H. C. Graner.
Crowd of prosperous Kansas farmers at H. C. Graner’s Annual Sale of Large Type Poland China Sows, May 27, 1913. Pleasant Hill Stock Farm, Lancaster, Kansas.
In the breeding of Shorthorn cattle he has used such sires as a son of the imported cow, “Ballechin,” “Charming Maid,” V67–616, “Sire Ceremonious Archer,” 171479. A number of the cows in Mr. Graner’s herd are sired by “Victor Archer,” 223102, a pure Victoria, and one of the finest strains of Shorthorn cattle known. Mr. Graner has not shown any of his fine stock cattle outside of Atchison county. He has six large cattle barns for the housing of his live stock and ships the product of his farm to buyers and fanciers in all parts of the United States.
Gottlieb Graner, founder of the “Graner Farm,” and father of William H. and Henry C. Graner, of Lancaster township, was born in Germany in 1835, and immigrated from the Fatherland to America at the age of sixteen years. He first settled in Illinois where he worked as a farm hand, and a few years later came west to Kansas City, Mo. In this city he invested his savings in a city lot which is now in the heart of the most valuable business district of the southwest metropolis, but he eventually let the lot go for taxes. From Kansas City he made his way to the city of Atchison where he found employment in a brewery at a salary of $100 per month. He saved his money and in 1868 purchased 160 acres of raw prairie land in Lancaster township, for which he paid five dollars an acre. He became a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses and succeeded in this undertaking, being one of the pioneer breeders of the western country. At the time of his demise, in 1894, he was the owner of 560 acres of well improved farm lands.
Gottlieb Graner married Martha Hauck, also a native of Germany, and who died in 1905. To this well and favorably known pioneer couple were born the following children: Mrs. Matilda Stansburger, a widow, residing in California; William H., with whose career this review is directly concerned; Henry C., a farmer and stockman, living near William H.; Ferdinand, living in New York, and Adolph, residing in California. Mr. and Mrs. Gottlieb Graner were Lutherans, and honest, industrious, God-fearing people.
William H. Graner was born June 13, 1869, on the farm which he now owns in Lancaster township. He was reared on his father’s farm and attended the Bell district school and also studied in the Monroe Institute at Atchison, after which he pursued a course in the Atchison business college. His commercial course occupied a period of four years and has proven to be invaluable to him in the management of his extensive farming interests. After completing his commercial course Mr. Graner went to work on the home farm with his father. After his father’s demise in 1894 he took charge of the farm and managed it until all the children became of age. The estate left by his father was then divided, and William bought the interests of the other heirs in the home farm and came into possession of the homestead place of 160 acres which he has improved with several barns and modern farm buildings. He has prospered and is now the owner of 560 acres of land, two farms, each of which is well equipped with good buildings. One of these farms is tilled by a tenant, and Mr. Graner had planted in 1915 140 acres of corn.
Mr. Graner was married in 1898 to Miss Clara Matthias, and to this union have been born four children, namely: Martha, deceased; Louis, Marguerite and Esther, at home with their parents. Mrs. Graner was born February 6, 1871, in Lancaster township, a daughter of Fred and Agnes (Bodendoerfer) Matthias, both of whom were natives of Germany and immigrated from the Fatherland to America and became early pioneer settlers in Atchison county. Mrs. Graner attended the Rock district school in her youth and is an excellent helpmeet to her husband and a kind mother to her children.
Mr. Graner is an independent in politics and prefers to vote for the man, regardless of party affiliations. He is a member of the Lutheran church, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Modern Woodmen of America. He is a well educated and versatile citizen and a capable and successful business man, as well as farmer and breeder. He has achieved a considerable measure of prominence in the county and State because of his decided ability. Besides his farming interests he is a stockholder of the Independent Harvester Company of Plano, Ill., of which concern he is the county agent, a large warehouse having keen erected on the “Graner Farm” for the purpose of housing the implement stock sold to farmers in the neighborhood. Mr. Graner is a member and stockholder of the Percheron Society of America, the Importers and Breeders, and the American Percheron Registry Association, and is a member of the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. He is a director in the Brown County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which prosperous concern he has been a director for fifteen years.