USA > Kansas > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Kansas > Part 32
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JOHN GIVENS-In the progress of events in Montgomery county, influenced by the stubborn hand of man, John Givens, of West Cherry township and a member of the board of county commissioners, has played no inconspicuous part. He came to the county in the early time with industry and character to recommend him, and established himself in the somewhat isolated settlement of West Cherry township. He drove into the county in company with Edgar Burt and Joseph Dayton, all locating claims, Mr. Givens selecting his in section 25, township 31, range 16.
Soon after he located his claim, Mr. Givens went to Osage Mission, now St. Paul, and bought a yoke of cattle, a wagon and a plow. With
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these he began breaking prairie in the spring of 1870, and it was several years before the tillable land was all turned and the buzz of the breaking sod no longer charmed the owner's ear.
As the work of the early years progressed strangers became neigh- bors and friends and the Red Man and the Pale Face carried on an ir- regular sort of commerce with each other. In his bachelor quarters, 14x 16 feet, Mr. Givens occasionally met an Osage Indian and the half-breeds, Louis Shouteau and Lonis Brazill, were frequent callers on errands of bartar and trade. After his marriage the work of the farm moved more satisfactorily along and our subjeet found himself laying surely hold of the substantial things of his career. In 1883. he erected his commodious residence, and barns and cribs and graneries came along one after an- other 'till his improvements resembled a miniature village and his estate grew into Baronial proportions. Four hundred and eighty acres rep- resent the size of his home farm and five hundred and twenty acres his holdings in Rutland township. One thousand acres of land accumulated as the result of one's individual efforts represents an epoch in his life, and is an achievement for which comparatively few farmers are dis. tinguished.
John Givens was born in Lake county, Illinois, in the year 1841, and remained at home in pursuit of the arts of peace 'till the outbreak of the Civil war. September 14th, 1861. he enlisted in Company "C." 5th Ill., Vol. Cav., under Col. Hall Wilson. His regiment went from Blooming- ton, Illinois, to the front and was assigned to the Army of the West, un- der command of Gen. Grant. Mr. Givens took part in the Vicksburg campaign and participated in the battles of Champion Hills, Big Black, and the siege, and was in the Yazoo campaign under Gen. Sherman. His service along the Mississippi river. in Missouri and Arkansas, and, after the fall of Vicksburg, over to Meridian, Miss., includes much of the hard service he participated in, ending in his being besieged for ninety days with typhoid fever. He was discharged at Vicksburg with a military service to his credit of a little more than three years. He entered the army as a private, served much of the time as a non-commissioned of- ficer and was assigned to an occasional extra duty. He returned to Mis- sissippi after the war, where he had a contract for building a country road. This work concluded, he returned to his Illinois home and was en- gaged in farming in Logan county, that state, until his start for Kansas.
In the fall of 1869, he came west by rail to near Fort Scott, where he took the stage to Osage Mission. then an important point in the settle- ment of the new west. From this base of supply he accompanied his two friends to the Osage Diminished Reserve in Montgomery county, where the thread of this narrative has previously been treated.
Mr. Givens' father was Felix Givens, a native of Ireland. The father was a carpenter and he came to America in early life and settled as a
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pioneer in Lake county, Illinois. He was one of three sons, Felix, Rich- ard and Charles, and married Catherine Daylin, who bore him four child- ren, viz: Mrs. Rose Callahan, of Independence, Kansas; Mrs. Mary A. Riley, of Chicago, Illinois; John. of this record, and Felix, of Nebraska.
Mr. Givens married. after three years of bachelor life, Miss Jennie Burt, an lowa lady, and a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Burt. Seven children have come to bless the home of these parents, namely : Mrs. Catherine Henderson. of Montgomery county, with two children, Pauline and Harold; Josophine and Cecelia, with the family homestead; Mrs. Blanche Mangan, of Montgomery county, with two children, Edith and John Me .; Charles and Louis, in California, and Paul.
In his various relations with his fellow man Mr. Givens is most worthy and honorable. He has always manifested a warm interest in public matters and has been called to serve as treasurer and trustee of his township two terms, as member of his school board and is now serv- ing his second term as commissioner of Montgomery county.
LAFAYETTE M. CARSON-The gentleman here named is a mem- ber of one of the oldest and most respected families of Montgomery county, and is himself deservedly popular for the many sterling qualities which he has manifested since coming to years of discretion. His ser- vice in connection with the law-enforcing branch of the county govern- ment has been of a high order and will receive recognition from his party associates in the furture should he manifest a willingness to allow his name to be used.
Lafayette Carson was born in Iowa, where his parents were pioneer residents of Keokuk county. The date was July 1, 1857. He was a bright thirteen-year-old boy when the family settled on a claim in Louis- burg township, and where they have continued to reside. His boyhood was passed in the labor incident to farm life, his schooling being of such a character as could be secured in the limited time at his disposal in the winter. Being of a more than ordinary observant turn of mind, however, this lack of book-knowledge has been largely atoned for. He very early began farming for himself, and, with the exception of one or two periods of official life, has continued to till the soil. He did not wait for his majority, to become interested in public affairs, and, even in his 'teens, was helpful to those who were in charge of the Republican organization. His obliging and courteous disposition soon won him many friends and his services were recognized by his appointment by Sheriff Frank Moses as his deputy, with headquarters at Elk City. In addition to his one termo in this position he has served a number of years as constable of his township and in all his official dealings with the people has, by his con- siderate and thoughtful aets of kindness, drawn forth many expressions of appreciation.
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Touching briefly on the history of the family, the biographer notes the parents of Mr. Carson as William and Seletha ( Marr) Carson. The father was a native of the "Keystone State," the mother of Tennessee. Passing his boyhood in Pennsylvania, William Carson came with his parents, at twelve years of age. to Miami county, Ohio. Later he removed to Shelby county, Ind., where he purchased a farm and began life for himself. In 1847, as stated, he settled in Keokuk county, Iowa. Mr. Carson was a man of the strictest probity of character, careful in all his dealings to give value received, and of stern ideas of justice and right. He died in 1876 and lies in the family burying-ground on the farm which he settled six years before. In religious faith he was a strict Presbyter'an, though always according liberty of opinion to others, as in the ease of his wife, who was a Missionary Baptist, and in her younger days a great worker in that organization. and who still survives her husband, at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. He was a prominent Mason and the lodge in Elk City was named in his honor, being known as Carson Lodge, No. 122. Children were born to them as follows: Robert. a farmer in Oklahoma; Lafayette; Thomas, a farmer of this county; Mattie, Mrs. Dr. Davis, of Independence, Kansas. These children are all useful and re- spected members of society in the different communities in which they reside and deserve the uniform esteem in which they are held.
WILLIAM N. BANKS-William N. Banks, of the firm of Banks & Billings, lawyers, was born on August 15th, 1865, at Hobart, Lake county, Indiana. In August. 1871, his father, George L. Banks, moved with his family to Montgomery county. settling on a farm seven miles west of Coffeyville on the Indian Territory line. Since that time Wil- liam N. has been a resident of Montgomery county.
At the age of eighteen he commenced teaching school and after teaching for two years went to Perdue University at Lafayette, Indiana, for two years, after which he returned to his home in Kansas and con- tinued teaching.
Upon the 13th day of July, 1887, he was married to Ollie M. Jones, after which time he and his wife resided upon the farm. Mr. Banks con- tinuing his teaching in the winter time, until October. 1892, when he en- tered the law office of A. B. Clark as a law student. In August. 1894, he was admitted to the bar and in the following March formed a part- nership with O. P. Ergenbright for the practice of law. This partnership continued until July, 1902, when Mr. Banks became senior member of his present law firm.
There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Banks three children, two of whom, Thomas L. and Edith M., are living, the third having died at the age of three months.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
Mr. Banks has never held public office. except while living in Fawn Creek township he was clerk of the township, and is at the present time serving his second term as a member of the board of education of In- dependence. In politics he is and always has been Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen of America.
DAVID P. GREER-One of the solid men of Sycamore township, and a farmer who has made agriculture pay, is David P. Greer, who re- sides on section 36-32-15.
He dates his birth in Morgan county, Indiana. April 6th, 1856, where he continued to reside on the old home farm until he came to Montgom- ery county, Kansas, in 1880. His first location was seven miles west of Independence, in Rutland township, where he lived until 1889, when he bonght his present farm of 160 acres.
Mir. Greer is a son of Captain John E. Greer, well known throughont the county as one of the pioneers, who made a large property during his life time. The captain was a native of Kentucky and was one of seven children, viz: James M .. of Montgomery county; John E., deceased; Mrs. Mary Carrell. deceased ; Lyman M., of Indiana ; Mrs. Ruth Williams; Alexander C .. of Montgomery county, and Mrs. Amanda Poor. deceased.
The birth of Captain Greer occurred Jannary 1st, 1829, and at two years his parents moved up into Indiana, where he continued to reside until the breaking ont of the Civil war. He entered the Union army and participated in much of the severe service during the four years' war. The following from the Independence Tribune is to the point: "Captain Jolın E. Greer, of Independence township, is dead, at the age of sixty- eight years. In the early part of the Civil war he enlisted at Waverly. Indiana, and went to the front as Lientenant in Co. "F." 5th Ind. Cav .. and was with his regiment, afterward merging into the 90th, in three years of war-except while a prisoner in the hands of the Confederates -- and was promoted to a captaincy for bravery. His regiment was the first to enter Knoxville, Tenn., and was engaged in twenty-two battles.
"During the service. Captain Greer was captured and was, for months, a prisoner in Libby prison. He was active in digging the famous Straight tunnel. but before he could get away was transferred to Belle Isle and from there was exchanged, after being in captivity one year.
"After his return home. Captain Greer was elected to the Indiana Legislature. About 1877 he removed to this county and purchased a farm in Rutland township and gathered his children about him, adding largely to his acreage. Ile prospered and also became prominent in pub- lie affairs."
The wife of John E. Greer was Margaret Petree, of Decatur county,
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A. C. STICH.
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Indiana. She bore him ten children, as follows: Naney E. Pettet, of Montgomery county; William M. and Joseph G., deceased ; David P., Iney C. Wagaman and Abram L., of Montgomery county; Margaret V., deceased ; James E., of the Indian Territory; Annie L. Holden and Oliver L., both of Montgomery county.
David P. Greer, on February 16th, 1877, married Alice Jolly. Mrs. Greer is a native of the "Hoosier State," and is a daughter of Samuel J. and Frances (MeDowell) Jolly. Her children are Oliver G., who mar- ried Mande Perkins, and lives in Sycamore township, with his two child- ren, Ruby Z. and Opal E; Tula F. resides in Independence with her hus- band, Orion Page; Icey M. and David C. are young people at home.
The beautiful rural home which Mr. Greer now owns is the result of his own untiring efforts since coming to the county. He began with the small capital of four hundred dollars, and now owns one of the best quarter sections in the county, well stocked and in a good state of culti- vation. He devotes his land to general farming, and takes a special in- terest in the breeding of Poland China hogs, having this year 100 head of these fine animals.
In a fraternal way, Mr. Greer is a member of the Modern Woodmen, of the A. H. T. A., and of the Home Builders' I'nion. He has taken au intelligent and helpful interest in matters pertaining to good govern- ment in the two places where he has lived in the county, there being but three years since his coming that he has not held a place on the school board. In political life he is also quite active, being one of the staunch workers of the Republican party. He served two terms as justice of the peace in Rutland township, was township treasurer two terms and has been a delegate to numerous county and state conventions, during the past twenty years, having been a delegate to the state convention which nominated Governor Morrill. He and his family have the good wishes of a very large circle of friends in the county and the esteem in which Mr. Greer is held is most universal.
ADOLPH C. STICH-There was born in the quaint little town of Stade, in the ancient province of Hanover, in the German Empire, Oc- tober 13, 1846, a babe, whose early childhood was passed within the shadows of familiar haunts in his native place and gave no promise of an uncommonly strenuous and eventful life. He was a son of humble par- ents, whose household was sustained by the rewards of honest toil and whose righteous lives were a guaranty of the proper rearing of their off- spring. He became a hardy and rugged boy and finally a strong and vigorous youth and the change from the crowded and decaying conditions of the Old World to the openness, freedom and freshness of the New World was an auxiliary to both his bodily and mental development. The
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serions affairs of life began with him after he had acquired a liberal training in the common schools and with the early appearance of that ambition which seemed finally to consume him and. under pressure of which. have his life achievements been wrought. Industry seemed as natural to him as hunger and the reward which it brought was treasured in some way which marked the stepping-stones of his advance. He wasted neither time nor substance and the age of maturity brought him near to the point of occupying a distinct station among men. Spurred on by the enthusiasm of success and guided by the wisdom of a superior and uner- ring mind he has, when just past the meridian of life. reached the aeme of his career and shown to mankind the real genius of his mental bent. Born poor and reared without luxuries, but to habits of a moral and up- right life, and having achieved, through individual efforts. the gratifying rewards of wealth. position and influence, Adolph C. Stich, of Inde- dence, stands a citizen to be prized and a man to be admired.
September 17th. 1872. he began a residence in Montgomery county, Kansas, which has been constantly maintained and which has grown in importance with the lapse of years, The effects of his business connec- tion with the various affairs of the county have been felt to the extreme of every cardinal point and, as it were. by the stroke of his hand con- ditions have been changed and once dormant and slumbering communi- ties have sprung into life and become active industrial centers. His brain and his capital have been a powerful stimulus in awakening the activity that now is and which has placed Montgomery county among the wealthy and progressive municipalities of our commonwealth.
Coming to Independence with some experience as a merchant he be- came a member of the firm of Stich Brothers, doing a general mercan- dise business, and for ten years his energies and his foresight contrib- uted to the wealth and popularity of the firm. In 1883 he purchased, in partnership with Henry Foster. the Hull Bank and became its cashier at once, occupying the position till the change in the name of the insti- tution. in 1891, from The Citizens' Bank to The Citizens' National Bank. at which time he took the presidency of the new concern. This position he has occupied, uninterrupted. since and has tilled with exceptional and singular ability and to the great profit of the institution.
As the demand for factories has sprung up in his city he has been alert to subscribe liberally to their construction and included in the list of enterprises he has thus aided are the Independence Gas Company and the Independence Brick Company. The enterprise which has distin- guished him most as a man of publie spirit, even in advance of the age, is the planning and construction of the magnificent Independence hotel, the "Carl Leon," without doubt the finest hotel in the State of Kansas. In company with G. M. Carpenter, of Elgin, this structure was erected in 1902, at a cost of many thousand dollars and was opened to the public
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February 18, 1903. As an enduring monument to the enterprise of Mr. Stich this building is unrivaled by any to the credit of a citizen of Mont- gomery county. His splendid residence, approaching the magnificence and proportions of a modest palace, is one of the beautiful structures in the city, expensive in appointment and popular as a hospitable home.
Like most boys of foreign birth, A. C. Stich began life on the farm. His father was a merchant in the old country but when the family was es- Tablished in the United States, and at home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, young Adolph's industrial inclination cropped out strongly as a hand at $8.00 a month on the farm. His meager earnings served to reenforce his natural capital and in time he engaged in the agricultural implement business in the famous "celery city" of the "Wolverine State." Leaving there his advent to Independence. Kansas, is announced.
The Stiches came to the United States in 1857. Carl Stich. our subject's father, married Eleanor Hilbers. They represented old fam- ilies of their native Hanover and passed away in Michigan, being the parents of four children, namely: John, of Seattle, Washington; Wil- liam, of Paola, Kansas; Adolph C., of this review ; and Dorette, wife of John Harris, of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Among the first acts which indicated the latent and constructive ability of A. C. Stich, was his invention of a bed spring and the patent of the same. This happened before he was twenty-one and he handled the invention to his advantage, turning it into some of the money which constituted his capital to engage in regular business.
One of the domestic improvements of Montgomery county, which was of momentous interest to its citizens, was the construction of the In- dependence, Virdrgris Valley & Western Railroad, now a prominent part of the Missouri Pacific railway-main line to the south. Stich & Foster secured the contract for the building of the line from Leroy, Kan- sas, to the south line of Independence township. Montgomery county. This piece of road was completed in 1886, and turned over to the Gould interests who consolidated it with the D. M. & A. railway and con- structed the link from near the town of Jefferson to Dearing ,where it connected with the latter railroad. The building of this line and the ex- eention of this contract by Stich & Foster marked the completion of the largest enterprise ever undertaken by Montgomery county promoters. It brought another system of railroad into the county in competition with a single line of road and thereby became a great saving, in the way of rates, to every shipper and merchant in the county.
Mr. Stich was first married in Hillsdale, Michigan, his bride being Anna Winsor, who died in Independence. Kansas, in 1882, being the mother of three deceased children : Carl. Adelaide and Eleanor. In 1888, Mr. Stich married Mrs. Catherine Raisor, a lady of refinement and edu- cation and occupying a high social position in the city. Mrs. Stich has
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served three years as president of the Ladies' Library Association of In- dependence and is a prominent worker in the Presbyterian church. She is the mother of Mrs. W. E. Ziegler, of Coffeyville, wife of one of the leading lawyers of Montgomery county. Mr. Stich's deceased son, Carl, is honored in the first word of the compound name "Carl-Leon" given to the famous hostelry before mentioned, the name, "Leon." being in honor of a deceased son of Mr. Carpenter, one of the partners in its construc- tion.
In this review only the salient features of a busy life have been touched. It is offered to posterity as an illustration of the versatility of one who performed a conspicuous part in the commercial affairs of Mont- gomery county. "Not letting go of one thing till he gathered hold of something else" shows his characteristic tenacity and exemplifies a life of ceaseless and determined activity. He has manifested some interest in the politics of his county and. as a Republican, has wielded a positive influence in local political affairs. He is a thirty-two degree Mason and a member of the Presbyterian church.
DEWITT C. KRONE-A record of the pioneers of Montgomery county would be sbject to just and severe criticism without some ex- tended mention of D. C. Krone. He is so widely known in the county and has been here so long that few can gainsay that he was here, really in the beginning. When he drove his mule team from LeRoy, Kansas, down into this county, winding his way about over the prairies over unknown roadways, across nameless creeks and through untamed valleys and head- lands, nobody here now witnessed his passing, save those who might have accompanied the caravan on the same mission with himself.
He selected. as his future home. a tract of land on Sycamore creek. in section 22. township 31, range 15, where he has, for thirty-four years, carried on farming with its attendant auxiliaries successfully and ef- fectively. His settlement was almost in the midst of a band of Osages, whose chief. Nopawalla, was a frequent visitor to the households of the scattered settlers and with whose tribe a reluctant sort of business and social intercourse was carried on. The minutia which made up the year- ly incidents of a life on this frontier can not be touched upon here and only as they are revealed in the experiences of the numerous pioneers mentioned in this volume will these incidents become known again to us and to our posterity.
The very composition and makeup of the man has maintained D. C. Krone a leading citizen of his township and county. It has been with no presumption on his part. or any disregard of the proper reserve, that his name is first mentioned among the citizenship of his township, or that he is coordinate with only a few distinguished pioneers of his county. He
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seemed designed to take the initiative in matters and the propriety of his acts was so apparent that, of one accord, the voice of neighborly ap- proval came back. In the social life of his community, in its political entanglements or upheavals, in the cause of public education and in the religious atmosphere of his church he is unconsciously a power in the pro- motion of progress and harmony unimpeded.
He has anticipated. in a way, the needs of the future in the pres- ervation of incidents of the past. A student of events himself. his genius has prompted him to make records and to preserve data concerning the salient, historical events of his locality that the past may not become obsenred to the future and that the works of the pioneers shall not have been wronght in vain. He puts his thoughts readily and intelligible on paper and his contributions to county papers contain much food for the searcher after historical truth.
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