USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > Kansas City > Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Historical and biographical. Comprising a condensed history of the state, a careful history of Wyandotte County, and a comprehensive history of the growth of the cities, towns and villages > Part 71
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Patrick McGonnigle, one of the oldest and most prominent pio- neers of Wyandotte Township, was born in the County of Donegal, Ireland, near the old city of Londonderry, November 12, 1827, and of the six children born to his parents, three sons and three daughters, he was the eldest in order of birth. The children were named as fol-
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lows: Nancy (resides in Nevada, where her husband is engaged in mining), Frank (married and resides in Wyandotte County), Kate (married and resides in Kansas City, Kas.), James (resides in Wy- andotte County). All were born in Ireland. The father was a native of the Emerald Isle, and was a farmer by occupation. The mother was also a native of Ireland. Both are dead. Patrick McGonnigle received his education in the old subscription schools, and when twen- ty-two years of age started out to fight life's battles for himself. When he landed in New York City he had but $2.50 in money, but he had the determination and pluck to persevere, and this, together with his honesty and industry, have placed him in the front rank as a farmer and horticulturist. He was married, in Leavenworth City, Kas., in 1858, to Miss Rose McGurgan, a native of Ireland, where she was well educated. To this marriage have been born six children-four sons and two daughters: Frank (is married and resides in Kansas City, Kas., where he follows the trade of a mechanic), Henry (resides in Laramie City, Wyo., and is yardmaster on the Union Pacific Railroad), Mary (is well educated and makes her home with her parents), James (resides in Kansas City, Kas., and is employed in the stock-yards), Kate (resides at home and is also well educated), and John P. (who is at home, and who will attend the high school the coming term). Mr. McGonnigle has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and sup- ports the true principles of Jeffersonianism, but has never been a bit- ter partisan by any means. He aims to vote for men of honor and integrity. Mr. and Mrs. McGonnigle and children are ardent mem- bers of the Roman Catholic Church, and have always contributed to all benevolent and charitable enterprises which have been worthy of consideration. Mr. McGonnigle emigrated from the Emerald Isle in June, 1849, and landed in New York City August 1 of that year. From there he went to Chicago, Ill., engaged in selling linen goods, and remained in this business for two years. From there he went to Jackson County, Mo., engaged in farming, but at the end of one year came to Wyandotte County, Kas. (December, 1855), where he re- mained until the next spring. He then started for Fort Riley, Kas., and had a very interesting time with the " Border Ruffians " and "Jay- hawkers," who wanted him to join ranks with them, which honor Mr. McGonnigle very politely and modestly declined. He then started back, and stopped with an old Indian by the name of "Sachendine," for some time. From there he came down to the present site of Mun- cie, and met Ben Johnson, who had married an Indian girl. He
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worked as a farm laborer for Mr. Johnson, until September 1, or for about six months, and then worked for a man by the name of Garrett, of the old Indian Garrett family, spoken of in the early history. He worked there for about two years, and then married his present wife. He leased the Garrett farm for two years, then another farm for five years, and then returned to the Garrett farm, where he remained another three years. After this he purchased his present farm of ninety eight acres, which was then a thicket and wilderness, and at that time Kansas City, Mo., had a population of not over 200. Main Street and all the principal streets of to-day were in a perfect wilderness, with bluffs on all sides. Mr. McGonnigle has witnessed the wonderful growth of this city, and has seen the population increase to 148,000. He has also seen the entire growth of Kansas City, Kas .; was here when there were no railroads, and when the entire population around Kan- sas City was Indians. When he first became the owner of his land he only paid $17 per acre, and there was not a sign of improvement on his land. He first erected a log cabin, began immediately to improve his place, and this valuable land is to-day worth from $300 to $500 per acre, but Mr. McGonnigle does not care to sell. His property lies on the Union Pacific Railroad, at the station of Muncie, and is near the great manufacturing plant of the Southwest, which is to be erected here at not a distant day. Mr. McGonnigle has on his fine farm a large and handsome residence, good ontbuild- ings, and everything for his convenience and comfort. He has worked hard for his home, and can now pass his declining years with a fair share of this world's goods. He lost his dear companion in 1872, and her remains are interred in the cemetery near home.
Lient. - Gov. James McGrew, Kansas City, Kas. There are few men of the present day whom the world acknowledges as successful, more worthy of honorable mention, or whose life history affords a better example of what may be accomplished by a determined will and perseverance, than the subject of this sketch, and, indeed, his career is one well worthy of imitation. Mr. McGrew was born in Pennsylvania on January 26, 1822, near the old battle-field of Gettys- burg, and a few years later was taken to Ohio by his father, thence to Sullivan County, Ind., close to Terre Haute, thence to Vermillion County, then to Henderson County, and from there to Wapello County, Iowa. In 1844 he moved to Keokuk County, Iowa, on the Sac and Fox reservation. In 1857 he emigrated to Wyandotte County, Kas., and arrived there on September 22. of that year.
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Gov. McGrew was married in Keokuk County, Iowa, to Miss Mary Doggette, and afterward was engaged in merchandising at Lancaster, Iowa. He was then engaged in general merchandise business at Kansas City, Kas., from 1860 until 1870. During the late Civil War he was a stanch Union man, was in the Kan- sas State Militia, and was close at hand during the battle of the Blue. Previous to the war, in 1859, he was elected to the House of Representatives, was re-elected in 1860, and in 1862 was elected to the State Senate, serving two years. He was elected lieutenant-gov- ernor in 1864, and held this position one term, after which he stepped out of politics, but was afterward mayor of Wyandotte. While in office he still kept his business going, and has since been looking after his property and estate. His first wife died in 1866 and left three children: Henry (attorney), Josephine and Mary. His second mar- riage was to Lydia Slaven, of Alliance, Ohio, who bore him two chil- dren: Grace and Louise. The parents of Mr. McGrew, W. W. and Margaret (Milligan) McGrew, were natives of Pennsylvania, and the father was a carpenter and cabinet-maker by trade. He died in 1855 and the mother about 1872. The maternal grandfather was born in the Keystone State, and was of Irish-German extraction. Gov. Mc- Grew has a very desirable residence on Quindaro Boulevard, and he chose and selected the place, which consisted of several acres of forest trees, walnut, etc., planted by the hand of Nature.
Warner T. McGuinn (colored) is a well-known attorney at law in Kan- sas City, Kas. He is a Virginian by birth, and now in his twenty-eighth year, his birth occurring on November 22, 1862. In early life he was taken to Baltimore, Md., and having finished the common schools of his city he entered Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, after special preparation for that institution, and was graduated in 1884 with the degree of A. B. In the fall of that year he entered the law school of Howard University, but left that institution at the end of the first year to enter Yale College, where he was graduated in the class of 1887 with the degree of LL. B., taking the Townsend prize of $100 for pronouncing the best oration on Commencement Day. We may say, incidentally, that Mr. McGuinn was the first colored man to pronounce an oration on Commencement Day at Yale College. On June 29, 1887, after a rigid examination by a "bar committee," he was admitted to practice in all the courts of Connecticut. In the fall of 1887 he came to Kansas prospecting, and finally decided that Kansas City, Kas., offered a fair field for a young man of push and intelligence. Here
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he opened his office. and has since done remarkably well. He is an exceptionably intelligent and well-posted gentleman on all subjects, and is the present efficient editor of the American Citizen, a weekly journal that is owned by the colored men of the city, and is edited in the interests of Kansas City, Kas., and the colored race. He takes a deep interest in the welfare and future success of Kansas City, and be- ing a young man of intelligence, push and energy, his future success in life is assured.
M. H. McHale. How pleasant, after a long life, well and pros- perously spent, it is to look back over the vista of years that inter- vene between infancy and advanced manhood, with the full conscious- ness of having made the best possible use of the " passing hours," and having benefited self and others in the struggle essential to success in the commercial world. The subject of this sketch was one of the pioneer business men of Kansas City, starting here long before it had attained either its present magnitude or its great prosperity. His first arrival was in the year 1876, at which time he entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad. In a short period he opened a wood and coal. business, and for ten years managed it successfully, and in 1887 added the grocery business to the other, thereby largely increasing the profits. But in 1889 he sold out to engage with the Bavarian Brewing Company, of Kansas City, Mo. All his efforts have been highly success- ful, and after traveling extensively, Mr. McHale considers Kansas City an exceedingly desirable place of residence. His birth occurred No- vember 9, 1855, at Zanesville, Ohio, being the son of Thomas McHale, a native of Ireland, who came to America in 1848, settling first in Rhode Island, next in Ohio, and spent two years in Keokuk, Iowa, from there went to Leavenworth and finally located in St. Mary's, Kas. Mr. McHale received a good common-school education, and took a business course in the Normal school at Leavenworth, where he arrived at man- ยท hood. He was married in April, 1881, to Miss Sarah A. Henry, of Tennessee, and daughter of William Puett. To this union were born four children, two of whom are now living, viz .: Minnie, Isabella, Maud and Jeanette, the two latter being dead. There are also two step-children, viz .: Mollie and Anna Henry. Mr. McHale is a mem- ber of the Democratic party, being such when there were only two other Democrats in Armstrong, where he now resides. He is closely identified with the Catholic Church.
Thomas McMahon, farmer and fruit-grower, Argentine, Kas. Prom- inent among those of foreign birth now in Wyandotte County, stands
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the name of Mr. McMahon who was born on the Emerald Isle, Kings County, in 1833, and who was left an orphan in infancy. At the early age of thirteen he was thrown upon his own resources, and when he emi- grated to the United States, and landed in New York, he was penniless. Not discouraged he went to work, and with little assistance from out- siders, amassed enough of this world's goods to assure him of a comfort- able old age. In November of 1852 he went to Hudson County, N. J., remained there that winter and then went to Hartford, Conn., where he worked on a farm for John Honman six months. In the fall of 1853 he came to New Orleans, remained there during the winter, and then in the spring of the following year he came to St. Louis, Mo. He con- tinned in that city until the spring of 1855 and then came to Leaven- worth, Kas. He was married in 1859 to Miss Bridget O'Flaherty, daughter of Owen and Catherine (Fitzgerald) O'Flaherty, natives of Ireland. Mrs. McMahon was born in Maryland on February 16, 1839, and has followed her husband in all his wanderings, has assisted him in his many hardships and trials, and has been a helpmate indeed. As before stated,. Mr. McMahon came to Leavenworth, Kas., in 1855, but later located in Kansas City, Mo., where he entered life as a contractor for the grading of streets and roads. He had a contract for the grad- ing of the Hannibal & St. Jo, when the breaking out of the war com- pelled him to abandon this. He worked at this from 1855 to 1861, after which he took his stock and went to Johnson County, Kas., where he farmed until the spring of 1863. After this he took his family to Colorado, but remained only a short time, and the next spring started for Montana, where he remained until 1869. He engaged in freight- ing from Salt Lake Valley to the different mines. He was successful and cleared about $13,000. In 1859 he bought ten acres of land in Kansas City for $1,250, and in 1869 sold it and made $4,000 profit. This piece of land was located near the old town sight. In 1869 he returned to Kannas City, remained there until May, and then bought his present farm of over ninety-eight acres, paying $40 per acre. It was a row piece of land and at one time belonged to the old Punkin family of the Shwanee tribe of Indians. This he has improved with a handsome dwelling, good outbuildings, excellent orchard, and many other improvements. The land is now worth $500 per acre. His or- chard consists of 1,000 apple trees, all kinds and varieties, a fine selec- tion of peaches, the trees having been brought from Ohio, Illinois and Missouri, seven acres of grapes, nearly all. Concord, two acres of Gregg raspberries, two acres of strawberries, Crescent Seedling and
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Downing, and sixty cherry trees, principally the Early Richmond. His farm has been his source of livelihood for the past twelve years. Mr. McMahon is a Democrat in his political views, was elected treas- urer of the Township Board of 1887, and held this position for three years. He served as assessor in 1888 and 1889, and his son, John H. is township clerk. He is also selected as State delegate for the year 1890, to be held at Wichita on the 9th of August. He and family are members of the Catholic Church at Argentine, and Mr. McMahon is president and treasurer of the building committee of the same The building when completed will cost $18,000, making the finest church in Argentine. Mr. McMahon has the interests of his county at heart, and supports all enterprises for the good of the same. His marriage was blessed by the birth of twelve children, seven now living: John H. May C. (wife of Charles Preobstel) twins, Ellen, Thomas F. (born in Montana ), Francis, Agnes and Joseph Patrick. Those deceased are Anna Josephine, Henora, Daniel, Lawrence and Catherine.
John McNulty, wholesale and retail dealer in flour, coal, wood, feed, etc., at Kansas City, Kas., was born in Monitor County, Mo., December 12, 1859, being a son of Patrick and Elizabeth (Lovelace) McNulty, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in Barton County, Mo. They were married about 1857, and in time a family of ten children gathered about their fireside-four sons and six daughters- their son, John, being the second of the family. The father was a railroad contractor, and he and his wife are now de- ceased. The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood on a farm in his native county, but at the early age of twelve years, left home to make his own way in the world, and since that time has relied upon his own exertions for a livelihood. For a number of years he was em- ployed as a farm hand in Monitor County, but at the age of seventeen years he went to Cole County, Mo., and began farming for himself, moving three years later to Holt County, Mo., where he farmed eight years and worked two years in a hardware store. On January 1, 1890, he came to Kansas City, Kas., and for three months was employed in the car barn of the Metropolitan Street Railway. In June of that year he established his present first-class wholesale and retail flour and feed store at No. 741 Minnesota Avenue, and to the successful conduct of the same he is now devoting his time and attention. He is already doing a prosperous business and fully deserves the success with which his efforts may be attended, for he has worked his way up to his present position through his own merits, without aid from any-
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body. He is honorable and upright in every respect, is proving himself a substantial citizen, and in his political views is a Democrat. His marriage which took place on August 19, 1880, was to Miss Dora Lewis, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Jackson Lewis.
Michael Malone, farmer and stock-raiser, Shawneetown, Kas. In enumerating the enterprising and progressive agriculturists and stock- men of this township, Mr. Malone must not be overlooked. He came to Wyandotte County on April 3, 1857, and has made his home here ever since, being among the pioneers. Indians were numerous in the county, and the house that Mr. Malone now occupies was built by John Gore, a Kentuckian, who had married a Shawnee squaw. Mr. Ma- lone paid $25 per acre, but the many improvements placed upon it since have increased its value very much, and he now asks $75 per acre. The farm consists of 160 acres, and is divided into thirty-five acres of wheat, twenty acres of corn, and the balance in pasture and timber. Mr. Malone is assisted in the management of the farm by his son John. Michael Malone was born in Ireland in 1838, and is the fourth of seven children born to James and Margaret Malone, natives also of the Emerald Isle. Our subject came to the United States at a very early age (1844), landed in New York, where he re- mained but a short time, and then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained three years. He then went to Richmond, Va., remained there two years, and then hearing of the mighty West he followed the emigrating populace as far as St. Louis, Mo. There he remained three years, and thinking to better his condition, he came to Jefferson City, and was a resident of that city for two years. All this time he was working as a day laborer. His next move was to Wyandotte City, then a trading point for the Indians, and he has seen the many im- provements that have taken place, watching with interest and pleasure the building up of the metropolis of Kansas. The land he now owns was originally the home of an Indian family, and he has cleared it of the heavy timber with which it was then covered. Being one of the early settlers, he endured many hardships and privations, and has done much toward improving the county. Mr. Malone was married in Jefferson City, Mo., in 1856, to Miss Margaret Lee, a native of Rich- mond, Va., and the daughter of Patrick Lee, a native also of the Old Dominion. This union resulted in the birth of seven children: Mar- garet (wife of Patrick Dover), James, Michael, John, Mollie, Cora and Hannah. Mr. Malone is a Democrat in politics, and he and family are members of the Catholic Church of Shawneetown. He carried on
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contracting until late years, and graded the first street in the old town of Wyandotte. He has had the contracts of some of the largest works in that city. When he first came here there were but four white fam- ilies in Wyandotte City.
Michael J. Manning is one of Kansas City's well-known citizens, and not only is he known in a social and public way, but he is also a prominent grocer. His birth occurred in Richmond, Va., February 22, 1855, he being a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Martin) Manning, both of whom were born in County Kerry, Ireland, and came to the United States unmarried, their union taking place at Richmond, Va., in 1854. The father was a son of Daniel Manning, who spent his en. tire life in Ireland, the mother's parents being John and Jane (Sayers) Martin, whe came to America when she was eleven years old. Mich- ael Manning came here when he was about twenty-one years of age, and spent the remainder of his life in Richmond, Va., dying of chol- era in August, 1854, or several months before the birth of the subject of this sketch. About three years after his death his widow married a man by the name of Richard McDonald, to whom she bore ten chil- dren, only four of whom are living. She died in September, 1877, but Mr. McDonald still lives, and resides in Washington, D. C. Dur- ing his early life, Michael J. Manning made his home with his grand- father and grandmother, Martin, in Richmond, Va., and when he was eight years old, he accompanied them to Washington, D. C., and a year later to Philadelphia, where he remained with them for about three and a half years. In 1867 he went with them to Martins- burg, W. Va., which place he made his home until 1876. He gave his attention to different employments in his early days, his first vent- ure being as a newsboy on the streets of Richmond, later in Wash- ington, and afterward in Philadelphia. He worked for a time in various brick-yards, and still later he drove a team upon the Baltimore & Obio Railway, and was also employed variously for that company for six years. In the fall of 1876 he returned to Washington, D. C., and there followed different callings for some two years, coming in the fall of 1878 to Kansas City, Kas., which place has been his home up to the present time. He almost immediately secured employment in the shops of the Union Pacific Railway, at Armstrong, but at the end of a few months he began working in different freight depots in the city. At the end of one year he began working for the Armour Pack- ing Company, and about a year later he became business manager and local editor of the Catholic Banner, a weekly journal, published in
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Kansas City, Mo., by Rev. Father William J. Dalton. The year following he clerked in a grocery, and the succeeding year was in the employ of the Kansas City Paper Company, then became an employe of the Armour Packing Company, after which, in October, 1883, he was appointed to a position on the police force of the city under Mayor R. W. Hilliker, and remained in this capacity and as constable eighteen months, after which, in 1885, he was elected police judge of Old Kansas City, Kas., retaining the same until 1886, when by the act of consolidation he was legislated out of office. In that year he was elected police judge of the consolidated cities of Wyandotte, Armourdale and Kansas City, when he was again legislated out of office by the Metropolitan Police Bill, making the office of police judge appointive. In 1887 he was appointed by Mayor T. F. Han- nan, to the office of street commissioner, and this position retained for two years. In all of his official capacities he proved himself an exceptionally competent public officer, and had the full confidence, respect and support of the public. In the spring of 1889 he opened a grocery establishment at No. 1407 Central Avenue, and to this business his attention has been given ever since. On April 6, 1890, he removed to the large and handsome Simpson Block on Central Avenue, and at this place he is now conducting an exception- ally fine establishment, his patronage being very large. His friends are numerous, his enemies few, and being an honorable, upright citi- zen, he fully deserves the confidence which the people repose in him. His marriage, which occurred July 5, 1882, was to Miss Mary E. Sullivan, a native of Washington, D. C., born in 1861, a daughter of John and Julia Sullivan, who were born in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Manning have had four children as follows: The first was an infant daughter that died unnamed, the others are John M., Julia and Robert E. Mr. Manning and his wife are consistent members of the Catholic Church, and the former is a member of the A. O. U. W. and National Union, both insurance societies. In politics he is inde- pendent, with Democratic proclivities, and at all times an enthusi- astic supporter of measures tending to alleviate the working masses. From the foregoing, it will be seen that Mr. Manning has had a va- ried career, a most valuable experience, and whilst deprived of early educational advantages, he is a man of considerable literary attain- ments, and a writer and orator of much force, having made many pub- lie addresses, and contributed many readable articles to newspapers and magazines in this vicinity.
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Frank Mapes. In every community we find men who wield an ex- tended influence among their fellow-men, politically and otherwise, and Mr. Mapes is one of these men. He was born in Racine, Wis., in 1862, and came to Kansas with his parents in 1865, and was reared to manhood in Kansas City, Kas., receiving the advantages of a high- school education. On starting out in life for himself he learned the trade of a machinist with the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and after following this calling successfully for several years, he began working in the Missouri Pacific shops, continuing two years, after which he secured a position in the freight office at Kansas City, Kas. He served one year as deputy postmaster of Wyandotte, and was after- ward elected to the office of clerk of the county, receiving his election at the hands of his Democratic friends, of which party he is a member, although the county is strongly Republican. He discharged his duties faithfully for two years, and won the respect and confidence, not only of his constituents, but those who differed from him politically also. He is the present city assessor, his appointment being received in February, 1890. He and his partner, John Warren, a sketch of whom appears in this work, organized the Young Men's Democratic Club of Wyandotte County, which organization has rapidly increased in numbers, and the meetings are held in their office. They form a substantial real estate firm, and also do an extensive brokerage busi- ness. Each of these young men are representatives of old and re- spected families of this county, and their lives have been such that not a shadow can be advanced derogatory to the reputation of either. Although they have only been in business a short time, they have es- tablished their affairs on a safe basis, and give every promise of be- coming wealthy men.
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