Waggener, Balie Peyton, 1847-1918.

Balie, Peyton Waggener was born on July 18, 1847 in Platte County, Missouri to Peyton R. and Bniseis S. (Willis) Waggener. Mr. Waggener was admitted to the bar in 1867 and in 1876 was appointed general attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company for the state of Kansas. In addition to being engaged in a flourishing law practice, Mr. Waggener was President of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison in 1892, constructed and put into operation the Atchison Railway Light and Power System, and owned a 500 acre farm. Mr. Waggener was a Democratic party leader in Kansas and held public office in the capacity of mayor of Atchison from 1889-1891 and 1895-1897 and as a member of both the Kansas House of Representatives and Senate, serving from a strong Republican district. Mr. Waggener was best loved in Atchison County for his annual children’s picnics at which he provided transportation, entertainment, and refreshments for the children at his own expense. The petition of August 16, 1911, was presented to Mr. Waggener upon his return from Rochester, Minn. where he had undergone a serious operation. Accounts relate that he was greeted by hundreds of children who lined the streets to his home. The petitions were signed by the residents of Atchison County and mounted on cloth to form a scroll. The petitions ask that Mr. Waggener run for the office of State Senator. Among the petitions is one signed by the black residents of Atchison County which states, "There is one white man in whom the word white has an exalted meaning." Mr. Waggener ran for the Senate seat in 1912 and was elected. Balie Peyton Waggener died in 1918.

From the guide to the Scroll. Atchison, Kansas., 1911, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)