Wabaunsee County KS

Settlers at Dragoon Creek after 1865

Among the families coming into the Dragoon creek settlement after the spring of 1865 may be mentioned Jeremiah Fields and wife Betsey, with their two married sons and son-in-law: Joseph Fields and family of six persons; John L. Fields and family of five persons; James M. Johnson and family of four persons; they all came from Ohio in September, 1865. Caleb J. Harvey, formerly of Ohio, but later a teacher at the Quaker Shawnee Indian mission, came in December, 1865. Squire Cantrill, unmarried, came from Ohio in 1867; he later married a Miss Burroughs. Upon her death he married her … Read more

Biography of Lewis J. Lamar

Lewis J. Lamar, present mayor of the Town of McFarland, is a veteran railroad man, though by no means old in point of years of life. He became self supporting at the age of sixteen, and therefore had had an active career much longer than his age would indicate. Mr. Lamar was born at Nashville, Illinois, July 31, 1879. His grandfather was a Frenchman and on coming to America settled in Pennsylvania, where he married into a family of Pennsylvania Dutch. Lewis J. Lamar’s maternal grandmother was a member of the Hanks family and was a sister of the mother … Read more

Biography of William J. Stewart, M. D.

William J. Stewart, M. D. His first years in. Kansas Doctor Stewart spent in the role of a practical farmer, but since finishing his medical course had been in successful practice as a physician and surgeon at Summerfield, Marshall County. Doctor Stewart is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grandfather, William Stewart, was born at Strabane, Ireland, in 1808, and married Nancy Wilson, a native of the same place, born in 1806. Both of them were of Scotch-Irish families. They married in the old country and all their children were born in Ireland as follows: Charles, who became a farmer and died … Read more

Post Civil War Times at Dragoon Creek

The settlers along Dragoon creek received their mail at the post office of Wilmington until the fall of 1869, when a new mail route was established from Burlingame, running up Dragoon creek, to Alma, the county seat of Wabaunsee county, a distance of about thirty-eight miles. A post office was located on the northeast quarter of section 28, township 14 south, range 13 east. The Post-office Department at Washington, D. C, requested the settlers to designate a name for the post office and nominate a postmaster. At a called meeting of the settlers the name New Lexington was selected for … 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 Mrs. Laura E. Newell

The gift of poetry, that beautiful art which is the product of the imaginative powers and fancy and bears an appeal to these powers, perhaps dumb, in others, sets a little apart its possessor from the everyday experiences of the majority. That its highest development, however, by no means interferes with life’s duties and responsibilities, finds proof in the career of Mrs. Laura E. Newell, a sweet singer of Kansas, who had written some of the most touching and the most inspiring poems of her day and generation. Mrs. Newell was born at New Marlborough, Connecticut, February 5, 1854. In … Read more

Biography of Sherman Mertz

Sherman Mertz. A little more than a quarter of a century ago Sherman Mertz was working as a farm hand in Kansas. He had that quality in him which would not permit him to remain long dependent on an employer’s service, and with a very modest capital and perhaps on borrowed money he began farming for himself. Today Mr. Mertz is rated as one of the most successful and substantial citizens of Wabaunsee, where he is both a farmer and a large property owner. Mr. Mertz was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, near the City of Burlington, October 9, … Read more

Dragoon Creek During the Civil War

As a result of the admission of Kansas as a free state and the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, seven of the southern states seceded and organized an army in rebellion against the United States government. April 15, 1861, President Lincoln made the first call for soldiers to put down the rebellion, and for the war which followed Kansas furnished more troops according to her population than any other state in the Union. Dragoon creek settlement furnished a large proportion. All the able-bodied men were in the volunteer service, the militia against Price and his … Read more

Biography of William Ross Phillips

William Ross Phillips. During a residence in Shawnee County of more than forty-five years, William Ross Phillips had proved himself one of the ablest and most resourceful farmers in the Kaw Valley. Hard work and a sober industrious life have had their rewards in this case. There is an interesting evidence of his prosperity in the shape of tax receipts. His first tax receipt in Kansas was for five dollars. In 1915 he paid in taxes on his lands $236. His farm comprises fifty acres in the home place, and 160 acres in Menoken Township, of rich bottom lands in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William F. Riley

William F. Riley, is a well known banker of Topeka but he laid the foundation of his prosperity as a farmer and stock raiser in Wabaunsee County. He had been a resident of the state since 1883, and his family is one that had performed its full share of services in the development of the Sunnflower Commonwealth during the last thirty-three years. Born in Muskingum County, Ohio, January 10, 1871, William F. Riley is the youngest of eight children. His parents were John and Christiann (McDonald) Riley. During his residence in Ohio his father followed sheep raising and farming. On … Read more

Emigration to Kansas

I kept in correspondence with Thompson Blair, and in one of his letters he minutely described the trail from Leavenworth to the settlement where he and his brother Willard were located, and I determined to join them at my first opportunity. After earning a little more than one hundred dollars above expenses, I left my home in Iowa for Kansas, on the morning of September 1, 1857. The nearest railroad station was Dyersville, distant about thirty-five miles west from Dubuque, so father hitched up his team and took me and my trunk some ten miles from home to a point … Read more

Biography of Samuel Bateman Chapman

Samuel Bateman Chapman is the leading lumber merchant at Eskridge, and had been a Kansas business man for a number of years. This branch of the Chapman family had its original seat in England and Mr. Chapman’s ancestors were colonial settlers in Maryland. His father, Joshna Thomas Chapman, was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in 1817. At the age of seven he accompanied his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Chapman, to Meigs County, Ohio, where the grandfather cleared up a portion of the wilderness and converted it into a farm. He spent the rest of his life 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

Gold Digger’s, Indians, and the Santa Fe Trail

In 1858 and 1859, during the period of the Pike’s Peak gold excitement, large numbers of gold hunters passed over the trail for the new diggings. Some of these were driving good teams and wagons, some were on horseback, others had small push carts, and some even wheelbarrows, loaded with all their earthly possessions tied in a small roll. During one day in 1859 three hundred and twenty-five vehicles by actual count crossed at the ford on Elm creek, near the old mail station. At the height of the gold excitement it was not unusual thing for five hundred vehicles … Read more

Biography of Julius Terrass Willard, Prof.

Not so many years ago many men regarded the application of science to agriculture as an idle theory and it is within the lifetime of such men as Prof. Julius Terrass Willard, dean of the division of general science, professor of chemistry, and chemist of the agricultural experiment station, in the Kansas State Agricultural College, at Manhattan, that these doubters have been convinced. Applied science had not only revolutionized many phases of agriculture but is bringing this most important of industries to the forefront in scholarly study and research. America had held her position for many years as a granary … Read more

Biography of Joseph Cameron Lockhart

Joseph Cameron Lockhart, a veteran Union soldier and a resident of Kansas for nearly forty-five years, had had a successful business career as a farmer and rancher and is now enjoying the fruits of his well spent lifetime at Eskridge in Wabaunsee County. Mr. Lockhart was born in Salem Township of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1838, and is now in his eightieth year, still active and vigorous for all his experiences. The Lockhart ancestors were Scotch and settled in Pennsylvania in colonial times. His father, George Lockhart, was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in 1807, spent his life there … Read more

Biography of Frederick J. Wagner M.D.

Frederick J. Wagner, M. D. A resident of McFarland, Kansas, for about eight years, Doctor Wagner had found many responsibilities and pleasant relationships with that community, where he is a well known and capable physician, a druggist and present incumbent of the office of postmaster. Doctor Wagner is a native of Chicago, where he was born January 15, 1883. His father, Charles Wagner, was born in Waldek, Germany, in 1855, and at the age of seventeen accompanied his three brothers to America. Locating in Chicago, he became a well known business man, building a wholesale and retail grocery establishment and … Read more

Biography of Charles Jeffreys Buckingham

The experiences of Charles J. Buckingham in Kansas cover almost half century. He came to the state in 1868, was for many years successfully identified with the farming, stockraising and public life of Leavenworth and Wabaunsee County, but in 1912 retired and moved to Topeka, where he enjoys the comforts of a city home at 1029 Lane Street. He was born in 1837, in Clermont County, near Miamiville, Ohio. His people were among the earliest and most prominent pioneers of this section of Southern Ohio. His gradfather, Enoch, a native of Pennsylvania, was one of the first white men to … Read more

Biography of Willis G. Weaver

Willis G. Weaver, former clerk of the District Court of Wabaunsee County, had for many years been engaged in the abstract, real estate, loan and insurance business at Alma. He is one of the most widely known men in the county. Mr. Weaver was born at New London, Connecticut, January 7, 1864, but had lived in this part of Kansas since he was a small child. The Weaver family were identified with New England from the earliest period of settlement. It is said that they came out of England and settled in Massachusetts in 1636. Mr. Weaver’s father was the … Read more

Biography of William Harry Little, M. D.

William Harry Little, M. D. The community of Alta Vista in Wabaunsee County had had the capable services of Doctor Little as a physician for more than fifteen years. In connection with his large practice Doctor Little also conducts the leading drug store of the village. Doctor Little is a native of Ohio, but had spent most of his life in Kansas. He was born in Lucas County, near the City of Toledo, November 5, 1868. He is of colonial American stock, originally from Scotland. His people were early settlers in Pennsylvania and pioneers in the State of Ohio. His … Read more