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 75
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the patronage of Gen. Jackson, he studied law in Columbia and Pulaski, Tenn., in the office of Lums- ford M. Bramblett, Aaron V. Brown & James K. Polk, which was the style of the firm.
On July 4, 1826, Mr. Boyakin delivered his first publie speech at Pulaski, Tenn., to an assemblage of 30,000 people, among whom was Gen. Jackson, then a candidate for the nomination of President. Dr. Boyakin's prospects for a legal practice were brilliant, but his religious scruples drove him from the bar, and not willing to lose the benefits of his education, he turned his attention to the healing profession, studying medicine at Lexington, Ky., and being graduated at the Transylvania Medical College in that place. Ile settled in Logan County, Ky., and practiced in that region until 1834, when he became a member of the Baptist Church, and before the end of that year was preach- ing at Jacksonville, Ill., his religious opinions lead- ing him into the pulpit, and his Free-Soil proelivi- ties driving him north of Mason and Dixon's line, although he was not what was then known as an Abolitionist.
Dr. Boyakin continued his pulpit work for a period of twenty years, but kept fully posted on the politieal movements which led to the Re- bellion. As a proof of this it may be stated that the celebrated compromise bill of Henry Clay, was written on the table in his parlor. in Jacksonville. Ill. When the question of slavery was convulsing the land, and the denominations were disrupting, the Baptists took steps looking to a fraternal sep- aration between the church North and South. At the triennial convention of the Baptist Union in Baltimore, in May, 1841, Dr. Boyakin was a dele- gate and representative of the State of Illinois. A committee of one for each State was appointed to devise means for a peaceful separation, and on that committee were such men as Speneer Il. Cove, of New York; Dr. Sharpe, of Boston; Dr. Johnson, of South Carolina; John Culpepper, of North Caro- lina; Richard Fuller, of Maryland; and other leading men of the denomination in that day.
Of that committee Dr. Boyakin was also a mem- ber. They met in Sharpe Street Church, and de- liberated ten days and nights, the result being an advice to the convention that the denomination
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should separate on geographical lines, and that Dr. Fuller and Dr. Wayland should lead off in an amica- ble discussion of the Bible doctrine of slavery, and the outcome was the celebrated text book called "Wayland and Fuller on Slavery." Dr. Boyakin frequently smiles at the idea that the publication of "Unele Tom's Cabin" was one of the most po- tential agencies in connection with the deliberations of that committee, in indirectly bringing about the fraternal divisions between the Baptists North and Sonth.
In due time, at the age of fifty, Dr. Boyakin found himself devoted to his pulpit work, and his children growing up without a trade or profession. lle felt that his duty lay in establishing a home for them and himself, and he accordingly decided to seek the far West. He completed his outfit at St. Joseph, Mo., and thence with his family made his way to Portland, Ore., where he realized his desires and acquired a good property. Twice he canvassed the Territory in the interests of the party who de- sired to make it a State. He returned East, in 1858, and seeing the war cloud rising, contributed his time and services freely in doing all he could to stave off the inevitable, buying and editing a paper in Belleville, Ill., in which he advocated the doctrines supported by Senator Stephen A. Dong- las, and reported and published the joint debates between that statesman and Abraham Lincoln. When Sumter was fired upon he became an ardent Unionist, and entered the army, accepting the Chaplaincy of the 30th Illinois Infantry. He like- wise became a member of Gen. Grant's Staff, and was .in the battles fought by him at Belmont, Ft. Ilenry, Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, Iuka, Corinth, Vicks. burg, Chattanooga, after which failure of health compelled him to resign.
One Sunday, at Jackson, Tenn., during the war, Dr. Boyakin preached to 30,000 citizens of Ten- nessee, on which occasion Generals Grant. Ilalleck, Logan, Garfield, McCook, Buell, and twenty-five others were present to hear him. The sermon was directed to the citizens of the South, and at its con- clusion the crowd was invited to dine with the army by Gen.Grant, he guaranteeing their safe conduet to and fro without passes. The sermon, coming from a Southern man, and directed to Sonthern men, had
a great effect in that section of country, and as said by the brave Logan-"was worth 5,000 men"-a statement verified the very next day, when a full regiment of them came into the Union camp, and enlisted for the Union service.
Dr. Boyakin was one of the first to sign the peti- tion to the President to emancipate the slaves. During Mr. Lincoln's second campaign he was sent from the army to Oregon, to canvass that State in the President's interests, and he made a thorough canvass through the State, which it will be recollected cast its electoral vote for Mr. Lin- coln. After retiring from the army, Dr. Boyakin settled in Paola, Miami Co., Kan., where he preached in the Baptist Church until 1869. That year he came to Marysville, this county, and re- sumed the practice of his profession as a physician, having become advanced in years, and, as he says himself, poor. He took up a homestead on Elm Creek, and practiced through all that part of the country. In 1874 he was elected Coroner of Mar- shall County; he has been since continuously re- elected, and still holds the office, being now a candidate for re-election. A few years later he was elected County Superintendent of Schools, and served four years, and endeavored then to resign his office of Coroner, but his resignation was not accepted. He has been a School Director since his settlement in this county until recently, when he refused to accept a renomination. Upon retiring from active practice he gave the management of his farm over to his son, Gershom W.
In Logan County, Ky., Sept. 13, 1832, Dr. Boy- akin was married to Miss Maria MeQuary, who was born in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 10, 1810. They became the parents of five children, the two eldest of whom, Algernon and Theodore, died in Oregon, in 1852 and 1865 respectively. Champion also died in Oregon, where he had a large ranch, in 1876. Adoniram Judson is a resident of Boise City, Idaho, where he is owner and editor of the lead- ing Democratic paper in the Territory. Amanda is the wife of James H. Rhea, and resides in Me- Lean County, Ill. The mother of these children died in 1850, and on the 13th of June, 1852, Dr. Boyakin took to wife Miss Elizabeth Quorton. To them were born four children, the eldest of whom,
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a daughter, Betty, possesses great musical talent, and at the age of sixteen years taught music in the college at Columbia, Mo .. five years. Then going to Philadelphia she studied the art a year, and sub- sequently finished a five years' course in Paris and Berlin. Williamson, a son, is a prosperous cattle man of Helena, Mont. Henderson is in business at St. Louis, Mo. Wiley was in the United States Army five years. but is now married, and engaged in business in San Antonio. Tex.
On the 30th of June, 1868. Dr. Boyakin con- tracted a third marriage. in Cass County, Mo., with Miss Lucy Jane Gabriel, who was born in Cooper County, Mo., July 26, 1839, and was the daughter of a Baptist preacher. She received but a limited education, but an unusually large share of common sense fully supplied its laek. Two brothers of Mrs. Boyakin were soldiers in the Union Army, one be- ing the youngest volunteer who ever enlisted. Their home was in the region which was the scene of operations of the notorious bushwhackers who infested Missouri during the early part of the war. and Mrs. Boyakin participated in many of the stirring episodes of that time. The well-known Union sentiment of the family caused them to be looked upon with distrust, and once Mrs. Boyakin was fired upon by a detachment of Price's army as she was entering the house of a Union neighbor to warn him of his peril. Her union with Dr. Boy- akin has been blessed by the birth of a large family of children, viz .: Theodore. Algernon. James Por- ter, Mary Ann, and Sarah Ann, deceased. Three are yet under the parental roof: Gershom Walter, who was born April 12. 1869; Lucy Koester, Oet. 20, 1876, and Charles Simpson, March 27, 1881. The children are bright and intelligent, inheriting the best qualities of both parents.
A man of rare qualities. Dr. Boyakin is an orig- inal and vigorous thinker, and a writer and speaker of marked ability. Politically, he is a stanch and ardent Republican. Ile might, had he so chosen, become wealthy, and been elassed among the great men of the nation. His stern sense of duty, and his rigid adherence to principle at any cost, have kept him poor. In the position of life, however, which he has made for himself, he probably enjoys more real comfort than if he had been more ambi-
tions for riches and social station. With means enough to satisfy his modest desires, with a wife devotedly attached to him, and beautiful children around him, and with the esteem of his fellow-men, the evening of his stirring and most useful life is passing calmly away. The readers will be pleased to observe on another page of the ALBUM a fine por- trait of this honored citizen, able physician and consecrated minister, and will unite in wishing him a peaceful close to an adventurous and exciting life.
AMES W. VAN SCOTER. In the career here presented, we find that of a youth who came West to "grow up with the country;" a process which resulted in his becoming a man of note in his community, and the owner of a good property, embracing a well-cultivated farm, with a substantial dwelling and other necessary buildings and appliances of comfortable rural life. A man of excellent business capacities, prudent, industrious, and upright, he has each year made some progress toward the top of the ladder, and is numbered among the most reliable men of the community.
The subject of this sketch is the offspring of ex- cellent parents, being the son of Richard and Mary (Sweet) Van Seoter, both natives of New York State. the former of Steuben County. and the latter of Chautauqua County. They were married in Fre- donia, near which they settled on a farm, and which farm is still in the possession of the family. The father died there in October. 1888, at the age of seventy-three years; the mother is still living, and makes her home in Dunkirk with her daughter. Their family included seven children, five of whom are living, and residents mostly of James- town, N. Y.
Mr. Van Scoter was the eldest child of his par- ents, and was born on the home farm near Fredonia. N. Y .. Jan. 29, 1853. After the district school, he attended the State Normal School at Fredonia. He was early made acquainted with the more seri- ous duties of life, and worked on the farm until coming to Kansas in 1840. He was married Dec.
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5, 1879, to Miss Maria, daughter of William and Jane ( Wright) Miller, who were of English de- scent, and had been residents of Chautauqua County, N. Y., for many years. Their family consisted of nine children, one of whom, a son, David, enlisted in the army as a Captain's waiter, when only fif- teen years old. Ilis captain being killed, he was placed in the ranks, and during the skirmish which followed, was also shot down.
Mrs. Van Scoter was the sixth child of her par- ents, and was born in Chantauqua County, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1858. Her father died there Oct. 18, 1884, at the age of sixty-one years. The mother is still living at the old homestead in Chautauqua County. Our subject and his wife remained in their native State one year after marriage, then came to this county. They lived on a rented farm for two years thereafter. and then our subject pur- chased that which he now owns and occupies. When Mr. Van Scoter came to Kansas, he had $300, and eighty acres of land that his father had bought for him. When he saw the land, he found it rough and stony, and so tried to sell it. He could get an offer of but $200 for it, and finally traded it toward his present place. What he has since made has been by hard work and good management, and his habit of paying cash as he goes, is, he says, because he keeps the weeds out of his crops.
The thoroughly cultivated fields of Mr. Van Scoter's farm, are highly productive-indeed it is considered one of the finest farms in this section. It is largely devoted to stock-raising, Mr. Van Scoter usually keeping as many as thirty head of cattle, and eight head of horses. At the present time (1889), he has some very fine Polled Angus and Hereford cattle, and several very valuable equincs. He feeds annually about 100 head of swine. Mr. Van Scoter takes an active interest in horticulture. He has at the present time, sixteen kinds of grapes, and tests the most promising new sorts, as they are offered for sale. He has now four kinds each of red and black raspberries, black- berries, also dewberries. and several varieties of strawberries. He also has a very fine orchard of 400 trees, now coming into bearing.
There has been born to our subject and his es- timable wife, a child, a son, Theron, Aug. 15, 1882.
Mr. Van Scoter, while a resident of his native State, became identified with the Temple of Honor. He has always been an ardent Republican, politically. and takes an active interest in local affairs. He has been Clerk of the School Board of his district seven years, and was Supervisor four years. His honored father voted for William II. Harrison iu 1840, and our subject voted for the grandson of Old Tippecanoe during the election of 1888.
ARTIN KAHAE. In driving about Lo- gan Township, the eyes of the stranger are attracted by a cluster of buildings, which from a distance present the appear- ance of a village, so numerous and neatly painted are they. A nearer view shows them to consist of a two-story frame house, large and well designed, together with a substantial barn and other farm buildings, standing in the midst of well-tilled fields, and readily seen to be the home of a man of means and good taste. Around them are 320 broad acres, all but twenty-seven under the plow, and evincing thorough cultivation, and all are enclosed by well-kept fences. On this fine place resides the subject of our sketch. his wife and two daughters.
Mr. Kabae is a native of County Carlow, Ire- land, where he was reared. In 1852 he came to the United States, occupying seven weeks and two days in the voyage, and landing at New York. Here he hired as a farm hand and remained five years, thence going to Wisconsin, and thence on to Iowa, where he bought a farm of 160 acres, with money which he had made by hard work and strict economy. On this farm he lived for sev- eral years, and then spent a few years in traveling. In May, 1884, he came to this county and bought, on section 23, Logan Township, the farm which he now owns, and where he carries on general farm- ing with both grain and stock. He still retains ownership of the Iowa land.
Our subject was married, in Ireland, to Miss Ellen Doyle, a native of that country, where their first son, John II., was born. Three children have been born in the United States, named respectively :
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Martin J., Maria and Ellen. The sons are located near Baton Rouge, La., about 120 miles above New Orleans. They are operating a sugar planta- tion of about 3,000 acres, employing from 300 to 500 hands in the raising of the cane and making of sugar. They have a sugar house now almost completed at a cost of nearly $50,000.
The parents of our subject, John and Margaret (Hogan) Kahae, were natives of Ireland, and members of the Catholic Church, as were also Mrs. Kahae's parents, James and Mary (Kennedy) Doyle. That Mr. Kahae was a man of unwavering industry and good management, is abundantly proven by the fact that on a salary of $7 per month he laid the foundation of his present pros- perity. He is a man of good principles, ready intelligence and the genial manners of his race, and, with his worthy wife and family, occupies a high rank in the community.
AMES WELLS. The subject of this notice may be properly numbered among the early pioneers of Marshall County, he having come to this region while the country around lay mostly in its primitive condition, and at a time when few men had ventured to settle upon the frontier. For many years he has been a resident of Blue Rapids Township, where he con- structed a home from the wilderness, and not only gained for himself a competence, but has been a useful factor in the growth and advancement of this part of the county.
A native of Bath County, Ky., the subject of this sketch was born Dec. 20, 1840, and is the son of Thomas and Amanda Wells, who were also na- tives of the Blue Grass State, and the father of Scotch ancestry. James remained a resident of his native State until a youth of eighteen years, then, in company with his father's family, started, in 1858, for the Territory of Kansas. The journey was made via the Mississippi River to Keokuk, Iowa, whence they came overland to this county. Thomas Wells took up a traet of land in Wells
Township, and also purchased land and thereafter prosecuted agriculture successfully the greater part of the time until his death, which occurred March 3, 1887.
To James and Amanda Wells there were born seven children, of whom the following survive, viz: John D .; Susan, Mrs. Webster, a widow; James. William, and Charles. Mr. Wells was a very hospitable man and highly respected by all who knew him. In his death the county lost one of her best citizens. James, like his brothers and sisters, received only a limited education, and at an early age was taught to make himself nseful about the homestead, where he remained until after the out- break of the Civil War. which occurred just before he had reached his majority. On the 11th of July, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, 9th Kansas Cav- alry, which was assigned to the Western Army in Missouri and Arkansas. He met the enemy in bat- tle at Prairie Grove, and afterward in various minor engagements and skirmishes, remaining in the service until 1863, when he was obliged to accept his honorable discharge on account of disa- bility. He now receives a pension from the Gov- ernment of $10 per month.
l'pon retiring from the army Mr. Wells prose- cuted farming pursuits and in 1869 settled upon his present homestead, which was then a wild, unculti- vated tract of land upon which not a furrow had been turned. For many years he labored early and late in the improvement of his property, and became successful as a tiller of the soil. He fenced and cross-fenced his fields, erected buildings, purchased machinery, set out fruit and shade trees, and in due time added to his landed possessions, so that he is now the owner of 350 broad acres, the most of which is in a productive condition and yields handsome returns.
In January, 1864, when a little over twenty-three years of age, Mr. Wells was married to Miss Julia McClure, and they became the parents of five chil- dren, one of whom, John L., died at the age of four years and six months; Mary B. is the wife of George Miller and lives in Blue Rapids Township. engaged in farming; Ida married Mr. A. E. Stimson. a railroad contractor, making his headquarters at Kansas City, Mo .; Ora and Frauk are at home with
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their parents. Mr. Wells, politically, is an uncompro- mising Democrat, although in local matters he sup- ports the men whom he considers best qualified for office. He has served on the School Board of his district, and as an ex-soldier belongs to Sacker Post. G. A. R., at Irving. He has watched the growth of this section of country with the interest only felt by the intelligent and progressive citizen. He has been identified with the Masonic fraternity since 1887, and at present belongs to the lodge at Irving.
AMES WINTER. Among the many at- tracted to Kansas at the beginning of its development from a barren wilderness to a smiling prairie, was the gentleman with whose name we introduce this brief biographical sketch. Ile is a veteran of the Civil War, having on Southern battlefields fought for the land he so dearly loved. He is also a prominent farmer in Blue Rapids City Township, having a fine farm of 160 acres under splendid cultivation, situated on section 4.
Coming to this county in 1870, Mr. Winter has spent all the ensuing years here, with the ex- ception of four years in Missouri. He, upon his first arrival, preempted a homestead of 120 acres, which was his home for about eight years. He left it to locate in Missouri, but was not satisfied there, and finally made a permanent change, com- ing back to his former home in Marshall County in 1883, and settling on his present farm. Then it presented an aspect, quite different from that of to-day. Where now we view the trees bowed down under the weight of their annual tribute, and the grains, waving with the breeze and promising rich harvests to the careful husbandman, then a barren waste spread before the eye, and the still- ness of night was broken only by the mournful eries of wild animals, or, perchance, some belated traveler hastening to seek the friendly shelter of a far away cabin. But, under the all-powerful hand of man, the land is settled, improved and adorned with handsome dwellings.
When our subject came to Kansas he was one
of the first settlers in Elm Creek Township, and became prominently identified with its best in- terests and public affairs of importance. Ile served as Clerk of that township several years, and was for a short period, Justice of the Peace. Politically, he is in strong sympathy with the principles adopted by the Republican party, and is at the present time School Director, a position for which his talents and interest in the cause of education peenliarly qualify him.
Born in Ontario, Canada, Sept. 21, 1844, onr subject is the son of Thomas and Abigail (Dolson ) Winter, the former a native of Lincolnshire, Eng- land, and the latter of Canada. Thomas Winter was born in 1815, and when twelve years of age emigrated to America with his parents, and settled in Cortland County, N. Y. Afterward the father located in Ontario, where his son, the subject of this personal sketch, was born and passed the early years of his life. When James Winter was a lad of twelve years, he accompanied his parents to Burean County, Ill., where the family were early settlers, coming there in 1856. They subsequently removed to Kewanee, Henry Co., Ill. The parents of our subject still reside at Kewanee, at an ad- vanced age and in the enjoyment of reasonably good health.
The years of his youth were passed by .lames Winter in the home of his parents, and the educa- tional advantages allowed him were no better than permitted other lads of that day. He is to a great extent self-educated, being well-read, and conversant with all topics of general interest. Thus the time glided by until he was almost twenty years old, and the nation was engaged in the ter- rible conflict which threatened the stability of the Union. As soon as old enough, Mr. Winter en- listed, in December, 1863. in Company A, 89th Illinois Infantry, and thus became a member of one of the regiments of the famous Army of the Cumberland. He fought in the battles of Dal- ton, Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope Church, and numerous skirmishes. In the last-named engage- ment he was taken prisoner by the Confeder- ates, and for six months was confined in Southern prisons, four months being passed in the noted prison at Andersonville. He was discharged with
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honors in June, 1865, at the time of the disband- ing of the armies. In compensation for injuries received, our subject is now in receipt of a pension of $12 per month.
Once more settling down to peaceful occupations, Mr. Winter returned to Illinois, but in 1869 re. moved thence, and for a year was variously em- ployed in the Northwest. The year 1870 was the date of his removal to Marshall County, Kan., his present home. He takes especial interest in all matters pertaining to the G. A. R .. of which or- ganization he is a member, belonging to the Rob- ert Hale Post No. 328, at Blue Rapids. and is now serving as senior Vice-Commander thereof.
A personal history of our subject would be very incomplete without considerable mention of his wife, who has been for many years his faithful companion and devoted belpmate. With her he was united in marriage June 30, 1874, in Marshall County, Kan., and they have become the parents of one child. a daughter, Alice, who was born Jan. 9, 1877. The maiden name of Mrs. Winter was Lucy Hurlbut, a native of Steuben County, N. Y .. and the daughter of Silas (deceased) and Amanda (Baker) Hurlbnt, early settlers of Walnut Town- ship, this county, where they located in 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Winter are active and earnest members of the Baptist Church, and not only give liberally of their means for the aid of that organization, but are generous in all good works, and contribute to assist all worthy objects. Socially, they are wel- comed into the best homes of their community, and are held in high esteem by their many acquaint- ances.
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