Daniel Weidman, a Civil war veteran and Butler county pioneer, is a native of Columbia township, Warren county, New Jersey. He was born in 1844, and is a son of Philip K. and Susan (Ryman) Weidman. The father was born in Easton, Pa., in 1803, and the mother was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1812. They were the parents of the following children: Thomas; Mrs. Clara Wait; Mrs. Lymell Thompson, and Daniel, the subject of this sketch. The Weidman family went from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1856, where the father died in 1862, and the mother in 1872, in Fremont county.

Daniel Weidman was educated in the public schools of Pennsylvania, and the Waverly Academy, Waverly, Pa., and on July 30, 1863, he enlisted at Red Oak, Iowa, in Company A, Eighth regiment, Iowa cavalry, and was mustered into the United States service. His regiment took part in the Atlanta campaign, and the battles of Nashville, Tenn., and Waterloo, Ala., and a number of other engagements and skirmishes. Mr. Weidman had some very narrow escapes during his military career, but was never wounded. He was doing picket duty on the banks of the river, when General Hood attacked the Union lines and sent his first boat load of men across the Tennessee, at about the point where Mr. Weidman was stationed. Mr. Weidman says that he never ran so fast in all his life as he did that afternoon, to get away from the Confederates. During his hurry he threw his coat away, which he needed that night. The same night that the Union forces were attacked by Hood, and withdrew, they were reinforced by General Hatch, and returned to the fight which lasted a number of days and ended at Nashville. Mr. Weidman was on a raid in Alabama which lasted sixty-two days. At the same time, his horse was shot from under him, and fell on one of his feet which was in the stirrup, and in order to release himself, Mr. Weidman pulled his foot out of his boot, and left

the boot under the horse, and ran about fifty yards to where there was another horse which he mounted, and succeeded in escaping. The Confederates were so close on his trail at that time that they called to him to surrender, but he told them that he could not see it in that way, and succeeded in getting away. His army life was filled with adventure from start to finish, and after the war, and at the close of a brilliant, military career, he was mustered out of the United States service at Macon, Ga., in August 13, 1865.

At the close of the war, Mr. Weidman returned to Red Oak, Iowa, where he remained until 1869, when he came to Butler county and settled on Turkey creek about six miles south of El Dorado. Here he bought a quarter section of land of William Towsley. After remaining on this place about a year, Mr. Weidman sold it to Betts and Fraiser, and located in El Dorado. In 1873 he homesteaded a quarter section on the Whitewater in Fairview township. After remaining there fourteen years, he returned to El Dorado and engaged in the hardware and implement business with Rogers Bros. and Conner, on the corner of Main and Central. A year later he sold his interest in that concern, and worked in the hardware store of C. L. Turner, about two years. He then entered the employ of the McCormack Harvesting Machine Company, and was on the road for that company for five years. He then worked for the Champion Machine Company for five years, in a similar capacity, when he entered the employ of the Altman-Miller Company, and remained with them about one year. He then moved to a farm, and after remaining three years, returned to El Dorado and has since rented his farm, and resided in El Dorado.

Mr. Weidman was married June 19, 1867, to Miss Emazetta Gordon, of Pleasant Hill, Mo. She is a daughter of George A. and Sarah E. (Dunn) Gordon, natives of Ohio and Kentucky, respectively. The father now resides at Eureka, Kans., at the advanced age of ninety-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were the parents of the following children: Heustes, was killed while serving in the Union army during the Civil war at Dallas, Ga.; Walter, died at Memphis, Tenn., while serving in the Union army during the Civil war; Hypatia, lives at Seattle, Wash.; Mrs. Alice Kalb, Springfield, Ill.; Mrs. Robert Johnson, Denver, Colo.; Mrs. Emma Badger, Topeka, Kans.; Laura, resides at Eureka, Kans., and Emazetta, wife of Mr. Weidman, the subject of this sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Weidman have been born six children, as follows: George, Salt Lake City, Utah; Mrs. Ella Hunt, Wichita, Kans.; Harry, a grocer, of El Dorado; Earl, Salt Lake City, Utah; Ray, El Dorado, Kans., and Frank, Western Union telegraph operator, Tulsa, Okla.

When Mr. Weidman came to Butler county, forty-seven years ago, this country was in a wild and unbroken state, and scarcely any of the improvements or permanent settlements had been made at that time. The native wild animals of the plains were in abundance, and in 1869,

Mr. Weidman killed six deer south of El Dorado, and in 1870, 1871 and 1872, he went buffalo hunting each year, and returned with plenty of buffalo meat. There were lots of Indians in this section when they first came here, and they frequently called at the Weidman home, usually begging for chickens, and at one time, the Weidman family had an Indian girl in their employ as a domestic. Mr. Weidman planted the first cottonwood trees in El Dorado. He also planted the first apple trees in the county for Dr. White, and received twenty-five cents for setting out each tree, and the specifications required that he dig holes three feet deep and three feet in diameter for each tree, and set the tree in rich soil hauled from the timber. He made some money at this, but it was hard work. Mr. Weidman remembers many early day instances, and taking his career all together, both as a soldier and as a pioneer, he has had his share of interesting experiences, including many hardships and privations.

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