USA > Kansas > Marshall County > Portrait and biographical album of Marshall County, Kansas : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 38
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Moses Fulton, the father of him whose life re- view is thus recorded, was born in Clearfield County, Pa .. on the same farm where our subject first saw the light. There the father lived and died. IIe was born in 1812, and passed to rest May 25, 1865. Ilis wife, the mother of Edgar R., was Miss Annie Il. Caldwell, who became the mother of eight chil- dren, two of whom. our subject and his brother S. A. are residents of this county. Both of these gentlemen have identified themselves with the most important matters pertaining to their community, and enjoy the respect of all who know them.
S OLOMON L. DOTSON. The name of this gentleman is familiar to the older residents of this county, as one of those who located on the banks of the Vermillion in the early days, where he has some very rich bottom land. included in a well-regulated farm of 177 acres, lying on section 31, Rock Township. Before proceeding further with his personal history it may be inter- esting to mention those from whom he drew his origin. Ile comes of a good family, being the son
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of William Dotson, who was born in Virginia, and the grandson of Richard Dotson, likewise a native of the Old Dominion, and a farmer who, at an early date removed to Wood County, W. Va., and opened up a farm in the wilderness. During his career he served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and also fought the French and Indians. He spent his last days in Tyler County, Va., passing away at the ripe old age of one hundred and four years.
The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was Solomon Dotson, a native of England, who emigrated to America during the Colonial times and established himself on a large tract of land in Ritchie County, W., Va., where he cleared a farm and remained upon it until his death when over ninety-three years old. Politically, he was a Demo- crat, and religiously, an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Mary A. Franks, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Henry Franks, who was also born there. He farmed along the Ohio River, in the western part of the Domin- ion, being among the first settlers of that region. He fought in the Indian War and was wounded. He became well-to-do, and spent his last years sur- ronnded by all the comforts of life. The great- grandfather Frank was a native of Germany, and served as a Revolutionary soldier at the battle of Bunker Hill. The paternal great-great-grandfather was Hobbs Dotson, who was born in the Turkish Empire, and went to England with his parents, where he spent the remainder of his life. The mother of Mr. Dotson died in Virginia at the age of eiglity-seven years; she was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Sixteen children completed the household cirele of William and Mary A. Dotson, seven of whom are deceased, namely: Emanuel, John, Nancy, Thomas, Betsey, Maria and Margaret. The sur- vivors are: llenry, a resident of Virginia; Lottie and William, also living there; Solomon L., our subject; Mary A., a resident of Belle Plain, Kan .; J. Cynthia; Eliza and Jane, of Virginia, and Squire, of Missouri.
The subject of this sketch was born in what was then Wood, but is now Ritchie County, W. Va.,
near Maryetta, July 8. 1816, and there spent his early years upon the farm. He obtained a very limited education in the subscription school, dressed flax, hunted wild game, killed bears, wildeats and panthers, frequently fighting the bears with dogs, of which he had twenty-one at one time, and thus attained to man's estate. He then purchased 100 acres of land, which he cleared and brought to a state of cultivation. lle raised sheep to a great extent and lived in his native county until 1865. Then selling out he removed to Adair County, Mo., where he purchased an improved farm of 120 acres and raised cattle and sheep. After two years. however, he became dissatisfied, and changed his residence to Benton County, Iowa. Thence, in 1868, he came to this county, secured eighty acres of land in Clear Fork Township, and lived there about ten years. Indians and wild game were plentiful when he first settled there. In 1878 he sold out and purchased his present farm. The cy- clone of 1879 destroyed his orchard, his barn and a part of his house. The family sought shelter in the basement of the latter and were not seriously injured. He rebuilt as soon as possible, and has all modern improvements. IIe makes a specialty of graded cattle, a good quality of draft horses and full-blooded, Poland-China and Berkshire swine.
Mr. Dotson was first married, in Harrison County, W. Va., in 1835, to Miss Orlindo Tucker, who was born there and died in the Old Dominion in 1863. Of this union there were eight children, of whom Serena, Betsey, Squire, Clarence and Cora are de- ceased. Eli is a resident of Nemeha County, Neb .; Columbus lives in Ringgold County, Iowa; Floyd is a resident of l'ottowatamie County, Kan .; Clarence died in California, leaving one child, a daughter, Mabel. Eli, during the late Civil War, enlisted in 1861, in the 14th Virginia Infantry and served un- til the close, suffering the horrors of imprisonment at Andersonville, and receiving a wound in the hand; Squire was under Gen. Sherman in the 82d Ohio Infantry, enlisting in October, 1864. Hle died at Goldsboro, N. C.
Our subject contracted a second marriage in Ritchie County, W. Va., with Miss Elizabeth West, who was born in Tyler County, that State, and died in Clear Fork Township, this county, in 1876.
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The four children born of this union were; Jerusha. who married J. J. Tilley ; Vietta, the wife of James A. Barrett; Eveline, Mrs. W. Long, of Rock Township, this county, and Porter, who remains at home with his father. Our subject was married the third time in Rock Township in 1878, to Mrs. Telitha (Cain) Trosper, a native of Kentucky, and who died at the homestead in Rock Township in March. 1880.
The present wife of our subject, whom he mar- ried in Marysville, Oct. 25, 1886, was formerly Miss Carrie C. Clark, daughter of Daniel D. Clark, the latter a native of Sidney, Me The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Dotson was Samuel Clark, a native of England, who upon coming to America carried on farming in Maine and New Hampshire. dying in the latter State. The great-grandfather was closely allied to the nobility and died in En- gland. Daniel D. Clark was born Jan. 3. 1805, and was reared to man's estate in Maine, whence he re- moved with the family to New Hampshire, and engaged as a stone and marble cutter, in which he became an expert. Ile also worked as a cooper, and died in New Hampshire in 1882. when seventy- eight years old. He was first a Whig and then a Republican, and a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church until during his latter years. when he became a Second Adventist.
The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Dotson was Lydia Quinby. She was born in Sandwich, N. H., and died in Concord, that State, in 1887 when eighty-one years old. Her father was of En- glish descent and spent his last years in Concord. N. H. Mrs. Dotson was the sixth in a family of eleven children, of wbom Charles C., Mary A., Olive A. and Fanny A. are decased. Esther G., Mrs. Curtis, is a resident of Concord, N. Il. ; Laura J .. Mrs. Turner, lives in Iowa County ; Samuel F. resides in Michigan ; Lucinda HI., Mrs. Gross, lives in Beverly, Mass .; Sarah E., Mrs. Cook, is a resi- dent of Concord, N. H., where Daniel G. also lives.
Charles C. Clark during the Civil War enlisted, in 1861, in the 2d New Hampshire Infantry, was captured by the rebels and confined in Anderson- ville prison, finally being exchanged when the war was over. lle was nearly dead then. and was not found by his friends until the fall of 1866. when
he was sent home from Annapolis (Md) Hospital. Ile died the following year. Another brother. Samuel F., enlisted in the 6th Wisconsin Battery, and was given a Captain's commission, serving from 1861 until the close of the war.
Mrs. Carrie C. Dotson was born .Jan. 6, 1837, in Concord, N. H., and was first married there, Aug. 14, 1853, to John D. Heath. Mr. Heath was like- wise a native of Coneord, and a cabinet-maker by trade; he died in 1856. Mrs. Heath subsequently removed to Columbia County, Wis., where she en- gaged as a seamstress and remained until 1866. Thence she removed to Chicago, and from there in February, 1885, to Beattie, this county, and be- came the owner of a good property, which she occupied until her marriage to our subject. She has one son, Charles A. Heath.
Mrs. Dotson, while in Wisconsin made her home with an uncle, Moses Smith, who had married one of her father's sisters. He became a true friend to the widow who was struggling to maintain herself and son. He is now an old man of seventy-six years, and is tenderly cared for by the lady whom he befriended in former years and with whom he makes his home. Mr. Smith was born in New Hampshire in 1812. and lived there until after his marriage, when he emigrated to Columbia County, Wis., and became the owner of a large farm. He also practiced as a veterinary surgeon, having been regularly graduated from a school of this profession at Portsmouth, Mass. From Columbia he removed to Sauk County, where he also became owner of a large farm, and was well-to-do when an unfortunate train of circumstances deprived him of his prop- erty and made of bim a comparatively poor man. In 1872 he come to Jewell County, this State, and homesteaded a tract of land near Omio, which he proved up and upon which he lived several years. He then disposed of the property and engaged as a bookkeeper in the coal mines at Omio until 1887, when at the solicitation of Mrs. Dotson he took up his abode with her, retiring from active labor. Mrs. Dotson affectionately speaks of him as her adopted father, and always addresses him as "Pap Smith." Mr. Smith has a remarkable memory and has seen many changes during his long life, espec- ially in the West. While in New England he
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freighted goods in New Hampshire before the building of a railroad, and had the pleasure of a ride on the first institution of this kind in the Old Granite State. Politically, he is a stanch Repub- lican.
RTHUR H. NEAL. One of the most beautiful farms in Marshall County, is that owned and occupied by the above named gentleman. It is admirably lo- cated on section 4, Vermillion Township, on land sufficiently high to afford a magnificent view to the east, south and west. and overlooking the city of Frankfort, which lies one mile south. The estate, though small, consisting of but eighty-four acres, is thoroughly cultivated, the fertile fields enclosed by neat hedge fences, and the orchard is one of the finest in the county. Mr. Neal has made the raising of fine apples a speciality, and his orchard contains several hundred trees of the best varieties of that fruit. He also raises peaches, grapes and various small fruits. His display at the Frankfort Fair, Sept. 11 to 16, 1889, was one in which any fruit-grower would take great pride. Though the place is supplied with comfortable and adequate -buildings, our subject contemplates the erection of a new residence at an early day. Mr. Neal devotes his attention to general-farming, fruit and stock- raising. Ile is a breeder of Norman and Clydes- dale horses,and owns two very fine blooded stallions. "Beauty of the West" is a splendid imported Nor- man, and "Glasgow Bridge, Jr." a beautiful high- spirited animal of Clydesdale and Morgan blood.
Our subject is the son of Arthur and Sarah (White) Neal and traces his ancestry to Irish stock. Ilis father, and grandfather, John Neal, were na- tives of Virginia, from which State the grandfather removed into Indiana, while it was still a territory. The father was twice married, his first wife being Nancy Conley, who bore him seven children -- Diana, Naney, John, Harvey, Rebecca, Wesley and James. Diana is the wife of William Kennedy, a farmer residing in Missouri; Nancy was the wife of Ephraim Beasley, a farmer, she died in Logan, Ill., in 1856; John is a retired farmer, whose home
is in Kearney, Neb., he married Mahala Mitchell, and has six children now living; Harvey died at the age of twenty-three near Mitchell, Ind, he was unmarried; Rebecca is the wife of Benjamin Pot- ter, a farmer of Center Township, their family con- sists of eight children. Wesley died in Indiana at the age of fifteen years, and James when about twelve years of age. The mother of our subject was twice married, her first husband being Benja- min Sutton, by whom she had two children. John W. Sutton, died April 12, 1889 at Lancaster. Schuyler Co., Mo. He was a railroad engineer. and during the later years of his life followed farming. He had been twice married. His first wife was Narcissa Combs, and his second, Miss Mary Bailey. Rachael lives in Denver, Col., and is the widow of Elisha E. Allen, a cabinet-maker, she has two children.
The marriage of our subjeet's father and mother resulted in the birth of five children -- Anna, Emily, Arthur H., Maria and Clara .; Anna was the wife of Frank Clutter, a brick-layer. She died at Mt. Ver- non, Ill., when thirty-five years of age, leaving four children; Emily married Robert Wild, a com- mereial traveller, whose home is in Atlanta, Ga .; Maria is the wife of William Hutchinson, a me- chanie at the same place, she has four children; Clara is the wife of James Robinson, of Atlanta. who died in 1885, leaving her with one child to mourn his loss.
Arthur H. Neal was born in Lawrence County. Ind., Oct. 23, 1844. He was reared on a farm and received a good common-school education. The excitement attending the breaking ont of the Civil War, gave rise in the Hoosier State to a mar- tial spirit among the very young, and hundreds of her youths gave their flesh, blood and growing energies to the cause of the Union. Among these patriotic sons of Indiana was our subjeet, who at the early age of seventeen, enlisted in the Northern army. He was enrolled in 1861 as a member of the 50th Indiana Infantry, serving under Gen. A. J. Smith. Among the more prominent engage- ments in which he took part were Mumfordsville, Ky., Bowling Green, Parker's Crossroads, Little Rock, Mobile, Ft. Blakely, Spanish Fort and Nash- ville. He was one of the number sent to the relief
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of Gen. Banks in his Red River expedition. During the engagement at Saline River, Ark. he was wounded in the left shoulder, and for four months was unfit for duty. At the expiration of his term of service he re-enlisted, and as veteran was trans- ferred to the 52d Indiana Infantry. After years of gallant service he was honorably discharged Oct. 23, 1865. Upon leaving the army he engaged in farming near Richland County, Ill., and was for three years a renter of land.
On Sept. 30, 1866, our subjeet celebrated his marriage to Harriet Mayden, an intelligent and agreeable young lady in whom he found a fitting companion. She was a native of the Hoosier State, and the daughter of William and Catherine Mayden. former residents of Tennessee. Five chil- dren have been the result of this marriage -- Minnie, Charles, Emma, Irena and Lillian. The latter died in infancy; Emma, the third daughter, is a public school teacher, and was an attendant of the late session of the Marshall County Normal Insti- tute. All have received, or are receiving an excel- lent English education.
Mr. Neal is a stanch Republican and an active worker in the ranks of the party. He has served as a delegate to the County Convention at various times. Both he, and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Ile enters earnestly into the business which he has undertaken, and takes great pride and interest in carrying it to a successful end. Ile is a man of more than ordinary intelligence, of high principles, and is held in great esteem by his neighbors.
AMES W. NASH. This gentleman owns and ocenpies one of the most beautiful homes in Cottage Ilill Township-a fine farm, un- der a thorough state of cultivation and im- proved with substantial modern buildings. It is devoted mainly to general agriculture, with a goodly assortment of live stock, and yields to its proprietor each year considerably more than is necessary for Ins current expenses. Mr. Nash was one of the earliest settlers of this region, and being
a liberal and public-spirited man, upright and honest, enjoys in a marked degree the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. Ile has held some of the minor offices, but prefers to give his time and attention to his farming interests.
A native of Stark County Ohio, our subject was born Sept. 7, 1840. and is the son of David E. Nash, whose birth took place in 1813. The latter settled in Stark County, Ohio. during its pioneer days, but in 1842 pushed on further Westward into Elkhart County, Ind., where his death took place, March 21, 1845. He was a life-long farmer, and was a member in good standing of the Methodist Church. He married Miss Judith Winder, who was born April 15. 1812, and was the daughter of James and Ann Winder. She departed this life Mareh 4, 1856, in Elkhart County, Ind.
To the parents of our subject there were born two children only, of whom James W. was the younger. His sister, Mary A., is now in Lenawa County, Mich. James was orphaned by the death of both parents when very young, and lived there- after in Indiana until a youth of fifteen years. He then spent one year in Pennsylvania, and from there emigrated to Bureau County, Ill., of which he was a resident at the outbreak of the Civil War. Soon afterward he enlisted as a private in Company B, 52d Illinois Infantry, and served until April, 1862. when he was obliged to accept his honora- ble discharge on account of disability, the result of hardship and privation.
In 1866 Mr. Nash came to this eounty and secured a tract of land on section 22, in Cottage Hill Town- ship, of which he has since been a resident. He broke the first sod within its limits, and endured all the hardships and privations of life on the frontier. He has been a member of the Republi- can party since its organization, and for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. lle also belongs to the G. A. R.
On the 18th of January, 1863, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Emma A. Bole, of Elkhart County, Ind. Mrs. Nash was born July 16, 1847, and is the daughter of Ebenezer B. and Phebe D. (Corpe) Bole, who were natives of New York, and are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Nash are the parents of eight children-Judith P.,
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Henry D., Ira E., Mary L., Joseph, Irene, Addie and William. Judith is the wife of S. John Swan- son, a well-to-do farmer of Cottage Hill Township, and they have one child, a daughter -- Gladys. The rest of the children remain at home.
R EV. MATHIAS JOSEPH SCHMICKLER, pastor of St. Gregory's Catholic Church. At an early period in the history of Marys- ville the Catholic missionaries finding here Messrs. Joseph Ellenbecker, Jacob and Christian Mohrbacher, Nick Koppes and J. P. Smith, with them collected a small congregation, holding ser- vices in the school house. The first missionary priest was Rev. Father A. M. Weikmann, who built a brick structure, which was sold by his successor, who erected a frame church near the depot. which building still stands and is owned by the Church. The first resident priest was Rev. A. M. Meili, who made preparation for building the present edifice. Rev. Father Hartman succeeding him, built part of the foundation, which was finished by the subject of our sketch. The Bishop was here to lay the corner-stone, and there was a grand celebration of the occasion on the 9th of October, 1886. Our subject was sent here specially to finish the church. He has so far built a fine structure to the first story, which is now roofed and in use, and expects to complete the edifice before long. It is a brick structure 50x105 feet, and from the foundation to the eross on the spire will be 140 feet, and when completed will be a splendid building, having two stories, the lower part to consist of chapel and school rooms, the second story for the church proper. So far it has cost $8,000, and to finish and furnish it when completed, it is estimated that about $20,000 will be required. The building is one of the finest architecturally designed churches in Northern Kansas, it having been planned by the architect Adolphus Druiding, of Chicago. From a small beginning the Church has grown to a fine organization of from fifty to sixty active families, comprising a membership of 250 to 300. It now has a school attended by thirty-five children, under
the charge of a competent teacher, and the direct supervision of Rev. Father Schmickler.
Prominent among the supporters of the Church are Joseph Ellenbecker, Jacob and Christian Mohr- bacher, Niek Koppes, J. P. Smith, Jacob Ring, John Traey, John Joerg, Mr. Kohorst, P. Brenan, Mr. Wassenberg. Mr. Mentchen, and many others.
Father Schmickler was born in the Rhine Prov- ince of Germany, April 7, 1858. Ile received a classical education at Nassau and studied philoso- phy at St. Trond, Belgium. Then volunteering at Cologne, he spent a year in the Prussian army. Returning to his books, he spent three years in the study of theology at Louvain, Belgium. He was ordained at Roermond, Holland, after which he returned to Germany for four months. and thence came to America in October, 1884. lle first located in Wilson County, Kan., being Pastor of St. Ignatius church at Neodesha. lle was then appointed Priest at Marysville, in August, 1886, and has remained here since that time.
OSEPH A. WILLIAMS. In the spring of 1866. there started out from Buchanan County, Iowa. Mr. Williams with his wife and eight children for the wilds of Northern Kansas. Ilis outfit consisted of two wagons and two span of horses, the vehicles loaded with the household utensils and a blacksmithing outfit with which the leader of the train proposed to fight his battles in the new country, and at the same time labor in the construction of a homestead. The little caravan arrived at their destination about ten days from the time of starting, in the meantime camping out wherever night overtook them and cooking by the wayside.
Mr. Williams had visited this section a year previous and homesteaded eighty acres of wild land, occupying a portion of section 34, Wells Township, upon which not a furrow had been turned, nor had there been any other attempt at improvement. The first business was to provide a shelter for the family and the next to provide for the wants of the household during the coming
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winter by the way of provisions. After planting his garden he put in a crop of corn and wheat, commenced fencing his land and as the time passed on erecting the buildings most needed. The fol- lowing year he made still further progress and in due time was enabled to add to his landed posses- sions, so that he is now the owner of 200 acres, all of which has been brought to a good state of culti- vation.
Mr. Williams was not by any means exempt from the usual difficulties of life on the frontier, and suffered varions losses by drouth, grasshoppers and chinch bugs, but taken altogether he cannot regret that he adhered to his first purpose of re- maining. The first dwelling was a small frame structure, 16 x 24 feet in dimensions, built of na- tive lumber - cottonwood, sycamore and burr oak-the principal part of which was hauled from Atchison. They occupied this a number of years and finally becoming desirous of a change, re- moved to Blue Rapids, where they lived two years. They then returned to the farm quite contented to remain. For several years Mr. Williams has been engaged in quarrying stone near Bigelow and usually gives employment to about fifteen men. In 1888 he put out about 10,000 feet of curbing, all of which was shipped to Kansas City.
The subject of this notice was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, Aug. 18, 1826. His parents were Oliver and Dinah (McGrew) Williams, the former a native of Pennsylvania and born in 1804. His paternal grandfather had a half brother who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Dinalı Williams was a native of New England and is now deceased. The father of our subject is still living and a resident of Iowa, and has arrived at the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was one of the earliest pioneers of Guernsey County, Ohio, to which he emigrated when a young man, before a wagon road had been laid out and when the coun- try was veritably a wilderness. He operated as a millwright and house carpenter during his early manhood and later learned blacksmithing.
The subject of this sketch received a very limited education in the pioneer schools of Ohio and for a time attended a select school. lle studied his first lessons in a log school house with punchcon floor
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