The following short biographies of old settlers are of those whom we did not interview, some of whom have gone across the Great Divide. Those whom we were able to see are mentioned in another section of this issue. The data may not be correct, but is as nearly so as it is possible to get it.
These people have helped to make Norton county; they have paved the way for the great prosperity that we enjoy today.
To those whose names appear this way, we wish that we might have written your biography more fully, you have helped, for you came when it took strong men to brave the dangers of the almost wilderness.
Norton county still remembers you, whether you have stayed with us or not, and wished you peace, prosperity and happiness. Some we have not been able to mention for you left no trail and we could not find you.
Good luck to you, Old Timer, you will never be forgotten, and a grateful people in the best county in the best state in the Union remembers that you helped to make it so. (page 50)
Abbott, Hiram D., came in 1878. (page 50)
Adams, Wilson, born in Ohio in 1836. He served in the Civil War. Came to this county in 1878 and homesteaded in Aldine township. He served four terms as probate judge and was marshall [sic] of this city at one time. He now resides at Adrain (sic), Mo. (page 50)
Aiken, William, came to Norton county in 1872 and settled in Almena township. (page 51)
Allman, Frank, came to the county in 1879. He drove stage for some time. Now lives near Clayton. (page 50)
Alsop, Henry, came from New York in 1872. (page 50)
Ames, Elmer E., one of the staunch and prominent early settlers of Norton county, also a prominent banker, is president of the First National Bank of Norton; is interested in several other banks and business institutions. He now resides in Topeka. (page 50)
Anderson, Geo. K., was born in Goldsburg, Illinois in 1847. Came to Norton county in 1879. His wife died in 1889. Mr. Anderson still lives at Norton, where he runs a feed yard. (page 50)
Anderson, Newt, came to the Co. in 1877, and homesteaded in Aldine township. He opened a blacksmith shop at Norton, and afterward moved to Arkansaw (sic) where he died in 1893. (page 50)
Andes, Nate, came to the county in 1873 and was killed by the Indians in the next year. (page 50)
Anglund, Eric, was born in Sweden in 1845 and came to Norton county in 1877 and homesteaded three miles northwest of the city of Norton. He was the father of six children, five of whom, together with his widow are still living. Mr. Anglund died in 1915. (page 50)
Aplington – see also Applington
Aplington, Nathan, came to Norton county in 1872, but later moved to Oregon. (page 50)
Applegate, Ira, came to the county in 1872. He afterwards moved to Cheyenne county, but returned again to Norton county, where he still lives. (page 50)
Applegate, Peter, settled on the Rock Branch in 1872 and afterwards moved to Arkansaw [sic] where he now runs a mill. (page 50)
Applington, Erastus W., came to the county in 1874. He married Millie Wily of Long Island and they later moved to Colorado. (page 50-51)
Armstrong, James, came here in 1880 and opened a land office at Norton. His present whereabouts is unknown. (page 51)
Atkinson, Geo. L., was born in Ohio in 1884 [1844 in other sources] and came to this country [sic] the same year. He was a veteran of the Civil War. Mr. Atkinson married Emma Spencer and they have eight children. He still lives eleven miles northwest of Norton. (page 51)
Atkinson, Morrison L. came to Norton county from Iowa in 1872 and settled five miles east of Norton. He moved to Colorado later. (page 51)
Atterbury, Henry Thomas, came to Norton county in 1872. He died a few years ago. (page 51)
Bacon, Peter, came to Norton county in 1874 and settled two miles south of Lenora. He died in Texas. (page 51)
Bakelaar, George, was born in 1835 at Goedereed, Holland. He came to Norton county in 1872 and still resides here. (page 51)
Baker, Andrew Jackson, came to the county in 1879. He served as probate judge at one time. He moved west in the nineties. (page 51)
Baker, Frank H., was born in Virginia in 1862 and he and his father, Rev. W. H. Baker settled near the old town site of Leota. W. H. Baker preached in Norton county until 1890 and died in 1891. In 1892 F. H. Baker was elected County Supt. He died some years ago and was buried at Norton. (page 51)
Baker, Nat L., was the first newspaper man to come to Norton county and he ran the first newspaper at Leota. He was at one time Register of Deeds. (page 51)
Baldwin, George, was born in Madison county in 1839 and came to this county in 1872, and settled two miles west of Almena on the Prairie Dog. (page 51)
Ballinger, Joseph, came to the county in 1879 and still resides at Norton. (page 51)
Bancroft, Dr. M. L., was born in New York in 1865, coming to this county in 1879, and was the first dentist to settle permanently in Norton county. He was a veteran of the Civil War [How could he be a veteran of the Civil War if born in 1865?] , and now resides Greenleaf, Kansas. (page 51)
Banta, Judge J. A., represented this district in the state senate in 1873 and when the 15th judicial district was organized, Gov. Osborne appointed him district Judge. He died in 1887. (page 51)
Barlow, Fred, came here in 1878 and settled in Modell township. He was a candidate for sheriff in 1879 but was defeated for the nomination. In 1882 he moved to Aspen, Colo. (page 51)
Barnard [Bernard], H. [Hiram] C., came to Norton county in 1879 where he died in 1894. (page 51)
Barnett, Jake, came here in the year 1873 and stayed about one year. (page 51)
Barstow, M. D., was born in 1854 in New York state. He was a writer of some note, and was court stenographer at one time.
Bartels, Jacob, came in 1875 and settled three miles south of Almena, where he still resides. (page 51)
Bartlett, Elder S. D., came to Norton county in the spring of 1880 and preached at the Christian church until late fall of the same year, when he left. (page 51)
Bass, Oscar, came to this county in 1872. He went back to Iowa in 1874. (page 51)
Bean, Laird, came with his three sons, A.W., Delos, and Ulysses, in 1878, and he still resides at Lenora. (page 51)
Beaumont, Thomas, came here in 1873 and settled on the Solomon. He taught school and served one year as county attorney and was afterward appointed to a clerkship at Washington, D.C. in 1890. (page 51)
Beck, David Fulton, was born in Pennsylvania in 1830 and came to this county in 1877 where he homesteaded in Sand Creek township. He died some years ago. (page 51)
Beckett, V. C., was born in Mich. in 1853. He was a good newspaper man and a clever writer. He came to Norton county in 1879 and left in 1881. While here he and L. H. Gowdy ran the Advance. Mr. Beckett died in Springfield, Mo. in 1893. (page 51)
Bender, Christ, came here in 1873 and was the first postmaster at Long Branch. He left in 1875. (page 51)
[Bernard – see also Barnard]
Betterton, G. R., a veteran of the Civil War, justice of the peace of Aldine township for five years, elected sheriff in 1893 served four years, was born in Clinton county, Ohio in 1843 and came to Norton county in 1885. He died a few years ago in Colorado. (page 51)
Bieber, Abraham, came to this county in 1872 and died here in 1875. (page 51)
Bieber, Charles D., was born in Pennsylvania in 1839 and came to this county in 1872. He is a veteran of the Civil War and still lives at Calvert. (page 51)
Bieber, John, came to Norton county in 1872 and homesteaded the land where Calvert now stands. He married Mollie Fisher in 1879. Mr. Bieber was elected sheriff in 1873 and elected trustee of Center township in the same year and took the first assessment of the township that year. He died in the early part of the Twentieth Century. (page 51)
Billings, N. H., circulated and forged the petitions that was instrumental in influencing Gov. Harvey to organize Norton county. Billings came in 1872. He was elected to the legislature, but did not serve his term out, leaving, and has never been heard of since. He was a fortune hunter and succeeded in having the county named after him – Billings, also Billingsville. Billingsville soon died, and the county was renamed “Norton.” Today Billings is known only to a few old settlers who remember him personally. (page 51)
Bisbee, J. W., came to this county in 1879 and settled at Devizes and died there in 1883. (page 51)
Bisbee, Reuben, was born at Bellow Falls, N.H. in 1805. He was the first postmaster of Devizes, and it was he who named the office. He laid out the land where the cemetery now is and was laid to rest in it in 1887. (page 51)
Blackford, Isaac, a veteran of the Civil War came to Norton county in 1873. He died in 1892. (page 52)
Blanding, Deville R., was born in New York in 1828 and came to this county in 1874 and took a homestead in the north part of the county. He named Aldine township and died some time ago in Norton. (page 51)
Blue, D.A., was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1844, was a veteran of the Civil War. He came to the county in 1878. He still lives at Clayton. (page 52)
Boddy, Joseph, came to this county from New York in 1879. He was born in 1834 and died in 1908 and was buried in the Norton cemetery. (page 52)
Boles, David E., was born in 1843 in Monroe county, Ind. and moved to this county in 1879. He helped to organize a school district in 1880, and the school still bears his name. He died some years ago in Norton. (page 52)
Booher, Gideon, came in 1879, organized Harrison township, and suggested the name. He died some years ago in Norton. (page 52)
Botsford, Gideon B., was born in 1835 in Conn. He came to this county in 1878 and homesteaded in Garfield township. He is a Civil War veteran. (page 52)
Bower, W. J., was born in 1847 in Geauga county Ohio. Came to Norton 1879 and settled on a homestead four miles south of this city. In 1884 he moved to Norton and engaged in the furniture business. (page 52)
Boyington, Frank, came to the county in 1874 but left soon after. (page 52)
Boys, W. H., was an early attorney of Norton county but was only here a short time. He was associated with Elmer E. Ames in the legal profession, and while here built the house now owned by L. H. Thompson. He was last heard from at Streator, Ill. (page 52)
Bozarth, Perry, came to Norton from Iowa in 1879. (page 52)
Brazee, Charles, came to this county in 1873 and still lives six miles west of Norton. (page 52)
Briggs, John Story, was born in Pennsylvania in 1839 and came to this county in 1872. The same year he was married to Dr. Phoebe Amelia Oliver, who practiced medicine, and too much praise cannot be given this noble woman, who suffered the hardships of pioneer life sometimes going 60 miles on horseback or even on foot […illegible…] a patient who needed medical attention. Mr. Briggs died some years ago at Troy, Kansas. Mrs. Briggs still lives at Troy, but has land interests in Norton which bring her here for an occasional visit. (page 52)
Brinton, Chas., came in 1872. Later he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he died some years ago. (page 52)
Brock, Geo. W., came in 1872 and settled on the Solomon. He was the first postmaster of Lenora. (page 52)
Bronson see Brownson
Brooks, H. A., came here in 1878 and served as county commissioner and he also practiced medicine. (page 52)
Broquet, Ernest, was born in France and came to this county in 1878. He at one time was in the mercantile business and died at Leavenworth in 1905. (page 52)
Brown, David, came to Norton co. from Pennsylvania in 1885. He died a few years ago at Norton. (page 52)
Brown, John, came to Norton county in 1878 and homesteaded four miles northwest of Norton. He afterward moved to Nebraska. (page 52)
Brown, John C., was born in New York in 1853 and came to Norton county in 1881. He was a member of the Norton city council in 1886, justice of the peace for Center township in 1888 and was appointed U.S. commissioner in 1890. He now lives at Lansing. (page 52)
Brown, M. F., came to Norton county in 1878. He was in the mercantile business here for a number of years and still resides here. (page 52)
Brown, Thomas, came to the county in 1873 and homesteaded here, and still lives seven miles northwest of town. (page 52)
Brownson, Chas. Byron, was born in Mich. in 1854. Came to the county in 1878 and was trustee of Garfield township in 1888, 1891 and in 1892. He now lives at Hitchcock, Colo. (page 52)
Brownson [Bronson], G.W., was born in Ohio in 1841; served in the Civil War, and came to Norton county in 1877 where he practiced medicine. He was postmaster of Almena at one time. He now resides at Freewater, Oregon. (page 52)
Bruner, Phillip, was born in Fairfield county in 1843. He came to Norton county in 1873 and homesteaded two and one-half miles from Norton. He was in the mercantile business at Norton for some time. He died in 1887. (page 52)
Burk, I. P., came here in 1876; was justice of the peace for two terms and also Trustee of Leota township. He died at Central City, Neb. in 1915. (page 52)
Burnap, Edwin and Geo., came to Norton county in 1879. Edwin ran a store at Almena, and still lives there. (page 52)
Burnham, Wm. E., came to Norton county in 1879 where he farmed until a few years ago when he died and was buried here. His widow still resides here. (page 52)
Burnham, Ira, came here in 1879 from Iowa and remained until 1883. (page 52)
Burns, Elder H. L., was born in Ohio in 1837. He was a Civil War veteran and one of the first ministers of the county. (page 52)
Burrroughs, Amos S., came here in 1874. His wife taught the first school on the Solomon, west of Lenora. He was a Civil War veteran. Was last heard from in Mich. (page 52)
Burton, Thomas, was born in Harrison county, Ohio in 1839; served in the Civil War, and moved to Norton county in 1886. He was the first president of the State Bank, and a large land owner in the county. He still lives at Norton. (page 52)
Burwell, O. J., one of the old Spring Town company, died in 1912 at Lenora. (page 52)
Butler, Benjamin, came here in 1873 and left in 1874. He died at Beloit in 1914. (page 52)
Butler, D.A., was born in New York in 1879, and came to this county and settled on Long Branch in 1874. He married Sarah Wray in 1869, and they still live on the old home place. (page 52)
Butler, Dick, and his brother Wirt came to this county in 1878. Dick ran a restaurant at Norton in 1880. (page 52)
Butler, Joseph, was born in 1844 in Ill. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and came here in 1873. Mr. Butler is now at Lebanon, Oregon. (page 52)
Button, Lewis Henry, was born in 1848 and came to this county in 1884. He still lives north of Edmond. (page 52)
Button, Oren, came to the county in 1879. He died some years ago at Edmond. (page 53)
Calloway, W.H., came to the county in 1883 and engaged in the grain business. He moved to Greenleaf. (page 53)
Cammack, T.A., came here from Iowa in 1879. He was a carpenter by trade. He died some years ago. (page 53)
Campbell, Adam, was born in Kentucky in 1823. He came to this county in 1874 and settled three miles south of Oronoque. He died there in 1915. (page 53)
Campbell, Erastus, came to Norton county from Nebraska in 1875 and settled on Long Branch. He died some years ago. (page 53)
Campbell, James M., came to Norton county from Bartlett, Iowa, in 1872 and homesteaded here where he still lives. He was captain of the state militia in 1876. (page 53)
Campbell, John, came here in 1872. He still lives on the old homestead. (page 53)
Campbell, Louis, came to Norton county in 1878. He was a Civil War veteran, and died at Almena in 1913. (page 53)
Cannon, Walter, R., was born in Maryland in 1845. Came to Norton in 1879 and was in business here with F. E. Kennedy for some time. He died in 1916, in California. (page 53)
Carlisle, Hugh T., was born in Renselaer county, New York. He was a veteran of the Civil War, and came here where he homesteaded two miles west of Leota. He owned and ran a newspaper called the Norton County People, in 1880. He was always active politically. He was last heard from in New Orleans. (page 53)
Carnine, Levi T., came from Iowa to Norton in 1879. He now lives in Colo. (page 53)
Carnine, Wm., was born in Iowa in 1847; was a Civil War veteran. He moved to Norton county in 1880. Now resides at Colorado Springs. (page 53)
Carpenter, Benjamin S., came to this county in 1877. He taught school and farmed and still resides three miles northwest of town. (page 53)
Case, Job Russell, was born in 1822 in N.Y. He homesteaded one mile northwest of Norton in 1874. Mrs. Case owned a millinery store at Norton in 1880. Mrs. Case at one time was president of the association. He died some years ago. (page 53)
Case, John, was born in Mansfield, N.Y. in 1834. In 1877 he moved to Norton and built the first furniture store at this place. He died in New York in 1893. (page 53)
Case, Sidney M., was born in Penn. in 1851 and moved to this county in 1875. In 1880 he married Phoebe Bickford. Mr. Case still lives at Almena. (page 53)
Case, Sidney W., was born in New York in 1841. He died in 1884. (page 53)
Case, W. E., was born at Woodstock, Vermont, and came to Norton in 1872. He was elected clerk of the court in 1873, 1880, 1882, 1884 and in 1886; was appointed superintendent of the census for the Third Kansas District in 1875. He died on Memorial Day 1915, at Cherryvale. (page 53)
Caskey, Thomas, came here in 1878. Died here in 1892. (page 53)
Chapman, Henry, came to this county in 1873 and was murdered the same year by unknown parties. Particulars of this has been given in another part of this history. (page 53)
Clammer, David F., was born in Iowa in 1862. He came to this county in 1886, and at one time was in business here. He now lives at Topeka. (page 53)
Clark, Thomas Bedford, came to the county in 1880 and settled in Garfield township. He died some years ago. (page 53)
Close, David, was born in Holmes county, in 1846, is a veteran of the Civil War, and came to Norton in 1873 and was justice of the peace in 1874 and in business with Phillip Bruner for two years. He afterwards bought the mill and ran it for a number of years. Mr. Close fed the first car of cattle ever shipped to the county. He still lives at Mission, Texas. (page 53)
Cole, Ame, famous buffalo hunter, came to Norton county in 1872 and died some years ago at Phillipsburg, where he is buried. (page 53)
Cole, George, came here in 1871. He took the first homestead and was at one time Register of Deeds. (page 53)
Coleman, David D., the first county clerk of Norton county, came here in 1872 and left the same year. (page 53)
Collins, Elijah T., came to the county in 1872 and ran a mill at Norton at one time. He now resides in Minneapolis, Kansas. (page 53)
Conarty, Edward, was born in 1808 in County Cavan, Ireland and came to Norton county in 1883 where he died in 1893. (page 53)
Conarty, Jack, was born in 1844. He was elected sheriff in 1877 and he still lives near Edmond. (page 53)
Conarty, Joseph, came here in 1884. He still lives in the county. (page 53)
Conarty, Pat H., was born in 1841 and came here in 1874. He is a Civil War veteran and has served as constable of Center township for two terms. At present is mail carrier on route three out of Norton. (page 53)
Conway, D. M., was born in New York in 1858. Came to this county and located in 1880. He resides in Norton. (page 53)
Conway, J. W., was born in New York in 1857. Came to Norton county in the seventies and took land. He is the editor of the Champion, at the present time. (page 53)
Cook, Augustus S., was born in Wabash county, Minn. in 1856. He settled on a farm near Almena in 1875. He started a confectionary [sic] and billiard hall at Almena in 1887. (page 53)
Cook, John, came to the county in 1878 and settled in Garfield township. He now lives at Cherryvale, Kansas. (page 53)
Cope, Isaac Newton, was born in Marion county, Ohio in 1848 and came to Kansas from Wisconsin in 1870. He started the town of Weston and gave it its name. He has always been active in politics but never held any public office. He still lives in Norton and is interested in the garage now run by his son Floyd. (page 53)
Crevlin, Pres, came to the county from Iowa in 1874 and took land four miles northwest of Norton. He left in 1882, and now lives in Davis City, Iowa. (page 53)
Croco, William, came to Norton county in 1878, and was at one time sheriff of the county, and though a quiet man was a good official and a good citizen. He now resides in the state of Washington. (page 53)
Crohan, P. H., came to Norton in 1877. He served as trustee of Emmett township several terms and was postmaster of Calvert from 1889 to 1893. He died at Almena in 1916. (page 53)
Curry, Albert S., came to the county in 1873 and homesteaded here. He died some years ago in California. (page 54)
Curry, James Dickey, was born in 1836 in Union county, Penn. He was a Civil War veteran and was confined to Andersonville prison. He came to the county in 1877. The Oronoque post of the G.A.R. was named after him. Mr. Curry had been a Christian and a member of the Baptist church from his twenty-first year until his death. (page 53)
Curry, James R., was born in 1858. He served as trustee of Center township and is at this time janitor of the Norton high school. (page 54)
Curry, Robert Burns, was born in 1811 in Union county , Ohio. He came to Norton county in 1873 and in 1874 he kept hotel in a log house at Norton. He died some years ago and was buried here. (page 53)
Curry, Ulysses S., was born in 1870 and was a graduate of the Norton county high school and taught for several years. He now lives in Oklahoma. (page 53)