USA > Kansas > Nemaha County > History of Nemaha County, Kansas > Part 58
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Mr. Ford is allied with the Democratic party, and is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Axtell, Kans., and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Ford is religiously allied with the Methodist church.
James E. Kirk .- The Kirk family is one of the real pioneer families of Kansas, the migration of the family from Illinois to Brown county, Kansas, having taken place fifty-two years ago, in the spring following the birth of James E. Kirk, prosperous and well known farmer of Clear Creek township, Nemaha county. He whose name heads this review was born on a farm in Hancock county, Illinois. January 8, 1864, a son of Lewis Amos and Mary A. Henderson) Kirk, who were natives of West
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Virginia and Ireland, respectively. Lewis A. Kirk was born in June, 1828, and was a son of Lewis Kirk, a native of Scotland, who emigrated from his native land in a very early day and married a Miss Overholser, of Pennsylvania. After a residence of some years in West Virginia he made a settlement in Ohio, where Lewis Amos was reared and married to Mary A. Henderson, born in Ireland in 1831 and left her native land when twelve years of age with her parents and came to America. After this marriage Lewis A. Kirk migrated to Hancock county, Illinois, where he resided until 1864. Attracted by the tales of the cheap and rich lands to be had in the West, he migrated to Brown county, Kansas, in 1864, and invested in 160 acres of land, upon which he built a log cabin and reared his family. He later moved to Jackson county, where he died in 1896. The wife and mother died in 1907.
James E. Kirk was reared to young manhood in Brown county and received a district school education. He has grown up with Kansas and is one of the genuine pioneers of the State. He settled in Nemaha county in 1878 and purchased a tract of raw land, which he has since improved considerably. He is now the owner of 440 acres of. land in Clear Creek and Marion townships and has been a breeder of Hereford cattle for some years.
Mr. Kirk was united in marriage with Miss Adeline Wagor in 1897, and Mr. and Mrs. Kirk have had born to them twelve children, as fol- lows: Nellie, deceased ; Floyd, a farmer in Marion township; Mrs. Pearl E. Connet, in Marion township; Mrs. Bertha Bare, living in Marshall county, Kansas; one died in infancy; Rena, George, Marie, Geneva, Howard, Edna, at home, and James R., deceased. Mrs. Adeline Kirk was born January 6, 1870, near Winterset, Iowa, and is a daughter of Bernard and Mary (Griffith) Wagor, who came to Brown county, Kansas, from Iowa in 1874. Bernard Wagor was a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil war, having enlisted in an Iowa regiment. He is now living at the National Soldiers' Home in Leavenworth, Kans. Mrs. Wagor died in September, 1915, at the age of sixty-four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk are members of the Methodist church. Mr. Kirk is a Republican and is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Axtell, Kans. He is one of the well known and progressive farmers of his section of Kansas.
Lewis L. Kirk, farmer of Clear Creek township, was born in Han- cock county, Illinois, December 5, 1861, and is a son of Lewis A. and Mary A. (Henderson) Kirk, the former a native of West Virginia and the latter a native of Ireland. Lewis A. Kirk removed from his native State to Ohio with his father, Lewis Kirk, in an early day. Lewis, the grandfather of the subject, was a native of Scotland and his wife was born in Pennsylvania. Lewis A., the father of Lewis L., was born in June, 1828, and died in February, 1896, in Jackson county, Kansas, where he had removed in his later days, having first settled in Brown county, Kansas. Mrs. Mary A. (Henderson) Kirk was born in Ireland
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in 1831 and left her native isle with her parents when twelve years of age. Her father settled in Ohio, where he died . (See sketch of James E. Kirk.)
The parents of Lewis L. Kirk migrated to Kansas from Hancock county, Illinois, in 1864, and made a settlement in Brown county, where the subject was reared and educated in the district schools. In 1884 he went to Marshall county, Kansas, and rented land for a time and was enabled to buy eighty acres of land, which he sold in 1890. He then came to Nemaha county and bought his present farm of 240 acres in section 32. This farm has twenty acres of natural timber which is an asset in this section of the country.
Mr. Kirk was married in 1883 to Miss Minda Adams and this union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Mrs. Ethel Bowhay, of Axtell, Kans .; Paul, Hugh, John, Olive, Lida and Mary, at home with their parents. The mother of these children was born April 5, 1860, in Nemaha county, and is a daughter of Jesse and Jane (Day) Adams, natives of Indiana and early settlers of Washington township, Nemaha. county.
Mr. Kirk is politically allied with the Republican party and is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of the Axtell lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he has held offices.
John W. Law .- The late John W. Law of Center township was an industrious and upright citizen who bequeathed to his progeny a heritage of honest and honorable dealings which will live long in the memory of those who knew him best. He and Mrs. Law accomplished a great deal during the twenty-eight years of Mr. Law's residence in Nemaha county. He succeeded in accumulating a fine farm which now forms the home for his family, and it is meet that a man's accomplishments while on earth live after him. The Law homestead is a fitting monument to the tireless energy and ambition of this departed citizen.
John W. Law was born on a farm in Washington township, Carroll county, Illinois, May 6, 1860, and was a son of William and Ellen Gillog- ly) Law, natives of Ireland, who immigrated to America and settled on a farm in Carroll county, Illinois, where their son, John W., was reared to young manhood and married. Mr. Law lived in his native State until 1885, and then migrated westward to Kansas in search of a permanent home where lands were cheaper, and opportunities for getting ahead seemed to be better. Mr. and Mrs. Law settled in Center township, Nemaha county, and for the first few years of their residence here, lived on rented land. They carefully saved their earnings, and were enabled to purchase a quarter section of land after renting from Frederick Wag- ner, Mrs. Law's father. In 1893 they made their first investment in the tract, now known as the Law homestead, located in the southwest quar- ter of section 31. The farm consists of 320 acres of well improved and very rich land, half of which lies in Marshall county, Kansas. This half section of good land is quite an accumulation for a young couple who began life in Kansas with very few worldly possessions.
JOHN W. LAW.
MRS. JOHN W. LAW.
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When Mr. and Mrs. Law left Illinois en route to Kansas, they shipped a team of horses, two milch cows, household goods and farming implements, having a total value of about $500. This was all they owned in the world excepting $5 in cash, after paying their railroad fares to Ne- maha county! At the time of their purchase of the Law farm, it was im- proved with but a small three room cottage, and a straw stable. These mediocre buildings have since been supplanted with more pretentious structures. The home has been remodeled into a beautiful, two story, seven room cottage, rebuilt in 1909. The barn was built and painted in 1009, and is a large structure, 40x36 feet in dimensions. John W. Law passed to the realm from which no man returneth, on January 13, 1913. He was a good Christian, having been a member of the Presbyterian church, and was affiliated fraternally with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. Law was married October 14, 1884, to Barbara Wagner, and this happy marriage was blessed with eight children as follows: Earl, for- merly' a clothing merchant at Effingham, Kans .; Ellen, wife of Walter Sunderland, Marshall county, Kansas; Anna, wife of Ellis Polsen, farmer in Center township; Fred, farming in Marshall county ; Hyla, studied in Centralia High School, and was formerly a teacher; Walter, at home; two children died in infancy .. The mother of the foregoing children was born in Carroll county, Illinois, April 7, 1858, and is a daughter of Fred- erick and Anna Mary (Brown) Wagner, the former of whom was born in Germany in 1827, immigrated to America when twenty-one years old , (1848), and located on a farm near Savannah, Ill. He lived upon his farm for forty-three years and died in 1910. In November, 1884, Mr. Wagner bought a half section of land in Nemaha county and made a settlement thereon. After five years' residence in this county, he was induced to return to the old home in Illinois at the solicitation of two of his dangh- ters who were homesick and wished to return to the old home scenes. Mrs. Mary Brown Wagner, his wife, was born in 1818, and died in 1865. There were seven children in the Wagner family, three of whom accom- panied their father to Kansas.
Mrs. Barbara Law, widow of John W. Law, is capably managing the estate left by her husband, and is succeeding in the conduct of the farm. The late Mr. Law was well liked in the community in which he estab- lished a home, and his memory will live long in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best. He was a kind husband and a good father to his children, whom he wished to have the advantages of a good educa- tion and a comfortable home.
William H. Van Verth, successful farmer of Marion township, was born August 3, 1865, in Doddridge county, Virginia, (now West Vir- ginia), a son of Henry and Mary (Barnes) Van Verth, who lived their lives on a farm in Doddridge county. Henry Van Verth, the father of William H., was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1824, and immigrated to America in 1842, first settling in Maryland, where he worked as farm
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hand until his removal to Virginia. . He became the owner of a fine farm in Doddridge county, and reared a family of nine children. He died in 1915. Henry and Mary Van Verth were the parents of the following children: Lusetta, deceased; George B., a farmer in Marion township ; John A., deceased ; Mrs. Mary A. Foster, living in Spencer, W. Va .; William H., the subject of this review; Allison E., residing in Ed- mond, Okla .; Mrs. Ida Brannon, living in West Virginia; Henry L., a merchant of Hiawatha, Kans .; Mrs. Lummie, wife of W. L. Cole, New Milton, W. Va. The mother of the foregoing children was born in Maryland in 1841, and died in West Virginia in 1877.
William H. Van Verth was reared to young manhood on the home farm in West Virginia, and attended the district school with his neigh- bors, Joseph and Fred Severin, who are also located in Nemaha county, and whose life careers are given at length in this volume. Mr. Van Verth remained in his home State until 1885, and then decided to come West, where opportunities for achieving success were much better than in the East. He first located in Doniphan county, Kansas, and worked as farm hand for five years. He saved his earnings, and was enabled to rent land in Marshall county, Kansas. He cultivated his rented land until 1895, and then bought his present home farm of 163 acres in section 6, Marion township, Nemaha county. He has made many im- provements on this farm, and has a nice orchard, which he planted after purchasing the land, and owns 160 acres in section 1, Murray township, Marshall county. Mr. Van Verth keeps good graded live stock on his place, and aims to market his farm production in mer- chantable beef and pork.
Mr. Van Verth was married, in 1895, to Miss Nellie M. Billings- ley, and to this union six children have been born, as follows: Minnie, Ernest N., Grace V., Ralph D. and Hazel M., at home; Lusetta is de- ceased. The mother of this fine family of children was born in 1877, February 7, in Marshall county, Kansas, a daughter of James and Sa- rah (Kelsey) Billingsley, natives of Missouri, and early settlers in Mar- shall county, Kansas.
The Methodist church has the allegience and support of the mem- bers of the Van Verth family. Mr. Van Verth is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights and Ladies of Secur- ity, and the Farmers Union. It is to his everlasting credit that he began life without a dollar of his own, and has worked his way upward, unaided, to achieve a position of comfort and moderate wealth, solely by means of hard work and the exercise of good financial judgment and frugality. His thirty years in Kansas have been well and profita- bly spent in behalf of his family and his home community.
Benjamin C. Rethmann .- He whose name heads this review is a son of pioneer settlers of Nemaha county, and is living on the old home place of the Rethmann family where they first settled when they came to this county. The Rethmann farm is one of the best improved places
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in the county, and the owner takes a just pride in keeping up the ap- pearance of the place at all times. The farm residence sits well back from the road and is reached by a driveway. Mr. Rethmann does not depend upon the ordinary farming methods for a livelihood, but is a specialist in the breeding of Duroc Jersey hogs and ships the product of his breeding pens to fanciers in all parts of the country. He and his wife are also interested in the raising of the Rose Comb Rhode Island Red poultry, and the family income is considerably enhanced by breed- ing large numbers of this splendid breed of poultry.
Benjamin C. Rethmann was born December 10, 1886, on the farm which he now owns in Marion township. He is a son of Clements and Agnes (Lutmerding) Rethmann, concerning whom the reader is re- ferred to the sketch of Charles Rethmann which appears in this history. He was reared to young manhood on the farm and attended district school No. 59. When he came to man's estate and began doing things in his own behalf, he became the owner of the homestead farm of 280 acres, located in section 14, Marion township.
Mr. Rethmann was married in 1909 to Miss Elizabeth Haug, who has borne him the following children: Agnes, Mary, Christena and Karl Vincent, at home. Mrs. Rethmann was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, November 5. 1891, and is a daughter of A. B. and Grace (Miller) Haug. natives of Germany. The Haug family left their native land in 1892 and the parents of Mrs. Rethmann are now living at St. Benedict's. Mrs. Rethmann was reared in the village of St. Benedict's,, attended the parochial schools of that place and pursued a music course at Mt. St. Scholastica Academy in Atchison, Kans.
Mr. Rethmann is a Democrat who takes an active interest in county affairs and wields a certain amount of influence for good in his commu- nity. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association. He and the members of his family are affiliated with the Catholic church. There are no better people to be found than the Rethmanns, and Mr. and Mrs. Rethmann are fair types of the modern, progressive agriculturalists.
Charles and Sarah S. Guise .- The late Charles Guise, of Adams township, Nemaha county, Kansas, was born in Hessendarnst, Germany, November 27, 1843, and was a direct descendant of the Duke of Guise in Germany. He left Germany with his parents when but a few years of age and worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and Ohio for twenty years. He was married in Ohio and came to Nemaha county in 1886, where he and his wife settled on a farm of 160 acres, which was given them by the father of Mrs. Guise. This farm was located in section 1, Adams township, and was poorly improved at the time the Guise family located thereon. Mr. Guise improved and cultivated the land until his demise in 1898.
He was married in Ohio to Sarah S. Gilmore, and nine children were born to this marriage, as follows: Mrs. Stella Pickard, Mobile,
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Ala .; Henry, a farmer of Adams township; Theo and William, farmers in Western Kansas, located on 640 acres of land which was given them by their mother in Thomas county; John, postmaster at Brewster, Thomas county, Kansas; Lyman C., a teacher in Leander College, To- ledo, Iowa, and formerly a teacher in India ; Carl, a teacher at Parkville, Mo. ; Edna, the fourth child, deceased ; Earl, a stockman in Missouri. Mrs. Sarah S. (Gilmore) Guise was born at Pomeroy, Ohio, May 6, 1846, and is a daughter of Isaac M. and Polly (Stivers) Gilmore. Isaac Gilmore was born in Ohio and came to Kansas in the early pioneer days in 1859. He bought ten quarter sections in Nemaha county, upon which the only improvement was a hewn log cabin built by the homesteader who pre-empted the land. He gave this land to his children.
Mrs. Polly (Stivers) Gilmore was born in New York, February 2, 1821, and was a daughter of Benjamin and Sophronia Stivers, who mi- grated to Meigs county, Ohio, in 1835. The marriage of Isaac Gilmore and Polly Stivers took place at Pomeroy, Ohio, in 1841. Isaac M. Gilmore died in July, 1864.
Mrs. Guise was reared and educated in her native city of Pomeroy and taught in the district schools of the neighborhood for a few years prior to her marriage. She is the owner of 160 acres of well improved land and formerly owned land in Thomas county, Kansas. She is a member of the Congregational church.
John Leroy Smothers, merchant and city official, Oneida, Kans., was born in Georgetown, Colo., December 8, 1875. He is a son of John Wesley and Mary E. (Glaze) Smothers, who were the parents of eight children, as follows: John Leroy, with whom this review is directly concerned ; Mrs. Stella Cave, Sabetha, Kans .; Harry, a manufacturer, Kansas City, Mo .; Mrs. Nellie Bechtold, Salina, Kans .; Earl, deceased ; Florence, Kansas City, Mo .; Charles, deceased ; Genevieve, Kansas City, Mo. John Smothers was born at Cairo, Ill., in 1849, and was a son of John W. Smothers, who was a farmer and a native of Kentucky. John W. Smothers, father of John Leroy, was educated in the Cairo, Ill., schools and graduated from the high school, and taught school until 1873. The fol- lowing year, 1874, he went West, and located at Georgetown, Colo., where he was placed in charge of the toll gates of a Government owned rock road or turn pike. He was married in Colorado, and three of his children were born at Georgetown. He remained in Colorado until 1882, and then came to Oneida, Kans., where he established a general store with a stock of goods valued at $1,500. His store was located in an old building, 14x30 feet in size until 1887, when he erected a larger building, and increased his stock of goods. The new building was a frame, 50x100 feet in extent. John W. Smothers was a public spirited citizen, who did a great deal in the way of permanent good for Oneida. He was active in the fight to close the pool halls and saloons, and he was a strong temperance advocate. He took great pride in the appear- ance and well being of his home town, and assisted in building the
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Methodist church, of which he was a member and trustee. He was a liberal donator to all public and religious enterprises, and was a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He died February 18, 1900. Mrs. Smothers was born at Iuka, Ill., in 1853, and now makes her home at 4235 Chestnut street, Kansas City, Mo., with two of her children. Mrs. Smothers has a beautiful home in Kansas City, finished in stucco and of eight rooms. The passing of John W. Smothers left a distinct and unfillable void in the civic life of Oneida, and the city was left without its leading and most enterprising citizen of the past decade.
John Leroy Smothers graduated from the Oneida High School and, during the years 1894-1895, attended Baker University at Baldwin, Kans., where he pursued a commercial course. Upon his return to Oneida, he became associated with his father in the mercantile busi- ness, and is now a half owner of the business, in partnership with his mother. Mr. Smothers is following in the footsteps of his able parent, and is one of the main hustlers of Oneida. His stock of goods carried at all times in the store will exceed a value of $12,000 to $15,000.
Mr. Smothers was married to Miss Vida M. Cave, in March, 1904, and two children were born to this union, namely: Avis, born May 9, 1905, and Hildred, born September 9, 1910. Mrs. Vida (Cave) Smothers was born at Hamilton, Mo., August 17, 1888, and is a daugh- ter of Dr. Samuel C. Cave, who married a Miss Vandivert. Dr. Cave was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and enlisted for service in an Ohio regiment. After the war, he located in Missouri in 1866, where he practiced medicine for many years. He is now retired from active practice, and resides with his children in Sabetha, Kans.
Mr. Smothers is a Republican, and has been a member of the Oneida city council since 1896. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is secretary of the local lodge. He is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Herbert L. Wait, publisher of the Centralia "Times," was born Oc- tober 24, 1873, in Centralia, Kans., and is the son of Enos and Marion (Fuller) Wait, to whom were born these six children: Mrs. Cora Rob- inson, widow, Centralia; James, dentist, Superior, Neb., graduate of Kansas City Dental School ; Mrs. Adaline Mead, deceased ; Herbert, sub- ject of this review ; Leverne, living with parents; Mrs. Bertha Bateman, Salina, Kansas. ' The father was born in Ohio, 1842.
Mr. Wait attended grammar school in Centralia and later went to Casper, Wyo., where he worked in a printing office two years. He came back to Centralia and worked in the "Times" printing office until 1900, when, with Arthur P. Jackson, he bought the "Journal" office, the two offices having been consolidated. Later he bought out Jackson's interest and increased the circulation of the paper by two hundred copies. He was married in 1897 to Nettie Hyde, who was born in Hiawatha, August 5, 1878. She is a daughter of James Harvey and Anna (Brokman) Hyde. The father was born in Overland, Ohio, and
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the mother in Indiana. He came to Kansas with his parents in 1869. His father, Dr. John Harvey Hyde, was a dentist,, and enlisted in Illi- nois. James Hyde was a printer and is now working with his son-in- law in Centralia. John Hyde worked for John P. Cone in Seneca as a printer. Anna Hyde was born in Indiana in 1858 and is a daughter of William H. and (Miss Roswell) Brokman, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively.
Mr. and Mrs. Wait are members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Wait belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is an independent Republican. Mr. Wait edits a good newspaper and has a large influence among his readers who support his paper with adver- tising and subscriptions.
Lawrence Howard Gaston .- It has been stated by a competent au- thority on such matters that there are a number of live stock breeders in Nemaha county who, if they had the recognition to which they are entitled, would take first rank among the breeders of the United States. Nemaha county farms are productive of some of the finest, well bred stock in the country. Among these breeders and one of the best known for the excellence of the products of his stables, is Lawrence Howard Gaston, whose attractive and well improved farm of 240 acres is located in Mitchell township not far from Seneca. Mr. Gaston's Shorthorn cattle have won more than a local reputation.
Lawrence Howard Gaston was born in Stark county, Illinois, May 12, 1857, and is a son of Robert H. and Isabella (Bonar) Gaston, who were the parents of four children, as follows: Mrs. Martha Hervey, deceased; Mrs. Catharine Hogle, deceased ; Robert J., living on a farm near Council Grove, Kans .; Lawrence Howard, with whom this review is concerned.
Robert H. Gaston, the father,, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, April 1, 1820, and became a farmer in his native State, then removed to Illinois, where he resided until 1884, when he followed his son, Lawrence, to the West, and invested his capital in Nemaha county land and made a home at Seneca until his demise, March 31, 1887. His wife was born in Knox county, Ohio, October 25, 1825, and died March 8, 1894. Both were members of the Congregational church. The parents of Mrs. Gaston were David and Martha (Hervey) Bonar.
Lawrence Howard Gaston was reared to young manhood on his father's farm in Stark county, Illinois, and received a district school education. He remained under the parental roof until his marriage in 1879, and four years later, emigrated from Illinois to Kansas, and pur- chased a farm of 160 acres in section 18, Mitchell township. The land was unimproved when he bought it, and all of the buildings, trees, fences, shrubbery and attractive, home like appurtenances were placed upon this farm by Mr. Gaston. The first buildings which he erected were a house 20x24 feet in extent, and a plain board stable, which have since been replaced by more commodious structures. He now owns 240
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