W. M. Butts, a prominent farmer and stockman of Glencoe township, is a native of Kentucky, born in 1873, and is a son of J. S. and Cora (Sweeney) Butts, both also natives of the "Blue Grass State." They were the parents of the following children, who are now living: Mrs. Alice Squier, Mrs. Leola Rumsey and Mrs. Anna Hopp, all of Beaumont, Kans., and W. M., whose name introduces this sketch. The Butts family came to Kansas in 1879. when W. M. was six years of age, and the father preempted a quarter section of Government land in Glencoe township, where W. M. now resides.

W. M. Butts was reared on the home farm in Butler county, educated in the public schools, and has made farming and stock raising the principal occupation of his life. His father was quite an extensive sheep man in the earlier days. Shortly after settling in Butler county, he went to Buler, Mo., and bought 200 head of sheep, which he drove through to Butler county, and on their way here with the sheep, Mr. Butts was forced to guard them every night to prevent them from being stolen by the ambitious denizens by the wayside. Thus, it will be seen that, in the early days of Kansas, sheep had other enemies besides wolves, dogs, etc., for there was sometimes a human element in the disappearance of a sheep. When W. M. Butts was a boy, his father gave him a sheep, and by the time he had reached the age of twenty-one, his sheep had multiplied, until he had 300 head. This sounds almost incredible, but if you'll take your pencil and figure it out, you will find that it is only another case of the blacksmith and the horseshoe nail. Each fall the Butts family loaded their household goods in a wagon and drove their sheep to the bottom lands of the Arkansas river where they would spend the winter, returning to Glencoe township in the spring.

W. M. Butts was married in 1900 to Miss Bernice Blankenbaker, a daughter of S. A. and Mattie (Dunlap) Blankenbaker. The Blankenbaker family were early settlers in Butler county, and when they came here, they settled on a quarter section of land, about a mile west of where they now live in Glencoe township. To Mr. and Mrs. Butts have been born the following children: Glencoe; Melvin; James; Ila, and Leatha, all living at home with their parents.

Although a young man, Mr. Butts is quite an old pioneer of Butler county, from the fact that he has spent most of his life here. He was only a small boy when he came here, however, he has a distinct recollection of many of the hardships and inconveniences, experienced by the early day settlers. He has seen many devastating prairie fires sweep over the plains, which was one of the great menaces to life and property during the early days in Butler county. Through his thrift and industry, Mr. Butts has succeeded to a very satisfactory degree, and is now one of the substantial men of Butler county.

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