Francis M. Watts, merchant, of Bentley, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born August 19, 1844, in Putnam county, Indiana. His father was Silas Watts, a native of Kentucky, as also was his mother. Silas Watts removed to Owen county, Indiana, from Kentucky in 1834, and remained there about ten years. He was a clergyman of the United Brethren Church, and active in the ministry up to the time of his death. When he lived in Clay and Putnam counties he combined farming with his ministerial duties. Silas Watts devoted his entire life to the work of saving souls and died in 1878. His widow is still living in Harvey county, Kansas. The early education of Francis M. Watts was obtained in the common schools of Putnam county, Indiana, up to his eighteenth year. In 1865 he enlisted in the army for one year and served in Company E, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Indiana Volunteers. Colonel Smith commanded the regiment, which was organized in Indianapolis, went to Washington, D. C, thence to Alexandria, Virginia, and guarded the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The regiment was then consolidated and sent to the Shenandoah Valley and Cedar Creek, Virginia, and then to Winchester, Virginia, where it fought General Mosby's forces. After this Mr. Watts was discharged and returned to Putnam county, Indiana, and was married on March 1, 1866, in Owen county, to Ellen B. Wiley. No children have ever been born of this union. After his marriage Mr. Watts moved to Champaign, Ill., and after a short residence there moved back to Putnam county, Indiana, where he followed the trade of a shoemaker for three years. Here he suffered a severe loss in a fire, which destroyed all his property and practically ruined him. By hard work and perseverance Mr. Watts managed to accumulate $300, and with this money he moved to Kansas in 1875 and settled in the village of Sedgwick, where he engaged in the shoe and harness business for twelve years. He then bought a farm west of Sedgwick, where he remained several years, but gave up farming to take a position as manager of the Farmers' Alliance and to conduct its general store, which he operated successfully for three years. Mr. Watts then engaged in business for himself, conducting grocery stores on the east and west side in Wichita. He was a member of the firm of Watts & Helena, Wichita, for two years, when he sold his interest to his partner. Mr. Watts then moved to Sumner county, Kansas, where he conducted a farm for three years. He then returned to Wichita and bought property, and for a time retired from business. In 1902 Mr. Watts moved to Bentley and engaged in the mercantile business, where he now conducts a large general store and has the confidence of his patrons. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Order, Valley Center Lodge, No. 364, in which he has filled all the chairs. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Fraternal Aid Mutual Insurance Company. In politics Mr. Watts is a Democrat, but voted for Roosevelt twice. He is public spirited and interested in his town and county. Mr. Watts was converted and joined the M. E. Church in 1884, in Sedgwick, Kan. He is a consistent Christian gentleman. He is a Bible student and a good speaker. He is one of the pillars of the M. E. Church in Bentley, Kan., and is a tireless worker for the Master. (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 910-912)
William Watson, farmer, living in Section 23, Morton township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on April 17, 1846. His parents were Samuel and Jane (Holmes) Watson, both natives of Kentucky. The elder Watson was a cabinet maker by trade, to which occupation he devoted the most of his life. He went to Clark county, Illinois, in 1840, with a family of twelve children, and afterwards moved to Martinsville, in the same county, where he remained three years. In 1863 he moved to DeWitt county, Illinois, near Farmer City, and after a short stay there went to Bloomington, where he remained two years, and then went to Chicago. From the latter place he went to Garden- City, Kan., where he died in 1892 at the age of eighty-eight. His wife died in 1871 at the age of fifty-six. William 0. Watson received the benefit of a limited education in the public schools of Indiana and Illinois. After the death of his mother he and another brother remained at the old home to provide for the family for two years. On October 2, 1878, he was married to Miss Ida Hurley, of Farmer City. Two children were born of this union, of whom only one survives, a daughter, Miss Bonnie Watson. The ancestors of Mrs. Watson were pioneers of the state of Ohio and were highly respected people. Her father was noted as a successful farmer in the community in which he lived. He moved to DeWitt county, Illinois, at a very early day, and so thinly was the country then settled he had to go thirty miles to find a market for his produce. He was killed in the battle of Drury Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864, at the age of thirty-four years. His wife died at Farmer City, June 14, 1895, at the age of sixty-three years. After Mr. Watson was married he lived in Farmer City for three years and came to Kansas in 1884, locating on a farm nine miles east of Cheney. He later purchased a farm of 160 acres in Section 23, where he now resides and has lived ever since. He has a happy family, raises good cows, horses and cattle, and always has a number of fine hogs on his farm. In politics Mr. Watson is a Republican.(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 912-913)
S. A. Welsh, of Wichita, Kan., is the well-known proprietor of the Pfister Cigar Company and Pfister Billiard Company, at Nos. 201 and 225 East Douglas avenue, Wichita. Mr. Welsh is an Ohio man who came to Wichita in 1898. A great deal of credit is due to him for the arrangement and makeup of his elegant place of business. The smoke house and billiard hall, located at No. 225 East Douglas avenue, contains the makeup and appliances of older cities. The cigar furnishings in this particular house are as good as any in the country. Citizens of Wichita no longer desire or have need to go to eastern cities to buy good cigars or to play billiards, as the accommodations here surpass or are equal to any of the eastern cities. Mr. Welsh is an old and experienced railroad man, having spent sixteen years in the railroad passenger service, with headquarters at Kansas City. The various roads with which he has been connected are: The Pennsylvania, Wabash, Missouri Pacific, Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the Burlington, serving as ticket agent for these various roads from 1881 to 1897. Mr. Welsh was in the railroad business in the palmy days when commissions were the general rule, and has many friends throughout the United States. He selected Wichita as the metropolis of the Southwest and a city of the first class as his location, and has never lost confidence in its future. He established himself in business here in 1898. (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 913)
Bert C. Wells, city engineer, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of Indiana, where he was born July 19, 1880, near Sheridan. His parents were William and Mary (Cox) Wells, natives of North Carolina, and came to Indiana in the seventies, where they resided until 1907, when they moved to Kansas and located on a farm near Rose Hill, where they now live. Mr. Wells was educated at the public schools of Indiana and Friend's University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1903. He then took a post-graduate course in mathematics and engineering at Haver-ford College for one year. After this Mr. Wells taught in the Wichita High School one year, at the end of which time he was appointed assistant city engineer of Wichita, and in 1908 was appointed city engineer, and is now serving his second term. He is a member of the various commercial bodies of the city. Mr. Wells was married on August 7, 1904, to Miss Sara Shoemaker, of Haysville, Sedgwick county. Two children have been born of this union, Dorothy S. and Frances A. "Wells. (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, Page 914)
W. L. Whitehead, liveryman, of Cheney, Kan., was born June 15, 1858, in East Tennessee. His parents were Samuel and Margaret J. (Thompson) Whitehead. Mr. Whitehead is unable to trace his ancestry very far back on the paternal side, but on the maternal side he can trace them from the first families of Virginia. Mr. Whitehead preceded his parents in coming west, having left his native state in the beginning of 1879, and in the fall of the same year his parents also left their native state to make their future home in the Southwest. W. L. Whitehead first located in McPherson county, Kansas, remaining there one summer, when he removed to Keno county and stopped there one year. He then moved to Grand Eiver township and remained two years, farming all the while, and afterwards moved on the Jewett ranch, in Sedgwick county, where he farmed on an extensive scale for seven years. He then moved to Cheney on April 22, 1890, and after a short time again engaged in farming. He also engaged in the draying business in Cheney and conducted this for fifteen years. In 1908 he purchased a livery barn and is now conducting that business in Cheney. The early education of Mr. Whitehead was acquired in the public schools of East Tennessee. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Christian Church of Cheney. Politically he is a Republican. Mr. WThitehead was married on July 15, 1877, to Miss Rachel E. Hearn, daughter of Thomas Hearn, of Tennessee. Three children have been born of this union, of whom two are living, viz.: Mary C. and Frank, both single. (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, Page 914)
James E. Whitelaw, retired farmer, of Cheney, Kan., was born in Lorain county, Ohio, on November 23, 1849. His parents were Edward A. and Theodosia (Wait) Whitelaw, the father being a native of Scotland and the mother of Vermont. The mother was a descendant of Gen. Ben. Wait, the old Indian fighter of the War of 1812. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Whitelaw came to Cleveland, Ohio, and practiced the profession of medicine up to the time of his death. Mr. Whitelaw's father emigrated from Scotland to Lorain county, Ohio, and for a time became a sailor on the Great Lakes. Giving up the water he engaged in farming in Lorain county, and then moved to Van Buren county, Michigan, where he died in 1881. The education of James E. was limited to the district schools of Michigan. On November 25, 1875, he was married to Miss Loretta Smith, a daughter of Peter Smith, of South Michigan. Six children were born of this union, all of whom are living, viz.: Glenn, who resides in Kansas City, Mo., where he is in the mercantile business; Roy, who lives in Kingman county, Kansas; Frank, a widower; Blanch, now Mrs. B. Minnick, a widow; James, Nevada mining boss, and -Isabella, single and at home. Mrs. Whitelaw died on November 25, 1898. After the death of his wife Mr. Whitelaw was again married in 1902 to Lula E. Brown. Of this marriage there have been no children. In 1877 Mr. Whitelaw located on a farm in Afton township, where he remained for twenty-five years. He afterward moved to Garden Plain, where he conducted a livery business for eight years, and in 1908 moved to Cheney and bought a fine residence, to which he is still adding more improvements. Mr. Whitelaw has long been a resident of Sedgwick county, has held important township offices, and was the first police judge of Garden Plain. Fraternally he is a Mason, being a member of Morton Lodge, No. 258, A. F. & A. M. of Cheney. He is a member of the Christian Church and a Democrat 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 914-915)
David O. Williams, superintendent of the West Side Coal Company, of Wichita, Kan., is a native of New Jersey, having been born at Cape May, that state, on July 17, 1847. His parents were Milleway and Keziah (Sayer) Williams, both natives of New Jersey, who left that state and went to Illinois in 1858, removing from the latter state to Kansas about forty years ago, where the elder Williams took up a claim in Ohio township, Sedgwick county. He died in 1876 at the age of sixty-six years, and his widow lived until 1904, when she died in her eighty-sixth year. David 0. Williams was educated in the public schools of New Jersey and Illinois, and came to Kansas in 1870. After spending one year at Abilene, he returned to Illinois for a year, and in 1872 again came to Kansas and took up a claim in Ohio township, Sedgwick county, upon which he remained until 1880, when he removed to Wichita, where he has since made his home. He was first in the employ of A. A. Hess, grocer, with whom he remained a short time, leaving the latter to enter the employ of the Chicago Lumber Company, with whom he continued until 1884. Mr. Williams then engaged in the grocery business under the firm name of Williams & Nessley, and continued in it until 1889, when the boom wave hit Wichita, affecting nearly every kind of business enterprise. For five years after that Mr. Williams was employed with the Hunter Milling Company, and this was followed by farming interests for the next two years. In 1900 he entered the employ of the Schwartz Lumber Company, and has since that time been the manager of the business of this firm on the West Side, known as the West Side Coal Company. Mr. Williams is a charter member of the West Side Lodge, No. 345, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is one of the first members of the West Side Lodge, No. 1568, Modern Woodmen of America, and is also a member of the Commercial League. He was married on October 27, 1872, in Sangamon county, Illinois, to Miss Hattie J. Cartwright, the ceremony being performed by the pioneer Methodist clergyman of early fame, the Rev. Peter Cartwright. From this union there has been one son, Charles L., of Waco township, Sedgwick county, who was married to Miss Eflie Rhodes, of which union they have two children-Donald Oliver and Charles Edwards. (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 915-916)
Albert P. Willis, merchant, of Valley Center, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born January 8, 1861, in Logan county, Illinois. His father was William Willis, a native of Ohio, who moved from Ohio to Illinois in 1876. The same year the elder Willis made a visit to Kansas and bought 160 acres of land in Section 29, Grant township, and in 1884 he removed from Illinois and bought land in Kechi township, on which he lived up to the time of his death in 1896. He was the father of eight children, six of whom are now living, Albert P. being the seventh child. The father of Albert P. learned the carpenter trade when a boy in Ohio and devoted his time to that trade and farming. In the latter occupation he was very successful, raising good hogs and cattle. Albert P. Willis acquired his education in the public schools of Illinois and Kansas. He came with his father to Kansas and lived with him until his death. After this Albert P. removed to Harney county, Kansas, where he remained one year, and in 1901 he removed to Sunny Dale, where he engaged in the mercantile business, to which he has since devoted his entire attention and has established a large trade. Mr. Willis was married on March 5, 1885, to Miss Anna Springer, a daughter of Peter Springer, of Kechi township. Six children have been born of this union, four boys and two girls, as follows: Clarence, Grace, Charles, Katherme, Frank and Roy. Clarence is married and has one child; Grace is now Mrs. Lekron and has one child. Mr. Willis is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Valley Center Lodge, No. 223, and the A. H. T. A. In politics he is a Democrat. (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, Page 916)
William F. Willis, merchant, of Kechi, Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a native of Illinois, where he was born on May 7, 1863, in Logan county. His parents were William and Mary (Arnold) Willis, the mother being a native of South Carolina and tracing her ancestry to England. William Willis, the father, came to Kansas with a family of seven children and located in Grant township, Sedgwick county, and lived there until he died in 1890. William F. Willis was educated in the public schools of Grant township and remained with his parents until he was twenty years old. He lived on the farm until November 15, 1909. He purchased the old homestead and is now the owner of 240 acres of land in Section 4, Kechi township. He moved to Kechi, where he bought a general stock of merchandise and has been conducting business ever since. Mr. Willis is known as a public-spirited citizen. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the A. H. T. A. He is a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school and was trustee of Kechi township for two years. Mr. Willis was married September 30, 1886, to Miss Stella Hatfield, in Grant township. Nine children have been born of this union, of whom all are now living, viz.: Oliver, Efifie, Clyde, Guy, Claud, Glenn, Opal, Waine and Read. (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 917)
Hollis N. Wilson, Civil War veteran, of Goddard, Kan., was born in New Hampshire on May 18, 1843. His parents were Samuel T. and Laurna (Robinson) Wilson. Both his parents were natives of New Hampshire, the ancestors on the paternal side coming from Scotland and on the maternal side from England. The parents moved west to Illinois in 1844, locating in Woodford county, and remained there until 1875, in which year the father died. His widow lived until 1892, in which year she died at the age of eighty-six. Hollis N. Wilson enlisted in the army when he was nineteen years old in Company E, One Hundred and Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was first commanded by Colonel Warner, of Peoria. The regiment after receiving its equipment went to Covington, Ky., then to Nicholasville, Ky., where it guarded the railroad; then to Louisville, Ky., and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Milliken 's Bend, La.; then went up the Yazoo river to Chickasaw bayou, and fought the rebels at the latter place to Young's Point, Miss. The regiment then moved up the Arkansas river to Arkansas Post and there took the fort. All this time the regiment was in the Sixteenth Army Corps. After the battle of Arkansas Post the regiment was under Sherman. After the many severe battles in which the regiment participated the ranks were greatly reduced, and at Young's Point Mr. Wilson was detached from the regiment and placed on one of the mortar boats in the Mississippi river fleet, where be did special duty up to the surrender of Vieksburg. After the surrender Mr. Wilson was ordered to Memphis, Tenn., and was detailed to General Bucklin's headquarters, and after having participated in several other hard engagements he was finally discharged on August 5, 1865, at Vieksburg, Miss. After his discharge Mr. Wilson returned to his home in Woodford county, where on August 25, 1867, he was married to Miss Lizzie J. Newton. One son was born of this union. Mr. Wilson came to Kansas from Illinois in 1874, but soon after returned to Illinois. He again came west and located on a half section in Attica township in 1882 and then resided in Goddard, Kan., which he calls his permanent home, although he spends much of his time with his son, who lives on a farm in Attica township. Mr. Wilson is a public-spirited citizen. He manages about 4,000 acres of land owned by eastern men, besides his own real estate, which consists of 640 acres. He is a Republican 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 917-918)
Albert W. Wise, a prosperous farmer of Illinois township, Sedgwick county, Kansas, is a native of Marshall county, Illinois, and was born in 1856, the son of Stephen U. and Maria (Wyly) Wise. He passed his boyhood on a farm in La Salle county, Illinois, but in 1880 moved to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and with his brother bought the east half of Section 36, in Illinois township. At a later date they bought the other half of this section and in 1909 Mr. Wise purchased his brother's interest, so that he now owns 640 acres in Illinois township. His home is on the south, on the township line, and the place is finely improved and thoroughly equipped with all the needed appliances of an up-to-date, model farm. He carries on general farming and stock raising, feeding, besides the corn and oats he raises, large quantities which he buys, and has made his farming operations eminently successful. He also owns 320 acres of improved land in Harper county, Kansas.
Mr. "Wise is a man of much influence in the community and for three years has served as trustee of his township. He is a director and also president of the Home State Bank of Clear-water. In politics he holds independent views.
In 1882 Mr. Wise married Miss Catherine E., a daughter of Col. S. B. Patch, of Streator, La Salle county, Illinois. They have seven children, named, respectively, Arthur, Leslie, Dean, John, Alice, Paul and Ruth. (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 918-919)
D. P. Woods, one of the progressive and wide awake young business men of Wichita, Kans., came thither with his parents when but four years old. He acquired his preliminary education in the Wichita schools and then studied two years in the Kansas University. After leaving the university he spent four years in Oregon in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad Company and in 1901 returned to Wichita and associated himself with his stepfather, Mr. E. P. Powell, as part owner of the Crystal Ice Company. On the death of Mr. Powell, in 1902, he purchased the estate's interest in the ice company and himself conducted it till 1909. Selling out, he next bought a controlling interest in the Wichita Ice and Cold Storage Company, located at Nos. 213-29 South Rock Island avenue, and has the general management of the concern. The officers of this company are: C. W. South-word. president; D. P. Woods, vice-president and treasurer, and I. Brooks, secretary. Mr. Woods stands high in fraternal orders, being a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to the Wichita Consistory, and the Elks, and holding membership in the Chamber of Commerce of Wichita. In 1904 Mr. Woods married Miss Anna, daughter of Mr. C. W. Brown, of Wichita, and they have two children, named, respectively, Elizabeth and Julia. (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, Page 919)
Charles H. Woolf, one of the self-made men and especially successful farmers, stock raisers and fruit growers of Kansas, resides on a finely cultivated farm on the northwest quarter of Section 23, Morton township, Sedgwick county, Kansas. He was born October 11, 1854, in Muskingum county, Ohio, of which Zanesville is the county seat, and is a son of Andrew T. and Angeline Woolf. (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, Page 919)
Andrew T. Woolf was a son of Adam and Mary Woolf, who became residents of Ohio in 1830, locating in Muskingum county, the family being originally from Loudoun county, Virginia. The maternal grandmother of Charles H. Woolf was a Pennsylvania Dutch woman, and was brought by her parents to Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1806. His father was the oldest of eight children, some of whom are deceased. John resides in Chicago, while Frank, Samuel and Sophia probably reside in Virginia, as their brother has never heard of their death. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. "Woolf were married, about 1853, in Muskingum county, Ohio, and being poor people, rented a farm from a German in the neighborhood. Five children were born to them, as follows: Charles H.; Frank, a prominent farmer of Illinois township, Se,dgwick county, Kansas; Laura, now Mrs. LeRoy Dunn, who resides on some of the homestead property in Ohio, and has two sons and two daughters; Blanche, who is the wife of Milo E. Dunn, a professional man residing in Columbus, Ohio, and has three children; and Maude, now Mrs. Cawkins, of Zanesville, Ohio. (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 919-920)
WOOLF, CHARLES H.
Charles H. Woolf was reared and mentally instructed in the common schools of his district, receiving, however, but few educational advantages. He assisted his father until he was twenty-two years old, when he married (in 1878), and continued on the farm for five years more, when the landlord died. His heirs offered Charles H. the farm at the same rent his father had paid, but he refused, and having heard of the chances of a poor man in Kansas resolved to try his fortune in that state. Louis Howard, a friend of his, had been to see the country around "Wichita, so Mr. "Woolf determined to see it for himself. Therefore, in December, 1881, in company with Frank "Woolf, his brother, the subject of this writing came to Kansas, and after visiting several localities in the eastern portion reached "Wichita, and inspected the surroundings. He was so well pleased that he returned to Ohio, sold his live stock and farm implements, and with his wife and two children, his brother's family and his brother-in-law. returned to the Sunflower State in March, 1882. The first location was made on the old Frank Stover farm, fifteen miles southwest of "Wichita, where he resided one year. Then he moved to Frank Means' farm, where he also stayed a year. During this time Charles H. Woolf and Frank Woolf had purchased a half section in Illinois township, and the subject hereof moved to this farm. He resided there until the spring of 1886, when he traded with Thomas Speers for the northwest quarter of Section 23, township 28, range 4 west, his present home, and one of the finest pieces of farm property in Sedgwick county. Very few improvements had been made on this farm by the former owner, who had pre-empted it. As soon as it came into the possession of Mr. Woolf, however, he commenced enhancing its value, and has continued making improvements ever since. Owing to the care bestowed upon it the farm has yielded manifold and Mr. Woolf has raised fine crops of corn, wheat, etc., which have never failed during the many years of his ownership. Being a man of original ideas, Mr. Woolf has taken especial pains with his orchards and has twenty acres set out in fruit trees. In 1890, at the county fair, he took the "blue ribbon" on his apples, his exhibit including thirteen varieties of apples, two varieties of pears and one of quinces. About the same time that he planted his orchard he set out a fine grove of shade trees, including black locust, maple and catalpa, all of which are in excellent condition.
In 1895 Mr. Woolf erected his present comfortable residence, at a cost of some $3,000. It is a large structure, being 32 by 54 feet in dimensions, is 20 feet high to the square, and has nine rooms, including the bathroom. It is supplied with hot and cold water, has a walled cellar, 24 by 26 feet square, and is furnished with all modern improvements. The handsome barn accommodates twelve horses, while numerous other outbuildings testify to the owner's thrift and good management. Mr. Woolf also makes a specialty of dairy products, keeping some forty head of cattle, about twenty of which are milch cows. In his dairy are all modern appliances, including a cream separator, and he sends his cream by express to Wichita for sale. The strain of cattle he prefers is the famous Red Polled, while his hogs are of Berkshire stock.
In addition to his home farm Mr. Woolf is the possessor of eighty acres in Section 14 (twenty acres of which are seeded to alfalfa), and also 240 acres in Section 22 (the northeast quarter and the north half of the northwest quarter), which is pasture land, and through which the Ninnescah river runs.
In 1878 Mr. Woolf married Ellie Hart, daughter of Isaac and Martha Hart, and nine children have been born to them. The names of the children are as follows: Roy, born in Ohio; Will, born in Ohio; Ada, Mattie, Ida and Laura, deceased; Hattie; Nellie, and Hazel. Since locating in Kansas the members of the family have enjoyed excellent health, although at the time of the moving Mrs. Woolf's health was very poor;
As a prosperous, practical farmer and business roan, Mr. Woolf has few equals, and the success which has crowned his efforts is well deserved. Although not a politician, not seeking office, he has been selected three terms as a trustee of Morton township. Fraternally he is a charter member of the M. W. of A. at Cheney. In church matters he gives his support to and attends the Cheney M. E. Church. Both as a private citizen and a public official Mr. Woolf's every action has been characterized by fairness of dealing and uprightness of purpose. He enjoys a widespread popularity and is regarded as one of the best representatives of the agricultural interests of the great state of Kansas.(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 920-922)
George L. Young is manager of the Wichita branch of the Young Brothers Decorative Company. He was born at Quincy, HI., in 1863 to John B. and Catherine Doohen Young. In 1886 he married Miss May Burgesser, of Clayton, Ill. He is prominent in social and fraternal organizations, is a thirty-second degree Mason, belongs to the Wichita Consistory, and is a member of the Ancient Order of United Woodmen.
The company with which Mr. Young is connected was organized in 1874 by John B. and Elijah D. Young, at Quincy, Ill., and carried on there with marked success. In 1887 a branch house was opened at Wichita and John B. removed thither, Elijah D. continuing to look after the company's affairs at Quincy. During the first three years the Wichita branch was located at No. 352 North Main street, but in 1890 moved to No. 236 North Main " street and continued there till its removal to the present location, No. 142 North Main street, in 1906. The officers of the company are: John B. Young, president; Elijah D. Young, vice-president; and George Young, our subject, secretary and treasurer. It ranks among the prosperous and progressive business houses of Wichita and in its development has kept pace with the growth of the city, being the largest concern of its kind in the place, carrying a full and complete stock of goods used in the decorative line. The growth and standing of the concern are a credit alike to the company's conservative, wise and enterprising management.(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, Page 922)
Joseph M. Jordan, retired farmer, of Mt. Hope, Sedgwick county, Kansas, was born May 25, 1842, near Stanton, Virginia. He is a son of Joseph and Anna R. Jordan, natives of Virginia. The remote ancestors on the paternal side are traced to England. The father of Joseph M. reared a family of seven children, of which he is the second born. Joseph M. remained under the paternal roof until he was twenty-five years old. His father was a miller and also a farmer in Virginia, and a respected citizen of the community in which ha lived. He died in Virginia in 1894, his wife having died in the same state in 1875. Joseph M. Jordan was married on May 30, 1867, to Miss Mary E. Crann, a daughter of Samuel Crann, of Virginia, in Dutchess county, that state. Fourteen children have been born of this union, viz.: James S., William C, Jacob M., Francis M., Lewis G., Luella M., Elsie E.? Alma E., Susanna B., Eiias C, and Ezekiel, all of whom are living. Among the deceased are Joseph B., John M. and Emmett S. Joseph M. Jordan farmed in Virginia until 1883, when he removed to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and "was located two miles from Mt. Hope, which at that time was not in existence. He bought a tract of land and made valuable improvements on the property, which he now owns, and on which he resided up to 1897, in which year he moved to Mt. Hope. He has been a successful farmer, dealing extensively in horses, cattle and hogs, and he took advantage of Mt. Hope as an educational center for his children and has made it his permanent residence. Mr. Jordan is a member of the Christian church, in which he has been a deacon for eighteen years. Mrs. Jordan takes great pride in her children and her Virginia ancestors. Her father was conscripted in the Confederate army. He entered the service on Friday and the following Sunday was killed in the battle of Piedmont, Virginia. (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 922-923)
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