Humbert Riddle, a resident of Emporia ad a lawyer by profession, was born in Fowler, Ind., Jan. 14, 1878. He a son of Taylor and Caroline M. (Kious) Riddle. His father was born in Illinois, a son of Jackson Riddle, an early settler of Illinois and a successful farmer and cattleman, who died at Monticello, Ind. The mother of Humbert Riddle was a daughter of James Kious. In 1878 Taylor Riddle removed his family to Kansas, in which state he and his wife have since resided, Marion being their present place of residence. He has followed agricultural pursuits with gratifying success, and served for a number of years as a member of the live stock sanitary commission. In politics Taylor Riddle is a Democrat. In the days of the Populist political party he affiliated prominently with that party, being chairman of the state central committee in 1898. In an early day he served as deputy sheriff of Marion county.

Humbert Riddle was brought to Kansas by his parents when he was less than one year old, and he was not only reared in the state, but has always resided within its borders. He graduated at the high school of Marion, Kan., and then became the private secretary of Hon. Frank Doster, at that time chief justice of the supreme court of the state. Mr. Riddle remained with Judge Doster for several years, during which he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1901, and began the practice of law in the office of Judge Doster, then attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. On coming to Emporia he practiced law in the office of the late I. E. Lambert, and then became a member of the law firm of Huggins, Ganse & Riddle, now one of the leading law firms of Emporia. In politics Mr. Riddle is a Democrat, and in 1910 he was the unsuccessful candidate of his party for justice of the supreme court, being the youngest man ever nominated for that office in Kansas.

In 1905 Mr. Riddle married Miss Maude Ricards of Marion, Kan., and they have two children, namely: Caroline L. and Humbert. Mrs. Riddle is a daughter of Benjamin Ricards, a veteran of the Civil war, who languished for eighteen months in the notorious Andersonville prison, being one of the few survivors of its horrors.