USA > Kansas > Marshall County > History of Marshall County, Kansas : its people, industries, and institutions > Part 83
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A few years after his marriage Joseph Manning and his wife came to Kansas and pre-empted a homestead of a quarter of a section of land in section 18 of Franklin township, this county, with the view to establishing a home there, but five years later returned to their old home in Appanoose county, lowa, where they remained until 1883, when they returned to their homestead farm in this county and here have resided ever since, long having been regarded as among the most substantial and influential residents of that part of the county. Mr. Manning also owns a quarter of a section of land in Jewell county. For years he has given considerable attention to the raising of Shorthorn cattle and formerly was an exhibitor at county fairs and stock shows, once having received a prize on his cattle at the county fair. Mr. Manning is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, having held several township offices at one time and another. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and have ever given their thoughtful attention to the affairs of the same. To them six children have been born, namely: William A., who died in in- fancy; Nevada .A., who died at the old family home in lowa on February 14. 1882, at the age of fourteen years: Edward .\., now a bookkeeper in the office of a cement factory at Kansas City, Missouri, who married Miss Nellie Faulkner, of Marysville, and has two children, a son and a daughter ; Gertrude M., who married Clarence Bevers, a farmer living near Beattie. this county, and has one child, a son; Hallie M., who married Dr. E. L.
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Wilson, Jr., of Marysville, and O. Clyde Manning, who is at home assist- ing his father in the management of the home farm. The Mannings have a very pleasant home and have ever taken a proper part in the social activi- ties of their home neighborhood, helpful in advancing all good causes there- about.
HERMAN J. ANDERSON.
Among the native sons of Sweden who have come to the United States and settled in Cottage Hill township, Marshall county, and here success- fully engaged in general farming and stock raising, is Herman J. Ander- son, who was born in the west part of Sweden on March 20, 1862, being the son of Jacob and Lottie (Swenson) Anderson.
The parents of Herman J. Anderson were also natives of Sweden and there they received their education in the public schools and grew to matur- ity and were married. They continued to live in the land of their nativity until 1869, at which time they decided to come to America. On their arrival in the United States they came direct to Kansas, where they established their home in Riley county. Here the father homesteaded a tract of land which he later developed and improved into a splendid farm, and there he engaged in general farming and stock raising until the time of his death in 1879, at the age of fifty-five years. His wife was born in 1826 and died in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were excellent people and were held in the highest regard and esteem by all who knew them.
Herman J. Anderson received his education in the district schools of Riley county and there grew to manhood on the home .farm, where as a lad and young man he assisted his father with the farm work. After the death of the father, Mr. Anderson assumed the management of the home place, where he remained until 1886, when he came to Marshall county and pur- chased a part of his present large farm of some eight hundred acres. The farm was much smaller at the start, but he has added to the original tract, as he could and as he prospered. He has two sets of farm buildings, which are most substantial and well kept.
It was in 1884 that Herman J. Anderson was united in marriage to Mary Isaacson, a native of Sweden, and who came to the United States with her parents at the time the parents of her future husband came to this country. The' family settled in Riley county and there her father home- steaded a farm which he developed and improved, and there he engaged in
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general farming and stock raising until the time of his death in 1904, at the age of seventy years. The widow of John Isaacson is now living at her home in Riley county at the age of eighty years.
To Herman J. and Mary Anderson have been born the following chil- dren : Edward, William, Ehmer, Mabel and Alice. Edward, who is now thirty years of age, is farming a part of his father's farm; William, twenty- . eight years of age, is engaged in general farming on a part of his father's farm: Elmer, nineteen years of age, and Mabel, sixteen years old, are both at home: Alice died at the age of five months. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and long prominent in the social life of the township, where they were held in high regard and esteem. Mrs. Anderson, a most estimable woman and one who made many friends, was born on September 22, 1864, and departed this life at her home in Cottage Hill township on January 21, 1916.
Politically, Mr. Anderson has always taken a keen interest in the civic life of his home township and county, although not an office seeker, has held the position of justice of the peace for one term. He is a man of pleasing qualities, and because of his progressive spirit and excellent judg- ment his advice is often sought on matters of public importance. He is a stockholder in the County Fair Association and in the State Bank at Water- ville, and also in the Elevator Company, the Telephone Company and the Lumber Company at Waterville. He has always used his best interest in the development of his home district and is a strong advocate of the build- ing of good roads and the support of the best schools, and in these matters his influence has been fraught with much good.
JOHN ALFRED LINDQUIST.
Among the many native born Swedes, who came to the United States and located in Marshall county, is John AAlfred Lindquist, of Cottage Hill township, who was born on March 11, 1861, being the son of John and Caro- lina Larson, who were also natives of Sweden, where they spent their lives and there died some years ago. They were among the highly respected ' people of the district in which they lived and they were held in the highest regard and esteem. Their lives were spent in humble, but honorable circun- stances. They were of a religious turn of mind, and they reared their family to be honest men and women. Their lives were spent amid adverse
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circumstances, yet they were ambitious to have their children enjoy more of the pleasures of life than was given to them.
John Alfred Lindquist remained a resident of his native country until he was twenty-six years of age, when he decided that he would come to America, where the advantages were better for young men and where he might obtain a home for himself. After landing in the United States, with- out a cent in cash, he at once proceeded to Waterville, Marshall county, where he engaged as a farm hand, at sixteen dollars per month. He con- tinued in this work for a year, and then he rented a farm and engaged in general farming for himself for six years. He saved all that he could during that time, and then he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, which is a part of his present farm of four hundred acres in Cottage Hill township. He paid two thousand nine hundred dollars for the place and there were but few improvements on the farm at that time. He later erected a splendid house and other farm buildings, but retained the old stone barn that was on the place at the time he made the purchase. By hard work and close application he has prospered in his work as a general farmer and stockman and has increased his farm to its present large proportions, and he is recognized as one of the substantial and influential men of the township and county.
On October 6, 1889, John Alfred Lindquist was united in marriage to Matilda Larson, who was born in Sweden on October 2, 1861, the daughter of Lars and Christina Gustafson. Her parents were also natives of that country. There the parents received their education in the public schools and there the father died in 1884. Three years after the death of the hus- band and father, Mrs. Gustafson and her daughter, Matilda, came to the United States, where the other members of the family had located some time before, and it was here that the mother died shortly after her arrival in this country. The family located in Kansas and here Mr. and Mrs. Lindquist met and were later married. To them have been born the follow- ing children: Carl Herman, Endfred Theadore, Hilder Eugenia. Albin Herbert, Helga Matilda, Ernest Robert, Gerda Elfreda and Lillie Melvena. Carl Herman is one of the successful young farmers of Cottage Hill town- ship and is meeting with much success in his chosen work; Endfred Thea- dore is a farmer of the county; Hilder Eugenia is the wife of Victor Nel- son, a farmer of Cottage Hill township: Helga Matilda is attending high school at Waterville, and the other children are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Lindquist are active members of the Lutheran church and are prominent in all church work as well as in the social life of the community in which they
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live and where they are held in the highest regard and esteem. Mr. Lind- quist is a deacon of the church in Cottage Hill township, and has had much to do with the success of the local organization.
Politically, Mr. Lindquist is a member of the Republican party and has always taken an active interest in local affairs. While he is not an office seeker, he believes that every man should take an interest in the selection of the best men to administer the affairs of the township, the county and the state. In the life of Mr. Lindquist is well illustrated the result of con- sistent work and close application to business. Coming to this country a poor young man, he has risen to a position of one of the influential and substantial men of the county.
CLARENCE E. NICHOLS.
Among the men who have located in Cottage Hill township, Marshall county, and have met with a large degree of success as general farmers and stock raisers is Clarence E. Nichols, who was born in the state of Illinois on September 26, 1867, and is the son of John L. and Sarah ( Mil- mine ) Nichols, natives of Massachusetts and Canada, respectively.
John L. Nichols was born in the city of Boston on January 20, 1833, being the son of John Nichols, who was born in 1797, where he lived until 1836, when he and his family came to Illinois and was one of the early settlers in that state. There he homesteaded forty acres of land and there he reared his family. It was in the locality of the family's first home in that state that the son, John L., grew to manhood and received his educa- tion in the local schools. At the outbreak of the Civil War, John L. Nich- ols was one of the first to give his services to his country in defense of the Union. For four years he served as a sergeant in Company B. Second Illi- nois Cavalry, and rendered excellent services in some of the hardest cam- paigns of the war. At Forts Henry and Donelson he was shot in the body and in the leg, and never fully recovered from the effects of these wounds. At the close of the war he returned to Illinois, where he lived until 1871. when he with his family came to Kansas. In the year before Mr. Nichols came to Marshall county, where he purchased land at five dollars per acre and later had a most difficult time in keeping up the payments. The mar- kets were far distant and the prices were low, and where there was grain or produce to sell, it brought but very little. When the family came to the
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state from Illinois, John L. and his son, Clarence E., made the trip in a box car, having made the journey with the horses and the household goods. The farm the family settled on was undeveloped and unimproved and required much hard work and close economy to bring to the high state of excellence in which Mr. Nichols had placed it some years later. He engaged in gen- eral farming and stock raising until the time of his death on February 10, 1902. He was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife were prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Sarah Nichols was born in her Canadian home on April 12, 1837, and there she received her education in the local schools and grew to womanhood. In 1853, she came with her parents to Illinois, where the family home was established and she was later united in marriage to Mr. Nichols. Her parents, Alpheus and Hannah ( Kennedy) Milmine were of Scotch-French descent and were prominent members of the local com- munity. Mrs. Nichols died at her home near Waterville on March 25, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols were the parents of two children, Clarence E. and Laura M. Butler, who with her family live in Enid, Oklahoma.
Clarence E. Nichols received his education in the common schools and at the Chaddock College, Quincy, Illinois. At Quincy he was united in marriage, by the Rev. M. P. Lackland, on June 11, 1890, to Clara A. Bryner, who was born on November 14, 1862, at Andersonberg, Penn- sylvania, and is the daughter of John H. and Margaret Ann (Rice) Bryner. Mr. and Mrs. Bryner were of German descent and the families were old ones in the state. The mother of Mrs. Nichols died in 1863 and her father in 1874 and she was reared by her grandfather, Benjamin Rice, a native of Pennsylvania, and there she spent her young life and was educated in the academy. After completing her education, she came West with the intention of teaching, but instead she was married. To Mr. and Mrs. Nichols three children have been born: Laura M., born June 10, 1891. a teacher; Alma B., who was born on April 18, 1893, and is now a teacher at Baker University, and S. Geneve, born on July 3, 1896, and is one of the teachers in the Cottage Hill schools. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Nichols being assistant superintendent and district steward.
Mr. Nichols has a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres on which he has lived for forty-five years, having come here with his father in 1870. He has done much in the way of development and improve- ment, having remodeled and added to the house and beautified the place
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by the planting of trees and shrubs, and today has one of the ideal country homes of the township. He is one of the progressive men of the town- ship and county, and his farm is an index of the careful attention that is given it. The well-cultivated fields and the well-kept buildings are an evi- dence of the high standard of living to which Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have accustomed themselves. He keeps a fine lot of stock, and is recognized as one of the substantial and successful farmers and stockmen in the district.
Politically, Mr. Nichols is identified with the Prohibition wing of the Republican party and has represented the party as a member of the central committee. He is president of the Farmers Union and a director of the County Fair Association. As president of the Farmers Elevator Company at Waterville, he has managed the affairs of that organization with marked success, and has won the confidence and respect of the entire body of stockholders. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is one of the active workers of that organization. He has taken an active interest in the affairs of the township, and his best efforts have always been for the betterment and growth of the district. He is a firm believer in the best schools and substantial public improvements, and while he has never been an office seeker, his advice is often sought on matters pertaining to the civic life of the county.
IGNATZ PISHNY.
Ingatz Pishny, one of the successful farmers and stockmen of Cottage Hill township, and the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, was born on October 16, 1866, in Bohemia and is the son of Ignatz and Antonia Pishny, both of whom were natives of that country, where they lived until 1878, when they came to the United States. On their arrival in this country they came direct to Kansas, where they located in Blue Rapids township. Marshall county. Here the father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he developed and improved, and here he farmed for three years, when he purchased eighty acres in section 36, Cot- tage Hill township, where he and his wife now live, he at the age of eighty- two years, and she at the age of seventy-three years. To them were born seven children, as follow: Antonia, who is now the wife of F. Sedivy. of Elm Creek township, where he is one of the prominent residents; Ignatz, the subject of this sketch: Francis, who is now deceased: Frank, who is a resident of Cottage Hill township and the owner of one hundred and sixty
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acres of land; Ladislav J., a well-known blacksmith of Cottage Hill town- ship; Joseph, who conducts a bakery and restaurant at Waterville, and Ernst, the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Cottage Hill township, where he is a farmer and stockman.
Ignatz Pishiny was but eight years of age when he came to the United States with his parents, and located in Cottage Hill township, where he received his education in the public schools and grew up on the home farm. After reaching manhood he was employed on a farm until he was thirty- five years of age. During much of this time he was a foreman of the farm and ranch of Fred A. Stocks near Blue Rapids, Kansas. In 1901 he pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 30, Cottage Hill town- ship, to which he added more acres and then sold the place and bought his present farm in 1910. This farm he has developed and improved to a great extent, having placed many substantial buildings, including a garage, barn and other buildings. He is a shareholder in the Fair Association and the Farmers' Elevator Company of Waterville.
On November 24, 1891, Mr. Pishiny was united in marriage to Ann Krasny, who was born in Bohemia on November 15, 1869, and is the daugh- ter of Frick and Frances (Novak) Krasny. The parents of Mrs. Pishny were also natives of Bohemia and there they grew to maturity and were married. The father lived his life in the land of his nativity and there he died some years ago. In 1889 the mother with her children, Emil, Joseph. Gabriel and Mary came to the United States and located in Omaha and there the mother died in 1892.
To Ignatz and Anna Pishny have been born the following children : Frederick, Vladimir, George, Benjamin, Ignatz, Jr., and Beatrice. Fred- erick is a resident of Cottage Hill township and is engaged as a farm hand, and the other children are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Pishny are active in the social life of the community, and have long taken an active interest in those enterprises that tend to the betterment and the growth of the township and the county. Mr. Pishny is identified with the Democratic party and is now serving as one of the members of the school board. His interest in the success of the schools has always been intense, and to him, perhaps, more than to any other man is due the high-grade schools and the splendid school house of the district. The new building is one of the finest in the county and the schools are up to the highest standard.
Mr. Pishny is one of the most progressive men and substantial farm- ers and stockmen of the district, and his influence has been demonstrated in the advanced condition of the schools as well as the other civic condi-
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tions of the township. He gives his best attention not only to his affairs, but to the good of the community as well, and he is held in the highest regard by all.
JOHN SEEMATTER.
Among the substantial farmers and stockmen of Center township, Mar- shall county, is John Seematter, who is a native of Switzerland, his birth having occurred there on February 6, 1863. He is a son of Henry and Anna ( Begert) Seematter, both natives of Switzerland.
Henry Seematter was born December 22, 1822. and died in 1892. He was a farmer and cheese-maker in his native land, but left there in 1883. coming to the United States and settling at Marysville, Kansas, and here he conducted a creamery for about ten years. His wife was born in 1831, and died on February 22, 1913. They were the parents of five children : Jacob, a farmer of Logan township, this county; Marie, the wife of A. Brauchie, living in the western part of Oklahoma: Anna, the wife of Fred Rubin, liv- ing in Switzerland; John. the immediate subject of this review: and Eliza, the wife of F. Hadorn. a farmer of Rock township. this county.
John Seematter received his education in the schools of his native land. and in 1882 came to the United States to join, his brother, Jacob, who had come to this country two years previously. The brothers farmed together for ten years on the Frank Smith farm, east of Marysville, after which John Seematter rented land in Logan township and engaged in farming and stock raising, and has been very successful in his chosen vocation, as is now evi- denced by his fine farm of six hundred and forty acres. In 1908 he traded a half section of land which he had acquired for his present farm in section 27. Mr. Seematter has made many and varied improvements on his place, installing new and modern machinery and is an up-to-date farmer and stock- man. He has set out a fine vineyard ; has good and substantial farm build- ings, and makes a specialty of breeding and raising Aberdeen Angus cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs. He also keeps a fine apiary on his estate. Besides his farming interests Mr. Seematter is a shareholder in the Winifred Farmers Union.
In 1889 John Seematter was married to Rosa Goetz, who is a native of Germany, but left her native country in 1889, coming to Marysville, Kan- sas, to join her sister, Mrs. Katherine Ungerer. She was a daughter of Dan Augustine and Martha Goetz, both of whom were natives of Germany.
JOIN SEEMATTER AND FAMILY.
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where they lived and died. John Seematter and wife are the parents of eight children : Henry, now living in Montana : Ernst, a farmer of Center town- ship, this county; John, living at home; Anna, the wife of H. Ring, a farmer of Elm Creek township, this county; Rosa. a graduate of Frankfort high school, is now a teacher at Winifred, Kansas; and Albert, Herman and Paul, all of whom are still at home with their parents, the last named being a student of the high school at Frankfort.
Politically, Mr. Seematter is an independent voter, preferring to vote for men rather than for parties, and fraternally, is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
H. RUNKLE.
H. Runkle, one of the well-known and successful farmers of Water- ville township, Marshall county, was born in the state of Indiana on July 6, 1860, and is the son of Emanuel and Margaret (Sawyer) Runkle, both of whom were natives of Ohio and of Pennsylvania-German descent.
Emanuel Runkle was born in 1828 and died on November 2, 1897; Margaret Runkle was born in 1827 and died on December 22, 1898. They spent their early lives in their native state and later located in Indiana. where they lived for a number of years. In 1865 they came to Kansas, and later established their home on a farm west of Waterville, Marshall county. They purchased a farm, which they developed and improved and there made their home until they retired from the activities of farm life. and moved to Waterville where they died. Mr. and Mrs. Runkle were the parents of the following children: Philip, of Kansas City ; Mrs. D. O. Parker, now deceased; H. Runkle, the subject of this sketch; Alonso, on the old home place, and Samtiel, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Runkle were among the highly respected people of the district in which they lived and were held in the highest regard and esteem.
H. Runkle received his education in the log school house of the early times, on the plains of Kansas. He seldom had the opportunity to attend school for more than two months in the year. As a lad he went on many a hunting trip with his brother, Philip, and brought home the slaughtered buffalo and deer. At times his mother would hang out a red cloth to attract the attention of the deer, when his brother. Philip, would shoot the animal. The father would go after buffalo in the fall, and many a wagon-load he
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would bring home with him. There were many Indians in the country at that time and there was a large camp on the home farm. The family made friends with the red men and the father was one of their best friends.
H. Runkle lived on the home farm and there grew to manhood. At the age of twenty-three years, he engaged in farming for himself. He pur- chased a farm on which he lived for a number of years. In 1909 he traded his farm for the telephone exchange, which he operated for two years and sold the business. He then purchased his present farm in Waterville town- ship, where he has made many valuable and substantial improvements. His house is one of the best modern structures in the district and his barn is a modern and convenient structure. He has a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres of high-class land. all of which is nicely improved and under a high state of cultivation.
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