USA > Kansas > Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Voilume I > Part 13
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Soon after the war, when industrial life became normal, manufac- tories began to spring up in Atchison. Elevators and mills were erected in the late '6os and early 'zos; a flax mill was built; the Atchison Foun- dry and Machine Works, one of the most important commercial enter- pries, was started; also many wood working factories, and carriage and wagon works. Since that time her progress as an industrial center has been steady. Civic improvements have been of paramount interest to the citizens of Atchison, and today there are many miles of paved streets, an excellent waterworks system, sewer, telephone, electric light- ing and electric railway systems. Natural gas, piped from the southern part of the state, is utilized for lighting, heating and manufacturing pur- poses. The city has gained a reputation for its fine flour mills, car-re- pair shops, foundries, wooden ware, and furniture factories. It is also a large jobbing center for groceries, hardware and drugs. In 1911 At- chison had a population of 16,429, making it the fifth city in the state.
Atchison County, one of the northeastern counties of the state, was created by the first territorial legislature in 1855, with the following ·boundaries, "Beginning at the southeast corner of the county of Doni- phan; thence west twenty-five (25) miles; thence south sixteen (16) miles; thence east to the Mississippi (Missouri) river; thence up said river to the place of beginning." The county was named in honor of David R. Atchison, United States senator from Missouri, and the town of Atchison was made the county seat. In 1868, the boundaries of the county were redefined as follows: "Commencing at the southeast corner of Doniphan county; thence with the southern boundary of Doniphan county, to the township line between townships 4 and 5 south; thence west with the said township line between townships 4 and 5 south, to the range line between ranges 16 and 17 east; thence south with said range line, to the southwest corner of section 19, of township 7 south, of range 17 east; thence east with the section lines to the intersection with the west boundary line of the State of Missouri; thence north with said boundary line of the State of Missouri, to the place of beginning."
Atchison county is in the second tier of counties south of the Nebraska state line and has an area of 423 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Brown and Doniphan counties, on the east by Doniphan coun- ty and the Missouri river, which divides it from the State of Missouri, on the south by Leavenworth and Jefferson counties and on the west by Jackson county. It is divided into the following townships: Benton, Center, Grasshopper, Kapioma, Lancaster, Mount Pleasant, Shannon and Walnut. The surface of the county is gently undulating prairie, except along the Missouri river where it breaks into prominent bluffs.
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The average width of the valleys is from a quarter of a mile to a mile and a half and these constitute about- one-eighth of the area. Timber is found along all the streams, the principal varieties being black wal- nut, burr-oak, black and white oak, hickory, red and white elm and honey-locust. Besides the Missouri river, which forms the eastern boundary, there is the Delaware river, which flows across the southwest corner, Stranger creek in the center of the county, and Independence creek which forms a part of the northeastern boundary. A mineral spring, said to have medicinal properties, is at Arrington in the south- west. Limestone and sandstone are plentiful; a rich vein of coal, aver- aging 3 feet or more in thickness, has been found just outside the cor- porate limits of Atchison; and there an abundance of clay for making vitrified brick.
The territory now embraced within the limits of the county originally formed a part of the Kickapoo reserve, established by the treaty of 1833, with the exception of the southwest corner which was a part of the Dela- ware reserve and outlet, established by the treaty of 1831. These lands were ceded, under certain conditions, to the general government in 1854 and opened to settlement.
The first white men to visit the county now embraced within the boundaries of Atchison county were French traders, who passed up the Missouri river during the first quarter of the eighteenth century. French trade was well established upon the Missouri river by 1764 and the eastern part of Atchison county known to the traders. Lewis and Clark passed along the eastern boundary on their expedition in 1804 and spent some time in exploring the banks of the Missouri river. In 1818 the first military post established by the United States government in what is now Kansas was built on the Isle au Vache (q. v.), or Cow island. It was known as Cantonment Martin.
In 1833, the Methodist Episcopal church established a mission among the Kickapoos, located in what is now the northwestern corner of the county near Kennekuk. The first white man to locate permanently and erect a home is supposed to have been a Frenchman named Pensonea11, who married a Kickapoo Indian and settled on the banks of Stranger creek in 1839.
As soon as it was definitely known that Kansas Territory would be opened to settlement, the pro-slavery party in Missouri began to lay plans by which the county would be settled by men of their political faith. Some of the first settlers were a party from Iatan, Mo., who took claims in the vicinity of Oak Mills in June, 1854, but the actual settlers and the real founders of the county and city of Atchison did not enter the territory until the next month. (See Atchison.) Some of the set- lers of Atchison county in 1854 were James T. Darnall, Thomas Dun- can, Robert Kelly, B. F. Wilson, Henry Cline and Archibald Elliott. The county was surveyed into townships in 1855, and into sections in fall of that year. One of the earliest, and practically the only free-state settlement in Atchison county, was started in Center township in Oct.,
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1854, by Caleb May. The town of Pardee was laid out in the spring of 1857 and named in honor of Pardee Butler, a minister of the Chris- tian church and one of the ardent free-state advocates. Monrovia was laid out in 1856 and Lancaster in 1857.
About five miles west of Atchison the old military road ran north and south across the county and there the citizens of Atchison sold land to the Mormon emigrant agents. For years quite a settlement of them was to be found there, although they rarely remained long. The roads west through the county became deeply worn into ruts by the thousands who passed over them. The overland stage route to Cali- fornia ran west through Atchison county into Franklin county ; the But- terfield overland dispatch to Denver started from Atchison, as did also the parallel roads to the gold fields. Thousands passed along these well known highways, but there were few settlers in Atchison county from any state except Missouri. In fact they so predominated that the peo- ple who advocated free-state principles did not dare let it be known. The first open trouble between a free-state man and the pro-slavery men in Atchison county occurred in 1855, when J. W. B. Kelley, a free- soiler in politics, made offensive remarks about slavery, and particularly about a female slave who was supposed to have committed suicide. Her owner in consequence inflicted bodily chastisement upon Kelley. A large number of the citizens of the town adopted resolutions order- ing Kelley, under penalty of further punishment, to leave the town. They also ordered all emissaries of the abolition societies to leave or their reward would be "the hemp." It was resolved to "purge" the county of all free-state people. All persons who refused to sign the resolutions were to be regarded and treated as abolitionists. (See But- ler, Pardee.)
The bold attitude of the free-state settlers of Lawrence increased the fire of political feeling among the pro-slavery men of Atchison and added to their martial ardor. In the Wakarusa War (q. v.) an Atchison company took a promient part in the siege. Other companies were in the battle of Hickory Point.
The pro-slavery leaders of Atchison, who dominated the politics of the county, had so terrorized the other settlers that up to the sum- mer of 1857 the free-state men in the county had formed no organiza- tion. Meetings had been held outside of Atchison, however, and dur- ing the summer a society was formed at Monrovia with F. G. Adams as chairman. About the same time the Atchison Town company dis- posed of a large part of its property interests to the New England Aid company, and the Squatter Sovereign, the first newspaper in the coun- ty, originally a strong pro-slavery organ, was turned over to S. C. Pomeroy, who, with F. G. Adams and Robert McBratney, turned it into the Champion, a free-state sheet.
As the town company had made such a compromise in politics for the sake of business, Mr. Adams thought that the free-state men could go still further, and advertised that Gen. James H. Lane would speak
(I-8)
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in Atchison on Oct. 19. A number of reliable free-state men came up from Leavenworth to see fair play, as the opposition had declared that Lane should not speak. Mr. Adams was assaulted in the morning and feeling ran so high with both parties parading the streets armed, that it was decided to postpone the meeting. Lane was turned back before entering the city and thus further trouble was avoided.
Atchison county was the first county in Kansas to secure railroad connections. The St. Joseph & Atchison road was completed to Atchi- son in Feb., 1860. This was most important for the county and city, as it removed from Leavenworth much of the trade that had formerly gone there, and secured the shipment of all the government freight to the western military posts. It also removed the starting point of the overland mail to Atchison from St. Joseph. At the present time the county's shipping facilities are provided by two lines of the Missouri Pacific, one entering on the western border, the other on the northern, converging at Atkinson: a branch line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, which enters the county in the northeast and terminates at Atchison ; a line of the Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe, has its terminus at Atchison, with a branch from Hawthorn to Kansas City. The Chi- cago, Rock Island & Pacific, Hannibal & St. Joseph and Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs railroads cross the Missouri river from Missouri to Atchison and connect that city with the east and the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western railroad crosses the southeast corner.
The county commissioners of Atchison county were elected by the territorial legislature, and Gov. Woodson signed their commissions on Aug. 31, 1855. They met and organized on Sept. 17 at the house of O. B. Dickerson in Atchison, the members present being William J. Young, James M. Givens and James A. Headley, probate judge. Wil- liam McVay had been appointed sheriff previous to this meeting, at which time the following officers were appointed by the board: Ira Morris, clerk and recorder; Samuel Walters, assessor; Samuel Dick- son, treasurer. The county was divided into three townships: Grass- hopper, Mount Pleasant and Shannon. The next day Eli C. Mason was appointed sheriff in place of McVay, who resigned, and Dudley McVay was chosen coroner. Voting precincts were established for each township in preparation for the election of a delegate to Congress, which was set for the first Monday of October. The town company of Atchison had offered to donate "Block 10" for the location of the county court-house. The offer was accepted and in October the com- missioners ordered that this block be made the site of a brick building at least 40 feet square. Fifty lots were sold on May 1, 1856, the.pro- ceeds to be used to help in the expense of the building. There was some question as to the permanent location of the county seat, and this was not settled until the election held on the first Monday in Oct., 1858, when Atchison received the majority of votes. Work was then pushed rapidly along and the court-house was completed in 1859. The county jail, adjoining it, was completed about the same time. As
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the offices in the old court-house grew too crowded with the increasing business, a fine new court-house was erected in the winter of 1896-97. No bonds were issued, the funds to pay for it being secured by three annual direct tax levies. In 1869 the county purchased a poor farm 4 miles south of the city of Atchison, and erected an $8,000 building. This farm has been self-supporting.
When the call came for volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil war, no men were more patriotic than those of Atchison county, which was represented in the First, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, Thirteenth and First (colored) Kansas regiments; the First Nebraska and the Thir- teenth Missouri; and also in the Ninth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Kan- sas regiments. Being on the border, Atchison county was liable to raids from the Confederate army and guerrilla bands from across the border, which necessitated the raising of companies of home guards. During the year 1863 the depredations of lawless bands became so annoying that vigilance committees were formed, the members taking an oath to support the Union and to assist in suppressing rebellion. They became an effective auxiliary to the civil authorities in punish- ing violators of the law.
Atchison, situated in the eastern part of the county on the Missouri river, is the seat of justice as well as the largest and most important town in the county. It is a shipping and jobbing point for a large and rich agricultural territory.
According to the U. S. census for 1910 the population of Atchison county was 28,107. The value of farm products that year, including live stock, was $2,723,570. The five principal crops, in the order of their value, were : corn, $1,112,386; oats, $236,552 ; hay, $216,282 ; wheat, $170,850, and the value of live stock slaughtered or sold for slaughter was $600,709.
Atchison, David R., jurist and United States senator, was born in Fayette county, Ky., Aug. 11, 1807. His father was an industrious farmer of influence in the neighborhood. At an early age David was put in a grammar school, but left it to enter Transylvania University, where he graduated. In 1828 he began to study law at the Lexington Law School, where he remained two years. He then went to Clay county, at that time the extreme border of Missouri. He quickly adapted him- self to the life and society of the frontier ; took part in politics, and soon became a prominent figure in the life of the country. In 1834 he was elected to the state house of representatives of Missouri and in 1838 was reelected. During this session he was chosen major-general of the state militia to operate against the Indians, but never saw any active service. In 1840 he was defeated as a candidate for the state legisla- ture, and in 1841, was elected to the bench of the Platte judicial circuit. Two years later he was chosen by Gov. Reynolds to fill the vacancy in the United States senate, occasioned by the death of Dr. Lewis Lynn; was elected in 1844 to the position by the state legislature, and reëlected in 1849. At the time of the death of William R. King, the vice-president
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elect, Mr. Atchison, being president of the senate, became ex-officio vice- president of the United States. When the question of the organization of the Nebraska Territory came before the senate, Mr. Atchison opposed it, but at the next session favored it, and though the validity of the Missouri Compromise had not then been questioned, he proposed, re- gardless of restrictions, to introduce slavery into the territory. In the summer of 1853, he announced himself in favor of the repeal of the Mis- souri Compromise and the following winter was a warm supporter of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. He aspired to the presidency and for some time his name appeared in the border papers as a candidate. He ran for the United States senate in 1855 but was defeated. The following year he spent the most of his time in Kansas leading the Platte County Rifle company, but after the defeat of slavery in Kansas he retired to his farm. At the beginning of the Civil war he entered the Confederate service, but soon retired because of dissatisfaction with the manage- ment. After the war he lived in retirement until his death, Jan. 26, 1886.
Atchison Institute, a private school at Atchison, was founded in 1870 with Mrs. H. E. Monroe as the first principal. Cutler's History of Kansas says it was established as a cooperative enterprise of the instruc- tors. The Kansas Monthly for June, 1879, says: "The Institute is lo- cated on Kansas avenue between Third and Fourth streets. The build- ings are of stone, one 25 by 50 feet, and the other 20 by 30 feet, both three stories high. It has five well appointed recitation rooms and six- teen rooms for the accommodation of boarders from abroad. During the past six months 200 students have been enrolled, with an average attendance in the various departments of 144."
The property of the school was at that time valued at $25,000. Since then many important additions have been made and the Institute is still one of the well known private educational institutions of the state.
Athol, a thriving little town of Smith county, is a station on the Chi- cago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., in Lane township, 8 miles west of Smith Center, the county seat. It has a bank, a grain elevator, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, some good general stores and is a shipping point of considerable importance. The population in 1910 was 350.
Atlanta, an incorporated town of Cowley county, is situated in Omnia township on the line of the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., about 20 miles northeast of Winfield, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with three rural delivery routes, telegraph and express offices, telephone connection with the surrounding region, some well appointed retail stores, and is the shipping and supply point for a large agricultural district in the northern part of the county. The population in 1910 was 330.
Attachments .- The plaintiff in a civil action for the recovery of money or in a suit for alimony may, at or after the commencement thereof, have an attachment against the property of the defendant: Ist-When the defendant or one of several defendants is a foreign corporation, or
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a non-resident of this state; but no order of attachment shall be issued for any claim other than a debt or demand arising upon contract, judg- ment or decree, unless the cause of action arose wholly within the limits of this state, which fact must be established on the trial. 2nd- When the defendant or one of several defendants has absconded with intention to defraud his creditors. 3d-When the defendant has left the county of his residence to avoid process. 4th-When he conceals himself for that purpose. 5th-When he is about to remove his prop- erty or a part thereof out of the jurisdiction of the court to defraud creditors. 6th-When he is about to convert his property or a part thereof into money for that purpose. 7th-When he has property or rights in action which he conceals. 8th-In case he has assigned, re- moved or disposed of, or is about to dispose of, his property or a part thereof to defraud creditors. 9th-In case he fraudulently contracted the debt or incurred the liability or obligation for which the suit is about to be or has been brought. 10th-Where the damages for which the action is brought are for injuries arising from the commission of some felony or misdemeanor or the seduction of any female. 11th -- When the debtor has failed to pay the price or value of any article or thing delivered, which by contract he was bound to pay upon delivery.
The order of attachment shall not be issued by the clerk until an undertaking on the part of the plaintiff has been executed by one or more sufficient sureties, approved by the clerk and filed in his office, in a sum not exceeding double the amount of the plaintiff's claim, to the effect that the plaintiff shall pay to the defendant all damages which he may sustain by reason of the attachment, if the order be wrongfully obtained; but 10 undertaking shall be required where the party or parties defendant are all non-residents of the state or a foreign corporation.
An order of attachment shall be issued by the clerk of the court in which the action is brought in any case mentioned when there is filed in his office an affidavit of the plaintiff, his agent or attorney, show- ing: Ist-The value of the plaintiff's claim. 2nd-That it is just. 3d-The amount which the affiant believes the plaintiff ought to re- cover. 4th-The existence of some one of the grounds enumerated.
If the defendant or other person on his behalf, at any time before judgment, cause an undertaking to be executed to the plaintiff by one or more sureties resident in the county, to be approved by the court, in double the amount of the plaintiff's claim as stated in his affidavit, to the effect that the defendant shall perform the judgment of the court, the attachment in such action shall be discharged and restitution made of any property taken under it or the proceeds thereof. Such under- taking shall also discharge the liability of a garnishee in such action for any property of the defendant in his hands.
Attica, one of the principal incorporated towns of Harper county, is in Ruella township, and is the eastern terminus of a division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs west to Medicine Lodge.
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Being situated in the midst of a fine agricultural district, about 12 miles northwest of Anthony, Attica is an important commercial center and shipping point. It has a bank, a grain elevator, a weekly news- paper (the Independent), an international money order postoffice from which emanate two rural delivery routes, telegraph, telephone and ex- press accommodations, good schools, and churches of several of the leading denominations. Attica is one of the few towns that more than doubled its population in the decade between 1900 and 1910. In the former year the population was 311 and in the latter it was 737, a growth that speaks well for the location of the town and the enterpris- ing spirit of its inhabitants.
Atwater, a rural post-hamlet of Meade county, is located on a little tributary of Crooked creek, about 13 miles south of Meade, the county seat and most convenient railroad station.
Atwood, the county seat of Rawlins county, is an incorporated city of the third class, with a population of 680 in 1910, a gain of 194 during the preceding ten years. It was laid out in April, 1879, by T. A. An- drews and J. M. Matheny in section 4, town 3, range 33, but this prov- ing to be school land, the town was moved the following spring to its present site on Beaver creek in Atwood township, near the center of the county. After a contest (see Rawlins County) Atwood was made the permanent county seat in July, 1881. It has two banks, three week- ly newspapers, several good mercantile establishments, graded public schools and a high school, telegraph and express offices, an international money order postoffice with two free rural delivery routes, telephone connection with the surrounding towns, a hotel, and some small manu- facturing enterprises. Atwood is located on the division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. that runs from Orleans, Neb., to St. Francis, Kan., and is an important shipping point. The leading religious denom- inations are the Baptists, Christians, Catholics, Congregationalists, Dunkards and Methodists, all of whom have neat houses of worship. A daily stage line runs from Atwood to Colby, the county seat of Thomas county, about 30 miles to the south.
Aubrey, Francois X., a noted scout and guide, was a French Ca- nadian of whose early life and antecedents little is known. During the days of the Santa Fe trade he was a familiar figure along the old trail, and was the first man to take a loaded train from the Missouri river to Santa Fe in the winter season. In 1849 or 1850 he discovered a new route to Santa Fe by crossing the Arkansas river at the mouth of the Big Sandy, not far from Big Timbers, and following the divide be- tween the Raton and Cimarron rivers. This route had an advantage over the old ones, as the longest distance between watering places was but 30 miles, while on the old trail via the Cimarron river the distance in some cases was 60 miles. For a wager of $5,000, Aubrey on one occa- sion rode from Santa Fe to Westport, Mo., a distance of 775 miles, in 5 days and 13 hours. He secured relays of horses from passing trains and won the wager, but was almost exhausted when he reached West-
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port and slept for twenty hours. Gen. Sherman mentions this ride in his Memoirs, and compliments the bravery and endurance of the scout. Aubrey met his death at Santa Fe in 1856 at the hands of Maj. R. C. Weightman, who afterward won distinction as an artillery officer in the Confederate army. Weightman and Aubrey met in a saloon and were in the act of taking a drink together, when the latter accused Weightman of publishing a lie on him, Weightman having formerly conducted a newspaper. Without replying to the charge, Weightman dashed his glass of liquor in the face of Aubrey, who immediately attempted to draw his revolver, but before he could do so his antagonist stabbed him to the heart.
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