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 52
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
-
437
KANSAS HISTORY
in the upper coal measures at Topeka, Lawrence, Turner, Endora, Wa- baunsee county, Leavenworth county, Wyandotte county, Lecompton, Cowley county, Anderson county, and at Cherryvale, Elmont, Iola and Grant Summit.
Cretaceous fishes have three divisions-selachians, pycnodonts and teleosts-which are also subdivided. Under selachians are included the myliobatidae, or upper Cretaceous selachians; scyllidae from the lower Cretaceous ; lamnidae from the lower Cretaceous and Niobrara; and the corax, confined entirely to the Cretaceous. The pycnodontae are subdi- vided into pycnodonts, found in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene deposits and lepidosteidae not found in Kansas. The living members of the myliobatidae are the sea devils, many of which attain an enormous size. One species of this fish has been found in the Kansas Cretaceous, occurring only in the Niobrara beds. The scyllidae are a family of small sharks, occurring in the lower Cretaceous, but the only fossil remains consist of teeth, about 80 of which were collected near Castle Rock in Trego county. A single tooth of large size was taken from the Cre- taceous of the Smoky Hill river and another series, 110 in number, were found in the Niobrara chalk of that river. Other specimens have been found at Walnut creek, probably of the Benton horizon, in Ellsworth county from the Benton Cretaceous of Salt creek, some in Russell county, and some from the lower Cretaceous in various places.
The lamnidae include the largest sharks, which are represented by a number of living species at the present time. Their teeth are com- monly found in the Cretaceous deposits of Kansass, but as the teeth of one fish vary greatly in size and shape it is difficult to determine the forms. One nearly complete dentition has been found of the most com- mon species of the family in Kansas. The teeth of this fish come from the Kansas Niobrara or the Benton Cretaceous. Specimens have also been collected from the lower Cretaceous (Kiowa shales) in Clark county.
The genus corax is confined to the Cretaceous and is not well known, but isolated teeth have been found in the Niobrara Cretaceous of the Smoky Hill valley and one isolated tooth was found in the Niobrara of Kansas. Specimens have also been collected from the lower Benton of Ellsworth county and near Marquette.
The remains of the peculiar group of glanoid fishes, known as pycno- dontae, have been found in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene deposits. They are small fishes oval in shape. Some specimens have been found in the Kiowa shales near Belvidere, and there is one specimen of the lepidosteidae, from the Kiowa shales, but it was not found in Kansas.
The teleostei is an order that embraces the most generalized type of bony fishes, and are among the most abundant fossils obtained from the chalk of western Kansas, usually in an excellent state of preservation. In size they range from nearly 20 feet to small fish of less than a foot in length. They are found most abundantly in the Niobrara group because the conditions that prevailed at that time were more favorable for fos-
4,38
CYCLOPEDIA OF
silization, although they were no more abundant then than during the Fort Pierre and Fox Hill time which followed. Several families are included under this head. The ichthyodectidae family embrace some of the largest physostomous fishes of the Cretaceous period of North America, and from the size of the jaws it is supposed that they rivaled the mosasaurs, at least the smaller ones, in strength and ferocity. Re- mains of this fish have been found in the Cretaceous deposits of Kansas. The second family is the sauredontidae, which resembles the ichthyo- dectidae of the known American species. Specimens have been found in the Niobrara Cretaceous of western Kansas. Remains of the strato- dontidae, or third family, have been taken from the Niobrara Cretaceous of Graham county, the Fort Pierre and the Lisbon shales of Logan county. The osteoglossidae, the fourth family, is described from remains taken from the Niobrara Cretaceous of western Kansas. The fifth fam- ily, called salmonidae, bear a superficial resemblance to some of the mosasaurs and have been found in the Niobrara Cretaceous in the west- ern part of the state. Some of the finest specimens were found iso- lated in the Butte creek region of Logan county. Remains of the genus pachycormidae, the sixth family, came from the Benton, Niobrara, and Fort Pierre groups. The clupeidae, or seventh family, are closely related to the two families above and resemble them, being found in relatively the same localities. The enchodontidae, or eighth family, includes fishes with laterally compressed bodies. Fossil remains are found in the Niobrara Cretaceous in Kansas. The horizon of the derce- tidae is the Niobrara Cretaceous of the Smoky Hill river, where speci- mens have been collected. Of the tenth family, called mugilidae, only three specimens have been secured in Kansas, of which two came from the Benton Cretaceous.
Kansas has some of the richest fossil fields in the United States; specimens of many species have been preserved in the museums of the state university and the state agricultural college, which are of great value to the students of geology and paleontology. Not only have the state museums been supplied from these fields, but the museums all over the country have Kansas specimens. (See Kansas Geological Sur- vey, vols. viii and ix.
Palco, an incorporated city of the third class in Rooks county, is located on the Union Pacific R. R., 20 miles southwest of Stockton, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Enterprise), 3 ele- vators, a number of retail stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 279.
Palermo, one of the early river front towns of Doniphan county, is located in Marion township 8 miles southeast of Troy, the county seat, and about 3 miles from Wathena, from which place it receives mail by rural route. The population in 1910 was 279. Being on the Missouri river and at the mouth of Walnut creek, Palermo was an important point before the railroads were built.
439
KANSAS HISTORY
Palmer, a town in Washington county, is located in Sherman town- ship on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 14 miles southwest of Washington, the county seat. It has a bank, an opera house, a weekly newspaper (the Index), telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in 1910 is given as 400.
Pana, a country postoffice in Stanton county, is located in Roanoke township 12 miles southeast of Johnson, the county seat, and about 35 miles south of Syracuse, the nearest shipping point.
Panics .- Since 1837 periods of financial stringency and industrial depression have occurred about once every ten years, and many people have come to look upon these disturbances as an inevitable concomitant of our economic system. The panic of 1837 was before Kansas came into existence as an independent political organization. Some attribute this panic to President Jackson's opposition to the Bank of the United States, but it is worthy of note that the banks of England and Ireland were also affected, and in an investigation that followed in England it developed that speculation was the principal cause, the "three W's"-the house of Wilson, Wildes and Wiggins-having been especially active in exploit- ing prices of cotton, etc., and at the same time carrying on irregular deals in financial circles.
If a panic was due in 1847 it was probably "side-tracked" by the War with Mexico, but in 1857 there was a financial crisis of widespread pro- portions. At that time Kansas was in the throes of the border war, her industries not having yet become sufficiently developed to feel the stress of the depression. The Civil war, from 1861 to 1865, delayed the decen- nial panic until 1873. Immediately following the war the country plunged into an era of wild speculation. Corporations were promoted, towns were projected all over the West, prices of real estate soared beyond the reach of the average individual, and fictitious values attached to almost every commodity. The panic was precipitated by the failure of the great banking house of Jay Cooke & Co., of Philadelphia, on Sept. 18, 1873. The Credit Mobilier was organized in 1863, right in the midst of the war. It was a company for facilitating the construction of public works, but in 1867 the charter was transferred to a company that had been organized for the purpose of building the Pacific railroad. The capital was increased and the work of construction was sublet to the old Credit Mobilier company, to which Jay Cooke & Co. made large loans on its bonds. An investigation later showed that much of the stock of the Credit Mobilier company was held by members. The exposure and the failure of Cooke started a panic that extended to all parts of the country. Great excitement prevailed in all the principal cities, but the failures were greatest in the East. Just as affairs were beginning to look brighter the failure of Henry Clews & Co., of New York, a firm that had extensive business relations with the South and West, started fresh trouble, the cities of Memphis, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., being the worst affected.
Concerning the panic in Kansas, Hazelrigg's history says: "Banks
440
CYCLOPEDIA OF
suspended in several cities, and hundreds of persons were involved in the severest distress. The depression resulting from the panic was felt by all classes, and, for a time threatened to affect materially the pros- perity of the state." The panic was perhaps more keenly felt in Leaven- worth than in any other Kansas city. Shortly after the failure of Henry Clews & Co. the St. Louis banks resorted to clearing house certificates instead of paying out currency. The Union, and the Manufacturers' national banks of Chicago failed on Sept. 26, when several of the Leav- enworth banking institutions entered into an agreement to "suspend payment by currency or exchange until further notice." Some of the banks reopened on the 30th and some never resumed business. Senator Pomeroy of Kansas lost heavily by the failure of the First national bank of Washington.
The country had scarcely recovered from the effects of the crisis of 1873 when another period of depression came. Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia says: "The panic was due to a variety of causes, none of which was entirely controllable. It may be said to have been the nat- ural result of the inflation which began with 1878 and ended by the middle of 1881." A year before the actual commencement of the panic, business men all over the country intuitively became more conservative. Merchants and manufacturers bought goods and materials in small quan- tities for immediate demand; bankers were careful to scrutinize collat- eral offered for loans, and "retrenchment" appeared to be the universal watchword. The Marine national bank of New York closed its doors on May 5, 1884, and this suspension was quickly followed by the failure of the firm of Grant & Ward, the death of Gen. Grant being no doubt hastened by this catastrophe. Other New York banks followed, and in ten days the panic was on in earnest. The failures of the year amounted to about $240,000,000, but a majority of them were purely financial, and many were the direct consequence of stock speculation. A few mer- chants and manufacturers failed, but the panic was by no means a com- mercial or industrial crisis. Fortunately the West and South were not seriously affected and in a few months business was practically in its normal condition in those sections. The failure of Donell, Lawson & Simpson of New York, formerly of St. Joseph, Mo., inflicted some tem- porary distress in Kansas, where the firm had large liabilities.
Soon after the presidential election of 1892 a feeling of general distrust seemed to pervade the business circles of the country, and those pes- simistically inclined began to foretell another panic. Financiers insisted that the unsettled conditions were due to the Sherman silver law, which many of the newspapers urged Congress to repeal. But Congress adjourned without doing so and matters grew worse. The $100,000,000 gold reserve maintained by an unwritten law of the treasury department for the redemption of l'nited States notes was depleted by withdrawals of gold for export until it was but little over $80,000,000. President Cleveland called the 53d Congress to meet in special session on Aug. 7, 1893, and urged the repeal of the Sherman law to protect the gold
44I
KANSAS HISTORY
reserve. This was done, but not until after the reserve had been dimin- ished as above stated. The panic reached Kansas City, Mo., about the middle of July, before the special session of Congress was convened. On July 14 one of the largest and oldest national banks in the city was forced to close its doors. Telegrams were rushed to banks in other cities for assistance. The bank opened for business the following day, but the feeling of uncertainty awakened by its temporary suspension led to runs upon several banks about the mouth of the Kaw that resulted in their failure. One of the consequences of the depression was the Com- monweal Army (q. v.) of 1894.
Owing to the almost phenomenal power of recuperation of the Ameri- can people-the spirit that is not easily discouraged-the country quickly recovered from the effects of the panic, and the people enjoyed an unin- terrupted era of prosperity until some New York speculators brought about the little flurry in financial and industrial circles in Oct., 1907.
Pansy, a hamlet in the extreme northwestern part of Franklin county, is located in the valley of Appanoose creek about 3 miles northeast of Michigan, the nearest railroad station, and 7 miles northwest of Pomona, from which it has rural free delivery.
Paola, the county seat of Miami county, is situated near the geo- graphical center of the county on elevated ground between Bull and Wea creeks. The town was laid out in the spring of 1855 and incor- porated by the legislative session of that year. It was named in honor of Baptiste Peoria, one of the first settlers, the Indian pronunciation of his name being Paola. The town company was composed of Baptiste Peoria, Isaac Jacobs, A. M. Coffey and David Lykins, and others, and was authorized to acquire any amount of land "not exceeding 600 acres." The first board of trustees consisted of B. P. Campbell, Peter Potts, William A. Heiskell, Isaac Jacobs, William H. Lebow and Baptiste Peoria. The company acquired title to about 400 acres of land and divided it into 72 shares. In June, 1857, Baptiste Peoria was elected president of the town company, and A. J. Shannon agent and secretary. After 1858, until the expiration by limitation of the charter, which had been granted for ten years, no other meeting of the town company was held. W. R. Wagstaff was appointed trustee and had control until all the property was sold. S. P. Boone built the first house, a Mr. White the second, and Cyrus Shaw opened a store in Dec., 1855, in the third building, which was erected by the town company. Subsequently the company built a hotel on the site of their first building. The first school in the town was opened in the fall of 1856, with May Williams as teacher.
At the close of 1855 Paola contained about 30 inhabitants, but the border troubles retarded the growth of the town. By 1859 peace was again established and the prospects of Paola looked brighter, when the whole territory suffered from the drought of 1860 (See Droughts), and the next year the Civil war broke out, which kept things practically at a standstill four years. During this time neither person nor property was
442
CYCLOPEDIA OF
considered safe in the border counties, because of the threatened inva- sions of the Confederates and the raids of the bushwhackers from Mis- souri. Few people were added to the population and it was not until the close of hosilities and the prospect of a railroad that the town began to improve.
In 1860, under special charter from the legislature, Paola was organ- ized as a city of the third class. This form of government was con- tinued until 1862, when it was organized as a city of the second class. In 1872 a fine school building was erected at a cost of $65,000, but with the growth of population it grew too small, and a fine new one was erected with as excellent equipment as any high school in the eastern part of the state.
Paola has always been the county seat, made such by the act creat- ing the county, and only one vote was ever taken upon changing the location. That was in 1858, when Osawatomie was the principal com- petitor.` In the election Indianapolis cast its vote for Paola, and there the seat of justice has remained.
No railroads were built into Paola until the early '70s, although roads were proposed in 1869. At the present time it has excellent ship- ping and transportation facilities, provided by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, the St. Louis & San Francisco, and the Missouri Pacific railroads, and it is an important shipping center for the rich agricultural district by which it is surrounded. Religion came hand in hand with education, the Methodist Episcopal church having been placed upon the Stanton circuit in 1858 and remained there until 1864, when a local church organ- ization was perfected. The Baptist church was established in 1860; the Catholic church may be regarded as the continuation of the Catholic mission established among the New York Indians in 1845, but no church was erected until 1860. These were followed by other de- nominations. The first newspaper in Paola was the Miami Republican, which first appeared on Aug. 18, 1866. The Western Spirit made its initial appearance on June 14, 1871, and is the leading paper of the town and county at the present time. The population in 1910 was 3.207.
Paradise, a town in Russell county, is located in the township of the same name on the Union Pacific R. R., 16 miles northwest of Russell, the county seat. It has a bank, a number of general stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 200.
Parallel, a hamlet in Washington county, is located 20 miles south- west of Washington, the county seat, and 9 miles south of Barnes, the nearest railroad station and the postoffice from which it receives mail. The population in 1910 was 16.
Pardee, one of the oldest settlements of Atchison county, is located in the southern part of the county, about 3 miles south of Farmington, the nearest railroad point, and 10 miles southwest of Atchison. The first settler was Caleb May, who located there in Oct., 1854, and was president of the town company which had the site surveyed in the
443
KANSAS HISTORY
spring of 1857. It was named in honor of Rev. Pardee Butler (q. v.), who preached the first sermon there in the winter of 1857. The post- office, which had been established at Ocena in 1855, was moved to Par- dee in 1858, at about the time that the first store was opened. In 1874 a mill was erected and at that time there were 2 stores, 2 churches and a population of about 100, but as no railroad was ever built to the town it never grew up to the expectations of its founders.
Pardons, Board of .- The first action taken in the State of Kansas with regard to pardoning convicts in the penal institutions of the state, was in 1868, when the governor was given power to pardon any person convicted in any court in the state, against any law thereof, upon the terms and conditions prescribed in the pardon. The act provided that no pardon could be granted until notice of it had been given for two weeks in a newspaper published in the county where the person was convicted. The pardon was required to be in writing, and at each ses- sion of the legislature the governor was required to send a list to both the house and senate of all persons pardoned by him since the preceding session. The governor also had the power to pardon a convict for good conduct, not more than ten days before the expiration of his term, with- out the notice provided in case of other pardons.
Up to 1885 the pardoning power was vested in the governor alone, but on Feb. 27 of that year the legislature passed an act "creating a board of pardons," to be appointed by the governor and to consist of three persons, at least one of whom was a lawyer, to hold office at the pleasure of the governor. The board was required to meet at least four times a year at the capitol building in Topeka, to consider the advisa- bility of pardoning any convict in the state penal institutions, or com- muting the sentence in cases referred to them by the governor or the physicians of the institutions. All applications for pardon were to be referred to the board, which inquired into the facts and made a report to the governor of its decision with regard to pardoning or commuting the sentence of a prisoner.
Any vacancies on the board were to be filled by the governor, who was authorized to convene the board in special session whenever he believed the interests of justice required it. At any time, the board of pardons could recommend the pardon of a convict without a petition, but in such case the governor was required to give notice of it for two' weeks in a newspaper published in the county were the conviction took place, before the pardon was granted.
Each member of the board received $5.00 for each day actually en- gaged and also for all traveling and other expenses incurred in the per- formance of his duties. The clerical duties of the board were performed by the private secretary of the governor. After the creation of the board great care was taken in the pardoning of convicts, but in 1897 the legislature failed to make an appropriation for the board, the mem- bers of which declined to serve without renumeration, and it ceased to exist "for want of funds."
444
CYCLOPEDIA OF
In many cases before the board of pardons was created the exercise of the pardoning power was looked upon as an act of personal favor by the governor. The value of the investigation and advice of such a tribunal as the board of pardons has changed this view and it is suffi- cient to say that time and experience fully demonstrate the wisdom of the creation of such a tribunal.
Paris Exposition .- (See Expositions.)
Park, a village in Gove county, is located in Payne township on the Union Pacific R. R., 13 miles northeast of Gove, the county seat. It has an express office, a money order postoffice with one rural route, 2 elevators and half a dozen stores. The population in 1910 was 60. The town was established in the latter 'zos under the name of Buffalo Park, which is its present railroad name. It is the oldest town in the county and in 1880 was quite a flourishing little city with a newspaper.
Parker, an incorporated town of Linn county, is situated in the nortli- west portion on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. It has a bank, several general stores, an implement house, a lumber yard, and is the shipping and supply point for a rich agricultural country. There are express and telegraph facilities, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, schools and churches, and in 1910 it had a population of 398.
Parkerville, an incorporated city of the third class in Morris county, is located in Parker township on the Neosho river and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., 12 miles northwest of Council Grove, the county seat. It has telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 157. Parkerville was incorporated in 1871 and began a spirited con- test to become the county seat. The first trustees were, C. G. Parker, J. A. Rodgers, G. W. Clark, H. Daniels and W. M. Thomas, the incor- porators of the town. The next spring an election was held for town officers and J. A. Wallace was chosen the first mayor.
Parnell, a village of Atchison county, is situated on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads, 7 miles south- west of Atchison. It has a money order postoffice and is a shipping point of some importance. In 1910 it had a population of 12. 1
Parrott, Marcus J., member of Congress, was born at Hamburg, S. C., Oct. 27, 1828, but his parents removed to Dayton, Ohio, when he was a small boy. His father was of Quaker, anti-slavery ancestry, who moved into Ohio to escape the influences of that institution. Marcus received his education at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., where he graduated in 1849. After completing his collegiate course he studied law and began practice in Ohio. He entered actively into politics there and was elected representative to the state legislature in 1853. In 1855 he came to Kansas and settled in Leavenworth, where he soon became a promi- nent figure in the political life of the territory. In 1856 he succeeded John W. Whitfield as delegate in Congress, being the first Free State delegate from this territory, and was reelected in 1858. Mr. Parrott
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.