USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people, Vol. II > Part 4
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ASA M. BUNN is one of the best known civil engineers of the state of Kansas and he has been engaged in some of the most important con- struction work carried on in this section, and the son of one of the state's stalwart pioneers. Mr. Bunn can look back over a busy, extremely varied and thoroughly interesting career, and one of constantly increas- ing usefulness.
The subject was born in Bloomington, Illinois, February 2, 1848, and is a son of David M. and Hanna (Ilendricks) Bunn. both natives of the state of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandparents, Ilenry and Jane (Freelenheisen) Bunn, were also natives of the Keystone state, as were those on the maternal side-John and Sarah Hendricks. Mr. Bunn's parents came to MeLean county, Illinois, with their parents when children and there married and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land. The father improved the same and added to it from time to time, and in 1868 he traded two thousand, eight hun- dred acres of swamp land for four thousand acres in Franklin county, Kansas, the chiefest treasures of the latter being three elm trees. Ilenry Bunn removed to Kansas and located upon this great tract of raw land and there raised the first Durham cattle in Kansas, having brought some of this famous breed with him when he came. He was a man of great executive ability and accomplished the remarkable achievement of putting over four thousand acres under cultivation. Ile died on the farm which had been the scene of his successful endeavors. The subject's father married three times, and he is the third and youngest in order of birth of the children of the first wife, whose maiden name was Hanna Hendricks, as has been previously mentioned. The second wife, Ellen Ritter, became the mother of one child: and the third wife, Elizabeth Horr, reared six sons and daughters. Mr. Bunn has one sister, Mary, now Mrs. John Michael, a resident of Bloomington, Illi- mois. The mother died when Mr. Bunn was an infant and he lived at the home of an nnele and aunt until the age of twelve years, when he went back to the home roof and remained there until he became twenty- two years of age.
Filled with the spirit of youthful love of adventure, Mr. Bunn seenred work in railroading, which ever seems to appeal to the young. From Colonel A. C. Titns he secured a position as engineer with the Kansas City & Burlington Railroad, of which Colonel A. C. Titus was then superintendent, and from 1872 until April 1. 1876, he ran the train conveying the transit men. In 1878 he ran the train of the Adams Express Company from Ottawa, Kansas, to Burlington, Kansas. In
1881, he abandoned railroading and made a radical change, buying a saw mill near Garnett, Anderson county, Kansas. Ile conducted this mill for three years and then sold out and removed to a farm his father gave him in Franklin county, Kansas. Being still somewhat dissatis- fied and having his ambitions set upon higher positions, the young man sold his farm and went to Ottawa, Kansas, where he studied civil
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engineering and became exceedingly profieient in this science. In 1887 and 1888 he put in two and one half miles of sewerage in Ottawa, and after finishing that important work, he removed to Pittsburg, Kansas, where he superintended the installation of five miles of sewer- age. He next removed, in 1892, to Girard, Crawford county, where he was engaged in the same line of work and he then located for a time in Pittsburg, Kansas, where he engaged in real estate transactions. About this time Mr. Bunn entered upon an important work in the opening of coal mines in Illinois, and he remained there for six months, bringing in that time the mines to a state of successful operation. He subsequently went to Canyon City, Colorado, and took charge of the coal mines belonging to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad in Colorado. Over a year later he came back to Illinois, and after stay- ing there for two months, went to Lansing, Kansas, where for a few months he held the position of superintendent of the coal mines of that place. A few months later he went to Topeka, Kansas, and in 1902, he went back to Illinois again. In the meantime he had also spent sometime in the Indian Territory engaged in the opening of coal mines, in which department his engineering skill has ever proved of the high- est order.
In 1902, Mr. Bunn became identified with Kansas City, Kansas, assuming the office of civil engineer with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad, and in the month of January of the ensuing year he began upon construction work. He was given charge of the division at Leeton, Johnson county, Missouri, and did not finish the work there before 1906. In that year he leased certain coal fields in Missouri, and engaged in the work of developing coal mines. His next change took him to St. Joe, Missouri, and he traversed the states of Missouri and Iowa, locating two railroads and at the termination of this great civil engineering work, in 1909, he became engineer in charge of the construction of the Kaw Valley drainage district. this being the largest work of its kind ever accomplished. In fact, Mr. Bunn's experience, extrutive ability, tireless energy, engineering skill and genius in the broad combination and concentration of applicable forces render his services of great and unusual value.
Mr. Bunn was happily married when in June, 1877, Miss Anna Harlan. a native of Ohio, and daughter of Chauncey and Nancy (Freede) Harlan, became his wife. This union has been blessed by the birth of two children, namely : Albert L., of Kansas City, Kansas, who married Mrs. Charles Martin of Kansas City, Missouri ; and Harlan D., who is at home.
Mr. Bunu is an altruistic and publie spirited citizen and is an enthusiastic adherent of the Socialist party, which he believes will be a strong factor in working out the welfare of the world. He is a popular lodge man, being affiliated with the Knights of Pythias of Ottawa, Kan- sas, No. 53; the Modern Woodmen of America of Leeton, Missouri; and the Owls, No. 1425, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Mr. Bunn received his education in the Illinois State University and the business college of Jacksonville, Illinois.
LEWIS M. EGAN certainly deserves representation among the men who have been instrumental in promoting the general welfare of Kan-
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HISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
sas City, Kansas, where he has maintained his home since 1892. He has aided materially in the development of business activity and energy wherein the prosperity and growth of the state always depend.
Mr. Egan is secretary and treasurer of the Woods-Egan Live Stock Commission Company and as such is promoting one of the most impor- tant business concerns in Kansas City. He was born in Hancock county, Illinois, on the 7th of December, 1861, and is a son of Samuel T. and Cordelia M. (Maynard) Egan. The father was born in the state of Indiana and he died in 1890, at the age of sixty-eight years, while the mother, whose nativity occurred in Ohio, died at the early age of thirty-eight years. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel T. Egan, but six are living at the present time. The father removed from the old Hoosier state to Illinois as a young man and there he pur- chased a fine estate, was married, and continued to be identified with the farming and stock raising enterprises until his death. He was aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party in all matters of national import but in local affairs he maintained an inde- pendent attitude, preferring to give his support to men and measures meeting with the approval of his judgment rather than to follow along strictly partisan lines. In their religious adhereney he and his wife were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose faith they reared their children.
On the old homestead farm in Illinois Lewis M. Egan passed his boyhood and youth and he received his preliminary educational train- ing in the district schools of Hancock county, later supplementing that discipline by a course of study in Carthage College, at Carthage which he attended as a member of the class of 1885. That same year he severed the ties which bound him to home and journeyed to western Kansas, engaging in the eatthe business in Gove county for a period of seven years, at the expiration of which, in 1892, he established his home in Kansas City, Kansas. After his advent in this city Mr. Egan turned his attention to the live stock commission business, with which enter- prise he has continued to be identified to the present time. For four- teen years he was secretary and treasurer of the Northwestern Live Stock Commission Company and when that concern was sold out to Evans Snyder Buell, Mr. Egan worked for that company, until January, 1910, at which time he and Mr. Woods organized the Woods-Egan Live Stock Commission Company. This coneern was incorporated under the laws of the state of Kansas with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars and it is officered as follows : S. P. Woods, president; William M. Ott, vice president; and L. M. Egan, secretary and treasurer.
On the 20th of May, 1891, Mr. Egan was united in marriage with Miss Lu Verna Stone, who was born and reared in Missouri and who is a daughter of William and Lucy (IIill) Stone. The Hill family settled near St. Joe many years ago, and have been prominent and pro- gressive Democrats, and one of the younger, an uncle of Mrs. Egan, is now judge of that district. Mr. and Mrs. Egan have three children, namely : Maynard, Lu Verna and Alfred B., all of whom are attending school in Kansas City. In his politieal proclivities Mr. Egan is an Independent and in a fraternal way he is a valued and appreciative member of Wyandotte Lodge, No. 440, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Religiously the Egan family are members of the Christian church.
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HISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
JAMES M. BAILEY. manager of the Standard Electric Light Com- pany, former superintendent of the Argentine Water Works Company, and since the taking over of that concern by the city of Kansas City, in charge of all stock supplies, is one of the well known citizens of the community and is one who very materially accentuates its public spirit. By the circumstance of birth Mr. Bailey is a Missonrian, his eyes having first opened to the light of day in Dent county, that state. the date of his nativity being January 10. 1863. Ile is the son of Hezekiah and Eliza J. (Brown) Bailey, the former one of Dent connty's agriculturists. Hezekiah Bailey was born in Kentucky in 1836 and the year of the mother's birth was 1841. Of the eight children born to this worthy couple- four danghters and two sons-all survive, the immediate subject being first in order of birth.
The father came to old Crawford county, Missouri, a part of which is now Dent county. when a youth of abont sixteen years of age. In his maiden endeavors as a wage-carner he engaged as a freighter, but eventually drifted into the independent and wholesome ocenpation which he chose to make permanent and in which he achieved success.
Ile devotes his energies to general farming and is also a breeder of mules, raising a high class animal for the market. Ilezekiah Bailey was a soldier of the Civil war, having worn the Gray during the great conflict between the states as a member of Burbage's Brigade in Price's army. He was wounded during a skirmish, near Warrens- burg, Missouri. This gentleman is a Democrat in political faith, and has given heart and hand to its men and measures since his earliest voting days.
Mr. Bailey, of this review, received his preliminary education in the schools of Dent county, attending the public schools in that com- munity as a youth. He, like most farmers' sons, had an opportunity to glean some useful agrienltural knowledge by actual experience, but the great basie industry did not present a sufficient appeal to him to induce him to adopt it for his own. In 1884, he came to Argentine. Kansas, and secured a position with the Santa Fe railroad, but after spending only a short in Argentine, he returned to Salem, Missouri, and there supplemented his education by attending school at the Salem high and preparatory schools, paying his own way during the two years he attended the latter. In course of time he returned to Argentine, again entering the employ of the Santa Fe and this second term of residence extended until 1887, when he went back to Salem to be mar- ried and remained in the old town until 1890. In the year mentioned he came back to Argentine whose charms remained vivid in his memory through many vicissitudes and he again became identified with the Santa Fe, and remained with them until April 1, 1899. At that time he was elected city clerk and his first year's service was of such efficient character that it was approved by re-election in 1900. He was then appointed in 1901. 1902 and 1903. In the latter year he left the clerk's office and tried several new ventures, being with a contracting company for a short time and then becoming associated with the Blacker Grain Company, until April, 1904, when Mr. Bailey became superintendent of the Argentine Water Company, and also manager of the Standard Electric Light Company. In April, 1910, the control of Argentine's water works was taken over by Kansas City and Mr. Bailey, as men-
J.M. family
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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TIISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
tioned in the first paragraph, has ever since been in charge of all stock supplies.
On October 30, 1887, Mr. Bailey laid the foundation of a happy married life by his union with Miss Mary J. Hobson. Mrs. Bailey was born in Dent county, Missouri, and is a daughter of Charles W. and Cynthia A. (Watkins) Hobson, the father born in Indiana and the mother in Virginia. The former died in January, 1908, at the age of seventy years, but his wife survives. These admirable people were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, the subject's wife being the fourth in order of birth. Charles W. Hobson removed to Missouri when a small boy with his parents, where he became a prominent farmer and stock dealer, and eventually entered the mer- cantile field. He also owned a mill and elevator in Salem, Dent conn- ty, and was generally regarded as one of the leaders in Democratic politics. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bailey. one is living-a daughter named Mary Esther.
Mr. Bailey is a successful exponent of the principles of moral and social justice and brotherly love exemplified by the Masonic order, his affiliations being with Ben Thir lodge. No. 322. Free and Accepted Masons. and with Caswell Consistory No. 5. He is a thirty-second degree Mason. ITe belongs to Wyandotte lodge. No. 440, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to several other organizations in addition and his political allegiance is with the Democratic party. He belongs to that type of citizen which Kansas City is pleased to eall representative and stands for all that is best in civil government.
WARDEN 'T. JACKS. a prominent and well known agriculturist re- siding in Wyandotte township. has, during many years, been identified with the development and upbuilding of Wyandotte county. Ile is the owner of two Inundred arres of this valuable and most desirable section and until quite recently owned one hundred and thirteen more, which he has converted into money. In addition to his other distinc- tions, he is a veteran of the Civil war, sectional influences in the locality in which his youth was spent and loyalty to his southern aneestry hav- ing led him to adopt the Confederate cause.
Mr. Jacks was born in Howard county. Missouri, April 14, 1835. Ilis parents were Elias B. and Mary (Warden) Jacks, of whom more detailed mention is made in the sketch of William Jacks, elder brother of the subject. The education of the subject was obtained in the distriet schools of Missouri and his attendance was, on account of the primitive character of the schools and the necessity of assisting in the farm work, restricted for the most part to winter terms. Mr. Jacks resided beneath the home roof until his marriage which occurred Decem- ber 15. 1864, the young woman to become his wife and the mistress of his household being Miss Mary V. Rogers, a native of Platt county, Missouri and a daughter of John and Sarah (Long) Rogers, both of Tennessee.
For seven years after his establishment of an independent house- hold by marriage, Mr. JJacks resided on his father's old homestead in Platt county, Missouri. The old estate was then disposed of and Mr. and Mrs. Jacks followed the rest of the family to Kansas, where fine fortunes had been the portion of the forerunners. The subject secured
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ITISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, the northwestern quarter of section 9, town 11. range 24, Wyandotte township. The country was then most of it in a condition quite difficult to imagine from present day conditions. The land was almost entirely covered with timber and brush and there were many Indian wigwams, the redman still lingering a little before the westward advance of civilization. On his newly ac- quired acres, Mr. Jacks built a log cabin and set up his household and with all the vigor and enthusiasm of youth set about clearing and im- proving the place. In the timber he found an immediate source of reve- nue, for he sold many hundred cords of wood in Kansas City, Kansas and the surrounding country. Hle and his family lived in the log honse for about fifteen years and then found themselves in a position to build their present large frame honse, in which they have since lived and which is so pleasantly known in this county for its hospitality. Mr. Jacks is a scientific agriculturist and believes in employing the best and most np-to-date methods in his cultivation of the soil. He has always been an extensive grain farmer and he has made a specialty of the raising of hogs, and on a smaller scale, of horses and cattle.
As previously mentioned Mr. Jacks is a Confederate soldier, hav- ing enlisted in the Missouri state militia in the fall of 1861, under General Sterling Price, major general in Missouri and former governor of the state. Mr. Jacks was in General Stein's division. The forces of which he was a part went to Arkansas and he participated in the battle of Pea Ridge. Ilis military service was of comparatively short duration, for he became ill owing to the rigors of camp life, and returned to his father's home to recover. In 1862 he went to Jefferson county. Kansas and worked there until the fall of 1864, his career subsequent to that having been recounted. He has met with an excellent measure of success and is very loyal to the state in which and with which he has developed. For more than a decade Mr. Jacks has been retired from the more arduous duties of farm life. his son Leonard condneting the affairs of the estate in most satisfactory fashion.
Mr. Jacks and his worthy wife became the parents of the following children : Clarence E .. accidentally killed when eight years of age; Wil- liam B .; Richard E., of Wyandotte township; John M., a citizen of Leavenworth county, Kansas; Leonard Lee, mentioned before; Lena S., now Mrs. George Grinter. of Wyandotte county; Cora V., widow of John Grinter, of Wyandotte township; and Mary, now Mrs. Unther Mooney.
Mr. Jacks is independent in politics, esteeming the right man and the right measure far above mere partisanship. He and his family are affiliated with the Disciple church and he has been one of the most valued of the Sunday school workers.
WILLIAM JACKS .- One of the best known of the pioneer citizens of Wyandotte county is William Jacks. This gentleman who has re- sided in the state since Civil war days, is now a retired farmer, who in the prosperous leisure which has crowned an honest, honorable and thrifty life, can look back over an interesting and adventurous life, one of its most remarkable chapters being his experiences as a Forty-niner in the California gold fields. Ile is a man held in general confidence
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HISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
and respect and now, within three years of the four score and ten mark, is yet a useful member of society.
William JJacks was born in Howard county, Missouri, April 24, 1824, the son of Elias Barnes and Polly (Warden) Jacks, both of Howard county, Missouri. His grandparents, Richard and Sophia (Barnes) Jacks, were Virginians. Ilis grandparents, both paternal and maternal, removed to Kentucky in the early days and then went on to Missouri, locating in IToward county where they entered a large tract of land. There his parents were married and in 1837 removed to the Platt Purchase in Platt county, Missouri. They entered one hun- dred and sixty acres of land near Plattsville ; improved and cultivated the land and resided upon it until the Civil war period, when they re- moved to Wyandotte county and township. Here they bought a large tract of land from the Wyandotte Indians and again engaged in the streunous labor of bringing a farm to its best condition. In course of time they were called to eternal rest and their remains were interred on the old homestead in Platt county, Missouri. The subject was one of a large family of children, eight of whom lived to years of maturity and four of whom survive at the present time.
William Jacks was the oldest of his parents' family. He secured his education in the subscription schools of that part of Missouri in which his youth was passed and remained beneath the home roof until the age of twenty-three years. Previous to this, however, he conducted a grocery at Parkville, Missouri, but he had no desire to make this his permanent occupation.
When about twenty-three years of age, Mr. Jacks, who had de- cided to join the Califorina gold seekers, set out with an ox team, in company with the members of the Platt County Company, and after a journey of many perils and much adventure. arrived at Placerville, California, which then rejoiced in the cheerful name of Hangtown. They began digging at once. Mr. Jacks was taken ill and for several weeks was laid np. The high hopes of many who had had dreams of at once finding a fortune had already perished and many were siek and dying. The desolation and depravity were terrible and Mr. Jacks could see souls taking flight : the dead being buried and men engaged in drunken gambling orgies, all within a few hundred feet. Mr. Jacks secured several claims and the first gold he found was at his claim near Georgetown, where a cousin died. The name of the unfortunate young man was William Andrews. Mr. Jacks vividly remembers how he and his other comrades sawed the rough boards for his eoffin and nailed them together. The subject remained in California for about a year, like the others going from one strike to the other. Meantime he and fifteen other persons, banded together into a company called the Spanish Ranch and Plumas Water Company. for mechanical and agricultural enterprises, this being chartered at Quiney, Plumas county, California. One of their purposes was to constrnet a canal thirty miles long. Need- ing more money they borrowed from the Rothschilds' agents at San Francisco, but at the outbreak of the Civil war, the Rothschilds with- drew their cash and the company was broken up. Mr. Jacks.had secured two mining claims and he and a man named Smith secured some gold from one of them and sold the other. Then by a clever deal they got possession of the old company and conducted its developing enterprises
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IHISTORY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY
for four years. He subsequently turned his share over to his brother, Elias B., and returned to the parental home on account of the serious condition of health of his father.
Mr. Jacks, who had purchased a forty-nine acre tract of undevel- oped land in Wyandotte county. Wyandotte township, began upon its development and cultivation, happy in the more peaceful surroundings of his Kansas home. He added to this original tract from time to time and now possesses one hundred and twenty-four aeres upon which he lias snecessfully conducted general farming operations.
In that year Mr. Jacks chose a devoted wife and helpmeet in the person of Mary A. MeDaniel, of Platt county, Missouri, a native of the state of Kentucky, who was living in Platt county at the time of her marriage. TIer lamentable demise occurred April 10, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Jacks had no children of their own, but adopted a daughter, V. Large, who is now the wife of Otto Freeman. Mr. Jacks now rents his property to Mr. and Mrs. Freeman and makes his home with them. The subject is a most publie spirited citizen and has ever been stanchly aligned with the Jefferson Democrats. He has on several occasions given most faithful and enlightened service in public office, acting as justice of the peace; as county commissioner for two terms and as township trustee for two terms.
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