Biography of Joseph Ralph Burton, Hon.

Among the men who have come out of the Hoosier State to aid Kansas in its. real growth and development, there had been no finer man nor better citizen than Hom. Joseph Ralph Burton. Youthful in years as he was in experience when he came to Kansas in 1878, he plunged at once into the heart of affairs and gained ready recognition from the people. Senator Burton had at that time the ability to impress others with his reliability; he gained public confidence; he possessed the power of making people know that his talents were not merely skin deep but … Read more

Biography of Christopher Columbus Michal

C. C. Michal, for the past fifteen years, had been one of the extensive contractors in Southern Kansas, though his work had been done in various parts of the state. His home and headquarters are at Independence, where he is recognized as one of the substantial citizens. Mr. Michal went to the border with the Kansas National Guards, Company K, Second Infantry, as a sergeant and served three months. His ancestors came originally from Ireland and were early settlers in the United States. They located very early in the nineteenth century in Western Indiana near Terre Hante, where Philip Michal, … Read more

Biography of William A. Myers

One of the well known and highly regarded citizens of Topeka, Kansas, with which state he had been practically continuously identified since 1888, is William A. Myers, who is a leading factor in and a probable candidate of the republican forces in Shawnee County. For twenty-eight years he had been a competent and faithful employe of the State of Kansas, in the state printing department, is a man of property and of personal high standing. William A. Myers was born in 1856, in Saint Joseph County, Indiana, and is a son of Andrew and Ellen (Oliver) Myers, and a grandson … Read more

Biography of Owen Jason Wood

Owen Jason Wood is a lawyer by profession, had been a resident of Topeka since 1890, and for many years had been assistant solicitor for Kansas of The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company. He gained his first knowledge of life in the world in the northwest corner of Indiana, in Lake County. He was born at Crown Point, the county seat, August 10, 1853. His parents were Martin and Susan G. (Taylor) Wood. His father owned a farm and represented one of the early pioneer families of Northwestern Indians and he was a lawyer by profession, and was … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Samuel L. Nolan

While now a well known figure in the public life of Sedgwick County as county treasurer, Samuel L. Nolan during nearly forty years of residence in the county had rendered his chief service as a business man. He had been a merchant, banker and manufacturer and is one of the big men in his section of the state. He was born at Lafayette, Indiana, March 7, 1862. In 1877, when he was fifteen years of age, his parents moved to Kansas, arriving at Wichita on the 17th of March in the same year. In the meantime he had attended school … Read more

Biography of Luther Chapin Bailey

During his residence at Topeka since 1889 Mr. Bailey had developed a large insurance business, had been a citizen in whom public spirit is one of the most important qualities, and to his many personal friends is known as a man of charming sociability and of exceptional interest. He was born near Waynetown, Indiana, September 23, 1866, a son of Horatio Jackson Bailey and Leah Jane (Gartrell) Bailey, his wife. His great-grandfather, George Bailey, was a Scotchman, and married a Scotch woman from North Ireland. He migrated to the State of Delaware and settled on Chesapeake Bay, and here at … Read more

Biography of James H. Lane, Gen.

Gen. James H. Lane was probably the most romantic figure in Kansas during the entire period of his tornado-like career as a politician and a soldier. Whether on the battlefield or as a member of the diguified Senate of the United States, he was vigorous, open and somewhat dramatic, and a national subject for hero-worship. He was born June 22, 1814, at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, his father having represented that state both as speaker of its House of Representatives and in the halls of Congress. When the Mexican war broke out, James H. Lane was engaged in business in his native … Read more

Biography of James Madison Harvey

James Madison Harvey, fifth governor of the State of Kansas, was born in Monroe County, Virginia, September 21, 1833, and was the second child and oldest son of Thomas Jefferson and Margaret (Walker) Harvey. His ancestors for several generations were Virginians. His paternal ancestor in America was Henry Harvey, who came from England about 1725, settling in Orange County. Henry Harvey’s son John was the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketeh. Other ancestors of the colonial period were Michael Woods of Albermarle County, who was a deseendant of a Yorkshire trooper of Cromwell’s army; Capt. Henry Walker, who … Read more

Biography of Mrs. Caroline (Watson) Dickinson

Mrs. Caroline (Watson) Dickinson, the widow of William R. Dickinson, is the daughter of Daniel and Rowena (Bartlett) Watson. Her father was born in North Carolina in 1797 and the mother in Missouri in 1802, where they married and lived until 1820, when they crossed over to Fulton County, Kentucky, and lived there until they died. They had eight children, two boys and six girls. Her mother was a devout Methodist; her father, an energetic farmer, and a democrat, and died in 1865; the mother died in 1869. Mrs. Dickinson was born April 6, 1823, being the first child born … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Richard H. Hart

This capable and enterprising stock man and farmer of the vicinity of Jordan Valley is one of the substantial men of Malheur County, and is numbered with the earliest pioneers who broke sod in this section, and it is to his credit that he has constantly labored for the welfare of the country and its up building in a worthy manner ever since that time. Mr. Hart was born in Indiana, on April 18, 1849, the son of John K. and Eliza Hart. When he was one rear of age, his parents removed to Iowa and there he received his … Read more

Biography of Joshua L. Cole

As one of the real builders of Malheur County, being a pioneer of the west in a very early day, the subject of this sketch is justly entitled to consideration in the volume of history now being made and it is with pleasure that eye are enabled to recount some of the items of a long and useful career, wherein he has always been a prominent figure in the progress of the County, the welfare of his fellows and in the prosecution of the business in his hand. At the present time Mr. Cole is the president of the first … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Joseph H. Tague

It is with unfeigned pleasure that we are privileged to recount somewhat of the career of the estimable gentleman and patriotic citizen who is mentioned above, since he is a man of good standing, a well-to-do agriculturist and stockman of Malheur county, and has the honorable distinction of being one of the brave men, who hazarded life and limb for the safety of our beloved union and the promotion of good government. He was born in Ripley county, Indiana, on July 13, 1841, being the son of Lemuel and Ann (Buchanan) Tague, the mother being a second cousin of James … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James A. Walker

About five miles southwest from Ontario is the farm and home of the subject of this article. It is a place of eighty acres well improved, skillfully tilled, has line buildings, good orchards and a vine-yard, and in connection with the care of this estate, Mr. Walter is operating a dairy and manufacturing a good quality of butter, which is readily sold in the markets. In person Mr. Walter is a man of sound principles, stands well among his fellows, possesses good ability, and has made a success of his labor, starting with his bare hands and now has a … Read more

Biography of William L. Clark

Among the successful business men of Harney county is to be mentioned the gentleman named above, whose well known establishment of general merchandise at Lawen, where he has done business for some time, is one of the prosperous business houses of the county; and in addition to handling this, Mr. Clark has a hay farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he attends to and also raises cattle, and also he has been a mail contractor of the interior of Oregon. William L. was born in Carroll county, Indiana, on April 3, 1845, being the son of Thomas and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of W. D. Martin

One half mile southeast from Harney is one of the finest small grain farms in the county. It consists of eighty acres of choice land and is well under cultivation. The improvements are of a quality and kind quite fitting such an estate and its owner is the subject of this article. Mr. Martin was about the first man to try raising grain in this locality and he has made a marked success in this direction. He raised in 1901 the largest crop of any one man in Harney county and he is classed as one of the leading agriculturists … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Jackson A. Bartlett

This well known and representative business man of the town of Drewsey has a fine hotel, where he does a thriving business and also a large livery and feed stable, being a man of excellent capabilities and one of the prominent figures in this part of Harney county. He was born in Owen county, Indiana, on August 31, 1847, the son of James and Sarah (Alexander) Bartlett. He was reared on a farm and gained his education from the public schools of the vicinity and when he heard the call for troops in the times of fratricidal strife he enlisted … Read more

Biography of James Sidney Rollins

James Sidney Rollins, lawyer and statesman, distinguished for extraordinary public services, was born April 19, 1812, at Richmond, Kentucky, and died at Columbia, Missouri, January 9, 1888, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His parents were Anthony Wayne and Sallie Harris (Rodes) Rollins. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, a graduate of Jefferson College in that state and an eminent physician. He was a son of Henry Rollins, who was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, emigrated to America during the Revolutionary war, enlisted in the Continental army and fought in the battle of Brandywine. The mother, a lady … Read more

Biography of Fenton T. Stockard

Fenton T. Stockard

In this country where so many young men are thrown upon their own resources at an early age and are often obliged, while yet inexperienced and unfamiliar with their own tendencies and inclinations, to choose their occupation in life, it can not be expected that the most suitable or congenial pursuit will be selected. Consequently it should be impressed upon the minds of youth that they ought to begin at an early age to practice introspection and seriously study the famous Delphic oracle, ” Know thyself.” They will thus find as suitable an occupation as did Fenton T. Stockard, who … Read more

Biography of Samuel Turner

SAMUEL TURNER, deceased, one of the leading merchants and most prominent citizens of Douglas County, Missouri, was born in Indiana, November 3, 1836, a son of William and Hannah (West) Turner, and grandson of James Turner, all of whom settled near Arno, Missouri, in 1839, or 1840, and there engaged in farming. The grandfather was a soldier in a number of the early Indian wars, and died in Missouri, in 1861, when quite advanced in years. His wife, Mary, died in Arno, a few years after his death, at the age of eighty-four. William Turner located in Lynn County, Missouri, … Read more

Biography of Ira I. Cammack

Ira I. Cammack, who has devoted the greater part of his life to educational work, has done valuable service in the capacity of superintendent of schools in Kansas City, which position he still holds. He was born at Deming, Hamilton county, Indiana, on the 16th of February, 1858, his parents being James and Edith J. Cammack, who were pioneer settlers of eastern Indiana, taking up their abode in Randolph county. They held birthright membership in the Friends church and were prominently identified therewith throughout their entire lives. The father brought the first steam sawmills to central Indiana. Joseph Pearson, the … Read more