Topeka Kansas

Biography of James Archibald Campbell

James Archibald Campbell. The Campbell family have been residents of Kansas thirty-five years, and the name is especially well known and prominent in connection with the civic life of Topeka and Shawnee County. James A. Campbell has long been a business man of that city, and his two sons, James A., Jr., and Edwin A. Campbell give a distinction to the family by the fact that at the same time they hold two of the county offices of Shawnee County. James A., Jr., is the present county surveyor, while Edwin A. is the present county treasurer. Before James A. Campbell … Read more

Biography of Louis Van Dorp

Louis Van Dorp. More than thirty-five years a resident of Kansas, Louis Van Dorp, though he arrived in the state with only a few dollars available cash capital, had built up and maintained for years a large and important service as a sheet metal contractor. With his headquarters in Topeka, his contraets have called him and his class of workmen to all parts of the state. A native of Detroit, Michigan, where he was born November 22, 1857, Louis Van Dorp is one of the three children of August and Sophia (Kohn) Van Dorp, both of whom were natives of … Read more

Biography of Samuel McCloud McKeever Wood

Topeka, Kansas, had no more interesting personality among its citizens than Sam Wood, whe still coeupies the beautiful home he and his wife erected many years ago on the northeast corner of Tenth and Fillmore streets. This home is a landmark and spot of beauty in Topeka’s residential district. Mr. and Mrs. Wood personally supervised the eonstruction of the honse and the planning of the grounds. The site occupies six lots and wide, shady parks facing both Tenth and Fillmore streets. There are beautiful trees and shrubbery, and the entire place had that mellowness which is associated with old and … Read more

Biography of John Levi Hunt, Hon.

Hon. John Levi Hunt. It may be said that Hon. John Levi Hunt, assistant attorney-general of Kansas, and member of the leading law firm of Wheeler, Switzer & Hunt, is one of the fortunate men of Topeka. He was fortunate in having a good parentage, a fair endowment of intellect and feeling, a liberal education, in attaching himself to one of the learned professions, and in casting in his lot with the people of Topeka when her enterprises were probably at their fullest tide of development, and under circumstances which enabled him to co-operate in her material growth. While he … Read more

Biography of Frank A. Moss

Frank A. Moss. For over thirty years the name Moss had been significant of the finest integrity and ability in connection with the banking affairs of St. Marys. The First National Bank of that city is practically a product of the financial genius of the Moss family. The founder and for many years the president was the late John A. Moss, and that office is now filed by his son, Frank A. Moss. The late John A. Moss was born in London, England, May 5, 1846, and had an experience that identified him with the frontier towns of Kansas. He … Read more

Biography of Henry Bennett

Henry Bennett, of Topeka, has been a resident of Kansas over forty years. Before coming to Kansas he made an enviable record as a gallant soldier in the Union army, having served with the famous Chicago Board of Trade Battery. He has lived three-quarters of a century, but still retains his youth and the optimism of virile and aggressive manhood. No individual record could be more worthy of a place in Kansas history than that of Henry Bennett. He was one of the two sons of William and Rachel (Ludby) Bennett, and was born at Chicago, Illinois, June 15, 1841. … Read more

Biography of Milton F. Ward

Milton F. Ward. Among the business men of Kansas, there are none more far-seeing and intelligent than those who make up the agricultural class. The career of a farmer is somewhat exacting, in that he may not choose his own times or seasons for labor, for Nature adjusts such matters; but it is not probable that any other vocation gives such large and certain returns for well-directed effort expended. When an agriculturist successfully produces large crops he may be called a capable husbandman, but when he is able also to profitably handle the yield of his fertile fields himself, he … 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

Huey, Wallace G. “Wallie” – Obituary

Wallace G. “Wallie” Huey, 82, a longtime resident of Baker City, died Dec. 19, 2005, at his home with his family by his side. A memorial service has not been scheduled at this time. Wallie was born in Topeka, Kan., to Dwight L. Huey and Mary Alta Davis on Nov. 30, 1923. At the age of 5, he and his mother, father, two sisters and one brother moved to Wendell, Idaho, where he finished his education. After completion of high school, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force, and he served in England as a supply truck driver. Upon receiving … Read more

Biography of William Edward Davis

William Edward Davis is the youngest state auditor Kansas had ever had and one of the youngest men who ever held such an official dignity in any of the states. It may also be added, to express a general opinion current at the capital and over the state, that Mr. Davis’ administration as suditor had been a synonym of efficiency and economy. He represents that splendid type of young American manhood which had drawn attention by its capacity for accomplishment. Though most of his life had been spent in the Middle West, he was born in West Virginia, and his … Read more

Biography of George Octavius Boone

George Octavius Boone had been a resident of Kansas since 1881. In that year he embarked on a career as a commercial traveler, and had been a traveling man now for more than thirty-five years. For several years he represented a Boston shoe firm with headquarters in St. Louis, Baxter Springs, Arkansas City and Longmont, Colorado. Since 1897 his home had been in Topeka, and with the exception of three years he had been connected with the Topeka Daily Capital. The Boone family from whom he is descended had an authentic record of ancestors as far back as 1516. Originally … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Erastus H. Crosby

The Crosby Brothers Co. store of Topeka is not only an institution of that city but of the state at large. It is one of the metropolitan department stores of the Middle West. For thirty-six years or more the firm had been in existence at Topeka, and in that time, more than a generation, the reputation of the firm had become extended, as a result of honorable merchandising, to practically every county of the Sunflower commonwealth. It was in 1880 that Erastus H. Crosby and his brother William T. Crosby, comprising the firm of Crosby Brothers, located in Topeka and … Read more

Biography of Frank Hayden Martin, M. D.

Frank Hayden Martin, M. D. Now practicing medicine and surgery at Lorraine, Ellsworth County, Doctor Martin is widely known to the profession in Kansas, especially through his associations in earlier years with the staff of instruction of the Medical College at Topeka. Few physicians of the state have utilized to a greater degree abundant opportunities for advancement in the science of medicine and surgery. Doctor Martin is of old New England colonial stock. He was born at Gray in the State of Maine March 24, 1852. The Martins came out of England and settled in Massachusetts in colonial times. Doctor … Read more

Biography of Gilbert Leroy Jordan

Gilbert Leroy Jordan. Through persistent aspiration and unceasing labor, Gilbert LeRoy Jordan has won his way to the most satisfying and stable compensation of business life. Still a young man, with his best years before him, he is at the head of one of Topeka’s prominent business establishments, the College Hill Bakery, located at 1509 Lane Street, an enterprise which he has built up solely through his own efforts. Mr. Jordan commenced his business career without the aiding influences afforded by the possession of financial resources and has been the builder of his own fortune. He has kept persistently at … Read more

Biography of George N. Holmes

George N. Holmes. For thirty-two years an employe of the legal department of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, at the general offices at Topeka, few men are better known or more highly respected than is George N. Holmes. Prior to the time he entered the employ of this line, Mr. Holmes had many interesting and remarkable experiences, and his career is one which exemplifies the value of perseverance, fidelity and integrity in gaining position and fortune. George N. Holmes was born at Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, January 11, 1853. His father, George Holmes, was a native of Norfolk, in … Read more

Biography of John S. Rhodes

John S. Rhodes. Thousands of people who possess only a passing knowledge of Topeka, including the whereabouts of the State House and a few other important institutions, have a very definite acquaintance with a certain store on Kansas Avenue, the proprietor of which is John S. Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes has been a resident of Topeka for thirty-six years. It is in no wise detrimental to his dignity to say that he has a “junk” shop. One visiting his establishment is reminded of the “old curiosity shop” of Dickens. His shop contains literally thousands of dollars worth of goods consisting of … Read more

Biography of William D. Paul

William D. Paul, who died January 22, 1912, was one of the pioneer citizens of Shawnee County, and left a permanent memorial to his name and to his enterprise in the Town of Pauline in that county, which he founded. He resided continuonsly in Kansas from 1870 until his death, but had first come to Kansas when it was a territory. He was born August 6th, 1836, on a farm in Belmont County, Ohio, a son of Dunbar W. Panl. When he was quite young his parents died, and thus left an orphan he grew up in the homes of … Read more

Biography of Horace Mann Philips

Horace Mann Philips. Up to twenty-five years ago Horace Mann Philips was a Pennsylvania banker. To look after his investments in Kansas real estate he came West, and the visit made such a strong impression upon his mind that he determined forthwith to identify himself with the growing Sunflower State. He had been a resident of Kansas ever since, was a former county treasurer of Shawnee County, and is now engaged in banking at Dover in that county. Mr. Philips was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1850. He is one of four children, two of whom are still … Read more

Biography of George A. Clark

George A. Clark, now president of the Toneka Title and Bond Company, is a representative of that class of citizen who without special ostentation have been leaders in making Kansas one of the foremost states of the Union. He is a true and typical Kansan by reason of more than thirty-five years of active participation in its life and affairs. In one respect his career had been unusual. The greater part of his life had been passed in newspaper work, ranging in locality from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, but chiefly in Kansas. This work began as “printer’s … Read more

Biography of Jay Palmer Farnsworth

Jay Palmer Farnsworth dates his residence in Muskogee from 1902, and has engaged in the practice of law in this city since 1904, having made steady advance in his profession, in which progress is made only through merit and ability. He came to Oklahoma from Texas, his birth having occurred in San Antonio, February 287 1880, his parents being J. P. and Helen (Bowker) Farnsworth. The father was a chemist, who during the youthful days of his son and namesake removed with the family to Topeka, Kansas, and there Jay P. Farnsworth of this review pursued a public school education. … Read more