USA > Kansas > Leavenworth County > History of Leavenworth County Kansas > Part 40
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John Tudhope was born April 10, 1833, near Glasgow, Scotland, where he received his early education. He was fifteen years old, when his par- ents, John and Esther (Alston) Tudhope, left their native land and estab- lished their home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. John Tudhope, Sr., was employed in railroad contracting work. In 1854, he moved from Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, to Nevada, Ohio. During the Civil War he enlisted from Alleghany City, Pennsylvania, in the Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry and served through the war. After the war, his regiment was sent to Texas to investigate the Mexican affairs. When he was mustered out he held the rank of corporal. He returned to Ohio where he engaged in farming which he continued until his death, May 1, 1877. He was seventy years old. Esther (Alston) Tudhope was eighty-one years old at the time of her death, May 10, 1890.
John and Esther (Alston) Tudhope were the parents of eight chil- dren, as follows: Esther, died in infancy ; John, the subject of this sketch ; Marguerite, Mrs. Campbell, now deceased; Jane, Mrs. Frochlich; William, address unknown, was a soldier in the Civil War, in the Fourth U. S. Cavalry; James was killed in the battle of Gettysburg; Thomas, died in infancy ; and Marion, Mrs. G. W. Balliet, of Mansfield, Ohio.
John Tudhope started his first railroad work in 1852, when he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad to lay tracks near Alleghany City,
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FIVE GENERATIONS OF THE TUDHOPE FAMILY-LEFT TO RIGHT, STANDING: MRS. MARY HARBAUGH, DONALD C. SISCOE AND MARY G. SISCOE. SITTING: JOHN TUDHOPE (EIGHTY- EIGHT YEARS OLD WHEN PHOTO. WAS TAKEN) AND JOHN T. SISCOE.
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Pennsylvania. He helped in the laying of 187 miles of track between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Crestline, Ohio. He then was employed in the same work between Crestline and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1854, Mr. Tudhope went to Nevada, Ohio, where he was employed in the repair work of the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1867, he came to Kansas, intending to give up railroad work and engaging in the fruit busi- ness. He selected the present site of Linwood, Kansas, as the spot for his fruit farm, but the Indians who owned the land would not sell, so he had to purchase land near by. He purchased fifty-six acres, one-half mile west of the present town of Linwood and which is now his home. Unable to realize his dream of a fruit farm, Mr. Tudhope went on to Lawrence, Kansas, where he was employed on the Union Pacific Railroad, having charge of the repairs of the tracks as road master between Junction City and Kansas City.
In 1893, Mr. Tudhope left his railroad work and engaged in farm- ing in Leavenworth County. He owned at one time over 700 acres of land. He has sold a part of it, retaining the original tract of fifty-six acres purchased in 1867 and now owns 420 acres of land.
John Tudhope has been twice married, the first time July 24, 1854, to Mary Williamson, a native of Pennsylvania, and a descendant of the orig- inal Quakers who settled in Pennsylvania with William Penn. She died April 16, 1901, age seventy-one years. The following children were born to this union: Isaac A., deceased; Viola, married .Frank Duncan, de- ceased; Sarah Esther, the wife of Hugh Perry, who lives on her father's home place and she has two sons, John, married and has two sons, and W. T. Perry, principal of the school at Linwood, Kansas; Mary, the wife of D. C. Harbaugh, Topeka, Kansas; John, Marysville, Kansas; and James, a farmer and stockman on his father's land in Sherman Township. John Tudhope was married the second time in 1902 to Sarah Elizabeth (Meyers) Junk. No children have been born to this union.
Mr. Tudhope celebrated his eighty-eighth birthday April 11, 1921, and thirty-seven members of his family were present. They celebrated on Monday, April 11, 1921, and at this time a photographer from Lawrence, Kansas, came and took many views of the family reunion. A few friends and neighbors came to help in the celebration. Mr. Tudhope has ten grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-grand- child. In the home where he resides are represented five generations of the family.
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In front of Mr. Tudhope's home is a row of magnificent evergreen trees, which Mr. Tudhope planted many years ago. He was inspecting the railroad ties near the Missouri river and he gathered some little cedar trees, placed them in his overcoat pocket, and upon his arrival home he planted them in his front yard and they have repaid him for his thought- fulness by their beauty and usefulness.
The first presidential vote that Mr. Tudhope cast was for John C. Fre- mont and his first vote was for S. P. Chase for governor of Ohio. Mr. Tudhope is a staunch republican. He has served on the Linwood school board for twenty-nine years and has always taken an active interest in the education of the young.
Mr. Tudhope has many warm friends and the family stands high in the community.
T. W. Martin, the cashier of the Linwood State Bank, is one of the leading business men of Linwood, and a native of Kansas. Mr. Martin was born in Sherman Township, Leavenworth County, April 8, 1872, the son of Edward and Anna E. (Harness) Martin.
Edward Martin was born in Keokuk, Iowa, and received his education and was reared near Crab Orchard, Kentucky. He made his home with his brother-in-law, Albert Albright, who operated a tavern and was an ex- tensive farmer and stock dealer. This tavern was a familiar sight to the early horse dealers who were driving their stock to the South, and its genial hospitality was enjoyed by many a man in this business. Edward Martin remained in Kentucky until 1870, when he came to Stranger, Kan- sas. Upon his arrival in Sherman Township in the month of January, he made his residence in an old Indian cabin. He started his farming opera- tions in the spring by renting land and continued farming rented land for many years. He later purchased 320 acres of land which he improved ex- tensively and farmed until 1896, when he moved to the Kaw Valley at Linwood, Kansas, and engaged in potato raising. He remained on this farm of 200 acres in section 21 in Sherman Township until his death, in November, 1902. He was sixty-three years of age at the time of his death.
Edward Martin was twice married, the first time to Rebecca Albright,. a native of the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. To this union four children were born, as follows: Jane, Mrs. George Dellitt, deceased; Dan-
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iel, deceased; George, died at the age of forty years at Bonner Springs, Kansas; and John, of Linwood, Kansas. The second marriage of Edward Martin to Anna Harness, a native of the Cumberland Mountains also, was solemnized in Kentucky. To this union five children were born: James, deceased; T. W., the subject of this sketch; Augusta, deceased; Richard, deceased, and Edward, superintendent of the paint department of the Eastern division for the Union Pacific Railroad.
Edward Martin and wife were members of the Christian Church. Mr. Martin helped to organize two or three school districts in Sherman Town- ship. He was also a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. They were for many years respected and honored citizens of Sherman Township and Leavenworth County, coming here during the days when the Indians were still here. Mrs. Anna (Harness) Martin died in March, 1917, at the age of seventy-six years.
T. W. Martin was reared and educated in school district No. 66 in Sherman Township and attended the State Normal School at Emporia, Kansas, for one year and one year at the Kansas City Medical College at Kansas City, Missouri. In 1896 Mr. Martin took up the profession of teaching school and continued in this for eleven years. At the end of that time he became the manager of the Linwood Telephone Company, a branch of the Suburban Telephone Company. He was with this company for five years. In 1913 he was appointed cashier of the Linwood State Bank, which position he now holds.
T. W. Martin is interested in many other business ventures in Lin- wood. He is the secretary and treasurer, also a stockholder of the Lin- wood Elevator Company, president of the Sunshine Soap Manufacturing Company. He is the owner of 200 acres of well improved land and handles all kinds of insurance in connection with his work as cashier of the Lin- wood State Bank.
November 2, 1900, T. W. Martin and Myrtle Hughey were united in marriage. She is the daughter of George and Iciphene (Hopkins) Hughey, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Kansas. Mrs. Myrtle (Hughey) Martin is a native of Sherman Township. Mr. and Mrs. Martin are the parents of the following children: Murray, a student at the Kansas State University at Lawrence, Kansas; Opal, deceased; and Helen Lois, five years of age, at home with her parents.
Mr. Martin and his wife are members of the Methodist Church and he is treasurer of the church. Mr. Martin is also a member of the Ancient
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Free and Accepted Masons and the Shrine, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Democrat and a progressive business man.
The Linwood State Bank, of Linwood, Kansas, was organized January 29, 1903, with a capital of $5,000. M. R. Howard, the first cashier of the bank, was instrumental in establishing the bank. The president of the bank was C. C. Burnett. In 1906 the banking business was purchased by A. J. Poor, with R. L. Biggert as cashier. They in turn sold the bank of Willis K. Folks in 1909. In 1912 Walter E. Head, of St. Joseph, Missouri, purchased the bank and he was assisted by J. E. Blevins as cashier. A year later, in 1913, T. W. Martin, the present cashier of the Linwood State Bank, purchased the controlling interest and has since continued as its able and successful cashier.
The original site of the bank was a little east of the present location and during the flood of 1903 the safe was submerged in sixteen feet of mud and water; six feet of this was mud. After a great deal of difficulty the safe was fished out of its muddy place and deposited in an old smoke house, fourteen feet square. Later it was moved into an unoccupied room of the Linwood Lumber Company's building and in 1907 was moved to its present location.
The bank has been robbed twice in its history. The first time during the time that R. L. Biggert was cashier. The safe was blown and $1,800 was taken. The second robbery occurred July 21, 1916, while T. W. Martin was cashier. He with his son, Murray Martin, were alone in the bank, shortly after lunch. It was about one thirty in the afternoon. Three men came in and locked Mr. Martin and his son in the vault while they ransacked every place for money. They found $1,300 and made their escape. Two of these men were apprehended at Kansas City, Missouri, where they were convicted and sent to the State Penitentiary. One of these men escaped from the prison in March, 1921.
The Linwood State Bank's statement is as follows: Capital, $10,000; surplus, $10,000; deposits, $200,000.
The present officers are: President, A. A. Bowen; cashier, T. W. Mar- tin; assistant cashier, Miss Dorothy Stratford, and vice-president, H. B. Browning, a farmer living on the west edge of Linwood. There are five directors, as follows: A. A. Bowen, John Browning, Robert Gregg Smelzer
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and T. W. Martin. The bank stock is largely owned by members of Sher- man Township.
John W. Hennessey, a well known hardware and furniture merchant and farmer of Easton, Kansas, was born July 3, 1862, in Kickapoo Town- ship, the son of Michael and Mary Hennessey, a history of whom appears in the sketch of Thomas J. Hennessey of this book. John Hennessey is the oldest of seven children. He was reared on a farm and attended school in district seventy-two in Easton Township. He remained on the farm until 1909, when he engaged in the hardware and furniture business at Easton. He carries a large stock of hardware and furniture and is ready to meet the demands of many customers. Mr. Hennessey owns ninety acres of land in this township.
In politics Mr. Hennessey is a Democrat, and has been township treas- urer and township trustee, filling both positions with credit. He is a mem- ber of the Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus Lodge.
February 8, 1893, Mr. Hennessey was married to Anna Wunderlich, a native of High Prairie Township. She died in January, 1907. To this union were born five children: Mary, Helen and Carrie, at home; Thomas, who died at the age of fifteen years, in June, 1916; and Bertha, who lives at home.
Mr. Hennessey and family are highly respected citizens of Easton and have many friends in this township.
F. E. Fredrick, a substantial citizen and merchant of Linwood, Kan- sas, is a native of Kansas. He was born in Wyandotte, Kansas, November 27, 1871, the fourth child born to J. B. and Marguerite (Lynch) Fredrick.
J. B. Fredrick was born in Germany and left his native land when seven years old. He settled in Henry County, Missouri, where he made his home until early manhood. He then went to Jackson County, Mis- souri, and purchased land, which is now the main part of Kansas City, Missouri. The old union depot was later built upon the land which he purchased at this time. In March, 1871, J. B. Fredrick came to Leaven- worth County, Kansas, and purchased 120 acres of land in Sherman Town- ship. This was his home until his death in 1899. He was sixty-four years old at the time of his death. His wife, Marguerite (Lynch) Fredrick, was
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born in Johnson County, Kansas, and died in 1894 at the age of fifty-eight years.
F. E. Fredrick was reared on the farm of his parents until 1897, when he with his brother, William H. Fredrick, opened a general merchandise store at Linwood, Kansas. This partnership was dissolved in 1903, when F. E. Fredrick with his sister, Mary, Mrs. Frank Ward and a brother, Thomas Fredrick, formed a business partnership and conducted the busi- ness. In 1906 F. E. Fredrick purchased an interest in the mercantile business of his brother-in-law, A. A. Bowen.
June 1, 1904, F. E. Fredrick and Azelia Gross were united in marriage. She is a native of Kansas. To this union four children have been born, as follows: Donald, Oral, Mary Katherine and Alfred, all at home.
F. E. Fredrick is a Democrat and a public spirited citizen. In April, 1917, he was elected mayor of Linwood and was re-elected in April, 1921. He has improved the little city by new side walks and has used twenty car loads of cinders upon the streets. He was reared in the Catholic faith and he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
John Smelser, manager of the grain elevator at Linwood, Kansas, and a director of the Linwood State Bank, is a native of Rush County, Indiana. He was born March 1, 1850, the eldest child of three children born to John and Sarah (Norvell) Smelser. The other two children are deceased.
John Smelser was married three times, the first time to Mary Boone, a native of Kentucky and a descendant of Daniel Boone. To this union ten children were born. The second marriage was to Mary Gilson. No children were born to this union. His third marriage was to Sarah Nor- vell, a native of Franklin County, Indiana. John Smelser was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1797 and in 1825 emigrated to Indiana, where he ยท was engaged in tilling the soil. He was among the very earliest pioneers of that state and endured the privations and struggles of the early pio- neers against the forces of nature and the red men, not counting the lone- liness and the vast distances between human beings. He died in 1862.
John Smelser was reared on his father's farm in Indiana and in 1868 came to Jackson County, Missouri, where he farmed until 1870, when he came to Leavenworth County and settled on a farm of 160 acres in Reno
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HISTORY OF LEAVENWORTH COUNTY
Township. Mr. Smelser improved his property extensively and farmed until 1915, when he came to Linwood and opened up his grain elevator business. He is also a shareholder and director of the Linwood State Bank.
In March, 1874, John Smelser and Lydia Miller were united in mar- riage. She was born in Indiana, a short distance north of Indianapolis. To this union the following children have been born: Troy, Colorado; Ora, St. Louis, Missouri; Bessie, Mrs. J. N. Snyder, Linwood, Kansas; Mirle, Colorado; Charles, Linwood, Kansas, and Agnes, the bookkeeper in the lumber yard of Linwood, at home.
Mr. Smelser is a member of the Methodist Church and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is a Democrat and one of the substantial citizens of Linwood.
Orra S. Johnston, a well known breeder of horses, mules and Spotted Poland-China hogs, is the owner of 220 acres of land in Sherman Township.
Mr. Johnston and his mother own what is known as "Fairview Farm" and this is where he keeps a registered Percheron stallion and the famous "Missouri Chief" jack and the numerous pure bred Poland-China hogs for which the farm is so well known. Mr. Johnston ships hogs all over the United States and has private sales. He also has Shorthorn cattle.
Orra S. Johnston was born in Crawford County, Ohio, and is one of two children born to Orra and Kizzie M. (Hill) Johnston. The other son, John, is deceased. Orra Johnston senior was born in Crawford County, Ohio, where he was a farmer and stock buyer. On account of ill health he spent much of his time in Texas buying cattle. These he would drive over the trail to Ellis, Kansas, and ship them over the Union Pacific Rail- road to the Kansas City markets. He died at his home in Crawford County, Ohio, in 1876. His wife, Kizzie M. (Hill) Johnston, was born in Marion County, Ohio, and makes her home with her son.
Orra S. Johnston attended school at Bucyrus, Ohio, and remained on the farm with his parents. In 1895 he came to Leavenworth County and purchased land in Sherman Township near Linwood. He farmed this for four and one-half years. Disposing of it he went to Litchfield, Minnesota, where he was engaged in the shoe business until 1901, when he returned to Kansas. He purchased his present farm and made extensive improve- ments on the place. He began breeding in 1902.
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Mr. Johnston is a member of the Christian Church and is a Democrat. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and one of the progressive farmers of Leavenworth County.
Clyde F. Siscoe, a progressive and wideawake business man and farmer, who is the most extensive potato grower in the famous potato growing Kaw Valley, is also a breeder of Percheron horses, and mules. Mr. Siscoe owns 341 acres of well-improved land, with a modern residence, electrically lighted with a private Delco lighting system. The residence is equipped with hot and cold running water and modern bath conveniences. Mr. Siscoe has 145 acres in potatoes each year and employs six men the year around. During the potato season he has thirty to forty men to help harvest his crops. He has a private railroad siding at the east end of the farm and in 1907 he shipped seventy-eight carloads of early Ohio potatoes to the Kansas City, Missouri, markets.
Clyde F. Siscoe was born September 27, 1877, in Sherman Township; Leavenworth County, the son of Ernest and Ellen (Snyder) Siscoe, both natives of Defiance County, Ohio. The former was born January 25, 1849, and the latter April 9, 1849. Ernest Siscoe was the son of Elezer and Hannah Siscoe, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Linwood, Kansas, in 1875, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Ernest Siscoe came to Leavenworth County in 1877 and was a practical farmer. He owned 700 acres of land at the time of his death, September 27, 1904. His wife survived him until February 7, 1917.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Siscoe were the parents of the following chil- dren: Jennie, now Mrs. W. E. Brock, of Sherman Township .; Fred L., of Sherman Township; Eugene O., in Colorado; Maude, wife of William Perry of Chandler, Oklahoma; Clyde F., the subject of this review; and Clinton A., of Sherman Township.
Clyde F. Siscoe was reared and educated in Sherman Township and attended the high school of Linwood, from which he was graduated. In 1898 he commenced his farming operations, and after his father's death became the heir to 198 acres of land. In 1906, he purchased 110 acres of land and in turn traded it to his brother, Clinton Siscoe for the east side of Mr. Siscoe's present farm. Mr. Siscoe built his modern home in 1910.
Clyde F. Siscoe and Mrs. Maggie (Dewitt) Snyder were married Feb- ruary 25, 1909, and to this union one child, Ernest F., has been born. Mrs.
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C. F. SISCOE, FAMILY AND RESIDENCE.
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HISTORY OF LEAVENWORTH COUNTY
Siscoe is a daughter of A. J. and Mary (Henson) Dewitt, natives of Ohio, who settled in Iron County, Missouri, in 1858, where Maggie Dewitt Sny- der was born. By a former marriage to Richard Snyder, Mrs. Siscoe has one child, Eva Marie, at home.
Mr. Siscoe is a republican and a member of the Congregational Church. He is one of the substantial and successful citizens and farmers of Leav- enworth County.
Theo Meinke, a farmer and soap powder manufacturer of Linwood, Kansas, who is closely and intimately associated with the social and busi- ness life of Linwood, is a progressive and substantial business man. He was born in Lexington, Missouri, April 7, 1864, one of nine children born to his parents, Henry and Mary (Holtcamp) Meinke, six of whom are living, as follows: John, Lawrence, Kansas; William, Linwood, Kansas; Henry, Kansas City, Missouri; Theo, of this review; Emma, Mrs. George Bauer, Kansas City, Missouri; and Matilda, Mrs. J. P. Bryan, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Henry Meinke and his wife were natives of Germany and left their native land because of the oppression of the military system in Germany and the opportunity for greater freedom in the United States. They were married in Missouri, where Mr. Meinke was a laborer and farmer, before the Civil War. In 1865 they came to Douglas County, Kansas, and later moved to Johnson County, where they followed farming. They both died of pneumonia, only four days apart, in 1883.
When Theo Meinke was seventeen years old he began as a farm hand and later rented land in Reno Township, Leavenworth County. In 1903 he purchased eighty acres of land in Sherman Township and in 1907 traded this for thirty acres of land one-half mile west of Linwood. He had moved to Linwood in 1906 and in 1915 purchased his present home.
The marriage of Theo Meinke and Alice May Anderson was solemn- ized December 10, 1891. She is a daughter of L. G. and Mary Ann (Little- john) Anderson. L. G. Anderson was a farmer, born in Kentucky and is now deceased. His wife, Mary Ann (Littlejohn) Anderson, was born in Illinois and makes her home in Sherman Township, Leavenworth County. Mr. and Mrs. Theo Meinke are the parents of the following children: Archie, manager of the Linwood telephone exchange; Carl A., a farmer of Linwood; Leslie B., at home, and Ollie, Mrs. Roy A. Serviss, a mail carrier of Linwood.
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Theo Meinke is an independent voter, but leans toward the Demo- cratic party. He always takes an active and commendable interest in all local, county, state and national affairs. He served as clerk of the school board for fifteen years and was a member of the council for thirteen years. He is a member of the Congregational Church and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias. The Knights of Pythias are discussing the election of a home for the Pythian fraternity and Mr. Meinke is endeavoring to have the home located at Linwood, Kansas.
Linwood Soap Powder Manufacturing Company, of Linwood, Kansas, is the headquarters of the soap company which makes a soap powder in four different states. This powder was patented by J. D. Diffee and in 1918 he sold his patent right to twelve men of Linwood, Kansas, and they opened up and financed a soap powder manufacturing plant.
The following are the officers: President, T. W. Martin; vice-presi- dent, A. A. Bowen; secretary and treasurer, Theo Meinke. The board of directors are: T. W. Martin, J. E. Blevins, Charles Spencer, A. B. Fred- rick and A. A. Bowen.
The company is capitalized at $12,000 and from its beginning in 1918 has continued to grow and increase its volume of business.
H. C. Short, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners and also in the abstract business for many years, is one of Leavenworth County's most substantial citizens. Mr. Short was born in Atchison, Kan- sas, September 17, 1859, the son of Oliver F. and Frances (Catlin) Short. Oliver F. Short was a native of Virginia, and Frances (Catlin) of Illinois. They were married in 1857 in Springfield, Illinois, and came to Atchison, Kansas, where Mr. Short was employed as a government surveyor.
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