USA > Kansas > Reno County > History of Reno County, Kansas; its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 7
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At the close of the war Captain Hedrick returned home and married and in 1868 went to Brown county, Illinois, where he bought a farm and there remained for two years, at the end of which time he sold out and moved to Grundy county, Missouri, where he remained two years. engaged in farming, and then came to Kansas, arriving in Reno county on September 17, 1872, only one year after the first permanent settlement in the county. Captain Hedrick homesteaded a claim in Lincoln township and also "proved up" a timber claim in the vicinity of his homestead, and there established a new home. In the spring of 1875, Captain Hedrick was the hero of an incident which effectually put a stop to further attempts at claim "jumping" in Reno county. The claim of Fay Smith, a neighbor of Captain 'Hedrick
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and the later deputy sheriff under him, had been "jumped" by a man of the name of Pierce. This action aroused the pioneers of that section and about forty of them gathered, under Captain Hedrick's direction, captured Pierce and under threats to drown him in a pool in the creek on the Hed- rick farm compelled him to sign a relinquishment of his claim and get out of the country. This incident made Captain Hedrick the hero of Reno county and that fall he was elected sheriff on the Republican ticket. He was re-elected to that office in the next election, serving two terms of two years each, and then waited two years and was again a candidate and was triumphantly re-elected, thus having the distinction of being the only man in Reno county who has served three terms as sheriff. Following his service in the sheriff's office, Captain Hedrick returned to his farm, where he lived ten years, at the end of which time he sold his Lincoln township home- stead and bought three hundred and twenty acres in the northeast part of that same township, where he lived until 1904, in which year he retired from the active life of the farm and moved into Hutchinson. In 1906 he bought ten acres in South Hutchinson, where he has a very pleasant home and where he is living in quiet retirement. .
On November 9. 1865, Capt. John M. Hedrick was united in marriage to Catherine Kneister, of Madison county, Ohio, to which union three chil- dren were born, Dolly, who married Alfred Wainner and lives in Lincoln township: Johanna, who married Benjamin S. Wainner, a clerk in the post- office at Hutchinson, and Edward, a farmer, living near Big Sandy, Mon- tana. The mother of these children died on August 21, 1897, and on Janu- ary 2. 1901, Captain Hedrick married, secondly, Mrs. Mary (Ingraham) Wilson, widow of Smith Wilson, who died in 1895, and daughter of Oliver and Mary Ingraham. Oliver Ingraham died when his daughter, Mary, was three years of age and his widow and children moved from their home in Blair county, Pennsylvania, to this county, in 1879, and bought a farm in Reno township, where they established a new home.
Captain Hedrick is an ardent Republican and from the day of his com- ing to Reno county has taken a warm interest in civic affairs. In addition to his distinguished services as sheriff of the county back in pioneer days, he also served as justice of the peace for years and in other ways has given his most intelligent attention to good government. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and for years has given close attention to the affairs of the local post. He also is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the affairs of which he also is warmly interested.
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GEORGE HIRST.
The late George Hirst, for many years one of the best-known and most popular farmers of Lincoln township, this county, whose death on October 29. 1915. was the occasion of much sorrow in that community, was a native of Wisconsin, having been born in the town of Darlington, that state, Jan- uary 13, 1856. son of George and Elizabeth (Brilbrough) Hirst, both natives of England, whose last days were spent in Reno county, they having been for years highly respected residents of Lincoln township.
George Hirst was born in the city of Leeds, England, and grew up there, becoming a very proficient cabinet-maker. Shortly after their marriage he and his wife came to the United States, settling at Janesville and later at Darlington. Wisconsin, where for twenty years Mr. Hirst followed the trade of carpenter, during that time doing much for the upbuilding of the town. In the fall of 1872 George Hirst came to Kansas, homesteaded a tract of land in section 6, of Lincoln township, and there established his family in the spring of 1873. The Hirsts at once entered actively into the community life of that section and it was not long until they were regarded as one of the most substantial and useful families in the neighborhood. Mr. Hirst served for one term as a member of the school board, and in other ways displayed his interest in the common good. He died on July 25, 1897, and his widow survived until September 25, 1914, her death occurring at Hutch- inson, in which city she had made her home in her later years. . They were the parents of eight children, of whom George, the immediate subject of this memorial sketch, was the eldest son and the third child, in order of birth. Further details of the history of this interesting pioneer family are set out in the biographical sketch relating to William Hirst, a prosperous farmer, of Lincoln township, presented elsewhere in this volume.
George Hirst spent his boyhood in his native town of Darlington, Wis- consin, receiving his education in the schools of that city, and was seventeen years old when he came with his parents to Reno county in 1873, the family being among the very earliest settlers of Lincoln township. His father was not in robust health and George. the eldest son, early became the mainstay in the labor of developing the homestead farm. Upon him fell very largely the difficult task of "breaking out" the prairie and he lived at home, practi- cally managing the place, until ten months after his marriage, in 1882. A year previous to his marriage. Mr. Hirst had bought a tract of eighty acres adjoining his father's farm and on this place he remodeled the house that
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then was standing there and in it established his home. He later bought another "eighty," a mile east of his home and in 1914, upon the death of his mother, bought eighty acres of the old homestead tract, besides which he was the owner of a one-third interest in a half section of land in Troy town- ship, and at the time of his death was accounted one of the most substantial and progressive farmers in that part of the county. Not only was he diligent in his own business, but he had a fine regard for the public service and had rendered efficient and valuable aid in carrying on the functions of local gov- . ernment, having served as treasurer of the local school board for more than thirty years and for some time also served as township clerk. He was not an intense partisan in his political allegiance, ever supporting such candidates for office as he regarded best qualified for the offices sought, irrespective of their party indorsement. Mr. Hirst was a member of the American Order of United Workmen, in the affairs of which organization he took a warm interest, and was held in high regard by his neighbors and throughout the county generally, he having had, as a pioneer, a wide acquaintance through- out this whole region.
On December 25, 1882, George Hirst was united in marriage to Elma Templin, who was born in the village of Elizabeth City, Indiana, November 14, 1858, daughter of Lancy Jefferson and Mary Ann (Learner) Templin, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Pennsylvania. As a young man Lancy J. Templin became an ordained minister of the Methodist church and for some years was a preacher in a Howard county circuit in his home state. Becoming afflicted with an asthmatic affection, he sought relief in the ideal climate of this section and in 1876 came to Kansas, locating at Hutch- inson. For several years he was engaged as a school teacher and after a period of admirable and useful service in that connection rented a farm near Hutchinson and for four or five years was engaged in farming. In the spring of 1882 he and his wife moved to Canon City, Colorado, and there Mr. Templin was engaged in raising fruit and garden stuff for several years, at the end of which time he moved to California and after a residence of three years in that state returned to Colorado, locating at Florence, in that state, where his death occurred on December 19, 1900, he then being sixty- five years of age. His widow, who still survives, and who celebrated the eighty-second anniversary of her birthday on April 1, 1917, is now making her home with her children. To Lancy J. Templin and wife six children were born, as follow: Alice, who married the Rev. J. M. Clark, a minister of the Methodist church, was killed in a highway accident when thirty-two,
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years of age. a pony which she was driving having backed off an embank- ment, throwing Mrs. Clark in such a manner that her back was broken; Elma, widow of Mr. Hirst; Olin, for many years a member of the faculty of the University of Kansas at Lawrence, he now being dean of that institution; Larner, whose whereabouts have long been unknown to the family; Ida, who married George M. Deibert, a furniture dealer and undertaker, of Flor- ence. Colorado, and Dana, who is engaged in the United States reclamation service. now stationed at Rupert, Idaho. .
For four years after coming to Reno county Mrs. Hirst taught school, being thus engaged in Medford, Reno and Lincoln townships, and ever has taken a warm interest in the social and cultural activities of the community, her capable and useful services in that connection being greatly appreciated, particularly in the neighborhood in which she so long has made her home, and she is held in the highest esteem throughout that whole section. She has a very pleasant home in Lincoln township and is quite comfortably sit- uated there, two of her sons continuing to make their home with her. She is the mother of four children, namely: Jesse Templin, born on November 23, 1883, unmarried, who is now operating a farm which he bought near Pine River, Minnesota; Daisy, February 27, 1888, who married Will E. Homan and lives on a farm near McAAllen, Texas; Warren Leroy, December 17, 1890, unmarried, who is the active manager of his mother's farm, and George Ivan, January 13, 1896, who is also still making his home with his mother, a valuable assistant in the operation of the home place.
JOHN P. HARSHA.
Former Mayor John P. Harsha, of Hutchinson, who is now living comfortably retired at his pleasant home at 207 Avenue AA, east, in that city, is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born in the town of Harsha- ville. Beaver county, that state, September 6, 1849, son of Dr. John M. and Mary ( Dawson ) Harsha, both natives of that same county and members of prominent families thereabout, and both of whom are now deceased.
Dr. John M. Harsha was a practicing physician at Harshaville, who, in 1854, moved to Washington county, Ohio, locating near the town of Marietta, where he laid out the town of Cutler, upon the completion of the railroad now operated by the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company, and also was the owner of other extensive land interests. In
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1872 he moved to Shawneetown, Illinois, and made his home there, practic- ing his profession, until 1872, in which year he came to Kansas, locating in Reno county, where he bought twelve hundred acres of land in Lincoln township and lived there until 1878, when, following his election to the office of county surveyor, he moved to Hutchinson, the county seat, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1885, at the age of sixty-six. Doctor Harsha not only was a practicing physician of wide reputation hereabout, but was a civil engineer of much ability, having learned surveying under his father, John Harsha, who was one of the best-known civil engineers in Pennsylvania in his day, and in his official capacity as county surveyor of Reno county performed a valuable service in behalf of the public. He was a Whig originally, but upon the formation of the Republican party became a Republican and was thereafter affiliated with that party. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church and ever was active in good works. Doctor Harsha was twice married. His first wife, who, before her marriage was Mary Dawson, died in 1860, at the age of thirty-two years, leaving three children, of whom the eldest was John P. Harsha, the subject of this biographical review, the others being William C .. a merchant of Partridge, this state, and Benoni R., who died at his home in Vincennes, Indiana, in October, 1912. Following the death of the mother of the above children, Doctor Harsha married, secondly, in 1863, Amanda M. Garen, who is now living in Kansas City, Missouri.
John P. Harsha was five years of age when his family moved from Pennsylvania to Washington county, Ohio, and he received his elementary education in the local schools of his home neighborhood, supplementing the same by a course in Bartlett College at Plymouth, Ohio, from which excel- lent old institution he was graduated, after which, in 1869, he then being twenty years of age, he entered the service of the road now known as the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern as secretary to the superintendent of con- struction, with headquarters at Shawneetown, Illinois, and remained with that company for eighteen years, eventually becoming traveling freight and passenger agent, with jurisdiction over business originating at Ohio, Missis- sippi and Cumberland river points. In 1882 Mr. Harsha came to Reno county on a visit to his father and was so highly impressed by the possi- bilities then presented in land investment that he bought twelve hundred acres of land in Salt Creek and Center townships and proceeded to develop the same. In March, 1887, he moved to Hutchinson and opened a retail grocery store near the corner of Sherman and Main streets, under the firm name of Harsha & Duval, which firm sold out in 1888, after which
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Mr. Harsha was instrumental in the organization of the Hutchinson Whole- sale Grocery Company, J. F. Greenlee, president; Frank Vincent, vice-presi- dent : John P. Harsha, treasurer, and J. S. George, secretary, which firm quickly established itself on a very substantial business footing, becoming known far and near throughout the territory covered by its salesmen. In 1894 Mr. Harsha bought Mr. Greenlee's interest in the company and became president of the same, a position he retained until April 26, 1915, at which time he retired from active business, though still retaining some of his former business connections and is still president of the Antheline Manu- facturing Company, of Hutchinson.
From the very beginning of his residence in this county, Mr. Harsha has taken an active interest in political affairs and has given valuable service to the public in a civic capacity. For three years he served as a member of the city council and then, in 1897, was elected mayor of Hutchinson on the Republican ticket for a term of two years. He was re-elected upon the expiration of that term and thus served four years. In 1903 he again was elevated to the office of the city's chief executive and was retained in office three successive terms, thus making a service of ten years in the mayor's office, a distinction accorded no other man in the political history of Hutch- inson. During Mayor Harsha's incumbency many notable improvements were made in Hutchinson, including the Cow creek drainage canal, which was built under his administration, undoubtedly a measure which has saved Hutchinson some very disastrous floods and has been of great sanitary benefit to the whole community. In other ways, too, Mr. Harsha has proved his enterprise and public spirit and the people of this community gladly accord to him the credit of having been the means of accomplishing much in behalf of the common good.
On September 14, 1873, John P. Harsha was united in marriage to Aletha A. Campbell, who was born in New Cumberland, Hancock county, Virginia, now a part of West Virginia, daughter of John and Ruth (Swear- engen ) Campbell, both natives of that section, where all their lives were spent, and to this union four children have been born, namely: Ruth, who married William Snyder, a traveling salesman, and now lives in Los Angeles, California: May, who is living at home with her parents ; Clyde B., a travel- ing salesman for the Hutchinson Wholesale Grocery Company, who mar- ried Nell Devine and makes his home in Hutchinson, and Harry, also at home. The Harshas have a very pleasant home at 207 Avenue A, east, which Mr. Harsha bought in 1900.
Mr. Harsha is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benev-
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olent and Protective Order of Elks, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of those two popular orders. Mrs. Harsha is a member of the Christian church.
WILLIAM G. FAIRCHILD.
William G. Fairchild, of Hutchinson, long recognized as one of the leading members of the bar of Reno county, is a native of New Jersey, he having been born in Monmouth county, that state, the only son of Samuel G. and Sarah A. ( Hoff) Fairchild, the former of whom died in 1909, at the age of eighty-one, and the latter of whom still is living at Keyport, New Jersey.
Samuel G. Fairchild was for many years one of the best-known men in maritime circles in the East. He was the owner of an extensive line of ships and for eighteen years was in the service of the government as inspector of steamships for the third district. which includes the port of New York.
William G. Fairchild, the only child of his parents, received his early education at the military school at Cheshire, Connecticut, from which he was graduated in 1879, and entered Sheffield, Yale, but quitting on account of ill health. As a boy and young man he spent considerable time at sea in various capacities, from supercargo to master, spending almost two years of this time in Mexico. After this he returned to the United States and was for some time engaged in civil engineering and helped to lay out and build the town of Macksville, Kansas. In 1888 he was admitted to the supreme court of Kansas, immediately thereafter becoming the law partner of H. C. Johns, at Larned, which mutually agreeable connection continued until the death of Mr. Johns in 1891. In 1892 Mr. Fairchild closed his Larned office and with Mr. Johns came to this county, locating at Hutchinson, the county seat, where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession ever since. After the death of Mr. Johns, Mr. Fairchild formed a partner- ship with James Mckinstry, which was dissolved in 1899 and a few years later, in 1902, he formed a partnership with Howard Lewis, which still con- tinues, this well-known legal firm having been very successful.
On April 29, 1891, William G. Fairchild was united in marriage to Ellen F. Campbell, who was born in the state of New York, daughter of Charles E. and Anna (Foster ) Campbell, formerly of Ft. Worth, Texas. who are now living in Hutchinson, this county. To this union two chil- dren have been born. Samuel .G., who, after an engineering course in the
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Kansas State University, is now with the Santa Fe Railroad Company, and Stephen J., a student in Kemper Military School at Boonville, Missouri. The Fairchild family has a very pleasant home at 551 Sherman street. east, in the city of Hutchinson.
PROF. STEWART P. ROWLAND.
In 1914 when the biennial question of electing a county superintendent of schools in Reno came up there was considerable agitation in certain quarters looking to the possibility of a change in the incumbency of that office, the argument advanced in the quarters intimated being that it was not "good politics" to keep on retaining, year after year, a Democrat in a public office in a county which then was and for years had been strongly Republican. The teachers of the county, getting wind of this agitation, put their heads together and drafted a series of resolutions, signed by prac- tically every teacher in the county, as well as by the principal and teachers of the Reno county high school and the principals and teachers of the graded schools throughout the county. Needless to say, Professor Row- land, superintendent of the Reno county schools since the year 1908, was again re-elected by his usual handsome majority.
The resolutions thus referred to recited, on the part of the teachers, the story of "the unusual record of our present superintendent" and pointed out some of the "remarkable results" obtained under his administration of the affairs of the county superintendent's office, at the same time declar- ing that "the consensus of opinion is that the office should remain com- pletely removed from politics as it has been for the past few years," urging that "the success of past years promises even greater success for the future" and declaring, in conclusion, the belief of the teachers "that the continuation of this great work should be left in the hands of the man most responsible for its recent rapid improvement." The voters ratified these resolutions and Professor Rowland is still administering the affairs of his important office, the duties and responsibilities of which he takes so closely to heart that during the past few years he has declined several flattering propositions to transfer his services elsewhere, believing that his valuable labors in behalf of the schools of Reno county are still unfinished.
Stewart P. Rowland was born on a farm in Noble county, Ohio, May 27, 1870, son of Perry and Mary E. (Ellison) Rowland, the former of
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whom, born in that same county in 1829, is still living and the latter, born about fifteen miles from the city of Liverpool, England, in 1836, died in June, 1911, at her home in Reno township, this county.
Perry Rowland was left an orphan at the tender age of four years and was reared in the family of James Taylor, growing up on a farm in his native county. Following his marriage, in that same county, he rented a farm and established a home of his own, later buying the place, and remained there until 1878, in which year he sold his Ohio farm and came, with his family, to Kansas, buying a quarter of a section of land north- west of Hutchinson, in Reno township, this county, where he still lives. Perry Rowland prospered in his farming operations and gradually enlarged his land holdings until now he is the owner of five hundred acres of choice land surrounding his fine home in Reno township. During the Civil War Perry Rowland served as a soldier in the Union army for three years, a member of the Ninth Ohio Cavalry, attached to the Army of the West, which was with Sherman to the sea. He is a Democrat and for many years has been regarded as one of the leaders in the civic life of the community in which he lives. He is a Methodist, as was his good wife, a liberal sup- porter to the cause of the church, and his children were reared in that faith. These children, all of whom are living, in the order of their birth are as follow: John E., a prominent farmer and fruit grower of Clay township, this county: Charles W., also a farmer, living in Reno township; Eliza J., unmarried, housekeeper for her father; James P., a large land- owner, who also makes his home with his father: Stewart P., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch, and Alfred E., an extensive stockman, who manages his father's large farm.
Stewart P. Rowland was eight years of age when his parents came to this county and his elementary education was received in the district schools of his home neighborhood, after which he entered Hutchinson high school and presently entered the ranks of Reno county's fine teaching force, appli- cation for his first teacher's certificate having been made at the age of six- teen. His success in this initial examination was the beginning of his useful career in the educational life of this county. The young teacher continued his studies while teaching, and for a few years spent his summer vacations in school, taking a three-years course at the Kansas Normal Col- lege at Ft. Scott, and later a course of two years at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. His health then becoming somewhat impaired, Pro- fessor Rowland relinquished his studies for awhile and recuperated through wholesome physical labor on his father's farm, later resuming his work of
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teaching in the district schools and in the teachers' institutes, he having early in his teaching career secured the necessary certificate of his qualifi- cations as an institute teacher, and was thus engaged until his election to the office of county superintendent in 1903, the duties of which he entered upon in May, 1909, and which he since then has been faithfully performing, having been re-elected in each biennial election since that time, regardless of the fact that he is a Democrat and that Reno county is normally Repub- fican; his first election having been won by a majority of one thousand and nineteen votes. In further. preparation for his scholastic career, Pro- fessor Rowland took a course in the Hutchinson Business College at Hutchinson, from which he was graduated and in which excellent commer- cial school he taught during the year following his graduation.
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