USA > Kansas > Portrait and biographical record of southeastern Kansas, containing biographical sketches of prominent citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States and the governors of the state of Kansas > Part 14
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15, 1882. Mr. Curtis is a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his family are regular attendants. Politically, our subject is a Republican, and has with faithful efficiency oecu- pied the responsible position of Treasurer of the township. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and within and without the order has many sincere friends.
W ILLIAM WHITEHEAD, a prominent gen- eral agriculturist and successful stock- raiser residing upon section 11, Stanton Township, Miami County, Kan., is widely known and highly respected as one of the pioneers of the state, who, settling October 14, 1855, in Franklin County, side by side with John Brown, maintained the inalienable right of Kansas to be admitted into the Union a free state, uncon- taminated by human slavery. From those early days of privations, struggles and border warfare up to the present prosperous and peaceful times, our subject has been intimately associated with the rapid growth and progress of his present lo- eality, and has been ever ready to aid in the pro- motion of all matters of mutual welfare.
Mr. Whitehead is a true western man and a na- tive of Shelby County, Ill., and was the son of Samuel and Sarah (Davis) Whitehead, both na- tives of Kentucky. The father was only three years of age when his parents emigrated to Illi- nois, where he was reared to manhood. The mother was five years old when her parents followed the tide of emigration to the westward and likewise located in Illinois. The father and mother hav- ing attained to mature years were united in mar- riage in Madison County. The father had aided in the establishing of the first brickyards in St. Louis, but after his marriage devoted himself en- tirely to agricultural pursuits, and settled perma- nently in Shelby County in 1820, upon wild land which he cultivated and improved with excellent buildings.
The father was a man of courage and resolu- tion, and took an active part in the Black Hawk
War. He died mourned by many friends in 1866, but the mother survived him a number of years, passing away in 1882, aged seventy-four years. They were the parents of twelve children, two of whom are yet living: William, our subject, and Abagail Adkins, living in Ottawa, Kan., and the mother of four children. William Whitehead, born January 17, 1836, was reared upon a farm and educated in the neighboring distriet school. He remained at home until he attained his major- ity, and early became a practical general agricult- urist, thoroughly versed in the tilling of the soil.
In the year 1856 William Whitehead and Miss Jane White were united in marriage. The estim- able wife of our subject was the daughter of Martin and Vashti White, her father being a pio- neer citizen and a strong pro-slavery man of Kan- sas. Mrs. Jane (White) Whitehead had one daugh- ter, Velma, the wife of DeWitt McDaniel, living in Bates County, Mo., and who is the mother of four children. Our subject, emigrating to Kansas, settled in 1855 on the Old Mission farm, in the southeastern part of Franklin County, where the fa- ther later died. In a brief time Mr. Whitehead made his permanent home upon his present farm, then all wild land, but now one of the most highly im- proved places in the township. The first wife of our subject survived only a short time, passing away deeply mourned by all who knew her.
March 20, 1861, William Whitehead and Miss Statira Reed were united in wedlock. Mrs. White- head, a native of Sandusky, Ohio, became the mother of two children, of whom, Myrtie, the wife of O. A. Buchanan, resides in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan have three children. The sec- ond wife, a most excellent lady, died in 1863, and for a third time our subject entered into mat- rimony, wedding in the latter part of the same year Miss Mary E. Lee, a native of Illinois. This union was blessed by the birth of seven sons and daughters, four of whom are now living: Samuel; Marietta, wife of George Rouse, a resi- dent of Franklin County; Clarence and James. The third wife entered into rest in 1878. In 1879 Mr. Whitehead married Miss Sarah 11. Raglan, a na- tive of Illinois. She bore one child, now deceased. and later died, in May, 1883. In January, 1881,
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our subject was married to Miss Martha Keene, a native of Kentucky. This excellent lady died September 1, 1886.
In April, 1887, Mr. Whitehead was united in marriage witli his present wife, then Miss Mary J. Anderson, a native of Indiana, born Decem- ber 11, 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead are both active members of the Baptist Church and are foremost in good work. Our subject has taken an abiding interest in the schools of the town- ship, aiding in organizing those of his district, and was a valued officer of the School Board for over sixteen years. He gave his children as good an education as his home locality afforded. Now owning three hundred and ninety-four val- uable acres of highly cultivated land, he is num- bered among the substantial men of Miami Coun- ty. Politically a Republican and devoted to the party, he was its candidate for the Legislature three years ago. He was in Topeka during the memorable fight of the Populists and Republicans in the Legislature of 1892-93. Many years have come and gone since the Price and Quantrell raids, during which Mr. Whitehead so courage- ously assisted in the defense of the homes and families of the Kansas settlers, and yet to-day he is the same as then, a true and loyal citizen, ever ready to aid in the behalf of right and justice.
W ILLIAM H. WEATHERMAN, a successful farmer residing in Centreville Township, Linn County, furnishes by his useful and honorable life an illustration of the fact that pa- tient perseverance and untiring energy bring to their possessor, almost invariably, a large measure of success. Coming to Kansas poor in purse, hav- ing only about $300, he nevertheless was rich in hope, ambition and enterprise, and it was not long before prosperity smiled upon his efforts. He is now the owner of four hundred and seventy acres and is one of the moneyed men of the county.
The parents of our subject, James and Lucy (Pitts) Weatherman, were natives respectively of
North Carolina and Virginia, and after their mar- riage settled in Sullivan County, Ind. About 1846 they removed to Missouri, but after a short sojourn there, returned to Sullivan County, whence about 1875 they went to Chautauqua County, Kan. There they resided until called from earth. They were a worthy couple, thoughtful and considerate in their intercourse with all, and generous to the poor and needy. Their family consists of fifteen children, ten daughters and five sons, onr subject being the eldest of the number.
Born in Sullivan County, Ind., November 5, 1830, the subject of this notice spent his boyhood years in his native place. The eldest child of a large family whose circumstances were straightened, it is not strange that his educational advantages were of the slenderest kind; in fact, his education is principally the result of self-culture, and through reading, observation and experience he has become well informed. He accompanied his parents to Missouri, returned with them to Indiana and thence removed to Linn County, Kan., in 1858, settling southeast of where Parker now stands, in Liberty Township. Two years later he came to section 12, Centreville Township, where he has since resided. He has embellished his place with first-class improvements and all the modern con- veniences, making it one of the best farms of the county.
In Centreville Township, Linn County, Kan., January 8, 1860, Mr. Weatherman married Miss Violet Sadler, who was born in Perry County, Mo., September 3, 1835. Her parents, James T. and Lucinda M. (Sercy) Sadler, were born in North Carolina, where they married and commenced housekeeping. Thence they removed to Tenn- essee and from there came to Kansas in the fall of 1857, settling in Centreville Township, Linn County, where they resided until death. They were the parents of thirteen children, two sons and eleven daughters, Mrs. Weatherman being the third in respect to age. Our subject and his wife were the parents of six children: Joseph A .; James F., who died when four years old; Lucy E .; William H., Jr .; Margaret .J., the wife of John W. Gorrell, and one child that died in infancy.
A Democrat in his political opinions, Mr.
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Weatherman takes an intelligent interest in all pub lie measures and has been honored by election to a number of important offices. In 1862-63 he filled the position of County Assessor, and is the only man who ever assessed the county. For several years he has held the office of Justice of the Peace and has also filled the school offices. He and his wife are identified with the Christian Church, in which they are active workers.
C APT. HENRY C. REPPERT, who follows farming on sections 18, 20 and 21, Reeder Township, Anderson County, is one of the honored veterans of the late war, who ably and faithfully defended the Union in her hour of peril and followed through many a hard battle the Old Flag which now floats so triumphantly over the united nation.
The Captain was born in Greene County, Pa., May 10, 1836. His grandfather, George Reppert, was a native of Germany, and the founder of the family in America. The father of our subject, Louis Reppert, was born in Greene County, Pa., and married Susan Jenkins, a native of the same county. They there located, but afterward re- moved to Washington County, Ohio, in 1838. In 1875, they went to Ashland, Ky., where they spent their remaining days. They had a family of five children: Henry C .; Valeria, wife of Colonel Doug- las, of Putnam, Ky .; Anna, wife of Hon. J. S. Cone, of Red Bluff, Cal .; Walter, who died in Red Bluff in 1891; and Phalauris, who died in Walla Walla, Wash., about 1889. .
Our subject was about two years old when his parents removed to Washington County, Ohio, and he was reared on his father's farm four miniles south of Marietta. He remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he crossed the plains to California, driving an ox-team from Ft. Scott to Sacramento and arriving at his destination af- ter five months of travel. Ile engaged in mining and steamboating, meeting with very good success.
Soon after his return to Ohio, he went to West Virginia, where he was engaged in the oil business for two years, but in April, 1861, was obliged to leave on account of the troubles that preceded the war. On the 15th of September following, he became a member of Company L, First Ohio Cav- alry, and served as a private until February 14, 1863, when he was commissioned Second Lieuten- ant. A month later he was made First Lieutenant, and December 14, 1864, became Captain, in which capacity he served until receiving his discharge, September 26, 1865. His company was body guard for Gen. George H. Thomas for two years. Cap- tain Reppert was absent from duty only twenty days, while home on a furlough. He was always found at his post, encouraging his troops and leading them on to victory.
After receiving his discharge in Nashville, Tenn., the Captain returned to Washington County, Ohio, and in the following December came to Anderson County, Kan. After two years he took up his residence upon his present farm in Reeder Town- ship, where he owns four hundred acres of valu- able land that is highly cultivated. He has erected good buildings and made all necessary improve- ments, and the place is considered one of the model farms of the community.
While home on a furlough, the Captain was married near Marietta, Ohio, on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1864, to Miss Ann Briggs, who was born in that locality on the 3d of December, 1836, and is a daughter of Dean and Sarah (Scott) Briggs, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of Washington County, Ohio. Her parents married and settled in the latter county, where her father died in 1884. Her mother still survives. They had two children: Ann, and Martha, wife of E. F. Murdock, of Chillicothe, Ohio. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reppert were born six children: Martha B., who died in childhood; Val- eria, who became the wife of Samuel Dushane and died in Kansas City, Mo., May 4, 1892; Sidney C., Louis V., Henry C. and Rutherford H.
The Captain takes a very prominent part in political affairs, is a stanch advocate of Republican principles, and in the fall of 1874 was elected a member of the Legislature. For several terms he
Respectfully Г. Е.А.тов
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served as Township Trustee, and has filled every public office with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. Socially, he is a member of Cloud Post No. 176, G. A. R., of Central City. His possessions have been acquired through his own efforts, and he may truly be called a self-made man. His life has been well and worthily spent, and he is as true in times of peace as he was when the Union was in peril.
HOMAS ELWOOD SMITH, a prosperous miller and leading business man of Mound City, has occupied important positions of trust, having been the first President of the town. For many years he was a member of the Common Council, and also officiated with ability as Mayor. Born January 4, 1827, in Bueks County, Pa., our subjeet is the son of John Smith, a native of Penn- sylvania, and the son of David Smith, also born in the Quaker State. The paternal ancestors, settling in Pennsylvania in the latter part of 1600, were immediately associated with the early struggles and triumphs of our country and occupied posi- tions of usefulness and influence. The mother, Jane (Buckman) Smith, daughter of Jesse Buek- man, belonged to an old Quaker family numbered among the pioneer settlers of Bucks County.
Until the Civil War the parents resided in their native state, and the father, a leading farmer, was also prominent in local affairs, being a reform politician, an advocate of temperance, and a strong anti-slavery man. He was one of seven among the ten thousand voters of Bucks County who cast their ballots for James C. Birney for Presi- dent. With his wife he held membership in the Society of Friends, but was quite liberal in huis re- ligious views. Of the three children who blessed the Pennsylvania home, two are now living: Thomas Elwood and a sister, Kate II. Trego, yet residing in the Quaker State.
Reared upon the old homestead, our subject at- tended the common schools of the district and
completed his studies at Alexandria, Va., under Professor Hallowell, who was intrusted with the education of the sons of many prominent south- erners, senators and representatives of Congress. While in Virginia, Mr. Smith, then a strong anti- slavery man, became acquainted with the sons of Gen. Robert E. Lee, General Windsor and General Jessup, all advocates of slavery. Ouly four or five of the students were Abolitionists in sentiment, but although opposed to the majority in his political views, he was popular among the others. Ile fin- ished his course of instruction with honor, and af- terward returned to the old homestead, upon which generation after generation of the Smith family had resided since 1718, and which is yet in the pos- session of the family. The roomy and venerable stone residence was built in 1738, and is still in a fine state of preservation.
In 1853, Thomas Elwood Smith and Miss Re- becca S. Betts were united in marriage. The es- timable wife of our subject is the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Head (Baker) Betts, both members of the Society of Friends and natives of Pennsylvania. The mother was a descendant of the aristocratic Head family of England. The fa- ther died at the advanced age of ninety-six years, after a career of honored integrity and industry. Mrs. Smith was born August 5, 1829, in Bueks County, Pa., and completed her education in a female seminary in Chester County, Pa., under the care of Professor Martin, enjoying the benefit of a three-years course of instruction.
Our subject remained a citizen of Bucks Coun- ty until 1857, when, in company with Dr. Trego and Edwin Smith, he journeyed to the far-off state of Kansas and settled in his present locality. Desiring to attract congenial neighbors and in- duce early settlement, the young men put up a saw- mill and later erected a gristmill, and were ready for work in February, 1858. It was the first mill in this part of the country, and customers came from a distance of one hundred miles west. Mr. Smith became acquainted with John Brown, Mont- gomery, Jamison and Jim Lane. He participated in the border troubles, and engaged in some of the Missouri raids, going to the rescue of friends held by the slavery men. When the war began he went
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east, and was in Philadelphia at the time the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment was mobbed in the streets of Baltimore. Returning to Kansas, he was re- quested to stay here and operate the mill, while most of the men were necessarily absent from their homes, engaged upon the battlefield. He was a leading member of the state militia, and occasion- ally saw service during the perilous times of the next eight years. Living upon historic ground, he actively engaged in the preservation of the Union, taking part in the Price raids and defend- ing with fearlessness the homes of those so far away. The mill was destroyed by an incendiary, who later upon his dying bed confessed the crime. Mr. Smith rebuilt his mill and also cultivated a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres, whieli has now for thirty-five continuous years yielded an abundant harvest.
Unto our subject and his excellent wife were born ten children, six of whom are yet surviving, namely: T. Elliott, Jessie B., Mary B., Walter, Sus- annah and Maggie C. The youngest is a promis- ing student in the State University of Lawrence. Que son, Howard, deceased, was a young man of talent and a graduate of the law department of the State University; Jessie B. was graduated in Trenton, N. J .; Mary B. was a student in the State University and took a kindergarten course in Philadelphia; Susannah is a graduate of Oberlin; Walter took a course in a business college at Kan- sas City, and now assists his father in the conduet of the mill; and Elliott is a mining engineer and is engaged in the mountains of the west.
In the support of various religious denomina- tions located here, Mr. Smith has liberally aided, but is not identified with any church. He was one of twenty men who organized the town of Mound City, and has been a most important fac- tor in its rapid growth and development. Few of the twenty are now left, but lie still works with unimpaired vigor. A friend to educational ad- vancement, he was a valued member of the School Board and long its able Treasurer. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has a host of friends in these organizations. Hle takes an active part in politics, and was formerly a
Greenbacker, but is now a member of the People's party. He voted for John P. Hale, John C. Fre- mont, Abraham Lincoln and U. S. Grant, and then abandoned the party. He came to Kansas ani- mated by a desire to make this part of the Union a free state, and was immediately recognized as a man of sterling integrity and high order of abil- ity. He took a leading place among the councils of his fellow-townsmen, and was elected one of the first Justices of the Peace in his locality.
A progressive man, possessing extended informa- tion, Mr. Smith filled with efficiency the position of Mayor, and has been a prominent adviser of the City Council. He is an energetic business man, and personally manages his large mill, which has a capacity of one hundred barrels; it is fitted with full roller system and has steam and water power at its command. For thirty-seven years intimately asso- ciated with the history of Kansas, he has made an enviable record as a friend and citizen, and will leave to his children as a precious bequest the mem- ory of loyalty and self-sacrificing devotion to principle and the uplifting of humanity. Surviv- ing to witness the wonderful prosperity of Kansas, he may well congratulate himself upon the fruition of his early hopes and efforts and rejoice in the victory of right and justice.
E GDWARD E. MUNCHMEYER. Prominent among the residents of Linn County is the gentleman whose name introduces these paragraphs, and who came to Kansas in the fall of 1870 from Washington County, Ohio. His farm comprises one hundred and fifty-five acres on section 15, Potosi Township, upon which he con- ducts general farming and stock-raising. In all his enterprises he displays the possession of sound judgment and tact, and he has met with success in
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his chosen occupation, being now one of the pros- perous agriculturists of the county.
The late William Munchmeyer, father of our subject, was a native of Germany, and emigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-one years. He married Miss Mary Spencer, and after- ward settled in West Virginia, whence he removed to Washington County, Ohio, and in the fall of 1870 came to Kansas and settled in Sheridan Township, Linn County, where his death occurred in 1880. Ilis wife survived him for a short time, passing away in February, 1892. She was a woman possessing in a high degree the attributes most winning to all. Kind in . her intercourse with friend and stranger alike, thoughtful of the wel- fare of others, devoted to the interests of her hus- band and children, it is not strange that her mem- ory is revered by all by whom in life she was held dear.
The second in a family of six children, our sub- ject was born in Wood County, W. Va., July 10, 1855. At the age of seven years he accompanied his parents to Ohio, and there passed his boyhood years, receiving a common-school education in the home district. He was carly trained to habits of industry, and aided his father upon the home farm. Since 1870 he has resided continuously in Linn County. For nine years after locating here he worked out by the month and prudently saved his earnings, so that he was enabled at the expiration of that time to buy a home and commence the improvement of his land. He has always engaged in agricultural pursuits and understands every de- tail of the work.
November 13, 1879, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Mary Green, who was born in Rush County, Ind., November 13, 1858. Iler father, Jesse Green, was born in one of the Caro- linas, and in boyhood removed to Rush County, Ind., where he married Miss Elizabetlı Reddick, a native of that county. She died in 1861; he sur- vived her for twenty years, passing away in Feb- ruary, 1881. They were the parents of two chil- dren, of whom Mrs. Munchmeyer was the younger. To the union of our subject and his wife there have been born three children, Arthur E., Clar- ence HI. and Lena F. Under the wise training of
their parents the children are receiving the best advantages, and are being prepared for positions of usefulness and honor in the business and social world.
After his marriage Mr. Munchmeyer settled upon the place where he has since resided. Ile and his wife are active and devoted members of the Chris- ian Church, to the support of which they gener- ously contribute. They are very popular in the church and among the people of the township, their noble qualities being recognized and appre- ciated. No public enterprise is considered feasible unless Mr. Munchmeyer is enlisted in its behalf, and he has done much to advance the interests of the county.
G A. BLAIR, M. D., junior member of the firm of Gardner & Blair, physicians and surgeons at Girard, was born in Hunting- don County, Pa., on the 6th of June, 1857. He traces his ancestry to a titled family of Scotland, famous in the history of that country. His grand- father, John Blair, was born in the "land of this- tles," and emigrated thence to the United States, making settlement in Pennsylvania, where he built and operated a mill in Huntingdon County.
The father of our subject, John II. Blair, was born in Huntingdon County, Pa., and there grew to man's estate, becoming familiar with the mill- ing business at an early age. Ile has for many years conducted the mill which his father estab- lished in 1831, and in addition thereto he has en- gaged in the mercantile business, being a man of energy, perseverance and excellent judgment. Ile still makes his home in the county of his birth. Ilis wife, who passed away on the 4th of March, 1876, bore the maiden name of Mary Holmes Mc- Connell, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. Her fa- ther, George McConnell, was a captain in the War of 1812.
In Huntingdon County, Pa., the subject of this sketch was reared to manhood, receiving a good
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education in the common schools and in Hunting- don Academy, from which institution he was graduated in 1873. Upon starting out in life for himself, he engaged for a time as a clerk in a store. In 1875, having resolved upon a professional career, he commenced the study of medicine under the guidance of Dr. J. M. Morrison, at Waterloo, Pa. In the spring of 1877 he entered Rush Medi- cal College, at Chicago, where he prosecuted his studies for several months. In the fall of 1879 he became a student in the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Baltimore, graduating from that in- stitution on the 4th of March, 1880.
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