Biography of John H. Rice

John H. Rice had the distinction of having made his mark in two states of the Union of widely different tendencies–Georgia and Kansas. He was born in Greene County, Tennessee, November 14, 1825, and his father, a native of Virginia, was surveyor of the county, named for twenty-six consecutive terms. Mr. Rice commenced his higher education at Tusculum College, in his native county, of which his maternal uncle, Dr. Samuel W. Doak, was president. He was admitted to the bar in 1845 and, a few months afterward, opened an office at Cassville, Georgia. In 1855, in addition to conducting a … Read more

An Informal History of Osawatomie Kansas

Osage Valley - Osawatomie Centennial, 1854-1954 seal

“A Town Between Two Rivers” by Charles A. Knouse presents an informal history of the city’s founding, development, and significant events. This book, published as part of the Osage Valley Centennial in 1954, provides a comprehensive narrative based on documented history and personal accounts from residents. The narrative focuses solely on factual events, avoiding conclusions or opinions.

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 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

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 Jessie K. Clarke, M. D.

In no field of endeavor requiring intellectuality has woman failed to demonstrate her equality with man, and more and more the different lines of professional labor are opening to her, and therein she is winning successes that are most creditable. Dr. Jessie K. Clarke, although a recent acquisition to the medical fraternity of Grangeville, has already demonstrated her right to be classed among the foremost physicians of Idaho County, and her ability is indicated by the liberal patronage she now enjoys. She makes a specialty of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and her labors have been attended … Read more

Biography of Davison L. Youmans

Occupying public office ins Muskogee and previously in Kansas through a number of years, Davison L. Youmans has ever been found loyal to the trust reposed in him and has labored earnestly and effectively to advance public welfare and municipal progress. While born in the east the greater part of his life has been spent west of the Mississippi and he has ever been imbued with the spirit of western enterprise and progress which has been a dominant factor in the up building of this section of the country. A native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurred in Freemansburg, that state, … Read more

Biography of Fred Schuyle Jackson

Fred Schuyle Jackson, of Topeka, prominent lawyer, former congressman, ex-attorney-general of Kansas, is one of the many able men who have made Kansas notable as a commonwealth. His father was Martin Van Buren Jackson, who bore a conspicuous part in the border warfare of Kansas. Fred S. Jackson was born April 19, 1868, and his birth occurred in the block house at Stanton near Osawatomie. His early education came chiefly from the public schools of Miami and Greenwood counties, and of earlier experiences and service readered should be mentioned five years spent in the schoolroom as a teacher, In the … Read more

Biography of Charles William Trickett

Charles William Trickett. That Kansas City, Kansas, can claim distinction of being the largest city in the United States without a saloon or commercialized vice district is due more to the fearless and strenuous efforts of Charles William Trickett than to any other one man. The people of an entire state committed to the cause of prohibition followed with a great deal of interest and admiration his remarkable campaign, made some years ago while assistant attorney general, for rigid law enforcement and the driving out of the saloons and other commercialized forms of vice which had hitherto enjoyed immunity in … 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 George W. Longenecker, M. D.

George W. Longenecker, M. D. Fifteen years of conscientious work in his profession have brought Doctor Longenecker some of the best rewards and honors that come to the doctor in his home community at Elsmore, and he had long been recognized as one of the leading physicians and citizens of Allen County. Doctor Longenecker is a native of Kansas, having been born on a farm in Miami County March 5, 1876. His paternal ancestors were of German stock, but have lived in this country since Colonial days. Several generations of the family lived in Pennsylvania, where Doctor Longenecker’s grandfather spent … 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

Biography of Emmor J. Sheldon

Emmor J. Sheldon, former mayor of Paola, and former county attorney of Miami County, had been an active member of the bar for over a quarter of a century. He was born on a farm in Osage Township of Miami County December 23, 1862, and is a member of an early pioneer and very prominent family in this section of Kansas. He is the third of the four children born to Dudley M. and Ruth B. (Hall) Sheldon. His father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in Massachusetts. The paternal grandfather Sheldon came from Germany, was a farmer, and … Read more

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 Edward Bell Payne, M. D.

Edward Bell Payne, M. D. With an understanding of what is awaiting the man of science, the many doors yet unopened which will lead to the further amelioration of the ills of mankind, and the constant yearning to add to his store of knowledge, it is practically impossible for the conscientious physician and surgeon to arrive at a state of mind where he is satisfied with what he has accomplished and, of necessity, he keeps on striving for perfection as long as life lasts. A long list of accomplishments in his profession have marked the career of Dr. Edward Bell … Read more

Kansas Registrations of Enemy Aliens, 1917 – 1921

Enemy Alien Registration Affidavit for Bernhardt Vick - Cropped Photo

The series contains original affidavits of registration that record personal information about each registrant, their photograph affixed to the majority of documents, and the registrants fingerprints. All of these are specific to Kansas, and most have the actual documents attached.

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 William Schwartz

William Schwartz was one of the pioneers of Eastern Kansas. Many of his activities identified him with Miami County and the City of Paola, though in later years his interests were widely extended. Throughout his career the traits of industry and enterprise are strongly pronounced. He was born in Nassau, Germany, May 4, 1838, and there obtained his early education. He was one of a family of seven children, two sons and five daughters. When he was eighteen years of age, in 1856, William Schwartz set out for the land of promise, crossed the ocean and landed in Philadelphia. He … 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