USA > Kansas > Marshall County > History of Marshall County, Kansas : its people, industries, and institutions > Part 60
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FRANK M. GAYLORD.
Frank M. Gaylord, a native of Paola, Kansas, and one of the prominent and well-known merchants of Axtell, Marshall county, was born on May 23, 1874. and is the son of Jasper M. and Lucy (Stafford) Gaylord.
Jasper M. Gaylord was born at Bridgeport, Massachusetts, in 1842. He received his education in the schools of his native state and there grew to manhood. As a young man he learned the dentist trade, at which he worked for some years and was later engaged as bookkeeper and worked for Field & Leiter at Chicago, Illinois, where he remained until 1872, when he came to Kansas and located at Paola, where he engaged in the real-estate and insur-
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ance business until the time of his death in 1890. His widow, Lucy Gaylord, who now resides at Ontario, Oregon, at the age of sixty-seven years. She was born at Fox Lake, Wisconsin, and grew to womanhood in her native state and there received her education in the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord were active in church work and were prominent in the social life of the community in which they lived and where they were always held in the highest regard.
Frank M. Gaylord received his education in the public schools of Paola. Kansas, and was reared to manhood in that locality. . At the age of fifteen years he spent one year of his life at herding cattle on the plains of Kansas. He was then engaged as a clerk in a grocery store and later was employed in a department store, where he remained until 1899, when he came to Axtell, Kansas, where he purchased a small stock of groceries and engaged in busi- ness for himself. He added to his stock and established other lines of merchandise, and today, by hard work and close application to business, he has one of the finest general stores in Marshall county, carrying- about twenty thousand dollars worth of goods.
In 1899 Mr. Gaylord was united in marriage to Anna Sheridan, who was born in Marshall county, on August 14, 1874. After nine years of . happy married life. Mrs. Gaylord died at her home in Axtell in 1908. In 1911 Mr. Gaylord was united in marriage to Mary P. Rice, who was born in Clay county, Missouri. on December 27, 1870. It was while a patient in the hospital at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, that Mr. Gaylord and his second wife met. and in a short time the hospital lost a good nurse and Mr. Gaylord won a splendid wife. They are prominent in the social life of Axtell, where they are so well known and where they are held in the highest regard.
JAMES A. THOMPSON.
James A. Thompson, deceased, at one time a prominent and well- known resident of Marshall county, was born at Chester, Pennsylvania. November 10, 1833, and died at his home in Waterville, Marshall county. September 2, 1885. He was the son of AAndrew and Eliza (Burford) Thompson, who emigrated from Ireland to America in the early days to better the opportunities for themselves and those dependent upon them. They located at Chester, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they con- tinued to reside until 1852, when they moved to Grundy county, Illinois.
JAMES A. THOMPSON.
MRS. SARAH THOMPSON.
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James A. Thompson received his education in the schools of Pennsyl- vania, there grew to manhood and moved with his parents to Illinois. Here he was married, October 2, 1861, to Sarah Leach, the daughter of Henry and Sarah (Bagshaw) Leach, natives of England. The parents came to America in 1841 and established their home in Illinois, sixty miles west of Chicago. This territory at that time was for the most part undeveloped, and Mr. Leach had to do his trading at old Fort Dearborn-the Chicago of today, making the trips to that distant post with a team of oxen. Mr. Leach was the first to plant corn in that section, of the commercial kind of today. He was a pioneer horticulturist, experimenting with seeds, shrubs and plants that he had sent from the old home in England. He was a man of exceptional ability, well educated, of a literary turn of mind and con- tributed many valuable articles to magazines and Eastern newspapers. His life was a worthy one, and his influence in the community in which he lived was uplifting.
James A. Thompson engaged in general farming in Grundy county, Illinois, and later in the grain business at Morris, that state, but was com- pelled to retire on account of ill health. In 1868 he came to Kansas, where he invested in land at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre; now valued at one hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre. In 1876 he established his home in Waterville, Kansas, which was then the terminus of the Cen- tral Branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad. Here he became interested in the real estate and loan business, in which he was successful, and was one of the extensive landowners in Marshall and Washington counties. He took the greatest interest in the growth and the development of the district in which he lived, and was known as a public-spirited citizen, who used his best efforts for the prosperity of the county. He was a member of the Masonic order. At the death of Mr. Thompson, his wife took charge of his business interests, which she continues in a most successful manner, being recognized as one of the most capable business women of the county.
James A. and Sarah Thompson were the parents of one child, Olive A. Thompson, who received her education in the public schools, at the Saint Angelus Academy of Morris, Illinois, and has taken her bachelor degree at the University of Kansas, where she graduated in 1887. She is a musi- cian of note, studied under Prof. Frederick Boscovitz, of the Hershey School of Musical Art, in Chicago, conducted by Clarence Eddy, the noted pipe organist. She is also an artist of much ability, having studied under D. F. Biglow, of Chicago, and others. Both Mrs. Thompson and her
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daughter are prominent members of the Order of the Eastern Star, of the Methodist Episcopal church, and have always been active in the advance- ment of community interests in Waterville and the vicinity.
AUBREY R. DEAN.
Among the business men of Blue Rapids, of prominence and influence, is Aubrey R. Dean, a miller and now mayor of the city, who was born in Blackstone, Illinois, on November 12, 1876, and is the son of George and Martha ( Hamilton) Dean.
George and Martha ( Hamilton) Dean were natives of the states of New York and Indiana, respectively. The father was born on August 14, 1850, and there received the greater part of his education in the public schools. He later came to Illinois, where he lived for some years and there married. The family came to Kansas and, since 1880, the father has been actively engaged in general farming and stock raising, and is now living in Blue Rapids City township. His wife, Martha Dean, died in 1890 at the age of thirty-six years. She was the mother of two children, Ira. of Rock Springs, Wyom- ing, where he is manage rof the Standard Oil Company's business at that place, and Aubrey R. Some years after the death of his wife, Mr. Dean was married to Etta Hamilton, but no kin of the first Mrs. Dean.
Aubrey R. Dean was reared on the home farm and received his education in the public schools of Blue Rapids and graduated from the high school with the class of 1896. After completing his education he traveled from 1896 to 1905 in the interests of the International Harvester Company, as a member of their sales force. During a part of that time he was off the road and operated a hardware and implement store at Bhte Rapids in 1903, and owned several stores in various sections of the state. He was also a large land- owner in Marshall county, and was one of the organizers of the second Ameri- can plaster plant at Blue Rapids. In 1914 he disposed of most of his original interest and started with the milling industry at Blue Rapids. He is the presi- dent and one of the four men who own and operate the Flour and Elevator Company of that city. He has met with much success and is regarded as one of the substantial men of the town.
Politically, Mr. Dean is a member of the Republican party, and is a man of much force and character. He served two years on the city council, when he was elected mayor in April, 1915. a position which he now occupies. He
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is giving the residents of the place a clean and business-like administration. Starting life for himself as a mere boy, without funds and without influence, he came to realize, early in life, the advantage of a hustling and progressive spirit. He feels that the same policy applies to corporations and civic gov- ernments as well. By applying his individual methods in the government of his home city, he hopes to make the city better. He believes in substantial public improvements-those that will benefit the greater number of people. He is opposed to class legislation, and only those improvements that are of bene- fit to the whole people receive his approval. Good streets, good schools and the suppression of those enterprises that have an evil influence on the moral standard of the community, engage his hearty co-operation and support. Today, the city is recognized as one of the progressive residential cities of this part of the state, and the schools are regarded as being of the best class.
On January 22, 1901, Aubrey R. Dean was united in marriage to Blanche Drake, who was born at Dumont, Colorado, on December 25, 1880, and is the daughter of Joseph E. and Mary (Chinn) Drake. Her parents came to Blue Rapids when she was but a child, and here the father was mining foreman for the United States Gypsum Company for a good many years. His wife died on February 20, 1916, and he is now living in Arizona.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dean have been born the following children: George, Ruth, Dorris and Rollin, whose ages are, respectively, thirteen, nine, seven and two years. Mr. and Mrs. Dean are prominent in the activities of the city and are held in the highest regard. Mr. Dean is a member of the Masonic blue lodge, a Knight Templar and a Shriner, also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
GEORGE HEISERMAN.
George Heiserman, one of the well-known and successful farmers and stockmen of Balderson township, Marshall county, was born in the state of Illinois on December 12, 1866, the son of Fred and Mary (Hund) Heiserman.
Fred Heiserman was born in Germany on January 25, 1834, and received his education in the schools of his native land and there grew to manhood and engaged in farm work. At the age of twenty-one years, he decided to come to America, where he felt that he might obtain a home for himself. In 1855, after a long and stormy voyage he landed at the port of New York. among strangers and without financial support. He at once continued his journey to Illinois, where he worked for some years as a farm hand. Here
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he was married to Mary Hund, who was born in 1847 and died in 1909. Soon after their marriage they came to Kansas with horses and wagon, and homesteaded eighty acres of land in Baklerson township, Marshall county. This place was later developed and improved and in time was increased to two hundred and forty acres.
To Fred and Mary Heiserman were born the following children : Henry, a resident of Liberty, Nebraska: William, a resident of Oklahoma; Jacob, of Norton county, Kansas: William: John, now of Oklahoma; Fred, a resi- dent of Smith county: Edd. a farmer of Balderson township; Charles, a farmer of Richland township: . Albert, on the home farm : Walter. a farmer of Marshall county: Anna, the wife of Ed. Ringen, of Richland township: Rosa. the wife of William Ringen, and Lillie, the wife of John Wagner, of Rich- land township. Mr. and Mrs. Heiserman always took much interest in the services of the Lutheran church and were ever held in high regard in their home community. Mr. Heiserman is identified with the Democratic party and has always taken much interest in local affairs, and has had much to do with the the civic life of the township.
George Heiserman received his education in the public schools and grew to manhood on the home farm, where as a lad he assisted with the work on the farm. He remained at home until he was twenty-two years of age. after which he operated a well-drilling machine for a time and was later engaged in a butcher shop at Liberty, Nebraska. He then returned to his old home and helped his father with the fall crops, harvesting the grain that he had planted. After having completed his work at the okl home, he was engaged for some months by a Mr. Reese in Nebraska as a farm hand. He then came to Marshall county, where he rented a farm in Balderson township and engaged in general farming for one year. He was then married and for the next two years he rented another farm, after which he purchased eighty acres of his father, which is now a part of his splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres, eighty acres of which lies in section 12 and eighty acres in section 13. Balderson township. He purchased a part of the farm in 1894 and the last eighty in 1906. Since assuming possession of the place he has made many valuable improvements and today has a most ideal country home.
On March 2. 1892, George Heiserman was united in marriage to Hen- rietta Breunsbach, who was born on December 2, 1872, the daughter of Daniel Breunsbach and wife, natives of Germany and among the pioneer settlers of Nebraska. To this union the following children were born: Minnie. Ray. Freddie Daniel and Famie M. Minnie H. was born on July 17, 1893, and is now the wife of Sigmund Oehm. they having been married on December
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II, 1912, and are now well established in their home in the county ; Ray was born on April 13, 1895; Freddie Daniel was born on February 8, 1902, and Famie M. was born on March 31, 1906. Henrietta Heiserman died on July 31, 1914, after a useful life and one devoted to her family and friends. She and Mr. Heiserman were members of the Evangelical Lutheran church and were prominent in the social and the religious life of the community. Mr. Heiserman is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is identified with the Republican party and has always taken a keen interest in the civic life of the township and county.
FRANK A. 'SCANLAN.
Frank A. Scanlan, a well-known and substantial farmer and stockman of Marshall county, who makes his home at Axtell and from that point looks after the affairs of his farms in Guittard township and in St. Bridget town- ship, is a native of the state of West Virginia, but has been a resident of Kansas practically all the time since the days of his early childhood, having come to this county with his parents when he was but three years of age. He was born in West Virginia on January 17, 1867, son of Thomas and Catherine ( Broderick) Scanlan, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Virginia, who came to Kansas in 1870 and became counted among the early settlers of Marshall county, where they spent their last days.
Thomas Scanlan was born in Ireland in 1830 and was nineteen years of age when, in 1849, he came to the United States and settled in Massa- chusetts, whence he presently moved to Virginia, where he was living when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted in one of the Virginia regiments of the Confederate army and served for four years or until the close of the war. In that state he married Catherine Broderick, who was born in 1837 in that part of the Old Dominion now comprised in West Virginia, and in 1870 he and his family came to Kansas and located in St. Bridget township, this county, where Thomas Scanlan bought a partly-improved farm and estab- lished his home. Ten years later, in 1880, he moved over into the neighbor- ing county of Nemala and settled on a farm three miles east of Axtell, where he lived until 1902, when he returned to this county and located at Axtell, where he and his wife spent the rest of their lives, his death occurring in 19II and hers on September 3, 1916. During Thomas Scanlan's years of activity in this part of the state he became a large landowner and at the time of his death was the proprietor of three quarter sections of land, all of which
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had been brought to a high state of development. He and his wife were members of St. Bridget's Catholic church and ardent supporters of the same and their children were reared in the faith of that church. There were thirteen of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the sixth in order of birth. the others being as follow: James B., who died at San Diego, California, February 15, 1916: William H., who is on the old home farm north of Baileyville, over in Nemaha county ; Emmet, who died in Texas un September 2, 1902: Sister Virvina, who was in the St. Scholasticas convent at Atchison and who died on March 23. 1913; Thomas E., who is a general foreman in the shops of the Illinois Central Railroad Company at Chicago; Mrs. Bryan Waters, who lives on a farm four miles west of Axtell, in Mur- ray township: Sister Genevieve, who is in the St. Scholasticas convent at Atchison ; Sister Aurelia, a member of the Order of St. Scholasticas, who is now teaching at Argentine, this state: Benjamin F., a farmer, of Axtell; Cora, who is keeping house for her brother, Frank A., at Axtell; John B., a stockman in Sioux county, Nebraska, and J. Paul, who is with the Omaha Grain Exchange at Omaha, Nebraska.
.As noted above, Frank .\. Scanlan was but three years of age when his parents came from West Virginia to Kansas and he grew up on the paternal farm, thoroughly familiar with pioneer conditions of living. Until he was thirty years of age he remained with his father, a valued assistant in the labor of developing the latter's extensive farming interests, and then went to Cali- fornia, where he spent a year. He then located at Omaha, where he was engaged in the employ of the Union Pacific railroad for ten years, at the end of which time, in 1908. he returned to Marshall county and has since then been engaged in looking after his extensive farming interests, making his home at Axtell. Mr. Scanlan is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and ninety acres in Guittard township, two miles south and six miles west of Axtell, and a quarter section in St. Bridget township and a quarter section in Nemaba county, part of the old home farm, all of which farms he has brought up to a high state of cultivation.
On December 17. 1906, while living at Omaha, Frank A. Scanlan was united in marriage to Orilla May Butterfield, daughter of Doctor and Mrs. Butterfield, of that city, and who died on April 22, 1907, a little more than four months after her marriage. at the age of twenty-nine years. Mr. Scan- lan is a Democrat. He is a member of the Catholic church and of the Knights of Columbus. He takes a proper interest in the general business affairs of his home town and is regarded as one of Axtell's substantial and public- spirited citizens.
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HERMANN BROTHERS.
Two of the well-established farmers and stockmen of Oketo township, Marshall county, are the Hermann Brothers, Henry and Herman, the sons of John and Johanna Hermann, natives of Germany and Springfield, Illi- nois, respectively.
John Hermann received his education in the land of his nativity, where he was born on October 10, 1875. AAs a young man he decided to come to America, and on his arrival in this country he located in Illinois, where he remained for a time and then came to Nebraska. Here he homesteaded in Nemaha county some time before the Civil War and had entered upon the task of developing and improving his farm. At the outbreak of the war, he enlisted in a Nebraska regiment in the defense of the flag of his adopted country. He saw much active service and was taken prisoner in Texas and for six months he did time in one of the Southern prisons. At the time of his capture he had over four hundred dollars sewed in his shirt, which was later taken by his captors. At the close of the war, and when he received his discharge he came to Kansas, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in Oketo township, Marshall county, where the sons now live.
On his return form the war, Mr. Hermann was married and to them thirteen children were born, nine of whom are still living, as follow: John, Mary, Anna, Henry, Herman, Emma, Fred, Richard and Frank. John is a resident of Nuckolls county, Nebraska : Mary Remmers, is also a resident of Nebraska, where her husband is a farmer and stockman. Her sister, Anna, resides with her. Emma Bentley is residing in Oketo township, as is her brother, Richard: Fred is engaged in farming and Frank is a resident of Wymore. Mr. Hermann died in 1896 and his widow is now living at Wymore, Nebraska. They were long members and ardent workers in the Lutheran church and were prominent in the social life of the community, where they were held in the highest regard.
Of the two brothers, Henry was born on December 26, 1872, and Her- man on October 10. 1875. on the old homestead in Marshall county, Kansas. Henry was united in marriage on April 1, 1904, to Grace Remmers, who was born in Germany on July 21, 1879, and is the daughter of Claus and Lena Remmers. When the daughter, Grace, was ten years old the family came to Marshall county, and the parents are now living in Oketo township. To Henry and Grace Hermann one child has been born, Johanna, whose birth occurred on June 16, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Hermann are active members of
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the Lutheran church and are among the prominent people of the community.
Henry and Herman Hermann are identified with the Republican party, and are influential in local affairs; they are stockholders of the co-operative store and of the elevator company at Oketo.
AUGUST J. CARLSON.
August J. Carlson, a native of Sweden, and now one of the best-known and most successful farmers and stockmen of Blue Rapids township, Mar- shall county, was born on July 24, 1868, the son of John and Christine Carlson.
John and Christine Carlson were also natives of Sweden and received their education in the schools of that country. They were of the laboring class and grew to manhood and womanhood amid the environments of their home people. In 1869 they decided that they would come to the United States, where many of their countrymen had come, who had met with suc- cess. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson were ambitious to obtain a home of their own for themselves and those dependent upon them. With a feeling of confi- dence that by hard work and close economy they could and would secure their home in the new land. they sailed for America. On landing in this country they at once came to Kansas, and established their home at Irving. Marshall county. For the first three years the father worked as a laborer. after which he homesteaded his farm in Bigelow township. For two years the family lived in a dugout, and though the conditions were not the most pleasant, the father and mother were happy in the thought that at last they had realized their ambition in the possession of a home. A saw-mill was later started on the river, near the farm, and there Mr. Carlson engaged as a mill hand, in order to get lumber with which to build him a house, which was later accomplished, and the siding on the house then built is of walut.
By hard work and close economy, Mr. and Mrs. Carlson put their farm uncler a high state of cultivation and made many valuable and substantial improvements. On this farm the mother died in 1886 and here the father engaged in general farming with success until the time of his death in 1899. They were excellent people and were held in the highest regard by all who knew them. They were the parents of the following children : Alfred, Anna. Justine. Josephine, Hattie, Augusta and August J. Alfred. now' deceased, was for a number of years a printer at Irving and was later
MRS. MARY CARLSON.
AUGUST J. CARLSON.
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with a queensware company at Atchison and died at St. Joe in 1896. Anna Johnson, who is a widow, is a successful druggist at Kansas City. She has two sons, one, the successful proprietor of a hotel and the other a traveling salesman. Justine is the widow of Doctor West, a former successful physi- cian of Irving. She is now with a son, who is a banker in Idaho. Josephine married Doctor Chase, of Irving, who later moved to San Diego, California; he died at Los Angeles ten years ago and Mrs. Chase died in the spring of 1916. Hattie kept the home for the father and brother, August, for a number of years and now lives at Irving. Augusta was a successful teacher and taught school for twenty-five years in Irving.
August J. Carleson came to the United States with his parents when he was but one year old. He was reared in the vicinity of Irving, and there received his education in the schools of that place. As a young man he engaged in farm work, and in 1891, he went to California with Doctor Chase and remained there for one year, returning to Marshall county in 1892. The following year he engaged in the live-stock business, at which he remained for four years. For the next twelve years he operated a meat market with success. He was then engaged to manage the estate of Mrs. C. M. Palmer, consisting of one hundred and eighty acres of splendid land in Bigelow township. He employs from one to three men in the operation of the place. He has recently erected a splendid business block in Irving, where he owns the blacksmith shop and the meat market. For the past twenty years he has been a dealer in ice in his home town.
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