Neosho County KS

Biography of H. K. Stierwalt

H. K. Stierwalt, who for many years has been engaged in farming in Nowata county, is now living in Nowata where he is active in the conduct of a grocery business. A native of Indiana, he was born on the 22d of August, 1862, a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Stierwalt, both of whom are deceased. For many years the father was successfully engaged in farming in Neosho county, Kansas, and his demise, in 1907, came as a severe blow to his many friends in the community. Mrs. Stierwalt died when her son, H. K., was an infant. … Read more

Biography of William Paxton Hazen

William Paxton Hazen, who died at Chetopa, Kansas, April 16, 1909, was for many years a successful Kansas banker. His widow, Mrs. Addie (Glass) Hazen, who survives him, is widely known in women’s circles in Kansas, and is especially active in charitable and philanthropic enterprises in her home city. Mr. Hazen died when at the high tide of his usefulness. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1858. His father, David Hazen, was a lawyer by profession, practiced for many years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but died in Erie, Kansas. Mr. Hazen’s maternal grandmother, Mary Ewing, had her pew in … Read more

Biography of Justus Nathan Baird

Justus Nathan Baird. Since his admission to the Kansas bar in February, 1909, Justus Nathan Baird has concentrated every energy upon the worthy task of building up a clientage and reputation at Kansas City, Kansas, and the esteem paid him by his fellow lawyers and the large practice he enjoys is ample evidence of his success. He practices in all the courts of the state and has offices in the Husted Building. Mr. Baird is a graduate in law from the University of Michigan, and was influenced to locate in Kansas by the presence in this state of two brothers, … Read more

Biography of Leander Stillwell, Judge

Judge Leander Stillwell, now retired from the active duties of his profession, living at Erie, was one of the two pioneer attorneys who composed the first bar of Erie, and located there in 1868, nearly half a century ago. Aside from the amount of work he had performed as a lawyer and citizen, the chief distinction of his life rests upon his record of service, continued through nearly twenty-four years, as a judge of the district court. He is of English and Scotch ancestry. The first Stillwells on coming from England settled on Long Island, New York, in the seventeenth … Read more

Biography of Joseph L. Morrison, Hon.

Hon. Joseph L. Morrison. Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the northern part of Neosho County than is Hon. Joseph L. Morrison, mayor of the City of Chanute, who had been an important factor in business affairs and whose success in his undertaking had been so marked that his methods are of interest to the commercial world. He is energetic, prompt and notably reliable, and tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, and a genius for devising and executing the right thing at the right time are his chief characteristics. As the chief executive of Chanute … Read more

Biography of Harry E. Coulter

Harry E. Coulter. One of the old and reliable business establishments of Chanute which has enjoyed a steadily increasing patronage ever since the time of its inception is the Coulter Transfer and Storage Company, in which two generations of a family have been interested. Founded by the father, the policy, of the business under his direction was based upon strict honesty and honorable principles, and this same course has been followed by the son. The present owner of the business is Harry E. Coulter, a man of broad and diversified experience in business, and a citizen who has contributed through … Read more

Biography of Oliver Quincy Claflin

Oliver Quincy Claflin is a prominent young lawyer at Kansas City, Kansas, and is now serving as United States commissioner of the First Kansas District. Mr. Claflin is devoted to the law, is not an office seeker, and his appointment to his present position was based entirely upon merit and exceptional qualifications. Mr. Claflin was born at Chanute, Kansas, July 4, 1882, the only child of Otis Quincy and Mary J. (Blair) Claflin. His father was born in Massachusetts and his mother in Canada, the latter going to Massachusetts and living there at the time of her marriage. Oliver Q. … Read more

Biography of Charles S. Denison

Charles S. Denison. The ordinary, every-day man, engrossed in the business avocation which brings his daily bread, is representative of the nation’s citizenship. This is the normal type, and his life begins and ends, perhaps, with nothing more distinctive than is the ripple on the face of the stream when the pebble is thrown into the water. It is the unusual type that commands attention and it is his influence exerted on his community, and the record of his life, that is valuable and interesting as a matter of biography. In the professions, and especially in the law, the opportunities … Read more

Biography of William Clyde Tomlinson

William Clyde Tomlinson. As one of the representative and old established undertakers of Southeastern Kansas, William Clyde Tomlinson, of Chanute, belongs to that class of men in his line who have elevated the calling to a profession and conduct their work scientifically and expertly. Mr. Tomlinson established his business in Chanute seventeen years ago and with the exception of an interval of three years, has been here continuously since. During this time has witnessed remarkable advancements made in his field of endeavor. The modern undertaker and embalmer must be the possessor of qualities which fit him for his calling, for … Read more

Biography of Eugene L. Dimick

Eugene L. Dimick. The vocation of writing and selling insurance had grown to enormous proportions during recent years, not entirely because the people have come to a realization of the necessity for protection, but also because of the men who are engaged in this line of endeavor, who are educating the general public in realizing the benefits accruing from insurance. To succeed in this line of business a man must possess certain qualities not found necessary in other avenues of business, including a thorough knowledge of all the angles of his vocation, a keen insight into human nature, have the … Read more

Biography of Mrs. Leda C. Steele

Mrs. Leda C. Steele, one of the most notable figures in the musical circles of Oklahoma and the southwest and enjoying as well an international reputation in connection with her art, makes her home in Muskogee, where she has resided since 1900. She was born in St. Paul, Kansas, a daughter of Edson H. and Artimissia (Sutherland) Crawford, the former a native of Elgin, Illinois, while the latter was born in the vicinity of Elgin. The father was a veteran of the Civil war. Having pursued her education in the public schools of St. Paul, Kansas, and in the high … Read more

Biography of Joel Moore O’Brien

Joel Moore O’Brien is proprietor of the largest department store in Allen County. The present business is the outgrowth of many years of successful experience and gradual development beginning with a single stock of groceries. Mr. O’Brien had proved himself a merchant of unusual sagacity and had been one of the principal factors in recent years in the development and progress of his home city. The O’Brien family had long been identified with the development of this section of Kansas. Mr. O’Brien’s grandfather Daniel Cornelius O’Brien was one of the Kansas pioneers. He was born in Ohio and in 1857 … Read more

Biography of John E. Frost, Hon.

Hon. John E. Frost. Many of Kansas’ most eminent citizens have been connected at one time or another with the Santa Fe Railroad Company. It was in the service of the Sants Fe that Hon. John E. Frost came to Topeka, where for thirty years or more his name had been closely identified with the commercial and civic interests of Topeka and the entire state. Topeka had reason to be prond of men of leadership in affairs, and among them probably none, outside of public office, had enjoyed more honors and had made his influence felt for good in more … Read more

Biography of Wilfrid Cavaness

Wilfrid Cavaness, who had been a Kansas newspaper man for over twenty years, was born at Chetopa November 24, 1875. He attended the public schools there, graduating from high school in 1892, and for two years was a student in Baker University. In 1895 he became connected with the Chetopa Advance under his father, and remained there until 1899. For the following two years he was with the Columbus Courier, and in 1901 came to Chanute and is now treasurer and manager of the Chanute Tribune. The Chanute Tribune was established April 8, 1892, by George M. Dewey. It had … Read more

Biography of W. W. Kaney

W. W. Kaney. In the career of W. W. Kaney, of Chanute, there is found an excellent illustration of the rewards that may be attained through industry and perseverance, for his had been a life in which achievements have been self gained and in which outside assistance had played no part. With but an indifferent education he started out in the world to make his own way when he was but a lad, and had steadfastly worked his way to a position of prominence as one of the leading oil producers of this part of Kansas. Mr. Kaney was born … Read more

Biography of Frank Morrison

Frank Morrison. Many of the men who are now engaged in oil producing and contracting in the Mid-Continent field had their earliest training in the great fields of Pennsylvania, and in this class is found Frank Morrison, who had been engaged in business at Chanute since 1904. Mr. Morrison was an experienced man when he came to this locality, and here at once entered actively into operation, his activities having extended continually with the passing of the years. He is one of the men who are making this one of Kansas’ greatest industries. Frank Morrison was born at Princeton, Pennsylvania, … Read more

Biography of J. M. Massey

J. M. Massey. One of the live and prosperous communities of Southeastern Kansas which is offering unsurpassed opportunities for the development of men and large business interests is the growing City of Chanute. In this locality may be found many of the raw materials, or they can be easily obtained through railroad shipments. Here is an immense local market, and here are the men, solid, reliable and aggressive, ready and willing to push ahead to the ultimate end whatever enterprise they connect themselves with. Once an individual establishes himself in the line for which he is best fitted, if he … Read more

Biography of Joel H. Rickel

Joel H. Rickel. Among the citizens of Chanute, one who had had a most interesting career is Joel H. Rickel, a resident of this city since 1896, and now the owner of a carriage and repair shop and the owner of a valuable farm. Mr. Rickel is a veteran of the Civil war, and had been a prominent figure in Grand Army circles, being a past commander of several posts in Kansas and a past department commander of the State of Kansas. He was born in Ashland County, Ohio, December 8, 1844, and is a son of John S. and … Read more