Charles E. Cowdery, proprietor of the "Daily Sun" at Neodesha, Kan., is of the first rank of the influential business men of that city, and by his character, energy, and shrewdness has not only built up a profitable business for himself but also has been a potent factor in developing a spirit of enterprise and progress in his city. After completing his education in the public schools of Buffalo, Kan., Mr. Cowdery taught two years and then decided to take up newspaper work. He bought a small newspaper at Buffalo, which he published a number of years before his removal to Neodesha, in 1894. There he purchased the "Weekly Sun," which had been established in 1890, and in 1898 bought the "Daily Derrick," changing it to the "Daily Sun." This publication, which he has continued under the latter name, has a large circulation and has proved a profitable business venture. The prosperity which has attended the business career of Mr. Cowdery is the result of determination, industry, and a driving energy, for he has made his daily paper a success where the majority of men would have failed in a town the size of Neodesha. His pluck and success have won admiration and his integrity and worth as a citizen have won him the respect of all who are admitted to his acquaintance.

Mr. Cowdery was born in Iowa, Dec. 12, 1869, a son of Melanchthon and Martha A. (Brooks) Cowdery. The father was a native of Ohio and served throughout the Civil war in the Second Ohio cavalry, first as first lieutenant of his company and later as captain. This regiment saw hard service and early in 1862 was sent westward to Missouri. There, in February, a scouting party of 120 men of this regiment was attacked in the streets of Independence by an equal force under Quantrill, but as the result of the regiment's "first fight" Quantrill was routed in less than a quarter of an hour. While on duty in Kentucky Mr. Cowdery was captured and sent to the infamous Libby prison, where he was held nine months before being released. After the war he returned to Ohio, but later removed to Wisconsin, thence to Iowa, and from there he came to Wilson county, Kansas, in 1871. He was a merchant at Buffalo, Wilson county, a number of years and also engaged in farming, but later removed to Oklahoma, where he conducted a livery stable and boarding house until his death, in 1895; his widow survived him until 1908. He was a Republican up to the time of the Populist movement and thereafter until his death gave his allegiance to the Populist party. Elijah Cowdery, grandfather of Charles E., was a native of Connecticut and a weaver by trade. He, too, responded to the call of the West and came to Kansas, where he resided until his death.

In 1897 Charles E. Cowdery and Elizabeth Longwell of Sedgwick county, Kansas, were married. Two children—Laura and Louise—have been born to them. Mrs. Cowdery is a member of the Baptist church and both our subject and his wife are popular and highly respected citizens of their community.