Brown County Biographies
From "The Annals of Brown County", Grant Harrington, 1903
W. W. Letson.
W. W. Letson the Mayor of Horton is one of the best known and
most successful of the pioneer citizens
who came to Kansas in the Fifties.
He was born in South Carolina April
2, 1836. When he reached his majority he went to Montgomery,
Alabama where he resided for sometime
and then came to Kansas In 1859, at
about the close of the Missouri-Kansas Border Strife. During the latter
part of 1859 he secured employment
with the Overland California and
Pikes Peak Express Co., as messenger and ran between the Missouri
River and Denver, part of that time
from St. Joseph and later from
Atchison. He continued In this service until the Fall of 1861 having his
full share of exciting experiences
with buffalos, Indians and Road
Agents during this time. Resigning
his position in the Fall of 1861 he
purchased a stock of goods at Julesburg on the South Platte but soon
disposing of this he located at
Granada In Nemaha County, where
he engaged extensively in merchandising and farming and stock raising
until the town of Horton was laid
out when he located there. He is
recognized everywhere as one of
Horton's leading citizens and most
substantial business men. He was
elected Mayor in May 1897, declined
re-election in 1899 and was elected
again for a second time In 1901. He
is one of the largest real estate
owners In Horton and has extensive
interests not only in Horton but
other localities.
Mr. Letson was married on Christmas Day 1861 at Granada to Miss
Anna Terrell. Four children have
been born to them, Ella K. wife of O.
J. Fleming of Enid, Oklahoma, O. T.,
now of Horton, Frank H., of Enid
and Will of Horton.
Mrs. Letson died November 6, 1899
esteemed, respected and sincerely
mourned by all who knew her. Mr.
Letson's sons like their father are
successful business man. Ed T. is
one of the largest stock shippers of
Northeastern Kansas. He was married in 1890 to Miss Meta Pohl of
Horton. Frank H. is the cashier of
the Bank of Enid and is married to
Miss Clara Wilson of that city. William is the assistant Cashier of the
National Bank of Horton and is
married to Miss Rose Heatherly of
Horton.
In politics Mr. Letson is a Democrat and he has been prominent in
the councils of that party for a good
many years. He was elected a member of the State Central Committee
in 1898 and re-elected in 1900 and he
was one of the Kansan delegates to
the Kansas City Convention in 1900
which re-nominated Wm. J. Bryan
for president. He is a Mason and
has no other lodge affiliations.
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This website created Jan. 11, 2012 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011 Kansas History and Heritage Project
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