Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 12

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 788


USA > Kansas > Jackson County > Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 12
USA > Kansas > Jefferson County > Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 12
USA > Kansas > Pottawatomie County > Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 12


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"Herein the work assigned by Gen. Grant was accomplished. But now the fire of the enemy be- came very severe; the shells rent the ground in every direction; our lines were infiladed from the different spars of the ridge, where the enemy was protected against our fire by his works and his dominant position. There appeared at first thought to Gen. Willich, holding position about 100 yards behind the rifle pits, to be only three chances, viz: To obey orders and to be shot without effective resistance; to fall back, or to charge. The second chance being out of the question, I galloped with Lieut. Green, of my staff, up to the 8th Kansas, lying in line behind the rifle pits. Col. Martin, commanding the regiment, seeing mnc, jumped on the breastworks and shouted: 'Here we are, Gen- eral, what more?' 'Forward, storm! We have to take the works on the ridge,' was the answer. The Colonel: 'Altogether, boys, forward! Hip, hip, hurrah!'' Like one man, the whole line, with one leap, cleared the breastworks; forward they moved and the air was soon filled with the sound, 'Forward ! Forward!' extending more and more, right and left."


Returning home, Col. Martin resumed control of the Atchison Champion early in January, 1865, and on the 22d of March issued the first number of the Daily Champion. He has been commander of the department, a delegate to the National Republican


Conventions of 1860, 1868, 1872 and 1880; was a United States Centennial Commissioner, and one of the Vice Presidents of that body; was one of the incorporators of the State Historical Society, of which he was President for one term; was elected by the two Houses of Congress one of the Board of Managers of the National Soldiers' Home, in 1878, and re-elected in 1882, being now Second Vice President of that body. He was married, June 1, 1871, to Miss Ida Challiss, eldest daughter of Dr. William L. Challiss, of Atchison, and has seven children.


At the Republican State Convention, held in Topeka July 17, 1884, the rules were suspended and John A. Martin was nominated for Governor by acclamation. At the November election following he was elected Governor by a plurality of 38,495 votes. At the Republican State Convention, held in Topeka July 7, 1886, he was again unanimously nominated for a second term, and at the November election following was elected Governor by a plu- rality vote of 33,918. He was the first and only Governor of Kansas who was twice unanimously nominated by his party for that office, and has served with distinction, filling the honored position occupied by his able predecessors with equal ability, and giving to the people as the Chief Executive of the populous and growing State, satisfaction. He is a man of honest, upright character, and abhors trickery and deceit, and in looking over his long and useful life lc may well feel a just pride at the position he has won in the esteem and confidence of honest men, and the respect of all good citizens. There are but few men of the stirring State of Kansas who have been more closely identified with all public movements for the general welfare and prosperity of the State than Jolin A. Martin. His name may be found on almost every page of the memorable history of Kansas, from the holding of the first Republican Convention, held at Osawato- mie in 1859, until to-day, when he is the leading spirit among the enterprising men of the most pro- gressive State of the Nation. A man of excellent judgment, moved by honest purpose and love for the general welfare of the whole State, he is always found identified with the right, and, as might be expected, popular with the people.


Lyman . I tumpley


Lyman U. Humphrey.


ON. L. U. HUMPHREY. This distinguished gen- tleman was chosen Gov- ernor of Kansas, at the election held in Novem- ber, 1888. He had made for himself an honorable record on the deadly battle-field, as well as in the more monotonous, though not less conrage-requiring hours of po- litical life, in the fields of journal- ism, in the forensic arena, and in the various capacities in which he has labored for the public weal. It is not our purpose in this brief sketch, to dwell at great length upon his private life, his public record sufficing to indicate that his character is noble, and his example a worthy one.


Gov. Humphrey was born in Stark County, Ohio, July 25, 1844. His father, Col. Lyman Humphrey, who was a native of Connecticut, of English de- scent, and a lawyer of distinction, died when the subject of this sketch was but eight years of age. At the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1861, Gov. Humphrey was attending the High School at Mas- sillon, and his fervid, patriotic heart was thrilled to the utmost, with an enthusiastic desire to serve his country, and uphold the flag which he had been taught to revere. Though only a boy of seven-


1


teen, he enlisted in Company I, 76th Ohio Infan- try, a regiment famous for its bravery, and for the eminent men who belonged to it. Such was the gal- lantry, and the proper conception of a soldier's du- ties exhibited by him, that he had been promoted to the office of 1st Lieutenant, had acted as Adju- tant of his regiment, and had commanded a com- pany for a year, before he was out of his minority.


Much active service was experienced by Capt. Humphrey, and among the battles in which he par- ticipated, were those of Donelson, Pittsburg Land- ing, Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg, Chattanooga. Atlanta, and the fighting around that city, he be- ing under fire five or six weeks in that single cam- paign. He was with Sherman in his march to the sea, was present at the capture of Savannah, and was engaged in many other trying scenes. He was with his regiment in the campaign through the Carolinas, and took part in the battle of Benton- ville, as well as in the capture of Gen. Joe John- ston's army. He was twice wounded, once at Pittsburg Landing, and once at Chattanooga, but refused to retire from the field. During the four years of his military service, he never was absent from duty for a day. The regiment of which he was a member, belonged to the Ist Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Corps, Army of the Tennessee.


At the termination of the war Capt. IIumphrey resumed the studies which had been interrupted by


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LYMAN U. HUMPHREY.


the "irrepressible conflict," feeling the need of a more thorough education to fit him to act well his part in the battle of life. He entered Mt. Union College, and soon after matriculated in the law de- partment of the Michigan University, from which he was graduated after having completed his stud- ies in the legal profession. Returning to his native State he was admitted to practice in the several courts of Ohio, in 1868, but feeling that the West would afford a broader field for his labors, he re- moved to Shelby County, Mo., where for a time he assisted in editing the Shelby County Herald.


The newer State of Kansas, which had already become the home of many men eminent in various walks of life, seemed to beckon Capt. Humphrey still further West, and in February, 1871, he crossed the Missouri and located at Independence. Ile formed a law partnership with the Hon. Alexander M. York, the attempt at whose bribery by Senator Pomeroy in 1873, during the contest for United States Senatorial honors, brought his name promi- nently before the people of Kansas as an opponent to fraud and corruption. The legal relation be- tween the two gentlemen lasted until 1876, after which time Gov. Humphrey continued the practice of his chosen profession alone. The Independence Tribune was founded by Messrs. A .M. York, W. T. Yoe and L. U. Humphrey, the latter with- drawing from the firm at the expiration of a year.


Gov. Humphrey had not long been a resident of Kansas before his talents were known and his fit- ness for public office appreciated. In 1871, the year of his arrival in the State, he was honored by the Republican nomination as candidate for a seat in the State Legislature, but because of his vigor- ous opposition to the issue of questionable bonds to the L. L. & G. Railroad Company, he was de- feated by a small vote. In 1876 he was vindicated by an election to the House from a district form- erly Democratic, and served two years as a member of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1877 Melville J. Salter having accepted a position in the land office at Independence, resigned his position as Lieutenant Governor, and our subject was chosen to fill the vacancy. His principal op- ponent was the Democratic candidate, Thomas W. Waterson, who received 24,740 votes, while Mr.


Humphrey received 62,750, his majority over all other candidates being 27,381. The following year he was re-elected; the covention which nominated him having, after a protracted and exciting strug- gle, placed John P. St. Jobn at the head of the ticket.


In 1884 Mr. Humphrey was elected to the State Senate for the term of four years, and upon the or- ganization of that Legislative body was chosen President, pro tem, by a unanimous vote. On July 25, 1888, that being the forty-fourth anni- versary of his birth, he was nominated for Gover- nor of the State of Kansas, and was elected by the splendid majority of 73,361. Gov. Humphrey carried 104 out of the 106 counties in the State, his opponent in the contest being no less prominent a person than Judge John Martin.


Gov. Humphrey has been frequently called upon to preside as a Judge, pro tem, of the District Court, an honor which indicates the degree of con- fidence reposed in him by the public. He has been an active Republican, and has an enviable record both as a speaker and writer in behalf of the prin- ciples to which he is a devotee. Ile is deeply in- terested in the promulgation of the fundamental doctrines of true government, and the loyal prin- ciples for which our forefathers in earlier years and our nearer kinsmen in recent times, gave their strength and even their lives. He belongs to the Loyal Legion, a body made up of those who, like himself, are intensely patriotic. Also is a member of the G. A. R., and a prominent Mason. His affa- bility, his frankness, and his justice in dealing with men, has won for him a high place in the esteem of all with whom he comes in contact, either personally or through the medium of his published addresses. His keen perception as to the wants of the growing State, his desire that she shall be built up in all the elements that constitute the true greatness and glory of a government or of a people, and the powers of discrimination, which lead him to discern right from wrong, justice from injustice, especially qualify him for the high office to which the people called him.


Gov. Humphrey was married at Independence on Christmas Day, 1872, to Miss Leonard, daughter of James C. Leonard. They have two ch ldren, Ly- man L., and A. Lincoln.


1


Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties,


KANSAS.


INTRODUCTORY.


HE time has arrived when it becomes the duty of the people of this county to per- petuate the names of their pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement, and relate the story of their progress. The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age and the duty that men of the pres- ent time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity, demand that a record of their lives and deeds should be made. In bio- graphical history is found a power to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this country from its primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly the great and aged men, who in their prime entered the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to their graves. The number re- maining who can relate the incidents of the first days of settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and preser- vation of events without delay, before all the early settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time.


To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, in spite of their best works and the most earnest efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of their lives. The me.ins employed to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the names and deeds of their great rulers. The exhu- mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people


to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The erection of the great obelisks were for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu- ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements and carry them down the ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea- to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, though many of them costly in the ex- treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- ters of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity ; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- bling into dust.


It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating a full history-immutable in that it is almost un- limited in extent and perpetual in its action; and this is through the art of printing.


To the present generation, however, we are in- debted for the introduction of the admirable system of local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, through the coming ages.


The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the physical man is left. The monument which his chil- dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme- tery will crumble into dust and pass away ; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.


To preserve the lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits, for the same reason we col- lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those who know them are gone: to do this we are ashamed only to publish to the world the history of those whose lives are unworthy of public record.


0


Jajohnson


PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.


161


BIOGRAPHICAL.


ON. JOHN A. JOHNSON. The largest land owner of Blue Valley Township, Pottawatomie County, the årst Swede settler in Kan- sas, as well as the most prominent representative of that nationality in the entire commu- nity, is the gentleman whose per. sonal history is outlined in these columns, and who, although now past life's prime, is yet vigorous and active, full of energy and enterprise, always working for the npbuilding of his county and State, while at the same time he has not neglected to accumulate sufficient of this world's goods to insure his old age against the cares of poverty.


So successful has Mr. Johnson been in his under- takings that he is now the owner and operator of 1,800 acres of valuable land, while his home, beau- tifully located on section 13, is a substantial stone dwelling, and is remarkable as being the second ever built in the township, having been erccted as early as 1864. Two barns, built respectively in 1864 and 1873, afford ample shelter for stock and farming machinery, while four tenant houses add to the completeness of the estate. The farm is surrounded and divided into lots by good fencing,


while farm scales, granaries, and other requisites of a modern farm are to be found conveniently located.


Sweden was the birthplace of the father of our subject, John Johnson, and in his native land he followed agriculture on a small farm of his own, where he died in 1858, leaving a widow and nine children. The mother of our subject was Maria Axelson, also born in Sweden. The year after the death of her husband she came to the United States, whither some of her children had preceded her. After locating in Kansas, she took np a elaim of forty acres in Blue Valley Township, but never lived to enjoy the fruits of her labors in a new country; her death occurred in 1860, at the age of fifty-five years. In memory of her the town of Mariadahl was named, she being the mother of the first Swedish settler in the county. Iler children left their native country and made homes for them- selves in the Sunflower State. Nels P., John A., D. A., G. C. and A. V., the five sons, are located in Blue Valley Township. Christine, Mrs. Christen- sen, of Riley County; Lottie, Mrs. Ekblad, of Blue Valley Township; Clara, Mrs. Omon, of Fancy Creek Township, Riley County ; and Emma, deceased, formerly Mrs. Ekblad, complete the family record.


Linkoping, Sweden, was the place where our subject first saw the light, the date of his birth be-


162


PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.


ing July 30, 1831. He remained on his father's farın until he was seventeen years of age, enjoying very limited school advantages, as it . was prior to the time of free schools. Between the ages of sev- enteen and twenty-one he worked on a farm, and then, having determined to come to the United States, he left Gottenberg in the spring of 1852, setting sail in the vessel "Virginia," which. after a long, monotonous and uneventful voyage of forty- five days, anchored in New York Harbor. Thence our subject came to Illinois, and located in Gales- burg, where he was employed as a farm hand until 1855. At that time his employer, Mr. Shannon, resolved to locate in Kansas, and Mr. Johnson ac- companied him, riding most of the distance horse- back, and driving cattle before him. They crossed the "Father of Waters" at Burlington, and the Missouri at Kickapoo Ferry. Coming west to the Blue River, they settled in a desirable location, and during the first summer of his residence there Mr. Johnson was in the employ of Mr. Shannon, in Northwestern Pottawatomie County. In the spring of 1856 he located on his present land, hav- ing at first 160 acres. Mr. Shannon and our sub- ject were the first settlers in Blue. Valley Town- ship, and as the former is deceased, Mr. Johnson is the oldest living settler. It was, at the period of their settlement. a wild prairie, not a house to be seen as far as the eye could sean, only wild animals. such as deer, buffalo and smaller game.


Soon after locating in Pottawatomie County, Mr. Johnson was joined by his brother N. P., who took a claim three-fourths of a mile northi, on which they built a log house, and resided in it for three years. In 1859 they purchased their land at the Government land sale, and at Governinent prices. During his early residence here Mr. Johnson wit- nessed some exciting events, especially during the border ruffian days, and during Quantrell's raid on Lawrence, in 1864. In that year he joined the State militia, and for a time was on the plains in pursuit of the Indians, but had no active engage- ments. In 1873 he homesteaded a piece of land adjoining his farm that he could get possession of in no other way. It comprised sixty-three acres, and was a fine addition to his property. As before mentioned his landed possessions include 1,800


acres, which he has purchased from time to time, paying therefor from $1.25 to $20 per acre, the most of it, however, costing from $8 to $10 an acre, and 700 acres lie on the Big Blue Bottom, famous for the fertility of its soil.


Stock-raising also engages a considerable portion of Mr. Johnson's time and attention, and of it he has made a signal success, having some 300 head of stock. He is more particularly interested in rais- ing and selling graded Norman horses, and is a member and stockholder of the Blue Valley Stock Breeders' Association. The bank of Randolph owes its origin to Mr. Johnson, who started it pri- vately, and is now its President and principal stockholder. A fine bank building has also been erected, and he owns lots and a residence in the same town. He is a stockholder in the First Na- tional Bank at Westinoreland.


After a happy wedded life of nearly thirty years Mr. Johnson was bereft of his wife, who had ever been a faithful companion, and devoted to the interests of her husband and her home. She also was a native of Linkoping, Sweden, where she was born April 28, 1842. Her maiden name was Emma C. Klang, her parents being Jonas P. and Lonisa (Olson) Klang, also natives of Sweden. She was united in marriage with our subject in Blue Valley Township, Pottawatomie County, Nov. 13, 1859, and passed to her last rest, July 5, 1888, when forty-six years old.


Mr. Johnson was the first Justice of the Peace in Blue Valley Township, and held the office for six years; he has held various other offices of trust and responsibility. In 1876-77 he was the County Commissioner of Pottawatomie County. In the fall of 1884 he was elected as Representative to the State Legislature, serving the two sessions of 1885-86, taking an active part in the discussions, and serving on the Committee of Railroads, the Committee of Assessments and Taxations, and oth- ers. He has served in county and State conven- tions, also on petit and grand juries.


Mr. Johnson was one of the organizers of the Lutheran Church, of Mariadahl, and is a charter member of the same, contributing generously to the maintenance of the church, which, from a small be- ginning with a few members, has grown to a flour-


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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.


ishing congregation. He is also active in political affairs, and supports with his vote the Republican party. In every way he ranks high among the citi- zens of Pottawatomie County, who respect him for the many worthy traits of character which he has always displayed, and at the same time admire his unusual business capabilities and successful finan- cial management.


In connection with this biographical sketch ap- pears a lithographie portrait of Mr. Jolinson.


0 RVAN P. MONROE. This gentleman owns and occupies a fine farm in Whiting Town- ship, Jackson County, which is devoted en- tirely to the work of stock-raising, grain being raised only for family nse and for feeding. The farm comprises 240 acres and bears marked im- provements. the residence being one of the finest in the county and one of the first two-story dwell- ings erected in the township. The southwest quar- ter of section 29 was purchased for Mr. Monroe by his brother in the year 1869, and he had 100 acres of the land broken, and in 1881 built, and took possession of his home here. The same year he purchased eighty acres in the northeastern part of section 31, and now has over 200 acres of the whole estate under the plow and the balance under fence, and all cross fenced into convenient fields. The residence is a substantial building, 16x38 feet, and two stories high in the main, and a one story L, 16x24 feet. The outbuildings are adequate and substantial, and among them is one of the most complete buildings in the county for feeding hogs. One hundred apple trees, pear and plum trees, and a great variety of small fruits, have been set out and yield of their fruits in their season. Mr. Mon- roe has a fine flock of Cotswold sheep, which are paying well. In February, 1889, he sold a car load at $9.48 per head.


Mr. Monroe is a native of Hillsboro, N. II., where his eyes first opened to the light July 26, 1842. He remained in his native place until he was twenty-two years old, acquiring all the edu- cation which the schools afforded, and the thrifty


ways and high moral principles which seem to be breathed in with the air of the Granite State. Upon leaving his native place, Mr. Monroe went to Griggsville, Ill., and after a sojourn of about nine months, took up his abode twelve miles east of Alton, in Madison County, where he operated a large farm in company with O. M. Hatch, Secre- tary of State, of Illinois. The bargain between the two men was made in a very few minutes, and the agreements then made were carried out during the period of about eighteen years with not a scratch of a pen or any trouble in settling their affairs. The understanding was that Mr. Hatch was to fur- nish the stock to which the 640 acres was mostly devoted, and that half of all the sales made from the place were to belong to Mr. Monroe. The pleasant connection between Messrs. Hatch & Mon- roe, was broken only by the removal of the latter to Kansas, and their friendship still remains undi- minished.


Returning to his native State in February 1866, Mr. Monroe was married on the 18th of that month to Miss Ruth Maria Nutter of Tuftonboro, N. H., a daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Young) Nutter. Our subject became acquainted with his future bride while she was attending school at the Conference Seminary and Female College at Til- ton, N. H. Mrs. Monroe also attended the New- berry Seminary at Newberry, Vt. ; she is thus a lady of culture and has a good education. Going back four generations in the Nutter line, we find Chris- topher, who emigrated from England to the Colon- ies and settled in Massachusetts. Following him in the direct line came Samnel and then Charles, who married the daughter of Tobias Lear, who was Aide-de-camp on Gen. Washington's staff during the Revolution. Charles Nutter removed to New Hampshire and settled in the place were Mrs. Mon- roe was afterward born. IIis son Jacob married Nancy Young, daughter of Maj. Joseph Young, who served during the Revolution and who died in Wakefield, N. H. The Young family are of Scotch lineage and direct descendants from Queen Mary.




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