Canton Illinois

Biography of S. M. Elrick, Jr.

S. M. Elrick, Jr., owning and operating a valuable and productive farm of seventy-seven acres in Valley township, was born in Henry county, Illinois, on the 18th of February, 1864, his parents being S. M. and Margaret (Ferlhing) Elrick, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The year 1868 witnessed their arrival in Page county, Iowa, and here they subsequently purchased a tract of land. Both the father and mother still survive, being now residents of Minnesota. Of their family of eleven children, the following are yet living: S. M., of this review :H. C., of New Mexico; F. P., … Read more

Biography of John P. Harris

John P. Harris. The career of an honorable, dutiful and upright man, a gallant soldier, an able financier and an incumbent of offices high in the state and municipal service is illustrated in the enviable record of the late John P. Harris, of Ottawa, whose death occurred on the 23d of February, 1917. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and served as president of the People’s National Bank, as county treasurer of Franklin County, as state senator of Kansas and as mayor of Ottawa. During the many years of his residence in Franklin County he was constantly identified … Read more

Biography of Samuel C. Varner

Samuel C. Varner, a retired banker and merchant at Moran, is a veteran of the Civil war, and was one of the earliest business men to locate in Moran. His paternal ancestors came out of Germany and were colonial settlers in Pennsylvania. Samuel C. Varner was born in Pennsylvania at Monongahcla on December 10, 1845. His grandfather, John Varner, was born in the eastern part of that state at Lancaster, was a cabinet maker by trade, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and spent most of his years at Monongahela City and at Pittsburg. He married Elizabeth McKnight, … Read more

Biography of Carroll L. Swarts

Carroll L. Swarts. During his dignified and successful career as a lawyer in Kansas, covering a period of over thirty years, Judge Swarts gained distinction by his long and capable service on the district bench and had made his profession a medium of important service to several communities in the state. His name is of German origin, but the family had been identified with America since colonial times. His ancestors were prominent people in Maryland. Judge Swarts’ grandfather, Abraham D. Swarts, was born near Abingdon, Maryland, in 1782. He married Ann Bond Carroll, of the prominent Maryland family of that … Read more

Biography of Charles W. Kent

Charles W. Kent of Coffeyville is a veteran newspaper man of Kansas. His has been an interesting past. He served as a boy soldier in the Union army, and several of his brothers also bore arms for the Stars and Stripes. In a half century of active experience he has largely been identified with the newspaper business, and has been in Southern Kansas about a quarter of a century. On July 7, 1893, he established and brought out the Gate City Independent, the forerunner of the present weekly Independent. For a number of years Coffeyville was familiarly known as the … Read more

Biography of Charles Wesley Foster

Charles Wesley Foster, deceased, who was one of the public-spirited citizens of Page county, honored and respected wherever known but most of all where best known, was born May 19, 1833, in Canton, Fulton county, Illinois, where he acquired his education in the public schools. At the age of fifteen years he went to Peoria to learn the tinner’s trade and there remained for four years. When nineteen years of age he went to Abingdon, Illinois, and conducted the first hardware and tin store in that place. Four years later he removed to Bushnell, Illinois, where he also became the … Read more

Biography of S. T. Wyckoff

One of the alert and enterprising business men of Lenepah is S. T. Wyckoff, who was born in Canton, Illinois, on the 8th of October, 1858, a son of H. C. and Eliza (Powelson) Wyckoff. At the age of twelve years he removed to Kansas with his parents and his brother H. C., and the father engaged in mercantile business at Howard and Langton for many years. He achieved more than substantial success in that enterprise and lived in retirement for a few years before his demise, which occurred in 1885. Mrs. Wyckoff died in Langton, Kansas, in 1883. S. … Read more

Biography of L. A. Saffer

L. A. SAFFER. The vocation of the pharmacist is unquestionably a highly important one in any and every community, for upon his care and skill, almost as much as upon that displayed by the medical profession, oftentimes depends the physical welfare – nay, the life or death of the sick or suffering. Among the favorably known druggists of Harrison, Arkansas, may be mentioned the name of L. A. Saffer, who has an attractive and well-appointed store. He was born in Canton, Illinois, April 5, 1854, the elder of two children born to John M. and Martha M. (Barnes) Saffer, the … Read more