Kansas

Biography of William N. Smelser

William N. Smelser has been a member of the Emporia bar for twenty-five years. His had been an enviable record both as a lawyer and as a citizen, and his ability, industry and his conscientious care have brought him a high position among Kansas lawyers. His family have resided in Emporia more than thirty years, and William N. Smelser was about fourteen years old when brought to that city. He was born in Sturgis, in Southern Michigan, February 2, 1870. The Smelsers came originally from Germany, but have been Americans since about the time of the Revolutionary war. The first … Read more

Biography of Simon Coats

Simon Coats. Among the men who are representing Wilson County in positions of public importance, none have a better record for clean and capable service than had Simon Coats, sheriff, who had held his present position since January, 1915, but who had been connected with the sheriff’s office since 1911. He had been a resident of Wilson County for more than forty-five years, during which time he had been identified with farming, stockraising and business ventures, and is well and widely known to the people of this community as an honorable man of business and an official possessed of the … Read more

Biography of John S. Sutcliffe, M. D.

John S. Sutcliffe, M. D., is one of the widely known physicians and surgeons of Kansas, and besides a large private practice at Iola is proprietor of the Iola Hospital and Sanitarium, which he had brought to a high standard of excellence in its appointments and had made it an institution of widely extended benefit and service. Doctor Sutcliffe is a native of England, born January 10, 1861. He attended a private school known as Beckwith College at Liverpool, but at the age of fifteen came to America to join his father, who some years before had established himself in … Read more

Biography of William Hunter McKenzie

William Hunter McKenzie has found his work in the business administration of gas companies, and since 1905 had held the responsibilities of general manager of the Wyandotte County Company of Kansas City, Kansas. It was a boyhood experience while in a state institution in Ohio that gave him the permanent bent of a vocational experience. Mr. McKenzie was born in Harrisonville, Ohio, November 15, 1862, one of the four children of James T. and Mary C. (Hoover) McKenzie, both also natives of Ohio and of Scotch and Dutch extraction. James T. McKenzie was a cabinet maker by trade. At the … Read more

Biography of James A. McGonigle

James A. McGonigle. For many reasons may James A. McGonigle, contractor and builder and one of Leavenworth’s most respected citizens, be regarded as deserving of extended mention in a history of Kansas. He came to Leavenworth as a pioneer in 1857; he was an early, brave and loyal soldier in the Union army until incapacitated by wounds in the Civil war; since then had been more prominent in the upbuilding of the city than any other man; and still at the age of eighty-three carries on large business operations and with the same facility and exactness that won him the … Read more

Biography of Nathan L. Hollowell

Nathan L. Hollowell is grand keeper of records and seals for the Knights of Pythias of the State of Kansas. He had his offices in the Husted Building at Kansas City, Kansas, and had been a resident of that city for several years. The office is an elective one and for an annual term. Mr. Hollowell became grand keeper May 15, 1910, and had been re-elected every year since then. He had long been prominent in the Knights of Pythias order and became active in the fraternity while living in Indiana. In that state he was a member of the … Read more

Biography of James T. Cooper

James T. Cooper, a lawyer, banker and widely known citizen of Fredonia, was born in Woodson, but then Wilson, County, Kansas, August 30, 1866, and represents a family that came to Kansas while it was a territory. The ancestry of Mr. Cooper is particularly interesting. He is descended from that Sir Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftsbury, who founded a colony on the Ashley River in North Carolina, and from that settlement the family name had become widely dispersed. It may be of interest to recall the fact that the noted John Locke, the great English philosopher, prepared a model … Read more

Biography of Richard Harrison Trueblood

Richard Harrison Trueblood. When it comes to long continued service in the newspaper field, some mention must be made of Richard Harrison Trueblood, who had been identified with the Yates Center News for fully thirty years, is its editor and manager, and more than anything else his energy, his knowledge of journalism, have been effective in making that not only the official paper of Woodson County but a strong and vital organ of public opinion in that section of the state. Mr. Trueblood comes of long-lived and sturdy family stock. He is not the only living representative of his family. … Read more

Biography of James Duncan Millar Crockett

James Duncan Millar Crockett. Modern business and industry have developed specialists in various lines, and one of the professions that had arisen to meet the increasing demands of business efficiency is that of public accountancy. One of the best known public accountants of the State of Kansas is J. D. M. Crockett, who had done much to organize and extend the field of public accountancy in this state. He is a member of the firm Crockett, Couchman & Company, certified public accountants, now having offices in New York, St. Louis, Kansas City and Topeka. Mr. Crockett was born near the … Read more

Biography of P. J. Concannon

P. J. Concannon. A well known business man of Emporia, Mr. Concannon had done much in recent years to keep that city up to date in the matter of theatrical and entertainment enterprises, but in earlier years he was variously identified with lumber manufacture, farming and had been a resident of the state almost continuously since early boyhood. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, May 7, 1863, a son of Martin and Anna (Walsh) Concannon. Both his parents were natives of County Mayo, Ireland, where the paternal grandfather spent his life. Anna Walsh’s mother, Julia Walsh, came to America … Read more

Biography of David Clark Offenbacker, Hon.

Hon. David Clark Offenbacker. It would be difficult to name an activity of the thriving community of Benedict, Kansas, that had not profited by the support and co-operation of Hon. David Clark Offenbacker. Primarily a business man, with varied and important interests, he had devoted a great part of his time to public service, the present being his third term as mayor of the city, and had also done more, perhaps, than any other man in the way of making public improvements. His business and official records are inseparably connected with the growth and development of the city and its … Read more

Biography of David C. Johnson

David C. Johnson in his business career had been identified with the City of Eureka and had been a factor in affairs there for over a quarter of a century. He is one of the expert men in that field in real estate and related lines of business and is manager of the Eureka Mortgage Company. Mr. Johnson had lived in Kansas since early boyhood. He was born at Effingham, Illinois, February 20, 1860. The Johnson family became identified with Illinois when it was a territory and in fact when that place was marked off as a distinct section of … Read more

Biography of George Alfred Sanders

George Alfred Sanders is a Kansas educator of wide experience and exceptional qualifications for hosts of responsibilities, and is now superintendent of the Roseland schools. On May 14, 1917, he will become County Superintendent of Cherokee County for a term of two years. He represents a family that were pioneers in Kansas, and in the different generations the people of the Sanders name have closely followed the westward movement of civilization in America. His original ancestors came out of Germany, first settling in Pennsylvania. From there they went west and shared in the early developments of the States of Indiana … Read more

Biography of Lyman U. Humphrey

Lyman U. Humphrey, the eleventh governor of Kansas, was a resident of this state forty-four years. The City of Independence, which was his home all these years except the time he spent in the state capital, will always honor his name, and his upright life and splendid record of public service serve to brighten the annals of the entire state. He was born at New Baltimore, Stark County, Ohio, July 25, 1844, and died at his home in Independence September 12, 1915. Few men can accomplish so much in a lifetime of seventy-one years. He had a worthy ancestry. His … Read more

Biography of Lyman L. Humphrey

Lyman L. Humphrey. As president and active manager of The Humphrey Investment Company, Independence, Kansas, Mr. Humphrey occupies a high position in financial affairs not only in his immediate locality but all over Southeastern Kansas and Eastern Oklahoma, in which field his company places around $1,500,000 annually on first farm loans for its Eastern clients and its business is constantly growing. Its principal client is The Union Central Life Insurance Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, but it also includes in its clientele a number of the largest savings banks and trust companies as well as private investors who have learned that … Read more

Biography of Winfield S. Andrews

Winfield S. Andrews, a merchant and one of the most liberal and enterprising citizens of Neosho Rapids, represents a family name that had been identified with that interesting section of Kansas since territorial days. The Andrews family came from England to Pennsylvania in colonial times, and Mr. Andrews’ grandfather, Thomas Andrews, was born in Pennsylvania in 1780. From Pennsylvania he went to the western frontier, then in Ohio, and from there again became a pioneer in Wisconsin, and when a very old man in 1859 accompanied other members of the family to Kansas, and died at Neosho Rapids in 1860. … Read more

Biography of John Wesley Twente

John Wesley Twente. Since the fall of 1911 John W. Twente had been numbered among Kansas successful educators, and is superintendent of the city schools of Baxter Springs. He is well qualified both by natural ability and by training for leadership in educational affairs, and in many ways he had increased the efficiency of the local schools and raised the general standards of educational work at Baxter Springs. As a teacher he is well known throughout Southeastern Kansas, is a member of the Southeast Kansas Teachers’ Association, and also belongs to the state organization of teachers. His home before locating … Read more

Biography of William E. Robb

William E. Robb. The thriving and prosperous Town of Neal in Greenwood County stands on land which a number of years ago William E. Robb plowed and cultivated and ranged his stock over. From his farm he furnished the townsite, and while he had still extensive farming interests in that locality his main business is as a merchant in the Town of Neal. More than any other individual he had had a direct influence upon the growth and development of the community. Mr. Robb had an unusually interesting family history. From the data he had collected from time to time … Read more

Biography of John McNarrey

John McNarrey. The fireman is the favorite popular hero of peace. The records of fire departments in large cities are brightened by deeds of splendid courage and devotion to duty, and firemen are men proved in fire literally and figuratively. Chief John McNarrey of the Kansas City, Kansas, fire department is a fine example of the best in this service. He had been almost continuously connected with the local department for twenty-four years. When he began with the department it had only three fire stations or houses and at the present time as chief he had direction of the men … Read more

Biography of Bernhard Teichgraeber

Bernhard Teichgraeber is now sole proprietor of the City Mill and Elevator Company at Emporia. Any institution whose wheels have been turning and whose machinery had been grinding out a useful product for daily consumption during a period of thirty years or more had more than ordinary interest and associations. This is particularly true of the City Mill and Elevator Company of Emporia, which was established prior to 1886 by Doctor Armour, and is one of the landmarks of the city. Its present owner is a practical miller, a profession which had run in the family for several generations, and … Read more