Biographies Index

BUTLER COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

CEASE, H. E.

H. E. Cease, a successful farmer and stockman of Walnut township, is a native son of Butler county. He was born near Augusta in 1874, and is a son of V. A. and Emma (Bowlden) Cease. The mother was a native of England. The parents came to Butler county in 1872, where the father homesteaded a quarter section of land, three-fourths of a mile north of where Gordon is now located. Here he engaged in farming and stock .raising until his death, in 1880. His wife survived him a number of years and passed away in 1910. Their remains now rest in the old cemetery at Augusta. They were the parents of two children: Mrs. Birdie Purcell, who died in 1896, and H. E., the subject of this sketch.

H. E. Cease was reared on the home farm and educated in the public schools of Butler county, and afterwards took a business course in the Wichita University. He then engaged in farming on the home place, and since the death of his father, has added eighty acres to the original farm and now has 240 acres, and is engaged in general farming and stock raising, having been unusually successful in raising hogs, never having lost one. The Cease farm is located in the heart of the oil and gas belt of Augusta.

Mr. Cease was married January 13, 1895, to Miss Anna Adams, of Augusta, Kans. She is a daughter of Oliver Adams, who came to Augusta in 1883, and he has been in the employ of the Santa Fe Railway Company as foreman for the past thirty-three years. To Mr. and Mrs. Cease have been born two daughters: Vernon, a graduate of the Augusta High School, class of 1915, and bears the distinction of having been the youngest member of her class; and Thelma, in school at Gordon. The Cease residence is modern in every particular, and one of the ideal farm homes of Butler county.

Mr. Cease takes a keen interest in local political affairs and has served as township treasurer for two terms, and is now serving his second term as township trustee. In 1915 he was appointed gas inspector of Butler county, and the large gas production of this county makes of this an important office with considerable work. Mr. Cease is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of the Augusta Lodge and the Wichita Consistory. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Augusta. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 553-554)

CUPP, DANIEL H.

Daniel H. Cupp is one of the very earliest pioneers of Butler county, and has been identified with Towanda township for over half a century. He has seen Butler county develop from a limitless plain to a land of homes and plenty. Mr. Cupp is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1836. His parents were Joseph and Mary Ann (Hager) Cupp. They were the parents of six children, all of whom are now deceased except Daniel H., the subject of this sketch.

Daniel H. Cupp first came to Butler county, Kansas, in i860, and on July 10th of that year crossed the Whitewater river. He took a claim, one and one-half miles north of where Towanda now stands, which he later sold. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in Jim Lane's cavalry. He first went to Leavenworth, and was later transferred to Fort Lincoln and then to Fort Riley, where, by a reorganizations of his commands, he became a member of the Seventeenth Kansas regiment. He was honorably discharged at Fort Leavenworth in December, 1864. He was sergeant of his company when Rogers and Stanton were captured in the southeastern part of Butler county. This capture consisted of $30,000 of arms and cattle and thirty men. The troops took the outfit to Fort Lincoln, where it was turned over to the government.

After being discharged from the army, Mr. Cupp went to Junction City, Kans., and worked at the blacksmith trade until May, 1866, when he returned to Butler county and homesteaded a claim in Towanda township, one-half mile north and one-half mile west of the present town of Towanda, which is his home today. It consists of 130 acres of good land, and Mr. Cupp has successfully carried on farming and stock raising there all these years. Upon settling on his claim he built a cabin 16x24 after the average style of the pioneer home of those days, and ten years later this building was succeeded by a more commodious farm residence, which is still the Cupp home.

Mr. Cupp was married in September, 1861, to Miss Sarah C. Malan, of Anderson county, Kansas. She came to this State with her parents in the fifties and they settled near Neosha Falls, where they lived for several years. To Mr. and Mrs. Cupp have been born the following children: U. S., a railroad man, Webber, Kans.; Herschel was killed in a cyclone which devastated Towanda in 1891; M. B. resides in Towanda, Kans.; Roy L., farmer, Benton township; Mrs. Carry Vern Smith, Towanda, Kans., and T. B., residing on the home farm.

Mr. Cupp was appointed postmaster of Towanda when the office was on section 5, township 26, range 4, two miles north and about a mile west of its present location. He has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs and been willing to do his part toward the upbuilding and betterment of the community. He has always aimed to conscientiously do his duty in peace or in war, and not only Butler county, but Kansas, owes to the men of his type a debt of gratitude for which the present and future generations should at least endeavor to perpetuate the memories of this noble band of pioneers who laid the foundation for our present civilization.

When Mr. Cupp and his pioneer wife came here, this county was in a wild and unbroken state, almost as it had been left by the hand of the creator. The buffalo, antelope, deer and wild turkey were in abundance, and Mr. Cupp has frequently killed buffalo as well as other game, and even Mrs. Cupp, on one occasion, shot a wild turkey herself, which proved to be a twenty-one pound gobbler. She has also fought off wildcats that were carrying away her chickens/ Roaming bands of Osages, Kaws and Shawnees frequented the neighborhood of the Cupp home for a number of years after they located here. Sometimes the Indians begged and at other times they stole, and on rare occasions, threatened for food, but neither Mr. Cupp nor his wife were easily scared, and while they treated the Indians kindly, and frequently fed them, they were never afraid of them, or seriously molested. Some of the settlers, however, had more serious trouble with the "noble red man."
Mr. and Mrs. Cupp still have in their possession many interesting heirlooms of pioneer days, the most conspicuous of which might be mentioned, the old Seth Thomas clock which has ticked away the time for over half a century and still ticks on. The venerable pioneer couple are now in the sunset of their lives, are enjoying the fullness of the reward of years well spent, and Mr. Cupp, at the age of seventy-nine, and his wife in her seventy-third year, are hale and hearty, and in their physical and mental vigor, are equal to persons much younger than they. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 554-556)

HARTENBOWER, H. W.

H. W. Hartcnbower, a Butler county pioneer and successful farmer and stockman, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Putnam county in 1850, and is a son of Jeremiah and Maria Hartenbower, the father a native of Germany and the mother of Kentucky. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Mafia Brown, Leith, N. D.; Mrs. Frances C. Towl, Los Angeles; John H. died at Douglass; Andrew died at Douglass; J. J. died in Los Angeles, Cal., and H. W., the subject of this sketch.

H. W. Hartenbower received a good education in the public schools of Illinois, and afterwards attended Lombard College, at Galesburg, Ill. He later was a student at Notre Dame College, South Bend, Ind. When* he was twenty-two years of age, in 1872, he came to Butler county and bought a farm of 160 acres on the Little Walnut, about three miles east of Gordon, in Walnut township, for which he paid $1,350. While in Illinois, in 1874, which was grasshopper year, he sold his place and the same year returned to Butler county and herded cattle on the range, northeast of El Dorado, for two years. In 1879 he bought another 160 acres, part of which was in Walnut and part in Douglass townships. This place was slightly improved and had a small cabin on it. Here he engaged in farming and stock raising and met with success. In 1913 he removed to Douglass, where he has since resided. He has added to his original farm, as opportunity presented itself, from time to time, and is today one of the large land owners of Butler county. He owns 1,940 acres, 1,230 acres of which are in Walnut township and 560 in Clay, and he also has a handsome modern residence in Douglass. He has 160 acres under alfalfa, and he considers alfalfa one of the most important crops of Butler county. He $lso raises large quantities of corn. He has dealt extensively in cattle and has given a great deal of attention tow feeding cattle for market, and during the past winter has shipped nine car loads to market, and now has considerably over a hundred head in the feed yard.

Mr. Hartenbower has taken a keen interest in public affairs, and in 1880 was elected a member of the board of county commissioners and served for three years. During his administration of the affairs of the county he gave the public business the same conscientious attention that he gives to his own business, and with very satisfactory results to the taxpayers of Butler county. During his term as county commissioner, Douglass bridge, across the Walnut river, was constructed, and also the Aaron Barnes bridge, across Muddy creek. Mr. Hartenbower is a member of the Masonic lodge at Douglass, and is a Royal Arch Mason. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 556-557)

HARTENBOWER, MARY E. ALLEN

Mary E. Allen Hartenbower, widow of the late Andrew Hartenbower, deceased, is one of the surviving early pioneers of Butler county who deserves more than passing mention in a work of this character. Mrs. Hartenbower was born in Putnam county, in 1844. Her parents were William and Mary (Fairgreve) Allen, ,the father a native of England and the mother of Scotland, who immigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1832. They were the parents of the following children: John E. Allen, Rose, Kans.; Mrs. Mattie Thomas, Hennepen, Ill.; Mrs. Willie A. Stouffer, Hennepen, Ill.; Mrs. Mary E. Hartenbower, the subject of this sketch; James F. Allen, who enlisted in the One Hundred and Fourth regiment, Illinois infantry, in 1861, was taken prisoner at Hartsville by the Confederates and died in a hospital at Nashville, Tenn.; and Mrs. Anna Denning, deceased.

Mrs. Hartenbower was reared in Illinois, and received a good education in the public schools at Hennepen, Ill., and was a teacher for four years prior to her marriage to Andrew Hartenbower, April 2, 1868. Andrew Hartenbower was a native of Illinois, born in 1832. He received a good education, attending the public schools and also the academy at Granville, Ill. He followed farming in early life, and was also engaged in the grain and commission business. Mr. and Mrs. Hartenbower came to Kansas in 1872, and first located at Baxter Springs, Cherokee county, where they remained about six months when they came on west to Butler county and bought a claim on the Little Walnut river, consisting of 160 acres, located south of Gordon, and later added 320 acres on the Big Walnut to the original place. This land is all located on the east bank of the Walnut river. When the Hartenbowers settled here, the place was practically unimproved with the exception of the small two-roomed cabin. Mr. Hartenbower engaged in general farming and stock raising and became one of Butler county's successful and substantial citizens. In 1886 they removed to Douglass to give their children the better educational advantages afforded by the Douglass schools. Mr. Hartenbower died in 1904. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been affiliated with that order for over fifty years. In his death, Douglass and Butler county lost not only a prominent pioneer, but one of the most valued citizens.

To Mr. and Mrs. Hartenbower were born the following children: Mrs. Willa Mina Anderson, San Antonio, Tex.; Mrs. Mary M. Best, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Allen WM Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mrs. Mattie A. La Port, Newkirk, Okla.; Jerry J., Great Bend, Kans.; Mrs. Byrda A. Stinson, Offerle, Kans.; John; William A., Anna D., and Mrs. Edith Ward, all of Douglass.

Mrs. Hartenbower has seen much of the early life of Butler county, and is capable of relating many of the early day reminiscences in a most entertaining manner. While Butler county has been victimized, mostly by drouths, Mrs. Hartenbower has a vivid recollection of one instance when they had so much water that they had no place to put it. The Lit-the Walnut river, after long continued rains, flooded the surrounding country to such an extent that the Hartenbowers could not leave their place by going in any direction. They were patient, however, remaining at home until the flood subsided, and in a few months were fully repaid by a prolonged dry spell. Most of the old timers who lived in that vicinity, when Mrs. Hartenbower and her husband came, have long since passed to their final reward. Mrs. Hartenbower like many other noble pioneer women of the early days of Butler county, will long be remembered for her contribution to the building up of Butler county, and making of it a better place to live. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 557-558)

PIERSON, WILLIAM M.

William M. Pierson, a Civil war veteran and Butler county pioneer, was born in Marion county, Ohio, in 1842, a son of Phileman P. and Rachel (Johnson) Pierson. William M. Pierson is the only survivor of a family of thirteen children. A sister of his, Mrs. Rosanna Merritt, lived to the advanced age of ninety-three years. She died at Meringo, Iowa. Mr. Pierson was educated in the public schools of Ohio and later attended Mount Hesper Seminary, a Quaker institution in Morrow county, Ohio.
He followed the peaceful pursuits of the average young man of the time until the Civil war broke out, and then in response to President Lincoln's call for volunteers, he enlisted in May, 1861, in Company E, Twenty-sixth regiment, Ohio infantry, at Columbus, Ohio. He was mustered out of service at Columbus, Ohio, in 1862, after having served thirteen months. He also had a brother, Charles, who died at Savannah, Miss., while serving in the Union army.

After returning from the army, Mr. Pierson taught school in Ohio and Iowa for three years, going to the latter State in 1863. During the time he was engaged in teaching, he was also interested in farming. In October, 1870, he came to Kansas and preempted a quarter section of land in Walnut township, on the west bank of the Walnut river in the fertile Walnut valley. His mother came here in 1871 and died, May gr 1872. Since locating in Walnut township, Mr. Pierson has been engaged in general farming and stock raising with uniform success with the exception of the season of 1874, when the grasshoppers, the original Kansas harvest hands, harvested the crop. During that winter, he managed to get along fairly well by cutting wood on his place and hauling it to Wichita, where he sold it for $2 a load. It was a difficult way to get $2, but the only thing that could be done at that time. Mr. Pierson was also a successful wheat grower in the early days, one of his first crops being 180 bushels of wheat which he raised on six acres of ground.

Mr. Pierson was married in 1866 to Miss Ella Josephine Lewis. To this union were born four children, as follows: G. M., living on the home place; Mrs. Eva R. Gilbreck, San Francisco, Cal.; Mrs. Carrie Smith, Custer, Okla.; Mrs. Mary E. Huff, Woodward, Okla. The mother of these children died in 1889, and on September 5, 1903, Mr. Pierson was married to Mrs. Emma Caldwell of Morrow county, Ohio. Her father, John Krout, was a native of Maryland, and an early settler of Morrow county, Ohio. He was a prominent educator and active in educational work up to 1914. For a number of years, he was a professor in the Chicago Northwestern Business College. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Dennis, and was a native of Ohio. Mrs. Mary E. Pierson has one son by a former marriage, Harry Caldwell, a stenographer of Waterloo, Iowa.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 568-569)

KING. F. J. B.

F. J. B. King, a Butler county pioneer, and prosperous land owner, is a native of England. He was born in Somersetshire, England, in 1842, and is a son of William and Hannah (Burroughs) King, both natives of England, the father being born in 1790 and the mother in 1800. They were the parents of eight children. The King family immigrated to America in 1851, and settled at West Liberty, Ohio. Of the eight children born to the parents, only two are now living, F. J. B., the subject of this sketch, and S. S., who resides at Dietrich, Idaho. He is an attorney, and for a number of years has been prominently identified with the affairs of Idaho. He is an author of note, and an especially gifted opolitical writer; and he is secretary of the Good Roads Association of Idaho. While a resident of Kansas, he served as commissioner of Kansas City, Kans., having been appointed to that office by Governor Stanley. He was also a candidate for Congress prior to that time.

F. J. B. King, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of Ohio, and the Prairie City Academy, Prairie City, Ill. Mr. King has followed farming almost exclusively, with the exception of eighteen months, when he was engaged in the clothing business at Prairie City, Ill. He came to Kansas in 1870, and located in that part of Little Walnut township which is now Glencoe. Here he preempted 160 acres of land, and engaged in farming and stock raising, and was successful from the start. He added more land to his original homestead, and now owns 400 acres in Glencoe township, which he bought in 1888, and paid $5,000 for it. About 160 acres of his land is fertile bottom land and very productive. After a residence of twenty years on his place in Glencoe township, he came to El Dorado, and his present residence is on a twelve-acre tract, which adjoins the city of El Dorado on the west.

Mr. King was married in 1867, to Mary J. Taylor, at Prairie City, Ill. Three children were born to this union, as follows: Mrs. Anna Dubach, Kansas City, Mo.; Clyde B., farmer, El Dorado township; and Mrs. Inez Brenton, Kansas City, Mo. The mother of these children died in 1907.

In 1908, Mr. King was married to Mrs. Nellie Heath, of Henniker, N. H., a daughter of Eri Colby, and a descendant of a very old New England family. The Colby family was founded in America in 1630, and came to this country with Governor Wentworth. The direct lineal ancestors of Mrs. King of the family are as follows: her father, Eri Colby, was a son of Silas Colby; Silas was a son of Levi; Levi was a son of Eliphalet; Eliphalet was a son of Isaac; Isaac was a son of Isaac; Isaac was a son of Thomas; and Thomas was a son of Anthony Colby, who was a native of Ross Hall. Beccles, England. Anthony Colby came to New England with Governor Wentworth in 1630. The Wentworth fleet first dropped anchor in Salem Harbor, and two or three days later, sailed to what is now Boston Harbor, and founded the city of Boston, and Anthony Colby was number 93 of the roll of the first Church in Boston colony.

Mr. and Mrs. King have a fine modern home with pleasant and attractive surroundings, and here they are spending their lives in peace and plenty, as the result of former toil and well directed efforts. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 559-560)

EYMAN, JOSEPH L.

Joseph L. Eyman, M. D., a well known, successful physician and surgeon in El Dorado, is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born at Kittanning, Armstrong county, February 23, i860, and is a son of J. W. and Rebecca (Richie) Eyman, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Pittsburg and the latter of Templeton, Armstrong county. The Eyman family is of German descent and was founded in this country prior to the Revolutionary war by three brothers, Abram, Isaac and o Jacob. Abram located at Wellsville, Ohio; Jacob in Pittsburg, Pa., and Isaac-was a frontiersman who never located definitely in any place. Dr. Eyman is a descendant of Jacob, who was his great-great-grandfather. Jacob served in the Revolutionary war, and his son, Jacob, Dr. Eyman's grandfather, served in the War of 1812, and Dr. Eyman's father was a member of the Sixty-third regiment, Pennsylvania infantry, and served in the Civil war, with the Army of the Potomac. He came to Kansas with his family in 1867, and located in Atchison, where he remained one year; they then moved to Granada, Nemaha county, where the father took a homestead, and resided on it until 1905, when he sold his property there and removed to El Dorado, where Dr. Eyman could give medical attention to his mother, who was in poor health. The father died July 8, 1912, aged eighty-two years, and the mother now resides in El Dorado at the advanced age of eighty-three. They were the parents of eight children, as follows: G. M., Kansas City, Kans.; Joseph L., the subject of this sketch; J. H. and W. H., twins, reside at Moline, Kans.; Ella, married Genoa Reeder and resides in Oklahoma; Neta, wife of M. B. Hitchcock, Kansas City, Mo.; Ida, died in 1894, and Mollie, died in 1895.

Dr. Eyman was six years of age when his parents came to Kansas. He attended the public schools in this State until 1874, when he returned to Pennsylvania and attended Dayton Academy, Dayton, Pa. After remaining there four years, he returned to Kansas and taught school in Wabaunsee county for two years. He then entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., and later entered the Northwestern Medical College, Chicago, Ill., where he was graduated February 25, 1887, with a degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then went to Marshall county, Kansas, and practiced four years at Bigelow, and three years at Frankfort. In 1895, he went to Sun Dance, Wyo., and from there to Ekalaka, Mont., and was engaged in professional work for the Government until 1900, when he returned to Frankfort, Kans., and practiced until 1904. He then came to El Dorado and bought a ranch west of town and was engaged in the cattle business in partnership witt\ his son for two years. He then engaged in the practice of his profession at El Dorado, where he has built up a large general practice, and also does a great deal of surgical work. He is local surgeon for the Missouri Pacific railroad and is a member of the United States Board of Pension Examiners, of which he is secretary.

Dr. Eyman has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Harriet F. Smarr, of Granada, to whom two children were born, one of whom is living, Charles, a dentist, at Bismarck, N. D. Dr. Eyman's second marriage took place in Wichita in 1906, to Miss Amanda F. Smarr, of that city. Dr. Eyman reared an adopted daughter, Sylvia Eyman. She possessed unusual musical talents, and she was given every advantage, and obtained a finished musical education. Before her marriage she taught music in the high school at Springfield, Mo. She is now the wife of John Howard, of Sylvia, Wis. Dr. Eyman is a member of the American Medical Association, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic Lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He is a Democrat and a member of the Christian church.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 560-561)

JOSEPH, M. N.

M. N. Joseph, a Kansas pioneer and early settler of Butler county, is a native of Virginia and comes from an honorable line of Colonial ancestors. He was born in Tyler county, Virginia, November 22, 1839, and is a son of Waitman and Sarah (Cox) Joseph. When Lord Baltimore came to Maryland with his colony, Jessup Joseph, his wife and brother were members of that colony, and that was the beginning of the branch of the Joseph family in America of whom M. N. Joseph is a descendant. One of the descendants of Jessup Joseph, William Joseph, was the great grandfather of M. N. Joseph. William Joseph migrated from Maryland to Morgantown, Va., some time prior to the Revolutionary war, and many of his descendants now live in Virginia. Waitman Joseph, father of M. N., was born in Tyler county, Virginia, in 1808. He was a son of Nathan and Margaret (Furby) Joseph, the former being a son of William Joseph, the founder of the Virginia branch of the Joseph family. Margaret Furby was of Scotch descent. Waitman Joseph and his wife, Sarah Cox, were the parents of eight children, of whom M. N. was the third in order of birth. Three sons of this family were early settlers in Kansas: M. N. and William I. and James, further mention of whom are made in this volume. Waitman Joseph died in February, 1895, and his wife died the same year.

When the Civil war broke out, M. N. Joseph cast his lot with the lost cause, and did his duty as he saw it, remaining loyal to his native State, Virginia. He enlisted in Company A, Thirty-first regiment, Virginia infantry, and served under Gen. Robert E. Lee in the army of Virginia until the end of that great struggle, and was in the ranks of that great military chieftain on the final day at Appomatox Court House, April 9, 1865, when the curtain fell on that tragedy, and the Confederate States of America became a matter of history.

Mr. Joseph was married in 1862 to Miss Mary Jones, a daughter of William and Jemima (Smith) Jones, early settlers of Marietta, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph remained in Virginia after the war, until 1868, when they with their two children, came to Kansas, locating near Tope-ka. In the fall of the same year they went to Osage county where Mr. Joseph bought 320 acres of land. In 1875 they removed to Butler county and bought 160 acres of land on the Whitewater river in Plum Grove township. Here Mr. Joseph proceeded to make his future home in Butler county. He built a small log cabin and proceeded to improve his place. Later he bought 320 acres, and soon became one of the prosperous farmers and stockmen of that vicinity, and for forty-one years has been an active factor in the development and upbuilding of Butler county. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph have been born the following children: Orma S., deceased; Ida S., deceased; Abraham; Furby, deceased; Francis M.; S. R.; Sadie, married Warren Poffinbarger; Maude, married Ozza Ralph, Butler county. Mrs. Joseph died March 12, 1904, and Mr. Joseph resides with his son, S. R., not far from the site of his first log cabin in Butler county. He is a member of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, Whitewater Lodge, No. 280, and is active and well known in Masonic circles. Politically he is a Democrat. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 561-562)

ANDERSON, STEPHEN

Stephen Anderson, a prominent farmer and stockman of Walnut township, is a native of Ireland, and was born in County Armagh, in the town of Derryscollop, in 1846. He is a son of Thomas A. and Margaret (White) Anderson. They were the parents of seven children, as follows : Jooseph, lives on the .home place in Ireland; Elizabeth and Matilda, also living in Ireland; Stephen, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Ann Welford, Douglass, Kans.; Thomas resides with Stephen; L/ydia resides with Stephen.

Mr. Anderson immigrated to America in 1865 and located in Canada, where he remained two years when he removed to Illinois. Two years later, he went to Arkansas where he remained five years and came to Butler county, Kansas, in 1874. He settled in Walnut township and filed on the claim which is his present home. He bought 160 acres more, adjoining on the south and now owns 320 acres, all prairie upland; and he has followed farming and stockraising, and his well-directed efforts have been rewarded by success. When he came to Kansas in 1874, he was practically without money, but he was ambitious and determined to succeed. His first work was shelling 500 bushels of corn by hand. He helped build the first bridge on Eight Mile creek in Douglass township. He broke a few acres of prairie in 1874, and built a dugout and a stable, even before he had any horses. The next year he bought a team for $60.00, and rented some land of George Carey. He got a few cows, calves, mares and colts, and thus made his start in Butler county and built his house in 1882. He gradually raised more grain and cattle and today is one of the substantial and well-to-do men of the county. Some of his land is leased for oil and gas operations.

Mr. Anderson was married in 1876, to Miss Celia M. Lewis, of Walnut township. She died in 1883 and was buried in Douglass cemetery. Her father, Charles Lewis, came to Butler county in 1873, and died about 1909. Her mother died about 1875. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson: Mrs. Edith M. Rains, lives in Coddo county, near Fort Cobb, Okla., and Joe F. lives at home with his father.

The Andersons feed from two to three cars of cattle a year and a carload of hogs. In the early days Mr. Anderson traded mostly at Wichita, twenty-five miles away. He is an industrious and thrifty man and a good citizen and it a representative of that type of men who built up the great West. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 562-563)

VARNER, JESSIE

Jessie Varner, now deceased, was an early settler in Butler county, and, for a number of years, was a successful farmer and stockman. He was industrious and thrifty, and not only accumulated a competence and left his family in comfortable circumstances, but he was a citizen whose real worth to Butler county was recognized by all who knew him.

Jessie Varner was born in Washington county, Ohio, in 1828, and was a son of Joseph and Martha (Drumm) Varner, natives of Ohio. They were the parents of the following children: David; George; Mrs. Martha Pugh, all of whom reside in Washington county, Ohio; and John, deceased; Mrs. Rebecca Seal, Cedar Grove, Ind.; Daniel, died in Oregon; Mrs. Sarah Dunbar, died in Washington, and Jessie, the subject of this sketch.

Jessie Varner was reared to manhood in Washington county, Ohio, and educated in the public schools. For a time, he was a school teacher in early life in his native county, but later engaged in farming and stock raising. In 1861, he went to Illinois, locating at DeSoto, Jackson county, where he bought a farm and followed farming and stock raising until 1880. He then came to Kansas and located at DeGraff, Butler county, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1892, when he bought 1,190 acres of land in the fertile Walnut river valley in Walnut township. He was an extensive feeder, and made money in this enterprise, and his career, all together, was that of a successful business man, who made the most of his opportunities. He died in 1904. He had an extensive acquaintance and many friends in Butler county. He was a member of the Masonic lodge at Augusta.

Jessie Varner and Miss Olive Orr were united in marriage on April 4, 1861, in Wayne county, Illinois. Mrs. Varner was a native of Mahon-ing county, Ohio, where she was born in 1837, a daughter of Russel and Eleanor (Winans) Orr. To this union were born the following children: Ed C, married Ona Carr, Augusta, Kans.; George F., married Mabel Marshall, Burlingame, Kans.; Frank, resides at home; Charles, married Gertrude Long, Augusta, Kans.; Mrs. Ella McDougal, Rock, Kans.; Emma, resides at Augusta, and Mrs. Dora Boss, Denver, Colorado. The Varner family is prominent in Butler county, and are known as substantial and representative people.

Ed and Frank Varner own the best oil producing land in Butler county, and, notwithstanding the high financial rating owing to this, they are still the plain, unassuming men of affairs their friends knew before, and their good fortune is a matter of rejoicing among these old time friends.(History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Pages 563-564)

BENSON, FRED W.

Fred W. Benson, now deceased, was a Butler county pioneer, and during his lifetime, was a prominent factor in the affairs of this county. He was born in Vermont in 1862, and was a son of Joel and Elvira (Hulett) Benson, both also natives of Vermont, and are now deceased. They were the parents of two children: William F., of El Dorado, who is the present State Bank Commissioner of Kansas, a sketch of whom appears in this volume, and Fred W., the subject of this sketch.

The Benson family which consisted of the parents and two sons, removed from Vermont to Oneida, N. Y., in 1867, when Fred W. was five years of age. Here he attended school and when eighteen years of age, or in 1880, the family came to Kansas, locating in Chelsea township, where they bought 320 acres of land. More land was added to the Benson farm, and the estate now consists of 1360 acres, and is jointly owned by Fred W. Benson's widow and his brother, William F. It is located in the Walnut River valley, and consists of the most valuable bottom land in Butler county, and general farming and stock raising is carried on extensively.
Fred W. Benson was married April 14, 1885, to Miss Robie Colgrove, of Terre Haute, Ind., a daughter of William and Mary (Ostrander), natives of New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Fred Benson were born three children, as follows: Kenneth, married Carrie Darwin, of El Dorado, and they reside at El Dorado; Mrs. Inez Gill, of El Dorado, Kans.; and Harold, died at the age of nineteen.

Fred W. Benson took an active part in the political affairs of Butler county, and in 1904, was elected registrar of deeds of Butler county, and at the expiration of his term, was reelected to succeed himself. His term of office expired in 1908. While Mr. Benson held the office of register of deeds, his wife was his deputy. Fred W. Benson had a broad acquaintance over Butler county, and his kindly manner and many excellent qualities won for him many friends. He was ambitious, and a thorough and capable business man, and belonged to that type of men who succeed in their undertakings by reason of their industry, ability, and defin-iteness of purpose. His untimely death was not only a loss to his family and friends, but to his county and State. Mrs. Benson resides in El Dorado, where she is well known and has many friends. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 564)

SONGER, H. L.

H. L. Songer, city assessor of El Dorado, is a native son of Butler county and belongs to one of the pioneer families of Rosalia. Mr. Songer was born October 19, 1881, and is a son of M. L. and Sophronia (Goodnight) Songer, M. L. Songer, the father, settled in Butler county, near Rosalia, in 1871, and his widow now resides at Rosalia. M. L. and Sophronia (Goodnight) Songer were the parents of the following children : H. A., farmer, Rosalia, Kans.; Mrs. J. M. Withrow, Englewood, Kans.; Mrs. Harry Dilts, El Dorado, Kans.; Frank, student in the El Dorado High School; and H. L., the subject of this sketch.

H. L. Songer was reared in Butler county, and received a good common school education, after which he taught school for three years in South District, No. 35, and was one of Butler county's successful teachers. He then engaged in the mercantile business at Pontiac where he was postmaster and for two years, was station agent for the Missouri Pacific Railroad at that place. In 1913 he removed to El Dorado, in order that his children might have better educational facilities. Here he engaged in the real estate business, and was also interested in the wholesale hay business. On January 13, 1916, he was appointed assessor for the city of E Dorado, by the county commissioners, and at the present time is serving in that capacity.

Mr. Songer was married April 19, 1903, to Miss Jennie Bishop, of Pontiac, a daughter of Elias and Charlotte (Childers) Bishop, the former a native of Iowa, and the latter of Illinois. Elias Bishop was one of the very early pioneers of Butler county. He came here in 1868, at the age of sixteen years, and clerked in the first store in El Dorado. That was at a time when all the goods for his section of the country were hauled overland, with teams from Emporia. Mr. and Mrs. Songer are the parents of the following children: Karl, Merle, and Marvin.

Mr. Songer is one of the progressive young men of Butler county, and has always proven himself efficient and thoroughly reliable in any trust that has been imposed in him. His genial and courteous manner and straightforward methods, have won for him many friends, and his popularity over a broad scope of Butler county is justly merited. (History of Butler County, Kansas, by Vol. P. Mooney, 1916 Page 565)