CLARK M. STEWART
Clark M. Stewart, a well-known architect and builder,
of Marysville, Marshall County, was born in Steuben County, New York, on March 21, 1854, being the son of Samuel
and Sarah Ann (Leach) Stewart, who were natives of the state of New York, the father having been born in that state
on March 7, 1811, and the mother on September 17, 1815. They received their education in the public schools of
their native state and there grew up and were married on February 6, 1836. The father was born at Troy and there
he learned the trade of a carpenter. He worked at his trade in the state until 1854, when he located at Millidgeville,
Illinois, where he established himself as a contractor and builder and continued in the business until the outbreak
of the Civil War when he enlisted in the Fifty-fifth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry and saw much active
service in the campaigns about Vicksburg, Shilo and Pittsburg Landing. His eldest son also served in another regiment.
After a service of one and one-half years, Samuel Stewart received his honorable discharge and returned to his
home at Millidgeville and again engaged in his work of contractor and builder until 1875, when he went to Iowa,
where he died on November 29, 1889. Mr. Stewart was of a family whose history dates back to over two hundred years
in the state of New York. Mrs. Stewart died on February 24, 1873, after a useful and active life. She was an active
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and took a prominent part in all the services of that denomination. Her
paternal grandparents were natives of Holland, established themselves in New York, and became identified with the
life of that state.
Samuel and Sarah Ann Stewart were the parents of
nine children as follows: Hezekiah, Calvin, Julia, Rena, Sarah, Helen, Melvin, Clark M. and James W. Hezekiah resides
at Madrid, Iowa, where he lives a retired life. He is a veteran of the Civil War and was during his younger days
an accomplished musician; Calvin lives in Grundy County, Iowa, where he is a successful farmer and stockman; Julia
Bowen is a resident of Illinois, where she and her husband live retired after active service spent on the farm;
Rena Mead is a widow and lives in Illinois; Sarah Heath is now deceased; Helen Smith and husband reside in Minneapolis;
Melvin lives at Conrad, Iowa, and is a retired farmer, and James W. lives at Waterville, Kansas, and is a well-known
farmer.
Clark M. Stewart was reared in Illinois and there
received his education in the public schools and as a young man learned the carpenter trade. In June 1878, he and
his brother, James W., came to Marshall County, having driven a team of horses from Grundy County. They each purchased
eighty acres of railroad land, for which they paid five dollars and fifty cents per acre, and had to borrow the
money to make the first payment. Mr. Stewart at once engaged in breaking the wild prairie land and the next year
he built a small house and devoted his time to farming until 1881, when he went to Herkimer, where he worked at
his trade until 1887, when he went to western Kansas and purchased a tract of land in Homas County, and again engaged
in farming for a short time. He later lived in Colby and Kansas City, Missouri, and in 1888 returned to Marshall
County and located at Marysville, where he established himself as a contractor and builder. He has built some of
the finest residences as well as the Pusch cigar factory and the city hall. He has substantial property in the
city. He sold his farm of eighty acres in the county in 1915, but owns the other farms that he purchased.
Politically, Mr. Stewart is identified with the
Democratic Party and has served on the city council for a number of years. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias
and the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a man of much influence in his home community.
In 1879, Clark M. Stewart was untied in marriage
to Mary E. Purcell, who was born in Berkeley County, Virginia, on September 18, 1855, and is the daughter Thomas
V. and Nancy N. (Walters) Purcell. Thomas and Nancy Purcell were natives of Loudoun County, Virginia, the former
having been born on June 7, 1818, and the latter in 1820. They received their education in the schools of their
native states and there grew up. They first met in the state of Virginia and were there married. They continued
to reside in Virginia after their marriage until 1860, when they moved to Illinois. Mr. Purcell being a Quaker,
was not compelled to serve in the Civil War, the religious belief of that denomination being recognized by the
government. On their arrival in Illinois, Mr. and Mrs. Purcell established their home on a farm, where Mr. Purcell
was actively engaged as a general farmer and stockman until seven years before he died when he moved to Millidgeville,
Illinois, where he died on February 19, 1887, and his widow died on November 2, 1893. They were the parents of
the following children: Joseph, Mahlon, Anna, John, Thomas, Mary E. and Elias H. Joseph is now deceased; Mahlon
is a retired farmer of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Anna married Jasper Shoemaker, and after some years of married
life, Mr. Shoemaker died and the widow is now living at Pasadena, California; John is a resident of Billings, Montana;
Thomas is a resident of Polo, Illinois; Mary E. is the wife of Clark M. Stewart; and Elias H. is professor of music
in Chicago, Illinois.
Clark M. and Mary B. Stewart are the parents of
one child, Edith S., who was born on October 9, 1883. She is a graduate of the Marysville high school and the University
of Kansas. She was married in 1903 to Clarence T. Rice, who is prominently connected with the high schools of Kansas
City, Kansas, where he is principal. To Mr. and Mrs. Rice has been born one child, Mary, whose birth occurred on
August 7, 1814. Mr. Rice is the son of Charles and Inez (Crane) Rice. Charles W. Rice was born in England on October
16, 1856, and was the son of William and Ellen (Watson) Rice, who came to Canada in 1864. The parents were ribbon-makers
in England, and when they located in Canada, they were employed as laborers. In 1867 they came to Indiana and located
near Bluffton, where the engaged in general farming, and there William Rice died in 1869. It was there that Charles
W. Rice lived until 1877, when he left his mother, two sisters and a brother and on a horse started on the long
trip to Marshall County. Here he located in Winifred and for two years worked as a farm hand, at which time he
was married in a log cabin, in 1879, to Inez Crane, after which he rented a farm and there established his home.
After three years he purchased a farm two miles south and one mile east of Home City, where he and his family lived
until 1889, when he engaged in the grocery business at Home City, which business he conducted until 1891, when
he engaged in the carpenter work. In 1896, he moved to Marysville, where he worked in the general store of Frank
Powell until October 1899, when he purchased the furniture store of H. B. Walker, which he conducted until the
time of his death on December 20, 1911. The mother of Clarence T. Rice was born on November 15, 1862, in Milford,
Illinois, and died on August 6, 1890. Her father was born in Pennsylvania in 1830 and was on e of the early homesteaders
in Marshall County. His wife, Sarah Anna (Deeds) Crane, was born in 1834 in Pennsylvania and is now living in Marysville,
Kansas. Clarence T. Rice received his education in the local schools and at the University of Kansas and later
engaged in teaching, in which profession he has met with much success, and is now the principal of the high school
of Argentine, Kansas City, Kansas. He and his wife are held in the highest regard and esteem by all who know them,
and they are among the cultured and refined people of the community in which they live, and where they have an
extended influence on the moral and educational development.
Clark M. Stewart is a man who has always taken
a prominent part in the activities of his home community, and on the occasion of celebrations he has been selected
as Marshal of the day, and on his large black horse he has presented a commanding appearance. He has ever taken
much interest in hunting and is recognized as one of the genial sportsmen of the district. He has hunted ducks
from the lakes of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, and his ability in the line is known to all. In his home life,
he is an ideal husband and father, and his highest ambition has been to make his home of one of pleasure and comfort.
His home on North Broadway is one of the beautiful places in Marysville.
REVEREND FRANCIS
H. TATON
The Rev. Francis H. Taton, pastor of the Catholic
Church of St. Michael's at Axtell, this county, is a native of the old Hoosier State, but has been a resident of
Kansas ever since the early days of his ordination to the priesthood, a period of nearly thirty years, during which
period he has performed a wonderful work in the mission fields of this state, a labor that has endeared him to
the hearts of many in various portions of the state. Father Taton has been in charge of St. Michael's parish at
Axtell since the summer of 1903 and has a record for faithfulness and efficiency of service rarely equaled in a
Western diocese. In an interview published following the celebration of the silver jubilee of his ordination to
the priesthood in 1914, Father Taton said; "During my charge at Easton, Kansas, I took sick on the 16th day
of January, 1890, whilst in Leavenworth and was confined to St. John's Hospital there for six weeks. Otherwise,
I never missed a Sunday whilst in charge at Easton. Whilst in charge of Paola I was absent one Sunday. Since my
appointment in Axtell, I took a vacation for six weeks in 1910, during which I visited the Pacific Coast from Los
Angeles to Seattle, Washington. Outside of this I was absent from duty in Axtell on Three Sundays. This is the
extent of my being absent from duty in twenty-five years."
A sympathetic fellow-priest, the Rev. T. H. Kinsella,
a companion of Father Taton's seminary days, writing on that jubilee occasion and complimenting his old friend
upon becoming a jubilarian, said: "The celebration of the silver jubilee of a Catholic priest is no longer
an event of rare importance. Its frequent occurrence in our day has reduced it to the commonplace; yet, to the
priest himself, and to all who are near and dear to him, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination must always
retain its joyful aspect, its symbolism and its solemn significance. It is usually the only milestone he comes
up on in his weary journey from his sacerdotal consecration to the last anointment. Few there are who live to county
the golden years, and fewer still who find sympathy and affection in a generation not their own, and in a world
they have outlived. Twenty-five years of struggle and self-effacement---in rain and sun and storm, in weakness
of health and depression of spirit; and a loneliness on the prairies of Kansas, that at times forces the mind to
woo the stars and the eye to admire the kindly human face that is reflected on the moon-twenty-five years of faithful
effort on the Western Missions cannot but leave their traces on the brow of every faithful priest of God who has
lived through them."
Though Hoosier born, Father Taton is a French descent,
both his parents having been born in the beautiful Champagne country of France. He was born on a little farm well
back in the woods of Perry County, in the southern part of Indiana, three and one-half miles from the village of
Leopold, September, 15, 1861, only son of Alexander and Appoline (Duchainois) Taton, the former of whom was born
in 1842 at Assigny, in the old province of Champagne, France, and the latter of whom was born at Meziere, in that
same district, in 1842. In 1849, Father Taton's parents came to this country, his father then being eleven years
of age and his mother, nine years of age. Their respective families emigrated from France together, being a part
of a considerable colony that came over on the same vessel, and they settled in the woods of southern Indiana,
which even at that date retained much of their unbroken, primeval grandeur. Amid pioneer conditions the two grew
up and in 1860 were married, making a home for themselves on a little farm in the Leopold neighborhood. In 1864,
Alexander Taton and his little family left Indiana and came to Kansas, having heard much of the possibilities that
awaited the homesteader in this state. He homesteaded a quarter section in Johnson County, the tract now occupied
by the town of Edgerton, and proceeded to develop the same, his son, the future priest, thus, in childhood, gaining
a very distinct impression of Kansas pioneer life. Three years later, in 1867, Alexander Taton sold his homestead
and returned to Indiana, where he died in 1874, leaving a widow and three children, the subject of this sketch
having had two sisters, Victoria, who married Jacob Oaks and is now living at Ottawa, this state; and Mary, who
died in girlhood. Years later, in 1889, after her son had become an established priest at Easton, this state, the
Widow Taton returned to Kansas and rejoined her son, later moving with him to Axtell, where she spent her last
days, her death occurring on April 2, 1908. The beautiful, clinging affection that marked Mother Taton's devotion
to her only son was often the occasion of comment. It has been written of her that from his very infancy "All
her heart's love went out to him; ever good influence was thrown around him, her prayers were unceasing and, in
the exuberance of her French nature, she gave over to "Notre Dame" a gift like unto the one given her
on Mount Calvary. Madame Taton dedicated and in a manner consecrated her only son to the Blessed Virgin in the
early days of civilization in Southern Indiana, just as had been done so often in her beloved France. A memento
of that event may still be seen in the gold chain that hangs, or did hang, around the figure of the Madonna in
the parish church."
It is related that an extraordinary event, twice
repeated, when he was thirteen years of age, determined young Taton's vocation to the priesthood, but the means
to prosecute a course of study extending over many years was entirely absent. He conceived the idea of laying his
case before the abbot of St. Meinrad's Abbey, over in the neighboring county of Spencer. Abbot Finton was greatly
impressed by the young man's story and took him in at once, free of charge, until the day that Father Isadore recommended
him in glowing terms to Rt. Rev. Louis Mary Fink, O. S. B., of the diocese of Leavenworth, as a young man of extraordinary
piety, good talent and excellent health. In 1887, from Bishop McClosky, of Louisville, Kentucky, Father Taton received
minor orders. Sub-deaconship and deaconship were conferred in 1888 by Bishop Chatard, of Indianapolis, and on February
24, 1889, in the cathedral at Covington, Kentucky, he was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Maes. On March
17, the following St. Patrick's Day, Father Taton celebrated his first mass in St. Michael's Church at Cannelton,
Indiana. He then was sent to Kansas and after ten days spent at the cathedral at Leavenworth, was appointed to
Easton and the outlying missions, taking charge on the first of April of that appointment, which then comprised
Easton, Springdale and St. Joseph, of Mt. Olivet. During that appointment, Father Taton completed the church at
Springdale and built the new church of St. Joseph at Mt. Olivet. He said mass frequently in private houses in out-of-the-way
places, instructed the neighboring children and administered the sacraments. Though Catholics were then few and
far between in that district, many converts came to the church and the mission was a great success. For six years
and three months Father Taton had charge of those missions and was then transferred to the parish of Paola and
missions, of which he took charge on July 17, 1895, that charge comprising Paola, Osawatomie, the State Asylum
for the Insane at the latter place and the whole of Linn County. At that time there was not a Catholic Church in
Linn County, but there were scattered Catholics throughout the county, practically all of whom, Father Taton recalls,
had fallen away from the church. During his stay in Paola, the Ursuline Academy was built and in 1896 was dedicated.
The parochial school near the church was built about that time and that school Father Taton named St. Patrick's,
in memory of his celebration of the mass for the first time on that day. The school opened with fifteen pupils
and by the close of the school year had an enrollment of forty-four. During that time, the church at Osawatomie
was remodeled from end to end and a sacristy built. For eight years and one month Father Taton was in charge at
Paola and missions and on August 17, 1903, was transferred to the parish of St. Michael's at Axtell, of which he
ever since has been in charge and where, in 1914, he celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood,
the occasion being made one of much rejoicing on the part of his friends, not only in this county, but throughout
those other sections of the state where his ministrations have endeared him to many hearts.
When Father Taton was sent to Axtell the parish
comprised both St. Michael's Church and Beattie as a mission, services between the two points being equally divided.
In 1909, Father Taton built the parochial residence at Beattie and in the fall of that year, the Beattie Mission
was given over to the Rev. Father Galvin, who became its pastor. On November 8, 1904, work on the new St. Michael's
Church at Axtell was begun and in the spring of 1905, the corner stone was laid. On April 24, 1906, the church
was dedicated, the total cost of the same being nearly twenty-two thousand dollars. In 1909, the new parish house
was built, at a total cost, including appurtenances, of more than seven thousand dollars, Father Taton moving into
the same in November of that year. In 1913, work on the new parochial school was begun, but delays, on account
of crop failures during that year, put off the completion of the work until February 8, 1917, when the school was
completed at a cost of nine thousand dollars. St. Michael's parish is well organized and its various auxiliaries,
such as the Mutual Benefit Association, the Temperance Society, the Knights of Columbus, the Altar Society, the
Young Ladies Sodality, the Children's Sodality and the League of the Sacred Heat, are reported to be in a flourishing
condition, progress being reported in all departments of the work of the parish.
REVEREND CLARENCE
BRADLEY
The Rev. Clarence Bradley, pastor of the Catholic
Church of the Annunciation at Frankfort, is a native son of Kansas and has lived in this state all his life, a
resident of this county since 1907, when he was made the first resident priest at Summerfield, save for two years
when he was serving the parish at Emmett, in the neighboring county of Pottawattomie. He was born in the city of
Atchison on May 10, 1883, a son of Charles E. and Anna (Ostertag) Bradley, the former a native of the state of
Illinois and the latter, of Buffalo, New York, well-known residents of Atchison and the latter of whom is still
living.
Charles E. Bradley was born in Illinois on February
2, 1855, and in 1877 came to Kansas, locating at Atchison, where, in 1881, he established a shoe store and was
thus engaged in business there until his retirement in 1915, a period of thirty-four years, during which time he
became a quite well-to-do merchant and one of the leading men in Atchison, having served for some time as a member
of the city council. He died on April 9, 1916, and his widow, who was born in 1857, is till living, making her
home at Atchison, where she has lived since her early childhood. She was born, Anna Ostertag, in Buffalo, New York,
and was little more than an infant when her parents came West and located at Atchison. Grandfather Ostertag was
a Smith and Wheelwright and early drove a thriving business in fitting wheels to the heavy wagons of the freighters
on the plains, Atchison being one of the busiest points of departure for these great wagon trains in an early day.
He helped to lay the rails over the ice in the Missouri River for the transportation of the first locomotive engine
taken into Atchison, and was one of the active factors in the upbuilding of that town in pioneer days. To Charles
E. Bradley and wife three children were born, Father Bradley having two brothers, Harold, who is operating the
shoe store his father established in Atchison in 1881, and Aloysius, who is a clerk in the First National Bank
of Atchison.
Father Bradley received excellent scholastic training
for his holy office. Upon completing the course in the local schools, he entered St. Benedict's College, at Atchison,
and upon completing, the course there entered Kenrick Seminary, St. Louis, where for five years he was grounded
in philosophy and theology, completing his studies in 1906. On April 17 of that same year, at Kansas City, he was
ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Lillis and was appointed assistant to the pastor of St. Mary's parish, in
that city, serving in that capacity for one year, at the end of which time he was sent to Paola, this state, where
for five months he substituted for the pastor of that parish. He then, on August 23, 1907, was appointed pastor
of the church of the Holy Family at Summerfield, this county, the first resident pastor of that parish. During
his pastorate of nearly two years at Summerfield, Father Bradley erected the parish house there and in many other
ways strengthened the parish, remaining there until June 27, 1909, when he was transferred to the parish at Emmett,
where he remained for two years, or until his transfer to the parish of the Annunciation at Frankfort, June 27,
1911, a charge which he still holds and in which he is doing much to advance the cause of the parish, both in a
spiritual and a material way, excellent progress having been reported in all departments of the work of the church
during his pastorate. Father Bradley is well read and widely informed, not only on matters pertaining to his holy
calling, but on the current topics of the day, and has been an influence for much good since taking up his work
in Frankfort. His popularity in the city and surrounding country is not confined to the members of his parish and
he is held in the very highest esteem by all, regardless of religious faith or affiliation.
MRS. MELISSA HASLETT
Mrs. Melissa Haslett is one of the real pioneers
of Marshall County and there are few who have more vivid or distinct recollections of the days of the unbroken
prairie and of the open range, of the days before the railroad had penetrated into this part of Kansas and when
the lumbering ox carts or the mule trains over the old Overland Trail afforded the only means of transportation.
She came into Kansas when a young woman with her parents in territorial days, the family settling on a pioneer
farm four miles northeast of where Frankfort later sprang up, and she ever since has been a resident of this county;
therefore thoroughly familiar with the history of the same from the days of the very beginning of a social order
hereabout and has ever done well her part in the development of the social and cultural life of the community of
which she has been a member since the days of her girlhood, even before Kansas had taken her place in the proud
sisterhood of states.
Melissa Mitchell was born in Calhoun County, Michigan,
August 3, 1838, a daughter of George and Maria (Brainard) Mitchell, natives of the state of New York and pioneers
of Michigan, who were the parents of six children, three of whom grew to maturity, Mrs. Haslett having a brother,
Edwin Mitchell, and a sister, Mrs. Myla Herrick, both of Clay Center, this state. George Mitchell died in Michigan
in 1847 and in 1858 his widow and her children came to Kansas, settling four miles northeast of the present city
of Frankfort, where they established their home, thus having been among the very earliest settlers in this part
of Kansas. Mrs. Mitchell was married four times. She had five children by her first husband. He died in Michigan;
then she married a Mr. Caldwell, by whom she had one child. He also died in Michigan. Then she married George Marshall,
with whom she came to Kansas; no children were born. He died and was buried in Kansas. Her last husband was a Mr.
Striker; there were no children. Years later Mrs. Striker moved to Clay Center, where she spent her last days,
her death occurring in 1908. She was born in 1818 and had thus reached the great age of ninety years at the time
of her death.
On July 3, 1858, the year in which she came to
Kansas, Melissa Mitchell was united in marriage to Harvey Randall, a cabinet-maker who had come out here to try
his fortunes on the plains; both came together; they were married in Michigan. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Randall pre-empted a tract of one hundred and twenty acres of land four and one-half miles northeast of where Frankfort
later sprang up and there built a log house which cost them six dollars. This house had neither windows nor a floor
and had but a "shake" roof, about as humble a dwelling as any young couple ever started housekeeping
in, but their hearts were strong and their hands willing and they started in to develop a real home there on the
wind-swept plain and were doing very well when the Civil War broke out. Mr. Randall at once enlisted his services
in defense of the Union and in 1861 went to the front as a member of Company D, Eighth Regiment, Kansas Volunteer
Infantry, with which command he served until his death in 1862, dying in the service of his country. When her husband
went to war Mrs. Randall left her humble farm home and with her two children rejoined her mother in the latter's
home father to the south, where she made her home until her marriage in 1865 to Charles Haslett, a native of Vermont,
who had come to Kansas in 1860 and was a veteran of the Civil War, he also having gone to the front with the Eighth
Kansas, with which command he served until his honorable discharge on account of disabilities incurred in Andersonville
prison. Mr. Haslett served for fifteen months in Rebel prisons, having been moved from one to another until finally,
the fourth move, he found himself in dreaded Andersonville. Upon his final exchange and removal from that horrid
prison pen, he was in such a reduced physical condition that he was honorably discharged from service and returned
to his home in Kansas.
After her second marriage, Mrs. Haslett returned
to her farm northeast of Frankfort and found that during her absence the log house which she had left there had
been torn down and carried away by some unscrupulous but enterprising settler who no doubt wanted the logs for
use on his own claim, and it became necessary for her and Mr. Haslett at once to erect a new house. They built
a neat frame house, thirty-four by fourteen feet, and there, for a second time, this pioneer woman started in housekeeping.
Their affairs prospered and though they suffered, in common with all the early settlers of this county, during
the days of the grasshoppers and the scourging hot winds, they gradually built up a good piece of property, adding
to their holdings until they became the owners of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres. There they made their
home until 1895, when they left the farm and moved to Frankfort, where Mr. Haslett died in 1902, he then being
seventy years of age, and where Mrs. Haslett is still living, one of the honored pioneer residents of Marshall
County. Mrs. Haslett still owns her farm, deriving a comfortable income from its rental.
By her first marriage, Mrs. Haslett had two children,
Clara, who died in 1863, and Harvey Randall, who is now engaged in the loan business at Oklahoma City. To her second
union four children were born, namely: Myla Mayme, who married Z. M. Robison and died in 1911, leaving seven children,
Elmer, Ollie, Melissa, Charles, Gertrude, Iva and Guy; Edwin Elliot, who died in youth; Ira, who also died in youth,
and Henry, of Morris County, this state, who has been twice married and is now a widower with one child, a son,
Walter. Mrs. Haslett has ten great-grandchildren, Elmer Robison, who lives in North Dakota, having two children;
Mrs. Ollie (Robison) Pendleton, of Oklahoma, having two children; Mrs. Melissa (Robison) Line, of Illinois, having
four children, and Mrs. Gertrude (Robison) Peterson, of Texas, having two children. Charles Robison lives in Salt
Lake City and Iva and Guy Robison are living New York with their father.
Mr. Haslett was an active member of the local post
of the Grand Army of the Republic and Mrs. Haslett has been a member of the Woman's Relief Corps since the organization
of the same at Frankfort, ever taking a warm interest in the beneficent objects of that patriotic body. Mrs. Haslett
retains very vivid recollections of pioneer days here on the plains and is a veritable mine of information concerning
matters relating to pioneer days. She recalls that the first year she and Mr. Randall occupied their pre-emption
claim their taxes amounted to two dollars and fifty cents. On the nights proceeding January 1, 1861, they attended
a "watch meeting" at the home of a neighbor, two miles distant, diving across the prairie with their
ox-teams through snow four feet deep. Mrs. Haslett said the funny thing about this was, there was neither a watch
nor a clock in the house. They only had an almanac and watched by that, knowing that the moon would rise by 11
p.m. On July 4, of that same year they attended a picnic at the Barrett settlement, to which all the settlers for
miles about drove in, there being about sixty persons present thus to celebrate the national holiday out here on
the plains. When Mrs. Haslett came to Kansas, the nearest market was at Atchison and they drove over each fall,
"if they had the money"; otherwise, they did without and got along as well as they could with the products
of their own hands. That, of course, was before the days of the railroads or of established highways and the settlers
drove their ox-teams by the shortest route, right out over the open range, definite trails thus gradually becoming
established, the same serving as highways until a proper system of roads gradually was evolved as the country became
settle and the range became fenced.
ANDREW J. TRAVELUTE
Andrew J. Travelute, one of the early settlers
of Marshall County, who became prominent in the agricultural development of the section, and now living a retired
life, was born on June 30, 1841, in the state of Pennsylvania, being the son of Charles H. and Margurete (Spealmann)
Travelute.
Charles H. Travelute was the son of Andrew and
Christena Travelute and was born in France in 1818, where he spent seven years of his life on the farm. In 1825,
his parents came to the United States and located in Pennsylvania, where they engaged in general farming, and where
they lived and died. Charles H. Travelute received his education in the common schools of Pennsylvania and there
grew to manhood. He later located in Marysville Township, Marshall County. The trip to Kansas from the home in
Illinois was made in a covered wagon, which was used the first summer as a residence. On his arrival in Marshall
County, Mr. Travelute homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land on which he built a frame house and was soon
actively engaged in the development and improvement of his farm. In time, he became the owner of three excellent
farms, in addition to other valuable property. He was a man who took interest in local affairs and served his county
as assessor and as commissioner. After reaching an advanced age, he sold his farms and lived a retired life at
Marysville, where he died in 1900.
Margurete (Spealmann) Travelute was born in Württemberg,
Germany, on November 6, 1818, and was the daughter of John and Mary Spealmann. The parents came to Pennsylvania
when the daughter, Margurete, was but a child, and later went to Illinois, where they died. Margurete Spealmann
grew to womanhood in Pennsylvania and there complete her education in the common schools and was later married
to Charles H. Travelute. Some years later she and her husband located in Illinois and then in Marshall County,
Kansas, where she died on May 20, 1902.
Andrew J. Travelute received his education in the
public schools of Ogle County, Illinois and there grew to manhood on the home farm. His school days were not spent
in well-equipped buildings as those of today, but in the log cabin with a slab for a seat. On completing his education
he remained on the home farm assisting in the work, until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted in Company
A, Sixty-seventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, his enlistment being for one hundred days. He saw service
at Chicago, Illinois, guarding prisoners and was later sent South, where he did guard duty. He later returned to
Chicago, where contracted typhoid fever and was discharged. He returned to his home in Ogle County and in 1863,
he and Dendridge Dean drove horses and mules across the mountains and plains to California. There he worked for
a time in the quartz mines and drove a stagecoach. On July 3, 1865, he left San Francisco for New York, by way
of the Isthmus of Panama. He returned to Ogle County, Illinois, where he remained until the spring of 1866, when
he came to Marshall County, Kansas, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Marysville Township.
The tract at that time was all wild prairie, on which he built a small log cabin, which was used as a residence
for four years, when he built a frame structure, fourteen by sixteen, with upstairs apartments. The house was dedicated
with a dance in the upper part, a ladder being used on the outside of the building to gain access to the dance
room. It is needless to say that the dance was the social event of the year, in that pioneer settlement.
In time, the wild land was developed, and where
once grew the tall prairie grass in unrestrained freedom, were seen broad fields of golden grain. The farm was
enlarged until there was three hundred and twenty acres in the tract, all of which was under high cultivation and
well improved. Mr. Travelute continued to reside on the farm until February 1901, and was actively engaged in general
farming and stock raising, being particularly interested in the breeding and raising of Poland China hogs. On his
retirement from the farm, he moved to Marysville, where he has a handsome residence. Mr. Travelute is a man of
rare business judgment and, in addition to his extensive land interests, he is a stockholder in the Elevator Company
and the Citizens State Bank, being a director of the latter institution.
On October 9, 1866, at St. Bridget, Marshall County,
Andrew J. Travelute was untied in marriage to Elizabeth Josephine Mohrbacher, who was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
on June 19, 1846. She is the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Latterner) Mohrbacher both of whom were natives of
Bavaria, Germany, where they received their education in the public schools and were later married. The father
was born on August 24, 1810, and died on April 6, 1872. In his native land, he was a cooper by trade, but did much
farming. In 1845, Mr. and Mrs. Mohrbacher decided to leave the land of their birth and seek a home in the United
States. On their arrival in this country, they proceeded to Wisconsin, where they established a home, and there
resided for many years. They later moved to St. Joe, Missouri, making the trip with oxen and wagons, having seven
prairie schooners and fourteen yoke of oxen, by which they brought their building material. In 1860, they came
to Marysville, arriving here on May 1, of that year. Mr. and Mrs. Mohrbaher and their eleven children suffered
many of the hardships of primitive travel and the life on the plains. The daughter, Elizabeth Josephine, received
her education in the schools of Wisconsin and after the family located in Kansas, she taught the first school in
Marshall County, at district No. 1. The papers of the county some years ago published a most interesting article
by her on the early school life of the district. The first schoolhouse built in this county, was built at Barrett,
the first steps to build such a house having been taken by Mr. A. G. Barrett, deceased, but who has several relatives
residing in our city. The first teacher who wielded the rod of correction in the humble schoolhouse was Miss Mohrbacher,
now Mrs. Travelute, of Marysville; she is the mother of Mrs. Brumbaugh, of this city. The first white boy born
in the county, Mr. P. F. Radcliffe, attended this school term.
To Andrew J. and Elizabeth Josephine Travelute
have been born the following children: Robert Willard, Henry M., Josephine, Charles L. and Emma. Robert Willard,
now deceased, married Carrie Moore and to that, union two children were born. Some years after the death of her
husband, Mrs. Travelute married Mr. Brock and now lives at Kansas City, Missouri; Henry M., who married Elizabeth
Koppes, lives at Lincolnville, Marion County, Kansas, and they are the parents of nine children; John A. is deceased;
Josephine Brumbaugh lives at Home City, Kansas and is the mother of four sons; Charles L. lives in Smith County,
Kansas; he has been twice married, his first wife at her death left two sons. His second wife was Edna Forke, of
Raymond, Nebraska. Emma is at home with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Travelute are devout members of the
Catholic Church and reared their children in that faith. Mr. Travelute is identified with the Democratic Party
and has always taken an active interest in local affairs and has served as justice of the peace, road overseer
and a member of the council. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Sons of St. Gregory, also a member
of the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was commander for one year.
ADDENDUM
Andrew J. Travelute died at his home in Marysville
on Tuesday morning, June 12, 1917, at 3:30 o'clock. Funeral services were held on Thursday morning, June 14, at
St. Gregory's Catholic Church, where solemn requiem mass was celebrated by Rev. August Redeker, of Marysville,
as celebrant, Reverend Bradley, of Frankfort, as deacon, and Reverend Hillary, of Seneca, as sub-deacon.
The presence at the funeral of hundreds of people
from far and near attested to the high esteem in which Andrew Travelute was held by all who had known him. The
Grand Army of the Republic, the Woman's Relief Corps and the Knights of Columbus, of which the deceased was a member,
attended in separate bodies.
JAMES ARTHUR HAMLER
Among the prominent business men and well-known
residents of Summerfield, Marshall County, is James Arthur Hamler, the efficient assistant cashier of the State
Bank of that city, who was born on a farm near Hiawatha, Brown County, Kansas, on October 23, 1882, the son of
Howard and Eliza (Dieffenderfer) Hamler.
Howard Hamler was born in the state of Pennsylvania
in 1853 and is of German ancestry. He is the son of Daniel Hamler and wife, who ere natives of Pennsylvania, and
there received their education in the public schools and were later married. They continued to reside in that state
until 1875, when they came to Kansas and established their home in Brown County, where they became prominent in
agricultural enterprises. The son, Howard, also engaged n farm work in this section of the state, and came here
from his former home in Pennsylvania, after his marriage in 1875, to Eliza Dieffenderfer, who was born in Pennsylvania
in 1857. Daniel Hamler and his sons purchased land in Brown County, Kansas, when they came to the state. They later
developed the farms and made them among the best in the county. Howard Hamler engaged in general farming and stock
raising in the county, until some years later and then moved to Seneca, where he retired. He later moved to Manhattan
in 1900, so that he might give his children a better opportunity to obtain an education. He is still the owner
of one hundred and sixty acres of good land and a splendid home in Manhattan.
Howard and Eliza Hamler are the parents of the
following children; Nora E., James Arthur and Harry T. Nora E. received her education in the public schools and
later studied in the University of Campbell, at Holton, Kansas. For a number of years she was a successful teacher,
before her marriage to Mr. Anderson, of Oneida; Harry T. received his primary education in the public schools and
later completed the course of study at the Manhattan Agricultural College and is now a successful farmer and stockman
near, Belpre, Edwards County, Kansas.
James Arthur Hamler received his education in the
common schools of Nemaha County, and later graduated from the Kansas Wesleyan Business College at Salina in 1901.
After completing his education, he was connected with the bank at Burlington, Colorado, for one year, and then
came to the bank at Summerfield in the year 1902. In addition to his duties as assistant cashier of the State Bank
of Summerfield, he is associated with F. G. Bergen in the real-estate and insurance business. He has two hundred
and forty acres of splendid land in Texas and is the owner of a beautiful home in the city of Summerfield. At the
time of a contest in their home city in 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Hamler were awarded a silver cup for having the finest
home in the place. They take the greatest interest in the upkeep of the place, not for the sake of winning prizes,
but because they enjoy the pleasures of a beautiful and well-kept home. The house is a six-room structure, finished
in white, with hardwood floors and bath, and has every modern convenience, including both hard and soft water in
all parts of the house. The place was built with the idea of beauty and comfort, and is an evidence of the best
thought and attention. Much beauty has been added to the place in the well-kept lawn, in which many varieties of
flowers and shrubbery are grown and surrounded with the finest trees.
On October 26, 1914, James Arthur Hamler was married
to Effie Beavers, who is a well-known and successful grain buyer of Home City, Kansas. Mrs. Hamler received her
education in the public schools of Marshall County, and later studied music at the Hiawatha Academy of Music, after
which she completed the course in music at the University of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Hamler have long been prominent
in the social and the religious life of the community and Mrs. Hamler is active in the musical circles of the home
city.
Politically, James Arthur Hamler is identified
with the Republican Party and has ever taken an active interest in all local affairs, and being a man of ability,
and a representative citizen of the city, he has had much to do with the civic life of the town. Since 1906, he
has served as city treasurer and his administration has been one of continued success. He has always given the
affairs of the office the same care and attention that he gives to his own business and by his management of the
city's financial affairs; he has won the confidence and approval of the people. Fraternally, Mr. Hamler is a member
of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Summerfield. He has attained the Scottish-Rite degrees, holding his
membership at Kansas City, Kansas His is also a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias at Summerfield. He takes
much interest in his lodge work, and is recognized as one of the working members of the orders to which he belongs.
Although a young man, Mr. Hamler has by his active
life accomplished much in the social and financial life of the community in which he lives and where his is recognized
as one of the prominent and substantial men of the county. His conservative and careful attention to business,
has won him the confidence of the people with whom he is associated. His interests are with the people of Marshall
County and his every effort is for the betterment of the district in which he lives.
GUY L. RICE
Guy L. Rice, well-known undertaker and furniture
dealer at Marysville and long recognized as one of the most active and progressive of the younger business men
of that city, is a native son of Marshall County and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Center
Township on October 16, 1883, son of Charles W. and Marguerite Inez (Crane) Rice, the former a native of England
and the latter of the state of Illinois, whose last days were spent in the county.
Charles W. Rice was born in the city of Coventry,
England, October 16, 1856, and was about eight years of age when his parents, William and Ellen (Watson) Rice emigrated
with their family from England to Canada in 1864. Three years later, in 1867, they left Canada and moved to Indiana,
settling on a farm near Bluffton, that state, where William Rice died in 1869, leaving his widow and four children,
two sons and two daughters. In 1877, Charles W. Rice left his mother and his brother and two sisters in Indiana
and came to Kansas, riding through on horseback to Marshall County. He began working as a farm hand in the vicinity
of Winifred and for two years "batched it" there in a little log cabin. He then, in 1879, married and
established a home on a rented farm in that vicinity, on which he lived for three years, at the end of which time
he bought a farm two miles south and one mile east of the village of Home, where he lived until 1889, in which
year he engaged in the grocery business and was thus engaged until 1891, when he engaged in general carpentering.
In February, 1896, Charles W. Rice moved to Marysville and was there engaged in the general store of Frank G. Powell
until October, 1899, when he bought the furniture store and undertaking establishment of H. B. Walker at that place
and continued to operate the same the rest of his life, his death occurring on December 20, 1911. His mother, who
had joined him in this county many years before, had died in the previous February.
In 1879, in this county, Charles W. Rice was united
in marriage to Marguerite Inez Crane, who was born at Milford, Illinois, November 15, 1862, daughter of Robert
and Sarah Ann (Deeds) Crane, natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in 1830 and the latter in 1834, who became
pioneers and homesteaders in Marshall County, where Robert Crane spent his last days his widow now making her home
in Marysville. Mrs. Charles W. Rice died on August 6, 1890, leaving three children, those besides the subject of
this sketch, who was the second in order of birth, being Prof. Clarence T. Rice, of the Argentine School of Kansas
City, Kansas, public schools, and Sarah Ellen, who married F. Hutton and is now deceased.
Guy L. Rice was reared on the home farm in Center
Township and in the village of Home, receiving his elementary schooling in the district school in that neighborhood,
then went to Mary Forter and completed the same in the public schools at Marysville, from which he and his brother
and sister were graduated. Until he was twenty-one years of age, Guy L. Rice worked on the farm during the summer
months and he then became engaged with his father in the furniture store at Marysville. He had previously, under
the direction of his father, learned the details of the undertaking business and had become a skilled embalmer.
In 1909, at Topeka, he passed the examination of the Kansas State Board of Embalmers and has ever since been engaged
in the Undertaking business at Marysville, conducting the same in the connection with his extensive furniture business,
having been proprietor of the store since his father's death in 1911. Mr. Rice is a progressive and active businessman
and his business is conducted in strict accordance with modern methods. He not only carries a full and complete
line of furniture, but has a well-equipped and up-to-date undertaking establishment and was the first undertaker
in northern Kansas to add to his equipment an auto hearse. In addition to his extensive connections at Marysville,
Mr. Rice is the owner of a half section of land in Sheridan County, this state, and is regarded as one of Marysville's
substantial citizens.
On February 6, 1907, Guy L. Rice was united in
marriage to Myrtle Ford, who was born at Axtell, this county, March 16, 1886, daughter of Joseph H. and Sarah F.
(Dean) Ford, natives of England and of the state of Kentucky, respectively, who are now living at Abilene, the
state. Joseph H. Ford was one of the early settlers of Marshall County, a blacksmith at Marysville and a farmer
in the neighborhood of Axtell, and was for years one of the best-known residents of the county. To Mr. and Mrs.
Rice two children have been born, sons both, Merlin L. and Dean W. Mr. Rice is "independent" in his political
views. He is a member of the local Masonic Lodge and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star and of the
Methodist Church, in the various beneficences of which they take a warm interest. They have a pleasant home at
Marysville and take a proper interest in the general social activities of their hometown, helpful in promoting
all proper causes designed to advance the common welfare.
GEORGE L. FENWICK
George L. Fenwick, proprietor of the Independent
Auto Garage at Marysville and sale agent for cars and Bull tractors at that place, is a native son of Marshall
County and has been a resident of this county all his life with the exception of the time spent in school at Manhattan
and at Quincy, Illinois. He was born on a pioneer farm in the neighborhood of Bigelow, June 12, 1881, son of William
and Melissa (Boyd) Fenwick, early settlers in that part of the county, the former of whom was born in Bath County,
Kentucky, in 1840, and who were the parents of four children, those besides the subject of this sketch being as
follow: Martha, deceased; Eva, who married Greely Warders and is now deceased, and Nettie, who married W. J. Williams,
who died about six months after marriage, and fifteen years later she married Charles Jones and is now living on
the old home place in the neighborhood of Bigelow.
George L. Fenwick was reared on the paternal farm
in this county and received his elementary schooling in the district schools of that neighborhood. At the age of
nineteen years he started attending school at Manhattan and in 1902 entered the business college at Quincy, Illinois,
from which he was graduated in 1904, after which he traveled with a band, as a musician, for one year, at the end
of which time he returned to the home farm, which he rented from his father, and there made his home until 1911,
in which year he moved to Marysville and for awhile thereafter was connected with one of the local garages. He
then determined to engage in the automobile business on his own account and built his present commodious and well-equipped
garage, a structure forty-four by one hundred and thirty-two feet, in which he has since very successfully carried
on a general business in automobiles and accessories and has established a high reputation as the proprietor of
one of the best service stations in the part of the state. Mr. Fenwick is the local sales manages for Bull gasoline
tractors and has built up quite a business in these lines, carrying on his business in accordance with strictly
up-to-date methods.
On May 25, 1904, George L. Fenwick was united in
marriage to Louise M. Jansen, who was born at Quincy, Illinois, December 2, 1881, a daughter of Theo. and Louise
(Ruff) Jansen, natives of Illinois, and the former of whom was a druggist at Quincy. Mrs. Fenwick is a graduate
of the business college at Quincy and is a valuable aid to her husband in his business, taking the part of bookkeeper
in the garage and sales establishment. Mr. and Mrs. Fenwick are attendants at the Christian Church and take a proper
part in the general social activities of their home town, Mr. Fenwick is "independent" in his political
views and has ever given his thoughtful attention to local civic affairs.
CATHERINE L.
STEWARD
One of the highly respected and greatly admired
women of Irving, Marshall County, is Mrs. Catherine L. Steward, who was born on October 25, 1843, at Marshall,
Michigan, and is the daughter of Godwin and Delia A. Dolan.
Godwin Dolan was born in the city of New York and
was the son of John T. Dolan, a native of Ireland. His wife was of Irish-English descent, and her people were prominent
in their home community. Godwin Dolan and his wife grew up in New York and were there married. He became prosperous
and was a man of influence. He and his wife later located in the state of Michigan and there, their daughter, Catherine
L., was born at Marshall. They resided in that state for nine years and returned to New York, remaining there until
1869, when they came to Kansas, where they located in Atchison County. In 1872, they came to Marshall County and
established their home at Irving, where they died some years ago. They were held in the highest regard and esteem
and they had much to do with the general development of the district in which they lived.
Catherine L. Dolan received her education in the
schools of New York State, and there grew to womanhood and came with her parents to Atchison, Kansas, where she
was united in marriage in 1870, to Herbert Hawk, who was born in 1837 and died in 1878. To this union the following
children were born: Delia, Emily and Alfred. Delia is the wife of Frederick Luedke, a resident of Irving; and Alfred
is also a resident of Irving, and is married to Zelda Blodgett, and to them have been born two children, Chauncey
and Ella. Herbert Hawk was a native of the state of New York, and there received his education in the public schools
and grew to manhood and came to Kansas in the year 1857, and located in Atchison County, where he homesteaded a
farm. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he offered his service in the defense of the flag of the Union, and enlisted
in Tenth Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Quigg. He served throughout the war and saw much active
service. At the close of the war, he returned to Kansas, and later established his home near Irving, where he engaged
in general farming and stock raising until the time of his death. He took much interest in the local affairs of
the community, and was most happy in the environment of his home. The latter years of his life were devoted to
the interests of his family, and his greatest desires were for their comfort and happiness. His untimely death
was mourned by the people of the community, for they knew that a good and honest man had gone from them.
Some years after the death of Herbert Hawk, Mrs.
Hawk was united in marriage to Silas Steward, and to this union one son was born, Harry, who now lives with the
mother. Her daughter, Emily, who is the wife of J. Morris Layton, is the mother of three children, Mary, Alice
and Ida. The daughter, Mary, who is the wife of George Williams, is a resident of Springside, and Alice is the
wife of Dr. Adelbert Ferguson, to whom she was married in September 1916, and they are now living in Michigan.
Mrs. Steward has long been active in the social
and the religious life of the community, where she is held in high regard and esteem. She is a member of the Episcopal
Church and of the Order of the Eastern Star. Her two sons are members of the Masonic Lodge, of the Eastern Star
and of the Knights of Pythias and Pythian Sisters.
The father of Mrs. Steward, who came to Kansas
from his home in the state of New York, owing to the severe climate of the former state, was a man of pleasing
characteristics and of much force of character. He owned considerable property in his native state, where Mrs.
Steward now has large property interests. She has a beautiful home in Irving, where she lives with her daughter.
SAMUEL FRANCIS PAUL
Samuel Francis Paul, a native son of the state
of Illinois, and today one of the most progressive and substantial farmers and stockmen of Marshall County, and
the representative of the Thirty-ninth district to the state Legislature, was born at Rock Island on January 28,
1856, the son of William and Eliza A. (Walker) Paul, who were natives of Belfast, Ireland, and Madison County,
Illinois respectively.
William Paul was born on February 16, 1830, and
died on August 12, 1889. He received his education in the schools of his native land and there grew to manhood.
He continued to live his life in the land where he was born, until 1847, when he decided that he would seek his
fortune in America. He landed at Quebec, where he remained for a time, after which he took up his residence at
Watertown, New York, where he was engaged in the blast furnaces for a time. He then decided to locate further West,
and in a short time was established at Geneva Lake, Wisconsin, and after a residence of some time in that place,
he located at Rock Island, Illinois, where he engaged in general farming. There he was married on June 30, 1853,
to Eliza A. Walker, who was born on January 26, 1836, being the daughter of Samuel A. Walker and wife, who were
natives of Virginia, their early home being on the banks of the James River, and where her father was born in 1785.
He was one of the early settlers of Madison County, Illinois, and was a well-known Methodist minister of that section.
After having spent many years in the work in the county, Mr. Walker moved to Rock Island and in 1858 moved to Marshall
County, and later died in Nebraska City, Nebraska. His life was one of usefulness, and his influence on the moral
and the social life of the community, was for the general good. The life of a minister was a hard one in those
days, yet Mr. Walker accepted his responsibilities with a determination that brought success to his work. He was
held in the highest regard by all with whom he came in contact, and his influence for the better life was keenly
felt throughout the district in which he worked. He was a man of the highest ideals and of pleasing qualities.
To him the people of Madison County were greatly indebted for the high standard of morality that he set in that
early pioneer settlement.
To William and Eliza Paul were born the following
children: Martha A., Samuel Francis, Sadie L., Clara P. and William F.
Martha is a resident of Sheridan, Arkansas; Sadie
L. Paul Wanamaker resides at Blue Rapids, Kansas; Clara P. Paul Miller lives at Clepsen Beach, Washington, and
William F. lives at Edna, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Paul continued to live at Rock Island, Illinois, until 1858, when
the located in the state of Kansas with their family in that year. Here Mr. Paul pre-empted land three miles north
of Blue Rapids, in Blue Rapids Township, Marshall County, where he obtained one hundred and twenty acres at one
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. The journey from their home in Illinois to their new home in Kansas was
made within a covered wagon, drawn by horses and they were three weeks on the way. The journey was a hard one,
over an unknown tract, with no roads but the winding trail over the prairie. But they were a determined people
and were willing to endure the hardships, supported by the thought that in time a better home was in store for
them. On their arrival at their new home, logs were cut and a cabin erected in which the family lived for some
years. It was not long after the family established their home in the new country, with a determination to assist
in preserving the Union. As he marched away with Company E, Thirteenth Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Infantry, he
left at home a devoted wife who wished him Godspeed. For three years, he served his country, and saw much active
service in the South and West. After his honorable discharge, he returned to his home and the devoted wife, who
had experienced in many ways the hardships of the war as much as the soldiers on the field of battle had. Those
three years were filled with many privations in the care of the five children of the family. By the will of God,
Mr. Paul survived his campaigns at Prairie Grove, Pea Ridge, Ft. Smith and the chase after General Price, through
Missouri and Arkansas. On his return to his home in Kansas, Mr. Paul settled on a farm two miles east of Blue Rapids,
Marshall County, where h e became a successful farmer and stockman, and there lived until his death. He was man
of much prominence in the community in which he lived and where he was held in the highest regard by all who knew
him.
Samuel Francis Paul received his education in the
common schools of Kansas, the Wetmore Institute and the Agricultural College of Kansas. After completing his education
he engaged in teaching and was for nine years one of the successful teachers of Marshall County. He later engaged
in farming and in 1884, he engaged in the work for himself, on a farm three miles east of Blue Rapids. There he
made his home until 1898, when he moved to Blue Rapids, where he has a beautiful home, one of the finest residences
in the town. As a farmer and stockman, Mr. Paul met with much success. He was a firm believer in the intensive
farming and the keeping of the best of stock and his farm has always been one of the finest in the county. He has
always taken the greatest pride in the upkeep of his fine estate and the care of his stock. His farms consist of
eighty acres of splendid bottomland east of Blue Rapids; one hundred and sixty acres of land two miles east of
Blue Rapids and a splendid farm of eighty acres of bottomland north of Irving. The life of Mr. Paul has been a
most active one and he is still recognized as one of the progressive men of the county. He has met with much success
and h as used his influence and best efforts for the advancement of the community in which he has lived for so
many years and where he is held in the highest regard by all who know him.
On March 3, 1885, Samuel Francis Paul was united
in marriage to Clara Dunlap, who was born in Red Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on October 26, 1859, the daughter
of James and Mary A. Dunlap, who were natives of Virginia, where they received their education in the public schools
and there grew up and were later married. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap continued to reside in Virginia
until March 18, 1880, when they came to Kansas. Mr. Dunlap had spent his life in agricultural pursuits, and when
he arrived in Kansas he established his home on a farm near Axtell, Murray Township, Marshall County. He was a
man of sterling worth and possessed of much ability and he became one of the successful farmers and stockmen of
the county, where he and his wife were prominent in the social and the moral life of the community, and were held
in the highest esteem by all. He made the county his home until the time of his death, and is buried in the cemetery
at Axtell.
To Samuel Francis and Clara Paul have been born
the following children: William Clarence, Frances, Ruth, Hubert and Marian. William Clarence received his education
in the schools of Marshall County and grew to manhood on the home farm, where he assisted his father with the farm
work. After reaching manhood he was united in marriage to Marie Jennrick, and to them has been born one child,
William Clarence, Jr., whose birth occurred on April 17, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. William Clarence Paul Jr., now reside
at Elko, Nevada, where Mr. Paul is an employee of the Western Pacific Railroad. They are among the prominent residents
of that place. Frances is the wife of E. M. Bartholow, who holds a responsible position with the government of
the United States at Washington, D. C. Ruth is the wife of H. W. Cornell, who also holds a responsible position
with the government at Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Cornell have an interesting young son, Paul. Hubert has completed
his education in the local schools and is now a student in the University of Kansas at Lawrence; and Marian is
at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul are active members of the Presbyterian
Church and are among the prominent workers of that denomination, Mr. Paul being an elder of the local church. Their
best efforts have ever been given to the good work of the church, and to them much of the success of the local
society is due. All departments of the church work appeal to them and receive their active and financial support.
Few people of the community are held in higher regard, than are Mr. and Mrs. Paul. They are a most hospitable people
and by their kindly disposition, they have won for themselves many friends in the locality.
Fraternally, Mr. Paul is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, in which orders he takes keen interest. Politically, he
is identified with the Republican Party and has always taken much interest in all local affairs. For many years
he was town ship trustee and during his term of office he gave valuable service to the township. In 1914 he was
elected to represent his district in the state Legislature and was re-elected in November 1916. As a member of
the Legislature he has demonstrated his ability as a leader and has served on the following important committees:
Assessments and Taxation; Education; Mines and Mining; County Seats and County Lines; Immigration, and Ways and
Means. He introduced into the house the bill known as the "Mortgage Registration Law," which was later
declared unconstitutional. The law would do away with the system of double taxation, and it is more that probable
that a constitutional amendment will be made, so that a law may be passed that will incorporate the provisions
of the bill introduced by Mr. Paul.
CHARLES WILSON
BRANDENBURG, D. D. S.
It has been said that probably no one man has done
more to rehabilitate the Democratic Party in Kansas than has Dr. Charles W. Brandenburg, the well-known dental
surgeon at Frankfort, this county, and his friends affirm this statement to be true. At any rate, it may be truthfully
said that no one has been more faithful in the service of the party or more ardent in his championship of the principles
of Democracy than has Doctor Brandenburg. From the days of his boyhood, when, at eighteen years of age he succeeded
in effecting an organization of Democrats in Jackson County, right in a very hotbed of rampant Republicanism, Doctor
Brandenburg has been unceasing in his advocacy of the principles of the party he has held dear to his heart and,
in season and out of season, morning, noon and night, has given his most earnest attention to the work of perfecting
an effective organization of the party in this state.
As noted above, it was when little more than a
boy that Doctor Brandenburg gained a reputation for study Democracy throughout this state by his zealous efforts
on behalf of an organization of that party in his home county. Not long before, he had come here from his native
Virginia and had located at Holton, in Jackson County, a place where Democrats were mighty few and far between.
Holton had been settle by Abolitionists and in the early eighties Republicanism still was dominant as a political
factor there. Despite the many obstacles thus presented, young Brandenburg in 1882 succeeded in effecting a strong
working organization of the Democratic Party in Jackson County and thus came to the early and favorable notice
of the party managers in the state. From that time forward few men in Kansas were more active or influential in
the councils of the party in this state than he and for a score or more years he has been one of the most familiar
figures at the banquets and gatherings of his party in this state and in other states of the middle West, while
for years he has been recognized as the wise and kindly dictator of his party in this district. In 1894, Doctor
Brandenburg was the nominee of his party as the representative from this district to Congress, in opposition to
W. D. Calderhead, but that was Republican year in this district and his party's genial ambition in his behalf was
not gratified. In 1896 Doctor Brandenburg was a delegate from this district to the national Democratic convention
at Chicago that first nominated William Jennings Bryan for the Presidency, and was one of the most influential
among the enthusiastic young men who secured for Mr. Bryan the nomination amid scenes of political fervor that
are now historic. In 1900 Doctor Brandenburg was selected with David Obermeyer to go to Washington to present the
claims of Kansas City for the national convention before the national Democratic committee, that year, and when
convention hall was burned not long before the time of the holding of the convention, he was the first man to telegraph
one hundred dollars to the fund for the rebuilding of the same. In 1904 and in 1908 the Doctor also was a delegate
to the national conventions of his party and in 1912 was one of the enthusiastic party of Kansas present at the
national convention at Baltimore, where he was an ardent champion of the nomination of Woodrow Wilson. The Doctor
organized this district for Wilson and did much effective work during the memorable campaign of 1912. Since 1884,
he has attended, as a delegate or as an alternate, every state and national convention of his party and has been
prominent in the councils of the party throughout this section. For twenty-two years, he was district chairman
of the party and a member of the state committee of the same, while for sixteen years he was a member of the state
executive committee of seven members and for eight years was chairman of the Marshall County central committee.
When the Doctor took charge of his party in this county few Democrats had held office here, but in 1912 Wilson
carried the county and practically the entire Democratic county ticket was elected. Doctor Brandenburg is a man
of large stature-big of body and big of brain-a natural leader of men. He is widely traveled having been in every
city of consequence in the United States, and has a wide acquaintance among politicians throughout the country.
He is a member of nearly a score of fraternal and secret societies and has been prominently identified with the
higher councils of the fraternal orders with which he has been affiliated.
Dr. Charles W. Brandenburg is a native son of the
Old Dominion, but has been a resident of Kansas since he was fifteen years of age and is thus as much a Kansas
as though "native and to the manner born." He was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, January 30, 1865,
a son of Virginia parents, of German descent and of Colonial stock, some of his ancestors having served as soldiers
of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. The founder of the family in America was a member of a European
noble family, one of the Prussian Brandenburgs, who came to this country in Colonial days and established his home
in Virginia.
In 1880, he then being fifteen years of age, Charles
W. Brandenburg left Virginia and came out to Kansas to make his home with an uncle at Holton. There he completed
his common schooling in the Holton High School and then entered Campbell University at Holton, being one of Professor
Miller's first students, and attended that institution during the years 1883-1884, after which he began the study
of dentistry in the office of Dr. A. W. Davis, at Holton, presently beginning the practice of that profession there
and was thus engaged until 1888, when he entered the old Kansas City Dental College and after supplementary instruction
there in 1890, located in Frankfort, where he opened an office for the practice of his profession and where he
ever since has been located, long having been one of the best-known and most successful dental surgeons in northern
Kansas, h is clientage extending to many towns and cities hereabout.
In 1885, at Holton, Dr. Charles W. Brandenburg
was united in marriage to Addie M. Kellar, a daughter of the Hon. J. H. Kellar, former district judge and for many
years a member of the Kansas State Legislature, and to the union two children have been born, Fay, wife of Dr.
W. W. Reed, of Blue Rapids, and Marjorie, who is still in school. Mrs. Brandenburg is postmistress at Frankfort,
having received her commission to that important office from President Wilson. The Brandenburgs have a very pleasant
home at Frankfort and have ever taken a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of that city.
RUFUS SWAIN CRAFT,
M. D.
Few men had more to do with the growth and development
of Blue Rapids, Marshall County, and few were held in greater esteem for their good work than was Dr. Rufus Swain
Craft, a native of Winchester, Virginia, where he was born on February 11, 1831, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth
(Hines) Craft. Doctor Craft first came to the state of Kansas in 1859 and was ever active in the affairs of his
home community, until the time of his death on March 8, 1908.
Samuel Craft was born in the state of New Jersey
in 1808, and was the son of Benjamin Craft and wife. The father was a native of Maryland, where he received his
education and there grew to manhood, when h e located in New Jersey. The Craft family was, without doubt, of Welsh
origin; the great-grandfather of Doctor Craft came to America in the middle of the eighteenth century and located
in Maryland, where he was married and where he died a great many years ago. Benjamin Craft, the grandfather of
Doctor Craft, after a residence of some years in New Jersey, located near Zanesville, Ohio, which at that time
was known as the far West. There he and his family established their home on a farm, and there the father died.
The son, Samuel, who came to Ohio with his father, learned the trade of a shoemaker at Zanesville. He followed
this work for a number of years and worked at different places, and it was while working at Georgetown, D. C.,
that he met and married Elizabeth Hines. For a time after their marriage, they lived at Georgetown, after which
they moved to Winchester, Virginia, and from there to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 1833. Samuel Craft spent many years
of his life in Lawrenceburg, and in 1870, he came to Kansas, where his son was then living. Some time after coming
to the state, he engaged with the Santa Fe Railroad at Topeka, and remained with the company until a week before
his death, which occurred in January 1888, at the age of eighty-six years. His wife, Elizabeth Craft, was a native
of the District of Columbia, and died at her home in Lawrenceburg in 1844.
Some years after the death of his first wife, Samuel
Craft was married to Jane Boice, who died at her home in Topeka, Kansas, in 1887. The early members of the family
of Elizabeth (Hines) Craft were the owners of the site of the city of Washington and were prominent factors in
the social and civic life of their time. They were descendants of the Swain families of Virginia and of John Wolfe
and Pocahontas.
To Samuel and Elizabeth (Hines) Craft were born
three children: Samuel A., Julia, the wife of George W. Benies, and Rufus Swain, all of whom are now deceased with
the exception of Mrs. Benies, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Craft were excellent people educated and refined.
Mr. Craft was an honest and industrious man, and devoted his life to his trade until he accepted employment with
the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad at Lawrenceburg. He was active in the Masonic order and in the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and at the time of his death, it was said that he was the oldest member of the latter order
in the state. Few men of the community were held in higher regard, and at his funeral on one of the coldest days
of the year, an imposing cortege composed of Masons, Odd Fellows, railroad employees and friends, followed his
remains to the grave.
Rufus Swain Craft, who was but two years of age
when his parents established their home in Lawrenceburg, was reared in that city and there received his educational
training in the public schools and the Lawrenceburg Institute. While pursuing his studies in the latter school,
where he was taking up the study of medicine, the Mexican War started. He was but sixteen years of age at the time,
yet he laid aside his studies and passing himself for eighteen years, he enlisted in the Fourth Indiana Infantry,
and say active service under General Taylor and General Scott. He was with the forces at battles of Huamantla and
Atalixco and the siege of Pueblo, in addition to many other skirmishes. After having served for some fourteen months,
he returned to Lawrenceburg in 1848 and continued his study of medicine in the institute of that place. After completing
the work, he was employed as an instructor in the institution for a time, and later attended medical lectures in
Cincinnati, Ohio. He had then reach his majority, and emigrated to Putnam County, Missouri, where he entered the
practice of medicine with his uncle. Dr. John Hines. He remained here for four years, when he located in Harrison
County, Missouri, where he engaged in the practice until 1859, when he located in Holton, Jackson County, Kansas.
Doctor Craft was always interested in mill enterprises
and in 1865, he and his brother and a third partner decided to make a tour of inspection of some of the rivers
of the state. Doctor Craft was given the section of Blue Rapids, where the three were to meet later. At this meeting,
it was decided that the power at Blue Rapids was the best, and the three, as partners, purchased two hundred and
eighty-seven acres, at Blue Rapids, which also gave them the power further up the river. The doctor purchased in
his own right, seventy acres, which now adjoins Blue Rapids on the west. The property, held in partnership, was
held until 1870, when the tract was sold to the Genesee Colony, which laid out the town of Blue Rapids. Up to the
time of the platting of the town, Doctor Craft was a resident of Holton, but in 1872, he moved to Blue Rapids,
the town he helped lay out and here he began his medical practice in Marshall County. He also conducted a drug
store, one of the first in the section. He later owned the building in which he had his office and where he conducted
his store.
Always interested in the milling business, Doctor
Craft was one of the groups of men who built the stone flouring-mill on the east side of Blue River next the dam
that had been constructed. This mill was operated until 1876 by Olmstead Brothers, at which time it was under the
direction of J. S. Wright & Company. Doctor Craft still retained his interest in the mill he had assisted in
establishing and which had so much to do with the early progress of Blue Rapids. In August 1887, the mill was sold
to P. H. McHale, and the doctor retired from the business. To him has ever been given much of the credit for the
establishment of one of the important industries of the city. For many years, the milling enterprises of Blue Rapids
have been recognized as among the greatest in this section of Kansas, and their products have become known throughout
the confines of many a state. At the time Doctor Craft disposed of his interest in the mill, he also disposed of
his interest in Jackson County, where he devoted his time and attention to the practice of his profession. For
many years, he was the leading practitioner of this section, and in later years, he had an extensive office practice.
His careful attention to business and his excellent ability and knowledge of medicine, won for him the highest
commendation of the people of the district, and won for him a high place in the profession. Few men won higher
approval in their work and few were held in greater regard and esteem.
On October 16, 1852, Rufus Swain Craft was united
in marriage to Anna B. Bledsoe, in Putnam County, Kansas. Mrs. Craft was born at Ghent, Carroll County, Kentucky,
where her forefathers had settled on their removal from Virginia. She was of a well-known family in her native
state, many of whom became prominent in the various affairs of the state and nation. Her uncle, Jesse Bledsoe,
was a well-known United States senator, and another uncle, Lewis Saunders, was one of the very first residents
of the state to engage in the importation of fine stock, for which the Blue Grass state has since become famous.
Mrs. Craft was born on January 10, 1834, and was the daughter of Aaron and Elinore (Bond) Bledsoe, the father being
a native of Virginia, and the mother of the state of Pennsylvania, she having been born near the town of Beaver.
Bother the Bledsoe and Boyd families were prominent in their native states, and after their location in the Blue
Grass region, they were among the influential and prosperous people of the state. The family was a worthy one,
and to them is due much of the wonderful advancement and progress of the state that is known the world over, for
its fine horses and splendid cattle.
To Rufus Swain and Anna B. Craft were born the
following children: George, William, Ella Samuel Adolphus, Emma, Julia and Edward. George, a bright young man of
nineteen years, had completed the work in the local schools and had entered the medical department of Campbell
University at Holton, when he was taken with consumption. His father took him to Colorado, Mexico and California,
in the hope of some relief, but the dread disease had taken too firm a hold and he passed away at Santa Anna, California,
on July 1, 18887; William R. died in infancy; Ella completed her education in the local school and married Clement
E. Coulter, the son of William and Eliza (Lince) Coulter. His parents were natives of Ireland and were of a prominent
family. His paternal great-grandfather was a major in the British army, but his son Charles, the grandfather of
Clement E., was reared on the home farm in the native land. Charles Coulter was married in Ireland to Jane Cluxton,
a native of the County Louth. To this union six children were born, all of whom came to America with their parents,
with the exception of William and his sister, Jane, who later came to the new land. William Coulter was a man of
much ability and possessed of a high education, having completed the course of study at the classical school of
Cootehill, and later attained a high place as an apothecary, and took an active part in helping the victims of
the cholera scourge in Ireland in 1831. In 1842 he was united I marriage to Eliza Lince, a native of Dublin, Ireland,
and a woman of pleasing qualities and loved by all who knew her. They were the parents of twelve children, two
of whom died in infancy, the other receiving an excellent education in the higher institutions of learning. The
son, Clement E., graduated from schools of pharmacy, both in Canada and Philadelphia, and later entered the drug
business with his father-in-law, Doctor Craft, at Blue Rapids, where he and his wife were among the prominent and
active members of the local social life, until the time of her death on December 29, 1888; Samuel Adolphus was
born in the northern part of Missouri
