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 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
At the beginning of the border troubles the Platte Argus said edito- rially : "The abolitionists will probably not be interfered with if they set- tle north of the 40th parallel of north latitude, but south of that line they need not set foot."
A pro-slavery convention at Lecompton on Dec. 9. 1857, adopted resolutions denunciatory of Govs. Reeder, Geary and Walker for their efforts "to reduce and prostitute the Democracy to the unholy ends of the abolitionists." These instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but enough has been said to show that the pro-slaverites made no distinction whatever between the radical and conservative wings of the free-state party. If a man was opposed to slavery, though willing to let it alone where it already existed, he was just as much of an "abolitionist" as the extremist who would be satisfied with nothing less than immediate emancipation of all slaves, without regard to constitutional guarantees or the simplest principles of equity.
The radical anti-slavery people claimed that the Civil war was an anti-slavery conflict, and maintained that this view was justified by the emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln, notwithstanding Mr. Lincoln's previous utterance that he was not striving to abolish slavery, but to preserve the Union.
Academy of Language and Literature .- Wilder's Annals of Kansas says this society was organized on June 16, 1885, with the following officers: J. A. Lippincott, president ; O. C. Hill, vice-president ; W. H. Carruth, secretary ; J. E. Williamson, treasurer ; W. I. Graham, Lily M. Storrs and the secretary, executive committee. The objects of the acad- emy, as stated in the by-laws, were "to promote the love and study of literature and to encourage investigation and original production therein."
On Dec. 31, 1885, another meeting was held, at which time Prof. W. I. Graham of Baker University was elected president; Prof. William Mc- Donald of the University of Kansas, vice-president ; Miss Viola Price, secretary ; Prof. J. E. Williamson of the Topeka high school, treasurer ; and the executive committee was composed of Prof. Graham, Miss Price and Prof. T. W. Phelps. The dues of the society were fixed at $1.00 per year for each member, and in 1892 the academy numbered 75 members. After the magazine called the Agora began publication in 1891 it was made the official organ of the society. The last number of this magazine, published in March, 1896, contains the announcement that the annual meeting of the Academy of Language and Literature would be held at
22
CYCLOPEDIA OF
Lawrence in April of that year. No later record of the organization can be found. Its place in the literature of Kansas is now (1911) practically filled by the Kansas Authors' Club.
Academy of Science .- In 1867 several Kansas naturalists who were interested in scientific investigation, decided to form an organization for scientific research, particularly in its relation to the state and its natural resources. After considerable deliberation with regard to the formation of a society, the projectors published a letter in the Kansas Journal of Education for March, 1868, calling the attention of the people to the benefits which a Natural History Society would be to the state, as it would afford the means of associated effort ; give inspiration to natural- ists; arouse interest in scientific subjects ; put the state in communica- tion with various scientific bodies throughout the country, and collec- tions made by the society would be secured to the state. This letter met with considerable favor and in July a second letter or "call" was sent out, requesting "all persons in the state interested in natural science to meet at Topeka on the first Tuesday in September."
As a result of this call a meeting of the naturalists was held in Lincoln College, Topeka, Sept. 1, 1868, and an organization was effected under the name of the "Kansas Natural History Society," with the follow- ing officers: B. F. Mudge, president; J. S. Whitman, vice-president ; John Parker, secretary; Frank Snow, treasurer, and John A. Banfield, curator. The object of the society, according to the constitution, was "to increase and diffuse a knowledge of science, particularly in its rela- tion to the state of Kansas."
The second annual meeting was held in the Presbyterian church at Topeka, Sept. 7, 1869, when several scientific papers were read; a lec- ture on the Mound Builders was delivered, and the officers of the pre- vions year were reelected. On Sept. 5 and 6, 1870, the third annual meet- ing was held at the University building at Lawrence. Again papers on scientific subjects were read and the following officers elected: John Fraser, president; B. F. Mudge, vice-president ; John D. Parker secre- tary and librarian; Frank Snow, treasurer; B. F. Mudge and Frank Snow, curators. At this meeting Mr. Fraser suggested that the scope of the society be widened to comprehend the entire scientific field within the state. At the fourth meeting, held in the rooms of the board of edu- cation, Leavenworth, Oct. 25, 1871, the by-laws were amended to allow all observers and investigators along scientific lines to become members, and the name was changed to the Kansas Academy of Science. In 1873 the society was incorporated as a state institution. Section 2 of the act of incorporation provided that, "The Academy of Science shall be a coordinate department of the State Department of Agriculture, with their office in the agriculture room, where they shall place and keep for public inspection geological, botanical and other specimens, the same to be under the direction and control of the said Academy of Science."
In his message to the legislature in 1885, Gov. Martin said, "This is a useful organization, maintained at no expense to the state except the
23
KANSAS HISTORY
courtesy of having its reports published as a part of the biennial report of the State Board of Agriculture."
Since 1895 the academy has received legislative appropriations for its support. The members of the academy were instrumental in secur- ing the geographical survey of the state and have taken an interest in the development of the coal beds and natural gas wells.
A majority of the members of the academy are from the educational institutions of the state, who take an interest and are leaders in the important scientific research of the day. At the present time the offices of the academy and the specimens that have been collected are located in the north wing of the state capitol on the fourth floor. The officers of the society for 1911 were as follows: President, J. M. McWharf, of Ottawa; vice-presidents, A. J. Smith, of Emporia, and J. E. Welin, of Lindsborg; treasurer, F. W. Bushong, of Lawrence; secretary, J. T. Lovewell, of Topeka.
Achilles, a village of Rawlins county, is situated in Jefferson township, on Sappa creek and about 15 miles southeast of Atwood, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice and is connected by stage with Colby, whence it receives a daily mail. The population was 70 in 1910. Achilles is the principal trading point in the southwestern part of the county. What is known as the battle of Achilles was a fight between a band of 20 hunters and some Indians at a water hole about five miles south of the village on April 24. 1875. (See Sappa Creek.)
Ackerland, a village of Leavenworth county, is located in the west- ern portion on the Leavenworth & Topeka R. R. about 15 miles south- west of Leavenworth. It has a money order postoffice, express office, etc., and in 1910 had a population of 25.
Ackley, Ernest L., lawyer and regent of the Kansas State Univer- sity, was born at North Ridgeville, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1863, a son of Chaun- cey and Jerusa (McNeal) Ackley. About 1875 the family removed to Kansas and settled on a farm in Ottawa county, where Ernest attended the public schools until he was eighteen years of age, when he obtained a position in a bank at Minneapolis. After working in the bank for about two years, he entered the state university, and graduated in the law department with the class of 1890. For a time he was employed on the Salina Republican with Joseph L. Bristow, now United States senator, and was also employed by Charles F. Scott on the Lawrence Journal. In July, 1890, he became associated with A. L. Wilmoth, a classmate, in the practice of law at Concordia. W. WV. Caldwell entered the firm in 1897, when Mr. Ackley withdrew, and in Feb., 1901, he formed a partnership with P. B. Pulsifer, which lasted until his death the fol- lowing August. About the same time he was appointed by Gov. Stan- ley one of the regents of the university. Mr. Ackley was an active mem- ber of the State Historical Society ; a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and belonged to the Phi Gamma Delta college fraternity. In Nov., 1893, he married Miss Ada B. Fry, at one time a teacher in the Concordia schools. Mr. Ackley died at Concordia on Aug. 27, 1901.
.
21
CYCLOPEDIA OF
Acknowledgments .- (See Deeds.)
Acres, a post-village of Clark county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles west of Ashland, the county seat. It is a shipping and supply point for the neighborhood in which it is situ- ated, and in 1910 reported a population of 30.
Actions .- Actions are defined as ordinary proceedings in a court of justice by which one party prosecutes another for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the pun- ishment of a public offense. Actions are of two kinds-civil and crim- inal. A civil action may be commenced in a court of record by filing in the office of the clerk of the proper court a petition, and causing a summons to be issued thereon. The petition must contain the name, surname and place of residence of plaintiff and defendant; a clear state- ment of the cause of action and a prayer for judgment in conformity with the allegations of the petition, and must be signed either by the plaintiff or his attorney. Summons is then issued, addressed to the de- fendant. A copy of the petition need not accompany the summons, but the defendant or plaintiff shall be entitled to a copy of the petition, or any other papers filed in the action, upon application to the clerk there- for, and the costs of such copy shall be taxed among the costs in the action.
Actions before justices of the peace are commenced by summons, or by appearance and agreement of the parties without summons. In the former, the action is deemed commenced upon delivery of the writ to the constable to be served, and he shall note thereon the time of receiv- ing the same. In the latter case, the action is deemed commenced at the time of docketing the case. When a guardian to the suit is necessary, he must be appointed by the justice, as follows: First-If the infant be plaintiff, the appointment must be made before the summons is issued, upon the application of the infant, if he be of the age of fourteen years or upwards; if under that age, upon the application of some friend. The written consent of the guardian to be appointed, and to be responsible for the costs if he fail in the action, must be filed with the justice. Second -If the infant be defendant, the guardian must be appointed before the trial. It is the right of the infant, if over fourteen years of age, to nomi- nate his own guardian, who must be present and consent, in writing, to be appointed, otherwise the justice may appoint any suitable person who gives such consent.
The distinction between actions at law and suits in equity, and the forms of all such actions and suits formerly existing, is abolished, and in their place there is but one form of action, called a civil action. In such action the party complaining is known as the plaintiff, and the adverse party as the defendant. Actions shall be triable on the issues of fact within ten days after the issues are made up. Issues of law and motions may be tried by the court or judge in term-time or vacation, at such times as the court or judge may fix, after reasonable notice, which shall not be less than three days. Whenever damages are recov-
25
KANSAS HISTORY
erable, the plaintiff may claim and recover any damages to which he may be entitled for the cause of action established.
Ada, a village of Ottawa county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., and on Salt creek in Fountain township, 10 miles west of Minneapolis, the county seat. It has banking facilities, all lines of business activity, telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural mail route. It is the shipping point of a pros- perous farming community. The population in 1910 was 300.
Adams, a village of Kingman county, is located in Canton township, some 16 miles southeast of the city of Kingman. It is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., has a money order postoffice, and is a shipping and trading point for that section of the county, though the population was reported as only 20 in 1910.
Adams, Franklin George, one of the most earnest and energetic men of Kansas in the great work of perpetuating Kansas history, was born at Rodman, Jefferson county, N. Y., May 13, 1824, and was reared upon his father's farm. He attended the common schools and at the age of nineteen went to Cincinnati, where he received private instruction from an elder brother. He taught in the public schools of Cincinnati, and in 1852 graduated from the law department of what is now the University of Cincinnati. He became profoundly interested in the debate on the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and determined to settle in Kansas. To this end he joined a party from Kentucky which reached Kansas in March, 1855, and settled in what is now Riley county, where they founded the Ash- land colony. Before long Mr. Adams returned to Cincinnati, where he taught school again, but in April, 1856, he returned to Kansas and set- tled on a farm near Pilot Knob, Leavenworth county. He was forced to flee to Lawrence for protection during the border war, and bore arms in defense of that place against the invasion of the pro-slavery men. He was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention ; was active in the organization of the free-state party in Atchison county, of which he was elected the first probate judge in the spring of 1858. In 1861 he was appointed register of the land office at Lecompton. In September he moved the office to Topeka and held the position until 1864. He was also identified at different times with various publications of the state among them the Squatter Sovereign, Topeka State Record, Kansas Farm- er, Atchison Free Press and Waterville Telegraph. He was active in the formation of the State Agricultural Society and drafted the law under which it was organized. He became secretary of the state fair associa- tion which held the first state fair at Atchison in 1863. The next year he gave up his various enterprises in Topeka, returned to Atchison, was appointed United States agent to the Kickapoos, and removed to Ken- nekuk, in the northwest corner of Atchison county. He resigned this agency in 1869, and in the fall of 1870 located at Waterville, Marshall county, where in 1873, he published "The Homestead Guide," giving the history and resources of northwest Kansas. In the spring of 1875 he returned to Topeka, and the following February the directors of the
26
CYCLOPEDIA OF
newly formed State Historical Society elected him secretary. It was in this position that Mr. Adams did his greatest and best work for Kansas. He at once started the work of organization and pursued with steady effort every avenue which he thought capable of adding to the growth and resourcefulness of the society. During his residence in Topeka Mr. Adams was instrumental in establishing the kindergarten work among the poor. He was long a member of the Kansas State Grange and took special interest in the education of children on farms. As editor, author and publisher Mr. Adams was enabled to make his ideas known and to turn public opinion in the right direction. The great collection in the rooms of the Historical Society may be said to be the development and flower of a great life work. Mr. Adams was married on Sept. 29, 1855, to Harriet E. Clark, of Cincinnati. The whole state mourned when Mr. Adams passed away on Dec. 2, 1899.
Adams, Henry J., lawyer, was born at Rodman, Jefferson county, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1816. He was educated in the public schools, spent a short time at Oberlin College, Ohio, then read law and graduated from the Cincinnati Law School. He came to Kansas in March, 1855, and during the summer located at Lawrence. The next winter he was elected a member of the senate of the free-state legislature, and from that time took an active part in public affairs. During the session of 1858 the ter- ritorial legislature made him chairman of the committee to investigate the Oxford, Kickapoo and other election frauds. He took a prominent part in the Leavenworth constitutional convention and under that con- stitution was elected governor, but as Congress failed to admit Kansas as a state, he was never installed in office. Before the convention in 1858, Mr. Adams received an equal vote with Marcus J. Parrott for dele- gate in Congress, but Parrott was declared the nominee and was elected. Under an act passed by the legislature of 1859, Mr. Adams was ap- pointed a member of a committee with Judge S. A. Kingman and E. S. Hoogland, to audit the claims against the United States government, for losses sustained by citizens of Kansas because of plunder and de- struction of private property during the border war. Next to Gov. Rob- inson he was the most popular candidate before the Republican conven- tion which nominated the first governor of the state. Soon after the out- break of the Civil war he was appointed paymaster of the army and served in that capacity until the close of hostilities. He died at Water- ville, June 2, 1870.
Admire, a town in Ivy township, Lyon county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 20 miles northeast of Emporia, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, a feed mill, telephone connections with the surrounding towns, churches of several denominations, a good school building, a good retail trade, and does considerable shipping. The population was 300 according to the U. S. census of 1910.
Admission to Statehood .- In the formation of the Federal govern- ment, the thirteen original states assumed dominion over all the un-
27
KANSAS HISTORY
organized territory belonging to the United States, and delegated to themselves the power of arbiter of the destinies of new states seeking admission. Every time a bill has been introduced in Congress for the admission of a new state, it has been the signal for debate, but in no instance has the discussion been more acrid or more prolonged than in the case of Kansas. Four constitutional conventions were held in the territory, and four constitutions were submitted to the people before one was found that was satisfactory. (See Constitutions.) The Wyandotte constitution, under which Kansas was finally admitted, was completed by the convention on July 29, 1859; ratified by the people on Oct. 4 and on Feb. 14, 1860, it was presented to the senate of the United States by the president of that body.
On Feb. 15, 1860, Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, introduced in the house a bill for the admission of Kansas, which was referred to the committee on territories. This bill passed the house on April II, by a vote of 134 to 73, and was sent to the senate, where it was read and re- ferred on the 13th. During the next two months it came before the sen- ate several times, but was usually thrust aside by the influence of the members of the slave states, who did not desire the admission of a state that would in all probability send to the United States senate two men opposed to slavery, or at least opposed to its extension into new terri- tory. On May 30 it was called up by Senator Collamer of Vermont, who tried to force its passage. A week later (June 5) it was again called up. but this time further action was postponed on motion of Mr. Hunter of Virginia, who thought the military appropriation bill of more import- ance. On the 7th Mr. Wade of Ohio moved "to postpone all prior or- ders, and take up the bill for the admission of Kansas," but the motion was defeated by a vote of 32 to 26. This ended the consideration of the bill at that session.
The second session of the 36th Congress began on Dec. 3, 1860, and on the IIth the bill was called up by Mr. Collamer, with a view to mak- ing it the special order at some definite date in the near future. Mr. Green of Missouri objected, but the motion was carried over his objec- tion by a vote of 23 to 18. When the bill came up as a special order on the 24th, Foster of Connecticut, who was presiding, ruled that there was unfinished business before the senate that must be disposed of before the consideration of the Kansas question, and again there was a delay. On the 3Ist it was postponed to Jan. 14, 1861, by the same filibustering tactics on the part of the senators from the slave states, and when the 14th arrived it was postponed to the 16th. The friends of the bill thought that a vote could certainly be reached this time, but they reck- oned without their host, for on the 16th a motion to go into executive session prevailed, and the Kansas bill was made the special order for one o'clock p. m. on the 18th. When that time arrived, Mr. Green had an amendment, of which he had previously given notice, relating to boundaries, and the remainder of the day was spent in debating the amendment, which was defeated by a vote of 31 to 23. Immediately fol-
28
CYCLOPEDIA OF
lowing the defeat of the amendment there was a disorderly scene in the senate chamber, caused by a multiplicity of motions to go into execu- tive session, to adjourn, etc. The amendment had served the purpose of producing another delay in the final vote on the bill.
The following day the bill was again called up. This time Senator Fitch of Indiana had an amendment to offer, and again there was a long and tedious debate before the amendment was defeated. Some of the friends of the measure began to lose hope. This was the short session of Congress, and if the opponents could keep up their dilatory methods until March 3 the bill would have to go over to the next session. But the cloud that hung over Kansas was penetrated by a ray of light in an unexpected manner.
Five slave states had already seceded from the Union, and on Jan. 21 Senators J. M. Mason and R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia; A. P. Butler and R. B. Barnwell, of South Carolina; H. L. Turney, of Tennessee ; Pierre Soulé, of Louisiana ; Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi; David R. Atchison, of Missouri ; Jackson Morton and D. L. Yulee, of Florida, filed a protest against the action of the members of Congress from the north- ern states and withdrew from the senate. With their withdrawal the power of the slave oligarchy was broken. Scarcely had they left the hall, when Mr. Seward of New York moved to call up the Kansas ad- mission bill, but was informed by the vice-president that no motion was necessary, as the bill was then the special order before the senate. The remaining senators from the slaveholding states indulged in some per- functory debate, but they recognized the fact that their influence had vanished with the departure of their colleagues. The bill was soon passed by a vote of 36 to 16, and was signed by President Buchanan on the 29th.
The preamble of the bill recited the facts concerning the formation, adoption and ratification of the Wyandotte constitution, under which the state was asking for admission.
Section I provided "That the state of Kansas shall be, and is hereby declared to be, one of the United States of America, and admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever." The section then defined the boundaries (see Boundaries), and provided "That nothing contained in the said constitution respecting the boundaries of said state shall be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory which, by treaty with such Indian tribes, is not, without the consent of such Indian tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any other state or territory ; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the State of Kansas, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the president of the United States to be included within said state," etc.
Section 2 provided that until the next enumeration and apportion-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.