USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 42
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After graduating at the university he took one course of lectures in the Buffalo Medical College, under his preceptor, Dr. E. V. Stoddard, then professor of materia medica in that institution. In the following spring he was elected house physician of the Roch- ester city hospital, in which capacity he
served for one year. The marked increase in the number of patients and the improve- ment in the financial standing of the hos- pital gave a practical evidence of his execu- tive ability. It was an admirable training school for him in this respect. The winter of 1878-9 he passed in attending lectures in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York city, at which he graduated in the spring of 1879. After receiving his de- gree of M. D., Dr. Adams, having engaged in scientific study for three years and writ- ten a satisfactory thesis, received the degree of A. M. from his alma mater.
His diploma being now in his possession, the question where he should settle and practice medicine now came up for consid- eration. After much anxious thought and study he came west and selected Kansas City as the most desirable point for a young man to enter upon the active struggle of life and the attainment of a reputation in the medical profession. He entered actively into every project which would tend to raise the standard of medicine and to make of Kansas City a medical center for the entire Missouri valley. During the past fifteen years he has been identified, actively as a physician, with the staffs of the various hos- pitals and charitable institutions. He was one of the founders of the University Medi- cal college, and by his energy and ability has brought the institution from the matricu- lation of nine members of the first year of its existence up to an attendance of 250 for the year 1895-6. He held the position of professor of the diseases of children for the first seven years of the history of the col- lege, and for the past eight years has been professor of the diseases of women. He has also held the position of dean from 1890 up to the present time.
J. W. Keefer
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In 1872 the Doctor made a trip to Europe, and since that time has visited every part of the United States and Canada, thus adding to the classical training he received in early life a broad and liberal culture. The Doctor is a forceful lecturer and has the faculty of placing before the students the thoughts of other men, colored by his own individuality, so that a student in listening acquires knowledge with pleas- ure and without being wearied by the task. He has contributed, also, from time to time, to various medical periodicals, and has deliv- ered many lectures before the various state medical societies. Of the Kansas City Medical Index he is one of the founders.
Fraternally Dr. Adams is a Knight Templar, a thirty-second-degree Mason, and Mystic "Shriner." He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias society. He is an active member of the Æsculapian Society, the Amer- ican Medical Association, the Missouri State Medical Association, the Kansas District Medical Society, the Jackson County Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society, the Western Obstetrical and Gynecological As- sociation, the Association of Military Sur- geons of the United States, and is an hon- orary member of the Kansas State Medical Society, the New Mexico Territorial Society, the Atlantic and Pacific Railway Associa- tion, the Colorado State Medical Society, and various district societies in the states of Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. He is con- sulting physician for the Home for the Aged and a member of the staffs of All Saints and the German Hospitals, also surgeon, with the rank of lieutenant, of battery B, first artillery of the state of Missouri. The Doctor has shown a great appreciation for all medical as well as literary works, and at present has the largest and best medical 20
library in the Mississippi valley. He belongs to the American section of the Theosophi- cal Society.
ACOB WESLEY KEEFER. - Three centuries ago, when the Huguenots could no longer find safety in France and in order to save their lives were forced to flee to other lands, members of the Keefer family who belonged to that heroic band went to Switzerland and Ger- many, locating on the banks of the Rhine, and in the midst of that beautiful region lived for one hundred and fifty years. At the end of that time their descendants again emigrated, and in the eighteenth century located in the counties of Lancaster, Frank- lin and Cumberland in Pennsylvania. Many of them became prominent citizens of those localities. Their descendants are now widely scattered over the country, and among the number descending from the same ancestors is Warren J. Keefer, ex- member of congress from Ohio.
The gentleman whose naine introduces this review was born in Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1822, a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Pulk) Keefer, the former a native of the Keystone state and the latter of Virginia. The mother died during the childhood of our subject, leaving five sons, the younger brother being Colonel Samuel Keefer, who served as lieutenant colonel of the seventy- fourth Indiana infantry during the civil war. He afterward became landlord of the Grand Central Hotel in New York city, in which house " Jim " Fisk was killed; afterward he located near Los Angeles, California, where his death occurred some years since.
Jacob W. Keefer spent his boyhood days
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in the state of his nativity, and both he and his brother learned the carpenter's trade in Murphysburg, Pennsylvania. Having re- solved to try his fortune in the west, he took up his residence in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1842, his preparation for his business career being his knowledge of his trade and a cash capital of thirty-six dollars, · but he possessed a courageous spirit and a determination to succeed, and with an un- faltering purpose sought employment. He there assisted in building the St. Jo Mill, and a year and a half later removed to Columbia City, Whitley county, Indiana, where he made his home for twenty years, engaged in the cabinet and house-joining trades.
While in Fort Wayne, Mr. Keefer was united in marriage with Miss Charlotte Rudacile, also a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania. A year later she died, in Columbia City, and two weeks afterward their little daughter passed away. For his second wife he wedded Miss Esther Jones, with whom he had attended school in his childhood days. She also survived her inar- riage for only about a year, and the son of this union died about the same time. While still a resident of Columbia City, Indiana, Mr. Keefer was united in marriage with Maria Jane Fetters, of Pennsylvania parent- age, and a native of Lancaster, Ohio. They had four children: Luther, who died at the age of fourteen; Willie, who died at the age of two years; Maud, who became the wife of Dr. Keith, of Excelsior Springs, and died a year later, both she and her little son; and Mary Elizabeth, wife of G. W. Schooley, who is engaged in the real-estate business in Kansas City.
Mr. Keefer prospered in his business un- dertakings while in Indiana, and extended
his operations into various lines of endeavor. He engaged in buying and selling land and stock, and also followed merchandising and milling. He erected a mill at Cold Spring, on the head waters of the Tippecanoe, ten iniles north of Columbia City, -the first inill on that stream,-and there laid off a town which is known as Cold Spring. He also carried on a store at that place and in Columbia City, and by the careful manage- ment of his business interests and close ap- plication he succeeded in acquiring consider- able property. When twenty years had passed he determined to remove farther westward, and disposing of his interests there brought with him a cash capital of $40,000.
Two years previously Mr. Keefer had invested in business enterprises in Missouri, and was the owner of two mercantile estab- lishments in Osceola, Missouri, where he was located at the time of the battle of Wil- son's creek. Realizing the troubles and difficulties that must occur on the border, he hauled his goods to Sedalia, thence to Jefferson City, and shipped them by rail to Indiana, where he traded his stock for a large milling property. He left Osceola just two weeks before "Jim" Lane burned that town. He then conducted his mill very successfully, and at the close of the war removed from Columbia City, Indiana, to Kansas City. Here he at once opened a general mercantile establishment on Main near Seventh street, which he managed, the goods, however, being the property of his brother, who was engaged in the jobbing trade in New York. Mr. Keefer also be- came largely interested in real-estate deal- ing. He purchased lots at the junction of Main and Delaware streets for $500 each, and afterward sold this property for $100,-
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000. He also made judicious investments in the heart of the city, and purchased farm- ing land in Jackson county, much of which he afterward sold at greatly advanced prices. He bought a business block in Independence, where he carried on a store for a time, and for some years was a successful furniture merchant of Kansas City. Immediately after the close of the war, when prices were very low, he bought goods at a great advantage and successfully conducted his store until I872.
When the German Savings Bank was organized by some of the oldest residents of Kansas City, Mr. Keefer became one of the stockholders and was made vice-president. This bank was wrecked by its cashier, John Harris, who made his escape with more than $20,000. This caused the failure of the institution and claims came against Mr. Keefer. He was then reputed to be worth $100,000, and he resolved to make the ad- ditional money necessary to pay off the bank's indebtedness; but the financial panic that swept the country in 1873 forced him to make an assignment in favor of his mer- cantile creditors in New York. The honor- able and straightforward policy of the man was now shown. He turned over all of his extensive property interests with the excep- tion of a small piece in Westport, where for two or three years he was engaged in rais- ing peaches. Vastly different was this life from that to which he had been accustomed for some years past, but, rightly considering all labor honorable if faithfully performed, he carried on this work until there was a change for the better in business circles generally, and he then gave his attention to other interests. A piece of property which he had formerly owned at Ninth and Main streets, and which he had valued at $26,000,
sold for only $15,000. Later he repurchased it for only $6,000, and fitted it up as a hotel, known as the Planters' House, and afterward as the Atlantic House. Subse- quently he sold this for $100,000, and this gave him a new start in business. He erected a home where he now lives on Penn street, settled all his other debts, and made numerous investments which proved judi- cious and profitable until he was once more numbered among the most substantial citi- zens of this place. He has erected a num- ber of fine residences, and good business blocks, including the Keefer hall at the cor- ner of Sixteenth and Pennsylvania streets. He also made investments in large orange farms in California, upon which he has made extensive improvements and has also en- gaged in making loans on real estate. His life is well worthy of emulation. He has overcome adversity which would have dis- heartened most other men, and has achieved a success of which he may justly feel proud. Through all he has maintained a reputation for honorable, upright dealing that is indeed enviable, and upon his ca- reer there falls no shadow of wrong or sus- picion of evil.
Mr. Keefer is a valued member of sev- eral civic societies. He belongs to Gate City lodge, I. O. O. F., of Kansas City, has filled all of its chairs, and is also a mem- ber of the encampment, of which he is serv- ing as past grand. He also affiliates with Gate City lodge, F. & A. M., both of which organizations meet in his hall, which was erected especially for these fraternities. In politics he was a Clay whig until the war, when he supported Bell and Everett. La- ter he became a democrat and was elected to the city council on that ticket, but is rather independent in his political prefer-
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ences. For two terms he served in the council. He was reared in the German Reformed church, was vestryman of St. Luke's Episcopal church for seven years, but afterward aided in organizing the Lu- theran church, and four years later, when the German Reformed church was estab- lished, he returned to the faith of his fathers and has since been one of the active and influential members of that congregation. In 1888 he was sent as delegate to the Pres- byterian Alliance, to London, England. Recently he was elected to the general synod, which is to meet in Dayton, Ohio, in May, 1896, and is spoken of as a delegate to the General Presbyterian Alliance to be held in Edinburg, Scotland.
J L. GRIDER, attorney-at-law, Kan- sas City, is a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, born June II, 1858. He is a son of Benjamin C. and Fannie (Underwood) Grider, natives of the " Blue Grass" state, of English descent. His paternal grandfather, Henry Grider, and his maternal grandfather, Warner Under- wood, were both gentlemen of prominence, having a national reputation as statesmen. The former was a member of congress, dying in 1866, while filling that important position of honor and trust. The latter was consul to Glasgow, Scotland, under President Lincoln, and had also been hon- ored by a seat in the congress of the United States.
The father of our subject, also a gentle- man of great intellectual force, was a lawyer by profession and attained eminence at the bar. At the beginning of the late war be- tween the north and the south he espoused the federal cause and took a prominent part
in the enlistment and organization of the ninth Kentucky United States army, of which he was commissioned colonel. Sub- sequently, for meritorious service and gal- lantry, he was commissioned brigadier gen- eral. Taking exception to President Lincoln's proclamation freeing the slaves, considering it a breach of faith, he resigned in 1863. Returning to civic life he resumed the prac- tice of law at Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he died in 1872. Mrs. Grider is liv- ing and resides in Kentucky. To them were born two children: W. U., at Bowling Green, Kentucky; and J. L.
Mr. Grider enjoyed exceptionally good educational advantages in his youth. At the age of eighteen years he graduated at the Georgetown College in the literary de- partment, and at the Cumberland Univer- sity, of Tennessee, in the law department, in 1881. Two years later he went to south- ern Kansas. In 1886 he was elected prose- cuting attorney for the nineteenth judicial dis- trict of Kansas. In 1888 he was presidential elector for the state at large on the Cleve- land and Thurman ticket. In 1891 he came to Kansas City, and since has been actively engaged in the practice of law, having built up an extensive business. He inherits in a large degree the intellectual abilities of his worthy progenitors, and is one of the best-read men in the law at the Jackson county bar. Socially he is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity and Sons of the Revolution.
A. NEAL, assistant prosecuting attorney, Kansas City, is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, born De- cember 17, 1856, and is a son of Moses M. and Letitia A. (King) Neal, na-
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tives of the "Blue Grass " state. Mr. Neal was a tanner by trade, but the principal business of his life was hotel-keeping, hav- ing been the popular proprietor of the St. Cloud and National Hotels, of Louisville, first-class houses, and in their day well- known hostelries. At the breaking out of hostilities in the late struggle between the north and the south, his sympathy was with the federal cause, which he espoused with much warmth and patriotic enthusiasm.
His enlistment in the thirty-ninth Indi- ana infantry immediately followed, and upon the organization of the regiment he was elected second lieutenant of company B. Subsequently the regiment was reorganized, becoming known as the third Indiana cav- alry. He was in active service from this date of his enlistment, principally in the early campaigning of Kentucky and Tennes- see. In the battle of Murfreesboro, Ten- nessee, July 13, 1862, he fell at the head of his company, while resisting the furious and repeated charges of a desperate enemy. His gallantry as a soldier and his popularity as a business man of affairs clearly indicate in him the noblest qualities of manhood. His widow, still devoted to his memory, is yet living, and resides in Kansas City. Three of their children are living, -George A., Frank, and Mollie C., wife of W. E. Woods.
The old St. Cloud Hotel, of Louisville, was the birthplace of our subject. When he was two years old his parents removed to Hamilton county, Indiana, the home of the family until after the death of Mr. Neal, in 1862, when the mother with her children returned to Henry county, Kentucky. Here our subject attended the common schools, and later took a finishing course at Smith- field College, Kentucky, a private institu- tion.
His natural bent was for the law, and upon leaving college he began reading, and in due course of time was admitted to the bar. The date of his admission was March, 1881; and the same year he went to Osce- ola, Missouri, where he established himself in practice, remaining until 1890, when he removed to Kansas City. His early suc- cesses in the law were pronounced in char - acter, and he commanded a good practice, considering the limited litigation consequent to a small place; and because of this cir- cumscribed condition he decided to locate in Kansas City. In 1889 he was appointed United States district attorney for the west- ern district of Missouri, which office he cred- itably filled till March 10, 1894. His prac- tice since locating here has been eminently satisfactory both as to volume of business and degree of success attained.
Subsequent to the November election of 1894, a committee was appointed to inves- tigate the glaringly apparent frauds of that election. Mr. Neal was chosen chairman of that committee. The investigation that followed was mercilessly made, and numer- ous violations of the election laws were un- earthed. On this matter all his energies were concentrated, it being largely through his personal efforts that about fifty indict- ments were found. In order that he might better present the matter to the grand jury, he accepted the appointment of assistant prosecuting attorney. He has always taken a deep interest and borne an active part in purifying the politics of the city; and his work and influence has been felt, his blows often falling in places where least expected, much to the chagrin and mortification of the exposed parties.
For a number of years he has been prominent in national politics. To the re-
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publican national convention held in Chi- cago in 1888 he went as a delegate. He was also a member of the celebrated "low- water-mark committee," which had in charge the candidacy of General Harrison in the Minneapolis convention in 1892. This com- mittee was composed of many distinguished men, Chauncey Depew, Senator Sawyer and ex-Senator Spooner being among the num- ber. Socially Mr. Neal is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
He was united in marriage with Miss Lily B. High, of Louisville, Kentucky, in December, 1881. They have three chil- dren: Maude, aged eleven years; Lillie B., eight; and Rodi, six. He and his estimable wife are exemplary members of the Method- ist Episcopal church. Mr. Neal's profes- sional and personal integrity is irreproacha- ble. He is an honorable opponent, a loyal friend. His manner is frank, cordial and courteous. His active synipathy with every exalted public impulse and purpose can always be relied on. His life is open, clean and elevated: his impulses warm, ardent and generous; his record untarnished, and his character an inspiration. No man stands higher in the esteem of his fellow men, and few have unconsciously done more to de- serve it.
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3 T. COOMBS, a prominent surgeon, who, having located in Kansas City only a year and a half ago; has al- ready won an enviable position in the profession. He is a Kentuckian by birth and education, born in Campbellsburg, May 14, 1869, son of W. P. and Lizzie F. (Camp- bell) Coombs, both of whom were born in our subject's native town. The place re-
ceived its name in honor of his maternal family. The Coombs family descended from English ancestors and became early settlers in Virginia, subsequently removing to Ken- tucky, where the family became prominent in educational and political matters. Hon. Leslie Coombs, one of the brilliant men of that state, is a relative of this family. The father of our subject was a prominent planter and a gentleman of great respectability and influence, now living a retired life on the old homestead. To him and his estimable wife two children were born: George H., Ph. D., now a distinguished clergyman of the Chris- tian church, located in Kansas City; and Dr. James T.
The latter was reared on the farm, fol- lowing the plow till he was eighteen years of age, having attended the public school near his home. After a term in the Kentucky University he began the study of medicine, and later matriculated at Chicago Homeo- pathic College, where he took a full course, graduating in 1892. Immediately thereafter he was appointed surgical assistant to Lin- coln Park Sanitarium, of Chicago, where he remained eighteen months. After a short visit to his old home in Kentucky he pro- ceeded to Kansas City and established him- self in practice. His abilities soon won him recognition, and the beginning has been eminently satisfactory in every way; it seems to clearly point to a bright future. He has recently been appointed to the chair of clin- ical medicine in the Kansas City Homeo- pathic College; is secretary of the society for the elevation and promotion of home- opathy, and surgeon of the Consolidated Street railway system of Kansas City. He is well represented in the medical societies, being a member of the Missouri State Medical, American, State Institute,
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Jackson County Medical, the Kansas City Homeopathic Club and the Missouri Valley Homeopathic Institute. He is also a member of the Order of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons. Politically he acts with the democratic party.
His marriage occurred October 15, 1895, Miss Nellie V., daughter of Hon. Joseph C. Moore, of Nashville, Tennessee, becoming his wife.
J AMES L. H. FRANKLIN, well known as one of the substantial and progressive farmers and highly es- teemed citizens of Fort Osage town- ship, Jackson county, Missouri, is a native of this place and has spent his whole life here. His fine farm comprises 480 acres and has valuable improvements thereon, and to the cultivation of his broad acres and the raising of stock his whole time and atten- tion are devoted.
Mr. Franklin's father, Benjamin Frank- lin, was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and there his early boyhood days were spent. In 1831 he accompanied his father, Lewis Franklin, to Jackson county, Mis- souri. Lewis Franklin died in this county in the fall of 1860. Benjamin grew to man- hood here, chose agricultural pursuits for his occupation, settled in Fort Osage town- ship, and here in the prime of life, at the age of thirty-three years, he died. He had married Miss Letha Horn, a native of John- son county, Missouri, and their only child is James L. H. Franklin, who was born March 30, 1842, in Fort Osage township, was reared to farm life here, and, as already stated, has devoted his energies to farming and stock raising. His educational advan-
tages were limited to the common schools of the district.
He has been thrice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Miss Mar- ritte Lyon and who was a daughter of the Lewis Lyon, of Fort Osage township, bore him one child, James L., who died at the age of one year; and she died in Denver, Colorado, in 1874, whither she had gone in the hope of regaining her health. His sec- ond wife, nce Laura Turner, died in this township without issue. The present Mrs. Franklin was formerly Miss Virginia L. Barnes and is a native of Missouri. They have one child, Marriotta.
Mr. Franklin is democratic in his polit- ical views, and while he takes a commenda- ble interest in all public affairs and espe- cially local ones, he has never been an aspir- ant for official preferment, nor has he ever held office. He is a member of the Baptist church and is an active worker in and a liberal supporter of the same.
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