Biography of Benjamin Harper

The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the older generation of Rock Island County, the larger enterprises of which he was intimately associated with throughout the many years of his residence here. Benjamin Harper was born February 12, 1817, in the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died April 3, 1887, in the City of Rock Island, Illinois. When about fourteen years of age his parents removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served his apprenticeship to the wagon-maker’s trade, upon completion of which, that spirit of bold initiative and energy which characterized his whole after life, asserted itself in … Read more

Biography of Nelson H. George

Nelson H. George is one of the veterans in the service of the Santa Fe Railroad in Kansas. He had been connected with the railroad in different capacities for twenty-five consecutive years, and when he first came to Kansas over thirty years ago he entered the employ of the railway company, though afterwards for some seven or eight years he had a most diversified experience as a West Kansas homesteader. He now had the heavy responsibilities of general yardmaster of the Santa Fe Railway at Arkansas City. His name is familiar to railroad men throughout the southwest, and his efficiency … Read more

Biography of Harrison Clay Taylor

Harrison Clay Taylor was one of the first settlers in Rice County, and he had had a very interesting career and one filled with business achievement that places him among the notable men of Lyons. He is a veteran merchant of that city and in the passing years had done much for its improvement and welfare. Mr. Taylor was born at Piqua in Miami County, Ohio, November 12, 1849. He is of English ancestry, his forefathers having settled in New Jersey in Colonial times. His grandfather was a native of Pennsylvania, was a member of the Quaker Church, and during … Read more

Biography of George W. Robinson

George W. Robinson of Wichita has been a Kansan forty years. His first work in this state was as an educator at Winfield, continuing from June, 1876, to June, 1879. He soon turned to the more congenial work of a business career. The field in which his energies have found their most successful issues has been in banking, and there are a number of flourishing institutions in the state which were organized or at some time in their career have received the benefit of his excellent judgment and financial ability. Born February 20, 1855, in Piqua, Ohio, he went to … Read more

Biography of Thomas W. Taylor, M. D.

Dr. Thomas W. Taylor, a well known urologist of St. Louis, was born at Newcastle in Staffordshire, England, March 4, 1880, his parents being James and Elizabeth (Onions) Taylor, who likewise were natives of the Merrie Isle. It was in the year 1882 that the father brought the family to the new world, settling originally in New Castle, Pennsylvania, while later he removed to Piqua, Ohio, where he successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits for many years. He passed away December 16, 1915, at the advanced age of eighty, while his wife died in Piqua, in 1914, at the age of … Read more