USA > Kansas > Nemaha County > History of Nemaha County, Kansas > Part 61
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
Edgar E. Holston was reared at Soldier, Kans., and received his primary education in the schools of that city. After completing the course in the public schools, he attended Quincy College at Quincy, Ill., and completed a business course in 1891. His first position was as assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank at Soldier, a place which he filled satisfactorily until he resigned in 1894, and located at Blaine, Kans., and purchased a partnership interest in a lumber yard with his brother-in-law, C. E. Friend. He sold out his interest in the Blaine lumber yards in 1898, and invested his capital in a small lumber concern at Goff. The business has been built up under his excellent management until the yards now cover a half block space, and the lumber, building material, and builders' supplies carried in stock will exceed a value of $10,000, and run as high as $15,000 in the building season.
Mr. Holston was married, in 1898, to Miss Gertrude Smith, born at Ames, Iowa, September 9, 1871. Mr. Holston is a staunch worker in the ranks of the Republican party, and filled the office of mayor of his home city in 1906. He is now serving as a member of the city conn- cil, and is one of the active workers in behalf of a better town and mod- ern conveniences for the city. Mr. Holston is always found in the fore- front of those who advocate things and innovations for the betterment of civic conditions as a whole, and has a keen and earnest desire to build up his home city. He is a member and trustee of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and is fraternally affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Iris J. Kinyon, mayor and druggist, Bern, Kans., was born December 16, 1886, on a farm near Britt, Iowa. He is a son of George M. and Lillie (Brazelton) Kinyon, who were the parents of five children, of whom Iris J. is the eldest. George M. Kinyon was born in Iowa, October 4, 1865, and was a son of Benjamin Kinyon. He became a druggist and located at Wilson, Kans., in 1886. Mr. Kinyon took a great pride in his business, and had what was considered to be the finest equipped and most impos- ing drug store between Kansas City and Denver at that time. He con- ducted his drug business at Wilson for three years, and after a residence in Severance, he finally located in Bern in 1892. He placed in operation the first drug store ever established in Bern and conducted it until his demise in February, 1904. During 1901 and 1902, Mr. Kinyon served as postmaster of Bern. He was affiliated fraternally with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mrs. Lillie Kinyon, mother of Iris J., was born near Hopkinton, Iowa, October 12, 1867, and is residing in Bern at the present time. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Iris J. Kinyon entered the Kansas State University at Lawrence, Kans., after attending the public schools at Bern, and there pursued a course in pharmacy. He passed the State board examination at Wichita, Kans., February 25, 1905, and returned to his home town in March of the
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J. W. GILLASPIE
MRS. J. W. GILLASPIE.
IRIS J. KINYON, Mayor of Bern, Kansas.
CHARLEY BEYREIS.
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
same year. Shortly afterward, he went to Madison, Kans., and was em- ployed in a drug store for some time. January 23, 1906, he bought ont his father's old store, then owned by E. B. Moore, and has built up the business to a fine stage. Ilis stock of goods carried in the store will exceed a value of $7.500, and is tastefully arranged and displayed to the best advantage. Mr. Kinyon has erected a beautiful bungalow in Bern at cost of $3.500. His store building is a substantial one in size, 40x60 feet.
Mr. Kinyon was married, in 1908, to Manie Handley, born March 16, 1888, near Millerstown, Ky. Two children have blessed this mar- riage, namely : Lyla Jean, born June 25, 1912, and died June 25, 1912; Carolie, born April 30, 1916.
Besides his drug business, Mr. Kinyon is engaged in manufacturing a line of stock remedies. This venture was begun October 1, 1915. in partnership with William Kinsey, and the firm is placing a line of stock remedies on the market under the name of the "K & K" Manufac- turing Company. Mr. Kinyon is allied with the Republican party, and was elected to the office of mayor of Bern in April of 1915. During his term of office, he has made several worthy improvements in the city, and is making a creditable record as a public spirited official. He is affiliated with, and holds office in, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Wood- men of America.
Charley Beyreis .- "Charley," as all of his many friends know him, is one of the prominent and successful farmers and stockmen of Nemaha township, Nemaha county, Kansas. Mr. Beyreis was born January 7, 1880, on the farm where he now lives. He is a son of Andrew and Anna (Hansz) Beyreis, to whom were born twelve children. ten of whom are still living. Andrew Beyreis was born in Saxony, Germany, January 16, 1835, and left there when a young man to come to America. In 1872, he settled in Nemaha township, and bought 160 acres in section II. This was prairie land when he took it, but by hard work, he converted it into tillable condition and built a house and stables on the place. He re- mained on this land, making improvements constantly, until his death, May 29, 1915. At one time during his life, he had owned 400 acres of land which made him a farmer of high rank. The mother of Charley Reveris . was born August, 1842, in Alsace-Lorraine, that buffer province on the German frontier which has been tossed back and forth by French and German armies. She left her native land with her mother, and they set- tled in Illinois upon their arrival in America. Mrs. Beyreis died in 1895.
Charley Beyreis was reared on his father's farm in Nemaha county, Kansas. He spent his boyhood as all others boys on Kansas farms spend their earlier years, including several months' attendance at the school in district No. 8. Mr. Beyreis has always lived on the farm, on which his father originally settled. He owns 420 acres of land in Nemaha and Grey counties, which are farmed jointly by Charley and his brother, Henry. Henry also owns 160 acres of land in Finney county, and a half interest
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
in 200 acres in Nemaha county, Kansas. Neither of the brothers is mar- ried. Charley is a Republican voter, and is affiliated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 19, Seneca, Kans.
Both Charley Beyreis and his brother are well liked among their friends, and are considered very successful farmers. They have attained success wholly by their own hard work and careful management, and are among the most valuable members of their community.
John W. Gillaspie .- Forty-four years of John W. Gillaspie's life have been spent within the borders of Nemaha county, Kansas, and he can rightly be considered as one of the pioneers of Kansas. During this period, he has witnessed many changes for the better, and has seen the country grow more populous, and the farmers of his section of the State of Kansas grow more prosperous each year. Mr. Gillaspie was born in Monroe county, Iowa, May 18, 1852, and is a son of Benjamin N. and Elizabeth (Newman) Gillaspie. Benjamin N. Gillaspie was born in Fountain county, Indiana, in 1824, and was a son of Andrew Gillaspie, a native of Ohio and son of Scotch parents, and who married a Miss Nichols, also of Scotch parentage. Benjamin N. Gillaspie was an early settler in Fountain county, Indiana, and was one of the earliest pioneers in Monroe county, Iowa, where he owned a farm. In his boyhood days, Benjamin N. Gillaspie learned the blacksmith trade and plied his trade until his enlistment in the Union army at Centerville, Iowa, in 1862. He was a member of Company I, Thirty-sixth Iowa infantry. He re- ceived his discharge after his term of enlistment expired, and continued to ply his trade, and farmed until his removal to Nemaha county, Kansas, in 1872. He settled on a homestead south of Centralia, Kans., and made many improvements on the place. His first house was a very small one, and in keeping with his limited means. It is recalled that he broke up the land on his farm with the aid of a two year old colt and mare for lack of a better team. In his later days, the pioneering fever again obsessed him, and he took a trip to the far west in company with his son, William, for the purpose of homesteading a Government claim. Death claimed him while absent on this expedition in 1881. Elizabeth Newman Gillas- pie, wife of Benjamin N. Gillaspie, was born in Fountain county, Indi- ana, in December, 1824, a daughter of Nathaniel Newman, of German and Scotch descent and who married a Miss Campbell. She died in 1891.
John W. Gillaspie was reared on his father's farm in Iowa and Kan- sas, and received a district school education. When he attained his ma- jority, he married and rented land from his father-in-law, J. W. Dennis, who deeded him a farm of seventy-five acres in 1874. This tract was unbroken prairie land with no improvements of any kind. Mr. Gillaspie first built a small house, and in later years as he became able, he erected a large eleven room house with other out-buildings of a substantial nature. Mr. Gillaspie is a fancier of well bred live stock, and takes a pride in his fine driving horses. His farm now embraces 120 acres of well tilled land, besides which, he is a shareholder in the Farmers Union Elevator Company of Seneca, Kans.
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
Mr. Gillaspie was married in 1873 to Amanda Dennis, who has borne him the following children: Walter, living in Morris county, Kansas; Ola, wife of W. O. Neiberger, Morris county, Kansas; Wesley, deceased ; Roy, a farmer in Nemaha county ; Raymond, died in infancy ; Mrs. Maud E. Neiberger, of Jackson county, Kansas. Mrs. Amanda Gillaspie was born August 21, 1854, in McLean county, Illinois, a daughter of Joseph W. and Mary Ann (Young) Dennis, who were among the earliest of the Nemaha county pioneers. Concerning this noted couple, the "Courier- Democrat," in its issue of November 13, 1913, has the following to say in part, upon the demise of Mr. Dennis: ""Uncle Joe' Dennis, one of the oldest pioneers in this section of Kansas, died at his home a half mile south of Seneca, Monday night. Death came after a short illness, due to the infirmities of old age. As the news of his death passed along the street and throughout the community next day, universal sadness was
MR. AND MRS. JOSEPH DENNIS.
felt, and many were the kind words uttered to the memory of this sturdy pioneer. The familiar figure of Mr. Dennis on the streets of Seneca was an ever welcome one. His cheery word and unassuming manner made him the friend of all. To such men as this do we owe the privileges we now enjoy. More than half a century ago (1856), Mr. Dennis and wife, with others of their kind, came to this then trackless wilderness, and carved out the great commonwealth of Kansas.
"Joseph W. Dennis was born in Henry county, Kentucky, April 9, 1825, and at the time of his death on November II, 1913, was well up in his eighty-eighth year. From Kentucky, Mr. Dennis moved to DeWitt county, Illinois, where, in 1847. he married Mary A. Young, of Adair
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
county, Kentucky. In 1856, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis, together with his fa- ther, Batson Dennis, and four brothers, came to Nemaha county, Kansas. Upon his arrival, Mr. Dennis entered the quarter section of land, which, throughout the fifty-six years and over that he has been a citizen of the county, has ever been 'home.' He later added to his holdings, and at one time, owned 1,200 acres in this county. Mr. Dennis and wife shared their full quoto of the hardships of the early pioneer. The log cabin of the early day was their home the first few years, and eventually gave way to a more modern dwelling as time progressed. Each decade in passing, marked a wonderful change in Nemaha county, and at the time of his death, Mr, Dennis lived in one of the nice farm homes of the com- munity.
"The father and brothers of J. W. Dennis died years ago. On the eighth day of July, 1908, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis, surrounded by their chil- dren and grandchildren, celebrated the passing of the sixtieth milestone of their wedded life in their own quiet manner."
On the eighteenth day of April, 1909, the faithful wife of this grand old pioneer passed away. Mrs. Mary Ann (Young) Dennis was born in Adair county, Kentucky, in 1826. Early in life, she removed with her parents and family to DeWitt county, Illinois, where she met and married Joseph W. Dennis, July 8, 1847. Ten children were born to this noted couple, of whom three survive the parents, namely: Campbell W. Den- nis ; Philip Dennis, and Mrs. Amanda Gillaspie. Four children died in infancy, and three others, Mrs. Howard Chilson, Mrs. Sarah Luckey, and Mrs. Mary Highsmith, passed away leaving families. Mr. and Mrs. . Dennis were faithful members of the Baptist church. Amanda, wife of John W. Gillaspie, owns part of the land upon which her father settled, when he came to Kansas.
Mr. Gillaspie is allied with the Democratic party, but has never sought political preferment. He and his wife take an active interest in social affairs and have many warm and steadfast friends in the com- munity. The members of the Gillaspie family are proud of the fact that the parents on both sides were among the pioneers of the State. They are members of the Universalist church, and Mr. Gillaspie is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Ray T. Ingalls, editor and proprietor of the Goff "Advance," Goff, Kans., is a son of Franklin T. Ingalls, who was born near Naperville, Ill., September 29, 1848, and was the youngest son of Henry and Lois Ingalls. He resided at Naperville until he attained the age of eighteen years, and received his education in the district schools and the Naper- ville, Ill., Academy. In 1866, he went to Wisconsin, and worked in the lumber camps for two years. He then located in Will county, Illi- nois, and practiced veterinary surgery, and farmed for several years. He was married at Connersville, Ind., December 3, 1876, to Amanda George, who was born on a farm near Dayton, Ohio., February 25, 185I, and was a daughter of John Wesley and Nancy George, who
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
moved to Connersville, Ind., in 1855. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls moved to a farm near Joliet, Ill., and later located at New Lenox, Ill., where Mr. Ingalls conducted a meat market. They again returned to the farm near Joliet and, in 1885, came to Kansas, and set- tled on a farm southeast of Centralia, in Nemaha county. One year later, they removed to Seneca, and are now residents of that city. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls are as follows :
Mabel, the eldest child, was born in Illinois on October 9, 1877. and was married to Will J. Foreman on December 23, 1896. At the time of this marriage, Mr. Foreman was a brakeman on the Kansas City Northwestern railroad with his headquarters and home in Kansas City, Kans. He later gave up railroad work, and moved to a farm near Dewey, Okla.
Olive, the second child, was born in Illinois, November 19, 1879. and took up newspaper work after graduation from the Seneca High School. She spent her apprenticeship as a compositor on the staff of the Seneca "Rural Kansan," and was later employed in the office of the "Courier-Democrat," and also filled the post of social reporter, on the Seneca "Tribune," and worked for these newspapers for several years. She was married at St. Joseph, Mo., on January 1, 1916, to Frank I. Reed, of Grand Island, Neb. Mr. Reed is engaged in the garage busi- ness at Grand Island, Neb.
Park, the third member of the family, was born in Illinois, August 27. 1881, and was educated in the Seneca public schools. He was mar- ried, in 1908, to Miss Lulu Morris of Hiawatha. He lives in Seneca and, for the past fifteen years, has been a piano salesman.
Irvin, fourth born, was born in Illinois, December 19, 1883, was educated in the Seneca schools, and makes his home with his parents in Seneca.
Fannie, fifth child, was born near Centralia, Kans., September 3. 1885, was educated in the Seneca schools, and taught school in Nemaha county for a number of years. She was married, in 1908, to L. Harold Bump, son of Mrs. L. A. Bump of Kelly, Kans. Mr. Bump is employed as United States mail clerk on the run between Cheyenne, Wyo., and Pocatello, Idaho, a position which he has held for the past eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Bump make their home at Cheyenne.
Alice, seventh member of the family, was born in Seneca, July 20, 1889, and attended the Seneca schools. She followed the trade of mil- liner and saleslady in Kansas City for a number of years. She was mar- ried in 1913 to Fred H. Burke, a Kansas City druggist.
Mary Esther, eighth child, was born in Seneca, January 31, 1892, and attended the Seneca schools, after which she was employed as com- positor in the office of the "Courier-Democrat" and the Goff "Advance" prior to her death, April 9, 1915.
Ray T. Ingalls was born at Seneca, Kans .. October 19. 1887, and began his newspaper career in 1902 by becoming an apprentice in the
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
office of the "Courier-Democrat" at Seneca, Kans., where he remained for ten years at different periods as a printer. He served as foreman for the Westmoreland "Recorder" for three years. and then returned to Seneca as machine operator for the "Courier-Democrat." May 1, 1913, he purchased the Goff "Advance." During the three years in which he has had charge of this newspaper he has built up the circulation of the sheet from 200 subscribers to a strong list of more than 750, and has en- larged the paper from a sheet with two pages of home print to a well edited and neatly printed paper of four pages, well patronized with local advertising.
He was married to Iva F. Mosier, November 1, 1908. Three children have been born to this marriage, namely: Dorothy, Helen and ' Kathryn. Mrs. Ingalls was born at Westmoreland, Kans., October 29, 1889, and is a daughter of Solomon and Amanda (Graff) Mosier, na- tives of Indiana and Ohio respectively. Solomon Mosier was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war and served for one year in an Indiana regiment under General Miles and later filled the post of Gen- eral Miles' orderly in the regular army for over six years. Mr. and Mrs. Mosier are living at Redondo Beach, Cal.
Mr. Ingalls is a Democrat, politically, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is fraternally allied with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Frank D. Steele, farmer and stockman of Harrison township, was born in Wisconsin, January 16, 1860, a son of George and Eliza (Perry) Steele, who were the parents of ten children, four of whom are living. George Steele, the father, was born in Quebec, Canada, in 1822, and when he became of age, removed to New York State, where he married and then immigrated to Wisconsin. After he farmed in Wisconsin for few years, he removed to Bradford, Iowa, and rented land near that city until 1866, when he came to Seneca, Kans. Coming nere in May, 1866, he worked as a laborer for two years, and then preempted eighty acres of land in Adams township. The first home erected by George Steele on his preemption was a "hole in the ground," and the walls of which were built of sod cut from the prairie, with a thatch roof. He farmed this tract for eight years, and then traded his homestead for a team of horses, harness and a wagon. During the remainder of his life, he rented land in Nemaha county, eventually dying on a farm in Harri- son township in 1893. Mrs. Eliza (Perry) Steele was born in New York State in 1839, and died in 1911.
Frank D. Steele was reared to young manhood in Nemaha county. Although he was but six years of age when the family came to Kansas, he remembers the early days of the settlement of Nemaha county, and has never forgotten the privations which fell to his lot and the mem- bers of his father's family in the struggle to attain a livelihood, and make a home in the new country. It is a far cry from the first home
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HISTORY OF NEMAIIA COUNTY
which he knew in Harrison township to his comfortable farm residence. The "hole in the ground" or sodhouse in which he spent many of his boyhood days has long since passed out of existence.
Mr. Steele was enabled to make his first investment in farm land in 1889, and, purchased eighty acres in section 28, of Harrison town- ship. This farm is the nucleus around which his large holdings of 480 acres have accumulated, and the home place is well improved, with a comfortable farm dwelling and a large barn 40x50 feet in extent. Mr. Steele is an extensive feeder of cattle, and specializes in high grade Dur- ham cattle, Duroc Jersey swine and draft and Percheron horses. Hle believes in high grade stock on his place, and prefers to market the pro- ducts of his large farm on the hoof at all times.
Mr. Steele was married, in 1884. to Miss Laura B. Rucker, who was born near Streator, Ill., February 10, 1865. To this union have been born the following children : Mrs. Pearl Jones, living in Reilly town- ship; Arlie, a farmer on section 33. Harrison township; Frank D., Jr., farming in Harrison township.
Mr. Steele is a Republican in his political affiliations and is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights and Ladies of Security. He is essentially one of the industrious and self made men of Nemaha county, who has worked his way upward to his present comfortable position by dint of industry and good management.
Frank J. Watkins, real estate dealer, Goff, Kans., is a native born Kansan who was born on a pioneer farm in Harrison township, Nemaha county, August 13, 1871. He is a son of Holden J. and Mary R. (Hall) Watkins, to whom were born seven children, six of whom are living.
Holden J. Watkins was born in Michigan. July 20, 1848, reared in his native State, and migrated to Brown county, Kansas, in 1870. He drove from Michigan to Kansas and after stopping a while in Brown county, he came directly to Harrison township, Nemaha county, and traded his team and wagon for eighty acres of land in section 10, Harri- son township. He lived on his farm until 1889, and then located in Goff, where he operated a livery barn and dealt in live stock for sev- eral years, eventually removing to Cherryville, Kans., where he invested his working capital in an ice and cold storage business. He lived in Cherryville until his demise, February 14, 1909. His widow makes her home at Cherryville.
Frank J. Watkins attended the Goff schools, and was employed in the Goff State Bank from 1891 to 1894 as bookkeeper. He served as stationery engineer of the William McKibbin Elevator Company until 1896. Following this occupation, he became associated with Kirsch- baum & Sons Produce Company, and was also engaged in the retail meat business in his home city. In 1903, he established his real estate business, and has become an extensive dealer in farm lands, besides being owner of a considerable acreage of farm land on his own account.
Mr. Watkins was married, in 1893. to Mary Gettle, who was born
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September 10, 1872, in Pennsylvania, a daughter of William and Mary (Armstrong) Gettle, natives of the Keystone State who were early set- tlers of Adams township, Nemaha county. They settled on a farm in that township, and lived in Nemaha county until both died. Four chil- dren have been born to Frank J. and Mary Watkins, as follows: Hazel, graduate of the Goff High School, and now a trained nurse in Kansas City, Mo .; Fred, Lloyd and Janice, at home with their parents.
Mr. Watkins is allied with the Republican party, and has filled the office of township trustee for two terms. For the past fourteen years, he has been a member of the school board, and has served as a ' member of the town council. He is affiliated with the Modern Wood- men of America, and is recognized as one of the real live wires of Goff, who takes an active and influential part in all undertakings, which have for their object the boosting of his home city and county.
David Campbell .- Mrs. Della M. Campbell .- The late David Camp- bell, of Harrison township, was born in New Castle, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1876, and came to Kansas with his parents when he was two years old. He was a son of John and Lorinda (Ken- nedy) Campbell, natives of Pennsylvania, who immigrated to Kansas in 1874, and settled on a farm in Jackson county. John Campbell was born in 1849, and died March 16, 1908. His widow resides at Palo, Kans. David Campbell was reared in Kansas on his father's farm, and became a drayman and farmer at Goff. He owned eighty acres of land in Harrison township, which made a good living for himself and fam- ily through his industry and natural intelligence combined with good management and the assistance of a faithful wife. David Campbell died January 3, 1915, sincerely mourned by the members of his family and a host of friends and acquaintances. He was affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Modern Brotherhood.
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