Shawnee County KS

Biography of Peter Calvin Croco

Peter Calvin Croco. With the exception of several years spent in Missouri, Peter Calvin Croco had been a resident of Kansas since 1876, and as he had carried on operations in most every part of the state few men are better informed as to agricultural conditions here. At the present time he is the owner of a good property in Tecumseh Township, Shawnee County, which he is cultivating along modern lines, and on which he had up-to-date improvements that make the farm of 155 acres a model which many agriculturists might copy. Mr. Croco was born in Holmes County, Ohio, … Read more

Biography of James Willis Gleed

James Willis Gleed, general attorney for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company of St. Louis, was born at Morrisville, Vermont, March 8, 1859. His father, Thomas Gleed, now deceased, was a native of England, who came to America during the ’30s, settling at first in Canada, but later he removed to northern Vermont, where he resided to the time of his death in 1861, when he was but thirty-five years of age. In early manhood he had wedded Cornelia Fisk, a native of the Green Mountain state and a representative of an old New England family that was established in Massachusetts … Read more

Biography of Charles Wolff

The careers and activities of many citizens enter into the solid structure of a city like Topeka. But the prosperity which distinguishes this city can be traced to the enterprise of a group of men who chose it as the seene of their business careers and who through their leadership, their executive ability and their splendid capacity for business organization, created and maintained the greater part of what is prominent and flourishing in industry and commerce. Among this group of business builders, one of the most prominent names is that of the late Charles Henry Wolff, Sr., whose untimely death … Read more

Biography of John O. Adams, Hon.

Hon. John O. Adams. Of the men who in recent years have come to the forefront in the business and official life of Ottawa County, few have accomplished such great and substantial results within so short a period of time as had John O. Adams. A resident of Delphos since 1901, this energetic and capable young man had worked his way to a substantial place in business circles, while in official affairs he had been equally energetic and successful, and in the spring of 1917 was elected mayor of the city. His record as a merchant and as a public … Read more

Biography of Curt Bergmann

For the past thirty-four years the community of Tecumseh had profited by the business activities and progressive citizenship of the Bergmann family. It was late in the year 1882 that Wilhelm Henry Bergmann came here and purchased a property, and subsequently he became one of the locality’s substantial men and continued so during the remainder of a long and useful life. The reputation for solidity and integrity which he made is being perpetuated by his son, Curt Bergmann, present postmaster of Tecumseh and proprietor of one of the city’s leading mercantile establishments. The late Wilhelm Henry Bergmann was born in … Read more

Biography of Thomas K. Tomson

Thomas K. Tomson. A life of more than ordinary fruitfulness and influence came to a close with the death of Thomas K. Tomson at his home in Dover, Shawnee County, November 2, 1910. He was one of the ante-bellum settlers of Kansas. In the fifty years of his residence in the state his name became widely known and respected and as a farmer and stockman he was one of the most successful in his section of the state. He was in his eighty-fifth year when death called him. He was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, September 25, 1826. He grew … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Judge John Guthrie

Judge John Guthrie, during the forty years of his residence at Topeka, was recognized as one of the leading men in professional, public and scholarly circles, in the State of Kansas. Previously, he had been known as a successful criminal lawyer of Indiana and an honorable officer of the Civil war. He was born in Switzerland County, that state, in July, 1829; was admitted to the bar in 1857, and served as a private and the captain of Company D, Forty-sixth Indiana Infantry, from the beginning of the war until the breaking of his health in 1862. In May, 1865, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Nevin M. Foltz

Nevin M. Foltz, the younger son of Martin L. Foltz, was born at Burlingame, Kansas, October 14, 1879. He now had the important responsibilities of managing the old homestead of 365 acres in Shawnee County. He had helped set the pace in this county as a stock raiser, and is making a specialty of high grade shorthorn cattle. Like his brother active in local affairs, he is one of the directors of the Wakarusa State Bank, is serving as present township trustee and is also secretary of the Wakarusa Commercial Club. As a voter his support had always gone to … Read more

Biography of Maurice McAuliffe

Maurice McAuliffe, of Salina, had not only fitted himself comfortably and substantially into the agricultural affairs of Kansas as an individual farmer and stock man, but had been one of the leaders in the new agrisultural movement and uplift. He is most widely known as one of the fine factors in the organization of the Farmers Union of Kansas, and is now serving his ninth term as president of that vigorous organization. He was also a prominent figure in the Alliance movement. The Farmers Union of Kansas is affiliated with the larger organization known as the National Farmers Union, which … Read more

Biography of George Bell

George Bell and members of his family have been prominently identified with various localities in Kansas for thirty-five years or more. The family now reside in Topeka. The birthplace of George Bell was Darlington, Yorkshire, England, where he was born in 1845. He grew up at Darlington, and while there he lived on an estate where Queen Victoria’s three noted grandsons came to hunt. George Bell came to know these distinguished European characters very well. They are now the Czar Nicholas of Russia, Emperor William of Germany and King George of England. George Bell in 1877 came to America, was … Read more

Biography of Albert W. Knowles

Albert W. Knowles. Topeka recently had cause to mourn the death of two pioneer citizens and able and successful business men, Albert W. Knowles and his brother Charles O. Knowles, both of whom passed away within a few days of each other. At the time of his death on October, 1916, Albert W. Knowles was vice president of the Bank of Topeka, with which he had been identified twenty-eight years, and he had been a resident of Topeka since the age of twenty. His father was Joshua Knowles, whose name also deserves the distinction of mention in any history of … Read more

Biography of Robert D. Blaine

Robert D. Blaine, who has had his home in Topeka for a number of years and also maintains a business office there, has been one of the builders of Kansas, his part in the development of the state being particularly reflected in the magnificent prosperity which during the past quarter of a century has come to the southwestern corner of Kansas. Pratt County in the Arkansas Valley will always have particular reason to remember Mr. Blaine’s early activities and influence he directed to the proper development of the resources of that section. For what he has done and for what … Read more

Biography of John P. Slaughter

John P. Slaughter. One of the largest and best known financial houses in Kansas is the Farm Mortgage Company, which to a large degree represents the personality and the financial judgment of John P. Slaughter, who is its president. The Farm Mortgage Company, which deals almost entirely in farm mortgages, is an institution occupying a large building of its own at Topeka, and its business also extends to Oklahoma and elsewhere, there being a branch office at Hobart, Oklahoma. The company is capitalized at $100,000 and its chief officers are: J. P. Slaughter, president; W. A. Smith, vice president and … Read more

Strickler, Joanne F. – Obituary

Joanne F. Strickler, 79, of La Grande, died Oct. 14 of natural causes. A memorial service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 25 at the First Presbyterian Church in La Grande. A luncheon will follow at the Presbyterian Friendship Center. Joanne was born to Guy and Esther Furst in Topeka, Kan., on Nov. 24, 1928. In the late ’30s her family moved to Denver, where she spent her high school years. She attended Colorado State University and received her degree in early childhood development in 1951. On Dec. 16, 1951, Joanne married Gerald Strickler, her one true love. They honeymooned … Read more

Biography of Nels Olson

Nels Olson, one of the prosperous residents in that fine agricultural district around North Topeka, his home being on Rural Route No. 3, had been a citizen of Kansas for more than thirty years. He was born in the province or district of Skane, Sweden, December 18, 1866. His father, Ole Johnson, was born in the same state in 1828, and always followed the vocation of farming. He was a prosperous man in his country, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of his neighbors for his business ability and the wisdom with which he directed his affairs. He was often … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Francis Bowen, M. D.

William Francis Bowen, M. D. One of the best known surgeons of Topeka is Dr. William Francis Bowen, who while a general practitioner of both medicine and surgery had manifested a particularly high degree of skill in surgery and is accounted one of the ablest operators in the state. Most of his life had been spent in Topeka, but he was born in Wamego, Pottawatomie County, Kansas, December 25, 1872. His father, Frank C. Bowen, is a prominent and widely known man of Topeka and had long been identified with local politics and public affairs. Frank C. Bowen was born … Read more

Biography of Walter J. Arnold

Walter J. Arnold. The county engineer of Shawnee County, Walter J. Arnold has led an active and diversified career, and although not yet forty-one years of age has crowded into his life more experiences than the ordinary man sees in an entire lifetime. From gold mining in Colorado to chasing the insurgents in the Philippines is a long call, but unlike many men whose activities have led them to out-of-the-way-places, Mr. Arnold has been constantly advancing, and each new experience, each new employment, has brought him a little bit further ahead toward the goal of success. In his present capacity, … Read more

Biography of Dandridge E. Kelsey

For thirty-six years Shawnee County was the home of Dandridge E. Kelsey, not only one of her pioneer settlers but unmistakably one of her most respected and valued men. He came to Kansas three years after the close of the great Civil war, in which struggle he had borne an honorable part, and in Shawnee County sought the opportunity of providing, through toil, patience and prudence, a comfortable home for his family and a competency for old age. All this he did but those early years were hard as the tragic days of Kansas had not all been lived through. … Read more

Biography of Henrietta Fulford (Wilson) Kinley, Mrs.

Mrs. Henrietta Fulford (Wilson) Kinley. In the developing of the beautiful city of Topeka, Kansas, many people who had been born in other states took part and it is surprising how large a number were natives of Illinois. As a rule they were well educated and accustomed to the refinements of life and in their new surroundings their influence was progressive and beneficial. One of these families bore the name of Fulford, a name that became well known at Topeka and which is yet identified with the city’s best interests. A well known and highly esteemed member of this sterling … Read more

Biography of Fry W. Giles

Fry W. Giles, one of the founders of Topeka and its pioneer banker, was born at Littleton, New Hampshire, in 1819. In the fall of 1854 he left New England for Kansas, and on December 4th of that year arrived at the place where Topeka now stands. He was secretary of the association that laid out the city, and it is said named the new town. In March, 1855, he was appointed its first postmaster. During the early settlement of the county he kept a private record of real estate transfers, which was later made the legal records of Shawnee … Read more