T W LANGAN
In the record of those who had been prominently identified with the development and progress of Doniphan county it is imperative that definite consideration be granted to the subject of this review, for not only is he a prominent representative of the agricultural interests of this favored section, but has the distinction of being one of the pioneers of the golden west, with whose fortunes he has been identified for fully forty years, concerned with various business and political interests, and so ordering his life as to gain and retain the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.
Mr. Langan is a native of the Emerald Isle, where his birth occurred in 1844. His parents, Thomas and Mary (Quinn) Langan, had a family of the following children: James, who is living in the state of Washington; Eliza, deceased; Mary Anne, Barney, Ellen and Julia, who have all passed away; Kate; Michael, a resident of Wayne township, Doniphan county; Bridget, also deceased; Thomas; and Joseph, who is deceased. The father of this family died in Ireland, and in 1846 the mother came with her family to the United States, taking up her abode in St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1858 she came to Doniphan county and purchased the old family homestead of one hundred and sixty acres.
The subject of this review was a child of only two years at the time of the emigration to America. He was educated in the public schools of Missouri, and also spent a year in St. Benedict Academy. In 1857 he came to Doniphan county, and is therefore familiar with the history of its pioneer life.
In 1864 he went to the mountains of Colorado, where he remained for two years, engaged in freighting and mining. In 1868 he went to Helena, Montana, and to Nevada, where he engaged in freighting and prospecting. The following year he returned to Kansas and purchased his present farm since which time he has been extensively engaged in stock-raising. He owns seven hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, one of the largest farms in the county, located ten miles from Troy. He raises a high grade of cattle and feeds all of the grain which he cultivates on the farm. His business interests are conducted with method and enterprise, and his large sales bring to him a handsome income.
Mr. Langan was married, in 1885, to Miss Mary Waller, who was reared and educated in Atchison, and is a lady of superior education and cultured tastes. Her father, George M. WaIler, was born in Kentucky in 1831, and with his parents removed to St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1844. Ten years later he located in Doniphan county, and for a long period was numbered among the leading and influential citizens of the community. He married Miss Mary Ann Smith, a native of Kentucky, who died about seventy years ago. They became the parents of seven children, of whom six are now living, namely: Sarah M. Hudnall; James T., a resident of Kansas City; Mrs. Helen Low, Joshua A., George B., Mrs. Langan, and Felix, who has passed away. The father of this family is a Democrat in his political views, and socially is a Mason, having become a member of that fraternity in St. Joseph in 1847. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Langan have been born four children -- Agnes, Helen, Morris and Ruth.
Mr. Langan takes an active interest in political affairs, casting his ballot for the men and measures of the Democracy. He has served as a delegate to numerous state and county conventions, and for three terms filled the office of county treasurer, his re-elections indicating the ability and fidelity with which he discharged his duties. In 1898 he was a member of the state legislature. In manner he is frank and cordial, a gentleman of keen discernment and marked ability, and enjoys the respect of his fellow men, and is very popular in, the county which he makes his home. He has demonstrated his public spirit in many ways, amid is regarded as one of Wayne township's most useful and progressive citizens.