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 60
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Dean, a small inland settlement of Jefferson county, is about 6 miles south of Oskaloosa, the county seat and nearest railroad station, whence mail is received by rural delivery.
Dearing, a little town of Montgomery county, is located on Onion creek 12 miles south of Independence, the county seat, at the junction of two lines of the Missouri Pacific R. R. It has a bank, and all the main lines of mercantile enterprise. A large smelter is in operation handling ore which is mined in the vicinity. The town was incorporated in 1909, and the population according to the census of 1910 was 250. Dearing is supplied with telegraph and express offices and an international money order postoffice.
De Bourgmont .- (See Bourgmont's Expedition.)
Decatur County .- About 1870 there was a great tide of immigration to the western part of Kansas, which at that time was unorganized and a large portion of it unsurveyed territory. Within two years the popu- lation in that section had increased to such an extent as to justify the establishment of a number of new counties. Accordingly, the legislature of 1873 passed an act creating 22 new counties and providing for their organization. 'Section I of that act reads: "The county of Decatur is bounded as follows: Commencing where the east line of range 26 west, intersects the fortieth degree of north latitude; thence south, with the range line, to the first standard parallel; thence west with said parallel to the east line of range 31 west; thence north with said range line to the fortieth degree of north latitude; thence east with said parallel to the place of beginning."
Decatur county is therefore in the northern tier, and is the third county east of the State of Colorado. It was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur ; is exactly 30 miles square, with an area of 900 square miles ; is bounded on the north by the State of Nebraska, on the east by Norton county, on the south by the county of Graham, and on the west by the county of Rawlins. The surface is generally undulating prairie, breaking into bluffs along the streams. The northern part is watered by Beaver creek ; the central by Sappa creek, and the southern by Prairie Dog creek and the north fork of the Solomon river, all of which flow in a north- easterly direction. The belts of timber along the streams are narrow, less than five per cent. of the entire area being wooded land. Ash, white elm, box-elder, hackberry and cottonwood are the most common varieties. Fine limestone is found in the bluffs along the creeks, and in fact good building stone is found in all parts of the county. Clay suit- able for the manufacture of brick and tile is abundant.
A few settlers located within the limits of the county before the pas- sage of the act of 1873 defining its boundaries. Among these early comers were J. A. Hopkins, who came in Sept., 1872, and in December
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located a claim, the land having been surveyed the previous summer, and S. M. Porter, John Griffith, Henry M. Playford and a few others, who came about the time the county was created. Henry P. Gandy brought his wife with him, and she was the first white woman to become a resi- dent of the county. A child born to them in 1873 was the first white child born in the county, and the first death was that of a man named Austin who settled on Sappa creek in that year and died soon afterward. In April, 1874, a postoffice called Sappa was established where the city of Oberlin now stands, with J. A. Rodehaver as the first postmaster. The first marriage was that of Calvin Gay and Margaret Robinson in the fall of 1875, and the same fall George Worthington taught the first school, in what is now Oberlin township, not far from the present county seat.
The experiences of the early settlers in Decatur county were not materially different from those in other frontier localities. Roads had not yet been opened; the pioneer residences were either dug-outs, sod houses or log cabins of the most primitive type; markets were far dis- tant, and the trusty rifle had to be frequently depended upon to furnish food for the family. Fortunately game was plentiful. Buffalo hunts were common and seldom failed to provide a supply of meat, which was "jerked"-that is partially smoked and then dried in the sun-after which it would keep for an indefinite period. The country abounded in antelope, jack rabbits and wild turkey, with an occasional elk or deer. But the hardships of frontier life, the loss of crops by drought, grass- hoppers, etc., caused a number of the early settlers to abandon their claims and turn their faces eastward. The discontent was heightened by the Cheyenne raid of 1878 (q. v.), when on Sept. 30 Dull Knife's band killed 17 white men in the county. The victims were William and Freeman Laing, John Laing, Jr., J. G. Smith, E. R. and John Humphrey, Moses F. Abernathy, John C. Hutson, George F. Walters, Marcellus Felt, Ferdinand Westphaled and his son, Edward Miskelley, Frederick Hamper, and three men named Lull, Wright and Irwin. At the legis- lative session of 1909, J. D. Flanigan, the member of the house from Decatur county, introduced and secured the passage of a bill, of which, after giving the names of the victims, the preamble and section I were as follows :
"Whereas, Said citizens were buried near Oberlin, Decatur county, and their graves are unmarked and the location thereof is almost lost ; therefore,
"Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Kansas: That the sum of $1,500 is hereby granted to the board of commissioners of Decatur county, Kan., in trust, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 19II, to be by said board expended in the erection of a suitable monument at the last resting place of the persons above named. Said sum to be taken from any money not otherwise appropriated."
The monument was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies on Sept. 30, 1911, the 33d anniversary of the raid. This monument is historically important, not so much because it pays a justly deserved tribute to men
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who died in defense of their homes as because it commemorates the last Indian raid in Kansas.
After the Indian scare had abated, other settlers began to come into Decatur county, and by the close of the year 1879 the population was over 1,500, the number required by law for the organization of the county, which prior to that time had been attached to Norton for judicial and revenue purposes. A memorial signed by 250 householders, duly attested, was presented to Gov. St. John, who on Dec. II, 1879, issued his proclamation declaring the county organized. The governor appointed Frank Kimball, John B. Hitchcock and George W. Shoemaker as commissioners, E. D. Stillson as county clerk, and designated Oberlin as the temporary county seat. At their first meeting (Dec. 15, 1879,) the commissioners divided the county into six townships, viz : Grant, Beaver, Bassetville, Oberlin, Prairie Dog and Jennings; defined the boundaries of each; designated voting places, and ordered an election for county and township officers to be held on Feb. 3, 1880. At that election the following officers were elected: Commissioners, Henry Claar, H. C. Johnson and Frank Kimball; representative, M. A. Conklin; county clerk, N. G. Addleman; clerk of the district court, W. A. Colvin ; treas- urer, George Metcalf; sheriff, W. A. Frasier; county attorney, E. M. Bowman ; probate judge, Luther Brown; register of deeds, George W. Keys; superintendent of schools, D. W. Burt; surveyor, S. L. Bishop ; surveyor, Dr. - Street. At the same time the question of a permanent county seat was voted on, Oberlin winning over all competitors by a majority of 181 votes, and officers were elected in each of the several townships.
On March 8, 1887, Gov. Martin approved an act of the legislature authorizing the commissioners of Decatur county to levy a tax of two mills on the dollar for the erection of a court-house, and by the act of March 8, 1907, the commissioners were authorized to purchase a site and erect a court-house, the cost of which was not to exceed $50,000, and to levy a tax of not more than three mills on the dollar to pay for the same.
On June 12, 1879, Humphrey & Counter issued the first number of the Oberlin Herald, the first newspaper in the county. In 1909 there were six weekly papers published in the county-three in Oberlin and one each at Dresden, Jennings and Norcatur.
Decatur has three railroads. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific crosses the southeast corner ; a line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy crosses the northwest corner, following closely the course of Beaver creek, and a branch of the same system runs eastward from Oberlin. These three roads give the county over 56 miles of main track and afford fairly good transportation facilities.
The educational opportunities are good. In 1909 there were IOI organized school districts in the county, with a school population of 3,294. The estimated value of school property in that year was over $124,000. By the act of March 4, 1903, the county commissioners were
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authorized to establish a county high school on receipt of a petition signed by a majority of the electors. A petition was filed and the school was established at Oberlin, the county seat.
The county is divided into the following townships: Allison, Altory, Bassettville, Beaver, Center, Cook, Custer, Dresden, Finley, Garfield, Grant, Harlan, Jennings, Liberty, Lincoln, Logan, Lyon, Oberlin, Olive, Pleasant Valley, Prairie Dog, Roosevelt, Sappa, Sherman and Summit. The population in 1910 was 8,976; the value of taxable property was $12,659,175 ; the value of field crops for the year was $1,162,021, and the value of all farm products was $1,682,032. The five leading crops, in the order of value, were: Wheat, $397,421 ; corn, $255,980; hay, $209,427 ; Kafir-corn, $73,308; barley, $66,104.
Deeds .- Justices of the peace have authority to take the acknowledg- ment of deeds, mortgages and other instruments in writing. All convey- ances and other instruments affecting real estate, acknowleged within this state, must be acknowleged before some court having a seal, or some judge, justice or clerk thereof, or mayor or clerk of an incor- porated city. If acknowledged out of this state, it must be before some court of record, or clerk or officer holding the seal thereof, or before some commissioner appointed by the governor of this state, to take the acknowledgments of deeds, or before some notary public or justice of the peace, or before any consul of the United States, resident in any foreign port or country. If taken before a justice of the peace, the acknowledgment must be accompanied by a certificate of his official character ; under the hand of the clerk of some court of record, to which the seal of said court shall be affixed.
Any acknowledgment made in conformity with the laws of the state where the act is passed is valid here, but the official character of the per- son before whom the acknowledgment is made must be properly verified. Every acknowledgment or proof of any deed, conveyance, mortgage, sale, transfer or assignment, oath or affirmation, taken or made before a commissioner, minister, charge d'affaires, consul-general, consul, vice- consul or commercial agent, and every attestation or authentication made by them, when duly certified, has the force and effect of an authen- tic act executed in this state.
Deeds or other papers by corporations are executed by the proper officer in the same form as individuals. No seal or scroll of private individuals is authorized or required by the laws of Kansas. All instru- ments concerning real estate must be evidenced by writing, and the same may be duly recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county in which such real estate is situated. All persons owning lands not held by an adverse possession are deemed to be seized and possessed of the same. The term "heirs," or other words of inheritance, are not necessary to create or convey an estate in fee simple, and every convey- ance of real estate passes all the estate of the grantor therein, unless the intent to pass a less estate expressly appears or is necessarily implied in the terms of the grant.
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Any conveyance of lands, worded in substance as follows: A. B. con- veys and warrants to C. D. (here describe the premises), for the sum of (here insert the consideration), the said conveyance being dated, duly signed and acknowledged by the grantor, is deemed and held a convey- ance in fee simple to the grantee, his or her heirs and assigns, with covenants from the grantor. for himself and his heirs and personal repre- sentatives, that he is lawfully seized of the premises, has good right to convey the same and guarantees the quiet possession thereof; and that the same are free from all incumbrances, and he will warrant and defend the same against all lawful claims.
Deep Water Conventions .- Along in the '8os, when the subject of railroad rates became of such vital interest to the people of the western states, the attention of the people of those states was called to the expe- dient of having the government establish a deep water harbor somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico, where the railroad haul would be much shorter than to the Atlantic sea-board. The agitation finally culminated in a deep harbor convention at Denver, Aug. 28-31, 1888, in which several of the western states and territories were represented. At that convention a permanent interstate deep harbor committee was appointed, with John Evans of Denver as chairman. Under the direction of this committee, a larger and more representative convention was called to meet at Topeka, Kan., Oct. 1, 1889. In the meantime, however, Congress, in response to the resolutions adopted by the Denver convention, incorporated in the sundry civil appropriations bill a provision authorizing the secretary of war to appoint three engineer officers of the United States army to make an examination of the gulf coast and report as to the most eligible point for the establishment of a deep harbor.
When the Topeka convention met on Oct. I, 1889, it was called to order by Gov. Humphrey. All the states and territories west of the Mis- sissippi were represented by a full quota of delegates, and there were 16 delegates from Illinois. Kansas was represented by 24 delegates. Preston B. Plumb, United States senator from Kansas, was chosen per- manent chairman of the convention, and F. L. Dana of Denver was elected secretary. Of course, the principal object was to influence Con- gress to make an appropriation sufficient for the construction and main- tenance of a deep water harbor where the largest vessels could find safe anchorage. The subject was discussed at length, and resolutions urging an appropriation were adopted. As the resolutions show the trend of thought in the West at that time, they are given below:
"Whereas, The general welfare of the country, in so far as it relates to navigable rivers, harbors and commerce, is committed by the consti- tution of the United States to the exclusive charge of Congress ; and
"Whereas, Cheap transportation of our commercial products consti- tutes one of the most important elements of the general welfare : and
"Whereas, The Congress has donated to private corporations more than $100,000,000 of money and upwards of 200,000,000 acres of our national lands with which to construct artificial, and therefore mich
,
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more expensive highways, owned by private individuals, while they have neglected to make adequate appropriation for even one feasible harbor on the northwest coast of the Gulf of Mexico, which would not only afford very much cheaper transportation, but which, by our organic law, is under the exclusive care and control of Congress; and
"Whereas, There can be no justification of this discrimination in favor of private highways, which, during the last year, cost the commerce of the West an enormous loss in transportation expense, estimated at more than $120,000,000, or upwards of $10,000,000 per month; therefore.
"Resolved, first, That in reaffirmance of the action of the Denver con- vention, and of the committees organized thereunder, it is the sense of this convention that it is the duty of Congress to appropriate immediately and for immediate use, whatever amount is necessary to secure a deep water port on the northwest coast of the Gulf of Mexico, west of 93° 30' west longitude, capable of admitting the largest vessels, at which the best and most accessible harbor can be secured and maintained in the shortest possible time, and at the least cost ; the time, place and cost to be ascertained from the board of engineers appointed under an act of Congress passed at its last session.
"Resolved, second, That this convention, in behalf of the people it represents, thanks the Congress of the United States for the prompt and satisfactory action heretofore taken in recognition of the requests of the Denver deep harbor convention."
The 51st Congress made a permanent appropriation of $6,200,000 for the development of a deep harbor at Galveston, and in Aug., 1895, the work was so far advanced that Gov. Culberson of Texas wrote to Gov. Morrill of Kansas, requesting him to call another deep water convention to meet at Topeka on Oct. 1, 1895. Gov. Culberson also suggested in his letter the advisability of holding a great industrial exposition at Galves- ton, "to bring together the people and products of the West and encour- age Inter-American commerce."
Gov. Morrill accordingly issued the call for the convention. When it met at Topeka on Oct. I, Senator George G. Vest of Missouri was made permanent chairman, and Thomas Richardson, secretary. The principal action of the convention was to authorize the appointment of a com- mittee, to consist of five members from each western state and three members from each territory, and to be known as the "permanent deep water utilization committee." The purposes for which this committee was created were: to gather and disseminate information ; to correspond with steamship lines and boards of trade; to secure freight rates ; to pro- vide for an international exposition ; to encourage the construction of north and south railroads; to call another convention or conference, and also to call an international commercial congress if it deemed advisable.
Another deep water convention was held at Fort Smith, Ark., Dec. 15, 1896, but by that time railroad commissions had been established in several of the western states, and through the work of these commissions better freight rates had been secured on the railroads. Interest in the
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deep water project therefore waned, and after a short time the agitation ceased altogether.
Deerfield, a city of the third class in Lakin township, Kearny county, is located on the Arkansas river and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 7 miles east of Lakin, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, sev- eral well appointed mercantile concerns, churches of the leading Protest- ant denominations, and is a shipping point for a large agricultural dis- trict. Deerfield was first settled in 1885, was incorporated in 1907, and in 1910 reported a population of 152.
Deerhead, a village of Barber county, is located in Deerhead town- ship, about 20 miles west of Medicine Lodge, the county seat, in the Indian creek valley. Lake City, 10 miles north on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., is the nearest railroad station. The village has a money order postoffice, is the trading center for a large agricultural dis- trict, and is the headquarters of the "Ranchmen's Telephone company."
Defouri, J. H., one of the early Catholic priests in Kansas, was born in St. John La Porte, valley of Isere, France, Aug. 29, 1830. He was educated for the priesthood and was ordained at Chambery, Savoy, in 1854. Soon after taking orders he came to America and in Nov., 1856, arrived at Leavenworth, where he remained until 1862, when he was sent to Topeka. In 1865 he made a journey to his native land in the interest of the church in Kansas, and upon his return the next year he was made pastor of the Church of the Assumption in Topeka. In Sept., 1876, he returned to Leavenworth and in July, 1877, was made vicar-general of the diocese. Some years later he left Kansas to take charge of the Church of San Guadaloupe at Santa Fe, New Mex. Father Defouri was a liberal contributor to the Kansas Magazine and other publications of that nature on topics relating to Indians and the early Catholic church in the southwest.
DeGraff, a small hamlet of Lincoln township, Butler county, is a sta- tion on the Florence & Arkansas City division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. II miles north of Eldorado, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, express and telegraph service, a Presbyterian church, telephone connections, a hotel, a good retail trade, and does some shipping.
Deitzler, George W., soldier, was born at Pine Grove, Schuylkill county, Pa., Nov. 30, 1826. He received a common school education and removed to Kansas, where he became one of the prominent figures of the free-state party. He was a delegate to the Topeka convention, and in May, 1856, was one of the seven men who were arrested at Lawrence and taken to Lecompton under guard of Federal troops. They were known as the "treason prisoners" and were kept in a prison camp for several months. During the winter of 1857-58 he was a member and speaker of the Kansas house of representatives and was reëlected. Sub- sequently he was elected mayor of Lawrence, and also served as treasurer of the state university. At the outbreak of the Civil war he was made
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colonel of the first Kansas; was seriously wounded at the battle of Wilson's creek, in Aug., 1861, and never entirely recovered. He remained in the service, however, was promoted to brigadier-general, but resigned in 1863. During Price's raid he rendered great service in protecting the border. In 1864 he was commissioned major-general of Kansas militia. Gen. Deitzler was killed by being thrown from a car- riage at Tucson, Ariz., April 11, 1884.
Delahay, Mark W., jurist and politician, was a native of Talbot county, Md. Although his father was a slaveholder, his maternal ancestors were members of the Society of Friends, and he was averse to buying and selling slaves. He had scarcely attained to his majority when he decided to seek his fortune in the West. He first located in Illinois, where he was engaged in various enterprises; wrote for different jour- nals; studied law, and was admitted to the bar. In 1853 he went to Mobile, Ala., to practice law, but in the winter of 1854 he became inter- ested in Kansas, and in March, 1855, became a resident of Leavenworth. Although a Democrat and a supporter of the policy of "squatter sovereignty," his sympathies soon became enlisted with the free-state cause. On July 7, 1855, he began the publication of the Leavenworth Register. He served as one of the secretaries of the Topeka convention of Sept. 19, 1855, and as a member of the Topeka constitutional conven- tion the following month. In December, while he was attending the free-state convention at Lawrence, his office was destroyed by a pro- slavery mob. He was elected to Congress under the Topeka constitu- tion but was never admitted to a seat. In May, 1857, he started the Register, the first paper in Wyandotte (now Kansas City); Kan. He was a member of the Osawatomie convention of May 18, 1859, which founded the Republican party in Kansas; was chief clerk of the house of representatives in 1860; was appointed surveyor-general of Kansas in 1861 and held the position until Oct. 7, 1863, when President Lincoln appointed him United States district judge of Kansas, in which office he served until 1873. He died at Kansas City, May 8, 1879.
De Lassus, Carlos Dehault, soldier and lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana, was a native of Lille, France, where he was born in 1764, but at the age of 18 years entered the Spanish army as a member of the royal guards commanded by the king himself. For his distinguished bravery in the assault on Fort Elmo in 1793 he was made lieutenant-colonel, having previously won his commission as captain of grenadiers. In the French revolution of 1793 his father was driven from his native land and found refuge in New Orleans. Owing to this fact, when Carlos was assigned to the command of a battalion of the king's body-guard in 1874, he asked to be transferred to New Orleans that he might have the privilege of being near his father in a foreign land. His request was granted, and soon after his arrival in this country he was made lieuten- ant-colonel of the Louisiana regiment. For about three years he was commandant at New Madrid, where he distinguished himself by the capture of five Creek Indians who were causing trouble and the execu-
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