Biographies Stafford County, Kansas

BIOGRAPHIES FOR STAFFORD COUNTY, KANSAS

RAY HENRY BEALS

Ray Henry Beals, lawyer and judge, was born in Sterling, Kansas, August 11, 1881, son of Jeptha David and Nettie Sarah (Granger) Beals.

Mr. Beals attended public and high school at Stafford, and in 1903 was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Laws from Kansas University. Thereafter he took post graduate work at the University of Colorado and Columbia University in New York City.
Admitted to the practice of law on June 11, 1903, Judge Beals has followed the legal profession except for time spent in public office. A Republican, he was county attorney of Stafford County from 1908 until 1912 and from 1919 until 1922. Since 1924 he has been judge of the 20th judicial district of Kansas. On August 24, 1933, he was appointed a member of the judicial council.
On May 23, 1915, Judge Beals was married to Hazel Bernice Cole at St. John. Mrs. Beals, who was a school teacher before her marriage, was born in Wichita, August 22, 1888. There is one daughter, Katherine Virginia, born November 2, 1917.

He is a member of the American Kansas State and Southwestern Kansas Bar Associations, The Kansas State Historical Society, Stafford Lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Wichita Consistory, and the Order of Eastern Star. He is a past president of the Lions Club of St. John, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Residence: St. John. Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 84)

ERNEST AUSTIN BRILES

Ernest Austin Briles, editor and publisher of the Stafford Courier, and president of the Stafford theatre Company, was born in Leroy, Kansas, July 30, 1892, son of Harrison Wilson and Susan A. (Hall) Briles.

Harrison Wilson Briles, a farmer, blacksmith and carpenter, was born in Randolph County, North Carolina, March 8, 1852. His death occurred at Stafford on October 7, 1929. His wife Susan, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, March 13, 1857 and died at Stafford, September 19, 1931.

Educated in the rural schools of Coffey County until 1905 Ernest Austin Briles was graduated from Leroy High School in 1908, and in 1912 received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Campbell College at Holton. He edited the college paper one year, and was a member of the debate team two years. In the fall of 1911 he received a letter in football.

During 1912-13, Mr. Briles was principal of the high school at Winchester. The following two years he was associated with the bureau of education in the Philipine Islands and his second year was principal of the Tarlac provincial high school there. In 1915, Mr. Briles purchased the Stafford County Republican, which in 1917 he consolidated with the Stafford Courier.
Mr. Briles' marriage to Ada Lucille Cole was solemnized at Kansas City, Missouri, May 22, 1915. Mrs. Briles was born in Winchester, Kansas June 12, 1895. There are two children, Ernestine, born September 10, 1916; and Jeanne, August 21, 1918.

Mr. Briles is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Stafford, the Chamber of Commerce (secretary for four years), the Rotary Club (director one year) and the Royal Arch and Knights Templar bodies of the Masons. He has served as treasurer for one year of the Kansas Press Association, has been a member of its executive committee two years, and at the present time is serving as its president. His favorite sport is golf. Residence: Stafford. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, pages 147 & 149)

CHARLES KIERGIAN CARY

Charles Kiergian Cary, lawyer, was born near Chillicothe, Missouri, March 9, 1870, son of Edward G. and Rebecca Jane (Exley) Cary.

Edward G. Cary, who was born in Ohio, July 5, 1846, died at Kanema, Oklahoma in 1909. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who located on a government homestead in Smith County, Kansas in 1877. During the Civil War he served as a private with the Third Iowa Cavalry. Edward G. Cary represented the eighth generation in descent from an ancestor who landed at Plymouth about 1632, coming from England.

Rebecca Jane Exley was born in Eddyville, Iowa, march 1, 1848 and died at Harlan, Kansas, December 24, 1926. Her father was born at Leeds, England, in 1820 and came to Chicago about 1840. Later he settled in Iowa. Rebecca Jane Exley was a devoted home maker.

Upon the completion of his elementary education in country schools of northwestern Kansas, Charles Kiergian Cary attended Gould College at Harlan, two years at 13 and 14 years of age. He taught in country schools and in 1903 received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from the University of Kansas, where he was made a member of Phi delta Phi.

Since 1904 Mr. Cary has been engaged in the practice of law, first at Taloga, Oklahoma. In 1922 he located at Fairview, Oklahoma and in 1929 at Stafford. He served as county superintendent of Dewey County from 1907 until 1913. He is a Republican.

Mr. Cary is the author of a volume of unpublished poems, collected and printed and bound by a friend in addition to other published poems.

On April 12, 1804, he was married to Lillian Liotta Sheddy at Smith Center. She was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1872, and died at Sulphur, Oklahoma, May 24, 1921. There is one child of this marriage, Daphne L., born December 9, 1900, who is married to Jesse L. Plank. They reside at Fairview, Oklahoma where her husband is a buttermaker. There are two children, Jean, aged five; and Keith, age one. On May 23, 1929, Mr. Cary was married to Sallie Evans, a widow at St. Johns, Kansas.

Mr. Cary's memberships include the Methodist Episcopal Church of Stafford; the Kansas State Bar Association; The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; The Oklahoma State Historical Association; and the Kansas Authors Club. His hobby is writing farm ballads. Residence: Stafford. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 213)

WILLIAM HOHNER

William Hohner, farmer, and stockman, was born in Allerton, Iowa, January 13, 1874, son of Andreas and Margarethe (Schnellbacher) Hohner. Andreas Hohner, a baker by profession, was born at Wersau, Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, September 2, 1822, and in 1869, came to the United States, settling in Pekin, Illinois. In 1901, his death occurred at St. John, Kansas. Margarethe Schnellbacher was born in Wersau, August 13, 1846 and now resides in St. John. She came to Stafford County in 1877, settling on a homestead with her husband. There she resided until 1920.

William Hohner attended public school until 1895, and after graduation taught public schools for six years. At the present time he is farming 960 acres in Cleveland Township of Stafford County. He has held various township offices, including those of trustee, clerk and school board. He is a Democrat.

On September 27, 1897, he was married to Anna Laura Beaver at the Green Ridge school house in Stafford County, Kansas. Mrs. Hohner, who was born in Luray, Virginia, June 19, 1876, died at St. John, August 13, 1905. On April 6, 1909, Mr. Hohner was married to Pearl Potter at St. John. There are two sons and one daughter of the first marriage, Walter V., born July 28, 1898, who married Esther Murphy; Carl d., born September 29, 1899, who married Adele Aubuchon; and Mabel Helen. There are two sons of the second marriage, Fred W., born July 10, 1910 who married Myrtle Keenan; and William Gordon, born February 22, 1915.

Mr. Hohner is president of the County Farm Bureau, a member of the Masons, the Co-operative Elevator Association and the First Baptist Church at St. John. Residence: St. John. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 539)

HERBERT PEACH LOWE

Herbert Peach Lowe, city clerk of Stafford, Kansas, was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, August 1, 1866 and for 48 years has resided in Kansas. He is the son of John Robert and Marian Susan (Robbs) Lowe, both of whom were born in England. John Robert Lowe died at Stamford in 1869, while his wife died in England in the early 1920's.

Mr. Lowe attended public school at Peterborough, England and high school at Stamford. For two years he was in a tea dealer's office in London and after coming to America engaged in farming. From 1912 until 1921, he was freight clerk for the Santa Fe Railroad, and from that time until 1927, bookkeeper and traffic manager for the Friehoffer Flour Mills. He is now city clerk of Stafford, having been appointed in 1927.

His marriage to Ellen Josephine Reed was solemnized at Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, March 21, 1891. Mrs. Lowe was born near Buchanan, Michigan, March 22, 1865. To them were born three children, Charles Herbert, January 15, 1892, who died July 16, 1919; Nellie Evelyn, October 23, 1893 who married Earl B. weir and Lewis Albert, February 3, 1897.

Mr. Lowe is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, the Chamber of Commerce (secretary, 1928-), the Woodmen of the World (clerk 15 years), and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (secretary, 1911-21; 1931-32; senior warden, 1924; master, 1925). Residence: Stafford. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 715)

ASHER, ARTHUR E.

Arthur E. Asher, president of the Commercial National Bank of Hutchinson and one of the leading bankers and financiers of central Kansas, was born in Oldham county, Kentucky, May 14, 1863, son of Milton and Martha L. (Edding) Asher, descended from families that located in Virginia at an early day and subsequently became pioneer settlers of Kentucky. The mother is dead, but the father now resides in Hutchinson.

Arthur E. Asher is the only surviving child in a family of four children. He was reared and educated in his native state, where he attended the public schools and then took a higher course in Home College, Campbellsburg, Ky.
Desiring a wide field from which to choose his life work he came to Kansas in 1886 and located at Stafford, where he entered the employ of the Fair & Shakk Lumber Company. In 1888 he first entered the banking business, and from that time has been engaged in it continuously, except for ten years, spent in Hutchinson with the St. John Trust Company. He entered the Stafford Bank as assistant cashier and a year later became cashier, which position he held until he became associated with the trust company, as secretary. This concern loaned money on cattle and other securities, building up a large and lucrative business, but in 1903 Mr. Asher severed his connection with it to return to Stafford, where he organized the First State Bank and became its first president, remaining until 19066, when he came to Hutchinson to accept the presidency of the Commercial National Bank, which position he still holds, to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders, who are all prominent business men of the city. He is still a director of the First State Bank of Stafford and also of the First State Bank of Minneola. Since locating in Hutchinson he has taken an active part in all movements for the upbuilding and progress of the town. He is president of the school board, a position which he has held for three years, and has proposed many excellent changes in the system. Fraternally his relations are with the Masonic order, as a Knight Templar, and he is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In church matters he takes a very active part, being president of the official board of the Christian church, to which he has belonged for thirty-five years. He is interested in the Young Men's Christian Association and has been instrumental in securing the fine building of the association in Hutchinson. Although a banker, he is interested in the Kansas Chemical Manufacturing Company of Hutchinson, and several other commercial enterprises.

On Dec. 8, 1888, he married Gertrude M. Summers, a native of Illinois, who had been living in Stafford, but who had spent some years in Denver, Col. They have three daughters--Lucile, Mildred, and Helen. (Kansas Biography, Part 2, Vol. III, 1912 Pages: 831-832 Transcribed by Millie Mowry)

GILMORE, FRANK B.

Frank B. Gillmore, of St. John, Kan., vice-president of the St. John National Bank, is one of Stafford county's prominent financiers and successful farmers. He was born June 1, 1853, on a farm in Lake county, Illinois. His parents, Benjamin P, and Mariam S. (Harper) Gillmore, were natives of Genesee county, New York. The father died in Illinois in 1862 and the mother at St. John, Kan., in 1896. Of their union were born seven children-five sons and two daughters: Capt. Evangelist J., the eldest, enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil war in Company B, Ninety-sixth Illinois infantry. He later became captain of his company and was killed in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, in June, 1864. Elizabeth J., the eldest daughter, is the wife of B. H. Hall, a retired farmer at Oskaloosa, Kan.; Maria is the wife of Andrew McKinney and resides at Cottage Grove, Ore.; Myron, who was a soldier in Company B, Ninety-sixth Illinois infantry, and was wounded at the battle of Dalton, Ga., is a resident of Topeka; Dwight L., who was a soldier in a Kansas regiment, is a resident of Obiquio, N. M.; George A. died in 1900, on his farm in Lake county, Illinois.

Frank B. Gillmore, the youngest son, received a limited education in the public schools of Lake county, Illinois. After his school days he worked on his father's farm and clerked in a store for several years. In 1876 he married Miss Mary A. Ellis, who is a native of England. In November, 1877, they came to Kansas and located in what was formerly Barton county, but now Stafford county. There Mr. Gillmore took up a homestead in what is now Byron township, where he built a sod house and stable and went to work. He had less than $500 in money, but his small capital was complemented by firm determination and pluck, which qualities, together with business acumen, have made his subsequent career a successful one. He lived on his claim four years. In 1881 he was elected register of deeds of Stafford county. He was re-elected to that office, in 1883, and held it four years in all. He opened in Stafford county the first set of abstract books, which he kept up to date and conducted for twenty-one years. In 1886, with others, he organized the Kansas Security & Trust Company of St. John, of which he served as secretary fifteen years and as president five years. In 1905, with a capital of $25,000, he, with others, organized the St. John National Bank, of which he is now vice-president. Besides his banking interests he is a large Kansas land owner, 2,100 acres of his land being tinder cultivation. He also owns valuable town property in St. John.

Mr. and Mrs. Gillmore have five children-two sons and three daughters: Robert E., the eldest, is a resident of Brownsville, Tex.; Lois is the wife of P. O. Gray; Elizabeth is the wife of B. E. Osborne; Edna is the wife of Harry Aitken; and George E., all of whom are married and all, except the eldest son, reside in St. John, Kan. Mr. Gillmore takes an active interest in public affairs, and in his political views is a Re-publican. He has served as a city councilman of St. John six years and was acting mayor two years, during which time the electric light system, the sewerage system and waterworks were installed. He was also at one time editor of the "St. John Advance." He associates fraternally with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. Mrs. Gillmore is a communicant of the Episcopal church. (Kansas Biography, Part 2, Vol. III, 1912 Pages: 980-981 Transcribed by Millie Mowry)