USA > Kansas > Shawnee County > History of Shawnee County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 29
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The life of the father of Mr. Sardou was full enough of striking events to furnish foundation for a hundred romances. He was born near Carqueiranne, France, in 1813, and for 23 years of his life was a sailor on the sea. He was much more than a sailor as his later life demonstrated, possessing cour- age and fortitude and the personal bravery which made the revolutionists of 1848 such a menace to royalty in France. For these qualities he was con-
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sidered a dangerous person and a price of 20,000 francs was set on his head and his faithful wife was exiled. It became a matter of necessity for him to escape to a land where each man could enjoy his rights of citizenship and be protected in the same, and thus the eyes of the French refugees were turned to America. With a party of his mates numbering 17, he seized a vessel at one of the ports and headed for the land across the Atlantic which was reached after a voyage of 120 days. It was during this period that our sub- ject came into the world. The voyagers, being mostly sailors, knew when and how to beach the vessel and after leaving her to her fate made their way to land and freedom.
In 1854, with J. B. Billiard, Frederick K. Vesscelda and a Mr. Berrenger, Mr. Sardou came to Kansas. Each took up 160 acres of land and they were the first white people to locate at Topeka, the date being August 28, 1854. Charles Sardou's troubles were by no means ended. His first house, a dugout by the side of a bank, was washed away by a sudden flood; a sod house, which took its place, was blown down by a furious wind storm, and the third home, a log house, was burned to the ground, on November 23, 1854. Two days later a party of white people, led by the well-remembered Daniel H. Horne, crossed the place where his log cabin had stood, headed for Topeka. The flood which covered all this territory about this time washed away many landmarks, but fortunately left the sills of his house standing. During the flood, the coming of which was sudden, Mr. Sardou crossed the river on the ice with his wife and child-Freeman.
In the succeeding April Charles Sardou went back to his farm and found it occupied, a Dr. Martin having "jumped" his claim. There was nothing to do but to enter suit for his land and it was not until 1860 that he was able to oust the usurper. During all this time no work had been done on the land, but nevertheless he had to pay Dr. Martin all he possessed in order to secure it, a claim being made for improvements. It was mainly owing to the sworn testimony of Daniel H. Horne that Mr. Sardou obtained his rights. That pioneer testified to seeing the door-sills of the log cabin on the land when he and his party came to Topeka.
Until May 1870, Mr. Sardou remained on his farm, quietly cultivating it and reaping large returns, but his heart was still in the old country across the ocean. The revolution there again stirred old memories and finally he decided to take what fortune he had been able to accumulate and to return to France and assist in the overthrow of royalty. With $4,000, which the French subjects in Kansas had subscribed to the cause he went to New York and there he recruited 1,000 men and with them sailed to France to help the cause. He took part in the battles of Strasburg, Metz and Sedan, and
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after seeing the fall of Paris he returned to Kansas in September, 1871, hav- ing been absent for nine months.
It has been stated that Mr. Sardou's friend, Dr. M. A. E. J. Campdoras, was offered the first presidency of France in 1848. Mr. Sardou was pen- sioned and after his second return to that land was elected to a seat in the House of Deputies for life. He survived all of his companions in the ship and died within a stone's throw of the house in which he was born, on November 2, 1894, aged 81 and a half years. His tomb is in the old sailors' and soldiers' cemetery there.
Our subject, in spite of the adventures of which he was an unconscious witness during his early life, grew up at Topeka as a happy earnest school boy. He was a pupil in the school located at Ioth avenue and Jackson street when he had to walk two miles to reach the school house, the teacher being a Mr. Drake who closed the school in 1862 and entered the army. He then became a student in the Harrison and Lincoln schools. In 1869 he was one of the first five pupils admitted to the High School, the others being : Emma Boyd, now Mrs. F. C. Bowen; Mrs. Emma Woods; W. C. Campbell and Lloyd Hope, all still surviving except Mr. Hope.
After completing his education, Mr. Sardou learned the tinner's trade at St. Louis, at which he worked for 13 years. In 1883 when his father returned to France, he came back to the farm and has continued to reside here ever since. It is a beautiful place, one section of it being shaded with stately old oaks of a century's growth perhaps, while his orchards of his own planting yield lavishly the most luscious fruits found in the State. He has devoted much care to the culture of fruit and has great arbors of Concord grapes, four kinds of choice cherries and small fruits in abundance.
Mr. Sardou was married on September 26, 1878, to Mary A. Morriss, who is a daughter of George A. G. and Leddie (Ladd) Morriss, and they have two sons,-Charles and George. The former, who is an electrician, married Emma Isaacson and lives at Third and Madison streets, Topeka. The latter, also an electrician, married Gertie Bradenburg and they reside with our subject.
Although not an active politician, Mr. Sardou takes much interest in public affairs and votes with the Democratic party. His fraternal connec- tion is with Topeka Lodge, No. 38, Knights of Pythias.
During the flood of 1903 Mr. Sardou and his sons succeeded in rescuing over 300 people who were in peril of their lives, and the citizens of Topeka in grateful remembrance presented him and his sons each with a beautiful gold medal, appropriately inscribed. Mr. Sardou's medal on the one side has in gold type "For Bravery,"-below being a representation of a row boat filled with a party he had just rescued; on the opposite side is found
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this inscription: "Presented by citizens of Topeka, Kansas, to Freeman Sardou for manly and heroic efforts in behalf of his fellow beings during the flood of May 30tl1, 1903."
As may be supposed, few men are better informed concerning the early days of Topeka when a few indifferent buildings and Indian wigwams repre- sented what is now the beautiful capital city of the State. The wildest dream of that time would not have pictured, even in illusion, the busy marts of trade, the rush and roar of steam and electric roads, the bustle of some of the largest industries in the world, and the beautiful Capitol Building looking down through streets, avenues and boulevards which are filled with the representatives of the commerce, intelligence, beauty and culture of all parts of the world. And the time has come when Kansas has, through native strength and self-assertion, become really and truly the land the French refugee sought-one of freedom. No early mention of Topeka can be com- plete without his name.
CHARLES R. MAUNSELL.
CHARLES R. MAUNSELL, superintendent and manager of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Topeka, one of the city's largest and most important enterprises, was born February 19, 1865, in the city of Dublin, Ireland, and is a son of Robert Charles and Isabella ( Hanks) Maunsell.
Mr. Maunsell came to America with his parents in 1869. His educa- tion was obtained in the public schools of Chicago and he received his techni- cal training at the Chicago Athenaeum where he was graduated in 1886. He then entered the employ of the Chicago Edison Company and when the capitalists of Topeka wanted an experienced, capable and reliable man to manage and superintend the electric system here, Mr. Maunsell was chosen for the responsible position. In 1894 he became a resident of Topeka.
The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Topeka was organized in 1887 by some of the city's large capitalists and was one of the first electric enterprises in the State. The plant was built when such undertakings had many experimental features, but the officers of the company were progressive, sensible business men and the Topeka Edison plant is as near perfection as any such concern can be and the company is one which has never had any cause to complain as to its prosperity. The officers of the company are: Joab Mulvane, president; J. R. Mulvane, vice-president; Edward Wilder, secre- tary and treasurer; and Charles R. Maunsell, superintendent and manager.
This plant was built by the Thomas A. Edison Company, in 1887, con- sisting of three 150-horsepower boilers, three 125-horsepower engines and
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six "Edison" generators. The buildings were so designed that they would hold double the equipment, which was soon found necessary. At present the plant is equipped with 1,600-horsepower boilers and 1.700-horsepower engines and generators. Recently contracts have been let to make the engines and generators of 3,700-horsepower, and a new building in course of construction will have space for an additional 2,000-horsepower when needed. It is the company's intention to furnish power to all manufacturing concerns whether they use I or 1,000-horsepower. All the buildings are fire-proof, this insuring reliable and permanent service; the switchboard is of marble; the boilers are of the water-tube, safety type with automatic stokers and coal-handling ma- chinery. All the buildings in the central portion of Topeka are supplied with steam heat through underground mains from this company's steam heating system, this branch of the business having been in operation since 1897. The company propose to extend this branch of service as the demands and growth of the city require. The plant is located at No. 722 Van Buren street and is one of the interesting sights of the capital city.
Mr. Maunsell was married June 1, 1887, to Angeline Curtice, and they have three children, Charles J., Burton R. and Bernard S., all attending school. Mr. Maunsell and family belong to the Protestant Episcopal Church. His fraternal associations are with the Topeka Lodge, No. 204, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and with the Woodmen of the World.
BYRON ROBERTS.
BYRON ROBERTS, one of Topeka's most prominent business men, presi- dent of the Aetna Building & Loan Association, was born August 22, 1832, at New Comerstown, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and is a son of Lewis and Katherine (Neighbor) Roberts.
The father of Mr. Roberts was born in Pennsylvania and subsequently became a resident of Ohio where his active life was spent. The mother was born in New Jersey and came from an old family established in America in 1700. Of their three sons our subject is the only survivor. The father died when his son was but four years old, but the mother survived to the unusual age of 102 years, dying in 1896.
Mr. Roberts was educated in the public schools of his native place and later attended Madison College at Antrim, Ohio. For some years follow- ing he was interested in a mercantile line, first as a clerk and later as pro- prietor. His settlement in Kansas was the result of a visit he made in 1870, when he was so favorably impressed that he settled at Topeka in 1871, becom-
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ing cashier of the old Topeka Bank, with which institution he remained asso- ciated until the fall of 1886. He was then elected county treasurer and served two terms, until 1890, in which year he was appointed receiver for the Hudson & Southern Railroad Company, serving in this capacity for two and a half years.
The Aetna Building & Loan Association, of which Mr. Roberts has been president since its founding, was organized in October, 1891, and began to transact business on January 1, 1892. The present officers of the company are : Byron Roberts, president; F. M. Kimball, secretary. The board of directors include these capitalists : Byron Roberts, A. B. Quinton, H. M. Steele, J. F. Carter and F. M. Kimball.
In 1858 Mr. Roberts was married at New Comerstown, Ohio, to Ger- trude Dent, who was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, and they had five chil- dren, namely : Lewis Dent, who married a Miss Norton; George S., de- ceased; Carrie, who married J. R. Heinkle, one of the proprietors of the Broadway Hotel at Los Angeles, California; Mary, who married Clifford Heisted, an attorney at Kansas City; and Gertrude, who is the wife of George Rust, of Salt Lake City. Mr. Roberts includes seven grandchildren in his family circle, which is a particularly united one.
In political sentiment, Mr. Roberts has always been a Republican and cast his first presidential vote for Gen. John C. Fremont. He has always been something of a leader in party affairs, although he has seldom consented to accept political honors. He has watched the city almost from its infancy and has been prominently identified with many of its leading enterprises and public-spirited movements. He can recall when the site of his present hand- some residence at No. 315 West 10th avenue was almost prairie land. In all that goes to make up good citizenship, Mr. Roberts is prominent and ranks also with the leading capitalists of the city.
CHARLES S. DOWNING.
CHARLES S. DOWNING, vice-president of the Central National Bank of Topeka, and one of the best known business men of this city, was born in Iowa in 1868 and is a son of Andrew Downing.
Andrew Downing was a prominent citizen of Boone, Iowa, and was the first postmaster there. He also served as county treasurer. During the Civil War he was a captain in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, making a fine record.
Charles S. Downing was educated in the common and high schools at Kansas City and then engaged with his father in a real estate business there.
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In 1891 he entered the office of Dun & Company as a clerk and remained four years with the company as manager of the Kansas district. Since Jan- uary, 1900, he has been vice-president of the Central National Bank. He is also interested in other important business enterprises, being treasurer of the American Oil & Gas Company and also treasurer of the Franklin Oil Com- pany. His identification with these large corporations indicate his business capacity.
In January, 1902, Mr. Downing was married to Juanita Oldham, who was born at Kansas City, Missouri, and they have two children, viz: William, born June 6, 1893, and Mignon, born March 8, 1898.
Fraternally, Mr. Downing is a Mason, and is past master of Siloam Lodge, No. 225, A. F. & A. M. He is also one of the directors of the Topeka Club. Mr. Downing is one of the city's wide-awake and progressive men, active in support of public enterprises, a factor in shaping business and social life, and a citizen whose influence is felt on every side. In manner he is unostentatious and courteous and he is held in very high esteem. In financial circles his careful, conservative attitude is known and it adds strength to the bank with which he is so prominently identified.
EARLY WHITTEN POINDEXTER.
EARLY WHITTEN POINDEXTER, who has control of the general agency of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wis- consin, for Kansas, with offices in the Real Estate Building at Topeka, has had many years of experience in the insurance field, both in Indiana and in Kansas. Mr. Poindexter was born in Martin County, Indiana, January 8, 1854, and is a son of Christian and Lourinda Poindexter. The parents of Mr. Poindexter were natives of Tennessee, but they settled in Indiana prev- ious to the birth of our subject.
Early W. Poindexter attended the district schools of Martin County and for two years enjoyed the advantages offered in the spring terms of school at Bedford. He began teaching school at the age of 17 and in this way provided the means for several years attendance at the Indiana Univer- sity, where he was graduated with the class of 1879. For some succeeding years he continued in the educational field, serving one year as superintendent of the schools of Shoals, Indiana, then accepting a similar position at Bloom- field and subsequently becoming principal of the Bloomfield Normal School.
In September, 1863, Mr. Poindexter moved to Vincennes, Indiana, and entered into the insurance business, taking charge for the New York Life
CAPT. FREDERICK MARIUS KIMBALL
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Insurance Company of the district agency of Southwestern Indiana, where he met with much success. Two years later he entered into a contract with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the general agency of the State of Kansas, and assumed control in March, 1885. He closed up the old agency at Leavenworth on the first of the fol- lowing May and opened his office at Topeka. The Northwestern had been regularly represented by a general agent in the State for over 20 years pre- viously, and when Mr. Poindexter took charge there was a business upon the books of the company representing $23,000 in annual premiums. That by 1905 the business represented nearly 25 times as much as it did in 1884 tells its own story,-a story of enterprise and progression that reflects the greatest credit upon Mr. Poindexter. It must be very gratifying for him to note the annual receipts growing from $23,000 to $565,000, the amount reached in 1905.
Mr. Poindexter was married December 24, 1879, to Mollie Hattfield, of Owensburg, Greene County, Indiana, and they have four sons and three daughters, viz: Clarence H., Urban H., Marlan H., Early W., Jr., Mildred H., Helen H. and Mary L.
For many years Mr. Poindexter has been active in Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar, a 33rd degree Mason and a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also past grand patron of the Order of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Poindexter is recognized as one of Topeka's most substantial citi- zens, one who is progressive in affairs of church and school and also in all other organizations promising benefit to the city.
CAPT. FREDERICK MARIUS KIMBALL.
CAPT. FREDERICK MARIUS KIMBALL, secretary of the Aetna Building & Loan Association, of Topeka, and one of the city's valued and esteemed resi- dents, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, belongs to one of the old and dis- tinguished families of America, and one which has been identified with its mili- tary history.
In tracing the Kimball side of our subject's ancestry, we find that the family was founded by two brothers, Richard and Henry Kimball, probably living in Ipswich, England, whence they embarked on April 10, 1634, in the good ship "Elizabeth," of which William Andrews was master, evidently a good seaman as he safely landed his passengers at Boston, Massachusetts. Richard Kimball, from whom our subject's line descended, was a Puritan.
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He settled at Watertown, where, with his family and others of like religious sentiments, he assisted in the laying of foundations of a social life which has given to other sections, particularly the West, a large majority of their notable men. Richard Kimball left England when that country was in the throes of revolution, when the conflict between the Established Church and the Puritans was at its height, at the time when the principles of civil rights and religious liberty were struggling for existence. Richard Kimball was evidently a man of affairs. We learn that he was proclaimed a freeman in 1635 and was a proprietor in 1636-37.
Soon after this date he was invited to remove to Ipswich where the village needed a competent wheelwright, and he accepted the offer and spent the remainder of his years at that place. The town granted him a home lot on February 23, 1637, and he was also granted 40 acres of land. Among the commoners of Ipswich he is mentioned frequently in the records. On March 1, 1645, he was appointed one of seven selectmen. In January, 1649, permission was given him to fell such white oaks as he had need in order to follow his trade, and in 1652 he was one of the appraisers of the estate of John Cross, one of the earliest settlers of Ipswich. Thus he is seen to have been a man of industry and integrity, a worthy progenitor of a long and hon- orable line. His birth probably took place at Rattlesden, Suffolk, England, and his death at Ipswich, Massachusetts, when full of years. He was twice married, his second union being on October 23, 1661, to Margaret, the widow of Henry Dow, of Hampton, New Hampshire.
II. Benjamin Kimball, of the second generation, son of Richard Kim- ball, the founder, was born in 1637 and died June 11, 1695. At Salisbury, Massachusetts, in April, 1661, he married Mercy Hazeltine, who was born August 16, 1642, and died January 5, 1707 or 1708.
III. Richard Kimball, son of Benjamin, and of the third generation, was born December 30, 1665, and died January 10, 1711. On September 6, 1692, he married Mehitable Day, who was born January 26, 1669.
IV. Benjamin Kimball, son of Richard, of the fourth generation, was born at Bradford, Massachusetts, July 11, 1695, and died in 1752. On Feb- ruary 17, 1719, he married Priscilla - -, who was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, November 25, 1698, and died in November, 1782.
V. Deacon John Kimball, son of Benjamin, and of the fifth genera- tion, was born at Bradford, Massachusetts, February 5, 1738 or 1739, and died at Concord, New Hampshire, December 31, 1817. On November 23, 1765, he married Anna Ayer, daughter of Samuel and Ann (Hazen) Ayer, who was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, October 3, 1740, and died in March, 1819. Deacon John Kimball lived on the homestead at Bradford, Massachusetts, until his marriage and then moved with his bride to Concord,
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New Hampshire, a great journey in those days. He lived in Concord on the place now occupied by Samuel S. Kimball. He united with the church at Bradford at the age of 18 and during a period of 30 years was absent but once from public worship. Clergymen were always welcomed at his home and he was their valued friend. For 29 years he was an officer in the church and this was in the days when a churchman's walk and conversation were much more closely criticised than in our more liberal days. In his wife he found a true and loving companion through 50 years of wedded life. In 1769 she united with the church at Concord. They both loved the House of God and Deacon John Kimball remembered the Concord church in his will.
VI. Judge John Kimball, of the sixth generation, a son of Deacon John Kimball and the grandfather of our subject, was born at Concord, New Hampshire, October 3, 1769, and died at Barton, Vermont, May 9, 1844. He was married December 6, 1792, to Eunice White, who was born at Strat- ford, Vermont, September 26, 1770, and died May 24, 1840. When of age he settled on wild land in Vershire, Vermont, but returned after the birth of his first child to Concord where he remained until 1801, when he went to Barton, where our subject was born. He served as town clerk and justice continuously from 1803 to 1842 and was frequently a selectman. In 1807- 8-9 he was a Representative and in 1820 he was elected judge of probate. He held the latter office for 10 years, and later was assistant judge in the County Court. He was one of the 18 founders of the Congregational Church at Barton, in 1817, of which church he was an influential member and effi- cient officer.
VII. Frederick White Kimball, of the seventh generation, a son of Judge John Kimball and the father of our subject, was born at Barton, Ver- mont, January 7, 1805, and died at Glover, Vermont, December 2, 1872. He was married in 1835 to Mrs. Mary (Hinman) Chadwick, a widow with two daughters,-Ann and Martha. She was a kind and loving mother and died November 17, 1891. When gold was discovered in California, Mr. Kimball left the farm and in 1850 he went, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, to the "Golden" State, having comfortably settled his wife and children at Glover. During the next four and a half years he suffered many hardships both by sea and land, but returned safely home in 1854, having secured a comfortable supply of gold but broken in health. Subsequently he took an active part in the affairs of town and county and in 1855 he was elected a justice of the peace, an office he held for 17 years. He was a trial justice and very seldom were any of his decisions reversed by a higher court. In 1870 he was a member of the State Constitutional Convention. All through his life he
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was a shrewd business man, a highly respected citizen and one who held the confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen.
In the eighth generation we reach the esteemed subject of this biography, Capt. Frederick Marius Kimball, who was born at Barton, Vermont, June 14, 1840. He was educated at the Orleans Liberal Institute, at Glover, Ver- mont, taught school for several winters and then entered upon the study of the law. Before finishing his legal course, however, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, on October 15, 1861, entering Company D, Sixth Reg., Vermont Vol. Inf., at Montpelier, and immediately was hurried with his comrades to the seat of war. During the following winter the Sixth Regiment was quartered at Camp Griffin, Virginia, and was brigaded with four other Vermont regiments, this combination afterward becoming dis- tinguished, the "Old Vermont Brigade" making a record second to no other organization in the entire army, this reputation being gained through its individual gallantry. Captain Kimball participated in 25 battles, and was twice wounded. He entered the service as a private and was mustered out a captain. He took part in these great engagements : Lee's Mills, Wil- liamsburg, Golding's Farm, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Harrison's Landing, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, both battles at Fredericksburg, Maryus Heights, Bank's Ford, Gettysburg and Funktown, besides many minor engagements and skirmishes. From early in 1863 he was in command of his company, to which rank personal bravery had promoted him, and in all its subsequent movements he was its leader. He was wounded at Bank's Ford on May 4, 1863, and again, very severely, at Funkstown, Maryland, July 10, 1863, and from the effects of the latter injury he has never recovered entirely.
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