Biography of Mahlon F. Stout

Mahlon F. Stout. Many of the finest citizens of Kansas were never heard of outside of their home state. Their names in fact have not been generally known outside of their home communities and counties. They led quiet, unostentatious lives. They did the duties which lay nearest them, they were honest, straightforward, beloved and idolized in their home, upheld all the moral virtues and practically everything which their lives touched was benefited thereby. Such a citizen was the late Mahlon F. Stout of Williamsport Township in Shawnee County. He did not live to a great age, but he filled his … Read more

Biography of Richard Allen

Richard Allen had been professor of history in the Montgomery County High School since the organization of that excellent institution more than fifteen years ago. He is one of the most widely known educators in Southern Kansas. His Allen ancestors came originally from England, one branch settling in Massachusetts and the other in Virginia during colonial days. His grandfather, William Allen, was born in Virginia in 1780, and some years later the family moved across the mountains into Kentucky, and subsequently became early settlers in Illinois. William Allen died in White County, Illinois, in 1845. Richard Allen was born in … Read more

Biography of Hon. Jeremiah D. Botkin

Hon. Jeremiah D. Botkin. This distinguished citizen of Kansas was born April 24, 1849, in a log house on a farm in Logan County, Illinois. His parents were Richard and Nancy (Barr) Botkin, and his ancestry traces straight back to a Revolutionary hero. Richard Botkin was born April 24, 1822, in Clark County, Ohio, and he died at Wellington, Kansas, March 24, 1898. He was a son of George and Sarah (Hester) Botkin, the father being a native of Virginia and the son of Charles Botkin, a Revolutionary soldier from that state, and the mother a native of Ohio. Richard … Read more

Biography of Willis Franklin Sams

Willis Franklin Sams. Neosho County figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the State of Kansas, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of the section. The county had been and is signally favored in the class of men who have controlled the affairs of its different communities in official capacities, and in this connection Willis Franklin Sams, commissioner of finance of Chanute, is worthy of representation as one who had served the locality faithfully and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Ivan T. Quick

Quick, Ivan T.; general insurance; born, Canada, April 5, 1888; son of Oscar and Clara Clark Quick; educated, Lincoln, Ill., Odd Fellows Orphan’s Home, eighth grade; clerk in wholesale grocery house in Aurora, Ill., in 1904; 1905, came to Cleveland; formed partnership of Quick & Hunter, in Pittsburgh, in 1906, failed; was then in the employ of the East Ohio Gas Co. for a year and a half; employed by The Paul E. Kroehle Co., merchandise brokers, in 1908; employed by The Manhattan Soap Co., of New York City, as salesman, in 1909; started in the insurance business in Cleveland, … Read more

Jewell, Jessee – Obituary

In Memorium In memory of Jesse Jewell who died at Cove Oregon, April 25, 1894, age 53 years and 16 days. Mr. Jewell was borne in Buttler county, Ohio, April 9, 1841, came to Illinois with his father, in the year ’59, residing there until the war 1861. He enlisted, at the age of 23, serving three years, then re-enlisting and serving until the close of the war, 1865. He then married Miss Sarah Hetchler, September 21?, 1865, at Lincoln, Ill., uniting with the Methodist church at that place living there 11 years. He came to Cove, Oregon, 1876, where … Read more

Reece, William J. – Obituary

William J. Reece died Tuesday evening, Feb. 11, 1936, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. E.H. Bonner, at Weiser, Idaho. He had been there only a few days, as his son, Floyd, had taken him there last week from Yakima, Wash., where he had been for some time with another daughter, Mrs. Willard Phillips. Funeral services will be held at the Christian church, Enterprise, tomorrow, Friday, at 2 p.m. and burial will be in the Enterprise cemetery. C.L. Booth has driven to Weiser for the body accompanied by Emerson and Floyd Reece. Mr. Reece was born in Logan county, … Read more

Biography of John Francis McCabe

John Francis McCabe. A man of broad usefulness and influence in the community was taken away in the death of John Francis McCabe. He stood high among all classes of people, was industrious, quiet in his manner, seldom attracting much attention beyond the borders of his own neighborhood, but wherever known was recognized for his sterling merits and his efficiency in everything he undertook. Mr. McCabe was born in Logan County, Illinois, a son of John and Ann (Spencer) McCabe. His parents were natives of Ireland, coming to America when young and marrying in this country. When John F. was … Read more

Biography of Daniel Mooney

Daniel Mooney, proprietor of a fine and valuable farm in section 18 of Compromise Township, came to America from Ireland about the close of the Civil War, and has had a long and active career in America for more than half a century. He was born in the north of Ireland, a son of Peter and Mary (Graham) Mooney. His parents died in the old country when Daniel was about twenty years of age. He had the usual education given to Irish boys, and about the time his parents died, having heard much of the opportunities of America, he came … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. M. Gott

Gott, A. M. (See Cordery)—Sue T., daughter of Charles, a native of Spartenberg Dist., S. Car., and Jane (Collins) Harris, was born July 6, 1846. Married Nov. 8, 1869, Alfred Mason Gott, born Sept. 28, 1844, in Logan County, Illinois. Was a member of Company A, Terry’s Texas Rangers before and during the Civil War. Mrs. Gott died March 30, 1916.

Biography of Carl Wilhelm Spoehrle

Carl Wilhelm Spoehrle. Since his arrival in Champaign County in 1873 the career of Carl Wilhelm Spoehrle has been one in which industry, integrity and fidelity have served to give him an ever-increasing success, a standing as a reputable and substantial citizen, and the respect of the community in which he has so long resided. At the time of his arrival he was in modest circumstances, and he found the new community in which he settled little more than a raw prairie. His own development from his former position to one of affluence has kept steady pace with the progress … Read more

Biography of Eugene R. Van Meter, M. D.

Dr. Eugene R. Van Meter, one of the medical graduates of Washington university, who since 1905 has engaged in practice, is now specializing in diseases of the ear, nose and throat and has developed a high degree of proficiency in that field. A native of Illinois, he was born in Elkhart, Logan county, September 19, 1884. His father, the late William H. Van Meter, was also born in Illinois and came of Dutch ancestry, the family having been founded in America by Just Jans Van Meteren, who came to the new world in 1662 and settled in Ulster county, New … Read more

Bonner, Lois (Reece) – Obituary

Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon Lois Bonner, 91 years old, of Weiser, Idaho, died Feb. 14, 1984 at Weiser, Idaho at the Weiser Care Center. Services were Feb. 17, 1984 at the Thomason Funeral Chapel in Weiser. Burial was at the Hillscrest cemetery. She was born Sept. 26, 1892 at Atlanta, Ill., the daughter of William J. & Margaret Reece. She was married to Earl Bonner on Dec. 14, 1917 in Enterprise. Wallowa County Chieftain, Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon, Feb. 23, 1984 Contributed by Michelle Drayton-Fisher

Biography of Alfred Mason Gott

Alfred Mason Gott is quietly passing his days in the home of his niece, Mrs. D. D. Howell of Nowata, and around him are many relics, showing that all of his days have not been as quiet and peaceful as at the present, for he is numbered among the old Indian fighters of this section of the country and has passed through all of the experiences and hardships of pioneer life and the later era of progress and development. That his business affairs have been carefully managed is indicated in the fact that he is now one of the largest … Read more

Biography of C. Maxwell Caldwell

C. Maxwell Caldwell. As a general electrical contractor C. Maxwell Cal dwell has more than made good in Champaign, and a few years ago he established his business in a two-story building which in point of equipment and service is without question the best small plant in the state, Chicago not excepted. He is in the general electrical contracting business and also handles supplies and does manufacturing in that line. It is the only business of the kind in central Illinois. Mr. Caldwell was born in Logan County, Illinois, September 7, 1879, a son of A. M. and Letitia (White) … Read more

Biography of Johnathan T. Snyder

Jonathan T. Snyder. One of the old homesteads of Williamsport Township in Shawnee County is that of Jonathan T. Snyder. He had been a resident of Kansas nearly fifty years, and during almost all that time had been continuously devoted to farming and stock raising. At the same time he had borne an infinential part in the affairs of his home community and is one of the highly respected men of that section of Shawnee County. He was born on a farm near Johnsville, in Morrow County, Ohio, August 14, 1845, a son of John and Mary (Held) Snyder, the … Read more

Elkhart Centennial, 1855-1955

Drawing of Elkhart at the Turn of the Century

The village of Elkhart City, nestled on the western slope of a long wooded hill in the heart of Illinois, celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1955. This book, “The Village of Elkhart City, Elkhart, Illinois, Centennial History, 1855-1955,” is a comprehensive chronicle of the village’s first hundred years, compiled and written by the Elkhart, Illinois Centennial Book Committee and published by Feldman’s Print Shop in Lincoln, Illinois.