USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 62
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Mrs. Rabe was born near the city of Canton, in Stark county, Ohio, on November 5. 1849, daughter of John and Anna (Schloneger) Yaggy, the former of whom, born in France on December 3, 1817, died on October 21. 1909, and the latter born in Switzerland, September 16, 1813, died on Aug- ust 8, 1897. Both came to the United States with their respective parents when young and were married in 1839 in Stark county, Ohio. In 1853 they moved to Allen county, Indiana, to join the Mennonite colony there, and there they spent the remainder of their lives on a farm. They were the par- ents of four sons and six daughters. In 1884 one of these sons, John Yaggy, came to this county, accompanied by his sister, Mary, now Mrs. Rabe, and bought a farm in Salt Creek township, where he spent the rest of his life.
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GEORGE R. GANTZ.
George R. Gantz, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Walnut town- ship, this county, who for years served as justice of the peace in that town- ship and who in other ways has been an active participant in civic affairs thereabout, is a native of Ohio, born on a farm in Morrow county, that state, September 9. 1864, son of John and Margaret (Rule) Gantz, who later moved to Marshall county. Indiana, where they are still living.
John Gantz was born in York county, Pennsylvania, son of George and Penelope ( Lightfoot) Gantz, both born in Pennsylvania, the former of Pennsylvania-Dutch parentage and the latter a half-blood Indian, who moved to Morrow county, Ohio, where they established themselves on a farm and there spent the remainder of their lives. George Gantz and wife were the parents of five children, Hannah, Caroline. Catherine, Matilda and John, of whom the latter is now the only survivor. John Gantz was reared on the home farm in his native county and there grew to manhood. He married Margaret Rule, also a native of Morrow county, daughter of George Rule, a farmer, who later moved to Marshall county, Indiana, where he spent his last days, his death occurring in 1890, at the age of eighty-four. Some time after their marriage John Gantz and his wife moved to Marshall county, Indiana, with their children, and they are still living there, long since re- tired from the active labors of the farm, and very comfortably situated. John Gantz enlisted for service during the progress of the Civil War, but was not called into active service. He and his wife are earnest members of the Methodist church and their children were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth. the others being Frank, Martha (deceased), Hannah, Eva and John.
George Gantz was but a child when his parents moved from Ohio to Indiana and he grew to manhood in Marshall county, in the latter state, receiving his schooling in the public schools of that county, finishing in the high school. Reared on a farm, he became an excellent farmer and when twenty-three years old, in 1887, came to Kansas with a view to "growing up with the country." He located in Reno county and in the spring of 1891 married here. That same year he bought a farm of eighty acres in Walnut township and there established his home. As he prospered in his farming operations he gradually added to his holdings until now he is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres and has a fine home with general
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improvements and surroundings in keeping with the same, he and his family being very well situated. Mr. Gantz has given considerable attention to stock raising and his farm is well stocked with mixed cattle and Poland China hogs. He has given thoughtful attention to local civic affairs and for eleven years served as justice of the peace and clerk in and for Walnut township.
It was on May 24, 1891, that George Gantz was united in marriage to Mary Wright, daughter of A. A. Wright, one of the pioneers of Huntsville township, this county, and to this union have been born eight children, Jessie, Clarence, Frank, Albert, Minnie, Esther, Elsie and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Gantz are members of the Methodist church and take an active part in the various beneficences of the same. For years Mr. Gantz was a teacher in and superintendent of the Sunday school at Huntsville. He also has taken an active interest in the affairs of the public schools and for fifteen years or more has served the public very effectively as a member of the local school board.
M. L. BARRETT.
M. L. Barrett, editor and publisher of the Arlington Enterprise at Arlington, this county, and one of the best-known newspaper men in Reno county, is a native of Ohio, born in the town of Conneaut, that state, Febru- ary 26, 1866, son and only child of J. M. and Catherine Barrett, who became early settlers at Arlington, this county, where they spent the rest of their lives.
M. L. Barrett received his education in the academy at Pierpont, Ohio, and upon completing his schooling entered a tin shop and served an appren- ticeship to the tinner's trade, at which he worked for more than three years. On October 1, 1893, he bought the Arlington Enterprise, at that time pub- lished by J. E. Eaton, and has ever since been editor and publisher of the same. Mr. Barrett has made a success of his newspaper and is also the pro- prietor of a well-equipped job-printing plant, which he operates in connection with the newspaper.
On September 10, 1885, M. L. Barrett was united in marriage to Jessie M. Hayes, and to this union two children have been born, sons both, Charles H., who married Lillian M. Gordley, of Arlington. and Ross J., both of whom are associated with their father in the publication of the Arlington Enterprise. in the operation of the job-printing plant. The Barretts are
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members of the Presbyterian church at Arlington. Mr. Barrett is a Repub- fican and ever since coming to this county has taken an active interest in civic affairs.
GEORGE THOMAS FALL.
George Thomas Fall, better known throughout Reno county as "Tom" Fall, superintendent of the county farm, on rural route No. 5, out of Hutch- inson, is a Hoosier, having been born on a farm in Boone county, Indiana, in November, 1860, son of Abraham and Delilah (Asher) Fall, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, of German descent, and the latter in Indiana.
Abraham Fall was about fifteen years old when he arrived in Indiana with his parents, who settled in Boone county in 1840, they having been among the very earliest settlers of that region. They were compelled to camp in the woods until they could clear a patch in the deep timber on which to erect a log cabin to serve as their first place of residence there and had to remain on guard through the nights, armed with firebrands with which to ward off the threatened attacks of the packs of howling wolves which then infested that region. It was amid these primitive conditions that Abraham Fall grew to manhood. He married a neighboring girl, who had been born in Indiana, and then bought a farm of eighty acres on which he lived until 1872, in which year he and his family migrated to lowa, settling at Eddyville, where he bought a coal mine, which he operated for two years, at the end of which time he traded the mine for a farm nearby and there made his home until 1877, in which year he came to Kansas and bought a tract of school land in Castleton township, this county, where he made his permanent home, becoming one of the best-known farmers thereabout. He was a Republican and he and his wife were members of the Christian church and their children were reared in that faith. His faithful helpmate died in 1888 and in his later years he made his home among his several children, his death occurring in 1910, at the age of eighty- four years.
To Abraham and Delilah ( Asher) Fall six children were born, namely: Merrit, who is superintendent of the great Colinwood ranch in Meade county. this state: "Tom." the subject of this biographical sketch : James A., a well- known farmer of Castleton township, this county: Ed F., also a Castleton township farmer : Libbie, deceased. and Icy, also deceased.
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GEORGE T. FALL.
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS. 625
"Tom" Fall received a limited education in the schools in the neighbor- hood of his early home in Indiana and later in the schools in the vicinity of his second home in lowa. He was twelve years old when his family moved to Iowa and his time there was mainly spent helping his father in the latter's coal mine and later on the farm. He was seventeen years old when the family settled in Reno county and he has lived here ever since. For several years after coming here he gave valuable assistance in the labor of developing the home farm and then he became foreman of the noted Stewart cattle ranch in Castleton township and for seven years performed valuable service in that capacity. In 1889 he moved to Castleton, where he engaged in the grain buying business, in addition to carrying on quite extensive farming operations, and was thus engaged until 1906, in which year he was appointed superintendent of the county farm, a position of public trust and responsibility he has held ever since. Though a Republican and appointed under a Republican county administration, Mr. Fall has been retained in the office he holds even through Democratic administrations, his peculiar qualifications for the position being recognized and admitted by both parties, his management of the county farm having been very suc- cessful.
On October 6, 1881, "Tom" Fall was united in marriage to Libbie A. Glick, who was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Samuel and Arietta Glick, who settled in Castleton township, this county, in 1877, being among the earliest settlers thereabout, that also having been the year in which the Falls settled there, and Mr. Fall courted and wed his wife in the little sod house on the plain, which served as the first home of the Glicks in this county. Samuel Glick died in 1889 and his widow died on December 22, 1915. To Mr. and Mrs. Fall four children have been born, as follow : Howard, a cattle buyer, who married Cora Holloway and lives in South Hutchinson: Nettie, who married W. F. Redman, now city clerk of Victor, Colorado; Robert, who is manager of a store in Victor, Colorado, and Norman, a brilliant young physician, who is practicing his profession at Geuda Eprings, Kansas. Dr. Norman Fall is regarded as a young man of unusual intellectual aptitude. He entered the Hutchinson high school at the age of twelve years and was graduated before he was seventeen, immediatly there- after entering Louisville Medical College, from which he was graduated four years later, at the age of twenty-one, since which time he has been prac- ticing his profession at Geuda Springs and has been very successful. Doctor (40a)
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Fall married Nellie Keir, who, at the time of her marriage, was a graduate nurse and who is an admirable helpmate in his practice.
Mr. and Mrs. Fall are members of the Methodist church and their chil- dren were reared in that faith. Though ever having taken a close interest in local politics. Mr. Fall never has been a candidate for elective office. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen and takes a warm interest in both of those orders.
ATLEE M. BUSER.
Atlee MI. Buser, one of the best-known and most successful traveling salesmen in Kansas, who has been a resident of Hutchinson, this county, since 1885, having made his home there during the "boom" days, is a native of Ohio, having been born at Xenia, August 12, 1848, son of John and Susan (Haines) Buser, the former of whom was a native of Virginia and the latter of Maryland.
John Buser was born in 1800. Though he was but a lad when the War of 1812 broke out, he enlisted for service in that second war of Ameri- can independence and served through the war. In 1823 he married Susan Haines, a grandniece of Chief Justice Tawney, of the United States su- preme court, noted for his decision in the celebrated Dred Scott case, and the next year emigrated to Ohio, driving across the Alleghany mountains, and settled in the Xenia neighborhood, in Green county, where he created a new home in the then forest wilderness. His wife was reared in Maryland. her father having been a large slaveholder. John Buser's farming opera- tions in Ohio prospered and he eventually became the owner of a consider- able tract of land in Greene county, but the desire to move farther west prompted him to sell out and in 1853 he sold out and moved to Boone county, Indiana, near the town of Lebanon. A few years later he moved to the town of Thorntown, in that same county, and there spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring in 1861. John Buser was a "natural born" mechanic and was a skilled carpenter and cabinet-maker, as well as a good farmer, and his services were in wide demand among his pioneer neighbors, particularly as a coffin-maker, and many a night he would be found occupied making a coffin for the final disposition of the remains of a neighbor. He and his wife were members of the German Reformed church and were pious, Christian people. Mrs. Buser's last days were spent in Waverly, Iowa, and
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her remains are buried there. To John Buser and his wife ten children were born, five sons and five daughters, of whom three sons and three daugh- ters are still living. Their eldest son, John H. Buser, became a German Reformed minister and established several churches in Iowa.
Atlee M. Buser was five years of age when his family made the change of residence from Ohio to Indiana and in the latter state he received his education, his schooling being completed with a course in the Thorntown Academy. As a young man he clerked in a store at Lahoga, afterward for years at Waveland, going from there and taking employment as a traveling salesman for an Indianapolis wholesale dry-goods firin. In 1876 he moved to Rock Island, Illinois, where he began work as a carpenter, a form of occupation for which he had a natural aptitude, and became a skilled car- penter and successful building contractor. In 1885, being attracted by the "boom" then on in Hutchinson, this county, he moved here and immediately entered upon a successful career as a building contractor in this city, con- tinuing in that business until 1913, many of the best residences in Hutchin- son today bearing lasting evidence of the substantial character of his work. In 1914 Mr. Buser returned to the life of "the road," having cherished a liking for the life of the commercial traveler ever since the days he was thus engaged in the interests of his early Indianapolis employers. He took a position as traveling salesman for the John Morrell Packing Company, of Ottumwa, Iowa, and has been quite successful in that line of endeavor, prob- ably selling more meat than any other salesman traveling out of Hutchinson. Though now getting well along in years, Mr. Buser retains all his former energy and perseverance and is regarded as one of the best salesmen in the meat line in the West.
In 1882, at Aledo, Mercer county, Illinois. Atlee M. Buser was united in marriage to Cynthia Messenger, who was born and educated at Green- ville, Ohio, daughter of Madison Messenger and wife, the former of whom was killed during the battle of Chickamauga while serving in the One Hun- dred and Thirteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The Widow Mes- senger later moved with her family of small children to Rock Island, Illinois, where she kept them together and, at the cost of many personal hardships, enabled them to get a good start in the world. To Mr. and Mrs. Buser three children were born, Myrtle, who is principal of the Fourth Avenue school in Hutchinson : Bess, who married R. W. Ellis and lives at Concordia, this state, and Lee, a prosperous builder, of Clearwater, Florida, who mar- ried Lillian Avery and has one child, a daughter. Mary Alice. The mother
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of these children died in 1914, greatly respected and loved by all who knew her. She was an active member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and Woman's Relief Corps.
Mr. Buser cast his first vote for the thirteenth amendment to the Con- stitution of the United States and ever since has voted the Republican ticket.' ever having given a good citizen's attention to political affairs, though never having been a candidate for public office. He is a Mason and a member of the Woodmen: in fact, he organized Camp No. 566 at Hutchinson, in both of which orders he takes a warm interest. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church and he lives at 317 Tenth avenue, which has been his home since the year 1892.
JOHN FRANK LESLIE.
John Frank Leslie, a well-known and progressive farmer and rancher of Walnut township, this county, owner of eight hundred and eighty acres of land in that township and an active participant in the general enterprises of that community, is a native of Missouri, having been born in Clark county, that state, August 28, 1860, son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Car- man ) Leslie, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Kentucky, who later became pioneers of Walnut township, this county, where their last days were spent.
Alexander Leslie was born in Montgomery county, New York, Decem- ber 19, 1804. son of an Irish emigrant, who had come to this country with his three brothers and who married in New York state and there spent the remainder of his life. Alexander Leslie grew up in that state and as a boy worked on the Eric canal. He then came West and at Fairfield, Iowa, mar- ried Elizabeth Carman, whose father, Joseph Carman, a native of Ken- tucky, who had moved with his family to lowa, later moved to Missouri, becoming a considerable landowner in Clark county, that state, where he spent his last days. Alexander Leslie established his home in Clark county, Missouri, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. For five months he served as a teamster in the Union army, but was unable to con- tinue in service on account of ill health. Not long after land in Reno county was opened to settlement he came here with his family from Missouri and homesteaded the cast half of section 30, in Walnut township, at the same time taking a pre-emption to a timber claim and was becoming well estab-
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lished on his homestead when his death occurred on July 1, 1878. His widow kept the family together, continued the management of the home- stead and survived for many years, her death not occurring until May 17, 1913. She was the mother of eight children: Martha ( deceased), Sarah, Louise, Lucy (deceased), J. F., J. H .. C. E. and G. M. Alexander Leslie was a Republican and he and his wife were members of the Methodist church, in which faith their children were reared.
Jolin F. Leslie received his schooling in the schools of his native county in Missouri and was a well-grown boy when his parents came to this county and settled in Walnut township. He proved a valuable aid to his widowed mother in the labors of developing the homestead farm and early became recognized as an energetic and progressive farmer. He married in the spring of 1882, and in 1887 bought the place on which he is now living, a fine tract of four hundred and eighty acres, well improved and profitably cultivated. In addition to his home farm, Mr. Leslie is the owner of four hundred acres elsewhere in Walnut township and is regarded as one of the most substantial farmers and stockmen in that township. His present con- modious and comfortable home was built in 1908; the modern barn in 1912 and the silo was erected in 1915.
It was on May 14, 1882, that John F. Leslie was united in marriage to Mary Agnes Geist, who was born in Pennsylvania, Novmeber 4, 1865, daughter of William and Mary (Snyder) Geist, who left their farm in the Keystone state ini 1878 and came to Kansas, settling in Reno county. Will- iam Geist homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in Walnut township and there established his home, becoming an influential pioneer of that sec- tion. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served for four years as a member of a Pennsylvania regiment in the Union army, and took a prom- inent part in civic affairs in the early days of this community. He and his wife were members of the Evangelical church in Pennsylvania, but upon coming to this county became affiliated with the United Brethren church and were active in all good works. To them nine children were born, of whom Mrs. Leslie was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Frank- lin, Emma, Edward, William ( deceased ), Charles, Anna, Nellie and Harvey.
To John F. and Mary Agnes (Geist) Leslie six children were born, as follow : Pearl, born on July 22, 1883: Frank, July 22, 1885: Ethel, April 14, 1892; Verna, January 1, 1894: Eston. April 3. 1899, and Zella, October 17, 1901. Pearl Leslie completed her schooling in Cooper College and the remainder of the children in the county high school at Nickerson. The mother of these children died on November 12, 1915. Pearl, the eldest daugh-
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ter. married J. S. Zimmerman, of Medford township, this county, and has four children: Ethel married Lewis W. Dietz, of that same township, and Verna married Olin Bramley, of Huntsville. Mr. Leslie is a thirty-second degree Mason and a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and his son. Frank, is a Knight Templar Mason, both taking an earnest interest in Masonic affairs. Mr. Leslie having been actively affil- iated with that order for more than twenty years.
E. R. HURD.
E. R. Hurd, farmer and citizen of Grant township, Reno county, Kansas, was born on August 3, 1850, in Gloucestershire, England, near the town of Bristol, and is the son of James and Jane (Lawrence) Hurd, both natives of the same country. James Hurd, the paternal grandfather of E. R. Hurd, was also a native of England and followed the vocation of farmer until his death, which occurred in his native land. His son, James Hurd, Jr .. was indebted to the common schools of England for the education which he received and. although his schooling was somewhat limited, he was one of the best read men of his locality. He was thoroughly conversant with English politics, as well as with the politics of other countries, especially those of the United States. He and his wife were the parents of three chil- dren, namely: Samuel, E. R. and William. The parents of these children lived to a ripe old age, the father's death occurring in 1905, at the age of eighty-four years and his wife followed him in 1909. James Hurd. Jr., was a farmer and lived and died in his native land.
E. R. Ilurd was educated in the graded schools of England, after which he removed to Toronto. Canada, while still a very young man. After re- maining in Canada for a period of two years, he removed to the city of Buffalo, New York, thence to Chicago for three years and finally located in Cheyenne. Wyoming, with the intention of remaining but one night, but instead became a resident of that place for twenty years. Various enter- prises engaged his attention while he sojourned there, among them being ยท the drug and lumber business. During the financial crisis of 1893, he sold his business and removed to Reno county, Kansas, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in Grant township and established his pres- ent home.
On March 26, 1888, E. R. Hurd was united in marriage to Lillian
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Troxell, daughter of Rubin Troxell, a native farmer of Allentown, Penn- sylvania, and to them were born two children, Beatrice and E. R., Jr. Lil- lian (Troxell ) Hurd was born in New York. Her death occurred in 1903. E. R. Hurd, Sr., is well known in fraternal circles, being a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and is affiliated with the chapter and the Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
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WILLIAM H. H. HICKMAN.
William H. H. Hickman is one of the prominent farmers of Reno county. He was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, October 26, 1852. His parents were Thomas and Harriett (Wilson) Hickman, whose family his- tory is presented elsewhere in this volume, in the sketch of Martin H. Potter.
Mr. Hickman, before becoming a farmer, was for four years a school teacher in Decatur county, Iowa, having been educated in the district schools and in the Leon Teachers Normal School of that county. When his father moved to Kansas, in the fall of 1874, he left his school work and accom- panied him. After teaching one year in Reno county, he took up the south- west quarter of section 5, and also "timber claimed" the southeast quarter of section 6, Miami township. where he has developed a fine stock farm. During the early days of his Kansas life he engaged in teaming to Hutchin- son and to Sun City and Lake City on the Medicine river. On his outgoing trips he carried farm products and buffalo robes, and returning, took home supplies from Hutchinson and timber posts from the other towns.
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