USA > Kansas > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Kansas > Part 30
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
pany in the capacity of bookkeeper and has been associated with that concern since. In 1906, when Hodges Brothers purchased the business of the Edgerton Lumber Company, Mr. Hale became local manager, and has conducted the business since that time in a way that reflects great credit on him. His straightforward business methods have won the con- fidence of the public and made many friends for himself and the interests which he represents. Mr. Hale was united in marriage, June 26, 1901, to Miss Catherine, daughter of Florence McCarthy, a personal sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. To this union was born one child, Bernard M., born October 9, 1907, now attending school in Edger- ton. Mrs. Hale departed this life November 3, 1907. Mr. Hale is a Dem- ocrat and a member of the Catholic church.
Thomas S. Greer, M. D., a prominent Johnson county physician and surgeon, engaged in the practice of his profession at Edgerton, is a native of Missouri. He was born at Lexington, December 16, 1862, and is a son of Joseph R. and Tabitha (Dickinson) Greer. The father was a Missouri farmer and a son of Jefferson Greer, of Virginia, a cloth manu- facturer. The Greer family is of Scotch-English origin, and in the early history of the family the name is said to have been MacGreer, but the Mac was dropped a century or so ago. Tabitha Dickinson is of English and German descent. Joseph R. and Tabitha (Dickinson) Greer were the parents of four children, Dr. Greer and two brothers, one of whom is a dentist and resides at Elyria, Ohio, and the other resides in Cleve- land, and the sister is now Mrs. C. H. Ayers, who resides at Independence, Mo. Dr. Greer received his medical education in the Kansas City Medical College, where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1894. Since that time he has been engaged in the practice of his profession at Edgerton and has built up an extensive practice. Dr. Greer is a close student of the science of medicine and keeps_ himself thoroughly posted in all the details of that ever developing sci- ence. He was united in marriage, September 20, 1887, to Miss Jessie DeTar, a daughter of M. S. DeTar, a pioneer merchant of Edgerton. To Dr. and Mrs. Greer have been born four children: Inez Elizabeth, mar- ried W. A. Harrison ; Thomas; William and James Gordon. Dr. Greer has taken an active part in the political life of Edgerton, and is deeply interested in every movement for the upbuilding and betterment of his town and community. He has served several terms as city councilman and was mayor of Edgerton for four years. He is a member of the county, State and American medical associations and is president of the Johnson County Medical Association.
Rev. Mathew McFeatters came to Edgerton, Kan., to take charge of the Presbyterian church in April, 1887. He spent the following fourteen years in earnest endeavor to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the community. Mr. McFeatters was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, born in Pennsylvania in 1834, and graduated from Jefferson College at Can- nonsburg, Pa., in 1854. Several years of his young manhood were spent
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teaching in Lexington, Ky., where he acquired a lasting enthusiasm for the famed blue grass country. It was here that he decided to devote his life to the ministry, and studied theology at Danville, Ky. The broad prairies of Texas then appealed to him as a field of labor, and here he found the gifted woman who became his wife, in 1861, Miss Antinette Wallace, a successful educator, and herself a minister's daughter, she proved through the thirty-eight years of their married life a true help- mate. His life work was in the Presbyterian churches of Gonzales, Tex .; Lockhart, Tex .; New Middleton, Milton, Stone River, Tenn .; Quinemo, Kan .; Navasota, Tex., Gardner and Edgerton, Kan. In almost all these places church buildings or manses were erected as a result of his labors; but the upbuilding of worthy characters in the people under his pastoral care was his chief desire. He was known as a good preacher, and, better still, as a kindly, Christian gentleman. It was his fate to go from North to South and South to North in those days when sectional prejudices ran high, but it was characteristic of the man that without any sacrifice of principle those who knew him loved and honored him on either side of the Mason and Dixon line. His good wife, having died in 1899, Mr. McFeatters felt the weight of advancing years, and resigned his pulpit in 1901, spending the remaining years until his death, in 1908, tranguilly in the little home in Edgerton with his only daughter, Miss Elizabeth McFeatters, who since the death of her father has resided in Edgerton. She was born at Lockhart, Tex., and after finishing her edu- cation in Bethany College, Topeka, taught in the Texas public schools, about a year, at Novasota. She then specialized as a private teacher in painting for a number of years, and has taught English and German to private pupils, and has also had classes at Gardner, Wellsville and Edgerton. She is an accomplished woman and a devout member of the Presbyterian church and active in church work and Sunday school.
John Marty, a well known citizen and successful farmer of Mission township, is a native of Wisconsin. He was born in Green county, Jan- uary 25, 1853, and is a son of Jacob Marty, a native of Switzerland, born in 1826. His wife, Electa Hill, was born in New York in 1830. The Marty family came to Kansas City, Mo., in 1865, and the same year came to Kansas, and located in Johnson county. The family consisted of the parents and four children, as follow: Chloe, born in Greene county in 1851, married Frank Merritt in 1869 and is now deceased; Mary, born in Greene county in 1859, married William Poteet, of Johnson county, in 1879, now resides at Paris, Mo., and has five children ; John, the sub- ject of this sketch; Laura, born in Johnson county, June, 1866, married J. A. Peteet, of Paola, Kan., and they now reside in Orange county, Cali- fornia, and are extensive orange growers. John Marty was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin and Johnson county, receiving a good common school education. At the age of twenty-one he engaged in farming on the old home place, on his own account. His father bought the place in 1865 from a Mr. Holmes, of Kansas City. Holmes had
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bought the place from a Mr. Keeler, who got his title from "Red or Rad", a Shawnee Indian. John Marty has bought additional land and now owns 280 acres of some of the best land in Johnson county, which has the advantage of joining the rapidly growing town of Overland Park. It is one of the best kept, best looking farms along the Strang Line. The farm residence is commodious and modern and one of the finest in Johnson county. Mr. Marty was united in marriage, December 31, 1874, in Shawnee, now Mission township, Johnson county, to Miss Mildred S. Williams, of Mission township. Mrs. Marty is a native of Michigan, born at Battle Creek in 1850. To Mr. and Mrs. Marty have been born five children, as follow: Charles Sumner, unmarried, a grad- uate of Kansas Agriculture College, now a prosperous stockman of Lake City, Barber county, Kansas ; Frederick Jacob died June 28, 1880; Floyd French, educated at Baker University, a successful farmer near Bucyrus, Kan., and owns the farm formerly owned by D. H. Heflebower, ex-State treasurer of Kansas, married Edith Coe, who was a student of Baker University at Olathe, Kan., in 1902, and they have five children, John Robert, Mortimer Coe, Floyd French, Mildred Elmora and Ruth Lou- ise ; Frieda E., born at Frenchville, Col., a graduate of the State Agri- cultural College, Manhattan, class of 1905, resides at Overland Park with her parents ; and Jessie Lou, born in Mission township, is a grad- uate of the Manhattan Agricultural College, and Columbia University, New York City, married Loren W. Lawson, June II, 1912, and now resides at McPherson, Kan. Mr. Marty recollects many early incidents of pioneer Johnson county history which left their imprints on his mind as a child. He remembers when the Quaker mission building near Mer- riam was used for meetings and Sunday school, and he attended Sunday school there in 1865, when most of the attendants were Indians.
J. O. Huggins, a well known and successful Johnson county farmer, is a native of the Sunflower State. He was born on Salt creek, Leaven- worth county Kansas, August 8, 1856, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Amanda (Hundley) Huggins. The father was a native of Tennessee and the mother of Kentucky. Benjamin F. Huggins came to Kansas in 1850, and was married after coming to this State. IIe preempted gov- ernment land on Salt creek, in Leavenworth county, and was a pioneer of that section. He remained in Leavenworth county until 1865, when he came to Johnson county and settled on the Black Bob reservation, and followed farming there until 1883, when he removed to Olathe, where he died in 1895. He was a Democrat and a veteran of the Civil war. He and his wife were ardent supporters of the Free-State cause and endured many hardships during the days of the Border war, although they adhered strongly to their anti-slavery convictions. The mother died in 1891. They were the parents of ten children: Eretta, deceased ; Jennie, who married Robert Baker, of Olathe: George F., of Belton, Mo .; a girl who died in infancy ; J. O., the subject of this sketch ; Mar- tha Frances resides in Olathe ; Prudie married George Folmer, of Olathe ;
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Henry Sterling, of Olathe township; Robert G., of Olathe, and William S., who died at the age of fifteen. J. O. Huggins was reared in Johnson county and attended the Black Bob district school. This was one of the primitive, pioneer school houses of Johnson county. In 1883 he went to South Dakota and took up government land, and remained in that State for nineteen years. He then sold out, and after spending about two years in Colorado, returned to Johnson county, in 1903, and bought a fine farm of 160 acres, three miles northwest of Olathe, where he con- ducts an extensive dairy farm. He milks from forty to forty-five cows, mostly Holsteins. However, he has some Jerseys and Shorthorns. Mr. Huggins was married, July 4, 1880, to Miss Ida May Phillips, a native of Illinois, who came to Kansas with her parents when two years old. They located on the Black Bob reservation, and her father, David Phil- lips, now resides in South Dakota. To Mr. and Mrs. Huggins have been born eight children, as follow: Orpha married George Trotter, Syra- cuse, Kan .; Benjamin F., Geddis, S. D .; Joseph F., Geddis, S. D .; Wal- ter, a farmer of Olathe township; Ray and Ora, twins, both associated with their father in the management of the home place ; Archie and Fred died in childhood. Mr. Huggins is a Democrat, but has never aspired to hold political office; however, he has served as clerk of the school board and held other minor offices. He is a member of the Grange, the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Baptist church.
A. J. Hunt, of Olathe township, is one of the successful farmers of John_ son county. He is a native of Woodford county, Kentucky, born July 29, 1852, and is a son of Wilson and Agnes (Ford) Hunt, both natives of Kentucky. The family came from Kentucky in 1868 and reached Olathe on the twenty-second day of November of that year, and they were the first passengers to reach Olathe over the Frisco road which was just about completed to that point, although they were not running any regu- lar trains. The mother and three small children rode in the cab of the engine. This was before Olathe had even a depot. The father was a harness maker and worked at his trade in Olathe for ten or twelve years when he bought a farm near Gardner, but continued to work at his trade for several years. He died in 1912, at the age of eighty-three, and the mother passed away in 1915, aged eighty-three. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom are living, as follows: A. J., the subject of this sketch ; Robert L., Denver, Colo., and John T., resides on the home place in Gardner township. A. J. Hunt remained at home until he was about twenty-three years old when he went to work as a farm laborer for three or four years. In 1878 he bought a place near Lone Elm. Shortly afterwards he sold that place and about a year later bought his present place which consists of 150 acres, one mile west of Olathe, which is one of the best farms in Olathe township. He carries on general farming and dairying and has been very successful in his undertakings. Mr. Hunt was married July 28, 1878, to Miss Flora A.,
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daughter of George W. and Lavina (Raymond) McIntyre, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Chautauqua county, New York, and a descendant of New England stock. The father died in Olathe in 1864, aged fifty years, and the mother died in 1895, at the age of seventy. They were among the very first settlers of Johnson county and came here from Milwaukee, Wis., in 1855. They took up Government land in Olathe township, and the place is now known as the Greening farm. Before coming to Kansas the father was a sailor on the great lakes and for years sailed from Buffalo to Chicago. They were the parents of seven children : Francis, married James Wells, of Olathe, and is now deceased ; George served in the Civil war and is now deceased ; Myron was also a veteran of the Civil war, now deceased ; Flora A., the wife of A. J. Hunt, whose name introduces this sketch; William, Olathe, Kan .; Fred, a veteran of the Civil war, resides at Olathe; Jessie married Fred Warren, Olathe. Mrs. Hunt was born in Milwaukee, Wis., May 6, 1856, and was a child when her parents came to Kansas. She was here during the stirring days of the Border war and the Civil war that followed, and has a distinct recollection of many of the events of those times. She recalls Quantrill's raid in Olathe and remembers, at that time, that her mother took her and some other children down on the banks of Mill creek where they kept in hiding until Quantrill and his guerillas had completed their work and passed on. To Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have been born seven children, as follows: John, a graduate of Olathe High School and Yale College, now a prominet physician of Seattle, Wash .; Ger- trude M., married Roy Dent, Seattle, Wash .; Agnes L., married Arthur Newhart, Olathe; Albert Roy, died in childhood; Gladys and two chil- dren died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Hunt is a member of the Grange and is a Democrat. Mrs. Hunt belongs to the Old Settlers' Association, the Women's Relief Corp and the Home Missionary Society of the Methodist church.
Casper Busch, one of the large land owners and most prosperous farmers of Johnson county, is a native of Germany. He was born, March 3, 1844, at Emtinghausen Amtatinhausen, Province of Hanover, Ger- many. He was reared in his native country and educated in the schools of Germany. When he was twenty-one years of age he left the Father- land and immigrated to America, locating in Preble county, Ohio. Here he worked as a farm laborer about one year, when he went to Cincinnati, where he was employed in a lead factory for four years. He then decided that there were better opportunities for an ambitious young man in the new West, and, following this determination, he came to Kansas, in the spring of 1870, locating in Johnson county. He bought a farm of forty acres, located about four miles north of Olathe, from a Mr. McLaugh- lin, who went to western Kansas. Mr. Busch has added to his original holding from time to time and now owns one of the finest farms in the
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county. It consists of 590 acres of well-improved land, with good build- ings, and is one of the finest appearing places to be seen along any Kan- sas highway. Mr. Busch is a close student of the details of agriculture and a scientific farmer. His notable success is partially due to that fact, and to the fact that he has been an untiring worker and does not put off until tomorrow what he can do today. Mr. Busch was united in mar- riage, in 1870, to Miss Adaline Klusman and they have one child, Anna Catharine, born in Olathe township August 23, 1871, and is now the wife of H. F. Sitterman. Mr. Busch is a public-spirited citizen and is ever ready to further the interests of his county and State, and is an enthu- siastic Kansan, or, as he expresses it, "The Sunflower State is good enough for me."
R. C. Hundley, a well known farmer of Olathe township, is a native son of Johnson county, born in Monticello township, November 10, 1869. He is the son of William and Mary (Roberts) Hundley, both natives of Kentucky. William C. Hundley was born in Henry county, Kentucky, April 12, 1833, and in 1857 came to Kansas with his parents and settled in Leavenworth county, and the following year the family removed to Monticello township, Johnson county, and were among the early settlers of that section. William Hundley and Mary Roberts were married in Platte county, Missouri, in 1856. She was a native of Law- rence county, Kentucky, and removed to Missouri with her parents when she was sixteen years old. Her parents came to Kansas in 1857, and later returned to Missouri but came to Johnson county afterwards where they spent their lives. William Hundley died in Monticello township, January 15, 1900, and his wife now resides on the old homestead. They were the parents of seven children, as follows: Nancy, married Ross Williams, Kansas City, Mo .; Allie, married Jacob Broadhurst, Kansas City, Kan .; William, resides on the old homestead with his mother ; Ef- fie also resides on the home place; Edward, Kansas City, Kan .; R. C., the subject of this sketch, and Maud married Clay Leisure. R. C. Hundley was reared in Monticello township and attended the public schools, remaining on the home farm until he was about twenty- five years old, when he engaged in farming on his own account which has since been his occupation. Mr. Hundley was united in marriage in 1897 to Miss Caroline Thompson, a native of Indiana who resided in Dekalb county, Missouri, at the time of her marriage. They have one child, Dewey, residing at home. Mr. Hundley is one of the substantial citizens of Johnson county and his political views are Democratic al- though he has never sought public office.
S. H. Allison, a well known and successful farmer of Olathe township, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Shelby county, May 5, 1856, and is a son of R. C. and Mary (Russell) Allison, the former a native of Penn- sylvania and the latter of Ohio. The mother died when S. H. was about two years of age. The father followed farming in Ohio until
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about 1869 when he moved to Kansas and bought a quarter section of land at $20 dollars per acre. This property is now the home of S. H. Allison, whose name introduces this sketch. The father improved the place and built a log house about forty rods south of where the farm residence now stands. He spent the remainder of his life in Johnson county where he followed farming and prospered. He died in 1899. The Allison family consisted of six children, as follows: J. C., who re- sides in Topeka; W. M., a resident of Stanley, Kan .; S. H., the subject of this sketch; F. R. and two sisters who are now deceased. S. H. Allison attended the public schools, both in Ohio and Kansas. He was thirteen years old when the family came to Johnson county. He has made farming his life occupation and was associated with his father until the death of the latter. Since that time he has carried on farming on the home place and is one of the substantial farmers and stockmen of Johnson county. Mr. Allison was united in marriage March 15, 1897, to Miss Minnie, daughter of T. L. Beckett, of Olathe township. To this union have been born two children, Lucile and Jennis, the elder, a sophomore in the Olathe High School. Mr. Allison is a Republican and since reaching manhood has been active in the local affairs of his party and has rarely missed attending a county or State convention. In 1900 he was elected county commissioner of Johnson county and reelec- ted to that office at the expiration of his first term, serving eight years in all, and during that time established a record as a conscientious and efficient public officer. In 1914 he was appointed trustee of Olathe township, and in the fall of that year was elected to that office. He has the distinction of having served as county commissioner of Johnson county longer than any other man. Mr. Allison is a member of the Grange, the Modern Woodmen of America and the family belongs to the Presbyterian church.
Roy Murray, the capable city engineer of Olathe, is a native son of Johnson county. He was born in Olathe township, February 9, 1879, and is a son of Arnold and Martha K. (Ferree) Murray, both natives of Rush county, Indiana. The father was a Civil war veteran, enlisting at the age of sixteen and served in the One Hundred and Twenty-third regi- ment, Indiana infantry, and was wounded during his term of service. In 1869 he came to Kansas locating at Pleasant View, Johnson county, and later bought a farm east of Olathe where he followed farming until his death, April 11, 1903, in his fifty-ninth year. His health was so im- paired as a result of his services in the army that he never was really a well man after the war. However, he prospered and made money and at the time of his death was well to do. Roy Murray is one of a family of three, as follows: Ora May, the wife of former Gov. George Hodges, of Olathe; Ada, who died at the age of six and Roy, the subject of this sketch. Roy Murray attended the public schools and graduated from the Olathe High School in the class of 1897. He then traveled on the
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road for four years and during that time covered nearly every State for three years studied civil engineering and in 1906-07 he pursued the same course in the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and in the fall of 1907 was appointed city engineer of Olathe and has since served in that capacity. During his term of office, the city of Olathe has done a great deal of constructive improvement and the city has spent thousands of dollars, all of which falls under the super- vision of the city engineer. It is up to him to see that the work is done according to specifications and that the taxpayers receive their money's worth. The new water works system has been completed during Mr. Murray's administration and a great deal of sewer work has been com- pleted as well as street paving. Mr. Murray is a skilled civil engineer and a conscientious public official. He was married, March 29, 1908. to Miss Nadiene Stuart Nichols, daughter of Charles H. Nichols, of Oklahoma City, and they have one child, Evelyn Jane, three years of age. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Fra- ternal Order of Eagles and is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Murray has a broad acquaintance in Johnson county and many friends.
A. O. Moon, superintendent of the Johnson county hospital and farm, is a native son of Kansas. He was born in Lyon county, July 24, 1871, and is a son of Asa and Anne P. (Pennington) Moon, both natives of Hamilton county, Indiana, the former born September 30, 1834, and the latter in 1838. They were the parents of seven children, as follows : Alvin, died in infancy ; Emma, married Henry Allen, Hutchinson, Kan .; Luther, Neosha Rapids, Kan .; Dora, married J. R. Stone, Chase county, Kansas; Alvah, Benedict; A. O., the subject of this sketch, and Frank. Asa Moon, the father, was a son of John and Lavina (Burnside) Moon, natives of North Carolina, who removed to Indiana at an early day, and in 1858 came to Kansas. They drove the entire distance with a "private conveyance," which consisted of an ox team and a prairie schooner. They settled in Lyon county on what has since been known as Moon creek. They were among the very first settlers of that section of the State and their house was used for religious meetings for a num- ber of years. They prempted land there and John Moon and his wife spent the remainder of their lives in that locality. They were the parents of eight children, Asa, Jesse, deceased, of Johnson county ; Jacob and Mary, twins, the latter deceased and Jacob resides at Emporia ; Elisha, resides in Lyon county ; William, Madison, Kan .; Calvin, Emporia ; and Melisaa. Asa Moon came to Kansas in 1858 and for a time remained in the vicinity of Shawnee mission. Johnson county. He then went to Lyon county and preemptied Government land and has made that county his- home ever since. He was engaged in freighting in the early days, and made many trips across the plains from Leavenworth to Emporia and between other points in the State. Lyon county at that time was known as Breckenridge county and it was well in advance of the border line of
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