Biographies Index

BUTLER COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

HAMILTON, L. A.

L. A. Hamilton, of Fairmount township, is a Marion county pioneer who, after residing there for ten years, moved to Wilson county, where he resided for thirty-one years, thence to Butler county in February, 1912. L. A. Hamilton was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1847, and is a son of James H. and Lydia (Rowe) Hamilton, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of French and the latter of German descent. L. A. Hamilton was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and in 1871, left his Pennsylvania home and came to Kansas and home-steaded a claim in Marion county, not far from the Butler county line. He reached here in May and got off the train at Florence at midnight during what was one of the heaviest rain storms that he ever experienced. The following morning he started out in search of a claim in Butler county, with a view of locating in Fairmount township. After walking all day through the rain he succeeded in finding shelter that night in the cabin of a claimer, which seemed to be the only one completed in that neighborhood. He kept up his search and in a few days found a suitable claim in Marion county, which he homesteaded, as above mentioned. Here he engaged in farming and stock raising, and while he generally raised good crops, it was impossible to make much money on account of poor markets and low prices. lie has hauled corn to Peabody, which he sold for fourteen cents per bushel, and was cheated on the weight at that. Hogs were worth two and a half cents per pounds, and the fall following the visitation of the grasshoppers, hogs only brought one cent a pound.

Mr. Hamilton was unmarried when he came to Kansas, and for the first two years he "batched" most of the time, and on June 12, 1873, he was married to Miss Arrena Harris. She was born in Iowa, a daughter of John and Nancy (Grove) Harris, natives of Ohio, and early settlers of Iowa. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Hamilton came to Kansas and was living with a sister when she met Mr. Hamilton. To Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have been born four children: Burton D., who resides at home with his parents; Maggie, deceased; and Pearl and Earl, twins, also living at home with their parents.

After spending about ten years in Marion county, Mr. Hamilton removed with his family to Wilson county, where he was successfully engaged in farming and the dairy business for twenty-four years and in 1912 came to Butler county. In 1912 he bought the northwest quarter of section 16, Fairmount township, where he has since made his home and followed general farming and stock raising. While living in Wilson county he owned property in this county, and now he still owns property in Wilson county.

When Mr. Hamilton came here he found a country almost in its primitive state. The great, broad, limitless plains stretched in every direction as far as the vision could reach, and the deer, the antelope and other wild game were in abundance; and the buffalo could be found in great numbers just a little farther west. Mr. Hamilton went on a buffalo hunt in 1873 in the vicinity of Medicine Lodge and killed two buffalo, and at that time great herds of buffalo roamed the plains in western Kansas and Mr. Hamilton says that he saw one herd there that contained thousands of buffalo.

Mr. Hamilton is a Republican and takes a deep interest in the well being of the community and the affairs of his county and State. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 663-664)

VANDEBERG, J. E.

J. E. Vandeberg, a Civil war veteran and contractor and builder, has been active in the building world in Butler county for thirty-two years. Mr. Vandeberg is a native of New York, born in Ulster county in 1840, and is a son of Stephen and Sallie (Crispell) Vandeberg, natives of New York.

J. E. Vandeberg received a common school education, and when a young man served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade in his native State, and was thus engaged in the early sixties when the country was rent by rebellion, and the president called for volunteers to defend the Union. Like thousands of other loyal, patroitic boys of the North, Mr. Vandeberg responded to his country's call and enlisted in the Eighty-ninth regiment, New York infantry, which was commanded by Colonel Fairchilds. fie participated in many important battles and numerous minor engagements and skirmishes. He was at the battles of Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor, South Mountain, and was with General McClellan in the Peninsula campaign, and was at the midnight capture of the fort near Norfolk, Va. His regiment was the first to enter Petersburg where they remained several months, and after having served his country faithfully and well he was honorably discharged at the close of the war. After being mustered out of service he returned to New York, and again engaged in the peaceful pursuit of his mechanical vocation.

In 1884 Mr. Vandeburg heeded the siren call of the West and came to Kansas, locating in Butler county, where carpenter work and building has since occupied his attention. During these years he has constructed more buildings in Douglass than any other man, and he has practically built that town, including most of the churches, business blocks and dwellings. He has a well equipped shop with power machinery where he works up unfinished material into doors, window frames, mouldings, and all finishing products used in the finer class of carpenter work. He is a natural mechanic and has always taken great pride in his work. It is first nature to him, and he almost regards his tools, lathes and machinery as intelligent human beings and companions in his work.

Mr. Vandeberg was married in 1902, to Miss Sarah E. Essex. They have no children. Mr. Vandeberg is a Republican, and ever since casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, he has supported the policies and principles of that party. He is a member of the Congregational church.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 664-665)

FRAZIER, NATHAN FRANK JR.

Nathan Frank Frazier, Jr., capitalist and banker, resides in El Dorado, the city of his birth, where he was born March 13, 1882. He is a son of the late Nathan Frank Frazier and wife, who, prior to her marriage, was Miss Emma Crook. He was reared in his native town, and there received his preparatory education in the public schools, then entered Lake Forest Academy, Lake Forest, Ill., from which institution he was graduated in 1903. After graduation he was employed at Kansas City, Mo., for a short time, and then returned to El Dorado, where he became associated with his father, and assisted him in handling the latter's extensive business interests. In 1905 he, with his father and brother, Ray E. Frazier acquired large oil properties in southeastern Kansas and Oklahoma, and organized several oil companies, with headquarters at Bartelsville, Okla. Our subject became an officer and director in these companies and still retains those interests, which have increased in value and have been very profitable.

Mr. Frazier is active vice president and one of the largest stockholders in the Citizens State Bank of El Dorado, and is active in the conduct of the daily affairs of that institution. He also has large holdings in farm and grazing lands in Kansas and Oklahoma, and owns and operates a farm comprising 1,000 acres, a few miles south of El Dorado. This farm includes in its acreage some of the richest bottom land in the State, equipped with the most modern improvements, and, in fact, is one of the model farms of the State.

On September 28, 1905, Mr. Frazier was united in marriage to Zona, daughter of Harry T. Brown, of El Dorado, and to their union have been born three children: Sarah Margaret, born January 19, 1909; Mrs. Frazier comes from one of the best families of the State, and is a prominent and popular participant of the social life of El Dorado. Her pleasant home is often the scene of gracious hospitality. Mr. Frazier is a prominent member of the different Masonic organizations, being a member of Patmos Lodge No. 79, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; El Dorado Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; a Scottish Rite Mason of Wichita Consistory, No. 2, and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, Midian temple, of Wichita, He is also a member of Wichita Lodge No. 427, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Frazier has inherited much to his father's business acumen and ability, which, added to the excellent training received from the latter in the direction of his large and varied interests, has well fitted him to carry forward the prestige, which the Frazier family has attained as financiers in the commercial world. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 665-666)

FRAZIER, RAY E.

Ray E. Frazier, president of the Citizens State Bank of El Dorado, Kans., was born in El Dorado, September 15, 1876. He is the eldest son of the late Nathan Frank Frazier and Emma (Crook) Frazier. He received his education in the public schools of El Dorado and at Went-worth Military Academy, Lexington, Mo., graduating at the latter school in 1859. He began his business training as an employee in a minor position in the Merchants National Bank, of which his father was president. There he evinced an aptitude for a business life and applied himself so earnestly to his duties that upon the organization of the Citizens State Rank he was made assistant cashier and then vice president. On the death of his father in 1907, he succeeded him as president of the bank and has ably carried forward the extensive interests of that institution. He has inherited his father's keen business insight, and is possessed of a pleasing personality and a faculty of making friends and holding them. He has extensive interests in oil and farm lands in Kansas and Oklahoma, and owns valuable farm lands in Missouri.

On June 17, 1903, Mr. Frazier married Miss Henrietta Ellet, daughter of Edward C. Ellet, the former banking associate of Mr. Frazier's father. Mr. Ellet, for many years a resident of El Dorado, is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier have one child: Henrietta, born November 13, 1905. Notwithstanding the arduous duties attendant to his large business interests, Mr. Frazier finds time to participate in the social and fraternal life of El Dorado, and the love of athletics and outdoor sports gained in college days is still indulged, principally by hunting and fishing.

In politics he is a Republican. He has attained to the Scottish Rite degree in Masonry and is affiliated with Midian Temple Shrine, Wichita. Mrs. Frazier, a woman of culture and of rare, personal qualities of friendship, is a recognized social leader in El Dorado, and presides with charming grace and hospitality in a delightful home.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 666)

FRAZIER, NATHAN FRANK

To have accomplished so notable a work as did the late Nathan F. Frazier, in connection with Kansas banking, would prove sufficient to give precedence and reputation to any man, were this to represent the sum total of his efforts; but Mr. Frazier was a man of broad mental ken, strong initative, and distinct individuality, who left not only a lasting impression in the field of enterprise mentioned but also was a most potent factor in the commercial and agricultural development of southern Kansas, and his activities were of importance in Oklahoma and Missouri. Nathan F. Frazier was a native of Iowa, born on his father's farm, in Henry county, near the town of Salem, October 13, 1846, a son of Francis H. and Lydia (Fisher) Frazier. The father was a native of In-diana and a descendant of an old Quaker family, antedating the Revolu-tionary war. He removed from Indiana to Iowa prior to its organization as a territory, becoming one of its earliest pioneers. Of the children of Francis H. and his wife, four survive: Mrs. Caroline Campbell, Mrs. Charlotte Williams and Levi Frazier, residents of Salem, Iowa; and Seth Frazier, of El Dorado, Kans.

The childhood of Nathan F. Frazier was spent on his father's farm in Iowa, and his early education was obtained in the district schools of his native country. Early in the sixties, while yet in his teens, he left home to become a wage earner, his equipment consisting ot a pair of willing hands and a stout heart. In company with another boy from his home neighborhood, he journeyed to Kansas, and secured employment as a driver for the Ben Halliday stage line, their route running from Hays, westward. Indians and numerous outlaws frequented the section and the occupation was one of hazard, so much so that the stages ran, two together, one for passengers and the other carrying soldiers as guards. Later, Mr. Frazier and John Betts purchased a wagon train, and with oxen as motive power freighted to California. The direct result of his schooling among frontiersmen and all classes who broke the way for civilization was made manifest in his after life, by his firmness and cool-ness under all conditions, his quick and ready insight and unerring judgment and his keen perception of human nature.

In 1868 Mr. Frazier and his associate, Mr. Betts, disposed of their freighting equipment and, with a combined capital of $3,000, located in El Dorado, where they engaged in the grocery business, Mr. Betts at-tending to the selling, while Mr. Frazier hauled the goods from Leaven-worth, Lawrence and Emporia. The Osage Trust and the Diminished Reserve Lands had just been opened and settlers were flocking into the rich Walnut Valley; various industries were springing up in El Dorado, and their business was a profitable one. Mr. Frazier took up a homestead on Turkey creek and spent a portion of his time there, in farming. Later, with C. M. Foulke, he engaged in the general merchandise business. His initial enterprise in the field of banking, in which he after-ward realized more than State-wide prominence, was in 1880, when, with Gen. A. W. Ellet, he established the Bank of El Dorado, as a private concern, with a capital of $10,000. This business was disposed of, in 1885, to W. T. Clancy, and Mr. Frazier organized the Merchants Bank of El Dorado, of which Gen. Alfred W. Ellet was president and he cashier. This later became the Merchants National Bank and absorbed the Exchange National, the merged institutions becoming the Farmers & Merchants National Bank of El Dorado, with Mr. Frazier as president. In 1899 Mr. Frazier disposed of his holdings in the institution and organized the Citizens State Bank of El Dorado, known as the Frazier Bank, in which he was the dominant executive until his death, in 1907, and which, during the nine years of his management, became the largest, as regards deposits, in Butler county. His record in the establishment, conduct and success of banks in Butler county is without parallel, and he was justly proud of his reputation as a banker. He had early in life acquired the habit, desire and love of making money. His shrewd business judgment, keen insight in business affairs and his knowledge of men and things, coupled with his indomitable will and energy, enabled him to rank with the leading financiers of the West. He held extensive commercial relations, aside from his banking interests, having mining interests in lead and zinc at Joplin, Mo., stocks in street railway and other corporations, and large bodies of valuable farming lands in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. He organized and was president for many years of the Oklahoma Mortgage & Trust Company of Guthrie, Okla., which did a large and exceedingly profitable business. In 1896 he purchased from the receiver, Maj. W. N. Ewing, the assets of the Wichita National Bank, comprising some of the most valuable, improved business property in Wichita and paid all claims against the failed institution in full, realizing a handsome profit from the holdings. He also, for a number of years had valuable hay contracts with the Kansas City Stock Yards Company, buying extensively in Kansas and adjoining States. He was an ambitious and tireless worker, conservative in his business methods, and his business integrity and honesty were unquestioned. He left at his death one of the largest estates in Kansas, an estate which represents the brain, pluck and energy of one man who, with his peculiar, natural tact, ever saw the propitious moment and availed himself of it.

Though essentially a business man, Mr. Frazier was interested in public affairs, and during the course of his career served as city councilman of El Dorado, as postmaster, and as auditor of Butler county. In politics he was a Republican.

On February 4, 1872, Mr. Frazier married Miss Emma, daughter of Squire John Crook of El Dorado, a pioneer of 1867. They were the par-ents of three children: Ray E., Nathan F. Jr., and Edna, the wife of Hon. J. B. Adams, who survive him. The wife died.

The tributes of respect and in many cases of affection called forth by the death of Mr. Frazier have seldom been equaled in the State in the passing away of a citizen. His own standard of life was high and it was seen in the development of what grew to be, under his direction, one of the most successful banking institutions in Kansas. In a large measure his life work was finished; it had met to a great extent the fullness of his ambition. But infinitely more precious and of personal consequence to him was the fact that he died rich in the possession of a well earned popularity, in the esteem which comes from honorable living, and in the affection that slowly develops only from unselfish works. In his business life he was the embodiment of honor, as he was in his social and domestic life, the perfection of love and gentleness. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 666-668)

DODWELL, JAMES B.

James B. Dodwell of El Dorado, is a pioneer business man of Butler county. The career of Mr. Dodwell is considerably out of the ordinary and of unusual interest. He was born in New York City in 1845, and was left an orphan when a baby, and reared by the Children's Aid Society until about ten years of age, when he was bound out to a woman named Carolina Hawley. His new home was anything but pleasant, and his lot was that of the orphan boy who received no kindness, few advantages, and his recreation was mostly work. He almost welcomed the Civil war which broke out about the time he was sixteen years of age. It gave him new hopes and aspirations to have some place to go, when he ran away from his unhappy home.

Enlisting in the army was considered quite an ordeal for most men and boys at that time but young Dodwell hailed with delight an opportunity to escape from his unpleasant and irksome home, and serve duly organized and appreciative military authority. He accordingly ran away from home and enlisted in the Fifty-sixth regiment Illinois infantry. He was too young to go in the ranks as a regular soldier, and became drummer boy in the regimental band. He participated in a number of important engagements, notably among which was the battle of Shiloh, and he was with his regiment in numerous skirmishes. Later he joined the First regiment Illinois light artillery, Captain Bonton, in charge.

After having served his country faithfully and well for nearly four years, he was honorably discharged from the army at the close of the war. In 1865 he went to Kalamazoo, Mich., where he served as an ap-prenticeship for three and one-half years at the harness maker's trade. Mr. Dodwell worked as a journeyman in Kalamazoo and became fore-man of one of the leading harness shops of that city in a short time. In 1871, he resigned his position there and came to Butler county, Kansas. Athough he was a first-class harness maker, there was not much demand for that class of work here on the plains in the early days. The country was sparcely settled and even then most of the settlers had oxen instead of horses, and the equipment of an ox team created no demand for a harness maker. No one but a blacksmith and a carpenter need apply in equipping an ox team. Therefore Mr. Dodwell was unable to find employment at his trade and proceeded to work at whatever else he could find to do. One of his first jobs in this county was cutting cord wood at 50 cents per cord. He then drove stage for a time on the line between Florence and El Dorado. He found this to be a very unpleasant job on account of the cold and frequency of blizzards in the early days. He recalls rescuing J. T. Nye, from freezing to death in a blizzard, whom he found in a dazed condition from the extreme cold, and took him to the stage station and gave him shelter. Mr. Nye afterwards became probate judge of this county.

Mr. Dodwell's first work at his trade in El Dorado was in the employ of Bob Roberts. Later he became a partner of Mr. Roberts, and eventually bought Mr. Roberts's interest in the business. Later Mr. Dodwell bought two lots and built his present place of business, where he has since been successfully engaged in the harness business. Mr. Dodwell is one of the old time business men of El Dorado, and for over forty-five years has been an important factor in the commercial life of El Dorado, and Butler county. Mr. Dodwell is well known to William Allen White, and is said to be Watts McCurty in "A Certain Rich Man," of which Mr. White is the author.

Mr. Dodwell was married in 1875 at Plainesville, Michigan, to Miss Rebecca Jane Decon, and to this union three children have been born, as follows: Louis, Carthage, Mo.; Leona, Carthage, Mo.; and Lee, Car-thage, Mo. All of Mr. Dodwell's children have received a good education and are high school graduates, and are prosperous. Mr. Dodwell is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and belongs to the Presbyterian church. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 669-670)

ALLEBACH, B. F.

B. F. Allebach, the efficient city clerk of El Dorado is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born in 1848, and is a son of Aaron and Philena (Janes) Allebach, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born in 1822, and the mother in 1824. They were the parents of the following children, who are now living: John R., DeGraff, Ohio; William I., Maplewood, Ohio; and B. F., the subject of this sketch. The Allebach family removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio where the father followed farming.
B. F. Allebach was reared on his father's farm in Ohio, and educated in the public schools of Logan county, Ohio. When he was about sixteen years of age, the great Civil war was in progress, and January 1, 1864, he enlisted as a private and was mustered into United States service at Columbus, Ohio, February 29, 1864, as a member of Company K, Fifty-seventh regiment, Ohio infantry. Capt. John A. Smith commanded his company, and Col. Americus V. Rice commanded the regi-ment. Mr. Allebach immediately went to the front with his regiment, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and participated in the engagements at Atlanta and the campaign in the Carolinas.

He was never wounded, but he experienced what the soldiers of the North feared much more than the enemy's bullets-the famine and filth of a Confederate prison hell. Mr. Allebach was captured, during a charge on the enemy's works at Atlanta, Ga., July 22, 1864, and confined in the Confederate military prison, at Andersonville, Ga., for two months, when he was paroled. He returned to his regiment, and at the close of the war, took part in the grand review at Washington, D. C, after which Tiis regiment was sent to Louisvile, Ky., and from there, started to Little Rock on June 25, 1865, and arriving there August 6, after a long, hot, dusty march. They then returned to Camp Chase, Ohio, where the regiment was mustered out of service, August 14, 1865, and Mr. Allebach received his honorable discharge. As a soldier he rendered faithful and meritorious service.

At the close of the war, he returned to his home in Logan county, and in 1871, was united in marriage to Miss M. J. Epler, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Peter Epler, a farmer of that State. To Mr. and Mrs. Allebach have been born three children, as follows: Mrs. Marian Studebaker, El Dorado, Kans.; E. R., Douglass, Kans., and O. C, El Dorado, Kans.

Mr. Allebach came to Kansas in 1886 and settled in El Dorado, where he has since made his home. He followed the profession of teaching for a number of years, and then became assistant postmaster at El Dorado, a position which he held for seven years. He has held the office of justice of the peace, and has been city clerk since 1907. Mr. Allebach is a capable and painstaking public official, and his cour-teous and obliging manner has won for him many friends, among the vast number of acquaintances with whom he has come in contact during his career as a public official. He has always supported the policies and principles of the Republican party, and he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 670-671)

RICKEY, B. F.

B. F. Rickey, a prosperous farmer of Little Walnut township, is a Civil war veteran and pioneer of Butler county. He is a native of Ohio, and a son of Jacob and Dorcas (Morbery) Rickey, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. They were married in Ohio in 1830, and two children of this marriage are now living: Bernard, who resides in Ohio, and B. F., the subject of this sketch.

B. F. Rickey was engaged in the peaceful pursuits of the average youth of his time when the great Civil war broke forth on the country with all its vengeance, and he responded to President Lincoln's call for troops, enlisting in Company I, Twenty-fifth regiment, Ohio infantry, and served sixteen months and seven days. He participated in the second battle of Bull Run and some minor engagements and skirmishes. Mr. Rickey came to Kansas in 1867, and located in Little Walnut township, Butler county. Here he preempted a quarter section of land, which he sold in 1879, and bought the place where he now resides. He owns 240 acres of land which is considered one of the best farms in Little Walnut township, where he has successfully carried on general farming and stock raising all these years. Mr. Rickey came to Butler county at a very early date in its settlement, and is one of the real pioneers who laid the foundation for the future greatness of Butler county. When he came here, life was filled with hardships, incident to pioneer life on the plains. Frequent drouths, crop failures and devastation of crops by grasshoppers, and other pests of the plains, confronted the early settler, but he had a brave heart and willing hands, and overcame these difficulties, and finally conquered the plains and converted a portion of the great American desert into fertile fields of productiveness. The first few years after Mr. Rickey located in Butler county, the settlers did most of their trading at Topeka or Emporia, which required from two to four days to make the trip, but with the rapid development of the country, important towns sprang up within closer proximity, and the question of supplies and market began to be solved.

Mr. Rickey was united in marriage, in 1864, to Miss A. E. Palmer, a daughter of Francis Palmer. They have only one child, Ernest M. Rickey, who is associated with his father in conducting the home place. He married Miss Minnie Gaskell, and one child, Franklin E., has been born to this union. Mr. Rickey is one of the substantial citizens of Butler county, and belongs to that type of agriculturists who have built up the great West. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 671-672)

NOE, CHARLES R.

Charles R. Noe was born of humble parentage in the hill country of Grant county, Kentucky, March 25, 1843. One of his regular assignments, at the age of eight years, was going to mill, six miles up and down hills, mounted on "Old Benter," a badly sway-backed critter of ripe age, carrying a two-bushel bag of corn. At the age of twelve, young Noe was a chauffeur, driving a horseless vehicle delivering yellow poplar logs to a saw mill. The motor (three yokes of oxen) went all the time on low gear, and the driver was never arrested for speeding.

With his parents and seven other children, Charles R. Noe migrated to southern Illinois in 1856. He entered high school to fit himself for college at Charleston, Ill., but left school at the age of eighteen to answer President Lin-first call for volunteers in April. 1861. He was promoted to sergeant-major of his regiment for gallantry in the assault on the works at Vicksburg, May 22, 1863, and was mustered out as a second lieutenant, August 16, 1865. He came home broken in health and taught school in Fountain county, Indiana, in 1867 and 1868.

Mr. Noe came to Kansas in February, 1869, and to south Butler county in April, where he secured a claim and made a farm where, ten years later, the townsite of Leon was surveyed. He raised a crop of corn on the Squire Steward place, one mile south of El Dorado, in 1869. He taught school in district No. 9, on the Whitewater, in the winter of 1869-1870. Mr. Noe was united in marriage to Miss Lana Fisher at El Dorado, Kans., March 24, 1870. He was the first trustee and assessor of Little Walnut township.

When the survey was made for the railroad across his place, Mr. Noe secured the promise of the depot from the president of the construction company, B. F. Hobart, in June, 1879. In November of that year the townsite was surveyed and the subject of this sketch named the Leon "Indicator/' secured subscribers and wrote copy for the first issue, before there was a house on the townsite. The first train on the Frisco arrived in April, 1880. Mr. Noe was mayor of the town and commander of Leon Post No. 125, Department of Kansas, Grand Army of the Re-public, in 1883. He was Regent of the Kansas State Agricultural College in 1895-1898 and treasurer of that institution in 1896-1897.

Mr. Noe united with the Church of Christ at the age of twelve years and is now a trustee and elder of the home congregation. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 672-673)

KELLEY, M. C.

M. C. Kelley, of Logan township, is a Butler county pioneer who has been identified with this county for forty-four years, and saw much of the development of this county from an unbroken and sparcely settled section to a populous and prosperous community. He recalls, with much interest, many of the early day experiences that were of the character to be found only in a new and primitively organized country. M. C. Kelley was born in Georgia in 1850, and is a son of E. M. and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Kelley, the former a native of Georgia, and the latter of Tennessee.

The Kelley family came to Butler county, June i, 1872, and located on Government land five miles southeast of where Leon now stands. The parents spent their lives on this place, their first summer being spent in a tent under a tree on Hickory creek. Their remains are buried in a private burial ground on the old homestead.
M. C. Kelley was married, in 1881, to Miss Harriet H. Hayes, a daughter of Jonathan and Emily (Hankins) Hayes. Jonathan Hayes was a fifty years' resident of Illinois, and settled the town of Peru, Ill., He and his brother were among the first passengers on the Illinois river, and his sister and family were victims of the Black Hawk Indian Creek massacre, and were buried by General Whiteside and Abraham Lincoln. Congress has recently, it is said, erected a monument to those slain at this massacre. Her father was born in Virginia in 1811, and-the mother was a Kentuckian, born in 1822. Mrs. Kelley is one of the following, surviving children born to Jonathan and Emily (Hankins) Hayes, the others being as follows: Mrs. Mary Machesney, Wellsford, Kans.; Mrs. Frances Allard, Troutdale, Ore.; C. W. Hayes, Grand Junction, Colo., and D. H. Hayes, Kildare, Okla. The Haves family came to Butler county in 1874, and settled in Logan township. Mrs. Kelley is one of the real pioneer women of Butler county, and often during the early days, herded cattle on the plains when she was a girl. Her father was the first one to use wire for fencing in Butler county. This was in 1881.

Mr. Kelley relates many instances of primitive conditions which prevailed in Butler county in the early days. Their nearest doctor was at El Dorado, a distance of twenty miles, and most of the supplies were obtained from Emporia, which was about fifty miles distant. Prairie fires were one of the dreaded calamities of the early settlers on the plains, and the rule against setting fire on the prairie for any purpose whatever was very strict, and during the season of 1873, while Mr. Kelley and Bill Baxter were cropping in partnership, one day while Mr. Kelley was doing some improving about the place, he started a little fire to burn a bunch of prairie grass. Before he knew it, he had a regular old time prairie fire started, and knowing full well the esteem in which the other settlers would hold him when they discovered that he had set the fire, he mounted his pony in such haste that he lost his hat; but he tarried not to find it, and rode straight south, and did not return for a year. He hoped that by that time, that it probably had rained and put the fire out, and that his neighbors had forgotten about it. After returning, he found it an easy matter to compromise, by paying those who had met with any loss, on account of his private prairie fire.

The prices which the early settlers received for their produce in many instances were not sufficient to pay for hauling it to market. Money was scarce, and there was practically no demand for what the settlers had to sell. Mr. Kelley relates an instance of hauling a load of hay to El Dorado in 1882 with an ox team, in company with John Holt, and after trying to find a buyer for their hay for some time and being unsuccessful, they finally offered to sell it for enough with which to buy their suppers, but were unable to dispose of it even at that price. However, they even did better than that; they succeeded in getting their supper upon a promise to pay for it later, but there is no record that they ever paid. Mr. Kelley attended the election at which the township of Logan was organized in 1873. It was held at old Tommy Walker's place, and the first trustee of the township was Sam LeMoines. Mr. and Mrs. Kelley are well known in southeastern Butler county, and are among the substantial and highly respected people of that section. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 673-674)

KENOYER, G. A.

G. A. Kenoyer, of Leon, Kans., is one of the representative farmers and breeders of Butler county. Mr. Kenoyer was born in Indiana in 1852, and is a son of Elijah and Sarah Kenoyer. They .were the parents of nine children, as follows: G. A., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Mason, Ulysses, Kans.; Mrs. Citney Ballinger, Hutchison, Kans.; John F., San Francisco, Cal.; W. II., Chehalis, Wash.; Mrs. Ida Blanchard, Orwell, Ohio; Charles V., Hutchinson, Kans.; Mrs. Joe Hogue, Mobile, Ala.; and E. E., Chehalis, Wash. The Kenoyer family came to Kansas in 1879 and located on a farm near Hutchinson. Here the father died, and the mother died in Washington, in 1913.

G. A. Kenoyer was united in marriage in 1873, to Miss Martha E. Ballinger, and in 1877 came to Kansas and located in Little Walnut township. He taught school and farmed for the first few years. He was one of the men who laid the townsite of Leon, and later became postmaster of Leon, serving in that capacity for six years. He then became assistant cashier of the Leon State Bank, and later its cashier.

Soon after coming to Kansas, Mr. Kenoyer became interested in breeding thoroughbred horses, and still has in his possession direct descendants of the strain of horses with which he began in 1885. He is developing a very fine strain of Wilkes-McGregor and Wilkes-Nutwood race horses. He has combined in these breeds most of the fine blooded race horses known to the race-loving public. Mr. Kenoyer's method of handling his horse business, is to select a colt and develop it to its best. He has never followed racing himself, however, as a profession, but for demonstration purposes. He produces the race horses, and lets the other fellow do the racing.

To Mr. and Mrs. Kenoyer have been born six children, as follows: Mrs. Pearl Royse, Leon, Kans.; Mrs. Grace La Rue, Salina, Kans.; Mrs. Luvena Clifford, Wichita, Kans.; G. G., Los Angeles, Cal.; Mrs. Faith Erwin, Cabool, Mo.; and John J., Kansas City, Mo. Mr. Kenoyer is one of Leon's substantial and highly respected citizens. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 674-675)

DEDRICK, H. S.

H. S. Dedrick of Little Walnut township, belongs to a pioneer family of Butler county. He was born in Logan township in 1877, and was educated in the district scchools, and the Leon High School, and made Leon his home from 1894 to 1914, when he married Miss Grace Marshall, a daughter of the late H. H. Marshall, of Little Walnut township, and since that time has been engaged in farming and stock raising on the Marshall homestead in Little Walnut township.

H. S. Dedrick is a son of J. J. and Mary (Dow) Dedrick, the former a native of New York and the latter of Illinois. J. J. Dedrick was born in 1842, and is a son of N. J. and Margaret (Dormoth) Dedrick. The father was a captain on a packet on the Erie Canal, and his father was a very early settler in the State of New York, and held a land grant from Queen Anne in the early days. The Dedrick family originally came from Germany. J. J. Dedrick was one of a family of four children born to N. J. and Margaret (Dormoth) Dedrick, as follows: Nelson, Leon, Kans.; Mrs. Elmira Elmore, South Bend, Ind.; Mrs. Mary Mitchell, South Elgin, Ill.; and J. J. Mary Dow, wife of J. J. Dedrick is a daughter of Stephen Dow, who was a prosperous Illinois farmer, and her mother bore the maiden name of Arnold and was of English descent. To J. J. Dedrick and wife have been born six children, as follows: William C, born in 1873, resides at Leon, Kans.; Nelson A., born in 1875; Hiram S., born in 1877; Mrs. Linda L. Marshall, born in 1881; Edwin E., born in 1884, and Margaret A., born in 1887, all residing in the vicinity of Leon, Kans.

J. J. Dedrick came to Butler county in 1872 and homesteaded government land, and since that time has been one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of Logan township. When he came here and began farming many discouraging features confronted him. Like the other pioneers he was a long distance from market, and that meant poor prices for his farm produce. Wichita was the nearest railroad point for a long time. He remembers having sold hogs, as low as two and a half cents per pound, and often hauled corn to market, which he sold for fifteen cents per bushel. He experienced the many discouraging features of drouth and crop failures in the early days, and when the grasshoppers came in 1874, they ate every vestige of vegetation on his place, except the sugar cane, and the winter that followed that devastation was a hard one, and one to be remembered by the Kansas pioneers. Although Mr. Dedrick says that he always had plenty to eat since he came to Butler county, sometimes in the early days, the variety was not great, but that he never had less than one article of food on the bill of fare, and that cornbread and black molasses were not bad when there was nothing else to be had. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 675-676)

FILLMORE, T. H.

T. H. Fillmore, owner and proprietor of "Little Walnut Stock Farm'' in Glencoe township, is one of Butler county's leading farmers and stockmen. Mr. Fillmore is a native of New Brunswick, born in 1862. He is a son of John and Eliza (Ogden) Fillmore, natives of New Brunswick. To John and Eliza (Ogden) Fillmore were born the following children: George A., deceased; John, Cushing, Okla.; Mrs. Rebecca Dobson, Coil, Okla.; Greene, Davidson, Okla.; T. H., the subject of this sketch; Clark, lives in Oklahoma; Mrs. Ellen Niles, lives in Oklahoma; and Harve F., Cushing, Okla.

Mr. Fillmore came to Kansas with his parents in 1870, and two years later, settled in Butler county, and has lived on his present place of 720 acres, for the past fifteen years. The place is known as "Little Walnut Stock Farm/' and is one of the ideal stock farms, not only of Butler county, but of the State. Mr. Fillmore specializes in Here-fords, of which he has a very fine herd; and also keeps a number of cattle of the ordinary marketable type, and his entire herd usually averages about 300 head, lie has also been successful as a feeder, and raises quite a large number of calves each year. "Little Walnut Stock Farm" is an attractive and splendidly equipped stock farm in every particular, with a commodious residence, large and well arranged barn, sheds, silo and garage, and all buildings about the place are kept in good repair and well painted. The residence stands on an eminence, overlooking the broad acres of well kept and highly cultivated bottom land, which, in the summer season, presents an ideal scene of pastural life with its fields of waving grain and green mantle of alfalfa, furnishes mute testimony of its owner's mastery of the art of agriculture. The place is located on the south branch of the Little Walnut, which winds its labyrinthian way like, a silver thread down through the valley, which adds the finishing touch of nature's brush to the landscape. No more beautiful countryside can be found.

Mr. Fillmore was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Rlankenbaker, and to this union four children have been born, as follows: Orloff, Addison; Lloyd, and Leona. Mr. Fillmore is progressive and public spirited, and is always ready and willing to lend his aid to any movement or enterprise that has for its object the betterment of the community. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 676-677)

WRIGHT, A.F .

A. F. Wright, one of the leading farmers and stockmen of Butler county, comes from an old American family and traces his ancestry back to Revolutionary days, his great grandfather having been a soldier in Washington's army in the struggle for Independence. A. F. Wright was born in Buchanan county, Missouri, in August, 1851, and is a son of Joseph T. and Mary J. (Faubion) Wright. Joseph T. Wright came to Kansas when it was a territory. He was a native of Indiana, born in 1838, and settled in Leavenworth county, Kansas, in 1854. He was an early day freighter across the plains, and after coming to Butler county in 1873, followed farming and stock raising, exclusively. To Joseph T. and Mary J. (Faubion) Wright were born the following children: A. F., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Polly E. Rudlof, Howard, Kans.; F. M., Latham, Kans.; Mrs. Sarah A. Bren-ton, Latham, Kans.; Mrs. Mary J. Vance, Sedee, Okla.; Mrs. Nancy Harring, Cabool, Mo.; Joseph T., Latham, Kans., and S. S., Latham, Kans.

A. F. Wright came to Butler county in 1873, and since that time, has been engaged in farming and stock raising, and is one of the extensive and successful stock raisers of the county. His farm consists of 1,000 acres of valuable land, located just south of Beaumont. Mr. Wright is one of the pioneer stockmen of Butler county whose efforts have contributed to giving Butler county the just reputation of being the greatest cattle producing county in the State of Kansas, if not in the entire West.

Mr. Wright was married in 1881 to Miss Mary I. Vanzandt, a daughter of James and Margaret B. (Swain) Vanzandt of Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Wright have been born the following children: Mrs. Sadie A. Westfall, was born in 1882, and died in 1910; C. D., born in 1883, resides at Beaumont, Kans.; Mrs. Laura E. Hobkirk, born in 1885, resides at Latham, Kans.; W. F., born in 1891, Beaumont, Kans.; Mrs. Ella Fillmore, born in 1891, resides at Beaumont; James E., born in 1893; Esther J., born in 1888, died in 1899; Elmer F., born in 1897, resides at Beaumont, and F. R., born in 1901, and died in 1904.

Mr. Wright came to Butler county in the early days of the development of this section, and experienced all the trials, hardships and uncertainties of pioneer life in this county. Deer were plentiful when he came here, and herds of buffalo could still be seen now and then* but they disappeared shortly afterward, going still farther west. Prairie chickens and other small game were in abundance, and Mr. Wright remembers having seen one herd of elk after coming to this county. Wandering bands of Indians frequently passed through Butler county, and Mr. Wright has seen as many as 150 in one band. There were many inconveniences in those days, and Mr. Wright recalls many of the early day misfortunes, including prairie fires, drouths, grasshoppers, etc.

He remembers the time when markets were a long distance away, prices low and money scarce. He has driven cattle as far as Leaven-worth to market, a distance of about 200 miles. He has hauled to El Dorado, a distance of over twenty-five miles, hogs which he sold for less than a cent and a half per pound. Their nearest doctor in the early days was thirty miles away, but Mr. Wright always had faith in the future possibilities of Butler county, and has lived to see his expectations realized, and while, by his thrift and industry, he has been accumulating a competence for himself, he has been a dominant factor in the upbuilding and development of his adopted county, of which he is justly proud.

Mr. and Mrs. Wright have ten grandchildren, and their children live near enough that they often have family reunions, at which they have enjoyable times. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 677-678)

PAYNE, F. M.

F. M. Payne, one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of Glencoe township,, is a native of Ohio, and was born in Licking county in 1843. His parents were Irvin and Ruth (Hall) Payne, natives of Ohio. The following children of the Payne family are living; H. C. Payne, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mrs. Esther E. Ulum, Kesswick, Iowa; and F. M , whose name introduces this sketch.

F. M. Payne is one of the veterans of the Civil war who, in the stirring days of the early sixties, responded to President Lincoln's call for defenders of the flag. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-second regiment, Iowa infantry, and for two and a half years carried his musket in the Southland in defense of the Union. He participated in the battles of Champion Hills, Port Gibson, the seige of Vicksbuig, Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek and a number of lesser engagements and skirmishes. He was captured at Cedar Creek and was held prisoner four and one-half months at Salisbury, N. C.

In 1872, Mr. Payne came to Butler county, and bought out a claim of 160 acres in Glencoe township, and engaged in farming and stock raising. He has added to his acreage and now owns 448 acres, where he conducts an extensive and profitable farming and stock raising business. Mr. Payne was married in 1877 to Miss Rosa Dobson, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Goodwin) Dobson, and to this union have been born six children, as follows: Mrs. Alta Ledgerwood, Leon, Kans.; L. D., Leon; Mrs. Vina McMullen, Bular, Kans.; Mrs. Iva G. Cannon, Leon, Kans.; E. E., Leon, and W. H., Fort Smith, Ark.

When Mr. Payne located in Butler county there were no railroads in the county, his nearest railroad point being Emporia and he frequently drove there for supplies, and El Dorado was his nearest town, which was about twenty miles distant. Mr. Payne is a Republican, but hab never aspired to hold political office. He is one of the progressive farmers and stockmen of Butler county and keeps himself well posted on current events. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 678-679)

MARSHALL, HENRY H.

Henry H. Marshall, now deceased, was a Butler county pioneer whose influence in the early days contributed in no small measure to the early development and upbuilding of Butler county. He was a capable business man, and with his keen foresight, saw the possibilities of the future greatness of Butler county when others could see nothing but the horizon, which seemed to surround this great unpeopled western waste.

Henry H. Marshall was a native of Indiana, born in Fountain county in 1846, of North Carolinan parentage. He was reared to manhood in his native State and in 1869 was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Elwell. Two years later they came to Butler county, Kansas, and in 1871, Mr. Marshall bought a quarter section of land of Peter Johnson. This farm is two miles northeast of Leon and was a part of the Osage Indian trust lands, ceded to the United States in 1868. It was preempted in 1868, being on the northern boundary of the Osage Indian lands. Dr. Munson preempted this place in 1868 and later in the same year traded it to Peter Johnson for an ox team and wagon and Mr. Marshall bought it from Johnson in 1871 and paid $2,250. This land is now worth $150 per acre. It is all bottom land. Mr. Marshall also preempted a quarter section adjoining it in Little Walnut township. There was a small house on the Johnson place 12x18 feet, which Johnson built in 1868, and which is still standing. The lumber for this house was sawed from native timber at William Martin's mill at El Dorado.

Although Mr. Marshall had some capital when he came here, he began at the bottom, and experienced all the various phases of pioneer life. He had been a school teacher in Indiana, but after coming here devoted himself exclusively to farming and stock raising. He also bought and sold cattle extensively, and was a large feeder, and did a large volume of business. When he came here there was lots of game, and he has stood in the door of his home and shot deer, and while he was not a professional hunter, by any means, he kept his table well supplied with meat in the early days, without any unusual effort. In 1874, when this section of the State received outside aid on account of the devastation of the grasshoppers, Mr. Marshall was appointed one of the dis-tributors of the supplies, and conducted this work in a manner that gave entire satisfaction to all concerned.

Mr. Marshall was a man who was very kind to animals and would never permit one to be abused. In the early days he used a great many mules in his farming operations and after these animals became old and decrepit they were pensioned by being cared for just as well as when they were in the prime of their usefulness. They never were required to do any work after reaching the decrepit age. In 1914 one of these mules died at the age of thirty-four years. And in 1915 two others died which had attained the age of thirty-five years. And in 1916 one died that had attained the age of thirty-six years.

Mr. Marshall continued to buy land, after coming to this county until he became the owner of over 2,000 of valuable land. He died in November, 1911, at the age of sixty-six years, and thus came to a close the career of one of Butler county's most successful pioneer citizens. His wife passed away in April, 1912. The following children of this honored pioneer couple survive: Morton W., William S., John A., Etta M., and Grace E. Morton W. Marshall, the eldest of the family, was born July, 1870, and is a successful lumber dealer at Leon, Kans., having been engaged in that business there for twenty-six years. He was married to Miss Eleanor, daughter of W. J. Martin, a prominent pioneer of Butler county. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Marshall: Vivian, Jean L. and Shirley.
William S. Marshall was born in November, 1872, and is engaged in the banking business at Leon. He was married in, December, 1903. to Miss Lytidia Dedrick, a daughter of J. J. Dedrick, and three children have been born to this union: Aneta, Arlone, and Ruth.

John A. Marshall was born in November, 1874, and is a prominent implement dealer of Leon, Kans. Etta M. married Bert R. Smith, a banker of Reece, Kans.; and Grace E., married H. S. Dedrick and lives on the old homestead in Little Walnut township. All the members of the Marshall family are prominent and well to do citizens, and belong to that substantial type of citizens who make for the betterment of the political, industrial, and social world. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 679-680)

TABING, F. B.

F. B. Tabing, a prominent farmer and successful stockman of Logan township, is a native son of Butler county, whose parents were early settlers in this county. He is a son of Charles and Permelia (Moore) Tabing, who settled in Butler county at an early date, locating in Logan township, the father being a pioneer cattleman of that section. He prospered in his operations and amassed a comfortable fortune, and at the time of his death owned over a thousand acres of land which was well stocked, 620 acres of which is now owned by F. B. Tabing, the subject of this sketch, and 420 acres is owned by Frank Tabing, the only two surviving children born to Charles and Permelia (Moore) Tabing. The father was a prominent and influential citizen of Butler county and died in 1897, and the wife and mother departed this life one year later. The father was a native of Germany. He was a Civil war veteran and served in Company I, Twenty-second regiment and Company H, Forty-second regiment, Illinois infantry.

F. B. Tabing spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and was educated in the public schools of Leon. He has spent his life in farming and the cattle business, and is one of the best posted and most successful cattle men in Butler county. He studies his business and has made a success of it and his spacious farm of 620 acres is well improved and superbly adapted to general farming and stock raising.

Mr. Tabing was united in marriage in 1904 with Miss Gertrude Overstreet, and six children have been born to this union, as follows: Jerrine, born in 1906; Ethelyn, born in 1907; B. C. N., born in 1909; T. H. M., born in 1910; Lulu J., born in 1912; Oletha, born in 1914; and Fred B., Jr., born June 13, 1916.

Mr. Tabing recalls many amusing as well as serious incidents of his early boyhood life on the plains of Butler county. It was a habit with his father to carry his money (bills) under the sweat band of his hat, and one day while he had quite a considerable amount of money thus concealed in a light straw hat, a playful Kansas zephyr blew his hat off, and so far away that neither the hat nor the money has been heard of according to last reports. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 680-681)

ECKEL, GEORGE H.

George H. Eckel, a well known farmer and stockman of Glencoe township, is a native of Butler county. He was born February 18, 1871, and is a son of Charles and Julia (Zimpleman) Eckel, natives of Michigan. The parents of George H. Eckel came to Butler county in 1870, locating near where the town of Pontiac now is, where the father home-steaded a quarter section. He engaged in farming and stock raising in that vicinity, which has been his life's occupation. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having served in that great conflict with the Michigan troops. He now resides on a farm in Butler county. Of the children born to Charles and Julia (Zimpleman) Eckel, the following the now living: Frank, Douglass, Kans.; George H., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Nettie Louthen, Ponca City, Okla.; William, Douglass, Kans.; Mrs. Belle Mclntyre, Wichita, Kans., and Mrs. Eva Dornboss, Douglass, Kans.

George H. Eckel was reared on his father's farm in Butler county near Pontiac and received his education in the public schools. He began farming and stock raising on his own account in early life, and now owns a splendid farm of 440 acres located on the south branch of the Little Walnut in Glencoe township. This place compares favorably with the best stock farms of Butler county and although a young man Mr. Eckel ranks as one of the leading farmers and stockmen of the community. He is an active and aggressive business man whose worth as a citizen of high standing is recognized by those who know him best.

Mr. Eckel was married February 27, 1901, to Miss Nelle V. Hobbs, a native of Mediaoplis, Iowa. She is a daughter of William and Nancy (Gilmore) Hobbs, who settled in Butler county, in 1897, locating near Pontiac, and later removed to El Dorado, where they now reside. Mrs. Eckel is one of the following surviving children, born to William and Nancy (Gilmore) Hobbs: Mrs. George H. Eckel, the subject of this sketch; William C, El Dorado, Kans.; Hal R., Los Angeles, Cal.; and Louis B., Wichita, Kans. To Mr. and Mrs. George H. Eckel have been born the following children: Merele, born in August, 1903; Lloyd, born in September, 1906; Leslie, born in October, 1908; and Lois, born in July, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Eckel are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and well known and prominent in the community. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 681-682)

AXTELL, JOHN GORDON

John Gordon Axtell, Civil war veteran, plainsman and pioneer of Beaumont, Kans., traces his Anglo-Saxon ancestry back nearly three centuries. Mr. Axtell was born in Ohio, December 3, 1845, and as a son of Alexander A. and Jane (Gordon) Axtell. Alexander A. Axtell located in Ohio about 1832. He was a son of Daniel Axtell who was born in 1780 and whose ancestors of the Axtell family are as follows, in the direct line of descent, with dates of births: Daniel, 1748; Thomas, 1727; Daniel, 1673; Henry, 1641; Thomas, 1619, and who was the founder of the Axtell family in America, coming to this country in 1642. He was a native of Berkhampstead, England. Jane Gordon Axtell, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1811, and married Alexander A. Axtell, about 1843. Two children were born to this union, John Gordon Axtell, the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Martha J. Adams, now residing at Grove City, Pa.
John Gordon Axtell received a common school education, and spent his boyhood days similar to that of other boys of his time, until the Civil war broke out. On August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-fifth regiment, Pennsylvania infantry, and was mustered into service at Erie, Pa. His regiment became a part of General Maher's Irish brigade and later was attached to Miles' brigade. Mr. Axtell participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, and was in the Mine Run campaign, and during the Wilderness campaign served on a detail that was assigned to carry the wounded off the field of battle, during the engagement. He was in the Wilderness campaign, at the disastrous blowing up of the Mine, the siege of Petersburg, Deep Bottom and Ream's Station. At the latter engagement, he was taken prisoner and sent to Libby prison and later transferred to Belle Island prison and from there to Salisbury, N. C. He succeeded in escaping from the latter place, and found his way back to his regiment, which he joined at Burks-ville Junction and remained in the service until his discharge June 18, 1865. He participated in the grand review at Washington, D. C, after the close of the war. His regiment saw much hard service and few companies of the entire Northern army, if any, show a greater loss than Company H, of which Mr. Axtell was a member. Every man that went out with that company was either killed, wounded or taken prisoner and only five of the entire company returned home.

In 1868, Mr. Axtell came to Kansas and drove a six mule team to Ft. Hayes where he joined General Forsythe's scouts, taking the place of a man who had recently been killed. While with Forsythe's scouts they operated with the Fifth U. S. Cavalry in the Republican river campaign, and were sent with General Sheridan to supply and to locate the Nineteenth Kansas which was on an expedition against the Indians in the West under command of Governor Crawford. After reaching Camp Supply, where General Sheridan was, Mr. Axtell was detailed as one of Sheridan's body guards, serving in that capacity while he remained in the service in the West.

The following March he went to Coffeyville, Kans., where he remained until 1870, when he returned to Pennsylvania and was married and in 1872, came to Kansas again, locating in McPherson county. In 1884 he went to Elk county where he remained until 1892. In 1907 Mr. Axtell removed to Beaumont, Butler county, but still owns his farm of 320 acres which is located in Greenwood county, about five miles from Beaumont where he is extensively engaged in stock raising.

In 1870, Mr. Axtell was married to Miss Jennie A. Blair, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Daniel and Martha (McMichael) Blair, natives of Pennsylvania, where the father was a farmer. Mrs. Axtell has two brothers living, Mathew, Youngstown, Ohio, and John A., Cochranton, Pa. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Axtell, as follows: Mrs. Minnie Ryerson, Burden, Kans.; Mrs. Ollie R. Norman, Beaumont, Tex.; Mrs. Martha J. Olds, Beaumont, Kans.; Guy P., married Effie Westfall, Altamont, Kans.; Mrs. Lena F. Westfall, Piedmont, Kans.; Mrs. Coral A. Ragsdale, Leech, Okla.; Mrs. Clara L. Ludwig, Fall River, Kans.; Glenn J., married Rebecca Hutton, Beaumont, Kans., and Free L., Salt Lake City, Utah. There are forty-five grandchildren in the Axtell family.

Mr. Axtell served as postmaster of Beaumont for two years during President Taft's administration. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and Mrs. Axtell belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. Few men of this age and time, are to be found who have passed through the experiences which have fallen to the lot of Mr. Axtell, and any man might well be proud of his record as a soldier and a citizen. He is a remarkable man for his age and his vigorous body and active mind would be a credit to a much younger man. He possesses a remarkable memory, and can relate to the most minute detail, incidences that occured over fifty years ago.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 682-683)

McCULLOUGH, W. A.

W. A. McCullough, a pioneer in the threshing industry of Butler county, and a leading farmer and stockman of Logan township, is a native of Indiana. He was born in Newton county, that State, in 1858, and is a son of G. L. and Matilda (Garded) McCullough, both natives of Indiana, the father having been born in Union county in 1833. The McCullough family came to Kansas in the fall of 1877, and located in Butler county. The father now resides at Leon. G. L. and Matilda (Garded) McCullough are the parents of the following children: W. A., the subject of this sketch; S. J. Derby, Kans.; H. L. lives in Oregon ; Mrs. Nannie Heddey, El Dorado, Kans.; Mrs. Effie Allen, Latham, Kans.; Mrs. Alta Hubbard, Leon, Kans.; Mrs. Flora Larrick, Leon, Kans.; Bert, El Dorado, Kans.; James E., the eldest, was killed in a mine in Arkansas; and Laura A. McCullough, died about twenty years ago.

W. A. McCullough came to Butler county in 1877. He operated the first steam thresher in this county. It was not of the tractor type of engine, but had to be hauled from one farm to the other by oxen. In connection with his threshing operation, he carried on farming and stock raising, and, for a time, handled sheep, extensively, and perhaps understands the sheep business better than any other man in Butler county, but, he says, with all of his experience with sheep, the most interesting feature was to make both ends meet, when wool was five cents a pound.

Mr. McCullough was married, in 1879, to Miss Lucy J. Grove, a daughter of W. and Sarah (Hodson) Grove of Butler county. To Mr. and Mrs. McCullough have been born the following children: Mrs. Elma May Arnold, Leon, Kans.; Mrs. Elsie Arnold, Latham, Kans.; Mrs. Cora Bertchsinger, Wichita, Kans.; S. E. McCullough, Leon, Kans.; Mrs. Sarah L. Woodard, Bristol, Colo., and Lucy McCullough, Leon, Kans. In referring to the days when prices were low and money scarce, Mr. McCullough said, "I have hauled stove wood to Wichita, and also wheat, and sold the latter at thirty-five cents per bushel."

Mr. McCullough is a Democrat and has taken an active part in local politics. He has served as trustee of Logan township for five years, and has also been township clerk.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 683-684)

OLDBURY, RICHARD E.

Richard E. Oldbury, a prominent farmer and stockman of Little Walnut township, was born at Evansville, Ind., in 1849. In 1858, he came to Kansas with his father's family. He spent his boyhood on the plains of Kansas, hunting buffalo with the Indians or rounding up cattle. He is now engaged in general farming and stock raising, and is one of the substantial farmers of Little Walnut township, and is also extensively interested in stock raising. He has an excellent farm of 130 acres, which is well adapted to both grain and stock farming. Mr. Oldbury is of the thrifty and progressive type of farmer, and his well kept place, bears mute testimony to its owner's prosperity.

Mr. Oldbury was united in marriage to Sarah Stout of Cottonwood Falls, Kans., in 1877. To this union were born two children: David E., and Dora N. In 1882 Mrs. Oldbury passed to the great beyond, leaving Mr. Oldbury to fight life's battles alone, with two small children to "mother" and care for. In 1886, Mr. Oldbury moved to Clark county, Kansas. One year later, he was married to Miss Adaline Palmer, a successful school teacher, and daughter of Henry Palmer, stone mason, from Ohio.

In 1893, Mr. Oldbury made the "run" into Oklahoma, and was the first rider into Pond creek. He staked a claim and, with his family, made a valuable farm of the once cactus strewn, prairie-dog-town plains. While in Oklahoma, Mr. and Mrs. Oldbury were blessed with two daughters, Wanda A., and Mary F. In order that their daughters might have proper education and yet not be separated from them, Mr. and Mrs. Oldbury returned to Kansas in 1902, settling on a valuable farm, thirty miles east of Wichita in Butler county. Here they made their home until the spring of 1916, when Mr. Oldbury turned the farm over to younger hands and retired from active business.

Mr. Oldbury has seen many ups and downs of the early life, on the plains, and was here when many of the settlers asked for and received help from the aid societies, but Mr. Oldbury never asked for, nor received aid, never refused to pay an honest debt, and never was sued. In 1888, when the settlers were all hard up, and many of them asking for assistance from the outside world, he not only made a living, but made money hunting jack rabbits and selling their scalps for bounty. He is one of the substantial men of Butler county, and is made of the kind of material that has reclaimed the wilderness and conquered the plains and deserts of this country. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 684)

BLANKENBAKER, MATTIE M.

Mrs. Mattie M. Blankenbaker, of Glencoe township, is one of the brave pioneer women who came to Butler county in the early days when conveniences and comforts were few, and hardships and privations many. Mrs. Blankenbaker was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1845, a daughter of James and Nancy (Hyndman) Dunlap, both natives of Ireland. Mrs. Blankenbaker has one surviving sister, Mrs. Charles Mitchell, of LyCygne, Kans. Shortly after her marriage to Mr. Blankenbaker they came to Kansas and remained for a short time in Linn county, and in 1879 came to Butler county and preemptied a quarter section of land in Glencoe township, which has since been the family home. Mr. Blankenbaker was a Civil war veteran, having served as a member of Company I, Sixty-seventh regiment, Indiana infantry. He was a brave soldier and was honorably discharged after having made an unusually good military record. He was at the siege of Vicksburg, Murfreesboro and a number of other important and hard-fought battles of the Civil war. At Murfreesboro he Had the misfortune of being taken prisoner, and after the war he was always fond of relating how he shouted with joy at the sight of the stars and stripes, after he had been released from the Con-federate prison and exchanged. He served three years in the army.

S. A. Blankenbaker and Mattie M. Dunlap were married in 1866, and the following children were born to this union: Mrs. Jennie Fillmore, Leon, Kans.; Clinton, Latham; Mrs. Bernice Butts, Keighley, Kans.; Clyde, Keighley, Kans., and Mrs. Beryl Evans, Kansas City, Kans. Clyde is living on the home farm with his mother and in addition to operating the home farm, rents 160 acres in that vicinity, and is one of the prosperous farmers and stockmen of Glencoe township. Mr. Blankenbaker died, suddenly, in the Odd Fellows Hall at Beaumont Kans., January 7, 1911, being stricken with heart failure. He was a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and for years had been active and influential in that Order and was much in demand at special meetings and extraordinary gatherings of members of that lodge. He also took an active interest in local, political affairs and was prominent in the community. He had held several local offices of trust and responsibility, having been trustee of Glencoe township.

Mrs. Blankenbaker remembers many incidents connected with the pioneer life of this county, of which the present generation know little. When she came here there were deer and antelope and large quantities of small game. One day while she and her husband were hauling a load of corn they discovered a herd of antelope, and Mr. Blankenbaker became so excited that, at first, he started after the antelope with his team and the load of corn, but upon second thought, he unhitched one of the horses, mounted it and went in pursuit of the antelope, leaving his wife perched on the load of corn. Like the other early pioneers Mrs. Blankenbaker was exposed to the many dangers that beset the early settlers, the chief ones of which were prairie fires and cyclones. She has always had a dread of cyclones, and she is very thankful that in their playful pranks over the plains they have thus far missed her.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 684-685)