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 50
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Mr. Watson is a man of medium stature and build ; his black hair and beard are very slightly sprinkled
with gray. His eyes and complexion are dark. In business Mr. Watson brings judgment and pru- dence to bear, and his decisions are based upon mature and deliberate judgment. Ilis success as a farmer is attributable to the fact that he carried business methods and principles into the manage- ment of his farm. In the conduct of his present business he has earned a reputation for honest and honorable dealings, which insures him the respeet of all who know him. He is a man of uniform courtesy, genial and companionable.
ELS P. ANDERSON. There are few finer farms within the limits of Marshall County, than that which has been built up by Mr. Anderson, who is one of the leaders among the Swedish population of this county. He has first- class buildings, a goodly assortment of live stock, and all the machinery necessary for prosecuting agri- culture after the most approved methods. He is a man who has fought his way unaided to his present position, having started in life without means, and furnishes an admirable illustration of what may be accomplished by diligence and perseverance.
The native place of our subject was in Sleaho Soken, Sweden, and the date of his birth Dec. 31, 1839. He is the son of Andrew and Maggie ( Yan- sen) Anderson, who were likewise natives of Sweden, the former born in 1810. He followed farming all his life and died about 1879. He was a member of the Lutheran Church. The parental family consisted of three sons-Swan, John and Nels Peter, our subject.
Mr. Anderson was the youngest child of his parents and lived in his native country until ap- proaching the thirtieth year of his age. Ile attended school and assisted his father on the farm, then emigrating to America came directly to this county and homesteaded eighty acres of land on section 14, in Cottage IIill Township. He had very little means at the time, but made it a rule to live within his income and this steadily followed up, together with his industrious habits, soon placed him upon a solid footing. In due time he purchased addi-
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tional land and is now the owner of 320 acres. which is finely adapted to the rich crops of North- ern Kansas. Mr. Anderson besides his real estate has a snug bank account, and will be able to spend his declining years surrounded by all the comforts of life.
Our subject in 1873 was united in marriage with Miss Mary Swanson, a native of this county, and of Swedish descent. They are now the parents of two sons and two daughters, viz .: Andrew E., Frank J., Mamie S. A., and Olidia O. Mr. Ander- son, politically, supports the Republican party, and he is a regular attendant of the Lutheran Church.
HILLIP DOUGLASS. As one of the self- made men of Marshall County, Mr. Doug- lass deserves more than a passing mention. He is a life-long farmer by occupation, and owns 240 acres of prime land, occupying a portion of sections 3, 4 and 9, the residence being on sec- tion 4. From his earliest recollection he has been mainly dependent upon his own efforts, having lost his father when an infant, and thereafter as soon as old enough was thrown upon his own re- sources, and obliged to look out for himself. The years of his early life, although seemingly years of hardship. proved after all an excellent school for the development of a manly independence, which placed him in dne time upon the highway to pros- perity. His early advantages for an education were extremely limited, but his natural shrewdness has partially supplied the place of book learning.
Our subject was the only child of his mother, Mrs. Barbara B. (Shunk) Douglass, who was a na- tive of Ohio, and the daughter of Josiah Shunk, likewise born there, and who traced his descent to Germany. The mother, after the death of her hus- band, made her home for a number of years in the Buckeye State, then removed to Marshall County. Ind., where her death took place when she was seventy-two years old; she was a member of the Dunkard Church. Phillip was her only child, and was born in Holmes County, Ohio, March 26, 1844. When quite young he became an inmate of the
home of Adam Snyder, with whom he remained until thirteen years old. He then commenced work- ing out by the month on a farm, and followed this occupation in Ohio until removing with his mother to Indiana, in 1858. Thereafter he was employed in a sawmill as foreman two years, and later as an engineer. The two years following this he was engaged in the lumbering business. Afterward he resumed work on a farm, and remained in Indiana until a man of twenty-five years.
In 1870 Mr. Douglass came to Northern Kansas, landing in Frankfort. April 21. He at once home- steaded eighty acres of land on the northeast quar- ter of section 10, and purchased a claim of 100 acres. He settled upon the latter, put up a house, and farmed with oxen for two years. He had started without any capital, and had to proceed cautiously, and with close management to make both ends meet. He worked for others in order to obtain the requisite amount of hard cash, carrying the improvements on at his own place as he had opportunity. After having it proven, he sold out and purchased 160 acres of his present farm, pay- ing therefor $4.20 per acre. He was one of the first men to locate on the prairie in that region, and for a few years following did an immense amount of labor, setting out forest and fruit trees, putting up his house, and adding the other build- ings as they became necessary. His fields are mostly enclosed with hedge. In due time he pur- chased eighty acres adjoining at $3 per acre, and has the whole under a good state of cultivation. He makes a specialty of live stock, keeping about forty head of high-grade Short-horn cattle, eleven head of draft horses, and a herd of swine. He uses two teams in his farm work.
The marriage of our subject with Miss Anna Sbearer took place in Marysville, this county, Feb. 18, 1879. Mrs. Douglass was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and is the daughter of James Shearer, a prominent citizen of this county, and a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume. The family emigrated to America in 1870. To Mr. and Mrs. Douglass there have been born four chil- dren, viz .: Mary M., Mande M., Margaret and James P. Mr. Douglass, politically, is a straight Republican, and has been quite prominent in local
ST. BRIDGET'S CHURCH & PARSONAGE, ST. BRIDGET, KAN.
RESIDENCE OF WM CASSIDY, SEC. 9. ROCK TOWNSHIP.
RESIDENCE OF FRED. VEITH, SEC. 20. ROCK TOWNSHIP.
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affairs, serving as a delegate to the county conven- tions. He has also been Road Supervisor for the last five years. Mrs. Douglass is a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have a pleasant home and many friends.
B EVERAGE MANLY, formerly of Ohio, came with his wife and children to Kansas in 1872 and settled on section 20, in St. Bridget Township, this county, where he opened up a fine farm of 200 acres. He brought the soil to a good state of cultivation and erected substantial modern buildings. Later he sold out and removed to a farm of eighty acres, one-half mile north of the old place, where he has a very comfortable home, comprising a well-developed farm with good improvements. He is numbered among the leading citizens of St. Bridget Town- ship and is considered an important factor among its agricultural interests.
A native of Harrison County, Ohio, our subject was born July 14, 1819, and is the son of Allen and Rachel (Wilken) Manly. formerly of Harris- burg, l'a. The paternal grandfather was Jacob . Manly, who with his wife Betsy, lived and died in Pennsylvania. Our subject was married at the age of twenty-six years, and continued a resident of his native county until his removal to this State. Ile was wedded March 4, 1846, to Miss Sidney Stephens, daughter of Robert and Ann (Walker) Stephens, who were natives of Maryland. The latter removed to Ohio, probably the same year (1802) in which the Manly family took up their residence there.
Since coming to this county Mr. Manly has been possessor of 720 acres of land. His family includes seven children who are all married. Allen II., the father of six children, earries on farming on his own land in Ozark County, Mo .; Robert, who is married and the father of five sons, lives on the home farm about three miles east of his father; James W. married Miss Mary A., daughter of John II. Ford, and they have five children, three sons and two daughters -- Lilly N., Mary Sidney,
Jolm Henry, James Ross, and Robert Edwin. This son owns eighty acres of land on section 32, in St. Bridget Township, where he has opened up a good farm, this being the fourth which he has developed in this county. Ile has a fine young orchard on his place, the third which he has set ont in St. Bridget Township. Ross is married and operates his own farm of eighty acres adjoining the home- stead. Rachel Ann married John Gallagher, of St. Bridget Township, and they now live in Idaho, where Mr. Gallagher is occupied as a mill wright ; they have four children. Josephine married Henry Jennings of Richland Township, and is the mother of three children; they live in Colorado, where Mr. Jennings secured a farm by preemption. Lucy married Walter Smith. Mr. Manly, politically, sup- ports the principles of the Democratic party, is in favor of temperance and in religion a Presbyterian.
Mr. Manly was the third son in a family of five boys and three girls, all of whom are living. The father and mother were nearly of an age when married, having been born in the same month and year; they died at the age of eighty-four, and eighty-eight years respectively, having spent their last days in Fulton County, III.
ROLVIN LEONARD, editor of the Irving Leader, has been a resident of Kansas for six years past, locating in Lawrence in 1883. He was born at Wolf Lake, Noble Co., Ind., Dec. 7, 1861. Ilis grandfather. Joseph W., was a resident of Ohio, where he first followed the occupation of a carpenter, afterward becoming a farmer, and died at Albion, Ind., in 1869, at the age of seventy-five years. His son, Wellington Young Leonard, is the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born in Troy, Miama Co., Ohio, Oct. 5, 1834, and in his youth learned the trade of a carpenter. He went to Wolf Lake in 1850, in company with his parents. In 1858 he began to read medicine. The winter of 1859 and 1860 he at- tended lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Phila- delphia. In the spring of 1860 he began the practice of medicine with his preceptor. In the winter of
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1863 and 1864, he again attended lectures, this time at the Cincinnati Medical College, from which lie was graduated in the spring. He returned to Wolf Lake and resumed his practice until the fall of 1865, when he went to Chicago and attended Rush Medical College for one term. at the end of which he received the ad eundem degree. In 1865 he removed to Albion, Noble County, Ind., where he practiced until 1883, when on account of failing health, he came to Kansas. Here he abandoned his practice and engaged in the drug business in Law- rence, in partnership with James A. Ilamlin, also formerly of Albion. In that place he still lives, and is yet in the same business.
The father was married at Phoenixville, Pa., Nov. 19. 1857. to Miss Sarah Amanda Place, a na- tive of the Keystone State, born June 3. 1836. She is still living in Lawrence. Mr. Leonard has not held any public position which is not congenial to his nature, although often within his reach, he being very popular with the people who know him. He is an upright man, a member of the Baptist Church, and is at present a Deaeon in the church of which he is a member. He and his wife are the parentsofeightchildren, as follows : Warren, Charles, Frank, and Annie, all died in infaney. Those now living, are : Elwood W., is at present in the restaur- ant business at Argentine, Kan., but is a druggist by profession ; John R., our subjeet; Oscar Place, is engaged in merchant tailoring business in Law- rence, and Ella Amanda lives with her parents.
John R. Leonard attended the common schools in Noble County. Ind., and when eighteen years of age began learning the trade of a printer at Ligo- nier, Ind. There he stayed about a year. when he again attended sehool for a year, on leaving which he worked on a paper at Albion, Ind .. until the spring of 1883, when he came to Lawrence, Kan .. and in November of that year, in copartnership with James W. Sowers, established a paper called The New Era, at Spring Hill. Johnson County, Kan. Ile sold his interest to his partner in March of the following year, returning to Lawrence, where he worked at his trade until the spring of 1886. At this time he fixed his attention on Irving. in this county, in which there was no paper published, although various attempts had been made before
that to publish papers there, all of which were short lived. His journal, the Irving Leader, has been as successful as the size of the place warrants, and is gaining ground weekly. The circulation is increasing and the advertising patronage is good. Mr. Leonard has ample convenienees for doing job printing, and is gradually increasing his facilities as his business demands.
M RS. ELIZA PICKETTE is a pioneer of Kansas, having resided here since 1860. Though time is beginning to leave traces on her face of past hardships endured in open- ing up a home from the wilderness, yet it has been unable to dim the lustre of her eye, or dull the power and energy of her mind. Her narrations of life on the frontier are always interesting and often thrilling. She has a very pleasant home in the northeastern part of Vermillion Township, this county, located on seetion 7. Her residence is a frame, painted brown, and is both attractive with- out and cozy within. Around it are forty aeres of land in her possession, her son. Marshall, owning 160 acres of the old homestead.
Of Scotch and German ancestry, Mrs. Pickette was born Oct. 2, 1830, in Mercer County. Pa., her parents being Valentine and Mary (MeDowell) Pfouts, the father of German parentage, while the progenitors of the mother were Scotch people. The father and mother were natives of Pennsylva- nia, where the former was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Their household circle consisted of three children : Eliza, our subject; Robert and Editlı. Robert died when eleven years old, while Edith was removed from the loving parents and devoted playmates when five years old. Valentine Pfouts canght the gold fever in the early days of the Cali- fornia excitement, and made two trips to the min- ing regions of that new State. He was married a second time, choosing as his wife Anna Miller, who lived only one year after her marriage, while Mr. Pfouts himself passed from the noise and tumult of life about 1852.
When a maiden of sixteen years our subject took
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upon herself the responsibilities of married life, and became the loving wife of Stephen M. Haskins. Their wedding services were solemnized in Mercer County Feb. 4. 1847, and for three years the young couple were residents of Olmstead County, Minn., whence they came to Kansas in 1860, and took up a claim of 160 aeres on the site of the present place. Mr. Haskins was a coal miner during the earlier portion of his life, but later was a farmer. He showed his patriotism and his love for the Union, by enlisting in her defence in the 8th Kansas In- fantry, and died in the service Aug. 11, 1862. Be- sides his wife he left three children, then reaching an age when a father's love 'and care are most essential. Those children were William L., Marshall and Iva. William L. owns a ranch in Arizona, where, necessarily, he spends a large portion of his time, though his home is in Frankfort, Kan. He was married Jan. 7, 1869, to Sarah Dehart, by whom he became the father of five children. The second son, Marshall, is serving the second term as Sheriff of Marshall County, a position in which he has discharged the various duties devolving upon him with zeal, fidelity and efficiency. This gentle- man was born Oct. 21, 1857, and is thus in the midst of a useful career. The maiden name of his wife, by whom he has three children, was Ora Da- vis. The only daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Haskins was Iva, who died when three years of age.
A few years after she was left a widow Mrs. IIas- kins married again, becoming the wife of William M. Piekette, July 26, 1863. They had three chil- dren, of whom George, the eldest born, died Jan. 7, 1867, when a little more than three years of age. The two daughters. Belle and Sadie, received a splendid education, and are accomplished, popu- lar young ladies, the former being a teacher in Frankfort.
ETER CHAMPAGNE. To no other elass of men is Kansas more indebted for its marvelous growth, and the high standing it has attained among its sister States since the war, than to the noble citizen-soldiers of our great Republic, who fought so bravely for its pre-
servation, and at the close of the strife, quietly laid down their arms and resumed their peaceful callings in the hamlets and cities, or on the lonely farms whence they had gone forth a few years before to do battle in a righteous cause, or else, in many in- stances, sought the boundless and fertile plains of the West beyond the Mississippi, to begin life anew in this sunny elime, and build up comfortable homes for themselves and loved ones. Among such. no one is more worthy of honorable mention in this BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM of Marshall County, than the subject of this review, and it gives us pleasure to transcribe to these pages a brief record of his life and work. He is now a prosperous, well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser, owning a valuable farm on section 15, and a beautiful home near Oketo. He is of French birth and antecedents, but having been a resident of this country since boyhood he is thoroughly Americanized, and these United States have no more loyal and devoted citizen than he. His father, Josephi Champagne, was a farmer in his native France, and was there married to Justine Bay, who was also born in that country. In 1846 they came to the United States, landing in New York. whence they proceeded to Meadville. Pa., and there settled on a farm, which continued to be their home until death called them to a higher, she dying in the fall of 1846, soon after their ar- rival, and he dying in 1853.
Of their four children, our subject is the only one known to survive, their son Emil having enlisted to take part in the war, and has never been heard from since. He of whom we write was the eldest of the family. and he was born in France, July 5, 1836. lle first attended school in his native land, and after coming here obtained a fair English edu- cation, and still keeps up his knowledge of the French language and literature, At the youthful age of seventeen, he began life on his own account being employed on a farm. At eighteen years of age he left Pennsylvania, and proceeded to Illinois, ambitious to better his condition, and put himself in the way of earning more money. Ile was in that State when the great Rebellion broke out, and though he was of alien birth, his heart beat in sym- pathy for the Union cause, and in 1862 he enlisted for the defense of his adopted country. and his
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name was enrolled as a member of Company A. 12th Illinois Cavalry, and he served his company all through the remainder of the bitter contest be- tween the North and South, proving to be a true soldier, brave in the face of danger, and efficient in camp and on the field, and he received well-de- served promotion for some heroic deed, to the rank of Corporal. Ilis regiment was with the army of the Potomac, and his first active service was in Stoneman's raid. He and his comrades went through much hard fighting with the rebel Gen. Stuart's cavalry, and they did gallant work in the battle of Gettysburg, following the enemy several days on their retreat. In the latter part of 1863, our subject's regiment veteranized, and returning home for a furlough of thirty days. its original number was restored by new recruits. It was then sent to St. Louis, and from that city proceeded to Alexan- dria, Marksville, Mansura, Napoleonsville. Liberty (Miss.), Pascagoula, (Ala.), La Grange (Tenn.), and wherever it met the enemy it showed a brave front, and fought with daring and skill, each man a hero and a host in himself. Mr. Champagne was honorably discharged after the close of the war, at Memphis, Tenn., June 16, 1865, and was mustered out of the service at Camp Butler, Springfield, Il1. He stayed in Illinois until after the harvest, and then went back to Pennsylvania, where he was em- ployed in some oil works for a year and a half. In the spring of 1867, he resolved to emigrate to Kansas to avail himself of the cheap lands for sale by the Government, and selecting Marshall County as a suitable location, he has ever since been one of its most useful citizens. He settled at that time on his present farm on section 15, Oketo Town- ship, said farm comprising 330 acres of valuable, highly fertile land, all in a body, under excellent tillage, and provided with a fine set of buildings, including a substantial, commodious stone resi- dence and a good frame barn, all the improvements having been made by himself, and the land re- claimed from the wild, uncultivated prairie.
On Sept. 20, 1868 Mr. Champagne was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Suggett. She is a daughter of John and Clinda (Burgess) Suggett, who came from Rock Island, Ill .. to Marsball County, in 1860. They were natives of England,
and the father was a farmer. He died in 1874. The mother is still living, and makes her home in this township. Mrs. Champagne is the eldest of ten children, and she was born in Detroit, Mich .. June 18. 1848. Five children have been born of her marriage with our subject, as follows : Mary S., Vietor B., Eugene F .. Grace B .. and Ernest .J.
Mr. and Mrs. Champagne are highly valued mem- bers of this community, where they have many warm friends, none knowing them but to respect them for their solid worth. They are sincere be- lievers in Christianity, and in their daily lives fol- low its teachings, and are attendants at church and Sunday-school. Mr. Champagne has mingled much in the public life of the township, has been Road Overseer, and has been an important factor in promoting the cause of education, having been a member of the School Board for many years, and is Clerk of that honorable body. He is a progres- sive agricultorist, and has been connected with the Grange. He is a prominent member of Oketo Post No. 477, G. A. R., of which he is Chaplain. In his political views, he is a true Republican, and always votes with bis party.
SAAC WALKER. One of the strongest and most admirable characters of Marshall County, is illustrated in the subject of this biographical outline. who is numbered among its oldest residents, having come to Northern Kansas during its pioneer days. A man of decided views, he is a radical upon all questions-one who does his own thinking. and one who is not easily moved from his opinion when it has once been established. An intense patriot during the progress of the Civil War, he enlisted in the ranks at the age of forty-six years, and came out crippled for life. He has never mourned over his affliction, however, rightfully considering it one of the badges of honor bestowed by the exigencies of war. llis domestic relations are peculiarly happy, that amiable and estimable lady who bears bis name being a woman possessing all the Christian virtues-one who as a wife and mother has performed her part nobly along the
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journey of life. Mrs. Walker began life on the frontier. and has, like her husband, been a witness of the extraordinary changes which have trans- formed it into the abode of a civilized people, while in her sphere she has contributed her full quota to the general result. 1
The Walker homestead comprises 170 acres of well-developed land, finely located on section 19, Rock Township. The proprietor, a native of the Buckeye State, was born on the Ohio river, in .Jefferson County, Dee. 21, 1813. He grew up amid the wild scenes of a thinly settled country, assisting his father in clearing the farm, his recrea- tions being hunting the wild game which abounded plentifully, and fishing in the streams. He had no advantages for an education otherwise than those afforded by the simplest instruction in the primi- tive log schoolhouse, with slabs for seats and desks, the floor of puncheon, and the window panes of greased paper. The system of instruction accorded with the architecture of the temple of learning, embracing simply the art of reading, writing and ciphering.
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