USA > Kansas > Shawnee County > History of Shawnee County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 28
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The father of Mr. Betts was born at Dover, Delaware. Upon removing from the East, he became a resident of Illinois and later came to Kansas. He served two terms as sheriff of Piatt County, Illinois. His occupation was farming. He died in 1878.
The subject of this sketch is a self-made man. He had but meager edu- cational opportunities in his boyhood, his father having settled in a somewhat remote region. The first school he attended was in a small school house erected after he was old enough to assist in hauling the lumber that was used in constructing it. Later he enjoyed a course at a commercial college and that was about the extent of his schooling. He has been a resident of Kansas since he was nine years old, his parents settling in Atchison County in 1860. In 1861 he came to Jefferson County and to Topeka in 1878, and ever since he has been engaged in a general contracting business. This he built up into one of the largest and most important in the city, then in the county and finally in the State. His superior work enabled him to secure numerous large and extensive contracts from the United States government. After completing a government contract at Fort Riley, in the fall of 1904, amounting to over $260,000, he was awarded another at Fort Russell, Wyoming, in March, 1905, amounting to $136,244. He has built many hotels and school build- ings all over the West, one of these recently completed being the beautiful High School building at El Reno, Canadian County, Oklahoma. Many of
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the depots and terminal buildings of the various railroads through this and other sections are specimens of his work.
For many years Mr. Betts has been prominent in Republican politics and has been influential in party affairs. He served two years in the City Council and from 1901 to 1905 was a member of the State House of Repre- sentatives. Approval of his course in this body was shown by his election in 1904 to the State Senate. His career as a statesman has been a very cred- itable one and he enjoys the confidence of his party.
Mr. Betts married Lulu Sandmeyer, who is a daughter of the late Jacob W. Sandmeyer. Mr. Sandmeyer was a German by birth and for a number of years lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he built the first modern hearse ever made in that city. He died in Mrs. Betts' childhood, after having become a well-known wagon manufacturer. His widow sur- vived until January 10, 1892. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Betts are : Joseph W., Rebecca Myrtle and Freda Marguerite. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their beautiful and artistic home is situ- ated at No. 1029 North Quincy street (North Topeka).
Fraternally, the subject of this sketch is connected with the Masonic bodies in the higher branches, the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Elks. His portrait accompanies this sketch.
MARIE ANTONIN EUGENE JAQUES CAMPDORAS, M. D.
The death of Dr. M. A. E. J. Campdoras, on April 6, 1881, removed from Topeka a physician and surgeon of remarkable professional skill, and a man whose nobility of life and self-sacrificing spirit in the cause of right aroused feelings of veneration and admiration which attended him through years of a very unusual public career. Dr. Campdoras was born at Thuir, Department of the Pyrenees Orientales, France, and was a son of Francois Sylvestre and Justine (Joubert) Campdoras.
Dr. Campdoras was graduated at the college at Perpignan, where he received the degree of A. B. and then from the University of France, at Mont- pelier, in medicine and surgery, and then was assigned to hospital practice at Toulon. He entered the navy as auxiliary surgeon and was at sea six years. When Napoleon III declared himself emperor, Dr. Campdoras was surgeon of the "Pengouin" and was the only officer in the French Navy who was brave enough to stand firm for freedom and a republic, resulting in his desertion of his ship. In the campaign of the Var, when the insurrectionists
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were beaten, he escaped over the Alps to Italy and subsequently, with others, embarked at Genoa for New York.
In the spring of 1852 the party reached New York after three months of stormy voyaging and set foot on free land. During this voyage Dr. Camp- doras and the late Charles Sardou, whose life story is related in this volume, became acquainted, having the same aims and suffering the same hardships, and later both settled near Topeka, friends for life. Dr. Campdoras practiced medicine and surgery in New York City for three years and then went South to Louisiana where he spent the winter of 1854 teaching Spanish at the Louisiana State College at Donaldsonville. In the spring of 1855 he came to Kansas and practiced among the very few settlers and the half-breed Kaw Indians settled along the bottom lands of the Kaw River, among whom were the Papans, the Bellemeres and the De Aubries. Here he took up a claim of 160 acres but this he later sold to the father of Spencer Wade. For some years he made his home with Charles Sardou and continued to practice until 1871, when his failing health caused him to discontinue.
Early in 1862 Dr. Campdoras enlisted as surgeon of the Second Regi- ment, Kansas Home Guards, Col. John Ritchie commanding, and served 18 months but was obliged to resign on account of ill health. He participated in the battles of Prairie Grove and Cane Hill, and in the latter fight his horse was shot from under him and he was slightly wounded. After being mustered out at Fort Smith, in October, 1863, he came back to his home, which was then in Indianola and resumed practice. In 1871 he retired to the farm which is located just west of the State Reform School for Boys,-a tract of 160 acres upon which his wife had a squatter right, under the law which then gave an unmarried woman a quarter-section of land. His health continued so poor that he at last fancied that if he could once more breathe the air of his native land, vigor would return to him and in 1880, after so many years of absence, he once more trod the soil of France. He met with disappointment and re- turned to his Kansas home in the same year. He learned what he had not known before, that the French government had condemned him to death on account of the part he had taken in the insurrection, but he also learned that he had powerful and devoted friends there who met and drafted a special bill asking for a pension. His disappointment was in the change that time had wrought and in the different way that freedom in his native land was regarded in comparison to the ideals for which he had sacrificed almost everything. As long as he lived, and his death followed his visit abroad, he placed patriotism before every other sentiment.
In 1858, Dr. Campdoras married Eliza Reader, who was born in Penn- sylvania, of English and American parents, respectively. Her mother died when she was two years old and she lived with her aunt, Mrs. Eliza Cole, and
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was reared and educated in Illinois. When she was about 21 years old her uncle and aunt and brother Samuel decided to move to Kansas and they left LaHarpe, Illinois, on May 10, 1855, in a prairie schooner and reached their destination on June 5th of the same year. After her marriage she and her husband went to live at Indianola. They became the parents of seven chil- dren, as follows: Leon Samuel, Johanna Katherine, Frank Reader, Virginia Justine, Grace, Velleda Mathilde and Irene May. Leon Samuel operates the home farm of 160 acres which his father bought previous to his death, which is located two and a half miles north of North Topeka. The location is fine, the residence standing on an elevation among grand old trees, giving a charm- ing view of the city of Topeka, the noble dome of the Capitol Building, the Kaw River winding through green banks and the wide spread of fertile farms. This home was built in 1887, the family having come here from the old farm which was situated in the lowlands. The eldest daughter resides with her mother as do Velleda Mathilde and Grace. Frank R. lives at Richter Station, where he is agent for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company. He married Florence Packard and they have two children, Francis P. and Cecile C. Virginia Justine is the wife of Albert C. Root, of Kansas City, Kansas, and they have two children,-Irving C. and Eugenia J. The youngest daughter is the wife of Clarence P. Scott, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Dr. Campdoras was a member of Golden Rule Lodge, No. 90, A. F. & A. M., of Topeka, and he belonged to the Capitol Grange organization, also of Topeka. In politics he embraced the principles of the Republican party and always voted that ticket except during the candidacy of Peter Cooper, with whose sentiments he was so in accord that he cast his vote for the great philanthropist. It was always a matter of satisfaction that his early devotion to his native country was so valued by his fellow insurgents that he was proffered the command of the army, a position he declined on account of his youth, realizing that more experienced men would be needed to direct so great an undertaking. Neither would he accept political preferment in his chosen home, although he could easily have secured it. Joseph M. Cole, an uncle of Mrs. Campdoras, was a member of the first Free-State Territorial Legisla- ture.
The following lines appear in Noel Blache's book entitled "Insurrection of the Var," December, 1851, translated from the French by Mrs. Camp- doras.
"At the supreme moment the insurgents wish to show some appreciation of one who has always been dear to their hearts and in whom they had every confidence. Campdoras was surgeon on the flag ship 'Pengouin,' at that time anchored in the roadstead of St. Tropez. A grand garcon, brown and robust, born in one of our Pyrenees departments. His black hair and strong
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beard, his mobile countenance, slightly irregular, his eyes sparkling with intelligence, he looked full of frankness. A fluent speaker with easy jestures, all in him denoted the tribune. The virility of his character united with ex- treme prompitude of decision predistined him to the important part he played in the insurrection of the Var. His republican convictions were ardent and enlightened by a profound study of our revolutionary history, brave, generous, his love for the people was without limit. His goodness without equal. All those that have known him, especially those that have been intimate with him, remember how his conversation was witty, sharp and to the point owing to its originality and how his repartees were lively and piquant. They also re- member what heart of gold beat in his breast, but that which they never forget were the flashes of light which sprang from his eyes when speaking on public affairs. It was then that he beat into retreat the reasoning of his adversaries, carrying conviction into their minds and bringing into light the indignation of their souls. When Campdoras learned the news of the Coup d' Etat, he left the 'Pengouin' at once and sacrificed to what he considered his duty, his future, his position, his well-being, and placed himself resolutely at the head of the insurgents of St. Tropez."
HON. STEPHEN H. ALLEN.
HON. STEPHEN H. ALLEN, who has been an honored resident of Topeka, since 1892, the same year in which he was elected a Supreme Court judge, was born March 19, 1849, at Sinclairville, New York, and is a son of Caleb J. and Emily (Haley) Allen.
The Allen family is an old New England one and both parents of our distinguished subject were born in Connecticut. The father entered business life as a hatter, but later became a merchant at Sinclairville, New York. Of the nine children of the family, Judge Allen is the only survivor.
Like many other eminent men, Judge Allen found no royal road to learn- ing. His early education was secured in the public schools under very differ- ent conditions from those of the present day, and when his aptitude for mathe- matics and later leaning toward the law led him to study civil engineering and enter upon the stud of Coke and Blackstone, he first earned the money to pursue these studies by teaching school and various other labors. His pre- ceptor in the law was Obed Edson, a well-known practitioner of Sinclairville. He was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, New York, November 5, 1869, and in the same year removed to Missouri as a member of a railroad surveying party and reached Pleasanton, Kansas, in 1870, and settled in Linn County,
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where he still owns a fine farm of 260 acres not far from Mound City, the county-seat. From 1875 to 1876 he served as prosecuting attorney of Linn County and continued in the practice of his profession there until 1890 when he was elected judge of the Sixth Judicial District. Two years later he was elected to a seat on the Supreme bench. Judge Allen has always enjoyed a large measure of professional success and the universal esteem of both bench and bar.
In 1872 Judge Allen was married to Lucina A. Smith, who is a daughter of Capt. Otis H. and Phoebe A. (Thurston) Smith, formerly of Illinois. The four children born to Judge and Mrs. Allen are: Otis S., in partnership with his father in the practice of the law, who was married October 19, 1904, to Flora B. Jones, of Bloomington, Illinois; Emily A., Mrs. Charles H. Drew, of Richfield, Morton County, Kansas, who is a graduate of the Kansas State University ; Ellen A., who resides at home; and George S. Judge Allen and his family are prominent in the city's social life and he is a valued mem- ber of the Authors' Club.
NATHAN P. HORTON.
NATHAN P. HORTON, one of the retired farmers of Soldier township, Shawnee County, whose 75 acres of fine land are situated in section 17, town- ship II, range 16, is also a survivor of many of the most serious battles and thrilling experiences of the Civil War and of the early days of Topeka. Mr. Horton was born May 22, 1828, at Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and is a son of Cushing and Rachel (Higgins) Horton.
The father of Mr. Horton was a farmer and also kept a general store, and, as was customary, was also the local postmaster. Life passed too quietly and uneventfully for the sturdy and ambitious son of the family, our subject, and when 18 years old he went to work in Boston as a ferryboy on a ferry line between East Boston and Boston, owned by the Eastern Railway. Here he remained three years and then was employed in a new meat market in Boston and remained in the meat business for about eight years. After disposing of his meat market interests, he went into the restaurant business for the Eastern Railway in partnership with a Mr. Knowles, and prospered for some four years.
In the meantime Mr. Horton had been much impressed with the ad- vantages afforded by the West and concluded to try his fortune beyond the Mississippi River, but in New York he was dissuaded from his purpose and returned to Boston. In 1858, however, he succeeded in his plans and came to
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Topeka. His first winter was spent in hunting and then he became connected with a sawmill and later handled logs and wood and did considerable team- ing. The life was one of adventure and often fraught with considerable hard- ship.
Mr. Horton enlisted at Topeka, September 1, 1862, in Company H, IIth Reg., Kansas Vol. Inf., for three years under Capt. Joel Huntoon and was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, September 13, 1865. In this interim he had participated in these battles : Old Fort Wayne, Cane Hill, Boston Mountains, Prairie Grove, Van Buren and Sin Hills, spending the greater part of 1863-64 in fighting guerillas and bushwhackers in Western Missouri. He took part in the pursuit of General Price and was concerned in the battles of Lexington, Little Blue, Independence, Westport, Big Blue, Trading Post, Byrom's Ford and in guarding the overland route in the Red Butte country. He survived the dangers of this long campaign in which he made a grand record for gallantry and efficiency.
After being mustered out of the army, Mr. Horton then bought some horses at Fort Leavenworth and went to teaming in Topeka, including street grading and similar work, until 1868, when he bought his present farm. At this time he was toll-keeper on the pontoon bridge across the Kansas River at Topeka, a position he held for three years. He has been engaged in farm- ing from 1869 until recently, when he rented his land.
Mr. Horton was married January 21, 1891, to Lorena Stebbins, who is a daughter of John S. and Annie (Gogan) Stebbins, of Topeka, and they have four children : Laura P., John S., Pearl M. and Elmira M.
Mr. Horton is affiliated with the Republican part, and has been a mem- ber of the School Board for many years. He is a valued member of Blue Post, No. 250, Grand Army of the Republic.
VOIGT BROTHERS.
VOIGT BROTHERS, prominent business men of Topeka, whose large re- tail and wholesale baking establishment is located at No. 1121 East Sixth avenue, Topeka, are sons of Herbert and Mary Ann (Rupple) Voigt. William Albert, the senior member, was born October 28, 1873, in Cowley County, Kansas, and John Theodore, the junior member, was born at Topeka, May 19, 1881.
Theodore Voigt, the patrenal grandfather, was a very highly educated and respected school teacher in Germany. Paul Rupple, the grandfather on the maternal side, was also a man held in esteem in Germany and at one time
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was elected mayor of the city of Darmstadt. Later he came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. His death took place September 23, 1867.
Herbert Voigt was born in 1831 in Prussia and came to America a lad of 14 years, in 1845, settling in Wisconsin, where he followed the trade of stone-mason and brick-layer until 1862, when he enlisted in Company D, 33rd Reg., Wisconsin Vol. Inf., under General Fitch, and was discharged August 9, 1865, at Vicksburg. While in the army he had a sunstroke which prevented his working at his trade and in 1866 he came to Kansas, from Wisconsin, and settled at Topeka. Later he married and went to farming on 160 acres in Cowley County. This land he cleared and there he built a log house in which four of his oldest children were born. He died June 4, 1895.
The mother of our subject was born at Frankfort, Germany, in 1843, and came to America in 1850 with her father and to Kansas in 1866, being the first people to come to Topeka by train. Mr. and Mrs. Voigt had eight chil- dren, namely : Charles, Lizzie, Henry, William Albert, Frances Lena, Edward, John Theodore and Alexander. Charles died in infancy. Lizzie is the wife of W. T. Landis, of Auburndale, now baker for the Royal Bakery at Topeka, and formerly baker for the State Insane Asylum. They have six children. Henry and Edward died in infancy. Frances Lena is the widow of Mr. McClure, a printer, who died March 9, 1897, and is buried at Topeka. Alexander is a stenographer at Topeka and is also learning the electrical business.
On September 1, 1892, William A. Voigt, in association with his father, purchased the present bakery business from Orvil H. Thompson, and John T. Voigt learned the business here and on November 20, 1893, was taken into partnership. The business is conducted under the firm name of Voigt Brothers and they control a large trade, supplying Bedwell's private insane asylum, in addition to the larger part of the residence district in the Second Ward. They have a well-equipped plant, deal both wholesale and retail and their goods are noted for excellence and variety. Both members of the firm are men of exemplary character.
William A. Voigt was married August 7, 1895, at Topeka, to Annie E. Snyder, who is a daughter of James M. and Mary E. (Lazarus) Snyder, natives of Pennsylvania, and they have four children: William Robert, _ Howard Murry, Mary Irene and Charles Albert. Mr. Voigt is one of the leading Republicans of his ward.
John T. Voigt was married December 14, 1904, at Topeka, to Lucy Emeline Hawkins, who is a daughter of William Deville and Mattie ( Routhe) Hawkins, natives of Bluffton, Indiana. The father was born in New York
JOSEPH BROMICH
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and later came to Kansas where he engaged in work at the carpenter's trade for some years. He still survives but his wife died July 3, 1884, and was interred at Bluffton. Like his brother, Mr. Voigt is a stanch Republican.
JOSEPH BROMICH.
JOSEPH BROMICH, one of Topeka's most successful business men, whose portrait is shown on the opposite page, is proprietor of the Topeka Steam Boiler Works, one of the largest and best equipped west of the Mississippi River. This concern enjoys a very large local trade, and has shipped exten- sively to all points in the West.
Mr. Bromich was born near Birmingham, England, December 25, 1847, and is a son of Benjamin and Emma Bromich, both life-long residents of England. Joseph was the youngest of four children born to his parents, and began working during his boyhood days, his education being such as he could procure at night after his hard day's work had ended. He learned the trade of a boiler-maker in Birmingham, England, and there followed it until he reached his majority in 1868. Then after his marriage, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to seek his fortune in the United States. He located in New York City a short time, then went to Florida where he obtained work in the railroad shops. After a few months in Florida, he embarked for the West Indies. After visiting many seaports and places of interest, he took passage on the Peruvian naval ship "Maranon," joining the navy as boiler- maker and blacksmith aboard ship. Tiring of the navy, he returned to Liver- pool, England, arriving there November 30, 1869. He was employed for a time in the phosphorus works of Albright & Wilson at Birmingham, and then determined to return to the United States. On February 23, 1870, he started on the voyage, his family following in November of the same year. Upon arriving in this country he engaged with Lowell & Rose, of Rancocas, New Jersey, to build a phosphorous works. After its completion, he jour- neyed West to Topeka, Kansas, arriving in July, 1871, and here obtained work the first day at the old Kaw Valley (now known as the Western) Foun- dry, conducted by Babcock & Cleland. He remained with this concern two years; during the latter part of this period it was owned by Andrew Stark. He then worked at the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway shops under Master Mechanic Faries until in partnership with R. L. Cofran, ex-mayor of Topeka, he purchased the Kaw Valley Foundry property, which had been destroyed by fire. Although it was the time of the panic and also of the disastrous grasshopper visitation, these thrifty gentlemen made a success of
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their venture and soon found it necessary to enlarge the plant. At the end of three years, our subject disposed of his interest in the business to his partner and established the Topeka Steam Boiler Works, and success has crowned his efforts ever since. He manufactures all kinds of boilers, accord- ing to specifications furnished, and conducts the largest and most complete plant west of the Mississippi, with the exception of the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, but not excluding those of St. Louis. His boiler shop, which in dimensions is 140 by 140 feet, has about 32,000 square feet of floor space, and includes in its equipment all of the most modern machinery money can procure. It has labor-saving machinery of every description, run eco- nomically by electric power; 500 volts are required when the plant is in full operation. So complete is the equipment that a single man can handle large plates of iron, and the plant is so arranged that a boiler can be loaded in two minutes time with the aid of cranes. In connection Mr. Bromich carries a complete stock of steam and water supplies, handling the very best goods. He is one of the most public-spirited men of the city, whose welfare he has at heart.
Mr. Bromich was married in England in 1868 to Mary Ann Allton, a native of Birmingham, and of six children born to them, three are living: Maria, formerly bookkeeper and stenographer for her father, who is the wife of Edward McGinnis; Walter, who attends to mechanical affairs connected with his father's business; and Henry, who handles the financial end of the business. The family home is north of the plant, and Mr. Bromich also owns considerable other city property.
FREEMAN SARDOU.
FREEMAN SARDOU, whose handsome brick residence at No. 445 Freeman avenue, Topeka, is surrounded by a tract of 20 acres mainly devoted to fruit culture, is a well-known citizen of Shawnee County and was one of the first residents of Topeka. He was born January 16, 1854, on the Atlantic Ocean en route for free America, and is a son of Charles and Josephine ( Mere) Sardou.
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