USA > Kansas > Marshall County > History of Marshall County, Kansas : its people, industries, and institutions > Part 69
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In 1868, while living in Illinois, John Smith was united in marriage to Mary 'Hill, who was born in Pennsylvania, and to that union fourteen chil- dren were born, twelve of whom are still living, namely: Patrick, a farmer ; Mrs. Mary Doren, of Murray township; John, who is now living in Colo- rado; Mrs. Rose Gudbolt, of Axtell, this state; Mrs. Maggie Peterson, of Atchison ; Mrs. Elizabeth Yoder, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Catherine, who is at home; Mrs. Anna Tubby, of Nebraska; William, of Colorado; Mrs. Alice
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Ruggles, of St. Joseph : Mrs. Helen Whittaker, of Kansas City, and Robert, at home. The mother of these children died at her home in Murray town- ship on April 8, 1915. at the age of sixty-three years and twenty-five days. She was a faithful member of the Catholic church, as is Mr. Smith, and their children were reared in that faith, the family ever taking a warm interest in parish affairs.
PETER S. CAIN.
Peter S. Cain, one of the well-known and successful farmers of Guit- tard township. Marshall county, was born in a log cabin on the present farm on June 27. 1871, and is the son of Edward and Johanna ( FitzGerald ) Cain. natives of Ireland, where they were educated, grew to maturity and were later married. While yet young they came to the United States, where they became pioneers of Marshall county, and here they spent their last days, honored and respected citizens, and where they had much to do with the general growth and development of the township and the countyy.
Edward Cain was born in County Meath, Ireland, in 1826, and at the age of twenty-six years came to this county and located in the state of Massachusetts, where he remained for five years, becoming a citizen of the United States. In 1857 he moved to Illinois, where he remained until 1858. when he came to Leavenworth. Kansas, where he lived until the next year when he came to Marshall county. Here he pre-empted a quarter section of land in section 17. in what later became Guittard township, and thus became one of the earliest landowners in Marshall county. At Atchison, Kansas, he was married in 1861, and during the Civil War he was engaged with the government in the steamboat service between St. Joseph and Kansas City. Is a lad and young man in his native country he had learned the lesson of economy and during his service on the steamboat he saved his wages so that he might improve the farm he had obtained. In August, 1865. after the close of the war, he brought his family to his claim and here they estab- lished their permanent home. He built a log house and stable and at, once began the task of developing the farm according to the high standard that he has set. By hard work and close economy, together with close application to business, he prospered and he soon enjoyed a large measure of success as a general farmer and stockman. He increased his land hollings and became the owner of four hundred and forty acres of most excellent land, all of which he put under a high state of cultivation. He built a fine house
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MR. AND MRS. PETER S. CAIN.
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and other good and substantial farm buildings and here he made his home until the time of his death on April 20, 1894. Mr. Cain was associated with the Democratic party and always took a keen interest in local affairs. He assisted in the organization of Guittard township and in the organization of his home school district, the school house having been built on his farm. He and his wife were devout members of the Catholic church, and saw the little parish grow from a very few families to one of large proportions, and became a great factor for good in the community.
On December 22, 1861, at Atchison, Kansas, Edward Cain was united in marriage to Johanna FitzGerald, who was born in County Limerick, Ire- land, in 1832, and who came to the United States in 1851 and located at Baltimore, Maryland, where she remained for six years, after which she was a resident of Chicago for two years, when in 1858 she came to Atchison, Kansas, where she met and married Mr. Cain. To this union the following children were born: Peter S .; James H., who married Mary A. Cook and resides at Beattie, where he is engaged in the stock business; Mary E., who married Henry G. Frisch, of near Billings, Oklahoma; John F., a railroad conductor, married Mary A. Scanlon and they reside at Lincoln, Nebraska, and Patrick W., the first born, who married Mary A. Schaaf, and is now one of the best-known and successful farmers and stockmen of Marshall county. Mrs. Johanna Cain was of a most retiring disposition, though most kind and generous to her neighbors and friends. Her life as a pioneer on the plains of Kansas, was a worthy one and at her death on November 12, IgII, she was mourned by a large circle of friends, who had known and learned to love her during her many years of residence in the community.
Peter S. Cain received his education in the local schools and grew to manhood on the home farm, where as a lad and young man he assisted with the farm work. He also attended school at Beattie, in the old building, a part of which is now used as a coal house for the school. After completing his education, he was a member of the police force at Lincoln, Nebraska, from 1906 to 1907. when he resigned and returned to his father's farm. The place being at that time held as an estate, he and his brother purchased the interest of three of the heirs, Peter S. obtaining one hundred and twenty acres. This he farms, in addition to forty acres of rented land of his sisters and one hundred and twenty acres of his mother's estate; he also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Texas. He is a progressive farmer and success- ful stockman and is recognized as one of the substantial men of the town- ship. He is a shareholder of the Farmers Telephone Company and has
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always taken a keen interest in local affairs. As a Democrat. he was appointed deputy sheriff of Marshall county in 1906, which position he held for a number of years, and is still serving under the present sheriff, having served in all ten years in this capacity.
On January 4. 1904, Peter S. Cain was united in marriage to Catherine Scanlon, who was born on June. 12. 1881. in Ballymote, County Sligo. Ire- land, where she resided until she was twelve years of age. At that time she came to the United States and made her home with her sister, Mary, who was the wife of John F. Cain. a brother of Peter S. Cain. Catherine ( Scan- lon ) Cain is the daughter of James and Ann ( Davey) Scanlon, both of whom were natives of Ireland, where they spent their lives and where they died before Mrs. Cain came to this country. After coming to this country Mrs. Cain engaged as a milliner and is a graduate of the Madison Hunt's Millinery School of Chicago, Illinois. She was engaged in her work in the city of Chicago for a number of years, after which she returned to Lincoln, Neb- raska, where she was employed in Charles Bryan's printing and publishing establishment and also en the Freie Press. a German publication. She is 'a woman of unusual ability, and of high moral and intellectual capabilities.
To Peter S. and Catherine Cain have been born the following children : Emmett P., born on May 31. 1912; John R., August 15, 1914: Retta Rose, September 19. 1916, and a twin to Rita Rose, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Cain are earnest members of the Catholic church and are prominent in the social life of the community, where they are held in the highest regard and esteem by all who know them. They take the greatest interest in the welfare of their children. and their home life is one of the most pleasant in the county. They take much interest in the growth and the development of the educational and moral growth of the home district. and their efforts are always exerted for the promotion of those enterprises that will tend to make the township and the county a better and more ideal home district.
GEORGE B. LAYTON.
George B. Layton, one of the prominent and well-known farmers and stock raisers of Blue Rapids City township, Marshall county, and at present one of the commissioners of the county, was born in Union county, Kentucky, on April 28, 1864, and is the son of James and Elizabeth ( McClure ) Layton.
Jamies and Elizabeth Layton were natives of Kentucky and Virginia.
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respectively, the father having been born in the year 1838 and the mother in 1843. The parents received their education in the schools of Kentucky and Virginia. Shortly after their marriage, they came to Marshall county and established their home on a farm four miles south of Irving, where the father engaged in general farming until the time of his death in 1870. Some years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Layton was united in marriage to Dewit C. Calhoun, a native of Indiana, and who came to Kansas in 1872. George B. Layton was the eldest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Layton, the others being Charles, now of New Mexico, where he is engaged in stock raising, and James M. of Irving, Marshall county, where he is a general farmer and stockman. To Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun was born one child, Francis, now a resident of Kansas City, Missouri. Mrs. Calhoun is now a resident of New Mexico.
George B. Layton received his education in the schools in Marshall and Riley counties, Kansas. His father having died when he was but six years of age, he was soon thrown on his own resources. He being the eldest of the family, at an early age assumed the responsibilities of looking after the interests of his mother and the other members of the family. At the age of twenty he was working as a farm hand at thirteen dollars per month. In 1886 he rented land near Irving, and engaged in farming for himself. The next year he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which was at that time improved with only an old stone house and a small horse stable. Since that time he has erected a splendid nine-room, modern brick house. The house is supplied with hot and cold water and gas lights and is one of the well finished homes in the county. In 1904 he built his fine barn, forty by one hundred feet, one of the best in the township. His farm is recognized as one of the best tracts of farming land in the county, and Mr. Layton has it all in a high state of cultivation. Where once stood the old stone house and a shed for a barn, now stands one of the finest houses and best barns in this section of the state, and where was then seen the unbroken and undeveloped prairie land, is now seen beautiful fields of golden grain and pasture with numbers of fine horses and cattle and droves of hogs.
Politically, Mr. Layton is identified with the Republican party and has for a number of years been recognized as one of the leaders of the party in the county. He is a man of exceptional ability and excellent judgment. His worth and ability were recognized in 1912, when he was elected to the impor- tant position of county commissioner. In this position he gave valuable service, and the confidence placed in him was not misused. In 1916 he was again solicited to accept the position and he was re-elected by an increased
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majority. He represents the second commissioners' district of the county and aside from his duties on the board and on his farm, he is engaged in the building of good roads. He has made the latter work a study and has given it particular attention and is known as one of the most successful builders of good highways in this section of the state.
On May 7. 1889, George B. Layton was united in marriage to Jennie I .. Rodkey, a native of Huntington county, Indiana, where she was born on March 14, 1865. and is the daughter of Joseph and Frances ( Dohner ) Rod- key. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania and when but children moved to the state of Ohio with their parents, and were there educated in the public school and were married. They later moved to Indiana, where they established their home on a farm in Huntington county. In the fall of 1880 they came to Kansas and they located on a farm in Blue Rapids City township. where the father engaged in general farming and stock raising until his death in 1907, since which time the mother has made her home with her daughter. Mrs. Layton. Mr. and Mrs. Rodkey were always held in the highest regard by the people who knew them. . At the death of the husband and father, the family lost a kind and affectionate father and the community one of the best and most honored residents. Mr. and Mrs. Rodkey were the parents of ten children, six of whom are now living: John J., of Bhie Rapids; Clayton, a well-known and successful farmer of Bhie Rapids City township: Abraham Lincoln. of Oklahoma: Mrs. Anna Koutz. of Nebraska City: Jennie L. and Grant C., a resident of Colorado.
To Mr. and Mrs. Layton have been born three children, Fred M., Anna V. and Charles F. Fred received his primary education in the public schools of Marshall county and completed the course at the Kansas Agricultural and Scientific College at Manhattan, Kansas: Anna is a graduate of the Blue Rapids high school and of the college at Manhattan, and is now one of the successful teachers of the state, being assistant principal of the high school at Kensington, Smith county, Kansas: and Charles is attending Manhattan Col- lege, where he is taking a veterinary course. Mr. and Mrs. Layton are prominent members of the Presbyterian church and have long been active in the social and the religious life of the community. They are members of the Knights and Ladies of Security and have had much to do with the success of the local society. They have long taken an active interest in the moral and educational development of their township, and feel that in the schools of the district much of its greatness depends.
Mr. Layton has lived an active life and through his own efforts he has risen to a position of honor and influence. He has seen many changes in
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the country since he first came here from his Kentucky home, the trip hav- ing been made by his father and mother with horses and wagon. His first home in the county was at the junction of Blue river and Black Vermillion river. There the father erected a small log house in which the little family lived for some years. The roads were at that time most impassable and much of the district was undeveloped and unimproved. In all this wonderful transition. Mr. Layton has had his part and to him and such as he, is due much honor.
ARTHUR T. JONES.
One of the well-known and successful farmers and stockmen of Guittard township, Marshall county, is Arthur T. Jones, who was born in the town- ship on March 27. 1885, and is the son of Peter and Emma (Totten) Jones, pioneers of Marshall county, the former of whom died in 1911 and the latter of whom is now living on the old home place.
Peter Jones came to Marshall county when the land was still open for pre-emption and when there were but few settlers in the district. On coming to Kansas hie first settled in Nemaha county, where he remained but a short time, after which he came to Marshall county and pre-empted land in Guit- tard township. Here he obtained one hundred and sixty acres of land and established his home. At the time he made the settlement he had a team of oxen and no wagon, and it was necessary for him to drive to St. Joseph in order to obtain one. Before starting honte he loaded his wagon with doors, sashes, flooring and roofing, to complete a stone house that he had erected on his claim. The house is still standing and with the many improvements that have been made to it. is still the residence of the widow, who is one of the honored pioneers of the county. After completing his house, Peter Jones proceeded to break up his farm and prepare it for the crops which he later planted. In time his farm became known as one of the best developed and most highly improved places in the township. He always took great pride in the upkeep of his farm and buildings, and at his death, the place was a splendid monument to his energy and ability as a farmer. When he first set- tled in this community, the Indians were still very numerous, and at one time there were two hundred encamped on the farm, and there is still evidence of their camp on the farm at the present time. At that time the nearest market was at Beatrice, Nebraska, to which place Mr. Jones hauled his first grain from the farm. The wheat of that first crop was cut with a scythe and
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threshed with a flail. Deer were numerous along the timber tracts and there were numerous herds of buffalo on the plains. Mr. Jones often engaged in the hunt for the deer and on different occasions he took part in a buffalo hunt. in the more western part of the state, where he was for some time manager of a large ranch. The home was near the old trail, over which the government trains would make their slow progress toward "Pikes Peak." and the slowly moving wagon trains could be seen from the house. Those caravans were eagerly watched for, as they had much to do with breaking the monotony of the lonely life on the plains at that time. Mr. Jones always took much interest in the development of the district and in the civic life of the township in which he lived, and in which he and his wife had so much to do with the general development and growth.
Arthur T. Jones received his primary education in the district schools and later graduated from the high school at Beattie and in 1907 he attended the business college at Grand Island. Nebraska. That same year he returned to the home farm, which he operated for two years, when he then rented a farm for three years. He then came into possession of eighty acres of land. a part of his present farm. This he farmed and in addition he operated a tract of eighty acres of the okl Thorn place. He later rented eighty acres from his brother. A. G. Jones, which he continued to operate until 1912. He then built a splendid house and barn on his own place, where he now lives and where he is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of prime land. Here he is engaged in general farming and stock raising and is meeting with much success. He keeps a fine lot of cattle. Duroc-Jersey hogs and Perch- eron horses, and is today recognized as one of the substantial men and suc- cessful farmers and stockmen of the county.
On March 10, 1900. Arthur T. Jones was united in marriage to Bertha A. Stevenson, who was born in Richland township, Marshall county. on August 7. 1885. She is the daughter of Milton L. and Mary ( Easterly) Stevenson, prominent residents of the county. They were natives of the state of Iowa, where they received their education in the public schools, grew to maturity and were there married. They later came to Marshall county, where they now live two miles west of Axtell.
To Arthur T. and Bertha .A. Jones have been born two children, Stewart L. and Dwight A. Stewart L. was born on May 7, 1913, and Dwight .A. on September 19. 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are active in all moral, social and religious work of the township. They take the greatest interest in the educational
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development of the district and are strong advocates of the best class of pub- lic schools that it is possible to have. Mrs. Jones, having graduated from the local schools, attended the Emporia Normal school and was for four years one of the successful teachers of the county, fully realizes the great importance of the high standard school. Mr. Jones, a graduate of the high school and having taken work in a business college, is also in accord with a high standard of schools. To him good schools and well-built roads are two of the essentials in the development and growth of any community. Politically, Mr. Jones is identified with the Democratic party, and while he is not an office seeker, he has always been active in the affairs of the town- ship, and is a firm believer in selecting competent men to administer the affairs of the township and the county, rather than voting for men because they are identified with any particular party.
LEWIS R. HOWELL
Lewis R. Howell, a well-known and substantial farmer of Center town- ship, is a native of Illinois, born on a farm in Will county, that state, August 26, 1850, son of William and Sarah ( Rodgers) Howell, the former a native of New Jersey, born on May 6, 1826, and the latter, of Pennsylvania, born on November 28. 1828, whose last days were spent in Illinois. In 1849, the year of his marriage, William Howell located in Will county, Illinois, later moving to Lee county, that state, where he spent the remainder of his life. During the Civil War he enlisted as a member of one of the Illinois regiments, but never saw any active service at the front. He was mustered out at Springfield, Illinois, in October, 1865. He and his wife were mem- bers of the Methodist church and their children were reared in that faith. They were the parents of eight children, six of whom, three sons and three daughters, are still living. Of these the subject of this sketch is the eldest. William Howell died in October. 1899. His wife had preceded him to the grave more than six years, her death having occurred on February 20, 1893. Both are buried in the cemetery at Pawpaw, in Lee county, Illinois.
Reared on the home farm in Illinois, Lewis R. Howell received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and there grew to manhood. In 1878 he came to Kansas and bought a farm in Rice county, but two years later disposed of his interest there and on August 1, 1880, came to Marshall county. Upon his arrival here he rented a farm and was engaged in the
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cultivation of the same for two years, at the end of which time, in 1882, he bought a farm near Beattie. A year later he sold that farm and in 1883 bought the farm on which he is now living, in section 34 of Center township, established his home there after his marriage two years later and has ever since lived there, he and his family being comfortably and pleasantly situ- ated there. Mlr. Howell is the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and ninety-nine acres, which he has improved in excellent shape and on which there are six or seven acres of natural timber.
On July 8, 1885, Lewis R. Howell was united in marriage to Millie Crevier, who was born in Doniphan county, this state, one of the fourteen children born to Charles C. and Tarsel ( Market) Crevier, natives of Canada, who settled in this county about 1870. Charles C. Crevier was a dealer in furs in Canada and traveled extensively until forty-two years of age, when he came to Kansas and settled in Doniphan county, later coming to Marshall county, where he and his wife spent their last days. To Mr. and Mrs. Howell four children have been born. namely : Fred. born on May 29, 1886, who married Mary Hadorn and is now living on a farm in Wells township, this county; Lawrence, February 21, 1889, who is at home and assists his father in the management of the farm, and Myrtle and Gertrude (twins). March 12, 1893, the latter of whom died in infancy. Myrtle Howell was graduated from the Joliet Conservatory of Music in 1914 and is now a teacher of instrumental music and a student of voice culture, continuing to make her home with her parents. Mrs. Howell was reared in the Catholic faith and she and her children are members of that church, taking an active interest in local parish affairs. Mr. Howell is a Republican and has served his district as a member of the school board. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Knights and Ladies of Security and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
BYRON C. GRAHAM.
Byron C. Graham, one of the well-known and successful farmers and stockmen of St. Bridget township. Marshall county, was born in Medina county, Ohio, on June 20, 1853, the son of Charles Henry and Mary Ann ( Fuller-Smith) Graham, who were natives of the states of Ohio and New York, respectively, and received their education in their respective localities. The mother was twice married, her first husband being a Mr. Smith, by whom she was the mother of one child. Mrs. Mary Jane Wentherby and by
BYRON C. GRAHAM AND FAMILY,
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MARSHALL COUNTY, KANSAS.
Mr. Graham she was the mother of one child, Byron C. Mrs. Wentherby is now living south of Axtell, where her husband is one of the successful farmers of the township. After her marriage to Charles Henry Graham, they continued to live in Medina county, Ohio, for some time, and there the son Byron C. was born, and there the father died when the son was but an infant. The widow and her two children later came to Kansas and located in Murray township, Marshall county, near Axtell. The family were always prominent in the local social life of the community and were held in the highest regard.
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