Fredonia Kansas

Biography of Richard C. Howard

Richard C. Howard. There is hardly any man in Kansas to whom the title veteran printer and journalist would more aptly apply than to Richard C. Howard, proprietor and editor of the Arkansas City Traveler. Mr. Howard had to go back to the earliest recollections of his youth to find a time when he was not so familiar with printer’s ink, and he achieved a knowledge of the mysteries of the art preservative when most boys are learning the rudiments of arithmetic and grammar. He assisted in establishing the first daily paper at Arkansas City and had been connected with … Read more

Biography of Edwin D. Mikesell

Edwin D. Mikesell. The long and uniformly progressive career of Edwin D. Mikesell, of Fredonia, had been characterized by several noticeable personal traits, among which may be mentioned versatility of talents combined with thoroughness of preparation and depth of legal knowledge. A man of broad education and wide experience, of high personal character, courteous and able, he is not alone one of Wilson County’s strong legists, but a man who had served his community and his state in positions of official importance, in which he had demonstrated unusual executive ability. Mr. Mikesell was born on a farm nine miles southeast … Read more

Biography of Joseph Little Bristow, Hon.

No Kansan in recent years has rendered such distinguished public service to the nation at large as former Senator Bristow, now chairman of the State Public Utilities Commission. Mr. Bristow had been a resident of Kansas since he was twelve years old. From his father, who was a Methodist minister of the old type, he inherited a courage of eonvictions, a determined animosity to all public and private dishonesty, and his own life on the Kansas prairies had developed in him a zeal for popular rights and liberties and a fearless statesmanship equally removed from radicalism and reaction. For six … Read more

Biography of John Quincy Smith

John Quincy Smith. The career of J. Quincy Smith, of Fredonia, had been an expression of well directed and diversified industry and in its development had invaded various fields of human activity, in each of which J. Q. Smith had won a full measure of material success and satisfying reputation. He had had experience in both professional and business labors, and while he is now retired from the activities of life, having approached the Psalmist’s three-score-and-ten years, is still an influence for good in his community and a citizen whose help and support continue to be factors for the development … Read more

Biography of John W. Deer

John W. Deer. Sometime it may be conceded that calamities come as blessings in disguise, and a happy view of an accident that practically changed the whole current of his life, is that it led John W. Deer, now one of Neodesha’s most substantial business men, to engage in a line for which Nature undoubtedly gave him special talent. Mr. Deer’s unusual success in handling real estate from the time he embarked in the business until the present, justifies this interpretation, for he is the busiest and most extensive dealer in this city. One tract of land after the other … Read more

Biography of James M. Kennedy

James M. Kennedy, who had lived in Kansas since 1869, was formerly a teacher, but since 1890 had been an active member of the Fredonia bar. He was born near the City of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, November 11, 1857. His father, Patrick Kennedy, was born in 1832 in County Tipperary, Ireland, came when a young unmarried man to the United States, first locating on a farm near Indianapolis, Indiana, and subsequently removing to Wisconsin, where he was a farmer near Foud du Lac. Just prior to the Civil war he returned to Indianapolis. In 1861 he enlisted in the … Read more

Biography of William H.Tyler

William H. Tyler. When, in 1914, William H. Tyler, was elected county treasurer of Wilson County, it was the first time in sixteen years that a democrat had been chosen for this office. During his term of office Mr. Tyler had given an excellent account of himself as guardian of the people’s money, but it is only natural that he should be possessed of financial ability, as much of his career had been passed in positions where he had been engaged in handling the monetary affairs of community and individual. His official record measures up to that which he had … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles Shadrack Reed

Reed, Charles Shadrack; lawyer; born, North Fairfield, O., Sept. 17, 1862; son of David H. and Caroline Long Reed; attended school at Oberlin College, and Delaware; Law Course at University of Michigan; married, Fredonia, Kas., Nov. 16, 1887, Nellie B. Baughman; issue, three sons and two daughters; prosecuting attorney of Wilson County, Kas., three terms; judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1st Sub-division of 4th Judicial District of Ohio, from September 1899, to September, 1911; elected three times; served twice under appointment of Gov. Bushnell; from law school went West to Fredonia, Kas., practiced law there until 1897; moved … Read more

Biography of William C. Suttle

William C. Suttle. Under modern conditions the water works of any thriving and prosperous community is one of the most important branches of the civic service, and its management requires abilities far beyond the ordinary. Fredonia boasts of one of the best water systems in Southeastern Kansas, and much of the credit for the present excellent conditions existing in this enterprising city is due to the capable and experienced work of the superintendent of the water works, William C. Suttle, who had been connected with this department for about eleven years and had been in his present position since 1913. … Read more

Biography of Mary Pearl Smith, D. O.

Mary Pearl Smith, D. O. The theory upon which osteopathy rests is that most diseases and pains are due to some mechanical interference not permitting a free flow of forces and nourishment between the parts of the human anatomy so as to establish normal tissue and harmony of conditions. This adjustment theory had long since passed the experimental stage, and osteopathy is now a widely recognized science. It is a sane factor in lessening the suffering of mankind, and through it, in many thousands of cases, there had been re-established harmony of conditions and action known as health. A capable … Read more

Loney, Sarah Hastings – Obituary

Mrs. Sarah Loney, 59, died yesterday at noon in a local hospital, following an illness of several weeks. She was the wife of Samuel K. Loney, pioneer farmer and fuel dealer of Walla Walla. Born in Fredonia, Kansas, June 2, 1875, Mrs. Loney came here as a girl and married Mr. Loney in 1894. Besides her widower she leaves two daughters, Charlotte and Sarah Ellen Loney of Walla Walla; her father, William Hastings of Walla Walla, and three sisters, Mrs. Alice Dickinson of Portland, who is now in Walla Walla; Mrs. A. D. Augustavo of Auburn, and Mrs. Thomas Howard … Read more

Biography of Alexander C. Flack, M. D.

Alexander C. Flack, M. D. Thirty-one years of practice at Fredonia entitles Dr. Alexander C. Flack to recognition as the second oldest physician and surgeon of the city, whence he came in 1885 shortly after receiving his diploma. He had since been one of the reliable members of the medical fraternity here and a citizen who had done his share in aiding in the city’s progress and prosperity. Doctor Flack is a native of the Buckeye state, born at East Liberty, Logan County, Ohio, May 2, 1858, a son of Thomas H. and Agnes (Bell) Flack. Hugh Flack, the grandfather … Read more

Biography of Anderson M. Sharp

Anderson M. Sharp. Widely known in the financial field of Kansas and prominent in business and public life at Neodesha, is Anderson M. Sharp, president of the Neodesha National Bank, who had been officially identified with this institution since it was organized as the Bank of Neodesha, in the spring of 1899. For thirty-three years Mr. Sharp had been a resident of Wilson County, early proving his stable character as a business man and his public spirit as an earnest citizen. He was born July 28, 1859, in Calloway County, Missouri. His parents were William and Mary (Maupin) Sharp. The … Read more

Biography of Ed J. Dunfee

Ed J. Dunfee. One of the most difficult of the officers under the Kansas form of government is that of county sheriff. The discharge of the duties of this position calls for the incumbent to possess qualities of personal courage, tempered with diplomacy and tact, executive capacity, and no small amount of detective ability. To successfully serve in this office in a manner that wins the admiration of the community to such a degree that re-election is secured without opposition is something unusual, but this had been the experience of Ed J. Dunfee, sheriff of Allen County, now serving his … Read more

Biography of Max J. Kennedy

Max J. Kennedy. An enterprise which, founded in 1904, had grown to large and important proportions is that of the Kennedy Printing Company, of Fredonia. In an era of specialization, the proprietor of this business, Max J. Kennedy, had confined the activities of his establishment to the printing of matter for banking houses, a field in which he had not only had phenomenal success in the immediate locality in which his business is located, but in towns and cities far distant, one of the most important branches of his house being that which handles the mail orders. Mr. Kennedy is … Read more

Biography of James T. Cooper

James T. Cooper, a lawyer, banker and widely known citizen of Fredonia, was born in Woodson, but then Wilson, County, Kansas, August 30, 1866, and represents a family that came to Kansas while it was a territory. The ancestry of Mr. Cooper is particularly interesting. He is descended from that Sir Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftsbury, who founded a colony on the Ashley River in North Carolina, and from that settlement the family name had become widely dispersed. It may be of interest to recall the fact that the noted John Locke, the great English philosopher, prepared a model … Read more

Biography of James L. Fitzmorris

James L. Fitzmorris is a native of Kansas, was a soldier in the famous Twentieth Kansas Infantry during the Philippine war, had gained more than a local reputation as a blooded cattle raiser and extensive rancher, and had also played a worthy part as a citizen of Fall River, where he is now serving as mayor. Mr. Fitzmorris was born in Elk County, Kansas, July 25, 1875. His father, Morris Fitzmorris, who was a very early settler in Kansas, was born in Ireland in 1843, a son of Thomas and Margaret (Carney) Fitzmorris. Thomas Fitzmorris in old age came to … Read more

Biography of Joseph R. Bernauer

Joseph R. Bernauer. Since assuming the management of the Fredonia Window Glass Company’s plant at Caney, Joseph R. Bernauer has been successful in showing excellent financial results, and has evidenced a broad knowledge of mechanical science as well as a wealth of executive ability. Many years of practical experience contribute to his equipment, and during his career he has been connected with some of the leading concerns of this kind in the West. Mr. Bernauer was born in Baden, Germany, August 13, 1863, and is a son of Raymond and Brigeta (Schlagel) Bernauer. His grandfather, Quirin Bernauer, was born in … Read more

Biography of Claude Emmett Hamill, M. D.

Claude Emmett Hamill, M. D. The first thirty-two years of his life Doctor Hamill spent in gaining a liberal education and in successfully following the industry of farming. His ambition was always fixed on medicine, but various business interests contrived to keep the goal distant until some six or seven years ago. Since 1910 he has been in active practice at Parsons and enjoys a splendid reputation as physician and surgeon. His name represents an old and honored family in Kansas. His paternal ancestry goes back to Ireland, where his grandfather, Samuel Wallace Hamill, was born at Dablin in 1776. … Read more

Biography of John Quincy Smith

John Quincy Smith. The career of J. Quincy Smith, of Fredonia, had been an expression of well directed and diversified industry and in its development had invaded various fields of human activity, in each of which J. Q. Smith had won a full measure of material success and satisfying reputation. He had had experience in both professional and business labors, and while he is now retired from the activities of life, having approached the Psalmist’s three-score-and-ten years, is still an influence for good in his community and a citizen whose help and support continue to be factors for the development … Read more