Page 543-544, transcribed by Carolyn Ward from History of Butler County, Kansas by Vol. P. Mooney. Standard Publishing Company, Lawrence, Kan.: 1916. ill.; 894 pgs.


  HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY 543 cont'd

Bishop Brothers.—This enterprising and progressive firm is cornposed of Emmet and James Bishop, and they rank among the successful dealers in Percheron horses and Holstein cattle of Butler county. Both Emmett and James Bishop were born in Benton county, Arkansas, and their parents both died when the boys were very young. James was taken by an uncle who resided in Missouri, and was reared to man-


544 HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY  

hood and educated there. Emmett was reared in Arkansas and was educated in the public schools of Benton county. In 1891, he located in Bates county, where he followed farming until February, 1899; he then went to the State of Washington, where he remained until November of that year, when he came to Butler county, and he and his brother James entered the employ of J. C. Robison at the Whitewater Falls stock farm. After remaining there about a year the two brothers went to Oklahoma to harvest a crop of wheat which they had there, after which they returned to Kansas, making Towanda their permanent home.

James entered the general store of M. Orban, Jr., as a clerk and Emmet entered the employ of the D. M. Osborne Machine Company, and was on the road for that company for two years and then entered the employ of the J. I. Case Company, of Racine, Wis., traveling for that company four years. While Emmet was on the road, James began to deal in Percheron horses, in a small way, and in 1908 was joined by his brother, Emmet, and the partnership which was formed at that time still exists. J. C. Robison had an interest in the business up to that time, but in 1909 Bishop Brothers became the exclusive owners.

The Bishop Brothers have been unusually successful in their venture and are among the representative Percheron horse dealers of the State. They usually have on hand about seventy-five head of Percheron horses and their farm, three and one-half miles southeast of Towanda, and stables, located at Towanda, are well equipped and adapted to this line of business. During the past year they have added a new feature to their business and are rapidly, building up a trade as dealers in Holstein cattle, and now have on hand about 150 head of pure bred and high grade animals. They have 320 acres of land, about half of which they reserve for pasture and the other half is under a high state of cultivation. The Bishop Brothers are among the leading horse and cattle men of the county.


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