Chapter XXV: Biographical History (9)

“John E. Remsburg. Teacher, lecturer, author; born near Fremont, Ohio, U. S. A., January 7, 1848. Of German-English descent, his paternal ancestors emigrating from Germany to Maryland about 1760; his maternal ancestors emigrating from England to Boston in 1640. His father was George J. Remsburg, son of John P. Remsburg, who removed from Maryland to Ohio in 1831; his mother was Sarah A. (Willey) Remsburg, daughter of Eleazer Willey, who removed from New York to Ohio about the same time. Educated in the public schools of Ohio and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, New York, continuing his studies after leaving school. Entered Union army at 16, serving until close of Civil war. For fifteen years engaged in educational work in Ohio and Kansas, serving as superintendent of public instruction of Atchison county, Kansas, four years (1872 to 1876). Married in 1870 Nora M. Eiler, daughter of Jacob Eiler, a Free State pioneer of Kansas. In 1880 became a lecturer and writer in support of free thought and State secularization. Delivered over 3,000 lectures, speaking in fifty-two States, Territories and Provinces, and in 1,250 different cities and towns, including every large city of United States and Canada. In the performance of this work traveled over 360,000 miles. Author: ‘Life of Thomas Paine,’ 1880; ‘The Image Breaker,’ 1882; ‘False Claims,’ 1883; ‘Bible Morals,’ 1884; ‘Sabbath Breaking,’ 1885; ‘The Fathers of Our Republic,’ 1887; ‘Abraham Lincoln,’ 1893; ‘The Bible,’ 1903; ‘Six Historic Americans,’ 1906. Portions of his writings have been translated into French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Bohemian, Bengali, Singalese and Japanese.”

_John E. Remsburg._
]

_Geo. Remsburg._
]

It may interest Mr. Remsburg’s Atchison county friends to know in what esteem he is held as a speaker and writer by the world at large. From the hundreds of reviews and commendatory notices of his lectures and books which have appeared a volume of testimonials like the following could be compiled:

“One of the best speakers and writers to be found in the West, if not in the whole country.”—Charles Robinson, first governor of Kansas.

“His lectures are models of logic and good sense.”—Arnold Krekel, LL. D., Judge United States District Court, Missouri.

“Mr. Remsburg’s address was given with great eloquence and power.”—E. W. Howe.

“A brilliant lecture.”—_San Francisco Chronicle._

“Most eloquent words.”—_Boston Globe._

“An interesting and eloquent address.”—Rev. J. F. Wilcox, Chicago.

“It is lit up with such flashes of genius, it is so poetical and picturesque that one never wearies of hearing it.”—E. M. Macdonald, New York, President American Secular Union.

“He retired with the reward of loud and long continued applause.”— _Kansas City Star._

“Came in for his full meed of praise today.”—_New York Herald._

“J. E. Remsburg was paid at the rate of two dollars a minute for his New York address; probably the highest price yet paid for a Kansas talk.”— Noble L. Prentiss, 1882.

“A noble lecture.”—Ernestine L. Rose, noted reformer, London.

“He has given to the world several volumes of priceless worth.”—L. K. Washburn, editor _Boston Investigator_.

“This volume of 600 pages is a digest of all that is known on the subject.”—Franklin Steiner, author, New York.

“Nothing equal to it has been published within my recollection either in America or Great Britain.”—Charles Watts, President British Secular Union.

“It is indeed excellent—nothing could be better.”—Sir Hiram Maxim, London.

“In many respects the most important volume on the subject that has yet appeared.”—Le Pensee, Brussels.

“Excellent, bold, direct, unanswerable.”—James Parton.

“Mr. Remsburg is an orator of high and wide reputation.”—_Washington Post._

“One of America’s noted orators.”—_Montreal Times._

“A most able lecturer and writer.”—Charles Bradlaugh, M. P., noted orator and statesman of England.

“My translations of Bradlaugh’s and Remsburg’s writings have an enormous circulation in this country.”—Kedarnath Basu, India.

“His [Remsburg’s] lectures have an immense circulation in India.”— _Calcutta Gazette._

“One of the most promising orators in America.”—_Secular Review_, London.

“His style is simple, earnest and attractive, and in these qualities he is eloquent.”—W. H. Herndon, law partner of Abraham Lincoln.

“I have listened to all of our great orators from Clay to Ingersoll, but I have never heard a more polished oration than Remsburg delivered last night.”—Hon. William Perkins, associate counsel of Lincoln in several important cases.

“A graphic, yet concise sketch.”—Rev. S. Fletcher Williams, Liverpool, England.

“Imparted in language clear and forcible and not seldom with grace and beauty.”—Thomas Gray, author, Edinburgh, Scotland.

“I have never heard the case so fairly and so ably stated as he has stated it tonight.”—Richard B. Westbrook, D. D., LL. D., Philadelphia.

“I have asked a bookseller to order twenty copies of Remsburg’s work.”— U. Dhammaloka, President Buddhist Tract Society of Burmah.

“Such an admirable book is always welcome.”—Rev. J. Lloyd Jones, LL. D., Chicago.

“This effort to right the wrongs of Thomas Paine is, in my opinion, a service to mankind.”—Andrew D. White, LL. D., first president of Cornell University, minister to Russia and ambassador to Germany.

“The most fair and honest of all the biographies which have yet appeared of the great iconoclast.”—_Boston Herald._

“It will help restore to honor a much abused name and forward the cause of human rights the country over.”—Rev. Charles Wendt, D. D., Ex- President Taft’s pastor at Cincinnati.

“May this brilliant work bring its author the praise of posterity.”—_Der Freidenker._

“A very strong case.”—_Public Opinion._

“A valuable contribution to literature.”—Wm. McDonald, author, Canada.

“His lectures have as large a circulation in Europe, India and Australia as in this country.”—S. P. Putnam, author, New York.

“A most interesting lecture.”—_New Orleans Delta._

“A large audience and frequent applause.”—_Baltimore Sun._

“Skillfully and vigorously written.”—_Unitarian Herald_, Manchester, England.

“His style is pleasing and his arguments incontrovertible.”—_The Universe_, Berhampur, India.

“A noble and eloquent work.”—Charles Bright, lecturer, Australia.

“It is really a remarkable work.”—Yoshira Oyama, President Japanese Rationalist Association, Japan.

“Clearly, Mr. Remsburg has done his duty as he sees it, and has had the fairness to present at the outset the opposite view of the question.”— _New York World._

“Given in evident fairness and remarkable completeness.”—_Chicago Times._

“J. E. Remsburg, of Kansas, who addressed the Congressional Committee on the Sunday question at the Capitol yesterday, made a good impression. Every member heartily applauded him.”—_Washington Star._

“My views are well expressed by him.”—Hon. George W. Julian, one of the founders of the Republican party and a prominent leader in Congress.

“I will gladly contribute to his work.”—Rear Admiral George W. Melville.

“I have the pleasure to inform you that at the meeting of the Committee held this day (January 5, 1910) you were elected an ‘Oversea’ member of the Authors’ Club.”—Reginald H. B. Giller, Secretary Authors’ Club, London.

“Member Authors’ Club, London; National Geographic Society (Washington); life member American Secular Union (president three years).—_Who’s Who In America._

“I have watched with interest his growing influence.”—Hon. John J. Ingalls, president pro-tem United States Senate.

“Ably and well have you done your work.”—Parker Pillsbury, noted Anti- Slavery leader.

“When truth and freedom triumph at last your name will be known and honored by all men.”—Eugene V. Debs, four times the nominee of his party for President of the United States.

GEORGE J. REMSBURG.

George J. Remsburg was born in Atchison county, Kansas, September 22, 1871. His life has been devoted mainly to horticultural, journalistic, archaeological and historical work. He spent many years on a fruit farm, removing to Atchison in 1892, where he engaged in newspaper work on the _Daily Champion_, the oldest newspaper in Kansas; he was a reporter, city editor, and even did editorial work on that paper up to 1900, when he returned to the farm on account of ill health. In 1894–95 he was editor of the _Missouri Valley Farmer_, now the leading agricultural journal west of the Mississippi. During the winter of 1905–6 he was on the reportorial staff of the _Leavenworth Daily Post_, and editor of _Western Life_, published in that city. He has also acted as special correspondent of the _Leavenworth Times_, _St. Joseph Gazette_, _Kansas City Journal_, _Topeka Mail and Breeze_, _Topeka Capital_, _Atchison Globe_, and other well known western newspapers, besides having been an editorial contributor to many different magazines and other publications.

He has spent many years in archaeological explorations, principally in northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, has opened a number of ancient mounds and identified and explored old village sites of the Kansa Indians, visited by Bourgmont in 1724, and Lewis and Clark in 1804, on the Missouri river. He has published a pamphlet describing one of the more important of these old villages, entitled, “An Old Kansas Indian Town on the Missouri.” In all, he has discovered and examined more than 100 old Indian village, camp, workshop and grave sites in the region mentioned and gathered one of the most extensive private archaeological collections ever assembled in Kansas.

In 1897 he was elected a corresponding member of the Western Historical Society upon the unsolicited recommendation of United States Senator George G. Vest, of Missouri. In 1901 he became associated with Hon. J. V. Brower, of St. Paul, Minn., in important archaeological investigations relative to the ancient Indian province of Quivira, visited by Coronado in 1541, and upon the organization of the Quivira Historical Society by Mr. Brower, he was made a life member. In 1905 he was elected president of this society to succeed Mr. Brower, deceased. The Quivira Historical Society erected a number of costly monuments to commemorate historical events of Coronado’s time in Kansas.

At the annual meeting of the McLean Historical Society of Illinois at Bloomington in 1909 he was elected an honorary member in recognition of his researches regarding the Kickapoo Indians, of which tribe the McLean society is making a special study. He has thoroughly explored the old village of the Kickapoos near Ft. Leavenworth, occupied from 1832 to 1854, and visited these Indians on their reservation in Brown county, Kansas, on several occasions, gathering a vast amount of ethnologic and historic material pertaining to the tribe. He is also a member of the Kickapoo Club, of Bloomington, Ill.

Mr. Remsburg is a member of the National Geographical Society, having been elected at the annual meeting of the society in Washington in 1911. He has been a member of the International Society of Archaeologists since its organization in 1909; was appointed an associate editor of the _Archaeological Bulletin_, official organ of this society, in 1910, and elected vice-president of the same society in the same year. In 1901 he was elected a member of the American Society of Curio Collectors; was elected vice-president of the same in 1902, and appointed a contributing editor of the society’s official organ in 1906. He is also an active member of and contributor to the Kansas State Historical Society, and is a member of its committees on archaeology and Indian history.

Brower’s “Memoirs of Explorations in the Basin of the Mississippi,” Volume VII, contains a summary account of Mr. Remsburg’s archaeological work, and says of him: “He has long been a capable and painstaking archaeological explorer in the Missouri Valley.” Chappell’s “History of the Missouri River” says he is an acknowledged authority on early western history and the archaeology of the Missouri valley.

He has held a number of local offices, such as justice of the peace, member of school board, and secretary of various clubs and societies. He was at one time a member of the Kansas National Guards. He is now connected with the staff of the _Potter Weekly Kansan_ and doing special correspondence for several newspapers. His home is at Potter, in this county. He is a son of John E. Remsburg, whose sketch appears elsewhere.

WIRT HETHERINGTON.

Heredity, undoubtedly has an important bearing upon the choice of a life vocation for the individual citizen, and it is evident that this maxim governing the destiny of man himself holds good in the life of Wirt Hetherington, cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison. In the city of Atchison, three generations of bankers from the Hetherington family have toiled in the financial activities of the city, the first of whom was William Hetherington, grandfather of W. Wirt, the present scion of the family, engaged in banking. Following William, the pioneer banker of Atchison, and who established the first banking concern in the city, came Webster Wirt Hetherington, father of him whose name heads this review.

William Hetherington, the first of the line in Kansas, was born in the town of Milton, Penn., May 10, 1821, and was there reared and received his education. When he became of age he was married, at Pine Grove, Penn., to Miss Annie M. Strimphfler, who was born in Womelsdorf, Berks county, Pennsylvania, September 24, 1827. This marriage occurred May 9, 1848, and William and his bride, shortly afterwards, became residents of Pottsville, Penn., where he engaged in the operating of a flouring mill. Three children were born to them in this city, namely: Mrs. Balie P. Waggener, of Atchison; Webster Wirt and C. S. Hetherington. In 1859 they removed to Atchison and the youngest child of the family, Mrs. William A. Otis, was born here. Mr. Hetherington first located in St. Louis, when he came west, later going to Kansas City, and from there to Leavenworth, Kan., where he purchased a bankrupt stock of goods, which he hauled by wagon to Atchison in 1859. He at once established the Exchange Bank, which absorbed the Kansas Valley Bank, at that time owned by Robert L. Pease. When Mr. Hetherington came into possession of the bank it was located in a basement at the corner of Third and Commercial streets. A short time later he moved it to the building now occupied by the water works company, and it was here that an attempt was made by the outlaw Cleveland to rob the bank, but the attempt was unsuccessful, Cleveland being frightened away by some freighters who were working nearby. Some years later, Mr. Hetherington erected a bank building at the northwest corner of Fourth and Commercial streets, which was the home of the bank until the erection of the handsome Exchange National Bank Building, two blocks further west, in 1885. In 1882 the Hetherington bank was merged into a national bank, and it was known as the Exchange National Bank, one of the successful banking concerns of the State of Kansas. Mr. Hetherington was a man of considerable ability, whose efforts to advance the growing city of Atchison were worth a great deal, and he became a leading factor in the material advancement of the city. His influence on public thought and movement was marked and it was the more powerful, for he was largely unbiased in his judgments. He died in 1890.

Webster Wirt Hetherington, father of the subject of this review, was born in Pottsville, Penn., December 19, 1850. He was educated in Gambier College in Ohio, and came directly from his studies in that institution to enter the Exchange National Bank of Atchison, of which his father was the founder and president. He became cashier of the bank, and upon his father’s demise, in 1890, he became the president of the bank, remaining in this position until his death, January 28, 1892. Mr. Hetherington, during his financial career, became widely known in banking circles, and had many valuable acquaintances among New York financial men, with whom he had many transactions in western securities. When the Rock Island road was building in Kansas and Nebraska, Mr. Hetherington made arrangements to purchase all the municipal bonds the road received from the counties and townships through which it passed. The deal was successful, and won him the confidence of the New York brokers through whom he sold the bonds. In 1889 he received, as a reward from W. P. Rice, of New York City, $10,000 in cash and also traveling expenses for himself and wife on a tour in Europe, in payment for his services in going to London and assisting Mr. Rice in interesting English capitalists in investing in American enterprises. Mr. Hetherington was married November 18, 1875, to Miss Lillie Miller, the oldest daughter of Dr. John G. and Anna B. (Bennett) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania. This marriage was blessed with five children as follows: Ruthanna, wife of Dr. L. A. Todd, of St. Joseph; Mary Louise, wife of Lieut. J. G. Pillow, U. S. A., of Honolulu; Webster Wirt, cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison; Gail, wife of B. R. Allen, of Atchison; Harry Hale, Seattle, Wash.

Wirt Hetherington, third in line of the bankers of this estimable family, was born in Atchison, February 21, 1881, and received his education in the public schools of the city, after which he became a student in the Military School at Orchard Lake, Mich., from which institution he was graduated in 1900. Soon after his graduation, he entered the Exchange National Bank in the capacity of receiving teller and bookkeeper, and since that time he has advanced to higher positions of trust and responsibility in this important banking institution, learning the banking business in a thorough and painstaking manner as he passed from one position to a higher one. In 1905 he became assistant cashier, a position which he held until February, 1914, when he became cashier of the bank, of which he is also a director. Mr. Hetherington is unmarried and makes his home with his widowed mother.

Politically, Wirt Hetherington is a Democrat as were his father and grandfather before him. He is a communicant of the Episcopalian church, which is the church of his forefathers, who were of English origin. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Hetherington is destined to follow in the footsteps of his able and distinguished father and grandfather, and has already given decided evidence that he has inherited and is developing marked financial ability of a high order. His demeanor in the conduct of the duties of his important position is commendatory and his pleasant and courteous manner of greeting those with whom his duties bring him in daily contact betokens the innate gentlemanly attributes which he possesses to a considerable degree.

HARRY L. SHARP.

Harry L. Sharp, secretary of the Atchison Commercial Club, is one of the “live wires” of the city and has given evidence of great ability in his chosen profession. He is industrious, frugal, sincere and unpretending. His accurate knowledge as to the departmental matters is a constant surprise to those who have occasion to consult him with reference to any branch of public service. He realizes that facts, and not theories, must be the working forces in this organization. He is not only able, intelligent and practical in the discharge of his duties as secretary of the Commercial Club, but is thoroughly conscientious and always shows the courage of his convictions.

_Harry Sharp_,
_Sec’y Atchison Commercial Club._
]

Harry L. Sharp was born in Moravia, Iowa, January 14, 1883, a son of John Wilson and Cora Wright Sharp, who trace their ancestry to Thomas Brown and Col. William Crawford, of Pennsylvania. Thomas Brown was one of the early pioneers in western Pennsylvania and founded the town of Brownsville, that State, in the year 1776. Col. William Crawford was a confrere of George Washington. Colonel Crawford married a daughter of Thomas Brown, which closely related both sides of Mr. Sharp’s family, his father’s people being the Crawfords and his mother’s the Browns. He was graduated from the Moravia High School, after which he entered the restaurant and bakery business for himself, conducting the same for a period of three years. Disposing of this business, he came to Atchison and was for a time associated with Sawin & Douglass in the undertaking business, qualifying and obtaining a license to do embalming in the State of Kansas. Following this, he was clerk at the Byram Hotel for a period of three years. During the following year he wrote life insurance and resided in Hiawatha, Kan. Returning from Hiawatha, he took a position as yard clerk in the Missouri Pacific railroad yards. From this position he worked up to that of claim clerk for that company, which position he resigned to become traffic manager for A. J. Harwi Hardware Company. Upon the death of A. J. Harwi, Mr. Sharp succeeded F. E. Harwi, as buyer of the house furnishings goods department of this concern, continuing his traffic work. He held this position until he was tendered and accepted the secretaryship of the Atchison Commercial Club. While Mr. Sharp is a Democrat, he has always been inclined to be independent in his views of things political. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Elks and Eagles and other fraternal societies. In December, 1906, Mr. Sharp was married to Mary, daughter of Edward C. Wolters, a native of Germany, and a resident of Atchison, where Mr. Wolters was a contractor for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp have one child, LeRoy Edward, born May 31, 1909.

Mr. Sharp is one of the most capable and efficient experts in his particular vocation that can be found in the West. He seems to be naturally adapted for the difficult and exacting position which he holds, and is gifted with rare tact and diplomacy which is so necessary in handling the various affairs which are placed in his hands in the interest of Atchison and the Commercial Club. He is possessed also of decided literary ability, evidence of which talent will be readily seen in the perusal of the chapter on Atchison Industries which was written and compiled for this volume by Mr. Sharp.

HENRY KUEHNHOFF.

Henry Kuehnhoff, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was born August 3, 1869, in Lancaster township. He is a son of Charles and Caroline Kuehnhoff, who were the parents of nine children, six of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 1841 and left there when a boy of sixteen years, sailing for New York. He remained there a short time and then went west, arriving at St. Joseph, Mo., where he enlisted in Company B of the Volunteer infantry, serving in the Civil war. He was discharged at Lexington, Mo., at the close of the war, having made a good military record.

He returned to civil life and worked at St. Joseph, Mo., as a laborer for $8 a month. Shortly afterward he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought eighty acres of land in section 10, Lancaster township. Using oxen, he broke the ground on his newly acquired farm and began to improve it as far as his resources would permit. In 1894 he retired and went to the National Soldiers’ Home at Leavenworth, where he died in 1903. The mother was born in Germany, in 1845, and died in 1899. Henry Kuehnhoff grew to manhood on his father’s farm and attended the Eden district school No. 37, and also attended No. 3 school for one term. He worked on the farm until he was twenty-one, and, then with his brother, William, rented the old home place. At the death of his father he became heir to a share of the place, and in 1905 bought the farm where he now lives in section 9, Lancaster township, Atchison county. He now owns 157 acres of well improved land and has a large amount of graded stock, and is a stockholder in a telephone company.

In 1901 he was married to Caroline Kloepper, who was born July 20, 1882, in Atchison county. She is a daughter of Crist and Caroline (Dorssom) Kloepper, natives of Germany and Atchison county, respectively. The mother is now dead, but her father resides at DeKalb, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Kuehnhoff have one child, John, who lives at home. Mr. Kuehnhoff is a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge. He is a member of the school board of district No. 3, Lancaster township.

MRS. D. N. WHEELER.

The average woman, left penniless, destitute, and even burdened with debt at the hour of her greatest sorrow in life, the demise of a loved husband, is very likely to throw herself upon the more or less doubtful mercies of friends or relatives, and make no attempt to take up the burden of gaining a livelihood by her own exertions. However, this may be the case in many instances, but the exact opposite has been the career of Mrs. D. N. Wheeler, one of the wealthiest real estate proprietors in Atchison, who, during the thirty-four years that have elapsed since the demise of her husband which left her with a small home burdened with debt, and otherwise penniless, has amassed a competence which has placed her in the ranks of the largest individual taxpayers in the city of Atchison.

She was born in Chautauqua county, New York, a daughter of Ezekiel and Almirah (Trowbridge) Rooks, both of whom were natives of New York. Her father died when she was four years of age, and she was reared in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where her mother removed after her father’s death. Rooks county, Kansas, is named in honor of the Rooks family of New York, who formed one of the first settlements in Rooks county, during the pioneer days of the early sixties in Kansas. While a student in the academy at Erie, Penn., she met her future husband, who was then traveling passenger agent for the Chicago & Northwestern railway. After their marriage in Erie in 1869, they went to Omaha, Neb., where Mr. Wheeler was connected with the Union Pacific railway. They had the honor of being the guests of George Pullman of the Pullman Car Manufacturing Company, as passengers on the first Pullman train run over the Union Pacific tracks, en route from Omaha to San Francisco. Upon their arrival in San Francisco they attended a reception at the Occidental Hotel, after which Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler traveled in California visiting points of interest. They had some interesting experiences during their travels over the country while Mr. Wheeler was engaged in his duties in connection with the Union Pacific railroad. S. H. H. Clark, president of the Union Pacific railroad, was a very dear and warm friend of the Wheelers, and after Mr. Wheeler’s death, she accompanied the Clark family to San Francisco and was domiciled at the Palace Hotel as their guest. She was with the Clarks at St. Louis when the Union Pacific railroad was sold for $60,000,000, and she was in New York when Mr. Clark signed this transfer. Mrs. Wheeler still retains the friendship of the Clark family and frequently visits them.

Mr. Wheeler had charge of the expedition to North Platte when Generals Grant and Sherman made the treaty with the Indians, and Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler became personally acquainted with the famous generals. A souvenir of this experience is a pack of playing cards which General Sherman gave Mrs. Wheeler when the party was on the return trip, and which was used in playing Bezique by the two generals to while away the time. Mr. Wheeler was the conductor of the train which brought in the survivors of the Plum Creek, Neb., Indian massacre, in which many of the settlers were killed and scalped by Indians. Mr. Wheeler died in 1881, leaving his young wife practically destitute, in the little three room house which they had undertaken to buy in Atchison for $600. At the time of his death there was an incumbrance of $400 on this house, and Mrs. Wheeler was so poor that a load of coal which she had ordered for delivery at the home was returned because it was thought she would be unable to pay for it. She at once began to display the spirit which has enabled her to triumph over all difficulties, and earned her living by teaching drawing and painting in the old Monroe Institute, supplementing her salary by giving private lessons at her home on Saturdays. She managed by dint of the strictest economy to pay off the mortgage on her little home, and has since remodeled it into one of the most attractive places in Atchison. This beautiful home is situated high up on the bluffs, bordering the Missouri river, and offers a view from the east windows over broad reaches of the Missouri which is unsurpassed for beauty and distance anywhere in the West. Mrs. Wheeler, while without business experience of any kind whatever, at the time of her husband’s demise, embarked upon a career of investing her savings in residence properties until she is now the owner of twenty fairly valuable pieces of real estate in Atchison. She followed the time tried plan of the cumulative method of buying houses, which she would place in good repair for rental purposes, going in debt for a house and then gradually paying out, and eventually buying another and so on, until she is now paying taxes on a property valuation of over $40,000, her taxes alone amounting to $2.00 per day, or over $730 yearly. At the same time she has gained a valuable knowledge of real estate, she has learned to know and accurately judge human nature, a combination of wisdom which is irresistible in achieving success. She is a saleswoman of great ability, and has frequently been pitted against some of the shrewdest traders in Atchison, and has never been worsted in an encounter. Endowed with a keen observant mind and a remarkable memory, she has made many prominent friends during her career, and has often been called upon to assist them in various capacities, an instance of which is found in the aid which she gave Bishop Tuttle in the preparation of his reminiscences of the Old Santa Fe Trail. To quote the words of a prominent friend of hers, who has known her for many years and witnessed her struggles to attain affluence, “Mrs. Wheeler is a very remarkable woman.”

NAPOLEON B. PIKE.

Napoleon B. Pike, farmer and stockman, was born May 10, 1856, in Washington county, Iowa, and is a son of Charles and Maria (Salers) Pike, and was one of eleven children, seven of whom are living. The father of Napoleon Pike was born in New York State, November 13, 1826. He came to Ohio with his parents and after his marriage went to Iowa. For a time he was engaged in a small mercantile business in Iowa, but later engaged in farming. He also farmed a place of his own near Atchison, Kan., where he removed in 1882, but his larger holdings were in Iowa. He died in 1903. The mother was born in New Jersey in 1836, and died in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1898. Both were members of the Methodist church.

Napoleon Pike grew up on his father’s Iowa farm. He was married there and came to Kansas with his father in 1882. For a year he rented land in Doniphan county, Kansas, when he came to Atchison county, and rented a farm in Lancaster township. In 1907 he bought the forty-acre farm which he now works. When he took the place it had few improvements, but he has invested $8,000 since then, and made a modern farm and keeps graded stock.

In 1878 he married Julia Utterback, who was born in Lancaster, Iowa, July 17, 1856. She is a daughter of Nels and Matilda Utterback, both natives of Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Pike have been born five children, as follows: Charles, Center township; Alta (Higley) Lancaster township; Walter, farmer, Lancaster township; Willard, farmer, Center township, and Warren, deceased. Mr. Pike is a Republican and a member of the Christian church of Atchison. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America at Atchison.

JOHN A. SCHOLZ.

During the thirty-seven years in which the Scholz family has resided in Atchison county, its members have made a record for each and every one which is a credit to their parents and themselves, individually and collectively. John and August Scholz, farmers and live stock breeders of Lancaster township, take high rank in the county as enterprising and successful agriculturists, and have both achieved success, and attained a reputation as specialists, being well known breeders of Shorthorn cattle. Their father, the late August Schulz, was wise in his day and generation, in that when he came to Atchison county, a comparatively poor man, he secured enough land which would require that his sons remain at home and become farmers. He was successful in his plan, and the result is seen in the enterprising sons whom he trained to till the soil in the best manner possible, and who have been successful, as their father had wished. John Scholz is a native son of Kansas, and was born and brought up on the farm where he now resides. He has one of the attractive country places in the county, nicely located, with a well built farm residence, good barns and out-buildings for housing his live stock and storing the harvests of the Scholz fields. He and his brother, August, have long held their land in common, and worked together on a partnership basis in a manner satisfactory to both and productive of good results.

John A. Scholz was born November 27, 1879, in Atchison county, and is a son of August and Johanna (Seidel) Scholz, who were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Pauline McCowin, Renton, Wash.; Herman, Doniphan county, Kansas; Charles, Lancaster township; Mrs. Louise Thoren, Los Angeles, Cal.; Caroline, wife of J. W. Louthian, Lancaster township, Atchison county; George, Lancaster township; Paul, living near Lancaster, Kan; Mrs. Anna Stockebrand, Yates Center, Kan.; August, farming in partnership with his brother, John, in Lancaster township; John A., farmer, Lancaster township; Robert, Lancaster township. The family was reared on the father’s farm and the sons were all taught farming. The father was born in Schlesien, Germany, November 25, 1835. He learned the blacksmith trade from his father, and worked at the trade until he left Germany in 1870. He was a son of George Frederick Scholz. His mother died when he was an infant. Coming to America with his family of six children, August Scholz resided in St. Joseph, Mo., for a time when he bought a farm of 160 acres in Doniphan county, Kansas, which he operated about six years. He broke the soil on this place with oxen and made all necessary improvements himself. After leaving Doniphan county he rented a farm in Atchison county, and then bought 480 acres of prairie and timber land in Lancaster township, Atchison county, in 1882. He bought the farm of Morgan Osborne, and paid $15,000 for it. The place is known as the “Three Springs Farm” and is located on the northwest quarter of section 9. This name comes from the fact that the farm has a fine natural water supply coming from springs located on it. The springs furnish water enough for the stock on the farm even in the longest drought and supplies the neighborhood when necessary. The father bought an unusually large farm for a special purpose. He wanted his boys to grow up with him, and did not want to see them go out as hired hands for other farmers, so he went into debt to buy enough land so that the boys could work it themselves and make a living on it. He had very little capital, but he was industrious and his family was also industrious. This enabled them to go in debt for the farm without fear of not being able to pay for it. The farm was paid for in due time and improvements were made constantly. The father farmed until his death, in 1901. The mother of John Scholz was a daughter of Godfred and Rosanna (Schwartzer) Seidel. She was born in Schlesien, Germany, April 10, 1840. The father was a farmer in his native land. The mother lives with John Scholz. John Scholz attended the Atchison County High School at Effingham, Kan., having previously gone to school in District No. 3, of Lancaster township. He remained at home after leaving high school, and helped his father on the farm. When the father died John was married and began life for himself. He and his brother, August, bought 160 acres each from the heirs, and engaged in farming. They bought 320 acres comprising the old home. March 1, 1915, they bought eighty acres additional in Lancaster township, making 400 acres in all. John and his brother began to take a fancy to high grade stock and they are now breeding fine Shorthorn cattle. They have a herd of twelve head of thoroughbreds. They have a graded stock of horses and breed Poland China hogs also. John A. especially takes great interest in mules, and at one time had the largest span in the county. These sold for $600. They were five years old and weighed 3,300 pounds.

John Scholz married Ida R. Meyer, October 1, 1913. She was born March 3, 1882, in Center township, Atchison county, and is a daughter of John and Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer. John Meyer was born in Switzerland, and came to Atchison county when he was four years old, with his parents, John and Verena (Slaughter) Meyer, natives of Switzerland. They were early settlers in Center township where they died. John Meyer was born May 8, 1854, and his wife, Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer, was born in Elgin, Ill., April 2, 1859. Mrs. Meyer was the daughter of Nicholas and Katherine Schroeder, natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Scholz have one child, Ralph Edward, born August 17, 1914. Mr. Scholz is a Democrat, and he and his wife belong to the Evangelical church.

WALTER E. BROWN.

Walter E. Brown, of the law firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane, and the present city attorney of Atchison, is a native son of Kansas. He was born at Whiting, Jackson county, Kansas, November 17, 1887, and is a son of William E. and Martha W. (Gilmore) Brown, natives of Pennsylvania. William E. Brown, the father, came to Kansas with his parents in 1872 at the age of sixteen. He is a son of Michael Brown, a native of Ireland. The Brown family settled in Brown county, Kansas, where the parents spent their lives.

In 1879 William E. Brown removed to Jackson county and engaged in the lumber business at Holton, where he is still an extensive lumber dealer and one of the substantial business men. To William E. and Martha W. (Gilmore) Brown were born three children, as follows: Walter E., the subject of this sketch; Bernice and Harold.

Walter E. Brown was reared in Holton and educated in the public schools, graduating from the high school there. He then entered Kansas University, Lawrence, Kan., and was graduated in the class of 1909 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then came to Atchison and became associated with the law firm of which he is now a member. Some few changes have taken place in the personnel of the firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane within the last few years, but it substantially remains the same.

Mr. Brown is a Republican and since coming to Atchison has taken an active part in political matters. He was elected city attorney in 1913 and reëlected to succeed himself in 1915. He is a Knights Templar and Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Brown is a very capable attorney and has a wide acquaintance in northeastern Kansas.

E. G. BURBANK.

E. G. Burbank, proprietor of the Burbank printshop, is a native son of Atchison county. In 1905 Mr. Burbank founded this printing establishment in a very humble way, which within ten years has developed into one of the leading printing plants of eastern Kansas. The phenomenal success of this enterprise is, no doubt, due to the fact that Mr. Burbank was an expert job and edition printer when he embarked in the business for himself. Burbank’s printshop catered to high class printing from the start, which has been its specialty and in which it has made a clean record. They do a large amount of high class catalog printing and other high grade work of a kindred nature. They are also well known as book printers and binders and printers of high class stationery. The plant has a floor space, 30×50 feet and is equipped with all modern machinery and methods for up-to-date printing.

When Mr. Burbank started in business for himself he was able to do most of his work alone, but he now has ten people on his payroll, and the plant is now one of the most prosperous concerns of Atchison.

S. W. ADAMS,
Aetnea Life Insurance Co.
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H. C. HANSEN,
Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.
]

JULIUS DEUTSCH
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E. G. BURBANK.
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E. G. Burbank was born at Muscotah, Kan., January 17, 1881, and is a son of Henry N. and Mina S. (Hazlett) Burbank. Henry N. Burbank, his father, was a native of Vermont and came to Atchison county with his father, George S. Burbank, in the pioneer days of Atchison county. He died in 1913, and his wife now resides at Billings, Mont. E. G. Burbank was reared in Muscotah, and after receiving a high school education began his printing career as “devil” in the office of the _Muscotah Record_. Shortly afterwards, he entered the office of the _Atchison Globe_ and was connected with that paper as a printer for four years, when he organized the plant which now bears his name.

Mr. Burbank was married in 1908 to Miss Millie Anderson, and they have two children: Millie Ervin, born in December, 1910, and John Maxwell, born in July, 1912. Mr. Burbank is of the type of business men who are making Atchison the commercial and center that it is. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

H. C. HANSEN.

The story of a young man who has been successful in his chosen field through sheer force and energy and aptitude is always interesting. Consequently, it is fitting that the biography of one of the most successful life insurance men of northeast Kansas have a proper place in the pages of the history of Atchison county. The rise of H. C. Hansen in the insurance field has been rapid and substantial until his high place among the business men of his home city is assured. Born in the little kingdom of Denmark and reared on American soil, he has given evidence of possessing the sturdy qualities peculiar to the Danish people which have led them to the forefront in America wherever they have settled. It is probable that no people coming here from foreign shores and speaking an alien tongue have shown greater adaptability and more acumen in being assimilated into the great American body of citizens than those who have come from Denmark.

H. C. Hansen was born in Denmark January 17, 1867. His parents were Hans and Anna Hansen, who left their native land to seek their fortunes in America in 1869. Hans Hansen was a blacksmith, and the family first located in Atchison. From here they went to Brown county, and a few years afterward settled in Doniphan county. Mr. Hansen operated a blacksmith and wagon-shop at Severance, Kan., until 1890. He then removed to Graham county and settled on a farm where he still resides. His first wife, Anna, died in 1875, leaving four children, as follows: Mrs. Mary Kellenberg, of Brown county; Mrs. Minnie Knoop, of Canton, Okla.; Mrs. Ellen Moore, of Cottonwood Falls, Chase county, Kansas, and Hans Christian.

H. C. Hansen was reared in Doniphan county and was forced by circumstances to look after his own education. When still a boy he learned the blacksmith’s trade and also worked as a farm hand. He had little opportunity to secure an education and received no encouragement from his parents to acquire knowledge. It was necessary for him to earn money to support himself while attending school. He studied for two years in the Christian Brothers College of St. Joseph after he became of age. Beginning with December 20, 1892, he served twelve years as salesman for the Edward Heeney Hardware Company, of Severance, Kan. He then became local agent for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company at Severance. So successful was Mr. Hansen in his new vocation that in a short period of eighteen months he was tendered the position of general agent of the company, with headquarters in Atchison. He has written as high as $200,000 in life insurance policies yearly and his success still continues. A strong and amiable personality combined with energy and persistence have been factors in enabling him to advance with such rapid strides in a field which is full of able competitors. In addition to his duties as general agent of the Penn Mutual Insurance Company, he looks after his farm of 120 acres, located five and one-half miles east of Potter. Mr. Hansen has purchased this farm with money earned in selling life insurance, and he is displaying the same energy in developing his farm acreage that placed him to the forefront in the life insurance field. An old, rundown orchard of about ten acres was located on his farm. He had this orchard placed in shape for fruit bearing by trimming the trees and spraying with a power sprayer. The results are seen in the fine quality of fruit which the trees have yielded. He has been awarded three first prizes at the Atchison county horticultural display.

Mr. Hansen was married August 20, 1891, to Katie Browning, a daughter of Frank Browning, an early pioneer settler of Doniphan county. To them have been born the following children: Anna, a graduate of the public school and high school, and now a teacher in the schools of Sparks, Kan.; Bettie, a trained nurse, who graduated from the Sisters of Charity Hospital, at St. Joseph, in October of 1915; Crystelle, a milliner in the Ramsey store; and William Penn or “Pat,” the youngest of the family.

Politically, Mr. Hansen is an independent Republican, inclined to be progressive in his ideas of government by the people, and favoring those candidates for office who seem to be capable of serving the people to the best advantage of all. He is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus.

JULIUS DEUTSCH.

Julius Deutsch, retired merchant and capitalist, of Atchison, is a citizen who has made his own way in the world, and achieved a satisfactory measure of success in the mercantile field. He was born in Lorraine, the French province of Germany, November 27, 1858, a son of Molling and Melanie Deutsch, who were born and reared in Lorraine. Molling Deutsch was a wholesale grain and flour merchant in his native town. Melanie Deutsch was a daughter of M. Friend, a soldier in the Napoleonic wars, and who was awarded the Medal of St. Helena for bravery on the field of battle. Both parents lived their lives and died in the land of their nativity.

When Julius Deutsch had completed his education at the age of fourteen years, in 1872, he immigrated to America, coming direct to Atchison, where he made his home for a short time with an uncle, L. Friend. Later, he entered the employ of another uncle, I. Friend, a merchant, doing business in Seneca. He worked in the store at Seneca for two years, sold goods in Atchison for another year, spent one year in a mercantile establishment at Topeka, and then embarked in business for himself. Mr. Deutsch established a general store at Muscotah in 1878, which was a successful venture. Prosperity attended his efforts, and it was not long until he and his brothers embarked in the mercantile business at Horton, Kan., and established a store which they still own. He was associated in his business ventures with his brothers, Sylvain, Maurice, Simon, and Isaac. Simon is now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. Isaac is deceased. The brothers established a chain of stores and operated them at Beloit, Atchison, Valley Falls, Muscotah, and Concordia, which were generally successful, and made money on the investments. Mr. Deutsch continued in active mercantile pursuits until his retirement to Atchison in 1902. He first came to Atchison from Muscotah in 1885, turned over the business at Muscotah to his brother, and then engaged in business in this city. His brother, Maurice, now operates the store at Horton, Kan. Sylvain Deutsch makes his home principally in Kansas City. During later years the Deutsch brothers have disposed of a number of their various stores, and now operate the Horton concern only. Their capital is mainly invested in real estate, consisting of city property and farm lands in Kansas and the West. Isaac Deutsch was the first of the family to come to America to seek his fortune, and his brothers followed, and a community of interests which held them together at all times, resulted in all becoming well-to-do.

Mr. Deutsch and his brothers are interested in a number of financial institutions, and he has many friends among the substantial citizens of his home city. He took an active part in the incorporation of the town of Muscotah, serving as city councilman. He is of the Jewish faith, and is prone to assist all religious denominations to the extent of his ability, being tolerant and broad-minded in this respect. He is fraternally allied with the Odd Fellows and the Elks. Mr. Deutsch possesses a likable personality, which, coupled with a kindly and courteous demeanor at all times, makes him well liked by his associates and esteemed for his many excellent qualities.

STARK WILBOR ADAMS.

Stark Wilbor Adams, general manager for the Aetna Life Insurance Company, with offices in the new Masonic Temple, and secretary of the Atchison County High School board, is a native of the Buckeye State, born in May, 1866, at Huron, Ohio, and a scion of an old American family which traces its lineage back to the colonial days of New England. His father, Stark Adams, and his mother, Mary (Chandler) Adams, were born in Milan, Ohio, and Birmingham, Ohio, respectively. Stark Adams was a son of Philo, a son of Daniel Adams, of Vermont, who was a soldier in the Continental army during the American war of independence, and was a brother-in-law of Ethan Allen, of Vermont. Daniel was second in command of the “Green Mountain Boys” at the capture of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In recognition of his services in behalf of the new nation, he was given a grant of land in the Western Reserve. His son, Philo, rode horseback from Middlebury, Vt., to the Huron river valley in 1816 and took possession of the tract which had been granted to the family by the Government. He also traded a horse for an eighty-acre tract in addition to his own grant. He and three brothers settled on the land lying along the course of the Huron river, Philo locating at the mouth of the river where it flows into Lake Erie, and upon which the town of Huron was eventually built. The brothers became the owners of about 600 acres of land in the neighborhood. They cleared the land of standing timber, planted corn, harvested and shelled it during the first season, then crossed the lake to Buffalo to trade grain for supplies, which they again traded with the Indians for furs. They conducted a general trading business and the settlement grew from this beginning, in course of time to be of considerable importance. Philo Adams was a first cousin of John Quincy Adams, and was appointed the first collector of the Port of Huron. The first of the family to come to America was Henry Adams, who came to Plymouth on the “Mayflower,” when the good ship made its second voyage to bring over the Puritans, and he settled at Mt. Wolaston, (now Quincy, Mass.) in 1638. Joseph Adams II was the son of Henry, the founder of the family in America; Joseph III, son of Joseph Adams, was next in line, and was the father of Daniel and President John Adams, second President of the United States. Daniel Adams was the father of Philo Adams, and direct ancestor of the Adams family.

Stark Adams, accompanied by his family, left the old home in Ohio in 1878, crossed the country to Hays City, Kan., and there homesteaded on 160 acres of land, taking up a timber claim of the same number of acres at the same time. Settlers were few and far between in that part of Kansas in those days, and the country was settling up slowly because of the droughts and other vicissitudes with which the farmers had to contend. Ten years after locating near Hays City, Mr. Adams came to Atchison and eventually bought a farm four miles south of the city, on which he lived until his retirement to a residence on the corner of Q and Sixth streets in Atchison. He was born October 14, 1827, and died August 30, 1909. His children are: Augusta J., at home; C. B., of 714 Park street; James Otis, on a farm, eight miles southwest of the city; Stark Wilbor; Margaretta L., at home, associated with S. W. in the office located on the second floor of the new Masonic Temple; J. D., at the family home in Atchison at 517 South Seventh street.