JOHN McINTEER.
John McInteer was a builder who had an abiding faith in the eventual development of the West. He was a pioneer citizen of Atchison, and a prominent figure in the city for over forty-five years, and had an intimate acquaintance with the sturdy characters who had much to do with the development of the Sunflower State. He came to Atchison in the days when the great wagon trains left in a continuous, and often unbroken, stream for the Far West with their valuable cargoes of freight. So great was his confidence in the ultimate growth of his adopted city that he invested his savings in real property, built of brick and stone, which are still standing in the city. The handsome McInteer block on Commercial street is a monument to his enterprise and faith in the growth of the city. Mr. McInteer was well and favorably known among the coterie of famous men who have cast luster upon Atchison and the State of Kansas. He was a consistent and unremitting booster for his home city and State, and the substantial fortune and good name which he left behind prove his judgment and business acumen to have been sound and essentially correct.
Mr. McInteer was born in Donegal, Ireland, in 1827, and immigrated to America alone when a boy. He had heard of the wonders of the new land across the ocean, and dreamed of one day sailing across the waters of the broad Atlantic to the land of the free, there to seek his fortune. How his dream came true is told in the succeeding paragraphs. His first employment was in Philadelphia as a laborer. Opportunity did not seem to beckon to him in the “City of Brotherly Love” sufficient to hold him, however, and he turned his face still farther to the westward, going to the newer State of Indiana, where he learned the trade of harness maker. He first started a business of his own in Jeffersonville, Ind. While busily engaged in this Ohio river town in plying his trade with a fair modicum of success, he heard of the opening up of the vast stretches of land west of the Missouri river. His Celtic imagination was still working and he pictured to himself the possibilities of realizing his ambitions in one of the new cities of Kansas. His decision was soon made; he heeded the famous Greeley’s advice, “Go West, young man, go West, and grow up with the country.” Accordingly, he sold out his little shop and started for Omaha. On the way up the Missouri river his wife was taken ill and he changed his plans to the extent of stopping in Doniphan county, Kansas, and taking up a homestead. One year later he traded his claim for a lot at Eighth and Commercial streets in Atchison. Upon this lot he built a small shop, where he again began the manufacture of harness and saddles. For several years he supplied the great overland trains which passed to the Far West. His trade grew and he was compelled to enlarge his quarters and engaged in the manufacture of harness and saddles on an extensive scale. As he prospered and accumulated capital he erected buildings and invested in real estate in Atchison and the nearby city of St. Joseph. He also erected a modern brick residence where his widow now lives. He died July 17, 1901.
He was twice married, his first wife being Alice Conley, who died in 1892 without issue. In 1895 he married Mrs. Anna (Conlon) Donovan, of Montreal, Canada, whose parents, James and Anna Conlon, were well known citizens of Atchison, and whose personal history will be found in the biography of Charles J. Conlon, brother of Mrs. McInteer. Mrs. McInteer was reared in Atchison, returned to New York with her parents, and was there married to Peter Donovan, who was a customs officer under the Canadian Government at Montreal. He died in Montreal in 1891. Three sons were born of this marriage: Peter Donovan, a widely known journalist, of Toronto, now a contributor to the Toronto Saturday Night; Fred, in the insurance and real estate business in Atchison; Charles, a farmer and stockman, residing with his mother.
Mr. McInteer was a member of the Catholic church, and a liberal contributor to his own and other religious denominations. He was one of those big-hearted, whole-souled gentlemen, who was a friend to all, and who was highly regarded for his many excellent qualities of heart and mind. He was independent in politics. The foregoing brief review is thus contributed to the history of Atchison county in order that it be placed on record for all time, and perchance, prove an inspiration for other young men, poor in purse, whose destiny is yet to be worked out, and who probably dream of accumulating wealth or a competence in their generation.