USA > Kansas > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Kansas > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
402
11ISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
his birth occurred August 12, 1869. Charles T. Connelly, his father, was also a native of Parke county, where he entered the 9th Indiana Battery for service in the war of the Rebellion. After the war he married Mary McCord and adopted teaching as his profession, which he followed for thirty years. On bringing his family to Montgomery county he located in Independence, later removed to Coffeyville, where he subsequently be- came city marshal, in which capacity he was serving when killed by the Daltons, in October, 1892.
The common schools and Bloomingdale Academy, in his native county, sufficed to give Charles A. Connelly a fair education and at the age of fifteen years he began the printers' trade in the office of the Satur- day Evening Mail. in Terre Haute, Indiana. When he left this office the next year and took a position with the Tribune, of Independence, he oc- enpied an humble place at the case and it was by years of constant strug. gle and self-determination that he finally reached the top rung of the lad. der and was rewarded by an invitation to become a member of the firm.
All through life it has been his consuming desire to become master of his trade. Ingenuity has been everywhere apparent with him and the perfection of his art the arme of his ambition. All of the mechanical work of the office comes under his critical eye.
In March. 1894. Mr. Connelly married Olive M. Stout, an Illinois lady. Glenn and Margaret are the issue of this union.
Mr. Connelly is a Republican, has served on the city council of In- dependence and was a special census enumerator of his locality in 1900. Hle holds a membership in the Methodist church and enjoys, in a high degrec. the confidence of his fellow townsmen.
MICHAEL C MeSWEENY-Michael C. MeSweeny, oil and gas well contractor of Cherryvale, was born in Allegheny county. N. Y., Jannary 30, 1846. His parents were Thomas and Mary (Clark) MeSweeny, both natives of Ireland. In the 30's the father came, while yet a young man, to the United States, where all his active life was spent in farming. He died in Pennsylvania while on a visit, in 1899, at the age of eighty-seven years. Ilis wife, who was a devont member of the Catholic church, died February 7. 1898, in her 630 year. To them were born seven sons and two daughters: John, of Toledo. O .; Michael, subject of this review; Thomas, of Boston ; James J., of Cherryvale; Ingh F., of Chicago; those deceased are: Martin L., Celia A., Melissa M. and Leonard E.
After his school days were over, Mr. MeSweeny left the farm for the oil business, and has been connected with this, and with machinery per- taining to the business, ever since, with the exception of three years, which were spent in New Mexico as an engineer in the employ of a stamp
MICHAEL C. McSWEENY.
403
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
mill and smelter. From the southwest Mr. MeSweeny came to Kansas. He located at Fort Scott first, where he drilled four wells, then drilled the "first" holes at Garnett, Humboldt, Coffeyville and Cherryvale. He has drilled more wells than perhaps any other man in the west.
Mr. MeSweeny came to this county with his family in 1889. and has since resided in Cherryvale. He stands well as a citizen, is enterprising and industrions, and in his line is without an equal in the state. In the municipal life of the city Mr. MeSweeny has taken an active part, serving efficiently in the council for three years.
In 1882. our subject was married to Miss Elizabeth J. Lockhart. Mrs. MeSweeny is a native of Lake county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Lizzie ( Burns) Lockhart, natives of Ireland. The Lockharts came to the United States in 1852 and settled in President Garfield's home town of Mentor. O. The father was a farmer and died in 1851. the wife dying soon after at the age of forty-three years. The children living are: Henry, of Albuquerque, N. M., and Anna J., Mrs. B. F. Palmer, whose husband, during life, was very closely identified with the oil fields of the past. Mr. and Mrs. MeSweeny have a family of six children : Anna, who died at three years. in New Mexico; Mary J., who is attending Sisters of St. Joseph Academy at Fort Scott, and is a graduate of the Cherryvale High School; Joseph, a school boy; John L., Charles M., and Francis. The family are devont communicants of the Catholic church, Mr. Mc- Sweeny being one of the trustees. He is a member of the Select Knights, and of the Sons and Daughters of Justice.
Full of the restless energy of his race, and possessed of mueh busi- ness sagacity, Mr. MeSweeny is one of the kind of men always found in the van of progress. Cherryvale owes him much, and he and his family have the good will of all her citizens.
JAMES W. HARLEY-One of the prominent citizens of the county and at the present time a resident of Elk City, where he is interested quite largely in real estate, is James W. Harley. He is a man in middle life, and has shown a good degree of business sagacity during the past few years. in the handling of real estate, which has placed him in the ranks of the well-to-do citizens.
Mr. Harley is a Canadian by birth, having been born in the Province of Quebec, in 1862. He is a son of William and Mary Ann (Wiggins) Harley, who were of English descent. In 1863, his parents left Canada and settled in the Neosho valley, four miles east of Neosho Falls, Kansas. They. later. returned to Canada, where the father died, the mother still being a resident of Brantford, and is hale and hearty at sixty-seven years of age. Grandfather Wiggins came to Kansas in 1857 and settled in An- dersen county. where he died of cholera a few years later.
404
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
James W. Harley passed his boyhood on the farm in Anderson county, and at the age of twelve years received the appointment of page in the United States Senate, where he served a period of four years, and the experience which came to him at that time was such as to give hin, a splendid knowledge of men and affairs-a knowledge which has been of value to him in later life. In 1888, he came out to the "Sunflower State" and settled in Elk City, where. shortly after. he was joined in marriage with Armilda, danghter of William H. Coleman, a farmer of Louisburg township.
Directly after coming to Elk City, Mr. Harley invested a portion of his earnings in two blocks of property in the city, in whose future he had great faith, and this proved a very wise investment.
For a number of years Mr. Harley was connected with the Missouri Pacific railroad, working as a section hand. During this period he kept his eyes open for the use of his extra funds and, being of a thrifty and saving disposition. was enabled at the end of eleven years to purchase a farm of fifty-five acres in Louisburg township, adjacent to Elk City, and which he still owns.
Mr. Harley had the misfortune. on the 7th of January, 1897, to lose his wife by death. Ilis three children are: Horton. born February 20 1889; Percy, born Angust 20, 1890, and Fannie, born December 8, 1893.
FRANK J. FRANTZ-One of the pioneers of Montgomery county is he whose name heads this personal review. He came into the county in the fall of 1869, with his parents, who settled on Bluff creek. seven and one-half miles south of Independence. His father. Barney Frantz, en- tered and patented a tract of land there and it afterward came into the possession of his son. In 1880. the old home was finally disposed of and our subject has been occupied with rural improvement and development elsewhere. since.
Frank J. Frantz is a native of Monroe county, Pennsylvania. and was born November 6. 1851. His father was born in the same county, like- wise his grandafther, Philip Frantz, who died when our subject was in his infancy-abont 1852. The Frantz family is one of the old ones of Monroe county, having settled there during the Colonial period of our country's history. It is of German origin, as the name indicates, and it, has had to do purely with the agricultural and stock-raising pursuits. Barney Frantz. father of our subject, died in Montgomery county in ISTI, at the age of fifty-six years. Philip Frantz, who died at the age of eighty. tive, was a soldier in the war of 1812, operated a saw-mill as well as to conduct a farm. His family of nine children were: Joseph, Barney. Adam, Charles, Henry, Sammel, Peter, Hiram and a daughter, Kate, who married - - Hawk and moved ont to Ohio.
405
IHISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
Barney Frantz married Matilda Flyght, who survived him twenty- five years and died at Benedict. Kansas, in 1896. Her children are : Frank J. our subject ; Mary, widow of Isaac Howard, of Independence, Kansas; Amanda. who married Brown Langstaff; Sylvester, of the In- dian Territory, and Sadie, wife of Francis Banks, of Howard, Kansas.
Mr. Frantz, of this record, was limitedly educated in the country schools of Pennsylvania, and was married in August, 1872, his wife be- ing Mary E. Laird, a daughter of L. W. Laird, who came to Montgomery county from Missouri, and is now a resident of Independence. He mar- ried Maria Harmon and is the father of four children, of which number Mrs. Frantz is the oldest. Mr. and Mrs. Frantz's children were two in number. namely: Charles, born in 1878, and Ida May, who died in 1898, at the age of seventeen years.
When Mr. Frantz left the old home on Bluff creek he took possession of the J. D. Crouse place, where he resided 'till 1893, when he purchased parts of sections 10 and 15. in township 33, range 15, where he owns one hundred and twenty acres, well tilled and substantially improved. He is one of the thrifty small farmers of his township and his standing as a citizen is as substantial as his standing as a business man. lle is a Republican in politics and is a German Baptist in religion.
MAJOR EPHRAIM W. LYON-The comparatively brief period cov- ered by the life of the Jate Major Lyon in Montgomery county marked him as a citizen of unusual merit and standing and it is meet that his brief memoir be presented in this work as a compliment to the character of his citizenship and to his genuineness as a man.
From early life until death ended his useful career. Ephraim W. Lyon was a printer. He learned his trade in Saginaw, Michigan, where he afterward founded the first daily newspaper, "The Daily Courier." and was identified with its publication for a number of years. He left his case in 1861 to aid in the preservation of the Union and was commis- sioned Captain of Company -, 8th Michigan Infantry. He enlisted at Flint and his regiment formed a part of the Army of the Potomac. He was in the service four years and was promoted to be Major in the field, and was discharged as such officer after an active and honorable service with his command.
He was a Democrat in his position on governmental questions and advocated the claims of his party in an able and clear manner. In his management of the "Cherryvale Bulletin," which he founded in 1882, he demonstrated his capacity as a newspaper man and developed the full strength of his party by his ability as an editorial writer. He was not a college man. having educated himself in a print shop, and by absorption in contact with the world of thought and through the lessons of experi-
406
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
once. He was honored by his party with the appointment of postmaster at Cherryvale during President Cleveland's first term, in a small measure a reward for his long and faithful party service. In society matters he was a Chapter and Commandery Mason and a member of the Presby- terian church.
Major Lyon was born in Geneseo county, New York, June 10, 1831. He was one of three children and was orphaned at five years of age. He married Ellen Pratt, who died in Saginaw, Mich., August 7, 1872. Theil children were: Lella, wife of Alexander McMichael, of Aspen, Colo .; Will P., of Independence, Kansas; Fred W., of Grand Junction, Colo. Two other children, now deceased, were the issue of a second marriage of Major Lyon.
Will P. Lyon, second child of our subject, was born in Saginaw, Michigan, July 23, 1866. His education was acquired in the public schools of his native town and he, also, started life as a printer. He was associated with his father during the latter's lifetime and wound up his newspaper career with the sale of the "Cherryvale Bulletin" in 1891. 1n 1890, he came to the First National Bank of Independence, Kansas, as book-keeper and assistant cashier and has been identified with the insti- tution since. He is a director of the bank and devotes his entire time to its welfare.
June 10, 1891, W. P. Lyon married Jennie Remington, daughter of the late C'apt. Remington, notice of whom appears in this volume. Roger, Allen C. and Lella M. are the issue of this marriage. Mr. Lyon is a Demo erat, and a Blue Lodge. Chapter and Knight Templar Mason, and a work- ing member of the Presbyterian church.
DAVID S. COOK-One of the leading farmers of Montgomery county and an old settler who has made a success in life, is the gentleman here mentioned, David S. Cook. He resides on a splendid farm of ond hundred and sixty acres, three and one-half miles from Elk City. In the years which have passed since his settlement in the county, he has ac- cumulated several nice properties, owning a line farm of three hundred and forty acres on Elk river and another of two hundred and five acres near the town of Coffeyville. These properties are the result of industry and good management during the thirty years he has resided in this county.
David S. Cook was born in Erie county, Ohio, in 1841, and is a son of John and Martha (Stephens) Cook. The family is of German descent on the father's side, John Cook having emigrated from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in the year 1833, and located in Erie county, but later, removed to Williams county, Ohio. Henry Cook. a brother of John, who had serv-
407
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
ed in the German army during the war with Napoleon, also came to America at that time and located on a farm in Erie county, and is now deceased.
Mr. Cook, of this notice, was reared in Williams county, Ohio, where he received a good common school education and assisted in the cultiva tion of his father's farm. In October of 1864, he was joined in marriage with Caroline, a daughter of Clark Backus, a farmer of the neighborhood, and who also operated a saw-mill. Our subject purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty acres, which he enltivated until the year 1870, when he sold it to Mr. Backus and removed to Bates county, Missouri. He, however, remained here but one year and, in the spring of 1871, came to Montgomery county, Kansas, and located the farm on which he now re- sides. Here he has continued his residence and has devoted his attention particularly to the development of the resources of his farm, which is one of the best bodies of land in the county. It is devoted to general farm- ing and stoek raising and is supplied with everything in the shape of buildings and machinery which go to make up the modern farm outfit.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook have reared three children, as follows: Ray, born in 1866, died in January of 1903. Tle married Lizzie Deere, of Mont- gomery county ; Mary, who married Elijah McCaul, a farmer living three miles northeast of the Cook farm. Her children are: Eva, Emma, Lloyd and Herman; Susan, the last of the list, lives at home with her parents.
The correct and upright life which Mr. Cook has lived in Montgomery county since his settlement, has resulted in endearing him to a large cir- cle of friends in every part of this and adjoining counties. He and his family have had very much to do with maintaining the high moral tone of the immediate section of the county in which he resides, and are deserv. ing of mention in a volume devoted to the more worthy residents of the county.
JOB DEER- This leading and influential agrienlturist and stock- man of Montgomery county lives with his family in a commodious and comfortable home at No. 401 North Second street, Independence. Ile has been a resident of the county since 1881, the earlier portion of the time having been passed on farms in different parts of the county, one of which, an eighty acre tract, he still owns.
Mr. Deer was born in Fountain county, Indiana, April 26, 1848, the son of Urial and Frances ( Long) Deer, natives of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. They were thrifty farmers, pioneers of the blue grass region of Kentucky, and later of Fountain county, Indiana. Here they lived out the measure of their days. the mother dying at the early age of thirty six, the father marrying a second time and dying in 1889, at the advanced age of seventy-six. They were faithful adherents of the Baptist
408
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
church (old school) and were prominent in every work that meant the betterment of the social or religions condition of their neighborhood. In- tensely patriotic, they engaged enthusiastically in the work of ameliorat ing the condition of the soldiers and their widows and children during the war, the father possessed, in a high degree, the confidence of Indiana's grand old war Governor, Oliver P. Morton. There were seven children in the first family and two in the second, seven living.
Job Deer was reared to farm life in the old "Hoosier State." and se- cured a fair common school education, though, like many another lad of his. time, it was sadly interfered with by the great Civil War. He was most restive under the age limit, and welcomed the day when, at sixteen years of age, he entered the service of his country. He became a member of Company "G." 133rd Ind. Vol. Inf., and was immediately sent into the heart of the enemy's country, doing guard duty at Bridgeport, Ala. It cannot be said that our subjeet was very favorably impressed with the character of the service he was called on to render, but he did his duty faithfully, until the measles put him into the hospital, where he remained until the expiration of his service. Returning home, he was rapidly re- fruited under the watchful care of his oldest sister and again sent forth to do his part in the great struggle. This time he became a private in Company "E." 149th Ind. Inf .. and again went to the far south for gar. rison duty. Here he remained until the close of the war, leaving Decatur. Ala., in October of 1865, and being mustered out at Nashville shortly after.
Mr. Deer remained in Indiana until 1881, engaged in general labor- ing work until 1878, when he married and settled on a farm. He located on a quarter section in Fawn Creek township, Montgomery county, in the spring of 1881, which he sold in 1884 and removed to Rutland township and resided five years, then spent a short time in Independence township, when be moved to town, since which time he has been engaged in handling stock.
He was married on the 25th of December, 1877, to Miss Sarah J. Sur- bangh, a native of Indiana, daughter of Rev. A. Surbaugh, a minister of the M. E. church. To this marriage there were four children born : Frances, a young lady at home; JJohn B., a clerk, married Gertrude Wad- man ; A. Clyde, a lligh school student ; and a deceased infant. On the 6th of October, 1902, the family was called on to mourn the unspeakable loss of the mother. In all respects Mrs. Deer was a most exemplary character. She was especially devoted to husband and children. No service was too great for their comfort, and the loving care with which she brooded over her little flock was a subject of gracious wonder among her host of friends. Truly may it be said, "Gone, but not forgotten. She was a consistent and active member of the Friends' church, where her
409
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
loss is greatly felt. Mr. Deer is an elder in that church, is especially active in the cause of temperance, and is found leading in every work which looks to the uplifting of humanity. The solid character of his citi- zenship is a matter satisfactory to his hosts of friends.
IGNATIUS STRECKER-In the autumn of 1869, there came to Montgomery county a German settler whose service in peace and in war. in his native land, had amply equipped him for the hardships incident to a frontier life. It was Ignatius Strecker, of this notice, who took a claim near Coffeyville and passed a brief time there. For his claim he was paid the sum of $2,000.00, and then began a brief residence in Cowley county. Kansas. Coming back to Montgomery county, in 1874, he settled on a farm in section 3, township 31, range 16, where he owns two hundred and twenty acres.
Ignatius Strecker was born in Helmsdorf, Prussia. October 18, 18413 and was a subject of the German king 'till 1868. His father was Jacob Strecker, and his grandfather was Joseph Strecker, both native of Helins- dorf village and were son and grandson of John Strecker, of the same town. The last named married Maria C. Schoenfeldt, of that village, and to them eight children were born. the oldest being Joseph, who married Maria E. Rogge. The issue of this latter union were: Adam, Jacob, Catherine and Maria. Jacob, Jr., married Maria A. Menge, of Lengen- field. This couple had four sons: Joachim. Adam, John and Ignatins.
For his wife Ignatius Strecker married Agnes Inglis, a daughter of William and Sarah (Galligher) Inglis, of Paisley, Scotland, and County Donegal, Ireland, respectively. Mrs. Strecker was born at Sault de Ste Marie, Michigan, September 18. 1852, and accompanied her parents to Montgomery county. Mr. Inglis enlisted in Monroe county, Michigan, in 1818, in Col. Winans' regiment. and served under Gen. Scott in the Mexican war. He was in battle at Vera Cruz, helped take the City of Mexico, and was wounded at the National Bridge. In May, 1870, he came to Montgomery county, Kansas, and located on the claim, now the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Strecker.
Mr. Strecker served three and one-half years in the Austria-Prussian war. He served under. Gen. Black, commanding the 4th Battery, and took part in the decisive battle of Koenig Gratz. During his service he was three times severely wounded, a saber laying open a deep gash in his lower jaw and a musket planting a leaden missile permanently in one o? his legs, a wound which has always given him trouble and physical suf fering In March, 1868, he sailed for the United States and soon after made his appearance as a settler in Montgomery county. His industrial efforts have all been directed in the line of agriculture and stock-raising and the present finds him one of the substantial men of his township.
410
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
To Mr. and Mrs. Strecker have been born nine children, viz: Sarah, wife of John Englert, with two children, Ignatius E. and Joseph A .; Mary and Agnes, with the parents at the old home; Jennie, wife of Daniel Maher; William J., Beatrice J., Catherine E .. Christine and Ig- natius E.
HARRIET A. HART-Among the hosts of gallant defenders of the nation's flag during the trying days of the Civil war, who turned their faces westward to seek a home on the broad prairies of Kansas, was Lient. Silas Hart, of Highland county, Ohio. He settled with his family in Drum Creek township, where he purchased a portion of Uncle Sam's domain and began life anew. Lieut. Hart died in 1879. A man of in- tensely patriotie impulses, kind-hearted and generous to a fault, he was mourned sincerely by his comrades of the G. A. R. and the hosts of friends he had made in his adopted state. He was born in 1838, in High. Jand county, Ohio, and was a son of Wm. and Beulah (Nordike) Hart.
In September of 1861, he enrolled his name among those destined to live forever in the annals of a grateful country, and went forth to do and to die for "Old Glory." He became a private in Company "B," 40th Ohio Vol. Inf., and by reason of meritorious conduct on the field of bat- tle was advanced to a First Lientenaney. He was mustered out in 1864. His service was in the middle west and south and comprised participa- tion in the battles of Chickamauga. Lookont Mountain. Missionary Ridge, the memorable Atlanta campaign and Jonesboro. His command then became a part of the army which followed Hood back into Tennessee. and he was present at the bloody battles of Franklin and Nashville. Lieut. Hart then returned to the home of his boyhood, where there was waiting for him the sweetheart whose prayers and tears had sustained him through the hours of danger and on the dreary march. The marriage was consummated at once, the date being December 8, 1864. The name of the lady who had thus won the gallant soldier boy was Miss Harriet A. Graham, danghter of Robinson and Elizabeth (Strain) Graham, and who now survives her soldier husband.
Mrs. Hart was born in Highland county, Ohio. Grandfather Strain and also Grandfather Graham were early pioneers of that county, where they earved their homes from the virgin forest and endured the trials and hardships of that early time with the fortitude for which their class was proverbial. After marriage Mr. Hart went to Southern Tennessee and engaged in the lumber business for a time; thence to Waterloo, Ala. This section, however, was not to his liking, and in 1871, as stated, the family turned their faces westward.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.