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 87
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this sketch was married to Miss Nellie B. Hendrick, of this city, and their union has resulted in the birth of one child, Oscar S., whose birth occurred in October, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Toy are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, are liberal contributors to the same, and in fact to all worthy enterprises. Mr. Toy's career has, thus far, been a very creditable one, and he is well and favorably known to the public as a good business man and an npright, honorable citizen. He has not only built up a fine patronage, but he has acquired a large circle of friends, among whom he is deservedly popular. He and his wife are among the finest of the city's citizens, and command the respect of all who know them.
E. W. Towner is clerk of the district court of Wyandotte County, Kas., and he is making an enviable record for himself as a public official, for not only is he courteous and accommodating, but he is in- telligent, far-seeing and strictly conscientious in the discharge of his duty. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio; there received a high-school education, and learned the trade of a machinist in the C. C. & C. shops, in which he worked for two years. He then entered the employ of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad, and after spending thirteen consecutive years with the same, nine years having charge of the shops, he became superintendent of Na- tional Tool & Machine Shop of Cleveland, Ohio, a position he held un- til coming to Kansas City in 1881, and entering the Union Pacific shops. In 1888 he was elected to his present position by his many Repub- lican friends in this section, and is in every respect doing them credit. Since attaining his majority he has always used his best interest for the Republican party, and he is also a K. of L., and is in full sympa- thy with the labor movement. He was nominated for the Legislature in Ohio on the Labor ticket, but was defeated. He has been active in politics ever since coming to this county, and has served as chairman of the Republican Central Committee and on the school board, both by election and appointment. He is past chancellor commander in the K. of P. order, and also belongs to the A. F. & A. M. He is the owner of considerable real estate in Kansas City, and is one of her best citizens. His marriage, which occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, re- sulted in the birth of one child, William H., being now twenty-three years of age. Mr. Towner served in the Fifth Ohio Independent Battalion of Cavalry during the Civil War, but was only in serv- ice nineteen months. His father and mother were born in England and York State, respectively, and both are now seventy-two years
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of age and reside in Ohio. The father was foreman in the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad shops in Cleveland for thirty four years, and built the first wooden pilot used in that State, also the first locomotive cab.
Luther Trail settled in Wyandotte County, Kas., in 1875, and immediately became identified with the progress and development of this section of the country, and in the conduct of his present vegetable farm he is meeting with substantial results. He annually devotes from seven to nine acres to sweet potatoes, the varieties being the Yellow Jersey, Yellow Nanceman, Red Matagorda and Early Golden, and he markets from 1,000 to 1,200 bushels yearly. He also raises Irish potatoes in large quantities, melons, sweet corn and cabbages, and all are of the very best varieties, and are always in excellent con- dition when delivered. He was born in Moniteau County, Mo., June 2, 1847, and was the eightlı of eleven children born to Basil and Anna Trail, who were born and reared in North Carolina. The father was a cabinet-maker by trade, but during the latter part of his life he followed the occupation of farming, and to this was giving his atten- tion at the time of his death in 1851. Luther was taken from the home of his birth when three years of age, and was reared to man- hood in Kansas City, Mo., and in early life assisted his father in farm work. In 1864 he enlisted at Leavenworth, Kas., in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, under Capt. Ed Colbert, and served in the Western and Southern divisions, the company to which he belonged being the body-guard to Col. A. J. Smith, with whom they followed the fortunes of war until the closing conflict. His company then returned to Leavenworth and were sent west to fight the Sioux Indians who were causing much trouble in the West. The company went as far as Fort Kearney when they were ordered home, and were mustered out of serv- ice in the fall of 1865. He was in the engagement at Tupelo, Miss. After receiving his discharge he returned home and engaged in farm- ing in Clay County, Mo., remaining on the borders of Missouri and Kansas until 1875, when he became a permanent resident of Wyan- dotte County, Kas. He purchased his present farm of twenty acres in 1880, which he has improved with a good house, barn, shade trees, etc. He was one of the very first to engage in potato raising, but, as it proved so profitable in his case, others took up the enterprise and are making money likewise. He was married in 1880 to Mrs. Elizabeth Wingert, a daughter of S. Rhodes. She was born in Penn- sylvania in 1860, and has borne her husband five children: Charles,
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Frank, Eva, Wingert and Frederick. Mr. Trail is a Republican in his political views, and at the present date is a member of the school board, a position he has filled for the past six years.
Charles W. Trickett is the cashier of the Wyandotte National Bank, of Kansas City, Kas., but was born in Scotland County, Mo., February 2, 1860, and his ability as a business man is co-extensive with the county and the surrounding country. In 1867 he removed with his parents, Charles M. and Martha A. (Walker) Trickett, natives of Virginia and Illinois, respectively, to Miami County, Kas., and was a resident of Louisburg during his youth and his early manhood. At the early age of eleven years, he entered the employ of Reed & Wright, millers, grain, lumber and coal merchants, and at thirteen years of age did all the buying and shipping for that firm, continuing with them eight consecutive years. In 1879 he went to Paola, Kas., where he engaged in the grain business with the firm of Reed, Wright & Co., the first two men being his former employers, and here he gave his attention to this work for two years, after which he acted as book-keeper for a grocery firm a short time, and in 1881 accepted a position in the Miami County Bank of Paola, being made teller at the end of one year, and assistant cashier two years later, this posi- tion retaining until the month of June, 1887, when, in connection with the president of that bank, Mr. J. W. Sponable, he organized the Wyandotte National Bank of Kansas City, Kas., and of this he has been cashier ever since. He is president of the Kansas City Savings Bank of Kansas City, Kas., and a director in the 'Inter-State National Bank, located at the stock-yards in the same city. He drafted the bill, and carried on all the correspondence which made Kansas City, a reserve city for national banks. The bill was introduced in Con- gress by Maj. Warner, and of its successful passage he may well feel proud. He has been interested in all public matters since lo- cating here, and for six years he has served on the Board of Education at Paola, four of which he was chairman of the committee on teach- ers and text books. He resigned this position on account of his re- moval to this city, but has also been interested in educational mat- ters since his residence here. He is one of the most enterprising and successful young men in the county, and stands high in both business and social circles. Socially he is a member of the A. O. U. W., and in his political views he is a Republican. He was married December 24, 1880, to Miss Lillie B. Essex, by whom he has three children: Nellie, Pearl and Willie E. Both Mr. and Mrs. Trickett are
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members of the Congregational Church, and are highly respected citi- zens of Kansas City.
Charles Turner is the lard refiner for Swift & Co., at Kansas City, Kas., and is enegetic and pushing. He was born at South Wingfield, Derbyshire, England, September 25, 1848, his parents, George and Ann (Booth) Turner, being also natives of that place, the former's birth occurring August 26, 1808, and the latter's October 3, 1816. Their marriage was celebrated about 1838, and a family of sixteen children were in time born to them, of whom the subject of this sketch was the ninth. Their names are as follows: Mary, Alice, George, James, Charles, Ann, Samuel, Cornelius and Robert, living, and Sarah, Eliza, Frank, Robert (an elder son), Matthew, Elizabeth and Ellen (deceased). Charles and Ann came to America, but the latter afterward returned to her native land. The parents are both living, residents of Wingfield, England, and the former was for many years a manufacturer of stockings. He and his wife are honorable and up- right people, and are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having been so for fifty years. Charles Turner attended school in Wingfield until he was ten years of age, when he left school and be- gan working in a coal mine, and continued to follow this pursuit for twenty-six years. In 1886 he took passage on board the steamer "Adriatic" at Liverpool, for America, and after a stormy voyage of nine days he landed at New York, which city he reached on May 9. The following day he went to Plymouth, Penn., and for eight months worked in a coal mine at that place, but left there on January 4, 1887, and went to Angus, Boone County, Iowa, and during a period of seven weeks spent there, worked in a coal mine. In March, 1887, he re- turned eastward as far as Chicago, where he secured employment with Swift & Co., holding a position in the lard department. During two years spent at this work he thoroughly learned the art of lard refining, and in the month of June, 1889, having gained the entire confidence of his employers, he was sent by them to establish a lard refinery, in connection with their packing-house, at Kansas City, Kas. He accomplished his mission successfully, and has acted as foreman of the same ever since. He was married on April 26, 1889, in Chicago, to Miss Susan Kilpatrick, a native of County Armagh, Ireland, her birth occurring July 11, 1852, who had acted as a saleslady in a dry goods establishment in Newry, Ireland, for eight years before coming to America. She had four brothers and one sister in Canada, and one sister in Chicago, and for the purpose of visiting them
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she came to America in 1884, and being much pleased with the country she concluded to remain, and her acquaintance and marriage with Mr. Turner followed. Her sister who formerly lived in Canada has since removed to Chicago. Mr. Turner became identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church about 1870, and of this he has since been an active and consistent member. In June, 1880, he was recom- mended by his church to the general quarterly conference as a local preacher, and at the end of one year passed a thorough theological examination before the conference, which unanimously passed an opinion that he was thoroughly capable of performing the duties of a local preacher. He continued in this capacity in England until his de- parture for America, and upon locating in Plymouth, Penn., he identified himself with the church at that place, and performed the duties of a local preacher. He expounded the gospel while in Chi- cago, also, and has devoted much of his attention to that calling since coming to Kansas City. He has been recommended as a minister to the Kansas Quarterly Conference, which meets in March, 1891, and will, without doubt, become an ordained minister. During the entire twenty years of his connection with the church he has been an active Sabbath-school worker, and has acted as a teacher the entire time. Socially he belongs to the I. O. O. F., Lake City Lodge No. 42, of Chicago. Before coming to the United States, he took an active part in politics, was a member of the Liberal party, and was a stanch follower of the "G. O. M.," Gladstone. He frequently made political speeches and presided over two political meetings, which nominated the present representative from mid-Derbyshire to the British Parlia- ment. He is an intelligent and well-informed gentleman, and is al- ready accounted one of the substantial residents of Kansas City, where he and his wife have won many warm friends.
Theobald Umbstaetter is foreman of the oil house for Swift & Co., at Kansas City, a position he has held for the past four years, since 1889, serving in his present capacity in the above-named town. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, July 22, 1854, to Daniel and Louisa (Glaser) Umbstaetter, both of whom were born in Germany, coming to America while still single, and afterward marrying in Uniontown, Stark County, Ohio. To them six children were born-three sons and three daughters-Theobald and two sisters being the only mem- bers of the family now living. The parents reside in Brooklyn, Cuya- hoga County, Ohio, and are honored and respected citizens of that locality. Theobald Umbstaetter obtained his early education in his
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native town, and during his youth he assisted his father in a grocery establishment, of which the latter was proprietor, and at the age of seventeen years he accompanied his parents to Cleveland, and there entered the employ of the Glaser Brothers, proprietors of a tannery, they being his uncles. He continued with them for about six months, then became an employe of Glaser, Whitney & Co., and worked in their boot and shoe factory in different capacities until the spring of 1877, when he visited Detroit and Chicago, and went from the latter city to St. Paul, Minn., where he subsequently became employed in a fur and game establishment, remaining thus at work until the spring of 1878. Later on he gave some attention to the patent right business at that place, but in the latter part of 1878 he removed from that city to Minneapolis, and for six months worked in the boot and shoe factory belonging to Heffelfinger & Co. He then began traveling throughout the West, and in his trip visited the cities of Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Omaha, St. Joseph, Kansas City, Alton, Cairo, Memphis, Ar- kansas City, Pine Bluff, Little Rock, St. Louis, and finally went to Walnut Ridge, Ark., where for a few years he acted as steward in a railway eating-house. He next went to Arcadia, Mo., and was sim- ilarly employed for a short time, after which he went to Chicago, and a month later to Springfield, Ill., three months later going to Little Rock, where he spent one year, being differently employed at these places. After working for six months for the Central Union Tele- phone Company he went to Chicago, and was employed by Swift & Co., and has been with that firm ever since. He has been a resident of Kansas City since 1889, and is now foreman of the oil house. He was married December 26, 1888, to Miss Mary McGinnis, a native of Ireland, who came to America with an aunt at the age of sixteen years. They have one son, Theobald John (born August 27, 1889). Mr. Umbstaetter is a member of the A. O. F., and has always supported the men and measures of the Republican party.
Jacob Voegele was born in Wirtemburg, Germany, near the city of Sulz, on the river Neckar, but is now making his home with his brother-in-law, John Seemann, who resides near Kansas City, Kas. His birth occurred on January 8, 1839, and the names of his brothers and sisters are as follows: John (who resides in Montgomery County, Ohio, was formerly a farmer, but is now a contractor, and was married to Miss Christina Bernhardt), Martin (who is a merchant and machin- ist at Martinsburg, W. Va., is married to Miss Kate Gerling), Bar- bara (wife of John Seemann, see sketch), Mary (wife of John Plocher,
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resides in Montgomery County, Ohio, her husband being a carpenter and joiner by occupation), Anna (wife of Henry Zehring, a painter and glazier, resides in Dayton, Ohio), and George (who was born in Maryland, is now residing in Montgomery County, Ohio, is married to Miss Emma Stocker, and is a farmer by occupation). The father and mother of these children were born in Wirtemburg, and the former was a farmer by occupation, and for some time was an officer in the Government works. He is living at the advanced age of eighty- two years in Ohio, and his wife is seventy-seven years of age. Jacob Voegele attended the schools of Germany for eight years, and took a private course of study in the State of Maryland after coming to the United States, becoming an exceptionally well-informed young man. He is a great reader, a great admirer of standard works, and is a firm believer in the common-school system. On August 5, 1862, he en- listed in Company E, Ninety-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland under Generals Buell, Rose- crans, Grant and Thomas, and took an active part in the following battles: Stone River, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. At Stone River he was wounded by a minie-ball and buck-shot in the left hip, which wound was so serious that it kept him in the hospital for four months, and he was also wounded in the left thigh at Missionary Ridge, and was compelled to go on crutches for six months. During this time a commission as first lieutenant was awaiting Mr. Voegele, but the surgeons pronounced him unfit for further duty in the field, and he was honorably discharged July 1, 1865, and at once returned to his home. He now receives a pension from the Government for the wounds he received in his service for Uncle Sam. He has always identified himself with the Democratic party, and at one period of his life was an active politician. He served as postmaster at Miamisburg, Ohio, for a number of years during Johnson's administration and dis- charged his duties with honor to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the public. He has been a resident of America since 1855, and after a residence of five years in Maryland he went to Ohio, where he made his home for eighteen years, since which time, or since 1878, he has resided in Wyandotte County, Kas., and has devoted his attention to horticulture. He is highly esteemed by all who know him for his honesty of purpose and his intelligence. He held the office of justice of the peace in Miamisburg, Ohio, a position he held two terms, and at one time he was a prominent and popular candidate for mayor of said city, and was only defeated by two votes. He was engaged in the
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county treasurer's office during portions of three years, and was ten- dered the nomination for several important public offices, but declined them in favor of older Democrats. He has never learned to be an office seeker.
John L. Walker is a well known farmer and stock-raiser of Wyan- dotte County, Kas., but first saw the light of day in Owen County, Ind., January 3, 1834, being a son of Aquilla and Elizabeth (Dyer) Walker, who were born in Maryland and Vermont, respectively. John L. Walker made his home in Owen County, Ind., until he at- tained his sixteenth year, when he moved with his family to Crawford County, Ill., and there resided until his twenty-sixth birthday, then came to Wyandotte County, Kas. He was married on August 10, 1856, to Miss Sophia Buser, a daughter of Winnard and Sophia (Cramer) Buser. She was born in the Buckeye State, December 25, 1840, and has borne her husband six sons and seven daughters: Al- bert, Marian, Joseph, Elizabeth (wife of John Cramer), John, Lucy, George, Mollie, Dollie, and four children that died in infancy. The subject of this sketch has been a life long Republican, and in 1889 was elected to the office of justice of the peace, but did not qualify, and allowed the office to go by default to the present incumbent. When Mr. Walker first came to this county it was rolling prarie land as far as the eye could reach, and although it presented a somewhat desolate appearance, Mr. Walker set energetically to work, and after enduring many harships and privations incident to pioneer life, he conquered the many difficulties which strewed his pathway, and is now in good circumstances financially. He has always been the soul of honesty in his dealings, and has made for himself an enviable place in the esteem of his friends and acquaintances, and is recognized as one of the use- ful citizens of this locality.
Judge Matthew Rankin Walker, who was one of the early pioneer settlers of Kansas City, Kas., an honored and respected citizen, and a member of the Wyandotte tribe of Indians, was born on June 17, 1810, to William S. and Catherine (Rankin) Walker, the former of whom was a Virginian by birth and a descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh. He was captured by the Delaware Indians, and by an exchange of prisoners, which took place between them and the Wyandottes, he fell into the hands of the latter and spent the remainder of his life with that tribe. He was married to Catherine Rankin, a member of the tribe, she being a highly educated lady, having received her education in a Canadian convent. To them a large family of children were born.
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and three of their sons, William, Matthew R. and Joel, all figured conspicuously in the early history of Kansas. The parents both died in the vicinity of Sandusky, Ohio, and are sleeping their last sleep in the Indian burying-ground in that city. Upon the removal of the Wyandotte Indians from Ohio to Kansas in 1843, the three sons of William S. Walker, together with a sister, came here also, and their home for the remainder of their lives was Wyandotte. William Walker was very prominent in the early history of the State, and served as its first territorial governor, dying in Kansas City, Kas., at an extremely old age. Joel Walker was engaged in mercantile pur- suits, and in this business was very successful, amassing quite a fortune prior to his death in 1857. Matthew Rankin Walker was married in Franklin County, Ohio, to Miss Lydia Brown Ladd, by whom he became the father of seven children: Adaline, Sarah Louisa, Thomas G., Malcolm, Percy L., Clarence F. and Lillian. The eldest, Adaline, was married October 15, 1867, to Frank D. Crane, a native of Monroe, Mich., who came to Wyandotte, Kas., with, and in the employ of Samuel Hallet, the first contractor of the Union Pacific Railroad. Mr. Crane was in the employ of this road in different ca- pacities for eighteen years, or until his death November 13, 1881. His widow is now a resident of this city, and occupies a large and com- fortable residence in the Walker Addition at No. 1928 North Walnut Street, which she erected in 1887. Sarah L. and Thomas G., her brother and sister, are single and reside in California. Malcolm was married to Jane Garrett, who died, leaving a daughter, Louisa B. (who is also deceased). Percy L. married Mary Mahana Audrain, a descendant of the French and Cherokee Indians, her father being James P. Audrain, a French Canadian. She and her husband reside in Prairie City, Ind. Ter., and have four children: M. Rex, James A., Narcissa O. and Earl P. Clarence F. Walker, the sixth child, is single and resides in Prairie City, Ind. Ter. Lillian, the youngest, married John A. Hale, a lawyer of this city, and has two children: Lydia E. and Lillian. Matthew R. Walker, their father, although a farmer by occupation, was also a well-known politician, and at one time served as judge of the early courts and was also a member of the first Territorial Legislature and the Lecompton Con- vention. He was a Democrat in politics, and at the time of his death, which occurred October 14, 1860, he was a member of the Masonic order. His wife belonged to the Eastern Star Lodge, she being the first lady to join the same in the State of Kansas. Mendias Chap-
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ter, O. E. S., of Kansas City, Kas., was named in her honor. She died May 30, 1884. Judge Walker was noted for his liberality, and was always among the first to give of his means in the support of worthy enterprises and to those in distress. Notwithstanding this fact he be- cam'e quite wealthy, and at the time of his death he was one of the substantial men of the county, possessing numerous sterling qualities, and had won the esteem of all.
John Warren, the subject of this sketch, was born here in Kansas City, Kas., December 12, 1858, and is well and favorably known throughout the State. In addition to acquiring a good education in the common schools of this State, he graduated from Spaulding's Commercial College in 1878, and then engaged in agricultural pur- suits; afterward entering the general mercantile business, until May, 1885, when he was appointed city clerk of Wyandotte City, and was the first clerk after the consolidation of the three towns now known as Kansas City, Kas. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Board of education, and in November, 1886, was elected clerk of the district court of Wyandotte County on the Democrat ticket, a position he filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. After his retirement from office, he and his present partner, Mr. Frank Mapes, became asso- ciated in business, and quite extensively engaged in commercial bro- kerage. Mr. Warren is one of the promising and influential young men of this section, is well known for his noble qualities of mind and heart, and his future promises to be a decided success. In 1883 he was married to Miss Margret A. Burke, by whom he has two interest- ing children.
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