Shawnee County KS

Biography of Peter Moyer

Peter Moyer. On the old historic farm in Shawnee County, not far from North Topeka, which was located by the Hon. Thomas Ewing of Ohio, and which was later occupied by the famous United States military leader, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, resided Peter Moyer, who had lived in this community since 1878. Prior to that year he had lived in a number of communities, in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, but after coming to Kansas settled permanently and had never cared to leave the Sunflower State. He had devoted himself to farming throughout his career and the success that had come … Read more

Biography of Herbert O. Caster

Herbert O. Caster, who, on February 2, 1914, qualified as attorney for the State Public Utilities Commission, and is now a resident of Topeka, had lived in Kansas for thirty-eight years, and is well known over the state, but particularly in his home County of Decatur, where before his admission to the bar he made a fine record for himself as an educator and an energetic factor in other affairs of public importance. When the Caster family came to Kansas in 1878 they took up a homestead in Decatur County. At that time the county was a sparsely settled regiMeigon, … Read more

Biography of William A. Kearney

William A. Kearney. In a comfortable home, enjoying a liboral prosperity, and with the esteem of a large circle of friends, William A. Kearney and wife are people whose record should be considered in any history of Kansas. They have lived in Shawnee County since 1880. Their present prosperity seems the greater in contract with their condition when they landed at Tecumseh thirty-five years age. At that time it is said that they had only two cents in money and an ax. A Pennsylvanian, William A. Kearney was born in Venango County, April 15, 1854. His father, Samuel K, Kearney, … Read more

Biography of John Sayre Downes

John Sayre Downes. The City of Topeka is the home of the largest organization of its kind in the United States, the Aetna Building and Loan Association, which maintains about 600 agencies in Kansas and Oklahoma. The growth and development of this institution during the quarter of a century in which it has been in existence is a commentary upon the success to be attained by enterprises in the Sunflower State when their policies are directed by men of substantial ability, strict integrity and business foresight. At the head of the Aetna Building and Loan Association today, in the office … Read more

Biography of Margaret Hill McCarter

Margaret Hill McCarter. No one had succeeded so well in translating the atmosphere of Kansas prairies and the experiences and ideals of Kansas men and women as had Margaret Hill McCarter, author of Middle West fiction. It had been her task to search out and clothe with fitting words the simplicity and the real grandeur of the people who made Kansas and are still its breath and life. Doubtless, many will find the source of Mrs. McCarter’s insight and sympathy in her Quaker ancestry. She is the daughter of Thomas Thornbury and Nancy (Davis) Hill. Through her mother she is … Read more

Biography of Harry A. Mendenhall

Harry A. Mendenhall. Though his home is in the largest city of Kansas, Harry A. Mendenhall’s business and civic activities have been such as to constitute him one of the best known men of Kansas City, Kansas. For nearly thirty years he had given his best time and energy to the building up of an organization and equipment for the efficient handling of local traffic and freight in the transfer line, he is a former sheriff of Wyandotte County, and is also prominent as a banker. He was born January 11, 1865, on a farm at the edge of the … 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 Samuel Sage

The name Sage had been very prominently identified with Shawnee County, particularly in the community around Dover, for a half century or more. The family is one that would prove a valuable contribution to any community. They have been upright and conscientious citizens, have done their share of the development work connected with the raising of a new country to the best standards of civilization, and there is probably not a single member of the family who had not pulled his own weight in the world. The first of this particular family to come from Somersetshire, England, the original seat … Read more

Biography of William C. Christensen

William C. Christensen, now living retired at Topeka, had well earned a niche in the honorable and industrious citizenship of Kansas. He was one of the real upbuilders of western Kansas, and his family played a specially notable part in the development of Cloud County. A native of Denmark, he was born November 7, 1857. At the age of eight years he was brought to this country by his parents Stephen and Anna Christensen. They settled in Freeborn County, Minnesota, where they lived on the frontier and where the mother died. The father married again and in 1870 brought his … Read more

Biography of Harold McGugin

Harold McGugin. The McGugin family came from Ireland to the United States many years ago, the first of the name in America appearing in Pennsylvania. Removal was subsequently made to Ohio and the family records do not definitely prove whether David McGugin, the grandfather of Harold McGugin, one of the able young attorneys of the Coffeyville bar, was born before or after the family exodus. He was a farmer and a merchant and died in Montgomery County, Kansas, prior to the birth of his grandson. He may thus be numbered with the pioneers of this section. William McGugin, son of … Read more

Biography of Robert Wilson Turner, Hon.

Hon. Robert W. Turner. One of the most distinguished citizens of Kansas, Hon. Robert Wilson Turner had been a prominent practitioner of the Mankato and Jewell county bar for more than a quarter of a century, and during this time, as well as prior thereto, a leading figure in public life. His public service had been of great practical value not alone to his community, but to the state and the country, and while his fearless independence, both of speech and politieal action, had at times brought him into conflict with other state and national leaders, it had decidedly raised … Read more

Biography of Henry C. Lindsey, Col.

One of the most interesting citizens of Kansas is Henry C. Lindsey of Topeka. He is one of the men who know by ectual experience and recollection the pioneer times of this state. He was a soldier in the Civil war, afterwards took nart in one of the important Indian campaigns in Western Kansas, and added to his military prestige and honor by service during the Spanish-American war. He is also one of Topeka’s oldest business men. He comes of a family that have apparently lived on the frontier and taken a leading part in its activities for several generations. … Read more

Biography of Merifield Vicory

Merifield Vicory. It is now almost half a century since Merifield Vicory came to Kansas and identified himself with the pioneer activities of the farm and ranch in the Sunflower State, He came to Kansas bringing with him the record of a brave and faithful soldier during the war of the Rebellion, and through his work as a farmer and his public spirit as a citizen had exemplified the same sterling traits that made him a good soldier when the country needed him. Mr. Vicory came to Kansas from Ohio. He was born in Springfield that state August 24, 1840, … Read more

Biography of James A. Paull

James A. Paull, present county treasurer of Ellsworth County, had long been identified with business, industrial and civic affairs in this section of Kansas. Mr. Paull had a very interesting ancestry. The family originated in Alsace Lorraine, immigrated to England, and from that county Richard Paull established the name in America. Richard Paull was born in 1615 and at the age of twenty, in June, 1635, embarked on the “True Love de London” for the Bermudas. He soon settled in Massachusetts and on November 7, 1638, married Margery Turner, of Cohasset, now Taunton, Massachusetts. There are several public records concerning … Read more

Biography of Alonzo Beal

Few men have prospered in a greater degree than Alonzo Beal of Shawnee County. He came to Kansas when a boy, had a varied routine of experiences as a farm laborer, renter, western cowboy, and finally settled down to a carser which had brought him to a place where he is one of the largest land owners and cattlemen operators in this section of Kansas. He was born near Newtown in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, November 20, 1862, one of ten children, seven of whom are still living. His parents were Harlan and Cynthia (Ashor) Beal. His father, who was a … Read more

Biography of Charles G. Carlson

Charles G. Carlson. While the earlier activities of this old Topeka resident from the time he identified himself with the State of Kansas in 1886 may not be widely known, his membership in the firm of Lundgren & Carlson, contractors and builders, has been productive of work of the highest class and exemplified, particularly along the lines of the Santa Fe Railway, in several states. The partnership of Lundgren & Carlson was formed in 1901, the senior member being Mr. A. J. Lundgren. As builders their ability is now known far and wide throughout the State of Kansas. Their first … Read more

Biography of Lauren Newell

For more than thirty years Zeandale Township, Riley County, had been the chosen home of Lauren Newell, an old pioneer of this section and an honored veteran of the Civil war. Mr. Newell came to Kansas a youth of nineteen years, in search of material independence, and had done much in the way of making easier the paths of those who came later. After the close of the Civil war settlement in Kansas was rapid, but few found so much hardship as had faced young and old when they reached here in 1858. In his New England home Mr. Newell, … Read more

Biography of Franklin Barry Simms

Franklin Barry Simms. During a residence of thirty years or more in Topeka, a thoroughly public spirited citizenship had been one of the chief characteristics of Franklin Barry Simms. He had also administered his private affairs with success, had built up and made a name and repntation for one of the largest laundries and eleaning houses in the city, and had devoted himself with utmost unselfishness to the welfare of the community. He started life as a printer and it was in that capacity that he was first known in Kansas. He was born at Alton, Madison County, Illinois, April … Read more

Biography of Charles H. Chandler

As state architect Charles H. Chandler had charge of some of the most important administrative and executive functions exercised by the state government. For many years before his appointment to the present office Mr. Chandler was recognized as one of the most competent and successful contractors and architects, and he had rendered valuable service since he became state architect in May, 1909, by appointment from Governor Stubbs. In 1911 he was resppointed by Governor Stubbs and had continued in the position under subsequent administrations. It will serve to indicate the importance of his office to mention some of the larger … Read more

Biography of William Timmerman

Western Terea Cotta Company of Kansas City, Kansas, is the only successful industry for the making of this building material, which has had such a remarkable growth of popularity in use during recent years, between Chicago and the extreme Pacific coast. It is an industry which reflects credit upon the growing importance of Kansas City, Kansas, and is the only concern of its kind in the state. Terra cotta, which is the Italian for “burnt clay,” is perhaps the oldest manufactured building material known in history. It has been manufactured in America only during the last forty or forty-five years … Read more