History of Atchison County, Kansas

GEORGE WASHINGTON GLICK.

George W. Glick, ninth governor of Kansas, was born at Greencastle, Fairfield county, Ohio, July 4, 1827. His great-grandfather, Philip Glick, a Revolutionary soldier, was one of five brothers who came to Pennsylvania from Germany. His grandfather, George Glick, served in the War of 1812, as did also his mother’s father, Capt. George Sanders. Governor Glick’s father, Isaac Glick, was a man of influence in the community in which he lived, took an active interest in State and local politics, and held many positions of public trust. His mother, Mary Sanders, was of Scotch parentage. Both parents lived to a good old age.

George W. Glick was reared on his father’s farm near Fremont, Ohio, and there acquired the habits of industry, economy and self-reliance that made his later life so successful. At the age of twenty-one he entered the office of Bucklin & Hayes as a law student, and was admitted to the bar two years later at Cincinnati by the supreme court. He began practice at Fremont, and soon won an enviable reputation as a hard-working and successful lawyer. He fully sustained this reputation after coming to Kansas.

Locating at Atchison in the spring of 1859, he formed a partnership with Hon. Alfred G. Otis, which lasted until 1874, when an affection of the throat compelled him to abandon the practice of law. Mr. Glick soon took a leading place at the Kansas bar. His practice extended to all the courts. He was a salaried attorney for two railroads and a number of corporations.

Mr. Glick was a natural leader and began early in life to take an active part in politics. When but thirty-one years of age he was nominated for Congress by the Democracy of his district in Ohio, but declined the nomination. The same year he was nominated for State senator and made the race against Gen. R. P. Bucklin, his former law preceptor. He was elected to the Kansas legislature in 1862 without opposition, and reëlected in 1863, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’68, ’76 and ’82.

During his service as a legislator, he secured the passage of many needed and important laws which have settled and fixed the policy of the State on matters of vast interest, that have stood the test of time and experience. In 1876 Mr. Glick was made speaker pro tem. of the house of representatives, although that body was strongly Republican. He was a delegate to Democratic National conventions in 1856, 1868, 1884 and 1892. The Kansas delegation in the Democratic National convention at Chicago in 1892 presented his name to that convention as its candidate for vice-president, after the nomination of Grover Cleveland for President, and, although not the nominee of the convention for that office, he received many votes. He was nominated for governor in 1868 and made the race in obedience to his party’s call, though his defeat was inevitable. In 1882 he was again the unanimous choice of his party for governor and made a memorable campaign, speaking in nearly every county in the State; and, though fighting against great odds, among them being a Republican majority of over 52,000, he defeated that distinguished Republican and Prohibitionist, John P. St. John, by 8,079 votes. Governor Glick was inaugurated January 8, 1883, and his administration was marked by dignity, intelligence, and a careful and discreet management of the material and financial interests of the State. His long experience as a legislator gave him an intimate knowledge of its needs, and many valuable reform measures recommended in his message to the legislature were accomplished. He entered an earnest protest against the burdens imposed upon the agricultural classes by the railroads and asked that legislation be enacted to prevent these exactions. A law creating a railroad commission, and embodying substantially all the improvements asked by him, was passed, and proved of great benefit to the people of the State.

In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland pension agent at Topeka and re-appointed when Mr. Cleveland again came into office. During Mr. Glick’s two terms as pension agent at the Topeka agency, he received and disbursed over $85,000.00.

In 1857 he married Elizabeth Ryder, of Massillon, Ohio, a lady descended from a distinguished colonial ancestry. Her ancestors were among the first settlers of Concord, Mass., and she derived her name from forbears who were well known among the early colonists of New York City. For fifty years and more this noble matron, having with her the best traditions of American life, presided over the hospitable home of George W. Glick, with the grace and dignity inherited from a fine ancestry. She added to the success of his public life the greater blessings of domestic happiness. Two children were born to this union: Frederick H. Glick and Mrs. James W. Orr, of Atchison, Kan. He died at Atchison, Kan., April 13, 1911, aged eighty-four years; his wife and children survive him.

Each State is entitled to place in Statuary Hall at the capitol in Washington, statues of two of its citizens renowned in literature, art, war or civil life, and several years ago one of such places was filled by the State of Kansas with a statue of John James Ingalls, of Atchison, Kan. The regular session of the 1913 legislature of Kansas adopted a concurrent resolution and made an appropriation for the purchase of a suitable statue as a tribute to the memory of George Washington Glick, to be placed in Statuary Hall, where the Nation has granted to its people the privilege of placing it. The statue was designed and executed by Charles H. Niehaus and accepted by Congress as a gift from Kansas, with suitable ceremonies, and is now in Statuary Hall. A cut representing it precedes this sketch. Sixteen thousand five hundred copies of a volume containing the proceedings in Congress, and a plate of the statue, were, by authority of Congress, printed and distributed.

HORACE MORTIMER JACKSON.

He who leaves behind him, when he passes beyond the goal from which no mortal man has ever returned, a pleasant and abiding memory of his existence on this earth, and has bequeathed to his progeny and posterity a heritage of right living and right thinking, has accomplished much. His memory will be revered long after that of the individual who has done nothing but accumulate wealth and has made no effort to leave this earthly abiding place a better place to live than when he came upon it. Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, deceased, was a man who lived an upright life, and was accorded the universal respect of his fellow men and was a legal practitioner of high rank, whose honorable methods of practice and manner of living were such as to commend him for most favorable mention in the archives of his adopted county of Atchison.

Judge Horace M. Jackson was born near Albion, Penn., July 11, 1839, a son of Lyman Jackson, who was the son of Michael Jackson, whose father was also named Michael, and was a native of Ireland. Michael Jackson, the founder of the family in America, came from Ireland and settled near Hartford, Conn. He went to the coast to trade and was not thereafter heard from and was supposed to have been killed by Indians. He had three sons, one of whom, Ebenezer, died in service as a soldier during the French and Indian war. Another son went south, and the third was Michael Jackson, the direct ancestor of Horace M. Jackson. Michael was born March 28, 1735 and on June 4, 1755, was married to Susanna Willcocks, who was born April 19, 1732. They settled in Windham county, Connecticut, later removing to Pownal, near Bennington, Vt. Michael Jackson was a soldier in the colonial army during the French and Indian war, and was a member of Company Ten, First regiment. He was discharged December 12, 1759. He also enlisted in the Seventh Company of the Third regiment of volunteers, Army of Independence, May 5, 1775, and was discharged December 15, 1775. He later volunteered for service in Col. Samuel Herrick’s regiment of “Alarm Men.” Lyman, the son of Michael, also served in the Revolution on the American side. He was born February 29, 1755, at Simsbury, Hartford county, Connecticut. He enlisted eight different times in the American army. Lyman married Deidama Dunham on January 3, 1782. This couple lived at Albany, Otsego and Wyoming, N. Y., at different times. To them were born thirteen children. About 1805, Lyman Jackson settled in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and obtained a dense tract of timber land in the Holland Purchase from which he cleared a farm. Seven sons and a son-in-law of this redoubtable patriot fought in the War of 1812.

Lyman Jackson died March 20, 1835. David Bardsley Jackson, a son of Lyman, born May 29, 1797, at Richfield, Otsego county, New York, married Lucy Hendryx, on April 11, 1822, near Albion, Penn. He was the ninth child of Lyman Jackson and cleared a farm of forty acres in the Holland Purchase on which he resided until the year 1830. He then sold his land, loaded his effects in a farm wagon, drove to Pittsburgh, and took passage down the Ohio river and thence up the Mississippi to Warsaw, Ill., from which landing place on December 15, 1839 he drove to Knoxville, Ill., and bought a farm ten miles west of the village. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1841, driving overland with his team 1,000 miles each way accompanied by his wife and two youngest children. In the year 1846 he removed to a residence in Knoxville and engaged in the grocery business. In 1854 he settled on a farm one-half mile west of Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois. He lived here until 1876, then sold out and made his home at Gilson, for the remainder of his days. This sturdy pioneer died January 18, 1879. His children were: Mrs. Elizabeth Ruth Pierce, Zaremba, Obadiah H., Gershom, David, Francis Marion, Charles Wilmer De Loss, Horace Mortimer, and Mrs. Annie Lucelia Wing.

Horace Mortimer Jackson was reared on the farm, attended the schools of Knoxville, Ill., clerked in his father’s grocery store, sawed wood for forty cents per cord, and did the hardest kind of farm work while yet a boy. During 1860–61, he taught school for $28 per month. On August 7, 1861, he started for De Soto, Neb., by way of Hannibal and St. Joseph. On April 12, 1861, he boarded a steamer at St. Joseph en route for Omaha. Arriving there he joined his brother Zaremba on his farm in Nebraska. He worked here for some time and assisted his brother in tilling the farm with oxen in the most primitive way. He saved his money and in 1862 returned to Cambridge, Ill., taught school during the winter and read law at night. He followed farming, served as deputy sheriff of the county and finally located at Versailles, Mo., in the practice of law. He was a member of the board of education which gave the first public school to the town of Versailles. He married Lavanchia Isabelle Valentine, December 12, 1865. She was the eldest daughter of John O. Valentine. For a time the newly wedded couple were in very poor circumstances.

Their furniture was of crude workmanship, made from store boxes. It was here that the future judge made the friendship of Anderson W. Anthony, a good lawyer whom he esteemed highly, who became his first law partner. He made a journey to Wichita, Kan., in August, 1870, but located at Marysville, Mo., in September of the same year. He became a partner of D. L. Palmer, who later went to Jewell City, Kan. He then formed a partnership with Judge Thomas J. Johnston, and served as prosecuting attorney of the county. In December of 1878 he started for Beloit, Kan., with the intention of locating in that city, but stopped at Atchison where he met W. S. Greenleaf and Gen. W. W. Guthrie. He remained in their law offices during the ensuing winter. General Guthrie at that time was a member of the State senate. He formed a partnership with Mr. Greenlea on March 17, 1879, which continued until Mr. Greenlea’s death in September, 1880. His wife died March 26, 1883, and he later, on February 11, 1886, married Matilda (Adams) Rook, who had one daughter by a former marriage, Effie, now the wife of C. A. Chandler, of Atchison. Matilda Adams Rook was a daughter of Peter and Martha Adams, of England, and sister of J. P. Adams, of Atchison. Horace M. Jackson was appointed judge of the district court on March 1, 1887, and continued as judge until his successor was elected. He and his son, William A., conducted the law business and served as the local attorneys for the Santa Fe and the Burlington railroads until his death, which occurred December 11, 1910. Judge Jackson left two sons, William Anthony and Zaremba Edward. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Elks, Modern Woodmen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He bequeathed to his children and posterity a heritage of an honorable, upright life without stain or blemish and will long be remembered as one of the honored citizens of Atchison.

ZAREMBA E. JACKSON.

The measure of a living citizen is his genuine worth to his community. If he unselfishly strives to make his home city a better place in which to live, and does something by which he will long be remembered, as of lasting good, he has accomplished a task well worth while. While every town and city can boast of such individuals who are striving to do things in behalf of the public welfare, there are not a great number who can act without any ulterior motive and without desire to bring pecuniary reward to themselves. Of the class of better citizens mentioned as doing things for the betterment of the condition of the citizenry, Z. E. Jackson, attorney of Atchison, occupies a prominent place in the city. Gifted as an attorney, upright in all of his dealings with his fellow men, interested to a high degree in the welfare of his fellow citizens, he has striven unselfishly to do good. Jackson Park, named after this gentleman, represents the culmination of one of his dreams and years of endeavor to create a breathing place of woodland beauty and a public playground of which the city may well be proud.

Z. E. Jackson was born in Maryville, Mo., September 23, 1872, and is a son of Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, late of Atchison, and a review of whom appears in this work. He came to Atchison with his parents when six years of age. He received his primary education in the public schools of Atchison and afterward studied for two years in Midland College. He then matriculated in the University of Illinois, with the intention of preparing himself to become an electrical engineer. After studying for two years in the Illinois university, he abandoned his original intention and returning to Atchison, entered his father’s law office in 1893. He studied stenography without a regular instructor and prepared himself to take dictation, filling the post of stenographer in his father’s office while reading law. He studied law under his gifted father’s tutelage and was admitted to the bar in 1899, being later admitted to practice in the higher State and federal courts. At first he practiced alone and was then made a member of the law firm of Jackson & Jackson. This firm was at first composed of Judge Horace M. Jackson, and his son, William A., and when William A., was elected to the position of judge of the district court, it was composed of Horace M. and his son, Z. E. Jackson. Mr. Jackson is local attorney for the Home Building and Loan Association, and a director of the same concern. He is the local attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad System and the Burlington Railroad Company. He is also the legal adviser for several of Atchison’s corporations. Mr. Jackson has the reputation of being one of the ablest and cleanest practitioners of the Atchison county bar who has followed in the footsteps of his illustrious father in never refusing counsel or advice to a public official, religious denomination or to a charitable organization, whether or not any fee was forthcoming—in fact, his office has always been ready to give advice to applicants of the character of the foregoing without charge or recompense of any kind. Mr. Jackson has never turned away a client who had a meritorious cause, because of lack of funds, and in this respect resembles his father in his manner of conducting his legal practice. While Mr. Jackson is not a member of any particular religious denomination, he has always been a liberal contributor to all movements which have had for their intent the betterment of the community. He is owner of Atchison real estate and farm lands in Jackson county, Kansas, to which he gives his personal attention.

Mr. Jackson’s career as a public official began in 1901, when he was elected police judge of the city and again elected in 1903, after which he declined to again become a candidate for the office. His career as police judge was marked by uniform fairness and impartiality, tempered with kindness in dealing with the city’s minor malefactors who were brought before him for judgment in his official capacity. From 1905 to 1909 he was assistant city attorney, and in 1912 was elected to the office of city attorney to fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Hooper, deceased. He served out the unexpired term and declined to become a candidate in 1913, because of the growing demands of his large law practice. While serving as city attorney many important problems came up before the city for solution, such as the telephone merger, and the renewal of the city’s contract with the Atchison Light and Power Company. His wise advice and counsel steered the city government safely over the shoals, incidental to the settlement of these questions. Mr. Jackson found the city finances in bad shape, as related to the renewal of the lighting contract, a condition of affairs brought about by his predecessor’s long illness preventing him from attending to business, and he immediately set to work to unravel the tangle and brought order out of chaos to the advantage of the city. Another matter to which he gave considerable attention while city attorney was the intercepting sewer problem which he handled satisfactorily.

Mr. Jackson is a pronounced Republican in his political views, having become a convert to Republican principles when he became of age, a decision which he was influenced to make by the panic of 1893. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.

He was united in marriage with Miss Maud K. Smith, April 30, 1903. Mrs. Jackson was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Lewis T. and Theresa June (Chadwick) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter a native of Canada. Lewis T. Smith was born in 1846 in West Lebanon, Pa., and is one of the old-time railroad men of the early days.

Mr. Jackson’s creed of living is best expressed in his own words, “I believe that every man should do something for the community in which he lives, besides getting a living out of it.” It was the practice of his creed which led to the beautiful park in the southeast part of the city being named in his honor, over his personal objections. The Atchison Globe says of his connection with the building and equipping of the park in the issue of August 18, 1913, in part, after quoting Mr. Jackson’s creed, as above given:

“That explains the principal reason why he (Z. E. Jackson) has taken such an interest in the park which now bears his name. Another reason is he likes to dig in the ground, and investigate things as he finds them in the woods and wild places. He is also handy at improving on Nature here and there without spoiling the general effect.

“Seven or eight years ago, after spending many of his boyhood and young manhood days in Jackson Park, he saw the possibilities of it for a beautiful playground for young and old. He invited several of his South Atchison neighbors to meet in his law office one night and a park improvement association was formed. In order to start a fund for improvements in the park each member present put up five dollars. Other citizens were invited to contribute and thus a small fund was raised.

“That proved to be the redemption of City Park, a tract of fifty-six acres of woodland which cost the city $7,500 about thirty years ago.

“With the few hundred dollars raised by private subscription it was shown what might be accomplished if the necessary funds were forthcoming. From the sale of a park bond, issued when the city was trying to put the coal mine on its feet, the committee secured $500 which was used in replacing the dam which makes the lake and other improvements.

“If effective service is to be rewarded, then the city council made no mistake when it acted on the petition presented to it, asking that the name of City Park be changed to Jackson Park in honor of Z. E. Jackson, a young man who decided that the making of a park was the debt he owed the community where he makes his living.”

The action referred to in the foregoing was taken August 1, 1913, when the official name of Jackson Park was given to the tract in honor of Mr. Jackson. Besides his work of superintending the park and bringing about its redemption with the assistance of other public spirited men, Mr. Jackson and others secured a ten-acre tract of land lying between the original fifty-six acres and the Missouri river, which has been added to and is now a part of the park.

THOMAS FRABLE.

Thomas Frable, retired farmer, of Benton township, is one of the oldest living pioneer citizens of Atchison county, both in age and number of years of residence in the county. He was one of the old-time freighters who conducted his own freighting outfit across the plains in the days of the Civil war, and before the advent of the trans-continental railroads. Mr. Frable was born in March, 1832, and has spent fifty-six of his four score and four years of life in Atchison county and Kansas. He was born on a farm in Pennsylvania, a son of Thomas Frable, who died when the subject was three years of age, leaving his widow in such poor circumstances that she was unable to rear her children in comfort. Thomas was given a home by a man named Queen, who owned a large farm, and he lived with Queen until attaining his majority. Queen owned a farm of 300 acres, and Thomas was started to work when still a small boy, learning to guide a plow across the fields when he was but eleven years of age. When he became of age and was free to do as he liked, the germ of adventure and ambition seized him and he decided to try his fortunes in the great West. In line with this resolve, he crossed the country to Kansas in 1859, in company with another young fellow named Reuben Ferguson, with whom he finally bought a tract of land which they farmed in common for a time, and then made a division. Mr. Frable still owns eighty acres of the original tract which he and Ferguson purchased. Mr. Frable engaged in the freighting business and made considerable money in the old days. He became the owner of two teams which he drove with the great trains which were constantly leaving Atchison in the early sixties, en route to the far West, and transported blasting powder to Denver and mining points in Colorado for the use of the gold and silver miners. He also carried corn for the United States Government. During the Civil war Mr. Frable was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State militia, and served at the battle of Westport in the expedition against the rebel, General Price. After the war he settled down to farming in Benton township, and has prospered exceedingly, he and his son, Harry, now owning over 560 acres of fine land. The Frable home is one of the most imposing and best built farm residences in the county, and Harry Frable recently erected a large barn in which the live stock of this extensive farm is housed. Mr. Frable and Harry have been life-long Republicans.

Thomas Frable was married in 1862 to Rebecca Graham, a daughter of Richard Graham, who came from Pennsylvania with his family to Atchison county in the early days, and was one of the well known pioneers of this county. Mrs. Frable was born October 5, 1835, and died in November, 1908. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frable, namely: Clara, deceased; Margaret, dying in infancy: two died in infancy; and Harry was born January 22, 1865.

JAMES W. ORR.

The reviewer, in attempting to write a comprehensive and truthful biography of an individual, must take into consideration the related facts as to birth and subsequent career, the success attained, the underlying principles which have combined to assist him in achieving his desires and ambitions, and to lay particular stress upon the special talent which has been developed in the life of the subject under review. In reviewing the life career of James W. Orr, a leading member of the Atchison county bar, the fact is determined that he is truly an able and distinguished lawyer, whose reputation for success at the bar, for having a profound knowledge of the law, and his ability to successfully practice in the courts of the land, arrayed against the brightest minds of the legal profession of the country, is recognized, not only by the people of the State of Kansas and his profession generally, but by the United States Government, in whose employ he now is as special assistant to the attorney general of the United States.

James W. Orr was born September 14, 1855, in the town of Reading, Hillsdale county, Michigan. In his boyhood days, and during the struggle to educate himself for the practice of his chosen profession, he knew what adversity meant and has the satisfaction of knowing that his education was obtained through his own unaided efforts. He is a son of James and Mary Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr, both of whom were natives of New York City. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, his forebears emigrating from Scotland to the north of Ireland in the days of old to escape religious persecution. His paternal grandfather left Ireland in an early day and made his home in New York. The Underhill family is of English origin and a very old one in America, several generations of whom have been born and reared in this country. His maternal grandfather was Daniel Underhill, a goldsmith in New York City. James Orr, the father, was a merchant in New York till about 1848, when he left his native city and engaged in merchandising in Rome, Syracuse and Utica, N. Y., (three stores), following which he engaged in wholesale business in Toledo, Ohio. While a resident of Toledo he became identified with some of the enterprises of that day and was a stockholder, director and one of the builders of the Erie & Dunkirk railroad. In 1861 he removed to Coldwater, Mich., and conducted a merchandise business there until 1868, when, in broken health, he settled in Niles, Mich., where he died.

When James W. Orr was fourteen years of age he began earning his own living and educating himself. He and his brother, Louis C. Orr, the present postmaster of Atchison, worked together for several years, sharing their work with each other and pooling their earnings. The boys were fortunate in having a wise and ambitious mother who was well educated and who taught them at home, thus giving them the education they were financially unable to obtain at school. At the age of seventeen years while employed in a drug store he was reading law at nights and at odd times when his work was not pressing. By persistent endeavor he managed to secure two years of study at Michigan University, at Ann Arbor. He then took his examination for admission to the bar in open court, and was admitted to practice when but twenty years of age. His first employment in his new profession was with the McCormick Harvester Company, settling claims, etc., in behalf of that company. He remained in this position until 1880, and in January, 1881, came to Atchison where he has since continuously resided. It was necessary for him to begin the upward climb of the ladder to fame and success without assistance from any individual or friend. How well Mr. Orr has succeeded during the past thirty-four years is attested by his present high position in the ranks of the legal profession and the competence he has accumulated. He was first employed in Atchison by the New England Loan & Trust Company as attorney to examine abstracts of titles, etc., at a salary of forty dollars per month. It was not long until he was receiving a salary of $150 per month and a share of the profits in the employ of the same concern. When the concern moved to Kansas City and became known as the Equitable Loan & Trust Company, Mr. Orr remained in Atchison. In 1883 he was married to Miss Jennie Glick, the only daughter of Governor George W. Glick, of Atchison. He took up the practice of law, purchasing the interest of Judge W. D. Webb in the firm of Webb & Martin, and entered into partnership with A. F. Martin, which partnership existed from 1882 until April, 1887. During the five years he had been in Atchison he had been extending his acquaintance over the county, and in November, 1866, was a successful candidate for county attorney on the Democratic ticket, being elected over W. D. Gilbert by a substantial majority, despite the fact that the county was then normally Republican by over 800 majority. In April, 1887, he formed a law partnership with B. P. Waggener and Judge David Martin, the firm having previously been known as Everest & Waggener. Judge Martin resigning the position of judge of the Atchison district court to join the firm, which was known as Waggener, Martin & Orr. In the year 1895 Judge Martin retired from the firm, and Judge A. H. Horton, then chief justice of the supreme court of Kansas, resigned his office of chief justice, a position he had held continuously for nineteen years, to become a member of the firm. Judge Dawn Martin was appointed to the vacancy so made on the supreme bench. Judge Horton remained a member of the firm until his death, when ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster became a member of the firm known as Waggener, Doster & Orr. During Mr. Orr’s association with B. P. Waggener in the practice of law they had charge of the legal business for the Gould system of railroads in Kansas and Nebraska; the Western Union Telegraph Company; express companies, and the Pullman Palace Car Company. They were associated in partnership with three ex-chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas during this period. In June, 1910, Mr. Orr resigned his position as attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, and his connection with B. P. Waggener, which had then continued for twenty-three years, was also terminated. The position of special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States was proffered him by Attorney-General McReynolds in October, 1913, while Mr. Orr was engaged in the trial of a case in St. Louis. He accepted and was given charge of the suit of the Government against the Southern Pacific Company and others, including the Central Pacific Railway, to dissolve the relations between those companies. Mr. Orr conducts his cases for the Government in addition to his private practice. His rise has been steady and consistent during the years he has been practicing his profession in Atchison, and it is true that the youth who began his career in the city of Atchison for the modest salary of forty dollars per month now enjoys a lucrative private law practice, in addition to his income from the Government and not supplemented by corporation salaries. Mr. Orr has accumulated a comfortable fortune during the years of his practice and has what is considered the most beautiful home in Atchison. In his home he has his private library of several hundred volumes, including the standard works of literature. His law library lines the walls of his down-town offices and exceeds 2,000 volumes in number.

Mr. and Mrs. Orr had but one child, a son, George Glick Orr, who was drowned while bathing in the Pacific ocean, near San Diego, Cal., on July 21, 1909, at the age of twenty-five years. The loss of this talented young man saddened the lives of his parents for years. At the age when most young men are just beginning to gain a higher education, George Glick Orr could read, write and speak six different languages. For seventeen years of his life he was a student, graduated at the University of Kansas, and had been admitted to the bar, showing great promise in his chosen profession and being frequently entrusted with important legal matters.

Mr. Orr has received all the Masonic degrees except the thirty-third, and is a member of several fraternal societies. He attends and contributes to the support of the Christian Science Church, of which Mrs. Orr is a member.

In politics and as a public official and law-maker, Mr. Orr has a record of which any man may well be proud. He became a member of the Kansas Democratic State central committee in 1884 and remained such continuously until 1908, and in point of service was its oldest member. He has attended, as a delegate, six National Democratic conventions, and on three occasions was a member of the notification committee appointed to officially notify the presidential candidate of his nomination by the convention, including Cleveland in 1892; Parker in 1904, and Woodrow Wilson in 1912. His exceptional career in politics began as early as 1880, when he served as assistant secretary of the committee chosen to notify General Hancock at Governor’s Island, N. Y., of his nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Orr was an original Wilson man and one of the committee of five having the floor management of the Wilson forces at the Baltimore convention in 1912 which nominated Mr. Wilson for the Presidency. From 1901 to 1907 Mr. Orr served three terms successively as mayor of the city of Atchison and gave the city one of the best administrations in its history. He served two terms in the State legislature as representative from the Atchison city district, the sessions of 1911 and 1913. During the 1911 session he was one of the three legislators selected by the house to draft and did prepare the present public utilities law, under which all railroads and public utilities in this State are now managed and controlled; he was the author of the present comprehensive drainage laws; the law requiring the attorney-general to pay into the State treasury all fees received by him in the prosecution of State cases; the so-called “Orr viaduct law,” which requires railroads to construct and maintain at their expense all necessary viaducts over or tunnels under their tracks in cities, and under which the Fourteenth street viaduct in this city and viaducts in many other cities have been built and then maintained by the railroads, also many other laws of public interest and importance. In the session of 1913 he was chairman of the judiciary committee and was elected majority leader of the house. At the close of the legislative session of 1913 Mr. Orr was presented with a resolution, unanimously adopted by the members of the house, beautifully engraved in India ink, artistically framed and containing a reproduction of the great seal of Kansas. This resolution thanks Mr. Orr for the assistance he had given individual members of the house and for his service to the State, both as chairman of the judiciary committee and as majority house leader, and is signed by every member. It follows:

“HOUSE RESOLUTION, NO. 51—BY MR. RIDDLE.

“Resolved. That the members of the house extend to the Hon. James W. Orr their sincere thanks for the splendid service he has given to them and to the State during the present session. In addition to his work as floor leader of the majority party, and his work as chairman of the judiciary committee, he has been tireless, patient, and industrious in giving to individual members the benefit of his learning and ability by helping them in their work. His help has been extended alike to members of all political parties, and has been especially beneficial to members who have had little experience in legislative work. He has the confidence, esteem and love of all the members.

“Done in the city of Topeka, this eighth day of March, 1913.”

ANDREW B. SYMNS.

When the late A. B. Symns passed beyond mortal ken on April 9, 1905, Atchison suffered a loss from its business circles which could never be replaced. He left behind him a monument in the A. B. Symns Grocer Company, one of the largest of the wholesale establishments of the city and State, which was the product of his brain and ability. He was one of the noted pioneer figures of a decade which produced great and strong men. From a modest beginning he rose to become a national character in the business world of the great West and realized his ambition during a long and useful life. He not only succeeded in accumulating a comfortable fortune but left a reputation for integrity and upright citizenship which has never been surpassed by any of his compeers of the building age in Atchison and Kansas. From boyhood to the time he had passed the age of three score years and ten, Mr. Symns was an indefatigable worker and never relaxed except for much needed recreation and rest, occasionally. Early in his career he had great faith in the future of Atchison and that faith was fully justified by his own success in the jobbing field.

A. B. Symns was born in Monroe county. West Virginia, March 27, 1831, and was a son of John and Elizabeth (Peters) Symns, natives of old Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent.

As a boy he worked on his father’s farm, attending school three months each winter. At the age of eighteen he clerked in a store at Petertown and later on attended Lewisburg Seminary one year. He also worked at White Sulphur Springs before coming west in 1853. He listened to the call of the great unpeopled western country for young and ambitious men to develop her dormant resources, and in 1853 crossed the country to St. Joseph. Mo., where he clerked in a store for two years and then went to St. Louis. After clerking in St. Louis for one year he became an eighth owner of the steamboat “Hesperian” and served as clerk aboard the steamer. This boat made its first trip on the Missouri trade in 1856 and it was while passing up and down the Missouri river that he was attracted to the then flourishing town of Doniphan. It far overshadowed Atchison at that time and he determined to locate in Doniphan. During the time he was connected with the steamboat service he had many interesting experiences. He opened a grocery store in 1858, but during the same year the land office was removed to Atchison and Doniphan lost ground, but the Symns store grew in size and importance and was the nucleus around which his great business was subsequently builded. He removed the store to Atchison in 1872, and began wholesaling in a small way in connection with his retail business. In 1877 he was doing business in the corner store room at Sixth and Commercial streets, on the southeast corner. While located in this building he closed out his retail business and engaged in jobbing exclusively. With the impetus given by his splendid business mind and his remarkable energy the business grew rapidly, and he soon found himself at the head of one of the largest wholesale grocery houses in the western country. Thirty men are employed as traveling salesmen by the Symns Grocer Company alone, and the Symns Utah Grocer Company, which he established, has its own force. Customers of Mr. Symns over Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Colorado and Utah have always agreed that A. B. Symns was the fairest man with whom they ever did business. He had faith in Atchison as a great jobbing center, and the success of his business fully justified that belief. The immense jobbing house of the Symns Grocer Company on Main street of Atchison was built from plans prepared by Mr. Symns himself and is one of the most complete establishments of the kind to be found anywhere. So extensive did the business become, however, that it was necessary to erect an addition in 1903. The capitalization of the Symns Grocer Company at the time of the demise of Mr. Symns was $300,000 and that of the Utah concern at Salt Lake City was $80,000. Mr. Symns was president of both companies and had a controlling interest in each. He left an estate valued at over $300,000.

One of the interesting episodes of Mr. Symns’ mercantile career was the looting of his Doniphan store by Cleveland’s band of outlaws, who made Atchison their headquarters in the winter of 1861–62. At the time Mr. Symns was absent in St. Joseph, but his brothers, Sam and William Symns, were in charge when it was surrounded one evening by Cleveland and his gang. They forced William Symns to open the safe and took what money there was on hand in addition to clothing, saddles, etc. While the robbery was in progress, Mrs. Symns ran out to arouse the neighbors, but no help was forthcoming because of the fact that everybody was afraid of Cleveland and his gang, and the thieves got away with their booty unmolested.

A. B. Symns was married in 1858, returning to Old Virginia for his bride, Miss Elizabeth Tiffany, who was his boyhood sweetheart. Mrs. Symns was a member of an excellent Virginia family and bore him the following children: Mrs. A. S. Rowan, who died December 31, 1903; Miss Effie Symns, of Atchison; Charles, Atchison, and Guy. The mother of these children departed this life September 12, 1900, at the age of sixty-four years, having been born in 1836. Six children were born and died in infancy at Doniphan: John, Joseph, Lee, Hugh, Edna and Louis. Mr. Symns died April 9, 1905, at Hot Springs, Ark. He was sincerely mourned and Atchison business circles suffered a loss which could hardly be estimated.

While Mr. and Mrs. Symns were on their wedding trip on the steamer “Carrier” en route up the Missouri river from St. Louis to Doniphan, the boat sank near Hermann, Mo. They easily escaped drowning because the “Carrier” sank slowly, but they lost their newly purchased household goods and a large amount of supplies with which Mr. Symns intended to stock the Doniphan store. Mrs. Symns continued to Doniphan on another boat, while Mr. Symns returned to St. Louis to lay in another stock of household goods and provisions for his store.

The Symns family came of old Scotch Presbyterian stock. Although a southerner by birth, he was a Union man in Kansas. He was an independent Democrat in politics.

Mr. Symns was in active pursuits even after attaining the age of three score years and ten, and was always found early at his desk. He was not only the active head of the business but closely watched the details. He was always hurrying and was ever busy, and it was his custom to walk daily to the postoffice for his mail so as to have the benefit of the exercise. Having always been a man of correct habits he belied his years and his demise came unexpectedly at Hot Springs. He was accidentally killed by a locomotive on a railroad crossing at Hot Springs, where it had been his custom to go for his health during the latter ten years of his life. He was fond of his family and dearly loved his home life. He was quiet, unassuming, and was one of the kindest and gentlest of men, probably no man being more universally admired and beloved in Atchison during his day. His life story furnishes a decided inspiration for any one who may read of his success in Atchison.

It is not difficult to classify Balie P. Waggener so as to determine his position in the civic body of Atchison, but it is not easy to write a review comprehensive enough to give a proper estimate of this distinguished citizen who has been honored in his home city and in the State of Kansas. When one thinks of Atchison it is only natural to refer to the city as the home of Balie Waggener, who is indisputably grouped among the prominent and widely known figures who have shed fame and luster upon their home city. A leading attorney, statesman, progressive citizen, builder, farmer and stockman, friend of all children, capitalist, and public benefactor are some of the terms which might be applied to him without fear of contradiction from the mass of the people who know him best.

He was born in Platte county, Missouri, July 18, 1847, a son of Peyton R. and Sophronia Briseis (Willis) Waggener, who were American born and descended from old American families. The great-grandfather of Mr. Waggener served in the Continental army as a lieutenant-colonel during the American war of independence, and his grandfather was a major in the United States army during the War of 1812. Balie Waggener attended the public schools until he attained the age of fourteen years and then obtained a situation as toll-gate keeper on the old Platte City & Western turnpike. He was ambitious to become a lawyer and during the interims of his duties in attending the toll-gate, and after his day’s work was done, he read his law books. The next step in his preparation to become a member of the legal profession was to enter the law office of Otis & Glick, in Atchison. This was in 1866, and so assiduously did the young man apply himself to his studies that he was admitted to the bar June 10, 1867. Three years later he formed a partnership with Albert H. Norton, then United States district attorney, under the firm name of Horton & Waggener, which lasted until the election of Judge Horton to the office of chief justice of the Kansas supreme court in 1876. In 1887 Mr. Waggener formed a partnership under the firm name of Waggener, Martin & Orr, which continued until April 30, 1895, when the firm was dissolved and the firm became Waggener, Horton & Orr, Chief Justice Horton having resigned his position and again entered the firm. David Martin, Mr. Waggener’s former partner, became chief justice of the supreme court of Kansas to succeed Chief Justice Horton. In 1902 Judge Horton died, and later his place in the firm was taken by Ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster, under the firm name of Waggener, Doster & Orr. It will thus be seen that Mr. Waggener has been associated in the practice of law with three chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas. In 1913 Mr. Orr withdrew from the firm to become special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States, and the firm is now known as Waggener, Challiss & Crane, being composed of W. P. Waggener, James Challiss and Albert Crane. Mr. Waggener now devotes his time and legal talents almost exclusively to his duties as general solicitor for the Missouri Pacific railway.