SAMUEL KIMBLE, SR. The subject of this biography is a man who has had a wide experience of life in its various phases and one who has exhibited more than ordinary energy and perseverance under the difficulties common to the lot of man. He has met with losses and crosses like most of his fellow-men, but, with an energy which acknowledges no such word as "fail," he recovered himself each time, and is now one of the most wealthy and prosperous men of his community. His possessions embrace 2,200 acres of land, nearly all in one body, and mostly in tame grass, being largely devoted to stock-raising. During the present year (1889) Mr. Kimble is feeding 100 head of cattle, forty head of swine and ten horses, and he proposes in the near future to add largely to these.

When Mr. Kimble first came to Riley County there were few settlers within its limits. He has watched with absorbing interest the growth and development of Northern Kansas, and has contributed his share in bringing the now prosperous commonwealth to its present condition. He came here with comparatively little means, his own accumulations, but, like the wise man of Scripture, he has been enabled to add to his talent tenfold. His homestead is embellished with a fine stone residence put up in 1864. and which, although encountering the storms of a quarter of a century, seems as substantial as when first built. He has two stone barns, one erected in 1874, and the other five years later. The other buildings, devoted to the storage of grain and the shelter of stock, are amply adapted to the purposes for which they were designed.

A native of Chester County, Pa., Mr. Kimble was born Feb. 7, 1822, and was the second in a family of seven children, the offspring of James and Mary Ann (Loney) Kimble, the former a native of the Keystone State and the latter born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, although reared in Pennsylvania. The parents were married in the latter State, where they lived a few years afterward, then emigrated to Noble County, Ohio, of which they were residents about twenty years. We next find them in McDonough County, Ill., where the mother died. James Kimble in 1879 came to Kansas and made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Sam Houston, until his decease, which occurred in 1880. Only three children of the parental family are living, those besides our subject being Mrs. Nancy Nelson, and Mrs.Tabitha Houston, residents of Iowa and Kansas respectively.

Samuel Kimble grew to manhood in the Buckeye State and learned the trade of a carpenter which he followed until coming to Kansas. When twenty-flve years of age he was married April 8, 1847, to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Francis Petty, the latter a native of Canada. Mrs. Kimble was next to the youngest of the six children born to her parents, her birth occurring Nov. 8, 1826, in Guernsey County, Ohio. Soon after their marriage the newly wedded pair took up their abode in Noble County, Ohio, where they lived until 1860. That year, coming to Kansas, they settled on a tract of prairie land in Manhattan Township, which Mr. Kimble purchased and which is now included in his present farm.

Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kimble, six of whom are living. Joseph is a resident of Manhattan Township; Francis Byron lives in Wild Cat Township; Samuel, Jr., is a practicing attorney of Manhattan City; Mary Ann is the wife of David Carnahan, a native of Saline County, this State; Martha is the wife of Thomas Murphy, of Wild Cat Township; Emma remains at home with her parents. Mr. Kimble is conservative in politics and votes the straight Democratic ticket. He has officiated as Road Overseer and has been a member of the School Board in his district almost from the time of coming here.

In 1865 Mr. Kimble was one of a company of men organized to build the Rock Ford gristmill, an undertaking which involved the outlay of a snug sum of hard cash and required considerable resolution and perseverance to accomplish. When everything was in readiness to work, a flood in the Big Blue partially destroyed the dam and some of the members of the company refused to subscribe money for repairs. A joint stock company was then organized, with E. B. Purcell as president. This individual secured the assistance of Eastern capitalists, and Mr. Kimble was frozen out of the firm, entailing a loss to him of $10.000. This was a large sum to lose at that time and in this section of country; and this does not include all which he has lost, as upon the collapse of the Blue Valley Bank, which closed its doors in 1888. he had upon deposit $16,000. Considering where he stands to-day, and how he has recovered from his losses, it must be acknowledged that he is a man of more than ordinary perseverance and courage. He is held in that respect by his fellow-citizens which is tacitly accorded the man who has been enabled to surmount the obstacles placed in his path, and who has never allowed himself to give way to discouragement under any circumstances. He has one of the finest stock farms in Northern Kansas — in fact, if he dees not now, he will soon stand at the head of this industry here.

It is eminently fitting that the portrait of Mr. Kimble should be employed to assist in embellishing this volume, and we therefore give it place on another page.