Barton County KS Archives Biographies.....Brougher, Ira D. 1843 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com November 9, 2005, 10:24 pm

Author: Great Bend Tribune

IRA D. BROUGHER

[untitled portrait photo, presumably Ira Brougher]

OF the old timers who came to Barton County in the early '70's none is better
known than Ira Day Brougher, who arrived in this county in 1874. He was born May
14, 1843, in York County, Pennsylvania. He received his early education in the
schools of that state and at the beginning of the war he enlisted in the 13th
Pennsylvania and was a member of Company P. He began his enlistment June 9,
1862, and was honorably discharged January 3, 1863. He re-enlisted in the U. S.
Military Railroad Department and saw active service until 1866. He took part in
the battle of South Mountain, Maryland, and later lost his right arm as the
result of a wound received at the battle of Antietem. At the close of the war he
went to Philadelphia where he took a course in the Bryant-Stratton Business
College. He graduated from this institution in 1868. This course of study fitted
him for the occupation of book-keeper which he followed for several years in
Philadelphia and New York where he held responsible positions with wholesale
houses. He remained in New York City for two years and was there when he was
seized with the idea to go west and grow up with the country, as was advised by
Horace Greeley. He came direct to Barton County, Kansas in 1874 and homesteaded
a claim in what is now South Bend township, about six miles southwest of Great
Bend. He helped to organize this township and was the first trustee. He was
engaged in the farming business from then on until he retired from active work
on the farm in 1889. Mr. Brougher was elected county clerk of Barton County at
the fall election of 1877, and held this office for three consecutive terms or
six years. In 1889 he was elected to the office of Clerk of the District Court
which office he held when Judge Clark was district judge of this judicial
district. When Mr. Brougher first came to this section of the state the outlook
was anything but bright for the future and although he was handicapped by having
but one arm, he plunged into the thick of the development work and from his
public service which is mentioned above it can be seen that he had time to take
an active part in public matters as well as look after his private affairs. Mr.
Brougher was one of those men who made this county one of the best in the State
of Kansas out of a barren prairie waste. For a time after his arrival here there
was a period when things looked mighty fine for the early settlers, but this was
followed by several years which tried the hearts and souls of the pioneers, when
they were compelled to combat not only the uncertainty of moisture but had to
contend with the grasshoppers and other conditions over which they had no
control. However it was fortunate that the population of Barton County at that
time contained men, who like Mr. Brougher, could see the possibilities of the
future and in spite of the undesirable conditions remained and developed the
county's resources until it is now one of the most important in the State of
Kansas. Mr. Brougher owns nine quarter sections of land in this part of the
state; seven of them being in Barton and one each in Stafford and Hodgeman
counties. He is also one of the directors of the German-American Bank of Great
Bend and was one of the organizers and is still president of the Barton County
Fair Association, an office which he has filled since the association was formed
in 1900. He also has interests in the mercantile line in Great Bend and is
counted as a progressive, enterprising citizen, and one of the men who blazed
the way for others to make of Barton County one of the most productive
agricultural sections in the world.


Additional Comments:
From:
Biographical History Of Barton County


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