Mrs. James Atkins presided over one of the fine homes of El Dorado and had long been prominent socially in that city. Mr. James Atkins is an honored veteran of the Civil war, one of the earliest settlers of Butler County, and though he began life in the West with little more than his courage and the labor of his hands he now had abundance and deserves both his leisure and his success.
Mrs. Atkins was born at Louisville, Kentucky, December 11, 1864. Her maiden name was Eva J. Pool. Her parents were Anthony and Matilda J. (Bennett) Pool. In the paternal line Mrs. Atkins’ ancestry reaches back to England, from which country her great-grandfather Pool came to America in colonial days. Her grandfather, William Pool, was born in Pennsylvania in 1795. He lived on a farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania, a region made historic because it was the scene of the famous whiskey rebellion and of many other events in the early colonial life. From Southwestern Pennsylvania William Pool removed to Ohio, was a farmer in that state and in 1860 went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he lived retired until his death in 1877. He was a democrat, and a very loyal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church. William Pool married Elizabeth Murry, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1795 and died at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1879.
Anthony Pool, father of Mrs. Atkins, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1824, spent part of his early life there and when he was a young man he went with his parents to Ohio. He was married in Ohio, followed farming there, but in 1860 went to Louisville, where he engaged in the marble and monument business. In 1882 Anthony Pool, disposing of his interests in Louisville, removed his marble business to Lancaster, Ohio, but in 1886 came to El Dorado, Kansas. Here he located on a farm adjoining the town, and was occupied with his farming interests until his death in 1888. He was a democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Anthony Pool married Matilda J. Bennett, who was born in October, 1831, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and died in El Dorado, Kansas, in August, 1902. Her father, William Bennett, was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 1798. When he was eleven years of age, in 1809, his parents came to America and settled in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he grew up and became a farmer. He afterwards moved to Ohio and died in that state in 1842. William Bennett married Jemima Miller, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1802, of German descent. She died at Albion, Illinois, in 1879. They reared eleven children, none of whom are now living.
Anthony Pool and wife were the parents of five children: John S., who succeeded to the marble business of his father in Louisville, Kentucky, and is now living in that city retired; Hettie J., who lives at St. Louis, Missouri, widow of T. L. Cadwallader, who was in the real estate business; C. W. Pool, a traveling salesman living at Hutchinson, Kansas; Maggie A., wife of R. S. Martin, a real estate man at St. Louis, Missouri; and Mrs. James Atkins.
Mrs. Atkins was reared at Louisville, attended the public schools there, including the high school, and came to Kansas with her parents when she was a young woman. She was married at El Dorado in 1900 to Mr. James Atkins. They have one child, Anthony Pool Atkins, born at El Dorado November 26, 1902. Mrs. Atkins takes an active part in the Methodist Episcopal Church at El Dorado.