USA > Kansas > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Kansas > Part 33
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THE HISTORY OF SOLANO COUNTY.
enterprise displayed by its proprietor in the disposition of town lots, and, perhaps, a few at the East have cause to remember him also; huge maps of an extensive town plat were placed into the hands of agents, who visited all the principal Eastern cities, and sold and resold lots covering all the swamp land in that section ; excursions were gotten up in San Francisco, and a person paid a certain amount ($10, we think) for a round trip ticket, which included a claim to a town lot in the flourishing (on paper) town of Newport. At the end of about five years, the property again changed hands, E. I. Upham becoming the owner ; he changed the name back to the original, and so it continues to this day. Mr. Upham is an energetic man, and he has made quite a business and shipping point out of the town; two lines of steamers stop there, going each way, daily ; it is connected with the outside world by the Montezuma telegraph.
Schools and Churches :- There is only one school house in the township ; this one is situated near the town of Collinsville ; strange to note, there is not a church in the township. Here is a broad and fertile field for some zealous missionary.
It is also the chief salmon fishing ground in California, and large num- bers are shipped daily to San Francisco. At certain seasons of the year there are vast numbers canned for export to various parts of the world.
The village has two hotels, three saloons, billiards, etc., two stores, post- office, telegraph office, and an agency of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express.
The first salmon canning establishment in California was erected here by A. Booth & Co., who afterwards discontinued and was succeeded by E. Cor- ville & Co. who have carried on the business for two years. Other canneries have since been erected and are now conducted by the Sacramento River Packing Co.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
smith in that town. He was also engaged in the grain, lumber and coal business there for a number of years, and for a time was in part- nership with E. R. Gooding, under the firm name of Gooding & Hunt, but later Mr. Hunt bought his partner's interest and conducted that branch of his business alone, until he sold the business to Hodges Broth- ers in 1897, and since that time has been interested in farming and, in fact, has been since coming to Kansas. He has acquired considerable land and now owns several farms, which aggregate about 500 acres. For a number of years he was a large cattle feeder and was successful in that business, but for the last ten or twelve years has rented most of his land and resided in Olathe, where he has a beautiful residence at No. 536 East Park Street. Mr. Hunt was married August 1, 1878, to Miss Mary J. Capperrune, of Bureau county, Illinois. She died May 2, 1907, and on October 31, 1912, Mr. Hunt was married to Mrs. Blanche H. (Buxton) Barnes, of Olathe. Mr. Hunt is a member of the Grange and for years has been active in that organization. He was State sec- retary of the Grange for three years and is a stockholder in the Grange store at Olathe. He has been a director in the Patrons Bank at Olathe, and has been president of that institution. He is also an active mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, Franklin Post, No. 68. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is one of the progres- sive and public-spirited men of Johnson county, and has been an impor- . tant factor in the affairs of this part of the State for years.
W. J. McClintock, a successful farmer and Civil war veteran, now liv- ing retired at Gardner, is a descendant of the hardy Scotch-Irish race that has made its imprint on American history. W. J. McClintock was born in Pennsylvania in 1838, and is a son of Ralph and Nancy (Monroe) McClintock, both natives of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors were Scotch- Irish and settled in that State at an early day. The Mcclintock family left the Keystone State and came west, settling in Illinois in 1854. At that time the present great State of Illinois was a vast unbroken plain, sparcely settled and in the embryo of its development. Here W. J. Mc- Clintock grew to manhood, and lived an uneventful career until the Civil war broke out. When President Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the Union he was one of the first to respond, enlisting Septem- ber 20, 1861, in the Thirty-third regiment, Illinois infantry. He was with his regiment while guarding the Iron Mountain railroad, from St. Louis to Pilot Knob, and was at the battle of Big River bridge. They then marched to Batesville, Ark., to join General Curtis after the battle of Pea Ridge, and then marched down the White river to Helena, Ark., and returned to Missouri, and was engaged in scout duty during the winter. They were then in a number of campaigns in Missouri, and were at the siege of Vicksburg afterwards. They were then trans- ferred to General Bank's division and sent on the Red River expedition, the distrastrous ending of which is well known. They then spent some
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
time near New Orleans, and participated in the siege of Mobile, and were then ordered back to Vicksburg where they spent several months before the war closed. After the surrender of Lee they returned to Illinois and were mustered out and discharged at Camp Butler. Mr. McClintock returned to his old home at Illinois and after a few months engaged in the merchantile business at Bushnell, Ill., where he remained until 1867. In 1868 he came to Kansas, locating in Gardner township, Johnson county, where he bought 160 acres of land and en- gaged in farming. He reclaimed this land from the wild state and brought it up to a high state of cultivation, until it was one of the finest farms in the county, made so by the industry of Mr. Clintock. In his active days he was one of the most progressive farmers of the county and made money and prospered. In 1911 he sold his farm and removed to Gardner where he has since enjoyed the peace and quiet of retired life. Mr. McClintock was united in marriage at Sheffield, Ill., in 1866, to Miss Mary A. Bell. She was a native of England, born near Bristol, in 1837, and came to America with her widowed mother who located in Canada, and later removed to St. Louis. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McClintock as follows: William, resides at Ottawa, Kan .; Agnes, who lives in Gardner, and Ralph, engaged in the real estate business in Chicago. The wife and mother died in 1908. Mr. McClintock is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and belongs to the Masonic lodge. He is a Methodist, and has been a life-long Republican, casting his first vote for Lincoln. In recent years he has been inclined to take the position with the Progressive wing of his party.
Jewett Stephenson, among the largest land owners of Johnson county. is now living at Gardner, practically retired, after a successful business career. Mr. Stephenson was born in Washington county, Ohio, Novem- ber 29, 1846. He is a son of John and Louisa (Gray) Stephenson, both natives of the Old Dominion, who were born and reared beneath the shadows of the Blue Ridge mountains. John Stephenson and Louisa Gray were married in Ohio and became the parents of seven children, of whom Jewett was the youngest. He spent his early life in his native State, and in 1880 came to Johnson county, Kansas, to visit a brother who resided in Spring Hill township. This section of the country impressed him very favorably, and after spending a few months here, he returned to Ohio and disposed of his interests there and the following year returned to Kansas and engaged in the livery business at Spring Hill. He conducted this business about eighteen months when he traded it for twenty acres of land in Gardner township. Ile bought more land from time to time, until now he owns 480 acres. Mr. Stephen- son has been an extensive farmer and stock raiser, and has been one of the leading producers of blue grass in the county. He has always been a successful trader and dealer, and has made a great deal of money in
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
land transactions and speculation of that character. At one time he owned over 700 acres of land in Johnson county for speculative pur- poses. His natural trait as a speculator manifested itself in his early life. During the Civil war he and his brother bought a great many horses, which they sold to the Government and cleared up a great deal of money in this way. Mr. Stephenson was married February 27, 1890, to Miss Carrie Kauf, a native of Pennsylvania. Her parents were Dan- iel and Caroline Kauf, both Pennsylvanians, who moved to Ohio and spent their lives in that State. Mr. Stephenson is one of the prosperous and substantial men of Johnson county. He is a member of the Grange and, although reared a Republican, he is inclined to be independent in his political views.
A. J. Foster, a Civil war veteran and Johnson county pioneer, now liv- ing retired at Gardner, has had a varied and interesting career. Mr. Fos- teris a native of Michigan, born in January, 1837, and is a son of Andrew and Rachel (McMichel) Foster, natives of Pennsylvania and of Scotch- Irish descent. Andrew Foster was born in 1790, and was a soldier in the War of 1812; he was a son of Andrew Foster, who was also a Pennsyl- vanian, born at Hanover, in 1751, and died in 1817. He served in the Revolutionary war in Capt. David McQueen's company which was a part of the Seventh battalion, Lancaster county militia. Andrew Foster, father of A. J., subject of this sketch, removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio with his wife and one child, and about 1832 they went from Ohio to Michigan where the parents spent their lives. They reared nine children. A. J. Foster received a good education in the common schools and stud- ied surveying when a boy, and when about sixteen years old joined a surveying party that was surveying in the Lake Superior region. Dur- ing the years 1855-56 he helped survey a line from the head of Lake Superior to Hudson, Wis., and also did the preliminary survey work on the St. Croix and Lake Superior railroad. In August, 1856, he returned to his old home to visit. While returning he was accompanied by his sister, who was a school teacher and was on her way to Superior, Wis., where she had been engaged to teach. Something went wrong with the rudder of the vessel at 2 a. m., October 28, 1856, and they went ashore, smashing the vessel on the rocks and his sister, Margaret, and thirty or forty other women were lost, and Mr. Foster was among the res- cued. The vessel was broken in two, and soon dashed to pieces and the only wonder is that any of the 120 passengers on board escaped. After being rescued the party reached Grand Island and found shelter in the light house there, but not until they were nearly exhausted from ex- posure. All of the survivors had their feet frozen and many never recov- ered from the effect of the shock and exposure. The passengers were fi- nally taken to Detroit by a vessel sent to their rescue and, there, they were fitted out with comfortable clothing, etc. Mr. Foster then re- turned home and that winter taught school in Michigan, remaining in
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
that State until the Civil war broke out, when he enlisted in Company L, Second regiment, Michigan cavalry. Mr. Foster was commissioned first lieutenant. Their first colonel was Col. Gordon Granger and upon his promotion Phil Sheridan became colonel of the regiment. They were first sent to St. Louis, and later were in the siege of New Madrid ; battle of Pittsburgh Landing and from there to Shiloh. They were then on the campaign against General Beauregard, and after driving him out of Corinth, operated in northern Mississippi, in the summer of 1862, and in the fall of that year they were transferred to northern Kentucky and then across the river to Cincinnati to intercept Morgan in his raid through southern Ohio. In April, 1863, Lieutenant Foster resigned on account of disability and returned to Michigan and engaged in the saw- mill business. About a year later he went to Elkhart, Ind., where he engaged in the manufacture of staves. In 1866 he disposed of his busi- ness there and went to Missouri where he was engaged in the hard- ware business for three years. He then returned to northern Indiana where he engaged in farming, and while there took a prominent part in local affairs and was elected county surveyor of St. Joseph county, Indiana, and later served two terms as county superintendent of that county and was the first county superintendent of St. Joseph county. In 1871, he entered the employ of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company as salesman, and was soon made general agent for that com- pany at St. Joseph, Mo., and served in that capacity two or three years when he came to Johnson county and located on a farm in Gardner town- ship, which he had bought in 1871. This was in 1879. He remained with the machine company for a few years after settling on his farm here, but made his home in Johnson county. He is now extensively interested in Oklahoma land. Mr. Foster was married in 1859, to Miss Jane H. Bacon, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Van Namce) Bacon, natives of New York and of Holland-Dutch descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster have been born the following children : Herman B., born in 1859, died in 19II ; William A., born in 1862, lawyer, Omaha, Neb .; Florence, born in 1866, resides in Omaha, Neb .; Nathaniel T., born in 1875, resides in Dex- ter, Kan., and Rachael, born in 1879, a teacher in the State School for the Deaf at Olathe. Nathaniel T. is a veteran of the Spanish-American war and served in the Twentieth Kansas regiment, of which he was a color-sergeant. A. J. Foster is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public and is a Thirty-second degree Mason, and has been a Mason for fifty-seven years. He has been a life-long Democrat but voted for Lin- coln in 1864.
John Andrew Pearce, a prominent farmer of Gardner, is a well known Johnson county pioneer. He has spent fifty-eight useful years of his life in Johnson county. In fact, he practically began with Johnson county, and has stayed with it ever since the beginning. Men of this type, who can look back over the plains of Kansas, and see conditions as they were
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
sixty years ago, are becoming fewer as the years come and go. When Mr. Pearce came to Kansas it was just plain prairie as far as the eye could see, and then more prairie as far as the imagination could see, but all this is changed and it seems incredible that such a change could be brought about within the lifetime and observation of one man. Mr. Pearce is a native of Indiana, born in Boone county, August 10, 1836, and is a son of John S. and Jane (Coad) Pearce, natives of Eng. land, the former born in 1800 and the latter in 1804. John S. Pearce came to America about 1820, but returned to the mother country, where he was married and brought his bride to America, first locating in Baltimore, Md. He went from there to Harpers Ferry and shortly afterwards removed to Thorntown, Ind. There were still some Indians in Indiana when he went there. He built one of the first grist mills which was oper- ated by water power at Thorntown. He operated this mill for a number of years and later came to Kansas, where he died. His wife died in Thorntown and her remains rest in the Thorntown cemetery. To John S. and Jane (Coad) Pearce were born the following children : Eliza Jane, ยท deceased; Emily, deceased; Catherine De Vore, Bushnell; Elizabeth Northrup, Iola, Kan .; Thomas E., Edgerton, Kan., and John Andrew, the subject of this sketch. In 1848, John A. Pearce and all the other mem- bers of the family, except one married daughter, started from Thorn- town, Ind .. with two prairie schooners and journeyed to McDonough county, Illinois. That section of Illinois was then a wild and unbroken country and very sparsely settled. It was twelve miles across the prairie to the nearest neighbor. All kinds of game were plentiful, and deer roamed over the plains in herds of hundreds. The Pearces took up a claim here and in 1857, John Andrew left Illinois and came to Kansas, and his brother and brother-in-law, Thornton, came to Kansas shortly afterwards. John A. Pearce preempted 160 acres south of Gardner in Gardner township, in 1858, and proved up on his claim and his land patent is still in his possession, as well as the land, and bears the signa- ture of President James Buchanan. In 1860, Mr. Pearce had an attack of "gold fever," and he joined a party of gold seekers and started on a "Pike's Peak or bust" expedition. The party consisted of sixty-five people and their train was made up of twenty-five wagons. Indians along the way were hostile at that time, but this party experienced no great difficulty with the "noble red men." On one occasion, during the trip along the Arkansas river, they were interviewed by an Indian who approached the train of emigrants and told the party that his chief must have sugar and bacon. The captain sent word to the chief that he had no sugar, nor bacon, but that he had plenty of bullets, and they were not bothered any more by Indians. Mr. Pearce remained in the Pike's Peak district from June until August when he returned to John- son county. He then began to improve his farm and followed farming and stock raising until 1900. He bought additional land until he now owns over 350 acres. In 1913 he bought a house and lot in Gardner,
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
where he now resides. He is a stockholder in the Gardner State Bank and is one of the well-to-do men of Johnson county. Mr. Pearce was married March 16, 1865, to Miss Phoebe Hanson, a native of Ohio, born April 21, 1845. She is a daughter of Manoah and Milli- cent (Way) Hanson, natives of Ohio. The father died in 1855 in Ohio and in 1863 the mother and two children came to Kansas and settled at Gardner. The two children were Lovica Stanton, Rogers, Ark., and Phoebe Pearce. To Mr. and Mrs. Pearce have been born the following children : Effie Simcox, Kansas City, Mo., and she has three children, Edna, Frances and Harold; Maud Weeks, Kansas City, Mo., is the mother of three children; Minnie married R. J. Stockmyer, Bonner Springs, Kan., and they have three children, John, Robert and Jean ; Frank Pearce, resides on the home place, married Miss Cloe McKaughn, and has two children, Leo and Arthur; Harry, resides at Salinas, Cal., married Anna Todd; W. R., is a jeweler, married Ella Sheean and has two children, Dennis and Morene. Mr. Pearce is a Progressive and a member of the Grange. His wife and children are members of the Presbyterian church. The Pearce family are well known in Johnson county and prominent in the community.
John Strongman, a Johnson county pioneer and successful farmer of Gardner township, is a native of the mother country. He was born in Cornwall, England, in 1851, and is a son of Luke and Mary Ann (Grieve) Strongman. The father was an English farmer and both he and his wife spent their lives in Cornwall, England. John Strongman was. reared on his father's farm and when a youth learned the miller's trade. All the years throughout his boyhood, his aim and ambition was to come to America, and just as soon as he reached his majority he pro- ceeded to realize the dream of his boyhood, and accordingly embarked for America on the "Montreal." and after a voyage of thirteen days on the Atlantic, reached New York. He immediately went to London, Ontario, where he remained until the following September, and worked in a brick yard. In September, 1872, he came to the States, locating in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and here worked at his trade in a grist mill for a time. In 1873 he went to Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and worked at odd jobs until 1876, when he came to Kansas. He reached Johnson county with a working capital of six cents, and after remain- ing a few weeks in Johnson county he went as far west as Wichita, but that country did not look as good to him as Johnson county, so he re- turned to Johnson county with his six cents still in his possession. He found work and in about six weeks was able to send for his wife, whom he had left in Pennsylvania. He worked at whatever he could find to do that winter, and the following spring got a team and a few farming implements and rented a farm of 160 acres, in partnership with his uncle. He met with a reasonable degree of success from the start and four years later, or in 1881, he bought an eighty acre farm, which he still
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
owns. This was the beginning of his real success, and since that time he has been successfully engaged in farming and stockraising. He has fed stock, including cattle, hogs and horses, quite extensively and has prospered, and today is one of the well-to-do farmers of the county. Mr. Strongman was united in marriage in 1872 to Miss Elizabeth Jane Pill, a daughter of Edward and Jane Pill, and a native of Cornwall. England. Her parents never came to this country, but spent their lives in Cornwall, England. Mr. and Mrs. Strongman have no children. He is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
W. J. Wilson, now deceased, was a Johnson county pioneer and a Civil war veteran, and for many years was an honored resident of Gard- ner. Mr. Wilson was born in Washington county, Ohio, September 12. 1843, and was a son of Joseph and Sidney (Cottell) Wilson, natives of Ohio. The Wilson family came west in 1859, and took up a claim in Johnson county. They were well-to-do and prosperous, for those times, in a new country. They were much better off than their less fortunate neighbors. The parents spent their lives in Johnson county and both died and are buried here. They were the parents of five children of whom W. J., whose name introduces this sketch, was the oldest. He was a lad ten years of age when the family settled in Johnson county, and here he grew to manhood on the farm and attended the pioneer schools, such as they were. When the Civil war broke out he responded to his country's call, and in January, 1862, enlisted in a company of Kansas artillery, and served three years, or until the close of the war. During his term of service he participated in many important battles, and made an unusually good military record. He returned to his John- son county home in 1865 and served an apprenticeship at the black- smith's trade. He then engaged in the blacksmith business at Gardner, where he conducted a shop throughout his life. He died October 30, 1909. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, The Grand Army of the Republic, and a life-long Republican. He was a successful business man and one of the best citizens of Johnson county. Mr. Wilson was united in marriage, January 1, 1876, to Miss Elizabeth R. Jacks, a daughter of David and Elizabeth Jacks, of Washington county, Ohio. The Jacks family came to Kansas in 1866, and settled at Olathe, where the father followed blacksmithing. To Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Wilson were born five children as follows: Carrie J., teacher, Olathe ; Elma E., married Edwin Eaton ; Joseph D., Gardner ; Jessie L., married F. B. Lyon, Gardner ; and Frank W., dentist, Gardner.
J. F. Rankin, a prosperous farmer of Gardner township, is a native of Missouri, born in 1855. He is a son of D. V. and Nancy F. (Caldwell) Rankin, both descendants of colonial ancestors. D. V. Rankin was born in Tennessee, in 1828, and was a son of J. M. Rankin, who was also a native of Tennessee, born in 1792. He was a son of William Rankin, a native of Pennsylvania and one of the pioneers
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS
of Tennessee, who settled there long before Tennessee was admitted to the Union. J. M. Rankin, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, obtained a good education under disadvantageous circumstances and became a surveyor. He was a man of great natural ability. He served in the War of 1812, and in 1839 removed from Tennessee, with his family, and located in Dade county, Missouri, where he died in 1844. D. V. Rankin, his son, the father of J. F., grew to manhood in Missouri where he married Nancy F. Caldwell. The Caldwells came from Ken- tucky and Tennessee and were of Welch descent. About the time D. V. Rankin reached his majority the slavery question was the para- mount issue in national politics. He was a decided anti-slavery man, and his views on that question incurred the enmity of the majority of his Missouri neighbors, which made existence in Missouri so distasteful to him that he came to Kansas in 1862, and located in Johnson county where he and a brother bought 160 acres of land which he sold a few months later and removed to Leavenworth county where they lived on rented land until 1866 when they returned to Missouri. They re- mained there, however, but a short time when they returned to Spring Hill, Johnson county, Kan., and kept store for three years, then moved on a farm west of Gardner and later to Gardner, where D. V. Rankin and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. He was a man of strong convictions and possessed great courage and strong will power. He went to California, driving across the plains, during the gold excite- ment in 1849, but returned in a short time, and even in his old age when gold was discovered in Alaska, it was with much difficulty that his family persuaded him not to go there. He was a natural pioneer and loved adventure, and to such men the great West owes its devel- opment. J. F. Rankin was one of a family of four children. He was reared in Missouri and Kansas and has made farming and stockraising his principal business. He bought his first quarter section of land in 1880 and has added to his first purchase, from time to time, and now owns 540 acres of fine land in Johnson county. He also owns 160 acres in Oklahoma, 212 acres in California and 640 acres in Texas, and in addition to owning these vast acres, he is interested in various other commercial enterprises. He is a director and stockholder in the Gardner State Bank and a stockholder in the Farmer's State Bank of Gardner and is a director and stockholder in the Edgerton State Bank. Mr. Rankin was united in marriage March 1, 1881, to Miss Belle Radcliffe, a native of Missouri, and four children were born to this union, as follows: Gertrude, married F. O. Brownson; Blanche, married H. O. Craig; Zada, married I. J. Putman and Mabel, married L. M. Miller, of Ottawa. The wife and mother of these children died in June, 1911. On April 20, 1914, Mr. Rankin married Eva Mckibben. Mr. Rankin has been a member of the Grange for a number of years, and he and Mrs. Rankin are members of the Presbyterian church.
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