John Madden, of Parsons, but formerly of Emporia, is general attorney for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, having charge of the Kansas law department of the company. This position Mr. Madden has creditably held since 1905, since which year he has resided in Parsons. Previously, and for twelve years he had resided in Emporia, where he practiced law. Before locating in Emporia, Mr. Madden resided at Cottonwood Falls, where he located in 1882, in which year he began the practice of his chosen profession. He studied law under J. Ware Butterfield at Florence, Kan. His preceptor in the law was not only an able lawyer, but also a Latin scholar—being a graduate of Dartmouth College—to whom Mr. Madden became indebted for a portion of his literary education as well as his preparation for the law. He was admitted to the bar in 1879, but having just been elected superintendent of the Marion county schools, Mr. Madden did not enter into the practice of law until he had served one term in that office. At the age of twenty years Mr. Madden became a country school teacher. He won the reputation of a successful teacher, which led to his election to the office of county superintendent of schools. His early education was obtained in the district schools. From an early period in life Mr. Madden possessed a fondness for books and a burning desire for an education. Diligently applying himself to reading and study, he was enabled to secure a teacher's license and to begin school teaching in which he found a stepping stone toward preparing himself for the profession of a lawyer. Mr. Madden was reared on the farm where he learned early in life the valuable lesson of industry and perseverance which became potent factors in the subsequent success of his life. He was not born in Kansas, but since the age of nine years Kansas has been his place of residence. He was born at Muncie, Ind., Feb. 12, 1856. His parents were John and Ellen (Beglie) Madden, who were born in Ireland, but married in Elmira, N. Y., in which state the father engaged in the business of railroad construction, as a contractor. From New York he went to Ohio where he was engaged in the same line of business, and later, having entered into a contract to construct a portion of a railroad in Indiana, he removed his family to Muncie. Subsequently he became a contractor in the construction of drainage canals or ditches in Indiana. In 1861 he established a residence in Anderson, Ind., and in the same year went to Kansas, where he located land in Marion county, and then returned to his family in Indiana. In the fall of 1861 John Madden enlisted in the Union army, and to the defense of the Union he gave three years of loyal service. At the close of his army service he returned to his family in Indiana, and in 1865 brought them to Kansas. They sojourned at Leavenworth until the spring of 1868, when they located on the land which the father had located in Marion county. The land was developed into a farm, but subsequently sold, whereupon the father purchased a farm in Chase county, to which he removed his family. In Chase county the parents continued to reside the rest of their days, the father dying at the age of eighty years and the mother at the age of seventy-nine. They reared three children; John, whose name introduces this review; Dennis, a lawyer of Emporia, and Jere, a mechanic at Hartford, Kan.

In politics Mr. Madden is a Republican. Until he became general attorney for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company, he had been active in political affairs, but owing to the constantly increasing and multifarious duties as the general attorney for this railway company in Kansas Mr. Madden has not found time in late years for politics. Soon after he began the practice of law in Chase county, he was elected attorney for that county, holding the office for two terms. In 1888 he was chosen presidential elector on the Republican ticket. He removed to Emporia in 1893 that his children might have the advantages of the colleges there. He has always manifested a commendable interest in behalf of education. For eight years he served on the board of regents of the Kansas State Normal School, and he has served on the board of trustees of the College of Emporia, and also as a member of the board of education for the city of Parsons.

In 1879 Mr. Madden was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ellsworth, then a resident of Florence, Kan. Mrs. Madden was born in Illinois, from which state her parents removed to Missouri, thence to Kansas in the early seventies. Her father was Col. Henry Leete Ellsworth, a cousin of Col. Elmer Ellsworth of the Civil war, and in which conflict he, himself, served with distinction. Col. Henry Leete Ellsworth went from Kansas to Colorado, and spent his latter days there, dying in Colorado. He was descended from the noted Ellsworth family of Connecticut, on his father's side, while maternally he was descended from the Leete family, of which Governor Leete of Connecticut was the head. The mother of Mrs. Madden bore the maden[sic] name of Elena Martyn, a lady of sterling qualities of heart and mind. Mr. and Mrs. Madden are the parents of four children; May Ellsworth, the wife of Dr. H. G. Whittlesey, of Mexico City, Mexico; Harriett Ellsworth, the wife of R. F. Bailey, business manager of the Salina (Kan.) Journal; Nana Ellsworth, wife of C. E. Cooper, second assistant general attorney for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, at Parsons; and John, Jr., chief clerk in the general attorney's office for that railway, at Parsons. Mr. and Mrs. Madden are members of the Presbyterian church, and sustain prominent social relations. Mr. Madden is well and favorably known throughout Kansas. He has won distinction as a lawyer, forging his own way to the front. Unostentatious, his personality is congenial and pleasing, by reason of which he is deservedly popular with a wide circle of acquaintances.