History of Montgomery County, Kansas, Part 70

Author: Duncan, L. Wallace (Lew Wallace), b. 1861, comp
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Iola, Kan., Press of Iola register
Number of Pages: 1162

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George P. Dalby was reared on the farm he is now living on, and has only been absent from the old homestead for a short time, which was directly after his marriage, when he lived on three hundred and forty acres of his own. Upon the death of his mother, he returned to the old home, to take care of his father, and look after the farm.

His marriage, to Miss Lucy Betts, occurred March 30, 1890. Mrs. Dalby is a native of Ohio, and was born March 4, 1872. Her parents, Thomas and Ann Beits, are also natives of Ohio, where the mother died, in 1874, leaving Mrs. Dalby, an only child. Mr. Betts came to Kansas, in 1874, and settled in Rice county, where he now resides. He was mar- ried, second, io Mattie Huffman. To this union were born iwo children : Clarence and Clara.

Mr. Dalby has contracted with the Dalby heirs for the old home- stead, one of the finest tracts of land in the county. Two hundred aeres are enltivated, and he keeps from sixty to eighty head of stock on the farm. He is noted for neatness and fidiness, as a farmer, everything being kept in order-hedges trimmed along the high-way. fenees up, and the grounds cleared up and well tilled. Mr. Dalby's start in life was small. but his capital has now, owing to his own personal effort, and strict attention to business, run up into the four-figure column. Two chilthen constitute the issne of Mr. and Mrs. Dalby, viz : Fannie, eleven, and Floy, four years of age. Mr. Dalby is a member of the Odd Fellow Lodge of Havana. No. 343, and, politically, he is a Democrat.

ROBERT B. KNOCK-A leading resident of Caney township and a man who has had a prominent part in the development of the northern portion thereof, is Robert B. Knock, farmer and stock man, living one . an a half miles northeast of Havana. His residence in the township covers a period of thirty-three years, and he has, here, reared a large

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

and respected family, whose individual members occupy responsible and honored places in different walks of life, while he and his good wife have exerted a most healthful influence in establishing the high moral tone which pervades their immediate community.

The grandparents of Mr. Knock were Delaware people. They reared a large family and passed their lives in their native state. One of the sons, Daniel C. Knock, born in 1810, left home at the age of sixteen, and came out to the, then. far western State of Ohio, where, in 1831. he took unto himself a wife, in the person of Phoebe Easley. This lady was a native of the "Buckeye State," born on the 29th of JJune, 1811. The year following their marriage, they came out to Ilinois, where they were pioneer settlers of Fulton county, and where they continued to reside, on the same farm, for fifty-five years. They were better-class farmers, most highly respected, and lived to see their large family of children, esteemed members of society. In this family, there were this- teen children. as follows: John F., who died at thirty-three ; William A .. of Rocky Ford. Colorado: Sarah A .. who died in infancy ; Mary J., de- ceased wife of Joseph Price; Daniel E., of Peoria, Ilinois; Elizabeth, Mrs. John Russell; Rachel E .. wife of William Branson, of Fulton county. linois; Robert B., the subject of this review : Jasper N., of In- dependence : Edith E., Mrs. Dilworth; Russell, of Wyanoka. Oklahoma; Juan F., of lowa; Phoebe J .. wife of J. A. Hooper. of Fulton county. Illinois. The father of this family lived to the ripe old age of seventy- five years, dying in 1885. and the mother outlived him many years, death claiming her. August 14, 1900, being the progenitor of two hundred and seventy-nine children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Robert B. Knock, the gentleman whose honored name initiates this review, was born in Fulton county. Ilinois, December 22. 1811. A mere boy. at the breaking out of the Civil war, he. yet. manfully shouldered a musket and went forth to do battle for the honor of the flag. Company "G." Fiftieth Ilinois Volunteer Infantry. enrolled him. on the Ist day of October, 1861, as a private. He served his full enlistment of three years, returning home almost a physical wreck, resulting from a severe attack of measles. He was with Grant at Forts Henry and Donelson, thence to Shiloh and Corinth. Ile followed Bragg to Chattanooga and, laier, to Atlanta, participating in most of the hard battles of that memorable campaign. His time expiring before that campaign had been fought to a finish, he was compelled to return home, being totally blind and badly broken in health. Ile recovered the use of one eye. after nearly four years, but has. ever since. been. periodically, troubled with loss of sight.

Mr. Knock has always followed a farmer's life. In August of 1870, he and his newly-wedded wife settled on a claim in the vicinity of where they now reside, and. in 1878, sold out and bought their present farm. Here, they are spending the evening of life in comparative plenty. sur-

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TUISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

rounded by loving children and loyal friends, who are proud to do them honor, Mr. Knock has held all the township offices, and has been justice of the peace, for a number of years. He is at present Noble Grand of the Odd Fellows lodge at llavana.

Mr. and Mrs. Knock were married on the 14th of June. 1867. She was a daughter of J. H. and Elizabeth (Swaney) Hussey. both Dela- ware people. (This is the same family of Husseys which were distin- guished. as the inventors of the Hussey reaping machine.) The date of Mrs. Knock's birth was January 11, 1850. Her children are, as fol- lows: Marian L., Mrs. Charles Haas, of Danville, Illinois; John F., of Eureka Springs; Phoebe J., died at sixteen years; Minnie E .. wife of Charles Campbell, of Havana ; Virginia R., Mrs. F. L. Rickey, of Caney, Kansas; Olive G., Mrs. Perry M. White, of Havana; Franklin E., of Farry, Oklahoma: Irwin B., Daniel E., Ethel and Iulia D., all at home.

JOSHUA HOLLIDAY-Joshma Holliday has been the efficient weigh master of the city of Coffeyville since the Dalton raid, and a citi- zen of the city for the past three decades. He was born in Yorkshire, Eng- land, February 22, 1833, one of sixteen children of Joseph and Alice Hol- liday. The parents died in England, the father at eighty-six, the mother at seventy-eight years.

At the tender age of seven years, Mr. Holliday was employed in one of the neighboring coal mines, and remained there, engaged in various branches of the work. until his twenty-fourth year. He then studied civil engineering under his brother, Josiah, and, in May of 1867, he boarded a vessel bound for America, and, after a tempestuous voyage of forty- five days-during which the vessel lost her sails-landed at Quebec. Af- ter a short stay in this city, he visited varions of the lake towns in the employ of the Grand Trunk railroad. About the time of President Lin- coln's election, Mr. Holliday went to St. Louis, where he was foreman, for a time, of what are now known as the Frisco shops. He then worked in several different towns in Missouri and, about 1864, crossed the "plains" to the Rocky mountains, where he spent a year in the employ of mining companies as an engineer.

Returning to Missouri, Mr. Holliday began his first experience in farming for himself, in Saline county, where he rented a quarter section and mmt in a crop. After a visit home to old England, he continued his farming operations near Marshall, and. in 1822. sold out and came to Coffeyville. Thus it appears that he has seen much of the world in travel and has added much to his store-house of general information, which has induced the cosmopolitan character of manner, which adds charm to his conversation. The Coffeyville of today has little resemblance to that which greeted Mr. Holliday on that first visit, and he is proud of the fact

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

that he has been "part and parcel" of the splendid development which has since been made. Mr. Holliday superintended the placing of the first steam engine in the town, in the touring mill of Blaine, Burns & MeCon- nell Brothers. He worked in various capacities until 1875, when he took charge of a switch engine for the L. L. & G. railroad, a position which he held continuously for sixteen years and six months. He was running this engine at the time of the noted Dalton raid and was the first man to enter the town after the destruction of the "gang." In 1892, Mr. Holli- day was appointed weigh master of the city, a position which he has since administered.

Marriage was contracted by our subject. September 17. 1856, when he was joined to Harriet Ingham. a native of England. Elizabeth A .. the only child of this marriage, became Mirs. Watson, and died soon after her marriage. Her mother, and our subject's wife, died in 1864, at the age of thirty-three years. The second marriage of Mr. Holliday occurred in 1877, on the 24th of March, the lady's name having been Sarah Sinh ley, new presiding over his home. Mrs. Holliday is a native of York shire, England, and is the mother of six children, as follows: Mary A., wife of William P. Graham, a contractor in Wyoming; Willie and John- nie, who died in boyhood; Esther, Mrs. Amos Hutson, of Coffeyville; Rufus, married Lottie L. Bryan, and now lives in Independence, a phar- macist. and Charlie, who died in infancy. The mother of this family is the daughter of William and Mary Stubley, both now deceased. After the death of his first wife, Mrs. Stubley again married, and moved to America, and settled in Newberg, N. Y., where he died about 1895.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Holliday are active members of the Christian church, of which Mr. Holliday has been in official connection, in former years. He is a worthy member of the Sons and Daughters of Justice. They have passed a long and honorable life, and are now secure in the love and affection of their children and the many staunch friends they have gathered about them.

PRANK B. SEWELL-There came to the county, in 1869, a gen- tleman and his family who have had much to do with its marvelous de velopment and whose connection with its official and non-official life has at all times been most circumspect and honorable. The name preceed- ing this sketch represents the youngest member of the family at that time, he having been but six mouths of age. The parents were Jo. H. and Margaret ( Hall) Sewell, still honored residents of the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Sewell are both from old and prominent southern families. Mr. Sewell was born in Mobile, Alabama, and at eight years of age removed with his parents to Tennessee. Here he grew to manhood and married. Mrs. Sewell's maiden name was Margart Hall. She was

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

born in 1835, in Lewisburg, Tenn., and was the daughter of a prominent physician of that town, Dr. Hugh A. Hall, a native of North Carolina, and a graduate in medicine of Louisville Medical College. Late in life he removed to Eagleville, of the same state, where he died in 1854. A brother of Mrs. Sewell's. H. C. Hall, was a member of the town company which laid out Independence.

At the breaking out of the war, the training and education of Mr. Sewell having been received amid the influences of southern institutions, the path of duty led plainly into the army of the Confederacy. He be- came a volunteer in the First Tennessee, enlisting at Nashville, in 1861, and serving to the close of the war. He participated in a number of the sanguinary contliets of the middle west, notably, Perryville, Chicka- manga and Missionary Ridge. At Perryville, he was wounded in the left arm, and, at Chickamauga, received a grievous wound in the lower jaw. Prior to his entering the army, Mr. Sewell had been engaged in the newspaper business, as editor of the Lewisburg Gazette. At present, he is employed in the Tribune office, at Independence. He published tho first paper in Montgomery county, Kansas-"The Westralia Vidette."

Frank Sewell was born in Tennessee, in 1869, and. in October of that year. was brought to this county. His education was secured in the dis- triet schools and his life, so far, has been devoted to farming. In 1888. he was joined in marriage to Phoebe. daughter of P. V. Hockett, presi- dent of the Commercial National Bank of Independence. Mrs. Sewell is a native of Parke county, Indiana, where she was born, in 1871. She came to the county, with her parents, when a girl of eleven. Mr. and Mrs. Sewell are the parents of five children : Fern Lucile, aged thir- teen ; Jo H., Jr., eleven ; Gilbert F., nine; Margaret, five ; and Della Ma- rie, two years.

The farm which Mr. Sewell cultivates, is located three miles east of Independence. It consists of seventy acres and he has owned it since 1892, putting on all the substantial improvements.

In the social life of the community, Mr. and Mrs. Sewell are impor- tant and helpful factors. They are staunch members and supporters of the Presbyterian church and are always found in the front, when any good cause is being advocated. Mr. Sewell votes the Democratic ticket. but is too much absorbed in the work of his farm to care for political office.

HARRY JIENCKE-Thegentleman whose name initiates this record is widely known as a commercial man, and as a broker and manufactur- er's agent, has made his headquarters in Independence since 1879, and his residence here, since 1SSS. He was born in the northern part of Ger many, May 27, 1858, and, at the age of eighteen, and with a liberal edu

HARRY JIENCKE.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

cation, he sailed from Hamburg. for New York. He passed through Castle Garden, with other Centennial emigrants, in April, 1876, and rame west, to Chicago, where he was employed, for some time, in various mills of the city. He became identitied with the confectionery business there, and, later on, went on the road, as a salesman, with a line of con- fectionery goods. In 1879, he came to Kansas City and, there, engaged with a firm, in the same business, and traveled for it. till 1892, when he formed the business connection which he now sustains.

In addition to his regular business, Mr. dieneke has, recently. be- come identified with promoting the interests of the Montgomery county mineral belt, by actively encouraging eastern capital to begin develop- ment work for gas and oil in the county. Other sections of the mineral belt have, by his aid, felt the touch of the developer's hand, and, in this, he has profited the state, as well as contributed to his own welfare. His faith in his county is strong, his industry unflagging, and his energy unbounded. It requires the excitement, incident to the road, to awaken all his enthusiasm and bring out all his strong qualities, and the results of his efforts, in whatever direction, will be discernible in southeastern Kansas in after years.

June 30, 1886, Mr. Jiencke married Miss Dick Kaschner, of Neo- desha. She is a daughter of Adolph and Charlotte Kaschner, formerly from Illinois, and among the early settlers of Neodesha, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Jiencke have no children. He is Colonel of the Second Regi ment Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias of Kansas, and holds a member- ship in the Commercial Travelers' Association of Independence. He has one of the attractive homes of the city on North Pennsylvania avenue, and the popularity of his household is universally acknowledged.

LEWIS H. VORE-One of the oldest settlers of Caney township, and the founder of the thrifty village of Havana. is the gentleman whose" name is here presented. Lewis H. Vore, for thirty-two years one of the solid yeomanry of this county. He has, for a number of years, done much of the sale-erving of his section, and is, also. an undertaker.

Lewis H. Vore is a son of Jesse Vore, a native of the "Keystone State," where he was born, in 1805. Catherine Musser, his wife, was, also, a native of that state, and was born in 1810. His occupation was that of a merchant tailor, in his younger days, but. later, he moved to Ohio, and took up farming. Here. he lived from 1859 to 1889, the date of his death, at eighty-four years of age, his wife having died at the age of seventy-six. Of their eleven children, seven survive, viz: Rebecca. Mrs. D. Hoterman ; Matilda, wife of D. Musser; Absalom, a resident of Ohio: Lewis H., our subject ; Catherine, Mrs. F. W. Fealick, of Havana;

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

Mary E., Mrs. T. R. Pittman, of Havana; and Alice, wife of Joseph Moore, of Havana.

The birth of Mr. Vore occurred, in Center county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of March, 1843. He was a sixteen-year-old boy when the fam- ily removed to Ohio, where he was, at once, apprenticed at the carpen- ter's trade. This trade has been his support, for the most part, during his career, though he added farming and the duties of an auctioneer, later.

When the war broke out, Mr. Vore enlisted in the service of the con- struction department of the army, and, thus, showed his patriotism, dur- ing the trying years of that great ordeal. He helped construct some of the pontoon bridges for the army, and was, frequently, placed in most dangerous positions. After the war, he continued working at the carpenter's trade, in Ohio, until 1871, when he came to Kansas. remaining, the first summer, in Fort Scott. In the fall of the following year, he bought the claim upon which he now resides, adjoining the village of Havana, and on eighty aeres of which the village was, later, planted. Here, he has continued to reside and has been instrumental in much of the growth, which has come to this part of the county. His connection with the undertaking and aue- tioneering business, came about in a way that illustrates that "neces- sity knows no law." He was the only carpenter in the vicinity, when the first death occurred, and was asked to furnish the coffin, which he, at first, refused to do, but, later, consented, and has, since, served the community in an undertaker's capacity. In the matter of auctioneer- ing, in an early day, he was appointed administrator of an estate, and. for the sale of the property, he was unable to secure an auctioneer. He sold the property, himself, and, thus initiated himself into the mysteries of a business which he has followed, with great snecess, since.

Mr. Vore owns a nice farm of one hundred and seven aeres, which is what remains of the first claim he bought. When he settled in the county, nature was in its wildest mood, and the country was full of In- dians. The next year after he came, on the 11th of June, he was joined in marriage with Mary F., a danghter of James and Catherine Moore. Mrs. Vore was born in the "Buckeye State," in the year 1849, and has borne children, as follows: Catherine and Irwin, deceased at six months ; Cora, Mrs. L. M. Prather; Amanda, who died at two years; Della B. and Esther B., both residing at home.

The citizenship of Mr. Vore has been of the best character. He has held the office of trustee of the township, at different times, and has al- ways given his cordial support to secure the best educational and relig- ious facilities for the community. He is a member of the U. B. church. Politically, he affiliates with the Democratic party, and, socially, has been a member, for the past twenty years, of the I. O. O. F., and is ,also,

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a member of the A. II. T.A. Ile and his family are esteemed residents of the township, and are most worthy of representation in a volume which is devoted to mention of the prominent residents of the county.

SAMUEL H. WADE-Samuel H. Wade, a prominent farmer and resident of Cherokee township, was born in Somerset, England, on the 28th of January, 1857. His father, Samuel Wade, and mother, Sarah (Butcher) Wade, emigrated to America in 1857, and settled in Michigan, where they resided till 1861, and, then, moved to Illinois, and located at Clinton, where the mother died. at the age of forty-nine, the father yet living in Clinton, aged eighty years.

There were six children in this family, viz: Edward, Ellen, Samuel H., Jehn, Annie and Mattie. Samuel H. Wade, our subject, was the third child of the family, and was but eight months old when his parents came over the sea. Ile was reared on a farm in Illinois, where he acquired only a common school education. When Mr. Wade's mother died, he went to live with his uncle, William Haberfield, where he remained until he was married. The uncle and aunt having grown old, Mr. Wade has built a neat little cottage on his own land, and sent for them, that they may remain with him, the rest of their days, where proper attention can be bestowed. On March 1, 1883, he came to Kansas and located on the farm on which he now lives. He was married, December 19, 1883, to Rosa Potter, a native of Illinois, who came to Kansas in 1882. Mrs. Wade is the daughter of Sylvanus and Nancy Potter, who live on a neighboring farm.

When Mr. Wade came to Kansas, he had only a small amount of money with which to buy land, and he invested it in a farm, six miles northwest of Coffeyville, where he now resides. His farm now comprises four hundred acres of land, on which he has built a two-story residence, and good comfortable farm buildings. The farm is well improved and well cultivated. All his property has been acquired, by his own efforts, since coming to Kansas.

Politically, Mr. Wade is a Populist. He has, ably, filled the office of township clerk, three times, is treasurer of the township, and has served thirteen years on the school board.

Mr. and Mrs. Wade have four children : Grace R., Stephen S., Bes- sie, deceased, and Emery Paul. Mr. Wade is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Coffeyville Camp, and a member of No. 86, A. II. T. A.

WILLIAM C. SEWELL-An ohl settler and a man honorably asso- ciated with the history of this county, is William C. Sewell, a native of

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

Tennessee, born June 11, 1854. His father, Joseph G. Sewell, a black- smith and farmer, married Catherine Mayberry, a Tennessee lady, and came to Kansas in 1871, and settled onOnion creek, Independence town- ship. where he bought and improved a claim to a well-cultivated farm. In Derember, 1882, at the age of fifty-three years, the father died, but the mother still survives, and is now sixty-eight years old. Of this mar- riage, there were four chidren, three of whom are living. namely : John B., Andrew C. and William C.

William C. Sowell came to Kansas, with his parents, in 1871, when he was seventeen years old. His education was received in the common schools of his native state, and his marriage occurred in May, 1876, his wife being Elizabeth James, a native of Ohio county, Kentucky, and a danghier of Joseph L. James, mentioned, liberally, in this work.

Mr. Sewell began life, as a farmer, on rented land, but. after two years, he bought an untamed farm of eighty acres and lived on that, for a short time, when he sold it and became a renter, again, for five years. He bought another eighty-acre tract, the farm where he now resides, five miles northeast of Tyro. This farm he has improved and made one of the finest homes in his township, adding more land, at various times, until he now owns four hundred aeres. On this farm, is a handsome residence. built on a high elevation, from which a good view of Independence, tif- teen miles away, and all the country round, can be had. He, also, has good ont-buildings and a large barn, lighted with natural gas, Gas is used in the house for fuel and lights and for a torch in the front yard.

li was by resistless energy and unity of purpose, that Mr. Sewell has attained this gratifying prosperity. He is township treasurer and has served, as such, several terms, at various times. In politics, he is a Popu- list.

In Mr. and Mrs. Sewell's family are nine children : Gentry L .. Anna B., Walter A., Stella, Harry, Paul and James. Three of the children are dead : Adolphus, who died at eleven years; Lydia at nine years, and Franklin at ten months. Gentry, the eldest, married Eunice Ellings- worth, but the other children are single and at home.

JOHN C. FIELDS-One of the self-made men of the conniy is John C. Fields, an extensive stock raiser, residing on a farm of six hundred and fifty acres, one mile south of the rural village of Tyro. He belongs to that respected band of men who settled in the county at an early day. and whose individual character is stamped upon the society of the coun. ty. He settled upon his present farm, in 1870, having come to the county a year prior to that date.

Noting a few facts in the career of Mr. Fields, it appears that he is a native of the "Keystone State," where he was born on the 11th day of

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.

October, 1848. His parents were John and Johanna ( Wallace) Fields, well-to-do and respected farmers of that state, where the father died, at forty-three years of age, his wife living until 1863, and dying at the age of fifty-four. There was but one child born of their marriage, the father having died when our subject was but one month old.

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History of Montgomery County, Kansas, Part 70

Author: Duncan, L. Wallace (Lew Wallace), b. 1861, comp Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Iola, Kan., Press of Iola register Number of Pages: 1162

Author: Duncan, L. Wallace (Lew Wallace), b. 1861, comp
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Iola, Kan., Press of Iola register
Number of Pages: 1162