History of Labette County, Kansas, and representative citizens, Part 84

Author: Case, Nelson, 1845-1921, ed
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 846

USA > Kansas > Labette County > History of Labette County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 84

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Mr. Clark is a stanch member of the Re- publican party, taking an active interest in the politics of the county. He is serving his sec- ond term as clerk of Neosho township, and filling the position in a creditable manner. He takes a deep interest in educational matters, and is at present a member of the school board. Mr. Clark is agent for the Adams Express Com- pany at Laneville, and also for the Kansas City. Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad Com- pany. He is filling the position of postmaster in an able manner. Mr. Clark belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and religiously he is liberal. Mr. Clark married Lulu Pyland, a native of Missouri, who was born in 1877. They have been blessed with one child,- Robert.

ULIUS L. MORRISON, well known as one of the best farmers living in North township, Labette county, Kansas, in section 5, is a gentleman of high honor, firm principles and good business ability. He is actively interested in the progress of the county, and is always ready to assist in any- thing which tends to promote the good of the community. Mr. Morrison was born in Prince- ton, Illinois, in 1851, and is a son of Joseph and Ann (Thompson) Morrison.

Joseph Morrison, the father of Julius L., was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1806. He was a tanner by trade, and followed that occupation for many years. In 1849, during the California fever craze, he went to Cali- fornia, following the old Santa Fe trail, en route. He returned to Ohio in 1851, moved thence to Bureau county, Illinois, and located on a farm six miles from the town of Prince- ton. There he followed the occupation of a farmer for twenty-two years. He then sold his place, in 1877, and moved into the town of Princeton, where his death occurred in 1893. He married Ann Thompson, a native of Bel- mont county, Ohio, who was born in 1812, and died in 1880. They were the parents of the following children: Mary; Hugh; Griz- zella; Francis ; Sophia ; Chalmers ; Julius L., the subject of this sketch; Silas; and Maggie.

Julius L. Morrison was reared and educated in Illinois, and learned farming under his fa- ther. In 1879 he moved from Bureau county, Illinois, to Kansas, and settled in the south half of the northeast quarter of section 5, in North township, Labette county, Kansas, where he has since lived. He also bought the north half of the southeast quarter of section 5. He is a careful and painstaking worker, and being a good manager he has been very successful since coming to Kansas.

JAMES O. STOTTS.

MRS. MARGARET B. STOTTS.

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Mr. Morrison was wedded to Anna Mc- Kinstry, in 1876. She was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and is a daugh- ter of W. P. E. and Sarah Jane (McBride) Mckinstry. Mr. Morrison and his wife have reared the following children, namely: Ralph E., a student at Park College, and a member of the class of 1903: Edna B., a graduate of the Parsons High School, now engaged in teaching ; Arthur L., deceased ; and Roy R. Mr. Morrison is a member of the Republican party. He is also a member of the Anti-Horse- thief Association. Religiously, he belongs to the Presbyterian church.

ONATHAN ANDREWS, a veteran of the Civil War, and a well known agri- culturist of North township, Labette county, Kansas, is a man of honest and upright methods. He has been engaged in several different enterprises since entering upon a business career, and, having a sound judg- ment and good business principles, he has suc- ceeded in a manner that would be a credit to any one. Mr. Andrews was born in Howard county, Missouri, in 1841, where he received his early mental training.

Mr. Andrews enlisted in Company A, 9th Reg., Mo. Vol. Cav., January 20, 1862, and was assigned to the Army of the West. He was in the battle of Kirksville. and in several skirmishes, and was honorably discharged in February, 1865. He then returned to his home in Missouri, where he finished his studies. In 1870 Mr. Andrews bought a general store, but conducted it only a short time, when he sold out and moved west. He bought the northeast quarter of section 9, where he has since re- sided, and carried on general farming. Sixteen years of this time Mr. Andrews has spent else-

where,-eight years in Colorado, looking after mining interests, four years in Joplin, Mis- souri, and four years in Helena, Kansas. He still has mining property in Colorado. In 1891 he went to Joplin, Missouri, where he was partner in the concern known as the City Brick- yard. He held an interest in this until the spring of 1900, when he sold out his share. He has lately built a new home, a handsome. frame house, and several new outbuildings. He now has one of the most attractive places. in the county, and it is greatly admired by all.

Mr. Andrews married Estella Robbins, of, Joplin, Missouri, December 31, 1893. She is a lady of many excellent qualities, and has nut- merous friends in the vicinity of her residence. In religion Mr. Andrews is a Baptist.

AMES O. STOTTS, one of the most prominent citizens of Labette county, Kansas, has been a resident of Mound Valley township since 1870, and now resides in the southeast quarter of section 14, township 32, range 18. He is a veteran of the Civil War, and stands high in the esteem of his fellow citizens. He was born in Morgan county, Indiana, May 22, 1829, and is a son of Robert C. and Helen (Laughlin) Stotts.

Robert C. Stotts and his wife were born in Virginia, of Scotch descent. They were mar- ried in Virginia, and went at an early period, to Indiana, where the husband was engaged in farming until his death, at the age of sixty years. His wife also died in Indiana. They were parents of seven children, as fol- lows: Virginia, Margaret, Sarah, John L. and Robert C., all of whom are deceased; James O .; and Eliza (Smith), who resides in her native county in Indiana.

James O. Stotts was reared on a farm and

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was engaged in farming until the Civil War, when he moved to Lewis county, Missouri, where he bought land and lived until 1870. He enlisted from Missouri in Company F, 2Ist Reg., Mo. Vol. Inf., and served in the 16th Army Corps. He was with General Sherman in one of his campaigns, but served mainly under Gen. A. J. Smith. He participated in seven of the most important engagements of the war, his first one being under General Prentiss, at Shiloh. Hi's fighting was done mostly in Tennessee. He was mustered out at Eastport, Mississippi, in February, 1865, and went with the regiment to Cairo, Illinois, and thence to his home in Missouri. He fol-' lowed farming in Missouri iftil 1870, when he moved to Labette county, Kansas, where he located on his present farm,-the southeast quarter of section 14, township 32, range 18. Two men, Rohrer and Honrath, had filed on the east half of section 14, and Mr. Stotts purchased their interests. He improved and cultivated the entire half section for several years, and then gave the northeast quarter to his son, who has since disposed of it. Aside from the breaking of a few acres, he has made all the improvements upon the place. There was no natural timber, even along the stream, and all the trees upon the property at the pres- ent time were set out by him. He set out a fine orchard of six acres, which is bearing well. The original box house was replaced by a com- fortable eight-room residence in the fall of 1898, ample barns and outbuildings having been built a short time previously. Mr. Stotts has been very successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. In the early days he soinetimes did his marketing at Ladore, but for many years past he has traded at Par- SO11S.

Mr. Stotts was united in marriage, in In-

diana, to Margaret A. Bailey, who was born in that state, in 1831, and died in Labette coun- ty August 26, 1898. Nine children were born to bless this union, as follows: William, a carpenter of Mound Valley; Robert, who died in Indiana; Ellen, wife of E. T. Jamison, who resides in the northeast corner of Mound Val- ley township, and has four children,-Ida May, Alfred, William, and Jennie; Jennie ( Beebe), of Harlan, Iowa ; John, who died in Missouri ; Alice (Smith), of Mound Valley township, who has six children: Eliza (Beggs), of Mound Valley; James Andrews, who died in Labette county ; and Edwin M., who married Rose Wallis, a daughter of N. W. Wallis, an early settler of Labette county, and they have four children, Lelia May; Omah Mildred, James Wallis, and Helen Gladys. William, Robert and Ellen were born in Indiana. In politics, the subject of this sketch is a Repub- lican. He is a member of Mound Valley Post, G. A. R. In rligious views, he is a Meth- odist, and all of his family attend Hopewell church, in Labette township. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Stotts accompany this sketch.

HARLES M. JOHNSON, a highly respected citizen of Parsons, Kan- sas, came to the city in 1883, with but little means and with only his musical talents to depend on. He began giv- ing instruction on the piano, and established a store for the sale of musical instruments, and now has one of the largest concerns of that character in the state of Kansas.

Mr. Johnson was born in Posey county, In- diana, in August, 1861, and is a son of Rev. J. Wesley and Mary (O'Neil) Johnson. His father was born in Ohio and is now about six-

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ty-five years of age. He was a minister of the M. E. church, and moved to the St. Louis conference when Charles M. was a small boy. He is a strong Republican in politics, and was chaplain of the state senate and of the peni- tentiary in Missouri for many years. He is now engaged in business with his sons, who are proprietors of the "DeLacey Remedies," in St. Louis. Five children were born to Rev. Mr. Johnson and his wife, namely: Charles M .; Crary; Fletcher ; Ella; and Maude. Crary, of St. Louis, is in partnership with his brother Fletcher in the drug business. They began at Joplin, Missouri, then purchased a large drug store in Kansas City, which they sold in 1896, and went to St. Louis. They have two retail stores, and are wholesale handlers of the "De- Lacey Remedies," of which they are the own- ers. They have a force of salesmen on the road. Ella is at home in St. Louis ; and Maude married a Mr. Keiffer, of St. Louis, who is in- terested in the manufacture of soda fountains. The mother of Charles M. was born in South Carolina, and is now about sixty years of age.

Charles M. Johnson went with his parents to Missouri when four or five years old, and attended the public schools at the different places where his father lived. He obtained an excellent musical education, which was com- pleted in St. Louis, where he graduated at the age of eighteen years. He at once began teaching at Independence, Kansas, where he formed a class, and shortly afterward moved to Butler, Missouri. There he remained until 1883, when he came to Parsons in the month of January. He began giving lessons on the piano and continued thus for some years. In Novem- ber, 1894, he established his store at its pres- ent location, No. 1802 Forrest avenue. The city was then small and business competition was keen, but his success was assured from the

start, and the store took up so much of his time that he was obliged to give up teaching. He carries a complete stock of instruments of every kind, and many makes of pianos, pre- ferring the Everett, which is his leader. His building is 125 by 25 feet in dimensions, but is not large enough to meet the requirements of his trade.

Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Anna T. Wyatt, who was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1862, and is a daughter of F. M. Wyatt ; her mother is dead. Her father was in the grocery business many years, and is now living in retirement at Butler, Missouri. She is one of three children, the others being : Alice (Lindsay), whose husband is a ranch owner and stockman near Fort Scott, Kansas; and J. O., of St. Louis, who has charge of the hardware of Crawford's large department store. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had one son who died. Fraternally, he is a Mason and Knight Templar, being knighted at Parsons; he is a member of the Shrine at Leavenworth. He is also a member of the Elks, and the A. O. U. W. He is a Republican in politics. Mrs. Johnson is a member of the Episcopal church, which he also attends. He has a fine residence at the corner of Eighteenth street and Corning avenue.

W. RABER, a harness-maker of Parsons, Kansas, stands well to the front among citizens and business men of prominence of that city, which has been his home for nearly a quarter of a century. Mr. Raber was born in 1845, in Stark county, Ohio, of which county his parents were also natives. His mother, whose maiden name was Catherine Kreighbaum, died in 1895, having

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reached the age of sixty-five years. His fa- ther, Leonard Raber, has passed his seventy- sixth milestone, and is still living at the old homestead in Stark county, Ohio; he visited H. W. in Kansas several years ago. Eight chil- dren were born to him and his wife, of whom H. W. is the eldest, and the only one of the family who lives in the West, except one brother, Oliver P., who is a prominent druggist in Indiana; the rest of the children remained in their native county. Their ancestors orig- inally lived in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Raber attended the common schools, and early commenced light farm work. When of suitable age, he became apprenticed, learned the painter's trade, and followed that occupa- tion for a period of fifteen years. His last work in that line was done at Parsons, Kan- sas. April 4, 1881, he left his native state, and settled in Labette county, Kansas, where he farmed for four years, and during the two years following was engaged in the loan busi- ness. In the summer of 1889 he purchased the interest of J. C. McGinnis, now deceased, a pioneer business man of Parsons, Kansas, who at that time was the senior member of the firm of McGinnis & Calvert, harness-makers, then doing business at No. 1827 Johnson avenue. This business was continued at the old stand, under the firm name of Calvert & Raber, until 1895. The senior member of the firm then sold his interest and removed to Topeka, and Mr. Raber continued the business alone. He carries the finest and most complete stock of harness and leather goods in the city; in addition to which he has a full line of surreys, carriages, buggies, saddles, etc. His stock is estimated to be worth $4,000, and occupies a building 20 by 100 feet in dimensions. The business established at this stand was among the first of its kind in Parsons. Mr. Raber employs

two expert harness-makers, and fills all orders for any style of harness, saddles, and ordinary leather goods. His energy, probity and shrewdness have not only won for him the re- spect and esteem of his fellow citizens, but have caused his business to prosper, and en- abled him to purchase a fine residence at No. 1500 Forest avenue.

Before leaving his native state Mr. Raber was united in marriage with Sarah A. Shana- felt, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Shanafelt, prominent Ohioans. Mr. and Mrs. Raber have one daughter, Mrs. Gertrude R. Wiley, of Joplin, Missouri. Politically, Mr. Raber is a Democrat, and as an active, enter- prising citizen takes a deep interest in every- thing tending toward the public welfare. Both he and Mrs. Raber are prominent in fraternal circles. The former is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Modern Wcodmen of America, while the latter affiliates with the Fraternal Aid, and is president of the Parlor Reading Circle, of Parsons. Both are members of the First Presbyterian church, and in them Rev. O. E. Hart finds willing assistants in any worthy cause.

RVIN SMITH, one of the best known pharmacists and druggists of Parsons. Kansas, was born in Champaign coun- ty, Ohio, in 1846. His father died when he was a mere infant, and when he was six years old his mother also died. Being the youngest of 10 children, Irvin made his home principally with his brother, A. J. Smith, who removed to Wabash, Indiana, when Irvin was twelve years old. In June, 1865, Irvin was apprenticed to Harvey Murray, proprietor of a drug store and pharmacy at that place.

JONATHAN PEARSON.

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Completing his apprenticeship in 1868, Mr. Smith came west to Neosho county, Kansas, and the following year purchased the drug business of Dr. Kennedy, at Erie, which he carried on successfully for two years. In 1871 he' removed his stock to Parsons, which was then in its infancy, and located in a building near the corner of Johnson and Central ave- nnes, just opposite his present location. A hotel then occupied the corner.

Two years later ( 1873) Mr. Smith retired from the drug business, temporarily, and spent several years in agricultural pursuits in Neosho county, where he owns a fine farm, and has one equally fine in Labette county. In 1876 he re- turned to Parsons, and worked as clerk in a drug store until 1882, when he again went into business for himself and has so continued up to the present time. He opened a drug store at the same old stand in Parsons, and removed in 1896 to the Kennedy Block. About a year later he moved to the Pierson Building, where he carried on business for three years. For the past year he has occupied his present building. at No. 1802 Johnson avenue. He employs two competent clerks as assistants, and presides himself over the pharmacist's desk, giving per- sonal attention to the filling of prescriptions, etc. His store room is 20 by 60 feet in di- mensions, and is well stocked with pure.drugs, apothecaries' supplies and the thousand and one things found in any up-to-date drug store.

Mr. Smith has been twice married. His first marriage occurred in Erie, where he was united with C. B. Kennedy, a daughter of Dr. Kennedy. She died many years ago, leaving two children as a legacy to her husband. They are: Dr. Albert, of Parsons, and Nellie, a young lady still at home. Mr. Smith con- tracted a second marriage, being united with Mrs. Adelia Smith, nee Evans, a native of

Ohio. They have one daughter, Mande, and reside in a handsome residence in the First Ward.

In politics Mr. Smith is a Republican, but has never been prevailed upon to accept office. Contrary to the general rule, he is no member of any fraternal organization, nor has he allied himself with any church denomination ; he en- tertains liberal views on religious subjects. Combining thrift and energy, he has amassed for himself a handsome competency, and is recognized as a man of good business methods. He is peculiarly fitted for his present occu- pation, and faithfully executes the wishes of a large number of patrons. Two of his brothers also came west. but died in Kansas a short time afterward.

ONATHAN PEARSON. This gen- tleman, whose portrait is herewith presented, was for a number of years a prominent farmer of Elm Grove township, Labette county, Kansas, but since 1900 he has made his home in Edna. He was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, in 1833, and is a son of J. and Sarah ( Kountz) Pear- son.

J. Pearson was born in Pennsylvania, and was a tanner by trade. He married Sarah Kountz, who was also a native of Pennsyl- vania. They reared two children : Jonathan; and Mary J., who married Mr. Shepherd, and now lives in Howard township. Labette coun- ty, Kansas.

When Mr. Pearson was butt six years old, his parents moved to Jackson county, Indiana, and there he received his early mental train- ing. He enlisted in 1864. in Company K. 31st Reg., Ind. Vol. Inf., and served until the close

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HISTORY OF LABETTE COUNTY

of the war. He took part in the battles of Franklin, Tennessee, and Huntsville and Ashe- ville, North Carolina. He followed the trade of a bricklayer for thirteen years, and in 1870 removed to Labette county, Kansas, where he has since resided. From a Mr. Scott, he bought the southeast quarter of section 24, township 34, range 18, in Howard township, for $200. He entered this claim at Inde- pendence, Kansas, and began making extensive improvments. He successfully carried on gen- eral farming there until 1900, when he rented the farm to J. W. Pearson, his son, and de- cided to locate in the city of Edna. He built his present home in that town, in 1900, and has since resided there. He is well and fa- vorably known, and is looked upon by all as a man worthy of implicit confidence.

Mr. Pearson married Ruth A. Holten, who was born in North Vernon, Indiana, in 1839. This union resulted in the birth of eight chil- dren, as follows: J. W .; Alice; Sadie; Ells- worth; Joseph; Mollie and William, deceased; and Nellie. Mr. Pearson is independent, in politics. He was township trustee of Howard township for two years. He is a member of the G. A. R. The family belong to the Meth- odist church. Mr. Pearson joined the church when twenty-four years of age, and has been on the church board ever since he settled in Kansas. He has held the office of trustee for nearly thirty years.

D R. GEORGE W. GABRIEL, a gen- tleman who has been called upon to fill many offices of public trust, is at the present time representing his district in the state senate of Kansas. He is a. physician by profession, and has been en-

gaged in practice in the city of Parsons since 1870.

Dr. Gabriel was born in Athens, Ohio, in November, 1843, and is a son of Moses and Mary (Johnson( Gabriel. He is of French descent, his great-grandfather having served in the French army during the revolution in that country,-he came to this country, set- tled in Virginia, and later moved to Ohio, where he died when George W. was very young. The grandfather of Dr. Gabriel set- tled on government land in Ohio in 1798, and lived there the remainder of his life. Moses Gabriel, the father, died in 1879. He married Mary Johnson, who was born in Ire- land, and is still living on the old homestead in Ohio, having passed the eighty-seventh an- niversary of her birth in October, 1900. Her father came to America in 1820 because of participation in the Irish rebellion, having been at one time an officer in the British army. Moses Gabriel and his wife had six children, as follows: Elias, who served in the 24th Reg., Iowa Vol. Inf., during the Civil war, came to Neosho county, Kansas, with Dr. Gabriel, and is now a farmer near Erie; George W .; Susan (Wells), whose husband is a farmer and has resided near Butler, Mis- souri, for the past twenty-five years; Chris- tina (.Dixon), of Athens, Ohio; Elmer, who died in Ohio in 1898; and Emmett, who died in Ohio in 1888, having been a student in the University of Ohio.

Dr. George W. Gabriel was reared and educated in Ohio, where he attended the State University for three years. He then enlist- ed in Company I, 52d Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and later in the 75th and 116th Ohio regiments. He was in the forage department mainly, un- der General Crook and General Franklin, and after three years service was mustered out in

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the winter of 1863-1864. He came to Kan- sas in the spring of 1864, and at Topeka en- listed for six months in Company D, 17th Reg., Kans. Vol. Inf., having charge of teams and foraging. He received his discharge at Fort Leavenworth, November 17, 1864, after the last raid of Price, and then went to To- peka, where he remained until September, 1865. He then returned to Ohio and attended the Starling Medical College two years, and in the fall of 1867 was made assistant surgeon of the Ohio penitentiary. In the fall of 1868, le came to Ladore, Labette county, Kansas, and moved, in 1870, to Parsons, then com- posed mainly of tents. Besides himself there were but two practicing physicians there at that time, Dr. Keely and Dr. Hutchison. His first office was on Forrest avenue, in the build- ing owned by Hayes & Pierson. He prac- ticed alone, at first, and then, in partnership with Dr. Kennedy, in 1872 and 1873. He afterward formed a partnership with Dr. Tin- der, which continued from 1884 to 1893. He is engaged in general practice, alone, but is located in the same suite with O. E. Peak, D. D. S. He enjoys a fair share of the pat- ronage of the community, and is held in the highest esteem by the citizens.

Dr. Gabriel was first married to Mrs. Elizabeth Hallowell, nce Hager, who died in 1891, having given birth to four children, as follows: Harry, a train dispatcher at Fort Scott, Kansas, for the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad; Hager, who died at the age of two years; Mary, a graduate of the schools of Clinton, Missouri, who is now in New Jersey; and one who died in infancy. The Doctor formed a second marital union, Mrs. Mary E. Brown, nee Cassidy, a native of Indiana, becoming his wife. He is a meni- ber of the Southeastern Kansas Medical As-

sociation; is a Knight Templar; a Shriner ; and also a member of the A. O. U. W .; B. P. O. E .; and Modern Woodmen of America. His wife is a member of the Eastern Star lodge. His former wife was associate grand matron at the time of her death. Politically, he has always been a Democrat, and has served as mayor of Parsons about ten years in all, his first term having commenced in 1874, and his last term having expired in 1888. He has also served as alderman. He was a member of the Kansas house of representatives three terms, beginning in 1876; his last term expired in the fall of 1900. In the last named year he was elected to the Kansas Senate, from La- bette county, and is ably filling the office. He owns and occupies a handsome home in Par- sons.

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History of Labette County, Kansas, and representative citizens, Part 84

Author: Case, Nelson, 1845-1921, ed Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago, Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 846

Author: Case, Nelson, 1845-1921, ed
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 846