A History of Kansas

by Anna E. Arnold

William A. Harris came to Kansas in 1865, at the close of four years of service in the Confederate army, and entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company as a civil engineer. Later he became a well-known farmer and stock raiser. In 1896 he was elected to the State Senate, and in 1897 to the United States Senate. His later years were given to various lines of agricultural advancement. He served as a regent of the State Agricultural College. His death occurred in 1909.

Samuel A. Kingman came to Kansas in 1857. He was a lawyer. He served as a member of the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention. He was associate justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas, 1861 to 1865, and chief justice, 1867 to 1876, when he resigned because of ill health. He died in 1904.

David J. Brewer came to Leavenworth in 1859, where he engaged in the practice of law. He served continuously in various offices. He was associate justice of the State Supreme Court from 1871 to 1884, a judge of the United States Circuit Court from 1884 to 1889, and in 1889 he was commissioned Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, which position he filled until his death in 1910.

John A. Anderson came to Junction City in 1858 as pastor of the Presbyterian church. In 1873 he was made president of the State Agricultural College. He reorganized that institution and remained at its head until 1878, when he was elected to Congress where he served until 1891. He was appointed consul-general to Cairo, Egypt, in 1891. He died on his way back home in the following year.

Francis Huntington Snow was elected to the first faculty of the University of Kansas as professor of mathematics and natural sciences, in 1866. In 1870 he became professor of natural history in the University. He organized the collecting expeditions which have resulted in the extensive natural history museums of the University. He was made Chancellor of the University in 1890, from which position he retired in 1901. He died in 1908.

Edmund G. Ross came to Kansas in 1856. He was a member of the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention and served in the Union army. In 1866 he was appointed to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate caused by the death of James H. Lane. He cast the deciding vote in the Senate against the impeachment of President Johnson, which act aroused great indignation. He engaged in newspaper work until 1882, when he went to New Mexico where he served as Territorial Governor from 1885 to 1889. He died in 1907.

Mrs. C. I. H. Nichols, a writer and lecturer, came with her family to Kansas in 1854. She lived first at Lawrence and then at Wyandotte. She was a strong advocate of a more just understanding of the rights of women. She attended the meetings of the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention, and counseled with the members on all matters relating to women, with the result that the Kansas Constitution was one of the most liberal in the United States at that time. Her death occurred in 1885.

Mrs. Mary A. Bickerdyke, generally known as “Mother Bickerdyke,” served as a nurse during the Civil War. At its close she came to Kansas and was instrumental in assisting soldiers who were left without employment to come to Kansas and take homesteads. Through her efforts aid was given settlers after Indian raids, and she assisted in securing aid for Kansas settlers after the grasshopper invasion. The Mother Bickerdyke Home for soldiers’ widows, at Ellsworth, was named in her honor. After a life of great activity she died in 1901.

Alfred Gray came to Kansas in 1857. With the exception of his period of service in the Union army he was engaged in farming until 1873. From 1866 until 1870 he was a director of the State Agricultural Society. When the State Board of Agriculture was organized, in 1872, he became its first secretary, and filled the position until his death in 1880.

Frederick Wellhouse came to Leavenworth County, Kansas, in 1859. He was engaged in the growing and sale of fruit trees until 1876, when he began planting commercial apple orchards. During the next eighteen years he planted 1637 acres of apple trees. Many years were given to experiments to determine the varieties best adapted to Kansas. He became known throughout the country, and was called “The Apple King.” For ten years he was president of the State Horticultural Society, and was at different times engaged in many public activities. He died in 1911.