Cloud County
KSGenWeb
HIRAM D. LAYTON.
H.D. Layton, one of the most highly esteemed citizens of
Buffalo township, located on the land which comprises his present desirable farm
in 1872. Mr. Layton is a native of Morgan county. Illinois, born on a farm near
the city of Jacksonville in 1847; reared and educated there, and lived in that
community until coming west. His brother, William Layton (see sketch), was
located in the eastern part of the state and at his solicitation, our subject
came to Nemaha county, and from there the two brothers emigrated to Cloud
county. As they traveled westward the settlements grew more sparse until by the
time they had reached Clyde habitation was limited to a few scattering settlers
on the creeks and valleys; the uplands were almost totally unsettled. From Clyde
they were directed to certain points along their journey by people telling them
to go a certain distance beyond, to the right or to the left of the next
shingled house; dwellings with that sort of covering not being numerous.
Mr. Layton states when he arrived in Kansas and got off the train at Wetmore he
would not have given fifteen cents for the whole state. He carried his hat in
his pocket to keep the wind from blowing it away. It was his first introduction
into a prairie country and was in perfect sympathy with the fellow who wrote:
"The dust it flew, The wind it blew
New The paint from off the
steeple.
It blew the tails
From off the quails,
The microbes off the
people."
For some time after his arrival in Kansas our subject (like many
of his neighbors) was a single man and lived for two years in a dugout. Two
bachelor friends were visiting him when a blizzard spread over the country,
raging unceasingly for forty-eight hours. During the storm the roof was blown
off his stable. They each had a horse which must surely perish if left standing
in their unroofed stalls, so the trio made their way through the blinding
blizzard, loosened the straps of the shivering animals and led them into the
dugout. To further shield them from suffering they ripped up some beds and fed
them the straw they contained.
Mr. Layton was married in 1874 to Miss
Rosa Tatro. She was born in Kankakee, Illinois, and was of French parentage.
Mrs. Layton was a woman of gentle bearing; she was a patient sufferer for years,
and died of consumption in May, 1894. To their union two children were born; a
daughter and son. Lena, a young woman of twenty-five years is now in the Kansas
City hospital where she is in training for a nurse. She has until recently been
her father's house-keeper since she was fourteen years of age. The son, Fred,
aged twenty-three, is a typical farmer and is interested with his father on the
homestead. He is a member of the Jamestown band.
Mr. Layton has seen the
country develop into a prosperous agricultural region. Their present handsome
cottage is built over the cellar, where they lived with a roof over it, for
several months. They also lived in a small stone house, now used for a smoke
house and considered themselves fortunate to have had so comfortable a dwelling.
Mr. Layton has prospered, has a pleasant home, owns two hundred and forty acres
of fine land and is satisfied to live in the state he once would have gladly
deserted. In 1890 he sold all their personal effects and went to Oregon. But
after two or three months in the Willamette valley returned, feeling there was
no place where a man could make money more easily or be so happy as in Kansas.
Mr. Layton's parents were William and Elizabeth (Goodpasture) Layton. His
father was of Kentucky birth and emigrated to Illinois before the city of
Jacksonville was thought of and on its present site the tall prairie grass was
growing undisturbed. He was a blacksmith by occupation. His death occurred when
our subject was about twelve years of age. His mother was of Tennessee birth and
like the Laytons, the Goodpastures were pioneers in the vicinity of the city of
Jacksonville, where a whole settlement of them still hold forth.
Mr.
Layton is one of eight children who lived to maturity. Of these, five are now
living. William (see sketch), Mrs. James Kemp, of Iowa, Mrs. Maggie Thompson, of
Morgan county, Illinois and Mrs. Martha Redwine, a widowed sister who lives
alternately in the homes of her brothers.
Politically Mr. Layton is a
stalwart Democrat. Socially he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Sons and Daughters of Justice. Mr. Layton is a man whose loyalty
and honor in all the walks of life have given him an enviable reputation among
his fellow men. Of his personal characteristics one of the most conspicuous are
his substantial and trustworthy qualities.
WILLIAM LAYTON.
William Layton, an enterprising farmer of Buffalo township came to Kansas as
early as 1863, when the state was designated as "bleeding, suffering Kansas,"
and settled in Nemaha county, near the Brown county line. He freighted in 1865
from Nemaha county to Fort Collins, over the unsettled plains when the mail was
carried from Atchison to Denver, Colorado, in stage coaches. Marysville, Kansas,
was about the size of Jamestown, and Beatrice, Nebraska, could not boast of much
more than a dozen houses.
Possessed of the restless spirit that pervaded
most men at that time, Mr. Layton sold the land he bought in Brown county, and
in 1873, in company with his brother, pushed westward into Cloud county, where
he bought the relinquishment of Charles H. Salters. They were visited by a heavy
rain soon after moving into their new quarters a combination dugout and log hut
with dirt covered roof, which was practically dissolved and washed away under a
three days' pouring down of the elements. They spent six weeks in that abode,
and as if to make it more uninhabitable the place was infested with myriads of
fleas. The house was then enlarged by adding a few logs, covered by a shingled
roof, and pronounced one of the best dwellings in the country; not without a
little sarcasm, perhaps, for the settlers began to feel a little envious of the
new comer who located in their midst and did a little too much "fixin' up."
Although Mr. Layton has experienced numerous discouragements, withstood two
grasshopper raids - for the one that visited Nemaha county in 1866 exceeded the
ravages of this insect in Cloud county in 1874 - he is loyal to the state, came
to stay and does not regret it. Taking his own experiences as a basis, he
asserts anyone coming to Kansas with a stock of perseverance and well directed
energy, can make a success, and also contends when all the advantages are
considered there is no better country on earth.
Mr. Layton's farm
consists of three hundred and twenty acres. For several years, he carried on
diversified farming, but of recent years he has given his attention to wheat
raising and the growing of alfalfa. One season he had a tract of two hundred
acres that yielded twenty-eight bushels of wheat per acre. He has a field of
fifty-five acres of alfalfa and considers this one of the best crops grown in
this part of the country, from a financial standpoint.
Mr. Layton has an
interesting war record. On January 1, 1862, he enlisted in Company H,
Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until the following
September, when he was discharged for disability, occasioned by a gunshot wound
received in the evening of the first day's fight at Shiloh. His right arm was
broken, but with his left he picked up his gun, resolving he would not leave it
for the rebels. He also received a gunshot wound in the thigh and still carries
the ball. Dining the few months he served in the army he was taken at a rapid
gait and experienced hard fighting. After the battle, our subject was numbered
with the slain, but instead of being dead, he, with others, were thrown into a
cotton gin, which was converted into a temporary hospital, its puncheon floor
strewn with wounded soldiers. Had he been left there for any length of time, Mr.
Layton would have succumbed, for his wounds were of a dangerous character. But a
boat came cruising down the Ohio river for the purpose of rescuing the boys of
the "Buckeye" state who were in the improvised hospitals. Realizing that a
little strategy meant salvation for him, Mr. Layton feigned he was from that
commonwealth and was tenderly carried on board. Upon arriving at Cairo, he
acknowledged the deception, revealed his identity and beat his way home on a
train. But his ardor had not cooled, and as he stood watching the soldiers
marching to the front great tears would well up in his eyes because he could not
join their ranks again. The Thirty-second was a depleted regiment. Every
commissioned officer went down in the first battle of Shiloh; also every
non-commissioned officer with the exception of two. The regiment was almost
exterminated, but Mr. Layton's brother, Preston, came through without a scratch.
Mr. Layton was a sufferer from his wounds for a period of fifteen years.
Just after the close of the war our subject was married to Mary Goodpasture,
whose father, John Goodpasture, was one of Nemaha county's pioneers, having
settled there as early as 1859. He had sold his farm in Illinois during the war,
but the parties to whom he sold were unable to meet the payments and the
property reverted to him. Later on he returned to Illinois, where he died in
1891. The Goodpastures descended from an old Holland family. Mrs. Goodpasture's
maiden name was Emily Long, and she was of southern lineage. Mrs. Layton was a
small child when her mother died, and she was reared by a step-mother, who is
still living. Mrs. Layton is one of six children, four of whom are living: Mrs.
Jobe, of Prescott, Arizona; Mrs. Sarah McCarthy, who resides on a farm near
Jacksonville, Illinois, and Samuel Goodpasture, of Concord, Morgan county,
Illinois.
To Mr. and Mrs. Layton five children have been born. Their
eldest child and only daughter married Robert Jones. She was a woman of gentle,
attractive character, and her death in January, 1902, was mourned not only by
her husband and family, but by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
George, their eldest son, is a successful business man and a member of the firm
of Layton & Neilson, druggists, Concordia. Their second son, William Waldo, died
at the age of six years. John M. and Roy B., the two younger sons, are practical
farmers.
In 1884 Mr. Layton erected a handsome two-story residence of
nine rooms, and in 1892 a fine basement barn. Anxious to have their home
surrounded by a grove of trees, Mr. and Mrs. Layton planted six hundred
box-elders, and many of these are living. Later they planted elms, ash and
cedars with good results. While they were planting the switches that later
developed into trees, their little family of children, now grown to manhood,
watched the proceedings through the windows.
Mr. Layton is a man esteemed
for his sterling worth of uprightness. His career has been one of industry and
perseverance, and his methodical system of farming has brought its returns in
the development of a beautiful country place, where, surrounded by his excellent
family, he enjoys the fruits of his labors. Socially, he has been a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows about twenty years, and also belongs to the
Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he is a staunch Democrat.
JAMES W. LAW.
Prominent among the old settlers of the Clyde vicinity
is James W. Law an old soldier of the Civil war, who homesteaded near the
western boundary of Elk township in 1871. Mr. Law is a native of Ohio, born in
Guernsey county, in 1835; for his ancestors the reader is referred to the sketch
of the late Judge Borton, whose wife is a sister. Mr. Law emigrated to Iowa
three years prior to locating in Kansas, but joined the innumerable throng that
eagerly sought homes in the promising new commonwealth. For several years he
struggled with destiny, for his capital was limited and commodities high. For
seed corn and oats he paid one dollar and a quarter, and eighty cents per
bushel, respectively.
Mr. Law narrated an entertaining incident which
occurred in 1873. The prairies at that time presented about the same appearance
in every direction, and it was a very easy matter for even a settler to lose his
way after nightfall, but our subject proceeded to lose himself in the morning of
a foggy day. He was enroute to visit his neighbor, McDonald, and in some
unaccountable manner lost his bearings and instead of traveling northward, he
was trending toward the opposite cardinal point. After wandering around and
about indefinitely, he came in contact with a friendly dugout, and was so
bewildered he did not recognize his neighboring settler's wife, Mrs. Cary Page,
and the estranged wanderer inquired with the utmost reserve as if he were in a
foreign land, "call you direct me to J.W. Law's?" With a merry twinkle in the
eye of his hostess and the desired information the recognition became mutual,
although there was nothing left for Mr. Law to do but admit he was thoroughly
duped; he was in sympathy with the wandering savage who stoutly declared. "Injun
not lost, wigwam lost."
August 22, 1862, Mr. Law enlisted in Company G,
One hundred and twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served under the
command of Colonel William Ball and Captain O.G. Farquahar until mustered out
with his company in Washington, D.C., in April, 1865, and honorably discharged
at Columbus, Ohio. He was "drummer boy" and served the entire term without being
furloughed. His company participated in many important battles; among them,
Gettysburg, battle of the Wilderness, Petersburg, Richmond, Cold Harbor, at
Spottsylvania, where his company lost tell men; they were in the Shenandoah
Valley campaign and with Sheridan on his famous ride which has been immortalized
by Greenleaf Whittier in his beautiful poem. During one engagement in the
Shenandoah his regiment fought their way through the ranks, mowing down men as
they went. In this mad charge Company G counted a loss of half their men by shot
and shell and could not tarry to remove their dead and wounded, Company G was
also at Appomattox, where General Lee surrendered. The veterans relate their
prowess of war to the "sons of veterans" who in turn will pass their
achievements on down the line to their sons and thus the courage and valor of
the "boys in blue" will live countless ages. To have served under the "stars and
stripes" is a never forgotten glory after having faithfully served "Uncle Sam."
After the cessation of hostilities, Mr. Law returned to the home of his
boyhood, was married to Miss Louisa J. Bainter, and shortly afterward emigrated
to Iowa, where his parents had preceded them two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Law
seven children have been born, three of whom died in infancy. Francis M., their
eldest son, is a carpenter and resides in Concordia; his wife before her
marriage was Minnie H. Ellis; they are the parents of two children, Ethel and
Wilbur Francis. Minnie M., their only daughter is a prepossessing young woman;
she lives under the parental roof. Lewis W.B., who has ably assisted his father
on the farm, is now a student of the Great Western Business College, of
Concordia. The youngest son, Elmer E., aged seventeen, was named for Colonel
Elsworth of the famous "Elsworth Zouaves" who was killed at Alexandria,
Virginia. Mr. Law takes an active interest in the Grand Army of the Republic and
is a member of Conforth Post, of Clyde.
The Law homestead is a fractional
quarter section, comprised principally of second bottom land, and yields
excellent corn, has never been an entire failure, with the exception of the
grasshopper year. The little frame house of one room has been supplanted by a
comfortable seven-room residence and although they were compelled to live in a
very frugal way, resorting to all sorts of economy to live within their means,
after buffeting with many hardships and discouragements Mr. Law and his family
anchored in a safe harbor of prosperity. Their country home is made particularly
pleasing by a garden of beautiful vari-colored flowers, where rich in nature's
lines many varieties of chrysanthemums, asters and bright blushing Cosmos nod to
and fro in the breeze, recalling the sentiment - "In every flower around that
blooms, some pleasing emblem we may trace."
Mr. has always lived a
straight-forward, upright life and enjoys the universal esteem of all who know him.
C. F. LESLIE, M. D.
In gathering material for
biographies of the representative citizens, Doctor Leslie is found among the
foremost not only as a zealous, painstaking and faithful practioneer, but one of
Clyde's best and most esteemed citizens. Doctor Leslie pursued his medical
studies at Dartmouth, New Hampshire, and Bowdoin College, Bowdoin Maine,
graduating from the latter institution in 1874, and entering upon the practice
of medicine in Sunapee the Saratoga of New England. After a successful career
there of seven years he removed to Windsor, Vermont. There he contracted lung
trouble and came west with the intention of locating in California, and stopped
enroute to visit friends in Clyde. It was in the boom days of 1885, and he was
very favorably impressed with the country and its prospects. Here he found not
only a good country but remained permanently and recovered his health, gaining
from one hundred and twenty-five pounds, (his weight at that time) to one
hundred and eighty pounds.
Doctor Leslie was born in Patton, Maine, April
16, 1847. He was reared on a farm. His father was a second cousin of Salmon P.
Chase. The Leslies were of English origin. Doctor Leslie's intentions were to
study law and he mapped out a career for that profession, but changed to the
study of medicine. He was married in 1875, to Ellen I. Balloch, of Cornish, New
Hampshire. Their family consists of a son and a daughter. William B. graduated
from the Emporia college and entered upon the study of law in the office of Mr.
VanDeMark, of Clyde, later entering the law school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where
he continues at the present time. The daughter Alice, is talented in music and
is a graduate of the Clyde high school.
Doctor Leslie affiliates with the
Republican party. He is the surgeon for the Union Pacific and Missouri
Pacfic[sic] railroads and was one of the board of pension examiners. The family
are members of the Presbyterian church of which Doctor Leslie is an elder. He
has been a Mason for a dozen years and is a member of the order of Woodmen and
the Ancient Order United Workmen.
WILL F. LEWIS.
Will F. Lewis, the junior member [of GERMAN & LEWIS
Furnishing Goods Company], was a tourist in the commercial world, his special line
being hats, and he too, was a tailor and was engaged in that occupation several years,
hence a fine judge of material.
Mrs. Lewis was Miss Marceline Martin, the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Martin, of the Barons House. Their interesting
little son, though scarcely eight months of age, attired in a pair of overalls,
occupies an important place in the engraving on the opposite page, seemingly
saying "Tall trees from little acorns grow."
JOHN HENRY LIBBEN.
J.H.
Libben, an industrious and frugal German, came to America in 1874. After farming
in Iowa two years, Mr. Libben came to Lyon township, where he homesteaded one
hundred and sixty acres, and he is now one of the most prosperous farmers and
stockmen of that community. He has purchased adjacent lands until he owns seven
hundred and fifty acres in Lyon township and one hundred and thirty-five in
Solomon township, most of which is wheat and pasture land. He keeps a herd of
about seventy-five head of native cattle, and seldom has less than one hundred
head of hogs. The first two years on the homestead were spent in a dugout which
then gave place to a new frame dwelling that has been enlarged and is now a
comfortable and commodious country residence. In 1901, true to the German
characteristic, he erected an excellent barn.
Mr. Libben was born in
1839, in Ostfriesland, Germany. He is one of four children, and the only one in
America. His parents both died in Germany Mr. Libben was married in 1881 to Anna
Doretha Horn, a daughter of Fred Horn, who died in 1889. Her mother is a
resident of Cloud county and lives on a farm near Fisher creek. To Mr. and Mrs.
Libben five children have been born, four of whom are living, viz: Frederick, a
student of the German Conforming School at Glasco, under the tutorage of the
Lutheran minister of that town: Annie, deceased: Henry, a student of the
district school attending the Conforming school on Saturdays; Etta, aged six,
and Theodore, an infant.
Mr. Libben is a Republican in his political
affiliations and the family are members of the Lutheran church.
JAMES H. LINDLEY.
J.H.
Lindley, one of the successful farmers and stockmen of Lyon township, is a
native of Wayne county, Indiana, born in 1866. He is of honorable birth and
highly connected. His parents were Osmond and Achsah (Wilson) Lindley, of North
Carolina birth. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors were slave holders, but
being of Quaker proclivities they released their slaves, gave them their
freedom, emigrated to the north and settled in Indiana. The Lindleys trace their
ancestory back to "Lindley Hall," a historical and valuable estate in England.
James H. Lindley is one of twelve children, nine of whom are living, viz.:
Sylvia, is the wife of Barclay Johnson, president of Southland College, a Quaker
institution in the state of Arkansas; Alfred, a retired farmer and stockman of
Neoga, Illinois; Frank, an attorney and loan broker of Danville, Illinois. He
eschews politics and devotes himself to legal practice and finance. Guerney, a
farmer of Fairmount, Indiana. John was deceased in 1890, followed by Horace and
Charlie within eight months. The former and latter were both men of families.
Horace was correspondent for the St. Joseph Herald. Fletcher is general
superintendent of the Marquette Mining and Manufacturing Company, of Chicago,
Illinois. Prior to entering their employ he was superintendent of a clothing
manufacturing company. Erasmus, a young attorney of Chicago, is a graduate of
Ann Arbor College and Law School, and a member of the firm of Walker & Payne,
attorneys and counsellors, 184 LaSalle street. Maggie, wife of Edward Overman,
both she and her husband are teachers in Fairmount, Indiana. Mary, the youngest
member of the family, is assistant principal of Earlham College, Richmond,
Indiana.
Mr. Lindley came to Kansas with his mother, two sisters and a
brother, at the age of twelve years; his father having died when he was ten
years old. His educational advantages were limited to a training at home, but
being of a studious and inquiring mind, he obtained a store of practical
knowledge that is often of more value through life than a college diploma. On
their arrival in Kansas they purchased eighty acres of the McCoy homestead,
lived in a dugout with dirt roof and floor during the first winter and endured
the hardships incident to pioneer life. In 1890, Mr. Lindley bought the farm and
his mother returned to Indiana. In 1893 he purchased the other eighty acres of
the homestead, where he now lives. His principal industry is wheat and corn,
feeding and raising cattle and hogs.
Politically he is a Republican, and
in 1898, received the nomination from his party for treasurer of Cloud county.
His opponent, Edwin Coates, was elected by forty-five majority. Mr. Lindley is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, of
Glasco. He is a self-made man, having been thrown upon his own resources early
in life through the death of his father, and worked for three years at a salary
of eight dollars per month, during their early residence in Kansas. His farm is
ranked among the most desirable in that vicinity. Personally he is held high in
public estimation and is one of the solid men of Lyon township.
F.W. Lintz, the junior member of the firm [Department Store of SCOTT & LINTZ], although several years on the sunny side of middle life, has had years of experience. He began battling for supremacy at the age of ten years. After following various minor vocations of uphill sailing he signed as clerk for the Burnham-Hanna-Munger Dry Goods Company, of Kansas City. Mr. Lintz began at the foundation - that of a stock boy - piling overalls; but his genius was versatile and two years later found him on the road as a special salesman. His activities in this line were a success, and subsequently he was placed in charge of the northeast Kansas territory with a general line of dry goods. Mr. Lintz, starting out in life before finishing a regular college course, exemplifies the recent statements made by Louis Stern, the great self-made New York merchant: "The youth who starts on the lowest rung of the ladder in a great business house has every chance of reaching the top if he shows energy and will power." In whatever line Mr. Lintz turned his attention he succeeded, and although identified with a firm of fine business men he decided to locate permanently. After a year at Beatty and Kansas City, Kansas, Concordia, giving much promise, was the town of his choice; hence, the association as heretofore mentioned. Mr. Lintz was born in the state of Michigan in 1876. He came to Kansas City in 1895. He with his sister Nellie, now with her brother in Concordia, visited Denver with an idea of locating there prior to his services with the Burnham-Hanna-Munger Dry Goods Company. His father, William H. Lintz, located at Beatty, Kansas, but later removed to Kansas City and subsequently returned to their old Michigan home. There are three sons and four daughters in the Lintz family: A brother, Henry Lintz, succeeded to our subject's position as traveling salesman and is also possessed of a combination of traits that lead to success. A sister, Miss Nan Lintz, is a stenographer in the employ of the Geiser Manufacturing Company, of Kansas City, Missouri. A younger brother and a pair of twin sisters, aged ten years, remain in the home of their parents.
ARCHIE C. LITTLE.
Archie C. Little, a stockman of Concordia, is well
known and highly respected, upright in all his business transactions, believing
perfect honesty the only basis upon which to found a business and prosper.
"Truth is mighty and will prevail," is his motto and governed by that principle
his word is as sound as his note and his note is as good as the bank. Mr. Little
buys, sells and ships horses and mules exclusively. He began in the stock
business when quite young, reaping good returns from his judicious investments.
During the Boer war in Africa he handled large shipments of horses and mules,
purchasing in various parts of Kansas and Oklahoma, holding and feeding the
stock until car loads could be sent as one shipment on the Kansas City markets,
from which point they were sold to England.
Mr. Little has been a
resident of Cloud county about four years. The first two years he was engaged in
the livery business, having purchased the C.D. Byrum stock of livery and a half
interest in the building, C.E. Sweet owning the other half. Mr. Little sold his
livery business to the former, still retaining his half interest in the
building. While operating the livery barn he was very successful, but was
compelled to absent himself too much while purchasing for the market to
personally attend to the inside work, which was the sole cause of his selling
out. After this sale he went to Lawton, Oklahoma, making the then new city his
headquarters. The coming season, he expects to purchase a number of high bred
trotters. The spring and early winter is the buying season for trotters, and
draft horses in the autumn and late winter.
Mr. Little is a native of
Marshall county, Illinois, where he was born in the year 1869, but when a mere
lad came with his parents to Republic county, where they settled on a farm and
he grew to manhood. The origin of the name Little is Scotch-Irish. Both parents
were born in the north of Ireland. His father emigrated to America when a boy
with his parents and settled at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he grew to
manhood and followed the occupation of machinist. Mr. Little's mother also came
to Philadelphia during her infancy and after growing to womanhood met and
married Archie B. Little. The young couple emigrated to Illinois and settled on
a farm. later coming to the far famed "Sunflower" state "to make a new start in
life's run." Mr. Little makes his home with his youngest daughter, owing to the
death of his wife in 1885. Archie C. Little is the second youngest of the six
children, four girls and two boys, viz: Lizzie, Hannah, Nancy, Katie and John,
all of whom are married. Mr. Little in conversation laughingly remarked, "I am
unmarried and unhappy," but he lives in hopes of adding a partner to his home
and business before the "winter of discontent" overtakes him. He was educated in
the country schools, making the most of his opportunities.
Every man
seems to possess one fad, and happy is he that can enjoy the real comfort in
that one. Mr. Little owns to his weakness, the admiration and love of a
thoroughbred span of trotters. An automobile, with its electric up-to-date pace,
may suit the tastes of many, but to Mr. Little, with the lack of a pair of high
steppers, the charm is gone, and he has been heard to say "No matter how large a
city may be, let the 'auto' and a neat carriage drawn by a spirited span of
horses well handled pass down the same street side by side, the attention of the
majority of people, men or women, will be attracted to the noblest of all
animals, the horse; the more mettle the more it is admired." He treats his
horses with tact and trusts them as he would people, according to their merit,
disposition and understanding. In politics Mr. Little is a Republican, but is so
much engrossed with business in his line that he devotes only time to vote for
the men on his chosen ticket. He is a man of honor and integrity, always in
favor of progression and willing to further any improvements toward the making
of a live town.
Mr. Little has purchased the Byrum lease and opened up a
new and fresh stock of livery.
ANTHONY LOFTUS.
The subject of this sketch, Anthony Loftus, is one of the
oldest settlers of the Jamestown vicinity. His farm consists of a half section
of land west of Jamestown, the eastern line adjoining the corporation.
Mr. Loftus visited Cloud county in the autumn of 1870, and purchased the quarter
section where he established a home and still lives. He homesteaded one hundred
and sixty acres of government land, one quarter of a mile to the south; making
altogether a half section. The home place is nearly all bottom land lying on
either side of Cheyenne creek; the homestead is second bottom.
Mr. Loftus
is of Celtic origin, having been born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1832. He is
one of seven brothers, and two sisters. Both of the latter are living, but our
subject, is the only surviving brother. When nine years of age Mr. Loftus
emigrated to America with his parents, and settled in Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania. When seventeen years of age, Mr. Loftus joined a paternal uncle
who lived near the Canadian line, where for three years he followed
steamboating. He began as a deck hand, but shortly afterward was promoted to
watchman, as a reward for bravery during a perilous storm. When the gale struck
the steamer there was but one jib up, and Mr. Loftus was the only man among a
crew of twelve who would ascend and reef the sails. This courage and daring upon
his part gained him promotion. Though he experienced many storms and narrow
escapes, he liked life on the water, but laughingly remarked, "He could not
swim, and thought dry land a safer proposition." After Mr. Loftus left the lakes
he engaged in railroad construction and later became a section boss, holding
that position twenty-one years. He has also railroaded some in Kansas, and was
more successful financially in that line than in farming. Through a
communication received from Robert Stevens, general superintendent of the
Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad, asking him to come west, Mr. Loftus owes his
advent into the state.
Our subject was not without means, however, for he
had a fair sized "nestegg" in the shape of four thousand dollars saved from his
earnings. In 1872, Mr. Loftus erected the most commodious house in the vicinity
at that time, hauling every board from Junction City. The flooring cost
eighty-five dollars per thousand and the shingles six dollars per thousand, not
including the time and expense of hauling, but they have survived thirty years
of weather, wear and tear. This is one of the most historical houses in the
locality of Jamestown. During the early settlement of that part of the county it
was headquarters - a sort of "town hall" - for the whole community, not only as
a pleasure ground, but here Father Mollier said mass for seven years, and even
political gatherings held forth there; and also, the first school in the
township was taught in this residence with Miss Clara McBride, who had scarcely
reached her teens, installed as teacher. It was also a sort of inn, for many
people traveling through the country would stop with them, and none were turned
away, for Mr. Loftus and his family were generous and sympathetic, receiving
with hospitality all who sought shelter under their roof.
Mr. Loftus was
married in 1860, in Elmira, New York, to Miss Ann McQuire. After emigrating to
the west, Mrs. Loftus insisted that she was tired of railroading, and persuaded
her husband to buy a farm, which he concedes to be the best act of his life.
Mrs. Loftus, who was a good and noble woman, died in October, 1890. She did
much for the sick and needy, and the poor never left her door unfed. To the
unfortunate, she lent a helping hand; to the sick, her ministrations were given
without price; to the erring, she was merciful; the good samaritan of the
neighborhood, a true friend, a devoted wife and mother. She left two sons. A
daughter, seventeen years of age preceded her demise. The oldest son, Thomas
Edward, like his father, is a railroad man. He is in the train service with
headquarters at Kansas City.
Michael, the second son, operates the farm
and is a genuine and practical farmer. He has grown to manhood on the homestead,
and like all the old settlers, has witnessed the growth and development of the
country from a wild waste of land into a prosperous and flourishing
commonwealth. He herded cattle for five years, collecting stock from all over
the country. He received fifteen cents a head per month and often grazed his
herd over the present site of Jamestown. Michael Loftus was married in 1890 to
Johanna Downey, a daughter of John Downey, an old resident of Cloud county who
now lives in the Solomon valley, near Glasco. Mr. and Mrs. Loftus are the
parents of seven children, namely: William A., Honora, John, Thomas Edward,
Michael Francis, Anna and Richard James.
Anthony Loftus is a warm friend
of Kansas and says "All things considered, none compare with the Sunflower
state." Politically he is a Democrat. During the years that Populism invaded and
captured the state he affiliated with that party; but after one or two votes,
returned to the old ranks with renewed confidence in its superiority.
E. E. AND LEE LONG.
The Long Brothers Milling Company is composed
of E.E. and Lee Long, who operate an extensive mill near the Cloud county line,
situated on the old town site of Brittsville, which was named for its founder,
Judge Britt, on whose land the town was located. Brittsville was once a
flourishing town and trading post, but the line of railroad missed the little
hamlet about one and one-half miles to the westward and the town of Simpson,
Mitchell county consequently sprung into existence. The old mill was erected in
1897, by Simpson, Shank & Long, and was operated by them until 1885, when Henry
Long, father of the Long brothers, became sole proprietor and manager.
By
the death of their father in 1900, Lee and E.E. Long became owners and partners
in this paying enterprise. The present mill was erected in 1899, at a cost of
about eleven thousand dollars. It is an imposing, three story frame structure,
standing on the banks of the Solomon and embowered in the groves of that rich
valley. The mill site is one an artist might revel in. The placid flow of the
river, unbroken in its course, produces a dreamy and restful sensation until
with a joyous bound it leaps merrily over the dam. The stately trees give a cool
and welcome shade from the sultry suns of a summer day.
"Summer or
winter, day or night,
The woods are ever a new delight.
They give us peace
and they make us strong
Such wonderful balms to them belong.
So living or
dying I'll take mine ease
Under the trees, under the trees."
The mill
has a capacity of one hundred barrels of flour daily and contains all the modern
improvements and appliances to lighten labor and do perfect work. This is the
only mill in the Solomon valley at the present writing (October, 1901) that has
the full sifter system. The leading brand of flour made at this mill is "The
Eclipse," and a finer quality was never made into toothsome, wholesome bread,
biscuits and cakes, the pride of the housekeeper who need never worry over the
result of her baking and brew. Much of their product is sold to exporters. This
is one of the best water powers on the Solomon river, with an absolutely tight
dam. Their capacity for grain is sixty tons and they have the only plant in the
county where corn is received in the ear and reduced from this state to fine
meal. J.S. Brown, a man of extended experience, is the miller. Mr. Brown has
spent many of the days and nights of his fifty-two years perfecting himself in
the knowledge and details of his profession and his thirty years of successful
management in this occupation attest his having accomplished what he intended.
He has been in their employ more than two years.
The Longs own and
operate a magnificent farm of four hundred acres, and in connection with their
agricultural and milling pursuits they feed great droves of cattle and hogs
during corn years. They also raise wheat extensively and have had some fine
returns in this industry. These enterprising men have an irrigating plant that
furnishes 20,000 gallons of water per hour, propelled by a water wheel and
distributed through pipes to various parts of the estate.
Their father,
the late Henry Long, was a native of North Carolina and when a young man
emigrated to Missouri, thence to California, in 1849 - the gold seeker's year,
and subsequently, via the Isthmus of Panama to South America, later returning to
Missouri, where he married Sallie Long, who survives him and lives in the home
of her sons. This worthy couple became the parents of eleven children, five of
whom are living and are all residents of Cloud county. The daughters are,
Myrtle, on her first year in the Manhattan Agricultural College; Rena, graduated
from the Emporia State Normal and entered upon a career of teaching school, but
on account of ill health was compelled to abandon that vocation; Retta, the
youngest daughter is the wife of Ira Foote.
The brothers, Lee and E.E.
Long came with their parents from Missouri to Kansas before they had reached the
years of maturity, were reared on the farm their father bought of Judge Britt,
in 1881, received a common school education and began their career as employees
in the mill they now own, then operated by Simpson, Shank & Long. E.E. Long was
married in 1899, to Miss Anna Conner, an accomplished and gracious woman, a
daughter of Patrick Conner, an old settler of Ottawa county, Kansas.
The
Longs have made for themselves a competency that brings to them all the comforts
and many of the luxuries of life; among them is a commodious and pleasant home
situated opposite the mill site, The brothers differ in politics; E.E. is a
Jeffersonian Democrat, while Lee is an ardent Republican. The mother lives with
her sons and watches the growth of their business enterprises with true motherly
ambition and pride. These prosperous young men are held in high public favor and
esteem, having earned a well deserved success in their undertakings. "Upward and
onward" is their motto. They are citizens of whom any community may justly be
proud in all the bearings of business and social life.
EDMUND H. LOUTHAN.
One of the most esteemed citizens of Solomon township is E.H.
Louthan, a successful farmer and stockman. He is a product of the great
commonwealth of Ohio, born in Columbiana county, in 1829. His father was an
industrious blacksmith of Scotch, Irish and Dutch origin, born in PennsyIvania,
near the Ohio line. He came to Kansas with his son, our subject, and was one of
the earliest smiths on the Solomon. His maternal ancestors were from England.
Mr. Louthan, like his father, became a blacksmith and from him learned the
trade which kept him employed for several years. At the age of twenty-four he
took up a residence in Indiana where he lived nineteen years. In January, 1872,
emigrated to Kansas and filed on a homestead located on the south side of the
Solomon river, in Solomon township. Through the discouragements brought about by
the hard times Mr. Louthan traded his homestead for land in Missouri and with
his family left Kansas to take up their abode in that state, but when better
days dawned for Kansas his family wanted to return and did so after an absence
of five years. Not being able to secure their original homestead they did the
next best thing, bought one on Fisher creek, and has since added other lands
until he now owns four hundred and eighty acres of as fine land as can be found
on the continent; it produces chiefly wheat and corn. To look over this valuable
estate one could not imagine the hardships the owner with his family
experienced. During their first sojourn in Kansas they lived in a dugout for
three years. They then traded a gun for a house getting the worst of the
bargain; the roof was of cottonwood that warped and poured the rain down upon
their heads unstintingly, but later they shingled the roof and were quit[sic]
comfortable.
Mr. Louthan was married, in 1858 to Jane Thackery, who died
in 1869, leaving three children, one of whom is living, Catherine, wife of Alex
Jackson of Lincoln county, Kansas. The others died in infancy. Mr. Louthan's
second marrige was to Mary J. McNew, of Indiana, in 1872. To their union three
promising sons have been born, viz: Elza Riley and Walter, the eldest and
youngest sons, respectively, are the "main stays" of the family and tillers of
the soil; and to their industry much is due for the developitient of this fine
farm. James Quinton, the second son, was a student three years in the State
Normal at Emporia, Kansas and while in this institution was unanimously chosen
speaker of their senate, by both Democrats and Republicans. He is now a student
in the Law Department of the State University at Lawrence, Kansas.
Mr.
Louthan is a gentleman of the old school; courtly, kind and generous and his
residence is one of those hospitable homes the Solomon valley is famous for.
When twenty-three years of age he cast his first ballot in the presidential
campaign for President Pierce, and has been a solid Democrat ever since, taking
an interest in all political affairs, not for the sake of office but because he
believes it to be the duty of every citizen.
HONORABLE JOHN E. LUNDBLADE.
The subject of this sketch, John E. Lundblade,
of Jamestown, Kansas, is a prominent citizen and leading merchant of that little city,
and a man who has had a remarkably successful career. Mr. Lundblade began at the
bottom of the ladder, but by good management and close application has built up
a business that does credit to himself, the town, and the surrounding country.
Mr. Lundblade began his career as a clerk in the widely known Fair, one of
the best retail stores in Chicago. After one year he came to Cloud county and
considered it a fortunate move, when in 1878, he cast his lot with the
enterprising people of Jamestown. He acepted[sic] a position with S. Taylor and
later with William Taugman, as dry goods salesman, the latter firm being in the
building Mr. Lundblade now occupies.
In 1891, with a capital stock of one
thousand dollars, Mr. Lundblade opened a general merchandise store. In 1891 the
volume of business increased to the extent of demanding more room, and he
removed to the Elniff building. In 1896, this in turn became too crowded and he
occupied in connection the adjoining building, cutting two archways between,
making a room 48x70 feet in dimensions - with a basement - which is filled with
one of the best selected stocks of goods in the county, consisting of dry goods,
clothing, boots, shoes, groceries and queensware, invoicing fully one thousand
seven hundred dollars. This stock is turned more than twice annually.
Mr.
Lundblade is a native of Sweden, born in the city of Jenshopin, in 1862. When
seven years of age he came with his parents to America, and located in Bucklin,
Missouri, where they resided about eleven years and where he received a common
school education. In 1878, his father, Charles Lundblade, moved to Republic
county, Kansas, where he is a prosperous farmer, living near Kackley. Mr.
Lundblade's mother died in Missouri in 1870, leaving three sons, all of whom are
living. Al, a farmer near Jamestown, and Robert, a farmer of Republic county. By
a second marriage there were three children, two of whom are living, viz.:
Ellen, wife of Leonard Nelson, of Republic county, and the youngest son, Joe,
lives at home.
Mr. Lundblade owns a well improved farm two miles south of
Jamestown, which he bought about three years ago. He also owns some good real
estate in Jamestown, and one of the most desirable homes in the county. A
windmill furnishes irrigation for a fine lawn, which is Mr. Lundblade's especial
pride. His home is a modern cottage elegantly furnished and presided over by
Mrs. Lundblade, who was Miss Georgia Mercer, whom he married in 1886. Mrs.
Lundblade is a lady of elegant tastes and a helpmate in the truest sense of the
word.
Politically, Mr. Lundblade is a Democrat, has served two terms as
mayor, of Jamestown, and is a member of the present city council; was postmaster
four years under Cleveland's second administration. He is a prominent Mason, a
member of the I.O.O.F. and of the K. of P. He has been one of the directors of
the Jamestown bank since its organization, The magnitude of business done by Mr.
Lundblade evidences his excellent ability as a manager and financier. He is
still a young man and bids fair to become one of the foremost merchants in the
county.
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