Arthur Thornhill

ARTHUR THORNHILL. - In the whole of Wyandotte county there is probably no one in any walk of life who has had the advantage of so many different kinds of training as has Mr. Thornhill. A man who traveled as extensively as did Mr. Thornhill in his youth must of necessity be a broad-minded citizen, and indeed he is no exception. He has become identified with the agricultural industry of the county which he honors by his residence, and he is also connected with the real estate business of Rosedale.

Arthur Thornhill was born February 5, 1860, in one of the East India isles, where his father was a watchmaker and jeweler of some reputation. Soon after the birth of their son, Arthur, Mr. Thornhill, Sr., lost his wife, and within a few years he married again. In 1864 the little family removed from the far east and took up their residence in England, where the Thornhill family had originated. After four years spent in his native land, Mr. Thornhill took advantage of a business opening on the Isle of Man and, accompanied by his wife and son, he established himself, on that island. After a couple of years he again pulled up stakes and removed to South Wales, and at the end of the second year's residence in Wales he crossed the channel to Cork, the southern metropolis of the province of Munster. Four years later he removed to the northern part of the province, located in county Clare and there died, Mrs. Thornhill continuing to reside in the British Isles.

Next to the birth of Arthur Thornhill the first event of any special importance in his life was the death of his mother and at the age of four he began his wandering life. From that time until he was twenty years old he lived successively in England, the Isle of Alan, South Wales, the city of Cork and county Clare, Ireland, and was educated in the public schools of these various places. In 1880 he made what has proved to be his final change of location, when he came to the United States and settled in Kansas. For three years he was in Kansas City, employed in various capacities, and in 1883, desirous of establishing a fixed abiding place for himself, he bought ten acres of land at Rosedale - land which was in a wild state, with absolutely no improvements thereon. But within the next few years he bought ten additional acres of land, built his house and barn, a greenhouse and a wind mill. He set out grapes on a portion of his farm and the balance is devoted to general crops. Mr. Thornhill has for years been a successful farmer and has recently become interested in the real estate transactions of Wyandotte county. His knowledge of the value of land has become so universally acceded, that his judgment is regarded as final, and he is as successful in his real estate transactions as he has been in his own farming operations.

In 1887 Mr. Thornhill married Miss Elizabeth Powelson, a native of Kansas whose mother still maintains her residence in the Thornhill home.