USA > Kansas > Shawnee County > History of Shawnee County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 38
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MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL MOORE
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binations of legal talent in the county. In January, 1901, he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney for the county, serving until August of that year when he again returned to private practice. On May 21, 1903, he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Shawnee County to fill the unexpired term of Galen Nichols, and in November, 1904, was elected to succeed himself by the overwhelming majority of 4,800 votes, the largest ever received by a candidate for this office. The duties of his office are onerous, requiring two assistants and a stenographer.
On December 23, 1896, Mr. Hungate was married to Alice Kepley, a daughter of Eph Kepley, of Bourbon County, Kansas, and a sister of R. B. Kepley, who was formery sheriff of Shawnee County. Her father is one of Bourbon County's most eminent citizens. This union resulted in the birth of a daughter, Angusta. Religiously, he and his family attend Grace Cathedral and are liberal contributors to its support. Fraternally, our subject belongs to the Masons, Woodmen, Elks and Eagles. He is a man of strong personality and has many warm friends throughout this section of the State.
SAMUEL MOORE.
SAMUEL MOORE, deceased, was one of the best known and highly es- teemed residents of Auburn township, Shawnee County, and was also one of the best farmers and largest landowners. He was born in County Down, Ireland, March 21, 1845, and died September 17, 1904, on his home farm in Auburn township, in section 17, township 13, range 15. He was a son of Andrew and Mary Ann (Douglass) Moore, one of six sons, three of whom came to America.
Mr. Moore was a self-made man, coming to Topeka, July 14, 1869, with wife and child, a poor farmer, and leaving a large and valuable estate, which he had earned through his own industry and good management. For three years after coming, he rented land and then moved upon a quarter- section of land in Auburn township-located in section 17, township 13, range 15-which he bought several years later and which has continued to be the home of his widow and family. To this he subsequently added other tracts of unimproved land, until he owned 640 acres in addition to 160 acres that he gave to his sons. He took a great deal of interest in his home and family, built a comfortable residence and erected substantial buildings of all kinds. His main crop was corn. He was also a large and successful stock-raiser.
In 1866 Mr. Moore was united in marriage with Anna Baxter, the es-
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timable lady who still survives him. She was born in County Down, Ireland, September 23, 1846, and is a daughter of William and Anna (McCully) Baxter, the youngest of their II children. Her two brothers, John and Isaac, and her sister, Mrs. Susanna ( Allen) Whitten, came to this locality be- fore she did, all four being pioneers here. Mr. and Mrs. Moore had 17 children, the 10 who survived infancy being: Mary, who died aged II years; John, who lives at home; Malcolm, of Auburn township; Maggie, who married John Henderson and at her death at the age of 25 years left two children; and Mary Ellen, Susie, Maria, George, Hugh and William, who live at home. Samuel Henderson, Mrs. Moore's grandson, also lives with her.
Mr. Moore was a very intelligent, well-informed man. He was very fond of reading and often spent long evenings with his books and papers. He reared a large family to respect his authority and he provided them with all reasonable comforts and gave them many advantages. They were reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church and he was a trustee in the Auburn church for many years. Politically he was a Republican. In his death Auburn township lost one of its best citizens. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Moore accompany this sketch.
THOMAS J. FAXON.
THOMAS J. FAXON, one of the prominent farmers and substantial and representative citizens of Shawnee County, residing in section 12, township 12, range 16, in Tecumseh township and the owner of three fine farms aggregating 320 acres, is also a veteran of the great Civil War. Mr. Faxon was born August 1, 1839, in Raisin township, Lenawee County, Michigan, and is a son of Thomas J. and Delia (Faxon) Faxon.
The parents of Mr. Faxon were distantly related. The father was a native of Massachusetts and the mother, of Whitesboro, New York. The family is of Scotch-English stock and was established in New England at an early day, subsequently branching out into other sections. The parents of Mr. Faxon went to Michigan in youth, married there and also died there. They had five children, namely : Theodore S., of Adrian, Michigan; Thomas J., of this sketch; Mrs. Minerva Emma Worden, of Ypsilanti, Michigan; Mrs. Eliza D. Rogers, deceased, formerly of Adrian, Michigan; and Margaret, who died young.
Thomas J. Faxon remained on his father's farm until 1858, when he
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went to Davenport, Iowa, and he was working on a farm in that vicinity when the Civil War broke out. When the call came for troops to defend the flag under which he had been born and which he had grown to love with true loyalty, he was one of the first to decide to offer his services and as soon as he could adjust his affairs he became a soldier in the Union Army. In August, 1861, he entered Company E, Second Reg., Iowa Vol. Cav., under Captain Kendrick and Colonel Elliott. The regiment was sent to St. Louis, to Cairo and then to New Madrid, then on to Shiloh, Corinth and Iuka and fought their way, with constant skirmishing, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mr. Faxon escaped serious injury and was with his regiment all the time with the exception of two weeks when he was held as a prisoner of war, having been captured at Holly Springs, Mississippi. After a faithful service of three years, he was mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, in October, 1864. The war still continuing, Mr. Faxon reenlisted in April, 1865, at Detroit, in company A, Eighth Reg., United States Vet. Vol., under Capt. John D. Parkhurst and Colonel Monk. The closing of the war came soon after and Mr. Faxon did not see any more active service. The Eighth Regiment held an honorable place in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C.
Mr. Faxon then returned to Michigan and went into a grocery business with his father and brother at Adrian, where he remained for about four years and then came, in November, 1869, to Tecumseh township, Shawnee County, where he has resided ever since. He brought with him his family and household goods and settled on an unimproved tract of 160 acres. This land he fenced, broke and put under cultivation himself, later added more land and made the excellent improvements now noted, having a comfortable attractive home with pleasant surroundings. Formerly he devoted his land to the raising of both grain and stock but now gives his attention mainly to stock-raising alone.
Mr. Faxon was married October 9, 1867, to Maria C. Canfield, who was born at Kendall, Orleans County, New York, April 27, 1844, and is a daughter of Thomas S. and Miranda C. (Barnes) Canfield, natives of Con- necticut and Vermont, respectively. Mr. Canfield died in Michigan, but Mrs. Canfield died in Shawnee County. To Mr. and Mrs. Faxon were born four children : Maggie M., who died aged 11 months; Ralph H., an educated young man with three years' experience at Washburn College, who is private secretary to Senator Long,-he married Louise Winans, of Hutchinson, Kansas, and one child, a son, Wallace W .; Mira D., wife of Gilbert Griswold; and Bessie M., who lives at home. Mr. Griswold assists Mr. Faxon in the operation of his farm and he and wife have these children: Charles T., Florence I. and Walter F. Mrs. Faxon and daughters belong to Bethel Presbyterian Church; Mr. Faxon was a liberal contributor when the church
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was built. He is a member of Jesse Nelson Post, No. 62, G. A. R., of Tecumseh. Formerly he was affiliated with the Republican party but in later years has felt justified in voting independently, making a choice more of the man than the party. Mr. Faxon is a very well-known citizen and he and family are held in the highest respect in Tecumseh township.
THOMAS ELLIOTT BOWMAN.
THOMAS ELLIOTT BOWMAN, whose death the people of Topeka and vicinity were called upon to mourn on the 26th day of May, 1896, was one of the most prominent and useful members of the community. He had been a leading spirit in the business circles of the city for some 16 years prior to his demise, and the life lead by him, characterized at all times by honesty and fair dealing and an impulse to assist his unfortunate fellow- beings, endeared him to the people.
Mr. Bowman was born in the "Green Mountain" State, and was one of four children born to his parents, who came of substantial New England stock. His father was Thomas Bowman. Upon reaching maturity, our sub- ject went to Boston, where for many years prior to coming to Kansas he was interested in the manufacture of silk as a member of the firm of Seavey, Foster & Bowman. He was an energetic and forceful character in busi- ness and soon became independent so far as this world's goods are con- cerned. Success crowned his efforts, but it was unfortunately at the cost of his health, and he found it necessary in middle life to sever family and busi- ness ties and take up life anew in a more equable climate. A character like that of our subject, however, is never daunted by trials of such a nature, and it was with confidence in his ability to succeed in a new line of business and in a new country that he took up his residence in Topeka, beginning a loan business. Here he became a great force in business circles and during the entire period of his residence was a potent factor in the splendid develop- ment which came to the capital city.
In his private life Mr. Bowman was a most exemplary character. He was generous and free with his means and no meritorious case of charity ever left his door unanswered. His philanthropy was dealt out, however, in the true Scriptural manner, so that but few knew its wide extent and generous variety. He was ever ready to lend his influence and means to advance plans for the educational uplift of the communities in which he re- sided, but while he was friendly to all agencies in this line, he became particularly interested in the kindergarten idea, firmly believing with the great
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exponent of that system, Herr Froebel, that our educational system must be reconstructed, and that from the foundation. He lived to see the idea become immensely popular and no doubt would have succeeded in making it a part of the regular school system in Topeka had he been spared. Concerning our subject, one of the leading papers of the city on the day following his death contained this well-merited paragraph :
"In the death of Mr. Bowman, Topeka loses a citizen of high character, a business man of exemplary habits and a generous giver to all philanthropic work. Although hampered at all times to a considerable extent with a delicate constitution, he was a leading spirit in several philanthropic enter- prises. He was a member of the First Congregational Church and was deeply interested in the work of that organization. He found ways of mak- ing the most of life and his temperament has been a most happy and cheerful one."
Mr. Bowman was united in marriage with Mary E. Burleson, a daughter of Caleb N. Burleson, of Vermont. She died in December, 1863, leaving a son, H. C. Bowman, who is now one of the leading business men of the city, and a daughter, Marion, wife of Fred O. Popenoe, of Topeka. Our subject formed a second union in 1865 with Eliza Wilson, a daughter of John G. Wilson, of Massachusetts. Mrs. Bowman resides in the fine family home at No. 221 West 10th avenue. In the year 1897 she built an annex to the Central Congregational Church of solid stone at a cost of $4,500. This was given in memory of her husband and bears the inscription: "T. E. Bowman Memorial."
It is much to have lived-it is vastly of greater moment to have lived well; so well that in death we yet have life in the fragrant memories that cluster about the hearts of family and friends. In such manner does the life of our deceased subject continue to wield an unctuous and blessed influence in the community where he passed his riper days, loved by all who had known him intimately and respected by the entire countryside.
HON. DAVID MILLINGTON HOWARD.
HON. DAVID MILLINGTON HOWARD, one of the well-known citizens and most extensive stock-raisers and successful farmers of Rossville township, Shawnee County, a resident of section 3, township 11, range 13, and the owner of 1,600 acres of land, was born in 1843, at Shaftsbury, Vermont, and is a son of Jared and Mary (Matteson) Howard.
The Howard family is a very old and honorable one in Vermont, where
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it has flourished for generations. Otis Howard, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was born there and lived on his own large estate, agriculture and stock- raising having been the family occupations up to the present time. His children were: Rachel, Jared, Rebecca, Jacob M., Polly and Mercy. Jacob M. Howard was a very prominent man in Michigan and served several terms as a Representative and for nine years as a member of the State Senate.
Our subject came to Kansas in 1872, accompanied by his parents, who settled in section 3, township II, range 13, in Rossville township, Shawnee County, on a tract of 67 acres. Until 1876 he engaged in general farming and then became interested in stock-raising, adding large tracts of land and introducing a fine herd of Shorthorn cattle. On his great 1,600-acre farm he now keeps some 600 head of these valuable cattle and his stock farm is noted all over the State.
In 1870 Mr. Howard was married, in Shaftsbury, Vermont, to Chettie A. Stanley, who was born in Vermont and is a daughter of Joseph and Jane (Fuller) Stanley, and a granddaughter of Benajah Stanley, a prominent man of his day in Vermont.
In addition to his extensive business interests, Mr. Howard has been closely identified with public affairs since he came to Kansas. In political sympathy he is a Populist and by that party was elected to the State Legislature in 1890 and approval was shown of his course there by his reelection in 1893. He is a fearless, out-spoken man, who having settled convictions is not afraid to live up to them. Fraternally he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow and be- longs also to the Knights and Ladies of Security.
GUILFORD DUDLEY
GUILFORD DUDLEY, formerly adjutant general of Kansas, and for the past half century a resident of Topeka, died at his home No. 719 Harrison street, April 14, 1905, at the age of 70 years. Mr. Dudley was born at Bath, Steuben County, New York, in 1835.
In many ways the life of the late Mr. Dudley was typical of Western energy although his rearing had been along the quiet, conservative lines of agricultural environment. From the district schools he entered Oberlin Col- lege, Ohio, and soon after graduation from that liberal institution he started Westward, seeking his fortune. In 1855 he settled for a few months at Lawrence, Kansas, but Topeka attracted him on account of more favorable business conditions and he located here in a real estate business and also opened a hotel. In those stirring days it was almost impossible for a man
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of spirit to avoid taking part in the momentous events that were here trans- piring and Mr. Dudley found himself enrolled with James H. Lane, whose career belongs to the history of the State. Personal admiration for the cour- age of this leader as well as sympathy with his aims, led Mr. Dudley into serving as one of his guards.
Mr. Dudley had, in the meantime, come into such prominence that in 1862 he was appointed adjutant general of Kansas, an office for which he was eminently qualified, but which he resigned after an incumbency of 18 months. During his long and active career, Mr. Dudley accepted but two other public positions, that of clerk of the Territorial Legislature, in 1859, and that of city clerk of Topeka, in 1861.
While Mr. Dudley's commercial prominence came largely through his extensive banking interests, he was concerned in many other lines, all of which were made to contribute to his success. Prior to starting his first banking business at Topeka, he traveled through Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Kansas, as collecting agent for the wholesale grocery firm of Carney & Stephens, of Leavenworth. In 1869 he started the bank which for more than 30 years continued one of the solid financial institutions of the city, one old and trusted like its founder.
Mr. Dudley was also a farmer and probably took more pleasure in his agricultural operations than in all the social life and political concerns of Topeka. With him the raising of fine stock was not a fad, for he made it one of the serious questions of his life, studied the subject from every point of view, read literature from every authority and during the time he was regent of the State Agricultural College gave lectures to the students of such a practical nature that they were of the greatest permanent value. Pos- sessing the ample means which such investigations demand, Mr. Dudley ex- perimented on food values relating to horses and cattle and invented what is now generally used by stock-raisers as a most satisfactory combination,- the "balanced ration food." He was also one of the very first to recognize the value of alfalfa. He was a frequent contributor to agricultural journals and his suggestions were welcomed on account of their practical nature, his results having been reached through scientific research instead of through chance. Mr. Dudley did not confine his reading to works pertaining to this subject in which he was so much interested, but covered a wide range, feeding a naturally searching mind.
Mr. Dudley was a large property owner, his possessions including much real property of value on Kansas avenue, his beautiful home on Harrison street, a number of fine farms and the tract which is partly used as Associa- tion Park by the Topeka Baseball Company. He was president of the great
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Crosby Roller Milling Company, in which he owned a large amount of stock.
Mr. Dudley was married at Topeka, June 5, 1867, to Samantha V. Otis, who was born at Rutland, Vermont. She still survives with a son and daughter, the former bearing his father's honored name, and the latter being the wife of Dr. William Walker, of Philadelphia.
Although Mr. Dudley was a man of quiet tastes he enjoyed sociability and the companionship of congenial friends. He was a member of the Topeka Club, and was one of the 50 charter members of the Saint Ananias Club, of Topeka, and shortly before his fatal illness he had succeeded in organizing what was to be known as the Farmers' Club, its membership to be made up of old residents who had been farmers. He was a man who made his in- fluence felt wherever he was, not through any ostentation, but quietly and wisely.
HENRY H. KEITH, M. D.
HENRY H. KEITH, M. D., senior member of the well-known firm of Keith & Rhodes, physicians and surgeons of Topeka, and founder of the Keith Hospital and Sanitarium, is now serving in the capacity of coroner of Shawnee County. He stands among the foremost in his profession and the remarkable success attained by him has come through close application to his work and constant study of new and approved methods, which are constantly being brought to the fore.
He was born July 1, 1867, and is one of four children born to John M. and Mary (Christie) Keith. His father was a native of Indiana, and there followed the occupation of a farmer until his death in 1897.
Henry H. Keith was reared and educated in the State of Illinois, where . upon reaching man's estate he engaged in the drug business for some years. He attended Columbus Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, and was grad- uated therefrom in 1892, and since that time has taken two post-graduate courses in New York, in 1895 and again in 1898. He was also graduated from Ensworth Medical College, of St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1900. His first practice of medicine was as chief surgeon of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company's coal mines, and for a time he resided in Cherokee County, Kansas. He came to Topeka in 1898 and here he has since engaged in prac- tice. In 1903 he established and now conducts the modern and up-to-date hospital, well known as the Keith Hospital and Sanitarium, an institution with a capacity for the accommodation of 35 patients at a time. He was elected county coroner on the Republican ticket in 1904 with a majority
JAMES C. SHIMER
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of 4,800 votes, and since January 1, 1905, has discharged the duties of that office in an eminently satisfactory manner. He resides with his family in a comfortable home at No. 1710 Ioth avenue, and maintains a fine suite of offices at No. 531 Kansas avenue, thoroughly equipped and furnished.
Dr. Keith married Helen Fitch. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Knights and Ladies of Security and Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a member of the county and State medical societies and of the American Medical Association.
JAMES C. SHIMER.
JAMES C. SHIMER, one of Topeka's prominent and reputable business men, wholesale and retail dealer in coal, feed and flour, was born in Marion County, Indiana, on the site of the present suburb of Irvington. The story of his life is one full of interest, exemplifying as it does the power of con- centrated effort, honest endeavor and persistent industry.
In all the essentials Mr. Shimer is a self-made man. From the age of four years he was reared in the home of a wealthy uncle, under the direct care of his paternal grandmother. He assisted on the farm during his boy- hood and attended the local schools until he was 16 years old. He was very ambitious to obtain higher educational advantages, but his views and those of his uncle did not coincide and the result was that he left home and hired out to another farmer, for $16 a month. He remained there one year and, out of that meager salary, saved enough to clothe him and to pay for a course through business college. Feeling that now he was better prepared for a life of business usefulness, he returned to his uncle's farm and remained there until he was 19 years old.
In 1887 Mr. Shimer came to Kansas and settled at Topeka where he se- cured employment in the bridge and building department of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway shops where he remained for five years. By this time he had accumulated enough capital to make starting into business for himself, on a small scale, a possibility. Selecting staple articles as his line, he and his brother-in-law, H. D. McNeely, under the firm name of McNeely & Shimer, embarked in the retail coal, flour and feed business, in two small rooms 12 by 14 in dimensions, located on the site of his present establishment at No. 1815 Kansas avenue. Mr. McNeely attended to the inside work and Mr. Shimer did the hauling. The partnership continued only through the first winter and Mr. Shimer has been alone in the business ever since. Although now a capitalist and one of the most extensive dealers
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in his line in Topeka, his early business days were fraught with a great deal of anxiety and hardship. He had to contend with long credits, fluctuating prices and general commercial depression and but for the public confidence he had gained through his honest and upright dealing from the very first, he could scarcely have managed, at times, to pull through safely.
During his second year in business his prospects brightened and he was able to see himself firmly established and with business foresight he recog- nized the advisability of purchasing his present site, where the business was first started. The price asked was $1,200, which he paid in installments. In 1889 he erected a fine brick building 20 by 50 feet in dimensions, two stories in height, borrowing a part of the money necessary for this venture. He now has all his property paid for, has neither debts nor mortgages and also owns six lots on Kansas avenue north of his place of business and eight and one-half lots on Van Buren street, including three houses and his beautiful home which is situated at No. 1812 Van Buren street. This handsome modern residence cost him $3,200 and is a model of artistic archi- tecture, an ornament to the street and a home of comfort and elegance within. When he built his place of business he lived first in the rooms above his store but later moved into a small house just south of his present fine resi- dence, where the family resided until the new home was completed.
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