USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
484
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
persevering men, the great success which has attended their agricultural operations being but the natural result of their boundless energy and indus- try. Thomas Rayl retained his physical vigor practically unimpaired until the time of his death, he then being nearly seventy years of age, his death being caused by lock-jaw, the result of a wound received when he stepped on a rusty nail. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters, all of whom are living, save one, as follow : William M., a prominent farmer of Clay township, this county; Harless, who now makes his home in Hutchinson; Katie E., now deceased, who mar- ried W. A. Brown; Elijah, who owns an extensive fruit-tree nursery at the edge of Hutchinson; Mary J., who married Fred Mallick and lives on a farm in Reno township; Levi, the immediate subject of this sketch, and Thomas, also a Reno township farmer, all of whom are living very well circumstanced.
Levi Rawl was eight years old when he came to this county with his parents, the date of their arrival here being on May 10, 1873, and he grew up on the pioneer farm, suffering with the other members of the family all the vicissitudes and hardships which attended the earlier years of their residence here. Even as a boy he worked with his brothers helping their father develop the farm and his schooling was therefore much neglected, although he did attend several terms of district school after coming here. He remained at home until after his father's death in 1891, after which his mother managed the farm, her sons continuing to operate the same. Levi and his brother, Elijah, were in partnership in the operation of the farm for ten years. They had bought one hundred and sixty acres of the home place, which they converted into a fruit-tree nursery. In 1892 Levi and his brother dissolved partnership and Levi gradually enlarged the enterprise until he set out and had under successful way five hundred and fifty acres of apple trees. Levi Rayl then sold his interest in the nursery to his brother, Elijah, and still held the orchard. He gave his attention to this and raising of stock, in which he already had become largely interested, having even then acquired considerable grazing land. For the past twenty years Mr. Rayl has fed from two hundred to twelve hundred cattle annually and for the past few years has been feeding more than fifteen thousand sheep each vear, raising most all the grain and hay for the same on his own broad acres. During this time he has been gradually enlarging his land holdings until now he is the owner of three thousand five hundred acres of choice land in Reno county, the most of which lies in Grant, Reno and Clay township, and is rated as the greatest individual landowner in this county.
485
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
On February 28, 1892, Levi Ray was united in marriage to Clara Effie Coberly, who was born near the town of Fayettesville, Ohio, in 1873. daughter of Edward and Electa Melvina Coberly, who came to Reno county in 1887 and settled in the Arlington neighborhood, and to this union the following children were born: Thomas, born on April 27, 1893, an efficient aid to his father in the latter's extensive ranch operations; Nellie Electa, October 10, 1894, a very capable young woman, who, since the death of her mother on February 14, 1914, has been her father's housekeeper as well as a veritable mother to the younger children, her little sisters; May, October 28, 1900; Clara Lee, October 30, 1908, and Marjorie Jane, August 29, 1910. Mr. Rayl is a Democrat, as was his father before him, and ever has given close attention to the political affairs of the county, though never having been included in the office-seeking class, his continually growing per- sonal business having required the closest application of his undivided en- deavors.
In its issue of October 1, 1915, a Hutchinson newspaper carried the fol- lowing interesting bit of information regarding Mr. Rayl's extensive farm- ing operations: "Levi Rayl, who owns two or three fine farms within a few miles of Hutchinson, does things on a big scale. This year Levi Rayl probably holds the following records: Biggest flock of sheep in the county ; biggest crop of peaches in the county ; one of the biggest wheat crops in the county ; biggest pear orchard in the county; and first prize on apples at the state fair.
"Mr. Rayl is feeding at present three thousand six hundred sheep- only thirty-six hundred,' is the way he puts it. But he has ten thousand and more bought down in New Mexico, or somewhere else, and now on the way for fattening on his farm west of the city.
"This summer the Rayl peach orchards produce several thousand bush- els of luscious peaches. He now has ready for marketing an orchard of as fine pears as were ever seen. At the state fair he pocketed one hundred and twenty-one dollars in real cash as premiums on fruit, and carried off first prizes on Jonathans and others. The News editorial force knows his Jonathans were prize winners, because they ate some of them yesterday.
"And besides all this the Rayl farms produce some of the biggest wheat crops of the county. And there are a few other irons in the fire at the Rayl farm, such as poultry and swine and cattle and alfalfa and cowpeas and kafir, and such like."
Mrs. Rayl was a member of the Presbyterian church, a member of the
486
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
West Side Social Club, and very active in those as well as in all good works. She was a great help to her husband all her married life and took an interest in everything pertaining to her home and family. Mr. Rayl is proud to acknowledge that his wife was his equal in assisting him in making the for- tune they accumulated. A loving wife and mother and good Christian woman she will long be remembered in the community.
GRANT CHAMBERLAIN.
Grant Chamberlain, note teller in the First National Bank, of Hutchin- son, this county, and one of the most popular men in the commercial and social circles of that city, is a Hoosier, having been born on a farm near the village of Windfall, in Grant county, Indiana, on July 16, 1871, son of William and Elizabeth Susan (Linsday) Chamberlain, the former of whom also is a native Hoosier and the latter a native of Ohio, who moved to Indiana with her parents in the days of her girlhood and grew up in the Windfall neighborhood.
William Chamberlain was reared on the paternal farm in. Grant county, Indiana, receiving such education as the local schools of that time and place afforded, and when seventeen years of age, in 1864. enlisted in an Indiana regimen't for service in the Civil War and served until the end of the war in the Army of the Cumberland. Some time after the close of the war he married and in 1874 he and his family and the parents of his wife, John C. Linsday and wife, left Indiana and came to Kansas, locating in the then pioneer village of Hutchinson, this county, that being but three years after the town site had been staked out. Grandfather Linsday and Mr. Cham- berlain erected a small grist-mill on Cow creek, which they operated for several years, at the end of which time Mr. Chamberlain engaged in the ictail meat business in Hutchinson, which he continued for years, finally retiring from business, and in 1913 he and his wife went to Salem. Oregon. in which city three of their children had been residing for some time, and there they are now residing. They are the parents of five children, namely : Grant, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Josephine, who married Charles Stewart and lives in Hutchinson: Mrs. Gertrude Brown, a widow, who resides at Salem, Oregon : Lodica, who married Jesse Campbell. who is connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and lives
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS. 487
at Salem, Oregon, and Ama Blanche, who married T. H. Galloway, who is connected with the Ladd & Bash Bank, also of Salem.
Grant Chamberlain was but a little more than two years old when he was brought to Kansas and became one of the "pioneers" of Hutchinson and hence very properly may be regarded as an' "old settler," though his years belie the title. It was in March of 1874 that he became a resident of Reno county's chief city and he has lived there ever since. He was graduated from the Hutchinson high school with the class of 1888 and for some time thereafter assisted his father in the retail meat business. In 1894 he was employed to do some extra work on the books of the First National Bank of Hutchinson, the expectation being that it would be but a two-weeks job, and he has been actively connected with that bank ever since. His bit of extra bookkeeping proved so satisfactory to the bank officers that he was kept in the bank as a relief man, then was presently advanced to the position of regular bookkeeper and in 1910 was promoted to the position of note teller, a posi- tion he still holds, having now been connected with the bank continuously for more than twenty-one years.
On December 22, 1897, Grant Chamberlain was united in marriage to Florence May Williamson, who was born in West Virginia, daughter of Walter and Cecila Williamson, who became residents of Hutchinson twenty- eight years ago. Walter Williamson was a ship builder in the East and upon locating in Hutchinson engaged in the blacksmith business. He died in October, 1913, and his widow is living in South Hutchinson with a son. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain have a pleasant little home at 18 Eleventh avenue. East, which they built in 1907. They are charter members of the Hutchin- son Country Club, in the affairs of which they take much interest, Mr. Chamberlain being the secretary of the club and one of the most active promoters of its various interests. He is quite fond of all outdoor sports and is an ardent huntsman and golfer. He has taken part in every state golf tournament ever held in Kansas and has helped to win quite a number of team trophies, besides which he is the possessor of several cups won in local tournaments. His fondness for duck hunting takes him to the hunting grounds early every season and he is somewhat more than locally noted as a wing shot. Another of his ardent interests in the way of recreative pastimes is his love for band music and he has played in the municipal band of Hutchinson for the past twenty years. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Modern Woodmen, in the affairs of both of which orders he takes an earnest interest. .
488
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
DIETRICH MEYER.
Dietrich Meyer, farmer, director and treasurer of the Farmers Grain Company, of Kansas, is a living example of what a thrifty foreigner can accomplish by industry in this country. He is the son of Henry and Marga- ret ( Wiebe) Meyer, and was born near the town of Rethern, in the province of Hanover, Germany, September 29, 1867. He was named for his paternal grandfather, a farmer, who lived and died in the Fatherland, and who spelled his name Diedrich, but the spelling was later changed to Dietrich. His father, Henry Meyer, was a small landholder in what was then the kingdom of Hanover. His birth occurred in 1829. The mother, Margaret Wiebe, died in 1871, and later the father married, secondly, Catherine Heers, who lived only one and one-half years after her marriage.
Young Dietrich Meyer, left motherless at the age of four years, had to shift for himself, but he was compelled to attend school until he was fourteen years of age. The following year, 1882, when he was fifteen, in company with a family named Lueders, with whom he was living, he emigrated to the United States, and located in the state of New York. They stayed there only one year, going farther west to Minnesota. When he was seventeen, Dietrich began the life of a farmhand, going from one farm to another.
In 1886 Henry Meyer sold his farm in Germany and emigrated to Sedgwick county, Kansas, where he and his eldest son, Henry, bought a farm north of the town of Cheney, and there his death occurred in 1897. On his arrival he was joined by his son, Fritz, who remained with him until his death in 1888.
Dietrich Meyer came to Kansas and went to work for Fred Warning, of Haven township, Reno county, in 1891. Soon afterward he purchased eighty acres two miles southeast of the town of Haven and here he built a beautiful modern home sixteen years later. The large white farmhouse, surrounded by well-kept shrubbery and commodious barns, is among the many show places of the county and is visible for miles. With one hundred and sixty acres of land which his wife inherited, and with additional pur- chases, the Meyer holdings amount to four hundred acres. Like the remain- der of his family he is a member of St. Paul's German Evangelical church, of which he was an elder. He is director and treasurer of the Farmers Grain Company, of Kansas, which under the management of its directors, has been a very profitable company for the stockholders. By keeping the price
D. Meyer & Wife
489
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
of grain higher than the surrounding markets it has proven a boon to the farmers, no less than to the merchants of Haven, to whom it has thrown much business. Mr. Meyer also helped organize the Farmers Telephone Company. One sign of his prosperity is the handsome seven-passenger Mit- chell car which he drives.
Dietrich Meyer was married on October 13, 1892, to Mary Harms, the daughter of John W. Harms, of Wisconsin. They are the parents of three children : Minnie, the wife of Walter Stecher, assistant cashier of the State Bank of Haven; Ella and Alvin.
F. M. DUNN.
F. M. Dunn, one of the best-known and most progressive farmers of Enterprise township, this county, proprietor of a fine farm of five hundred and sixty acres in that township and former trustee of Enterprise township, is a native of Iowa, but has lived in this county ever since he was brought here as a baby in 1873 by his parents, who were among the very earliest settlers of the west central part of Reno county, and may thus be properly accounted as one of the pioneers of this county. He was born in Decatur county, Iowa, August 20, 1871, son of John P. and Mary A. (Anderson) Dunn, who later became pioneers of Reno county and are now living com- fortably retired in the pleasant village of Abbyville, this county.
John P. Dunn was born near the town of Somerset, Kentucky. Septem- ber 22, 1842, son of Martin and Emily ( Acton) Dunn, both natives of Ken- tucky, the former of whom was born in 1811 and the latter in 1816. Martin Dunn sold his farm in Kentucky about 1852 and emigrated with his family to Iowa, becoming a pioneer of Decatur county, that state. He had just established his family there when his death occurred in 1853. His widow kept the family together and survived for more than twenty years, her death occurring on July 15, 1875. They were the parents of six children, Thomas, John P., William, James, George W. and Elizabeth, who were reared in the faith of the Methodist church.
John P. Dunn was about ten years old when his parents moved to lowa and he grew to manhood in that state. Being the second son in the family he was of large assistance to his widowed mother in the work of developing the home farm and became a very proficient farmer. On August 19, 1863,
490
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
he enlisted for service in the Union army in Company C, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, with which he served for two years and seven months and with which he was mustered out at the close of the war. Though he saw much active service and was in numerous hot engagements he escaped without a wound. Upon the completion of his military service, Mr. Dunn resumed his place on the home farm in Iowa. In the spring of 1867 he married and in October, 1873. came with his family to Kansas, settling in Reno county, which had been opened for settlement not long before that time, he thus being one of the real pioneers of this county, and homesteaded one quarter of section 34 in Enterprise township, where he established his home. As he prospered in his farming operations Mr. Dunn gradually added to his holdings until he became the owner of five hundred and sixty acres and was regarded as one of the most substantial farmers in that part of the county. In 1900 he retired from the farm and moved to Abbyville, where he was engaged in the mercantile business for four years, at the end of which time he returned to the farm, but after a four-years further residence there again returned to Abbyville, where he built a comfortable home and where he is now living in pleasant retirement. He still retains two hundred and forty acres of land in Enterprise township and a small tract of land adjoining the vil- lage of Abbyville. Mr. Dunn is a Republican and for some years served as treasurer of Enterprise township and for many years served as a member of the school board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church, of which he was a steward and is now a trustee of the church, and their children were reared in that faith.
It was on February 3, 1867, that John P. Dunn was united in marriage to Mary A. Anderson, who was born on February 29, 1844, daughter of William D. and Sarah Anderson, natives of North Carolina, the former of whom was born on February 19. 1813, and the latter, November 24, 1812. and to this union four children have been born, namely: G. W., born on May 15, 1868; F. M., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch ; Pearl, December 26, 1878, who died on July 12, 1897, and Daisy M., March 24. 1883, who married Ernest Palmer.
F. M. Dunn was just past two years old when his parents came to Reno county from Iowa and he grew to manhood on the homestead farm in Enter- prise township, where he is now living, and where he has spent all his life, long having been regarded as one of the leading farmers and most substan- tial citizens of that part of the county. He was educated in the common schools of his home neighborhood and from early boyhood proved a valu-
491
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
able assistant to his father in the development of the home farm. In 1896 he married, continuing to make his home on the homestead farm and is now the owner of the same, owning not only the original quarter section, but enough adjacent land to comprise a well-improved and profitable farm of five hundred and sixty acres. Mr. Dunn is a Republican and has long given his earnest attention to local civic affairs, having served for some time as trustee of his home township and in other ways contributed of his services to the common good thereabout.
On January 8, 1896, F. M. Dunn was united in marriage to Cora Crow. who was born in the state of Missouri, daughter of William Crow, one of the first men who traveled through Reno county on his way to the California gold fields in 1849, and to this union have been born seven children, Flora, Charles, Harry, Mary L. (died aged nine months), Carl, Darrel and Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn are members of the Abbyville Methodist Episcopal church and take an active interest in all neighborhood good works. Mr. Dunn is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Abbyville and a member of the Woodmen of America, in the affairs of which organization he takes a warm interest.
MARTIN A. AELMORE.
Martin A. Aelmore, son of John P. and Matilda C. (Sanquist ) Aelmore, was born in Clay township, Reno county, Kansas, February 24, 1887. His father was born in Rumskulla, Jonkoping, Sweden, July 8, 1854, and was the son of Swan Aelmore, who was born in Sweden, February 22, 1827. and Eliza Catherine Johnson, born in Locksbo, Sweden, May 24, 1825. Both were members of the Lutheran church. The father was a farmer by occu- pation. The mother of the subject of this sketch was born in Sandsjo, Safsjo, Sweden, November 22, 1863. She was the daughter of Andreas . Sanquist, born in that same town, who followed the occupation of a farmer in his native country.
The father of the subject of this sketch came to America in 1869, and settled in Henry county, Illinois, in May of that year. He remained in that county for two years and then removed to Rock Island, Illinois, where he worked on a farm for three or four years. About the first of February. 1874, he removed to McPherson county, Kansas, and located a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in that county. He made some improve- ments on this land and lived on it for a year and one half, when he sokl
492
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
out and removed to Rock Island, Illinois, where he attended Augustana college for two years. Returning to McPherson county, Kansas, he engaged in teaching school during the years 1881 to 1884. In 1882 he bought eighty acres of land in Clay township, 'Reno county, and farmed until 1890, when he removed to Hutchinson and engaged in the restaurant and house building business for about two years. In 1902 he was sub-contracted in United States mail messenger service until 1906; then in the retail grocery business until 1913, when he retired from business. From January, 1891, to Novem- ber, 1892, he had charge of the Swedish Lutheran church, in Hutchinson, as lay preacher ; and when the First Swedish Lutheran church (now Imman- uel) was built, he was a deacon and an influential member. He was a mem- ber of the Republican county central committee, of Reno county, in 1882 and 1883; was a delegate to the Republican county convention several times ; was justice of the peace in Clay township one term, and a member of the school board in that township for one term. He was always an active and an influential worker in the republican party and devoted a liberal share of his time and means for the success of candidates of that party.
The mother of the subject of this sketch came to America in 1883, at the age of twenty years, and lived with her father's uncle, John Peterson, at Enterprise, Dickinson county, Kansas, until 1886, when she removed to Reno county. She was married to Mr. Aelmore, May 5, 1886. She died in Hutchinson, January 1, 1891. She was a member of the Swedish Lutheran church.
Martin A. Aelmore was educated in the grade and high schools of Hutch- inson, completing the course and graduating in 1906. He then took the United States civil service examination and was in the postoffice in Hutchin- son from July, 1908, to July, 1913. In the meantime he had applied himself to the study of law, with the view of entering that profession. . He studied law under the tutelage of Fairchild & Lewis, prominent attorneys of Hutchinson, for three and one half years in their office. He passed a creditable examina- tion under direction of the state bar. at Topeka, Kansas, July 3. 1913, and was admitted to the practice on that date. His office is in the First National Bank building, where he has a good library and every necessary equipment for a successful practice.
Mr. Aelmore is an ardent advocate of the principles of the Republican party; was secretary of the County Republican Central Committee in the campaign of 1914. He is a Mason, and a member of the Independent Order ยท of Odd Fellows, and is one of the live, progressive citizens of Hutchinson.
493
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
GEORGE W. DUNN.
George W. Dunn, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Enterprise township, this county, owner of a fine farm of six hundred and forty acres in the Abbyville neighborhood and an active participant in all public enter- prises thereabout, is a native of lowa, but has lived in this county since he was five years old, having been brought here in 1873 by his parents, who were among the earliest settlers of that part of the county where he ever since has made his home. He was born in Decatur county, Iowa, May 15, 1868, son of John P. and Mary A. (Anderson) Dunn, the former of whom, a native of Kentucky, settled in lowa with his parents, Martin and Emily (Acton) Dunn, when he was about ten years old. There he grew to man- hood, served for two years and ten months during the Civil War as a mem- ber of Company C, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, married in 1867 and in 1873 came with his family to Kansas, locating on a homestead in Enterprise township and became a large landowner there, residing on the farm until his retire- ment about 1908, since which time he has been making his home in the village of Abbyville, where he and his wife are very pleasantly situated. To them four children were born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eldest. In a biographical sketch relating to F. M. Dunn, former trustee of Enterprise township and a brother of the subject of this sketch, further interesting details regarding the genealogy and history of this prominent pioneer family are set out in full and to that sketch the reader is respectfully referred for additional information in this connection.
It was in October, 1873, that the Dunns came to this county and home- steaded a quarter of a section of land in Enterprise township. George W. Dunn, who then was five years old, therefore received his schooling in the pio- neer schools of that township and was a witness to the development of the bleak plain to its present high state of cultivation. He grew up on the home farm, a valuable assistant to his father in the development of the same, and presently engaged in farming on his own account. His affairs prospered from the very start and he gradually enlarged his holdings until he now is the owner of a full section of land in his home township and is looked upon as one of the most substantial farmers and public-spirited citizens of that part of the county. His farm is well improved and admirably cultivated. the operations on the same being carried on in accordance with the latest methods of modern farming.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.