USA > Kansas > Labette County > History of Labette County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 62
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Mr. and Mrs. Birt have reared a family of five children. The eldest, C. H. Birt, mar- ried a Miss Traux, and leases his father's farm in Labette county ; he has three children, Roy, Norma and Harry. W. J. Birt, the second son, is a switch engineer at Parsons, and has followed railroading since 1885; he has one daughter, Marie. Cora Estelle (Rich- art ), the third child and eldest daughter, is the wife of a brakeman in the employ of the Mis- souri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company. Emma J. (Daniels), the youngest daughter, resides at Osage City, Kansas, and has two daughters, Bertha and Gertrude. George M. Birt, the youngest son, is still at home with his parents.
In politics, Mr. Birt is a stanch Republican, solely upon his convictions, and takes a great interest in the leading questions of the day. He served several terms as trustee of the La- bette County High School, and one term as alderman in the city council of Parsons. He also ranks high in fraternal circles, affiliating with G. A. R. Post No. 81, of which he is past commander and in which he has filled all other chairs. He is also a member of Lodge No. 117, A. F. & A. M., having been made a Mason at Chambersburg. Illinois, in 1873, while on a visit to his mother. Having been reared in the Baptist faith, Mr. Birt and fam-
ily worship at the First Baptist church, of Par- sons, of which Rev. J. T. Crawford is pastor. Mr. Birt is popular among his associates, and richly deserves the success which has crowned his efforts, as he started at the foot of the lad- der, without capital, but with a strong de- termination to succeed. His portrait accom- panies this sketch.
AMES C. GILLIES, a boiler-maker in the shops of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, at Parsons, Kansas, was born in Marshall, Michigan, in 1863, and is a son of William and Christina (Caldwell) Gillies.
William Gillies was born in Glasgow, Scot- land, in 1815. He was reared and schooled in his native town, and when a young man served his apprenticeship as a weaver. Preferring a mechanical line, however, he turned his atten- tion to the trade of a boiler-maker, which he followed during his active business career. He came to America in 1852, and first located in Detroit, Michigan, whence he went to Mar- shall. He finally moved to Vincennes, Indi- ana, where he died in 1890. Mr. Gillies married Christina Caldwell, who was born in 1821, and died in 1896. They reared a fam- ily of seven children, namely: William, who resides in Parsons, Kansas; Agnes, deceased ; Maggie (Ritterscamp), who lives in Kansas. City. Missouri; Christina (Elwood), also a resident of Kansas City ; Robert, who lives in Washington, Indiana; James C .; and John.
James C. Gillies attended the public schools of Vincennes, Indiana, and afterward took up the trade in which his father had been so pro- ficient. He went into the shops of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company, at Vin-
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cennes, in his early manhood, and remained with that company until he moved west. Mr. Gillies removed to Kansas in 1887, and en- tered the boiler shops of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, where he has since remained. He is a very efficient workman, and quite pop- ular with his fellow employees.
Mr. Gillies married Lena Berkemier in 1883. She was born in Vincennes, Indiana. They are the parents of two children,-Estella and Edward. Mr. Gillies is a member of the Fra- ternal Aid. He is a Republican, in politics, and takes an active interest in local affairs. In 1898 he was elected city councilman from the First Ward. He was re-elected in 1900, and still serves in that body. He has been on the board of health for two years.
E J. BOUCHARD, general foreman of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway shops at Parsons, Kansas, has followed railroading for a num- ber of years, and ranks among the foremost mechanics of the present day. He is an Illi- noisan by birth, and was reared in the vicin- ity of St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Stephen Bouchard, was an expert blacksmith and machinist, having charge of the railroad shops of the North Missouri Railway, at St. Charles, Missouri. That road is now a part of the Wabash system.
Deprived of his father by death at an early age, Mr. Bouchard began work in 1870, when fourteen years old. He entered the railroad shops at St. Charles, Missouri, as a machinist's apprentice, completely mastered that trade, and became an unusually fine machinist at the early age of nineteen years. He remained at home with his mother until he reached matur-
ity, working as fireman on the North Mis- souri Railway, and afterward serving as en- gineer on the same road.
Mr. Bouchard subsequently accepted a po- sition as machinist on the Chicago & North- Western Railway, and was located in Iowa, where he married Ella Fowler, who was reared near Council Bluffs, Iowa. He worked on that system until 1880, and the following year was spent in the same capacity on the Texas & Pacific Railway. In 1881 he entered the employ of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Rail- way Company as gang foreman at Denison, Texas, was promoted the following year to be general foreman, and served as such at Pal- estine, Texas, until 1887. Returning to Den- ison, he filled the position of roundhouse fore- man one year, and having been again advanced to be general foreman, he filled that position at Greenville, Texas, until 1891. He was then transferred again to Denison, where he continued until October, 1896, when he was advanced to his present important position, that of general foreman of the large and well appointed railroad shops of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, at Par- sons, Kansas; he succeeded W. H. Brehm, the present master mechanic.
Mr. Bouchard's task is one of great im- portance and magnitude. He has from 12 to 15 foremen of the various departments under his direct supervision, and gives personal at- tention to each and every department.
The subject of this sketch stands high in fraternal circles. He was given the first Masonic degree while residing in Iowa, and step by step has climbed the rugged path until he now boasts of being a Mystic Shriner. He is a member of the Parsons Commandery, K. T., having been knighted at Greenville, Texas, and of Hella Temple, A. A. O. N. M.
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S., of Dallas, Texas. In addition, he is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, as is also Mrs. Bouchard, and they are members, respectively, of the K. O. T. M. and L. O. T. M. Politically, Mr. Bouchard is a Republi- can. He has proved to be a valuable adjunct to the success of the system, and the officials of the road value his services highly.
ON. NELSON CASE, formerly pro- bate judge of Labette county, Kansas, and for over thirty years a leading member of the bar of the county, has spent his entire professional life in Oswego, where he has been prominently identified with reformatory and educational enterprises. He was born in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1845, and, the same year, was taken by his parents to Lee county, Illinois. He graduated from the Illinois Normal Univer- sity in 1866, after which he taught school for one year. He then attended a course of lec- tures in the law department of the University of Michigan, and graduated therefrom in 1869. In May, 1869, he came west to Oswego, Kansas, where he has since been located and has practiced law.
Judge Case was appointed probate judge by Governor St. John in June, 1880, and was twice thereafter re-elected, at the end of which time he declined to be again a candidate. He has twice been a candidate for a place on the supreme bench,-in 1896 for chief justice, and in 1898 for associate justice, and, although he did not receive the nomination, he stood next to the winning man in 1898. In each in- stance he received the solid vote of Southeast- ern Kansas, the section in which his record as a lawyer is best known. The members of the bar of Labette county gave him their heart-
iest support, and the entire press, as well as the leading citizens generally, offered the strongest testimony in favor of his qualifica- tions. One of the leading editors of the couil- ty, who has known him intimately many years, says of him: "I have been intimately ac- quainted with him for more than twenty-five years-in fact from the time he started in the law business in Oswego, and have always found him one of the most conscientious and honorable men of the profession,-by some called an anomaly-an honest lawyer. He is regarded by the bar of this county, and of all Southeastern Kansas, as the ablest jurist, safest counselor, and best lawyer we have." Another prominent business man says: "He is re- garded by many as the ablest attorney in La- bette county." Judge Case has a first-class clientage and practices in all courts, including the Supreme Court at Washington.
He has always had a deep interest in edu- cational matters, and was president of the board of education of Oswego for twelve years, also regent of the State Normal School several years. He was trustee and treasurer of the County High School at Altamont the first five years of its existence, and was trus- tee of Oswego College for many years. He has been a trustee of Baker University since 1883, and for several years has been president of the board. He was connected with the State Sunday-School Association and the State Temperance Union, for many years, and is serving his twenty-ninth year as superin- tendent of the M. E. Sunday-school in Os- wego. In May, 1890, he was a delegate from the South Kansas conference to the general conference of the M. E. church, which met in Chicago.
Judge Case has twice been married, his first wife dying in 1892. By his second wife he
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has a daughter, Miriam, born in April, 1901. He also has raised two adopted children. A portrait of Judge Case appears on a preceding page as the frontispiece of this work.
OSEPH G. BRADLEY, manager of the Oswego Opera House, and a well known tonsorial artist of that city, was born near Roanoke, Virginia, August 12, 1857, and is a son of William L. Bradley.
William L. Bradley was born in Virginia in 1833, and followed mercantile pursuits dur- ing his active career. He lef .. Virginia about 1867, and went to Camp Point, Adams coun- ty, Illinois, where he lived for seven years. He then moved to Shelbina, Shelby county, Missouri, and remained there one year. In the spring of 1877 he located in Humboldt, Allen county, Kansas. In 1893 he moved to Oswego. Labette county, and, as his health failed him in 1897, then retired from active business. He is a Republican, in politics, and served as a justice of the peace for some time. He also held various township offices. Mr. Bradley married Nancy Perfater, who was born in Virginia, in 1833, and they reared the following children: Joseph G .; Sarah E. (Parrish) ; Amanda (McGilvery) ; Mary, de- ceased; Minnie; John, deceased; and Mark and Robert, deceased.
Joseph G. Bradley received his schooling in Illinois, and learned his trade, in 1882, in Iola. Kansas. He lived in Humboldt seven years, and also in several other towns for short periods, after which, in 1890, he located in Oswego, where he has since resided. Mr. Bradley at one time owned the City Hotel, one of the best hotels in Oswego. In January,
1901, he purchased the residence of J. B. Mont- gomery, which is a modern structure, and one of the prettiest homes in Oswego. Mr. Bradley is one of the most enterprising men in Oswego, and has done much to draw good business enterprises to the city. He was one of the prime movers in securing the developers of the new gas field now being operated near the city.
Mr. Bradley married Henrietta C. Rose, in 1882, and they are blessed with three children, namely : F. Rose; A. Gertrude; and Mabel M. Mr. Bradley is a member of the Knights of Pythias, M. W. of A., and I. O. O. F. Politically, he is a Republican. He has a large circle of friends in Oswego, and is well known throughout the surrounding country as a man of honest and upright principles. As before stated, he is the manager of the Os- wego Opera House.
RS. SARAH (DUNCAN) DE- COW, widow of Abner DeCow, is one of the earliest settlers of La- bette county, Kansas. She is also one of the most highly esteemed residents of the town of Bartlett, where she built the third. house erected.
Abner DeCow was born in Canada, No- vember 12, 1826, and was a farmer by occu- pation, being one of the very first settlers of Labette county. He took up a claim in Hack- berry township, built a cabin 16 by 18 feet in size, and lived there until his death, in 1870. He is still remembered by the oldest residents of the county as a man of high principles and an honor to the community.
Mrs. DeCow was born in Newcastle, Ohio, in 1837, and is a daughter of Alexander Dun-
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can, who was born in Virginia and followed farming. He married Sarah Lepley, who was born in Pennsylvania, and of the 14 children born to them, the following are now living: Kate; Samuel; Sarah; Frances; Shannon; Alice; Amanda ; Cleora ; M. Jackson ; and John. Sarah Duncan lived in her native county un- til she was sixteen years old, and then moved with her parents to Winneshiek county, Iowa, where she was married. She accompanied her husband to Labette county, Kansas, in 1867, and located in Hackberry township. After the death of her husband she moved to Bartlett, where she built the third house in the town, and for eight years conducted a restau- rant. She built her present home in 1895,- an eight-room, frame house of comfortable size. She is a woman possessed of many high traits of character, and is universally admired and respected. She and her husband became parents of seven children, as follows: George; Charity; Shannon; Maggie; Oliver; Frank; and Mabel, deceased.
OSEPH SCOTT, one of the pioneers of Labette county, Kansas, is now living a retired life at Altamont. He settled in the county in 1869, and was engaged in farming in Fairview township un- til 1900, when he retired from active work. Mr. Scott was born in Atlantic county, New Jersey, in 1827, and is a son of Joseph and Amelia (Folk) Scott.
Joseph Scott, Sr., was born in the city of Philadelphia, and was a tailor by trade. This occupation he followed until his death at the early age of thirty-five years. His wife died at the age of seventy-two years. They reared
five children, as follows: George, Mary (Dep- ety), and Jane, deceased; Joseph; and Har- mon, of Mound Valley, Kansas.
Joseph Scott left Atlantic county, New Jersey, in 1833, and went to Wabash county, Illinois, where he was reared and schooled. He began farming in that county, and fol- lowed it there until 1869. He enlisted in Company K, 130th Reg., Ill. Vol. Inf., in 1862, at Marshall, Illinois. He enlisted as a corporal, and was mustered out as a sergeant at Spring- field, Illinois, July 7, 1865. He was in Gen- eral Grant's Army of the Mississippi, and was at Vicksburg, and on the Red River expedi- tion. He was taken prisoner on April 8, 1863, at Sabine Cross Roads, Louisiana, held cap- tive at Tyler, Texas, thirteen and a half months, and exchanged soon after the close of the war. He then returned to his home in Clark county, Illinois, and there followed farming until 1869, when he sold out and moved to Kansas. He settled in the southeast quarter of section 1, Fairview township, La- bette county, and lived upon this land until 1900, when he sold it and located in the city of Altamont, where he now resides.
Mr. Scott married Hannah Rice, a native of Kentucky, who died in 1897, having given birth to the following children: Amelia, wife of J. Blizzard, of Joplin, Missouri, by whom she has five children,-Whitlock, Joseph, Thomas, Benjamin and Benton; Lincoln, who married Carrie Farley, and has two children, Alva and Ethel; Ann E., wife of L. Collins, of Oswego, Kansas, and mother of three chil- dren,-Lottie, deceased, Edith, and Ollie; and James; and Fred, of Oswego, Kansas. Mr. Scott married Margaret Drumond, in 1899. He is a member of Topping Post, No. 268, G. A. R .; and belongs to the Anti-Horsethief Association. He is a strong Republican in
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politics, and has served two terms as justice of the peace. The family belong to the Metho- dist church.
EORGE W. LANDON, prominent among the younger generation who are rapidly forging their way to the front, is an industrious farmer, lo- cated in the southwest quarter of section 3, township 35, range 20, Hackberry township,. Labette county, Kansas. He was born in Pet- tis county, Missouri, in 1863, and is a son of Ezra Landon.
Ezra Landon was born in Pennsylvania and was a wagon-maker by trade, and also a farmer. He died in Bartlett, Kansas, in 1901. He married Miss S. Kellerman, who was born at Elkhart, Indiana, and they became parents of the following children: Ellen (Bowen), of Chetopa, Kansas; Alice; David; George W .; and Lydia, deceased.
George W. Landon lived in his native county until he went, with his parents, to La- porte county, Indiana. Thence the family moved to Labette county, Kansas,-arriving here on December 23, 1879. They came by wagon and were seven weeks in making the . trip. Lydia, the sister of George W., died on the way. They located at Chetopa, and in 1880 George W. went to the Indian Territory, where he resided for one year. In 1881 he returned to Labette county, and, being then but seventeen years of age, lived with his father, in Hackberry township. There he continued until 1890, when he purchased his present farm in section 3. He carries on general farming and stock raising, and is doing well.
George W. Landon was joined in mar- riage with Anna Ephrain, who was born in
Texas, in 1867, and is a daughter of H. M. Ephrain. Her father was born in Poland, and was a tailor by trade. He located in Labette county in 1869, and farmed here for twenty- two years, but now resides in Texas. He married Miss R. Brierley, who was born in England, and they had four children: Sam- uel, deceased; Levine; Anna; and Jessie, de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Landon have had two children : Yetta, deceased ; and Dora. Mr. Lan- don is a Republican, in politics ; he belongs to the Anti-Horsethief Association. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
A LLEN R. REECE is an enterprising and progressive business man of Bartlett, Labette county, Kansas, where he is proprietor of a grocery and hardware store. He is a man of public spirit, takes a deep interest in all that pertains to the welfare of the town and county, and has a large circle of acquaintances and friends. He was born in Davidson county, North Caro- lina, in 1852, and is a son of P. H. Reece.
P. H. Reece was born in North Carolina in 1818, and is a farmer now residing in Cedar county, Missouri. He married Rebecca Hicks, who was born in North Carolina, in 1832, and they were the parents of seven chil- dren, as follows: Haley J .; Allen R .; Paul A., postmaster and a merchant of Bartlett, Kansas; John C .; Nora, deceased ; Lena; and Mary.
Allen R. Reece was but three years of age when he was taken by his parents to Johnson county, Missouri, where he was reared. At an early day he applied himself to agricultural pursuits and remained in Johnson county, Mis- souri, until he located in Kansas. He settled
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in Bartlett, Labette county, Kansas, in Novem- ber, 1891, and since that time has been en- gaged in the grocery and hardware business. He carries a very complete line of goods and is meeting with great success.
Mr. Reece was united in marriage with Anna Bean, who was born in Canada, in 1862, and they have one daughter, Bertha, who grad- uated from the County High School at Alta- mont with the class of 1898, and is now teach- ing in the public schools of Bartlett. Politi- cally, Mr. Reece is a firm supporter of the prin- ciples of the Republican party. Fraternally, he belongs to Chetopa Lodge, No. 73, A. F. & A. M.
R F. LONNECKER is a prominent merchant of Bartlett, Labette county, Kansas, and is the owner of consid- erable valuable farming property in Hackberry township. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1854, and is a son of G. W. Lonnecker.
G. W. Lonnecker was born in Ohio, and followed the trade of a butcher. He married Theodosia Collins, also a native of Ohio, and they reared four children, as follows: John; William, deceased; Cynthia; and R. F.
R. F. Lonnecker was six years of age when he was taken by his parents to Logan county, Ilinois, where he lived until he moved to Kansas. He arrived in Labette county, Kansas, in February, 1878, and for one year resided southwest of Chetopa, in Hackberry township. He then spent two years on the Davis farm, and in 1881 located in Richland township on the Robert Phillips farm, and then purchased the widow Sowder's property. where he farmed until 1882. The following year he purchased the old J. Watson farm, and
lived upon it until the fall of 1883, when he moved to Chetopa. He was located in the city for eighteen months and then purchased his home farm in Hackberry township,-the south- east quarter of section 26, township 34, range 20, on which he resided for ten years. He also owns the southwest quarter of section 25. In 1895 he rented both properties, and moved to the town of Bartlett. Since that time he has been a merchant of that town, and is meet- ing with good success. He is a man of many estimable traits of character, and has many stanch friends in the community.
Mr. Lonnecker was united in marriage with Juliette Burwell, who was born in Logan county, Illinois, in 1855, and they have two children: George E. and M. N. Politically, the subject of this sketch is a Republican. He and his family are members of the Presby- terian church.
JOSHUA GRAHAM, a prominent and influential farmer of Canada town- ship, Labette county, Kansas, is lo- cated in the northeast quarter of sec- tion 26, township 33, range 18. He possesses a pleasing personality, is a good business man and has many friends throughout his section of the county. He was born in Marion county, Kentucky, in 1843, and is a son of Harden Graham.
Harden Graham was born in Kentucky. and was a farmer by occupation. He was joined in marriage with Harriet Brownfield, also a native of Kentucky, and they were par- ents of three children : Charles, Narcissus, and Joshua.
Joshua Graham was reared in Kentucky. and resided there until he came to Kansas in
W. H. LEWIS.
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the winter of 1870, and located in Mound Val- ley township. There he resided until 1880, when he moved upon his present farm in Can- ada township. He carries on general farming and has met with great success.
Mr. Graham was united in matrimony with Alice Hulen, who was born in Missouri in 1853. and they reared the following children : C. E., deceased; Fred; and Scott, who is at- tending the County High School at Altamont, and is a member of the class of 1902. Mr. Graham is a Democrat in politics, and served four years on the school board of his township. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and to the Knights and Ladies of Security. Relig- iously, he is a member of the Christian church.
H. LEWIS, the efficient and ac- commodating ticket agent for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Rail- way Company, at Parsons, Kan- sas, whose portrait is shown herewith, is an Englishman by birth, his birth occurring in the city of London, in July, 1837. He is the eldest of the five children of W. H., Sr., and Mary C. (Flynn) Lewis. The others are, Charles V., Rev. V. A., Mattie and Elizabeth.
WV. H. Lewis, Sr., was a wealthy merchant of London, England, previous to the financial crisis in 1848. During that year, he left Eng- land, and with one of his sons crossed the ocean and located in Rochester, New York, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. His wife was left to settle the property affairs, which she did, and started in 1849 with the rest of the family, to join her husband in America. While en route to the United States, cholera broke out on board the steamer, and she fell a victim to that dread disease, died and
was buried at sea. Her trunk, which contained money and other valuables, was thrown over- board,-leaving the children in disagreeable circumstances. In 1857, W. H. Lewis, Sr., moved to Pana, Illinois, where he carried on a successful mercantile business until cut off by death in 1865, when over sixty years old. Politically, he was a stanch Republican.
Charles V. Lewis, eldest brother of W. H., had the distinction of being the first di- vision freight agent appointed by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, at Par- sons, and worked in that place in 1880 with the Union Pacific administration. He is now general freight agent for the Balti- more & Ohio R. R. system at Baltimore, Maryland. Rev. V. A. Lewis, another brother, was at one time pastor of the First Presby- terian church, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated for the ministry at Princeton,. New Jersey, but his career was cut short by death in October, 1899, at Dansville, New York. Mr. Lewis' two sisters, Mattie and Elizabeth, are still living and reside in Pana, Illinois, where the former is a competent in- structor of music. The latter has been twice married, and is now a widow. Her first hus- band's name was Overholt; her second hus- band's, Hubbard. Both are deceased. She has numerous children in Pana, and her sons are in charge of coal mines at Pana.
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