Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Suggett, Thomas Jefferson 1855 - 
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Author: Emma E. Forter (1917)

THOMAS JEFFERSON SUGGETT.

    Thomas J. Suggett, one of the well-known retired farmers of Oketo, Marshall
county, was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 25, 1855, and is the son of John
Pontiach and Clinda (Burgess) Suggett.

    John Pontiach and Clinda (Burgess) Suggett, were born in England, the former
having been born in Durhamshire in 1813 and died on June 7, 1874, and the latter
was born in Somersetshire in 1827 and died on May 6, 1906. John P. Suggett was
educated in the schools of his native country and there he grew to manhoods and
learned the butcher trade. At the age of twenty years he came to America and on
his arrival in this country he at once located in Detroit, where he was engaged
at his trade and did butchering for the boats that plied on the lakes. Clinda
Burgess, who became the wife of Mr. Suggett, received her first educational
training in the schools of England, and when but ten years of age, she came with
her parents to the United States and with them settled in Detroit. There she
completed her education and grew to womanhood and was later married in 1847. Mr.
and Mrs. Suggett established their home in their adopted city and there they
lived until 1856, when they moved to Rock Island, Illinois. Mr. Suggett
continued in his work as butcher, supplying the steamers that plied the
Mississippi river with meat. After a residence of six years in that city the
family moved to Kansas, the trip being made by boat to Hannibal, Missouri, and
from there to St. Joseph by railroad. At St. Joseph Mr. Suggett purchased a team
of oxen and completed the journey to Marysville, Marshall county. On his arrival
in that town, he again engaged in the butcher business and supplied meat to the
soldiers. In 1869 he homesteaded a tract of land in Oketo township and he and
his boys built their first house. The logs were obtained along the creek, a
two-story building being erected, in which the family lived for a number of
years. Although the family was on the plains and in a sparsely settled country,
they always had a plenty to eat. Their meat was obtained on the plains, where
there was plenty of wild prairie chicken, wild turkey, duck and buffalo. The
latter were quite plentiful until as late as 1872, and furnished fresh meat for
the family. That year most of these animals had deserted the plains of this
section of Kansas, but the family had plenty of dried meat to last them well
into the next year.

    As time advanced, John P. Suggett put his farm into a good state of
development and had it well improved and he became a successful farmer and stock
raiser. He made his home one of the pleasant places of the county, and there he
and his wife lived until the time of their deaths. They 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, who married Mr.
Champagne, is now deceased, as are William H., Fannie L., who was the wife of
John Watson, and Mary D., the latter having died on November 7, 1895. Nathaniel
P. resides at Oketo, where he is well known; Benjamin F. is a resident of
Beloit, Kansas; John W. is engaged in farming in Marietta, and Mrs. Nellie
Gibson is conducting a boarding house at Oketo. Clinda is the wife of John
Mayhew, a farmer and stockman of Oketo township, their farm being located four
miles west of Marietta.

    John P. and Clinda Suggett were excellent people and were held in the
highest regard and esteem in the community in which they resided. Mrs. Suggett
believed in teaching her children the care of the home and how to cook, and her
boys were adepts in both arts. They took the greatest interest in the moral and
physical development of their home township, and were ever active in promoting
the interests of the community.

    Thomas Jefferson Suggett received his education in the schools of Marshall
county and made his home with his parents until he was seventeen years of age,
up to which time he worked in the neighborhood as a farm hand. On April 22,
1899, upon the opening of the large tract of land in Oklahoma, he made the run
and was successful in obtaining a town lot in Guthrie and one hundred and sixty
acres of land. For seven years he remained in Guthrie, living in a tent and
operating the Royal grocery in a building, sixteen by twenty-four feet. He dug a
well and sold the water at five cents per bucket and from this venture he made
five dollars per day. He also operated a blacksmith shop in which he was also
successful. He lived a strenuous life in the new land until 1906, when sold all
his holdings in the territory and returned to Oketo. Here he has a splendid home
and is the owner of eighteen city lots, and devotes his time to the raising of
potatoes, strawberries and small fruit. For the most part he lives a
semi-retired life, but he takes pleasure in the cultivation of his small tract
of land and the care of his fruit.

    Politically, Mr. Suggett is a member of the Republican party and has always
taken a keen interest in the affairs of the community. For ten years he has
served the township as a constable and he was re-elected again in 1916, out of
three hundred and ninety-nine votes, receiving three hundred. The family were
members of the Episcopal church and Mr. Suggett was reared in that faith. He is
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has given excellent service
to his local lodge. He has devoted much of his time to the interests of the
order and has had much to do with its growth. He has filled the chairs of his
lodge twice, and is now a past noble grand. In 1910 he represented his order at
the grand lodge in Junction City. He has served as treasurer and chaplain of his
home lodge and is now filling the important position of deputy grand master, in
which position he has demonstrated his ability and force.

    Oh October 28, 1896, Mr. Suggett was united in marriage to Mrs. Rebecca
Wood. Mr. Suggett has always been a hard-working man and is possessed of sound
judgment and business acumen. Financially, he has met with success and is
recognized as one of the substantial men of the township.


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)


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