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, Volume II > Part 18
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In Kansas as elsewhere the donations of Andrew Carnegie have given impetus to the free public library. His gifts for library buildings have been made with the usual condition, that cities pledge 10 per cent of the net amount of the gift for maintenance. The exception to this invariable rule was in the case of the Anderson memorial library, Col- lege of Emporia, which Mr. Carnegie erected without conditions, as a memorial to Col. J. B. Anderson, his early patron and friend. In 1899 Mr. Carnegie gave $500 to the Blue Rapids library for the purchase of
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books. llis gifts for the erection of library buildings are: Abilene. $12,500; Arkansas City, $20,000; Chanute, $15,000; Concordia, $10,000; Downs, $6,000; Emporia (Anderson Memorial ), $30,000; Emporia (pub- lic), $22,000; Fort Scott, $1,800; Girard, $8,000; Great Bend, $15,000; Hiawatha, $10,000; Hutchinson, $16,000; Independence, $30,000; Iola, $15,000; Kansas City, $75,000; Lawrence, $27,500; Leavenworth, $30,000 ; McPherson (McPherson College), $15,000; Manhattan, $15,000; Newton, $18,000; Ottawa, $15,500; Russell, $5,000; Salina, $15,000; Topeka (Washburn College), $40,000; Washington, $6,000; Wichita (Fairmount College), $40,000; Hays, $8,000; Osawatomie, $7,500; Pitts- burg, $50,000; Yates Center, $7,500.
The State Historical Library is an important part of the Kansas State Historical Society (q. v.), which was organized in Topeka on Dec. 13. 1875. It is especially strong in material relating to the history of Kansas, its literature, art, schools, churches and societies, and possesses a very nearly complete set of the documents published by the state. The gen- eral library is especially devoted to United States and state history, description and travels in the west, genealogy, biography, Indians and slavery, besides the general subjects of sociology, religion, science, and the useful arts, with a very good collection of federal documents. The society occupies the south wing of the fourth floor of the state capitol. The secretary of the society is ex-officio librarian. This library in 1910 contained 35,320 volumes and a large number of bound newspaper files, pamphlets, magazines, etc.
College Libraries .- These libraries have grown as the colleges of which they are a part have developed. The largest and best is the library of the University of Kansas, the history of which dates from the establishment of the university. When the first board of regents met in March, 1865, it elected one of its members, J. S. Emery, librarian. His duties were purely nominal, as were those of his successor, W. C. Tenney. In 1869 the care of the library was given over to the faculty, Frank H. Snow serving from 1869 to 1873. Byron C. Smith from 1873 to 1874 and Ephraim Miller from 1875 to 1887, when the expansion of the library demanded a librarian who could give his whole time to its management. In 1887 Miss Carrie M. Watson was elected to the position and is still in office. At the formal opening of the university a few Congressional books were the only volumes in the library. The growth of the library was almost imperceptible until 1873, when the legislature appropriated $1,500 to be devoted exclusively to the pur- chase of books. In 1874 there were less than 1,000 volumes in the library. The first few books were housed in the southwest room on the second floor of the first building. In 1872 they were moved to Fraser Hall and occupied shelves in the chancellor's office. In 1877 the library was removed to the west room of the south wing of Fraser Hall. There were at that time 2,519 volumes. On Oct. 17, 1894, a new library building was dedicated. It was erected at a cost of $75.000 through the generosity of William B. Spooner of Boston, Mass. Since
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the occupancy of the new building there has been an increase in the growth and efficiency until in 1911 there were 72,000 volumes, accessible to the students through the general library and fifteen departmental libraries for the departments of English, Latin, German, education, philosophy, history, sociology, physics, physiology, biology, geology, engineering, chemistry, pharmacy and law.
The library of the State Agricultural College is the outgrowth of the Bluemont College library, which was organized in 1878. It is especially strong in scientific departments, is the depository of the 5th Con- gressionl district for Federal documents, and for the experiment station library. It has regular appropriations from the state for mainte- nance. In 1910 the total number of volumes was 37,315.
The library of the State Normal School was organized in 1865. Its early growth was slow. Its valuation in 1870 was estimated at $2,000. In 1878 all the books were burned. By the close of the following year 350 volumes had been collected and Senator Plumb added 200 more. On Aug. 10, 1880, the school secured the right and title to 785 books from the Athenaeum Library Association of Emporia. The list included 461 books belonging to the old Emporia Library Association. In Feb., 1884, the old stockholders of the association demanded the return of the books, and the regents ordered them turned over to the new city library association. This transfer left 1,200 books in the normal school library. In 1885 the legislature made an appropriation of $1,000 for books. In 1889 the total number of volumes exceeded 5,000. Up to that time students, directed by a member of the faculty, acted as librarians, but the demands upon the librarian were so great the regents appointed Miss Mary A. Whitney as librarian. Miss Elva E. Clark suc- ceeded Miss Whitney in 1892. In 1902 the library was moved from its quarters in the old building to its new home erected by an appropria- tion of the legislature. In connection with the library is a course in library management conducted by a librarian employed for that pur- pose. The library contains 26,000 volumes.
Anderson Memorial Library of the College of Emporia was estab- lished in 1888 as a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Jolin B. Anderson of Manhattan, on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The plan was formed by the Presbyterian synod of Kansas. The library building was erected in 1901 by Andrew Carnegie as a memorial to Mr. Anderson. The building is modern and complete and can accom- modate 25,000 volumes. The trustees of the college control the library which is especially strong in the departments of history and religion. In 1910 it had 9,334 books.
Fort Riley .- A library has been in existence at the post since its founding. It is for the use of student-officers only, in attendance at the school of application for cavalry and field artillery, and is con- trolled by the commanding officer of the school. The allotment for the care and purchase of books is from the annual appropriation of the United States government through the war college board, Washington,
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D. C. The library, containing 7,668 volumes, is especially strong in works relating to military science, travel and biography, and has valua- ble monographs on the military systems of foreign countries and scientific and professional reports from the various governmental bureaus.
The library of Bethany College at Lindsborg was established in 1881. In Dec., 1882, it consisted of 6 volumes, and has grown to 7,500 through subscriptions and gifts. The library is strong in Swedish literature and history, in law and reference books, and contains a col- lection of old and rare books numbering about 485.
The Bethel College library was established at Newton in 1893 by the Kansas conference of Mennonites. It is strong in church history, theology, English and German literature, pedagogy, and history, and contains 2,500 books.
The Ottawa University library was established Sept. 10, 1902, the day the old library burned. It is supported by fees and contains 5,600 books.
The library of St. Mary's College was established by the Jesuit fathers in 1869. It contains 22,896 volumes.
The library of the Kansas Wesleyan University at Salina was estab- lished in 1886 by gifts from friends of the school. It is strongest in American history and contains 6,000 volumes.
The library of Fairmount College at Wichita was established in 1895. It is supported by endowment and contains 31,300 volumes.
The library of Midland College at Atchison was established in 1889 by the Evangelical Lutheran church and contains 8,345 volumes.
St. Benedict's College of Atchison, founded in 1858 by the Benedictine Fathers, has two libraries, one of 27.500 volumes for the use of the instructors, and one of 5,000 volumes for the use of students.
McPherson College has a library of 4,000 volumes, supported by endowment that was established in 1906. The library of Highland Col- lege, founded in 1857, has 5,000 volumes, and the library of Campbell College at Holton contains 4,000 volumes.
The Baker University library was established by the Methodist Episcopal church of Kansas in 1858. It occupies quarters in the Case library building, which was erected through the liberality of Nelson Case and Andrew Carnegie. It contains 25,000 volumes.
Washburn College library was established in 1870. In 1886 the books were moved into the Boswell Memorial library, where they remained until 1905, when a Carnegie library was erected at the cost of $40,000. Washburn library is supported by endowment and has 16,000 books.
The report of the state superintendent of public instruction shows 5,443 rural school district libraries in Kansas, having books to the num- ber of 479,142 in all the school libraries in the state, the total number of books in all libraries in Kansas being 875,119.
Liebenthal, a country postoffice in Rush county, is located 8 miles north of La Crosse, the county seat and nearest shipping point. It has one general store. The population in 1910 was 30.
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Lien Laws .- Judgments of courts of record of Kansas, and of courts of the United States rendered within this state, are liens on the real estate of the debtor within the county and from the first day of the term at which the judgment is rendered, but judgments by confession, and judgments rendered at the same term which the action is commenced, bind such lands only from the day on which the judgment is rendered. An attested copy of the journal entry of any judgment, together with a statement of the costs taxed against the debtor in the case, may be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court of any county, and such judgment is a lien on the real estate of the debtor within that county from the time of filing such copy. Executions are issued only from the court in which the judgment is rendered.
Any person who, under contract with the owner of any tract or piece of land, or with a trustee, agent, husband or wife of such owner, per- forms labor or furnishes material for the erection, alteration or repair of any building, improvement or structure thereon; or who furnishes material or performs labor in putting up any fixtures or machinery in, or attachment to, any such building, structure or improvement; or who plants any trees, vines, plants or hedges, in or upon said land ; or who builds, alters or repairs, or furnishes labor or material for build- ing, altering or repairing any fence or foot-walk in or upon said land, or any sidewalk in any street abutting said land, has a lien upon the whole of said piece or tract of land, the building and appurtenances, for the amount due to him for such labor, material, fixtures or machinery. Such liens are preferred to all other liens or incumbrances which may attach to or upon the land, buildings or improvements, or either of them, subsequent to the commencement of such building, the furnish- ing or putting up of the fixtures or machinery, the planting of trees, vines, plants, or hedges, the building of the fence, foot-walks, or side- walks, or the making of any of the repairs or improvements.
In any contract for the sale of railroad or street railway equipment or rolling stock, it is lawful to agree that the title to the property sold, although possession is given, shall not vest in the purchaser until the purchase price is fully paid.
All bonds legally issued by a vote of the electors in any county or township becomes a lien upon all the real estate therein for the pay- ment of the principal and interest of such bonds.
An attorney has a lien for a general balance of compensation upon any papers of his client which have come into his possession in the course of his professional employment, upon money in his hands and upon money due to his client, and anyone under contract with the owner of any leasehold for oil or gas purposes, performs labor or furnishes material, has a lien upon the whole of such leasehold, and it becomes a preferred lien.
Liguest, Pierre Laclede, one of the founders of St. Louis, Mo., was born in France in 1724, and at the age of thirty-one years came to New Orleans, where he engaged in business as a merchant. In 1762 he
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obtained a license from the governor of Louisiana giving him the exclusive right to trade in furs with the Indians in the Missouri valley. Under this license the firm of Maxent & Co. was organized, and in Feb., 1764, he established his headquarters where the city of St. Louis now stands. For several years he carried on a profitable trade in furs, estab- lishing posts at various points in the Indian country. He died on June 20, 1778, near the mouth of the Arkansas river, while returning to St. Louis from New Orleans. There has been some question as to his correct name. Sometimes it appears as Pierre Liguest Laclede, at others as Pierre Laclede Liguest. Sharp's History of St. Louis, says : "In fourteen instances in which the name occurs in the archives it is written 'Pierre Laclede Liguest.' In the body of legal instruments, whether drawn by himself or a notary, this is the almost uniform orthography. But whenever Laclede signed his name to a document, the signature is universally 'Laclede Liguest.'"
Hyde & Conard's Cyclopedia of St. Louis says: "While a resident of New Orleans Laclede contracted a civil marriage with Therese Chou- teau, who had separated from a former husband, and who was denied divorcement by the Catholic church. Four children were born to this union, but all of these children, upon confirmation in the church, took the name of the mother, and hence none of Laclede's descendants bears his name."
Lillis, Thomas Francis, coadjutor bishop of Kansas City, Mo., for- merly bishop of Leavenworth, was born at Lexington, Mo., March 3, 1862, a son of James and Margaret (Jordan) Lillis, both natives of County Clare, Ireland. He attended the public schools of Lafayette county, Mo., St. Benedict's College at Atchison, Kan., and Niagara University at Niagara Falls, N. Y., where he was prepared for the priesthood and ordained in Aug., 1885. His first appointment was to the parish at Shackleford, Mo., where he remained until he became rector of St. Patrick's church at Kansas City, Mo., in 1887. In 1904 Father Lillis was consecrated bishop of Leavenworth and installed in the Leavenworth cathedral early in 1905. At the request of the bishops of the province of St. Louis and the priests of Kansas City, Mo., in 1910, Bishop Lillis was appointed coadjutor to Bishop Hogan of Kansas City to succeed him at his death.
Lincoln, the county seat of Lincoln county, is an incorporated city of the third class, located on the Union Pacific R. R., and is the largest town on that road between Salina and the state line. It has city water- works, which were built at the expense of $40,000, a $60,000 court-house, an electric light plant owned by the city, an ice plant, flour mills, a cement plant, a cigar factory, a hospital and sanitarium, 3 banks, with a combined capitalization of $85,000, and 2 newspapers (the Sentinel and the Republican). Lincoln is a beautiful modern little city, with stone buildings, lining wide and well kept streets. It is the seat of the Kansas Christian College established in 1884. The town was platted in 1871. The first town election resulted as follows: Mayor, George
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M. Lutes; police judge, Mortimer Gregg; clerk, L. A. Minx; council- men, D. E. Coolbaugh, George Green, Luther Stewart, H. Holcomb and Joseph Cheney. It became a city of the third class in Sept., 1879. Liquor was never legally sold on the town site except during the year 1879. The town had a slow growth until the college and the railroad were built. During the year 1886 the population doubled and wealth trebled on account of these two institutions. From March to May 125 new buildings were erected. A city library was established by the women about this time. It has about 2,000 volumes at the present time. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 1,508. There are telegraph and express offices and an international money order post- office with six rural routes.
Lincoln, Abraham, 16th president of the United States, was born near Hodgensville, Ky., Feb. 12, 1809. His entire attendance at school was less than one year, but by reading such books as came in his way he acquired a practical education and developed considerable power as a backwoods orator. In early life he removed to Sangamon county, Ill., where in 1832 he was commissioned captain of a company of volun- teers and served in the Black Hawk war. The same year he was elected to the state legislature, receiving 205 out of 208 votes in the county, and was instrumental in securing the removal of the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield, where soon afterward he formed a partner- ship with John S. Stewart for the practice of law. Subsequently he was associated with S. T. Logan, and in 1843 formed a partnership with William H. Herndon which lasted until Mr. Lincoln's death. In 1840 Mr. Lincoln was a presidential elector on the Whig ticket, and in 1846 he was elected to Congress. In 1858 he was nominated for United States senator by the Republicans of Illinois, and his debates with Stephen A. Douglas, his opponent, attracted world-wide attention. He was elected president in 1860 and reelected in 1864. The history of his administration and the great Civil war is familiar to every American. On Friday evening, April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's theater in Washington and died the succeeding day. This brief mention of Mr. Lincoln is regarded as appropriate in this work, because in Dec., 1859, he visited Kansas. On the evening of the Ist he spoke at Elwood, and afterward spoke at Troy, Doniphan, Atchison and Leavenworth. Prentis says: "The largest political gathering that had ever assembled in Kansas heard him at Leavenworth. His speech was substantially the same as that delivered afterward at Cooper Institute, New York city, and is one of the ablest productions of American statesman."
Lincoln County, in the central part of the state, is in the third tier of counties south of Nebraska, and is bounded on the north by Mitchell county ; east by Ottawa and Saline; south by Ellsworth, and west by Osborne and Russell. Its area is 720 square miles. The county was created in 1867 and named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, but remained practically unorganized territory until 1870. During these three years (II-II)
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it was attached for all revenue and judicial purposes to Ottawa county as Lincoln township, and later was attached to Saline when that county was organized.
It is believed that the first white men to visit what is now Lincoln county were the French under de Bourgmont in 1724. Pike's expedition in 1806, passed southwest across the county. Hunting parties went up the Saline and Solomon, but their stay was always short and they left no mark upon the wilderness. In 1859 a hunting party, of which James R. Mead was a member, visited the valley of the Saline in what is now Lincoln county, and found the camp of a man who had raised the first civilized corn. In his account of the expedition Mr. Mead says, "We moved to the place and built cabins, stable and a corral for the winter. . . . Having completed comfortable quarters, which became known as Mead's ranch, I set out to explore the country." Michael Stearns, Thomas Boyle, Ade Spahn and a man named Dean also hunted along the Saline in 1858-59, and nearly always camped at the mouth of Beaver creek.
Although the country toward the head of the Saline river was not considered safe from Indian depredations in 1864, Charles, William and Marion Chase, John Moffit and Flavius Moody started to make a settlement on Spillman creek. They located between Beaver creek and the Saline river, where they built a log house and other buildings, but one disaster after another occurred, and in May they abandoned the place because of an Indian outbreak. In July, the Moffits, accompanied by two men named Taylor and Henderson returned to the place, but were attacked by Indians while hunting near Rocky Hill. Two were killed, but the others managed to reach the house and after watching for Indians a day and a night escaped to the settlements.
The first really permanent homes of white men were built near where Beverly now stands by members of the First Colorado cavalry, which had been stationed at Salina in 1865. They came up the Saline and filed on all the desirable river claims from what is now the eastern boundary of the county to the mouth of the Beaver. Six of these men, Richard Clark, James M. Adams, Isaac DeGraff, Edward E. Johnson, William E. Thompson and Darius C. Skinner, who had crossed the plains be- fore the war, returned during the winter of 1865-66, to occupy their claims. The next spring others were added to the population. George Green and his wife came from Massachusetts, and their daughter, Lizzie, born Oct. 18, 1866, was the first white child born in the county. W. T. Wild, of England, and John Dart, of Connecticut, also brought their families. J. J. Peate, William Gaskell, M. D. Green, Michael Ziegler, John S. Strange, Martin Henderson, and a number of others came in 1866, and the next year the population was considerably in- creased by immigrants from the East, among whom were Louis Farley, Ferdinand Erhardt and M. S. Green.
The first lumber in the county was cut with an old-fashioned whip- saw. By this method the logs were rolled upon a scaffold. On the top
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of the log stood one man to pull the saw up and one below to pull it down-a "slow but sure" process of making lumber.
In common with other frontier counties, Lincoln suffered from Indian raids during the late '6os and early '70s. In 1868 a detachment of the Seventh United States cavalry, under command of Col. Benteen, was stationed for a time at Schermerhorn's ranch, south of Rocky Hill, for the protection of the settlers. After the Indian campaign of 1874 the white people were allowed to pursue their way without molestation, and the progress of the county was more rapid, as well as more substantial in character.
A petition asking for a separate county organization was sent to Gov. Harvey in 1870, and on Oct. 4 he appointed Isaac DeGraff, John S. Strange and Washington Smith, commissioners, and F. A. Schermer- horn, clerk. The temporary county seat was established on the north- west quarter of section 35, township II, range 8, a few miles east of where Lincoln now stands. The first meeting of the board was held on Oct. 6 at the house of John Strange. The commissioners divided the county into four civil townships-Colorado, Elkhorn, Salt Creek and Indiana. At the election in November I. C. Buzwick was elected repre- sentative; Cornelius Dietz, James Wild and John Strange, commission- ers; A. S. Potter, county clerk; Volney Ball, treasurer; D. C. Skinner, probate judge; T. A. Walls, register of deeds; R. B. Clark, sheriff; Myron Green, county attorney ; J. A. Cook, district clerk; P. Lowe, sur- veyor, and Francis Seiber, coroner. The election favored a change of the county seat and in Jan., 1871, the county officers met on the open prairie, decided on a location about 3 miles east of the place designated by the governor, and called it Abram. The Abram town company gave the county a deed to lots for a court-house. In April the commissioners were petitioned to call an election to change the location of the county seat. The petitions were laid over at that time by the commissioners, but on Feb., 19, 1872, an election was held, Lincoln Center receiving 232 votes and Abram 176. On April 1, 1873, bonds to the amount of $4,000 were voted for a court-house. This building burned in 1898 and the present fine building was dedicated in 1900.
The first school was taught in Martin Henderson's house in 1868 by Marion Ivy. The second was opened in 1869 by David G. Bacon in a dugout near the same place. Mrs. Skinner taught the first public school, at Monroe, in 1870. In March, 1871, the legislature provided for court in Lincoln county and James H. Canfield, of Junction City, presided over the first session, which began Nov. 6, 1871. Lincoln county had no paper until 1873, when F. H. Barnhart started the Lincoln County News. He sold his interest in the paper in 1873 and on July 16, 1874, commenced the publication of the Farmer.
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