KSGenWeb Digital Library Biographical Sketch of Allen W. Lichty Brown County, Kansas

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The following transcription is from a 750 page book titled "Genealogical and Biographical Record of North-Eastern Kansas, dated 1900.  These have been diligently transcribed and generously contributed by Penny R. Harrell, please give her a very big Thank You for her hard work!

Allen W. Lichty.

The Lichty family of which our subject is a representative had its origin in Switzerland, the original American ancestors being John Lichty, who came from the land of the Alps and took up his abode in the new world in colonial days.  He settled north of Baltimore Maryland, and reared the following children: Jacob, born in 1791; Susanna, in 1794; Hannah, in 1796; John, in 1798; Samuel, in 1800; Daniel, in 1802; David, in 1804; Magdalena, in 1807; Elizabeth, in 1809; Joseph, in 1813; Christian, in 1815; and Daniel, in 1818.

Christian Lichty, the great-grandfather of our subject, became one of the first settlers in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and there established a farm which is yet in possession of his descendents.  This land was crossed by the famous Pennsylvania coal belt.  That fact was not known when it came into the possession of Christian Lichty, but a rich sixteen foot vein was afterward discovered and the operation of the mines proved a great source of income to the owners.

Christian Lichty became widely and favorably known in his adopted county.  The family has always been one of prominence in that locality.  Representatives of the name have since emigrated westward to Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, but Jacob Lichty, a son of Christian and the grandfather of our subject spent his entire life in the Keystone state, where he was known as an honest, industrious and unpretentious farmer whose sterling worth commanded the respect of his friends and neighbors.

His children were John C.; Jacob; Daniel; Emmanuel; Lena, the wife of Jacob Myers; and Joseph C.  For many generations the family have been connected with the Dunkard Church. Joseph C. Lichty, the father of our subject, was born, reared and married in Somerset county, Penn., Miss Anna Miller becoming
his wife.

She was a daughter of Abram Miller, a farmer of Somerset county who was of German lineage and spent his entire life in Pennsylvania.  His children were John; Jonas; Jacob; Daniel; Peter; Catherine, the wife of John Myers; Mrs. J. Fike and Anna.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Lichty began their domestic life upon a farm in Somerset county and there they spent their remaining days, his attention being devoted entirely to agricultural pursuits.  In politics he was a Democrat, and he held the office of jury commissioner, but never aspired to political preferment.

His children were John M. and Hiram J., who became pioneers of Iowa; Mary, the wife of D. S. Miller; William H., of Iowa; Louisa, the wife of E. Berkley; Sevilla, who died in childhood; Allen W.; Samuel J., of Iowa; and Joseph and Ella, who died in childhood.

Allen W. Lichty, whose name heads this record, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1850, and upon the home farm spent the days of his boyhood and youth, enjoying such educational privileges as were afforded by the common schools of the neighborhood.  In the summer months he aided in the work of the fields and meadows, remaining with his parents until eighteen years of age, when he emigrated westward to Iowa and there began the battle of life for himself.

After four years spent in the Hawkeye state, he removed to Carroll county, Ill., where, in November, 1870, he was married to Miss Evaline Saylor, who was born in Somerset county, Penn., December 9, 1851.  She is a lady of intelligence and culture, a daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Whipkey) Saylor, natives of Somerset county, Penn., the former born July 13, 1820 and the latter in January, 1831.

The paternal grandfather, Christian Lichty, was born in Somerset county, Penn., in 1793 and died in 1870. His children were Abraham; Emmanuel; Mrs. Eliza Musselman; and Mrs. Lydia Shock. 

Jonathan Saylor, the father of Mrs. Lichty, made farming his life work.  He married Mary Whipkey, a daughter of John Whipkey, who was born in Somerset county, Penn., in 1804 and died in 1870.  Mr. Saylor had been married previously, his first union having been with Miss Catherine Miller, by whom he had four children: Simon, William, Ephraim and Sarah; but Simon is the only one who reached mature years.

He is a retired farmer living in Falls City, Nebraska.  By his second marriage, Mr. Saylor had four children: Evaline, the wife of our subject; Milton, of Carroll county, Ill.; Allen W., of Nemaha county, Kansas; and Harvey, a practicing physician of Fairview, Kansas.  The family were Dunkards and in later life joined the Progressive branch of that organization.  The father died on September 4, 1893, and the
mother December 9, 1898.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lichty returned to his Pennsylvania home, where they remained for one year and then removed to Illinois.  In 1872 they went to Falls City, Nebraska, and Mr. Lichty rented a farm, which he operated for one year, thence coming to Brown county, Kansas, in the fall of 1873.  He purchased 80 acres of land upon which he resides.  It was then a tract of unimproved prairie, upon which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made.

He immediately built a stable, in which he lived until the completion of a small residence.  The first year he succeeded in having some of his land broken and fenced and soon his farm became a paying property.  He has since engaged in the cultivation of his fields and in feeding and selling stock, making a specialty of the raising of hogs, and his efforts have been very successful, and he has added to his farm an eighty-acre tract, so that he is now the possessor of a valuable property, comprising a quarter-section of land.

His home is a large two-story frame residence, and this is supplemented by a large barn and outbuildings for the shelter of the stock, and a good lawn and a beautiful grove add to the attractiveness of the place.

The farm is pleasantly located six miles northwest of Morrill, thus enabling him to obtain the comforts of town life.  The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lichty has been blessed with eleven children: Anna M., born October 14, 1871, in Somerset county, Penn., is the wife of W. D. Deaver, Sabetha, Kansas; Sarah J., born November 13, 1873, is the wife of Daniel Sargent a jeweler of Falls City, Nebraska; John C., born June 8, 1875; Joseph C., born April 6, 1877, is employed in the bank of Sabetha; Cordia M., born May 1, 1879, is the wife of E. Lanning, a farmer; Edward, who was born June 28, 1881, and is a student in Falls City, Nebraska; Lulu Lodella and Lela Luella, twins, who were born December 16, 1886, but the latter died on July 11, 1887; Homer, born February 14, 1888; and Nora L., March 1, 1892.

Mr. Lichty and his family are members of the Progressive Dunkard Church, and socially he is connected with the Modern Woodmen, and was reared in the political faith of the Democratic party, but since the organization of the People's party he has been one of its advocates.

Although his party is in the minority in his township his sterling worth and ability have occasioned his election for the office of township trustee, in which he served for three terms.  He is now filling his second term of county commissioner and has creditably served in various township offices, in which his fidelity to duty has won him high commendation.

Indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and his resolute purpose and unflagging industry have been the means of winning him a place among the substantial farmers of the neighborhood.

As such he well deserves mention in this volume, and it is with pleasure that we present this sketch for the perusal of the readers of northeastern Kansas.

Last update: Friday, July 18, 2003 20:22:08

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