USA > Kansas > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Kansas > Part 50
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Joseph Simpson, a retired carpenter and contractor of Spring Hill, has spent more than forty-five years of his life in Johnson county. He was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1839, a son of Thomas and Mary (Bradbury) Simpson, both natives of England. The mother died when
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Joseph was three years old, leaving five children. The father married again, and, in 1844 with his wife and children immigrated to America on a sailing vessel which required thirty-seven days to make the voy- age. While in mid-ocean the vessel on which they were making the voyage collided with another ship and narrowly escaped being sunk. They reached the port of New York where the Simpson family em- barked on a boat and sailed up the Hudson river and from there on the Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Sandusky, Ohio, and drove inland from there to Springfield, Ohio. This was before the days of railroads in that section of the country. The father was a shoemaker and worked at his trade in Springfield for a few months when he located at North Hamp- ton, Ohio, where he followed his vocation four years. He then pur- chased an emigrant outfit and in 1848 drove to Wisconsin and settled on Government land where he died in 1857. In 1859, Joseph Simpson, whose name introduces this review, went to Illinois locating in Lasalle county where, in 1862, he was married to Miss Hannah M. Miller, daughter of Andrew and Caroline Miller, natives of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson began life on a farm in Lasalle county and about a year later removed to Kendall county, Illinois, where they remained about eight years, and in the meantime bought a farm. In 1870 they came to Kansas, locating at Spring Hill. His original intention was to engage in farming but on account of his health he could not stand the hard work incident to that vocation. Therefore, he learned the carpenter's trade and later drifted into contracting and made that his life business. To Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have been born six children, as follows: Nettie Bell married Clay Reynolds, Spring Hill; George, Spring Hill; Maud married F. A. Smith, resides in Salina, Kan .; Jessie married Gale Cham- berlain, Spring Hil; Lulu married Homer Ainsworth, Spring Hill, and Ollie married Elmer Burch. In the spring of 1861, when President Lin- coln first called for troops to defend the Union, Mr. Simpson was among the first to respond. He enlisted in the Thirteenth regiment, Illinois infantry, and in September of that year was discharged on account of disability. However, he offered his services later during the war, but was rejected as being physically unfit for service. Mr. Simpson is a Socialist and is one of the substantial citizens of Johnson county and the family is well known and prominent in the community.
Daniel E. Murdock, a successful Johnson county farmer, is a native of Illinois. He was born near Peoria, March 8, 1856, and is a son of Daniel and Agnes (Miller) Murdock, natives of Scotland. The father was born near Glasgow in 1824, and came to America when a young man. He settled in Pennsylvania and was employed in the rolling mills near Pittsburgh for some time. He then went to Lacon, near Peoria, IIl. He was foreman in a coal mine for a time and removed to McLean county, Illinois, and in 1865 came to Johnson county, Kansas. He lived one year near Shawnee and in the spring of 1867, settled on the place
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where his son, Daniel E., now lives. He lived here for many years and in old age retired and removed to Olathe, where he died in 1895. His wife, Agnes (Miller) Murdock, was born in Scotland in 1829 and came to America with her parents in 1836. They settled in Mississippi, then re- moved to Illinois and in 1858 settled in the western part of Johnson county, where the father died. His wife. lived to the advanced age of ninety years past. To Daniel and Agnes (Miller) Murdock were born six children, as follows: John, deceased; Daniel E., the subject of this sketch ; Ellen married Charles Flanner and resides at Olathe; Catherine married Ed. Maltby and resides at Liberty, Mo .; Mary died in in- fancy, and James is cashier of the Morse Bank. Daniel Murdock came to Kansas when nine years of age. He was educated in the public schools of Johnson county and in 1887 went to Riley county, Kansas, where he bought a farm and lived there until 1896, when he returned to Johnson county, locating on a farm two and one-half miles southwest of Morse. In 1902 he took possession of the old home place. Mr. Murdock was married in 1883 to Fidelia, a daughter of John Dougan, deceased. Mrs. Murdock was born in Ohio in 1861 and came to Kansas with her parents in 1866. She died in 1900. To Mr. and Mrs. Murdock were born five children : Howard resides at Stanley, Kan., and has one child, Donna ; Gertrude died in 1910; Albert, a farmer of Johnson county, has one child, Margeurite; Arthur resides at home, and Marie lives with her grandmother at Olathe. In politics, Mr. Murdock is a Republican but inclined to be independent. He is a member of the Anti-Horse- thief Association.
Herman H. Klusman, a prominent farmer of Oxford township, has been a resident of Johnson county since he was six years old. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, May 1, 1862, and is a son of Henry and Anna (Walters) Klusman, natives of Germany. They were married in the Fatherland and immigrated to America in 1858, and settled in Preble county, Ohio. In 1868 the Klusman family came to Kansas, lo- cating in Johnson county, four miles west of Lenexa, where the father purchased a farm of 220 acres, which was mostly unbroken prairie. He improved the place and made of it one of the best farms in Johnson county. He followed farming and stock raising and prospered. A few years before his death, Henry Klusman retired from the farm and re- moved to Lenexa. He died in May, 1911, at the ripe old age of ninety- three years. He was a man of unusual physique, being remarkably strong and robust. Up to within six months of his death he had seen very few sick days and had never consulted but two doctors. Her- man H. Klusman is one of eight children born to Henry and Anna Klus- man, as follows: Richard, Anna, Adeline, Margaret, Henry, William, Herman H. and Mary. Herman Klusman remained with his parents and worked on the home farm until he was twenty-seven years old, when he was married and for a year rented his sister's farm and then
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bought ninety-three and one-third acres at $40 per acre, located just west of Lenexa. He paid one-half cash and the balance on time. In 1905 he sold that place at a good profit and bought 140 acres, which is a part of his present place and to which he has since added sixty acres. He has a very fine farm and raises wheat, oats, alfalfa and timothy and also raises stock, extensively. The Klusman residence is an exceptionally fine place and probably the finest farm residence in the county. It is built of stone and stucco with tile roof and was erected in 1911 at a cost of $9,000. Mr. Klusman was married February 27, 1889, to Miss Louise Baumgartner, a Johnson county girl, born in this county in 1869. She is a daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth (Reitenger) Baumgartner, who settled in Johnson county in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. Klusman have been born the following children: Edward died at the age of eleven; Elsie died at the age of four ; Clarence, aged nineteen, resides at home ; Ella died at the age of five; Harry, aged sixteen and resides at home ; Marie, aged seven, and Agnes, aged two. Mr. Klusman is a Democrat but in local elections is governed by his choice of men, rather than by party lines. He takes an active interest in local affairs and has served on the school board for nineteen years. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
William Lee Gray, a prominent farmer of Oxford township, is a native of Missouri. He was born in Jackson county, May 7, 1833, and is a son of Edward and Nancy (Howard) Gray, natives of Virginia, who settled in Jackson county, Missouri, about 1830, where they reared a family and both spent the remainder of their lives. There were five children in the Gray family, as follows: Eliza Jane, deceased ; James R., deceased ; Alice, deceased; Irene, who resides at Salt Lake City, Utah, and William Lee, the subject of this sketch. William Lee Gray was reared in Jackson county and remained there until 1885 when he came to Kansas and located in Oxford township, Johnson county. He first bought 160 acres of land, which he improved, and engaged in farming and stock raising and was successful from the start. He bought more land from time to time until he owned 440 acres. He divided his land among his children in 1914. with the exception of forty acres, which he retained for his own use. When the Civil war broke out Mr. Gray cast his lot with the lost cause, and enlisted in Company A, Sixteenth Missouri regiment, Confederate States of America. He was at the battles of Prairie Grove, Lone Jack, Pea Ridge, Springfield and several battles and a great many skirmishes. He campaigned in Louisiana and was at Memphis, Tenn., when his time expired and he was discouraged and returned to his Jackson county home. Mr. Gray was married August 2, 1874, to Miss Anna E. Caldwell, and eight children were born to this union, as follows: Thomas Edward, Bel- ton, Mo .; Mary Catherine, William Earl, Grand View ; Jess Lee resides in Missouri; Walter Scott, at home; Harry, deceased ; Carrie, deceased,
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and Charles, a mail carrier. The wife and mother died in 1913. On June 14, 1914, Mr. Gray was united in marriage to Mrs. Edith (Slichter) West. She is a native of Peoria, Ill., born March 2, 1879, and a daugh- ter of Frederick A. and Ada Genevieve (Hoagland) Slichter, natives of Illinois, who went to Jackson county, Missouri, in 1890, and now reside in Kansas City. To Mr. and Mrs. Gray have been born one child, Wil- liam Lee, Jr., born April 25, 1915. Mr. Gray is a Democrat, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and one of the most successful farm- ers in Johnson county.
A. H. Krumm, lessee of the Glendale Stock Farm, three miles south and a half mile west of Lenexa, is the most successful, high-class stock breeder in Johnson county. He maintains a fine herd of Jersey cattle, headed by "Prince Leon," son of "Golden Shy Fox" and grandson of "Noble Oakland," considered the finest Jersey bull in America, and Mr. Krumm stands at the head of the Percheron horse breeders of Johnson county, also. His magnificent stallion, "Valendale," is a 2,030 pound five-year-old and one of the best pedigreed and finest specimens of Per- cheron horses to be found in the State of Kansas. He also has a fine herd of pure blood Poland China hogs. Mr. Krumm's place, the Glendale Stock Farm, is one of the best equipped breeding ranches not only in Johnson county but in the State. He has a grain elevator with an 8,000 bushel capacity, and his own feed mill, automatic feeding machinery, large, well equipped barns with a capacity of 200 tons of hay, and the place in every way presents an ideal arrangement for handling stock. The place is supplied with flowing springs of pure, cool water which flows to a reservoir and from there is distributed to the most convenient places for stock, and having all the natural advantages and equipment of the Glendale Stock Farm, places it in a class of its own, almost with- out a rival. A. H. Krumm is a native son of Johnson county. He was born January 4, 1872, and is a son of Wendlin and Louise (Legler) Krumm, natives of Baden, Germany. The father immigrated to America in 1854 and resided in Kansas City for the first two years in the new world, and later settled in Johnson county. The father was engaged in buying cattle, a business in which he was an expert, for James Ward un- til the Civil war broke out. He was one of the first to respond to Presi- dent Lincoln's call for volunteers to defend the Union. He enlisted in the Second regiment, Kansas infantry, and participated in many hard fought campaigns and was at the battle of Wilson's Creek. He was later transferred from infantry to cavalry when his regiment was con- verted into that branch of the service. During his term of service he was promoted a number of times and finally became chief bugler of his regiment. After being honorably discharged from the service at the close of the war he returned to Johnson county where he was success- fully engaged in farming until his death, October 20, 1893, his wife hav- ing preceded him in death a number of years. She died June 6, 1885.
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A. H. Krumm, the subject of this sketch, spent his boyhood days on the home farm and received a good common school education. On Decem- ber 21, 1891, he enlisted in the "I' 'troop, First United States cavalry, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and on March 20, 1895, received his honorable discharge at Fort Bayard, N. M. He was a good soldier and served his term of enlistment and came out of the army with a clean record. He then returned to Johnson county and followed railroading in the ca- pacity of section foreman until 1902 when he engaged in farming and the stock business which has since occupied his closest attention, and he has been rewarded by unusual success. Mr. Krumm was married February 22, 1896, to Miss Maud Concannon. To Mr. and Mrs. Krumm have been born three children, as follows: Hazel, born January 15. 1897, mar- ried Roy C. Morgan and lives at Kenneth, Kan .; Mabel, born October 15, 1901, and Clara, born March 5, 1907, both living at home.
Robert M. Donham, a prominent farmer and stock raiser, of Oxford township, is a native of Johnson county, Missouri. He was born July 15, 1850, and is a son of Dennis and Jane ( Bigham) Donham, the former a native of Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish descent, and the latter a native of Alabama. Dennis Donham was reared in Kentucky to the age of eighteen years, when he came to Missouri with his father, Timothy, and located in Lafayette county. Jane Bigham was a daughter of Samuel Bigham and when she was a child about eight years old came from Ala- bama to Missouri with her parents, who located in Lafayette county and later removed to Johnson county, Missouri. Dennis and Jane ( Big- ham) Donham were the parents of eight children, as follows: William, Baxter, Mary, James, George, Robert M., the subject of this sketch, Lydia and Angeline. Robert M. Donham began life for himself at about the age of twenty and earned his first money by breaking prairie in Johnson county, Missouri. He first bought a team of mules and soon after got a farm. In 1881 he went to Dade county, where he operated 320 acres of land until 1896 when he came to Johnson county, Kansas, and settled on the Hartley farm, three miles north of Bucyrus. After remaining there five years he went to Miami county, and remained five years when he sold out and bought his present place of 315 acres in Ox- ford township. In addition to being a successful grain farmer, cattie raiser and feeder, Mr. Donham is also a very successful orchardist. He has sixteen acres of an apple orchard, which is one of the best in the county. In 1913 he shipped seven carloads of apples from this orchard. He is a successful breeder of pure blood short horned cattle and Per- cheron horses. Mr. Donham was married in 1876 to Miss Lillie A. Bar- ton, a native of Fulton county, Pennsylvania, born in 1856. She is a daughter of Perry and Anna Barton, who came from Pennsylvania to Missouri in 1870. To Mr. and Mrs. Donham have been born the foi- lowing children : Clarence, Albert, Harry, John, Robert, Mary, Anna, Buelah, Edith, Ruby, Mabel and Richard. Four of the sons own farms.
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and are prosperous and successful farmers. Mr. Donham is a Repub- lican and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and is one of the substantial and well-to-do citizens of Johnson county.
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J. K. Wallace, a Johnson county pioneer and Civil war veteran, is a native of the Buckeye State. . He was born at Marietta, Ohio, August 30, 1846, and is a son of John R. and Elizabeth (Irwin) Wallace, both na- tives of Pennsylvania, the former being from Beaver county. They were the parents of nine children, three of whom are living, as follows: Mrs. J. C. Helms, Seattle, Wash .; Mrs. J. F. Williamson, Geneseo, Rice county, Kansas, and J. K., the subject of this sketch. J. K. Walace came to Johnson county with his parents in 1858, when he was twelve years old. The family located one-half mile north and a half-mile west of Morse. Here the father built a log house, 24x24 feet, which was the first home of the Wallace family in the Territory of Kansas. This old log cabin stood on Tomahawk creek and is still standing, but has been removed about three miles from its original site. When John R. Wal- lace, the father, built the old house, he bought the logs from an Indian named Kiser and paid him fifty cents each for them. The old building was torn down twice during the days of the border war, by border ruf- fians, but the logs were not destroyed and each time the owner, Mr. Wallace, rebuilt it. J. K. Wallace was here during the border troubles and had an opportunity to witness, and take part in the stirring events which ushered Kansas into the Union, or "To the stars through adver- sity." J. K. Wallace enlisted in the army before he was seventeen years old, June 3, 1863, and served in Company B, Sixth regiment, Kansas cavalry. He did service in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Indian Ter- ritory, and at the close of the war was mustered out of the service at Fort Leavenworth. Mr. Wallace has made farming his occupation and is one of Johnson county's most successful farmers. He owns the "Old Wallace Homestead," where the family settled when they came to Johnson county. It consists of 160 acres of fine land.
John Randolph Sloan, M. D., a prominent physician and surgeon of Stanley, Kan., is a native of Indiana. He was born in Greene county, January 18, 1851, and is a son of John and Cordelia (Wills) Sloan, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. John Sloan was a son of James Sloan, a Virginia planter and slave owner, who operated in partnership with a brother. They owned about 150 negro slaves and in 1818, James became dissatisfied with the institution of slavery and sold his interests to his brother, John, and went to Indiana, locating in Law- rence county. He engaged in farming and stock raising there on an extensive scale. He was a wealthy man for those times. He spent the remainder of his life in Lawrence county and is buried in the cemetery there. John Sloan, Dr. Sloan's father, was about eighteen years of age when his parents removed to Indiana. He was one of a family of four children, as follows: Dr. William, who practiced medicine for a number
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of years at Effingham, Ill., and is now deceased ; Dr. James, who was a practicing physician in Newton county, Illinois, is now deceased ; John, and Mary Ann, who married Edward Lane, of Newton county, Illinois, all of whom are now deceased. In 1858, John Sloan sold his property in Indiana and removed to Shelby county, Illinois, where he remained until the Civil war broke out. He then went to Champaign county, Illi- nois, and conducted a hotel at Urbana for five or six years. He then went to Rantoul, Ill., and in 1875 removed to Van Austin, Texas, where he died in 1877. His wife returned to Illinois and lived with her daughter about a year when she too passed away. They were the parents of four children, as follows: Joicie Jane married M. F. Young, Rantoul, Ill .; Dr. John Randolph, the subject of this sketch; Edward Lane, Champaign, Ill., and Ari Armstrong, Cripple Creek, Colo. Dr. Sloan was reared to manhood in Champaign, Ill., and attended the public schools where he obtained his preliminary education and then attended the Illinois State College at Champaign and the Illinois State Normal School. He then taught school for a few years in Illinois and in 1874 went to Deni- son, Texas, where he also followed teaching until 1876 when he came to Kansas and taught school at Great Bend one year. He then went to Cedarville, Ark., and read medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. R. G. Harrison. Later he entered the Kansas City Medical College, Kansas City, Mo. Dr. Sloan practiced in Cedarville, Ark., until 1881 when he came to Johnson county, locating at Stanley. where he has built up a large practice and is one of the veteran physicians of Johnson county. He is capable and painstaking and has met with uniform success in his practice. Dr. Sloan was united in marriage at Paxton, Ill., July 6, 1874, to Miss Mary Frances Burnside, of Champaign county, Illinois. She is a native of Lafayette, Ind. To Dr. and Mrs. Sloan have been born two children : Nellie, died at the age of two years, and Charles G., a farmer near Stanley, Kan. Dr. Sloan is a member of the Johnson County Medi- cal Society, the Southwestern Medical Association and the Kansas State and American Medical Association. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and politically is a Democrat.
John Wesley Toynbee, one of the leading farmers of Oxford township, is a native son of Johnson county and was born within half a mile of his present home, September 19, 1869. He is a son of John and Susan (Chambers) Toynbee, natives of England. John Toynbee and his wife left their native land in 1854 and immigrated to America. They set- tled in Illinois, where they were living when the Civil war broke out. John Toynbee enlisted in Company G, Seventy-seventh regiment, Illi- nois infantry, and was made sergeant of his company. He was at the battle of Young's Point, siege of Vicksburg, and Red River expedition and many other battles and numerous skirmishes, and after two years' service was discharged at Mobile, Ala., on account of disability. He then returned to Illinois, where he remained until 1866 when he came
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to Kansas with his family and bought Indian land in Oxford township. Johnson county. He broke the wild prairie and built a home and resided in Oxford township until his death which occurred January 14, 1898. His wife died January 12, 1898, there being only two days between their deaths. John and Susan (Chambers) Toynbee were the parents of the following children : Miles C., Elizabeth, Victoria and John Wesley, the subject of this sketch, and the only survivor of the family. John Wes- ley remained at home and cared for his parents until their deaths, when he received a half interest in the eighty acre tarm. He then bought out the other heirs and became the sole owner. Mr. Toynbee is engaged in general farming and is also well known as a successful breeder of Standard Short Horn cattle and usually has from twenty-five to fifty of that favorite breed of cattle on his place. He is president of the Morse State Bank and one of the substantial business men of Johnson county. He is a Democrat and has served as clerk of his school district and is treasurer of the Pleasant Valley Cemetery Association. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Toynbee was united in marriage February 20, 1901, to Miss Cora Laughlin, a native of Jackson county, Missouri, born January 4, 1879. She is a daughter of John and Anna Laughlin, natives of Ken- tucky, now residing in Aubry township, Johnson county. Mr. and Mrs. Toynbee have one child, John Wesley, Jr., born August 29, 1904.
J. R. Secrest, of Edgerton, is one of the successful farmers of Johnson county. He is a native of the Buckeye State and was born in Cam- bridge, Ohio, July 18, 1845. Mr. Secrest followed farming in his native State until 1877, when he came to Kansas, locating in McCamish town- ship, Johnson county. Here he purchased a quarter section of land which is his present home. He engaged in farming and stockraising and for a number of years was an extensive cattle feeder, but in recent years he has devoted himself more to the dairy business. Mr. Secrest was united in marriage, April 23, 1868, to Miss Marguerite Cale, a daughter of G. W. Cale, of Guernsey county. Two children were born to this union, as follows: Austin O., of Lane, Kan., and Marcelia A., married J. T. Waddell, a merchant of Wellsville, Kan. Mr. Secrest is a stanch Democrat and comes from a family of Democrats. There has not been a dissenting voice against Democracy among his ancestors for three generations, and as he says this is why he claims to be "the best pedigreed Democrat on earth." He takes an active part in political af- fairs and has only missed three Democratic State conventions in thirty years. He not only talks Democracy, but is always willing to contribute to campaign funds and let his money talk also. It was Mr. Secrest who proposed in the State convention that nominated Harris for governor that each one of the delegates of the convention, which was composed of 800, contribute $10 to the campaign fund. He has been a member of the local school board for twenty years. For fifteen years he has served
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