Capt. William S. Cain
17 Apr 1836 — 7 Apr 1920
William S. Cain was born on the Isle of Man (United Kingdom). At age 16 he & his father joined the Australian gold rush & moved to Melbourne for 2 years but were not successful so returned to their native Isle. By 1855 America was calling him. He landed in New York & traveled to Wisconsin where he engaged in farming. His father & brother joined him the next year & they decided to move westward. Traveling the Missouri River the trio came to Atchison, KS. The boys each received a land grant from the government (160 acres) a few miles west of the town. Once again they were farmers.
At the onset of the Civil War he organized a local company of militia but instead enlisted in the 8th Kansas infantry. He rose from private to 2nd Lieutenant. After transfer to the 1st Regiment of US Colored Infantry & then to the 13th Regiment of US Colored Infantry he became a Captain & served as such till his discharge in 1865.
William returned to Kansas following his service & resumed farming. That same year he was elected to represent the 8th District of Kansas in the State Legislature but served just one term. He offended many citizens by voting against woman's suffrage ("…I wished to save them from carrying a burden they could not defend in time of trial & to prevent division of families"). In addition he voted against negro suffrage as "…they were not then — just free from slavery — capable of making use of the privilege." His overall reasoning was that "we should cease to dilute our electorate & favor a more restricted suffrage." And if all this wasn't enough, he was also a fervent prohibitionist.
In 1875 he left the farm & moved his family into Atchison where he opened a prosperous mercantile grocery at 1327 Main Street that he managed until his death.
The Autobiography of Captain W. S. Cain (published in 1908) is a 126-page memoir of his service during the Civil War & is available on Amazon.