Biographies Index

BUTLER COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

JENNINGS, J. W.

J. W. Jennings, a well known contractor and builder of Augusta, is a Butler county pioneer, and has spent forty-five years of his life in this section of Kansas. Mr. Jennings was born in Adams county, Ohio, February 10, 1853, and is a son of W. E., and Sarah J. (Collings) Jennings, both natives of Ohio. They were the parents of nine children, four of whom are living: E. W., Augusta, Kans.; G. O., Golden, Colo.; Mrs. D. U. Rowland, Augusta, Kans.; and J. W., the subject of this sketch. The Jennings family came to Kansas in 1871 and located in Clifford township.

J. W. attended the public schools in Ohio, and after coming to Kansas, attended school in a log school house in Clifford township, and he and his father built the first school house in that district, known as the Wilcox school house. He remained at home until 1878, when he went to Peabody and worked at the carpenter trade, and afterward returned to Butler county and followed farming in connection with his trade. In 1885, he built the Central Hotel and the Potwin Hall at Potwin, Kans., and later conducted that hotel for two years. He then returned to Peabody, working at his trade, until 1889 when he returned to the old homestead in Clifford township. In 1891 he went to Oklahoma where he followed farming until 1904, when he came to Augusta and since that time has devoted himself exclusively to contracting and building. During these years he has erected a great many business buildings and residences in Augusta. He built the Leonard block, the Warren Brown residence, the Peckham building, the McCool building, the Bausinger & Fuller building, and did the finishing work on the George W. Brown State Bank. He has built altogether over fifty residences in Augusta, and at this writing, has seven in the course of construction.

Mr. Jennings was united in marriage, April 22, 1880, to Miss Anna L. Deweese of Marion county, Kansas, and they have one child, Mrs. Alice Rosecrans, who resides at Augusta. She has one child, Audene.

Mr. Jennings is a member of the Masonic lodge and is a Royal Arch Mason. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is an expert mechanic and has worked at the carpenter trade most of the time for over fifty years, and he says that he can do as much work as any man on the job today, but that he won't. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 498)

HITCHCOCK, WILLIAM

William Hitchcock, proprietor of the Hitchcock Dry Good Company of Augusta, is one of Butler county's most progressive merchants. He is a native of Kansas, born at Circleville, and is a son of William and Mary (Hart) Hitchcock, who were the parents of four children, as follows: Charles, farmer, Belle Plaine, Kans.; Holton, merchant at El Dorado: Mrs. Fannie Swallow, Wichita. Kans., and William, the subject of this sketch.

William Hitchcock received his education in the public schools, and has been brought up in the mercantile business. When a boy he began clerking in a general store at Belle Plaine, Kans., and soon afterwards embarked in business with his father and brother at Syracuse, Kans., conducting a store there from 1886 until 1890. He then came to El Dorado, Kans., and in partnership with his father and brother, Holton, opened a general store. They were unusually successful in this venture, and it developed into the leading department store of the county. In 1910, William disposed of his interest to his brother, and engaged in the dry goods business at Hutchinson. In 1912 he sold his Hutchinson business, and came to Augusta, engaging in the dry goods business under the firm name of the Hitchcock Dry Goods Company, which is one of the enterprising mercantile institutions of that progressive city. Mr. Hitchcock carries a complete line of dry goods and ladies furnishings, and since coming to Augusta has built up a large business and earned a reputation for square dealing and honest goods. His stock is of a high class assortment, and he carries many of the best known makes of high class goods, and his store is a model of up-to-date merchandising. Mr. Hitchcock's force of clerks is an efficient organization and the many customers of this store are always assured of good value, good service and courteous treatment.

Mr. Hitchcock was united in marriage at El Dorado, Kans. in 1896, to Miss Bertha Bourne of that city. Four children have been born to this union, as follows: Frances, graduate of the Augusta High School, class of 1914, and now a student in Kansas University, Lawrence, Kans.; William, a student of the Augusta High School, and a member of the class of 1917; Everett, also a student in the Augusta High School and a member of the freshman class, and Constance, who resides at home. Mr. Hitchcock is one of the progressive business men of Augusta, and takes a keen interest in the development and welfare of his adopted city. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 499)

SWITZER, J. R.

J. R. Switzer - While the building of cities and towns, and the erection of magnificent buildings is, in a general way, brought about by the concerted action of communities, it requires a certain individual genius to carry out the plans and erect, in material and finished form and develop the ideals of others. J. R. Switzer, whose name introduces this review, is one of the few whose mastery of the art of building has played no small part in the construction of some of the most important buildings of Butler county, as well as elsewhere. Mr. Switzer is a native of Perrysville, Ind., and a son of W. P. and Ella (Rabb) Switzer, natives of Indiana, who were the parents of three children, as follows: Lou, Augusta; Alfred, Spring Ranch, Iowa, and J. R.

J. R. Switzer received his education in the public schools of Indiana and La Cygne, Kans., graduating from the high school of the latter place when nineteen years of age. He then learned the mason's trade. He then followed superintendent of construction work for a time in the southern States, and in 1889 came to Augusta, Kans., and since that time has been active in construction work as a contractor and superintendent. He built the Peckham building, postoffice building, telephone building and the High School Building at Augusta and superintended the construction of the Butler County Court House at El Dorado and the Carnegie Library at Newton, Kans. He also superintended the erection of the court house and jail at Pratt, Kans., as well as a number of other minor buildings. He was appointed city engineer of Augusta in 1908 and has held that position to the present time and in that capacity drew the plans and specifications for the Augusta waterworks dam across the Walnut river and constructed the electric light plant of Augusta.

Mr. Switzer was married in 1891, to Miss Nettie Reed, of Augusta, her parents being pioneers of Butler county. To Mr. and Mrs. Switzer has been born one child, Fred, who is proprietor of the City Bakery and Cafe of Augusta. Mr. Switzer is one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of Augusta whose enterprise has made possible greater Augusta. J. R. Switzer has always affiliated with the Democratic party, taking an active part. For sixteen years he was local committee-man. He served four years as secretary and treasurer and was chairman of the county committee for four years. He was a member of the Congressional Committee for twelve years and a member of the State Committee for eight years, a position which he still holds.

W. P. Switzer, the father, was born in Indiana in 1838, a son of Joseph and Eliza (Anderson) Switzer, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are living, as follows: George, lives in Illinois, and W. P. Mr. Switzer was educated in the public schools of Indiana, and when the Civil war broke out, he enlisted at Danville, Ill. in Company E, Thirty-fifth regiment, Illinois infantry, under Captain Oliver, and later served under Captain Yohe. After his enlistment his command was sent to St. Louis, Mo., and from there to Springfield, and later to Rolla, Mo., where they spent the winter. They then took part in the campaign in pursuit of General Price's army in Arkansas; later he participated in the battles of Pea Ridge, Corinth, Resaca, Stone river, Chattanooga, Franklin, Nashville and Chickamauga. He was severely wounded at the battle of Chickamauga by a minnie ball which struck him in the right leg, just below the knee, and as a reminder of that incident, he recently received a letter from the comrade who helped him off the field of battle when wounded, and in his letter the old comrade made the following statement: "If you don't come and see me, I'll always wish that I had let the rebels have you." Mr. Switzer was mustered out of service at Louisville, Ky., in 1865 at the close of the war and went to Vermillion county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farming a number of years. In 1873 he went to Indiana and after spending four years in that State came to Kansas, locating near La Cygne, Linn county, where he made his home for twenty-five years. In 1903 he came to Butler county and since that time has resided at Augusta. For a number of years he was engaged in the stone business but is now living practically retired.

Mr. Switzer was married while living in Indiana, to Miss Ella Rabb and the living children of this union are as above mentioned. Mr. Switzer is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Augusta Post, No. 105. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 499-501)

KIRKPATRICK, LOUISA

Mrs. Louisa Black Kirkpatrick.-In recounting the trials, hardships and adventures of the early pioneers who, by their courage, industry and foresight, laid the foundation for the development of the great West, it is a common fault of many historians to overlook, in a measure, the part played in that great drama by the American pioneer woman. Following that misconception we fall into the error of picturing the early pioneer as a man, wearing a buckskin coat and carrying a long barrelled rifle, or driving a team of oxen. We forget that the wives, mothers and daughters, who accompanied the small family expedition across the great plains in the early days, with no particular point of destination, were the dominant factors in the early settlement of the plains. When the women came, settlements became substantial. They were the anchors of the new civilization, and from that time on, the permanent settlements, upbuilding and development of the great American desert were assured.

Mrs. Kirkpatrick, who bore the maiden name of Louisa Black, may well be classed with those pioneer women, who bore their part nobly and well in the struggles of the pioneer days. She was born in Clinton County, Missouri, a daughter of William and Margaret (McClure) Black, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Virginia. The Black family located in Missouri about 1850, and in 1856 came to the territory of Kansas and settled in Morris county, where they took a government claim of 160 acres of land, and the father bought an additional 100 acres. In 1868 the Black family came to Butler county and settled on the Walnut river, near where Gordon is now located. Here the father took up government land and added to his original holdings until he became the owner of 480 acres. He followed farming and stock raising, and also was quits an extensive cattle dealer in the early days.

Louisa Black, whose name introduces this sketch, was united in marriage with Rufus Kirkpatrick, at El Dorado, Kans., in 1894. Mr. Kirkpatrick was born in Macon, Mo., in 1852, and was of Irish descent. He came to Butler county in 1868, and died in 1898, and his remains are buried in Fairview cemetery. By a former marriage, the following children of Mr. Kirkpatrick survive: Ernest Kirkpatrick, a carpenter of Neosho, Mo., and Mrs. Ethel Farrow of Gordon, Kans.

Mrs. Kirkpatrick is one of the few women now living in Butler county who experienced the various vicissitudes and uncertainties of early day life on the plains. She was here during the devastation of the grasshoppers. She frequently saw the prairie fir.es which was one of the most dreaded enemies of the early pioneers, sweep over the plains, leaving the country a blackened and charred expanse of ruin, to Be followed by days of black dust and cinders which made life almost unendurable.

Mrs. Kirkpatrick now resides in her cozy home at Augusta, well provided with an ample supply of this world's goods, being the owner of 146 acres of fertile valley land on the Walnut river, near Gordon, upon which is located several producing gas wells, and one oil well, producing 1,200 barrels per day, and other wells now being drilled. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 501-502)

NORRIS, CORA

Cora Norris, of Augusta, Kans., is a notable example of a successful Kansas business woman. Miss Norris was born in Walworth county, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of William W. and Sophia (White) Norris, the former a native of Connecticut, and the latter of Maine. They were the parents of three children, as follows: Mrs. Mary J. Ryan, Augusta; Mrs. Frances E. Sluss, lives three and one-half miles south of El Dorado and Cora, the subject of this sketch. The Norris family were pioneers of Butler county, coming here from Illinois in 1872. The father took a claim of school land in Spring township, where the family resided for more than twenty years. The father was a successful farmer and a highly respected citizen. He is now deceased, and his wife lives in Augusta with her daughter of whom this sketch is written.

Miss Norris was educated in the public schools of Butler county and the Augusta High School, and in addition to her school work, she received much private instruction from her mother, who, prior to her marriage, was a teacher, and in early life, was well equipped with a good education. Miss Norris taught school for a few years when she was appointed first assistant to Postmaster N. A. Yaeger at Augusta, and served in that capacity with two successive postmasters, P. W. Burdick and A. J. Ryan, and in all, held that responsible position for ten years. While employed in the postoffice, Miss Norris, being of a studious turn of mind, occupied her spare time in the study of shorthand, and later attended the Wichita Commercial College. She then accepted a position with G. M. Stratton at Clay Center, Kans., and later returned to Augusta where she is now engaged in stenographic work and the insurance business, principally fire insurance, representing seven of the leading fire insurance underwriters, and has a very satisfactory and constantly increasing business. Her office is in the postoffice building. She is a charter member of the Triple Tie, and belongs to the Fraternal Aid Union; the Occidental Association; Fraternal Citizens and Order of the Eastern Star.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 502)

ROBSON, J. D.

J. D. Robson, owner and proprietor of the Robson Department Store, Augusta, Kans., is a progressive business man, and conducts one of the leading mercantile establishments of Butler county. Mr. Robson is a native of Scotland, born in Lin Lithgow in 1861, and is a son of Joshua Robson and Mary (Alice) Robson, both natives of Aberdeen, Scotland. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living, as follows: Charles Edward, Washington, D. C.; Mathew, New York City; Mrs. Alice Carr, Middleborough, Scotland; Arthur Henry, John Thomas and Alexander St. Clair, all residing in Glasgow, Scotland, and J. D., the subject of this sketch.

J. D. Robson was reared to manhood in his native land and England and received a very good education, attending the North of England Agricultural College at Great Ayton. His father was a shoe manufacturer at Stockton, England, and young Robson learned the shoe maker's trade and was buyer for his father's factory and also worked in a retail store for a time. He then established a wholesale and retail business in which he was successful. While in Sunderland, England, buying leather one day he met Henry Conyers, a wholesale leatherman, who advised him to invest all he had in leather and also all he could borrow. Mr. Robson took his advice and made a handsome profit, enough to establish himself in business.

In 1884 he left England and came to America, locating at Pittsburgh, Pa., where he remained one year. He then went to St. Louis, Mo., and was in the employ of the J. G. Brandt Shoe Company as a retail salesman for three years, when he entered the employ of the Tenant Walker Shoe Company, afterwards the Tenant Stribling Shoe Company, as traveling salesman. Later he was employed by the Bradley and Met-calf Shoe Company, of Milwaukee, Wis., and in 1902 opened a racket store at Augusta, Kans., and a short time afterward installed a general stock of goods and opened a department store. His mercantile undertaking in Augusta was a success from the start, and he now carries an extensive stock of goods which compares favorably with department stores to be found in larger cities. Mr. Robson's varied, experience as a manufacturer and wholesaler, is of inestimable value to him in the retail business. He knows the mercantile business from the beginning to the end. Since coming to Augusta he has taken an active part in the civil life of the town and has always been ready and willing to cooperate in any movement for the betterment or advancement of his adopted city.

J. D. Robson was married in 1901, to Miss Lillian B. Carter, of Emporia, Kans. Mrs. Robson comes from a prominent Kansas family, her parents having settled in Lyon county in the sixties. Her father, Simri Carter, is the oldest living member of the Emporia Masonic Lodge. He was born in Chatham county, North Carolina, January 29, 1838. He became a Mason in Monrovia, Ind., in 1862, by special dispensation receiving the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry in one evening on account of the Civil war. He joined Emporia Lodge September 24, 1868. He became Master in 1901. On account of his skill and knowledge he was made "the official poster" of the lodge, and all candidates from 1902 to 1914 became his pupils. Mr. and Mrs. Robson have one child, Robert, aged twelve, a student in the Augusta schools. Mr. Robson is a Knights Templar Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World and the Anti-Horse Thief Association.

Mrs. Abner Hadley, an aunt of Mrs. Robson, was the first white woman to come to Emporia, Kans., after the town was laid out. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 503-504)

TAYLOR, W. H.

W. H, Taylor, a Butler county pioneer and prominent farmer and stockman of Murdock township, is a native of Indiana. He was born January 7, 1853, and is a son of R. L. and Jane Taylor, the father being of Scotch descent. The Taylor family came to Kansas in 1870, locating in Murdock township, Butler county, where the father homesteaded 160 acres of Government land. That was an early date in the settlement of Butler county, and there was much Government land to be had at that time. They built a log house of the crude primitive style on their claim, common to the early days, which was .later replaced by a more pretentious structure.

The early days on the plains of Butler county was a struggle for existence, and few, if any, of the early pioneers could foresee, at that time, the great future possibilities that were in store for this uninviting and practically uninhabited great stretch of prairie. It seemed as though the early settlers were beset by one calamity after another. One season would be too dry, the next too wet, then the hot winds would burn the country to a crisp, and if they had a crop, the grasshoppers would find it out, in some way, and hasten to the scene to collect their toll. But, the early pioneers were not of the kind to be discouraged, and finally fortune smiled on them and many of the early day hardships have been forgotten, and Butler county has developed into a land of prosperity and plenty, equalled by few sections of the country and excelled by none.

For a few years after coming to Butler county, R. L. Taylor engaged in freighting from Emporia, in connection with his farming. He died in 1878, and his wife died in 1912. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Harriet Casebere, Rockyford, Colo.; W. H., the subject of this sketch: Mrs. Mary E. Ohlsen, (deceased) ; John, Toronto, Kans.; James, Stafford, Kans.; H. T., Pueblo, Colo., and Grace, Benton, Kans.

W. H. Taylor was about seventeen years of age when the family settled in Butler county, and as a young man, saw much of the pioneer life of this section, and he recalls many incidents in the early history of the county. He tells of one time that his father bought one thousand pounds of floor which became damaged with coal oil. He. says that they used it, and that it lasted much longer than flour does without the coal oil added. And yet, with all their hardships and disadvantages they managed to create considerable amusement and have good times. The early day dances were great attractions for the young people, and Mr. Taylor relates with much amusement his experiences in learning to dance, and attending dances. On one occasion he was unable to return home on account of high water, so he just remained, and they had another dance the following night.

Mr. Taylor was married October 25, 1877, to Miss Sallie K. Liggett, a daughter of Nelson and Amanda Liggett of Illinois. The Liggett family was composed of the following children: Mrs. Mary Bruce, Ardway, Col.; Sallie K., wife of W. H. Taylor, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Emma McMorris, Brothers, Ill.; Harmon, Muncie, Ill., and Mrs. Jennie Parker, Muncie, Ill. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born the following children : Robert, Spring Valley, Wash.; E. W. Benton, Kans.; Mrs. Edith Moore, Whitewater and K. W., Benton. The Taylor family are well and favorably known through the western part of Butler county, and have many friends.

Mr. Taylor relates the story of six big Indians coming to their home, and asking for food. His mother made them some coffee and gave them bread and meat. They refused to eat off the table, but took the food out under a cottonwood tree and ate the meal there. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 504-505)

HAYES, JAMES

Rev. James Hayes.-The reverend gentleman whose name introduces this sketch has been actively identified with Butler county for the past ten years, and his efforts in behalf of the spiritual welfare of the communicants of his denomination, as well as of the community in general, are of the kind that makes this a better world in which to live, as well as inspiring a confident and abiding faith in the future. Father Hayes is a native of England, born in Preston, Lancashire, in 1865. After obtaining a good preliminary education, at the age of thirteen, he entered St. Cuthbert's College, Durham, England, where he received a thorough education, especially in the classics, theology and philosophy, common to the lot of him who would aspire to the sacred obligations and responsibilities of the priesthood.
Father Hayes comes from well-to-do and prominent families, both on his maternal and paternal sides. His father, Robert Hayes, was a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, and his mother, Sarah Duckett, was of English birth, having been born in Lancashire.

At the close of his college career of thirteen years, Father Hayes was ordained to the priesthood, after which he was engaged in missionary work in Liverpool, England, for fifteen years. In 1900 he came to America and was located at Custer, S. D., and after having spent six years in the Black Hills, came to Augusta, Kans., and since that time, has been active in his parochial work here, and in addition has charges or missions, at El Dorado, Cassoday and Spring Branch. He is an untiring worker and invariably gets results. Since coming to Butler county he has built a new church at Augusta and other churches at El Dorado, Cassoday and Spring Branch. He also has had a fine parsonage erected at Augusta, and a parochial school and a residence for the sisters,. All these improvements mean a vast amount of work and great sacrifice on the part of the priest who successfully promotes such enterprises and carries them through to a successful completion, but Father Hayes feels amply repaid, in the fact that his efforts have been successful and in the satisfaction that his work has not been in vain. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 505-506)

WEIDLEIN, ED

Ed Weidlein - Augusta has won a reputation among the towns and cities of Kansas as a city that does things, and no small amount of credit for the reputation which has been established by Augusta is due to the capability and progressiveness of Ed Weidlein, who is now serving his fifth year as mayor of that thriving city. Of course, Mr. Weidlein has received the hearty support and co-operation of many of the leading citizens, otherwise he would have been unable to accomplish the many things that have been brought about during his administration of the city's affairs. He was first elected mayor in 1911, and re-elected to succeed himself in 1913 and again in 1915. During that time the city has built a filtering plant, at a cost of $16,000 and an electric light plant at a cost of $15,000. The city had acquired its own gas franchise, prior to the election of Mr. Weidlein. At the present time, Augusta has a sewer system under construction which will cost $50,000 when completed. The various city utilities including gas, water and electric light, have been handled with such efficiency and maintained on such a sound business basis that when all the improvements contemplated are completed, they will have been paid for, and the city will be free of indebtedness. In view of the vast number of improvements made and the amount of money expended, it is probable that no other city of the size of Augusta in the United States can show such a record.
Ed Weidlein is a native of Henry county, Illinois, and a son of John W. and Nora (Emmert) Weidlein, natives of Germany. They were the parents of the following children: A. Weidlein, Geneseo, Ill.; Philip, Kansas City, Mo.; Louis, Lawrence, Kans.; Jacob, Leaven-worth, Kans.; George, Wellman, Iowa; J. V., Lawrence, Kans., and Ed, whose name introduces this review.

Ed Weidlein received a good common school education in Henry county, Illinois, and when he reached manhood, began life as a farmer, in his native county. In 1878, he came to Kansas, locating near Pea-body, Marion county, where he was engaged in farming until 1884. He then came to Butler county, locating at Augusta, where he engaged extensively in farming and stock feeding, and has been one of the leading patrons of the Wichita stock market for years. Recently he has become interested in the oil and gas development of Butler county and has made a great- many profitable investments in that rapidly developing field.
Miss Pansy Wiley has been city clerk for the past four years and has been an able and efficient helper to the mayor and city officials. The records of the city are a model of neatness, and she has every item pertaining to the expenditure of the city's money carefully recorded and filed, to be had at a moment's notice. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 506-507)

PIMLOT, C. D.

C. D. Pimlot, a Kansas pioneer and Civil war veteran, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Summit county in 1841, and is a son of Joseph and Joanna Pimlot. They were the parents of thirteen children, two of whom are now living: Horace, Carmen, Okla., and C. D., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Meralda Harbor, of Streator, Ill., died April, 1916. C D. Pimlot was educated in the public schools of Ohio and Indiana, his parents removing to the latter State when he was a boy. He lived the life of the average boy of his time until the Civil war broke out when he enlisted, October 16, 1861, in Company E, Forty-fourth regiment, Indiana infantry. He took part in some of the important engagements of that great conflict, among which were Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone River and Fort Donelson. He was severely wounded at the battle of Fort Donelson, but refused to go to a hospital, preferring to remain on the line of battle. During his term of service, which extended over a period of three years, one month and six days, he never asked for a furlough, and was never absent from duty. He was discharged November 22, 1864, and mustered out at Chattanooga, Tenn., and shortly afterwards was appointed a member of the metropolitan police at Chattanooga, under Governor Brownlow, and served in that capacity for four years.

Mr. Pimlot worked at the carpenter's trade in early life and in 1879 came to Kansas, locating at Augusta. A year later he engaged in farming, and followed that occupation for twenty-three years when he returned to Augusta and again took up carpenter work and was engaged in building there until 1914, when he retired.
After an absence of fifty-one years, Mr. Pimlot made a trip back to Illinois to visit his brother and sister who resided at Streator, and his description of that visit makes a much stronger story than the case of Rip Van Winkle. He says not a person there knew him, not even his brother or sister. Mr. Pimlot was united in marriage September 1, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn., with Melcenia Pearson and five children hare been born to this union, as follows: Joseph A., Augusta, Kans.; Mrs. Georgia McDonald, Trinidad, Colo.; Mrs. Kittie Craig, Seattle, Wash. ; Myrtle O., who resides with her father, and Mrs. Lulu Foltz, resides in Augusta. Mrs. Pimlot departed this life in 1911 and her remains rest in the Augusta cemetery. Mr. Pimlot is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, L. E. King Post No. 5, Augusta. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 507)

SKAER, J. H.

J. H. Skaer, a Butler county pioneer, now residing at Augusta, is a native of Illinois. He is a son of George and Caroline (Seibert) Skaer, natives of Germany. The Skaer family consisted of the following children: Henry, lives in Perry county, Illinois; William, Augusta; J. H., the subject of this sketch; Edward; Albert; Arthur; and Walter, all residing at or near Augusta, and Mrs. Carrie McVay, Ingersoll, Okla., and James, Wichita, Kans.., The father died in 1912, the mother having preceded him in death five years.

The Skaer family came to Butler county in 1877, and made their home in the town of Augusta about a year. The father bought a farm of 320 acres, four miles east of town, and later bought 640 acres, a mile east of Augusta. George Skaer, the father, was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. In 1849 he joined the great host of fortune-seekers and went to California, making the trip across the plains and over the mountains. He walked the entire distance, and before reaching his destination his shoes became worn out, but he continued his journey and after months of hardship reached California with torn and bleeding feet. He remained on the coast for three years when he returned to Kansas by way of the Panama route.

J. H. Skaer has made farming the principal occupation of his life and has been unusually successful. When the Cherokee strip was opened up to settlement, he took a Government claim there which has developed into very valuable property and which he still owns. He has been active in the oil and gas development of the Augusta field, since that section of Butler county has begun to yield its underground treasure in such unlimited and profitable quantities, and altogether Mr. Skaer is one of Butler county's most progressive and prosperous citizens.

He was united in marriage, in 1902, to Miss Eva Marckley of Augusta, Kans., whose parents were pioneers of that section. To Mr. and Mrs. Skaer have been born three children as follows: Ray, a daughter, died October 1, 1907, and Myrle and Evlyn, residing at home. Mr. Skaer is a member of the independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Skaer family are well known and highly respected in Butler county. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 507-508)

McCOOL, J. J.

J. J. McCool, a prominent real estate and insurance man of Augusta, is a real Kansas pioneer. He was born in Ohio in 1847, and a son of David and Eliza (Johnson) McCool, both natives of Ohio, and now deceased. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are now living: D. S., Los Angeles, Cal., and J. J., the subject of this sketch. The McCool family were early settlers in Kansas, coming to this State in 1859, and locating in Lyon county seven miles west of Emporia. When the Civil war broke out the father enlisted and served throughout the war, the wife and children remaining on their Lyon county farm. After the father returned from the army he removed to Ohio with the family.

J. J. McCool did not remain in Ohio very long before he came back to Kansas and, after a short stay at Emporia, settled in Butler county, where he bought 160 acres of land, just south of Augusta. Shortly afterwards he sold this place and rented land for a time and later engaged in the grocery business at Augusta, which he conducted for four or five years. He then followed farming again for a period of about ten years when he again took up the grocery business in Augusta, and followed that line of business until he engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business at which he has been unusually successful. Mr. McCool just missed being a veteran of the Civil war but it was not his fault. During the war he was enrolled in the Eleventh regiment Kansas cavalry at Emporia, but he was only sixteen years old at the time, and his father, who was then in the service, refused permission for the boy to enlist.

Mr. McCool is one of the pioneers who saw Butler county in its primitive period. He was here in 1861, and has a distinct recollection of many of the early day landmarks. He saw the old log house on the trail, near the ford of the Walnut river at El Dorado, which was the first house in that section, and he recollects Jacob Landis who had a cabin at the forks of the Walnut river where he conducted a trading post with the Indians. He says that after they located in Kansas that his father made regular hunting trips a short distance west, about as far as the present location of Hutchinson, and killed any number of buffalo and thus kept on hand a supply of buffalo meat. He saw the Walnut river in i860, the dry year, when it was perfectly dry, with the exception of a few little pools. He has a vast store of interesting reminiscences concerning the early history of Butler county, and possesses the faculty of narrating them in an entertaining way. Mr. McCool is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has an extensive acquaintance in Butler county. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 508-509)