Benjamin P. Nichols, of Wichita, Kan., can lay claim to being one of the pioneers of Kansas. He was born May 20, 1845, in Lowell, Lake county, Indiana. His parents were Abraham and S. J. (Fuller) Nichols. On the paternal side he can trace his ancestry to France, while on the maternal side he traces it to Germany. During the Civil War Mr. Nichols enlisted in the Union Army, joining Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1863, and serving until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. Mr. Nichols was in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Dutton Snake Creek Gap. Rinca, Cossville, Dallas, New Hope Church, Lost Mountain, Kensaw and its numerous battles, Crossing the Chattahootchee River, Decatur, Atlanta with its half-dozen battles, Jonesborough and Love joys, on what is termed the celebrated Atlanta Campaign. He was also in the chase after Hood and Hood after him, resulting in the battles of Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville, where he hoped to annihilate Hood's army. His company was transferred to the Department of North Carolina, huddled in box ears like hogs and cold as Greenland. They were shipped from Washington to North Carolina by ship, and from Newbern they were sent without transportation to meet the enemy at Wisesforks and then on to Goldsboro, where they met their old commanding general, and then on to Raleigh and made Johnson surrender. Mr. Nichols was always found at the front and his captain, John T. Powell, says, ' * I am proud of your record. You did your full share in making my name one of the best skirmishing captains in the army." His memoirs, which form a part of this sketch, give his army record in greater detail. After the war Mr. Nichols moved to Woodson county, Kansas, where he remained five years. Leaving Woodson county, he took up his residence in Elk county, where he also spent five years, and from thence he came to Sedgwick county, where he permanently located in 1885 at Garden Plain. He remained at Garden Plain six years, and since that time has been a resident of Wichita. Mr. Nichols is the owner of a valuable stock farm and at the present time is practically retired from business and living with his family at 410 South Market street, Wichita. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and in politics is a Socialist. He has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Nancy McCormick, six children being born of this union, of whom four are now living. His second wife, to whom he was married September 25, 1898, was Mrs. May Smith, and no children have been born of this union. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 851-852)
J. M. Nicholson, of Maize, Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a native of the Blue Grass state, having been born in Lancaster, Ky., on October 1, 1846. He is a son of J. J. Nicholson, a native of Kentucky. His parents removed from Kentucky to Illinois in 1859, locating in Macon county, and lived there until their death. James M. Nicholson acquired a limited education in the common schools of Kentucky and Illinois, and in 1870 removed to Kansas. He first located in Butler county, where he lived four years, and afterwards moved to Park township, Sedgwick county, where in 1875 he bought land in Section 15. In 1864, while still a resident of Illinois, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois Volunteers, and served until his discharge at the close of the war. Mr. Nicholson was married on June 3, 1882, to Miss Emma A. Dotson, in Decatur, Ill. Mrs. Nicholson traces her ancestry to Scotland. Nine children have been born of this union, of whom six are now living. The names of the children are: Josephus, Lewis J., Nora, James Clarence, Harry, Bessie, Viola, Hattie E. and "William E. Mr. Nicholson is a member of the G. A. R. and attended the encampments at Salt Lake City and at Denver, Col. He has been a member of the school board of Park township for fourteen years. Mr. Nicholson is a Republican and active in the interests of his party.(History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages853)
Samuel L. Nolan, president of the Goddard State Bank of Goddard, Kansas, is a native of Indiana, where he was born on March 7, 1863, in Lafayette. His parents were John and Sarah (Murdoch) Nolan. The father was a native of Ireland and his mother's family, the Murdochs, were respectable people of Tippe-canoe county, Indiana. Samuel L. came west with his parents to Sedgwick county, Kansas, in 1877, and soon after, the father, whose occupation was plastering and farming, died. His widow died in Sedgwick county in 1903. The father of Samuel L. Nolan had a family of thirteen children, of whom Samuel L. was the eighth. The latter attended the public schools until his fifteenth year and lived under the paternal roof until he was twenty-one. He started out in the beginning of his career as a clerk in a grocery story in Wichita and also in a general store in Caldwell, Kan. He then engaged in business for himself in general merchandising at Goddard, Kan. He was married November 24, 1886, to Miss Daisy B. White, of Kentucky, and of this union there has been born one son, who is now twenty-three years old and is married to Mesa Rice. They have one child who resides at Goddard. Mr. Nolan is a public spirited citizen who has long been a resident of Sedgwick county, and at the present time (1910) is the Democratic candidate for the office of county treasurer. After leaving Wichita, he moved to Goddard in 1884, and has since been a resident of that village and has served as mayor two terms. He has also held various minor township offices. He has been a member of the city council. Mr. Nolan is the owner of a large tract of land, over 480 acres, in Afton township. He is a grain buyer and conducts a large elevator at Goddard under the firm name of Nolan Bros. He was the organizer and is now president of the Goddard State Bank, which has a capital stock of $10,000 and a surplus of $5,000. He is known as a man of good ability and has settled up a large number of decedent estates, and has acted in a fiduciary capacity in handling large sums of money in trust and otherwise, and his honesty and integrity have never been questioned. Mr. Nolan is a Democrat in politics. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He also conducts a large general store in Goddard. He is also a director and stockholder in the Goddard Telephone Company. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 853-854)
Odon Northcutt, a prominent real estate dealer of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born June 15, 1855, in Booneville, Mo. His parents were T. D. and Mary E. (Gatewood) Northcutt, the father being a native of Kentucky and the mother of Virginia. They located in Newton county, Missouri, in 1857, where Mr. Northcutt followed farming and stock raising and continued this up to the time of his conscription in the Confederate army. He was severely wounded in the battle of Wilson Creek and was sent back to his family in Newton county, Missouri, and from there he moved to Parker county, Texas, where he resided for a time, afterward returning to Missouri, where he is now living at the age of eighty-three years. His wife is also living at the age of seventy-five years. The early education of Odon Northcutt was obtained in the public schools of Texas, which state he left in 1873 to return to Missouri. In 1878 he came to Kansas and located in Kingman county, where he pre-empted a farm and engaged in farming and stock raising, living there until 1898. In the latter year he removed to Cheney, Kan., and engaged in the hardware business with D. M. Main, the style of the firm being Main & Northcutt, which afterwards became Northcutt & Crossley, but later Mr. Northcutt disposed of his interest to Mr. Main and took up farming again, which he followed until 1907. He then engaged in the real estate business in Cheney. When on the farm Mr. Northcutt speculated extensively in mules and horses and made considerable money by being a shrewd trader. He is now a member of the real estate firm of Hern & Northcutt, which does a large business in selling tracts of land and ranches, devoting all his time now to this business. Mr. Northcutt is a member of Morton Lodge, No. 258, A. F. & A. M., and of Wichita Consistory, No. 2. Politically he affiliated with the Democratic party until the Populist movement sprang up, when he supported that party. Mr. Northcutt was married on February 25, 1880, to Miss Arizona Sooter, daughter of W. M. Sooter, of Missouri. Of this union seven children were born, three of whom are now living, viz.: Nellie, Thomas and Esther. Nellie is married to Virgil Davis and resides in Fowler, Colo. The other children are attending the city schools. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages854-855)
Edward J. Ohmer, proprietor of the Manhattan Hotel, of Wichita, Kan., who is accounted a postmaster in the hotel business by the traveling public and his associates, is a native of Dayton, Ohio, where he was born January 30, 1849. His parents were Nicholas and Susannah (Spratt) Ohmer, his father being a native of France and his mother of Washington, D. C. His parents began their married life in Montgomery county, Ohio, and are both deceased. When a boy of thirteen young Ohmer entered the United States navy and served for nine months during the Civil War, receiving his discharge on August 20, 1865. His service in the navy during the war was mainly on the Mississippi, and he served on the historic gunboat Groesbeck VIII under Commander Cornwall and Capt. Jack Adkins. The father and uncle of Mr. Ohmer owned the old Union Depot eating house at Indianapolis, and after the war young Ohmer was set to work there. One of his associates at that time was Thomas Taggart, who has since acquired fame as a Democratic politician and hotel proprietor. Mr. Ohmer finally became superintendent of the concern, and when he finally resigned to go to Minnesota and engage in farming, Mr. Taggart sueceded him as superintendent. The life of a farmer not proving congenial to Mr. Ohmer, he finally abandoned it and went to Hannibal, Mo., where he engaged in the hotel business. Later he and his brother operated ten eating houses on the Rock Island Railroad, one of them being the dining room in the depot at Wichita. When the railroad bought them out, Mr. Ohmer returned to Indianapolis, where he bought a third interest in the Grand Hotel, Mr. Taggart owning the other two-thirds. After a couple of years in Indianapolis, Mr. Ohmer sold out his interest to his brother and Mr. Taggart, and bought the Manhattan, which was then in a somewhat moribund state, but which under his management has since become one of the most popular hostelries in the Southwest. Mr. Ohmer has now been located in Wichita eight years, having gone there in 1903. Mr. Ohmer is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he takes a deep interest. He was married in 1870 to Miss Emma Shafer, now deceased. In 1901 he was again married to a Miss Emma Shafer, a namesake of his first wife. From this union there has been offspring one child, Ruth C. Ohmer. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 855-856)
Thomas J. Owens, farmer, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in Clay county, Indiana, on February 26, 1859. His father was Johnson Owens, a native of Kentucky, who lived in Clay county, Indiana, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1900. His widow died in 1908. Johnson Owens during his life was a successful farmer and during his life had bought up and improved a dozen or more farms in the Hoosier state. He was a successful contractor as well. His services were in demand by the railroad companies for supplies for ties, cordwood, etc. His son, Thomas J. Owens, only obtained a meager education in the public schools of his native place. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-one years old. In December, 1881, he came to Kansas. A year later, in July, 1882, he was married to Miss Mary C. Kauffman, a daughter of Samuel Kauffman, at "Wichita, Kan. Of this union have been born eight children, of whom seven are living. The names of the children are: Maggie M., born December 18, 1883; S. C, deceased; Mimmie O., born July 17, 1887; Jessa M., born July 9, 1889; Nora S., born August 20, 1893; John T., born April 20, 1896; Everett J., born September 6, 1899; Elsie M., born January 9, 1902. Mr. Owens homesteaded a farm in Section 8, Eagle township, on which he now resides. He has held several minor offices in the township organization. He was road boss for over six years, township clerk, member of the school board ten years, and under his able management the schools have been prosperous, with comfortable school rooms and efficient teachers. Mr. Owens is a Democrat in his political belief and is an active worker in the interests of his party. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church, of which they have been members for over fourteen years. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 856-857)
Branson William Parker, manager of the Harvard Mills Company, of Mt. Hope, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in 1875 in the Sunflower state. His father, Joshua M., was born in Indiana and was one of the early homesteaders in the state of Kansas, where he now resides. He was the father of ten children, nine of whom are living. Branson William is the oldest boy. His education was acquired in the common schools of Kansas, after which he attended the State Normal School at Emporia for two years, after which he taught four years. He then farmed on land he owned in Ellsworth county, Kansas, for two years and then moved to Harvey county, where he bought eighty acres. Mr. Parker sold both pieces and went to Oklahoma, where he bought land. He was there three years and then moved back to Kansas and operated the Clearwater, Kan., mills for J. E. Howard, of Wichita, for fourteen months, and was transferred by Mr. Howard to conduct the same business in Mt. Hope, where he is now engaged. While in Oklahoma Mr. Parker served as justice of the peace for three years. Mr. Parker is a Democrat in politics and a public-spirited citizen. He is active in church work, a member of the Baptist faith, in which he was a deacon for seven years and superintendent of the Sunday School for eight years. He was married in April, 1900, to Miss Cynthia Row, a daughter of Rev. D. P. Row, of Missouri. Four children have been born of this union, three of whom are living,. viz.: Otto, Austin and Harry. Otto is attending school at Mt. Hope. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 857)
Frederick Parker, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Brown county, Illinois, on September 5, 1871. He is a son of William B. and Margaret (Haley) Parker. Frederick Parker went with his father to Missouri in 1875, and from there to Sedgwick county, Kansas, in 1885, and being the youngest son, remained with his father on the farm. On June 26, 1895, Mr. Parker married Miss Addie B. Carson, who was born in Sedgwick county, Kansas, on August 1, 1877, a daughter of Jonathan S. and Mary (Tomlin) Carson. Jonathan Carson came to Sedgwick county in 1872 and pre-empted 160 acres of land in Salem township. He was born in Ohio on April 2, 1849, and his wife was born in Illinois on December 17, 1858. They were married in Sedgwick county, Kansas, on August 31, 1875. Of this union eleven children were born, ten of whom are now living. The children were: Addie B. Parker, of Ohio township; Mrs. Carrie L. Filson, of Scott county, Kansas; Mrs. Anna Roddis, of Denver, Colo.; Miss Eva Pearl, of Salida, Colo.; Mrs. Hattie M. Means, of Sargent, Colo.; Howard J., of Salida, Colo.; Miss Frankie F., Miss Inez, Miss Jeannette and Robert, all of Salida, Colo. Clarence B. died when sixteen years old. The father and mother are now living at Salida, Colo. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have three children, viz.: William E., born February 12, 1897; Ray C, born March 21, 1898; Edith May, born August 13, 1902. Mr. Parker has devoted his entire time to farming. In 1900 he bought 240 acres in Section 16, Ohio township, and here he built his present home in the fall of 1909. He has a well improved farm, with horses, cattle and hogs. He is a stockholder in the Clearwater Telephone Company and a liberal in politics. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 852-853)
William B. Parker, of Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Kentucky on February 7, 1830. His parents were Alexander and Eliza (Parker) Parker. Alexander Parker was born in Virginia in 1796 and his future wife was born in Kentucky about the same time. They moved to Illinois in the spring of 1835. Both of them died in Brown county, Illinois, the mother in 1861 and the father in 1873. "William B. Parker went to Missouri in 1875, where he remained until 1885, when he came to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and bought 240 acres in Section 17, Ohio township. It was partially improved. Mr. Parker erected buildings and lived on this place until the fall of 1909, when he sold it, and now resides with his son Fred. On February 20, 1851, Mr. Parker was married to Miss Margaret Haley, who was a native of Kentucky. Fourteen children were born of this marriage, four of whom are living, viz.: Alexander, of Oklahoma; Mrs. Belle Frakes, of Ohio township; Frederick, of Ohio township, and Mrs. Maggie Wright, of Oklahoma. The mother of this family died on September 27, 1879, and February 22, 1880, Mr. Parker married Mrs. Mary Thomas, who was born in Indiana. Two children were born of this second marriage, both of whom are deceased. The mother of these children died on January 18, 1909. Mr. Parker has followed farming all his life. The last fifteen years he has been in poor health. In politics he is a liberal in local affairs, but in national affairs he is a Republican. He is a member of the Baptist Church. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 853)
Edgar Willard Phillips, of Mulvane, Kan., was born in Addi-son county, Vermont, on March 28, 1847, and with his parents moved to and settled in Knox county, Illinois, in 1855. Here he was brought up on a farm and attended school until March 28, 1864, when he enlisted in Company B, Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, serving until the close of the war and being honorably discharged on September 30, 1865. Returning to his home he resumed his occupation as a farmer until the fall of 1870, when he emigrated to southern Kansas, driving the entire distance with a team. Mr. Phillips settled in Sedgwick county, where he was instrumental in organizing Salem township. He always took a prominent part in political affairs, being a staunch Republican and serving many times as a delegate to state, congressional and county conventions, also being chairman of the township central committee several times. In 1885 Mr. Phillips was elected trustee of Salem township and served*in that capacity two years with satisfaction to all concerned and credit to himself. He was elected and served eleven years as school officer in District No. 40. In the fall of 1888 he was elected representative to the state legislature from the Eighty-third district, which then comprised all the territory west of the Arkansas river in Sedgwick county except the Fifth ward of Wichita. In 1890 he was unanimously renominated by his party in the same district. That being the year in which the Populist party figured so extensively in politics, he was defeated with the rest of his ticket. The next year Mr. Phillips purchased the Warren property and removed to Mulvane, where he still resides. In 1908 he was nominated without opposition by the Republican party as representative of the Seventy-fourth district in Sumner county and was elected by a large majority. He served with credit to himself and satisfaction of his constituents and refused the renomination in 1910. On March 24, 1868, Mr. Phillips was married to Miss Jennie E. Adams, who was born in Harrison county, Ohio, on April 7, 1850. Mrs. Phillips was-a daughter of William L. and Nancy (Simmons) Adams, who were natives of the Buckeye state. They moved to Knox county, Illinois, where Mrs. Adams died in 1861, and Mr. Adams about 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have been the parents of seven children, five of whom are living. They are: Mrs. W. H. Duncan, born January 3, 1869, of Allamoosa, Colo.; Mrs. Lewis B. Price, born September 25, 1870, of Wichita, Kan.; Arthur L., born April 7, 1874, of Washington, Pa.. The latter was a member of Company H. Tenth Pennsylvania Infantry, in the Philippine Islands, and was in the battle of Malate on July 31 and August 1, 1898, and at the bombardment and capture of Manila on August 13 of the same year. He remained with his company until mustered out on August 22, 1899; Willard R., born August 20, 1880, lives at Alpine, Tex., where he is a prominent ranchman; Edgar W., born June 30, 1885, and died in January, 1910; Joseph, born August 16, 1891, lives in Wichita; their third child, Leslie L., born February 24, 1873, died in infancy. Mr. Phillips, on January 7, 3871, laid claim to 160 acres of Osage Indian trust lands in Section 25, Salem township. He bought this land at $1.25 per acre and lived on it until 1881, when he bought eighty acres in Section 35, on which he lived until 1891, when he moved into Mulvane. When on the farm he made a specialty of stock raising and wheat. In 1888 he raised forty bushels to the acre. After coming to Mulvane Mr. Phillips was interested in real estate and in 1900 operated a grocery and meat market for about two years, when he retired from business. Fraternally Mr. Phillips is a member of Mulvane Lodge, No. 221, A. F. & A. M., the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 174, of which he ha& passed the chairs and has the Veteran Jewel; of Mulvane Camp,. No. 74, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of Mulvane Post, No. 203, G-. A. R., of which he has been twice commander. In politics Mr. Phillips has always been a Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is one of the elders. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 859-860)
Frank L. Porter is a native Kansan, having been born ai Burlingame on December 30, 1876. His parents are E. J. and Martha (Ely) Porter, natives of Harrisburg, Pa., and Lexington, Ky., respectively. They made the trip to Kansas early in the history of the state and with difficulties besetting them on every side. It was the time when the Civil War strife had begun to subside and feuds were on every hand. They both came to Kansas before their marriage and now reside at Lawrence, Kan. Frank L. Porter was educated at the Emporia High School and began his business career in the employ of D. W. Morris, of Emporia. He afterward took charge of the drug store at the Osawatomie Insane Asylum, and then went to Paola, Kan., where he was engaged in the retail drug trade until 1904, when he came to Wichita. He was with Henry Ozanne as drug clerk for two years and a half, afterward taking charge of the store, which was owned by the Lavander Drug Company. In the fall of 1905 he entered the employ of Gehring & Higginson, and continued with the change to the Higginson Drug Company, and up to the time he became one of the proprietors in May, 1910. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Porter was married on June 27, 1905, to Miss Frances Parker, daughter of John and Mary A. Parker, of Wichita. (History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas: past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county; Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1910, Pages 860)
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