Clay County KS

Biography of Glenn Swogger

Glenn Swogger is one of the younger men in the newspaper business in Kansas and began his career as an editor and publisher soon after leaving Kansas University. Mr. Swogger is editor and owner of The Waverly Gazette and The Harris Commercial. The Waverly Gazette is one of the older papers of Coffey County. It was established as the Gridley Gazette in 1887 by Ben Swearingen, was moved to Burlington in 1888 and in 1889 to Waverly, where it had been published continuously ever since. The Harris Commercial is one of the live weekly papers of Anderson County and was … Read more

Biography of Earl A. Nossaman

Earl A. Nossaman, secretary of the Monarch Cement Company at Humboldt, had lived in Kansas since early infancy, educated himself for the teaching profession, which he followed for a number of years, and was in the drug business before he accepted his present official position with the Monarch Cement Company. He went with this company while it was being reorganised, and as manager of the sales department had had much to do with its successful operations in recent years. His ancestry goes back to Hesse Cassel, Germany, where his great-grandfather was born. Coming to America, this ancestor settled in Pennsylvania. … Read more

Biography of Charles Sumner Risdon

Charles Sumner Risdon. Among the men who have lent dignity to the educator’s profession in Kansas, Charles Sumner Risdon is deserving of more than passing mention. Throughout his career he has been a resident of the Sunflower State, and from the time of his earliest ambitions for a career as an educator until he realized the attainment of his goal, he attended the educational institutions of the state. His standing in his profession was recognized in 1901, when he was appointed superintendent of schools of Independence, and this office he has filled so capably, that there has been no thought … Read more

Biography of Samuel R. Dillinger

Samuel R. Dillinger. One of the well known families of Clay County is that of Dillinger, which for many years had been active in the grain elevator business, and it had a worthy representative in Samuel R. Dillinger, who is manager of the Farmers Elevator Company at Bennington, Kansas. Mr. Dillinger was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, July 15, 1855, and is the elder of two sons born to his parents, who were Daniel and Nancy (Davis) Dillinger. His younger brother, Daniel Dillinger, came to Kansas in 1886 and is a prosperous farmer in Sherman County. In tracing his … Read more

Biography of Benjamin Franklin Morgan M.D.

Benjamin Franklin Morgan, M. D., is a physician and surgeon of nearly thirty years’ experience, almost all of which time had been spent in the State of Kansas, and the past seventeen years in the City of Clay Center. The name “Dr. Morgan” is a household word in almost every family throughout Clay and surrounding counties, as four of the immediate family have practiced in Clay Center and never since the year 1883 had there been a time when the familiar form and genial smile of one or more of this family of physicians did not form a part of … Read more

Biography of O. F. Walke

O. F. Walke who has spent most of his life in Kansas has developed a very substantial business career, and for several years has been proprietor of the Independent Laundry, one of the best equipped establishments of its kind in the southern section of the state. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and his great-grandfather came from the North of Ireland, and was an early farmer in Ohio. Mr. Walke’s grandfather, William Walke, was born in Ohio in 1840, came to Kansas about a quarter of a century ago, and was an active farmer until he retired and died at Columbus, … Read more

Biography of John F. Richards

John F. Richards, born October 23, 1834, in Bath County, Virginia, the founder of the wholesale hardware house Richards & Conover Hardware Company of Kansas City, Missouri, and now residing at 200 Forty-fourth Street in that city, is not only one of the merchants who have risen to prominence in this section of the Middle West, but had a career connected by many experiences and activities with the Territory and State of Kansas. His parents were Walter and Nancy (Mayse) Richards, both natives of Virginia. Their old farm, Cloverdale, was situated on one of the stage lines which then crossed … Read more

Biography of Isaac E., Lambert, Sr.

Isaac E. Lambert, Sr., whose tragic death in the burning of the Copeland Hotel at Topeka in 1908 is generally recalled, was in his time one of the most prominent attorneys of Kansas and stood in the forefront of his profession and also as a public leader. His son, Isaac E. Lambert, Jr., is also a lawyer, a resident of Emporia, and is now serving as chief clerk of the Kansas House of Representatives. At the time of his death Isaac E. Lambert, Sr., was fifty-five years of age and in the prime of his powers. He was born in … Read more

Biography of Mrs. Phoebe (Read) Pinkerton

Mrs. Phoebe (Read) Pinkerton. With a dignified recognition of official responsibility and the poise and charm of an intellectual woman, Mrs. Phoebe (Read) Pinkerton, register of deeds for Clay County, impresses a visitor very favorably and in a section of country where interesting personalities are by no means lacking. Mrs. Pinkerton is widely known and is universally esteemed, and was brought to Clay Center by her parents in 1878. Mrs. Pinkerton was born in the City of Manchester, England, and is a daughter of Rev. William and Margaret (Martin) Read. Both parents were born at Manchester, the father on February … Read more

Biography of F. A. Cassady

F. A. Cassady is one of the most successful business men of his age in the State of Kansas. He is proprietor of one of the largest general stores at Neosho Rapids and is also vice president of the Neosho Rapids State Bank. He had reached this position in business circles before attaining his twenty-second year. He was born in Graysville, Missouri, September 24, 1894. His grandfather was a native of County Londonderry, Ireland, and in the old country spelled his name William O’Cassady but dropped the first syllable when he came to the United States. He lived a time … Read more

Biography of Edgar M. Forde

Edgar M. Forde is now grand recorder for Kansas of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, having succeeded his honored father in that office when the late Edgar M. Forde, Sr., died in August, 1912. The official headquarters of this great fraternal order in Kansas are at 417-419 Commercial Street in Emporia. In the year 1916 the Ancient Order of United Workmen had 40,000 members in Kansas, 400 lodges, and there are two lodges in Emporia, Lodge No. 2 and Lodge No. 184. Mr. Forde was born in Emporia September 4, 1885, a son of Edgar M. Forde, who was … Read more

Biography of Alvin L. Williamson

Alvin L. Williamson. The many business interests that at present serve to make Clay Center one of the important young cities of Kansas cover almost every modern activity and profession, and include also some of the oldest industries, milling for example, that aecompanied the settlement of the first pioneers in Clay County. Long before improved machinery and modern methods of using motive power had been thought of, every deep-falling stream that could be profitably dammed had a grinding mill on its bank before civilized living was accepted as complete in that section. Pioneer history is full of atories of the … Read more

Biography of William Sherman Timmons

William Sherman Timmons. One of the highly respected residents and leading business men of Riley, Kansas, is William Sherman Timmons, owner of a lumber yard and dealing also in coal and grain. He belongs to old American stock, his ancestors for generations having resided in one or other of the great states of the Union. There is present in almost every individual, be his station in life what it may, a latent pride of ancestry and a pleasure in being able to trace a clear line far back in the silence of the past. Sometimes men and women offer fortunes … Read more

Biography of Frederick William Parrott

F. W. Parrott. Probably no agency so molds public opinion as does the reputable newspaper, and on this account the editor of a journal of standing occupies a position of great accountability. It may matter little, perhaps, whether one can convince his next door neighbor of the value of his enlightened opinions, but when his audience numbers hundreds and thousands his effort become a force of momentous strength and solemn responsibility. That this is generally realized by the men who through special talents are called upon to accept such a position may be seen when they show not only the … Read more

Biography of Frank A. Moss

Frank A. Moss. For over thirty years the name Moss had been significant of the finest integrity and ability in connection with the banking affairs of St. Marys. The First National Bank of that city is practically a product of the financial genius of the Moss family. The founder and for many years the president was the late John A. Moss, and that office is now filed by his son, Frank A. Moss. The late John A. Moss was born in London, England, May 5, 1846, and had an experience that identified him with the frontier towns of Kansas. He … Read more

Biography of Theodore F. Ismert

Theodore F. Ismert, president of the Ismert-Hincke Milling Company of Kansas City, Kansas, is a director and controlling factor in the great milling industries of the Missouri Valley. He and his family have been prominently identified with flour milling in this and other states of the Middle West for over half a century. The Ismerts are of French lineage. Theodore F. Ismert was born at his father’s home in Lebanon, Illinois, February 10, 1866, the oldest of five children. Only two are now living, his sister being Mrs. Hincke. Their parents were John and Amelia (Berrard) Ismert, both natives of … Read more

Biography of Gerald Francis Wilson

Gerald Francis Wilson. Among the contributing factors to progress and prosperity in Clay County are the newspapers, and in taking them into account the Leader, at Longford, should by no means be overlooked. It is a live, wide-awake, progressive journal becanse such are the characteristics of its able editor and manager, Gerald Francis Wilson, who had the advantage of being a practical printer and before assuming charge of the Leader had had editorial experience. Gerald Francis Wilson was born at Racine, Wisconsin, November 4, 1891. His parents were Fred Morgan and Miranda (Kennedy) Wilson, the latter of whom was born … Read more

Biography of Samuel R. Dillinger, Jr.

Samuel R. Dillinger, Jr. At all times the grain trade is one of vital importance in every country, and at the present time, when the eyes of a large portion of the earth are turned expectantly to the mighty grain yields of the United States, does the conservation of this food and its proper handling as a commercial factor take on added importance. To buy grain carefully, knowingly and economically requires something more than the trading instinet, it necessitates the possession of special talents and certain knowledge that can only come through actual experience. Samuel R. Dillinger, who is manager … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John P. Marshall

John P. Marshall was born in New Alresford, Hampshire, England, October 11, 1846. His father was William Marshall, a contractor and builder of that town. Leaving school, John P. Marshall worked in the drygoods business at Southampton, and at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, until 1865, when he came to Montreal where he worked in the wholesale drygoods business until September, 1868, when he moved to Chicago. In February, 1870, he came to Wakefield and took up land southwest of town. This he farmed until January, 1890, when he was called to take the management of the Co-operative Store in Wakefield, a … Read more

Bracken, George – Obituary

George Bracken, 49, former city car salesman and instructor at Oklahoma City University, died Saturday [December 24, 1951] in El Reno sanitarium after suffering a series of strokes. Bracken had lived in El Reno with his sister, Mrs. Paul Strate the past three years. Born in Kingfisher, he was the son of the late Arthur E. Bracken, state pioneer and first licensed undertaker in the state. He was graduated from Kansas university in 1923 and for 14 years he was a salesman in Kansas City, Mo. He came to Oklahoma City in 1937 and was employed by Green-lease-Moore Chevrolet Co. … Read more