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 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
25
KANSAS HISTORY
and ran from Ozawkie east to Alexandria on Stranger Creek in Leaven- worth county.
Early in 1858 the legislature authorized a county seat election. The contesting towns were: Oskaloosa, which received 177 votes; Grass- hopper Falls, 173; Ozawkie, 94; Hickory Point, 50; and Fairfield, IO. Another election was held, in which Oskaloosa received 294 votes; Grasshopper Falls, 271; Ozawkie, 103; Hickory Point, 107; and De- fiance, 3. A third election was held, between the two highest towns, in which Oskaloosa received the majority and was made the county seat. In 1864 the legislature again authorized a county seat election. in which Oskaloosa was again victorious. A court-house was built in 1867.
During the Civil war a regiment known as the Fourth Kansas militia was organized in Jefferson county, with S. S. Cooper as colonel. It comprised eleven companies, two from Grasshopper Falls, two from Jefferson township, two from Oskaloosa, one from Ozawkie, one from Rock Creek, one from Kaw, one from Kentucky and one from Sar- coxie. The object was the protection of the state from invasion. The county was also well represented in the Kansas regiments in the field.
The first schools were opened in 1859. J. H. Bennett was the first county superintendent and organized 9 districts that year. By 1865 there were 20 districts. After the war all the old districts were reor- ganized and 50 more added before 1870. New and well equipped school houses took the place of the log structures.
In the year 1860 the population of the county was 4,446, and the assessed valuation of property $925,003. The drought of 1860 and the war beginning the ensuing year retarded growth and development, but by 1870 the county had a population of 12,565, the assessed valuation of farm lands was $4,218,363, and the number of improved acres 91,004.
The area of Jefferson county is 568 square miles or 363,520 acres. It is divided into twelve townships, viz .: Delaware (formerly Grass- hopper), Fairview, Jefferson, Kaw, Kentucky, Norton, Oskaloosa, Ozawkie, Rock Creek, Rural, Sarcoxie and Union. The general surface is undulating prairie with a few rough places. The bottom lands along the creek beds and the Kansas river comprise about 15 per cent. of the total acreage. The Kansas river flows east along the southern border except for about 6 miles of the southeast corner. The Dela- ware (formerly the Grasshopper) enters on the northern border about 4 miles from the west line and flowing south joins the Kansas at Perry. This stream is large enough to furnish power for mills. Big Slough creek is the main branch of the Delaware. Muddy creek crosses the southwest corner of the county.
Jefferson county is well supplied with railroads, the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western (Union Pacific) enters a few miles south of the northeast corner, crosses to Valley Falls and thence northeast into Atchison county ; a branch of the Missouri Pacific enters in the east and crosses northwest through Valley Falls into Jackson county ; a
26
CYCLOPEDIA OF
line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe enters from the southwest, crossing the county in a northeasterly direction, a branch diverging at Meriden and running east into Leavenworth county; and the Union Pacific crosses the extreme southern border, following the Kansas river. The total mileage of railroad is 121.44. The population of the county in 1910 was 15,826.
Jefferson, Thomas, 3d president of the United States, was born at Shadwell, Albemarle county, Va., April 2, 1743. A mention of him in connection with the history of Kansas is appropriate because to him, more than to any other one man, is due the acquisition of the territory now forming the state through the Louisiana purchase in 1803. Mr. Jefferson was educated at William and Mary College, and after gradu- ating he began the practice of law in 1767. His first public service was as a member of the Virginia house of burgesses, where he served from 1769 to the beginning of the Revolution. In 1775 he was elected to the Continental Congress and the following year was one of the committee of five to draft the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted on July 4. In October following he resigned his seat in Con- gress to become a member of the Virginia legislature, and on June I, 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry as governor of that state. In 1800 he was elected president, and soon after his inauguration learned that the province of Louisiana had been ceded back to France by the secret treaty of St. Ildefonso. Late in the year 1802 W. C. C. Claiborne, gov- ernor of Mississippi territory, wrote to the secretary of state that the Spanish authorities, still in control of Louisiana affairs, were about to restrict the navigation of the Mississippi river and the right of deposit at New Orleans. The correspondence was submitted to Con- gress in December, and on Jan. II, 1803, the president sent to the senate a message nominating Robert R. Livingston as minister plenipotentiary and James Monroe as minister extraordinary "to enter into a treaty or convention with the First Consul of France for the purpose of enlarging and more effectually securing our rights and interests in the river Mississippi and in the territories eastward thereof."
In the same message, not knowing the exact provisions of the St. Ildefonso treaty, he named Charles Pinckney and James Monroe as ministers plenipotentiary to enter into a convention with the king of Spain for the same purpose. It was not Mr. Jefferson's intention to purchase the province of Louisiana, and when the word came from Paris that Livingston and Monroe had concluded a treaty by which the entire territory was ceded to the United States, he had some doubts as to the constitutionality of the action, as well as misgivings as to whether the cession would meet the approval of Congress and the peo- ple. That these doubts and misgivings were without cause is seen in the fact that Congress promptly ratified the treaty and the people in 1804 reelected Mr. Jefferson to the highest office within their gift. Hence, it was under his administration that new territory-an empire in extent-was added to the United States, and Kansas is a part of
27
KANSAS HISTORY
that territory. Mr. Jefferson retired from public life at the close of his second term, and died on July 4, 1826. (See Louisiana Purchase.)
Jennings, an incorporated city of the third class in Decatur county, is located on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. 17 miles south- east of Oberlin, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Echo), express and telegraph offices and a money order post- office with two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 259. The town was founded in 1888.
Jennison, Charles Ransford, physician and soldier, was born in Jef- ferson county, N. Y., June 6, 1834. He was of English descent, some of his father's ancestors having settled in Vermont in the colonial days and fought in the Revolution. He was educated in the common schools until he was twelve years old, when his parents went to Wis- consin. At the age of nineteen years he began to study medicine. After completing his medical course he practiced for a short time in Wisconsin and then came to Kansas, settling at Osawatomie in 1857. Within a short time he removed to Mound City, where he remained for three years, and then went to Leavenworth. Dr. Jennison was one of John Brown's stanch supporters. Gov. Robinson commissioned him captain of the Mound City Guards on Feb. 19, 1861, and on Sept. 4 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Kansas cavalry, which became known as "Jennison's Jayhawkers." He was assigned command of the western border of Missouri with headquarters at Kan- sas City. He determined to clear the border of guerrillas and his name soon became a terror to lawless bands. His conduct was such that Gen. Hunter appointed him acting brigadier-general, and he was placed in command of "all the troops in Kansas west of and on the Neosho." At the time of the 'Lawrence massacre Gov. Carney called upon Jennison to raise a regiment, of which he was made colonel on Oct. 17, 1863, with headquarters at Leavenworth. While in command at Fort Leavenworth he was authorized on March 5, 1864, to raise and organize a post battery. On July 20, 1864, he was placed in com- mand of a regiment in the field and had command of the district of southern Kansas. During the summer he made a foray into Platte and Clay counties, Mo., against bushwhackers who had been commit- ting depredations in Kansas, and in other ways he successfully pro- tected the border until Price's raid. At the time of this raid he met Price's forces at Lexington, Mo., while reconnoitering under orders from Gen. Curtis. With his regiment he took part in the engagement at the Little Blue, where he was in command of the first division. In the fall of 1864 he was elected a member of the Leavenworth council, was made president of that body and ex-officio mayor. In 1865 he was elected to the legislature from Leavenworth county ; was reelected in 1867, and in 1872 was elected to the state senate. He died at Leaven- worth June 21, 1884.
ยท Jericho, a country postoffice in Larabee township, Gove county, is located 12 miles southeast of Gove, the county seat, and 15 miles from Quinter, the nearest shipping point.
28
CYCLOPEDIA OF
Jerome, a country postoffice in Jerome township, Gove county, is located on the Smoky Hill river, 12 miles south of Gove, the county seat, and 10 miles north of Shields, Lane county, the nearest shipping point. The population in 1910 was 12. The town was founded about 1886. J. L. Cook was the first merchant. E. B. Miller built the first hotel. It had a newspaper (the Smoky Hill Globe), a number of stores, several professional men and was at one time a flourishing town.
Jetmore, the county seat of Hodgeman county, is located very near the geographical center of the county on Buckner creek, a tributary of the Pawnee river. It was settled in the spring of 1879 and was at first called Buckner. After the organization of Hodgeman county (q. v.) the people voted at the general election of Nov. 4, 1879, for the location of a permanent county seat, and the choice fell on Buckner. Three days after that election T. S. Haun issued the first number of the Buckner Independent. The exact date when the name was changed to Jetmore cannot be ascertained, but the issue of the Independent for June 24, 1880, was dated at Jetmore, which would indicate that the change was made in the spring of that year. Jetmore is the western terminus of a division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., which connects with the main line at Larned. It has a bank, 2 weekly news- papers (the Western Herald and the Republican), a number of busi- ness concerns, Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, telephone, telegraph and express facilities, a graded public school, and an international money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 317.
Jewell, an incorporated city of Jewell county, is located in Buffalo township, on the Missouri Pacific R. R. and on Buffalo creek, 8 miles south of Mankato, the county seat. It has banking facilities, flour mills, grain elevators, electric lights, weekly newspapers, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with five rural routes. The population in 1910 was 839. The railroad name is Jewell City.
Jewell is one of the older settled communities in the county. Among the first settlers were W. D. Street, Benjamin Lewis, Charles Lewis and L. M. Stultz in 1869, and James A. Scarborough, Henry Sorrick, A. J. Davis and H. Burnett in 1870. The first store was opened by James A. Scarborough in June, 1870, with a stock that invoiced $130. In the fall John D. Robertson of Lake Sibley opened a general store. The firm of Scarborough & Street handled most of the real estate. The town was incorporated. as a city of the third class in 1880, with H. C. Jennings as the first mayor.
Jewell County, one of the northern tier, is the second county west of the 6th principal meridian. It contains 900 square miles and is divided into 25 civil townships, each of which is a Congressional town- ship. It is bounded on the north by the State of Nebraska; on the east by Republic and Cloud counties; on the south by Mitchell, and on the west by Smith. Jewell was one of the counties on the line of the historic Pawnee road, and also one of the counties crossed by
29
KANSAS HISTORY
Lieut. Pike in 1806. The surface is rolling prairie gradually rising to table lands in the central portion. The branches of the Republican and Solomon form its water system.
This county was named in honor of Lewis R. Jewell, lieutenant- colonel of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, who died of wounds received in the battle of Cane Hill, Ark. The earliest known settlement was made by William Harshberger and wife on White Rock creek in 1862. They were driven out by the Indians and no other attempt to settle the county was made until 1866, when a number of families, including those of William Knapp, John Rice and Nicholas Ward, settled on White Rock creek. Two raids by the Cheyennes, one in Aug., 1866, and the other in April, 1867, broke up the settlement. Many were killed, includ- ing the Ward family, and the others were driven away. In the spring of 1868 another attempt at settlement was broken up by Indians and again in October of the same year the extension of the Scandinavian colony up White Rock creek from Republic county was driven back. In May, 1869, the Excelsior colony (q. v.) from New York, number- ing about 100 people, took claims along White Rock creek and built a blockhouse at a point 8 miles north of the present town of Mankato. By June, 1869, they were all driven out, and the county was in the hands of the Indians. In the fall of 1869 a number of land entries were made and the next year the flood of immigration coming into Kansas extended into Jewell county in spite of the dangers. In the early part of May, 1870, great excitement prevailed over the news that the Cheyennes were on the war-path. On the 13th the settlers met at "Hoffer's Shanty" to devise means of protection. A company of 28 men, known as the "Buffalo Militia," was organized with William D. Street as captain ; Charles Lew, first lieutenant ; Louis A. Dapron, sec- ond lieutenant; James A. Scarborough, orderly sergeant. The per- sonnel of the company was as follows: L. J. Calvin, F. A. May, W. M. Jones, Samuel Krape, Louis A. Dapron, C. L. Seeley, J. A. Scarborough, Cyrus Richart, Chris. Bender, J. H. Worick, David J. Rockey, James W. Hall, Richard D. Fardy, Charles J. Lewis, C. A. Belknap, A. J. Wise, John Hoffer, William Cox, S. R. Worick, Allen Lightner, James F. Queen, J. F. Fogel, J. A. Sorick, R. F. Hudson- piller, I. A. Swain, Henry Sorick, William D. Street and John R. Wilson.
A fort was built where Jewell City now stands, and was held by the "Buffalo Militia" for about a month, when the Third U. S. mounted artillery took possession and relieved the settlers. (See Fort Jewell.) No more attacks were made, and from that time Jewell county has been free from hostile Indians.
Some time during this year the ruins of what is supposed to have been an old Spanish fort were discovered, which seemed to be a land- mark of some former occupation of the country by white men. It was located on the claim of Oliver Smith 2 miles east of Fort Jewell, and is described as an "irregular inclosure containing some 2 or 3 acres
30
CYCLOPEDIA OF
of ground." At that time it was overgrown with sod and was 2 feet high and 4 feet thick. Its origin is not known.
A number of settlements were made in 1870. William Friend, C. J. Jones, O. F. Johnson, M. Hofiveimer, 'Lewis Spiegle and Silas Mann settled the Marsh creek district, and at Burr Oak the settlers were A. W. Mann, Zack Norman, Lee M. Tingley, Richard Comstock, Frank Gilbert, A. J. Godfrey, D. H. Godfrey, Allen Ives, John E. Faidley and E. E. Blake. A claim was preempted by Jack Mango at Jewell Center (Mankato) ; A. N. Cole homesteaded near the present town of Ionia in 1869; and in 1871 H. M. George and H. L. Browning started a steam sawmill on the freight road between Cawker City and Hastings, Neb., where Salem now stands.
In July, 1870, Col. E. Barker and Orville McClurg petitioned Gov. Harvey for county organization and on July 14 the governor appointed C. L. Seeley, E. T. Gandy and A. I. Davis county commissioners, and James A. Scarborough, county clerk. The first meeting of the commissioners was held at Jewell City on Aug. 22. On Sept. 27 an election was held, at which Jewell City was chosen the county seat, and the following county officers were elected: Dennis Taylor, Thomas Coverdale and Samuel C. Bowles, commissioners; James A. Scar- borough, clerk; Henry Sorick, treasurer; N. H. Billings, surveyor ; S. O. Carman, register of deeds; Charles L. Sully, probate judge; A. J. Davis, sheriff; R. S. Worick, county superintendent. At the November election Felix T. Candy was elected the first representative in the legis- lature. The population of the county at that time was 207.
The first marriage was that of a couple from Cloud county, the ceremony being performed by O. F. Johnson, justice of the peace, Jan. 2, 1871. The first marriage of residents was between Lawton McCord and Evaline Davis of Highland township, Feb. 22, 1872. The first birth occurred in Aug., 1870, on the Buffalo creek, the child being Jewell Rittenhouse. He was presented with a lot by the town com- pany of Jewell City. The first regular mail was established in July, 1870, weekly from Sibley, John Hoffer, carrier. The first postoffices were Amity, Highland township, 1872, James Mitchell postmaster ; Burr Oak, Burr Oak township, James McCormack, postmaster; Jewell Center, Center township, 1872, J. D. Vance, postmaster; Johnsonville, Vicksburg township, 1872, P. F. Johnson postmaster.
Before 1873 the following towns had been established: Jewell City, Jewell Center, Burr Oak, Salem, Ionia and Holmwood, and the county had six newspapers. By 1886 Randall, Omia, Gregory and Rubens had been added to the list of towns. Some of these towns have ceased to exist and the present list is as follows: Athens, Burr Oak, Dentonia, Esbon, Formosa, Gregory, Harrison, Ionia, Jewell, Lovewell, Mankato, Mayview, Montrose, North Branch, Otego, Randall, Rubens, Salem, Steuben and Webber.
The townships of Jewell county are: Allen, Athens, Brown Creek. Burr Oak, Buffalo, Calvin, Center, Erving, Ebson, Grant, Harrison,
31
KANSAS HISTORY
Highland, Sinclair, Vicksburg, Walnut, Washington, White Mound, Holmwood, Ionia, Jackson, Limestone, Montana, Odessa, Prairie and Richland.
Schools were established in several of the townships in 1872. Five years later the number of organized districts was 133; the total num- ber of school houses, 60; value of school property, $21,412; and the school population, 4,561. In 1910 the population was 18,148, and the assessed valuation of property was $38,625,285.
Jewish Congregations .- The history of Jewish communities in Amer- ica began in the year 1654, when a company of Jews located in New Amsterdam. The governor of the colony wished to exclude them, but by order of the Dutch West India company they were admitted after a delay of nine months. They were allowed to live and trade in the colony but were denied the privilege of building a synagogue and of acquiring a site for burial purposes. They met for private worship, however, and within a short time formed the congregation of Searith Israel, which is still in existence in New York city. In 1682, under English rule, the congregation occupied its first synagogue. This was followed by a synagogue of the Jews living in Savannah, Ga., in 1732; by one at Lancaster, Pa., in 1776; and at Philadelphia in 1782.
The Jewish congregations in the United States have no religious head, being autonomous in character and there is no general ecclesiastical organization controlling the individual bodies. Any person who de- clares himself a Jew, or is known to be one by birth or affiliation, is eligible to membership. He need not submit to any test of faith or adherence to a creed, although in some congregations the observance of certain fundamental laws is tacitly regarded as an indispensable qualification for membership.
The first Jewish congregation in Kansas of which a record is obtain- able was that of Benai Jerushan, established at Leavenworth in 1862. The immigration of the Jewish race to Kansas was slow and in many communities there are not enough Jews to form a congregation, so that the number of organizations does not give any accurate estimate of .the number of this faith in the state. In 1890 there were 6 organiza- tions : 2 in Leavenworth county; I each in Sedgwick, Shawnee, Atchi- son and Saline counties, with a total membership of 486. In the next fifteen years only one new congregation was organized, and the number of communicants reported in 1906 was only 175. This gives no correct estimate, however, of the number of Jews who are regular attendants of the synagogue but who are not members.
Jingo, a hamlet in the southeastern part of Miami county, is about Io miles northeast of La Cygne, from which it has rural delivery. In 1910 there was a population of 40.
Johnson, the county seat of Stanton county, is centrally located, and is 30 miles south of Syracuse, its nearest railroad station and shipping point. It has a daily stage to that town. There are about a dozen retail establishments and a weekly newspaper (the Stanton County Journal),
32
CYCLOPEDIA OF
is published. It has a money order postoffice. The population accord- ing to the census of 1910 was 40. It was established in 1885 under the name of Veteran, by the Veteran Town company. Later it became Johnson City and under that name was victorious in the county seat fight of 1887. During the hard times the population dwindled and in the early 'gos was 10. In 1906 it had but one inhabitant and had the distinction of being the smallest county seat town in the world.
Johnson County, located in the eastern tier, is the sixth north from Oklahoma. It is bounded on the north by Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties ; on the east by the State of Missouri; on the south by Miami county, and on the west by Douglas county. Its area is 480 square miles, or 307,200 acres, and in 1910 it ranked 33d, with a population of 18,288. It was organized in 1855 and named for Rev. Thomas Johnson, missionary to the Shawnee Indians, in what is now Shawnee township in the northern part of the county. In 1855 the Kansas river constituted its entire northern boundary but in 1859 the present boundary was established. The county is divided into ten townships: Aubrey, Gard- ner, Lexington, McCamish, Mission, Monticello, Olathe, Oxford, Shaw- nee and Spring Hill.
The general surface is slightly undulating prairie, more rolling in the north and east. The valleys of rivers and creeks average from one- fourth to seven-eighths of a mile in width. The bottom lands com- prise about 10 per cent. of the whole area, the remaining 90 per cent. being upland, the highest of which is in the central and southwestern portion. Timber belts average from 40 rods to one mile in width, and contain oak, hickory, elm, walnut, mulberry, redbud, locust, wild cherry and sycamore, jack-oak and hickory existing in the largest quantities. The streams are not large but sufficiently numerous. The Kansas river flowing north of east forms more than half of the northern border, and receives as tributaries Cedar, Clear, Captains, Kill, Mill and Turkey creeks. Blue and Indian creeks run eastward. The soil is from one to six feet in depth and is very productive, being adapted to corn, winter wheat, oats, flax and hay. Johnson ranks among the foremost counties in the production of Irish potatoes. It also has a large number of orchards. In 1907 there were 150,000 bearing fruit trees. Along the streams limestone is found in great abundance and is used extensively for building and as ballast for railroads. Sandstone is plentiful in the north and east, and at Edgerton gray marble is found. Coal exists in a few places, where it is mined for local use. Previous to the coming of the Shawnee Indians in 1828, but little was known by white people of what is now Johnson county. In 1829 Rev. Thomas Johnson, a Methodist Episcopal missionary, went to the Shawnee country, to establish a mission and a school for the education of the Indians. This school was located about 6 miles west of Westport, Mo., between the Kansas river and Turkey creek. When the Shawnee lands were thrown open for settlement in 1851, a large number of people rushed in to secure claims. Among the free-state men who settled in the county in 1857
33
KANSAS HISTORY
were Thomas E. Mulvane, William Williams, Rynear Morgan, Wil- liam Holmes, Dr. I. James, J. D. Allen, J. C. Forrest and L. F. Bancroft. Among the pro-slavery men were Dr. J. B. Morgan, Col. J. T. Quarles, T. H. Ellis, Jonathan Gore, A. Slaughter, J. H. Nounan, C. C. Catron, M. T. Wells, Dr. Shuck and A. J. Turpin. Along with those who came as settlers were a number of speculators, who examined the Indian treaties and found that an Indian having selected his head right under the treaty could sell and convey a valid title to any person by complying with the rules of the interior department of the government for the sale of Indian lands. The first sales of such lands to speculators were in Oct., 1867, to Blunt, Irvin & Co. In Dec., 1867, the government made it impossible for the Indians to sell their property.
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.