The Democratic party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Sullivan and his father before him was a Democrat. He and his family are members of the Catholic church which was the faith of their fathers. He finds time to give attention to the social side of life, and is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Atchison. Mr. Sullivan is a thorough Kansan, and is proud to be numbered among the real pioneers of Atchison county, and in his opinion there is no better spot than the county which has always been his home.
JOHN FLEMING.
John Fleming, a successful merchant of Atchison, was born October 29, 1864, in Holland. When four years old his parents left the land of their birth and came to America in 1868. He was one of twins, the other twin brother dying during the ocean voyage to America. His parents were Lambert and Rosena (Johnson) Fleming, who set out from their native land imbued with the desire to better their condition in America and finally located in Atchison. The elder Fleming had been a skilled wooden-shoe maker in his native land, and he plied his trade in Atchison, being able to market the product of his skilled workmanship through the kindly assistance of John Ratterman, who exchanged groceries and the necessities of life for the shoes which Mr. Fleming made. The family finally located on a farm south of Atchison, and resided there until the death of the father in 1882, at which time John, his mother and two sisters, Bertha, now widow of Henry Nass, deceased: Ida Van Benthen, residing at Seventeenth and Atchison streets, removed to Atchison.
John Fleming was four years old when his parents took up their residence in Atchison county, and he was reared on the farm, south of the city, attending the district schools, and was able to secure a limited education in this manner. Upon coming to the city to reside he worked in various grocery stores for several years. With true thrift, for which those of Holland birth are noted the world over, he carefully saved his money over and above actual living expenses, and in 1898, equipped with a capital of $500, he started in business with this amount and some borrowed money. For over seventeen years he has been conducting a grocery business at 321 North Seventh street and his business has been constantly on the increase. The demands of his growing trade and the expansion of his business became such that in 1907 it became necessary for him to erect the modern brick buildings which now houses his excellent stock of goods at 321 North Seventh street. It is one of the most attractive and best kept establishments of the kind in the city, and is noted for the tasteful manner in which the goods of the very best quality are displayed and the unvarying courtesy with which the patrons are treated. Prosperity has come to Mr. Fleming, and in 1908 he invested his surplus in the erection of a four-suite apartment house, each apartment of which contains six rooms. He is also the owner of other real estate in north Atchison, and is rated as one of the city’s enterprising and progressive business men.
Mr. Fleming was married in 1889 to Emma C. Hilligoss, a daughter of Alfred and Anna Eliza (McLain) Hilligoss, who located in Atchison when she was twelve years of age. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fleming, four living: William J., associated with his father in the grocery business; Henry A., also his father’s assistant; Agnes R., John Edwin; Bertha died at the age of four years; Ruth died in infancy, and Theodore died at the age of four months.
Mr. Fleming is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is fraternally connected with the Modern Woodmen of America.
MARK H. HULINGS.
For an Atchison county man to start out in life with a capital of fifteen dollars, which was given to him by a loving mother, with the injunction that he purchase an article for personal adornment, and then to invest said fifteen dollars in a span of mules, which became the nucleus to a fortune, and for this citizen to rise to the position of being one of the large landed proprietors of Kansas, sounds like a tale from modern fiction. But the tale is true, and the incident which marked the starting point of the career of Mark H. Hulings, of Center township, is the keystone of the man’s character, and shows wherein lies the material from which he was created. Mr. Hulings decided that a pair of mules would do him more material good than adorning his person, and therein used rare and capable judgment. Mr. Hulings is a Kansas man, who during a career in agricultural pursuits embracing but little more than thirty years, has achieved a success which is truly remarkable. Not content with just common every-day farming, as has been practiced with indifferent success by others, Mr. Hulings became a specialist and has taken his rightful place among the many skilled cattle breeders of this county, who in time to come will receive the credit and honors which are theirs by right. By industry, persistence, intelligence, and keen financial judgment he has risen to become one of the leading farmers of Atchison county and Kansas. Born in the old Buckeye State, of Virginia parents, he is a loyal and steadfast Kansan, and takes pride in the fact that he is one of the real pioneers of this section of a great State.
Mark H. Hulings, farmer and stockman, of Center township, was born February 14, 1862, at Walnut Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a son of Samuel and Louise (Brown) Hulings. They had four children, as follows: Mrs. Lillie High, widow, Atchison, Kan.; Cincinnatus, deceased; Mark, the subject of this sketch, and Ruth J., twins, the latter deceased. The father was born in what is now West Virginia in 1832. He was a baker by trade, and his early days were spent on a steamboat, where he was employed as a cook and baker. When a young man he came to Cincinnati, where he worked for some time, and then he began farming. In 1867 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land, and built a seven-room house of brick, which was considered a fine residence in that day. He was a successful farmer and his crops were always good, with the exception of one year when they were destroyed by the grasshoppers. The father conducted his farm until his death in 1898. The mother was born in New York and died about 1905, aged about seventy years. An accident in an Atchison hardware store elevator which injured her leg led to her death.
Mark Hulings attended the school in District No. 28, Center township, and later the Pardee Seminary. When he started out in life for himself he had only fifteen dollars which his mother gave him to buy a ring for himself. But caring little for personal jewelry, bought a span of mules instead, for which he paid the fifteen dollars as the first payment. This was his first investment, but it was a profitable one, and he has continued to invest until he is now an extensive land owner. He and his brother, Cincinnatus, bought land of their own after their parents died, and farmed together about eight years when each bought a farm of his own. Mark bought land in Center township and now owns 810 acres, a large part of which is well improved. He was a breeder of registered Hereford cattle for a time, but now devotes his attention to Shorthorns. He has worked his way to the first rank of Atchison county farmers, and now holds land that makes him one of the largest land owners of the county. On April 27, 1890, he married Emma Sharpless, who was born September 22, 1871, in Delaware. (See sketch of U. B. Sharpless for a sketch of the Sharpless family history.) To Mr. and Mrs. Hulings have been born two children: Mark S. and Susie E., living at home. Mr. Hulings is a Republican. He and his wife and children are members of the Christian church at Farmington.