Oketo Kansas

Biography of Jesse H. Moore

Jesse H. Moore is the cashier of the Oketo State Bank. The Moore family had for many years been identified with banking and other affairs of Marshall County, and Mr. Moore’s father was the founder of the present bank, his mother is now its president, and this excellent Kansas woman had another special distinction as being one of the few women of the state to hold the office of mayor of a town. The Oketo State Bank’s history begins in 1889, when Z. H. Moore started it as a private bank. In 1900 it was reorganized under state charter. It … Read more

Biography of Ziba Hibbard Moore

The late Ziba Hibbard Moore was for many years a prominent figure in Marshall County, and died at Oketo December 19, 1916. He was born near Avondale in Chester County, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1845. He grew up in his native community, was married in Adams County, Pennsylvania, and in early life followed the trade of carpenter. In 1875 he went to the Indian reservation in Gage County, Nebraska, and was employed as a carpenter by the Indian Agency. In the fall of 1879 he removed to Oketo, Kansas, and was a merchant there until he established his bank in 1889. … Read more

Biography of Frank Levi Root

Frank Levi Root has lived in the vicinity of Oketo for thirty years. he had prospered in a degree sufficient to meet his sanguine expectations, and not only owned and controls a large body of rich farming land in Marshall County but is also actively identified with Oketo’s business affairs and its civic and community life. Mr. Root was born in Cedar County, Iowa, May 21, 1865. His father, Levi Root, born in Ohio July 9, 1832, grew up in his native state and when a young man moved to Iowa. He was married in Cedar County and had a … Read more

Biography of J. Harry Barley

J. Harry Barley is proprietor and publisher of the Republican-Register, the oldest newspaper in Washington County, and still one of the most sucessful newspapers in the state. Mr. Barley is a young newspaper man, and prior to the purchase of the Republican-Register his experience was chiefly in education and banking. The Republican-Register is the direct and lineal descendant of the Western Observer, which was founded at Washington in March, 1869. Its publisher was Mark J. Kelly. Mr. Kelly had come to Washington through the influence of Col. Dave Ballard, who gave him a bonus of ten town lots to start … Read more

Biography of Mathias M. Schmidt

Mathias M. Schmidt, who had spent his life since early childhood in Marshall County, Kansas, had had a very intense career as a teacher, banker, business man and public spirited citizen. He is now in the loan and insurance business at Home City in Marshall County. Mr. Schmidt is not only a practical business man but a scholar of exceptional erudition and had been well fitted for the leadership which he had taken in public affairs. Mr. Schmidt is of German descent and was born at Fort Washington in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, July 8, 1876. His ancestors all lived in … Read more