Silas L. Paul

SILAS L. PAUL.* The biographer is privileged to present to the reader a short review of the life and family of Silas L. Paul, one of Cherokee County's most worthy citizens, who lives in section 14, township 35, range 24, in Spring Valley township. Mr. Paul was born in Kosciusko County, Indiana, January 19, 1862.

The Paul family came originally from Germany, locating first in Maryland and later removing to Hancock County, Ohio, where Jackson Paul, our subject's father, was born. Jackson Paul attended the schools of Hancock County, Ohio, until he was 20 years of age. He was then granted a teacher's certificate and taught two terms of school in Hancock county.

In 1849, during the first rush for the gold fields of California, Jackson Paul became one of the number who braved the perils of a journey to this new "Mecca" of the West. Instead of joining one of the overland caravans moving across the Great Western Plains, he took ship and passed to the southward, rounded Cape Horn and reached the land of his dreams by way of the Pacific. He remained in California for three years engaged in gold mining. Then, having secured enough of the yellow metal to make a comfortable fortune, he returned to Warsaw, Indiana, to enjoy the results of his hard labor in a new country.

After a period in Chicago, Illinois, where he was studying medicine, he settled down to farming near Warsaw, and at the same time practiced medicine in and about the neighborhood in which he lived. Then, after he had made several trips to Kansas to look up a desirable location, he removed to Cherokee County in 1872 and located on a farm near Baxter Springs, where he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred May 10, 1881. His wife had passed away some time before the removal of the family to Kansas. Jackson Paul married Elizabeth Blodgett, daughter of Joseph and Helen Blodgett, of Indiana. Their family consisted of 10 children, as follows: Ed, a liveryman of Hedrick, Iowa; Charles, a physician of Elkhart, Indiana; Frank, a farmer of Mason County, Illinois; Joseph, engaged in orange growing in California: Bert, employed, in a wholesale house in Kansas City; William, living in England; Silas, subject of this review; Clara, wife of James Hobson, a resident of Louisiana; Eva (Mrs. Arthur Scott), of Baxter Springs; and Nellie, who lives in Kansas City.

Silas Paul came to Kansas with his father in 1872 and lived and worked on the farm, while he was acquiring an education in the schools of Baxter Springs. At the age of 18 he left school and began the management of a creamery on the place where he now lives. He was employed in this manner about four years, and then turned his attention to farming, which has claimed his attention ever since, with the exception of about three years, during which he was in the employ of the "Frisco" Railroad, helping to put in ballast and laying rails. A farm at Carthage, Missouri, purchased some time ago, is rented out, as the farm at home claims his attention.

Mr. Paul's married life began on December 25, 1898, when he was united in marriage to Bessie Murray, daughter of Ewing and Sarah (Robertson) Murray, of Missouri. The family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Paul and her mother. Mrs. Murray, and three sons,--Jackson, Roy and Arthur.

Our subject is a Republican in politics and at all times he stands for the principles of that party. In religious circles he is prominent as a member of the Presbyterian Church. He affiliates with the I. O. O. F. Mr. Paul is a man of real worth and good standing in the community, and highly esteemed by his many friends.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Carolyn Ward, instructor from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 6-27-97