USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people, Vol. II > Part 40
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In the common schools of his native county Dr. Milner received his early educational training and subsequently he attended Beverly Aca- demy and the Stockport High School. He was also a student in a nor- mal school in Ohio and thereafter was for a time a teacher in the schools of his native state. In 1885 he was matriculated as a student in the University Medical College of Kansas City, Missouri, in which well equipped institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1887. duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after
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graduation he entered the Northern Pacific Railroad hospital at Brainerd, Minnesota, where he was Assistant Surgeon for one year. In 1888 he located in Kansas City, Kansas, where he has since made his home and where, in 1899, he was appointed surgeon for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, retaining that ineumbeney to the present time, in 1911. He is also surgeon for The Procter and Gamble Manufacturing Company and in connection with his life work is a member of the Wyandotte County Medical Society, the Kansas State Medical Society ; the American Medical Association and the American Railroad Surgeons Association, and is a member of the staff of Bethany Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas.
On the 21st of September, 1897, Dr. Milner married Miss Susan C. Fisher, who was born at Hudson, Wisconsin, and who is a daughter of Sanford and Louisa (Drury) Fisher. Mr. Fisher is a native of East
Liverpool, Ohio. Mrs. Fisher was born in Washington, Pennsylvania.
In the time honored Masonic order Dr. Milner is affiliated with Armourdale Lodge, No. 271, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons; and with Caswell Consistory, No. 5, of the Scottish Rite branch, having at- tained to the thirty-second degree. In his political convictions he accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies promulgated . by the Democratic party. Among his friends Dr. Milner is highly esteemed for his social nature, his genial disposition and deep human sympathy and he has ratified strong friendship by his deference for the opinions of others and his kindly consideration.
JOHN BLOMQUIST .- Education and financial assistance are very im- portant factors in achieving success in the business world, where every faculty must be brought into play, but they are not the main elements. Persistency and determination figure much more prominently, and a man possessed of those qualities is bound to win a fair amount of suc-
cess. John Blomquist, whose name forms the caption for this article, earned his own education and during the latter years of his life has climbed to a high place on the ladder of success. Ile is one of Kansas City's most prominent citizens and at the present time, in 1911, is presi- dent of the Blomquist Tailoring Company, located at 607 Minnesota avenue. HIe has resided in this city for fully a quarter of a century, and the years have told the tale of an eminently successful career due to the possession of energy and a determination to forge ahead and make the best of things.
John Blomquist was born at Smoland, Rydaholin, Sweden, the date of his nativity being the 6th of September, 1849. He received a good common school education in his native land and as a youth he entered upon an apprenticeship at the tailor's trade, familiarizing him- self with all the details of that line of enterprise. In 1869, at twenty years of age, he decided to seek his fortune in America and accordingly immigrated to the United States, locating first in New York City. Sub- sequently he removed to Geneva, Illinois, where he was engaged in the work of his trade for a period of two years, at the expiration of which he removed to Oregon. Ogle county, Illinois. IIe remained in the latter place until 1884, at which time he eame to Kansas City, Kansas, where he decided to go into business on his own account. For a time he was associated with his brother Charles in the merchant tailoring business
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and in 1895 they organized the Blomquist Tailoring Company, which is incorporated under the laws of the state with a capital stock of five thousand dollars and which is officered as follows: John Blomquist, president, and Charles Blomquist, secretary and treasurer. The fine establishment run by this company is recognized as one of the most up- to-date tailoring concerns in the city and it controls a tremendous busi- ness. It is interesting to note at this juncture that Mr. Blomquist, of this review, was one of the pioneer tailors in Kansas City.
In politics Mr. Blomquist is aligned as a staneh supporter of the Republican party, and while he has never had any ambition for political office of any description he is on the alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures and enterprises advanced for the good of the general welfare. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the local Swedish Society and he is also conneeted with a number of other organi- zations. He is everywhere accorded the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow men. Mr. Blomquist is unmarried.
WILLIAM C. TANNER, of Bethel, Kansas, is recognized as one of the best stock men in Wyandotte county. For the past twenty-four years he has been manager of the largest stock farm in the county, the Huett farm, eight hundred aeres in extent, and his Iong connection with the extensive operations of the place has given him a varied and valuable experience and made him an authority on many phases of his work.
Mr. Tanner is a native of the Buckeye State. He was born in Union county, Ohio, October 20, 1861, son of George and Hannah (Sidle) Tanner. His father, also a native of Ohio, born in 1841, moved with his family to Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1872, and settled on a farm, where he reared his children, and where he and his good wife spent the rest of their lives. She died in 1891, he, in 1903. Of their three children, Rebecca Jane is the wife of William J. Thompson, of Kansas City, Missouri; William C., the second in order of birth, is the subject of this sketch; and Charles W. is a resident of Topeka, Kansas.
The years between 1872 and 1883 William C. Tanner passed on his father's farin in Leavenworth county, where he became familiar with farm work and attended district school. In 1883 he came to Wyandotte county and obtained employment on the Huett Stock Farm, on which he has since remained, and of which, as above indicated, he has been manager for twenty-four years. Meanwhile he has invested in farm land, and is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres, on which it is his intention in the near future to build a handsome home.
Mr. Tanner married, in 1887, Miss Louise Romanoff, a native of Leavenworth and a daughter of French parents who came from France to this country and settled at Leavenworth in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Romanoff are deceased, the latter having died in Lansing, Kansas, in 1906, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner have five children, namely: Eugenia, Charles L., Walter Clinton, Gladys and Leonard Eugene. Miss Eugenia is now engaged in teaching school. Mr. Tanner is a Methodist and his wife is a Presbyterian. Politically he is a Republican and fraternally, is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 6989, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 88, of Bethel, and the Free and Accepted Masons, No. 385 of Piper.
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ALBERT AUBURN BARKER .- Among the enterprising and prosperous farmers residing near Bethel, Wyandotte county, Kansas, is Albert Auburn Barker, brother of J. T. Barker, and nephew of Thomas J. Barker of Kansas City, mention of both of whom will be found on another page of this volume.
Mr. Barker is the owner of a fine farm, comprising three hundred and fifty acres of choice land, on which he raises the various crops com- mon to the locality, wheat however being his chef crop, and he annually raises more or less stock. Recently he ereeted a commodious and attrac- tive home on his farm, which he and his family occupy, and which by its surroundings and interior arrangements at once stamp the Barkers as people of culture and refinement.
Mr. Barker is a native of Mereer county, Virginia, born May 27, 1855, and in the "Old Dominion" spent the first eight years of his life. Then in 1863 he accompanied his parents to Kansas, where he grew to manhood, and where he has since made his home.
In 1891 he married Miss Sophia Hacker, a native of Kentucky, and they are the parents of three children: Thurman Bryan, Ethel and Albert H.
Politically, Mr. Barker is a Democrat; fraternally, a Mason, he is a member of Delaware Lodge No. 96, and has attained to the Thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite, holding membership in Kansas City, Kansas. He is well known throughout the community, and those who know him best appreciate most highly his many sterling qualities as citizen, neighbor and friend. Mr. Barker's beautiful farm is known as "The Johnnie Cake Farm," named after the old Indian Chief, who formerly owned this place.
JAMES THOMAS BARKER .- A man of versatile talents, strong individ- uality, energetic and clear-headed, James Thomas Barker is intimately associated with the promotion of the agricultural and mercantile inter- ests of Wyandotte county. He owns and occupies a valuable farm on the roek road extending outward from Kansas City, his home being one of the most attractive and desirable in this part of the state. A Vir- ginian by birth, he was born June 5, 1861, in Summers county, a son of Anderson L. and Delilah (Hinton) Barker. His father was born, in 1826, in Bedford county, Virginia, and died in Wyandotte county, Kansas, in 1908. He came to this county with his family in 1863, and for awhile lived in an old Indian smoke house, his first Kansas home.
But two years old when his parents located in Wyandotte county, James Thomas Barker attended first the district schools, afterwards con- tinning his studies at the Palmer Academy. He began to be interested in stock raising when but nine years of age, and has sinee taken an active part in the development of the agricultural resources of this part of the state. His beautiful home is located on a farm of two hundred and ninety-six aeres, and with its attractive surroundings is an ideal place of abode, bespeaking the refinement, good taste, and jndicions manage- ment of its owner. Mr. Barnett has other landed property, being interested altogether in two thousand six hundred acres of land. and in addition to carrying on farming and stock raising condnets a general store at Maywood, Kansas, which is near his home.
One of the leading Democrats of his community, Mr. Barker served
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as a member of the local school board ten years, and for seven years was justice of the peace, in that capacity settling nearly all cases by arbitration. He received the nomination for county clerk, but was not elected to the office, his constant plea for a strictly honest administra- tion causing his defeat. He carefully watches the affairs of the county, and if things go wrong exerts his influence as far as possible to have them righted, having been among the group of trustworthy citizens that caused the convening of the grand jury to investigate the affairs of Wyandotte county.
In 1884, Mr. Barker was united in marriage with Zona E. Stotts, of Ohio, and into their home eight children have been born, namely : Ellen V., wife of Garfield Watson, of Ohio; Callaway A., died at the age of eight years; Albert A., living on the home farm with his father, married Mary E. Brohn; Abbie died when seven years old; Laura and Nannie, twins; William, died in infancy; and Delilah, a remarkably bright and interesting little girl.
PETER W. GOEBEL .- The great empire of Germany has contributed a most valuable element to the cosmopolitan social fabric of our Ameri- can republic, which has had much to gain and nothing to lose from this source. Among the residents of Wyandotte county who can claim German birth and ancestry and who have here attained to marked prec- edence and success in connection with business affairs of broad scope is Peter W. Goebel, president of the Commercial National Bank of Kansas City, a citizen of sterling character and one who has been influen- tial in both civic and business affairs in the city and county of his adop- tion. His career, marked by the wise application of splendid energies and powers, offers both lesson and incentive, as he is significantly the architect of his own fortune and has so ordered his course as to show forth the sturdy integrity and honor that ever beget objective confidence and esteem. As one of the essentially representative men of Wyan- dotte county he is well entitled to recognition in this history of the county and its people.
A native of the province of Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, Peter William Goebel was born near the city of Langbecke, on the 18th of March, 1859. He is a son of Peter and Anna Mary (Mueller) Goebel, of whose eight children, four sons and three daughters are now living. The father was long in the government service as a forester, and he continued to reside in his native land until his death. His widow sub- sequently joined her children in the United States, and she passed the closing years of her life in the state of Kansas. Ile whose name heads this article is indebted to the excellent schools of his fatherland for his early educational discipline, and at the age of fourteen years he came to America, and here he effectively supplemented his early education through earnest study in a private way and through his active association with the practical affairs of life. He came to Kansas in 1873, and thereafter was employed about eighteen months on a farm in Miami county. Thereafter he looked after the domestic economies of the home of a Catholic priest of Paola, that county, and incidentally he profited greatly through his studies under the direction of this honored clergyman. Still later he was in the employ of a physician at Louisburg, in the same county, where he had further and excellent
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opportunities for the broadening of his education, in the meanwhile being employed in a drug store conducted by the physician. In the autumn of 1877 Mr. Goebel took an important step, as he was then mar- ried, and soon afterward he initiated his independent career by opening a drug and grocery store of his own in Louisburg. There he continued successful operations for the ensuing four years, within which he gained most valuable business experience and matured his judgment and powers. In 1882 he became cashier of the Bank of Louisburg, and with this institution he continued to be thus identified for the long period of eighteen years. He wielded potent influence in the upbuilding of the business of the bank and developed exceptional ability as an executive and financier. At the expiration of the period noted, in 1897, Mr. Goebel came to Kansas City and assumed the presidency of the Com- mercial State Bank, which was organized at that time. In the mean- while he retained the position of cashier of the Bank of Louisburg until 1900, when he resigned this office and in the same town engaged in the financial loan business on his own responsibility, in the meanwhile dividing his time between Kansas City and Miami county. In 1900 he became vice president and a director of the Miami County Bank, at Paola, and he had mueh to do with directing the policies of this institu- tion and thereby insuring its success. In February, 1907, Mr. Goebel established his permanent residence in Kansas City, and here he has gained prestige as one of the strongest and most influential figures in the financial circles of this part of the state. Here he has been presi- dent of the Commercial National Bank since 1897 and he is also presi- dent of the Citizens' State Savings & Trust Company, another of the important institutions of the city and county. He is also chairman of the board of directors of the Osage Fire Insurance Company and has otherwise closely identified himself with local interests. He is broad minded, liberal and loyal as a citizen, upright and sineere in all the relations of life, and he is ever ready to do his part in supporting measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community.
In polities Mr. Goebel was formerly aligned with the Democratic party, as a candidate on whose ticket he was elected to represent Miami county in the state legislature. Ile was first elected in 1903 and was chosen as his own successor in the election of 1905. He brought to bear in this connection the same careful judgment and correct policies that had insured his success in business life, and he thus proved a vah- able working member of the legislature. At the present time he pro- nounces himself independent of partisan lines and gives his support to the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. Both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic church.
In the autumn of the year 1877, at Louisburg, Miami county, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Goebel to Miss Mary Shaw, who has proved a devoted companion and helpmeet. She was born in the state of Kansas and is a daughter of the late William Shaw, an honored pioneer of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Goebel have five children : E. W., who married Ella Nevius and is resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma: A. F .. who married Mary Wells, and they reside in Kansas City. Kansas; Mary, at home; J. P. and Rose. twins; Rose married E. J. Bannon, resident of Kansas City, Kansas ; and J. P. is at home.
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BENJAMIN M. BARNETT, M. D., in his professional service has been prompted by a landable ambition for advancement as well as by deep sympathy and humanitarian principles that urge him to put forth his best efforts in the alleviation of pain and suffering. He has gained recognition from the profession as one of its able representatives and the trust reposed in him by the public is indicated by the liberal patro- nage awarded him. In addition to his life work Dr. Barnett has a number of financial interests in this section of broad scope and impor- tanee, and he has served with efficiency both as a member of the city council and as mayor of Rosedale.
A native of Ohio, Dr. Benjamin M. Barnett was born at Canton, in Stark county, on the 12th of December, 1854, and he is a son of Jacob F. and Hannah (Myers) Barnett, both of whom are now deceased. The father was born and reared in the state of Pennsylvania and he was summoned to the life eternal in 1903, at the venerable age of eighty-two years, while the mother, who was likewise a native of the old Keystone state, passed away in 1881, at the age of sixty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob F. Barnett became the parents of ten chidren, four of whom are living at the present time, in 1911. namely, John, James and Isaac, of Canton, Ohio; and Benjamin M., who is the immediate subject of this review. Jacob F. Barnett immigrated to Stark county, Ohio, when about thirty years of age, and he passed the major portion of his active career as a farmer and stock raiser. In his religious faith he was a devout member of the Dunkard church and in politics he accorded a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Republi- can party stands sponsor.
Dr. Barnett received his rudimentary educational training in the public schools of Canton, Ohio, and subsequently he was matriculated as a student in Jefferson Medical College, in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1882, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the active practice of his profession in the vicinity of Canton. Ohio, but in the fall of 1883 he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained for a period of two years, at the expiration of which he came to Rosedale. Kansas, where he has since resided and where he has built up a large and lucrative patronage. He holds pres- tige as one of the leading physicians and surgeons in Wyandotte county and in connection with his life work he is affiliated with the Wyandotte Medical Society, the Kansas State Medical Society and the American Medical Association He is also prominent in the business world of Rosedale and is giving most efficient service as vice president of the Commercial State Bank, one of the most substantial and reliable monetary institutions in the state.
On the 24th of February, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Barnett to Miss Mollie Helmreich, who was reared and educated in Kansas City. Missouri, where her birth also oceurred. She is a dangh- ter of Henry and Regina Helmreich, both of whom were natives of Ger- many, whence they immigrated to America about the year 1865. The father was for a time engaged in the brewery business at St. Louis, Missouri, and subsequently he established the family home in Kansas City, Missouri, where he built up an extensive livery business. Mr. and Mrs. Helmreich are both deceased and of their large family of children
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eight are living at the present time, Mrs. Barnett having been the young- est in order of birth. To. Dr. and Mrs. Barnett were born three children, one of whom, Harry, died in 1888. Those living are Benjamin, Jr., and Helen.
Dr. Barnett has figured prominently in public affairs at Rosedale since his arrival in this place. In 1886 he was elected a member of the city council and two years later he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of mayor. In 1902 he was again a member of the board of alderman and in 1903 was re-elected as mayor, giving a most admirable administration as head of the municipal affairs of the city. In his politiel convictions he endorses the cause of the Republi- can party and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with a number of rep- resentative local organizations. Dr. Barnett's professional career excites the admiration and has won the respect of his contemporaries, and in a calling in which one has to gain reputation by merit he has advanced steadily until he is recognized as the superior of most of the members of the medical profession in this part of the state.
JOHN C. FALCONER .- A well known figure in the commercial life of Kansas City, Kansas, is John C. Falconer, dealer in furniture, carpets, stoves and other commodities, his ware rooms also including such various artieles as lace curtains, linoleum, gocarts, window shades, sewing machines, phonographs, refrigerators and trunks. He is located at. 14-16 North James street and is one of the substantial merchants of the city.
Mr. Falconer is a native Ohioan, his birth having occurred July 11, 1861, in the Seoteh settlement, Columbiana county. His parents were John and Nancy (Smith) Falconer. The father's birth occurred in the same district as his son's, in the year 1835, and his demise, in 1889. The mother was also born in that locality and passed on to the Great Beyond some five years previous to the death of her husband. These worthy people became the parents of seven children, six of whom are living, the subject being the eldest. In his boyhood Mr. Falconer's father divided his time between attending school and assisting his father in clearing a farm out of the wilderness. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in an Ohio regiment and risked his life for the defense of the Union, during the latter part of the great conflict between the states. At its termination he returned to the Buckeye state and there engaged in farming for the remainder of his days. Ile was a member of the Presbyterian church and in politics was Republican.
The Falconer family was founded in America by the great-grand- parents of the subject, who were born in Invernessshire, Scotland. They left Caledonia on a sailing ship, with their family to come to this coun- try, but owing to adverse winds landed on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and on this island occurred the birth of John Falconer, the grandfather of the subject. They were eventually conveyed to the desired destination and soon thereafter found their way to the Scotch settlement in Columbiana county, Ohio. Soon after taking up their abode in the new state, John Falconer's parents died and he was left an orphan and a man of kindly inclination, named Andrew Smith. reared the little lad. When John came to years of strength and dis- cretion he cleared for himself a farm out of the wilderness and there
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spent his days, living the peaceful, busy, wholesome life of the pioneer, with all its peculiar joys and sorrows. He was a member of the First Presbyterian church in his locality and became one of the elders.
John C. Falconer, the immediate subject of this review, received his education in the district schools and assisted his father in the conduct of the farm until the age of nineteen years. ITis first adventure as an active factor in the world of affairs was in the capacity of a teacher, becoming a pedagogue in the same school in which he had received his education. After having taught for a number of winter terms, in the spring of 1884 Mr. Falconer made a change of residence and went to Page county, Iowa, where he farmed in the summer months and taught school in the winter. In the fall of 1886 he made another change, this time going farther west to Kansas and tarrying four seasons in Wichita, and in Harper and Mead counties, buying land in the latter county with the money he had saved from school teaching. IIe returned to his native Buckeye state and visited his parents, with whom he remained throughout the winter. Ile then returned to Wichita, Kansas, and entered the employ in that city of a company of bed spring mamifac- turers, later assuming a more independent footing by establishing a like manufactory on a small scale in association with a Mr. Benbow, under the firm name of Benbow & Falconer.
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