Alfred Jonathan Harwi was born at Ritterville, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1847, the eldest of four sons, born to Michael and Lucretia Harwi. One of the children died in infancy, and the others, Edwin C. and W. H., followed Alfred J. to Atchison and became associated with him in the hardware business which he had established. Edwin C. died September 4, 1903, and Wilson H. Harwi died May 30, 1911. A sister died in Pennsylvania when but a child. Michael Harwi followed the trade of carpenter in heavy construction work during his life, and was engaged in the building of canal locks in the days when the construction of internal waterways was in vogue. He was also a farmer, and at the time of his death was engaged in quarrying and contracting for slate. His sons having all come to the West, he made preparations to join them here in Atchison, but on the point of his departure on October 8, 1882, he was taken ill and died. His widow, Lucretia Harwi, then came to Atchison and resided here with her children until her demise, in November, 1904.

A. J. Harwi received his education in the schools of his native State, attending the district school of his neighborhood until ten years of age, then becoming a student at a Moravian school in Bethlehem, which was located four miles from his home and required him to walk the distance across a mountain both morning and evening. After spending two years in diligent study in this institution he entered a general store at Bethlehem for the purpose of acquiring business experience. However, while learning the art of barter and trade over the counters of the general store he did not neglect the cultivation of his mind. He read, listened and learned, and in his spare time continued his studies until his mind was broadened and he became a man of advanced thought, learned to read and judge his fellow men, and acquire a refinement and polish which in later years assisted him in his undertakings and enabled him to command the respect of his fellows. His ambition was to eventually engage in business for himself, and he saved his money to this end, and in 1868, when he was twenty-one years of age, he became a partner in the furniture business with J. B. Zimmele, but sold out two years later and hearkened to the advice of Horace Greeley, who said: “Go west, young man, go west, and grow up with the country.” While at Bethlehem Mr. Harwi married Cora Wheeler, with whose father he became associated in the hardware and implement business at Butler, Mo. When this partnership was dissolved a few years later, Mr. Harwi went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and for a few months was a clerk in a hardware store. In the year 1875 he came to Atchison equipped with considerable commercial experience, but having little capital. He and C. H. Dearborn began a retail hardware business in a small way in the building at 408 Commercial street. The concern prospered from the start and its success was undoubtedly due to Mr. Harwi’s intelligence and common-sense business methods and his wonderful capacity for hard and unremitting work. This hardware business soon became one of the leading local business enterprises of the rapidly growing city of Atchison. Like other men who have been successful in life, Mr. Harwi was visionary, but his vision did not take on the dream-like character. It was practical and foresaw the inevitable development of the western country and an increased demand for all kinds of products as the country became more and more settled. He believed in common with others of the period that Atchison was destined to become the gateway and the distributing point for a large section of territory. Acting upon this sound, practical belief in the early eighties when the retail business had assumed large proportions and necessitated expansion in other ways, he conceived the idea of engaging in the jobbing business. He did so, and again his wonderful business acumen and ability came into play, with the result that the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company is known throughout the West and middle West, and has done a noteworthy part in making Atchison famous as a wholesale center. The result of its founder’s vision and industry is one of the great wholesale houses of the West, represented by about twenty traveling salesmen covering four States, while over fifty local employes are engaged to handle the vast amount of office work and the great warehouse and shipping details incident to such an important commercial institution as the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company has developed into within thirty-five years. Their commodious four-story office and warehouse building, located on the corner of Commercial and Ninth streets, is one of the handsome modern business houses of Atchison. One can begin to realize the scope and extent of this business when he stops to think that it requires 75,000 feet of floor space to afford ample warehouse facilities. In 1889 the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000.

Mr. Harwi was three times married. His first wife, Cora Wheeler, whom he married in Bethlehem, left one daughter, Mrs. E. P. Ripley, of Boston. His second marriage was with Elizabeth Whitehead, of Atchison, in 1873, to which union two children were born: Mrs. H. P. Shedd, of Bensonhurst, Long Island, and Frank E., president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company. The mother of these children died October 14, 1907. Mr. Harwi’s third marriage occurred June 3, 1909, to Mrs. Mary E. Holland, who survives him. Mr. Harwi passed away September 5, 1910. During his later years the stress of business and the ceaseless activity which had been his lot during life began to tell upon him, and for over twenty-five years prior to his demise he was a sufferer from locomotor ataxia. The things which he accomplished necessarily demanded that he be a hard and tireless worker, but he never spared himself, and at a time when he should have begun to conserve his bodily strength he worked the hardest, with the result that his span of life was shortened under what it might have been.

It is not alone through the magnificent mercantile concern which Mr. Harwi conceived and built up that he is known, but he was a public spirited gentleman who contributed generously to charity and philanthropic work. Although he accumulated wealth outside of his business to exceed a half million dollars and loaned out considerable money on mortgages, he was never known to have taken advantage of a debtor and to foreclose a mortgage. Although he was a member of the Congregational church, he was a trustee of Midland College, Atchison, and established and endowed the Harwi scholarship prizes, which have been of inestimable benefit to many young students. He was one of the trustees of the Atchison County High School at Effingham, and was also a warm advocate of providing well for the education of the youth of the community. Mr. Harwi was elected State senator from the Atchison district in 1884, but did not allow his duties as legislator to interfere with his business affairs, it being his custom while the legislature was in session to spend the day in the legislative halls at Topeka, return home and spend the greater part of the night in the supervision of the business. His ability as a legislator came naturally into the limelight, and there was talk of running him as the party’s candidate for governor of the State, but this talk met with little encouragement from Mr. Harwi, inasmuch as he was wrapped up heart and soul in the reorganized Harwi Hardware Company at the time, the project demanding all of his time and energy.

FRANK EDWIN HARWI.

Frank Edwin Harwi, president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company, is one of Atchison’s live young citizens who is following in the footsteps of his highly successful father. Mr. Harwi is in charge of the extensive wholesale hardware concern founded and built up by his father, A. J. Harwi. Frank E. Harwi was born October 11, 1884, in Atchison. He received his education in the public schools of his native city and in the Andover Preparatory School at Andover, Mass. He matriculated as a freshman at Yale University, but was called home by the illness of his father, and he became his father’s assistant for the ensuing year. In 1905 he entered the sophomore class of Kansas University, but gave up his college course in 1906 to enter his father’s hardware establishment, and upon his father’s demise took over the active management of the concern and became president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company.

Mr. Harwi was married September 30, 1908, to Miss Florence Cain, a daughter of John M. and Lucy Cain. To this union two children have been born: Alfred J., born August 22, 1909, and Lucy E., born January 12, 1912. John M. Cain, father of Mrs. Harwi, was born July 30, 1839, at Castletown, Isle of Man. He was educated in the select schools of his native island, learned the carpenter’s trade and emigrated from the Isle of Man in 1856, locating in Kansas, where he was successively farmer, soldier, merchant and banker. He was a volunteer soldier in the company organized by A. S. Speck and Asa Barnes, and was accepted for service in 1862, enlisting in Capt. P. H. McNamara’s company, of which he became sergeant, and upon the organization of the regiments of colored troops he was appointed first lieutenant of a company in the Eighty-third regiment, colored infantry. He was afterwards commissioned a captain and did splendid service throughout the Civil war. After the close of the war he farmed in Atchison county, became a merchant, and was connected with the old Atchison State Bank. He died in 1897. Mr. Cain was married May 15, 1879, to Lucy Neerman, a daughter of Frank and Isabella (Rust) Neerman. The following children were born of this marriage Eva, wife of Foster Branson, of River Forest, Ill.; Ralph R., a banker, at Ada, Okla.; Florence, wife of Frank E. Harwi; John Milton, with the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company: William O., an attorney in Atchison, and Alfred Neerman, deceased.

Mr. Harwi is an independent in politics. He was one of the organizers of the Atchison Commercial Club and served as president of this thriving organization in 1913, and is at present a member of its board of directors. He is a member of the board of trustees of Midland College and is a member of the Atchison city board of education. He has likewise been one of the trustees of the Atchison city hospital since its establishment. While the responsibilities connected with the conduct of the great business establishment thrust upon his shoulders at the demise of his father have been such as would probably daunt the young man of average ability, Mr. Harwi has shown that he fully measures up to the requirements of his important position in the mercantile world and has made a reputation on his own individual account as a business head of decided executive ability of a high order.

JOSEPH TROMPETER.

When Joseph Trumpeter departed this life Effingham lost one of its best and most-highly respected citizens and his family suffered the lost of a kind and industrious husband and father, whose sole ambition in life was to provide well for his kindred and those dependent upon him for a livelihood, and to accomplish his purpose in the most honorable and upright manner possible. To him fell the task of erecting the first county high school building in Effingham, and many of the most pretentious dwellings of the city were built by him. He was one of the widely known and successful contractors of the county, whose operations extended over a wide stretch of territory, and whose work was always strictly up to a certain high standard and honestly performed.

Mr. Trompeter was born June 15, 1857, in Prussia, Germany, and when ten years of age he accompanied his parents to America. His father was Maurice Trompeter, who settled on a farm in Illinois and who went from Illinois to Texas, but after a short residence in that State returned to Illinois, where he passed the remainder of his days. Joseph was reared to young manhood in Illinois and there married Hannah Sowers. He also went to Texas and removed from there to Horton, Kan. His father before him was a carpenter and Joseph learned his trade and followed it, becoming a contractor and builder when a young man. He erected several court houses in Texas, and built several school buildings and church edifices in Kansas. His first wife died in Horton, Kan., eight children being born to this union, of whom two are living, namely: Mrs. Tina Demmer, of Effingham. Kan.; Mrs. Bertha Wallace, also residing in Effingham. Mr. Trumpeter removed to Effingham, and at once engaged in building and contracting on an extensive scale. He erected all the buildings on the main street of the town, on the north side of the street, running from the banners and Merchants Bank building to the newspaper office, at the end of the block. He also built the greater part of the finer residences in Effingham and it is due to his handiwork and taste that the city presents such an attractive appearance to the visitor. In the spring of 1912 he and the family moved to his farm of 160 acres southeast of Effingham on which with his own hands Mr. Trompeter erected a handsome farm dwelling and fitted it with all modern improvements, adding an attractive barn at the same time. He did not live to enjoy the comforts of his new home long, however, as illness brought on by overwork, caused him to take to his bed and his demise occurred August 19, 1915.

His second marriage was with Louise Richter, on November 8, 1892, at Effingham. Four children were born of this marriage, namely: Amelia, John, James and Mary, all of whom are at home with their mother. Mrs. Trompeter was born in Austria, in 1874, a daughter of John, born September 2, 1852, and Amelia (Wohletz) Richter, born May 31, 1849. The Richters are of German birth and immigrated to America in 1882, first residing in Atchison and then coming to Effingham. For twenty-eight years Mr. Richter was employed in railroad work on the Central Branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Richter now make their home with their daughter, Mrs. Trompeter, and assist in the farming operations. The Richter children are as follows: Mrs. Joseph Trompeter; Domineck, conducting a meat market in Effingham; Leapold, living at Tacoma, Wash., also a builder and contractor; Mrs. Amelia Hansen, residing in Texas; Mrs. Anna Royer, Tacoma, Wash. There are eleven grand children in the Richter family.

Mr. Trompeter was affiliated with the Democratic party, but was never a seeker after political preferment. He was a member of the Catholic church, and was fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen. Throughout his life he was an industrious and hard-working citizen who did his duty as he saw it and lived an upright and honest life. He was prominently identified with the civic life of Effingham and was highly respected for his many excellent qualities.

JOSEPH N. ARTHUR.

Joseph N. Arthur, automobile salesman and garage proprietor, of Effingham, Kan., is one of the progressive and enterprising business men of the second city of Atchison county. Signal success has attended his efforts during the years he has been a resident of Atchison county. He embarked in the automobile business and established a garage in Effingham, despite the fact that predictions were made that the venture would not be a success, and Mr. Arthur as a result is the recognized pioneer automobile man of his part of the county. Since taking the agency for the Ford cars in 1912, he has sold over half the total of Ford cars sold in the county and vicinity. Mr. Arthur first started in business in 1910 and established a small garage in the rear of his real estate office. His business grew to such an extent that larger quarters became necessary, and in 1913 he erected a large concrete building, forty by eighty feet in extent, in which is incorporated his office, display and repair rooms. He employs a skilled mechanic, assistant and driver. Mr. Arthur handles the Dodge Brothers, the Maxwell, and Ford automobiles.

J. N. Arthur was born June 3, 1869, near Corning, Adams county, Iowa, and is a son of John and Martha Arthur, natives of Ohio. Both parents were reared in the old Buckeye State, and were early pioneer settlers in Iowa, coming from Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1855, and driving overland via the ox team route, with all their movable possessions loaded on wagons en route from St. Joseph, Mo., to their destination in Adams county, Iowa. John Arthur homesteaded Government land in Adams county and preëmpted along the river where timber and water were plentiful. He prospered as the years went on and the country became more and more settled, and he became the owner of over 800 acres of excellent Iowa farm lands. He resided in Adams county, Iowa, until his demise, in 1907.

John Arthur settled on the banks of a river for the purpose of having timber, fuel and water, three essentials in keeping alive in the then sparsely settled country in the southwestern part of Iowa. He built a log cabin of logs hewn from trees chopped down with his own hands and chinked the cracks and crevices with mud. When he preëmpted his first tract of land in Iowa he had a yoke of oxen, $10 in money and a favorite bull-dog, things which he was fond of telling about as he grew older and more prosperous. During his fifty-two years of residence in Iowa he accumulated 800 acres of land and had money loaned out to the amount of $10,000. He was the father of eleven children, nine of whom grew to maturity, each of whom as he married was assisted by the father to settle on a farm of his own, and all have prospered—an enviable record for a pioneer family to make.

Joseph N., with whom this review is directly concerned, was reared on the Iowa farm, and knew something about the hardships of the pioneer days in his boyhood. He attended the district school in his neighborhood, and followed farming until he engaged in the implement business in his home county for some years, with a fair degree of success. He left his native State in 1904 and came to Effingham, Kan., purchasing 120 acres of land about one and one-half miles distant from Effingham in Atchison county. One year later he embarked in the real estate business, in partnership with B. F. Snyder. This partnership lasted for two years and then Mr. Arthur engaged in the business for himself. He also began to write insurance, and was reasonably successful in both the real estate and insurance business. He erected a brick building for his office quarters, and, when automobile owners multiplied in Effingham and vicinity he foresaw the need of a repair shop and established one in the rear of his real estate office. He soon afterward rented an abandoned garage and hired a mechanic to do the repair work. It was not long until larger quarters became necessary, and he built as told in a preceding chapter. In July of 1915, Mr. Arthur disposed of his insurance business, and has since devoted his energies entirely to the automobile business.

He was married in 1892 to Lillie M. Ramsey, daughter of Newton Ramsey, a pioneer settler of Adams county, Iowa, and a Union veteran of the Civil war. Four children have blessed this union: Pearl, aged twenty-one years; Jennie, aged eighteen years, and a teacher of music, and an accomplished musician; Le Roy, nine years of age; Charles, three years old. Three children are deceased: Chester A. died at the age of eight years; Milton died at the age of eighteen months; Blanche died at the age of nine months.

Mr. Arthur is a Republican in politics, and has identified himself more or less with the civic life of his adopted community, and is considered as one of Effingham’s best boosters and live wires. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, contributes to the support of the same, and is affiliated with the Odd Fellows lodge and the Knights and Ladies of Security.

DON CARLOS NEWCOMB.

It is a pleasure for the biographer to write a story of the life of a man who has arrived at the evening of life and be able to record something really worth while for the benefit of posterity. The life annals of a man who has succeeded in making a name for himself, achieving a well deserved competence, and been of some use to his community, and has arrived at the time of life when he can look back over the vista of the busy years that have passed, is interesting to a high degree. In D. C. Newcomb, pioneer merchant and patriarch, of Atchison, we find embodied that spirit of the West which enabled men to build up this great country and to achieve things of importance in the business and civic world. Mr. Newcomb loves his home city, its people and prestige and is proud of its standing among the cities of the West. He has had no small part in the upbuilding of Atchison, and it would have been better in the days gone by if the city had more men like him to assist its growth. Ever ready to contribute to any enterprise which might help the growth of the city, his liberality and boosting proclivities became proverbial, and it has oft been a saying of his that Atchison could just as well have been a city of fifty or sixty thousand inhabitants as to be its present size. Such men as he are of decided benefit to any community.

D. C. Newcomb, a pioneer merchant of Atchison, perhaps has had as much to do with the commercial development of Atchison county for the past half century as any other man within its borders. When Mr. Newcomb came to Atchison county in 1858 it was a difficult matter to tell whether Atchison, or its rival town, Sumner, was to be the chief town of the county. Sumner was a thriving frontier town, but Mr. Newcomb picked Atchison as the winner and time has demonstrated that his judgment was sound. D. C. Newcomb was born in Washington county, Vermont, on Friday, July 13, 1836, and is a son of Hosea and Harriet (Bixby) Newcomb, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter a native of Roxbury, Mass., born in 1805. Hosea Newcomb was born in 1803 and came from a prominent New England family of English descent. The Newcomb family was founded in New England in 1635 by Francis Newcomb and his wife, who came from England and located in New England at that time. It is recorded that they made the voyage on a sailing vessel named “Planter.” Hosea Newcomb, the father of D. C., was prominent in the affairs of his native town, Waitsfield, Vt., where he remained until 1859, when he came to Kansas, settling at the new town of Sumner, now extinct, in Atchison county. He took an active part in the early-day development of that promising frontier town and served as postmaster there. However, he returned to Vermont in 1873, where he died in 1889, at the age of eighty-six, and his wife passed away March 17, 1903, age ninety-seven years, eight months and one day.

D. C. Newcomb was one of a family of five children and is now the only one living, except a sister, Mrs. Lydia M. Shephard, of Minneapolis. A brother, Dan J. Newcomb, was a very early settler in Atchison county, coming here some time before D. C. arrived. He was prominent in the organization of Atchison county and was the first register of deeds of the county, D. C. serving as his deputy. D. C. Newcomb was reared in the town of Waitsfield, Vt., where he attended the public schools and later was a student at Newbury Seminary. In early life he clerked in a store at Johnson, Vt., and also clerked for a time in Montpelier, Vt. In 1858 he came to Atchison county and first landed at Sumner, but immediately went to Atchison, and, although the latter town was also in its early stages of development, the location impressed Mr. Newcomb so favorably that he determined to locate there. Soon after coming here he was appointed deputy register of deeds and served in that capacity for three years. He then engaged in clerking in a store, and in 1864 entered into partnership with Samuel Gard, who had been a fellow clerk of his, and they organized the firm of Gard & Newcomb and engaged in the mercantile business. Their capital was limited, perhaps less than $2,500, but they were two industrious young men and had a reputation for honesty and square dealing, which was an important asset. Mr. Newcomb went to New York and bought a stock of goods valued at about $15,000, mostly on credit, and at the end of the first year they had paid for every dollar’s worth of goods which they had bought in the meantime and had a stock of about $15,000 worth on hand. The partnership arrangement continued about four years, when Mr. Newcomb purchased his partner’s interest, who desired to dispose of his business on account of failing health. Mr. Newcomb continued in business alone and conducted the great Newcomb department store, the business of which developed far beyond his most fanciful dreams. Mr. Newcomb continued in the mercantile business until 1905, and for years was the leading merchant of Atchison. He sold his business to Ed Lake, who has conducted it since 1905.

Mr. Newcomb has not only been a merchant prince in northeastern Kansas, but has been identified with the growth and development of Atchison from many standpoints. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank and was closely identified with that financial institution for fifteen years. He served successively as director, vice-president and president, but when he went out of business he disposed of his banking interests.

Mr. Newcomb was united in marriage in 1866 with Miss Anna E., daughter of Capt. George W. Bowman, an early-day steamboat captain, but later engaged in the mercantile business at Atchison. He was a native of Brownsville, Pa. To Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb have been born two children: Hattie May, now the wife of Maj. Harry A. Smith, U. S. A., a graduate of West Point Military Academy. During the Spanish-American war he held the rank of major in the Twenty-first regiment, Kansas infantry, and is now major in the Twenty-eighth regiment, United States infantry, doing duty on the Mexican border. To Major Smith and wife have been born two children: Newcomb, a cadet in the United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y., and William A., a graduate of Shattick’s school, Fairibault, Minn., now a student in the University of Minnesota. George Edgar, the youngest child born to Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb, born March 19, 1869, died March 25, 1909, aged forty years. He was married in October, 1895, to Miss Dorothy Jones, a native of Wisconsin, and three children were born to this union: Clara Forest, D. C., and Charles Jones. Mr. Newcomb has been a life-long Republican and has always supported the policies and principles of that party. He has had many flattering inducements to enter politics, but has refused to accept, preferring to follow his commercial career in which he has been so successful. Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for years have been active in the work of their congregation and both have lived exemplary Christian lives. Mr. Newcomb has held every office within the gift of the church, all of which have come to him without solicitation. In fact, every preferment has come to him unsolicited. In 1896 and 1900 he was elected a lay delegate to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held at Omaha in 1896 and Chicago in 1901.

WILSON R. SMITH.

Wilson R. Smith, of the firm of Snyder, Smith & Company, Effingham, Kan., is an admirable type of a successful business man who has been a resident of Effingham for the past six years, and has so identified himself with the life of the community that it seems to the average citizen that Mr. Smith has been a resident of the city and county all of his natural life. The firm, of which he is an active member, handles hardware, implements, grain, coal and feed, and is composed of G. M. Snyder, W. R. Smith and U. B. Sharpless, present county treasurer. This firm was organized in February of 1915 and took over the business of Sharpless & Snyder. The concern also operates a grain elevator of 10,000 bushel capacity, and has two large warehouses and coal-yards, in addition to the business room on Main street.

Mr. Smith is a Virginian by birth, and was born at Salt Sulphur Springs, Monroe county, W. Va., on April 28, 1856. He is a son of Granville and Caroline (Clark) Smith, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia, and were descended from colonial ancestors. A direct ancestor of Wilson R. was the first settled in Monroe county, and headed a long line of tillers of the soil, the parents of Wilson R. living on their farm in Virginia until their deaths.

Wilson R. left his ancestral home in Virginia in April of 1884 and journeyed to the town of Craig, Holt county, Missouri, purchasing a farm in the neighborhood of Mounty City, which he cultivated with considerable success for ten years, and then engaged in the grain and stock business for a period of nine years. He resided in Holt county until 1909 and then came to Effingham, Kan. His first venture here was in the grain and elevator business, which he conducted for a period of four years, and then sold out to the Farmers’ Elevator Company. In February of 1915, he purchased an interest in the business in which he is now engaged. Continuous success has followed Mr. Smith’s efforts, and practically every business venture in which he has embarked has proved to be uniformly successful. His methods of transacting business are above reproach and are such as to commend him to the public in general.

He was married in 1885 to Mrs. Celia C. Zachary, a widow, who was the mother of one child, Edith Belle, by a former marriage. Two children have blessed this marriage: Alberta, wife of Ross Meador, living on a farm, five miles southwest of Effingham; Jennie, wife of C. A. Hawk, residing three miles north of Effingham on a farm.

Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen and the Brotherhood of American Yeoman. He is one of Effingham’s substantial and enterprising citizens, who is ever ready to assist his adopted community to better the conditions of things in general and readily lends a hand when needed to assist the growth and well being of the city.

Mr. Hendee is an automobile salesman, machinist and garage proprietor, is one of Atchison’s hustling business men who has made good in the automobile business. Seven years in the motor industry in Atchison has seen him advance in his chosen work until he now owns the largest and best equipped garage in the city, and has a plant including equipment and cars in stock valued at over $15,000. Mr. Hendee is salesman for the Regal, Chalmers and the White automobiles.

He was born on a farm in Lancaster county, Nebraska, July 31, 1872, being a son of George and Loretta (Kistler) Hendee, who were the parents of five children: William, deceased; Mrs. Margaret Bennethy, of Logansport, Ind.; George E.; Delbert, of Logansport, Ind., and Leona, at home with her parents. George Hendee, Sr., was born in Canada, in 1846, removing from his native country to Indiana with his parents when a boy. He was reared to young manhood in Indiana and served as a soldier in Company G, Twenty-first regiment, Indiana infantry, until the close of the war, in 1865. After the Civil war he migrated to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and homesteaded on 160 acres of Government land. He built up a splendid farm from the raw and unbroken prairie and prospered as he deserved, living on his acreage until 1891, at which time he started a general store at Panama, Neb. He retired from active pursuits in 1898 and moved to Royal Center, Ind., where he is now living. The Hendee family is of French origin, and the founders of the family first settled in the Dominion of Canada. The mother of George E. was born in Pennsylvania in 1842, a daughter of Pennsylvania Dutch parents.

He of whom this review is written was reared on the Nebraska farm and received his elementary schooling at Panama and York, that State. Early in life he displayed an aptitude for machinery and determined to fit himself to become an expert machinist. Accordingly, in 1895, he enrolled as student in the State University at Lawrence, and pursued the machinist’s course, having previously studied electrical engineering at York, Neb. When thirteen years of age, George started out to make his own way, educate himself and at the same time earn his living. While a student in the York Technical School, he worked nights in the electric light plant. For a period of three years he was a fireman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad and the Santa Fe System, being promoted to the post of railway engineer while in the employ of the latter system, He was then employed by the General Electric Company, of Chicago, in the installation of and erecting mining machinery. his duties requiring him to travel in the South for over a year. He was employed by the Chalmers company for one year erecting heavy engines, and was employed as engineer of the Pearsons’ Flouring Mills at Lawrence, Kan., for seven years. For a time he served as master mechanic at the Leavenworth coal shaft on the Government grounds at Leavenworth, Kan. In the year 1901 he built and operated a machine shop at Cripple Creek, Colo., but his plant was destroyed by fire in 1902. He then moved to Grand Junction, Colo., where he worked in the oil fields and was round house foreman for the railroads in that city until he resigned his position and located in Denver, Colo., where he worked as a machinist in the Missouri Pacific shops until he took employment as engineer on the Colorado & Southern railway. After this he was employed as a machinist in the shops of the Santa Fe railroad, but resigned this place to become foreman in the plant of the Locomotive Finished Material Foundry in Atchison. Following this he was chief engineer for the Blair Milling Company, resigning to take employment as an expert machinist with the Atchison Motor Company until 1908. In that year he engaged in business, and has made a name for himself in the motor and business world of Atchison. Mr. Hendee is looked upon as one of the rising and successful young business men of Atchison, and justly deserves all of the success which has come to him.

His marriage with Laura Hall, of Lawrence, Kan., occurred in 1902 and gave him a faithful helpmate who has assisted him in every way to achieve his present success. Two children were born of this marriage, Velva and Kenneth, both deceased. Mrs. Hendee was born in August, 1879, in Wisconsin, a daughter of John and Nettie (Crow) Hall, natives of Wisconsin. She is a well educated lady and is a graduate of the college at Burlington, Kan. Mr. Hendee is an independent in political affairs, and is fraternally allied with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America.

WILLIAM D. KISTLER.

William D. Kistler, prosperous farmer of Shannon township, is descendant of good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and has lived in Atchison county for thirty-six years. He came to this county from his ancestral home in Pennsylvania, in moderate circumstances, if not actually a poor man, and during that time has accumulated a fine farm of 200 acres which ranks among the best and most productive farms of the county. The little shack in which he and his family lived when they first came to Kansas has been superseded by a handsome and comfortable residence and great shade trees have grown up around it. The modest “eighty” in which Mr. Kistler invested all of his small capital on his arrival here has grown steadily with substantial additions from time to time as he was enabled to purchase adjoining tracts. A large red barn alike shows evidence of thrift and good management on the part of the proprietor.

W. D. Kistler was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1853, a son of Nathan J. and Catharine (Dietrich) Kistler, both of whom were born in the adjoining county near Lehigh county. Nathan J. Kistler was born April 6, 1811, and died September 11, 1878. He was a son of Jacob S., who was a son of Samuel Kistler, whose father, John George Kistler, emigrated with his wife, Dorothia, from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, arriving in Philadelphia October 5, 1737. Nathan J. Kistler was a captain of State militia and died at the old home in Lehigh county. Two brothers of W. D. and a sister out of a family of nine children settled in the West. After his public school training Mr. Kistler attended the Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Normal School and prepared himself for the teaching profession. He taught school in his native State for four years, after which he clerked in a general store for four years, previous to migrating to Kansas. He left the old home in Pennsylvania in 1879 and came to Atchison county, Kansas, investing in an eighty-acre tract in Shannon township which he gradually improved. The small house which he first erected was gradually enlarged as the needs of his family demanded more room and his means permitted. In 1883 he erected the present handsome home, which is one of the most attractive places in the township. Mr. Kistler raises cattle, horses and hogs and feeds his grain products to the live stock on his farm, thus managing to keep up the fertility of his acres and being able to market his farm products in the most profitable manner.

He was married in 1876 to Ellen Brobst, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1853, a daughter of Daniel and Lydia (Kunken) Brobst, of Lehigh county, and whose ancestry came from Germany. They are the parents of five children: Mrs. Alice Bunnell, of Lancaster township, this county: Anna, wife of Samuel Du Bois, also of Shannon township; Calvin, a farmer, residing at the Du Bois home, and assisting in the management of the farm; Bertha, wife of James Dooley, residing in Shannon township; William, at home, married Catharine Wolters.

Mr. Kistler is a Republican in politics, but he has never been an office seeker, or sought preferment at the hands of his fellow citizens. He is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He and the members of his family stand well among their neighbors and are highly esteemed by all who know them.

ANDREW KEITHLINE.

The late Andrew Keithline enjoyed the distinction of being one of the oldest, if not the oldest living pioneer resident of Atchison. Fifty-six years of his four score and seven years of life were spent in Atchison and vicinity. In the fulness of his years, and satisfied in the reflections concerning a long and useful life well spent he lived a quiet, retired life in his comfortable home at 1121 Santa Fe street until the Death Angel called him. He loved to meet his many friends and speak reminiscently of the days when Atchison was in the embryo stage, and of the stirring scenes during the days when Kansas was in the throes of becoming an integral part of the great American Union. He was one of the city’s grand old men who was universally loved and respected by all who knew him. He came of that sturdy Pennsylvania German stock, noted the country over for their sterling qualities of endurance and the ability to do their share in the transformation of a wilderness to a land of homes and plenty.

Andrew Keithline was born on a farm in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Mary (Neyhart) Keithline. The first Keithline to come to America was Colonel Keithline, who figures prominently in Revolutionary annals and who accompanied Baron De Kalb to this country in 1775. Andrew Keithline’s grandfather, Joseph Keithline, was born in Northhampton county, Pennsylvania, served in the War of 1812, and died in 1850. He was a tailor by trade and contracted to make buckskin breeches for the Government, to be worn by the soldiers during the war. Joseph’s children wore buckskin breeches made by their father. John Keithline, the father of Andrew, operated a wagon shop which also served as the family residence for some years, in fact, Andrew was born in his father’s wagon shop. He prospered, in the course of time and came west in 1863 and invested in eighty acres of land, south of Atchison and later owned 320 acres west of Atchison on the Parallel road. This tract was partly fenced at the time of purchase and cost John Keithline $25 per acre. He made his home thereon and was joined by his family in 1864. The mother of Andrew died in 1865 and John returned to the old home in Pennsylvania where he died in 1868. Nine children were born to John Keithline and wife: Samuel, Catharine, Andrew, Julia, Sarah, Priscilla, John, Peter and Mary E. Of these, Samuel, Sarah and Andrew came to Atchison county.

Andrew left the parental home in December of 1857, and went to Michigan, remaining until 1859, when he came to Atchison, where he resided until the fall of 1864. His first employment was with the firm of Walters & Roswell, who conducted a general store and wanted a clerk familiar with the German tongue. For the two years previous to his locating in Atchison he conducted a coöperative store in Michigan. His first trip to the Far West was taken in 1860, when he went to Denver and disposed of a stock of goods for his firm. He made another trip across the plains later than this. In 1864 he was called out with the Kansas State militia to repel the Price invasion. On October 31, 1864, he moved to his farm west of Atchison, and remained there tilling his acreage until September 1, 1898, and made his permanent home in Atchison until his death. His fine farm consisted originally of 220 acres and when he removed to Atchison he still owned 190 acres of the original farm. Mr. Keithline bought a handsome brick residence on Santa Fe street and by wise investments and carefully husbanding his resources accumulated a comfortable competence for the support of his declining years. He was considered a well-to-do citizen. He was married on November 5, 1854, to Rose Varner, born in 1832 in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of George Varner, whose father was a soldier in the Revolution. Two children were born to this well respected couple, namely: Gilbert, born in 1855, died in Jackson county in the spring of 1915. He was the father of seven children, Herschell, Sydney, Rose, Emma, Mary, Andrew and Laura. Mrs. Cora Warters, a daughter of Mr. Keithline, lives in Atchison. She is the mother of four children: Bessie, Andrew, Cora Willis and Lorene.

Mr. Keithline was one of the original Free State men of Kansas, and was induced to come here by the fact that men in favor of making Kansas a free State were needed in the Territory. He consistently espoused the principles of the Republican party, taking an active part in politics during his younger days and served for two years as justice of the peace. One of the bright spots in his memory of bygone days was his warm friendship for Senator John J. Ingalls, which friendship was reciprocated by the illustrious senator. He always adhered to the Lutheran religious denomination, which was the faith of his fathers. The evening of life must come to us all and happy is the man who can calmly wait for the last call to summon him to his just reward in the world to come, at peace with all mankind and cared for by capable hands; such was the life of this fine old gentleman of whom it has been a pleasure to write this brief review.

Andrew Keithline departed this life December 14, 1915. The end came peacefully, as he had wished. The worn-out body of this grand old patriarch ceased to be able to hold the immortal soul of one of the grandest and best loved men of the early pioneer days of Atchison county. Mr. Keithline was a good and honest citizen whose upright and sturdy character will long prove an inspiration and guidance for the present and future generations of Kansans who may peruse these pages. He was a prominent factor in the building up of Atchison county, and was intimate with the great men of his day and generation. When his time came and the Angel of Death called him to the long rest he was content to go and had no regrets. Death had no terrors for him as his life was unspotted and clean, and in keeping with the attributes of the man himself.

ABRAM STEVER.

Abram Stever, one of the early settlers of Benton township, Atchison county, and now deceased, was born November 3, 1837, and departed this life on July 27, 1881. He was born in Schoharie county, New York, a son of Abram and Nancy Stever, both of whom were born and reared in New York State, the father being a son of German parents, who were founders of the family in this country. Two brothers emigrated from Germany, one of whom settled in New York and the other made his home in Ohio. Abram was reared to young manhood in his native State and when twenty years of age migrated to the new State of Wisconsin, then in process of settlement. He became a farmer in Walworth county and cleared a home from the timber. Five years later he was married, and in 1867 came to Kansas, driving his movable possessions across the country, his wife and children coming by train to St. Joseph, Mo., where they crossed the Missouri river by ferry. The first location of the family was in Brown county, Kansas, where they lived until 1874 and then came to Atchison county, where Mr. Stever purchased 160 acres of wild prairie land in Benton township, one and three-fourths miles northwest of Effingham. He improved his farm, erected a good home and beautified the premises with fine shade trees and shrubbery. After his demise in 1881, Mrs. Stever made her home on the farm until 1893, when she removed to Effingham, and has since resided here, with the exception of a few years’ residence in Mankato, Jewell county, Kansas, with her daughter, maintaining a permanent home in Effingham.

Abram Stever was married December 24, 1862, to Sarah Elecia Bailey, of Walworth county, Wisconsin. To this union have been born the following children: Leona May, died at the age of fifteen years; Jennie Bailey, died at the age of thirteen; Joseph Warren, died when twenty-two years old; Arthur Carlton, a clothing merchant at Wetmore, Kan., who married Maud Hawk, of Effingham, and they have one daughter, Leona May; Carrie Adella Stever, at home with her mother, a graduate of the county high school, and taught for seven years in the Effingham schools, and is a specialist in music, having graduated from Bethany Conservatory at Lindsborg, Kan., in 1906. She pursued a post-graduate course at Lindsborg during winter vacation, and studied during one winter under William H. Sherwood, America’s greatest pianist. She was for five years a successful teacher of music at Mankato, Kan. Returning to Effingham in 1911, she became music director in the Atchison County High School, but resigned to take up studio work entirely; Ray Howard, conducting a suitatorium at Frankfort, Kan., married Inez McFarlan; Ralph Roy Stever, a teamster at Nevada, Mo., married Treva Spell, and has had four children: Lloyd Orr, Warren Clayton, Ralph Vern, Lola Esther, deceased; Ernest Clayton, a graduate of the county high school, proprietor of a suitatorium at Macon, Mo., married Charlotte Henderson, and has one child, Roy Estell; Frank Abram Stever, county high school graduate, located on the family estate in Benton township, married Daisy McFarlan, and is the father of three children: Coral Nadine, Geneva Fay, and Mildred Lorene. Mrs. Stever was born January 10, 1843, on a farm in Walworth county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Perry) Bailey, natives of Maryland and Dundee, Ill., respectively. An uncle, Amos Bailey, was one of the first surveyors in the city of Chicago, and run the first line in what is now the city. Joseph Bailey was one of the first settlers in Walworth county, Wisconsin, at a time when there were very few people in the State and neighbors were twelve miles distant from one another. It was a common custom for a number of settlers to band together and market their produce together in the city of Chicago. Amos Bailey was the owner of several sections of land near Lake Geneva, Wis., which is now the great millionaires’ resort, near Chicago. Joseph Bailey was twice married, his second wife being Mary Catharine Sipperly. It is also worth recording that a brother of Abram Stever, named Washington Stever, was a soldier in the Union army and fought in the Army of the Potomac from the beginning to the end of the war. At the time of Mr. Stever’s death, the oldest son was only thirteen years of age, and Mrs. Stever was left with a large family, the youngest of whom was six months old.

Abram Stever was a Republican in his political affiliations, but will best be remembered for his activity in behalf of the organization of the Presbyterian church in Effingham. He was one of three men who raised the fund to pay for the building of the First Presbyterian Church erected in Effingham, and was a deacon and trustee, having been one of the only two deacons ever installed in the early church. He was active in church work during his entire life and was a thoroughly honest, religious gentleman, who carried his belief into his daily life and in all his undertakings. He was a good husband, a kind parent and an excellent citizen, and loved by everyone who knew him.

REV. Z. S. HASTINGS.

Few pioneer citizens of Atchison county have lived more useful or cleaner lives than Rev. Z. S. Hastings, retired minister and farmer, of Effingham, Kan. During his nearly fifty years of residence in Kansas as a farmer, educator, preacher, and statesman, he has worked continually for the well-being of his neighbors and friends. Without fear of contradiction it can be stated that Rev. Hastings has performed a greater number of marriage ceremonies and officiated at the funerals of more deceased residents than any minister in Atchison county. Despite his three score and seventeen years this grand old patriarch bears his age lightly and takes an active interest in the affairs of his community.

Rev. Z. S. Hastings was born March 15, 1838, on a farm near Bedford, Lawrence county, Indiana, a son of Howell and Edith (Edwards) Hastings, natives of North Carolina. On his father’s side the family is of Quaker origin and a very old one in America. The first Hastings having been a follower of William Penn, came from England to settle in the Quaker colony in Pennsylvania. A descendant of the first American Hastings, Joshua by name, migrated to North Carolina and there founded another branch of the family. Here in the Southland, Howell Hastings was reared and married, and with his wife and two sons migrated to Indiana to become one of the pioneer settlers of the Hoosier State. He died at his home in Indiana December 25, 1854, leaving seven children: Joshua Thomas, deceased; William Henry, John Arthur, Nancy Elizabeth, deceased; Zachariah Simpson, with whom this review is concerned; Charlotte Ann, deceased; Rufus Wiley, living in Arkansas. Of the foregoing, Joshua Thomas and William Henry fought in the Union army during the late rebellion of the Southern States; Joshua first fought in the Home Guards of Missouri, and, returning to Indiana he raised a company for service in the war, after fighting under General Lyons at the battle of Springfield. He taught school for a time in Missouri, but returned to Indiana. He died in Kentucky. William Henry enlisted in a Missouri regiment.

Z. S. Hastings was educated in the common schools of his native State, studied in Indianapolis, and also pursued a course at Hiram College, in preparation for the Christian ministry. In 1857 he went to Missouri and taught school for five years, studying in the meantime while teaching. In 1862 he returned to his native State and began preaching the Gospel in the Christian denomination. He taught and preached at the same time while preparing himself further for the ministry. His first experience in the ministry was obtained in 1860 while in Missouri. In 1867 Mr. Hastings came to Kansas, resided in Leavenworth county for one year and in 1868 came to Atchison county and located on a farm near Farmington. He taught the Farmington school for five years and preached in the vicinity of his home during this time. He cultivated his farm of 130 acres and preached at the Farmington church and in the surrounding country for a period of twenty-five years. In 1895 he removed to Effingham and continued preaching until 1903 when he retired from active work in the ministry. Mr. Hastings was an excellent farmer as well as minister and made a success of his farming operations, having the distinction of selling an eighty acre tract of farm land, the first for $100 an acre ever sold in the county up to that time. This farm was located east of Effingham, and was the first tract near the town to bring the price of $100 an acre.

He was married on June 28, 1870, to Miss Rosetta Butler, and to this union have been born seven children: Harry Howell, an electrical engineer, located at St. Louis, and who was educated in Holton College and Kansas University; Paul Pardee, assistant freight and passenger agent of the Santa Fe railroad, with headquarters at San Francisco; Otho Ono, a graduate of the Atchison county high school, taught school for ten years, served as county superintendent of Atchison county four years, and graduated from the Atchison Business College, and is at present bookkeeper for Urich’s planing mill at Independence, Kan.; Wiley Wyatt died in infancy; Clara Charlotte, deceased, formerly a teacher, wife of Charles Sprong, of Potter, Kan.; Edith Eliza, deceased, who was also a public school teacher; Milo Milton, a journalist and author, of New York City. Milo graduated from the Atchison county high school, the State Agricultural College at Manhattan, and pursued a post-graduate course in the State university. The mother of these children was born August 5, 1844, in Sandusky Plain, Ohio, a daughter of the Rev. Pardee Butler, a famous figure in Kansas history, and who was an outspoken advocate of the anti-slavery principles during the struggle which made Kansas a free State. He was so frank and fearless in the expression of his views and so strenuous in the support of the anti-slavery doctrine that his utterances brought him frequently in contact with the pro-slavery men and border ruffians, and on one occasion when in Atchison he was captured by ruffians and sent down the Missouri river on a raft. Complete details of the life and activities of Pardee Butler are given in another chapter in this volume. “Pardee Butler’s Own Book,” begun during the latter part of his life, and finished and published by Mrs. Hastings, tells of his life and adventures in Kansas. Speaking biographically, Mr. Butler was born March 9, 1816, and died October 20, 1888. He first saw the light of day at Skaneateles, N. Y., and immigrated with his parents, Phineas Butler and wife, who came to Ohio in 1818. Phineas Butler was born in New York State. Pardee Butler was reared to young manhood in Ohio and there married Sybil Carlton, of Sullivan, Ohio, who was born July 4, 1823, and died August 7, 1898. She was a daughter of Joseph Carlton, a native of Massachusetts, who immigrated to Ohio in an early day. In his boyhood, Pardee herded sheep on Sandusky Plain, and after his father’s death resided in Sullivan, Ohio. In 1850 he removed to Iowa and settled on a farm in Cedar county, where he lived for five years. While a resident of Iowa he preached in Illinois for two years. In May of 1855 he set out for Atchison county, Kansas, on horseback and settled on a farm at Farmington. For many years he served as a Christian minister and conducted farming operations. He had a remarkably retentive memory, which enabled him to memorize the whole of the New Testament while herding sheep in Ohio. Rev. Butler was the first State evangelist of the Christian denomination to visit Iowa and was also the first State evangelist to take up the work of his church in Kansas. Practically all of his traveling while engaged in missionary work was accomplished on horseback. Night coming on he would picket his horse in a grassy spot and use his saddle for a pillow. Pardee Butler was one of the notable figures in the history of Kansas, and will be remembered as long as history endures, as a brave, useful and faithful patriot, and minister, whose life was full of good deeds and who always stood for the right. He was the father of seven children: Mrs. Rosetta Hastings, Clara Louise, Eugene Pardee, Maria Corintha, all of whom died in infancy; Charles Pardee on the home farm; Ernest, died in infancy; George, living at White City, Kan.

Rev. Hastings has always been a steadfast advocate of prohibition, but has generally allied himself politically with the Republican party principles. In 1876 he was selected by the Republican party in the county as their candidate for the legislature, although at the time he was an avowed Prohibitionist, and was elected, serving in the Kansas legislature during the ensuing session. For eighteen years he served as a member of the school board in his home district, and was for six years a member of the Atchison County High School Board. He believes in education for the young to the fullest and is heart and soul in favor of giving young men and women every opportunity to acquire a higher education, as is attested by the splendid training which he was enabled to give each of his own offspring. Rev. Hastings has baptized hundreds of converts during his ministerial career and started them onward in the better life. His whole life has been dedicated for good.

KNUD G. GIGSTAD.

Knud G. Gigstad, farmer and breeder of fine cattle, was born in Norway September 28, 1856, and is a son of Gulick and Anna Gigstad. He was one of seven children one of whom is now dead. Four of the boys and one daughter are living in the United States. The father was a native of Norway and spent his life in that country.

Knud G. Gigstad left Norway at the age of twenty to try his luck in America. He came without funds and went to work as a farm hand in Brown county, Kansas. He remained at that place two years and then rented 160 acres from his uncle, Benedict Mutson. This was a profitable venture and before long he was able to buy eighty acres of unimproved land in section 28, Lancaster township, Atchison county, for which he paid $16.25 an acre. Mr. Gigstad worked hard to get his farm in workable shape, each year finding him a little more prosperous, and finally he added 320 acres to the farm, besides 436 acres of rice land in Liberty county, near Houston, Texas. Eighteen years ago he built a large house on the farm and has since erected a large barn and other substantial buildings. Mr. Gigstad is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and has made exhibits at the American Royal stock show in Kansas City, Mo., and in 1913 was awarded the prize as grand champion of America on his Shorthorns. This is a high honor and is ample testimony of the quality of Mr. Gigstad’s stock. He is an extensive shipper to all parts of the United States. His reputation as a breeder is firmly established among cattle men all over the country. He is almost sure of one or two first prizes whenever he enters his cattle in a fair. Mr. Gigstad also has a fine three acre orchard. He is a hard working man and has succeeded despite great handicaps, and his financial success has not caused him to neglect the welfare of his county, as he has always been active in supporting measures for the good of Atchison county.

He is married to Lena Olsen, a native of Atchison county, and a daughter of Herrol and Julia Olsen. She was born in 1866. Her parents are natives of Norway and her father was an early settler of Atchison county. Mr. and Mrs. Gigstad have eleven children: Anna Flattre, of Lancaster township; Mrs. Julia Henz, of Lancaster, Kan.; Harry, Clara, Gena, Gilbert, Matilda, Lillian, Gladis, Carl, Charles, all living at home. Mr. Gigstad is a Republican and a member of the Lutheran church.

ALBERT BARNES HARVEY.

The memory of a good and noble man lingers long after his demise in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best. The late Albert Barnes Harvey, of Muscotah, Kan., during the course of a long and notable career, covering ever forty years in Atchison county, accomplished much in a material sense and left behind him an unimpeachable record for integrity and upright living which will long endear his memory to his former mortal associates. He lived in the days when men were more closely drawn together in the great struggle to create a State from a wilderness of prairie and unpeopled waste, and did his part in the development of his adopted county, of which he was one of the real pioneers. Soldier, farmer, banker and religious worker who lived true to his ideals as a man and citizen, he walked with the leaders of the great State which he assisted in upbuilding.