USA > Oklahoma > Portrait and biographical record of Oklahoma; commemorating the achievements of citizens who have contributed to the progress of Oklahoma and the development of its resources, V. 1 > Part 44
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At the age of fifteen, in 1874, Frank M. Guin moved from Clinton county, Mo., and settled in
W. M. BURHANS, Okarche.
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Cowley county, Kans. Later he farmed and raised stock in Stafford county, the same state, tar four years. In 1889 he made the run from Big Camp, Buffalo Springs, and secured his daim in Union township, Kingfisher county, Att one o'clock of April 22. With the excep- is n of fifteen acres the claim was densely cov- red with timber, which he at once began to re- time, and planted sixty acres with corn and n heat. The land is all fenced in and is hog tight. The orchard contains about seven hundred trees, which bear well, the fruit being of good quality. In all twenty-five acres are given over to the orchard. Mr. Guinn is largely interested in cattle raising, and has a large-sized herd of Durhams and Herefords: he also raises hogs, making a specialty of Poland-Chinas, among which are some registered stock.
ln 1885 occurred the marriage of Mr. Guinn :ud Flora May Knox. and of this union there are five children: Ethel, Edna, Glenn, Lassie and James Howard. In politics Mr. Guinn is a Democrat, but has never had political aspira- tions. Fraternally he is associated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. at Hennessey, : nd is Royal Sachem of Comanche Tribe No. 8, 1. O. R. M., at Hennessey.
W M. BURHANS, the efficient manager and secretary of the Oklahoma Cement & Plaster Company. at Okarche, is one of the leading men of this part of Oklahoma and holds an enviable position in its business circles. lle came here from Kingston. N. Y., where he was born in 1854. and where his ancestors have Wved for two hundred and forty years .. In 1665 in b Burhans brought his family from Holland and settled in Kingston on land received directly com the English government. He was almost The first settler in the place. 'and was a promi- went man in that carly day. He was a magis- and a man of worth. There his descend- ". lived and flourished. and. though his name been carried to far-off sections of this coun- :. it still has local representation. In Kingston the grandfather of W. M. Burhans. P. I. Bur- ha , was born in 1773. also his father, Charles rhans.
Mr. Burhans is able to trace back his maternal ancestry in an illustrious line. His mother, be- fore her marriage, was Emeline L. Lewis, and was born in Kingston. Her father was John Levi- a cousin of Francis Lewis, whose name gears on the Declaration of Independence. He was. a man of bold and adventurous spirit, and the winter after signing the declaration he drove across long Island Sound on the ice. Iler father has long been prominently identified with business and social circles of Kingston and
is still living in the old homestead on the ances- tral land grant. He was a contractor and builder for many years and figured as a leading character in all important local affairs. The family has long been associated with the Methodist Church, and her grandfather was a member of the old Bowery Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City, while her father belongs to the Ger- man Reformed Church. Mrs. Burhans is the mother of four children, of whom her son at Okarchie is the oldest. Catherine is the wife of Howard Burhans, and Lewis and Frederick C. live at Kingston.
W. M. Burhans spent his boyhood days at Kingston and grew up under the parental eye. He attended local institutions of learning, and graduated as a civil engineer from the Univer- sity of New York in 1875. During the same year he began his business life as superintendent of the Glasco Iee Company, at Glasco, N. Y., where he was employed as general manager for all lines of their business for seven years. In 1882 he went to New York and established him- self in the same line. He made it a success, but sold out to Scott & Company after two years. and was their city agent for two years longer. At the end of that time he was engaged by the Long Island Ice Company and served as their superintendent on the Hudson river for seven years, with full charge of all their business oper- ations. In 1893 he again set up for himself as a wholesale dealer in ice in New York City and Brooklyn, and was engaged in this line until 1896. During that year he closed out his inter- ests in the east and came to Okarche, hoping that the change would benefit his daughter's health. He took an interest in the Oklahoma Cement & Plaster Company, a very extensive corporation, which is incorporated under the laws of New York. He is the resident manager and secre- tary of the company, and the business has greatly increased under his management. The company put on the market in 1869 seven thousand tons of plaster, known as the O. K. hard plaster. Mr. Burhans owns a fine farm west of the city, which he operates on lines of general farming. He is a Republican, but has never sought office.
Mr. Burhans has always taken a lively interest in all educational matters and does all he can to promote the schools and churches of Oklahoma. To all enterprises of this character he makes liberal contributions of plaster. In 1894 he mar- ried Miss Mary F. Wells, of Kingston, N. Y .. a daughter of Jamies Wells. a prominent business man and leader of church circles in that com- munity. She is the mother of four children, of whom the oldest. Emeline, is the wife of Emil Loosen. The other children, Mary V., Clotilda and Helen, are at home. Mr. Burhans is a nvm- ber of the Masonic order, holding his member-
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ship at Kingston, in Lodge No. 10, A. F. & A. M. Ile is much respected in the order and has held all the chairs in succession. In religion he has been a member of the Reformed Church since he was eighteen years of age.
B. LANDAKER. The Landaker family is of German descent, the first member to emi- grate to America being Joseph Landaker, who crossed the seas to America before the Rev- olutionary war, and served his adopted country from 1776 until 1783 as a private in a Pennsylva- nia regiment. After the cessation of hostilities he settled in Hardy county, Va., where he bought one thousand two hundred acres of land, his son Dan purchasing the same amount. He was a farmer all his life, and the old homestead in Vir- ginia is still in the possession of the family, being owned by Daniel C. Landaker. The grandfather was the father of seven sons and four daughters, and died at the age of sixty-five years. His son, Jesse Landaker, the father of our subject, was born in Virginia, and died amid the scenes of his success, in 1887, at the advanced age of eighty years. He was one of the largest land- owners in Virginia, and owned six thousand acres of land. During the war he was a strong Union man, and fought courageously for the cause. His wife, Eliza (Huffman) Landaker, was a native of Virginia, and was the mother of five children. A daughter, Elizabeth, is the wife of Lewis Cline, and a son. William, is on the old place. Mrs. Landaker died in 1887, at the age of seventy years.
Born in Hardy county, Va .. in 1844, Mr. Landaker spent his childhood on his father's farm. His opportunities for acquiring an educa- tion were rather limited, but were supplemented later by research along many lines, and by con- stant and intelligent observation. In 1862 he took up his residence in Ohio, and there engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1870, when he removed to Washington county. Kans. At the time there were but a few scattered settlers in the county, and he took up government land, laid a warrant on it, and lived thereon for twenty-one years. In connection with his agricultural in- terests he operated a threshing machine, and was unusually successful with the various means of earning a livelihood.
February 1, 1892, Mr. Landaker bought the half section of land in Union township. King- fisher county, Okla., upon which he has since re- sided. and which has been the scene of his most earnest and successful efforts. The improvements were rapidly made, and in keeping with the large and experienced ideas of the owner. In the fall of 1802, fifty acres were sown in wheat, which vielded an average of twenty-three acres to the
bushel. In addition, Mr. Landaker raises corn, oats and barley, and makes a specialty of general farming, the raising of show cattle and Poland- China hogs. An excellent orchard contains eight hundred and fifty apple trees, five hundred of which are bearing, and three hundred peach trees, besides quantities of smaller fruits. In 1899 the crop of apples exceeded one hundred bushels, and there was a corresponding crop of peaches. Some of the apricots measure two and a half inches in diameter, and are grown for fine market trade, as are the grapes, of which there are one thousand vines. The claim contains fine water and excellent facilities for irrigating.
In 1865 Mr. Landaker married Mary Jane Twigg, a native of Ohio, and who died in Ohio at the age of thirty-two years. She was the mother of three sons: Clark, who is a farmer in the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country; Seymour, who owns a farm in Garfield county, Okla., but is at present serving in the Thirty-second United States Volunteer Infantry, in the Philippine Is- lands; and Ira, who is at home. The present Mrs. Landaker was formerly Emily Johnson, of Ohio, and she has three children: Lulu, de- ceased; Bruce and Ralph, who are at home.
Mr. Landaker is one of those broad-minded men who recognize the assistance rendered by his wife and children, and who credit them with being instrumental in his success. In politics he is attached to the Republican party, and has been conspicuous in many of its undertakings. For two years he served as justice of the peace, dur- ing which time forty or fifty cases came under his jurisdiction, not one of which was reversed by the higher courts. He was a member of the original township board, and assisted in organ- izing the school board of the district, and was clerk of the same for three years. Fraternally, he is associated with the Odd Fellows at Hen- nessey, and has passed all of the chairs, and is a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men and Modern Woodmen of America. The family are active workers in the Methodist Epis- copal Church, of which Mr. Landaker is a stew- ard. He is regarded as an enterprising and public-spirited man, who has the interest of the public very much at heart.
F RANK A. JOHNSON, a well-known farmer of Logan county, is located on the north- east quarter of section 30, township 15. range 3 west, which he owns. Mr. Johnson was born in Sweden, November 8, 1853, and is a son of Swan and Mary A. Johnson. When he was three or four years of age, his father brought his family to this country, locating in Shawnee county. Kans., where they lived a couple of years. He later homesteaded in Waubaunsce
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county, Kans., where he spent the remainder of his days.
Frank Adolphus Johnson grew to manhood on the farm in Kansas and received a fait edu- cation in the common schools. As a boy he was fond of tinkering about and was ambitious to become a blacksmith. He lived at home until he was twenty-eight years old, but at the age of twenty-six had purchased one hundred and sixty acres near his father's place, which he greatly improved. He followed his trade as a blacksmith, in addition to farming, and continued in Kansas until the spring of 1889, when he re- moved to Oklahoma. Landing at Orlando, he proceeded to Guthrie, and soon after purchased his present farm. He removed his furniture in the fall of the same year, and for some time lived in a tent, but the following spring erected a house, 16x24 feet in dimensions. He had built a shop and begun to work at his trade. in addi- tion to his agricultural pursuits. Upon his farm he has made many improvements. and has excel- lent farm buildings, including a roomy barn and corn crib. He also has an orchard of good size. which is bearing exceedingly well. The soil is in good condition and everything about the place has an air of prosperity which denotes care- ful management.
December 21, 1881, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage, at Alma, Kans .. with Mary A. Peter- son, who was born near Hartford. Conn .. and is a daughter of Jolin and Christina Peterson, who removed to Waubaunsee county, Kans .. when she was a child. They are the parents of the following-named children: William. Eddy. Clara. Carl. John and Minnie, who were born in Kansas: George. Ernest. Wilbur and Lily. born in Oklahoma. Politically. our subject is a Re- publican and cast his first vote for Garfield in 1880. He is not an office-seeker. but in 1804 was elected justice of the peace. and in his term of two years only one of his cases was appealed and in this his decision was affirmed. He has been a delegate to various conventions and takes an earnest interest in his party.
W F. KEIFER. One of the foremost citi- zens of Mulhall is W. F. Keifer. who has been intimately connected with its upbuilding during the past decade. He is public- spirited and casts his influence on the side of progress, upholding schools and churches and all institutions which tend to elevate a commu- nity.
Hle is a native of Holmes county, Ohio, his birth having occurred September 29. 1850. His father, Samuel Keifer, was born on a farm about seven miles east of Pittsburg, and grew to man- hood there. The mother, whose maiden name
was Lucinda Dallas, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, and there was united in marriage to MIr. Keifer. In 1859 they went to Johnson county, Kans., and the following year made a permanent settlement in Douglas county, same state. The father purchased a farm and devoted himself to its cultivation until he was called to the better land. His widow is living in Chanute, Kans., and has passed the eighty-second anni- versary of her birth.
In his youth our subject obtained a fair educa- tion, mainly by his own ambitious efforts, and until he was nineteen years old he was associated with his father in the management of the farm. When he reached his majority he went to Pu- eblo, Colo., driving a team overland, and then for some time he worked in the brickyard of that town. He crossed the plains seven or eight times, engaged in the freighting traffic, and then, becoming infected with the mining and prospecting fever, he turned his attention to that enterprise. For nearly nine years, beginning in 1874, he was employed in the Colorado mines. mostly in the vicinity of Georgetown, and suc- cess did not bless his labors as he had hoped. He had learned the blacksmith's trade in Kan- sas, and left a sure wage of four dollars a day for the very fickle fortune of the miner, and at last he wisely determined to return to the ranks of tradesmen.
On the 9th of January, 1883, Mr. Keifer and Emma Mitchell were married in Baldwin. Kans .. and their daughter, Ethel, was born in Longton, Elk county. Kans. She is a promising young lady. as. when only thirteen years of age. she was graduated in the common school, ranking second in her class. Walter, the eldest son, was born in Baldwin. Kans., and the younger sons. Wil- bur. Earl and Arthur, are natives of Mulhall.
Soon after their marriage. Mr. Keifer and wife went to Colorado, but it was not long ere they returned to Kansas, and he then was in the em- ploy of a brother at Baldwin for a period. In 1886 he went to Longton, Kans., and opened a blacksmith's shop. At the end of two years he returned to Baldwin, where he was engaged in business for a couple of years, and in 1800 he came to Oklahoma. Taking up his abode in Mulhall. and establishing a shop, he thus is one of the pioneer business men of this place. Seven years ago he erected a substantial building for a shop. and this was the fourth business building put up in the town. It is 28x45 feet in dimen- sions, and is equipped with all of the modern appliances needed by a progressive workman.
In 1880 Mr. Keifer cast his first presidential ballot for Garfield, traveling thirty miles to do SO. Four years later he voted the Prohibition ticket, and since that time has considered the temperance question the one of prime impor-
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tance in national affairs. Like all patriots, he is deeply concerned in the maintenance of good schools, and as a member of the board of educa- tion did all within his power to place excellent advantages in the reach of the children. The county records give the schools of Mulhall a place second to none, and the standard is steadily being advanced. Mr. and Mrs. Keifer are mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church and earnest workers in its different departments. Mr. Keifer is an elder and was superintendent of the Sunday school.
F. M. LONG. The Long family is of Irish descent, and the first members to come to America left their native land some time during the last century, and located in the Caro- linas. Here the grandfather, William Long, was born, and when old enough to earn his own liv- ing moved, in 1807, to Kentucky, where he died after a long and active life. His son, the father of F. M., was also born in the Carolinas, in 18co, was reared in Kentucky, and moved to Missouri some time between 1830 and 1835. For the re- mainder of his life he engaged in general farm- ing, and died in 1882, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife, formerly Charity Pool, was born in Kentucky, and died in Missouri at the age of ninety. She was the mother of twelve children, the majority of whom are living in Mis- souri, with the exception of F. M., who is in Oklahoma, and Thomas H., who is living in. Idaho. Of the two sons who were in the Civil war, William H. served in the Confederate army and surrendered with Price's army, and Isaac J. served in the Union army, in a regiment from Missouri, later enlisting in a regiment from Kan- sas. A strange coincidence was the fact that the two brothers were arraigned against each other at the battle of Big Blue. a fact unknown to either at the time. During the raid William H. had two horses shot under him.
Born in 1846, F. M. Long received his early training on his father's farm in Cedar county, and studied diligently at the public schools when opportunity offered, although, on account of the unsettled condition of the country incident to the war, few of the youth of that time had other than limited educational advantages. As a boy of fifteen at the time of the most stirring events, he was old enough to observe and remember, and one of the occurrences most impressed upon his mind was when his father's house was burned by the Confederate guerrillas and their stock taken away. After the war, Mr. Long engaged in farming on the old homestead, and continued the same until the spring of 1878. At this time he took his wife and family to southwest New Mexico, and also drove a herd of cattle. as a
nucleus for a possible extended sojourn in that country. Owing to the troublesome nature of the Apache Indians, who subjected the family to incessant danger, they were forced to return to Missouri the following year. In 1883 began an .
eventful experience for the Long contingent. when they undertook to go over the plains to Idaho, traveling with wagons and mule teams in a small train, locating in the vicinity of Wood River, in Idaho. Arriving at his destination, Mr. Long engaged in freighting from Holly, on the Wood River, to the mining camps of Idaho. This occupation continued until June 9, 1889. when he came overland to Oklahoma, a distance of one thousand six hundred miles, and landed in Kingfisher August 13, 1889. For a time the family camped in a tent, preparatory to the crec- tion of a log house. Mr. Long filed the claim to his farm August 30, and at once began the development of the land and its preparation for the seed, sowing wheat and planting corn and setting out five hundred trees as the beginning of an orchard. The buildings were of the best possible construction, and at the present time the excellent management and untiring efforts of the owner during the years of his occupancy are evident in many substantial and satisfactory ways.
October 1, 1865, Mr. Long married Millie Ann Baker, a daughter of Silas Baker, a farmer who came to Missouri in 1855. where he suc- cessfully conducted a large farm for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Long are the parents of the fol- lowing-named children: Christina, who is the wife of Ira S. George, of Lost River county, Idaho; Cynthia Ann, who is now Mrs. J. L. Davey: Richard; William S .: John T., who is farming and teaching school in the locality of Tur- key Creek : Annie, the wife of Carl Coppenberger : and Samuel, who is living at home. In politics Mr. Long is a "middle-of-the-road Populist." and a member of the national committee. He was one of the organizers of the township school system, and a member of the board. His son. William S. Long, has served one term as trus- tee, and two years as deputy township assessor. Mr. Long is entitled to great credit for his rise since coming to Oklahoma, and he has demon- strated his ability to take advantage of the pre- vailing opportunites and turn them to the best possible account.
LOHN W. JOHNSON has played a conspic- tous part in the development and progress of Oklahoma. Three years prior to the opening of the strip he began to boom its possi- bilities, and was instrumental in securing a great deal of the interest that was manifest on the 22nd of April, 1880. He himself was disappointed in
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M. A. KELSO. M. D., Enid.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Ok 287
not being able to secure a claim at that time, but he bided his time and was fortunate afterward in being able to buy out a man who had a very desirable piece of land.
Mr. Johnson was born in La Grange, Loraine county, Ohio, May 17. 1856. His father, John Johnson, and his mother, Esther ( Perce) Jolin- son, were natives of New York. He was reared on his father's farm in Ohio, and educated in the public schools, where he proved to be an indus- trious student. His attendance at school was fraught with considerable tribulation, as the schoolhouse was two miles distant, and the roads during part of the year were almost im- passable. In 1863 the family moved to La Salle county, Ill., and continued their agricultural pur- suits with considerable success until 1872. The father and five sons then went to Kansas and took up government land in the Cherokee strip.
When twenty-one years old, John Wesley Johnson entered the employ of a Mr. Tuttle, for whom he drove cattle from Texas, and afterward entered the cattle-raising business for himself. His next venture was in Montana, where he took a contract from the Northern Pacific Rail- road Company to furnish ties for its line, in which he engaged for a year and a hali. Upon his return to Sumner county, Kans., he again engaged in agriculture until 1889, when he made the famous run to Oklahoma. There was con- siderable contention regarding the claim that he subsequently purchased, after five or six years. It is located on the northeast quarter of section 11. township 16, range I west. Logan county, and there are about eighty acres of highly im- proved land, with a good house and a fine or- chard, having a great variety of fruits.
In 1885 Mr. Johnson married Susie S. Ed- wards. a daughter of Abraham C. and Martha (Williams) Edwards. Mrs. Johnson was born in Greene, Bond county, Ill., and was educated in the public schools. Of this union there are five children-four boys and one girl: Edith E., Tennie W .. Harold. Otis and Melvin.
Politically. Mr. Johnson belongs to the Popu- list party. He is greatly interested in the cause of education. and is now a director of school district No. 72. Logan county. He has also served as constable in his township.
M. A. KELSO. M. D., of Enid, was born June 6. 1857, in Millport. Pickaway county. Ohio, and is a son of L. B. and Melissa (Ashbrook) Kelso, natives of Ohio, and the former born in Licking county. L. B. Kelso removed to Ashville when but seventeen or eighteen years of age. and after a time married and located at Millport, on the Ohio State canal. lle owned the site and put forth his best efforts
for its improvement, and conducted his general mercantile business in a manner creditable to himself and the locality in which he lived. Dur- ing the Civil war he served with courage and distinction in the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Ohio Regiment, and was commissioned first ser- geant. In 1869 he located in Savannah, Mo .. and engaged in the stock business, removing later to Elmo, Nodaway county, Mo., where he became interested in the hardware business. His wife, Melissa Kelso, was a daughter of Mahlon Ashbrook, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio. He was a distiller and merchant, and founded the town of Ashville, in the Sciota val- ley. In 1859 he settled in St. Joseph, Mo., and engaged in the mercantile business, and is now proprietor of the Ashbrook hotel in St. Joe. He is now eighty-eight years of age. Mrs. Kelso is still living, and is the mother of nine children. seven of whom are living, M. A. being the. eldest.
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