USA > Kansas > Marshall County > History of Marshall County, Kansas : its people, industries, and institutions > Part 58
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Mr. Dever was one of a family of eight children, he being the second born, and during his early life had much to do with the improvement of the old home place. There he learned the principles of farming and stock-raising, in which he later engaged, and at which he remained until 1908, when he retired to Oketo, where he now lives, but looks after his large land interests. In addition to his farming interests he is interested as a shareholder of the Farmers Co-operative Storc at Oketo.
Thomas Dever has been twice married. He was first united in mar- riage in 1876 to Mary A. Esterbrook, the daughter of Alonzo and Polly ( Rucker) Esterbrook. Polly ( Esterbrook ) Dever was born in Hancock county, Illinois, in 1859 and died in 1896. To this union seven children were born : Bina, Clarence, Earl. Pearl, Guy E., Ray E. and Edith. Bina, Clarence, Earl, Guy E. and Edith are now deceased. Pearl is the wife of Frank Costello, a resident of Florence, Colorado: Ray is a resident of Imperial, Nebraska.
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After the death of Mary .A. Dever. Thomas Dever married to Mrs. Lydia (Van Vacter ) Esterbrook, in 1900. Mrs. Dever was born in 1871 in Prince- ton, Missouri, and died in 1904. To this union two children were born, Eleta B. and Lydia G., both of whom are at home, with their father.
Mr. Dever and his family have long been members of the Methodist church and have taken much interest in all church work and the moral develop- ment of the county. For many years, Mr. Dever has served as a trustee of the local church and has had much to do with its growth and development. He has always taken a great interest in local affairs and has served as a member of the school board, as road overseer and mayor of the city of Oketo, and during his two terms as mayor, many improvements were made, and the little city now ranks with the best in the county.
WILLIAM STRAYER, M. D.
In the memorial annals of Marshall county there are few names entitled to more prominent mention than that of the late Dr. William Strayer, one of the pioneer physicians of this part of the state, who died at his home in Axtell in 1916. Doctor Strayer was a native of Ohio, but had been a resi- cent of Marshall county since 1882 and had thus been a witness to and a participant in the development of this county since pioneer days and an active mover in all causes having to do with the advancement of the com- mon welfare in this part of Kansas. He was born at Royahon, in Fairfiekl county, Ohio, January 8, 1852, son of Abraham W. and Ellen M. ( Cross) Strayer, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania, of German ancestry, and the latter of whom was born in Virginia, a daughter of John Cross and wife, of English ancestry. Abraham W. Strayer died at Royal- ton in 1866. in the fifty-second year of his age. John Cross was born March 2. 1761, and died April 22, 1847. He was a soklier in the Revolutionary War, serving as a private in a company of light horsemen under Col. William Washington. Mrs. Strayer, just previous to her death, was one of four real Daughters of the Revolution.
Reared at Royalton, William Strayer received his elementary education in the schools of that place, and at the age of seventeen years began teaching school. He later took a course in the Northern Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, and then, having determined to engage in the practice of medicine as a life's profession, entered the medical college at Columbus.
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Ohio, and was graduated from that institution on February 25, 1878. After receiving his diploma he opened an office at Royalton, where he continued in practice until his removal to Kansas in 1882. Upon coming to this state, Doctor Strayer located at Beattie and was there engaged in practice until in February, 1887, when he moved to Axtel, where he continued in active practice until failing health compelled his retirement during the later years of his life and where he spent his last days, his death occurring on Febru- ary 11, 1916. Doctor Strayer suffered a stroke of paralysis in March, 1910, and was an invalid during the remaining six years of his life.
During the long period covered by Doctor Strayer's active practice in Marshall county, there were few figures in the county, and particularly in the eastern part of the county, more familiar than his, his travels in behalf of suffering humanity taking him over a wide stretch of country. For more than a score of years he occupied the same suite of offices at Axtell and there was no one in the town who gave more unselfishly of himself for the bet- terment of the community than he. Doctor Strayer did not slavishly tie himself down to his practice, but at intervals in his long professional career found relaxation and recreation in travel, he having, at one time and another, visited nearly every state in the Union. He was president of the Missouri Valley Medical Association and ever took an active interest in the same, as well as in the affairs of the Marshall County Medical Association, the Kansas State Medical Association and of the National Medical Association, of all of which organizations he was an active member. Doctor Strayer was a constant student of his profession and ever kept abreast of the wonderful advancement made in medical and surgical science, to the day of his death keeping in touch with the amazing developments being made along these lines. Although physically weak, his mind retained its strength right up to the last and the Doctor maintained an unceasing interest in current affairs.
Doctor Strayer was a Republican and for many years was looked upon as one of the leaders of his party in Marshall county, though in the memorable campaign of 1912 his sympathies were with the progressive wing of the party. He was not an aspirant for public office and the only such office he held was that of county health officer, in which capacity he served with much value to the community at large for a period of six years, or three terms of two years' duration each. Doctor Strayer was a Presbyterian from the days of his boyhood, and for years was an elder in the Presbyterian church at Axtell, retaining that connection until the day of his death. He was a member of the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar, and had entered the temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
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Ile was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Modern Woodmen of America, and in the affairs of all these organizations took a warm interest. Doctor Strayer's body was taken back to his old home in Ohio for interment, and was laid away in the Watson family lot, that of his wife's family in Forest Rose cemetery at Lancaster.
On September 12, 1894. at Montrose, Colorado, Dr. William Strayer was married to Euphemia Watson, of Lancaster. Ohio, a daughter of James G. and Rachel ( Young ) Watson, both of whom were born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in the neighborhood of Lancaster, members of old families in that county, the Watson farm there having been in the ownership of the family for four generations, and the Young farm for the past century. Mr .. Strayer is also descended from Revolutionary ancestors on both her father and mother's side. She is a graduate of the Lancaster. Ohio, high school and also of Lake Erie Seminary and holds a life certificate from the state of Coloroda, where she taught seven years previous to her marriage. To Doctor and Mrs. Strayer one child was born, a daughter. Faith, born on February 6, 1902. now in the sophomore year in the Axtell high school.
WILLIAM RABE.
William Rabe, a successful farmer and a well-known stockman of Logan township, Marshall county, and the president of the Bremen State Bank, was born in Germany on May 18, 1866, the son of Peter and Catherine ( Munster- mann) Rabe, who were also natives of Germany, in which country they were educated, grew up and were married.
Peter Rabe was born in 1831 and Catherine Rabe in 1832 and spent the remamder of their lives in Germany, the former dying in 1905 and the latter in 1902. Peter Rabe after completing his education engaged in farming. owning a good-sized farm and was recognized as one of the substantial men of the district. He and his wife were active members of the German Luth- eran church and were prominent in the social life of the locality in which they lived and where they were held in the highest regard. They were the par- ents of seven children as follow : Mary Kaiser, who is a widow and resides in Germany : Dora Bokelmann resides in the land of her birth, where her hus- band is a tailor : Harry, now deceased, was a mail carrier ; Anna Bartls is the wife of a German farmer: Chris is a farmer of Washington county, Kansas;
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William, the subject of this sketch, and Sophia Johannes, a resident of Ger- many, where Mr. Johannes is engaged in farming and bee culture.
William Rabe was educated in the schools of Germany and at the age of seventeen years began working for himself and was for some years engaged as a farm hand, working by the month. In 1884 he came to America and on his arrival in the United States he came to Marshall county, where he worked on a farm until 1890, when he rented a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Bremen. After a residence of nine years on the farm he engaged in the grain and elevator business at Bremen for ten years, after which he sold the business and went to Colorado, where he remained for eighteen months, when he returned to Marshall county, and located in Logan township, where his wife owned a farm and where he has since resided and has been successfully engaged in farming and stock raising. He has built a fine, eight-room house on the place and has made many other valuable improvements. In 1907 lie made an extended visit to Germany and visited many of the places of interest. That same year the Bremen State Bank was organized and Mr. Rabe was elected president of the institution and through his management it has become one of the strong banking houses of this sec- tion of the state. He is a thorough business man, and has the confidence of the public. In addition to his connection with the bank he is also president of the Bremen Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, which was organized in 1887.
In 1899 William Rabe was united in marriage to Catherine Kruse, the daughter of George and Anna (Jurgens) Kruse. Mr. Kruse was born in Germany in 1832 and received his education in the public schools and there worked as a farm hand until 1859, when he came to the United States and located in Illinois, where he continued to engage in farm work until 1862. when he enlisted in an Illinois regiment and served three years in the army during the Civil War. At the close of the war he returned to Illinois, where he rented forty acres of land and engaged in farming for eight years. He then went to Nebraska by wagon and there purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he later increased to three hundred and twenty acres. After a residence there of eight years he sold one hundred and sixty acres of his farm and came to Marshall county and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in Herkimer township, which he later increased to eight hundred and forty acres, and here he made his home until the time of his death in July, 1914. He was a man of much business acumen and was recog- nized as one of the substantial citizens of the county. Politically, he was a Republican, but never aspired to office. Anna (Jurgens) Kruse was also a
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native of Germany, where she was educated. She was long a resident of Marysville, where she died in 1897.
George and Anna Kruse were the parents of the following children : Catherine. Margaret, Mary, William, George, Henry, Anna. Christina, Andrew and two that died in infancy. Catherine is the wife of William Rabe: Margaret Schaefer is the wife of a farmer of Herkimer township: Mary Lohse lives in Logan township, where Mr. Lohse is a successful farmer ; William lives in Herkimer: Henry and .Andrew are farmers and stockmen of Herkimer township: George is engaged in farming and stock raising in Logan township: . Anna Geihsler is a resident of Oklahoma, where her hus- band is a farmer: Christina Prell is the wife of a merchant and AAndrew is on the home place. Mr. and Mrs. Kruse were active members of the Ger- man Lutheran church and were among the prominent workers of that organ- ization and were held in the highest regard by the people of the county.
Catherine ( Kruse) Rabe was born in Illinois on September 14, 1867. and was reared on the farm, where she took an active part in the plowing and other work on the farm. She received her education in the local schools and remained at home until the time of her marriage. She and Mr. Rabe are the parents of two children, Anna and Sophia. Anna Westermann lives on a farm adjoining that of her father and where her husband is a success- ful agriculturist. They are the parents of two children. Sophia died at the age of fourteen years.
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ZIBA HIBBARD MOORE.
Ziba Hibbard Moore, at one time one of the successful bankers and business men of Oketo, now deceased. was born near Avondale, Chester county, Pennsylvania, on a farm on March 14, 1845, and was the son of Ziba and Mary ( Bell) Moore. The parents were natives of Pennsylvania and New York, the father having been born in Pennsylvania and the mother in the state of New York. They were members of okdl and respected fam- ilies in their home states and were among the prominent people of the com- munity in which they lived and where they were held in the highest regard.
Ziba Hibbard Moore received his education in the district schools and as a young man learned the carpenter trade. When he was but eighteen months old he lost his father and when but a lad he became dependent upon his own efforts. Ile worked at his trade for a number of years and in 1870 he, with Jesse Griest, the uncle of his future wife, he engaged in the can-
MRS. LAVINIA G. MOORE.
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ning factory business at Adams and in this work they became successful . business men. Some years later Mr. Griest became Indian agent for Kan- sas. During his administration of this important office he met with much success and was recognized as one of the best men in the service.
On December 19, 1872, Ziba Hibbard Moore was united in marriage to Lavinia Griest, who was born on November 13. 1849, in Adams county, the daughter of Hiram and Louisa Griest, both of whom were natives of the state of Pennsylvania. Hiram Griest was the son of Cyrus and Mary Ann Griest, natives of Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland, respect- ively. The father of Mrs. Moore was born on September 12, 1826, and is now living. In 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Moore came to Kansas and located on the Otoe Indian Reservation, where Mr. Moore worked as a carpenter for the government for a period of nearly five years. He then came to the section of the country where Oketo is now situated and at a time when there was no town. Here he built the first house and dug the first well in the place. He later established himself in a general store, in what later became a thriving settlement. He met with much success and later as the town grew and he became more prosperous, he established the State Bank of Oketo, which he conducted for many years. Ziba H. Moore died on September 19, 1916.
Mr. and Mrs. Moore were reared in the faith of the Friends' church and lived consistent Christian lives according to the teachings of the church of their parents. They were the parents of two sons, Edgar H. and J. Howard. Edgar H. was born on April 2, 1878, and is now the owner of the elevator at Oketo, where he is engaged in a large and extensive busi- ness. He married Mary Thomas and to them have been born two children, Margaret and Ziba. J. Howard is the efficient cashier of the State Bank at Oketo and is known as one of the prominent and successful men of the community where he lives. He was born on August 20, 1884, and received his education in the local schools of the county, later marrying Margaret Betzer, of Topeka. They have a beautiful home in the town and are among the prominent and highly respected people of the community. They have long been identified with the social life of the town and have had much to do with the moral and social development of the district.
Ziba H. Moore had long been identified with the Republican party, and had always taken an active interest in local affairs, serving as mayor of the city of Oketo. He was a man of fine appearance and of much ability, and had ever used his best efforts for the advancement of the growth
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and development of the home community in which he lived and where he was held in the highest regard. He was a member of the Masonic order and attained the degrees of the Royal Arch chapter. He took an active part in all affairs that tended to the betterment of the district. Being a man of high ideals and possessed of the best of judgment his advice was often & night in all matters that pertained to the civic life of the township and the county.
THE BLUE RAPIDS TIMES.
One of the noteworthy institutions of Marshall county is the Blue Rapids Times, the oldest paper in the county published under a continuons name, and a paper that, during its nearly half century of existence, has always stood for the best type of citizenship. The Times was founded in 18;1 by Charles E. Tibbetts, a native of Connecticut, who "came West" to Ohio in the fifties and entered Oberlin College. He had just gotten well started on his college course, when came the call from President Lincoln for volunteers and he was among the first from Oberlin to respond to the call. Viter serving ont his first enlistment period he returned to Connecticut and assisted in organizing a company in the vicinity of his old home and he served between two and three years in the Union army, a part of the time as first lieutenant of Company \, Thirteenth Connecticut Infantry. After the war he returned to Oberlin to resume his course, which had been interrupted by his military career. While attending that institution, Mr. Tibbetts was married to Annice C. Brewster, who was also a student at the same school The next year after their marriage Mr. Tibbetts taught school at Put-in- hay Island, Lake Erie, the scene of Commodore Perry's famous victory They then returned to Oberlin and completed their courses. Mrs. Tibbetts graduating in 1867 and Mr. Tibbetts in 1868. They both received the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
Mr. and Mrs. Tibbetts came to Kansas and Marshall county in the8, locating at Irving, where Mr. Tibbetts was principal of Wetmore Institute. They remained there until the Genesee colony came to Kansas and founded the town of Blue Rapids, and in 1871 Mr. Tibbetts founded the Blue Rapids Times, which he published until 1879. following which he was associated with George T. Smith for a few years in the publication of the Marshall County News, but on account of poor health he was compelled to give up active newspaper work. His death occurred in the year 1889, after a life
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of usefulness. He served his community as postmaster and was also county commissioner three years. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbetts took an active interest in the social, religious and literary activities of the town in its early days and assisted in the organization of several societies for the promotion of educa- tion. Mrs. Tibbetts has, from its organization, been an active member of the Ladies Library Association, and is still a director of this worthy institution.
Mr. and Mrs. Tibbetts were the parents of three children, all of whom are now living. The eldest is a daughter, Mary, who was born within the walls of Wetmore Institute, at Irving. After graduating from the Blue Rapids high school, she taught school and also attended Oberlin College and Washburn College. At the latter school she met and married Rev. H. Edward Mills, and for a number of years their home has been in Spokane. Washington. The other two children, Livy B. and Charles C., have both remained at the home town and for a number of years past have had charge of the paper their father founded. Livy B. Tibbetts, the elder son, attended the public schools of Blue Rapids and also Washburn Academy, later taking a commercial course in the Topeka Business College. He then returned to Blue Rapids and served two years as assistant cashier of the City Bank. In IS93 he purchased a half interest in the Times, on which paper he had previously learned the printer's trade. and became local editor. For over twenty years he was actively connected with the Times. He represented his township as a member of the Republican county central committee for eleven years, served as a member of the school board, three years on the city council and two years as mayor. He was assistant postmaster for ten years.
In February, 1916, Mr. . Tibbetts left the newspaper business to take the position of active vice-president of the Citizens State Bank, which position he is now filling. Mr. Tibbetts was married ou May 21, 1895, to Blanche Ekins, a daughter of William and Sarah Ekins, both natives of England, who located in Illinois upon coming to this country, and in 1871 moved to Kansas and settled at Blue Rapids. Mrs. Tibbetts was reared and educated in Blue Rapids, where she attended the high school until she removed with her parents to Riverside, California, in 1890, and continued her studies in the Riverside high school. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbetts have six children, namely : Eunice, Harlow, Dorothy. Raymond, Clifford and Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbetts are members of the Presbyterian church, and the former is also a Mason and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, having been clerk of the latter organization for over a dozen years.
Charles C. Tibbetts was born in Blue Rapids June 22, 1879. He spent
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his boyhood days in Blue Rapids and graduated from the high school in the class of 1897. He took a course in Platt's Commercial College of St. Joseph, Missouri, and then entered the employ of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company as stenographer and clerk, and remained about a year and took a position in the civil engineering department of the Chicago & Great Western Railroad at St. Joseph. He spent a year with this company and then the year following with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. In 1904 he pur- chased a half interest in the Times from Mr. E. M. Brice, and from that time to the present has been actively connected with the management of the paper and is now editor and publisher. He has a well-equipped plant for handling job work, and the paper enjoys a constantly increasing circulation.
Charles C. Tibbetts was married June 20, 1905, to Nellie .A. Price, of Topeka. The latter is a daughter of William and Jennie ( Fitzgerald ) Price. the former a native of Wales and the latter of Canada. The father was a molder by occupation and established a foundry at Blue Rapids in the seven- ties. He is now connected with the Santa Fe railroad at Topeka. Mrs. Tibbetts was born in Blue Rapids and graduated from the high school. Mir. and Mrs. Tibbetts are both active members of the Presbyterian church. She is a member of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, and he is a member of the Masons and Modern Woodmen.
JOSEPH GREEN.
Among the many well-known and prominent residents of Waterville, Marshall county, a history of the county would not be complete without men- tion of Joseph Green, one of the substantial retired farmers and the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of splendid land in Waterville township. who was born in Nutbourne, Sussex, England, on November 20, 1850. He is the son of James and Sara ( Bourn) Green, both of whom were natives of England, where they were educated in the public schools and spent their entire lives. They were the parents of nine children, eight of whom grew to maturity, namely: Emma Wolffe, now living in England: William, a resi- dent of Brooklyn, New York; George, in Africa; Alice, who resides at Asbury Park, New Jersey: Joseph; the subject of this sketch; Arthur, who died in Africa ; Lucy Hohn, a resident of Waterville, Kansas, and Walter, a resident of Canada. The parents were well-known in their home commun- ity and were prominent in the social and the religious life of the district in
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which they lived. James Green died in 1894, aged seventy-nine years; his widow survived until 1901, at her death being eighty-eight years old.
Joseph Green received his education in the public schools of England, but was never able to attend school for any great length of time, on account of assisting his father, who was a butcher. At the age of fourteen years he went to work for a family as a sort of chore boy, and for his services he received sixty cents per week, with board. When he reached the age of nineteen years he was given the opportunity to come to the United States with a friend, who was an excellent carpenter. He accepted the offer and in 1869 he left his native clime in a sailing vessel and after a voyage of four weeks he landed in the United States. The fare to the new land was twenty dollars, with very poor food and accommodations. When he arrived in this country, he was met by a brother, who was a butcher in Brooklyn. At that time Mr. Green was possessed of but forty-eight cents and his first job was in a hardware store, where he earned four dollars per week. This meager sum would not pay his board and keep him, so he engaged in work- ing on a sewer at two dollars per day, and continued at that work as long as it lasted. He then worked in a livery stable at nine dollars per month and board, which was increased to fifteen dollars. In the spring of 1870 he came to Kansas, and here he located at Waterville. The carpenter with whom he came to this country was then homesteading on Swede creek, seven miles south of Waterville, and here he obtained work for the sum- mer. Later in the year he homesteaded one hundred and twenty acres on Swede creek, but he lost eighty acres of the tract, which was transferred to the St. Joe & Denver Railway Company, and the remaining forty acres be sold for one hundred dollars. He was then employed by George Wright, and worked for him until he had money enough to buy a team of oxen, which cost him seventy-five-dollars, and these he later traded for a team of mules. He then purchased a drilling machine and was engaged in the well business for some time. He continued in this work until 1874, when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Cottage Hill township for six hundred and fifty dollars. He paid one hundred and forty dollars in cash, which he raised on his crop of wheat, and had seven years to pay the balance. The next seven years were busy ones, for in meeting his pay- ments on the land and making the necessary improvements on the place, he had a hard time. Hogs were selling at two dollars per hundred, potatoes at ten cents per bushel and corn at twelve cents per bushel. At the same time farm machinery was very high and interest was fifteen to thirty per cent. When breaking his farm and making improvements. Mr. Green experienced
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