USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 33
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During his many years of practice at Hutchinson, Judge Martin has been one of the most active participants in the political affairs of the county of any man hereabout. An ardent Republican, he ever has been a leader in the councils of that party in this county and in 1891 was chairman of the convention that met to nominate a candidate of the Republican party for the office of district judge. For two days and two nights the convention was in deadlock. It then becoming apparent that the deadlock could not be broken, the several aspirants for the nomination agreed to the selection of
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three men, one of whom should be made the nominee of the convention. Under this arrangement, F. F. Prigg, of Hutchinson, received the nomina- tion, but he declined to accept and the convention was thereupon adjourned to meet at Burton on September 31. following, the nomination going to Mr. Martin in this latter convention. Never was a more strenuous or effective campaign made in this district than that which followed his nomination and, despite the fact that the Populists carried the state and local ticket that year, Mr. Martin was elected by a plurality of three hundred and ninety-six votes and was re-elected in the election of 1895. In 1901 Judge Martin was elected mayor of the city of Hutchinson on a platform promising that the at that time having been for some time heavily discounted in the banks. This platform was so rigidly adhered to during the administration of Mayor Martin that city orders were restored to par, and the city restored to its former sound financial rating. Such a course not unnaturally aroused much opposition in certain quarters and Mayor Martin was defeated for the nomination in 1903, but in 1909 he was again nominated and elected. The city in the meanwhile had voted to adopt a commission form of government and it fell to Mayor Martin's lot to organize the functions of local govern- ment along these new lines. In the interim between his terms of office the city again had reverted to the old slipshod methods of government and city orders again were away below par. Mayor Martin's personal influence, backed by his known financial stability, proved sufficient guaranty with the banks of the city and funds were advanced with which to run the city government for a period of nine months, by which time the mayor again had restored the city's credit. Under the commission form of government the term of mayor was fixed at three years, and after Mayor Martin had served one year of that term the city, by reason of growth of population. had passed from the status of a city of the third class to a city of the second class and it became necessary to hold a new election and Mayor Martin declined to stand for re-election. In 1914 Judge Martin was elected repre- sentative in the Legislature from the seventy-fifth legislative district and his services in the lower house of the General Assembly proved valuable to his district and to the state at large.
In addition to his extensive practice and the performance of his official duties, as the latter would arise. Judge Martin is a farmer of no mean ability, being particularly well known hereabout as an apple grower, his fine orchards on his model "Riversbanks Plantation" northeast of Hutchinson, in Clay township, being his particular pride and joy. This fine plantation takes its name from its original owner, Rivers Banks, a Kentuckian, who
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homesteaded that tract in pioneer days. Judge Martin has owned the place since 1902 and has given his orchards.a great deal of thoughtful attention, his profit on his apples alone last year having been more than his original investment in the place. He has added to his original tract until he now owns four hundred acres in Clay and Medora townships, of which one hun- dred and ten acres are planted in orchards, in addition to which he is the owner of a fifteen-hundred-acre ranch in Hayes township, stocked with fine cattle.
On June 29, 1887, Frank L. Martin was united in marriage to Nellie Vandeveer, of Hutchinson, who was born in the town of Pana, in Christian county, Illinois, daughter of Aaron and Sarah (McWilliams) Vandeveer, both natives of Illinois. Aaron Vandeveer was a farmer and stockman, the owner of about five hundred acres of land, who moved to Pana in order to secure to his younger children the advantage of the schools and there he and his wife spent their last days, his death occurring when he was fifty- six years old and hers in 1903, she then being seventy years of age. They were the parents of ten children, four of whom grew to maturity, as follow : George .A., for years a prominent attorney at Hutchinson, former law part- ner of Judge Martin, who died in 1907; Amanda, who married E. N. Mex- field, a hotel proprietor at Great Bend, this state; Nellie, who married Judge Martin, and Calvin B., who lives at Ashland, this state.
To Frank L. and Nellie ( Vandeveer) Martin five children have been born, namely: Van M., born on September 1, 1888, who after his gradua- tion from the Hutchinson high school attended the Salt City Business Col- lege and then entered the Kansas State University, from the law depart- ment of which he was graduated in 1912, since which time he has been practicing law as a partner of his father, under the firm name of Martin & Martin ; Elizabeth, October 15, 1893, who married James Farley and lives in Hutchinson: John Morrill, September 16, 1894, who after three years at the State University of Kansas is now ( 1915) a senior in the Washing- ton State University ; Clara, October 16, 1897, and Franklin L., March 12, 1903. Judge and Mrs. Martin are members of the First Presbyterian church and are among the leaders in all good works hereabout, they and their family being held in the highest esteem. Judge Martin is a member of the Kansas State Bar Association and of the American Bar Association, in the deliberations of which he takes an active interest and occupies a high place in the regard of his associates at the bar. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
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WILLIAM HODGSON.
William Hodgson is a native of Cumberland county, England, where he was born on December 25, 1842. He is the son of Hetherington and Rebecca (Smithson) Hodgson, both of whom were also natives of Cumber- land county, England. It may be stated in connection with the name Smith- son, that the first cousin of Mrs. Hodgson was the founder of the Smithsonian Institute, of Washington, D. C.
Hetherington Hodgson was known in the county in which he was born, as a master moulder in the "iron county" of England. He worked at his chosen trade until 1837, when with his family he came to this country and settled in Taunton, Bristol county, Massachusetts, where he continued to work along the lines of his trade until 1857, when he moved to Steele county, Minnesota, where on a homestead in Deerfield township, he engaged in the occupation of farming. This pursuit proved to be unprofitable, owing to the conditions of that locality and period, and Mr. Hodgson anticipating a probable financial crisis, decided to turn his attention to another field of activity and spent two years traveling through the West and the Northwest. During that time he established a number of foundries, the one at St. Paul being the first foundry established north of Dubuque. Along the Mississippi river as far as St. Paul he put up a number of moulding shops, from which he received good wages. Mr. Hodgson passed away in 1877 at the age of seventy-four years. His wife died in 1861 at the age of sixty-three. The couple attended the Universalist church, but were "free thinkers." Mrs. Hodgson was a woman of broad education and for eleven years preceding her marriage taught in the public schools of England. Mr. Hodgson was a descendant of one of the most patriotic as well as notable families of Eng- land. His uncle, Captain Hodgson, was prominent in the Indian Mutiny, and during an uprising in India, he shot the Rajah of Bengal and also his heir, and thus owing to the fatalistic belief of Hinduism, put an end to the mutiny.
Mr. and Mrs. Hetherington Hodgson were the parents of the following children : Richard, who became a prominent physician of Stoneham, Massa- chusetts, died at the age of seventy-four years; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Ezra Crandall, lived for a number of years in Steele county, Minne- sota, where her death took place: William, the subject of this sketch : Jennie. who was the first school teacher in Reno county, Kansas, died in 1903: Heth- erington, known as Harry, who was clerk of the first court of Reno county
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Dym Hodgson.
MRS. WILLIAM HODGSON
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by appointment and later elected to the same office, was identified with stock raising until the time of his death which he met in a train wreck near Billings, Montana; Thomas, who resides in Middleboro, Massachusetts, is a well- known physician, and formerly lived in Reno county, Kansas, where he homesteaded a tract of land for his medical college funds and which he later sold to his brother William; Mary became the wife of W. J. Sponsler. of Hutchinson, and Sarah, the youngest of the family, died at the age of twenty-two, on the farm in Reno county.
When William Hodgson was two or three years old his parents moved from England to Massachusetts and later to Minnesota, where after obtain- ing a meager education, William Hodgson went to work with his father on the homestead. His brothers each received the advantages of a liberal edu- cation but William was content to gain his experiences through contact with the problems of farm life.
On October 1, 1861, William Hodgson enlisted in Company E, Fourth Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, and became color sergeant of the regiment. He fought under General Grant at the battle of Shiloh, and had numerous thrilling experiences. The first important battle in which the subject of this sketch took part was at Iuka, Mississippi. September 19, 1862. this was followed by an overland expedi- tion which had for its object the capture of Vicksburg. On March 1, 1863, Mr. Hodgson's regiment left Memphis with the Ross and Buford brigades on the historic expedition to Yazoo Pass. A squad of cavalry with the assistance of two gunboats and the ram "Indianola" cut the levee on the Mississippi side, just below Helena, Arkansas, from which point the expe- dition was sent later, to form part of the army which captured Vicksburg. During the campaign the regiment took part in the battles of Port Gibson, Forty Springs, Jackson and Champion's Hill. In a charge at Vicksburg, Company E was seriously crippled, Mr. Hodgson and one comrade being the only members who were able to reach an advanced point in the forward movement. At Vicksburg the Fourth Minnesota was held in reserve, but seizing a chance to take his musket, the subject of this sketch joined the attacking force, and had scarcely pulled down the heavy visor of his cap when he received a wound in the forehead which rendered him unconscious for two hours. His skull was slightly fractured, but after he regained con- sciousness he again took part in the battle and after the middle of night he was taken from the field, having first been passed by the relief assistants as dead. After his recovery from the effects of the wound, Mr. Hodgson left
(22a)
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with the members of his regiment for a four-hundred-mile march from Mem- phis across the mountains to relieve General Thomas, who was shut up in Chattanooga, besieged by the Confederate General Pemberton. On this march the army suffered some of its greatest losses, but was rewarded in the end by the capture of one hundred and sixty-nine prisoners.
On March 20. 1864, Mr. Hodgson was granted a veteran furlough of thirty days and upon his return to the service fought under General Sherman on the march to the sea until the fall of Savannah. He also had part in the final movement which resulted in Johnston's surrender, and took part in the Grand Review which was held in Washington. At the fall of Savannah the Fourth Minnesota was the first in line in Sherman's army to enter the city, and was led by the subject of this sketch as color bearer of his regiment. Mr. Hodgson was mustered out of service on July 19, 1865. He participated in twenty-three battles, of which the one at Alatoona Heights, Georgia, seemed to him the most severe.
At the close of the war the subject of this sketch returned to his home in Minnesota, where, on the 8th of November, 1865, he was united in mar- riage to Ellen Ware, a native of New York, and the daughter of Rev. Thomas Ware, a Methodist minister, and Sophia (Mixer) Ware, both of whom were pioneers of Steele county, Minnesota. Mr. Ware died in 1884, and his wife, who was born in 1819, passed away in 1896.
In 1866, Mr. Hodgson bought the farm owned by his father-in-law and followed the occupation of farming for a year, when he decided to sell out owing to the severe winters experienced in that locality. He bought forty acres of land in Jasper county, Missouri, where he farmed until 1873, when on the 14th of April he made his initial appearance in Hutchinson, Reno county, Kansas. In Reno county his two brothers, Harry and Thomas, and two sisters, Jennie and Mary, had built a house on the corner of four quarter sections of land, where they had taken up a homestead claim on a full sec- tion, or one square mile, in section 20, township 23, range 6 west. The subject of this sketch bought out the interests of his two brothers in Reno county, and still lives on the land purchased at that time, where he is known as the oldest living settler in that part of the county.
In political affairs the subject of this sketch has always taken an active part in Republican activities, and for one year was township trustee, and for thirty years a member of the school board. In his religious belief he is a Spiritualist. Mrs. Hodgson died on May 5. 1906, at the age of sixty-three years, after rearing a family of the following children : Minnie Rebecca, the wife of Charles Theiss and a resident of Clay township. Reno county; Alice
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and Ella, who died when children; Edward, a physician at Stoneham, Massa- chusetts ; Herbert Clarence, of whom an account is given on another page of this volume, and William L., a farmer of Reno township, also mentioned elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Hodgson has kept up a lively interest in the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic. He joined the organization at the time when the members were authorized to watch the movements of the Klu Klux Klan, and is a charter member of the Joe Hooker Post, at Hutchinson, Kansas.
ARTHUR F. PETERSON.
Arthur F. Peterson is a descendant of two families of Sweden. He was born on January 23, 1879, in Clay township, Reno county, Kansas. His father was Alhan Peterson, who was a native of Elmhult, in the central and most fertile region of Sweden. He was born there on Febru- ary 8. 1849. When he reached the age of twenty-two years he took pas- sage on a ship bound for America, determined to carve out his fortune in the New World. On the same vessel was Swan Eskelson and his wife with part of their family, one of whom, their daughter, Christine, was the future wife of the young emigrant. She was born on January 9, 1851. They all arrived in Topeka, Kansas, and in the same year, 1871, Allman Peterson went on to Newton, where the Santa Fe railroad terminus was at that time. He was for five years a foreman at the round-house there, but at the end of that period he purchased eighty acres of railroad land in Clay township. Reno county, it being the west half of the southeast quarter of section 15. township 23. range 5 west. He later bought forty acres more and on his property built a small shack, which, on being burned, was re- placed by another more pretentious. In 1913 he and his family left the farm for a residence in Hutchinson and there, on July 4, 1915. Allman Pet- erson was found dead in bed of heart trouble. His wife had preceded him, December 2, 1909. They were both Lutherans and he was, in politics, a Democrat. He was noted for his success in stock raising. Their family consisted of Agnetta, the wife of J. F. Dodge, stock raiser of Larned, Kan- sas; Oscar A., born on November 7, 1876, who married Mary Elizabeth Penney, and resides on a farm in Clay township; Arthur F .: Anton, who is unmarried and a broken of Hutchinson; Hilma. the wife of R. D. Scher- merhorn, of Hutchinson.
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Arthur F. Peterson received his education in the Okee district school of Clay township, and in the Kansas State Normal. After working on the farm for his father until 1906 he was first cashier and later claim agent of the Wells-Fargo Express Company at Hutchinson. In 1907 he and Fred Forsha formed a partnership in the brokerage business. Two years later, Mr. Forsha retired and the Peterson Brokerage Company was formed, with Arthur P. and Anton as partners. Besides handling flour and all kinds of merchandise they were agents for Armour & Company. In June, 1914, Anton Peterson took entire charge of the business and Arthur F. moved to his father's farm. He is at present renting the farm of the heirs and car- ries on general farming there. In 1913 he sold his interest in the two hun- dred and forty acres in section 13. Clay township, which they had jointly purchased in 1902, to his brother. Oscar A.
Perhaps his greatest interest lies in raising and training race horses. He has owned the horse, "Liberty Bird." by "Jail Bird," eight of whose colts have been noted for speed. Mr. Peterson has raised some very fine horses, not the least noted of which is "Silver Key," a pacer, with a 2:131/4 record. He has been driven and raced by Mr. Peterson's brother in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. On the Peterson farm at present are some splen- did colts with speed prospects.
On October 30. 1912. the marriage of Mr. Peterson to Lena Tellin took place in Hutchinson. Kansas. Her parents are Peter and Emma Tellin. of Hutchinson. Mr. Tellin has a long and useful record with the Santa Fe railroad, having served that company for forty years, beginning when its western terminus was Topeka. He is retired from active service on a pension. He has a ranch at Greenwood. To Mr. and Mrs. Peterson has been born one child, Jean, born on December 11. 1913.
Mr. Peterson is a member of the Masonic lodge, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the United Commercial Travelers.
CHARLES PETERSON.
Charles Peterson, son of Carl and Catherine ( Ellerson) Peterson, was born in Smolen, Sweden. June 12. 1868. His father is a native of that same place, the date of his birth being April 10. 1836. He came to York- town. Indiana, in 1870. and later lived in Tippecanoe and Clinton coun- ties. Indiana, where he engaged in farming and stock raising until March
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1, 1875, when he removed to McPherson county, Kansas, and homesteaded eighty acres of land. In 1892 or 1893 he moved to Marquette, Kansas, and died there in October, 1909. He served for some time as a soldier in the army of Sweden before coming to America. He followed the occu- pation of a farmer in his native country. At the time of his death he was an active member of the Methodist church.
Mr. Peterson's mother was also a native of Smolen, Sweden. She was born on May 9, 1834, and came with her children to join her husband, who had preceded her, to Yorktown, Indiana, in July, 1871. She is still living at Marquette, Kansas, where she is an active member of the Meth- odist church.
The brothers and sisters of Charles Peterson are: Martha, born in Sweden, June 13, 1857. married James K. Stinson, who is at present the postmaster at Marquette, Kansas; J. Gust, born in Sweden, September, 1863, is a farmer and stock raiser in McPherson county, Kansas: Emma C .. born in Sweden, May 1, 1865, married Frank Elmquist, a farmer and stock raiser in McPherson county; Josephine, born in Sweden, March 12, 1867, married Adolph Hawkinson, a farmer and stock raiser in McPherson county ; Ernest W., born in Yorktown, Indiana, July 6, 1871, is a dentist and has been in the practice of his profession at Kansas City, Missouri, for twenty years; Frank, born in Yorktown, February 8, 1873. is a farmer and stock raiser in McPherson county, and is the organizer of the Farmers Union in that county: Jennie F., born in Yorktown, September 12, 1874, married William Westling, who has a general store at Marquette, Kansas ; George H., born in McPherson county, Kansas, September 6, 1877, is a farmer and stock raiser in Ellsworth county, Kansas.
Charles Peterson was educated in the district schools of McPherson county, Kansas, and attended one term of normal school at Salina, Kansas. After leaving school he engaged in farming in McPherson county until 1901, when he took a position as clerk in the hardware store of T. J. Col- lier, at Marquette, Kansas, where he remained for two years. He then turned his attention to the real estate and insurance business in that town until 1907, when he removed to Hutchinson, where he has continued in the same line of business to the present time, with offices at 1612 North Main street. His fraternal association is with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Hutchinson. He is not allied with any political party, using his own judgment as to the fitness of candidates for whom he casts his vote.
On September 16, 1894. Charles Peterson was united in marriage to
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Margaret E. Young, who was born at Delhi. Delaware county, New York, daughter of Stewart M. and Elizabeth (Dodds) Young, the former of whom was born on February 16, 1836. in Scotland, and the latter on December 23. 1837. in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Young are still living in Topeka. Kansas. They are the parents of the following children: Sheldon T .. born on September 20, 1866, died on September 16, 1871; William D., April 17. 1868. a miner, married Alice Turney, of Cripple Creek, Colorado; Margaret Elizabeth. January 26. 1870, wife of the subject of this sketch ; Robert S .. February II. 1872. married May G. Miner, of Salina, Kansas, December 25, 1898. died on July 7. 1909, leaving his wife and two daugh- ters, Faye and Vera Roberta: Harriet D .. February 20, 1874, married W. H. Carpenter. of Salina. Kansas. November 9. 1898, and Mr. Carpenter is now proprietor of the Vallejo hotel. Denver, Colorado; Emma J., May 10, 1876. a milliner for fifteen years, died in Denver, Colorado, September II, 1911 : Stewart M., Jr., April 24, 1878, married Blanche Garrell, of Dodge City. Kansas, is general manager of the Equitable Life Insurance Company at Wichita. Kansas; James M .. October 6, 1881, salesman for Armour & Company, at Denver, Colorado; George A., August 1, 1885, died on Sep- tember 9. 1890.
JOHN D. KAUTZER.
John D. Kautzer. son of Thomas and Josephine Kautzer, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 17, 1870. His paternal grandfather, Henry Kautzer, and wife. Helen, were both natives of Germany, who emi- grated to America in an early day, bringing with them their sons, Joseph, John and Matthew. Thomas and Anton, two other sons. arrived later. The family settled in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, where the father home- steaded timber land and built a rude log cabin, and there the family lived in true pioneer style. Henry Kautzer died there in 1886. at the age of sixty- seven years. His two sons, Matthew and Thomas, died at about the same time.
Thomas Kautzer came to America in 1865. He was a soldier in his native country, and a saddleman by trade. While serving in the German army he lost the little finger of his left hand by a gun shot. After coming to America he located first in Milwaukee, but later lived in Manitowoc and in Eaton in the same county. He was a Catholic in religious faith, and
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his children are as follow : Frank, Edward, John, Henry, Phena, Anna, Joseph, Mary and Elizabeth.
John D. Kautzer received his education in the schools of Manitowoc county and after attaining mature years lived in Oshkosh three years, where he was employed by a street car company. In 1902 he joined his wife's relatives in Reno county, Kansas. He rented a farm nine years from his father-in-law : during these years he bought one hundred and sixty acres in Albion township, the old Copper farm, which he sold two years later. Four years ago he purchased his present farm, on which he does general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of Hereford cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs. He has placed many improvements on his farm, and in 1915 erected a large and commodious barn, forty by fifty-two feet in dimensions, also bought a Reo car and built a garage. In 1916 he built a fine modern home with all conveniences.
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