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 8

Author: Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 1854-1931, ed
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Standard publishing company
Number of Pages: 960

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 8

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CYCLOPEDIA OF

J. C. Martin. The census of 1878 gave Kingman county 729 people, but in the next three years the population increased to 3,125, showing that the development of the county did not really begin until about 1880.

Kingman is divided into 23 townships as follows: Allen, Belmont, Bennett, Canton, Chicaskia, Dale, Dresden, Eagle, Eureka, Evan, Gales- burg, Hoosier, Kingman, Liberty, Ninnescah, Peters, Richland, Roches- ter, Rural, Union, Valley, Vinita and White. The postoffices are, King- man, Adams, Basil, Belmont, Calista, Cleveland, Cunningham, Mur- dock, Nashville, Norwich, Penalosa, Rago, Spivey, Varner, Waterloo, Willowdale and Zenda.

The surface of the county is rolling prairie somewhat broken in the vicinity of the Ninnescah. The bottom lands comprise 15 per cent. of the total area. Cottonwood is the principal timber and is found along the Chikaskia. An excellent water system is formed by the two branches of the Chikaskia. The south branch of the Chikaskia enters the county near the southwest corner and flows east 15 miles, where it unites with the north branch forming the main stream, which leaves the county near the southeast corner. The south fork of the Ninnescah enters on the west line north of the center, crosses in a southeasterly direction past Kingman, and leaves the county near the central part of the east line. The north fork crosses the northeast corner. There are several small lakes, numerous springs, and well water is found at a depth of 25 feet. Sandstone, rock salt, gypsum and mineral paint are found in large quantities.

There are nearly 150 miles of main track railroad in the county. A branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe crosses the northern part from east to west, another crosses from east to west in the southern part, and still another branch of the same system runs through the center from north to south. A branch of the Missouri Pacific enters in the southeast and extends northwest through Kingman into Reno county. The Kansas City, Mexico & Orient crosses the extreme southeast corner.

The area of Kingman county is 864 square miles or 552,960 acres, of which over 400,000 acres are under cultivation. The county ranks high in agriculture and stock raising. Wheat, corn, oats, sorghum, Kafir corn and hay are the principal crops. The value of the farm products in 1910 was $3,042,500, of which wheat was worth $853,824; corn, $656,000; and hay, $156,904. The population in 1910 was 13,386, a gain of about 30 per cent. over that of 1900. The property valuation of 1910 was over $30,000,000, which makes the wealth per capita nearly $2,200.

Kingman, Samuel A., chief justice of the Kansas supreme court from 1867 to 1876, was born in Worthington, Mass., June 26, 1818. His par- ents, Isaiah and Lucy Kingman, each lived to more than "the three score years and ten." Samuel was educated in the public schools and Moun- tain Academy of his native town, and began teaching in his seven- teenth year. Two years later he went to Kentucky, where he taught school and studied law. After being admitted to the bar he began prac- tice at Carrollton, Ky., then changed to Smithland, Livingston county

· KANSAS HISTORY

Here he was county clerk and district attorney for three years from 1849 to 1851; represented the county in the state legislature; and took part in framing a new constitution for Kentucky. In 1857 he removed with his family to Knoxville, Marion county, Iowa, and about a year later became a resident of Kansas. For six months he was located in Leaven- worth, then took up a claim in Brown county, near the site of Horton. Subsequently he removed to Hiawatha and opened a law office. In 1859 he was a member of the Wyandotte constitutional convention and the same year was one of the three commissioners appointed by the legis- lature to adjust the territorial claims. When Kansas became a state Mr. Kingman was nominated for associate justice on the Union Republican ticket, but was defeated. Two years later he was elected chief justice and reëlected in 1872. He resigned from the bench in 1876 because of ill health. Subsequently he was appointed state librarian, but was com- pelled to give up this position for the same reason. He was the first president of the Kansas State Historical Society and a director of it until his death. He was also president of the State Judicial association, the State Bar association, and was the president of the Ananias club to the time of his death. Judge Kingman was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, when he became one of its stanch supporters. On Oct. 29, 1844, he married Matilda Willets of Terre Haute, Ind., and they had two children. Judge Kingman died at Topeka, Sept. 9, 1904. King- man county was named in his honor.

Kingsdown, a village in Ford county, is located 20 miles southeast of Dodge City, the county seat. It is a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., has telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 150. It is a local trading point of some importance and does considerable shipping of grain and live stock.

Kingsville, a country postoffice in Shawnee county, is located in Silver Lake township, on the Union Pacific R. R., 9 miles northwest of Topeka.

Kingsley, the county seat of Edwards county, is located about 8 miles west of the center of the county, at the junction of two lines of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., and near the Arkansas river. It has about 100 business establishments, including a flour mill, a cement and brick plant, 2 banks, 2 weekly newspapers (the Graphic and the Mercury). The city also has waterworks, churches, good public and high schools, daily stages to Fellsburg and Fullerton, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 1,547. Kinsley was founded in 1873 and the postoffice was established that year, with N. C. Boles as the first postmaster. The name was given it in honor of E. W. Kins- ley of Boston, who built the first church edifice at a cost of $2,000. The Kinsley Reporter was established as a monthly in 1873. The school district was organized in 1874 and the building erected in 1877. The town was visited by fire, famine and pestilence in the early days, and in 1882 had a bank robbery.

CYCLOPEDIA OF

Kiowa, the second largest town in Barber county, is located on the Medicine Lodge river, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Mis- souri Pacific railroads, 21 miles southeast of Medicine Lodge, the county seat. It has 2 banks, an opera house, 2 newspapers (the Journal and the News-Review), over 100 mercantile establishments, telegraph and express offices and an international money order postoffice with five rural routes. The population according to the census of 1910 was 1,520, which is almost double the population of 1900. Kiowa claims to be the first town in which Carrie Nation (q. v.) ever "smashed" a saloon.

Kiowa County, in the southwestern part of the state, is the second county north from Oklahoma and the sixth east from Colorado. It is bounded on the north by Edwards county ; on the east by Pratt and Barber; on the south by Comanche, and on the west by Ford and Clark. It was named for the Kiowa tribe of Indians and was first created by the act of 1867, which erected 26 western counties. In 1875 the county was extinguished and the territory divided between Edwards and Comanche. In 1886 Kiowa was restored and the boundaries defined as follows: "Commencing at the intersection of the west line of range 20 west with the north line of town 27; thence south along range line to its intersection with the north line of township 31 ; thence east along township line to where it intersects with the west line of range 15 west; thence north along range line to where it intersects with the north line of township 27; thence west to the place of beginning."

It contains 720 square miles or 460,800 acres. Until its organization Kiowa was attached to Comanche county for judicial purposes. Gov. Martin appointed C. W. Olmstead census taker in Feb., 1886. The returns made by him on March 19 showed a population of 2,704, of whom 549 were householders, and there was $236,622 worth of taxable prop- erty exclusive of railroads. In making the proclamation of organization on March 23, the governor named Greensburg as the county seat and appointed the following officers: Clerk, M. A. Nelson ; commissioners, H. H. Patten, Jacob Dawson and C. P. Fullington.

During the year 1886 three railroads made propositions to the people of the county-the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the St. Louis & San Francisco and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. The proposition to issue bonds for the first was not carried, and that company changed its route. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific subsequently built a line from Hutchinson which came through this county, and later the Atchi- son. Topeka & Santa Fe built a line across the southeast corner. Greens- burg, the county seat, was not founded until early in 1885. In less than 4 months it had 1,000 inhabitants and a number of two-story brick and stone buildings. About May 1, 1887, the ground for a court-house was purchased in Greensburg and the present court-house occupies the site.

The county is divided into twelve townships, Brenham, Butler, Center, Garfield, Glick, Kiowa, Lincoln, Martin, Reeder, Union, Ursula, Valley and Wellsford. The postoffices are, Greensburg, Belvidere, Haviland, Mullinville and Wellsford.

KANSAS HISTORY

The surface of Kiowa county is a rolling prairie, slightly higher in the center. The southern half lies in the valley of the Medicine Lodge river and the northern half slopes in a succession of gentle foot hills toward the valley of the Arkansas. Rattlesnake creek, the principal stream, enters in the west and flows northeast into Edwards county. It has several tributaries in the northern and central parts. Medicine Lodge river has its source in the south and flows southeast into Barber county. Well water is found at an average depth of 50 feet. Good build- ing stone is abundant.

Kiowa is in the famous winter wheat section. The wheat crop of 1910 sold for $1,674,553; corn, the next in importance, was worth $447,- 464 ; milo maize, $120,000 ; and animals sold for slaughter, $300,000. The total value of farm products was $2,740,959. The assessed valuation of property was $15,484,314. The population was 6,174 in 1910 as against 2,267 in 1900, a gain of nearly 300 per cent. The average wealth per capita is $2,346, which is larger by over $700 than the average for the state.

Kipp, a thriving little town of Saline county, is located on the line between Solomon and Eureka townships, and on the Missouri Pacific R. R. about II miles southeast of Salina, the county seat. It has tele- graph and express offices and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 150.

Kirkfield, a small hamlet of Edwards county, is situated about 10 miles southeast of Kinsley, the county seat and most convenient railroad station, from which place,mail is delivered by rural carrier.

Kirkpatrick, Snyder S., lawyer and member of Congress, was born in Franklin county, Il1., Feb. 21, 1848. His great grandparents came from the north of Ireland to North Carolina, and there his grandfather, Edward Kirkpatrick, was born, but removed to Tennessee, where he married, and where his son, John F., was born. Edward Kirkpatrick removed with his family to Illinois in 1818, and secured a quarter section of farm land. In Illinois, John F. Kirkpatrick married Hester Dial, whose parents had also emigrated from Tennessee. Snyder was one of the children of this union, and until the Civil war broke out he lived as the average Illinois farm boy, attending the district school in winters. and working on the farm during the summers. He was too young to enlist at the opening of the war, but in June, 1864, he joined the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Illinois infantry and served until mustered out in the fall of that year. In 1865 he engaged with his brothers in the mercantile business, but even at that time his cherished ambition was to become a lawyer. In 1867 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan. The following year he returned to Illinois and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court. In the fall of 1873 he located in Fredonia, Kan., and opened a law office. Mr. Kirkpatrick became a prominent figure in local politics and in 1879 was elected attorney of Wilson county. Subsequently he served in the state senate, from the IIth district, and in 1894 was elected to Congress as a Repub-

CYCLOPEDIA OF

lican from the 3d district. Two years later he was renominated for Congress by acclamation, but was defeated by the Fusion candidate. Again in 1898 he was nominated by the Republicans and defeated by a small majority. He died at Fredonia, Kan., April 5, 1899.

Kirwin, an incorporated city of Phillips county, is located on the north fork of the Solomon river and the Missouri Pacific R. R. 12 miles south- east of Phillipsburg, the county seat. There are about 75 business houses, among which are 2 good hotels, a flour mill, an alfalfa mill, grain elevator, 2 weekly newspapers (the Argus and the Kansan), a bank and a number of mercantile establishments. The city has an opera house, telegraph and express offices and an international money order post- office with three rural routes. The population in 1910 was 626. The first settlements at Kirwin were made in 1869. The town was named after a Col. Kirwin, who was sent to this vicinity just after the war to erect a stockade for the protection of emigrants to California. The post- office was established in 1871, with H. P. Gandy as postmaster. Stores and other business establishments were opened about the same time. The first school was taught in 1873 by Miss Maggie Shurtz. There were Indian scares in 1871, 1872 and 1878. The neighborhood was vis- ited by hostile Sioux, Omahas and Pawnees, and in the latter year the Cheyennes. The town was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1880, and the following were the first officers: Mayor, Horace Moulton ; marshal, C. E. Russell; clerk, C. E. Don Carlos; treasurer, H. J. Cam- eron ; councilmen, F. Campbell, W. T. Belford, E. W. Warner, W. D. Jenkins and J. H. Skinner.

Kismet, a village in Seward county, is located on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. 21 miles northeast of Liberal, the county seat. It has a general store and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 100 ..

Kling, a recently established postoffice in Barber county, is on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 25 miles west of Medicine Lodge, the county seat.

Knauston, a hamlet in Finney county, is located 16 miles northwest of Garden City, the county seat, and 10 miles in the same direction from Alfalfa, the nearest railroad station. Its mail is distributed from Garden City by rural route.

Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal organization, was founded in 1882 by Rev. Michael J. McGivney of New Haven, Conn., where the national headquarters of the order are still maintained. To be eligible for membership one must be eighteen years of age, a prac- tical Catholic, and not engaged in or connected in any way with the liquor business. The basic principles of the order are "charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism." Local lodges or societies are called councils. Four locals in a state may form a state council, and delegates from the several state councils constitute the national council. In 1910 there were about 1,400 local councils in the United States, with the member- ship of 250,000, and the benefits disbursed since organization amounted to nearly $5,000,000.

KANSAS HISTORY

The first council in Kansas, which was also the first west of the Mis- souri river, was organized at Topeka on Sept. 9, 1900, with 27 members. E. L. Mooney was elected grand knight; J. W. Gibbons, deputy grand knight; T. J. Coughlin, financial secretary; and Thomas Delahoyde, treasurer. At the same time P. J. Monaghan was appointed territorial deputy, his district extending from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean. The first state council met at Topeka in May, 1902, when P. J. Monaghan was elected the first state deputy, and T. J. Coughlin the first state secretary. In 1911 there were 46 local councils in the state, with a total membership of over 5,000.

Knights of Honor, a fraternal organization, was founded in 1873. Its principles differ but little from those of other beneficent 'societies, the objects being to care for the sick and pay certain sums to the heirs of deceased members. Some lodges pay sick benefits from the local treas- ury, but all death benefits are paid by supreme lodge, the headquarters of which are at St. Louis, Mo. The Knights of Honor also hold to the theory that true charity should not be confined to any society 'or creed, and during the yellow fever epidemics in the '70s and 'Sos large sums of money were disbursed by the agents of the order to sufferers outside of the organization. The first lodge in Kansas was instituted at Win- field, Cowley county, Feb. 20, 1877. The following September the grand lodge was instituted at Winfield, with W. G. Graham as grand dictator. Two years later, at the annual meeting in June, 1879, the grand dic- tator announced that there were then 43 lodges in the state, with a total membership of about 1,200. Sixteen of these lodges had been organized within the preceding year, and during the same period the membership had nearly doubled. After a few years there came a lull in the growth, and finally the order actually declined. On Jan. 1, 1910, there were but 1,234 subordinate lodges in the United States, with a membership of 21,603. Up to that time the order had disbursed in benefits $94,945,399.

Knights of Labor .- As the name indicates, this is a labor organiza- tion. The first lodge or assembly was formed by the garment cutters of Philadelphia, Pa., in 1869, with II members. No others were founded until in 1872, when 26 local assemblies were organized. The first gen- eral assembly was held at Reading, Pa., in 1878, seven states being represented. A declaration of principles was adopted, setting forth the objects of the organization as being the education and union of the toiling masses, in order "to secure to workers the full enjoyment of the wealth they create." To this end the society demanded legislation giving to the people the initiative and referendum; the establishment of bureaus of labor statistics; the prohibition of employment of persons under the age of 15 years ; and the reduction of the working day to eight hours. An elaborate ritual was also adopted by this first general assem- bly, but in 1881 the order became practically an open society, the main object being to unite in one great body the workers of all occupations. In this respect the Knights of Labor differed radically from the ordinary labor union, which limited membership to persons of the same trade or occupation.

CYCLOPEDIA OF

Several assemblies were organized in Kansas in the latter '8os, but the society came into prominence as one of the factors that organized the Populist party in Kansas. In the convention at Topeka on June 12, 1800, when the party was launched, the Knights of Labor had 28 dele- gates. At one time the order was very strong, numbering its members by thousands, and threatening to revolutionize labor legislation. But political strife, strikes and internal dissensions sapped its vitality and it sank into comparative insignificance. The establishment of the Fede- ration of Labor drew away many of the former members of the Knights of Labor, and though the society is still in existence it is of little force in the industrial world.

Knights and Ladies of Security, a fraternal and benevolent society, was founded in Topeka early in 1892 by Dr. H. A. Warner and George H. Flintham. On Feb. 22, 1892, the organization was chartered under the laws of Kansas and began an active campaign for members. Three years later there were 238 local councils or lodges scattered over Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. At that time the order stood eleventh among fraternal societies having life insurance features. By 1911 the order had spread to 30 states, having a total membership of about 120,000 and a surplus of nearly $2,000,000 in the national treasury. Over 30,000 of the members were in the State of Kansas. The national officers in I911 were : W. B. Kirkpatrick, president; John V. Abrahams, secretary ; W. M. Forbes, treasurer; Dr. E. S. Pettyjohn, medical director. The executive board was composed of the president, secretary, F. M. Bone- brake of Topeka, R. D. McClinman of Seneca, Kan., and A. W. Fulton of Chicago, Ill. Since its organization the society has disbursed about $7,500,000 in benefits, and in 1910 it stood sixth in the list of fraternal organizations.

Knights of Pythias .- On Feb. 15, 1864, five government clerks- Justus H. Rathbone, Robert A. Champion, William H. and David L. Burnett, and Edward S. Kimball-met at Washington, D. C., and took the preliminary steps toward the formation of a new fraternal society. A ritual which had been prepared by Mr. Rathbone, and which was based on the drama of Damon and Pythias, was adopted, but no organization was at that time attempted. Four days later Washington Lodge, No. I, Knights of Pythias, was instituted, and before the close of the year it had 52 members. Franklin Lodge, No. 2, was organized a few weeks later, and on April 8 a grand lodge was established in Washington, D. C. Owing to the war, the political campaign of 1864 and other causes, the order did not prosper at first, and on Aug. 1, 1865, Franklin Lodge was the only one in existence. Then came a period of prosperity. Young men who had been discharged from the volunteer army, attracted by the social and beneficial features of the order, joined it in large num- bers. The grand lodge was reorganized on May 1, 1866, and on Aug. 5, 1870, the supreme lodge was incorporated under an act of Congress, passed the previous May. About the same time the endowment rank was established on its present basis, and subsequently the uniform rank was organized.

KANSAS HISTORY

The Knights of Pythias were introduced in Kansas by Deputy Supreme Chancellor Charles D. Lucas of Kansas City, Mo., who insti- tuted Myrtle Lodge, No. I, at Lawrence on April 4, 1872. Fellowship Lodge, No. 2, was organized at Wyandotte just a week later. No. 3 was organized at Leavenworth on July 26; No. 4, at Independence on Aug. 2; No. 5, at Olathe on Aug. 9. On Sept. 4, 1872, delegates from these five lodges met and organized the Kansas grand lodge, with the following officers : J. C. Welsh, grand venerable patriarch ; H. J. Canniff, grand chancellor; W. A. Offenbacher, vice-grand chancellor; G. G. Lowe, grand banker ; J. A. Bliss, grand recorder and scribe ; M. C. Dunn, grand guide; W. C. Elder, grand inside steward; Jacob Weiss, grand outside steward.

The panic of 1873 and internal dissensions caused a slow growth for the first few years, and when the grand lodge met in its fourth annual session at Olathe in 1875 it owed about $1,000, the treasury was empty, and there were less than 400 members in good standing in the state. But the founders of the order in Kansas had faith in its principles and went to work with energy and determination to place it on a firm foun- dation. That they succeeded may be seen in the report of the grand lodge at the session held in Leavenworth in May, 1911, when there were 10,855 members and 168 subordinate lodges in the state, with $13,555 in the grand lodge treasury and the cash on hand held by the subordinate lodges amounted to nearly $30,000. The officers elected by the grand lodge in 1911 were: W. W. Bowers, grand chancellor; R. L. Barrick, vice-grand chancellor; A. N. Goodman, grand prelate; L. M. Hollowell, grand keeper of records and seals; Fred L. Wilcox, grand master of the exchequer; D. A. Knox, grand master at arms; Frederick Kaster, grand inner guard; William A. Duval, Frank L. Britton and C. N. Miller, supreme representatives.

Women are not admitted to the order, but an auxiliary degree called the Pythian Sisters has been established, to which the wives and daugh- ters of Knights are eligible. The grand temple of the Pythian Sisters usually meets at the same time and place as the grand lodge. In May, 1911, the Kansas grand temple met at Leavenworth and elected officers as follows: Ella Shaw, grand chief; 'Mattie Webster, grand senior ; Josephine Wethney, grand junior; Etta V. Downum, grand manager ; Alla Hills, grand master of records and correspondence; Ruth Morse, grand master of finance; Louise Daily, grand protector; Belle Alex, grand guard. At the same time Lucy McCague was elected supreme representative.

Kniveton, a hamlet in Cherokee county, is located on the Kansas City Southern R. R. 15 miles northeast of Columbus, the county seat. Its mail is received from Opolis in Crawford county.

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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 8

Author: Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 1854-1931, ed Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Standard publishing company Number of Pages: 960

Author: Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 1854-1931, ed
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Standard publishing company
Number of Pages: 960