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 37
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BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Mitchell is a thoroughly up-to-date farmer, and his farm is finely improved with a commodious farmhouse, substantial barn and other buildings and supplied with every needed equipment and appliance, and well stocked. He is a man of influence in his community and for more than twenty years has served on the local School Board. He has always been a Democrat in political belief, and is identified with the Roman Catholic Church.
On October 1, 1882, Mr. Mitchell married Miss Julia A., daughter of Thomas and Mary (Conroy) Manning, who came from Ireland, their native land, in 1840, to Manchester, N. H .; moved to Iowa in 1860, whence they moved to Illinois township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, in 1874.
Of nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, Mary, born in 1883, is married to Mr. Louis Scheier, of Kingman county, has one daughter, Julia, born in 1909; Martin A., born in 1885, mar- ried Miss Lizzie Polard and has one child, Alice, born in 1909; Lizzie, born in 1888, is married to Mr. Adolph Scheier, has two children, William, born in 1909, and Bernard, born in 1910; and Maggie, born in 1890; Irene, born in 1893; Catherin, born in 1897 ; Louis, born in 1899; Edna, born in 1902, and William, born in 1906, all live at home with their parents.
George A. Morey, manager of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, of Wichita, Kan., claims Iowa as the state of his nativity, having been born at Waverly, that state, in 1874. His parents were D. A. and Malissa (Loomer) Morey. Mr. Morey's education was obtained in the public schools of Waverly, and after leaving school he obtained employment in the lumber business at Wav- erly. He remained at Waverly until 1898, when he went to Min- neapolis, Minn., to take a position with the Citizens' Lumber Company, of that city. In 1900 Mr. Morey left the employ of the Citizens' Lumber Company to enter the employment of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, he first being stationed at Muskogee, Okla. Here he remained until 1905, when he was transferred to Wichita as manager of the plant in this city and has remained here ever since. The Long-Bell plant is a branch of the one in Kansas City, Mo. He was married in 1895 to Miss Ida Wole. To this union was born one son, who died in infancy.
George O. Morgan, of Wichita, Kan., is known as the pioneer horse and mule dealer of Sedgwick county. He is a native of the Badger state, having been born in Wisconsin in 1856. His parents were Henry and Winifred C. (Jones) Morgan, both natives of
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Wales, who immigrated to Wisconsin, where the elder Morgan engaged in farming, he and his wife later moving to Iowa, where both died. George O. Morgan was one of a family of eight children, four of whom are still living. He was educated at the public schools of Iowa, and in 1875, almost as soon as he had finished his schooling, he engaged in the horse and mule business, which he has ever since continued. His first experience was in Cass county, Iowa, where he succeeded in building up a fine trade, and in 1884 he came to Wichita, being among the pioneers in the horse and mule industry of this section. With unflinching cour- age Mr. Morgan withstood the trying times incident to the boom days. He had faith in the future of Wichita and Sedgwick county, and in company with many others through his own efforts won success. Mr. Morgan now conducts the largest business of its kind in Sedgwick county. In 1903 he suffered a heavy loss by fire, when his stable was consumed with a large number of valu- able animals. He now occupies his third location since coming to Wichita, at No. 414 West Douglas street. Mr. Morgan is a promi- nent member of the Masonic Order and is a member of all the Masonic bodies. He was married in Lewis, Iowa, to Miss Eliza- beth Black, daughter of Milton Black, of Cass county, Iowa. Of this union there has been issue: Benjamin F., of Chickasaw, Okla. (merchant) ; Leo and Theo, twins, and Wichita merchants ; and Dr. Walter A. Morgan, dentist, Wichita.
Alfred G. Mueller, undertaker and embalmer, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of the Empire state, having been born at Buffalo, N. Y., on September 27, 1865. He is a son of Paul J. and Mary (Chappurs) Mueller, natives of France and Switzerland, respec- tively, who are now numbered among the pioneers of Wichita. They first came to Kansas in 1867, returning to New York state, and again came to Kansas, locating at Wichita in 1889, where they have since resided. Alfred G. Mueller was educated in the public schools of Williamsville, N. Y. After leaving school, which is now over a quarter of a century ago, he began to learn the undertaking business with D. W. Wherle, of his native state, and continued with him for five years. He then went to New Haven, Conn., where he followed the same busines for a period of three years. In 1888 he came to Wichita, and in the fall of that year opened an establishment of his own in the undertaking business, which he has since conducted until he has one of the leading establishments of its kind to be found in the Southwest. The
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BIOGRAPHY
building now occupied by Mr. Mueller at No. 142-4 North Market street, was built exclusively for the purposes of his business, and is complete in every detail, having all the latest paraphernalia and equipment, such as chapel, morgue, casket display rooms, . office, etc., a total of twenty-two rooms being occupied by the business. Mr. Mueller is a member of all the Masonic bodies, vice-president of the Kansas Funeral Directors' Association, and a representative of the Kansas Funeral Directors' Association to the National Association. He was for many years president of the State Board of Embalmers, and is a member of the various commercial bodies of the city of Wichita.
Charles P. Mueller, florist, of Wichita, Kan., is sometimes called the Burbank of Wichita, because of his expert knowledge of horticulture. Mr. Mueller is a native of Erie county, New York, where he was born on June 13, 1862. His parents were P. J. and Mary P. Mueller. Charles P. Mueller's early education was acquired in Erie county. After leaving school Mr. Mueller engaged as a florist in 1875. He left Buffalo and came to Wichita in 1883. There have been times since then when it was difficult for the citizens to buy potatoes and cabbage, and cut flowers and hot house luxuries were read about, but not known. But Mr. Mueller was never discouraged. Out in a cornfield near Alamo he built a tiny greenhouse. Now, out on Ninth street, is a green- house and botanical garden plant, under 50,000 square feet of glass, with every modern device known for propagating rare flowers. In Mr. Mueller's downtown display rooms has been perfected an exhibit of all that the painter's art, the sculptor's skill and the decorator's imagination can conceive. Mr. Mueller is the only life member in Kansas of the Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists, and his model plant is the largest and finest equipped in the state. Forty per cent of his large and expanding business is mail orders. Fraternally Mr. Mueller is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias, Fraternal Aid, A. O. U. W. and Fraternal Union. He is also a member of the Commercial Club and the Chamber of Commerce.
George Muller, farmer and stock raiser, of Mulvane, Kan., was barn in Bavaria, Germany, on November 15, 1845. His parents were Peter and Barbara (Phillips) Muller, both natives of Ger- many. Peter Muller came to the United States in 1847 and set- tled on a farm near Springfield, Ill., where he remained until
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1865. He then went to Lincoln, Ill., where he remained until July, 1878, when he came to Sedgwick county, Kansas. In Sedg- wick county he and his son George bought 440 acres of land in Sections 31 and 32. Mrs. Muller died on March 13, 1861, while the family was living in Illinois, and Peter Muller died April 3, 1888. Peter Muller and his wife were the parents of five children, all of whom are dead except George, who remained with his father and with him bought the farm in Sedgwick county, and who now owns this farm, besides 400 acres additional he has since bought, making 840 acres which he now owns. Mr. Muller raises Shorthorn cattle, horses and Jersey Red hogs, and does diversified farming. He has an orchard of about 200 apple trees, 150 peach, with a variety of other fruits on his place. On August 22, 1867, Mr. Muller was married to Miss Catharine Seyfer, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on January 5, 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Muller have had eight children, seven of whom are living, viz .: Peter, deceased ; George F., of Rockford township; John W., of Denver, Colo .; Mrs. Emma B. Ott, of Wichita; Flora K., William F., Frank J., and Charles P., all of Rockford township. Mr. Muller is president of the Mulvane Farmers' State Bank. He is a liberal in politics, voting for the best man.
Hans M. Nelson, farmer, of Ninnescah township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Denmark on April 4, 1849. Mr. Nel- son immigrated to the United States in 1873, going first to Warren county, Illinois, where he only remained a short time, and arrived in Wichita, Kan., on January 2, 1874. On April 4 of the same year, he preempted 160 acres of land in Section 6, Ninnescah township. He followed his trade of a shoemaker in Wichita un- til 1877, at the same time working his claim. On account of his health, he was obliged to abandon work at his trade and went on his claim, working his own claim and that of a brother. On October 21, 1881, Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Sina Nelson, who was born in Denmark and came to the United States the same year she was married. Of this union eight children have been born, viz. : John, William, Harry, Otis, Mary, deceased; Oney, Angie and Orie. Mr. Nelson has added to his original tract of land until he now has 1,200 acres, on which he does general farm- ing. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
William Riley Nessly, superintendent of the Peerless Lumber Company, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of the Buckeye state, having been born at Fairview, Gurnsey county, Ohio, on May 24,
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BIOGRAPHY
1864. He was the son of the Rev. J. F. and Elizabeth (Wade) Nessly, his father being a native of Ohio and his mother claiming Pennsylvania as her native state. The Rev. Mr. Nessly was a pioneer Methodist minister of Wichita, having made his first trip to the city by stage, and later he came with his household goods on the first train to enter the city over the Santa Fe Railroad. His previous ministerial charges were at Ottawa, Kan., and Olathe, Kan. He died at Tekao, Wash., at the age of eighty years. His widow still survives and resides there. William Riley Nessly was but eight years old when his parents came to Wichita. His education was obtained in the public schools of the city, and he has since made his home in Sedgwick county. It was in 1872 that the Rev. Mr. Nessly pre-empted a claim in Illinois township, Sedgwick county, it being the south half of Section 1 of the township. The Rev. Mr. Nessly, after one year in the ministry in Wichita, found himself broken in health, and this led to his resignation and the plan of taking up the claim. Soon after this he was elected city clerk of the city of Wichita, and his son, William R., took charge of the affairs of the new farm and continued doing so until he was twenty-one years old, when he entered the employ of S. D. Pallett, a lumberman of Wichita, and continued in his employ in various capacities for the next ten years. This lumber business was purchased by B. F. McLean, and Mr. Nessly continued as foreman until 1901, when he became foreman of the Davidson & Case yards for a period of five years, in the meantime purchasing a farm of 160 acres in Ohio town- ship. In 1901 he again returned to the McLean yard as fore- man, a position he held until the business was purchased by the Peerless Lumber Company. He has since been the manager of the yard and plant, which is located at No. 802 West Douglas avenue. This plant was originally established in 1902 by S. S. Kensler and Frank Bradshaw, and was known as the West Side Lumber Company. Mr. Nessly is a member of the school board of Wichita. He was married on April 21, 1887, to Miss Isola Helen Lane, daughter of J. M. and Sylvia (Champlin) Lane, natives of Illinois. Of this marriage there has been issue four children, viz .: Mayme E., Blanche and Bernice (twins), and Howard E.
Benjamin F. Nichols, of Wichita, Kan., can lay claim to being one of the pioneers of Kansas. He was born May 20, 1845, in Lowell, Lake county, Indiana. His parents were Abraham and
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HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
S. J. (Fuller) Nichols. On the paternal side he can trace his ancestry to France, while on the maternal side he traces it to Germany. During the Civil War Mr. Nichols enlisted in the Union Army, joining Company H, One Hundred and Twenty- Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1863, and serving until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. Mr. Nichols was in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Dutton Snake Creek Gap, Rinca, Cossville, Dallas, New Hope Church, Lost Mountain, Kene- saw and its numerous battles, Crossing the Chattahoochee River, Decatur, Atlanta with its half-dozen battles, Jonesborough and Lovejoys, on what is termed the celebrated Atlanta Campaign. He was also in the chase after Hood and Hood after him, result- ing in the battles of Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nash- ville, where he hoped to annihilate Hood's army. His company was transferred to the Department of North Carolina, huddled in box cars like hogs and cold as Greenland. They were shipped from Washington to North Carolina by ship, and from Newbern they were sent without transportation to meet the enemy at Wisesforks and then on to Goldsboro, where they met their old commanding general, and then on to Raleigh and made Johnson surrender. Mr. Nichols was always found at the front and his captain, John T. Powell, says, "I am proud of your record. You did your full share in making my name one of the best skirmish- ing captains in the army." His memoirs, which form a part of this sketch, give his army record in greater detail. After the war Mr. Nichols moved to Woodson county, Kansas, where he remained five years. Leaving Woodson county, he took up his residence in Elk county, where he also spent five years, and from thence he came to Sedgwick county, where he permanently located in 1885 at Garden Plain. He remained at Garden Plain six years, and since that time has been a resident of Wichita. Mr. Nichols is the owner of a valuable stock farm and at the present time is practically retired from business and living with his family at 410 South Market street, Wichita. He is a thirty- second degree Mason and in politics is a Socialist. He has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Nancy McCormick, six children being born of this union, of whom four are now living. His second wife, to whom he was married September 25, 1898. was Mrs. May Smith, and no children have been born of this union.
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BIOGRAPHY
J. M. Nicholson,* of Maize, Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a na- tive of the Blue Grass state, having been born in Lancaster, Ky., on October 1, 1846. He is a son of J. J. Nicholson, a native of Kentucky. His parents removed from Kentucky to Illinois in 1859, locating in Macon county, and lived there until their death. James M. Nicholson acquired a limited education in the common schools of Kentucky and Illinois, and in 1870 removed to Kansas. He first located in Butler county, where he lived four years, and afterwards moved to Park township, Sedgwick county, where in 1875 he bought land in Section 15. In 1864, while still a resident of Illinois, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois Volunteers, and served until his discharge at the close of the war. Mr. Nicholson was married on June 3, 1882, to Miss Emma A. Dotson, in Decatur, Ill. Mrs. Nicholson traces her ancestry to Scotland. Nine children have been born of this union, of whom six are now living. The names of the children are : Josephus, Lewis J., Nora, James Clarence, Harry, Bessie, Viola, Hattie E. and William E. Mr. Nicholson is a member of the G. A. R. and attended the encampments at Salt Lake City and at Denver, Col. He has been a member of the school board of Park township for fourteen years. Mr. Nicholson is a Republican and active in the interests of his party.
Samuel L. Nolan, president of the Goddard State Bank of Goddard, Kansas, is a native of Indiana, where he was born on March 7, 1863, in Lafayette. His parents were John and Sarah (Murdoch) Nolan. The father was a native of Ireland and his mother's family, the Murdochs, were respectable people of Tippe- canoe county, Indiana. Samuel L. came west with his parents to Sedgwick county, Kansas, in 1877, and soon after, the father, whose occupation was plastering and farming, died. His widow died in Sedgwick county in 1903. The father of Samuel L. Nolan had a family of thirteen children, of whom Samuel L. was the eighth. The latter attended the public schools until his fifteenth year and lived under the paternal roof until he was twenty-one. He started out in the beginning of his career as a clerk in a grocery.story in Wichita and also in a general store in Caldwell, Kan. He then engaged in business for himself in general mer- chandising at Goddard, Kan. He was married November 24, 1886, to Miss Daisy B. White, of Kentucky, and of this union there has been born one son, who is now twenty-three years old and is married to Mesa Rice. They have one child and reside at
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Goddard. Mr. Nolan is a public spirited citizen who has long been a resident of Sedgwick county, and at the present time (1910) is the Democratic candidate for the office of county treas- urer. After leaving Wichita, he moved to Goddard in 1884, and has since been a resident of that village and has served as mayor two terms. He has also held various minor township offices. He has been a member of the city council. Mr. Nolan is the owner of a large tract of land, over 480 acres, in Afton township. He is a grain buyer and conducts a large elevator at Goddard under the firm name of Nolan Bros. He was the organizer and is now president of the Goddard State Bank, which has a capital stock of $10,000 and a surplus of $5,000. He is known as a man of good ability and has settled up a large number of decedent estates, and has acted in a fiduciary capacity in handling large sums of money in trust and otherwise, and his honesty and integrity have never been questioned. Mr. Nolan is a Democrat in politics. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He also conducts a large general store in Goddard. He is also a director and stockholder in the Goddard Telephone Company.
Odon Northcutt, a prominent real estate dealer of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born June 15, 1855, in Booneville, Mo. His parents were T. D. and Mary E. (Gatewood) Northcutt, the father being a native of Kentucky and the mother of Virginia. They located in Newton county, Missouri, in 1857, where Mr. North- cutt followed farming and stock raising and continued this up to the time of his conscription in the Confederate army. He was severely wounded in the battle of Wilson Creek and was sent back to his family in Newton county, Missouri, and from there he moved to Parker county, Texas, where he resided for a time, afterward returning to Missouri, where he is now living at the age of eighty-three years. His wife is also living at the age of seventy-five years. The early education of Odon Northcutt was obtained in the public schools of Texas, which state he left in 1873 to return to Missouri. In 1878 he came to Kansas and located in Kingman county, where he pre-empted a farm and engaged in farming and stock raising, living there until 1898. In the latter year he removed to Cheney, Kan., and engaged in the hardware business with D. M. Main, the style of the firm being Main & Northcutt, which afterwards became Northcutt & Crossley, but later Mr. Northcutt disposed of his interest to Mr. Main and took up farming again, which he followed until
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1907. He then engaged in the real estate business in Cheney. When on the farm Mr. Northcutt speculated extensively in mules and horses and made considerable money by being a shrewd trader. He is now a member of the real estate firm of Hern & Northcutt, which does a large business in selling tracts of land and ranches, devoting all his time now to this business. Mr. Northcutt is a member of Morton Lodge, No. 258, A. F. & A. M., and of Wichita Consistory, No. 2. Politically he affiliated with the Democratic party until the Populist movement sprang up, when he supported that party. Mr. Northcutt was married on February 25, 1880, to Miss Arizona Sooter, daughter of W. M. Sooter, of Missouri. Of this union seven children were born, three of whom are now living, viz .: Nellie, Thomas and Esther. Nellie is married to Virgil Davis and resides in Fowler, Colo. The other children are attending the city schools.
Edward J. Ohmer, proprietor of the Manhattan Hotel, of Wichita, Kan., who is accounted a pastmaster in the hotel busi- ness by the traveling public and his associates, is a native of Dayton, Ohio, where he was born January 30, 1849. His parents were Nicholas and Susannah (Spratt) Ohmer, his father being a native of France and his mother of Washington, D. C. His parents began their married life in Montgomery county, Ohio, and are both deceased. When a boy of thirteen young Ohmer entered the United States navy and served for nine months during the Civil War, receiving his discharge on August 20, 1865. His service in the navy during the war was mainly on the Mississippi, and he served on the historic gunboat Groesbeck VIII under Commander Cornwall and Capt. Jack Adkins. The father and uncle of Mr. Ohmer owned the old Union Depot eating house at Indianapolis, and after the war young Ohmer was set to work there. One of his associates at that time was Thomas Taggart, who has since acquired fame as a Democratic politician and hotel proprietor. Mr. Ohmer finally became superintendent of the concern, and when he finally resigned to go to Minnesota and engage in farming, Mr. Taggart succeded him as superin- tendent. The life of a farmer not proving congenial to Mr. Ohmer, he finally abandoned it and went to Hannibal, Mo., where he engaged in the hotel business. Later he and his brother oper- ated ten eating houses on the Rock Island Railroad, one of them being the dining room in the depot at Wichita. When the rail- road bought them out, Mr. Ohmer returned to Indianapolis, where
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he bought a third interest in the Grand Hotel, Mr. Taggart own- ing the other two-thirds. After a couple of years in Indianapolis, Mr. Ohmer sold out his interest to his brother and Mr. Taggart, and bought the Manhattan, which was then in a somewhat mori- bund state, but which under his management has since become one of the most popular hostelries in the Southwest. Mr. Ohmer has now been located in Wichita eight years, having gone there in 1903. Mr. Ohmer is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he takes a deep interest. He was married in 1870 to Miss Emma Shafer, now deceased. In 1901 he was again married to a Miss Emma Shafer, a namesake of his first wife. From this union there has been offspring one child, Ruth C. Ohmer.
Thomas J. Owens, farmer, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in Clay county, Indiana, on February 26, 1859. His father was Johnson Owens, a native of Kentucky, who lived in Clay county, Indiana, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1900. His widow died in 1908. Johnson Owens during his life was a successful farmer and during his life had bought up and improved a dozen or more farms in the Hoosier state. He was a successful contractor as well. His services were in demand by the railroad companies for supplies for ties, cordwood, etc. His son, Thomas J. Owens, only obtained a meager education in the public schools of his native place. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-one years old. In December, 1881, he came to Kan- sas. A year later, in July, 1882, he was married to Miss Mary C. Kauffman, a daughter of Samuel Kauffman, at Wichita, Kan. Of this union have been born eight children, of whom seven are living. The names of the children are: Maggie M., born De- cember 18, 1883; S. C., deceased; Mimmie O., born July 17, 1887; Jessa M., born July 9, 1889; Nora S., born August 20, 1893; John T., born April 20, 1896; Everett J., born September 6, 1899; Elsie M., born January 9, 1902. Mr. Owens homesteaded a farm in Section 8, Eagle township, on which he now resides. He has held several minor offices in the township organization. He was road boss for over six years, township clerk, member of the school board ten years, and under his able management the schools have been prosperous, with comfortable school rooms and efficient teachers. Mr. Owens is a Democrat in his political belief and is an active worker in the interests of his party. He and his wife
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