George O. Lines. The real estate and insurance business established by George O. Lines in 1911 had gone hand in hand with the development of Neodesha during the past five years, and undoubtedly had contributed as largely during this time toward the advantageous disposal of property and the honorable placing of insurance as any concern of the kind in Wilson County. Mr. Lines is one of Neodesha’s foremost and most substantial citizens, and while his name necessarily is associated with one of the early and influential families of the county, his success had been self-attained, and in its usefulness and scope attracts attention to qualities of business integrity, perseverance and ability and high regard for the welfare of the community. He was born on a farm in Wilson County, Kansas, January 3, 1874, and is a son of S. N. and Sarah (Livezey) Lines.
The family of which Mr. Lines is a member originated in Ireland, and the first of the name to come to America located in Connecticut prior to the Revolutionary war. Thomas Lines, the great-grandfather of George O. Lines, was born in 1810, in Indiana, and in addition to being a farmer was a minister of the Baptist Church and preached in that faith in Indiana for approximately fifty years. His death occurred in Henry County, Indiana, in 1901, when he had reached the advanced age of ninety-one years. Elljab Lines, the grandfather of George O. Lines, was born in 1830, in Indiana, and as a young man took up farming as his life work. His career, however, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war, and in 1862 he enlisted in Company C, Fifth Indiana Cavalry. While serving as a dispatch bearer, in Tennessee, in 1863, he received a severe wound, and while he lived long enough to reach home, he could not recover, and soon passed away. Mr. Lines married Elizabeth Beaubout, who was born in Indiana, in 1832, and died near Greencastle, that state, in 1910, and seven children were born to their union: S. N., the father of George O.; Margaret, who is the widow of James Feezer and resided at Richmond, Indiana; Thomas, who is a retired farmer of Mooreland, Indiana; Sarah, who is the widow of William Alexander, a farmer, and resided at Indianapolis; Erastus, who is a farmer of Messick, Indiana; Ella, who is the wife of Charles Sudworth, a Government printer, who had retained his position at Washington, District of Columbia, since his appointment by President Cleveland; and Amanda, who died at the age of thirteen years.
S. N. Lines, father of George O. Lines, was born November 26, 1849, in Henry County, Indiana, and was there reared and educated, became married, and engaged in farming. In 1868 he removed with Mrs. Lines to Brown County, Kansas, where he became a pioneer agriculturist, but remained there only two years, at the end of which time he came to Wilson County, Kansas, and homesteaded 160 acres. This property he cultivated until 1882, when he went to Newcastle and lived there until 1887, when he returned to Wilson County and again took up farming on his homestead. In 1898 he returned to Indiana and engaged in farming at Messick, but had since turned his attention to commercial pursuits, and at this time is one of the leading merchants of that place. He is a republican in politics, and while a resident of Wilson County, Kansas, served in the capacity of justice of the people. Mr. Lines married Miss Sarah Livezey, who was born in 1842, in Indiana, and to this union there were born seven children: W. C., who is engaged in the hardware business at Neodesha; Cordelia, who is the wife of W. J. Welty, employed in the Neodesha postoffice; George O.; Edith, who is the wife of F. E. Howerton, an employe of a refinery at Chanute, Kansas; Thomas O., who is engaged in the hardware business at Neodesha; Gertrude, who is the wife of Oscar Bond, an oil well shooter at Sapulpa, Oklahoma; and Mary, who is the wife of J. R. Heath, engaged in the grocery business at Neodesha.
George O. Lines received a good education, attending the public schools of Wilson County, Kansas, and Newcastle, Indiana, and the State Normal School at Emporia, Kansas, during the summer seasons. While attending the latter he taught during the winter months, and continued as an educator after his own education was completed, his career as an instructor covering a period of ten years, six years of which were in the Neodesha schools. In 1902 he was made assistant postmaster of Neodesha, a position which he held for two years, and when his term was expired embarked in the hardware and implement business, to which he gave his entire attention for seven years. In the meantime he had become interested in realty values at Neodesha, and finally, in 1911, entered the real estate and insurance business here, which had since occupied the greater part of his time and energies. His worth while and reliable qualities as a business man have given him an excellent standing in commercial and financial circles, in addition to having assisted him in the building up of a large and important business enterprise. He is the owner of his own residence, at No. 223 North Fourth Street, and the Postoffice Building, at the corner of North Seventh and Main streets. Politically he is a republican, and he and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He belongs to the Auti-Horse Thief Association, and joined the Sons of Veterans at Rest, Kansas.
In 1903, at Neodesba, Mr. Lines was married to Miss Mildred Andrews, who was born in Illinois, but reared at Neodesha. They have two children: Howard, born November 8, 1904; and Lois, born September 22, 1908.
W. C. Lines, the eldest son of S. N. and Sarah (Livezey) Lines, was born February 23, 1869, in Brown County, Kansas, and received his education in the public schools of Wilson County, Kansas; Newcastle, Indiana, and Chanute, Kansas, granduating from the high school at the latter place in 1889. For thirteen years thereafter he was engaged in teaching school in Wilson County, but in June, 1902, gave up teaching to become a railway postal clerk, but resigned his position in October of the same year and became stillman for the Standard Oil Company. In 1904 he turned his attention to the hardware business, and is now assisting his brother, Thomas O., in the conduct of the modern establishment at No. 706 Main Street, Neodesha. He owned his home at No. 702 Illinois Street. Mr. Lines is a republican, and is fraternally affiliated with Neodesha Camp No. 1532, Modern Woodmen of America. On September 14, 1894, in Wilson County, Mr. Lines was married to Miss Rosa Reeves, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Rceves, the latter deceased, and the former a retired farmer of Neodesha. To this union there have been born two children: Jessie, born July 26, 1895, and now residing with her parents; and Vida, born January 21, 1897, the wife of Addis O’Hara, of 704 Illinois Street, Neodesha, foreman for the Standard Oil Company.
Thomas O. Lines, the youngest son of S. N. and Sarah (Livezey) Lines, was born January 15, 1880, in Wilson County, and received his education in the public schools of Newcastle, Indiana, and Wilson County, Kansas. He left school at the age of sixteen years and began teaching school in Wilson County, a vocation which he followed for four years. In 1901 he had his first business experience as a clerk in a hardware store at Neodesha, and four years later became associated with his brother, George O., in the management of the hardware business now carried on in Neodesha. He is a republican in politics and resided at No. 620 Indiana Street. Mr. Lines was married April 10, 1901, at Fredonia, Kansas, to Miss Rosa Brown, daughter of Robert and Frances (Keller) Brown, both of whom are deceased, Mr. Brown having been a farmer and sawmill proprietor. Mr. and Mrs. Lines have three children: Marion, born January 26, 1902; Harold, born July 13, 1910; and Robert, born November 8, 1912.