith spent his boyhood days in his native land where he received a good common school education. He came to Kansas in 1892, and for two years was a student at Baker University, Baldwin, Kan. The family located on a farm in Shawnee county. After attending Baldwin University, he worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper for a time in various posi- tions. In 1897 his banking career began when he entered the John R. Mulvane Bank of Topeka, as bookkeeper. He remained in that capa- city until 1902 when he accepted the cashiership of the Bennington State Bank of Bennington, Kan., and three years later became cashier of the Parker State Bank. He next became cashier of the State Bank at E11- dora, Kan., and in 1914 became cashier of the De Soto State Bank, a.
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position which he has since capably filled. Mr. Smith has had a broad experience in the banking field and is capable financier. He is a man of good judgment and thoughtful foresight, and his courteous and obliging manner makes many friends for the institution which he repre- sents. He was married in 1897 to Miss Lillian Y. Yount, of Topeka, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one child, Margaret.
Elias Branick, a Civil war veteran and early settler in Johnson county, is a native of North Carolina. He was born in Surry county, July 4, 1839, and is a son of Henry and Sibby (Dickens) Branick, na- tives of North Carolina, the former of Roan county. They were the parents of sixteen children, fourteen boys and two girls, all born in North Carolina and only three of whom are now living, as follows: Daniel resides at Edmund, Okla .; Julia Zimmerman, Neodesha, Kan., and Elias, of this review. Elias Branick was reared in North Carolina, and received his education in private schools. He led the quiet life of the average young man of his time, before the Civil war. He came to Kan- sas when a young man and took up a claim on the Black Bob reserva- tion, near Stanley, which he later sold. In 1861, Mr. Branick enlisted at Cassville, Mo., in Company A, First regiment, Arkansas cavalry, and served four years, eight months and thirteen days. Mr. Branick saw service in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas and took part in many hard- fought battles, including Prairie Grove. Mr. Branick has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Belle Smith, to whom he was married at Fayetteville, Ark. Two children were born to this union and the wife and mother died in Wilson county, Kansas, and her remains are
buried at Fredonia. On' February 4, 1894, Mr. Branick was united in marriage to Alice Bright, of Newtonia, Mo. She is a native of Camers- ville, Ky. After the close of the war, Mr. Branick served as a deputy United States marshal for some time, and in that capacity went to Old Mexico twice and made two trips across the plains in the early days. Mr. Branick is one of De Soto's well known citizens. He has a cozy home in De Soto, where he and his wife are spending their declin- ing days in comfort.
Robert R. Moore, of De Soto, Kan., is a Johnson county pioneer and Civil war veteran. He is a native of Ohio, born in Trumbull county in 184I, and is a son of John and Mary (Crooks) Moore, both natives of Ohio. Robert R. Moore was one of a family of seven, three of whom are now living as follows: Sarah Steel resides in Ohio; Alice Sheldon, a resident of Johnson county, and Robert R., the subject of this sketch. Robert R. Moore was reared and educated in his native State and about the time he reached the age of manhood the Civil war broke out and he enlisted in Company H, Eighty-seventh regiment, Ohio infan- try, and was afterwards transferred to the One Hundred and Seventy- first regiment, Ohio infantry. He was with his regiment in many im- portant battles and a number of skirmishes. He was at Harper's Ferry,
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and in the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. Mr. Moore was never wounded in the service, but was taken prisoner and later paroled. In 1868 he came to Kansas, locating at De Soto where he worked at the blacksmith trade for a time, and later worked at his trade in the Potawa- tomie Indian Reservation in Jackson county, Kansas. Mr. Moore relates many interesting and amusing incidents in connection with his stay on the Indian reservation. One of his recollections, of the nature of the noble "red man" was on an occasion when some friends of Mr. Moore, from the East were visiting the reservation and they were very anxious to witness an exhibition of the Indians' skill with the bow and arrow. The Indians, however, were reluctant to stage the exhibition until finally one of the white men placed his hat on the fence and then all the Indians present shot at the hat and the white men had seen the exhibi- tion, but one of them was hatless as there was nothing left of the hat but shreds. After remaining on the Indian reservation a few years, Mr. Moore returned to De Soto, and since that time has been engaged in farming. He now owns 240 acres of land about two miles west of De Soto where he has been engaged in farming since 1880. He was married in 1863 in Trumbull county, Ohio, to Miss Lusina Belden and one child, John, was born to this union. Mrs. Moore died in 1908. Mr. Moore has taken an active part in the political life of Johnson county and has served one term as county commissioner, and made a record notable for the painstaking care with which he administered public affairs.
J. E. Deweese, the capable manager of the De Soto Lumber Company, of De Soto, Kan., is one of Johnson county's progressive business men. Mr. Deweese is a native of Kansas, born at Hillsdale, Miami county, March 22, 1880, and is a son of J. F. and Mary Louisa ( Marshall) Deweese. J. F. Deweese was born at Monmouth, Ill., May 30, 1839, and came to Kansas and located in Miami county in the fifties. When the Civil war broke out he was one of the first to respond to the Presi- dent's call for volunteers. He enlisted at Paola, Kan., in April, 1861, in Company I, Twelfth regiment, Kansas infantry. He received a gun shot wound in the right arm below the elbow, while on the firing line at Jenkin's Ferry, Ark., in 1863. He was taken prisoner after being wounded and confined in the Confederate prison camp at Ford, Texas, for thirteen months. S. R. Hogue, of Spring Hill, a comrade, was a fellow prisoner. Mr. Hogue, with some other soldiers, dug a tunnel, through which they made their escape, but Mr. Deweese on account of his wounded arm was unable to crawl through the small hole and was compelled to remain in prison. However, he assisted his comrades in every way possible and they made their escape. He died at Spring Hill, November 2, 1893. He married Mary Louise Marshall at Spring Hill, May 25, 1869. She was a native of St. Johns, Newfoundland, born March 18, 1849. She now resides with her son, William Deweese, at Bonner Springs, Kan. To J. F. and Mary Louisa (Marshall) Deweese
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were born nine children, as follows: Harry, born in Miami county, and died at the age of four years ; Bertie died at the age of four years ; Eddie died at the age of nine years, as a result of accidental burns; William Marshall, born December 4, 1877, married May Hudson, is now manager of the Bonner Springs Lumber Company, Bonner Springs, Kan .; J. E., the subject of this sketch; Mollie Frances, born at Hillsdale, Kan., Sep- tember 27, 1883, now the wife of Edward Morgan, of Lenexa, Kan .; Dale Drennen, born at Hillsdale, Kan., March 5, 1886, married Lena Scarf and resides in Kansas City, Kan .; Sarah Ethel, born May 5, 1888, at Olathe, Kan., married John Green at Spring Hill, December 19, 1909, and they reside at Maryville, Mo., and have one daughter, Thelma ; and Charles Maxwell, born at Spring Hill, February 26, 1891, is employed in the United States mail service and resides at Kansas City, Kan. J. E. Deweese received a good public school education, but at the death of his father gave up school and went to work in the Grange store at Spring Hill, under Isaac Rudy, who was manager at that time. He followed clerking in Spring Hill for ten years, and then entered the employ of the Metropolitan Railway Company of Kansas City, Mo. In 1902, he returned to Spring Hill and entered the employ of his former employer, John Drury, for a time and then went to Grandin, Mo., in the employ of the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company for three years. In 1905 he entered the employ of Hodges Brothers Lumber Company at their Spring Hill yard. He remained there until 1908 when he ac- cepted the position as manager of the De Soto Lumber Company, a posi- tion which he has since successfully filled. Mr. Deweese is a practical business man, and, although a young man, has had a broad and varied experience in the business world. He was united in marriage, October 25, 1905, to Miss Mary Edna Deem, of Spring Hill, Kan. She is a daughter of David and Rhoda Deem, early settlers of Spring Hill town- ship. To Mr. and Mrs. Deweese have been born two children, Rhoda Maxine, born at Spring Hill, July 28, 1907, and Grace Mildred, born March 31, 19II, at De Soto, Kan.
B. S. Taylor, president and treasurer of the Taylor Mercantile Com- pany, De Soto, Kan., belongs to a family of pioneer merchants of John- son county. His father, Charles H. Taylor, was a member of the firm Taylor, Baldwin & Company, who engaged in the mercantile business at De Soto, fifty years ago. Their first store was in a small frame building on Shawnee Street. The business continued under that firm name and style until 1878, when Charles H. Taylor bought out the other partners and conducted the business until his death in 1896, and two years later the Taylor Mercantile Company was organized when B. S. Taylor and other members of the Taylor family bought the stock and reorganized the business. A. J. Taylor is now secretary of the company. They carry about $10,000 stock of general merchandise and own their own building, and are one of the leading concerns of the kind in John-
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son county, and the Taylor Mercantile Company is perhaps the oldest mercantile institution in Johnson county that has been continuously under the management of the members of any one family. B. S. Taylor, who is the subject of this review, was born in Bureau county, Illinois, April 30, 1863, a son of Charles H. and Mattie (Strawn) Taylor, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Illinois. They were married at Ottawa, Ill., and six children were born to this union ; Alice Belle, Eliza- beth, Eva, Emma and B. S. B. S. Taylor was only two years old when the family came to Kansas and located in De Soto in 1865. He attended the common schools, and when eighteen years old began clerking in his father's store, which was the beginning of his mercantile career, which has continued up to the present time. Mr. Taylor was married in 1888, to Miss Alice Frain, a native daughter of Kansas. born at De Soto, of pioneer parents. Her father owned and operated a ferry boat across the Kaw river at De Soto in an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born four children, two of whom are living, as follows: Louis F., born in 1890, a graduate of the Lawrence High School, and Alberta, born in 1899, a student in the Lawrence High School. Mr. Taylor is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and has been a member of the Masonic Lodge for twenty-five years, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen for twenty-seven years, and has passed the chairs in three lodges.
J. S. Pellett, the present popular mayor of Olathe and assistant cashier of the Olathe State Bank, is a native son of Johnson county. He was born in Olathe, January 20, 1880, and is a son of William and Jessie (Sutton) Pellett. William Pellett was born in Albany, N. Y., in 1834. He came west in the fifties and located at Peoria, Ill., where he was employed as a clerk by J. E. Sutton. He remained there until 1859 when he made an extended tour through Texas, and afterwards came to Kansas on a visit. After remaining here a short time he became attached to the country, and determined it to make it his home. He entered the employ of S. F. Hill, as clerk and remained in that capacity until the Civil war broke out when he enlisted in a company of three- months men under Captain Schriver, but was not mustered out of ser- vice until the expiration of six months. In 1862, he received a recruiting commission, and he, with the assistance of others raised a full company in eleven days, which was mustered into service as Company H, Twelfthi regiment, Kansas infantry. Mr. Pellett became first lieutenant and served until the close of the war. He then returned to Olathe and was appointed deputy treasurer under Colonel Hayes and served in that capa- city two and one-half years. He then engaged in the mercantile busi- ness, in partnership with J. E. Sutton, his father-in-law. This firm was engaged in the general mercantile business and later Mr. Pellett was engaged in the shoe business alone. Coincident with his mercantile career, which was very successful, he invested extensively in Johnson
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county land, and is one of the extensive land owners of Johnson county. He was elected mayor of Olathe in 1870, and since coming to Johnson county has taken an active part in the welfare and development of his adopted county and State. He was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness in Olathe for a number of years, but for the last twenty years has been practically retired from an active business career. Jessie Sutton, his wife, is a native of Hamilton, Ontario, and a daughter of J. E. Sutton, one of the pioneer merchants of Johnson county. William Pellett and wife reside in Olathe in their beautiful residence on West Park Street. J. S. Pellett is the only child of William and Jessie (Sutton) Pellett He was educated in the public schools of Olathe, graduating from the Olathe High School in the class of 1898. He then attended Kansas University for a time and later entered the Central Business College, Kansas City, Mo., where he was graduated in 1900 and after that attend- ed Kansas University again for a time. He then entered the employ of the First National Bank of Olathe, as a bookkeeper, and later became assistant cashier. He was employed in that bank for six years and in 1908, when the Olathe State Bank was re-organized, he accepted the assistant cashiership of that institution and has served in that capacity to the present time. Mr. Pellett was married August 8, 1905, to Miss Estelle Conn, of Olathe, Kan. She was born in Collins, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Pellett have two children, James William and Esther Virginia. Mr. Pellett is a stockholder and director in the Olathe Electric Light and Power Company. He is a Republican and has taken an active interest in political affairs since boyhood. He has been treasurer of the Johnson county Republican central committee. In 1908 he was elected city treasurer of Olathe, and reelected to succeed himself in 1910, and served as secretary of the board of education until he resigned in 1913. In the spring of 1913 he was elected mayor of Olathe for a term of three years and is making a record as a capable and efficient executive. He is a member of all of the Masonic bodies and is district deputy Grand Master for the fifth Kansas district. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and belongs to the Episcopal church.
Rev. James A. Ording, Pastor of St. Paul's Catholic Church, Olathe, is a native of the Keystone State. He was born near Mt. Pleasant, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1881. He was educated in the public schools of Forest City, Pa., and entered college September 12, 1899. He studied theology at St. Bonaventure College, Alleghany, N. Y., and was ordained a priest in the Immaculate Conception Cathe- dral, Leavenworth, Kan., by the Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Lillis, on June 13, 1909. He was then appointed assistant pastor to Rev. B. S. Kelley at Leavenworth, where he served until his appointment as pastor at Olathe, August 12, 1910. Since coming to Olathe, Father Ording has been active in his work and very successful in bettering the conditions of
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the congregation. He has erected a residence in Olathe at a cost of $5,000, besides paying off a $1,000 indebtedness which was on the church when he came here. He has had the interior of the church deco- rated. The expense of the decoration, however, was a donation from Mr. Frank Peck, of Kansas City, Mo. Father Ording has also established a parochial school in a building which he bought and which is located across Santa Fe Street from the church. The school is in charge of the Benedictine Order of Sisters, and was established in September, 1914, and a new school building is now in the course of construction adjoining the church on the west. When completed it will be a brick structure 35x52 feet, two stories high and will be made as nearly fire proof as possible. It will be modern in every particular and capable of accommo- dating about 100 students. Father Ording also has charge of the Sacred Heart Church at Gardner, as a mission. When he took that charge, the needs of the congregation were such as to make a new church impera- tive, and in 1912 they built a handsome, new brick church, 35x80 feet, costing about $8,000. Many interesting reminiscences are associated with the early history of St. Paul's parish, whose first members faced the troubles of border days and the many hardships accompanying them, to make homes for themselves on the prairies of Kansas. The first mass within the city limits of Olathe was celebrated in the private residence of Mr. and Mrs. Terence Cosgrove in February, 1860, by Rev. Father Scatt, of Lawrence, Kan. Subsequent masses were celebrated at intervals in the Masonic hall and in the private residences of Peter Cosgrove, John Haverty, Joseph McNulty, Mrs. McNamara, John Mead and others of the little community by Fathers Scatt, Favre, Denesterman, Pichler and Myers. On Sunday afternoon in the spring of 1868, a meeting was held at the home of Mrs. Peter Cosgrove, who lived on the Kansas City road two miles east of Olathe, and an organiza- tion effected and plans for building a new church were discussed. The result was the construction of a small frame church 30x40 feet, located on a lot in the northeast part of Olathe, known as the Cornwell and Barton addition. This lot was a gift from the town company and the church was conducted as a mission church, and attended by priests either from Eudora or Shawnee once a month for seven years. In 1875 Rev. M. J. Casey was appointed the first resident pastor of Olathe with Gardner and Edgerton as missions. In 1879, a lot was purchased on the corner of Santa Fe and Chestnut streets, and a new brick church erected at a cost of $10,000, and only a few years afterwards it was found that the walls of this church were spreading and the foundation giving away. Rev. Patrick McInerney was pastor at that time and he built a new church on the site of the old one, at a cost of $12,000, which is the present edifice. For some reason St. Paul's Church has been sub- jected to many changes of pastors and to write of each here as he truly deserves would be impossible. From the archives of Episcopal residence
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we find the following appointments of pastors for Olathe: 1875, Rev. M. J. Casey ; 1885, Rev. John Francis Lee; 1886, Rev. Bernard Hayden ; 1887, Rev. Bartholomew Werf and Rev. P. Mckeever; 1888, Rev. John Redecker ; 1890, Rev. George Patrick Sherr ; 1895, Rev. Bernard Hudson ; 1897, Rev. H. Friesberg; 1899, Rev. P. J. Kennedy ; 1900, Rev. Patrick McInerney ; 1907, Rev. Hugh Herron ; 1910, Rev. James A. Ording. Of this list of faithful priests, at least five have passed to their eternal re- ward, Revs. Lee, Hayden, Hudson, Sherr and Casey.
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