Monday, September 5, 2011

Charles Edwin Bowlsby and Jennie May Jones

Charles Edwin Bowlsby

Charles Edwin Bowlsby was married to Jenny May Jones on Feb. 14, 1877, in Lincoln, Nebraska.   She was the daughter of John and Abigail Jones, also of Lincoln.

About 1886 or 1887, Charles Edwin and Willard Lucien and their families, and their father left for Oregon in covered wagons.  It was a cold overcast morning when they stopped for a last farewell at sister Lillian Tannahill’s home.  Her oldest daughter, Amy, was 7 or 8 and remembered the families on this occasion. “Mama said I had to kiss Grandpa goodbye but I didn’t want to.  He had long whiskers which were a little tobacco stained.  I did kiss him, however, because Mama wanted me to.  Uncle Ed was there with Clarence and Daisy.  I remember Aunt Jenny sitting in a rocker with a wee baby in her arms.  Then Uncle Will, the youngest boy of the family, next to my mother was there with Cora, near my age but a little older.”


Jenny May Jones

Charles Edwin settled in Pendleton, Oregon.  Jenny and Ed were divorced about 1894-1895 in Pendleton.  In 1900, Jenny married again to Elmer Story, at Cle Elum, Washington.  They lived there about a year then Jenny returned to Pendleton and lived in Ed’s house until 1910 when she purchased a small home in West Pendleton where she passed away in 
1900.
Jenny and Ed had 5 children.  Clarence Edward, Daisy Violet, Jesse, Charles Franklin and Albert Leon.  Of his brothers and sisters, Bert L. Bowlsby said,
“In 1951 I was told by several old timers that they were  sure Clarence and his wife went back to Missouri,  Jesse passed away in Eastern Oregon State Hospital in Pendleton in 1950.  Charles passed away in April 1928 in Albany, California.  He is buried in the Presidio in San Francisco.  I made an attempt to look up Daisy  in 1951.  I started in Myrtle Creek and down thru to Myrtle Point.  Every place I stopped people knew who Herb Thomas was (Daisy’s husband), but no one had seen them for a year or so, so I never did locate Daisy.

Charlie and I stuck pretty close together, we did mostly ranch work, around Pendleton.  It is all dry land, wheat farming, or was in our time.  I and my brother started work when we were about 15 years old practically all big teams, 8-10 horse-plowing, weeding and harrowing, then harvest.  We were always trying to be Champion Riders at the Round-up.  We always made it to the finals but never could get in the money”.

Charles Edwin and Willard Lucien Bowlsby


Charles and Bert signed up for Army Service in 1917.  They were both called up in Oct. 1917 and Charles joined the Navy and Bert joined the Army. Both were discharged in  May 1919.
(Taken from a letter to Coral Cottrell from Albert Bowlsby.)


          Bowlsby, Charles Franklin



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