Chanute Kansas

Biography of Seth J. Bailey

Seth J. Bailey. The gratifying success which had crowned the efforts of Seth J. Bailey, of Chanute, clearly and emphatically evidence the business skill, perseverance and enterprise of this individual, who had been engaged in business here since the fall of 1900. This is a utilitarian age, one in which advancement and progress come through activity in the industrial and commercial interests of life. There is nothing to which America owes her pre-eminence among the nations of the earth so much as to her inventions, and each year sees additions to the list which bear marked impress upon the world … Read more

Biography of Thomas F. Morrison

Thomas F. Morrison. One of the prominent members of the Neosho County bar is Thomas F. Morrison, who as a practitioner at Chanute since 1903 had been connected with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of this district. He is also a leading member of the democratic party of this portion of the state, where his influence had been widely felt in political as well as professional circles, and had represented his community in the Kansas Legislature, as a member of which body he was the author of some exceedingly beneficial legislation. Mr. Morrison was born June … Read more

Biography of Samuel Baughman

Samuel Baughman. In the career of Samuel Baughman, now one of the leading real estate and insurance men of Chanute, there are found those qualities which make for success in business life. Industry, perseverance, a wise direction of talents and a quick grasp of opportunities have always characterized his actions, and throughout his life he has governed his operations by principles of fair dealing, so that his reputation in business matters is one which places him in an enviable position. He has been interested in a number of lines of endeavor, and in each has made a success, and the … Read more

Biography of John J. Jones

John J. Jones. Actively connected with a profession that has an important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community, and one which has ever been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights, the reputation of John J. Jones, of Chanute, as a lawyer has been won through honest, earnest labor, and his standing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability. For a quarter of a century he has been engaged in practice at Chanute, and during this time has been connected with much … Read more

Biography of Guy E. Truitt

Guy E. Truitt. To the real lover of nature there is no vocation known to mankind which furnishes more interesting possibilities than the nursery business. Developments in recent years along this line have been as wonderful as they were formerly unexpected and unbelievable. Yet even to the man who labors faithfully to maintain high standards already established there is that satisfaction in accomplishment possible only when an individual works in collaboration with nature and the elements of creation. Kansas had had its full quota of earnest, painstaking men in this vocation who have delighted in their labor and have contributed … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Herbert Cavaness

Herbert Cavaness, president of the Tribune Company at Chanute, was born at Chetopa August 23, 1877. He was graduated from the Chetopa High School in 1893, and took the full literary course in Baker University, where he was graduated A. B. in 1899. While in university he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Athenian Literary Society. There was hardly a break between his college career and his work as a newspaper man, which he had followed with great enthusiasm and success. In September, 1899, he went to work on the Chanute Tribune, and gives practically all … Read more

Biography of Tillman E. Dale

Tillman E. Dale. Distinguished as the oldest oil contractor and driller in the mid-continent fields, Tillman E. Dale, one of the substantial men of Chanute, Kansas, is one of the best known oil men in Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming, having operated in every field in earlier days in the business and is the pioneer in Neosho County. Mr. Dale was born March 1, 1862, in Buchanan County, Iowa. His parents were George and Mary Robinson (Davey) Dale, both natives of England. George Dale, the paternal grandfather, was born in England in 1807 and remained in his own country until he … Read more

Biography of William H. Smith

William H. Smith. It is almost a half century that had crept around on the world’s clock since William H. Smith, one of Chanute’s substantial and respected citizens, came to Kansas, locating in Neosho County, where at present he is held in high esteem with the Old Settlers’ Association, of which he is president. With interest he had watched this section develop and had assisted very materially, ever lending his influence to law and order, encouraging the investment of capital, and setting an industrious example that might very profitably be emulated. William H. Smith was born January 25, 1846, in … Read more

Biography of Oliver Quincy Claflin

Oliver Quincy Claflin is a prominent young lawyer at Kansas City, Kansas, and is now serving as United States commissioner of the First Kansas District. Mr. Claflin is devoted to the law, is not an office seeker, and his appointment to his present position was based entirely upon merit and exceptional qualifications. Mr. Claflin was born at Chanute, Kansas, July 4, 1882, the only child of Otis Quincy and Mary J. (Blair) Claflin. His father was born in Massachusetts and his mother in Canada, the latter going to Massachusetts and living there at the time of her marriage. Oliver Q. … Read more

Biography of R. W. Cates

R. W. Cates is a director and assistant cashier in the First National Bank of Independence. By profession he is a lawyer and practiced for a number of years with his father, Joseph B. F. Cates, who is one of the oldest members of the legal profession in Kansas. Joseph B. F. Cates, who is now general attorney for the Prairie Pipe Line Company, with residence at Independence, was born in Grainger County, Tennessee, April 19, 1840. His parents were Charles and Elizabeth (Lloyd) Cates. Charles Cates was a native of North Carolina, where he was reared and educated, and … Read more

Biography of John L. Robinson

John L. Robinson. The absolute honesty, the feeling of community interest, the intelligent public spirit that belong and illuminate the best type of citizen, are all qualities demanded of men who enter the banking field. The close relation between banks and a community’s prosperity makes the banking business one of paramount importance. One of the well known financiers of Neosho County, Kansas, is John L. Robinson, president of the Fidelity State Bank, at Chanute, áa business man of long and honorable experience. Mr. Robinson was born June 25, 1865, in Delaware County, Iowa, and is a son of A. M. … Read more

Biography of Joseph C. Merritt

Joseph C. Merritt, chairman of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Chanute, the largest financial institution in Neosho County, is a pioneer Kansan. He came to Iola in 1871, and for a number of years was engaged in the cattle business. His home had been in Chanute since 1878. For more than thirty years, until he sold out in 1909, Mr. Merritt conducted a hardware store at the corner of East Main and Harlan Avenue. As successful merchant, it was only natural that he should participate in other business affairs in the city, and he early … Read more

Biography of Cavaness, James M.

James M. Cavaness. The name Cavaness belongs to both the pioneer and modern era of Kansas. Anywhere in the southeastern part of the state the name is most closely associated with the newspaper business, and two generations are still active in that work, James M. Cavaness and two of his sons, Herbert and Wilfrid, all of whom are connected in some official capacity with the Chanute Tribune. The origin of the Cavaness family was undoubtedly in Ireland, but the first of the name came to America in the colonial period and settled in North Carolina. Urban C. Cavaness, father of … Read more

Biography of Calvin Arthur Davis

Calvin Arthur Davis. The superintendent of the Cudahy Refining Company at Chanute, Kansas, Calvin Arthur Davis, is one of the sons of the Sunflower state who has worked his own way to position and independence. A product of the farm, when he started upon his career his equipment consisted of ambition, determination and good common sense, and these qualities he directed so well that he soon became recognized as a man from whom large things could be expected. Promotion naturally followed, and his career has since been one of constant advancement. Mr. Davis was born on a farm south of … Read more

Biography of John Wilbur Lapham

John Wilbur Lapham. The life record of John W. Lapham, postmaster, attorney and ex-mayor of Chanute, Kansas, stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is never without honor save in his own country, for Mr. Lapham is a native son of the county and city in which he has directed the efforts of his successful career. The son of a leading member of the Neosho County bar, he has followed in his father’s footsteps in the legal profession, as well as making a success in business life and as a public official. John W. Lapham was born … Read more

Biography of Charles A. Straub

Charles A. Straub, a veteran oil worker in Western Pennsylvania, came to Kansas about the opening of the fields in the southern part of this state, and in recent years had become the responsible factor in developing much of the oil and gas interests in and around Moran, where he resided. Mr. Straub is manager, secretary and treasurer of the Eastern Kansas Oil Company, Limited, whose home and headquarters are in Moran. Mr. Straub was born at Sheldon, Wyoming County, New York, March 29, 1863. His father, A. B. Straub, was born in 1838 and by the accident of birth … Read more

Biography of Joel Moore O’Brien

Joel Moore O’Brien is proprietor of the largest department store in Allen County. The present business is the outgrowth of many years of successful experience and gradual development beginning with a single stock of groceries. Mr. O’Brien had proved himself a merchant of unusual sagacity and had been one of the principal factors in recent years in the development and progress of his home city. The O’Brien family had long been identified with the development of this section of Kansas. Mr. O’Brien’s grandfather Daniel Cornelius O’Brien was one of the Kansas pioneers. He was born in Ohio and in 1857 … Read more

Biography of George W. Pens

George W. Pens. The oil fields of Kansas have attracted to them men of experience who have made this industry the study and the business of their lives. It is through the expert work and knowledge of these men that the industry had been developed to its present proportions. No mere tyros could have brought about the present great production; it needed the activities of experienced, trained oil producers to develop and regulate this great industry, which is proving to be one of the state’s greatest assets. Perhaps Indiana had contributed as many of these men as any other state, … Read more

Biography of Louis L. Marcell

Louis L. Marcell. The discovery of oil and gas and its development in Neosho and the surrounding counties had not only added to the wealth and prosperity of this section of the state but had also brought forward a new type of business man: the oil producer and refiner. Today one of the leading representatives of the oil industry in the Mid-Continent field is Louis L. Marcell of Chanute, Kansas, who became interested when the business was in its infancy and had been a factor in making it one of the largest industries of the state. Mr. Marcell was born … Read more

Biography of Raymond F. Dutch

Raymond F. Dutch. Since September, 1903, the Chanute Business College had occupied a recognized position of importance among the institutions of commercial education in Southeastern Kansas, and each year had seen its scope broadening and its usefulness increasing. It is accomplishing good work in the training of young men and women to take their place in the business world, and many of its former pupils have already attained places of prominence in business circles. The present manager and proprietor of this institution is Raymond F. Dutch, who had had broad and varied experience both as an educator and in business … Read more