Dickinson Co., KS AHGP-Portrait and
Biographical Record of Dickinson, Saline, McPherson and
Marion Counties-William Hollinger
Portrait and Biographical
Record of Dickinson, Saline, McPherson and Marion
Counties
Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1893
WILLIAM HOLLINGER, an enterprising
and progressive agriculturist of Dickinson
County, residing in Rhinehart Township,
was born in Franklin County, Pa., March 14, 1855,
and is the eldest son of J. S. Hollinger. He came
to Kansas at the age of seventeen and was educated
in the district schools. Under the parental roof
he remained until his marriage, on the 29th of
September, 1881, when Miss Lydia A. Gillett became
his wife. She is a daughter of James A. and
Margaret Ann Gillett, of Woodbine. Her father
was formerly a farmer but is now a merchant in
that place.
The young couple began their domestic life on
their present farm, Which comprises the south half
of section 22, Rhinehart Township. It then had
but few improvements, but is now supplied with
all the accessories of a model farm. The barn
which Mr. Hollinger built is the finest in the
county. It has a rock basement under the entire
structure. The main building is 72x57 feet, the
wing is 31x33 feet, and sixty head of horses can be
accommodated in the basement. There is ample
mow space and room for the storage of machinery.
There is an elevator dump, into which all grain is
thrown and elevated to bins by horse power. He
has a corn-sheller, feed-grinder and hay cutter and
all the other machinery of the latest improved
methods. There is a double-deck room for hogs,
and other convenient arrangements. The barn
was built after a plan made by Mr. Hollinger and
he did much of the carpenter work upon the building.
The farm has been increased in extent by the
purchase of eighty acres in addition, and in
the year 1891 three hundred and eighty acres
were planted in wheat, which yielded an average
of twenty-four bushels to the acre. His
stock is of a fine grade and he now has seventy-five
head of steers, thirty-eight draft horses and
seventy-five hogs. A fine orchard also adds to the
value of his place, which has been planted with
fifty-five quince trees. In 1887, Mr. Hollinger received
patents on the Lister grain drill, which is
now being manufactured by the Moline Plow Company.
He first placed one hundred and thirty-seven
machines upon the market and in 1892 two
hundred were manufactured. This is an important
invention and the demand for the drill is constantly
increasing as it becomes known and its
worth is recognized.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hollinger have been born
four children: Joseph Allen, Ethel, Margaret Ann
and William E. In his political affiliations, our
subject is a Republican and is a member of the
Hiawatha Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a
man of more than average ability, possessing much
inventive genius, and is regarded as one of the
leading citizens of this community.
(c) 2009 Sheryl McClure for
Dickinson County KS AHGP