Biographies of Shawnee County, Kansas

SHAWNEE COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

MILLS, WILLIAM W.

William W. Mills, who has successfully followed general contracting in Topeka, Kan., for the past fifteen years, is a native of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, where he was born on a farm four and one-half miles from Brookville, March 14, 1859. He is the son of John and Maria. Jane (Hughes) Mills, the former of whom was brought to Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, when an infant by his parents and died there in the fall of 1908, at the age of seventy-eight years. In 1854 John Mills married Maria Jane Hughes, a native of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, and of the twelve children born to that union six grew to maturity, namely: Mary; William W. of this review; Laura, Nora, Stella, and Clyde, all of whom reside in Pennsylvania except William W. Mills, of this sketch. In I903 these children, with their families, numbering sixteen persons, all gathered at the old home to celebrate the golden wedding anniversary of their parents. The mother, now seventy-four years of age, is still living at the old home at Brookville, Pa., and visited her son, William W. Mills, in Topeka, in 1910. John Mills followed lumbering all of his life and rafted many a load of lumber on the Allegheny, Red Bank and Clarion rivers. He was the largest lumberman on the Allegheny in his day and owned several large milling plants, in connection with which he also owned and conducted several large general stores. He was a Republican in politics and took a prominent part in the public as well as the business life of his community, having served as treasurer of Jefferson county two terms and having been appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania to fill out an unexpired term as judge of the district court.

William W. Mills, the third of twelve children born to these parents, and was reared near Brookville and received a good common and high school education, which was supplemented by a complete course at Duff's Commercial College in Pittsburgh, Pa. He began his independent career when twenty-one years of age and visited nearly all of the Western and Rocky Mountain states. The year of 1881 found him in Topeka, Kan., where he learned the brick layer's trade, and after having mastered it, he followed his trade in different cities until 1885, when he returned to Topeka, which city has since remained his home. He was foreman for George Evans & Company during their five years' work on the north and south wings of the state capitol building, and following that period he was employed at El Paso, Tex., where Evans & Company had taken a contract to erect twenty-two buildings at Fort Bliss for the United States government.. He was next employed on the Shawnee county court-house at Topeka. In 1895 Mr. Mills began general contracting for himself and has continued it to the present time, during which he has enjoyed a representative and lucrative business. For the last seven years Mr. Mills has been in partnership with John W. Barber, under the firm name of Barber & Mills.

Mr. Mills was united in marriage May 15, 1889, to Miss Carrie B. McGiffin of Topeka, the daughter of John A. and Amelia W. (Wallace) McGiffin, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Jefferson county, in 1839, and the latter in Venango county. John A. McGiffin was the son of Hugh McGiffin, a native of Ireland, who came to Pennsylvania when but a boy; the former was reared to agricultural pursuits, but in 1884 came to Topeka, Kan., where he resided , until his death, in 1911. Mrs. McGiffin is the daughter of Robert Wallace, a native of the North of Ireland but of Scotch descent, who emigrated to America and was the first potter to work on the banks of the Allegheny. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and the family has in its possession a British cannon ball which Robert Wallace found embedded in a tree at Bridgeport, Conn. (*See note at end of sketch.) John A. and Amelia W. (Wallace) McGiffin became the parents of three sons and three daughters, namely: Frank W., Carrie, Harry A., Mar-garet,. Mary, and Alice, of whom Harry and Alice are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Mills have two children: Mildred M., born June 23, 1891, now a student at the State Agricultural College at Manhattan, and Frank Clyde, born Aug. 19, 1893, who is in the sophomore class of the Topeka High School. Mr. Mills is a Republican in his political views and takes an active interest in political affairs. He is a charter member of Lodge No. 244, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is also a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security. Mrs. Mills is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Topeka.

*This branch of the Wallace family is descended from Sir William Wallace, a noted figure in Scotch history. (Source: Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Pages 1406-1407, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)

MULVANE, DAVID WINFIELD

David Winfield Mulvane, a distinguished member of the Topeka bar and widely associated with various commercial interests of that city, is a native of Princeton, Ill., where he was born on Jan. 4, 1863, the son of Joab Mulvane, who is one of the prominent business men of Topeka. He came to Topeka with his parents in 1876 and that city ever since has been his home. He was educated in the Topeka public schools and graduated in the high school, after which he spent two years in Washburn College. In 1881 he entered Yale College where he took a full four years course, graduating with the class of 1885 with the degree of A. B. For three years following his graduation he was engaged in railroad construction in the State of Kansas. He then spent four years reading law in the office of the late Gen. A. L. Williams, of Topeka, under which able preceptor he was prepared for his admission to the bar, which occurred in 1890, since which date he has been actively engaged in the practice of law. He is now the senior member of the law firm of Mulvane & Gault, with offices in the Mulvane building. He is a Republican in politics and is an active worker in behalf of his party. He served for ten years as a member of the Kansas Republican state committee, and since 1900 he has been a member of the national committee, serving on that committee through three presidential campaigns, all of which brought success to his party.

In 1909 he became one of the chief organizers and incorporators of the Bank Savings National Life Insurance Company, with general offices at Topeka, was made its first president and is serving as such at the present time. He is a director of the American Cement and Plaster Company, of Lawrence, Kan.; is a director of the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad Company; is a director of the Capital Vitrified Brick Company of Topeka; and also a director of the Chickasha Cotton Seed Oil Company of Oklahoma.

Mr. Mulvane is a member of the Shawnee County Bar Association, the Kansas State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is a member of the Commercial, the Topeka, the Country and the Elks clubs, all of Topeka. He is a Thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On May 5, 1906, Mr. Mulvane was united in marriage with Mrs. Helen M. Drexel, of New York City. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mulvane are active participants in the social life of Topeka. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry (A picture of David W. Mulvane may be obtained by contacting the contributor at, Rock2Plate@aol.com.)

NOWERS, JOHN WILLIAM

John William Nowers, car accountant of the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, Topeka, Kan., is a native of England, where he was born at, Lydd, County of Kent, July 23, 1853. His parents were Edward Alfred and Elizabeth (Blacklocks) Nowers, who were lifelong residents of England, where the mother's death occurred Aug. 2, 1856, and that of the father on Jan. 26, 1879. Edward A. Nowers, who was a chemist and pharmacist, was a scion of the old and prominent Nowers family of Gothurst, Buckinghamshire and Pluckley, County Kent, England, which possesses a coat of arms and whose original ancestors came to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror in the year 1066. John W. Nowers and his older brother, Lawrence Edward Nowers, who now resides at Douglas, Ariz., were the only members of their immediate family who came to the United States.

Mr. Nowers was reared and educated at Hastings in the County of Sussex, England, where he had gone to live with an aunt, a change demanded by the frail health of his mother. In 1872, when nineteen years of age, he came to the United States and first went to the home of his uncle, his father's brother, at Atkinson, Ill., where he was engaged in various kinds of employment until February, 1879, when he came to Kansas. On May 7 of that year he entered the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, and with the exception of the brief period from July I, 1899, to July 1, I900, during which he gave his attention to mining pursuits, he has been in the continuous employ of that company, winning successive promotions as follows: From May 7, 1879, to Oct. 1, 1880, he was a clerk in the auditor's office; Oct. 1, 1880, to March 31, 1882, clerk in the superintendent's office, Las Vegas, N. M.; April 1, 1882, to May 31, 1883, clerk in the chief engineer's office, Topeka, Kan.; June 1 to Aug. 31, 1883, clerk in the assistant general superintendent's office; Sept. 1, 1883, to Feb. 29, 1884, clerk in the general superintendent's office; March 1, 1884, to Jan. 31, 1886, clerk in the general manager's office; Feb. 1, 1886, to April 30, 1888, clerk in vice-president's office; May 1, 1888, to Dec. 31, 1898, clerk in the general manager's office; January 1 to June 30, 1899, chief clerk in the store department; July 1, 1899, to June 30, 1900, out of the service; July 1 to Dec. 1, 1900, clerk in the general auditor's office, Chicago; Dec. 1, 1900, to Jan. 9, 1905, in the auditor of disbursements' office, Topeka; and on Jan. 10, 1905, he was promoted to his present position, that of car accountant.

Mr. Nowers was married June 9, 1885, to Miss Marcella Cecelia Ransom, of Aledo, Mercer county, Ill. They have four children, three sons and one daughter, as follows: Phillip Julienne, born May 7, 1887; Joseph Ransom Fay, born Dec. 7, 1888; Paul, born Nov. 16, 1890; and Mary Cecelia, born Sept. 26, 1892. Mr. Nowers is a Republican in his political views, and his church membership is with the Episcopal denomination. He is a member of the Association of Transportation and Car Accountant Officers of the United States and of the Central and Western Association of Car Service Officers of which he served as president two years, in 1908 and in 1909. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the Topeka Commercial Club.

Berry's History of Heraldry says the coat of arms used by the Nowers family was one of those granted by Richard Coeur de Leon to his followers-each knight being distinguished by the design upon his shield. The Nowers design is thus described: "Shield argent; two bars gales in chief; three crescent gales; crest, a lion's paw grasping a crescent. Motto, Tenio, `I hold.'" In addition to these arms, the family in its different branches had nine several grants of arms between the years, 1066 and 1480 A. D.

(Source: Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Pages 1403-1404, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)

WINTER, ALBERT HENRY

Albert Henry Winter, supervisor of manual training in the Topeka schools, was born in Chicago, Ill., May 24, 1878. There he was reared and educated, not only in the city's graded schools but also in private schools, his work in the latter schools being along special lines and in lieu of a high school course. Early in life he acquired a fondness for mechanical work and decided to master the machinist's trade. He there fore secured a position with a large manufacturing concern, in which he worked more in the capacity of an apprentice than as an employee, after four years of close application, three of which were spent with Roth Brothers & Company of Chicago, one of the largest electrical machinery supply firms in the West, he not only possessed a thorough knowledge as a machinist but- was also equipped with a practical experience in handling machinery. During a part of his last three years with the above company he attended a night school, in which he took a course in mechanical drawing and draughting. In 1900 he matriculated in the Lewis Institute, a technical school of Chicago, in which he took a course in mechanical engineering, graduating from that excellent institution in 1905. During the last few months of his course in the Lewis Institute he was an assistant instructor in the wood working and machine departments. He had just completed his course and was still connected with the institute when he was tendered and accepted the position of instructor in the wood working and mechanical drawing departments of the manual training schools of Topeka. He entered upon his duties in the fall of 1905 and steadily advanced through merited promotion to his present responsible position, that of supervisor of manual training, which he attained in 1910. There are eighteen schools under his supervision, in each of which is a room fully equipped for manual training instruction and in charge of a teacher especially qualified for the work. Under his able management this phase of the pupil's schooling is becoming popular in Topeka and will constantly grow in favor with both patron and pupil. Prof. Winter comes of stanch German ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides, his great-grand-father having fought under Blucher at the battle of Waterloo and having been honored with a medal for his valor and bravery. His parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Simon) Winter, are old and respected residents of Chicago, Ill., where the former has filled for years the position of an expert on titles to realty. He is also a native of Chicago, while the mother of Prof. Winter is a native of Bay City, Mich. They became the parents of two children: Albert Henry Winter, the subject of this review, and Adelia Irene, who resides with her parents in Chicago. Prof. Winter is a Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the "Dedalions," a college fraternity. While he is a member of the German Lutheran church and was reared in that faith, he attends and affiliates with the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Topeka. (Source: Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Pages 1407-1408, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)

HOWE, SAMUEL T.

Samuel T. Howe, of Topeka, a member of the state tax commission, and a well known citizen of the state, began his public services in Kansas in 1871, and since that time has filled numerous positions of steadily increasing responsibility and importance. He is of the eighth generation of a family first represented in this country by Edward Howe, who came from Broad Oaks, Essex county, England, in the ship, "True Love," in 1635, and landed at Lynn, Mass., where he resided until his death, in 1639. From him were descended successively: Isaac Howe, of New. Haven, Conn.; Nathaniel Howe, of Greenwich, Conn.; Isaac Howe, of Stamford, Conn.; Epenetus Howe, of South Salem, N. Y.; Epenetus Howe, of Ridgefield, Conn.; John Howe, of Brutus, N. Y.; David Howe, of Toledo, Ohio; and Samuel T. Howe, of this review. A granddaughter of Edward Howe married John Dixwell, one of England's regicides, to whom a modest memorial has been erected on the green at Yale University. A number of this family have honored the name as manufacturers, lawyers, statesmen and public officials, prominent among whom are: Dr. John Ireland Howe, of Derby, Conn., a first cousin of Samuel T. Howe's father, who was the inventor of solid head pins and established the Howe Pin Company, of Derby, Conn.; Thomas Palmer Howe, a patent-right lawyer, of Brooklyn, N. Y.; James R. Howe, of Brooklyn, N. Y., a first cousin of Samuel T. Howe, was elected to Congress twice from the Sixth (Brooklyn) district, and was the first Republican ever elected to Congress from that district; he also served as register of Kings county, New York; Epenetus Howe, another first cousin, was several times a member of the New York assembly.

Samuel T. Howe was born at Savannah, Wayne county, New. York, July 23, 1848, a son of David and Hannah Maria (Thorp) Howe, the latter a daughter of Peter and Phoebe Thorp. David Howe, who spent the greater part of his life in Toledo, Ohio, was a building contractor and a superior mechanic, and taught his son the carpenter trade. He was a Republican in politics and an influential citizen of the city of Toledo, where he died, and where he had served twenty years as a deacon in the Baptist church. Samuel T. Howe attended the public schools of Toledo and was a first year high school student at the opening of the great Civil war, which so appealed to his youthful patriotism and was of such paramount interest to him that his school studies were put aside and no further attention given to educational matters until eighteen years later, when by self-study and culture he sought to correct the mistakes of his youth, and by wide reading and study, has acquired a broad knowledge of men and affairs. He was not yet thirteen years old when the war opened, in 1861, but he, nevertheless, ardently desired to enter the army, which wish his father so strongly opposed that .he was not permitted to enlist until July 8, 1863, when he enrolled in the First regiment, Ohio militia, which his father thought was but a home guard organization. This regiment was called into active service in 1864, but Mr. Howe was then a government employee in Alabama, having become tired of waiting for the call of his regiment. In January, 1865, he finally gained the consent of his father and enlisted at Toledo, Ohio, in Company B, One Hundred and Eighty-ninth Ohio infantry, with which he served until the close of the war.

In December, 1868, Mr. Howe came to Kansas and followed his occupation at Leavenworth, Topeka, Burlingame and Salina, until January, 1871, when he became a resident of Marion county. He served as sheriff of that county from 1871 to 1874; as clerk of the district court three terms, or from 1874 to 1880; was elected county treasurer of Marion county in 1879 and reelected in 1881, but before entering upon his second term in that office was elected state treasurer, that election having occurred in November, 1882. he was reelected state treasurer in 1884. Upon his retirement from the office of state treasurer Mr. Howe engaged in the real estate business in Topeka, and thus continued until 1895, when he was elected a member of the state board of, railroad commissioners, to serve one year.. He was reelected to that office for a term of three years, in 1896, but when the Populist party came into power, in 1897, they summarily dismissed from office all Republicans whose term of office was , not fixed by statute, which included the railroad commissioners, therefore Mr. Howe served but two years as a railroad com-missioner. In 1907, without solicitation on the part of Mr. Howe, he was appointed a member of the state tax commission, by Governor Hoch, which appointment was confirmed by the senate. He was appointed for four years, which term he served in full, and on July 1, 1911, he entered upon a second term of four years, having been reappointed by Gov. W. R. Stubbs.

The marriage of Mr. Howe took place at Marion, Kan., Dec. 24, 1876, uniting him to Clara Belle Fraser, a daughter of William Fraser, of Portsmouth, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Howe have been born the following children: Clara Alice, Bertrice Aileen, Fred L., Samuel T., Jr., Walter D., William Epenetus, Clara Elizabeth, and Clifford T. Of these children, Alice, Clifford and Falter are deceased. Mr. Howe associates with the time-honored Masonic fraternity, as a member of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery. He is also a member of Lincoln Post, No. 1, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Sons and Daughters of Justice. He has been treasurer of the Foster Humane Society of Topeka since its organization; has served five years as a member of the Topeka city council, during two of which he was its president; has been president of the Topeka Board of Trade; has served as a director of the Topeka Commercial Club, of which he is still a member, and at the present time (1912) is a member of the executive committee of the National Tax Association. During Mr. Howe's long and honorable career he has, both as a private citizen and as an official, left the impress of his life upon the communities in which he has resided, where his record is one of continuous effort toward the upbuilding of humanity and the public welfare. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Page 790-791, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)

MILLER, JOHN MARTIN

John Martin Miller, assistant adjutant-general of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kansas, is one of the numerous eastern men who settled in Kansas in the early days of the state and have witnessed its marvelous growth. Mr. Miller was born in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1840, a son of John Miller, a farmer, and wife, whose maiden name was Susan Schneider, both natives of Pennsylvania. John Miller, the father, was a son of Henry and Margaret Ann Miller. On both the paternal and maternal sides Mr. Miller is of German descent.

John M. Miller was reared on a farm in his native Pennsylvania county, and at the age of fifteen became a teacher in the public schools. He taught in all nine terms, the first five of which were taught in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, prior to the Civil war, and the last three were taught in Mercer county, Ill., subsequent to his service in the Union army. On Jan. 1, 1861, he was married to Miss Jane Eliza Stephenson, of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and to their marriage were born five children-two of whom died in infancy. The other three are: Mrs. Addie Miller Sperry, of Kansas City, Mo.; Harry Allison Miller, who is inspector of transportation for the Santa Fe Railway Company, with headquarters at Dodge City; and Mrs. Jeannette Miller McCoy, of Encampment, Wyo. On Aug. 13, 1862, Mr. Miller bade good-bye to his wife and infant daughter, Addie, who was then but one day old, and enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Second Illinois infantry, giving loyal and true service to his country in the great struggle for the preservation of the American Union. Early in 1869 he removed from Mercer county, Illinois, to Johnson county, Kansas, and located at Spring Hill, where he engaged in the lumber business. While a resident of that city he served one term in the state legislature, representing the Olathe district. In 1874 he removed to Larned, Kan., where he also engaged in the lumber business and while a resident of that place served as county treasurer, and also one term as representative to the state legislature from Pawnee county. Thirty-two years ago, or in 1879, he removed to the city of Topeka, where he has since resided. The first four years of his residence there he held a responsible position with the Santa Fe Railway Company, but he later engaged in the livery business. During Colonel Harrison's administration as mayor of Topeka he was sanitary sergeant with Dr. Hibben, and later occupied the position of deputy clerk of the district court. He has been adjutant of Lincoln Post, No. I, Grand Army of the Republic, for twelve years, and for the past four years has been adjutant-general of the Department of Kansas, a position that has never previously been held by any one more than two years. Such is the esteem in which he is held by the members of the Grand Army of the Republic in the State of Kansas. Besides his identification with the Grand Army of the Republic he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights and Ladies of Security, and other prominent fraternal organizations. This biography of Mr. Miller is a brief record of the life of a self-made man, who, with worthy ambitions and a strong character, has attained success in hid life's work, and has proved amply worthy of the strong hold which he has upon thee confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Pages 739-794, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)

O'NEIL, EDWIN LESTER

Edwin Lester O'Neil, of Topeka, was born on a farm near Ferry, Pike county, Illinois, July 18, 1873. He is a son of Felix O'Neil, a farmer and native of Massachusetts, and Elizabeth (Turner) O'Neil, who was a native of Indiana. In 1880 Felix O'Neil removed with his family from Illinois to Kansas, making the trip in two covered wagons over the old historic trails of immigration and locating on a farm in Brown county. On this Brown county farm Edwin Lester O'Neil was reared to manhood. His mother died at Hiawatha, Jan. 10, 1907. The farm is still owned by his father, who now makes his home in Hiawatha.

Edwin L. O'Neil obtained his earlier education in the country schools and in the Hiawatha Academy, graduating at the latter institution. He then entered Washburn College, at Topeka, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Law- in 1901. After leaving Washburn College he was for several years engaged in business pursuits at Topeka. His service as a public official began in 1905, when he was elected clerk of the court of Topeka. In 1907 he was reelected, and while serving in that capacity he studied law in Washburn College, and on Jan. 21, 1909, he was admitted to the bar by the Kansas state supreme court. Since that time he has practiced law in addition to discharging his official duties. While serving his second term as clerk of the court of Topeka he resigned from that position to accept the office of county commissioner, to which he was elected in 1908 for a term which will not expire until January, 1913. Mr. O'Neil is a director in the Capital City Vitrified Brick & Paving Company, and is also attorney for this firm. He is a prominent member of the professional and social organizations, a member of the Shawnee county and Kansas state bar associations, the Commercial Club, and is a Knight Templar Mason. He is a member of the Jayhawker Club of Topeka, of which he was one of the founders and organizers. His political relations are with the Republican party.

Mr. O'Neil was married April 29, 1903, to Miss Octavia Greenwood, who had been a classmate of his in Washburn College. The following year, in September, she died, leaving an infant daughter, Octavia, who was born Aug. 10, 1904. On Oct. 9, 1907, he was married to Miss Nina Thomas, a native of Topeka, a daughter of Adolph Thomas and granddaughter of Chester Thomas, who was one of the early pioneers of the city of Topeka. Adolph Thomas was clerk of the Federal court of Topeka for several years and now resides at Silver Lake, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. O'Neil have two children: Thomas Edwin, born Nov. 13, 1909; and Richard Turner, born July 12, 1911. Mr. O'Neil is a member of the Central Congregational church. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Pages 788-789, Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)

FOSTER, FRANK HENRY

Frank Henry Foster, a prominent lawyer of the Topeka bar, was born on a farm near Walpole, N. H., Jan. 6, 1857, son of Henry Thomas Foster, a farmer, and his wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Morrill Fuller. On both the paternal and maternal sides. Mr. Foster is a descendant of old patriot New England families, members of his paternal ancestry having been represented in the Revolution, and among them was his great-great-grandfather, Jacob Foster, who was a chaplain in the Continental army and was a classmate, at Harvard College, of John Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The original ancestor of the Foster family in this country was Reginald Foster, who emigrated from the North of England to America in 1638, and first located on Hog Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Many of his descendants took part in the struggle for American independence. The chain of descent from Reginald Foster down to Frank Henry Foster is as follows: Reginald Foster, Isaac Foster, Sr., Isaac Foster, Jr., Jacob Foster, Henry Foster, Henry P. Foster, Henry T. Foster and Frank Henry Foster. In England the family belonged to the nobility and possessed a coat-of-arms. Hannah Morrill Fuller, mother of Mr. Foster, was a direct descendant of one of the immigrants who came over in the "Mayflower," in 1620, and landed on Plymouth Rock.

Frank Henry Foster was reared to manhood on the New England farm on which he was born. This farm, which was purchased by his grandfather, in 1824, is still in the possession of the family, being now owned by Willis C. Foster, a younger brother of Frank H. Mr. Foster walked three and a half miles to the village school at Walpole, where he obtained his common school and high school education, his determi-nation to secure a good education being undaunted by the long distance he had to walk. In fact, a determination to accomplish whatever he undertakes has been a predominant quality of his whole life, and this quality always brings success, as it has to him. He subsequently attended Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, N. H., a year and a half, but before entering this academy he had, before he was seventeen years of age, taught a district school in Dublin, N. H., in order to secure the means to continue his education. He was graduated in this academy, June 19, 1877, and upon leaving there taught school two years and in the meantime studied law. He then entered the law office of Davenport & Eddy, at Brattleboro, Vt., where he pursued his legal studies for two and a half years. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, matriculating in the junior class, but in the spring of 1882, three weeks before graduation, he was transferred to the senior class, and was graduated with that class in March of that year, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He at once came to Topeka, Kan., and has there been actively engaged in the practice of his profession since that time. There are but few members of the Topeka bar who have been engaged in continuous practice there longer than Mr. Foster. As a lawyer he is enterprising, able and upright, a careful and conscientious counselor and advisor, a strong advocate, and an honor to the profession. He is a Republican in his political views, but aside from the chairmanship of the Metropolitan police board, to which office he was appointed without any solicitation upon his part, he has held no public office. He was one of the seven original founders and members of the First Unitarian Church of Topeka, founded in 1885, and has served on its board of trustees continuously since that time. He was also one of the founders of the Saturday Night Club, and is its only member who has belonged to it continuously since its organization. He is a member of the Shawnee County Bar Association, the Kansas State Bar Association, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is attorney and vice-president of the Chicago Lumber Company, having been its attorney since 1883, and its vice-president since its incorporation. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

On June 3, 1884, Mr. Foster was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Bottsford Franks, a native of Lorain county, Ohio, born March 16, 1861, of English descent on the paternal side, and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry on the maternal side. Mrs. Foster is a skilled musician, being one of the most accomplished violinists and vocalists in Topeka. She gives her musical talent and services entirely free whenever sought, and is a valued member of the social circles of Topeka. (Kansas Biography, Vol. III, Part 2, Page 703-705 - Transcribed by: Millie Mowry)