Atchison county is principally an agricultural community, and not unlike most sections of the great Middle West, the general wealth and standing of the community is commensurate with the thrift, enterprise and industry of the individual farmers. He whose name introduces this sketch is a representative of that type of men whose efforts have placed Atchison county in the foremost rank of the 110 political sub-divisions of the great state of Kansas.
Arthur S. Schurman is one of the substantial and enterprising agriculturists in Benton township, and has been a resident of the township for the past thirty years. He is the owner of 202 acres of well improved land, which is noted for its excellent yields of grain. For the past ten years Mr. Schurman has been one of the most successful wheat growers in Atchison county, or even in the State. He has produced the great yield of 2,330 bushels of wheat on a tract of eighty acres. A handsome farm residence, tastefully painted a clean white, presents an attractive appearance on a rise of land fronting the highway, which passes east and west in front of his land. This fine home was built by Mr. Schurman in 1911, and comprises eleven rooms in all, with a heating and water pressure system, which completely modernizes the home. The residence is nicely situated in the midst of a fine grove, which affords a generous shade in summer. Mr. Schurman carries on diversified farming and raises a considerable amount of live stock.
Arthur S. Schurman was born January 11, 1864, in Prince Edward Island, Dominion of Canada, and is a son of Caleb Schurman, who was born December 8, 1829, on Prince Edward Island, a son of English parents, who left their native land and settled on the island many years ago. The great-grandfather of Arthur Schurman was a German by birth, who established a home in England. The mother of Arthur S. was Sarah Creswell before her marriage. She was born May 15, 1835, and died on the home place in Benton township, November 15, 1889. When but a child she went from England to Prince Edward Island with her parents. The Schurman family lived on their native island until 1876, and then immigrated to the United States, going first to Des Moines, Iowa, in search of a suitable location. After a residence of eight months in Des Moines, the family came to Atchison, Kan., where Arthur Schurman was employed in a harness shop for three years, and also drove a coal wagon for a retail coal dealer for a time. Caleb Schurman rented a farm south of Atchison, and later bought the farm now owned by his son, Arthur. Four children were born to Caleb and Sarah Schurman, namely: Mrs. J. B. O’Connell, Denver, Colo.; Frederick Robert, a resident of Effingham, Kan.; Percy Ernest, who died in September, 1896, and Arthur S., the oldest of the family.
Arthur Schurman was twelve years of age when the family came to the United States, and received a portion of his schooling in his native land. He remained with his father, and assisted him in developing his Atchison county farm, purchasing the land from his father when he came to man’s estate. Caleb Schurman makes his home with his son, Arthur S., who married in August of 1890, to Emma Pruitt, of Atchison, Kan., a daughter of James Pruitt. This marriage has been blessed with the following children: Sadie Mary, born October 5, 1892, the wife of Fred Dooley, of Lancaster township; Martha, born April 3, 1893: George Herbert, born September 21, 1895; Arthur Ernest, born June 3, 1899, and died October 19, 1900: Ralph, born March 25, 1902.
Mr. Schurman is a Republican, but has never found time to take an active part in political affairs. He was reared in the Episcopalian faith. but the members of his family attend the Christian church at Effingham. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Central Protective Association.
C. A. LILLY, M. D.
C. A. Lilly, M. D., a well known member of the medical profession of Atchison county, is a native of the Buckeye State. He was born at Mansfield, Ohio, and is a son of S. and Clara (Beard) Lilly. The father was a lumberman. Dr. Lilly was reared and educated in Mansfield, Ohio, and Chicago, Ill., and after obtaining a good academic and classical education, he entered the Chicago Medical College in 1897 and was graduated in the class of 1901 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then came to Kansas and engaged in the practice of his profession at Seneca. After remaining there about one year and a half he returned to Chicago and took a post-graduate course in Rush Medical College, and did considerable hospital work. In 1904 he located in Atchison, where he has since been successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and has one of the extensive practices of Atchison county. He has been division surgeon for the Missouri Pacific railroad since 1911.
Dr. Lilly was united in marriage in 1902 to Miss Isabel Smith, of Hiawatha, Kan. Dr. Lilly is a member of the Northeastern Kansas and the Missouri Valley Medical associations and also belongs to the County, State and American Medical association.
FRANK J. WATOWA.
Frank T. Watowa, a successful farmer of Shannon township, Atchison county, was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, October 3, 1854, and is a son of Joseph and Catherine Watowa, natives of Austria, who emigrated from their native land to Wisconsin where they resided until 1860, when they came to Missouri, locating in Buchanan county. About 1870 the family came to Atchison and located on a farm in Shannon township where his son, Joseph H. Watowa, now resides. The father died in 1895. Frank J. Watowa is one of a family of seven children, born to Joseph and Catherine Watowa, as follows: Mary, Henry, Joseph H., Mollie, Earnest, Paullina and Frank.