USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 19
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Our subject has put forth every effort to make the Kansas City fire department equal to any in this country and has suc- ceeded in accomplishing this result, bending every energy to that end. He possesses all the necessary qualifications for an able fire department chief, and, though realizing to
the fullest extent the responsibilities resting on him, in times of fire he is perfectly cool and collected, and therefore able to capably direct his men and make their service the most effective. His judgment is sound, -an essential quality, for in case of fire the chief is autocratic and his word is a law from
which there is no appeal. Mr. Hale is per- fectly fearless in the discharge of his duties, and not only commands his men but leads them where the danger is greatest. His method of fighting fire is at once systematic and scientific, and consequently no time is wasted in false moves, which is sometimes the case where there exists a lack of system. His discipline, while firm, is not severe or arbitrary, and his kindness and solicitude for the welfare of his subordinates has won him the esteem of the entire force of the department.
Mr. Hale has closely studied the whole field of Kansas City and laid his plans so as to make the service most beneficial. The various departments are equipped in a most complete manner with all modern machinery and accessories, including several of Mr. Hale's inventions. Among the chiefs of other fire departments he has the reputation of being the mechanical genius of the order. His inventive mind has been steadily engaged upon new and important devices whereby a fire can be most scientifically and success- fully fought. Most of his inventions have been in connection with fire apparatus and department supplies. One of his earliest inventions, however, was the Hale rotary steam engine, which is highly recommended by the United States navy. His device for hitching horses used in fire departments, whereby at the sounding of the alarm the halter becomes detached, allowing the animal to spring to position, was also among his earlier inventions. Believing that one moment at a fire in its incipiency is worth an hour after it is fairly underway, Mr. Hale's inventions have been perfected with this aim in view. One of the most impor- tant of these is the Hale swinging harness. It embraces the most complete, the quickest
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and least complicated method of hitching in use, and is employed in fire departments throughout the United States. The time required for hitching by this method is from one and three-quarters to three seconds. In February, 1888, he completed his auto- matic horse cover. He also invented the Hale cellar pipe with improved spray nozzle. This is designed for fires in cellars and base- ments. The Hale tin-roof cutter and the Hale electric wire-cutter were two very im- portant additions to fire appliances; the Hale improved telephone fire-alarm system, which was the production of his mind, has proved of the greatest importance to the fire depart- inent of Kansas City; also the Hale water tower, which is perhaps one of the most im- portant additions to fire apparatus of the nineteenth century.
Mr. Hale had the honor of representing his nation in the International Fire Congress held at Agricultural Hall, London, June 12 to 17, 1893 .. With a picked crew of eight members of the Kansas City fire department and a team of trained horses, together with all the necessary equipments found in a model engine-house, he left Kansas City, and after being handsomely entertained by the Chief Engineers' Club of Massachusetts, in Boston, and by the New York Press Club and others in New York, he and his men took passage on the City of Rome on the 27th of May, and on the 4th of June, as the steamer neared Moville, Ireland, they were met by a small boat having on board a committee of reception to escort them to London. On the evening of the same day they landed at Greenock, Scotland, and visited in Glasgow for two days, where they were royally enter- tained. They received like treatment in Edinburg, and floating over many of the large buildings in the different cities could
be seen the American flag in honor of their visit. On the morning of the 8th of June they arrived in London and were escorted with ceremony to the Royal Agricultural Hall. After the opening ceremonies the various fire companies representing the dif- ferent nations passed in parade around the extensive arena, and America was given the post of honor, leading all other nations with the stars and stripes floating above. The little band of picked men from the Kansas City fire department gave several creditable exhibitions, which won the heartiest ap- plause from the multitude assembled, and demonstrated the superiority of the methods of protection against fire in this country. On the evening of June 17, immediately after completing their last exhibition, they were marched up before the royal box, and after a very complimentary speech delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Seabrook upon the American methods of drills and displays of apparatus each one was presented with an elegant gold medal, the presentation being made by Miss Shaw, daughter of Sir Eyre M. Shaw, ex-chief of the London fire brig- ade. They were also presented with two handsomely engraved diplomas for best drills and apparatus. In Glasgow, where they were again entertained most royally and where they gave exhibitions, they were presented with a handsome silver water set.
The honors which Mr. Hale received were certainly well merited, and he is in- deed a worthy representative of that line of service on whose faithful performance so often depends not only extensive property interests, but the safety of many lives. The deeds of the firemen to-day rival in bravery those. of the chivalrous knights of olden times. Personally, Mr. Hale is a broad- minded man, a student, analytical, carrying
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his researches and investigations far beyond the required limits of his duty. In manner he is pleasant, courteous and genial, and to his hosts of warm friends at home he added many during his stay abroad.
J OHN H. THOMSON, clerk of the criminal court of Kansas City, was born near Independence, Missouri, November 5, 1841, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Maria L. (Shortridge) Thompson, natives of Kentucky. The pa- ternal grandfather, Matthew Thomson, was a native of Virginia and removed to Ken- tucky at an early day in its history. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. There he fol- lowed farming throughout his business ca- reer, and died in Clark county, at an ad- vanced age. The maternal grandfather, Samuel Shortridge, was also a Kentucky farmer and died at the age of fifty. The father of our subject carried on the same pursuit. He is numbered among Missouri's pioneers of 1839, at which time he took up his residence about three and a half miles southwest of Independence, where he en- gaged in cultivating his land and reared his family. His death occurred on the Ist of May, 1861, at the age of forty-two years. His widow still survives him, and now makes her home in Independence. Both were consistent members and active workers in the Christian church, and the father served as deacon. He was sheriff of Jackson county for two terms, and also a member of the legislature. While acting in the former capacity, he also performed the duties of assessor and collector. He was a man of recognized prominence in the com- munity, and his sterling qualities command- ed the respect of all. Mr. and Mrs. Thomson
had eight sons and two daughters, and six are yet living, namely: William A., John H., Matthew T., Benjamin F., Edwin H., and Robert B.
The subject of this review was reared in Jackson county on the old home farm and acquired his education in the district schools. To his father he gave the benefit of his serv- ice until he had attained his majority, after which he engaged in teaching school for one term. He then engaged in farming for two years, after which he established a grocery store in Kansas City, conducting the same from 1868 until 1872. In 1874 he was elected clerk of the criminal court, but after about five months was forced to resign on account of ill health, and went to New Mexico. For seven months he was em- ployed as clerk in the post-office at Santa Fe, and was then appointed clerk of the district court of that territory, by virtue of which office he was clerk of the supreme court, and in those capacities he served for three years. The following year he spent in California, after which he returned to Santa Fe, and was secretary of the terri- torial board of immigration for a year. Ill health then forced him to go to California, and in 1885 he returned to Jackson county, Missouri, being soon after appointed clerk of the probate court of Independence. In 1890 he was nominated and elected clerk of the criminal court for a term of four years, and in 1894 was re-elected, so that he is now serving his second term.
During the civil war our subject was for six months a member of the Missouri state guard in Price's command. Socially, he is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and a mem- ber of Palestine commandery, of Independ- ence. He votes with the democracy. All his life has been passed in Jackson county,
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with the exception of the years which he passed in New Mexico and California for the sake of his health. He is therefore well known to many citizens of the com- munity and has lived so as to command their confidence and respect. He is popular and has many warm friends who esteem him highly for his sterling worth and many ex- cellencies of character.
W. RATHBONE, M. D., has been identified with the medical profes- sion of Kansas City, Missouri, since 1883, and is recognized as one of the leading physicians of the city. As such he is a fit subject for biographical honors, and we are pleased in this connection to present an outline of his life's career.
F. W. Rathbone was born in Wirt county, West Virginia, January 12, 1856, his parents being John C. and Eliza (Van- derbeek) Rathbone, the former a native of New York state and the latter of New Jer- sey. The family of which the Doctor is a member was composed of ten children, five sons and five daughters, and of this number only four are now living, -Abram, William P., Francis W. and John C., Jr. Their mother died in 1892, at the age of seventy years. The venerable father is still living, his home being in Holden, Missouri. Early in life he was employed as civil engineer, later was engaged in the oil business and banking, being thus occupied up to 1883, when he came west to Kansas City. Here he lived retired for nine years, and since 1892 has resided at Holden. He is a devout Catholic, as was also his wife, and in that faith they reared their family. During the civil war he was a soldier in the eleventh Virginia volunteer infantry, served three
years, and came out of the army with the rank of colonel. His intimate acquaintance with the country made him especially val- uable on the patrol, in which he was occu- pied during the greater part of his army life.
Dr. Rathbone's grandfather, William Palmer Rathbone, was a New Yorker by birth, a farmer by occupation, and spent many years in the western part of Virginia, where he died, at the age of eighty-two years. He had charge of the commissary department after the war of 1812, was well educated, was one of the leading spirits of his day and place, and served as one of the judges of his district. His family was com- posed of six children. The Doctor's ma- ternal ancestors were of Holland-Dutch ori- gin. His grandfather, Abram J. Vander- beek, was born in New Jersey, followed the quiet life of a farmer, and lived to the ad- vanced age of eighty-six years.
Dr. Rathbone was reared chiefly at Par- kersburg, West Virginia, and received his early schooling there. Then he attended Wheeling College, and later the Christian Brothers', or Rock Hill, College, at Ellicott City. He began studying medicine at Jef- ferson College, Philadelphia, in 1872, and the following year was a student in the Col- lege of Pharmacy in New York city. About this time his failing health compelled him to drop his studies, and it was not until some years later that he took them up again. He graduated in 1883, and the same year he came west and opened an office in Kan- sas City, where, as already stated, he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. He is a member of the regular medical profession and of the Jackson County Medical Society.
Dr. Rathbone's home is at No. 1015 Prospect avenue, Kansas City, and his fam-
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ily is composed of wife and three children. He was married February 27, 1878, to Miss Arianna J. Hannan, daughter of J. R. Han- nan. Their children are Stella, Marie and Cameron. The Doctor adheres to the faith of the Roman Catholic church, in which he was reared, and to the political principles of the democratic party, and his wife is an Epis- copalian.
J AMES H. HARKLESS, of the firm of Harkless, O'Grady & Crysler, at- torneys at law, Kansas City. - A study of the lives of the successful men of all ages and climes has been one of absorbing interest, and especially in this broad western land of ours, where so many opportunities are offered for the ambitious young man to rise, do we find the study of biography an interesting one. Indeed, the only bar to success in this land is lack of will power. It is needless to say that Mr. Harkless is a self-made man.
" Every man is the architect of his own character as well as his own fortune." "Honor and fame from no condition rise; act well your part ; there all the honor lies."
Mr. Harkless was born in Belmont county, Ohio, May 15, 1856, and is a son of James and Sarah (McConn) Harkless, natives of Morgan county, Ohio, and Ohio county, West Virginia, respectively. Both families are of Scotch-Irish origin. In his earlier life Mr. Harkless was a successful and well-known railroad contractor. He and his partner, a Mr. McCartney, had the contract for the construction of the Balti- more & Ohio railroad between Hagerstown, Maryland, and Grove Creek, West Virginia, a distance of thirty-two miles. In 1860 Mr. Harkless came west, temporarily loca-
ting at Charleston, Illinois. Here he re- sided during the war period, having been connected with a local military organization that did good service in preserving the peace and suppressing defiant treason that here reared aloft its hideous head.
In 1866 he moved to Barton county, Missouri, and located in Lamar. Here he and his son, James H., then a lad of ten years, engaged in freighting in Sedalia, Mis- souri. In this business they were engaged until the organization of the Southwestern Stage Company, in which Mr. Harkless be- came a stockholder. Subsequently he re- tired from the activities of a business life and settled on a farm near Lamar, where he died in 1883. Mrs. Harkless preceded her husband to the unknown world, her death having occurred in 1881. They were parents of five children : James H .; Thomas W., of the firm of Harkless, Allen & Company, merchants, Lamar, Missouri; Ella, wife of Monroe Billings, superintend- ent of bridge construction of the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf railroad; George A., member of a mercantile firm at Lamar; Cora B., wife of W. B. Moudy, of Fort Scott.
The subject of this review was reared on the farm. In the public schools he received an elementary education. At the age of ten years he drove a freight wagon for his father from Lamar to Sedalia, Missouri, a distance of 160 miles, taking eight days to make a trip. He also drove stage on the Southwest Stage line, and herded cattle on the prairies of Missouri. Thus was life passed till his nineteenth year, gaining an experience that has been of the greatest ad- vantage to him. His natural bent was not for a life such as he had followed up to this time. He had for some time been predis-
Ab. Smith
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posed to the law as a career most to his liking.
In 1875 he entered the law office of Hon. R. B. Robinson, of Lamar, under whose able direction he diligently read until April, 1877, when, passing a highly creditable ex- amination, he was admitted to the bar. He was immediately taken into partnership by his preceptor, with whom he practiced at Lamar till 1886, when they both came to Kansas City, where their association was continued. In 1887 John O'Grady was ad- mitted to the firm, and in 1892 Mr. Robin- son retired, since when the style of the firm has been Harkless, O'Grady & Crysler.
Mr. Harkless was chairman of the Re- publican county committee and was presi- dent of the State Republican League, which met at Sedalia in 1892, and was made his own successor by the convention of 1894 that met at Springfield. He has been hon- ored by appointment to the position of as- sistant city counselor, and was twice ten- dered the nomination for congressman, -all of which honors he declined. His activity in politics has not been for personal gain or aggrandizement. He believes the interests of the people are best subserved by repub- lican principles of government, and this rea- son alone has prompted his advocacy of these principles. The ability, sterling in- tegrity and undaunted courage shown by Mr. Harkless, and his stalwart republican- ism, tempered by a just conception of the equities of public good, command for him both voice and influence in the councils of his party. Possessed of rare mental attain- ments and accurate knowledge of law, with keen perceptions of fine points and nice dis- tinctions, his power of language and oratory have won for him an enviable place at the bar of his state.
He was united in marriage with Miss Cad M. Kiser, a graduate of Otterbein College, Ohio, and a young lady of rare accomplish- ments. They have two children, -Fay and James.
AJOR P. C. SMITH .- Among the delightful rural homes in Jackson county, Missouri, is that of the gentleman whose name introduces this biographical record, its loca- tion being on section 5, township 47 north, and range 32 west, Washington township. The period of his identification with the history of this locality covers three decades, and during the thirty years of his residence here he has been a prominent factor in the affairs of the community, aiding and pro- moting all interests which are calculated to advance the general welfare. He is justly deserving of the high esteem in which he is held, for his life has been one of honor and upright in its various relations, characterized by that true manly principle which never fails to win esteem and command ad- miration. The Major comes of a family that has long been established in this country and one noted for its loyalty and fidelity to the nation. His forefathers figured in the wars of the country, -in the revolution which gave to America her independence and in the second war with England; and his own title was earned while fighting for the preservation of the union as he followed the stars and stripes on southern battle-fields.
He was born in Clermont county, Ohio, on the 11th of March, 1832, and is a son of John P. Smith. His father was born in New Jersey, in the year 1793, and the grand- father was also a native of that state and a direct descendant of John Pye Smith, a
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notable old English divine. In Clermont county, Ohio, John P. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Naomi Higbee, a native of New Jersey and a daughter of George Hig- bee. Her paternal grandfather was a cap- tain in the Revolutionary war and rendered valiant service on many a battle-field. The Higbees, like the Smiths, were of English origin, and both families moved in the same year-1818-to Clermont county, Ohio. There, as before stated, the parents were married and took up their residence upon a farm. To them were born nine children, four of whom are now living, -two sons and two daughters. The mother died in Clermont county, in 1851, and the father, surviving her for a number of years, passed away in 1875. He was a veteran of the war of 1812 and both he and his good wife were devoted and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Major Smith of this review, the youngest son in his father's family, was reared to manhood .under the parental roof, while in the village school near his home he acquired his education. At the age of nineteen he left home and went to Cincinnati, where he engaged in clerking for several years, or until 1855, when he emigrated to Adams county, Illinois, and embarked in business on his own account, as a dealer in general merchandise, in Lima, where he carried on operations until 1862.
The war had been inaugurated and the patriotic spirit was strong within him,-far stronger than the desire for wealth. Put- ting aside all personal considerations, he enlisted, in August, 1862, becoming a mem- ber of company G, one hundred and nine- teenth Illinois infantry. He was made captain of the company on its organization and served as such two years, at the expira-
tion of which time he was made major of the same regiment, his promotion being in recognition of his valiant conduct on the field of battle. With the boys in blue he first marched to Jackson, Tennessee, and soon after took part in the battle of Ruther- ford, where he conducted the fight with two companies under his own command, against Forrest. Here Captain Smith was forced to surrender, but after two weeks was released on parole at Columbus, Kentucky, and from there went to St. Louis, where he served on court martial six months under General Schofield. He was then exchanged and returned to his regiment at Memphis, Ten- nessee, and again took command of his company. He was on the Meridian cam- paign under General Sherman, and was a participant in the Red river expedition under General Banks, during which he engaged with his men in the battles of Fort De Rus- sey, Pleasant Hill, Cane river, Bayou La Moore, Marksville and Yellow Bayou. When the army was forced to withdraw from that region the command to which Major Smith was attached was left to cover the retreat. He was afterward in the campaign in Ar- kansas against Marmaduke, and subse- quently participated in the battle of Tu- pelo, Mississippi; then went into Missouri against Price, but the sixteenth army corps under General A. J. Smith turned back at Harrisonville and went to Nashville, where he was in the two-days battle under General George H. Thomas. It was immediately after the engagement at Nashville that he was promoted major of his regiment. Then followed the transfer to New Orleans and Mobile, the siege and capture of Spanish Fort, and of Fort Blakely, and the surren- der of Mobile .-- in all of which he was a participant. By the fortunes of war he was
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next transferred to Montgomery, Alabama, and a month later he returned to Mobile, where he was honorably discharged, August 20, 1865, after a service of just three years. Throughout his army life, although he was often in the hottest of the fight, he never received a wound. Faithfully and loyally he followed the old flag until the stars and stripes floated over the capital of the south- ern confederacy, when he returned to his home with the consciousness of ever having done his duty.
While in Missouri during the war Major Smith was very favorably impressed with the climate and natural resources of this section of the state, and the year following his return from the army he came back to Missouri and has since made this place his home. It was in April, 1866, that he lo- cated on his present farm, a tract compris- ing 140 acres, which he has brought under a high state of cultivation and improve- ment. His wife also owns forty acres of choice land, and their fine residence is one of the most attractive in the community, giving evidence of the culture and refine- ment of the inmates.
Major Smith was married in 1858, to Miss Naomi J. Killam, a native of Lima, Illinois, and a daughter of Thomas Killam, who for many years was one of the most prominent residents of that locality and a most ardent advocate of abolition principles. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have six children, namely: Ernest E., who is living in Kansas City, and, in connection with Elbert E., is publisher of the Daily Law and Credit Record of Kansas City; Mrs. Almina Camp- bell, Mrs. Fannie Bryant, Harold A. and Clifford B.
Major Smith has long been identified with the Masonic fraternity, and being a
union veteran is of course a member of the popular organization known as the Grand Army of the Republic. His political views harmonize with the principles of the repub- lican party, to which his support and in- fluence have been given since he has attained his majority. He is a warm friend of the cause of education, does all in his power to advance its interests, and for forty years has most capably served as school director. He takes an active interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community and its advancement in moral, social and legitimate business lines. He is a man whom to know is to respect and esteem, and his friends throughout the community are many. On anothor page appears a portrait of the major, who, whether in public or in private life, has commanded the respect of all with whom he has come in contact.
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