Paul, Edwin F.

The following data is extracted from A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans.

Edwin F. Paul. Engaged in the retail grocery business at Independence, Montgomery County, Mr. Paul is one of the representative merchants of the younger generation in his native city, his birth having here occurred on the 5th of June, 1886. He is a son of Morgan J. and Della (Kilgore) Paul, the former of whom was born in 1845, in Ohio, where he was reared and educated, and the latter of whom was born in 1862, she being still a resident of Independence, where the death of her honored husband occurred in 1909, the subject of this review being the younger of their two children and being secretary and treasurer of the M. J. Paul Grocery Company, of which his elder brother, John, is president, the extensive business controlled by this firm having been founded by their father, whose name gives title to the company.

Morgan J. Paul came to Independence in the early '70s, and became one of the pioneer merchants of this now important little city, where he engaged in the general grocery trade. For the accommodation of his growing business he erected a three-story building at the corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and in 1904 the headquarters of the business were transferred to the present eligible location, at 106 West Main Street, where is utilized a floor space of 2,800 square feet, in addition to the basement. Mr. Paul was a progressive business man and loyal and public-spirited citizen, was a democrat in politics, and was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was highly esteemed in the city where he held prestige as a representative business man for more than thirty years.

Edwin F. Paul continued his studies in the public schools of Independence until he was about nineteen years of age, when he withdrew from the high school to become associated with the large and important grocery business that had been developed under the able direction of his father. He has since given his close attention to the affairs of this enterprise, and he and his brother are well upholding the prestige of the family name, both as progressive citizens and enterprising and reliable business men.

Mr. Paul gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, is a member of the Independence Commercial Club, and is affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Though he owns an attractive residence property at 200 South Fifth Street, his name is still enrolled on the list of eligible young bachelors in his native city. On the paternal side he is of Welsch ancestry, and his mother is of Scotch lineage. His paternal grandfather was a farmer and the owner of a woolen mill in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and his maternal grandfather conducted a general merchandise store at Port Washington, that state.

Source: A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans

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