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 39
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ing process, together with the newer methods, he started on a trip installing the new process mills in the state of Kansas. The first mill of the new process to be installed in the state was at Racine, where the old process was discarded for the new in the existing mill. Other mills followed this one, all of which were installed by Mr. Richardson, among them being the mills at Great Bend and Walnut Creek. In 1879 Mr. Richardson first came to Wichita and went with the Shelleberger mill, now known as the Imboden Mills, located on Douglas avenue where the Mahon Block now stands. In 1882 Mr. Richardson built the Canal Roller Mills at Belle Plaine, Kan., and conducted this establishment as proprietor for thirteen years. In 1894 Mr. Richardson disposed of his interest in the Belle Plaine mill and moved to Wichita, and the following year started the first mill for the Howard Milling Company and was its superintendent four years. He then built the plant now occupied by this com- pany on West Douglas avenue and was its superintendent for three and a half years, when failing health compelled him to take a much needed rest for recuperation. In 1905 J. E. Howard organized the Red Mill and Elevator Company, one of the gigantic enterprises of Wichita, and Mr. Richardson was chosen for its superintendent, which position he still holds. Mr. Rich- ardson is a member of the Wichita Chamber of Commerce. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Masonic order and the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of St. John's Epis- copal Church. Mr. Richardson was married on April 8, 1882, to Miss Essie E. Farmer, daughter of Richard and Ann Farmer, pioneers of Wichita.
George T. Riley, druggist, No. 1101 West Douglas avenue, Wichita, Kan., was born in Illinois November 13, 1857. His parents were Larkin M. and Elizabeth (Gardom) Riley, the father being a native of Indiana and the mother of Pennsylvania. The parents came to Illinois in 1846 and spent the balance of their lives there. Both are now deceased. George T. Riley was edu- cated in the public schools of his native town, Rileyville, the Elgin Academy and the Eldorado (Ill.) High School. He began his business career by clerking in a drug store at Gallatin, Ill., in 1877, and later took a course in pharmacy at the St. Louis Col- lege of Pharmacy, graduating in the class of 1881. In 1882 he came to Kansas, where he was employed in the drug business with his uncle, Samuel Gardom, at Council Grove, for a period of two
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years, when he returned to his native state of Illinois, continuing in the drug business until 1885, when he again came to Kansas. Here he was in the drug business at Wellsville for a year, and after a few months at Ravanna he located in Marion, where he remained for nine years. At Marion he first entered the employ of Taylor Riddell, and afterward became the partner of Mr. Riddell, under the firm name of Riddell & Riley. This partner- ship continued until 1895, when Mr. Riley withdrew from the firm and took a course in the Kansas Medical College. In the summer of 1896 Mr. Riley came to Wichita and purchased the West Side drug store of A. F. Rowe, and has since continued the same, enlarging as the trade of the growing city demanded. A postal station of the postoffice was established at his store in 1901. Mr. Riley is keenly alive to the interests of Wichita and all that tends to its onward development. He is treasurer of the West Side Commercial League, a member of the Presbyterian church, and fraternally is a member of the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was married on September 5, 1883, to Miss Mary A. Deans, daughter of David and Louisa Deans. From this union there has been issue three children, viz .: Roy M., Harry L. and Helen D. Riley.
William C. Robinson, one of the leading citizens of Mulvane, Kan., is a native of the dominion of Canada, where he was born in the province of Quebec on December 16, 1854. His parents were John H. and Jane (McDonald) Robinson, both natives of Quebec, where the elder Robinson died about 1865. His widow came to the United States and settled in St. Lawrence county, New York, where she died in 1870. William C. Robinson grew to manhood in St. Lawrence county, where his education was com- pleted, after which he was engaged in the mercantile business with his elder brother, J. H. Robinson. He remained there until the spring of 1880, when he came to Kansas, where he entered the mercantile business in Mulvane in partnership with his younger brother, Thomas. The affairs of the firm prospered, and in 1887 the firm built the brick block in which Mr. Robinson's business is now conducted. Thomas Robinson died in the spring of 1889, and since that time William C. Robinson has been alone in the business. On January 9, 1900, Mr. Robinson was elected vice-president of the Mulvane State Bank, and on January 8, 1901, was elected its president, which position he still holds. Mr. Rob-
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inson is also vice-president of the Mulvane Ice and Cold Storage Plant, which is incorporated with a capital of $15,000, and is treasurer of the Mulvane Mutual Telephone Company. Mr. Rob- inson is also interested in farming land, having 385 acres in Sumner county and 160 acres in Butler county. On July 1, 1880, he was married to Miss Margaret Shillinglaw, who was born in Scotland. Her father came to the United States when Mrs. Rob- inson was a child, and lived in Washington, D. C., and New York. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have two children, William C., born in 1881, and Jane M., born in 1891. Mr. Robinson has served as mayor of Mulvane two terms. He is a Republican in politics.
Adolphus D. Russell, retired farmer and stock raiser and real estate dealer, of Mulvane, Kan., was born in Tuscorawas county, Ohio, on June 2, 1838. His parents were William R. and Char- lotte (Waller) Russell. Mr. Russell, Sr., was born in Westmore- land county, Maryland, on March 9, 1812, and his wife was born in Sumerset county, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1811. They were married in Cadiz, Harrison county, Ohio, on March 10, 1833, and their entire life was passed in Ohio, where Mrs. Russell died on January 5, 1847, and Mr. Russell, Sr., on December 18, 1851. Adolphus D. Russell remained in Ohio until January, 1863, when he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until his discharge, in June, 1865. After the war he returned to his home in Ohio, and in 1865 went to Illinois, where he farmed nineteen years. In 1884 he came to Kansas, locating in Sumner county, where he bought a farm in Sections 1 and 2, Gore township, where he lived until 1901, when he retired from farming and moved to Mulvane, where he engaged in the raising of Duroc Jersey hogs. He continued this until 1910. In February and March, 1910, he platted an addition to Mulvane of nine acres. On November 7, 1860, Mr. Russell was married to Miss Rachel Poulson, who was born in Cadiz, Ohio, August 14, 1840. She was a daughter of James and Maria (Brown) Poulson. Her father was born in Maryland and her mother was born in Donpanaha, Ireland, on February 22, 1808, being of Scotch and Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have had six children, four of whom are living. Those living are: William, of Clarence, Mo .; Mrs. Alice Axtell, of Davidson, Okla .; Mrs. Anna Smith, of Corvallis, Ore., and Mrs. Nellie Dickinson, of Mulvane, Kan. In Tazewell county, Illinois, Mr. Russell served as township supervisor for seven years and on the board of trus-
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tees as ditch commissioner; in Sumner county, Kansas, hs was township trustee, and in 1907-08 in Mulvane one of the council- men. He is one of the stockholders of the Farmers' State Bank of Mulvane. Mr. Russell is a member of Mulvane Lodge, No. 201, A. F. and A. M. He was a charter member of Hopedale Lodge, No. 203, A. F. and A. M., of Tazewell county, Illinois. In Iroquois county, Illinois, he was master of Sheldon Lodge seven years. Mr. Russell is a liberal in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Thornton W. Sargent, a prominent member of the bar of Wichita, Kan., was born at Piketon, Pike county, Ohio, in 1859, and is a son of James and Lydia Sargent. After finishing his studies in the schools of his native town he entered the University of Michigan, where he was graduated with the degree of bachelor of arts in 1882. He then entered the law department of Columbia University, Washington, D. C. (now known as the George Wash- ington University), and there received the degree of bachelor of laws in 1884. The following year he took a post graduate course and was admitted to the bar at Washington.
In 1886 Mr. Sargent settled at Wichita and began the practice of his profession, with an office at No. 124 North Main street, and soon built up a lucrative practice, becoming known as a safe and reliable counselor and successful advocate. His present office is at No. 412 Barnes building, and besides conducting a general practice, he is general counsel for the Farmers and Bankers Life Insurance Company. In 1889 Mr. Sargent was selected to give a course of lectures before the law classes of Garfield University. In 1893 Mr. Sargent married Miss Emily W., daughter of Dr. R. Wirth, of Columbus, Ohio. They have two sons, viz .: James Wirth and Thornton W. Sargent, Jr.
August J. Saur, druggist, of Wichita, Kan., better known as "Gus" Saur, has been longer in the business of dispensing drugs than any other druggist in Wichita. The District of Columbia is the place of his nativity, he having been born in the city of Washington on December 19, 1856. He is a son of the late Dr. L. Saur, well known in Wichita in the early days, and Mary Krauft. Dr. Saur came to Wichita in April, 1879, and soon afterward began the practice of medicine. August J. Saur followed his father to Wichita in September, 1879, and first started in the drug business between Topeka and Lawrence avenues on the north side of Douglas avenue, and there continued until April 1,
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1880, when he removed to his present location, at No. 524 East Douglas avenue, and has since continued business successfully. Dr. Saur died in January, 1889, at the age of seventy. The history of the Saur family can be traced back for a period of 385 years, and while now distinctly German, was at an early date interwoven with the French. August J. Saur has one brother, George C. Saur, who was associated in business with him as clerk for a period of eleven years, but is now a resident of Hennesy, Okla., where he located in 1897. August J. Saur was educated in the public schools of Lansing, Mich., and early in life went to Chicago, where he began in business as a drug clerk with C. Herman Plautz, and continued with him until October, 1874, when he entered the employ of P. L. Milleman, and continued with him until he came to Wichita. Mr. Saur is a member of the Consistory, is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Shrine, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Sons of Herrmann and the East- ern Star. He was married in 1889 to Miss Ida Redmond, of Minne- sota, a native of Germany. Of this union two children have been born, Edith Beatrice and Hazel M. Saur.
Edward J. Schwartz, manufacturer of cement stone, whose plant is located at No. 559 West Douglas avenue, Wichita Kan., is a native of Missouri, in which state he was born at Palmyra on February 28, 1859. He acquired his education in the Missouri public schools and St. Paul College. He was engaged in the wagon, lumber and implement business, and in 1885 moved to Harper, Kan., where he had charge of the Badger Lumber Com- . pany. He continued with this company until the spring of 1887, when he was transferred to Wichita, and worked in a lumber yard for the same company. In 1895 Mr. Schwartz joined the firm of Schwartz Bros., the members of the firm being F. J., E. J. and C. A. Schwartz, in the lumber and coal business. He later went to Iola, Kan., where he was in the lumber business till July, 1908, when he returned to Wichita in March, 1909. He began the manufacture of concrete building stone and now conducts one of the largest plants in the city, which he has managed suc- cessfully, employing an average of ten hands. The product of the plant is used in the city and also shipped to local points. Fraternally, Mr. Schwartz is a member of the Masonic order and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was
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married in 1882 to Miss Ida Yancey, of Palmyra, Mo. Two chil- dren have been born of this union, Harold E. and Myrl Schwartz.
Levi G. Scheetz, of Wichita, Kan., is not only one of the oldest real estate dealers in the city in point of service, but can fairly lay claim to being among the pioneers of the state. He is a native of the Keystone State, having been born at Doylestown, Pa., in 1844. He is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (George) Scheetz, who belonged to the thrifty Pennsylvania Dutch resi- dents of Pennsylvania. Young Scheetz was educated at the public schools of his native town, but the call of the West was too strong to allow him to stay there, and in 1869 he decided to change his location. He came to Kansas in 1869, in the days when the state was just beginning to develop. He settled first at Topeka, but one year later removed to Emporia, and after remaining there a year, removed to Eldorado. Here he remained for three years, and in 1874, attracted by the possibilities that Wichita held out, he came to this city and engaged in the mer- cantile business. In 1883 he embarked in the real estate business, in which he has ever since been engaged. Besides dealing exten- sively in Kansas and Wichita property, Mr. Scheetz has made a specialty of handling timber lands and ranches in different states, and has been the means of bringing many thousands of settlers to the West.
Peter Schulte is one of the prosperous farmers of Sedgwick county, Kansas, who has attained success by dint of hard work and perseverance in the face of many difficulties. A native of Germany, he was born March 18, 1851, and is a son of Peter and Marina (Drixelves) Schulte. At the urgent persuasion of his father, and against his own wishes, our subject, with barely enough money to pay his passage, sailed from Bremen to New York, with the purpose of joining a sister, Mrs. John Spin- gob, who was then living in Sedgwick county, Kansas. Arriving at New York, he found himself out of money and unable to get work, and was obliged to write his sister for money to pay his railway fare to Wichita, where he landed at eleven o'clock at night, carrying all his possessions in a hand grip. He at once found work and the first year earned $180, and the next, bought a yoke of oxen. In 1875 he preempted a quarter-section in Illinois township and built a dugout and lived there. He afterwards built a stone house and lived there till 1891. Not meeting with the success he desired, Mr. Schulte sold this place and bought a
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quarter-section on time, making five annual payments. From that time on he was greatly prospered and from time to time added to his holdings until at the present time (1910) his posses- sions in Illinois township amount to 1,040 acres, a part of this being a one-third interest in forty acres at the village of Schulte, which was named in honor of him. He also owns the elevator and a fine large frame building at this place, all accumulated since 1891. Mr. Schulte has served on the local school board a number of years. He is independent in political matters. In religious belief he is a Catholic, and is identified with the Catholic church of Schulte, located upon five acres of land which he and two other men donated to the church.
In 1876, Mr. Schulte married Miss Catherine, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Conroy) Manning, who came from Iowa in 1874 and settled in Sedgwick county. Of ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Schulte, William M., born March 1, 1878, married Miss Nellie Lane, and they have five children, viz. : Lewis, Alvina, ยท Harold, Earl and Pauline; Joseph P., born October 2, 1879, mar- ried Miss Celia Faker, two children: Augusta C., born November 28, 1906, died December 7, 1909, and Alberta C. Schulte. John P. was born March 26, 1882; Mary A. was born September 16, 1883, and is married to Mr. George Patry and four children have been born, viz .: Leonard, Catharine and Cecelia; Joseph P., born February 19, 1908, died February 14, 1909. Charles M., born January 15, 1886; Frances T., born January 12, 1888; Thomas A., born August 9, 1890; Celia E., born March 16, 1893, and James B., born August 20, 1897, all alive, at home with their parents. Anthony, who was born January 17, 1896, died November 11, 1909.
Garrison Scott, county commissioner of Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a native of the Buckeye State, having been born in Ohio September 12, 1851. His parents were David and Sarah (Fuhrman) Scott. His mother traced her remote ancestry to Germany. The father of the family had three children, of whom Garrison Scott was the first born. The mother of the latter died on July 4, 1909. Garrison Scott was educated in the public schools of Illinois up to his sixteenth year. The years previous to his marriage he worked as a laborer in Illinois. He was mar- ried on March 31, 1874, in Bloomington, Ill., to Miss Alice C. Keefer, a daughter of H. C. M. Keefer, of Logan county, Illinois. Two children were born of this union. Mr. Scott, after his mar- riage, emigrated to Sedgwick county, Kansas, where he bought
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a farm of 160 acres in Section 28, Kechi township, which he afterwards traded for another farm in Section 22 of the same township, which he now owns, and has added to this other farms, so that he has acquired up to date 720 acres of fine land, which he has improved with his own industry. He has been very suc- cessful in raising hogs and cattle, and has made a specialty of buying and selling heavy draft horses which have commanded large prices. Mr. Scott is a Democrat in his political belief. He has served as county commissioner, since 1906, of Sedgwick county. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife worship in the Christian church in an adjoining township. Mr. Scott is a hale and hearty man, and takes an interest in all things that benefit his home and county.
J. Ira Sellers, of Wichita, Kan., is the proprietor of the Cement Block Works, located on the West Side. Mr. Sellers is a native of the "show me" state, having been born in Harrison county, Missouri, on February 16, 1872. His parents were Levin and Elizabeth (Milligan) Sellers, natives of east Tennessee, who later removed to Missouri. J. Ira Sellers acquired his education in the public schools of Missouri, and later taught for a period of seven years in the schools of his native state. He came to Wichita in 1898 and was variously in the employ of J. H. Turner and others prior to opening up his present industry. It is now a quarter of a century since the first cement building blocks were manufactured by Martin Heller in Wichita, and since that time rapid strides have been made in this line of manufacturing, until now Wichita has such plants as the one conducted by Mr. Sellers and others on the West Side. The Sellers plant was organized and began business March 1, 1909, and during its first season manufactured 100,000 blocks, while the outlook for the second season points to a greatly increased production. Fraternally, Mr. Sellers is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was married at Cunningham, Kan., in 1898, to Miss Estella Watkins, daughter of E. T. Watkins. From this union there has been issue three children, viz .: Neva W., Lela Belle and Ray Victor.
Le Roy W. Scott, trustee of Park township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in La Salle county, Illinois, on August 25, 1859. His parents were Josiah and Catherine Scott, the father being a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Ohio. His parents are
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both dead. The elder Scott left Illinois in 1870 and located in Park township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, homesteading 160 acres of land in Section 21. He sold and bought up land in the same township and lived there until he died in 1902. Le Roy W. Scott acquired his education in the public schools of Illinois and at the Morris, Ill., academy, which he attended two years. Mr. Scott has served his township as trustee for three terms. He is a Re- publican and active in party affairs. Fraternally Mr. Scott is a member of the Masonic order, of Wichita Consistory, No. 2, and of the Shrine. Mr. Scott was married December 16, 1885, in Fremont, Neb., to Miss Carrie Taylor. Six children have been born of this union, viz. : L. B., Vera, Ray, Earl, Pauline and Helen.
William Sence, city clerk of Wichita, Kan., is a native of Indiana, having been born in Cass county, that state, on Novem- ber 16, 1863. His parents were Isaac and Amanda (Rotroff) Sence, natives of Maryland, who moved to Indiana in 1850, and are still residing on the same farm they acquired at that time. Mr. Sence was educated at the public schools of his native town and at the Northern Indiana Normal school at Valparaiso, Ind., and his work as a teacher in his native state continuing for three years. In 1886 he moved to Kansas and continued teaching for fourteen years in Sedgwick and Cowley counties. Mr. Sence was superintendent of schools of Sedgwick county in 1901-03, deputy county clerk 1905-09, and was appointed clerk of the city of Wichita for the term of 1909-11. He has been superintendent of the South Lawrence Christian Church Sunday school for six years. Fraternally, Mr. Sence is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a trustee of Wichita Lodge, No. 93, and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Wichita Lodge, No. 44. In 1893 he was married to Miss Lizzie Hotsepillar, of Ohio. Two children have been born of this union, Basil L. and Virgil Sence.
William W. Shafer, a successful farmer of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born December 6, 1844, in Delaware county, Indiana. His parents were William P and Harriet Shafer, both natives of Pennsylvania. William W. Shafer went with his parents from Indiana to Illinois when he was only twelve years old. His father died in Illinois in 1849 and his mother died in 1897. Mr. Shafer came to Sedgwick county from Illinois in 1872 and pre-empted 160 acres of land in Section 33, Attica township. He was married April 25, 1872, in Jerseyville, Ill., to Miss Keturah Magee. Two
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children have been born of this union, both of whom are living. Pearl is now Mrs. Holmes Henshaw, and lives in Kings county, California; Leota, her sister, is single. She possesses a good common school education and is highly accomplished in music. She was forced to abandon teaching music on acount of poor health and is at present the organist of the Methodist Episcopal church at Goddard, Kan. Mr. Shafer is a Republican in politics.
Thomas H. Shannon, physician and surgeon, of Cheney, Kan., was born October 24, 1835, in Tuscorara county, Ohio. His parents were Enos and Malinda (Johnson) Shannon. On the paternal side the doctor remotely traces his ancestry to Ireland, although his father and mother were both natives of Ohio. His father was born in 1804 and his mother in 1809. In 1850 the doctor's parents moved from Ohio to Illinois and located at Astoria, Fulton county, where the father bought a farm on which he lived until his death, at the age of sixty-five. Dr. Shannon obtained his early education in the public schools of Illinois and studied medicine with Toler & Steel, physicians in Astoria, for three years. He then attended the State Medical University at Keokuk, Iowa, graduating in 1859 with the degree of M.D. The same year he began practice and occupied the same office in Astoria which his first preceptors had, and established a large and lucrative practice. The doctor is a member of the Allopathic school and on examination the Eclectic Medical College of Cin- cinnati, Ohio, gave him a diploma to practice in that school. In September of 1866 the doctor removed to Le Roy, Kan., where he practiced his profession successfully for ten years, and then removed in Wichita in 1876 and practiced there for one year, and then located on a government claim, where he remained until 1884, engaged in his profession and farming also. He then located in Cheney, and is the oldest physician in the place, but one other man, Dr. Ingleman, having preceded him when the town was first organized. On April 30, 1857, Dr. Shannon was married to Miss Sarah M. Gallaher, of Astoria, Ill. Five children have been born of this union, of whom only one, Gertrude, is living. She married Mr. E. D. Lieurance, an attorney of Wichita, but later moved to Denver, Colo., and they have two children, Leonidas, a deceased son of the doctor, left four children. Dr. Shannon is a Catholic in religious belief. In politics he was a Democrat, supporting Stephen A. Douglas, but afterwards became
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