Jesse A. Hawes, a veteran of the Civil war, who is one of the prominent farmers and stockmen of Murdock township, has been a resident of this county since January, 1877. Mr. Hawes was born in Illinois, February 14, 1845, and is a son of Peter J. and Julia Hawes, natives of Kentucky. The Hawes family is a prominent old American family, dating back to Colonial days. John Hawes, Sr., of Maryland, who was born in 1791 and became a prominent figure in American life, was a member of this family. The Hawes family came to Kansas, settling in Lincoln township, Butler county, in 1876. The father bought 160 acres of land upon coming here, which he later sold, and bought 240 acres in Linn county, and exchanged that tract for 120 acres in Butler county, near Augusta, and died on that place. After his death, his wife made her home with Jesse A. for a number of years, when she, too, passed

away. They were the parents of the following children: Jesse A., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Isabelle A. Griggs, Washington; Mrs. Mary C. Zollers, Augusta, Kans.; Charles W., Augusta, Kans.; Mrs. Louisa F. McCann, Benton, Kans.; Joseph A., Benton, Kans.; Mrs. Nancy M. Mackey, Perry, Okla., and Marion C., Benton, Kans.

Jesse A. Hawes spent his boyhood days on the farm in Illinois, and attended the common schools until he was seventeen years old. On August 9, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred Sixth regiment, Illinois infantry, and, during his term of service, his health failed, and he was discharged on account of physical disability.

Mr. Hawes was married September 1, 1864, to Miss Roselda L. Castle, and in 1876, came to Kansas, locating in Sedgwick county, near where Mulvane now stands, and came to Butler county in January, 1877. During his first four years here, he farmed rented land, and then bought 160 acres in Murdock township. After living on that place for twelve years, he sold it and bought the place where he now resides, which consists of 160 acres of fertile and productive land, which is one of the best farms in the county.

When Mr. Hawes first came to Butler county, he lived north of El Dorado on the road traveled extensively by freighters, and they frequently stopped at his house over night. He recalls that they stopped at his place with the second printing press that was ever brought to El Dorado, and the roads were so muddy they could not haul it any farther, so they divided it, and hauled it to El Dorado in two loads. Game was plentiful when Mr. Hawes came here. He says, he has seen acres of antelope, but the littel[sic] fellows were not easy to kill.

Mr. and Mrs. Hawes have five children, as follows: Mrs. Grace Bauman, Mustang, Okla.; John H., Benton, Kans.; Mrs. Jessie M. Gale, Red Rock, Okla.; Mrs. Maggie C. Ballard, Attica, Kans.; Charles D. Benton, Kans., and Mrs. Isabelle V. Parks, deceased. Mr. Hawes has seen many changes since coming to Butler county, and has been an active factor in the great evolution of this barren and unpeopled waste, to one of the prosperous and productive sections of the country.

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