Indiana

Biography of Woodford P. Evans

Woodford P. Evans. Among the able and valued newspaper men of Kansas, one who gave the best years of an active and achieving life to journalism was the late Woodford P. Evans, whose closing twenty-one years were spent at Lebo as editor and owner of the Lebo Enterprise. He was well known in other parts of the state and in other sections of the country, and was an honored veteran of the Civil war. Throughout his entire career he was an earnest and fearless advocate of right, irrespective of class or station, and he inspired such universal confidence that many … Read more

Biography of Don Francis Reed

Don Francis Reed has been identified with Harper, Kansas, successively as a blacksmith, farmer and lawyer. Admitted to the bar a little more than two years ago he had won his spurs in his first legal contest, and is now well established with a general clientage drawn from all over Harper County. Mr. Reed was born at Logansport, Indiana, January 10, 1887, and is a member of a family that had three living generations. He is of Scotch ancestry. His great-grandfather, Herriman Reed, was born in Scotland, came to this country in early times, settling in Philadelphia, and died there. … Read more

Biography of Lew Wallace Duncan

Lew Wallace Duncan. The close of the Civil war launched a new era of settlement in the West. Young men who had lately fought the battles of freedom and restored the unity of the nation abandoned their birthplaces and “hit the trail” leading to the boundless and trackless region beyond the “border.” Distance alone separated them from the beckoning prairies of an unknown plain and the scream of the locomotive had not been heard west of St. Louis, so that the “prairie schooner” method of reaching their destination had to be resorted to. Once across the Mississippi the mecca of … Read more

Biography of Charles W. Sample

Charles W. Sample has been a business man at Kingman nearly forty years and had been closely identified with the commercial affairs of that city, as a land owner, banker and in real estate and loans. Mr. Sample was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, October 29, 1851. His ancestors came out of Ireland and settled in Virginia in colonial days. His grandfather, Andrew Sample, was a pioneer farmer in Indiana and died in Jefferson County in that state in 1854. George W. Sample, father of Charles W., was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, in 1815, a date which indicates the … Read more

Biography of Judge James Neal McGee

Judge James Neal McGee, now in his third consecutive term as probate judge of Rice County, was one of the early settlers in the county and had lived here continuously for almost forty years. Judge McGee had that depth of character which is due to a long and diversified experience in practical affairs and in dealings with men. All these qualifications he had brought to his present position, where he had been instrumental in the delicate adjustment of human relationships and of property matters such as come before the probate tribunal. Judge McGee was born near Mount Zion in Muskingum … Read more

Biography of John Ellsworth Wiley

John Ellsworth Wiley, a prominent lawyer of Mound City, had been a resident of Kansas for half a century and during his active life had made himself useful both in the field of education and in that of the law and had attained no small degree of success and honor in his chosen vocation. Mr. Wiley was born on a farm in Knox County, Missouri, November 20, 1861, son of Elijah Perry and Amy Jane (Shahan) Wiley. The Wiley family had the spirit of pioneers and have lived successively on various frontiers of advancing civilization. Elijah P. Wiley was born … Read more

Biography of Edward Montieth Moore

Edward Montieth Moore, vice president and manager of the Hutchinson Office Supply and Printing Company, is one of the veterans of the newspaper and printing industry at Kansas, and in point of continuous service is one of the oldest men connected with the Hutchinson Daily News. Mr. Moore had spent most of his life in Kansas and is a son of the late Rev. D. M. Moore, D. D., one of the pioneer ministers of the Presbyterian Church in this state. Edward Montieth Moore was born at Greenfield, Ohio, April 27, 1861. His grandfather, Samuel Moore, was a native of … Read more

Biography of Abel E. Eaton

ABEL E. EATON. – The extensive reputation and wide influence of Mr. Eaton bespeak for him a candid notice in any work touching upon the lives of our responsible men. The seventh son in a family of eleven children, he was born May 30, 1834, at Conway, New Hampshire. The father, Simeon Eaton, a lawyer from Maine, and the mother from the same state, whose maiden name was Bessie Paine, made their home upon a farm. During the first eight years of his life, the boy Abel found opportunity for but seven weeks’ schooling. This was his annual stipend of … Read more

Biography of William Elliott

WILLIAM ELLIOTT. – This now venerable citizen of our state, whose form and character are familiar to many in Western Oregon, was born in Knox county, Indiana, September 14, 1815. Losing his mother by death when but a child of five years, he was received by an uncle, and remained in his family, removing with him to Missouri in 1820, and not leaving his kind relatives until he had attained his majority. In 1836 he became a volunteer soldier under A.J. Morgan, of Fort Leavenworth, to prosecute the war in Florida, and in this service experienced many sharp encounters. After … Read more

Biography of Judge M. V. Harrison

JUDGE M.V. HARRISON. – This early builder of Arlington, Oregon, and highly esteemed gentleman, was born in West Virginia in December, 1857, and in 1865 accompanied his parents to Indiana. He enjoyed educational advantages in a graded school at Dayton, gaining a good foundation for his later studies. In 1877 he began reading law under J.R. Carnahan at Lafayette, Indiana, but after a year abandoned this project and formed the purpose of learning the requirements and forms of mercantile life, and in pursuance of this plan accepted a position as clerk in a store. In 1880 he sought a larger … Read more

Biography of Hon. Jeremiah D. Botkin

Hon. Jeremiah D. Botkin. This distinguished citizen of Kansas was born April 24, 1849, in a log house on a farm in Logan County, Illinois. His parents were Richard and Nancy (Barr) Botkin, and his ancestry traces straight back to a Revolutionary hero. Richard Botkin was born April 24, 1822, in Clark County, Ohio, and he died at Wellington, Kansas, March 24, 1898. He was a son of George and Sarah (Hester) Botkin, the father being a native of Virginia and the son of Charles Botkin, a Revolutionary soldier from that state, and the mother a native of Ohio. Richard … Read more

Biography of Benjamin Franklin Dawson

Benjamin Franklin Dawson. Among the early settlers in Kansas was Benjamin Franklin Dawson, who came to the state in 1855 and selected a home in what is now Shawnee County and maintained it here throughout life. He was one of the sturdy, solid men of his time and was justly admired and respected for his honorable and upright life, for his many acts of benevolence and charity, and for the example he set of worthily filling the place allotted to him by Divine decree. Benjamin Franklin Dawson was born in Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, December 2, 1828. His father, … Read more

Biography of William B. Wade

William B. Wade. When the pioneers of 1854, who were men of solid worth, as was William B. Wade, later a member of the First Territorial Legislature of Kansas, came to Shawnee County, it was for the peaceful conquest of the soil and for the establishing of permanent homes in which they could rear their families to succeed them with credit to state and parentage. These pioneers were home-seekers, not restless, irresponsible wanderers, and, while many brought a measure of capital, all came with sturdy, industrious habits insuring the earning of it. The historian of today looks back over the … Read more

Biography of John H. Sperry

John H. Sperry. Among the men who have contributed to the upbuilding and development of Neosho County, and particularly of the City of Thayer, few are entitled to a greater degree of credit than John H. Sperry, ex-president of the Thayer State Bank, veteran of the Civil war, farmer and stockman, and a citizen who has always been representative of the best type of progressive citizenship. While he is now retired from active labors, Mr. Sperry continues to take a keen interest in the community in which he has resided for forty-eight years, and through his influence and example continues … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Parsons Gleason

PARSONS GLEASON. – Mr. Parsons Gleason is one of the oldest and most venerable of our pioneers now living, having been born in Rutland county, Vermont, in 1799. At the age of six years he moved with his father to Western New York, and at the age of twenty-one went out to Indiana, and three years later had drifted as far as the Indian Territory, and was with the missionaries for three years among the Osage Indians. Three years later he went on to Indiana, making his home at South Bend. In tat state he married and made his residence, … Read more

Biography of A. B. Gleason

A.B. GLEASON. – This gentleman is the son of Parsons Gleason, and is now one of the active business men of the state. He was born May 22, 1829, in Ripley county, Indiana. In 1849 he entered upon life as boatman on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and in 1851 came with his father to the Pacific coast. The trip through Illinois and Missouri he made by himself with ox-teams, while the rest of the family performed this portion of the journey by water. With a train of twelve wagons, and numbering among their companions Mr. Clinton ad Reverend Mr. … Read more

Biography of Stephen S. Glidden

STEPHEN S. GLIDDEN. – Spokane Falls, Washington, has been fortunate in possessing from the first business men accustomed to large enterprises. Such a man is Mr. Glidden. He was born in Northfield, New Hampshire, in 1829, and at the early age of two years removed with his parents to Scotia county, Ohio. Upon reaching a few more years, he was taken back by his mother to his native state to enjoy educational advantages. Returning s a youth of eighteen to Ohio, he entered the store of the iron company with which his father and uncle were connected. Upon their purchase … Read more

Biography of Margaret Hill McCarter

Margaret Hill McCarter. No one had succeeded so well in translating the atmosphere of Kansas prairies and the experiences and ideals of Kansas men and women as had Margaret Hill McCarter, author of Middle West fiction. It had been her task to search out and clothe with fitting words the simplicity and the real grandeur of the people who made Kansas and are still its breath and life. Doubtless, many will find the source of Mrs. McCarter’s insight and sympathy in her Quaker ancestry. She is the daughter of Thomas Thornbury and Nancy (Davis) Hill. Through her mother she is … Read more

Biography of Thomas A. Stevens, M. D.

Thomas A. Stevens, M. D. In the great majority of cases, heredity has no rights which the biographers of successful Americans, especially those of the West, feel called upon to respect. However, in shaping the course of some men it wields a distinct influence, and must be noted when the tendency born in a man is nurtured by an ever-present force in the same lines, crowding other avenues of thought and compelling devotion to a certain vocation or profession. Heredity, supplementing environment and training, has had much to do in shaping the career of Dr. Thomas A. Stevens, a leading … Read more

Biography of Charles Samuel Strahan, M. D.

Charles Samuel Strahan, M. D. While Doctor Strahan has the distinction of having been the mayor of Galesburg, Kansas, his high standing in that community is chiefly due to his long and active practice as a physician and surgeon. Doctor Strahan fought many battles with circumstances before he was able to gain his ambition and enter upon the practice of medicine, and throughout life has been a hard worker, conscientious in all his dealings, and has thoroughly deserved every item of his success. The Strahan family is of Scotch-Irish origin, and Doctor Strahan’s grandfather, Robert, was a native of Scotland, … Read more