Washington County KS

Biography of S. T. Yoder

S. T. Yoder, vice president of the Farmers State Bank of Washington, had been a Kansas business man for over thirty years and had acquired many important interests to identify him with Washington County. Mr. Yoder is of the old Pennsylvania stock of Yoders, a family that originated in Switzerland and was planted in Pennsylvania during the very early colonial period in that state. Mr. Yoder himself is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Somerset County May 3, 1851. His father, Benedict Yoder, who was born in the same county, spent his life in that county as an active farmer, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Ira Mahaffey

Ira Mahaffey has for two terms, two years each, been the affable and courteous clerk of the District Court at Concordia. Few people entirely appreciate the ability and tact required for the successful administration of such an office. Not only must the records be properly kept, legible and correct and easily grasped by the ordinary mind, but the clerk himself must be accommodating and at all times genial and attentive to those who have business with his office. All these qualities Mr. Mahaffey possesses and more too. Politically he is a republican, and while he is a strong believer in … Read more

Biography of Arnold R. Hoffmann

Arnold R. Hoffmann. It is the business of every man to get ahead in the world, to provide for himself and those dependent upon him, and to perform with all due diligence and faithfulness those duties which are a part of home making and citizenship. From the time he was a boy with a boy’s strength Arnold R. Hoffmann had proved equal to all emergencies and by hard work had become one of the leading business men and stock breeders in Washington County, Kansas. His home is at Haddam. Mr. Hoffmann was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, March 14, 1868, but … Read more

Biography of James Covington Ingman

James Covington Ingman has lived in Kansas since 1885, and accumulated and until recent years activsly managed a large amount of farming property in the vicinity of Barnes. He is now living retired, at the age of seventy-eight, and had made his own way in the world since early boyhood. Mr. Ingman was born at Summerford in Madison County, Ohio, June 14, 1839. He is of English ancestry. One of his ancestors served in the Revolutionary war. The family were early settlers in Tennessee and later in Virginia. His graudfather, Henry Ingman was born in Virginia in 1777, and at … Read more

Biography of William James Phillips M. D.

William James Phillips, M. D. The community of Beaumont, Kansas, esteems Dr. William J. Phillips as its pioneer physician and surgeon and as a man whose capable efforts have been directed through a long period of years largely to the service of his fellow men. Doctor Phillips had gained his best recognition in a comparatively limited community, and had been well satisfied to do his work there and to merit the esteem and respect of those closest to him. Many men more widely known have not accomplished so much in that work which is so vitally necessary to human welfare. … Read more

Biography of August Soller

August Soller. With all the wealth of opportunity America presents to young men of ambition it required exceptional ability, long perseverance and character to attain such an enviable position as August Soller now enjoys as a banker and business man at Washington. Even a brief outline of his career is an object lesson in American achievement. He was born in Switzerland, August 27, 1857. Left an orphan at an early age, having only the bare fundamentals of an education, he determined to come to America. As a boy he worked in factories and in other lines of employment and finally … Read more

Biography of Charles Elda Banker

Charles Elda Banker, city clerk of Salina, had been a resident of Saline County forty years, and his family is one of the best known in this section of the state. His father was the late John A. Banker, who was especially well known for his services as a landscape gardener in Saline County, and also had the distinction of establishing the first nursery in the county. John A. Banker was born near Germantown, Ohio, December 25, 1848. He followed farming for many years in Ohio, subsequently became a merchant at Germantown, but in 1877 brought his family to Kansas … Read more

Biography of Walter E. Wilson

Walter E. Wilson, banker and business man at Washington, is the present bank commissioner of Kansas. His appointment had brought additional credit upon Governor Capper’s administration as one of those that reflect thorough business administration of state affairs. A native of Kansas and of a pioneer family, Mr. Wilson was born at Manhattan August 21, 1871. He is of an old Virginia family, the Wilsons having come from England and first settled at Jamestown in Colonial times and afterwards moving to the western portion of the state in what is now West Virginia. Their affiliations were all with the North … Read more

Biography of William Jacobs, M. D.

William Jacobs, M. D. By the activities of a long and successful career Dr. William Jacobs is identified with the great plains period of the West before railroads were built across the continent, also with business and official affairs, and had for more than forty years been a resident of Washington County and only recently retired from an active practice as a physician and surgeon. Doctor Jacobs is still active in affairs as president of the Farmers State Bank of Washington. He was born at St. Louis, Missouri, December 19, 1844, and is now in his seventy-third year. His grand-father, … Read more

Biography of John W. Roberts

John W. Roberts, educator, superintendent of the city schools at Sedan, had attained prominence in educational circles in Southeastern Kansas, and though a native of the City of Topeka he represents one of the oldest and most noted families of Oskaloosa. Both his grandfather and father were men of distinction in the newspaper profession and his grandfather edited one of the early free state papers of Kansas. The family of which he is a member originated in England, and there were four of the Roberts brothers who came to America in Colonial times, one of them settling in New York, … Read more

Biography of W. A. Blair

W. A. Blair, editor and proprietor of the Oswego Independent, has had a long and successful experience in Kansas journalism, has owned several papers in the southeastern part of the state, and has always been a live and vigorous citizen and for four years was county clerk of Labette County. He is a native Kansan, having been born in Washington County January 30, 1879. His paternal ancestors were Irish. His grandfather Andrew Blair was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and spent his life there. For many years he was engaged in the limestone industry and also owned a large amount … Read more

Biography of Elmore W. Snyder

Elmore W. Snyder. A resident of Kansas since 1878, and with possibly one exception the oldest living bank president in the state, Elmore W. Snyder, president of the Manufacturers National Bank of Leavenworth, had been actively identified with the commercial and financial history of Kansas for nearly forty years. He was born in the Village of Red Creek, Wayne County, New York, November 23, 1850. Jacob Snyder, his great-grandfather, settled in that section of York State in pioneer times and operated a grist mill for many years. His grandfather, Amos Snyder, was there reared, engaged in farming, practiced law and … Read more

Biography of Paul C. Swan

Paul C. Swan, of Washington, is an all around and thorough business man, and had demonstrated his ability to handle many varied enterprises successfully. He is a native of Kansas and had spent most of his active business career in the northern part of the state. His birth occurred in Republic County, August 5, 1868. His grandfather Swan was a Scotchman who immigrated from his native land to Canada. His father, J. W. Swan, was born at Toronto, Ontario, in 1843, and when a boy went with his parents to Wisconsin, where he grew up and married at Stevens Point. … Read more

Biography of William H. Kozel

William H. Kozel. One of the most prominent business men of Washington County is William H. Kozel, whose interests are concerned with many of the important industries of the little town of Morrowville. Mr. Kezel is a clear-headed business man and had won his success through his own unaided efforts. He had gained a most enviable position in the business world and for a number of years had been doubtless the chief factor in the upbuilding of his particular community. Mr. Kozel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 23, 1865, but had spent most of his life in Kansas. He … Read more

Biography of Horace E. Potter, M. D.

Horace E. Potter, M. D., had been located at Clifton for over thirty years, and besides his successful associations with the profession is a man of high standing and wide repute for his active relations with community affairs. Doctor Potter came to Kansas on his graduation from medical college. He was born in Henry County, Illinois, December 25, 1858. His ancestry is Scotch and his forefathers came from Scotland to Connecticut in colonial times. His father, Loren E. Potter, was also a physician. He was born at Potter’s Corners near Buffalo in Erie County, New York, in 1822. When he … Read more

Tinney, J. C. Mrs. – Obituary

Mrs. Elizabeth Isabelle Tinney died June 30 at her home on 337 El Redondo. Mrs. Tinney, who is well known in Redondo, having been a resident there for three years, was born in Washington County, Kansas, in1880. She was married in 1899, and is survived by her husband, Mr. James Tinney, three daughters, Mrs. Edna Tinney Malone of Oregon, Mrs. Zutubulla Tinney Lytton, and Ida Tinney of Redondo Beach, and one son, Clarence Tinney of Redondo; also four brothers, George Stein of Oklahoma, John and Herman stein of Kansas, and Albert Stein of New York. Funeral services were held Thursday … Read more

Biography of Edward A. Hood

Edward A. Hood, cashier of the Greenleaf State Bank, had had an active career in Kansas for a number of years, at first in the lumber business and leter as a banker. Mr. Hood did not begin life as the son of a wealthy family, but had gained his opportanities by hard work and constant vigilance. He was born at Salem, Arkansas, October 5, 1878. His ancestors in the paternal line were Scotch people. His grandfather, Graham W. Hood, was born in Scotland, came to this country when a young man and settled in Missouri among the pioneers, and for … Read more

Biography of Edwin W. Shearburn, M. D.

Edwin W. Shearburn, M. D. A resident of Haddam, Kansas, since 1902, Doctor Shearburn is one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Washington County, and in surgery he takes rank among the ablest men of his profession in the state. Doctor Shearburn is of English lineage. His father, George Lionel Shearburn, was born in Yorkshire County, England, in 1818, and grew up and married in his native country, where he followed the business of farming, stock raising and was also a skilled veterinarian. On coming to the United States in 1848 he located on a farm in Macoupin County, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of David E. Ballard

A native of Franklin County, Vermont, David E. Ballard is a leading citizen and a prosperous farmer of Washington, and looks back with still keen interest to the days of nearly sixty years ago, when he assisted in the civil organization of his county and his state. He was born March 20, 1837, of English and Revolutionary ancestors. When he was a boy his father, Appleton Ballard, moved to Morrow County, Ohio, not to cultivate the land, but to provide his family with a home while he fared forth on the high seas of the East. While thus engaged, he … Read more

Biography of A. J. Whitmore

A. J. Whitmore is an old timer in Kansas, having been identified with this state most of the time since 1885. He has been well known both in business and in public affairs, and for a number of years has lived in Tepeka. He was born in Lake County, Illinois, in 1859. His father William D. Whitmore was born in Seneca County, Ohio, in 1836, a son of James Whitmore, who was born in Lockport, New York, in 1794. James Whitmore was an early settler in Ohio, and in 1837 took his family to Illinois and secured a homestead in … Read more