USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 24
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On November 8. 1905, Mervin B. Bangs was united in marriage to Minette Alice Dewey, who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, daughter of Edward and Minette ( Sloan) Dewey, the former of whom was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the latter in New York state. Edward Dewey was reared in Massachusetts and as a boy studied medicine, with the expectation of becoming a physician, and was graduated from Williams College at the early age of sixteen years in 1861. He then enlisted for service in the Union army during the Civil War and served as a member of one of the Massachusetts regiments until the close of the war, after which, his intention to become a physician having become changed during the time of his military experience. he located in Chicago and after spending two years there went to Milwaukee, where he ever since has been engaged in business, long having been the head of the wholesale grocery firm of Edward Dewey & Company, one of the most extensive and progressive concerns of its kind in the Northwest. Not long after locating in Milwaukee, Mr. Dewey was united in marriage. at Beaver Dam. same state, to Minette
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Sloan, who, as a child had moved to that place with her parents, prominent pioneers of that city, and to this union four children were born, Francis E., who is in business with his father in Milwaukee: Eliza, who married George Fernie and lives on a ranch in Lincoln township, this county; Min- ette Alice, who married Mr. Bangs, and Sloan, who is engaged in business with his father in Milwaukee.
To Merwin B. Minette A. (Dewey) Bangs two children were born, sons both, Merwin Bolton, born on October 7, 1906, and Edward Dewey. March 28, 1910. Mrs. Bangs is a member of the Episcopal church at Hutchinson, of which her late husband also was an earnest member, and takes an active interest in all good works hereabout, being held in the high- est esteem by the many friends she has made since coming to this county. Since her husband's death she has continued to make her home on the farm, to the operation of which she gives her personal attention.
JOHN MILTON DAVIES.
John Milton Davies was born on July 19, 1873, in Guernsey county. Ohio, the son of Hiram and Sarah ( Slack ) Davies, both of whom were natives of that county. Hiram Davies was a coal miner in Ohio, and moved to Sumner county, Kansas, in 1884, where he lived for one year. He then moved to Lawrence county, Missouri, and lived on a farm for some time, after which he removed to Monett, Missouri, and worked as a machinist in the 'Frisco railroad shops. Mr. Davies is still living at Monett. His wife, Sarah (Slack) Davies, died in 1907, at the age of sixty-six years. She was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which denomination Hiram Davies still takes an active interest.
Hiram and Sarah ( Slack) Davies were the parents of seven children, as follow: John Milton, the subject of this sketch; Edgar, who was killed in a railroad accident in North Dakota; Harry, who is an engineer on the 'Frisco railroad, lives at Monett, Missouri: Charles, who was an engineer. was killed on a railroad in Texas; Pearl died in 1903, at the age of twenty years: May, deceased, was the wife of a Mr. Ulman; Loyal is attending college in Morrisville, Missouri.
John M. Davies attended the elementary schools in Ohio for a few years, and later had several years training in the schools of Kansas and Missouri. While living in Lawrence county, Missouri, he assisted his father
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with the work of the farm. After the family had moved to Monett he secured employment in the division offices of the 'Frisco lines, and later worked as a brakeman on that railroad. Mr. Davies then went to the zinc mines at Oronogo, Missouri, and was working there when he met with an accident through which he lost a hand and an eye. Mr. Davies was mar- ried in 1903. and in 1907 he and his wife came to Reno county, Kansas, where Mr. Davies worked for his father-in-law, Ulysses Hendrickson, who owned a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Salt Creek township. In 1912 Mrs. Davies inherited the farm, and since that time the farm house has been remodeled, so that Mr. and Mrs. Davies now have a comfortable, modern home.
On October 22, 1903, at Oronogo, by Rev. James Sullens, John Milton Davies was united in marriage to Grace Hendrickson, who was born in Jasper county, Missouri, the daughter of Ulysses and Mary J. (Cochran) Hendrickson. To this union have been born two children: Gordon, who was born on June 19, 1905, and Loyal, who was born on March 12, 1907.
Ulysses Hendrickson was born on April 24, 1832, in Holmes county, Ohio, and died on May 19, 1912. He was the son of Samuel and Sarah ( Wetherby) Hendrickson. The Hendrickson family was long prominent in Maryland and was represented among the pioneers in Holmes county, Ohio, where Samuel Hendrickson was born. In 1846 he removed to Linn county, Iowa, and settled on government land. He went to Jasper county, Missouri, in 1866, and there died at the age of eighty-three years. He was a Mason.
Sarah Weatherby was born in Massachusetts and was reared in Ohio. She died in Missouri, at the age of seventy years. Her father, John Weatherby, was one of the early settlers of Holmes county, Ohio, and was of English descent. Samuel and Sarah (Weatherby) Hendrickson were the parents of eight children, as follow: Marietta, Martha, Ulysses, Lucre- tia, Iantha, Andrew J., Melvina, who married J. W. Hawn; James W.
Ulysses Hendrickson received his early school training in Holmes county, Ohio. He was fourteen years old when the family moved to Linn county, Iowa, and there he attended school in the log school house on Otter creek. He was an apt student and with reading and travel in later life acquired a broad education. He endured the hardships of pioneer life in a sod house in Iowa, and lived at home until his marriage, in 1855. After farming for a few years in Fayette county, Iowa, he moved to Jasper county, Missouri, and bought forty acres of land in Mineral township, three miles west of Oronogo, and there erected a cabin sixteen by eighteen
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feet. He subsequently increased his land holdings in Missouri to four hundred acres. In 1874 Ulysses Hendrickson was elected sheriff of Jasper county, Missouri, and went to live at Carthage, the county seat. When his term of office had expired he returned to the farm until 1890, when he was elected to the Missouri state Senate, from the twenty-eighth district. He served four years in the Senate, after which he located in the town of Oronogo, where he bought a fine residence in 1897. He was an ardent Democrat. Later, Mr. Hendrickson came to Reno county and here he died.
On September 26, 1855, Ulysses Hendrickson was united in marriage with Mary J. Cochran, who was born on February 28, 1837, in Pickaway county, Ohio, the daughter of George and Hannah (Ward) Cochran, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Mrs. Hannah Cochran died when Mary J. was one year old. Mrs. Mary J. Hendrickson died in Reno county, June 3, 1913. Ulysses and Mary J. (Cochran) Hendrickson were the parents of six children, as follow: Commodore Perry, retired, of Hutchinson, Kan- sas; John B., of Hutchinson; Iantha, wife of Thomas R. Mclaughlin, a retired farmer of Hutchinson; Minerva, who married Harvey Nance; Grace, wife of John M. Davies, and Cole C.
John Milton Davies is a Democrat, and has been elected by that party to a place on the local school board. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Davies are interested in every meas- ure calculated to advance the welfare of Reno county, and have many friends in their home neighborhood.
J. S. THURMAN.
J. S. Thurman, superintendent of the great Viles plantation in Medora ยท township, this county, is a native of Illinois, born in Fulton county, that state, February 8, 1870, son of Stephen and Margaret (Snodgrass) Thur- man, the former also a native of Illinois and the latter of Ohio.
Stephen Thurman was born on February 26, 1830, and is still living, long having made his home in Butler county, this state. He is an honored veteran of the Civil War, having served for three years and eight months as a member of Company A, Forty-seventh Regiment. Illinois Volunteer Infantry; and during the service was shot three times, still carrying a bullet in his thigh. The Forty-seventh Illinois saw much active service, and Mr. Thurman was right in the thick of the most of it. Upon the completion of
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his military service he resumed his life as a farmer in Illinois and remained there until 1884, in which year he chartered two cars and moved to Kansas. settling in Butler county. He bought a quarter of a section of partly improved land and there established his home. His wife died in 1913, at the age of seventy-three years. She was a member of the Dunkard church ; he had been reared a Quaker. They were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the youngest, the others being as fol- low: Levi H., who lives in Oklahoma: Edward, who lives in Cherokee county, this state; C. G., who lives in Fulton, Illinois, and Sarah C., who married J. C. Cook and lives near Larned, this state.
J. S. Thurman received his early schooling in the schools of his native county in Illinois and was fourteen years old when he came to Kansas with his parents in 1884. He grew up on the home farm in Butler county, assisting in the labors of developing the same, and remained there until his marriage, in 1888, at the age of nineteen years, after which he bought a farm of twenty-eight acres near the town of Keighley, rented another bit of land adjoining and was extensively engaged in market gardening for thirteen years, or until 1901, in which year he came to Reno county and settled at Medora, where for six years he served as foreman of the railway section at Medora, in the employ of the 'Frisco Railroad. In 1907 he was made joint car inspector for the Rock Island and the 'Frisco at Medora and served in that capacity for something more than a year, at the end of which time he engaged in the hotel business in that same town, operating a retail store in connection with the same. In 1909 he sold his hotel and store and accepted the position of section foreman for the Rock Island railroad at Groveland, which position he held until September, 1910, when he received the appointment to his present position of superintendent of the eight-hun- dred-acre plantation of James Viles, in Medora township, this county, where he ever since has lived. This great plantation is devoted almost wholly to the raising of catalpa trees, the first stand of which was set out twelve or thirteen years ago. In the winter of 1915-16 Mr. Thurman cut out one hundred thousand trees. the same to be converted into posts, thus thoroughly demonstrating the value of catalpa culture in this county. Mr. Thurman is a Republican and takes an active interest in political affairs, having been township treasurer for the past four or five years.
On June 30, 1888, J. S. Thurman was united in marriage to Martha I. Easton, who was born in Mercer county, Missouri, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Easton, the former of whom was a transfer man, and both of whom are now deceased. and to this union eleven children have been
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born, all of whom are living save Viola, the second in order of birth, who died in infancy, the others being as follow: Nola, who married E. Kinley and lives in Ford county, Kansas; Vina B., who married George Shea and lives on a farm in Medora township, this county; Nettie, who married A. G. Johnson, night telegraph operator at the junction at Medora; William, who assists his father on the plantation; Dewey, also an assistant to his father, and Virgil, Lee, Opal, O'Neal and Austin, who are still in school. Mr. and Mrs. Thurman are members of the Brethren church and their children have been reared in that faith. Mr. Thurman is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that order.
WILLIAM H. MILLER.
William H. Miller, one of the real pioneers of Reno county, for years a prosperous and well-known farmer of Troy township, now living com- fortably retired in a pleasant home in Hutchinson, enjoying the ample re- wards of a life of well-directed industry, is a native of Iowa, having been born on a farm in Wapello county, that state, July 16. 1849, son of John and Sophia ( Walworth ) Miller, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York state.
John Miller was reared on a farm and was married in New York state, later emigrating to Indiana, where he began developing a fine farm. but presently a cloud was discovered on his title to the same and he was ousted on a legal technicality, after which he moved farther west and settled in Illinois, where he remained until 1846. About the time he settled in Illi- nois the Black Hawk War broke out and he served in that brief but con- clusive struggle. In the summer of 1846 he and his family drove through by ox-team to Iowa and settled in Wapello county. There John Miller pre-empted a half section of "Congress land," on which he lived until 1855. in which year he sold out and moved to Decatur county, where he bought a quarter of a section of land and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in the spring of 1874, he then being seventy-eight years of age. His widow survived him for nearly eighteen years, her death occur- ring in February, 1892, at the age of eighty-six. They were the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch was the youngest that grew to maturity, and of whom three are now living, he having a brother, Henry, who still makes his home in Decatur
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county, Iowa, and a sister. Mary, widow of Henry McVay, living in Wayne county, that same state.
William H. Miller was about six years old when his parents moved onto the frontier farm in Decatur county, Iowa, and there he grew to man- hood. The nearest school house being about three miles from his home, his early opportunities for schooling were limited. In the spring of 1872 he married a daughter of Zeno Tharp, a prominent farmer of that neighbor- hood. who, that same spring, came to Kansas and pre-empted a homestead in Reno county, and in the spring of 1873 Mr. Miller and his wife accom- panied the other members of the Tharp family to this county, arriving here on April 3. William H. Miller homesteaded the northwest quarter of sec- tion 20, in Troy township, and was thus one of the three earliest settlers of that township, there being but one other family besides his and that of Mr. Tharp in the township at that time. He built a sod house on his place, but during the first summer they lived there he and his wife continued to sleep in their "prairie schooner," which had brought them down from Iowa. Their nearest neighbor was five miles distant. The buffaloes were still ranging the plains. and it was during that summer of 1873 that the great herd, noted in history as "the big herd," passed their place, the countless mass requiring fifty-four hours to pass a given point. Cash was scarce and hard to get throughout this section of Kansas in those days, and Mr. Miller. in order to obtain a bit of ready money, from time to time, gathered buffalo bones up off the plains and hauled them to Hutchinson, where he received about six dollars a ton for the same.
Mr. Miller and his wife remained on their original homestead about four years, at the end of which time they sold that place and bought the northeast quarter of section 10, in Troy township, where they established their permanent home and where they lived until their retirement and removal to Hutchinson in 1908. Mr. Miller was a progressive and ener- getic farmer and made a success of his business, gradually enlarging his land holdings until he became the owner of six hundred and eighty acres in Troy township and was regarded as one of the most substantial farmers in that part of the county. About 1889 he became extensively engaged in the cattle business and so continued until his retirement from the farm, being also quite successful as a stockman. Mr. Miller has always been a stead- fast Republican and for years was looked upon as one of the leaders in the party in Troy township, a constant attendant at party conventions and otherwise active in the affairs of his party. For years he served as school director in his home district and also served for some time as township
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treasurer. In 1908 he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Hutchinson. He bought a house at 225 Sixth avenue, west, and there he and his wife are very pleasantly situated.
On February 11, 1872, in Decatur county, Iowa, William H. Miller was united in marriage to Catherine Rose Tharp, who was born on a farm near Winchester, Indiana, daughter of Zeno and Christina (Fry) Tharp. the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Germany. Zeno Tharp was born in Ashland, Ohio, May 20, 1827, and grew to manhood on a farm. When a young man he went over into Indiana and settled in Jay county, where he married Christina Fry, who was born in Germany in 1835 and who was but five years old when her parents came to the United States, settling in Jay county, Indiana. About 1853 Zeno Tharp and his family emigrated to Iowa, settling in Decatur county, that state. When the Civil War broke out Mr. Tharp enlisted in Company K, Fifty-third Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served for ten months, at the end of which time he was dischorged on a physician's certificate of disability, illness incapacitating him from further service. In 1872 Zeno Tharp came to Kansas and in November of that year filed on a half section of land in Troy township, this county. The next spring he brought his family here and established his home. He also bought a half section of railroad land and it was not long until he was accounted one of the most substantial farmers and stockmen in the county. Mr. Tharp was very active in the general affairs of the community during pioneer days and it is generally agreed that no man had more influence in the days of the early development of the southern part of the county than he. In 1902 he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Hutchinson, where his last days were spent. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, six of whom are living, of whom Mrs. Miller is the eldest, the others being Mary, who married Harry Wright and lives in Hutchinson; John, a farmer, who makes his home in Hutchinson; D. T., who lives at Nickerson, this county, and Flora, who lives at Hutchinson, and George, who lives on the old home farm.
To William H. and Catherine Rose (Tharp) Miller three children have been born, as follow: Walter J., born in 1876, who married Laura Croas and lives in Troy township, this county; Cora A., 1877, who married A. F. Hood and also lives in Troy township, and Frank Z., 1880, who married Gladys Hambrick and also makes his home in Troy township, all substan- tial farmers and useful citizens of that part of the county. Mr. Miller is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife
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are members of the Daughters of Rebekah. He also is a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the Fraternal Aid Society and in the affairs of all these organizations takes a warm interest.
GEORGE ASTLE.
George Astle, one of the best-known farmers of Haven township, this county, an honored veteran of the Civil War and one of the pioneers of Reno county, is a native of England, having been born in the town of Melbourne, Derbyshire, October 21, 1842, son of Richard and Sarah (Hib- lert ) Astle, both natives of Derbyshire, the former of whom was born on February 15. ISII, and the latter, February 3, 1810, who came to Kansas in pioneer days. settled in Haven township, this county, and there spent the rest of their lives, useful and valued citizens of that community.
Richard Astle was reared in Derbyshire, married there and became a market gardener. To him and his wife ten children were born, all of whom grew to maturity. In 1852, their elder children having them grown, the two eldest having married and settled in their home town, Richard Astle and his wife and their younger children emigrated to the United States, locating near Quincy, Illinois, where Mr. Astle engaged in garden- ing. In 1861 the family moved to Godfrey, near Alton, Illinois, where they farmed until 1866, in which year they moved to Alhambra, that same state, and farmed there until 1872. In this latter year, the good word of the promising conditions presented in this section of Kansas having begun to attract much attention in the Fast, Richard Astle and his wife and their older children equipped a couple of "prairie schooners" and drove through to this county, arriving in Haven township in the month of April. the younger chiklren joining them a few months later. Richard Astle and those of the children who had reached their majorities each homesteaded a quarter of a section, the father's homestead being in section 20. There he established his home and there he and his wife spent the rest of their lives, his death occurring on June 10. 1883. His widow survived until January 22. 1891. Richard Astle was a Republican and took a prominent part in local political affairs in pioneer days, long serving as justice of the peace in and for Haven township. He and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist church and were among the leaders in the organization of a church of that denomination in their neighborhood. Their children were
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as follow: John, born on November 17, 1832, who remained in England and who died on September 2, 1896; Elizabeth, March 15, 1834, who mar- ried Henry Barber, of Melbourne, England, where she died on September 28, 1899; Richard, February 15, 1836, a well-known retired farmer, living at Haven, this county; William, November 21, 1840, a veteran of the Civil War, who was prominent in the establishment of the town of Haven, where he was successfully engaged in the grain and general mercantile business, married Louisa Tissius and is now living retired at Haven; George, the sub- ject of this sketch; Joseph, April 27, 1845, a well-known hardware mer- chant in Haven, who died in 1899; Sarah, February 16, 1847, now deceased, who married Henry Challacombe ; Mary, February 20, 1849, married J. W. VanBuren and died in Haven township on March 22, 1910; Henry, June 21, 1851, a retired farmer now living at Haven, and Charles W., the only one of the children born in the United States, born at Quincy, Illinois, November 21, 1854, former postmaster of Haven, which town he also served as mayor, and former manager of the farmers' elevator at that place, where he is now living retired.
George Astle was about ten years old when his family came to America from England and he grew to manhood on the farm in Illinois. In August, 1862, he then being not quite twenty years of age, he enlisted in Company I, Ninety-seventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil War, and was at once sent with his regiment to Kentucky, the regi- ment there forming part of the army under General Buell in the campaign against General 'Bragg. After participating in the battle of Perryville the regiment was sent on to Memphis, thence to Vicksburg, an attack, under General Sherman, being made on the latter town, upon the repulse of which the regiment retired to Arkansas Post, which place was taken in January. In the spring of 1873 the Ninety-seventh Illinois fought in the battles of Port Gibson, Champion Hills and Black River, following which it was engaged in the siege of Vicksburg until that city fell. The regiment then assisted in the capture of Jackson, Mississippi, after which it took part in the famous Red River expedition, being ordered thence to New Orleans to be fitted out as a regiment of mounted infantry. On the way to New Orleans the troop train was wrecked, leaving fewer than two hundred men fit for service, and these were put on provost duty while the regiment was being recruited to its normal strength. The regiment was then sent on the expedition against Mobile and after the capture of that city was sent to take Selma, Alabama, upon the destruction of which town the Ninety-seventh was sent to Galveston, Texas, where it was mustered out in July. 1865.
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Upon the conclusion of his military service Mr. Astle stopped for a couple of years in Missouri and while there married Mattie Shuron, a native of Missouri, who died one year and twenty-eight days after her marriage, without issue. After that Mr. Astle rejoined his father in - Illinois and remained on the farm there until the family came to Reno county in 1872. since which time he has made his home in this county. Upon arriving in this county George Astle homesteaded a quarter section in section 28, Haven township, but continued to make his home with his parents as long as they lived. He then bought the interests of the other heirs in the home place and continued to reside there, being now the owner of two hundred and twenty-five acres in this county, all well-improved and profitably cultivated. He erected a new set of buildings on the home place and set out a good- sized orchard and is now very well circumstanced.
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