USA > Kansas > Leavenworth County > History of Leavenworth County Kansas > Part 49
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Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Erhart Bleistein, all of whom are deceased but the subject of this review. They are as follows, in order of birth: Charles, John, George and Pete.
Pete Bleistein was reared in Germany and in early manhood served for three years in the German army. He came to the United States on the ship Moropia and landed in New York in 1892. He came to Leaven- worth, Kansas, shortly after his arrival and worked as a farm laborer, making his home with an aunt, Mrs. Margaret Ala. After his marriage he
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followed farming on rented land, living near Bonner Springs in Fairmount Township. This land belonged to his father-in-law. In 1911, Mr. Bleinstein came to his present location in Tonganoxie, where he is following farming and dairying on a larger and more efficient scale. Mr. Bleistein started his dairy herd with only five cows and now has sixty-five. He belongs to the second layout in the dairy district of Tonganoxie.
August 10, 1893, Pete Bleistein and Mary Sowers were married in Kickapoo Township. She is the daughter of David and Eliza (Henderson) Sowers, pioneers of Leavenworth County.
David Sowers was born in 1848 in Ohio. He was a Civil War veteran, serving three years in the Union army. He was discharged at Memphis, Tennessee, and came to Kickapoo Township, Leavenworth County, with his parents in 1864. He took up a claim, farming this for awhile, but soon went to Atchison County, Kansas, where he farmed near Effingham until he was married in 1868. He then returned to Fairmont Township and for twenty years farmed near Kickapoo, Kansas, later purchasing a farm near Bonner Springs, Kansas, where he died, February 19, 1919.
In 1868, near Leavenworth, Kansas, David Sowers and Eliza Hender- son were married. She was born in 1847 in Indiana and is still living on the farm near Bonner Springs. Eight children were born to this union as follows: Oliver, Tonganoxie Township; Mary, Mrs. Pete Bleistein, of this sketch; William, of Kansas City, Kansas; Luther, of Eudora, Kansas ; Bert, Atchison, Kansas; Katherine, the wife of H. F. Taylor, now living in Omaha, Nebraska; John, on the home place with his mother; Natalie, died at the age of three.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pete Bleistein : Mary E., deceased; George, married Irene Miller, Leavenworth, Kansas, was drafted in the army August 5, 1918, and was sent to Fort Riley and was assigned to the medical corps, from there to Fort Harrison, then to West Point for seven months and was discharged March 5, 1919; Edgar H., married Zella Willis, Jarbalo, Kansas, was drafted in the army, No- vember 11, 1918, and was at Fort Riley when the armistice was signed; David and Linn, twins, the former enlisted in the navy at Norfolk, Vir- ginia, December 5, 1920, the latter is deceased; John, a student at Ton- ganoxie High School.
Mr. Bleistein and wife are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Blei- stein is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is a republican.
The dairy farm owned and operated by Pete Bleistein and Whit Lan-
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ning has grown from very small beginnings to its present proportions. When Mr. Bleistein went in as partner with W. Lanning the place was unimproved and all covered with brush. He lived in a one-room house which was his home until 1910 when their house was built, an eight-room frame house. Mr. Bleistein and Mr. Lanning are in partnership. All of the buildings on the farm are modern, which include, a cement silo, with a capacity of 185 tons, a large dairy barn forty by twenty feet, and two milk houses, with a large milk tank. All of the milking is done by hand. They raise ten acres of alfalfa which averages ninety ton a year. They raise about 3,000 bushels of corn.
Mr. Bleistein is one of the substantial farmers and dairymen of Ton- ganoxie Township and the family stands high in the county.
John McMillen, a successful farmer of Stranger Township who owns 120 acres of highly developed land, was born October 6, 1869, in Warren County, Illinois. He is the son of James and Mary (McNamara) McMil- len, both natives of Ireland.
James McMillen was born in North Ireland in 1817 and upon his com- ing to the United States settled in Illinois. He was married at Monmouth, Illinois, to Mary McNamara, a native of County Limerick, Ireland. She came to the United States alone and made her home with her brother in Illinois. In 1869, Mr. and Mrs. James McMillen came to Leavenworth County, Kansas, and purchased eighty acres from the Union Pacific Rail- road in Stranger Township. This farm is included in the land now owned by his son, John McMillen. James McMillen made his home on this farm and followed farming with stock raising. The stock which he raised was always of a high grade. He died in 1879 and Mary (McNamara) McMil- len died in 1913. They are buried in the Hoge Cemetery. They were both members of the Hoge Catholic Church.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McMillen: James, deceased in infancy; Margaret, a widow living at Tonganoxie; William, deceased; John, the subject of this sketch; Mary, Mrs. Lee Newsome of Tonganoxie; and Sarah, Mrs. E. C. McNerney.
John McMillen was a baby when he came to Stranger Township and he was reared and received his education within its confines. He attended the Coleridge district school and remained with his mother on the farm until his marriage and purchasing of land for himself. He purchased the
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home eighty and an adjoining forty acres of land and has continued his farming operations.
At the church of Annunciation at Kansas City, Missouri, John Mc- Millen and Mary Curtin were married January 12, 1914. Father Dalton performed the ceremonies. She is the daughter of Cornelius and Eliza- beth (McKenna) Curtin, both natives of Ireland. Cornelius Curtin came from Ireland with an older brother. They settled in Indiana and later came to Jackson County, Missouri. At Independence, Missouri, he was married to Elizabeth McKenna, a native of Ireland, who had come from her native land with her mother. Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Curtin are the parents of eight children. They are living at 2728 Olive Street, Kansas City, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. John McMillen are members of the Hoge Catholic Church and among the substantial and successful citizens of the county.
St. Joseph's Church of the Valley of Kickapoo Township. Shortly before the Civil War a number of Catholic families settled in the central part of Kickapoo Township, and mass was said occasionally by Rev. Father Dufourri of the Leavenworth Cathedral, at the home of Charles Algeer, the present Leger Motton farm. In the spring of 1863, a Catholic con- gregation, later to be known as St. Joseph of the Valley, was organized at the home of William McGraw by the Rev. Albert Heiman, and mass was held regular once a month. The following members were present at the organization: John Heintzelman, John Rogan, E. Thiebaud, Patrick Mckeever, Dan Gallagher, Richard Wosser, Lawrence Kennedy, David Herley, John Hand, James McNally, John Wells, W. McGraw, M. O'Brien, James Connors, William Wise, Peter Lawless, Lawrence Clinton, Bernard Mckeown, George Crofton, Peter Boyle, Michael Costello, Leopold Abels, etc. In 1869, Warren W. Brown, familiarly known as "Yankee Brown," whose wife was a Catholic, gave two acres of land and a small church, 14x30 feet, was built under the direction of Rev. Ambrose Butler, then connected with the Cathedral of Leavenworth. The building of this church was the cause of an influx of Catholics in its neighborhood, and, three years later, the first building being taxed to its capacity, an addition was added in 1871 by the same Father Butler. The edifice stood until the year 1893, when the present church was built on the same spot by the Rev. Francis Caton. In 1903 a brick residence was erected by the Rev. A. Grov-
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taers, who became the first resident pastor. A cemetery, called Mt. Olivet Cemetery, is located near the church, and the property of the congregation consists of five acres. Father Wiman was succeeded in 1868 by Rev. A. Butler. After him the pastors and their time in office follows: Rev. A. J. Abel, 1873-1874; Rev. Peter J. Suite, 1874; Rev. Martin Huhn, 1874-1878; Rev. William Smith, 1878-1881; Rev. B. Vonderlage, 1881-1882; Rev. B. J. Hayden, 1882-1885; Rev. Sylvester Meehan, 1885-1888; Rev. James J. Dunning, 1888-1889; Rev. Francis H. Eaton, 1889-1895; Rev. H. Leydecker, 1895-1896; Rev. A. Grootaers, 1896-1921. The congregation at the pres- ent is composed mostly of the children and grandchildren of the first set- tlers, and practically every one owns his home. The number of families is seventy, all engaged in farming.
Thomas Cahill, a prominent Leavenworth County farmer and stock- man, was born December 2, 1861, in Clinton County, Ohio, the son of David and Nora (Kiley) Cahill; his parents were both born in County Tipperary, Ireland, the former March 25, 1834. David Cahill left Ireland when he was about fifteen years of age and came to the United States. He farmed for three or four years in Ohio, and, in 1865, came to Leaven- worth, Kansas, and in November bought eighty acres of land in Alexan- dria Township, and moved to this farm in 1867, and lived here until 1907, when he moved to Leavenworth. In 1909, he and his wife moved to the farm and lived with their son David Cahill, and in December, 1911, Mrs. Cahill died at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Cahill then made his home with his children, until his death, February 25, 1920.
Mr. and Mrs. David Cahill were the parents of the following chil- dren: Mary, who died in Ohio at the age of two years; Thomas, the sub- ject of this sketch; Ellen, deceased, who was the wife of Michael Hintzel- man ; Michael, of Kickapoo Township; Margaret, the wife of Thomas Wells, of Easton Township; Katherine, the wife of E. J. Birmingham, of High Prairie Township; Patrick, Anna and John, all three deceased; and David, of Kickapoo Township. The family are members of the Catholic Church. David Cahill assisted in organizing St. Joseph Church of the Valley of Kickapoo Township. He and his wife and their four children, who are deceased, are all buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
Thomas Cahill spent his boyhood days on his farm and attended the district school No. 49 in Alexandria Township. After reaching manhood
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he worked as a farm hand for seven years and received for his labor $16.00 per month for the first two or three years, and later he received $20.00 per month. He then says he had visions of becoming rich, so, in 1890, he began working for himself, and rented land in Kickapoo Township. In 1895, he bought his home place of eighty acres, on which he made im- provements. His place is well adapted to general farming and stock raising, and Mr. Cahill has met with success.
April 15, 1890, Mr. Cahill was married to Johanna Wosser, who was born March 25, 1862, the daughter of Richard and Anna (Donnally) Wos- ser, a history of whom appears in this volume with the sketch of Thomas Wosser. Mr. and Mrs. Cahill have seven children: Thomas J., employed at the Wulfekuhler State Bank of Leavenworth; Mary, the wife of Joe H. Hall, of Easton Township; Francis Marie, the wife of Francis Pierson, of High Prairie Township; Francis, who is deceased; Anna, who is a Sister of Charity; Nellie, who lives at home; and Joseph J., a teacher, who also lives at home with his parents.
Joseph J. Cahill was inducted into service during the World War, October 3, 1917, and was with the 353rd Infantry, Company C, 89th Divi- sion. On June 3, 1918, he sailed for France, and for sixty-five days he was on the firing line. He left Brest, France, February 16, 1919, and landed at Hoboken, New Jersey, on the 28th of February, and was mustered out at Camp Funston, Kansas, March, 1919, returning home. In the fall of 1920, he resumed his vocation, that of teaching, he having taught two terms previous to his service in the war.
All of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cahill are high school graduates, and prominent citizens of the county. Four of the children have taught school, all at the same time.
Mr. Thomas Cahill is a member of the Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, and in politics he is a democrat.
Charles J. Heim, a successful farmer of Kickapoo Township, was born May 29, 1885, in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Joseph and Josephine (Snider) Heim. Charles Heim is the youngest of six children born to his parents, five of whom grew to maturity. His parents were both born in Germany and came to the United States in the early days, and were mar- ried in Kentucky in 1887. They soon located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, where Mr. Heim engaged in farming. In 1900, he and his son,
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Joseph, Jr., bought the Wendlin Hund farm, which is now owned by Charles Heim. This place was a wine and vineyard farm, and the Heims conducted same until the passing of the prohibition law. They had sev- enty-five acres of vineyard, and their products were shipped all over the United States. Wine cellars were made in a side of a hill for the storing of wine. Joseph Heim is now living a retired life in Leavenworth; his wife is also living.
Charles Heim was reared in this county, and attended the Leaven- worth schools. He began working for himself when twenty years of age, and was in western Kansas on a ranch until 1908, when he returned to Leavenworth County and engaged in farming, and, in 1909, moved to Jef- ferson County, Kansas. He came back to Leavenworth County in 1917, and bought his present farm of 160 acres, which was formerly owned by his father.
Mr. Heim was married September 15, 1908, to Stella Chmidling, a native of Kickapoo Township, and the daughter of Eugene and Anna (Mil- ler) Chmidling, both of whom are now living near McLouth, Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Heim have had five children, as follows: Charles J., Cloyd E., Agnes, Harold and Eleanor, all of whom live at home with their parents.
Mr. Heim is an independent in politics; is a member of the Catholic Church; and the Modern Woodmen of America and Knights of Columbus. He is a substantial citizen of the community and well respected by many friends.
Tony Brose, a well known and successful farmer of Easton Township and member of a pioneer family, was born in Alexandria Township, Leav- enworth County, May 10, 1877, the son of John and Julia Brose. He was the eighth of twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity. His father was born in Germany, and his mother was also a native of Germany. They married in that country and came to the United States prior to the Civil War, first settling in St. Louis, later going to the western part of Missouri, and finally locating in Kansas about sixty years ago. They lived on a farm in Alexandria Township where all of their children were born. They died on the home place and are buried at St. Thomas Church in Spring- dale Cemetery. Both were members of the Catholic Church.
Tony Brose spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and attended the public schools. He remained at home until his marriage, when his
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father assisted in getting started, as he did all of his children. Tony Brose bought his present farm in Easton Township of eighty acres in 1903, and has extensively improved the place. Among other improvements is a two- story, modern residence. Mr. Brose rents 160 acres and farms in all 241 acres. He makes a specialty of raising high grade stock, and has the Poland China hogs.
- Mr. Brose is a stockholder in the Easton State Bank, and also a director of that institution. He is a democrat, and for the past twelve years has been clerk of the school board in district No. 11. He is a mem- ber of the Catholic Church and of the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Brose is a representative farmer of this township, and is a sub- stantial citizen.
January 12; 1904, Mr. Brose was married to Lena Mayer, a native of Easton Township, and daughter of Jacob and Katherine (Reichling) Mayer, who came from Pirmasens and Luxenberg, Germany, respectively. They first located in Ohio, on coming to the United States, but later moved to Kansas and settled on a farm here. Mr. Mayer was an extensive land owner, owning 540 acres. He died May 20, 1903, at the age of seventy- three years, and his wife is now living on the farm in Easton Township at the age of eighty-three years.
Charles G. Meyer, an enterprising and hustling farmer of Easton Township, who lives in Easton, Kansas, was born in Cedar County, Iowa, December 16, 1871, the son of Henry and Dora (Meyer) Meyer, the oldest of ten children, who are as follows: Lena, the widow of Alfred Lowery, who lives in New York City; Emma, deceased; William of Easton Town- ship; Clara, the wife of R. W. Stafford, of Easton, Kansas; Dora, the wife of Joe Jacquot, of Easton Township; Mollie, the wife of Ernest Sutliff, of Los Angeles, California; Josephine, the wife of William Adams, of Leav- enworth, Kansas; Mary, who is married and lives in Brazil; and Alice, the wife of William Bidwell, of Colorado. Henry Meyer was born in Hanover, Germany, October 4, 1844, but left his native land when eleven years of age, and came with his parents to Iowa. In 1892, he came to Leaven- worth County, Kansas, and settled near Tonganoxie, and, in 1893, moved near Easton, Kansas, where he now lives and owns forty acres of land in section 20. He has been a farmer all of his life. His wife was born in Cook County, Illinois, February 9, 1852.
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Charles G. Meyer bought eighty acres sixteen years ago, and in 1920 bought forty additional acres, and besides his agricultural pursuits, Mr. Meyer operates a threshing rig during the threshing season. He is a plasterer by trade and engaged in this occupation for several years. Mr. Meyer is shareholder of the Salina Joint Stock Bank, Salina, Kansas.
Mr. Meyer has also been active in civic affairs and was township trus- tee for two years; road overseer for two years, and a member of the school board for three years. He is a democrat in politics.
Mr. Meyer was married November 15, 1904, to Anna Abel who was born January 25, 1885, in Easton, Kansas, the daughter of William and Rickey (Ala) Abel, natives of Leavenworth County, Kansas. William Abel was a carpenter.
Mr. and Mrs. Meyer have three children: Lena A., a high school stu- dent, who was born May 5, 1905; Carl William, born February 28, 1907, and Alfred F., born December 7, 1909. The Meyer family stand high in the community, and have many friends.
Joseph Concannon, a well-to-do farmer of Delaware Township, comes from a pioneer family, and was born and reared on the farm which he now owns and where he lives. He is the son of Martin and Anna (Walsh) Concannon, both natives of Ireland, who came to the United States in 1866, and located in this township. At this time, the Missouri Pacific Railway was being built and Martin Concannon helped grade the road. The east part of the farm, sixty-two acres, is a part of the old town site of Delaware. In 1855, Delaware was a town of 300 houses, and now only a few farm houses are on the site. Martin Concannon lived on the farm until 1915, when he died. He cleared most of the place and planted a fine orchard. His wife died in 1899 and they are both buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Concannon were the parents of the following children: P. J., of Emporia, Kansas; Julia Rodea, of Kansas City, Kan- sas; Michael, who lives on the home farm; William, an engineer on the Missouri Pacific Railway, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri; and Joseph, of this sketch.
Joseph Concannon has made the farm where he lives very attractive. He has seven acres of orchard, consisting of cherry and apple trees. He raises some alfalfa, and the place is supplied with water by good springs
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and a creek. He has a good residence which was built in 1914, and from which he has a beautiful view of the Missouri River. He also raises chick- ens, and usually has about two hundred on the place.
September 22, 1905, Mr. Concannon was married to Bertha M. Long, of Wolcott, Kansas. She is a daughter of Lewis and Rebecca (Surface) Long, who lives at Wolcott. Mrs. Concannon was born near Bonner Springs, Kansas. She received her education at Wolcott.
Mr. and Mrs. Concannon have four sons: James, Joseph, Paul and Lloyd. The family stand high in the community. Mr. Concannon is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, No. 49, of Lansing, Kansas.
Charles H. Hicks, representative from the Sixth District of Kansas to the State Legislature and a retired farmer of Sherman Township, is a resident of Linwood, Kansas. He was born in Syracuse, New York, April 17, 1861, a son of Garrett and Caroline (Brockway) Hicks. Garrett Hicks was born in New York and was killed at the battle of Bull Run during the Civil War. Caroline (Brockway) Hicks was born in Brown County, New York, and was married the second time to a Mr. Barnes. One child, John, who lives in Binghamton, New York, was born to this union. She died at the age of thirty-seven years in 1868.
Garrett and Caroline (Brockway) Hicks were the parents of three children, as follows: Katherine, Mrs. Charles B. Strong, of Lawrence, Kansas; Frances, Mrs. George Smith, now, deceased; and Charles, the subject of this sketch.
Charles Hicks, from the time he was eight years old, was reared in the home of Dorus Westover and had very little schooling. He was unable to go more than three months out of the year. In 1880, Mr. Hicks came to Leavenworth County, and purchased eighty acres of land in Sherman Township in 1882. There was a log cabin on the farm when he purchased it. He built a frame house which was destroyed by fire and Mr. Hicks then rebuilt a new one. He left the farm in 1919 and came to Linwood, Kansas, where he is living retired.
Mr. Hicks is a republican and has always taken an interest in the affairs of his community. He served as trustee and township clerk of Sherman Township and has been road overseer and constable. He is now a director of the Linwood school board where he has served for twenty-
-
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three years. By special election, Charles H. Hicks was elected to the State Legislature, January 6, 1921, and January 10, 1921, he was at his post of duty.
Charles C. Hicks and Mary C. Hunter were married February 7, 1883, in Leavenworth County. She was born in Moundsville, Marshall County, West Virginia, a daughter of O. B. and Amanda (Cecil) Hunter. O. B. Hunter in early life was employed on a steamboat and at the time of his death, at New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1878 was employed on the Illinois Central Railroad as an express messenger. In 1881, Amanda (Cecil) Hun- ter with her daughter, Mrs. Mary (Hunter) Hicks, two other daughters and a son came to Leavenworth County, Kansas, and established their home. She lived here for many years and died in December, 1911, at Linwood, Kansas.
To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hicks were born the following children who are living: Garrett, living at Lawrence, Kansas, a conductor of the Kaw Valley electric line, was postmaster of Linwood, Kansas; Jessie V., at home; Charles H., Jr., motorman on the Kaw Valley Electric line; El- mer W., employed in the Proctor and Gamble soap factory, Kansas City, Kansas, served during the World War in Company E, 109th Engineers, 34th Division, and sailed for overseas September 16, 1918, and discharged at Camp Funston, July 3, 1919 ; Lucille, married Charles E. Riley, Sherman Township, Leavenworth County; Frank B., who entered the army in the World War, October 2, 1917, and assigned to Company B, 353rd Infantry, 89th Division, was a corporal and in the St. Mihiel drive, was wounded September 12, 1918, and died September 16, 1918; Katherine, married Ray B. Anderson, farming land formerly owned by Mr. Hicks in Sherman Township, and who also served in France during the World War; Harry, who served in the Marines during the World War, having been stationed for a time at Paris Island, off the coast of South Carolina, and Norma, at home.
Charles Hicks is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Wallace Franklin Hovey, editor and manager of The Leavenworth Post, was born October 22, 1882, at Swanton Manor, in Butler County, Iowa. Ten years later found him in Brown County, Kansas, where his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Nelson Hovey, had removed. His early
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education at Hiawatha Academy prepared him for the position of school teacher in country schools. The day be obtained his majority found him seeking enrollment in the University of Kansas. Previously he had been engaged in newspaper work when not teaching, having started The Hia- watha Daily World for Ewing Herbert.
During his college years, he was a staff correspondent for The Kansas City Star. After graduation he became business manager of The Hia- watha Daily World. Soon afterward he went to The St. Joseph News-Press. Later he was engaged as reporter on The Kansas City Journal, St. Louis Post Dispatch. Metropolitan daily newspaper work was not to his liking and by 1912 he was back in the country, being editor of The Olathe Regis- ter. He found weekly newspaper work too slow and in 1913 he became business manager of The Great Bend Daily Tribune, Will Townsley's news- paper, in central Kansas.
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