The Ordway new era., 1917-04-27
Jasper N. Beatty
Pioneer, Dies

I
Valley, is dead. The end came at his
home at Manzanola on "Wednesday
morning of this week and took the
aged financier who, among other var
led Investments, was financially inter-
cstcd in Ordway in the banking and
mercantile business. Mr.. Beatty was
70 years of age and had been confin-
ed to his home for the past several
months.
In the passing of Mr.. Beatty, the
Arkansas Valley lost one of its most
useful and widely loved and respected
citizens. He was in truth the father
of Manzanola," as he was so frequent
ly called, and was the first Mayor of
that town.
He was one of that handful of
courageous and selfsaCrificing Ameri-
cans, who formed the little band of
pioneer heroes who penetrated the
wilds of the west in the early sixties
and who, laboring under the greatest
natural and economic handicaps, lit
orally wrested the country from the
wilderness and made it bloom and
The record of Mr.. Beaty's long life
is like one of those gripping stories
of early American history, over which
this generation in its youth was wont
to thrill in the reading. His career,
especially its early part, was of
most adventurous sort He was a pris-
oner of the rebel army during the
, Civil war, later disputed by the Indi-
ans every foot of ground hepossessed
b. l,;, Il, I,,lJ oh
were the means of transportation in
stead of express trains, and he served
his apprenticeship in the saddle
standing guard over the heards of
cattle
| Jasper Newton Beatty was born in
Carrolton, Mo-, on January %, lS45.
At the age of II he enlisted in the
Union army and very soon afterward
was captured by rebel forces and put
into prison. He succeeded in escap-
ing and making his way west, where
he Joined his brother, James w.
Beatty. The reunion of the young
men marked the beginning of long
! business career for both that was to
extend thru the years under the name
of Beatty Brothers.
Came West in 'G3
| 1t was in 1868 that j. N. Beatty
came west. He and his brother hired
out as frieghters at Nebraska City
and thence went to Denver. They ar
rived in the capitol city with just $5
in cash between them. There they
engaged in the service of Colonel
McNasser, a famous pioneer at that
time, and freighted down to Santa
Fe. From that post they hauled the
first lumber for the new Fort Lyon,
and made their first visit to the Ar
Kansas Valley which was to be their
future home and the scene of bust
ness triumpths for both.
Having by much labor acquired
some ready cash the Beatty brothers
finally bought their own freighting
outfit and made regular trips from
Fort Lyon to Salt Lake City. In the
latter city they disposed of their
ouniit, deciding to return to the Ar
kansas Valley to locate there. 1t
was in 1869 that j. n. Beatty and his
brother came to ManZanola, six years
before the railroad came. He took
up land along the river and with ).
w, acquired the nucleus of a herd.
At the first roundup the Beatty
brothers found that their herds had
been enlarged by just four calves,
two apiece. Then followed a series
of disastrous experiences that might
well have broken down the iron de-
The winters of 1876, 1850 and 1881
are memorable for their severity. The
western country was swept by bliz-
yards, and the herds of cattle suffer
ed severely. The Beatty brothers lost
heavily from the ravages of the
storms.
Had Big Herds
In 1878 or the following year, ].
N. Beatty moved his herds to the Cim-
arron country and eventually con-
trolled one of the largest herds in
western Kansas, approximating about
5000 cattle. Notwithstanding the
crushing losses of the three or four
hard winters when his herds We're
decimated, Mr.. Beatty with Spartan
fortitude, set to work to repair his
shattered fortunes, and how well he
succeeded is known to everybody in
the Arkansas Valley today Mr..
Beatty branched out into numerous
side lines, apart from ranching. He
organized a bank nj connection with
the j. N. Beatty Mercantile company,
was associated with Horace Dye.
Ranchers of the vicinity used to
leave their money at the store with
the request that it be taken care Of
So many of these sums were left
in trust that the idea of bank finally
appealed to Mr.. Beatty and Mr.. Dye,
and it was carried out. Today the
]. N. Beatty & Co. bank is being sue
cessfully conducted by William Beatty
nephew of j. N. Beatty, and a son
of the man who shared the hardships
and good fortunes of the latter in
those trying pioneer days.
Mr.. Beatty had three brothers,
James W., who shared his early for
tunes in the west, Alvan and John
James w. and John are both deceased
while Alvin is living at Lakin, kan.s