Rev. John Beard was a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. He left Tennessee in 1848 and settled in Knox county, Illinois, and in 1856 came to Kansas, and was one of the first men to preach the Gospel in Atchison county. He was an ardent Free State man who was emphatically opposed to the institution of slavery and fearlessly attacked the pro-slavery party and its principles from the pulpit. On one occasion he preached a sermon in Mt. Pleasant and laid a huge revolver on the pulpit beside his Bible with the remark, “I hope there will be peace during the services,” and there was peace. This action was in keeping with the fearless character of the man himself. Rev. John Beard died at the age of sixty-six years. No pictorial likeness of this famous pioneer is available or his grandson, Frank, would have it inserted in the history. His last sermon was preached at Pleasant Grove church in South Atchison. During his career he served the Round Prairie and High Prairie churches in Leavenworth county, the Wolf Creek congregation in Brown county, and the Pleasant Grove church in Atchison county. He was traveling at all times, to and fro, in northeast Kansas while engaged in the Lord’s work. His son, William M., left Illinois in 1862 and settled in Brown county, Kansas, and in 1865 came to Atchison county. Border ruffians at one time raided the home of William Beard in Brown county. Mattie Beard, a three months’ old babe, was awakened by the noise made by the raiders and screamed loudly. One of the ruffians walked to the cradle, drew his revolver and said: “I’ll stop her noise.” The mother made frantic by this threat picked up a chair, and with all her strength, augmented by her fright, rushed at the raider and knocked him down. After this occurrence the Beards left Kansas and returned to Illinois, where people were more of one mind on the subject of slavery and life was much safer. They remained in Illinois until the close of the war and then came again to Atchison county, settling on a farm in Walnut township. This farm has been owned by the Beard family for fifty years and is now in possession of John Beard, a son of William. Rev. John Beard died in Atchison county in August, 1866. William M. died in 1905, and his faithful wife followed him to the great beyond two years later, in 1907. The father of Sarah Hawthorne Beard was also a pioneer settler of Knox county, Illinois, and planted the first apple orchard in that section of the State, and was the first and only apple exhibitor at the first county fair ever held in Knox county, Illinois.

Frank Beard was a boy of seven when his parents removed to Atchison county and was reared on the farm in Walnut township, receiving his schooling in district No. 60. He followed farming until 1909, when he came to Potter and engaged in the general merchandise business in partnership with Mr. Hodges. This partnership continued until 1911, when he sold out his interest in the general store, and in July of that year purchased the furniture and undertaking business which he is now conducting successfully.

Mr. Beard was married in 1898 to Miss Bee Henson, a daughter of A. T. and Amanda (Cox) Henson, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter having been born in Missouri. The Hensons migrated to Kansas in 1854 before the organization of the State and settled in Jefferson county. They were Free State advocates and took part in the struggle which made Kansas a Free State. Mr. and Mrs. Beard have one child, Leona Beard, born in 1903.

The Democratic party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Beard in National affairs, but he is inclined to independence of voting in local, county and State affairs. He is a member of Kickapoo Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Modern Brotherhood, and the Knights and Ladies of Security. Mr. Beard is one of Potter’s best and well respected citizens, a successful and prosperous business man who is ever willing to put his shoulder to the wheel to advance the interests of his home community.

THOMAS HIGHFILL.

The late Thomas Highfill, of Easton township, Leavenworth county, Kansas, was born April 9, 1844, on a farm near the city of Madison, in southeastern Indiana. He was a son of William Highfill, who was born in South Carolina of German parents, and was there reared to young manhood, went to Kentucky from South Carolina, and there met and married Elizabeth Bonnell, born in Kentucky of German ancestry. Shortly after their marriage William Highfill and his wife crossed the Ohio river and settled near Madison on the Flat Rock river. He had charge of the toll-gate entrance of the bridge crossing the Flat Rock at that time. When Thomas was four years of age, or in 1849, the father and his family loaded their movable effects on wagons and started across the plains, en route to California, consuming six months on the long trip, their wagons being hauled by slow-moving oxen. The family remained in California for four years, and William spent the time profitably in placer mining for the yellow metal, after which they returned to the middle West, this time making the return trip with horses instead of oxen. They settled in Platte county, Missouri, and resided there until 1862, when William Highfill made a final settlement in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county. He died the same year in Atchison county. George Highfill, son of Thomas, is now the owner of the original home place of the Highfill family in Atchison county.

Thomas Highfill was eighteen years of age when his father came to Atchison county. He assisted in the operation of the home farm until his marriage, November 24, 1864, to Elvira Porter, who was born in Casey county, Kentucky, February 7, 1847, a daughter of George and Sarah Ann (Foster) Porter, both of whom were born in Kentucky, and resided in their native State until November, 1850, when they removed to Buchanan county, Missouri, and there farmed for two years on the McDonald farm, near Wallace. The Porters came to Atchison county, Kansas, among the earliest of the pioneers in the spring of 1855 and settled on a tract of land just one-half mile west of the present town of Potter. George Porter filed on 160 acres of land in the fall of 1854 which has never changed ownership but once and has never been out of the family, being now owned by George Highfill, the eldest grandson of George Porter. The elder Porter, although born and bred in a slave State, abhorred the institution of slavery, despite the fact that his father, Isaac Porter, was a slave owner. He saw the evils of slavery when a youth and determined never to support it, because it was utterly wrong. He came to Kansas imbued with the determination to do his part in making the State free. He suffered considerably from the forays of the border ruffians and his homestead on the banks of the Big Stranger was raided frequently by the pro-slavery element. At one time Mr. Porter had a fine saddle horse stolen from him by border ruffians. As soon as he learned of the theft he set out after the thieves armed only with a bowie knife stuck in his boot top. He followed them to Atchison and lay hid in a clump of jimson weeds, near the camp of the ruffians on the spot where the Santa Fe railroad yards are now located. The marauders were drinking and carousing in seeming safety and had no idea that they would be followed. As a consequence of their neglect in not placing a sentry Mr. Porter was enabled to secure his horse and return home in safety at 4 o’clock in the morning. At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Porter enlisted in the Thirteenth Kansas regiment and served throughout the war. While absent in defense of the Union his wife and five children were left to shift for themselves as best they could. George Porter was a stanch Republican in his political affiliations and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He died February 19, 1887, the age of sixty-five years, having been born January 21, 1822. His wife, Sarah Ann, died June 23, 1897. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Mrs. Thomas Highfill was the eldest. Mrs. Highfill was ten years old when the Porter family located in Kansas, and during the days of the Civil war, when the breadwinner of the family was absent fighting for the Union, this brave woman ploughed with an ox team and did the hardest kind of farm labor.

To Thomas Highfill and wife were born the following children: George, born September 8, 1865, and is the owner of the farm preëmpted by his grandfather Porter; John, born December 12, 1866; Sarah Elizabeth, wife of P. H. Fleer, of Potter, Kan., was born June 23, 1868, and died May 11, 1909; Thomas J., born April 8, 1870, residing in Potter; Mrs. Rose, wife of Clarence Binkley, of Atchison, born December 23, 1878; Abigail, wife of Ashton Hundley, of Atchison county, born October 19, 1879; Martina, wife of Louis Linville, of Spring Lake, Texas, born November 14, 1880; and Benjamin F., born June 10, 1884. The mother of these children resides on the Highfill place, west of Potter. Her son, George, is a prosperous farmer and good business man, who is connected with the Farmers State Bank of Potter.

Thomas Highfill departed this life March 7, 1899. He was a well respected and industrious citizen who did well his part in the development of Atchison county.

JOHN H. BEAN.

John H. Bean, having been a resident of Atchison county for a period of nearly sixty years, is naturally considered as one of the pioneers of the county. He has lived in the county since the year 1857, when his father, Michael Bean, filed on a Government homestead in Mt. Pleasant township, seven miles southwest of Atchison. John was born on a farm in Illinois October 22, 1850. His parents were Michael, born in Winchester, Ky., and son of William Bean, a native of Virginia, and Rebecca Northcutt, wife of Michael, who was born and reared near Winchester, Ill. Michael Bean came to Atchison February 5, 1853, filed on a claim, as stated above, and developed it into a splendid farm. On account of border troubles he returned to Independence, Mo., and remained for four years, and then returned to his claim. Michael died December 9, 1893, when a little over sixty-five years of age. He was a soldier in the Union army, having enlisted in Company F of the Thirteenth Kansas regiment in 1862 and served until the close of the war. He was mustered out at Ft. Leavenworth, after taking an active part in military operations in southeast Missouri, Ft. Smith and Little Rock, Ark. To Michael and Rebecca Bean were born seven children, namely: John H.; Mrs. Mary Barber, deceased; William, in Colorado; Paul, deceased; Mrs. Minnie Ledger, of Kansas City; Mrs. Ida Mayfield, living on the old homestead in Mt. Pleasant township; Alvin, farmer, living in Shannon township; Barbara died in infancy; Mrs. Barbara Helen Hayes, of Lincoln, Neb. The mother of these children died in 1903, at the age of seventy-five years.

When John H. Bean was twenty-three years of age he left home and went to Colorado, where he spent the intervening years until 1893 in the gold and silver mines of the State with intermittent fortunes attending his efforts. After two years’ residence in St. Joseph, Mo., he spent four years engaged in lumbering in the woods of northern Michigan. He then returned to Atchison, and after two years on the Atchison police force, and for four years, from 1909 to 1913, inclusive, he was cell-keeper in the State reformatory at Hutchinson, Kan. He returned to Atchison and was attached to the Atchison police department as one of its most efficient and faithful members until October 1, 1915, when he became gate-tender for the Atchison Bridge Company. He has been twice married, his first wife being Florence Bridges, who bore him one child, Mrs. Armina Bolen, of Leon, Kan. His second wife was Ella Mitchell, who died in Michigan in 1898.

Mr. Bean has always been a Republican in politics, but has never been a candidate for any political office. In this respect he follows in the footsteps of his father, Michael, who was an active politician in his day, although he never sought official preferment. Michael Bean was considered as one of the really influential men of Atchison county in political affairs and was a great and stanch friend of Senator John J. Ingalls, besides having a wide and favorable acquaintance with the people of the county. He counted among his friends many of the famous men of Atchison and the State. For thirteen years he was in charge of the county poor farm, and during that time he made a record since unsurpassed for management of the farm. Michael was a large man, physically, of the true pioneer type—one of those outspoken, honest fellows, who said outright what he thought, and was a friend to all who knew him and trusted him. It is said that no needy settler went to Michael Bean for assistance when in dire need and came away empty-handed. If a settler needed money to buy a cow or horse, it was forthcoming without the usual security or note which accompanies latter-day transactions of this character. Liberal in his views, he was liberal with his means and was always ready and willing to help an acquaintance.

Andrew Speer, county commissioner for the second district of Atchison county, Kansas, was born in this county, February 20, 1863. He was a son of Joseph and Mary (Fountain) Speer, both of whom were natives of Lawrence county, Indiana. In 1859 Joseph and his wife left the old home in Indiana, en route to Kansas, and stopped during the winter in Iowa, where the oldest child of the family was born. Joseph came on to Kansas, leaving his wife in Iowa among friends, and preëmpted a quarter section of land in Grasshopper township, three miles northeast of Muscotah, now owned by William Speer. In the spring of 1860, the year of the great drought, the father of the family returned to Iowa and brought his wife and son, William, to the new home which he had prepared for them on the Kansas plains. While the drought of their first year in Kansas worked considerable hardship upon the settlers, Joseph was better prepared to withstand this hardship, because of the fact that he had brought considerable means with him, which enabled him to successfully weather the crop failure of that year. Joseph Speer was a man of more than ordinary education and had been a school teacher in Indiana in his younger days. All of his life, he was a student and was a fine mathematician. While teaching in Indiana he had read law to some extent, and became a justice of the peace in Grasshopper township, a position which he held for many years. He also served several years as township trustee. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Speer, of whom Andrew is the third in order of birth. (See biography of D. Anna Speer, county superintendent of schools, for further details regarding the Speer family.)

Andrew Speer, with whom this review is directly concerned, was educated in the district school of his neighborhood, and brought up on his father’s farm. His marriage occurred after a trip to the western part of Kansas in 1888, and he then rented a farm. He has continually been engaged in farming and is now cultivating the Moore farm of 320 acres in Grasshopper township. When the Cherokee strip was thrown open to settlement in the Indian Territory by the Government in 1892 Mr. Speer, with eleven other Kansans from his neighborhood, made the run for homesteads on the opening day. Six thousand or more men were lined up ready for the great race and all rushed forward when the cannon boomed for the start. Andrew drove a wagon and was unfortunate in staking out his claim which proved to be a quarter section of school land. Each of the other eleven men who accompanied him secured a good claim.

Mr. Speer was married May 1, 1889, to Miss Alida Gilliland, who has borne him five children, namely: Myrtle, wife of Fred Draper, a farmer of Atchison county; Albert, at home; Joseph, a teacher at Prospect Hill, Atchison county, and the first school teacher ever graduated from the Muscotah schools and directly became a teacher; Stephen, a pupil of the eighth grade of the Muscotah schools, and Nicholas, deceased. The mother of these children was born in Illinois, October 22, 1863, a daughter of Josiah and Delitha (Maxwell) Gilliland, who died when she was but a child four years of age. She then went to the home of an aunt, Mrs. Kline, living in Jackson county, Kansas, who reared her to young womanhood. Josiah Gilliland lives in Nebraska, aged eighty-three years. He was a veteran of the Civil war from Illinois, and served in the Union army, and moved to Missouri directly after the war ended.

The Democratic party has always had the unswerving allegiance and support of Mr. Speer, and he stands high in the councils of his party in Atchison county. He was first elected to the office of township trustee and served for four years. Two years after his term of office as trustee expired he was elected to the office of county commissioner of the second district. Mr. Speer has performed the duties of his official position with great credit to himself and for the benefit of his constituents. He is an honest and capable county official who has the best interests of the entire county at heart. He is a member of the Masonic lodge of Muscotah, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Central Protective Association. Mrs. Speer is a member of the Methodist church, the Eastern Star lodge, the Royal Neighbors and the Mystic Workers.

SAMUEL EDWARD FIECHTER.

Samuel Edward Fiechter, now living retired on his beautiful suburban place near Atchison, which is located on the west side of Forest Park, is a native of Missouri. He was born in Andrew county August 25, 1856, and is a son of John George and Anna (Bright) Fiechter. The father was born in Baden, Germany, January 27, 1815, and died in Brown county, Kansas, December 20, 1893. Anna Bright, his wife, was born in Berne, Switzerland, October 26, 1822, and died in Brown county, Kansas, August 8, 1900. George Fiechter immigrated to America with his parents about 1835. They located in Missouri, and George engaged in farming in Andrew county, that State. In 1860 he traded his Missouri farm for a farm in Brown county, Kansas, where he was successfully engaged in farming until he retired. He accumulated considerable property, and at the time of his death owned something over 400 acres. To John George and Anna (Bright) Fiechter were born the following children: John resides in Brown county; Fred, deceased; Louise, deceased; George, deceased; Susan married S. E. Rush, and resides in South Dakota; Samuel E., the subject of this sketch; Jacob, deceased; Tina married Oscar Dean, and resides in Chase county, Kansas.

Samuel Edward Fiechter was reared on the farm, and received a good common school education. At the age of twenty-one he engaged in farming for himself, and later rented his father’s farm, and cared for his parents during their lives. He followed farming in Brown county until 1902, when he removed to Atchison, and after residing in the city for eight months purchased his present place. His farm is one of the best improved places in Brown county, consisting of 360 acres of land, under a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Fiechter was married November 20, 1884, to Miss Sarah Parker. She was born in Andrew county, Missouri, July 17, 1863, and is a daughter of William and Rachel (Esslinger) Parker, the former a native of Indiana, born March 12, 1835, and the latter was born in Andrew county, Missouri, September 20, 1842. William Parker came to Missouri with his parents, Daniel and Sarah (Davis) Parker, when he was a child. The parents were natives of Kentucky, and after coming to Missouri, spent the remainder of their lives in that State. Mrs. Fiechter was the oldest of a family of six children; the others in order of birth are as follows: Frank resides in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Jennie resides with her parents; Daniel, Boise, Idaho; Mrs. Mae Zimmerman, Boise, Idaho; and Stella Allen died September 16, 1915, at Cosby, Mo. To Mr. and Mrs. Fiechter has been born one child, Edna, who married Ray McGaughey, and resides on a farm in Brown county. Mr. Fiechter is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a Republican. The family are members of the Lutheran church.

MRS. JENNIE CIRTWILL.

Mrs. Jennie Cirtwill, of Lancaster, Kan., is the widow of Richard N. Cirtwill, one of the well known and substantial farmers of Atchison county, who was among the early settlers of this county. Richard N. Cirtwill was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 20, 1828. He was reared to young manhood in New York, and at the outbreak of the Civil war offered his services in defense of the Union. Mr. Cirtwill enlisted August 24, 1864, in Company I, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth regiment of New York infantry, and served until his honorable discharge, June 2, 1865. He was color bearer of his regiment, and fought at the battle of Petersburg and at the siege and capture of Richmond. Mr. Cirtwill carried the regimental colors at Petersburg and during this fierce engagement his clothing and flag were riddled with bullets, and he received a slight wound in his side. His son, Albert D., was also a member of the same company and regiment, as his father and was wounded at the battle of Petersburg. Mr. Cirtwill was first married in New York State to Susan Burns, who departed this life in 1885.

Mr. Cirtwill came to Kansas in 1871 and developed a fine farm and became well-to-do.

In January, 1889, Mr. Cirtwill married Mrs. Jennie (McClain) Cameron, whose first husband was James Cameron, a native of Carrickfergus, Ireland, born in 1848. When a young man, James Cameron became a sailor, and was first mate on a vessel sailing the Atlantic ocean. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Cameron enlisted in the Union army at Bangor, Me., and served until the close of the war. In 1869 he came to Muscotah, Kan., and worked as a contractor and brick mason. Six children were born of this marriage: Frank, deceased; William, a traveling salesman, Kansas City, Mo.; John R., a railway operator, of Mountain Home, Idaho; Rose died in infancy; Frank J., a railroad conductor, St. Joseph, Mo., and Walter H., a traveling salesman, Kansas City, Mo. The father of these children died in 1903.

Mrs. Jennie Cirtwill was born at the Bank Cottages, Scotland, May 1, 1849, a daughter of William and Rosanna (Saul) McClain, who emigrated from their native heath in 1855, and first settled in Illinois, where the father became a contractor and builder in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. He, too, became a soldier, thus making a remarkable coincident, wherein Mrs. Cirtwill was the daughter of a soldier, and both of her former husbands were Union veterans. Mr. McClain served with bravery in an Illinois regiment of volunteers. In 1870 he came to Atchison county and engaged in the lumber and building business at Muscotah, Kan. He became the owner of several farms and was well-to-do at the time of his death, February 13, 1907. The mother of Mrs. Cirtwill died in 1915, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years. Both parents are buried at Lancaster, Kan. A bright spot in the memories of Mrs. Cirtwill is the fact that she was permitted to care for her aged parents in their declining years and made a home and furnished every comfort for them.

When residing in Muscotah, Mrs. Cirtwill, nee Cameron, was left almost destitute with the care of her five children on her hands. She was forced to do the hardest kind of work to keep them in comfort and send them to school. She worked as a tailor and seamstress in order to do this, and long and exacting hours of toil were necessary to hold the little family together, but later, better days came and she has had the extreme satisfaction of seeing her children, for whom she made sacrifices in those earlier days, become substantial and well-to-do citizens of their respective localities.

A brother of Mrs. Cirtwill, John McClain, was killed by a horse when four years of age. William, the only brother reared to manhood, was a banker at Huron, Kan., but sold his interests there and removed to Peru, Kan., where he started a bank of his own. Three years later he went to Coffeyville, Kan., and lived there for a short time. Very early he began to see the future value of oil lands in Oklahoma, and invested heavily in Oklahoma land which proved to be a very profitable investment. Besides being a capitalist and builder he was a speaker and public man, well known in Atchison county and Kansas. He died in Coffeyville, Kan., January 5, 1911, at the age of fifty years. He left a widow and one daughter.

The mother of Mrs. Cirtwill, who was Mrs. Rosanna (Saul) McClain, was a skilled seamstress, and had the honor of attending the coronation ceremonies of Queen Victoria in England. Her father was Thomas Saul, a poet of unusual ability, endowed with a wonderful memory and an ability to quote poetry and the classics which his daughter inherited to a great extent. Through her great-grandmother, Rosanna Saul McClain was of royal lineage, having been born in a royal golden bed of honor, only vouchsafed to those of kingly lineage. This great-grandmother became very wealthy and left a large estate to her two daughters. Rosanna and her sister were highly skilled in tailoring and needle work and embroidery, and were highly rewarded by Queen Victoria for making and embroidering a beautiful dress for the queen to wear on state occasions.

Mrs. Cirtwill is the owner of considerable property in Atchison county, including 260 acres of fine land, a store building and a home in Lancaster, Kan. She has two grandchildren: Cecil Mae, and Jeanette Rose Cameron, children of Frank J. Cameron. Besides her Atchison county property this well-to-do Atchison county woman has several vacant lots and residence properties in St. Joseph, Mo., and is considered to be an able business woman. She is a member of the Rebekah lodge, of Lancaster, and is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. For many years she has taught a Sunday school class, of which she is very fond. Mrs. Cirtwill usually spends the summer seasons in traveling and during the summer and fall of 1915, she spent several weeks in the West, principally in Denver and vicinity.

ASA BARNES.

The name of Barnes figures prominently in the early history of Kansas and Atchison county, and the history of the family in Kansas dates from the spring of 1858 when Capt. Asa Barnes came from the ancestral home of the Barnes family in New Jersey, and settled in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, and immediately identified himself with the Free State party.

Asa Barnes, the present representative of the family living on the old Barnes homestead in Mt. Pleasant township, five miles northwest of Potter, was born in January, 1854, in New Brunswick, N. J., a son of Asa and Harriet (Cook) Barnes, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of New Jersey of English descent. Asa Barnes, the father of the subject, was born in 1821, and became a papermaker in New Brunswick, where several of his children were born. In 1858 he disposed of his belongings and property in New Jersey and migrated to Kansas, settling in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county. His wife and children followed him in April, 1859. When he first came to Kansas he was a Democrat in politics, but changed his political belief soon afterward and espoused the cause of the Free State party. He took a prominent and active part in political affairs and became well known throughout the State as an able and influential champion of freedom. On two different occasions he was elected to represent Atchison county in the State legislature and served the people with distinction and ability. When the Civil war broke out between the States he organized Company A of the Twelfth Kansas cavalry and served as captain of the company; he also helped to organize a company for the Thirteenth Kansas infantry. He was further distinguished by his war service in a manner which reflected credit upon himself and his home county. Captain Barnes died January 12, 1889. Asa Barnes was the father of ten sons and one daughter, as follows: R. A., deceased; M. N., deceased; Enoch, deceased; Asa, Jr., Fillmore died in New Jersey; Frank, living in California; Laura (Willis), Corning, Kan.; Louis, living at Binger, Okla.; Harry, Bisbee, Ariz.; Orrin, of Nevada; Reuben C., deceased. The mother of these children died February 12, 1909, at the age of eighty-two years.

Asa Barnes, the younger, was one of three sons of Capt. Asa Barnes, and grew to manhood on his father’s farm in Atchison county. He remained at home and assisted his father in the management of the home farm until he attained his majority. After his marriage in 1874 he rented land on his own account for six years and then bought the home farm of 207 acres from his father and the heirs, part of which is now owned by his sons. He has followed a plan of general farming and has prospered to a considerable extent. Mr. Barnes was married November 5, 1874, to Miss Kate Thompson, of Atchison county. This marriage has been blessed with five children, as follows: Fannie, deceased; Herbert, at home with his parents; Bertha, wife of A. J. Pease, of Atchison; Leola, wife of A. J. Saggs, of Falls City, Nebraska; Ernest L., at home; Dora, wife of Ed Lee, of Atchison county; Cora, deceased. The mother of these children was born October 2, 1854, and is a daughter of Hon. George W. Thompson, now living in Atchison, and who is probably the oldest living pioneer settler of Atchison county, and concerning whose career an extended review is given in this volume.

In political affairs Mr. Barnes, while favoring the Progressive party principles, is inclined to be independent in his voting. He is a member of the Christian church, and is well and favorably known throughout this section of Atchison county, being rated as a substantial well-to-do farmer, who is deserving of considerable credit for what he has accomplished.

CHARLES ARTHUR CHANDLER.

Charles Arthur Chandler is one of the self-made men of Atchison. Some men are successful because of a fortunate chain of circumstances attending their efforts which we commonly refer to as “good luck”; others by dint of steady employment, saving their surplus funds and investing them wisely, are enabled to secure the necessary wherewithal to embark in business and attain a substantial modicum of wealth. It is to the latter class that Mr. Chandler properly belongs. While good fortune has generally attended his industry and plans, his success is due to the husbanding of his resources, and planning ahead with the coöperation of a faithful wife, so that he could eventually be his own employer and engage in mercantile pursuits for himself. Since January 1, 1910, he has been engaged in the lumber business in connection with the Shulz-Fisk Lumber Company, one of the oldest concerns in the city. Four men are employed to take care of the extensive business which comes to the yards. Lumber, lime, cement, plaster and building material of all kinds are sold in large quantities. The extensive yards, 100×250 feet, are rated as among the best equipped and most modern in northeastern Kansas, and the management is constantly improving the appearance and facilities of the buildings.

Mr. Chandler was born November 22, 1860, in Fond du Lac, Wis., a son of Charles and Maria (Moore) Chandler, natives of Munson, Mass., and Montreal, Canada, respectively. The Chandler family is a very old one in America, and an extensive genealogy of the family has been compiled. William Chandler, progenitor of the family in this country, emigrated from the ancestral home in England to Roxbury, Mass., in 1637, dying there November 26, 1641. He had a son named John, born 1635, who married Elizabeth Douglas, of Roxbury, Mass. Succeeding generations are as follows, in a direct line to C. A. Chandler: Captain Joseph Chandler, born June 4, 1683, wife, Susannah Perrin, of Roxbury, Mass.; David Chandler, born May 28, 1712, wife, Mary Allen, of Pomfret, Conn.; Elijah Chandler, born May 3, 1737, wife, Sarah Frizzel, of Woodstock, Conn.; Charles Chandler, born June 23, 1779, wife, Margaret Edgerton, of Munson, Mass.; Charles Chandler, born February 21, 1822, wife, Maria Moore Shepard; C. A. Chandler, born November 22, 1860, wife, Effie Rook, of Atchison, Kan.; Elijah Chandler was a soldier in the French and Indian war. Charles Chandler, father of the subject of this review, was a “Forty-Niner,” who made the long trip to California across the plains in 1849. He mined gold in the placer fields of the Golden State for some time, and then returned to the East, via the Nicaragua route, settling down in Fond du Lac, Wis., where he engaged in the grain business with fair success. He died at his home in Fond du Lac in 1896, at the age of seventy-five years. He was the father of three children: Mrs. Charles E. Rogers, Fond du Lac; Fred Shepard, also of Fond du Lac, and Charles A., with whom this review is directly concerned. The mother of these children, Maria Moore Shepard, was born in 1826, and is a direct descendant of Governor William Bradford, of Massachusetts. The genealogical tree in a direct line from the colonial governor is as follows: Gov. William Bradford; his son, Maj. William Bradford; Alice Bradford married Maj. James Fitch, 1649–1727; Daniel Fitch, 1693–1752, wife, Anna Cook; William Fitch, 1720—, wife, Mary Paine; Abigail Fitch, 1745–1785, married Joseph Moore, 1745–1823; Anna Moore, 1770–1854, married Timothy Shepard, 1764–1817; Maria Moore Shepard, 1826, etc.

C. A. Chandler was educated in the public schools of his native city and fitted himself for the profession of civil engineer by a considerable amount of home study and practical experience. After getting launched in his chosen profession, he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad and remained in the employ of this railroad for a period of twenty-five years. He first came to Atchison in May, 1885, and has since been a resident here.

Mr. Chandler is the owner of the Graham farm of 310 acres near Cummings, Atchison county, Kansas. Every dollar’s worth of property which he owns has been accumulated by his own endeavors; not one dollar was ever received by him through inheritance or gift, and he and his wife have the great satisfaction of knowing that what they have and own is theirs by right of industry and thrift. Mr. Chandler is a Republican, a member of the Episcopal church, and is fraternally associated with the Masonic order, a member of Active Lodge, No. 158, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was married February 4, 1891, to Effie Rook, of Atchison. To this union have been born: Horace F., born September 19, 1896, a graduate of the Atchison High School, class of 1913, and now a sophomore in Kansas University, Lawrence; Esther, born March 5, 1898, senior student in the Atchison High School, class of 1916. The mother of these children is a daughter of Judge Horace M. Jackson, a biography of whom is published in this volume.

GRACE CROSBY POWER.

The city of Atchison is fortunate in having as the present superintendent of the city hospital a lady of talent and ability, which, combined with great personal charm, constitute a splendid equipment for the important position which Miss Power holds. She is eminently qualified by training and executive capacity to perform the exacting duties required of a hospital superintendent, and she is fast becoming deservedly popular among the people of Atchison, who support this justly famous institution.

Grace Crosby Power is a native of Indiana, born October 23, 1880, in the town of Milroy, Rush county, and is a daughter of William Strange and Mary E. (Crosby) Power. Her father was also a native of Rush county, Indiana, born in 1837, a son of an Indiana pioneer family. His parents were John A. and Mary A. (Smisor) Power, both of whom were natives of Germany and Scotland, respectively. They immigrated to America from Germany in an early day, and cleared a farm from the dense wilderness of Rush county by dint of hard labor and the exercise of fortitude. This German-American couple had the satisfaction of gaining a substantial competence from the soil and of bequeathing a good family of sons and daughters to their adopted land. William Power was one of the first fine live stock breeders of Rush county, and his farm became famous for the Hambletonian horses which it produced. He died in 1906 in his home town, Milroy. His wife, Mary, was born in Milroy, Ind., in 1837, a daughter of Michael and Lucinda Crosby, natives of Ireland, and also early settlers of Rush county, Indiana. The Powers were all members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and have been prominent in the affairs of Rush county for many years. William Power was one of the well-to-do men of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. William Power were born four children: Cora Estelle, wife of Prof. E. F. Engel, of Lawrence, Kan.; Kathrine, wife of Rev. W. F. Smith, of the Methodist church, at Huntington, Ind.; Frank A., Wichita, Kan., a director of the Power-Myers music house; Miss Grace Crosby Power, with whom this review is directly concerned.

Miss Power received her elementary education in the public schools of Milroy, Ind., and afterwards entered DePauw University, at Greencastle, Ind., where she pursued a music course for two years. She then came to Kansas and studied in the liberal arts department of Kansas University, at Lawrence. While her original intention had been to perfect herself in art and music, she became imbued with the idea of becoming a nurse, feeling that a wider field was offered in the art of caring for the sick, and that she could be of greater service to humanity. Accordingly, Miss Power entered the University Medical Hospital of Kansas City, Mo., in 1905, and began the studies which were to prepare her for her life work as a hospital nurse. She applied herself diligently to her medical studies and was graduated from the Kansas City institution in 1908. She was then offered the position of superintendent of the Galesburg, Ill., hospital, and accepted, remaining there until 1911. She was not yet satisfied with her professional preparation, and resigning her position, she spent one year in Europe, traveling and studying the methods in vogue in the hospitals of the old world. Returning to Kansas City in 1912, she was employed by Drs. Jabez and Jackson, of that city, in a professional capacity, until she was called to her present post, September 29, 1915. Since taking charge of the Atchison City Hospital, she has given every evidence of being eminently fitted for the duties of her position and calling. Miss Power is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is affiliated with the A. X. U. sorority, of DePauw University.

The late William H. Thompson, of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, was born on a Kentucky farm, near the city of Louisville, in 1838. His parents were Benjamin and Nancy (Baxter) Thompson, and both were born and reared in Kentucky, their old home being located on a small stream called Dry Beauty. Nancy Baxter Thompson was the belle of the neighborhood and was a famous beauty in her day. In 1848 the Thompsons migrated from Kentucky to Platte county, Missouri, where they resided until the spring of 1860, and then came to Atchison county and purchased the farm where William H. lived until his death, in 1884. Benjamin, the father, was born in Kentucky in 1799, and died on his Kansas farm in 1861, just after locating in this county. He was a man of fair education, who was self-taught. He taught school in his native State, and his father was a famous hunter in the early days of Kentucky history. He disappeared while absent from home on a hunting expedition, and it is supposed that he was killed or captured by Indians, leaving a wife and three children. Times were hard and educational advantages were either very poor or absent altogether. Benjamin educated himself by night study and home reading, and became well versed in books and knowledge.

William H. Thompson was ten years of age when the family removed to Missouri, and he was reared to young manhood on the pioneer farm in Platte county. After his marriage in 1862, he and his wife lived with his widowed mother after the death of his father, October 26, 1861. He came into possession of the home place and cultivated the land until his demise in 1884. He was married July 6, 1862, to Matilda Thompson, and eight children were born to this marriage: Annie, wife of Frank Williamson, of California; Ada, wife of Henry Knobloch, of Atchison county; Robert Lee, at home with his mother; William H., a mining expert, in Colorado; Gertrude, wife of Ed. Myer, of Atchison; Sirena Ella, deceased wife of Patrick Burns; Benjamin Isaac, at home; Gladis, deceased wife of Eugene Thornburg. The mother of these children was born in 1842 in Buchanan county, Missouri, a daughter of Isaac Thompson, born in New York State, on a farm near New York City, in 1804. The grandfather and a great-uncle of Isaac came to America from England some time before the American revolution, and became separated and never saw each other again. They were of Scotch origin. The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Thompson was a Miss Fiske of the New York family of Fiskes. Isaac Thompson married Elizabeth Fiscus in Indiana. In the year 1808, the parents of Isaac Thompson removed from New York to Ohio and twelve years later migrated westward to Shelby county, Indiana, where the parents died. After his marriage Isaac migrated to Buchanan county, Missouri, in about 1839, and developed a fine farm in that county. In about 1847 he sold his farm in Missouri and set out on the long overland journey to Oregon. A large party were en route to this new country and the outfit comprised twenty-one wagons and teams. An incident of this journey is here worth recording. While the emigrants were encamped for the night at a point hundreds of miles from any human habitation, an Indian came to the camp and informed them that a band of hostile red men intended to attack them and destroy the outfit. A band of emigrant Mormons drove up and joined them and they at once formed a corral with their wagons and prepared to defend themselves against the threatened attack, but the attack did not take place because of the preparations made. The Thompson family remained in Oregon for five years. Isaac went to California in 1848 and engaged in gold mining. Mr. Thompson was fortunate in his prospecting and accumulated a small fortune. During the winter of ’49 he was shipwrecked while making a voyage from California to his Oregon home, the vessel being driven far and out of its course by terrific storms and he was forced to spend the winter on the Sandwich Islands. After arriving home safely, he again went to California and continued his gold mining. In 1851 the family returned to the Middle West. They boarded a ship at Portland, Ore., journeyed to San Francisco, where they took a ship for New Orleans. On the way down the coast the party was landed on the west coast of the Isthmus of Panama and the emigrants were packed across the Isthmus to the east side, where they boarded a vessel which carried them to New York City, arriving there on Christmas day of 1851. From New York they went to Philadelphia where Mr. Thompson had his gold minted at the Government mint. From Philadelphia they traveled to Pittsburgh, and here the children all contracted measles and two of them died. From Pittsburgh they went down the Ohio river by steamer and up the Mississippi to St. Louis where they boarded a Missouri river steamer which took them to Camden, Mo. Here the wife and mother died. At Camden Mr. Thompson purchased oxen and wagons and took the family to Buchanan county, Missouri, arriving there in the summer of 1852. They lived in Missouri until 1856 and then made a permanent settlement in Kansas preëmpting land and locating on Walnut creek in Mt. Pleasant township, about four miles southwest of the city of Atchison, which is now the Herzog farm. After eight years’ residence here they again moved, this time to Illinois, where they lived for three years and came again to Kansas, this time settling in Nemaha county. Isaac died in Nemaha county in 1871. His was certainly a rich and varied experience and his life was filled with adventure and continual changes.

Mrs. Matilda Thompson, widow of William H., although having attained the age of three score and thirteen years, is active, spry and in full possession of her mental faculties. She is a wonderful woman for her age and is fond of relating reminiscences of the old days when the family crossed the plains and traveled half way around the world in quest of riches and adventure.

JOHN HENRY NASS.

When the soul of the late John Henry Nass departed from its earthly habitation to go to his Maker, the city of Atchison lost one of its excellent citizens and merchants who had lived all of his life in the city of his birth. The late J. H. Nass was born in Atchison, February 15, 1865, a son of Jacob and Johanna Nass, both of whom were born and reared in Germany and emigrated from the Fatherland in 1856, to America. They first settled at Weston, Mo., but a short time later came to Atchison, Kan., where Jacob Nass became the first brick manufacturer of the city. He erected the first brick plant and made brick for many of the large brick buildings still standing in the city. Jacob Nass continued actively in the brick business until 1875, when he retired and the business was carried on by his four sons. During the course of his business career he established the hardware store which was later owned by his son, the subject of this review. He left at his demise, in 1899, a considerable estate consisting of the brick plant, a hardware store, and real estate. Jacob and Johanna Nass were the parents of six children, namely: Werner, J. H., Theodore, Herman, all living in Atchison; Gertrude, and Mary Nass, who is caring for her aged mother.

J. H., or Henry Nass, as he was better known by his friends and associates, was reared in Atchison and attended the parochial schools and St. Benedict’s College. At the age of sixteen years he entered his father’s hardware store, and took complete charge of the business when he attained the age of eighteen years. In 1886, with a partner named Frank Hess, of Weston, Mo., he purchased the hardware store of his father. Six years later he bought out his partner and became the sole owner of the store, which he conducted until his demise, in 1903. He was married September 27, 1893, to Bertha Fleming, who bore him children as follows: Charles, born September 16, 1895, educated in St. Benedict’s College, and is now in the employ of the Dolan Mercantile Company of Atchison; Raymond, born July 31, 1898, a graduate of St. Benedict’s College, and is now with the Harwi Hardware Company of Atchison; Rose, born October 31, 1899, at home with her mother; Margarette, born June 2, 1901, student in St. Louis parochial school; William, born November 19, 1902, a student in a St. Louis school; Henry John, born December 7, 1903, and died at the age of eighteen months. Mrs. Nass is justly proud of her children and has endeavored to rear them so that they will lead upright lives and be a credit to her and the public. The Nass home is located near St. Benedict’s College, and it is a happy one at all times. When Mr. and Mrs. Nass were married in 1893 their honeymoon trip included the World’s Fair at Chicago. She was born in Holland, a daughter of Lambert and Rosa (Johnson) Fleming, both of whom were born and reared in Holland and married there, after which they immigrated to America with their family and settled in Atchison where Lambert made wooden shoes for a time and later moved to a farm where he died June 15, 1880. Mrs. Fleming died in 1903.

J. H. Nass was moderately successful in his business pursuits, and left his family comfortably provided for. He was a Democrat but did not take a very active interest in political matters. He was a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church. His life was a good and useful one and his main interest was in the well being of his family, of whom he was very thoughtful and treated kindly and justly.

FRANK M. WOODFORD.

Frank M. Woodford, the well known cashier of the Atchison Savings Bank, was born at Niles, Mich., November 29, 1874. He is a son of James H. and Emma (Bickell) Woodford, both natives of Niles, Mich., the former born in 1851 and the latter in 1855. James H. Woodford is a son of Benjamin Woodford, who was a native of New York, and an early settler in Michigan. His wife, Emma Bickell, is a daughter of Thomas J. Bickell, a Virginian. James H. Woodford came to Kansas with his family in 1887, and located in Atchison, and was an employee of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company for a number of years, and later purchased a farm in Atchison county, where he now resides. Frank M. Woodford is the only son born to James H. and Emma (Bickell) Woodford. He attended the public schools and graduated from the Atchison High School in the class of 1894. In 1896 he entered the employ of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison, and worked in the collection department of that institution for two and one-half years. He then entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company as yard clerk and later served in the capacity of inspector and bookkeeper. August 1, 1900, he became bookkeeper of the Atchison Savings Bank, and in 1910 succeeded to the cashier-ship of that bank, and has capably filled that position to the present time. Mr. Woodford possesses the safe and conservative judgment of the successful bank cashier and is recognized for his efficiency in that important branch of the commercial world. Mr. Woodford was united in marriage December 21, 1898, with Miss Mabel Santchfield, of Macon, Mo., and two children have been born to this union: Millard, aged eleven, and Maurice, aged eight. Mr. Woodford is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Knights of the Maccabees, Modern Woodmen of America, and Knights and Ladies of Security. He is a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church.

HOLMES DYSINGER, D. D.

Holmes Dysinger, D. D., dean of the Western Theological Seminary of Atchison, Kan., was born March 26, 1853, in the town of Mifflin, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Joseph and Mary Amelia (Patterson) Dysinger, both natives of Pennsylvania. The genealogical record of the Dysinger family traces its beginning in America to the seventeenth century, the ancestry on the paternal side being South German and on the maternal side, of English origin. The members of the family for succeeding generations were farmers and carpenters, Joseph Dysinger being a carpenter and contracting builder in his younger days, and later became a farmer. He died on his farm in Pennsylvania, near his birthplace. There were six sons and a daughter in the family which Joseph Dysinger reared, as follows: Holmes, with whom this review is directly concerned; George Washington Dysinger, a practicing dentist at Minneapolis, Minn.; Rev. William Stewart Dysinger, a minister of the Lutheran church in Los Angeles, Cal.; Prof. James H. Dysinger, a teacher at Los Angeles, Cal., and a daughter died at the age of six months.

Holmes Dysinger was reared on his father’s farm and received his elementary education in the district school of his neighborhood. The initial part of his higher education was obtained in the Airyview Academy at Port Royal, Penn. The means at the disposal of the Dysinger family did not permit of Holmes continuing his studies uninterrupted, and he found it necessary to make his own way through the higher realms of learning. Consequently, in order to make his way through college and the university, he began teaching at the early age of seventeen years, and has taught continuously since that time, with the exception of three years in college and a few years in a pastorate. In 1878 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, Pa., and taught in the academic department of that college for a period of four years, while studying theology in the seminary at that place. His next position was as professor of Latin and Greek in the North Carolina College, Mt. Pleasant, N. C., from 1882 to 1883. From 1883 to 1888, inclusive, he was professor of Latin and Greek at Newberry College, in South Carolina, and from 1888 to 1895 he filled the position of president of Carthage College, Carthage, Ill. From 1895 to 1900 he filled the pastorate of the Lutheran church at Polo, Ill.; he was pastor of the First Lutheran Church of Kansas City, Mo., from 1900 to 1902, and had charge of the Lutheran church at Vandergrift, Pa., from 1902 to 1905. He became dean of the Western Theological Seminary at Atchison, Kan., in November of 1905. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Wittenberg College, at Springfield, Ohio, in 1889.

Dr. Dysinger was united in marriage with Ada Frances Ray, of Blairsville, Pa., September 22, 1886, and to this union have been born five children: Mary Ray Dysinger, librarian of Midland College, Atchison; Cornelia, Helen Frances and Dorothy Homes, at home with their parents, and Mrs. Dr. C. F. Malmberg, of Greenville, Pa.

CHARLES LANGE.

Charles Lange, farmer, Center township, Atchison county, was born in Germany, January 11, 1865. He is a son of Karl and Marie (Poos) Lange, who were the parents of three children, as follows: Charles, subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Rathert, Center township, Atchison county, and Minnie, married C. Kloepper, living in Jefferson county. Karl Lange, the father, was born March 13, 1838, in Germany, and left his native land in the fall of 1874, coming to Atchison county, where he rented for a short time. He then bought the place where his son now lives, which contained 140 acres. The place was fenced with rails and a log cabin had been built, and the barn was of straw. Taking this primitive farm in 1874, Mr. Lange began improving it, and in 1883 he built a fine six-room house and made a number of other improvements. In 1902 he retired and moved to Nortonville, Kan., where he died in 1910. The mother of Charles Lange was born in Germany, July 31, 1841. She is now living in Nortonville, Kan.

Charles Lange attended school in Germany four years and also went to the district school in Center township, Atchison county. He has always lived on his present farm, and looked after his father’s affairs until the latter’s death. He now owns the old home place, which includes 375 acres, sixty acres of which is in corn. He is a thorough farmer and keeps high grade stock. In 1901 Mr. Lange was married to Martha Straub, who was born January 17, 1881, in Baden, Germany. At the age of five years she left Germany with her parents, Joseph and Salme (Hilderbrandt) Straub, who came to America. In 1904 they settled in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, where the father followed farming. Mr. and Mrs. Lange have six children, all of whom are living at home. They are: Erna, Charles, Jr., Henry, Emma, Julius, and Ella. Mr. Lange is a Republican, and attends the Lutheran church.

CHARLES L. ALKIRE.

Charles L. Alkire, proprietor and manager of the Troy laundry of Atchison, was born December 1, 1876, in Saline county, Missouri, a son of George A. and Ellen H. (Dickson) Alkire, who were the parents of two children, as follows: George D., a farmer of Bronaugh, Mo., and Charles L. George A. Alkire was born August 28, 1846, in Illinois, and was a son of George Alkire, who had the distinction of founding the Texas town which bears his name. In early life he was a merchant, and came to Missouri when a young man, and established a general merchandise store in Saline county. Later he engaged in banking and was cashier of the bank at Blackburn, Mo. For six years he served as county collector of Vernon county, Missouri. He is now living a retired life in Dallas, Tex. His father, George Alkire, was an extensive fruit grower, after whom the town of Alkire, Texas, was named and who died there. Ellen H. (Dickson) Alkire, mother of Charles L., was born on a farm near Booneville, Tipton county, Missouri, September 3, 1839, and is living in the family home at Dallas, Texas.

Charles L. Alkire received his education in the schools of his native county, and attended the State school at Nevada, Mo., graduating from business college in Nevada. He served as deputy collector in Vernon county under his father, and then went to Norman, Okla., where he embarked in the newspaper business, running the Troy laundry in connection with his publishing duties, from 1899 to 1902. He then disposed of his holdings in Norman and located in Kansas City, Mo., where he had charge of the shoe department in G. B. Peck’s drygoods store, until his removal to Atchison, Kan. He was first employed in the freight department of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, and was then engaged in the inspection bureau of the Western Weighing Association of Railroads. He served as traveling salesman for the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company until he purchased the Troy laundry, in October of 1915. He was a successful traveling salesman, and is making a marked success in his latest business venture.

Mr. Alkire was married in 1899 to Elizabeth H. Clapham, and to this union one child, Elizabeth, has been born. Mrs. Alkire was born March 12, 1878, in Fremont, Neb., and is a daughter of Edward and Anna (Bradley) Clapham, natives of England, who came to Iowa from their native land with their parents when both were infants. Mr. and Mrs. Clapham have been dead for a number of years. Mrs. Alkire was educated in the University of Oklahoma and graduated from that institution. Mr. Alkire is an independent voter and is not allied with any particular political party, being self-reliant in such matters as he has always been in his business affairs. He is a member of the Baptist church and his wife is a member of the Methodist church.

W. D. CHALFANT.

W. D. Chalfant, a prominent farmer of Shannon township, Atchison county, is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born at Brownsville, Fayette county, August 2, 1862, a son of Benjamin M. and Mary Amanda (Lynn) Chalfant, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in 1838, and the latter in 1836. The Chalfant family is of English origin, and was founded in America prior to the Revolutionary war. Benjamin M. Chalfant was a son of James Chalfant, of Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Benjamin M. owned the old Chalfant homestead in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and in 1882 he sold his Pennsylvania property and came to Kansas, locating in Shannon township, Atchison county, where he purchased 320 acres of land, and was successfully engaged in farming until his death, which occurred June 3, 1914. He was accidentally killed at the railroad crossing at Fourth street, Atchison, while walking across the track. In an effort to avoid an approaching car, he did not notice an approaching Missouri Pacific train, which struck him. His wife died January 18, 1905. They were the parents of the following children: James M. resides in Graham county, Kansas; Elsworth died in infancy: William D., the subject of this sketch; Mary B. Bean lives in Kingman county, Kansas: Henry died at the age of ten, Alice died at the age of ten, and Elvira P. resides in Atchison.

William D. Chalfant was twenty years of age when he came to Atchison county, and has resided in this county since 1882, with the exception of two years, one of which he spent in California and the other in Nemaha county, Kansas. He bought the home place in 1914, shortly after his father’s death. He was united in marriage in 1891 to Miss Mary Mann, a native of Monroe county, West Virginia, and a daughter of Austin and Susan Mann. The father is deceased, and the mother resides in Arkansas. To Mr. and Mrs. Chalfant have been born eight children, as follows: Bonnie Miller resides in West Virginia, and has two children, Raymond and George; Benjamin M. resides at home; Delilah, Jenette, Helen, Henry, Marie, and Mildred. Jenette and Henry died in infancy. Mr. Chalfant is a Republican, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Central Protective Association.

JACOB BUTTRON.

He of whom this review is written is one of the enterprising and successful farmers of Lancaster township, Atchison county, and is a son of Henry Buttron, a pioneer settler of the county, and who at the time of his death was one of the wealthiest and best known citizens of Lancaster township. A biography of Henry Buttron appears in this history.

Jacob Buttron was born in Lancaster township, April 16, 1872, and has always lived in the vicinity of his early home. He was reared on his father’s farm and attended the school in the Bell district, No. 59. He remained on the farm and gave his best endeavors to assisting his father in building up the family estate until 1904, at which time he started out for himself on a rented farm. He first rented 160 acres of land from his father. Later he bought an equal amount of the north quarter of the Cloyes farm. He has through his father, at the present time, one of the best improved and productive farms of Lancaster township and is on the high road to prosperity. Mr. Buttron has his farm stocked with only the best grades of live stock and has made an excellent record as a stockman.

He was married December 14, 1904, to Miss Emma Flattre, and four children have blessed this union, namely: Bertha, Emma, Alice and John. Mrs. Buttron is a daughter of Thomas and Emma (Manson) Flattre. Mr. Buttron is a Republican in politics, but has never sought political preferment of any kind, and contents himself in doing his duty at the polls at election time. While he professes no religious creed, he is a church goer and is considered to be an upright and exemplary citizen who has many friends in his neighborhood, who esteem him highly for his industrious habits and honest demeanor.

GEORGE SCHRADER.

George Schrader, farmer and stockman, of Center township, Atchison county, was born in Lancaster township, January 25, 1868, and is a son of Nicholas and Kathrine Schrader. He was one of six children. The parents were born in Germany, but each came to America when young. They were married in the United States about 1856, and came directly to Kansas, settling in Lancaster township, Atchison county. Later they removed to Mount Pleasant township, and followed farming until the father retired. The mother died in 1907, aged seventy-three years, and the father lived with his children until his death, in 1914, at the age of eighty-six. George Schrader grew to manhood on the home farm in Atchison county, and at the age of nineteen began to work as a farm hand. A year later he went to California and worked on a ranch. In 1890 he returned to Atchison county and rented his father’s farm for a year, when he bought 180 acres, located on the Topeka State road, two and one-half miles north, and one-half mile west of Cummings, Kan. The farm had only scanty improvements, with a house in bad condition and a small barn. He built a good two-story, modern, nine-room house, which is situated in one of the finest building places in the county, commanding an excellent view. He then erected a large barn, 36×50 feet, with a cement basement. It is well equipped and built especially for a stock barn. Mr. Schrader takes great pride in his stock, which includes fine Hampshire hogs, Percheron and Coach horses. His farm consists of 200 acres, forty acres of which is timber land.

When a young man Mr. Schrader operated a threshing outfit, and continued in that business for many years as a sideline. He is also a carpenter, and built most of the buildings on his farm. In 1894 he married Carrie Kuhn, who was born in Atchison county in 1874. She is a daughter of Fred and Anna (Gruner) Kuhn. The father was a native of Germany, and the mother of Illinois. Both parents are living. Mr. and Mrs. Schrader have three children: Herbert, Lester, and Ida, all living at home. Mr. Schrader is a Republican, and is treasurer of Center township. He is a member of the German Evangelical church. He is a stockholder in the Cummings State Bank. Mr. Schrader is a citizen active in the interest of his community, and takes pride in his farm and in his community, and is always in favor of any movement which will be for the good of the community.

WILLIAM T. HUTSON.

William T. Hutson, an Atchison business man, who has extensive industrial and commercial interests, and is a large land owner, is a native of Missouri. He was born in Platte county August 1, 1874, and is a son of E. P. and Johanna (Kelley) Hutson, the former a native of Clay county, Missouri, and the latter of Dublin, Ireland. E. P. Hutson, the father, had a very successful career, and at the time of his death, which occurred in Platte county, Missouri, in 1892, he owned over 2,000 acres of valuable land. He and his brother, Isaac, went to California in 1850, shortly after the discovery of gold. They were interested in the live stock business on the coast at that early day, buying cattle and driving them to the mining camps, where they found a ready market at very good prices. They were engaged in this business for twelve or thirteen years, and were very successful in a financial way. Isaac’s health failed while on the coast, and he returned to his Platte county home, where he died in 1864. After returning to Missouri, E. P. Hutson followed farming, and looked after his extensive interests until about the time of his death.

William T. Hutson, whose name introduces this sketch, is one of a family of six children, as follows: William T., the subject of this sketch; G. E., farmer, Platte county, Missouri; Capitola married W. P. Page, Platte county, Missouri; Pluma married Dr. Kirkfast, Austin, Neb.; Goldie married Barney Nolan, Sioux City, Iowa, and Galena married Edward Back, Atchison, Kan. William T. Hutson was reared on the home farm in Platte county, Missouri, and received his education in the public schools, and has made farming the chief occupation of his life. He and his brother, G. E., now own and operate 1,000 acres of land in Platte county, Missouri, where they are extensive growers of wheat and other grains. They are also extensive hog raisers and are among the most extensive farmers of Platte county.

Mr. Hutson came to Atchison in December, 1909, and since that time has been closely identified with industrial Atchison. He is president of the Atchison Paving Brick Company, and is a director in the First National Bank of Atchison. He was united in marriage in June, 1909, to Miss Esther Jackson, of Bigelow, Mo. She is a daughter of Richard and Varney Jackson, members of old and highly respected Platte county families. Mr. and Mrs. Hutson have one child, Virginia Lee, born June 23, 1912. Mr. Hutson is a Democrat.

JOHN BEYER.

John Beyer, banker and stock buyer of Arrington, Atchison county, Kansas, was born in Kapioma township, on October 9, 1871. His parents, Asa and Susan Beyer, were both natives of Pennsylvania, the father having been born there in 1835. They came to Kansas in 1868, and settled in Kapioma township, Atchison county, where the father died in 1898, and the mother is still living. John Beyer is one of eleven children, as follows: Mrs. Mary Lewton, Benton township; Samuel, Kapioma township; Mrs. Christen High, Texas; David, farmer, Kapioma township; Jane, living on the home place; Clarissa, deceased; Martha Schiffbauer, Sumner county, Kansas; John, the subject of this sketch; Albert, Caldwell, Kansas, and Luctria Dodson, Kapioma township.

John Beyer attended the Cole Creek district school and at the age of twenty-one started out in life for himself. He bought an eighty-acre farm from his father, and worked this place five years and made a success of it. In 1900 he moved to Arrington, Kapioma township, and engaged in the livery business. He ran this until the following year when he sold out and bought the elevator on the Union Pacific railroad at Arrington. He bought and sold grain for six years, but owned the elevator until 1912. The year previous he began to deal in live stock and has continued in that business since. In 1904 the need of a bank was felt, and John Beyer, together with other leading citizens of Arrington, organized the present bank. For the past eight years he has been assistant cashier of the institution. Mr. Beyer owns farm land in Kapioma township.

In 1897 Mr. Beyer married Maud A. Coots, who was born in Holt county, Missouri, January 13, 1875. She is a daughter of Presley W. and Sarah (Campbell) Coots, both Missourians, whose parents were from Kentucky. The father is now living in Muscotah, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Beyer have one child, Flossie A., who is living at home. Mr. Beyer is a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.