d. r. atchison—matt gerber—j. h. talbott—william osborne—john w. cain—w. l. challiss—george scarborough—samuel hollister—john taylor—john m. crowell—luther dickerson—luther c. challiss—george w. glick—w. k. grimes—joshua wheeler—william hetherington—william c. smith—john m. price—samuel c. king—clem rohr—r. h. weightman—case of major weightman.
one of the really creditable and most pretentious newspaper enterprises ever undertaken and accomplished in kansas was e. w. howe’s historical edition of the atchison daily globe. it contains much interesting and valuable information written in the unique style which has made mr. howe famous. with the consent of mr. howe, which he has very kindly granted the author of this history, there will appear in this chapter, almost verbatim, a number of biographical sketches and other interesting matter, which should be printed in book form so that it could be assured of a permanent place in the archives of the state. there are but few copies left, and these are in a bad state of disintegration. the sketch of gen. d. r. atchison will first be reproduced herein, and then will follow others, touching upon the lives and characters of early settlers, who contributed their part to the upbuilding of this community. much has already appeared in this history touching upon the activities of general atchison, but a sketch of his life is important, inasmuch as he is perhaps the most conspicuous early-day character in the history of atchison county.
general d. r. atchison.
david rice atchison, for whom atchison was named, was born near lexington, fayette county, kentucky, august 11, 1807. the son of william 187atchison, a wealthy farmer of that county, he received all the advantages of a liberal education. his mother’s maiden name was catherine allen, a native of the state of georgia. william atchison, the father, was a pennsylvanian by birth.
david r. atchison was blessed with six children, four sons and two daughters. in 1825 he graduated with high honor from transylvania university, then the leading institution of learning in the state, and since incorporated in the new university of kentucky.
upon receiving his degrees in the arts, mr. atchison immediately applied himself to the study of law. in 1829 mr. atchison was admitted to practice in his native state, and a few months after, in 1830, removed to the comparatively wild district of clay county, missouri. in april of that year he received in st. louis his license to practice in the supreme court of the state and immediately settled in the village of liberty, now the county seat of clay county. about this period, mr. atchison was appointed major general of the northern division of the missouri state militia.
general atchison soon commanded a lucrative practice in his new home, where he continued to reside in the discharge of the duties of his profession until february, 1841, when his superior legal attainments, which were known and recognized throughout the state, won for him the appointment as judge of the district court of platte county on its organization in february of that year, when he moved his residence to platte city. it appears that in that day judges were appointed to this position by the government, with the advice and consent of the senate. the office was not made elective until several years after. in 1834 and 1838 he was elected to the missouri legislature from clay county.
upon the death of dr. lyon, united states senator, in 1838, judge atchison was appointed by governor reynolds to the vacancy in the senate. it was by many considered that this appointment was merited and he had been recommended by colonel benton and other authorities of the democratic party; by others it was said that the governor himself was ambitious of the senatorship and had selected judge atchison as a person who could be easily beaten at the next election. the death of governor reynolds, however, occurred before the meeting of the next legislature and judge atchison was elected with but slight opposition. he was re?lected for two more terms, the last of which expired march 4, 1855, during the administration of franklin pierce. two years after this he moved his residence from platte to clinton county. he was elected president of the senate to succeed judge mangun, a whig senator from north carolina.
188the 4th of march, 1849, occurring on sunday, zachary taylor was not inaugurated until the following monday. judge atchison thus, as presiding officer of the senate, became virtually president of the united states during the term of twenty-four hours. in referring to this accidental dignity, on being interrogated as to how he enjoyed his exalted position, the venerable senator good humoredly replied that he could tell but little about it as, overcome with fatigue consequent to several days and nights of official labor, he slept through nearly his whole term of service.
judge atchison became especially prominent in the legislature for the organization of the territories of kansas and nebraska, and claims to have originated the repeal of the missouri compromise bill. on his retirement from the senate, of which he was an honored member for the space of twelve years, during the larger part of the time as presiding officer, he continued to take a lively interest in the politics of the country, and was regarded as a leader and chief adviser of the pro-slavery party in kansas during the troubles which preceded the admission as a state. in 1856 we find him in command of 1,150 men at a point called santa fe. on the 29th of august, the same year, a detachment from general atchison’s army attacked osawatomie, which was defended by about fifty men, who made a vigorous resistance but were defeated with a loss of five wounded and seven prisoners. five of the assailants were killed and thirty buildings were burned. the next day a body of free state men marched from lawrence to take atchison’s army. upon their approach the latter retired and withdrew its forces into missouri. the admission of kansas as a free state soon after this occurred put an end to this much vexed question and restored tranquility to the country.
general atchison lived in retirement on his magnificent estate in clinton county until the breaking out of the rebellion, when he left for the south and was present at the battle of lexington. governor jackson secured him a commission as brigadier general at the commencement of the war. this general atchison declined, as his residence was in clinton county, outside the limits of the division. he, however, remained with the army and assisted in its organization. he joined temporarily for the purpose of making up the company under ephraim kelley’s command from st. joseph and remained with the army until after the battle of elkhorn.
at the close of the war, general atchison returned to his home in clinton county, where he continued to reside in almost unbroken retirement on his 1,700–acre farm in a neat cottage erected on the site of his spacious brick mansion, which was accidentally destroyed by fire february 2, 1870. he never married, and died at his home in clinton county, january 26, 1886.
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matt. gerber.
matt. gerber came to this county originally in 1855, as pastry cook on a government steamer. there was almost no town at atchison then, and he went to sioux city with the boat and afterwards returned to st. louis. in 1856 he was pastry cook on the “a. b. chambers,” which ran between st. louis and weston and was commanded by captain bowman, the father of mrs. d. c. newcomb and mrs. g. h. t. johnson. mr. gerber was born in baden in 1833 and came to america in 1853, landing at new orleans, and for a time ran on boats on the lower mississippi. for many years he was the hero of atchison children, as he operated a bakery, confectionery and toy store on the south side of commercial street, near fourth. mr. gerber first located in sumner in 1858, where he ran a bakery, coming to atchison in 1860, and was in business at the same location for over thirty-four years. mr. gerber died in atchison, december 14, 1907.
s. o. pomeroy
jim lane
j. h. talbott.
j. h. talbott came west in 1855 and was a passenger on the “a. b. chambers,” of which george w. bowman was captain and e. k. blair, second clerk. the cholera was so bad that year that mr. talbott left the boat at jefferson city and came overland to monrovia, although his passage was paid to leavenworth. several passengers on the “a. b. chambers” died of 190cholera and were buried on sand bars. mr. talbott pre?mpted a claim at monrovia, and when his family came two years later he kept a boarding house at monrovia for four years. albert d. richardson was often a guest at his house. he was a clean, neat city man of about thirty, and was engaged in writing up the kansas war for the new york tribune. jim lane also stopped at j. h. talbott’s occasionally. mr. talbott first heard him make a speech in a grove at pardee, and a. j. westbrook was in the audience. lane made some abusive reference to westbrook, who made a movement as if to pull a pistol, but lane shook his celebrated boney finger at westbrook and defied him to shoot. at that time atchison was controlled by the pro-slavery element, but the free state men predominated around monrovia and pardee. the noted colonel caleb lived at farmington. james ridpath was often at j. h. talbott’s, and d. r. anthony and webb wilder appeared there as young men and took up claims.
another famous place in those days was the seven mile house, seven miles west of atchison on the road traveled by the freighters, kept by john bradford. talbott’s boarding house was built of logs and the beds were nailed against the wall, one above another. sometimes the house was so crowded that the floor was also occupied with beds.
mr. talbott was born in canal dover, ohio, where he knew w. c. quantrill real well. quantrill afterwards became the noted guerilla and sacked lawrence. mrs. talbott went to school with quantrill, and the teacher was quantrill’s father, a very worthy man. after mr. talbott married he removed to zanesville, ind., and kept a store with s. j. h. snyder, who was one of the early settlers of atchison county and a fierce free state man. in a little while will quantrill appeared at zanesville and taught school in the country. he usually spent his saturdays and sundays at j. h. talbott’s house, on the strength of their acquaintance at canal dover. mr. talbott says he was well behaved and attracted great attention around the store, particularly from the young men.
in 1854 quantrill left zanesville and settled at lawrence, kan., as a free state man and taught school, where he became acquainted with robert bitter morrow, whose life he afterwards saved during the massacre. robert morrow kept the byram in atchison several years. when talbott went to monrovia in 1855, the country was full of kickapoo indians. he remembers seeing an indian grave there: a rail pen covered with brush. in the middle of the pen could be seen the dead indian in a sitting posture, with his gun beside him.
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col. william osborne.
colonel osborne built the first railroad to the missouri river—the hannibal & st. joseph. he built and owned the transfer ferry “wm. osborne,” which was famous in atchison in the early days. he also built the first 100 miles of the central branch to waterville, as has been previously stated. he lived and died in waterville, n. y., but visited atchison frequently to see his daughter, mrs. r. a. park, who was the wife of the president of the atchison savings bank.
amos a. howell.
amos a. howell was one of the plains freighters who distinguished atchison in the early days. he ran twenty-seven wagons with six yoke of oxen to each wagon. an extra head of oxen was taken along, known as the “cavvy” to spell the others and take the places of those that gave out. altogether he owned 400 head of work oxen. the oxen were expected to pick up their living on the way, but when mules were used in the winter it was necessary to carry grain for them. thirty men were necessary in the train of twenty-seven wagons pulled by oxen. mr. howell was assisted in his wagon business by his son, nat.
in those days there was a government regulation that all trains should be held at ft. kearney until 100 armed men had collected. then a captain was elected, who was commissioned by the government and had absolute charge of the train while it was passing through the indian country. mr. howell frequently occupied the position of captain, being well known on the plains. on one occasion while he was captain he halted at cottonwood falls on the platte, as the indians were very bad, and soldiers were expected to go through with the train, but none came and finally mr. howell unloaded five wagons, filled them with armed men and started out. almost in sight of cottonwood a gang of gaily painted indians attacked the train, supposing it was a little outfit. but when the indians came within range, the “whiskey bills” and “poker petes” in the covered wagons began dropping the indians off their ponies, and there was a pretty fight, in which the indians were badly worsted.
mr. howell says that the indians never attack wagon trains except very early in the morning, or late in the evening.
the favorite sport of the indians, however, was to run off the stock 192after the train had gone into camp at night, and they always had one way of doing it, which mr. howell finally learned. the indians are no wiser than white men, for they say that white men always fail in business the same way and act the same way when they have a fire. an indian would ride up onto a high point and look around a while. this would always be in the evening when the train was near a camping place. then the indian would disappear and come back presently with another indian wrapped in his blanket and riding the same pony. one indian would then drop into the grass, and the rider would go back after another one. the indians were collecting in ambush; thinking the freighters would never think of it. mr. howell had in his employ a driver, an atchison man, named “whiskey bill,” who was particularly clever at hating indians, and whenever an ambush was preparing “whiskey bill” would select four or five other men equally clever and go after the indians. he often killed and scalped as many as four in one ambush, and sold their scalps in denver to the jews for a suit of clothes each. the jews bought them as relics and disposed of them in the east. the killing of indians in this manner was according to government order and strictly legitimate. another driver in howell’s train was an atchison man named rube duggan. he was a great roper and used to take a horse, when in sight of a buffalo herd and go out after calves, which made tender meat. riding into the herd he would lasso a calf, fasten the rope to the ground with a stake and then go on after another one before the herd got away. he caught several calves in this way for ben holladay, who took them east. mr. howell remembers that once, this side of fort kearney, it was necessary to stop the train to let a herd of buffalo pass. the men always had fresh buffalo meat in addition to their bacon, beans, dried apples, rice and fried bread.
there was a cook with the train who drove the mess wagon, but he did not do any other work. every driver had to take his turn getting wood and water for the cook and herding the cattle at noon, but the night herder did nothing else and slept in the wagon during the day. occasionally he was awakened about noon and hunted along the road. the cattle fed at night until 10 or 11 o’clock when they would lie down until 2 in the morning. the night herder would lie down by the side of a reliable old ox and sleep too, being awakened when the ox got up to feed. the oxen were driven into the wagon corral about daylight and yoked. every wagon had its specified place in the train and kept it during the entire trip.
wagons were always left in a circle at night, forming a corral. into 193this corral the cattle were driven while being yoked. in case of an attack, the cattle were inside the corral and the men fought under the wagons. the teams started at daylight and stopped at 10 or 11 until 2 or 3, and then they would start up and travel until dark. mr. howell always rested on sunday, making an average of 100 miles a week with his ox teams. when the train started out each man was given ten pounds of sugar which was to last him to denver. on the first sunday the men would make lemonade of sugar and vinegar and do without sugar the rest of the trip. mr. howell saw the attack on george w. howe’s train on the little blue when george con—— was killed and the entire train burned. con—— was an atchison man. howell’s train was corraled and he could not go to howe’s assistance.
howell came to atchison county in 1856 by wagon from fayette county, pennsylvania, where he was born, december 26, 1824. at seventy he was stout and vigorous, getting up every morning at 4 o’clock to go to work. his plains experience did him good. he died on the 1st day of august, 1907, owning a large tract of land in grasshopper township.
bela m. hughes
ellsworth cheseborough
john w. cain.
john w. cain and his two sons, john s. cain and william s. cain, came to atchison in 1856 from the isle of man, and pre?mpted a quarter section, five miles west of atchison. a. d. cain, another son, came to this county in 1856, accompanying his brother, john m. cain, who had gone to his old home 194in the isle of man on a visit. a. d. cain attended school longer than either of his three brothers and was a graduate of king william’s college, a celebrated institution of learning. after leaving school he learned the business of a druggist. he was born in 1846. john m. cain was seven years older.
john m. cain enlisted in the thirteenth kansas infantry in 1862. his brother, william, enlisted in col. john a. martin’s regiment the year before. in less than a year john m. cain was given the position as captain in the eighty-third u. s. infantry and raised company c in atchison. phillip porter, the celebrated negro politician and orator, of atchison, was orderly sergeant of company c, which had ten men killed in the battle of prairie grove. after serving in the army nearly four years, john m. cain returned to his farm in atchison county in 1866 where he remained until 1872, when he removed to atchison and engaged in the grain business. the cains started the exporting of flour from kansas and their business was very largely export business during their operation of the mill.
john w. cain, father of the cain brothers, was a fierce free state man in the days when it was dangerous to be a free state man in atchison county, but as he was a powerful man and of undoubted courage, the pro-slavery fans thought it wise to forgive him. his memory as well as the memory of his sons, john m. cain and a. d. cain, are still highly esteemed by the older settlers of atchison county.
dr. w. l. challiss.
dr. w. l. challiss came to atchison june 3, 1866, on the steamboat “meteor” from moorestown, n. j., where he had been a practicing physician. at that time john alcorn was operating a horse ferry on the river and dr. challiss, in company with his brother, l. c. challiss, purchased a three-fourths interest in the ferry franchise after operating a little rival ferry for a time, which was known as the “red rover.” the price paid for the franchise was $1,800.00.
in the fall of 1856 dr. challiss went to evansville, ind., and contracted for the building of a steam ferry. this was completed in november and started for atchison. in december it was frozen up in the missouri river at carrollton, mo., and left in charge of a watchman. the crew was made up of old acquaintances of dr. challiss in new jersey, and these he brought to atchison in two stage coaches hired for the purpose.
on february 7 of the following year dr. challiss started down the river on horse back after his ferry boat, accompanied by george m. million, granville 195morrow and john cafferty. there had been a thaw and a rise in the river, and when the men reached the vicinity of carrollton they learned that the boat had gone adrift. they followed it down the river, hearing of it occasionally and finally came up with it in sight of arrow rock. the boat had grounded on a bar and a man was in possession, claiming salvage. dr. challiss caught the man off the boat, took possession and settled with him for $25.00. a story was circulated that there had been small-pox on the boat and it narrowly escaped burning at the hands of the people living in the vicinity. dr. challiss went on down the river and met his family at st. louis. when the steamer on which they were passengers reached arrow rock, the captain was induced to pull the ferry off the sand bar, and within four days it arrived in atchison.
this boat was named the “ida” for dr. challiss’ oldest daughter, who became the wife of john a. martin, editor of the atchison champion, colonel of the eighth kansas regiment and governor of the state two terms. the “ida” was brought up the river by george million and granville morrow, pilots, and john cafferty, engineer. george million was the captain when it began making regular trips as a ferry, receiving originally $50.00 per month. during the last years of his service he received $125.00 a month. the ferry boat business was very profitable and $100.00 per day was no unusual income. in 1860 dr. challiss built a larger ferry at brownsville, penn., and called it the “j. g. morrow.” when it arrived at atchison the government pressed it into service and sent it to yankton with indian supplies. bill reed was pilot and dr. challiss, captain. a quick trip was made to within seventy miles of yankton where the pilot ran the boat into a snag and sank it. the boat cost $25,000.00 and nothing was saved but the machinery. this was afterwards placed in the ferry “s. c. pomeroy,” which was operated here until the bridge was completed in 1877. after this the “s. c. pomeroy was taken to kansas city, where it sank during a storm. s. c. pomeroy owned a one-fourth interest in the “j. g. morrow” and “s. c. pomeroy” and the wreck of the “morrow” cost him $5,000.00.
the “ida” was taken to leavenworth on the completion of the bridge and was in service there many years.
in the early days dr. challiss was a free state man and for years he had in his possession a letter warning him to leave the country, which was written during the exciting period before the war. dr. challiss remained active in the affairs of the town for many years but practiced his profession only spasmodically. he died in dayton, ohio, at the home of his daughter, on april 23, 1909.
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george scarborough.
george scarborough was one of the most romantic characters that ever lived in atchison county. influenced by his niece’s description of kansas, he came to sumner in 1859 and purchased a tract of land now owned by e. w. howe and known as potato hill. the location is probably the finest on the missouri river. the farm lies on top of the bluff, and scarborough’s house was built near the river. he was well fitted to enjoy the life of elegant leisure and seclusion, which he did. early in life he went to kentucky from connecticut and taught school. while there he married the daughter of a congressman named triplett. the wife died a year later, and scarborough came into possession of considerable money. after that he adopted a literary and scientific life and spent much of his time abroad, where he collected many pictures and other art treasures. these were displayed in his home below sumner. scarborough was a botanist, and made a complete collection of the flora of this section, which he sent to the smithsonian institution, at washington. one of his discoveries was that atchison county had eleven varieties of the oak. scarborough was one of the original founders of the first national bank of this city, furnishing most of the original capital.
in 1869 he went to vineland, n. j., where he married a girl of twenty-three, although he was nearly seventy. his wife died within a year, in child birth, under precisely the same circumstances as his first wife. scarborough died in 1883, in his old home in connecticut, in absolute poverty, at the age of eighty-four. he is spoken of as one of the most elegant gentlemen who distinguished the early days.
samuel hollister.
samuel hollister was one of the original settlers of sumner. he landed at leavenworth may 1, 1857, coming by boat from jefferson city. two weeks later he met a number of the members of the sumner town company who were looking for somebody to go to sumner to build a hotel. having been a contractor and builder in his old home in new jersey, mr. hollister accompanied the men to sumner, which then consisted of a claim cabin, used as a hotel, and four frame houses in course of construction. the material for the frame houses had been brought from cincinnati, ready framed, and when completed were 16×24, containing two rooms each. mr. hollister took the contract to build the baker house, which contained three rooms on the 197ground floor. the half story above was all in one room, where the guests slept. the frames for the baker house were hewn out in the timber adjoining the town; the weather boarding and shingles were shipped up the river. the hotel was completed in the summer of 1857, and was operated by hood baker, a cousin of capt. david baker, for many years a prominent citizen of atchison.
in the fall of the same year mr. hollister began work on the sumner house, the contract price being $16,000.00. the brick used were made on the ground. the lumber came by boat from pittsburgh, penn. this hotel was completed in the summer of the following year. it was built by the town company, which owed mr. hollister $3,000.00 at the time of his death, a few years ago.
mr. hollister lived in sumner twelve years, vigorously fighting atchison. in the fall of 1858 he built a mill, in company with al barber, later adding a gristmill, which was the second built in the county, the first having been built in atchison, by william bowman. mr. hollister went down the river in a boat in january, 1859, and when he reached his old home in the catskill mountains, he crossed the hudson river on the ice. during this trip east he was married to miss harriet carroll, a lineal descendant of charles carroll, one of the signers of the declaration of independence. his wife returned with him to sumner, and they afterwards moved to atchison, where they lived for many years. mr. hollister died march 28, 1910.
john taylor.
john taylor, who for many years lived on a farm immediately south of the state orphans’ home, was a resident of missouri, a mile and a quarter above east atchison in 1844, ten years before kansas was opened for settlement. his father, joseph taylor, came to the platte purchase in 1838, from pennsylvania, settling near weston. at that time most of the best claims were taken. john taylor’s recollection was that the very earliest settler in that vicinity was in 1837. joseph taylor did not secure a very good claim, and afterward removed to andrew county, finally locating a mile above east atchison, in 1844. john taylor said that george million was living on the present site of east atchison when his father’s family settled in the bottom. it was mr. taylor’s opinion that george million settled in east atchison in 1842, and that he did not start his ferry until 1850. in the spring of that year john taylor crossed the river on george million’s flat-boat ferry, and 198went to california, in company with his brother, joe. there was no wagon road running west from atchison at that time. john and joe taylor mined in california for eighteen months, never making over $20.00 per day, and usually only $5.00. they returned home by the way of the isthmus of panama, and john taylor got the small-pox at glascow, mo., which did not break out on him until he reached east atchison. this was supposed to be the first case of small-pox in this section of the country. all the other members of the family got it, and the wife of jim stultz, who came in to help his mother, also got it. their physician was a doctor ankrom, who lived in the narrows, near rushville, and he got it, too. this was in the winter of 1851 and 1852. in september, 1854, ten years after settling in east atchison, mr. taylor came to this side of the river. when he arrived ladd yocum was running a hotel in a tent; there was nothing else on the town site. late in the fall george t. challiss completed his store, which was the first building of any kind in atchison, according to mr. taylor. he says that george million did not erect his claim shanty until the following year.
mr. taylor first settled in the bluffs, northeast of atchison, but afterwards moved to a tract of land owned by a man named o. b. dickerson, who afterwards built the first livery stable in atchison. dickerson sold his claim to a man named adams, b. t. stringfellow’s father-in-law, for $600.00, but adams did not comply with the law and taylor jumped it. for a while taylor and adams lived on the same quarter, and became acquainted; then taylor discovered that adams paid $600.00 for the claim, and gave him his money back. taylor said he never had any short words with adams about the claim, but once. they met on the hill, overlooking the river, one day, and were looking at the wreck of the old “pontiac,” which is now said to have contained several hundred barrels of whiskey. “well,” said adams, “when are you going?” “going where?” asked taylor. “to nova scotia,” replied adams. “i am not going at all,” was taylor’s response, which adams understood to mean that he was not going to leave the claim, but intended to fight. a compromise soon followed.
taylor says the “pontiac” was carried off by atchison people, and put into their houses, and that years afterwards, the writing on the wheel house could be seen around town. there was no whiskey left in the hold; indeed, the hold was carried away.
the taylor place was considered a great deal more valuable in 1855 than it is now; people felt sure that within four or five years john taylor would cut it up in town lots and sell them at fabulous prices, and go abroad.
199john taylor’s sympathies were always with the south carolinians, who made this section so warm in 1856, but said that only one in ten were good citizens; the others were toughs. one of them, a man named newhall, was killed in the fight at hickory point. john robinson, captain of a southern party at hickory point, was an atchison man, and was shot in the hip.
mr. taylor said that in 1844 and several years later the country was full of bee trees, and that cattle turned into the rush in the river bottom in winter, came out fat in the spring. in 1844 there was a settlement of fifty kickapoo families on the flat just above the island on the kansas side. they made a great deal of maple sugar. in summer these indians went out to the buffalo grounds, sixty to eighty miles west of the river, returning in the fall, to be near the missouri settlers. there never was an indian village on the site of atchison, although mrs. joe wade, who was george million’s daughter, claims to have remembered coming to this side of the river when she was a little girl, and seeing a dead indian strapped to a board and leaning against a tree on the present site of commercial street. the body was surrounded with totem poles. there was no game at that time on this side of the river. indians themselves hunted deer on the missouri side in winter, and were very friendly with the whites.
john taylor died on march 7, 1897.
john m. crowell.
john m. crowell was mayor of atchison three terms, coming to the city in 1858 from londonderry, n. h., where he was born october 22, 1823. for ten years he was a merchant here, afterwards being appointed government storekeeper, and having charge of a distillery below town. from 1870 to 1885, he was united states postoffice inspector for nineteen states and territories, and in that capacity visited every section of the country. he resigned to become a mail contractor, although solicited by a democratic postmaster general to remain. his record in washington was as good as that of any man who ever worked for the government. mr. crowell was a forty-niner, crossing the plains during the great rush of that year, and engaging in sluice mining. he made four trips to california, but never by railroad. from san francisco he visited china, south america, the sandwich islands, and was a great traveler in his time. he was the father of frank g. crowell, who was born in atchison, and for many years a prominent citizen here, but later resigning his position as county attorney of atchison county and moving to kansas city to engage in the grain business, where he now lives.
200john m. crowell’s daughter became mrs. f. m. baker, who accumulated a fortune in the grain business in atchison. mr. crowell died on the eleventh day of october, 1902.
george million
william scarbrough
luther dickerson.
luther dickerson came to atchison county in june, 1854, immediately after kansas was opened to settlement, from saline county, missouri, where he had lived ten years. he went to missouri from washington county, ohio, where he was born in 1825. after looking over the country mr. dickerson returned to missouri, but came back to kansas the following october, and “squatted” on a tract of land a mile north of the state orphans’ home. from 1854 to 1857 were the squatter sovereignty days, during which period a settler could have no title to land, further than the fact of his settlement on the land he selected as his home. land offices were not established until in 1857, when the squatter filed his claims, and began fighting over them. the first land office in this section was at doniphan. john w. whitfield, who was afterwards in congress, was the register. about a year later the land office was removed to kickapoo, just below atchison.
when mr. dickerson squatted on his claim in 1854, three-fourths of the land around him was taken. welcome nance, peter cummings, john taylor and widow boyle had farms at that time. andy colgan did not come until 2011857. the settlers of 1854 were mostly from missouri. in 1855 came an organized band of south carolinians, whose object was to make kansas a slave state. then followed the fierce and relentless fight with the free state men, which ended in 1857, as far as this section was concerned. that is, in 1857 the free state men won control, and have practically kept it ever since. in the fall of that year the free state men elected their county ticket, and luther dickerson was chosen as one of the four commissioners and was made chairman.
luther dickerson was a free state man and was fought by all the missouri and south carolinians. his land was contested, and he was beaten in the land office, but he finally won before the secretary of the interior, by proving that the woman who was contesting him was a foreigner. hiram latham, a free state man, who lived across the road from dickerson, was murdered in doniphan, and because of this murder frank mcvey left the country and never came back. the men who killed latham were ferried over independence creek by dickerson, and, noticing that they were armed, he asked where they were going. they said they were going wolf hunting. in 1858 luther dickerson was elected a member of the house of representatives, which met at lecompton, and then adjourned to lawrence. in the same year, while still a county commissioner, he built the old court house, which occupied the site of the present court house.
luther dickerson raised the first company of soldiers ever organized in the state of kansas, in may, 1861. the first military order issued in the state was directed to him, signed by john a. martin, assistant adjutant general.
but while his company was the first organized, it happened that dickerson’s commission as captain was the second issued, and was signed by governor charles robinson, before the state had an official seal. afterwards, mr. dickerson served in the regular volunteer service, as first lieutenant.
he lived on his land, north of town, for many years, and died in atchison on the thirteenth day of december, 1910.
luther c. challiss.
luther c. challiss came to atchison in 1855 from boonville, mo., where he was engaged as a merchant. he remained here continuously until 1861 as merchant, banker, ferry operator and real estate owner. luther c. challiss’ 202addition, the east line of which is at the alley between seventh and eighth streets, was pre?mpted by mr. challiss in 1857, and was originally composed of 198 acres.
as a member of the territorial council, mr. challiss secured the first charter for a railroad west from atchison, known as the atchison pike’s peak railroad, now the central branch. he was the first president of the road, and originally owned every dollar of the stock. he also managed the kickapoo treaty, which gave the road 150,000 acres of land, and made it prominent in washington as a specific possibility. the original government subsidy for this road was every other quarter section of land for ten miles on either side, in addition to $16,000 to $48,000 per mile, in government bonds.
at the same time mr. challiss secured a charter for the atchison-pike’s peak railroad, he secured a charter for the atchison, topeka & santa fe railroad, his original idea being a southern route to the pacific, and that road has fulfilled all of his early expectations.
mr. challiss made a great deal of money in atchison, and in 1864 drifted to new york and washington, where he became an operator on the stock exchange. mr. challiss’ sympathies were with the south, and was generally a bull. as long as the south showed its ability to hold out mr. challiss made a great deal of money, and at one time he had on deposit in new york $960,000, but the tide turned against him when the south began to fail, and this fortune was reduced to nothing.
as an operator on wall street at that time, mr. challiss outranked jim fisk and jay gould, and was the peer of anthony morse and the jeromes. jay gould was a very common man at that time, compared to mr. challiss, and a very little thing might have made mr. challiss one of the great financial leaders in america. an incident in his career in new york was the attempt of woodhull & claflin to break him. he made a fight that is still remembered, and sent woodhull and claflin, colonel blood stephen, pearl andrews and george francis train to jail, where they remained six months. finally they left the country as a result of a compromise. mr. challiss’ lawyers were roger a. pryor and judge fullerton. judge fullerton received a quarter section of land in atchison county as his fee. mr. challiss also brought the famous pacific mail suit, which was equally famous.
he returned to atchison in 1878, looking after the wreck of his former possessions. for three years he edited the atchison champion, and bitterly opposed john j. ingalls for united states senator in 1890.
mr. challiss, in his latter years, became a very much abused man, and 203was looked upon as one of the unpopular citizens of the town, but it may be said to his credit that he did much for atchison, and was largely responsible for making the town the terminus of the hannibal & st. joe railroad. he brought jay gould, henry n. smith and ben carver to atchison, and they agreed to extend the road from st. joseph to atchison, in consideration of $75,000.00 in atchison bonds, which was agreed to. mr. challiss had some sort of a deal with henry n. smith while they were operating on wall street, and challiss claimed that smith owned him $107,000.00. they finally settled the matter, by smith agreeing to bring the hannibal & st. joseph road here without the $75,000.00 in bonds the people had agreed to give him. the atchison champion of may 11, 1872, contained a half column scare head, to the effect that luther c. challiss telegraphed from new york that the bridge had been finally secured, and gave the credit of securing the bridge to challiss and james n. burnes.
mr. challiss died a poor man on the sixth day of july, 1895.
george w. glick.
george w. glick, the ninth governor of kansas, for a number of years united states pension agent for the district comprising kansas, missouri, colorado, new mexico, oklahoma and indian territory, came to atchison in june, 1859, from fremont, ohio, where he studied law in the office of rutherford b. hayes, who afterwards became president of the united states. mr. glick came to atchison on the steamer “wm. h. russell,” named for and largely owned by william h. russell, senior member of the celebrated freighting firm of russell, majors & waddell. mr. glick was born in fairfield county, ohio, july 4, 1829, on a farm, and when four years old removed with his father’s family to within a mile and a half of fremont, where he remained until he came to atchison. he first went to school in the country, near fremont, where he afterwards taught when he was nineteen. later he attended a dioclesion school at fremont, founded by dr. dio lewis, who afterwards became famous and whose name then was dioclesia lewis. later he attended central college, ohio, but did not graduate. in 1849 he began the study of law in the office of bucklin & hayes, in fremont, as a result of getting his feet in a threshing machine. it was supposed that he would never be fit for farm work again, but he afterwards recovered. two years later he was admitted to the bar in cincinnati, standing an examination with the graduating class of the cincinnati law school. he practiced eight years in fremont 204before coming to atchison, building up a good business, in spite of the fact that he always went out to the farm in haying time and harvested and helped his father. in january, following his arrival in atchison, he formed a partnership with a. g. otis, which continued as long as he practiced law. the firm of otis & glick was the strongest in atchison, as long as it lasted, and b. p. waggener was a student in their office. in 1872 mr. glick became a town farmer, operating a farm of 640 acres four miles west of atchison, making a specialty of short horn cattle, paying as high as $1,000 for several single animals. he served nine terms in the kansas legislature, and was once county commissioner, and once county auditor of atchison county. while auditor of atchison county, in 1882, he was elected governor, by 9,000 plurality, over jim p. st. john, who had been elected two years before by about 55,000. in 1884 he was re-nominated as governor by the democrats, but was defeated by john a. martin. he first received the nomination for governor nine years after coming to kansas, but was defeated by the republicans. he was appointed pension agent in 1885, and again in 1893. he was a mason, and was one of the original organizers of the knight templars and royal arch masons, in atchison. he was the first president of the atchison-nebraska road, having built it to the county line, in connection with brown and bier. governor glick sold his farm near shannon a number of years ago, and during the latter part of his life was inactive in business and professional affairs. he died on the thirteenth day of april, 1911.
dr. w. k. grimes.
one of the oldest citizens of atchison was dr. w. h. grimes, who came here from yellow spring, ohio, in 1858. his son, e. b. grimes, came a year before, and opened a drug store in the building for many years occupied as an office by the atchison water company, across from the byram hotel. dr. w. h. grimes practiced medicine until the war broke out, when he became a surgeon in the thirteenth kansas. returning to atchison at the close of the war, he continued the practice of medicine until his death, in 1879.
e. b. grimes was a quartermaster during the war with a rank of major. at the close of the war he entered the regular army, and built many of the posts in the department of the platte, notably ft. laramie, ft. fetterman and ft. douglass. he died at ft. leavenworth, in 1882.
another son, dr. r. v. grimes, was a lieutenant in his father’s regiment. after the war he became an army surgeon, and was in many of the indian 205campaigns in the northwest. he was in merritt’s command when it went to the rescue of general custer, and was the surgeon in major thornburg’s command when it was surrounded at the famous fight on milk river. the command was surrounded five days by the utes, and was finally rescued by general merritt. while he lived in atchison he was employed as a printer on the champion.
two other sons of dr. grimes, john and howard grimes, were members of colonel jennison’s seventh kansas jayhawkers.
joshua wheeler.
joshua wheeler was one of the best known, as well as one of the most successful, farmers atchison county ever had. his papers on questions pertaining to agriculture and the farm, read before the various societies, attracted wide-spread attention. in state affairs, he served the public long and honorably, and for over twenty years was a member of the state board of agriculture, serving three years as its president. his long connection with the state agriculture college gave him an extended acquaintance over the state, and he was appointed regent for that institution by governor harvey in 1871, and re-appointed by governor martin in 1888, serving until april, 1894. during several years of that time he was treasurer of the board, and gained an extensive knowledge of the college and its history. he served in the state senate during 1863 and 1864 and in the fall of 1885 was elected for another term.
joshua wheeler was born in buckingham, england, february 12, 1827, and came to america in 1844, locating in new jersey, where he resided four years before removing to illinois. in 1857 a colony of seven or eight families of fulton county, illinois, farmers, seventh-day baptists, came to kansas, and located in the southwest portion of atchison county, covering the entire distance overland. s. p. griffin and dennis sounders preceded the colony in the spring of the same year to look up a location. they went as far to the southwest as emporia, but found no land equal to that of atchison county. after locating the land for the colony they went back to illinois, but did not accompany the colony to kansas, but came a year or two later. griffin farmed for nearly twenty years, but afterwards became a nortonville merchant. he was the father of charles t. griffin, at one time an attorney in atchison.
when the colony of seventh-day people arrived at the end of their destination they found the land in possession of colonists, but they bought them 206out, pre?mpted claims and laid out the now famous seventh-day lane. the land was then an open prairie, occupied only by an occasional hut. it is at this time the admiration of every visitor abounding in well cultivated fields, pastures, groves, orchards, comfortable homes, to which paint is no stranger, large barns, uniformly trimmed hedges, and peopled by as thrifty a class as can be found in the western country. later on seventh-day people came from iowa, wisconsin and new york, and joined the illinois colony on seventh-day lane, which is two miles in length. the seventh-day baptists observe their sabbath from sundown friday evening to sundown saturday evening. their church has a seating capacity of 400, which is always comfortably filled, and was built in 1884, prior to which time the seventh-day baptists worshiped in their school house.
a. a. randolph was the first pastor of the church on seventh-day lane. he came here from pennsylvania in 1863, and died in 1868. s. r. wheeler, a brother of joshua wheeler, was pastor of the church for twelve years.
when the seventh-day baptists built their homes on the lane smooth wire cost eleven and one-half cents per pound in atchison, and ordinary flooring, $100.00 per thousand feet. money was loaned at four per cent. per month. they did all of their trading in atchison until nortonville was built.
joshua wheeler was not only a successful farmer, but a good business man. he kept a regular set of books, and could always tell exactly what it cost him to produce a bushel of wheat in any of the different years of his farm experience. he could tell also what a bushel of corn, fed to cattle, would produce. in 1877 he sold his wheat for $1.75 per bushel.
he owned a farm of over 300 acres, just at the west end of the lane, where he died on the fourteenth day of may, 1896.
william hetherington.
william hetherington, founder of the exchange national bank, came to atchison in 1859, from pottsville, penn., where he operated a flouring mill. his three oldest children, mrs. b. p. waggener, w. w. hetherington and c. s. hetherington, were born in pottsville. mrs. w. a. otis, the youngest daughter, was born in atchison. william hetherington himself was born in milton, penn., may 10, 1821. he was also married there. when he first came west he stopped in st. louis, then went to kansas city, and later to leavenworth, where he bought a bankrupt stock of goods and hauled them to atchison in wagons. this was in 1859. the same year he established 207the exchange bank of william hetherington, absorbing the kansas valley bank, owned by robert l. pease, which had been established several years before.
mr. hetherington’s influence in atchison was very marked. he was a cultured gentleman of the old school, and was so generally respected, although always a democrat, he stood very high in the sixties when the sectional bitterness was at its height, and did much to maintain peace between the contending factions. he was a very able public speaker. he was never a bitter partisan, and enjoyed the respect of the people to an unusual degree. he was one of the early mayors of atchison, and had a successful career. he died on the twenty-first day of january, 1890.
william c. smith.
william c. smith, one of the early mayors of atchison, came to kansas in 1858 from illinois, settling near valley falls. two years later he traded his farm to sam dickson for a stock of goods in atchison and removed to this city. the firm of william c. smith & son continued sixteen years. the son was henry t. smith, who still resides in atchison (1915). another son is william r. smith, who is at present the attorney for the atchison, topeka & santa fe railway company, at topeka, for a number of years was a justice of the supreme court of kansas. his oldest daughter married p. l. hubbard, who afterwards became district judge of atchison county, and another daughter married h. c. solomon, for many years a leading attorney of atchison. mr. smith died in 1884. he was mayor two terms; member of the legislature, council and the board of education. although mr. smith came to kansas from illinois, he was born at columbus, ohio, in 1817.
john m. price.
john m. price arrived in atchison with his wife on the first of september, 1858, the day the massasoit house was formally opened for the public. they came here from platte city, mo., to visit some old friends from kentucky, who had moved to kansas, and after they arrived concluded to remain. the prices originally came from irvine, ky. mr. price studied law in irvine; was admitted and elected county attorney before coming to atchison. he was a union man, in spite of the fact that he came from kentucky, and was very active in a business and professional way during the early days of his 208residence in this county, and for many years thereafter. he constructed more large and substantial buildings in atchison than any other individual who ever lived here. he built the house for a residence, now occupied by mt. st. scholastica academy, an opera house and many blocks of business buildings and residences. he was a member of the legislature several times; was prominently mentioned as a candidate for united states senator. mr. price died on the twentieth day of october, 1898.
samuel c. king.
samuel c. king came to atchison march 27, 1857. his brothers, ed. and john, together with a sister and his widowed mother, arrived here the year before, coming here with dr. w. l. challiss, in the steam ferry, “ida,” from brownsville, penn., where that boat was built. the king family came originally from england, within thirty-five miles of liverpool, where the children were born, and where the father died. ed. king was the first pilot of the ferry boat, “ida,” when it began making trips to atchison. the three sons and the mother took up claims in mt. pleasant township. while living there three old neighbors came out and samuel c. king went out with them to look for claims. they were told that there was plenty of vacant land near monrovia, but mr. king advised them that it was too far out in the wilderness, and they went elsewhere. (monrovia is fourteen miles from atchison). while the other members of the family were getting their start samuel c. king clerked in george t. challiss’ store, receiving $25.00 per month, and boarded himself. he afterwards went to work for mike finney, steamboat wharf master, and was practically the first express agent in atchison. later he went out to his farm and split rails to fence it, and afterwards clerked for bowman & blair for $25.00 per month and board. he enlisted in the navy in june, 1861, enlisting as a landsman on the man of war, “augusta.” he served on this ship through all the exciting scenes of the navy during the war, and was at the battle of point royal. he assisted in capturing eight british ships, which tried to run the blockade, and his part of the prize money amounted to over $7,000.00. he was at the bombardment of ft. sumpter, and at the taking of tyble island, off savannah, ga. he spent eleven months at sea, working for the “alabama,” and rounded cape hatteras. he saw the burning of charleston, and finally learning that his mother was fatally ill, he came home. he was elected county treasurer of atchison county. mr. king remained a prosperous capitalist and real estate operator, until his death on the twenty-third day of january, 1910.
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clem rohr.
clem rohr came originally from buffalo, n. y., where he was born in 1835. he learned the trade of harness maker there, and afterwards worked at his trade at chicago, detroit and moline, ill. in davenport, iowa, he heard jim lane make a speech about kansas. this speech caused rohr to go to leavenworth in 1856, and while living in that town and employed as mail carrier he ran into the famous battle of hickory point. he slept in hickory point the night after the fight and helped fix up the wounded. he walked to atchison in 1857 from leavenworth, with nick greiner, for many years a prosperous german farmer, south of atchison, and started a harness shop, which he conducted in the same place on the south side of commercial street, between fourth and fifth streets, for over forty years.
the first telegram that came to atchison announcing that kansas had been admitted was sent to clem rohr, and was signed by s. c. pomeroy. he served as mayor of atchison. early in the sixties when the home guard was organized in atchison clem rohr was made captain. his father was one of napoleon bonaparte’s body-guard, and was with that great soldier at austerlitz in the russian campaign, and at the battle of waterloo. mr. rohr always claimed that julius newman, who had a farm near the soldiers’ home, made the first filing in the lecompton land office.
mr. rohr died in atchison on the twenty-third day of may, 1910.
r. h. weightman.
one of the most interesting and romantic early-day characters in atchison county was maj. r. h. weightman, an ex-major of the united states army, who was associated with a famous frontier tragedy. major weightman was a violent pro-slavery man and had been reared in the south. before coming to kickapoo, where he was connected with the land office, and subsequently to atchison, he was the editor of the herald at santa fe, n. m., and also a delegate to congress from that territory.
f. x. aubrey, the other party to the quarrel, was a french canadian, of great pluck and energy, and had made a reputation on a wager in 1852, riding from santa fe to independence, mo., in a few hours over eight days. the next year he wagered $1,000 he could go the same distance in less than eight days. his bet was accepted and aubrey covered the distance in less than five days. following these rides he engaged in the freighting business over 210the plains and he and major weightman became warm personal friends. aubrey later made a trip to california, taking a herd of sheep, which he sold at a fine profit. it was upon his return from this trip that he and weightman had their famous quarrel. the fairest account of this incident appeared in the missouri republican, september 28, 1854, which was in the form of a communication from a correspondent of that paper, and was as follows:
“the case of major weightman.
“mr. editor: the deplorable event by which f. x. aubrey lost his life and which deprived the west of one of its most energetic and able pioneers, will not be passed lightly over. the name of mr. aubrey had become too closely identified with all that is gallant, preserving, and—in a western sense, at least—brave and chivalrous, that his memory and his sudden death should not awaken painful emotions among all those to whom his name had become a household word; emotions too painful to expect that, under his influence, full justice would be done to both parties concerned. when, therefore, an opportunity is afforded by which the facts, as nearly as we can approach them, may be investigated, it would seem injustice to withhold these facts from the public.
“though, perhaps, less historically known (if the expression be permitted) than mr. aubrey, major weightman has peculiar claims upon the citizens of missouri, and especially of st. louis, for demanding full and impartial justice in this behalf. without wishing to anticipate the judgment of your readers, or at all commenting upon the evidence which will be found below, your correspondent, in view of the grave charge in which major weightman is involved, and the melancholy importance of the event, deems it his duty, notwithstanding, here to state what may be known to most of your readers, that major weightman, for years, formerly, was a resident of st. louis, beloved and respected, almost without any exception, by all with whom he came in contact.
“amongst the many of missouri’s citizens who participated in the late mexican war, major, then captain weightman, at the head of his light artillery company, won laurels which placed his name foremost among the bravest and most gallant in that war. his fellow soldiers still in our midst will cheerfully bear your correspondent testimony, that captain weightman’s gallantry as a soldier and officer was only surpassed by his urbanity and true kindliness of feeling as a gentleman; and if the evidence adduced upon his 211preliminary examination before the examining magistrate should sustain weightman’s plan of self-defense in the premises, his former friends here and abroad, and his fellow soldiers, will be glad to learn that the qualities of heart, for which they used most to prize captain weightman, in former years, remain untainted even now, when his name has become unfortunately coupled with a most grave and serious charge. may the public judge, and may not the unquestioned enviable renown of captain aubrey’s name tend to warp calm judgment in pronouncing upon the guilt or innocence of the accused.
“the following evidence, being a synopsis of the process verbatim at the preliminary examination before judge davenport, at santa fe, have been transmitted to your correspondent from new mexico by a third person, and, as your correspondent has every reason to believe, may be fully relied on. it is in the main supported by your former notices published in the republican concerning this same transaction.
“the circumstances are these: major weightman, hearing of the arrival of aubrey, and that he was at the store of the messrs. mercure, merchants at santa fe, crossed the plaza to see him, and was one of the first to take him by the hand and greet him as a friend. when major weightman arrived at the store of the messrs. mercure, several persons had already arrived to pay their respects to mr. aubrey.
“aubrey and weightman met kindly, shook hands, and conversed pleasantly for a short time, when something having been said by a third person about the route by which aubrey had arrived from california, aubrey asked the major if he had yet published his paper in albuquerque. the major said, no; that it was dead—had died a natural death from want of subscribers. aubrey then said it should have died, because of the lies with which it was filled. this was said without excitement. when weightman asked ‘what lies?’ aubrey remarked: ‘when i returned from california last year you asked me for information in respect to my route, and afterwards you abused me.’ this weightman denied, saying, ‘no, aubrey, i did not abuse you.’ aubrey then said, more or less excited, ‘i say you did, and i now repeat, it is a lie,’ at the same time bringing his hand down with force upon the counter.
“at this weightman, who was sitting on the counter, five or six feet from aubrey, sprang down and approached aubrey, who had been standing near the counter, and taking a glass from which aubrey had been drinking (a toddy), threw the contents in his face. weightman immediately stepped back, when aubrey drew a pistol (colt’s belt pistol), the first shot from which took effect in the ceiling (supposed to have gone off while cocking). 212weightman then drew a knife, and before another shot could be fired, closed with aubrey and stabbed him in the abdomen, and soon after seized aubrey’s pistol.
“the messrs. mercure rushed on and seized the parties. aubrey rapidly sank, and as soon as he relinquished his pistol weightman said: ‘i did it in my own defense, and i will go and surrender myself to the authorities,’ which he did, accompanied by his friend, major cunningham. aubrey died in a few minutes. he received but the one blow. major weightman has carried a bowie knife for his own protection for a year past, believing it to be necessary for him to do so. this was stated as the cause of his being armed. aubrey was of the number of those who were inimical to him. the relations between aubrey and weightman had been heretofore of the most agreeable character.”
major weightman was a resident of atchison only a few years. at the outbreak of the war he joined the southern army, and lost his life in the battle of wilson’s creek.
