Kansas

Biography of William Cochran Hall, M. D.

William Cochran Hall, M. D., has lived at Coffeyville nearly thirty years. As a physician and surgeon he has been successful, as is indicated by the numerous professional relations he has enjoyed as physician and surgeon to a large number of the railway companies and other industrial organizations of that section of the state. But Doctor Hall’s usefulness has not been confined entirely within the lines of his profession. He is one of the men who have made Coffeyville a city. He has helped bring many of its industries and organizations, and has aided in numerous worthy enterprises inaugurated for … Read more

Biography of C. B. McVay

C. B. McVay is secretary and treasurer of the Western States Portland Cement Company of Independence. He has been identified with the manufacture and sale of cement for over fifteen years, that having been the chief work of his life. He was born in Yankton, South Dakota, in 1878. His ancestors, the McVays, were Scotch people who settled in Pennsylvania more than a century ago. The father, William H. McVay, was born at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1839, was reared and married near Warren County, Ohio, his wife, Rebecca Rutan, being a native of Trumbull County, Ohio. In 1876 he moved … Read more

Biography of Bert L. Horton

Bert L. Horton, whose full name is Hubert Lee Horton, has spent about thirteen years of his life in Kansas and is one of the large oil producers in Montgomery County. His home and many of his business interests are at Wayside. He is of Pennsylvania birth and ancestry. There were three Horton brothers back in colonial times who came from England. Mr. Horton’s grandfather, Thomas Horton, was reared in New York State, where for a time in the early days he conducted a distillery, but subsequently moved to Tioga County, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in farming until his death. … Read more

Biography of Samuel Dexter Houston

Samuel Dexter Houston. One of the very first settlers in Riley County, Kansas, was Samuel Dexter Houston, who located a claim on Wildcat Creek and built a cabin there, in December, 1853. He was one of the county’s foremost citizens for more than a half century and his name is linked with some of the most important events in its early history and with those of other representative men of his time. He was conspicuous in the councils that worked on the construction of the Kansas State Constitution. Samuel Dexter Houston was born at Columbus, Ohio, June 11, 1818, and … Read more

Biography of Prof. Harry W. Shideler

Prof. Harry W. Shideler. For the reason that the journalistic and educational professions are in many ways so closely allied, it is a happy combination of talents that allows an individual to participate in the work of the schoolroom and at the same time to devote a part of his abilities to the editing of a newspaper. Prof. Harry W. Shideler, superintendent of schools of Girard, Kansas, has for many years been well known in educational circles as a thorough and learned instructor, and in more recent years has entered the field of journalism as one of the proprietors of … Read more

Biography of Prof. Edward Norris Wentworth

Prof. Edward Norris Wentworth. Editor, author, and professor of animal breeding at the Kansas State Agricultural College, at Manhattan, Edward Norris Wentworth has accomplished more in the way of adding to the knowledge of mankind, in his twenty-nine years, than have many others in a whole lifetime. His studies have been particularly directed along the line of animal breeding, but, while making this his specialty, he has further broadened his field of knowledge and has won collegiate honors and degrees through high scholarship. Edward Norris Wentworth was born at Dover, New Hampshire, January 11, 1887, and is a son of … Read more

Biography of Frederick Winkler

Frederick Winkler. The name Winkler has long been prominent in the annals of Riley County and especially in the northern part where, on Francy Creek, the first permanent grist-mill in the county was built by August Winkler, a brother of the late Frederick Winkler. The former came to Riley County in 1857, and the latter in 1860. The Winkler brothers became joint proprietors of Winkler’s Mill, which was a landmark, and operated it for many years together. Frederick Winkler continued to operate the mill until within five or six years of his death. Constructed of native stone, the old mill … Read more

Biography of Daniel Lester Mowrey

Daniel Lester Mowrey of Wayside is a man of extensive experience in the oil districts of the Southwest, and is manager of oil production in this part of Kansas. His ancestors came originally from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania. The family as a whole has furnished its male members chiefly to the mechanical trades and professions, and the family record is a very worthy one. Mr. Mowrey was born at Emerickville, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1885, and having only recently passed his thirtieth birthday has the promise of many years of usefulness before him. His father, W. H. Mowrey, was born … Read more

Biography of J. Louis Griswold, M. D.

J. Louis Griswold, M. D. During his long and active practice at Columbus, Doctor Griswold has become a recognized specialist in medical and surgical work, and has well earned a position among the foremost members of his profession in Cherokee County. Doctor Griswold has lived in this section of Kansas for more than thirty years, and was a druggist before taking up his studies and preparations for medicine. He was born on a farm in Bureau County, Illinois. His Griswold ancestors came originally from Wales and were colonial settlers in Connecticut. His grandfather, Willard Griswold, was born in Connecticut in … Read more

Biography of A. Frank Johnson

A. Frank Johnson. During his residence at Independence for thirty-five years A. Frank Johnson has made a most commendable and successful business record, and in many ways has found opportunity to serve the public welfare as a private citizen. For more than twenty years he has been in business as a stock buyer and meat dealer, and is also a bank director and the owner of considerable property. A Pennsylvanian, he belongs to the branch of the Johnson family which settled in Pennsylvania in colonial days. His grandfather, Roan Johnson, spent his life in that state as a farmer. A. … Read more

Biography of William C. Kandt

William C. Kandt, a native of Kansas, and member of a pioneer family in the state, has been a banker all his active career, and while he maintains offices and has his home at Independence he is active cashier of the Wayside State Bank and president of the Citizens State Bank of Elk City. His birth occurred in Dickinson County, Kansas, August 24, 1877. His grandparents, John and Mary Kandt were German people who came to this country in the early ’50s and in 1857 pioneered into Dickinson County, Kansas, where they were among the first to break the virgin … Read more

Biography of Luther Henry Waddle

Luther Henry Waddle. One of the greatest influences existing in a community, and particularly in those localities removed from the larger cities, is that exerted by the newspaper. To it the people look for their information regarding questions of importance, and, in a large degree, their own stand is based upon that taken by it. It is therefore desirable that the newspaper of a community be in the hands of capable, reliable and right-thinking men, and in this respect Weir City, in Cherokee County, is particularly fortunate in that the Weir City Journal has as its editor and publisher Luther … Read more

Biography of John Milligan Johnson

John Milligan Johnson. Recently there died at Manhattan a Kansan whose character was even more important than his material achievements. He came within four years of living a century and he was a figure in the activities of the frontier until the frontier had passed away. But more important than all his experiences were the moral forces that emanated from his life, and the things he stood for, believed in, and worked to bring about. It is therefore as a character sketch that the following paragraphs are offered, and they find an appropriate place in the history of Kansas. John … Read more

Biography of Clayton A. Swiggett

Clayton A. Swiggett is a mechanical engineer both by college diploma and by long and practical experience gained in many localities and in many positions. He is now superintendent of the Western States Portland Cement Company at Independence, and is contributing his ability towards the making of that one of the great industries of Kansas. The Western States Portland Cement plant began operations at Independence in 1905, and from time to time it has been enlarged and improved until its annual capacity is now a million barrels. About 250 men are employed and the pay roll is one of the … Read more

Biography of Charles F. Reed

Charles F. Reed, manager of the Ball Manufacturing Company’s branch house at Independence, is an alert young business man whose proved abilities and varied experience have well qualified him for some of the larger and more important responsibilities of commercial life. The family of which he is a member originated in Germany and was transplanted to Pennsylvania prior to the Revolutionary war. Mr. Reed himself was born at East Lynne, Cass County, Missouri, April 7, 1892. His father is W. B. Reed, now a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, and a merchant there. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1851 … Read more

Biography of Amos Albert Belsley

Amos Albert Belsley has been a spirited factor in the business and civic life of Wellington, Kansas, for the past fourteen years. He is one of the leading real estate men of that section, and is a former mayor of the city. His birth occurred on a farm in Woodford County, Illinois, near Roanoke, August 24, 1878. He was the sixth in a family of nine children born to Peter and Cathrine (Schertz) Belsley. His father was born and reared in Woodford County, Illinois, and the grandfather, Peter Belsley, came from Alsace-Lorraine and settled in Illinois in 1830. Peter Belsley, … Read more

Biography of Harold McGugin

Harold McGugin. The McGugin family came from Ireland to the United States many years ago, the first of the name in America appearing in Pennsylvania. Removal was subsequently made to Ohio and the family records do not definitely prove whether David McGugin, the grandfather of Harold McGugin, one of the able young attorneys of the Coffeyville bar, was born before or after the family exodus. He was a farmer and a merchant and died in Montgomery County, Kansas, prior to the birth of his grandson. He may thus be numbered with the pioneers of this section. William McGugin, son of … Read more

Biography of James G. Sandidge

James G. Sandidge. In the colonial history of the United States may be found frequent mention of names that are familiar and even distinguished at present throughout the great Middle West. They ring with achievement as in the old days, and although generations have passed since their first bearers lived and labored and increased on American soil, the stock is the same and the vigor of the younger branches gives testimony to the strength of the parent root. A long line of notable men have borne the name of Sandidge, from the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, and the early settlement … Read more

Biography of Leonard Harrison Patterson

Leonard Harrison Patterson. Among the representative citizens of Wild Cat Township, Riley County, Leonard H. Patterson, whose hundreds of acres of valuable land stretch farther than the eye can reach, came first to Kansas in 1860. For many years his subsequent life was one of danger, adventure and hardship, and it was not until 1867 that he settled down to peaceful agricultural pursuits, at that time purchasing the land on which he has since resided. Leonard H. Patterson was born April 5, 1836, near Washington, Erie County, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest in a family of nine children born to … Read more

Biography of Richard Meyer

Richard Meyer. When he was twenty years of age Richard Meyer came to Kansas with his parents and since then, for thirty-six years, has been a resident of Riley County. He was born at Freeport, Illinois, March 3, 1860, and was reared and received his education in that locality. Farming, stock raising and stock feeding have given him abundance of opportunity to work out his destiny, and the work has not only been congenial but on the whole profitable. Mr. Meyer probably ranks as one of the chief stock feeders in Riley County. The spirit of progressiveness has kept him … Read more