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GENEALOGY COLLECTrON
ALLEN COUNTV PUBLIC LIBRAR
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A Cyclc-peJia o( Slate History. Embracing Events. I-wlitutiona, Industries, Counties. Cities, Towns, Prominent Persona. Etc. |
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f^: \ ' -MAR. A. M, Pk D :■ |
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WITH A .SUI'PLEMBNTAKY VOLUMt n.vi .| rO SELECTED PERSONAL HiSlOf ' AND REMINISCENCE |
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KANSAS
A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events,
Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities,
Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc.
Edited by
FRANK W. BLACKMAR. A. M., Ph. D.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I
WITH A SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME DEVOTED
TO SELECTED PERSONAL HISTORY
AND REMINISCENCE
ILLUSTRATED
'^'"^ STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY
^, / CHICAGO
Copyright 1912
by
Standard Publishing Company.
131G237
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOISrS
Page Agricultural College 34
Steam Plow in Action 48
Display of Agricultural Products 53
Beecher's Island 97
Baker University 130
Battleship Kansas 159
Bethany College 177
State School for the Blind 192
John Brown Monument 242
Campbell College 275
Old Capitol at Pawnee 283
State Capitol at Topeka 285
Council Oak at Council Grove 461
State School for the Deaf 496
\Veather Building at Dodge City 524
State Hospital for Epileptics 595
State Home for Feeble Minded 635
Fort Riley 669
Old Guard House at Fort Scott 672
Old Government Building, Fort Scott 673
Geological Section 733
P'awnee Indians — Father and Son 905
Boys' Industrial School 934
Girls' Industrial School 935
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps no other conimoiuvealth admitted into the Union during the last half of the last century has a greater historical interest than Kansas. Born in the storm and stress period of national political controversy, cradled in the tumult of civil war, and reared to full state- hood in an era unparalleled in the arts of peace, the life of Kansas has been one of intense activity. Carved out of territory once known as part of the Great American Desert, by the industry of her people it has become one of the most productive and wealthy states of the Union in proportion to "its popidation. From the political unrest of the early life has sprung a people alive to progressive forms of government. Alert in educational affairs, from the beginning her schools have been monuments of the greatness of her people; interested in the justice and equity of human relationship, lier laws for securing human rights in political, industrial and social order are among tlie most enlightened in the land.
To write a history of such a state, to unravel all of its political entanglements, to carry forward the political and industrial develop- ment through border war, civil war, Indian depredations, drought and failure, to tinal achievement of a great commonwealth is a serious task. To such a task those who have been engaged in the preparation of this work have devoted their best energy and most faithful service.
It would be almost impossible to make such a history of achievement covering such a wide range of subjects in consecutive narration and at the same time make it usable for those for whom it was intended. F'or this reason the alphabetical order of topics has been chosen. By this method information on any subject from the administration of a governor or the development of a constitution to an historical incident or the founding of a small town may be obtained with facility. And in the presentation of the material in this form it has been necessary to omit all political controversies, to avoid all comparison of judgment and relate the simple facts of how it all came about.
However, all those who wish to have a consecutive history of political events need only to follow the history of the separate administrations of the governors from Reeder to Stubbs and they will find a continued history of the political development of Kansas. And if this be supple- mented by the perusal of separate articles such as those of the Louisiana Purchase, the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, Squatter Sovereignty, the development of constitutional conventions, finance, taxation and the important reform measures under their respective titles
IXTRODUCTIOX
he may have a history and philosophy of the building of a state. The value of this may be enhanced by reading the brief biographies of the people who have been most in the limelight as leaders in the building of Kansas. In the preparation of these brief biographies one cannot help but reflect upon the fact that after all the rank and file of the peo- ple, each one performing his duty in his proper place, made Kansas. Those men and women who endured the hardships of pioneer days (and Kansas has always had her pioneer days in the progress of civili- zation from the Missouri border to the Colorado line), subdued the soil, mastered the resources of the country, developed her industries, built her schools, churches and railroads, made a large part of the real history of Kansas which cannot be recorded except in a general way. History seldom portrays the real life of the commonwealth. It is the sociology of the state after all that represents its true greatness.
Indeed the political history of the state represents a small part of what Kansas has wrought and hence a small part of its life. The Kan- sas Cyclopedia assumes to present ever}' factor in the political, social, and economic development and relate every important event which has had to do with the building of a great commonwealth. And when we pause to think of it, what a great history it is, extending back nearly four hundred years, with its active progress crowded into a little more than half a century ! And yet it falls naturally into various periods :
It comprises prehistoric Kansas and the occupation of the native races ; the early expeditions of Coronado and other Spanish explorers ; the early trappers and traders, followed by the explorations of Pike and Long; the military organization for the protection of the frontier; the history of early trading and transportation trails leading to Santa Fe, Utah, Oregon and California; the period of settlement and the dis- posal of public land ; the struggle that organized Kansas a free state ; the organization and development of counties and towns; the mus- tering of its armies for the preservation of the Union ; the expansion of government and the making of internal public improvements ; the exploitation of the geology of Kansas and the development of its ma- terial resources ; development of agriculture, manufacturing and trans- portation ; and through it all the development of schools, colleges and the university, the founding and progress of charitable institutions, the building of churches and the enactment of special laws to enforce the moral conduct of society. Add to this the hundreds of instances of real life told of men and affairs and }-ou ha\c an outline of the real history of Kansas.
The editor of this history, and his able assistants have sought with painstaking exactness to ascertain the truth of Kansas history. They have had at their command the writings of many authorities, the ex- l^eriences of men and a magnificent body of historical material from the Kansas Historical Society. If the book is entirely free from error it is different from any other history ever written of any country. And while small errors may have crept in even after the most careful scrutin}^
IXTRODUCTIOX
as may be expected in so large a work, still for its purpose the present history should be in advance of all other histories of the State of Kansas. If it is not in advance, it is a mistake to have written it. At least it will present in a concise form a large amount of the historical material in the libraries of Kansas, hitherto hidden from view to most people of the state.
It is hoped that its use by students will be large and that it will lead to extended research and an elaboration of special subjects. For such the frequent cross references will be found valuable aids.
Acknowledgment is hereby made to the secretary and assistants of the state historical society for their aid in giving access to the val- uable collection in their charge, and recognition is made of the following- list of historical writings, manuscripts, etc. :
Official Publications. — Reports of the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology ; Congressional Record ; U. S. Senate and House Reports ; Messages and Documents of the Presidents; Reports of Congressional Investigating and Special Committees; Departmental Reports; Correspondence and Reports of the Commissioner of Indian AiTairs ; U. S. Treaties and Con- ventions ; Rebellion Records ; Reports of U. S. General Land Office ; Session Laws of Kansas; Legislative Journals; Reports of State Board of Agriculture, Bank Commissioner, Adjutant-General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Railroad Commission, etc. ; Kansas Historical So- ciety Publications, Governors' Messages, Reports of University Geo- logical Survey, etc.
Histories of Kansas.— Cutler's, Hazelrigg's, Plolloway's, Prentis' Spring's, Tuttle's, and W'ilder's Annals of Kansas.
Miscellaneous. — Adair's Travels in North America; Adams' Home- stead Guide ; American Board of Foreign Missions Reports ; Annual Reg- ister ; Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia ; Baker's Forestry Report ; Ban- croft's Historical Works; Bandelier's Gilded Man; Blackmar's Life of Charles Robinson, Spanish Colonization in the Southwest, and Spanish Institutions in the Southwest; Boughton's Kansas Handbook; Brewer- ton's The War in Kansas; Britton's War on the Border; Bronson's Farmers' Unions, etc. ; Canfield's Local Government in Kansas ; Chap- man's Emigrant's Guide ; Child's Kansas Emigrants ; Chittenden's Amer- ican Fur Trade ; Connelley's Life of John Brown, Ouantrill and the Bor- der Wars, Kansas Territorial Governors, Doniphan's Expedition, and the Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory ; Cooke's Scenes and Adventures in the Army ; Custer's Wild Life on the Plains ; Davidson's Silk Culture ; Dodge's Plains of the Great West ; Elliott's Notes in Sixty Years; Fowler's Report of Glenn's Expedition; Fremont's Reports of Explorations in the West ; Gallatin's Reports of the Transactions of the American Ethnological Society ; Gihon's Geary and Kansas ; Giles' Thir- ty Years in Topeka ; Gladstone's An Englishman in Kansas; deed's From River to Sea ; Greeley's American Conflict, and An Overland Jour- ney ; Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies ; Hale's Kanzas and Nebraska ; Harvey's History of the Shawnee Indians; Hinton's Army of the Bor-
INTRODUCTION
der; Humphrey's The Squatter Sovereign; Inman's Stories of the Old Santa Fe Trail ; Irving's Adventures of Captain Bonneville, and A Tour of the Prairies; Jenkins' The Northern Tier; Kansas Biographical Reg- ister; Kendall's Santa Fe Expedition; Lewis and Clark's Journals; Long's Expedition, Report of; Lowe's Five Years a Dragoon; Margry's Works; Meline's Two Thousand Miles on Horseback; Alonette's Dis- covery and Settlement of the Mississippi Valley ; Murray's Travels in North America; Parker's Kansas and Nebraska Handbook; Parkman's Discovery of the Great West; Parrish's Life on the Great Plains; Phillips' Conquest of Kansas; Pierce's Incidents of Western Travel; Pike's Expedition, Accounts of; Redpath's The Roving Editor, and Life of John Brown ; Richardson's Beyond the Mississippi ; Mrs. Robinson's Kansas, Its Interior and Exterior Life ; Shea's Memoir of French Colo- nies in America, Translation of Charlevoix, and Expedition of Penalosa Simpson's Smithsonian Reports ; Smyth's Heart of the New^ Kansas Speer's Life of James H. Lane; Spring's Prelude to the War of '6i Steele's Sons of the Border, and Frontier Army Sketches ; Tewksbury's Kansas Picture Book ; Thwaites' Early Western Travels ; Tomlinson's Kansas in 1858; Victor's American Conspiracies; Von Hoist's Constitu- tional History of the United States; Washburn College Bulletins; Webb's Scrap Books; Wilson's Rise and Fall of the Slave Power; Wil- son's Eminent Men of Kansas; County Histories, Magazines, News- paper Files, Gazetteers, City Directories, etc.
Manuscripts. — The Kansas State Historical Society has a vast collec- tion of manuscripts, consisting of letters, historical sketches, short biog- raphies, etc. Among those consulted may be mentioned Dunbar's Ac- count of the Bourgmont Expedition; Executive Minutes and Corre- spondence; Journals of the Constitutional Conventions; Letters of John Brown ; Letters and Diary of Isaac McCoy; Gov. A. H. Reeder's Diary; Unpublished reports of various Commissions, etc.
Fr.\nk W. Bl.ackmar.
KANSAS
Abbott, James B., one of the pioneer settlers of Kansas, was born at Hampton, Conn., Dec. 3, 1818, and grew to manhood in his native state. He was a member of the third party of emigrants from New England, which reached Lawrence on Oct. 10, 1854, and soon become recognized as one of the stalwart advocates of the free-state cause. Maj. Abbott took up a claim about half a mile south of Blanton's bridge, on the road to Hickor}' Point, and his house was a favorite meeting place of the free- state men in that neighborhood. As the pro-slaveryites grew more and more agressive, one of the crying necessities of the settlers was arms and ammunition with which to defend themselves against the predatory gangs which infested the territory. Maj. Abbott was one of those who went east to procure arms, and through his efforts there were sent to Kansas 117 Sharp's rifles and a 12-pounder howitzer. He was one of the party that rescued Branson from the sheriff of Douglas county ; was a lieutenant in command of a company at the first "battle" of Franklin ; commanded the Third regiment of free-state infantry during the siege of Lawrence in 1856; fought with John Brown at Black Jack, and was the leader of the expedition that rescued Dr. John Doy. He was a mem- ber of the first house of representatives elected under the Topeka con- stitution, and in 1857 was elected senator. LTpon the adoption of the Wyandotte constitution, he Avas elected a member of the lower house of the first state legislature, which met in March, 1861. In that year he was appointed agent for the Shawnee Indians and removed to De Soto, Johnson county. 'At the time of the Price raid he led a party of Shawnees against the Confederates. In 1866 he retired from the Indian agency, and in the fall of that year was elected to the state senate. He was influential in securing the establishment of the school for feeble minded youth. Maj. Abbott died at De Soto on March 2, 1879. The howitzer he brought to Kansas in the territorial days is now in the pos- session of the Kansas Historical Society, of which he was a director for twelve years immediately prior to his death.
Abbyville, a village of Reno county, is situated in Westminister township, 17 miles southwest of Hutchinson, the county seat. The former name was Nonpariel. It is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., has a bank, a money order postoffice with two rural routes, express, telegraph and telephone facilities, churches of the lead- ing Protestant denominations, some mercantile and shipping interests, and in 1910 reported a population of 300.
(1-2)
I» CYCLOPEDIA OF
Abilene,' the judicial seat and largest city of Dickinson county, is. located on the north bank of the Smoky Hill river, 96 miles from Topeka. and has an altitude of 1,153 f^et. It was first settled in 1858, was first the terminus of and later a station on the stage line. The first store was opened by a man named Jones, usually referred to as "Old Man Jones." in whose stock of goods whisky was a prominent article. In i860 the town was surveyed and the following spring it was selected as the county seat by a popular vote. Early in 1867 the Kansas Pacific rail- road was completed to Abilene, and the same year the place was selected by Joseph G. McCoy as the most available point for assembling^ cattle for shipment, the selection being made because of the abundance of grass and water in the neighborhood. Concerning the town at this time, Mr. McCoy says : "Abilene in 1867 was a very small, dead place, con- sisting of about one dozen log huts, low, small, rude aflfairs, four-fifths- of which were covered with dirt for roofing; indeed, but one shingle roof could be seen in the whole city. The business of the burg was conducted in two small rooms, mere log huts, and of course the inevitable saloon, also in a log hut, was to be found."
After Mr. McCoy had decided upon Abilene as the best. cattle ship- ping point, circulars were sent all over Texas and before the close of the year 1867 some 35,000 cattle had been driven there for shipment on the new railroad to the eastern markets. This had a tendency to stim- ulate the growth of the town, but it also brought in many undesirable characters. Gamblers, confidence men, cow boys, etc., came in and prac- tically took possession of the place, much to the chagrin and disgust of the reputable, law-abiding citizens. Shooting affrays were common, and the turbulent element, being in the majority, continued to run things with a high hand until the probate court of Dickinson county, on Sept. 6, 1869, granted a petition to incorporate Abilene, and named J. B. Shane, T. C. Henry, Thomas Sherran, T. F. Hersey and Joseph G. McCoy as trustees. McCoy was chosen the first mayor and the new city government took steps to check the prevailing lawlessness. A stone jail was commenced, but about the time the walls were up a band of cow boys tore them down. Finally, Thomas Smith, who had come to Abilene from Kit Carson, Col., was elected town marshal. It is said that his appearance was against him, but what he lacked in physical strength was more than made up in courage and diplomacy, and in a short time he succeeded in disarming all the desperate characters, thus bringing about a reign of law and order. The Kansas Monthly of Feb.. 1879, ten years after Abilene was incorporated, says: "Abilene, from being a Texas cattle town without law, order or society, is now one of the most home-like, orderly and agreeable towns."
Since that time the growth and development of Abilene has been steadily onward and upward, and in 1910 the city had a population of 4,118. Its location at the junction of the Union Pacific, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railways makes it an important shipping point, and large quantities of grain, live stock..
KANSAS HISTORY ig
etc., are annually exported. The city has two banks, an international money order postoffice from which emanate seven rural delivery routes, unsurpassed express, telegraph and telephone facilities, a modern elec- tric lighting plant, a fine system of waterworks, a fire department, a Carnegie library and a well appointed opera house. Mount St. Joseph Academy is located here, which supplements the excellent public school system and affords ample educational opportunities. The manufactures include flour mills, creameries, foundries, an organ factory, planing mills, cigar, carriage and ice factories, etc. The press is well represented by two daily and four weekly newspapers, the Implement Dealers' Bul- letin (monthly), and the Kansas State Sunday School Journal (also monthly).
Abilene Trail. — In 1867 Joseph G. McCoy, of Illinois, settled at Abilene to engage in the cattle trade, and he caused to be laid out a cattle trail to connect with the north end of the Chisholm trail, near Wichita, to run northward to Abilene, on the Union Pacific railroad, where the cattle could be marketed in a more expeditious manner. The road from the mouth of the Little Arkansas to Abilene "was not direct but circuitous. In order to straighten up this trail and bring the cattle direct to Abilene, and by shortening the distance, to counteract the ex- ertions of western would-be competing points for the cattle trade, an engineer corps was sent out under the charge of Civil Engineer T. F. Hersey. . . . Mr. Hersey with compass and flag men and detail of laborers with spades and shovels for throwing up mounds of dirt to mark the route located by the engineers, started out and ran almost due south from Abilene until the crossing of the Arkansas was reached, find- ing good water and abundant grass with suitable camping points the entire distance. Meeting at the Arkansas river the first drove of cattle of the season, the party piloted the herd over the new trail, and thus by use opening it to the many thousand herds of cattle that followed in months and years afterward."
In 1867 about 35,000 head of cattle were driven from Texas to Abilene over this trail; in 1868 about 75,000; in 1870 about 300,000; and in 187X about 700,000, being the largest number ever received from Texas in any one year. The country about Abilene was fast settling up about this time, grazing lands were getting scarcer, and these conditions were such that many of the settlers objected to the pasturing of the great herds in the vicinity. Hence the year 1872 found Wichita in possession of the trade that Abilene had for several years enjoyed, the completion of the Santa Fe railroad to that point giving the needed railroad facil- ities. From 1867 to 1871 about 10,000 cars of live stock were shipped out of Abilene, and in 1872 about 80,000 head of cattle were shipped from Wichita. "The settlement of the valleys of the Arkansas and the Ninnescah rivers rendered it impractical to reach Wichita shipping yards after '1873, and the loading of cattle was transferred to points on the railroad farther west, halting finally at Dodge City, where 1887 saw the end of the use of the famous Abilene cattle trail."
20 CYCLOl'EDIA OF
Abolitionists. — In 1831 William Lloyd Garrison began the publica- tion of the "Liberator," the first newspaper in the United States to take a radical stand for the abolition of slavery. (See Slavery.) Two yealfe later the National Anti-Slavery Society was organized at Philadelphia. Pa., and in a short time the members of the organization became divided to some extent as to the methods to be pursued in the efforts to secure the emancipation of the slaves. Some clung to the theory of gradual manumission, with compensation to the slaveholders as a last resort, while others advocated the immediate and unconditional liberation of every slave, by force if necessary, and without compensating their owners. These extremists in 1835 were nicknamed "abolitionists" by those who favored slavery, and also by the conservative element in the society. Although this name was first applied in a spirit of derision, the extremists accepted it as an honor. In a short time a number of abolitionist orators — speakers of more than ordinary ability — were de- veloped. Among these may be mentioned W'endell Phillips, Gerrit Smith and Charles Sumner, who never lost an opportunity of present- ing their views, and the public was I:ept on the alert, wondering what they would do next.
The society became divided in 1840 on the question of organizing a political party on anti-slavery lines. From that time each branch worked in its own way, and by the time Kansas was organized as a territory the abolitionists — the radical wing of the original society — had become strong enough to attract attention from one end of tl"ke country^ to the other. Among the pro-slavery men there was no distinction between those who were in favor of the gradual, peaceable emancipation of the slave and those who were in favor of immediate emancipation at what- ever cost. All were "abolitionists." The following utterances of pro- slavery orators and extracts from the pro-slavery press will show how the advocates of slavery regarded the free-state men as "abolitionists" indiscriminately:
At a squatter meeting near Leavenworth on June 10, 1854, a reso- lution was adopted declaring that "We will afford protection to no abolitionist as a settler in Kansas." A pro-slavery meeting in Lafayette countjr, Mo., Dec. 15, 1854, denounced the steamboats plying on the Missouri river for carrying abolitionists to Kansas. As a result of this agitation, the Star of the West in the spring of 1856 was allowed to carry about 100 persons from Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina to Kansas unmolested, but on her next trip, with a number of free-state passengers, she was held up at Lexington, where the passengers were disarmed, and upon arriving at Weston was not permitted to land. Other steamers encountered similar opposition.
In Feb., 1855, Lawrence was denounced because it was "the home of about 400 abolitionists," and at a Law and Order meeting at Leaven- worth on the 15th of the following November, John Calhoun said: "You yield and you will have the most infernal government that ever cursed a land. I would rather be a painted slave over in Missouri, or a serf to the Czar of Russia, than have the abolitionists in power."
KANSAS HISTORY 21
On Oct. 5, 1857, occurred the election for members of the legislature, and on the 23d the Doniphan Constitutionalist, a pro-slavery paper, ac- counted for the free-state victory by saying that the "sneaking abolition- ists were guilty of cutting loose the ferry boats at Doniphan and other places on the day of the election, by order of Jim Lane." To this the Lawrence Republican retorted: "Bad man, that Jim Lane, to order the boats cut loose ; great inconvenience to the Missourians and the Demo- cratic party."
At the beginning of the border troubles the Platte Argus said edito- rially : "The abolitionists will probabl)^ not be interfered with if they set- tle north of the 40th parallel of north latitude, but south of that line they need not set foot."
A pro-slavery convention at Lecompton on Dec. 9, 1857, adopted resolutions denunciator}' of Govs. Reeder, Geary and Walker for their efforts "to reduce and prostitute the Democracy to the unholy ends of the abolitionists." These instances might be multiplied indefinitely, but enough has been said to show that the pro-slaverites made no distinction whatever between the radical and conservative wings of the free-state party. If a man was opposed to slavery, though willing to let it alone where it already existed, he was just as much of an "abolitionist" as the extremist who would be satisfied with nothing less than immediate emancipation of all slaves, without regard to constitutional guarantees or the simplest principles of equity.
The radical anti-slavery people claimed that the Civil war was an anti-slavery conflict, and maintained that this view was justified by the emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln, notwithstanding ]\Ir. J^incoln's previous utterance that he was not striving to abolish slavery, but to preserve the Union.
Academy of Language and Literature. — Wilder's Annals of Kansas says this society was organized on June 16, 1885, with the following- officers: J. A. Lippincott, president; O. C. Hill, vice-president; W. H. Carruth, secretary; J. E. \\'illiamson, treasurer; W. L Graham, Lily M. Storrs and the secretar}% executive committee. The objects of the acad- emy, as stated in the by-laws, were "to promote the love and study of literature and to encourage investigation and original production therein."
On Dec. 31, 1885, another meeting was held, at which time Prof. W. L Graham of Baker University was elected president ; Prof. William Mc- Donald of the University of Kansas, vice-president ; Miss Viola Price, secretary; Prof. J. E. Williamson of the Topeka high school, treasurer; and the executive committee was composed of Prof. Graham, Miss Price and Prof. T. W. Phelps. The dues of the society were fixed at $1.00 per year for each member, and in 1892 the academy numbered 75 members. After the magazine called the Agora began publication in 1891 it was made the official organ of the society. The last number of this magazine, published in March, 1896, contains the announcement that the annual meeting of the Academy of Language and Literature would be held at
22 CVCbOrEDIA OF
Lawrence in April of that year. No later record of the organization can be found. Its place in the literature of Kansas is now (1911) practically filled by the Kansas Authors' Club.
Academy of Science. — In 1867 several Kansas naturalists who were interested in scientific investigation, decided to form an organization for scientific research, particularly in its relation to the state and its natural resources. After considerable deliberation with regard to the formation of a society, the projectors published a letter in the Kansas Journal of Education for March, 1868, calling the attention of the people to the benefits which a Natural History Society would be to the state, as it would afford the means of associated efifort ; give inspiration to natural- ists; arouse interest in scientific subjects; put the state in communica- tion with various scientific bodies throughout the country, and collec- tions made by the society would be secured to the state. This letter met with considerable favor and in July a second letter or "call" was sent out, requesting "all persons in the state interested in natural science to meet at Topeka on the first Tuesday in September."
As a result of this call a meeting of the naturalists was held in Lincoln College, Topeka, Sept. i, 1868, and an organization was eflfected under the name of the "Kansas Natural History Society," with the follow- ing officers: B. F. Mudge, president; J. S. Whitman, vice-president; John Parker, secretarjf; Frank Snow, treasurer, and John A. Banfield, curator. The object of the societ}-, according to the constitution, was "to increase and diffuse a knowledge of science, particularly in its rela- tion to the state of Kansas."
The second annual meeting was held in the Presbyterian church at Topeka, Sept. 7, 1869. when several scientific papers were read; a lec- ture on the Mound Builders was delivered, and the officers of the pre- vious year were reelected. On Sept. 5 and 6, 1870, the third annual meet- ing was held at the University building at Lawrence. Again papers on scientific subjects were read and the following officers elected: John Fraser, president ; B. F. Mudge, vice-president ; John D. Parker secre- tary and librarian; Frank Snow, treasurer; B. F. Mudge and Frank Snow, curators. At this meeting Mr. Fraser suggested that the scope of the society be widened to comprehend the entire scientific field within the state. At the fourth meeting, held in the rooms of the board of edu- cation, Leavenworth, Oct. 25, 1871, the by-laws were amended to allow all observers and investigators along scientific lines to become members, and the name was changed to the Kansas Academy of Science. In 1873 the society was incorporated as a state institution. Section 2 of the act of incorporation provided that, "The Academy of Science shall be a coordinate department of the State Department of Agriculture, with their office in the agriculture room, where they shall place and keep for public inspection geological, botanical and other specimens, the same to be imder the direction and control of the said Academy of Science."
In his message to the legislature in 1885, Gov. Martin said, "This is a useful organization, maintained at no expense to the state except the
KANSAS HISTORY 23
•courtesy of having its reports published as a part of the biennial report of the State Board of Agriculture."
Since 1895 the academy has received legislative appropriations for its support. The members of the academy were instrumental in secur- ing the geographical survey of the state and have taken an interest in the development of the coal beds and natural gas wells.
A majority of the members of the academy are from the educational institutions of the state, who take an interest and are leaders in the important scientific research of the day. At the present time the ofifices of the academy and the specimens that have been collected are located in the north wing of the state capitol on the fourth floor. The officers of the society for 191 1 were as follows: President, J. M. McWharf, of Ottawa; vice-presidents, A. J. Smith, of Emporia, and J- E. Welin, of Lindsborg; treasurer, F. ^^^ Bushong, of Lawrence; secretary, J. T. 1,0 ve well, of Topeka.
Achilles, a village of Rawlins county, is situated in Jefferson township, on Sappa creek and about 15 miles southeast of Atwood, the county seat. It has a money order postofifice and is connected by stage with Colby, whence it receives a daily mail. The population was 70 in 1910. Achilles is the principal trading point in the southwestern part of the county. What is known as the battle of Achilles was a fight between a band of 20 hunters and some Indians at a water hole about five miles south of the village on April 24, 1875. (See Sappa Creek.)
Ackerland, a village of Leavenworth county, is located in the west- ern portion on the Leavenworth & Topeka R. R. about 15 miles south- west of Leavenworth. It has a money order postoffice, express office, etc., and in 1910 had a population of 25.
Ackley, Ernest L., lawyer and regent of the Kansas State LTniver- sity, was born at North Ridgeville, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1863, a son of Chaun- cey and Jerusa (McNeal) Ackley. About 1875 the family removed to Kansas and settled on a farm in Ottawa county, where Ernest attended the public schools until he was eighteen years of age, when he obtained a position in a bank at Minneapolis. After working in the bank for about two years, he entered the state university, and graduated in the law departrtient with the class of 1890. For a time he was employed on the Salina Republican with Joseph L. Bristow, now United States senator, and was also employed by Charles F. Scott on the Lawrence Journal. In July, 1890. he became associated with A. L. Wilmoth, a classmate, in the practice of law at Concordia. W. AV. Caldwell entered the firm in 1897, when Mr. Ackley withdrew, and in Feb., 1901, he formed a partnership with P. B. Pulsifer, which lasted until his death the fol- lowing August. About the same time he was appointed by Gov. Stan- ley one of the regents of the university. Mr. Ackley was an active mem- ber of the State Historical Society ; a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and belonged to the Phi Gamma Delta college fraternity. In Nov., 1893, he married Miss Ada B. Fry, at one time a teacher in the Concordia schools. Mr. Ackley died at Concordia on Aug. 27, 1901.
24 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Acknowledgments. — (See Deeds.)
Acres, a post-village of Clark county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles west of Ashland, the county seat. It is a shipping and supply point for the neighborhood in which it is situ- ated, and in 1910 reported a population of 30.
Actions. — Actions are defined as ordinary proceedings in a court of justice by which one party prosecutes another for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the pun- ishment of a public offense. Actions are of two kinds — civil and crim- inal. A civil action may be commenced in a court of record by filing in the office of the clerk of the proper court a petition, and causing a summons to be issued thereon. The petition must contain the name, surname and place of residence of plaintiff and defendant; a clear state- ment of the cause of action and a prayer for judgment in conformity with the allegations of the petition, and must be signed either by the plaintiff or his attorne}-. Summons is then issued, addressed to the de- fendant. A copy of the petition need not accompan}- the summons, but the defendant or plaintiff shall be entitled to a copy of the petition, or any other papers filed in the action, upon application to the clerk there- for, and the costs of such copy shall be taxed among the costs in the action.
Actions before justices of the peace are commenced by summons, or by appearance and agreement of the parties without summons. In the former, the action is deemed commenced upon delivery of the writ to the constable to be served, and he shall note thereon the time of receiv- ing the same. In the latter case, the action is deemed commenced at the time of docketing the case. When a guardian to the suit is necessary, he must be appointed by the justice, as follows: First — If the infant be plaintiff, the appointment must be made before the summons is issued, upon the application of the infant, if he be of the age of fourteen years or upwards; if under that age, upon the application of some friend. The written consent of the guardian to be appointed, and to be responsible for the costs if he fail in the action, must be filed with the justice. Second — If the infant be defendant, the guardian must be appointed before th'e trial. It is the right of the infant, if over fourteen years of age, to nomi- nate his own guardian, who must be present and consent, in writing, to be appointed, otherwise the justice may appoint any suitable person who gives such consent.
The distinction between actions at law and suits in equity, and the forms of all such actions and suits formerly existing, is abolished, and in their place there is but one form of action, called a civil action. In such action the party complaining is known as the plaintiff', and the adverse party as the defendant. Actions shall be triable on the issues of fact withhi ten days after the issues are made up. Issues of law and motions may be tried by the court or judge in term-time or vacation, at such times as the court or judge may fix, after reasonable notice, which shall not be less than three days. Whenever damages are recov-
KANSAS HISTORY 25
erable, the plaintiff may claim and recover any damages to which he may be entitled for the cause of action established.
Ada, a village of Ottawa county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., and on Salt creek in Fountain township, lo miles west of Minneapolis, the county seat. It has banking facilities, all lines of business activit}^, telegraph and express offices and a money order postoifice with one rural mail route. It is the shipping point of a pros- perous farming community. The population in 1910 was 300.
Adams, a village of Kingman county, is located in Canton township, some i6 miles southeast of the city of Kingman. It is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., has a money order postoffice, and is a shipping and trading point for that section of the county, though the population was reported as only 20 in 1910.
Adams, Franklin George, one of the most earnest and energetic men of Kansas in the great work of perpetuating Kansas history, was born at Rodman, Jeft'erson county, N. Y., May 13, 1824, and was reared upon his father's farm. He attended the common schools and at the age of nineteen went to Cincinnati, where he received private instruction from an elder brother. He taught in the public schools of Cincinnati, and in 1852 graduated from the law department of what is now the University of Cincinnati. He became profoundly interested in the debate on the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and determined to settle in Kansas. To this end he joined a party from Kentucky which reached Kansas in March, 1855, and settled in what is now Riley county, where they founded the Ash- land colony. Before long Mr. Adams returned to Cincinnati, where he taught school again, but in April, 1856, he returned to Kansas and set- tled on a farm near Pilot Knob, Leavenworth county. He was forced to flee to Lawrence for protection during the border war, and bore arms in defense of that place against the invasion of the pro-slavery men. He was a member of the Leavenworth constitutional convention ; was active in the organization of the free-state party in Atchison county, of which he was elected the first probate judge in the spring of 1858. In 1861 he was appointed register of the land office at Lepompton. In September he moved the office to Topeka and held the position until 1864. He was also identified at dififerent times with various publications of the state among them the Squatter Sovereign, Topeka State Record, Kansas Farm- er, Atchison Free Press and Waterville Telegraph. He was active in the formation of the State Agricultural Society and drafted the law under which it was organized. He became secretary of the state fair associa- tion which held the first state fair at Atchison in 1863. The next year he gave up his various enterprises in Topeka, returned to Atchison, was appointed United States agent to the Kickapoos, and removed to Ken- nekuk, in the northwest corner of Atchison county. He resigned this agency in 1869, and in the fall of 1870 located at Waterville, Marshall county, where in 1873, he published "The Homestead Guide," giving the history and resources of northwest Kansas. In the spring of 1875 he returned to Topeka, and the following February the directors of the
2() CYCLOPEDIA OF
newly formed State Historical Society elected him secretary. It was in this position that Mr. Adams did his greatest and best work for Kansas. He at once started the work of organization and pursued with steady effort every avenue which he thought capable of adding to the growth and resourcefulness of the society. During* his residence in Topeka Mr. Adams was instrumental in establishing the kindergarten work among the poor. He was long a member of the Kansas State Grange and took special interest in the education of children on farms. As editor, author and publisher Mr. Adams was enabled to make his ideas known and to turn public opinion in the right direction. The great collection in the rooms of the Historical Society maj^ be said to be the development and flower of a great life work. Mr. Adams was married on Sept. 29, 1855, to Harriet E. Clark, of Cincinnati. The whole state mourned when Mr. Adams passed away on Dec. 2, 1899.
Adams, Henry J., lawyer, was born at Rodman, Jefferson county, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1816. He was educated in the public schools, spent a short time at Oberlin College, Ohio, then read law and graduated from the Cincinnati Law School. He came to Kansas in March, 1855, and during the summer located at Lawrence. The next winter he was elected a member of the senate of the free-state legislature, and from that time took an active part in public affairs. During the session of 1858 the ter- ritorial legislature made him chairman of the committee to investigate the Oxford, Kickapoo and other election frauds. He took a prominent part in the Leavenworth constitutional convention and under that con- stitution was elected governor, but as Congress failed to admit Kansas as a state, he was never installed in office. Before the convention in 1858, Mr. Adams received an equal vote with Marcus J. Parrott for dele- gate in Congress, but Parrott was declared the nominee and was elected. Under an act passed by the legislature of 1859, Mr. Adams was ap- pointed a member of a committee with Judge S. A. Kingman and E. S. Hoogland, to audit the claims against the United States government, for losses sustained by citizens of Kansas because of plunder and de- struction of private property during the border war. Next to Gov. Rob- inson he was the most popular candidate before the Republican conven- tion which nominated the first governor of the state. Soon after the out- break of the Civil war he was appointed paymaster of the army and served in that capacit}- until the close of hostilities. He died at W'ater- ville, June 2, 1870.
Admire, a town in Ivy township, Lyon county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 20 miles northeast of Emporia, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with tw'o rural routes, a feed mill, telephone connections with the surrounding towns, churches of several denominations, a good school building, a good retail trade, and does considerable shipping. The population was 300 according to the U. S. census of 1910.
Admission to Statehood. — In the formation of the Federal govern- ment, the thirteen original states assumed dominion over all the un-
KANSAS HISTORY 27
organized territory belonging to the United States, and delegated to themselves the power of arbiter of the destinies of new states seeking admission. Every time a bill has been introduced in Congress for the admission of a new state, it has been the signal for debate, but in no instance has the discussion been more acrid or more prolonged than in the case of Kansas. Four constitutional conventions were held in the territory, and four constitutions were submitted to the people before one was found that was satisfactory. (See Constitutions.) The Wyandotte constitution, under which Kansas was finally admitted, was completed by the convention on July 29, 1859; ratified by the people on Oct. 4 and on Feb. 14, i860, it was presented to the senate of the United States by the president of that body.
On Feb. 15, i860, Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, introduced in the house a bill for the admission of Kansas, which was referred to the committee on territories. This bill passed the house on April 11, by a vote of 134 to 7^, and was sent to the senate, where it was read and re- ferred on the 13th. During the next two months it came before the sen- ate several times, but was usually thrust aside by the influence of the members of the slave states, who did not desire the admission of a state that would in all probability send to the United States senate two men opposed to slavery, or at least opposed to its extension into new terri- tory. On May 30 it was called up by Senator Collamer of Vermont, who tried to force its passage. A week later (June 5) it was again called up, but this time further action was postponed on motion of Mr. Hunter of Virginia, who thought the military appropriation bill of more import- ance. On the 7th Mr. Wade of Ohio moved "to postpone all prior or- ders, and take up the bill for the admission of Kansas," but the motion was defeated by a vote of 32 to 26. This ended the consideration of the bill at that session.
The second session of the 36th Congress began on Dec. 3, i860, and on the nth the bill was called up b}' Mr. Collamer, with a view to mak- ing it the special order at some definite date in the near future. Mr. Green of Missouri objected, but the motion was carried over his objec- tion by a vote of 23 to 18. When the bill came up as a special order on the 24th, Foster of Connecticut, who was presiding, ruled that there was unfinished business before the senate that must be disposed of before the consideration of the Kansas question, and again there was a delay. On the 31st it was postponed to Jan. 14, 1861, by the same filibustering tactics on the part of the senators from the slave states, and when the 14th arrived it was postponed to the i6th. The friends of the bill thought that a vote could certainly be reached this time, but they reck- oned without their host, for on the i6th a motion to go into executive session prevailed, and the Kansas bill was made the special order for one o'clock p. m. on the i8th. When that time arrived, Mr. Green had an amendment, of which he had previously given notice, relating to boundaries, and the remainder of the day was spent in debating the amendment, which was defeated bv a vote of 31 to 23. Immediately fol-
28 CYCLOPEDIA OF
lowing the defeat of the amendment there was a disorderly scene in the senate chamber, caused by a multiplicity of motions to go into execu- tive session, to adjourn, etc. The amendment had served the purpose of producing another delay in the final vote on the bill.
The following day the bill was again called up. This time Senator Fitch of Indiana had an amendment to oiifer, and again there was a long and tedious debate before the amendment was defeated. Some of the friends of the measure began to lose hope. This was the short session of Congress, and if the opponents could keep up their dilatory methods until March 3 the bill would have to go over to the next session. But the cloud that hung over Kansas was penetrated by a ray of light in an imexpected manner.
Five slave states had already seceded from the Union, and on Jan. 21 Senators J. M. Mason and R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia ; A. P. Butler and R. B. Barnwell, of South Carolina; H. L. Turney. of Tennessee; Pierre Soule, of Louisiana ; Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi ; David R. Atchison, of Missouri ; Jackson Morton and D. L. Yulee, of Florida, filed a protest against the action of the m.embers of Congress from the north- ern states and withdrew from the senate. \\'ith their withdrawal the power of the slave oligarchy was broken. Scarcely had they left the hall, when Mr. Seward of New York moved to call up the Kansas ad- mission bill, but was informed by the vice-president that no motion was necessar}-, as the bill was then the special order before the senate. The remaining senators from the slaveholding states indulged in some per- functory debate, but they recognized the fact that their influence had vanished with the departure of their colleagues. The bill was soon passed by a vote of 36 to 16, and was signed by President Buchanan on the 29th.
The preamble of the bill recited the facts concerning the formation, adoption and ratification of the Wyandotte constitution, under which the state was asking for admission.
Section i provided "That the state of Kansas shall be, and is hereby declared to be, one of the United States of America, and admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever." The section then defined the boundaries (see Boundaries), and provided "That nothing contained in the said constitution respecting the boundaries of said state shall be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treatj^ between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory which, by treaty with such Indian tribes, is not, without the consent of such Indian tribe, to be included Avithin the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any other state or territory ; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the State of Kansas, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the president of the United States to be included within said state," etc.
Section 2 provided that until the next enumeration and apportion-
KANSAS HISTORY 29
ment of Congressmen, Kansas should be entitled to one representative in the lower branch of the national legislature.
Section 3 offered to the people of Kansas the following propositions:
1st, That sections numbered 16 and 36 in every township of the pub- lic lands in the state should be granted the state for the use of schools; and in the event said sections or any part thereof should have been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands, equivalent thereto and as con- tiguous as might be, were to be given to the state instead of the sec- tions prescribed.
2nd, That ^2 sections of land, to be selected by the governor of the state, subject to the approval of the commissioner of the general land ofiSce, were to be set apart and reserved for the use and support of a state university.
3d, That 10 sections of land, to be selected by the governor, were to be donated by Congress for the completion of public buildings and the erection of others at the seat of government.
4th, That all salt springs, not exceeding twelve in number, with 6 sections of land adjoining each, were to be granted to the state, to be disposed of as the legislature might direct, subject to certain restric- tions imposed by the act.
5th, That five per cent, of the proceeds of all sales of public lands lying within the state, which should be sold after Kansas was admitted into the Union, should be granted to the state for the purpose of construct- ing public roads and making internal improvements.
6th, That the state should never levy a tax upon the lands or prop- erty of the United States, lying within the State of Kansas.
Section 4 provided that from and after the admission of the state, all the laws of the United States, which were not locally inapplicable, should have the same force and effect in Kansas as in other states of the Union. This section also declared the state a judicial district of the United States, established a district court, the same as that in the State of Minnesota, and made it the duty of the United States district judge to hold two terms of court annually, beginning on the second Monday in April and the second Alonday in October.
The act of admission was signed by President Buchanan on Jan. 29, 1861, and on Feb. 9 the state government was inaugurated. On Feb. 22, Washington's birthday, the American flag was hoisted over Inde- pendence Hall in the city of Philadelphia, bearing for the first time the star representing Kansas. It was raised by Abraham Lincoln, who was then on his way to Washington to be inaugurated as president of the United States. Mr. Lincoln said :
"I am invited and called before you to participate in raising above Independence Hall the flag of our country with an additional star upon it. I wish to call your attention to the fact that, under the blessing of God, each additional star added to that flag has given additional pros- perity and happiness to our country."
Adobe Walls, Battle of. — In the spring of 1874 a number of Dodge
30 CVCLOPEDIA OF
City buffalo hunters went south to the Pan Handle country and the "Staked Plains" of Texas to hunt buffaloes, and, invading the hunting- grounds of the Indians of that locality, it is said they killed 100,000 buffaloes during the ensuing five months. Their camp was made at a deserted station known as "Adobe Walls," near the ruins of which at the time were three large adobe and log houses, occupied by traders and hunters. The Indians, who had been watching this wholesale slaughter of the animals which constituted their chief food supply were in no peace- ful frame of mind in consequence, and after holding a council, about 900 Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Comanches and Kiowas on the morning of June 27 rode out to make an attack, hoping to take the hunters by sur- prise. At the time of the attack some of the occupants of one of the buildings at Adobe Walls were up on the roof of the building making needed repairs, and while thus engaged discovered the Indians. Seeing they were apprehended, the Indians gave the war whoop and charged — riding 25 or more abreast — firing their rifles and revolvers as they came. Two hunters who had come in during the night and were en- camped about 100 yards awa}' from the buildings were the only ones failing to reach a place of safety. They were quickly killed and scalped. The occupants of the buildings numbered 28 men and i woman, a Mrs. William Olds, of Warsaw. Mo., wife of one of the hunters and the only white woman in all that section at the time. As soon as the hunters reached shelter they grasped their rifles and returned the fire of the Indians with telling effect. The late Ouanah Parker, at that time war chief of the Comanches and a noted chief in the tribe since, headed the first charge, but while passing the open door of one of'the houses was shot through the breast and put out of the fight almost at the start. The Indians, however, were persistent in their attacks, and again and again returned to the assault, only to fall before the withering fire of the hunters within the buildings. Three casualties among the hunters closed the first days' fight, 2 of these being the men killed in their wagon. Fir- ing was kept up intermittently during the second day, and under cover of darkness one of the hunters was sent for assistance to Dodge City, 175 miles distant, which place he reached some days later without mis- hap. The Indians had lost many men in their charges and after the second day began to do their fighting at long range. On the third day William Olds was killed by the accidental discharge of his gun. By the morning of the fourth day over 100 hunters from the surrounding coun- try had crowded into Adobe Walls, agumenting the fighting force corre- spondingly. Two days later, after two days of quiet, one more hunter was killed, he and a companion having gone out for sand plums. On July 14, the Indians having decamped, the hunters marched out for Dodge City, which place they reached on the 27th. Gov. Osborn sent 1,000 stands of arms to Dodge City in response to the request. The Indians in this fight lost 80 men killed and mortally wounded, besides about 200 ponies. What supplies the hunters could not take with them were appropriated by the Indians who burned the premises.
KANSAS HISTURV 3I
Adrian, a little hamlet of Jackson county, is situated on the ridge between Cross and Soldier creeks, about i6 miles southwest of Holton, the county seat, and 4 miles from Emmett, which is the nearest rail- road station. Mail is received by rural delivery from Delia.
Adventists. — This denomination belongs to that class of religious organizations which accepts the inspiration of the scriptures, take the Bible as their rule of faith, and hold to the fundamental doctrines of Christian churches. This, belief arose as a result of the preachings of William Miller, in 1831. He taught that the world would come to an end in 1843, and would be followed by the coming of Christ to reign on earth. Mr. Miller's study of Biblical prophecies had convinced him that the coming would be between March 21, 1843, ^^^ March 21, 1844. When these dates passed many preachers joined the movement and sev- eral thousand followers were gathered from different churches. On April 2D, 1845, Mr.' Miller called a convention of the faithful at Albany, N. Y., which convention issued a declaration of belief and adopted the name Adventists. The declaration was that Christ will come soon, but at an unknown time, as the prophecy for 1843 3-"^ ^^so that for 1844, had not been fulfilled. The resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust, and the beginning of the millennium after the resurection of the saints, was set forth in the belief.
The Adventists baptize by immersion, and are congregational in polity, except the Seven Day branch and the Church of God, which have a general conference that is supreme. Since their organization, the Adventists have divided into seven bodies. The Evangelical Ad- ventists began to call themselves by that name in 1845. They believe that all the dead will be raised, the saints first to eternal bliss and the wicked last to eternal punishment. The Advent Christians formed a general association in 1861. They believe that the dead are unconscious and the wicked are punished by annihilation. This body is chiefly lo- cated in New England. The Seven Day Adventists were formed in 1845, in New Hampshire and adopted the obligation of the seventh day as the Sabbath. They believe that the dead sleep until the judgment and the unsaved are destroyed. This body is the strongest and its mem- bers are spread throughout the United States, being especially strong in the west. The Church of God was formed after a division among the Seven Day Adventists in 1864-65, concerning the revelations of Mrs. E. G. White. A general conference is the head of this organization, with subordinate state conferences. It is chiefly located in the western and southwestern states. The Life and Advent Union, organized in i860, believes that the wicked never wake from their sleep of death. The Church of God in Jesus Christ believes in the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth with Christ as king; the annihilation of the wicked and the restoration of Israel. This sect is established in various parts of the United States and Canada.
The Adventists were not established to any extent in Kansas until the great tide of immigration set toward this state in the '80s. for in
32 • CVCLOI'EDIA OF
1893, there were but 30 church organizations in the state with a mem- bership of 900. As the country became more densely populated the num- ber of Adventist bodies increased and new organizations were perfected. In 1906 the Seven Day Adventists had 2,397 communicants ; the Advent Christian church 247, making a total membership of 2,689.
Aetna, a village of Barber county, is located near the southwestern corner in Aetna township, about 30 miles from Medicine Lodge, the county seat. It is connected by stage line with Lake City, which is the most convenient railroad station. It is a trading center for the neigh- borhood, has a money order postoffice, and in 1910 reported a popula- tion of 25.
Agenda, a village of Republic county, is located in the northern ]3art of Elk Creek township, and is a station on the Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 17 miles southeast of Belleville, the county seat. The first house in Agenda was erected by Joseph Cox in 1887, soon after the town was laid out. It has a money order postoffice with one rural delivery route, express and telegraph offices, several general stores and other business establishments, a bank, a grain elevator, and in 1910 reported a population of 200.
Agra, one of the principal towns of Phillips county, is a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 12 miles east of Phillipsburg, the county seat. It was first settled in 1888, was incorporated in 1904, and in 19 10 reported a population of 347. Agra has a bank, a money order postoffice which supplies mail to the surrounding country by rural free delivery, grain elevators, a weekly newspaper — the Sentinel — good schools, churches, a considerable retail trade, and ships large quantities of grain and live stock.
Agricola, a village of Coffey county, is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., in Rock Island township, 20 miles northeast of Burlington, the county seat, and 6 miles from Waverly. It has tele- graph and express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population according to the 1910 census was 100.
Agricultural College. — The official title of this institution is the "Kansas State Ag-ricultural College." The Congress of the United States, by an act approved, July 2, 1862, entitled, "An act donating public lands to the several states and territories which may provide col- leges for the benefit of agriculture and mechanic arts," granted to the State of Kansas upon certain conditions, 90,000 acres of public lands for the endowment, support and maintenance of a college. The leading object of such colleges was to be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life ; and when the legislature of Kansas in 1863 accepted the benefits of said act with its provisions, the foundation of the Kansas State Agricultural College was laid.
The location of the college may be attributed to the citizens of Man-
KANSAS HISTORY 33
hattan, which city was founded in 1855 by the cooperation of two col- onies, one from New England and the other from Cincinnati. In the New England party were several college graduates who were active in the promotion of education. In 1857 an association was formed to build a college in or near Manhattan to be under the control of the Methodist Episcopal church of Kansas and to be called Bluemont Central College. The charter secured in Feb., 1858, provided for the establishment of a classical college but contained the following section "The said associa- tion shall have power to establish, in addition to the literary depart- ment of arts and sciences, an agricultural department, with separate pro- fessors, to test soils, experiment in the raising of crops, the cultivation of trees, etc., upon a farm set apart for the purpose, so as to bring out to the utmost practical results the agricultural advantages of prairie lands."
By a special act of Congress, title was secured to 100 acres of land, about one mile west of Manhattan, on which the institution was located. The growth of the college was slow and unsteady, because both money and students were scarce. In 1861 when locations for a state university were discussed, the trustees of Bluemont Central College offered their site and building to the state but their offer was refused. In 1S63 when Kansas accepted the act of Congress giving land for an agricultural college, said college was. established in Riley county, provided that the trustees of Bluemont College cede its land to the state in fee simple. The Agricultural College was organized that same year with a board of trustees consisting of the governor, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, the president of the college ex oificio, and nine oth- ers to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. Later the board of regents was reduced to seven members. Four departments were named, to-wit : Agriculture ; Mechanic Arts ; Military Science and Tactics; Literature and Science.
From 1863 to 1873 the development of the college was much as it would have been, had the trustees of Bluemont College remained in control. The department of literature and science was fostered while the departments for which the school was especially founded were prac- tically ignored. The first faculty consisted of Rev. Joseph Denison, president and professor of ancient languages and mental and moral science; J. G. Schnebly, professor of natural science; Rev. N. O. Pres- ton, professor of mathematics and English literature; Jeremiah E. Piatt, principal of the preparatory department; Miss Bell Haines, assistant teacher in preparatory department, and Mrs. Eliza C. Beckwith teacher of instrumental music. The first catalogue gives the names of 94 stu- dents in the preparatory department and 15 in the college. Fifteen stu- dents graduated in the period from 1863 to 1873. In 1867 a large board- ing hall for students was erected by parties in Manhattan. It was a fail- ure financially. The college was urged to buy it and did at a cost of $10,000. In 1868 about 200 varieties of forest and fruit trees were plant- ed. In 1871 a new farm of 155 acres was purchased for $29,832.71 in (1-3)
34
CYCLOPEDIA OF
scrip. The city of Manhattan, fearing the agricultural college would be consolidated with the university at Lawrence, gave $12,000 (the re- sult of a bond election) toward the purchase.
MAIN BUILDING. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
An act of legislation in 1873, reorganizing the state institutions, re- sulted in the appointment of a new board of regents. It elected Rev. John A. Anderson of Junction City to the place vacated by President Denison, who resigned the same year. Mr. Anderson changed the pol- icy of the college immediately. Through him and the board who sup- ported him, the Kansas State Agricultural College started on the mission it was intended to fulfill. Mr. Anderson believed in industrial education, and the reasons for his radical policies were published in 1874 in a "Hand Book of the Kansas State Agricultural College." Briefly told he thought prominence should be given to a study in proportion to the actual bene- fit expected to be derived from it; that, "The farmer and mechanic should be as completely educated as the lawyer or minister ; but the information that is essential to one is often comparatively useless to the other and it is therefore unjust to compel all classes to pursue the same course of study." That ninety-seven per cent of Kansas people are in industrial vocations, so greater prominence should be given industrial studies. That each year's course of study should be, as far as possible, complete in itself because many students are unable to take a whole col- lege course. Mr. Anderson's views were unpopular but they met the approval of the board of regents to such an extent that they discontinued the department of literature and organized those of mechanic arts and
KANSAS HISTORY 35
agriculture ; the students were moved from the old farm to the new one ; workshops in iron and wood, a sewing room, printing office, telegraph office and kitchen laboratory were equipped that industrial training might be given; and fifty minutes of manual training per day became compulsory for each student. After Mr. Anderson had been president three years Latin, French, German were discontinued ; the preparatory course was abolished, thus shortening the whole course from six to four years; the grade of work was adjusted aud lowered tc, connect with that done by the public schools. 1 3'4323^
In 1875 the Mechanics' Hall was erected; in 1876 Horticultural Hall and the Chemical Laboratory; in 1877 the main part of the present barn was constructed (it was finished in 1886) ; and in 1879 the main hall, named in honor of Mr. Anderson, was built.
In 1878 Mr. Anderson resigned, and from Feb. to Dec, 1879, M. L. Ward was acting president of the college. Shortage of money made it a difficult year. The legislature of 1877 having voted "that not over $15,000 of the interest on the endowment fund shall be used to pay in- structors and teachers in said college until debts of said college be paid in full, and until said college shall refund to state all moneys advanced by the state to pay for instructors and running expenses of said college." The debt had been decreased during President Anderson's administra- tion but was not cleared until the state legislature passed an act liquidat- ing it.
George Thompson Fairchild, who succeeded Mr. Anderson, entered upon his duties as president of the college in Dec, 1879. He had been an instructor in the Michigan Agricultural College, so came well pre- pared to improve the college at Manhattan. He believed in a school that would Combine the culture of a classical education with the useful- ness of manual training. He rearranged the course of study to combine theory and practice, added literature, psychology, etc., divided the school year into three terms, inaugurated a series of lectures, and appointed committees to take charge of the various branches of school life.
In 1890 the Federal government passed an act for the further endow- ment of agricultural colleges established under the provisions of an act of 1862. The act provided, "the sum of $15,000 for the year ending June 30, 1890, and an annual increase of the amount of such appropriation thereafter for ten years by an additional sum of $1,000 over the preced- ing year, and the average amount to be paid thereafter to each state and territory shall be $25,000, to be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches of mathematics, physical, natural and economic science, with special refer- ence to the industries of life and to the facilities for such instruction."
In 1907 the income of the agricultural college was further increased by what is known as the Nelson amendment to the agricultural appro- priation bill. "In accordance with the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and the act of Congress approved Aug. 30. 1890. the sum of $5,000, in addition to the sums named in said act, for the fiscal year end-
36 CYCLOPEDIA OF
ing June 30, 1908, and an annual increase of the amount of such appro- priation thereafter for four years by an additional sum of $5,000 over the preceding year, and the annual sum to be paid thereafter to each state and territory shall be $50,000 to be applied only for the purposes of the agricultural colleges as defined and limited in the act of Congress approved Aug. 30, 1890, provided, that said colleges may use a portion of this money for providing courses for the special preparation of in- structors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts.
A valuable adjunct to the Agricultural College is the Experiment Sta- tion. Some experiment work in forest planting was commenced by the college as early as 1868. In 1874 experiments in the cultivation of tame grasses were started by Prof. Shelton. These were followed by experi- ments in subsoiling, feeding, etc., but all work was carried on in a small way at the expense of the college until Congress passed the Hatch bill in March, 1887, providing for the organization of a station for experi- ments along agricultural lines in each state. This station was located at the Agricultural College by the state legislature and the management vested^in a council consisting of the president, the professors of agricul- ture, horticulture and entomology, chemistry, botany, and veterinary science. The Hatch bill provided for an annual Congressional appro- priation of $15,000 for experimental work.
In 1906, another appropriation was made for the Experiment Station, under what is known as the Adams act, which provided "for the more complete endowment and maintenance of the agricultural experiment stations," a sum beginning with $5,000, and increasing each year by $2,000 over the preceding year for five years, after which time the annual appropriation is to be $15,000, "to be applied to paying the necessary expenses of conducting original researches or experiments bearing di- rectly on the agricultural industry of the United States, having due re- gard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective states and territories." Under the Adams act only such experiments may be en- tered upon as have first been approved by the office of experiment sta- tions of the United States department of agriculture. In 1908, the legis- lature of Kansas appropriated $15,000 for further support of the Ex- periment Station.
The work of the station is published in bulletin form, of which there are three classes : The first are purely scientific, the second are sim- plified to meet the intelligence of the average reader and include all other bulletins in which a "brief, condensed and popular presentation is made of data which call for immediate application and cannot await publication in the regular bulletin series." In addition to these the sta- tion publishes a series of circulars of useful information not necessarily new or original. The station has issued 167 bulletins, 183 press bulle- tins and 8 circulars.
While the main division of the station is at Manhattan it has branches at Fort Hayes, Garden City, Ogallah and Dodge Cit}'. The land at Fort Hays is of the high rolling prairie variety and was originally part
KANSAS HISTORY 37
of the Fort Ha)'s military reservation, which from disuse was turned over to the department of interior in 1889 for disposal. In 1895 the Kansas legislature asked Congress to donate the whole reservation of 7,200 acres to the State of Kansas for agricultural education and re- search, for the training of teachers, and for a public park, but it was not until 1900 that Kansas secured the land. The work of this station is con- fined to the problems of the western part of the state. This land is suitable for experimental and demonstration work in dry farming, irri- gation and crops, forest and orchard tests. This station is supported by state funds, and sales of farm products.
The station at Garden City is located upon unirrigated upland which the Agricultural College leased from the county commissioners of Fin- ney county for 99 years. "It is an experimental and demonstration" farm operated in conjunction with the United States department of agri- culture for purpose of determining the methods of culture, crop varieties and crop rotation best suited for the southwestern portion of the state, under dry land farming conditions.
The stations at Ogallah and Dodge City are forestry stations, and are operated under the direct management of state forester and general supervision of the director of the Experiment Station. The engineering expepiment station was established by the board of regents, "for the purpose of carrying on continued series of tests of engineering and manufacturing value to the State of Kansas, and to conduct these tests on a scale sufficiently large that the results will be of direct commercial value." Among the experiments made are those of cement and con- crete, Kansas coals, lubricants and bearings, endurance tests of paints, power required for driving machine tools, etc. President Fairchild remained at the head of the Agricultural College from 1879 to 1897. The growth of the institution under his direction was steady and sub- stantial. He was succeeded by Mr. Thomas E. Will. It is said great prominence was given economic, financial and social problems during the presidency of Mr. Will. In 1897 four year courses were established in domestic science, agriculture, mechanical engineering and general science. Mr. Will resigned in 1899, and Prof. E. R. Nichols was chosen to fill his place first as acting president, later as president.
The rapid increase in attendance made new buildings necessary. In 1900 the agricultural hall and dairy barn were erected ; in 1902, the physical science hall, in 1906 the granary, and in 1904 the dairy hall, college extension. Until 1905 the extension work of the college was in the form of farmer's institutes held throughout the state, this work be- ing in charge of a committee chosen from the faculty. The small means available made the institutes irregular and the attendance was small. In 1905 the board of regents employed a superintendent to organize the department of farmers' institutes, and in igo6 the department was for- mally organized. To the appropriation of $4,000 made by the legislature of 1905 the college added $800. The interest of the state in the agricul- tural extension and the results derived therefrom resulted in an appro-
38 CYCLOPEDIA OF
priation of $11,500 by the legislature of 1907 to which the college added $1,000. In 1909 the legislature appropriated $52,500 for the department, the policies and plans of which are established by a committee consist- ing of the president of the college, the director of the experiment station and the superintendent of the division. The department includes the following forms of agricultural extension : Farmers' institutes ; publica- tions for institute members ; agricultural railway trains ; schoolhouse campaigns ; boys' corn growing contests ; girls' cooking and sewing con- tests; rural education; demonstration farming; highway construction; movable schools; special campaigns; publications for teachers; corre- spondence courses (18 courses ofifered) ; home economic clubs.
President Nichols resigned in 1909 and Henry Jackson Waters was chosen by the board of regents to succeed him. The Agricultural Col- lege now owns 748 acres of land including the campus of i6o acres. The buildings which are built of white limestone number twenty-one. The corps of instructors numbers 165, and the number of students enrolled in 1910 was 1,535 males, 770 females, a total of 2,305.
Agricultural Society, State. — The first effort to organize a state — or more properly speaking a territorial — agricultural society, was made on July 16, 1857, when a mass meeting was held at Topeka to consider the subject. After discussion pro and con a committee was appointed to draw up a constitution for such a society. Among the members of this committee were Dr. Charles Robinson, W. F. M. Arny, C. C. Hutchin- son, Dr. A. Hunting and W. Y. Roberts. An organization was effected under a constitution presented by the committee, but for various reasons the society was never able to accomplish much in the wa)' of promoting the agricultural interests of Kansas. In the first place the projectors of the movement were mostly ardent free-state men, while the territorial authorities were of the opposite political faith, so that it was impossible to secure the passage of laws favorable to the work of the society. Added to this, the unsettled conditions in the territory, due largely to the political agitation for the adoption of a state constitution and the admission of Kansas into the Union, kept the public mind so occupied that it was a difficult matter to arouse sufficient interest in agriculture to place the society on a solid footing. After a short existence it ceased its efforts altogether. The books collected by the society were afterward given to the state library by Judge L. D. Bailey.
The territorial legislature of i860 provided for the organization of county agricultural societies in the counties of Coffey, Doniphan, Doug- las, Franklin, Linn and Wabaunsee, and for the "Southern Kansas Agri- cultural Society," but no provisions were ever made by the authorities during the territorial era for a society that would cover the entire terri- tory in its operations.
By the act of May 10, 1861, the first state legislature authorized ten or more persons to form an agricultural or a horticultural society in any county, town, city or village, and file articles of association with the secretary of the state society and with the county clerk in the county
KANSAS HISTORY 39
where the society was located. As a matter of fact, at the time this law was passed there was no state agricultural society, but on Feb. 5, 1862, a meeting was held in the hall of the house of representatives at Topeka for the purpose of organizing one. W. R. Wagstaff, F. G. Adams, Gol- den Silvers, J. Medill and R. A. Van Winkle were appointed as a com- mittee to draft a constitution, and upon the adoption of their report the following oiHcers were elected: President, Lyman Scott; secretary, Franklin G. Adams ; treasurer, Isaac Garrison ; executive committee, E. B. Whitman, R. A. Van Winkle, Welcome Wells, F. P. Baker, W. A. Shannon, J. W. Sponable, C. B. Lines, Thomas Arnold, Martin Ander- son and J. C. Marshall.
The constitution adopted at the formation of the society provided for the payment by each member of annual dues of one dollar, or for ten dollars one could become a life member. It also provided for the organ- ization of county societies as auxilaries to the state society.
On Jan. 13, 1863, L. D. Baile}^ succeeded Lyman Scott as president. Mr. Bailey served as president until Jan. 16, 1867, when he was suc- ceeded by Robert G. Elliott, who in turn was succeeded by I. S. Kal- loch on Sept. 30, 1870, the latter continuing to hold the office until the society went out of existence. Mr. Adams served as secretary until Jan. 12, 1865, when John S. Brown was elected as his successor. On Sept. 30, 1870, H. J. Strickler was elected secretary and served until Sept. 15, 1871, when Alfred Gray was elected to the office, being the last secretary of the society.
At a meeting of the executive committee on Feb. 20, 1863, the presi- dent and secretary were given full power to make all the necessar}^ ar- rangements for a state fair, and the first state fair was held at Leaven- worth the following fall— Oct. 6 to 9 inclusive. (See State Fairs.) The legislature of that year made an appropriation of $1,000 for the benefit of the society. Another work of the society in 1863 was the distribution of 500 bushels of cotton seed among the farmers of the state who were desirous of trying the experiment of raising cotton.
On March 12, 1872, the State Agricultural Society held its last meet- ing and adjourned sine die, the State Board of Agriculture (q. v.), which had already been authorized by an act of the legislature, taking its place.
Agricultural Wheel.— During the winter of 1881-82, the unsatisfac- tory condition of the market for farm products, and the oppressiveness of the Arkansas mortgage laws through what was known as the "ana- conda mortgage," led to a wide discussion among the farmers of that state as to the advisability of organizing for cooperation and mutual pro- tection. On Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, 1882, seven farmers met at McBee's school house, 8 miles southwest of the town of Des Arc, in Prairie county, to consider the question of forming some kind of a farm- ers' society. A committee, consisting of W. T. McBee, W. W. Tedford and J. W. McBee, was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws and report at same place on the evening of the 22nd. At the adjourned meet- ing the Wattensas Farmers' club was organized, the objects of which
40 CYCLOPEDIA OF
were stated in the constitution as being "The improvement of its mem- bers in the theory and practice of agriculture and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and farming afifairs."
It seems that the name was not altogether satisfactory to some of those interested, for at the meeting on March i the question of select- ing a new one, with a broader significance, came up for consideration. Some one suggested the name of "Wheel," because "no machine can be run without a drive wheel, and agriculture is the great wheel or power that controls the entire machinery of the world's industries." The so- ciety was therefore reorganized under the new name, with the follow- ing objects :
"i — To unite fraternally all acceptable white males who are engaged in the occupation of farming, also mechanics who are actually engaged in farming.
"2 — To give all possible moral and material aid in its power to its members by holding instructive lectures, by encouraging each other in business, and by assisting each other in obtaining employment.
"3 — The improvement of its members in the theory and practice of agriculture and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and farming affairs.
"4 — To ameliorate the condition of the farmers of this country in every possible manner."
By the following spring the organization numbered some 500 mem- bers, and on April 9, 1883, representatives of the local wheels in Ar- kansas met at the residence of W. T. McBee, one of the seven founders, and launched the state wheel, with E. B. McPherson as grand president. Deputies were appointed to carry the order into new territory by the establishment of local wheels, and the organization spread rapidly to other states. On July 28, 1886, delegates from the local wheels in Ar- kansas,, Kentucky and Tennessee met at Litchfield, Ark., and organized the national wheel with Isaac McCracken of Ozone, Ark., as president, and A. E. Gardner of Dresden, Tenn., as secretary and treasurer. The State Wheel Enterprise, published by Louis B. Audigier, at Searcy, Ark., was made the organ of the national organization. This gave a new impetus to the order, which on March i, 1887," just five years after it was founded, boasted a membership of 500,000, the greater portion of which was in the states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missis- sippi and Missouri, though the order had extended into the Indian Ter- ritory and Wisconsin.
Upon the organization of the national wheel a platform was adopted, in which the following demands were made: The preservation of the public domain of the United States for actual settlers ; legislation to pre- vent aliens from owning land in this country; the coinage of enough gold and silver into money to assure a speedy extinguishment of the national debt ; the abolition of national banks and the issue of enough legal tender notes to do the business of the country on a cash basis; legislation by Congress to prevent dealing in futures in agricultural pro-
KANSAS HISTORY 4I
ductions; a graduated income tax; a strict enforcement of the laws pro- hibiting the importation of foreign labor under the contract system ; ownership by the people of all means of transportation and communica- tion; the election of all officers of the national government by a direct vote of the people ; the repeal of all laws that bear unequally on capital and labor; the amendment of the tariff laws so that all import duties on articles that enter into American manufactures should be removed, and that duties be levied on articles of luxury, but not high enough to prevent their importation; the education of the masses by a well regu- lated system of free schools ; no renewal of patents at the expiration of the period for which they were originally granted.
A resolution was also adopted by the national wheel pledging the members to support no man for Congress "of any political party, who will not pledge himself in writing to use all his influence for the forma- tion of these demands into laws."
At a meeting of the national wheel at Meridian, Miss., in Dec, 1888, it was recommended that the organization unite with the Farmers' Al- liance. A joint meeting of delegates belonging to the two organizations was held at Birmingham, Ala., May 15, 1889. and the two orders were consolidated on Sept. 24, following.
Agriculture. — In a general sense agriculture in Kansas was com- menced in 1825, when the government by a treaty made with the Kansas Indians agreed to supply them with cattle, hogs and agricul- tural implements, but literally history of agriculture begins with the Quiviran Indians who were tilling the soil more than two centuries earlier, when Don Juan de Onate (q. v.) tarried with them on his jour- ney from New Mexico.
John B. Dunbar, in an article on "The White Man's Foot in Kan- sas," speaks of the pleasant effect the country of the Ouivirans had upon Onate. As contrasted with the arid regions of New Mexico and northern Mexico it seemed to him a veritable land of promise, "The frequent streams, the wide prairies, pleasantly diversified with gently rolling hills and admirably adapted to cultivation, the rich soil, spontaneously afforded a variegated growth of grass, flowering plants, arid native fruits, nuts, Indian potatoes, etc., that added much to the attractiveness of the entire region." The Quivirans, "in cultivating the soil, worshipped the planet, Venus, known as Hopirikuts, the Great Star, recognized by them as the patron of agriculture, as did in later days their descendants, the Pawnees. Sometimes, after plant- ing their corn patches to secure a good crop, they offered the captive girl as a sacrifice to Hopirikuts. As time passed many of the tribe came to look upon this usage with disfavor, and finally, in 1819, by the interference of Pitalesharu, a young brave of well known character as a man of recognized prowess as war chief, the usage was finally dis- continued."
It is not said that the Kansas Indians received their suggestion of husbandry from the remote Quivirans but they were the next farmers
42 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in Kansas. Dr. Thomas Say, the chief zoologist of the Long Ex- pedition, in writing of his visit to the Kansas village in 1819, said: "They commonly placed before us a sort of soup, composed of maize of the present season, of that description, which after having under- gone a certain preparation, is appropriately named sweet-corn, boiled in water, and enriched with a few slices of bison meat, grease and some beans, and, to suit it to our palates, it was generally seasoned with rock salt, which is procured near the Arkansas river. . . . Another very acceptable dish was called lyed corn. . . . They also make much use of maize roasted on the cob, of boiled pumpkins, of muskmelons and watermelons, but the latter are generally pulled from the vine before they are completely ripe." Dr. Say further states that the young females before marriage cultivated the fields. The agency of the Kansas In- dians was established at the mouth of the Grasshopper creek in 1827. Daniel Morgan Boone, the farmer appointed by the government, com- menced farming at this point in 1827 or 1828. Rev. Isaac AIcCo}-, in 1835, reported that the government had 20 acres fenced and 10 acres plowed at "Fool Chief's" village, 3 miles west of the present North Topeka. In the spring of 1835 the government selected 300 acres in what is now Shawnee county, and about the same number south of the Kansas River, in the valley of Mission creek and carried on farm- ing on quite an extensive scale. The emigrant tribes from the east who came into Kansas from 1825-1832 were sufficiently civilized to have a knowledge of farming and good farms were cultivated by members of the various tribes and by the white missionaries who settled among them.
The first cultivation of the soil by white men on a scale large enough to be called farming was at Fort Leavenworth in 1829 or 1830; at the mouth of Grasshopper creek by Daniel Morgan Boone ; and at the Shaw- nee mission farm in Johnson county by Rev. Thomas Johnson as early as 1830. Farms were quite common on the Indian reservations, and at the various missions, when Congress passed the bill creating Kansas Territory. The remarkable fertility of the soil of Kansas and its adaptability to agricultural purposes had been experimentally proven and were well known before the territorial bill was passed. Hence, the tide of immigration from 1854 to 1856 was due as much to the natural resources of the land as to the political preferment. The un- settled condition of territorial affairs from 1858 to i860 was not aus- picious for the pursuance of industrial arts. The settlers planted crops but raised barely enough for their own consumption. The L'nited States census for i860 in its report on Kansas shows 405,468 acres in improved farms and 372,932 acres in unimproved farms, with the cash value of both as $12,258,239. There were then farming implements valued at $727,694: 20,344 horses; 1,496 mules; 28,550 milch cows; 2,155 oxen; 43,354 other cattle; 17,569 sheep; 138,244 swine, and the value of this live stock was $3,332,450. There were 194,173 bushels of wheat; 3,833 bushels of rye; 6,150,727 bushels of Indian corn; 88,-
KANSAS HISTORY
43
325 bushels of oats ; 20,349 pounds of tobacco ; 24,400 pounds of cotton ; 24,746 pounds of wool ; 9,827 bushels of peas and beans ; 296,335 bushels of Irish potatoes; 9,965 bushels of sweet potatoes; 4,716 bushels of barley; 41,575 bushels of buckwheat; orchard products valuing $656; market garden products worth $31,641 ; 1,093,497 pounds of butter; 29,- 045 pounds of cheese; 56,232 tons of hay; 103 bushels of clover seed; 3,043 bushels of grass seed; 197 pounds of hops; 1,135 pounds of flax; II bushels of flax seed; 40 pounds of silk cocoons; 3,742 pounds of maple sugar; 2 gallons of maple molasses; 87,656 gallons of sorghum molasses; 1,181 pounds of beeswax, and 16,944 pounds of honey.
The small beginning toward agricultural development received a serious setback by what is known as the drought of i860, which really beg'an in Sept., 1859. and lasted until the fall of the next year. (See Droughts.) The struggle with poverty was accompanied by a struggle for statehood, and in 1861 Kansas, a poor, destitute, forlorn young thing, clothed in grain sacks and hope, was admitted to the Union. An optimism born of determination is indicated in the laws of the legisla- ture of 1862, by which a Kansas State Agricultural society was or- ganized, "for the purpose of promoting the improvement of agriculture and its kindred arts," and by which county and town agricultural and horicultural societies could be formed. The small development of the state had not extended over much territory, as in 1861 the map of Kansas was blank beyond the tier of counties embracing Saline, Marion and Butler. During the Civil war very little growth was made in any way, and while agriculture received more attention than many things, few surplus crops were raised. However, in 1863, the legislature ap- propriated $1,000 to the State Agricultural Society, thus keeping in mind the main business of the state in spite of war and strife. At the close of the war, from 1865 until 1870, a second invasion of emigrants entered Kansas, especially the southeastern portion. This invasion con- sisted of the sturdy young men who were discharged from the army, and, out of employment, turned to the fields of Kansas to make a home and support their families. These families were all poor, but kindly in their relations with one another. They exchanged work when outside assistance was needed, because there was no money for wages. Mr. Carey in an article on the Osage ceded lands gives a vivid glimpse of these settlers and their methods and shows a slight social line of de- marcation between those owning American horses, and those owning mustangs and Indian ponies, and between these and the owners of oxen. The implements emplo3'ed were of an ordinary sort and all the com- munities of the state used the methods of farming prevalent in the dis- tricts from which they migrated, and confined their efforts to the com- mon crops. During the period from 1865 to 1870 farming commenced to be a vocation in Kansas. Much time and serious thought were given to it. In 1869 the legislature passed an act for the distribution of wheat on the western frontier. (See Harvey's Administration.)
The agricultural development of the state during the decade from
44 CYCLOPEDIA OF
i860 to 1870 is shown by the following statistics compiled by the ninth United States census. It shows 1,971,003 acres of improved land, 635,- 419 acres of woodland and 3,050,457 acres of unimproved land. The valuation of farms was $90,327,040; of farming implements and ma- chiner}-, $4,053,312; the total value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock $27,630,651. There were 117,786 horses; 11,786 mules and asses; 12,344 milch cows; 20,774 working oxen ; 229,753 other cattle ; 109,088 sheep ; 206,587 swine. There were produced on the farms 1,314,522 bushels of spring wheat; 1,076,676 bushels of winter wheat ; 17,025,525 bushels of corn ; 85,207 bushels of rye ; 4,097,925 bushels of oats ; 98,405 of barley ; 27,826 of buckwheat ; 33,241 pounds of tobacco ; 7 bales of cotton ; 335,005 pounds of wool ; 13,109 bushels of peas and beans; 2,342,988 bushels of Irish potatoes; 49,533 bushels of sweet potatoes; 5,022,758 pounds of butter; 226,607 pounds of cheese ; 490,289 tons of hay ; 334 bushels of clover seed ; 8,- 023 bushels of grass seed; 396 pounds of hops; 35 tons of hemp; 1,040 pounds of flax; 1,553 bushels of flaxseed; 938 pounds of maple sugar; 449,409 gallons of sorghum molasses; 212 gallons of maple molasses; 2,208 pounds of beeswax; 110,827 pounds of hone}'.
In the early '70s the population grew more rapidly than the crops, thus keeping the country poor ; the legislature of 1872 found it necessary to appropriate $3,000 for the relief of settlers in the western part of the state. In March of the same year the Kansas State Agricultural So- ciety went out of existence and the Kansas State Board of agriculture was organized. (See Agriculture, State Board of.)
The state made every effort to develop her fertile acres, but success came slowly, as new catastrophes were constantly happening to retard progress and to depress hope. In July and August, 1874, Kansas re- ceived a devastating visitation from the grasshopper or locust. A great swarm of these insects passed over the state devouring nearly every green thing. Thej^ came so suddenl}' the people were panic stricken. In the western counties, where immigration during the previous two years had been very heav}', and the chief dependence of the settlers was corn, potatoes and garden vegetables, the calamity fell with terri- ble force. Starvation or emigration seemed inevitable unless aid should be furnished. The state board of agriculture set about collecting cor- rect data relating to the effects of the prevailing drouth, and devasta- tion of crops by locusts and cinch bugs, and Gov. Osborn issued a proclamation convening legislature on the 15th day of September. (See Osborn's Administration.)
The grasshopper raid retarded immigration and discouraged the people of the state but did not destroy hope and faith, for in 1876 all forces rallied to redeem the reputation of Kansas. The State Board of Centennial Managers in a communication to the legislature said, "Kansas needs all the advantages of a successful display. Remote from the money centers, the crash of the 'panic' came, sweeping away our values, checking our immigration, and leaving us our land and our
KANSAS HISTORY 45
debts. The devastation of the locust was an accidental and passing shadow. Our wealth of soil and climate has been reasserted in abundant harvests, but the depression still rests like a blight on the price of real estate. Immigration has halted and investments have measurably- ceased." The legislature of 1876 evidently felt the same way about the state because it appropriated $25,000 for the Kansas building and dis- play in Philadelphia. (See Expositions.)
The statistics for 1880, as given by the State Board of agricultural, show 8,868,884.79 acres of land in cultivation, divided as follows : win- ter wheat, 2,215,937 acres, with a product of 23,507,223 bushels, valued at $19,566,034.67; spring wheat, 228,497 acres, 1,772,661 bushels, $1,- 414,633.90; rye, 54,748 acres, 676,507 bushels, $270,602.80; corn, 3,554,- 396 acres, 101,421,718 bushels, $24,926,079.07; barley, 17,121 acres, 287,- 057 bushels, $143,528.50; oats, 477,827 acres, 11,483,796 bushels, $2,918,- 689.17; buckwheat, 2,671.41 acres, 43,455 bushels, $39,110; Irish potatoes, 66,233 acres, 4,919,227 bushels, $3,279,501.85; sweet potatoes, 4,021 acres, 391,196.55 bushels, $391,196.55; sorghum, 32,945.09 acres, 3,787,- 535 gallons, $1,704,390.98; castor beans, 50,437.61 acres, 558,974.28 bushels, $558,974.28; cotton, 838.34 acres, 142,517.80 pounds, $12,826.67; hemp, 597.22 acres, 635,872 pounds, $38,152.32; tobacco, 607.21 acres, 449,335.40 pounds, $44,933.54; broom corn, 25,507.64 acres, 17,279-, 664.50 pounds, $604,788.27; rice corn, 27,138.40 acres, 493,915 bushels, $125,353.12; pearl millet, 8,031.40 acres, 26,784 tons, $115,527; millet and hungarian, 268,485 acres, 602,300.31 tons, $2,542,565.95; timothy meadow, 49,201.46 acres, 79,634.16 tons, $447,411.20; clover meadow, 16,637.61 acres, 26,796.16 tons, $151,764.05; clover, blue' grass and prairie pasture, 959,456.91 acres ; prairie meadow, 679,744 acres, 798,707 tons, $2,570,290.85.
The counties having the most acres cultivated were Sedgwick, Mc- Pherson, Dickinson, Miami, Marshall and Sumner, all of which had more than 210,000, while Ford, Barbour and Hodgeman of the or- ganized counties had the least number of acres in cultivation.
A strong feature in the dissemination of agricultural knowledge is the county agricultural society. In the general statutes of 1868, 1872 and 1873 provision is made for the incorporation of these county clubs for the encouragement of agriculture. The important relation exist- ing between them and the State Board of Agriculture is shown in sec- tion 2 of chapter 9 of the session laws of 1873, which declares "that every county or district agricultural society, composed of one or more counties, whether now organized or hereafter to be organized under the laws of the state of Kansas, shall be entitled to send the president of such society, or other delegate therefrom, duly authorized in writing, to the annual meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, to be held on the' second Wednesday of January of each year, and who shall for the time being be ex-officio member of the state Board of Agriculture; pro- vided, that the secretary of each district or county society, or such other person as may be designated by the society, shall make a monthly re-
,\G CYCLOrEDIA OF
port to the State Board of Agriculture, on the last Wednesda)- of each month, of the condition of crops in his district or county, make a list of such noxious insects as are destroying crops, and state the extent of their depradations, report the condition of stock, give a description of the symptoms of any disease prevailing among the same, with means of prevention and remedies employed so far as ascertained, and such other as will be of interest to the farmers of the state," etc. Chapter 37, session laws of 1879. provides that the monthly reports required to be made to and by the board of agriculture, by virtue of existing pro- visions of law, shall hereafter be made quarterly instead of monthly, except when the public interests shall require special reports. Fifty- eight county societies were organized as early as 1874.
The decade from 1880 to 1890 is replete with new suggestions, new methods and new ideals for agricultural development. The hope of earlier years developed into confidence and in 1884 the report of the state board of agriculture says: "During the biennial period just past, nearly 2,000,000 additional acres have been put in cultivation. The principal field crops, corn, wheat, oats and grass, have received each a proportionate amount of this increase in acreage, the most notable additon being to the winter wheat area, which increased from 1,465,- 745 acres in 1882 to 2,151,868 acres in 1884 . . . The area of grass, made up of the tame grasses and prairie meadow under fence, increased in two years nearly 1,000,000 acres. The westward march of the tame grasses may be said to have commenced within the period covered by this volume. Fields of timothy, clover, orchard-grass, blue grass and many other kinds, are now to be found in the central counties, and even beyond, while such fields were rarely met two years ago . . . The results of farming operations in Kansas for the past two years, . . . have definitely settled any doubt as to the entire fitness of the eastern half of the state to the successful prosecution of agriculture in all its branches. The debatable ground of ten years ago is now producing crops that have placed Kansas among the three great agricultural states of the Union, and the soil that ten years ago was believed to the satis- faction of many to be unfit for diversified farming, is now producing average yields that largely exceed the yields of any other portion of the country."
During the years 1883-84, in complying with the law, the state board of agriculture issued each year a pamphlet intended to supply informa- tion concerning the resources and capabilities of the state, to those seek- ing homes in the west. "This report was restricted by law to 60 pages, and the edition each year to 65,000 couies, divided into 20,000 English copies, 20,000 German, 15,000 Swedish, and 10,000 Danish."
The encouraging outlook for the realization of hope in all fields of industry was circumscribed by a drought in 1887. The five prosperous years preceding it were unduly stimulated by heavy immigration and outside capital, the prevalence of fictitious values in all branches of business caused the crop failures of that year to fall more heavily upon
KANSAS HISTORY 47
the people than they otherwise would have done. The drought, which extended throughout most of the Avestern states, fell with much force on Kansas and she experienced one of the most disastrous crop years in her history. In 1888 much of the loss was retrieved, a rapid restora- tion of confidence was occasioned in a large measure by the develop- ment of two new and very important industries — sugar and salt — and by an abundant harvest.
During the years 1888-89 the state board of agriculture turned some of its attention from immigration to the instruction of farmers in the means and methods best adapted to successful agriculture. With this in view the agricultural meetings were conducted along the lines of a farmers' institute, and were considered very profitable. A most im- portant step in the scientific development of husbandry was made in 1887, when the passage of the "Hatch bill" by Congress provided for the organization in each state of a station for experiment in lines pro- motive to agriculture. This experiment station, located by the legisla- ture, was made a department of the State Agricultural College at Man- hattan. The work of the section is done in eight departments: the farm department deals with experiments in farm crops, such as the testing of seeds, the introduction of new crops, rotation and adapta- tion of crops to soil ; the botanical department includes work along the lines of plant breeding and forage crops; the chemical department is engaged in analysis of soil, feeds, waters, ores, clays and miscellaneous things, the dairy and animal husbandry department conducts experi- ments in cheese making, economical production of milk, butter making, relative advantages of cattle foods, etc; the entomological department experiments relate to orchard pests, crop pests, etc. ; the horticultural department makes experiments in fruit raising, shrubs and vines as ornamentals, vegetables suitable for canning factories, etc. ; the vet- erinary department experiments in all kinds of diseases of cattle, swine and stock. The general department controls the management of the station, the distribution of bulletins, press notices, etc. The experiment station puts itself in touch with the agricultural districts through bul- letins, farmers' institutes, crop contests, press reports and display trains. Its influence has been shown in every community, as is evidenced by the diversity of crops, and the crop yield. In 1890 the crops raised were winter wheat, spring wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, Irish and sweet potatoes, castor beans, cotton, flax, hemp, tobacco, broom corn, millet and bungareau, sorghum, milo maize, Jerusalem corn and prairie hay, the total number of acres cultivated being 15,929,654, the crop valuation $121,127,645, and the population 1,427,096.
Up to 1890 agriculture was practically confined to the eastern and central parts of the state, the western portion being considered almost unfit for crops. In 1891 and 1892 a special effort was made to place be- fore the public the capabilities of Kansas soil for the production of wheat, and several farmers from every county in the state who had grown unusually bountiful crops were asked to report to the State
48 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Board of Agriculture the yield and methods of culture. These reports were a new and surprising revelation and showed that western Kan- sas, through to the Colorado line, was bound to be adapted to success- ful wheat growing, many yields being reported at from 30 to 40 bushels an acre without irrigation. Another crop that sprung into prominence at this time was alfalfa. In the spring of 1891 farmers in all parts of the state who had been successful growing alfalfa without irrigation were asked to report upon their manner of preparing the soil and seed- ing it, the acreage the)- had in alfalfa, its value for ha}-, pasture and seed. These reports indicated that it was the most profitable crop that could be grown in Western Kansas, and had revolutionized farming in that section.
STEAM PLOW IN ACTION.
The conditions in western Kansas, especially in the Arkansas river valley, were improved by the magical influence of irrigation. The valley proper is from four to twelve miles wide, and the whole district is flat enough for easy irrigation. The soil is sand}- alluvium, containing the highest elements of fertility, needing only moisture to change it from barren prairie to productive fields. In the early days of immigra- tion large numbers of people settled in the Arkansas river valley, towns were laid out, companies incorporated and large plans made for the fu- ture of this subhumid region. The ordinary methods of farming were not adapted to the climatic conditions and failure followed, until irriga- tion from the Arkansas river was tried. The experiments were success- ful until Colorado adopted similar methods for its arid portions and used so much water from the river that by 1892 the ditches in Kansas were ill supplied. The U. S. government made investigations in west- ern Kansas that led to the discovery of an underflow of the Arkansas that amounted to practically a subterranean river. In 1905 it installed at Deerfield, in Finney county, an irrigation plant that pumped water from wells drilled to this underground stream. Through all the
KANSAS HISTORY 49
Arkansas valley the well irrigation method is successfully used. A crop like alfalfa that grows abundantly without apparent irrigation or rainfall has long roots reaching to the underflow, or gains moisture from the subsoil.
The investigation of drought resisting crops, resulted in the cultiva- tion of the soy-bean in 1889 with most gratifying results. They were found to stand drought as well as kafir corn and sorghum, not to be touched by chinch bugs, and to enrich the soil in which the}^ were grown, The soy-bean was brought from Japan, where it is extensively culti- vated for human food, taking the place of beef on account of its rich- ness in protein. Because of its peculiar flavor but few Americans like it. The soy-bean is valuable as stock food and for soil inoculation. Other important crops developed since 1890 are the sugar beet, and cow peas. It is not great variation in crops that Kansas has strived for but intelligent production of those adapted to Kansas soil and climate.
During the years from 1890 to 1908 thorough attention was given to every detail of farm life, it being the ambition of the state to have every agriculturist farm in the best approved and most scientific manner. In former years the farmer devoted his time to a few main crops and let the minor points take care of themselves, pests and disease were con- sidered bad luck rather than results of carelessness or ignorance. The farmer of today has a broader view of his vocation and investigates not only the soil, its needs and bacteria, crop rotation, planting, and seed but also has a knowledge of silos and ensilage, the breeds of ducks, chickens, turkeys and geese, the most economical and effective stock food, the best rations for milch cows, how to exterminate the Hessian fly, prairie dogs, gophers, chinch bugs or clover hay worms ; and he knows about weeds, their names, fruits, seeds, propagation and dis- tribution, all the simple diseases of stock, their symptoms, causes, and cures, and furthermore is interested in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. Kansas leads all other states in the output of wheat, but corn is her most important soil product. The statistics of the principal Kansas crops for 1908 were as follows: winter wheat, 6,831,811 acres, 76,408,560 bushels, valuation $63,597,490.19; spring wheat, 107,540 acres, 400,362 bushels, $287,655.55; corn, 7,057,535 acres, 150,640,516 bushels, $82,642,461.72; oats, 831,150 acres, 16,707,979 bushels, $7,118,847.22; rye, 34,799 acres, 361,476 bushels, $240,058.21 ; barley, 247,971 acres, $2,657,- 122; emmer fspeltz), 50,469 acres, 934,941 bushels, $437,606.67; buck- wheat, 316 acres, 3,945 bushels, $3,587.30; Irish potatoes, 81,646 acres, 5,937,825 bushels, $4,431,684.17; sweet potatoes, 4,818 acres, 471,760 bushels, $413,686.13; castor beans, 65 acres, 585 bushels, $585; flax, 58,- 084 acres, 383,941 pounds, $360,010.46; tobacco, 32 acres, 4,800 pounds, $480; millet and Hungarian, 225,267 acres, 416,413 tons, $1,841,231.50; sugar beets, 14,513 acres, 53,178 tons, $265,890. The total acreage of sorghum planted for syrup or sugar was 12,175, producing 927,269 gallons, with a value of $426,958.90; the number of acres of sorghum planted for forage or grain, 402,719, valued at $2,851,481; milo maize, (1-4)
CYCLOPEDIA OF
55-255 acres, 106,268 tons, $515,269; Kafir corn, 630,096 acres, $1,794,- 032 tons, $6,856,845.50; Jerusalem corn, 3,231 acres, 8,251 tons, $35,- 402.50; tame grasses, timothy, 413,148 acres; clover, 182,789 acres; bluegrass, 232,172 acres; alfalfa, 878,283 acres; orchard grass, 2,956. acres ; other tame grasses, 77,550 acres ; of tame hay in 1907 there were 1,429,119 tons cut, with a value of $9,534,290; in 1908, 13,744,690 acres of prairie hay was fenced; in 1907, 1,145,643 tons of prairie hay was cut and its value was $5,495,083.50: the live stock products in 1908 were valued at $87,678,468: and the horitcultural products of $995,829,. making a total cash valuation for 1908 of $2'/y,yTi;^,giiT,.
The large acreage of crops and their excellent quality is due, not only to the efforts of the farmer but also to the excellent properties in the soil and the salubrious climate. The soil of the upland prairies is usually a deep, rich clay loam of a dark color; the bottom lands near the streams are a black, sandy loam ; and the lands between the up- lands and the bottom land show a rich and deep black loam, contain- ing very little sand. All soils are free from stones, and except a few stiff clay spots on the upland prairie are easily cultivated. The climate of Kansas is remarkably pleasant, having a large percentage of clear bright days.
The final transition of the poor Kansas homesteader into a rich Kansas farmer has been the theme of much newspaper witticism. The first families who came lived in habitations of the crudest sort. While a few possessed cabins of native lumber, many occupied dugouts or houses built of squares of sod taken from the prairie. The dugout con- sisted of a hole dug in the side of a canon or anj' sort of depression on the prairie that would serve as a wind break. This hole was roofed across, about on the level with the prairie with boards, and these were covered with sod. The sod house was more pretentious and comforta- ble. It had walls two feet in thickness, a shingled roof, doors and windows set in, and sometimes was plastered, altogether making a neat and commodious dwelling place. The land laws of the United States are such that an)^ citizen of this country, can, under certain con- ditions, file his homestead or preemption papers at a nominal cost on a quarter section (160 acres) of and agricultural land belonging to the government. If he makes an actual residence upon it for five years he secures the homestead for the price of filing fees; if he proves up, that is, gets title from the government before the five years are passed, he is required to pay $1.25 per acre for it. While the land is given to the settler for developing it, the process usually requires several years, and some money. ■ Fences, out buildings, implements and stock are ac- cumulated slowly, especially when one is poor, as nearly every settler is. The situation in Kansas was similar to that of other new States, money was needed to forward the interest of the state and of the in- dividual, hence in early years the loan agents representing eastern cap- ital did a thriving business. Especially was this true between the years 1884 and 1888, a period during which 24 counties were organized in western Kansas, where some 250,000 new citizens had made homes.
KANSAS HISTORY . 5 1
Insufficient acres were cultivated to supply the demand for food and have a surplus for capital. The whole of Kansas was in a state of specu- lalive fermentation, stimulated by an abundance of eastern money seek- ing investment in farm loans and city property. It was so easy to borrow money on a homestead, that it is said three-fourths of the farms were mortgaged. The boom days came to a close in 1887, with a crop failure previously mentioned, and Kansas, not yet self-supporting, was left with an accumulation of farm mortgages that depressed her for many years. But the farm mortgages have nearly all been redeemed, and as the prairies have been turned to gardens and the sand hills have been covered with verdure, so have the dugout and sod house given way to residences of the most complete type. Where years ago the farmer and his wife were glad to have water anywhere in the neigh- borhood today they have it pumped by windmill or power into all parts of the house. The chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks no longer frequent the door yards, for the farmer of today has a lawn ornamented with shrubs and trees as perfect as that of his city brother, and the fowls have their own houses, and runways especially adapted to their needs.' The horses, cattle, sheep and other stock are no longer de- pendent upon the blue sky for shelter, for the most modern stables are constructed for their protection. The farmer and his son do not have to arise at break of day to get in the crop, because with good teams, plows, reapers, mowing machines, and other up to date appliances, the farm work does not take so much time as formerly. Nor does the farmer's wife wait until Saturda}^ to ride to town behind the weary plow horses, because her automobile is always at the door. The early settler has lived to realize his vision. Kansas as an agricultural state is all he hoped and more.
Agriculture, State Board of. — On Feb. 19, 1872, Gov. Harvey ap- proved "an act for the encouragement of agriculture," section i of which provided that "The present officers and executive committee of the Kansas State Agricultural Society shall be and are hereby constituted the State Board of Agriculture, who shall continue to hold office during the terms for which they have been respectively elected, to-wit: The president, vice-president, secretary, and one-half or five of the executive committee, until the second Wednesday of Jan., 1873, and five of the executive committee until the second Wednesday of Jan., 1874; Pro- vided, said society alter or amend their constitution in such manner as not to conflict with the provisions of this act. The governor and secre- tary of state shall be ex officio members of the State Board of Agricul- ture."
The act also provided that every county or district agricultural so- ciety, then in existence or afterward organized under the laws of the state, that had held a fair in the current year, should be entitled to send a delegate, with proper credentials, to the annual meetings of the state board, and such delegates should be members ex officio for the time being. It was further provided that beginning with 1873, and there-
52 . CVCLOIEDIA OF
after, the annual meetings should be held on the second \\'ednesday in January; that the board should make annual reports to the legislature, including both the agricultural and horticultural societies ; that 3,500 of this report should be printed each year, and an appropriation of $3,500 was made to carry on the work of the society for the year 1872.
The first board was composed as follows: President, H. J. Strickler; vice-president, George W. Veale; secretar)', Alfred Gray; treasurer, Thomas Murphy ; executive committee, Martin Anderson, E. S. Nic- colls, George L. Young, James Rogers, William Martindale, Malcolm Conn, Joseph K. Hudson, S. T. Kelsey, James I. Larimer and John N. Insley. Gov. James M. Harvey and Sec. of State W. H. Smallwood were ex officio members.
The first meeting of the board was held on iMarch 12, 1872, when the constitution of the old agricultural society was amended to conform to the provisions of the act establishing the new board. At the close of the year the first annual report was compiled and presented to the legis- lature. Although this report contained much information regarding the agricultural interests of the state, the legislature evidently thought it ought to contatin more, for by the act of March 13, 1873, '^ was provided that "It shall be the duty of the State Board of Agriculture to publish, as a part of their annual transactions, a detailed statement, by counties, of the various industries of the state, and other statistics, which shall be collected from the returns of the county clerks, and from such other reliable sources as the said board may deem best; also to collect, ar- range and publish from time to time, in such manner as the said board may deem to be for the best interest of the state, such statistical and other information as those seeking homes in the west may require ; and they shall deliver a synopsis of it to such immigrant aid societies, rail- road companies, real estate agencies, and others interested, as may apply for the same; also to arrange, in suitable packages and cases, and plac^. the same in the agricultural rooms for public inspection, samples of agricultural products, geological and other specimens, provided for in this act."
By the same act the Academy of Science was made a coordinate de- partment of the State Board of Agriculture, and assessors were directed to collect samples of agricultural and other products and turn the same over to the county clerk, who would forward them to the agricultural rooms in the capitol at Topeka.
At the annual mfeeting on Jan. 14, 1874, Prof. James H. Carruth, of Lawrence, was elected botanist ; Prof. W. K. Kedzie, of Manhattan, chemist: Prof. Edward A. Popenoe. of Topeka, entomologist: Prof. B. F. Mudge, of Manhattan, geologist; Prof. Frank H. Snow, of Lawrence, meteorologist: J. H. Carruth. B. F. Mudge and Frank IT. Snow, a signal service committee.
During the year 1874 the secretary prepared and published a series of monthly statements, by counties, showing the condition of crops, etc. The board also began in this year the collection and arrangement
53
of specimens of coal, building stone, fossils, gypsum, timber, etc., and made preparations for securing a collection of Kansas birds, noxious in- sects, and anything else that would be of interest to the agricultural in- dustry in the state. Early in the year it was decided to hold a state fair at Leavenworth in September, but owing to the ravages of drought, grasshoppers and chinch-bugs as the season advanced, petitions from all parts of the state came to the board urging that the fair be abandoned,
Tm^'^y':''-
DISPLAY (IF KANSAS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
as it was believed to be impossible to show products that would be up to the standard of a more favorable year. The board, however, declined to listen to these complaints, and on Aug. i8 issued an address to the people of the state, advising them to bring the best they had for exhibi- tion, and predicting that, if they would do so, the fair would be a suc- cess. Concerning the fair, the annual report said : "The result was all that could be desired as an exhibition. The products of the soil were never so well represented, either as to breadth of country or quality of product. Representatives of Eastern journals were present, and able to correct the prevalent idea that all of Kansas was dried out and eaten up." (See State Fairs.)
Plans for the annual report for 1874 were made at the beginning of the year. It was decided to include in this report a synopsis of the
54 CVCLOI'EDIA OF
board's proceedings, the substance of the monthly statements, an out- line of the agricultural history of the state, a review of the work of the agricultural college, a statistical and industrial exhibit, a diagram show- ing the rainfall in various sections of the state, an outline map of Kan- sas, and a sectional map of each county, showing townships, villages, etc. At that time the outstanding indebtedness of the board, for the years 1871-72-73, was $6,585.42. To pay this indebtedness and publish the annual report along the comprehensive lines contemplated, it was resolved to ask the legislature for an appropriation. By the act of March
4, 1874, the sum of $16,735.42 was appropriated to liquidate the indebted- ness, pay the current expenses of the board, and publish the report. This was the first considerable appropriation ever made for the benefit of the board, and the precedent thus established has been followed by subsequent legislatures, which course has kept the Kansas State Board of Agriculture fully abreast of similar organizations in the most pro- gressive states of the Union.
The annual report for 1875 was the best issued up to that time. In fact, it embodied so much useful and valuable information regarding the agriculture, mechanical and educational institutions of the state that the legislature, by the act of Mirch 4, 1876, appropriated $8,625, or so much thereof as might be necessary, for the publication and distribution of a second edition.
Since 1877, when the constitutional amendment making the legisla- tive sessions biennial Avent into effect, the reports of the board have been made biennially instead of annualh', and efforts have always been made to keep the character of the report up to the high standard estab- lished in 1875. The first biennial report embraced the years 1877-78. For a number of years the annual appropriation for the board has been in 'the neighborhood of $10,000, and special appropriations for certain specified work have been made from time to time. By the act of March
5, igoi, the secretary was ordered to print and distribute 7,500 copes of the report for 1899-1900, in addition to the 15,000 previoush" printed, and appropriated $10,550 to defray the expenses of the extra edition. The act also provided for the publication of 20,000 copies of the report thereafter. The legislature of 1903 made a special appropriation of $300 to gather data to make tests of sugar beets.
Following is a list of the presidents of the board, with the years in which they served : H. J. Strickler, 1872 ; E. S. Niccolls, 1873 ; George T. Anthony. 1874 to 1876. inclusive; John Kelly, 1877-78; R. W. Jen- kins, 1879 to 1884, inclusive; Joshua Wheeler, 1885-86; William Sims, 1887-88; A. W. Smith, 1889 to 1892, inclusive; Thomas M. Potter, 1893 to 1896, inclusive; George W. Glick, 1897-98; T. A. Hubbard, 1899-1900; Edwin Taylor, 1901-02; J. H. Churchill, 1903-04; J. W. Robison. 1905-06; A. L. Sponsler, 1907-08; Charles E. Sutton, 1909-10; I. L. Diesem, 1911-.
Alfred Gray served as secretary from the organization of the board to 1879, when J. K. Hudson was elected to succeed him. Hudson re-
KANSAS HISTORY 55
:signed before the expiration of his term, and on Oct. i, 1881, F. D. Co- burn was elected to fill the vacancy. William Sims was then secretary from 1882 to 1887. He was followed by Martin Mohler, who served un- til 1894, since which time the office has been held by Foster D. Coburn.
Air,- a small hamlet of Lyon county, is located on Elm creek in Waterloo township, about 20 miles northeast of Emporia, the county seat, and 5 miles from Admire, which is the most convenient railroad station, and from which it receives mail by rural free delivery.
Akron, a village of Cowley county, is situated in Fairview township. S miles north of Winfield, the county seat. It is a station on the Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., has some local trade, and in 1910 reported 3. population of 52.
Alabama Colony. — In 1856, in several Southern states, movements were made to encourage and promote emigration to Kansas, hoping thereby to advance the cause of slavery in Kansas. A Kansas executive committee was formed in Alabama, and considerable money raised for the purpose of giving free transportation to all southerners who would go for the purpose of settling. In Aug., 1856, Capt. Henry D. Clayton left Eufaula, Ala., with 29 emigrants for Kansas, being joined by others at different places along the route, until 90 persons were added by the time the colony reached Atlanta, Ga. The colonists were taken to Nash- ville by rail, and from there by steamboat down the Cumberland river, up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, reaching Kansas City on Sept. 2. Among the colonists were four families who came with the view of joining the "Georgia Colony" which had recently been driven out of Kansas into Missouri. On account of the disturbed conditions in the territory the emigrants, soon after landing, organized a military com- pany, with Mr. Clayton as captain; J. H. Danforth, first lieutenant; \V. W. Mosely, second lieutenant; J. C. Gorman, C. W. Snow,S. G. Reid and B. B. Simons, as first to fourth sergeants respectively; W. H. Bald- win, W. S. Reynolds, W. L. Stewart and W. R. Kaen, as first to fourth corporals; and P. M. Blue, W. T. G. Cobb, James Coxwell, A. Haygood, J. L. Hailey, R. P. Hamilton, J. J. Kitchen, A. P. McLeod, J. W. Guinn, Charles O'Hara, W. A. Pinkston, T. H. Rich, T. F. Rogers, T. Semple, D. R. Thomas and M. Westmoreland, as privates.
This company was in active service in the territory for a short time, but at the solicitation of Gov. Geary disbanded. Peace being estab- lished in the territory the next step was to locate the settlers, which was done in Shawnee county, about 4 miles south of Tecumseh. upon the California road from Westport, and about 14 miles from Lecompton. then the capital of the territory.
The executive committee which raised the money to send the settlers to the territory estimated the cost to be about $50 a head, but by taking deck passage on the steamboats it was found that the cost per capita did not exceed $30. The money saved on this item was distributed to the colonists most in need of help, while $500 was paid over to the Mis- souri executive committee, A. G. Boone, secretary, to be used '.'not only
56 CYCLOPEDIA OF
in purchasing munitions of war" to advance slavery in Kansas, but also in furnishing provisions to the distressed (southern) settlers, many of whom were recently driven from their homes along the border. Several of the colonists returned to the South without setting foot on Kansas soil.
After seeing the colony settled, Mr. Clayton returned to Alabama, and issued a report of sixteen pages in which he gave detailed statements of the doings and expenses incident to the settlement. According to the report something over $7,000 was raised for the purpose, of which $3,- 739.83 was expended.
Alamota, a money order postoffice of Lane county, is located in the township of the same name, and is a station on the division of the At- chison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs from Great Bend to Scott, 9 miles east of Dighton, the county seat. It is a shipping and trading point of some importatnce and in 1910 reported a population of 40.
Alanthus, a post-village in Larrabee township, Gove county, is on the Smok}' Hill river about 18 miles southeast of Gove, the county seat, and 12 miles north of Utica, which is the most convenient railroad station.
Albia, a small hamlet of Washington county, is situated near the Ne- braska line, 10 miles north of Morrowville, from which place mail is delivered by the rural free delivery system. Endicott, Neb., is the near- est railroad station.
Albert, a prosperous little town of Barton county, is near the west- ern boundary, and is a station on the Great Bend and Scott division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 15 miles from Great Bend. Al- bert has a bank, a money order postoffice with one rural delivery route, large grain elevators, several good mercantile houses, and in 1910 re- ported a population of 250.
Alburtis, a small settlement in Morris county, is about 2 miles from the Wabaunsee county line and 7 miles from Council Grove, the county seat, from which place the inhabitants received mail by rural free de- livery.
Alcona, a post-village of Rooks county, is located in the township of the same name, a little north of the Solomon river and some 15 miles west of Stockton, the county seat. The population of the entire town- ship in 1910 was 320. Alcona is therefore a small place, but it is a trad- ing center and rallying point for the people in that part of the county.
Alden, one of the thriving towns of Rice county, is located in Valley township, on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., about 10 miles southwest of Lyons, the county seat. It has telegraph and express ofifices, a monej^ order postoffice with one rural delivery route, a bank, telephone connection with the surrounding towns, a good graded public school, and is a trading and shipping point of considerable importance. The population in 1910 was 275.
Aleppo, a small hamlet of Sedgwick county, is situated about 15 miles west of Wichita, the county seat, and 5 miles northwest of God'
KANSAS HISTORY 57
dard, from which place the inhabitants receive mail by rural free de- livery. Goddard is the most convenient railroad station.
Alexander, a prosperous little town of Rush county, is situated in Belle Prairie township, on Walnut creek and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., about 15 miles southwest of La Crosse, the county seat. It has a bank, two creameries, several g-ood mercantile establish- ments, a money order postoffice, express and telegraph service, churches of several denominations, and reported a population of 150 in 1910.
Alexis, Grand Duke. — Many people may not know that Kansas was once honored by a visit from royalty. In Nov., 1871, Alexander II, at that time czar of Russia, sent his third son. Grand Duke Alexis, as a special embassador to President Grant and the people of the United States with congratulations on the outcome of the Civil war. With a desire to see something of the country, the grand duke spent a por- tion of Jan., 1872, with some army officers and plainsmen in roughing it through Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. The duke's desire was to engage in a buffalo hunt. Accordingly he was met by Gen. Custer and conducted to a camp on Red Willow creek, where it was supposed buffalo could be found. Learning that a large herd of buffalo had been seen in the vicinity of Kit Carson, 130 miles east of Denver, the party took a train at Fort Wallace, Kan., and went there. The troop horses used by the hunting party were unused to the bison and almost stampeded when they came within sight of the herd, causing several ludicrous and some slightly serious accidents. The grand duke has been described as "modest, good-humored and companionable," and his good humor never showed to better advantage than in that "buffalo hunt. After a ball at Denver, given in his honor, the royal party left on a special train for the east. A short stop was made at Topeka, where the grand duke was officially received by Gov. Harvey and the legisla- ture, which was then in session, after which there was an informal re- ception.
Alfalfa. — This leguminous plant was cultivated in ancient times by the Egyptians, Medes, Persians, Greeks and Romans. It is called lucerne in all countries of Europe, except Spain, where it is known by its Arabic name — alfalfa. Early in the history of the western continent the Spaniards carried alfalfa to South Arnerica, where it escaped from cultivation and is said to be found today growing wild over large areas. Alfalfa was carried from Chile to California about the year 1853 and from there it has spread eastward to the Mississippi river — and be- yond. It was also introduced into America by the Germans, who planted it in New York as early as 1820. Alfalfa was grown in Kansas earlier than 1891, but not until then does the Kansas State Board of Agriculture give a report of its acreage in its statistics on tame grasses. The table for 1891 shows three counties, Miami, Atchison, and John- son as growing no alfalfa whatever. It shows the counties of Stanton, Ness, Neosho, Morton, Linn, Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Doniphan, Franklin, Haskell, Jefferson and Leavenworth as
50 CYCLOPEDIA OF
growing lo acres or less per county, the counties of Chase, Cloud, Gray, Kearney, Lyon, Saline, Sedgwick and Wabaunsee as growing more than i,ooo acres per county and Finney county as growing 5,717 acres; the total acreage for the whole state being 34,384.
Alfalfa is an upright, branching, smooth perennial plant, growing from one to three feet high. It is often called "Alfalfa clover," because of its resemblance to clover. It has a pea blossom and a leaf of three leaflets ; is adapted to a wide range of soils and climate, and is consid- ered by good authorities to be the best forage plant ever discovered. It is now grown in every county in Kansas and 90 per cent of the arable land is suitable for its production. There are only two condi- tions under which it will not grow. When rock is found within four or five feet of the surface and the soil is dry down to the rock, or where the soil is not drained and is wet a considerable part of the year. The young alfalfa plant is one of the weakest grown and is especially feeble in securing from the soil the nitrogen it needs to develop it. Mature alfalfa plants obtain their nitrogen from the air while their deep growing roots gather potash and phosphoric acid from the sub- soil. Alfalfa from one seeding can be expected to live from three to fifteen or more years. Its value as a stock food and as an article of commerce has made it one of the foremost of Kansas crops. The ex- periment station at Manhattan has investigated its properties and tested its worth, and the recommendation given it has done to increase its growth in Kansas. The statistics of 1908 show alfalfa production in six counties as being less than 100 acres per count}', thirty-three coun- ties have areas from 10,000 to 35,000 acres each, and Jewell county had 60,018 acres in alfalfa, the acreage of the whole state reaching 878,283.
The growing appreciation of alfa^a as a stock and dairy food, the slight expense and little waste in handling it, have led to the manu- facture of several food preparations. In some cases these are made by simply grinding the alfalfa into meal, and at other times they are a mixture of the meal with molasses or other ingredients. The manifold uses of alfalfa give it a prominent place in modern agriculture and large areas in western Kansas are giving a return of from $15 to $35 per acre from their alfalfa fields where but a few years ago the land was deemed worthless.
Alfred, a hamlet in the southwestern part of Douglas county, is 10 miles west of Ouayle, the nearest railroad station, and about 4 miles West of Lone Star, from which it has rural free deliver}'.
Aliceville, a village in Avon township, Coffey county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 12 miles in a southeasterly direction from Burlington, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order post- oiifice, express office, a good retail trade, and is a shipping point of some importance. The population in 1910 was 150.
Alida, a little village of Geary county, is in Smoky Hill township, and is a station on the Union Pacific R. R., 8 miles west of Junction City, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, a telegraph
KANSAS HISTORY 59
office, and is a trading and shipping point for that section of the county. The population in 1910 was 48.
Aliens. — Under the Wyandotte constitution, as originally adopted and ratified by the people, aliens had the same rights and privileges in the ownership and enjoyment of real estate in Kansas as did the citizens of the state. Some years later there grew up a sentiment in opposition to aliens owning lands within the state, and in 1888 this sentiment found expression in an amendment to the constitution providing that the rights of aliens with regard to ownership of real property in Kansas might be regulated by law. The legislature, however, took no action on the subject until the act of March 6, 1891, the principal provision of which was as follows :
"Non resident aliens, firms of aliens, or corporations incorporated under the laws of any foreign country, shall not be capable of acquiring title to or taking or holding any lands or real estate in this state by descent, device, purchase or otherwise, except that the heirs of aliens who have heretofore acquired lands in this state under the laws thereof, and the heirs of aliens who may acquire lands under the provisions of this act, may take such lands by device or descent, and hold the same for the space of three years, and no longer, if such alien at the time of so acquiring such lands is of the age of twenty-one years ; and if not twenty-one years of age, then for the term of five years from the time of so acquiring such lands ; and if,' at the end of the time herein limited, such lands so acquired by such alien heirs have not been sold to bona fide purchasers for value, or such alien heirs have not become actual residents of this state, the same shall revert and escheat to the State of Kansas," etc.
Coal, lead and zinc lands were exempted from the provisions of the act, and there were some other provisions to secure the application of the law without working unnecessary hardships upon any one. The law was subsequently held to be constitutional by the supreme court of the state.
Allegan, a little hamlet of Rice county, is located on Cow creek, about 10 miles northwest of Lyons, the county seat, from which place mail is supplied by rural free delivery. Chase is the nearest railroad station.
Allen, one of the principal towns of Lyon county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., about 18 miles north of Emporia, the county seat, and 19 miles west of Osage City. Allen was incorporated in 1939 and in iqto reported a population of 286. It has telegraph and express service, a money order postofifice with two rural routes, a bank, several good mercantile houses, a graded public school, churches of various denominations, and does considerable shipping of live stock and farm products.
Allen County, one of the 33 counties established by the first territorial legislature, was named in honor of William Allen, United States sena- tor from Ohio. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, in
6o CYCLOPEDIA OF
the second tier of counties west of Missouri and about 50 miles north of the state line. In extent it is 21 miles from north to south and 24 miles from east to west, containing 504 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Anderson, east by Bourbon, south by Neosho and west by Woodson county. The county was organized at the time of its creation, Charles Passmore being appointed probate judge; B. W. Cow- den and Barnett Owen county commissioners, and William Godfrey sheriff. These officers were to hold their offices until the general elec- tion in 1857, ^i^d were empowered to appoint the county clerk and treas- urer to complete the county organization.
The first white inhabitants located in the county during the early part of the year 1855. Duncan & Scott's History of Allen County (p. 9), says: "There is some dispute as to who made the first permanent settlement, but the weight of the testimony seems to award that hon- orable distinction to D. H. Parsons, who, with a companion, B. W. Cowden, arrived on the Neosho river near the mouth of Elm creek in March, 1855."
During the spring and summer settlement progressed rapidly. The greater number of settlers located along the Neosho river, among them being W. C. Keith, Henry Bennett, Elias Copelin, James Barber, Bar- nett Owen, A. W. G. Brown, Thomas Day and Giles Starr. Along the banks of Morton creek the early settlers were Hiram Smith, Michael Kisner, Augustus Todd, A. C. 'Smith, Dr. Stockton, George Hall, An- derson Wray, Jesse Morris and Thomas Norris. Although many of the early settlers were pro-slavery men, but few slaves were brought into the county. The free-state men showed such open antagonism toward slaveholders, that the slaves were soon given their freedom or taken from the county by their masters. A party of pro-slavery men from Fort Scott founded a town company and laid out a town in Allen county, south of the mouth of Elm creek and on the east bank of the Neosho river, about a mile and a half southwest of the present site of lola. The company was incorporated by the bogus legislature as the Cofachique Town Association, with Daniel Woodson, Charles Pass- more, James S. Barbee, William Baker, Samuel A. Williams and Joseph C. Anderson as incorporators. The first postoffice was established at Cofachique in the spring of 1855 with Aaron Case as postmaster, but no regular mail service was opened until July i, 1857, the mail up to that time being brought in from Fort Scott by private carrier paid by the citizens.
In Feb., 1856, M. W. Post and Joseph Ludley, who were engaged in the survey of the standard parallels, finished with the fifth parallel through Allen county and concluded to locate near Cofachique. The next summer Mr. Ludley brought a sawmill from Westport, Mo., and set up in the timber near the town. This mill was run by horse power and was the first «ianufacturing concern of any kind in the county.
In the second territorial legislature, elected in Oct., 1856, Allen county was represented in the council by Blake Little and in the house by B. Brantley and W. W. Spratt.
KANSAS HISTORY 6 1
In 1858 the town of lola was started and the greater part of the town of Cofachique was moved to lola, while the old site of Cofachique became farm land. Several reasons may be given for the failure of the town. Being on hilly ground it was difficult of access and the water supph' was limited ; it had been built by pro-slavery men and during the political troubles a feeling of enmity had grown up against the town, hence it was not long before it was depopulated. Humboldt, in the southwest part of the county and Geneva in the northwest part were founded by free-state men and both became flourishing communities. Up to this time settlement had been exclusively confined to the timbered valleys of the larger streams, but the new settlers began opening farms upon the prairies and the population became generally distributed over the county, especially the western half.
A census of Ivansas was taken in April, 18.57, '" preparation tor an ap- portionment of delegates to the Lecompton constitutional convention. By this census Bourbon, Dorn, McGee and Allen counties had a popula- tion of 2,622, of whom 645 were legal voters. This gave the district which these counties comprised four delegates in the convention, and at the election held in June, 1857, H. T. Wilson, Blake Little, Miles Greenwood and G. P. H. Hamilton were elected.
In the legislative apportionment of July, 1857, eighteen counties, in- cluding Allen were allowed two members in the council and nineteen counties, including Allen, were allowed three representatives. The election was called for Oct. 5, 1857, and under the assurance of the governor that it should be free and fair, the free-state men determined to muster their strength for the first time at the ballot box. At the election Samuel J. Stewart was elected a representative for the district and was the first citizen from Allen county to occupy a seat in the ter- ritorial legislature.
Immigration continued during the year 1858. The Carlyle colony from Indiana selected 320 acres of land in the northwest part of the county, north of Deer creek, for a town site, but found many difficulties in the way of making a prosperous town and abandoned the project. Later the site was cut up into farms. In the course of time a post- office was established, a store followed and Carlyle became a thriving village in the center of a splendid farming district. About the time that the Carl3ie colony arrived another town was projected, called Florence, located north of Deer creek and east of Carlyle. It was ex- pected that in time a railroad would be built, but it was not and the town was a failure.
I'pon the organization of the count}' in 1855, Cofachique was des- ignated as the county seat, and as it was centrally located no strife was stirred up until Humbfildt was located in 1S59 hv the free-state men v/lio went before the state legislature early in 1858 and secured an act lo- cating the county seat there. The first meeting of the county board at Humboldt, of which there is a record, was on Feb. 8, 1859. but lit- tle business was transacted, and they adjourned to meet at Cofachique.
62 CYCLOPEDIA OF
where, on Feb. 14. the board organized the new township of Geneva and appointed judges of election to ratify or reject the Leavenworth con- stitution. Apparently little interest was taken in the election, as only 138 votes were cast, 134 for and 4 against the constitution.
In the summer of 1858 the second mail route was established from Lawrence to Humboldt, via Garnett and Hyatt in Anderson county, Carlyle and Cofachique in Allen county. The service began July i, and a few days before that time a trail was marked from Hyatt to Carlyle. Zach Squires was the first mail carrier and for some time his weekly trips were made on mule back. Later the service was made tri-weekly, the mule gave way to a two-horse wagon, later to a two- horse stage, and finally to an overland coach, which was kept on the route until the railroad was built in 1871.
During the year 1859 political matters engaged the attention of the people. On June 7, an election was held for delegates to the Wyandotte constitutional convention (q. v.). When this constitution was sub- mitted to the people on- Oct. 4, the vote in Allen county stood 244 for and 159 against, and on the homestead clause, which was submitted separately, 201 for and 152 against. The territorial legislature of 1859 adopted a new plan of county organization, providing for three com- missioners and a probate judge with restricted powers. On March 26, i860, a special election was held for the new officers. J. G. Richard was elected probate judge ; George Zimmerman, N. T. Winans and D. B. Stewart county commissioners.
The last year of the territorial pei^od was the hardest in the history of the county. It was the year of the great drought. (See Droughts.) During the winter of 1859-60, there was little snow and the hot winds of the following summer swept over the dry, parched earth, burning all vegetation except in occasional valleys and ravines where a partial crop was raised. The population of the county was about 3,000, and with such a scanty crop, the prospect of starvation seemed imminent. Most of the people had come into the county within two years and had not fairly opened their farms. Many of the settlers, with starvation and hardship before them, returned to the east. ■
Great dissatisfaction developed over the location of the county seat at Humboldt, and on March 26, i860, an election was held to decide on a location, Humboldt and lola being the principal contestants. The re- sult of the election was 562 votes for Humboldt and 331 for lola, with 78 votes scattered, but the people in the vicinity of lola and the northern part of the county were not satisfied. The strife was kept up for some years until another election was ordered for May 10, 1865, when Ida received the largest number of votes. When the county seat was located at lola, the town company donated 100 lots to the county to aid in the construction of public buildings. In 1866 bonds were voted for funds and within a short time a building was secured for county offices and court purposes. In 1877 the present court-house was purchased.
As soon as the news of the outbreak of the Civil war reached Allen countv, nearlv all the able bodied men hastened to enlist in the armv.
KANSAS HISTORY 63.
The lola battalion was formed in 1861 ; three companies, commanded by Capts. Colman, Flesher, and Killen served in the Ninth Kansas, and two companies; commanded by Capts. W. C. Jones and N. B. Blans- ton, served in the Tenth Kansas volunteer infantry. As the county was located so near the border of the state there was danger of invasion from Missouri guerrillas and hostile Indians from the Indian Territor}-. \\'hile the Allen county soldiers were with Gen. Lane, a raid was made on the unprotected settlers of Humboldt, Sept. 8, 1861, by a band of Missouri guerrillas, Cherokee and Osage half-breed Indians. On Oct. 14, 1861, the town was captured and set on fire by Confederate cavalry. The Con- federate officers claimed that this was done in retaliation for the burning of Osceola by Gen. Lane. The land office had just been opened before this and J. C. Burnett, the register, managed to have his sister save $25,- 000 in land warrants, that were in the office at the time. After the burning of Humboldt a military post was established there, but no ac- tions took place until the Price raid in 1864. The militia of the county was organized into a battalion, known as the Allen county battalion, and was composed of six companies, tliree from lola and the northern part of the county, two from Humboldt and one from the extreme south- ern part of the county. This organization comprised all the able bodied men in the county between the ages of 16 and 60 years.
The first railroads in Allen county were built in 1870, the Missouri,. Kansas & Texas being completed across the southwestern part of the county in the spring, and the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston in the fall of the same year. Bonds were voted by the county to aid in the construction of the railroads. In 1880, bonds having been voted by dif- ferent townships along the line, the Fort Scott & Wichita railroad was built across the county east and west, through Tola. There are now 96 miles of main line railroads in the county : The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe running almost directly north and south in the western part of the county, and a branch southwest from Colony, Anderson county, across the extreme northwest corner. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas crosses the eastern part, almost directly north and south, with a branch north from Moran and another running west with its terminus at lola. Another line of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas enters the county near the center on the west and crosses the southwest corner, while the Mis- souri Pacific crosses from east to west somewhat north of the center, through lola.
The first church in the county was that of the LInited Brethren, begun in 1859 and completed the following year. For some years this church was used as a union church by all denominations and also as a school house. The Humboldt Herald was the first paper established. It was started Nov. 16, 1864, by Maj. Joseph Bond and two years later the Humboldt Union was established with Orin Thurston as editor.
In Nov., 1871, a tax was voted for the establishment of a county poor farm. Settlement of the county was somewhat retarded for some years by the contention between the settlers on the one hand and the Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas railroad company over, the title to-
64 CYCLOPEDIA 01"
certain lands. The case was finally settled by Judge David Brewer of the United States circuit court on Sept. 3, 1885, in favor of the settlers. His decision threw open to settlement some 27,000 acres and immediate- ly there was an influx of immigrants.
The general surface of the county is level, the soil is fertile and highly productive. The valleys average a mile and a half in width and the timber belts about a mile. The principal varieties of trees native to the county are black walnut, hickory, cottonwood, oak. hackberry and elm. The main water course is the Neosho river, which flows through the western part of the county from north to south. Its tributaries are Indian, Martin's, Deer, Elm, and other small creeks. The Little Osage flows through the northeast and the Marmaton river through the south- eastern part of the county.
The chief agricultural products are corn, wheat, oats, Kafir corn and potatoes, and the county is one of the leaders in the production of flax and broom corn. Live stock raising is an important industry, and many fine orchards afford good profits to their owners.
Natural gas is the most important mineral resource. There are sev- eral large wells, but the field is particularly well developed near Tola in the west and La Harpe in the north central part, and valuable oil wells exist near Humboldt. There are vast quantities of raw material for Portland cement, which is manufactured and sent to all parts of the United States. An almost inexhaustable supph' of shale has been found for making high grade brick and tile, which are manufactured and shipped out of the state. A good quality of limestone is also found. The county is divided into the following townships : Carlyle, Cottage Grove, Deer Creek, Elm, Elsmore, Geneva, Humboldt, Tola, Logan, Marmaton, Osage and Salem.
According to the U. S. census for 1910 the population of the county was 27,640, a gain of 8,133 during the preceding decade. The report of the State Board of Agriculture for the same year gives the total value of farm products as $1,362,654.60, corn leading with 1,123,290 bushels, valued at $550,412.10.
Allendale, a little hamlet of Allen county, is situated about 5 or 6 miles northeast of lola, the county seat, from which place it receives mail by rural delivery. It is about equally distant from Carlyle on the Santa Fe and La Harpe on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroads, which places are the nearest railway stations.
Allis, Samuel, Jr., an early missionary to the Indians west of the Missouri river, was born at Conway, Franklin county, Mass., Sept. 28, 1805. He learned the trade of harness maker and worked at various places in his early manhood, finalh^ reaching Ithaca, N. Y., where he united with the Presbyterian church, though his parents were Congre- gationalists. In the spring of 1834 he left Ithaca in company with Rev. John Dunbar (q. v.) as a missionary to the Nez Perces. LTpon arriving at St. Louis he found that the company of traders with which he had intended to journey to the Indian country had already left that city.
KANSAS HISTORY 65
Not caring to undertake the trip alone, he spent some time at Fort Leavenworth, and then accompanied Mr. Dunbar to the agency of the Omahas, Otoes and Pawnees at Bellevue, Neb. Soon after arriving there Mr. Dunbar went as a missionary to the Grand Pawnees and Mr. Allis to the Pawnee Loups, with whom he remained until 1846. Among his other labors was the establishment of the Pawnee school at Council Point on the Platte river. For several years he was the interpreter for the United States in the negotiation of treaties and in this capacity aided in the acquisition of the Indian lands in Nebraska and Kansas. In 1851 he went to St. Mary's, Iowa, where he lived on a farm for two years. He then returned to Nebraska and there passed the remainder of his life. As a member of the Nebraska Historical Society he made valuable con- tributions to the Indian history of that state and Kansas.
Allison, a village of Decatur county, is located in the township of the same name, on the north fork of the Solomon river, about 25 miles southeast of Oberlin, the county seat, and 8 miles from Dresden, which is the nearest railroad station. It has a money order postofifice, some local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 25.
Alma, the judicial seat and principal city of Wabaunsee county, is located a little northwest of the center of the county on Mill creek and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., and is the terminus of a di- vision of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. which connects with the main line at Burlingame. The first house in Alma Avas built in the fall of 1867 and the following December the town was made the county seat. In 1868 a hotel and school house were erected, and after the ad- vent of the railroads the growth was more rapid. Mill creek furnishes water power for operating a flour mill and some other concerns. Being located in the heart of a rich agricultural and stock raising region. Alma is a shipping point of considerable importance. It has a bank with a paid up capital of $50,000, an international money order postoffice with four rural delivery routes emanating from it, excellent express, tele- graph and telephone facilities, an electric lighting plant, two weekly newspapers — the Enterprise and the Signal — and a monthly publication called the Emblem, devoted to the interests of a fraternal organization. The city has a modern high school building, erected at a cost of $16,000, and both the Lutherans and Catholics have parochial schools. The mer- cantile establishments of Alma rank favorably with those in other cities of its size. Good building and cement stone are found in the vicinity. The altitude of Alma is 1,055 ^^^t. In 1910 the population was i,oro.
Almena, an incorporated town of Norton county, is located on Prairie Dog creek in the northeastern portion, at the junction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads, 12 miles east of Norton, the county seat. It has "a bank, a weekly news- paper, an opera house, good hotels, large grain elevators, an interna- tional money order postoffice with three rural routes, and in 1910 had a population of 702. Being located in the midst of a fine agricultural countrv, Almena ships large quantities of grain and live stock, and its
66 CYCLOPEDIA OF
retail stores suppl}- a considerable section of the northeastern part of the county. A fine quality of building stone is found in the immediate vicinity.
Altamont, one of the incorporated towns of Labette county, is lo- cated in Mt. Pleasant township, on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., ID miles northwest of Oswego, the county seat and very near the geo- graphical center of the county. It has banking facilities, a weekly news- paper, express and telegraph offices, and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes. The town was laid out the year the railroad was built (1879), by a company of which L N. Hamilton was president. The first house was built by Scott Noble, in the fall of that year. A hotel was built the following summer and a general store opened by Jones, Burns & Wright. A number of business enterprises were launched in the next two years. The first church was erected in 1880. A postoffice called Elston was established in this vicinity in 1870. When Altamont was founded the name was changed. The town was incorporated in 1884 and the following officers chosen : Mayor, H. C. Blanchard ; police judge, L. W. Grain; councilmen, R. B. Gregg, W. M. McGoid, D. Reid, G. S. Newlon, and A. J. Garst ; city clerk, W."f. Ham- man.
Alta Vista, one of the larger towns of Wabaunsee county, is situ- ated in Garfield township, on Mill creek and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 15 miles southwest of Alma, the county seat. It was settled in 1887, was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1905, and in 1910 reported a poptilation of 499. Alta Vista is one of the busy towns of Kansas. It has two banks, a weekly newspaper, a number of high class mercantile houses, a good public school S3'stem, express and telegraph offices, telephone connection, does considerable shipping, and its money order postoffice is the starting point of three rural delivery routes which supply mail to the surrounding country.
Alton, an incorporated town of Osborne county, is located on the Solo- mon river in Sumner township, and is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 13 miles west of Osborne, the county seat. The population in 1910 was 414. Alton has a bank, a public library, a fire department, an opera house, a weekly newspaper, express, telegraph and telephone service, and is the principal shipping point and trading center for the north- western part of the county.
Altoona (formerly Geddesburg), one of the larger incorporated cities of Wilson county, is located on the Missouri Pacific R. R., and on the Verdigris river, 11 miles east of Fredonia, the county seat. It has two banks, a weekly newspaper, telegraph and express offices, and an in- ternational money order postoffice with three rural routes. The popula- tion in 1910 was 1,462. The town was founded in 1869 by a town com- pany, of which Dr. T. F. C. Todd was president. No town elections were held until the town company ceased to do business. The first business enterprise was a grocery store opened in 1869 by George Shultz and John Hooper. The postoffice was established in April, 1870,
KANSAS HISTORY 67
and J- N. D. Brown appointed postmaster. The Altoona Union, tlie second paper published in the county, was founded in March, 1870, by Bowser & Brown. A school house was built the next year at a cost of $3,000. A steam saw mill and a flour mill were set up in 1871 on the Verdigris.
The growth of Altoona dates from the entrance of the railroad in 1885-6. At that time it was a town of some 300 inhabitants, and a dozen business houses. The development of the oil and gas fields in the vicinity in the '90s added greatly to the importance of the city.
Amador, a village of Clifford township, Butler county-, is located on a branch of the Whitewater river, about 16 miles northwest of Eldorado, the county seat. Mail is received by the people of Amador from Burns, Marion county, by rural free delivery.
America City, a hamlet of Nemaha count}-, is located in Red Vermil- lion township on the Red Vermillion river, 23 miles south of Seneca, the county seat, and 6 miles from Havensville. from which place H re- ceives daily mail. An act incorporating this little town was approved by the territorial legislature on Feb. 14, 1867. The corporate limits in- cluded 380 acres of land. A store was opened in 1861 and a Methodist church built. In 1910 it reported a population of 30.
American Settlement Company. — This company, which was organized in Sept., 1854, had its headquarters at No. 226 Broadway, N. Y. The officers were : Theodore Dwight, president ; J. E. Snodgrass, vice- president ; G. M. Tracey, secretary; D. C. Van Norman, treasurer; George Walter, general superintendent. The preamble to the constitu- tion of the company set forth that "The subscribers hereto, being de- sirous to form a company for the purpose of settling a tract of land in the Territory of Kansas, in order to assist in making it a free state, and to found thereon a city, with a municipal government, and the civil, literary, social, moral and religious privileges of the free states, for the equal benefit of the members, have associated and formed, and do hereby associate and form themselves into a joint stock company, under the name of 'American Settlement Company.' and have adopted the following articles for the government of said company," etc.
Article I provided for a capital stock, to be divided into shares equal to the number of lots in the proposed city, the price of which was at first fixed at $5 a share, subject to an advance when so ordered by the board of directors, and no one was to be allowed to purchase more than six shares.
Article II vested the management in a board of directors, a ma- jority of whom should be residents of New York City. This board was to be self-perpetuating, being given power to fill vacancies, etc.
Article III provided that members of the company and colonists should be persons of good moral character, the aim being to establish a community with a high ideal of citizenship.
Articles IV to XI defined the duties of the officers and dwelt prin- cipally with the routine matters pertaining to such associations.
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68 CYCLOPEDIA OF
Article XII provided that the money received from the sale of shares should be used to secure a tract of land two miles square, on or near the Santa Fe trail, and to defray the expenses of surveying and laying out a municipality to be known as "Council City."
Article XIV stipulated that one lot out of every fifty should be given for school purposes, and the management should have the power to donate other lots for the establishment of institutions "appropriate to an orderly, virtuous, temperate and refined American community."
Immediatel)' after the organization was perfected a committee of seven men — citizens of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio — visited Kansas to select a site for "Council City," and after exploring the terri- tory for several weeks decided upon a tract between Dragoon and Switzler creeks, in what is now Osage county, a short distance south of the present city of Burlingame. About the same time a circular was issued by the company, stating that the object was "to found in Kansas a large and flourishing city, one that would claim the attention and patronage of all interested in the growth and prosperity of that ter- ritory."
Council City was laid out with streets 75 feet wide and avenues 150 in width. The lots were 75 by 150 feet, and there were several tracts ranging from 10 to 50 acres each reserved for parks. A small party of settlers arrived late in Oct., 1854, and a few of the more energetic set to work to make Council City a reality, but the majority were dis- appointed by the prospect. Other settlers came in the spring of 1855, but the metropolis never met the expectations of its projectors, and after a precarious existence of a few months it disappeared from the map.
Americus, an incorporated city of the third class in Lyon county, is a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R. R., 9 miles northwest of Emporia, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper, churches of various denominations, good public schools, etc. Its location in the rich valley of the Neosho river gives it a good local trade and makes it an important shipping point. The population in 1910 was 451. Two delivery routes emanates from its money order postoffice and supply mail to the surrounding rural districts, and the town is provided with express and telegraph -offices and has telephone connection with Em- poria and other cities.
Ames, a village of Shirley township, Cloud county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 12 miles east of Concordia, the county seat. It has a money order postofiice with one rural delivery route, express and telegraph service, some good mercantile houses, and in 1910 re- ported a population of 120.
Amiot, a village of Reeder township, Anderson county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 16 miles northwest of Garnett, the county seat, and not far from the Coffey county line. The population in 1910 was 40. Amiot has a money order postoffice, and is a trading and ship- ping point for that section of the county.
KANSAS HISTORY 69
Amy, a money order postoffice of Lane county, is located in Blaine township, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 7 miles west of Dighton, the county seat, with which it is connected by telephone.
Ananias Club. — According to an early letter head of the club, the St. Ananias club of Topeka was instituted July 4, 1876. It was organized in the year 1874, by a number of the "good fellows" of the capital city for social purposes, and was incorporated in 1886. The club had four tenets : Honesty, sobriety, chastity and veracity. The motto of the club was "Unadulterated truth." St. Ananias was the patron saint. xAt the time of organization it had 29 members. Following are the original members and the official titles which they bore : Samuel A. Kingman, perpetual president; Sam Radges, secretary, phenomenal prevaricator; Floyd P. Baker, distinguished dissimulator; C. N. Beal, efficacious equivicator; A. Bergen, libelous linguist; J. C. Caldwell, eminent ex- pander; George W. Crane, egregious exaggerator; Hiram P. Dillon, felicitous fabricator ; Charles M. Foulkes, fearful fictionist ; Norris L. Gage, quaint quibbler; N. S. Goss, oleaginous falsifier; Cyrus K. Holli- day, illustrious illusionist; J. B. Johnson, truth torturer; Henry Keeler, laconic liar; John T. Morton, nimble narrator; D. A. Moulton, financial ^fabricator; Thomas A. Osborn, pungent punster; H. A. Pierce, diabolical dissembler; George R. Peck, sapient sophist; T. P. Rodgers, immacu- late inventor; Bj'ron Roberts, vivid variationist ; H. K. Rowley, me- phistophelian munchausenist ; Dr. Silas E. Sheldon, esculapian equivi- cator; Henry Strong, racy romancer; William C. Webb, august ampli- fier; Daniel W. Wilder, hypothetical hyperbolisy; Archibald L. Wil- liams, paraphrastic paralogist.
From the time of its organization until its dissolution the club had a membership of 82, which included many distinguished Kansans, of whom in the year 191 1 not more than twelve or fifteen were living. It has been said that during the existence of the club its doors were never closed and that at almost any hour of the day or evening a whist game could be found in progress.
The club had but one president and one secretary, and after the death of President Kingman, on Sept. 9, 1904, the organization closed its doors, the records and portraits being turned over to the Kansas State Historical Society. Among the effects was an excellent, life-like portrait in oil, of St. Ananias, with halo over the head, a lyre clasped in his hands, his lips open as if about to sing, and the whole partially sur- rounded with a border of cherry sprigs showing the ruddy fruit, and each spray garnished with a small hatchet.
Andale, an incorporated town of Sedgwick county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., in Sherman township, 19 miles northwest of Wichita. Andale has a bank, a money order postoffice with one free delivery route which supplies mail to the inhabitants of that section of the county, a Catholic church and school, some good mercantile estab- lishments, express and telegraph facilities, and does considerable ship- ping of grain and other farm products. The population in 1910 was 237.
JO CYCLOPEDIA OF
Anderson, a little hamlet of Smith county, is located near the head of White Rock creek, about 9 miles northeast of Smith Center, the county seat, from which place mail is received by rural free delivery.
Anderson County was named for Joseph C. Anderson, a member of the first territorial legislature, which erected and organized the county in 1855. It is located in the southeastern part of the state in the second tier of counties west of Missouri, about 50 miles south of the Kansas river and 70 miles north of the southern boundary of the state. It is 24 miles square and has an area of 576 square miles. On the north it is bounded by Franklin county, on the east of Linn, on the south by Allen and on the west by Coffey.
When the first white settlers came to what is now Anderson county in the spring of 1854 they found some of the fields which the Indians had cultivated. They were Valentine Gerth and Francis Meyer, who came from Missouri and settled on the Pottawatomie near the present site of Greeley. These men were without families but planted and cultivated the old Indian fields the first summer. Henry Harmon came with his family and settled near the junction of the branches of the Pottawatomie. During the summer and fall more settlers came, among whom were Henderson Rice. W. D. West, Thomas Totton, Anderson Cassel, J. S. Waitman and Dr. Rufus Gilpatrick. In the winter of 1854-55 quite a number of Germans came to the county and settled along the south branch of the Pottawatomie above Greeley, where they built several cabins and selected valuable timber claims. In the spring of 1855 they returned to St. Louis and on account of the territorial troubles never came back. Their claims were soon taken up by other settlers.
When Gov. Reeder, on Nov. 8, 1854, issued a proclamation ordering an election for the 29th, the region now embraced in Anderson county was made a part of the Fifth district. The election was ordered to be held at the house of Henry Sherman near the place called Dutch Henry's crossing on the Pottawatomie. At the election for members of the first territorial legislature, A. M. Coflfc}' and David Lykins were elected -to the council and Allen Wilkerson and H. W. Yonger representatives. Of the resident voters, about 50 in number and practically all free-state men, only a few voted, but the Missourians came over and cast about 200 pro-slavery votes. At the election for a delegate to Congress in Oct., 1855, George Wilson was the only person voting in the district. Samuel Mack, one of the judges, refused to vote regarding the election as a farce, most of the voters being residents of Missouri who came over on horseback and in wagons, well supplied with whiskey and guns. (See Reeder's Administration.) Because of the outrages committed upon the free-state settlers, a military organization, made up of Frank- lin and Anderson county men and called the Pottawatomie Rifles, was formed in the fall of 1855. Among the members were Dr. Rufus Gil- patrick, M. Kilbourn, W. Ayers, H. H. Williams, August Bondi, Samuel Mack, James Townsley and Jacob Benjamin from Anderson county.
The legislature having defined the bounds of the county, then pro-
KANSAS HISTORY 7I
vided for its organization and the election of county officers. In joint session the legislature elected George Wilson probate judge and com- missioned him on Aug. 27, 1855, for a term of two years. He was the first commissioned officer and immediately after qualifying set out for the county. On Sept. 10, he arrived at Henry Sherman's house, where he remained until the 15th, when he went to the house of Francis Meyer near the present site of the town of Greeley. Judge Wilson had desig- nated Meyer's house as the temporary s.eat of justice and notified Wil- liam R. True and John C. Clark, who had been appointed county com- missioners and A. V. Cummings, who had been appointed sheriff, to meet him there on the 15th to complete the county organization. But all three refused to accept the appointment, although Judge Wilson at- tempted several times to make them qualify. Cummings was a resident of Bourbon countj^. Wilson at last appealed to the governor for assist- ance to organize the countA' and Acting Gov. Shannon commissioned Francis Meyer and F. P. Brown commissioners and Henderson Rice sheriff, but Brown and Rice would not accept the commissions. The probate judge and Francis Meyer organized the county on Jan. 7, 1856. Five days later the second session of the probate judge and commis- sioners' court was held at Meyer's house and David 'McCammon was appointed sheriff. He gave bond and qualified on Jan. 18, on which date the court held its third session and J. S. Waitman was appointed com- missioner. This was the first time that a full board of commissioners had existed. At this time C. H. Price was appointed justice of the peace for the county and commissioned by Judge A¥ilson. Price quali- fied on March 5, 1856, and the same day was appointed treasurer of the county. On Feb. 4, 1856, Thomas Totton was appointed clerk of the county, and on March 9 a petition for the location of a road from Henry Sherman's house to Cofachique, the county seat of Allen county, was considered. David McCammon, James Townsley and Samuel Mack were appointed commissioners to open the road, which was to be 70 feet wide. This was the first road in the county.
On Feb. 18, 1856, a petition was presented to the commissioners, signed by A. McConnell and fifteen others, requesting a permanent loca- tion of the county seat, and David McCammon, James Townsley and Thomas Totton were appointed to select the site, provided it should be located within three miles of the geographical center of the county. The commissioners selected a place and called it Shannon, where the county business was transacted until April 5, 1859. The first term of the district court was held on the fourth Monday in April, 1856: Sterling Cato, one of the territorial judges presiding. It convened at the house of Francis Meyer and was in session an entire week but the records of the proceedings have disappeared.
At the election of delegates to the Topeka constitutional convention, 49 votes were polled at the Pottawatomie precinct, by free-state voters and at the election for the adoption or rejection 14 persons from Ander- son county voted.
72 CVCLOrEDIA OF
During the summer and fall of 1856 Anderson, county was overrun by bands of lawless pro-slavery men, known as "Border Ruffians." The officers of Anderson county had been chosen because of their loyalty to the slave power, and when the difficulties culminated in 1856 they took an active part with the pro-slavery men. The free-state men re- fused to countenance such conduct on the part of the officers and late in the spring Francis Meyer, John S. Waitman, David McCammon and George Wilson having been concerned in several pro-slaver)^ atrocities, were forced to flee from the county. There was continued trouble along Pottawatomie creek until the government ordered United States troops to the neighborhood. They camped for several weeks a short distance from the present site of Greeley, but were commanded by pro-slavery officers and really afiforded little protection to the free-state settlers. The Pottawatomie Rifles drilled at the farm of W. L. Frankenburger and participated in many of the expeditions of 1856-7. During the fall of 1856 pro-slavery invasions became so frequent that it was unsafe for the settlers to remain at home over night with their families, and for several months they would collect at Frankenburger's claim on the Pottawatomie, the women and children taking shelter in the cabin, while the men remained on guard. Anderson county men, commanded by Dr. Rufus Gilpatrick, took part in the battle of Osawatomie under John Brown. When Gov. Woodson declared the territory in a state of insur- rection and rebellion and called out the militia, several settlers left An- derson county never to return.
About this time a party of some 200 hundred Missourians camped on Middle creek, at Battle Mound, waiting for reinforcements preparatory to a general movement against the free-state settlements along the Pot- tawatomie, and man}'- outrages were committed in Anderson, Linn and Franklin counties. Among these was the capture of George Partridge, Aug. 27, 1856, and on the same day the burning of the houses of Kil- bourne and Cochrane near Greeley. Dr. Gilpatrick, while making calls, discovered the pro-slavery camp and at once gave warning. The Pot- tawatomie Rifles, under command of Dr. Gilpatrick, made an attack early in the morning of Aug. 28, which was a complete surprise, the pro- slavery men retreating in great confusion to Missouri. Another de- tachment of pro-slavery men robbed Zach Schutte and attempted other atrocities, but upon hearing of the capture of the camp also hastily fled into Missouri.
The survey of the public lands in Anderson county began in the fall of 1855 and closed in the spring of 1856. Some of the first settlers who came to the county were of the class who made a living speculating in government land claims. They selected the finest timber and valley lands along the streams, and after actually settling, would stake out other claims under ficticious names, and then oflfer to sell the ficticious claims to new arrivals. The buyer of such claims would often go back East after his family and upon his return find his cabin occupied, the claim having been sold a second time by the speculator. These claims
KANSAS HISTORY 7J
caused much trouble in the United States land office, and in Nov., 1858, a free-state squatters' court was organized in Anderson, Linn and Bourbon counties for the adjustment of land claims. Dr. Rufus Gil- patrick was elected judge. The decisions of the court were generally satisfactory to the settlers, and enforced by Maj. Abbott and a minister named Stewart, known as the fighting preacher. Several town sites were laid out, but with two exceptions the towns failed to become im- portant. Garnett and Greeley were both surveyed in 1856 and became flourishing communities. In Dec, 1856, a party of 80 men was formed in Lawrence for the purpose of settling in Anderson county. A town site was selected in the northern part of what is now Washington township, and the town named Hyatt. The founders proposed making it the count)- seat. A sawmill was built in the spring of 1857. In the fall a grist mill was added, and B. F. Allen opened a store. A postoffice and school were established but the county seat dream was not realized. Soon after the county seat was permanently located at Garnett Hyatt was abandoned.
The first mail route in Anderson count}- was established on Jan. 11, 1858, to run from Leavenworth to Humboldt in Allen county via Hyatt. The route was marked and service began in March. There was a road from Carlyle and one from Fairview to Hyatt. Zach Squires was the first mail carrier and expressman. At first the post was weekly but soon changed to a tri-weekly service. In the spring of 1859, the route was changed to run through Garnett, where a postoffice was established. In the fall of 1859 the county board received petitions for the opening of five roads, and the old maps show that they all centered at Hyatt and none at Garnett or Shannon.
On Nov. 30, 1857, the county commissioners entered into a contract for the construction of a court-house and jail at Shannon. Dr. Preston Bowen was to build it for $1,000, but at the election held Jan. 26, 1858, it was shown that a majority of the people were opposed to the erec- tion of the buildings. The commissioners therefore resigned. On Feb. 12, 1858, the county organization was changed by an act of the legisla- ture from a board of commissioners to a board of supervisors, and on June 14, the new board contracted with Dr. Bowen for a court-house and . jail at Shannon at his own expense, to be completed within a year. The jail was completed and work begun on the court-house, when, in the spring of 1859, the seat of justice for the county was located at Garnett by an act of the legislature and the first meeting of the board of super- visors at Garnett was held on April 5, of that year.
In March, 1859, an election was held on the proposition of a state con- stitutional convention and of the 185 votes cast in Anderson county only 7 were against holding the convention. On the first Tuesday in June, 1859, an election was held for a delegate to the convention. Dr. James G. Blount and W. F. M. Arny were the candidates from the An- derson county district. Blount was elected and sat in the Wyandotte convention.
74 CVCLOrEDIA OF
Education was one of the first considerations of the early settlers. The first school district laid out was near Scipio in Putnam township, and the first superintendent of public instruction was John R. Slentz, who was appointed by the gfovernor near the close of 1858.
The outbreak of the Civil war caused great excitement in Anderson county. At the call for \-olunteers an entire company enlisted in one day, and Anderson county was represented in nearly every Kansas regi- ment, about three-fourths of the able-bodied men entering the Union army. In 1861 the population of the county was little over 1,000.
A considerable number of the early settlers of Anderson county were Catholics, and the St. Boniface Catholic church in Putnam township was the first church building erected. It was built in 1858, and in 1871, while under the charge of Father Albert Heinemann, the parish erected a college building about 6 miles north of Garnett and called it Mount Carmel. The first Protestant church was built by the United Brethren in Garnett in 1859. The first county building erected in Garnett was the jail, which was built in 1864. Four years later the court-house was erected on Oak street. In 1891 the legislature passed an act providing for the erection of a court-house on the county square, the cost not to exceed $40,000.
A county fair was held in Anderson county as early as 1863, but the county fair association was not organized until Nov. 15, 1873. It was capitalized for $5,000. The first newspaper in the county was the Gar- nett Pathfinder, established by I. E. Olney in Jan., 1865. It was the only puV.)lication until 1868, when W. H. Johnson started the Garnett Courant.
The general surface of Anderson county is undulating, divided into bottom land, timber and rolling upland. The creek bottoms average about 2 miles in width, and belts of timber along the streams average three-fourths ot a mile. The main water course of the county is the Pottawatomie river, which rises in the central part of the county and flows northeastward, its north and south branches uniting near the north- east corner of the county. The Little Osage river, Indian and Deer creeks flow through the southern portion. Lime and sandstone are plentiful, while red ocher is found in Reeder township. Coal has been found in several places and there are natural gas wells near Greeley. The trees native to this section are walnut, cottonwood, oak, hickory, hackberry, elm, sycamore, and hard and soft maples. Corn, wheat, oats and Kafir corn are the leading agricultural products. Live stock raising is a productive industry, and there are more than 100,000 bearing fruit trees in the county. There are 130.25 miles of main track railroad within the limits of the county. The Missouri Pacific has three lines — one crossing the county diagonally from the northwest to southeast pass- ing through Garnett ; a second enters the county in the northeast and crosses the west border near the center, and the third line crosses the southern part almost directly east and west. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe runs north and south near the center, and a branch diverging
KANSAS HISrORY 75
from Colony in the southwest, crosses the southwest corner. The Mis- souri, Kansas & Texas crosses the southeast corner.
The county is divided into the following townships : Indian creek, Jackson, Lincoln, Lone Elm, Monroe, Ozark, Putnam, Reeder, Rich, Union, Walker, Washington, Welda and Westphalia. Garnett, the county seat, is the largest town and railroad center. Other important towns and villages are Colony, Greeley, Harris, Kincaid, Lone Elm, Selma and Welda.
The \J. S. census of 1910 reported the population of Anderson county at 13,829. The total value of farm products for that year was, according to the report of the state board of agriculture, $1,437,654.37. Corn led with 1,355,223 bushels, valued at $691,163.73. Next to this was the hay crop, valued at $394,779, and oats stood third in the list with 362,907 bushels, valued at $134,275.59. The wheat crop amounted to 38,187 bushels, valued at $35,339.05. Flax and Kafir corn were also important crops.
Anderson, John Alexander, clergyman and member of Congress, was born in Washington county. Pa., June 26, 1834. He was educated at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, graduating in 1853. Benjamin Har- rison, afterwards president of the United States was his roommate while in college. He began work as pastor of a church at Stockton, Cal., in 1857, and preached the first L'nion sermon on the Pacific coast. He soon began to take an interest in all matters of general welfare, and as a result the state legislature of California elected him trustee of the state insane asylum in i860. Two years later he was appointed chap- lain of the Third California infantry. In this capacity he accompanied Gen. Connor's expedition to Salt Lake City. Mr. Anderson's desire to be always investigating something led to his appointment to the United States Sanitary Commission as California correspondent and agent. His first duty was to act as relief agent of the Twelfth army corps. He was next transferred to the central office at New York. In 1864, when Gen. Grant began moving toward Richmond, Mr. Anderson was made superintendent of transportation and had charge of six steamboats. At the close of the campaign he served as assistant superintendent of the canvas and supply department at Philadelphia and edited a paper called the Sanitary Commission Bulletin. When the war closed he was trans- ferred to the history bureau of the commission at Washington, remain- ing there one year collecting data and writing a portion of the history of the commission. In 1866 he was appointed statistician of the Citizens' Association of Pennsylvania, an organization for the purpose of mitigat- ing the sufifering resulting from pauperism, vagrancy and crime in the large cities. In Feb., 1868, Mr. Anderson accepted a call from the Presbyterian church of Junction City, Kan., and during the years spent in this town he developed power as an orator and took an active part in politics. He was on the school board most of the time he was in Junc- tion City. In 1870, the morning after his mother was buried out on the open prairie, where all the dead had been laid, he remarked to some of
70 CYCLOPEDIA OF
his friends, "This town must have a cemetery," and as a result of his efforts beautiful Highland stands as a monument' to his memory. In 1870-71, there was much interest throughout the country in narrow gauge railroads, it being argued that there was economy in them. An- derson concluded that the idea was not practicable and determined to oppose the issue of the bonds asked for in Clay county. His ideas pre- vailed, and the track was relaid standard gauge. In the summer of 1872 Benjamin Harrison secured him a call from a church in Indianapolis, but his wife and family persuaded him to remain in Kansas. In the fall of 1873, Mr. Anderson was elected president of the Kansas State Agricul- tural Colleg&, at Manhattan. A radical change of policy resulted in the institution and it is to Mr. Anderson and the men associated with him, that the state is indebted for the policy which has placed the col- lege near the head of the Hst of such institutions in the United States. Mr. Anderson remained president of the college until 1878, when he was elected to Congress and served as representative from the First and Fifth districts until 1891. In March of that year he was appointed con- sul general to Cairo, Egypt, and sailed for his new post on April 6, but his constitution was already impaired and he was unable to stand the change of climate. The following spring he determined to return, but died on his way home at Liverpool, England, May 18, 1892. His last message was from Malta, "It is all in God's hands and He will direct." He Avas laid at rest on the hill top he had fthosen years before, near the town where he said the happiest daj's of his life had been passed, and where seven of his family are also interred. The funeral ceremonies were conducted by the faculty and students of the Agricultural College, the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic Fraternity.
Anderson, William, usually referred to as "Bill" Anderson, was one of the most daring, brutal and bloodthirsty of those guerrilla captains who harassed Kansas during the early years of the Civil war. He was born in Missouri, but during his boyhood, and in fact up to the breaking out of the war in 1861, he lived with his father on the old Santa Fe trail at the crossing of Bluff creek. Shortly after the war began. Bill Anderson and his brother James, Lee Griffin and the Rice boys, all living in the same neighborhood, announced their intention of taking sides with the South. Earlj' in June, 1862, Lee Griffin stole a horse and started for Missouri, but he was overtaken and brought before a justice of the peace named Baker at Agnes City, at the crossing of Rock creek in the north- western part of Lyon county, where he was bound over for trial in a higher court. This so incensed Bill Anderson's father that he loaded his shot gun and started for Baker's residence to avenge the insult. But Baker, who had been warned, was on the look-out and fired first, killing Anderson. The tragic death of his father may have made Bill Anderson worse than he would otherwise have been, for he immediately com- menced leading raids into Kansas, along the old Santa Fe trail, g^ing as far into the state as Council Grove. His three sisters — Josephine, Mary and Jennie — returned to Missouri, where they were afterward
arrested by order of Gen. Ewing. and by the fall of the building in which the}' Avere imprisoned one was killed. This added gall and wormwood to Anderson's already' embittered disposition, and from that time until his death he was more brutal than before. It is said that his gang did more killing at Lawrence than any other portion of Ouan- trill's command, and after the massacre at Baxter Springs he wanted to attack the fort, but Quantrill would not consent. Anderson was killed while on one of his raids, Oct. 27, 1864, and after his death the scalps of two women were found on the headstall of his bridle.
Andover, a village of Butler county (formerly known as Minne- haha), is a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R., in Bruno township, about 17 miles southwest of Eldorado, the county seat, and not far from the Sedgwick county line. It had a population of 130 in 1910, its money order postofifice has one rural free delivery route which supplies mail to the surrounding country, and it is a trading and ship- ping point for the people in that portion of the county.
Angelas, a village of Solomon township, Sheridan county, is situated on the Saline river, about 20 miles southwest of Hoxie, the county seat. It is a rural postofifice, with a population of 30, and is a trading center for that part of the county. Campus and Grinnell, on the LTnion Pacific, are the nearest railroad stations.
Angola, a village of Labette county, is located in Canada township, on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 23 miles southwest of Oswego, the county seat. It has telegraph and express offices and a money order post- office. The town was laid out in 1886, C. H. Kimball and Lee Clark being the promoters. The population in 1910 was 100.
Annelly, a money order postofifice of Richland township, Harvey county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 9 miles southeast of Newton, the county seat. It has a grain elevator, a hotel, a general store, and does some shipping. The population was reported as 25 in 1910.
Anness, a money order postqfifice of Sedgwick county, is in Erie township, some 30 miles southwest of Wichita and not far from the Sumner county line. It is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., that runs from Wichita to Englewood, has a grain elevator, an express office, and through its retail stores supplies the people of that section with staple articles. The population was reported as 70 in 1910.
Annual Register. — A volume, known as the Kansas Annual Register, was issued late in Dec, 1864, by the State Agricultural Society-, with Andrew Stark as editor. The publication was issued from the Leaven- worth Bulletin oflfice and is a volume of 265 pages of good historical matter, most of which is devoted to Kansas. The idea of the Register is said to have originated with Judge L. D. Bailey, and it was his in- tention to issue a volume annually. Besides a history of religious so- cieties in the state, and of counties, the volume contains lithographic pictures of Thomas Carney, Thomas Ewing, jr., James H. Lane, A. C
TcS CYCLOTEDIA OF
\'\'ilder, George W. Deitzler and James G. Blunt. But one number was issued.
Anson, one of the active, thriving Httle towns of Sumner county, is in Sumner township, about lo miles northwest of Wellington, the coun- ty seat. It is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 6 miles east of Conway Springs, has a bank, important mercantile and shipping in- terests, a money order postofifice, express and telegraph accommoda- tions, good schools, etc., and in 1910 reported a population of 125.
Antelope, a small village of Marion county, is located in Clear Creek township, and is a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 7 miles northeast of Marion, the county seat. It has a money order postofifice, express and telegraph offices, and although the population was only 53 in 1910 it has a good retail trade and does some shipping.
Anthony, the capital and largest city of Harper county, is situated a little south-east of the geographical center of the county in the Bluff creek valley, which is a fine agricultural district. When Harper county was legally organized in 1878 George T. Anthony, then governor of Kansas, was given power to locate the county seat, and the town was named in honor of the governor. The early settlers of Anthony were intelligent, industrious people, and for a time the growth of the place went forward with unabated vigor. Bonds were voted for railroad companies and for municipal improvements and Anthony joined in the rivalry with other towns during the boom days. The rush to Oklahoma on April 22, 1889, it is said, took away about one-half the population, and another hegira occurred some years later. Notwithstandmg this the growth of the city was only temporarily impeded, and in 1910 reported a population of 2.669, ^^ increase of 490 during the preceding decade, in spite of the emigration of 1903.
Underneath the city is a vein of fine salt, 400 feet in thickness, which has been developed, and a salt plant now turns out some 50.000 barrels annually. In addition to this great industr}', the city has an ice plant, a glove factory, a well equipped waterworks system owned by the municipality, natural gas for fuel and light, an electric lighting plant, a fire department, large grain elevators, flour mills, two newspapers, a Carnegie library, and a good public school system. Ample banking facilities are provided, and the city, being located at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Kansas Cit}-, Mexico & Orient, the Kansas Southwestern and the Mis- souri Pacific railroads, its transportation facilities are unsurpassed. Hence it is a prominent shipping and distributing point, its exports be- ing grain, live stock, salt, and the products of its manufacturing estab- lishments. The Anthony Commercial club was organized on Jan. i, 1909, and under its auspices a building and loan association has been organized to aid the people in becoming home owners. The Anthony postoffice is authorized to issue international money orders and four rural delivery routes supply the farmers in the vicinity with mail daily. All the leading express companies have offices, and the telegraph and
KANSAS HISTORY 79
telephone service is better than that often found in cities of similar size. That the people of Anthonj' are progressive in their ideas is evidenced by the fact that the commission form of government was adopted in Feb., 1909.
Anthony, Daniel R., journalist and soldier, was born at South Adams, Mass., Aug. 22, 1824, a son of Daniel and Lucy Anthony, and a brother of Susan B. Anthony, the famous advocate of female suffrage. In his boyhood he attended school at Battenville, N. Y., and later spent six months at the Union Village Academy. Upon leaving school he be- came a clerk in his father's cotton mill and flour mill until he was about 23 years old, when he went to Rochester, N. Y. After teaching school for two seasons he engaged in the insurance business, and in 1854 he was a member of the first colony sent out to Kansas by the New Eng- land Emigrant Aid Society. In June, 1857, he located at Leavenworth, which city was his home for the remainder of his life. When the Sev- enth Kansas cavalry was organized in 1861, Mr. Anthony was com- missioned lieutenant-colonel and served until he resigned on Sept. 3, 1862, his resignation being due to a controversy between him and Gen. R. B. Mitchell, ^^'hile in camp at Etheridge, Tenn., in June, 1862, Lieut. - Col. Anthony was temporarily in command of the brigade, during a short absence of Gen. Mitchell, and issued an order prohibiting slave- owners from coming inside the Union lines for the purpose of recover- ing fugitive slaves. The order further specified that "Any officer or soldier of this command who shall arrest and deliver to his master a fugitive slave shall be summarily and severely punished according to the laws relative to such crimes." When Gen. Mitchell returned and assumed command of the brigade, he asked Lieut. -Col. Anthony to countermand the order. Anthony replied that as he was no longer in command he had no right to issue or revoke orders. Mitchell then placed him in command long enough to rescind the obnoxious order, when Anthon}', being in command, denied the right of Gen. Mitchell to dictate what he should do, and again refused to countermand the order. He was arrested and relieved of the command, but the matter came before the LTnited States senate and Anthon}' was reinstated by Gen. Halleck. Then he resigned. He was elected mayor of Leaven- worth in 1863 and undertook to clear the city of Southern sympathizers. Several houses sheltering them were burned, when Gen. Ewing placed the cit}' under martial law. Ewing's scouts seized some horses, Anthony interfered and was again arrested, but was released the next day and civil law was restored. In the spring of 1866 Mr. Anthony was re- moved from the office of postmaster in Leavenworth because he re- fused to support the reconstruction policy of Andrew Johnson. He was president of the Republican state convention of 1868, and the same year was one of the Kansas presidential electors. In 1872 he was again elected mayor of the city ; was appointed postmaster of Leaven- worth by President Grant on April 3, 1874, and reappointed by Presi- dent Hayes on March 22, 1878. He served several terms in the city
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■council, and was nominated for mayor a number of times but was de- feated. Mr. Anthonj' was a life member of the Kansas State Historical Society, of which he was president in 1885-86. In Jan., 1861, he estab- lished the Leavenworth Conservative, but the following year sold it to A. C. and D. W. Wilder. In March, 1864, he purchased the Bul- letin, the Times came into his possession in 1871, and this paper he con- tinued to conduct until his death. As a journalist Mr. Anthony was aggressive, and his outspoken editorials frequently involved him in trouble. To him physical fear was a stranger, and when R. C. Satter- lee of the Leavenworth Herald published something derogatory to Mr. Anthony in 1864 a shooting affair occurred which resulted in the death of Satterlee. On May 10, 1875, W. W. Embry, a former employee, fired three shots at Mr. Anthony on the stairway of the opera house. One of the shots took effect in the right breast, just below the collar bone, severed an artery and Mr. Anthony's recovery from this wound is regarded as one of the remarkable cases of modern surgery. Mr. Anthony married Miss Annie E. Osborn of Edgarton, Mass., Jan. 21, 1864, and died at Leavenworth on Nov. 12, 1904. A short time before his death he suggested the following as his epitaph: "He helped to make Kansas a free state. He fought to save the Union. He published the Daily Times for nearly forty years in the interest of Leavenworth. He was no hypocrite."
Anthony, Daniel R., Jr., journalist and member of Congress from the First Kansas district, was born in the city of Leavenworth, Kan., Aug. 22, 1870, a son of Daniel R. and Annie (Osborn) Anthon}'. He was educated in the public schools of his native city, graduated in the class of 1887 at the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake, Mich., and in 1891 he received the degree of LL. D. from the university of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The greater part of Mr. Anthony's career has been taken up in newspaper work, and since the death of his father, in Nov., 1904, he has been at the head of the Leavenworth Times, which his father conducted for nearly forty years. From 1898 to 1902 he was postmaster of Leavenworth, and in 1903 was elected mayor of the city for a term of two years. On March 29, 1907, he was elected without opposition to fill the unexpired term of Charles Curtis in the national house of representatives, Mr. Curtis having resigned his seat to enter the United States senate. At the election in Nov., 1908, he was re- elected for a full term of two years, defeating F. M. Pearl by a plurality of 7,950, and in 1910 he was again elected, defeating J. B. Chapman b_v a plurality of 14,376. Mr. Anthony was the originator of the project to build a military road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Riley, and on Dec. 16, 1909, he introduced a bill in Congress for that purpose. His plan was to utilize the labor of the convicts in the Federal prisons at Fort Leavenworth, and several farmers along the line of the proposed road have signified their willingness to furnish the stone for its con- struction. In addition to his editorial and Congressional duties, Mr. Anthony is a director of the Leavenworth National bank. He was
KANSAS HISTORY 8l
united in marriage on June 21, 1897, with Miss Elizabeth Havens of Leavenworth.
Anthony, George Tobey, seventh governor of the State of Kansas, was born on a farm near Mayfield, Fulton county, N. Y., June 9, 1824, and was the youngest of five children born to Benjamin and Anna An- thony. The parents were active members of the society of Friends, or Quakers, and were unwavering advocates of the abolition of chattel slavery. The father died in 1829, leaving the family in somewhat straightened circumstances. When George was about nine years old the family removed to Greenfield, N. Y., where he attended school dur- ing the winter months and worked for the neighboring farmers in summer. At the age of sixteen years he entered the shop of his uncle at Union Springs, N. Y., and served an apprenticeship as a tinner and coppersmith. Here he worked from fourteen to sixteen hours each day, which doubtless inculcated those industrious habits that charac- terized his course through life. On Dec. 14, 1852, he married Miss Rosa A. Lyon, of Medina, N. Y., and there engaged in business as a tinner and dealer in hardware, stoves, etc. Later he added agricultural implements to his stock, and still later he removed to New York city, where he engaged in business as a commission merchant until the com- mencement of the Civil war. Gov. Morgan selected him as one of a committee to raise and organize troops under the call of July 2, 1862, in the 28th district, composed of the counties of Niagara, Orleans and Genesee, his associates being ex-Gov. Church and Noah Davis. Mr. Anthony organized the Seventeenth independent battery of light artil- lery in four days, and was commissioned captain of the organization when it was niustered into the United States service on Aug. 26, 1862. In command of this battery he served between Washington and Rich- mond until the close of the war ; was attached to the Eighteenth corps while in the trenches in front of Petersbuurg; and was with the Twenty- fourth corps in the Appomattox campaign, which ended in the sur- render of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Capt. Anthony was mustered out at Richmond, Va., June 12, 1865, and in November of the same year he became a resident of Leavenworth, Kan., where for nearly three years he was editor of the Daily Bulletin and Daily Commercial. He then published the Kansas Farmer for six years. After coming to Kansas, Mr. Anthony held a number of positions of trust and responsibility. In 1867 he was one of the commissioners in charge of the soldiers' orphans : in December of that year was appointed assistant assessor of I'nited States internal revenue; was commissioned collector of internal revenue on July 11, 1868; was president of the Kansas state board of agriculture for three years, and president of the board of Centennial managers in 1876. In the last named year he was nominated by the Republican state convention for the office of governor. During the campaign some of his political enemies charged that he had been guilty of cowardice while serving with his battery in the Army of the Potomac, and insisted on his removal from the ticket. The charge was investi- (1-6)
82 CYCLnPEDIA OF
gated by the state central committee, which refused to remove Mr. Anthony, and the committee's decision was ratified by the people at the election in November, when Mr. Anthony was elected by a plurality of nearly 23,000 votes. Two 3'ears later, in the Republican state con- vention, he was defeated for a renomination on the seventeenth ballot. In 1881 he was made superintendent of the ]\Iexican Central railway, a position he held for about two years. In 1884 he was elected to represent Leavenworth county in the state legislature ; was a member of the state railroad commission from 1889 to 1893 < was the Republican nominee for Congressman at large in 1892, but was defeated by William A. Harris ; was a delegate to the Trans-Mississippi Congress at New Orleans in 1892; was appointed superintendent of insurance by Gov. Morrill in 1895, and held this office until his death, which occurred at Topeka on Aug. 5, 1896. As an orator Gov. Anthony was logical and forcible, rarely failing to impress his hearers by his intense earnestness. He was often criticized — such is always the case with men of positive natures — but no word Avas ever whispered against his honor or in- tegrity. The Kansas Historical Society Collections (vol. VI., p. 204) says; "George T. Anthony's greatest usefulness to his adopted state was his work while editor of the Kansas Farmer and as president of the board of Centennial managers. The pioneer farmers of Kansas were negligent in the management of farm affairs. Corn was about the only crop produced, and at the end of the season the plow was left in the furrow and the mowing-machine was left in the fence corner, while the live stock were left to shift for themselves. The Kansas Farmer taught diversified farming, economy in management, improvement in live stock, and higher regard for home and social life. The Centennial exhibit made a grand advertisement for Kansas."
Anthony's Administration. — The first biennial session of the Kansas state legislature convened on Jan. 9, 1877, and organized with Lieut. Gov. iMelville J. Salter as president of the senate, and Peter P. Elder as speaker of the house. Gov. Anthony requested a joint session of the two branches of the assembly, that he might read his message in person. This was something of an innovation, and Representative Mohler, of Saline county, with thirteen others entered a protest against such a pro- ceeding, giving as their reasons therefor, ist — because it was not au- thorized by the constitution; 2nd — such a joint session was not really the legislature of Kansas ; and 3d — it was a departure from established precedent. The protest was made a matter of record, but a majority of the members voted to hold the joint session in accordance with the gov- ernor's request, and on the nth Gov. Anthony read his message to the two houses.
Flis message showed that the new executive was fully conversant with public matters, and was replete with valuable suggestions. "The re- ports of the state officers," said he. "show the financial condition and credit of the state to be of the most flattering character. Seven per cent, currency bonds of the state are held at a premium of seven per
KANSAS HISTORY 83
cent, on their par value by the most prudent investors. In fact, it is difficult to find holders willing to part with them, when sought as an investment by the state, at the highest quoted price."
He then carefully reviewed the condition of the state's public insti- tutions ; called attention to the ambiguity of the law inflicting the death penalty; devoted some attention to the Price Raid claims, and recom- mended a "house of correction" for youthful ofi^enders. On this sub- ject he said: "Humanity and the public good unite in demanding a place of confinement, other than the penitentiary, for youthful offenders. So revolting is it to the judgment and conscience of men to consign erring A'outh, for its first proven crime, to the society and ineffaceable disgrace of a penitentiary, that judges and jurors cannot be found to convict when they can evade it."
As an economical means of providing a place of confinement of this nature for juvenile transgressors, he recommended a separate building and yard on the grounds of the penitentiary, but under the same man- agement.
About the time that Gov. Anthony came into office, complaint was made in several of the western states that the railroads were not giving the people fair treatment in many respects. His utterances on this question evinced the fact that he had given it close attention. Said he : "There is, whether just or not, a widespread feeling of dissatisfaction with the railroad corporations of the state, on account of alleged unful- filled obligations on their part. It is claimed that these corporations received valuable franchise privileges, most of them sharing in the di- vision of a half-million acres of state internal improvement lands, and receiving large contributions of local aid upon their lines in count}-, township and cit)- bonds; that these valuable rights and franchises were bestowed on condition, and in consideration, on the part of