USA > Kansas > Marshall County > History of Marshall County, Kansas : its people, industries, and institutions > Part 81
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In 1890, at Home, this county. Thomas Harry was united in mar- riage to Mary A. Lewis, who was born in Yorkshire, England, May 14. 1867, daughter of William Lewis and wife, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and who was but two years of age when her parents came to this country, and to this union six children were born.
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namely: William J., who is farming one of his father's farms; Charles C., who also is farming one of the home places; Ethel, who was graduated from the Beattie high school, later attended the State University at Em- poria, and since 1915 has been teaching in the public schools of this county, and Raymond T., Zoie M. and Arthur L., who are at home. The mother of these children died on July 20, 1916.
Mr. Harry is a member of the local lodges of the Modern Woodmen of the World and of the Knights and Ladies of Security and has long taken an active interest in the affairs of the same. As a promoter of local inter- ests in a general business way he has ever taken a proper part in the com- munity activities and is one of the shareholders in the Farmers' Elevator Company at Beattie.
HENRY H. FARRAR.
Henry H. Farrar, one of the best-known and most progressive young farmers and stockmen of Marshall county, the proprietor of a fine farm in Guittard township, former clerk of Murray township and the holder of banking and other extensive interests in this part of the state, is a native son of Marshall county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Lincoln township, this county, October 25, 1882, son of Horatio N. and Martha L. (Minter) Farrar, natives of Ohio, who became early and influential residents of this county, where the former spent his last days and where the latter is still living, now making her home at Axtell.
Horatio N. Farrar was born in the city of London, Madison county, Ohio, and became a well-to-do farmer and stockman. He and his brother, Thomas Farrar, served as soldiers of the Union army during the Civil War, serving as member of a Kentucky regiment. He married in Madison county, Ohio, Martha L. Minter, who was born in that county on April 19, 1850, and in 1870 came with his wife to Kansas and settled in Marshall county, where he spent the remainder of his life, one of the most active and influential pioneer residents of this county. Upon coming to Marshall county Horatio Farrar entered a soldier's claim to a quarter section home- stead in Lincoln township and there established his home. He prospered in his farming operations and eventually became the owner of a full section of land, in addition to extensive banking and other interests in the county. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens' Bank of Axtell and for years served as president of the same. Politically, Mr. Farrar was a Republican
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and from the very beginning of his residence in this county took an active interest in local civic affairs, long having been regarded as one of the leaders of his party in that part of the county. For some time he served as treas- urer of Lincoln township and in other ways gave of his time and energies to the public service, ever interested in such movements as were designed to advance the common welfare hereabout. Horatio Farrar died on August 24, 1913, and his widow is now making her home in Axtell. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eighth in order of birth, and all of whom are living.
Henry H. Farrar was reared on the home farm in Lincoln township and received his early schooling in the schools of Axtell, from which he was graduated in 1903. He then taught school for a year and later entered Baker University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1908, one of the members of that class being the young woman who later became his wife. During his university course Mr. Farrar took a particularly active part in the athletic events of the institution and in 1907 won a medal for high jumping, his performance in that line breaking all records for the state of Kansas. Mr. Farrar was married in the fall of the year following his graduation from the university and in that same year became engaged with his father and one of his brothers in the live-stock business. He had previously bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in sec- tions 35 and 36 in Guittard township and there established his home and has ever since lived there, he and his family being very comfortably and very pleasantly situated. In addition to his own quarter section, Mr. Farrar has an interest in a half section of land near Axtell; has shares in the Farmers' Elevator Company at Beattie, and a considerable block of stock in the bank at Axtell. He is a Republican and for some time served as clerk of Murray township, but resigned that position in 1910. Mr. Farrar has been an ex- tensive breeder of live stock, giving his special attention to Shorthorn cattle and to sheep, having now a flock of seven hundred head of the latter and is known as one of the most successful sheep raisers in the county. He has ever taken a warm interest in the general welfare of the county and has given his intelligent attention to numerous movements designed to advance the same.
On September 2, 1908. at Baldwin, Kansas, Henry H. Farrar was united in marriage to Ivy Riley, who was born in Johnson county, this state, January 26, 1885, daughter of James Francis and Elizabeth Lucretia (Williams) Riley, natives of Ohio, who became pioneers of Kansas and who are now living at their pleasant home in Baldwin. this state. James F.
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Riley was born at Zanesville, Ohio, June 6, 1838, eldest of a family of nine children, and his wife was born near Circleville, in that same state, Deceni- ber 6, 1841, the sixth in order of birth in a family of fifteen children. She moved with her parents by wagon to St. Louis and by boat up the Missouri river to Johnson county, Kansas, settling, in 1864, near Monticello, where she taught school until her marriage to Mr. Riley on September 17, 1865. Fifty years later, at their home in Baldwin, Mr. and Mrs. Riley celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, the occasion being made one of much felicitation on the part of their many friends, the reunion and celebration being attended by all members of the immediate family, eleven of the eighteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, besides a numerous company from this and other states. The event attracted much attention among the newspapers and a comprehensive account of the celebration, together with a reproduction of portraits of the celebrants, appeared in the Topcka Capital, while the Brooklyn (New York) Daily Eagle featured the affair by giving it a half page, with portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Riley, together with a very interesting story relating to Mr. Riley's experiences as a "bull- whacker" along the old Santa Fe trail in pioneer days in Kansas and other interesting and illuminating reminiscences of that period in the history of Kansas.
James F. Riley came to Kansas in 1858, when even the eastern counties of the then territory were inhabited chiefly by Indians, when there was no Kansas City, Kansas, and when what is now Kansas City, Missouri, was known as Westport Landing. He helped to lay out the original site of White Cloud, in Doniphan county, and was present at the barbecue that was given in Kansas City when the first shovelful of dirt was thrown in building the first railroad that entered the place. During the five years from 1859 to 1864 Mr. Riley made numerous trips in hauling freight by ox and mule trains from Ft. Leavenworth across the plains to Salt Lake City and to Ft. Union and Albuquerque, using the now famous Santa Fe trail and having many thrilling experiences with the Indians. In 1864 he was sergeant of cavalry in the Kansas State militia and aided in guarding Lawrence against the expected raid of the Confederate General Price in October of that year. Two or three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Riley bought two hundred acres of land from Polly Greenfeather and other Indians on Indian creek in Johnson county, where they made their home until their retirement from the farm in 1901 and removal to Baldwin, where they now reside. To them were born nine children, four sons and five daughters, of whom Mrs. Farrar is the youngest, and all of whom are living. In keeping with
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the pioneering instinct of their parents, this family of nine children is now widely scattered and its members engaged in various pursuits. The eldest son, Charles Allen Riley, and three daughters, Mrs. Ralph Coppock, Mrs. Joseph J. Baker and Mrs. Thomas J. Coppock, are prosperous farmers and ranchmen in Alberta, Canada. The eldest daughter is the wife of Col. . Andy J. James, the widely-known auctioneer of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, and owner of "Meadow Brook Stock Farm" in Johnson county. Three sons are engaged in educational and philanthropic work. The eldest, Thomas J. Riley, is general secretary of the Brooklyn bureau of charities, Brooklyn, New York: Edgar F. Riley is director in the Teachers' Training School of the Wisconsin State Normal at Plattville, and the youngest son. Elmer A. Riley, is head of the department of economics and sociology in Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio.
To Henry H. and Ivy ( Riley) Farrar two children have been born, Virginia, born on February 24. 1911, and Roberta, February 19, 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Farrar are members of the Methodist church at 'Axtell and take a proper interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live.
FRANK THEO WOHLER.
Frank Theo Wohler. one of the progressive and well-known of the younger farmers of Cottage Hill township. Marshall county, and the man- ager of his mother's splendid farm of four hundred and eighty acres, was born on July 16, 1890, and is the son of Theo and Sophia ( Elstroth ) Wohler.
Theo Wohler, the father, was born in Liperdetmold. Germany. on Octo- ber 24. 1861. When he was but four years of age he came with his parents, Fred and Louisa Wohler, to the United States. Fred Wohler on his arrival in this country, with his family came at once to Marshall county, and estab- lished his home on a farm in Cottage Hill township, where he and his wife spent the remaining days of their lives, he dying in 1909 at the age of ninety- two years and the wife and mother died in 1870 at the age of seventy-six years. When Fred Wohler came to America with his little family, it took the courage and the determination of a strong man, and one who had faith in his ability to make good. in a strange land and amid a strange people. On his arrival in the county he was without financial support of any kind, yet he had the determination to win. AAfter homesteading a tract of land, he at once
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THEO. WOHLER AND FAMILY.
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built a small log cabin in which the family lived for some time. He had but one horse and with that he broke a part of his land and planted his first crop. In a short time he began to prosper and became the owner of one of the splendid farms in the township, all of which he placed under high cultivation and improved with substantial buildings. He and Mrs. Wohler were the parents of four children as follow: Henry, August, Gatha and Theo. Henry and August are successful farmers in Riley county, Kansas; Gatha is the wife of William Klocke, one of the successful farmers of Missouri, and Theo is now deceased.
Theo Wohler was reared on the home farm in Cottage Hill township and was educated in the public schools of Marshall county. He remained on the home farm and assisted his father with the work, and at the age of twenty-one years he assumed the management of the farm. In 1882 he pur- chased the place, which then contained one hundred and sixty acres and to which he added until at the time of his death on January 10, 1913, he was the owner of four hundred and eighty acres, all of which he had under a higli state of development and well improved. A few years after he had pur- chased the original farm, he built a fine horse barn, after which he erected a large cattle barn, twenty-eight by one hundred and fifty feet. In 1906 he built the beautiful modern house at a cost of two thousand five hundred dol- lars, and which is one of the best farm residences in the township. He took the greatest interest in his family and did everything possible for their convenience and happiness. As a farmer and stockman he was recognized as one of the successful and substantial men of the township and county. He kept the best grade of hogs and the finest Aberdeen Angus cattle. He was a feeder and a shipper of cattle and hogs and each year he placed many of these animals on the market, receiving the highest market price. He placed the buildings of his farm in the center of the tract, and from the farm home they have the finest view of the whole of the place. The farm buildings are so arranged as to give the greatest degree of proficiency and economy of time. He gave his stock the most careful attention and his farm was kept in the highest state of cultivation. Mr. Wohler was a leader and not a fol- lower in the management of a farm and the care of stock. He made his life work a study, and was known as one of the most proficient men in his line in the county.
On March 24. 1882, Theo Wohler was united in marriage to Sophia Elstroth, the daughter of Henry and Marie (Elstroth ) Elstroth, both of whom were born in Germany and there received their education in the public schools and were later married. Mrs. Wohler was born in Westphalia, Ger-
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many, on May 11, 1856, and there she received her education in the public schools and grew to womanhood. In 1881 she left the land of her nativity and came to the United States, to be with friends in Marshall county. It was here that she met and married Theo Wohler, by whom she became the mother of the following children: Ortwin, a successful farmer of Cottage Hill township, Marshall county; Lillie, the wife of Ed Kaump, one of the successful residents of Riley county. Kansas, and Frank Theo.
Frank Theo Wohler was born on July 16, 1890, and received his edu- cation in the district schools of Cottage Hill township and grew to manhood on the home farm, where as a lad he assisted his father with the work on the farm, and became thoroughly conversant with the duties of the manage- ment of a large estate and the care of stock. Today he is recognized as one of the progressive young farmers and stockmen of the township, and in the management of his mother's large farm he has demonstrated his ability to do big things. Since the death of his father he has kept the farm in the best condition and has maintained the upkeep of the excellent buildings on the place. He does general farming and keeps a high grade of stock, some of which is among the best in the county. He has always taken an active inter- est in the affairs of the township and is a firm believer in the progressive spirit of the times.
The Wohler family are active members of the Evangelical church and have long been prominent in the social life of the community where they live and where they are held in the highest regard and esteen.
ABEL W. GIBSON.
Abel W. Gibson, one of Wells township's well-known and substantial farmers and stockmen, a pioneer of Marshall county and the proprietor of a well-kept farm of one hundred and forty-three acres in Wells township, is a native of the Hoosier state, an honored veteran of the Civil War from that state, but has been a resident of this county since 1881. He was born on a pioneer farm in Putnam county, Indiana, not far from the city of Greencastle, October 11, 1841, a son of Castleton and Lucy ( Wilson) Gib- son, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Indiana.
Castleton Gibson was born in 1820 and was little more than an infant when his parents, Louis Gibson and wife, moved from Kentucky up into Indiana in 1823 and settled in the then wilds of Putnam county. Louis
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Gibson, a Virginian and a member of an old Colonial family, the Gibsons having settled in New York in Colonial days, was a soldier in the War of 1812 and received a land warrant for his services during that war. Alex- ander Wilson, father of Lucy Wilson, also was a soldier during that war and received a land warrant, he and Louis Gibson exercising their warrant rights by taking land side by side in Putnam county, Indiana, where they established their homes and where they spent the remainder of their lives. Alexander Wilson's father, Michael Wilson, carried all kinds of seeds into Putnam county and set out the first apple orchard in that section of the Hoosier state. A few years ago Abel W. Gibson took a trip back to his old home in Indiana and he found some of those original trees still standing on the old home place and still bearing excellent fruit. On those two pioneer farms, side by side, Castleton Gibson and Lucy Wilson grew up and were married and there spent their lives, Castleton Gibson's death occurring in 1883. He was a cousin of General Gibson, of Civil War fame.
On that pioneer farm in Putnam county, Indiana, Abel W. Gibson grew to manhood, receiving his schooling in the local schools and proving a valuable aid to his father in the labors of the farm. He was not twenty years of age when the Civil War broke out, but in September of 1861, the first year of the war, he enlisted his services in behalf of the Union and went to the front as a member of Company B, Forty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and with that command served for three years and ten months, during which time he participated in many stirring engagements and suffered imprisonment at the hands of the Rebels for ten months. The Forty-third Indiana was commanded by Col. William E. McLain, of Terre Haute, and Company B of that regiment was headed, successively, by Capt. Marion Darnell, Capt. Marmaduke Darnell and Capt. William Yelton. Dur- ing his service with that command Mr. Gibson was in many skirmishes on the Mississippi river and participated in the battles at New Madrid, Island No. 10, Ft. Pillow, the capture of Memphis, Helena, Arkansas, and Marks' Mills, Arkansas, April 25, 1864. It was in the latter engagement that the Forty-third Indiana was "smashed" and Mr. Gibson was there taken pris- oner by the enemy, being sent to Tyler, Texas, where he was held for ten months. He got out, however, before the war was closed, but upon seek- ing to rejoin his regiment found it disbanded or destroyed and he was at Indianapolis when the war ended, and there received his honorable dis- charge on June 15, 1865.
Upon the completion of his military service, Abel W. Gibson decided to try his fortunes in the then rapidly developing Northwest and in the fall
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of 1865 went to Iowa, settling in Decatur county, that state, where he took a homestead and prepared to establish a home, after awhile returning to his old home in Indiana for a bride and after his marriage there in January, 1868, settled down on his homestead farm in lowa, where he remained until 1881, when he disposed of his holdings there to advantage and came to Kansas. Upon coming to this state Mr. Gibson located in Smith county, but his experience there that year with the burning winds, which destroyed all crops in that section of the state, discouraged him and he moved over into Marshall county in 1882 and bought his present farm in Wells town- ship, where he established his home and where he since has resided. Mr. Gibson has an excellent farm of one hundred and forty-three acres and for for the past twenty-five years has given considerable attention to stock raising, in addition to his general farming, and has done very well. During the past ten years his attention has been particularly directed to the raising of Herefords and he has been a successful producer along that line. He has a fine herd of registered Herefords, the same now being headed by "Woodrow," from the Drennen herd. Mr. Gibson disposes of his calves each year at good prices, in 1916 selling more than six hundred dollars worth of such stock. He is a member of the American Hereford Association and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that association.
On January 22, 1868, in Putnam county, Indiana, Abel W. Gibson was united in marriage to Sarah C. Ellis, who was born in that county on May 9. 1845, a daughter of Adam and Caroline ( Call) Ellis, natives of Ken- tucky, who moved to Mississippi and thence to Indiana, in which latter state they established their home not far from the Gibson and the Wilson home- steads. Mrs. Gibson died at her home in this county on May 30, 1894, leav- ing two children, Alice, who is now housekeeper for her father, and Burt, now living at Peyton. Colorado, who married Bessie Greenleaf and has three children. Lucy. John and Joseph. Mr. Gibson is an independent Re- publican and has rendered public service as a member of the school board in his home district. He is an active member of Robert Hayes Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Blue Rapids, and in the affairs of that patriotic organization has long taken a warm interest. He also is an active member of the local Anti-Horsethief Association and is the only member of that association that ever stole a horse ; Mr. Gibson often recalling with a chuckle that during his days of soldiering he took a horse that did not belong to him and stole away from the "Johnnies," but he salves his conscience by the declaration that as soon as he had reached a point of safety from the
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pursuing enemy he turned the animal loose. Despite the fact of his advanc- ing years, Mr. Gibson is a hale and hearty old gentleman, vigorous and well preserved, and retains the heartiest zest in living and a keen interest in current affairs.
JOHN G. GRAHAM.
John G. Graham, one of the well-known and most successful farmers and stockmen of Richland township, Marshall county, was born in the state of Illinois on October 19, 1868, and is the son of James Thomas and Melissa Jane (Gilchrist) Graham.
James Thomas and Melissa Jane Graham were born in Illinois and there they received their education in the public schools and there grew to matur- ity and were later married. After their marriage they continued to live in Illinois until 1871, when they went to Iowa and located in Adair county. where they remained for thirteen years, when they came to Kansas and settled in Richland township, Marshall county. Here they established their home on a farm, where Mr. Graham engaged in general farming and stock- raising with much success for many years. He and his wife were among the prominent people of the township and were held in the highest regard and esteem. They always took the deepest interest in the affairs of the com- munity. They made their home on the farm until a few years ago, when they retired from the more active duties of life and moved to Summerfield, where they have a beautiful home.
John G. Graham received his education in the common schools and grew to manhood in Marshall county. At the age of sixteen years he began working for himself as a farm hand, and when yet a young man, he purchased eighty acres of land in Nebraska, where he engaged in farming for a time, when he sold the place and in March, 1908, purchased his pres- ent farm, which he has improved and developed into one of the best farms in the township. On this farm of one hundred and sixty acres he is engaged in general farming and stockraising and is recognized as one of the substantial men of the township, and a successful breeder of high-grade stock. His home, with its beautiful white house and barns, situated amid a fine grove of evergreen trees, presents a most pleasing view. His farm, with its well cultivated fields aglow with the golden grain and his pasture with the herds of the finest cattle and the best of hogs, is evidence of thrift and prosperity. Few farms in the district are better kept and few are main- tained in better condition with outside buildings.
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John G. Graham has always taken an active interest in local affairs and has had much to do with the growth and development of the township. He is identified with the Republican party and in 1914 was elected trustee of his home township. He assumed the office with the confidence and the respect of the entire community and he gave to his official duties the same care and attention that he has always given his own business. Be- cause of his successful administration during the years for which he was chosen in 1914, the voters returned him to office in the fall of 1916, it being evident that his services were appreciated and that his work was well done. He is an active member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. As a lodge man he takes much interest in the work and is devoted to the cause of the orders of which he is a member.
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