Earl A. Nossaman, secretary of the Monarch Cement Company at Humboldt, had lived in Kansas since early infancy, educated himself for the teaching profession, which he followed for a number of years, and was in the drug business before he accepted his present official position with the Monarch Cement Company. He went with this company while it was being reorganised, and as manager of the sales department had had much to do with its successful operations in recent years.
His ancestry goes back to Hesse Cassel, Germany, where his great-grandfather was born. Coming to America, this ancestor settled in Pennsylvania. Mr. Nossaman’s grandfather, Lewis Nossaman, served with credit as a Union soldier during the American Civil war. For many years he lived on a farm in Harrison County, Missouri, came from there to Kingman County, Kansas, where he was a pioneer homesteader, and he died at Wellington, Kansas.
Earl Adrian Nossaman was born in Harrison County, Missouri, February 18, 1879. His father is Warren Pierce Nossaman, who was born in Iowa in 1853, but when a boy went with his parenta to Harrison County, Missouri, where he grew up and married. He became a farmer, and in the fall of 1879 came to Kansas, first locating in McPherson County and in 1883 taking up a homestead of 160 acres in Kingman County. He developed that as a good farm, but in 1905 sold out and retired to Cunningham, Kansas, where he now resided. In order to have occupation for his leisure time he had since engaged in the real estate and insurance business and is also one of the progressive and public spirited men of the community, now serving in the office of mayor. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Warren P. Nossaman married Nancy Bice, who was born in Harrison County, Missouri, in 1855. While on a visit from her home in Cunningham to Iowa, she died August 31, 1916. She was the mother of eight children: Dr. S. W. Nossaman is a graduate of the scientific course from the Salina Normal University and took his M. D. degree in the University Medical College at Kansas City, and is now successfully engaged in practice at Cunningham. Dr. A. H. Nossaman was educated similarly with his brother and is now a physician and surgeon at Whitewater, Kansas. Mary Catherine lives on a farm near Cunningham, Kansas, the wife of Allen Washburn. The fourth of the family is Earl A. Nossaman. Maude is the wife of George B. Gosch, who is traveling representative for the Monarch Cement Company, living at Wichita. Walter L. is a graduate of Fairmount College at Wichita and took his law degree LL. B. from Harvard Law School and is now in practiee at Seattle, Washington. Ober D. is a graduate of Fairmount College and is connected with the Morton & Simmons Hardware Company at Wichita. Laverna attended Fairmount College through the junior year and is now living with her father.
Earl A. Nossaman bad his first advantages in the rural schools of Kingman County. While teaching he attended the Salina Normal University, where he was graduated Bachelor of Science in 1901. In 1904 he entered the University of Kansas, and in two years flnished three years of the work, including the junior year. While getting his education he also tanght, and put in eight years as a teacher in Kingman, Clay and Republic counties. His work as a teacher continued until 1907. He was principal of the high school at Wakefield one year, of the school at Clay Center one year, was an instructor in the Salina Normal during the spring and summer of 1904, and the last two years of his teaching was as principal of the high school at Norwich in Kingman County.
In 1907 Mr. Nossaman entered the School of Pharmacy at Kansas City, and after his course there engaged in the drug business in 1908, one year at Norwich and six years at Cheney. He owned a drug store in both these places. In 1913 he was elected secretary of the Monarch Cement Company, and had since had charge of its sales department.
Mr. Nossaman is a democrat in politics. While living at Cheney he was a member of the council in 1911-12. He is active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the trustees, and superintendent of the Sunday school. Among other interests he owned an excellent farm of 120 acres adjoining Cheney city limits on the northeast. The farm originally contained 160 acres, forty acres having been incorporated within the city limits. Mr. Nossaman was married August 22, 1906, at Wayne, Kansas, to Miss Amanda L. England, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Olof England, who now resided at Wayne, her father being a retired farmer. He was a pioneer settler in Republic County, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Nossaman are the parenta of three children: Pauline Mercedes, born January 8, 1911; Leona Adrienne, born March 17, 1913; and Alden Pierce, born October 17, 1916.