History of Atchison County, KansasIngalls, Sheffield
History
History of Atchison County, Kansas
Ingalls, Sheffield
Atchison County (Kan.) -- Biography; Atchison County (Kan.) -- History
As an operator on Wall street at that time, Mr. Challiss outranked Jim
Fisk and Jay Gould, and was the peer of Anthony Morse and the Jeromes.
Jay Gould was a very common man at that time, compared to Mr. Challiss,
and a very little thing might have made Mr. Challiss one of the great
financial leaders in America. An incident in his career in New York was
the attempt of Woodhull & Claflin to break him. He made a fight that is
still remembered, and sent Woodhull and Claflin, Colonel Blood Stephen,
Pearl Andrews and George Francis Train to jail, where they remained six
months. Finally they left the country as a result of a compromise. Mr.
Challiss’ lawyers were Roger A. Pryor and Judge Fullerton. Judge
Fullerton received a quarter section of land in Atchison county as his
fee. Mr. Challiss also brought the famous Pacific Mail suit, which was
equally famous.
He returned to Atchison in 1878, looking after the wreck of his former
possessions. For three years he edited the _Atchison Champion_, and
bitterly opposed John J. Ingalls for United States senator in 1890.
Mr. Challiss, in his latter years, became a very much abused man, and
was looked upon as one of the unpopular citizens of the town, but it may
be said to his credit that he did much for Atchison, and was largely
responsible for making the town the terminus of the Hannibal & St. Joe
railroad. He brought Jay Gould, Henry N. Smith and Ben Carver to
Atchison, and they agreed to extend the road from St. Joseph to
Atchison, in consideration of $75,000.00 in Atchison bonds, which was
agreed to. Mr. Challiss had some sort of a deal with Henry N. Smith
while they were operating on Wall street, and Challiss claimed that
Smith owned him $107,000.00. They finally settled the matter, by Smith
agreeing to bring the Hannibal & St. Joseph road here without the
$75,000.00 in bonds the people had agreed to give him. The _Atchison
Champion_ of May 11, 1872, contained a half column scare head, to the
effect that Luther C. Challiss telegraphed from New York that the bridge
had been finally secured, and gave the credit of securing the bridge to
Challiss and James N. Burnes.
Mr. Challiss died a poor man on the sixth day of July, 1895.
GEORGE W. GLICK.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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