USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 56
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HUNTER J. DUVALL, M. D.
Coming to this county in 1892, Dr. Hunter J. Duvall located in Abby- ville, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession for five years. He then moved to this city, establishing himself in the hearts of the people of the city and the adjacent country as only a faithful physician can, and has long been recognized as one of the leading physicians in this part of the state.
Hunter J. Duvall was born in picturesque Brown county, Indiana, three miles from the town of Nashville, on March 29, 1867, son of William R. and Sarah E. (Carter) Duvall, both of whom were born in Belmont county, Ohio, the former in July, 1844, and the latter in 1847, and both of whom died in Blackwell, Oklahoma, the former on March 26, 1904, and the latter on February 2, 1914.
William R. Duvall was the son of Jason Duvall, born in Pennsylvania in 1812, who was one of the early settlers of Belmont county, Ohio, where he became a person of prominence and means, and it was on the paternal farm in that county that William R. Duvall spent his youth. Evincing unusual aptitude for his studies he was sent to Indiana State University at Bloomington at the age of seventeen and it was while engaged in his first- year work in that institution that he enlisted in Company H, Eighty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil War, and in this regiment he served until the close of the war, participating in some of the most difficult campaigns of the war. At the close of his military service, William R. Duvall returned to Bloomington and re-entered college.
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Before completing the course he married and, in order to secure funds with which to pay for his continued college work, began teaching school and was thus engaged for several years, alternating his labors in the school room with his work in the college, meanwhile making his home in Brown county, where the most of his teaching experience was gained. Upon completing his col- lege course, during which he had paid special attention to civil engineering, Mr. Duvall moved to a farm in Illinois and lived there until 1879, in which year he came to Kansas and bought a farm in McPherson county, which he operated quite successfully. In 1888 he was elected county surveyor of McPherson county and for ten years served the people of that county most usefully in that office. In 1898 he retired from office and moved to Black- well, Oklahoma, where he died in 1904. His widow survived him ten years, her death occurring in 1914. William R. Duvall was an ardent Republican and both he and his wife were earnest members of the Christian church, in which faith their children were reared. Of these children, four in number. the youngest of whom died in 1915, the subject of this biographical sketch is the eldest. His brother, Ambrose E. Duvall, also is a resident of Hutchin- son, and his sister, Florence, who married Charles Millikin, lives at Wichita, this state.
Hunter J. Duvall was eleven years of age when his parents came to Kansas and his youthful education therefore was continued in the schools of McPherson county, being rounded out by three years in the high school at McPherson, after which he entered the University of Kansas, which he attended for three years, 1886-7-8. He then entered Kansas City Medical College and between his junior and senior years practiced medicine for one year, parts of 1892 and 1893, after which he resumed his college work and was graduated in 1894. Doctor Duvall then served for one year as an interne in the Kansas City general hospital, after which he went to Abbyville and was there engaged in the practice of his profession for two years more. or until 1897, in which year he located in Hutchinson, where he ever since has resided and where he has become widely known as an excellent physician. Doctor Duvall is chief surgeon for the Anthony & Northern Railroad and from the time of the organization of the Stewart Hospital Association at Hutchinson he has been a director of. that beneficent institution. He is a member of the Kansas State Medical Society and of the Reno County Med- ical Society and in the affairs of both takes an interested part.
On May 27, 1891, Hunter J. Duvall was united in marriage to Amy Norlin, who was born in Cloud county, this state, and to this union three
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children have been born, Eugene, who owns a ranch in Colorado; Alice, who is a student in the University of Kansas, and Hunter J., Jr., who is a student in the Hutchinson high school. Doctor and Mrs. Duvall have a very pleas- ant home at 531 Sherman avenue, east, in Hutchinson, and take their proper place in the social and cultural life of the city. Doctor Duvall is a member of the Masons and of the Modern Woodmen, in both of which orders he is warmly interested.
WILLIAM J. SPONSLER.
William J. Sponsler, a well-known retired farmer, now living at Hutch- inson, and one of the real pioneers of Reno county, is a native of Pennsyl- vania, having been born in Perry county, that state, June 12, 1849, son of Lewis and Maria ( Wolfe) Sponsler, the former of whom also was a native of that same county, son of Lewis Sponsler, Sr., who was said to have been a descendant of a French army captain who settled in Philadelphia at the close of the French and Indian War, and there established his home.
Lewis Sponsler, the second, was born on October 3, 1825, and in his youth learned the trade of a wagon-maker. In 1848, in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, he married Maria Wolfe, who was born in Lancaster county, that state. September 22, 1827, daughter of Christian and Sarah (Stoner) Wolfe, the former of whom was the son of Henry Wolfe, a Revolutionary soldier. In 1856 Lewis Sponsler and his family moved from Pennsylvania to Illinois, locating at Keithsburg, in Mercer county, that state, where for four years he was engaged as a carpenter. He then bought a farm seven miles east of that place and there made his home until 1881, in which year he retired from the farm and moved to Aledo, in the same county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1893, and his wife's in 1913. They were the parents of seven children, of whom three came to Reno county, Kansas, the subject of this review, and his brother, Alfred L. Sponsler, who still lives at Hutchinson, and a .sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, and John L. Sponsler, a former well-known newspaper man of Hutchinson, now a prominent attorney at Muskogee, Oklahoma.
William J. Sponsler was about six years old when his parents moved to Illinois. and he grew up on the farm there, remaining at home until he was twenty-four years of age; as the eldest son being of much assistance in the labors of developing the home place. In March, 1874, he and W. T.
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Hare, now of Nickerson, chartered a railroad car and brought to this county a stand of live stock, farming implements and such chattels as would be required in making a start as farmers in a new country. Mr. Sponsler home- steaded a tract of land in Medford township, which he sold in the fall of 1875, and following his marriage in December of that year, established his home on a quarter section owned by his wife in Reno township. To this they later added until they were the owners of a half section of fine land in that township, which they still own, and which Mr. Sponsler has very suc- cessfully farmed ever since, also owning a quarter section of land in Salt , Creek township. Mr. Sponsler has served as clerk, assessor and trustee of Reno township at various times, ever taking an active interest in local political affairs. In June, 1915, he retired from the active life of the farm and moved to Hutchinson, where he and his family are now very pleasantly situated at 123 First avenue, east.
On December 15, 1875, William J. Sponsler was married to Mary Hodg- son, who was born in Massachusetts, daughter of Hetherington and Rebecca (Smithson) Hodgson, both natives of England, who were married in their native land and had three children when they came to the United States, about 1846, locating in Massachusetts, and ten years later removing to Steele county, Minnesota. In 1871 four of their children, Harry, Thomas, Jennie and Mary, came to Kansas and located in Reno county, securing all of sec- tion 20, in Reno township, which they homesteaded, thus being among the very earliest settlers in this section of Kansas, C. C. Hutchinson being engaged on the construction of the first house in the city which bears his name at the time of their arrival here.
Mrs. Sponsler may properly claim to be one of the very few women, if not the only woman, now living in this county who shot a buffalo. Not long after her arrival here she became a member of a hunting party that went out after buffalo, and she shot one of the huge animals in the vicinity of what is now Langdon township. Her brothers and the sister who accom- panied her to this county in 1871 all took an active part in the early affairs of the county. Harry Hodgson served as clerk of the district court of Reno county for three terms, and became a prosperous cattleman here and in the Indian Territory, and later for many years in Montana, where he was killed in a railway accident at Youngspoint, September 25, 1908. Thomas Hodg- son is now a practicing physician at Middleboro. Massachusetts. Jennie Hodgson was the first school teacher in Hutchinson, teaching the first school on Main street, and for several years teaching in the county schools of Reno county. She died on October 20, 1902. William Hodgson, a veteran of
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the Civil War, another brother, came here in 1873, and became a substantial farmer in Reno township, where he is still living. Sarah Hodgson, another sister, came to Reno county on a visit to her brothers and sisters and died here. April 19, 1878. Mrs. Sponsler herself taught school in this county and in the state of Minnesota.
William J. Sponsler and wife are the parents of four children: Ethel, who is the wife of Frank Myers, a farmer of Salt Creek township; Harold, known among his friends as "Hal," who is operating the home farm in Reno township; Anna and Gertrude, who are living with their parents. Mr. Sponsler is a member of the Universalist church, and takes an active interest in the affairs of the same.
ROBERT F. McDERMED.
One of the most active dealers in real estate in this county is Robert F. McDermed, of Hutchinson, who arrived in that city in' 1887, then a young man of about twenty-four, and who has spent practically all of his time since then in Hutchinson, becoming one of the leading factors in the development of the city.
Robert F. McDermed was born in Roanoke county, Virginia, on January 28. 1863, son of Oliver H. P. and "Mollie," or Mary Frances ( Barnes) McDermed, the former of whom, born in Roanoke county, Virginia, in 1833. died in Arkansas in 1886, and the latter, born at Salem, in Roanoke county, Virginia, in 1835, died at her home in Hutchinson, this county, on January 6. 1914. Oliver H. P. McDermed was a son of William McDermed and wife, the former of Scottish descent and the latter of English descent. Will- iam McDermed was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the Shenandoah valley, the owner of an estate of more than two thousand acres, a prominent attorney, who for years served as county attorney for Roanoke county. "Mollie" Barnes also was a member of one of the most prominent families in the Shenandoah valley, her father for years having held a seat in the United States Senate, as senator from the state of Virginia, and was one of the most influential figures in governmental circles in his day.
Reared on the paternal estate. Oliver H. P. McDermed was an apt pupil at school and became a school teacher, serving thus for several years. In 1857 he married and made a wedding trip to Kansas. Attracted by the situation at Lecompton, he settled there and he and his brother-in-law, "Jack,"
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or John A., Barnes, took over the Southern hotel at that place and for a time operated the same very successfully, at the same time engaging in trade with the Indians, their profits running from two hundred to three hundred dollars a day. At that time John Brown, of Osawatomie, was running the opposition hotel at Lecompton. Those were the days of turmoil and doubt throughout that section, Kansas at that time being "bleeding Kansas," indeed, and, at the earnest solicitation of his father, who did not like the idea of his son being exposed to the hazard of border strife, Oliver McDermed gave up his growing interests in Kansas and returned to Virginia, where he engaged in mercantile business in Richmond, being the proprietor of a large store there at the time the Civil War broke out. He enlisted in the service of the Confederate states, a member of Gen. Jubal Early's dashing cavalry, and for more than three years was attached to the army of General Lee, during which time he was taken prisoner by the Federal forces and was confined in the Union prison at Ft. Delaware. At the close of the war Oliver McDermed found himself practically bankrupt. After an ineffectual struggle to recoup his fallen fortunes in Richmond, he, in 1871, accompanied by "Jack" Barnes, his brother-in-law, moved his family to Arkansas, where, in Prairie county, they took over forty-five hundred acres of land and engaged in raising cotton on a large scale, meeting, however, with only indifferent success. The climate was inimical and two of his daughters died there of the fever that then was prevalent throughout that section. That estate was left behind, following Oliver McDermed's death in 1886, and the next year, in May, 1887, the widow McDermed and her six boys came to this county. locating at Hutchinson, where she spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring in 1914.
To Oliver H. P. and Mary F. (Barnes) McDermed eight children were born, namely: William E., who lives at Los Angeles, California; John Andrew, who lives on a farm in this county: Robert F., the immediate sub- ject of this biographical sketch ; Luton, a well-known grocer in Hutchinson, this county; Frank M., a Hutchinson capitalist, a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume: J. Emery, who lives at 429 A avenue, west, Hutchinson, this county, and two daughters, who died during the time of the family's residence in Arkansas.
Following his arrival in Hutchinson in 1887, Robert F. McDermed was employed at the salt works for two or three years, at the end of which time, in 1890, he and his brothers. Frank and Emery, opened a grocery store at 213 South Main street. At the end of two years thus connected Mr.
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McDermed sold his interest in that store and opened a grocery store at 15 South Main street, where he was engaged in business until 1902, in which vear he sold out and went to Los Angeles, where he bought a furniture store. He retained that connection, however, but eight months, at the end of which time he returned to Hutchinson and bought the tract of thirty acres on which the town of Yoder is now situated, built the first residence there, established a creamery and elevator on the site and successfully pro- moted the sale of lots, at the same time engaging in the grain business. In 1903 he returned to Hutchinson and opened another grocery store in South Main street, which he operated until 1906, in which year he sold it and engaged in the real-estate and insurance business, in which he is still engaged.
On August 26, 1895, Robert F. McDermed was united in marriage to Anna B. Mccullough, who was born at Melvin, in Hot Springs county, Arkansas, daughter of Hugh Mccullough, first clerk of that county, a posi- tion which he held until his death in 1901, and to this union three children have been born, Robert, born on March 3, 1897; Albert Cecil, in August, 1902, and Ruby, July 29, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. McDermed are members of the Baptist church, in which Mr. McDermed is one of the office bearers.
J. B. CLOTHIER.
J. B. Clothier, one of the best-known and most substantial pioneer farmers of Reno county, proprietor of eight hundred acres of fine land in South Haynes township, now living practically retired from the active labors of the farm by reason of an unfortunate affliction which left him almost blind some time ago, is a native of Wisconsin, but has been a resident of Reno county since 1874 and has thus been a witness to and a participant in the wonderful development that has marked this section of the state within the past generation. Though now shut out from a view of the scenes which long were so familiar to him, Mr. Clothier continues to retain a most active interest in affairs and his mind is as alert and progressive as ever. He was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, August 13, 1848, son of Chauncey and Mary Jane ( Hall) Clothier, whose last days were spent in this county, they having become pioneers .of Reno county in 1874.
Chauncey Clothier was born on a farm in the state of New York, December 25, 1818, son of Artemas Clothier, a native of that same state, whose whole life was spent there. and he grew to manhood there. after
J. B. CLOTHIER AND FAMILY.
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which he went to Illinois, where he married Priscilla Sherman, who died, leaving two sons, Nelson W. and Newton S. To Chauncey Clothier's union with Mary Jane Hall thirteen children were born, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch is the eldest, the others being Samantha, Millard, Milton, Sarah E., Ida M., Ernest, Lucy, Albert C., Marion E., Wilford E., Nina Viola and Eddie Lula. From Illinois, Chauncey Clothier moved to Wisconsin, settling in Rock county, but after awhile moved over into lowa and after a residence of some years in that state moved down into Missouri, settling on a farm in Bates county, where he remained until 1874, in which year he came to Kansas with his family and settled on a homestead in the northwest quarter of section 18 of what is now South Hayes township, this county, where he spent the rest of his life, becoming one of the leading pioneers of that section and the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land. He died in April, 1897, and the widow survived him for more than ten years, her death occurring on January 30, 1908. They were earnest members of the Christian church and for years Mr. Clothier had been a preacher in that denomination, a leader in all good works in his neighborhood.
J. B. Clothier was reared on a farm and from boyhood was a valuable assistant to his father in the latter's farming operations. When sixteen years old, on July 1, 1864, he enlisted in the Eighth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and saw active service in the latter part of the Civil War. At the siege of Spanish Fort, near Mobile, Alabama, he was under fire for thirteen days. Mr. Clothier was honorably discharged from the army on May 26, 1866. While living in Bates county, Missouri, he married, December 24, 1868, Anna Elizabeth Marshall, who was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, in the vicinity of Louisville, in 1851, daughter of Jonathan and Eliza A. (Brown) Marshall, both natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was a cabinet-maker, but later in life became a farmer and moved to Bates county, Missouri, thence to Cass county, same state, where both he and his wife died in April, 1885. They were the parents of two daughters, Mrs. Clothier having a sister, Margaret A. Jonathan Marshall, who was a son of William H. Marshall, had been twice married, his first wife, Agnes Kidd, having borne him four children. John, Charlotte, Henry and Jonathan.
For five or six years after his marriage Mr. Clothier continued to make his home in Bates county, Missouri, and then, in 1874, came to Kansas, locating in this county at the same time his father homesteaded here. He homesteaded the southwest quarter of section 8 in what is now South Hayes township and there established his home and has lived there ever since, for
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many years having been regarded as one of the most substantial and influ- ential residents of that community. Mr. Clothier was on the ground here during the great grasshopper visitation of 1874 and was compelled to face other hardships in the way of drouth, hot winds and prairie fires in the early days, not infrequently being compelled to go out on the plains and gather up buffalo bones to haul to the market for a bit of ready money, but he presently began to prosper and gradually added to his holdings until now he is the owner of five quarter sections, a valuable farm of eight hundred acres, well improved and under profitable cultivation. From the very beginning of his residence in this county, Mr. Clothier has ever taken an active interest in civic affairs and has been a member of the school board ever since his school district was organized. He is a Republican and for three terms served as trustee of his home township. He also has served as justice of the peace in and for that township and in other ways has contributed to the public service.
When Mr. and Mrs. Clothier came to Reno county they had four children and thirteen others were born to them on the homestead place, these seventeen children being as follow. Clarence W., Charles M., Sarah Agnes, Wiley A .. U. V., Bert M., Benjamin L., Gertrude (deceased), Cecil M., Melvia. Elbert M. and Delbort (twins), Grace F., James E., Perry O., and two who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Clothier are earnest members of the Christian church and leaders in local good works.
WILBUR B. EASTMAN.
Wilbur B. Eastman, a well-known farmer of the Hutchinson neighbor- hood, in Reno township. this county, is a native of Vermont, who was born in the town of Underhill, in that state, in October, 1851, son of Amos and Julia (Crissy ) Eastman, both natives of the Green Mountain state, farming people and earnest members of the Congregational church, to whom were born five children, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch, the last in order of birth, is the only survivor, the others having been as follow : Elizabeth, who married Doctor Kingsbury and died in Holbrook, Massa- chusetts; George, who died at his home in this county in 1883; Albert, a physician, who died in Massachusetts in 1885, and Jennie, who died unmar- ried in Vermont.
The mother of the above-named children died when her last born was
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two years old and Amos Eastman then married, secondly, Sophronia Crissy, his deceased wife's half-sister, who is still living, and to this second union were born five children, all of whom are still living.
Wilbur B. Eastman received his elementary education in the public schools of his home in Vermont, supplementing the same by a three-years' course in an academy there and at the age of eighteen went to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where for some time he was engaged in canvassing, under the direction of his elder brother, George. He then returned East and for four years was engaged as a salesman at Lynn, Massachusetts. While living there, in 1874, he married Carrie Choate, who was born there, and shortly afterward went to Chicago, where he engaged in the mercantile business in partnership with his brother, George, the firm doing a fine business. In 1876 Mr. Eastman's wife died, leaving one child, a daughter, Grace, who is now a well-known teacher in the schools of Hutchinson, this county. In 1882 George Eastman's health failed and he and his family left Chicago and came to this county, settling on a farm in Reno township, southwest of Hutchinson, where Mr. Eastman sought recuperation in a change of occu- pation and climate. In this expectation he was disappointed, however, his health gradually continuing to fail, and the next year, in 1883, Wilbur B. Eastman sold the store in Chicago and came to this county in order to be of assistance to his invalid brother. George Eastman died soon thereafter and his brother took charge of the farm of one hundred and forty acres, on behalf of his widow. In 1884 he erected a new house on the farm and gradually brought the place up to a high state of cultivation, continuing to make his home there. In 1905 Mr. Eastman married his deceased brother's widow, who was born Louisa Foster, at Whitehouse, Ohio, and who, by her first marriage, is the mother of two children, Byron A., a well-known farmer of this county, at present the trustee of Reno township, and Mrs. Linnie Moore, who lives on a farm adjoining the Eastman place, in Reno township. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman are members of the Presbyterian church and for years have been regarded as among the leaders in all good works in . their neighborhood. They have a very pleasant home on their well-kept farm and live in comfort.
Mr. Eastman is a Republican and ever since coming to Reno county has displayed his interest in political affairs. In 1890 he was elected trustee of Reno township and performed excellent service in that capacity. He has ever taken a warm interest in educational affairs and for fourteen years served as school director in his district, in many ways laboring to advance the standards of education thereabout.
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