USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people, Vol. II > Part 44
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Mr. Kelly, removing to Kansas City, Kansas, in the fall of 1886, for the purpose of becoming agent and circulator of the Kansas City Star, has watched with pride and pleasure the healthful growth of the city from a population of fourteen thousand people to one of over eighty-five thousand souls. When he came here the daily circulation of the Star was less than eight hundred, the paper being brought to the Kansas side of Greater Kansas City in a small wagon. With the growth of the city and under the efficient management of its circulators-Mr. Kelly and his brother, George H. Kelly, who had charge of the Kansas City, Missouri, territory, the cirenlation of the paper has rapidly inereased, twenty-three thousand copies being now daily dis- tributed in Kansas City, Kansas, three large auto trucks being required to transport the edition that is cirenlated on the west side of the Kaw. Mr. Kelly has always been active in all movements for the betterment of civie conditions in his home town and is a member of the Mercantile Club, having been a director for a longer time than any other member. He has served the organization as first vice president and chairman of important committees. He has been president for three years of the Associated Charities and is a member of Tan Ro Mee, No. 30. of the Aneient Order of United Workmen. He took a leading part in the law enforcement movement that has made Wyandotte county a law abid- ing community.
On July 25, 1885, Mr. Kelly was united in marriage with Kate
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Shemberger, at Burlington, Kansas. Mrs. Kelly was born in Goshen, Indiana, being the oldest of the three children, two daughters and one son, of Samuel and Anna (Brown) Shemberger. Mr. Shemberger was born, reared, educated and married in Michigan, and moved to Goshen, Indiana, about the year 1860. During the Civil war he served as a soldier in the Thirty-first Indiana Volunteers, being a member of Com- pany A, and at its close moved with his family to Dallas county, Missouri, where for several years he was engaged in farming and stock raising. About 1875 he drove his stoek through to Coffey county, Kansas, and, having bought land, engaged in the stock business for thirty years. Disposing of his property in that vicinity in 1905, Mr. Shemberger and his good wife have since lived retired in Burlington, Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have one child, a daughter Maude, who is a teacher of domestic seience in the Kansas City, Kansas, high school, having graduated from the Kansas City State Agricultural College with the class of 1908.
WESLEY R. CHILDS .- When proper recognition is taken of those who have been specially loyal and influential in the furthering of measures and enterprises that have tended to conserve the material and eivie advancement and upbuilding of Wyandotte county and the state of Kansas at large, credit must needs be given to Wesley R. Childs, the present postmaster of Kansas City, the thriving metropolis of the county to which this history is dedicated. He has been unswerving in his devotion to the interests of his native state and has been partic- ularly active in connection with the improvements of the waterways, and he stands exemplar of the progressive spirit and broad minded policies that are so uniformly coneeded to the men of the great west. He has been a resident of Kansas City since 1895 and has been promi- nently identified with business, social and political affairs in Wyandotte county, where his sterling attributes of character have gained to him unequivocal confidence and esteem.
Wesley Richards Childs was born at Geneva, Allen county, Kansas, on the 26th of June, 1869, and is a son of Rev. Lucas S. and Sophia C. (Keyes) Childs, the former of whom was born in Wyoming county, New York, and the latter in Niagra county, that state, within whose borders the respective families settled in the pioneer days, the lineage of both being traced back to stanch Scotch-Irish origin. In 1869, a few months before his birth, the parents of the present postmaster of Kansas City came to this state and established their home on a pioneer farm in Allen county. The father improved this property and de- veloped a productive farm, but he finally entered the ministry of the Congregational church, and he devoted the last quarter century of his life to zealous efforts in the aiding and uplifting of his fellow men. He was a colporteur for fifteen years of this period and traveled extensively in this line, in the distribution of religious publications and in the up- building of churches in Kansas and Oklahoma. He died in 1909 at the age of sixty-seven years, and his life was one marked by signal conse- eration as well as by fruitful efforts in the field of Christian activities. His wife, who now maintains her home in Glencoe, Oklahoma, and who is a regularly ordained minister of the Congregational church, has long
Ursley R. Chieds
X
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been active in missionary work in that state and is a most effective public speaker. She is now living retired after long and earnest en- deavors as a minister and missionary. She proved a valued coadjutor of her honored husband, who was a man of fine intellectuality, and she stands as a type of noble and gracious womanhood. Rev. Lucas S. Childs also gave service in a far different way than demanded of the church militant, as he went forth in defense of the Union when its integrity was menaced by armed rebellion. He enlisted in the One IIundred and Thirty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry and partiei- pated in twenty-three of the important battles marking the progress of the great internecine conflict, including those of Gettysburg, Antietam and Lookout Mountain, in the last mentioned of which he was wounded. He was mustered out with the rank of corporal and he ever afterward retained a deep interest in his old comrades in arms. He was a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, but was not an active partisan. Rev. Lucas S. and Sophia C. (Keyes) Childs became the parents of three sons and two daughters, and all of the number are living.
The old homestead farm on which he was born was the stage of the experiences gained by Wesley R. Childs until he had attained to the age of fifteen years, and in the meanwhile he had availed himself of the advantages of the local schools of the period. This discipline was sup- plemented by one year's attendance at Park College, in Clay county, Missouri. When sixteen years of age, at his own request he was per- mitted to begin the battle of life on his own responsibility. He se- cured employment in a smelter at Scammon, Kansas, and later engaged in work as a car trimmer. He won successive promotions and finally was advanced to the position of salesman for the coal company by which he was employed. Later he was connected for twelve years with the J. R. Crowe Coal & Mining Company, of Kansas City, Missouri, and in this association he advanced from the position of salesman to that of general sales-manager. In 1895 he came to Kansas City and opened an office for this company, in whose employ he continued until 1907.
Ever a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, Mr. Childs has given voeman ser- vice in its ranks and been influential in its local councils. On the 29th of April, 1907, he was appointed postmaster of Kansas City, by Presi- dent Roosevelt, and his appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on the 9th of the following December. He has given a most eareful and acceptable administration of the affairs of this important office, has instituted many improvements in its system and facilities, and his term will expire on the 9th of December, 1911. He was in- strumental in obtaining the addition to and remodeling of the old post office, the appropriation being one hundred and sixty-five thousand, five hundred dollars. He put in fifteen additional postal stations in Kansas City, Kansas, equipped all sub-stations with new furniture and fixtures and revolutionized the entire postal service of the city, putting it on a solid business basis. All this, including the establishment of a postal savings bank, the elimation of all unnecessary Sunday work by employees and many other improvements has been accomplished during his four years in office.
Mr. Childs served two years as a member of the Kansas City Asso-
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ciated Board of Charities, and he has been specially active as "guide, counselor and friend" to boys and young men. He is vice president of the Missouri River Navigation Congress and is a member of the board of governors of the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep Waterways Association, besides which his zeal in connection with the improvement of navigation facilities is indicated by the fact that he is vice president from Kansas of the National Rivers and Ilarbors Association. He is also honorary vice president of the Lineoln University Endowment Association, which has in charge the securing of an adequate endowment fund for the Lincoln Memorial University, located at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. He has had charge of the sale in Kansas City of the Red Cross stamps to ereate a fund for furthering the work of preventing tuberculosis. He has been most zealous in the support of measures and undertakings tend- ing to advance the social and material welfare of his home city and Mrs. Childs, likewise, has been a valued faetor in eivie affairs; she is a member of the Kansas State Association of Women's Clubs and has had charge of its department of civies. Both Mr. and Mrs. Childs are mem- bers of the Western Highlands Presbyterian church in their home eity and both are popular figures in connection with the representative social activity of the community. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the United Commercial Travelers' Association and various other societies and organizations.
In the year 1893 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Childs to Miss Ella McClung, of Columbus, this state, and they have two children, Anna and Wesley McClung.
CARL SCHUBERT .- Numbered among the more intelligent and pros- perous agriculturists of Wyandotte county, Kansas, is Carl Schubert, of Bonner Springs, the owner of a valuable and highly improved farm which, with its modernly constructed residence and its substantial farm buildings, gives ample evidence to the passerby of his skill and good taste as a practical farmer and a rural householder. He was born in Germany, Mareh 9, 1845, a son of Fred and Johanna (Abel) Schubert, neither of whom are now living.
Immigrating to the United States in 1869, Carl Schubert came directly to Wyandotte eonnty, Kansas, locating at Bonner Springs, then called Tibleau, and began life in his adopted country as a stone mason. He subsequently turned his attention to agriculture, and fortune seem- ingly smiled upon his every venture. He wisely invested in land, and now owns a valuable estate of two hundred and thirty acres, on which he is extensively and profitably engaged in stock raising and dairying, industries which have netted him a good annual income. Ile is a Republican in politics and a faithful member of the Lutheran church, to which his wife and children also belong.
Mr. Schubert married, November 10; 1882, Henrietta Treff, who was born in Germany and came to this country alone, being the only member of her family to leave the Fatherland. She crossed the ocean in 1881, a year previous to her marriage. Fifteen children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Schubert, twelve of whom are living and assist in the management of the home farm, namely: Herman, who died in infancy; Gertrude; Johanna, who died in 1910; Carl, who died in infancy; Morris; Walter; Frederika; IIenrietta; Angusta, who mar-
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ried Walter Henshel, March 24, 1911; Christ; Rheinhardt; Clarence ; Oscar; Otto; and Fred.
CHARLES D. DARNALL .-- One of the leading real estate men of Kan- sas City, Kansas, Charles D. Darnall is carrying on an extensive and substantial business, his able management of affairs and his thorough knowledge of realty and it values winning him satisfactory success in his operations. He is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred September 24, 1868, in Platte county.
Richard T. Darnall, his father, was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, May 21, 1836, and died in Kansas City, Missouri, December 13, 1897. Migrating to Missouri in early life, he purchased land in Platte county, and for a number of years was a prominent farmer and stock raiser. He took a leading part in the affairs of his community, being one of the organizers of the Farmers' National Bank of Platte City and its president, and while there served as county assessor and county treasurer. Subsequently he went to Leadville, Colorado, where, in partnership with Judge John B. Stone, he was for four years engaged in mining. Coming to Kansas City, Missouri, he embarked in the real estate business with W. H. Craddock in 1879, and continued his opera- tions in that line until his death. He married Susan Benight, who was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1840, and died in 1868. Of the three sons and one daughter born of their union, the daughter and one son are dead, and two sons are living, namely: Robert and Charles D. Richard T. Darnall served as a soldier in the Civil war, being under command of General Shelby. He was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and was a Knight Templar Mason.
Charles D. Darnall acquired his early education in Platte City, Missouri, attending the public schools and the academy. When but seventeen years of age he became associated with his father in the real estate business, and has since operated sucessfully in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Argentine, Kansas. Ile is somewhat active in political circles, and though not an aspirant for officicial honors served as asses- sor in Argentine in 1903. Mr. Darnall is a member of the Kansas City, Missouri, Commercial Club, and fraternally belongs to Ben Hur Lodge, No. 322, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons; to Caswell Con- sistory, No. 5; and to Abdallah Temple, of Leavenworth, Kansas. He stands high in Masonry, having taken the thirty-second degree.
Mr. Darnall married, June 9, 1889, Edith G. Bliss, who was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of David G. Bliss. Born in Bradford, Penn- sylvania, November 29, 1840, Mr. Bliss was a pioneer merchant of Argentine, Kansas, in 1882 establishing one of the first dry goods stores in the town. He was the second mayor of Argentine, having been elected to the office in 1883, and for several years he served as city treasurer. During the administration of President Arthur he was appointed postmaster of Argentine, and was again appointed to the same position under Benjamin Harrison's administration. Ilis death, which occurred February 23, 1893, was deeply regretted as a public loss. A man of broad human sympathies, he was a firm believer in the "Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man," and strongly realized that he who scatters flowers in the pathway of his fellow men and lets into the dark places the sunshine of good will and human happiness is following in the footsteps of the Master.
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Mr. Bliss was twice married. He married first Eliza Cushman, who died in early womanhood, leaving two children, Edith G., now Mrs. Darnall, and John. He subsequently married Mary Orcutt, and of their three children two are living, Helen and Olive.
Mr. and Mrs. Darnall are the parents of three children, namely : C. Bliss, a student in the William Jewell College, and Leila Marie and Burton.
GEORGE E. BUGBEE .- A venerable and highly esteemed resident of Bonner Springs, George E. Bugbee, a retired agriculturist, is here pleasantly passing the sunset years of his life, enjoying a well earned leisure from business cares. A native of New England, he was born in 1837, in Perry, Washington county, Maine, coming from distin- guished Colonial stock, on his mother's side having been a lineal descend- ant of Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- dence. His father, John B. Bugbee, was a life long resident of Maine, his birth occurring in 1800 and his death, in 1898. Ile was a farmer by occupation, a man of sterling integrity and honesty, a member of the Congregational church, and after the formation of the Republican party was one of its most loyal adherents. He married Hannah Sherman, who was born about 1812, and died in 1853. Five children were born into their household, as follows: Elijah, George E., Thomas, Mary, and John B. Fraternally the father belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Brought up on the Maine farm, George E. Bugbee attended first the district schools and later the Washington Academy in Machias, Maine. Beginning his active career as a teacher, he taught school seven years in Washington county. Maine. At the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted in the First Maine Cavalry as a private, and was afterward commissioned lieutenant of his company. 4 His regiment, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, participated in many of the more important engagements of the contest, including those at Gettysburg and Antietam, two sanguinary battles of the Civil war, the battle-flag of his regiment, now in the state capitol at Augusta, Maine, bearing the names of thirty-nine battles in which it was borne.
In 1866 Mr. Bugbee migrated to California, and for seventeen years thereafter was inspector of customs at San Francisco. Coming east ward to Kansas in 1883, he purchased land in Johnson county, and there, on his fine estate of four hundred and fifty acres, was successfully en- gaged in general farming and stock raising for twenty years, in his operations being eminently successful. Locating at Bonner Springs in 1903, Mr. Bugbee purchased a beautiful cottage home and other prop- erty of value, and is here living retired from business affairs. He is a stanch Republican in politics, proud of the fact that he voted for Abraham Lincoln for president, and in 1905 was elected mayor of Bon- ner Springs. Ile is a member of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and he and his family belong to the Methodist church, to- wards the support of which he is a generous contributor. Ile was born, as he says, in the far east, has spent a part of his life in the extreme west, and is now a resident of the central part of the United States.
Mr. Bughee married, February 8. 1864. Helen M. Cooper, of Maine. and to them three children have been born, namely: George L., of Los
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Angeles, California, land agent for the Pacific and Electric Land Com- pany ; Alice C., wife of John A. Stark, postmaster at Bonner Springs ; and Fred W., who as a member of the "Rough Riders" fought bravely at San Juan and is now captain in the United States army. He mar- ried Grace Cornell, a daughter of Dudley E. Cornell, of Kansas City, Kansas.
KENNETH L. BROWNE .- One of the most enterprising and success- ful citizens of Kansas City, Kansas, Kenneth L. Browne has been active in financial circles for many years, and is prominently identified with the banking interests of his community. A son of Lawrence P. Browne, he was born December 19, 1861, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Lawrence P. Browne, his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred at Towanda, Bradford county, in 1830. When a lad of twelve years he accompanied his parents to Peru, La Salle county, Illinois, where he completed his school life. His first employment was in a dry goods establishment in St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained for sometime. In 1845 he located in Kansas City, Missouri, and for a while he was clerk for the mercantile firm of Walker & Northrup. In 1857 or 1858 he embarked in business on his own account, becoming a member of the firm of W. HI. Chick & Company, which was burned out in 1866. This firm made a specialty of furnishing outfits for the Santa Fe trail trade, such as ox team and mule team wagons, and all supplies for overland travel. It subsequently established an outfitting depot at Junction City, Kansas, then the terminus of the Kansas Pacific, now the Union Pacific, Railroad, and as the railroad was extended established depots at different places, keeping ahead of the road in every instance, depots having been located at Ellsworth, Kansas; at Sheridan, Kansas; at Kit Carson, Colorado; Granada, Colorado; at La Junta, Colorado; at Trinidad, Colorado; at El Moro, Colorado; with a branch of it at Pueblo, Colorado; at Otero, New Mexico; at Springer, New Mexico; at Las Vegas, New Mexico; and in El Paso, Texas. All of these have since been discontinued with the exception of the one at Las Vegas, which is now in charge of Mr. Browne's oldest brother. Millard W. Browne. The father was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a Republican in politics. He died in 1893.
Lawrence P. Browne married Artless J. Ladd, who was born near Columbus, Ohio, and prior to her marriage taught school in Wyandotte, Kansas. Her father, John W. Ladd, came to Wyandotte county from Ohio in 1844. £ She survived her husband, passing away in 1906. Eleven children were born of their union, all of whom are now living. as follows: Millard W., of Las Vegas, New Mexico, married Edith W. Swain, now deceased; Ruth A., a twin sister of Millard W., is the wife of C. N. Blackwell; Lydia M., widow of Thomas B. McNair; Cecil W., married Annie W. Welsh ; Ernest L., married Mae V. Bassett; Kenneth L., a twin brother of Ernest L .; Evan II., married Lillian Leland ; Helen F .; Jessie E., twin sister of Helen F., is the wife of Milton H. Norton ; Constance S., wife of Durbin I. Parsons; and Gertrude A., twin sister of Constance S., is the wife of John E. Balis.
Acquiring the rudiments of his education in the public schools of Wyandotte, Kansas, Kenneth L. Browne subsequently attended the Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri, and Spaulding's Com-
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mercial College in the same city. Beginning his active career as clerk in a seed house, he was afterward a clerk in the banking establishment of Northrup & Sons. When, in 1887, the business was reorganized as the Northrup Banking Company, Mr. Browne was made its cashier. In 1894 Mr. Browne organized the Merchants' Bank of Kansas City, Kan- sas, and became its eashier. In 1895 that bank was consolidated with the Commercial National Bank of Kansas City, Kansas, and he served as its vice president until 1908. Organizing in that year the Security National Bank, of Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Browne has since served as vice president of this institution. Ile is also a director in the Com- mercial National Bank and in the Kansas Trust Company, two strong financial institutions, and is financially interested in other business enter- prises and in manufacturing.
Mr. Browne married, October 12, 1887, Kate V. Brown, a daugh- ter of William and Athenia (Sharp) Brown, of Fremont, Ohio. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Browne, namely : Maude, who was graduated from the University of Kansas with the class of 1910; Dorothy, attending Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Kenneth, a pupil in the ward school. Politically Mr. Browne is a steadfast Republican, and fraternally he belongs to Wyan- dotte Lodge, No. 3, Aneient Free and Accepted Masons.
EBERT S. CABLE .- Prominent among the capable, intelligent and successful business men of Kansas City, Kansas, is Ebert S. Cable, who as manager of the Bonner Cement Plant is connected with one of the leading industries of this part of Wyandotte county. A son of Rufus E. Cable, he was born in 1863, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
A native of Pennsylvania, Rufus E. Cable's birth occurred in that state in 1836. He was there bred and educated, and as a young man got a good start in life. In 1865 he came westward with his family, locating in Kansas City, Kansas, where he was for many years actively engaged in mercantile pursuits. He is now retired from active business, and is residing in Kansas City, Kansas. An earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, he is very prominent in Wyandotte county politics, and is an active member of the Knights of Pythias. He married Fannie MeCurdy, of Pennsylvania, and she died in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1902, leaving five children, namely: Ebert S., with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned : Louise, wife of Edward Callen- der; Collin, engaged in the drug business at Los Angeles, California : Frank S., of Kansas City. Kansas ; and Leroy, of Kansas City, Missouri.
Receiving his preliminary education in Kansas City, Kansas, Ebert S. Cable attended the public schools and Palmer's Academy, completing his studies at a business college in Kansas City, Missouri. As a young man he worked for sometime on the Kansas City Journal, becoming quite familiar with newspaper work. He has since been connected with the postal service of Kansas City, Kansas, and for fourteen years was deputy clerk of the District Court. In 1910 Mr. Cable accepted his present position as assistant manager of the Bonner Brand Portland Cement Plant at Bonner Springs, and is fulfilling the obligations of his offiee to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. He has full control of the office, has won the esteem and confidence of the official members of the company, and is equally popular with the one hundred and twenty- five employes of the plant.
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