From A Biographical History of Central Kansas, Vol. II, p. 1384
published by The Lewis Publishing Co, Chicago & New York, 1902

E. H. RUTLEDGE

   Nature has been bountiful in her gifts to Kansas, for the broad prairies and rich meadow lands offer excellent opportunities for the farmer and stock-raiser, who, if he possesses energy and ambition can receive from the soil rich returns for his labor.  Mr Rutledge is one of the enterprising and prosperous agriculturists of Rice county, being the proprietor of Riverdale farm, in Rockville township and he is one of the most respected and worthy citizens.  His country seat comprises four hundred and eighty acres of rich land, in the midst of which stands a pleasant residence, spacious barns and good sheds.  There are also feed lots, rich pasture lands, highly cultivated fields of corn and wheat, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating the careful supervision of the owner who has been proprietor of this place since 1885.

   Mr Rutledge was born near Bloomington, McLean county, Illinois, August 14, 1861.  His father, Charles H Rutledge, was also a native of that state, born in Montgomery county, in 1828.  His father, Mark Rutledge, was born in Georgia and served as a soldier in the war of 1812.  After arriving at years of maturity he married Miss Nancy Bostick, who was born in Kentucky and died in Illinois, in 1855.  In the year 1826 the grandfather of our subject had removed to the Prairie state, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Montgomery county.  Charles H Rutledge, the father of our subject, was reared amid the wild scenes of the frontier and in 1846 he manifested his loyalty to his country by enlisting for service in the war with Mexico.  In DeWitt county, Illinois, he married Martha A Chapin, the former a native of North Carolina.  Mr and Mrs Rutledge resided in McLean county, Illinois, until 1885, when they took up their abode upon the Riverdale farm before mentioned.  The father, however, was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, for he departed this life in 1886.  He had been a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser and was a good business man.  His widow still survives him and yet lives in Rice county.  They were the parents of seven children, namely:  Stillman D, of Hutchinson, Kansas; Ed H, of this review; Florence, wife of Frank McConnell, of Little River; and Louise, wife of William Wood, of Hutchinson, Kansas. One child, Harvey, the eldest, died at the age of fifteen years, and another died in infancy.  The father of this family was a Democrat in his political affiliations but never sought or desired the honors or emoluments of public office.  Long a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, he served as one of its elders for a number of years and was an exemplary member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the principles of benevolence and brotherly kindness were exemplified in his daily life and he was regarded as one of the substantial and worthy citizens of every community with which he was identified.

   E H Rutledge spent his boyhood days upon the home farm in Illinois, where he was taught to work and to be honest and trustworthy in all his dealings.  The lessons of his youth have been closely followed and have made him a successful and highly respected citizen.  He pursued his education in the public schools of Bloomington, Illinois, and in 1885, at the age of twenty-four years, he came to Kansas, where he has engaged in general farming and stock-raising, being now the proprietor of the fine Riverdale farm, which brings him an excellent return for the care and labor bestowed upon it.

   Mr Rutledge was united in marriage, in Rice county on the 2^nd of October, 1890, to Miss Ida M Mathes, a woman of intelligence and a representative of a highly respected family.  She was born in Missouri, and was reared and educated in the Sunflower state.  Her father, Samuel Mathes, was born in Morgan county, Illinois, and for three and a half years served as a soldier of the Eighth Illinois Infantry during the Civil war, making a gallant record.  He was married in Jacksonville, Illinois, to Miss Susan A Tricknor, a native of Morgan county, that state.  His death occurred in 1901, when he had attained the age of fifty-seven years.  He had devoted his life to farming and in his political views he was a Republican, while socially he was connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  His widow still survives him and makes her home in Oklahoma.  They were the parents of five children:  Ulysses, who is living in Oklahoma; Frank, of Rice county; Harry; Mrs Cora Hendrickson, of Oklahoma; and Gilbert, who is living in Rice county.

   Both Mr and Mrs Rutledge hold membership in the Congregational church and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party.  He is now numbered among the representative stock men and farmers of Rice county, is a gentleman of frank and genial manners, honorable in business and has won the confidence and gained the respect of all with whom he is associated.  While free from ostentation and display his kindly interest and sympathy wins for him the warm friendship of all with whom he comes in contact, and he is numbered among the prominent and influential citizens of the community.