George H. Tannahill and "Stirpes"

Young George H. Tannahill

George H. Tannahill was the first of William and Janette's children to be born in Nashua, Iowa.  He was born on March 21, 1857 and was only 5 yrs. old when his father died.  

When he was a young man he moved with his widowed mother to Phillips Co., Kansas where they homesteaded adjoining farms.  Prior to this time, another family had come to New Jersey from England, looking for a place to make their permanent home.  While in New Jersey, a lovely little girl was born to Fredrick Robinson and his wife, Sarah.  They named her Mary Evelyn.  When she was a young girl her family moved to Springbrook, Pa. and then came on to Phillips Co., by covered wagon to settle on a homestead near George and his mother.  On Oct. 5, 1881, Mary Evelyn Robinson became the bride of George Tannahill..

George H. Tannahill and
Mary Evelyn Robinson
Wedding Picture

The first home that George and Mary had, was called a dugout and was made in a bank of dirt.  They had 2 little boys in this home, then they moved into a house and the rest of their 11 children were born there.  Iva Bushman has this to say of their early years; “In early years our home in Phillips Co., was the stopping place for many a traveler.  Always they found the welcome mat out, an extra place at the dining table and sleeping quarters.  I always remember the “Patent Medicine Man” and the pay for board and lodging was usually a jar of brown salve and a bottle of liniment, a cure all for aches and pains for both humans and livestock.

 

Besides caring for her family of almost a dozen, Mary Evelyn boarded the country schoolteachers, one Susie Rollins and Mary McKown.  The school known as the Tannahill Schoolhouse was also the place of Sunday morning worship.  Out of this hospitality a romance blossomed, for Bert Tannahill married Susie Rollins on June 10, 1908.   George served in the Kansas State Legislature from Phillips co. for three terms.  In the year 1910 the family moved from their farm near Long Island, Kansas to a farm near Vernon where George and Eva resided until their deaths.  This was also the year that Irma was born.  He was again elected as Representative this time for Woodson Co. And served two terms.

  Iva says, “Dad was a diligent worker for all projects for the good of the community, among them the Vernon Rural High School.  Many a pupil received an education here, that never could have otherwise.  Among them Vernon and Irma, also nine grandchildren were graduates of V.R.H.S.” 

  At one time George went to Washington to have the body of his father, William Tannahill moved from the Cemetery there, and brought to Nashua co. Cemetery near the Little Brown Church, but was informed that a body could not be removed from a national Cemetery.  He went back to Iowa and had a tombstone erected for his father and markers for James Tannahill and his baby sister, Ella, who died when she was only 3 yrs. old.

  Eva was a charming and gracious companion to George.  Their home, overflowing with love and happiness, was noted far and wide, for it’s hospitality.  They identified themselves with the Church and were active in the various organizations of the church and raised their children in this tradition



Back row, L to R.::  Henry Krafft, Fred Tannahill, Fred Risker, Truman Hoppes,

John Krafft, Art Tannahill, Johnny Steele, Jutt Rhoades and Edgar Payser.

Middle row, L to R: Oscar Pyser, John Morton, Burt Tannahill, George Krafft,

Instructor Walcot, Band Leader C.A. Rhoads, George Poyser, Jim Costello and

Elwood Ellis.  Front Row, L to R: Bill Grote, Frank Rhoads, Edd Rhoads, Fred Steele,

 and Faragus Coons.   Photo courtesy of Fort Bissell Museum as shown on the

Farmers State Bank Heritage Calendar.



The Farmer Boys band was organized of neighborhood boys and numbered in the teens.  Of this band, Fred played horn, Art, slide trombone and Bert was an accomplished musician on both the trumpet or cornet and also violin.  Many an evening was spent at home with music as our entertainment and both Nettie and Anna played piano.

Our house was a Community gathering place, playing games of  hide and seek in the big hay barn in summer and Puss-in-the-Corner and Fruit Basket Upset in the winter.  The same was true after moving to Vernon but by this time the three older boys were in homes of their own”.

"Stirpes"

This last week as I was googleing, I found another account of William Tannahill in a publication called "Stirpes" on the Portal to Texas Website. http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39868/m1/22/sizes/

The article was called "The Man Who Had Three Tombstones". I had never seen this publication and maybe some of you might like to read this account.  It is on pps. 20,21,22.  Follow the link above to find it.

Tannahill, George H
Tannahill, Mary Evelyn Robinson

Willard Lucien Bowlsby and Olive Lela Thayer

Will Bowlsby, Cora and May
and Olive Thayer Bowlsry

Willard Lucien Bowlsby was born in Albion Township, Calhoun Co, Michigan on 27 Dec. 1857.  He was the youngest son of Charles Bowlsby and Mellissa Jane Thompson.  He married Olive L. Thayer on  November 7, 1877 in Butler Co. Nebraska. Witnesses to the marriage were Elbridge Thayer, Olive’s father and Edward Bowlsby, Willard’s brother.  This new little Bowlsby family lived on a farm near David City, Nebraska.  Their first three children, Cora Melissa b.1878, a little girl with big blue eyes and dark curls,  Leroy b.1880, and Effie Lecreca b.1882, were born there.  In 1884, Willard and Olive lost 2 of their younger children, Leroy and Effie, to diphtheria.  They are buried in David City.

After the death of the children, they moved to Oregon and homesteaded near Pilot Rock. After they arrived, 3 more children were born to them, May, Fayette Elenora and Lillian. Cora grew up and at 18 married Walter Reinhart.  She was so happy with her new home, husband and later her baby.  When little Marvin was 6 mos old he got measles and died in 3 days.  Cora lived only 4 months longer.  Both are buried at Albee, Oregon.  After Cora’s death, Olive and Will’s  family moved to Pendleton, Oregon.  Faye and May lived to maturity and reared children.  Faye married George Leaf at Pendleton, Oregon and had a daughter, Vera.  May married Harry Updyke at 16 yrs. of age and had three children, Madge, Fleda and Bernice.  Bernice died at Portland, Oregon when she was 1 1/2 yrs. old.

Picture on the right:

 Top:  Harry Updyke. Fay Elenora, George Washington Leaf, May (Bowlsby)

Updyke.  Bottom:  Willard Lucien, Fleda Updyke, Vera Leaf. Madge Updyke, Olive Lela Thayer Bowlsby

Elbridge Thayer, Olive’s father, died at the home of Will and Olive Bowlsby in Pendleton, Oregon in 1917.  After his death his body was taken back to David City, Nebraska where he was buried in the David City Cemetery.  It is interesting to note that

Pvt. Elbridge Thayer served in the Union Army, Company "B", 7th Iowa Infantry. Which was the same Company that William Tannahill served in.  They must have been friends.

Bowlsby, Willard Lucien

Bowlsby, Olive L

Thayer, Pvt Elbridge May

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 Edwin 47591532
Bowlsby, Jenny May Jones

          Bowlsby, Charles Franklin

Do you remember?

Amy Bagley and Lydia Sargent
Taken abt 1945

Many years ago Lydia Tannahill Sargent wrote a remembrance to Amy Bagley, her sister, about some of the things that she remembered of their childhood.

”.........Do you remember the three plum groves in the pasture, how we ate and ate the plums and found out we could eat still more without making us sick?.........

..........Do you remember - Every evening we brought the cows in from the big pasture to the corral to milk?  I have a very fast moving picture in my mind of your (often) grabbing a cow by the tail as they came down the last hill into the corral.  How she would run but you hung on, if it nearly did snap your heels off!  And talking about cows!  We had gone to the corral to milk one evening, and you dared me  to sit down on a gentleman cow.  He was getting cross and we were both afraid of him.  He was lying down and I sat!  No animal ever moved so fast as he did and around that corral he run with me on his back!!!  I fell off as he neared the fence, and scooted under it!  I suppose he was as scared as I, …….and did you laugh! It scares me yet to think of it!........    

..........How we rode the pigs when we were quite small?  The pretty curly haired white Angora goat .. that was kept tied up so she couldn't chase us?  One day he got loose and when we saw her coming we made a "bee  line" for the nearest tree.  You're legs were longer and you reached it first and up it  you went and after you, as far as I could get, but she could reach my bare feet and butted them until our Mother rescued us.....”

 
 .........The poor old Ewe we took a dislike to - we waited until dusk and doused her in a pail of water. (I am still ashamed of this!).......... 

A cousin of mine still remembers visiting with us and going after the cows with my
brother Glen.  She remebers the playhouse that we had in the trees, with the "real framed picture" in it.  She was very impressed as she had never before seen a playhouse with a picture in it. 

......Do you remember - Our first doll, Rosie, a rag doll?   I recall the day we "gave her up" - a sad day, but Lucy and Ella soon took her place in our affections.  Our charm strings were an early interest in our childhood.   Remember the tree we climbed like squirrels?"........... 

  

......Do you remember the cart the folks got for us to ride to school in?  while playing at the barn one day we put the shafts up on a high stack, got into the seat and of course, it turned over backward, bumped our heads and doubled us up like jack knives..........”.