RENO COUNTY, KANSAS
HISTORY OF RENO COUNTY, KANSAS
BIOGRAPHIES
RENO COUNTY, KANSAS
HISTORY OF RENO COUNTY, KANSAS
BIOGRAPHIES
GEORGE B. SHORT
George B. Short, a well-known and progressive young farmer of Salt Creek township, this county, is a native son of Reno county, having been born on a farm in Salt Creek township, not far from his present place of residence, October 6, 1887, son of George M. and Mary (Crook) Short, both natives of Greene county, Illinois, where they grew up and where they were married, the former of whom, born in 1858, died on February 11, 1911, and the latter, born on March 6, 1863, is still living, making her home with her children.
In 1884, not long after their marriage, George M. Short and his wife left Illinois and came to Kansas, settling in Reno county and buying an unimproved tract in Salt Creek township. Mr. Short improved that place, erecting substantial buildings on the same and brought the farm to an excellent state of cultivation and there the family made their home until 1899, in which year he sold the farm and bought the southwest quarter of section 34, in the same township, the old T. B. Hand farm, one of the first tracts brought under cultivation in Salt Creek township in pioneer days. Two years later Mr. Short bought the "eighty" adjoining on the south, across the line in Center township, and on the new place he spent the rest of his life, except the last year, when he lived in Partridge, being accounted one of the most substantial farmers in the neighborhood, in addition to his general farming being also an extensive feeder of live stock, making a specialty of the raising of purebred Poland China hogs. Mr. Short was a Democrat and took an active part in local politics, having been an office-holder in Salt Creek township during nearly all of the time of his residence there, serving the township variously in the several capacities of trustee, clerk and in other ways. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America, in the affairs of both of which orders he took a warm interest, and during their residence in Illinois he and his wife were members of the United Brethren church. They were the parents of four children, namely: Howard C, who lives on a farm near Bluffton, Arkansas; George B., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Mayo W., unmarried, who lives at Newton, this state, and Mrs. Annabelle White, who lives on a farm in Center township, this county.
Following his schooling in the district school in the neighborhood of his home, George B. Short attended the county high school at Nickerson for four years and worked on his father's farm until his marriage, in 1910, after which, for three years, he was engaged in the transfer business at Partridge. Upon the death of his father, in 1911, he was made administrator of the latter's estate and in 1914 moved onto the home farm and has ever since made his home there, doing well with his agricultural operations. Mr. Short is a Democrat and during his residence in Partridge rendered excellent public service as a member of the city council.
In February, 1910, George B. Short was united in marriage to Sylvia W. Hand, who was born on the pioneer homestead on which she now lives, daughter of T. B. Hand and wife, pioneers of Salt Creek township, the former of whom is now deceased and the latter living in California, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Beatrice, born on December 25, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Short take an active interest in the general social affairs of their neighborhood and are held in high esteem by their many friends throughout that neighborhood. Mr. Short is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Partridge and takes an active interest in the affairs of that popular order. (Pages 164-165)
George Washington Mourn, one of the best-known pioneer farmers of Reno county, proprietor of a fine farm in
Valley township and for many years one of the leaders in the community life of that neighborhood, is a Virginian,
having been born in Monroe county, that state (now in West Virginia), February 27, 1841, son of Hoke and Jane Mourn,
both natives of that same state, the former of whom was killed by a fall from a hay loft in 1859. Hoke Mourn and
wife were the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter, the latter of whom is dead, the subject of
this sketch having two brothers, James and Edward. The Widow Mourn married, secondly, Herbert Shorthold, and died
in McLean county, Illinois, in 1878.
George W. Mourn attended school during his boyhood in a log school house five miles from his home, walking that
distance twice each day during the school terms. He was reared to detest the slave-holding system and when the
Civil War broke out his sympathies were with the cause of the Union. Despite his violent opposition to secession,
however, he was forced into the service of the Confederate army by conscription, but presently managed to desert
and took service with the cause of the North as fireman on the government steamboat "Victor 2," continuing
such service on the Ohio and Big Kanawha rivers for three years. He had married in 1861 and in the fall of 1865
returned to West Virginia and began working as a carpenter for his brothers-in-law, Henry O. and William M. Smith,
the latter of whom afterward became a contracting carpenter in Hutchinson, this county. In 1868 George W. Mourn
and family and one of Mrs. Mourn's brothers started West with a three-horse team and wagon. Upon reaching Missouri
the brother became ill and the party stopped in Boone county, that state, where they remained three years, at the
end of which time, in November, 1871, Mr. Mourn and his family came to Kansas, locating in Reno county, thus becoming
among the very earliest settlers of this county. Mr. Mourn homesteaded eighty acres and a timber claim of one hundred
and sixty acres in section 32. Valley township, and there established his home. He built a shanty of box boards
and settled down to the strenuous task of developing his claim. In the spring of 1872 he "broke" ten
acres and got in a bit of corn. That same year he worked with the construction crew of the Santa Fe Railroad Company
and thus made a little ready cash. Buffaloes at that time were still plentiful on the plains and the family had
no difficulty in obtaining fresh meat, but other supplies were not so easily obtained, Newton, the nearest market
and postoffice, being twenty-five miles away; while Mr. Mourn had to drive eighty miles to mill the first few years
he lived in this county. When the grasshoppers came, in 1874, he saved his cabbage patch by keeping wet grass fires
about the patch for two weeks.
In 1876 Mr. Mourn sold his homestead "eighty" and moved to his timber claim, where he ever since has
made his home. In addition to the dwelling he erected there he put up a blacksmith shop on the place and for twenty-five
years worked at that trade, his sons looking after the farm. For a quarter of a century he also operated a sorghum
mill, farmers for miles around bringing their cane to him to be converted into good Kansas sorghum. Since 1900
Mr. Mourn has kept thirty hives of bees and his apiary long has been his principal ''hobby;" that and indulging
in reminiscences of pioneer days, for there are few of the surviving pioneers of Reno county whose reminiscences
of the early days are more varied or more interesting than those of Mr. Mourn. He served on the first jury ever
impanelled in Reno county. He is a Republican and for two years served as treasurer of Valley township, also having
served as a member of the first school board in his township.
On September 8, 1861, George W. Mourn was united in marriage to Mary Frances Smith, who was born within two miles of her husband's birthplace, February 25, 1842, daughter of Joseph and Susan Smith, both of whom died in West Virginia. To this union eleven children were born, namely: Ida May, who married W. E. Woodward and lives in Clay township, this county; Viola, who married Frank D. Barnes and lives in Valley township; George, engineer at the strawboard works at Hutchinson; Mary Elizabeth, who married William T. Gregory and died on April 19, 1904; Luella, who married George Hoskinson and lives in Valley township; William H., who lives in Clay township; Rosa, born on November 22, 1872, who died on December 6, 1872; Effie A., who married Wesley Jackson and lives on a farm near Burdette, this state; Lillie, who married Charles Hos-kinson and lives in Valley township; Bertha, who married Samuel Imel and lives in Valley township, and Mertie, who married a Mr. Triplett, and mar-ried, secondly, Delva Butler, who is farming the old Mourn home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Mourn also adopted a child, Sadie May, who married Giles Day and lives in Burrton. Mrs. George W. Mourn died on November 22, 1912, and was buried in Burrton cemetery, Harvey county, Kansas. (Pages 165-167)
Garrett Sallee, a well-known farmer of Grant township, this county, is a native of the great Blue Grass state, having been born in Mercer county, Kentucky, September 27, 1868, son of A. J. and Margaret (Yast) Sallee, both natives of that same county, the former of whom was born on September 8, 1848, and the latter, September 16, 1848, she having been the daughter of Jacob Yast, a Kentucky farmer and a soldier on the Union side during the Civil War. Margaret (Yast) Sallee died in 1871, leaving three children, John Garrett and William. A. J. Sallee then married, secondly, Lucy Divine, and to this second union nine children were born, Mary Ann, James H., Levi, George, Grundy, Luther, Nancy, Martha and Richard. In 1888, he then being forty years of age, A. J. Sallee disposed of his interests in Kentucky and came to Kansas locating in Reno county. He bought four hundred and twenty acres in Valley township and there established his home, remaining there until 1903, ifi which year he moved to Oklahoma, bought a half section of land in Alpha county, that state, and there has made his home ever since.
Garrett Sallee was about twenty years old when he accompanied his father to this county from the old home in Kentucky in 18W, ami he has lived here ever since. The year after arriving here he married Lydia Hale, who also was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, and who had come to Reno county with her parents, Elijah Hale and wife, in 1887. He then began farming on his own account and has prospered in his undertakings until now he is the owner of eight hundred and forty acres in this county and in the adjoining county of Rice. In May, 1896, he moved to the fine farm on which he is now living, in Grant township, and there he and his family are very pleasantly and comfortably situated. He is active in township affairs and is looked upon as one of the most substantial and influential farmers in that neighborhood. In addition to his extensive operations in the wray of general farming, Mr. Sallee devotes considerable attention to the raising of fine cattle and his Herefords command the top of the market.
To Garrett and Lydia (Hale) Sallee two children have been born, daughters both, Bertha V., born on November 11, 1889, and Flora Myrtle, August 27, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Sallee are members of the Christian church at Nickerson and Mr. Sallee is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. (Pages 167-168)
Albert Lee Swarens. one of Reno county's best-known farmers, who lives with his stepmother, Mrs. Lewis Swarens, on a fine farm adjoining the city of Hutchinson on the northwest, is one of the original pioneers of this county, as is Mrs. Swarens, there having been but two other families living within miles of them when they arrived at the point at which they still reside, in the year 1871, the town of Hutchinson not then even having been staked out. They consequently have witnessed the whole of the wonderful development of this section of the state and may be accepted as authorities upon all questions relating to the history of Reno county and particularly of the neighborhood about Hutchinson, in which they have lived from the time of the beginning of a social order hereabout; doing well their respective parts in the development of the community which is so dear to both of them. Mrs. Lewis Swarens is a woman of the true pioneer type and during all the years she has lived in this county has done her whole duty as a neighbor and a friend to all. In her gentle heart there never has been room for mistrust, it ever having been her rule to believe only the best things regarding her neighbors, and throughout her long life in this community she ever has borne the profoundest respect and esteem of all.
Albert L. Swarens was born in Wood ford county, Illinois, October 25, 1851, son of Lewis and Mary Ann (Watkins) Swarens, the former of whom was born in the town of New Albany, Indiana, on October 5, 1822, and the latter in Illinois. Lewis Swarens left the old Ohio river town, New Albany, when a boy and with his parents moved to Woodford county, Illinois, where he grew to manhood and where he was married in 1845. In 1856 he moved with his family to Hardin county, Iowa, where he bought two hundred and forty acres, and there he made his home until 1862, in which year he was seized with the "California fever," and, in company with several other famil-ies, the train comprising thirty-two wagons and one buggy, started on the long overland journey to the land of golden promises. En route the party had several fights with hostile Indians and the redskins stole all their cattle. Upon his arrival in California, Lewis Swarens encountered only disappointments. In the winter of 1863 his wife died, at the age of thirty-five years, and shortly thereafter his eldest daughter, Evaline, died, both being buried in Calaveras county. His eldest son, Frank, joined the army and he did not see him again for years. With two small children on his hands amid new and untried conditions, Mr. Swarens decided to make his way back to the old home in Illinois. He and the two children, Albert L., then about twelve of age, and the little sister, Laura, boarded a vessel at San Francisco and by way of Panama, presently arrived at an Eastern port, whence they returned to Woodford county, Illinois, where the children were left with relatives, after which Mr. Swarens again started West. For some time he tried his fortunes in the mining region about Ogden, Utah, and later in Oregon, but without success. In North Ogden he met Sylvesta Rice, who had located there with her parents in 1862, and on December 25, 1865, they were married. Sylvesta Rice was born at No. 1, Park cottages, New Park road, Brixton Hill, Surrey, near the city of London, in England, on September 28, 1848, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Murrell) Rice, the former of whom was born in Sussex on November 3, 1824, and the latter in Kent, April 17, 1824, and who were married on November 22, 1847. In 1855 James Rice and his family came to the United States, landing from the sailing vessel, ''Emerald Isle," at the port of New York. For seven years the Rices made their home in New York, James Rice being engaged as an engineer in a factory there and in 1862 decided to migrate West They made the trip across the plains in "prairie schooners" drawn by ox teams and located at North Ogden, where Mr. and Mrs. Rice became associated with the Mormon church, having previously been members of the Episcopalian church, having been reared as members of the established church in England. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Sylvesta, Mrs. Swarens, was the eldest. She, however, did not join the Mormon faith.
Following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Swarens remained in Utah, Mr. Swarens working at the carpenter trade until 1870, in which year they made a visit to friends in Cass county, Missouri, and from there went into the Cherokee strip in Indian Territory, where for a year Mr. Swarens was engaged as a contractor getting out railroad ties. In the spring of 1871 his son, Albert Lee Swarens, then grown to manhood, having rejoined him in Missouri, Mr. Swarens rigged out another "prairie schooner" and drove across country to Reno county, arriving at the site now occupied by the city of Hutchinson on June 17, 1871. At that time John Shehan and Mr. Frazier were the only people living within miles of that spot. Lewis Swarens home-steaded the southwest quarter of section 22, township 23, range 6 west, and there he and his wife and family proceeded to make a new home, their first place of abode there being a mere "dugout," which three years later was supplanted by a house. The Swarens were very poor upon starting their new home in this county, but they were industrious and with the true pioneer spirit made the best of the situation, eventually prospering, Lewis Swarens having been the owner of seven hundred and forty acres of choice land at the time of his death, on April 10, 1903. Since his death his widow and his son, Albert L., who is unmarried, have continued to make their home on the old homestead, where they have a fine farm of two hundred acres, besides being the owners of three quarter sections of excellent land in Medford township, this county.
To Lewis and Sylvesta (Rice) Swarens one child was born, a son, Lewis Leander, born on November 29, 1868, who died on June 17, 1889, his death having been due to a distressing accident. While breaking a wild bronco he was thrown so violently as to break his leg in such a manner as to require amputation and he died under the shock of the operation. Lewis Swarens's daughter, Laura, who was left motherless in the wilds of California and who was returned to relatives in Illinois after the long trip across the isthmus of Panama, married George Darnell and now lives at Sunnyside, California.
Albert L. Swarens is a good farmer and keeps his place up in fine shape and his horses are of excellent stock. He is a Democrat, but is somewhat independent in his political views, believing that the man and not the party should be the controlling factor in determining the voter's judgment at the polls. (Pages 168-171)
Vincent Priddle, well-known farmer of Valley township, this county, and one of the most extensive landowners of Reno county, is a native of Englad, having been born near the town of South Petherton, in Somsetshire, January 1, 1862, son of Stephen and Charlotte (Pipe) Priddle, both natives of that same vicinity. Stephen Priddle was foreman of a brick yard. In 1868 he came to the United States and settled in Albany, New York, in the vicinity of which city he rented a farm and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1885, he then being sixty years of age. His widow died in 1911, at the great age of ninety-two years. Her son, the subject of this sketch, paid her a visit at the old home in England just four months before she died. There were thirteen children born to Stephen Priddle and wife, of whom Vincent Priddle was the eleventh in order of birth. Twelve of these children grew to maturity. Three of Mr. Priddle's sisters are living in England; four sisters in the United States; one brother, Edgar, lives in Schenectady, New York and one sister, Betsey, who married Samuel Collins, lives in Valley Township this county.
Vincent Priddle never went to school a day in his life. As a boy he worked on a farm for which service he received
thirty-six cents a week. Eleven years after his father had come to America he followed. Previous to this some of
the other children came over together and worked ona farm in the neighborhood of the point in New York state where
his father had located. It was in 1880 that Vincent Priddle came to this country, he then being eighteen years
of age and in 1883 he came to Kansas, locating in Harvey county, where he worked on the Byle farm south of Burrton,
for thirteen months, at the end of which time in 1885 he bought eighty acres in this county, the south half of
the southwest quarter of section 16, in Valley township. The place was wholly umimproved and he straightway set
about getting it under cultivation. He set out a fine grove and a splendid orchard and soon had one of the best-kept
farms in the neighborhood. Mr. Priddle was a good farmer, energetic and industrious, and prospered from the very
start of his operations. He went into cattle raising on a somewhat extensive scale and as he prospered added to
his land holdings until now he is the owner of twelve hundred and seventy acres of fine land in Valley township.
Three hundred acres of this land he rents out and manages the remainder himself. Since 1905 he has been one of
the directors of the Farmers Grain Company at Haven and in other ways has taken an active part in the general business
life of the community. Mr. Priddle is an earnest member of the United Brethren church, of which he has been a trustee
for thirty years; in which he also has been a class leader and the Sunday school of which church he is now superintendent.
In March, 1883, Vincent Priddle was united in marriage to Mary Follet, to which union eight children have been
born, as follow: Charles, a minister of the United Brethren church at Pensacola, this state; Anna, who married
E. E. Barrett and lives near Dodge City; Leo, who is a valuable assistant to his father in the work of managing
the big farm, and Hazel and Edgar, also at home, and three who died in childhood. Mr. Priddle is a prominent Mason,
a member of the blue lodge of that order at Haven and of the consistory at Wichita. He also is a member of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and in the affairs of both of these orders takes a warm interest. (Pages 171-172)
Charles Seedle, a well-known farmer of Reno county, owner of a half section of well-improved land in Valley township, where he has resided since 1884, is a native of Ohio, having been born in Greene county, that state, March 31, 1856, last born of the eleven children born to his parents, and the only one now surviving. His father, born in Pennsylvania, son of German parents, and who died when the subject of this sketch was a small boy, was a shoe-maker by trade. He married a widow, Mrs. Eliza (Michael) Houser, also born in Pennsylvania, who was the mother, by her first marriage of two sons, Henry and John Houser, who came to Kansas in 1884 and settled in Osage county. John Houser died in Ohio.
Orphaned when he was a baby, Charles Seedle was cared for when a child in successive families, including those of the Haggard and Mack families, and from the age of thirteen to twenty years in the family of William Ferguson. His early education was wholly neglected and at the age of fourteen he had not yet learned the alphabet. Reared on Greene county farms, he became an excellent farmer and when he was twenty years old began "working out" on his own account, being thus engaged until the time of his marriage, at the age of twenty-four, when he rented a farm in his native county and set up a home for himself, remaining there for four years, at the end of which time, in the spring of 1884, he came to Kansas on a home-seeking tour and bought one-half of the northwest quarter of section 17, in Valley township, this county, and early the next spring brought his family here, arriving on March 1, 1885. On his farm was a two-room house, a small barn and a few trees. Upon taking possession he at once entered upon the task of improving his place and bringing it to a proper state of cultivation and as he prospered gradually added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of well-improved land surrounding his home, he having bought from time to time three "eighties" adjoining his home place. Though very poor when he started farming in Reno county, Mr. Seedles has done well and is regarded as one of the substantial residents of his community. He erected his present excellent farm house in 1900 and the other improvements on the farm are in keeping with the same. Mr.Seedles is ''independent" in his political views, believing in supporting the best men for public office, regardless of party affiliations.
On December 25, 1879, Charles Seedles was united in marriage to Tabitha Sutton, who was born on March 5, 1861, in Clinton county, Ohio, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Ann (Culbertson) Sutton, farming people, the former of whom died in Ohio in 1888, aged fifty-four years, and the latter in 1887, aged forty-eight. To this union four children have been born, namely: Dora, who married the Rev. Charles Priddle, a United Brethren minister stationed at Pensacola, in the neighboring county of Kingman, and they have three children, Harley, Clyde and Glenn; Jesse, who farms a part of his father's place in Valley township, married Jennie M. White, and they have two children, Jesse E. and Clyde M.; Oscar, who owns a farm of his own in Valley township, married Golda Adkins, and they had two children, Ruth E. and Esther, who is deceased, and Walter Melwin, who died when three years old. 'Mr. and Mrs. Seedles are earnest members of the United Brethren church at Pleasant Grove, of which Mr. Seedles has been a trustee for nearly thirty years, and are active in church work. Mr. Seedles is a member of Haven Lodge No. 287, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization. (Pages 172-174)
Arthur Dade, one of Hutchinson's most energetic and substantial busi-ness men, a capitalist whose interests and investments hereabout make him an important factor in commercial and realty circles in this county, is a native of Maryland, having been born in Montgomery county, that state, oh May 4, 1872, son of the late Alexander and Susan Ann (White) Dade, prominent pioneer residents of Reno county, who settled here in 1878, and has been a resident of Reno county since he was five years of age. In the biographical sketch relating to Arthur Dade's brother, Ernest Dade, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out in detail a history of the Dade family, to which the reader is respectfully referred in this connection.
As stated above, Arthur Dade was five years old when he came to Reno county with his parents, who settled in Reno township, and he grew to man-hood on the paternal farm there. He received his elementary education in district school No. 65, supplementing the same by a course in the Hutchinson high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1892. For three years after leaving school he continued to assist his father in the operation of the home farm and then rented a farm in Reno township, on which he commenced operations on his own account. Soon thereafter, however, he bought a farm in the Poplar district in Reno township, but presently sold that place and bought another farm near the railway station at Whiteside, in the same township, which he worked for a year. In 1913 Mr. Dade bought two hundred and forty acres of the old William Fair section in Reno township, which he still owns, having sold the farm near Whiteside. In 1909 Mr. Dade moved to Hutchinson, for greater convenience in managing his growing interests and the next year erected a very pretty residence at 27 Eleventh avenue, east, in which he and his family have since resided. He inherited some property from his father's estate and has been fortunate in his own investments, his entire time now being devoted to the management of his extensive interests, looking after his farms, his various bits of city property and other investments. In 1913 Mr. Dade erected a business block at 411-413 North Main street, in the city of Hutchinson and also owns a business block at 11 South Main street and one across the street from the same at 12 South Main street, which buildings are profitably occupied by retail stores, and offices. Mr. Dade also is a director in the Kelley Milling Company at Hutchinson.
On January 27, 1904, Arthur Dade was united in marriage to Jessie E. Myers,, who was born in Urbana, Illinois, daughter of John A. and Mary L. Myers, the former of whom is now living in Hutchinson, and a biography of whom is set out in another place in this volume. Mr. Myers is a former commissioner of Reno county and one of Hutchinson's most substantial citizens. To Mr. and Mrs. Dade two children have been born, John Travis, born on June 16, 1908, and Ernest Vincent,. November 27, 1912. Mr. Dade is a Democrat, as was his father before him, and ever since arriving at years of maturity has given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, though never having been included in the office-seeking class. (Pages 174-175)
Oscar W. Olmstead, one of the best-known farmers of Grant township, this county, and a pioneer of that section, who is still living on the quarter section he pre-empted in 1872, is a native of Michigan, having been born on a farm in Oakland county, that state, March 26, 1849, son of D. D. and Janet (Reid) Olmstead, both natives of the state of New York, the former of whom was born on March 16, 1823, and the latter, March 7, 1826, who became pioneers of Reno county and here spent their last days.
D. D. Olmstead was the son of David D. and Anna Olmstead, both natives of New York state, both of whom spent all their lives in that state. He grew to manhood there, spent two years in Canada, and married Janet Reid, daughter of William Reid, a native of Scotland, who had come to America when a mere lad. After their marriage D. D. Olmstead and wife lived in Michigan, where in Oakland county they established their home on a farm, where they lived until 1872, in which year they came to Kansas and settled in Reno county, thus becoming among the very earliest settlers of this county. D. D. Olmstead pre-empted one quarter of section 24, in Grant township, and there established his new home, both he and his wife spending the remainder of their lives there, his death occurring in August, 1884. She died in August, 1878. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and he and his wife were members of the Methodist church, in which faith their children were reared. There were eight of these children, of whom four are still living, Oscar, the second in order of birth, Josephine, Herman and Ida. Those deceased were William, a veteran of the Civil War, Susan, Charles, Samuel and Ellen.
Oscar W. Olmstead was reared in Oakland county, Michigan, receiving his education in the school in the neighborhood of his home, and was about twenty-two years old when he came to Kansas with his parents. Upon arriving in Reno county in 1872, thus having been among the pioneers of this county, he pre-empted a quarter of a section of land in section 24, in Grant township, his present home, and proceeded to "break'' and develop the same. On April 25, 1884, he married Essie Y. Jeffers, who also was born in Michigan, her birthplace being in Oakland county, and who came to Kansas with her parents, Aaron and Sarah Jeffers, in the fall of 1883, the family settling in this county, and he here established a home, but later moved to Indiana in 1890, where Mr. Jeffers is still living and where Mrs. Jeffers died.
To Oscar W. and Essie J. (Jeffers) Olmstead six children have been born, James, Bertha, Leo, Victor, Leona and Hazel. Miss Bertha Olmstead is a teacher in the public schools of Rice county, this state. The Olmsteads are members of the Christian church. Mr. Olmstead is a substantial farmer and his well-kept place shows evidences of his careful management. (Pages 175-176)
Stephen S. Leighty, a well-to-do and well-known retired farmer of Lin-coln township, this county, now living in a pleasant home at 100 Eleventh avenue, east, in the city of Hutchinson, to which place he moved in the fall of 1911, he then having retired from the active labors of the farm, is a native of the great Key stone state, having been born on a farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1853, son of Stephen S. and Eliza (Hutson) Leighty, the former of whom was born on that same farm and the latter of whom was a native of the state of Maryland.
The senior Stephen S. Leighty grew to manhood on the farm on which he was born and upon the death of his parents bought the interests of the other heirs in the place and there spent all his days. He married Eliza Hutson, who died in 1863, leaving nine children, as follow: William, a veteran of the Civil War, who now lives in Stafford county, this state; Henry, a farmer, living in McDonough county, Illinois; Catherine, who married Milton Blair and lives on a farm near the town of Prairie, in Oklahoma; Zachariah Taylor, a farmer of Fayette county, Pennsylvania; Rebecca, who married Joseph Piersol and also lives in Fayette county, Pennsylvania; Anna S., who lives in Stafford county, this state, widow of Robert Rankin; Stephen S., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Eliza J., who married Dempsey Woodward and lives in Ohio, and Agnes, who married George Cox and lives in Woodson county, this state. Upon the death of the mother of the above children, the elder Stephen S. Leighty married, secondly, Mary Hare, also now deceased, and to this second union three children were born, Emma, who married Chester Gwinn and lives at Uniontown, Pennsylvania; Grant, who lives on the old home place in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and John, who lives in Washington, same state.
Stephen S. Leighty, Jr., was reared on the home farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, receiving his education in the district school in the neighbor-hood of his home. He was ten years old when his mother died. He con-tinued living at the old home until his marriage at the age of nineteen, after which his father bought a farm adjoining the home place and put him in charge of the same and he there made his home until 1882, in which year he came to Kansas, locating in this county, where he bought a quarter of a section of school land in Lincoln township, the same being in section 36 of that township, and there established his new home. Mr. Leighty was successful in his farming operations from the very beginning of his residence in this county and when he retired from the farm in September, 1911, and moved to Hutchinson, he was accounted to be very well-to-do. For his original quarter section in Lincoln township Mr. Leighty paid fourteen hundred dollars into the school fund. For that identical quarter section he since has refused an offer of sixteen thousand dollars. As he became established on his place, Mr. Leighty gradually increased his land holdings until he became the owner of four hundred and sixty acres of fine land in Lincoln and Yoder townships, which he still owns. In 1897 he erected a fine, modern farmhouse on his place, which is considered to be one of the best-improved farms in that section of the county.
In addition to looking after his extensive agricultural interests Mr. Leighty found time to give his attention to various other enterprises in the neighborhood and for years was considered one of the most active and enterprising citizens of Lincoln township. He helped organize the Darlow Live Stock and Grain Exchange and was the first president of that useful organization. He also helped to organize the Darlow Telephone Company and for years was a director of the same, doing much to promote the extension of the telephone service in that part of the county. In civic affairs also he took an active interest and for eight years served as township treasurer, while for twenty years he served as a valued member of the school board. Mr. Leighty was a Republican when he came to Kansas, but he went over to the cause of the Populists and when that cause declined and ceased to be, he became a Democrat and is still affiliated with that party. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church at Hutchinson and he is a member of the board of trustees of that organization.
On November 13, 1872, Stephen S. Leighty was united in marriage to Nancy J. Harper, who was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Anna (Wadsworth) Harper, and to this union six children have been born, namely: Harper, a farmer of Yoder township, this county; William G., who is farming part of his father's place in Yoder township; Stephen S., Ill, who owns a farm in Ford county, this state, where he makes his home; Clyde W., who also owns a farm in Ford county, where he makes his home; Sabina E., who is attending college at Winfield, and Alice, who married George Getter and died at the age of twenty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Leighty have adopted Alice Margaret Leighty, the daughter of Harper, the eldest son. (Pages 176-178)
Albert E. Harden, a well-known and progressive farmer of Grant township, this county, is a native of Iowa, having been-born on a farm in Van Buren county, that state, April 1, 1865, son of Levi and Elvira (Bradford) Harden, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Rhode Island, who were married in Iowa and Mr. Harden later came to Kansas, being numbered among the pioneers of Reno county.
Levi Harden was born in Hocking county, Ohio, January 19, 1834, son of Even and Maria (Wolf) Harden, both natives of that state, the former of whom was born on April 13, 1803, and the latter, October 2, 1814, who later moved to Iowa, where his last days were spent, Even Harden dying at the age of fifty-six years. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, of whom Levi was the eldest, the others being as follow: Jacob, born on April 26, 1836, now deceased; John, June 13, 1838, deceased; William, June 23, 1840; Eliza, May 6, 1843; Isabelle, April 14, 1846; George, February 12, 1849; Martha, October 20, 1852, and Philip, March 3, 1856, deceased. Levi Harden was well grown when his parents moved to Iowa. On December 31, 1863, in that state, he was united in marriage to Elvira Bradford, who was born near Providence, Rhode Island, July 3, 1840, daughter of Albert Bradford and wife, the latter of whom was a Phillips, and who were the parents of three sons and four daughters: Mrs. Marie Corbett, of Texas; Miss Evelyn; Mrs. Laura Sandheim, of Seattle; Mrs. Elvira Harden; Alonzo, a veteran of the Civil War, now living at Hayward, California; Leander, also a veteran of the Civil War, lives in Bonaparte, Iowa, and Walter, also of Bonaparte, Iowa. Albert Bradford was a direct descendant of Governor Bradford of Colonial fame. He moved from Rhode Island with his family to Iowa and there spent the remainder of his life, a resident of Van" Buren county. To Levi and Elvira (Bradford) Harden but one child was born, the subject of this sketch, whose mother died on July 31, 1867. Levi Harden married, secondly, Mrs. Fannie (Berry) Doughty, widow of J. Doughty, who was the mother, by their first marriage, of two children, Homer G. and Mary Virginia. To this second union three children were born, Sophia, born on October 16, 1872, who died at the age of sixteen; Lamiel J., May 24, 1874, and Dora, December.26, 1876, who now lives in Oklahoma. On March 17, 1877, Levi Harden came to Kansas and settled in Reno county, where he bought a quarter of a section of land on which he lived until his retirement from the farm. He is now making his home with a daughter in Oklahoma. He is a member of the Evangelical church and is a Mason.
Albert E. Harden was about twelve years old when he came to this county with his father and he grew to manhood
on the home farm. On February 26, 1890, he married Mattie Moorman, who was born at Sandyville, Iowa, January 5,
1869, and located on the farm on which they are now living in Grant township, this county. In 1911 Mr. Harden erected
his present modern farm house and he and his family are very pleasantly situated. The house is equipped with electric
lights and many of the con-veniences of modern life. Mr. Harden is a progressive farmer and is doing well on his
well-kept place of two hundred acres. He takes a good citizen's part in public affairs and has been a member of
the local school board since 1901. To Mr. and Mrs. Harden three children have been born, Evert Earl, born on May
1, 1893; Leon Clyde, March 13, 1895, and Alva Anthony, December 30, 1897, all at home.
Mrs. Harden's father, William Henry Moorman, a well-known retired farmer of this county and a veteran of the Civil
War, was born in Highland county, Ohio, August 12, 1840, son of John Thomas and Mary (Van Pelt) Moorman, the former
of whom was born in Campbell county, Virginia, February 20, 1810, and the latter in Belmont' county, Ohio, July
28, 1856. John T. Moorman was the son of Reuben and Lydia (Johnson) Moorman, both natives of Virginia, the former
born on March 25, 1777, and the latter, January 25, 1779. Reuben Moorman was a soldier of the American Revolution
and after his death in 1817 his widow moved to Ohio to accept a grant of land tendered by the government in behalf
of his services. Reuben Moorman's parents, Micajah and Effie Moorman came to America from Wales and settled in
the colony of Virginia. They were Quakers and founded a now widely connected family in this country. John T. Moorman
went over into Ohio with his widowed mother and there he married Mary Van Pelt, member of a pioneer family of Belmont
county. After their marriage he and his wife settled in Highland county that same state, where they lived until
1849, in which year they emigrated to Iowa and settled on a quarter of a section of land in Warren county. There
John T. Moorman died on December 23, 1882. His wife died many years before. He and his wife were the parents of
five children: Childress E., Malinda, William H., Childs and Sarah, of whom William H. is the only survivor. William
H. Moorman was reared on the pioneer farm of his parents in Warren county, Iowa, and there grew to manhood. He
received an excellent education and all his life has been a great reader. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted
for service in the Thirty-fourth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served about four years, or until the regiment
was mustered out at the close of the war, during which time he never lost a day of service. He was present at the
siege of Vicksburg and participated in numerous of the most important engagements of the war, including Sherman's
campaign to the sea. On December 8, 1865, he married Sarah C. Anthony, who was born in Hamilton county, Indiana,
September 12, 1843, daughter of William and Matilda (Curry) Anthony, the former of whom was born in Butler county.
Ohio, in 1812, and the latter in Franklin county, Indiana, in 1818. After his marriage William H. Moorman engaged
in farming in Iowa until 1878, when he moved to Kansas, settled in Stafford county and in 1881 came to Reno county
with his family and has lived here ever since, an employee of the car-repair service of the Santa Fe railroad until
his retirement in 1903. To him and his wife six children were born, as follow: Walter, of Reno county, born on
October 27, 1866; Mattie, wife of Mr. Harden; Malinda, who died in infancy; Lizzie, at home, born on July 9, 1873;
Dannie Edna, November 23, 1878, who died on March 21, 1903, and Elmer O., of Oklahoma, born on June 9, 1884. (Pages
179-181)
John Schardein son of Bernard and Christine (Randolph) Schardein, was born seven miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 24, 1837. Bernard Schardein was a weaver by trade, and was born in Alsace, France, in June, 1808. There he was reared and married. His wife was born on December 24, 1810. He came to America in 1833 and located near Cincinnati, where John was born. He went by steamboat to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1835, and became a grocer. He later moved to Clark county, Indiana, and purchased one hundred and forty acres of land. He was the father of five sons three of whom were soldiers in the Union army. Philip died of disease at Savannah, Tennessee, and was buried at Shiloh. Adam was wounded while fighting in the Shenandoah valley, and died at Williamsport, Maryland. John, who enlisted August 31, 1861, served three years, was shot twice by spent bullets receiving a ball in the foot, which still causes lameness. He also received a wound in the breast. He participated in the battles of Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson, Champion's Hill, Vicksburg, Shenandoah Valley, Ft. Monroe, and took part in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C, at the close of the war. He suffered from ophthalmia in a New Orleans hospital during his service. Bernard Schardein and his wife were both members of the Christian church and both died in Clark county, Indiana.
John Schardein was educated in the schools of Ohio and Indiana. He married his first wife, Nancy McKinley (distant relative of President McKinley), on April 20, 1857, in Clark county, Indiana. To this union was born one child, Luella Miller, now of New Albany, Indiana. Mrs. Nancy Schardein died in 1862, and in 1865 Mr. Schardein married Eliza Jane Grady, who died on November 18, 1915. Their children are as follow: John, Addie, Charles, Clara (deceased), Edward, Ethel (died in infancy), Hettie and Frederick.
After he returned from the war, Mr. Schardein went to Macoupin county, Illinois, where he lived for thirteen years, renting land which he farmed. In August, 1878, he chartered a car from Macoupin county, Illinois, to Sterling, Kansas, and drove from there to Reno county, to join a friend. He homesteaded a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres in section 20, Salt Creek township, where he lived until 1908, when he retired from active farm labor and moved to Nickerson. He always took an active interest in the development and improvement of his community, and organized school district No. 101, and gave the site for the school building as long as used for that purpose. He was a stockholder in the elevator company, in the telephone company and in the State Bank at Nickerson. After his wife's death, he and his daughter, Addie, kept house. Mr. Schardein died on March 31, 1916. He was a member of the Christian church, and belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he took an active interest. (Pages 181-182)
Peter C. Jones, a well-known merchant tailor of Hutchinson, this county, is a native of the gallant little land of Wales, having been born there, in the town of Adwy Clawy, on May 21, 1854, son of Peter and Anne (Matthews) Jones, the former of whom was born at Mold, Wales, and the latter near that town. In 1870, the subject of this biographical sketch then being sixteen years of age, the Jones family came to America, locating in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, where the elder Jones resumed his vocation of tailor, to which he had been reared in his native home. Some years later Peter Jones and his wife retired from Williamsport and joined their son, Peter C, who meanwhile had located at Kankakee, Illinois, later coming thence with him to Kansas, when he made his home in Emporia, where their last days were spent. They were members of the Church of England, and were the parents of five children, namely: John M., a tailor in Fredonia, Kansas; Thomas N., now deceased, who for years was a well-known tailor in Emporia, this state; Peter C, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mary, who died in girlhood, and Mrs. Maggie Gelispe, a widow, who, in connection with her son, is operating a tailor shop at Collegeview, Nebraska.
Peter C. Jones practically grew up in his father's tailor shop and from childhood had been trained to the skillful use of a needle and to all the arts of the tailor's trade. Upon arriving in this country at the age of sixteen he became a journeyman tailor and for some time traveled quite extensively over the eastern section of the country, finally locating at Kankakee, Illinois, where he carried on his trade until 1879, in which year he came to Kansas, locating in Emporia, where he worked as a tailor until 1881. He then located in Hutchinson, where he entered the employ of his elder brother, J. M. Jones, who had opened a tailor shop there some time before, and there he remained until 1892, in which year he returned to Emporia and opened a shop of his own, which he conducted for six years and then, in 1898, returned to Hutchinson where he opened a shop and where he has remained ever since, most of which time his popular establishment has been located at 10 Sherman street, east, where he enjoys a fine patronage.
In 1877, at Kankakee, Illinois, Peter C. Jones was united in marriage to Dora Knocke, a native of Germany, who in 1868 when she was eleven years of age, came to this country with her parents who located at Kankakee, and to this union four children have been born, namely: Allen, who has charge of the instruction in the tailoring department of the Kansas state reformatory at Hutchinson; Edwin, cashier of the Guymon-Petro Mercantile Company, of Hutchinson; Walter a prominent young lawyer and now city attorney of Hutchinson, a sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume and Charles, who is buying and selling manager of a mill at Haven, this county. The Jones family has a very pleasant home at 626 Sherman street, east. Mr. Jones is a member of the Masonic order, of the Court of Honor and of the Knights of Pythias, in all of which orders he takes a warm interest. (Pages 182-183)