LEAVENWORTH COUNTY, Part 26

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES (PAGE - RICHTER).

REV. W. N. PAGE, D. D., Pastor First Presbyterian Church. Took present charge in June, 1873. His work since he came to this field has been very successful. He found the church $6,000 in debt, and in a depressed condition. They are now free of debt and show the largest increase in membership in the State. Under Doctor Page's charge the church membership has increased from 140 to 400, and the Sunday-school from 100 to 4?0 members. Dr. Page was born in Chelsea, Vt., April 4, 1837. His parents moved to Pontiac, Mich., about 1838, where they both died when the subject of our sketch was about eight years of age. In 1835 he moved to Ontario County, N. Y., where he engaged in clerking in Canandaigua. In 1857 he began studying, preparatory for college, with the intention of receiving a regular diploma of class of 1863, though absent a part of the course. He enlisted in 1862, in the Twenty-fourth Battery of Ligh (sic) Artillery, with a number of other college boys. He was discharged for promotion in 1863, and ordered home to raise a company. He succeeded in raising 100 men, which were consolidated with other regiments when he left the army. He decided to enter the ministry. In the fall of 1863 he entered Auburn Theological Seminary, at Auburn, N. Y., graduating in 1866 taking a full course. His first charge was at Trumansburgh, N. Y., commencing in 1866 and continuing through 1868. He was then called to take charge of the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, Florida. In 1870, on account of the ill health of his children, he resigned and took a charge at Amenia Dutches County, N. Y., where he remained until called to a charge in Leavenworth, Kansas. The Highland University of Kansas conferred upon Mr. Page the degree of D. D., in 1878. Mr. Page was married in West Bloomfield, Ontario County, N. Y.., to Miss Jennie N., youngest daughter of Hon. Reynold Peck. They have three children living - William R. (now studying for the law at Hamilton College), Alice and May. The Doctor is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity. He is also a member of the Leavenworth Lodge No. 1285, K. of H., and of the Kansas Benevolent Society of Salina, Kansas.

WM. W. PATTERSON, locomotive engineer Kansas Central Division, U. P. R. R., was born in Platte County, Mo., October 20, 1852. His parents moved to Leavenworth in 1859. He re ived (sic) his education at the Catholic schools in that city. In 1872 became connected with the C., R. I. & P. R. R., as employe (sic) in the shops, remaining in this position until 1876. He then commenced with the Kansas Central Railroad as fireman; was promoted to engineer in 1878. Mr. Patterson was married in Leavenworth, July 23, 1871, to Miss Sarah C. Hoffner, of that city. They have four children - Charles W., Edwin J., Joseph and William. Mr. P. is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

J. W. PARK, Jr., member of the firm of J. F. Richards & Co., was born in Boston, Mass., January, 1842. He was educated in that city, and resided there until 1862, when he moved to Kansas and settled in Leavenworth, where he was engaged in the dry goods business, in which he continued until 1867, when he became connected with J. F. Richards & Co. Mr. Park was married in Leavenworth, Kan., July 21, 1864, to Miss Olive Dodd, of that city. They have five children - William J., Florence, Dana, Helen and Eugene. He is a prominent member of the Masonic Fraternity, the Lodge Chapter, Council and Commandery, all of Leavenworth. Is also a Thirty-second Degree S. P. R. S.

CHARLES PEAPER, assistant cashier of the German Bank, was born in Amsterdam, Holland, February 11, 1845. He was educated in France, Germany and Belgium, and came to America in 1862, remaining one year in New York. He then entered the navy as hospital steward, which position he occupied about eighteen months, and then returned to New York and remained there until he entered the army and came to Leavenworth in 1865, where he served on detached duty three years in the Adjutant General's office. He was then bookkeeper for Rohling & Co. four years, and in 1870 entered the German Savings Bank as bookkeeper. He served one year in that capacity, and was then assistant cashier until the organization of the present German Bank, since which time he has been assistant cashier of that institution. He was married in Leavenworth, in 1868, to Delia Roe, who died in 1879, leaving four children - Alex, Ida, Birdie and Charlie. In April, 1881, he was again married, in Leavenworth, to Mary B. Tholen. Mr. P. is a member of the I. O. O. F. and K. of P. and also a member of the School Board.

MATTHIAS PENNING, wagon and carriage manufacturer and general blacksmithing, was born in Germany, in 1835, and was reared to his present business, his father having carried on the business in Germany. In 1856 he came to America and settled here in 1857, and has been identified with his present industry here principally since. In 1874 he accepted a position in the employ of the United States Government at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, with which he remained very successfully connected until 1881, when he returned here, being desirous of placing his family in a better position regarding school facilities. In 1866 he married Miss Elizabeth Bramiage, who was born and reared in Ohio. They have a family of two sons and two daughters - Mary, Matthias, Dena and Frank.

FRED PFEIFFER, cigar manufacturer, located in Leavenworth in the spring of 1867, and has been engaged in his present business since that time. He was born in Prussia, May 3, 1830, and came to America in 1855, locating first at Detroit, Mich. After a few months' residence in that city he migrated to Mexico and Central America, then returned to the States, and was for several years a resident of Dubuque, Iowa, and afterwards for six years of Peoria, Ill., whence he moved to Leavenworth. He was married in Butler, Mo., January 13, 1877, to Laura (Pfeiffer) Mueller, a native of Saxony.

M. PHELAN, grocer, came to Kansas in April, 1862, and in 1864 engaged in the grocery business in a small way, his sales the first year amounting to about $6,000. They have increased since that time to about $90,000, the business giving employment to six men, besides himself. He is a native of County Kilkenny, Ireland, where he was born, November 10, 1833. He came to America in 1832, and located near Ogdensburg, N. Y., where he remained eight or ten years, and in 1862 came to Ft. Leavenworth in the paymaster's department, and continued in that position until he engaged in mercantile business. He is a member of the Catholic Church, of the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association, and has been treasurer of the Fair Association for several years. He was married at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., December 31, 1863, to Charlotte C. Hughes, of Madrid, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. They have five children - Francis L., John M., Thomas J., Alice C. and Leo W.

FRED PHIFER, groceries and cigars, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1849, and came to America at a very early age with his people, who settled in Missouri, where he was reared and educated, and learned the business of cigar maker, which he actively followed there till 1863, when he came here and carried on the cigar manufacturing till recently, when he established the present business, which he very ably represents. In 1869 he married Miss M. R. Westenfelt, who was born in Prussia in 1846, and came to America in 1855, with her people, who settled in Quincy, Ill., where she was reared and educated. Mr. Phifer did service in the Militia of his State during the war, from which he was honorably discharged.

J. M. PICKARTS, vinegar manufacturer, is a native of Prussia, and was born in 1835, and engaged as an apprentice at his business at the age of sixteen, which he completed in his native country. In 1854, he came to America, and was identified with his business in the Western States until 1859, when he located here and engaged at it a principal, and has very reputably carried it on here since. He married, in 1860, Miss Thekla Wey, a native of Saxony, who came to America in 1849, with her people, who settled in Milwaukee, where she was reared and educated. They have a family of four sons and two daughters. The manufactory is pleasantly located. It consist of a union of two buildings, two stories high, and basement and cellars. One building is 28x80, used for manufacturing purposes entirely, and is furnished with all the latest improvements necessary to the business; is run by steam power, of twenty-horse capacity. The other is 36x50, and is principally used as a storeroom and warehouse. Mr. Pickarts began the manufacture of vinegar upon a capacity of about two barrels per day, but the increasing demand for this vinegar has so encouraged him to enlarge upon his business, as to now have a capacity of about fifty barrels per day. Water is furnished by never-failing springs, upon the premises. Mr. Pickarts is enabled to make all kinds of vinegar in the market, and has so maintained the reputation of his manufacture, as to control the trade, in a great measure of the States west of the Missouri and to compete successfully with the trade East.

HON. C. B. PIERCE, retired wholesale merchant, was born in Windsor County, Vt., in 1829. At the age of sixteen, he entered upon a course of study, unaided by any, and in 1850, he graduated with honor from the Kimball Union Academy of New Hampshire, in a preparatory course. He then entered upon a thorough literary course of study at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, and in 1854 he graduated with honor as Bachelor of Arts. He then entered upon a course of lectures in Ill nois (sic), in connection with the cause of temperance, and, after a successful connection with that vocation for one year, he went South and engaged at teaching in a planter's family in Texas. In the meantime he was prosecuting the study of law, from which he graduated in the Albany Law School of New York State in 1858. In September of that year he located here, and began the practice of law, which he successfully prosecuted for several years, retiring from it in 1865 with a handsome competence, which he invested in wholesale merchandising, which he carried on very successfully for ten years, retiring from it on the dissolution of the firm in 1875, with a goodly amount of money, which he operates in real estate deals and mining enterprises. In public life Mr. Pierce has always been an active worker in all measures tending toward the development of the social and industrial life of Leavenworth. He drafted and compiled the first civil code of laws for the city, being then City Attorney. In 1862, he was elected State Senator from Leavenworth county, which office he held until 1864, and has been active in many minor municipal official positions.

JOHN PINAIRE, carpenter and builder, is a native of France; was born in the Department of Daubs, in 1822; came to America in 1847, and settled in Indiana, and learned his trade in Louisville, Ky., followed it there and in Indiana till 1857, when he came here and has actively carried it on here since. In 1857, he married Miss Mary Citot (?), a native of Lorraine. They have a family of one son and five daughters - Lucine, Helen, now Mrs. Byron Sherry, of Kansas City (attorney); Emily, now Mrs. John C. Ripley, of Fort Leavenworth; Sarah, Lulu, and Lucien. Mr. Pinaire has been an active worker in the development of the social life of his locality since coming here.

W. S. PLUMMER, inventor of Plummer's Fruit Dryer, permanently located in Leavenworth May 2, 1858, having made previous visits in 1856 and 1857. Until 1874 he was engaged in saw-mill business, his mill, which was of a capacity of 25,000 feet per twenty-four hours, being above the Planters' House, at the corner of Iowa and Main streets. In 1870 he also built a flouring mill, of five run of stone, and commenced the manufacture of flour. Both these mills he sold in 1874, and removed to California, where he lived one year, and subsequently four years in Oregon. He then returned to California and still lives there, his present residence being at San Jose, where he is engaged in fruit evaporating, that having been his business since his first residence in California. While residing in Leavenworth, he was for two years Chairman of the County Board of Commissioners, and was Representative from the Nineteenth District in the Kansas Legislature. Mr. Plummer was born in Nunda, Livingston Co., N. Y., April 15, 1836. When eleven years of age he went to Greenville, Mercer Co., Pa., and there learned the trade of machinist and millwright, with his uncle. When he was eighteen, he went to Decorah, Iowa, and remained there two years, and afterwards two years at Sioux city, working at his trade in both places, and removing from the latter to Leavenworth. He married Fannie, daughter of John Clayton, a native of England. They have two children William L. and Kittie May. The fruit and vegetable dryer, invented by Mr. Plummer, has proved a most successful and profitable invention, his fruit dried by that process being superior to all others. Mr. P was awarded the gold medal at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and also at the World's Fair, in Paris, in 1878, for the largest and best display, and the finest article of dried fruits in the world.

MAJ. GEN. JOHN POPE, was born in Louisville, Ky., March 16, 1822. His father was Judge Nathaniel Pope, who afterwards moved to Springfield, Ill., and became U. S. District Judge. Gen. Pope was appointed to West Point, and graduated in 1842. He was appointed on graduation Brevet Second Lieutenant of Topographical Engineers, and was shortly afterwards detailed on the staff of Gen. Worth, in Florida, where he served till 1844. He was then placed on duty under the State Department, on the Northeastern Boundary Survey, where he remained until 1846. He was promoted to rank of Second Lieutenant May 9, 1846. At the outbreak of the Mexican war, he was detailed on the staff of Gen. Taylor, as Engineer officer. He was breveted First Lieutenant at Monterey, September 23, 1846, and Captain at Buena Vista, February 23, 1847. He served through the war on the staff of Gen. Taylor. At the close of the war with Mexico he was assigned to duty on explorations in Minnesota, on the Red River of the North. During these explorations he made a voyage in birch bark canoes through all the line of river and lake communication between the Red River and the Mississippi, and down the latter river to Fort Snelling, in all a distance of twelve hundred miles. He was occupied on this duty during 1849 and 1850. His report was published by Congress. In 1851 he was assigned to duty as Chief Engineer officer of Department No. Nine of New Mexico and Colorado, where he remained till 1853, when he was promoted to First Lieutenant and assigned to command of the expedition to explore a route from the Pacific Railway, along the thirty-second deg. Parallel of latitude, under act of Congress of 1853. He prosecuted these explorations until 1859. He was promoted to Captain July 1, 1856. During the year 1859 experiments were made under his direction with a view to obtaining water on the Staked Plains by artesian boring. In 1860 he was placed on duty in construction of lighthouses on the Great Lakes. In 1861 he was ordered to muster in troops raised in Illinois for the war. He was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers, July, 1861, and placed in the command of the District of Northern Missouri. In February, 1862, he was assigned to command a Division for the reduction of New Madrid and Island No. Ten on the Mississippi River. Both places were captured April 9, 1862, with the greater part of the troops occupying them, and all the munitions and supplies of every kind. On March 21, 1862, he was commissioned Major General of Volunteers. He was then ordered to join the army before Corinth, and assigned to command of an army corps entitled the "Army of the Mississippi," which formed the left wing of the army in the advance on Corinth. On the evacuation of the latter place, Gen. Pope was ordered to Washington. He was appointed Brigadier General in the Regular Army, and assigned aid to the command of the Army of Virginia, which was composed of the First, Second and Third Army Corps, and was intended to cover Washington from the advance of troops from Richmond, and to operate all lines of communication, leading North and West from Richmond, as to relieve the Army of the Potomac from apprehended disaster on the James River, and to draw off such efficient force from the Confederate armies which invested that army, as to enable it to withdraw from the Peninsula without danger, and to be united to the Army of Virginia before Washington. The history of the operations of the Army of Virginia under Command of Gen. Pope, forming as they do one of the great chapters in the history of the war, must, or should be, familiar to all, and need not be entered into here. The principal engagements during this campaign were Cedar Mountain, Rapahaunock Station, Bristoe Station, Second Bull Run, and Chantilly. At the conclusion of this campaign, Gen. Pope was placed in command of the Department of the Northwest, where the Sioux had broken out in Minnesota and committed horrible atrocities. Active operations were immediately instituted against them, and after several battles between the Upper Missouri and the Minnesota River, they were driven from Minnesota, to which they have never returned. Thirty of the ringleaders in the famous Minnesota massacre were captured and hung. In the winter of 1864 and 1865 he was placed in command of the Division of the Missouri, and there remained till July of the same year, when he was placed in command of the Department of Missouri, including the West and Northwest from Texas to the British line. In October, 1867, he was assigned the command of the Third Military District, embracing Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Having completed the reconstruction and reorganization of State governments January 1868, Gen. Pope was then ordered to command the Department of the Lakes, where he remained till May 1, 1870, when he was ordered to command the Department of the Missouri, in which command he has since remained. He received his brevet as Major General in the Regular Army March 13, 1865, and his commission as Major General, October 26, 1882. His first visit to Kansas was in 1851, when he came to Fort Leavenworth, preparatory to starting across the plains for New Mexico.

J. W. PREST, Sheriff, has been a resident of Leavenworth since September 10, 1856. For three years he was engaged as a clerk in the commission and grocery house, which position he resumed after a year's absence in Colorado. After clerking a year he engaged in the grocery business with M. S. Grant, and remained associated with him until 1869, the last three years being in seed and agricultural implement business. He was then for four years farming, in Alexander Township, and then returned to Leavenworth and again engaged in the agricultural implement business, which he carried on until 1881, being elected Sheriff in the fall of that year. He was born in Lawrenceburg, Ind., April 23, 1830, and was married in Leavenworth, in November, 1865, to Anna M. Barr, a native of Indiana. Their children are - John B., Oscar S., Grant R., Katie, Robert, and a daughter two years of age. Mr. Prest is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F.

MICHAEL PRSYBYLOWICZ came to Fort Leavenworth, March 19, 1852, and remained at that time six days. He then went to Weston, Mo., and after stopping a short time in that town, went on to St. Joseph. In 1853, on his way to California, he stopped again, on the 21st of March, at Fort Leavenworth. While in California he was steward of the Avenue House, at Stockton, four months; then was at San Francisco six months, in the butchers' business; then again in Stockton in the restaurant business until 1856, when he returned to Leavenworth, arriving March 25. He went into the butchering business and carried it on sixteen months, and was then taken sick and gave up that occupation, and commenced dealing in real estate. He built the first brick house in Leavenworth, and rented if (sic) for a dry goods store, and in 1858 he opened the Leavenworth House, on the north side of Cherokee street, between Second and Third streets. He was proprietor of the house about two years, then rented it until December, 1861, and then ran it again himself until he sold out two years later. He was then in grain and real estate speculations until 1866. In 1867 he converted all his property into cash, and leaving his family in Leavenworth, went to Europe, and remained about four months; then returned and again engaged in grain business, in which he continued until April 1, 1868, when he purchased the property on the northwest corner of Fourth and Cherokee streets, and built the Continental Hotel, which he opened in December, 1868. He was sole proprietor of this house ten months, and was then associated with Mr. Gerges, until Mr. Fritsche became his partner, October 1, 1872, the two still being proprietors of the hotel. Mr. P. was born in Posen, Poland, August 24, 1826. He came to America in September, 1851, and landed in New York, where he remained two months, and afterwards lived in Cincinnati until he came to Kansas. He was married in Leavenworth, in 1856, to Johanna Gerstenaeker, a native of Germany. He claims to have been the first man married in Leavenworth, and his daughter Frances to have been the first white girl born in the city. His children now living are - Michael, Mary, Henry, George W. and Rudolph.

FRANK RATTI, grocery and saloon, was born in Switzerland in 1848, and learned the profession of baker in early life, his father having carried on that business there. In 1866, he came to America, and settled here the same year, and followed his profession here for several years. In 1882, he began his present business, and has ably conducted it since. In 1873, he married Miss Christina Meimersdorf, who was born in Schleswig Holstein. They have one son and two daughters living - Frank, Paulina, and Mary, and have buried their second son, Paul, in the Greenwood Cemetery here.

JOHN R. REUTER, manufacturer of boots and shoes, came to Kansas in 1866, and located in the city of Leavenworth, and has remained here since; is a member of the Society of United Workmen, and is a native of Beden, Germany; was born on the 4th of October, 1832, and lived in his native country until he was twenty-four years of age, and then emigrated to America, and located in St. Louis, remaining there eleven years, and then came to Leavenworth, Kan., where he has since lived. Was married the 1st of May, 1857, in St. Louis, to Miss Barbara Tholgott, who was born in France; has one child living, Christina Reuter. His second wife's name was Christina Schneider. They have four children - John, Agnes, August, and Albert.

BLACKWELL S. RICHARDS, was born in Bath County, Va., in the year 1825. In 1836 he came to Howard County with his parents and subsequently removed to Booneville, Mo., where he learned his trade, and then was at Platte City for nine years engaged in business. He came to Leavenworth in 1861, commenced business with no assistant, and now employs twenty-five men, doing both wholesale and retail harness and saddlery business. His sales being principally in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, and Nebraska, and amounting to about $50,000 per annum. Mr. Richards was married to Cynthia Brawner, a native of Kentucky. They have five children - Mary S., now Mrs. Reuben Partridge of Washington Territory; Lillie S., now Mrs. E. C. Davis, of Leavenworth; Nettie Taylor, Frank and Roy. Mr. Richards is a member of the Christian Church, of A. F. & A. M., and of I. O. O. F. He is Chairman of the County Board, having now held that position seven years; and has also twice been a member of the Common Council.

JOHN F. RICHARDS, senior member of the firm of J. F. Richards & Co., was born in Bath County, Va., October 23, 1834. His parents moved to St. Charles, Mo., when he was very young. After his father's death the family moved to Boonville (sic), Mo., and from there to St. Louis, where his mother died. He received his schooling in St. Louis, and at the age of fourteen commenced clerking. From 1849 to 1853 was in the same occupation in Jackson County, Mo. In 1853 he engaged with a mercantile expedition to trade with the Indians-the company being in charge of John S. Shaw, a prominent steamboat captain on the Missouri river. In 1854 Mr. Richards returned to St. Louis, where he entered a hardware establishment, continuing with this firm until 1856, when he removed to Kansas and settled in Leavenworth, and commenced business for himself in 1857. Mr. Richards was married in Jackson County, Mo., June 16, 1857, to Miss Martha A. Harrelson, of that county. Mrs. R. died in February, 1874, leaving five children, of whom there survive, May, Walter B., Helen and George B. He was married to his present wife in Fairport, N. Y., December 1, 1877. She was Mrs. L. M. Durfee, of Leavenworth, Kas. Mr. Richards is a Knight Templar in the Masonic Fraternity. Has been, at times, a member of the City Council and School Board.

J. F. RICHARDS & Co., wholesale dealers in hardware, cutlery, iron, steel, etc. Established by Mr. Richards in 1857. The house has had a steady growth of business for years. They occupy two stores, both three stories and basement structures, 25x125, and do a business of $250,000 to $300,000 yearly. Mr. Richards is also head of the Richards & Conover Hardware Co., of Kansas City. This business was established in 1875, the present Company being organized in January, 1882. They employ eight salesmen on the road. Have about twenty-seven employees in the house and with a stock of $200,000 to $250,000, do an estimate business of $600,000 to $700,000 yearly. One peculiar feature of their business is that about two-thirds of it is done on open orders. The elegant and substantial building they occupy on the corner of Fifth and Wyandotte streets in Kansas City, Mo., was erected in 1881 by Mr. Richards for their business, and is one of the best buildings in the city.

JASON P. RICHARDSON, deceased, was born in Paulet, Vermont, February 22, 1822. He moved to Michigan about 1840 and settled in Detroit, where he engaged in mercantile business. In 1854 he settled in Leavenworth, Kas. From 1855 to 1861 he was engaged in mercantile business and from that time until his death was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Leavenworth County. He departed this life in 1882. Mr. Richardson was married in Michigan, to Miss Mary King. They had seven children - George C., Anna, (now Mrs. Davis), William, Fred, Charles, Jason P., Martha. George C. Richardson, of the firm of Harans & Richardson, lessees of the "Kansas Kanning Kompany" Works, was born in Leavenworth, Kas., November 14, 1856. He was the first white male child born in the city. He was educated in his native city, finishing his studies at the Barre Academy, Barre, Vt. He commenced clerking for the firm of Harans & co., millers, and in 1880 was admitted to a share in the business. Is now engaged in operating the Harans & Richardson Mills in Missouri. Mr. Richardson was married in Leavenworth county, May 12, 1861, to Miss Anna Draper of that county. He is a member of the K. of H.

HERMAN RICHTER, was born in Saxony, Germany, April 13, 1844. He emigrated from his native country in 1854, landing in New York on his arrival in America. He removed to Chicago, July 18, 1855, and engaged in furniture business in that city, being in the retail trade before the fire of October 9, 1871, and in wholesale after that event. He came to Kansas, October 15, 1878, and has been engaged in furniture business in Leavenworth since that time, his rooms being among the finest in Kansas. He was married in Chicago, June 8, 1866, to Minnie Brandt, a native of that city. They have five children, Laura, Lillie, May, Edwin, Walter, and Harry. Mr. R. is a member of the K. of P.