Biography of John M. Morley

John M. Morley has devoted practically his untire career to the business of banking, is one of the largest private bankers in Northeastern Kansas, is sole owner of the Bank of Severance and is also president of the State Bank of Purcell. Born at Mason in Warren County, Ohio, November 23, 1852, he is of Catholic parentage and ancestry, His grandfather, John Morley, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and spent his life there as a farmer. Boger Morley, father of John M., was a territorial pioneer in Kansas. Born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1829, he came to this … Read more

Biography of Thomas C. Biddle, M. D.

Thomas C. Biddle, M. D. Superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Topeka, Doctor Biddle had long been prominent in his profession in Kansas, where he had practiced as a private physiclan or in connecton with the public service for thirty-five years. His name is well known among the profession not only over Kansas, but his work as superintendent of hospitals for the insane had attracted favorable attention over the country at large. He belongs to a prominent family, of the same branch that produced Nicholas Biddle, one of the first secretaries of the treasury, and many other … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Elgin

William Elgin is a native of Ohio, born in Wayne County, May 28, 1827. When he was four years of age his parents moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, and until he reached his twentieth year he attended school in that County, and also learned the cabinet-maker’s trade and spent some tine in farming. In 1849 he went to Dayton, Ohio, and from thence to Logansport, Indiana, working at his trade in both cities. At the end of two years he returned to Montgomery County and turned his attention to farming. After this he removed to Warren County, and enlisted, in … Read more

Biography of Robert M. Todd

Robert M. Todd is an old timer of Halstead, had lived there more or less continuously for the past forty-three years, and during the greater part of that time followed his trade as a carpenter and builder. He is now manager of the Farmers Elevator Company and had been very much in public affairs, having filled the offices of mayor and postmaster among others. Mr. Todd is an Ohio man by birth, having been born in Warren County, January 27, 1851. He is in either the fifth or sixth generation of the family in America. The Todds are Scotch-Irish people … Read more

Biographical Sketch of W. J. Ashmore

W. J. Ashmore, dealer in boots and shoes (firm of Ashmore & Mitchell), Charleston; was born in Coles Co., Ill., May 15, 1853; he is the youngest son of Samuel C. Ashmore, who came to Coles Co. among the early settlers, and entered a large tract of Government land, and when Douglas Co. was formed, the line passed through the middle of his land; he was a prominent farmer and stock-raiser, and for many years held the office of Justice of the Peace. He died in 1855; his widow Sarah Ashmore and six children still surviving. The son, W. J. … Read more

Biography of Joseph Kennedy Hudson, General

Gen. Joseph Kennedy Hudson. One of the ablest soldiers of Kansas and most determined fighter for the free-state movement, the late General Hudson will have a lasting fame not only for what he did in the trying years of Kansas’ youth, but also as founder and for many years editor of the Topeka Capital. It was his resourcefulness as a practical newspaper man and his wonderful ability as an editor and molder of public opinion that gave the Capital its wide influence and standing as a journal, and the history of the Kansas Press had no more notable figure than … Read more

Biography of Abram A. Raub, M. D.

Abram A. Raub, M. D. One of the oldest and best known physicians and citizens of Kansas is Dr. Abram A. Raub of Topeka, who came to this state in 1879. Doctor Raub is a veteran of the Civil war. During part of his service he was assistant surgeon in the army, and has been practicing medicine for fully half a century. Doctor Raub was forty years of age when he came to Kansas, having been born in 1839 at Blairstown, New Jersey. His father was Philip Raub, also a native of Blairstown. The grandfather emigrated from the Rhine provinces … Read more

Biography of John Quincy Smith

John Quincy Smith. The career of J. Quincy Smith, of Fredonia, had been an expression of well directed and diversified industry and in its development had invaded various fields of human activity, in each of which J. Q. Smith had won a full measure of material success and satisfying reputation. He had had experience in both professional and business labors, and while he is now retired from the activities of life, having approached the Psalmist’s three-score-and-ten years, is still an influence for good in his community and a citizen whose help and support continue to be factors for the development … Read more

Biography of Daniel A. Van Sickle

Daniel A. Van Sickle, proprietor of the Charleston Hotel, Charleston; was born in Trenton, Butler Co., Ohio, Oct. 20, 1833, being the oldest son of J. C. and Belinda (Craig) Van Sickle; his father was born in Trenton, Ohio, May 31, 1811, and his mother at Ball’s Ferry, on the Miami River, in Butler Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1815. The family consisted of nine children, as follows-Daniel A. Jasper, born Jan. 3, 1836, and died Nov. 12, 1868; Sally A., born March 19, 1838; Caroline, born June 20, 1841, and died Feb. 26, 1866; John Wesley, born March 18, 1843; … Read more

Roll Of Capt. George Kesling’s Company

(Probably from Warren Co.) Served from September 27, until October 20, 1812. Capt. George Kesling Lieut. William Slaiback Lieut. John T. Ross Sergt. William Bills Sergt. Stephen Minor Sergt. John McCormac Privates Aldridg, Joseph Bilderback, Gabriel Blackford, John Boosoe, Henry Bordman, John Carvell, Jacob Casaairt, Henry Cornell, Sylvanus Ellis, Isaac Foley, William Hatfield, Clark Headley, William Long, John Long, Minor Lowen, James A Mansfield, John Mays, John mays. Samuel McCall, Robert S. McCann, Alexander McLean, Aaron McManis Robert Montford, David Moore, Nathan Morehead, John Morgan, Joe” Mullin, William Noble, Joshua Ray, William Richardson, Daniel Steel, Joseph Stires, Ralph Stonebraker, Jacob … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry King

It is not the rule for men to follow the trade or profession to which they are best adapted and to achieve the dominant ambition of their lives. This inclination and result can in absolute truth be said of Capt. Henry King. He learned the printer’s trade because the attraction was irresistible, and advanced from the composing room and hand press to the editorial desk because he must have foreseen the work he was best fitted to do. His taste and capacity were for writing, a natural force impelling him to reduce the workings of his mind to written form–and … Read more

Biography Of Joseph Gardner

The ancestors of Joseph Gardner were descended from Quaker stock which landed upon the shores of Nantucket Island in 1620. Later they lived in North Carolina and emigrated from there to the Territory of Indiana in the latter part of the eighteenth century. It was in Union County, Indiana, that Joseph Gardner was born in July, 1820. His parents, William Gardner and Mary Hollingsworth, were ardently opposed to slavery, hence adhered to the anti-slavery wing of the Quaker Church. Upon attaining his majority, Joseph Gardner aligned himself with the Abolitionists and finally died fighting for the freedom of the slaves. … Read more

Roll Of Capt. Samuel Caldwell’s Company

(Probably from Warren County). Served from August 23, until September 18, 1812. Capt. Samuel Caldwell Lieut, John C. Death Lieut. Thomas Covenhoven Cornet, Robert Young Sergt. Stephen Reeder Sergt. Daniel Storms Sergt. Joseph Crane Sergt. James Death, Jr. Q. M. Sergt. James W. Lanier Corp. Samuel Campbell Corp. William Harrison Corp. Christian Petfish Corp. Joseph Parks, Jr. Privates Abbott, John Allen, John Baldwin William Barnett, John Bell Benjamin Bowersack, David Craig, Obadiah Death, Bazil Death, James E. Death, Samuel Debrock, Alexander Ferris, Joseph Flinn, Daniel Galbraith, Joseph Gordon, George Hammel, Joseph Irwin, David Jordan, John Keslin, Peter Lang, Charles McClure, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Edward Patterson

Patterson, William Edward; lawyer; born, Hunter, O., Feb. 5, 1873; educated, Mt. Union College, Alliance, O., Ph. B., 1893; West Virginia University, class of 1895, LL. B; married, Cleveland, Nov. 1, 1911, Bertha Marian Pierce; in 1895, admitted to the bar in. West Virginia; practiced at Wheeling, 1895-3897; came to Cleveland in 1897; since 1910, member of the firm of Patterson & Nieding; treas. Forest City Woolen Mills Co.; sec’y Cleveland Estates Co.; director Euclid Stone & Brick Co.; pres. American Investment Co. and Guaranty Electric Heater Co.; all Masonic degrees (Iris Lodge, Oriental Commandery, Al Koran Shrine, 32nd degree); … Read more

Biography of Frank H. Roberts

Frank H. Roberts is proprietor and editor of the Oskaloosa Independent. The Independent enjoys distinction among Kansas newspapers. It was established in 1860 by his father, the late John W. Roberts. It had been published continuously and successfully during all the intervening years by father and son. No other newspaper in Kansas had been published so many years in one locality. The town let in Oskaloosa where John W. Roberts began his pioneer enterprise as a newspaper publisher fifty-seven years ago is still the site of the present plant of the Independent, and in this quality of permanence and stability, … Read more

Slave Narrative of Celia Henderson

Interviewer: Miriam Logan Person Interviewed: Celia Henderson Location: Ohio Place of Birth: Hardin County, Kentucky Date of Birth: 1849 Age: 88 Miriam Logan Lebanon, Ohio MRS. CELIA HENDERSON, aged 88 Born Hardin County, Kentucky in 1849 (drawing of Celia Henderson) [TR: no drawing found] “Mah mammy were Julia Dittoe, an pappy, he were name Willis Dittoe. Dey live at Louieville till mammy were sold fo’ her marster’s debt. She were a powerful good cook, mammy were-an she were sol’ fo to pay dat debt.” “She tuk us four chillen ‘long wid her, an pappy an th’ others staid back in … Read more

Biography of John Quincy Smith

John Quincy Smith. The career of J. Quincy Smith, of Fredonia, had been an expression of well directed and diversified industry and in its development had invaded various fields of human activity, in each of which J. Q. Smith had won a full measure of material success and satisfying reputation. He had had experience in both professional and business labors, and while he is now retired from the activities of life, having approached the Psalmist’s three-score-and-ten years, is still an influence for good in his community and a citizen whose help and support continue to be factors for the development … Read more

Biography of Charles W. Sample

Charles W. Sample has been a business man at Kingman nearly forty years and had been closely identified with the commercial affairs of that city, as a land owner, banker and in real estate and loans. Mr. Sample was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, October 29, 1851. His ancestors came out of Ireland and settled in Virginia in colonial days. His grandfather, Andrew Sample, was a pioneer farmer in Indiana and died in Jefferson County in that state in 1854. George W. Sample, father of Charles W., was born in Jefferson County, Indiana, in 1815, a date which indicates the … Read more

Slave Narrative of Samuel Sutton

Interviewer: Miriam Logan Person Interviewed: Samuel Sutton Location: Lebanon, Ohio Place of Birth: Garrett County Kentucky Date of Birth: 1854 Miriam Logan, Lebanon, Ohio Warren County, Dist. 2 July 2, 1937 Interview with SAMUEL SUTTON, Ex Slave. Born in Garrett County, Kentucky, in 1854 (drawing of Sutton) [TR: no drawing found] “Yes’em, I sho were bo’n into slavery. Mah mothah were a cook-(they was none betteah)-an she were sold four times to my knownin’. She were part white, for her fathah were a white man. She live to be seventy-nine yeahs an nine months old.” “Ah was bo’n in Garrett … Read more

Slave Narrative of Reverend Williams

Interviewer: Miriam Logan Person Interviewed: Rev. Williams Location: Lebanon, Ohio Place of Birth: Greenbriar County, West Virginia Date of Birth: 1859 Age: 76 Occupation: Methodist minister Miriam Logan Lebanon, Ohio July 8th Warren County, District 2 Story of REVEREND WILLIAMS, Aged 76, Colored Methodist Minister, Born Greenbriar County, West Virginia (Born 1859) “I was born on the estate of Miss Frances Cree, my mother’s mistress. She had set my grandmother Delilah free with her sixteen children, so my mother was free when I was born, but my father was not. “My father was butler to General Davis, nephew of Jefferson … Read more