Chapter XXV: Biographical History (6)

Mr. Clapp was born August 23, 1868, at Carthage, Mo. He is a son of Isaac and Susan B. (Eckler) Clapp, natives of North Carolina and Illinois, respectively. Isaac Clapp emigrated from North Carolina to Danville, Ill., when a young man, and married in his adopted State. His parents were slave owners in the southland, and he himself owned slaves, but having a pronounced distaste for the institution of slavery he disposed of his human chattels and moved to the North. After a residence of some years in Illinois, he located in Carthage, Mo., and owned a farm in Jasper county which he cultivated. In 1875 he removed to Cherryvale, Kan., and invested in a tract of land near that city. Here he resided until his death in October, 1913.

Alva Clapp received his education in the schools of Cherryvale, Kan., and began teaching school when a very young man. He taught two terms in a district school and served for two years as high school principal. He had a liking for business and obtained his first experience in the retail hardware trade in a store at Conway Springs, Kan., from 1891 to 1900, or a period of ten years. He then traveled for two years in the interest of a local wholesale hardware company and was then employed for five years in the various departments of the local concern. In 1907 he organized the Alva Clapp Hardware Company and purchased the retail department of the Blish, Mize & Silliaman Company of Atchison. Mr. Clapp has given evidence of a pronounced aptitude for business affairs, and faithfully attends to the numerous details which require the undivided attention of the proprietor of a thriving concern, such as is in his charge.

He was married in September of 1896 to Beatrice Kathrine De Haven, of Wichita, Kan. They had one child, Harold De Haven, who died at the age of one and one-half years. Mr. Clapp refers to Mrs. Clapp as his partner in the business and his best and most competent assistant. Mrs. Clapp is not only a good wife and socially active in the city, but she takes a just pride in assisting her husband in making a success of his business. Mr. Clapp is politically allied with the Republican party and has served for fourteen years as a member of the school board. During his period of service as a member of the board the school system of Atchison has made its greatest advances, and the high school has achieved considerable prestige. New buildings have been erected to accommodate the growing needs of the school system, and others are in course of erection. All of these improvements have received the hearty support of Mr. Clapp and he enjoys the respect and esteem of his brother members to such an extent that when the presidency of the board became vacant he was elected to the position. He was also recently elected treasurer of the Commercial Club of Atchison, another city boosting organization in which he is a prominent figure. Mr. Clapp is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen and the Elks lodges.

HON. GEORGE STORCH.

One of the notable and influential figures of the first and second decades in the history of Atchison county was the late George Storch, of Atchison. He came to Kansas when the State was in its infancy of development and was a pioneer merchant of old Kennekuk, becoming in turn a merchant, banker, statesman, and was, withal, one of the most useful citizens of Atchison county of whom the reviewer has had opportunity to write. Mr. Storch was a pioneer with a vision which enabled him to see far ahead into the future. This vision, coupled with faith in the eventual prosperity of Kansas, led him to invest heavily in farm lands which made him one of the wealthy citizens of Kansas prior to his demise. For nearly half a century, Mr. Storch was closely identified with the financial and civic life of Atchison county, and twice represented the county in the halls of the State legislature, each time acquitting himself with credit and honor.

_Geo Storch_
]

George Storch was born near Poppen-Hausen, Bavaria, Germany, February 22, 1835, and was a son of Thomas and Margaret (Breitung) Storch. Thomas, the father, was a farmer and linen dealer in his native locality and was considered fairly well to do. George was reared to young manhood in his native land and received a good common school education. When seventeen years of age he determined to cross the seas and seek his fortune in America. In accordance with this determination he embarked on a sailing vessel which landed him at New Orleans. From this southern city he made his way by river steamer up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Herman, Mo. Here he joined a brother who was farming in the neighborhood and who assisted George in securing employment on a nearby farm. He worked at farm labor in Missouri for some years and in April, 1859, he came to Atchison, Kan. This city did not offer much inducement for the ambitious young man and he was desirous of engaging in the mercantile business. Kennekuk, in the north central part of the county, was then in the heyday of its prosperity and seemed to offer a better location than Atchison. After a few months’ stay in Atchison he went to Kennekuk and opened a general merchandise store with the capital which he had saved while working on the farms in Missouri. He was successful from the start and his judgment in the matter of Kennekuk being an excellent business location proved correct. Kennekuk was at that time a prosperous and thriving village located on the overland mail and emigrant route and the Storch store made money for its owner to such an extent that he was enabled to branch out and invest in lands and engage in the banking business. Mr. Storch justified his faith in his adopted State by investing heavily in lands which have greatly increased in value since his original purchase of the same. In the early days of the development of the West, the railroad companies were granted large tracts of farm lands along the right of way by the Federal Government. These tracts were placed on sale by the railroads, and were sold for very low prices and easy terms in order to induce settlers to locate in the regions being developed. Mr. Storch took advantage of the low prices of the farm lands and invested heavily. This property comprised many thousands of acres which have since increased enormously in value over and above the original purchase price. Kennekuk had its day, and the time came when the decline of the village was inevitable owing to the building of the Central Branch railway out of Atchison, and which passed to the southward of Kennekuk. Mr. Storch saw the time coming when the once flourishing inland village would be no more, and in 1867 he removed to Atchison and managed his large farming interests from this city.

Upon his removal to Atchison he immediately became identified with the leading financial interests of the city and in 1873 organized the German Savings Bank which was for many years one of the strong financial institutions of the city. He was also identified with the first bank established in Muscotah, Kan. He engaged in the real estate and farm loan business in Atchison and organized the Eastern Kansas Land and Loan Company, a concern which is still doing business and of which his daughter, Mrs. Louisa J. Lips, is president. Mr. Storch served as president of the German Savings Bank until its stock was purchased by the United States National Bank, and also filled the office of president of this bank during the period of its existence. He was engaged in banking pursuits for a period of eighteen years.

He was married in 1859 to Miss Elizabeth Fox, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Fox, who removed from Evansville, Ind., where Mrs. Storch was born, to Carroll county, Missouri, and settled on a farm. Two children blessed this union of George and Elizabeth Storch: George H., who will be remembered as a bright, intelligent and capable Atchison citizen and who was associated with his father in business for several years, and died in July, 1911, and Louisa Justina, widow of Oscar Lips. Mrs. Storch died in February, 1905, and almost three years later followed the demise of the husband and father, who departed this life in January, 1908. Oscar Lips and Louisa Justina Storch were married in 1891, and that union was blessed with a son, Charles, born in October, 1896. Charles Lips received his primary education in the public schools of Atchison, his preparatory work in the Culver, Ind., Military Academy, and is now pursuing a collegiate course in the Kansas University at Lawrence. Oscar Lips was born in St. Louis, Mo., a son of Dr. Charles August Lips, a former practicing physician of St. Louis, and who was of German descent. Oscar was reared and educated in his native city, and when a young man engaged in the wholesale drug business. His demise occurred in Atchison, August, 1905.

George Storch was a Republican in politics and took an active and influential part in political affairs during his long years of residence in Kansas. Not long after establishing himself in business at Kennekuk he became postmaster of the town, and assisted in establishing the first union school in the village, serving as a member of the board of education which had charge of this school. The _Horton Headlight_ has the following historical account of this school in an issue of August, 1905, in part: “The old stone school house was not the first school building in the Kennekuk neighborhood, but it was the first substantial one in this part of the country and marks an important epoch in its development. It was built in 1867. It was a joint district, eight miles north and south. The west line was the road between Atchison and Jackson counties. A strip of country two miles wide and eight miles long was in Atchison county and a corresponding trip of country was just over the line in Brown county. The school house was quite a structure to be builded in that early day, but the settlers did not complain at the high taxes, since their children had a good place to attend school. The cost was about $3,000, quite a good sized sum for early settlers to expend, but it shows their determination to provide an education for their children. The first school board was composed of George Storch, Squire Willis and Henry Claunch....”

Mr. Storch was always greatly interested in the cause of education and after his removal to Atchison he served as a member of the Atchison board of education and was president of this body for a time. While a resident of Kennekuk he was elected to represent Atchison county in the Kansas legislature in 1864. During the ensuing session he voted for Gen. James H. Lane for United States senator and voted to ratify the fourteenth amendment to the National constitution. In 1876 he was elected a member of the legislature from the city of Atchison, and during the session following his election he was a member of the ways and means committee and voted for P. B. Plumb for United States senator. Mr. Storch made an excellent record as an able and honest legislator, who had the best interests of his State at heart. He was active in civic and political affairs in Atchison and served as a member of the city council of which body he was president for one year, declining re- election when his term of office expired. The following tribute to his ability as a city father appeared in the _Atchison Champion_ of April 6, 1873: “One of the best councilmen our city has ever had leaves that body after two years’ service in it. We refer to Hon. George Storch, chairman of the committee on improvements. He has been industrious, independent, and energetic. Having the chairmanship of the most important and laborious committee, he has given his time and attention to the discharge of the duties devolving upon him, and in the decision of all questions in the council he has exhibited a clearness of judgment and a carefulness in guarding the interests of the city that entitle him to general commendation. He declined re-election.”

Mr. Storch served for three years as city treasurer and exhibited the same judgment and careful management of the city’s affairs in this important capacity that has marked the performance of his official duties as a councilman and school trustee. It is worthy of record that in 1865, while in Kennekuk, he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners and served as chairman of that body.

Few pioneer citizens of Atchison lived a more useful or busier life than he of whom this review is written. The name of George Storch figures prominently in the historical annals of Atchison county as a builder and creator and an honorable and upright citizen, who left behind him when his soul winged its way beyond the knowledge of mortal ken, a record imperishable, and a name unblemished and untarnished of which his descendants may well be proud. While opportunities for achieving fortune and fame may not be as great at this day as they were in George Storch’s time and era, the story of this poor German emigrant boy who made his own way in Kansas from poverty to affluence and won an honored place in the history of his adopted county and State is well worth reading and may serve as an inspiration and guidance to others of the present and rising generations.

THOMAS BROWN.

There is considerable satisfaction in writing the life story of a man who has worked his way upward from poverty to a position of wealth and influence in the space of a lifetime, and accomplished it all with his own strong arms and mind. When one adds to this accomplishment the rearing of a large family to lives of usefulness, and to bring up a bevy of young men and women to comfort their parents in their declining years, there is not much for any one individual to wish for. Thomas Brown, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan., has done all of this and is the proud father of one of the largest families in Atchison county. Had he done no more than to bring into the world his thirteen children, he would have been worthy of praise and been entitled to honorable mention in this volume, as a patriotic and sturdy American citizen. A native of the Emerald isle, he came to America in his youth, and now ranks as one of the Kansas and Atchison county pioneers.

Thomas Brown was born in the little village of Altone, Ireland, and is a son of John and Mary (Dalton) Brown. His birth occurred on February 10, 1847. His father was a farmer in his native country, and made a good living for his family, later moving to the town of Altone and engaging in the transfer business, in which occupation he was fairly successful and enabled to provide for his family in comfort. He was the father of ten children, seven of whom came to America to seek their fortunes in the land of opportunity. The seven who came across the Ocean were: J. P. Brown, a pioneer merchant and capitalist, of Atchison, now deceased; Mrs. Bridget Norton, who died in 1913 at her home in Pittsfield, Mass.; Mrs. Mary Scully, of Troy, N. Y.; Mrs. Anna Elkhorn, of Troy, N. Y.; Mrs. Margaret Hewitt, of Independence, Mo.; Mrs. Kate Waters, deceased, who was the wife of a soldier in the British army. The father of these children died in Ireland, and the mother died in Troy, N. Y.

Thomas Brown emigrated from his native land to this country in 1865, and hired out to a farmer in Orange county, New York, at $20 per month. The farm where he was employed was located seventeen miles north of Newburg, on the Hudson river. He worked there for two years and carefully saved his earnings until he had $300. With this capital he set out for the West and joined his brother, J. P. Brown, who was then located in Atchison. His first employment was on his brother’s stock farm, located north of Monrovia. Unfortunately, he was taken ill not long after his arrival, and lay sick for a long time with typhoid, all of his savings going to pay for medical services and nursing. He remained on his brother’s farm for ten years and laid by another stake during that time. During this period he cultivated three farms, owned by J. P. Brown, who did not require him to pay any rental fees. Even the taxes were paid by his brother who was only anxious to keep the land in cultivation and give his brother, Tom, a start in the world. In the year 1877, Thomas, having saved enough money to buy a farm of his own, invested his savings in a tract of 160 acres of high prairie land, northwest of Effingham, in Benton township. His first land investment cost him $2,250. The land had on it only a small shack which was soon replaced by a comfortable home. It is now one of the best improved places in this section of Kansas, and the Brown farms are among the most productive in the whole State of Kansas. A handsome white farm house graces the home place, which can be seen for miles around, and it is quite imposing. Mr. Brown prospered as he deserved and increased his holdings to the grand total of 640 acres of good Kansas land. The remarkable part about his purchases of land is that he paid cash for every tract of land which he bought and never went in debt for a single acre. This land, purchased at varying prices, is now easily worth $125 an acre. Mr. Brown carried on general farming and live stock raising until February of 1911, when he turned over the management of the home farm to his son, and removed to Effingham, where he has a beautiful and comfortable residence in the west part of the city.

He, of whom this review is written, was married on October 20, 1869, to Miss Anna Neely, born in Ohio in 1846, a daughter of Samuel Neely, who migrated to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1868. Sixteen children have been born of this marriage, thirteen of whom are living, all of whom are married excepting one daughter and a son: John, a farmer, living near Blue Rapids, Kan.; Mrs. Ida Fishburn, living on a farm near Meriden, Kan.; William, Charley, Frank, and Edward, who are located on their father’s ranch; George lives at Effingham; Richard, a successful farmer, living south of Muscotah; Mrs. Pearl Dunn, of Oklahoma; Mrs. Ethel Smith, residing in Oklahoma; Edith, at home with her parents; Mrs. Julia Wagner, living near Mortimer, Kan.; Mrs. Mary Kemp, on a farm near Vermilion, Kan. This worthy couple have thirty-six grandchildren.

Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics, but is decidedly independent in his voting and making up his mind concerning political questions of the day. He believes in supporting the man best qualified to serve the people in a civic capacity, rather than blindly following the dictates of political leaders or so-called bosses, a characteristic of the man in all of his conduct through life. He is a member of the Effingham Catholic church and is a liberal supporter of this denomination, having contributed liberally toward the building of the local church. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons lodge and became a member of this lodge in 1871. It is a matter of historical record that Mr. Brown, Willis Walker and Hump. Henderson, of Effingham, are the three oldest living Masons in Atchison county in point of years of membership in the order. What more honor does a man wish than has befallen this Atchison county pioneer?

ALBERT H. BLAIR.

Albert H. Blair, farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, was born March 6, 1862, near Astoria, Ill., and is a son of William and Alcinda (McCormack) Blair. He was one of five children, Daisy being the only other survivor. She resides in Center township and is now Mrs. Warner. Two other children died in infancy, and William died while living on the farm which Bert now owns. The father was born May 18, 1833, in Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of William Blair, and was a glass cutter while living in the East, but when he went to Illinois, he engaged in farming. Later, he farmed in Fulton county, Illinois. In 1863 he came to Kansas and engaged in freighting between Atchison and Denver, with his brother, Edward. They followed this exciting occupation about three years, and in that short time had many experiences which they related with great delight in after years. They were never attacked by the Indians, for the reason that they drove in large numbers, with 100 wagons to the train, and the Indians were shy of such a large force. However, one night they thought that their luck had changed. Mr. Blair can just barely remember the incident, although his father has told it over so many times that it seems to him as if he remembered the original incident. One night the party camped on the trail between Atchison and Denver, lying asleep under their wagons. Indians had been seen that day and the freighting party was a little uneasy, and some of the more nervous members feared an attack. Late in the night the mules became frightened and woke up Mr. Blair. William jumped up, and off in the dark he could see a white object approaching. The cry of “Indians” went out and rifles were aimed. William shot, but could not hit the object. No one else could, for it was very dark and the object could not be seen distinctly. The white object kept approaching, and finally took a definite outline in the darkness. It was a white steer. One night when Indians stampeded the mules of the train, William and a comrade set out in pursuit of the Indians by flaying the mules with arrows and drove them so fast that the pursuers caught up with them by hard exertion and recaptured the horses. These are typical of many narratives which the elder Blair related of his early-day experiences on the plains. After quitting the freighting business, he and his brother engaged in milling in Atchison, Kan. Three years later William sold his interest to his brother, and started a livery business. A year later he went to farming in Doniphan county, Kansas, and moved from one farm to another for several years. In 1882 he was elected sheriff of Atchison county on the Democratic ticket, and his first term was so successful that he was re-elected. After his term expired he continued to live in Atchison for some time. He then bought 160 acres of land in Center township and remained there until 1891, when he removed to Effingham, where he lived in retirement until his death in 1899. The mother of Bert Blair was born January 11, 1842, in Brownsville, Pa. She is a daughter of Alonza and Sarah J. (Hibbs) McCormack, who were natives of Pennsylvania. They came west in the early days and farmed in Illinois and Iowa. The mother is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Daisy Warner, in Center township, Atchison county.

Bert Blair grew up on his father’s farm and in Atchison, and was educated in the district schools and the Atchison public schools. He lived at home until he was eighteen years of age when he engaged in railroading. It may have been the stories of his father about the travelers that prompted him to go into railroading. At any rate he found the adventurous work to his liking and he worked as a fireman on the Missouri Pacific railroad passenger train from Kansas City to Omaha, until he was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer. His run was from Hiawatha to Kansas City, which was a division of the Missouri Pacific then. In 1890 he rented his father’s farm, and at the death of the latter, he inherited eighty acres, and he has since increased his holdings to 160 acres. He has built a fine modern barn on his place, 50×54 feet in size, with a capacity of ninety-two tons of hay, and was designed and built by Mr. Blair himself.

In 1886 he married Sarah P. Jeffery, who was born February 20, 1869, in Missouri. She was a daughter of Ira P. and Mary (Farley) Jeffery, both of whom were born in Virginia. They came to Atchison county, Kansas, in the seventies, and are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Blair have been born four children, as follows: Roberta, deceased; Claude, Effingham, Kan., married Vera Pittman, of Effingham, and has one son, Thomas Albert, who was born December 24, 1909; William C., who married Elsie Stickler, of Lancaster, and has two sons, Chester Eugene, born April 23, 1913, and Bert William, born October 20, 1914. A daughter, Sarah, died in infancy in Kansas City. Mrs. Blair died November 20, 1915, and her remains were interred in the cemetery at Lancaster. Mr. Blair is a Democrat. He attends the Methodist church, and is a member of the Eagles and Modern Woodmen of America.

GEORGE H. T. JOHNSON.

There is considerable distinction in being the oldest practicing physician in Atchison county, and this well merited honor properly belongs to Dr. George H. T. Johnson, of Atchison, Kan., who for nearly half a century has practiced his profession continuously in the city with ever increasing prestige and success which has never abated during the long period of his career. Dr. Johnson is one of the best loved and well respected professional men of the city who has won his place in the front rank of his profession by sheer merit and ability of a high order. Despite his seventy-three years of age he still continues to minister to the ailing and has kept abreast of the wonderful advances made in medical science.

_G. H. T. Johnson_
]

Dr. G. H. T. Johnson was born near Mt. Vernon, Jefferson county, Illinois, October 15, 1842, a son of James and Lydia (Cricle) Johnson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Illinois. His paternal grandfather, George Johnson, was a soldier in the American army during the War of 1812. The father of Dr. Johnson died when he was an infant and his mother departed this life at the age of seventy-eight years. George H. T. was educated in the public schools of Jefferson county and Mount Vernon. He remained at home until the summer of 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Tenth regiment, Illinois infantry. In September of the same year this regiment was assigned to the command of General Buell, then at Louisville, Ky., and first saw action at the battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862. Subsequently, the One Hundred and Tenth was transferred to General Rosecrans’ army and took part in the great battle of Stone River and the campaign which resulted in the capture of Chattanooga, and the great battle of Chickamauga. He was under General Thomas at the battles of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. General Grant in person directed the maneuvers of Generals Thomas’ and Rosecrans’ combined forces during these famous engagements. Subsequently, his regiment was assigned to the command of General Sherman and served under Sherman until the close of the Civil war. He took part in the siege and capture of Atlanta and the famous March to the Sea, which culminated in the capture of Savannah, which city Sherman presented to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. He also participated in the campaign of the Carolinas and was at the last battle fought by Sherman’s army at Bentonville, N. C., and at the surrender of the Confederate army under Gen. Joseph Johnston near Raleigh. From there the victorious army marched to Richmond, thence to Baltimore and on to Washington, where they participated in the Grand Review. Mr. Johnson was honorably discharged from the service and mustered out June 8, 1865. The doctor tells many anecdotes of his long and varied army experience which are all interesting and show that he proved himself not unworthy of the martial blood coursing through his veins and transmitted from his grandfather.

Upon his return home from the war Mr. Johnson taught one term of school and then decided to take up the study of medicine and make the science of healing his life vocation. Accordingly, he entered the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College and subsequently attended the Homeopathic Medical College of St. Louis, Mo., where he was graduated February 26, 1869. While a student at college he heard of the city of Atchison and was impressed with the idea that it would be a good place to locate. After looking around for a few weeks he became convinced that Atchison was a desirable location for a young physician and he came here in April of 1869 and soon built up an excellent practice which grew in volume as the years went on. In 1885 Governor Martin appointed Dr. Johnson a member of the State board of health, and in April of that year he was elected president of the board and retained the position for eight years. He is president of the Atchison board of pension examiners for the United States Government and has acted in that capacity for several years, his service as pension examiner beginning during the term of President Arthur and continuing under the administrations of Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. He always takes an interest in the brothers who fought in the army under the stars and stripes for the preservation of the American Union and does everything in his power to aid the old soldiers. He is a charter member of the Homeopathic Medical Society of Kansas and served two terms as president of this society. He is also a member and has been a senior member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, the oldest medical institute in the United States. For many years he has been a member of the American Public Health Association, as well as the County, State, and American Medical Associations. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and has been a surgeon of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic, since its organization, excepting two years when he served as the post commander. Dr. Johnson is a man of wide and thorough experience, broad and tolerant in his views, who has commanded the confidence and high esteem of the people of Atchison and the surrounding country during the many years in which he has been a resident of the city. He is one of the best known men in the county and holds high rank as a physician whose skill has not suffered abatement as the years have gone by.

CHARLES H. JOHNSON

Dr. Charles H. Johnson, his son, practices with his father. He is a graduate of the Kansas State University and completed a course in the medical department of Columbia University, N. Y., and also graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City. For two years he served as staff physician of the Roosevelt Hospital of New York City, where he gained a wide and varied experience in the practice of his profession that has proven to be invaluable to him in his later career. Since locating in Atchison with his father he has built up a fine practice and served for ten years as surgeon of the Orphans’ Home at Atchison.

THOMAS C. TREAT.

Thomas C. Treat, who is engaged in the investment brokerage business in Atchison, is one of the extensive land owners of Atchison county. Mr. Treat is a native of Atchison county, born March 26, 1865, and is a son of Levi S. and Mary D. (Cooper) Treat, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of England. Mary D. Cooper was born in Exeter, Devonshire, England, and was a daughter of Thomas and Mary A. Cooper. The Cooper family immigrated to America when Mary D. was a child. The family consisted of the parents and three children. They made the trip across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, the voyage taking six weeks. They located at Covington, Ky., where the parents spent their lives. Mary D. Cooper had friends living in Atchison, and came here in 1857, where she later met and married Levi S. Treat. Levi S. Treat was born in Connecticut in 1814, and was a son of Amos Treat, who removed with his family to the Western Reserve, which comprised twelve counties in northeastern Ohio. The Treat family located in that section in 1828, when Levi S. was fourteen years old, and there the parents spent the remainder of their lives.

When a young man, Levi S. Treat was in the employ of the Government, prospecting for copper in the Lake Superior region. He was thus engaged for eight or ten years, and in 1856 came to Atchison county, Kansas. Shortly after arriving here, he preëmpted 160 acres of land, part of which is now included within the city limits of Atchison. Here he followed farming and fruit growing in the early days and prospered and acquired considerable land. He dealt quite extensively in real estate and was one of the early promoters of Atchison, and built the first brick business house in that city. This building was located two doors east of the Byrum Hotel. Levi S. Treat was a successful business man and one of the substantial citizens of Atchison county. During the Civil war he was a colonel of the Twelfth regiment, Kansas militia. He died April 13, 1881, and his wife survived him for several years, passing away March 29, 1913. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Kate married Samuel K. Woodworth, and they reside in California; Frank resides in Arizona; Thomas C., the subject of this sketch; Alice married George Guerrier, of Atchison, Kan.; Grace married William Berry, of Atchison, Kan., and Ethel married Harry McDuff, of Omaha, Neb.

Thomas C. Treat was reared in Atchison and educated in the public schools, and later attended St. Benedict’s College. He then was engaged in fruit growing for a number of years, and in 1889 engaged in the investment and brokerage business in Atchison, and has continued in that business to the present time. Mr. Treat owns over 1,100 acres of land besides various other interests and investments. He is one of the pioneer fruit growers of Atchison county, and owns a fifty-acre fruit farm, which has few equals, if any, in the State of Kansas. The trees on this place are about fifteen years old, and, under normal conditions, are very productive. Mr. Treat has made an extensive study of the fruit business and has developed a scientific system of treating his trees. He was the first fruit man in Atchison county to use the spray method, and he has been very successful in the fruit business.

Mr. Treat was one of the organizers of the Union Trust Company, which was later merged into the Exchange State Bank, and has been a director, or other officer, in that institution since its organization. He is also a stockholder in the Exchange State Bank. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of Atchison county.

CHARLES H. FUHRMAN.

Charles H. Fuhrman, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born in Schleasien, Germany, December 13, 1852. He is a son of Ernst and Louise (Heine) Fuhrman, and is their only child. The father was married again, however, and to his second wife, Johanna Gerlach, twelve children were born, as follows: Ernst, Atchison, Kan.; Caroline (Dierking), Dodge City, Kan.; Louise (Repstein), Jefferson county, Kansas; William, St. Joseph, Mo.; Reinhold, farmer, Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas; Julius, Doniphan county, Kansas; Traugot, Center township, Atchison county; Herman, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Paul, Center township, Atchison county; Emma (Schwope), Center township. Two children died in infancy. The father was born in Germany July 8, 1826, and in 1872 came to America and settled in Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land in section 16, Lancaster township. This was timber and prairie land and there was only a small, poorly built house on it at the time, but during the twenty years which he owned it he built several substantial buildings and made numerous improvements. He then sold the place to his son, Herman, and removed to Lancaster, where he lived in quiet, well-earned retirement for five years, when he went to live with his son, Paul, in Center township, where he died September 2, 1915. The mother, Louise (Heine) Fuhrman, died in Germany when a young woman in 1852. Charles Fuhrman’s stepmother, Joehanna (Gerlach) Fuhrman, was born in Germany, and is now living with her daughter, Emma, in Center township, Atchison county, in her eighty-fifth year.

Charles Fuhrman left Germany with his parents when he was nineteen years of age. He had received his education under the German system, and had been taught the carpenter’s trade, but never followed this occupation after he came to America. He remained with his parents, helping his father on the farm in Lancaster township until he was twenty-five years old, when he bought 160 acres of land in section 18, Lancaster township. When he took possession the farm had no improvements, and he first built a house and a barn, and added other improvements and conveniences. He acquired more land until he now owns 390 acres, including eight acres of fine timber land on his home place and ten acres of timber on the farm which he rents. He has stocked his farm with graded animals. Besides his real estate investments, Mr. Fuhrman is a shareholder in the Huron Telephone Company. He was married in 1878 to Louise Roerchen, who was born in Germany July 16, 1857. She left her native land with her uncle, Karl Schwope, in 1860. They came to Wathena, Doniphan county, Kansas. Her mother died on the ocean while coming to America and the little daughter was reared by her grandparents in Doniphan county and attended the grammar school at Wathena. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fuhrman: Ernst, farmer, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Ida (Tuley), deceased; William, Lancaster township; Selma (Lange), Grasshopper township, Atchison county; Edward, living at home; Mabel, also living with her parents. Mr. Fuhrman is a Republican, and has been road overseer of Lancaster township. He belongs to the Evangelical church, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

CHARLES LINLEY.

A true analysis of the growth and development of the manufacturing and commercial enterprises of a city invariably brings forth the fact that while the interested principals furnished capital, energy and ability, its financial institutions were also material factors. The city of Atchison is not an exception to the rule. The policy of her banks has been, since the first one was established, to extend assistance to merchants and manufacturers. Both executives and directors have been keenly alive to the fact that a liberal policy, in so far as was consistent with sound banking, was essential to commercial growth. Among those who have realized success in this field of activity is he whose name initiates this article. He first entered the banking life of the city in the early nineties, subsequently served Atchison county in an official capacity and re-entered financial circles as one of the organizers of the Union Trust Company in 1907, was later elected cashier of the Exchange State Bank, and in 1911 resigned to accept his present position, that of cashier of the First National Bank.

Charles Linley was born in the city of Atchison July 10, 1867, and is the only surviving member of the family of Dr. James M. Linley, a pioneer physician of the city and one of her most influential citizens. Dr. Linley was born in Salem, Ky., the son of a pioneer, and was of English descent. He was reared in his native State, received a good academic and classical education, and subsequently entered Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated with the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. During the closing years of the Civil war he entered the Union army as a regimental surgeon and served until the close of the conflict. Previous to entering the army he had married Mary A. Hubbard, a daughter of Charles Hubbard, of Hickman, Ky., a member of one of Kentucky’s most prominent families, an influential citizen and a widely known and successful physician.

Following his service in the Union army, he came to the conclusion that Kansas spelled opportunity for him, and bringing his family, located in the city of Atchison in 1865. From this time until his death, which occurred November 28, 1900, he continued in the active practice of his profession. He was recognized as one of the most successful physicians and surgeons in northeastern Kansas. He was a man of attractive personality, was intimately acquainted throughout the city and county and held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. His record for continuous years of practice has seldom been equaled in the State. He was a believer in the religion of deed, and his creed was to do good. He believed in the gospel of help and hope. For forty-five years he lived his creed and preached his gospel to the citizens of his adopted State. He was not only a successful physician but also realized a substantial success in a commercial way. He was directly or indirectly interested in many business enterprises. He was one of the active forces in the organization of the First National Bank, and from the establishment until his death was a member of its directorate. He and his wife were prominent in the social and religious life of the city, and the Linley residence was known for its gracious hospitality which was extended to their many friends with true Kentucky spirit. Dr. and Mrs. Linley were the parents of five children, all of whom, with the exception of our subject, are deceased. Hubbard Linley, the eldest, was graduated in medicine and became one of the most prominent surgeons in northeast Kansas. He was division surgeon of the Missouri Pacific railway, Atchison district. His death occurred in July, 1911. Thomas died in childhood; Victor, on November 20, 1915; and Maria died in childhood.

Charles Linley was reared in the city of Atchison and received his early education in its public schools. Subsequently, he entered Kansas University, where he completed a course in English. He initiated his commercial career in 1887 when he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Atchison in the capacity of collector. In 1892 he was appointed deputy treasurer of Atchison county. That he filled this position satisfactorily is attested through his having been elected treasurer of the county in 1899 and re-elected to that office in 1902. His second term expired in 1905, but he held over until 1907, as the gentleman elected to the office in the fall of 1904 died before being sworn in. The administration of the affairs of this office under Mr. Linley was marked by efficiency, economy and courtesy. During the last two years of this service he was the junior member of the Antle-Linley Grain Company of Atchison. In 1907 he was actively concerned in organizing the Union Trust Company of Atchison, and was elected secretary and treasurer. He filled this position until 1909, when the Exchange State Bank was organized. This institution took over the Union Trust Company, and Mr. Linley was elected cashier. He remained with the Exchange State Bank until 1911, when he was elected cashier of the First National Bank, the institution in which he had received his first business experience some twenty years previous, and in the organization of which his father was an active factor. To the banking fraternity Mr. Linley is known as an energetic, able and progressive executive, one who has brought the administrative policy of his bank to a point of high efficiency. He has extensive commercial interests aside from the bank. He is a stockholder in the Globe Publishing Company, the Bailor Plow Company, and the Cain Milling Company. Since attaining his majority, he has been active in the political life of the county, and is one of the influential members of the Progressive party. Mr. Linley is a member and past exalted ruler of Atchison Lodge, No. 647, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is also a member of Atchison Lodge, No. 404, Loyal Order of Moose.

On June 26, 1890, in Atchison, Mr. Linley married Miss Roberta Wilson Riddell, a daughter of Mrs. Josephine E. Riddell. They have one child Robert Wilson Linley, born in Atchison, March 8, 1894. He was educated in the public schools of his native city and graduated from its high school. In 1911 he entered the law department of Kansas University, remaining until 1913, when he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he completed a course in English. In 1915 he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Atchison in the capacity of collector and remittance clerk.

WILLIAM H. BUSH.

William H. Bush, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was born January 16, 1856, in Hanover, Pa. He is a son of Elias D. and Sarah (Keithline) Bush, and was one of six children, as follows: William, subject of this sketch; Samuel, deceased; John, deceased; Andrew, foreman of tailoring establishment in St. Louis, Mo.; Charles F., signal man for the Missouri Pacific railway in Colorado; Minnie, Atchison, Kan. Elias D. Bush, the father, was born December 16, 1834, in Pennsylvania. He was a stationary engineer and also followed farming for a time. During the eighties he came to Atchison county and took up farming in Shannon township. For a few years he rented his land, but later bought 160 acres in section 26, Lancaster township, which is now owned by Amel Markwalt. Elias D. Bush followed farming here until 1904, when he sold his place and removed to Atchison, where he is now living in retirement. William H. Bush’s mother was born February 27, 1834, in Hanover, Pa., and died in 1890, and is buried in Lancaster cemetery.

William H. Bush attended the common schools in Hanover, Pa., and later worked in the coal mines. In 1876 he left the East and came to Atchison county, Kansas, and for five years worked for his uncle, Andrew Keithline, and then rented land in Shannon township for eleven years. He was successful in this venture, and in 1890 bought the farm of 160 acres which he now farms, in Lancaster township. When he took the farm it had only the most meager improvements, consisting chiefly of a small house and an old barn, both in a dilapidated condition. Mr. Bush has built a fine eleven-room house and a large barn, 64×60 feet. This barn cost him $3,000, and he is willing to wager that it is one of the best, though perhaps not the largest, in Atchison county. He now owns 320 acres of land in Lancaster township and has a number of head of high grade stock, including Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. Mr. Bush is a practical farmer, who, with practically no start, has, by hard work and diligent economy, become a man of comfortable circumstances. He holds a position of high esteem among the many acquaintances he has made in Atchison county.

MICHAEL J. HINES
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WILLIAM H. BUSH
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GEORGE DORSSOM
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CHAS. H. FALK
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On March 30, 1881. Mr. Bush was united in marriage with Ellen J. Christian, a native of the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish sea lying between Ireland and England. She was born January 24, 1857, a daughter of Charles and Mary (Kneale) Christian, both of whom were natives of the Isle of Man. Mrs. Bush died in February, 1911. They had six children, as follows: Cora, Atchison, Kan.; Harry, Atchison, Kan.; Mary Smithson, Lancaster, Kan.; Ina, deceased; Sarah, Atchison Kan.; Jessie, Atchison, Kan. On October 29, 1913, Mr. Bush married Mary E. Christian, a niece of his first wife, and a daughter of Charles and Ellen J. (Wade) Christian, natives of the Isle of Man. She was born near Pardee, Atchison county, March 21, 1869, and attended the Catholic parochial school of Atchison. They have no children. Mr. Bush is a Republican and attends the Methodist church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America of Lancaster. He also is a member of the Atchison County Protective Association, of which he was one of the organizers, and served as president of the association for a number of years.

Mr. Bush is one of the most successful farmers in Kansas and is the owner of a highly productive tract of land. As an illustration of his success as a farmer, the records show that from a tract of twenty-one acres there was corn produced at an average of 108 bushels to the acre the first year, ninety-seven bushels to the acre the second year, and eighty-four bushels to the acre the third year, after which the land was sown to wheat in the natural order of crop rotation and the yield was thirty-eight bushels to the acre. Mr. Bush is a firm believer in crop rotation as a means of preserving the fertility of the soil.

MICHAEL J. HINES.

For an individual to come to Atchison county without funds and with practically no influential friends to assist him to achieve success, it is remarkable for him to accomplish in the rather brief period of twenty-six years as much as has been done by Michael J. Hines, of Lancaster township, Atchison county. It is apparent that Kansas presents unusual opportunities for a man to better his condition, if one man can accumulate 480 acres of land, become president of a flourishing banking concern and a stockholder in another important city bank. The main reason for Mr. Hines’ wonderful success must lie in the ability of the man himself, and the reviewer must of necessity conclude that the power to achieve was inherent in his mental and physical makeup, which, combined with industry, decided financial ability, honesty and uprightness has made him one of the leading citizens of his adopted county. Mr. Hines is a scion of old southern families, and comes of good old Virginia stock on his mother’s side, being descended from the well known Hunter family of Virginia, who were among the founders of the Baptist church in the southland. Mr. Hines is a large stockholder and director, and was formerly vice-president of the Antelope Peak copper mines of Arizona. He is the owner of a 320–acre irrigated ranch in the Valier valley of Montana, near Valier.

Michael J. Hines was born July 5, 1863, in Roanoke county, Virginia, and was one of the twelve children of Henry and Katherine (Jeter) Hines, six of whom are living. The father was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1833. He was a Confederate soldier during the Civil war, having enlisted in Virginia but was not in any battles during the war. His life was spent in farming except for a time when he speculated in Confederate money. At the close of the war he had a sack full of Confederate scrip which could not be redeemed. He died at his home in Abington, Va., in 1898. His father, Richard Hines, was of Irish descent and was a plantation owner in Virginia. His mother was Sallie (Howmaker) Hines, and was of German descent. The mother of Michael Hines was also a Virginian, having been born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1841. She died in 1890. She was a daughter of Allison Jeter. Her mother was a member of the Hunter family, who were among the first members of the Baptist church.