USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people, Vol. II > Part 58
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Mr. and Mrs. Anderson attended the Swedish Baptist church and are both earnest church workers. Mrs. Anderson is president of the Ladies' Society. Mr. Anderson is a member of the fraternal order of Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Republican in political sympa- thies, but he does not always vote with the party. He prefers to pick his man for office every time and wants the best man to win, no matter which platform claims him as its own. At his own trade Mr. Anderson is an expert. In his domestic relations, as son, son-in-law, husband and father there is nothing to be desired. As a citizen he is both loyal and active. He has built two beautiful houses, both on Orville avenue, and everything about these two houses shows the care and thought which he has bestowed upon them.
MICHAEL ITYNES .- The late Michael Hynes of Kansas City. Kansas. whose untimely death on November 11. 1903. at the age of forty-two years, just when he was at the zenith of his usefulness and power for good to the community, threw a pall of gloom over his large circle of friends and the general public in the city of his home, was a fine type of the ready, resourceful and self-reliant sons of Erin. In any place and under any circumstances he would have been a successful man, making the most of his opportunities. But by wisdom in choice of locality and intelligent and vigorons use of the means of advancement he found at hand, he made his way steadily and withont extraordinary effort from nothing in the way of worldly goods to a comfortable estate, and from obscurity to general esteem and influence among men.
Mr. ILynes was born in county Clare, province of Munster. Ireland, in 1861, and was a son of Michael and Sarah (Honan) ILynes, of that country. They passed the whole of their lives there, as their ancestors did for generations before them, and when they died their remains were tenderly laid to rest in the soil hallowed by their labors amid tributes of respect from all classes of a community that well knew their worth and the uprightness of their lives. Their son Michael was reared in his native county and obtained a limited education in its national schools. He learned the trade of stone mason and worked at it there until the fall of 1883, when he came to this country, and with his bride of eighteen months duration found a new home in St. Louis, Missouri. Mrs. Hynes, whose maiden name was Annie Kennedy, was also a native of county Clare, Ireland, born on November 5. 1866, and a daughter of
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Edward and Mary ( Russell) Kennedy. who belonged to families long resident in that country. The father died in his native land and the mother, in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1883.
Mr. and Mrs. Hynes were married on March 3, 1882. They were aspiring in disposition, and earnestly desired a better estate in life than their own country seemed likely to afford them. They therefore determined to seek advancement amid the great wealth of opportunity in the new world. Bidding a painful adieu to the scenes and associa- tions of their childhood and youth, they courageously faced the dangers of the heaving orean and expatriation from their friends and associates. On their arrival in this country they came at once to St. Louis, Missouri. where Mr. Hynes worked at his trade five months. He then passed a year in the same employment in Kansas City, Missouri.
The thriving and progressive city of the same name across the "Kaw" had attracted his attention, however, and seemed to call him to a part in its industries with persuasive voice. He therefore made it his home and the seat of his operations in the spring of 1885. Here he at once became a contractor in stone and roek work, and hy great industry and well demonstrated capacity built up an extensive business, in which he employed a number of men. Ilis work was all done in the city or its environs, and it stands forth now as a monument to his skill and the conscientiousness of his labor and unvarying devotion to duty.
Ile and his wife became the parents of eleven children, only two of whom have died. Patrick, the last born, passed away in 1904, at the age of seven years. The living children are: Minnie, the wife of John Doleshawl, of Kansas City, Kansas; and William P., Sarah, Edward -Joseph, Michael J., Frances M., Anna S., Agnes Cecilia and Joseph, all of whom are still living at home with their mother. She is a lady of much more than ordinary attainments and intelligence, having been educated at St. Mary's Catholic convent in the county of her birth, and having also taken advantage of all the means of improvement at her command since leaving that institution, both at home and in this coun- try. She holds membership in the Catholic Benevolent Association and the order of the Triple Tie, and all the members of the family belong to the Catholic church.
Mr. IIynes was a first rate citizen, taking as earnest an interest in the welfare of the land of his adoption as he ever could have done in that of the land of his birth. He was zealous in promoting all public im- provements in the city and county of his home, and gave attention to their public affairs as an ardent and energetic member of the Democratic party in politics. Fraternally he was allied with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Sons and Daughters of Justice. He left his family in comfortable circumstances, his widow now owning three houses in Kansas City, which he acquired by industry and thrift and through her valned assistance.
BERT CHRONISTER .- Rosedale, Kansas, includes among its leading business men and social favorites Bert Chronister. cashier of the Rose- dale State Bank.
Mr. Chronister is a native of Kansas. He was born at Abilene, Dickinson county, in 1875. son of John S. and Maria K. ( Elliott ) ('hronister, the former a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1837, the
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latter of Ohio, born in 1844. John S. Chronister served as a Union soldier during the Civil war, and a few years after the close of the war. in 1871, came west to Kansas and purchased a farm in Diekinson conn- tv, where he prospered and was well known as an influential and highly respected citizen. Ilere for over thirty years he made his home, until his death, which oreurred in 1902. Politically he was a Republican. and his religious faith was that of the United Brethren church, of which he was a worthy member. ITis widow is still living, residing with Bert Chronister in Rosedale, Kansas. Elmer E. Chronister. the older brother, married Miss Carrie E. Kugler and resides on the home place. Herbert D. Chronister, a younger brother, married Mabel La Force and now lives on a farm near Harrisonville, Missouri.
On his father's farm Bert Chronister was born and reared. After attending district school a few years, he was sent to the Dickinson High School, where he pursued a full course and graduated in 1896. Then he returned to the farm and remained there a brief time, but his inclina- tion was for a business life and he sought it first at Chapman, Kansas, where, as bookkeeper, he began his banking career. Soon he was pro moted to the position of cashier, which place he filled there for four years. Then he came to Kansas City, Kansas, and helped to organize the Home State Bank of Kansas City. In 1903 he organized the Rose- dale State Bank, of which he is now cashier.
Like his father before him, Mr. Chronister votes the Republican tieket. He is not, however, active politically. In the social and fra- ternal life of the town he has been a prominent factor since he took up his residence here, maintaining membership in various organizations, including the Masons. the Odd Fellows. the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Aid.
BENJAMIN T. SHARP, M. D .- One of the prominent and well known physicians of Rosedale, Kansas, has been engaged in the active praetice of his profession for some fourteen years and the time has told the tale of an eminently successful career due to the possession of innate talent and unusual ability along the line of one of the most helpful profes- sions to which man may devote his energies-the alleviation of human pain and suffering and the restoration of health, which is man's most priceless treasure. He is a physician of experience. ability and thorough equipment and has gained a well deserved reputation throughout this section of Wyandotte county.
A native of Marion county, Missouri. Dr. Sharp was born on the 14th of December. 1874, and he is a son of R. N. and Lney (Woods) Sharp, both of whom were born and reared in the old commonwealth of Virginia. A number of the Doctor's brothers were gallant and faith- ful soldiers in the Confederate army in the Civil war, but the father never enlisted. although he was an ardent sympathizer with the eause of the South. £ R. N. Sharp was identified with the lumber business and with farming operations during the major portion of his active career, and he was summoned to the life eternal in 1909. his cherished and devoted wife having passed into the Great Beyond in 1879. He was an active and interested participant in public affairs in his native state and served as probate judge for a period of fifteen years and as county administrator for five years. In 1870 he removed with his
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family to Marion county. Missouri, where he passed the residne of his life.
To the public schools of Marion county, Missouri, Dr. Sharp is indebted for his preliminary educational training, the same including a course in the Palmyra High School. During the years 1891 to 1894 he was a student in the William Jewell College, at Liberty, Missouri, and subsequently he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, in which excellent institution he was gradnated as a member of the class of 1897. duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after graduation he came to Rosedale, Kansas, where he has since resided and where he has gained distinctive precedence as one of the leading physicians and surgeons in this seetion. His offices are at No. 12 Argentine Building and he also has an office in Kansas City, Missouri. In connection with the work of his profession Dr. Sharp is a vahied and appreciative member of the Wyandotte County Medieal Society, the Kansas State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is also affiliated with the Kappa Alpha Phi and the Delta Phi college medical fraternities.
In the city of Chicago, in the year 1895. was solemnized the marriage 'of Dr. Sharp to Miss Catherine Bates, who is a daughter of M. D. and Betty (Nichols) Bates, well known residents of Hannibal, Missouri. Mrs. Sharp was born and reared at Ilannibal and she is a woman of rare «harm and magnetic personality, one who is a potent influence for good in the community and home. Dr. and Mrs. Sharp have one son. Marion. who was born in Chicago in 1897. and who is now a freshman in the Rosedale High School.
While Dr. Sharp has neither time nor ambition for political pre- ferment of any description, he gives a stanch allegiance to the Demo- cratie party, believing that the principles of that organization contain the best elements for good government. He is an influential factor in all projects advanced for the good of Rosedale and as a doctor is widely renowned for extraordinary skill and deep human sympathy.
CHARLES A. McWILLIAMS, D. V. S .- Although his parents and grandparents lived in and contributed to the growth and development of several different states of the American Union, Dr. Charles A. Me Wil- liams of Kansas City, Kansas, the leading veterinary surgeon in that community, is himself a native of Richardson county, Nebraska, where he was born on June 29. 1868. The history of his ancestry suggests the restless activity of the American people in their days of conquest over the wilderness. Then persons from widely distant sections of the country came together on the frontiers and became members of the same household, repeating in the new region for opportunity they had invaded what their forefathers did in other regions under similiar circumstances in their days of adventurous and aspiring effort.
Dr. Mc Williams is a son of John B. and Mary E. ( Barnes) Mc Wil- liams, the father born in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 20. 1839, and the mother in Brown county, Indiana, on June 22, 1849. The parents of the father were James W. and Conney (Calvin) McWilliams, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of North Carolina. The mother's parents were Ephraim and Abby (Roberts) Barnes, both born and reared in Brown county, Indiana. The Doctor's father and mother
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were married in Little Rock, Arkansas. after the father had served through the Civil war in . the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry. Soon after their marriage they located on a farm in Richardson county, Nebraska, where they remained until 1875, then moved to another farm in Brown county of the same state. For fifteen years they ocenpied and worked this farm, but in 1890 a desire for another change took possession of them, and selling out their interests where they were, they took up their residence in Washington county, Kansas, remaining five years. In 1895 they moved to the farm on which they now live, with one of their sons as a member of the family circle, in Johnson county. this state. They own the farm, which is highly improved and valuable. and the son who lives with them is the only one of their offspring who is still with them. They have had six children : Henry, who died on October 2, 1895; Dr. Charles A., the primary subject of these paragraphs ; Frank, who resides at Rosedale. Kansas, and is an extensive breeder and shipper of hogs; George, who died on November 16, 1905; Anna, who passed away in 1874, at the age of two years. and the one who is still at home with his parents.
Dr. McWilliams was reared on his father's farms to the age of eighteen. then started farming on his own account on a farm he rented in Brown county. Kansas. Three years later he left this farm and moved to Washington county, this state, where he drilled wells and operated a threshing outfit. On July 25. 1895. he disposed of his property in Washington county and took up his residence in Kansas City, where he now lives, this being his second residence in this city. During his former residence here, which lasted from 1895 to 1900, he conducted a flourishing business in buying and shipping horses and other lines of enterprise. During this period, also, his experience made manifest to him the need of a veterinary surgeon in the city and the excellent field available there for the practice of the profession. Accord- ingly he took up the study of that branch of surgery in Western Veteri- nary College and completed the course in two years, then practiced in Kansas City until 1900. In that year he returned to farming in con- nection with his professional work, locating at Hoge, Leavenworth conn- ty, on a rented farm for the purpose.
The next year the Doctor changed the base of his operations to Tonganoxie in the same county, and at that point he continued both his farming and his professional work until the spring of 1905, then sold all his interests there and moved to Miami county, this state, where he remained engaged in farming and practicing veterinary surgery nntil 1908. In that year he sustained serious internal injuries in being thrown by a mule he had under treatment. This incapacitated him for further work on the farm. and indneed him to again locate in Kansas City, Kansas, and start an active business as a real estate dealer in con- nection with his practice. He deals extensively in farm lands and eity and suburban property. and is very sneeessful in his operations, nsing ex- vellent judgment and showing a considerate care of the welfare of his customers on all occasions.
On August 8. 1894, the Doctor was joined in marriage with Miss Minnie Fitch, a native of Washington county, Kansas, born on June 17. 1872. and a daughter of Frank and Charity Fitch, natives of Penn- sylvania. Three children have been born in the Me Williams household.
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all sons and all living: Lloyd Russell, whose life began on February 14, 1896: Charles Roy, who was born on July 4, 1900; and Herschel Harold, who first saw the light of this world on January 11, 1907.
Dr. Me Williams is a devout and zealous member of the Christian church, a member of the National Union and the Order of P. A. P., belonging to lodges in both in the city of his home, and a pronounced Democrat in polities. Ile served one year as school director in Leaven- worth county, and in all localities and many ways has been energetie in contributing to the welfare and advancement of the people around him by the faithful performance of every duty of good citizenship.
HENRY J. ARNOLD,-Though he is now a resident and influential citizen and business man of Sterling, Rice county. Kansas, Mr. Arnold was reared to manhood in Wyandotte eounty and was formerly identi- fied with important interests here, so that he is distinctly eligible for representation in this work. ITis venerable mother still resides in Kansas City, and here he makes her very frequent visits, with marked regularity, so that he incidentally keeps in close touch with the various interests of the city and county in which he long maintained his home.
Henry J. Arnold was born in Jasper county, Iowa, on the 30th of April. 1865, and is a son of Daniel and Rachel (Johnston) Arnold, both of whom were born in Ohio, where the respective families were founded in the pioneer epoeh of the history of that favored commonwealth. The father was born in the year 1833, and he died on the 16th of January, 1895. Ilis widow, now venerable in years, resides in Kansas City. Kansas, as has already been noted. Of their three children, all sons, Henry J .. of this review. is the only one now living. Daniel Arnold was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Ohio until 1858, when he re- moved to Jasper county, Iowa. He became one of the pioneers of that county, where he seeured a tract of land and developed a productive farm, besides which he was engaged in the buying and shipping of grain, at Newton, that county, for several years. In 1879 he removed to Rice county, Kansas, where he secured a large tract of government land, near Sterling, and where he had the privilege of repeating to a large extent his former pioneer experiences. He became one of the influential citizens of the county and in addition to general farming and stoek growing he built up a prosperous enterprise in the buying and ship- ping of grain, in which his operations covered a wide section of the western part of the state. In December, 1884, he removed to the old city of Wyandotte, the nucleus of Kansas City, Kansas, and here he was successfully engaged in the wholesale flour and feed business until 1893, when he returned to Sterling. Rice county, to look after the flour milling business and other interests of his son, who died in that year and who had been one of the leading business men of the place. These affairs at Sterling continued to demand the attention of the father until he too was summoned to the life eternal, in 1895. He was a man of impregna- ble integrity in all the relations of life, was broad minded and progres- sive as a ritizen, and while he never sought political preferment of an official order he was a stanch and effective advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party. He was a sincere and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, and both exemplified these elements of character that ever beget popular confidence and esteem.
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The early educational discipline of Henry J. Arnold was received mainly in the public schools of Newton, Iowa, and after the removal of the family to Wyandotte, then the county seat of Wyandotte county, Kansas, he seenred employment as clerk in a local abstract office. Later he served four years in the office of deputy clerk of the district court. and in 1895, after the death of his father, he went to Sterling, Rice county, to assume control of the various business interests with whiel his brother and father had been previously concerned, as already noted, and which had now come into the possession of his mother and himself. At Sterling he now operates most successfully the International Mills and Elevator, which provide facilities for handling of a large volume of business each year and which have important bearing upon the indus- trial prosperity of that section of the state. He is sole proprietor of the business and is also the owner of other property in Rice county. Like his honored father. Mr. Arnold is found arrayed as a stalwart sup- porter of the cause of the Republican party and he is progressive and liberal in giving his co-operation to measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community. He is affiliated with Sterling Lodge, No. 171, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons; Sterling Chapter, No. 50, Royal Arch Masons; Ellsworth Council. Royal and Select Masters: Sterling Commandery, No. 47. Knights Templars: the Ancient Arabie Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Kansas City, Missouri ; and Wyandotte Lodge, No. 440, Benevolent and Protee- tive Order of Elks, in Kansas City, Kansas. Mr. Arnold, who is a bachelor and apparently "heart whole and fancy free." has gained secure place as one of the progressive and snecessful business men of Kansas and his course has been so ordered as to retain to him the mm- equivocal regard of those with whom he has come in contaet in business and social circles. He visits his loved and devoted mother about every two months, and usually remains for a fortnight on the occasion of each visitation.
TIMOTHY J. ENRIGHT .- One of the excellent and estimable citizens and business men of Kansas City, whose death in the prime of life and usefulness was severely felt, not alone by those who knew and loved him best, but by the community to whose prosperity he contributed in definite manner, was the late Timothy J. Enright, road builder and contractor. The world instinctively and justly renders deference to the man whose success in life has been worthily achieved and who has gained a competence by honorable methods; whose high reputation is solely the result of preeminent merit, and Mr. Enright was one whom the world esteemed.
Mr. Enright was the son of Murty and Johanna (Hunt) Enright. and was born at Addison, Steuben county. New York. July 14. 1860. Murty Enright was born in Ireland and eame when a young man to this country in quest of the wider opportunity it promised to industry and good character. Ile had learned the butcher's trade, but after he came to the United States he worked on the railroad and located at first in the Empire state. Eventually he came to Kansas City, Missouri, and worked for Colonel Hunt, who was mayor of Kansas City at that time. He was with this gentleman for a long time, but finally went into business for himself. He married in Ottawa, Canada, Johanna Hunt.
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TIMOTHY J. ENRIGHT
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daughter of Daniel Hunt. This worthy adopted son of the land of the stars and stripes remained in Kansas City until his death in 1880, but his wife survived him for many years, or until October 12, 1910.
Timothy Enright was educated in the public schools of Addison, New York, and Kansas City, and after finishing his general education he pursued a course in Spaulding's Commercial College. He then started in business as a road builder and contractor. In this field his success was of the highest sort and proved thus from the beginning, for when he was only twenty-two years old he put the first track through Argentine, Kansas. His office was situated on Ruby street, Argentine, in which suburb he resided until his summons to the Great Beyond, July 14, 1906. Many of the paved streets in Kansas City were built under his supervision and he built many of the rock roads in Wyandotte county.
On November 7, 1892, Mr. Enright was united in marriage to Mary Erwin, a native of Chapman, Dickinson county, Kansas. She is the daughter of John and Ellen (McGrath) Erwin, both of whom were born in Limerick, Ireland. At the age of seventeen years John Erwin came to Kansas and in this state became a railroad contractor. In 1859 he went to what is now the town of Leavenworth, then only a railroad station. On November 7, 1861, he married his young countrywoman, who had come to this country with her parents. In 1862 he removed to Dickinson county, where both he and his wife took up homesteads. Ile is now a man of wealth, having added to his land until now he owns eleven hundred acres of land, upon which he maintains a large cattle ranch. There Mr. and Mrs. Erwin reside in a most interesting and commodious home, he having attained to the age of seventy-two years and his wife being seven years his junior. To them have been born thirteen children, ten of whom were living in 1911.
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