USA > Kansas > Nemaha County > History of Nemaha County, Kansas > Part 84
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Mr. League is a member of the Masonic and Modern Woodmen lodges and of the Farmers' Union and the Anti Horse Thief Associa- tion. He is a Republican. and has served as committeeman.
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Roy Shumaker .- The history of the Shumaker family in Kansas is a very interesting recital and embraces the long past halcyon pioneer days in the initial period of the development of Kansas and Nemaha county. This family is one of the oldest in the county and the State, and the first settlement made by Frederick Shumaker, father of him whose name heads this review, was made in Granada township in 1856. The elder Shumaker was a freighter and government teamster, who knew the prairie country of the frontier in all of its wildness of sixty years ago, and was possessed of such an abiding faith in the eventual peopling of the waste places that he purchased large tracts of land, which have steadily increased in value with the march of time and the settlement of the country. Roy Shumaker, extensive farmer and bank president of Granada township, has followed closely in his father's foot- steps and has emulated his example to a considerable extent by investing in land.
Frederick Shumaker, father of Roy, was born at Mundingen, Baden, Germany, June 28, 1830. He was left an orphan at an early age, and was reared by strangers in a Catholic settlement. He emigrated to America when twenty-three years old, and was absolutely penniless when he landed in New York City. The ship which carried him was forty-five days in crossing the Atlantic. Cholera was raging on board the vessel, and ninety passengers died. He borrowed money from a fellow com- patriot with which to pay his passage to Chicago, where he obtained employment in a brick plant for a year, while the cholera epidemic was raging in the city. He went from Chicago to Iowa and worked out as a farm hand until 1856, at which time he migrated to Kansas and home- steaded a quarter section one mile east of the site of Wetmore, although there was no village of Wetmore at that time. Afer taking possession of his claim and filing his preemption papers at the nearest land office, he went to Fort Leavenworth and hired out to the United States Gov- ernment as a teamster and for the following fourteen months drove mule freighting outfits to Salt Lake City. This was a dangerous time, inas- much as Indians were numerous and warlike, and the freight trains were sent out under convoy of a force of 2,000 regular soldiers to guard against attack. When his service expired he purchased a pony and rode · to his claim in Nemaha county and began to develop it. Roy Shumaker, his son, has in his possession a receipt given his father for 120 bushels of corn, signed by Hugh Flanigan in 1875. He also has the tax receipts issued in 1861. At one time, in 1860, when money was scarce, Mr. Shumaker traded a wagon load of corn for a pair of boots and delivered the corn to the purchaser in Atchison, Kans. Mr. Shumaker lived on his claim until the railroad was built, and the passing trains killed so many of his cattle that he left his first location and bought a farm two miles north, upon which he resided until 1890. At this time he moved back to his original preemption, and lived thereon until his death, December 16, 1905. He bought land continuously until he became owner of 2,000
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acres, which he divided among his children. That is, he gave each child 160 acres, and retained 480 acres for himself, which amount he owned previous to his death, eventually selling all of this except a quarter section. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and was a Repub- tican politically. His wife, Rachel Jennings, was born in Indiana in 1829. They were married in 1860, and the following children blessed this union, namely : John W., deceased; Roy, subject of this review; Charles, deceased; Sarah Margaret, died of scarlet fever in infancy ; Fred, farming 480 acres near Wetmore, Kans .; Jacob L., miller and wagon maker at Goff, Kans. Some time after the death of his first wife, Mr. Shumaker married Cora Pierson.
Roy Shumaker was born on the Shumaker homestead in Nemaha county, November 19, 1862, and when a boy of ten years he herded cattle on the plains. When he became of age he began for himself by 'working for wages in his father's behalf for two years. He and his two brothers then cultivated land which their father permitted them to till free from rent charges. When Frederick Shumaker distributed his land holdings, Roy received a quarter section which was the nucleus around which his present large holdings of 930 acres have grown as a result of diligence and good financial management. Mr. Shumaker raises and feeds a large amount of live stock and personally oversees his large acreage. He has 200 acres of corn this year (1916).
He was married December 20, 1891, to Miss Addie Logue, who has borne him eleven children, as follows: Ethel, died in infancy : Charles E., aged twenty-two years ; Chester H., aged twenty years ; Addie, aged eighteen years; Roy W., aged seventeen years; Nora, aged sixteen years : Mary, died in infancy ; Freddie J., aged twelve years; Walter, aged ten years ; Ernest, aged nine years ; Lida J., aged eight years. Mrs. Addie Shumaker was born on a farm near Wetmore, Kans., August 3, 1874, and is a daughter of Oliver and Polly (Murphy) Logue. Her father was born in Platte county, Missouri, in 1843, and migrated to Kansas with his parents as early as 1857. He followed farming until 1896, and then went to Oklahoma and invested in land in that State. He lived in Oklahoma until his demise in 1912. Mrs. Polly Logue was born in 1850, and was the mother of the following children: William M., deceased ; John F., farmer in Idaho; Mrs. Addie Shumaker, of this review ; Robert, a farmer in Arizona; Charles, living in Oklahoma.
Mr. Shumaker is president of the Farmers' Union in his locality and is a Republican. He served three years as road supervisor and for several years he has been a member of the school board of his district. Mr. Shumaker is vice-president of the First National Bank of Wetmore, Kans. His success as a farmer and citizen has been a striking one and is indicative of inherent and natural ability of a high order.
Harry Henry, farmer and stockman, Granada township, is one of the progressive young men of the county. He has started out success- fully and if he continues in his present prosperity, he will soon be one of the most prosperous farmers in this part of Nemaha county. Mr.
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Henry is a son of Nick and Louise Henry, of whom more is told in another part of this volume. He was born near Goff, Kans., July I, 1892. He attended grammar school and later completed two years' work at Goff High School. At the age of seventeen years he started out for himself, first renting 480 acres from his father, which he farmed for four years. He worked as a brakeman on the Chicago Northwestern railroad for five months and then bought 320 acres near Goff. The land was not improved except for the fencing, and Mr. Henry lived with his parents in Goff while cultivating this farm. In the fall of 1915 he built a good frame barn and granary and erected a four-room frame cottage on the land. He has stocked his farm until it presents an imposing sight to the visitor. On his place at present are fifty head of cattle, fifty hogs, six mules and four horses.
He was married to Miss Etta Talbott, September 22, 1915. Mrs. Henry is the daughter of Grant and Belle (Thompson) Talbott.
Grant Talbott was born in Iowa in 1872, and came to Kansas City Mo., at the age of twenty-one years to work for the street railway com- pany. Later he was a street car employee in St. Louis and Cleveland. For twelve years he was a brakeman on the Mobile & Ohio railroad, after which he went to Salt Lake City. Three years later he moved to California, and is working for railroad companies. He is a Repub- lican and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He was married in 1892 to Belle Thompson, daughter of Dr. P. Thompson, of Corning, Kans., who was born in Indiana. She was a member of the United Brethren church. She died in April, 1911, at Corning, Kans. Three children were born to this union, namely: Etta, wife of Mr. Henry ; Mrs. Vera Delude, Onaga, Kans., wife of a garage owner, mother of one child, and Harry, who makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Henry. .
Mrs. Henry was born in Monrovia, Kans., February 20, 1893, and was reared in St. Louis, Mo. She was graduated from the 1911 class of the Corning High School. She is a member of the United Brethren church and of the Royal Neighbors lodge.
Mr. Henry is active in the affairs of his township and is a member of the Farmers' Union. He is a Republican. Mr. Henry, however, de- votes most of his time to his work as a farmer and is intent on making that business a success. He has wisely adopted the parctice of allowing nothing to interfere with his business.
William Johnstone .- To live a long and useful life and to be able as the maturer years come to retire and live in comfort and security, such is the happy position of William Johnstone, who for many years farmed in Nemaha county, and who now lives in peaceful retirement at Goff.
Mr. Johnstone is a son of William and Isabella (Holliday) John- stone, both of stanch Scotch blood. William Johnstone, Sr., the father of him of whom this review is written, was born in Scotland. He grew up on his father's highland farm, and never left his native shores. In
FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE JOHNSTONE FAMILY. WILLIAM JOHNSTONE, JAMES JOHNSTONE AND WIFE, DAUGHTER AND GRANDDAUGHTER.
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1826 he was married to Isabella Holliday and they settled down on a farm in the Scottish highland and reared a large family in peace and con- tentment. Both were members of the Presbyterian Church and lived devout lives in that faith. Eleven children were born to them, as fol- lows: John, died at the age of eighty years; Eugene, deceased; Bessie, deceased ; Mary, whereabouts unknown; fifth child died in infancy ; William, subject of this biography; Isabella, deceased; Mrs. Judith McEntire, Toronto, Canada; ninth child died when very young ; James, living in Canada; the youngest child died in infancy.
William Johnstone, Jr., was born in Dumphreyshire, Scotland, May 18, 1835, and received a country school education. At the age of fourteen he began working out as a farm hand and laborer. He was married at the age of twenty-one and brought his bride immediately to America, locating near Guelph, Canada, where he worked in a saw mill for a period of five years. Having saved a small sum of money, he rented a small farm near Guelph, and for another period of five years he farmed this place with profit. At the end of this time he moved to a larger farm of 100 acres, which he rented for the same length of time, but he began to cast his eyes toward the West, and after his lease had expired he moved to Kansas, renting 320 acres near Muscotah, Atchison county. He found Kansas farming very profitable and in four years time he had saved enough to buy an eighty-acre farm in Nemaha county and moved to it as soon as he could build a house on the place. He set to work erecting a dwelling, which was 16x32 feet in size, and one and one-half stories in height. After this he put up fences, barns, sheds, granary and other improvements, and before long he had an opportunity to buy a thirty-acre tract adjoining his farm. This made him 110 acres, and he farmed this successfully until 1915, when he sold the land to his son, James, and retired to Goff, Kans.
He was married to Isabelle McCall in 1856, and to this marriage eleven children were born: John, killed while working as conductor on the Central Branch railroad; William, shot by robber at Valley Falls. Kans .; James, farmer, Goff, Kans .; Thomas, died in Spokane, Wash .; David A., ranchman in Montana ; George, painter in Kansas City ; Ben- jamin, hardware merchant, Goff: Mrs. Mary J. Vanderbord, Kelly, Kans: Mrs Jsabella Thornburrow, Wetmore; two children who died in infancy. Mrs. Johnstone is the daughter of John and Isa- bella (Angus) McCall. The father was born in Scotland, where he he spent his youth and received his early education in the district schools there. But the routine life on the farm palled on him and as soon as he reached the military age, he enlisted in the army of the king and saw varied and adventurous service with the colors. He fought in the battle of Waterloo under the Duke of Wellington, and was in several other battles against Napoleon's troops. At the battle of Carona he was wounded. and one of the bullets which struck him was not extracted, and he carried it with him to his grave. Because of his wound he received
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a pension and did light farming after his retirement from service, but at the age of seventy he no longer felt able to continue his farming and from that retired. His death occurred ten years later. Mr. McCall was a Presbyterian.
Mrs. McCall was born in Scotland, and as a girl worked out in the homes of neighbors. She lived to the ripe, old age of eighty years, and was a member of the Presbyterian church. Five children were born to this union: William, deceased, was a ship carpenter in Liverpool ; Jean, deceased; Jennie, whereabouts unknown ; Mary, whereabouts unknown; Isabella, wife of Mr. Johnstone.
Mrs. Johnstone received her early education in the Scotch schools. From the date of her birth in 1832 until her marriage, at the age of twenty-four, she lived in Scotland. She died in 1902, and was buried at Wetmore, Kans.
Mr. Johnstone is a Republican in politics, and for thirty years he was a member of the school board. For a period of ten years he was road supervisor in Granada township, and he executed the duties of his office with economy and good judgment. His neighbors know him as an upright and highly respected citizen of Goff.
James Johnstone .- Residents of Goff know James Johnstone as one of the most industrious and persevering farmers of their vicinity and one who has followed the worthy example of his father, William John- stone, whose life story is told in full in this volume. Mr. Johnstone is one who has struggled many years against adverse circumstances and come out victorious, and is now enjoying the full deserved ease of re- tirement after a busy life. . He has been so long in the harness that even after he has disposed of his farm land or rented it, he cannot be content to sit entirely idle, and often when he craves the feel of the plow pushing through the fresh spring soil, he goes out to the farm of one of his sons and spends a day in the fields.
Mr. Johnstone was born June 7, 1856, in Cummingsville, Canada, and lived on his parents' farm until he was twenty years of age. On the morning of January 1, 1878, he started out for himself and took charge of a sixty-five-acre farm in Atchison county, Kansas, which he rented for one year. Next, he located on Coal creek, on an eighty-acre place, which he farmed for one season. These undertakings were profitable, and by the end of the second year of independent farming, he had accu- mulated enough to close a deal for eighty acres in Granada township, Nemaha county. The land was unimproved, and he was further hin- dered by two bad seasons, in which his crops were ruined. This setback was serious to the young farmer just starting up in life, but it did not daunt him in the least, and when there was nothing to do on his own place, he worked out, often taking as low as $I a day for his team and himself in order to earn some money during his idle hours. As the place was totally unimproved, he could put in only the most inexpensive buildings at first. He had to content himself with a straw barn and with
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF JAMES JOHNSTONE.
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HISTORY OF NEMAHA COUNTY
a house sixteen feet square. He lived on this place until 1891, having improved it somewhat each year. About that time he traded it for 160 acres in Harrison township, which he farmed until 1913, when he bought twenty acres in Goff and moved there to live in retirement. By this time he had accumulated considerable property, for in 1893, he bought back the eighty acres Which he had traded off previously, and in 1897 he bought another eighty acres. He was at a later date the owner of 700 acres; for this he was in debt $2,800, but in one season, by a clever business maneuver, he cleared enough to pay off this debt, when he refused to sell his corn crop at thirteen cents and held it the following year and received fifty cents a bushel for it.
In addition to his farming, he was an extensive stock raiser and feeder. At the time he moved to Goff he had thirty-eight hogs, eleven head of cattle and twenty-five horses. On most of his land corn and wheat are the chief crops. Since his retirement he has rented all of his land, with the exception of twenty acres in Goff, on which he lives, but as some of his children rent from him, he often visits them and helps them with their work.
January I. 1878. he was married to Mary M. Gibson, a daughter of Jacob and Leah (High) Gibson, both of Pennsylvania. Mr. Gibson was born in York county, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1823. He was married to Leah High in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, August 26, 1851, and the early years of their married life were spent in that State. Moving to Peoria, Ill., they farmed for seven years, and in 1871, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson moved to Atchison county, Kansas, locating two and one-half miles east of Arrington. Mr. Gibson became an orphan early in life and was thrown upon his own resources. By turns he was a carpenter, wheelwright and school teacher ; but a great deal of his time was spent on the farm. He was the father of eleven children, two of whom are dead. He died at his home near Arrington, March 16, 1900, at the age of seventy-six years.
The mother of Mrs. Johnstone was Leah Gibson, who was born in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1831, and died September 23, 1901, at the age of seventy years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gibson were de- vout Christians and reared their children in the way of piety. Local papers printed appropriate tributes to them when they passed away.
The daughter, Mary M. Gibson, was born in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1852. At the age of thirteen she moved with her parents to Peoria, Ill., and later came with them to Atchison county, Kansas. She attended district schools in Illinois and Kansas, and later Mrs. Monroe's school at Atchison. January 1, 1878, she was married to James Johnstone, and two years later they moved to Nemaha county, Kansas. Mrs. Johnstone was an enthusiastic worker in the Methodist church. She was the mother of six girls and four boys. She died Octo- ber 8, 1906, and left a large circle of friends to mourn their loss.
James and Mary M. Johnstone had children born to them as follows :
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Mrs. Lillie Jane Roots, Campus, Kans .; John F. G., Campus, Kans .; Mrs. Mamie Davis, Reilly township; Thomas P., Harrison township; Mrs. Maysel Bloom, Adams township; Mrs. Altha, wife of Roy Sheely, Adams township; Harry, Campus, Kans .; Otho, on his father's farm in Harrison township; Mrs. Gladys Jordan, wife of Elmer Jordan, Harrison township; Velra, Goff, Kans.
June 8, 1912, Mr. Johnstone was married to Rosa E. Strenge, daughter of George and Anna (Drewes) Strenge, whose biographies will be found elsewhere in this volume. Three children were born to this union . Frances Evaline, aged three years ; Ethel Louise, aged two years, and Mildred James, an infant. Mrs. Johnstone was born in Germany, No- vember 29, 1891, and received her early education in the schools of the Fatherland. She came to America at the age of seventeen years and worked out until her marriage. She is a devout member of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Johnstone is an independent voter and casts his vote on the side which appears to be in the right, regardless of the party label. He is active in public affairs. and for twenty-two years he served on the school board. He has for many years been a faithful member of the Methodist church, and is a regular attendant at the meetings of his con gregation and contributes liberally to the support of the church. Mr. Johnstone is a citizen of whom Goff has reason to be proud, for, although he has never held high office nor amassed a fortune, yet he has gone through the test and has not been found wanting. When adversity was upon him, he did not fail, and in his later years he is reaping gener- ously from the seed which he sowed in the days when he labored long and hard to keep the wolf from the door. He is a man of simple tastes and exerts a wholesome influence on his community, in which he is highly respected and loved.
Frank G. Millick .- The story of what has been accomplished during a little over thitry years in Nemaha county by Frank G. Millick, of Neuchatel township, is an epic in itself, and demonstrates that Kansas is still a land of opportunity. From farm hand to the ownership of over 400 acres of Nemaha county land, all of which is in intensive cultiva- tion, is a summary of the life and deeds of Frank G. Millick, who was born in Wisconsin, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret Millick, natives of Germany.
Joseph Millick, his father, was born in Germany in 1805, and emi- grated from his native land to America in 1848. He located in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and lived there until 1868 on a farm which he cleared from the wilderness. He sold out in 1868, and made his home with a married daughter until his death in 1877. His death was due to accidental drowning in a creek near Columbus, Wis. He was a devout Catholic and a Democrat. His wife, Margaret, was born in Germany, in 1820, and bore him nine children, as follows: Joseph, deceased ; Mrs. Josephine Dean, Fall River, Wis .; Mrs. Hannah Livermore, deceased ;
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Mrs. Mary Daniels, deceased; Robert, a contractor and builder at Por- terville, Cal .; John, a banker at Blackfoot, Idaho; William, a farmer at Challis, Idaho; Mrs. Rose Fisher, living on a farm at Blackfoot, Idaho.
Frank G. Millick, subject of this review, was born on his father's farm near Columbus, Wis., April 16, 1861, and started for himself when he was thirteen years old. After working as farm hand for twelve and a half ycars in his native State, he came to Kansas in 1886, and bought eighty acres in Neuchatel township, Nemaha county. Prosperity has smiled upon Mr. Millick since his advent into this county, and he has continued to add to his first modest "eighty" until he now owns 419 acres, all of which are under cultivation. His farm is improved with substantial buildings, and he has twenty-eight acres in alfalfa, raises over 100 Duroc Jersey hogs annually, and keeps about thirty-seven head of Shorthorn cattle on his place.
Mr. Millick was married to Elizabeth Langsdorf September 29. 1885. This marriage has been blessed with children, as follows: Oscar, born January 1, 1888; Mrs. Olive Warren, born February 6, 189); Myrtle, born February 17, 1894; Wesley, born February 20, 1900; John, born March 6, 1903. Myrtle Millick has taught school for the past four years and Wesley is a student in the High School at Onaga, Kans. Mrs. Eliz- abeth Millick was born at Randolph, Wis., May 10, 1862, and is a danigh- ter of Martin and Elizabeth (Cobb) Langsdorf, the former of whom was born in Germany in 1825, and immigrated to the United States in 1850. He located in Wisconsin, and after a few years' renting, he was enabled to buy an eighty-acre farm, which he tilled for fifteen years, then sold out and bought a small farm of twenty acres near Doylestown, Wis. He lived there until his death in 1901. Mr. Langsdorf was a member of the Lutheran church. His wife, Elizabeth, was born in Germany ir 1823, married Mr. Langsdorf in 1848 and bore him ten children, namely : Mrs. Louise Hack and Andrew, living at Columbus, Wis .; Mrs. Kate Bushon and Conrad, both deceased; Fred, a farmer near Vermillion, Kans .; Mrs. Mary Pursky, living near Columbus, Wis .; Mrs. Julia Bork, deceased; John, a farmer at Dodge, Wis .; a child died in infancy ; Elizabeth, the sixth child born, wife of Frauk G. Millick.
Mr. Millick is a Republican, and is one of the leaders of his party in Nemaha county. He has served four years as township trustee, one year as treasurer, and one year as assessor, and is a very useful and public- spirited citizen. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Millick is a member of the Lutheran church.
Lemuel L. Newland, trustee of Red Vermillion township, was born in Virginia. January 28, 1861, and is a son of Isaac Newland, a native of Virginia, who married a Miss Berick. Isaac, his father, learned the trade of shoemaker and followed this trade at Mt. Jackson, Va., during his entire life until his death in 1861. His older sons managed his farm near the town where he plied his trade. His wife was born in 1821. They were the parents of eight children, as follows: Paul, a carpenter
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