USA > Kansas > Shawnee County > History of Shawnee County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 20
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In political as well as in professional life, Mr. Hagan has become promi- nent in Kansas. A consistent Democrat of the old school, in 1882 he was elected president of the Young Men's Democratic League of Kansas, a posi- tion he held for four years. In 1885 he was appointed assistant United States district attorney for the district comprising Kansas and Oklahoma Terri- tory, and served as such for five years. In 1888 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Although for 12 years previous to 1896 he had been a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, he that year resigned on account of the Free Silver issue and was instrumental in promoting the National Democratic party in Kansas. As chairman of the Sound Money Democratic State Committee, he was a member of the Kansas delegation at Indianapolis. He is a man of strong convictions and has the courage to uphold them.
On January 5, 1899, Mr. Hagan was united in marriage to Madge Johnson, daughter of Hon. J. B. Johnson, a former law partner of Mr. Hagan.
DAVID LONG LAKIN.
DAVID LONG LAKIN, deceased, who for 40 years was closely identfied with the important agencies which have resulted in the development of Kansas into one of the greatest States of the Union, and for almost as long a period was an important factor in the building and management of the great Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and its mighty interests, was one of Topeka's most honored and valued citizens. The birth of Mr. Lakin oc-
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curred at Zanesville, Ohio, May 27, 1830, and his long and useful life closed at Topeka, on October 8, 1897.
Mr. Lakin enjoyed excellent educational advantages, graduating with credit from Zanesville College. His natural inclinations and mental equip- ment led him to seek a career which would involve mental rather than man- ual activity, and he accepted a position as a school teacher in Alabama. At that period there were many calls from the South for the services of educa- tors from the North, and Mr. Lakin spent many pleasant and profitable years in that Southern State. In 1857, after the final settlement of many of the public problems which had marred the fame of this beautiful and fruitful country, Mr. Lakin came to Kansas, and through his whole subsequent life gave his allegiance and most unselfish and earnest efforts to promote the State's welfare. As years passed, his sterling character was recognized by his community and he was placed in many positions of responsibility which increased public confidence. In 1862 he was appointed Auditor of the State.
Mr. Lakin's connection with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway began early in its organization, and in February, 1864, he was elected to membership on its directing board and was made its first treasurer. Until the close of his life, Mr. Lakin remained with this great transportation sys- tem, one of its most active and influential managers, and much of the credit was due him for the general prosperity brought about a decade later, when the road was completed to the western border of the State. He was con- cerned with everything that has made this road one of the greatest lines in the country, and his death brought not only a sense of personal loss to those with whom he had been so closely connected and who had learned to depend upon his almost unerring judgment, but to the many great interests involved.
Mr. Lakin was married July 14, 1868, at Topeka, to Mary E. Ward. She was born in 1844 at Shawnee Mission, and is a daughter of the late Anthony A. and Mary J. (Foster) Ward. There were five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lakin, namely: Burr, Mary, David, Alice and Samuel.
Politically, Mr. Lakin was identified with the Democratic party, believ- ing in its principles and consistently supporting its candidates. His fraternal associations were with different branches of Masonry. He was more or less interested in various social organizations and was a dependable factor in public-spirited enterprises.
In this too brief sketch of David Long Lakin, a summary of his life and character would show that he was a man of force, ability and integrity. His fellow-citizens know that he was wise in council and generous and fair in spirit ; his business associates remember his scrupulous attention to all the absorbing duties of his office; and his family recall one, whose constant care'was for their welfare.
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There are few more delightfully situated homes than that of Mrs. Lakin, at No. 100 North Western avenue, Topeka. The large, old-fashioned resi- dence, surrounded by noble trees of luxuriant growth, is located on a hill that not only overlooks the whole of the beautiful capital city with the great dome of the State House showing to the south, but also enables the beholder to follow the graceful curves of the Kansas River as it winds away through its green banks to the Missouri. It is a home indicative of rest and refinement and here Mr. Larkin enjoyed the ease which gave him the physical and mental strength necessary for the carrying out of his important duties.
ELIAS BRANSON COWGILL.
ELIAS BRANSON COWGILL, a veteran newspaper man of Kansas, and a member of the Kansas Farmer Publishing Company, of Topeka, has been prominent in all matters pertaining to the State's agricultural interests for a great many years. Mr. Cowgill was born March 27, 1845, at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, and is a son of Phineas and Sarah Ann (Branson) Cowgill.
The Cowgill family came to America with William Penn and settled near Philadelphia; a branch moved to Loudoun County, Virginia, and sub- sequently, during the infancy of our subject's grandfather, to Belmont County, Ohio. The latter was an old and exemplary resident. He was an elder in the Society of Friends and presided at the head of the local meeting at St. Clairsville for over 30 years. The father of Mr. Cowgill was also born in Ohio, where he married and engaged in farming until 1852, when he moved to Iowa.
Elias B. Cowgill was mainly reared and entirely educated in the State of Iowa, where he completed his preliminary studies and then entered the State University of Iowa, where he was graduated in 1869. His beginning in newspaper work was as editor of the university paper, and his second effort was at Enterprise, Mississippi, where he also became interested in cotton raising. He was later made superintendent of the schools of Clarke County, Mississippi.
In 1871 Mr. Cowgill came to Kansas, locating at Great Bend, Barton County. He surveyed the Great Bend town-site in September, 1871. In December, 1875, he moved to Sterling, Kansas, where he established the Rice County Gasette, a paper which he continued to issue for the succeeding 16 years. It was mainly devoted to the interests of that part of the State and won a place in the front rank of the newspapers of the country. In
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1884 he was appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to investigate the sugar industry, and in the following year he was elected to the chair of physics and engineering in the Kansas State Agricultural College. These trusts he accepted although he still retained his ownership of the Gazette, which was placed under the management of A. L. McMillan. In 1887, however, Mr. Cowgill decided to return to Sterling, resigning his work at the college. He was again appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to look further into the sugar industry, and to ascertain the best kind of machinery to use and the best processes to follow. In 1889 Mr. Cowgill went into the erection of sugar machinery and became general Western rep- resentative of the Kilby Manufacturing Company, of Cleveland, Ohio. He built factories for the manufacture of sugar at Medicine Lodge, Conway Springs and Ness City, and rebuilt the factory at Topeka, which had been burned in 1890. In 1891 he disposed of all his interests in this line and bought an interest in the Kansas Farmer Publishing Company. The Kansas Farmer was first printed in 1863 by Judge Adams, later by Ex-Governor George T. Anthony and still later by Maj. J. K. Hudson. A company was then formed which was succeeded by the present company. The publication has a circulation of 23,000, which extends all over Kansas, Missouri, Ne- braska, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. It supplies the needs of hundreds of households in the valleys and plains in these various States and occupies a place of prominence on many a cultured library table. Its issue is weekly and its aim is to be a strictly home and agricultural paper.
On September 20, 1869, Mr. Cowgill was married to Helen Prescott, who was a daughter of John S. and Mary ( Harris) Prescott, the former of Massachusetts and the latter of Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi and Kansas. Mrs. Cowgill died at Great Bend, Kansas, in 1875, leaving one child, Sadie C., the wife of William J. Graves, of Neosho, Missouri, who is in the real estate business and is land agent for the Kansas City Southern Railroad Company. In May, 1877, Mr. Cowgill was married, second, to Rena Harri- man, of Sterling, Kansas, who is a daughter of Dr. Leonard B. and Angeline (Kezer) Harriman. Dr. Harriman died at Sterling, but his widow, a native of Canada, is a resident of Guthrie, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Cowgill have these children: Ruth-the talented editor of the home departments of the Kansas Farmer, and Horace B., who are graduates of Washburn College; Ella L. and Harry L., who are students at Washburn College; Clyde P., who is attending the Topeka High School; and Clinton H., Paul K. and David M., who are still in the graded schools. The family belong to the Congrega- tional Church, in which Mr. Cowgill has been a deacon for some time. He is president of the State Temperance Union, belongs to the Commercial Club, is a member of Oak Grange and of Topeka Lodge No. 17, A. F. & A. M.
HON. JOHN MARTIN
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His sympathies are with the Democratic party. Mr. Cowgill has a very pleasant home at No. 1325 Clay street. The Kansas Farmer headquarters are at No. 116 West Sixth street.
HON. JOHN MARTIN.
HON. JOHN MARTIN, ex-United States Senator, whose portrait is hiere- with shown, stands as one of the great and strong men of Kansas. Entering public life through the avenue of the law, he pursued an upward course until he attained the honorable ambition of every American statesman,-a place in the United States Senate. Here his great legal abilities made him a valued coadjutor, in the handling and solving of some of the most important issues ever brought before that body.
John Martin was born November 12, 1833, in Wilson County, Tennes- see, and is a son of Matt and Mary (Penn) Martin. The Martin and Penn families were old families of lineage and breeding, but, like many others in that locality, possessed of only limited financial resources. Our subject's home was an ideal one, its atmosphere being one of family affection and gentle refinement, but when the time came for the ambitious youth to push out for himself, little but good wishes could be given him.
Turning his face Westward, in search of a favorable field of operation, Mr. Martin reached Tecumseh, Shawnee County, Kansas, on April 8, 1855. After casting about a little, he decided that here he could complete his law studies, to which he had already given considerable attention in Tennessee, and, in the words of a well-known public man, now passed off the theater of life, "grow up with the country." His ability was almost immediately recognized and he was made assistant clerk of the first Territorial Legisla- ture. As soon as he was admitted to the bar, he was made county attorney of Shawnee County and served as county clerk and register of deeds from 1857 to 1859. From the latter year up to January, 1861, he was assistant United States attorney.
In 1861 Mr. Martin opened his office at Topeka, where his legal ability continued to more and more bring him into prominence, and in 1883 he was appointed judge of the Third Judicial District, to which office he was sub- sequently reelected. In 1873 he was sent to the State Legislature to repre- sent Shawnee County and again in 1874, and during this period he worked hard for the best interests of Topeka, securing many advantages for this city, one of these being the location of the Insane Asylum here. His political affiliation has always been with the Democratic party and on several occa-
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sions it has insisted on making him the standard-bearer in the contests for gubernatorial honors. His following has always been large and influential, and in 1893 he was elected to the United States Senate, to fill the unexpired term of Senator Plumb. While in Washington his work showed him to be a steadfast supporter of the principles of his party and a man of broad, en- lightened views and in every sense a true patriot. Judge Martin has served also as clerk of the Supreme Court of Kansas. He still continues in the practice of his profession at Topeka, where he is justly numbered with the eminent members of the bar.
Judge Martin was married November 12, 1860, to Caroline Clements, who was a daughter of Judge C. B. Clements, of Tecumseh, and they have had three children, viz .: Charles C., deceased; Hon. John E., who is not only the mayor of Emporia, Kansas, but is the first Democratic mayor the city has ever elected; and Carrie, an accomplished lady who is the competent stenographer of the Kansas State Historical Society.
SYLVANUS LORENZO LEAVITT.
SYLVANUS LORENZO LEAVITT, for man years a leading business citizen of Topeka, who now lives retired from active affairs, was born September 14, 1821, at Effingham, New Hampshire, and is a son of John and Ruth (Champion) Leavitt.
The Leavitt family originated in England and its American founders settled in New Hampshire. The great-grandfather reared five children at Hampton, namely : John, Herson, Morris, Jeremiah and James. Jeremiah Leavitt was the first settler at Effingham ( formerly known as Leavitt's Town) New Hampshire. Of the II children of John and Ruth (Champion) Leavitt, but two survive,-our subject and a brother, William H., a retired resident of Portland, Maine.
Sylvanus L. Leavitt lived at home on his father's farm, attending the district school of the neighborhood in the winter, until he was 14 years old. He was then for one year employed as a clerk in his brother's store. He then returned home and worked on his father's farm in the summer and attended the Effingham Academy during the fall and spring terms. In the winters of 1839 and 1840 he taught a district school in the town of Eaton, New Hampshire. In the spring of 1841 he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked in a sash and blind factory until the fall of 1847. He then moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, and engaged as a clerk in a clothing
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store, remaining there until the spring of 1852. He then removed to Laconia, New Hampshire, where he was engaged in the dry goods and carpet business until January, 1868. While there, besides conducting his mercantile busi- ness, he was one of the promoters and president of the first gas company established in Laconia and was also a director in the Laconia Savings Bank. In January, 1868, he removed his business to Plattsburgh, New York, and continued in business there until April, 1872. Wishing for a larger field where he could extend his business he removed to Norwich, Connecticut, and continued there as a dry goods and carpet merchant until September, 1875, when, on account of the loss of his voice, caused by a paralytic affec- tion of the throat, he decided to give up his business and on the advice of his physician to seek a milder climate, in order to restore his health. Selling out his establishment to a Boston firm, he then removed to Southern Cal- ifornia.
In the year 1880 Mr. Leavitt came to Topeka and interested himself in business as one of the promoters and stockholders in the A. Prescott Loan & Banking Company (incorporated). Soon after this he sold his interest in the company and returned to California. In 1882 having in the meantime recovered the use of his voice, he returned to Topeka and took a position with the Kansas Investment Company. He remained with this company until July, 1889. About this time Mr. Hay, of the firm of Hay, Wiggin & Company, died and Mr. Leavitt purchased his interest in the firm, thus associating himself in the dry goods business with his two nephews, Fred and Charles Wiggin, under the copartnership style of Wiggin Brothers & Company. About 18 months later, Fred Wiggin, the elder of the two brothers, died and thereupon Mr. Leavitt took an active part in the business. At the end of two years, however, he was again taken sick and as Charles Wiggin was too young to assume the cares of so large a concern the firm sold out its interest in 1890 to Wiggin, Crosby & Company. Since then Mr. Leavitt has not engaged actively in business.
On October 18, 1846, Mr. Leavitt was married to Emma Hilton, of Boston, Massachusetts, a daughter of Hugh Hilton, of Sandwich, New Hampshire. The two children of this union were Charles and Harrison H. The former was born at Manchester, New Hampshire, and died at Laconia. The latter, who is a contractor at Wichita, Kansas, has been twice married; the three daughters of his first marriage are: Frances E. (Mrs. Aspey) ; Pearl E., of Kansas City, Missouri; and Beulah L., who resides with her grandfather, our subject.
Mr. Leavitt has been a life-long Republican. He is a member of the Congregational Church. For six years he was president of the first young
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men's total abstinence society in Boston's South End, assuming the duties upon its organization. He is one of the most highly regarded citizens of Topeka.
HON. ALFRED B. QUINTON.
HON. ALFRED B. QUINTON is the senior member of the prominent law firm of Quinton & Quinton, with offices in the Columbian Building, Topeka. The firm has been in existence since 1885 and is made up of two brothers,- Alfred B. and Eugene S. Quinton.
Alfred B. Quinton was born in 1855 in Lee County, Iowa, and was educated in Denmark Academy, where he was graduated in 1874. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in 1876 with the degree of LL. B., and in the same year was admitted to the Supreme Court of Michigan. Later he came to Topeka, Kansas, and was admitted by courtesy to the Supreme Court here. Mr. Quinton entered into general practice and was elected city attorney in 1881, which office he held for three consecutive years. He practiced alone until 1885, when the firm of Quinton & Quinton was formed. In 1887 he was brought forward by the Republican party as its candidate for probate judge. He was easily elected and continued on the bench until 1891, since which year Judge Quinton has declined all office, devoting his attention entirely to his large private practice. He has successfully handled some of the most important cases in the State and is given high consideration by his associates at the bar. Formerly he was very active in politics and served as chairman of the Republican Central Committee of Shawnee County for a number of years.
Judge Quinton was married to Georgia H. Hoffman, who was born in New York, and they have three daughters and one son, all of whom are attending school.
In all public-spirited enterprises in Topeka, Judge Quinton has been an active and interested participant. He has been particularly active in bring- ing about park improvements and was mainly instrumental in securing the park commission and present park ordinance, which have resulted in so much added attractiveness to the city, and he is now one of the park commissioners of the city. The placing of the fountain in Hontoon Park was the direct result of his efforts. He is, also, a friend of the public schools and advocates the securing of the best of talent in the line of teachers, and the paying of salaries which will secure instructors of ability. Since its organization, he has been a director of the Humane Society and also of the Topeka Orphans'
REV. JOSIAH B MCAFEE
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Home. In Masonry he is a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite Mason. He also belongs to the Woodmen of the World.
REV. JOSIAH B. MCAFEE.
REV. JOSIAH B. MCAFEE, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, is one of the remarkable men of the State of Kansas, and it is difficult to men- tion any line of activity or notable development, from early pioneer days down to the present, without giving a full measure of credit to this honored and now venerable citizen. All over the expanse of the State may be found the material results of his foresight, judgment, unselfish public spirit, and many of the established educational and religious institutions have incor- porated in their usefulness the work of his brain and heart.
The birth of Josiah B. McAfee occurred August 6, 1830, at McAfee- town, in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. He is a son of James and Sarah McAfee, whose parents were old and respected residents of that particular section. Our subject's education was a liberal one, early being directed into theological channels, and in 1854 he was admitted to the ministry of the Lutheran Church by the Maryland Synod. Selecting Kansas as his field of labor, Rev. Mr. McAfee, with his family, reached the city of Leavenworth on April 15, 1855, since which time he has been a Kansan, heart and soul. One month later he founded the Leavenworth Collegiate Institute-the first educational institution of prominence in the State-and was the organizer of the first Sunday-school in the State. Pupils flocked to his instruction but he did not confine his efforts to general education, for his aims were still higher. In those days of lawlessness, many good men suffered for their outspoken opinions, but Rev. Mr. McAfee continued without fear or favor to teach and preach against slavery and took sides on other questions at issue in the early days of the Territory. A man of such decided opinions and of such fearless- ness in advocating them, could not be held down by old-time canons of ob- servance and in 1856 he took a very active part in the political campaign, visiting his old home at this time where he aroused enthusiasm for Gen. John C. Fremont, the Republican nominee for President. It was during his ab- sence that threats, which formerly had been made, were put into execution and he returned to find his home in ruins. He then left Leavenworth and established his home at what is now Valley Falls, where he engaged in farm- ing and stock-raising, having invested in land. In passing it may be noted that from this source has come all of Rev. Mr. McAfee's income, all his services in the cause of education, religion and temperance, having been given freely for the benefit of his fellowmen.
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Under the caption of "The Muhlenberg of Kansas," there appeared in the Lutheran Evangelist, bearing date of November 22, 1901. an article from the pen of Rev. D. Earhart, which contains some interesting facts concerning our subject, and we here reproduce it :
"We are quite sure a short biographical sketch of Rev. J. B. McAfee will be interesting as he was the first Lutheran minister that settled in Kan- sas. Besides preaching the Gospel when an opportunity offered, he per- formed many noble deeds and lived a very useful life.
"Rev. J. B. McAfee was born August 8, 1830, in Juniata County, Penn- sylvania. He received his primary education in the district school near his home and like General Garfield drove a team of horses on the ( Pennsyl- vania ) canal when a boy. He received his further education at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1849, he was received into full membership with the Evan- gelical Lutheran Church at Port Royal, in his native county. In 1854 he taught a district school for a while, and then took charge of the academy at Clear Springs, Maryland. In 1854, he was licensed by the Maryland Synod to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments.
"April 1, 1855, he with his young wife started for Leavenworth, Kan- sas, with a view of making Kansas his future home, arriving there safely two weeks later. He at once commenced his ministerial work, and work on a school house and church building, and also taught school in order to support himself and family. During 1855 and 1856, the border ruffian war raged in Kansas, and Brother McAfee had several narrow escapes from the border ruffian lynchers. In 1856, he visited his native State and in October of that year the Maryland Synod, in session in Frederick City, ordained him. As his ministerial labors and trials are recorded in 'The History of the Early Lutheran Church in Kansas,' I will not repeat them here, but will give some historic facts not so well known.
"September 1, 1862, Rev. J. B. McAfee enlisted as a private soldier in the Union Army, and on the 15th of the same month he was unanimously elected first lieutenant by the company. The Lutheran Osberver of Decem- ber 8, 1892, says (of soldier McAfee) : `that he was in four battles, and during 1862-3-4 he served in various capacities as lieutenant, captain and superintendent of refugees at Fort Smith. From 1865 to 1867, he was pri- vate secretary to Governor Crawford of Kansas, with the rank of colonel, and often acted as Governor. During his service as adjutant general, he organ- ized two battalions for service against the Indians in Western Kansas. He wrote and compiled from reliable data the official "Military History of Kan- sas Regiments in the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion." He was also chaplain of the Second Colored Regiment of Kansas Volunteers whilst he was in the army.'
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