ARMSTRONG, ROBERT
Robert Armstrong, of Jefferson County, lived at
Perry. He was from Indiana, and was born about 1825. In 1865 he was employed on the old Kansas Pacific railroad.
He was elected a member of the legislature of 1868. About 1870 he left Jefferson county for Neodesha, Wilson County.
(Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society 1907-1908, Vol. X, edited by Geo. W. Martin, Secretary, State
Printing Office, Topeka, 1908, page 268)
DOMANN, ADOLPH JOSEPH
Adolph Joseph Domann, pastor of St. Francis Xavier
Church of Burlington, Kan., was born near Winchester, Kan., in Jefferson county, Jan. 13, 1871, the son of William
and Charlotte (Noll) Domann. His father was born in Ottbergen, Province of Westphalia, Germany, Sept. 24, 1843,
and was reared and educated in the Fatherland. Like so many young and ambitious Germans he believed America to
be the land of opportunity and at the age of nineteen came to the United States in 1862. He reached Kansas with
very little money in hand, but being ambitious by nature, he at once went to work for Wendel Hund on a farm in
the Salt creek valley near Leavenworth at $8.00 per month. Subsequently he entered the employ of the government
and drove teams from Ft. Leavenworth to Denver and along the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico, to and from the military
posts maintained on the frontier. While working as a freighter during the Civil war, Mr. Domann went as far south
as Old Mexico through a country full of hostile Indians. At the close of the war, Mr. Domann rented a small farm
near Winchester, Kan., about eighteen or twenty miles west of Leavenworth. In the fall of 1866, Mr. Domann was
united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Noll of near Winchester. By constant labor and saving, Mr. and Mrs. William
Domann succeeded financially and soon bought an eighty-acre farm at $13 per acre which has since increased in value
so that it is now worth more than $100 per acre. From time to time Mr. Domann added new possessions to his first
farm until he now owns about 1,900 acres of the finest and most fertile farming land in the vicinity of Winchester
and is regarded as one of the most prosperous and substantial residents of Jefferson county. Mr. and Mrs. William
Domann raised a very large and healthy family. To them were born twelve children, of which ten are boys and two
are girls: William, Adolph, Joseph, Frank and Allie, John, Albert, Louis, George and Mary, Edith, Benjamin. Frank
and Allie, and George and Mary respectively were born twins. God has blessed and protected this splendid family
in an especial manner. Up to the present date, September, 1911, the parents and all their children are living and
well. All live in Kansas. William, Joseph, Frank, Allie, John, Albert and Louis are married, and together have
twenty-six children, no deaths having so far occurred among them. George, Mary, Edith and Benjamin are still unmarried
and at home with their parents. Adolph, the second child by birth, is a Catholic priest. The entire family is Roman
Catholic in faith.
Father Domann was reared on his father's farm until his eighteenth year; attended the district school and lived
a healthy normal life of a country boy. While still a boy, he decided to devote his life to God and the service
of his church. In 1888 he entered St. Meinrad's College in Spencer county, Indiana, to prepare for the priesthood.
The subsequent year he entered St. Benedict's College, Atchison, Kan., and studied there for five years. Graduating
from St. Benedict's College, he entered the Kenrick Seminary at St. Louis, Mo., where he pursued the higher studies
of philosophy and theology until June, 1899. On June 21, 1899, he was ordained a priest by the late Rt. Rev. L.
M. Fink, O. S. B., then bishop of the Leavenworth diocese. On June 25, 1899, the young priest, Father A. J. Domann,
said his first Holy mass in St. Joseph's Church, Leavenworth, Kan. On July 19, 1899, he received his first appointment
as pastor of St. Francis Church, Burlington, Kan. The history of this parish dates back to the early '60s, when
mass was offered first by missionary priests two or three times a year in some public building or at the home of
some pious Catholic family. In 1871 Father Heller collected a few scattered Catholic families around Burlington
and organized them into a parish. Only about ten families belonged at first, but they contributed liberally in
money and labor and within a short time a neat little frame church was built and the name of St. Francis Xavier
was given to it when the cornerstone was laid in June, 1871. The Holy sacrifice of the mass was celebrated periodically
at first in thee little church by various priests from the adjoining towns. The congregation grew steadily and
the church was soon enlarged. For many years the parish was attended by the Franciscan Fathers of Emporia. Since
September, 1883, Burlington has always had a resident priest. Fathers Buechler, Walsh, Herbrichs and Schultz were
the first resident priests and devoted the best efforts of their lives to up-build the material and spiritual congregation.
Father Domann took charge in July, 1899. Thirty-five families belonged to the parish then and the church had become
too small to accommodate the growing congregation. It was proposed to build a new church and in the fall of 1900,
Father Domann started to carry out the plans. He succeeded in raising $12,000, and on July 21, 1901, the first
excavation was made for the new church. The work progressed rapidly and on Aug. 22, the cornerstone was laid with
due ceremony by the Rt. Rev. L. M. Fink, then bishop of Leavenworth. On Aug. 12, 1902, the handsome new church
was completed and dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Fink. It is a beautiful edifice, built of pressed brick and
stands a monument to the man who worked so untiringly to have it erected. A new two-story parochial residence was
erected at the same time with the church. The church and residence compare well with others over the state and
reflect credit upon Father Domann as the prime factor in their erection. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, 1912,
Pages 999-1001, Transcribed as written by Millie Mowry)
WALKER, CLAUDIS
D.
Claudius D. Walker, one of the best known attorneys
of eastern Kansas, and the present mayor of the city of Atchison, is a native of the Keystone State, having been
born at Greenville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1851. His ancestry is a mixture of Irish and English.
Some years before the beginning of the Revolutionary war three brothers named Walker emigrated from County Tyrone
to America, and they were the founders in this country of that branch of the Walker family to which the subject
of this sketch belongs. They first settled in Boston, Mass., but one of them, the great-grandfather of the subject
of this review, removed to Mercer county, Pennsylvania. Here his son, Harvey, the grandfather of Claudius D., was
born, grew to manhood and married Elizabeth Carr, who was born at Mile End, England. Their son, Harvey, the father
of Claudius D. was also born in Mercer county and married Anna Maria Nelson, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland,
who came to this county when only eight years old with a brother. Her father was an Englishman who went to County
Tyrone to look after the management of an estate and married there. Anna M. Nelson received a good education, and
prior to her marriage to Harvey Walker, was a teacher in the public schools. She was several years younger, than
her husband and lived to a good old age. For several generations the Walkers were manufacturers of carriages and
wagons. A few years ago a genealogy of the Walker family was compiled and published by one of them-the late United
States attorney for the district of Missouri. In 1857 Harvey Walker came with his family to Kansas and bought,
a claim in Bourbon county and engaged in business as an Indian trader, which avocation he followed until 1861.
In 1861 he joined a colony of emigrants bound for Oregon, but when they reached Atchison they were so favorably
impressed with the country that they proceeded no farther on their journey. Harvey Walker was a steadfast Union
man at the beginning of the Civil war, but was physically unable for military ser-vice. After remaining in Atchison
county for a year he removed to Jefferson county, having bought a tract of land near Winchester, and here he developed
a fine farm. It was on this farm that he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, leaving ten children-all
of whom are yet living.
Claudius D. Walker, after finishing the common
school, first attended Baker University at Baldwin, Kan., then took a literary course of four years at the State
Agricultural College at Manhattan, after which he taught school for a time. He then read law with Boyce & Boyd
in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated in law at the University of Michigan with the class of 1878. Upon completing
his course there he returned to Atchison, without a penny, and borrowed two hundred dollars from his father to
establish himself in practice. His progress was rapid, however, and in a short time he came to be recognized as
one of the able lawyers of the Atchison bar. In 1882 he formed a partnership with W. D. Gilbert, under the firm
name of Gilbert & Walker, and this association lasted until Mr. Gilbert was elected district judge in 1887,
since which time Mr. Walker has practiced alone. He has a large clientage and a lucrative business and has been
identified with some of the most important cases ever tried in the local courts. He owns considerable land in Atchison
county and has assisted in the promotion of a number of large financial enterprises, where his legal knowledge
and sound business judgment have been of incalculable assistance to his associates. In his political affiliations
Mr. Walker has always been an unswerving Republican. From 1887 to 1889 he was auditor of the county; was county
attorney from 1892 to 1896; has served several terms in the city council, and in 1911 was elected mayor of the
city. In 1898 he was a candidate before the convention for congressman, his opponents being Case Broderick, W.
J. Bailey and Charles Curtis, and after a deadlock, which resulted in more than 1,000 ballots, Charles Curtis was
agreed upon as a compromise candidate. His party has several times selected him for the important position of chairman
of the county central committee, and in every campaign for years he has made speeches for the Republican cause
all over eastern Kansas. He is a prominent figure in fraternal circles, being a member of the Masonic fraternity,
the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Moose, the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
the Knights of the Maccabees, the Knights and Ladies of Security, and the Royal Arcanum.
On June 7, 1881, Mr. Walker was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie E. Auld, a native of Brownsville, Pa., butt
a resident of the city of Atchison at the time of the marriage. She is a daughter of W. W. Auld, one of the pioneer
business men of Atchison, and for years a member of the well known firm of Blair & Auld. Mr. and Mrs. Walker
have one daughter, Isabelle, who is an accomplished young lady. In whatever walk of life Mr. Walker's lot has been
cast he has made the best use of his talents to accomplish the tasks assigned him. As a lawyer he, is conscientious
and energetic in behalf of his clients; as chairman of his party committee he has used every honorable means to
win victories at the polls; as a citizen he has shown public spirit and a desire to promote the interests of the
community, and as mayor of the city he is doing his best to give the city a clean, business administration. Such
a man naturally commands the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Walker has a high standing in the city
where he has passed the greater portion of his life. (Kansas Biography, Part 2, Vol. III, 1912, Pages 903-904,
Transcribed as written by Millie Mowry)
WILSON, JASPER BYRD
Jasper Byrd Wilson, lawyer and formerly a teacher, was born on a farm near Perry, Jefferson county, Kansas, Jan.
28, 1879, a son of jasper and Octavia Adelaide (Norwood) Wilson. The father was born in Catawba county, North Carolina,
and the mother in Iredell county, of that same state. The Wilson's are of Irish lineage, while the Norwood's are
of English. Joshua Wilson was the progenitor of the Wilson family in America. He came from Ireland for the expressed
purpose of joining the Colonial army in the struggle for American independence, and became a Revolutionary soldier.
The parents of our subject were reared and married in North Carolina, and from that state they came to Kansas,
settling in Jefferson county in November, 1868. During the Civil war they resided in their native state, but on
account of the father's pronounced Union sentiment, which was not calculated to make further living in the South
pleasant, he decided to come North. Farming has been his life occupation. He is one of the highly respected citizens
of Jefferson county, and has passed the eighty-first milestone in the journey of life, while his wife is seventy-four
years of age. They had eleven children, of whom Jasper B. is the youngest. He was reared on the farm, attended
the schools at Perry, and then the University of Kansas, at which he graduated in 1904, with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts. For three years after his graduation Mr. Wilson taught American history and government, in the high school
of Lawrence, and was then, for two years, superintendent of the schools at Lecompton. For a short time he was engaged
in the insurance business at Lawrence. Meanwhile he studied law, and was admitted to the bar, Jan. I9, 1911. In
politics he is a Republican. He is now serving as justice of the peace for the city of Lawrence. He is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Phi Alpha Delta and the Phi Beta Kappa fraternities; and in church
relations a Baptist. In 1905 Mr. Wilson married Miss Eva Isabel Barrett, of Lawrence. They have two children: Justin
Barrett and Octavia Frances. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Pages 772-773, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)
WILSON, ARTHUR CYNICAR
Arthur Cynicar Wilson was born near Perry, Jefferson county, Kansas, May 21, 1874. At the age of five years he
received an injury in one of his eyes, which not only destroyed the sight of the eye, but by sympathetic inflammation
caused the other eye to go blind. From that early age he has been blind, but this tremendous obstacle he has, in
a wonderful degree, overcome in the pursuit of an education, the practice of law, and in the business world. He
was reared on the farm of his parents, Jasper and Octavia Adelaide (Norwood) Wilson, in Jefferson county, and when
a boy attended the district schools where, while sitting in the school room and listening to recitations, he gained
the foundation of his education, which was completed in the Kansas institution for the education of the blind,
at Kansas City, Kan., from which institution he graduated in 1892, at the age of eighteen years. He began the study
of law, gaining his knowledge of the law by means of having others read the law to him. June 5, 1901, he was admitted
to the bar, then being twenty-seven years of age. He resided and practiced law at Perry until November, 1910, at
which date he located at Lawrence, where he now resides and practices his profession. At Perry he was also engaged
in the real estate and loan business, and served for six years as city attorney, and for four years as justice
of the peace. He does much of his work through the aid of a clerk in his office, but though blind he operates the
typewriter with a skill that is astonishing. In former years Mr. Wilson was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, in which church he was a local preacher for six years. He withdrew from that church and united with the
Christian church, in which he occasionally preaches. In politics he is a Republican. In 1909 he married Mrs. Estella
E. Hart, nee Holcomb, of Lecompton, Kan. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)
