USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 16
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In 1876 Mr. Mourn sold his homestead "eighty" and moved to his timber claim, where he ever since has made his home. In addition to the dwelling he erected there he put up a blacksmith shop on the place and for twenty-five years worked at that trade, his sons looking after the farm. For a quarter of a century he also operated a sorghum mill, farmers for miles around bringing their cane to him to be converted into good Kansas sorg- hum. Since 1900 Mr. Mourn has kept thirty hives of bees and his apiary
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long has been his principal "hobby;" that and indulging in reminiscences of pioneer days, for there are few of the surviving pioneers of Reno county, whose reminiscences of the early days are more varied or more interesting than those of Mr. Mourn. He served on the first jury ever impanelled in Reno county. He is a Republican and for two years served as treasurer of Valley township, also having served as a member of the first school board in his township.
On September 8, 1861, George W. Mourn was united in marriage to Mary Frances Smith, who was born within two miles of her husband's birthplace, February 25, 1842, daughter of Joseph and Susan Smith, both of whom died in West Virginia. To this union eleven children were born, namely : Ida May, who married W. E. Woodward and lives in Clay town- ship, this county; Viola, who married Frank D. Barnes and lives in Valley township; George, engineer at the strawboard works at Hutchinson; Mary Elizabeth, who married William T. Gregory and died on April 19, 1904; Luella, who married George Hoskinson and lives in Valley township; Will- iam H., who lives in Clay township; Rosa, born on November 22, 1872, who died on December 6, 1872; Effie A., who married Wesley Jackson and lives on a farm near Burdette, this state; Lillie, who married Charles Hos- kinson and lives in Valley township; Bertha, who married Samuel Imel and lives in Valley township, and Mertie, who married a Mr. Triplett. and mar- ried, secondly, Delva Butler, who is farming the old Mourn home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Mourn also adopted a child, Sadie May, who married Giles Day and lives in Burrton. Mrs. George W. Mourn died on November 22, 1912, and was buried in Burrton cemetery, Harvey county, Kansas.
GARRETT SALLEE.
Garrett Sallee, a well-known farmer of Grant township, this county, is a native of the great Blue Grass state, having been born in Mercer county, Kentucky, September 27, 1868, son of A. J. and Margaret (Yast) Sallee, both natives of that same county, the former of whom was born on September 8, 1848, and the latter, September 16, 1848, she having been the daughter of Jacob Yast, a Kentucky farmer and a soldier on the Union side during the Civil War. Margaret (Yast) Sallee died in 1871, leaving three children, John Garrett and William. A. J. Sallee then married, secondly, Lucy Divine, and to this second union nine children were born, Mary Ann. James H.,
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Levi. George, Grundy. Luther, Nancy, Martha and Richard. In 1888, he then being forty years of age, A. J. Sallee disposed of his interests in Ken- tucky and came to Kansas locating in Reno county. He bought four hun- dred and twenty acres in Valley township and there established his home, remaining there until 1903, in which year he moved to Oklahoma, bought a half section of land in Alpha county, that state, and there has made his home ever since.
Garrett Sallee was about twenty years old when he accompanied his father to this county from the old home in Kentucky in 1888, and he has lived here ever since. The year after arriving here he married Lydia Hale, who also was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, and who had come to Reno county with her parents, Elijah Hale and wife, in 1887. He then began farming on his own account and has prospered in his undertakings until now he is the owner of eight hundred and forty acres in this county and in the adjoining county of Rice. In May, 1896, he moved to the fine farm on which he is now living, in Grant township, and there he and his family are very pleasantly and comfortably situated. He is active in township affairs and is looked upon as one of the most substantial and influential farmers in that neighborhood. In addition to his extensive operations in the way of general farming, Mr. Sallee devotes considerable attention to the raising of fine cattle and his Herefords command the top of the market.
To Garrett and Lydia ( Hale) Sallee two children have been born, daughters both, Bertha V., born on November II, 1889, and Flora Myrtle, .August 27, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Sallee are members of the Christian church at Nickerson and Mr. Sallee is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
ALBERT LEE SWARENS.
Albert Lee Swarens, one of Reno county's best-known farmers, who lives with his stepmother, Mrs. Lewis Swarens, on a fine farm adjoining the city of Hutchinson on the northwest, is one of the original pioneers of this county, as is Mrs. Swarens, there having been but two other families living within miles of them when they arrived at the point at which they still reside. in the year 1871, the town of Hutchinson not then even having been staked out. They consequently have witnessed the whole of the wonderful develop- ment of this section of the state and may be accepted as authorities upon all questions relating to the history of Reno county and particularly of the
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neighborhood about Hutchinson, in which they have lived from the time of the beginning of a social order hereabout; doing well their respective parts in the development of the community which is so dear to both of them. Mrs. Lewis Swarens is a woman of the true pioneer type and during all the years she has lived in this county has done her whole duty as a neighbor and a friend to all. In her gentle heart there never has been room for mistrust, it ever having been her rule to believe only the best things regarding her neighbors, and throughout her long life in this community she ever has borne the profoundest respect and esteem of all.
Albert L. Swarens was born in Woodford county, Illinois, October 25, 1851, son of Lewis and Mary Ann ( Watkins) Swarens, the former of whom was born in the town of New Albany. Indiana, on October 5, 1822, and the latter in Illinois. Lewis Swarens left the old Ohio river town, New Albany, when a boy and with his parents moved to Woodford county, Illinois, where he grew to manhood and where he was married in 1845. In 1856 he moved with his family to Hardin county. Iowa, where he bought two hundred and forty acres, and there he made his home until 1862, in which year he was seized with the "California fever," and, in company with several other famil- ies, the train comprising thirty-two wagons and one buggy, started on the long overland journey to the land of golden promises. En route the party had several fights with hostile Indians and the redskins stole all their cattle. Upon his arrival in California, Lewis Swarens encountered only disappoint- ments. In the winter of 1863 his wife died, at the age of thirty-five years, and shortly thereafter his eldest daughter. Evaline, died, both being buried in Calaveras county. His eldest son, Frank, joined the army and he did not see him again for years. With two small children on his hands amid new and untried conditions, Mr. Swarens decided to make his way back to the old home in Illinois. He and the two children, Albert L., then about twelve of age, and the little sister, Laura, boarded a vessel at San Francisco and by way of Panama, presently arrived at an Eastern port, whence they returned to Woodford county, Illinois, where the children were left with relatives, after which Mr. Swarens again started West. For some time he tried his fortunes in the mining region about Ogden. Utah, and later in Oregon, but without success. In North Ogden he met Sylvesta Rice, who had located there with her parents in 1862, and on December 25, 1865, they were married.
Sylvesta Rice was born at No. I, Park cottages, New Park road, Brix- ton Hill, Surrey, near the city of London, in England, on September 28, 1848, daughter of James and Elizabeth ( Murrell) Rice, the former of whom was born in Sussex on November 3, 1824, and the latter in Kent, April 17.
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1824, and who were married on November 22, 1847. In 1855, James Rice and his family came to the United States, landing from the sailing vessel, "Emerald Isle," at the port of New York. For seven years the Rices made their home in New York, James Rice being engaged as an engineer in a factory there and in 1862 decided to migrate West. They made the trip across the plains in "prairie schooners," drawn by ox teams and located at North Ogden, where Mr. and Mrs. Rice became associated with the Mormon church, having previously been members of the Episcopalian church, having been reared as members of the established church in England. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Sylvesta, Mrs. Swarens, was the eldest. She, however, did not join the Mormon faith.
Following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Swarens remained in Utah, Mr. Swarens working at the carpenter trade until 1870, in which year they made a visit to friends in Cass county, Missouri, and from there went into the Cherokee strip in Indian Territory, where for a year Mr. Swarens was engaged as a contractor getting out railroad ties. In the spring of 1871 his son, Albert Lee Swarens, then grown to manhood, having rejoined him in Missouri, Mr. Swarens rigged out another "prairie schooner" and drove across country to Reno county, arriving at the site now occupied by the city of Hutchinson on June 17, 1871. At that time John Shehan and Mr. Frazier were the only people living within miles of that spot. Lewis Swarens home- steaded the southwest quarter of section 22, township 23, range 6 west, and there he and his wife and family proceeded to make a new home, their first place of abode there being a mere "dugout," which three years later was sup- planted by a house. The Swarens were very poor upon starting their new home in this county, but they were industrious and with the true pioneer spirit made the best of the situation, eventually prospering, Lewis Swarens having been the owner of seven hundred and forty acres of choice land at the time of his death, on April 10, 1903. Since his death his widow and his son. Albert L., who is unmarried, have continued to make their home on the old homestead, where they have a fine farm of two hundred acres, besides being the owners of three quarter sections of excellent land in Medford township, this county.
To Lewis and Sylvesta ( Rice) Swarens one child was born, a son, Lewis Leander, born on November 29, 1868. who died on June 17, 1889, his death having been due to a distressing accident. While breaking a wild bronco he was thrown so violently as to break his leg in such a manner as to require amputation and he died under the shock of the operation. Lewis Swarens's daughter. Laura, who was left motherless in the wilds of Cali-
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fornia and who was returned to relatives in Illinois after the long trip across the isthmus of Panama, married George Darnell and now lives at Sunny- side, California.
Albert L. Swarens is a good farmer and keeps his place up in fine shape and his horses are of excellent stock. He is a Democrat, but is somewhat independent in his political views, believing that the man and not the party should be the controlling factor in determining the voter's judgment at the polls.
VINCENT PRIDDLE.
Vincent Priddle, well-known farmer of Valley township, this county, and one of the most extensive landowners of Reno county, is a native of England, having been born near the town of South Petherton, in Somer- setshire, January 1, 1862, son of Stephen and Charlotte (Pipe) Priddle, both natives of that same vicinity. Stephen Priddle was foreman of a brick vard. In 1868 he came to the United States and settled in Albany, New York, in the vicinity of which city he rented a farm and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1885, he then being sixty years of age. His widow died in 1911, at the great age of ninety-two years. Her son, the subject of this sketch, paid her a visit at the old home in England just four months before she died. There were thirteen children born to Stephen Priddle and wife, of whom Vincent Priddle was the eleventh in . order of birth. Twelve of these children grew to maturity. Three of Mr. Priddle's sisters are living in England; four sisters in the United States: one brother, Edgar, lives in Schenectady, New York, and one sister, Betsey. who married Samuel Collins, lives in Valley township, this county.
Vincent Priddle never went to school a day in his life. As a boy he worked on a farm, for which service he received thirty-six cents a week. Eleven years after his father had come to America he followed. Previous to this some of the other children came over together, and worked on a farm in the neighborhood of the point in New York state where his father had located. It was in 1880 that Vincent Priddle came to this country, he then being eighteen years of age, and in 1883 he came to Kansas, locating in Harvey county, where he worked on the Byle farm, south of Burrton. for thirteen months, at the end of which time, in 1885, he bought eighty acres in this county, the south half of the southwest quarter of section 16. in Val- ley township. The place was wholly unimproved and he straightway set
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about getting it under cultivation. He set out a fine grove and a splendid orchard and soon had one of the best-kept farms in the neighborhood. Mr. Priddle was a good farmer, energetic and industrious, and prospered from the very start of his operations. He went into cattle raising on a somewhat extensive scale and as he prospered added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of twelve hundred and seventy acres of fine land in Valley township. Three hundred acres of this land he rents out and manages the remainder himself. Since 1905 he has been one of the directors of the Farmers Grain Company at Haven and in other ways has taken an active part in the general business life of the community. Mr. Priddle is an earnest member of the United Brethren church, of which he has been a trustee for thirty years; in which he also has been a class leader and the Sunday school of which church he is now superintendent.
In March, 1883, Vincent Priddle was united in marriage to Mary Fol- l'et. to which union eight children have been born, as follow: Charles. a minister of the United Brethren church at Pensacola, this state: Anna, who married E. E. Barrett and lives near Dodge City: Leo, who is a valuable assistant to his father in the work of managing the big farm, and Hazel and Edgar, also at home, and three who died in childhood. Mr. Priddle is a prominent Mason, a member of the blue lodge of that order at Haven and of the consistory at Wichita. He also is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and in the affairs of both of these orders takes a warm interest.
CHARLES SEEDLE.
Charles Seedle, a well-known farmer of Reno county, owner of a half section of well-improved land in Valley township, where he has resided since 1884. is a native of Ohio, having been born in Greene county, that state, March 31, 1856, last born of the eleven children born to his parents, and the only one now surviving. His father, born in Pennsylvania, son of German parents, and who died when the subject of this sketch was a small boy, was a shoe-maker by trade. He married a widow. Mrs. Eliza ( Mich- ael) Houser, also born in Pennsylvania, who was the mother, by her first marriage of two sons. Henry and John Houser, who came to Kansas in 1884 and settled in Osage county. John Houser died in Ohio.
Orphaned when he was a baby. Charles Seedle was cared for when a child in successive families, including those of the Haggard and Mack famil-
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ies, and from the age of thirteen to twenty years in the family of William Ferguson. His early education was wholly neglected and at the age of four- teen he had not yet learned the alphabet. Reared on Greene county farms, he became an excellent farmer and when he was twenty years old began "working out" on his own account, being thus engaged until the time of his marriage, at the age of twenty-four, when he rented a farm in his native county and set up a home for himself, remaining there for four years. at the end of which time, in the spring of 1884, he came to Kansas on a home- seeking tour and bought one-half of the northwest quarter of section 17, in Valley township, this county, and early the next spring brought his family here, arriving on March 1, 1885. On his farm was a two-room house, a small barn and a few trees. Upon taking possession he at once entered upon the task of improving his place and bringing it to a proper state of cultiva- tion and as he prospered gradually added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of well-improved land sur- rounding his home, he having bought from time to time three "eighties" adjoining his home place. Though very poor when he started farming in Reno county, Mr. Seedles has done well and is regarded as one of the substantial residents of his community. He erected his present excellent farm house in 1900 and the other improvements on the farm are in keep- ing with the same. Mr. Seedles is "independent" in his political views. believing in supporting the best men for public office. regardless of party affiliations.
On December 25, 1879, Charles Seedles was united in marriage to Tabitha Sutton, who was born on March 5. 1861, in Clinton county, Ohio, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Ann (Culbertson) Sutton, farming people. the former of whom died in Ohio in 1888, aged fifty-four years, and the latter in 1887, aged forty-eight. To this union four children have been born, namely: Dora, who married the Rev. Charles Priddle, a United Brethren minister stationed at Pensacola, in the neighboring county of Kingman. and they have three children, Harley, Clyde and Glenn; Jesse. who farms a part of his father's place in Valley township, married Jennie M. White, and they have two children, Jesse E. and Clyde M .: Oscar, who owns a farm of his own in Valley township, married Golda Adkins, and they had two children, Ruth E. and Esther, who is deceased, and Walter Mel- vin, who died when three years old. Mr. and Mrs. Seedles are earnest members of the United Brethren church at Pleasant Grove, of which Mr. Seedles has been a trustee for nearly thirty years, and are active in church
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work. Mr. Seedles is a member of Haven Lodge No. 287, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organi- zation.
ARTHUR DADE.
Arthur Dade, one of Hutchinson's most energetic and substantial busi- ness men, a capitalist whose interests and investments hereabout make him an important factor in commercial and realty circles in this county, is a native of Maryland, having been born in Montgomery county, that state, on May 4. 1872. son of the late Alexander and Susan Ann ( White) Dade, prominent pioneer residents of Reno county, who settled here in 1878, and has been a resident of Reno county since he was five years of age. In the biographical sketch relating to Arthur Dade's brother, Ernest Dade, pre- sented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out in detail a history of the Dade family, to which the reader is respectfully referred in this connection.
As stated above, Arthur Dade was five years old when he came to Reno county with his parents, who settled in Reno township, and he grew to man- hood on the paternal farm there. He received his elementary education in district school No. 65, supplementing the same by a course in the Hutchin- son high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1892. For three years after leaving school he continued to assist his father in the opera- tion of the home farm and then rented a farm in Reno township, on which he commenced operations on his own account. Soon thereafter, however, he bought a farm in the Poplar district in Reno township, but presently sold that place and bought another farm near the railway station at Whiteside, in the same township, which he worked for a year. In 1913 Mr. Dade bought two hundred and forty acres of the old William Fair section in Reno town- ship, which he still owns, having sold the farm near Whiteside. In 1909 Mr. Dade moved to Hutchinson, for greater convenience in managing his growing interests and the next year erected a very pretty residence at 27 Eleventh avenue, east, in which he and his family have since resided. He inherited some property from his father's estate and has been fortunate in his own investments, his entire time now being devoted to the management of his extensive interests, looking after his farms. his various bits of city property and other investments. In 1913 Mr. Dade erected a business block at 411-413 North Main street, in the city of Hutchinson and also owns a business block at HI South Main street and one across the street from the
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same at 12 South Main street, which buildings are profitably occupied by retail stores and offices. Mr. Dade also is a director in the Kelley Milling Company at Hutchinson.
On January 27, 1904, Arthur Dade was united in marriage to Jessie E. Myers, who was born in Urbana, Illinois, daughter of John A. and Mary L. Myers, the former of whom is now living in Hutchinson, and a biography of whom is set out in another place in this volume. Mr. Myers is a former commissioner of Reno county and one of Hutchinson's most substantial citizens. To Mr. and Mrs. Dade two children have been born, John Travis, born on June 16, 1908, and Ernest Vincent, November 27, 1912. Mr. Dade is a Democrat, as was his father before him. and ever since arriving at years of maturity has given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, though never having been included in the office-seeking class.
OSCAR W. OLMSTEAD.
Oscar W. Olmstead, one of the best-known farmers of Grant township, this county, and a pioneer of that section, who is still living on the quarter section he pre-empted in 1872, is a native of Michigan, having been born on a farm in Oakland county, that state, March 26, 1849, son of D. D. and Janet (Reid) Olmstead, both natives of the state of New York, the former of whom was born on March 16, 1823, and the latter, March 7, 1826, who became pioneers of Reno county and here spent their last days.
D. D. Olmstead was the son of David D. and Anna Olmstead, both natives of New York state, both of whom spent all their lives in that state. He grew to manhood there, spent two years in Canada, and married Janet Reid, daughter of William Reid, a native of Scotland, who had come to America when a mere lad. After their marriage D. D. Olmstead and wife lived in Michigan, where in Oakland county they established their home on a farm, where they lived until 1872, in which year they came to Kansas and settled in Reno county, thus becoming among the very earliest settlers of this county. D. D. Olmstead pre-empted one quarter of section 24, in Grant township, and there established his new home, both he and his wife spending the remainder of their lives there, his death occurring in August, 1884. She died in August, 1878. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and he and his wife were members of the Methodist church, in which faith their children were reared. There were eight of these children, of whom
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four are still living, Oscar, the second in order of birth, Josephine, Herman and Ida. Those deceased were William, a veteran of the Civil War, Susan, Charles, Samuel and Ellen.
Oscar W. Olmstead was reared in Oakland county, Michigan, receiving his education in the school in the neighborhood of his home, and was about twenty-two years old when he came to Kansas with his parents. Upon arriving in Reno county in 1872, thus having been among the pioneers of this county, he pre-empted a quarter of a section of land in section 24, in Grant township, his present home, and proceeded to "break" and develop the same. On April 25, 1884. he married Essie Y. Jeffers, who also was born in Michigan, her birthplace being in Oakland county, and who came to Kan- sas with her parents, Aaron and Sarah Jeffers, in the fall of 1883, the family settling in this county, and he here established a home, but later moved to Indiana in 1890, where Mr. Jeffers is still living and where Mrs. Jeffers died.
To Oscar W. and Essie J. (Jeffers) Olmstead six children have been born, James, Bertha, Leo, Victor, Leona and Hazel. Miss Bertha Olm- stead is a teacher in the public schools of Rice county, this state. The Olm- steads are members of the Christian church. Mr. Olmstead is a substan- tial farmer and his well-kept place shows evidences of his careful manage- ment.
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