 |
J. B. Llynn, Winfield Merchant, Hog Handler
In February 1874 Mr. J. B. Lynn, thirty-four years of age, moved from Olathe, Johnson County, Kansas, to Winfield, Kansas, where he opened up a dry goods and grocery store in a building that he rented on the west side of Main Street and the corner of Eighth Avenue, one door south of Capt. Davis’ Livery Stable and opposite the Lagonda House. The building had formerly been occupied by A. B. Close & Samuel W. Greer, dealers in school and household furniture, who also handled coffins and undertaking. Mr. Lynn later bought the lot and building and by September 1874 had to lengthen his store thirty feet due to business being very good, making the store seventy feet in depth. He advertised at that time that he would sell for cash or produce. In November 1874 “J. B. Lynn & Co.” became a dealer in dry goods, groceries, hats, caps, queensware, etc. During that same month the company began to publish in the Winfield Plow and Anvil a weekly report on the “Winfield Wholesale & Retail Market.” In July 1875 the company started issuing an advertising paper.
Mr. Lynn almost lost a child in July 1875 when it was bitten by a copperhead snake.
In late August 1875 J. B. Lynn & Co. requested all persons indebted to the company to make settlement by September 5, 1875. (This became a regular practice from time to time and Mr. Lynn collected his money in various ways.) In March 1876 it was noted in the Winfield Courier that fifteen old store accounts advertised by Mr. Lynn for sale at auction had about all been sold at private sale.
J. B. Lynn and M. L. Robinson, of Winfield, were on the board of directors of the Ft. Scott, Winfield and Western railroad in April 1876.
On May 17, 1876, Mr. Lynn and his “drummer” companions, Dick Wilson and a Mr. Huffman, had a narrow escape when crossing the Walnut river on their return from Arkansas City. The west side of the ford was in a bad condition, having been washed out by a recent flood. The buggy was upset on top of the pony in about three feet of water. All three escaped drowning due to the force of the water turning the buggy off of them. Mr. Lynn lost 6,000 bushels of corn standing in the crib as a result of the flood.
In August 1876 J. B. Lynn purchased nine acres of land adjoining Winfield and began to engage extensively in the hog business along with retaining control of J. B. Lynn & Co.
Lynn was a prominent member of the Cowley County Democratic party, serving on the county central committee in 1876 and became a charter member of the “Evening Star Club.”
J. B. Lynn, Jas. E. Platter, D. A. Millington, and J. Wade McDonald were members of the Winfield Township committee that met with taxpayers on February 17, 1877, and passed a resolution requesting Cowley County members of the Kansas legislature to amend Section 5, of Chapter 107, of the laws of 1876, in order that counties having no railroad indebtedness could avail themselves of the provisions of that act by a majority vote and take such other action to promote the railroad interests of Cowley County.
J. B. Lynn began construction of a new home on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and Manning Street in October 1877, a month before he became the happy father of a little girl. His large and commodious house was completed in December 1877.
John B. Lynn and Frank Williams were appointed by the Cowley County Commissioners to assist Judge Gans in counting the county funds in January 1878.
In April 1878 the city election excited great interest: there were two tickets. J. B. Lynn ran successfully for Mayor on the “Workingmen’s ticket,” receiving 224 votes. His opponent, A. B. Green, a Murphy temperance man, ran on the “City ticket,” receiving 101 votes.
Mayor Lynn conducted his first meeting with the new city council in Winfield on April 3, 1878. Councilmen were T. C. Robinson, G. W. Gully, H, Jochems, C. M. Wood, and E. C. Manning. Committees were constituted: streets and alleys, finance, and fire department.
One of Lynn’s first duties as Mayor was to enforce an ordinance in regard to nuisances and hog pens in the City. The Mayor was in attendance on May 11, 1878, at the Winfield courthouse, where a public meeting was held for the purpose of organizing an agricultural society and the decision was made to hold a fall Fair. During the time he was Mayor of Winfield, Lynn was involved in a number of important ordinances such as the handling of hawkers and peddlers and putting in certain sidewalks.
In August the city council of Winfield passed a resolution extending the city limits of Winfield to include that portion of the southeast quarter of section 28, township 32, south of range 4 east, known, platted, and recorded as the Loomis addition to the city of Winfield.
A very important meeting was held at the Courthouse in Winfield on June 8, 1878, in which J. B. Lynn took part. Judge Colbert Coldwell was chosen as chairman and C. M. Wood as secretary at the meeting. At that time the Winfield railroad committee consisted of Messrs. Coldwell, Wood, A. A. Jackson, M. L. Robinson, and J. B. Lynn, Mayor of Winfield. The committee voted to be members of a general county committee to which was added Judge James Christian, of Creswell township, and John B. Holmes, of Rock township.
Cowley County Railroad Committee.
Mayor J. B. Lynn of Winfield, J. B. Holmes, Judge James Christian, A. A. Jackson, C. M. Wood, and C. Coldwell were appointed members of the Cowley County Railroad Committee to work with the A. T. & S. F. Co., in an effort to get a railroad that would come to Cowley County. The committee considered a proposition from the A. T. & S. F. railroad company, which indicated a desire to build a railroad through Cowley County, either from El Dorado or Wichita, completing it as far as Winfield by August 1, 1879, if the company could get sufficient aid and encouragement. The company desired a proposition from the citizens of Cowley County. Resolutions were adopted to propose to vote to the railroad company $4,000 per mile, limited to $140,000 in the aggregate, if the company would build within one year from August 1st next, through Cowley County via Winfield and Arkansas City. The committee were to confer with the company on this basis.
A response was sent from Topeka, Kansas, on June 25, 1878, from William B. Strong, general manager of the A. T. & S. F. R. R. Co., indicating he had sent a proposition from the committee to President Nickerson at Boston to this effect: To vote to the company $4,000 per mile, not exceeding $140,000 in the aggregate, in thirty year, six percent coupon bonds, on the company giving suitable guarantee that the road shall be completed through this county by August 1, 1879; bonds not to be delivered until the road is built. The committee stated that in their opinion the amount of $120,000 should be the upper limit. In late August 1878 the committee reported that President Nickerson of the Santa Fe had written to them on August 20, 1878, that his company was engaged in negotiation with the people of Sedgwick County for an extension of that branch down the Arkansas Valley to Winfield and thence on to the southern boundary of Cowley County via Arkansas City. The Santa Fe was also contemplating at no distant day to form a connection with the Fort Smith & Little Rock Co., and thus give Cowley County a southern connection. He outlined that if the pending negotiations with Sedgwick County failed, the A. T. & S. F. proposed to extend the El Dorado branch of their road down the Walnut Valley, and on south as before indicated. In either event the people of Cowley County would be benefitted by the extension. The committee report emphasized that if President Nickerson’s negotiations with the people of Sedgwick or Butler counties failed, the failure of this committee to secure a branch road could in no wise be attributed to the disinclination of the Santa Fe Company to help the citizens of Arkansas City. The report emphasized that President Nickerson was of the opinion, that if his efforts were crowned with success, the A. T. & S. F. Railway Company would be able to complete the road to Cowley County during the coming year. President Nickerson called attention to obstacles which he could neither foresee or control such as “strikes,” stringency of the money markets, and difficulties of obtaining “ties.”
The committee reported that the Santa Fe was building a western extension to the Rio Grande, at or near Albuquerque. “When the Southern Pacific is extended east from Yuma, they propose to form a junction, and thus give to the people of Kansas an outlet to the Pacific and the rapidly developing great west for their surplus.”
A brief outline of three other members of the Cowley County Railroad Committee in June 1878 follows: Judge Colbert Coldwell, Mart L. Robinson, and John B. Holmes.
Addison A. Jackson and Cliff M. Wood were covered in Volume I of Cowley County History. Additional data about both Jackson and Wood appears in another part of this book.
Judge Colbert Coldwell: A former Judge of the Supreme Court of Texas, Judge Coldwell and his family moved to Winfield in July 1877. Judge Coldwell and his son, N. C. Coldwell, were both admitted to the Winfield bar in August 1877. In February 1878 Judge Colbert moved into his new home, located near Mr. Fuller’s place in the eastern part of Winfield, built with high ceilings, grand old halls, and wide verandahs. The interior finish was described as massive and imposing. Mr. John Hoenscheidt was the architect. The joiners were Messrs. Ray and Randall and Mr. W. B. Gibbs.
Joe Fluffer, correspondent of the Kansas City Journal of Commerce, wrote the following from the Central Hotel, Winfield, Kansas, on February 13, 1878, about Judge Coldwell.
“Speaking of Judge Coldwell calls to mind an episode of the campaign of 1860, that is told with gusto in Texas to this day. The judge was a presidential elector on the Douglas ticket, and was stumping the State in company with Roger Q. Mills, present member of Congress from the Galveston district, I think, who occupied a similar position on the Breckenridge ticket. They were speaking to an acre of people at Marshall, and Mills insisted, and truly, too, that the real contest lay between Lincoln and Breckenridge, and that in the event of Lincoln's election, it would be impossible to maintain a government at the South, as no true Southerner would accept an office under him; consequently, it was either Breckenridge or secession. He impressed this idea by graphically portraying the haughty south crushed under the heel of the ‘tyrant Lincoln,’ and turning to Judge Coldwell, asked derisively if there was a man present who would accept an office under such a monster. Coldwell, himself the personification of Southern chivalry, ‘one of the olden time,’ six feet two, straight as an arrow and dignified as Henry Clay, arose and straightening himself to his full stature, said: ‘I will not assume to speak for any considerable portion of this audience, but for one citizen of the State of Texas only; if Mr. Lincoln should be elected president and should see fit to tender me the office of district attorney, I would not only accept the honor, but would signalize my accession to the office by indicting, convicting, and hanging you, sir, for treason!’ The prolonged applause which followed showed that even at that late day the heart of old Texas was in the right place.”
Mart L. Robinson: Robinson and his uncle, M. L. Read, were bankers in Independence in 1872. After selling that bank they moved to Winfield in August 1872 with a safe weighing 9,500 pounds with three combination locks. Cashier Robinson purchased the L. J. Webb residence in November 1872. M. L. Read, who wanted a modern structure, purchased the first lot south of the Winfield Bank of J. C. Fuller. Messrs. Read and Robinson began searching in 1872 for brick masons. They found two at Carthage, Missouri: John T. Stewart, age 30, and James A. Simpson, age 22, born in Ireland. Mr. Stewart brought his family and brother, Archie Stewart, 35. Archie Stewart, a veteran of Company G, Vermont Infantry, placed an ad in July 31, 1873, showing he was a stone cutter, mason, bricklayer, and plasterer. Archie Stewart and James A. Simpson remained for some years in Cowley County and were contractors for many of the early stone and brick buildings in Winfield and Arkansas City. Archie Stewart built the “Stewart House,” an early hotel. Making their own bricks the team of masons completed Read’s Bank in July 1873. Material used in the bank construction was an extra quality of limestone rock for the foundation and walls of the basement. Brick was used for the main building and the front portion had iron columns to support it. The window sills were of white limestone rock and were capped with the same material. Folding doors at the entrance were magnificently constructed of fine material, and grained and finished in modern style; while the large windows on each side of the door were one solid glass, French plate, 4½ feet in width and 9½ feet in height.
On July 2, 1873, George M. Miller and John Myers, former owners of a Winfield meat market, opened the St. Nicholas Restaurant in Read’s Bank building on the first floor (a full-sized basement). The second floor was occupied by the bank, which formally opened on July 10, 1873. The third floor was cut into rooms for offices, which were soon occupied.
In April 1874 Mart L. Robinson was appointed City Treasurer. In May 1874 Mr. and Mrs. Robinson buried their infant daughter, Gertrude, in the Winfield Cemetery. In August 1874 he was elected treasurer of the school board. One of his brothers, W. C. Robinson, moved from Independence and took charge of the Winfield school in September 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were Presbyterians and engaged in activities to aid the society. Mr. Robinson became one of the founders of a literary society on September 22, 1874. In March 1875 he became a stockholder when the Winfield Cemetery Association was formed.
M. L. Robinson and his uncle, M. L. Read, obtained a large herd of sheep in 1875 from Missouri, keeping their interests in sheep-raising private. In April 1883 they rented a section of their land on Badger creek, four miles southeast of Winfield, to an Ohio group. Interested in improving the grades of sheep, they placed 1,000 fine sheep on this land.
M. L. Robinson and J. B. Lynn became members of the board of directors of the Ft. Scott, Winfield and Western railroad in April 1876. In June 1876 Mart and his wife took in the Centennial with Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Read, leaving Robinson’s brother, Will C. Robinson, to handle business at the bank. In August 1876 the school board engaged George Robinson, another brother of M. L. Robinson, as principal of the Winfield schools.
Mr. M. L. Robinson was appointed trustee of Winfield township in August 9, 1877.
M. L. Robinson sold his house in November 1877 to Dr. George Emerson. He chose J. Hoenscheidt to be the architect for his new residence in the southwest part of Winfield. His new house was built of cut stone and cost about $15,000. It was completed in October 1878.
James Christian: Born September 29, 1819, at Isla Lecale, Down County, Ireland, James Christian came to the United States when he was 15, locating at first in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of a saddler. In 1842, at the age of 23, Christian began the study of law in Kentucky. Due to a lack of funds, he was compelled to take other jobs while he continued to study law. He married in 1846, at the age of 27, Malinda G. Ross. He was admitted to the bar in 1851, at the age of 32, and commenced practice in Missouri. In 1854, at the age of 35, James Christian came to Kansas and located at Lawrence. A year later he was elected first clerk and recorder of Douglas County and was clerk of the probate court. On December 5, 1855, at the age of 36, Christian was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Kansas: the date on which the court was organized. James Christian was present May 21, 1856, when the “Sacking of Lawrence” took place. He concealed Pomeroy and Judge Miller of Lawrence in his office, saving them from a mob with ropes. On August 21, 1863, when “Quantrill’s raid took place, a young lady who was caught by the raiders while her gallant friend hastily escaped, became friendly with her captors and pleaded with them to spare different members of her family, including “Uncle Jimmy.” She succeeded in sparing the lives of a number of people in Lawrence during the raid. James Christian was appointed by President Lincoln as commissary of subsistence in the army, with the rank of Captain. He held this position until 1864, when at the age of 45, he was mustered out. A year later he was appointed by President Johnson as U. S. Attorney for Dakota Territory. In 1875 James Christian moved to Arkansas City with his wife and three daughters: Georgia, Molly, and Linda. A Democrat, James Christian was elected Police Judge at Arkansas City in April 1876 and re-elected in April 1877. He also ran the express office at Arkansas City. Judge Christian substituted as editor for the Arkansas City Traveler when C. M. Scott was gone. He wrote letters to many of his friends and acquaintances. One of his letters, to M. M. Murdock, editor of the Wichita Eagle, was printed by Murdock. It told of the arrival of the first steamboat, “Aunt Sally,” from Little Rock on June 30, 1878.
John B. Holmes: Born in Indiana, Mr. Holmes came to Cowley County circa 1872 with his wife, Susannah, about twenty years younger than he, and a number of children. He had a store in 1872 at Rock, which was one of the locations used for voting. It was noted in May 1875 that he had sown 80 acres of blue grass and in August that he had threshed over 6,000 bushels of wheat, averaging 25 bushels to the acre. That fall he sowed over 200 acres of wheat. In November 1875 he was one of the representatives from Cowley County attending a large railroad meeting at El Dorado, Butler County, Kansas. The Winfield Courier stated in January 1876 that Mr. J. B. Holmes would have to pay $3,000 to deliver his wheat that fall in Wichita inasmuch as Cowley County had no railroad. At a February 1876 meeting by representatives from all parts of Cowley County in the Courthouse at Winfield, J. B. Holmes participated on the committee preparing resolutions, which were adopted after opposition was voted down by more than two to one to the resolution asking that the proposed law should allow a majority to vote aid to railroads. In March 1876 the Nixon brothers, of Vernon township, obtained the first steam thresher in Cowley County and commenced threshing. J. B. Holmes’ four hundred acre wheat field was handled by them in June. Mr. Holmes also handled hogs and was seen on his way to Wichita with a drove of fat hogs in October 1877.
The following item appeared in the Winfield Courier on March 14, 1878: “A good joke is told on the Telegram agent. He called on John B. Holmes, the great Rock township farmer, and solicited a subscription for his paper. J. B. answered that he had been hunting three weeks for a job of work to earn money to pay for the other paper. The agent thought he had struck too poor a customer and ‘slid out.’”
In April 1878 when he was fifty-eight years of age, Mr. Holmes became the father of another son and stated that he planned to harvest 500 acres of wheat that season.
John B. Holmes’ brother, Ira N. Holmes, arrived from Indiana in August 1878 and decided to settle in Winfield. Ira purchased a lot on the corner of Eleventh avenue and Main Street in Winfield, and began immediately construction of a packing house, completed in the latter part of December 1878. It was called “Holmes & Brother’s Packing House.” John B. Holmes kept busy supplying hogs to his brother. In time Ira’s son, Charles F. Holmes, became more involved in the packing house and the name was changed to “Holmes & Son.”
In August 1879 J. B. Holmes sold his Rock creek farm of 320 acres to some Indiana parties for $3,500. He and his sons began investing in sheep, starting with 840 ewes, from which they obtained 500 lambs, selling their wool clip at Winfield for 16 cents per pound.
A Cowley County Courant representative visited Rock township on May 24, 1882. He commented that a wayfarer could be worn out by “Uncle John Holmes” on hogs and cattle. He also stated: “John Holmes, Esq., is the most extensive farmer in the county. He owns a thousand acres of the choicest land, nearly all of it in wheat and corn.”
First Partner of J. B. Lynn: Warren Gillelen.
On August 1, 1877, J. B. Lynn & Co. ceased to exist when J. B. Lynn took on a partner, Mr. Warren Gillelen. They moved into the new stone building that had been started in February 1877 by W. H. H. Maris, first mayor of Winfield, when it was completed in mid-September 1877. The Maris’ building was situated on the southwest corner of 8th Avenue and Main Street opposite the Central Hotel. The two-story building, 25 by 100 feet, had a basement. Much of the stone cutting on the building was done by a Mohawk Indian, Amos Newhouse. Other business entities soon took up space on the second story of the Maris’ building above Lynn & Gillelen: Wm. Atkins, who handled woolen cloths and diagonals; the Land Office of J. W. Hamilton and T. F. Robinson; and the office of Dr. F. M. Cooper, an eclectic physician and surgeon. The old store lately vacated by J. B. Lynn was taken over by Mr. S. Suss, who put in a stock of dry goods and clothing.
Within a week after the opening of the Lynn & Gillelen store, one of their customers, Mrs. Swain, had her pocket book stolen. It contained about $15 in greenbacks and currency and Black Hills gold to the amount of $7.50. The suspected thief was a man from El Dorado. It appears that one of the clerks was very alert. The thief was arrested, searched, and put in the “cooler” until the property was returned. He was then released on the condition that he would leave Cowley County within a given time.
Warren Gillelen did a lot of traveling and some socializing during the time he was a partner of J. B. Lynn. He was a member of the jury summoned by County Coroner W. G. Graham after the death in Winfield on June 1, 1878, of Jay Page, a saloon keeper. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that Jay Page came to his death by a shot from a pistol fired in the hands of L. J. Webb, a prominent Winfield attorney.
In September 1878 J. B. Lynn returned from the east after purchasing 25,000 pounds of dry goods, the heaviest stock of goods ever brought to Winfield at one invoice. During his absence Warren Gillelen cleared out the old stock and made room for the new goods. By this time Lynn & Gillelen had increased the length of their storeroom forty feet. They now had a store 25 by 140 feet, with a basement crammed full of goods under nearly the whole building. They also announced that they would take wheat, corn, hogs, and cattle on accounts and for goods.
J. B. Lynn Hog Enterprise.
On September 26, 1878, the Winfield Courier printed a notice from Mullen, Wood, Lynn, and Waite in regard to trespasses on their feed lots, stating that these gentlemen had experienced the loss of a number of their hogs, shot and killed by some malicious or careless persons. “All persons are forbidden from entering our feed lots or traversing the Walnut River between them with or without fire-arms of any kind. Any such trespassers will be dealt with according to law. MULLEN & WOOD, J. B. LYNN, R. B. WAITE.”
Lynn continued handling hogs. In March 1879 the Winfield Courier stated that Lynn had the largest corn crib in Cowley County. It was 20 by 40 feet and could hold 5,000 bushels.
The Strange Activities of W. E. Gillelen.
Mr. Gillelen purchased the lot on 8th Avenue east of Mr. Curns and made plans to erect a brick house containing six rooms. In May 1879 he returned with his bride from Olathe, Kansas, where they were married. His wife was a ward of Governor John St. John of Kansas. It appears that she did not stay long in Winfield. In June 1879 Mr. Gillelen rented his residence at 8th Avenue, located east of Main Street, to Dr. and Mrs. M. E. Monger of Michigan. On July 3, 1879, the Winfield Courier gave a report from the Topeka Commonwealth, in which it was revealed that commissions had been lately issued by Governor St. John to three officers: W. E. Gillelen, Captain and Assistant Adjutant General, K. S. M.; J. L. M. Hill, Winfield, Captain and Brigadier Quartermaster; and D. L. Kretsinger, First Lieutenant and Aide-de-Camp, on Staff Brigadier General A. H. Green, Winfield.
Dissolution of Lynn & Gillelen.
In July 1879 Lynn & Gillelen advertised their goods at cost for the next thirty days, stating there would be a change in the firm after that time. On August 21, 1879, the paper announced that the firm had been dissolved, Mr. Lynn continuing the business.
On August 21, 1879, it was announced that Mr. Warren Gillelen had purchased the Kirk lot, on the corner of Main street and 8th avenue, and that he would soon begin the erection of a large two story brick building thereon. On August 28, 1879, the Winfield Courier printed an item from the Topeka Capital, which stated that Capt. W. E. Gillelen and wife, of Winfield, guests of Gov. St. John, went to Bismarck. In November 1879 it was announced in the Winfield Courier that a Mr. Aubuchon had purchased the Gillelen residence for $2,000. This was followed by an article on April 1, 1880, that W. H. Conkright, late of Union County, Ohio, had purchased the Gillelen residence. A suit was started in the latter part of April 1880 by Curns & Manser against Warren Gillelen concerning this matter that was finally settled in May 1881. Curns & Manser received a judgment of $50.00 and Warren Gillelen had to pay the costs for the suit.
D. A. Millington took a train trip in September 1882. One of his stops was at Pueblo, New Mexico, which he stated was growing rapidly and fast becoming a business center. He made the following comment: “Warren Gillelen, formerly of Winfield, keeps the best hotel in Pueblo, the Victoria, not far from the Union Depot, South Pueblo. He and his estimable lady are in much better health than formerly and he appears to be making money.”
Sole Proprietor Again: J. B. Lynn.
After dissolving the partnership with Gillelen on August 21, 1879, J. B. Lynn bought a grand new delivery wagon in September 1879 and went to Chicago to stock up goods at Field, Leiter & Co. He also arranged for 3,500 pounds of flour to be delivered from Wichita, which were sold out by noon on the very day the flour arrived.
In November 1879 Ticer and Clayton, loan agents, took an office over Lynn’s store. Mr. Lynn also purchased the Kirk lot for $10,000 that Gillelen had shown an interest in earlier. He made arrangements to erect a two-story high building with a basement on this corner, in which he planned to occupy the first floor with his own stock. By January 1880 architects Swain & Watkins completed the detailed plans for Lynn’s new building and Lynn let the contract for the excavation and stone work on his new building.
Mayor Lynn chaired a meeting in January in which a memorial was adopted and sent to Congress seeking a railroad right of way through the Indian Territory from Arkansas City to Fort Smith, Arkansas. A new Odd Fellows Hall was furnished over Lynn’s store that month.
In February 1880 Mayor Lynn called for a schoolhouse bond election requested by the Board of Education in Winfield for the issuance of $12,000 worth of bonds to enable the Board to purchase a suitable site to erect a four-room schoolhouse in the second ward; alter the stone school building in the first ward to contain six school rooms; and to erect fencing and ornamenting of the grounds if any money was left over.
Second Partner of J. B. Lynn: J. S. Loose.
In March 1880 Mr. J. B. Lynn went into partnership with an old school classmate of his from Paxton, Illinois, J. S. Loose, recently in the mercantile business. Lynn and Loose built a new store on a larger scale than Lynn had at first contemplated. Mr. F. M. Freeland obtained the contract for excavating the cellar and work began around April 1, 1880.
As the building proceeded, Mayor Lynn was overjoyed at the birth of a son in June 1880.
The cornice was completed in August 1880. Lynn & Loose moved into their new stone store building, located at the northwest corner of Main Street and Eighth Avenue, on September 22, 1880. The store was 140 feet deep and 25 feet wide with two-stories and a full-length basement, filled with heavy articles, such as sugars, coffees, queensware, crockery, salt, provisions, etc. In front of the basement was a room used by a tonsorial artist.
On the first story 110 feet in the front was used by the dry goods department; 30 feet in the rear was cut off for the grocery, butter, and egg business. It fronted on Eighth Avenue.
On the second story the first 100 feet in the front was divided into seven suits of rooms, suitable for offices. John E. Allen, a lawyer, was the first to rent and occupied the two front rooms on the second story. In the rear on the second story was a large carpet and clothing room. The second story had outside entrances onto a fine iron verandah.
A large elevator was erected in the rear of the building, so that heavy goods could be raised from the cellar or lowered from the second story. The building was lighted by forty gas jets. The front of the building had panes of French plate glass, two of the panes being six feet wide, fourteen feet high, and three-quarters of an inch thick. The glass for the front alone cost over $300. The shelving was elaborate; nonetheless, the firm was troubled about finding room for their immense stock. It was announced that the building cost $10,000 to erect.
Lynn Loses On Third Attempt to be Mayor of Winfield.
Mr. J. S. Loose went east to make purchases for Lynn & Loose rather than Lynn, who ran for a third term as Mayor of Winfield on a “Citizens’ ticket.” Members of the Republican party opposed Lynn, accusing him of not enforcing the laws in relation to gambling, liquor selling, and vice. Lynn’s name was not even placed before members of the Republican party. On the fourth ballot M. G. Troup was nominated. A desire for a change in the executive head and in the police force was all that prevented the “Citizens’ ticket” from electing their whole ticket by sweeping majorities. Only four candidates on the Republican ticket were elected. The Citizens’ ticket elected nine of their candidates as they also claimed T. R. Bryan, running for the office of city treasurer.
J. B. Lynn was made treasurer and a member of the finance committee at a meeting of the old soldiers in August 1881. Mr. Lynn’s buggy horse lost in a race with L. C. Harter’s trotter at the fair ground in November 1881. J. E. Allen said he “bet on Lynn & Loose-d.”
Lynn’s partner, J. S. Loose, was the recipient in December 1881 of a draft for $1,000 from his father, a successful Illinois farmer, who made about $20,000 from his farm products that fall. Loose’s father sent $1,000 to each of his eight children as a Christmas present each year, no matter how deep in business affairs the boys might be.
J. B. Lynn was a member of the “Merchants and Business Men’s Protective Association” in January 1882, which sought means to handle those who did not pay their bills. After the adjournment of the meeting, all repaired to the Brettun dining room and ate oysters and celery, drank coffee and cream, told vigorous stories of dead-beats and bill-jumpers, and treated each other to little bits of business experience that furnished points for future action. The supper was nicely served and thirty-nine sat down to the long table and took two or more dishes of “Oysters-loony style,” with fruit and lighter refreshments. Someone commented: “One of the most unfortunate features of the supper was that there were no toasts!”
Mr. Lynn won a china set of 157 pieces at the Catholic Fair held on February 10, 1882, and afterwards presented it to Father Kelly.
Sole Proprietor Again: J. B. Lynn.
The formal dissolution of the co-partnership of the firm of Lynn & Loose took place on March 6, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Lynn became the proud parents of a daughter in May 1882.
On Sunday, June 12, 1881, at 5:00 p.m., the town of Floral in Cowley County was struck by a cyclone. The firm of Lynn & Loose, like so many other businesses and individuals in Cowley County, came to the aid of Floral residents who suffered so much damage due to this devastating event, donating $20.
On Monday, June 12, 1882, a violent wind storm hit Winfield. The tin roof on J. B. Lynn’s store was torn up for a distance of fifteen feet on the west end; the cornice was torn off from the rear of the building and blown some fifty or sixty feet toward the front; and the water went through the upper ceiling, damaging the plaster, causing an expense of about $200 to put the building back in good shape. The stables of David Frew and Mrs. Brennan, in the southeast part of Winfield, were demolished; a chimney was taken off from the Courthouse; two cars were blown from the K. C., L. & S. track, sustaining minor damage.
Citizens deemed it a “commemorative blow” as it occurred on the anniversary of the Floral cyclone, which came on the same date and at almost the same hour.
It was noted in August 1882 that J. B. Lynn had arranged his store so that every department of trade usually represented in a general store was being carried: groceries in the back room; carpets, mattings, oil cloths, etc., upstairs; clothing, formerly kept upstairs, had been moved to a room in the basement along with the trunks and furnishing goods for gentlemen. Dry goods were kept in one room.
By September 1882 J. B. Lynn had a number of male salesmen and also had three lady clerks, among them his sister, Miss Lydia Lynn, from Nevada, Missouri.
Lynn became a member of the Winfield Sportsmen’s Club, which conducted an annual hunt in November 1882. On the losing side, Lynn was awarded the tin medal for his score, which was “zero.” He was also out some money as the losing side had to pay for a banquet.
T. R. Bryan.
Mr. Thomas R. Bryan married Eleanor Jones, daughter of a Christian minister, Joshua Jones, in 1864. The Bryan and Jones families moved from Illinois to Kansas, settling in Dexter township. The elderly Joshua Jones and his wife resided with the Bryan family until both died. Bryan, a Republican, was a delegate to the county convention in 1872. He became Justice of the Peace at Dexter in 1873 and served as the school director for the district. A farmer, Bryan was made Master of Dexter Grange, No. 195, Patrons of Husbandry, organized in 1874. He was elected as a state representative in 1874. Hon. T. R. Bryan was a member of the central relief committee for Cowley County in 1874 and chairman of the Republican County Central Committee in 1875, during which time he taught school in Dexter.
In 1876 T. R. Bryan, the new Cowley County Treasurer, moved with his family to Winfield, where he purchased a residence and soon added an addition. Bryan was a charter member and officer of the secret society called “Knights of Honor.” The Winfield lodge, the first organized in Kansas, was started on February 20, 1877, with twenty-six members.
Thomas R. Bryan was nominated by acclamation by the Republican convention on September 22, 1877, and re-elected County Treasurer in November without opposition.
On November 22, 1877, the Winfield Courier had an item: “Hon. T. R. Bryan has taken a Deputy Treasurer into his employ—weight nine and a half pounds—name not given yet.”
In October 1879 T. R. Bryan and Col. J. C. McMullen, partners, let a contract to John Q. Ashton to construct a stone building, 50 by 80 feet, on vacant land just north of the American House and south of the foundry in Winfield. The Bryan building, located at 614 Main Street, was completed in June 1880. After completing his second term as County Treasurer, during which he was referred to as “Honest Tom” for keeping meticulous records, T. R. Bryan opened a loan office over the Lynn & Loose store in February 1881. A month later he formed a partnership with T. J. Harris. Bryan & Harris, a land, loan, and collecting agency, were located on the first floor at the rear of the Winfield Bank by March 1881. In April Bryan was elected city treasurer. Bryan served as trustee of the Christian church in Winfield and Superintendent of the Sabbath school for a number of years.
A permanent organization was formed on Saturday, August 20, 1881, of Cowley County Old Soldiers at a meeting in Winfield, chaired by C. M. Wood. Col. J. C. McMullen became the first president and J. B. Lynn the first treasurer. T. R. Bryan became a member of the executive committee. The meeting was highlighted by St. John’s Battery, Kansas State Militia, putting in a number of shots from the battery’s two cannons that sounded like old times to the veterans. Captain North A. Haight, elected by Battery members in December 1880, was in charge. A beautiful banner, made of lemon yellow silk, with costly fringe and tassels, inscribed “St. John’s Battery, 1st Kansas Light Artillery,” surrounding two cannon, was given to the Battery in June 1883, a gift from ex-Governor John P. St. John of Kansas.
By the act of March 7, 1885, the militia was reorganized and called the “Kansas National Guard.” On Thursday, October 1, 1885, the Winfield Courier reported that Winfield units would attend the first annual muster held at Topeka, Kansas, from September 28 to October 3, 1885. “Company C, K. N. G., under Capt. Steuven and Lieuts. Finch and Snow, with the Courier Cornet Band, sixteen pieces, and the First Light Artillery, took a special train for the Topeka Soldier’s Reunion, Sunday, at 3 o’clock. The boys left in high spirits and their bright new uniforms and looked war-like: with a dozen or two watermelons to load up with. There is no doubt that our company is one of the best drilled in the state and will carry off high honors. The artillery, under Capt. Haight, will make the echoes resound and will be a fine adjunct to the Reunion. And the Courier Cornet Band will win golden laurels. The music they selected for the occasion is of the highest order and will be rendered charmingly. It will be a hard job to find a band in the state to excel our boys.” A week later the Courier reported: “Company C, the First Light Artillery, and the Courier Cornet and Juvenile Bands got home from the Topeka Soldiers Encampment Sunday morning at one o’clock. Our fellows were prominent variously in the Reunion. Company C, under its Captain, C. E. Steuven, was conceded to be by far the best drilled and best behaved company on the grounds, while our Artillery Company, under Capt. N. A. Haight, was the only one there. The Courier Cornet and Juvenile Bands received marked attention among the hundred or more bands present.”
N. A. Haight, known as “Ed.,” served as Cowley County Surveyor for many years. Haight, 9 years old, found himself on his own. At the age of 14, he joined the army in 1863. In 1873 he was a government surveyor, serving in this capacity for about five years, traveling twice from Kansas to Arizona, and at times being chased by Indians during which time he captured a horse from Quahada Comanches in the Texas Panhandle, which he called “Black Warrior.” With three other surveyors, Haight assisted Comanche chief Asahabel’s band in capturing Lone Wolf and other hostile Kiowas, escorting them to Fort Sill in Indian Territory. In 1885 the Haight family mourned the loss of “Black Warrior,” aged 19.
Bryan & Lynn.
In May 1881 Judge Samuel Bard moved from Santa Rosa, California, and purchased the house of Judge Colbert Coldwell, who had moved to McPherson, Kansas. Judge Bard found the house ideal for his children: three daughters and one son. Judge Bard purchased T. R. Bryan’s interest in the real estate business of Bryan & Harris in August 1882.
In November 1882 T. R. Bryan began excavating for the foundation of a new stone building, seventy-five feet deep and one story high, just north of Lynn’s store. When Bryan’s building was finished in March 1883, Lynn’s grocery stock was moved into it and the grocery house of “Bryan & Lynn,” under Bryan’s management placed ads that they handled fresh dates, California Prunelles, Dried Peaches, and Honey in the comb.
Lynn became a partner in the Winfield Water Company, started in January 1883, and the Winfield Gas Company, formed on October 18, 1883.
In July 1883 J. B. Lynn’s wife became very ill. Lynn took his wife and children to Colorado Springs, ostensibly to have a restful vacation. After an absence of two months, his wife and children returned. Lynn obtained help to handle the general housework.
A Democrat, J. B. Lynn was defeated when he ran for the office of County Treasurer in November 1883. In the same month he donated a rug for the three-day Catholic Fair held at the Opera House on November 27-19, 1883, which netted over $400. He was one of the seven candidates voted on by participants to receive a $40 gold headed cane. Lynn was once more a loser! D. L. Kretsinger got the most votes for the cane.
Lynn was part of a committee that worked with H. H. Martin, trustee, and P. B. Lee, clerk of Vernon Township, in November 1883 in reaching an agreement to fix the most heavily used bridge in Cowley County: an iron bridge west of Winfield that was badly in need of repairs. The citizens of Winfield paid about $600 for the lumber necessary to floor the bridge; Vernon citizens put the floor down, built an abutment under the west end of the bridge, tightened up the iron work, and fenced the approaches. Vernon Township spent $300 on the west approach during the prior summer.
Bryan & Lynn: Grocers.
In October 1883 Bryan & Lynn, Grocers, started a guessing game with a jar containing peas, offering a handsome bedroom set to the one who came closest to the amount of peas contained in the jar. Judges selected were C. C. Black, of the Winfield Telegram, E. P. Greer, of the Winfield Courier, and Judge W. A. Tipton, a lawyer from Liberty township, who was serving as President of the Cowley County Agricultural and Horticultural Society. The drawing, held on Thursday, November 29, 1883, at 7:00 p.m., was covered in the December 6, 1883, issue of the Winfield Courier, which announced that John Shields of New Salem was awarded the prize after guessing there were 13,247 peas in the jar. Guesses were made by 901 people varying from 700 to 5,000,000. There were 13,242 peas in the jar.
Pleasant Hour Club.
In October 1883 J. B. Lynn joined with about 25 other men in Winfield to form a dancing club that met semi-monthly during the winter. By the time they held their first social “hop” at the Opera House in November, they had changed the name from “Happy Hour Club” to the “Pleasant Hour Club.” In January 1884 they gave their first masquerade ball with the assistance of a costumer from Kansas City.
Lynn’s “Elevated Railway Cash System.”
J. B. Lynn surprised everyone in March 1884 with the introduction of an “Elevated Railway Cash System” in his store, which was frescoed shortly before. A platform about five feet high was built at the rear of the store, fenced in, and occupied by a cashier, who received all money and made change via two miniature tracks suspended from the ceiling over the entire length of both counters, allowing the clerks to communicate with the cashier by means of hollow balls, capable of containing twenty silver dollars. One track had a two foot incline from it; the other the same incline to the cashier. Three stations were installed to each counter in the dry goods department and one station in the clothing room. Change was made very quickly and without any danger of mistakes.
Lynn Has Another Child. Myton Building Opposite Lynn.
The birth of another child was noted by the Winfield Courier on April 17, 1884, “J. B. Lynn is always getting something new. The novelty of his elevated railway cash system had hardly worn off before Lynn got a new girl. She is young, only born last Thursday, but is of that lively disposition which just suits J. B., and he anticipates a picnic in scrambling for the paregoric bottle in the midnight darkness.”
S. H. Myton began excavation for a cut stone, 75 by 90 ft. two-story building on the corner opposite Lynn’s in April 1884 to house his hardware and agricultural implements.
Bryan & Lynn Grocery Firm Dissolve.
On January 15, 1885, the grocery firm of Bryan & Lynn gave notice that their partnership would be dissolved on or before the first day of March, 1885. They began selling their entire stock of groceries, queensware, glassware, and notions at greatly reduced prices for cash.
Toward the end of January 1885 a man by the name of True began representing himself as being “wild and wooly and full of fleas.” He flourished his revolver in front of Lynn’s corner before paying his “full” respects to Mr. T. R. Bryan in a way that prompted Marshal Harrod to take Mr. True into his custody. It turned out that Mr. True wanted to “take the store” because the glare ice on the step gave him a fall.
In February 1885 J. B. Lynn became a member of a new entity in Winfield, the “Winfield Enterprise Association,” and became a director in March 1885.
In March 1885 J. B. Lynn became vice president of the “Winfield Bank.” H. B. Schuler was president and C. E. Fuller, assistant cashier. In June 1885 the Winfield Bank became the Winfield National Bank. H. B. Schuler was president and E. T. Schuler served as the cashier. J. B. Lynn became one of the directors that year and remained a director in subsequent years.
In late March 1885 J. B. Lynn formed a partnership with W. G. Graham, T. R. Bryan, S. H. Myton, A. B. Graham, H. D. Gans, H. B. Schuler, and Wm. Newton and formed the “Highland Park Company.” They purchased for residential homes the 146 acres known as the “Vandeventer land,” lying in the northeastern part of Winfield abutting the mounds.
J. B. Lynn and A. B. French.
J. B. Lynn took on a new partner in April 1885 in the grocery store: Alonzo B. French. Lynn & French’s Grocery Store was located at 721 Main in Winfield.
On July 30, 1885, the Winfield Courier printed an announcement by J. B. Lynn.
“For 30 days I will sell my entire stock of merchandise at 90 cents on the dollar. My stock contains everything usually kept in a first-class Dry Goods Store, and everything, from cellar to garret, will be sold at 90 cents on the dollar for cash and CASH ONLY. I have about $35,000 worth of goods in my store, and everything will be sold at the above figures for 30 days. We will have a large corps of clerks to wait on the trade. This sale will begin July 30th, and continue until August 30th. I will just add that I am not going out of business, neither am I going west to grow up the country, but I am here to stay and make music for the ‘boys,’ business for the newspapers, and glory for myself. Remember the time and place—at 6 a.m. Thursday music by the band will begin and continue every day until 8 p.m. for 30 days. This is the grandest opportunity and the biggest slaughter ever made in the State by any merchant, but the goods must go. No goods sold on credit at these prices. Don’t ask for credit, for you will be refused. Orders will be taken at a discount of 10 per cent.”
A city ordinance affecting Lynn and others was passed, as noted in the August 20, 1885, issue of the Winfield Courier. “After a long and tough wrestle, the city ‘dads’ have fixed railroad matters up. Council met in special session Thursday night. The room was crowded with interested property owners. Everything passed off smoothly. The following is a copy of sec. 1 of the ordinance passed last evening. ‘There is hereby granted to the Kansas City & Southwestern railroad company the right of way to construct and operate and maintain the main line of their road and all necessary side tracks, across the following streets, avenues, and alleys in said city, to-wit: Loomis street, north of Fourth avenue, and Millington street, north of Fifth avenue; Fourth avenue, west of Loomis street; Main street, north of Fifth avenue; Fifth avenue, west of Main street; Manning and Menor streets, north of Sixth avenue; Sixth avenue, west of Menor street; Eighth and Ninth avenues, west of Walton street and through the alleys in blocks 105, 85, 65, and 8 in said city.’ As far as we have heard, this gives a general satisfaction to the public. The following is about the projected line as near as we are able to ascertain: Crossing Timber creek north of Andrews’ addition, through this addition just north of Mrs. Andrews’ house, thence running along the line of the S. K. railroad through R. B. Waite and J. B. Lynn’s six acre tract, northwest of Sam Myton’s residence, through the Water Company’s grounds near the pump house, across the west end of Mrs. Manning’s lots just north of J. C. McMullen, and thence west of south in the direction of the Kickapoo corral. . . .”
In October 1885 J. B. Lynn, the pioneer merchant, made a mammoth display of carpets of every conceivable pattern when the Cowley County Fair & Driving Park Association held their grand exhibition at the fairgrounds. That month he joined with W. L. Mullen, H. G. Fuller, C. E. Fuller, and C. C. Black in a company called the “Island Park Land Company,” purchasing the Vandeventer tract just north of Winfield, which took in nearly all of Island Park. The tract was re-platted and put on the market in the spring of 1886.
In February 1886 J. B. Lynn, M. L. Robinson, Marsh Howard, and C. A. Bliss were added as a special committee to assist city councilmen James Connor, J. N. Harter, and A. H. Jennings in determining the character of the two new iron Walnut bridges (Ninth Avenue Bridge and Bliss-Wood Bridge) under consideration.
J. B. Lynn’s pleasure in the projects he had been a part of was dimmed when his wife passed away December 31, 1886. J. B. Lynn, the Dry Goods man of Winfield, and Lynn & French, grocers, were still advertising in 1891. Mr. Lynn was one of the pallbearers at the funeral of his friend, D. A. Millington, in May 1891.
LYNN’S CLERKS.
J. B. Lynn was a successful merchant due to his own efforts and that of his clerks. Some of them were mentioned in different issues of the Winfield Courier.
John W. Batchelder: One of the earliest clerks working for Lynn, Batchelder, 26, soon took charge of the grocery department in 1874 of Lynn’s dry goods and grocery store. In April 1877 Batchelder moved to Wellington and opened up a dry goods and grocery store with goods from Elk Falls. During the months of April through August 1877, Jim Holloway took Batchelder’s place at Lynn’s. Batchelder returned in October 1877. In 1881 he became an officer in the Knights of Honor. Both J. B. Lynn and J. W. Batchelder became members of the “Merchants and Business Men’s Protective Association” started in January 1882. Batchelder remained with Lynn until 1885 when he established a grocery store in Winfield.
James F. and Edwin W. Holloway: Sons of Rev. Samuel S. Holloway, who moved from Chillicothe, Illinois, in 1875 and for $2,000 bought D. S. Brown’s farm on Badger Creek, four miles east of Winfield. His children were adept in vocal and instrumental music. Edwin W. Holloway became a teacher in 1875 and participated in a concert given by the Winfield Musical Association in December with his brother, James, and sister, Jennie.
In May 1876 Edwin Holloway became a clerk for J. B. Lynn and also engaged in horticultural pursuits. He joined J. B. Lynn in becoming a member of an early social dancing group in Winfield, the Evening Star Club. In 1877 he married Miss Hortense Holmes and became a clerk for Mr. S. Suss, who dispensed clothing and dry goods. In 1879 he became an officer in the Knights of Honor. In January 1880 Edwin moved to Salt City, where he ran the Baird Bros’ store with Ed. Lemmon. In August 1880 Edwin Holloway and family moved to Howard, remaining there for about a year, and then moved to Sedan, Kansas.
Jennie Holloway, a daughter of Rev. S. S. Holloway, married Rev. J. C. Adams, who had recently moved to Highland, Kansas, on March 31, 1876.
On August 27, 1876, James F. Holloway and Miss Kate Porter were married by Rev. J. C. Adams at Winfield. After working for Mr. Lynn some months in 1877, James Holloway became a clerk in October 1877 for Baird Bros. He started a grocery store in Salt City in 1879. By 1885 the James Holloway family had moved to Omaha, Nebraska.
Tommy Dryden: Young Dryden began working for J. B. Lynn in late 1876. He came down with a severe attack of the measles in early 1877. By September 1877 he departed for Kansas City. He was an extremely good salesman.
M. B. Shields: Often referred to as “Banner” Shields, M. B. Shields became an officer of Winfield Lodge, No. 110, I. O. O. F., in 1878, when he began clerking for Mr. Lynn at the age of thirty, and remained an officer for many years. In May 1882 Mr. Shields became an alternate delegate at the county convention when he lived in the 2nd ward, and in subsequent years served as a delegate from Winfield. By August 1882 Mr. Shields was in charge of the dry goods room and was assisted by two ladies, Miss French and Miss Aldrich.
In June 1883 Mr. Shields was a committee member of Winfield businessmen and clerks, who proposed closing the stores in at 8:00 p.m. between June 11, and October 1, 1883, with the time of closing indicated by the ringing of the city bell. J. B. Lynn opposed this change and printed a notice in the Courier. “To the trade of Winfield and Cowley Co. I wish to say to the trade that from this date I will keep my store open until twelve o’clock every night except on Sunday. I will give a ten percent discount on all Cash Bills sold after nine o’clock p.m., and will take it as a favor if my City trade will postpone buying until after nine o’clock, thereby securing the discount. I mean just what I say. June 13th, 1883. J. B. LYNN.”
Lynn prevailed! The store hours were not changed. Mr. Shields remained with Lynn. In March 1884 Shields occupied the fenced-in platform at the rear of the store, where he received all the money and made change in the elevated railway cash system started by J. B. Lynn. By June 1884 he was designated as Lynn’s head clerk.
Daniel A. Carr: “Al” Carr, from Illinois, started as a salesman for J. B. Lynn in 1882 , in charge of trunks and gent’s furnishings in the basement. He moved to Wellington in 1885, taking a similar position in a clothing and boot and shoe store.
Forrest V. Rowland: In 1879 Forrest Rowland, son of G. B. Rowland, a stonemason in Winfield, began working as a clerk for J. B. Lynn and became an officer in the Good Templars organization in Winfield for a number of years. He became a clerk for A. T. Spotswood & Co. in March 1881. On September 24, 1881, he married Miss Mary Gale at Rochester, Illinois, a lady he had met recently when she visited for some months in Winfield. Soon afterwards he began working in the Winfield post office. He became ill for some time in January 1882 with “lung fever,” but returned to his duties in February. By March 1882 he was advocating that every farmer and stockman in Cowley County interested in breeding and raising stock should call at the post office and get a sample copy of the Breeders’ Gazette, the best weekly stock journal published in America. In August 1882 he again became a clerk in Lynn’s store, putting up groceries for the public in the back room. Within a short time he was bedfast with malaria, recovering in late August shortly after a son was born. In September 1883 Rowland and John Willis, a gentleman who had just moved to Winfield from Indiana, purchased the Isaac Behner lunch stand. They proposed to run an oyster parlor in connection with a lunch counter and confectionery. Rowland became sole proprietor of the lunch room in November 1883. Later that month he purchased the McGlasson stock of groceries next to the English Kitchen; and after closing them out, put in a stock of notions and fancy goods. He then opened “Rowland’s Variety Store,” featuring three No. 1 second-hand sewing machines, warranted good as new. By December 1883 he was featuring his five and ten cent counters at his variety store. In January 1884 Fitch & Barron, dealers in White, New Home, Domestic, Diamond, and other sewing machines took up a portion of his store.
In June 1884, after visiting his sister, Mrs. Lewis Billings, who lived near Cherryvale, Mr. Rowland closed out his novelty store in Winfield and opened up a similar establishment in Cherryvale in July 1884. In September 1884 he returned with his wife to Winfield to bury their little son from his parent’s home, before returning to Cherryvale.
W. P. Tucker: Called “Perry,” Mr. Tucker, from Kansas City, became a clerk for J. B. Lynn in 1881. He joined in with other clerks (D. A. Carr, M. B. Shields, and J. W. Batchelder) in donating $1.00 each for the relief of the sufferers by the Floral cyclone in June 1881. In August 1882 Mr. Tucker assisted Forrest Rowland in the back room of Lynn’s store in putting up groceries. Perry Tucker became the librarian for the Presbyterian Sunday school in Winfield in January 1883, maintaining that office for a number of years.
In August 1885 an aunt of Mr. Perry’s wife, Mrs. F. C. Pritchard, moved from Sedalia, Missouri, to Winfield and erected a 34 by 50 ft. stone residence with a basement under the entire building on Mansfield between Eleventh and Twelfth. Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Tucker became the happy parents of a boy in September 1885.
J. E. Howie: Mr. Howie became a clerk for Mr. J. B. Lynn in 1880. A single man, he boarded at the Lindell Hotel. In August 1882 Mr. Howie was in charge of the carpets, mattings, oil cloths, etc., kept upstairs. He was never mentioned again in the newspapers.
Ed. Whitman: Mr. Whitman came to Winfield in March 1883 from Boston and started working as a clerk at J. B. Lynn’s. In May 1883, while riding a bicycle, he was thrown forward about twenty feet into the street when one of the foot rests broke as he was turning a corner. Mr. Whitman landed on his head. He was senseless when picked up and terribly bruised. Several physicians were called and Mr. Whitman was removed to the boarding house where he was staying run by Mrs. Aldrich. Already well liked, fears were expressed that Mr. Whitman might be permanently disabled. Mr. Whitman was never mentioned again.
J. W. Tyree: Usually referred to as “Jim,” Mr. Tyree settled in the south half of Vernon township circa 1881. In May 1882 he donated $1.00 toward a fund set up by the neighbors of Hiram Hopkins, a man found with one leg broken twice, the other leg broken once, and one of his arms broken twice. Mr. Hopkins was working in a grist mill about ten miles north of Winfield and the Walnut river. His coat tail was caught by a shaft. Hopkins’ neighbors in the south half of Vernon township donated $17.80; those in the north half of Vernon township donated $49.15. A letter from Mr. Tyree in June 1882 stated that he had collected $11.20 in addition to the amount given previously from friends of Mr. Hopkins.
It is not known when J. W. Tyree began working for J. B. Lynn. On May 28, 1884, he departed for Wichita, Kansas, where he was to be married to Miss S. B. Fleshman, late of Virginia. Tyree returned to Winfield after his honeymoon.
Lynn, like many merchants, had many problems occur and his clerks became aware of the importance to pay attention to customers.
In October 1885 a lady from Udall tendered the clerk on duty a fifty dollar bill, which turned out to be the worst kind of a counterfeit: an old Missouri defense bond, issued in 1862, promising that Missouri would pay its State militia so much after such date. It turned out that after the Missouri militia was “licked” by the blue coats and the union was restored, these “defense bonds” were repudiated and became perfectly worthless. Mr. Lynn and Sheriff McIntire soon got the scent and were able to get the goods purchased returned and eventually the $25.00 that was still due.
In February 1886 a young man about twenty-three years of age bought a $2.50 hat of Jim Tyree and tendered a check for $15.00, appearing to be drawn all right by T. J. Stinson, residing near Maple City, and well known as “good” all over the county. The check was on the Winfield National Bank and was cashed and the remaining $12.50 turned over. After the boy went out, the clerks got to speculating on his actions and thought them a little suspicious. The next day, Stinson was in the city and Mr. Lynn spoke to him about the check. Stinson at once pronounced it a forgery, drawn on a different colored check and a poor imitation at signature. Sheriff McIntire was informed about the counterfeit check and he soon traced the boy who had tendered the check to Arkansas City, bringing him back to the jail at Winfield.
In time it was learned that the culprit was Charles Swift and that he worked for about a month during the previous winter for Mr. Stinson. Swift denied any knowledge whatever of the transaction, but three of Lynn’s clerks identified him as the fellow who presented the check and bought the hat—which was on his head when Sheriff McIntire took him to jail. Furthermore, it was learned that Swift had tried to sell a $100 note at the Winfield National Bank several days prior to purchasing the hat at Lynn’s that had the signatures of T. J. Stinson and J. M. Stinson. The note looked all right and ran a year at 12 per cent.
In March 1886 Charles Swift was brought before Judge Buckman and about fifteen or twenty witnesses were put on the stand. Swift was bound over to the next term of the District court with a bond set at $500. Not having the money, he remained in jail until his trial in April. In May 1886 Mr. Swift was delivered to the Kansas State Penitentiary for a term of three years on one count of forgery and for five years on another count of assault with the intent to break out of jail. However, he was released from prison on March 22, 1887.
