Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Alspach, Cornelius W. 1844 - living in 1917 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com July 23, 2005, 12:16 pm Author: B. F. Bowen CORNELIUS W. ALSPACH. Cornelius W. Alspach, a well-known and substantial retired farmer of Marshall county, now living at Axtell, is a native of Ohio, but has been a resident of this county since pioneer days, having come here in 1871. He was born on a farm in Fail-field county, Ohio, June 15, 1844, son of John D. and Elizabeth (Heimbaugh) Alspach, both of whom are long since deceased, having spent their last days in Ohio. John D. Alspach was born in Ohio, of Pennsylvania-Dutch parentage, and was twice married, having children by both marriages. Reared on the home farm in Ohio, Cornelius W. Alspach remained there until after he was twenty-five years of age, when, in the spring of 1871, he came to Kansas and homesteaded a tract of eighty acres southeast of Beattie, in Rock township, this county, and proceeded to develop the same. Four years later he married and presently traded his improved homestead for a tract of two hundred acres in Murray township, where he established his home and where he continued farming for thirty years or more, becoming one of the most substantial farmers in that neighborhood. Mr. Alspach gave considerable attention to the raising of cattle and hogs and did very well in his operations. He added to his land holdings in Murray township and now owns three hundred and seventy-eight acres in section 4 and eighteen acres in section 14 of that township, continuing to take an active interest in the management of the place, even though he has for years been retired from the active labors of the farm. It was in 1904 that Mr. Alspach retired from the farm and moved to his present home near Axtell. There he owns eighteen acres on the edge of the city and he and his family are very pleasantly and comfortably situated. Mr. Alspach is a Democrat and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs. During his long residence in Murray township he held numerous township offices and was for years a member of the school board in his home district. In 1874 Cornelius W. Alspach was united in marriage to Barbara Wolfgang, who was born in Pennsylvania in February, 1856, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Schwartz) Wolfgang, both of whom were born in that same state and who came to Kansas with their family in 1870, settling on a homestead farm south of Beattie. To Mr. and Mrs. Alspach eleven children have been born, namely: Mrs. Priscilla M. Brooks, of Kansas City, Missouri, to whom two children have been born, one of whom is dead; Sarah, who married H. T. Totten, a farmer living northeast of Mina, this county, and has two children; Cornelius F., who is employed in the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad shops at Topeka and who married Edith Kirk and has two children; Delia, who married Fred Lower, of Centerville, Iowa, and has two children; Mrs. Nellie Graham, who lives south of Beattie and has two children; Alta, who married H. B. Huddleston, a farmer living near Axtell, and has four children; Charles, who is running an elevator at Kensington, in Smith county, this state, and who married Dora Douglas and has one child; Mrs. Ruby Rodkey, of Blue Rapids, who has two children; Harry, who is at home; Grace, also at home, and Effie, who is deceased. The Alspachs have a very pleasant home near Axtell and have ever taken a proper part in the general social life of the vicinity. Mr. Alspach is a charter member of the Masonic lodge at Axtell and has ever taken an active interest in the affairs of the same. He also is a member of the local lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/marshall/bios/alspach64bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 4.4 Kb