Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 229 - 230 

CHARLES F. HYDE, President of the Bank of Colwich, and a prominent stock-raiser of Sedgwick County, residing on section 4 of Union Township, is widely known and honored as one of the eight men who founded the enterprising and flourishing town of Colwich. He occupies several important official positions. He is one of the organizers of the above-mentioned bank and has been at its head since its establishment, in January, 1886. He is the President of the Wichita and Colwich Calorific Pressed Brick Company, which manufactures 36,000 bricks per day.

     Our subject comes of good New England blood, and we are pleased to incorporate a brief sketch of his parents in this biography of the son. His father, Charles Hyde, Sr., is a native of Vermont, having been born at Grand Isle, on an island of the same name in Lake Champlain, Nov. 13, 1799, and was a son of Elijah and Rebecca (Stark) Hyde. His native isle is a beautiful spot, four miles wide and fourteen miles long, in one of the loveliest lakes of the East. From his home, when a lad of fourteen he witnessed the naval battle fought Sept. 11, 1814, between the American fleet commanded by Commodore McDonough and the British squadron under Commodore Downie. This brilliant naval contest, fought in sight of the armies stationed on the shore near Plattsburg, was a thrilling scene, never to be effaced from the memory of an eye witness. Mr. Hyde saw the British fleet go up the lake, and heard the first shot fired. He went as near the shore as possible, and during the two hours or more that the battle lasted stood spellbound by the grand and terrible spectacle. When the contest closed there was scarcely a spar left standing in either fleet, and the ships were ready to sink. The British Commodore was killed, his guns silenced, and his vessels were mostly captured or sunk, this signal victory of Commodore McDonough giving the Americans full and undisputed possession of Lake Champlain.

     At the age of twenty-one Mr. Hyde left the scenes of his youth and repaired to Franklin County, N. Y., where he engaged as a farm hand, or at any other employment he could find. He was there married, in 1825, to Miss Fanny Fletcher, a native of that county. After marriage Mr. Hyde kept a hotel for a few years. Subsequently he took a contract to furnish 1,000 logs to mill, and afterward worked in a lumber-yard in Peru for one season. He continued his residence in New York State until 1835, and then emigrated to Richmond, Ohio. During the succeeding sixteen years he followed the life of a sailor on the lakes, being Captain of a vessel. In 1852 he removed to Toledo, where he made his home until 1855. In that year he took up his residence in Aurora, Ill., and engaged in the lumber and wood trade for eighteen months. He then rented land and turned his attention to farming for the next ten years. After that he remained in Kane County, Ill., and purchased eighty acres of improved land, and resided on the same until after the Civil War. He then purchased a fine farm in Morgan County, Mo., and was there successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until he came to Kansas in 1887 to make his home with his son, the subject of this sketch, his extreme age obliging him to retire from the cares of an active life. His first wife, the mother of Charles F., died in July, 1868, in Missouri. Their union had been blessed by the birth of seven children, six of whom grew to maturity, namely: Henry, Maria, Fanny, Charles F., Samuel and Sarah, who were twins. Henry died in Washington Territory; Maria is the wife of John P. Sherer, of Colwich; Fanny is the wife of Augustus Brown, of Michigan; Samuel lives in Butler County, Kan.; Sarah is the wife of A. B. Childs, of Colwich. Mr. Hyde was a second time married, in December, 1869, the maiden name of his present companion having been Gabilla Ware. He is an honored member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

     Charles Hyde, Jr., of this sketch, was born in Lake County, Ohio, Sept. 12, 1837, and received his education in the common schools of his native place. When a lad of but ten or twelve years he accompanied his father in his voyages on the lakes. A few years later he removed with his parents to Illinois, and in August, 1862, enlisted to take part in the Civil War. He was mustered into service with Company I, 127th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served with honor until the close of the war, taking an active part in many of the principal battles and sieges. He was present at the siege of Vicksburg, and at the battles of Champion Hills, Chattanooga and Arkansas Post; he accompanied Sherman on his famous march to the sea, and afterward proceeded to Washington, D. C., participating in many battles and skirmishes on the way thither. He was often in the thick of battle where his comrades were falling around him by the hundreds, yet he was never wounded, nor was he ever taken prisoner. 

     After the war he returned to Kane County, Ill., and in 1866 removed with his parents to Missouri, making his home there until 1871. In that year he came to Kansas, and under the homestead law took up a claim of land in the northeast quarter of section 4 of Union Township, where he has since resided, and as one of the leading men of Sedgwick County has taken an active part in developing the wonderful and varied resources of the State. He brought with him two teams and $500 worth of merchandise. He soon after returned to Missouri to harvest his crops, leaving a young man, N. E. Sterns, now of Colwich, in charge of his property. In August he returned to his Kansas ranch and commenced the improvement of his land, also managing a store. He soon began to take an active part in public affairs, and it was through his efforts that on May 2, 1872, a post-office was opened in his vicinity, denominated the Eldridge Post-office, and he was appointed the Postmaster thereof. In the fall after the grasshoppers had raided Kansas Mr. Hyde found his mercantile business unprofitable, and disposed of his stock in trade for 160 acres of land. The following year he again purchased a stock of goods and re-established himself as a merchant, conducting his business in Union Township until September, 1886, when he moved building and goods to Colwich. He subsequently sold out his stock, which invoiced $5,000, showing that the business had greatly increased in his hands. He did not confine his attention to the mercantile business by any means, but with great enterprise branched out in other directions, paying much attention to agricultural pursuits, particularly to the rearing of stock, and still does a large business in that line, buying, selling and feeding cattle, and also raising some very fine stock. He is the owner of a very fine ranch, containing 685 acres of land, all in one body lying in the form of a letter L, and on this he has erected ample and commodious buildings. The soil is exceedingly rich, there being no better land in the county, and in 1887 he raised sixty bushels of corn to the acre.

      Mr. Hyde was married, in February, 1872, to Miss C. Althera Stevens, daughter of Charles and Cynthia Stevens, of Shabbona, Ill. Her mother is still living and makes her home in Rockford, Ill. To Mr. and Mrs. Hyde have been born three children-Cora, Arthur and Harry. In politics our subject is a stanch Republican, but although he has taken such an active part in promoting the growth of the county, his private interests are so large that he has never had time to devote to the duties of a public office. Besides attending to his own business he is administrator of the estate of the late L. M. T. Pope.

      Mr. Hyde is prominently connected with the G. A. R., and in his religious belief he is a Methodist. He is well known throughout the county, and his unostentatious charity and his courteous manner to everybody with whom he comes in contact have made him very popular and given him a warm place in the hearts of his fellow-citizens. During the accumulation of his large property he has always conducted his business by the most strictly honorable methods, never resorting to chicanery to increase his wealth. His estimable wife seconds him in all his good works, and makes their home pleasant, not only to her family, but to hosts of friends. We take pleasure in presenting a portrait of Mr. Hyde in this connection.

[ Home ]