History of Leavenworth County Kansas, Part 43

Author: Hall, Jesse A; Hand, LeRoy T
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Topeka : Historical Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 684


USA > Kansas > Leavenworth County > History of Leavenworth County Kansas > Part 43


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Doctor Seeley received his education in the public schools of Wiscon- sin and the Henkley Military Academy of Hudson, Wisconsin. He at- tended the Medical School at Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was publisher and distributor of veterinarian work for fifteen years. Later he was estab- lished at Lincoln, Nebraska, as veterinary surgeon. In 1895, Doctor Seeley came to Tonganoxie, Kansas, and followed his profession until 1914, when he was made the postmaster of Tonganoxie. In this capacity he has won many friends and established his reputation as one of the leading substantial citizens of his village.


Doctor Seeley and Mollie (Burke) were united in marriage at Fall


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City, Nebraska. She is the daughter of Christian and Marie (Book) Burke, natives of Germany. They came to the United States in 1870, settling in Illinois near Chicago. In 1880, they moved to Hallan, Lan- caster County, Nebraska, locating on a farm where they followed farming during the remainder of their lives. They had five children as follows: Mollie, Mrs. T. Seeley, of this sketch; William, of Hallan, Nebraska; Charles, of Hallan, Nebraska; Bessie, now Mrs. August Albers, deceased; John, of Lancaster County, Nebraska.


Dr. and Mrs. Timothy Seeley are the parents of five children, as fol- lows: Dwight, of Topeka, Kansas; Maude, wife of Marion Davis, of Kan- sas City, Missouri; Francis, Mrs. Fred Bramble, of Hickman Mills, Mis- souri; Florence, Mrs. Charles Korbus, of Chicago, Illinois, and Bert, of Kansas City, Missouri.


Dr. Seeley is an upholder of the democratic principles of government and has lent a decided influence through his campaign work for the demo- cratic candidates. In 1912, Doctor Seeley was urged to be a candidate for county coroner on the democratic ticket. Doctor Seeley is a member of the Ancient Order of the United Workmen, of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Seeley, who was a member of the Royal Neighbor Lodge and of the Congregational Church, died March 24, 1920.


Frederick Wellhouse, nurseryman and fruit grower, was born in Chip- pewa Township, Wayne County, Ohio, November 16, 1828, son of William and Hannah (Yohey) Wellhouse. His father was a native of Hanover, Germany, and in 1804 came to America with his parents and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Later he moved to Wayne County, Ohio, where he married a daughter of Peter Yohey. Frederick Wellhouse attended school until the age of fifteen, when, owing to the death of his father, the management of the farm and a mill property devolved upon himself and his brother George. In 1853 he went to Christian County, Illinois, and engaged in farming until 1858, when he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where, for a brief period, with J. N. Ray as a partner, he edited and pub- lished the "Indiana Farmer." In 1859 he went to Leavenworth County, Kansas, and engaged in the growing and sale of young fruit trees. He continued in that line until 1876, when he began planting commercial apple orchards, the beginning of the work that was destined to make his name famous. He planted orchards at Glenwood, Leavenworth County, 117


FREDERICK WELLHOUSE


ء


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acres, in 1876; Miami, Miami County, 160 acres, in 1878; Fairmount, Leavenworth County, 160 acres, in 1879; Osage, Osage County, 800 acres, in 1889; Summit, Leavenworth County, 400 acres, in 1894. The crop of 1890, amounting to 80,000 bushels of apples, sold for over $50,000. It was the most valuable apple crop ever grown by one man in the Middle West and brought to Mr. Wellhouse the title of "The Apple King." By 1913 he had raised twenty-seven crops, aggregating 600,000 bushels. He was a member of the Kansas State Horticultural Society and a director for four years, treasurer fifteen years, and president ten years. He was a director of the Kansas State Fair Association during 1881-93, and vice-president for four years. In addition to his multiplex business interests Mr. Well- house was actively interested in municipal, county and state government. He was justice of the peace of Kickapoo Township, Leavenworth County, in 1860; chairman of the board of commissioners of Leavenworth County during 1861-63, and member of the Kansas State Legislature in 1865 and again in 1888. During 1861-65 he was captain of Company I, Nineteenth Regiment Kansas State Militia, and took part in the Price raid campaign in 1864 until the Confederate forces were turned South at the battle of Westport, his command assisting in driving them as far South as Little Santa Fe. In the spring of 1865 he was captured at Aubrey, Kansas, by Confederate guerillas, who committed various depredations and shot to death his traveling companion. The success in life of Frederick Well- house depended largely upon his ability to directly forecast the future, which he never ceased to study. A large share of it he also owned to his indomitable energy and his steadfastness of purpose. Practical labor had made him a competent farmer, and honest dealing, sensible living and intelligent effort all lent their share of success to the new and closely related industry to which he gave the close application of a master mind in the art of agriculture and horticulture. His unusual career was strik- ingly emblematic of those laudable characteristics which reveal American manhood in its inspiring form. He was married in January, 1848, to Susan, daughter of Daniel Housley, of Coply Township, Summit County, Ohio, and had four children, Walter, who is secretary, at Topeka, of the Kansas State Horticultural Society; Mary C., wife of Hamilton Moore, of St. Paul, Minnesota; Horace M., and Cora, wife of H. Shelby Bullard. He died in Leavenworth, Kansas, January 10, 1911 .- From the National Cy- clopedia of American Biography.


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Judge Samuel James McNaughton, the well-known lawyer and jurist of Tonganoxie, Kansas, is a descendant of an old Scotish family. The McNaughton family has an ancestral record dating back 800 years, re- cording the names of families before the clans were formed in Scotland. For centuries the heads of this family were the Thanes of Loch Fyne and Lochane.


Alexander McNaughton, of Argyleshire, Scotland, immigrated to this country in 1738. He settled in New Windsor, Orange County, New York, and subsequently was granted a patent to land in Argyle, Washington County, New York. He was accompanied by his nephew, Malcolm Mc- Naughton, the third, who was the son of Duncan and Margaret (Fisher) McNaughton. After the death of Duncan McNaughton, whose birth- place was Argyle, Scotland, Margaret (Fisher) McNaughton joined her son, Malcolm McNaughton, the third, in the United States.


Malcolm McNaughton, the third, had a son, Findley, who married Elizabeth Murray. They had six children, of whom Malcolm, the fourth, was one. Malcolm McNaughton was born in Argyle, Washington County, New York and received an excellent education. He was admitted to the bar and for many years practiced law in Saratoga County, New York. For six years he was judge of the court of sessions. He married Phoebe (McDowall) the daughter of General James McDowall, who served in the War of 1812. Malcolm McNaughton, the fourth, and Phoebe (McDowall) McNaughton passed long and useful lives in Washington County, New York. The former died in 1876.


Samuel James McNaughton, the son of Malcolm, the fourth, and Phoebe (McDowall) McNaughton, was born September 9, 1851, in Schuy- lersville, Saratoga County, New York. He was next to the youngest of eight children born to his parents. He received his education in the pub- lic schools of New York and in St. Stephen's Academy. In 1869, he grad- uated in a law course and three years later he was admitted to the bar. He came to Kansas immediately after, settling in Reno Township, Leav- enworth County. He taught school for some time and then established his law practice in Leavenworth County. In 1874 Mr. McNaughton was elected justice of the peace, which position he held for fifteen years. Dur- ing this time he also engaged in farming, owning a farm near Lawrence, Kansas. In 1893 Judge McNaughton opened up law offices in Tonganoxie, Kansas, and has continued a successful business since that time.


April 14, 1881, Samuel James McNaughton and Anna A. Eaton were


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united in marriage. She is the daughter of Nathaniel H. and Mary A. Eaton, of Reno Township, Leavenworth County, Kansas. To Mr. and Mrs. McNaughton four children have been born, as follows: Malcolm, Lucy, Alicia and Mabel.


Samuel James McNaughton is past venerable consul of the Modern Woodmen of America Lodge. He is also past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons Lodge. Mr. McNaughton also served for four years as the chair- man of the executive committee of the Kansas Farmers Alliance.


John W. Evans, the capable and successful proprietor of the Royal Theatre, of Tonganoxie, Kansas, is also engaged in the real estate business and farming. John W. Evans was born in Tonganoxie Township, Novem- ber 27, 1872, the son of Lemuel and Ellen (Lash) Evans.


Lemuel Evans was born in 1841 in Illinois. When a young man he came of Doniphan County, Kansas, and later to Tonganoxie Township, Leavenworth County, Kansas, where he was engaged in farming. At first he purchased land, four miles west of Tonganoxie, and at the time of his retirement from active farming. In 1895 he engaged in partnership with his son, John W. Evans, in the real estate business and they con- tinued this partnership until 1915, when Lemuel Evans retired from active business. He died January 20, 1921.


Lemuel Evans was a Civil War veteran. He enlisted on the Union side at Leavenworth, Kansas, June 3, 1861, as a private in Company D, First Kansas Regular Infantry, and when he was discharged he was a corporal in the aforesaid company. During the battle of Wilson Creek, Lemuel Evans was wounded in the eye and lost his eyesight.


Lemuel Evans and Ellen Lash Evans, who was born in Illinois in 1842, are the parents of six children, as follows: Oscar, deceased; Sam- uel, of Bethany, Missouri ; John W., of this sketch; Nettie, the wife of Ivan Sechrest of Tonganoxie; Lucy, deceased, and Lemuel, of Salicia, Montana.


John W. Evans was educated in the Tonganoxie district school and worked on his father's farm until twenty-one years of age. After his marriage, Mr. Evans opened up a restaurant in Tonganoxie and conducted this for seven years. He then engaged in the real estate business with his father, Lemuel Evans. In the meantime, he had opened the first moving picture airdome in Tonganoxie which developed into the present Royal Theatre.


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John W. Evans was married to Lavina Reno, at Leavenworth, Kan- sas. She is the daughter of Dr. J. W. and Mary A. Reno. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have four children, as follows: Ralph, died in infancy; Carlos William, graduate in law from the Kansas State University in the class of 1921; Lucile, at the Kansas State University; and Lemuel, at home.


Carlos Evans, the son of John W. Evans, is a World War veteran, although he did not see any overseas service. He reported at the Officers' Training Camp at Fort Sheridan, July 18, 1918, and was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Infantry, September 16, 1918. He was transferred to Camp Grant, Illinois, September 26, 1918, and discharged at this camp, December 7, 1918.


John W. Evans is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a republican and one of the substantial and successful citizens of Tonganoxie.


Frank W. Henry, a successful and substantial merchant of Tonga- noxie, Kansas, is a native of Kentucky. He is the son of Joseph and Mary (Graham) Henry and was born in Princetown, Kentucky, September 1, 1860.


Joseph and Mary (Graham) Henry were natives of Ireland, the for- mer, born 1810, the son of Alec Henry, who remained in his native land. The latter. Mary (Graham) Henry was born in 1825. In 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Henry left their native land and established their home on a farm in Kentucky. At the time of Mr. Henry's death, he owned 250 acres of land. He died in 1875 and his wife in 1895. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Sarah, in Kentucky; Nanny, Mrs. Robert Craig, in Kentucky ; Robert, a farmer in Kentucky; Frank W., the subject of this sketch; and William, of Kentucky.


Frank W. Henry attended the district schools of Kentucky, and fol- lowed farming until nineteen years of age. At that time, in 1884, he was employed by his cousin, Alec Kirk, in a general grocery store at Leaven- worth, Kansas. He remained in his consin's employ for fourteen years when he opened a general merchandise, grocery and meat shop at Ton- ganoxie. His business is located in a two-story building with two store rooms.


September 15, 1898, Frank W. Henry and Sophia Mordaunt were married at Leavenworth, Kansas. She is the daughter of John and Lulu


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Mordaunt. To this union three children have been born as follows: Lee, studying pharmacy at the Kansas City School of Pharmacy; Dorothy, taking a general course at the Kansas State University; and Louise, at- tending the Tonganoxie High School.


Frank W. Henry is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and with his wife a member of the Congregational Church. Mr. Henry has always manifested keen interest in the upbuild- ing of his community and has served on the village council for many years. He has won the esteem and confidence of his many friends and business associates.


James McNamee, the proprietor of the Tonganoxie, Kansas, garage, is a native of Leavenworth County. He was born in Kickapoo Township on a farm, April 4, 1876, the son of Patrick and Rose (Campbell) McNamee.


Patrick McNamee was born in Ireland in 1828, and came to the United States when eighteen years old. He found employment on the levee of the Mississippi river in Louisiana for some time and later in the coal mines of Wheeling, West Virginia. He was drafted in the Confederate Army while at Wheeling, West Virginia, and served in the southern cause for two years and eleven months. After the war, in 1865, he came to Leavenworth County, Kansas, and settled on a 160-acre farm. He lived on this farm until his death and during the years of his successful labor as a farmer he added more and more to his possessions. He owned, at the time of his death, in 1900, 640 acres of land. Rose (Campbell) Mc- Namee was born in 1834 in Ireland, and with her parents settled in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania. She died in 1908.


Mr. and Mrs. Patrick McNamee were the parents of nine children, as follows: John, deceased ; Josephine, Mrs. John Miller, on the old home place; Mary, Mrs. Charles Young, of Welborn, Kansas; Gertrude, de- ceased; Sarah, a Catholic sister at Memphis, Tennessee; Rosamond, Kan- sas City, Missouri; James McNamee, of Leavenworth County, the sub- ject of this sketch; William, of Leavenworth County; and Stella, of Kan- sas City, Missouri.


James McNamee was educated in the Mount Olivet District School and remained on the farm with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when he went to Sacramento, California, and worked as a farm laborer. Mr. McNamee then worked as a fireman on a tug on the Sacramento River


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and from this work went to Juno, Alaska, where he was employed in the Tredwill gold mines. After leaving the gold mines he was on Douglas Island for five months, then at Seattle, Washington, where he again took ship for Alaska and returning from there he was employed as a fireman on the tug Queen. After this he again returned to Alaska and worked for the Charles D. Lane mining company. He again resumed his occupa- tion of fireman on the tug Sparkles and again the Queen. In 1900, James McNamee returned to Leavenworth County and located on his father's farm, where he remained until the fall of 1919, when he opened the pres- ent garage at Tonganoxie. In the garage, which Mr. McNamee operates he has for sale the Buick cars, the Cletrac tractor and all accessories and oil.


James McNamee and Margaret Fox were married April 30, 1913, at Hoge, Kansas. She is the daughter of James and Alice (Torpey) Fox, the former a Leavenworth County pioneer and the latter a native of In- dependence, Missouri. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McNamee, as follows: James, Jr., born March 17, 1914; Rose Mary, born May 19, 1915; Margaret Ruth, born November 30, 1916, and Sarah Jus- tine, born September 2, 1918.


James McNamee is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and also a member of the Catholic Church. He is a democrat in politics.


Fred Papenhausen, a retired pioneer farmer of Stranger Township, and a substantial citizen of Tonganoxie, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Cook County, Illinois, March 13, 1856, the son of John and Dora (Bucholtz) Papenhausen. John Papenhausen was born April 3, 1804, in Mecklenberg, Germany, and in 1854, with his wife and family, left his native land. He first located in Illinois where he worked as a brick maker. Later, he came to Woodson County, Kansas, homesteading 160 acres of land. He is deceased and is buried in the Fall Creek Cemetery, at Jar- bolo, Kansas.


Dora Bucholtz Papenhausen was born in Prussia, Germany, February 7, 1816. From 1854 until 1889, the time of her death, she lived on thirty- seven acres of land in Stranger Township. She is buried in Fall Creek Cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. John Papenhausen were born six children, as follows: Minnie and Mary, twins, the former deceased and the latter the


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wife of John Hitzman of Leavenworth County; William, of Leavenworth ; Augusta, died in Germany; Carl, died in Illinois; Fred, the subject of this sketch.


Fred Papenhausen attended the Smith's District School Number Twenty-seven of Stranger Township and worked on his mother's farm. He remained with her until his marriage, when he purchased eighty acres adjoining the farm of his mother. After Mrs. Dora Papenhausen's death, he purchased the thirty-seven acres and continued his farming operation until September 15, 1915. Forty-three years were spent on the one farm and Mr. Papenhausen well earned the retirement which he enjoys at his home in Tonganoxie. He employs his leisure time doing carpenter work.


On the home farm where Fred Papenhausen was raised and which he later owner, he was married to Emma Jahn, December 15, 1880. She is the daughter of Henry and Mary (Haug) Jahn. The former was born August 30, 1837, in Saxony, Germany, and when a young man left his native land settling in Cook County, Illinois, and then in 1877 moving to Tonganoxie, Kansas, where he was a blacksmith. He died in Leavenworth, in 1908 and was buried at Mount Muncie Cemetery. Mary (Haug) Jahn was born in Wurtenberg, Germany, and settled in Cook County, Illinois, where she was married to Henry Jahn. She died in 1910 in Leavenworth, Kansas, and is buried in Mount Muncie Cemetery.


Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jahn were the parents of ten children, as fol- lows: Matilda, wife of Kasper Kulmus, of Leavenworth; August, of Leav- enworth; Bertha married Fred Dobler, of Kansas City, Missouri; Emma Papenhausen, of this sketch; Herman, Fort Worth, Texas; Henry, Fort Worth, Texas; Mary, Kansas City, Missouri, married Pat Dulaney ; Riney, deceased; Rosie, wife of John Jackson, of Onaga, Kansas; and Charles, of Enid, Oklahoma.


Mr. and Mrs. Fred Papenhausen are the parents of ten children, as follows: Henry, of Tonganoxie; Fred, Eudora, Kansas; Emma, wife of William Holder, of Tonganoxie; Dora, married Charles McPherson, a farmer of Leavenworth County; John, enlisted in the United States army at Fort Leavenworth, May 28, 1917, and was assigned to Company E, 139th Infantry, 35th Division. He was sent first to Camp Doniphan, then went to France where he was engaged with his company in the St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne offensives. He was a corporal and returned to the United States and was discharged at Camp Funston May 9, 1919. John Papenhausen is farming in Stranger Township; William, married Mary


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Mails of Lawrence, Kansas; Matilda, was in nurses' training schools of the Cushing Hospital of Leavenworth and Swedish Hospital of Kansas City, Missouri, from which hospital she graduated. September 19, 1917, when she enlisted in the Red Cross and was sent to Camp Pike, from thence to England where she was placed with the English forces. Later she served at Base Hospital Number Twenty-one, St. Louis, and at Rouen, France, after leaving the English hospital. She was also located at the Evacuation Hospital Number Thirty-six at Nants, France. July 3, 1919, she sailed for the United States, on the ship Aquatania, arriving at New York, July 20, 1919. She left New York July 24, 1919, and was discharged in September, 1919. Freda, another daughter, is in the Nurses' Training School of the Swedish Hospital at Kansas City, Missouri, and a son, Charles, who enlisted April 23, 1917, in the Signal Corps at Jefferson Bar- racks, Missouri, was transferred to Fort Leavenworth and then again to Camp Alfred Vail, New Jersey. August 27, 1918, he sailed for overseas and was on the firing line for some time. In June, 1919, he returned to the United States and was discharged at Camp Funston, July 8, 1919, as a sergeant ; Robert, died in infancy.


Fred Papenhausen and wife are members of the Lutheran Church, and Mrs. Papenhausen is a member of the Eastern Star, the Rebeccas and the Royal Neighbors. Mr. Papenhausen is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grange. He is also a member of the auxiliaries of these lodges, the Re- beccas and Eastern Star. He is independent in politics and has served an unexpired term on the school board and one full term as treasurer of Smith School District Number Twenty-seven, Stranger Township.


Professor Eph Voorhees, the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Leavenworth County, has served his county for the past eight years and is now serving his fifth term. He was re-elected November 2, 1920. Pro- fessor Voorhees was educated in the public schools of Leavenworth, Kansas, and the State Normal School at Emporia, Kansas. Prior to his election to the important office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mr. Voorhees taught ten years in the public schools of Leavenworth County, Kansas. In 1912, he was elected and each succeeding two years he has been re-elected.


Professor Eph Voorhees was born in Ford County, Kansas, December 4, 1885, the son of I. E. and Lavina (Sizelove) Voorhees. I. E. Voorhees


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was born in Illinois and for forty years was intimately associated with the public life of Kansas. For many years he was the editor of a newspaper at Dodge City, Kansas. He was a guard at the State Prison for several years and later he served in the same capacity at the Federal Prison at Leavenworth, Kansas. His last days were spent on his farm at Milton- vale, Kansas. He died in July, 1919. His wife, Mrs. Lavina Voorhees, was born at Dodge City, Kansas, and now resides with her children.


Mr. and Mrs. I. E. Voorhees were the parents of the following chil- dren: Bert, an attorney at St. Joseph, Missouri; Jesse, a railroad man in Canada; Mrs. Julia Billings, Delphos, Kansas; Professor Eph, the subject of this sketch; Joseph, county clerk of Leavenworth County; Charles, a teacher at Miltonvale, Kansas; Archie, a railroad man at Dodge City, Kansas; Claude, a student at Yale University; Mary Adams, Maitland, Florida, and Lloyd, a ranchman in Montana.


Professor Eph Voorhees and Miss Edna Oliphant were united in mar- riage in 1910. Mrs. Voorhees is the daughter of John Oliphant and wife. Mr. Oliphant died in May, 1921, and his wife died many years ago. To Mr. and Mrs. Voorhees have been born two sons, Gordon Stanley and Donald Shirley.


Mr. Voorhees has made some great changes in the school systems of the county since his superintendency. At the present there are seventy- six separate school districts in the county and six rural high schools, the last one being formed at Tonganoxie, Kansas. The other rural high schools which he has organized are in Easton, Lansing, Jarbalo, Linwood and Basehor. There are 325 high school students in the county, outside of Leavenworth and 3,000 children enrolled in the grades.


Professor Eph Voorhees is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons.


Dr. Eustace P. Leakey, a widely known and successful dentist of Ton- ganoxie, Kansas, is a native of England. He was born in 1877, in Top- sham, a suburb of Exeter, Devonshire, England, the son of John A., and Caroline (Parrett) Leaky. John A. Leaky was of Irish origin, although he had been born and educated in England and was a vicar of the Episco- pal Church at Exeter, Devonshire, England. He was the youngest of a very large family of children and spent his life in his chosen work. He was born in 1831 and died in 1896.




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