William Paxton Hazen, who died at Chetopa, Kansas, April 16, 1909, was for many years a successful Kansas banker. His widow, Mrs. Addie (Glass) Hazen, who survives him, is widely known in women’s circles in Kansas, and is especially active in charitable and philanthropic enterprises in her home city.
Mr. Hazen died when at the high tide of his usefulness. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1858. His father, David Hazen, was a lawyer by profession, practiced for many years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but died in Erie, Kansas. Mr. Hazen’s maternal grandmother, Mary Ewing, had her pew in the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh for more than forty years. She was the wife of Judge Ewing, a very prominent attorney of Western Pennsylvania. Mr. Hazen on his mother’s side is also a descendant of Roger Williams of colonial history.
William P. Hazen was educated in the public schools of Pittsburgh, and after reaching manhood his parents came west to Otley, Iowa, and while in that state he attended the Agricultural College at Ames. On leaving school he came to Cherryvale, Kansas, in 1880, and from there to Thayer. He was cashier of a bank in Thayer until 1887, and then helped to build and organize the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Erie, Kansas, in which he held the post of cashier until 1893. After that for three years he was connected with the National Bank of Pittsburg, Kansas, and then for a year was in the brokerage business at Baltimore, Maryland. Returning to Kansas and locating at Arkansas City he was appointed assistant bank commissioner for the State of Kansas, and was still serving in that position when he died. He had 108 banks under his supervision and was regarded as one of the most competent examiners in the state.
The late Mr. Hazen was a man of single purity in his personal and public life. He stood for wholesome ideals in public affairs, and was one of the instigators of the reform party in politics. For six years he edited the Advance at Chetopa. Politically he was a republican of progressive type. He loved Kansas. He loved the Kansas prairies, the flowers, the institutions and the men of Kansas. He was connected with the Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburg, with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Bankers Life of Des Moines, Iowa, and with the Knights Templar Masons, Pittsburg Commandery. He held a number of offices in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Hazen married Miss Addie Glass. Mrs. Hazen was born in Rockport, Indiana, January 13, 1864, and was educated in the Rockport College. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is one of the organizers of the Wednesday Club of Chetopa. This club is affiliated with both the state and national Federation of Women’s Clubs. In July, 1916, Mrs. Hazen returned to Chetopa after seven years spent in Baldwin, Kansas, where she lived while her children were attending Baker College. She owned a residence in Baldwin. In both these cities she is well known for her social prominence and is a member of the school board of the public schools of Chetopa.
Mrs. Hazen is a daughter of T. Milton Glass, a well-known citizen of Chetopa. He was born at Bardstown, Kentucky, April 10, 1835, and when he was quite young his parents removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he was reared and educated. He has always been a farmer and farm owner, but has usually lived in some town. He came to Kansas in 1885, locating in Oswego, and bought extensively farm lands between Oswego and Chetopa. Since 1898 his home has been in Chetopa and he now owns 210 acres in Cherokee and Labette counties, having sold the rest of his farm interests. His home is on Plum Street in Chetopa, and he also has a half block of lots in that city. Mr. Glass is a republican and has held a place in the city council of Chetopa for three terms. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army at the last call for troops and was with the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry as a first lieutenant.
Mr. Glass married Melissa Miller, who was born at Patriot, Indiana, March 8, 1841. Their children were: Nellie, who died at the age of fourteen; Mrs. Hazen; Willard, who was murdered by a robber at Welsh, Oklahoma, in 1898; and a daughter that died in infancy. The Glass ancestry came originally from Ireland.
Mrs. Hazen is the mother of three children, all of whom are exceedingly competent young people, and have entered upon very promising careers of usefulness. The son, Willard Glass, was graduated from Baker University at Baldwin, with the degree A. B., in 1910; spent five years as cashier of the People’s State Bank of Baldwin, and in order to familiarize himself with metropolitan banking he resigned to take a position in the Southwest National Bank at Kansas City, Missouri. He is learning banking in its every detail, and plans to make his life work in that field. He is also a director in the Morgan Gardner Mercantile Company at Baldwin, and while a resident of Baldwin served as city treasurer. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Zeta Chi college fraternity.
Gertrude, the older daughter of Mrs. Hazen, was graduated from Baker University A. B. in 1912, then attended the Margaret Morrison School of the Carnegie Institute of Technology at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she specialized in domestic science, was awarded the degree Master of Arts by the Kansas University in 1915, and is now in the Howard Payne College at Fayette, Missouri.
Ruth Hazen, the youngest child of Mrs. Hazen, is now a member of the senior class in the Oswego Seminary, has taken 4½ years of instruction in the violin department at the Baker University Conservatory, and is a very proficient musician. Her studies along that line are now being continued on the piano, and she is planning a special course in playground work at Battle Creek, Michigan. Her talent as a musician and her versatile ability in other ways qualify her unusually well for playground work, and she has been a factor through her musical interests in various festivals and religious meetings.