Biographies of Wyandotte County, Kansas

WYANDOTTE COUNTY, KANSAS

BIOGRAPHIES

McKAY, AUSTIN T.

Austin T. McKay, court reporter of District No. 5, Division No. 1, in Kansas City, Kansas, is an altruistic and public-spirited citizen, who has the best interests of the community at heart and whose contribution to progress and development in this section of the fine old Sunflower state has ever been of the most insistent order.
At Marseilles, Illinois, on the 5th of November, 1872, occurred the birth of Austin T. McKay, his parents being Hiram and Elizabeth (Etherton) McKay, the former of whom was born in the state of Virginia, in 1822, and the latter of whom was born in Indiana, in 1829. The father was seven years of age at the time of his parents removal from the Old Dominion commonwealth to Evansville, Indiana, where the paternal grandparent of him whose name introduces this article was long a resident. In 1879 Hiram McKay came to Kansas, locating at Independence, where he engaged in the great basic industry of agriculture and where he passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in the spring of 1897. He was a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities and his religious faith was in accordance with the teachings of the Baptist church. His cherished and devoted wife survives him and now maintains her home in Oklahoma, where she resides on a farm with her children, George W. and Miss Sophia. Concerning the other children of Mr. and Mrs. McKay the following brief data is here recorded: Mrs. Mattie Hopper is a resident of the city of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Myra Mountain is deceased; Francis Marion is engaged as a prineipal in Chicago; Benjamin P. resides at Independence, Kansas; Archie S. operates a large farm near Enid, Oklahoma; Mrs. Emma Miles and Mrs. Josie Miles reside at Garden City, Kansas; Charles died in infancy; and Austin T. is the immediate subject of this review.

Austin T. McKay accompanied his parents to Independence, Kansas, when a lad of but six years of age and thence removal was later made to Anthony, this state, to the public schools of which place he is indebted for his early educational training. In 1889 he was matriculated in the Valparaiso University, in Indiana, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1893. Thereafter he secured a position as court stenographer at Anthony, Kansas, and subsequently at Enid, Oklahoma. In 1904 he came to Kansas City, where he has since been court stenographer of District No. 5, Division No. 1. He and his wife are devout members of the Baptist church, in whose faith he was reared and they are both highly respected citizens in the community in which they reside.
On the 11th of July, 1894, Mr. McKay was united in marriage to Miss Delia Simpson, of Medicine Lodge, Kansas. To this union has been born one child, Hazel, whose birth occurred on August 18, 1895, and who is now attending the public schools in this city. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 553-554)

WIEHE, GUS F.

Pursuing the even tenor of his way as a farmer and brickmaker during the sixteen years of his residence in this state, living prudently, working diligently and exemplifying from day to day the attributes of elevated and worthy citizenship in all the relations of life, Gus P. Wiehe of Kansas City, Kansas, has rendered his day and generation good service so far, both in what he has accomplished himself and in the forces he has set in motion in others by the influence of his excellent example.

Although not a native of Kansas, Mr. Wiehe is as true and loyal to every interest of the state as if he had been born in it and had drawn his stature and his strength from its fruitful soil. His life began at Parley, Platte county, Missouri, on April 15, 1873, and he is a son of William and Caroline (Stagemiller) Wiehe, natives of Germany. The father came to the United States in 1831 and located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prom there he moved a short time afterward to Indiana, where he married and remained three years. His tendency was still westward, however, and at the end of the period mentioned he came on to the border of Kansas, taking up his residence on a farm in Platte county, Missouri, on which he passed the remainder of his days, dying there in 1901. His widow still makes her home on the farm, and is now (1911) seventy-six years of age.

They were the parents of seven children, all of whom are living: Prank, a resident of Wallula, Kansas; Florence, the widow of Fred Khronee, whose home is in Leavenworth; Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Meyer, a prosperous citizen of Pairmount, Kansas; Henry and John, who still live at Farley, Missouri; Gus F., the subject of this brief review, and Lena, who is her mother's companion and helper on the old homestead. All are doing well in their several localities and occupations, and are highly respected wherever they are known for their sterling worth.

Mr. Wiehe remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-one, receiving his education in the district schools of his native county, and acquiring habits of useful industry in the work of his father's farm. In 1894 he moved to Leavenworth county, this state, determined to thenceforth make his own way in the world solely by his own energy and ability, without any aid from family connections or influence. He rented a farm in Leavenworth county for five years and prospered in the use of it, doing his work intelligently and with steady diligence, and managing his affairs with close attention and good judgment.

Tiring of farming and seeing an opening in industrial life better suited to his desires, he quit tilling the soil and accepted employment in yard No. 3 of the Kaw Brick Company of Kansas City, Kansas. He worked in this yard four years with such capacity and fidelity that at the end of that time he was made superintendent of the company's clay fields at Fairdale. After five years of highly acceptable service to the company in this position it made him superintendent of its plant No. 3 in Kansas City, and he is still one of its reliable aids and supports in that position. In this plant the company employs regularly thirty men all the year round in the manufacture of the widely and favorably known Trip Hammer brick. Mr. Wiehe was married on January 29, 1894, to Miss Mary Myrick, who was born in Wolcott, Kansas, and is a daughter of George and Emma Myrick, the parents both natives of Pennsylvania.

Mr. and Mrs. Wiehe have two children, Clyde, sixteen years old and Leota, ten years old. The parents are zealous members of the Christian church, though the children are attendants of the German Lutheran church. The father adheres to the Democratic party in political allegiance, being a firm believer in the principles of his party, but he is not an active partisan in campaign work and has no ambition for public office, whether it come to him by election or appointment. He finds plenty to keep him occupied and satisfy all his desires for productive activity in his work, without seeking additional cares in public life. But he takes an earnest and helpful interest in the affairs of his city and county, and does his share of what is necessary to promote the best interests of the region in which he lives. He is widely known and everywhere esteemed as a good man and excellent citizen. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 554-555)

GERLECZ, JAMES

The Wyandotte Wagon & Carriage Works has been run as an incorporated company for many years, but in June, 1911, it was bought by James Gerlecz, so that now his interests and that of the company are identical. The Wyandotte Wagon & Carriage Works is doing a large business, principally in the nature of repairing wagons and carriages. As Mr. Gerlecz has been in Kansas City such a short time, a few words in regard to his past history may be of interest to his patrons and acquaintances.

James Gerlecz is a native of Hungary, where he was born April 6, 1882. He spent his childhood and youth in his home town, where he attended the excellent public schools that have recently been installed for the Magyar race, and he there learned the machinist trade. He was industrious and skilful, but the rate of wages in Hungary is less than one-fifth that which is paid for the same work in America, and he decided to try his fortunes in the United States. In 1902, in the spring of the year, he bade farewell to his beloved Hungary, with its ever blue Danube, and came across the continent of Europe, where he took passage for America. He first located at Newark, Ohio, where he gained employment with a very large concern, but it was not his intention to work for others very long, and as soon as an opportunity arose, he came to Kansas City-in the fall of the year in which he had landed in America, and in Kansas City he secured a position with the Union Pacific Railroad Company. He worked in the shops of this company until the month of June, 1911, at which time he bought the Wyandotte Carriage & Wagon Works, as above indicated. Mr. Gerlecz is a perfect master of his business, and he has so readily entered into the American ways of doing things that his success in the new venture is assured. He not only knows how to turn out good work, but he seems instinctively to understand how to handle customers and keep them in good humor. He, like most of his countrymen, is a born linguist, and has readily gained a command of the American tongue, so that he is not handicapped in that regard.
In 1905 Mr. Gerlecz was united in marriage to Miss Anna Nemeth, the daughter of John Nemeth, a resident of Kansas City, where the wedding occurred. To this union two children have been born, Irene and Goldie, but little Goldie was not destined to battle with the world, as in the month of July, 1909, the little, frail, eight months' old baby, died and was buried in St. John's cemetery, mourned by her parents and the small sister who was too young to realize the extent of her loss.
Mr. Gerlecz's father, Frank Gerlecz, is still living in Hungary, where he buried his wife, Katie (Rengal) Gerlecz, in 1897, at the age of forty-two. Mr. James Gerlecz has that spirit of determination which is bound to have its effect, and although the wagon works has been a prosperous concern, it is evident from the manner in which its present proprietor has commenced his active connection with these works, that they will be the gainers by the changed managers. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 556-557)

SCHIABLE, JOHN LOUIS

After a man has been working at the same trade for two decades, it is to be supposed that he has attained a certain amount of proficiency. Mr. Schaible is one of the most prominent horse shoers in Kansas City, where he has been identified with the trade for a period of twenty-one years, during which time he has been wonderfully successful, and since he first opened his own shop he has branched out in different directions. His work is never done on a haphazard basis, but is most carefully planned and executed.

Mr. Schaible was born in Kansas City, Missouri, January 27, 1875, and is the son of Henry and Jacabine (Baumer) Schaible, who claim Baden, Germany, as the place of their nativity. The two families were intimate in the old country and when Henry Schaible was fourteen years of age and the little Jacabine was but eleven, they came with their parents to the wonderful new world, where they hoped to be able to do better than they could in their old home. The two families embarked in an old sailing vessel, and after a long hard trip of about four weeks, the foreigners landed on American soil, and forthwith made their-way to Henry county, Illinois. It was natural that the two young people should feel drawn to one another, and their friendship developed into love, which culminated in marriage. Mr. Schaible was employed in different capacities during his residence in Illinois, being at one time in the bakery business, in the machinery business in connection with the Fort Scott and Memphis railroad, and he also worked for an express company. The young man had not been in America very long when the whole country was torn by the conflict between the North and South, and when Lincoln's first summons for volunteers came, the young German was eager to offer his services to aid in the emancipation of the slaves. To him the idea of slavery was abhorrent and he felt that it was his duty and his pleasure to assist in the cause which he considered just. He enlisted in the Seventh Illinois Infantry, and was later assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, and for three years he fought with heroism and bravery, but at the end of three years, the hardships and the exposure had so affected his health, that he was forced to retire on sick leave. He never fully recovered his physical strength, so that for him those three years of service resulted disastrously. He returned to Henry county, Illinois, but did not remain there long, as he believed he could do better in Iowa. After a short time he again made a change, moving to Wisconsin, and thence by steamboat to Missouri, where he took up his residence in Kansas City in the early seventies and died there in 1880. nis widow married again in 1881, Powell Prankenbery, and her demise occurred in 1904.

John Louis Schaible is the youngest in order of birth of the three children who were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schaible. When he was a babe his parents removed from Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas City, Kansas, and he had only just passed his fifth birthday when his father died. He was carefully reared by his mother, who trained him in those habits of industry and honesty which have been of such use to him throughout his business life. His education was obtained in the old Rock school in Wyandotte township and when he was fifteen years of age, he left school and began to learn the blacksmith trade. He entered the shop of Michael Shine in October, 1889, and finished his training with B. H. Carswell. During his apprenticeship he worked as a journeyman in Chicago and various other cities in Illinois and the adjoining states, and in 1900 he started in business for himself at 422 Minnesota avenue, a location which he has not changed since. In addition to his general horse-shoeing business, he does horse-clipping and dog-clipping, having a special machine for the latter. In 1903 he bought the lot which he had previously rented, and on it he built a large modern shop, with living apartments overhead, and in this apartment he resided until he felt that his children needed more yard in which to run and play. He then bought a home at the corner of Seventh and New Jersey avenue, and there he lives at the present time.

In 1902 he married Miss Lona Courtney, the daughter of Francis and Catherine (Baker) Courtney, who maintain their home in Cloud county, Kansas, where their daughter, Lona was born. The marriage ceremony occurred in Kansas City, Kansas, and to this union four children were born, Harold, John L., Jr., Catherine and Lona. Harold is a student in the Horace Mann school, where he is making excellent progress in his studies.

Mr. Schaible became affiliated with Scottish Rite Masonry in 1904, his membership being with the Kansas City, Kansas, Lodge. Although he is greatly interested in all matters of public improvement and advancement, he has never dabbled in politics, but finds that his family and his business cares occupy him most fully. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 557-558)

MYERS, WILLIAM H.

It is because of the presence of such men as Mr. Myers, the well known merchant of Rosedale, that Wyandotte county has assumed the important position it holds in the state. For the commercial prosperity of a community it is necessary that men of undoubted business capabilities should identify themselves with the various commercial enterprises, but when there are added to these abilities the Christian characteristics that are so typical of Mr. Myers, the combination cannot fail of elevating the standing of the locality which he ornaments by his presence. Mr. Myers can trace his genealogy back for at least three hundred years, a fact which involves obligations. A man who knows nothing of his ancestors, even his parents has only his own ideals to live up to, but he who has not only to satisfy himself but to live up to the standards set forth by his ancestors has a harder matter to attend to. Mr. Myers' own ideals are placed too high for him to attain to them, but that long line of ancestors, if they could be ranged before him, would find no reason to condemn him. His whole life is a book, a ledger perhaps, kept in the best bookkeeping hand and always ready for inspection.

William H. Myers, son of William and Sarah (Straight) Myers, was born at Providence, Rhode Island, February 19, 1840. His father died in the early forties, having passed all of his life in the east, where his German ancestors had settled on their arrival in the United States. Mrs. William Myers, Sr., was also of eastern birth, her remote ancestors having settled in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, as early as 1630, since which time the family has continued prominent in the history of that region. One of these early settlers built the first hut at Bast Greenwich, and numerous members of the family participated in the war of the Rebellion. In later years Samuel, the only brother of William Myers, Jr., employed by the Harison Cashmire Mills, lost his life in the second year of the Civil war, being killed at Fredericksburg, December 11, 1862, fighting under Major Burnside, while William H. Myers himself fought throughout the entire war. He had concluded his educational training and had just attained his majority when President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers. The young man responded August 1, 1861, by enlisting in the Fourteenth Infantry for a period of three years, and in May, 1864 he was dismissed from services. After very short furlough he re-enlisted raising his own company, the Thirty-fourth New Jersey Volunteers, and was with Sherman on the occasion of his celebrated march to the sea, under the direct command of General McPherson in the Sixteenth Army Corps, a body of mounted infantry in which he was promoted to the rank of First Sergeant in the regulars because of his signal bravery in various engagements. The battles of Iuka, Union City, Obim Creek, etc., which to most of us are but names, to Mr. Myers are the scenes of bloodshed and of death. At Obim Creek, Kentucky, his horse was shot beneath him and he himself was captured, but managed to make his escape, clad in his shirt and trousers. His company was on scout duty a great deal of the time and it was necessary to do considerable reconnoitering, but although he was in danger many times, he seemed to lead a charmed life, as he was never wounded; his companions in arms fell around him, but he escaped unharmed, and when he was honorably discharged at Columbus, Kentucky, it was with the title of First Lieutenant and a record for bravery such as many a veteran soldier might envy.
He went back east, but not to his old home. He took up his residence in Philadelphia, where for a period of eleven years he was closely connected with John Wanamaker's life, commercial and religious. Mr. Myers was in the clothing department of that magnate's store while he remained in Philadelphia and was also teacher of the Wanamaker Sunday School. At the close of the year 1878 he came west and located first in Kansas City and later in Hutchison. He secured a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Turon, where he found little but jack rabbits and buffalo bones, but he set to work to bring the farm under cultivation and succeeded in raising the finest crop of wheat that he ever saw-twenty-si* acres yielded one thousand bushels in 1867. Drought followed and for a number of seasons he raised practically nothing, so he disposed of his land and moved to Missouri, settling at Pratherville, just across from Kansas City. After a short residence here he paid a visit to his boyhood home and on his return to the west he determined on Rose dale as a desirable location. There he established a store, with a line of general merchandise and later went into the hog business and carried on very successful and extensive operations in that line. In 1904 he bought four lots at Rosedale, on which he erected a comfortable home and a brick store, situated at what is now known as Myers' Corner, so named in his honor. The store was largely patronized from its start, as he was a man of decided business ability. He dealt extensively in chickens and other live stock, which he raised himself, but at the present time he is living retired from active duties of any kind.

Mr. Myers' stay in Reno county was marked by two important events. In May, 1877 he was there married to Miss Lydia Perkins, daughter of John Perkins, a neighboring farmer. To this marriage six children were born: Birdie May, married to Leonard La Hue, an employee in the Rosedale packing house; Edgar William, in the automobile business at San Jose, California; Benjamin Henry, a carpenter of Speede, Missouri; Robert Elmer, of the Cudahy Packing Company of Kansas City, Kansas; Ernest and Viola at home with their father, assisting in the conduct of the store.

The other important happening in Reno county was his election to the office of township clerk for one term. For the past forty years Mr. Myers has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, passed through all the chairs and represented his lodge in the grand lodge. He has also been actively associated with the Marshall Post No. 397 E. D. of the Grand Army Republic and at various times has held all the separate offices of his post. In this manner Mr. Myers has proved himself earnest and efficient in the various relations of life, commercial, military, religious, civic and social-a power for betterment in any capacity. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 558-559)

CUBBISON, JAMES B.

No county of the fine Sunflower commonwealth has a bar whose personnel excels that of Wyandotte county, and among those who have had emphatic influence in thus maintaining its high prestige is numbered James K. Cubbison, who has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Kansas for nearly a quarter of a century and who has also been a prominent factor in public affairs in the state, as well as a leader in the councils of the political party with which he is identified. He has served in both houses of the State Legislature and has held other official preferments of noteworthy order, all these bearing distinctive evidence that he has fully measured up to the requirements of the metewand of popular approbation. He has maintained his home in the metropolis of Wyandotte county since 1890 and is recognized as one of the essentially representative members of the bar of this county and of the state as a whole.

Mr. Cubbison reverts with a due mede of satisfaction to the fact that he can claim the fine old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity, and he is a scion of old and honored families of that commonwealth. He was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of November 1860, and is a son of James N. and Mary (Kerr) Cubbison, both of whom were likewise natives of that state and both of whom were of stanch Scotch ancestry. His father was a merchant and his grandfather a judge and senator. The subject of this sketch in pursuance of higher academic studies entered Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, in which well ordered institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In preparation for the work of his chosen profession he then began reading law under the able preceptor-ship of Hon. John H. Osmer, of Franklin, Pennsylvania, and member of congress from that state. Mr. Cubbison applied himself with characteristic diligence and receptivity, and so thoroughly fortified himself in the science of jurisprudence that he was admitted to the bar of his native state in 1886. The following year he came to Kansas and established his home at Eldorado, the judicial center of Butler county, and here he rose rapidly to the plane of success in the work of his profession and also as an influential factor in the maneuvering of political forces in that part of the state. In 1886 he was a candidate for representative of the Fourth district in the United States Congress, and while he carried his own county he failed of nomination at the convention, at Emporia-a political contingency not to be wondered at, since he had become a resident of the district only the preceding year and had thus not been able to make himself specially well known outside the borders of Butler county. He came to Kansas City, Kansas, in 1890, and later was called upon to represent Wyandotte county in the Lower House of the State Legislature, and the estimate placed upon his services was indicated by his retention of this office for a period of six years, after which he served four years as a member of the State Senate. He proved a most valuable working member of the legislature, in both Houses, and his earnest and effective labors in the furtherance of wise legislation caused his name to become well known throughout the state As speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives in 1893 he had supervision of the formal organization of that body and he was the leader of his party on the floor of the house, besides which he was called upon to serve several times as temporary speaker. Vitality and broad views of public policies characterized his activities in both the House and the Senate, and he was the author of many important bills that he ably championed, with resultant enactment. Among these were the present laws regulating gambling in the state and that providing for the proper supervision of factories.

In 1890, seeking a wider field of endeavor, Mr. Cubbison moved from Eldorado to Kansas City, Kansas, where he has since been engaged in the active general practice of his profession, in connection with which he retains a large and representative clientage. He is an especially versatile trial lawyer and never presents a cause without due preparation, so that his victories in the various courts have been many and noteworthy. In 1900 he was elected to represent the third district in the State Senate, and upon the expiration of his term of four years he declined to become a candidate for re-election, as the extensive work devolving upon him in connection with his profession demanded his undivided time and attention.

Mr. Cubbison has been unswerving in his allegiance to the cause of the Republican party and has given yeoman service in its behalf. He is a particularly effective and convincing political orator and his services in this line have been in requisition by the Republican committee in every campaign for many years past He has thus been a campaign speaker for his party in Kansas and other states, and in local campaigns he has also been a dominating force in his home state. The virile eloquence of his oratory, marked by graceful diction and high idealism, has caused a demand for his contribution of public address on many occasions and aside from political affairs. It may thus be noted that for twenty-eight consecutive years he has been called upon by and has responded to the requests of the Grand Army of the Republic in the matter of delivering address on the occasion of Decoration day observances. He belongs to many fraternal and civic organizations.
In the year 1889 Mr. Cubbison was united in marriage to Miss Julia Kretz, of Buffalo, New York, and they have two sons and two daughters, namely; Paul K., nineteen years of age, a student at Michigan University; Edith, aged seventeen years, a student at Loretto Academy, Kansas City, Missouri; James K. Jr., who is in high school, and Justine, aged six years. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 559-561)

MOORE, JAMES W.

A representative farmer and stock raiser of Wyandotte county is James W. Moore, who owns a farm of one hundred and forty acres within its pleasant boundaries. He is a public spirited citizen and enjoys the regard and confidence of his fellow men, as has been indicated in many years, among them his elevation to public office, he being a former township treasurer and county commissioner of District No. 3.

Mr. Moore is a native of the state of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Green county, that state, October 31, 1853. He is a son of James C. and Florence E. (Iteed) Moore, both of whom were born in Kentucky. In 1847, a few years previous to the birth of him whose name inaugurates this review, they removed from the Blue Grass state to Green county, Illinois, where they purchased a farm and lived upon it until 1855, when they sold it and removed to Henry county, Missouri.
James W. was at that time a baby. He was the fifth in order of birth in a family of six children, the other members of the family being: Joseph C, deceased; Anna, Margaret and Nathaniel, deceased; and George, of Kansas City, Kansas.

In Henry county, Missouri, the elder Mr. Moore bought a farm and he and his family resided upon it until 1862, when he returned to Green county, Illinois, his former home and there remained until 1866. In the year mentioned he went to Johnson county, Missouri, and bought a farm and continued to reside upon it and engage in its cultivation for more than a decade-until 1874-a longer period than it had been his wont to remain in one place. In 1874, he sold this property and went to Wyandotte county, Kansas, where he bought two Indian farms, which were partly cleared, and here he remained for the rest of his life, his demise occurring in 1904 and that of his cherished and devoted wife in 1903.

Mr. Moore became acquainted with a number of states of the Union in the course of the peregrinations of his parents, and he secured his education in the district schools of various localities. He remained beneath the parental roof until by marriage he established one of his own and under the tutelage of his father became well grounded in the many departments of agriculture. On the 17th of September, 1876, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Ida Kiso, of Licking county, Ohio, daughter of Wilson and Hannah (Spellman) Pryor, the father born in Muskingum county, and the mother in Licking county, Ohio. After his marriage the young people removed to a farm of one hundred and forty acres, lying in sections 9, 10, 15 and 16, town 11, range 24. The farm was cleared at the time the subject removed to it, although only partially, it remaining for Mr. Moore to remove many stumps and build all the buildings which add to its value and convenience. After many years of personal activity, he has recently abandoned the more strenuous undertakings and has placed the conduct of the farm in the hands of his son. In his political affiliations he is a stanch and stalwart representative of the Republican party, having subscribed to its articles of faith since his earliest voting days. His public service has been of excellent character and has been as township trustee, treasurer and county commissioner. In his fraternal relations he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Central Protective Association. He and his family stand as popular and highly regarded members of society. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 561-562)

CARLSON, JOHN AUGUST

Among the prominent and highly respected citizens of Wyandotte township, Wyandotte county, must be recorded John August Carlson, one of the prosperous and progressive agriculturists who is engaged in farming, cattle raising and fruit growing. He belongs to the Swedish-American citizenship and like the majority of his countrymen has proved himself a valuable and broad-minded factor in society. He was born in Sweden, February 28, 1860, and he is the son of John and Bertha Carlson. The older man died in 1862 when the subject was a baby and this was one of the circumstances which cast him at an unusually early age upon his own resources. In the course of time the mother married again, becoming the wife of Andrew Sagerhammar and it was he who was instrumental in effecting the immigration of the family to America. After crossing the ocean, they soon located in Scandia, Republic county, Kansas, where the father took up a homestead. This was in the year 1869, when young John August was only about nine years old, but he soon had to depend upon himself for a living and he started in at the hard game of making a livelihood in the capacity of a cattle herder and farm hand. He continued in this wise until 1879, when he removed to Kansas City, Kansas, and embarked in the packing house business, with which he was identified until 1898. In that year he concluded to try the wholesome, independent life of the agriculturist and with his previous earnings he bought sixty acres of his present farm in Wyandotte township. The place at that time was wild land, but he has made it into one of the finest and most highly improved farms in all the locality. He subsequently bought ten additional acres of improved land and at an even later date ninety-nine acres, twelve of which were cleared and in tillable condition. Fifty acres of the portion last bought are now under cultivation and the balance serves as pasture land. Mr. Carlson engages in general farming and he also raises cattle and a small amount of hogs. The estate was graced with a substantial two story house, but this was burned in November, 1910, and the family are now residing in a cottage which will answer until he has time to build. He has a barn forty by thirty-six feet, and a tool house, fifty-two by forty feet. He has about three hundred fruit trees.

On December 2, 1880, Mr. Carlson established an independent household by his marriage to Ella Young, of Berks county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Adam and Rebecca Young, Pennsylvanians. The Youngs came to Kansas City, Kansas, about the year 1863 and the father worked as a carpenter on the Hannibal Railroad bridge. The first Mrs. Adam Young died in 1864 and the father married again and some years later died in Kansas City, Kansas. Mrs. Carlson was reared by George Froebe of Wyandotte county, after the death of her mother, and it was her privilege to reside until her marriage in that gentleman's household. Upon the death of her foster parents Mrs. Carlson was bequeathed thirteen acres of land, eligibly located at Twelfth and Quindaro Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas.
To Mr. and Mrs. Carlson have been born the following children: George, born December 17, 1884, and died January 13, 1905; Charles, born January 18, 1886, in Kansas City, Kansas; Louise, born October 31, 1888, now Mrs. Winifred Allen of Wyandotte township.

In the matter of political faith the subject pays fealty to the Democratic party, which he has supported as to men and measure since the days of his first casting of the ballot. He and his honored wife are members of the Lutheran church and he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, No. 73, Stony Point. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 562-563)

GARLECK, WILLIAM B.

Incumbent of the responsible position of stock examiner of live stock in Kansas City, Kansas, Mr. Garleck is one of the representative citizens of the metropolis of Wyandotte county, within whose borders he has maintained his home since 1866, when he came here after having rendered most gallant service as a soldier of the Union throughout virtually the entire period of the Civil war. For many years he was one of the leading contractors and builders of Kansas City, and in this field of enterprise he contributed much to the development and upbuilding of the fine city to whose every interest he is so significantly loyal. He has taken marked interest in local affairs, has stood exemplar of progressive civic policies, and his sterling character has gained and retained to him inviolable confidence and esteem in the community. When he established his home in Wyandotte county, Kansas City was mainly represented by the old town of Wyandotte, which is now an integral part of the city, and that place was the scene of his early activities in the county.

William B. Garleck was born on a farm in Cass county, Illinois, on the 28th of July, 1839, and is a son of James and Mary (Platt) Garleck, both of whom were born and reared in England, where their marriage was solemnized and where the eldest of their three children was born. In 1835 they severed the ties that bound them to their native land and immigrated to America. They landed in the city of New Orleans and thence made the voyage up the Mississippi river to the state of Illinois, where they became pioneer settlers of Cass county. There the father secured a tract of government land and he reclaimed the same to cultivation, thus developing one of the valuable pioneer farms of that section of the state. He was a man of sterling integrity and mature judgment, and through his well directed industry he gained a due measure of prosperity in the state of his adoption. He continued to reside in Illinois until his death, in 1864, at the age of sixty-five years, and his devoted wife survived him by a number of years; she was seventy-six years of age when she was summoned to the life eternal. The eldest of their three children, Mary, was born in England, as already stated, and she is the widow of Robert Fielding, with residence in Cass county, Illinois, where she was reared to maturity; Joshua P., who now resides in San Francisco, California, was for nearly thirty years a successful and popular teacher in Oakland, that state, just across the bay from San Francisco, and he is now living retired, secure in the high regard of all who know him; William B., of this review, is the youngest of the children.

William B. Garleck was reared to adult age amidst the conditions and influences of the pioneer farm which was the place of his nativity, and in the meanwhile he was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. When the Civil war was precipitated on the divided nation his youthful patriotism was roused to responsive protest and he forthwith tendered his services in defense of the Union, in response to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers. Early in 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company G, Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Missouri campaign, under General Curtis, and with this gallant command he took part in many of the important battles marking the progress of the great conflict between the North and South. The history of his regiment practically constitutes the record of his military career, save that for one year he was held as a prisoner of war in a Confederate prison in Alabama. He was again taken prisoner about seven days before the close of his term of enlistment, and he was thus held in captivity until the termination of the war. It will thus be seen that his service covered the entire period of conflict, and his record as a soldier of the Union will stand to his lasting honor as one of the faithful and loyal sons of the republic, whose integrity he aided in preserving.

After the close of the war Mr. Garleck returned to his home in Cass county, Illinois, and his home coming was saddened by the absence of his honored father, whose death had occurred in the preceding years. In October, 1865, he returned to the south, where he remained for a short time, after which he remained with his widowed mother until the spring of 1866, when he came to Wyandotte county, Kansas, and established his permanent home. He located in what was then the village of Wyandotte, the virtual nucleus of the present metropolis of Kansas City, and here he engaged in the work of his trade, that of brick mason. He eventually became one of the most prominent contractors and builders of the county and to this line of enterprise he continued to devote his attention until 1897. Within this long period he erected many of the substantial residences and other buildings still standing in Kansas City, and his fidelity to a contract was ever on a parity with his recognized ability and his sterling integrity of character.

In 1892 Mr. Garleck received an appointment to the government position of stock examiner, but upon the change in national administration, with the election of President Cleveland, he was ousted from this position, but he was reinstated after the election of President Mc-Kinley. In 1897 he was promoted to his present office of government stock examiner, and in the same he has given most careful and efficient service, in connection principally with the operations of the great stock yards and packing houses in Kansas City, Kansas, and its vicinity.

In politics Mr. Garleck has ever accorded a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, in behalf of whose cause he has given effective service, and he has been influential in connection with public affairs in his home city. He served for three years as a member of the city council and his voice and influence were brought to bear in the furtherance of progressive municipal policies and government. He also had the distinction of serving two years as postmaster of the State Senate, and during his sojourn in the capital city of Kansas he formed the acquaintance of many of the representative men of the state. * He has ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades in arms, and this is signified by his membership in Burnside Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in his home city, where he also holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Garleck commands unqualified confidence and esteem in the community in which he has so long lived and labored to goodly ends, and he stands as a fine type of loyal and valuable citizenship.

In the year 1870 Mr. Garleck was united in marriage to Miss Ellen N. Saekett, who was born at Akron, Summitt county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of E. C. and Patty (Saekett) Saekett, the former of whom was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, and the latter of whom was a native of Ohio. Mr. Saekett was a boy at the time of his parents' removal from Connecticut to that state's historic Western Reserve in Ohio, where he was reared to maturity under the conditions of the pioneer era and where his marriage was solemnized. In September, 1855, he established his home in Cass county, Illinois, where he developed a farm and became a representative citizen. Both he and his wife continued to reside in that state until their death, and of their eight

children all attained to years of maturity except two, who died in infancy. Mrs. Oarleck was the youngest of the children and was nine years of age at the time of the family removal from Ohio to Illinois, where she was reared and educated. Her marriage to Mr. Garleck occurred in Macon county, that state, where her parents then maintained their home. Mr. and Mrs. Garleck have two daughters-Flora Coburn, who is the wife of Orville L. Helwig, of Garden City, Kansas; and Mary Platt, who remains at the parental home. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 563-566)

KERR, HANFORD LESTER

A well known real estate dealer of Kansas City, is a citizen of the type the state likes to call representative and is a native Kansan. He is conspicuous not alone of his own achievements, but as the son of that well remembered gentleman, Hanford Newell Kerr, the prominent Democratic statesman, banker and good citizen, whose admirable and striking personality has left its mark in many ways.

Mr. Kerr, of this review, was born in Johnson county, Kansas, June 19, 1860, and is the son of Hanford Newell and Sarah Ann (Morris) Kerr. Both father and mother were natives of Miami county, Ohio, the father having been a farmer and stock dealer in the vicinity of the little city of Troy. About 1856 they followed the tide of migration westward and took up their residence in Bloomington, Illinois, where they remained for about two years, subsequently removing to Wyandotte county, Kansas. Hanford Newell Kerr rented land and engaged in agricultural pursuits for a short time, then going on to Johnson county, where he remained until 1864, and about that year returning to Wyandotte county. Here he purchased one hundred and five acres of land from an Indian named Jacob Whitechaw, for this good sized tract paying what seems now the infinitesimal sum of thirty-three and one-third dollars in gold. This land is now within the city limits of Kansas City, Kansas.
Mr. Kerr's father was one of the most conscientious and industrious of men, and with enough of the practical about him to be successful. He was prominent and popular in Democratic politics and served one term in the state legislature. He was progressive in many lines and he and three other prominent men organized the first bank in Wyandotte county, known as the First National Bank. In 1873 the bank met with reverses on account of the financial panic of that year, but it is characteristic of the elder Mr. Kerr that all obligations were faithfully met, the bank suspending business. In matters religious Mr. Kerr was a free thinker; he was noted for his charity and benevolence; and by all his associates was held in high esteem. It was the fortune of this worthy man to live to ripe old age, his demise occurring at the age of eighty-nine years, while the mother's span of life was almost equal, her years being eighty-five when she was summoned to the Great Beyond.

The children of H. N. Kerr and his wife were eight in number, the subject being the youngest in order of birth. Sarah Ann, now resident in Florida, became the wife of T. W. Coombs, now deceased. James Wayne, who passed his life in this vicinity, died some twelve years ago, leaving a wife and five children. Laura married John Miller, resided for a time in Brown county, then came with her husband to this locality, and then to Oklahoma, where she died in 1889, the mother of five children. Emma became the wife of David Taylor, of Wyandotte county, and died in 1889. Corydon Weed is now in the real estate business in Kansas City, Kansas. One daughter, Abigail, died at the age of eight years and another died in infancy.

As previously mentioned, Hanford Lester Kerr was the youngest of his father's children. He received a common school education and found play for his youthful energies in the manifold duties to be encountered upon the farm. On the 30th day of November, 1883, he assumed the dignity and responsibilities of a married man by his union with Miss Nettie Cash, a resident of Wyandotte county. Their two children are Kenneth, who graduated from the high school of Kansas City, and is now at home, assisting his father in his business, and Orrel, the daughter, is still in attendance at the high school.

Mr. Kerr is fortunate in owning thirty acres of the original homestead, the circumstance of whose purchase has been told. He has erected a beautiful and picturesque residence, one of the most attractive hereabout, which is so situated as to command a fine view of Kansas City and the surrounding country. On his valuable little tract he has engaged very successfully in the raising of fruit and has eleven acres in grapes. For many years he has been buying and selling real estate and has built and sold many beautiful residences in the city. He and his family enjoy popularity and esteem. In religious conviction he, like his father before him, is a free thinker. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 566-567)

BUTLER, JOSEPH A.

Joseph A. Butler, who is successfully engaged in the undertaking business at Kansas City, Kansas, has long been a prominent and influential factor in public affairs in this section of the state, where he has served as city marshall, as county commissioner and as representative of his district in the state legislature, all of which indicates a high degree of popular confidence and esteem. In the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on the twenty-first of June, 1870, occurred the birth of Joseph A. Butler, who is a son of Jeremiah J. Butler. The father was a cooper by trade and he and his wife, whose maiden name was Laura Campbell, were both natives of Ireland, whence they immigrated to the United States about the year 1856, location being made in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where the family home was maintained until 1871, in which year removal was made to Kansas City, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Butler became the parents of eleven children, and of the number eight are now living. The father and mother are both deceased, the mother passing on to her reward in 1874, and the father surviving until 1895.

Joseph A. Butler was a child of about one year at the time of his parents' removal to this city, to whose public schools he is indebted for his early educational discipline. After leaving school he became identified with the Tead Cooper business, and he remained with this until 1898. In 1905 he embarked in his present business-undertaking- and he opened an establishment at the place in which he is now located on the corner of Central avenue and Harrison street, Kansas City, Kansas. He has been most successful in this line of enterprise from the very start and he now conducts one of the finest undertaking concerns in the city.

In his political convictions Mr. Butler is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and in local politics he has long been a most interested factor. In 1898 he was elected to the office of city marshall, in connection with the duties of which office he acquitted himself with honor and distinction, continuing incumbent thereof for some two years. In the session of 1901 he represented his district in the general assembly of the state legislature and subsequently he served for three years as county commissioner of Wyandotte county. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Columbus, and with many organizations of a local character. He is a man of high ideals and one whose civic life has ever been of the most praiseworthy order.

In this city on the 8th of February, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Butler to Miss Mary E. Nichols, who was born and reared in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. To them have been born four children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: Loretta, January 18, 1894; Maria, December 9, 1895; Joseph, June 14, 1898; and Dorothy, October 7, 1899. Another member of the Butler household is Henry Butler Burns, who was born January 28, 1905, and who was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Butler when a child but six weeks old. The mother was Mrs. Butler's sister. Mr. and Mrs. Butler are devout members of the Catholic church in Kansas City and as citizens they are highly esteemed and beloved by all with whom they have come in contact. (History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and It's People, by Perl W. Morgan, Vol. II, 1911, Pages 567-568)