Joseph H. Sloan

JOSEPH H. SLOAN, connected with the commercial life of Wyandotte county for more than thirty years, was summoned to the life eternal on the 6th of June, 1911. It is no wonder that he was a man of marked personality, as he was connected in some form or other with five different nationalities. His father was a Scotchman, his mother was Irish, while he was born in Canada, passed most of his life in America and married a German wife. Every nation has its good and bad points, and it seems as if Mr. Sloan had derived something that was worth while from each of the above mentioned nations. Never possessed of very rugged health, for years it seemed as if Mr. Sloan's will was the only power that saved him from collapse; he lived, however, to the age of sixty-two years, and was prominent in Kansas City circles, both social and commercial.

Joseph H. Sloan was born at Fort Hope, Canada, November, 23, 1849. His father, Samuel Sloan, was born in Scotland, whence he emigrated to Canada, while Mrs. Samuel Sloan was a native of Ireland, Anna Fraffin in her maiden days, and had come to Canada as a young girl. Mr. Sloan died in Canada, while his widow died at Buffalo, New York in 1857. Their son Joseph, thus left an orphan at the age of eight years, lived with his different relatives until the time of his marriage, which occurred June 14, 1877. His wife was Mary Geimer, born in Buffalo, New York, daughter of Adam and Barbara (Henness) Geimer, both natives of Germany. Joseph H. Sloan had received a varied education, obtained in a variety of schools, during his residence with his different relatives. In the fall which succeeded his marriage he, his wife, his wife's father and mother came to Wyandotte county, and there settled in the township of Wyandotte, now a part of Kansas City. Mr. Geimer pursued his work as a cabinet maker, and died January 3, 1911, eleven months after his wife, whose demise had occurred February 6, 1910. Mr. Sloan was possessed of wonderful executive abilities, and was a born organizer. He had the faculty of getting the greatest amount of service from his subordinates, while at the same time he secured their good will. Soon after his arrival in Kansas he was appointed to the position of manager of the lunch counter and dining room at the Union Depot at Kansas City, Missouri, and for eleven years he was conspicuous in the above named capacity, and that he remained in this position for so long a period is proof positive that his services were appreciated and eminently satisfactory. In 1888 he severed his connections with the Union Depot and successively managed various restaurants and eating houses of different classes. For six months he was at College, New Mexico, in connection with an eating house there. In 1906 he felt the desire to have a fixed home and he returned to Kansas City, Kansas, where he became deputy sanitary sergeant, a position which he occupied for five years, and on May 15, 1911, he retired from active work. For many years his health had been very poor, and no sooner did he give up his position above mentioned than he began to fail. He died on the sixth of June, 1911, from the effects of a sunstroke. Of the six children who were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sloan, three survived their father, namely, Lawrence A. and Robert, the latter of whom is employed by Morris & Company, and both sons live with their mother and Mary, who married Harry Coverly, of Kansas City, Kansas. The other three children all lived to maturity: Frances married J. W. Steinmetz and died April 8, 1905; George B. died in New York city, January 25, 1906; while Harry J. died on the first of April, 1910, only a year before his father.

Mr. Sloan did not identify himself with any political party, but always voted independently, feeling that the fitness of the individual to fill the position in question was of more importance than the supremacy of any political party. He was brought up in the Catholic faith, and both he and his wife were members of the church in Kansas City, and there Mrs. Sloan still attends, accompanied by her two boys, who surround her with all the tender care which her sweet and gracious nature requires.