USA > Kansas > Nemaha County > History of Nemaha County, Kansas > Part 59
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acres of excellent land, which is kept in a high state of cultivation. He is also the owner of city property in Seneca. For several years, Mr. Gaston has devoted his attention to the breeding of high grade Short- horn cattle which have won awards at the county fairs. He maintains a stable of well bred horses, and favors the Poland China breed of swine.
Mr. Gaston was married in 1879 to Isabella S. Johnson, who was born in Stark county, Illinois, January 25, 1861, and is a daughter of Horace and Amelia (Creighton) Johnson, natives of Ohio and Ireland, respectively. Mrs. Gaston was a school teacher, previous to her mar- riage. Horace Johnson, her father, was born in Ohio in 1826, and be- came a carpenter ; he eventually came to Illinois, where he died in 1866. The mother of Mrs. Gaston was born in June, 1830, and died at Topeka, Kans., in 1908. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Gaston, as follows: Mrs. Pauline Lytle, living in Home township; Arthur, a farmer in Center township; Gertrude, at home; John, a farmer living near Centralia; Chester, Seneca, Kans .; Karl, a hardware merchant of Centralia, Kans .; Ada, a teacher in the district school near Baileyville, Kans .; Charles, at home; Louis, deceased; Mary, at home with her parents ; one child died in infancy.
Mr. Gaston is an independent in politics, and was a candidate for registrar of deeds on the Republican ticket, and also was the party's nominee for the office of county assessor. He has served as a member of the school board, and has always taken a decided and influential interest in township and county affairs. He and Mrs. Gaston are mem- bers of the Congregational church, and Mr. Gaston is a trustee and deacon of the Seneca Congregational Church. Since 1884, he has been affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Henry Stuke .- Thirty-three years of diligent application to the duties at hand and hard work combined with good management have witnessed the rise of Henry Stuke, of Mitchell township, Nemaha county, from a poor immigrant lad to become one of the wealthy and substantial land owners of the county. Mr. Stuke is just another German lad who left the land of his nativity to seek fortune in America and found it in Kansas. No thriftier farmers can be found anywhere than in Nemaha county; nearly all of the farmers of German birth are well-to-do and industrious, and Mr. Stuke is no exception to the rule.
Henry Stuke was born in Oldenburg, Germany, October 7, 1861, and is a son of Albert and Mary (Olberding) Stuke, the former of whom was born in Germany in 1820, and died in 1873; the latter having been born in 1827 and died in her native land in 1872. Albert and Mary Stuke were the parents of five children, one of whom is deceased. The subject of this review attended the schools of his native land and when twenty-two years old, decided to make his way to America. He took passage aboard a steamship which required eleven days to make the
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trip across the Atlantic to Baltimore. Upon landing, Mr. Stuke came directly to Nemaha county, Kansas, where he obtained employment as farm hand for $17 per month. He worked at this wage for two years and in 1885 he rented land on his own account in Washington township. He saved his surplus earnings each year and in 1889 he was enabled to buy 160 acres of land in Washington township, part of which was already broken to the plow, which cost him $25' an acre. He sold this tract in 1900 at a handsome profit and invested the proceeds in 240 acres of good land in section 21, Mitchell township, which formed the nucleus of his present large farm of 460 acres, of which he is now the owner.
Mr. Stuke was married in 1890 to Agnes Ronnebaum, who has borne him the following children: Frank, a farmer in Mitchell town- ship, and father of one child, Walter; Mrs. Agnes Wichman, wife of Benjamin Wichman, and has one child, Cletus; Henry, assisting his father in cultivating the home farm; and Bertha. Mrs. Agnes Stuke was born March 17, 1859, in Germany, and left her native land in 1888, and came alone to America, her parents, Henry and Mary A. (Rolfes) Ronnebaum, dying in their native country.
Mr. Stuke is a Democrat and cast his first vote for President Grover Cleveland in 1884. He and the members of his family are loyal adherents of the Catholic church.
John Engelken .- Those who read the life story of John Engelken will read the story of a man who, despite difficulties, has made out of himself a substantial citizen, one who is proud of his Teutonic ancestry, and at the same time loyal to his present country. Though born under another flag, where ideals of government are not the same as ours, he has adapted himself to his environment, and is one of that valuable class of adopted sons who have always been a strong factor in the well being of this country.
Mr. Engelken was born in Hanover, Germany, February 8, 1844. He was the oldest child of Bernard and Mary G. (Kupper) Engelken, who were the parents of these children : John, the subject of our sketch ; Ellen, wife of C. Schwarzhoff, deceased; Anna, wife of Henry Huls, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume; Herman, Nemaha county, Kansas; Mary, wife of Mr. Henzberger, now dead ; Margaret, now Mrs. Schulte, of Iowa ; Bernard, died at sea as his parents were com- ing to America.
ยท The father of the subject of this sketch was born in Hanover in 1813. He followed the occupation of flour miller there, but believed he could fare better in America, and, in 1854, left his native land, taking with him his large family. Arriving in America, he came west and located for one year in St. Louis, then settled in Allamakee county, Iowa, where he bought land and settled down to farm it. He followed the occupation of farming until 1882 when, having accumulated what he thought sufficient to provide for him and his family, he moved to Nemaha county, where he
JOHN ENGELKEN.
MRS. JOHN ENGELKEN.
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lived in retirement with his son, of whom this biography is to deal at length, and died in 1898. His wife, Mary, was born September 25, 1820, in Hanover, Germany, and died April 4, 1900.
John Engelken was reared on his father's farm. His earliest school- ing was in Germany, but after coming to America, he went to the school in Jo Daviess county, Illinois. In 1881, he came to Nemaha county, Kansas, where he bought 162 acres of farming land in Richmond town- ship, section 5. The land was unimproved and required considerable work to put in shape for profitable cultivation. He set to work to build all the necessary buildings himself, although he is not a carpenter by trade. All of his buildings are exceptionally well made, and the fact that he personally constructed them accounts for it. Mr. Engelken is a very industrious man, as one would infer from the foregoing fact, and it is his tireless labors that have made him a successful man. He had always at- tended to his farm and put his hardest efforts on it, and as a result, he is classed with the prosperous men of the community. Through all his ef- forts, he has held up a high standard of achievement, and has kept his farm of 240 acres in the best condition. He owns ten acres of timber in Clear Creek township. All of his stock is graded, and he takes special pride in fine animals.
He was married to Mary Schulte on May 28, 1872, and to this union, nine children were born, as follows: Mrs. Mary Rottinghaus, of Nemaha township; Mrs. Maggie Rethmann of Marion township; Mrs. Lena Buessing, living near Axtell; Mrs. Kathrine Wietharn, of Marion town- ship ; Benjamin, deceased ; Mrs. Lizzie Stitz, of Marshall county, Kansas ; Henry, running the old home place, married to Johanna Bergmann in 19II ; Nora and Tillie, living at home.
Mrs. Engelken was born October 30, 1855, at Davenport, Iowa. She was a daughter of John B. Schulte, who was a native of Germany. Mrs. Engelken died January 2, 1905.
In political matters, Mr. Engelken is affiliated with the Democratic party, believing that party to have the soundest ideals. He has served on the school board of district No. 74, and was clerk there for a number of years. He is a member of the Catholic church.
Mr. Engelken now owns 252 acres of land which speaks well for his thrift and industry. His is one of the fine records in our citizenry.
Henry Engelken, while one of the younger generation of farmers in Nemaha county, is achieving a reputation as a progressive and successful farmer, which ranks as high as that of many older agriculturists in the county. Mr. Engelken has profited by the teaching of his German born father who had an instinctive knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil, and he has also kept pace with the advancements of the science of agriculture. His crops are among the best in Nemaha county, and this year (1916) witnessed the harvesting of one of the finest wheat crops in Kansas.
Mr. Engelken was born on his father's farm in Richmond township,
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October 14, 1891, and is a son of John Engelken, to whose biography the reader is referred. He attended the St. Mary's School in the village of St. Benedict, and has been reared to become a farmer. Since 1902, he has had entire charge of his father's large farm, and has harvested thirty acres of wheat, and has planted 100 acres of corn. Mr. Engelken was married in 19II at St. Benedict, to Johanna Bergmann, who was born in Marion township, March 7, 1891, and is a daughter of Bernard Bergmann (see biography.) Mr. and Mrs. Engelken are parents of two children, namely : Leona Mary, born January 21, 1916; one child died in infancy.
In addition to his farming operations, Mr. Engelken is operating a threshing outfit in season, and runs a sawmill outfit in winter. He and Mrs. Engelken were reared in the Catholic faith, and are devout members of this denomination.
Mr. Engelken is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association. He is a Democrat in politics, and is serving as a member of the local district school board, district number 74.
Clarence Curtis Wadleigh, merchant and banker at Centralia, Kans., was born in Portland, Me., August 2, 1853. His parents were George W. and Abigail (Edgecomb) Wadleigh, to whom were born four chil- dren, as follows: Clarence C .; George W., Jr., Portland, Me .; Ernest W. and Frederick, deceased. George W. Wadleigh was born at Parsonfield, Me., December 24, 1820, and became a machinist. He was a son of Elisha and Rebecca (Dearborn) Wadleigh, who were of Scotch-English descent and members of old American families. Elisha Wadleigh was a blacksmith in his native State of Maine. George W. Wadleigh died in 1909. Mrs. Abigail (Edgecomb) Wadleigh was born in Maine in September, 1821, and died in 1889. She was a daughter of Thomas and Abigail (Stone) Edgecomb, natives of Maine.
Clarence Curtis Wadleigh was reared in his native New England village and learned the trade of carpenter in his younger days at Kezar Falls, town of Parsonfield, Me. He worked at his trade from the time he was large enough to handle a hammer and drive a nail and follwed his trade in his native State until 1882. He then came west to Cen- tralia, Kans., and assisted in building the school house. His first build- ing contract was the erection of the First National Bank of Centralia, which he erected in 1884. He returned to Maine in 1886 and he and his father opened a large stone quarry, which they operated until 1888. He then went to Boston, and followed his trade of carpenter until 1890. In that year he again came to Centralia, Kans., and took a contract to build the Congregational Church. He erected this building and continued his contract work in Centralia and vicinity until 1900, when he bought a partnership in a hardware store with a Mr. Domer. Nine months later, he became sole owner of the business. Mr. Wadleigh's store was located on the site of the present Haug general store, and his building and con- tents were burned in 1908. He at once purchased the old Clippinger
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place and stocked it up with a complete line of hardware. He con- ducted his business until 1916, when he sold out and retired from active business pursuits. For the past ten years he has been connected with the Citizens State Bank of Centralia in various capacities and is vice- president of this institution. He is also a stockholder of the Vermillion State Bank, and owns two lots in Topeka, Kans., besides property in Centralia.
Mr. Wadleigh was married in 1884 to Miss Alice T. Smith, who was born at Kennebunk, Me., in 1856, and is a daughter of Ivory Smith, native of Maine. The following children have been born of this mar- riage, namely : Mrs. Edna A, Gaston, a graduate of the Centralia High School, who resides at Centralia. Her husband is Carl H. Gaston, Mr. Wadleigh's successor in the hardware business.
Mr. Wadleigh is a Democrat, has served as a member of the city council, and is a member of the Centralia school board, which position he has held for the past six years. He is chairman of the board of trustees of the Congregational Church, and is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Edwin L. Horth, real estate dealer of Centralia, Kans., was born in New York State, October 21, 1847, and is a son of Reuben and Mary Goldthwait Horth, who were the parents of seven children, four of whom are living. Reuben Horth, his father, was born in Massachu- setts, and became a lumberman. He died in 1855, at the age of forty years. Edwin L. Horth's mother was also a native of Massachusetts, born in 1818, and died in 1856. It will thus be seen that Mr. Horth was left an orphan at a very early age, and was reared by relatives who took him with them to Iowa, when he was still a youth. He was a stu- dent at Lombard College, Galesburg, Ill., when the Civil war broke out. He returned home and enlisted at Knoxville, Marion county, Iowa, in Company K, Fifteenth regiment, Iowa infantry. He was first enrolled as a drummer boy, but became a soldier in the ranks, and fought with Sherman through the Atlanta campaign. The date of his enlistment as a drummer boy was in December, 1863, and he was hon- orably discharged in the fall of 1864. When his war service was ended, he went to New York to visit his grandfather and farmed his grand- father's place for five years. In 1869 he came to Centralia, Nemaha county, Kansas, and joined some relatives of the New York colony, who had settled there. This was the time of the great droughts in Kansas and the settlers of this county were in sore need of assistance to keep them alive. Previous to coming to Kansas he solicited aid from the merchants of Fairfield, Iowa, and the same was gratefully accepted by the drought sufferers. When Mr. Horth located in Kansas he raised broom corn and small grains on land owned by his uncle, D. M. Chapin. Three years after coming to Kansas he engaged in the grain and live stock business at Centralia. He erected two elevators, one of which was located at Vermillion, Kans., and was engaged in buying and shipping
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grain for oyer thirty years. He did the largest grain and live stock business in this section of the county for a long period. When he first came to Kansas he acted as land agent for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company and sold railroad lands to settlers for $6.00 an acre. Some of the land which he originally sold for this price has again passed through his hands greatly increased in value and has brought as high as $75 and $80 an acre. Since 1905 Mr. Horth has devoted his time and talents ex- clusively to the real estate and land business.
He was married in 1867 at Hamlet, Chautauqua county, New York, to Miss Adelia Dye, who was born in New York, in February, 1847, and is a daughter of Captain Dye, who was a drill master in the New York State militia. Five children have been born to this marriage, as follows: Mrs. Tressie Hybskmann, Vermilion, Kans .; Frank, Santa Anna, Cal .; Mrs. Effie Brown, a widow, living at Centralia, Kans .; Lincoln, a traveling playwright; Elmer J., a grocer of Centralia.
Mr. Horth is a Republican who has filled several offices during his long career. He has served as township trustee, mayor of Centralia, and has filled the post of justice of the peace. The only office he is now holding is that of notary public.
Charles Sumner McNeil .- Charles Sumner McNeil is one of the most industrious and successful farmers of Home township, and has a well improved farm of 160 acres in section 14. Since purchasing this farm in 1907, Mr. McNeil has built an addition to the residence which stood upon the place, erected a large barn 28x42 feet in dimension, built a granary and silo, and is constantly doing something to enhance the value of his place and make it more attractive and convenient, as an in- come producer of the first rank.
Mr. McNeil was born in Brown county, Kansas, May 10, 1877, and is a son of George A. and Martha (Honnell) McNeil, who were parents of seven children, four of whom are living. His father was born in Union county, Ohio, March 8, 1844. When the Civil War broke out be- tween the north and south he enlisted in Battery I, First Independent light artillery, of Philadelphia Pa. and saw much active service during the rebellion. His command was engaged in the fighting around Richmond, Virginia, and he was wounded in the back by a shell during the great battle of Gettysburg Pa. He recovered from his wound and received his honorable discharge from the service at the close of the war. He lived in Pennsylvania until his migration to Kansas in 1871. He bought land in Brown county, Kansas, in that day for $10 per acre and lived in Brown county until the date of his removal to Nemaha county in 1891. He purchased a farm in section 36 of Center township, which he farmed for a time and then retired. Mr. McNeil is now living at Marion, Iowa. The mother of Charles S. McNeil was born in Shelby county, Ohio, in 1843, and departed this life in 1901.
Charles Sumner McNeil was reared on his father's farm and at- tended school district No. 41 in Mitchell township and also studied
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in the high school at Centralia for one term. He learned the carpenter's trade with his father and followed it when a young man for some years, one of which was spent on the Pacific Coast as journeyman carpenter. In 1901 he began renting land on his own account and carefully saved his surplus earnings until he was able to buy his quarter section of land in Home township in 1907. Mc. McNeil keeps good graded stock on his farm and his Plymouth Rock poultry have won prizes at the county fair and poultry exhibits. His farm is what was known as the Dr. Albert J. Best farm, northwest quarter, section 14.
He was married in 1901 to Miss Jennie Lynn, who has borne him children as follows: Paul, Alice, and Grace. Mrs. Jennie McNeil was born on a farm in Mitchell township, September 25, 1877, and is a daughter of William and Margaret (Wrought) Lynn, who came to Nemaha county in 1870, and settled in Mitchell township. Her mother is now living at Independence, Kans. Mrs. McNeil graduated from the common school when fourteen years old and taught school for eight years in the Centralia neighborhood.
Mr. McNeil is a Republican and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and Mrs. McNeil are members of the Congregational church.
George W. Huber .- George W. Huber, retired farmer, Centralia, Kans., was born in Monroe county, Ohio, June 8, 1845, and is a son of Jacob and Barbara (Senetre) Huber. Jacob Huber, his father, was born in Hemmingen, Wurtemberg, Germany, July 10, 1812. He came to America in 1837, and first settled at Wheeling, W. Va., and followed the trade of butcher. Ten years later, in 1847, he removed to Monroe county, Ohio, and engaged in farming. He followed farming at Woods- field, Ohio, until his death in 1892. His first marriage was with Bar- barba Senetre, who died in 1863. Four children were born of this mar- riage as follows: George W., subject of this review; John Huber; and two died young. His second marriage was with Eliza Bott in 1867. Of three children born of this marriage, only one is living, namely: Mrs. Panlina Matilda.
George W. Huber was reared on the Monroe county, Ohio, farm and attended school for three months out of the year, and later the en- tire term, in his boyhood days. As he grew older he worked in the timber and assisted his father in clearing his land of the heavy growth of timber which covered the farm lands of Ohio in those days. In 1885 he came west with his wife and four children and rented a farm seven miles east of Seneca. One year later he moved to a farm in section 29, Mitchell township, and rented there for three years, after which he bought the place which consisted of 160 acres. A rock house and other improvements stood on the land when he bought it but he set out shade and fruit trees and made other substantial improvements during his tenure of the farm. Mr. Huber tilled his acreage until 1904, and then retired to a home in Centralia.
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He was married July 4, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Emily Smith, born September 14, 1848, in Monroe county, Ohio, and who has borne him four children, as follows: William Ross, a farmer in Center town- ship; Edward Lee, living in Mitchell township; James Henry, deecased ; Frank R., a mail carrier out of Centralia. The mother of these children in a daughter of James Ross Smith, who was born in Fayette county, Pa., November 10, 1814. When he was three years old his parents moved to Wheeling, W. Va., where his mother died. Soon afterward his father moved to Maysville, Ky., where he died suddenly, leaving his boy an orphan three years of age. After the death of his parents, James R. Smith lived with an uncle in Jefferson county, Ohio, until he was four- teen years old, when he went to Smithfield, Ohio, and learned the har- ness marker's trade. He was married in 1839 at Steubenville, Ohio, to Miss Mary Jane Lee, who bore him nine children, six of whom survive him. He came to Seneca in the early days (1880) and engaged in the harness business which he followed until his death in 1906. At the time of his demise he was the oldest living citizen of Seneca. The Smith family, from which Mrs. Huber is descendeed, is one of the oldest of the American families and her ancestors came to this country in the early days of the settlement of the New England States. Timothy Smith, the great grandfather of James R. Smith, was the founder of the family in America. It is interesting to note that the grandfather of George W. Huber served fourteen years in the Prussian army, and fought at the battle of Waterloo.
Mr. and Mrs. Huber celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, July 4, 1916. Mrs. Huber is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mr. and Mrs. Huber are liberal contributors.
William Winkler .- William Winkler, the well known and suc- cessful breeder and horticulturist of Mitchell township, is a product of the pioneer days of Kansas and was born on a farm in Riley county, February 13, 1867. He is a son of August and Anna (Vogler) Winkler, and was the second of three children born, as follows: Emily, wife of O. Buchheim, Winkler, Kans .; William, the subject of this re- view; Herman, deceased. August Winkler was born in Saxony, Ger- many, in 1828, learned the miller's trade in his youth and when eigh- teen years of age set sail for America in search of fortune. His pas- sage across the Atlantic required ten long weeks in a sailing vessel. He settled in Chicago and was employed on the lake boats entering that city. From Chicago he made his way to Missouri, and engaged in the live stock business, until the territoy of Kansas was thrown open for settlement. In 1854 he located in Riley county, Kansas, and bought government land, eventually becoming the owner of several thousand acres of grazing and farming land, on part of which the town of Winkler was laid out and named in his honor. He made his way into Kansas via the ox-team route, at a time when his nearest trading point was Leavenworth, Kans. He first built a log cabin and his
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first child was born in this lonely cabin. During his first years on the frontier of civilization times were hard for this sturdy pioneer and many were his vicissitudes and trials. When he made his long trips to Leavenworth for the purpose of stocking up, the streams would often rise and delay his going and coming. He would get very hungry and would frequently shoot birds with which to eke out his meals. Gradually the settlement increased in size and he decided that the time was opportune for building a grist and flour mill. Acting upon this resolve in 1870, in partnership with his brother, Fred, Mr. Winkler purchased the machinery for his mill and hauled his materials from Leavenworth to the millsite, hewed logs for the beams, and built it substantially and strong on the banks of Fancy Creek, near Winkler, Kans. As a natural sequence to this enterprise, the town of Winkler grew up around the Winkler mill. Water power was used and from its inception the project was a success. Later, in 1881, the brothers built a much larger merchant mill at Monterey, Kans., on the Big Blue river, 18 miles north of Manhattan, on line of the Union Pacific Railroad. August Winkler remained in the milling business until his death and lived to realize his dream of fortune and comforts in the new world. His name will be indelibly linked with the early history of Kansas for all time to come and he left an unimpeachable record behind him of which his descendants may well be proud for generations to come. His demise occurred in 1883. His faithful helpmate through his early struggles for a competence, and who shared his later good fortune, Anna (Vogler) Winkler, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1835, and died in 1911. August and Anna Winkler were married in Riley county and made the trip to the minister on horseback. She came across the ocean to America when about twenty-eight years of age.
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