Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Suggett, John W. 1851 - ************************************************ 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@yahoo.com May 3, 2007, 1:31 am Author: Emma E. Forter JOHN W. SUGGETT. John Suggett, one of the well-known residents of Marietta, Marshall county, and one of the early pioneers of the district, was born in Detroit on June 11, 1851, the son of John P. and Clinda (Burgess) Suggett, natives of England. John P. and Cinda (Burgess) Suggett were natives of Durhamshire, and Somersetshire, respectively, the former having been born in 1813 and died on June 7, 1874, and the latter was born in 1827, and died on May 6, 1906. Mr. Suggett received his education in the schools of his native land and there he grew to manhood and learned the butcher's trade. At the age of twenty years he decided to seek a home in America and on his arrival in this country he located at Detroit, where he was engaged in butchering for the lake, boats. Clinda [sic] Burgess spent her early childhood in England, and at the age of ten years came to America with her parents, who located at Detroit, where she completed her education in the public schools and where she was married in 1847 to Mr. Suggett. They established their home in that city and there they lived until 1856. when they moved to Rock Island, Illinois. There Mr. Suggett engaged in supplying the steamers on the Mississippi river with meat. After a residence of six years in that city, the family decided to locate in Kansas. They made the trip to Hannibal, Missouri, by steamboat and from there to St. Joseph by rail. Here John P. Suggett purchased a team of oxen and with his family drove to Marysville, Marshall county. He engaged in the butcher business and for two years furnished meat for the soldiers. He remained in the butcher business until 1869, when he homesteaded in Oketo township. There he and his sons cut the logs to build their first home on the claim. They obtained their timber from along the creek, and built a two-story house in which they lived for a number of years. The family always had plenty to eat in their new home, and much of their meat was obtained on the prairie, where they obtained wild prairie chicken, duck, turkey and buffalo. They were provided with fresh buffalo meat until the year 1872 and had dried meat until late the next year. John P. Suggett became a successful farmer and in time his farm became one of the well-developed and improved places in the township. He raised much stock, with which he had much success. He and Mrs. Suggett were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, William H., John W., Nathaniel P., Thomas J., Fannie L., Benjamin F., Nellie, Clinda and Mary D. Elizabeth Champagne, William H., Fannie L. Watson and Mary D. are now deceased, the latter having died on November 7, 1895. Nathaniel P. is a resident of Oketo: Thomas J. is a resident of Marietta; Benjamin F. resides at Beloit, Kansas; Mrs. Nellie Gibson conducts a boarding house at Oketo; Clinda Mayhew lives on a farm four miles west of Marietta, in Oketo townshop where her husband, John Mayhew, is a farmer. John P. and Clinda Suggett were among the prominent residents of the county. Mrs. Suggett was a firm believer in teaching her children household duties. Her boys and girls from childhood were taught the art of cooking and the care of the home, and anyone of them could prepare an excellent meal. Both Mr. and Mrs. Suggett spent their last days on the old homestead. John W. Suggett received his education in the schools of Marshall county. At the age of ten years he moved with his parents to the homestead in Oketo township, where he spent his life as a lad and young man. There he assisted in the breaking and the clearing of the home place and later in the cultivation of the crops and in the general work on the farm. At the age of twenty-nine years, in 1880, he homesteaded forty acres of land in Oketo township, this being the last homestead in Oketo. He made many improvements on the place, which he later sold and moved to Marietta, where he has a good home and four acres of land. Here for many years he did general work and operated his mother's farm. In 1880 Mr. Suggett was united in marriage to Ida Triggs, who was born in Lucas county, Iowa, in 1863 and is the daughter of Thomas M. Triggs and wife, who left their home in Iowa and came to Marshall county in 1869, where they became prominent in the affairs of the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Suggett have been born the following children: Elsie, who died in 1896; Percy, who died in November, 1913, and Victor and Hazel are now residing in Oketo township, the latter being a student in the Oketo high school. Mr. and Mrs. Suggett are active members of the United Evangelical church, and have long been prominent in the social life of the community in which they have lived for so many years and where they are held in the highest regard. Mr. Suggett is independent in politics, but has always taken a keen interest in the civic life of his home district, and is an advocate of the selection of the best men to administer the affairs of the county and the township. John W. Suggett has had an active life on the plains of the West, and when he was but fifteen or sixteen years of age he joined with Robert Shibley as a freighter. They left Marysville in April, 1866, and with a consignment of two mills for Ft. Laramie, for the gold mines, they started for St. Joseph. They transported the machinery to Laramie and were gone until winter. On one trip with Mr. Shibley they had thirty-five wagons in the caravan, including two four-horse wagons. The Indians were on the warpath in that section of the country and they had a most difficult time in making their trip. At one place Mr. Suggett and the party found an old couple murdered and they delayed their journey long enough to give them a burial. At another place they found a German settler killed at the door of his house, he having been murdered while endeavoring to gain entrance to his home. Traveling on the plains in those days was dangerous as well as difficult. There were no roads, and the winding trail at times was most difficult to follow. To such people as the Suggett family, much honor and credit are due for their efforts in blazing the way for civilization in this Indian-ridden country. Their lives were hard ones, and only those with brave hearts and a firm determination to win could possibly succeed in their efforts to establish homes on the fertile plains of Kansas. Much has been said of the trials and the hardships of those people, but only those who experienced the life can realize the struggle. 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/suggett383gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ksfiles/ File size: 7.2 Kb