Biographical Sketch of John Francis

John Francis, one of the leading pioneers and public men of Allen County and his section of the state, was born in Norfolk, England, April 24, 1837, and soon after be had attained his majority came to the struggling territory as an ardent advocate of free statehood. In the fall of 1858 he settled at Osawatomie, and during the following winter was one of John Brown’s closest followers. In March, 1859, he took up his residence on a pre-emption claim in Allen County. In July, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Fifth Kansas Regiment, and served until November, 1863, when … Read more

Biography of George Dabney Ellis

One of the founders of Boise City and one of the most active spirits in the upbuilding and progress of this thriving place during the past quarter of a century has been George D. Ellis, a pioneer of Idaho, whither he came in 1863. He is and has been the president of the Capital State Bank of Boise City for several years; is a stock-holder and general manager and treasurer of the electric street-car line of this place and is a stock-holder and a director of the Artesian Hot & Cold Water Company, besides having materially aided and fostered many … Read more

Biography of Cavaness, James M.

James M. Cavaness. The name Cavaness belongs to both the pioneer and modern era of Kansas. Anywhere in the southeastern part of the state the name is most closely associated with the newspaper business, and two generations are still active in that work, James M. Cavaness and two of his sons, Herbert and Wilfrid, all of whom are connected in some official capacity with the Chanute Tribune. The origin of the Cavaness family was undoubtedly in Ireland, but the first of the name came to America in the colonial period and settled in North Carolina. Urban C. Cavaness, father of … Read more

Biography of Rev. Cyrus R. Rice

Rev. Cyrus R. Rice, of Hartford, is one of the revered fathers of the Methodist Church in Kansas. He comes of a Tennessee family, and was himself born near Lebanon, that state, August 27, 1833. His father was a physician of many years’ practice in Tennessee and Missouri. The son also studied medicine, but his decided inclinations were toward the ministry, and in 1853 he united with the St. Louis Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The next year he was licensed to preach and appointed to the Thomasville Circuit, and in 1855 was sent as a missionary to … Read more

Biography of Martin J. Kelly

Martin J. Kelly. The removal of the Kelly family to Kansas nearly fifty years ago brought a remarkably virile and substantial stock of people into the state. Martin J. Kelly, who was a child at the time of the family removal, and for thirty years or more has kept himself very busily employed at farming, contracting, and banking, and is now cashier of the St. Paul State Bank at St. Paul. There were fourteen children, and as a family these children have made a mark in the world. Their father was William E. Kelly, who was born in Tuam, Ireland, … Read more

Biography of Abraham Ellis

Abraham Ellis, for many years a resident of Miami County, was popularly known as “Bullet-Hole Ellis,” from the fact that for twenty-three years he carried a deep wound, almost in the center of his forehead, in which had originally been buried a bullet fired by the noted raider, William C. Quantrill. His recovery was one of the most remarkable in surgical annals, and the ball which inflicted the wound, as well as the twenty-seven pieces of froutal bone which were picked from his skull at the time, are among the remarkable exhibits displayed in the Army and Navy Medical Museum … Read more

Starry, Beverly C. “B.C.” – Obituary

Beverly C. Starry, better known as “B.C” or “Bunk,” 93, a former Baker City resident, died July 1, 2003, at Fresno of lung cancer. His memorial service was July 9. B.C. was born on Jan. 14, 1910, at Louisburg, Kan., to Beverly Cashman and Elizabeth Starry. The family included a brother and four sisters. He married Edith L. Livingston on May 10, 1931, at Louisburg, Kan. They had two children, Beverly Ann and John Livingston Starry. B.C. worked in Southern California from 1936 to 1944 in the grocery business. The family then moved to Mount Morrison, Colo., to operate their … Read more

Biography of David Johnson, M. D.

David Johnson, M. D., a prominent medical specialist whose home and laboratories are at Salina, returned to Kansas a few years ago after many years spent in practice in the New England states, most of the time at Boston. He returned to Kansas because many years ago, on first coming to America, he had located in this then new state, and it was those early impressions and experiences with Kansas life and people that caused him to locate here for a permanent home in his decliaing years. Doctor Johnson was born in Sweden on May 4, 1848. He was liberally … Read more

Biography of Peter W. Goebel

When the American Bankers’ Association in their annual meeting at Kansas City, in September, 1916, gave unanimous choice to Peter W. Goebel for president of the association, they not only honored one of the ablest bankers of the country but also the State of Kansas, where Mr. Goebel’s career as a banker began and where for over thirty years his name and influence have been growing to that point where they were recognized in such distinctive manner by the bankers of the nation. The story of one of the greatest of Kansas banks and of Mr. Goebel is almost identical. … Read more

Biography of Frank A. Bardwell

Frank A. Bardwell. A large majority of the men who are engaged in working the oil fields of Kansas have been devoting their energies to this line of work all of their lives, whether as employes, employers, contractors, drillers or producers. They have had the experience from early youth and it is but natural that they should meet with success in their undertakings granted that opportunities are the same. But there is another class among the men who are making this one of the great industries, this being formed of the men who had their training in other fields of … Read more

Biography of John Holt Rice

John Holt Rice was educated at Tusculum College in his native county. At that time his uncle, Dr. Samuel W. Doak was president of the school. In February, 1845, at the age of nineteen, John H. Rice was admitted to the bar. In the following May he located at Cassville, Georgia, where he took up an active practice. In 1855 he became editor of the Cassville Standard, carrying those responsibilities in addition to his legal practice. January 1, 1856, he was elected major general of the Twelfth Division of the Georgia State Militia. That election was important because of its … Read more

Biography of Charles Sumner Newlon, M.D.

Dr. Charles Sumner Newlon, who for the past fifteen years has engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Kansas City, Missouri, and who for many years prior to this period was a physician and surgeon of the state of Kansas, was born at Newton’s Grove, Cass county, Iowa, in 1858, a son of Dr. William Smithson and Maria (Wimp) Newlon. The ancestral line is traced back to his great-grandfather, John Newlon. The grandfather, Hiram Newlon, was born in Virginia and was a cousin of Dolly Madison, wife of the fourth president of the United States and also a … Read more

Biography of Sylvester Freemont Wicker

Sylvester Freemont Wicker. In point of experience and continuous practice Mr. Wicker is one of the oldest members of the bar in Greenwood County. He had been identified with a general practice as a lawyer and many business affairs in that section for the past thirty-three years. He now had his home and interests at Eureka. The stock from which he is descended is Scotch-Irish. The Wickers settled in North Carolina during colonial times. Mr. Wicker’s father and grandfather were natives of the Old North state. His grandfather James Wicker was born in North Carolina in 1807, and was an … Read more

Biography of Byron Jennings Carver

Byron Jennings Carver, who served as county attorney for Miami County from 1913 to 1917, had not only proved his ability on many occasions as an able lawyer, but also as a forceful man of affairs and one who is willing to fight for his convictions and his position as to right. Mr. Carver had a hard struggle to get into the legal profession, being a poor young man and having to teach and struggle along at the same time that he was studying and qualifying for the bar. He is a native of Indiana, having been born at Franklin … Read more

Biography of J. Arthur Knoop M.D.

J. Arthur Knoop, M. D. In the family of Knoop the traditions of ability, honor and worth left by those who have gone beyond set a worthy precedent which the present generation and that from which it sprang, have followed, to which they have added a life chapter that must prove an inspiration and a positive incentive to those destined to come after. Among the exponents of the family’s integrity and professional ability is Dr. J. Arthur Knoop, a well known member of the Crawford County medical fraternity and a citizen who is doing his share in the movements that … Read more

Biography of James A. Wilson

James A. Wilson.One of the richest oil land districts of Kansas is the territory lying in the vicinity of El Dorado, the county seat of Butler County. Among its citizens who have become prominent factors in oil production is James A. Wilson. All through this locality rich strikes have been made, and one of the best was on the land owned by Mr. Wilson, just 1 1/2 miles north of El Dorado. This copious pool was the third one developed and had become famous as the Derby-Wilson lease of 480 acres. Mr. Wilson had twenty-one producing oil wells on the … 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 Mont Morris

The agricultural interests of Nodaway township find a worthy representative in Mont Morris, who is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and twenty acres situated on the southwest quarter of section 23. This farm is largely devoted to the raising of stock and Mr. Morris is well known as a breeder of shorthorn cattle. He was born in Champaign county, Illinois, October 22, 1866, and is a son of Price W. and Elizabeth (Horr) Morris, both of whom were natives of Ohio but spent their last days in Page county. The father devoted his entire life to … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William E. Stich

William E. Stich. The largest general insurance office in Independence is owned and managed by William E. Stich. Mr. Stich is a brother of the late A. C. Stich, whose career as a business man and eitizen of Montgomery County had been described on other pages, where many of the detalls of the family history will be found. William E. Stich was born in Hanover, Germany, February 16, 1850. His parents came to this country in 1857 and located at Kalamazoo, Michigan. His early education was received in the schools there, and in the meantime he learned to be a … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Rev. William N. Nickell

William N. Nickell is a native of Monroe county, West Virginia, was born December 27, 1838, and is the son of John A. and Mary J. Nickell, both natives of West Virginia. The subject of this sketch received his early education in the common schools of Virginia, and completed it by an additional course of two and a half years at the Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, of Rockbridge county, Virginia. In May 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-seventh Regiment Virginia Confederate Infantry as a private, was soon promoted to sergeant, and sergeant-major of his regiment. He … Read more