Emporia Kansas

Biography of James Atkins

James Atkins was born in St. Clair County, Michigan, in 1844, a son of Alexander and Eliza (Lewis) Atkins. His father was a native of Scotland and his mother of Connecticut, and he was one of their eleven children. Mr. Atkins grew up on a farm in Michigan, attended the common schools, and was only seventeen years of age when the war broke out. At the age of twenty he enlisted in Company A of the First Michigan Cavalry, and served with that noted organization during the remainder of the war. After the close of actual hostilities between the armies … Read more

Biography Of Mary Alice Murdock

Mary Alice Murdock probably deserves to rank first among Kansas women in the field of journalism. As editor and manager of the El Dorado Republican she is continuing a publication and an influence which were dignified and ennobled by her honored father, the late Thomas Benton Murdock. She was born at Emporia, Kansas, February 28, 1870, and four days after her birth her parents removed to El Dorado, where she grew up and was educated in the public schools. She worked nearly through the senior year in high school, and finished her education in Mount Washington Seminary at Baltimore, Maryland. … Read more

Biography of Fred Roscoe Sutton, M. D.

Dr. Fred Roscoe Sutton, physician and surgeon of Bartlesville, has been successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Oklahoma since 1898. The passing years have chronicled the steady growth and progress of the state and in keeping with the trend of change and advancement is the record of Dr. Sutton, who at all times has kept abreast of the latest researches and discoveries relative to the laws of health. He was born in Emporia, Kansas, January 14, 1874, and is a son of Dr. George W. Sutton, a native of Kentucky, whose birth occurred just across the River from … Read more

Biography of Rolla Edwin Long

Rolla Edwin Long, superintendent of the city schools of Galena, is an educator of wide and diversified experience in the schools of this state, and has spent altogether upwards of twenty years in a profession which is one of the most important to the welfare of mankind. In 1916 he entered upon his fourth consecutive year as superintendent of the schools of Galena. The people of that city take special pride in their schools, and Mr. Long has done much to raise the local school standards and improve the different departments of instruction. Under his supervision are six schools, a … 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 William N. Smelser

William N. Smelser has been a member of the Emporia bar for twenty-five years. His had been an enviable record both as a lawyer and as a citizen, and his ability, industry and his conscientious care have brought him a high position among Kansas lawyers. His family have resided in Emporia more than thirty years, and William N. Smelser was about fourteen years old when brought to that city. He was born in Sturgis, in Southern Michigan, February 2, 1870. The Smelsers came originally from Germany, but have been Americans since about the time of the Revolutionary war. The first … Read more

Biography of Frank Winfred Shelton, M. D.

Frank Winfred Shelton, M. D. One of the institutions which serve to give metropolitan character to the City of Independence is the Independence Hospital, the founder and builder of which was Dr. Frank Winfred Shelton, one of the most prominent surgeons of Southern Kansas. Doctor Shelton built this institution in 1906. It is situated on a commanding site at 706 South Fifth Street and in equipment and service, considering its accommodations, it is one of the best hospitals in the state. Besides the hospital building proper, Doctor Shelton erected a special building to serve as nurses’ dormitory, storerooms, laundry and … Read more

Biography of David S. Gilmore

David S. Gilmore has been connected with the publishing and editing of newspapers in Southern Kansas for a quarter of a century or more. For upwards of twenty years he had been proprietor and editor of the Northern Lyon County Journal at Allen, and is one of the leading citizens of that town. He is a son of one of the very prominent pioneers and early builders of Emporia, the late D. S. Gilmore. D. S. Gilmore was born in County Dundee, Scotland, in 1841, a son of William Gilmore, who was a cabinet maker and who brought his family … Read more

Biography of John Spencer Kenyon

John Spencer Kenyon is a member of the furniture firm of Hardcastle & Kenyon at Emporia. Established nearly thirty-five years ago, this is one of the oldest furniture houses in Kansas, and so far as known only one firm had been in business for a longer time and that is the Thompson Brothers at Topeka. Mr. Kenyon’s had been a most creditable business record. His name had been familiar to the people of Emporia and that section of Kansas for more than a generation, and always suggests the best qualities of commercial enterprise. His public spirit had also been a … Read more

Biography of Judson Wheeler Mitchell

Judson Wheeler Mitchell, manager of The Emporia Ice & Cold Storage Company, had been a Kansas business man for a quarter of a century. He was born at West Damascus, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1863, and was the son of Harvey Wheeler and Mary E. (Avery) Mitchell. The Mitchells were originally a Scotch family, one branch of which settled in England in the seventeenth century. Matthew Mitchell came to America in 1635, making the voyage in “The Good Ship James,” which was accompanied by an armed vessel, “The Angel Gabriel.” He landed at Boston, and later settled at Stamford, Connecticut, where … Read more

Biography of John S. Gilmore

John S. Gilmore. In journalistic circles of Kansas few men are better known than is John S. Gilmore, one of the energetic and progressive of the younger generation of newspaper men, who, as publisher and editor of the Wilson County Citizen, is directing the policies of one of the county’s leading organs and one of the oldest in the state of Kansas. Mr. Gilmore had been a resident of Fredonia all his life, for it was here that he was born April 26, 1891, a son of John S. and Florence (Barton) Gilmore. Robert G. Gilmore, the grandfather of John … Read more

Biography of Bernhard Teichgraeber

Bernhard Teichgraeber is now sole proprietor of the City Mill and Elevator Company at Emporia. Any institution whose wheels have been turning and whose machinery had been grinding out a useful product for daily consumption during a period of thirty years or more had more than ordinary interest and associations. This is particularly true of the City Mill and Elevator Company of Emporia, which was established prior to 1886 by Doctor Armour, and is one of the landmarks of the city. Its present owner is a practical miller, a profession which had run in the family for several generations, and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Richard Ll. D. Cordley, Rev.

Rev. Richard Cordley, Ll. D., during a period of nearly forty years minister of the Plymouth Congregational Church at Lawrence, a victim of the Quantrill raid and somewhat known in public life, was born at Nottingham, England, September 6, 1829. When he was about four years of age he came with his parents to America, the family locating on a tract of Government land in Livingston County, Michigan, where Richard attended the pioneer public schools. In 1854 he graduated from the University of Michigan and in 1857 from the Andover Theological Seminary. On December 2, 1857, he preached his first … Read more

Biography of Vernon M. Wiley

Vernon M. Wiley. It does not require a long memory to make a mental comparison between the present Rorabaugh-Wiley Dry Goods Company, located in its magnificent building, the most conspicuous business structure of Hutchinson, and the 25-foot storeroom which the same parties occupied at the beginning of their mercantile career in this city sixteen years ago. “From small acorns great oaks grow,” is an old saying that finds one of its choicest applications in this successful business. The secretary and treasurer of the Rorabaugh-Wiley Dry Goods Company, Mr. Wiley, is surprisingly young for a man of his position and achievements. … Read more

Biography of Ancil F. Hatten

Ancil F. Hatten has been continuously editor and owner of the Westphalia Times at Westphalia since 1889. This is the only newspaper of Westphalia, and is one of the oldest journals of opinion in Anderson County. It was founded in 1885 by A. D. Reed, and four years later Mr. Hatten took charge and had been responsible for the large circulation and influence the Times had enjoyed throughout the past thirty years. Mr. Hatten is a former postmaster of Westphalia and had long been an influential figure in democratic politics in that section of the state. He came to Kansas … Read more

Biography of Clark Nicholas Starry, M. D.

Clark Nicholas Starry, M. D. Representing the first class ability and skill of his profession and enjoying a large general practice, Clark Starry has devoted all his active lifetime to medicine as a profession, and began his career with an excellent equipment, the test of real practice finding him well qualified for important service. For the past fifteen years he has practiced at Coffeyville. He represents a family that came originally from England and settled in Virginia during colonial days. Clark Nicholas Starry, M. D., was born in Marshfield, Indiana, February 28, 1871, and his parents soon afterward came to … Read more

Biography of Hon. Arthur Thompson Crocker

Hon. Arthur Thompson Crocker, present state senator from Chase County, is a member of the firm Crocker Brothers, who as stockmen and farmers have developed some of the biggest interests in that line in the State of Kansas. The center of their operations is near Bazaar in Chase County. Senator Crocker is a native of Chase County and was born on his father’s cattle ranch here January 17, 1874. He is a son of Erastus Bryant and Annie Elizabeth (Grey) Crocker. Erastus B. Crocker, who was born in New York State in 1840, is a son of Alexander and Dorcas … Read more

Biography of George Plumb, Hon.

Hon. George Plumb is one of Emporia’s honored pioneers. He is a son of David Plumb, and is a brother of the late Senator Preston B. Plumb, who for years was one of the most striking figures not only in Kansas life but in national affairs. Mr. William E. Connelley, the anthor and editor of this history of Kansas, is the offlcial biographer of the late Senator Plumb, and the reader is referred to other pages for the account of his cazeer and of the family relationship. While he had never gained the fame that fell to the lot of … Read more

Biography of Samuel J. Crawford

Samuel J. Crawford was one of the first members of the Kansas State Legislature, by service on the field of battle attained the rank of brigadier-general during the Civil war, and was the third governor of the state. He was one of the history makers of early Kansas, and what he did to influence the early political development of Kansas must be told on other pages. Following is a brief sketch of his personal career. He was born in Lawrence County, Indiana, April 10, 1835, grew up on a farm, attended the graded schools of Bedford, Indiana, and the law … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George Marshall Crawford

George Marshall Crawford, the only son of Governor Crawford, was born at Emporia, Kansas, July 10, 1872, and for a number of years has been a prominent newspaper man and publisher at Topeka. His education came from the public schools of Topeka and the preparatory department at Washburn College, and in 1894 he graduated A. B. from Yale University. For three years he was a reporter on the Topeka Capital, but since September, 1897, has been manager of the Mail Printing Honse, in which he is a partner. Mr. Crawford is an active republican, an eighteen degree Scottish Rite Mason, … Read more