Crawford County, Kansas Biographies

CRAWFORD COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

JOSEPH T. LEONARD

Joseph T. Leonard, Prominent among the solid financial institutions of Crawford County stands the First National Bank of Girard. Organized in 1884 with J. D. Barber as President, it enjoyed a steady growth and won the confidence of the people to an ever increasing extent during the entire period of that gentleman’s connection with it. At the close of July, 1893, nine years having elapsed since the foundation of the institution, $65,000 had been paid in dividends at twelve per cent, per annum, and a special dividend declared of twenty per cent.

The present officers of the First National Bank are: H. P. Grund, President; Joseph T. Leonard, Cashier; D. Corning, Vice-President; Directors, J. D. Barker, W. C. McMillan, D. Corning, H. P. Grund, J. E. Raymond, T. McLaughlin and J. T. Leonard. The stockholders are men of prominence in the county, and without an exception are wealthy and successful men. Mr. Grund, who served as Vice-President during the Presidency of Mr. Barker, and who was elected President in 1892, is one of the most prominent merchants in the county, having a large establishment and conducting an extensive business at Girard.

The capital stock of the bank is $50,000, and the surplus $10,000, the entire capital being intact. The location of the bank is central, the building occupying the southwest corner of the public square. The interior furnishings are appropriate and substantial, and the safe is one of the most modern styles, having a time lock and all the latest improvements. To an unusual degree the bank enjoys the confidence of its customers, and during the financial stringency of 1893, when in every part of the United States banks were suspending business, the First National of Girard honored every demand made upon it. This was the first National bank organized in Crawford County, and although others have been established since, none have gained the popularity and the substantial success of this.

The Cashier of the bank, J. T. Leonard, was born in Beardstown, Ill., January 12, 1854. His father, E. B. Leonard, likewise a native of Cass County, Ill., is at present engaged in the mercantile business at Joplin, Mo. In his boyhood our subject was a student in the common schools of Beardstown, where he acquired a fair education. At the age of fifteen he became a surveyor on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and continued thus engaged for two years. In 1872 he came to Kansas, and locating in Girard, became a clerk in the employ of H. P. Grund, with whom he remained until the fall of 1878. He then formed a partnership with G. D. Kincaid, and for a time conducted a general mercantile business.

In 1877 Mr. Leonard became Cashier of the Merchants’ & Farmers’ Bank, and continued in that capacity for one year. He did not, however, abandon his mercantile enterprise, but continued in that business until the fall of 1891, when his store was burned to the ground, causing a total loss of stock and building. In February, 1882, Mr. Leonard, together with H. P. Grund and J. D. Barker, purchased the private bank of Mr. Booth, which they conducted under the name of the Citizens’ bank, our subject being Cashier. In July, 1884, this institution was merged into the First National Bank, of which Mr. Leonard has been Cashier since its establishment.

In 1878 Mr. Leonard married Miss Anna M., daughter of Ira D. Carpenter, a prominent and wealthy farmer residing near Toronto, Canada. Mrs. Leonard was born and reared in Canada, and is a cultured and amiable lady, occupying a prominent position in social circles. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard are the parents of two children, Howard and Alice. Politically a Democrat, our subject has been influential in the councils of his party, and has served as a member of the State Central Committee, the Congressional Committee, and has been Chairman of the County Central Committee. For a number of years he has officiated as Treasurer of the Board of Education and Treasurer of the city of Girard, and is at present a member of the City County. In his social relations he is identified with the Masonic fraternity. (Portrait and Biographical Record of Southeastern Kansas, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Chicago, Biographical Publishing Co. 1894, Pages 169 - 170, Transcribed by Lisa Smalley)

ELWOOD KNOWLES SMITH

Elwood Knowles Smith, owner and manager of the E. K. Smith Funeral Home, was born in Cherokee, Kansas, January 28, 1883, son of Cephas Russell and Sarah (Knowles) Smith.

Cephas Russell Smith, a farmer, was born in Illinois, moving to Kansas in 1869, where he first resided near Marysville. In 1871 he moved to Cherokee, and has resided in Kansas cine, with the exception of a period from 194 to 1919, when he resided in Nebraska near David City.

Sarah Knowles was born in Canada. She was a teacher in the Maplewood rural school, and was one of the first teachers in Cherokee County. Her father, Elwood Knowles, was a Civil war Solider, having served in the Minnesota Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg, after about three years of service, and died in the hospital at St. Louis, Missouri, from the effects of the wounds. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Minnesota, and when wounded was wearing his Masonic pin, which was given to his wife after his death. It was later handed down to her daughter, who was an only child, and who still has possession of the pin. Sarah Knowles came to Kansas in aabout 1867, with her mother, Mary (Roberts) Knowles, who homesteaded in Cherokee County, and resided there until her death in July, 1893.

Mr. Smith received his early education in the rural schools of Cherokee County and after moving to Pittsburg, took a business course in the Pittsburg Business College. He resided on a farm in his early life, coming to Pittsburg in 1902, where he worked in the Kansas City Southern shops. On April 2, 1903, he was promoted to fireman and on Friday the 13th, 1907, he was promoted to engineer. He was an engineer for nine years, never having had a mishap of any consequence. He resigned to follow the profession of funeral directing.

On July 24, 1924, he was married to Juanita Henderson at Kansas City, Missouri Mrs. Smith was born at Fort Smith, Arkansas, July 28, 1892, daughter of Isaac A. and Minerva Anna (Beard) Henderson, of Mena, Arkansas. She was a teacher in the schools in eastern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas, did clerical work in the court house at Mena, Arkansas, and after coming to Pittsburg took a business course in the Pittsburg Business College in 1922. After 1922 she did stenographic work and bookkeeping for the Pittsburg Mortgage Investment Company and at the present time works in the office of the E. K. Smith Funeral Home. She is a member of the Methodist Church, the Order of the Eastern Star, the White Shrine, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Eagles, and Business and Professional Women's Club. She is also a representative of the Girls Scout Council.

Mr. Smith is a member of the Christian Church, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Red Cross, the Chamber of Commerce, and the American Funeral Directors Association. His fraternal organizations include the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Elks, Moose, Eagles, Modern Woodmen of America, Odd Fellows, and Masons, (Council Chapter and Commandery, 32nd degree, Shrine, Eastern Star, and White Shrine.) Residence: Pittsburg. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 1077)