Pittsburg Kansas

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 Merle K. Scott, M. D.

Merle K. Scott, M. D. There are few lovers of literature who have not lost themselves in the incomparable romances of sir Walter Scott, and probably the most knowledge that many have ever gained of Scotland had been based on the illuminating writings of her greatest novalist. From that country and from the same stock came the Scotts of Kansas, a prominent reprecentative of which family is Dr. Merle K. Scott, physician and surgeon at Frontanac. Merle K. Scott was born at Coyville, Wilson County, Kansas, April 16, 1878. His parents are Rev. Robert M. and Sarah Kinnear (Kirkpatrick) Scott, … 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 Frederick O’Connor

James Frederick O’Connor. The stern competition and exacting conditions of twentieth century business progression have resulted in specialization in every line of industrial and constructive activity. Men of marked ability have proved beyond question of doubt, through consecutive action and comprehensive investigation, that the best and most productive results are secured by a consistent devotion to some particular line of effort. The reason for this is that, with so many competitors it is practically impossible for a single individual to become an expert in all lines. When he entered upon his career, James Frederick O’Connor recognized the fact that the … 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

Slave Narrative of Charley Williams

Person Interviewed: Charley Williams Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma Date of Birth: Jan. 11, 1843 Age: 94 Iffen I could see better out’n my old eyes, and I had me something to work with and de feebleness in my back and head would let me ‘lone, I would have me plenty to eat in de kitchen all de time, and plenty tobaccy in my pipe, too, bless God! And dey wouldn’t be no rain trickling through de holes in de roof, and no planks all fell out’n de flo’ on de gallery neither, ’cause dis one old nigger knows everything about making … Read more

Biography of Alva C. Starr

Alva C. Starr. For the past twelve years the grocery establishemnt of Alva C. Starr, at No. 710 North Broadway, has been considered in the light of a necessary commercial adjunct by the people of Pittsburg. Many causes contribute to the success of this popular merchant, not the least of which are a thorough knowledge of his business and a determination to keep his particular branch thereof up to the highest known standard. Mr. Starr belongs to that element of business men who have made their own way to success, without the aid of outside influences, and his high standing … 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 James H. Price

James H. Price. The large interests which have engrossed the time and energies of James H. Price have brought him to the very forefront among the business men of Crawford County, and particularly of that part lying adjacent to the City of Pittsburg, with which city he has been prominently identified for the past ten or more years. From the very start of his career, he has been interested, in one or another way, with the mining industry, and today he is known throughout Kansas as an extensive coal operator and contractor. Mr. Price was born in Herefordshire, England, April … Read more

Biography of Alonzo O. Blair, M. D.

Alonzo O. Blair, M. D. By nearly forty years of practice in Southeastern Kansas Doctor Blair has become widely known as a successful physician and surgeon, and for more than a quarter of a century has been identified professionally and also in a business way with the City of Pittsburg. By ancestry he is of Scotch-Irish stock. His great-great-grandfather came in colonial times from England and settled in South Carolina. Doctor Blair’s grandfather was a native of South Carolina, but was opposed to the institution of slavery and moved from that state to Tennessee and thence to Illinois. He was … 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 William Lanyon

William Lanyon. More than any other the name Lanyon is distinctive of the zinc industry in Southeastern Kansas, particularly at Pittsburg. The Lanyon family had been prominent in this particular industry for several generations. To a large degree the importance of Pittsburg as a zinc manufacturing center is due to the enterprise of the Lanyons who came to this part of Kansas more than thirty years ago from their original home in Southern Wisconsin, where they had operated extensive mining and manufacturing industries. Though he was one of the earliest of the family to take an active part in the … Read more

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 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 Robert Burns Gibb, M. D.

Robert Burns Gibb, M. D. As a surgeon one of the foremost in Kansas in point of ability and prestige is Dr. R. R. Gibb of Pittsburg. Doctor Gibb is still a young man, not yet forty, yet has had the experience and training which have matured his unusual natural gifts and his reputation and position are now well assured. Coming to Kansas after he had completed his medical course, Doctor Gibb was born at Fairbury, Illinois, December 15, 1878. He is of Scotch ancestry His grandfather John Gibb was born in Chapel Hall, Scotland, in 1812. He was in … Read more

Biography of Paris Tilghman Ellis

Paris Tilghman Ellis, of Pittsburg, dealer in insurance, real estate, loans and rentals, is a native Kansan, and since entering business for himself had enjoyed a satisfactory success and at the same time had proved his worth and public spirit as a citizen. Mr. Ellis was born on a farm in Montgomery County, Kansas, June 17, 1878, a son of C. R. and Martha A. (Ferguson) Ellis. In early Colonial days three sailor brothers left England and immigrated to America, locating in the colony of Virginia. From there the family went across the mountains into Kentucky. Mr. Ellis’ grandfather, R. … Read more

Biography of Miss Isa Allene Greene

Miss Isa Allene Greene grew up in Bourbon County, Kansas, and in that section taught her first school. Through her work she had become one of Kansas’ noted educators. She had proved herself a real teacher. She possesses the ability, rare as it is in any time or generation and rare even in these modern times when so much emphasis is placed upon it, of vitalizing and inspiring the intellectual activities of those under her charge, and all her work had been characterized by a depth of sympathy and understanding which is more necessary in any rational scheme of education … 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 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 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