Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 38

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 38
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 38
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 38

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).

The father of our subject grew to maturity in Wilson County, and learning the trade of a gun- smith, he opened a shop near his old home, and carried on that trade in connection with blacksmith- ing. Guns were made by hand in those days, and he being an expert in their manufacture, carried on an extensive business, his guns commanding a ready sale in Tennessee and adjoining States, until the introduction of machinery for making them caused him to suspend operations. He resided in Tennessee until 1818, when he disposed of his prop- erty there, and removing to Knox County, Ill., settled among its pioneers. Ile bought land four miles southwest of Knoxville, and lived there about eight years, when he sold and removed to Logan County, and in the town of Atlanta made his home until death called him to a higher, Dec. 24, 1886, and his mortal remains were buried in the cemc-

326

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

tery two miles east of that town. The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Mary Kirk- patrick, and she was a native of South Carolina. She died in Atlanta in 1856. His father, John Kirkpatrick, is thought to have been born in South Carolina, of Scotch parentage. Nine of the ten children that blessed their marriage, were reared to maturity.

The son who is the subject of this personal sketch, was reared to manhood in his native county. There were no free schools in that section of the country then, but his father, who took a great interest in educational matters, was a liberal patron of the lo- cal subscription school, and gave his children the best advantages for acquiring learning that were to he had. His oldest son was graduated from Cum- berland College, Princeton, Ky., and he then estab- lished a select school in Wilson County, and our subject became one of his pupils. When not in school he helped his father on the farm, and after marriage bought a tract of land on Stone's Creek, six miles from the Hermitage. After living there two years, he sold the place and returned to Sugg's Creek, to till a part of his father's farm. In the year 1849, he removed to Knox County, Ill., where he resided one year, and then bought land in Walnut Grove, McDonough County, the same State, and for a space of ten years was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in that locality. At the expiration of that time he sold his property there, and going to Argyle, invested in a farm in that township. Ang. 12, 1862, he threw aside all personal considerations, left his home and his work to go forth to take part in the great conflict that was being waged on Southern battlefields, becom- ing on that date a member of Company I, 124th Illinois Infantry, and when the company was or- ganized, he was elected captain. The regiment rendevoused until October, and was then ordered to Camp Jackson, Tenn., and was there united with other regiments to form the first brigade of the 3rd Division of the 17th Army Corps, under command of Gen. Logan. Our subject and his comrades also fought under Gens. MePherson and Grant, and they took a conspienous part in the battles at Port Gibson, Raymond, Champion Hills, and in the siege and capture of Vicksburg. In 1863, Capt. Roach

was obliged to resign his position in his company, and return home to recruit. In the spring of 1864, he was so far recovered as to be able to assist in organizing the 137th Illinois Regiment, and Gov. Yates commissioning him Lieutenant Colonel, he accompanied his regiment to Memphis, Tenn., where they made their headquarters, and there they bravely fought Forrest's command Aug. 24, 1864. Our subject was wounded during the engagement, but he still continued in command of the regiment, and remained with it until its discharge in Septem- ber, 1865, ithaving served two months beyond its term of enlistment. He won a fine military record for coolness and courage in battle, and as a most efficient and reliable officer, who could be trusted in every emergency to do the right thing at the right time. After his retirement from the army, Mr. Roach resided in McDonough County, Ill., where he had previously made his home for a few years, and in the meantime he traveled three years in the interest of the American Bible Society, do- ing missionary work in thirteen Illinois counties. When quite young he had been converted to the Christian religion, and had joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and in 1847, he became a candidate for the ministry before the Nashville Presbytery. After his removal to Illinois, he had united with the Rushville Presbytery, and in 1850, had been ordained preacher, and installed the same year as pastor of the New Lebanon Church. He also broke the "living bread" to the people of Wal- nut Grove, and later to them who dwelt at Argyle, though he did not lose his interest in agricultural pursuits, but devoted a part of his time to farming. In 1869, he came to Kansas. and located in Doni- phan County, buying a home near Highland. He was engaged in his beloved calling there for many years, and in 1880 took up his abode in Atchison County, where he carried on his ministerial work until 1884. preaching mostly at Round Prairie, and since his removal to Jackson County in that year, he has still continued to look after the spiritual wants of his former charges in those counties. Af- ter coming here he lived on a farm that he pur- chased in Soldier Township, one year, and then he removed to Holton, buying city property, and from that time has been a resident of this city. His fine

327

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

business qualifications have enabled him to secure a competency, and to build up a comfortable home, replete with all conveniences, wherein he and his good wife are enjoying life, free from its cares.

Mr. Roach has been twice married. He was first wedded July 16, 1835, to Nancy W. Cloyd, a na- tive of Wilson County, Tenn., and a daughter of John and Letitia (Alexander) Cloyd. IIer mar- ried life, though happy was brief, her death occur- ring in December, 1840. Our subject had two children by that union, Louisa C. and Angeline. Louisa married James W. Beard, and lives in Mt. Union, Henry Co., Iowa; Angeline died when twenty years of age. The marriage of our subject with his present estimable wife, formerly Martha Rhea, was solemnized Nov. 15, 1841. She was born in Smith County, Tenn., Jan. 9, 1823. Her father, Archibald Rhea, was a native of Ireland, and came from there to America with his parents, and settled in Smith County, where he carried on his occupation as a farmer. Subsequently he re- moved to Wilson County, and there died. Mrs. Roach's mother was Susan Littrel, prior to her mar- riage, and she was born in this country, of English parentage. Mrs. Roach was young when her par- ents died, and she then lived with an elder brother and sisters, and was early taught to spin and weave besides her other household duties, and after her marriage she used to clothe her children in home- spun. A daughter and son, Nancy J., and John M., have blessed her wedded life with our subject. Nancy married Edward T. Neel, and resides in Walla Walla, Wash .; John M. married Alice French, and resides near Cumberland, Case Co., Iowa.

A man of pure, lofty nature, truthful and hon- est, integrity unswerving, on whose career in pub- lie or private life, no one can cast an aspersion, gifted with a keen, clear intellect, and remarkably well-informed, our subject has played no unim- portant part in upbuilding not only the material prosperity of this favored portion of Kansas, but he has aided in laying the foundation, and in erect- ing the superstructure of its present high social and moral status. He has taken part in the political and public life of the various States in which he has lived, making their interests his own. He was in early life an old-line Whig, and cast his first vote

for John Bell for Congress, and his first Presiden- tial vote for William H. Harrison, the illustrious grandfather of our present President. Ile was a Republican before the formation of the party, and was among the first to identify himself with it. Ile was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature when he was but twenty-six years of age, being a candidate of the Whig party, and in the fall of 1888 he was elected to represent this district in the Kansas Legislature, his course in both bodies mark- ing him as a sound and liberal statesman. He served with ability on several important committees in the latter, being a member of the Committee of Fed- eral Relations, Chairman of the Committee on Internal Improvement, and a member of the Com- mittee on Emigration. In commemoration of bis army life, he is now connected with the G. A. R., belonging to Will Mendell Post, No. 46. He is a Royal Arch Mason.

E LISHA D. ROSE, an honored veteran of the late war, and United States Commis- sioner for the District of Kansas, was a pioneer of Ilolton, with whose growth he has ever since been identified. For several years he has been actively engaged in the real-estate business, and while thus greatly aiding in building up the city, he has sought in various ways to promote its highest interests as a private. citizen, and when he was at the head of the municipal government, or when he has served in a judicial capacity.

Mr. Rose was born April 25, 1831, the town of Broome, Schoharie Co., N. Y., being the place of his birth. Seth Rose, his father, was a native of Vermont, his birth occurring there April 16, 1802. He went to Schoharic County in early manhood. married, and engaged in farming there until 1834, when he emigrated to Indiana with five or six other families, making the entire journey across the wild, unsettled country that intervened, with ox-teams, cooking and camping by the wayside at noon and night. Mr. Rose located in La Porte County among its pioneers. There were no rail- ways in that then thinly settled wilderness, and Michigan City, on Lake Michigan was the only

328

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

market. Deer and wild turkeys furnished a bounti- ful supply of delicious meat for the settlers, and bears were plentiful. He built a log house on his place, cleared about twenty acres of his land, and was in a fair way to improve a fine farm when his earthly career was prematurely closed by his death Jan. 30, 1839, and all that was mortal of him was consigned to the cemetery near by, where he is sleeping the sleep of the just. He was a sturdy, upright man, of unswerving integrity, and in his death his community suffered a great loss. His wife, to whom he was married Feb. 5, 1823, also spent her last years on the old homestead in La Porte County, passing away in war times. She was born Nov. 9, 1800, her maiden name being Sally B. Palmer. The following are the names of the seven children that blessed the marriage of that worthy couple : Ambrose, Anna, Milton, Elisha, Ros- well, Emeline and Harriet; Roswell and our subject being the only members of the family now living.

He of whom we write was seven years old when his father died, and two years later he went to live wich a neighboring farmer, and was allowed to at- tend school in winter, and at other times assisted on the farm. He remained with him three years, and at the end of that time went to La Porte to learn the trade of a blacksmith, serving an appren- ticeship of three years. After that he did journey- work in the country a few months, and in 1849 struck ont for the North, where he shrewdly fore- saw that he would have broader fields of labor in newly settled portions of the country where men of his calling would be in active demand. He made his way to Wisconsin and engaged as a journey- man at his trade in Waukan, and visited otlier parts of the State. After a sojourn of a year and a half in that portion of the Northwest, he returned to La Porte County, and followed blacksmithing there a short time and then purchased the shop of his employer at Westville and did general work in his line in that place two years. His next move was to Orr's Corners, where he was actively en- gaged at his vocation till 1858. In that year he came to the Territory of Kansas, traveling by rail to St. Joseph, and thence on the Missouri River to Leavenworth, and from there by stage to Topeka, which was then but a small village of two or three

hundred people, and the surrounding country was very thinly inhabited. Our subject located at Indianola, then a flourishing village, on the Gov- ernment Road, three miles northwest of Topeka. Ile built a shop in that place, and carried on his trade until 1861. In September of that year he laid aside his work to take up arms in defence of his country, enlisting in Company E, 8th Kansas Infantry and going South. He veteranized in February, 1864, and served with his regiment, tak- ing part in many important engagements, until his discharge Jan. 9. 1866, proving to be a courage- ons, self-sacrificing, capable soldier, ever faithful to his duties, and always ready and prompt in the hour of need.

After his experience of army life Mr. Rose re- turned to his home in Jackson County, whence he came to Holton in 1868, and has ever since been a resident of this city. In 1876 he en- tered upon his present business as a real estate dealer, and has very prosperously engaged at it from that time, much of the property of this city and the surrounding county having passed through his hands, and he is constantly making large sales of realty for other people, doing all that he can to encourage the growth of this municipality.

In 1852 Mr. Rose was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Smith, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Richard P. and Margaret Smith. The follow- ing are the five children that have been born of their union: Josephine, wife of E. B. Jones, a resident of Holton; Alice, living at home with her parents; Ed S .; Frank and William. Mrs. Rose is a true home-maker, who looks well after the comfort and well-being of the inmates of her household. She is a devoted Christian and a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The wealth and prosperity of the city of Holton are due in a great measure to such men as our sub- ject, whose judgment singled it out as an eligible point for business in the midst of a country pos- sessing vast resources waiting for development by master hands and minds. In him Holton has found one of her most useful citizens, a man of keen foresight, shrewd business qualifications, of incor- ruptible nature, and open hearted and generous handed. He has filled various offices of trust with

329

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

characteristic fidelity and ability. having served as County Clerk for eight years. He was Justice of the Peace when Kansas was a territory, and was Postmaster of Indianola at the time of his enlist- ment. For two terms he stood at the helm and skillfully guided the public affairs of this city, serving very acceptably as its Mayor. He has served the city as Judge for six years, which office he still holds, and is at present United States Commissioner for the District of Kansas. In anti-bellum days he was a Democrat. Differing materially from the majority of his party on the slavery question, he early identified himself with the Republicans, and has ever since been a stanch supporter of the principles of the party. He is connected with the following social organizations: Holton Lodge, No. 42, A. F. & A. M .; Will Men- dell Post, No. 46, G. A. R., and the Loyal Legion of Kansas.

AVID BENDER. Prominent among the pioneers of 1869, Mr. Bender deserves more than a passing notice in a work de- signed to perpetuate the names of those who came to Northern Kansas when a large por- tion of the land lay as the Indian had left it. The country was but thinly settled, and was just be- coming safe to live in after the vicissitudes of the Civil War, and during which Kansas had been the scene of many a tragedy. Soon after his arrival here, Mr. Bender purchased a quarter-section of land, within which was included the present site of Powhattan. He held possession until 1881, then selling out, purchased the quarter-section which he now owns and occupies, and which comprises one of the finest farms in Jackson County. There was upon it at the time of its purchase by Mr. Bender, a large house built in Southern style, which the family occupied for a time, when it was then torn down, and upon its ruins was erected the present handsome dwelling. This latter is a two-story structure, 32×33 feet in dimensions, finely finished, and costing over $2,000. It stands upon a gentle elevation overlooking the village of Whiting, a half mile distant, and has one of the finest situ- ations on the line of the Rock Island road. This

road runs about eighty rods in front of the house. while the central branch of the Union Pacifie runs within twenty rods on the south. Upon the farm is a maple grove, ten acres in extent, also an orch- ard of about five acres, and many other trees orna- ment the place. There are all the outbuildings required for the shelter of stock and the storage of grain, including a mill house, whose machinery is operated by a windmill. which at the same time pumps water for stock and furnishes the motor power for the machinery used in shelling corn and grinding grain. The main barn accommodates twelve head of horses and about five tons of hay. The farm is mostly enclosed and divided with hedge fencing, which, neatly trimmed, presents a beautiful appearance. The whole premises indi- cate in a remarkable manner the industry, thrift and intelligence of the proprietor.

Mr. Bender comes of substantial stock, and was born in Cumberland County, Pa., April 12, 1830. He lived in Carlisle until a young man of twenty years, acquiring his education in the common school. When seventeen years old he entered upon an apprenticeship at blacksmithing, at Valley Forge, five miles below his home, and three years later, having become [a journeyman, set out to battle with the world. He first made his way to Wooster, Ohio, where he worked at his trade one year, and then changed his residence to Ashland. In the latter place he lived with an unele, and later was joined by his father's family, with whom he took up his abode. Ile remained in Ohio for seven years, and in the meantime, Feb. 18, 1855, was united in wedlock with Miss Sarah J., danghter of the Rev. Jesse Ilines, a minister of the German Reformed Church. In 1858 Mr. Bender, with his little family, leaving the Buckeye State, removed to Iowa, and settled on Spring Creek, in Black Hawk County. Ile first secured forty acres of land, and subsequently purchased ninety acres, and upon this land operated for a period of eleven years, coming thence, in 1869. to Kansas.

The parents of our 'subject were Martin and Sarah (Steinhour) Bender, who were born and reared in Pennsylvania, but were of German de- scent. The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Bender was Elizabeth Hockensmith, of Maryland.

330

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBITM.

Her paternal grandfather was Jesse Hines, of Scotch- Irish stock. Mr. Bender, politically, is a Demo- crat, and a stanch supporter of the principles of his party. In Iowa he served as Justice of the Peace two terms, and was also Roadmaster and School Director. Both he and his wife are mem- bers in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which they have been connected for nearly a quarter of a century. and in the doctrines of which they have carefully trained their children, who bid fair to follow in the footsteps of their parents.

Of the eleven children born to our subject and his wife, the record is as follows: Rumina died in the twenty-eighth year of her age, July 19, 1884; Edwin A., who is married and the father of three children. is operating a farm in Whiting Town- ship; John O., who is married, and has four chil- dren, lives on a farm east of the town of Whiting. Louis C. is married, but has no children; he lives one and one half miles east of Whiting. William McC. is unmarried, and is farming east of Whiting; Hattie Viola is the wife of Oscar Porter, and they live on a farm south of Goff, Nemeha County ; they have two children. Flora Ella is the wife of Will- iam Banks, of Whiting Township; they live on a a farm, and have one child. Jesse D., Martin A. and Alfred Wesley remain at the homestead. Mary R., a young miss of thirteen years, is attending school in Whiting.

HOMAS P. MOORE, President of the First National Bank of Holton, was the pioneer banker of Jackson County, and is first and foremost among the men of ability and enterprise who have advanced the commercial prosperity of Holton, and made it the wealthy and flourishing metropolis of to-day, with extensive business in- terests, handsome buildings and residences, and with fine educational and religious institutions. Ile is a prominent figure in public life, in society and in politics, and is always to be found on the side of the right in all the great issues that agitate the minds of the people.

A native of Belmont County, Ohio, Thomas P.

Moore was born amid its pioneer scenes Feb. 20, 1839. His father, William Moore, was a native of Pennsylvania, and James Moore, his grandfather, was a native of the North of Ireland. He came to America in early manhood, and settling in Penn- sylvania, passed the remainder of his life there. ¿ The maiden name of his wife was Isabella McBur- ney, and she was a lifelong resident of the Key- stone State. Both she and her husband were devoted Presbyterians.

The father of our subject passed his early life in his native State, and when a young man went to Ohio, and there married Margaret Parr, a native of Belmont County, that State. Her father, Thomas Parr, was a pioneer of that section of the country, where he carried on farming the rest of his life, clearing and improving a good farm. The father of our subject, after learning the trade of a tanner, followed it there a few years, and then devoted himself to agriculture. Buying timber land in Belmont County, he built a log house, which was afterward the birthplace of our subject, and then he commenced to clear away the forest trees from his land. After improving a part of it he sold it at a good advance, and removed to Morgan County, where he invested in another tract of wild land. He cleared the greater part of that tract before he disposed of it, and emigrated to Iowa in 1857. In that State he was a pioneer of Washing- ton County, where he bought a prairie farm and also village property in Washington. During the few years of life that were left to him, he was snc- cessfully engaged in the management of his farm. His death, which occurred in 1864, was a loss to the community, as he was a man of intelligence and strict probity. His wife died in 1851, in Mor- gan County, Ohio.

Thomas P. Moore, of this biographical sketch, received his early education in the public schools of Morgan County, Ohio, and after the removal of the family to Iowa he attended college at Wash- ington,'and was there fitted for any vocation he might choose to adopt, and he entered the profess- ion of teaching. After an experience of three years in that line in Washington and Randolph Counties, Mo., he turned his attention to the mercantile business in Washington, Iowa, and acted as clerk

331

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM.

there one year. At the end of that time he es- tablished himself in business in that city, carry- ing it on nine years, In 1872 he sold his property there and came to Holton, Kan., and was the first to establish a bank in Jackson County, which he called the Holton Exchange Bank. There were at that time only about 600 people here, and Netawaka was the nearest railway station. He has been en- gaged in the banking business in this city continu- ously since, and in 1883 he organized the First National Bank of Holton, and has always been its President. Its correspondents are Knauth, Nachod & Kuhne, and Ninth National Bank of New York City; with the National Bank of Commerce, Kansas City, and with the First National Bank, Leaven- worth, and it does a large business.

The marriage of Mr. Moore with Miss Annetta, daughter of Gordon and Elizabeth Mallett, and a native of Lee County, Iowa, was celebrated in March, 1862. Five children have been born to them, namely : Fred G., who was a student at the Annapolis Naval Academy three years, and com- pleted his studies at Princeton, and is now Assistant Cashier in the First National Bank; Scott R., a student at Campbell University ; Annie P., Daisy L. and Cora B.

Mr. Moore combin es great financial talent and rare business taet, with fine powers of discrimina- tion and great tenacity of purpose, and honoring independence, industry and integrity in thought and example, his success in life is complete. He has been as prominently identified with the civic life of Holton, as with its commercial and other interests, and has been instrumental in a large . degree in the establishment of a wise and enlightened city goverment, and in building up good schools for the education of its youth. He has served sev- eral terms as a member of the School Board, and he was Mayor of Holton two terms. It was during his vigorous administration of the city affairs in the latter capacity that this ardent temperance worker aided in driving the liquor saloons from this munic_ ipality. He has always used his influence to aid in bringing about needed reforms, or to further schemes for the improvement of the city, county or State. In politics, he is a firm Republican. Ile was appointed a member of the Board of Regents of

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.

Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 38

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

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