KSGenWeb Digital Library Biographical Sketch of Robert Waugh Brown County, Kansas

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The following transcription is from a 750 page book titled "Genealogical and Biographical Record of North-Eastern Kansas, dated 1900.  These have been diligently transcribed and generously contributed by Penny R. Harrell, please give her a very big Thank You for her hard work!

Robert Waugh

Among the more recent arrivals in Brown county who have taken a prominent place in the ranks of the leading farmers and representative citizens of the community is Robert Waugh, who came to Mission township in 1888 and purchased the Judge Clayton farm, a fine old country seat.

Previous to his arrival here he was in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad twenty-one years.  He is a native of Canada, his birth having occurred near Toronto, in 1823.  His father, William Waugh, was a native of Scotland, and later arriving at years of maturity he married Miss Pevy McDale, also born in the land of hills and heather.

Having become residents of Canada, they reared their son Robert in Toronto, where he learned the machinist's trade.  Later he found employment in the McQueen Locomotive Works at Schenectady, New York.  While employed there he was selected to deliver the first two locomotives placed on the Great Western Railroad.

Subsequently he was made the chief engineer of the steamer Chief Justice Waite, running between Toronto, Canada and Lewiston, New York.  This position he filled for two years, when he accepted a position in the shops of the Niagara Falls & Buffalo Railroad, now a part of the New York Central.

In 1854 he removed to Chicago and entered the employ of the Rock Island Railroad Company as engineer, his run being from Chicago to Rock Island and this position he filled for fifteen years, when he accepted the position of foreman in the Rock Island shops in Chicago.  In 1885 he was deprived of his position on account of his activity in the Society of Locomotive Engineers and his belief in unions.

He then entered the employ of the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad Company, and in 1867 he removed to Grand Island, Nebraska where he secured a situation with the Union Pacific Railroad Company, whose lines were extended to Ogden, Utah.

For twenty-one years he was the foreman of the shops of that road at Grand Island and for two years was employed at Rollins, Wyoming in the same capacity.  His long service indicates that he was capable, faithful and trustworthy employee.

He is a charter member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and has been very active in promoting its works and welfare through nearly four decades.  He also joined the Trades Association.

He owned a fine farm near Grand Island, Nebraska, which is now included within the city limits.  As before stated, Mr. Waugh arrived in Kansas in 1888 and purchased the Judge Clayton farm, which consisted of eighty acres, to which he has added until he owns three hundred and twenty acres in one section, besides a valuable tract of timber, consisting of twenty-five acres, which is located in another section. 

His residence was erected at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars and the barn was built at a cost of thirteen hundred dollars.  Everything about the place is kept in excellent condition.  There is a modern windmill, good farm buildings and all the accessories and improvements that indicate progress and enterprise. 

In addition to the cultivation of his fields, Mr. Waugh raises a high grade of Short-horn cattle and is one of the most successful breeders of cattle in his township. 

In 1863, in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Waugh was married to Miss Mary A. Clark, a native of New York. Their union has been blessed with the following children: Willis, an engineer and machinist who was foreman of the shops at Salt Lake City for a number of years, but is now in Kansas City; Mamie, at home; Sadie, the wife of William Hampton, of Atchison, Kansas; and Oda, a teacher in the Willis school.

Mrs. Waugh, the mother of these children, died at Grand Island in 1880, and Mr. Waugh has since married Miss Anna James, who was born and reared in Canada.  In his political views he is a Democrat and keeps well informed on the issues of the day.

His seventy-six years rest lightly upon him and he displays vigor and activity of a man yet in his prime.  He is six feet high, well proportioned and in his younger days he excelled in athletic feats.

His systematic physical exercise doubtless led to the excellent preservation of his health to the present time.  Financially and socially he is regarded as one of the leading and popular men of the township, and he and his family have hosts of warm friends here.

Last update: Friday, July 18, 2003 20:22:19

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