USA > Kansas > Shawnee County > History of Shawnee County, Kansas, and representative citizens > Part 39
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Mr. Shimer has done other building, erecting several substantial barns, one of these being for his stock, as he owns eight horses. The other is for his hay and he has a convenient arrangement by which he can handle it right from the cars without any hauling by teams.
When Oklahoma Territory was first opened up, Mr. Shimer with a part- ner started a mill, the partner's business being to look after the same. He was no business man and the mill was closed until Mr. Shimer hired a miller to take charge of it. In the meantime a local Topeka mill, known as the Farmers' Exchange Mill, situated just west of the Fair Grounds, was also in sad straits, having an encumbrance upon it of $1,500. This was a business opportunity which appealed to Mr. Shimer and he succeeded in closing a deal by which an exchange was made, by which he became the owner of the Farmers' Exchange Mill and the other parties of the Okla- homa mill. After paying up the mortgage and expending about $1,500 more in remodeling his newly acquired property, Mr. Shimer had a very valuable adjunct to his flour and feed business, but other changes and plans made it an unnecessary feature of his business and he finally disposed of it. He carries a full line in flour, feed and coal. His coal warehouses are by the side of the railroad tracks, well above ground and he has every facility for doing a large business.
Mr. Shimer can justly be proud of his success. It has been wholly the
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result of his own endeavor, without the assistance of relatives or friends or the doubtful speculation by which immense fortunes have been secured in these latter days. Honest dealing, prompt delivery and courteous treatment have greatly assisted Mr. Shimer in his business relations and have brought him the esteem of his associates.
Mr. Shimer was married in December, 1889, to Dora McElvain, who was born at Lincoln, Illinois. They have seven children, namely: Grace, Rob- ert, Merle, Ralph, Ruth, Emery and Kermet, the youngest being named for the youngest son of President Roosevelt. Mrs. Shimer and the three young- est children have lately paid a visit to the old home in Indiana, where the husband and father solved many of life's very serious problems in his boy- hood and youth. They returned with a much higher appreciation, if pos- sible, of what Mr. Shimer had accomplished in comparatively so short a time.
Mr. Shimer has always been active in his support of all movements looking to the business and social development of Topeka. He has been a liberal contributor to the city's educational and charitable enterprises and can always be counted upon to further laudable public improvements. He has been a life-long Republican and, on account of his substantial character, has been selected by his party and fellow-citizens for civic offices. His term as alderman of the Fifth Ward expired in April, 1905, but his services were of so valuable a nature to the city and ward that he was not permitted to re- turn to private life, but was re-elected for another term of two years. His fraternal connection is with the Knights of Pythias.
Topeka has, more than many cities, its quota of men who have made their lives successful through their own efforts and their life histories are calculated to inspire others with emulation. Mr. Shimer is a prominent example of this class and his life teaches a lesson of success and how to at- tain the goal that must appeal to every young man who is fighting the battle of life under the constant spur of necessity backed by ambition. A portrait of the subject of this article appears on a foregoing page in proximity to this.
THOMAS C. BIDDLE, M. D.
THOMAS C. BIDDLE, M. D., a distinguished physician and surgeon, is superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Topeka, the duties of which office he has discharged since April, 1899. He was born on his father's farm in Putnam County, Indiana, September 14, 1857, and is one of a family of 13 children born to his parents, Richard and Elizabeth (Jones) Biddle. His father was a farmer by occupation.
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Dr. Biddle was reared in Putnam County, Indiana, and there attended the common schools. He later attended DePauw University, and then took up the study of medicine. He attended Rush Medical College, Chicago, grad- uating in 1881, then pursued a course in the New York Post-Graduate Medical College. Immediately thereafter he located at Reading, Kansas, and practiced his profession for a period of six years. Seeking a larger field, he located at Emporia, Kansas, where he continued successfully until 1895, when he accepted the appointment of superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Osawatomie, Kansas. He filled that position most satisfactorily for three years, then resigned to answer the call to arms during the Spanish- American War. He was commissioned assistant surgeon in the 21st Regi- ment, Kansas Infantry, U. S. Volunteers, and served most creditably until he was honorably discharged in December, 1898. In April, 1899, he was appointed to his present position as superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Topeka. The affairs of this institution have been placed upon a firm basis and the people of Kansas can well take pride in the manner in which it has been managed, free from the stigma of complaint and scandal which has characterized the institutions of so many other States. This in- stitution was established in the late '70's, the first inmate being taken in on June 1, 1879, and from that time until the close of the 19th century it cared for 4,545 patients. According to the report made at the end of that period, 1,604 had been discharged as recovered, 698 discharged as improved, 297 as unimproved, 7 as not insane, 130 transferred to the Osawatomie asylum, 44 on visit or eloped, and 903 had died. This is surely a most creditable report. Dr. Biddle is ably assisted in his work by Dr. W. C. Van Nuys and Dr. J. C. Bennett. The capacity of the institution is 1,050, and gives em- ployment to 145 attendants.
Our subject was united in marriage with Elva Egbert, a daughter of S. W. Egbert. In politics, he is an enthusiastic Republican, and has been an active worker for party success. Fraternally, he is a Mason.
T. B. SWEET.
T. B. SWEET, one of Topeka's leading capitalists, who is closely identi- fied with almost all of her most successful business enterprises, a large land- owner in various sections of Kansas and in seven States of the Union, was born April 1I, 1841, in Maine, and is a son of Lorella and Mary W. (Bailey) Sweet.
The Sweet family, with its various branches and connections, remains to this day a prominent one in New England. Ebenezer Sweet, the great-
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grandfather, and Col. Ellis Sweet, the grandfather, were men of affairs in their day, the latter also serving with distinction in the War of 1812. The father of our subject was a trained mechanic and assisted in the building of the great Merrimack mills at Lowell, Massachusetts. He married Mary W. Bailey, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and they had three children. In 1859 the family moved to Champaign, Illinois, where the parents spent the rest of their lives and where one son still resides, a leading attorney.
T. B. Sweet was educated in the common schools at Farmington, Maine, and then at Farmington Academy, the latter being now the great State Normal School, which he left at the age of 14 years. He began his business career in the mercantile line and then went into the drug business, following the latter for 10 years. Then he became cashier of the First National Bank of Champaign. His attention was first attracted to Kansas after the Civil War, and he visited the State in 1869 with a view to investing in land. His observations convinced him that there was a great future for this section, and in October, 1872, he located permanently at Topeka. Shortly after, he organized the Kansas Loan & Trust Company and for 25 years or more continued as its head. Since September 1, 1898, he has given his attention exclusively to his personal affairs, his many enterprises requiring his time and close consideration. A few of his business connections are : Director in the Bank of Topeka; director in the Edison Electric Light Illuminating Com- pany ; trustee of Washburn College; one of the original trustees of Christ's Hospital; and director in the Missouri & Kansas Telephone Company. He is also a trustee and on the directing board of the University of Topeka, a Methodist Episcopal organization; a trustee in the Methodist Old Peoples' Home; and was for years an official in the State and local Y. M. C. A., and chairman of the Methodist Episcopal State Sunday-School organization. For 16 years he represented Kansas on the International Sunday-School Com- mittee. He was the first president of the Brotherhood of St. Paul, connected with the First Methodist Episcopal Church and takes a very active part in all its work, financially furthering its many benevolent enterprises.
Mr. Sweet was married at Jacksonville, Illinois, to Annie Brown, who was a daughter of Judge William and Susan (Finley) Brown, the former of whom was born in 1810, served in the Illinois Legislature when it met in Vandalia and died in 1871. Judge Brown's father was born in the South and was a slave-holder, but moved to a free State in order to rear his chil- dren differently. The maternal grandfather was president of the college at Athens, Georgia, for many years. Four members of Judge Brown's family still survive. Mr. and Mrs. Sweet have had five children, viz : Susie Brown, an accomplished lady, who was educated at the College of the Sisters of Bethany, Topeka, and at the Woman's College, Baltimore; William Brown,
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deceased; Mary Bailey, educated at the College of the Sisters of Bethany, the State University at Lawrence and the Woman's College, Baltimore, who is a teacher in the Chicago Training School; Paul Bailey, educated at Wash- burn College and at Yale College, who took honors at Yale; and Annie Brown, who is a graduate of Washburn College. The family home at No. 231 Topeka avenue is one of the finest residences in the city. Aside from his business prominence, Mr. Sweet has been so interested in religious and philanthropic work that he is known and esteemed over the whole State, especially so in all organizations connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ALMON L. TOMSON.
ALMON L. TOMSON, whose fine farm of 240 acres of valuable fruit and farming land justifies the assumption that he is one of the substantial men of Soldier township, Shawnee County, as he is also one of the township's most esteemed citizens, was born April 30, 1839, in Shalersville township, Portage County, Ohio, and is a son of James and Eliza (Marvin) Tomson.
The father of Mr. Tomson was born in 1812 at Williamstown, Vermont, while the mother was born at Shalersville, Ohio, in 1816. The father died February 15, 1866, on the farm in Portage County, Ohio, on which he had settled at marriage. They reared five children.
Our subject was educated in the district schools and the village of Shalers- ville, and grew up a practical farmer. He owned a farm of 166 acres and was one of the leading men of Shalersville township prior to coming to Kansas, for nine years being a justice of the peace and also filling the offices of trustee and assessor. In 1890 he exchanged his Ohio farm for 160 acres of the property he now owns, to which he subsequently added 80 acres. It is situated in section 12, township 10, range 15, and is now one of the most valuable farms in Soldier township, although when he came upon it he found it in poor condition, needing the experienced handling of a good agriculturist. He has put out a great deal of small fruit which has proved a successful venture and he also raises a large number of Poland-China hogs, and a fine strain of cattle. His son Arthur B. is associated with him in the operation of the farm.
Mr. Tomson was married June 6, 1865, to Sarah M. Proctor, who is a daughter of Ephraim J. and Mary A. (Middleton) Proctor. Mr. Proctor was born in 1812 in Vermont and his wife in the same year, in Ohio. They moved to Iowa in 1845, where Mr. Proctor farmed and did blacksmithing. They reared four children.
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Mr. and Mrs. Tomson have had five children, namely: Amy E., who died March 29, 1878, aged II years, and was buried at Shalersville; James C., who is a successful farmer in Soldier township, owning 160 acres also in Trego County, Kansas, and 30 head of cattle; Annie B., who died March 22, 1878, and was buried at Shalersville; Almon L., Jr., born February 6, 1879, who owns a wheat farm of 80 acres in Trego County, Kansas; and Arthur B., born November 20, 1881, who works with his father on shares.
Politically, Mr. Tomson is a Democrat, but he has taken no very active part in politics since coming to Kansas. He is a member of Muddy Creek Grange. He is well known in the township where both he and his family are held in great respect.
HON. SAMUEL A. KINGMAN.
Almost more honored and beloved than any other of the State's dis- tinguished citizens was the late Judge Kingman, who for 14 years served on the Supreme Court bench, and for nine years was chief justice. As the acknowledged leader in that great historical gathering, the Wyandotte con- vention, in 1859, the same which formed the Free-State constitution which insured inalienable rights to the citizens of this great commonwealth, he won the undying gratitude of his fellow-citizens. Had his life closed then before it had been crowned with later honors, he had done enough. As father of the homestead exemption law, one which in its every provision is generous and satisfactory, he insured justice to the weak and helpless and provided for the widow and the fatherless. Kansas loved him; Kansas honored him, and, when he passed away, in venerable old age, the State mourned him.
Judge Kingman was born in the earlier years of the past century, on June 26, 1818, a native of Worthington, Massachusetts, and was a son of Isaiah and Lucy Kingman. His education was pursued first in the common schools of his native village and he also passed some time at the local Mountain Academy, all of his knowledge gained here, however, being indifferent to what he wrought out for himself. Ambitious to enter upon the study of a profession, he found it necessary to provide the means for himself and at the age of 17 began to teach school. Two years later he secured a school in Kentucky and an opportunity to devote some time to the study of the law, and subsequently sought his first clients at Carrollton, in that State. Later he removed to Livingston County and entered into politics there, was elected county clerk and district attorney and also served three years in the State Legislature.
The wider fields opening in the West encouraged him to remove in the
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spring of 1856 to Iowa, and in the following year to Kansas. After six months spent at Leavenworth, he took up a land claim in Brown County, near the present site of the town of Horton, but in the summer of 1858 he removed to Hiawatha and resumed his law practice. His ability, his gifts and high character were almost immediately recognized and when the time came for the calling of that notable assemblage, the Wyandotte constitutional convention, he was appointed the delegate from Brown County. His great work in this convention is State history. When the organization of the State of Kansas was completed, he was elected associate justice of the Supreme Court, serving as such until 1864 when he was nominated for associate justice on the Union Republican ticket, which had Solon O. Thatcher as its nominee for Governor. This ticket was defeated. In the following year, Judge King- man removed to Atchison and entered into partnership with the late dis- tinguished John James Ingalls, in the practice of the law. One year later, in 1866, he was elected by the Republican party chief justice of the Supreme Court, was reelected in 1872 and continued in office until failing health caused him to resign these heavy responsibilities in 1877. For over 14 years he had occupied this high office and during nine of these had been chief justice. Dur- ing this long period, no charge was ever entertained that cast any doubt on his personal integrity; he was able, dignified and absolutely impartial. He is represented in the first 17 volumes of the State Reports and the roll call of those lawyers who came before his court reveals the names of such eminent men as John Martin, Stinson, Gamble, McCahon, Brewer, Ingalls, A. L. Williams, Waggener, Shannon, Crozier, Foster, Glick, Ruggles, Plumb, Stillings, Fenlon, Wheat, Bertram, Burns, Usher, Simpson, Burris, Devin- ney, Otis, McClure, Humphrey, Peck, Thatcher, Cobb 'and Webb. Chief Justice Kingman was the writer of 226 model opinions, notable papers not only for their sound judgment, perfect comprehension of legal principles, but as well for their brevity and conciseness.
Failing health continued to prevent Judge Kingman from entering con- spicuously into either political or legal life after 1877, although he survived, in retirement, far beyond the allotted age of man as given by the Psalmist. He filled the office of State librarian for a short time, but found the duties too confining. He was interested in many representative State and city bodies, having resided at Topeka since 1872. He was the first president of the State Historical Society, of which he was one of the founders and of which he continued a director. At the time of his decease he was still a valued mem- ber of the Saint Ananias Club, of Topeka, where he was always welcome; he was its president as long as he lived and was known as its "Perpetual Presi- dent." He had served as presiding officer of a number of legal bodies and had been president of the Bar Association of the State of Kansas and of the
C. T. MCLELLAN
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State judges' Association. He was a great reader and a skilled writer of verse.
On October 30, 1844, Judge Kingman was united in marriage with Matilda Willets Hartman, of Terre Haute, Indiana, a daughter of Samuel and Susan (Mears) Hartman, of Catawissa, Pennsylvania. Samuel Hart- man was a native of Pennsylvania. Judge Kingman is survived by his widow and two daughters : Mrs. Lillian Butterfield and Lucy D., the latter of whom is a prominent member of the Topeka Federation of Women's Clubs. He is also survived by two granddaughters,-Mrs. H. T. Cartlidge and Mrs. George N. Clarke,-and by one great-grandson,-Richard Kingman Cart- lidge. Mrs. Kingman resides at No. 635 Monroe street.
The death of Judge Kingman occurred on September 9, 1904. It was the occasion of innumerable tributes to his worth from those who had known him in the sanctity of private life, in the political arena and on the judicial bench, all of them breathing esteem, honor and admiration.
C. T. MCLELLAN.
C. T. MCLELLAN, division superintendent of the Eastern Division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, has been in railroad work since 1868, beginning as a brakeman and advancing, step by step, to his present office of great responsibility. He is a native of New England, born at Brunswick, Maine.
Mr. Mclellan received only a common-school education, and in every essential is a self-made man. The year 1868 found him in Iowa and there he accepted a position as brakeman in the employ of the Chicago & North- Western Railway, since which year he has worked in every branch of the operating department of railroad service. He became chief clerk in the di- vision superintendent's office at Las Vegas, New Mexico, later was made trainmaster, and subsequently served as conductor and trainmaster of the International & Great Northern and Texas & Pacific railroads, in Texas, prior to coming to the Santa Fe road. In September, 1890, he was appointed to his present position, a very important one. He is in charge of the follow- ing territory: From Kansas City to Emporia, by way of Topeka, and by way of Ottawa; and from St. Joseph to Topeka, including the branch through Leavenworth and branches between Hawthorne and Holliday, Lawrence and Ottawa and Osage City and Quenemo. All this territory is under his personal
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supervision as superintendent ; he has one trainmaster, two chief dispatchers, six trick dispatchers and eight clerks.
Mr. Mclellan was appointed receiver of the Leavenworth, Topeka & South-Western Railroad Company in April, 1894, and later, when the road was sold, he was elected president, a position he still fills.
Mr. McClellan was married in Missouri to Mary A. Hadley, who is a native of New Hampshire. They have one son and four daughters, the eldest of the latter being a graduate of Washburn College. They live at No. 421 Woodlawn avenue in the suburb of Potwin. Fraternally Mr. Mclellan is a Mason, being a member of Siloam Lodge, No. 225, A. F. & A. M. His portrait accompanies this sketch.
ADAM NEISWENDER.
ADAM NEISWENDER, deceased, was one of the highly respected men and representative agriculturists of Silver Lake township, Shawnee County, for many years and when his death took place January 16, 1901, he left behind a devoted family and many friends to mourn his loss. He was born April 28, 1828, at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and was a son of Michael and Barbara (Beecher) Neiswender.
The parents of Adam Neiswender were born in Switzerland and came to America in order to better their condition. They settled first at Reading, Pennsylvania, and then moved to the vicinity of Columbus, Ohio, where the father bought a farm of 160 acres and cultivated it until his death, which occurred December 14, 1858, when he was 67 years of age. The mother died October 1, 1879, aged 85 years. Of their 12 children, Michael, David and Adam came to Kansas and all are deceased and lie buried in Prairie Home Cemetery.
Our subject went to school at Columbus, Ohio, and then learned the trade of carpenter and bridge builder with his brother. In 1872 he came to Kansas and in the same year bought 80 acres of his present farm in section 14, township II, range 14, in Silver Lake township, Shawnee County, to which he subsequently added another 80 acres and this land he cultivated and improved until the time of his death, being able to leave to his widow a fine home and valuable property.
Adam Neiswender was married in November, 1861, to Elizabeth Quinn, who was a daughter of David and Catherine Quinn. She died July 15, 1871, aged 33 years, having had two sons,-Frank, who died February 12, 1863, aged three months ; and Harry, who resides at Sunset, Colorado. The latter's first wife, Katie Kennett, was a daughter of Bonnie and Maria (Reeser)
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Kennett; they had one son, Grover, a capable young man of 17 years who is now Mrs. Neiswender's right-hand man on the farm. By his second mar- riage Harry Neiswender has one son, Harold Pierce. Our subject was mar- ried, second, to the estimable lady who survives him, Catherine Naftzger, who was born in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, one of a family of six children. Mrs. Neiswender's mother died when she was 15 months old. She has two brothers, Benjamin and Adam. The former lives in Florida. He married Rebecca Runkle who died in Iowa in 1884. They had four children : Annie (who died in 1885), Lizzie, Adam and Carrie (who died in 1902). The second brother lives in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where he married Barbara Eversole; they have six children.
Mr. Neiswender was a strong Democrat all his life. When he lived in Pennsylvania, he attended the Lutheran Church, but after locating in Silver Lake township he found few Lutherans in the neighborhood and as he was a liberal-minded man he helped to build and support the Presbyterian Church at Silver Lake, and also assisted the Methodist and Baptist Churches.
JOHN SUTHERIN.
JOHN SUTHERIN, a prominent business man of Topeka, engaged in the coal business at First avenue and Monroe street, was born in 1841 at New- castle-on-Tyne, Northumberland County, England, and is a son of Martin Sutherin.
In 1853 Mr. Sutherin accompanied his father to America, locating in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. In 1857 the family removed to Preston County, West Virginia. The father died at the age of 79 years and the four surviving children are: John, our subject; Annie, who is the wife of Robert Logan, living near Dover, Shawnee County; Margaret, who is the wife of Matthew Hunter, of Chicago, Illinois; and Bessie, who is the wife of Jeffer- son Sumner, of Topeka township, Shawnee County.
In 1861 Mr. Sutherin enlisted from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in Com- pany G, Second Reg., West Virginia Vol. Inf., three Ohio, four Pennsyl- vania and three Virginia companies composing the regiment. Later, in 1863, his company was transferred to the First West Virginia Horse Artillery, which was mainly made use of in raiding expeditions, and here Mr. Sutherin saw very hard service. He was mustered out June 22, 1864, with an honor- able and faithful soldier's record.
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