RENO COUNTY, KANSAS

HISTORY OF RENO COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

ARTHUR H. SUTER

Arthur H. Suter, cashier of the Commercial National Bank of Hutchinson, and one of the best-known and most prominent figures in financial circles hereabout, is a native of Missouri, born at Palmyra, in Marion county, that, state, May 18, 1877, son of Thomas J. and Elizabeth (Gash) Suter, both natives of Missouri, the former born in 1846 and the latter in
1853.

For three generations the Suter family has been engaged in the banking business. Thomas J. Suter's father, Verdner Suter, aided in the organization of the Marion County Savings Bank, and for years was president of the bank, acting" in that capacity until his death. In his early youth, Thomas J. Suter became vice president of the above named bank, and ever since has been connected with that institution. His wife died in 1912, at the age of fifty-nine. They were the parents of two sons, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Ira T. Suter, still living at Palmyra, Missouri.

Arthur H. Suter received his early education in the schools of Palmyra, Missouri, and when but a boy started to work in the bank with which his father was connected. He was first employed as a collector, later was made bookkeeper, and was advanced to the position of assistant cashier, all the time giving his most studious attention to the technical details of the banking business, and thus acquiring a broad general knowledge of the business.

In pursuit of wider experience in the vocation to which he had devoted his life and his energies he went to St. Louis, where for several years he was connected with the Mechanics National Bank of that city. In 1902 Mr. Suter organized the Farmers and Traders Bank at Hardin, Ray county, Missouri, an institution with a capital and surplus of fifty thousand dollars, and for three years was cashier of the same. He then sold his interests in-that bank and came to Kansas, locating at Hutchinson, where, with others, he organized the Hutchinson Building and Loan Association, and was made secretary of that institution. On July 1, 1908, Mr. Suter was elected cashier of the Commercial National Bank of Hutchinson, and ever since has occupied that position, giving his whole attention to the' duties of the same, being recognized as a conservative banker of ability. The Commercial National Bank of Hutchinson was opened for business on November 20, 1906, and is regarded as one of the best established and most substantial financial concerns in this part of the state, and Mr. Suter is one of the representative stockholders in this institution. While devoting his undivided attention to banking, Mr. Suter has also taken a keen interest in farming and stock raising, and is the owner of twelve hundred acres of good farm land in Comanche and Haskell counties, this state. He is also the owner of valuable down-town business properties in Hutchinson.

In 1902 Arthur H. Suter was married to Ottie H. Heather, who also was born at Palmyra, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Suter are members of the Christian church and take an earnest interest in the general work of the same, as well as in all good works hereabout. Faternally, Mr. Suter is a Mason, taking an active interest in the work of that order. (Pages 123-124)

HARRY H. TAYLOR

Harry H. Taylor, of the Taylor Motor Company, Hutchinson, this county, official pilot and chief promoter of the ''Santa Fe Trail" and one of the best-known automobile men in the state of Kansas, is a Hoosier, having been born in Clark county, Indiana, not far from the banks of the Ohio river, February 5, 1869, son of S. D. and Priscilla (Monroe) Taylor.

S. D. Taylor was a farmer and in 1871 moved ffom Indiana to Illinois. He bought a large farm in Jasper county, that state, and there spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1905. His widow is now making her home with her children in Chicago.

Harry H. Taylor was but two years old when his parents moved from Indiana to Illinois, and he was reared on the paternal farm in the latter state, receiving his education in the public schools in the neighborhood of his home. In 1888, at the age of nineteen years, he came to Kansas and located at Hutchinson. He engaged in newspaper work and for one year was employed in the office of the Hutchinson Democrat. In 1890 he began working in the office of the Hutchinson Daily News, R. M. Easley, editor, and remained with that newspaper for several years, first as mailing clerk, then as bookkeeper and then as manager of the office-supplies department. In 1909 Mr. Taylor began a study of the possibilities presented by the auto-mobile business and organized a company, known as the Taylor Motor Company, the other stockholders being W. Y. Morgan, L. A. Bunker, E. T. Guymon and Dr. H. G. Welsh. This company secured the local agency for the sale of the Ford automobile and established a garage and general repair and supply and service station at 111-119 Sherman avenue, east, and Mr. Taylor is still located there, having made a great success of the business. He long ago bought the stock held in the concern by his associates and is now the sole owner of a very prosperous and growing business. The first year he was engaged in business, 1909, his company sold nine automobiles. In 1914 he sold eight hundred and seventeen cars and now employs a force of twenty-six men in his place. He is also interested in several real-estate companies and is one of the directors of the Hutchinson Daily News Company.

Mr. Taylor has been looked upon as one of the leading automobile men of Kansas for years. The good roads movement has been one of his chief concerns and he was one of the most active leaders in promoting the same throughout the state, having been the official pilot of the new "Santa Fe Trail" ever since the creation of that modern highway over the ancient trail. Mr. Taylor is a member of the Kansas City Automobile Club and of the Hutchinson Country Club. He is a Republican and for years has been actively interested in local politics, but has never been an aspirant for public office.

On September 24, 1895, Harry H. Taylor was united in marriage to Dora Reddersen, who was born in Ohio, daughter of William and Augusta (Groschmer) Reddersen, the former of whom is a retail shoe merchant, and to this union has been born one child, a daughter, Dorothy, born in 1896, who was graduated at Dana Hall, Wellesley, Massachusetts, in June, 1915. Mr. Taylor is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the consistory and of the Mystic Shrine at Wichita, and is also an Elk. (Pages 124-126)

PIERCE C. ROBERTS

Pierce C. Roberts, a well-known and well-to-do retired farmer of Valley township, this county, who for years has made his home in Hutchinson, where he and his family are very pleasantly situated, is a native of Kentucky, born on a farm in Nelson county, that state, August 18, 1856, son and only child of John W. and Margaret (Weekly) Roberts, both natives of that same state, the former of whom died in Nelson county in 1862. In 1865 his widow married, secondly, Lee G. Bruner, with whom she moved in that same year to Martin county, Indiana, where she lived until her death, March 21, 1916, at a ripe old age.

Pierce C Roberts was but six years old when his father died and was about nine when he moved with his mother and his stepfather to Martin county, Indiana, where he continued his schooling in the local schools. He was reared a farmer and after his marriage in the fall of 1882 to a neighbor girl continued farming in Martin county until in March of 1888, when he and his wife and their two young sons came to Kansas, where they ever since have resided. Upon coming to this state Mr. Roberts bought a quarter of a section of land in Byron township, Stafford county, where he lived for thirteen years, at the end of which time he sold that place to advantage and came over into Reno county. He bought the west half of section 25, in Valley township, which he still owns, and which he has developed into a very fine piece of property. After a residence of three years on that farm Mr. Roberts retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Hutchinson, where he has lived ever since. Upon moving to Hutchinson Mr. Roberts bought the residence at 1100 North Main street, which he still owns and where he and his family made their home until in 1915, when he built his present residence at 14 Eleventh avenue, east, where he and his family are very comfortably situated. Since locating in Hutchinson, Mr. Roberts has taken an active part in public affairs and for more than eight years has Served as a deputy city assessor. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization, as does Mrs. Roberts, who is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah.

It was on November 27, 1882, in Martin county, Indiana, that Pierce C. Roberts was united in marriage to Martha Imogene Smith, who was born in that county on December 7, 1857, daughter of Dr. Nicholas S. and Mary J. (Charles) Smith, both natives of Orange county, Indiana, and prominent and influential residents of that section of the Hoosier state, the latter of whom is still living, making her home at Hutchinson, this county, in a ripe old age. Mary Jane Charles was born on September 22, 1836, and on February 12, 1857, at Natchez, in Martin county, Indiana, was married to Mr. Nicholas S. Smith, who was born on August 31, 1828, son of a prominent pioneer Baptist preacher, who had emigrated to that section of Indiana from Kentucky. Doctor Smith's eldest brother, Daniel, also was a physician, but when his brother entered practice he turned his attention to the gospel ministry, was ordained a minister of the Methodist church and thus continued until he was placed on the honorably retired list. Doctor "Smith's second brother, Harrison, also was a minister, but followed his father in the Baptist faith and was for many years a minister of that church. The venerable Mrs. Smith still recalls the days when she would sit for an hour and a half listening to the sermons of the Rev. Harrison Smith without growing weary. There were three other brothers, Ford, John and Benjamin Smith, who, though not ministers, were very pious men and active in all good works. Mrs. Smith's father, William Charles, was the son of William Charles, one of the earliest settlers of Orange county, Indiana, who was killed by Indians while plowing in his field near the pioneer blockhouse at French Lick Springs in that county. The son, William, then was but two years old and a year later was orphaned, indeed, when his mother died, unable to recover from the shock and grief due to the murder of her husband, and he was reared to manhood by a cousin, Azor Charles. Dr. Nicholas S. Smith enlisted for service in the Union army upon the breaking out of the Civil War and went to the front as first lieutenant of Company A, Seventeenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three years, at the end of which time he received his honorable discharge on a physician's certificate of disability, illness incapacitating him for further service. To Doctor Smith and wife three children were born, Mrs. Roberts having' had two brothers, Daniel L. Smith, former clerk of Pueblo county, Colorado, who died on March 13, 1900, and Delos V. Smith, who is engaged in the saddlery business at Hutchinson. Daniel L. Smith married Eugenia Day of Pueblo, Colorado, and had four children, Darwin Bidwell, Martha Irene, Wolcct and Elizabeth. Delos V. Smith married Bessie Bloom and has one child, a son, Delos. Dr. Nicholas S. Smith died at his home in Martin county, Indiana, June 12, 1867, his health having been permanently impaired by his service in the army.

To Pierce C. and Martha Imogene (Smith) Roberts three children have been born, sons all, Harry W., born in Martin county, Indiana, November 17, 1883, now operating a general store at Elkhart, Kansas, who married Ethel Burnett, December 25, 1908, and has three children, Eugene Pierce, born on October 17, 1909; Harry Daniel, December 26, 1912, and died in May, 1913, and Robert Burnett, August 20, 1915; Daniel Leroy, born in Martin county, Indiana, February 8, 1886, a progressive young tnan in partnership with his brothers at Elkhart, who married Margaret Newey, March 23, 1907, and has two children, Margaret Estella, born on June 17, 1911, and Daniel Leroy, Jr., June 15, 1915, and Chester I., born in Byron township, Stafford county, this state, November 16, 1893, who is connected with his brother in the general mercantile business at Elkhart. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are members of the Christian church and take a proper interest in the various beneficences of the same as well as in all worthy movements for the advancement of the common interest hereabout. (Pages 126-128)

CHARLES E. WAGONER

The late Charles E. Wagoner, for years a well-known and popular dairyman in the Hutchinson neighborhood and later prosperous rancher and stockman, who died at his home in Reno township, this county, on June 5, 1911, was a native of Ohio, having been born on a farm near Bellevue, in Huron county, that state, on June 5, 1863, and his death occurred on the forty-eighth anniversary of his birth. He was the son of Levi and Sarah Wagoner, farming people of Ohio, who came to Kansas about the year 1880 and settled on a farm near the town of Sterling, in Rice county, where they spent the remainder of their lives, devout members of the Christian church. Besides the subject, another of their sons came to Reno county, David Wagoner, who is a well-known farmer in Valley township.

Charles E. Wagoner was about sixteen years old when he came to Kansas with his parents and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Rice county. He married young, in 1883, and then bought a farm lying between Sterling and Lyons, in Rice county, on which he lived for a few years, at the end of which time he sold it and for a time thereafter rented farms in the Sterling neighborhood. He always was interested in cattle and was considered an expert in their care. It was his great desire to become an extensive stockman, but the seasons of drought and hot winds about that period so strongly militated against his success that in 1900 he still was a poor man. In 1901 he decided to make a change of base and with this end in view came to Reno county, where, on the outskirts of Hutchinson, he engaged in market gardening for a season, at the same time doing a small business in the dairy line, he having brought nine cows and a team of horses with him. The dairy business seemed promising and he presently bought out the extensive equipment of the Charles Bloom dairy and went into the business on a considerable scale. He had practically no money to pay down for the equipment he bought, but he was able to secure the same on advan-tageous terms and was successful from the very start, it not being long before he was the proprietor of the leading dairy farm in the county, his product proving so popular in and about Hutchinson that he was enabled to raise the rate to a price above five cents the quart, the first time such an increase had been attempted in Hutchinson, without creating a protest on the part of his customers. He and his wife and his children all worked diligently and with excellent results, their business prospering beyond their most hopeful expectations.

When Charles E. Wagoner arrived in Reno county in 1901 he was eight hundred dollars in debt and possessed practically nothing save the nine cows and the team of horses above mentioned. Ten years later he was the owner of four hundred and twenty acres of choice land in Reno county, all paid for and producing him a handsome revenue from his extensive operations in cattle. From the profits of his dairy business he bought, in 1907, a half section of land from William Buttles, in Clay township, remodeled the house which stood on the same, put up modern farm buildings and engaged in cattle raising, the pursuit in which his heart had always been most closely concerned. In 1910 he sold the dairy business and devoted his whole attention to cattle raising and was greatly prosperous, a short time before his death he having bought an additional hundred acres adjoining his original half section in Clay township. His specialty was pure-bred Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and his stock farm soon gained a wide reputation for the fine quality of its stock. Since his death his widow and her three sons have continued successfully to manage the farm. Mr. Wagoner was a member of the Christian church, as are all the members of his family. He was a Democrat, and in his lodge affiliations was connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On December 4, 1883, Charles E. Wagoner was united in marriage to Emma Gibson, who was born in Cedar county, Iowa, February 20, i860, daughter of James and Sarah Gibson, both of whom were born in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who did not meet until they were grown and living in Cedar county, Iowa. James Gibson, for eighteen years, had done service as a bookkeeper in a commercial concern in Pittsburgh and then, deciding to get a touch of the West, moved to Iowa, settling in Cedar county, where he bought a farm and there he married, his wife having lived in that county since her childhood, her parents having moved from Pittsburgh. In the spring of 1875 James Gibson sold his Iowa farm and came to Kansas, driving through with his family and such portable belongings as conveniently could be loaded in the wagon, and driving several cows along, the family arriving at Sterling, in Rice county, on June 1, 1875. On their way they had driven through Hutchinson, the little daughter, Emma, now Mrs. Wagoner, driving the cows through the main street of the town. She recalls to this day the dreary appearance presented at that time by the straggling village, a half waste of drifting sand dotted by houses of a very crude style of architecture. Upon arriving in Rice county, James Gibson bought a half section of land and later bought more land, presently becoming quite well-to-do. He and his wife were devout people, members of the Christian church, and earnest folk, who set about establishing the new home very energetically. They were the parents of eight daughters and one son, the latter of whom, the youngest of the family, was the only one of the family born in Kansas. Upon their arrival in Rice county, the Gibsons were poor, but all hands set to work and pretty soon they began to see their way clear. The older daughters taught school and brought home every cent of the money thus earned, all going into the common fund with which to pay off the mortgage on the original purchase of land. Emma Gibson, now Mrs. Wagoner, was the eldest of these eight helpful daughters and much of the burden of providing ways and means fell upon her willing shoulders. At the age of sixteen she began teaching school and from the first was successful, continuing her service as a teacher for ten years. During the earlier years of this service her father begged her not to marry, but to stay with him, a helpful daughter, until the obligation of his debt was released and she promised to do so; and kept her promise. Mrs. Wagoner is a very capable woman and is making a very successful farm manager. She is ably assisted by her three sons, Vernon, who was born on June 1, 1894; Perlon, February 22, 1897, and Harlon, April 9, 1900. (Pages 128-130)

JAMES L. PENNEY

Associated with the business interests of Hutchinson, Reno county, Kansas, almost from the very beginning of that town, the late James L. Penney played an important part in the upbuilding of this now thriving city. While Mr. Penney was a successful business man, he was not content to work for his own interests only, but was always ready to aid every measure for the benefit of the public, and especially for his interest in the cause of education will he long be remembered in the city of Hutchinson.

James L. Penney was born in the pleasant village of Adams, in Jeffer-son county, New York, June 5, 1848, the son of George and Mary (Gardner) Penney, both of whom were natives of the Empire state.

George Penney was of English descent and was a farmer in Jefferson county. Both he and his wife lived in New York state all their lives, and were devoted members of the Baptist church. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter, the subject of this sketch being the youngest of the family.

James L. Penney attended the public schools of his native town, and was graduated from the Hungerford Institute at Adams, New York. After teaching school in New York state for several terms he went to live with a brother in LaSalle county, Illinois, and taught school in that locality one winter. In 1869, Mr. Penney went to Topeka, Kansas, and became cashier of the Alfred Ennis Company, which firm carried on a law and real-estate business.

The town of Hutchinson was founded in 1871 by C. C. Hutchinson, who determined, in the year following, to establish a bank in the new town. Accordingly, he wrote to the Ennis Company in Topeka to recommend a young man for cashier of the new bank. The company recommended Mr. Penney, and so, in April, 1872, he came to Hutchinson as cashier of the Reno County Bank-the first bank in Reno county. The bank passed safely through the panic of 1873, and after an existence of four years was sold out in 1876. Mr. Penney then bought a partnership with J. S. George, with whom he was associated for two years in the grocery business. He then went to Odell, Illinois, and joined his brother, Seth H. Penney, in conducting a general store, remaining there about two years.

Mr. Penney returned to Hutchinson in 1880, and built a corn and wheat feed-mill on the bank of the mill race where Avenue C is now located. Later he formed a second partnership with J. S. George in the Hutchinson Produce Company, which was located on the corner of Washington and First streets. Subsequently, Mr. Penney organized the Hutchinson Music Company, at 17 South Main street, of which company he was president and main owner, and in which business he continued until his retirement from active affairs in 1908.

On April 8, 1873, James L. Penney was united in marriage in Topeka, Kansas, with Mary McLaughlin, of Indianapolis, Indiana, the daughter of Col. John A. and Louisa (Moorhouse) McLaughlin, both of whom were descended from Revolutionary ancestors. The maternal grandfather of Col. John A. McLaughlin, a Kimberley, emigrated from Connecticut to Ohio, where he secured a land grant given to Revolutionary soldiers. Louisa Moorhouse came from an old Virginia family, her great-grandfather, Col. Robert McFarland, having served in the American Revolution.

James L. and Mary (McLaughlin) Penney were the parents of three children, Louis Arthur, who died when two years old, Elizabeth, Alice and Edith Louise. Elizabeth Alice Penney is the wife of John F. Fontron, who is associated with the Fontron Loan and Trust Company, of Hutchinson. Edith Louise Penney on June 29, 1911, was married to Oscar A. Peterson, of Hutchinson.

James L. Penney served as secretary and treasurer of the Hutchinson school board for several terms in the early seventies. He promoted the movement to issue bonds to build the first large school house in the city. This bond issue was opposed by citizens in certain sections of the city who wished the school house located in their neighborhood. As the time for the election drew near it looked as though the bond issue would be defeated, and it was mainly due to the efforts of C. C Hutchinson and Mr. Penney and his wife that the bond issue was carried. Mr. Penney sold the bonds in Kansas City and with the proceeds he and his associates built the "Sherman Street school house which was the school attended by all the Hutchinson pioneer children. This building served for forty years, when it was torn down in 1915, to be replaced by a modern building.

Mr. Penney served on the school board for several terms at a later period. He was an ardent Republican, and was especially interested in good local government. He was a charter member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He attended the Presbyterian church. James L. Penney died in Hutchinson on March 29, 1914, and was sincerely mourned by all who knew him.

When Mr. and Mrs. Penney returned to Hutchinson they resided in the first block on .Avenue B, west, and lived there for twenty-two years. In 1902, they built the residence at 521 Sherman avenue, east, which Mrs. Penney still owns. This home is built on a lot which is part of an acre in the C. C. Hutchinson farm on which the city was founded. Mrs. Penney had owned the acre tract since 1876.

Mrs. Mary (McLaughlin) Penney. is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. During her residence in Hutchinson she has seen the straggling village grow into a beautiful and prosperous city and can take just pride in the knowledge that she and her husband helped in this development. (Pages 131-133)

WALTER B. HARRIS

Walter B. Harris, official surveyor and civil engineer of Reno county and one of the best-known civil engineers in Kansas, is a native of Arkan-sas, having been born in Stone county, that state, August 18, 1868, son of Augustus B. and Carrie V. (Stevens) Harris, the former a native of Arkansas and the latter of Tennessee, both now deceased.

Augustus B. Harris was reared on a farm in his native state and grew up to strong, robust manhood. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted in the cause of the Confederate states and served to the close of the war, being present with Lee at the surrender at Appomattox. He participated in the battle of Shiloh and numerous of the bloodiest engagements of the war, receiving several wounds, which undoubtedly shortened his life. Upon the conclusion of his military service he walked back from Virginia to his home in Arkansas and there engaged in the general mercantile business in his home village, being thus engaged until his death, at the age of thirty-six years, in 1874. His widow survived until 1912, her death occurring at San Antonio, Texas. She was the mother of three children, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mabel, who married R. J. Jeffrey and lives at Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Margaret, who married T. A. Black, a grocer at San Antonio, Texas.

Walter B. Harris was six years old when his father died. His elementary schooling was obtained in the schools of his home village and he later entered the Missouri School of Mining at Rolla, from which he was graduated after a four-years course in 1895, with the degree of Civil Engi-neer. Thus equipped for the calling to which he had devoted his life, Mr. Harris took employment with the Frisco railroad, in Missouri, as a civil engineer, later going to the Midland Valley, in Oklahoma, in the same capacity. He also surveyed numerous branch railroads, and was thus engaged until he was installed as assistant city engineer at Hutchinson in 1905. After two years of service in that connection he was employed on an irrigation project in New Mexico for a year, at the end Of which time he returned to Hutchinson and resumed his former place in the city engineer's office, and was thus engaged until his appointment in 1910 to the office of county engineer of Reno county, which position he ever since has held. Mr. Harris is a member of the Kansas Engineering Society and is one of the best-known civil engineers in this state.

On July 5, 1904, at St. Louis, Missouri, Walter B. Harris was united in marriage to Eliza B. McKinley, who was born in Pennsylvania, and to this union two children have been born, Margaret M., born on May 5, 1906, and Victor B., July 2, 1908. Mr. Harris has a very pleasant home at 122 Seventh avenue and he and his wife take an interested part in the various social and cultural activities of their home town. (Pages 133-134)

THE FONTRON FAMILY

The founder of the Fontron family in America, prominently represented in Hutchinson, Reno county, Kansas, by Joseph A. Fontron, Louis E. Fontron and John F. Fontron, was Joseph Vonthron, an Alsatian, who came to the United States in 1832, locating in Peoria county, Illinois. He erected and operated the first grist and saw-mill in the city of Peoria, known at that time as Ft. Clark. He was also largely interested in farm lands there. After his death the name of Vonthron was Anglicized, becoming Fontron.

In 1838 Joseph Vonthron married Katherine Herr, a Bavarian, who came to this country and located in Peoria county, Illinois, in 1832. In 1849, attracted by the gold fields of California, Joseph Vonthron left his interests and started for the new Eldorado. He died in California in 1851, leaving a widow and four children, the eldest, Mary, still living in Peoria, Illinois; Katherine and Elizabeth, deceased, and Joseph A. Fontron, then five years of age.

Joseph A. Fontron was married at Hennepin, Illinois, in 1870 to Anna Feltes, who was born at Kinderhook, New York, March 10, 1852, and was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (McDermott) Feltes. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Fontron lived in Henry, Illinois, until 1873. They then removed to Castleton, Stark county, Illinois, where for three years Mr. Fontron was engaged in the mercantile business. In 1876 they came to Hutchinson, Kansas. Mr. Fontron was engaged for one year in the mercantile business, erecting a two-story building on lot No. 5, North Main street, which building is still standing. The next fifteen years were spent by Mr. Fontron and family upon a homestead in Grant township, this county. In 1891 the family returned to Hutchinson where J. A. Fontron served as probate judge for three terms and ift 1907 he engaged in the real-estate and loan business. He has always taken an active interest in general business and civic affairs of Hutchinson and Reno county, and assisted in organizing the Hutchinson Building and Loan Association and for two years acted as its president. Since 1897 ^e has been actively engaged in the real-estate and loan business, merging his interests with those of the Fontron Loan and Trust Company upon the organization of the latter in May, 1915.

Five children were born to Joseph A. and Anna Feltes Fontron, namely: Eva, Joseph P., Mabel, John F. and Louis E. Eva Fontron, who was born in Henry, Illinois, August 5, 1871, married W. D. Puterbaugh, eldest son of John Puterbaugh, in 1894, and died on December 21, 1915, at North Yakima, Washington. Joseph P. Fontron was born on March 22, 1873, at Castleton, Illinois, and married Fan Hardy, daughter of George W. Hardy, of Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1904. Joseph P. Fontron is .now a prominent . attorney of Kansas City, Missouri. Mabel Fontron, born in Castleton, Illinois, June 12, 1875, and married Paul Rewipan on July 10, 1911, is now residing in Deadwood, South Dakota. John F. Fontron, born in Hutchinson, Kansas, March 15, 1877, married Elizabeth Alice Penney, daughter of J. L. Penney, December 31, 1902. John F. Fontron was for fourteen years engaged in the jewelry business at McPherson, Kansas, returning to Hutchinson in 1915 and becoming associated with the Fontron Loan and Trust Company as secretary-treasurer, upon the organization of that institution in May, 1915. To Mr. and Mrs. John F, Fontron were born three children, John, Jr., born on December 2, 1903; Dorothy, born on April 25, 1905, and Alice, born on October 9, 1910. Louis E. Fontron, who was born on the farm in Grant township Reno county, Kansas, January 28, 1879, was twelve years of age when the family moved to Hutchinson. In 1901 he entered with his father in the real-estate, loan and insurance business, in which he has since been engaged and during wrhich time he has become one of the prominent loan men in this part of the state. In 1915 he organized the Fontron Loan and Trust Company, of which he was elected first president, the position which he now holds. This marked the first trust company organization in Hutchinson and central Kansas. In October, 1902, Louis E. Fontron was married to Mary Elizabeth Bigger, of Hutchinson, Kansas, daughter of L. A. Bigger, in a biographical sketch of whom presented elsewhere in this issue there is set out a history of the Bigger family in this county. To this union two children have been born, Elizabeth, born on December 25, 1903, and Anna, born on September n, 1907.

In the spring of 1913 Louis E. Fontron was elected mayor of Hutchin-son, which official position he held for one term, declining to seek a second term in order to devote himself to his business interests. (Pages 134-136)

JAMES FRANKLIN McMURRY

James Franklin McMurry, a well-known and progressive farmer of Lincoln township, this county, is a native of Tennessee, having been born on a farm in Haywood county, that state, September 17, 1846, son of William H. and Martha J. (Faires) McMurry, the former of whom was born near Murfreesboro, in that same state, in April, 1823, and the latter in Alabama, in August, 1823, both of whom spent their last days in this county, having come here from Tennessee a year or two after Reno county was opened for settlement in the early seventies.
William H. McMurry was reared on a farm in eastern Tennessee and when still a boy moved with his parents to Haywood county, in the same state, where he later married and bought a tract of "Congress land" at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. He presently sold that farm and bought a larger one, on which he made his home until 1872, in which year he and a couple of his Tennessee neighbors, James A. Moore and H. D. Freeman came to Kansas on a prospecting tour. In the fall of that year Mr. McMurry bought a full section of railroad land in Lincoln township, this county, the same being section 23. He arranged for the erection of a house on his section and returned to Tennessee, coming back to Reno county the next year with his family and establishing his home on his new place in Lincoln township, and there he and his wife remained the rest of their lives. William H. McMurry was a Union man during the time of the Civil War and was a Republican ever after, his influence with the party hereabout during pioneer days having considerable weight. He became a substantial farmer and an extensive dealer in hogs, taking a good deal of pride in the high grade of hogs that he raised on his place. He and his wife were members of the Methodist church and took an earnest and an influential part in all good works in their neighborhood. Mr. McMurry died in 1903, he then being eighty years of age, and his widow survived him for three years, her death occurring in 1907, at the age of eighty-four. They were the parents of seven children, as follow: James F., the immediate subject of this bio-graphical sketch; Harriet, who lives in Lincoln township, widow of D. M. Stewart; Elizabeth Jane, who married J. C Moore and lives in Hutchinson, this county; Mrs. Susan F. Allen, now deceased; Hugh L., who died in October, 1876, at the age of seventeen years; William Eli, a retired farmer, now living at Winfield, this state, and Charles W., who lives on a farm in Lincoln township, this county.

James F. McMurry grew up on the home farm in Haywood county, Tennessee, receiving an excellent education in the subscription schools in the neighborhood of his home, the public-school system not being inaugurated in that state until after the Civil War, and at the age of twenty-one began teaching in the public schools and was thus engaged for ten years, farming during the summer months. In 1869 he married and for a year thereafter lived on a rented farm. He then bought a small farm of sixty acres and there made his home until 1884, m which year he followed his father's excellent example and came to Kansas, arriving in Reno county in December of that year. He located in Lincoln township, near his father's extensive place, and for six years rented farms in that vicinity, prospering meanwhile, so that in 1891 he was able to buy a quarter of a section of excellent land in Lincoln township, the same being the northwest quarter of section 22, and has made his home there ever since. Upon taking possession of his farm, Mr. McMurry enlarged the house that then stood on the place and has otherwise improved the farm, also bringing it up to a high state of cultivation; in addition to general farming being also largely interested in the dairy business, from which he derives considerable profit. Mr. McMurry is a Republican and has served his party several times as a precinct committeeman. From 1904 to 1908 he served the county very acceptably as a member of the board of county commissioners and is widely and most favorably known throughout the county.

On December 2, 1869, James F. McMurry was united in marriage to Ann Mariah Thomas, who was born in Haywood county, Tennessee, August 18, 1849, daughter of John B. and Marcia (VanBuren) Thomas, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky, early settlers in Haywood county, and to this union seven children have been born, namely: Edgar L., born on July 31, 1870, who was killed in an automobile accident on December 26, 1909; Guy T, November 20, 1871, who married Rhoda Hertzler and lives on a farm near Ft. Benton, Montana; Lulu J., June 11, 1874, who married W. E. Uhl and lives in Ft. Benton county, Montana; Ernest and Pearl, twins, June 26, 1878, the former of whom married Cora Gander and was killed by a runaway team on April 16, 1913, and the latter married J. O. McNew and died on October 22, 1901; Linnie Kate, July 2, 1880, who married J. O. Dix and lives on a farm in Lincoln township, this county, and Hugh, January 10, 1885, who died on August 10, 1889. The McMurrys are members of the Methodist church at Elmer and for years have been active in the various beneficences of the same, Mr. McMurry being a member of the board of trustees of the church. The family is regarded as one of the most substantial factors in the community life thereabout and its members are held in high esteem by all. (Pages 136-138)

BENJAMIN E. GILES

Benjamin E. Giles was born in Tazewell county, Illinois, January 22, 1865. His father, Stelle Giles (1833-1907), was reared near Plainfield, New Jersey, married Mary C. Albro (1826-1909), of Newport, Rhode Island, pioneer farmers in Illinois from 1850 to 1877, and lived one year in Hutchinson, Kansas, in a house which is still standing at First and Maple streets, the property belonging to John Nelson. In the spring of 1878, Stelle Giles and his sons drove to Barton county and purchased land at the head of Cow Creek, and the same fall was joined by the family, and there they became extensive farmers and stockmen. When, in 1887, the Missouri Pacific railway was built, Benjamin E. Giles helped secure the right of way, also aided in having bonds voted in different townships. This railroad crossing their land, they formed a company and founded Giles City, now Chaflin. Judge Hamilton, who laid out the railroad, lived with them while there. Chaflin, becoming prosperous, later shipped more wheat in one year than any other town in Kansas. Mr. Giles built a fine suburban home and continued his farming operations with great success, and in 1900, sold out and moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Giles were members of the Baptist and Christian churches, respectively. Their children are as follow: Mrs. Mary A. Bass, of McPherson; Mrs. Estella Newcombe, of Great Bend; Emma, the wife of H. W. Galloway, of Pawnee county; William A., of Pawnee county; S. A., of Denver, Colorado; Benja-min E., of Hutchinson; Carrie, the widow of L. W. Cook, formerly an editor of Elmwood.

Benjamin E. Giles came to Kansas when thirteen years of age, attended the old Sherman street school in Hutchinson, and herded cows on the commons on the site of his present residence. After the family moved to Barton county, he rode five miles to school until one nearer his home was started, and finished his schooling at Great Bend, in the meantime working hard. After leaving school he bought a farm six miles northeast of Chaflin, and in 1897 engaged in the real estate business at Great Bend, with Porter Young, remaining with the firm for six years, and during this period the firm sold five hundred thousand acres of mostly western lands, which was claimed to be the greatest record in the state. Besides his real estate business Mr. Giles was also extensively engaged in farming and stock raising on an acreage of between two and three thousand acres, and for three years owned and operated a ranch consisting of thirty-four hundred acres in Hodgeman county, Kansas, keeping nearly one thousand cattle and many mules and horses. In 1909 he bought and located on the George Cole farm, northwest of Hutchinson, in order to give his children rural and urban advantages. In 1914 he purchased his present home, an attractive bungalow at 211Ninth avenue, Hutchinson. He owns nine hundred and sixty acres of land in Pawnee county, Kansas, which is managed by his son, Elton, and a son-in-law, A. E. Immenschuh. He also owns a wheat farm of nine hundred and sixty acres in Kiowa county, Kansas, purchased in 1899, and managed by his son, Leonard, as well as five hundred and sixty acres in Ford county, Kansas.

On April 20, 1887, at St. John, Benjamin E. Giles was married to Nydia B. Lamb, a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Daniel and Malinda Lamb. In 1885 Mrs. Giles' parents moved from Pennsylvania to Kansas, purchasing a half section of land near Chaflin. Later they moved to St. John, but are now living at Grand Junction, Colo-rado, aged ninety-eight and seventy-eight, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Giles have been born the following children: Alice, the wife of A. E. Immenschuh, has two children, Benjamin and Eugene; Ethel, the wife of Elmer Justice, of Garden City, Kansas, has one son, Lawrence: Elton, a graduate of the high school at Hutchinson, and later a student for a year at Emporia College, spent one year at the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas, and won much fame as a foot-ball player; Helen, a kindergarten teacher in Hutchinson, and Gertrude and Margaret, the last two named being still in school

Mr. Giles is a Republican in politics, and has always taken a prominent part in all matters of local importance and upbuilding. He was chief promoter, a director and is now vice-president of the Straw-Board Manufactur-ing Company, of Hutchinson, which is a large and prosperous concern. He is president and chief organizer of the Hutchinson & Western Interurban Railway Company. He is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge and con-sistory at Great Bend, and to the Mystic Shrine at Salina. He is a charter member of the lodge of Odd Fellows at Chaflin, and is a trustee, though non-member of the congregational church at Hutchinson, to which his wife belongs, and assisted in its building. (Pages 138-140)

MELVIN J. REYNOLDS

A descendant of one of the old families of Virginia, the subject of this sketch was early thrown on his own resources. After the family had suffered considerable loss in the general havoc wrought by the war between the States, Melvin J. Reynolds came to the West and after years of diligent application is now comfortably situated on a fine quarter section in this county.
Melvin J. Reynolds was born on August 31, i860, in Russell county, Virginia, the son of Isaac V. and Sarah J. (Ferguson) Reynolds, both of whom were born in Russell county, where the family had lived for many generations. Isaac V. Reynolds was the son of Ira Reynolds, who was the owner of a large plantation in Virginia before the war.

During the Civil War, Isaac V. Reynolds served in the Confederate army in the Sixteenth Virginia Cavalry, under the command of General McCausland. After serving throughout the war, Isaac V. Reynolds returned to his home, but he never recovered from the effects of a cold contracted while in the army, and died in 1866, at the age of twenty-nine years.

Sarah J. Ferguson was born on December 21, 1837. She was married to Isaac V. Reynolds a short time before the war. When her husband died in 1866 she was left with the care of two small children, and seeking a better location in which to rear her family than the then devastated region of her home seemed to offer, she removed to Illinois, in 1873, and located in Adams county, where she kept house for seven years for William Burke.

Later, Mrs. Reynolds bought a farm in that county, and lived in Illinois the remainder of her life. She died at Ellen Grove, Illinois, December 23, 1907, at the age of seventy years. Mrs. Reynolds was a member of the Missionary Baptist church and was active in all good works in that communion, Isaac V. and Sarah J. (Ferguson) Reynolds were the parents of two children, namely: Melvin J., the subject of this sketch, and Ira, a farmer in Adams county, Illinois, who lives on the old home farm of one hundred and forty-three acres.

In Virginia, Melvin J. Reynolds attended subscription school for a few terms, the tuition being paid by his mother through the sale of chestnuts, cabbage and tobacco. When the family removed to Illinois in 1873, Melvin J. was thirteen years old. He attended the district school in the winter and worked on farms in the summer, living in Adams county with his mother until he was twenty-two years old.

In 1882, Mr. Reynolds went to Sumner county, Kansas, where he secured employment with A. B. Burke, a big sheep man, with whom he worked for eleven years. At that time the sheep were on the open range and were herded from Nebraska to southwest Texas, changing pastures with the seasons. Mr. Reynolds soon became an expert in the sheep business and was made foreman of the outfit, subsequently he became financially interested with his employer; Melvin J. Reynolds came to Reno county in 1894 and located in Salt Creek township, where he rented a farm of Moses C Stahly. Mr. Reynolds conducted this farm on a rental basis for many years, and finally, in 1912, purchased one hundred and sixty acres of the place, being the southeast quarter of section 32. Mr. Reynolds has put numerous improvements on the farm. He keeps a good grade of stock and engages principally in wheat farming, which has been very profitable in recent years.

Melvin J. Reynolds was married on November 26, 1900, to Amy Stahly. who was born near Nappanee, in Elkhart county, Indiana, the daughter of Moses C. and Mary (Nisley) Stahly. Moses C. Stahly came to Reno county, Kansas, from Indiana in 1885, and bought a farm in Salt Creek township. In 1903 he and his wife moved to Hutchinson, where they still live and where Mr. Stahly is engaged as a carpenter.

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are the parents of one son, Ferguson, who was born on October 23, 1904. Mr. Reynolds is a Democrat, and takes a proper interest in all matters affecting the welfare of the community. He and his wife have a wide circle of friends in this part of Reno county. (Pages 141-142)

WILSON SMITH

Wilson Smith, best known as one of the influential citizens of Nicker-son, Reno county, Kansas, was born on September 28, i860, in Peoria, Illinois, and is the son of Henry and Margaret (Wilson) Smith, who were both born in Ireland. Henry Smith was born in 1826, and died in 1902. He immigrated to America previous to his marriage and located in Phila-delphia. Margaret Wilson was brought to this country when a girl and her marriage to Henry Smith was solemnized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she then lived. Her death occurred in 1862. She was the mother of five sons, whose names follow: Robert and William, deceased; Lewis C, Robert, who has been unheard from for many years, and Wilson. After the death of Margaret (Wilson) Smith, her husband married Mariah (Wilson) Reece, widow of Joseph Reece, and of this second union four children were born, namely: Mariah, Newell, David, deceased, and Loren. Mariah (Wilson) Reece was the mother of one child by her first marriage, Jennie. Henry Smith was a resident of Illinois at the time of his death and both he and his wife were active in local church affairs, being devoted members of the Presbyterian church.

Wilson Smith lived in Illinois until twenty-two years of age, when he located in Butler county, Kansas. After his marriage and for the past thirty years Lewis has lived with his brother. Lewis Smith is a farmer who operates a place containing about six hundred acres of land and first began his career in this vocation in 1877.

On February 18, 1886, Wilson Smith was united in marriage to Alice Thompson, daughter of William P. and Mary A. (Kizer) Thompson. Wilson Smith and wife are the parents of two children, Laura and Edith, who are both in training at the State Normal School at Pittsburg, Kansas. The marriage of Wilson Smith and Alice Thompson was solemnized in Washington, Illinois. Alice (Thompson) Smith was born on December 11, 1861, and is one of ten children born to the union of her parents, five of whom are now living. Their names follow: Elizabeth and Elijah, deceased; Celia A., Lucinda E., Mary Louisa, Ella, Alice, Emma C. and two who died in infancy. William P. Thompson was a native of Pennsylvania, while his wife was born in Virginia. They met and married in Ohio, in 1841, and thence removed to Illinois where they established a permanent home. Both husband and wife were active members of the Christian church and liberal supporters of same. William P. Thompson was born in 1817 and his death occurred on April 21, 1903, his wife preceding him by ten years. She was born in 1821.
Wilson Smith was a resident of Kansas for three years previous to his marriage, returning to Illinois for his bride. Upon his return to this section, they purchased eighty acres and added to it until they had seven hundred and twenty acres of land in Westminster township. Mr. Smith continued to make that his home until 1908, at which time he removed to the town of Nickerson. Since coming to this city he has been identified with all progressive civic questions and has served as a member of the town council for three years past. He is also active as a member of the Christian church, serving its interests as an elder for seven years. (Pages 142-143)

J, O. WHEELER

J. O. Wheeler was born in Jackson county, Indiana, November 8, 1830. He is a son of Orrel H. Wheeler, who was born in Vermont. His mother was Elizabeth Love, a daughter of John Love, who moved from eastern Tennessee to Indiana, where he lived the remainder of his life. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.

Mr. Wheeler's paternal grandfather was Nehemiah Wheeler, a New Englander, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, entering the service at the age of sixteen years. Nehemiah Wheeler first settled in Ohio, but later moved to Jackson county, Indiana, where he lived the remainder of his life. His wife was Thursie Hall.. He was a son of Enoch Wheeler, and the grandson of Samuel Wheeler, who was the first representative of the Wheeler family who settled in America.

Orrel H. Wheeler's education comprised^ three months in a country school, but he became a well-read man. He was twice married, his first wife being J. O. Wheeler's mother. He came to Jackson county, Indiana, with his father's family, when twelve years old. He learned the carpenter's trade, but after moving to Jasper county, Illinois, he followed farming the rest of his life, his death occurring in the latter county.

J. O. Wheeler received his education in the common schools of Jack-son county, Indiana, and was a student in the high school in Jennings county, Indiana. After leaving school Mr. Wheeler took up farming and also learned the carpenter's trade. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted for service in the Union army on August 14, 1862, and served three years with the Ninety-eighth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Mounted Infantry. He received gunshot wounds in the hand and in the back while in the service, and from third sergeant he was promoted to first sergeant, then to first lieutenant. After the war he resumed farming, and in May, 1873, moved from Indiana to Kansas, homesteading land four miles west of Nickerson. Here he and his family endured all the hardships of the early Kansas pioneers, hunting buffalo bones for a living and contending with the grass-hopper plague. Mr. Wheeler has now retired from active life, being almost blind.

On August 16, 1852, J. O. Wheeler was married to Mary Ruddick, who was a native of Jackson county, Indiana, and who died on July 13, 1914. They were the parents of the following children: Emma E., who married Albert Dean and they have seven children; Alice, who married J. M. Asher; Solomon, Julia, Clara Jane, who married William Dean and they have five children; Charles Harvey, who is now living on the farm, married Fannie Johnson and they have five children. All are deceased but Charles Harvey. Mrs. Wheeler in early life was a Quaker, but later was a member of the Methodist church, in which denomination Mr. Wheeler is still active. (Pages 143-144)

CHARLES BLOOM

Charles Bloom, who for many years was one of the best-known busi-ness men in Hutchinson and who later lived very comfortably on his fine farm in Reno township until his death on January 29, 1916, was a native of Germany, having been born in the town of Waldmohr, Rhenish Bavaria, on June 24, 1846, son of Philip and Mary (Zimmer) Bloom, both born and reared in Bavaria, members of the German Reformed church, and the for-mer of whom was a blacksmith.

In 1856 the Bloom family emigrated to America, the vessel on which they sailed being forty-eight days on the way to the port of New York. Upon arriving in this country, the Blooms located at Tiffin, in Seneca county, Ohio, later moving to a farm near that city, where Mr. and Mrs. Bloom spent the remainder of their lives, both dying in T870, the former at the ag-e of seventy-two and the latter at the age of fifty-six. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch was the youngest, the others being as follow: Philip, Jr., now deceased, who was a farmer in Ohio; Jacob, now deceased, who was a blacksmith in Ohio; Caroline, who died unmarried in Indiana; Charlotte, now deceased, who married George Hartman, of Seneca county, Ohio; Mary, who married William Leper and lives in Tiffin, Ohio, and Dora, who lives in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, widow of Luther Allbrecht.

Charles Bloom was six years of age when he arrived in this country with his parents and his schooling therefore was wholly confined to the American system of education. He performed valuable labors in his youth in assisting in the clearing of the home farm in Seneca county, Ohio, and at the age of twenty-two, in 1868, he came to Kansas and entered a claim in Wilson county, but the fever and ague at that time were proving such draw-backs to that section of the state that he abandoned his claim and went to Andrews county, Missouri, where, in the village of Balco, he opened a blacksmith shop, he having learned that trade from his father, and was thus engaged until 1872, in which year he rented a farm in that same county, he having married there in the fall of 1871, and there he lived for four years, at the end of which time he decided that Kansas offered better opportunities for material advancement and returned to the state he had left in disgust seven or eight years before. He arrived in Reno county on July 18, 1876, where he lived until his death. Upon his arrival here he settled in Hutchin-son, even then a most promising village, and bought a building on the corner of Second and Main streets, in which, in partnership with his brother-in-law, A. M. West, they started a livery stable, which they conducted for some time. In 1878 Mr. Bloom and his partner bought the water-power flour mill, which they operated until 1901. Mr. Bloom also was the organizer and one of the five men who composed the wholesale grocery concern of C. Bloom & Company and was connected with that flourishing business until 1901, at the same time being actively connected with the retail grocery and general store of the A. M. West Company, from 1883 to 1891, dividing his time about equally between the two enterprises. In 1895, five or six years before his retirement from business in Hutchinson, Mr. Bloom had bought two hundred and forty acres of the Wolcott ranch, west of Hutchinson, and after his retirement made his home there. For several years he operated an extensive dairy there, but in later years confined his attention wholly to gen-eral farming and gave his personal attention to the management of his well-kept farm. In 1910 Mr. Bloom's second son, Ralph H. Bloom, opened a livery barn in Hutchinson and Mr. Bloom had an interest in that concern.

On October 3, 1871, Charles Bloom was united in marriage, in Seneca county, Ohio, to Margaret E. West, who was born in that county, daughter of James and Julia West, and to this union three children have been born: H. Clayton, a retired merchant living in Hutchinson; Ralph H., who operates a livery barn in Hutchinson, and Bessie, who married Delos Smith, president of the Hutchinson Wholesale Saddlery Company.

Mr. Bloom was a Democrat and during the early years of his residence and during the time of his active business career took an active and influen-tial part in the political affairs of Reno county and of the county seat town, but never was an office seeker. He was honorable and upright in all his relations in life, and will be long remembered by his many associates and friends. (Pages 144-146)

ROBERT JAMES GRAHAM

The late Robert James Graham, for more than twenty years one of Hutchinson's sterling and most substantial citizens, a man highly respected throughout the whole county, active and influential in all good works here-about, whose widow, Mrs. Sarah Marshall Graham, is still living in Hutch-inson, honored and respected by the entire community, was a native of Ohio, having been born on a farm in Morrow county, that state, March 8, 1850, son of Thomas and Isabelle (Walker) Graham, both natives of Wash-ington county, Pennsylvania, and both of sterling Scottish descent.

Soon after their marriage, Thomas Graham and wife left Pennsylvania and moved over into central Ohio, settling in Morrow county, where they bought a farm and there spent the remainder of their lives, Mrs. Graham dying when the subject of this sketch was nine years old. Eight children were born to Thomas Graham and his wife and all were reared in the strict faith of the Reformed church, both Mr. and Mrs. Graham having been rigid "Covenanters." Thomas Graham was a good farmer and an excellent manager and became a man of considerable substance, his children being given every advantage in the way of schooling and cultural training, all becoming good citizens, serving usefully in their respective callings.
Robert J. Graham received his elementary education in the schools of his native county and supplemented the same by a thorough course in Oberlin College, from which he was graduated with honors. He had been reared to the life of the farm and soon after his marriage, on April 23, 1873, bought a farm in Richland county, Ohio, where he made his home until 1884, in which year he disposed of all his holdings there and came West with the intention of settling in Dakota. On the way out he stopped at Hutchinson, this county, to make a visit with his brother-in-law, W. R. Marshall, who had located in that city some time previously, and during that visit became much impressed with the possibilities of this section of the state. He continued his trip to Dakota, however, but after having received so favorable an impression of conditions hereabout was not much impressed with conditions in Dakota. Upon his return to Hutchinson, Mr. Graham told his wife, who meanwhile had remained there, that they would remain in Hutchinson that winter and if conditions still seemed favorable in the following spring they would make their home here. During that winter Mr. Graham's liking for Kansas increased and in the spring he bought three hundred and twenty acres of land in Lincoln township, continuing, how-ever, to make his home in Hutchinson, managing the farm from his home in town. Later he increased his investment in Reno county realty by buying the quarter section just north of Hutchinson, which his widow sold in 1909 to the Kansas State Fair Association and which has been converted into the state fair grounds.

In the early nineties Robert J. Graham became a partner with Mr. Ardery in the A. & A. drug-store enterprise at Hutchinson and for ten years was an active partner in the same. He also was interested in various other enterprises in and about the city and was long regarded as one of Hutchinson's leading citizens, so that at the time of his death, on October 18, 1905, he was widely mourned, the community recognizing that he had been true and faithful in all the obligations of life; In 1888, four years after taking up his residence in Hutchinson, Mr. Graham built a pleasant home at 310 Fourth avenue, east, where his widow still lives, very comfortably sit-uated and enjoying the constant evidences of the high esteem in which she is held by the entire community, her devotion to all good works hereabout having endeared her to all. Mrs. Graham is alone in her home, so far as family is concerned. Three of her babies died in infancy and the only child who grew to maturity, her dearly loved daughter, Myrtle, who married Harry Squire, died in February, 1909. Mrs. Graham's parents, Robert and Rebecca (Riddle) Marshall, died in Richland county, Ohio, before her marriage to Mr. Graham, but she has a sister, Mrs. Dora Silver, wife of George Silver, of Ellsworth, this state, and a brother, Edgar Marshall, a prominent clothing merchant of Mansfield, Ohio. Another brother, the late William R. Marshall, was for years a well-known resident of Hutchinson, this county.

Robert J. Graham was an earnest member of the Presbyterian church at Hutchinson, in the various beneficences of which he ever took a warm interest, his widow still being devoted to the same. Mr. Graham was a Republican and ever took a good citizen's interest in local political affairs, being greatly concerned in good government, though never having been included in the office-seeking class. He was a member of the order of Modern Woodmen, in the affairs of which he took a warm interest and during the two decades and more in which he made his home in Hutchinson was regarded as one of that city's most popular citizens, a friend to all, all friendly to him, a good neighbor and an enterprising and public-spirited citizen. (Pages 146-148)

WILLIAM PEARSON

William Pearson, a veteran of the Civil War and one of the pioneer farmers of Reno county, who lived retired at his pleasant home at 221 Eleventh avenue, west, in Hutchinson, until his death, on September 12, I9I5? was a native of the Emerald Isle, having been born in Londonderry, County Derry, in the north of Ireland, on March 29, 1841, son of Gibbons and Jane (Wilson) Pearson, both natives of that county, of Scottish descent, the former of whom was a member of the established church of England and the latter a Presbyterian.

Gibbons Pearson was a contracting teamster, the owner of more than a dozen teams, who had the contract to do all the hauling between London-derry and a neighborhood village. In 1841 he emigrated with his family to America, stopping for a short time in New York City, where he was employed as a teamster, presently moving to a town in Pennsylvania, where he died within the year. His widow never remarried and presently moved-back to New York City, where she spent the remainder of her life. She was left with seven children, five sons and two daughters, upon the death of her husband, and she bravely kept her family together, bringing them up to lives of usefulness. Of these children, the subject of this biographical sketch, who was next to the youngest, was the only one who ever came West, the others making their homes in New York City and Brooklyn, and they are all now deceased.

William Pearson was an infant in arms when he was brought to America by his parents and was but two years of age when his father died. He attended the public schools of New York City and at the age of fourteen began learning the carpenter trade. In May, 1861, when twenty years of age, he responded to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers to help put down the rebellion of the Southern states, enlisting in New York City in Company F, Seventy-ninth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, the famous "Highlanders," with which he served for a little more than three years, being mustered out in June, 1864. During this term of service, Mr. Pearson was a participant in some of the most important and bloody engagements of the Civil War. His regiment was attached to the Ninth Army Corps, First Division of Burnsides' Army, and was present at both battles of Bull Run, of Port Royal Ferry, South Carolina; of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Jackson, Blue Springs, the siege of Knoxville, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Hatchers Run and Petersburg.

At the close of his army service, Mr. Pearson returned to New York and entered the employ of his brother, Alexander, who was engaged in the manufacture of sewing-machine cases for the Grove & Baker factory, and in 1867 became his brother's partner, this arrangement continuing until 1872, in which year he engaged in the retail furniture business in the city of Brooklyn and became quite successful in that line. In the meantime, in 1866, he had married and had established his family in a fine three-story house in the city. In 1874 an asthmatic trouble with which Mr. Pearson for some time had been afflicted became so pronounced that it was declared imperative that he should seek a different climate. With that end in view he came to Kansas, leaving his family in their home in Brooklyn, and sought relief from his disability in the far-sweeping and health-giving breezes of Reno county, living here during the summer and fall of 1874, "batching" with a homesteader in Medford township, and was so agreeably impressed with the possibilities of this region that he bought a quarter of a section of land thereabout as an investment. To his great joy, he presently found that his asthmatic affliction had entirely disappeared and he returned home, con-fident that he was permanently restored ot his former excellent state of health. He had not been home more than a fortnight, however, until his old enemy, the asthma, again attacked him and this time with such force that his life was despaired of. He hastened back to his old quarters in this county and then and there decided to make this his permanent home, his affliction again having disappeared.

Preparatory to the establishment of his new home, Mr. Pearson homesteaded one-quarter of section 12, in Medford township, adjoining the quarter of a section he previously had bought, and set about the erection of a home. Not content to bring his family, accustomed to the comforts of their fine home in the city, to such a form of habitation as that represented in the "shacks" such as his pioneer neighbors had built on their homestead lands, Mr. Pearson, at much trouble and no small expense, caused to be erected a large frame house, one and one-half stories in height, filled in between the weather-boarding and the plaster with bricks, in order to make it as near winter-proof and cyclone-proof as possible, the house being probably the largest and best house in the county at that time. Mr. Pearson's care in thus providing for the coming needs of his family was*a matter of wide comment throughout the county and one of the Hutchinson newspapers of that date was moved to remark that "k New Yorker has come to the county and has built a mansion on his farm." When all was in readiness, Mr. Pearson sent for his wife and family, having meanwhile closed out his busi-ness interests in the city, and they arrived on July 4, 1876.

In order to gain a closer acquaintance with his pioneer neighbors and as a suitable "house-warming" for the new home, Mr. Pearson had extended a general invitation throughout the countryside for all the pioneer neighbors to gather in at his new home on a certain evening and become acquainted with his wife and family. The response to this cordial invitation was general, the people of that then sparsely settled country coming distances of twenty miles or more to take part in the festivities. That had been a season of hard fortune for the people hereabout, what with the drought and the grasshoppers, and the opportunity thus to break the dread monotony of conditions on the prairie was not to be overlooked. A number of great turkeys, together with "lashin's of fixin's" had been provided for the occasion and the Pearson home then and there established a reputation for hospitality that it ever retained. The only musicians in Hutchinson, four in number, had been brought out to the new homestead to provide music for the dance which followed the feast, and dancing was kept up in the new barn, the floor of which had been converted into an admirable dancing surface, until six o'clock the next morning. The floor of one of the large rooms in the house was nearly covered with the sleeping babies, thus tucked away for the night while their respective mothers were enjoying the festivities. And thus the Pearsons established themselves in Reno county, the "house-warming" which inaugurated their arrival here still being a matter of pleasant recollection on the part of the surviving "old-timers," who have never ceased to keep in mind the opening of the new home.

From the very beginning of his farming operations in this county, Mr. Pearson was successful and he gradually enlarged his original holdings until he became the owner of four hundred acres of valuable land. In 1902 he retired from the active duties of the farm and he and his wife, who had ever been a valuable and competent helpmate in the life on the farm, moved into Hutchinson, where she is now living in a very pleasant home at 221 Eleventh street, west. On July 3, 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Pearson would have celebrated their "golden wedding," had he lived, that date marking the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage in New York City on July 3, 1866. Mrs. Pearson, who before her marriage was Ellen Edwards, was born in Canada and located in New York City when a small girl, her parents, Matthew and Jane (McLean) Edwards, moving to the city at that time. To the union of William and Ellen (Edwards) Pearson eight children were born, namely: Alexander, who is engaged in the furniture business at Eugene, Oregon; Ella, who died at the age of twenty; Thomas Burnsides, who lives on the old homestead farm in Medford township; William Gibbons, who is engaged in the piano business in Kansas City, Missouri; James Lincoln, connected with the Zinn Jewelry Company at Hutchinson; Jennie, who married Charles Smith, a well-known farmer of Reno township, this county; Mary E., who married William Davis, a Medford township farmer, and Sarah M., who married Herman Hostetter and died on February 12, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Pearson were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. Mr. Pearson was a Mason and a member of Joe Hooker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and for years took a warm interest in the affairs both of the lodge and of his fellow veterans of the Civil War. (Pages 148-151)

HENRY G. CURNUTT

Henry G. Curnutt, an honored veteran of the Civil War and a pioneer farmer of this county, now living pleasantly retired in the city of Hutchinson, is a Hoosier, having been born in Fayette county, Indiana, December 24, 1844, son of Calloway and Lydia (Hutchings) Curnutt, the former of Whom was a Virginian who migrated to Indiana when a boy, with his parents, and the latter a native of Indiana.

Calloway Curnutt grew to manhood in Fayette county, Indiana, being reared on a pioneer farm, and upon reaching manhood's estate began farm-tog on his own account. He married a neighbor girl and established a home there, in which he and his family lived until 1849, in which year they moved to Montgomery county, Indiana, settling on a farm near the village of New Richmond, on which he and his wife spent their last days. They were Methodists and substantial and useful members of the community in which they lived. Calloway Curnutt died in 1858, in his fortieth year, and his widow survived him but five years, her death occurring in February, 1863, at the age of forty-five. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch was the third in order of birth, and but one other of whom, the Rev. William Curnutt, now deceased, for years a well-known minister of the Methodist church at Iola, Kansas, ever came to this state. One of the other sons, Frank Curnutt, next older than Henry G., was killed in battle at Stone's river, while fighting for the cause of the Union during the Civil War.

Henry G. Curnutt was five years old when his parents moved from Fayette county to Montgomery county, Indiana, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the latter county, receiving his education in the pioneer district school of that neighborhood. On July 25, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, Seventy-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil War, and served until February 4, 1863, on which date he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability, having been confined in hospital for two months previous to his discharge. His regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumberland and among the important engagements in which he participated was the battle of Castillian Springs. At the termination of his military service, Mr. Curnutt returned home and, after recuperating from his weakened condition, took active management of the home place, he being the eldest of the sons of their widowed mother at home. His mother died in the same month in which he was discharged from military service and he kept things going at home for five years, or , until 1868, in which year the family disbanded and he went to Macon county, Illinois, where he rented a farm and established a home of his own. On May 21, 1867, Mr. Curnutt had married Dortha E. Smith, who was born and reared in Montgomery county, Indiana, and who ably assisted him in creating the new home in Illinois. She died there on June 10, 1875, leaving two children, Frank, who now lives in Caddo county, Oklahoma, he having drawn a valuable farm claim in the allotment of lands when the Indian territory was opened for settlement, and May, who married Harry Camren, of Montgomery county, Indiana, and died in February, 1906.

Following the death of his wife, Henry G. Curnutt gave up his farming operations in Illinois and, leaving his small daughter with kinsfolk in Indiana, came to Kansas, seeking a new start amid the conditions that then seemed so promising in this county. He homesteaded a claim in Huntsville township and on February 14, 1877, married, secondly, in that township, Sarah E. Wilson, who was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, on February 3, 1849, daughter of Samuel and Catherine (McMahon) Wilson, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio, who were married in the latter state and made their home in Muskingum county, where Samuel Wilson followed farming until the time of his death, in 1852. He and his wife were the parents of six children, Mrs. Curnutt being the sixth in order of birth. Of these six children, but one other is now living, Robert Wilson, a resident of Belvidere, Nebraska. The Widow Wilson did not remarry and upon the opening of Reno county to settlement came here with her family and homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in Huntsville township, where she created a new home, which, however, she did not live long to enjoy, for her death occurred in 1875, she then being sixty-three years, nine months and ten days of age. Not long after his marriage in this county, Mr. Curnutt sold his homestead and bought the northwest quarter of section 2, township 23, range 9 west, in Huntsville township, and as he prospered in his farming operations added to the same until he now is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and thirteen and one-half acres there, on which for years he carried on, quite extensively, general farming and stock raising and became quite well-to-do. In 1898 he and his wife retired from the active duties of the farm and moved to Nickerson, this county, where they lived until in April, 1913, in which month they moved to Hutchison and bought a pleasant home at 305 Sixth avenue, east, where they are now living.

To Henry G. and Sarah E. (Wilson) Curnutt two children have been born, William, who is managing the home farm in Huntsville township, carried Pearl Decker and has two children, William and Nellie, and Alma, m\o married Bartley Jessup, a banker of Abbeyville, this county, and has two children, Ruth and Freda Ellen. Mr. and Mrs. Curnutt are members of the Methodist church and for years have been active in the good works of that denomination. For seven years Mr. Curnutt was superintendent of the Sunday school of the Methodist church in Huntsville township, a steward of the church and a consistent financial supporter of the same. Mr. Turnutt also was active and influential in the promotion of the interests of the schools of that township and for sixteen years was treasurer of the com-bined school districts of his neighborhood, inclusive of four districts, and did much to help elevate educational standards thereabout. He is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to the political affairs of the county. Enterprising and energetic, he took a prominent part in the promotion of the various interests of his home neighborhood and for eight years was president of the Nickerson Telephone Company, a concern which he helped to establish. Mr. Curnutt is an active member of Joe Hooker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic society. (Pages 151-154)

HENRY NEUENSCHWANDER

Henry Neuenschwander, a well-known farmer of Salt Creek township, this county, is a Hoosier by birth, having been born in Adams county, Indiana, on January 17, 1878, son of Jacob Neuenschwander and wife, members of the Mennonite colony in that county, who were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living, those besides "the subject of this sketch being Noah, who lives in Oklahoma, and Josie, who married George Keller and also lives in Oklahoma. The mother of these children died when her son, Henry, was a baby, and the latter has no recollection of ever having heard her name. Jacob Nuenschwander married, secondly, Barbara Eagley, and in 1884 he and his family came to Kansas, settling in this county, where he bought a quarter of a section of land in Salt Creek township and established a new home. To his second marriage two children were born, a daughter who died in youth and a son, Emil, who is now living in Oklahoma. In 1900 Jacob Neuenschwander sold his place in this county and moved, with his family, to Beaver county, Oklahoma, where he and his wife are still living, devout members of the Mennonite colony there.

Henry Neuenschwander was six years old when he came with his family to this county and he was reared on the home farm in Salt Creek township, attending the district schools and living the simple and somewhat puritanical life of a Mennonite farmer boy. He was twenty-two years old when he accompanied his father and the other members of the family to Oklahoma. He remained there two years, assisting his father in getting settled in his new home, after which he returned to this county, married and rented a farm in Enterprise township, on which he made his home until 1912, in which year he bought a quarter of a section of the farm of his father-in-law, John Schott, the southwest quarter of section 3, in Salt Creek township, including the Schott homestead, and there he has since made his home, becoming a prosperous and substantial farmer, his father-in-law, whose wife died in 1887, making his home with him and his wife. All are members of the Mennonite church, substantial and excellent people, who lend much to the general stability of that section of the county. Mr. Neuenschwander never votes, in common with the practice of the people of his faith, but once served as clerk of the school district. Though, in the main, following the old-fashioned ways of his fathers in the manner of conducting his farm operations, he does not wholly decry modern methods and finds his Ford automobile a great help and convenience.

On August 19, 1902, Henry Neuenschwander was united in marriage to Lucy Schott, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, daughter of John and Katie Schott, and who came to this county with her parents when she was four years old and here grew to womanhood. John Schott is a native of France, having been born in a Mennonite settlement in the eastern part of that country. As a young man he emigrated to the United States and finally located in Allen county, Indiana, in the Ft. Wayne neighborhood, where he married, later moving to Wayne county, in the neighborhood of Richmond, where he lived until 1878, in which year he and his family came to Kansas and settled in this county, buying the southwest quarter of section 3, in Salt Creek township, railroad land, and there made their new home. As noted above, Mrs. Schott died in 1887, and in 1912 Mr. Schott sold his farm to his son-in-law, Mr. Neuenschwander, who had married his daughter, Lucy, youngest of his children in a family of six. Mr. and Mrs. Neuenschwander have one son, Paul J. They also have in their household Helen and Arthur, whom they have undertaken to rear to manhood and womanhood. (Pages 154-155)

SWAN ESKELSON

No history of Reno county would be complete without fitting reference to the life and the works of the late Swan Eskelson, one of the very earliest settlers of this county, who braved all the privations and the distressing conditions that confronted the pioneers of this section during the early years of the settlement hereabout and who succeeded largely, in time coming to be one of the most substantial farmers and stockmen of the Hutchinson neighborhood, his fine farm in Clay township having been developed from the homestead which he entered there in 1871, three months after the first settlement made in Reno county.

Swan Eskelson was born near the town of Wexo, Sweden, December 3, 1826, and was past eighty-nine years of age at the time of his death, on January 15, 1916. He was the son of Eskel and Ingebar (Jahnsdatter) Swanson, natives of the kingdom of Sweden, who spent all their lives in that country, rearing their children in the faith of the Lutheran church. Eskel Swanson died in 1856 and his widow survived him many years, her death occurring in 1884, she then being past ninety years of age. Swan Eskelson was reared on a farm and when twenty-two years of age married Kersting Germanson, who was born in Sweden in October, 1825. After his marriage he tilled his father's farm, rearing his family there, until the spring of 1871, at which time he came to the United States, he and the other members of his family joining at Topeka, this state, in June, his sons, John, who had come to this country in 1869, an<l Peter, who had followed in 1870. Upon arriving in Kansas, Swan Eskelson lost little time in seeking a homestead tract and in the summer of 1871 homesteaded the northwest quarter of section 24, in Clay township, Reno county, in addition to which he bought eighty acres of railroad land and there he established his home. Erecting a little shack on his homestead on the plain, Swan Eskelson faced the task of developing a home in the midst of rather unpromising conditions, but he weathered the hardships of the grasshopper years and the years of drought and flame and presently began to prosper. He early made a specialty, of stock raising, the free range at that time offering large opportunities for the successful prosecution of that business, and made a fortune. He later bought another quarter section in Clay township and became one of the county's most substantial farmers. His wife died on June 29, 1897, and in 1900 Mr. Eskelson sold most of his land and moved to Hutchinson, where he built a home and prepared to spend the balance of his days in the city, but conditions in the pent-up environment were not to his liking and he returned to the farm, built a new house near that of his daughter, Mrs. Hannah Strandberg, who now owns the old home place, and there regained the freedom of spirit he could not feel in the city.

On January 15, 1916, Mr. Eskelson suffered an attack of heart disease while entering an interurban railway car in front of the Baldwin hotel in Hutchinson to return to his home near Kent station and before medical assistance could be secured was dead. Mr. Eskelson for many years had been regarded as one of the leaders of the considerable Swedish colony in this county and his sudden death was widely mourned by his many friends. He was an ardent Republican and had served his home township in the capacity of trustee and as treasurer. He and his wife were earnest members of the Swedish Lutheran church at Hutchinson and their children were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, namely: The late John Eskelson, who at the time of his death was the owner of eighteen hundred acres of land in Clay township, his widow now being the largest landKansas, he came to Reno county, the first permanent settlement having been made here the year before, and homesteaded a quarter of section 20, town-ship 23, range 7 west, in Salt Creek township, and there made his permanent home. To this tract he later added, by purchase, an adjoining quarter section, and on this well-kept and admirably-improved old home place he is now spending in quiet comfort the pleasant ''sunset time" of his life. Mr. Huckleberry was among the very first settlers of Salt Creek township. He came to Reno county with about fourteen hundred dollars in money and among his other possessions, most precious in the pioneer community, were three head of mules, a team of horses and a new wagon, he having been the first man in the township to own a team of horses or mules. One of the other settlers was the proud possessor of one horse and one ox, which he used effectively in team work. The early settlers were glad to bargain with Mr. Huckleberry for work on his place, taking in pay therefor the use of his teams with which to haul buffalo bones to Hutchinson, at that time a flourishing market for these "natural products of the soil/' As a pioneer, Mr. Huckleberry passed through all the hardships of the grasshopper plague and the later plagues of flame and drought and his vivid recollections of that period form an inexhaustible and accurate source of information regarding that unhappy chapter in the history of Reno county. In the early eighties Mr. and Mrs. Huckleberry left this county, the state of Mrs. Huckleberry's health at that time seeming to require a change of climate, and for fifteen years were in residence elsewhere, first living in Texas, then in Arkansas and then in New Mexico. Though ever regarding his homestead place in Salt Creek township as his permanent home and being pleasantly situated there in the household of his son, who for some time has been the practical manager of the place, Mr. Huckleberry has spent much of his time in travel and is thus a man of wide and general information. He is a member of the Methodist church at Partridge and ever has displayed a proper interest in good works hereabout. He is a Republican and while giving a good citizen's attention to the political affairs of the county, never has been a candidate for public office. Besides his son, the junior A. J. Huckleberry, Mr. Huckleberry has a (laughter, Ada, who married William C. Layman and lives on a farm south of Arlington, this county.

A. J. Huckleberry, Jr., was but a small boy when his parents returned to Reno county to make their definite home. During the period of his school days his parents moved to Hutchinson in order that he might live there and receive the benefits of the city schools. Upon completing the common-school course, he attended the State Agricultural College at Manhattan. In 1903 he married and for some years past has been in active charge of the old home farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Salt Creek township, where he makes his home. Most of his time, however, is spent in buying horses, his operations in this line taking him all over the plains and moun-tain states, he being one of the most extensive dealers in horses and mules in Kansas. Upon the outbreak of armed hostilities in Europe in 1914, he contracted with the British, French and Italian governments to furnish ani-mals for war purposes and has shipped since then more than two thousand horses and mules.

On May 9, 1903, A. J. Huckleberry, Jr., was united in marriage to Maud Gregg, who was born in Worth county, Missouri, daughter of the late William M. Gregg and wife. Mrs. Huckleberry's mother is a resident of this county, her home being in Enterprise township. (Pages156-159)

GEORGE TURBUSH

George Turbush, one of the leading factors in the mercantile and bank-ing circles of Nickerson, Reno county, Kansas, has for many years been identified with the progressive element of this section. His birth is recorded as having taken place on June 22, 1845, in Albany, New York, where he was reared. For nearly four years prior to his removal to this part of the country, he was engaged with the Clinton Wire Company, of Clinton, Mas-sachusetts. Terminating his connections with this concern, he removed to this county, where he arrived in January, 1874.

Just the year previous to the last named date, George Turbush was united in marriage to Helen A. Haskins, a native of New York state, and to their union were born these children: Elmer E. and Ernest F., both born in this state. Elmer E. was married to Anna Foley, and is living in Denver, Colorado, while Ernest married Nellie Shears and resides in Nickerson, Kansas. The wedding of George Turbush and Helen Haskins was solemnized in January, 1873. Soon after his marriage, George Turbush became the owner of a soldier's homestead, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, which he sold in 1883. He then entered the hardware business in Hutchinson, Kansas, and continued in that place and enterprise for a period of ten years. Some three years prior to the termination of his business connections in Hutchinson, Kansas, he had engaged in the same business in Nickerson, Kansas, to which place he finally removed. While in Hutchinson, Kansas, he was the president and manager of the Hutchinson Hardware Company. For ten years he served his community as its mayor and has also been a director of the Nickerson State Bank, of which institution he was also one of the incorporators.

George Turbush enlisted for service in the Civil War in December, 1863,, in the Eighth Regiment, of the Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war under General Sheridan. He is now a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to the chapter and commandery. In his religious affiliations he is connected with the Congregational church. (Pages 159-160)

GEORGE R. BOWSER

The late George R. Bowser, who, at the time of his death, in 1901, was regarded as one of the largest landowners and most substantial and successful farmers of Lincoln township, this county, was a native of Pennsylvania, having been born in Armstrong county, that state, July 18, 1837, son of John and Julia Ann (Burnham) Bowser, both natives of the same county, farming people of the sturdy sort, members of the Church of the Brethren, commonly called Dunkards, frugal in their ways and earnest in all their doings.

In 1854 John Bowser and his family and Jonathan Martin, a neighbor, and the latter's family, decided to push on out of Pennsylvania into the then West. The two families, disposing of their lands and all their belongings save such portables as they conveniently could pack into their wagons as a nucleus for the housekeeping that would be necessary in their new homes, drove out of Pennsylvania, through Ohio and through Indiana into Illinois, in which latter state they bought farms near each other in Schuyler county and established new homes in what was then practically pioneer country, and there John Bowser and his wife and Jonathan Martin and his wife spent their last days, having established comfortable homes in the midst of their broad acres in which their declining years were passed.

When the long journey from Pennsylvania was made there were two youthful members of the party who, even then were sweethearts, George R. Bowser, then seventeen years of age, and Jane Martin, slightly the lad's junior. She, too, had been born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, daugh-ter of Jonathan and Lydia (Sylvus) Martin, both also natives of Pennsyl-vania and farmers, who left their home a few miles north of Kittanning, along the Allegheny river, together with the Bowsers, to make their home in Illinois, in which latter state they spent the rest of their lives, Mrs. Martin, who was born in 1820, dying in 1865; her husband, who was born in 1818, surviving until 1904. George R. Bowser and Jane Martin grew to maturity on their neighboring farms in Illinois and on March 11, 1861, were married. After his marriage, George R. Bowser rented farm lands in Illinois and lived there as a tenant farmer until 1868, by which time rents had become so high that he and his wife decided to push on farther West, seeking cheaper land, packing their necessary belongings in a covered wagon they and the two or three small children by which their union then had been blessed, moved over into Missouri, where the family made a home on rented land for eight years, at the end of which time they came to Kansas, locating in Reno county, arriving in Hutchinson on May 2J9 1876. Mr. Bowser bought a farm on the "Sun City Trail" in Reno township and there he and his family made their home for four years. He then traded that tract for the relinquishment of a timber claim in Lincoln township, the same being the northwest quarter of section 24, of that township, and there established a permanent home. Several years later, when it came time to "prove up" his claim, he found that through no fault of his own all the provisions of the law governing the entry of timber claims had not been rigidly followed out and that he had no title to the land which he had improved and on which he had established a home. However, the land officers permitted him then to homestead the place and thus he got title to it, after all.

When the Bowsers settled in this county they were very poor and had little but their willing hands and stout hearts to back them in the struggle which the pioneers of that period were compelled to undergo. The first few years, therefore, what with the bad seasons and the blighting winds, were discouraging, indeed, and it is not unlikely that if they had had funds sufficient to pay their passage out, they would have left the county, as so many others did during that time. But they "stuck it out," and in the end were greatly rewarded, for at the time of his death, on May 25, 1901, George R. Bowser was the owner of eleven hundred and eighty acres of fine land in this county and was besides independently rich in money, all made on the land and in the cattle and the hogs that he sent to market during the many active years of his life. Mr. Bowser was a Democrat and took a good citizen's part in the political life of his community, at one time serving the township as assessor. He and his wife were active members of the Harmony Baptist church in Lincoln township and did well their part in promoting proper conditions of living during the early days when that community was being organized.

After the death of Mr. Bowser, his widow managed the farm for a few years, ever having been a strong, capable woman and an admirable manager, and during that time bought and paid for two farms, thus adding more to the family's already extensive landed wealth. She then decided to divide the estate among her seven children and each one received eleven thousand eight hundred dollars, or its equivalent in land, and Mrs. Bowser, still has a large annual cash income from the investments made with the remainder. Mrs. Bowser still makes her home on the old home place, which now is owned by her youngest son, Arthur, who is unmarried and also makes his home there. There were seven children born to George R. and Jane (Martin) Bowser, as follow: Lemon, a well-to-do farmer, living near Darlow, in this county; Curtis, who lives on a three-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm on the Ninesca river in this county; Nettie, who married Louis B. Werkeiser, a big sugar-beet farmer near Greeley, Colorado; Frank, who lives in Nebraska : George, who lives on a farm adjoining the old home place in Lincoln township; Arthur, who lives with his mother on the old home place, and Daisy, who married Clarence Hamilton and also lives on a farm in Lincoln township. The Bowser family is very properly regarded as one of the most substantial families in that part of the county and all the members of the same are held in high regard by their many friends thereabout. (Pages 160-162)

LEMON BOWSER

Lemon Bowser, a well-to-do and progressive farmer of Lincoln town-ship, this county, and one of the best-known men in the Darlow neighborhood, is a native of Illinois, having been born on a farm in Schuyler county, that state, March 6, 1862, eldest of the seven children born to George R. and Jane (Martin) Bowser, both natives of Pennsylvania, who moved from that state with their respective parents to Illinois, where they were married, later moving to Missouri, whence they came to Kansas, locating in Reno county in 1876, becoming well known among the early pioneers of Lincoln township and large landowners, George R. Bowser having been, at the time of his death, in 1901, the owner of eleven hundred and eighty acres of fine land in this county. His widow is still living on the old homestead in Lincoln township, where she enjoys many evidences of the respect and esteem of that entire neighborhood. In a memorial sketch relating to the late George R. Bowser, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out a full history of this interesting pioneer family, to which the reader is respectfully referred in this connection.

Lemon Bowser was about six years of age when his parents moved from Illinois to Harrison county, Missouri, and in the latter place he received what meager schooling he was able to get in his youth, but as he was the eldest child and his parents at that time were not in affluent circumstances by any means, he was kept busy on the farm assisting his father even from a very early age and his attendance at school was quite limited. He was fourteen years old when the family came to Kansas and settled in this county, having driven through in two covered wagons, driving seven head of cattle, and after that he had even less opportunity for schooling, for the manifold tasks of developing the pioneer farm on the old "Sun City Trail" required all the assistance he could give his father. In 1881 the family moved to what became the Bowser homestead in Lincoln township and there Lemon Bowser lived until his marriage, in 1888, working diligently in his parents' behalf, a large factor in getting them well started on the road which led to their eventual wealth. After his marriage, Lemon Bowser for a few years rented land in Lincoln township and in 1892 bought the northeast quarter of section 22, in that same township, the farm on which he ever since has made his home, and straightway began to improve the same and has since added to this quarter an eighty adjoining, it not being long until he had one of the best-developed places in that section, and in the Elmer neighborhood he has an eighty-acre tract. In 1901 he erected his present comfortable and commodious farm house, land the other buildings of the farm are in keeping with the same. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Bowser is also largely interested in the raising of purebred Percheron horses, his colts of that strain being in wide demand throughout that section. He also is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of pasture land in Minnescah township, which he inherited from his father, and is accounted one of the substantial men of his neighborhood. In other affairs he has displayed a good citizen's activity and is now president of the Darlow Telephone Company, previous to his elevation to the head of that concern having been treasurer of the company. Mr. Bowser is an ardent Socialist in his political views and is one of the most vigorous advocates of the principles of that party in this county.

On August 22, 1888, Lemon Bowser was united in marriage to Martha E. Tharp, who was born in West Virginia, daughter of John and Mary Jane Tharp, for years well-known pioneer residents of Reno county, who moved to Oklahoma in 1900, where Mrs. Tharp died in 1915 and where Mr. Tharp still makes his home, and to this union two children have been born, Grover, born in 1889, who married Minnie Klein and lives on a farm in the Elmer neighborhood in this county, and Earl, born in 1892, who lives at home with his parents. The Bowsers have many warm friends in Lincoln township and throughout the county and are held in high regard by all. (Pages 162-164)

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