Portrait and biographical album of Washington, Clay and Riley counties, Kansas, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent citizens together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of the state, Part 9

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Brothers
Number of Pages: 1258

USA > Kansas > Clay County > Portrait and biographical album of Washington, Clay and Riley counties, Kansas, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent citizens together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of the state > Part 9
USA > Kansas > Riley County > Portrait and biographical album of Washington, Clay and Riley counties, Kansas, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent citizens together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of the state > Part 9
USA > Kansas > Washington County > Portrait and biographical album of Washington, Clay and Riley counties, Kansas, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent citizens together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of the state > Part 9

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).

GOVERNORS.

Manaus, Very Truly, le. Hibrisono

Charles

obinson.

istanta to stu strato, tanto tanto tantoato st

.. 040 .-

HARLES ROBINSON, the first Governor of Kansas, was elected under the Wy- andotte Constitution, and upon the admission of the State, Jan. 29, 1861, was inaugurated as Chief Ex- ecutive. No better man could have been selected to lay the foundations of the State, for his mind was crea- tive, original and vigorous. Rarely working by copy, he belongs to the class who think and originate, and with whom precedence and text-books have little authority. At this time a great State was to be formed from most incongru- ous elements. It required men of genius and orig- inality to formulate laws and a constitution, and to this work the vigor and ingenuity of Rob- inson were peculiarly adapted. Men of all classes, sorts and conditions, had rushed to this seetion upon different objects bent-some to assist in build- ing up a State, some to make money, to secure no- toriety and political preferment, but more, perhaps, as cosmopolitans, having little interest in its repu- tation or its future.

That the work before Gov. Robinson was ac- complished in a praiseworthy manner, a grateful people readily acknowledge. In his course, which necessarily was opposed to the rough and irrespon- sible element, he made many enemies and was im- peached by the House, but on his trial by the Senate no evidence was adduced to connect him with any illegal transaction, and a case of malicious

prosecution was clearly established, which left his good name untarnished.

In reviewing the career of a prominent public man, it cannot be called complete without the story of his early life. Gov. Robinson was born at Hardwick, Mass., July 21, 1818, and received a good common-school and academic education, be- sides two years' drill at Amherst College. His father, Charles Robinson, was a pious and consci- entious man, who cherished an inherent hatred of slavery, and the latter quality of his father's char- acter Charles inherited in a marked degree. Upon religious subjects, however, he was always inde- pendent and liberal, and is considered heterodox, although for the great principles of Christianity, which serve to improve society and make better men and women, he has the highest regard.

There is but little which is ideal or sentimental in the nature of Gov. Robinson, as his life has been spent principally dealing with men upon prac- tical principles. Before completing his studies he was obliged to leave college on account of ill- healtlı, and his eyes failing him from hard study, he walked forty miles to consult a celebrated phy- sician, Dr. Twichel, of Keene, N. H., and there became so sensibly impressed with both the quack- eries of medicine as so often practiced, and the real utility of the healing art as a science, that he deter- mined to study medicine, and after a preparatory course entered for a series of lectures at Wood- stock, Vt., and Pittsfield, Mass., and from the school of the latter he was graduated, receiving his diploma with the high honors of the class. Subse- quently he became connected with the celebrated

112

CHARLES ROBINSON.

Dr. J. G. Holland in the management of a hospital. In 1849 he started out as a physician to a colony bound overland to California. They arrived in Kansas City April 10, and on the 10th of May fol- lowing, left with ox and mule teams for the Pacific Slope.

On the 11th of May, thirty-nine years ago, rid- ing his horse at the head of a colony of gold- seekers, Gov. Robinson ascended Mt. Oread, where now stands the State University of Kansas, whose Regent he has been for thirteen consecutive years, as well as its faithful, intelligent and gener- ous friend. In his note book at that time he wrote that if the land was opened to settlement and entry, he would go no further, as there seemed to be gold enough for all human wants in the rich soil of the Kaw Valley, and beauty enough in the rolling prai- ries beyond to meet all the aspirations of ordinary men. He pushed on, however, to California, and there followed a variety of occupations, being mi- ner, restaurantenr, editor and member of the Leg- islature. Then he returned to Massachusetts, and in 1852 commenced the publication of the Fitch- burg News, which he conducted two years.

At the time of the repeal of the Missouri Com- promise, and the intense excitement coincident with the organization of the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, Gov. Robinson was sent out by the New England Aid Society to Kansas, charged with saving it to freedom. In the darkest hours of that long struggle, as well as in its hour of victory, he seemed to be the one safe counselor and leader of the Free-State forces. His California experience had rounded and ripened a robust nature, and the perils that the hero of the squatter troubles had passed through in that strange combination of craft and cunning, fitted and schooled him for his Kan- sas work. In the "Wakarusa War," when the city of Lawrence, only 600 strong, was besieged by an opposing force of 1,200, Dr. Robinson, as he was called in those days, was chosen Major General of the Free-State party. He constructed forts and rifle-pits which did their service, but as a negotiator and diplomat he excelled. He wanted Kansas to be lawfully free, and felt justified in availing him- self of any agency which would assist him in ac- complishing this. Although the recognized leader

of the Free-State forces, it was not Robinson, but Lane, that the Quantrell ruffians sought when they massacred in cold blood 180 of the inoffensive citi- zens of Lawrence.

In 1855 the Free-State men had been driven from the polls. Robinson was among the first to repndiate the authority of the bogus laws, and was unanimously chosen a delegate to the convention which met at Topeka to formulate a State govern- ment. From May, 1856, until September, he was a prisoner at Locompton, charged with treason. Af- ter serving his term as the first Governor of the State, he was, in 1872, chosen a member of the Lower House of the Legislature, and in 1874 elected State Senator and re-elected in 1876. At the last election he came within forty-three votes of beating his opponent for the State Senate, and where the party majority of the latter was about 1,500.

Gov. Robinson has been twice married. By his first wife, Miss Sarah Adams, daughter of a highly respected Massachusetts farmer, two chil- dren were born and both died in infancy. The mother died in 1846. On the 30th of October, 1851, he was married to Miss Sarah D. T. Law- rence, daughter of a distinguished Massachusetts lawyer, and connected with the celebrated Law- rence family of that State. Of this union there are no children. Mrs. Robinson is a lady of high literary culture, and has written one of the best of the many books which have been published on Kansas. Though highly accomplished, she is not much of a society woman, being content to dwell quietly at home on their farm, which lies five miles out from Lawrence, and is the resort of many friends, who meet a refined and elegant hospitality.

In 1856 Gov. Robinson pre-empted a portion of the land which, upon his journey to Califor- nia, he had viewed with so much admiration. IIe now has one of the finest homes in his section of country, where he resides in affluent circum- stances, busying himself in looking after his farm, esteemed by his neighbors, and amply honored by the great State, in laying the firm foundations of which he rendered such efficient service over a quarter of a century ago.

young Very Fineby Thorlearn

Thomas E

arney

auto te te sto ataste state trate sta.

THOMAS CARNEY, the see- ond Governor of Kansas, was born in Delaware Coun- ty, Ohio, Aug. 20, 1824. His ancestry was a mixed one, composed of Irish and German. His father, James Carney, was of Irish descent, be- ing the grandson of one of the same name, who came to this country and assisted the Colonies in the war with Great Britain. His mother was remotely of Ger- man descent, and like his father was born in Pennsylvania. They removed to Ohio the year before the birth of Gov. Carney. They were Presbyterians, in which faith Mr. C. was reared.

The portion of Ohio in which Mr. Carney was born was then a wilderness, and the family engaged in farming, the land having to be cleared first. The father died when the lad was but four years old, leav- ing the mother with four children, the eldest being only six years of age, the early life of young Carney therefore was spent in work of the hardest kind, from the moment he was old enough to be of any assistance. From the age of seven to eighteen he worked on the farm belonging to the family, and then started for himself as a farm hand for six months, at $10 a month. From the time he was eleven years of age until he left home, he was the teamster of the family, and carried the products of the farm to Newark, thirty-six miles, his motive power being a yoke of oxen for most of the time.

He attended school some during the winter

months, and after he was eighteen went to school in Berkshire, Ohio, for six months. After this he commenced a long, persistent and weary search for employment in a store, and was finally successful in Columbus, where he remained in the employ of a retail dry-goods house for two years, and then took service with a wholesale dry-goods establishment in Cincinnati. He obtained, while in the retail house, $50 a year and his board for the first year's serv- ice, and for the second year $100. At the end of this period he was given a quarter interest in the firm, with his name at the head of it. A rise of so great rapidity is unprecedented. He resided in Cincinnati twelve years.

Mr. Carney's health became impaired by his de- votion to business, and in 1857 be visited the West, and commenced business in Leavenworth in the spring of 1858. In 1861 he was elected to the State Legislature, and in 1862 was elected Gov- ernor. He entered on his duties the 1st of Janu- ary. 1863, at a time when Kansas affairs were in a most critical condition.

In 1864 he was elected to the United States Sen- ate, but as there was some doubt as to whether or not the time at which the election was held was the proper one, he declined the position. He was soon after elected Mayor of Leavenworth, and was re-elected. Since that period, 1866, he has occupied himself wholly with his private business.

The earlier struggles of the future Governor were arduous and severe, but probably had their effeet in strengthening him for the eareer for which he was destined. When he took possession of the gubernatorial office, in January, 1863, he found the State of Kansas but little better than a political and

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THOMAS CARNEY

financial wreck. A local writer referring to that period says, that the "State was in peril at almost every point, and its settled portions were one ex- tended camp. A rebel force hovered on its eastern and southern borders, while Indians were murdering and scalping in the west. Nothing short of a con- stant vigilance could prevent the rebel enemy invading the State and butchering the people."

An appeal was made to the military authorities for assistance and to Gov. Carney for protection. It was at a time when the General Government was too busy with the Rebellion to give close attention to matters in a new and remote State, and hence the Governor was obliged to depend on his own resources. He was equal to the emergency. The State had no money, no men, no arms, no ammuni- tion, with which to protect itself, but even this did not discourage him. He visited the menaced re- gions, and soon satisfied himself that something had to be done, or the State would be overwhelmed by the perils which threatened it. In the counties which were more particularly threatened, the popu- lation became uneasy, and removals were being made to places of safety by so many of the resi- dents that there loomed up a probability that the entire region would become a desert.

After looking over the ground, Gov. Carney de- termined to raise a force of 150 men from citizens of the menaced region, and to employ them as a patrol along the border, so that no hostile move- ment could be made without detection, and the people could be warned of danger in time to rally at the necessary points for defense, all being armed and organized into military organizations. This patrol was hired by the Governor for the public defense out of his private means. He agreed to pay $1 a day each, for man and horse, the United States Government furnishing the rations. He put this force in the field, and kept it in active opera- tion, at a cost to himself of over $10,000. At the same time he was a Captain in the home guards, and many a night was on guard like the private soldier.

The little patrol put in the field by the Governor preserved the borders from invasion so long as it lasted, which was some three months. At a later period the Governor was notified by the com- mander of the Federal forces that he was able to care for the safety of the State, and thereupon the patrol was abolished. Almost immediately after it was disbanded Quantrell made his raid into Kansas, and Lawrence was attacked, burned, and its resi- dents massacred. Concerning this feature of the transaction the Governor says: "While this patrol was on the border the arrangements were such that the different members could speak with each other

every hour, and thus be in a position to almost in- stantly communicate with the residents in case of invasion. When the Government notified me that it could take care of the border I disbanded the patrol, and within three days Lawrence was in ashes and 180 people were foully murdered. The mili- tary was scattered in squads over a distance of twenty-five miles along the border, and when Quan- trell moved into Kansas he had no difficulty in marching between the Federal divisions. The march of Quantrell was entirely unknown and wholly un- expected. Not a living soul knew that he was in the State when he arrived before Lawrence. A man living on the route taken by the guerrillas saw them, and mounted a horse and undertook to carry the information to Lawrence. His horse fell and the rider's neck was broken, and thus the sole wit- ness of the invasion was silenced."

It will show the benevolent disposition of the Governor to state that from his own pocket he gave $500 to the widow of the man who undertook to carry the warning of danger to Lawrence.

The entire official career of Gov. Carney was of the stormiest and most perplexing character, and it is certain that, with an official head less clear and efficient, the embarrassments and perplexities of Kansas would have proved insoluble. Cool, self- possessed, firm, intelligent, he guided the State through the storms, breakers, whirlpools and rocks, which were encountered, and finally reached the harbor, with the vessel much battered but sound in frame and in all essential particulars.

The following is a copy of a resolution passed by the Kansas Legislature after his term of office had expired :

"Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas, that the thanks of this House and the people of the State of Kansas are justly due to Hon. Thomas Carney, late Governor of the State of Kansas, for the honest, faithful and im- partial manner in which he discharged his executive (luties."

Gov. Carney is possessed of ample wealth, which he uses to the best advantage. His wife was Re- becca Canady, of Kenton, Ohio, who has devoted much of her time for a number of years in caring for the orphaned children of the State. His chil- dren are four in number, all boys.

No man in Kansas is more honored and re- spected than he, and no man has done more, either in a public or private way, for the advancement of the State and its institutions. Its railroads, bridges, churches, school-houses, and its citizens needing assistance, all bear witness to his liberality and bounty.

Journal of Crawford

Samuel J. Crawford.

AMUEL J. CRAWFORD, the third Governor of the State of Kansas, was born in Lawrence County, Ind., April 10, 1835. His ancestors were Scotch- Irish, who emigrated to Amer- ica at an early period in Col- onial days. Ilis paternal grandfather served in the war of the Revolution as a soldier from the State of North Carolina, and his maternal grand- father was a planter in the same State. His father, William Crawford, emi- grated, in 1815, to the then Territory of Indiana, and located in Lawrence County, where he became a success- ful farmer. Although born, reared and educated in a slave State, the elder Crawford had imbibed unconquerable prejudice to the insti- tution of slavery, and as a consequence turned his baek upon friends and kindred and sought a home in the Northwest Territory, in which slavery and involuntary servitude had been forever inhibited.

The subject of this sketeh was reared upon his father's farm, and received a common-school and academic education. At the age of twenty-one he became a student at law in the office of the Hon. S. W. Short, of Bedford, Ind., pursuing his studies until the fall of 1857, when he entered the Law College at Cincinnati, from which institution he was graduated in 1858.

In March, 1 859, he bade adieu to home and friends, proceeded to the Territory of Kansas, and located in Garnett, the county seat of Anderson County. Here he practiced his profession of the law, and was eleeted a member of the first State Legislature, which convened at Topeka, March 27, 1861.

The attack upon Ft. Sumter, following swiftly after the Montgomery Secession Convention, the failure of the Peace Conference, the Proclamation of Jefferson Davis calling for 100,000 men, and

the seizure of Government property by Floyd and Twiggs, without protest from the Executive, thrilled loyal Kansas to the very core. President Lincoln made his first call for 75,000 volunteers in April, 1861. Responding to this call, Mr. Craw- ford resigned his seat in the Legislature, returned home, recruited a company, was chosen its Captain, assigned to the 2d Kansas Infantry, and mustered into the United States service. lle served with the regiment, participating under the gallant Gen. Lyon in the battle of Wilson's Creek and various other battles of the Missouri Campaign fought during the summer and fall of 1861. In the winter of 1861-62, the regiment was re-organized, and became the 2d Kansas Cavalry. Capt. Crawford was assigned to the command of Company A, and soon thereafter promoted to the command of a battalion. He participated with his regiment in the battles of Newtonia, Old Ft. Wayne, Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Van Buren, and various other en- gagements fought by Gen. Blunt during the Trans- Mississippi campaign of 1862.

It was in these engagements that Capt Crawford developed extraordinary ability as a eavalry leader. At the battle of Old Ft. Wayne he charged the enemy's lines and captured a battery under cireum- stances which almost forbade the venture, and for which achievement he was complimented in General Orders. At the battles of Cane Hill and Prairie Grove he acquitted himself with great credit, and was again complimented by the commanding Gen- eral. In Mareh, 1863, although holding the rank of Captain, he was assigned to the command of the 2d Kansas Cavalry, and led the regiment in the campaign of that year through the Indian Territory and Western Arkansas, which resulted in the battles of Perryville, MeAllister and the Backbone Mount- ain, and the capture of Ft. Smith by the Federal arms. The 2d Kansas Cavalry covered itself with glory in these memorable campaigns.

In October, 1863, Capt. Crawford was promoted to be Colonel of the 83d United States Infantry, and with his regiment accompanied Gen. Steele on the Shreveport, La., expedition, which moved southward, in March, 1864, from Ft. Smith and

120

SAMUEL J. CRAWFORD.

Little Rock to co-operate with Gen. Banks in his Red River campaign, participating in the battles of Prairie De Hand and Saline River. At the latter affair Col. Crawford charged and captured a battery, which his men brought off the field by hand, all the artillery horses having been killed or disabled. This battle resulted in a complete victory for the Union forces, to which consummation Col. Craw- ford's regiment largely contributed. After this battle he returned with the 7th Corps to Little Rock, and thence, with the Kansas Division, under the command of Gen. Thayer, to Ft. Smith, Ark. In July, 1864, Col. Crawford commanded an expe- dition into the Choctaw Nation in pursuit of the rebel General, Standweighty, whom he routed.

September 8, 1864, while still in the field, Col. Crawford was nominated as the Republican candi- date for Governor of Kansas. Obtaining leave of absence, he bade adieu to the gallant army with which he had served so long, and on the 9th of October returned to Kansas. Upon arriving at Ft. Scott he learned that a heavy body of the enemy, under Gen. Price, was moving westward through Central Missouri, with the design of laying Kansas in waste. He hastened to Kansas City, arriving October 17, reported to Gen. Curtis, commanding the Federal forces there concentrating to resist Gen. Price, and was assigned to duty as a volunteer aid on his staff. A few days subsequently the battles of the Blue, Westport and Mine Creek were fought, and at the latter engagement Col. Crawford ordered and participated in a charge with two brigades of cavalry, which resulted in the capture of the Con- federate Generals, Marmaduke and Cabell, 500 prisoners and eiglit pieces of artillery. This battle closed his military career in the war for the sup- pression of the Rebellion, and on April 13, 1865, he was promoted by the President of the United States to the rank of Brigadier General by brevet, for meritorious services in the field.

On the 7th of November, 1864, Col. Crawford was elected Governor of the State of Kansas, and in 1866 was re-chosen for a second term. During his holding of the gubernatorial office, he re-organ- ized and consolidated the Kansas Volunteer Regi- ments, and secured the enactment of new laws, under which the State Militia was placed on war footing for the protection of the people against rebel invasions and Indian incursions. He devoted much of his time to the establishment and main- tenance of the various State institutions, and on retiring from office he left the Deaf Mute, Blind and Insane Asylums, the State University, the Agricult- ural College and State Normal School, in success- ful operation. He also gave considerable attention to the preparation and dissemination of pamphlet

literature respecting the advantages of his State, with the view of encouraging emigration thereto.

During the memorable years of 1867 and 1868, hostile bands of Indians hovered on the borders of Kansas, driving back the settlers, checking the con- struction of the railroads and threatening to cut off communication between Kansas and the Western States and Territories. For two years an Indian war of savage barbarity was carried on. Many settlers were killed, scalped, and their bodies mutil ated. Large amounts of property were captured and destroyed. Women and even children were outraged, and others carried into captivity to suffer a fate worse than a thousand deaths.

The Federal forces stationed on the border and the State troops furnished by Gov. Crawford were inadequate for the protection of the people. The Indians followed their custom of making war dur- ing the summer months, and then retreating to their homes in the Indian Territory to be fed, clothed and nurtured by the Government in winter. Finally, in August, 1868, the settlements of Northwest Kansas were raided by these Indians, who killed and wounded some forty persons, carried women into captivity, and also committed other atrocities.

As soon as the terrible details of this last mas- sacre reached the ears of Gov. Crawford, he pro- ceeded at once to the scene of disaster, saw that the dead were properly buried and the wounded cared for, returned to Topeka. organized a regiment of cavalry, resigned the office of Governor, and with his regiment accompanied Gen. Sheridan on his his- toric campaign into the interior of the wild country bordering on Texas, where the hostile tribes had always felt secure from punishment during the win- ter season. These Indians were attacked and cap- tured in the Washita Valley, in December, 1868, and several of their chiefs held as hostages until the captive white women were delivered up.

Gov. Crawford returned home after the close of this campaign and has since been successfully en- gaged in the practice of his profession. Nov. 27, 1866, he was married to Miss Isabel M. Chase, an estimable and accomplished lady, of Topeka, where they now reside, and the union has been blessed by two children, daughter and son. Gov. Crawford is possessed of an imposing presence, his height being six feet two inches, with the accom- paniment of a Herculean frame, symmetrically proportioned, and a pair of shoulders Atlas might fairly envy. His manners are the very essence of courtesy and gentleness, and altogether he presents a marked type of the energetic, patriotic and sturdy sons of the great West-suaviter in modo, fortiter in re-with whom the high sense of duty stands first and foremost in every relation of life.

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Portrait and biographical album of Washington, Clay and Riley counties, Kansas, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent citizens together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of the state, Part 9

Author: Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Brothers Number of Pages: 1258

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Brothers
Number of Pages: 1258