ED HEENEY

To this gentleman has been entrusted the management of the municipal affairs of Severance and he is now capably serving as the mayor of the city. Other official positions have also been accorded him in recognition of his worth and ability and he is now representing his district in the state legislature. Patriotism is one of his marked characteristics and though he is always loyal to the party which he represents he places country above everything else, and exercises his official prerogatives in advancing all measures and movements which he believes will prove of the greatest good to the greatest number.

Mr. Heeney is a native of the Emerald Isle, his birth having occurred in Old Castle, Ireland, in 1852. He was only two years of age, however, when brought by his parents, Edwin and Rosa (Little) Heeney, to America. They crossed the Atlantic to New Orleans and thence proceeded to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they remained for thirteen years. Later they spent a short time in Butler county, Ohio, and in 1870 came to Doniphan county, Kansas, taking up their abode in a town in Wolf River township, where the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his retirement from the active cares and duties of business life. He was born in 1798 and is still living at the very advanced age of one hundred and two years. His wife passed away in Doniphan county in 1873.

Ed. Heeney, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the common schools of Ohio and in the Christian Brothers College, of St. Joseph, Missouri, which institution he entered after the removal of the family to Kansas. He there pursued his studies until a short time before graduation, when he put aside the duties of the student for those of the teacher, being for ten years connected with the educational interests of Doniphan county in the capacity of teacher. In 1878 he was elected county superintendent of schools for a term of two years.

On the expiration of that period, in 1880, he embarked in business on his own account as a dealer in hardware, stoves, implements and furniture. He carries a large and complete stock and occupies a double store, 6o x 100 feet. This is well equipped with everything found in the lines designated and the attractive arrangement of the store, his honorable dealing and his desire to please his patrons have secured for him a large and lucrative business. Aside from his business enterprises he is largely interested in farming, investing his surplus money in Doniphan county farms. He now owns and operates three hundred and twenty acres of land half way between Highland and Severance, on the telephone line, and directs its operation every morning by telephone. He also operates in the same manner three hundred acres in a well-stocked ranch south of Severance four miles, all of which is stocked with thoroughbred short-horn cattle. He is not only successful as a merchant, but also directs his farms and ranches in the same successful manner.

In 1882 Mr. Heeney was united in marriage to Miss Mary F. Hampson, of Troy, Kansas, a daughter of Joseph F. Hampson, who for many years was a prominent citizen in Doniphan county, Kansas, but is now deceased. This union has been blest with three children, -- Edith, Edward and Georgia, -- but the mother died in 1893. Theirs is a beautiful home, built in a modern style of architecture, and its neat and tasteful furnishings indicate the cultured tastes of the inmates. It is the center of a leading social circle and the members of the household enjoy the high regard of many friends.

Mr. Heeney is a stanch advocate of Republican principles and realizes very fully the responsibilities and duties of citizenship and in 1898 was elected to represent his district in the general assembly and is now serving on several important committees, including those on railroads, printing, corporations and labor. To the questions which come up for settlement he gives his earnest consideration and his opinions are the result of mature deliberation and indicate the patriotic spirit which ever prompts the discharge of his public duties. His political career and his private life are alike above reproach and in business circles he maintains a most enviable reputation for honorable dealing, and his career illustrates the possibilities that are open in this country to earnest, persevering young men who have the courage of their convictions and are determined to be the architects of their own future. To judge from what he has accomplished, his right to a first place among the citizens of Severance can not be questioned.