USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 63
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
On Christmas Day of 1881 William H. H. Hickman was married to Anna M. Potter, daughter of John B. and Margaret ( Bright) Potter, at the town of Huron. She was born at Casstown, Miami county, Ohio, on Febru- ary 12, 1858. To this union the following children have been born: Bessie H., born on December 17, 1882; Stella B., May 15, 1886, died on July 9, 1886; Lena, April 10, 1888, died on July 26, 1888; Leonard G., July 5, 1890. Bessie H. attended the graded schools of Turon and later graduated in instrumental music at the Nickerson high school. She has been a student at the Kelso Conservatory of Music at Wichita, and assistant teacher of music at the State Normal School at Alva, Oklahoma. Leonard G. received his education at Turon, and was also a student of the Nickerson high school. He has been cashier of the State Bank, and also served as deputy treasurer of Reno county from October, 1913, to May, 1915. Bessie H. and Leonard
632
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
G., during the summer of 1915, took up claims of three hundred and twenty acres each in Colorado, and have erected buildings thereon.
Mr. Hickman's brothers and sisters are: Kimball, of Battle Creek, Michigan: Andrew J., farmer of Lenora, Oklahoma; Lavisa J., wife of Martin H. Potter, of Turon.
William H. H. Hickman is a member of the Masonic lodge at Turon. He is a charter member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Turon, has been an active worker in the lodge. has filled all the offices, and has been its represen- tative in the grand lodge of Kansas. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Hickman and his wife and daughter are earn- est members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Ever since the organiza- tion of the township Mr. Hickman has held some office and is now justice of the peace. For eighteen years he was a member of the school board.
E. F. DANFORD.
E. F. Danford, a well-known and prosperous fariner and ranchman, of Reno township, this county, is a native of Ohio, having been born on a farm in Noble county, that state, on September 9, 1869, son of Isaiah and Eliza E. (Groves) Danford, both natives of that county, the former of whom is now living in Hutchinson, this county, and the latter died at her home in that city in November, 1909. To them ten children were born, all of whom are still living, namely: J. L., who rents a large cattle ranch near Kinsley, this state; Anna, who married Ben Meyers, who conducts a dairy in Hutch- inson; E. F., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; William C., who lives in Oklahoma; Lavina Della, who married L. S. Kent, an auctioneer, of Hutchinson; L. P., who owns a two-hundred-and-forty-acre farm in this county; Mary, who married A. T. Maupin, who is in the dairy business; Carrie, who married Robert Carlyle, of Stafford, this state; Rosanna, who married Patrick Hamilton, and Ella, who married W. D. Kennedy.
During his residence in Ohio Isaiah Danford was the owner of a two- hundred-acre farm, which he disposed of in the spring of 1887 and moved with his family to Kansas, locating in this county, where he bought a quarter of a section of land in Lincoln township, the general operation of which, from the first. he turned over to his sons, while he the next year opened a hotel, the Ohio House, named in honor of his native state, in Hutchinson. He conducted that popular hostelry for several years, at the end of which
E. F. Hanford
633
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
time he retired from business and has since been living retired in Hutchinson, though for a time he was engaged, in partnership with Ben Meyers, in the dairy business. He is a Republican and since coming to this county has given his intelligent attention to political affairs, though never having been a candidate for office.
E. F. Danford received his schooling in the public schools of his native county, in Ohio, and was eighteen years of age when he came with the family to this county. For years he was the eldest son at home and thus the responsibility of managing the farm fell largely upon his shoulders. After his marriage, two or three years later, he bought a quarter of a section of land in Reno township, which place he presently sold and bought the southwest quarter of section 17, township 23, range 6 west, in the same township and there he has made his home ever since, having improved and cultivated the place until it is one of the most productive and attractive farms in that section of the county. He has enlarged the home farm by the pur- chase of the ninety-acre tract adjoining, in section 16, of the same township, and also owns two hundred acres in section 16, Reno township. In 1910 ' he erected on the home place a thoroughly up-to-date and commodious residence and he and his family are very comfortably situated there. In addition to his valuable holdings in this county, Mr. Danford and his two sons, C. W. and C. L., rent a twenty-five-hundred-acre ranch in Kiowa county, Kansas, five hundred acres of which is given over to cultivation, the remainder being used as a cattle range, and the same managed by his sons, Clyde L. and Charles W. A few years ago Mr. Danford started a Guernsey dairy, two miles southwest of Hutchinson, in partnership with J. W. Black, and the latter is now quite successfully operating the same.
On December 25. 1889, E. F. Danford was united in mariage to Lizzie E. Crow, and on Christmas Day, 1914, their silver wedding anniversary was celebrated amid much pleasant merry-making on the part of their friends. Mrs. Danford is a daughter of Isaac Crow and wife, pioneers of Reno county, further details of whose family history are set out in the biographi- cal sketch relating to their son, George Luther Crow, presented elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Danford four children have been born, as follow : Charles, born on November 5. 1890, who married Ada Black, and has two sons, Robert J., born on June 22, 1914, and Eugene I., January 13, 1916, is farming in Kiowa county, Kansas ; C. L., June 14, 1892, on his father's big ranch in Kiowa county, Kansas; Ada, July 8, 1898, is attending the Hutchinson high school, and Paul Stewart, August 17, 1904. Mr. and
634
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
Mrs. Danford are members of the Poplar Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Danford is a member of the board of trustees of that church.
Mr. Danford is a Republican and ever since coming to this county has given his thoughtful attention to local political affairs. For some time he served the people of Reno township very efficiently as township trustee and as a member of the local board and in other ways has been faithful to his obligation as a good citizen.
WILBUR F. PRESBY.
Wilbur F. Presby, deceased, who was a fine example of the well- educated farmer, was the son of a Methodist minister. His parents were both New Englanders. The father. Solon Bruce Presby, who was born at Bradford. New Hampshire, on October 8, 1832, became an ordained minis- ter at Boston, Massachusetts, after graduating there from the Boston Theo- logical Seminary. He returned to his native hills to preach, having mar- ried Lucina Austin, of East Highgate, Vermont, and it was while he was filling a charge at Nashua, New Hampshire. that his son was born, Decem- ber 9, 1860.
In 1870. Rev. Solon B. Presby moved his family to Kansas. He was located for three years at Cottonwood Falls, and then went to Hutchinson, where he occupied the pulpit of the First Methodist Episcopal church for one year. He went to Grove township, Reno county, in 1874, and later had charge of churches at Halstead and Florence. His wife, who was born at East Highgate. Vermont, on March 20, 1833, died February 9, 191I. Besides the subject of this review, their only other child was a daughter, Myrtle J., who is the wife of C. W. Learned, a Grove township farmer.
Wilbur F. Presby's early education was received in the Sherman street school of Hutchinson, Kansas. He was one of the eight original pupils of that school. Following his attendance there, he spent two years at the State University in Lawrence, and one year in Cornell University. After his return from the East, he was connected for some time with the J. B. Watkins Land Mortgage Company, of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1906 he moved to a farm in Grove township. Reno county, where he lived until death claimed him. October 25, 1912.
Mr. Presby was twice married. His first wife was Mary Elizabeth Gamble, and they were married in Topeka. Kansas, on September 3, 1881.
635
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
She was the daughter of James Gamble and wife, and was born in Penn- sylvania. Her parents were also natives of Pennsylvania. To this union one child was born, Laura, who was born at Lawrence, October 5, 1883. The death of Mrs. Presby occurred at Lawrence, on May 18, 1889.
On April 5. 1893, Mr. Presby was married, in New York City, to Emma E. Hazlitt, who was born in Ireland. November 25, 1868, daughter of James Hazlitt, a native of Ireland. She died in Turon, Kansas, May 22, 1914, leaving one child. Wendell Phillips, who was born at Brooklyn, New York, January 25, 1904.
Wilbur F. Presby was the owner of five hundred acres of rich Reno county land. In 1892 he purchased of his aunt, Mrs. Dora Ann Wallace. the northeast quarter of section 35. township 25, range 10, Grove township; in 1899. from the Leeds estate, he bought lot 2, of the northeast quarter and lot 3 of the northwest quarter in section 2, township 26, range 10, in Miami township. In 1911, he half-inherited and half-purchased from his sister, Mrs. C. W. Learned, the southeast quarter of section 35, township 25. range 10, Grove township. This land is now all owned and farmed by his children.
Mr. Presby was a Democrat in politics, and religiously, he belonged to the church whose doctrines his father so zealously promulgated.
MARTIN H. POTTER.
Martin H. Potter might justly be called the father of Turon and of Miami township, having named the town, which was built on part of his farm, for Turin, Italy (afterward changed to Turon by the United States postoffice department ), and the township for his native county in Ohio. In addition to this distinction, Mr. Potter has varied business interests and is widely known for his commercial and financial prominence. He is the son of John B. and Margaret ( Bright ) Potter, and was born on May 7, 1854.
John B. Potter was born on April 2, 1826, at Clinton, Vermillion county, Indiana. He was a farmer, and in 1866, after having fought in the Civil War, purchased an eighty-acre farm in Decatur county, Iowa, where he re- sided until 1875. In the latter year he moved to Kansas and took up a . quarter section of land in Langdon (now Miami) township, Reno county. Ten years later he founded a grocery business in Turon, and on July 18. 1887. he was elected to the presidency of the State Bank of Turon, which
636
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
office he held until September 18, 1888. At the time of his death, which occurred on May 31. 1890, he was president of the Turon Town Company. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post, and had also passed all the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge. His funeral was one of the largest ever held in Turon. The procession, of which one hundred Odd Fellows from the home and surrounding towns were a part, extended for over a mile in length. In religion, John B. Potter was a Universalist. and in politics. he was a Democrat.
Mrs. Margaret ( Bright) Potter died in Turon. December 27, 1878, her birth occurring on November 2. 1830, in Augusta county, Virginia. She and her husband were second cousins and their marriage occurred in Miami county, Ohio, on July 18. 1852. Besides Martin H., their children were Mary Catherine and Lillie Rose. both of whom died in infancy; Edgar B., who died in 1884; Anna M., wife of William H. H. Hickman, a farmer of Miami township: Florence E., wife of Irvin Decker, a California merchant ; George B., lumber and hardware merchant of Preston, Kansas; Gulielma M., wife of J. E. Young, a merchant of Supply, Oklahoma; Alice J., wife of Frank Whittle, farmer living near Oakland, California, and Lillie B., wife of Mr. Tompkins, jeweler at Oakland, California.
Martin H. Potter was educated in the district schools of his birthplace. He accompanied his father to Iowa, where he engaged in various pursuits until the family removed to Kansas, and soon afterward he homesteaded and "timber-claimed" three hundred and twenty acres of land, the homestead being the west half of section 9, township 26, range 10, and the timber claim being the southeast quarter of section 9, township 26, range 10. He later purchased his father's east half of the west half of section 9, township 26, range 10, all of which he still owns, excepting that part which is in the city of Turon. He reserved one block in the city, where he built a home, in which he has lived since 1875, with the exception of his summers, which he spends in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Here he owns a house and office. He is general manager and a stockholder of the Potter Mercantile Company, which is the outgrowth of a country store which he opened in 1880. The capital stock and surplus of this company amounts to seventy thousand dol- lars. In 1887 Mr. Potter widened his business interests when he became cashier and part owner of the State Bank of Turon. Ten years later he became president and sole owner. In 1898 the bank was incorporated under the state laws with a capitalization of five thousand dollars, and Mr. Potter was elected president and still holds that office. In January, 1904, the stock was doubled. and in March, 1910. it was increased to fifteen thousand dol-
637
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
lars. This bank also does a large amount of business in insurance, farm loans and real estate.
Mr. Potter is president of the Botner Motor Company, partner in the Potter Drug Company, of Turon. and in the Lumber and Implement Com- pany, of Preston, Kansas. He has served on the Turon board of education for more than twenty years. He was the Turon postmaster from 1882 until 1896. For four years he presided over the Turon Commercial Club. On the death of his father, in 1890, he became president of the Turon Town Company, and is still an incumbent of that office. He and his brother-in- law, William H. H. Hickman, introduced the first threshing machine outfit into Reno county.
Martin H. Potter was married on September 17, 1876, in Langdon township (now Turon, Miami township), to Lavisa J. Hickman, who was born on May 19. 1858, in Dubuque county, Iowa, the daughter of Thomas W. and Harriet (Wilson) Hickman.
Thomas W. Hickman was a farmer and was born in Licking county, Olio, and removed, in 1856, to Jones county, and two years later to Deca- tur county, Iowa. In 1874 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Langdon (now Miami) township, Reno county, located in the north- west quarter of section 8, township 26, range 10, and also pre-empted an adjoining timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres. Here he lived until 1898, when he sold his land and moved to Turon, where he held the position of vice-president in the State Bank. He was a Universalist in religious faith, and a Democrat in politics. His death occurred on March 23, 1904. His wife, who was a Pennsylvanian by birth, died at the family home on January 19, 1902.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin H. Potter, John W. and Dora L. John W. was born at Turon, June 28. 1877, educated in the public schools of his native town, and also at the State Normal School at Emporia, Kansas. He has taught school in Turon and in the schools of Miami township, but is now serving as president of the Potter Mercantile Company. Dora L. is the wife of Dr. M. S. Thacher, of Turon. She was born on what is now the city of Turon on February 24, 1879. She attended the home schools and was also a student at the State Normal at Emporia. and is a graduate in kindergarten work, and has taught in the schools of Turon and Miami township.
Martin H. Potter holds to the faith of a Methodist and is a Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodnien of America and has been identified with the Inde-
638
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
pendent Order of Odd Fellows for twenty-eight years, having received all the honors of his home lodge and was its first secretary.
Martin H. Potter was always among the first to subscribe to the build- ing of every church within ten miles of Turon, and has been liberal with his means to advance the interest in developing and making southwest Reno county what it is today.
JOHN WITHRODER.
John Withroder, a well-known and prosperous farmer of Huntsville township, this county. owner of a fine ranch in the Plevna; neighborhood and accounted one of the most substantial citizens of that part of the county, is a native of Indiana, born on a farm in Clay county, that state, September 18. 1848, son of Michael and Magdaline (Berkharde) Withro- der, natives of Germany, who came to the United States not long after their marriage and for a time resided in Ohio, but presently moved over into Indiana. settling in Clay county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Michael Withroder died on October 28, 1884, and his widow died on July 30, 1907. They were members of the German Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There were five of these chil- dren, Charles, Barbara (deceased), John, George and Emma.
Reared on his father's farm in Clay township, Indiana, John With- roder obtained his schooling in the public schools of that neighborhood and remained there until 1875, in which year he came to Kansas, with a view to becoming a farmer on a somewhat larger scale than seemed possible back home. Upon arriving in Reno county he homesteaded a tract of land in section 18. Huntsville township, in addition to which he pre-empted a tim- ber claim, and proceeded to improve and develop the same. Ten years later he married and established his home on his homestead tract, to which he meanwhile had been adding by purchase of adjoining tracts, and as he con- tinued to prosper he added further tracts until now he is the owner of a fine farm of two thousand two hundred and sixty acres in Reno county and six hundred and forty acres in Lipscomb county, Texas.
It was on September 29. 1885, that John Withroder was united in mar- riage to Agnes Keddie, who was born in Scotland and who was but eighteen months old when her parents, Thomas and Janet ( Taylor) Keddie, both natives of that country, came to the United States. Thomas Keddie, who for years has been one of the best-known residents of Reno county, was
639
RENO COUNTY, KAN.S.A.S.
born on June 21, 1844, son of John Keddie, a carpenter, and his wife was born on August 9, 1844, daughter of Henry Taylor, an expert horseman. Upon coming to this country with his family. Thomas Keddie located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he he made his home for eight years. In 1876 he came to Kansas and homesteaded a tract of land in Huntsville town- ship, this county, where he established his home, and at the same time pre- empted a timber claim. He prospered in his operations and is now the owner of twelve hundred acres of well-improved land in this county. Mr. Keddie is a well-known preacher in the Holiness church and has also taken an active part in the political affairs of the county, having been at one time a representative in the Legislature from this district. To him and his wife six children have been born, of whom Mrs. Withroder is the eldest, the others being George, Jessie, Anna, Henry and Thomas.
To John and Agnes ( Keddie ) Withroder six children have been born, namely: Thomas, born on December 30, 1886; Eddie, January 2. 1889: Everett, February 11, 1891, who died on November 5, 1913: George. July 6, 1893: Elleta, June 14, 1900, and Gladys, August 25, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Withroder are active members of the United Brethren church and take an earnest interest in all neighborhood good works.
JAMES E. BUSKIRK.
James E. Buskirk, of Hutchinson, is a native of Kansas, and a splendid example of the young American business man who ever keeps pace with progress and assists in upbuilding the community. He is the son of .Alfred D. and Molly (Lewis) Buskirk, who came from Indiana to Kansas in 1879. He was born on October 15, 1884.
Alfred D. Buskirk first located in Troy township, Reno county, in 1883, where he purchased one hundred acres of Santa Fe railway land. He was born in Greene county, Indiana. February 22, 1849. His wife was born on January 15, 1857, in Putnam county, Indiana. They now reside in Grant township, Reno county. Their other children are: Paul C .. of Hutch- inson, overseer of the Reno county roads: Clifford L., farmer and stock raiser, of Harvey county, Kansas; Alice, a teacher in the schools of Sylvia. Kansas, and Mrs. Meda Newton, wife of F. O. Newton, of Newton, Kan- sas.
James E. Buskirk, after attending the district schools. took a business
.
ot9
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
course in Nickerson College. He was then employed by the American Steam Laundry at Hutchinson, for five years, after which time he went to Annistad, Union county, New Mexico, where he engaged in the mercantile business for four years, and where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he still owns. For the last six years he has been located with the Central Mercantile Company, of Hutchinson. In April, 1913, he was elected commissioner of public improvements of Hutchinson for two years, and in April, 1915, he was re-elected for the same length of time.
His marriage to Florence E. Minner occurred in Hutchinson, February 19. 1907. She is the daughter of Christ C. and Ledora (Fry) Minner, and was born in Harrington, Kansas. Her father, who is now deceased, was engaged in the salt business. Mr. and Mrs. Buskirk are the parents of one daughter, Elva, who was born in Hutchinson, February 20, 1912.
Mr. Buskirk belongs to the Congregational church, and is a Republi- can in politics. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and of the United Commercial Travelers. His home is located at 412 Campbell street. East. Hutchinson, where the family have lived for about seven years.
GEORGE VON LEONROD, M. D.
Dr. George Von Leonrod, of Hutchinson, this county, one of the best- known physicians in southwestern Kansas, is a Bavarian, having been born in Munich, capital of that kingdom, on' April 5, 1870, son of the Baron John and the Baroness Kunigunda (Von Schroddenberg) Von Leonrod, the former of whom, born in Munich in 1826, died in March, 1912, and the latter, born in the castle of Schroddenberg, Frankonia, only daughter of her father, the baron, in 1836, died in October, 1912.
The Baron John Von Leonrod was a famous soldier in the Bavarian army and served with valor in the wars between 1866 and 1872. During the Franco-Prussian War he was staff surgeon in the army of Prince Fred- erick Karl, of Bavaria, and was wounded three times, once through the lungs, once in the flesh of his left arm and once through the thigh. As a reward of valor, by royal decree his estates forever were exempted from taxation. At the close of the wars he engaged in business in Munich and became even more wealthy than he was before. He was the eldest son and thus the inheritor of his father, the baron's estate of Wachenroth, which carried a castle and all that goes therewith. The Baron Von Leonrod, father of
ء افكر
Cheo Tom Rennrad
641
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS.
Doctor Von Leonrod, was one of the best-known men in Munich, a noted scholar, an expert swordsman and a famous duelist. He and his wife, the baroness, were the parents of six children, as follow: Pedro, who is now (1916) a colonel in the Fourth Army Corps of the German army, under the crown prince, fighting in the general European war; George, the imme- diate subject of this biographical review; Adam, captain of the German battleship, "Brandenburg en Kiel," now engaged in the defense of Germany's coast line; Anna, living at Nurenberg, Bavaria, who has never married, her betrothed having been slain in a duel eight days before the day set for their wedding, she ever since having remained faithful to his memory; Babeta, who married the Baron Von Hoellein, of Saxony, and Margaret.
George Von Leonrod's elementary education was received in a convent school in Zurich, Switerland, after which he entered upon his medical edu- cation and for seven years was in attendance at medical schools, completing the course at Heidelburg, following which he spent one year in the army. attached to the Fourteenth Infantry, at Munich, at the end of which service he made the grand tour of Europe, traveling in all nine months, and then came to America, which ever since has been his home. Doctor Von Leonrod arrived in Brooklyn, New York, in 1892, and for nine months resided there, becoming acquainted meanwhile with the great metropolis across the river and presently became attached to the medical staff of Bellevue hospital in New York City, which connection continued for a period of three years, at the end of which time he went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. A short time later he went to Los Angeles, California, and was located there a year or more acting as assistant physician, under Doctor Kurtz, in a general hospital. Doctor Von Leonrod then came to Kansas, locating at Hutchinson in 1895 and has since that time been very successfully engaged in the prac- tice of his profession in that, city, having long been recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the treatment of chronic diseases hereabout.
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.