USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people, Vol. II > Part 29
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ber of years. He then removed from his farm to Macomb, where he engaged in the mereantile business, in connection with which he oceupied the one building for twenty-three years. He was one of the leading business men and most honored and influential eitizens of his county, holding the inviolable confidence and esteem of all who knew him and standing exemplar of the highest personal integrity in all the relations of life. He served one term as mayor of Maeomb and was a member of the board of edneation for many years. He was a stanch advocate of the Republican party and both he and his wife were earnest and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They continued to reside in Macomb until their death, and their names merit an endur- ing place on the roster of the honored pioneers of MeDonough county.
Edward E. Venard was reared to maturity in the city of Macomb, Illinois, to whose excellent public schools he is indebted for his early educational discipline. lle emulated the example of his honored father, in that he put his scholastie attainments to practieal test and utilization by teaching in the district schools of his native county, where one year of devotion to the pedagogie profession seems to have satisfied his am- bition in this direction. In 1882, shortly after attaining to his legal majority, Mr. Venard came to Wyandotte county, Kansas, and located in the old town of Wyandotte, the nucleus of the present metropolis of the county, Kansas City. He was engaged as a wholesale salesman for a large flouring mill until 1886, and for the ensuing .five years he was here engaged in the lumber business. Ever alert to avail himself of opportunities, he next turned his attention to the buying and shipping of live stock, and with this line of enterprise he continued to be identi- fied for six years, within which his transactions reached extensive seope. Upon his retirement from this line of enterprise he established himself in business as a dealer in building materials and coal, and he has sinee continued his activities in this field with constantly increasing success, giving him prestige as one of the essentially representative business men of the city that has so long represented his home and that has been the scene of his progressive activities since his youth.
Appreciative of those elements and agencies that conserve civie and material progress and prosperity, Mr. Venard has shown a lively in- terest in local affairs, and in polities he is found arrayed as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party. He served as a member of the city council from 1903 to 1907, and as president of this body it devolved upon him to assume the duties and prerogatives of mayor for a considerable period, during which the regular mayor was deposed from offiee, in 1906. While thus serving Mr. Venard had the distinction of being the first man to see that the saloons in Kansas City were closed entirely. in accordance with the laws of the state. He is a member of Quindaro Lodge, No. 559, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows in which he is also identified with the eneampment of Patriarchs Militant. He is also affiliated with Wyandotte Lodge, No. 440, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, and with other leading social organi- zations of his home city.
On the 26th of November. 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Venard to Miss Anna D. Ball, who was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and who is a daughter of John and Sarah E. Ball, both of whom were likewise natives of the Keystone state and both of whom
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passed the closing years of their lives in Wyandotte, Kansas. They eame to this place in 1871 and for some time thereafter Mr. Ball was employed as pattern maker in the shops of the Union Pacific Railroad. Upon severing this association he engaged in the undertaking business, in which he continued for many years, and the enterprise which he thus founded is now eondueted by William B. Raymond. Mr. and Mrs. Ball beeame the parents of nine children, all of whom are living and of whom Mrs. Venard was the fifth in order of birth. Within a period of half a century death has invaded the family circle only twice,-when the loved and devoted parents were summoned to the life eternal. Mr. and Mrs. Venard have three children,-Gabriella, Edward E., Jr., an‹. Helen M. Gabriella is the wife of Charles B. Kirk, of Portland, Texas, and the two younger children still remain at the parental home, both being popular in connection with the best social activities of the com- munity.
GUSTAV GAULKE .- This first-elass mechanic and highly esteemed citizen of Kansas City, Kansas, who conducts one of the enterprising and profitable industries of that eity and is one of the business men who give it its rank and importance in industrial and commercial circles, is a native of Germany, born on February 28, 1871. In all his activity in this country he has exemplified the solid traits of industry, frugality and persistent endeavor for which the raee to which he belongs is re- nowned in all quarters of the world, no matter what lines of effort its members pursue.
Mr. Gaulke is a son of Carl and Fredericka (Schrank) Gaulke, scions of families long domesticated in the Fatherland and commendable examples of its sturdiest citizenship. Ilis mother died in her native land in 1888, and in December, 1890, when he was nineteen years old, he came to the United States and joined one of his sisters then living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had acquired a thorough knowl- edge of the trade of horseshoeing before leaving home, and armed with his skill in that and a good elementary education received in the state or publie schools of Germany, felt well prepared for whatever might betide him in the land of his adoption. He soon secured employment at his trade in Philadelphia, and worked at it in that city until 1896.
The desire to go about and see what he could of the world possessed him strongly, however, and he was not content to keep on at monotonous labor day after day and year after year until he had gratified this long- ing. He therefore passed the next two years in traveling over the United States, enjoying his experiences and keeping in view his ultimate motive of finding a locality suited to his tastes for a permanent residence and business career. The promising and progressive city on the Kansas side of the Kaw looked good to him, and in 1898 he located in it and laid the foundation of his success and advancement by working four years diligently and faithfully at his trade as a journeyman.
The time became propitious and the circumstances favorable for him to start an enterprise of his own, and in 1902 he opened a horse- shoeing shop at 42 Kansas avenue. This he conducted until 1909, when he moved to his present location at 59 Kansas avenue to meet the expanding requirements of his business. In the proprietorship of the first shop he was in partnership with James O'Mara. The one he now
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owns and carries on belongs to him exclusively, and in it his trade is extensive enough to necessitate the employment of three men. He knows his business thoroughly in all its details and latest developments, and will have none about him in the work but experienced and well qualified workmen. His care in this respect and his own complete mastery of his eraft have given his shop a high reputation in all parts of the city and far beyond its limits. All the work in his line re- quired by the Standard Oil Company and several other large operators in this part of the country is done at his shop, and it is but a just tribute to his skill and fair methods of dealing to state that he fully satisfies these exaeting patrons.
In the public affairs of his city and county Mr. Ganlke is an influen- tial and serviceable factor. He sees clearly and acts promptly in con- neetion with all matters of public improvement. and by the excellence of his judgment helps materially to give the forces of development proper tread and impulse toward the best results for the enduring wel- fare of the community and the comfort and convenience of its people. In his view Wyandotte county is one of the choice regions of the coun- try and must be made as attractive and advantageous as a place of residence and business center as it can be, and no half-hearted or ship- shop work in the development of its resources or the management of its public utilities will satisfy him.
Mr. Gaulke was married in May, 1900, to Miss Izora Terrell, who was born in Ohio and is a daughter of Alexander and Lydia Terrell, also natives of Ohio but now living in Ilarper county, Kansas, where the father carries on a thriving business in the humber and implement trade, and in his operations supplies a large portion of the surrounding country with everything of the best quality in his lines of goods and finds an active market because of his high reputation as a merchant. Mr. and Mrs. Ganlke have one child, their son Alvin, who was born on December 5, 1904. The head of the house is a Freemason in the Scottish Rite, holding his membership in branches of the order most convenient to his home, and giving all the benefit of his wisdom in coun- cil, energy in action and agreeable disposition in social relations. In reference to public affairs he is bound by no striet party ties, but always considers first the good of the people and acts accordingly in the be- stowal of his suffrage. In all respeets and in regard to all the relations he holds up a lofty ideal of citizenship and is universally esteemed as one of the sturdiest, safest and most estimable men in the county which has the benefit of his residence. labor and influence.
JOHN E. SMYTH .- The manifold details of the office of eity elerk of Kansas City, Kansas, are being most effectively administered by Mr. Smyth, who has been incumbent of this position since 1909 and who is one of the well known and popular citizens of the metropolis of Wyan- dotte county, where he has maintained his home sinee 1882.
John Edwin Smyth is a native of the fine old Bluegrass state and is a scion of an old and distinguished southern family. of German lineage. He was born in the village of Liberty, Casey county, Ken- tucky, on the 27th of February, 1866, and is a son of Robert C. and Nancy W. (Williams) Smyth, the former of whom was born in Smyth county, Virginia, and the latter in Madison county. Kentucky, where the
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family, of sterling Scotch ancestry, was founded in an early day. It should be noted that Smyth county, Virginia, was named in honor of William Smyth, grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, as this worthy ancestor was numbered among the pioneers and influen- tial citizens of that section of the historic Old Dominion. Robert C. Smyth was a man of fine mentality and sterling character and in his early manhood he was a successful teacher in the schools of his native state. About the year 1870 he removed with his family from Kentucky to Kansas City, Missouri, and later he came to the city of the same name in Kansas, where he followed various occupations during the years that followed. lle served as a valiant soldier in the Mexican war, as a member of a Kentucky regiment, and he passed the closing years of his life in Kansas City, Kansas, where he died in 1906, at the venerable age of eighty-four years. His life was one of signal integrity and honor and he ever held the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men. His widow still maintains her home in Kansas City, Kansas, and is eighty-two years of age at the time of this writing, in 1911. Of the nine children only four are now living.
The present city clerk of Kansas City was but four years of age at the time of the family removal from Kentucky to Kansas City, Missouri, and he was sixteen years old when the home was established in Kansas ('ity, Kansas. Ile was afforded the advantages of the public schools and as a youth he served a thorough apprenticeship to the trade of stereotyping, in which he became a skilled artisan and to which he continued to devote his attention, as an employe in various newspaper offices in Kansas City, Missouri, for a period of fourteen years. In the meanwhile he had maintained his home in Kansas City, Kansas, the greater part of the time, and in 1907 Mayor Cornell here appointed him to the office of license inspector, of which position he continued in tenure until 1909, when he was elected city elerk, for a term of two years, this term expiring in April, 1911. Mr. Smyth is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and in the time-honored Masonie fraternity he has received the thirty- second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in the affairs of the various bodies of which he takes a deep interest, as does he also in those of the York Rite bodies with which he is affiliated. lle is also still identified with the Stereotypers' & Electrotypers' Union.
In the year 1905 Mr. Smyth was united in marriage to Miss Laura Case, who was at the time a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of Kansas City, Kansas, and who is a valued factor in the social activities of this eity.
EDWARD S. W. DROUGHT .- For practically a half a century Major E. S. W. Drought has been a prominent and influential citizen of the state of Kansas, and the years have told the story of an eminently suc- vessful eareer, the same being due to unusual executive ability, ambi- tion and persistent determination. The Major gained distinction as a gallant and faithful soldier in the Civil war, and he has represented Wyandotte county, Kansas, in the State Legislature for a period of six years. No movement projected for the good of the commonwealth has ever failed of his heartiest support, and in all the relations of life he
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HISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
has so conducted himself as to win the unalloyed regard of all with whom he has come in contact.
Major E. S. W. Drought, of Kansas City, Kansas, was born at St. Phillips, province of Montreal, Canada, on the 19th of November, 1843. He is the son of Frederick William and Mary Ann (Barry) Drought, both of whom were born in Ireland, the former in Kings county and the latter in county Cork. Ilis father, Frederick William Drought, was an officer in the English Navy. In 1833 his ship was laid up at New
Orleans for repairs. Ile there met Miss Mary Ann Barry and they
were married in 1836. Mary Ann Barry had come to this country with
her family as a child. The first member of her family to come was Commodore John Barry, of Revolutionary fame, first commodore of the United States Navy. On his father's side Major Drought traces his ancestry back to one of three brothers who went from Brittany, France, to Ireland, and who were prominent soldiers of Cromwell's army. His mother's people were originally from Normandy, France, and they moved to Ireland at an early date. To Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Drought were born eight children, of whom the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth, he being the only one living in 1911. The father was summoned to life eternal in 1889, at which time he had attained to the great age of one hundred and one years, three months and twenty days, and the devoted wife and mother passed away in 1859, at forty-three years of age. When a child of but four years of age the parents of Major Drought moved from Canada to Racine county, Wisconsin, and, later, in March, 1858, to Leavenworth county, Kansas, and thence to Wyandotte county, Kansas, in 1870.
Edward S. W. Drought was a lad of but seventeen years of age at the time of the breaking out of the Civil war, but he immediately be- came fired with enthusiasm for the cause of the Union. In 1860 he went to Colorado but returned in the fall, and in the spring of 1861 he enlisted as a soldier in the Union army, becoming a member of Wil- liam's Mounted Rifles. One year later he was transferred to the Fifth Kansas Cavalry, serving in that department of the army until August, 1864, at which time he was mustered out of service, at Fort Leavenworth. In 1864 he organized a force of men and took a herd of one thousand, seven hundred and forty cattle from Kansas to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. ITis main object in doing this was to go with thirty of the men to Old Mexico to fight the French. While waiting for a guide in Mexico, however, they were disbanded by order of the government and in March, 1865, reached home. He was afterwards connected with a force which was to storm Petersburg, Virginia, but the war closed before this feat could be accomplished. Thereafter Major Drought was on guard at Washington, D. C., for several months. at the expiration of which he returned to his old home in Kansas, where he opened a general store, the same being located at Salina. He also entered a tract of eighty acres of land in Saline county and he con- tinned to conduct his store until September, 1867, at which time he re- ceived the appointment as post trader at Fort Larnard, Kansas. He was connected with the latter position until November, 1869, and he then returned to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he remained until the follow- ing spring, when he removed to Wyandotte county. After engaging in farming and stock raising in this section of the state for a time he
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HISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
was elected to the position of county sheriff, which he filled with the ut- most efficiency from 1871 to 1875. Before his term as sheriff had expired, however, he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the position of county treasurer. of which important office he was incumbent for the ensuing four years. Ile was then elected to repre- sent Wyandotte county in the state legislature, in which he served for six years and in which he made an admirable record. He was as- signed to membership on important committees of the house and was a faithful and earnest worker in the deliberations of both the floor and committee room.
In 1887 Major Drought was appointed superintendent of construe- tion for the Kansas City stock vards and he built the first Exchange building, which he has just finished wrecking since the new one has been completed. Major Drought has been consulting engineer in Mexico and the United States, having done a lot of engineering work in Onondago county, New York, and in the state of Arkansas. In 1885 he organized a company under the statutes of Kansas and made the sur- veys and locations of the Kansas City, Wyandotte & North-Western Railroad, from Kansas City to Beatrice, Nebraska, using over fifty thousand dollars of his own capital to get it started. In the following year he carried the bonds of the road to Wyandotte county and com- meneed the construction of the road under the re-organization. About this time he was engaged in the construction of some of the most sub- stantial buildings of Kansas City, among them being the court house and numerous business blocks.
Major Drought was the organizer of the military company in Wyan- dotte county. Kansas, which was known as the Drought Rifles and which was uniformed much the same as the New York Seventh Regiment. IIe kept this company up for four or five years, at a great personal expense, and during General Grant's visit here it acted as his body guard, this being directly against the orders of Governor St. John. Although General Grant had not seen Major Drought for a number of years he recognized him again and they became great friends. Major Drought has been in command of men since earliest youth, his affability and personal magnetism making him a splendid leader.
Major Drought has been twice married, his first union having been to Miss Emma Colby and the date of the ceremony being the 1st of January, 1867. This marriage was prolific of four children, name- ly, Jessie. Phillip E., Carlotta and Margaret. Mrs. Drought was summoned to eternal rest in June, 1896, and subsequently the Major wedded Miss Eleanor Morris, of Leavenworth. Kansas. There have been no children born to the latter marriage.
In polities Major Drought is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, in the local councils of which he has ever been a most active factor. He has held many important offices of public trust and responsibility, as noted in a previous paragraph, and in each of them he has acquitted himself with all of honor and distinction. In a fraternal way he has passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding membership in Wyandotte Lodge, No. 3, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons; Wyandotte Chapter. No. 6. Royal Arch Masons; and Ivanhoe Commandery. No. 21, Knights Templars. In his relig-
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ious faith he is a member of the Episcopal church. Major Drought is one of the essentially representative citizens of Kansas City and he is a man of fine mental caliber and broad human sympathy. He is liberal in thought and deed. is tolerant of others' opinions and sensi- bilities and it may be said of him that the list of his friends is coinci- dent with that of his acquaintances.
LEWIS M. BADGER .- An education is the most permanent capital that a man can have. It is something that he can share with others and yet his own supply is not diminished. It is useful to him in any walk of life. It not only helps him to earn dollars and cents, but the satisfaction that he derives from its mere possession is incalculable. There are men who are ignorant and do not know it; they have a con- tempt of people of education. Fortunately there are not many such people nowadays, for they are hopeless; it is no nse trying to do any- thing with them. There are others who know little and are ashamed of it, but they have not enough get-up about them to change affairs. There are others, like Mr. Badger, who realize that knowledge is a de- sirable acquisition and will make every effort to obtain it. Mr. Badger possesses many natural abilities and he has cultivated each one most carefully, so that today there is no man in the county who is more universally respected. He has done much for the county and in particular for his own township.
Lewis M. Badger was born in Marion county, Ohio, in 1848, and his father, John Badger, was also a native of Ohio and farmed there. In 1852 he moved to Indiana with his wife and children, and farmed in that state. When the Civil war broke out in 1861 he enlisted in the Union army, and was wounded at the end of six months, fighting and was honorably dismissed. He went back to his farm in Indiana and lived there until the time of his death, in 1881. He married Sarah Camp and she is still living on the old farm where she and her husband spent so many years together. They had six children, of whom Lewis M. was the eldest.
When he was only four years old his parents moved from Ohio to Indiana. He went to the district school and later to the high school in Angola, Indiana. After he left high school he worked on the farm in the summer time and taught school in the winter. In 1881 he came to Kansas locating in Wyandotte county, the year that his father died. He bought a farm at Argentine and has been a very successful farmer. He is a Republican in politics and the party has a very stanch ally in him. IIe has served on the township board and has been on the school board for eighteen years, and there is not a member of the board wlio has done more efficient work than Mr. Badger. Ilaving taught school himself he knows the requirements of the children and knows how to appreciate the difficulties of the teacher. For the past four years he has been justice of the peace in Shawnee township.
Ile married Virginia Stalnaker, a native of Indiana, who died at her home in 1893, leaving seven children. The eldest is Asher B. who is at present employed in the office of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad in Kansas City, Missouri. The second, Louis R., enlisted in the army during the Spanish-American war and died in the Philippine Islands, in the performance of his duty. He was buried in the national
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cemetery at San Francisco, California ; Sarah Grace, the third, is mar- ried to J. II. Hammond, who is a veterinary surgeon for the government. The fourth, Ada, is the wife of Jack Watson and they live on a raneh in Nebraska. Mildred is the wife of William Easterwood of Sheffield, Missouri. Clyde H. is employed by the C. M. Stebbins Stereopticon Company, in Kansas City, Missouri. The youngest, Florence, is the wife of Wendell Holt who is a salesman for Swift & Company.
Mr. Badger is a member of the Disciples church and is a very earnest Christian worker. He has lived to raise a large family and to see them grow up and prosper. He is known all over the county as Judge Badger and he is a judge who stands for the right and yet his justice is tempered with mercy. His desire is to protect the community. but also to try and make good citizens ont of the offenders. lle is interested in children and in people in general. His influence in the state is very far-reaching and is most helpful.
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