USA > Kansas > Sedgwick County > History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas, past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county, Vol. II > Part 31
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Aaron T. Green,* farmer, of Salem township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, on April 5, 1847. His parents were John and Isabella (Fuller) Green. Mr. Green left Ohio in 1865 and went to Illinois, and from there to Iowa, but soon returned to Illinois. In these two states he worked until
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1871, when, with another young man, he bought a team and drove overland from Illinois to Wichita. In the fall of 1871, he pre- empted 160 acres of land in the northwest quarter of Section 21, Salem township. He broke about five acres of land and raised a crop of corn and hay, but a fire that was started on the prairie burned his stable, hay and corn. Mr. Green then went to work for Mr. Copeland, with whom he remained that winter, and in the spring he sold eighty acres of his land and later sold the re- maining eighty acres and bought eighty acres in Section 25, which he farmed one year. That happened to be the "grasshopper" year, and Mr. Green sold his eighty acres to Edgar W. Phillips and returned to Ohio. He only remained in Ohio until spring, when he returned to Kansas and has remained ever since. On February 5, 1885, Mr. Green was married to Mrs. Nettie Culver Winslow, who was born in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Winslow was the widow of Lewis Winslow, a soldier in the Civil War. By her marriage to Mr. Winslow, she was the mother of five children, viz .: Charles, of Oklahoma City; Leon, of Shawnee, Okla .; Mrs. Gilmore Price, of Alva, Okla .; Grace, at home, and Albert, of Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Green have no children. Since his marriage, Mr. Green has lived on his present place in Section 23 and eighty acres in Section 29. In politics he is a Republican.
Andrew F. Grimsley, farmer, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Ash county, North Carolina, on January 20, 1852. His parents were Lowry and Catherine (Koons) Grimsley, both natives of North Carolina. Both the father and mother were born in 1810. They lived in North Carolina until 1866, when they moved to Missouri. In 1868 the family moved to Johnson county, Kansas, where the mother died in 1882. The rest of the family lived in Johnson county until the fall of 1890, in which year Andrew F. Grimsley moved to Sumner county and lived until 1900. In that year he bought 120 acres of land in Section 13, Ninnescah township, and has since bought eighty acres more in Section 32. On March 15, 1879, Mr. Grimsley was married to Miss Ludema Paisley, who was born in Missouri. Five children have been born of this union, viz .: Mrs. F. C. Hare, of Sedgwick county; Mrs. Ethel Dobbin, of Viola township; Charles R., at home; Mrs. Bonnie Hetrick, of Ninnescah township, and Lefa Fern, at home. Mr. Grimsley does general farming and stock raising. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen
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of America. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Baptist church.
Elvin Spencer Hadley, attorney, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of the Hawkeye State, having been born at Richland, Keokuk county, Iowa, on November 11, 1868. His parents were Spencer I. and Louisa W. (Ecroyd) Hadley, Mr. Hadley, Sr., being a native of North Carolina and Mrs. Hadley of Pennsylvania. They came to Kansas in 1879, and in the fall of that year took up a section of government land in Kingman county, but later moved to Reno county, where they now reside. Elvin S. Hadley obtained his early education in the public schools of Iowa and Kansas, and in the high school of Sterling, Kan. He came to Wichita in 1903, and for a short time was employed in the mercantile business, but abandoned this for the field of real estate, in the meantime pursuing the study of law in the office of Stanley & Stanley, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1909. His career furnishes a good illustration of what a young man, with energy and brains and a determination to succeed, can attain to. Mr. Hadley was married in 1891 to Miss Madge Eastman, of Lawrence county, Indiana. From this union four children have been born, viz .: Mabel, Irdle, Vern and Wayne.
W. S. Hadley, president of the Citizens' State Bank, of Wichita, Kan., was born in Richland, Ia., on January 18, 1866. His parents were Noah A. Hadley and Louisna (Hadley). The elder Hadley was a native of North Carolina, who came to Kansas in 1876, settling at Beloit. He died in 1905, at the age of seventy- two years. W. S. Hadley acquired his education in the public schools of his county and at Grelette Academy, Glen Elder, Kan. After graduating from the latter he taught school in Mitchell county ; as principal of Glen Elder High School for five years and public schools for a period of five years. He was appointed county treasurer of Mitchell county and served during the years 1892 to 1896, in the latter year being elected register of deeds, in which office he served until 1900. At the expiration of his term he engaged in the drug business in Beloit, Kan., which he conducted for a year. In 1901 he came to Wichita and organ- ized the Citizens' State Bank, with a capital of $10,000, which opened its doors for business on the west side in 1902. This was in the days when there was no street paving in that locality and the bank building was surrounded by sunflowers. The officers of the bank at the time of its organization were as follows:
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President, W. S. Hadley; vice-president, J. H. Turner; cashier, A. H. Stout. In 1908 the cash capital was increased to $25,000, and W. C. Kemp succeeded Mr. Stout as cashier. The year 1910 finds this banking house a prosperous institution with a surplus of $10,000 and deposits amounting to $290,000. Mr. Hadley is one of the progressive men of the west side. He has been president of the West Side Commercial League since its organization in 1908, and takes a lively interest in all that pertains to a greater Wichita. He is a member of the Kansas Bankers' Association, the State Bankers' Association, and secre- tary and director of the Friends University; also vice-president of the Y. M. C. A. and chairman of the Religious Work Commit- tee. Mr. Hadley was married August 29, 1888, to Miss Lillian E. Outland, daughter of Thomas and Mahalia Outland. From this union one child has been born, Beulah M. Hadley.
Earl Hahn, plumbing, steam and gas fitting, with an estab- lishment at No. 151 North Emporia avenue, Wichita, Kan., is a native of Kentucky, where he was born, in Washington county, on November 27, 1869. His parents were William and Mary A. (Dinsmore) Hahn, natives of Kentucky. The Hahns are of German descent and the Dinsmores English. The elder Hahn was a chair maker by trade and died at the age of eighty-four. His widow died at the age of eighty-six. Earl Hahn was the youngest of a family of eleven children, six girls and five boys, of whom five are still living. He was educated at the public schools of his native town and in 1887 came to Wichita. A year later he began to learn the plumbing business, entering the employ of the Wichita Plumbing Company. At the end of four years the business was purchased by Glaze & Buckridge, and Mr. Hahn continued in the employ of this firm for five years, when the business again changed hands and was purchased by the firm of Bertram & Bertram. Mr. Hahn continued with this firm for another period of five years, when he embarked in business for himself, and organized the firm of Bosworth, Hahn & Co., their place of business being at No. 127 North Market street. At the end of two years they removed the business to No. 152 North Market street, where the firm continued for seven years. Mr. Hahn then sold his interest and continued in business for himself, locating his establishment at No. 151 North Emporia avenue, where he has conducted a successful business since 1907. Mr. Hahn is a member of the Masonic order and the Benevolent
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Protective Order of Elks. He was maried in 1881, to Miss Anna Buellow, a native of Berlin, Germany, then a resident of Ellis county, Kansas. Of this union four children have been born, viz .: Cecil, Lucille, Frances and Arthur Earl Hahn.
James A. Hampson, a prosperous farmer of Grant town- ship, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born February 29, 1856, in Tazewell county, Illinois, and is one of a family of ten children born to Henry J. and Nancy (Haines) Hampson. Our subject's paternal grandparents were James and Christiana (Peppers) Hampson, natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland, respectively. The grandfather was a farmer in Ohio till 1837, when he settled in Tazewell county, Illinois, and there carried on farming, being prominently identified with the pioneer history of the state. He died there March 8, 1874, at the age of sixty-five years. His widow survived till February 28, 1887, and died at the age of seventy-five years. They had a family of eleven children, of whom Henry J., our subject's father, was the second. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, April 8, 1829, and grew up on the family homestead in Tazewell county, Illinois. On October 14, 1850, he married Nancy Haines, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, February 13, 1833, the youngest of a family of three chil- dren born to John and Nancy (Larramore) Haines, who were both natives of Virginia. Henry J. and his wife settled on a farm in Tazewell county, Illinois, and lived there till 1876, when they removed with their family to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and settled on a tract of 240 acres of unimproved railroad land in Grant township. Here they established their family home and reared their children. He was a man of influence in the com- munity and a thrifty, sucessful farmer, having his farm well stocked with Norman and Percheron horses, Durham cattle and Poland-China swine, improved with fine buildings and thoroughly equipped with every needed convenience and appliance. He was a Democrat in political opinion and filled various local town- ship offices. His death occurred March 31, 1909. His wife died March 14, 1907. She was a devoted Christian woman and a member of the Baptist denomination.
James A. lived at home till he was thirty years old, acquiring his education in the district schools in Illinois and Sedgwick county, after the family removed thither. At his father's death, in 1909, he was appointed administrator of the estate, and car- ries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Hampson is
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a Democrat in political sentiment and is somewhat active in the local council and affairs of his party. He has filled various local offices, having served twelve years as clerk of the school board and serving now his fourth year as township trustee.
On May 25, 1886, Mr. Hampson married Miss Anna Ryder, daughter of Jonathan and Lucy (Rice) Ryder, of Harvey county, Kansas. The mother was a descendant in direct line of Revolu- tionary ancestors. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hampson are affiliated in religious faith with the United Presbyterian church at Sunnydale.
William H. Harper, farmer, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born February 27, 1858, in Harvard county, Indiana. His parents were Theodore and Ruth (Yeakly) Harper, the father being a native of Ohio and the mother of Indiana. The remote ancestors on the paternal side are Scotch-Irish and on the maternal side German. The parents of William H. settled in Lyons county, Kansas, in 1858, and afterwards removed to Chase county, Kansas. after his father had sold his real estate in Kansas William H. Harper came to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and took up his resi- dence. He bought 160 acres of land two miles south and one mile west of Mt. Hope, on which he has erected a modern house of eight rooms, which is one of the most attractive houses in the township. Mr. Harper is an enterprising farmer and by hard work and industry has bought and paid for one of the best farms in the county. Mr. Harper was married on February 27, 1895, to Miss Nancy J. Barnett, a daughter of Josiah Barnett, an honored citizen of Missouri and a Civil War veteran. Mr. Barnett served faithfully five years in the army. He was a member of Company F, Twelfth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and partici- pated in many severe battles. Ten children have been born to Mr. Harper and his wife, viz .: Fannie, Grace, Nellie, Mary, Jesse, William, Ray, Earl, Mabel and Ermon. Mr. and Mrs. Harper are members of the Christian church of Mt. Hope, of which he has been a member thirty-seven years. He is an independent in politics.
Thomas C. Harrington, stock raiser and farmer, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Alexander county, North Carolina, on April 9, 1859. His parents were E. R. and Mary (Jones) Harrington, both natives of the Tar Heel State. The father of Thomas C. was born on October 26, 1826, and his mother was born on March 4, 1837. They were married in North Carolina in 1857, and in 1869 moved to Missouri. In April, 1870, they
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settled in Cherokee, Kan., where the mother died on October 13, 1871. In August, 1873, Mr. Harrington was married a second time to Miss Sallie Boyd. By the first marriage he had six chil- dren, viz .: Thomas C .; Mrs. M. G. Kitchel, of Clearwater; Columbus C., of Ninnescah township; James W., Henry M., both of Ninnescah township, and Mrs. Ida L. Swinehart, of Norwich, Kan. By his second marriage Mr. Harrington was the father of four children, viz .: Charles A., of Oklahoma; Mrs. Laura B. Yearsin, deceased; Robert B., of Beaver county, Oklahoma, and William R., of Anthony, Kan. Mr. Harrington, Sr., came to Sedg- wick county, Kansas, in the fall of 1873, and preempted 160 acres in Section 30, Ninnescah township. He added to this until at the time of his death, in June, 1903, he owned an entire section. Thomas C. Harrington remained at his home on the farm until his marriage, which occurred on December 22, 1881. His bride was Miss Maggie E. Parker, who was born in Iowa, on April 19, 1862. One child was born of this union, Claude E., who was born on December 8, 1882. Mrs. Harrington died on February 5, 1886, and in January, 1891, Mr. Harrington married Miss Nettie King, who was born in North Carolina, in June, 1859. One child was born of this union, Charles R., born June 26, 1893. The mother died in January, 1895, and December 12, 1896, Mr. Harrington was married to Miss Nela Meadows, who was born in North Carolina, on April 28, 1878. Of this marriage there was issued four children, viz .: Henry P., born December 1, 1897; Walter C., born February 17, 1900; Zulu May, born July 31, 1908, and Arthur F., born June 8, 1902. Thomas C. Harring- ton bought his first farm in 1882, in Section 28, Ninnescah town- ship, 160 acres, and he has added to it until he now owns 1,000 acres. He does general farming, with about fifty acres of alfalfa. He also raises stock, making a specialty of the Shorthorn variety of cattle, with Royal Butterfly at the head of his herd. He has a herd of seventy-five Shorthorns, and also raises feed steers for market. He also raises thoroughbred Percheron horses, hav- ing Hectolitre, an imported stallion, for a sire. Mr. Harrington is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Baptist Church.
George E. Harris is probably one of the best known men in the city of Wichita, Kan., which he has served officially in some of its most important offices. He is an Englishman by birth, having been born in the parish of Woking, near the city of London, England, on February 16, 1832. He came to America
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in 1864 and located first at Aurora, Ill. In October, 1865, he en- listed in Company I, Seventy-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was placed in charge of the general wards of the hospital. He became managing commissary, in which capacity he served until he was finally discharged. Mr. Harris is a man of liberal education and well posted on all the current events of the day. He was engaged in the mercantile business in Pana, Ill., until he moved to Kansas, in 1869, when he located at Chetopa. In 1871 he moved to Wichita. Here he took up the manufacture of soda water and was very successful in this business, selling both wholesale and retail, together with the ice business, in which he was engaged at the same time, being the only one in the business until 1886. Mr. Harris has erected two residences and a row of English flat buildings in Wichita, and has taken great pride in the growth and improvement of the city and county ever since he has been a resident. In his official life Mr. Harris has served as deputy sheriff of Sedgwick county, superintendent of city parks for six years, appointed as city treasurer of Wichita and served from 1901 to 1909, councilman for five terms, and the third mayor of Wichita, in 1875. His business administration has given the people satisfaction, and he has built up a host of friends who have known him for many years. Despite his ad- vanced age, Mr. Harris is a well preserved man, looking not to exceed sixty years. He was married in England, June 10, 1860, to Emma Elizabeth Lee, a daughter of John Lee. Four children have been born to them, of whom only two are now living, Ernest E. and Cecil H. Harris. Fraternally Mr. Harris is a member of the Eagles and is a thirty-second degree Mason and member of Wichita Consistory, No. 2. He is a Republican in politics and active in the interests of his party.
Sylvester Harsh, retired, of Mt. Hope, Sedgwick county, Kan- sas, was born August 7, 1828, in Litchfield, Bradford county, Pennsylvania. His parents were Cornelius and Jerusha Harsh, both natives of the state of New Jersey. Sylvester Harsh ac- quired a limited education in the common schools of Bradford county, and at his majority learned the trade of a mason, at which he worked up to the time he entered the army during the Civil War. He enlisted, in 1863, in Company I, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and remained in the service until the close of the war. The regiment was placed under the command of General Grant and was in the battle of
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City Point (Va.), in which severe engagement the ranks were decimated. After this battle the regiment participated in skir- mish engagements until the close of the war. In the ranks, while on parade, Mr. Harsh received a severe injury to his hip, which compelled him to go to the hospital, where he remained in a critical condition for months. The injury necessitated a surgical operation, in 1909, which has greatly reduced his strength and has left him in a disabled condition. In 1878 Mr. Harsh removed from Pennsylvania to Russell county, Kansas, where he worked at his trade and engaged in the mercantile business. In 1905 he moved to Sedgwick county, bought property in Mt. Hope and now lives in his comfortable home with his wife. Mr. Harsh has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Mariah Prince, to whom he was married in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, on March 6, 1852. Five children were born of this union, of whom two are now living, viz .: Charles, who lives in Reno county, Kan- sas, and Flora, who is married to a Mr. Crawford and lives next door to her father. She has two children. Mr. Harsh was again married, to Mrs. Mary B. Stacy, a widow, whose maiden name was Sergeant, and whose ·parents were natives of England. No children have been born of this second marriage. Mr. Harsh is a devoted and useful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For over thirty-five years he was superintendent of the Sunday school and for over twenty-five years a class leader. He has been strongly identified with the temperance party and is looked upon in the community as an upright and exemplary citizen.
Hon. Rodolph Hatfield, attorney at law, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of the Buckeye state, having been born at London, Mad- ison county, Ohio, October 6, 1854. He is a son of Renssalaer R. and Eliza Ann (Coultas) Hatfield, and the eldest of the family of six living sons and two living daughters. His father was a native of Indiana and his mother a native of Ohio.
The parents were married in Ohio in 1852, and in 1859 set their faces westward for life's betterment, and settled in Logan county, Illinois, where they purchased a farm and engaged in Agriculture, remaining there till 1877, when they again took the pioneer fever and removed to a farm which they purchased in Grant township, Sedgwick county, Kansas. They resided upon said farm till about 1893, when they sold out and moved to Wichita and there continued to reside till the death of the father,
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April 13, 1903. The mother still survives (1910) and enjoys a reasonably healthy and happy time in her declining years. The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of Logan county, Illinois, completing same in Lincoln University, from which he graduated with degree of Ph. B. in June, 1876.
The circumstances of his entering college are interesting. When a lad of fourteen, he was called as a witness to testify in a case of assault and battery against his teacher for whipping a grown-up pupil. The court proceedings greatly interested young Hatfield and he then and there determined to become a lawyer, and on his way home from the trial so announced to his father, who had already planned that he should be a farmer. However, when the father saw with what avidity his son acquired knowl- edge from the meager stores and sources of a farm home, making the most of every opportunity to fit himself for his chosen calling, he promised to send him to college, if he accomplished an assigned task of farm work in raising crops and mastered his teacher in mathematics the ensuing winter. By studying hard during the summer, when the farm help was asleep, on rainy days and at every spare moment in a busy time of the work on the farm, he succeeded, as foreman of the farm, in raising the crops, and by dint of closely applied study, soon had a statement from his teacher that he had led him in arithmetic as far as he could. He has often declared the time he received his longed-for and hard-earned permission to attend college, when his tasks were performed on the farm and in the country school, the proudest achievement of his life.
Soon after entering college, he became aggressive and au- dacious in debate, quickly discerning the weak places in his op- ponent's arguments, studying public questions with enthusiasm, and recognized by his associates as a fit representative of his college in the literary contests of his school, in which he came off victor and bearing the honors always, with one exception. His eloquence and force of expression were then, and are now, di- rected to men's understanding, rather than their imagination or passions, though he possesses much imaginative power and vividly portrays, divining the thoughts and purposes of his hearers.
Mr. Hatfield's characteristic strenuous efforts to enter college and acquire an education have marked his entire life, so that whatever is undertaken by him is given vigorous and intelligent
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attention. In appearance, he is prepossessing, with an unusually musical and vibrant voice which attracts and holds the attention of an audience. In conversation, he is brilliant and versatile, his range of reading being very wide and comprehensive, and his mind concerns itself with an almost infinite variety of topics, as he possesses one of the best selected private libraries in the South- west and is never more at home than when consulting it. In dis- position, Mr. Hatfield is noble and generous, with an exuberance of vitality. His presence is distinguished, his manners winning and affable, impressing those with whom he comes in contact as possessing a kindly individual interest and sympathy, which in- sure him a general welcome and render him, recognizedly in Wichita, as the most ready and available emergency speaker for all classes of occasions, calling for discussion of political issues, educational addresses, convention welcoming addresses, or ban- quet responses and toasts.
Mr. Hatfield began the study of the law first in the Wesleyan University, of Bloomington, Ill., law department, completing same in the law offices of Hoblit and Foley, of Lincoln, Ill., and receiv- ing admission to the bar before the Supreme Court of Illinois in June, 1878.
In July, 1878, Mr. Hatfield went to Trinidad, Col., where he first swung his law sign to the breeze and began the practice of his chosen profession. Having been reared in an agricultural country, and in the midst of Republican associates, he was not pleased with the barrenness and Democratic majorities of south- ern Colorado, and removed from there to Wichita in September, 1879, opening his law offices in Wichita January 20, 1880, where he has since resided. While Mr. Hatfield has engaged in the gen- eral practice of the law, he has specialized in corporation practice, in which he is considered an accepted authority.
Mr. Hatfield's first law co-partnership in Wichita was with Noah Allen, now United States attorney for Southern District of Texas, but did not continue the said partnership for more than a few months, dissolving same and remaining alone till November 20, 1884, when he formed a co-partnership with Hon. O. H. Bent- ley, which still continues, and is said to be the oldest continuous law co-partnership now in the state of Kansas.
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