Fredonia Kansas

Biography of Dennis Joseph Sheedy

Dennis Joseph Sheedy. One of the sons of the Nutmeg State who had achieved prominence at the Kansas bar is Dennis Joseph Sheedy. A practitioner at Fredonia since 1906, he had won a reputation in his profession through his conservative, self-assured, well-prepared, clean-cut and successful handling of the cases placed in his charge. He was born at Portland, Connecticut, October 14, 1874, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Marooney) Sheedy. Mr. Sheedy comes of good Irish stock, his grandfather having been Dennis Sheedy, a native of County Cork, who passed his entire life in his native Erin as … Read more

Biography of Ben S. Paulen, Hon.

Hon. Ben S. Paulen. Each individual, under a democratic form of government, possesses an equal chance for public advancement. There is no reason why any man, providing that he possess real ability and sound judgment, cannot aspire to the highest position in the land, but while this is true theoretically, in actuality it is the one who had always been a little in advance of his associates and had developed his faculties beyond the ordinary who forges ahead and is placed by the people in positions of honor and responsibility. In this connection the foregoing is true of Hon. Ben … 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 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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Albert Irven Decker

Albert Irven Decker. In the demands which it makes upon its devotees, educational work is exceedingly exacting. The duty of the educator, ostensibly, is to instill a practical, working knowledge into each of his pupils, but his correlative, although less direct, function of instilling character and worthy precepts through his personal influence is equally important. The duty first named calls for an individual of knowledge and specialized training, while the second demands a conscientious and capable person whose life and mode of living provide a fit criterion and example for the minds of youth. When a man is found in … 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 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 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 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 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 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 Simon Coats

Simon Coats. Among the men who are representing Wilson County in positions of public importance, none have a better record for clean and capable service than had Simon Coats, sheriff, who had held his present position since January, 1915, but who had been connected with the sheriff’s office since 1911. He had been a resident of Wilson County for more than forty-five years, during which time he had been identified with farming, stockraising and business ventures, and is well and widely known to the people of this community as an honorable man of business and an official possessed of the … Read more