Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Champagne, Peter 1836 - 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, 3:04 pm Author: B. F. Bowen PETER CHAMPAGNE. The town of Oketo, Marshall county, has many well-known and prominent retired residents, among the number being Peter Champagne, who is entitled to mention in the history of the county, he having had much to do with its growth and development. He was born in France on July 5, 1836, the son of Joseph and Justine (Bay) Champagne. Joseph and Justine (Bay) Champagne were also natives of France and there were educated., grew to maturity and were later married. They spent their early married life in France, when they decided to come to America. During his life in his native land, Joseph Champagne engaged in farming and on his arrival in the United States, in 1846, he established his home on a farm in the state of Pennsylvania, where the wife and mother died the same year the family came to this country. After the death of his wife, Mr. Champagne kept his family together until the time of his death in 1853, when the three younger children were given a home in the family of an uncle. Peter, the other member of the family, decided to seek a home for himself and located in the state of Illinois. Emil and Frank later enlisted in the Federal army during the Civil War and were never heard of. In 1861 Peter Champagne enlisted in Company A, Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, and served in the Union army throughout the Civil War. He served for a year and a half in the Army of the Potomac and was with George Stoneman in his famous raid. At the end of his first enlistment he came home and then re-enlisted and was assigned to the Department of the Gulf under General Banks and took an active part in the campaigns in that section of the country. During his life as a soldier he was in the following engagements: Dartsville, Virginia; Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Occsquam, Stoneman Raid at Yorktown; Allie, Virginia; Summerville, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Boonesboro, Maryland; Benevola, Maryland; Funkstom, Maryland; Jones Cross Roads, Falling Waters, Chester Gap, Rap-pahannock, Culpeper, Racoon Ford, Madison Court House, Summerville and Prentville, Virginia. He received his discharge at Memphis, Tennessee, on June 16, 1865, and was mustered out of the service at Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois. After his discharge he returned to his old home in Pennsylvania and for a year and a half he was engaged in the oil fields of that state. In the spring of 1867 he came to Kansas, where he homesteaded a tract of land in section 22, Oketo township, Marshall county. He later purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 15, making him a splendid farm of three hundred and twenty acres. This he developed and improved and later added to his tract until he is now the owner of five hundred and sixty acres. He engaged in general farming for many years and met with much success, both as a farmer and stockman. He has two sets of buildings on his extensive tract of land, but since 1911 he has been retired from the more active duties of farm life and has lived in Oketo, where he has a fine home. On September 20, 1868, Peter Champagne was united in marriage to Elizabeth Suggett, who was born at Detroit, Michigan, on June 18, 1848, and is the daughter of John and Cinda (Burgess) Suggett. Her parents were natives of England and were for a number of years residents of Rock Island, Illinois, before they came to Marshall county in 1860, where they died some years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Champagne had born to them the following children: Mary S., Victor B.. Eugene F., Grace B. and Ernest J. Mary S. is now living with her father in Oketo; Victor B. died on September 10, 1913, and left five children, Boyd, Reba, Vere, John and Garth. Eugene F. married Clara Farrend and they are living on the home farm; Grace B. is the wife of O. L. Poor; they are the parents of two children, Carleton and Stanery; they live in Los Angeles, California, and Ernest J. is a farmer of Marshall county, where he is meeting with much success in his chosen work. Mr. and Mrs. Champagne were always interested in the affairs of the township and the community in which they lived and where they were held in the highest regard. They were regular attendants of the churches, and liberal supporters of all projects that tended to the better moral and educational development of the district. Their interest in the schools had much to do with the high standard of the educational institutions of the district. Mrs. Champagne died in April, 1916, and was buried in Oketo cemetery. Mr. Champagne has long been identified with the Republican party and for many years has served his township as a member of the school board and was for two years trustee of the township. He conducted the affairs of these offices with the same care which he gave to his own interests. He was for a number of years a member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post at Oketo. When that disbanded he became a member of the post at Marysville. Mr. Champagne is a man of the highest integrity and because of his upright life he has made for himself many friends throughout the county. 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/champagn74bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb