burkhartm
Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, embracing
Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties, State of Washington",
published by Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
MADISON L. BURKHART has without
doubt shown very commendable labors in Adams county. Owing to the
fact that during the earlier years of his residence here and until 1897,
various influences militated against his success it is all the more praiseworthy
that he has won a nice holding and made himself one of the prosperous and
leading men of the country. Madison L. Burkhart was born in Newton
county, Missouri, on August 18, 1852. His parents, J. D. and Louisa
(Parsons) Burkhart, were natives of Indiana and settled in Missouri in
May, 1838. In 1875, they moved to Kansas and in 1886 to Dayton, Washington.
They were the parents of eleven children, who are named as follows: Elijah
H., M. L., A. J., J. W., Campbell, Sigel, Anna P., D. G., Lulu E.,
Charles L., and Lidia. In the country schools of Newton county,
our subject gained the primary part of his English education and there,
too, continued his studies until he was well favored with a good common
school training. At the age of twenty, he stepped out from under
the parental roof and began labors for himself. After working on
the farm for sometime, he bought a piece of land and tilled it until 1875,
then went to Cherokee county, Kansas, and farmed until 1888, when he came
west to Dayton. A year later, he left that country and settled in
Adams county, where we now find him about five miles northeast from Delight.
In the spring of 1890 he moved his family here and the next seven years
were years of hardship and disappointment and much suffering. However,
Mr. Burkhart was not the man to be discouraged and he continued until 1897
and began to reap the reward of his labors. From that time until
the present, he has harvested annually fine crops from an eight hundred
acre ranch which is well supplied with all the improvements, as buildings,
orchard, abundance of good water and so forth. Mr. Burkhart keeps
about twenty head of horses for the work on the farm and traveling purposes.
He is a man of energy and excellent ability and has won his success by
reason of real merit and industry.
In 1871, occurred the marriage of Madison
L. Burkhart and Margaret E. Kennedy. The bride was the daughter of
Thomas and Emeline (Spraggens) Kennedy, natives of Tennessee. They
moved to Missouri in 1840 and there the father died in 1853. The mother
continued her residence in that county until 1889, then came to Dayton
where she died in 1894, having borne five children, Lena, Melvina, Ova,
Huston, Margaret E. To our subject and his estimable wife five children
have been born, Maude A., Leroy G., Rose E., and Archie H. Mr. Burkhart
is a wide awake man and in political matters, as in other affairs, shows
an activity and keen interest that speaks in the alert mind a desire for
the welfare of the community. He is a hard worker in the ranks of
the Republican party and well informed upon the questions of the day.
He has given of his time and energy to promote educational interests and
is now serving on the school board. He is a member of the I. O. O.
F., while he and his wife belong to the Methodist church and have raised
their family in that faith.
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