Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 65

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 65
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 65
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 65

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 subject of this notice was born Aug. 31, 1856, in Clinton, Ill., and was the fifth in a family of eight children, the offspring of Lyman H. and Viora Bonton, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. The family emigrated to Kansas in 1857, making the journey laboriously by river boat and wagon. They located in the vicinity of Clinton, where James J. Bouton received his early education and became familiar with the arts of plowing, sowing and reaping. From boyhood he was fond of farm life and when a youth of sixteen years, began operations on his own hook on rented land adjoining the town and was thus occupied until 1877. That year he came to Kentucky Town- ship, Jefferson County, and followed farming in the vicinity of Perry for three years. Later he was variously engaged, sawmilling and raising vegetables for the market.

In 1886 Mr. Bouton took a new departure, es- tablishing himself in the livery business at Perry in company with a partner, they operating under a

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firm name of Davis & Bouton. Five months later Mr. Bouton purchased the entire outfit and has since successfully conducted the business alone. In 1888 he erected a large barn 38 x 60 feet in dimen- sions and is now running an establishment equip- ped with all the modern improvements, including a fine assortment of road horses and vehicles. The place is kept in apple-pie order, denoting in a marked manner the systematic manner of doing business employed by the proprietor. Mr. Bouton has a strong hold upon the public and there is every reason to suppose that he will continue to advanee on the highway to prosperity until he obtains a competency. In connection with his livery busi. ness he engages considerably in general teaming. He moves in the best society of Perry and keeps himself thoroughly posted upon all matters con- nected not only with his business, but those of general interest to the intelligent citizen. In addi- tion to his other virtues, he is a steadfast supporter of the Republican party.

SAAC B. BROWN. The Brown family to which the subject of this notice belongs has contributed in no small degree to the growth and development of Jefferson County. They are people more than ordinarily intelligent and enter- prising, possessing fine traits of character, sterling worth and integrity and stand high toth in social and business circles. He with whose name we in- troduce this sketch. although a gentleman young in years, exercises no small influence in his community and is a "hustler," entirely guiltless of idleness either of hands or brain. He owns valuable prop- erty in the town of Perry, and has a thorough un- derstanding of his business in which he has been uniformly prosperons. I

The subject of this notice was born Jan. 10, 1859, in Veniee, Butter Co., Ohio, and is the son of Val- entine Brown, who is represented elsewhere in this ALBUM. He spent his early years at the parental homestead, assisting in the various employments of the farm and attending the district school. He ac- companied the family to Kansas in the spring of 1870 and when twenty-one years old assumed the

management of the home farm. In connection with general agriculture he carried on stoek-raising suc- cessfully, also feeding and shipping. In 1882 Mr. Brown removed to Topeka and opened a meat - market, but a year later returned to the farm and operated it until coming to Perry in the fall of 1889. In addition to conducting his market suc- cessfully he buys and ships poultry to Kansas City, realizing therefrom handsome returns.

Mr. Brown was married at Auburn, June 13, 1880, to Miss Eva R., daughter of Hon. John W. Brown, formerly of Zanesville, Ohio. Mr. Brown was a blacksmith by trade and came to Kansas in the spring of 1851, locating with his family at Uniontown. He opened a blacksmith shop for the Indians and was in the employ of the Government for some time. In 1854 he removed to the vicinity of Auburn and engaged in farming, owning at one time 900 aeres of land. He also dealt considerably in live stock. He laid out part of the town of Auburn, which was first called Brownsville. He is now living in Auburn retired from active labor. He has been a stirring business man and quite prominent in political affairs, serving in 1872-73 as a member of the Kansas Legislature. Politically, he is a sound Republican and in religious matters, an active Methodist.

The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Brown was Elizabeth Perkins. She was born in North Carolina and removed to Missouri with her father at an early date, remaining there until her marriage. The parental household was completed by the birth of five children. The two eldest sons, Edgar and Frederick, are farming on the outskirts of Auburn. Frank, Mrs. R. F. Brown, is a resident of Thomp- sonville; Eva, Mrs. Brown, was the fourth child; Harry is farming near Auburn.

Mrs. Brown was born in Auburn, Shawnee Co., Kan., the 18th of January, 1862, and completed her education in 1876, in the State Normal School at Emporia. Later she went to Topeka and studied music one year. She is a very amiable and intelli . gent lady, refined and accomplished and the efficient assistant of her husband in all his worthy under- takings. Mr. Brown votes the straight Republican ticket and is a useful man in party politics, being sent every year as a delegate to the county conven-

Eliza Wells

Welcome Well

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tions. He has officiated as Road Supervisor and with his estimable wife is a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, serving as Steward and has been Superintendent of the Sunday-school for the past two years.

ON. WELCOME WELLS. The annals of Manhattan could scarcely be written up without mention of this, one of her oldest and most highly respected citizens. His life career has been one of more than ordinary in- terest, during which he has made for himself a good record and hosts of friends. Although more than eighty-one years old, he, with his excellent wife is still well preserved and active, they attend- ing to their self-imposent daily labors, nearly as cheerfully and easily as they did fifty years ago. Mr. Wells forms one of the landmarks of Riley County, who, by his labors and patience has made for himself a name which will be held in kindly re- membrance long after he has been gathered to his fathers.

The subject of this sketch was born in Danville, Caledonia Co., Vt., Sept. 17, 1808. His father, Paul Wells, Jr., was born, it is believed, in the State of Vermont, and his paternal grandfather, Paul Wells, Sr., was likewise a native of New Eng- land. The latter served as a cadet and recruiting Sergeant in the Revolutionary War, under Arnold, and was present at the battles of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. He spent his last days in Caledonia County, and met his death accidentally, being killed by the falling of a tree. He for a number of years received a pension from the Government.

Paul Wells, Jr., was reared in the Green Moun- tain State, and at an early day removed to the wilds of Caledonia County, Vt., and purchased a tract of land four miles from St. Johnsburg. He built a log house in the midst of the timber, and opened up a farm from the wilderness, upon which be spent the remainder of his life. He was married in early manhood to Miss Mary Mason, likewise a native of New England, and to them there were born twelve children. Welcome resided with his par- ents until a youth of seventeen years, then joined

an elder brother in Rensselaer County, N. Y. and learned shoemaking, which he followed in Troy until 1831. Then removing to Utica, he was simi- larly engaged until about 1855. He then started for Ohio, going by team to Dunkirk, and thence by steamer to Cleveland, where he boarded a canal boat, and by this means proceeded to Coshocton, where he located, and again commenced work at his trade. He remained a resident of the Buckeye State until 1857, and during that year started once more Westward, this time to the Territory of Kan - sas. In making this journey he proceeded by rail to Jefferson City, Mo .. which was then the western terminus of the railroad, and at that point took a steamer for Leavenworth. Thence he traveled by ox-team to the present site of Manhattan, which, as may be supposed, was marked by only a few houses built in the most primitive style.

Upon his arrival in Manhattan, Mr. Wells en- tered a claim four miles west of the city, the greater part of which was timber. He was accompanied by three of his sons, who also entered claims, and the four remained there two years, and cleared a part of the land. Then selling out, Mr. Wells pur- chased a claim to a tract of prairie land in Potta- watomie County, three miles east of the city, which like Manhattan, was then in its infancy. Wild game was plentiful, ineluding deer, otter, beaver, and a few miles west numbers of buffaloes ranged the plains. No railroads were built through this section for several years afterward. For some time after coming here, Mr. Wells carried on a shop in Manhattan, while at the same time he proceeded with the improvement of his land. He was joined by the balance of his family in 1859, and the fol- lowing year among other improvements, set ont an orchard of 100 trees. All but six of these perished on account of the dry weather. In 1864, Mr. Wells set out 200 more apple trees, and two years later added 800 trees, and has now one of the most valu- able orchards in the vicinity comprising 2,000 trees in good bearing condition, and of fifty varieties.

One of the most important and interesting events in the life of Mr. Wells, was his marriage, May 17, 1829, with Miss Eliza Gardner, at her home in Troy, N. Y., which union, after a long period of more than sixty years, remains cemented by a more

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than ordinary affection. There were born to them seven children, of whom only three are living- George, Alfred. and Sarah J. Otis, the second born, died in Manhattan at the age of fifty years; Helen became the wife of Ilenry Laffer, and died at her home in Manhattan Township, in 1879, aged forty-five years; Samuel Lewis died when eight years old; and Albert died in Ohio at the age of thirty-seven.

Mrs. Wells was born in Warwiek, R. I., April 15, 1812, and is consequently three and one- half years younger than her husband. Her father, Jabez Gardner, was a native of Rhode Island, and the son of Samuel Gardner, a farmer by occupation, who spent his entire life in Rhode Island. Jabez Gardner was reared in his native State, whenee he removed to New York State in 1815, with his fam- ily. The journey was made overland with one horse and a wagon, the family consisting of the wife and three children, and they earried with them their household effects. They located in Madison County during its pioneer days, but a short time later removed to Troy, and soon afterward to Clin- ton, where Mr. Gardner conducted an hotel, and where he spent the remainder of his life. His wife, Mary (Boone) Gardner, was born on a farm thirty miles from Newport, R. I. She died in Clinton, N. Y. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Wells served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and spent his last years in Caledonia County, Vt., in the en- joyment of a pension.

It is estimated that not one couple in a half mil- lion live together for sixty years, and the "pearl wedding" of Mr. and Mrs. Welcome Wells, was ap- propriately celebrated May 7, 1889, at their pleas- ant home in Manhattan, Kan. They were presented with a pair of elegant chairs with handsome silver engraving, giving the date of their first wedding and their last. It was the occasion of the gather- ing together of a large number of friends, and sev- eral finely-worded addresses were delivered in a brief and happy manner. The speakers reviewed the long and pleasant career of the honored old conple, who had traveled life's pathway so harmoni- ously together, and who, during the early settle- ment of Kansas contributed their full quota to its growth and development. The sixty years which

spanned their wedded life, eover much of the his- tory of this country, and it is needless to state that they have watched the changes which have occur- red, not only in Kansas. but in the whole Union. with more than ordinary interest.

Mr. Wells east his first Presidential vote for Gen. Jackson in 1828, before reaching his majority. He voted for the elder Harrison in 1836 and 1840, and with equal enthusiasm he supported the grandson of the old hero in 1888, the latter being the six- teenth President for whom he has voted. His rec- ord since becoming a citizen of Kansas, has been that which any man might be proud to look upon. Soon after his arrival in the Territory, he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace, and in 1862 he was chosen to represent Riley and Potta- watomie Counties in the Legislature of the young State. He was returned in 1872-73. For nine years he was a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Pottawatomie County, and for three years he was President of the Board of Trus- tees of the Asylum for the Blind. In 1878 he was elected to the State Senate, and he has numbered among his friends, men high in the couneils of the Nation-United States Senators. Congressmen and Governors.

Since the beginning of their married life, Mr. and Mrs. Wells have been the privileged witnesses of many great events in history, in which they have seen slavery abolished and free homes given by a free Government to a free people. That which they have valued above all gifts which Providence has bestowed upon them, however, has been the friendship which has been extended to them during their long and honored residence west of the Mississippi, as signified by Mr. Wells in returning thanks for the gifts and congratulations of their friends upon the occasion of their pearl wedding, and he generously maintains that he owes every- thing to his excellent wife, who has been his eon- stant helper in every time of need. There have never been any unkind words between them, and Mr. Wells stated the remarkable faet that he had had a good mother-in-law. Letters of congratula- tion were read from Senator Plumb, the Rev. D. C. Milner, and from Senator Ingalls. There was mu-

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sie and singing, and the band enlivened the closing exercises with a serenade. The portraits of Mr. Wells and wife appear elsewhere in this volume.

E DWARD J. DOYLE. The agricultural elass of Jackson County contains within its ranks many men who are enterprising and intelligent, their knowledge extending beyond the special field of their life work, and their lives and characters being an honor to the class to which they belong. A prominent place among them is justly due to the above named gentleman, who has been for several years a resident in Straight Creek Township, and for a number of years previous lived in what is now known as Garfield Township. He is well-known and highly respected throughout the county, and a brief sketch of his life may well find place in a volume of this nature.

The birth of our subjeet took place in Franklin County, Pa., and his natal day was May 2, 1823. His parents were Barnabas A. and Naney (Bevin) Doyle, the former a native of the Keystone State, and the latter of Maryland. After their marriage they settled in the county where our subject was born, and there they died. He of whom we write was reared on his father's farm, remaining under the parental roof until he reached man's estate, when he went to Winehester, Va., and engaged in selling wheat fans. After sojourning a year in that plaee he went to Culpeper, where for two years he carried on the same business, thenee mov - ing to Fredericksburg. and spending two years in that place still following the same occupation.

Mr. Doyle's next change of location was to Jackson County, Jowa, where he bought a farm, on which he lived two years, at the expiration of that time selling out and removing to Doniphan County, Kan., where he entered a elaim, on which he re- mained until the spring of 1869. He next came to this county, and settled in what is now Garfield Township, continuing to reside there until 1883. when he again changed his residence, this time becoming a citizen of Straight Creek Township. Sinee coming to the West, Mr. Doyle has given his time and attention to farming and stock-raising,

and proven his ability and judgment in both. He now owns 320 acresof land, and his home is on section 36. A good house had been ereeted on the estate, and other necessary buildings put up, when a fire in 1885 destroyed the residence. It has been replaced by an edifice that is better than the aver- age farm houses in the State, and which stands on the site of the one that was destroyed. The inter- nal arrangements indicate the presence of an ae- complished housewife and the refined tastes of woman.

The lady to whom so much of the comfort and good taste of the home is due, is she who for a quarter of a century has been the chosen and cher- ished companion of Mr. Doyle. She bore the maiden name of Mary Barlow, and was born in Ireland Oct. 16, 1837. Her parents. Patrick and Judith (Corbine) Barlow, were also natives of the Emerald Isle, and the father died in County Sligo. The widowed mother subsequently emigrated to Ameriea with her children, four in number, and settled in Doniphan County, this State, where she died. Mrs. Doyle has borne her husband three children, all of whom have been given excellent advantages and earefol training and whose intelli- gence and courteous manners are a credit to their progenitors. They bear the names respectively of. Naney J., Edward J. and John J.

BRAHAM HYMAN. This gentleman is recognized as a leader among the mercan- tile interests of Onaga, having a thriving business located on Third street, and oeen- pying a double store, 47x92 feet in dimensions. He carries a large and well-selected stock of goods, and is in the enjoyment of a lucrative and steadily increasing trade. IJe established his present en- terprise in January, 1878, after a year's residence in Onaga. eommeneing modestly in a little store- room, 25x16 feet in dimensions, to which has since been added the present commodious building.

Mr. Hyman came to Kansas from Quiney, III., in which place he had been reared and educated, and where he began his business experience as clerk in a store. He entered Onaga with a capital of $10,

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and afterward, by the practice of the closest econ- omy, managed to save enough to establish himself in business, and by his industry and strict atten- tion to its details, long ago attained a solid footing. He is a native of Germany, born near the city of Ber- lin, in 1847, of IIebrew ancestry. His father, Wolf Hyman, is still living there, being now past seventy years of age. The mother, Rebecca Hyman, died when her son Abraham was a small child. The latter when a lad of thirteen years crossed the Atlantic with an aunt, locating in Quincy, Ill., where he attended the common school, and where his mercantile experience began.

After coming to this State Mr. Hyman was mar- ried in the city of Leavenworth, Oct. 19, 1878, to Miss Henrietta Machol. This lady is likewise a native of Germany, and born in the town of Kolma near the city of Berlin, in 1853. She also is of Jewish ancestry. She came to the United States with friends when a child, joining a sister in Leaven- worth, Kan., where she lived until her marriage. She is well educated both in German and English. Of this union there were born two children only, both of whom are deceased, Charles and an infant who died unnamed.

Mr. Hyman, politically, is rather independent, aiming to support the men whom he considers the best qualified to serve the interests of the people. He at one time represented his ward in the City Council, and is looked upon as a liberal-minded and public-spirited citizen. He belongs to Blue Lodge, No. 188, A. F. & A. M., and the K. of P., No. 68.

RLOND MONROE. This gentleman has displayed the New England thrift and en- ergy in the accumulation of the property which he now possesses, and in the culti- vation and adornment of his estate. His farm com- prises 320 acres in Whiting Township, Jackson County, the same lying in the northwest quarter of section 21, and the northeast quarter of section 32. His fine residence is on section 21, and is a build- ing 28x32 feet, and two stories in height, with a ore-story L 19x26 feet, the whole being finished inside and out in a most approved style of modern

architecture. A mansard roof adds to its height and capacity. Numerous granaries, corn-cribs, oat. bins, etc., furnish adequate storage room for his crops, and the present barn will soon be replaced by a finer structure, it being the intention of Mr. Monroe to erect as good a one as can be found in Jackson County. A noticeable feature of the estate is the number of forest and shade trees which adorn it, and the quantity and variety of fruit cultivated thereon. The fruits include apples, plums, grapes, eight varieties of strawberries, blackberries, goose- berries, raspberries. and currants. About 500 ev- ergreens-pine, spruce and larch-and sycamore, ash, box elder, soft maple and walnut sufficient to bring the number of forest trees up to 3,000, have been planted by Mr. Monroe.

The subject of this sketch is a native of New Hampshire, and a son of Hiram and Eliza (Stowe) Monroe. His ancestry is an honorable one, the pa- ternal line being Scotch-Irish, and the maternal English. IIis father was a member of both houses of the legislature in New Hampshire, being elected on the Democratic ticket. His grandfather was in the Revolutionary War, and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. He was in the works after the rest of the troops had gone, and on leaving the ground carried off two muskets, which, on coming to a rail fence he used as staffs, by their aid elear. ing the fence at one bound. One of these guns is kept for a relic in the family. This Mr. Monroe had come from Londonderry, Ireland, and settled at Concord, Mass. The mother of our subject was a daughter of Joel Stowe, who moved from Massa- chussetts to New Hampshire, and the Stowe family is traced back 230 years to Lord Stowe, of England.

Born in Hillsboro, Sept. 26, 1836, Mr. Monroe attended school in his native place until the age of thirteen. and then learned the sash, door and blind trade, and worked in the cotton factory until he had reached man's estate. He then went to Griggs- ville, Pike Co., Ill., to "grow up with the country" among the early settlers there, and near that place he followed farming on rented land for a number of years. In 1886 he came to this county, having previously bought the land on which his residence now stands. While a resident of Griggsville, Ill., he met with a heavy financial loss, a bank failure

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depriving him of $1,400, which was all the cash he had at that time. Desirous of building a comfortable home when he moved his family to Kansas, lie worked on in Illinois until he had recovered from this loss, and then, in April, 1886. he became a permanent resident here. He hauled his goods on to the open prairie, dumped them down, built a shanty over them, and then set to work toward the building of the beautiful residence where the fam- ily is now living, surrounded by the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

Mr. Monroe is a Democrat, and his first vote was cast about three hours before he left his native place. His first active political work was during the campaign in Illinois between Lincoln and Douglas. He is a member of Whiting Lodge, No. 250, A. F. & A. M. He joined that order in Griggsville, over twenty-six years ago, and for six years held the office of Master of Griggsville Lodge, No. 45. Mrs Monroe is a member of the Congre- gational Church, of which her husband is an attend- ant.

The lady who has for a number of years been Mr. Monroe's chief counselor and aid, is a daugh- ter of Rodney and Minerva (Hosley) Gibson, and bears the name of Elizabeth A. Her paternal line of descent is from the Scotch-Irish. Her union with our subject was celebrated Oct. 12, 1865, and they are blessed with two children. Emily, a young lady who is still at home, has fitted herself for the profession of teaching. and was graduated from the Griggsville school, and subsequently attended the Normal University of Holton, Kan. Warren E. is a young man, and now attending school in Whiting, being already well educated in all the common branches.

Mr. Monroe and his wife have some of the most interesting relics in the county. A bright yellow silk christening quilt, which is now 243 years old, has been in the family since it was made, and was handed down through the Monroe line. A woolen home-made cradle blanket, now 126 years old, has come down through the Stowe family. A set of teaspoons, about 100 years old, was made from the knee buckles of Mr. Monroe's great-grandfather Stowe. The most interesting relic is a paper dated in Boston, 1723, from Monday, Feb. 4, to Monday,

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Portrait and biographical album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 65

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

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