Atchison County Biographies
E. W. Howe's Historical Edition of the Atchison Daily Globe
These biographies were originally published in 1896 in the Atchison Daily Globe, written by the editor and publisher, E. W. Howe. In 1916 the biographies were reproduced in Sheffield Ingall's "History of Atchison County, Kansas," with a few updates such as death information.
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GEORGE SCARBOROUGH.
George Scarborough was one of the most romantic characters that ever
lived in Atchison county. Influenced by his niece's description of Kansas,
he came to Sumner in 1859 and purchased a tract of land now owned by E. W.
Howe and known as Potato Hill. The location is probably the finest on the
Missouri river. The farm lies on top of the bluff, and Scarborough's house
was built near the river. He was well fitted to enjoy the life of elegant
leisure and seclusion, which he did. Early in life he went to Kentucky from
Connecticut and taught school. While there he married the daughter of a
congressman named Triplett. The wife died a year later, and Scarborough
came into possession of considerable money. After that he adopted a literary
and scientific life and spent much of his time abroad, where he collected
many pictures and other art treasures. These were displayed in his home
below Sumner. Scarborough was a botanist, and made a complete collection
of the flora of this section, which he sent to the Smithsonian Institution, at
Washington. One of his discoveries was that Atchison county had eleven
varieties of the oak. Scarborough was one of the original founders of the
First National Bank of this city, furnishing most of the original capital.
In 1869 he went to Vineland, N. J., where he married a girl of
twenty-three, although he was nearly seventy. His wife died within a year, in child
birth, under precisely the same circumstances as his first wife. Scarborough
died in 1883, in his old home in Connecticut, in absolute poverty, at the age
of eighty-four. He is spoken of as one of the most elegant gentlemen who
distinguished the early days.
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This website created Jan. 24, 2012 by Sheryl McClure.
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