History of Atchison County, Kansas

At the age of seventeen, William Adams left his native country and came to New York. He farmed there until 1856, when he came to Kansas and settled in Atchison county for the express purpose of helping John Brown in his fight along the border, and assisting the Free State party. He passed through many thrilling experiences during these troubled years and though he was often subjected to great bodily danger, he never wavered in his convictions and was always ready to fight for his convictions. He preëmpted eighty acres of land which he increased to 800 acres during his life time. When he took his first land the country was wild and undeveloped, and he built a log cabin on his place and used a yoke of oxen in breaking the land. He was a great stockman and kept a large number of animals and farmed until his death in 1889, remaining in active life until within a short time of his death. Mr. Adams was a Republican and was loyally devoted to the welfare of his party. He always took a great deal of interest in the activities of his party and helped it at every opportunity, though he never desired an office as a reward for his work, and never held a political job.

On July 4, 1848, Mr. Adams was married to Mary A. Ellsbury, also a native of Summersetshire, England. She was born October 19, 1825, and died December 15, 1895. Mrs. Boyington, though a small girl when she came to Kansas, remembers many incidents of that early life with remarkable vividness. She still keeps a rifle and an old shot gun which her father brought from New York, and prizes them very highly. They were the means of protecting her and her mother many times from the depredations of the Indians, who were numerous in that section then, and lived on a reservation only four miles from the Adams home. They passed the little Adams cabin when they went after whiskey. As they would return completely intoxicated, they would quarrel and disturb the neighborhood, often frightening the women whose husbands were working out in the fields. The Cayuga settlement numbered about forty people during the early days. The township elections in Grasshopper township were always held in the Adams house, and Mr. Adams was always generous in helping public affairs along.

Mr. and Mrs. Adams were parents of five children: Julia, the subject of this sketch; Georgia Anna, deceased; Samuel, of Grasshopper township; Millicent, who died in infancy; Julia, born a twin, but the other child died in infancy. Samuel, married Mrs. Ida Hitchcock, a native of Scranton, Penn., in California, May 31, 1887. By her marriage to Mr. Adams she was the mother of two children: William J., who was born March 19, 1890, and Earl, who was born October 10, 1891. These two children were partly reared by their aunt, Mrs. Boyington, and she is very fond of them. Though she has no children of her own, she has made these two nephews her favorites and has treated them as though they were her own children. Frank W. Boyington, the husband of Julia E. Adams Boyington, was born February 15, 1845, in Pennsylvania, and was a son of Edwin C. and Susan (Smith) Boyington, the former a native of Litchfield, Conn., and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. In their old age they came to Kansas and lived with their son, Frank W., and died here. The father died 1872, and the mother died in 1875. He left there in 1867 and settled in Grasshopper township, Atchison county, where Samuel Adams was reared to manhood in Grasshopper township; lived for ten years in California and returned to his farm in Grasshopper township in 1913. He was married to Mrs. Julia Bartlet before his marriage to Miss Adams. His first wife was a school teacher in Grasshopper township before her marriage. Three children were born to them. Edward, of Atchison, United States mail clerk, Alice Spangler, Marion county, Kansas, and one deceased. After her death in 1899, he was married to Miss Julia E. Adams, the subject of this sketch.

Mr. Boyington was an early settler in Kansas and has been a successful farmer. His wife owns 480 acres of land which once was a part of the old home place. Mr. Boyington owns 160 acres in Marion county, Kansas. He has lived in Kansas since 1867 and has seen much history made during that time. Mr. Boyington is a Republican and is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Although he is not a church member, he attends services. Mr. Boyington is one of the most successful farmers of Atchison county, and with his wife, who is also a good manager, has made a financial success of farming.

JOHN L. BLAIR.

The historian must ever take cognizance of the facts concerning the lives of those who have contributed most to the upbuilding and the welfare of their community. In looking backward over the half century, and more, which has elapsed since the Kansas Territory was thrown open to settlement, it is found that there are quite a number of men and women who are deserving of more than mere casual mention in the history of Atchison county. Among these are John L. and Amanda (Meeker) Blair, whose names will go down in history as having taken a very prominent part in the social, political and intellectual development of Doniphan and Atchison counties. Mrs. Blair has the honored distinction of having been the first public school teacher in Atchison and she and her husband were prominently identified with the historical course of events in northeast Kansas for a long period of years.

John L. Blair, deceased, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1833, a son of Alexander and Rachel (Lynch) Blair. The family is of Irish origin. Alexander Blair was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church in Pennsylvania. He died in Pennsylvania, and in 1860 the widow joined John L., who had come to Kansas in 1858. They settled in Doniphan county, near the Atchison-Doniphan line. Mr. Blair developed a fine farm and made quite a reputation as a breeder of fine live stock, being one of the pioneer stock breeders of Kansas. In 1863 he was united in marriage with Amanda Meeker. This was after he had served some time in the Civil war as a member of Company D, Seventh regiment, Kansas cavalry, as a sergeant, enlisting at the beginning of the war and serving for two years. After being mustered out, he returned home and was married in June of 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Blair immediately moved to a farm in Doniphan county, Kansas, and were successful from the start. Both being endowed with more than ordinary intelligence and thrift, they foresaw the inevitable rise in land values and invested all of their earnings in land, accumulating over 600 acres of land which was located in Doniphan county and since Mr. Blair’s demise Mrs. Blair has purchased 320 acres in Lyon county, Kansas. Mr. Blair was an active and influential figure in the civic and political life of Doniphan county, and frequently stumped the county in the interest of the Republican party candidates. He was a public speaker of power and ability, and was a warm adherent of the cause of women suffrage, stumping Atchison and Doniphan counties in 1884 in the interest of the suffrage movement in Kansas. He filled the office of county commissioner of Doniphan county for two terms, and was at one time a candidate for State senator. During the years 1873 and 1874, when the Grange movement was spreading over Kansas, Mr. Blair was the official organizer for Atchison and Doniphan counties. He had a good knowledge of parliamentary law and this came in very useful in his work among the different granges. It was in the Grange meetings that the movement for woman suffrage first gained headway in Kansas, and the women learned how to vote. Mr. Blair died in 1891, February 4. To Mr. and Mrs. Blair were born the following children: Mamie, widow of James Hunter, of Doniphan county, and mother of two children; Alexander, a farmer in Doniphan county and father of seven children; Kate, wife of Thomas Evans, a breeder of fine Hereford cattle, hackney horses and pure bred hogs, in Lyon county, and who is the owner of the famous hackney mare formerly owned by Jay Gould. Mrs. Evans was educated in the schools of Doniphan county, and the old Monroe Institute of Atchison, and is a graduate of Holton University, at Holton, Kan., and graduated from the Kansas State University at Lawrence in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have one daughter, Mary Frances. Mrs. Blair has ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Blair belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church and he was an Odd Fellow.

Mrs. Amanda (Meeker) Blair was born in Franklin county, Ohio, near the city of Columbus, June 24, 1837. She was a daughter of Caleb and Mary (Grant) Meeker, her mother being a relative of Gen. U. S. Grant, and her father being a member of the famous Meeker family of America. Ezra Meeker, who crossed the continent en route to Oregon with an ox team, was a second cousin of Caleb Meeker. Caleb Meeker was born in New Jersey, a son of Aaron, who was born in New Jersey, of German origin. Caleb Meeker was born in Essex county, New Jersey, August 9, 1807, a son of Aaron Meeker, also of New Jersey, who had eight sons and four sons-in-law in the Meeker, also of New Jersey. Aaron was a brother of Timothy Meeker, who had eight sons and four sons-in-law in the American army during the Revolutionary war. Mary Grant Meeker was born in Pennsylvania. In 1808 the Meeker family migrated from New Jersey to Ohio and resided there until 1857, when they went to Fulton county, Illinois, stopping for one year. In November of 1858 Amanda Meeker came to Atchison to take a position as teacher in the first public school in Atchison. Caleb came in January of 1859 to visit his daughter and invested in a tract of land near Huron, Kan., moving his family in March, 1859. He lived on his farm all the rest of his life, dying in September, 1886. Amanda was educated in the district schools of her native county in Ohio and received a certificate to teach school when but fifteen years of age. She taught three months in 1852 for $9.00 per month and then attended school for the remainder of the season. The following year she taught six months for $20 per month, after which she studied for two years in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. Her teaching experience embraced six years in Ohio, five months in Illinois and three years in Atchison and six months in Hiawatha, Kan. Mrs. Blair was a very successful teacher, and had the faculty of exercising great control over her pupils.

A brother, Jeptha Meeker, served in the Union army during the Civil war. Mrs. Blair kept the postoffice at Huron, Atchison county, when the village was one of the stations on the old Military road, from Ft. Leavenworth to Denver and Pike’s Peak, Colo.

Mrs. Blair is distinguished among the pioneer women of Atchison county as having been the first public school teacher in the county appointed by a board of education, duly organized and elected. During the summer of 1858, this board was organized in the office of F. G. Adams in Atchison, and the members of the board were Dr. William Grimes, treasurer; F. G. Adams, clerk; James A. Coulter, director; Philip D. Plattenburg, principal of the schools at Lewistown, Ill., had been engaged as superintendent of the Atchison schools and this board elected Amanda Meeker as his assistant. This was the first public school in the city of Atchison, and was located over a grocery store in a frame building, where the Y. M. C. A. edifice now stands at the corner of Fourth and Commercial streets. The school term began on November 1, 1858, and lasted for seven month, ending July 1, 1859. The following year the school term was extended to nine months. Miss Meeker taught for three years without a certificate. The first teacher’s certificate in Atchison county was issued to W. D. Rippey, a young man who came from Valparaiso, Ind. Mrs. Blair recalls that Mr. Rippey had no intention of teaching when he came to Atchison, and remained here for about five months and then went to Doniphan county, where he became quite wealthy in the course of years. Applicants for teacher’s certificates had little or no trouble in passing, the whole procedure of examining being conducted verbally and the chief requisite apparently being the one dollar fee which was required from the applicant.

Few Kansas pioneer women at this day occupy the honored position in history which is held by Mrs. Blair. To have taught the first public school in Atchison is a great honor, and to have been one of the pioneers of a great State in such a capacity is a great honor which is claimed by very few people. Mrs. Blair, despite her age, is possessed of a keen mentality and is remarkably well preserved, her long life being best attributed to her mental vigor and student powers which she has kept nourished these many years.

ALFRED SHORTRIDGE.

Alfred Shortridge, deceased pioneer of Atchison, was born in Milton, Ind., February 27, 1834. When twenty-three years of age he listened to the admonition of his elders to come to the great West, where opportunities for amassing a competence were much better for a young man than in his home community. He came by train to St. Louis and after stopping a few days at the Planter’s Hotel, he boarded a Missouri river steamer which brought him to Atchison. His intention was to get a farm from the Government, and he accordingly took up a claim one-half mile south of Monrovia. He developed his homestead, sold it and later bought a farm, ten miles south of Atchison, in Walnut township, near Potter. He added to this first farm of 120 acres until he became the owner of a finely developed farm of 200 acres, which he still owned at the time of his demise.

Mr. Shortridge was one of the early day freighters and during the years of 1862 and 1863 he freighted from Atchison to Denver, and in 1863 made two trips overland to Denver and return with Pardee Butler, with whom he was on intimate terms. He enlisted in the company of soldiers which was formed in his neighborhood for the purpose of repelling Price’s invasion of Kansas in 1864 and was present at Westport when Price’s army of invasion was driven southward. After he had made his last trip to Denver in 1863, he sold his wagon and four mules for $1,500, and then engaged in farming. He resided on his farm near Potter until the year 1912, and then removed to a home in Atchison.

He was married February 23, 1867, to Miss Catherine Elizabeth Clasby, of DeKalb, Buchanan county, Missouri, and to this union five children were born as follows: Mrs. J. A. Edwards, Fairmount. Kan.; J. T. Shortridge, W. O. Shortridge, and Mrs. C. N. Faulkner, of Potter, Kan., and Miss Florence Shortridge, at home. The mother of these children was born March 20, 1843, a daughter of John D. and Sarah Ann (Ellison) Clasby. John D. Clasby was a native of Virginia, whose mother was a member of the Dunlap family of Virginia, one of the old colonial families of America. One of the Dunlaps, a direct ancestor of Mrs. Shortridge, served in the Continental army in the Revolutionary war. He was a pioneer settler of Buchanan county, Missouri, and is buried on a hill within sight of Atchison.

Mrs. Shortridge’s mother, Sarah Ann (Ellison) Clasby, was born in Missouri, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Dunlap) Ellison, who were residents of Kentucky, and who were among the pioneer settlers in Buchanan county, Missouri. There were nine children in the Clasby family, as follows: James T., Robert, Orlando, Joseph, Franklin, Julian, deceased; Mrs. Ann Eliza (Stewart), and Mrs. Alfred Shortridge.

Alfred Shortridge departed this life on July 17, 1915, and was sincerely mourned by a host of friends and acquaintances who had known him for many years in Atchison county. During his life, after attaining his majority he was affiliated with the Republican party, and was always active in the affairs of his party, although he was never a seeker after political preferment. He was a member of the Christian church, and lived according to the precepts of his religious belief, as nearly as mortal man could. He carried his religion into his daily life and believed implicitly in the golden rule, which admonishes mankind to treat his neighbor as he would have his neighbor do unto him.

On February 23, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Shortridge celebrated their forty-fourth wedding anniversary at the old Shortridge homestead, and it was a fitting culmination of one of the happiest life unions on record. Mr. Shortridge was deeply devoted to his noble wife and family and was always kind and considerate, not only with the members of his immediate family, but with his many friends and acquaintances. He was never known to complain or find fault but took things as he found them and made the best of every occasion. One of the last of the old guard of Atchison pioneers, he was a fitting example of the type which did so much to develop the Sunflower State and make Atchison county one of the garden spots of the country. One by one the old pioneers are passing to the great beyond from which no man returneth; it is fitting that we record in imperishable print the record of their lives and their deeds and accomplishments while on earth in order that it all may live after them forever and their memories be kept continually green and fresh in the minds of succeeding generations which will know them not except through the pages of these Atchison county historical annals.

O. M. BABCOCK.

O. M. Babcock, of the Babcock-Avensberg Shoe Company, is one of the most progressive merchants of Atchison. He is a native of the Empire State, and was born at Adams Center, Jefferson county, New York, in November, 1872, and is a son of M. S. and Amy (Green) Babcock, both natives of New York and of English descent.

The Babcock family was founded in America by Capt. James Babcock, who settled in Rhode Island during the seventeenth century. M. S. Babcock came to Kansas with his family in 1883 and settled on a farm in Benton township, one mile north of Nortonville in Atchison county. Here he bought 160 acres of unimproved land, which he developed to a high state of cultivation and followed farming there successfully until he and his wife removed to Battle Creek, Mich., where they now reside. O. M. Babcock, the subject of this sketch, was eleven years old when he came to Atchison county with his parents. He was educated in the district schools and the Atchison County High School at Effingham. After completing school he taught in Atchison county about two years when he accepted a position in a general merchandise store at Nortonville and later at Effingham. He remained at Effingham one year and then came to Atchison and entered the shoe department of D. C. Newcomb’s general store, where he remained about three years. He then accepted a position as traveling salesman for a wholesale shoe house, and for three years was a successful knight of the grip with St. Joseph, Mo., as his headquarters. He then came to Atchison as general sales manager for a retail shoe establishment, and four years later, in 1902, organized the Babcock Shoe Company, which he still conducts. This is Atchison’s leading shoe store.

Mr. Babcock was united in marriage in 1903 to Miss Edith L. Hooper, a daughter of George R. Hooper, of Atchison, a personal sketch of whom appears in this volume. Mr. Babcock takes a keen interest and an active part in the welfare and development of Atchison and is one of its booster citizens. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and active in the work of that organization. He is also a member of the Elks and belongs to the Commercial Club. He is president of the Kansas Retail Shoe Dealers’ Association, and politically, is a supporter of the policies and principles of the Republican party.

JULIUS KUHN.

Julius Kuhn, deceased pioneer merchant of Atchison, was a man of sterling worth, industry and purpose who achieved a success in the commercial life of his adopted city which ranked with the greatest accomplishments of those who figured most prominently in the early civic life of Atchison. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 10, 1831, and received an excellent education in the famous university at Munich, where he fitted himself to become an architect. He was gifted with more than ordinary talent as a draughtsman and architect and to this day many of his best drawings and designs are hanging on the walls of the art room in St. Benedict’s College. When twenty years of age he took passage on a sailing vessel for America, then as now, the land of promise for the poor and ambitious youth of the old world. After a stay of a few years in New York City and points in Connecticut, he journeyed to St. Louis where he was married, his wife, Lucetta, dying in Atchison in the spring of 1881. To this union one son was born, Gustave, who died July 15, 1883. While in St. Louis Mr. Kuhn heard tales of the opportunities waiting for industrious young men in the new State of Kansas and came hither to seek his fortune in the year 1859. He had some means which he had saved and at once invested in a lot on the corner of Eighth and Commercial streets, upon which he built a story and a half frame building, which for many years was a well known landmark in Atchison. He installed a stock of groceries in his new building, and from the start met with success. His store soon became the outfitting point for the freighters who were crossing the plains to the far western points and he prospered in excess even of his expectations. Mr. Kuhn’s store was rarely closed in those early days and it was his wont to retire at 1 o’clock a. m. and was often called out of bed at 3 o’clock in the morning to assist some freighter just arriving from the trail half frozen, or, perchance, to trade with some farmer who had traveled a long distance to transact business with him and exchange his produce for groceries and necessities.

During the Civil war he served in the commissary department of the Union army, called out to repel the invasion of Kansas, threatened by General Price. He established himself in the wholesale business in 1870 as he foresaw that Atchison was to become an important distributing point for the northeastern part of the State as the country grew more and more settled with the influx of immigrants from all parts of the compass. In time the little frame store, which he had erected when he first came to Atchison, was replaced by the pretentious brick structure which bears his name. He invested his surplus profits in real estate in Atchison and Kansas points and left a substantial fortune on his demise. In the early sixties he purchased for his family residence the old Judge Gilham house, at that time the only house on the hill, from his store northwestward. For a number of years the Kuhn store was the only business house west of Third street, but in time the business center gradually moved westward from the river, and encompassed his business place. Speaking reminiscently of those early days a few incidents showing conditions at that time are worth recording. When Mr. Bartholow first came to Atchison, at the outbreak of the Civil war when business was in a state of paralysis, he had on hand over $2,000 worth of tobacco, for which he could not find storage. He approached Mr. Kuhn and asked him to either buy the stock or store it until such a time as it would be marketable. Mr. Kuhn took a chance and when tobacco soared to an extremely high price toward the last days of the war, he disposed of it at a profit of $1.00 per pound. Flour rose to the high price of $7.00 per sack during those troublous days, while beef was very cheap, a “half of beef” often selling for ten cents.

Mr. Kuhn was married the second time, September 30, 1883, to Anna Glattfelter, and to this union were born two sons, Julius Otto, at home with his mother, and Gustave Adolphus, living in Kansas City, married Irene King, and is the father of one child, Ruth Kuhn. Mrs. Anna Glattfelter Kuhn was born in Glattfelter, Switzerland, a daughter of Henry and Margaret Glattfelter, who immigrated to America in 1864, and located on a farm in Atchison county. Henry Glattfelter died in 1867, and his wife died in Atchison in 1903. They were the parents of Mrs. W. A. Dilgert, living on a farm in Walnut township; Mrs. Martin Dilgert, residing on Ninth street; Margaret, wife of Mr. John Meyer, living on Seventh street; Fannie, wife of Dr. Sievers, of Manning, Iowa; Henry, on the old home farm, near Cummings. Mrs. Kuhn resides in the family residence at 1029 Atchison street, and looks after the interest of the Kuhn estate. She is a keen, intelligent lady, who has shown marked business ability in caring for the property interests left in her charge. Mr. Kuhn retired from active mercantile pursuits in 1889, and died October 30, 1902, universally respected and loved by all who knew him. He was a Republican in politics and took an active part in the civic and political affairs of Atchison, serving as a member of the city council, and filling several important city offices of trust during his long residence here. He was always a consistent and unremitting booster for Atchison, and had a deep love for the city and his home life. He was a member of the Elks and a social member of the Turner Society. Mr. Kuhn was not a member of any religious denomination but was a friend and liberal supporter of all denominations which sought his aid. While not a professed Christian he lived a blameless and upright life, and was ever ready to assist a needy acquaintance when his aid would do the most good.

PETER WEBER.

Peter Weber, retired farmer, residing at 921 North Sixth street, Atchison, Kan., is one of the real pioneer residents of the county. He has lived in the county for over fifty-six years, and recalls many of the incidents of the old days when the settlement of the county was in the embryo stage. Like most of the prosperous and successful men in the county he has worked his way upward from a small beginning to a state of affluence, which reflects credit upon his industry and his capabilities. Times, fifty years ago, and the present, give opportunity for making contrasts which are striking and very interesting. When Mr. Weber was a boy it was the family custom to go to church on Sundays via the ox wagon route, father, mother and all of the children seating themselves in a big farm wagon, and going to church at the rate of two miles per hour, the trip requiring almost the entire day to go and return. Now, Mr. Weber cranks the engine of his fine automobile, and in an incredibly short space of time he travels from his city home to his country estate, can spend hours in looking over the farming operations, and return to his own home in time for the next meal.

Peter Weber was born in Kenosha, Wis., March 8, 1859, and came to Atchison county with his parents a few weeks later. His father, John Weber, was a native of Luxemburg, Germany, and his mother was Mary (Penning) Weber, also a native of Luxemburg, and a daughter of Nicholas Penning, who emigrated from his native country to Wisconsin. John Weber was married in Wisconsin, after coming to this country. He migrated to Atchison county, Kansas, from Wisconsin in 1859, and was equipped with a cash capital of nearly $300. He attended a lot sale in the boom days of Old Sumner, and invested nearly all of his savings in lots, purchasing 275 lots in all, at prices varying from $5 for the first one bought, to a price as low as twenty-five cents. This was more or less a speculation on his part, and the price of lots in Sumner fell rapidly after the county seat election which selected Atchison as the seat of government for the county. Real estate values naturally deteriorated in Sumner, and John Weber later sold seventy-five of his lots for $15 and allowed the greater part of his initial Kansas investment to be sold for taxes, inasmuch as the property had no real value. His next investment was a much better one, however, and he purchased 160 acres of land in Walnut township for $360, on which he erected a home and proceeded to develop it into a fine farm. He became well to do, and was highly respected throughout the neighborhood in which he resided. Originally John Weber had been a wheelwright by trade, and his skill as a wood worker and wagon maker stood him in good stead when he took up agricultural pursuits in Atchison county. During the Civil war John Weber was enrolled in the State militia and was called away to serve his country at Independence, Mo., leaving his wife and young children at home in mortal fear of their lives while the father and his comrades were in battle array to repel the Price invasion of Kansas. The movable property of the family was kept hidden in the drawers. Mr. Weber had over $800 in gold buried in the cellar in an empty peach can. He reared a fine family of sons and daughters as follows: Peter, the eldest of the family and with whom this review is directly concerned; Mathias, who is cultivating the old home place in Mt. Pleasant township, and Mrs. Katherine Keefer, a widow residing near Nortonville, Kan., are the surviving children of a family of six born, three of whom died in infancy. John Weber died in 1905, his wife preceding him to the great beyond in 1901.

Peter Weber, when a boy, attended the district school of his neighborhood in Mt. Pleasant township, and was reared to become an agriculturist. He was married in 1881 and then began doing for himself, renting land in Mt. Pleasant township for a time and carefully husbanding his resources and saving his money with a view to eventually owning a farm of his own. He was enabled to purchase his first farm of 160 acres in 1895 in Walnut township. He still owns this fine farm, which is one of the best in Atchison county, and is now being cultivated by his son. Mr. Weber retired from active agricultural pursuits in May, 1912, and removed to Atchison, where he owns real estate and lives comfortably, as befitting a man who has earned the right to enjoy home comforts. He was married in 1881 to Mary Weinmann, and to this union have been born the following children: Mary, wife of Theo Vanderweide, of Atchison county; Katherine, wife of John Wagner, residing in Walnut township, Atchison county; Jacob, living on the home farm; Ida, wife of Charles Harrison, a foreman in the A. J. Harwi Hardware Store, in Atchison; Annie, wife of Gustave Boehme, Rulo, Neb., where Mr. Boehme conducts a bakery. The mother of these children was born August 9, 1860, in Salt Creek Valley, Leavenworth county, Kansas, a daughter of Jacob and Katherine Weinmann, natives of Germany, who came to Leavenworth county, Kansas, as early as 1858. She was one of sixteen children born to these parents, thirteen of whom were reared, and five came to America and died here.

Mr. Weber has always been a Democrat, but is more or less independent in his political views and believes in voting for the candidate who seems best fitted to perform the duties of the office, regardless of his political affiliations. While a resident of Mt. Pleasant township he took an active part in the civic affairs of the township and served nine years as treasurer and then served as trustee in 1895. Later when he took up a permanent residence in Walnut township, in 1896, he was selected as township treasurer by the people in 1906 and filled the office to the satisfaction of everybody for six years. He and the members of his family are members of the St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and have always been liberal contributors to the support of this institution. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and takes a keen interest in city and county affairs as befitting a man of broad general attainments, who has lived in Atchison county for over half a century and watched its evolution from a wilderness to become one of the fairest divisions of the great State of Kansas.

ROBERT F. BISHOP.

Robert F. Bishop, farmer, residing in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, Kansas, and whose farm is located two and one-half miles west of Potter, is one of the most substantial and progressive agriculturists of his neighborhood. He was born August 16, 1861, in the town of Watkins, in Schuyler county, New York, at the foot of Watkins Glen, which is now a noted summer resort, and one of the most beautiful spots in all New York. He is a son of Freeman and Annie (Sims) Bishop, both of whom were born and reared in New York State and descendants of old eastern families. The Bishop family is of English origin and is descended from old colonial stock, members of which figured in the early wars in which America has been engaged. The Sims family is of Scotch and Irish extraction. The Bishops were early settlers in the section of New York where Robert F. Bishop was born. Freeman was a ship carpenter by trade who followed his trade in New York, and in 1872 came to Kansas, settling in Jefferson county on a farm, where he prospered and reared his family of four children, Robert F. being the eldest.

He of whom this review is written was a boy ten years of age when the family came to Kansas to make a permanent home. He lived on the home place and assisted his father in the cultivation of his farm until he was twenty-four years of age, then married, and two years later, in 1885, came to Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, and purchased the old Miller farm consisting of 180 acres of good, tillable land. Mr. Bishop has added to his original farm as he was able and now owns 261 1–2 acres all in one body and well improved. Besides his home farm he is also the owner of another tract of 208 acres, which makes his total acreage 469 1–2 acres in all. The accumulation of this amount of land in about thirty years is a considerable undertaking, in Kansas especially, when the possessor had very little of this world’s goods at the start of his career. Mr. Bishop began with very little capital but imbued with a determination to succeed and the willingness to work hard and deny himself the luxuries of life until he was well able to afford them. When he purchased his first farm his cash capital was so limited that he was forced to go in debt for two-thirds of the purchase price of the land. Since then he has risen to become one of the wealthy farmers of Atchison county, and has one of the finest and best improved places in Kansas, equipped with excellent buildings and a modern silo. His farm is considered a model one in the county and was one of the first to be visited by the county farm visitors for the purpose of ascertaining the progress made and using it as a model for others in the county. Mr. Bishop is a natural born agriculturist who has kept pace with the advancement made in the science of agriculture, and is blessed with an intuitive knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil.

Mr. Bishop was married in 1883 to Elizabeth Shaw, a daughter of Henry Shaw, well-to-do farmer of Leavenworth county. To this union have been born seven children, namely: Caude, a farmer, in Atchison county; Curtis, a farmer; Robert, living at home and assisting his father in the farm operations; Myrtle S., Mable, Maude, and Irene, at home with their parents. The father of Mrs. Bishop is the owner of the old Penseneau farm, which is the first piece of land ever tilled in Atchison county.

The Republican party has generally had the allegiance of Mr. Bishop, and while he has not taken an active part in political matters, he was one of the stanch supporters of the movement which resulted in the establishment of the high school at Potter. It is only natural to learn that he, like others who have succeeded in Kansas, has always been a live stock man and believes in feeding the grains and grasses raised on his land to the live stock on his place, in order to preserve the fertility of the land and make marketing the output much more convenient. He maintains a dairy herd of thirty well bred Holstein milch cows and is a well known breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs, having 200 head or more on his farm.

HARRISON W. RUDOLPH.

Harrison W. Rudolph is not only a leading photographer of Atchison, but ranks among the best in his profession of the entire country. Mr. Rudolph is a native of the Keystone State, born at Allentown, Pa., May 30, 1866. He is a son of John and Levina (Messer) Rudolph. The Rudolphs are of old American stock of German descent. Sometime during the seventeenth century, two Rudolph brothers immigrated to America. One settled in Pennsylvania, and the other went farther West, locating in Ohio, and Harrison W. Rudolph, whose name introduces this review, is a descendant of the one who settled in Pennsylvania. Mrs. James A. Garfield bore the maiden name of Rudolph, and was a member of the Ohio branch of the Rudolph family, and James Rudolph Garfield, son of the former President, retains his mother’s maiden name as his middle name. John Rudolph, the father of H. W., is now living and has reached the ripe old age of eighty. He resides in Allentown, Pa.

Harrison W. Rudolph was reared in Allentown, and after receiving a good common school education served an apprenticeship at photography in his native city, and later completed a course in the Atchison Business College. About the time he was twenty years old he obtained a position from an Atchison photographer through correspondence. He came here and worked at his profession for M. A. Kleckner about nine years, when he opened a studio of his own at 509 1–2 Commercial street, where he has been located for twenty years. Mr. Rudolph is recognized as an artist and has a large patronage from all over northeastern Kansas, and he even gets work from Kansas City. The excellency of his work is readily recognized by particular people who know and appreciate art. Mr. Rudolph has been awarded five prizes and medals for his work by the Kansas State Photographers’ Association, and his work is always in great demand. He is a member of the Kansas Photographers’ Association, the National Photographers’ Association of America, the Missouri Valley Photographers’ Association, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Rudolph was married in Denver April 9, 1889, to Miss Martha Hausser, of New York City, and two children have been born to this union, as follows: Rodney, born January 21, 1892, is a traveling representative for the Standard Oil Company, and Fred, born June 2, 1894, a clerk in the Atchison office of the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Rudolph is not only a successful artist, but has made good in a financial way and is one of the substantial business men of Atchison county. He is a member of the Atchison Commercial Club and the Young Men’s Christian Association.

EDWARD B. McCULLOUGH.

Edward B. McCullough, deputy sheriff of Atchison county, was born on a farm in Atchison county in 1880, and is a son of Hugh Elden and Sarah J. (Rankin) McCullough, both of whom were born and reared to maturity in Pennsylvania, married there and shortly afterward set out for the West, settling in Atchison county. Mr. McCullough bought a farm in Lancaster township, and improved it, but did not live long after settling here. He died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving one son, Edward B. At the time of his father’s death, Edward B. was but fifteen months old, and soon afterward his mother moved to the village of Lancaster where she has since made her home, with the exception of some years spent on her cousin’s farm near Lancaster. Edward B. was reared to young manhood in Lancaster and attended the public school. When still a youth he learned to hustle for himself and became self-reliant and self-supporting at a time when most boys are still in the coddling stage. When but sixteen years of age he bought a team and outfit and engaged in business for himself. He continued as a teamster and in draying until 1914 when he removed to Atchison to enter upon his duties as deputy sheriff under Sheriff Roy Trimble. During the course of his teaming experience he became the proprietor of a livery barn in Lancaster.

On October 28, 1903, he married Mildred May Lowe, a daughter of Austin and Anna Lowe, of Atchison county. They have one child, Gayle Mateel, born September 23, 1904. Mr. McCullough is a member of the Modern Woodmen, and is a Republican. Since early young manhood he has taken an active part in political affairs, and loves the game for its own sake, as well as he loves baseball and kindred sports, for he is and has been quite an athlete, being a proficient baseball player.

For the past eight years he has been one of the wheel horses of the Republican party in Atchison county and has naturally attained a wide acquaintance among the voters of both parties. He assiduously campaigned for his favorite candidates during the campaigns of 1912 and 1914, but has never been a candidate for office. He was appointed to the post of deputy sheriff in November, 1914, and took up the duties of his office January 11, of the following year. It is needless to state that he is faithfully performing the duties of his position and is gaining more friends as his general worth is becoming more widely known.

THOMAS E. BALLINGER.

Thomas E. Ballinger is one of the substantial and well respected residents of Atchison who has accomplished much in a material and civic way since first coming to the county in 1869. He has acquired and improved one of the finest farms of the county, served the people well and faithfully in an official capacity, and, best of all, has reared a fine family, every member of whom is a useful addition to society, and a credit to their parents and the communities in which they reside. What more could any man expect to accomplish during a long and busy life? A man who accomplishes so much with the assistance of an intelligent and faithful wife can well be content to retire to a pleasant home, imbued with the satisfaction of knowing that the future of himself and his is well provided for during the declining years which can be likened to a beautiful sunset at the end of a long and glorious day spent in gleaning from mother earth her treasures.

Mr. Ballinger is a native of New Jersey and comes of good, old English stock. He was born in Salem county, that State, November 21, 1845. His parents were John G. and Sarah Ann (Reeves) Ballinger, also natives of New Jersey. His paternal grandfather was John G. Ballinger, who married a Quaker woman and died when Thomas E. was but a boy. His mother was a daughter of Stephen Reeves, a scion of an old eastern family and a leading shipbuilder of New Jersey. The Reeves family settled in Alloway township, Salem county, New Jersey. John G. Ballinger, the father, was born in 1827, and died in 1906. He was a miller, and operated a mill during the active years of his long life. His wife, Sarah Ann, died in 1850, leaving three children: Stephen R., a miller, who resided in New Jersey, and died October 15, 1915; Samuel E., a retired farmer, living in the suburbs of Atchison, and Thomas E., with whose career this review is directly concerned. John G. Ballinger married a second time, to Sarah Austin, who bore him the following children: John, Charles, Walter, Ellen, Sadie, Emma and Minnie.

The elder Ballinger had both the means and the incentive to give his children an education. Accordingly, Thomas E. had the advantages of thorough schooling and, after attending the district school of his home neighborhood, he studied in the Cumberland County Academy at Bridgetown. N. J., the Crittendon School in Philadelphia and the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, completing his course in the latter institution in 1865. He then became a clerk in a grocery store at Glouster, N. J., and was later employed in a drug store. All the while, however, he was hearkening to the call of the West, which had reached the ears of thousands of young men in the East. The call proved so strong that in 1869 he made the long journey to Kansas to become one of the pioneers of the new State. For the first two years he worked out as a farm hand in Shannon township, Atchison county, saving his funds in order that he might begin farming for himself. In 1871 he made his first purchase of eighty acres of unimproved land in Lancaster township, Atchison county, at a cost of $15 per acre. On this tract he built a two room house in which he lived for two years, and was there joined by his brother, Samuel E. He then married, and the first five years of a happy wedded life were spent on this farm. He traded this farm for eighty acres of land in Shannon township, which served as the family home until 1888. He then exchanged the Shannon township farm for 240 acres, near Huron, Atchison county, which he retained for two years, and then made his last trade for 160 acres in the east central part of Lancaster township. For seventeen years, until his retirement to Atchison in 1907, this fine farm was the family home. Mr. Ballinger greatly improved this farm, added to it another forty acres, and with its two sets of buildings and well kept fields, is one of the finest and most productive agricultural plants in the county.

He was married on Saturday, March 21, 1874, to Julia H. Holland, and to this union have been born the following children: Ralph, a talented physician of Chicago, married Flora Groom, of Indiana; Mrs. Marie Shuffleberger, Doniphan county, Kansas, mother of three children, Dorothy, Reeves and Wayne; Adel, at home; Grace, wife of J. W. Coleman, of Atchison, having two children, John Ballinger, born June 14, 1911, and James Henry, born November 3, 1915; Thomas Edward, Jr., on the home farm, married Nellie Colgan and is the father of one child, John Edward; Julia Gladys resides at home with her parents. Father, mother and daughters reside in a handsome brick residence, erected by Mr. Ballinger at 210 North Eleventh street. Mrs. Ballinger was born December 29, 1853, in England, and is a daughter of Joshua and Maria (Relph) Holland, who immigrated to America in 1856, and first settled on an Illinois farm. The family came to Kansas in 1860, settling in Nemaha county, going from there to Ft. Leavenworth, where Joshua Holland followed his trade of stone mason. During the Civil war Mr. Holland served in the commissary department at Ft. Leavenworth. In 1870 he came to Atchison county and cultivated a farm of 120 acres near Lane until his death. Mr. Holland was born in April, 1822, and died in September, 1884. Mrs. Holland was born in November, 1824, and died in April, 1894. They were the parents of the following children: Emma, deceased; Misses Mary and Harriet Holland on a farm near Lancaster; Mrs. Julia Ballinger, and William, a retired farmer in Lancaster.

Thomas E. Ballinger has always been a Republican in politics and took an active part in political and civic affairs in his home township, serving as township clerk for a number of years. He was elected to the office of county commissioner in 1910, and served from January, 1911, to January, 1915. While a member of the board of county commissioners the best interests of the county were paramount with him, and he was an honest and capable public official. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church.

ROGER PATRICK SULLIVAN.

The accounts of many of the prosperous and substantial families who are the backbone and substance of the rural population in Atchison county are very similar, beginning far away, across the ocean, in one of the older countries from whence the parents came to seek fortune in America. The Sullivan family had its origin in Ireland and it was from the Emerald Isle that the father of the family came when twelve years of age, struggled from poverty to comparative wealth and left his sons well provided for, as a reward for their filial devotion to the parents when old age came upon them. Roger Sullivan, a progressive farmer of Benton township, is one of the best known men in his section of the county. The Sullivan home is an attractive one, and the home farm of Mr. Sullivan is one of the most fertile and best kept in Atchison county.

Roger Patrick Sullivan was born December 4, 1862, in Atchison, a son of Michael and Bridget (Tobin) Sullivan, natives of Ireland. Michael Sullivan was born in 1826 and lived in his native land until he was twelve years of age when he made his way to America. His travels while seeking fortune in the new country took him ever westward and he was married in Keokuk, Iowa, to Bridget Tobin, who was his faithful helpmate during the years when he was rising from poverty to affluence. In 1860 they came to Atchison, Kan., where Mr. Sullivan engaged in railroad contract work and assisted in the grading of the Central Branch railroad. He made money in his railroad contract work and was enabled to purchase a farm in Grasshopper township, or rather traded for it. While living in Atchison, with true Irish thrift, he and his wife managed to become owners of a home which they exchanged for eighty acres of land in Grasshopper township, upon which they moved and developed it into a fine farm. Mr. Sullivan in the course of time bought an additional quarter section and with the help of his sturdy sons he increased his acreage to 320 acres of well improved farm land. When old age crept upon Michael and his wife they turned over the farms to their two sons, who cared for them in their declining years, which were spent in peace and comfort. Mr. Sullivan died at the home of his son. John Edward, December 24, 1906, and his wife followed him to the great beyond two years later, February, 1908. Three children were born to this worthy couple, namely: John Edward, a farmer residing in Grasshopper township; Roger Patrick, the subject of this review, and Mary, deceased.

Roger P. learned when a youth the art of cultivating the soil, and diligently applied himself to the task of helping to build up the family estate, and received as his share of the farm lands owned by his father a fine quarter section of land upon which he resided until his removal to his present location in the spring of 1908. Prosperity has smiled upon his efforts, and he is now the owner of 360 acres of land, 160 acres of which are comprised in his home farm, eighty acres is located five miles west of his home in Kapioma township, and he still retains 120 acres of the original Sullivan farm, which is entirely devoted to pasture. If one should ask Mr. Sullivan how he had managed to attain the considerable acreage which he now possesses, his answer would probably be, “By hard work,” which would be true, but the reviewer is also of the opinion that the “hard work” was also supplemented by intelligent effort, self-denial at times, sobriety, and good financial judgment.

Mr. Sullivan was married January 11, 1892, to Miss Mary Linehan, who was born in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1865, a daughter of James and Kathryn Linehan, natives of Ireland, and who were pioneer settlers in Atchison county. To this union four children have been born, namely: Catharine, aged seventeen years, and a student in the Atchison County High School, class of ’17; Daniel, fifteen years old, a freshman in the county high school; Mary, aged twelve years, and Helen, aged nine, pupils in the parochial school at Effingham.

The Democratic party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Sullivan and his father before him was a Democrat. He and his family are members of the Catholic church which was the faith of their fathers. He finds time to give attention to the social side of life, and is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Atchison. Mr. Sullivan is a thorough Kansan, and is proud to be numbered among the real pioneers of Atchison county, and in his opinion there is no better spot than the county which has always been his home.

JOHN FLEMING.

John Fleming, a successful merchant of Atchison, was born October 29, 1864, in Holland. When four years old his parents left the land of their birth and came to America in 1868. He was one of twins, the other twin brother dying during the ocean voyage to America. His parents were Lambert and Rosena (Johnson) Fleming, who set out from their native land imbued with the desire to better their condition in America and finally located in Atchison. The elder Fleming had been a skilled wooden-shoe maker in his native land, and he plied his trade in Atchison, being able to market the product of his skilled workmanship through the kindly assistance of John Ratterman, who exchanged groceries and the necessities of life for the shoes which Mr. Fleming made. The family finally located on a farm south of Atchison, and resided there until the death of the father in 1882, at which time John, his mother and two sisters, Bertha, now widow of Henry Nass, deceased: Ida Van Benthen, residing at Seventeenth and Atchison streets, removed to Atchison.

John Fleming was four years old when his parents took up their residence in Atchison county, and he was reared on the farm, south of the city, attending the district schools, and was able to secure a limited education in this manner. Upon coming to the city to reside he worked in various grocery stores for several years. With true thrift, for which those of Holland birth are noted the world over, he carefully saved his money over and above actual living expenses, and in 1898, equipped with a capital of $500, he started in business with this amount and some borrowed money. For over seventeen years he has been conducting a grocery business at 321 North Seventh street and his business has been constantly on the increase. The demands of his growing trade and the expansion of his business became such that in 1907 it became necessary for him to erect the modern brick buildings which now houses his excellent stock of goods at 321 North Seventh street. It is one of the most attractive and best kept establishments of the kind in the city, and is noted for the tasteful manner in which the goods of the very best quality are displayed and the unvarying courtesy with which the patrons are treated. Prosperity has come to Mr. Fleming, and in 1908 he invested his surplus in the erection of a four-suite apartment house, each apartment of which contains six rooms. He is also the owner of other real estate in north Atchison, and is rated as one of the city’s enterprising and progressive business men.

Mr. Fleming was married in 1889 to Emma C. Hilligoss, a daughter of Alfred and Anna Eliza (McLain) Hilligoss, who located in Atchison when she was twelve years of age. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fleming, four living: William J., associated with his father in the grocery business; Henry A., also his father’s assistant; Agnes R., John Edwin; Bertha died at the age of four years; Ruth died in infancy, and Theodore died at the age of four months.

Mr. Fleming is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is fraternally connected with the Modern Woodmen of America.

MARK H. HULINGS.

For an Atchison county man to start out in life with a capital of fifteen dollars, which was given to him by a loving mother, with the injunction that he purchase an article for personal adornment, and then to invest said fifteen dollars in a span of mules, which became the nucleus to a fortune, and for this citizen to rise to the position of being one of the large landed proprietors of Kansas, sounds like a tale from modern fiction. But the tale is true, and the incident which marked the starting point of the career of Mark H. Hulings, of Center township, is the keystone of the man’s character, and shows wherein lies the material from which he was created. Mr. Hulings decided that a pair of mules would do him more material good than adorning his person, and therein used rare and capable judgment. Mr. Hulings is a Kansas man, who during a career in agricultural pursuits embracing but little more than thirty years, has achieved a success which is truly remarkable. Not content with just common every-day farming, as has been practiced with indifferent success by others, Mr. Hulings became a specialist and has taken his rightful place among the many skilled cattle breeders of this county, who in time to come will receive the credit and honors which are theirs by right. By industry, persistence, intelligence, and keen financial judgment he has risen to become one of the leading farmers of Atchison county and Kansas. Born in the old Buckeye State, of Virginia parents, he is a loyal and steadfast Kansan, and takes pride in the fact that he is one of the real pioneers of this section of a great State.

Mark H. Hulings, farmer and stockman, of Center township, was born February 14, 1862, at Walnut Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a son of Samuel and Louise (Brown) Hulings. They had four children, as follows: Mrs. Lillie High, widow, Atchison, Kan.; Cincinnatus, deceased; Mark, the subject of this sketch, and Ruth J., twins, the latter deceased. The father was born in what is now West Virginia in 1832. He was a baker by trade, and his early days were spent on a steamboat, where he was employed as a cook and baker. When a young man he came to Cincinnati, where he worked for some time, and then he began farming. In 1867 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land, and built a seven-room house of brick, which was considered a fine residence in that day. He was a successful farmer and his crops were always good, with the exception of one year when they were destroyed by the grasshoppers. The father conducted his farm until his death in 1898. The mother was born in New York and died about 1905, aged about seventy years. An accident in an Atchison hardware store elevator which injured her leg led to her death.

Mark Hulings attended the school in District No. 28, Center township, and later the Pardee Seminary. When he started out in life for himself he had only fifteen dollars which his mother gave him to buy a ring for himself. But caring little for personal jewelry, bought a span of mules instead, for which he paid the fifteen dollars as the first payment. This was his first investment, but it was a profitable one, and he has continued to invest until he is now an extensive land owner. He and his brother, Cincinnatus, bought land of their own after their parents died, and farmed together about eight years when each bought a farm of his own. Mark bought land in Center township and now owns 810 acres, a large part of which is well improved. He was a breeder of registered Hereford cattle for a time, but now devotes his attention to Shorthorns. He has worked his way to the first rank of Atchison county farmers, and now holds land that makes him one of the largest land owners of the county. On April 27, 1890, he married Emma Sharpless, who was born September 22, 1871, in Delaware. (See sketch of U. B. Sharpless for a sketch of the Sharpless family history.) To Mr. and Mrs. Hulings have been born two children: Mark S. and Susie E., living at home. Mr. Hulings is a Republican. He and his wife and children are members of the Christian church at Farmington.

FRANK SUTTER.

Frank Sutter, owner of “Highlington,” a splendid farm of 245 acres, in Benton township, Atchison county, located one-half mile west of Effingham, is a native of Atchison county, and is one of its most successful and progressive farmers. A beautiful, modern farm home of eight rooms occupies a rise of land fronting the main highway, running east and west from Effingham, and is fully equipped with a water system and private gas plant installed by Mr. Sutter. A large red barn stands in the rear of the home. This farm is operated as a dairying plant, and Mr. Sutter maintains a herd of fifteen milch cows of the Jersey and Shorthorn breeds.

Frank Sutter was born January 8, 1871, on a pioneer farm in Walnut township, Atchison county, and is a son of Frederick Sutter, deceased, of whom a complete biography is written in this volume. Frank Sutter came with the family to Benton township in 1880 and lived on the home place, two miles west of Effingham, and after his father’s death he and his brothers, Fred and William, became the owners of the section of land which has since been divided, Frank taking a quarter section as his share when the division of land was made. The sons of Frederick Sutter farmed the family estate in common until 1902, and, after various changes following the division of the estate Frank became the proprietor of 245 acres in one tract, which he is now cultivating.

Mr. Sutter was married in 1909 to Mrs. Kate (Cook) Pitman, a widow, who is the mother of eight children by her first marriage, as follows: George, now in Montana; Ralph, living in Iowa; Mrs. Elsie Mann, of Nebraska; Mrs. Vera Blair, a resident of Effingham; Margaret, at home; Mrs. Geneva Perdue, of Huron, Kan.; Helen and Thomas reside at home. Mrs. Sutter was a daughter of E. F. Cook.

While Mr. Sutter is a Republican in politics, he votes independently in county and local matters, and supports the candidate who seems best fitted for the office, in his judgment. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Sutter is of a high type of the successful farmer who has made good in his inherited vocation. The success of each individual member of the Sutter family is due, to a great extent, to their coöperation and ability to work together for the common good of the whole family, collectively and individually, while the family fortunes were in process of building.

BISHOP K. HAM.

Bishop K. Ham, one of the younger successful farmers and stockmen of Grasshopper township, Atchison county, is the last surviving representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of the western part of the county. He resides on the old homestead of the Ham family, consisting of 170 acres of land, upon which his father homesteaded in 1861. B. K. Ham was born on this farm July 23, 1882, a son of Martin W., and Margarette (Black) Ham, natives of Fleming county, Kentucky.

Martin W. Ham was born near the town of Flemingsburg, Ky., April 13, 1834, and was a son of George and Ruth Ham, also reared in Kentucky. The grandfather of Martin W. was John or “Jackie,” a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia, and was of Scotch-Irish lineage. The Ham family is a very old one in this country, and the great-grandfather of B. K. Ham was John, better known as “Jackie” Ham, who was one among the earliest pioneer settlers of Kentucky. Martin W. was reared to young manhood in Fleming county, Kentucky, and there married Jane Humphreys. In 1861 the Ham family left Kentucky in search of a home in the West, making the long trip overland to Missouri by wagon. After a short stay in Missouri they came to Atchison county, Kansas, and settled on the farm now owned by Mrs. Margarette Ham. All of Martin W. Ham’s worldly possessions when he landed in Kansas was his team and wagon and a few household necessities. The land was wild and there were few settlers on the prairies in Grasshopper township, where he made his settlement and eventually developed a fine farm. He became an extensive cattle and hog raiser and made considerable money in this manner.