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 79
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Although the constitution placed the great seal in the custody of the governor, to be "used by him officially," section II of the act of June 3, 1861, relating to state officers, provided that the secretary of state should, "at all times, have access to the great seal of the state, and may use the same in verification of his official acts, in all cases when such use may not be in conflict with the constitution of the state or pro- hibited by law."
There has been some controversy as to who suggested the design for the seal, particularly the motto "Ad astra per aspera." Richard Cordley made the claim that the motto was selected by Josiah Miller, who was a member of the joint committee to select a design, and the
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inscription on Mr. Miller's monument so states. Others claim the honor for the late John J. Ingalls, who was secretary of the state senate at the time the great seal was adopted. Under date of Oct. 10, 1888, Mr. Ingalls, then United States senator, wrote from Washington to F. D. Coburn a letter regarding the seal, in which he said: "A joint committee was appointed to present a design for the great seal of state, and I sug- gested a sketch embracing a single star rising from clouds at the base of a field, with the constellation (representing the number of states then in the Union) above, accompanied by the motto, 'Ad astra per aspera.' . .. The clouds at the base were intended to represent the perils and troubles of our territorial history; the star emerging there- from, the new state; the constellation, like that on the flag, the Union to which, after a stormy struggle, it had been admitted. The motto 'Ad astra per aspera' means, literally, 'To the stars through difficulties.' Had my original design been adopted without modification, its signifi- cance would have been apparent."
Concerning the motto, Mr. Ingalls said on another occasion: "The first time I ever saw it was on an old brass seal in the office of the gentleman with wliom I read law in Haverhill, Mass., in 1857. The same thought is expressed in many different ways, but 'Ad astra per aspera' seemed the most melodious, and so I selected it for my sketch. With a motto, as with a proverb, the question is not whether it is original, but whether it is appropriate."
In an address before the Kansas Historical Society on Jan. 17, 1883, Robert Hay said: "John H. McDowell, of the state library committee, suggested a design with a landscape, something like that afterwards adopted, and the emphatic motto 'We will.' The design as submitted to the committee by Mr. Ingalls consisted of a blue shield at the base of a cloud, out of which was emerging one silver star to join the con-
GREAT SEAL OF KANSAS.
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CYCLOPEDIA OF
stellation in the firmament, comprising the thirty-four then in the Union, with the motto 'Ad astra per aspera.' The cloud symbolized the struggles through which we had passed ; the star, the state ; the con- stellation, the Union. The motto was both descriptive and suggestive, and the entire design simple, unique and satisfactory. It was so satis- factory to the committee that they adopted it entire. But after that some of the 'wild heralds of the frontier' altered it by mixing a steam- boat and plowing with buffalo hunting, etc., till really nothing but the motto is Mr. Ingalls,' and the landscape is probably substantially the one submitted by Mr. McDowell. All the seal is historic, but suggestive of a fact that will be true forever, that the conquest of difficulties is the way to moral as well as to political success. John J. Ingalls is now United States senator from Kansas, and his life has not been unmarked by usefulness, but in years to come he will probably be most proud of the fact that he gave our prosperous state its noble motto, which has been the text of many a sermon and the starting-point of many a career.".
From the foregoing, it would appear that the preponderance of evi- dence supports the claim of Mr. Ingalls. But, whoever designated the seal and suggested the motto, both design and motto are appropriate and tell in symbolism the story of Kansas' struggles and the perse- verance of her pioneers.
Late in the year 1869 there was some agitation in favor of changing . the design of the great seal of state. No good reason could be assigned, however, for the change, and the movement came to naught. The Atchison Champion and Press for Jan. 22, 1870, in discussing editorially the proposition to alter the design, paid the following tribute to the great seal as it stands: "It is, in print, the most beautiful design for a seal ever adopted. ' It is suggestive, tasty, appropriate. It is associated with the most thrilling events in the history of our young state. It is on the commission of every officer who went out from Kansas to do battle for the imperiled country. It is on the certificate of eletcion of every civil officer who served the state during the struggling years of its infancy. To change it would not only involve unnecessary expense, but create confusion."
Seaman, a hamlet in the northwestern part of Linn county, is situated on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R. 5 miles north of Parker, from which it has rural delivery, and 20 miles from Mound City, the county seat.
Sedan, the judicial seat and largest town of Chautauqua county, is located southeast of the center of the county on the Missouri Pacific R. R. and on the Middle Caney river in Sedan township. It has a weekly newspaper (the Times-Star), 2 banks, an ice and cold storage plant, a foundry, machine shops, cigar factory, natural gas for lighting, heating and commercial purposes, all lines of mercantile endeavor, express and telegraph offices, and an international money order post- office with three rural routes. The population according to the census report of 1910 is 1,21I.
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A postoffice called Sedan was established at this point in 1871, but was later discontinued for lack of patronage. In 1873 Capt. Ferris established a small store, which proved unprofitable and was discon- tinued. He was followed by M. C. Webb and C. Tiffin, who started a general merchandise business. At the time the county seat was brought to Sedan in 1875 there was only a store, a postoffice, a blacksmith shop, a district school, and one or two residences. There had been a news- paper called the Wide Awake, published by Joseph Mount, but it was suspended at this time. Immediately upon the location of the county seat at this point, people began pouring in. Business enterprises were moved in from other towns, and tradesmen and professional people came in numbers, so that in a short time the population was several hundred. Kelly & Turner moved the Chautauqua Journal from Elk Falls to Sedan and Mr. Kelly was largely instrumental in keeping the county seat there through promoting the building of a court-house at the expense of those who wished to donate to the purpose. The town was platted by a town company of which L. L. Turner was president.
Sedan became a city of the third class in 1876, and at the election held April 3 of that year, the following officers were chosen: Mayor, A. H. King; clerk, F. P. Addleman; treasurer, J. I. Crouse ; attorney, W. H. Tibbits; police judge, G. W. Mullinix; marshal, W. D. Jolley ; councilmen, R. S. Turner, J. P. Rhoades, J. W. Sitton, C. S. Tiffin and J. I. Crouse.
Sedgwick, the third largest town in Harvey county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. and the Little Arkansas river, 10 miles south of Newton, the county seat. It is an incorporated city of 626 inhabitants according to the census of 1910, has 2 banks, an opera house, a weekly newspaper (the Panagraph), telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with four rural routes. It is the oldest town in the county, having been laid off in June, 1870, by the Sedgwick Town company, of which T. S. Floyd was president. The first store, wliich was the first in the county, was built in July of that year by William H. Owen. The postoffice was estab- lished in the same year with T. S. Floyd as postmaster. The money order department was added in 1877. The first school house in the county was erected here in 1870 and the first term was taught by C. S. Bullock and wife. The first newspaper was the Sedgwick Gazette, the initial number of which was issued in Jan., 1871. The Citizens' Savings bank was organized and began business in 1872. The town was incor- porated as a city of the third class in March of that year. The first election was held on April I, and the first city officials were as follows: Mayor, T. S. Floyd; police judge, F. T. Morris; clerk, H. Goodell ; treasurer, P. M. Morgan; marshal, W. H. Hurd; councilmen, 'N. A. Mathias, W. B. Chamberlain, O. M. Sherman, O. Y. Hart and Charles Shaefer. The city government was suspended in '1877 on account of a clerical error in the charter. It was revived again in 1881 and a reorganization took place followed by an election of officers in April,
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1882, when S. B. Cretcher was elected mayor; N. A. Mathias, police judge; James Cox, R. W. Hall, E. N. Green, J. M. Massey and P. M. Morgan, councilmen. The following were appointed: A. G. Stone, clerk; T. J. Miller, treasurer; C. E. Green, marshal.
Sedgwick County, in the southern part of the state, is 135 miles west of the Missouri line, 250 miles east of Colorado and is the second county north of Oklahoma. The territory of which it is comprised was included in Butler county until 1867, when Sedgwick was formed by act of the legislature. The description was as follows: "Commencing at the northwest corner of Butler county, thence south to the southwest corner of the same; thence west to the west line of range 4 west; thence north to the south line of township 22; thence east to the place of beginning." In 1872 four townships on the north of the west tier were given to Reno county, and two full tiers from the north were given to Harvey. The county was named in honor of John Sedgwick, a general of the Civil war, who was killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., in May, 1864.
The first settlers were William Greiffenstein, who located on Cow- skin creek and established a trading post in 1865; Charles Whittaker took a claim in the Little Arkansas valley in the spring of 1866; Durfee & Leedrick built a ranch on the Little Arkansas in 1867; about the same time Lewellen & Davis opened a post for trading with the Indians, and Eli Waterman and John Lawton located in the county. In 1868 came J. R. Mead, H. W. Vigus, William Whitman, M. A. Sales, D. S. Munger, Milo B. Kellogg, John Allison, Charles Hunter, F. H. and Harvey Dunlap, Robert and William Houston, David Edmounds, John D. Goyler, James French, David Wousick, and about a score of others. That year Sedgwick was organized into a township and attached to Butler county for judicial purposes. D. S. Munger was appointed the first justice of the peace and the first election was held in November, at which 35 votes were cast. The officers chosen were as follows: Trustee, M. A. Sales; clerk, H. W. Vigus; treasurer, S. B. Boyd ; super- intendent of public instruction, Mrs. Sales (mother of M. A. Sales).
An attempt to effect county organization was made in the fall of 1869, when an election was held which was declared void by the gov- ernor on account of irregularities. A new census was taken and in the winter of 1870 the governor issued a proclamation organizing the county, designating Wichita as the county seat, and appointing S. C. Johnson, William Lockard and Henry Stein commissioners. The com- missioners appointed John Ward clerk, divided the county into three election districts and called an election in April for the choice of officers and the selection of a permanent county seat. The contest was between Wichita and Park City. The total vote was 260, many of which were said to have been fraudulent, but of which Wichita received the ma- jority. The officers elected were: County clerk, J. M. Steele; county attorney, T. J. Fulton; register of deeds, L. F. Buttles; clerk of the district court, D. A. Bright; probate judge, Reuben Riggs; sheriff.
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W. N. Walker; treasurer, S. C. Johnson; superintendent of public instruction, John P. Hilton; surveyor, William Finn; coroner, E. B. Allen, and commissioners, N. A. English, T. S. Floyd and Alexander Williams. J. M. Steele and H. E. Vantrees were made justices of the peace. The first term of district court was held in June, 1870, and was presided over by Hon. W. R. Brown.
There were a number of Indian scares in Sedgwick county, and although no fighting took place here, a detachment of the Fifth United States infantry, under command of Col. Barr, was stationed on the site of Wichita in 1867. A number of the men, at the expiration of their term of enlistment, became settlers in the vicinity. During the last Indian scare, which occurred in 1874, more than 1,000 people from Sedgwick, Kingman, Sumner and Harvey counties came to Wichita in a single day. In a few days they all returned to their homes. Shortly after that it was reported that the Comanches and Apaches were about to raid southern Kansas. Gov. Thomas A. Osborn ordered S. M. Tucker of Wichita to raise a company of 50 men for Indian service, and sent Adjt .- Gen. Morris to that point with commissions for the officers of the company, arms and equipment, etc. Mr. Tucker was made captain ; Cash Henderson, first lieutenant ; and Mike Meagher second lieutenant. They started on the campaign on the morning of July II, and were gone Io days but saw no Indians.
In common with other border territory Sedgwick county was the scene of a number of murders and outrages on the part of "gangs" and ruffians, most of whom at some time or other "died with their boots on." Six of such deaths occurred in 1873, while Wichita was a cattle ship- ping point.
The first court-house was built in 1872 and was located at the corner of First and Main streets. The city court and jail occupied the base- ment. In 1874 a county jail was erected. The present court-house is one of the best in Kansas. The site for it was donated by the founders of Wichita and the building, which was erected at a cost of $220,000, was paid for by 20-year bonds.
Prior to 1872 all the travel was by wagons and stage coaches, the main road being known as the Kingman trail. A stage station was maintained at Wichita, at which point there was a ferry across the Arkansas. The first railroad was the Wichita & Southwestern, built in 1872 by a company of local capitalists. The president of the com- pany was J. R. Mead; treasurer, William Greiffenstein ; secretary, H. C. Sluss; directors, Solomon H. Kohn, J. M. Steele, S. C. Johnson, G. H. Smith, George Schlieter, C. F. Gilbert, T. J. Peter, R. W. P. Muse and F. J. Fulton. In Aug., 1871, the county voted $200,000 to aid in the construction of the road. During the last year before the road reached Wichita it was estimated that 800,000 cattle were driven through Sedg- wick county. In 1880 the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad was com- pleted to Wichita. In 1885 the Missouri Pacific was built from the east, and a little later the Wichita, Anthony & Salt Plains and the
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Wichita & Colorado lines were projected by local capitalists, and both became a part of the Missouri Pacific system. About that time the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe road was built from Sedgwick to Wichita. thence west to Kingman, the people of Wichita furnishing the right of way from that point to the west line of the county. In 1886 a line known as the Kansas Midland was built from Wichita to Ellsworth by Wichita capitalists, Senator Bentley, W. E. Stanley, J. O. Davidson. C. R. Miller, Robert E. Lawrence and others being the promoters. It became a part of the St. Louis & San Francisco system. The next year the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific was built across the county from the northeast. This being the main line of that road from Chicago to
the gulf, the Sedgwick county people felt themselves very fortunate in securing it although they never realized any profits from the stock which they bought in the concern. The last road to be constructed in Sedgwick county was the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, about 1906 or 1907. . It connects this territory with the rapidly developing southwest and is one of the most valuable lines that has ever come to the county. Beside these roads which pass through Wichita, a branch of the Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe runs from east to west through the southern part and another line of the same road cuts across the southeastern corner.
In regard to the financial affairs of the county it is recorded that the first levy of taxes was 21/2 cents on the dollar. In 1872 the county was bonded for $200,000 for the first railroad, and being ambitious and eager for public improvements, especially new railroads, liberal bonds were voted at frequent intervals. These bonds were always promptly paid in full, $155,980 being paid off in the year 1880 at a time when new enter- prises were being pushed very rapidly. In 1911 Sedgwick county was one of the three largest tax paying counties of the state. In 1880 the assessed valuation of property was $3,117,460, which was a remarkable growth from practically nothing in 1870. The assessed valuation in 1910 was $108,139,773. The county affairs are in excellent condition financially. The public buildings are paid for and bridges and roads are in good shape.
The Sedgwick County Agricultural Society was organized in 1873, and the first exhibition was held in October of that year. The next year on account of the drought and grasshoppers there was nothing to exhibit and the county had to accept outside aid. In 1875 the crops were bountiful, but in 1876 the grasshoppers again caused considerable dam- age. In 1882 the value of garden produce and animals sold for slaughter was $610,000, and the number of bushels of grain raised was 5,332,320, of which 3,665,610 bushels was corn. In 1884, out of an abundant corn crop, Sedgwick county sent 33 car loads of the grain to the flood suf- ferers in Ohio in recognition of the help it had received ten years before. Although as a reaction to the boom of the '8os times were a little dull in the towns for the next few years, the land kept on producing crops which formed the basis of general prosperity. Sedgwick is at present
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surpassed by only four counties in the value of her farm products, which in 1910 were worth $5,616,683. Of this amount corn, the largest field crop, was worth $1,325,088; wheat, $490,785; oats, $676,074; hay, $645,812 ; animals sold for slaughter, $1,539,012. The Sedgwick County Fair Association had a tract of 40 acres which, when the association became bankrupt, was bought by John V. Carey for $5,000, the amount of the judgment against it, and formed the Carey Park addition to Wichita. A state fair, held at Wichita, took the place of the county institution. (See State Fairs.)
The legislature of 1893 authorized the establishment and mainte- nance of an industrial school at the expense of the county, the amount to be spent for buildings and grounds not to exceed $10,000. A branch of the state entomological department was established in Sedgwick in June, 1911, and is of great assistance to the farmers in ridding their farms of pests and increasing the volume of produce.
Sedgwick county is divided into 27 townships as follows: Afton, Attica, Delano, Eagle, Erie, Garden Plain, Grand River, Grant, Greeley, Gypsum, Illinois, Kechi, Lincoln, Minneha, Morton, Ninnescah, Ohio, Park, Payne, Rockford, Salem, Sherman, Union, Valley Center, Viola, Waco and Wichita.
The general surface is rolling prairie, level in places. The timber belt along the streams are unusually wide, averaging more than a mile, and contain all the varieties of wood common to Kansas soil. The bot- tom lands are also wide and comprise 50 per cent. of the area. Well water is accessible at a depth of from 10 to 50 feet. The Arkansas river enters in the northwest and crosses the entire county southwest. The Little Arkansas enters in the north, flows south, joining the larger stream at Wichita. The north and south forks of the Ninnescah river enter and unite in the southwest, the main stream flowing south- east into Sumner county. Cowskin creek has its source in the central part and flows southeast. Limestone, clay and gypsum are abundant. The population of the county in 1882 was 19,166; in 1890, 43,626; in 1900, 44,037, and in 1910, 73,095.
Seeley, a hamlet in Cowley county, is located on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 8 miles northwest of Winfield, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice and in 1910 the population was 25. The railroad name is Dale.
Sego, an inland hamlet of Reno county, is located 18 miles southwest of Hutchinson, the county seat, and 7 miles from Arlington on the Mis- souri Pacific, the nearest railroad station and shipping point, and the postoffice from which mail is distributed by rural route. The popu- lation in 1910 was 16.
Seguin, a hamlet in Sheridan county, is located in Logan township on the Union Pacific R. R., 10 miles west of Hoxie, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was II.
Selden, an incorporated city of the third class in Sheridan county, is located in Sheridan township on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
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R. R., 16 miles northwest of Hoxie, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Independent), about 30 stores, a grain elevator, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order post- office with five rural routes. The population in 1910 was 297.
Self Defensive Association .- The great number of free-state settlers that came into Kansas territory in 1854 began to alarm the friends of slavery, who saw that it would be practically impossible legally to compete with the heavy tide of emigration from the east. The people of northwest Missouri had been led to believe that the prospects of slavery in Kansas were good, but this idea was overthrown by the coming of such great numbers of what the Missourians called "northern cattle." The advocates of slavery were disappointed but not dis- couraged, and attempted to terrify the new settlers by threats and per- secutions. The pro-slavery publications represented the emigrant aid ยท societies as gathering the paupers of the great cities in the east and hiring them to come to Kansas to disturb the institutions of Missouri. As a result of the sentiment thus aroused, meetings were held in some of the towns in western Missouri. This agitation led to the formation on June 15, 1854, of the Platte County Self-Defensive Association. The constitution of this organization contained a preamble and nine arti- cles, the substance of which was that all free negroes must be expelled from the country; no traffic was to be allowed between whites and slaves; no slaves were to be allowed to hire their own time; the asso- ciation was to try to punish all abolitionists; and the members pledged themselves to bring any guilty to immediate punishment. Nearly 1,000 persons signed this constitution. In reality the association was an immense lynch court, consisting of six judges and 1,000 detectives, as each member acted in that capacity. There was absolutely no appeal from the decision of a judge and any two members.
At the first meeting of the association the following resolutions were passed : "That we, the members of the Platte County Self Defensive Association, do solemnly pledge ourselves to go at the call of our brethren, who are across the river in Kansas, and drive out from their midst the abolition traitors." Thomas A. Minard, formerly a sheriff in Iowa, a man of good character and wealth, had come to Kansas and was building a home. He was known to have declared his intention to vote for Kansas to become a free-state. Members of the association arrested him, he was tried before the lynch court, condemned as an abolitionist, ordered to leave the country within 24 hours or receive 50 lashes on his bare back, and was driven from his home with a sick family, into the unsettled wilderness. An old white haired man was seized upon the testimony of a negro, condemned as an abolitionist and given 48 hours in which to leave the country or receive 50 lashes on his bare back. The association did not stop with trying abolitionists, but tried to force the inhabitants to trade only with those who favored slavery and to force the merchants to purchase in slave holding com- munities. It is believed that members of this association were among
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the pro-slavery men who attempted to intimidate and drive the free- state settlers from Lawrence, which proved unsuccessful. The work of the association became so intolerant that these actions proved its undoing, for the citizens of Weston called a public meeting at which resolutions were adopted in which they declared that the residents were competent to decide who should be expelled from the community and that mob law could be tolerated no longer. In the resolutions the citizens disclaimed the action of the association. Thus ended the power and history of the Self-Defensive Association.
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