Julius Huxmann

JULIUS HUXMANN came into Kansas in 1878. He was almost nineteen years of age, and brought with him neither money nor influential friends and gained the favor of a community of strangers by his readiness and ability to do hard work.

He has been born at Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, January 20, 1860. When he was ten years of age his parents moved to Washington County, Iowa, and then returned to Lee County and settled at Franklin for five years. In the meantime his father died and the necessity of making his own living and also helping his widowed mother and other children caused Julius Huxmann to come out to Kansas. He himself had received very little education.

His first location in Kansas was in McPherson County. In a few days he was given employment as a farm hand, being paid wages of $13 a month during the summer. He worked at that for two years. Out of his wages he had not only contributed something to the family support but had also been able to buy a team. With this as his a capital he rented some land and started to farm. It looked as if he were on the high road to success until the cholera came along and took off his hogs and a hail storm leveled his grain crops.

Soon after this disastrous experience Julius Huxmann determined to seek a new location. Thus he arrived in Ness County in 1887, and took up both a homestead and timber claim. When he started out in this new community he possessed a span of mules, seven head of cattle and $3.50 of money. He at once began farming, breaking up the prairie for himself and earning some extra money by using his team and plow to break land at so much an acre for others. Like other early settlers he would also spend a few months of work on the section for the Missouri Pacific Railway, and he was ready to perform any laborious toil that would give him a few dollars to tide him over the critical period. In the meantime the improvement of his homestead and tree claim went steadily forward, and he still owns both of them.

Mr. Huxmann is one of the men who have made a success of wheat growing in Ness County. It was the profits from his wheat crops that enabled him to buy another half section, and he now has a fine property, including the north half of section 23, township 16, range 25, the southeast quarter of section 14, township 16, range 25, and the southeast quarter of section 15 of the same township and range. Four hundred and twenty acres of this are employed by Mr. Huxmann as a farm, and he has a set of excellent building improvements.

His first improvements on the land constituted a sod house of two rooms, a sod stable, and a chicken house and cattle shed. The old sod house served as his home while he was bringing up his children. In 1892 he was able to erect a frame barn and subsequently he put up a substantial frame house, and then one after another other improvements were added, including chicken houses, granaries, cow barns and a garage. His farm lies a mile north and half a mile west of Arnold. In recent years cattle raising has been an important and profitable feature of his business.

In 1904 Mr. Huxmann became identified with the Utica Mercantile Company at Utica, and he was interested in that business for three years. He then transferred his commercial interests to Arnold, where he bought the lumber yard. He is a member of the Mercantile Company of Arnold, and is one of the original stockholders and vice president and director of the Arnold State Bank.

Public improvements of all kinds gain his ready support and patronage. The first summer he spent in Ness County he assisted in organizing the pioneer school district No. 61, and with the exception of a few years he has been steadily on the board of directors ever since. Mr. Huxmann was reared in the faith of the Mennonite Church. His first vote was given to Grover Cleveland for president and was cast in McPherson County. For many years he voted the democratic ticket as a whole, and has since become an active supporter of the prohibition party though with democratic learnings. For three terms he served as trustee of Ohio Township in Ness County.

In McPherson County February 4, 1883, Mr. Huxmann married Miss Mary Galle, who has been steadfastly with him in all his early trials and misfortunes, and also in his later success. Mrs. Huxmann was born in Lee County, Iowa, in July, 1863, daughter of Peter and Christina (Kreabill) Galle. Her parents were both natives of Bavaria, Germany, and of the Mennonite faith. Her father on coming to this country settled in Lee County, Iowa, and afterwards moved to Kansas in 1876, and spent the rest of his days on a farm in McPherson County. The Galle children were: Annie, wife of Henry Koller, of McPherson County; Mrs. Huxmann; Theresa, of McPherson County; Barbara, who died as a child; Jacob, of Lee County, Iowa; and William and David, of McPherson County, Kansas.

Mr. and Mrs. Huxmann are very proud of their family of children. Minnie, the oldest, is the wife of Bert Smith and has three children, Ray, Hubert and Charles. Edgar, who was a farmer near Arnold, married Laura Amstutz and has two children, Opal and Edgar. Elmer, a farmer near Arnold, married Mary Ummel. Barbara is the wife of Howard Norris, of Arnold. The younger children, all at home, are Paul, Bertha, Lydia, Clara and Emma.