The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-12-02
STARTED COBuRN.
s. L. Kelsey Sold Him First
Land in Kansas.
How the Young Man First At
tracted Attention.
HE WON TWO PRIZES.
Both We're Offered by State
Board of Agriculture.
Veteran Kansan Visiting the
Secretary i'm Topeka.

The man who sold to f. d. Coburn
the first piece of land which Mr.. Co
burn ever owned is in Topeka To-Day
visiting with Mr.. Coburn.
This man is S. T. Kelsey, one Of the
"daddies of Kansas Mr.. Kelsey is
sued the call for the meeting at Law
renee at which the State Horticultural
, society was organized. He was also
one of the first members of the Kansas
state board of agriculture. He found
| ed the town of Pomona, Franklin
settlers at OttOaWa.
IT came to Kansas" said Mr.. kel-
sey this morning. lin 1865. In 1855
| we organized the State Horticultural
society. I was much interested in
agriculture and the general develop
ment of the new state of Kansas, and
for three years was employed by the
Santa Fe railway as it's representative
in developing for settlement the three
million acres of land which the Santa
Fe owned in the state. 1t was my
business to experiment in agriculture
along the Santa Fe lines, and espe-
cially to set out trees, and determine
what trees were best adapted for
planting in the new. treeless country.
I left the employ of the Santa Fe on
account of my health. and went to
North Carolina, where have lived
ever since. I am now on my way to
California, after which I expect to go
to New Mexico where my youngest
daughter lives"
Mr.. Kelseys wife is still living, and
is now in New Mexico. Speaking Of
the sale of the land to F. d. Coburn,
Mr.. Kelsey said:
1--WE fenced a large tract of land
near Pomona, and sold it off in small
tracts to settlers. 1t was in 1869 that
Mr.. Coburn bought piece of land of
his marriage, and I was much inter-
ested in him because knew he was
close student of agriculture.
AT one of the meetings of the state
1f l%,Yv- 06 q
we offer two prizes of $25 worth of
silverware each, for the best two es-
says, one on swine breeding and one on
cattle breeding. We wanted to get the
best information concerning these sub
jects from the men who were actually
engaged in the work. When went
back to Pomona, I told Mr.. Coburn that
1 had arranged that swine breeding
prize for him, and wanted him to get
to work and win it"
Here Mr. Coburn took up the story.
TIL tell you how that happened he
said. II didn't say much about 1t, but
1 went to work and wrote two essays,
one on swine culture and one on cattle.
1 sent those papers to the state board,
and heard nothing from them for
year. 1 supposed that it had all been
forgotten. One day 1 was riding along
in a farm wagon, and wishing 1 had
something to read. Reading matter
was rather scarce in those days. l saw
an old piece of newspaper lying by the
roadside, and got out ana picked IL up
1t was a copy of a Lawrence paper. l
read it as 1 rode along, and at last |
ran across a little item which read
something like this: The state board
of agriculture met at Topeka today,
and considered the papers submitted in
competition for prizes on swine breed
ing and cattle breeding. The board de-
cided to award both prizes to f. D.
Coburn' This was the notice receiv-
ed of having won those prizes, and
when 7 reached home. / went and ask
ed Mr.. Kelsey what he knew about it,
He said that the report was correct;
that I had won the prizes"
you always had a way of going
ahead and doing things, and then tell
ing about them afterwards remarked
Mr.. Kelsey.
Mr.. Kelsey has been visiting his old
home in Franklin county during the
past week and has hunted up many
of his old friends.
Most of the men I knew in those
days. said Mr.. Kelsey, II don't see
here now for they are in the ceme-
terry