Robert McKenzie

ROBERT McKENZIE, an energetic and prosperous farmer living in the vicinity of Piper, Kansas, dates his birth in Wisconsin, April 15, 1865, but has been a resident of Wyandotte county, Kansas, since his early childhood, the family home having been established here in 1868.

William L. McKenzie, his father, was born in New York in 1824, and when a young man learned the trade of cabinet maker. From New York he went up into Canada, and from there to Wisconsin, where in 1850 he engaged in farming, which he continued until the opening of the Civil war. As a member of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, he went to the front and was in the conflict until peace was effected. In 1868 he came to Wyandotte county, Kansas, and settled on a farm, and here he was engaged in agricultural pursuits the rest of his life. He died October 8, 1908. His wife, Elizabeth (Dixon) McKenzie, died November 10, 1900. They were the parents of seven children: William H., Frank, Charles C., Angus, Mary, Jennie and Robert. The father was identified with the Baptist church and the Masonic order, and as a worthy, respected citizen had the confidence and esteem of a wide circle of neighbors and friends.

On his father's farm Robert McKenzie grew to manhood, and here he has continued to live and carry on farming operations. He married, in 1893, Miss Mary Courtney, a native of Ireland, who in girlhood came to this country with her parents.

Mr. McKenzie has been initiated into the mysteries of Masonry and Odd Fellowship and is a member in good standing. He affiliates with Piper Masonic Lodge, No. 385, and is also a member of the Order of Eastern Star, No. 331, and Mrs. McKenzie being also a member of the Eastern Star. He also affiliates with Bonner Springs Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 358. Mr. McKenzie traces his lineage to the "Land of the Thistle" or Bonnie Scotland. Politically he is a Republican.