Biography of Hans E. Mayer

That he had authoritative knowledge of the details of the life-insurance business and is also an able execntive needs no further voucher than the statement that Mr. Mayer holds the responsible office of manager of the Missouri State Life Insurance Company for the State of Kansas. He maintains his administrative headquarters and his residence at Wichita and is one of the popular and progressive citizens of this vigorous city of the Sunflower State. Mr. Mayer was born in Coblentz, Germany, and in the excellent schools of his native place he acquired his early education, which was supplemented by a higher … Read more

Biography of Dennis Clark, Hon.

Willian B. Clark and Buford Clark, brothers, residing on adjoining farms in Williamsport Township of Shawnee County, have occupied and developed land that their father, a distinguished citizen of Illinois, secured in Kansas soon after the close of the Civil war. These brothers are among the most progressive men in that community, have won much success in agriculture, and have always been alert and public spirited in connection with movements for the public benefit. Their father was Hon. Dennis Clark, who was born August 14, 1817, at Vincennes, Indiana. His parents were Walter and Mary (Young) Clark, the former a … Read more

Biography of Martin Mohler, Hon.

Kansas had always been a progressive state. Its history proves that. But progressiveness is a spiritual attitude and by its very nature its material environment is constantly changing. Thus it was as possible for progressiveness to exist and flourish twenty-five or thirty years ago when Kansas was beset by mortgages, whirlwinds and sod houses, as in the present era of comfortable substance and prosperity. Hence it is possible to refer to the late Martin Mohler’s distinction as one of the most progressive secretaries of the State Board of agriculture Kansas ever had without disparaging in any sense the accomplishment of … Read more

Biography of Philander Hamilton Adams

Philander Hamilton Adams. Ever since the year 1871, members of the Adams family have contributed to the good citizenship, progress and development of Shawnee County, their activities having invaded the fields of agriculture, merchandising, consulting engineering, education, religion, and public service. The founder of the family in this state was the late Jacob Clendenin Adams, and at present it is worthily represented at Topeka by Philander Hamilton Adams, who at this time is the owner of the original homestead, in addition to being a well known business man of the capital city. Jacob Clendenin Adams was born in 1823 at … Read more

Biography of James William Bell

James William Bell, a resident of Topeka for more than thirty years, has built up a business and reputation as a buyer and dealer in horses which is by no means confined to the State of Kansas. His operations extend practically over the entire country. He has been a prominent exporter to foreign markets. James William Bell was born in Greenbrier County in what is now West Virginia but was then Virginia, December 18, 1854. The Bell family goes back to Scotch-Irish antecedents and the first of the name came to Virginia in colonial times. David Henderson Bell, father of … Read more

Biography of John Sargent

John Sargent was and is an honored name in the State of Kansas. For years he was foremost among the building contractors of Topeka. The power he exerted as a factor in business affairs was only part of the outflowing of a strong and harmonious character. He was a big man in all the relationships of a long lifetime. Thus death selected a partieularly conspicuous victim when John Sargent died suddenly Sunday morning, March 12, 1916, just before stepping into his automobile to be driven to church. Both before and after his death it was recognized that the city had … 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 William F. M. Arny

Kansas has produced no more eceentric, generous or beloved character than William F. M. Arny. Although not a native of the state, he was a son in all that stands for its independence and humanity. He was born in the District of Columbia, March 6, 1813, and after graduating from Bethany College, West Virginia, acted for a time as secretary for Alexander Campbell the famons Disciple preacher. At the age of twenty-eight he was on intimate terms with all of the leading men of the nation, especially with such as Abraham Lincoln and others of force and originality. In 1850 … Read more

Biography of Joseph C. Wilson

Joseph C. Wilson. Aside from the prominance which is his in the business world by reason of his position as sales manager for the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, at Topeka, Joseph C. Wilson had the distinction of belonging to a family which for three generations have been active in the business, civic and moral development of Kansas. The name had always stood for honorable and public-spirited citizenship and for participation in progressive movements, and Mr. Wilson is proving himself a worthy representative of this old and respected family. Mr. Wilson was born in the City of Topeka, Kansas, June 28, … Read more

Biography of Charles W. Barnes

Charles W. Barnes. As reporter and newspaper editor, former state superintendent of insurance and now president of the Kansas Life Insurance Company of Topeka, Charles W. Barnes has had an exceedingly busy and successful career covering almost the entire forty-year period since he came to the state. He was born on a farm in Coshocton County, Ohio, October 28, 1869, a son of William O. and Maria Lonisa (McGruder) Barnes. His grandfather Charles Barnes was a lawyer, one of the pioneer members of the Ohio bar, and in the early days served as a judge. William O. Barnes was a … Read more

Biography of John R. Mulvane

John R. Mulvane had been a resident of Kansas since 1868 and for nearly forty years president of the Bank of Topeka. That position, together with the many other interests he had actively prosecuted, have made him a power in the financial and industrial life of Kansas. His family lineage some generations back was identified with that of the McIlvaines of Scotland. His first American ancestor came to North Carolina before the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, John Mulvane, located in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in 1803 and was one of the five original taxpayers of that county. He marricd Mary McCune, whose … 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 Zachariah Reser

Zachariah Reser. Among the comfortably situated residents of Rossville, Kansas, is Zachariah Reser, one of the substantial and well known retired farmers of Shawnee County. He has been a resident of Kansas for a half century and has large possessions here acquired through his own industry. Zachariah Reser was born in Kentucky, March 13, 1848. His parents were Wyatt and Nancy Reser, natives of Kentucky and of their thirteen children seven survive and live in Kansas, representatives of a sturdy stock from which class came many pioneers hither. When Wyatt Reser and wife packed their household goods and children in … Read more

Biography of Mamie J. Tanquary, M. D.

Mamie J. Tanquary, M. D., of Independence is one of the leading woman physicians and surgeons of Kansas. She comes of a family that has supplied several able members to the profession, and her work throughout the fifteen years she has practiced at Independence shows her capabilities are on a plane with her own brothers and her professional brethren throughout the state. Doctor Tanquary, whose maiden name was Edwards, was born at Water Valley in Hickman County, Kentucky, April 29, 1870. She is of old Southern stock, but her first ancestors in the Edwards line came from England of Seotch-Irish … Read more

Biography of Freeman E. Nipps

Freeman E. Nipps is one of the veteran railroad men of Kansas. Like many who have found success in that army of industrial workers, he began at a country station and as a telegraph operator. For more than a quarter of a century he has been the agent of the Missouri Pacific Railway at Topeka. Unlike many railway men, he has at the same time identified himself closely with local affairs, and at the present time his name is familiarly known throughout Shawnee County as chairman of the board of commissioners. Though most of his life has been spent within … Read more

Biography of Fred Schuyle Jackson

Fred Schuyle Jackson, of Topeka, prominent lawyer, former congressman, ex-attorney-general of Kansas, is one of the many able men who have made Kansas notable as a commonwealth. His father was Martin Van Buren Jackson, who bore a conspicuous part in the border warfare of Kansas. Fred S. Jackson was born April 19, 1868, and his birth occurred in the block house at Stanton near Osawatomie. His early education came chiefly from the public schools of Miami and Greenwood counties, and of earlier experiences and service readered should be mentioned five years spent in the schoolroom as a teacher, In the … Read more

Biography of Patrick H. Coney

In many ways the State of Kansas during the last half century had had no more interesting, patriotic, versatile figure than Patrick H. Coney of Topeka. He came to Kansas after making a brilliant record as a soldier in the Civil war. He had been extremely successful as a business man, and his interests as a business man have extended over a wide and diversified field. No man in the country had exhibited a more intense loyalty and devotion to the welfare of the veterans of the great struggle between the North and the South. Mr. Coney is a lawyer, … Read more

Biography of Calvin M. Hill

Calvin M. Hill. One of the long established business houses of Topeka, and one which has established itself firmly in the confidence of the public by reason of the honorable manner in which its affairs have been conducted, is the wholesale wall paper and retail paint business of Calvin M. Hill. Mr. Hill has been a resident of Kansas for thirty-four years, having come here with his parents in 1882, and, with the exception of four years has been identified with the painting and decorating business throughout his career. His present enterprise was started in a small way sixteen years … 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 William W. Webb

William W. Webb. A resident of Topeka thirty years, Mr. Webb was at first in the service of the Sants Fe Railway Company, later a merchant, and for many years past had been in the real esfate and insurance business. Successful in private affairs, his enterprise in public matters is worthy of special mention. In 1890 he became identified with the Topeka Commercial Club. Through that medium he had worked in and out of season for the improvement and betterment of his city. He had asslsted in every undertaking prompted by the club, and was particularly active in the movement … Read more