Pittsburg Kansas

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

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 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 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 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