Nemaha County, Kansas Biographies

NEMAHA COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

KOELZER, JOSEPH P.

Joseph P. Koelzer, lumber merchant of Seneca, Kans., is one of the native born Kansas pioneers who has lived his whole life within the borders of Nemaha county. The lumber concern of which he is the proprietor is one of the oldest established business, concerns of Seneca, and was first started in 1872. J. H. Hatch was the second owner and managed the business until 1897, when it was purchased by the Holton Lumber Company, who operated it for ten years. Mr. Koelzer became sole proprietor in 1905. The lumber yards cover five city lots and the stock of lumber, builders material, concrete, etc., is compactly and conveniently arranged so that the extensive trade which the establishment enjoys can be taken care of expeditiously. A concrete building at the front on the main street of Seneca houses the office and three men are employed in the conduct of the business.

J. P. Koelzer was born on a farm at St. Benedict's, three miles northwest of Seneca, April 25, 1871, and is a son of Peter Joseph (born in 1827, and died in December, 1893) and Sophia (Koblitz) Koelzer, born in 1839, natives of German and Austria-Hungary, respectively. Peter Joseph Koelzer emigrated from Germany to America in 1852, and made a settlement in Wisconsin, where he remained until 1859, and then came westward to Kansas and became one of the earliest pioneer settlers in Nemaha county. In the spring of 1859, he made a settlement in the St. Benedict neighborhood, where he homesteaded eighty acres of land, which is still owned by the Koelzer family. The following year was the noted "dry year," when many settlers left Kansas never to return. The Koelzer family was too poor to leave and had to bear the hardships incidental to the crop failure. Time proved that the "dry year" but taught the settlers a lesson, and those who were forced to stay became the prosperous citizens of a great and rich county as the years passed. Peter J. Koelzer learned how best to till the Kansas soil and how to get around the vagaries of Kansas climate and managed to raise good crops as well as to rear a fine family of children. The first home of the Koelzers was a small, log cabin built of logs hewn from trees along Wild Cat creek, and consisted of one room. Later another room was added, and in 1870 the family fortunes were such that a neat frame house was built. J. P. Koelzer, the subject of this review, was the first child born in the frame house. Peter Joseph Koelzer became quite well-to-do before his demise, and with the assistance of his faithful wife and his sons to help him till his acreage he became the owner of 280 acres of excellent farm land. As he became old he decided to build a home in Seneca, where he and Mrs. Koelzer could spend their last years in comfortable enjoyment of their good fortune; but, sad to relate, this sturdy old pioneer died on the eve of his removal to the new home. Peter Joseph and Sophia (Koblitz) Koelzer were the parents of thirteen children, as follows: John, lives in Texas; Louis, died in Idaho; Antone, died in Seneca, at the age of twenty-three years; four children died in infancy; Joseph P., with whom this review is directly concerned; Peter, living at Stockton, Kans.; Edward, farming the old home place; Michael, of Electra, Texas; Mrs. Mary Flushe, Muenster, Texas; Mrs. Elizabeth Hoenig, Muenster, Texas. The mother of these children resides with her son, Peter, at Stockton, Kans.

The senior Koelzer assisted in the building of St. Benedict's Church and gave liberally to the building of the magnificent new church, but death called him before the new structure was finished.

Joseph P. Koelzer, the subject of this review, was educated in school district No. 33, at St. Benedict's, and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-four years of age. He then married, and one year later moved to Seneca, where he engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock for a year. He then operated a lumber yard at St. Benedict's for one year and a half. Returning to Seneca he was employed by the Helton Lumber Company for eight years, and then purchased the yards and stock, in 1905. In addition to his business and property interests, Mr. Koelzer is a shareholder in the Seneca State Savings Bank.

J. P. Koelzer was married in 1894 to Miss Elizabeth Schneider, born in Nebraska, and a daughter of Mathias Schneider, who moved with his family from Missouri to Nemaha county, Kansas. Four children were born to this union, as follows: Albert L., a hustling young business man of Seneca, and owner of the photograph gallery and moving picture show; Fred, a student of electrical engineering in Kansas City, Mo.; Urban and Florence, attending high school in Seneca.

Mr. Koelzer is a Democrat, who has taken an active part in political and civic affairs, having served as city councilman and treasurer of Richmond township. He and the members of his family are affiliated with Sts.. Peter and Paul's Catholic church in Seneca, and Mr. Koelzer is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 334-336)

EMERY, RUFUS M.

History is a record of human events in the concrete and the historical annals of any section of the great commonwealth of Kansas is an assembling together in a systematic form an account of what the men and women of that section have accomplished in the way of creating and building up a community of souls working with one accord to a common end. The history of Nemaha county tells the wondrous story of what has been done during sixty-one years of struggle, striving and working toward the creation of a great county. It must likewise tell of the individual accomplishments of the men who have taken part actively in the development of the county-and it is meet. therefore, that a review of the life of Judge Rufus M. Emery, of Seneca, be told, inasmuch as he is a leading citizen of Nemaha county, a successful attorney, widely known jurist and an able financier, who, during the forty years of his residence in Kansas, has won a high place in the community of which he is a very important part. The life story of Rufus M. Emery is a record of the doings of a successful man of affairs, who has won his place in the citizenship of Seneca by virtue of decided ability of a high order.

Rufus M. Emery was born on a farm near Loveland, Clermont county, Ohio, April 23, 1854, and comes of that sturdy American stock who for generations have been tillers of the soil and have assisted in pushing the path of empire ever westward. He is a son of Elisha J. Emery, born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, September 1, 1814, and a son of Judge John Emery, born and reared in the same county, and who removed to a farm near Cincinnati, Ohio, when Elisha J. Emery was one year old.

Elisha J. Emery was reared to young manhood on the pioneer farm in Ohio, and took up agricultural pursuits in Clermont county, Ohio, where he married Miss Eliza V. Johnson, born in 1818 in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and who accompanied her parents to Ohio in 1832, when she was married. Her father in a later day migrated to Cook county, Illinois, where he farmed until his demise. Ten children were born to this marriage of Elisha and Eliza V. Emery, as follows: Almira, who died at the age of eighteen; William A., Samuel A., George J., Edwin D., Jabez N., Eliza C, who married W. H. Fitzwater; Charles F., Rufus M., the subject of this review, and Mary M. Of these, children, Almira, William A., George J., Edwin D. and Rev. Jabez N. are deceased. Four of the above sons, William A., Samuel A., George J. and Edwin D., served in behalf of the Union during the Civil war, and two of them, George J. and Edwin D., lost their lives while in the service; George J. was drowned in the Ohio river, and Edwin D. lost his life by drowning off the coast of North Carolina, when the transport, which was carrying him in company with other troops northward after Lee's surrender, is thought to have been wrecked in a storm and sank with all on board. Elisha J. Emery continued his farming operations on an extensive scale and with marked success until 1873, when he disposed of his large realty holdings in Clermont county, Ohio, and located in Seneca, Kans. Having arrived here with a competency, he devoted his remaining years to his investments and was occupied in the capacity of private banker and later as president and one of the largest stockholders of the Bank of Nemaha County, which he was instrumental in establishing in 1882, and served as its president for many years. For several years he became a teacher in the district schools. When still a youth, Eliza V. Emery was born in New Jersey, August 28, 1818; married, December 18, 1836, and died March 8, 1894.

Rufus M. Emery was reared on his father's farm in Clermont county, Ohio, and received his early education in the district schools of his native county. Honest, ambitious and clear headed, he applied himself with so much intelligence and diligence that at .the age of seventeen years he became a teacher in the district schools. When still a youth, he mastered the art of telegraphy, and spent two and a half years as a telegraph operator in the employ of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis railroad. He then resigned and came directly to Seneca, Kans., arriving here June 15, 1875. Soon after his arrival he began reading law in the office of Simon Conwell, of Seneca, and by hard application and self study, he qualified for admission to the Nemaha county bar in April, 1877. He at once began the practice of his chosen profession in Seneca, and soon won a high place for himself in the legal fraternity of Kansas. Being a young man of fine tact and address, as well as being a forceful and eloquent speaker and a logical thinker, his rise in the ranks of the legal profession was marked and rapid. During the many years in which Judge Emery has practiced law in Nemaha county and northern Kansas, he has maintained an unsullied reputation for fairness and a strict and abiding respect for the highest principles of his profession- He has adhered closely to professional ethics wherever and whenever he has been called upon to exercise his legal ability and knowledge of the law. Associated with Judge Emery in the law firm of Emery & Emery at present is his son, Rufus M., Jr.

The political and judicial career of Judge Emery has been a noteworthy one, and begins with his election to the office of city attorney, serving also as police judge, councilman and president of the board of education, following which he filled the office of county attorney for three consecutive terms, from 1881 to 1887. Although he had been reared a Democrat, he chose to ally himself with the Republican party, and for many years he has been one of the influential leaders of his party in Nemaha county and Kansas. He was elected a member of the State Senate in 1888, to represent Nemaha and Pottawatomie counties, and held this position for one term of four years. During his senatorial service he served on some of the most important committees of the senate, being a member of the judiciary committee and chairman of the committee of county seats and county lines, as well as a member of the committee on cities of the second class. In 1894, he was elected judge of the Twenty-second Judicial district, comprising the counties of Doniphan, Brown and Nemaha, and gave universal satisfaction while on the bench for four years, from January, 1895, to January, 1899. After the expiration of his judicial term, he again resumed the practice of law.

This esteemed Kansan has not only made an enviable record as a legal practitioner and jurist, but he has succeeded as a financier, whose land holdings and financial interests in Kansas are considerable. When the National Bank of Seneca was organized in 1897, Judge Emery was made president of this concern, which is conceded to be the strongest in Nemaha county, and one of the best managed and safest financial institutions in northern Kansas. He has made finance the subject of diligent study, and to his untiring labor and watchfulness, his genial manners, cool judgment and thorough understanding of finance, the subsequent success of the bank has been largely due.

Judge Emery was married at Corwin, Warren county, Ohio, September 19, 1877, to M. Lou Thompson, daughter of Samuel B. and Martha J. Thompson. The father of Mrs. Emery died in Seneca in 1911 in his ninetieth year. To Judge and Mrs. Emery have been born six children, as follows: Marie, Rufus M., Jr., George B., engaged in the optical business in Seneca, Kans.; Helen M., wife of Eugene Hill, of Seneca; Alice, wife of Roy Voorhees, of Seneca, Kans.; John R., bookkeeper in the National Bank of Seneca.

Judge Emery is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and has attained the Royal Arch and Knights Templar degrees. He has served as high priest of the chapter and as eminent commander of Seneca Commandery, No. 41. He is also a member of Abdallah Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Leavenworth. He is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and, in 1900, was the grand master workman of the State of Kansas. He has been associated with the Kansas national guard and has held commissions as captain and major in his military organization. Judge Emery has always taken an active and influential part in the civic and social life of Seneca, and has ever been found in the forefront of all movements tending to the advancement of his home city and county; he has served as president of the Seneca Commercial Club, and is universally recognized as a leader among the citizenship of the city. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Page 336-339)

HOLTHAUS, F. J.

F. J. Holthaus, cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Seneca, Kans. was born in Muhlen, Oldenburg, Germany, Nov. 16, 1876, and is a son of Franz and Josephine Holthaus. His father was a mariner who "entered the services of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company, when said company only had two steamers. He retired from this company in 1892, and was pensioned.

After F. J. Holthaus graduated from the schools in his native town, he came to America in 1891, and completed his studies in Denver, Colo., in 1892. He then went to St. Benedict, Kans., and entered the employ of the firm of Blocker & Hoeffler, dealers in general merchandise. In 1893. he went back to Denver, and entered the employ of the "Colorado Journal" (a German daily) and learned the printing trade. In the fall of 1895, he went to Chicago and worked in a print shop which did all the printing for Marshall Field. In the spring of 1896, he went to Cincinnati, and worked at his trade up to July 1, and then went on a European trip. He traveled eight months on the continent in the interest of his coin and stamp business, and also visited his old home. In April of 1897, he came back to America, and went to San Francisco, and entered the firm of Henry Wolking & Co., importers and dealers in fancy groceries. He was with said firm until 1903.

Mr. F. J. Holthaus marriage was in 1903, to Miss Mary Haverkamp, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Haverkamp, Sr. They have four children: Regina Elizabeth, aged eleven; Clara Josephine, eight; John Francis, five, and Alma Bernardine, two. Ever since his marriage he has lived in Nemaha county, the first year on his father-in-law's farm, five miles north of Seneca. In 1904, he moved to Seneca and entered the employ of the First National Bank as bookkeeper. He was elected assistant cashier of the Seneca State Savings Bank in 1906, when J. H. Cohen bought the controlling interest of said bank and moved it into the First National Bank building. In 1907 he was elected cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Seneca, Kans., and is filling this position in a satisfactory and able manner.

F. J. Holthaus is a dealer and collector of rare coins and stamps. He became acquainted with this hobby when a school boy through coming across all kinds of foreign coins which his father brought home from his trips to foreign countries. He saw that the coins are serious historical monuments, that they contain in a nutshell the whole history of the countries which issued them, and-that by an intensive and comparative study of them ancient history can be made real and living. It is a great asset for a banker to have a numismatic knowledge. His collection at first comprised all classes of coins. In recent years he has specialized in United States and early Colonials, Oldenburg, Munster, Bremen and Papal State, with special emphasis laid upon gold and silver coins. In 1896, on his European trip, he picked up a good many duplicates of rare coins and stamps, and ever since that time he has been a dealer as well as collector. He is an extensive buyer at coin auction sales held in this and foreign countries.

Besides; his banking interests, Mr. Holthaus is the owner of a fine farm of 148 acres adjoining the city of Seneca, on which an attractive home is located. He maintains a herd of Holstein cattle.

Mr. Holthaus is a Republican in politics and he and Mrs. Holthaus are members of Sts. Peter and Paul's Church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and the American Numismatic Association. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 339-340)

FULLER, JOHN

The historian or reviewer of this volume of Nemaha county historical annals can think of no more apt term with which to designate John Fuller, pioneer tinsmith, coppersmith and merchant of Seneca, Kans., than to give him the well deserved title of "Sage of Seneca." His has been a life well rounded and useful beyond that of ordinary men; although four score and one years have passed since John . Fuller first saw the light of day, his mental vigor is still unimpaired, and of late years he has added to the long list of his accomplishments that of lecturer. A man of broad vision and inherent capabilities, he has become a scientist and teacher and author of more than ordinary renown.

John Fuller was born in Horsham, Sussex county, England, March 25, 1835, and is a son of James and Deborah (Ware) Fuller. James, his father, was a member of the Church of England, and was a general sheet and metal worker, who taught his son, John, his trade. Deborah (Ware) Fuller, his mother, was a Quaker, whose sweet womanly counsel and careful training did much toward making John Fuller the man he is today. One of the touching things which Mr. Fuller remembers concerning his mother is that she made a sampler with her own hands when a girl, and inscribed on it the following original poem:

"Deborah-Ware is my name, With my Needle, I work the same, By this work you can plainly see The care my parents took of me."

After learning the trade of sheet metal worker under his father's tutelage, John Fuller worked as a tinman and brazier and general sheet metal worker until he attained the age of seventeen years. He then took Up the trade of coppersmith, which he followed for sixteen years. In 1868, he journeyed to London, England, and again took up brazery work and also followed sheet iron work while attending the night schools of that great city. Previous to this, he had had little opportunity to secure an education, and his sole reason for leaving home and going to London was to attain an education. Few boys worked as hard as he to attain his ends. Working long hours, he would quit his bench at 5:30 p. m., walk five miles to the night school and study diligently until ten o'clock in the South London Workingmen's College, of which Huxley was the chief patron. The oldest son of Mr. Fuller has the highly prized certificate issued to Mr. Fuller by Huxley, and which has appended to it the patron's own signature. Mr. Fuller remained seven years in London, supporting his family of five children, born in Ash-ford, Kent, England, and in this great city one of his children was born. In 1870, he immigrated to America, joining a colony which had been formed in England under the auspices of the Mutual Land Immigration Operative Colonization Company, Limited. This company brought numbers of settlers to Kansas, and Mr. Fuller was among those who settled near Goff, Kans. He remained but a year on the farm, however, raising nothing but weeds after much arduous labor. The next year he spent in Centralia, Kans., working at his trade and any honest employment he could procure to keep the wolf from the door. In 1872, he came to Seneca and engaged in the hardware business in partnership with Aaron Roots. This partnership continued for two years, and then Mr. Fuller purchased his partner's interest. As his sons grew up they became associated with their father in the business, which is one of the landmarks of Seneca, under the firm name of Fuller & Son. The Fuller establishment is one of the prosperous and enterprising concerns of Seneca, and has made money for its founder and proprietor.

The most interesting phase of the life career of the "Sage of Seneca" is his career as a scientist and author and his accomplishments in the field of letters is the more remarkable when we learn that he had no school advantages from the time he was nine years old up to his marriage, after which he secured a good, broad education while rearing and supporting his growing family in comfort. In the year 1889, Mr. Fuller wrote and published "The Art of Coppersmithing," an instructive vocational volume, which had a wide sale, and has run through four editions, and was copyrighted in 1904 and in 1911 by its author. This work is a standard text on the coppersmithing art and contains 485 illustrations drawn by Mr. Fuller in order to more clearly bring out the various instructive points. The volume was published by David Williams Company, and bears the distinction of being the only text book on coppersmithing as an art-ever issued. The book was greatly eulogized and praised by book reviewers of the country upon its appearance. Mr. Fuller completed another attractive and instructive volume in 1904, called "A New and Original Treatise on the Geometrical Development of Round and Oval Cones," with easy examples of application. This work is a very fine affair and is intended for the use of beginners in metal working and practical sheet iron and tin plate workers. For many years this versatile patriarch has been a contributor to various newspapers, and has frequently called-attention through the newspaper columns to undeveloped and waste resources generally overlooked by the public. He frequently lectures in the Seneca High School on scientific subjects, and the students are always eager to listen to the words of wisdom which fall from his lips. His favorite lecture is "Wealth is Not Worth," and is well worth reading or hearing. He is a deep thinker and a profound philosopher, whose material needs have not been neglected during the many years he has spent in Kansas. From a poor boy, he has become wealthy, and occupies a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens. It is a fact that at one time this highly regarded and wealthy citizen was in such reduced circumstances during his early struggles in Kansas that, in order to get sufficient solder with" which to do his tin work, he gathered up a pile of discarded tin cans, melted them, and thus obtained the solder which he needed so badly.

There is no doubt but that much of the success of John Fuller is really due to the inspiration and assistance of the noble woman who became his wife on January i, 1856, when Mr. Fuller was united in marriage with Miss Ann Fagg, born September 22, 1834, in England, the eldest daughter of Henry Fagg, formerly an. engineer on the Southeastern railway in England. To this union have been born eight children, as follows: Henry William, associated with his father in the hardware business; John died in 1914; William Edward and Walter are with the firm of Fuller & Son; Martha Jane, at home with her parents; Helen Florence died in September, 1870; Herbert Moreton, born at Centralia, June 24, 1871, and now engaged in business with his father; Mrs. Beatus Filia Williams, born in Seneca, Kans., and resides there.

Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are members of the Episcopalian denomination. Mr. Fuller became a Mason soon after settling in Seneca, and has served as master of the local lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and he enjoys the distinction of being one of the oldest Odd Fellows in Kansas, having become a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in his native country in April of 1852, and never having been delinquent in his dues during all of the sixty-four years he has been a member of the order. For the past twenty years he has been affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. John Fuller is a remarkable man, who has had a unique and interesting career.

One of the highly prized possessions in the Fuller domicile is a copper kettle, which was made by Mr. Fuller over fifty years ago, and is a masterpice of the brazier's skill. The proudest day of the young manhood of this fine old gentleman was when he showed to his father the kettle, after it had been made with his own hands from the copper. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 340-342)

MUELLER, ROBERT G.

Robert G. Mueller, superintendent of the Seneca public school system, was born in Alleghany, N. Y., August 2, 1863, and is a son of Robert G. and Catharine (Ehret) Mueller, both of whom were born in Germany. Robert G. Mueller, Sr., emigrated from Germany with his parents, Jacob and Hannah Mueller, to America in 1849, and first settled in New York. Jacob Mueller, Sr., had learned the trade of tanner and worked at his trade in this country until he became the owner of a fine farm near Alleghany, N. Y., and finally died on his farm. Robert G. Mueller, the elder, migrated from New York to Atchison, Kans., in 1878, and after a four, years' residence on a farm near that city, he removed to Atchison and has followed his trade of carpenter and builder almost continuously since 1882. Robert G. and Catharine Mueller have reared seven children, as follows: George W., deceased; 'Robert G., the subject of this review; Anna C. and Henry P., deceased; Charles F., a farmer living in Butler county, Kansas; Minnie W., deceased; William E., a barber in Kansas City, Mo. The mother of the foregoing children emigrated from her native land to America with her parents when six years of age. She died in Atchison in 1893.

Prof. Robert G. Mueller received his early education in the public and high schools of Atchison, Kans., and also attended the Monroe Institute of that city. He is self-educated, and worked his way through the University of Kansas, from which institution he graduated in 1901. Under the tutelage of his father he learned the carpenter's trade and worked during the summer vacations for money with which to continue his studies. Prof. Mueller began teaching in Atchison county in 1883, and taught for twelve years in his home county. His first principalship was at Hamlin, Brown county, Kansas, where he was located for one year; then one year at Fairview, Brown county, Kansas; six years as principal of the Sheridan County High School. He was called to Seneca to take charge of the city schools in 1906, and his ten years of work in this city have been very successful. Many innovations and betterments of the school work have been added by Mr. Mueller during his career in Seneca, among them being a normal training department, a domestic science department and agricultural course and a commercial department. Six teachers have been added to the high school force, and he has reorganized the seventh and eighth grades on the departmental plan. So great is the confidence held in Prof. Mueller's judgment by the board of education and the patrons of the schools that his requests for improvements are invariably granted and he enjoys the co-operation of the school officials and teachers to an exceptional degree.

He is still an indefatigable student and has spent four vacations at Chicago University, working toward the acquirement of a Master's degree. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the Kansas University and holds a Kansas State life certificate.

Prof. Mueller was married in 1889 to Miss Lillie M. Reynolds, of Cummings, Kans., a daughter of William T. Reynolds, a resident of Atchison, Kans. They have one child, Eunice, aged twelve years.

Prof. Mueller is an independent in politics and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a trustee and is superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Prof. Mueller is a very useful citizen, wrho is generally found in the front ranks of those who seek to advance the civic and moral atmosphere of Seneca. His activities extend beyond the halls of the school building to such an extent that his services in behalf of the people of Seneca are immeasureable in their value to the city. By word and deed he has sought to help advance his home city in many ways. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 343-344)

MYERS, SOLOMON R.

The achievements of Solomon R. Myers since his advent into Kansas forty-eight years ago are worthy of mention in a favorable sense and show that he has accomplished more than the ordinary man from a material standpoint and has filled tire highest offices within the gift of the people of Nemaha county. He is descended from sturdy German.stock fused with old American ancestry-a combination which makes the best American citizens. Mr. Myers' record reflects credit upon his ancestry, and he has carved for himself a career, the recital of which is well worthy of being handed down to posterity in this volume of historical annals of his home county and State. Solomon R. Myers was born in McDonough county, Illinois, April 4, 1849, and is a son of Jonas and Marguerite (Treadwell) Myers, who were the parents of ten children, of whom Solomon R. was the sixth child born, and only two of whom are living. Jonas Myers was born in North Carolina in 1810, and migrated to Illinois in the pioneer days of the settlement of that State. He developed a farm and died there in 1866. Jonas was a son of Thomas Myers, a native of Germany, who immigrated to North Carolina, and owned a farm in that State. When a youth, Jonas Myers learned the trade of hat maker. Mrs. Marguerite (Treadwell) Myers was born in Virginia, a daughter of Thomas Treadwell, a native of Virginia. She died in Brown county, Kansas.

Solomon R. Myers migrated to Kansas in 1868, and bought land in Brown county, which he improved and farmed until 1881. He then came to Nemaha county and bought 480 acres of good land in Rock Creek township. He improved this tract and cultivated it with considerable success until his retirement to a home in Sabetha in 1911. Mr. Myers' success in Kansas is due to the fact that he was an extensive feeder of cattle, his cattle feeding operations embracing over 500 head annually. In this manner he maintained and increased the fertility of his large acreage arid marketed his farm products in the most economical and profitable manner. Mr. Myers owns property in Sabetha and is a shareholder and director of the National Bank of Sabetha.

Mr. Myers was married at Plymouth, Ill., February 7, 1867, to Mary Thompson, who has borne him twelve children, as follows: Mrs. Carrie Cochren, Santa Anna, Cal.; Mrs. Sarah Sanford, Peculiar, Mo.; James H., a farmer in Nemaha county; Mrs. Delia Johnson, living in Nemaha county; George conducts a notion store in Sabetha; Mrs. Roxy Draney, living on-a farm in Nemaha county; Mrs. Marguerite Brown, Peculiar, Mo.; Mrs. Lone, wife of B. Ransom, Brown county, Kansas; Mrs. Irene Koch, whose husband operates a bakery in Sabetha; Hester, at home; Herbert, deceased; Alfred, deceased. The mother of these children was born in Kentucky, January 11, 1849, and is a daughter of James and Rebecca (Wright) Thompson, who removed from Kentucky to Illinois and died there.

The political and civic career of this pioneer citizen of Kansas has been a noteworthy one. He was elected to the office of county commissioner in 1890, and served for two terms. He was a member of the State legislature as representative from Nemaha county in 1903, and he filled the duties of this position with credit to himself and his constituents. From 1881 to 1911 he served as a member of the school board of his township. He is prominent in Masonic circles and has taken all degrees of Masonry up to and including the thirty-second degree, and is a Mystic Shriner. He is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 344-345)

WEMPE, ANTON

The Wempe family is one of the oldest pioneer families in Kansas, and its members are among the prominent citizens of Nemaha county. Anton Wempe, the "Father of Fidelity," Kans., is a product of the frontier era in the State, and his biography is an interesting one, which deserves a place of honor in the annals of that portion of the commonwealth with the development of which he has played such an important part.

Anton Wempe, retired, Seneca, Kans., was born in Effingham county, Illinois, December 24, 1847, and is a son of Herman Henry (born in 1813, and died July 5, 1861) and Mary Alexandrina (Jensen) Wempe (born in 1820, and died in 1853). Herman Henry Wempe and his brother, Gerard, came from their birthplace in Oldenburg, Germany, to America in 1831, and located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Herman Henry Wempe plied his trade of blacksmith in Cincinnati and eventually joined a colony of German born settlers who went westward to Effingham county, Illinois. This colony had previously sent representatives ahead on foot to spy out the country and report upon the most likely place in which to make a settlement. Henry Wempe became one of the leading members of this colony, which made a settlement in Illinois as early as 1842. He remained there until 1853 and then moved to a farm southeast of St. Louis, in St. Clair county, Illinois, where the family lived until 1858, at which time Henry Wempe made a trip to Kansas to look over the country. The appearance of the Kansas country impressed him so favorably that he determined to buy Kansas land, and in the spring of 1861, he came westward to Brown county, Kansas, where he invested in a tract of land soon after his arrival. He was the father of six children, as follows : Herman Henry, died at Sabetha, Kans., in 1912; Mrs. Philomena Wuebben, born in 1843, and died one year after her marriage; Mrs.Elizabeth Buser, died near Fidelity, Kans., in 1911; Anton, the subject of this review; Clements August, died at Seneca in 1910; Mrs. Mary Winkler, a widow, residing in Seneca. The father of these children became enfeebled soon after his return from Kansas to his Illinois home, in 1861, and died July 5, 1861. Henry Wempe was married the second time to Mrs. Mary (Kempker) Klinkheimer, a widow, who cared for the infant left by his first wife, and later accompanied the family to Kansas. Anton, the subject of this review, was practically the head of the family during the migration to Kansas. Mrs. Klinkheimer had been engaged to care for the younger children. The youngest child, now Mrs. Mary Winkler, was but five weeks old at the time of the mother's death, and so well did Mrs. Klinkheimer care for the helpless infant and the other children that Henry Wempe espoused her in marriage, and she made a splendid mother for the children.

The Wempe family moved on the farm located near the Nemaha-Brown county line. The lumber used in the building of the Wempe home was shipped from Atchison, Kans. The trading point was White Cloud, Neb., and they hauled other material from the latter place, the trip requiring three days in the making. The first day was spent in traveling to White Cloud; the second day was needed to load the wagon, and it required a third day to make the return trip, a distance of forty miles.

Anton Wempe recalls that he would spend from two to five days in "going to mill," there being three milling places for the settlers, who would first go to Wells' mill on the Nemaha river; then, if this mill was not grinding, he would go to Salem, Neb., and then, perchance, go on to Falls City, Neb. It was frequently necessary for him to journey from one mill to the other to get his "grist" ground, on account of the water in the streams being low. One instance of going for "grist" in particular is worth recording. Anton Wempe and a neighbor started out with a load of grain en route to the Wells mill north of Sabetha, Kans. This mill was "broke down." They went on to Salem. "No grist" there, and found it necessary to go to Cincinnati, Neb. On their return trip they stopped at Wells' mill and asked the miller what was the trouble with the mill. The miller told Mr. Wempe and his neighbor that he was out of "whang leather" with which to fix the main belt, which was broken. Mr. Wempe saw that his neighbor had an old-fashioned "hame strap," and the men offered this strap to the miller for the purpose of fixing the belt. The belt was soon fixed and the mill started to grinding at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and by the next morning the "grist" of ten bushels of wheat and corn was all ground by 9 o'clock.

When it was impossible for the Wempe family to get "grist" ground at the mills, Mr. Wempe used the old-fashioned "potato grater," which consisted of a can with holes punched in the bottom, over which the corn was "grated" in order to remove the outer shell. One can conceive of what a laborious task this would be.

Anton Wempe lived on the home place of the family in the western part of Nemaha county, near the Brown county line, for a period of twenty-four and one-half years, or until the fall of 1892. He then bought a farm west of Seneca, upon which he moved and cultivated this tract until 1908. He then moved to Seneca, where he is living comfortably in a nice bungalow. He owned two farms, of 160 and eighty acres, at this time, but later traded the eighty-acre tract for a farm in Anderson county, Kansas. Mr. Wempe's farm is well improved and is a splendid producing tract. He was always an extensive live stock producer and generally sold the product of his farms on the "hoof." Besides his farming interests, Mr. Wempe is the second largest stockholder of the Citizens State Bank of Seneca, and is a director of this thriving; financial institution. For a number of years he has served as vice-president of this bank.

Anton Wempe was married in 1872 to Miss Barbara Muench, who has borne him the following children: Joseph M., member of the firm of Wempe & Huerter, Seneca, Kans.; William P., a merchant of Baileyville, Kans.; Mary, at home; Gertrude, Fairbury, Neb.; Anna, wife of Philip Lauer, of the furniture and undertaking concern in Seneca, Kans.: Anthony J., assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Seneca; Edward J., Fairbury, Neb.; Rose, known as Sister Maurus, O. S. B., Mt. St. Scholastica's Academy, Atchison, Kans. The mother of these children was .born May 4, 1855, at Wilmet, Cook county, Illinois, and is a daughter of Joseph Mathias Muench, a native of Germany, who migrated from Illinois to Nemaha county, Kansas, in 1870.

Mr. and Mrs. Wempe are members of Sts. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church and contribute liberally of their means to the support of the Catholic institutions. Mr. Wempe is affiliated with the Sts. Peter and Paul's Benevolent Society. He is allied with the Democratic party and filled several township offices when living on the farm in Richmond township. He filled the post of justice of the peace and township clerk and served as clerk of the school board for many years. Anton Wempe became widely known as the "Father of Fidelity," Kans., and started the first general store at that place in 1890. He was the first postmaster of the village, receiving his appointment under Postmaster General John Wanamaker. He sold out his store, however, in 1892. Mr. Wempe served as county commissioner from January to March of 1892, to fill a vacancy and was thus qualified on account of having received the highest vote in the primary election of 1891. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 345-347)

ROONEY, THOMAS E.

Thomas E. Rooney, real estate and loan dealer of Seneca, Kans., is one of the really successful men of his day and generation. Born in Marshall county, Kansas, of Irish parentage or descent, and reared on a pioneer farm in Kansas, he has grown up with a great State and prospered as his home county and State have done. He saw opportunity and grasped it and has made good in his line, and is one of the leading and substantial citizens of Seneca.

Mr. Rooney was born in Marshall county, Kansas, April 7, 1877, and is a son of John and Marguerite (Burke) Rooney, who were the parents of eleven children, ten of whom are living. John Rooney was born in Indiana in 1857, of Irish parentage. The Rooney family came to Kansas in 1873, and made a settlement in Marshall, county, where the father cultivated his farm until his retirement in 1912 to a comfortable home in Marysville. Marguerite (Burke) Rooney was born in West Virginia, in i860, and departed this life in 1914.

Thomas E. Rooney was reared on the home farm in Marshall county, Kansas, and received his education in the district schools. He remained on the farm until 1908, and then removed to Seneca, where he established a real estate and loan business. He operates in all sections of Kansas, and has made a remarkable success of his business. Mr. Rooney is the owner of 1,500 acres of farm lands, has city property, and is the owner of a half interest in the Guilford Hotel in Seneca.

Mr. Rooney was married July 24, 1907, to Miss Nellie Feehan, of Pottawatomie county, Kansas. Three children have been born of this marriage, namely: Mark, born June 24, 1908; Raphael, born March 26, 1910, and Thomas E., Jr., born September 6, 1915. Mrs. Thomas E. Rooney was born January 11, 1881, and is a daughter of Cornelius Feehan, who was a native of Ireland, and immigrated to America, settling in Kansas in 1870. Both parents of Mrs. Rooney are deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Rooney are members of the Catholic church and contribute of their means to the support of the Catholic institutions. Mr. Rooney is allied with the Democratic party and is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association. (History of Nemaha County, Kansas by Ralph Tennal, 1916, Pages 347-348)