History of Atchison County, Kansas

Martin W. Ham was twice married, his first wife, Jane Humphreys Ham, dying May 18, 1879. He married his second wife, Margarette Black, June 28, 1880. One son was born of this second marriage, Bishop K. Mrs. Margarette (Black) Ham was born March 29, 1854, a daughter of M. M. and Rebecca (Simms) Black, the former a native of Virginia, and of Irish lineage. He was one of the early pioneer settlers of Kansas. Martin W. Ham died in 1908. From the start of his career in Kansas M. W. Ham took an active and influential part in civic and political affairs of his county and State. During the border ruffian days he was active in affairs and was a Free State man. He was captain of Company G, Kansas Home Guards, during the Civil war. He held various township offices and was elected a member of the Kansas State legislature in 1869, serving one term. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was affiliated with the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges.

Bishop K. Ham, with whom this review is directly concerned, received his education in the district school of his neighborhood and also studied in the college at Hiawatha, Kan., for one year. He then took up farming, and after his marriage lived on a neighboring farm until his father’s demise. He then came to the home farm which he has since been cultivating with considerable success. Mr. Ham has made a record as a breeder of horses and mules second to none in Atchison county. He is the owner of a magnificent, imported black stallion, “Illico,” six years old, which he purchased from the well known importer, Charles Kirk, of St. Joseph, Mo. He is the owner of a high class jack and is a successful breeder of mules. The pride of his farm is his fine herd of thirty thoroughbred Jerseys, headed by the pedigreed bull “Loren’s Lad,” both the sire and dam of which were imported. By means of holding annual sales Mr. Ham will dispose of the surplus stock of his herds of cattle and horses. The Ham farm is well improved in every way with good commodious buildings, silo, etc., a fine modern home, all grouped together on a beautiful location.

Mr. Ham was married October 19, 1905, to Miss Carrie B. McCubbins, and to this union has been born: Marguerite Ham, born April 17, 1907. Mrs. Carrie B. Ham is a daughter of Robert D. and Elizabeth (Tenry) McCubbins, who were early settlers in Atchison county. The McCubbins family first settled near the city of Atchison, and later came to Grasshopper township.

Mr. Ham is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Muscotah, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Fraternal Aid societies. He is one of the best known and rising young agriculturists of the county and will undoubtedly make a name for himself among the breeders of the State of Kansas and middle West.

CHARLES H. LINLEY.

Charles H. Linley, a prominent physician and surgeon, of Atchison, may very appropriately be called the dean of the Atchison county medical profession. Dr. Linley is a Kentuckian. He was born in Livingston county, Kentucky, June 19, 1847, and is a son of Dr. Thomas and Maria (Barker) Linley, natives of Lewis county, Kentucky. Maria Barker, the mother, was a daughter of Admiral Barker of the United States navy. Dr. Thomas Linley, the father, was born in 1806. He was a son of Thomas Linley, a native of England, who settled in Virginia at an early date and later removed to Kentucky, and was a pioneer of this State. Thomas Linley, the father of Dr. Charles H. Linley, was a large plantation owner and owned many slaves in Kentucky prior to the Civil war, but was a strong Union man and believed that slavery was wrong, and when the Civil war came on he was pronounced in his anti-slavery views, and notwithstanding the position of many of his neighbors and friends and life-long associates, he stood firmly by the Union. He was a graduate of the old Transylvania Medical College, at Lexington, Ky. He began the practice of his profession at the early age of nineteen years, and for forty-five years practiced most of the time in the vicinity of Salem, Ky. He came to Atchison, Kan., in 1866, but remained a short time, when he returned to Kentucky, where he died March 31, 1880. Dr. Thomas and Maria (Barker) Linley were the parents of thirteen children, three of whom died in infancy, and four are now living, as follows: Dr. Charles H., the subject of this sketch; Isaac resides on the old homestead in Salem, Ky.; Mrs. Laura Hill resides at Liberty, Mo., and Joseph W., now living retired in Atchison, Kan. After receiving a good academic and classical education, Dr. Charles H. Linley entered Miami Medical College, now known as the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, and was graduated from that institution in 1877 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1880 he located in the city of Atchison where he has practiced his profession with uniform success for the past thirty-five years. He is one of the oldest physicians in the number of years in practice in Atchison.

Dr. Linley was married in 1879 to Miss Fannie W. Gregory, a native of Kentucky. She was born in 1854 and is a daughter of James Gregory and a member of a prominent Kentucky family. Her father died when Mrs. Linley was fourteen years of age. Dr. and Mrs. Linley are the parents of the following children: Maria, born in 1880, and died in 1909; Corinne, a teacher in the Atchison high school, and a graduate of Midland College and the State Normal school at Emporia; Ray G., traveling salesman for Blish, Mize & Silliman; Nora B., a graduate of Midland College, now a teacher in Colorado; Alice, a graduate of Midland College, now a teacher in the grades at Atchison, and Louis D., traveling salesman for Blish, Mize & Silliman.

Dr. Linley is a Democrat and has taken an active part in the welfare of his city and county. He has served as city health officer for several terms and was police commissioner for Atchison for one year. He served on the board of United States pension examiners for eight years during Cleveland’s administrations. He is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, the Fraternal Aid, and the Foresters of America. The Linley family are members of the Christian church.

L. C. ARENSBERG.

L. C. Arensberg, one of the younger business men of Atchison, and member of the enterprising and successful firm of Babcock & Arensberg, shoe merchants, is a Hollander by birth, and a hustling American in every sense the word implies. It has long been a matter of note that the natives of Holland who became American citizens are more apt and take more kindly and quickly to the ways of this nation than the people of any other European country. This country seems to become their natural habitat, and they become citizens in both deed and word after a few years’ residence here. Mr. Arensberg was born in Holland, September 17, 1880, and is a son of William and Alegunde (Muskens) Arensberg, who immigrated to this country in 1885, actuated by a desire to locate in a land where their children would have more and better opportunities for success than their own little, crowded, native country afforded. They believed rightly and were successful in establishing a home in Atchison where they had relatives who had preceded them to the newer country. The Arensberg family established themselves in reasonably comfortable circumstances in Atchison in a short time. There were nine children in the family of William and Alegunde Arensberg.

L. C. Arensberg was educated in the parochial and high schools of Atchison. Then he obtained a position as all round man in Bradley & Ostertag’s shoe store. Here he was employed for ten years and thoroughly learned the ins and outs of the shoe business, becoming a very proficient salesman. In the meantime he carefully saved his money, with a view to eventually engaging in business for himself. His ambition was at last realized, and in 1906 he purchased an interest in the Babcock & Stallons shoe store, buying out the interest of Mr. Stallons. He is a full partner in the business and has won a place of merit and honor among the leading merchants of Atchison.

Politically, Mr. Arensberg is a Democrat, and is inclined to be liberal in his views and independent in his voting. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Loyal Order of Moose, and is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church. He is active in the affairs of the Atchison Commercial Club, and is recognized as one of the real “live wires” of the business and civic life of his home city.

W. B. COLLETT.

W. B. Collett, district agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wis., is one of the progressive business men of Atchison. He was born in Liverpool, England, in 1860, and is a son of John and Mary (Henston) Collett, the former a native of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, and the latter of Tipperary, Ireland. John Collett was a prosperous importing provision merchant when the Civil war broke out in this country. The importing business fell off to such an extent in European ports that business was injured to such an extent that he failed, and came to the United States, and in 1862 sent for his family, consisting of his wife and three children. During his youth he served a seven-year apprenticeship in the provision trade. In 1879 he came to Atchison as head salesman for the Fowler Brothers Packing Company, and remained with that company until 1883. He then went with the Armour Packing Company, of Kansas City, in the same capacity, and was with that company for fourteen years, when he was made manager of their branch at St. Paul, Minn., and later he was the European representative for Jacob Dold Packing Company, of Buffalo, N. Y. In 1908 he retired from active business and took up his residence on a farm near Richards, Mo., where he died, in 1911, at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife survives him and resides on the farm where he died.

John Collett was a man of unusual ability, and had few equals as a salesman. He was a capable executive and thoroughly understood handling large commercial enterprises. He was a master salesman and always commanded a large salary. He was a money maker, although he died possessed of but a small amount of this world’s goods; he was a money maker rather than a hoarder of dimes.

W. B. Collett, whose name introduces this sketch, was educated in the public schools, and when a young man went to work in the Elgin watch works, at Elgin, Ill., and in 1879, when the family came to Kansas, he went to work for the Fowler Brothers Packing Company, where he remained about a year. He then entered the employ of Bowman & Kellogg, millers, as bookkeeper, and later became a buyer and salesman for that company. In 1888 he engaged in the general insurance business, and three years later entered the employ of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and has been with that company ever since with headquarters at Atchison. Mr. Collett was married in December, 1886, to Miss Annie Heermance, who came to Atchison with her mother in 1883 from Hudson, N. Y. She was one of the old Holland families of New York and taught in the Atchison High School prior to her marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. Collett have two children as follows; Mary E., educated at Wellesley College, took her master degree at the University of Pennsylvania, then one year of post-graduate work at Brown University, at Providence, R. I., when she became instructor of biology at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., and W. B., Jr., who was educated in the Atchison public schools. Culver Military Academy, Culver, Ind., and the State Agriculture College at Manhattan, Kan.

Mr. Collett is an Episcopalian, a York Rite Mason and a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and has been active in the work of these organizations for years.

JAMES DOOLEY.

The late James Dooley, of Shannon township, left behind him a life’s record that is well worth recounting, and deserved an honored place in the memoirs of the county, in which he was for over forty years a prominent and well known figure. As a pioneer he did his part well in building up Atchison county. The story of his life is romantic in many ways, and he was always imbued with the idea of providing well for his beloved family, and leaving his affairs in such a stable condition that his descendants could earn on the great work which the father and founder of the family had so well begun and brought to such a substantial culmination.

James Dooley, deceased, was born January 6, 1835, in Ireland, a son of Irish parents, James and Catharine Dooley, who left their native land in 1847, and located in Canada, where the father, James Dooley, the elder, became ill and died in the city of Hamilton. Although the young Irish lad was but twelve years of age and immature, it was necessary for him to go to work and gain a livelihood the best way he could. He managed to get a job which paid him one dollar and a half per month with his board. He was knocked about from pillar to post while a youth, and managed to make his way. His adventures in making a struggle for an honest livelihood were similar to those of other poor orphan boys left in a strange land without friends or relatives, other than those who were as poor as himself. One bright rift in the lonely life of this orphan boy is to be noticed when he became a boarder in the Hurley home at Harrisburg, Canada. It was here that he met with a genuine kindness and formed an attachment for the noble-hearted girl who later became his inspiration, and was his faithful wife during the years in Kansas when he was working his way upward to wealth and affluence, aided and abetted by her wise counsel and assistance. Imbued with a desire to secure capital so that he could come to this new country and realize an inherent ambition to own a farm, he set out for the gold fields of Colorado during the Civil war years, and there amassed a small fortune of $500 in gold, saved during the months of his hard and unremitting labor in the gold mines of the western State. With this capital he felt able to make the venture which he and his sweetheart had planned, and, accordingly, after his marriage at Paris, Canada, with Catharine Hurley, he and his wife set out for Atchison in March of 1866. During the first few months of their residence in Atchison county they lived with a sister of Mr. Dooley, Mrs. Slattery, in Shannon township, and James worked in the city at any honest labor he could get. Their first investment was for eighty acres of school land in Shannon township, for which they paid cash, and it then became necessary for Mr. Dooley to borrow forty dollars in order to get the deed for the land. During the whole course of Mr. Dooley’s career in Atchison county, while the modest eighty acres were growing to the large total of 600 acres of some of the best agricultural land in the county, they never undertook a debt, but each time an additional tract of farm land was purchased, the savings were drawn upon and cash paid for the land. Each of three sons now has a fine farm of 200 acres. The home place upon which Mrs. Dooley now resides, which consists of 200 acres, cost an even $10,000. This farm is one of the oldest in the county and was originally preëmpted by a Mr. Collins, who set out a large grove of forty acres or more in walnut and cottonwood trees which have become very valuable, having grown to considerable size.

Catharine (Hurley) Dooley, widow of James Dooley, was born April 28, 1847, in Ireland, a daughter of James and Bridget Hurley, who left their native land in 1847 while Katharine was but an infant, and located in Hamilton, Canada, later residing in Harrisburg, Canada. A brother of Mrs. Dooley, James Hurley, served three years and three months in the Union army. He was a member of a Pennsylvania reserve regiment of sharpshooters and was wounded during the battle of Richmond, Va. For six months, while the wound in his wrist was healing, he served as sergeant in the quartermaster’s department. Some years after the war he became an inmate of the National Soldiers’ Home at Dayton, Ohio, and lost his life while aboard an excursion boat which sank in Lake Michigan, near Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Dooley were the parents of fourteen children: Mrs. James Baker, Huron, Kan., and mother of eight children, Celia Baker, a trained nurse in Chicago, Mary, wife of George Perdue, Joseph, William, Bertha, Ruth, Rita and James; Catharine, James and Mary, deceased; Sister Lucy, of Mt. St. Scholastica Academy; Lucy, wife of David Lawless, and mother of two sons, Harold and Clevett; Mrs. Celia Finnegan, wife of Thomas Finnegan, of Houston, Texas, who had two children, Thomas Lillis and Mary; Bertha, Sister Dorothy, of the Order of St. Benedict’s in Mt. St. Scholastica Academy; Nora, wife of Roger Finnegan; William, managing the home farm; John, deceased; James married Bertha Kistler, and has three children: Florence, Bernice, and Francis; Edward married Henrietta Kramer, and has two children, John and Gerard; Joseph, deceased; Irene, at home with her mother.

It is well to add here that James Dooley was one of the notable army of hardy freighters who crossed the plains with the long mule trains in the late sixties. This was in April of 1866, when he convoyed a train load of goods to Denver, Colo., in company with William Slattery. During his whole life, after attaining his majority, Mr. Dooley was a stanch Democrat and was ever loyal to Democratic principles. While a member of the Catholic church, he was a liberal supporter of all denominations, and took a broad and tolerant view of all religious matters as becoming a widely traveled and experienced man. His life-long wish to perpetuate his name and keep the family estate in the family was expressed while lying on his death bed. Calling his faithful helpmeet to his bedside, he said: “Mother, I am leaving you without having my dearest wish come true.” On being asked what it was, he said: “I have always longed for the time to come when I could see my sons settled on this farm of ours, with a Dooley here with his family, a Dooley there, and another son on that part of the farm.” He was at once assured by his wife that his wishes would be respected, and after his demise Mrs. Dooley at once took steps to carry out the plans of her husband with the result that within sight of her home the other two sons are comfortably located on 200 acres of land each and have attractive homes of their own.

ABRAHAM HOOPER.

Abraham Hooper, deceased, was one of the pioneer settlers of Atchison county. He was one of the well known and sturdy figures in the early days of the settlement of Kansas when strong and brave men were required, who were able to face the vicissitudes and hardships incident to the settlement of a new country and perform their tasks without succumbing, as weaker mortals were wont to do. Mr. Hooper was born in Platte county, Missouri, November 23, 1839, on a farm, near Parkville. His father was Abraham Hooper, a native of Tennessee and early settler of Missouri, who died in Mexico. Abraham Hooper, the subject of this review, was reared in Platte county and came to Atchison county in 1858, settling on a farm near Pardee. While engaged in farming he followed his trade of plasterer in the neighborhood of Pardee. For a distance of ten miles around his own residence he plastered all of the houses then building by the incoming settlers. During the Civil war he was enrolled in the State militia. In his younger days Mr. Hooper was a freighter and crossed the plains in charge of great trains on three different occasions. On one of his trips to Colorado he was placed in charge of a train load of twenty-five wagons, and one of his other trips was to Ft. Union, N. M. His affiliations were with the Christian church, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of Pythias lodges.

Mr. Hooper was married in 1863 to Louisa Campbell, born in Tennessee in 1842, a daughter of Daniel and Nancy Campbell. The Campbell family left Tennessee in 1854, and in 1855 removed to a farm which they preëmpted near Farmington in Atchison county. This was in a day when things were in a primitive state in Kansas. The Campbells lived in a cabin which was one of the first dwellings built in that section of the county. The mother of Mrs. Hooper lived and died on their farm, and her father died on the western plains while on a trip to the Black Hills. Mr. and Mrs. Hooper removed from the farm to Atchison in 1887, and here Mr. Hooper died February 18, 1914, at the advanced age of seventy-four years, having been born November 3, 1839. Three children were born to this well respected couple: Addie B. died at the age of six years; Daniel, deceased, and Nellie died at the age of one year. Mrs. Hooper lives all alone in her home, but remembers fondly the days of old and has many sweet memories of her husband and children to solace and comfort her during her declining years. Despite her age she is physically and mentally vigorous and is distinguished in being one of the oldest pioneer women now living in the county.

Her well beloved son, Daniel Hooper, was born in 1868, and died January 22, 1912. He was one of the most talented and best liked men in Atchison, and was far on the road to fame and prosperity when he was cut off in the prime of his vigorous and virile manhood. He received the rudiments of an elementary education in the district school near his country home and early developed ambitions which were partly realized during his life. After leaving school he studied shorthand and typewriting, and while holding a position in the law office of C. D. Walker he studied law and was admitted to the bar. A winning personality and his pronounced ability won him clients from the start of his legal career. His personal popularity and ambitious tendencies led him to enter politics, and he was elected to the office of probate judge of the county, serving the people well and faithfully for a period of six years, and then served two terms as city attorney. Just in the prime of his manhood and at the zenith of a career his health failed, and he died at Excelsior Springs, Mo., where he had gone in the hope of regaining his health. Judge Hooper was sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances and it is probable that there was not a man in his class better liked or more highly respected in Atchison county at the time of his demise. He was a Republican in politics and was fraternally connected with the Modern Woodmen, the Knights of Pythias, in whose councils he was very prominent, and an attendant at the Christian church. The most notable trait in Judge Hooper’s character was his sincere devotion to his parents. Because of the love he bore his mother he never married and cared for no woman but her. His constant thought was to make provision for her in the event of his own demise, and he carefully looked after her immediate and future wants. Such men as he are deserving of a greater tribute than that embodied in this brief review. A memorial window with his and the name of his father thereon was placed in the Christian church in his memory. Printed on this window are Judge Hooper’s words of faith often expressed: “I believe in a great and a good God.”

Mrs. Hooper is rearing and educating a girl, Ruth Jones, who serves as company for her in the home.

ALBERT J. SMITH.

Albert J. Smith, the efficient cashier of the State Bank of Lancaster, Kan., is a native son of Kansas, and has grown up with Atchison county. He is a son of one of the prominent early pioneer settlers of the county, and while yet, comparatively, a young man, he has made good at his chosen avocation and is considered one of the really successful banking men of this section of the State, his talents and ability seeming to be especially adapted to the profession of banking.

Mr. Smith was born on a farm in Brown county, Kansas, January 13, 1879, a son of Thomas B. and Mary E. (Woodruff) Smith. The father of Albert J. Smith was born August 16, 1843, in Grant county, Indiana, a son of William J. and Lucinda (Barkley) Smith, who were born and reared in Pennsylvania. The father of Lucinda Barkley Smith was a soldier in the War of 1812. William J. Smith removed with his family to Grant county, Indiana, and in 1851 migrated further westward to Bureau county, Illinois, where he made a permanent settlement, and died in that county in 1869. Lucinda (Barkley) Smith died in Illinois in 1862, at the age of sixty-two years. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Margaret Pugh; Alvah, a veteran of the Civil war; Mrs. Lucinda Spangler; Isaac, Joseph, and William R. Thomas B. Smith, the father of Albert J., was eight years old when the family removed to Bureau county, Illinois, where he spent his boyhood days and received a common school education, finishing in the Dover (Illinois) Academy. On the second call for volunteers issued by President Lincoln, he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-third regiment, Illinois infantry. He took part in a number of decisive and important battles and campaigns. Among them are, Jackson, Miss., and Dalton, Ga. On May 16, 1863, while serving in General McPherson’s corps, he fought at the battle of Champion Hill and was severely wounded in the left shoulder. He was forced to remain in the hospital for some time and after his recovery he was placed on guard duty for the purpose of guarding the railroad bridges. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Bureau county, Illinois. After his marriage in 1866, he continued to farm in Illinois until 1874, when he removed to Kansas, locating first in Brown county, where he and his family lived for six years, and then came to Atchison county, where Mr. Smith purchased a farm of 160 acres in Grasshopper township, northeast of the town of Muscotah. He resided on this farm for twenty years and then moved to Effingham in 1900. He died in Effingham, November 29, 1914. Mrs. Mary E. (Woodruff) Smith, his wife, was a native of New Jersey, and a daughter of Nathan and Delia Woodruff.

Thomas B. Smith was married January 24, 1866, to Mary E. Woodruff, at Princeton, Ill. They were the parents of nine children, six of whom are living: Mrs. M. E. Beven, of Muscotah. Kan.; Mrs. H. T. Reece, of Muscotah; Mrs. J. C. Harman, of Auburn, Neb.; Albert J., the subject of this review; C. E., cashier of the Huron Bank, and T. B., of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison. Three daughters are deceased: Lettie, Gracie and Goldie. Mr. Smith was an enterprising and progressive citizen who did his duty in whatever community he was located, during his long and useful life. While a resident of Grasshopper township he served as township trustee for four years. He was a member of the city council of Effingham one term, and filled the office of mayor for one term, and also proved his efficiency as a member of the Atchison County High School board for two terms. He was an honored member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Grand Army of the Republic, at Effingham. He was a stockholder and director of the banks at Lancaster and Huron, Kan. Mr. Smith was a member of the Presbyterian church for over fifty years. Mrs. Smith, the widowed mother, was born in New Jersey, in November, 1845, and now resides in Atchison.

Albert J. Smith was reared on the farm of his father and attended the district school in District No. 23, Grasshopper township, and later entered the Atchison County High School, Effingham, and was graduated in 1897. After his graduation he taught school in his home district for two terms, and in 1900 he received an appointment as clerk in the census bureau at Washington, D. C., and served for two years in that capacity. He then returned to Effingham and entered the State Bank of Effingham, as assistant cashier and bookkeeper. He made a fine record for himself in this bank and in July, 1905, was one of the organizers of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Effingham, and held the office of cashier from the time of its opening until 1909, when he resigned his position and removed to Lancaster, where he became cashier of the Lancaster State Bank. Mr. Smith, in addition to his banking interests, is the owner of eighty acres of good land in Kapioma township, Atchison county.

Albert J. Smith was married in 1899 to Elizabeth R. Smith, and to this union have been born the following children: Dorothy, deceased; Gladys, Elizabeth and Albert, all living at home. Mrs. Elizabeth (Smith) Smith, was born on a farm in Grasshopper township, February 26, 1879, and, like her husband, is a graduate of the Atchison County High School. She also taught school for two years. She is a daughter of James K. and Elizabeth (Asquith) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the mother a native of England, and early settlers of Atchison county. Both are now deceased.

Mr. Smith has identified himself with the civic affairs of Lancaster and is recognized as one of the town’s leading and enterprising citizens. He is a Republican and has served four years, from 1911 to 1915, inclusive, as mayor of Lancaster. His administration was successful and the affairs of the city were conducted with efficiency. He is a regular attendant of the Presbyterian church, and is affiliated with the Anti-Horse Thief Association, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Knights and Ladies of Security.

JOHN E. DUNCAN.

There is a proverbial saying that opportunity knocks once at every man’s door, and a classic has been written by a great Kansas statesman, since departed from among us, which tells in musical language that Kansas spells opportunity for the young man. Opportunity presented itself to John E. Duncan, Missouri Pacific agent, at Shannon, Kan., and Mr. Duncan seized it, and held on for all he was worth, and made a success of his venture. His ambition first was to become a railroad man and telegraph operator, and probably in the early stages of his career the post of telegraph operator seemed to him to be the great height of attainment. He realized his first dream, and when he came to Shannon, Kan., to take charge of the Missouri Pacific business at that place, he conceived the idea of engaging in the buying and shipping of grain. This idea grew and he became a grain buyer and shipper, built an elevator, established a general store, opened an implement establishment, and became a prosperous and trusted business man of his adopted county. It is a fact that more grain is shipped from the little village of Shannon through the agency of Mr. Duncan than any other point in Atchison county, outside of the city of Atchison. Mr. Duncan enjoys the respect, esteem and confidence of the prosperous farmers of the section tributary to Shannon, and they trade with him because of this confidence in his squareness. A few years ago, when real hard times struck Kansas as a result of the droughts, Mr. Duncan showed his hearty good will and confidence in the eventual betterment of conditions by placing his trust in his farmer friends, and supplying such of those who were not blessed with ready cash, with credit for supplies at his store, and carried them until they were able to pay. This kindness has been appreciated, and the most cordial relations exist between Mr. Duncan and his patrons.

John E. Duncan was born March 21, 1863, in Moro, Madison county, Illinois. He is a son of John and Mary (Hooley) Duncan, who had eight children, three of whom are now dead. The father was born in December, 1818, in Ireland. He left his native land in 1846 and sailed for New York. He engaged in farming in New York State, and was married two years later. In 1851 he came to Illinois and remained there until 1891. The mother of John Duncan was born in Ireland, also, in 1827. In 1848 she left there with a brother, William, and came to America. She died in 1907. Both parents were members of the Catholic church. The subject of this sketch was reared on the farm of his father and attended the grammar schools of Madison county, Illinois. When he grew to be a young man the long days of labor on the farm palled on him and he longed to get into different work. He had always had an ambition to become a telegrapher and when he was twenty-one years old he had a chance to learn that work. He worked as telegrapher for the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company until 1887, when he went to Everest, Brown county, Kansas, to become night operator for the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. In the fall of 1887 he was sent by the same company to Shannon, Atchison county, Kansas, to become the agent for the Missouri Pacific there. In 1892 he went into the grain business. He bought and sold grain for eight years, and at the end of a successful business period he erected the grain elevator at Shannon. This proved a profitable investment, and in 1907 he invested in a general merchandise store which he conducted until August, 1915, when his store building and stock were destroyed by fire, which was caused by lightning. Mr. Duncan has recently completed a handsome new store building of cement blocks, 36×56 feet in size, which is attractively finished throughout and is well stocked with goods. In the fall of 1915 Mr. Duncan installed a line of agricultural implements and is the real merchant prince of his section of the county. Besides his business interests he is the owner of 200 acres of land in Macoupin county, Illinois, a nice residence in Shannon, and several town lots.

Mr. Duncan was married in 1890 to Margaret V. Clark, and to this union the following children have been born: John, associated with his father in business; Kathrine, aged sixteen years; Margaret, eleven years old; Bernadette, aged nine; and Dorothy, four years of age, all of whom are living at home with their parents. Mrs. Duncan is a daughter of Mathias and Katherine (O’Grady) Clark, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland, and emigrated from their native land to America. She was graduated from the school of telegraphy at St. Louis, Mo., in 1889, and assisted her husband in his work at Shannon. Mr. Duncan is a Democrat and he and his family are members of the Catholic church. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, of Atchison, Kan.

WILLIAM SCHAPP.

William Schapp, a Civil war veteran and an Atchison county pioneer, is a native of Germany. He was born in Wyler, Germany, January 26, 1840, and is a son of Peter and Margaret (Bonns) Schapp. The Schapp family immigrated to America in 1854, landing at New Orleans, La. They remained there but a short time, however, when they came up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers by boat and located at Weston, Platte county, Missouri, where a brother of Mrs. Schapp had located some time previously. Here the father entered the dairy business and prospered and the parents moved to Atchison, Kan., in 1868 and died in Atchison.

William Schapp received a common school education and grew to manhood in Platte county. He entered the employ of James Steele, an extensive land owner, as overseer of his estate, and was thus employed when the Civil war broke out and soon after the beginning of hostilities, Mr. Schapp was drafted into the Confederate service. Four days after he became a Confederate soldier, his company was encamped on the banks of the Missouri river near Iatam, Mo. Young Schapp began to lay plans to escape, as he was a Union man at heart, and he had made up his mind that if he was going to serve in the army that he would serve under the stars and stripes. On the night he escaped the lieutenant of the company was killed accidentally while showing the men how to use a gun, and during the excitement incident to the killing, Mr. Schapp made his escape. During the night he secured a boat with one oar and drifted down the river, landing at Ft. Leavenworth. Here he lost no time in enlisting in Captain Black’s company which afterwards became a part of Company B, Eighth Kansas regiment. The following night he piloted this company across the river to Iatum where they surprised and captured the Confederate company of which he had been a member the day before. This act won from him the intense hatred of the members of the Confederate company, and even after the close of the war members of that company attempted to take his life. After serving about a month in Captain Black’s company, he joined Company H, Eighteenth Missouri regiment and participated in a number of important engagements. After the battle of Shiloh he was promoted to sergeant major. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and during that campaign, while at Decatur, Ala., his term of enlistment expired and he received special permission to accompany General Sherman’s army through the campaign. On arriving at Savannah, Ga., he was placed in charge of fourteen soldiers whose term of enlistment had expired and was the first to arrive in New York City, where they were met by bands of music and were treated royally by the people. He then returned to his former home in Platte county, but the secession spirit was so strong and so much antipathy was shown him on account of his loyalty to the Union that he decided not to remain, and accordingly, came to Atchison. The second night after arriving home he was warned by a friendly member of the Confederate company he had deserted to leave at once, as plans had been made to hang him. He left at once on the next train. He had saved about $800 during the war and loaned it to his uncle, John Bonns, who was engaged in the brewery business, and through a failure, Mr. Schapp lost every dollar of his savings. He then entered the employ of Julius Holthaus, who conducted a saloon and a grocery store. About a year later he engaged in the manufacture of brick in partnership with Jacob Nash. About five years later he engaged in the ice business, which he conducted about six years. He then bought a farm north of where the orphans’ home is located, where he remained for twelve years, when he sold his farm and removed to Atchison, and engaged in the real estate business and has since been engaged in that business. Mr. Schapp has been very successful and has accumulated considerable property.

He was married in February, 1865, to Miss Margaret, a daughter of Gearhardt Kunders, a pioneer settler of Weston, Mo. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schapp, as follows: Peter P. resides in California; Dora F. resides at home; Mrs. Theodore Geritz, Atchison county; Mrs. Theodora Arensberg, Atchison; Mrs. Henry Wersling, Atchison county, and Albert A.; William H., deceased; Maggie, deceased.

Mr. Schapp is one of the old timers of Atchison, and has seen that town develop from a little settlement on the bank of the Missouri river to the great prosperous commercial center that it is today. He has taken an active part in the political life of Atchison, and for seven years was a member of the city council, and served two years on the Atchison school board. Mr. Schapp cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln for President, and has been a stanch adherent to the policies and principles of the Republican party since that day. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

THOMAS LINCOLN BLODGETT.

The passing of a good, industrious citizen from this mundane sphere to the realms of a higher and better life beyond the grave is always saddening, especially if his demise occurs while yet in the prime of his vigorous manhood. Such a one was Thomas Lincoln Blodgett, late of Mt. Pleasant township, who, though not permitted to dwell upon this earth the allotted time decreed for mankind, accomplished in the brief time he was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits more than the average man, and will long be remembered for his many excellent qualities by those who knew him best.

Thomas Lincoln Blodgett, late of Mt. Pleasant township, was born July 27, 1860, and lived and died in the township in which he was born in Atchison county, his demise occurring May 4, 1905. He was a son of George M. and Mary (Cline) Blodgett, his father having been born and reared in Michigan and came to Kansas when the State was created in the late fifties.

George M. Blodgett, the father of Thomas Lincoln Blodgett, was born in Livingston county, New York, October 6, 1834, a son of George W. and Lucinda (Garfield) Blodgett, and was a grandson of Thomas Blodgett. Thomas Blodgett, who was a soldier under Washington and fought for the independence of the American colonies, lived in Vermont, where he was a blacksmith and a farmer. He went to Michigan in 1856 and remained there to be near his son, George W., who had settled at Kalamazoo about 1846. Mr. Rowel, the father of Thomas Blodgett’s wife, was also a Revolutionary soldier. The children of Thomas Blodgett were named George W., Riley and Jared. Riley went to Rhode Island and became connected with shipping interests, navigating waters in the vicinity of Newport. Thomas died in Michigan in 1850, aged ninety years.

George W. Blodgett, the father of George M., was born in Vermont in 1800, and died in 1880, aged eighty years. His wife, Lucinda, was a daughter of Solomon Garfield, of Ontario county, New York. She died in 1840, leaving the following named children: Orinda, who married Thomas Sanders; George M.; Emma, who was Mrs. Nathan Allen, of Michigan, and John, deceased.

The education of George M. Blodgett was limited and he became used to hard work at an early age. He worked as hired hand and at logging in the pine woods of Michigan. When twenty-one years of age he left home and went to Winnebago county, Illinois, and took charge of a quarter section of land for which he had traded. Not liking his prairie surroundings he traded his farm for a small tract now within the limits of the city of Moline, Ill. He remained here for four years; then he traded this farm for a farm in Iowa which he sold. With his small means he came to Kansas, arriving in Atchison April 5, 1855. He took up a claim and bought land from the Delaware Indian lands and began developing his farm.

When volunteers were called for at the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Blodgett offered himself for the defense of his country’s honor and was accepted as a member of Company F, Thirteenth regiment, Kansas infantry, (Colonel Bowen’s regiment), of the Seventh army corps, which was mustered into service at Leavenworth, Kan., and was in the military department of the West. Mr. Blodgett was a sergeant of his company and participated in many battles fought by his regiment in Missouri and eastern Arkansas and was once wounded by a bursting shell.

George M. Blodgett was married in 1857 to Mary E. Cline, a daughter of Henry Cline, an early settler of Atchison county. The children born to this union were: Thomas Lincoln, Frank F., Frederick, Luther, Mrs. Lavina Lawler, Mrs. Jessie Ellerman, and Lulu. The father of Thomas Lincoln Blodgett became quite wealthy and accumulated 500 acres of land. He served as deputy sheriff of the county in 1856 and filled many offices of trust in Mt. Pleasant township.

George M. settled on a pioneer farm in Mt. Pleasant township which he developed, reared a family, and died in the home which he built to house his family. He was the father of seven children, of whom Lincoln was the eldest.

Thomas Lincoln Blodgett was named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, who was greatly admired by the elder Blodgett. He was reared to young manhood on his father’s farm and learned to become an excellent farmer and stockman. After his marriage in 1881 he and his young wife lived on a farm owned by his father for four years, when they purchased 120 acres of land which formed the nucleus for a large farm which was later increased to 400 acres, now owned by Mrs. Blodgett. The first tract was bought on time, but by industry, economy and self-denial on the part of the ambitious couple, the debt was soon paid off and additional acreage was gradually added as the years went on. Mr. Blodgett was a successful live stock feeder and frequently fed one or two carloads of cattle on his farm each year. He was noted as a good judge of cattle and made money in his operations. The Blodgett farm is well improved and is considered to be one of the best in Atchison county.

He was married August 18, 1881, to Miss Ella Hudson, and to this marriage have been born five children, as follows: Robert, a farmer, near Cummings, Atchison county, Kansas; George, managing the home farm; Elmer, Mabel and Stella, at home with their mother. Stella is attending the high school at Potter. Mrs. Blodgett was born May 20, 1862, in Illinois, and is a daughter of Cyrenus and Elizabeth (Shaw) Hudson, the former of whom came to Kansas in 1867 with his family. Cyrenus Hudson was a native of Illinois who made good in Kansas, and at one time was the owner of 900 acres of land in Atchison and Jefferson counties, Kansas. In 1901 he removed to a home in Potter, where he is living retired. With other live citizens of the thriving town he has taken an active part in the upbuilding of his adopted city.

During his life and ever since he attained his majority, Thomas Lincoln Blodgett was allied with the Republican party and took a prominent part in political and civic affairs in his home township and county. He was a progressive citizen as well as a successful and progressive farmer who was always in favor of matters which had for their intent the betterment of the public welfare and the advancement of the citizenship of Atchison county. He was ever ready to do his part in educational matters and was a member of the local school board. He was fraternally allied with the Modern Woodmen lodge, and was blessed with many warm friends and well wishers who esteemed him as a man and citizen. He was a kind parent who loved his wife and children and highly prized his home life and surroundings, and was ever striving to make his family happy and comfortable.

JOHN R. OLIVER.

John R. Oliver, deceased pioneer of Atchison county, was born in Cayuga county, New York, April 5, 1825, and was a son of William Oliver, a native of Scotland, who emigrated from his native land when a youth. John R. was educated in the schools of his native county and State and learned the carpenter’s trade. He was married January 3, 1850, to Helen M. Packard, who was born in New York State February 17, 1832, a daughter of Thaxton Packard, of English extraction, who married a lady of Holland descent. After John R. and Helen Oliver were married they settled at Sterling Center, Cayuga county, New York, where Mr. Oliver worked at his trade of contractor and builder until 1856, when he and his wife and two children came west and settled on a farm near the western border of Atchison county, in Grasshopper township. They became a part of the Cayuga settlement, made up of several families who had migrated from their native county in New York State. There are only four of the original Cayuga colony living, as far as known: Fred L. Oliver, Frances Josephine Anderson, of Atchison; Mrs. Frank Boyington, of Atchison county, and brother, Samuel Adams. John R. Oliver came first, and in the fall of 1857 he sent back for his wife and two children to join him. Mrs. Oliver and the children boarded a steamboat on Lake Erie and made the voyage by way of the Great Lakes to Chicago, going from Chicago to Leavenworth, Kan., and thence by steamer to Atchison, from which place they were taken across the county to the new home in the Cayuga settlement, by a man named Sandy Coburn. The family lived in the settlement for about six years and then moved to Leavenworth, Kan., where they resided until Mr. Oliver’s death, in 1906; the wife and mother died in 1911. John R. Oliver served in the Kansas State militia during the Price invasion, but was unable physically to withstand the rigors of the campaign which resulted in Price’s army of invasion being driven southward. He was an ardent Republican in politics and was a follower and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, to whom he was related by marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were the parents of the following children: Fred L., born in Sterling Center, N. Y., November 8, 1851, now residing in Atchison with his sister, Mrs. Anderson; Parthenia K., widow of Wesley Chaffee, a nephew of General Chaffee, was born August 8, 1861, and now resides in Leavenworth, Kan.

Frances Josephine Oliver Anderson was born March 1, 1855, and was six years of age when the family moved to Leavenworth. She received her education in the public schools of Leavenworth and was married there on May 8, 1873, to James A. Anderson, who was born March 16, 1849, in Loudon county, Virginia, about twenty miles south of Washington, D. C. An anecdote which tells of the stirring and troublesome times in the beginning of the Civil war is here worth recording. When a child on the farm in Atchison county, Mrs. Anderson and her teacher, Miss Missouri Batsell stayed all night at the home of the Reece family, as it was unsafe to be abroad after dark. This was in the fall of 1861. Mr. Reece, the head of the family, was very ill. Along about dark the people of the Reece home heard a furious noise of yelling and shooting outside. The noise makers rapped on the door with the butts of their guns, and when Mrs. Reece opened the door it was ascertained that the night prowlers were a band of Bushwhackers who demanded a meal. She told them that her husband was very ill, and that she had nothing cooked which would suffice for a meal. They swore at her, and after talking the matter over decided to go to the barn and steal the horses for their own use. The gang went toward the barn, and another altercation arose among them which resulted in the killing of one of the men who had counseled them not to steal the horses. A dead body was thrust through the doorway and slid part way across the floor after a shot was fired. Mrs. Anderson has never forgotten the horrors of that night.

James A. Anderson was a son of Charles W. and Mary Francis (Hough) Anderson, both of whom were members of very old and prominent families in Virginia, the Hough family being large plantation and slave holders. Charles W. Anderson was profoundly opposed to the institution of slavery, and was high in the councils of the Democratic party. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and was a personal friend of men high in the Government affairs at Washington, D. C. A son, Fleming Anderson, was killed by Mosby’s guerrillas while at home from the war on a furlough, and was shot as he ran out of the door of his home. Charles W. Anderson was a paymaster in the Union army and was killed by robbers while on official duty. After the death of the father of the family, James A., with his widowed mother and sister. Mrs. Captain Spence, Charles W., and C. C. Anderson of the transfer company, of Atchison, came to Kansas, first residing at Topeka, then at Lawrence shortly after Quantrell’s raid. James was but seventeen years old at this time, and being the eldest son was the actual head of the family. When still a young man he engaged in the transfer business and took a contract from the Government to supply Ft. Leavenworth with fuel, and while fulfilling his contract with the Government, and transporting goods to and from the fort, he met and fell in love with his future wife, Frances Josephine Oliver, and the marriage took place as stated in the preceding paragraph. After the marriage Mr. and Mrs. Anderson lived in Lawrence, Kan., until their removal to Atchison, in July of 1873. Mr. Anderson continued in the transfer business and established the Anderson Transfer Company. He had associates at various times, but was always at the head of the company. He died July 12, 1906. His widow, Mrs. Frances Josephine Anderson, is one of the best known ladies of Atchison and is prominent in social and religious circles. When thirteen years of age she became a Christian and became a member of the Atchison Methodist Episcopal Church in 1883. She has been actively and prominently identified with the church work for many years, and has been especially successful as a teacher of boys. She is a class leader of the church and a member of the official board, and was captain of one of the teams which raised a $43,000 fund to provide for the erection of the new Methodist Episcopal church building. She is a charter member of the Epworth League and is a singer of ability, having sung in the Methodist Episcopal church choir for thirty years. In 1911 she began her evangelical career, in which chosen field she is achieving marked success. Mrs. Anderson is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security and is affiliated with the home and foreign missionary societies of the Methodist Episcopal church.

LEO NUSBAUM.

Faithfulness to duty and perseverance invariably bring their reward. Give a truly ambitious young man an opportunity to advance himself, and he will succeed. The opportunity was given to Leo Nusbaum, vice-president of the Dolan Mercantile Company of Atchison, and he has made a success of the business in which he began at the lowest rung of the ladder. Entering the employ of the firm of which he is now one of the important heads, he worked his way steadily upward until he is now one of the recognized business factors in the city of Atchison.

Leo Nusbaum was born in Poweshiek county, Iowa, December 6, 1877, and is the son of Frederick and Eva (Link) Nusbaum, both natives of Germany. Frederick Nusbaum was born in the Fatherland in 1855, and came to America in 1869, when a boy fourteen years of age. He worked as a farm hand in Iowa, and eventually owned a farm of his own. From Iowa he moved to Nebraska where he purchased and operated a farm. From Nebraska he removed to St. Joseph, Mo., where he was employed in a grain elevator. He died in St. Joseph in 1903.

He, with whom this review is directly concerned, was educated in the schools of Council Bluffs, and St. Peter’s parochial school, and came to Atchison in 1898. On coming here he entered the employ of the Dolan Mercantile Company as office boy and packer. His first work consisted of preparing orders for shipment. After attaining proficiency in this department, he was promoted to the position of billing clerk and made a success in this department. being next advanced to the position of city salesman for the concern. All the while he was studying the wholesale business, and gaining such a knowledge as would best fit him to take a more responsible position in the affairs of the company. His next important service was as the secretary of the company. From this place it was but a step to the sales managership. Upon the demise of William F. Dolan, the founder of the wholesale business, in the year 1913, Mr. Nusbaum became vice-president and one of the managers. He and his associates, in charge of the Dolan Mercantile Company’s affairs, are capable and energetic men who are building up a more extensive business upon the broad and stable foundation erected by its late founder, whose example has been an inspiration and guide to the young men whom he took into his employ and educated in the details of his extensive business. Mr. Nusbaum has justified the confidence and faith held in his ability by his employer, and is an able and dignified executive.

Mr. Nusbaum was united in marriage with Gertrude Delaney, at Atchison, Kan., in 1900. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Delaney. To this union four children have been born, who are the pride of their parents, namely: Leo, Mary Clare, Robert, and Frances. Mr. and Mrs. Nusbaum are members of the Catholic church and have a host of friends who esteem them for their many excellent qualities. Mr. Nusbaum is a director of the First National Bank of Atchison and a vice-president of the Atchison Commercial Club and the Atchison Hospital. He is politically allied with the Democratic party. His primary interests, however, are mainly concerned with the growing success of his firm, and the welfare and growth of his home city, and he is universally recognized as a citizen of worth and standing in the community. He was the most active force in the organization of the Atchison Commercial Club, called its first meeting and has been continuously one of its most aggressive members.

CHARLES J. KEITHLINE.

Charles J. Keithline, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, is a native of the Keystone State, and is a descendant of an old American family which traces its ancestry back to the Revolutionary days, when the founder of the family in America, Colonel Keithline, came from Germany, his native land, to America with Baron De Kalb, and assisted the colonial army to achieve American independence. Charles J. was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, July 9, 1857, a son of Samuel and Eliza (Hoover) Keithline, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania and there married. Samuel Keithline was a son of John and Mary (Neyhart) Keithline, who also lived in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. The great grandfather of Charles J. was Joseph Keithline, who served in the War of 1812, and made buckskin breeches for the United States Government, which were worn by the United States soldiers. He was a tailor by trade. Samuel Keithline learned the trade of wagon maker in his younger days and operated a wagon shop at Hanover, Penn. He lived in his native State until 1884, when he migrated to Kansas and invested his capital in land in Shannon township upon which he lived in retirement until his demise in 1900, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Samuel and Eliza Keithline were the parents of the following children: John A. died May 17, 1915, in Atchison, Kan.; Samuel died in infancy; Joseph died at the age of three years; Charles J.; Augustus L., Lancaster township; Sarah E., in Shannon township; Emma Carlton, Franklin county, Kansas, and Mrs. Cora Riley, Atchison, Kan. The mother of Charles died in 1910, at the age of seventy-nine years.

Charles J. Keithline, with whom this narrative is directly concerned, was educated in the graded schools of Nanticoke, Penn., and worked as farm hand in Pennsylvania. In 1883, five years after his marriage in 1879, he migrated westward with his family to Kansas, and located on a farm in Shannon township on the old home place. He rented land for twenty-eight years and finally became the owner of the fine farm which he is now cultivating. This farm is fitted with excellent improvements consisting of an attractive farm residence and excellent out-buildings, much of which has been erected or remodeled by the proprietor. The 187 acres comprised in this farm are well and closely cultivated so as to yield the maximum of results. The farm is nicely located six miles west of Atchison on the Parallel road. Mr. Keithline has been a breeder of Poland China hogs for several years and takes pride in the animals bred and raised on his place.

He was married in 1879 to Frances Goss at Wilkes-Barre, Penn., and this union has been blessed with the following children: Ira, a hardware dealer in Atchison, Kan.; Samuel, a farmer, living at home with his parents; Amy, deceased; Mrs. Elsie Vollmer, Bronson, Kan.; Frances, living at home; Grant, deceased; Charles died in infancy. The mother of these children was born in Pennsylvania in 1856, and was a daughter of Floren and Maria (Keyser) Goss, the former a native of Germany and the latter a native of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Keithline is identified with the Republican party, but has never been an aspirant for political preferment. He and the members of his family are affiliated religiously with the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute of their means to its support. He is fraternally allied with the Modern Woodmen lodge, and during his residence in this county has taken an active and influential part in affairs which concern the welfare of the people in general.

SHEFFIELD INGALLS.

Sheffield Ingalls is a resident and a native son of Atchison, having been born in that city March 28, 1875. He is a son of the late United States Senator John James Ingalls. Mr. Ingalls’ ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were representative New England pioneers. The Ingalls family in America originated with Edmond Ingalls, who with his brother, Francis, founded Lynn, Mass., in 1628. The mother of our subject was Anna Louisa Chesebrough, a direct descendant of William Chesebrough, who emigrated to America with John Winthrop in 1630. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Elias T. and Eliza (Chase) Ingalls, the former of whom was a first cousin of Mehitable Ingalls, the grandmother of President Garfield, while the latter, Eliza Chase, was descended from Aquilla Chase, who settled in New Hampshire, in 1630, and who was also the ancestor of the late Chief Justice Chase.

Sheffield Ingalls was reared principally in his native town and received his public school education at Atchison and at Washington, D. C. After attending Midland College at Atchison for four years he entered the University of Kansas and was graduated in that institution in June, 1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1897, but as the profession did not appeal to him he practiced but little and turned his attention to more genial pursuits. He early developed a predilection for politics and became actively identified with the Republican party in both the city and county of Atchison at an early age. In July, 1898, he was appointed police judge of Atchison by Mayor Donald and, in April, 1899, was elected to the same office for a term of two years, serving until April, 1901. In the spring of 1904 he was a prominent candidate for the Republican nomination for probate judge, but through the exigencies of politics, instead of receiving the nomination sought for, he was nominated by the same convention for the legislature from the third representative district. However, at the election his opponent, Edward Perdue, defeated him by thirty-two votes. Two years later he was nominated again for the legislature from the same district and received a tie vote with Alonzo Wilcox. The contest was decided by lot in Topeka and Mr. Ingalls won. He served as a member of several important committees and was made chairman of the committee on education. He cast his vote for Charles Curtis for United States senator, and in the work of that session became actively identified with that progressive element in the legislature which was known at that time as “the boss busters.” He is in sympathy with all efforts to purify politics and to raise the tone of public life and during that session he voted for all reform legislation. He is a man of deep convictions, a political and social reformer of exceptional ability and courage, and has always opposed machine politics. It was due to an obnoxious political machine’s influence in local Republican circles at Atchison that Mr. Ingalls entered the arena of political strife in order to assist in effectively opposing said machine and to secure needed reform in political methods. Shortly after the adjournment of the legislature Mr. Ingalls assumed the editorial management of the Atchison Champion, and for the following two years exposed through its columns the corruption in city affairs and fought against the domination of the city by a political ring. He then endeavored to purchase a controlling interest in the Champion to enable him to be more aggressive in fighting corruption though its columns, but through various influences operating against him he was unsuccessful. In the fall of 1907 he originated and organized the Commercial State Bank and served as its vice-president until its consolidation with the First National Bank, in the spring of 1910. He then organized the Commerce Investment Company, of which he was made president and continuously served as such until March 2, 1916, when he became the president of the Commerce Trust Company of Atchison, a company which is a development of the Commerce Investment Company. Besides the interests mentioned he is a director of the First National Bank and also of the Railway Specialty Company of Atchison. He was appointed a member of the board of regents of the Kansas State normal schools by Governor Stubbs in April, 1908. He is a member of the State Historical Society, and is a member of the Sons of the Revolution. Fraternally he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On January 9, 1901, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ingalls and Miss Lucy Cornell Van Hoesen, of Lawrence, Kan. To their union five children have been born: Robert Chesebrough, who died in infancy; Ruth Constance, Sarah Sheffield, John James, and David Bagle.

In 1912 Mr. Ingalls received the Republican nomination for lieutenant-governor of Kansas and was elected, although the head of the State ticket was defeated. It fell to Mr. Ingalls’ lot to preside over a Democratic senate, which he did in such a fair and impartial manner as to win the commendation of both Democrats and Republicans. (Copied from Blackmar’s History of Kansas and revised by R. M. Gibson.)

E. P. PITTS, M. D.

E. P. Pitts, M. D., a prominent Atchison physician and surgeon, and well known specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, is a native of Virginia. Dr. Pitts was born in Northampton county, Virginia, October 13, 1880, and is a son of E. D. and Emory (West) Pitts, both natives of the Old Dominion. E. D. Pitts, the father, was a prominent lawyer and was successfully engaged in the practice of his profession for a number of years at Norfolk, Va. He was a son of Edward P. Pitts, who was also a prominent Virginia lawyer of Northampton county, and for a number of years served as United States district judge in Virginia. He was a graduate of William and Mary’s College, and Dr. Pitts still has in his possession the diploma which his grandfather received from that institution. The Pitts family is of English descent and traces its ancestry back to the Hon. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Dr. Pitt’s mother belongs to an old Virginia family, and is also of English descent.

Dr. Pitts was reared to manhood in his native State and received a good education. When he was eighteen years of age he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where two of his uncles, brothers of his father, were practicing physicians. Here, Dr. Pitts entered the Ensworth Medical College in 1898, and was graduated in the class of 1902 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then studied under, and practiced in conjunction, with Dr. Barton Pitts, his uncle, who is a noted specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dr. Pitts then went to New York, and after spending six months in an eye and ear infirmary, he came to Atchison in the summer of 1902 and engaged in the practice of his profession, specializing in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dr. Pitts has met with a marked degree of success in his chosen field of special professional work. He is a close student of the wonderful advances made in his profession and ranks as a leader.

Dr. Pitts was united in marriage to Miss Beulah Judah, a daughter of Samuel Judah, of Buchanan county, Missouri, and Dr. and Mrs. Pitts have one child, Spencer, born in 1907. Dr. Pitts is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.