Sumner County, Kansas Biographies

SUMNER COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

ARMSTRONG, HENRY CLAY

Henry Clay Armstrong, president of the Southern Kansas Mutual Insurance Company, was born in Troy, Ohio, September 17, 1848, and for 54 years has resided in Kansas. His father, John Snider Armstrong, who was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, June 30, 1806, died in Greenville, Illinois, June 20, 1880. His wife, Priscilla Dye, was born in Troy, Ohio, July 12, 1818, and died in Greenville, Illinois, March 31, 1879.

Henry Clay Armstrong was a student two years at the State Normal School at Normal, Illinois. After leaving school, for a period of about 25 years Mr. Armstrong engaged in farming. Since that time he has been in the fire and wind insurance business, and for the past three years has held his present position.

On January 14, 1875, he was married to Catherine Seaman at Greenville. She was born there on November 16, 1854, and died at Wellington, March 14, 1914. To Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong the following children were born, Nellie, March 23, 1876, who died the same day; H. Edgar, December 30, 1877, who married Ette Jordan, who died at Crescent, Oklahoma, March 11, 1918; he later married Annie Williams; and Charles W., born August 7, 1887, who married Annie G. Rutherford. Edgar is a mechanic at Wellington, and Charles W. a truck line operator in Wellington. There are five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Mr. Armstrong is a Republican. At the present time he is a member of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Wellington. His club is the Wellington Horseshoe Club. Residence: Wellington. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 42)

AUSTIN, JAMES BARKER

James Barker Austin, publisher of the Monitor-Press, at Wellington, was born in Cottonwood Foils, Kansas, August 25, 1899. His father, William Clark Austin, was born in Cottonwood Falls in 1872, and has been a publisher all his life. He is the owner of the Chase County Leader, is a former state printer, and is at present state printer. His parents were of English descent.

Rosa May Palmer, wife of William Clark Austin, was born in Cottonwood Falls in 1880, and for many years has been vice chairman of the county Republican organization. She is of English descent also.

James Barker Austin attended public school at Strong City and Topeka, and the Topeka High School and the Chase County High School at Cottonwood Falls. In 1923 he received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas. He was business manager of the Kansan, editor of the Sour Owl, editor of the Daily Kansan, a member of the Owls, the Black Helmet, the Sphinx, Sigma Delta Chi, and Pi Kappa Alpha.

From 1923 until 1926 Mr. Austin was in the advertising department of the Kansas City Kansan, and the following three years was engaged in the same capacity with the Wichita Beacon. At that time he became the owner, editor, and publisher of the Monitor-Press. He is a Republican.

On August 31, 1926, Mr. Austin was married to Ray Jeannette Riley at Lawrence. She was born in Peru, Kansas, May 3, 1899, of English and Irish ancestry. She is the daughter of Warren D. and Maria C. (Comer) Riley, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Austin have one son, James Montieth, born December 31, 1929.

Mr. Austin is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Wellington, a director of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Rotary Club. During the World War he served with the rank of private in the United States Army for six months. He is a member of the American Legion. His favorite sport is golf. Residence: Wellington. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 48)

BAIRD, CHARLES MARTIN

Charles Martin Baird, for many years a prominent farmer and livestock breeder, was born in a log house four miles west of Arkansas City, April 22, 1880, where he still resides. His father, Thomas Baird, a carpenter and contractor by trade, was born in Stratford, Canada, July 26, 1849. After working four years as an apprentice he came to Kansas in 1869, and followed the erection of railroads. He homesteaded in Cowley County, and later, in 1872, began farming.

His wife, Adelia Pulchura Baird, was born in Collingwood, Canada, August 19, 1858. Coming to Kansas at the age of twelve, she taught school until her marriage. She reared three children, William, Charles and Mabel. Her parents were Canadian, her paternal grandparents were French, and her maternal grandparents English. Charles Martin Baird attended public school until 1896, and the following year was a student at the Arkansas City High School. From 1898 until 1902 he attended Kansas State Agricultural College the winter terms, graduating in the farmer's short course in 1902. He was president of his class, and a member of the Hamilton Literary Society.

On October 21, 1903, he was married to Lenora Sophia Hadicke at Geuda Springs, Kansas. Mrs. Baird was born there on June 20, 1886. Her paternal grandparents were German, and her maternal ancestry descended from early settlers in North Carolina. To Mr. and Mrs. Baird the following children were born: Margaret Lucile, September 23, 1904, who died September 30, 1904; Charles Berlyn, September 17, 1905, who married Melba Lucile Lonache; Martin William, July 1, 1908, who married Helen Maxine Schaffer; Albert Thomas, January 20, 1912; Mabel Maxine, September 17, 1917; and Walter Hadicke, September 19, 1919. Charles Berlyn has one son, Jack Charles, born November 9, 1929. Charles and Martin are farmers. Albert is in junior college, and Mabel is a student at the Arkansas City High School.

Since reaching maturity, Mr. Baird has engaged as a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, Percheron horses, and Shropshire sheep. In 1927 he was chosen as one of the first class of Kansas Master Farmers. At the present time he is president of the Kansas Master Farmers' Association, a member of the program committee of the Cowley County Taxpayers League, a member of the executive committee of the Cowley County Democratic Committee, and a director of the Cowley County Fair Association. A Democrat, he was elected in 1928 from the 50th district for the 1929 session and a special session of 1930 of the legislature. He was re-elected that fall without opposition, and served also in the 1931 session. For six years (three two-year terms) Mr. Baird served on the township board as clerk and treasurer.

For the past three years Mr. Baird has been president of the United States Highway No., 166 Association. He is a member of the Farmers Union and the Kansas State Grange, as well as the Anti-Thief Association, the Eagles, the Red Cross and the Lions Club (charter member). In 1909 he was elected clerk of the school board of district No. 36 in Cowley County, and since that time has been elected eight times. He is still serving.

During the World War he was chairman of the township committee on all loan drives, was a member of the registration board, and served on the fair price commission. Residence: Arkansas City. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, pages 56 and 57)

BAKER, THOMAS

Thomas Baker, hardware and implement dealer, was born at Macon, Missouri, May 4, 1876, son of Alvin West and Ann Mary (Trammel) Baker. His father, a farmer and stockman, was born in Shelbyville, Missouri, January 1, 1841, and died in Caldwell, January 16, 1885.

Ann Mary Trammel was born in Macon, Missouri, July 22, 1848, and died at Caldwell, August 23, 1925. She was a devoted mother and active church worker. Her parents were born in Kentucky, later moving to Missouri, where her father held the office of county treasurer of Macon County in the 60's.

Thomas Baker has been engaged in the hardware business for the past 35 years, for 12 years in the employ of A. H. Detrick, and since that time has been in business for himself. He is now retired.

A Democrat, he is now serving as mayor of Caldwell. He has served twice as a member of the city council, and as city clerk and superintendent of water works. He has belonged to the volunteer fire department for the past 33 years, and for six years has been a member of the library and school boards.

On September 25, 1901, Mr. Baker was married to Ada Czaplinski at Caldwell. Mrs. Baker was born there on May 7, 1880, and is of German and Polish parentage. There are three children, Gertrude R., born September 23, 1903, who married Earl M. Parsons; Cyrus F., May 18, 1906, who married Merle Coulson; and Leah M., born October 19, 1908.

Mr. Baker is eligible to the Sons of the American Revolution. He is a Mason, and a member of the Caldwell Welfare Board. Residence: Caldwell. (Illustriana Kansas, by Sara Mullin Baldwin & Robert Morton Baldwin, 1933, page 62)

ORR, GATES

Gates ORR, son of Russell and Eleanor (WINANS) ORR, was born 10 February 1827 in Hanover, Licking Co., OH. Gates was first married on February 21, 1849 in Mahoning Co., OH to Lorinda B. PEARCE. They moved with his widowed mother and siblings to Wayne Co., IL about 1853 where Lorinda died in 1863. He married Mary Jane BEST in 1864 in Wayne Co., IL. In the fall of 1878, after a few years in Wisconsin, Gates and Mary Jane moved to Sumner Co., KS and bought the farm on which the ORR family lived for the next 120 years, bringing three of the children from his first marriage - Lorinda Estella “Stella”, Joseph Hyram and Olive Ruth, and the first three born to him by Mary Jane - Mary Best, Fred Calvin and Frank Gates. Also with the family was May D. ORR, believed to be the illegitimate daughter of Estella, who was raised as a daughter of Gates and Mary Jane. George Russell ORR was born to Gates and Mary Jane in 1880. Gates died on 10 December 1905 and was buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery near the ORR farm. (Submitted by Della M. Shafer)

SHAFER, ALONZO WALLACE

Alonzo Wallace SHAFER was born November 1, 1851 in Iowa, son of John Putman and Maria (SMITH) SHAFER. On April 10, 1878 he left Eddyville, Iowa with his wife, Lozina Elizabeth (WATKINS) and four month old daughter, destination Milan, Kansas. He crossed the Missouri River on May 1st. With him he brought 1 bull, 4 heifers, 1 stallion, and 2 mares. He also brought white lilacs, rose shoots, tulip bulbs, apple, pear, and cherry seedlings. Half of these were stolen enroute on the wagon train.

A. W. or Wallace, the names he was best known by, obtained land ½ mile east of Milan on old U.S. 160 highway where he settled, established himself in the community and raised his family. The Milan Baptist Church was organized and originally met in Mr. and Mrs. Shafer's home and they were charter members. In the early days Mr. Shafer carried mail by horseback from Caldwell to Milan. He passed away May 15, 1928 and his wife died September 17, 1929. They are buried in the Milan Cemetery.

Their children were: Eva Maria, 1877, Cora Ethel, 1879 (died 1894), John William, 1881 (died 1883), Joseph Elmer, 1884, Emma Fern, 1886, an infant, born and died 1895, and Clifton Edgar, 1898. Clifton was the only child who remained in the county throughout his life. He and his wife, Maude Margaret (SPACE) also became part of the Milan community and raised their two sons, Lloyd Clifton and Melvin Dean on a farm near Milan. (Submitted by Della M. Shafer)

THORP, GEORGE WASHINGTON, BLACKSMITH

Early Sumner County Kansas Settler

George Washington THORP was born on 2 December 1848 in Lebanon, Marion Co., KY to Austin DePriest and Lydia (GORDON) THORP. George's mother died when he was about ten years old and his father remarried. There were problems between him and his stepmother resulting in conflicts with his father and in beatings until George finally ran away from home.

Somewhere along the line he learned the blacksmithing trade. On 2 July 1871 in Seneca, Newton Co., MO, he married Jane Elizabeth BALL, daughter of James E. and Virginia Caroline (WALKER) BALL. Their first child, son Alonzo was born there on 22 April 1872. A second child, daughter Frances Ann “Fannie” was born in Joplin, Jasper Co., MO on 22 November 1874.

By June of 1877 George was buying lots in Wellington. He opened a blacksmith shop on the northwest corner of Lincoln and C Streets and his residence was on East Harvey Street at approximately the present location of the Rogers Abstract & Title Co.

A third child, daughter Maggie May (grandmother of SCHGS members Della Shafer, Mary Hanson and Richard Orr) was born on 14 January 1878 in Wellington. Unfortunately, that same year in October, Alonzo died and was buried in the Wellington Cemetery. Another son, Wilber Gordon was born in Wellington on 28 July 1881.

George sold most of his Wellington property in November of 1881. According to 1959 or 1960 information written by Maggie (then Mrs. Fred ORR), the family moved to Colorado in the summer of 1881 and lived there for 18 months. They then went back to the grandparents’ home in Seneca, MO where son Robert Earl was born on 28 November 1883. In the spring of 1884 they moved to Belle Plaine and lived there until the autumn of that year at which time they moved to Conway Springs, KS where George again opened a blacksmith shop. Tragedy once more struck the family in June of 1891, when Wilber was accidentally shot and killed by his sister Maggie while they were playing with an “unloaded” gun. The resulting sorrow and guilt remained and affected Maggie the rest of her life. A heartbreaking account written by Maggie just after this tragedy is still in the possession of the family. The G. W. THORP family remained in Conway Springs until the children were all grown and on their own. George and Jane lived their declining years in Michigan where daughter Fannie and her husband Henry BENTLEY were living.

Jane E. THORP died 20 August 1927 and George W. THORP died 29 November 1932, both in Michigan, and both buried in the Conway Springs Cemetery beside their son Wilber.

CHILDREN

1) Alonzo, born 22 Apr 1872 Seneca, Newton Co., MO, died 25 Oct 1878 Wellington, KS, buried in the old Wellington Cemetery.

2) Frances Ann “Fannie”, born 22 Nov 1874 Joplin, Jasper Co., MO, died 21 Sep 1967 Phoenix, AZ, married 1 Aug 1894 Conway Springs, KS to Henry Thomas BENTLEY, born Dane Co., WI, died 28 Feb 1936 Framington, Ontario Co., MI. Henry was the manager of the Rock Island Lumber Company in Conway Springs, KS and was a one time mayor of the town. The family later lived at Haven, KS.

3) Maggie May, born 14 Jan 1878 Wellington, KS, died 27 Jan 1964 Cedar View Nursing Home in Wellington, KS, buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Sumner Co., KS, married 18 Apr 1904 to Fred C. ORR, born 24 Jan 1867 Mt. Erie, Wayne Co., IL, died 29 Dec 1952 in his farm home. Fred’s grandfather Gates ORR had settled just southwest of Conway Springs in 1878 and the farm remained in the ORR name for the next 120 years. Before Maggie’s marriage she was a teacher in several different schools in Sumner Co., KS.

4) Wilber Gordon, born 28 Jul 1881, died 18 Jun 1891, buried in Conway Springs Cemetery.

5) Robert Earl, born 28 Nov 1883 Seneca, Newton Co., MO, died 15 Jan 1961 Green Cove Springs, Clay Co., FL, married 19 Jun 1920 in Jacksonville, FL to Augusta Victoria PFLUG, born 21 May 1889 Berlin, Germany, died Nov 1981 Green Cove Springs, FL. Robert’s original name was Rantsler Earl, but he changed it to Robert when it caused difficulties and confusion in spelling. He went by Earl. In the years between 1901 and his marriage he traveled around the world and had many adventures. He worked in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in Honolulu, HI from 1942 to 1945. (Submitted by Della M. Shafer)