HISTORY OF BEATTIE
- The following historical text was taken
from the booklet "The Beattie Story" honoring Beattie's centennial in 1970.
Complied by Mrs. Glen Wuester, chairperson; Mrs. Ed FitzGerald, Miss Katherine
Flanagan, Mrs. Laura McMahon Hofmann, Sister Mary Mark Orr, S.C.L., Miss
Gladys Price, Mrs. Forrest Tegethoff, and Miss Mary Jo Tegethoff.
Used by permission.
In 1859 James FitzGerald came to what is now Beattie and bought 160
acres from Rachel B. Teed, widow of a Mexican War veteran. J. T.
Watkins came at about the same time and bought the property adjoining the
FitzGerald land on the east. Mr. FitzGerald and Mr. Watkins made
several trips to St. Joseph to negotiate with the railroad to come through
their land. They agreed to give every other city lot in order to
get the railroad.
In 1870 the railroad came into Beattie. It was known as the St.
Joseph and Denver City Railroad and later known as the St. Joseph and Grand
Island Railroad; it finally became the Union Pacific. It had many
other names during the years.
In 1870 the original townsite of Beattie was laid out on the FitzGerald
and Watkins land by the Northern Kansas Land and Town Company of St. Joseph,
Missouri. The town was named for the Honorable Armstrong Beattie,
mayor of St. Joseph. Beattie is located in Guittard Township, which
is the heart of the most fertile land in northern Kansas.
Prior to 1865, the A. Wuester, Joe Thoman, Luke & Peter Jones, George
Guittard, James FitzGerald, E. Cain, J. Totten, G. Thorn, Hugh Hamilton,
H. C. Smith, Eli Goldsberry families settled near what is now Beattie.
The first building on the new townsite was the depot which was soon
followed by a building erected by Dr, J. J. Sheldon which he used as a
postoffice and drug store when he was appointed as the first postmaster.
BEN BELL
When Ben Bell lived on the home farm south of Beattie he was breeder of
Pure Bred Poland China hogs and raised several champions. It was
an annual event for Ben to hold a pure bred hog sale and buyers came from
every state in the Union. Ben made arrangements with the two livery
barns at Beattie to have teams meet all trains. At that time the
St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad was running six passenger trains daily.
One of his advertising slogans was "Ben Bell, Breeder of Big Bone Bellmetal
Boar, Beattie, Kansas."
W. W. BROOKS
W. W. Brooks was editor of the first paper, "The Star" published in Beattie
on June 20, 1885. It was a five column, eight-page paper with four
pages of ready print.
EDWARD CAIN
Edward (Ned) Cain was a native of Ireland, born there in 1826, and when
26 years old he came to the United States, then to Kansas. He was
one of the earliest landholders in Guittard Township. In Leavenworth
he met and married Johanna FitzGerald, sister of the beloved Father FitzGerald,
pioneer priest of the county; also sister of James FitzGerald. Of
their five children, James, Peter and Patrick remained in the Beattie area.
Patrick W. Cain spent his first school days in the little log schoolhouse
located on his fathers farm, later going to the stone school in Beattie
after it was built. Seven children were born to this family.
Dan O. Cain, Topeka, Kansas still visits this community and Anna Cain Ferrel
lived in Marysville for many years.
Peter S. Cain was also a farmer and was appointed deputy sheriff of
Marshall County in 1906 and held that position for number of years.
His wife, Catherine Scanlon who was native of Ireland, came to America
when 9 years old. They were the parents of four children, one twin
died in infancy.
James Cain was Mayor of Beattie when he built his big home in Beattie.
He, like his brothers, was a stockman. James and his wife, Mary Cook
were the parents of eight children, Bill Cain being the only one presently
living in this community.
JAMES DILLEY
James Dilley's parents were born in Pennsylvania, and when young folks
they moved to Illinois, then to Hamlin, Kansas. James Dilley, born
in Illinois, was an only child. In 1887 he bought a farm northwest
of Beattie, now owned by Glen Wuester. Mr. Dilley was a stockman
and Mrs. Dilley a successful breeder of Barred Plymouth Rock chickens,
and had exhibits at county and state fairs. Dilleys had seven children.
JAMES FITZGERALD
James FitzGerald was born in Ireland in 1829, and came to New York in 1851.
The main part of the city of Beattie was bought by Mr. FitzGerald in 1859.
In 1866 he came here to live and in 1872 he and his neighbor, Mr. Watkins,
agreed to give land to the railroad if a depot was located here.
In 1875 he built a fine large stone house, the stone being supplied from
the quarry on his own farm. This stone house is now the home of his
grandson, Desmond FitzGerald. The FitzGeralds were the parents of
eight children, those remaining in Beattie were the late John, William,
Rose, Ellen and Kate. Grandson Edwin FitzGerald lives north of the
old stone home and Mrs. John O'Neil, a granddaughter, also resides in Beattie.
PATRICK FINNIGIN
Patrick Finnigin was born in Ireland in 1848 and came to Marshall County
in 1871 from Missouri. When the railroad was laid through Beattie,
he was boss of the railroad gang that laid the tracks. He married
Mary Ann FitzGerald and they were the parents of Charlotte Driskel.
After Mrs. Finnigin's death, Patrick married Catherine Loob, and they were
the parents of Tom, Nora and Harry Finnigin. They were grandparents
of Felix, Delphois, Eddie and Barney Finnigin, all of whom are now living
in this community.
MARTIN FLANAGAN
Martin Flanagan and his wife Julia, natives of Ireland, came to the United
States in 1848. They were the grandparents of Kate and Bill Flanagan
who reside north of Beattie. Their son James (father of Kate and
Bill) married Catherine Dunn in 1876, and in 1885 they settled on the Flanagan
farm north of Beattie. Eight children were born to this family.
GUITTARD
In the year 1800 in the village of Bellemagna, Upper Alsace, France, the Guittard
family had a son who was baptized George. Neither the family nor
the villagers could have guessed his destiny in the New World. In
Bellemagna the head of the Guittard family for several generations had
served as town magistrate.
George selected as his wife a village maiden two years his junior, Magdelen
Thomann, who bore him four sons, namely George Jr., Francis, Joseph and
Xavier born 1831. The second son, Joseph, was named for his maternal
uncle, Joseph Thomann, whose life would be closely associated in the New
World.
In 1833 the George Guittard family came to the United States.
For them it was an ocean voyage of three and one-half months.
For the next twenty years, the father worked in factories in New York
and Newark, In Philadelphia he owned and operated a factory until the pressure
of advertising lured him to sell out and seek a home in the West.
According to Chapman, the journey of 1857 was made by rail from Philadelphia
to St. Louis, by river steamer to St. Joseph, and by ox team to "the wilderness
in advance of civilization." He claims, too, that George Guittard,
Sr., had visited the country in 1856.
On reaching St. Joseph, Missouri, he purchased an ox team and wagon
and traveled the main trail until he reached the north crossing on the
Vermillion River. Here in the spring of 1857, on the left bank, he
set up a tent for shelter while building a log cabin. This, the first
permanent settlement in the northeast quarter of Marshall County, became
a lodestone drawing travelers over the long lonely stretches of prairie
until the greater part of the overland travel came to the door of George
Guittard. To meet the needs of the travelers by wagon, and coach
and horseback, he soon constructed a large station house and barns.
As the log house was soon too small to shelter the travelers, a larger
one was begun before the end of 1859. Huge logs were squared with
the axe to form the foundation. Save for these, the Station house
might still be standing. Because they had rotted by 19 10 and also
because the numerous chimneys took fire easily, Mr. P. C. Reilly razed
the building and used the lumber to erect the present residence on the
same site.
Guittard Station was 38 by 43 feet, with a wide corridor dividing the
six large rooms on each floor; an eight-foot corridor and rooms about 15
by 14 feet each.
Mail was distributed by Postmaster Guittard through pigeonholes his
patrons found just inside the main or west entrance. The same room
also served as waiting room, ticket office, hotel desk, etc. A broad
open stairs filled part of the main hall.
While the Pony Express existed only eighteen months, It must be remembered
that Guittard Station served as an inn to refresh travelers, sell supplies,
water, graze and shelter animals and aid in repairing wagons and coaches,
from 1859 until well after the coming of the railroad to Beattie in 1870.
Stagecoaches were long needed to connect the shorter rail lines with more
distant points in the West and Northwest.
By 1885 there were two barns, one 30 by 100 feet and another 30 by 50
feet. Each had wide doors to an ample aisle having horse stalls on
either side and hay loft above. A portion of the original station
barn still stands on its first site. There have been repairs to roof
and siding but on the interior are the hand hewn uprights, cross beams,
etc., all held solidly with handmade wooden pegs.
History records the names of a Mr. McGraw, of Ben Holladay and of Russell,
Majors and Waddell as managers of stage lines and the Pony Express which
used the facilities of Guittard Station. The glamorous years of the
Pony Express, 1860 and 1861, saw horses picked out for instant saddling
by the riders; the most famous seem to have been Johnny Frey and Buffalo
Bill. How the former found time and occasion to Carve his name on
a limestone bank south of Beattie in 1860 will never be known.
The earliest description of Guittard hospitality was written in 1860
by Richard F. Burton.
"We spanned the prairie to Guittard's Station, on the far side of a
shady, well-wooded creek --- the Vermillion, so called from its red sand-stone
bottom. For dinner, the host was a young Alsatian .... the house
and kitchen were clean, the fences neat; the ham and eggs, and hot rolls
and coffee were fresh and good, and although drought had killed the salad,
we had abundance of peaches and cream, an offering of French to American
taste.
"At Guittard I saw for the first time, the Pony Express rider arrive
. . . Beyond Guittard's the prairies bore a burnt-up aspect. In the
rare spots where water then lay, the herbage was still green, forming oases
in the withering waste."
Under the leadership of George Guittard the county was organized, law and
order were established, the public interests were protected, and township
divisions were formed. Although smaller now than at the time of organization,
Guittard Township still bears his name after more than a century.
For about twenty years Mr. George Guittard actively managed and controlled
the township and county affairs. In the annals of Territorial Governor
John W. Denver's administration, it is recorded as of September 13, 1858:
"Commissions were issued to the following officers of Marshall County by
virtue of their appointment to fill vacancies: Jacob McCloskey and George
Guittard, supervisors and Harrison Frazier, as sheriff." Andreas credits
Guittard with having done more than any other man for the advancement of
the early interests of Marshall County. His life was a continuation
of the family tradition of heads of generations who had served as town
magistrates in Bellemagna, Upper Alsace. Mr. George Guittard, Sr.,
died March 5, 1881, and is now buried in the Beattie Union Cemetery.
It was his youngest son, Xavier, who was also to make a notable place
in the history of Guittard Township and Marshall County in the next three
decades. Xavier had been born in 1831 and had arrived in Marshall
County as a youth of twenty-six.
Xavier Guittard's life had been enriched with the cultures of both Worlds.
He had the gracious manners of a Frenchman when hosting the travelers;
he had the strength and skill of a woodsman. Before there were any
sawmills, every man was an artist with an axe. He had the integrity
of the pioneer son who strengthened what his family had founded; who held
a Federal Postmastership for over forty years. He had watched the
wheeltracks being beaten to a trail and worn two and three feet deep across
his father' s acres. He had greeted and served nationally known travelers
such as Jim Bridger, the scout, Buffalo Bill Cody; Horace Greeley, editor
of New York Tribune; and his Civil War correspondent, Albert D. Richardson;
Mark Twain, who probably registered as Samuel L. Clemens; Fargo, later
known by Wells, Fargo Express Co.; Bishop E. S. James, nationally known
leader of the Methodist Episcopal Church; stage line owners, Russell, Majors
and Waddell and Dave Butterfield; diplomats from China and Japan; prominent
Mormon leaders from Utah; the first United States Senators from the new
state of Kansas, Pomeroy and Lane and a successor Senator John J. Ingalls;
and officers of the United States Army and Navy.
Like his father, Xavier held various offices in Guittard Township.
He served as Commissioner, Trustee, Treasurer, Clerk and School Director
almost continuously. Chapman adds in 1885, "Politically he votes
with the Democratic Party and socially he is the Master of Guittard Grange,
No. 539." Mr. Xavier Guittard's first and only marriage was made during
his retirement years in St. Joseph, Missouri.
When in 1861 a United States Post Office was established at Guittard
Station, the choice for postmaster fell to the youngest of the three sons,
Xavier, who was the most fluent in English. For more than forty years
he filled this office, said to be the longest in our nation's history.
Xavier Guittard received his commission as postmaster from President Abraham
Lincoln.
On the hilltop behind the old barn, land was set aside for a cemetery.
Grazing cattle now keep the wild growth cleaned away; some of the stones
tip lop-sided, while others lay broken. Some of the original burials
have been moved away.
In 1964, there appeared to be eleven graves. Some records on the
stones are:
-
"Josie daughter of J. and E. Guittard, died January 22, 1881"
-
"Joseph Thomann--Mary Ann, wife of Joseph Thomann, born August 12, 1830,
died June 28, 1863, age 33 years"
-
"Jacques Thomann--58 years, Victoria, wife of Jacques Thomann"
-
"Larkin: Albert, Edgar 5 years, Walter, 6 years"
-
"Ayers"
Mr. and Mrs. George Guittard rest in the Beattie Union Cemetery.
Mr. Xavier Guittard died 1924 in St. Joseph, Missouri, and is buried with
his parents.
Mr. Xavier Guittard sold the farm to Mr. P. C. Reilly in 1906.
In 1958, slightly over 100 years after Guittard's arrival, Mr. and Mrs.
Forrest Tegethoff purchased the farm, thus becoming the third owners.
DR. W. E. HAM
Beloved by a circle of friends was the family doctor at Beattie, Dr. W.
E. Ham. Dr. Ham came here in 1884 with the Hawk brothers who were
the first druggists in Beattie. During his 65 years of practice at
Beattie, it is believed he brought 3,000 babies into the world. He
was also the Railroad physician for the Union Pacific railroad for 25 years
and mayor of Beattie for four years. He also served on the school
board for many years.
THOMAS HARRY
Tom Harry was a native of England, born in 1860. He was 21 years
old when he and William Price, a stone mason, came to this country and
settled near Beattie. He married Mary Lewis, a native of Yorkshire,
England, and they had six children. Years after Mrs. Harry's death,
he married Mrs. Mary Griffee and they had one child, Charlotte, who lives
in Topeka. The present Mrs. Harry lives in Beattie.
HAWK BROTHERS
Wallace and Marion Hawk (twins) were born in Missouri in 1867. Their father
came to Beattie and established a Drug store in 1880, the boys came soon
after and the store was known as the W. B. and M. Hawk Drug Store.
Along with the drug store the Hawk Brothers raised purebred hogs, sheep
and cattle. In town they raised horses for racing on the track just
north of town. Along with other businessmen, they were instrumental
in establishing the Telephone Company, Creamery, First National Bank and
also managed the Opera House.
Marion and wife were parents of Stanley, Chesley and Virginia Hawk Watkins.
He died in 1946 and Wallace in 1924.
The old drug store is now part of the Marshall County Bank of Beattie.
WILLIAM HELVERING
William Helvering was an honored veteran of the Civil War, former mayor
of Beattie and assistant postmaster. His brother, Louis E. Helvering
came to Beattie and was in the mercantile business. Another brother,
Thither William J. Helvering came in 1887 and helped his brother in his
hardware store and later was a salesman of fruit trees throughout this
part of the state.
Five children were born to the William Helverings: Guy T. Helvering
was born in Ohio, 1878 and received his elementary education in Cincinnati
and Beattie. In 1903 he entered the University of Kansas at Lawrence
and later had a law office in Marysville.
Robert L. Helvering, born in 1883, was also educated in law and had
a law business in Marysville.
Alma M. Helvering Motes was born in Beattie in 1888 and took a course
in Arts and Music at the State University of Kansas, and was later appointed
postmaster of Beattie.
LEW HELVERN
Mr. and Mrs. Lew Helvern were among the early settlers here and had one
of the first hardware and implement businesses in town. Mr. Helvern's
wife was a sister of Mrs. Jim Weis. They had four children, Marian,
Lewis, Iola and Bert who had a general store. Mr. and Mrs. Forrest
Tegethoff live in the old home, built by the Helverns.
LUKE JONES, SR.
Luke Jones Sr. who built the first log cabin with a basement in Guittard
Township came from England in 1868. Two sons were born, Luke Jr.
and Peter L. Mrs. Iva Jones Weaver is a daughter of Peter L. Jones.
PETER JONES
Peter Jones was born in England in 1833 and came to America when he was
22 years old. In the fall of 1858, ha located in Guittard Township
and he was the father of five children, John, Mary, Oliver, Albert and
Arthur. He was the grandfather of Albert and LeRoy who both reside
in Beattie at this time.
KEIPER
S. M. Keiper and Charles Keiper were the first couples to be married in
Beattie. J. J. Sheldon, justice of the peace performed the double
ceremony. S. M. Keiper married Miss Laura Scholtz and Charles married
another daughter of Charles Scholtz. Charles and his wife were the
parents of the late Mrs. Henretta Twadell and the late Mrs. D. W. Conger
of Marysville.
LINDEN KIRLIN
Linden Kirlin, the well known inventor of farm machinery was a native of Illinois,
born on a farm there in 1848. One day while plowing corn in Illinois
he was seized with an attack of rheumatism. This malady bothered
him as he walked along behind the mule drawn plow. He conceived the
idea that "a man might as well ride as walk," so he arranged with a local
blacksmith to rig up a plow surmounted by a seat swinging between the wheels.
It was a great success. That was in the early 1870's and he improved
on his idea and in 1878 invented a riding combined lister and drill.
In the spring of 1879 he came to Kansas with his family, settling in Brown
County until 1883 when he came to the farm he bought near Beattie.
In 1896 he moved to Beattie to give his full attention to the L. Kirlin
Cultivator Company manufacturing his farm implements. In the meantime,
in 1880, Mr. Kirlin had patented a combined lister and drill; in 1882 a
two-row knife cultivator for listed corn was patented. His next invention
was the two row disk lister cultivator, which revolutionized the cultivation
of listed corn. Thousands of these were sold by Mr. Kirlin.
After this came the Kirlin two-row wheel and runner disk cultivator, the
wheels making the draft lighter. This was patented in 1902.
The following year Mr. Kirlin brought out the wheel-and-tongue cultivator.
It was in 1893 and 1894 that he begin the wholesale cultivator business
at Beattie, but on account of his rapidly increasing business he moved
to Kansas City in 1900 where he remained until his retirement in 1913,
then returning to his old home farm of 320 acres northwest of Beattie.
In spite of his age, in 1915, Mr. Kirlin brought out a shock absorber for
Ford automobiles, known as the "Kirlin road smoothers" and in 1916 made
an attachment for the old runner cultivator for the second time over the
corn.
Mr. and Mrs. Kirlin (Blanche Estelle Mitchell) were the parents of five
children, Maude Kirlin Thomas, Ward Graham Kirlin, Ernest Clari Kirlin,
Jacob Orr Kirlin and Grace Belle Kirlin.
Mr. Linden Kirlin died in October, 1931.
GODFREY LODHOLZ
Godfrey Lodholz was born in the Province of Wurtemberg, Germany in 1830
and lived there until he was 17 years old.
In 1847 he set out alone for America. He was married in 1854 and
in 1858 started west and located near Beattie. In 1861 their home
was destroyed by fire and they rebuilt northeast of Beattie. Once
or twice a year they went to a trading post at Atchison with an ox-team,
taking ten days or two weeks. However, most of the supplies were
obtained at Marysville. They had five children, one of which was
Rosa who married Peter Gurtler of Guittard Township, the father of the
present Gurtler men living near Beattie, Dan, Walter and Frank of Frankfort.
M. W. McREYNOLDS
Moses William McReynolds was born in Indiana in 1854. At an early age he
came with his parents to Nebraska. By teaching school and other pursuits,
he was able to finance an education in pharmacy. In 1887 he opened
a drug store in Beattie. About 1910 his store was totally destroyed
by fire, but as soon as possible Mr. McReynolds erected a new building
and reopened a fine new drug store.
In 1897 he married Hattie Kirlin who proceeded him in death in 1926.
To this union were born two children, one of whom died in infancy, the
other, a son, Claude is now engaged in the drug business at Kansas City.
Mr. McReynolds was an active supporter of any project for the betterment
of the community. Through the years he was ever ready to help others
less fortunate and none was ever refused medicine or other necessities
because of inability to pay. After his retirement in 1936, he made
his home with his son in Kansas City where he passed away In 1939.
Mr. and Mrs. P. R. Hellse reside in the former McReynolds stone home.
JOHN McCOY
John McCoy came to Marshall county in 1864 and was the sheriff. In
1871, after the town site was laid, he moved into Beattie and Center township.
He was the first depot agent and held that position for eight years.
He took up the practice of law and was admitted to the Marshall County
Bar in 1882.
Mr. McCoy helped with the city government and was the first Mayor of
Beattie. He also served as justice of the peace and postmaster for
4 years. In 1884 he purchased a tract of land north of the city which
is known as the McCoy addition.
PETER McMAHON
Mr. and Mrs. Peter McMahon came to Marshall County in the year 1880 by covered
wagon and settled in a tenant house on the Nicholas Orr farm north of Beattie.
Soon after, they bought a farm east of the FritzGerald homeplace, northeast
of Beattie.
On January 30, 1893, they sold the farm and moved into town where Mr.
McMahon engaged in the lumber and coal business. In 1905 he purchased
the N. T. Waters lumber business and combined the two yards.
In 1922 he sold out and retired, remaining in Beattie. Mr. McMahon
was Mayor of the city from 1915 to 1921 and served on the council a number
of years.
Mr. and Mrs. McMahon were the parents of four boys and two girls.
Mrs. Laura McMahon Hofman resides in Beattie.
Martin McMahon, son of Peter and Rachel McMahon started with a small
produce station in 1914 which grew to a large produce plant at the railroad
and five sub-stations by 1932. He also operated seven trucks making
regular pickups of farmers produce. He did Interstate car lot shipments
of dressed poultry, eggs and cream. In the busy seasons he employed
as many as sixty employees. He was always interested in farming and
farmers.
JAMES D. NEWTON
James D. Newton came here in 1875 and soon became interested in the stone
deposit, which was located on the FitzGerald farm. He soon had partners
and under the firm name of J. D. Newton and Company was instrumental in
the development of the quarry. They shipped between 800 and 900 carloads
of stone per year. He was concerned with the building of the stone
buildings here in Beattie. In 1871 he married Eliza Gates in New
York and they had six children. Adamantha is remembered as County
Register of Deeds for many years. Mabel married R. J. Wills and he
was Superintendent of the Beattie School from 1924 to 1928. Mrs.
Wills taught in high school at the same time.
PATRICK O'NEIL
Patrick O'Neil was born in Ireland in 1829 and worked in his native land
until he was 19 years old. Then he decided to come to America and
settled in Virginia.
Mary Conner came from Ireland when she was 18 years old and also settled
in Virginia. After a few years she married Patrick O'Neil and they
established their first home in St. Louis, later they moved to Leavenworth
and remained there for seven years, when in 1862 they came to Guittard
Township. Their first residence here was a log cabin. They
were the parents of three children, Dennis, Timothy P. and Johanna O'Neil
Menehon.
T. P. O'NEIL
T. P. O'Neil was born in Guittard Township in 1862 and was the son of Patrick
and Mary (Connor) O'Neil. He received his education in a log school
house in his home township. In 1885 he married Mary McDonald and
they became parents of six children; John lives in Beattie and Maurice
lives on the edge of town. Several grandchildren live in and near
Beattie. In Mr. O'Neil's later years he was associated with P. C.
Reilly in the Real Estate business.
WILLIAM PRICE
William Price, contractor and builder, was born in Ross, England in 1861.
He came to America at the age of 20 in 1881 and went to the home of his
uncle, Peter Jones, who lived in the stone house north of Beattie.
He was married to Mary Ann Jones at the Peter Jones home in March, 1888.
She came from England to be married in Beattie.
William Price worked with James Newton when the McCoy building was erected.
He also worked on the Marion Hawk residence and was contractor for the
stone Opera House and the McReynolds residence (owned now by P. R. Hellse.)
He also spent many years in railroad work, employed by the Union Pacific.
For five years he was stationed at Omaha as building supervisor of the
headquarters building. He was Bridge and Building Foreman on the
Nebraska Division for many years. He started his railroad work on
the St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad constructing water tanks.
He died at his home in Beattie on May 20, 1919, His son, Oliver, returned
home from World War I just in time for his service at the Methodist Church.
Of his six children, Oliver, William and Gladys still live in the old
home at Beattie.
ROLEY S. PAULEY
R. S. Pauley, farmer and state senator from this district was born in Indiana
in 1849 and came here in 187 8. He married Nora Totten in 1881 and eight
children were born to this couple. Cora, who married Terry Wuester,
lives near Centralia, Kansas.
Wm. POTTER
Judge Potter, as we remember him, came to Marshall County with his parents
when he was 14 years old. After high school he was employed in a
drug store at Marysville, then in a general store. For ten years
he was a traveling salesman for a photographer's supply house. From
1903 to 1908 he managed the home farm and in 1908 became associated with
the Bank of Beattie. In 1910 he was elected Probate Judge of Marshall
County which he held for many years. In 1908 he married Blanche Burnside
whose parents were pioneers of the Beattie community.
JOHN RUEGER
John Rueger was born in Wisconsin in 1863, the son of parents who were
born in Germany. John was 10 years old when he came to Kansas with
his parents. As a lad he worked for six dollars per month on the
farm and for 31 years he worked for Xavier Guittard who owned the section
of land where John Rueger bought 160 acres. having earned the money during
the many years of labor on the Place. In 1907 he was married to Mary
Wiler, who was born in Switzerland in 1878 They had three children the
late Eugene Rueger, Arthur an Ambrose who are farmers near Beattie.
Ambrose lives on the home farm.
JAKE V. SCHLEIGH
Jake Schleigh was born in Ohio in 1842 and died in Beattie in 1930.
In 1876 he moved to Beattie and took charge of the Sherman House.
He bought property where the parochial school house now stands and lived
there more than half century. He belonged to the G.A.R. No. 101 of
Beattie. Mr. and Mrs. Schleigh came to Kansas in a Prairie Schooner.
The young folks delighted in teasing Mr. Schleigh on Halloween night.
STEPHEN SHELDON
Stephen Sheldon was born in Ohio in 1851. In 1878 he came to Beattie,
then a small railroad station, and went with his brother Julius into the
lumber business for three or four years. He also farmed and finally
joined Jones in the firm of Jones & Sheldon in the livery business;
the firm also had a sale stable.
DR. JULUIS SHELDON
Dr. Juluis Sheldon enlisted for service in the Union Army and soon went
to the front. After his military service he and his wife settled
in Seneca where he had a doctors office and where his health later failed.
Believing that life on the open prairie would be beneficial to his health,
he bought a farm in Guittard Township. When the railroad came Dr.
Sheldon established his office and home at the new railway station not
far from his farm, and he became known as "the father of Beattie." He was
in the lumber business; started the first bank, now the First National
Bank and in other ways did all in his power to promote the new town.
His health failed again but some of his old patients would not permit him
to find the retirement he sought. Members of his lodge at Seneca
chartered a special train after his death In order to make the trip to
Beattie to attend his funeral.
A. D. STOSZ
A.D. Stosz, one of our earlier business men, operated a shoe repair shop
for many years. His residence and shop still remain on main street
and is now owned by Mrs. Ethel Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Stosz were the
parents of five children, those remaining in the Beattie community were
Carl, J. D. and Nora who taught school in Wichita but always considered
Beattie her home. She is the only one of these three living and presently
resides in Wichita.
JOE THORN SR.
Mrs. Joe Thorn, Sr. the grandmother of Joe Thorn now living east of Beattie,
wrote to Mayor Beattie years ago at his request, telling of her early life
in Kansas. "There were no schools to go to here and there were more
Indians than white folks. When there were schools, teachers had to
teach three months of school before they could draw any state money." When
the ladies needed a new calico dress for church and dances, they would
drop corn for fifteen cents a day and earn money to buy the material.
They hauled their corn to Fort Kearney with an ox team where they got one
dollar a bushel, while at Marysville they received only ten cents per bushel.
There were no corn shellers in those days and Mrs. Thorn shelled 40 bushels
by hand all by herself. They cut their wheat with a cradle and bound
it with straw, then threshed it with a flail.
When they wanted to write to a friend they went to the hen house and
got a quill to make a pen and made the ink from maple bark.
JOSEPH TOTTEN
Joseph Totten, one of the earliest settlers, came to this region when there
were only five or six families within the limits of the township.
He settled here In 1858 on a farm north of town and built a substantial
stone house and various other buildings. They were the parents of
twelve children. One of the children, Frank Totten, the father of
Francis Totten, now living in the south part of Beattie, lived on the old
home farm north of town until he retired and moved to south Beattie.
Joseph Totten was the first settler to bring cats to Kansas over the
Missouri River from St. Joseph, Missouri. A tom cat cost one dollar
and tabbies were sold for five dollars.
MILO TUCKER
Milo Tucker was born in Pennsylvania in 1833. He farmed in Indiana,
then Iowa and in 1862, enlisted as a Union soldier and was assigned to
Tennessee. Due to contracting rheumatism he accepted his honorable
discharge and returned to Iowa for one year then moved to Pawnee City,
Nebraska where he farmed until 1872. He was married in 1855 to Sarah
Small, a native of Indiana. They came to the Beattie area in 1872.
Retiring from farm life in 1880, he established himself as a grocer
and owner of a meat market in Beattie. They were the parents of the
following children: Martha, Theron, Samuel, Thomas, Sarah, Lena and Milo.
Tom Tucker, his son also had a meat market in Beattie for a number of
years. A descendant of the Tucker family still living around Beattie
is Lee Miller who is the son of Alice Tucker who married the late Roy Miller.
J. T. WATKINS
The east half of the town of Beattie lies on J. T. Watkins' original half
section which he purchased from the Government in 1860 while still in Indiana.
Beattie was incorporated in 1884. Mr. Watkins was chosen on its first
council and later served several terms as mayor.
JAMES WEIS
James Weis was born in Germany in 1851 as a young man he learned the blacksmith
trade. He came to the United States in 1869 and settled in Pawnee
City, Nebraska. In 1876 he came to Beattie and started his blacksmith
shop on Main street. He was twice burnt out. He often shoed
25 to 30 horses and mules every day. In 1895 he built the two story
building and retired in 1919.
Mr. Weis was married to Sarah Nelms and they were parents of one boy
and three girls. The boy and one girl died at an early age, the other
two girls were Anna Haddan Marysville and Vila McMahon, who made her home
in Beattie.
J. R. WILCOX
J. R. Wilcox was one of the best known men of Guittard Township as he was
the first rural mailcarrier out of Beattie. In 1898 he was selected
as star route carrier of the mails to Guittard station. In 1871 he
purchased a farm and In 1902 sold out and moved into Beattie. Mr.
Wilcox was loved by the children on the route, and returned their affection
by carrying a black bag filled with treats for them. William Lord
(father of Stella and Andy) was also a rural carrier at the time of Mr.
Wilcox.
ABRAHAM WUESTER
Abraham Wuester was born in Bavaria, Germany and he came to America when
he was a young man. He worked In New Orleans, Vincennes, Indiana
and St. Louis. It was there that he met and married Marguerite Bauer.
They came to Kansas In 1859 and settled in Guittard township. Mr.
Wuester bought a tract of land three and one-half miles northwest of the
present site of Beattie for $1.25 per acre. Soon after they came
to Kansas they endured a drought that lasted 16 months. Mr. Wuester
was employed by George Guittard during the day time and plowed his own
fields with an oxen team at night. As times grew more prosperous,
in the year 1876, Mr. Wuester built one of the finest stone houses in Marshall
County. This house has recently been remodeled and is the home of
a grandson, Mr. and Mrs. Glen Wuester. Abraham and Marguerite Wuester
were the parents of eight children: Joseph, Charles, William, August, Mary,
Marguerite, Abalonia and Charlotte. Grandchildren now living in the
Beattie area are Glen Wuester and his sister, Pauline Bell, children of
Charles; and Mrs. Vera Seaman, daughter of William.
JOE B. WUESTER
Joe B. Wuester, of German descent, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri in
1858. When two years old he came to Marshall County with his parents
and located on a farm three miles north of Beattie where he grew to manhood.
He remained on the farm until 1884 when he went into general mercantile
and grain business in Home City which he owned for about 20 years.
In 1904 he organized the State Bank of Home City. He was united in
marriage to Miss Rosa Schuarz and they had three children: William who
died at the age of five years, Joseph W. and Charlotte R. Harry, both of
whom remained in Home City.
JACOB WULLSCHLEGER
Jacob Wullschleger was a native of Switzerland, born there in 1859.
Early in life he learned the carpenter trade from his father, and he and
his brother Robert, worked there until 1882 when they came to the United
States. In 1884, they located at Marysville where they had lots of
work as carpenters for 28 years. Many of the best buildings, not
only in Marysville, but in other parts of the county and surrounding counties
were erected by them. In 1907, Jacob purchased a farm south of Beattie.
To Mr. and Mrs. Wullschleger, six children were born and who we remember
as Otto, Anna, Ida, Huldah, Ernest and Walter.
A descendant, Otto Wullschleger was very interested in history, collections
and antiques.