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 55
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
Following . as carefully as possible the uncertain statements of the friar, the Quivira visited by Penalosa is believed to have been east of the Missouri river and near the boundary line between Missouri and Iowa. Some have endeavored to locate the terminus of his march on the Platte river, near Columbus, Neb., but the same portions of the narrative used for this purpose would apply with equal force to the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers in Kansas.
Hubert H. Bancroft (vol. xvii. p. 168) says Penalosa was "a native of Peru, and adventurer and embustero, bent on achieving fame and fortune with the aid of his unlimited assurance and his attractive person and manners, by which alone presumably he obtained his appointment from the viceroy. Of his rule and his acts, as in the case of other rulers of the period, almost nothing is known. It appears, however, that he visited Zuni and the Moqui towns, heard of the great kingdom of Te- quay through a Jemez Indian who had been a captive there, and also of Quivira and Tejas, and the Cerro Azul, rich in gold and silver ores; and that he planned an expedition to some of these wonderful regions.
"In France, Penalosa presented to the government what purported to be a narrative of an expedition to Quivira made by himself in 1662, written by Padre Freitas, one of the friars of his company, and sent to the Spanish king. He never made any such entrada or rendered any such report. The narrative was that of Onate's expedition of 1601, slightly changed to suit his purposes in Paris. I made known this fraud in an earlier volume (vol. xv, p. 388) of this series, but have since received the work of Fernandez Duro, published two years before my volume, in which that investigator, by similar arguments, reached the same conclusions."
462
CYCLOPEDIA OF
Pence, a country postoffice in Scott county, is located 15 miles from Scott, the county seat and nearest shipping point. The population in 1910 was 27.
Pendennis, a hamlet in Lane county, is located in White Rock town- ship on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 13 miles northeast of Dighton, the county seat. It has an express office, some local trade, and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 50.
Pendleton, a hamlet of Miami county, is situated on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. 5 miles southeast of Paola, the county seat, from which it has rural delivery.
Penitentiary, State .- The first move toward establishing a state prison for Kansas was the appointment of a penitentiary commission on Feb. II, 1858. The following year John Ritchey, S. B. Prentiss and Fielding Johnson were appointed commissioners to erect and maintain a peni- tentiary for Kansas. They were given power to select a tract of land, on which good building stone could be found, and to erect temporary buildings for the accommodation of prisoners and officers until the per- manent building was completed-a prison building that would be ade- quate for Kansas for twenty years-and the sum of $20,000 was appro- priated for the purpose. No action was immediately taken and the state prisoners were kept in various places at Leavenworth for several years.
One section of article 7, of the state constitution says, "A penitentiary shall be established, the directors of which shall be appointed or elected, as prescribed by law. On May 28, 1861, M. S. Adams, C. S. Lambdin and Charles Starns were appointed commissioners to determine the loca- tion of the state penitentiary, being authorized to select "some eligible point within the county of Leavenworth, not less than 40 or more than 160 acres of land, affording, if practicable, building stone, water and other facilities." In 1863 the sum of $25,000 was appropriated for the erection of the building. This act also provided for three directors, who were to hold office as follows: One for one year, one for two years, and one for three years; thereafter their successors were to be appointed for a term of three years. The board was given power to make rules and regulations for the institution or wherever the convicts were confined; to make contracts for the labor of the convicts, the products of which were to be used exclusively to pay for the keeping and clothing of the prisoners; to appoint a warden and all necessary subordinate officers; and were required to visit the penitentiary at least once in three months to examine its management and condition.
The contract for the penitentiary was not let until 1863. The site was changed in 1864 to the high ground about 5 miles south of Leaven- worth, and near the prison the town of Lansing has since grown up. The first ground was broken in 1864 and the foundation walls of the north wing were built, but it was not until 1866, when penitentiary bonds to the amount of $60,000 were sold in New York at 91 cents on the dollar, that work was resumed. The central or administration build-
463
KANSAS HISTORY
ing occupies a position between the cell houses and contains the offices, living rooms for the warden and dormitories. The cell houses are each 50 by 250 feet and contain 344 cells. All these buildings are of sand- stone, but some of the other buildings are of brick. It is estimated that the approximate cost of the buildings and improvements has been nearly $2,000,000. Convict labor was used in the construction of the buildings, shops and wall, or the expense would have been much greater. The prison was first occupied on July 1I, 1868. The original prison yard, containing shops and other buildings, covered about 10 acres and was surrounded by a wall 20 feet high. To this has been added on the north a walled yard containing the female ward, the coal mine sheds and the brickyard. To the east, and extending to the Missouri river, is the farm of 600 acres. Beyond these limits the state has acquired the right to mine coal under a large area.
George Keller was appointed the first warden in 1863. He was fol- lowed by Warden Philbrick in 1864, and he by Harry Hopkins in 1865, who held the position for over seventeen years. In 1879 a bill was passed by the legislature authorizing the sinking of a coal shaft at the penitentiary. Warden Hopkins began it and W. C. Jones, his successor, completed it and soon had the mine on a paying basis. Several hun- dred prisoners were employed in the mine by contractors, and for the first time the prison became self-supporting.
Before the U. S. penitentiary and prison at Fort Leavenworth were built .the military and Federal prisoners were kept at the Kansas peni- tentiary. The prisoners sentenced by the Oklahoma courts were also boarded at the Kansas penitentiary for a number of years, the last being removed on Jan. 31, 1909, to Oklahoma. When these convicts were being cared for there were 1,300 prisoners, although the cell houses contain only 1,084 cells. Since their removal the prison has not been filled at any time.
In 1907 a law was passed that no more contracts could be made to furnish the labor of convicts to private employers and by the end of 1909 all such contracts had expired. The aim of the Kansas penitentiary is not merely to punish prisoners for the crimes they have committed, but to reform them and make them useful men and women-to have the penitentiary a workshop where the convicts will learn some trade and be converted into honest, capable workmen.
In 1901 the parole system was established at the penitentiary, which provided for the conditional release and parole of prisoners. When the prison officials have become convinced that a convict has been confined a sufficient length of time to accomplish reformation, and they have sufficient guarantee that permanent and suitable work has been pro- vided in some county of the state for the prisoner, they may recom- mend that the governor parole him. Such a person is still considered, however, to be in the legal custody of the warden of the penitentiary and may be taken back to prison at any time, if deemed best for the prisoner or society. Prisoners so released must report to the warden
464
CYCLOPEDIA OF
on the first day of each month, by mail, giving condition, employment, name of employer, and such further facts as the warden may require. A parole officer also visits the paroled convicts and assists them in every way. This system has been found most satisfactory in a large majority of cases. On the first day of a prisoner's arrival at the peni- tentiary he is given a thorough physical examination by the prison physician and the officers in charge, and the work he is to do is decided largely by his physical condition and his previous training.
On Sept. 15, 1909, there were 811 prisoners at the penitentiary-500 white males, 262 black males, 14 white females, 21 black females, 3 Indian males, I Indian woman and 4 Mexicans. Most of them were serving under indeterminate sentences from one to five years, but 27 were under life sentences. Ninety per cent. had inferior educations, 76 could not sign their names, and many of those who could had learned to write while in prison. Men can be found in the penitentiary at Lans- ing who do nearly every kind of work, but it is systematized. Forty- three men prepare the food, act as waiters and wash the dishes for the institution, or one to every 18 inmates ; one man does the laundry work for 60; one does the cell work for 40; one changes the library books once a week for all who desire a change, carrying them from the cells to the library and back again; the farm, a fine fertile piece of land, is worked by the convicts at a profit and furnishes provisions for the prison; 17 tailors and 3 shoemakers make all the clothing and shoes worn by the prisoners and the uniforms of the officers. The woman's ward is segre- gated, where they are provided with all the facilities for housekeeping and do all the work for themselves. They make their own clothes and do other sewing in spare time.
The prison has four departments, formerly occupied by the contract labor system, from which it derives revenue. In the coal mine are em- ployed 258 men, and the production of coal increased from $37,979 in 1882 to $242,822 in 1908, but may fall below that since the Oklahoma prisoners have been withdrawn. The mine is operated in the most hygienic manner, lighted by electricity, etc. Some of the convicts are engaged in digging shale for the penitentiary brickyard, where a fine grade of brick is made. It is one of the well paying departments, much of the brick being used in other state institutions. The twine plant is well equipped and a high grade of twine is produced. The fourth de- partment is known as the "tinker shop," where a variety of articles are made for sale, such as watch chains, inlaid tables, toilet articles, riding whips, canes, etc.
As early as 1882 a school was established at the penitentiary. Lessons were assigned and recitations were heard on Saturday. As the authori- ties realized the advantage of educating the convicts, school was also held three evenings of the week, but the night school was given up in 1908 and 1909 because of insufficient appropriation. The appropriations for the terms of 1909-10 and 1910-1I were $2,000 each, and 300 pupils were enrolled. school being taught three evenings of the week. The
465
KANSAS HISTORY
illiterate receive the first attention, in order that they may be taught to read and write, then the more advanced, Some prisoners have become good bookkeepers, some have learned stenography and typewriting, others have even learned the Spanish language. The officers encour- age the prisoners to read and each man is allowed to draw one book a week from the prison library. In addition the men buy newspapers and magazines, 632 daily papers and 196 periodicals having been taken at the penitentiary in 1910. Each prisoner is allowed 33/4 cents for each day he works, and from this fund the periodicals are purchased.
New methods have been introduced at the Kansas penitentiary, most of them proving highly satisfactory and the eyes of the wardens of the penal institutions of the United States and foreign countries are turned to this state for new ideas in caring for those who have broken the laws, to see how such men and women are changed to self-respecting and useful citizens.
Penokee, a post-village in Graham county, is located on the Union Pacific R. R. 8 miles west of Hill City, the county seat. It has telegraph and express offices, a general store and blacksmith shop, and the popu- lation according to the census of 1910 was 100. This town has lately enjoyed a considerable growth. During the summer of 1911 the rail- road established a station agent at this point-the first for 18 years. In 1905 L. P. Millirons put in a hardware and implement store, and erected an elevator. A $15,000 lumber yard has recently been opened. The State Journal of July 22, 1911, says: "The original name of the town was Reford, and why the name of Penokee should have been substi- tuted instead the people cannot recall. It was a trading point in the days of Reford, but no boom hit it and the buildings were moved away."
Pensineau, Paschal, interpreter and trader among the Kickapoo In- dians, was born at Cahokia, Ill., April 17, 1796. His father was a Canadian from Fort La Prairie, near Montreal, and was of pure French blood. His mother was born in Cahokia, her parents being French on the paternal side and half-breed Pottawatomie on the other. Paschal attended a French school about six months when a child and lived at Cahokia until he was about thirteen years old, when he went to live with the Kickapoos, his father at that time being manager of the Amer- ican Fur company. When nineteen years old he crossed the Mississippi river with the Kickapoos and settled on White river, where he remained for about five years. For five years he lived with the Sacs and Foxes and took part in the Black Hawk war, after which he again joined the Kickapoos who were then living on the Missouri river above Fort Leavenworth. He took a stock of goods with him and represented the American Fur company as its first agent on the Missouri river. He married a Kickapoo woman and in 1844 opened a farm on Stranger creek, near the village of Mt. Pleasant, Atchison county, living there for about ten or eleven years, during which time he also kept a trading house. From there he removed to the Grasshopper (Delaware) river, near the present village of Muscotah. He received his first appoint- (II-30)
466
CYCLOPEDIA OF
ment as interpreter from Gen. William Clark, superintendent of Indian affairs. After the Kickapoos settled on the Missouri river he was again appointed interpreter. He took part in the Mexican and Civil wars, receiving a wound at the battle of Cross Hollow, in the latter. He was never mustered into the service of the United States, he and several hundred Kickapoos doing volunteer duty for the Union army. About 1874 or 1875 he removed to the Indian territory, locating about 7 miles from Shawneetown, on the north fork of the Canadian river, where he died about March, 1884.
Pentecostal Church .- Toward the close of the 19th century there was a religious revival very similar to that of the previous century. The basis of this movement was the belief that Christ had the power to make Christians holy in the present life, thus emphasizing the doctrine of entire sanctification. It started in three different parts of the country at nearly the same time-in New England, in New York City and in Los Angeles, Cal. A mission was formed in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1894 and the following year organized as an independent church, called the Utica Avenue Pentecostal Tabernacle. Two other Pentecostal organi- zations followed and in 1895 delegates from the three churches formed the American Association of the Pentecostal Churches in America, adopted a constitution, a summary of doctrines and by-laws.
In New England several independent churches had been organized, which united under the name of the Central Evangelical Holiness Asso- ciation. In 1896 a joint committee met in Brooklyn and formed the Pentecostal Churches of America. In 1895 a number of persons at Los Angeles formed the Church of the Nazarene. Important features of their doctrine were their conviction that sanctification especially in- volved the example of Christ's preaching to the poor; the belief that adornment of home or person was contrary to the Christian spirit; that time devoted to worldly affairs was better spent in saving souls for the Lord.
As these two bodies on the opposite side of the continent learned more of each other, they felt it would be to their mutual advantage to unite. At the annual meeting of each body in 1906 a basis of union was prepared and delegates were authorized to call the first convention of the Pentecostal church of the Nazarene, the name chosen for the new denomination. The convention met in Chicago in 1907 and a union was effected, since which time the growth has been rapid. In 1906 there were 100 organizations, located in 26 states, two of them being in Kan- sas, with a membership of 119.
Pentheka .- (See Oak Ranch.)
Peoria, one of the old towns of Franklin county, is located in the east- ern part, 6 miles east of Ottawa, the county seat, and about a mile from Imes, the nearest railroad station. It was named for the Peoria In- dians, who once owned the site. About 1857 Albert Johnson opened a store there, other settlers followed, and thus the town grew up and soon became a thriving place. It 1859 it entered the contest for county seat
·
467
KANSAS HISTORY
and at the first election was successful. Subsequently the county seat was taken to Ottawa, and as no railroad ever reached Peoria its growth ceased. Albert Johnson was the first postmaster. In 1910 Peoria had a money order postoffice, a few general stores, and reported a popula- tion of 125.
Perkins, Bishop W., lawyer, soldier and Congressman, was born at Rochester, Lorain county, Ohio, Oct. 18, 1841. He received a common school education, which was supplemented by a short attendance at Knox College, Galesburg, Ill. When the Civil war began he enlisted as a sergeant in the Eighty-third Illinois infantry, but was transferred to the Sixteenth U. S. colored infantry, where he served as adjutant and captain for nearly three years. At the close of the war he studied law at Ottawa, Ill., where he was admitted to the bar in 1867 and com- menced the practice of his chosen profession. Soon afterward, how- ever, he decided to try his fortunes in Kansas, located in Labette county, where he entered into local politics, and in 1869 was elected county attorney. The next year he was elected probate judge and was reëlected in 1872. In Feb., 1873, he resigned the office of probate judge to accept an appointment as judge of the 11th judicial district, and at the election in November he was elected for the unexpired term. He was reëlected judge of that district in 1874 and again in 1878, holding the office for nearly ten years. In 1882 he was nominated by the Repub- iicans of his district for Congress, was elected in November of that year, and was three times reelected, serving four successive terms in the lower house of the national legislature. Upon the death of Preston B. Plumb in 1891, Mr. Perkins was appointed for the unexpired term and died in Washington, D. C., June 20, 1894.
Perry, an incorporated city of the third class in Jefferson county, is located in Kentucky township on the Union Pacific R. R., 15 miles south of Oskaloosa, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly news- paper (the Mirror), a number of business establishments, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, telegraph and express offices, etc. The population in 1910 was 475. Perry was surveyed and platted in 1865 by the railroad company and the first store was opened in that year by G. B. Carson & Bro. A postoffice was soon after established with Joseph Terrel postmaster. Terrel was a minister and preached the first sermon in his residence soon after his location. The first birth was that of Eddie Rickard in the spring of 1866. The first death, that of a child of M. F. Garrett, occurred the same year. The first marriage was between John Dunlap and Mary Lee in the fall of 1867. In that year G. D. King and his wife opened a subscription school. Perry was incorporated on March 3, 1871, with N. J. Stark as the first mayor. A $7,000 school house was completed in that year.
Perth, a village in Sumner county, is located in Downs township on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads, 12 miles southwest of Wellington, the county seat. It has a bank, two milling companies, a number of retail establishments,
468
CYCLOPEDIA OF
express and telegraph offices, and a money order postoffice with one mural route. The population in 1910 was 150.
Peru, one of the incorporated towns of Chautauqua county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads, and is located on the Middle Caney river in Belleville town- ship, 7 miles southeast of Sedan, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Derrick), and all lines of business activity. There are natural gas wells in the vicinity. The town is supplied with express and telegraph offices and has an international money order postoffice with one rural route. The population according to the census CI I910 was 575.
Peru was founded in 1870 on land entered by the town company, of which E. R. Cutler, L. Blanchard, D. B. Teeny, C. A. Zinglefield, Patrick Looby and John Lee were members. F. F. Spurlock built the first structure, which was of logs, and opened a general store. Among the early business men were: David Clark, general merchandise; H. Brown, saloon and hotel; a Mr. Crow, hotel; J. S. Cunningham and C. H. Ingelfield, hardware; H. C. Draper, grocery; L. R. Close, gro- cery; N. N. Smith and J. Sheldon, general stores; James Alford and L. Stauffer, saloons. The postoffice was established in 1870 with David Clark as postmaster, As there was no government mail route the citi- zens had to pay for having the mail brought from Independence.
The early days of Peru were rather turbulent. Of the first nine people buried in the cemetery seven died "with their boots on." The first religious services were held in 1871 by Father Records, in the upper story of a saloon. The first school was one maintained by sub- scription and was taught by Rev. Mr. Ward, a Baptist preacher, in 1870. In 1871 Peru became the county seat of Howard county (q. v.) and business was brisk for a time, but it later experienced a backset when the county seat was moved. A flour mill was set up in 1874, and in 1875 a newspaper was established by S. P. Moore & Son.
Peters, Mason Summers, lawyer and member of Congress, was born in Clay county, Mo., Sept. 3, 1844. After finishing the common schools ile entered William Jewell College at Liberty, Mo., and subsequently studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1875 and. served for four years as clerk of the court of Clinton county, Mo. In 1886 he removed to Kansas and settled in Wyandotte county, where he engaged in the live stock commission business. Mr. Peters took an active interest in local politics and in 1896 was nominated for Congress by the Populists of the Wyandotte district. His nomination was endorsed by the Demo- cratic party and he was elected as a fusion candidate. After serving one term he resumed his business.
Peters, Samuel Ritter, jurist and member of Congress, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, Ang. 16, 1842, a son of Louis S. and Margaret ( Ritter) Peters. His early education was acquired in the common schools, and he then took a three-year course at the Ohio Wesleyan University. He left college in 1861 to enter the army, enlisting in the
469
KANSAS HISTORY
Seventy-third Ohio infantry, and served with that regiment until mustered out on June 8, 1865, having held successively the offices of sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain. In the fall of 1865 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1867 and was admitted to the bar the same year. Coming west he located at Newton, Kan., and began to take an active part in the public and political life of that frontier town. In the fall of 1874 he was elected to the state senate, and in March of the following year was appointed judge of the Ninth judicial district. The fall of 1875 he was elected to the judgeship without opposition and reëlected in 1879. Mr. Peters was elected to Congress in 1882, as Congressman- at-large from Kansas, as a Republican and reëlected in 1884, 1886 and 1888. At the expiration of his service he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1896 he received his degree from the Ohio Wesleyan University as a member of the class of 1863.
Peterton, a village in Osage county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 4 miles north of Osage City, whence it receives mail by ruarl route, and I0 miles northwest of Lyndon, the county seat. It has telegraph and express offices, and the population according to the census of 1910 was 225.
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.