Pittsburg Kansas

Biography of Archibald B. Kirkwood

Archibald B. Kirkwood. In the death of Archibald B. Kirkwood on May 16, 1916, the City of Pittsburg and southeastern Kansas lost a very prominent business man and citizen. He was one of the pioneers in the development of the coal resources of this section of the state. At one time be was general manager of the Wear Coal Company and president of the Standard Mercantile Company of Pittsburg. Of later years his interests were rather widely diffused and long before his death he had acquired a generous competence which would have enabled him to take life easily and leisurely. … 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 John Pellegrino

John Pellegrino. Among the men of high merit that the State of Kansas has called to responsible position, is John Pellegrino, of Pittsburg, Kansas, state mine inspector. From the age of fifteen years to the present, Mr. Pellegrino has been identified with mines and mining, with the exception of two years, during which interval he served faithfully as a United States soldier in the Philippine Islands. He has had a wide field of experience, and by hard, practical work in the mines and by persistent study in different institutions of learning, he has thoroughly qualified himself for the important post … Read more

Biography of James Abram Garfield Shirk

James Abram Garfield Shirk. Now professor of mathematics in the Manual Training Normal School at Pittsburg, Mr. Shirk has filled many important positions in the public schools and colleges of Kansas, and is a recognized authority on his special subject. A native of Kansas, he was born at McPherson January 12, 1881. His ancestry is Swiss German. The first of the name came from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in colonial days. His grandfather, John Shirk, spent his life in Pennsylvania, was a farmer, and he also contributed fame to the family name by his service in the War of 1812. He … Read more

Biography of George W. Trout, Prof.

Prof. George W. Trout, professor of history at the State Manual Training Normal School at Pittsburg, Kansas, was born in Allen County, Kentucky, September 16, 1863, and is a son of Rev. Paton and Amanda (Black) Trout. He belongs to an old and honored family which originated in Ireland, and came to America during the days of the American Colonies, the first forefather in this country settling in Virginia, from whence the family drifted to various parts of the Union. George Trout, the grandfather of Professor Trout, was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, in 1789, and there spent his entire … Read more

Biography of Ebenezer F. Porter, Hon.

For nearly a quarter of a century the Hon. Ebenezer F. Porter, State Senator from the Ninth Senatorial District, had been one of the powers and potential forces in business and in politics, in material progress and in educational affairs in that seetion of the state. He had, from an early age, borne a large share of his father’s as well as his own responsibilities in business affairs and had been forced to deal with matters of far more than ordinary importance. Notwithstanding the extent and seape of his activities, it may be said without fear of contradiction that he … Read more

Biography of Seth J. Bailey

Seth J. Bailey. The gratifying success which had crowned the efforts of Seth J. Bailey, of Chanute, clearly and emphatically evidence the business skill, perseverance and enterprise of this individual, who had been engaged in business here since the fall of 1900. This is a utilitarian age, one in which advancement and progress come through activity in the industrial and commercial interests of life. There is nothing to which America owes her pre-eminence among the nations of the earth so much as to her inventions, and each year sees additions to the list which bear marked impress upon the world … Read more

Biography of William Eugene Peddycord

William Eugene Peddycord. No individual in a community wields a greater influence in the molding and shaping of character than does the educator, and the capable, conscientious instructor often stands nearer to the hearts of the people than does their spiritual guide. On entering the schoolroom the child’s mind is as plastic clay and is as readily made to take shape in the skilled hands of the educator. It is for this reason that the individuals who have charge of the education of the children of a community should be chosen with the greatest care; their responsibilities are grave and … Read more

Biography of Homer Clare Lemon

Homer Clare Lemon. Among the prosperous business enterprises of Pittsburg, Kansas, is the Nuttman-Lemon Lumber Company, the organizer and president of which is Homer Clare Lemon, a man of large experience in the lumber industry, and a man of great energy, public spirit and civic zeal. Mr. Lemon was born October 17, 1869, at Cromwell, Iowa. His parents were William Vance and Susan (Carter) Lemon. The Lemon ancestry is traced to the north of Ireland. Five brothers of the name came to the American colonies and all served in the Revolutionary war from Pennsylvania. One of these patriots was John … Read more

Biography of Harry Degen

Harry Degen, deceased, was for more than a decade actively identified with mercantile interests in Bartlesville as the proprietor of a department store which is still being conducted by his widow and which is one of the best establishments of the kind in the city. He was born in Austria on the 11th of November, 1875, and when a lad of twelve years accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States. He worked for his relatives in Kansas until twenty-seven years of age, when in association with his uncle he established the firm of Degen & Company for … Read more

Biography of Asa Messinger

Asa Messinger. It is not likely that men within the City of Pittsburg, Kansas, have contributed in greater measure to the making of their surroundings than has Asa Messinger. Look where one will, large buildings and small, modest homes and elegant residences, banking houses and industrial plants, churches and educational institutions, structures for the housing of public utilities–these, and more which contribute to the architectural ensemble of a flourishing town, are the product of his brain and hand. And this is not all. In the capacity of commissioner of streets and public improvements, he has added to the city’s beauty … Read more

Biography of Edwin V. Lanyon

Edwin V. Lanyon. The president of the National Bank of Pittsburg, Edwin V. Lanyon, is a dominant factor in the financial and industrial world and belongs to a family the members of which have figured conspicuously in the industrial development of Southeastern Kansas for the last quarter of a century. He is a native of Wisconsin, born at Mineral Point, December 14, 1863, and a son of Josiah and Jane (Trevorrow) Lanyon, the former a native of Mineral Point and of English descent, and the latter a native of England. Josiah Lanyon came to Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1882, and was … Read more

Biography of William Henry Hite

William Henry Hite. In some individuals the business sense is remarkably developed and this proves the medium through which they may attain an eminence not to be gained by those who try to control affairs for which they have no aptitude. It is now generally recognized that no one reaches unusual success who works against his natural inclinations, and when competition is so keen men need every assistance that developed talent can give in order to take profitable advantage of offered opportunities and to be able to develop legitimate business chances. Especially is this true in communities where strong and … Read more

Biography of Dunham O. Munson, M. D.

Dunham O. Munson, M. D., is one of the leading specialists of Southeastern Kansas. He has practiced at Pittsburg upwards of twenty years, and while the earlier part of his practice was devoted to general medicine and surgery, for the past five years he has given his time exclusively to the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He is a man of splendid attainments in his profession and undoubtedly inherits much from his fine old Ameriean ancestry. He was born at Brockport, New York, June 27, 1859, but a part of his early life was spent in Ontario, … Read more

Biography of John M. Leeper

John M. Leeper. One of the very successful contractors at Topeka is John M. Leeper, who when a young man learned the trade of brick mason, and on that trade as a foundation has built up a large business in brick contracting and the services of his organization has entered into the construction of several of the most conspicuous public buildings in the state. He is a native of Kansas and was born in Lyon County, September 6, 1872, when that section of the state was still well out on the frontier. His parents were Samuel S. and Elizabeth C. … Read more

Biography of Oris Polk Dellinger, Prof.

Prof. Oris Polk Dellinger. It must be conceded, and is a source of pride, that Kansas is wide awake and in earnest in the matter of providing the best of educational advantages for her youth. Great institutions have been founded and to their faculties have been called men of scholastic attainments and wide experience in the educational field. One of many departments of study offered by the Kansas State Manual Training Normal School at Pittsburg, an exceedingly interesting and important one is that of biology, which for the past seven years had been under the able direction of Prof. Oris … Read more

Biography of William W. Graves

William W. Graves. It is as a publisher, author and editor that William W. Graves has made his mark in Kansas. Until he was about twenty-two years of age he had concerned himself with the business of getting an education, working in his father’s store at St. Paul, Kansas, and with teaching. Then came his decision to learn the printer’s trade. The publishers of the Pittsburg World expressed a willingness to “take him on” as an apprentice, allowing him to work as hard as he pleased, but he was to receive no wages at the first and was to board … Read more

Biography of Charles F. Spencer

Charles F. Spencer. One of the most prominent among the coal operators of Pittsburg, Kansas, is Charlos F. Spencer, under whose able and experienced management a number of the leading, coal companies are being conducted. Mr. Spencer has been identified with this line of business all his life, and few men have a more thorough or more intimate knowledge of the industry. He was born in Cherokee County, Kansas, January 14, 1873, and is a son of J. W. and Ambrosia (Favor) Speneer. The branch of the Spencer family to which Mr. Spencer belongs had its origin in England, from … Read more

Biography of John Pedroja

John Pedroja. One of the most reliable and progressive of the younger members of the Crawford County bar, who stands high in professional ability as a man of broad business and financial judgment, is John Pedroja, who since 1911 has been engaged in practice at Mulberry. He has also served the public well and conscientiously in the offices of city clerk and city attorney during the past four years, and is a citizen who has done much to advance the interests of his community. Mr. Pedroja was born at Gnosca, Switzerland, November 27, 1880, and is a son of Charles … Read more

Biography of Samuel Brownlee Fisher

Samuel Brownlee Fisher of Parsons, consulting engineer of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company, is one of the eminent railway engineers of America. He had had nearly fifty years of active experience and had been identified with the construction of various railway lines in the West and East. He comes of an old Scotch family of Covenanter stock. On the maternal side his ancestors were the Brownlees, who were Covenanters in Scotland and were exiled because of their religious belief and settled in Pennsylvania. Mr. Fisher’s great-great-grandfather in the maternal line, George Wilie, was a soldier in the Revolutionary … Read more