Jacob G. Heaton

JACOB G. HEATON was an important contributor to the work and experiences of early Pawnee County. He lived not for himself alone, and his many enviable characteristics have been exemplified by his descendants, who are numerously represented in this part of Kansas. Mrs. Heaton retired from the farm some years after his death and is now living on West Sixth Street in Larned.

Mr. Heaton brought his family to Pawnee County in April, 1877. The family then consisted of five children. They arrived at Larned by railroad and were accompanied by another family, both of whom settled on the frontier with the purpose of making homes for themselves. Mr. Heaton located on section 1, township 21, range 17. He bought the entire section. The tract was all planted in wheat and contained a frame pioneer shanty of a single room. That habitation perforce had to accommodate the entire household until it could be replaced by a better one. The first protection for the team was a sod barn.

Mr. Heaton's early farming enterprise was concentrated upon wheat growing. It was his hope and intention to pin his faith to that crop, but the several good years were counterbalanced by total or partial failures and it was not an easy matter to make a living for the family entirely from wheat. Mr. Henton also indulged in the stock business on a small scale. He had cows, and their milk contributed much to the table and they also sold butter. Another factor in the family support in the early days was poultry. For several years Mr. Heaton represented as a traveling salesman the Hodge Header Company, and spent part of each year traveling all over the state. While he was away from home the work and interests of the farm were carried on by his wife and children. At one time his finances were such that he felt obliged to mortgage his farm, and frequently he had to borrow money to pay his taxes. To be reduced to such shifts was no disparagement of his enterprise or resourcefulness, and there were few men in Western Kansas who escaped the almost inevitable mortgage. At times wheat crops would come so profusely that a mortgage could be cleared away in the yield of a single season. Then again a lean year would come, and the course of the early Kansas farmer was truly one of ups and downs. Mr. Heaton continued farming his section of land and later acquired other tracts, until at the time of his death he left an estate of 800 acres along Ash Creek.

Of his part in community affairs it is recorded that he served many years on the school board and for two terms was a county commissioner. Mr. Heaton never allied himself with any church, but was liberal in giving to church causes. The only order to which he belonged was the Grand Army of the Republic.

Jacob G. Heaton was born in Rush County, Indiana, January 30, 1838, and died on his Pawnee County estate April 29, 1900. His father, Eli Heaton, spent his life as a farmer and when Jacob was a small child moved with his family to Lee County, Iowa, where he died. Eli Heaton married Margaret Goodlander. Their children were: Jacob G., Elmer, Mrs. Mary Watts, Mrs. Sarah Pickard, John, Theodore, Aaron, George and Allen. The only members of the family to come to Kansas were Jacob G. and Theodore.

Jacob G. Heaton finished his education in the high school at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company A of the Forty-Fifth Iowa Infantry, under Captain Emerson, and was in the 100 days' service. Most of that time was spent in Tennessee.

Mrs. Jacob Heaton's maiden name was Lutitia Kennedy. They were married on June 22, 1865. Mrs. Heaton is an active member of Fort Larned Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, as are two of her daughters, Mrs. Wheeler and Miss Nellie Heaton. They are all lineal descendants of John Kennedy, the great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Heaton. John Kennedy was a native of Virginia, and went into the Continental Army from that state, seeing active service in the struggle for independence. His son, John Kennedy, was the father of Lewis Kennedy, father of Mrs. Heaton. Lewis Kennedy was born in Green County, Kentucky, in 1819, spent his life as a farmer, moved from Kentucky to Illinois, and later to Lee County, Iowa. He joined the Thirty-Seventh Iowa Infantry, the "Graybeard Regiment" and was in service three years, being sergeant of his company and most of his time being spent in guard duty. He was neither wounded nor captured. Late in life Lewis Kennedy moved to Polk County, Iowa, where he died at the age of seventy-seven. He married Isabel Newsome, daughter of George Newsome, who came from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Kennedy died in early life, leaving two children: Mrs. Heaton, who was born August 3, 1846; and William, now a resident of Los Angeles, California. For his second wife Lewis Kennedy married Mrs. Edee Anderson, and their children were: Mrs. Sarah J. Martin; Wilda, who married Henry Eledge, of Des Moines, Iowa; Mrs. Amanda Martin, who died in Iowa; and Mrs. Minnie Barton, of Des Moines.

In 1904 Mrs. Heaton moved from the farm to Larned and has improved one of the substantial homes of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Heaton had eight children. Lewis K. is a farmer in Pawnee County, and by his marriage to Fannie Blount has children named Anna, Homer and Clyde. Eli is a resident of Marshall County, Kansas. He married Cora Stark, and their children are Robert, Elmore, Eva and Charles. William, a farmer on Ash Creek in Pawnee County, married Myrtle Lovett, and has children Clarence, Nellie May, Florence, Hazel, William Brown and Dorothy. Byron, a resident of Larned, married Myrtle Seely, and their children are Byron Hal, Eloise, Hortense and Carl. Charles, also a resident of Larned, married Minnie Scherzer, and has two daughters, Jane and Marie. Mary is the wife of Charles Scherzer, living near Larned, and has a son, Charles Eugene. Nellie makes her home in Larned, and for several years held a responsible position in Moffet Brothers National Bank. LaVena, who is regent of Fort Larned Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, is the wife of Dr. E. P. Wheeler, of Larned.

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