John A. Craft

JOHN A. CRAFT. This gentleman has been one of the well known farmers in Osage township, Labette county, Kansas, for a great many years, having located there in the fall of 1869. He lives in section 10, township 31, range 18, where he carries on general farming. Mr. Craft was born in Ontario county, New York, near Canandaigua Lake, in January, 1845, and is a son of William and Eliza Ann (Boone) Craft.

William Craft was born in 1810, and was of English and Scotch descent. In 1873, he moved to Labette county, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. His death occurred at the advanced age of eighty-three years. He married Eliza Ann Boone, and they were blessed, by the birth of 10 children, two of whom died in infancy. The names of those surviving are: Charles; Phoebe; Delilah Elizabeth; Martha Jane; Mary Ann; John A.; William H., whose farm is across the road from that of John A.; and Mrs. Henrietta Pond, a twin of William H. Her husband is a blacksmith, of Dennis.

John A. Craft was but eight years old when his parents moved to Michigan, where the father farmed. Mr. Craft attended the common schools three months out of the year, and remained at home until he was twenty-three years old. He served three months in the employ of the government, in the Pioneer Corps, during the war. He assisted in building bridges and in other necessary work, making his headquarters at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mr. Craft was married in 1867, after which he moved to Labette county, Kansas, and located near Parsons. He first secured a railroad claim, and in 1872 traded it for his present farm, which is the southeast quarter of section 10, township 31, range 18. This land had been preempted by Harvey Hart, and but ten acres had been broken. Mr. Craft and the other settlers, in 1869, did their trading at Labette City and Montana, and they were often troubled by claim jumpers. Mr. Craft raises considerable fruit, and has a large, well kept farm. He is a careful and painstaking worker, and his farm presents a neat and thrifty appearance. It is surrounded by a fine hedge fence, which Mr. Craft set out.

Mr. Craft was united in marriage with Sarah Augusta Barton, who was born in October, 1845, in New York, and is a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Newman) Barton. Her father was an Englishman, and a harnessmaker, by trade. Mrs. Craft was one of a family of ten children and was reared, in Michigan and Illinois, where her parents had moved. The subject of this sketch and his wife have been blessed with two children: Mary Addie and Elmer Eugene. Mary Addie (Scott) married a farmer of Osage township, and they have four children, - Charles, Alonzo, John Lowell, and Ernie. Elmer Eugene lives in Erie, Neosho county, Kansas, and is in the publishing business. He married Ethel Neal.

Mr. Craft is an independent voter, and although always interested in the politics of the township, he has refused proffered offices. He was formerly a member of the Anti-Horsethief Association. He belongs to the A. 0. U. W. lodge, of Dennis, and also to the Fraternal Aid of that place. He is very well known in Labette county, where he is admired for his honest, upright character. Religiously, he favors the Missionary Baptist church.