Valley Falls Kansas

Biography of Josiah B. McAfee, Rev.

Rev. Josiah B. McAfee was one of the remarkable men of the State of Kansas, and it would be difficult to mention any line of activity or notable development from early pioneer days without giving a full measure of credit to this honored citizen. All over the great expense of the commonwealth may be found the material results of his foresight, judgment and unselfish public spirit, and many of the established educational and religious institutions of the Sunflower State have incorporated in their usefulness the work of his willing hands, great brain and sturdy heart. The birth of Rev. Josiah … Read more

Biography of William Henry Van Meer, M. D.

William Henry Van Meer, M. D. A comparatively recent recruit to the medical fraternity of Elk County, Dr. William Henry Van Meer is a physician and surgeon of more than a quarter of a century of standing and experience. When he entered upon his professional career it was as a man of matured mind, thoroughly alive to the responsibilities of the course which he had chosen, and one whose broad experience in other fields of endeavor had given him a keen insight into human nature, as well as developed his sympathies and spirit of kindliness. During the short time that … Read more

Biography of James D. Corbet

James D. Corbet. A resident of Kansas more than half a century, since early boyhood, James D. Corbet is one of the substantial farmers and stock raisers of Shawnee County. His life and career is one worthy in every respect of emulation. He had been enterprising and progressive and having acquired success as a business man had devoted a goodly tithe of his means and his energies to the public welfare. He had been especially intezested in the advancement of public schools. His is an ancestral history of unusual interest. The family is of French origin, and at the time … Read more

Biography of J. T. B. Gephart

J. T. B. Gephart is president of the Citizens State Bank of City Falls, Jefferson County. Mr. Gephart had been prominently associated with banking in that old town of Kansas for over thirty-four years. The present Citizens State Bank is the logical successor of the old Hicks, Gephart & Company, which was instituted as a private banking house in 1871 by Mr. S. C. Gephart and W. C. Hicks. On the death of Mr. Hicks in 1878 he was succeeded by W. F. Hicks, and the death of S. C. Gephart in 1882 brought his son J. T. B. Oephart … Read more

Biography of Henry W. McAfee

Henry W. McAfee. Of the men who have been contributing factors in the development and progress of Shawnee County, none have given in greater degree of their time, talents and energies to the general advancement than had Henry W. McAfee, proprietor of Prospect Farm, lying two miles west of the City of Topeka, on the Sixth Street road just west of Gage Park. A resident of this property for more than thirty-eight years, Mr. McAfee had been identified with numerous enterprises for general betterment, but it is, perhaps, as a promoter of good roads movements that he is best known … Read more

Biography of C. B. Goodrich

C. B. Goodrich. A life of quiet effectiveness, marked by a record of many duties well done and many responsibilities faithfully fulfilled, was that of the late, C. B. Goodrich, who died in Lawrence in 1910 at the age of sixty-six. He was one of those quiet unassuming men, rarely known to the world in general, but worthily filling the niche in the affairs of life allotted to them. Of Canadian nativity, born at Sarnia, he was brought to the United States when very young and was reared in and about Kankakee, Illinois. The first service in his quiet routine … Read more

Biography of William A. Smith

William A. Smith, a prominent young lawyer of Jefferson County and now serving as county attorney, is also one of Kansas’ young soldiers and now awaiting the call to the colors to serve with the American armies in the war with Germany. He was born at Valley Falls, Kansas, December 30, 1888. He is descended from old American stock. His ancestors came from England about 1636, and were identified with the Rhode Island and Providence plantations colonization project of Roger Williams. His grandfather, Miller Smith, was born at Providence, Rhode Island, was a carpenter by trade, moved out to Missouri in 1841, … Read more