Severance Kansas

Biography of Virgil A. Bird

Virgil A. Bird has long been one of the live business factors in the Town of Bern. He is a native of Northeastern Kansas and his people were among the pioneers of Doniphan County. Mr. Bird was born near Severance in Doniphan County September 3, 1869. His ancestors were New England people, and in that section his grandfather, Isaac Bird, spent his life. The Bird family came originally from England, and became Americans in Colonial days. George Bird, father of Virgil A., was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1834, and is still living, at the age of eighty-three, in Denton, … Read more

Biography of John M. Morley

John M. Morley has devoted practically his untire career to the business of banking, is one of the largest private bankers in Northeastern Kansas, is sole owner of the Bank of Severance and is also president of the State Bank of Purcell. Born at Mason in Warren County, Ohio, November 23, 1852, he is of Catholic parentage and ancestry, His grandfather, John Morley, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and spent his life there as a farmer. Boger Morley, father of John M., was a territorial pioneer in Kansas. Born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1829, he came to this … Read more

Biography of Ed Heeney

Ed Heeney. For over thirty-five years the name Heeney had been associated with the mercantile enterprise of Severance. The firm of Ed Heeney & Son conducts the largest hardware, implement and furniture house in that part of Doniphan County. The senior member of the firm, who is now practically retired from business responsibilities, is Mr. Ed Heeney, who had lived in Northeastern Kansas since 1870 and had acquired and built up extensive interests both as a farmer and business man. The Heeney family comes from the vicinity of Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland, where Ed Heeney was born May 21, 1852. … Read more