1903 Biographies

Unless otherwise stated, these biographies were transcribed from Biographical History of Cloud County, Kansas by E.F. Hollibaugh, published in 1903. There are also many accompaning portraits and pictures in the book.

ARTHUR SELLECK.

Like many of the pioneers of Cloud county, Arthur Selleck, the subject of this sketch, is reaping in peace and comfort that which was sown in hardship, bloodshed and in misfortune. Many of the old settlers will remenber the brutal murder of his father, James Selleck, one of the most highly respected citizens of Solomon township in the spring time of 1871, which caused great excitement and indignation throughout the county at the time.

One Elmer Maxom was the guilty culprit, but this inhuman monster escaped punishment. James Selleck bought the relinquishment of his homestead from one Castile, who was the step-father of Elmer Maxom. With these two men Mr. Selleck had been hunting, and presumably they discovered that he had money on his person. The Sellecks retired for the night when young Maxom, who was only twenty-two years of age, asked to be admitted and given a night's lodging.

He was a neighbor and, supposing him to be a friend, the request was cheerfully granted and he was told to occupy the bed with Arthur, then a mere lad of nineteen years. About midnight, with the gun that hung on the wall over his bed, the murderer began shooting, Mr. Selleck receiving the bullet in the head over the right eye. Only one shot was fired and fearing his aim had not been a deadly one the fiend attacked his victim with an ax. Arthur reached for his gun to go to his father's assistance but found the murderer had preceded him and secured the gun. It was discovered that others had been outside to assist in case he was not equal to the heinous crime, for a hatchet which had been stolen from H.H. Spaulding was found outside the door. In various ways they had tried to make it appear that the culprits were Indians, having on numerous occasions related stories of the red skins' murderous attacks on the settlers thereby keeping the Sellecks in abject fear of a raid being made upon them. The robbers had been lying in wait for Mr. Selleck for some time and schemed various plans for the robbery. Maxom was caught and taken to Concordia and after a preliminary trial was placed in the jail at Salina, where, through accomplices, he made his escape and was never captured. Mr. Selleck lingered sixteen days and died May 8, 1871, at the age of forty-nine years.

James Selleck was a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and came to Illinois in 1850, locating in La Salle county. He had followed various vocations, was a carpenter, retail salesman, dairyman, etc. He was married to Eliza Strawn in 1854. Her paternal grandfather came from Germany and settled in Sandusky, Ohio, moving to Illinois when Mrs. Selleck was about three years old. Mrs. Selleck survives her husband and lives with her son Walter on the old homestead in Solomon township where they settled in 1869. Prior to settling in Kansas the Sellecks lived several years in Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. James Selleck three children were born, Arthur (the subject of this sketch) and Walter, twins, and Louise Kate, deceased, wife of W.H. White, who died in 1885, leaving Nellie, an infant nine months old, now living with her grandmother.

Arthur Selleck and his twin brother, Walter, were born on a farm in Harrison county, Iowa, June 30, 1857. The father being killed when the brothers were boys, they early occupied places at the head of the household, giving all the assistance possible to the wife and mother who was rendered well-nigh helpless and has never in fact recovered from the shock of her husband's untimely death; thus their early education was limited.

Mr. Selleck lives on the old home place, his mother deeding him her share. He bought out the other heirs about twenty years ago. He also owns eighty acres of land cornering with the old homestead, just over the line in Mitchell county, and one hundred and sixty acres in Ottawa county. The home farm is among the finest in this region, and Mr. Selleck is one of the most practical and successful farmers and stock raisers in his neighborhood. He keeps a herd of about fifty head of finely bred Shorthorn cattle; raises hogs extensively and has made money more easily and rapidly in the latter than in any other industry. He has fed hogs that netted him $1 per bushel for wheat that yielded thirty bushels to the acre.

Mr. Selleck did the most sensible thing of his life when, on April 9, 1882, he married Julia Murphy, who is a refined, estimable and gentle woman. She is a daughter of James Murphy, who has been a farmer and resident of Cloud county since 1880. For the past five years he has made his home with his daughter. Mrs. Selleck is one of five children, all of whom are deceased but herself and one sister, Mrs. W.H. White, who lives on a farm near Beloit. A sister, Mrs. Dora Pendas, who had been failing in health for five years visited Mrs. Selleck with the hope of recovering, but she became hopelessly ill; another sister, Mrs. Rosa Schram, of Denver, was sent for, and arriving on the first Sunday in June was stricken with a sudden illness, dying four weeks later. The sister from Florida died October 12, 1892. A son and two daughters were deceased within the space of a few weeks.

Mr. and Mrs. Selleck have three interesting children, viz: Eva, nineteen years of age, is learning photography in Minneapolis, Kansas; Dora aged nine and Marie aged seven. Politically Mr. Selleck is a Populist. He is a member of the Sons and Daughters of Justice, Simpson Lodge, No. 131, Knights and Ladies of Security, Asherville Lodge No. 361.

The Selleck home is a pleasant one, a comfortable five-room cottage, standing on an eminence of ground which affords a magnificent view of the fertile lands and cultivated fields of the Solomon valley. The hospitality one receives from these kind-hearted people creates a desire to visit them again. One accessory to this farm seldom or never found in Cloud county is a natural reservoir of clear water fed by a large spring within a few yards of the door. The government stocked this water with carp, but not finding them desirable Mr. Selleck had them exchanged for cat fish which are rapidly growing and doing well.

JOSEPH D. SEXSMITH.

The subject of this sketch, J.D. Sexsmith, is one of Cloud county's sixty-niners who took up a homestead and began farm life on an uncultivated Kansas prairie with a yoke of wild Texas steers. He was an unmarried man at that time and only improved his claim enough to hold it and engaged in teaching school on the frontier, He was the pioneer teacher in the "Rice" district and in this seat of learning, constructed of sod and boards, Mr. Sexsmith imparted knowledge to about one dozen rising young Kansans and received a salary of twenty-five dollars per month.

His father, Matthew Sexsmith, a farmer of Delaware county, New York, the place of our subject's nativity, was also an early settler in Kansas. He filed on government land in Cloud county and lived there until his death in 1886. His mother before her marriage was Mary Douglas. She died in 1852, when Mr. Sexsmith was but six years old, and left six other children. Mr. Sexsmith acquired his rudimental education in the common schools of New York, followed by an academic course in Andes Collegiate Institute of Andes, New York, graduating from this institution, took a regent's examination and was granted a diploma. He was practically reared on a farm and followed that occupation until 1864, when he enlisted at the youthful age of eighteen years in Company I, One Hundred and Forty-fourth New York Volunteers.

This regiment changed the position of their troops from Virginia to the Department of the South and operated under the command of General Gillmore. During Sherman's march to the sea his regiment occupied the attention at the other end of the route. The One Hundred and Forty-fourth was the first Union regiment in the city of Charleston, but Mr. Sexsmith was prevented from being there, owing to a wound he received in a charge on James Island and was disabled for two months. He joined the forces at Hilton Head, South Carolina, where they remained until discharged. When they were mustered out at Elmira, New York, Mr. Sexsmith returned to his home and resumed his farming pursuits until coming to Kansas in 1869.

By 1876 he had improved his homestead to the extent of concluding he could afford a wife, and believing it was not best for man to live alone, he was united with Miss Emma Lamb in the bonds of matrimony. Her father, T.C. Lamb, came from Missouri, where she was born, and settled in Shirley township. He was also an engineer and saw mill man. After having put his land under a high state of cultivation, Mr. Sexsmith sold it in 1882 and moved into Clyde, where he was engaged in various pursuits, chief among which was an interest in the manufacture of pottery. In 1884 he was elected clerk of the court of Cloud county. At the expiration of his term in this office he embarked in the real estate and insurance business. In 1899 he was elected city clerk of Concordia and was re-elected each succeeding, year until 1901, when he retired and engaged again in the real estate and insurance business.

To Mr. and Mrs. Sexsmith four children have been born, viz: Daniel J., court stenographer at Enid, Oklahoma; Matthew T., associate editor of the Concordia Press; Charlotte Gertrude, a successful Cloud county teacher, and Leonard D., a student of the Concordia High school.

Mr. Sexsmith is a Republican politically and takes an active part in all legislative affairs. He cast his first vote for President Grant in 1868. Mr. Sexsmith takes an active interest in everything pertaining to the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a member and past post commander of W.T. Sherman Post, of Concordia.

J. W. SHAY.

Among the men in the vicinity of Miltonvale who have accumulated a comfortable competency in a comparatively short time is J.W. Shay, of the firm of Shay & McArthur, attorneys, collectors and real estate dealers. Mr. Shay came to Kansas in 1868 and settled in Lewisburg, Miami county, where he engaged in the milling business until 1874. At the expiration of that time he came to Cloud county and homesteaded land six miles west of the east corner of the southern line of the county. He sold this land In 1882 and enaged in the milling business with the firm of Shay, Catlin & Angelo, who were succeeded in 1884 by Shay & Angelo, and continued until 1886, when the mill was burned to the ground. They ran until six o'clock and about midnight the mill was a total wreck, only partially covered by insurance. The loss to the company was twelve thousand dollars. The mill was a good property, with a capacity of fifty barrels of flour per day and a grain elevator in connection. This loss crippled Mr. Shay financially and he was over two thousand dollars in debt, paying two per cent. interest on the greater part of it. In 1886 he established himself in the real estate business and since that time, by diligent application, he has acquired four hundred and eighty acres of land, which he has improved, built a handsome residence, good outbuildings, and the farm is well supplied with implements and machinery. He also has a fine herd of about one hundred graded shorthorn cattle.

Mr. Shay is a native of Crawford county, Ohio, born in 1846. His father was Daniel Shay, a native of Virginia, and when a young man came to Ohio and gained a livelihood by farming. The Shays, as the name implies, are of Irish origin. His mother was Sarah Warden. Her people were from Virginia. Mr. Shay is one of eight children, six boys and two girls. He and a sister, Isabelle Bishop, of Jefferson county, Nebraska, are the only surviving members. Mr. Shay served about four months near the close of the war. His four brothers were in the army. William was killed at Franklin, Tennessee. The other three died from one to five years later from diseases contracted during the service.

Mr. Shay was married in 1877 to Francessa Neill. They are the parents of five children: John, the eldest son, and Jesse are graduates of the Miltonvale school, and these two boys operate the farm. Fannie is a graduate of the Miltonvale school. George and James are both students of the high school.

Mr. Shay has always supported the principles of the Republican party. He has filled the office of police judge and justice of the peace. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1882. Mr. Shay is an auctioneer and can get as much money out of a sale as any man in the The family are among the leading people, socially, of their community.

GEORGE SHAFER.

The subject of this sketch, the late venerable George Shafer, one of the old pioneers of Cloud county, came to Kansas in the autumn of 1867, and was in the Solomon valley during the turbulent Indian raids. He was born in the "Keystone" state in 1818, and has always been a tiller of the soil. He was of German origin. His parents were John and Susan (Kellar) Shafer. When one year old his father moved from his native town, Hamilton, Pennsylvania, to New York, and settled in Allegany county. In 1850, Mr. Shafer emigrated to Illinois, and later in the same year entered land in the state of Iowa, when that country was very sparsely settled.

Seventeen years subsequently he came to Kansas and homesteaded the land upon which he resided at the time of his demise. With his wife and nine children he lived in a dugout until the Indian raid on the 14th day of August. He had lumber on the ground for the purpose of erecting a dwelling. As the militia, that had been formed to protect the settlers, rode up the building burst into flames. They could get no water as the Indians had cut the well rope, and their dugout and its contents, including the lumber on the ground were destroyed. A large can of kerosene was supposed to have been poured over things which aided them in burning more rapidly. The family of E.J. Fowler was with the Shafers' when they discovered the band of marauders roaming around, and, knowing there was immediate danger, threw a supply of bedding and provisions into a wagon, huddled together in the one vehicle and drove rapidly away. As they did so they saw five Indians approaching and the fire was the result of the latters' visit to the dugout. The two families joined the stockade at Minneapolis, thankful to have escaped with their lives. Mr. Shafer lost property to the amount of $1,200, including a horse stolen by the redskins. This was a severe blow to the family's prospects, and it was several years ere Mr. Shafer regained what he lost in the raid. Later the settlers established another stockade on Gilbert creek, where they would club together, plant and till their crops and return to the place of safety at night.

Mr. Shafer was married, October, 1848, to Laura Belcher. They lived forty-eight years and seven months of happy wedded life together, and to this union fourteen children were born, all but one of whom are living, - ten daughters and three sons, - viz.: Alpha J., wife of J.G. Lancaster, a farmer and stockman of Lincoln county; Eliza Ann is her father's housekeeper, and is an industrious and excellent woman; Mary Lovina, wife of J. Harshbarger, a farmer and stockman of Lincoln county; Susan Helen, died at the age of five years in Iowa; Lucy Elmira, wife of W.P. Doty, a farmer of Cloud county; Olive Adell, wife of J.R. Clarke, a farmer, stockman and railroad man, and at the present time depot agent at Milo, Lincoln county, Kansas; George Washington; Rachel Irene, wife of J.B. Sage, an extensive farmer and stockman of Lyon township; Emma Lucretia, wife of O.C. Harris, a miner of Jamestown, Colorado; Frances Arvilla, wife of A.C. Greeley, a farmer near Longmont, Colorado; Oliva Amadella, wife of W.M. Clark, a farmer and stockman near Delphos (Mrs. Clark was the first child of the family born in Kansas); Laura Luna, wife of E.C. Greely, a miller of Goldhill, Colorado: William Henry, a farmer of Lincoln county, Kansas, married Emma Jones; John Freeman, the youngest child, is a farmer and married Bertha Diehuel.

The Shafers were members of the Congregational church, but when they settled in Iowa the church of their choice did not exist there and they joined the Methodist Episcopal church. After locating in Kansas they joined the congregation of United Brethren. It became disorganized and they united with the Christian church, and are regular attendants and active workers.

By the death of Mr. Shafer a long and useful life has been brought to a close. He was a man of many admirable traits of character. He lived an honorable life of four score and four years ere he joined the hosts of the unknown where many of the snowy-headed pioneers have gone on before, and where his wife preceded him on June 7, 1898. He was a devoted friend of every good cause and in his passing the community lost one of its most highly respected citizens.

JAMES P. SHEA.

One of the self-made men, progressive farmers and recognized political leaders of Meredith township is J.P. Shea, a native of Wabash county, Indiana, born in 1856. His father was Jeremiah Shea, a native of the Emerald Isle, who left his native land when a young a man to make a home in America. He died when only thirty-two years of age, of pneumonia, leaving a wife and two sons. Mr. Shea's mother was Catherine Breen, also a native of Ireland. To this union four children were born, two of whom are living. A brother Michael, is one of the representative farmers of Meredith township. The mother was married a second time, her last husband, Jeremiah Sullivan, dying in 1877. To this union six children were born, viz: Patrick, Flurry, Lawrence, Mary, Johanna and Helena, all of whom are single and live at home with their mother on the farm In Meredith township.

When Mr. Shea was about one year old his father's family moved to Dubuque, Iowa, and two years later to Pettis county, Missouri, sixty miles east of Warrensburg, where Mr. Shea received a common school education. In 1872, he came to Kansas and located the homestead where he now lives. He began farming for himself at the age of twenty years. In 1900, he purchased the desirable original Burson homestead and now owns three hundred and twenty acres of very excellent land. They live in a comfortable cottage of five rooms. Most of Mr. Shea's ground is corn land but he intends raising in the future more wheat and alfalfa. He has thirty head of two-year-old Hereford and Shorthorn cattle and raises hogs extensively. For a period of eight years Mr. Shea was elected shipper, annually for the Glasco Shipping Association.

He was married February 4, 1884, to Margaret McLean, a native of Abilene, Dickenson county, Kansas. She was a daughter of F.A. McLean, who for several years was a farmer and blacksmith of Meredith township. He died in 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Shea's family consist of eight children, the oldest of whom is sixteen. Joseph, Thomas, Tessie, Charles, Helen, James, Agnes and Jeremiah. Mr. Shea is a Populist but was elected trustee of the township in 1887-8 on the Democratic ticket. The family are regular attendants and active members of the Catholic church.

MICHAEL F. SHEA.

The subject of this sketch, M.F. Shea, a prosperous farmer of Meredith township and a brother of James Shea, is a native of Syracuse, Missouri, born in 1860. He came to Kansas with the family in 1868, and located at Leavenworth, but one year later returned to Missouri. They came to Kansas again in 1872, and Mr. Shea bought the relinquishment to a timber claim of C.P. Carpenter which he improved and lived on five years and then bought eighty acres adjoining his mother's farm where he still lives.

Mr. Shea started in life with absolutely no capital, but by his brawn and muscle has acquired a comfortable fortune. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of land, making stock raising his chief industry. He raises hogs extensively and has a fine herd of Hereford bred cattle. In 1883 he erected a comfortable stone residence doing most of the masonry himself.

Mr. Shea was married the same year to Maggie, a daughter of John Dooley, who was at one time a farmer of Cloud county, but is now retired and living at Concordia. Her mother was Mary Ann Murphy. Her parents were both of Irish birth. John Dooley came to America when a young man about twenty-one years of age and settled in New York City where he became a coachman in the family of a wealthy New Yorker. He later settled in Lebanon, Ohio, where he met and married Miss Murphy, who came from Ireland with her parents when a child. They settled in Cloud county in 1881, where Mrs. Dooley died in 1887. Mrs. Shea is one of three children, two of whom are living; a sister, Mary, wife of Michael Hart, a farmer of Ottawa county, Kansas.

Mr. and Mrs. Shea are the parents of six children, viz: James, aged fourteen; William, aged eleven; Mark, aged nine; Thomas, Margaret and Lewis, aged respectively six, four and two years. Mr. Shea is a Bryan Democrat and takes an interest in political affairs. He has served as constable, treasurer and trustee of his township, and has been suggested by his friends for sheriff. Mr. Shea acquired his early education in a dugout at Meredith. He is considered one of the leading citizens of his township. They are members of the Catholic church, St. Peter's congregation.

DODDRIDGE F. SHEFFIELD.

D.F. Sheffield, a farmer and stockman of Lyon township, five miles east of Glasco, is a native of Indiana, born in 1861, in Kosciusko county, twelve miles from Warsaw. When nine years of age he came with his father's family to Kansas, and settled in Linn county, and in 1876 came to Cloud county. His parents are Charles and Cynthia (Funk) Sheffield. His father was born in Rochelle, New York, in 1833, and came to Indiana with his parents when a lad, he farmed in Indiana, but in his earlier life was a school teacher. He took up a homestead in Cloud county, four miles north of Glasco, where he lived nine years, sold and then went to Topeka, where he worked in the repairing department of the Santa Fe railroad shops, and the last three years of his life was foreman there. He died in April, 1901. He was a bright and educated man. He was a Republican in politics and when the Santa Fe had any business to transact they had confidence enough in his ability to make him their representative and sent him out to campaign for them. He was an old and popular employe; had been with them thirteen years and by his kindly disposition made many friends, who were shocked to hear of his demise. He died suddenly of heart trouble after a few days of indisposition. He was of English parentage. His ancestors were seafaring men, his paternal grandfather having been captain of a British merchantman. Charles Sheffield moved to Indiana when a boy and received a high school education. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and a great reader. He was connected with the Cloud County Empire as a solicitor for subscriptions and advertisements and contributed articles to the newspapers which won for him commendation. He served in the Union army as a private in the Thirty-first Indiana Infantry. He was a member of the Second Presbyterian church of Topeka, of the Grand Army of the Republic and a Mason. The Monday prior to his death six children and ten grandchildren and a number of friends assembled to celebrate their forty-sixth anniversary.

D.F. Sheffield's mother is a native of Ohio, of German origin. He is one of seven children, viz.: Mrs. W.C. Scott, of Oklahoma; Mrs. F.H. Hood, of Topeka; Mrs. J.N. Hughes, of Kansas City; Charles Sheffield, of Kansas City, a conductor on the Fort Scott & Memphis railroad; J.S., a carpenter in the Santa Fe shops of Topeka; and R.E., a painter with residence in Topeka,

D.F. Sheffield has always been a farmer. He began by renting land, and in 1894 bought the splendid farm where he now lives. It then consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, but in June, 1901, he bought an adjoining quarter section, built a nice little cottage of four rooms, good cellar, ice house, etc. He has a good young orchard and fruit of every description started. He has been very successful in growing evergreen trees and has a fine lot of them started. His ground is mostly wheat land. He keeps a herd of about forty Hereford and Shorthorn cattle. In 1887, he married Frances N., a daughter of A. Newell (see sketch). Mr. Sheffield is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge. He is one of the rising young farmers of the Solomon valley.

HONORABLE A.J. SHELHAMER.

A.J. Shelhamer was one of the pioneers of Cloud county and was a good citizen, being one of the most enterprising men in the community. He came with small capital but soon established one of the best farms in the vicinity of Concordia, lying about two miles west of that city. He did much toward the passing of the herd law and was president of the Agricultural Society, a flourishing body in the early 'seventies. Mr. Shelhamer organized the first band in the county, buying the instruments while on a visit to his old Michigan home.

HONORABLE WILLIAM T. SHORT.

William T. Short, one of the prominent residents of Concordia, ex-representative and well-known building contractor, was the first white child born in the township where his parents resided in Stark county, Indiana. His birth occurred May 20, 1847. He is a son of Job and Nancy Short, who were both born in Sussex county, Delaware, in the years 1812 and 1810, respectively. They were married in 1830 and eight years later emigrated to Cass county, Indiana, and thence to Stark county, where they remained thirteen years and then removed to Plymouth, in the same state. When they left their native Delaware there were not many railroads in existence, especially to the westward, and the greater part of their journey was accomplished on flatboats that plied the Ohio river. Their neighbors in the new home consisted largely of wild Indians, but with the industry and perseverance that characterize the pioneer of every country, they cleared a farm in the wilderness and gained a home. Their family consisted of nine children, six sons and three daughters, four of whom are living. Mr. Short's parents were also pioneers of Kansas. They settled in Washington county, five miles east of Clyde in 1867 and subsequently removed to Concordia, where they lived until their deaths. The paternal ancestry of Mr. Short were Danish, his forefathers having emigrated to Delaware in the sixteenth century. They are a long lived race, all having lived to a ripe old old age.

Mr. Short received a good common school education at Plymouth, Indiana, and pursued an academic course, but ere he had finished he enlisted his services to sustain the stars and stripes. He was a member of Company E, One-Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Regiment. After being discharged he re-entered school, but in 1866 he began learning the trade that has brought him good financial returns. That he might more fully complete the requirements he went to Chicago in 1871, where he resided until 1873, when he came to Concordia, his present home and where probably he has erected more buildings than any other two men who have been engaged in contracting.

Mr. Short has always been an uncompromising Republican, voted while in the army for Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and has clung to the "old bark" through evil as well as good repute. He was elected to represent Cloud county in the legislature in the autumn of 1898 and re-elected in 1900, In the various orders with which he is associated he has advanced to the highest office in the lodge. He is identified with the Knights of Honor, Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of the Maccabees and Grand Army of the Republic. He has served three terms as member of the city council and two terms on the board of education in Concordia. In summing up his characteristics, social and official career, Mr. Short jocosely remarked, "I am a full-blooded Methodist, but have not been working at the business much of late."

Mr. Short was married October 7, 1877, to Miss Belle F. Hale, of Jewell county, Kansas. Mrs. Short left Nova Scotia, the place of her nativity, when twelve years of age and became a citizen of Kansas. To their union have been born two promising sons, Rial A., born September 1, 1878, and Floyd L., born June 16, 1881, and a little daughter, Garnett E., born January 27, 1892.

W. E. SHRADER.

The subject of this sketch, W.E. Shrader, came to Kansas with the tide of emigration that rolled into the state during the early 'seventies. He bought the relinquishment of a claim on Oak creek, where he lived from 1873 until the latter part of the 'eighties, when he sold the homestead and bought a farm on Wolf creek. Mr. Shrader has been successful, owning five hundred and sixty acres of finely improved land, is retired from the busy farm life and, with his wife, is enjoying the proceeds of their accumulated interests in a pleasant home, a brick cottage located on East Seventh street. Their three sons and three daughters are all married and have homes of their own. His sons are all practical farmers and stockmen, and as they add other lands and their herds increase, their property holdings will be numerous as those of their sire. Mr. Shrader made every dollar of his present fine estate in Kansas and, although he has met with many reverses and was in straitened circumstances during the grasshopper raid, he prefers the Sunflower state. Mr. Shrader was born and reared in Washington county, Ohio, near Marietta, the oldest town in the Buckeye state, but asserts he could not gain a livelihood there after having lived on the prairies of Kansas. However, there were times during his early career in the state when, had it been possible to gather up his family and depart for fairer fields, he would have joyfully done so; but like most Kansans he was bound down and could not leave, for which condition he is now duly thankful. He is most happy that he continued in Kansas to raise cattle and hogs, having made the bulk of his property in stock raising.

Our subject was nurtured in the principles of Democracy and still clings to that faith. Socially he is a member of the Concordia encampment of Odd Fellows. The Shraders are attendants of the United Brethren church, of which Mrs. Shrader is a member.

GEORGE WASHINGTON SMAILE.

G.W. Smaile is a retired farmer and one of those old veterans of the Civil war that never tires of relating army lore. He enlisted August 15, 1862, at the age of eighteen years in Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, under T.B. Rogers and Colonel R.P. Roberts, serving until May 11, 1865. He entered as a private and was promoted to sergeant. He received a slight wound in the hand June 2, 1864, at the battle of Cold Harbor, which disabled him until the following February. He was in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristow Station, Mine Run campaign, Todd's Tavern, Spottsylvania Court House, Lone Pine, Petersburg, Five Forks and at the surrender of Appomattox and was mustered out at Alexandria, Virginia. His company distinguished themselves and lost the heaviest of any in the state.

After the war Mr. Smaile emigrated to Iowa when that state was new, and six years later emigrated to Kansas, where he homesteaded land in Ottawa, just over the line from Cloud county, and ten miles southeast of Glasco, where they suffered many trials during the drouth and grasshopper years. He sold this farm two years later and after several removals located in Delphos in 1897, and in 1893 bought a residence property in Glasco, where he has since resided.

Mr. Smaile is a native of the "Keystone" state, born in September, 1843. He is from a race of farmers. His father was Henry Smaile. The family four generations removed were from Germany. His paternal grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier and died of smallpox on Lake Erie. Mr. Smaile's mother was Sophronia McKessick, of Scotch-Irish origin. She was a native of Maine but reared in the state of Pennsylvania. His parents died at the age of eighty years, respectively.

Mr. Smaile went home from the war and began the battle of life with the woman who had prayed for his safe return. He was married in March, 1866, to Vallie Hutton, a daughter of John Grant, who was an own cousin of General Grant. Her maternal grandfather was a farmer, and died in Delphos, Kansas, in December, 1892, at the age of one hundred and two years. He had received his second eyesight, was a remarkably well preserved man, possessed of a clear mind. Mrs. Smaile has his autograph written at the age of one hundred years. Her mother died April, 1901, at the age of eighty years.

Mr. and Mrs. Smaile are the parents of four children: Minnie, wife of James Cobb, a farmer near Glasco; Nellie, an excellent dressmaker; Ida, wife of John Teasley, a farmer near Glasco, and Frank, who is interested in farming. Mr. Smaile votes the Republican ticket and is a justice of the peace. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post of Glasco. The family are members and active workers in the Christian church.

BENJAMIN P. SMITH, M. D.

The present age is the age of the young man. In all the walks of life, and more especially in the west, is this tendency conspicuous.

Doctor Smith is a son of S.P. and Elizabeth (Neil) Smith (see sketch), and is a Kansan born and bred; was born in the town of Clyde, November 23, 1879. He received a high school education in Miltonvale, graduating In 1895. For the three years following he became interested with his father in farming and stock raising, but deciding to abandon farm life, he entered the American school of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, in 1898, and received the degree of Doctor of Osteopathy in 1900. He began the practice of his profession in Clinton, Missouri, July 13, 1900.

At the expiration of one year, he returned to Miltonvale, and opened an office where he has given successful treatments; but owing to the science being yet in its infancy, the people require being educated up to it. Osteopathy was discovered in its first germs of truth by Doctor Andrew T. Still, of Kirksville, Missouri. His first statement of the discovery met with ridicule and abuse. No one believed him. He was branded as a fraud, a pretender and impudent quack. Time passed on; through poverty and contempt, he bravely held his own, fought down the opposition of the unthinking until now we have in Osteopathy a science, not perfect, but in a fair way to become so; a science now recognized by more than one state in this republic as a legitimate method of healing diseases and deformity. A science which recognizes no compromise with drugs, in which the healing art reaches the highest pinnacle of approximation to nature. By only the human body to heal itself, using the means which the Almighty has put in the human body to restore natural conditions where these are absent. They contend the body is perfect. When in a natural condition we are in health; when all is not as it might to be, when the adjustment is at fault, if such a term might be used in speaking of the intricate, animate, sentient machine, which we call "man."

The Osteopath corrects the abnormality, regulates the amount and flow of blood, strengthens or diminishes the amount of nerve force traveling through the various channels without any adventitious aid from drugs. Health, absent solely through the presence of the abnormality, returns on the righting of the wrong. That the Osteopaths can and are doing these things every day, is a demonstrated truth. Osteopathy is practiced in all the states, and sixteen of them have legislative enactment to that effect. - [Doctor B.P. Smith has entered the Medico-Chirurgical College of Kansas City, since the above matter was compiled. He will not abandon the science of Osteopathy by any means, but will finish a course in the Medical College that he may administer either successfully in his practice. - Editor.

DWIGHT M. SMITH.

The subject of this sketch, Dwight M. Smith, an attorney of Concordia, is a native of Victory, Ohio, born in 1872. Since locating in Concordia ten years ago, Mr. Smith has been progressing steadily. He held various positions prior to reading law. Was general manager of the Lombard Investment Company and in 1892-3 was court reporter. He entered upon the study of law in the office of Pulsifer & Alexander. His choice of association was a wise one and lasting in its influence.

In 1900 he opened a law office and has been successful in his profession. The same year he received the nomination for county attorney by the Republican party and was defeated by George M. Culver by a small majority. Mr. Smith is president of the Commercial club of Concordia. His father, J.T. Smith, was formerly engaged in general merchandising, but is now in the real estate business in Norton, Kansas. Mr. Smith was married in 1900 to Miss Georgia Noll, of Marion, Kansas. She was a popular teacher in the primary department of the Concordia schools.

ROBERT W. SMITH.

The subject of this sketch is R.W. Smith, the resident and owner "Clover Valley Stock Farm," one of the most beautiful and valuable estates in the country, situated in the southwestern corner of Cloud county. Mr. Smith is a grandson of the Reverend Joseph Smith, who had charge of the Cross Creek and Buffalo churches in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1790, and from that time onward until his death in 1800. His salary was small; too small to support himself and family, so he bought a farm on credit, expecting to meet the consideration to be paid with a salary promised by the people of his parish. Time rolled on until three years' income was due. The people wanted to remunerate their minister, but how could they? Wheat was abundant but there was no market; it would not bring over a dime per bushel; even salt had to be brought across the mountains on pack horses and in exchange for one bushel of that commodity twenty-one bushels of wheat was given. At last the day dawned when the minister's salary must be forthcoming or lose his farm, for the mortgage was overdue. Meetings were called to consider the matter but nothing tangible materialized until one day, Mr. Moore, who had the only mill in the settlement, agreed that if the people would furnish a boat, barrels and wheat he would give them a boat load of flour, providing they could get it transported to New Orleans, adding that the proceeds would pay off the debt. The offer was received with favor; coopers and boat builders went to work with a will and farmers subscribed wheat lavishly. Many of the brethren donated fifty bushels and others more. Within a month the boat was loaded and ready for market, but in the meantime a new difficulty arose. No one volunteered to take the transaction in hand or seemed willing to go on a venture fraught with so many dangers and hardships. Finally Elder Smiley, an old man, and a granduncle of our subject, offered his services, while two men were induced to accompany him. Starting on this journey was an event which called forth not only the Pennsylvania settlement but the neighboring colony in Virginia to attend the Elder in his journey to the landing, fifteen miles distant. Men, women and children congregated together to bid - as many thought - the old gentleman and his assistants a final adieu, an everlasting farewell, and as they gathered at the river many tearful good-byes were exchanged.

More than nine months elapsed and no message was forthcoming from the little crew of brave and daring men until one Sabbath morning, to the joy and satisfaction of the whole community, Elder Smiley appeared in the congregation looking younger and better that when he had departed on this perilous journey. A meeting was appointed for Monday following and the good Elder reported as follows: "I have faced more dangers than I could tell you about in a week, but thanks be to God I am safe, and sold the flour at twenty-seven dollars per barrel." He then presented a hugh buckskin "poke" and poured on the table such a pile of Spanish gold as that primitive people had never seen. The church debt was paid and the pastor, Reverend Joseph Smith, our subject's grandfather, made independent, and there was cause for universal rejoicing. To relate Elder Smiley's experiences on this journey would fill a volume. It was before the days of navigation and he made the return trip from New Orleans on foot and was twice captured by the Indians.

Mr. Smith's maternal grandmother was Eleanor Adams and after her husband's death she married Isaac Stout, of Rome, Adams county, Ohio. Isaac Stout was captain of an Ohio regiment in the war of 1812, and a major in the Mexican war. Mr. Smith was born in Lewis county, Kentucky, April 13, 1841. He is a son of Alexander and Margaret (Stout) Smith. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and subsequently emigrated to Kentucky, where he was a farmer and boat builder, following the latter avocation on the Ohio river. His mother was born in Ohio but of Scotch parentage. He removed with His parents from Kentucky to Missouri in 1857, and returning to visit friends in his native state during the period of the gathering war clouds, he joined Company I, Fourth Kentucky Infantry, under Colonel Speed S. Fry, and during his three years of service protecting the glorious stars and stripes - for, though he was a Kentuckian born and bred, he was loyal to his country - he participated in thirteen engagements. Thirteen has been Mr. Smith's lucky number, always producing good fortune. He was born on the 13th instant and many of the important or weighty matters of his career have seemingly hinged upon this ordinarily condemned numeral.

Mr. Smith's career and that of the members of his regiment were distinguished by fearlessness of danger and undaunted spirit. They fought valiantly in the battles of Mill Springs, Kentucky, the second days' fight at Shiloh, Chichamauga, Missionary Ridge and siege of Atlanta. His Company experienced the greatest hardships while on the McCook raid. Of their nine hundred and fifty-two brave soldiers, all but one hundred and twenty were killed, wounded and captured. Company I, after a hard and well fought struggle, was forced to surrender. The Confederates came upon them about daylight and were driven back, but the rebels were reinforced and as the Union soldiers repaired to a crossing further down the stream they suddenly found themselves in the midst of an overwhelming number of rebels, and but fourteen men of Company I escaped, four were killed, nine wounded and the others taken prisoners. Mr. Smith was one of the fortunate fourteen, but while cutting his way through he was slightly wounded in the hand. When the little fragment of men swam their horses through the Chattahoochee river and reached the Union lines at Marietta fourteen days later they were exhausted. They had been almost constantly in the saddle and five days during this time were without sleep, and with but very little to eat.

After serving three years, two months and sixteen days, Mr. Smith was honorably discharged, returned to his home in Carroll county, Missouri, and a few months later emigrated to Kansas and on October 19, 1863, he filed on a homestead. His present fine country seat, then on the frontier. Could Mr. Smith and his father's family have "dipped into the dim future" and foreseen all the sorrows and horrors of Indian warfare, their hopes for a home in the "wild west" would have died within them. After filing on his land and building his dugout, fourteen dollars, a wagon, a span of horses, and a cow represented Mr. Smith's capital stock. The second year the Indians stole his horses and the cow died. The Union Pacific railroad was under course of construction and he became an employe, earning enough to procure another start in life and in December, 1866, he was married to Mary Ann Hendershot, who came to Kansas from Ohio with her parents a short time previously. They are still living in the Solomon valley just over the line from Cloud, in Ottawa county.

Mr. Smith's father located a homestead on Brown creek, in Mitchell county, in 1866, and was the earliest settler in that vicinity. With the building of the railroad the Indians assumed a more hostile attitude. Prior to this event the Cheyennes, Sioux and Arapahoes were friendIy and would camp near by, but they were opposed to civilization and with the building of a railroad through the country they realized their hunting grounds would soon become cultivated fields and the buffalo would be no more. Thus thinking the settlers were encroaching upon their rights, with savage threats they ordered Mr. Smith's father to leave the country, but he was heedless of their declarations until they murdered Bell, Bogardus, the Marshall boys and young Thompson. Directly after this raid took place Mr. Smith and his brother Alex moved their father's family onto what is now known as the Thomas Bennett farm, two miles southwest of Delphos. They had laid in a supply of provisions, prepared comfortable winter quarters and the father, with his two sons and their families feeling more secure, occupied the same dwelling. Although they felt a security in numbers they were destined to share the awful fate of many pioneers. Our subject, with a younger brother, had gone to Asherville for the purpose of joining a militia that was being organized for the protection of settlers. During their absence the father and son, A.C. Smith, were plowing furrows around some hay stacks to protect them from the prairie fires that were so common in those days, and while engaged in this, a party of Indians rode up from behind and shot them both down. The women ran screaming from the house, entered the brush along the river, waded through the stream for a considerable distance that the savage demons might lose trace of them, and finally dragged themselves out of the water, and with hearts wrung with a anguish and despair they crawled into the underbrush. These terror-stricken women - the mother and her two sons' wives - supposed the father and son were killed outright and knew not what fate, perhaps a thousands times worse than death, would be imposed upon them. But their screams had frightened the cowardly murderers, for an Indian is only brave when all the advantages are his. Who can imagine the horror-stricken scene that presented itself to the brothers on their arrival home the next morning, to find the father still living, but with a mortal gunshot wound through the shoulder near the lung, and with a spear, which had gone through his mouth and passed to the outside of the neck, knocking several of his teeth out. He died at 10 o'clock A. M., shortly after their arrival. The brother whose body was not found until two days later, was shot in the back and presumably in an attempt to cross the river was drowned. Not content with the heinous crime already committed, the Indians had entered the house and destroyed everything possible. They ripped open four large feather beds, broke in the staves of three barrels of molasses, and in one conglomerated mass were feathers, flour, molasses, coffee, sugar, etc. They carried away all the sugar and coffee they could and made a hurried flight, thinking the women of the house might appear with reinforcements at any moment. The family had provided a year's supply of provisions that had been hauled from Salina. On this same raid Mrs. Morgan was taken into captivity. Several years elapsed ere this family recovered from the shock of this terrible scene and the mother, completely bent and broken down with sorrow and grief, could not throw off the burdens of her cares, and after one year of repining, joined her husband and son in their "eternal home."

Mr. Smith returned to his homestead, where they eked out an existence until 1872. During that year he received one hundred dollars additional bounty and this money he invested in twenty-five calves. Two years later he sold them and invested the proceeds in fifty calves. Two years hence he sold this herd and bought one hundred head, fed and shipped them on the market. This was the starting point of his financial success. He bought more land and more cattle. Instead of selling his stock he raised corn, fed it and reduced the bulk instead of shipping the grain. He and his sons now own one thousand two hundred and forty acres in Cloud and Ottawa counties, with over one thousand acres under cultivation. He has a herd of about two hundred finely bred cattle, and of this number one hundred and twenty-five are Herefords. His farming is diversified, wheat, corn and alfalfa being his principal crops. He was among the first farmers to introduce the raising of alfalfa into his community.

To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born eleven children, seven of whom are living; four sons were deceased in infancy. Frank Wiley, born March 10, 1870, is married to Marctha Carten and lives on an adjoining farm. America, born March 5, 1873, is the wife of Pierce Lynch, a farmer living in Oklahoma; they are the parents of one son, Ernest. Minnie Myrtle, born May 5, 1873, is the wife of William Jones, a farmer of Ottawa county; their children are Esther and Lucy. Alexander, born October 17, 1875; Leroy born May 31, 1877; Alva, born August 25, 1881, and Archie, born February 24, 1886. The four last named are unmarried and living at home. Bertha Ellen Lyons, born March 10, 1892, is a little girl whose parents died and she has found a home with the family of Mr. Smith. Their children have been educated principally in the schools of Delphos, driving to and from. Leroy graduated from the Delphos high school in 1898, and took a business course in the Wesleyan College of Salina, and was a student one year in the State Normal of Emporia.

Mr. Smith is a staunch Republican, and was appointed one of the first commissioners of Cloud county in 1866; he did not qualify for this office, a severe blizzard preventing his appearance, but assisted in the organization of the county. It was some time after Mr. Smith's advent in the county before Delphos, Beloit or Concordia were even thought of, and he knew every settler within a radius of many miles or between Solomon City and the head of the Solomon river, until 1870. Socially, Mr. Smith is a member of Delphos Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and was commander of Wilderness Post No. 116, Grand Army of the Republic, of Delphos. Mr. Smith's brother, A.C., was the first county clerk elected in Ottawa county, but was killed before entering upon the duties of that office.

After living seven years in a dugout Mr. Smith built a two-room log house and the old landmark still stands as a monument of the shelter afforded in the primitive days. In 1893 he erected a handsome eleven-room residence, which is situated in one of the bends and on the banks of the Solomon river. This stately home is the outcome of years of suffering, privation, bloodshed and harrowing hairbreadth escapes. There are good outbuildings with stable room for fifty head of horses and sheds for all his cattle. An orchard loaded with the crimson and golden fruit and a mill from which was dispensed deliciously sweet cider is one of the author's most pleasant recollections.

Mr. Smith has witnessed the change and progress of a sandy desert, where the buffalo and Indian roamed unrestricted, into one of the most magnificent agricultural and stock raising countries in the United States, with handsome residences and fine barns on nearly every quarter section; school houses and churches that compare with those of any state in the Union, the telephone system, free rural-mail delivery at nearly every house and the recipients of these favors a contented and happy people. The present prosperous conditions do not bear out the statement made by General W.T. Sherman, while commanding the United States army in 1866, who, when appealed to for protection by the settlers of this locality, replied. "The settlement is one hundred miles too far west; that country is only fit for the Indians and buffalo."

Mr. Smith's only surviving brother, John S. Smith, is a well-to-do retired farmer, residing in Beloit. He settled in Mitchell county in April, 1866, and underwent many turbulent experiences with the redskins, at one time losing all his stock through them. John S. Smith was moving a family to Wamego, Kansas, and with them passed through Leavenworth the day prior to Quantrell's raid and massacre. They were allowed to pass through at the instigation of some Missouri abolitionist refugees.

Mr. Smith, the subject of this sketch, is awake to the interests of agriculture and stockraising; he is a director for the fifth district of the Co-operative Grain and Live Stock Association, and was recently re-elected to serve his second year.

Mr. Smith retains his Kentucky hospitality and the guest, whether friend or stranger, receives the welcome hand of fellowship his countrymen are famous for extending.

SOREN PETERSON SMITH.

Destiny did the proper thing when she ordained that such men as S.P. Smith's stamp should assist in laying the foundation of this western country.

Mr. Smith was born in the village of Hoirup, in Schleswig, a province of Denmark, in 1850; he remained in his native land until early in the year of 1870, when he came, accompanied by his brother, Judge C.P. Smith, of Concordia, who is four years his senior, to the Great Republic. As a result of the war between Prussia and Denmark, their territory was set aside into Germany, and rather than enter the Prussian army against their own country, they left their fatherland and came to America. After working two years in Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, They came to Cloud county, Kansas, and took a homestead in Colfax township, dug a hole in the hillside 16x24 feet, the primitive Kansas dugout, and appropriated the boards of a deserted shanty from which they manufactured furniture. Their chairs were made of cottonwood logs with holes bored in and pins cut out of wood inserted for legs. Here they experienced for five years all the hardships of the average early settler. They came to the New World to seek their fortunes with no capital, but vigorous physiques, industry and thrift - the heritage of their race.

They had but one pocket-book between them, which was empty most of the time during that period. They secured employment by excavating for cellars, digging wells, etc. Their larder was sometimes reduced to cornbread made of water and meal, and this meager diet did not stick to the ribs of men who were doing manual labor, and they would often have to resort to a lunch between times. For six months they were without flour. These brothers were from a race of blacksmiths and had served an apprenticeship with their father in the oId country, and in the early '70s they bought the smithing outfit of a neighbor on six month's credit (paid before due), dug a hole in the ground, leaving an opening in the roof for the smoke to escape; thus establishing a blacksmith shop. From this they began to prosper and improve their homesteads.

In 1873, they had an experience not unusual to the old timer. The road overseer had ordered the grass burned off along the side of the road, and being inexperienced in back-firing, they could not control the fire, and the flames swept in fury over the homestead and on to the Republican river, doing much damage. Financially this accident crippled the Smiths badly, as they had to furnish feed to some of the settlers, whose hay was destroyed and flour to a widow whose wheat stacks were burned.

In the autumn of of 1876, S.P. Smith sold some of his belongings and bought a blacksmith shop in Clyde, and shortly afterwards sold his homestead. Subsequently, the two brothers formed a partnership and prospered there for several years. In 1880, they erected a one-story brick building, 26x50 feet in dimensions with three fires and a wooden shop in the rear. They became widely known as the manufacturers of the "Tom Clipper," a square cut breaking plow, the first in this country. They paid a royalty of two dollars for the privilege of making them.

In 1882, Mr. Smith sold his business interests in Clyde and traded his residence for a farm in Starr township, two miles north of Miltonvale, which he still owns. This is a well watered, well stocked, and well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres, with modern residence and other improvements. In 1901, he bought the "Miller" residence property in Miltonvale. Prior to this time, however, he had resided alternately in Miltonvale and on the farm. For several years Mr. Smith has operated a shop in Miltonvale and by his untiring industry and strict integrity he has earned a reputation throughout this community and his workmanship has brought him patronage that no agency can divert so long as his shop is open for business. He does general blacksmithing in all its branches. Mr. Smith's parents were Peter Christian Smith and Karen Soren's "dotter" (as it is expressed in Denmark). Mr. Smith was named for his maternal grandfather, Soren Peterson Smith, while his brother, Christian Smith, being the eldest son, was named for his paternal grandfather, Christian Peterson Smith. The parents joined their sons in America in 1883. The father was born in Denmark in 1819, and died in 1891. The mother was born in 1817, and died in 1894. Besides these two sons there were three daughters, Margaret, wife of Neils Thompson, of Palmer, Washington county, Kansas. The second sister died at the age of twenty-six, unmarried. Caroline was married in Denmark and came to America with her parents and is a resident of Belleville, Kansas.

S.P. Smith was married December 25, 1878, to Elizabeth Neil, a daughter of Benjamin Neil. She was born in Magherlaggen, County Down, Ireland, and came with her parents to this county when seven years of age, and has practically been reared in the "Sunflower State." Benjamin Neil, or "Uncle Benny" as he is called by his neighbors and friends, was a son of the "ould sod," born on the Emerald Isle in County Down in 1820. In his earlier life he was a miller but later followed farming. "Uncle Benny" was a man who possessed a store of valuable information; a man of honorable and upright character, and his familiar face was missed by the people of Miltonvale when July 31, 1894, he was called to his final resting place. He died at the age of seventy-four years, less nine days. An illustration of "Uncle Benny's" reputation for honesty and integrity is told in the following:

He had plodded along for years and could not acquire more land, other than his homestead. There was an adjoining farm for sale and he was sadly in need of more land, but had not the wherewith to buy. In speaking of it to a neighbor, Dave Ferguson, who was and is ever ready to help a friend, told him he would loan him his farm; so "Uncle Benny" was given a deed, mortgaged his friend's farm and bought the land. In a few years he lifted the mortgage and deeded it back to its generous and magnanimous owner. "A friend in need is a friend indeed," but such demonstrations as this do not occur often in the history of a man's lifetime.

Mrs. Smith's mother was Fanny (McRoberts) Neil and died nearly thirty years ago. She was born in Ireland in 1832. The Neil family came to America in 1870, and after living in Westfield, New York, three years came to Cloud county and settled in Starr township. There are nine children, all but one of whom are living in Cloud county - Mary Clegg, of Billings, Montana. Mrs. Smith's brothers are Jim, Joe and George Neil, all farmers near Miltonvale. The sisters are Mrs. Catherine Barber, Mrs. Fanny Shay Mrs. Sarah Anderson, all of Miltonvale, and Mrs. Anna Woodruff, of Clyde; two sisters deceased, Margaret and Matilda, both of whom were young unmarried women.

To Mr. and Mrs. S.P. Smith, eight children have been born, seven of whom are living. They are Benjamin P. Smith (see sketch), Carrie M., a successful Cloud county teacher. She was educated in the schools of Miltonvale, receiving a Cloud county common school diploma. In 1901, she taught in district No. 36 where she had an enrollment of forty pupils. She has been employed for the present year in the grammar grade of the Miltonvale school. Ray, deceased in infancy; Fannie and Juanita, two bright little girls of ten and twelve years; George R., a manly little fellow of five years; Azile, aged three, and an infant son born on the first day of the year, 1903.

Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics and cast his first vote for General Grant. He is interested and takes an active part in city and educational affairs; has been a member of the city council, and on the school board almost continuously for many years; he is one of the directors of the Drover State Bank. He and his family are members and regular attendants as well as workers in the Christian church. Mr. Smith served five years as superintendent of the Sunday-school and to his ardent interest it owes in no small degree its success.

In concluding, it is but a fitting tribute to say of Mr. Smith he is a Christian gentleman who lives his religion every day, and whose pride and ambition centers in his family and his home, that brings to him the peace of soul, that money cannot buy nor poverty dissipate.

URIAH J. SMITH.

To the early settlers of Kansas, all honor is due. To the pioneer who bore the hardship and overcame the obstacles of frontier life, the present generation should take off their hats. The subject of this sketch, U.J. Smith came into the country when the territory was designated as the Great American Desert, when destitute of law and order, and when the settlers were in constant fear and terror on account of the threatening perils that surrounded them incident to border ruffianism, and Indian depredations. He is not only one of the pioneers of Cloud county, but among the oldest settlers in the state. He, with his father Andrew Smith, emigrated west in 1855, and located in the town of Topeka, then a mere trading post. The following year, 1856 they removed to Cottonwood Falls, where they met with a serious misfortune - the death of our subject's mother. Mr. Smith had not attained his fifteenth year when he returned to his native state and enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry and participated in some of the hardest fought battle's in the history of the Civil War. His regiment took part in the battle of Harper's Ferry, Gettysburg, Ream's Station, Appomattox Court House, Cold Harbor, The Wilderness, Petersburg, and in the pursuit of Lee until the surrender. When this event took place the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth was a depleted regiment; both officers and privates came near being annihilated. Though constantly in the midst of shot and shell, Mr. Smith escaped without a wound, but was made prisoner under the surrender of Colonel Miles. He was immediately paroled but only to be captured the second time by the celebrated guerilla chieftain, Mosby, and confined in the noted Libby prison. He was subsequently carried to Belle Isle, where he witnessed many appaling sights that corroborate the fame of this rebel prison; but owing to his extreme youth Mr. Smith received better treatment than many of his comrades. Immediately after the close of hostilities Mr. Smith joined his father in Kansas, landing in the vicinity of Clyde on the last day of the year 1865, where he has been a prominent citizen for thirty-eight years: where he married, built up a home, and reared a family of useful men and women. Though a tall, slim boy but eighteen years of age, he had served three years under Uncle Sam; and this had in all likelihood stimulated his tastes for life on the frontier, for no sooner had he become one of them, and a scouting party was being selected to reconnoitre over the Indian hunting grounds than he would be one of the first to respond to the call. Mr. Smith, with Jack Billings, his comrade of pioneer times, have perhaps killed more buffalo than any two men in the county. In the chapter of buffalo stories some of their experiences are given.

Our subject's father, Andrew W. Smith, was a frontiersman for many years. Leaving New York, his native state, he emigrated in an early day to Wisconsin and thence to Kansas in 1855. Mr. Rupe, in his "Early Recollections," says of him in substance: "To oppose border ruffianism and mingle with the sense of danger incident to those turbulent times was a source of amusement to Andrew Smith. He was not created as a leader of men, but a fitting representative of an advanced portion of the masses, consequently he maintained fixed principles with honest convictions, among them the belief that right should assert itself even though it be in conflict with the laws of the country, and in accordance with these views would violate the well known fugitive slave laws with impunity. Many a southern darky has gained his freedom through Andrew Smith's connection with the underground railroad. He was a conspicious character in the early days of Kansas and came to the state with General James H. Lane, and Colonel E.G. Ross. He was a brave man, seemingly insensible to fear, even bordering on to recklessness, a trait that in all probability cost him his life. In October, 1886, Mr. Smith, in company with James Neely, and his son, the subject of this sketch, left the Elk creek settlement for the purpose of trapping. When about twenty miles west of where Cawker City now stands they were joined by a band of Otoe Indians. Mr. Smith was desirous of meeting a financial obligation and allowed the two young men to return home with a load of buffalo meat while he remained and trapped with the Indians and concluded with the remark, 'I'm going to pay that debt off or die in the attempt,' perhaps little thinking that this would be the last known of his earthly career. The Otoes declared he left them and was murdered by the Cheyennes, but suspicion pointed to them as being the guilty culprits who committed the dark deed, as the pony Mr. Smith had with him was afterwards seen in the possession of the Otoes."

Andrew Smith was twice married, his second wife being Miss Mary Morley, now the wife of John B. Rupe. To this union one son was born, Owen Smith, who lives in Clyde and is an employee in the office of C.H. Armstrong.

Uriah Smith, with Oswin Morley, narrowly escaped the fate of the Lew Cassel party. Only a few days prior to the time, and a short distance from where their massacre took place, near the head of Little Cheyenne, they were approached by three savages, followed by two others a few yards distant and still two more moving in that direction. Their attitude was that of hostile Indians with bows and arrows ready for action; but true to their Indian nature they determined to know the cost before acting. That each of the young hunters was well armed made the redskins cautious it was observed by the boys that the redskins kept in the rear. Three of them were riding a short distance in advance of the other two and just before they reached their wagon the trio overtook them and shaking hands said, "Good Injuns."

One of the other two proved to be a chief and he did not extend a friendly hand but in broken English said, "The buffalo belongs to the Indian." Mr. Smith told him to "puckachee," which they did not readily proceed to do. They presented a harrowing sight with their vivid war paint, a fantastic strip of hair through the middle of their heads, bows and arrows ready for use in one hand and reining their ponies with the other. Mr. Smith inquired, "Are you Otoes?" to which they replied they were; but our subject was familiar with that tribe and knew that they were not speaking truthfully. That their intentions were hostile could be discerned in the wicked gleam of their eyes, as they glanced from the guns in the possession of the two heroes to their own weapons. Anxious to avoid an encounter Mr. Smith said, "Good-bye," and started in the direction of their wagon, but the chief said, "No wait," to which the hunters replied, "No, we're in a hurry." Growing more bold, the chief answered, "No, you can't go." Not heeding the command of the Indians they bade them good-bye and started. The Indians then formed a line and followed. After advancing a few paces Mr. Smith decided whoever began first would have the advantage, and suiting the action to the word suddenly wheeled about, drew his gun, and in tones even a savage could comprehend ordered them to "puckachee." They were disconcerted by this act of bravery, but the chief however, looked him straight in the eye for a moment while the others pulled away in a westerly direction. Maintaining his ground Mr. Smith told him in the same imperative way to go, or he would shoot him. The old chief sullenly obeyed but they dismounted when about a quarter of a mile distant and held a council. The other Indians who were riding in the distance joined them and they discussed the situation, doubtless concluded two or more of their number must succumb while securing the booty, and left the young huntsmen masters of the situation. While this council was taking place Mr. Smith told Mr. Morley to get the team in readiness and while doing so, our subject stalked over in the direction of the warriors and stood leaning on the muzzle of his gun until they departed; singly riding away, reminding one of Goldsmith's lines: "He who fights and runs away, will live to fight another day; but he who is in battle slain, can never rise and fight again." These courageous youths resolved that they were on dangerous ground and retraced their journey homeward. They had nerved themselves up to the ordeal but when the danger had passed they were almost ready to collapse. The Cassel party were massacred a few days later near where this event took place and in all probability this same band participated in their foul murder, and had it not been for their daring, they too would have met a similar fate, and had they not returned home via the salt marsh to procure salt for curing their buffalo meat they would have met the Cassel party of hunters.

Mr. Smith arrived in Clyde on December 1, 1865, with the teams that brought the Cowell and Davis stock of goods for the first store in Cloud county. There were but three houses on the town site. They were of log and occupied by Moses and David Heller, Tom Hay, and a Mrs. Berry. Mrs. Smith, who was Miss Mary Sitton, died several years ago, leaving a family of seven children: Lillian, Nelson, Daisy, Leroy, Walter, Honor and Leslie. Mr. Smith is a farmer by occupation and owns a valuable estate just beyond the city confines of Clyde. Besides being a practical farmer, he is a successful horticulturist and owns one of the finest orchards in the county. He is a member and one of the most active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church.

CHARLES SMITLEY.

Charles Smitley, an old soldier and resident of Cloud county, was born in Mercer county, Ohio, in 1838. He is of German origin. His grandfather and four brothers crossed the water to America during the Revolutionary war, took diverging paths and never met again. Mr. Smitley's father was Frederick Smitley. He was born in Ohio in 1807, and died there in 1894. Mr. Smitley's mother was Katherine Hanger, of Ohio. She was born in 1815, and died in 1884. She was of Ohio birth and German origin. The Hangers were Vermonters and her mother's people, the Eagles, were early settlers in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Smitley was living in Ohio when the war cloud arose over the country and at the age of forty years he enlisted in the Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain James and Colonel Alexander Platt. He entered the service in 1861, and served three years. He was in the army of the Shenandoah, which confined its principal operations to the states of Virginia and West Virginia. The hardest warfare he ever encountered was on Hunter's raid at Lynchburg. They were without rations and when retreating were on the verge of starvation. Raw potatoes, raw onions and green apples no larger than hazel nuts were staple articles of food for several days. He was in the two battles of Winchester, Charleston (South Carolina), Fayetteville, Salem, Martinsburg, Chapmanville (West Virginia), Long Bridge, second battle of Princeton, Cotton Hill, Charlestown (West Virginia), Manassas Gap, Wytheville, Cloyd Mountain, Cove Mountain, New River, Panther Gap, Piedmont, Buffalo. Lexington, Buckhannon, Otter Creek, Lynchburg, Liberty, Monocacy, Snickers Gap, Snickers Ferry, Kerntown, Summit Point, Halltown, and Berryville. His regiment was known as the Platt Zouaves. They were mustered in September 2, 1861, at Deninson, Ohio, by T.W. Walker, captain of the Third Infantry United States Army, and were mustered out in July, 1865. His company was in the enemy's land the entire time and saw continued and active service.

After the war Mr. Smitley returned to Ohio, where he farmed until coming to Kansas. He has never claimed any other home than these two states. He took up a homestead in Arion township, where he now lives with his son, who practically owns the farm.

Mr. Smitley was married in 1873, to Sarah Francis Custer, of Ohio. To them have been born four children, two daughters, Mary and Grace, who were bright and promising young girls, died at the ages of sixteen and seventeen years. Allen G., was born in Mercer county, Ohio, in 1878, and came with his parents to Kansas when an infant six months old, and has grown to manhood on the farm where he now lives. He received his education in Glasco, and began life by making egg cases at one and one-half cents each, when about nine years of age. He then worked on a farm by the month and secured a team; from this he has grown to be a successful man and one of the most useful citizens of Arion township. June 24, 1901, he married Miss Mary Owen, a most estimable young lady and an excellent housewife. She is a daughter of Nefi and Elzira Owen, who came to Kansas from Indiana, and settled on a farm in Mitchell county, where Mrs. Smitley was born. Her mother died in 1882. Her father and sister, Opal D., aged fifteen, are residents of Topeka.

PHOEBE SNYDER.

One of the very early settlers of the Solomon valley is Phoebe Snyder, a native of Pennsylvania. She went with her parents to Indiana when but seven years of age and grew to womanhood in the town of Frankfort. Her father, John Murfin, was born near Liverpool, England, in 1802, emigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania in 1834. One year later he was married to Permelia Sanders. He was a shoemaker by trade and after moving to Frankfort he owned and operated a boot and shoe store in connection with a factory. The Murfin ancestry were nearly all tillers of the soil. Mrs. Snyder's father was twice married. His first wife died in England, leaving two children, who remained with their grandparents near Liverpool. The Sanders were early settlers of Pennsylvania and later of Indiana, where Mrs. Snyder's grandparents located in the early 'thirties and cleared their land when wild beasts roamed the forests. Her father died May 31, 1858, at Frankfort, Indiana, and her mother December 30, 1886. Mrs. Snyder is the eldest of eight children, three of whom are living: Jedduthen, proprietor of a chair factory in Austin, Indiana, Elizabeth, deceased at the age of eleven years; Catherine, the widow of James Davis, of Scottsburg, Indiana; Sarah died at the age of three years; Marion died in infancy; William died at the age of thirty-three years, near Austin, Indiana, leaving a wife and two children; Permelia Alice, the deceased wife of William Faulkner, died at the age of thirty years, leaving two children.

Mrs. Snyder was married to Captain H.C. Snyder in Frankfort, Indiana, December 24, 1854. He first enlisted in the Thirty-ninth Indiana Infantry, and was commissioned lieutenant of that company. In his second enlistment he was promoted to captain of the Eighth Indiana Cavalry. He was wounded twice and disabled for a short period each time, but served all through the war. When he entered the service Captain and Mrs. Snyder owned a residence and were living at Austin, Indiana, but during his absence Mrs. Snyder had traded the property and moved on to a farm. They sold the farm in 1866 and emigrated overland to Kansas with their family of five children. They were preceded by H.H. Spaulding, who wrote back telling his Indiana friends of the beautiful valley he had found, the "Eden of the world," its natural resources and great possibilities, which resulted in Captain Snyder and five other men with their families seeking homes on the boundless prairies of Kansas. Of this little company of emigrants Mrs. Snyder and her children are the only ones living in the community. A part of the band sought other places of residence, some became disheartened and returned to their former homes and some have gone to the unknown realms of the "great beyond." Captain Snyder homesteaded land one-half mile west of Glasco, now owned by Garrett Davidson, but still known as the Captain Snyder farm. While Mrs. Snyder has experienced many hardships and privations, this spot marked by many sorrows, where she lived in the primitive days and often sat on the corner of their little dugout during her husband's absence, watching the night through, while her little brood slept peacefully on the inside, endeavoring to catch the outline of the savages who might be hovering near, still seems more like home to her than any other place.

The Pawnees were numerous and while pretending to be friendly Indians were often troublesome and gave cause for alarm. The outlook from the first was of a discouraging nature, though not more perhaps than in any new country, and things moved on in a monotonous channel until the Indian raid of August 11, 1868, the first in this locality and a description of which is given elsewhere in this volume. After this excitement the Snyders, with other settlers, moved to the stockade until affairs assumed a normal condition. While a new stone house was in course of erection their old domicile, built of stone with a sod roof, which was weakened by the washing down of continued rains, gave way, and, had it not been for the door casing which kept the ridge pole from giving way, Mrs. Snyder and two small children would perhaps have been severely injured. In 1872 Captain Snyder erected a one-and-a-half story house of four rooms, which was a very pretentious residence for that day and the best in the vicinity and where they lived until 1879, when they came to Glasco. They built the little cottage where Mrs. Snyder now lives in 1887.

To Captain and Mrs. Snyder ten children have been born, five of whom are living: Permelia, deceased wife of John Mann, a farmer of Cloud county and resident of Glasco (see sketch). She died August 29, 1887, leaving seven children, five of whom are living. Lewis, the oldest son, who was wounded by the Indians, is a miner of Bingham, Utah. Leonard is supposed to be dead. He went to Colorado and thence to Arizona and has not been heard from for fourteen years. Ulysses is a resident of Kansas City, and was sergeant of the police force until the Democrats were put in power. He is now following his trade - that of a painter. Ora Bell, wife of Joe Martin (see sketch). Ada, wife of Charles Pilcher (see sketch). Anna Laura died at the age of eleven years. Henry, Jr., died in infancy. Luella, wife of Charles Franks (see sketch). Arlet died in infancy.

Hattie Mann, who found a home with her grandparent, Mrs. Snyder, at the death of her mother, in 1887, is deserving of much commendation for her personal virtues and meritorious career. Having been deprived of a mother's loving care, she was thrown upon her own resources early in life, and while her grandmother assumed the duties and responsibilities of a mother to the extent of her means, she was not in a financial position to give her more than a home and the wise counsels that will follow her through all the viccisitudes of life. Miss Mann is a young woman of more than ordinary talents and intellect and excels in her chosen profession - that of teacher; is now engaged on her third term. She is not only cultured and refined but possesses an amiable disposition and many excellent personal qualities.

Mrs. Snyder is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and lives her religion daily. She is also a member and active worker of the Woman's Relief Corps and a woman ever ready to promote the happiness or welfare of her friends and neighbors.

---