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 43
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ters Mr. Wall is an independent Democrat; and in religious belief adheres to the Catholic faith.
On December 30, 1866, Mr. Wall married Miss Bridget Mul- aney, by whom he has had nine children, of whom three, viz .: Nellie, Thomas and Frank, are deceased. The surviving children are: Edward, Mary, Nellie, John, Walter and William, and all live on the home farm with their parents.
Jesse D. Wall, police judge of Wichita, Kan., is a native of the Hoosier State, having been born at Claremont, Ind., on November 23, 1879. His parents were Dr. David and Margaret A. (Moore) Wall, his father being a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Indiana. The senior Wall practiced medicine at Clermont and Indianapolis. Both he and his wife are deceased. Jesse D. Wall received his education at the Indianapolis High School and Butler College. After graduating from the latter institution he took up the study of law at the Indiana Law School, being admitted to the bar in 1905. He began the practice of his chosen profession at Indianapolis, but after a short time he decided that the West offered a better field for his energies and removed to Kansas. He located at Wichita December 2, 1905, and established a con- nection with the legal firm of Stanley, Vermilion & Evans. Mr. Wall remained with this firm until November 1, 1909, when he opened an office on his own account. He was appointed police judge in April, 1909, which office he now holds. Mr. Wall has always been an active Republican and has done valiant service for his party. He was the manager of Mayor Davidson's cam- paign, and his excellent work did much to assure the latter's election. He has taken a deep interest in fraternal organizations, and is a Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the Wichita Chamber of Com- merce and of the Country Club. Mr. Wall was married on Octo- ber 12, 1909, to Miss Blanche E. Royal, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Royal, of Oatville, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Wall have one son, David Royal Wall, born October 27, 1910.
J. F. Walton, of Cheney, Kan., a retired veteran of the Civil War, was born January 8, 1844, in Clark county, Ohio. His parents were G. C. and Elizabeth (Zinn) Walton. The father was a native of Virginia and the mother a native of Ohio. On the paternal side the remote ancestors of the family are traced back to Scotland and on the maternal side to the North of England.
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The father of J. F. Walton emigrated with his family from Ohio. to Kansas in 1870 and located in Ninnescah valley, due south twenty miles from Wichita, in Sumner county, and remained there until his death in 1886. The mother of J. F. Walton died when he was only five years old. After the lad had acquired a common school education he enlisted, at the age of sixteen, in Company B, Seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The date of his enlistment was October 7, 1861. The regiment was ordered to Camp Dennison, where it remained for three months. It was then sent to Nashville, Tenn., for active service, and was em- braced in the Third Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps. The military records show that Mr. Walton participated in thirty- six different engagements in the three years and ten months he served in the army. The principal battles were Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, in the Sherman campaign to Atlanta and the March to the Sea. Afterwards the regiment was trans- ferred to the Army of the Cumberland and was in the battle of Black River, the last hard engagement that Mr. Walton partici- pated in, although he was in many minor engagements in the Army of the Tennessee, and his regiment fought incessantly, day after day and month after month, in stubborn contests nearly the entire time of his enlistment. Through all these terrible contests Mr. Walton was not once wounded. On July 18, 1865, the regi- ment returned to Camp Dennison and was discharged. Mr. Walton then returned to his old home in Shelby county, Ohio, remaining there a short time, when he took the Western fever and became an adventurer for some years, prospecting as a miner in the extreme western territories. He remained several years in Arizona, but in 1870 came to Sumner county, where he only remained for a short time, going back to Arizona the follow- ing spring, where he remained for three years and ten months. He then came back to Sumner county, where he resided until 1908, when he moved to Cheney and is now retired from active business. Fraternally, Mr. Walton is a Mason, being a member of Morton Lodge, No. 258, A. F. and A. M., and of the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is an independent Demo- crat. He was married in 1877 to Miss S. J. Wright, of Belle Plaine, Sumner county, Kansas, a daughter of William Wright, now deceased. Seven children have been born of this union, of whom five are now living, viz .: Charles, who is married and has
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one child; Mamie, now Mrs. Bennett; W. F., a student; Kathaleen and Paul, attending school.
Ulysses E. Ward, the well-known veterinary surgeon, of Wichita, Kan., was born in 1864, in Woodford county, Illinois, and is a son of William B. and Sarah E. (Hedges) Ward, who settled on a farm in Illinois in 1853. In 1884 the family moved to California, but two years later returned and settled at Overton, Dawson county, Nebraska, where the father died in 1906 and where the mother still resides. Our subject is the third child of a family of four children, and on the return of the family from California he opened a grocery and queensware store at Overton, Neb., which he conducted three years. Selling his business in 1888, he entered the Ontario Veterinary College, Toronto, Canada. After his graduation in 1891, he spent eighteen months at Fair- bury, Neb., then went to Wellington, Kan., whence, in 1893, he returned to Wichita and established himself on South Water street in what is now known as the old Fashion stable. After six years of successful practice Dr. Ward, in 1899, purchased a lot 100x136 feet at the northwest corner of Williams and South Water streets and erected there his present quarters, the stable part of the establishment being rented and occupied by the Root Livery. Dr. Ward is eminently successful in his chosen calling and is widely known as a skilful practitioner in his special line. He is a member of the Kansas and Missouri Veterinary Associa- tion, the Kansas Veterinary Association and the Ontario Veterin- ary Association. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a member of the local lodge of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In politics he has always been a Republican.
In 1897 Dr. Ward married Miss Frances L. Young, a daughter of Rev. T. B. Young, of Wichita.
James Francis Warren, who is one of the owners of the West- ern Iron and Foundry Company, of Wichita, Kan., one of the largest industrial plants in the city, is a native of the Empire State, having been born at Oswego, New York, in 1855. His father was Daniel Warren, by occupation a glass worker, and his mother was Mary A. Dowling. Young Warren was educated at the public schools of Ottawa, Ill., where he went with his parents in 1866. After finishing his schooling he learned the glass worker's trade with his father, and after working at it a while in 1873 he began to learn the foundry business at Ottawa.
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From Ottawa he went to Moline, Ill., at the age of twenty-one, where he was engaged as a journeyman with the firm of Williams, White & Co. for a period of ten years, at the end of which time he became superintendent of the foundry, a position he held continuously for fifteen years, during which time he became almost indispensable to the firm. An opportunity offer- ing to enter into business on his own account, he severed his connection with Williams, White & Co., and in December, 1901, he came to Wichita, where he closed a deal with Andrew Flagg for the purchase of the Globe Iron Works, the plant now occupied by the Western Iron and Foundry Company of Wichita. Mr. Warren then organized the Wichita Manufacturing Company, as- sociating with him C. L. Grimes and Henry Anthony. Three months later Mr. Grimes withdrew, and the business was continued with Mr. Warren and Mr. Anthony as proprietors. In September, 1902, the company was reorganized with George H. Bradford as president, Ted Miles as secretary and Mr. Warren as vice- president. This firm continued business until 1904, when G. C. Christopher joined the firm, Messrs. Bradford and Miles with- drawing, the firm then being made up with Mr. Christopher, Henry Anthony and Mr. Warren, which arrangement continued until 1908, when the firm was again dissolved and Messrs. An- thony and Warren became the sole owners and proprietors of the business, which is now known as the Western Iron and Foundry Company, one of the prosperous manufacturing plants of Wichita. The firm manufactures structural and architectural iron. Its plant consists of a machine shop, boiler shop, foundry and pattern works, occupying a space for buildings of 140x300 feet. The output of the establishment is distributed through many states. Mr. Warren is a firm believer in the future of Wichita. He was married in 1879 to Miss. Julia A. Quinn, daughter of John C. and Bridget (McDonough) Quinn. From this union four children have been born, viz .: William, Joseph Q., secretary of the Western Iron and Foundry Company, Jane and Helena. Fraternally Mr. Warren is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Francis M. Watts, merchant, of Bentley, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born August 19, 1844, in Putnam county, Indiana. His father was Silas Watts, a native of Kentucky, as also was his mother. Silas Watts removed to Owen county, Indiana, from Kentucky in 1834, and remained there about ten years. He was
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a clergyman of the United Brethren Church, and active in the ministry up to the time of his death. When he lived in Clay and Putnam counties he combined farming with his ministerial duties. Silas Watts devoted his entire life to the work of saving souls and died in 1878. His widow is still living in Harvey county, Kansas. The early education of Francis M. Watts was obtained in the common schools of Putnam county, Indiana, up to his eighteenth year. In 1865 he enlisted in the army for one year and served in Company E, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Indiana Volunteers. Colonel Smith commanded the regiment, which was organized in Indianapolis, went to Washington, D. C., thence to Alexandria, Virginia, and guarded the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road. The regiment was then consolidated and sent to the Shenandoah Valley and Cedar Creek, Virginia, and then to Winchester, Virginia, where it fought General Mosby's forces. After this Mr. Watts was discharged and returned to Putnam county, Indiana, and was married on March 1, 1866, in Owen county, to Ellen B. Wiley. No children have ever been born of this union. After his marriage Mr. Watts moved to Champaign, Ill., and after a short residence there moved back to Putnam county, Indiana, where he followed the trade of a shoemaker for three years. Here he suffered a severe loss in a fire, which des- troyed all his property and practically ruined him. By hard work and perseverance Mr. Watts managed to accumulate $300, and with this money he moved to Kansas in 1875 and settled in the village of Sedgwick, where he engaged in the shoe and harness business for twelve years. He then bought a farm west of Sedgwick, where he remained several years, but gave up farming to take a position as manager of the Farmers' Alliance and to conduct its general store, which he operated successfully for three years. Mr. Watts then engaged in business for himself, conducting grocery stores on the east and west side in Wichita. He was a member of the firm of Watts & Helena, Wichita, for two years, when he sold his interest to his partner. Mr. Watts then moved to Sumner county, Kansas, where he conducted a farm for three years. He then returned to Wichita and bought property, and for a time retired from business. In 1902 Mr. Watts moved to Bentley and engaged in the mercantile business, where he now conducts a large general store and has the confi- dence of his patrons. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Order, Valley Center Lodge, No. 364, in which he has filled all
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the chairs. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Fraternal Aid Mutual Insurance Com- pany. In politics Mr. Watts is a Democrat, but voted for Roose- velt twice. He is public spirited and interested in his town and county. Mr. Watts was converted and joined the M. E. Church in 1884, in Sedgwick, Kan. He is a consistent Christian gentle- man. He is a Bible student and a good speaker. He is one of the pillars of the M. E. Church in Bentley, Kan., and is a tireless worker for the Master.
William O. Watson, farmer, living in Section 23, Morton township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on April 17, 1846. His parents were Samuel and Jane (Holmes) Watson, both natives of Kentucky. The elder Watson was a cabinet maker by trade, to which occupation he devoted the most of his life. He went to Clark county, Illinois, in 1840, with a family of twelve children, and afterwards moved to Martinsville, in the same county, where he remained three years. In 1863 he moved to De Witt county, Illinois, near Farmer City, and after a short stay there went to Bloomington, where he remained two years, and then went to Chicago. From the latter place he went to Garden City, Kan., where he died in 1892 at the age of eighty-eight. His wife died in 1871 at the age of fifty-six. William O. Watson received the benefit of a limited education in the public schools of Indiana and Illinois. After the death of his mother he and another brother remained at the old home to provide for the family for two years. On October 2, 1878, he was married to Miss Ida Hurley, of Farmer City. Two children were born of this union, of whom only one survives, a daughter, Miss Bonnie Watson. The ancestors of Mrs. Watson were pioneers of the state of Ohio and were highly respected people. Her father was noted as a successful farmer in the com- munity in which he lived. He moved to DeWitt county, Illinois, at a very early day, and so thinly was the country then settled he had to go thirty miles to find a market for his produce. He was killed in the battle of Drury Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864, at the age of thirty-four years. His wife died at Farmer City, June 14, 1895, at the age of sixty-three years. After Mr. Watson was married he lived in Farmer City for three years and came to Kansas in 1884, locating on a farm nine miles east of Cheney. He later purchased a farm of 160 acres in Section 23, where he now resides and has lived ever since. He has a happy family, raises
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good cows, horses and cattle, and always has a number of fine hogs on his farm. In politics Mr. Watson is a Republican.
S. A. Welsh, of Wichita, Kan., is the well-known proprietor of the Pfister Cigar Company and Pfister Billiard Company, at Nos. 201 and 225 East Douglas avenue, Wichita. Mr. Welsh is an Ohio man who came to Wichita in 1898. A great deal of credit is due to him for the arrangement and makeup of his elegant place of business. The smoke house and billiard hall, located at No. 225 East Douglas avenue, contains the makeup and appli- ances of older cities. The cigar furnishings in this particular house are as good as any in the country. Citizens of Wichita no longer desire or have need to go to eastern cities to buy good cigars or to play billiards, as the accommodations here surpass or are equal to any of the eastern cities. Mr. Welsh is an old and experienced railroad man, having spent sixteen years in the railroad passenger service, with headquarters at Kansas City. The various roads with which he has been connected are: The Pennsylvania, Wabash, Missouri Pacific, Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the Burlington, serving as ticket agent for these vari- ous roads from 1881 to 1897. Mr. Welsh was in the railroad busi- ness in the palmy days when commissions were the general rule, and has many friends throughout the United States. He selected Wichita as the metropolis of the Southwest and a city of the first class as his location, and has never lost confidence in its future. He established himself in business here in 1898.
Bert C. Wells, city engineer, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of Indiana, where he was born July 19, 1880, near Sheridan. His parents were William and Mary (Cox) Wells, natives of North Carolina, and came to Indiana in the seventies, where they resided until 1907, when they moved to Kansas and located on a farm near Rose Hill, where they now live. Mr. Wells was edu- cated at the public schools of Indiana and Friend's University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1903. He then took a post-graduate course in mathematics and engineering at Haver- ford College for one year. After this Mr. Wells taught in the Wichita High School one year, at the end of which time he was appointed assistant city engineer of Wichita, and in 1908 was appointed city engineer, and is now serving his second term. He is a member of the various commercial bodies of the city. Mr. Wells was married on August 7, 1904, to Miss Sara Shoe-
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maker, of Haysville, Sedgwick county. Two children have been born of this union, Dorothy S. and Frances A. Wells.
W. L. Whitehead, liveryman, of Cheney, Kan., was born June 15, 1858, in East Tennessee. His parents were Samuel and Mar- garet J. (Thompson) Whitehead. Mr. Whitehead is unable to trace his ancestry very far back on the paternal side, but on the maternal side he can trace them from the first families of Vir- ginia. Mr. Whitehead preceded his parents in coming west, having left his native state in the beginning of 1879, and in the fall of the same year his parents also left their native state to make their future home in the Southwest. W. L. Whitehead first located in McPherson county, Kansas, remaining there one sum- mer, when he removed to Reno county and stopped there one year. He then moved to Grand River township and remained two years, farming all the while, and afterwards moved on the Jewett ranch, in Sedgwick county, where he farmed on an exten- sive scale for seven years. He then moved to Cheney on April 22, 1890, and after a short time again engaged in farming. He also engaged in the draying business in Cheney and conducted this for fifteen years. In 1908 he purchased a livery barn and is now conducting that business in Cheney. The early educa- tion of Mr. Whitehead was acquired in the public schools of East Tennessee. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Christian Church of Cheney. Politically he is a Re -. publican. Mr. Whitehead was married on July 15, 1877, to Miss Rachel E. Hearn, daughter of Thomas Hearn, of Tennessee. Three children have been born of this union, of whom two are living, viz .: Mary C. and Frank, both single.
James E. Whitelaw, retired farmer, of Cheney, Kan., was born in Lorain county, Ohio, on November 23, 1849. His parents were Edward A. and Theodosia (Wait) Whitelaw, the father being a native of Scotland and the mother of Vermont. The mother was a descendant of Gen. Ben. Wait, the old Indian fighter of the War of 1812. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Whitelaw came to Cleveland, Ohio, and practiced the profession of medicine up to the time of his death. Mr. Whitelaw's father emigrated from Scotland to Lorain county, Ohio, and for a time became a sailor on the Great Lakes. Giving up the water he engaged in farming in Lorain county, and then moved to Van Buren county, Michigan, where he died in 1881. The education of James E. was limited to the district schools of Michigan. On November
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25, 1875, he was married to Miss Loretta Smith, a daughter of Peter Smith, of South Michigan. Six children were born of this union, all of whom are living, viz .: Glenn, who resides in Kan- sas City, Mo., where he is in the mercantile business; Roy, who lives in Kingman county, Kansas; Frank, a widower; Blanch, now Mrs. B. Minnick, a widow; James, Nevada mining boss, and Isabella, single and at home. Mrs. Whitelaw died on November 25, 1898. After the death of his wife Mr. Whitelaw was again married in 1902 to Lula E. Brown. Of this marriage there have been no children. In 1877 Mr. Whitelaw located on a farm in Afton township, where he remained for twenty-five years. He afterward moved to Garden Plain, where he conducted a livery business for eight years, and in 1908 moved to Cheney and bought a fine residence, to which he is still adding more improve- ments. Mr. Whitelaw has long been a resident of Sedgwick county, has held important township offices, and was the first police judge of Garden Plain. Fraternally he is a Mason, being a member of Morton Lodge, No. 258, A. F. & A. M. of Cheney. He is a member of the Christian Church and a Democrat in politics.
David O. Williams, superintendent of the West Side Coal Com- pany, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of New Jersey, having been born at Cape May, that state, on July 17, 1847. His parents were Milleway and Keziah (Sayer) Williams, both natives of New Jersey, who left that state and went to Illinois in 1858, removing from the latter state to Kansas about forty years ago, where the elder Williams took up a claim in Ohio township, Sedg- wick county. He died in 1876 at the age of sixty-six years, and his widow lived until 1904, when she died in her eighty-sixth year. David O. Williams was educated in the public schools of New Jersey and Illinois, and came to Kansas in 1870. After spending one year at Abilene, he returned to Illinois for a year, and in 1872 again came to Kansas and took up a claim in Ohio township, Sedgwick county, upon which he remained until 1880, when he removed to Wichita, where he has since made his home. He was first in the employ of A. A. Hess, grocer, with whom he remained a short time, leaving the latter to enter the employ of the Chicago Lumber Company, with whom he continued until 1884. Mr. Williams then engaged in the grocery business under the firm name of Williams & Nessley, and continued in it until 1889, when the boom wave hit Wichita, affecting nearly every
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kind of business enterprise. For five years after that Mr. Will- iams was employed with the Hunter Milling Company, and this was followed by farming interests for the next two years. In 1900 he entered the employ of the Schwartz Lumber Company, and has since that time been the manager of the business of this firm on the West Side, known as the West Side Coal Company. Mr. Williams is a charter member of the West Side Lodge, No. 345, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is one of the first members of the West Side Lodge, No. 1568, Modern Woodmen of America, and is also a member of the Commercial League. He was married on October 27, 1872, in Sangamon county, Illinois, to Miss Hattie J. Cartwright, the ceremony being performed by the pioneer Methodist clergyman of early fame, the Rev. Peter Cartwright. From this union there has been one son, Charles L., of Waco township, Sedgwick county, who was married to Miss Effie Rhodes, of which union they have two children-Donald Oliver and Charles Edwards.
Albert P. Willis, merchant, of Valley Center, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born January 8, 1861, in Logan county, Illinois. His father was William Willis, a native of Ohio, who moved from Ohio to Illinois in 1876. The same year the elder Willis made a visit to Kansas and bought 160 acres of land in Section 29, Grant township, and in 1884 he removed from Illinois and bought land in Kechi township, on which he lived up to the time of his death in 1896. He was the father of eight children, six of whom are now living, Albert P. being the seventh child. The father of Albert P. learned the carpenter trade when a boy in Ohio and devoted his time to that trade and farming. In the latter occu- pation he was very successful, raising good hogs and cattle. Albert P. Willis acquired his education in the public schools of Illinois and Kansas. He came with his father to Kansas and lived with him until his death. After this Albert P. removed to Harney county, Kansas, where he remained one year, and in 1901 he removed to Sunny Dale, where he engaged in the mercantile business, to which he has since devoted his entire attention and has established a large trade. Mr. Willis was married on March 5, 1885, to Miss Anna Springer, a daughter of Peter Springer, of Kechi township. Six children have been born of this union, four boys and two girls, as follows: Clarence, Grace, Charles, Katherine, Frank and Roy. Clarence is married and has one child; Grace is now Mrs. Lekron and has one child. Mr. Willis
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