|
PIONEER BUSINESSMEN OF ONAGA |
| Carl | Nathaniel | S. |
| Chabin | Abel | W. |
| DeGraw | ||
| DeGraw | George | |
| Eustis | Samuel | Lyman |
| Gibson | Ike | |
| Grim | ||
| Guffy | Richard | A. |
| Hagaman | Harry | |
| Hyman | Abraham | |
| Kester | Joseph | A. |
| Koentz | John | P. (M.D.) |
| Kolterman | Albert | |
| Lamorsna | Jeffrey | J. |
| Landon | Amos | E. |
| Landon | Frank | B. |
| McClellan | Andrew | M. |
| Midlam | Fred | |
| Miller | Franklin | |
| Moll | John | C. |
| Myers | Charles | |
| Nelson | John | |
| O'Meara | Thomas | |
| Pecheur | Joseph | |
| Reed | F. | A. |
| Schwarz | Andrew | |
| Sherman | Hiram | |
| Southerland | Hugh | |
| Storch | Henry | |
| Taylor | Samuel | |
| Thomas | John | |
| Walker | Adam | R. |
| Wegner | ||
| Zabel | John | F. |
NATHANIEL S. CARL
Nathaniel Strevel Carl, an old settler and a Civil War Veteran, died in Onaga January 11, 1927. He was born in Coburn, Canada, on August 13, 1837. In his early years he moved from Canada to the state of New York with his parents, and then later moved to Indiana. When the Civil War came, he, his father and his four brothers enlisted in the Army. He enlisted in the 9th Illinois Cavalry, where he served until the close of the war.
He married Mary A. Norton on May 8, 1867. He and his family moved to Onaga in the fall of 1884. He was a farmer in Sherman Township and also was a railroad contractor. Later, in Onaga, he ran a hotel and a livery stable.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl had seven children: Harry, (who died in infancy); Effie Hagaman Irish (born at Crown Point, Indiana, June 13, 1868, and was a teacher in the public schools, mostly in Wamego); Calvin Clifford; Nellie Groomer; Hattie Wasson; and Ernest Colonel and Earl Major Carl, identical twin boys born in June 1884. Colonel died in 1968. He married Bertha Day and they had seven children: Nate; Frances; Mary; Grayson; Ernest; Ralph; and Donna.
ABEL CHABIN
Abel W. Chabin was born in Skowhegen, Maine, January 23, 1851, the son of Sumner and Lizzie Chabin. When he was four years of age, his mother died, and he was adopted by his uncle. The family moved to Illinois in 1857. When Abel was sixteen, he began work in a printing office to learn the trade.
On January 31, 1875, he married Julia Pollard, daughter of Michael and Margaret Pollard. She was born in LaSalle, IL, November 16, 1850. Abel and Julia moved to Denver, CO, where he was a printer.
They moved to St. Marys, KS in 1882, when he purchased an interest in the "Star". In 1884, he came to Onaga and purchased the "Onaga Journal", a Republican paper, and changed its name to the "Onaga Democrat". He also did job printing, and was still running the paper in 1890.
Mr. and Mrs. Chabin had four children: Harry, Albert, Nellie, and John.
DEGRAW
Cornelius DeGraw was born in Holland and died in Ontario, Canada. His son, Samuel, was born in Delaware and died in Michigan. Samuel's wife, M. Elizabeth Utley, was born in Delaware and died in Ontario, Canada. Their son, Joseph, was born May 13, 1822, in Rochester, NY. He married Jane L. Gregg (who was born August 15, 1825) in Lancaster, Lower Canada. In 1846, they moved to Algona, IA. In the fall of 1867, they moved to what is now Section 35, Mill Creek Township. At first, they lived in a house mounted on wheels; later they built a log house. In 1859, they had a large frame house built by Christian B. Huffman and Samuel Leinbach. The lumber was sawed at the mill on their farm.
Mrs. Jane DeGraw boarded the railroad workers in the early days. The DeGraws had nine children: Reuben, Glendore, George, Byron, Gaurilla, Etta, Walter and Warren (twins,, Walter died in 1868), and Clarinda, who died in her youth. One of their sons died in Colorado, leaving a wife and five small children. The mother kept the two older boys and the grandparents took the two daughters and a small son, and made a home for them until they were grown. Joseph DeGraw died in 1898, and his wife died in 1902. Both are buried in Onaga Cemetery.
Warren O. DeGraw was born October 1, 1864, in Iowa. He married Ela S. Guffy on February 18, 1886. He died in Reseburg, OR on April 26, 1955, and is buried in the Onaga Cemetery. Ella, born August 2, 1865, near Rock Island, IL died in Onaga on September 24, 1942. Their children were: Avis Hayes, Essie Koentz, Osa, and Dewey. Warren farmed in the Onaga vicinity.
Osa DeGraw was born December 16, 1896, in Sumner, WA. They had moved there for his mother's health, but came back to Kansas when Osa was three years old. On April 11, 1923, he married Etta Viola Lieb, who was born May 11 1901, at Onaga. Their children were Glenn Dean, Marjorie Wilma, and Galen Leonard. Osa died April 16, 1969, in Topeka.
GEORGE DEGRAW
George W. DeGraw, son of Joseph and Jane DeGraw, was born July 4, 1850, in Algona, IA and died April 10, 1934. He married Eliza Jane Thomas on October 10, 1875. she was the daughter of John and Eliza Thomas, and was born in Pine Village, IN. she died March 11, 1935. The couple homesteaded near Onaga in 1880. Their first home was a log cabin. Their children were all born at Onaga.
Austin (born August 9, 1876, and died March 12, 1958) married Helen Wegner on March 10, 1899.
Agnes M. DeGraw (born December 9, 1878) married Edwin Forest Moody, son of E.M. and mary Jane Moody, on October 10, 1900. They were the parents of Harry F. Moody, Delores Clark, Mae Flynn, and Ila Mae - who died as an infant. Agnes died December 23, 1916.
Gertrude DeGraw was born January 18, 1880. She married Lyman C. Colwell, who retired from the post office department in Onaga in 1936, after serving many years on the carrier examination board. They had one son, Ward E. Colwell, who was editor for United Press, Southwestern Division Radio News.
Walter, born September 4, 1882, died August 29 1905.
Irene, born June 16, 1895; died July 31, 1977. She married Spencer H. Smith October 10, 1918. There is more about them in the Smith story.
SAMUEL LYMAN EUSTIS
Samuel Lyman Eustin was born November 28, 1843, at Jay, Maine, and died in Onaga, KS May 7, 1927. When a boy of five years, he moved with his parents to Massachusetts. When he was ten, the family moved to Illinois.
In 1862, he enlisted in Company A, 64th Illinois Infantry, and served with his company, Yates Sharpshooters, which was named after the governor of the state. He was in Sherman's "March to the Sea", and served till the war ended.
He married Elenor Rendle at Ottawa, IL on December 20, 1868. They came to Kansas in 1880 and to Onaga in 1904. they had eight children: a child who died in infancy, Fannie May, Elizabeth Ann, Charles Henry, Nellie R., Carrie Louise Kitts, Harriet M. Perry, and Samuel Lyman Eustis, who married Lydia Schwarz.
IKE GIBSON
I. M. "Ike" Gibson was born in Bluntsville, IN, October 16, 1851. When he was eight years old, he came with his parents to Kansas, making the trip with ox teams. They found herds of buffalo roaming the plains and made peace with the Indians, who were quite numerous at that time.
At the age of twenty-one, he took up a homestead which, later on, was near the town site of Onaga. He lived on the homestead until his death June 11, 1935. Ike did the carpentry work on the first school house and the First Congregational Church in Onaga.
He married Addie Mabel Young on March 15, 1874. Her father came to Topeka when there were only two cabins there. Ike and Addie had five children: Mable, Harvey, Roy, Blanche (Benton) and Gladys (Stanchfield).
GRIM
Peter Paul Grim, son of Nikolis Grim and Margaritta Chartner Grim, was born July 14, 1831, at Saarburg, Prussia. His youth was spent in the Saarburg and Tholey areas of what is now West Germany. He came to America about 1850. He worked as a baker in New York City for a time and later enlisted in the United States Army. After this he came to Kansas and began farming near Onaga.
In 1862 he enlisted as a First Sergeant in the 11th Kansas Volunteers, along with many others from Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties. They trained at Ft. Leavenworth and in a few months moved into Arkansas, occupying Fort Smith. He later saw action at Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge, Arkansas, moving back to Fort Riley, KS, then to Wyoming. He spent the rest of the Civil War on the Frontier.
After the war, he returned to Onaga. On October 4, 1865, he married Sarah Frances Gibson, whose family came to Onaga from Ohio. She was the first school teacher in Onaga.
To this marriage were born four children: Josephine, who taught school for many years, married James Frost and lived in California, where she died. George Eugene Grim farmed in the Onaga area for a number of years. He was manager of the Wheaton Lumber and Grain Company and later worked at Topeka for the Kansas State Teacher's Association. He died in 1952. Paul Nickolas Grim farmed and had a dairy near Onaga for many years. Margaret Grim married, but died at an early age. Peter Paul Grim farmed near Onaga for many years, raising his family there. He was a one time commander of the local veterans' organization, the G.A.R., and was active in civic affairs. About 1900, he retired and moved his home into Onaga. This is the house just west of the American Legion building. He died there in 1912. His widow lived there until her death, April 21, 1923.
RICHARD A. GUFFY
Richard A. Guffy was born in Northumberland County, PA, April 13, 1832. When he was fifteen, the family moved to Illinois. In 1860, he was in the Rocky Mountains gold mines, on the headwaters of the Arkansas River. In the spring of 1865, he enlisted in Company G., Illinois Volunteer Infantry. In the spring of 1868, he came to Kansas and settled on a farm near the future town of Onaga. He married Miss Eliza Edgington at Edgington, IL, on May 10, 1859. They had seven children: Marriet, Mary, May, Ella, Richard Grant, Charles B., Cora and Etta.
HARRY HAGAMAN
Harry Hagaman was born in Albert Lea, MN, September 14, 1865, the son of Francis M. and Jennie Brownsill Hagaman. Harry's father was a blacksmith, and later moved to Illinois. In 1862, Francis raised Company I, which was made a part of the 14th Illinois Calvary, and was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. He received a captain's commission.
Harry was graduated from Emporia Business College, and came to Onaga in September of 1884, where he was a clerk for the firm of Storch and Landon, general merchants. He became cashier of the Onaga Exchange Bank in 1886. The bank was under the proprietorship of Mr. George Trout and Mr. Lewis B. Leach. It was established in 1883, by Henry Storch, and on July 11, 1887, passed to Trout and Leach with a capital of $40,000. this was increased to $60,000. Mr. Hagaman also conducted a thriving insurance business at the bank.
On September 11, 1889, he married Miss Effie Carl.
ABRAHAM HYMAN
Abraham Hyman was born near Berlin, Germany, in 1847, the son of Wolf and Rebecca Hyman. His mother died when he was a small child. When he was a lad of thirteen years, he crossed the Atlantic with an aunt, and located in Quincy, IL. He later came to Leavenworth, KS, where he met and married Miss Henrietta Machol. She was born in Kolma, Germany in 1853, and came to the United States with friends when she was a child to join a sister in Leavenworth.
Abraham and Henrietta had two children, one who died in infancy, and Charles, who also died. Mr. Hyman worked as a clerk in a store in Quincy, IL. He and his wife came to Onaga in 1877. He entered Onaga with a capital of $10. In 1878, he started a store in a little 25X16 ft. storeroom to which he later added a commodious double store (47x92 feet) on Third Street.
JOSEPH A. KESTER
Joseph A. Kester was born in Holmes County, Ohio, on November 23, 1852, the son of Joseph and Susan Hulterbaum Kester. His father was born in New York in 1825. when Joseph A. was a baby, his father crossed the plains to California, spent seven years in the mining regions, and returned by the water route. He was a cooper by trade. After Susan died, Joseph Sr. took his thirteen-year-old son to Missouri. Joseph, Jr. started "paddling his own canoe" when he was fifteen. He first worked for a farmer,doing chores for his board while he finished school. He clerked in a drug store in Cameron, MO, from 1869 to 1871, when he moved to Leavenworth, where he worked in a drug store. He studied pharmacy on the job.
He married Minnie VanDoren, daughter of W. S. and Tanda Allen VanDoren on January 18, 1882. She was born in Leavenworth in 1861. They came to Onaga in 1884. In 1885, he established a drug store at the intersection of Third and Leonard Streets.
JOHN P. KOENTZ, M.D.
John P. Koentz, M.D. was born in the Province of Gelderland, Holland, on January 27, 1823. He was educated in a medical college in Amsterdam. He came to America in 1849, and settled in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, where he was in practice. In 1855, he came to Leavenworth, KS, where he lived for four years, and then moved to Pottawatomie County, where he practiced his profession, except for the time he was in the Army.
In 1862, he enlisted in Company K of the Eleventh Kansas, and was promoted to hospital steward. He served in that capacity until the close of the war; he was acting as a post surgeon most of that time. He returned to his farm at the close of the war, and in 1880, he moved into the City of Onaga.
He was married in October, 1865, at Little Santa Fe, MO, to Miss Sarah M. Shite. They had three children: Walter William, Charles E., and Christian H.
ALBERT KOLTERMAN
Albert Kolterman, born February 2, 1864, married Matilda Marie Zabel, daughter of John F. and Wilhelmina Kolterman Zabel. They farmed six miles northeast of Onaga until 1905, when he and his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Zabel, started the Zabel Kolterman Furniture Store and Mortuary in Onaga. Business was good. In 1909, they sold the business to Lester Falkenstien. Ferdinand was the mortician.
JEFFREY L. LAMORSNA
Jeffrey L. LaMorsna was born in upper Canada September 21, 1846. In the fall of 1848, the family moved to Michigan, and then to Illinois. He enlisted on March 4, 1864, in Company A, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, he lost his left leg.
In 1868, he came to Kansas and settled on a farm in Clear Creek Township. In 1878, he moved to Onaga and went into the livery business. In December, 1882, he became a livestock dealer in Onaga.
He married Miss Maria Clough at Onaga on March 4, 1872. they had three children: John W., Eben H., and Girard C.
AMOS E. LANDON
Amos E. Landon was born June 2, 1830, at Pottsdam, NY. He was a farmer's boy, but he began railroading after he grew up. He continued this work until he came to Kansas in 1854, where he settled on a farm in Jackson County. There he served two terms as County Sheriff and one term as County Clerk. He came to Onaga in 1877, and started a mercantile business. In 1881, he established a bank in Onaga. He married Miss Harriet H. Burt in July, 1854, at Ogdensburg, N.Y. They had four children.
Amos Landon built the first house in Onaga, starting work on it on September 19, 1877. He was proprietor of the Landon Hotel and owned a large livery and feed stable. He was also the police judge in 1881.
FRANK B. LANDON
Frank B. Landon died January 12, 1940. His father, Amos E. Landon, moved his little country store from Vienna to Onaga at the coming of the old narrow gauge railroad. His son, Frank, took over the management of the business and soon built up one of the best and most widely known country businesses in northeastern Kansas. Frank purchased the lots where the old Batson Hotel had burned down, and in 1895, erected on those lots the stone building now occupied by the Tessendorf Furniture Company. He sold his business to the Swartz-Lynn Mercantile Company in 1902, and moved to Temple, CA. (Photo)
ANDREW M. MCCLELLAN
Andrew M. McClellan was born in Belcher, NY, February 6, 1834, and died in Erie, KS, April 26, 1927. He is buried in the Onaga Cemetery.
At an early age, he moved to Illinois. In 1860, he married Margaret Simpson at Galena, IL. She died in 1873. On October 26, 1885, he married Eunice Blanchard of Salem, NY. She died in Onaga June 17, 1908.
He was a Civil War veteran, and enlisted in Company K, 21st Illinois Infantry. He was discharged December 16, 1865. He served as postmaster at Onaga for about twenty years.
FRED MIDLAM
Fred Midlam was born in Oneida County, New York, June 28, 1837. In 1878, he was assistant foreman of the bridging of the Kansas Central Railroad and came to Onaga in 1880. He had worked for the railroad for ten years. He established a drug store in Onaga.
FRANKLIN MILLER
Franklin Miller was born in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin on August 3, 1852. When he was a boy, the family moved to Milwaukee. He learned the carpenter's trade. He came to Kansas in the fall of 1869, settling on a farm three miles west of Onaga. He worked on the farm until 1878, when he went to Hollenburg, in Washington County, and was in the lumber business with Charles Zabel. In 1879, he returned to Onaga and was in the building business. In August of 1882, he opened a hardware store with his brother, Washington. They had a store 35x100 feet, basement same size, and both rooms filled with hardware, stoves, tin ware, agricultural implements, and wagons, and did a large business.
JOHN C. MOLL
John C. Moll was born in Ohmden, Wurtemburg, Germany, June 20, 1828, the son of John G. and Dora Schmidt Moll. John G. was a farmer, but John C. learned the trade of a weaver. When he was twenty-two years old, he left Havre de Grace, France, on the sailing vessel, "Cordelia", on April 10, 1851, and landed in New York City on May 1. He went to Indiana and worked for Mr. George Wolver, who had helped him come to this country. The labor of the first year went to pay his passage money. Mr. Moll married Johanna M. Brook, who was born in Germany September 17, 1829. she came to the United States with her brother, Jocob, when she was a young woman, and settled in Warren County, IN.
Mr. and Mrs. Moll came to Kansas in August of 1857, when it was almost a trackless wilderness of unbroken prairie. They homesteaded on Section 21, Mill Creek Township. Their later farm was located on Section 33, and was still watered by Mill Creek. They had three children: George, who died at age seventeen; Mary, who married Philip Schwarz; and William, who married Maggie Grim, who died at the birth of her first child. The child also died. William later married Anna Beckley. they lived in Onaga, where he was engaged in stock-buying.
Mary Moll was born February 17, 1856, in Warren County, IN. She came to Kansas with her parents in 1857, and experienced all the trials of pioneer life. she married Philip Schwarz on March 20, 1884. They had two daughters, Lida and Lydia. Mary died November 5, 1935.
Lydia Schwarz married Samuel L. Eustis. They had four children: Philip, who died in infancy; Gladys; Ferne; and Phyllis.
CHARLES MYERS
Charles W. Myers' birth took place in Lecoming County, PA, on August 29, 1873. At the age of nine his family moved to Onaga, KS, which continued to be his home for eighty years.
He entered his business career in Onaga when he was 16 years of age. A position as janitor, butter and egg man, and general roustabout in the F. B. Landon Mercantile Store was secured. His strict attention to business, congenial manners and business ability was the stepping stone to his advancement. He became manager when the store was known as the Swartz and Lynn Mercantile Company. In 1918, Mr. Myes purchased the store and managed it as the Myers Mercantile Company until 1921. At that time he traded all his real estate property in Onaga to Mr. William Kolterman for a farm northeast of Duluth, and moved his family there. In 1954, the family once again resided in Onaga. There, Charles W. Myers lived until May 15, 1963.
On November 6, 1900, Mr. Myers and Miss Blanche Sherman were married. Two sons and a daughter were born to them. Miss Garland and Charles A, both of Onaga, and Sherman, who died April 15, 1954.
He was aware of his civic responsibility, serving as city treasurer of Onaga and as a member of the Duluth School Board. In his later years he took a great interest in any items concerning the early history of his community. He observed the town's growth from its start, and was always one of Onaga's most substantial citizens.
JOHN NELSON
John Nelson was born at Meade, PA, October 16, 1850, and came to Kansas with his brother, James, in 1868. He married Caroline Regar in 1871, and homesteaded the 80 acres which is now the south part of Onaga, including land from the Bays Motor Company to Chester Wienstroers, and from the Union Pacific Depot to the road on the east side of Onaga. He lived where Elmer Ackley now lives. The Union Pacific Railroad came through this land, so he sold out and built one of the first new homes in new Onaga, the fourth house north of the telephone office. He built most of the cement sidewalks in Onaga, many of which are still there, and also did carpentry work on many homes. He had two daughters, Mrs. Asa E. (Flora) McGuire and Mrs. Claude (Hattie) Ingalsbe. He died in 1933.
THOMAS O'MEARA
Thomas O'Meara was born in Canada June 6, 1831. In 1832, the family moved to Indiana. He was a farmer. In 1866, he came to Kansas where he and his brother started a grocery business in Atchison. In 1868, he moved his business to Effingham and then to America City. In 1878, he became a merchant in Onaga.
He married Miss Lizzie O'Brien at Peru, IN, on April 16, 1863. they had five children: Carrie, Nellie, Charles A., Anna and Leon.
JOSEPH PECHEUR
Joseph Pecheur was born in Lorraine, France, February 1, 1831. He was educated at Nancy in a normal school and was a teacher until he came to America in 1864. He taught two years in Stark County, Ohio, then moved to Illinois.
In 1868, he came to Kansas, settling on a homestead four miles from Onaga. In 1879, he moved to Onaga, built a business house, and began a trade in general merchandising.
On August 2, 1880, he married Mrs. Stephen Azier at Seneca, KS. Each had children by former marriages.
F.A. REED
F. A. Reed was born in Kendall County, IL, March 17, 1850. He was educated at Fowler's Institute, Newark. He graduated in 1870. He came to Louisville, KS, in 1871, and started "The Kansas Reporter" which he published for seven years. He sold the paper, and it was moved to Wamego. He studied law with R. S.Hich, and was admitted to the bar in 1873. He practiced law at Louisville until November 1, 1881, when he came to Onaga and opened an office.
He married Miss Rosa Hick, Louisville, on September 30, 1875.
ANDREW SCHWARZ
Andrew Schwarz was born in Wurtenburg, Germany, on July 14, 1831, the son of Melchor and Christina Bauer Schwarz. He learned the trade of baker from his father and grandfather. When he was eighteen years old, he came to the Unites States alone. He left Antwerp on the sailing vessel, "the Lady Isabella", and after a stormy voyage, he arrived twenty-eight days later in New York City on November 4, 1848. He first went to Illinois, then to Nebraska and Missouri, before coming to Kansas.
Andrew married Dora Seyfer in Cass County, IL, in 1856. She was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, February 15, 1836, the daughter of Frederick and Frederica Dephu Seyfer. She came to the United States with her parents and landed in New York City in August of 1848. Andrew and Dora came to Kansas in the spring of 1869, and settled on the east half of section 16, in Mill Creek Township. The place was new and unbroken, and well watered by French Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz had eleven children: Caroline, who married Daniel Honstead; George W., Edward, John, Frank, Anna, Emma, Lydia, Dora, who married Wesley Gurtler; Henry, who worked with Gurtler Bros. Hardware, and who married Miss Mattie Day; and Philip, who married Miss Mary Moll.
Andrew's son, Edward Schwarz, was born October 3, 1863, in Oregon, MO. In 1901, he purchased the Christian Huffman farm of 160 acres in sections 12 and 13 in Vienna Township. In 1925, he purchased 80 acres that formerly belonged to Josiah Davis.
On January 16, 1907, Edward married Lena Lewis. She was the daughter of Edgar and Minnie Michael Lewis of the Vienna community. She was born February 16, 1881, and died August 18, 1972. They were the parents of five children: Lewis, Carl, Carrie, Almira, and Elna. Lewis married Stella Brown. Carl married Lucille Mercer. She passed away. He later married Charlotte Berry. Almira married Kenneth Anderson. They had six children.
HIRAM SHERMAN
Hiram Sherman was born in Seneca County, Ohio, November 3, 1827, the son of Japhet and Hannah Holmes Sherman.
Japhet Sherman was a native of Rhode Island. He was the son of Elkanah Sherman, also a native of Rhode Island, who later moved to New York State. Three of his sons (one of whom was Japhet) accompanied their father to New York State. Japhet's wife, Hannah, was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Zebudiah Holmes. Japhet and Hannah had five sons and one daughter. After the birth of two children, they moved to Ohio, where Japhet died at forty years of age. Two sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and one died for his country.
Hiram left Ohio and moved to La Porte County, Indiana, where he married Miss Julia Booth on April 11, 1856. she was born in Albany County, NY, in 1833. Hiram and Julia came to Kansas from Black Hawk County, IA, and in the spring of 1871, settled on a farm in Sherman Township. They had five children: Maude, who died at age sixteen; Charlotte, who married Charles Powers; Florence, who married Jacob Alsopp; Zelda, who married D. E. Brown; and Blanche.
HENRY STORCH
Henry Storch was born in Poppenhausen, Bavaria, November 7, 1845. In 1867, he came to America, landing in New York City on April 8. In the fall of 1867, he settled in Atchison, KS, and clerked for three years. In August 1873, he went to Muscotah and began business as a merchant on his own.
He moved to Onaga in June, 1878, where he built a store building 24 X 85 feet. In June, 1881, he took E. B. Landon as his partner. In 1882, he built a fine stone building 25 X 50 feet, two stories and a basement. The first story was occupied by Henry Storch and Company's Onaga Exchange Bank, and the upper story was used for various offices.
He married Miss Alice Hagaman at Atchison, KS, on November 19, 1878.
HUGH SOUTHERLAND
Hugh Southerland was born near Inverness, Scotland, February 14, 1819. He came to Canada with his father and lived there four years. He later came to the United States, first to Cleveland, and then to St. Louis, where he was a bookkeeper for a mercantile firm. In 1850, he went overland to California, where he mined for awhile. He later worked in Nevada City, in Nevada County, and in 1853, he again made the overland journey to Weston, MO.
In 1857, he moved to a farm in Jackson County, KS, and in 1865, he moved to a farm near the future town of Onaga. He married Miss Hannah Mary Strickland at St. Louis, MO, in January 1851. They had eight children: John, Mary Ellen (Mrs. S. A. Regar), Jeannette (Mrs. D. H. Crum), George D., Lorena, Ida May, Nettie, and Maud.
SAMUEL TAYLOR
Samuel Taylor was born in Delaware County, IN, October 6 1833. He was a farmer.
In the fall of 1859, he settled in Mill Creek Township, KS. In the spring of 1875, he moved to Oregon, but came back to his farm in Mill Creek Township in 1877.
In 1864, he was in the Twentieth Regiment of Militia during the Price Raid. He was a Constable and a Deputy Sheriff for several years. He was married to Miss Nancy Godlove in Delaware County, IN. they had five children: Harvey, Perry, Mary Ann, Martha and Carrie.
JOHN THOMAS
John Thomas was born in Warren County, IN, December 25, 1829, the son of Samuel and Asenath Odel Thomas. John's paternal grandfather came to America from England during the War of 1812, as a barber to an English general. Samuel learned the trade of shoemaker, but later became a cooper. Samuel died February 8, 1843, when he was 46 years old. Asenath died in September of 1873, when she was 70 years of age. They had seven sons and six daughters.
John Thomas married Miss Eliza A. Taylor on February 15, 1855, in Indiana. She was born March 24, 1833, in sussex County, Delaware, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Taylor.
John and Eliza came from Indiana to Kansas in 1875, where they settled on a farm in Mill Creek Township. they had thirteen children: Elizabeth, James, Francis and Arthur died when quite young; Mary A. married John F. Gibson; Eliza J. married George W. DeGraw; Charles E. married Miss Nellie Porter; David; John H.; William, who was a telegraph operator; Albert C.; Emma and Hattie A.
ADAM R. WALKER
Adam R. Walker was born February 23, 1829, near Orleans, IN. He enlisted in the 66th Indiana Volunteers and served one year. He was discharged at Corinth, MS, because of sickness.
He married N. J. Meerine at Salem, IL, in 1863. they had four children: Mrs. Ella Grover, Delia; Mrs. W. S. Clark (Clara), Onaga; Mrs. Florence Jones, Emmett, who later moved to Beverly, NJ; and G. G. Walker, Prentiss, OK. Mrs. J. O. Benton was a daughter by a former marriage.
He moved from Illinois to Kansas in 1867, and settled on a farm in Vienna Township where the greater part of his life was spent. Later he was engaged in the boot and shoe business in Onaga. They lived in the 600 block of Lucien Street on the west side.
WEGNER
August Frederick Wegner was born July 23, 1847, in Straten, Germany. His father died when he was six years of age. In the year of 1866, with his mother, he came to New York--a penniless man. He came west and settled near Neuchatel for a short time, then went to Atchison where he was engaged in blacksmithing about two years. He moved to Westmoreland, where he had his own blacksmithing business for a number of years. In 1874, he was married to Dorothy Sophia Kolterman. Dorothy was born in 1851 at Doelitz, Germany. At the age of four years, she came to the United States with her parents and other family members. After living in Wisconsin for two years, they came to Kansas and lived in the Duluth neighborhood where she spent her young life.
Following August and Dorothy's marriage, they lived on a farm southwest of Onaga located on Indian Creek. They had seven children; two died in infancy, Frank Wegner died in 1929, Helene Louise Wegner DeGraw died in 1927, and Ernest Wegner died in 1952. One son, Walter Wegner lived, in Westmoreland. In 1894, August and Dorothy moved from their home to another farm they owned, at the southeast edge of Onaga. They continued with their farming and stock operations. In the early 60's, the Vienna post office was located on the August Wegner farm and later was moved into the city of Onaga. At the time of his death, August was president of the First National Bank of Onaga, a position he had held for twenty years. August Wegner died in 1926, and Dorothy Sophia Kolterman Wegner died in 1936.
August and Dorothy's second son, Otto F. Wegner, was born in 1882. He was united in marriage to Bertha Sophia Hartwich March 12, 1906. She was a daughter of F. F. and Pauline Schwandt Hartwich. Bertha's parents were also pioneers of this area, having come from Germany. Otto F. and Bertha started their life together on a farm south of Onaga and continued living here all the rest of their lives. Otto was a farmer and stockman. He was a director of the First National Bank of Onaga. To this marriage, two sons were born, Raymond Melvin in 1907, and Giltner Lee in 1916. Otto died in 1960.
JOHN F. ZABEL
John F. Zabel was born April 5, 1878. He married Anna A. Nisson.
George W. Zabel, his brother, born December 28, 1886, married Ora Ferne Tibbet, a niece of Dr. W. P. Wilson, Onaga. John and George started the Zabel Brothers Hardware store in Onaga from 1905 until 1908, when they sold the business to Dave Wright.