USA > Kansas > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Kansas > Part 42
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ence their active work and their influence have had a beneficient effect. Mrs. Baden has continued the good work begun by them both and wher- ever a religions or an educational cause can be forwarded by a reasonable appeal to her generosity it is seldom withheld. She manifests a commend- able public spirit toward worthy objects which promise good to the fu- ture and lends a friendly ear to the cause of public enterprise.
O. T. HAYWARD-For the past three years one of Elk City's most successful financial institutions, the Elk City Bank, has been under the management of the gentleman herein named. Mr. Hayward was, for many years, one of the county's most successful farmers and still owns one of the best four hundred- acre farms in the southern part of the state. He became interested in banking several years ago and discov- ered such an aptitude for the business as to cause his selection as presi- dent of the above institution. The hank is one of the solid enterprises of the town, having been doing business now for twenty-one years. It is capitalized at $10.000, with $30,000 surplus, and carries deposits ag- gregating $124,736, with loans of $$152.523. Its official roster is as fol- lows: President. O. T. Hayward; vice-president, L. W. Myers; cashier, W. D. Myers ; directors, M. L. Stephens, J. W. Berryman, L. W. Myers, W. D. Myers and O. T. Hayward.
O. T. Hayward is a native of Illinois, born in Christian county, January 6, 1848. His parents were Robert and America ( Lee) Hayward, the father a native of Connecticut, the mother of Virginia. They were married in Christian county, Illinois, where they were among the earliest pioneers of that section of the State. The mother died here, in 1857. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, a most devout woman and "full of good works." The father died in 1868, at sixty-five years. He was not a communicant of the church, but was a great Bible student and of most exemplary character. Their family consisted of thirteen children, of whom but four are now living.
Mr. Hayward was reared to manhood on the home farm, receiving a good common school education, and being well grounded in the homely virtues incident to a well-ordered farm community. At nineteen, he began working for himself and for three years continued in the home neigh borhood. An attack of "western fever" at this time culminated in his settling in Montgomery county on a claim four and one-half miles east of Elk City, in Louisburg township. He improved this for several years and then purchased the first piece of the farm-which he now owns-later adding to make up the four hundred acres. This farm is at present in charge of one of his sons. The years of intelligent cultivation put upon this piece of land by our subject resulted in its being elassed among the most desirable pieces of farm property in the county. He resided on the
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farm until 18-, when he took up his residence in town. Mr. Hayward's long connection with the agriculturists of the county makes him a famil- jar figure throughout this section and an undoubted authority on land investments. Socially, he affiliates with the Odd Fellows, in which or- ganization he has filled all the chairs, and in church connection, he and his family are communicants of the Christian denomination. He votes with the Democratic party.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hayward was an event of the 16th of February, 1873. She was a daughter of J. J. and Nancy Gregory, her christian name being Sarah. Her parents now reside in Louisburg. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hayward have been born seven children : Allie J., Mrs. Lait: Frederick. of Oklahoma; Adda May, Mrs. W. D. Myers, of Elk City, with one child. Arlena; William Lee, a farmer at Frederick, Oklahoma, married Bertha Rice, now deceased and has one child, John O .: Minnie O .. who married F. L. Johnson, of Columbia, Mis- souri-one child. Hayward ; Walter W., resides on his father's farm, mar- ried Edna Worley; George L .. a clerk in the bank; and Charles G., a schoolboy. These children are all splendid examples of what correct train- ing will accomplish and are taking their part in the different communi- ties of which they are, working members. Mr. Hayward is a worthy ex- ample of what industry and economy, coupled with sound business sense, will do for the average American boy, and his career should be an inspiration to the ambitious youth of the day.
SAMUEL BOWLBY-A successful business man and financier of Independence, and a gentleman whose presence in the west dates back to the early sixties, when he identified himself with the frontier and barren region of California, and, in 1880, cast his fortunes with Montgomery county. Kansas, is Samuel Bowlby, whose name precedes the introduc- tion to this article. His name has gone abroad in the county as a dealer and speculator in real estate and the winnings which have rewarded his judgment have placed him. financially, among the solid and independent men of the county. His more than a third of a century in connection with western men and methods has thoroughly assimilated him and he enters into the spirit of modern progress as a leader and not as a dull follower in the wake of our inevitable advance.
Like the march of civilization, the Bowlbys have kept pace with the westward advance from their original home in New Jersey, where Thomas Bowlby was born, to the Alleghanies and the Mississippi valley, across "the great American desert" to the silver-capped peaks of the Rockies. The arts of the husbandman have been pursued with every halt and the slopes of the Mississippi basin, from Ohio to the crest of the Rockies, have responded to the family touch.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
A glance at the family history of the Bowlbys shows them to be in- digenous to the State of New Jersey, where Thomas Bowlby, the paternal grandfatherofoursubject, reared a family of nine children. as follows : Re- becca, Ebenezer, Sammel C., Adam R., Jacob M., Lonisa, Mary. William I. and David. Adam R., our subject's father, was born October 28. 1804, and died in Montgomery county, Kansas, in 1855. His first wife was Martha MeDaniel, of Batestown, New Jersey, who died in 1834, leaving him two sons and a daughter, viz: John M., a farmer, of Maroa, Illinois, who married Mary Ann Fitzwater and has children : Kittie. Elmer, Cora. Emma and Nona; the second son. W. 1., married Margret Haywood and has two children. Birt and William; and the daughter, Anna M., married Mr. Garrel for her first husband and Mr. Saltzman for her second, and is now a widow. Her children, Flora and Belle, are daughters of Mr. Garrel.
Adam R. Bowlby's second wife was Mrs. Mary McGrew, whom he married in 1840. She was a native of Batestown. New Jersey, also, and was born in 1810. She was a daughter of Samuel and Armina (Garey) Oliver, who, in 1825. settled in Clermont county, Ohio, where Mary mar- ried Andrew MeGrew, whose three children were Martha. Thomas A. and Oliver. surviving. The last named is a resident of Springfield, Illinois. She and Mr. Bowlby wore the parents of four children, as follows: Sam- nel. the subject of this sketch; Andrew M., Armenia and David. An- drew resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. Armenia was the wife of Daniel Blosier. of Independence. Kansas, and has children: Georgia. Birt. JJes- sie (deceased). Samuel and Bonnie. David Bowlby is a farmer and stockman. near Stockholm, Oklahoma. In 1881. Daniel Blosier and wife became residents of Independence, where the husband engaged in the carriage business, in connection with Samuel Bowlby, of this review. Some years later he removed to Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife both died. Samuel Oliver was born in 1783 and died in 1839, while his wife was born in 1790 and died in 1852. Their children were: John, Mary. William. Rebecca, Margaret, Caleb, Sally Ann, Susan and Samuel, all born in Batestown. New Jersey.
In March. 1841. Samuel Bowlby was born in Clermont county, Ohio. His youth was passed in the atmosphere of the farm and his life was thus rural and his educational acquirement from the country school. He left his native place. upon attaining his majority, and crossed the con- tinent to the Pacific coast where. in California and Idaho, he spent the next five years at work in the mines. He next engaged in the stock busi- ness in Colorado and later dropped down into New Mexico, where he con- tinnel the same avocation and also became interested in mercantile pur- suits. In 1880. he disposed of his possessions in the mountains and es- tablished his connection with Independence, Kansas, where he purchased property on Second street and, for more than twenty years, has been
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more or less extensively engaged in handling eity real estate. In 1888, he became the owner of his present home and several farms near the city are on the tax rolls in his name.
In 1878. Mr. Bowlby married Martha J. Arnett, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Mrs. Bowlby was born in Madison county, Arkansas, and is a daughter of William and Martha J. ( Wood) Arnett, who, in 1868, iden- tified themselves with the far west. Mr. and Mrs. Bowlby's children are: Dollie, born in 1879, died at six years old ; Daisy May, born June 1, 1885. died .July 1. 1887 : and Juanita, the youngest, was born Jannary 1, 1890.
As a resident of Independence, Mr. Bowlby has taken a sincere inter- est in its municipal affairs, having served four years on its common council. For a number of years he has been officially with one of its institutions he assisted in organizing and has. for nineteen years, been a member of its board of directors and a large holder of its stock. He is widely known throughout Montgomery county and an universally warm and friendly feeling is entertained for him wherever he is known.
MARTIN L. STEPHENS-One of the very early settlers of Mont- gomery county is the gentleman whose name heads this personal nara- tive. lle is the owner of a splendid estate of five hundred and sixty acres in Louisburg township, in which he settled as early as 1868. He las witnessed the gradual growth of the substantial improvements which has made his township noted for its handsome properties; his own not losing in comparison with the best.
Mr. Stephens came to Kansas from Kentucky and settled first in Jefferson county, in May, 1869, but the month of July following he came into Montgomery county, where he has since resided and where his life achievements have been wrought. He is a descendent of one of the pioneer families of the "Corn Cracker State," and was born in Whitley county. in 1845. He was a son of Solomon and Rachel (Murphy) Stephens, and a grandson of Elisha and Sallie ( Richmond) Stephens. The grand-par- ents were from the first settlers of Whitley county, where their position as farmers rendered them among the well known people of their locality. They brought up nine children in the old Kentucky home and there pass- ed away. the father in 1864 and the mother in 1900. The names of their issue were: William, Solomon. Elizabeth, Joel, Margaret, James, Sarah. Joshua and Elisha.
The children of Solomon and Rachel Stephens were: Sarah, who mar- ried William Ryan and resides in Ellis county, Kansas. Her children are: Sidney, Granvil, John, Elisha, Susan, Thomas, Welle, Martha and William. Clark. the second child of Solomon, married Jennie Stevens. having one child, named Lurinda. Nancy, the third, married William C. West, a Tennessee farmer, and has issue: Catherine, Sarah and Wil-
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MARTIN L. STEPHENS.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
liam. Henry T., the fourth, resides on the old Stephens homestead, and is the father of: Princes M., Harvey E., Bertis, Pearley May, Truey, Alice. Ida Maude, Daisy Jewel, Henry Ernest, Atley Albert, Wm. M. Goodman. Susan Myrtle and Goldie E. Betsy, the fifth, became the wife of Joseph Ryan, of Butlerville, Ind., and has children ; Jane, William, Julia, Henry, John, Sarah, Lucretia, Malinda and Moses. Patsie, the sixth. of Solomon's family, married Richard Trammel and is a resident of Whitley county. Kentucky. The next child, Elizabeth, married J. B. Ryan, now a farmer of Rush county, Kansas, and her children are: Wil- liam. Keziah, Francis, Martha and Sarah. The eighth child, Annie, mar- ried Richard Wilson. of Elk City, Kansas, and is the mother of: John, James Franklin. Nellie, Laura, Loretta and Wm. Harvey. Snsan, who married Marion Ryan, of Rice county, Kansas, has children: Wil- liam, Bettie Ann. Ella. Lottie, Volney, Ebin and Flossie. The tenth, Solomon M. Stephens, married Susan Davis, of Whitley county, Ken- tucky. The eleventh, married Wm. Meadows, of Whitley county, Ken- tueky. with children : Mary, Albert, Hettie, Edward and twins, Minnie L. and Maretta F., and Rachel and one, name unknown. Rebecca Jane, the twelfth. died in infancy.
On the 20th of July. 1879, Martin L. Stephens married Malissa, a danghter of James and Eliza (Reno) Javens, who settled in Louisburg township. in 1869, and were emigrants from Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, where Mrs. Stephens was born. To this marriage were the follow- ing children born : Meshach M., born February 27th, 1861, married Myrtle MeHenry. of Elk City, Kansas; has one son. named Herald Paul: but reside in Louisburg township; Robert Herbert, born June 2nd. 1883: JJosephine, born August 9th, 1888; and Stella Alice, born Jan- uary 29th, 1895.
Taking up the hardships of pioneer life, Mr. and Mrs. Stephens are entering the period of advanced age with all the comforts of life. The industry and economy of earlier years was a guaranty of this condition of independence and their wise generosity with the things with which bounteous nature has provided them shows our subjects' capacity to ap- preciate and their ability to enjoy the material favors thus bestowed.
Mr. Stephens has given his endeavors to the cultivation of his farm, but has taken an interest in public affairs of his township as well. He has acted with the Republicans, being one of that party, and was once chosen treasurer of his township and member of the County High School Board. He regards honor as the chief characteristic in man and prac. tires a high standard of it himself.
OLIVER P. GAMBLE-One of the pioneers of Montgomery county and a gentleman who has been connected with the varied private affairs
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IIISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
of his county. is Oliver P. Gamble, of Independence, the subject of this sketch. He came to the county the 12th day of August, 1869, and located on a claim in Independence township, which he improved, partially, and disposed of, and passed the next four years on a new farm near Table Mound. In 1879, he moved into Sycamore township with his real hold- ings, and has since been acquiring tract after traet of its fertile soil, until he is listed for taxes on seven hundred and forty acres of land. Since 1880, he has been a resident of Independence, giving his attention to labor of a lighter and more congenial character than that of the farm and where he also has some substantial financial connections.
Oliver P. Gamble came to Kansas from Allegheny county. Pennsyl- vania. where he was born August 14th, 1840. His father. Samuel H. Gamble, was born in the same county and state and was a son of John Gamble. a paymaster in the army, War of 1812. In civil life the grand- father was a school teacher, and hotel keeper on the Baltimore and Washington turnpike. Ile died about 1866, at the age of ninety years. Samuel H. Gamble passed his life in his native county, was, by occupa- tion, a farmer, and died in 1887. He was one of the following family : Oliver. Samuel Il .. Hiram, John, James and Mary.
Samuel H. Gamble married Margaret Irwin, a daughter of John Irwin, a representative of one of the old families of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. He lived an active and successful life, was a Democrat 'till the formation of the Republican party, when he changed polities and became a Republican. His children were: Sarah, wife of Caleb Edmundson. of Allegheny county, Pa .; Harriet, deceased, married Mir. Breidenthal: Oliver P., Dr. Ino. H., who died in 1898; Rebecca, wife of W'm. Hayden, of Mckeesport, Pa.
Om subject passed his youth and early manhood in various em- ployments, with coal-hauling and working on loek No. 3, on the Monon- gahela river predominating. At twenty-two years of age he enlisted in Company "E." 155th Pa. Inf., Col. E. JJ. Allen, and was in the service in the war of the Rebellion from August, 1862, 'till April. 1863. His initial fight was the battle of Second Bull Run, then followed Antietam and Fredericksburg, where, December 13th, he was wounded in the right elbow by "buck and ball" and put out of action. In April, 1863, he left the service and as soon as he had recovered sufficiently to make a hand at work, came out to Miami county, Kansas, where he secured employ- ment with Wilson and Irwin, driving team for them on construction of the Fort Scott and Gulf railroad. He remained in that vieinity 'till 1869, when. with a small supply of legal tender, he made his way to Montgomery county and became a permanent citizen.
For ten years after he left the farm Mr. Gamble was a contract teamster in Independence, and, following this, he engaged with the rental
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
and loan department of the Citizens National Bank, where he has charge of a large and important business.
In February, 1874, Mr. Gamble married Harriet Hetley, a daughter of Levi Hefley, a Kentucky gentleman, who came to Montgomery county early, from Belleview, lowa. John and Cade Hedley, brothers of Mrs. Gamble, are well known citizens of Independence, and a sister, Mrs. Lucinda Chapman, resides in Burden, Kansas, and another sister, Mrs. Agnes Rowe, resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Gamble have no children. Mr. Gamble is prominent in local Grand Army circles, is Past Commander and attended the national encampment of the order at Washington, D. C.
WILLIAM S. HAYS-On historic Squirrel Hill, where are now the boulevards, the stately homes and the wealth and fashion of the city of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, settled the head of a family whose posterity is numbered among the substantial citizenship in our American daily life, and whose antecedents include the good blood of some of the favored families of the British Isles. James Fleming came from Scotland, in 1764, and settled at Ft. Pitt, where he opened the first store and pur- chased a tract of land from the heirs of William Penn. This tract em- braced about all of the land at the junction of the two rivers and the high point overlooking the rivers and country below was called "Squirrel Ilill." Gen. Braddock opened this country with his military road in 1755, and with the growth of Pittsburg "Squirrel Hill" became the famous suburb of the city. James Fleming was the maternal great- grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and the Flemings and the Hays's fulfilled their missions and rendered useful and patriotic service in many avenues of their country's development.
On his maternal grandmother's side Mr. Hays is a lineal descendent of the famed Flora MeDonald who, although offered thirty thousand pounds by the enemies of Charles Edward for the surrender of the fugi- tive prince, refused to reveal his identity and saw him safely aboard a French man-of-war, disguised as her maid. Iler niere, born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1776, was our subject's grandmother, and she died on "Squir- rel Hill" in 1874. James Fleming, grandfather of our subject. reared eight sons and two daughters, of whom Lewis, a veteran of the Rebel- lion, died April 9th, 1903; Josiah, who raised a company at New Orleans about 1835, to fight for the freedom of Texas from Mxican oppression, and was betrayed by Santa Anna's men in Texas, who unordered twenty-seven. in all of this company: James was a wealthy Southerner, who had a po- sition in the navy yard at Norfolk. Va., and furnished sons for "Stone- wall" Jackson's army; William Hays was drowned in the Monongahela river while attempting to rescue a man ; Willason Hays died while pass-
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ing through the Indian Territory, in 1853; and Robert died in California.
This branch of the Hays family emanated from Robert Hays, grand- father of William S. Hays, of this review, who came to America from Ireland at four years of age, during, or just after, the Revolutionary war. Robert Hays married a Hughey, who came to this country from Scotland when very young, with the Neals-her cousins-who were mur- dered by the Indians at Bloody Run, Pa., in 1780. Ephraim Hays was one of a family of eight children, and married Mary Fleming, both of whom died near Pittsburg, Pa., at seventy-eight and seventy-six years, respectively. Their children were: George, who died young; Maggie and Emily, who reside in Pittsburg; Mary, who died in 1901; Robert, of Steubenville, Ohio; James F., of Baltimore, Md., the father of the only off- spring of this family; and William S., our subjeet.
Dr. George Hays. Colonel of the Sth Pennsylvania Reserves, and Gen. Alexander Hays, who was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, are of the same family as the subject of this notice. Hugh Hays, who died in Louisville, Kentucky, was the father of Will S., the poet and ballad- writer and staff correspondent of the Courier-Journal. Dock and Robert Hays, lawyers of Louisville, and E. W. Hays, cashier of the First Nat- ional bank of Kentucky for thirty-five years, were also sons of Hugh Hays, and belonged to the same general family.
William S. Hays came to manhood about Pittsburg, Pa. When he took up the serious duties of a loyal citizen it was to enter the army as a private in Company "C," 103rd Pa. Inf., in 1861. His regiment formed a part of the Army of the Potomac and, for lack of space, eliminating interesting details of his service and confining the sketeh to the main facts of our subject's history, we find him, rain-soaked, in front of the Rebel fortifications at Williamsburg on the night of May 5th, 1862. He was with MeClellan's army, chilled to the bone, yet ready to renew battle when dawn should break. He was the first of a number of volunteers to respond to a request for tree-climbers, to investigate the position of the enemy's forces, and found them to have retreated to Richmond. Mr. Hays belonged to Casey's Division of the 4th Corps, which suffered so severely at the hands of the Confederates at Fair Oaks and Seven Pines, and our subject was probably nearer the Rebel capital at this time than any other "boy in blue," until its evacuation.
On the night of May 30th, 1862, Hays and McKee, bunk-mates, were stationed on the Fortress Monroe and Richmond road, in a down-pour of rain, and in the morning, cold and hungry and still unrelieved. No fires were allowed on picket and McKee said : "I'll dig a hole and build a fire below the picket line." they were in such distress. A few pine knots and a match soon had their coffee steaming, when, suddenly, a voice called out, "that smells awful good, Yank. I wish I had some"! A rebel picket was within twenty feet of them and undiscovered. "All right, Johnnie,
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
what have you to trade?" "Nothing"! "Nothing to trade, nothing to eat," said the Yanks. "Can you swap a Richmond paper for coffee ?" And in about twenty minutes McKee and the Johnnie had made the ex- change and the news that Joe Johnston's army of 65,000 men was fixing to gobble up a part of MeClellan's army was gleaned, and between twelve and one o'clock the whole of the Rebel army started the fun by paying their respects to Hays and McKee. McKee fired at the rebel skirmish line, the rebel picket clipped the brim of McKee's hat. Hays got in the third shot and the tremendous engagement was on. The two Yan- kee pickets were too late in retreating and were made prisoners and started toward Libby prison. A cannon ball struck a tree presently and so scattered the cavalry escort that our Federal friends made their es- cape among the pines. As Mr. Hays came along to different Union bat- teries, he found them horseless and almost manless, and some of them in the hands of the enemy. He aided in dragging Fitch's battery through Gen. Couch's Division, a half mile to the rear, and got it into action. It was in this engagement that Mr. Hays met a son of his uncle. Fleming. whose sons went into the Confederate army. They exchanged experi -. ences afterward and it was discovered that at several places they had faced each other in deadly conflict. Continuing through the period of his service, Mr. Hays was in every engagement or raid his company took part in. in one of which every third man in it was killed or wounded.
At the close of the war there was not much left of the original 103rd Pennsylvania regiment. Five years after the war. three companies of it had not a survivor. and nearly the whole of the regiment had either been killed, wounded or taken prisoner.
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