Page 392, transcribed by Carolyn Ward from History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas: embellished with portraits of well known people of these counties, with biographies of our representative citizens, cuts of public buildings and a map of each county / Edited and Compiled by L. Wallace Duncan and Chas. F. Scott. Iola Registers, Printers and Binders, Iola, Kan.: 1901; 894 p., [36] leaves of plates: ill., ports.; includes index.



 

392 cont'd HISTORY OF ALLEN AND  

CAPTAIN G. DeWITT.

CAPTAIN G. DeWITT was born in Gallia county, Ohio, February 28, 1834, where he lived until about fourteen years old when he moved with his parents to Franklin county, Illinois. Here he grew to manhood, choosing farming and school teaching as his vocation and fitted himself for a civil engineer. In 1860 he enlisted in the Civil war as an Illinois volunteer in the 110th Regiment where he served as captain eighteen months, when he was honorably discharged on account of poor health. In 1863 he moved with his family to Humboldt, Kansas, where he served in the militia about two years. He bought a farm two and a half miles west of Humboldt upon which he lived for thirty-seven years. He was quite a public spirited man, taking a very active part in all public issues. He was ever a true Republican and by this party was elected to the office of County Surveyor which he held almost continuously for thirty-five years. He held the office of County Superintendent one term and represented his county two terms in the State Legislature. These offices he filled with. much credit to his constituents. There was hardly a square section in the county which he had not surveyed and knew fully as well as the owner himself.

He was a man of sterling integrity, a deliberate thinker—never jumping at conclusions and seldom ever losing his point in an agument.[sic] He united with the Missionary Baptist denomination when quite a young man and clung very tenaciously to this belief until his death which occurred April 9th, 1901.


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