Portal:Kansas/Selected Biography/5

James Manney Hagaman 1830 - January 18, 1904 was a lawyer, land agent, newspaper editor, and the founder of Concordia, Kansas. He and his wife settled in what is now Cloud County in 1860. In addition to founding the town of Concordia, he is credited with leading the movement to separate what was then Shirley Township from Washington County in 1866.

In 1866, the people of Shirley Township sent Hagaman to Kansas Governor Samuel J. Crawford with the petition requesting the right to organize as a county. The governor granted permission and Shirley Township became Shirley County (later "Cloud" County).

Hagaman was elected county clerk and promptly became a candidate to be the first to represent Shirley County in the Kansas House of Representatives, losing to John B. Rupe. In 1868, he ran again for the Kansas House and this time won, barely defeating a man named Donoho. He later served two terms as Mayor of Concordia from 1878-1880 and also served five terms on the city council.

As Hagaman rose to political power in the state of Kansas, he faced political opposition in the town of Clyde, Kansas from several sources. In her book on the history of Concordia, Janet Pease Emery wrote:


 * "Jim Hagaman was done with Clyde. He swore it would never be the county seat.  If it took every ox, cow, and horse he owned, he'd see that the courthouse went elsewhere -- even if he had to build a town himself.


 * Madder than hops, Hagaman took out a claim in Lincoln Township and founded Concordia."

Read more...