Biography of James F. Gilliland

James F. Gilliland, principal of the high school of Arkansas City, is a graduate of the University of Kansas and had been active in educational work from school days. He worked his way through college and university partly by teaching. A native of Kansas, he was born near Beloit, in Mitchell County, March 22, 1881. His Gilliland ancestors were Scotch-Irish people who were early settlers in the State of Pennsylvania. His father, Henry Clay Gilliland, was born in Iowa, March 31, 1842, grew up near Washington, Iowa, and spent his active career as a farmer. When he was still under … Read more

Biography of Lewis B. Morgan

Lewis B. Morgan, lawyer and chairman of the county court, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, in 1834. He is the son of Smith and Abigail (Alexander) Morgan, natives of Tennessee. The former was born in 1806, and the latter in 1809. They are now residents of Fayetteville, Tennessee, and are members of the Baptist Church. Until his seventeenth year our subject lived with his parents on the farm, and then learned the blacksmithing trade, following that, together with farming for a number of years. In 1856 he went to Kansas with a company of 365 men, joining them at … Read more

Biography of William M. Sleeth, Maj.

Maj. William M. Sleeth was one of the founders of the modern civic and industrial community of Arkansas City. He was secretary and treasurer of the original townsite company. He was a keen and resourceful business man, but his practical energies were equalled by his splendid public spirit and his readiness to sacrifice his own interests in behalf of some enterprise that would bring benefit to many. Major Sleeth justly earned the honor and esteem of his community during his life, and his death at Arkansas City, September 26, 1906, was felt as a distinct loss to the community, though … Read more