Dr Evan Ennis Combs of KY & MO

INTRODUCTION

All the world loves a story. "Once upon a time" is the magic phrase that draws a group together about any glib spinner of yarns. A tale as old as the 1794 Whisky Rebellion in western Pennsylvania, or as puzzling as the changing the spelling of ones surname. There will always be people to listen and to learn from a good story.

"A good story is the opener of many doors. It introduces a speaker, illuminates discourse, beguiles weariness, banishes gloom, brightens the night, and adorns the day… We follow the lure of the story because we are hungry for it. After every disappointment we sigh - and begin another" (Slater, p. 322). This view was presented as part of the foundation for a 1913 freshman composition course. The author was convinced that it was important to tell stories without bungling or creating barrenness in the process. "Historical narration…is illuminated by vivid descriptions, when the sources afford material for such descriptions" (Slater, p. 338).

A present day concern exists that people lack the ability of telling stories. It is seen as being a lost art. There is a current belief that this has created a void, or lack of a bridge, between one generation and another. If various cultures are studied it is apparent that information about values, morals, and what is basically right and wrong, is passed on from one generation to the next. A majority of the time this is accomplished by presenting various forms of narratives - telling stories (Fine, p. 157)(Eubanks & Parish, p. 27)(Bolman & Deal, pp.117-121).

In March 1775 Colonel Richard HENDERSON of the Transylvania Company hired Daniel BOONE as his agent. The Transylvania Company was the name given to the company after HENDERSON acquired title from the Cherokee to a large land area. As HENDERSON's agent, Daniel BOONE was employed to establish a settlement in what was later to become Kentucky. Along with a party of thirty settlers Daniel BOONE began to clear the Wilderness Road. By April they were establishing their fort at the Kentucky River. The fort community was called Boonesborough [see Note 1].

The settlers called their new lands Transylvania, but it was soon discovered that they lay within the borders of Virginia and that state organized them into the county of Kentucky (Southworth & Southworth, p. 144).

In 1777 Virginia's General Assembly divided Fincastle County into three parts and created Washington, Montgomery and Kentucky counties. The act creating these counties described the Kentucky County boundaries. In 1780 Kentucky County was divided into three smaller parcels - Jefferson, Fayette and Lincoln. Within a few years six more counties had been created from the original three. On 18 December 1789 Virginia's General Assembly passed an act allowing Kentucky to apply for statehood. On 1 June 1792 these nine counties became the State of Kentucky - Mason, Woodford, Bourbon, Madison, Lincoln, Nelson, Jefferson, Mercer, and Fayette. The land speculation by the COMBS' pioneers were located primarily in Fayette and Bourbon counties (Thorndale & Dollarhide, p. 122).

Frontiersman would travel to Boonesborough where they would stay until they had found their parcel of land. One group of travelers that stayed at Boonesborough in May 1775 consisted of Cuthbert, Joseph, Ennis and Benjamin COMBS; along with their brother in law, Marquis CALMES. They enjoyed the protection of the fort for a few weeks. They traveled into the territory that is now known as Clark and Montgomery counties. The COMBS' took up large boundaries of land lying between Upper Howard's Creek and Lulbegrud Creek. Much of these tracts were located around the Indian Old Fields (Harber).

The COMBS' party followed an old buffalo trace from Boonesborough into what is presently now Montgomery County, Kentucky. It was exceedingly hot in 1775 and many of the creeks were dry. The party traveled the trek until they located the cool spring near the headwaters of the Hinkston. They then followed the Hinkston Creek downstream until they came to a mound which was used as a prominent landmark by early hunters. The site was known by the name "Little Mountain" This is the present location of Mount Sterling, Kentucky (Enoch, p. 8)[see Note 2].

The mound - located at the intersection of the present Locust and Queen streets - was described as being twenty-five feet high, one hundred and twenty-five feet across almost perfectly circular (Enoch, p. 8) . Cuthbert COMBS married Sally EVANS. They had a very large family. Known Issue of Cuthbert and Sally COMBS are Elizabeth EDWARDS, Joseph, Benjamin, Polly (BAKER) EVANS, John, Sythe PAYNE, Susan HICKMAN, Cuthbert Jr., Sally EVANS, Nancy PAYNE, Fielding Alexander, and Evan Ennis COMBS. Cuthbert did not stay in one location for any length of time. He was back in Stafford County, Virginia in the 1780's; and was in Nelson County, Kentucky by 1797. Later Cuthbert COMBS took his family to Clark County, Kentucky where he resided until his death in 1815.

DR. EVAN ENNIS COMBS

Until about 1890 the pride and delight of Americans was their quality of land. The possession of land was the aim for almost all their actions. Land acquisition was used for curing social evils, governmental enticements, status, gaging wealth or just to be a monarch in their own right. "An artisan works, that he may die on land of his own" (Woestemeyer, p. 37).

Evan Ennis Combs (b: abt 1795; d: 18 JUN 1849), a native of Virginia, was a physician and surgeon by profession. He began practice in Clark County, Kentucky. Shortly afterwards he removed to Mt. Sterling, where he followed his profession for eighteen years. He then moved his family to a farm, on which he resided for an additional thirteen years. Evan Ennis COMBS raised his family in Mount Sterling, Kentucky until after the death of his wife. He was a very well respected medical doctor in Montgomery County, Kentucky (Perrin, p. 777).

Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS wife, Mary "Polly" Sydnor HINDE, was a Kentuckian by birth. They were married on 17 APR 1817 in Montgomery County, Kentucky. Ennis and Mary "Polly" COMBS had ten children - Sarah Elizabeth, Edward Mark, Mary Ann, Silas Evans, John Cuthbert, Fielding Alexander, Caroline "Dolly", James H., Susannah "Susan" E. and Evan Ennis Jr. Dr. Ennis COMBS died of cholera 18 JUN 1849 when on a return visit to Kentucky from Independence, Missouri. His death occured while traveling on the Ohio River (Walker & Wilson, p. 45)(Perrin, p. 777)(1840 US Census, Kentucky - Montgomery County. p. 214, line 14). He is buried in the Prewitt-Combs Cemetery, located on the Edward R. PREWITT Jr. Farm, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky (Perkins)[see Chart 1].

The COMBS' migration to Missouri was influenced by the letters that were sent by family members living in the state. The HINDE's, EVANS', SCHOLL's and COMBS' all had various family members who made the move to Lafayette, Saline, Jackson and Ray counties in Missouri; rather than going to other parts of Kentucky or to Tennessee. Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS moved his family in 1842 from Montgomery County, Kentucky to Saline County, Missouri (National Historical Company, p. 641). In February 1844 Septimus SCHOLL, a Jackson County, Missouri cousin of Mary "Polly" COMBS, wrote his son Nelson SCHOLL in Clark County, Kentucky stating his concerns about moving to Missouri [see Note 3]:

There are several places in Saline County in the neighborhood of Doc Combs (Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS) and Marshall (Missouri) I would be glad to hear from by some person who had examined the premises, which I have enjoined on John Haggard and Silas Combs &c. I also want you to send me particular word what you think would be most prudent to bring with me and if you would send any furniture by water or bring more horses than we require on the road. What sort of oxen and wagons &c, and what part of the country you would prefer taking in consideration the price of land the future prospects as to timber, stock raising, trade, hemp, wheat, tobacco, mules &c, the most proper time to move and the probable chance for renting a year, provided I should not make a purchase immediately, and which would be the most advisable plan, to buy or rent (Giulvezan, p. 2)[see Note 4].

Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS procured 600 acres on 20 MAY 1843 from James SHELBY. At the time of the purchase Ennis COMBS was residing in Boone County, Missouri. The legal description of the land purchased is the E½ NW, NE SW, W½ SW, SE, SE SW, & W½ NE Section 26, Township 51, Range 20; NE SE Section 27, Township 51, Range 20; and the W½ SW Section 25, Township 51, Range 20 (Saline County, Missouri Deed Book K. p. 29). A portion of this land was to become know as the community of Orearville [see Note 5]:

Orearville was first called Centerville. The site was first settled by one James SMITH, of Tennessee, who entered on sections 26 and 27. He afterwards sold to James SHELBY, a son of Isac SHELBY, the first governor of Kentucky. He sold to Ennis COMBS…The town was started in 1852, by N. C. OREAR, who served as justice of the peace there (Napton, p. 375).

Dr. Ennis COMBS sold a portion of this land to his son Silas Evan COMBS on 22 FEB 1847. Dr. COMBS county of residence was recorded on the deed as Jackson County, Missouri. The parcel of land sold to Silas E. COMBS was recorded as the E½ NW & W½ NE Section 26, Township 51, Range 20 (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book M, p. 1). This procurement would amount to about 160 acres of the original 600 acres obtained by Dr. Ennis COMBS in 1843.

In the will of Dr. Ennis COMBS there was a stipulation to sell the property located in Van Buren County, Missouri. This property would now be located in Cass County, since Van Buren County was renamed Cass County in 1849 (Thorndale & Dollarhide, p. 194). The legal description of this parcel of land is the E ½ NE Section 24, Township 43, Range 30; E ½ SE & SE NW Section 35, Township 43, Range 30. This parcel would amount to about 200 acres of farm land, located south of the small community of Garden City, Missouri [see Note 6].

MARY SYDNOR (HINDE) COMBS

Mary "Polly" Sydnor (HINDE) COMBS is the daughter of Dr. John Wood HINDE. Her mother is Elizabeth Sydnor (MARK) HINDE, of Montgomery County, Kentucky. The parents of Dr. John Wood HINDE are Dr. Thomas and Mary (HUBBARD) HINDE. Dr. Thomas HINDE was a surgeon in the British Army and Navy. "He left this service and came to America and was a surgeon in the Revolution, afterward settling in Virginia" (American Biographical Archive, Fielding Combs. p. 34). Dr. John and Elizabeth HINDE had thirteen children (Ham, pp. 99-103). The granddaughter of Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS, Belle COMBS wrote this 8 FEB 1940 account of her great grandfather Dr. Thomas HINDE:

There is one in the Eastern Art Galleries, a very fine oil painting of General Wolf dying in the arms of Surgeon Hinde (in Benjamin West's portrait of the dying Wolfe), at the Battle of Quebec during the War between the British and the French. Surgeon Hinde was the father of our…grandfather Combs wife. I do not know where any of the Hinde relatives now are. There was a large family in Saline Co., Mo (Musser, 22 JUN 1998).

Following the end of the French and Indian Wars, Hinde took his discharge in America and found his way to Virginia where he set up practice. He was a neighbor and a friend of Patrick Henry (Bedford, p. 532).

According to a 1910 letter written by Belle COMBS, the daughter of Even Ennis COMBS Jr., Mary "Polly" S. COMBS died three weeks after the birth of her last child Evan Ennis COMBS Jr.:

Ma's Uncle William Waddell gave Ma $100.00 worth of flat silver when she married Pa [see Note 7]. We know nothing about Aunt Sallie's (Sally (COMBS) EVANS) silver. Pa's mother was Miss Mary Sydnor Hinde of Kentucky. Sallie Combs married Silas Evans, her cousin. They raised my father whose mother died when he was three weeks old (Musser, 22 Jun 1998).

US Census records delineate the fact that Evan Ennis COMBS Jr. was born in Kentucky, not in Missouri. The COMBS' family did not move to Missouri until 1842 (National Historical Company, p. 641). Based on Belle COMBS letter, Mary "Polly" S. COMBS had to have died in Montgomery County, Kentucky sometime in October of 1837 [see Note 8]. In Dr. Ennis COMBS Sr. will it states that "Ennis COMBS (is) to live with Silas EVANS who has raised him this far until he is 21 years of age" (Combs &c. RootWeb Research Project, p. 1). Sallie (COMBS) EVANS is married to Silas EVANS. She is the sister of Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS. Silas EVANS was residing in Missouri when Dr. Ennis COMBS will was probated (Will of Evan Ennis Sr. 25 JUL 1848)(Williams & Williams, p. 51)(1830 US Census, Kentucky - Montgomery County. pp. 25-26, line 19).

SUSAN NEVILLE (CATLETT) COMBS

Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS was married a second time to Susan N. CATLETT (Wilson)(Lafayette County, Missouri). A Saline County, Missouri land deed dated 22 FEB 1847 lists Ennis COMBS wife as Susan N. COMBS (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book K. p. 29). In 1851 Susan N. (CATLETT) COMBS was living in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri (Buchanan County, Deed Book H, p. 245). No evidence has ever been found which indicates that Susan N. COMBS ever lived with any of the children of Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS between 1849 and the time of her death 11 APR 1876 (Wilson). In 1860 Susan N. COMBS was living with Ann CATLETT in St. Joseph, Missouri. Living next door to Susan COMBS is Dr. D. CATLETT (Nelson & Jackson, p. 109)[see Note 9]. Dr. CATLETT is believed to be Susan N. COMBS brother.

The following article appeared in the Saint Joseph Gazette on 12 APR 1876:

DIED -COMBS - At her residence on fifth street at A.M. yesterday, Mrs. Susan N. Combs, aged 75 years. The funeral service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, at 1 P.M., today, by Rev. R. S. Campbell, friends and acquaintances are invited to attend without further notice.
(St Joseph Gazette).

The first city directory listing in Saint Joseph, Missouri for Susan N. COMBS is in the 1859-1860 City Directory. Susan N. COMBS is recorded as living at the corner of 5th and Jule Streets (1859-1860 St. Joseph, Missouri City Directory. p 16). In the 1860 City Directory for St. Joseph, Missouri catalogs Susan COMBS, age 48, widow, born in Kentucky. Living with her is A. CATLETT, age 30, female, born in Virginia; and H. CATLETT, age 24, male, born in Kentucky (Nelson & Jackson, p. 109).

Susan N. COMBS probate file is located in the Northwest Missouri Genealogical Society archives (COMBS, Susan N.). Administrator of the estate was Miss Ann L. CATLETT. The only property listed in the probate was a parcel of land recorded as the NE 1/4 of Section 13, Township 56, Range 29, located in Caldwell County, Missouri. The remaining assets of the estate went to Ann L. CATLETT. From a review of the documents in the probate file, Susan N. COMBS did not possess much of an estate at the time of her death. However there is a clear indication that Susan COMBS conducted a number of large land transaction over the years while residing in Buchanan County, Missouri. Her income and well being were maintained by managing the procurement and sale of parcels of land.

The following is a list of a number of land transactions by Susan N. COMBS while a resident of Buchanan County, Missouri:

Not one of these transactions is associated with any COMBS, or an associated COMBS lineages. A number of large land transactions appear to have been made in the early 1850's. Later Susan N. COMBS began selling her property. One person who was associated with Susan N. COMBS and her land dealings is Ann L. CATLETT. Records reveal the fact that Susan N. COMBS had enough assets in 1851 to purchase large tracts of land in Buchanan County. This is consistent with the settling of Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS estate in Lafayette County, Missouri [see Note 10]. She is also listed as a slave owner in 1860, with one black male, age 48 (Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule - Buchanan County. p. 74, line 30, 2d column)[see Note 11].

Buchanan County, Missouri land deeds also indicate that Susan N. COMBS full name is Susan Neville COMBS. A 21 January 1854 land transaction, along with the name Ann L. CATLETT, lists William P. Taylor as the grantee. Susan N. COMBS name is recorded as Susan Neville COMBS (Buchanan County, Missouri Deed Book J, p. 569).

Susan Neville COMBS was buried in Andrew County. Missouri in the Todd Cemetery. The cemetery is located on Old Todd Farm. It is located in Section 21 in Jefferson Township, Andrew County, Missouri. Her grave marker has the following inscription on it:

SUSAN N. COMBS
DAUGHTER OF H. & M. CATLETT
BORN 16 APRIL 1800 DIED 11 APRIL 1876
AGE 75 YR, 11 MONTHS, 26 DAYS
(Andrew County Cemetery Inscriptions) [see Note 12].

Susan N. COMBS was instrumental in organizing the First Presbyterian Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was organized "on the 12th of January, 1854, by a committee of the Presbytery of 'Upper Missouri.' The organization was effected in the parlor of Mrs. Susan N. COMBS." She is also listed in the Church records as an original charter member (Ramfre Press, p. 496).

THE TEN CHILDREN OF DR. EVAN ENNIS COMBS

CAROLINE (COMBS) HAWES

After the death of Dr. Ennis COMBS, his children and their families scattered in a number of directions. Caroline "Dolly" COMBS moved to Jackson County, Missouri in 1845.

"I have seen Dolly once since she came out (to Independence, Missouri)" stated her cousin Eliza WALLACE in her letter to her sister and brother-in-law Rodney Martin HINDE dated 8 NOV 1845 (Giulvezan, p. 14).

She returned to her former home in Montgomery County, Kentucky after the death of her father. She lived with her sister, Mary CALDWELL, in Montgomery County, Kentucky until she moved to California in 1853 (1850 US Census, Kentucky - Montgomery County, p. 41)(Giulvezan, p. 14).

Mrs Caroline (COMBS) Hawes, 69, (b: 25 APR 1828) widow of Horace Hawes, died at home in Redwood City, California a couple of weeks ago. She was Miss Caroline Combs, daughter of old Dr. Combs who was well known to the older generation of our people. She was raised w(h)ere William H. Prewitt now lives near old Lulbegrud Church. Was a school mate of Mrs. Anne Mitchell and Mrs. Mary T. Reid. In 1853, she was in a party that crossed the plains, Mr. Jacob Trumbo, being a member of the same party. She married Horace Hawes after she went to California and he died a millionaire. She died only moderately rich (Elliston, p. 75)(Walker & Wilson, p. 44)[see Note 13].

Belle COMBS, the daughter of Evan Ennis COMBS Jr. wrote a letter to her cousin Edna HEIGHTOWER on 8 FEB 1940, which makes comments about Caroline moving to California:

Aunt Dolly Combs rode a pony called "peping" most of the way, and carried Carry Caldwell a small child in her lap. The pony died of old age and have seen where he was buried. I heard Aunt Dolly killed a buffalo on the plains. I think she and Mr. Hawed are buried in San Francisco. He was considered the smartest lawyer in the West. He was quite wealthy. Gave a great deal to the Catholics. Aunt Dolly gambled in stocks and let sharpers cheat her and when she died she had nothing, but Horace's widow and the daughter had their share (Musser, 22 JUN 1998. p. 1).

Caroline HAWES had two known children. She named her daughter Caroline (b: 24 DEC 1861). Her daughter married a ROBINSON and they also had two known children. Both of these offspring were living at one time in Redwood City, California. The known children of Caroline ROBINSON are Mrs. J.W. GOODWIN and Porter ROBINSON (Musser, 24 JUN 1998, p. 1).

JAMES H. COMBS

James H. COMBS (b: DEC 1832) resided with his sister Mary CALDWELL in Montgomery County, Kentucky after the death of his father (1850 US Census, Kentucky - Montgomery County, p. 41). James H. COMBS graduated from the Mt. Sterling Academy in 1852. In 1853 he crossed the plains, with ox and mule teams, to California. He first settled in San Ramon Valley, where he remained one year. He then went to San Jose, where he remained about two years. In 1855 James H. COMBS resided in Saline County, Missouri and was elected Saline County Assessor (Napton, p. 261). Then in 1856 James H. COMBS returned to Jackson County, Missouri (American Biographical Archive, James H. Combs. p. 46).

On 15 JUL 1860 James H. COMBS married Anna Elizabeth MARSHALL (b: JUL 1839). She was formerly from Lexington, Kentucky (Musser, 23 JUN 1998, p. 1). Anna Elizabeth COMBS parents were Robert and Elizabeth MARSHALL, also natives of Kentucky.

On 30 APR 1866 James H. COMBS purchased approximately 160 acres in Fort Osage Township from Robert and Mary W. AULL. The legal description is recorded as the E ½ SE, Section 4, Township 50 N, Range 31 W; NE NE, Section 9, Township 50 N, Range 31 W; and NW NE, Section 9, Township 50 N, Range 31 W (Jackson County, Missouri. Deed Book 49, p. 42). In 1838 William and Margaret (ROBERTS) COMBS "Peggy" (ROBERTS) COMBS of Atchison County, Missouri, sold 80 areas located in Lot 1, NW, Section 9, Township 50 N, Range 31 W. (Jackson County, Missouri. Deed Book S, p. 203). Lot 1 and Section 4 are contiguous parcels of land.

When James H. COMBS returned to Jackson County, Missouri in 1856 he farmed property in Fort Osage Township. His farm was very close to Sibley, Missouri. "Most of…Sibley…was burned by the Federal soldiers during the Civil War. It is said that Federal boats passing on the (Missouri) river were fired upon by bush-whackers and others, from this point, and the soldiers taking it for granted that this was the headquarters of rebels and enemies of the government, hence the destruction of the town" (Ramfre Press, p. 309)(see Note 14).

One of the prominent pioneer families in the Fort Osage area of Jackson County, Missouri was the William HUDSPETH clan. William HUDSPETH moved his family and slaves to Jackson County in 1828. He had been to Jackson County in 1826 but did not move until after the death of his wife (Tabitha (BEALL) HUDSPETH). Several individuals in the family were members of Six Mile Baptist Church. "William HUDSPETH helped organize the first school in Sible (sic), Missouri" (Ford, p. 3). They had eleven children. Several of his sons and grandsons rode with Captain William Clarke QUANTRILL during the Civil War. James H. COMBS is know to have associated and helped several of the family members during the Civil War.

One story that is documented where James H. COMBS helps Frank James during a heated battle along the Missouri River (Edward, p. 172).

In an attempt to escape capture by Union soldiers, ten members of Quantill's Raiders were racing for Jackson County. The river is heavily patrolled and the rebels were trying to cross the river in Ray County, Missouri into Fort Osage Township. "When the guerrillas left their horses the Federals were on the northern side of the (Missouri) river firing futilely across… (After crossing they) spread…out again under the warming sun and waited and watched. The dismounted men had need to mount themselves rapidly, it was battle everywhere. James Combs especially gave Frank James a horse destined soon to become famous" (Edwards, pp. 171-172).

According to the 1866 voter registration process, James H. COMBS was judged to be a supporter of the Confederacy. He went to the 1866 polling point, which was located in Sibley, Missouri; and was rejected as a qualified voter. It is also a known fact that James H. COMBS was present at the balloting point since the election judges stated that these are the "names of voters rejected at the election held at Sibley, in Fort Osage township, on the sixth day of November…one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six" (24th General Assembly, p. 211). James H. COMBS is found to be the fifth name on the list of rejected Fort Osage Township voters (24th General Assembly, p. 211).

In the Dr. Ennis COMBS probate file is a list of assets that were be quested to various family members. According to this document James H. COMBS inherited a male Negro by the name of Caleb Jr. This transaction was also listed in a letter to the Lafayette County, Missouri Probate Court presented by William SPRATT, administrator of the will. The letter was dated 10 JUL 1851. There is no doubt that James H. COMBS was a secessionists. He was disfranchised by Jackson County, Missouri for his political beliefs in the 1866 Jackson County, Missouri elections.

The social standing of Midwest citizens after the Civil War varied from place to place and from time to time. In general the attitude of those in power was that there were two classes of citizens - they were either War soiled or victoriously clean, and there was to be no mingling of the two. A typical viewpoint in the U.S. Congress was that the "Confederate states had ‘committed suicide' and should be treated like ‘conquered provinces'" (Garraty, p. 428). As was illustrated in the 1866 Missouri election any person could make accusations about another individuals politics and then be restricted from voting. There was no apparent appeal for this unjust political mechanism (Seyffert, p. 19).

On the day of the election there was the anticipation of violence at the polls (Seyffert, p. 19). One can just picture the farmers in the area ascending on Sibley to cast their ballots for the Conservative candidate. Only two ballots were given for the Radical opponent. The local eating establishments were probably packed with local male residents ordering meals and coffee while vibrantly discussing the politics of the area. The election took place on 6 November 1866 without any sort of incident (24th General Assembly, pp. 211-212).

James H. COMBS moved his family to Redwood City, California in 1872. He and his wife Anna Elizabeth COMBS had eight known children - Robert Marshall (b: abt 1863, MO), Mary D. (b: abt 1865, MO), Mollie Sue (b: abt 1866, MO), William (b: abt 1869, MO), Carrie H. (b: abt 1872, MO), James H. Jr. (b: DEC 1875, CA), Marshal R. (b: AUG 1878) and Bessie (1870 US Census, Missouri - Jackson County, p. 250)(1880 US Census, California - Lake County)(1900 US Census, California - Lake County).

EVAN ENNIS COMBS JR.

Evan Ennis COMBS Jr. (b: 16 SEP 1837) lived with Silas and Sarah "Sally" (COMBS) EVANS from the time he was three weeks old until he was twenty-one years of age (1850 US Census, Missouri - Lafayette, p. 248)(Walker & Wilson, p. 45). This was the wish of his father who provided for this arrangement in his will.

…son, Ennis COMBS to live with Silas EVANS who has raised him this far until he is 21 years of age…(Lafayette County, Missouri Probate File #37, Will. p. 1).

Ennis COMBS Jr. married Sarah Waddell CALLAWAY (b: JUL 1840) on 28 JUL 1859 (Musser, 24 JUN 1998, p. 2)(Lafayette County, Missouri; Marriage Book E. p. 19)[see Note 15]. After the death of Silas EVANS, Ennis COMBS Jr. remained living in Lafayette County with Sally EVANS (1860 US Census, Missouri - Lafayette, p. 371).

Ennis COMBS Jr. moved his family to Monrovia, Los Angeles County, California after 1863 [see Note 16]. He and Sarah his wife had four known children - Belle [see Note 17](b: 22 FEB 1863, MO), a twin brother (b: 22 FEB 1863. MO) that did not survive, Annie who died when she was about 2 years of age, and William "Willie" who also died as an infant (Musser, 24 JUN 1998, p. 1). In the 1900 Federal Census Ennis COMBS Jr. had a lodger by the name of Matt T. TERRY, age 59 (b: JUN 1840), born in New York. His occupation is recorded as shoe maker. Ennis is enumerated as owing a farm and a listed occupation of a landscape gardener (1900 US Census, California - Los Angeles).

Belle COMBS wrote a letter to her second cousin Edna HEIGHTOWER (daughter of Susan COMBS and granddaughter of Silas Evan COMBS) on 8 FEB 1940, recollecting a comical situation that had taken place in her youth in Missouri:

I well remember your dear mother. She stayed at our home in Missouri one winter when she was suffering with neuralgia. She slept in the living room where there was fire. One night my big white cat got on the window sill out side as he did, when it was cold and he wanted to come in. Pa would raise the window and let him in. That night your mother (Susan (COMBS) HEIGHTOWER) awakened and saw him as a white bearded man looking in, Pa and Ma were sleeping up stairs your Uncle Ennis (son of Silas E. & Martha Jane COMBS) across the hall. Ma was dreaming she heard a pistol fired, just as Cousin Sue began to scream. When Pa and Ma got down stairs Sue was sitting up in bed screaming and Ennis was holding to the foot of the bed so frightened he could not talk. It was quite a commotion. So you see my childish mind was impressed (Musser, 22 JUN 1998).

The 1860 Missouri Slave Schedule lists Evan Ennis COMBS Jr. with one fourteen year old, black slave. His Aunt Sallie EVANS is listed with thirteen slaves (Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule - Lafayette County. p. 438, lines 17-29).

SILAS EVAN COMBS

Silas Evan COMBS (b: 22 MAY 1821, Montgomery Co, KY) and died in 1891 in Vernon County, Missouri (Musser, 23 JUN 1998). He married Martha Jane PREWITT 30 AUG 1842. Martha Jane PREWITT was born in Fayette County, Kentucky 17 MAR 1822. Silas was reared and educated in his native county on a farm. In 1842 he moved to Missouri and located in Saline County, where he was engaged in farming till 1851, when he went to Jackson County, Missouri. In 1867 Silas E. COMBS moved his family to Cass County, Missouri. In 1875 the family then moved to California and remained there two years (National Historical Company, p. 641). Silas COMBS then returned to Cass County, Missouri and operated a 150 acre farm. The Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule lists Silas E. COMBS as the owner of 1 Black male age 12 (Cass County. p. 139, 2nd column, line 39).

For six years Silas E. COMBS was the constable for Index Township, Jackson County, Missouri. In the fall of 1881 he was elected Township Collector (National Historical Company, p. 641). Silas E. COMBS conducted several Jackson and Saline County, Missouri land transactions. These dealings are as follows:

From Ennis COMBS & Susan N. COMBS on 22 FEB 1847 (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book M, p. 1). To Henry W. NEFF on 15 MAY 1848 (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book N, p. 552. To Benjamin B. DUNNETT 30 APR 1851 (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book P, p. 209). To William PIPER 30 APR 1852 (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book S, p. 213). To Elizah TRUE 18 MAR 1853 (Saline County, Missouri; Deed Book P, p. 491). To James A. MCBRIDE on 9 APR 1858 (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book 26, p. 531). John W. POLK on 12 MAY 1860 (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book 35, p. 323). To H. W. PATTON on 13 APR 1860 (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book 36, p. 198). (Unknown person) on 12 MAY 1862 (Jackson County, Missouri Deed Book 36. p. 776). To Shelby FISHER and others on 7 FEB 1870 (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book 71, p. 603).

Martha Jane and Silas COMBS had thirteen children - Edward Mark (b: 27 JUL 1844, KY; d: prior to 7 OCT 1925) who married Lucy YOUNG on 14 JAN 1866 (Lafayette County, Missouri; Marriage Book E. p. 261); Mary Sydnor (b: 2 NOV 1845, MO; d: prior to 7 OCT 1925); Sarah Elizabeth "Bettie" SANDERS (b: 28 JUN 1847, KY); Theodocia "Dote" Prewitt THOMSON (b:10 NOV 1848, MO); Samuel Woodson (b: 15 NOV 1850, MO - living in Nevada, MO in 1925); Susan Matthews HEIGHTOWER (b: 21 MAR 1852, MO - living in Nevada, MO in 1925); Evan Ennis III (b: 26 FEB 1854, MO); Florance NUNN (b: 2 MAR 1856, MO - living in Nevada, MO in 1925 with her husband John NUNN); Robert Lee (b: DEC 1858, d: 7 OCT 1925); Caroline "Carrie" Hawes (b: 24 DEC 1861, MO); Mattie Walton JONES (b: 3 NOV 1863, MO - living in San Diego, CA with her husband Dr. Roy Vernon JONES); Willis Prewitt (b: 11 JUN 1843; d: 5 OCT 1848) and Ida (b: 3 AUG 1860)(National Historical Company, p. 642)(The Independence Examiner, 7 OCT 1925, p. 1)(1860 US Census, Missouri - Jackson County, p. 317)(1870 US Census, Missouri - Cass County, p. 611A)(Musser, 24 JUN 1998, p. 1)(Perkins).

In 1877 Silas E. COMBS wrote a letter to his recently married daughter Susan HEIGHTOWER. In this letter Silas E. COMBS outlines various activities of family members who are residing at that time in Lakeport & Lake County, California (Musser, 26 JUN 1998):

Lakeport, (Lake County, California) April 26, 1877

Dear Sue (Susan E. (COMBS) HEIGHTOWER): As I have not written to you since you have changed your name I will write you a short letter. We are all well and in fine spirits about our crops, they are very fine, we will make lots of money this time if nothing happens to our crops. I will make 2000 bushels of wheat and about 800 of barley and oats and 25 tons of hay. We will have an almost failure in the fruit line especially in apples. Your ma has a great many young chickens, she has had bad luck with her turkeys. Ennis (son of Silas E. COMBS) is over at Cloverdale (Sonoma County, CA) as Stage Agent for Horace Hawes. He gets sixty five dollars per month. Sallie will go over next week. I am glad Ennis is in business. Bob is still going to school and I hope doing well. Dollie and Mattie are going to Mr. Woods, they are well pleased with him. Fannie is going to the Odd Fellows Barbecue today. They are going to have a gay time. Your Aunt Dollie (Caroline COMBS) was to see us a few days ago. Your Uncle Fil (Fielding A. COMBS) has bought McCole's Drug Store. His family will be out in June. Annie arrived a few days ago. Old Uncle Jim Hinde (brother of Mary S. (HINDE) COMBS is still with us. Kin folks are getting very thick in this part of the country. Think of it all of my brothers here but one. Tell Dote (Aunt Dote, Mrs. J. Q. Thomson) I will write her before many days. This is the first I have written for two months and this is all the paper I have. You and Dote must let us hear from you often.

Love to you all, Your Pa

Silas E. COMBS was a member of the I.O.O.F. fraternity. He was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church (National Historical Company, p. 642). Silas COMBS was elected Saline County Assessor in 1850 (Napton, p. 261). Robert L. COMBS, his son, was elected the Blue Township Constable. In 1908 Robert L. COMBS was elected City Marshall of Independence, and four times elected the Independence City Collector. Robert L. COMBS died of a heart attack in 1925, while serving his fourth term in office as Independence City Collector (The Independence Examiner, 7 OCT 1925, p. 1)

DR. JOHN CUTHBERT COMBS

Dr. John "Cud" Cuthbert COMBS (b: abt 1822) married Harriet Frances SHORTREDGE (b: abt 1834, MO) on 23 JAN 1851(Musser, 22 JUN 1998, p. 3)(Jackson County, Missouri Marriage Book, p. 212). In a letter Nelson SCHOLL wrote to Rodney M. HINDE, dated 18 AUG 1845, reference is made about John C. COMBS:

Cousin John's family is all well and in fact all the connection is well. Doc (Ennis) Combs and family is well. Cud (John C. COMBS) has gone to Saline and he and Daddy (Septimus SCHOLL) intend on his return from Howard (County, Missouri) to have a hunt (Giulvezan, p. 12)(Musser, 24 JUN 1998, p. 1).

John C. COMBS and his wife sold several parcels of land 18 AUG 1851 to Strother RENICK, of Lafayette County, Missouri. The land that was sold was located in Jackson County, Missouri. The legal description of this transaction is the W½ NE Section 20, Township 50, Range 29; and NW & NE SE Section 20, Township 50, Range 29; and E½ SE Section 20, Township 50, Range 29; & E½ NW Section 35, Township 50, Range 29 (Jackson County, Book R, p. 555). The property is located south east of Sibley, Missouri in Fort Osage Township. Another Jackson County, Missouri parcel was sold to James M. MAVEY on 22 MAR 1849 (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book O. p. 20).

On 1 May 1849 John C. "Cud" COMBS and 60 other men started for the gold fields in California. In a letter dated 18 JUN 1849, Septimus SCHOLL reveals the planning, provisions and activities associated with this venture:

I will venture to inform you that Marcus (son of Septimus SCHOLL) started to California on the 1st day of May in company with Cyrus R. SCHOLL of Callaway, Daniel Muir, Sylvester Muir, Boone Hays, Amazon Hays, Linville Hays, Upton Hays, Cud Combs, Fielding A. Combs, Sr. (John C. COMBS brother), Dr. Caldwell, with a number of our acquaintances. Marcus, Cyrus, Daniel and Sylvester fitted out the wagon with four yoke of oxen, 800 pounds of bacon, 800 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of sugar, 100 pounds of coffee and three year clothing, good rifles guns, pistols, knives, cooking utensils and all the necessary tools thought to be wanted in mining, tents &c. They went in company with Boone Hays which consisted of 19 wagons and 60 men forming said company and do not expect to return before fall 1851 and not then if they think it their interest to remain longer (Giulvezan. p. 31)[see Chart 2].

Amazon, Linville and Upton HAYS are the sons of Boone HAYS. Boone HAYS made the trip to California a second time in 1850. He died en route to California and was buried on the slope of the Continental Divide. Upton HAYS formed a band of Confederate guerrillas and on 16 AUG 1862 made an attack at Lone Jack, Missouri. "A hundred and twenty-five men were killed before HAYS called in his men and rode south with QUANTRILL" (Monaghan, p. 255). Captain Upton HAYS was recruited by General Thomas C. HINDMAN, Commander of the District of Arkansas, C.S.A., as a regimental commander. Colonel Upton HAYS was killed 4 OCT 1862 behind the stone walls of Newtonia, a small community between Springfield and Neosho, Missouri (Monaghan, 257)[see Note 18].

Linville HAYS was a First Lieutenant in Captain Milton SCHOLL's Company, a component of Colonel D.A. WILLIAMS Cavalry Regiment, under the command of Brigadier General Jo SHELBY C.S.A. "When (Major General Sterling) PRICE Army crossed at Byram's Ford (at the Battle of Westport), Linville HAYS was in the van and was the first man across the Blue and through the fifteen mile line of defenses thrown up by General CURTIS on the west side of the (Big Blue) River (Doerschuck, p. 5)[see Note 19, 20 & 21](MO Tenth Cavalry)(MO Twelfth Cavalry)(MO William's Regiment).

Daniel MUIR and Linville HAYS were teamsters for Majors, Russell and Waddell Giulvezan, p. 22). When the freighting company failed, Linville HAYS was at Bent's Fort in Colorado. News of the failure had not been received in Kansas City, and he had $60,000 worth of drafts that had not been cashed. He traveled 620 miles in six days to beat the stage carrying the news to Kansas City. Linville arrived one hour prior to the stage and cashed the drafts at the bank (Doerschuck, pp. 6-7).

The HAYS wagon train dress comported well with their style of living and their circumstances. Many of the HAYS party were clad chiefly in buckskin. A hunting-shirt was generally worn, made of this material, as were the pantaloons or "leggings." An inner shirt was worn, sometimes of linsey, or flannel, or even cotton, but more commonly of nettle linen. A coonskin cap, with the tail hanging down the back, and a pair of moccasins, usually completed the apparel.

John C. COMBS moved his family from Jackson County, Missouri to Tulare County, California between 1873 and 1880. He and his wife Harette had nine known children - Mary S. (b: abt 1856, MO), Susan H. (b: abt 1858, MO), Samuel L. (b: abt 1859, MO), Martha (b: abt 1862, MO), Catharine (b: abt 1864, MO), Irene (b: abt 1865, MO), Fanny CADWELL (b: abt 1869, MO) and Etnae (b: abt 1873, MO) (1880 US Census, California - Tulare County).

John C. COMBS was appointed as the executor of his fathers will. This duty was delegated to William SPRATT. John C. COMBS left for the California gold fields and was not present in the State of Missouri to probate his fathers estate. There is no indication of the success or failure of his gold prospecting efforts in California.

In the 1860 Missouri Slave Schedule, John C. COMBS is listed as a slave owner. This document indicates that he was living in Cass County, Missouri. The total amount of slaves that he owned in 1860 were twelve. All twelve slaves were Black males (Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule - Cass County, p. 139, 2nd Column, line 39).

DR. EDWARD MARK COMBS

Dr. Edward Mark COMBS M.D. (b: 7 FEB 1818, d: 8 JAN 1893)(Osborne, p. 117) married Louisa "Lonna" E. BUTLER on 3 MAR 1842 (b: 30 MAR 1822, d: 17 MAY 1885)[see Note 22]. Louisa E. COMBS, a native of Montgomery County, Kentucky, is the daughter of Jacob and Sarah (HUKLE) BUTLER, natives of Delaware (Perrin & Others, p. 777). Edward M. COMBS studied medicine with his father until he was twenty years of age. He graduated from the medical department of Transylvania University in 1840. Dr. Edward M. COMBS then practiced with his father in Montgomery County, Kentucky and again in Saline County, Missouri. In 1845 Dr Edward M. COMBS moved to Kiddville, Clark County, Kentucky. He practiced in Kiddville until 1858, when he moved his family to Lewisport, Hancock County, Kentucky. Lewisport is located along the Ohio River. In 1870 Dr. Edwad M. COMBS moved his family again, this time to Clark County, Kentucky. "Dr. Edward Combs lives near Winchester, (Clark County) Kentucky" (Musser, 22 JUN 1998, p. 2). He is buried in the Winchester Cemetery, Clark County, Kentucky (Perrin & Others, p. 777).

Dr. Edward M. COMBS sold land to Augustus B. CALDWELL that was located in Jackson County, Missouri on 3 JUL 1853 (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book T, p. 436). A second parcel of land was sold to Nancy Jane BATES in 1868 (Jackson County, Book 56, p. 378). Severl land transactions occured in Clark County, Kentucky:

CLARK, James to COMBS, Edward M. 1847 Book 33 p. 350 DAME, Mary to COMBS, Edward M. 1849 Book 34 p. 298 (1/6 interest in 54 acres) VANDIVER, William to COMBS, Edward M. 1848 Book 34 p. 299 (1/6 interest in 54 acres) COMBS, Edward M. HEDGES, Preston B 1849 Book 34 p. 471 HULS, John to COMBS, Edward M. 1852 Book 36 p. 142 BUTLER, D.H. to COMBS, Edward M. 1852 Book 36 p. 195 (Transfer of slaves) HULS, Thomas to COMBS, Edward M. 1852 Book 36 p. 243 HINDE, James O. COMBS, Edward M. 1852 Book 36 p. 243 COMBS, Edward M. to LAWRENCE, John M. 1853 Book 36 p. 490 COMBS, Edward M. to STURART, Edward 1854 Book 37 p. 196 RUPARD, Samuel to COMBS, Edward M. 1855 Book 38 p. 181 HULS, John & wife to COMBS, Edward M. 1843 Book 38 p. 459 COMBS, Edward M. to CUNNINGHAM, 1858 Book 38 p. 460 Nannie M. COMBS, Edward M. to CLARK, 1872 Book 44 p. 534 (Mary's Trustee) SPILLMAN, R.S. to COMBS, Edward M. 1875 Book 45 p. 433 COMBS, Edward M. to Hickman Lodge (I.O.O.F) 1888 Book 54 p. 167 COMBS, Edward m. to JOHNSON, Dr. B.F. (Adm) 1894 Book 61 p. 16

Edward M. and his wife Louisa "Lonna" COMBS had the following children: Mary (b: abt 1842, KY), Ennis (b: 22 MAY1844, Clark Co., KY; d: 2 JUL 1920, Daviess Co., KY), Sarah C. (b: abt 1846, KY), Levi (b: abt 1849, KY), and Susan "Susie" (b: abt 1856). In 1870 Levi COMBS was studing to be a medical doctor. Six slaves are recorded in the 1860 Kentucky Slave Schedule.

DR FIELDING ALEXANDER COMBS

Dr. Fielding Alexander COMBS (b: 10 AUG 1825, KY) married Elizabeth Frances CARTHRAE (b: 10 AUG 1828, d: 20 FEB 1865) on 15 AUG 1848 in Saline County, Missouri (Walker & Wilson, p. 45)(Dodd, p. 153). Elizabeth Frances CARTHRAE is the daughter of Charles Wesley and Elizabeth CARTHRAE, and the sister of Dr. Charles Alexander CARTHRAE. DR. Charles CARTHRAE practiced medicine with Fielding A. COMBS in Saline County, Missouri (Ham, p 100)[see Note 23].

Dr. Fielding COMBS was educated at the Literary Academy at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. In 1848 he graduated from Medical College at Transylvania University. In 1842 he emigrated to Independence, Missouri. Dr. Fielding A. COMBS started his medical practice in Independence, Missouri. He later moved to the Marshall area, in Saline County, Missouri.

In 1877 Fielding A. COMBS moved his family to Lake County, California. In 1879 he moved his family again to Tulare County, California. Here he purchased a large ranch and tried his hand at farming. He was not successful at farming so he sold out and moved to Visalia, California. Fielding and his wife Elizabeth had six known children - Howard M. (b: AUG 1863, MO), James E. (b: OCT 1870, MO)[see Note 24], Mary, another daughter Sydnor C. (b: AUG 1872, MO), and Nannie L. (b: JUN 1875, MO), and Sarah (1900 US Census, California - Tulare County)(American Biographical Archive, Fielding Combs. p. 35). This is approximately the same time frame that John Cuthbert COMBS moved his family to Tulare County, California. It is also about the same time James H. COMBS was living in Visalia, Tulare County, California (Musser, 24 JUN 1998, p. 1).

Various sources characterize Dr. Fielding A. COMBS as a Democrat. He was an active Mason and a member of the I.O.O.F. In 1856 Fielding A. COMBS was elected as the Saline County Coroner (Napton, p. 260).

Dr. Fielding A. COMBS purchased Lot 1 in Block 7, located in Marshall, Missouri. The property was sold by John and Mary MILLER. The MILLER's residence is recorded on the deed as Rockingham County, Virginia. The parcel was obtained on 12 SEP 1854 (Saline County, Missouri Deed Book T. p. 159). Fielding A. COMBS and his wife Elizabeth Frances sold Lot 1 to D. R. PARSONS & Company on 3 MAR 1857. The two grantee signatures on the deed are Charles E. PATTERSON and Daniel R. PARSONS (Saline County, Missouri Deed Book T. p. 201).

SARAH ELIZABETH (COMBS) STEVENSON

Sarah Elizabeth COMBS (b: abt 1819, KY) married Thomas Burke STEVENSON (b: abt 1811, KY) 24 NOV 1835 (Walker & Wilson, p. 44)[see Note 25]. One source has Sarah and Thomas STEVENSON residing in Frankfort, Kentucky (Boyd, p. 20). The 1840 Franklin County, Kentucky US Census lists a Thomas B. STEVENSON. Thomas B. and Sarah E. STEVENSON moved from Franklin to Maysville, Kentucky. Thomas B. was an editor and publisher and later became a lawyer in Mason County, Kentucky (1850 US Census Kentucky - Mason County, p. 31A)(1860 US Census Kentucky - Mason County, p. 340).

Eleven children are known to this marriage - Mary C. (b: abt 1837, KY), Elizabeth "Bettie" A. (b: abt 1838, KY), Sarah "Sally" T. (b: abt 1841, KY), Martha "Mollie" (b: abt 1845, KY), Julia (b: abt 1847, OH), Susan H. (b: abt May 1849, KY), Thomas C. (b: abt 1852, KY), John Duke (b: abt 1854, KY), Louisiana Simms (b: 26 JUL 1856, KY), Anna W. (b: abt 1859, KY), and Horace H. (b: 26 SEP 1861, KY) (1850 US Census Kentucky - Mason County, p. 31A)(1860 US Census Kentucky - Mason County, p. 340)(Ingmire, pp. 77 & 133).

Maysville was growing staunchly towards a conspicuous city in Kentucky. On 1 MAR 1854 prominent citizens of the community incorporated the Maysville Gas Company. Thomas B. STEVENSON was a director of the original board. The organization was granted the rights to lay pipes through the streets and alleys of the town (Clift, p. 205).

On 2 JAN 1860 a meeting was held at the Maysville, Kentucky Courthouse to discuss the position of the citizens on secession or dedication to the Union. Upon a motion of the presiding chairman of the meeting, Colonel Thomas B. STEVENSON and five other individuals were appointed to a committee to present a narrative position of the community. The resolutions that were prepared supported the Union . The chairman, Martin P. MARSHALL, "appealed to men of all grades and classes, sects and parties to stand by the Union" (Clift, p. 211). There was opposition to the resolutions and war-feelings spread through out Mason and surrounding counties like wildfire. An Independent Military Company was desirous for Maysville since Germantown had raised the first northern Kentucky company, called the "Bozzaris Greys" (Clift, p. 212).

Thomas B. STEVENSON is not listed in the 1870 US Census. However three domestic assistants are enumerated - Harriet Henton, a Black thirty-six year old servant, Spencer Henton a ten year old Black servant, and Phillip Henton a seven year old servant (1870 US Census, Kentucky - Mason County. p. 408, lines 9-17).

SUSANNAH E. (COMBS) MATTHEWS

Susannah "Susan" E. COMBS (b: 15 MAR 1830)(Walker & Wilson, p. 44) married on 25 Sep 1845, in Jackson County, Missouri (Dodd, p. 153). Susan COMBS was married to a widower by the name of (Howard) MATTHEWS (Giulvezan, p. 14). Dr. Ennis COMBS gave a nine year old Negro girl, by the name Mary, to his daughter on 7 JUL 1847. This deed of gift recorded Susan E. MATTHEWS as a resident of Jackson County, Missouri (Jackson County, Missouri Deed Book L, p. 530). In Dr. Ennis COMBS will, dated 25 JUL 1848, it lists Susan MATTHEWS as being deceased (Williams & Williams, p. 51).

Located in Dr. Ennis COMBS Sr. probate file is an affidavit by Howard MATTHEWS that was filed in Lafayett County, Missouri on 20 JUL 1850. This document lists Howard MATTHEWS residence as Hamilton County, Ohio. It is dated 1 JUN 1850 and certified by the Hamilton County Clerk. In the 1860 Hamilton County, Ohio Federal Census Howard, MATTHEWS is listed as a 32 year old Hamilton County Auditor, born in Pennsylvania. The Federal Census lists his wife as Susan E. MATTHEWS, age 29, born in Kentucky. No children are listed with this marriage (1860 U.S. Census, Ohio - Hamilton County).

Howard MATTHEWS died 16 MAR 1870 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is recorded as being 53 years of age. Howard MATTHEWS occupation was recorded as an auditor (Herbert).

MARY ANN (COMBS) CALDWELL

Mary Ann COMBS (b: 4 OCT 1824, KY) was married to Dr. Augustus B. CALDWELL M.D. (b: 4 AUG 1819, KY) on 24 AUG 1841. Dr. AB. CALDWELL purchased the John JOHNSON farm in Jackson County in 1845, and Mary CALDWELL was a close neighbor of Elizabeth WALLACE. The CALDWELL property adjoined John MUIR and John M. WALLACE. John HINDE stayed with the CALDWELL's during the winter of 1845 (Giulvezan, p. 14). Dr. Ennis COMBS gave a twelve year old Negro girl, by the name Jane, to his daughter on 7 JUL 1847. This deed of gift recorded Mary A. CALDWELL as a resident of Jackson County, Missouri (Jackson County, Missouri; Deed Book L. p. 531). Augustus B. CALDWELL and John HEARD probated the John A. MIZE will on 23 DEC 1847, in Jackson County, Missouri (Meador, p. 54).

In the 1850 Federal Census for Montgomery County, Kentucky Mary Ann CALDWELL is living with her sister Caroline COMBS. Also living with Caroline COMBS is her brother James H. COMBS [see Note 26]. Mary Ann CALDWELL's husband is not listed as part of the residence. This is consistent with the fact that Dr. Augustus B. CALDWELL was in California prospecting gold with John C. and Fielding A. COMBS.

Six children are known to this marriage - Sarah Elizabeth (b: abt 1842, IL), Robert (b: abt 1845, MO), Mary L. (b: abt 1849, OH), Caroline "Carry" (b: abt 1852, MO), Augusta (b: abt 1856, CA), Harriet (b: abt 1858, CA)(1850 US Census, Kentucky - Montgomery County, p. 41)(1860 US Census, California - Santa Clara County, p. 242).

Robert CALDWELL is found married in 1880, and the name of his wife is listed as Lulie. Two children are known to this union - Roberta (b: abt 1878, CA) and Arther (b: abt 1879, CA)(1880 Census, California - Santa Clara County). In 1880 Robert and Lulie CALDWELL are residing at 266 Devine, San Jose, Santa Clara County, California (1880 US Census, California - Santa Clara County).

A letter-written by Belle Combs, 311 S. California Avenue Monrovia, California on Feb. 8, 1940 made the following comment about the Mary CALDWELL family (Musser, 22 JUN 1998. p. 1):

So far as I know the Caldwells came to California in a wagon train in 1852. Aunt Dolly Combs rode a pony…and carried Carry Caldwell a small child in her lap.

According to the birth order of the CALDWELL children, the infant that was carried by Caroline "Dolly" COMBS in 1852 on the California Trail was Caroline "Carry" CALDWELL.

INDEPENDENCE IN THE 1840'S

There was an abundance of activity in Jackson County in the 1840's as various members of the COMBS', EVANS', HINDE'S move into the Independence, Missouri area. Septimus SCHOLL wrote a letter to Rodney M. HINDE, Polly (HINDE) COMBS brother, 3 JUL 1846 and described the community this way [see Chart 4].:

Our country has been a place of rendezvous for the last several months. There were several hundred Indians of the Sacks and Foxes passed up the country last winter to their place of destination 160 miles above this. There were from 300 to 500 wagons left this place for Oregon and California, about the same number to Santa Fe, loaded with merchandise and they are still a going notwithstanding the war with Mexico is still a raging. There were 1,000 volunteers started from here a few days past for Santa Fe. It looks like they intend to trade and fight at the same time. Some of the wagons were loaded with arms and ammunition &c… Your brother James is living near to where Silas Evans and Combs live (Giulvezan, p. 18).

Located in Sibley, Missouri is a small cemetery which is just a few hundred feet from the historic Fort Sibley, also known as Fort Osage. This well manicured graveyard is bordered on three sides by walls. One of the walls has a galvanized chain linked gate which allows for passage into the burial ground. The fourth perimeter area lacks any sort of wall. In fact there is an obvious two to three foot drop in the ground where a fourth wall would stand if one had been constructed. This escarpment runs the entire length of the cemetery. When an individual stands in the depression one can see that it runs into a very densely vegetated area on one end, and around the backside of Old Fort Sibley on the other. This deep groove in the ground is the trail that was cut by the wagon wheels of those pioneers traveling on the Santa Fe Trail.

On a trail journey, the interior of a covered wagon was a woman's province, and upon undertaking her duties as wagon housekeeper her first reaction was usually astonishment over how much a wagon could hold. A female observer describing a Conestoga (a type of wagon with broad wheels for westward travel over the prairies) remarked that it had eight holes cut in the canvas on one side, and a child's face peeping out of every one of the holes. Besides the children, it contained cats, dogs, beds, cooking stove, tin pans and kettles' (Brown, p.103).

On 6 December 1846 Septimus SCHOLL wrote Rodney M. HINDE and stated that "I am of the opinion that we are located in one of the most promising points on the river and general thoroughfare on the western frontier, and if we have good health (which I flatter myself we will have) and can reconcile ourselves to the climate, we can hardly fail to do well…We are here in ten miles of the Indian Territory which is lined with their huts in their natural dress and costume. There are Delawares, Pottawatomies, Shawnees, Pawnees, Fox, Sioux, Haws, all within 100 miles of us. When I meet them strolling over the country, it puts me in mind of the ancient tales of Kentucky. I can hardly reconcile myself to treat them with civility when I reflect how many of my near relation have suffered by them… I have tried to reconcile my feelings to every class and condition as I meet them or as they present themselves" (Giulvezan, p. 20).

Our town of Independence is thronged at this time with soldiers, ten companies of mounted volunteers are rendezvousing there for Mexico by way of Santa Fe. Oxen, wagons, beef cattle bring fine prices and will continue to do so until government gets supplied. A great many Santa Fe traders, Rocky Mountain hunters, Oregon emigrants keep up a continuous buzz in town (Giulvezan, p 22)… Daniel Boone has just returned from the plains with 27 (buffalo calves) - he took 30 milk cows and caught 35 young buffalo calves and they suck the tame cows and in that way they bring them in fat (Giulvezan, p. 23).

Septimus SCHOLL also describes the living accommodations around the area of Independence in 1844. He writes on 1 December the following:

I have purchased one hundred and eight acres of land, one-half of which is in a neat state of cultivation with a common log house shingled and stone chimney with a good kitchen, smoke house, stable, corn crib, all new and well put up, an apple orchard of 75 bearing trees of the best selected fruit,…a delightful spring house and spring of never failing water in about 40 yards from the door, and a laid way to the place. The spring house is laid over with flat rock one-third of which is covered over by water as clear as crystal about three inches deep… (The) 108 acres is a garden spot, well timbered what is not cleared, with large linn, hackberry, black walnut of a large size, with mulberry, pawpaws, and plums. The land is situated 3½ miles from Independence, a flourishing little town three miles of the Missouri River. It is about six miles from the nearest place from my place (Giulvezan, p. 6).

In 1847 Septimus SCHOLL discusses a home being constructed by Silas EVANS:

Nelson, Marcus and Joseph have just returned from Saline (County, Missouri) on a hunting expedition packed with venison where they met with Silas EVANS which has got home on his hazard plow and is finishing off a frame and log house and so much engaged that he only took one drive with them. The doctor (Dr. Ennis COMBS) has also just returned and left all well. Silas C. (Silas COMBS) has another heir, a daughter (Giulvezan, p. 15) [see Note 27].

It was not uncommon to be gone for long periods of time. In one letter it was stated that they were absent for 100 days. The manner of travel varied on these periods of absence. Septimus SCHOLL outlines the traveling schedule from Clark County, Kentucky to Independence, Missouri, which was a topic of discussion in a 1846 letter to Rodney M. HINDE [see Note 28]:

We were on the river 16 days and left the boat at the Arrow Rock (Arrow Rock, Missouri) and got a carriage to take us out to Silas Evans (living in Saline County at this time) where we sent for Nelson and Cyrus (in Jackson County) which brought the carriage and horses and conveyed us home where we found all as well as might be expected after so long an absence (Giulvezan, p. 19).

THE CALIFORNIA FORTY-NINERS

FORMING THE HAYS WAGON TRAIN

The "Gold Rush" started 24 January 1848 when a carpenter named James Marshall, who was building a sawmill for Johann SUTTER upstream on the American River near Coloma, found a gold nugget. The "Forty - Niners" were the miners that traveled to California in 1849 to seek their fortunes. They traveled to California by three different routes. Some sailed around Cape Horn, on the southern tip of South America. This took six or more months and was a very dangerous venture. Others who wanted a faster route sailed to Central America. These immigrants crossed through the jungles of the Isthumous of Panama and Nicaragua. They then waited for a ship and proceeded to the California coast. All together approximately 39,000 men and women took these two routes.

Over 40,000 people took the central overland trails to California. In may 1849 a steady stream of wagons and mule trains left Independence, Missouri. Two of these groups heading for Sacramento were headed by Benoni Morgan HUDSPETH of Jackson County, Missouri, and Boone HAYS of Callaway County, Missouri [see Note 29 & 30].

According to Eliza WALLACE the wagon train arrived in California on the 8 SEP 1849, for a total of four months and eight or nine days. Nelson SCHOLL's account is they arrived 9 SEP 1849, for a total of four months and nine days. Cyrus R. SCHOLL informs his family in a letter dated 15 FEB 1850 that they arrived 8 SEP 1850 (Wyman, pp. 73-74)[see Note 31].

Well, we left the state on the 1st of May and on the 8th of September we drove into the gold diggings 50 miles east of SUTTER's fort, and never was I glad to see any place on earth as I was to see this filthy spot (Wyman. p. 74)[see Note 32].

They are in the Sierra Nevada (sic) Mountains 50 miles east of SUTTER's Fort in a small mining village called Weaversville…(T)hey had put up a comfortable cabin and had just commenced regular digging. They had been there two months and done all this work and laid in their winter provisions and had about $700 betwixt them…Gold they say is plenty but takes hard knocks to get it and that everything that shines is not gold (Giulvezan. p. 38).

Guidebooks were available for Oregon and Santa Fe emigrants and were used by the Forty-Niners. Some of these guidebooks provided good, solid, reliable information. Others contributed to the "Gold Fever" that swept the country in the 1848-1850. Each part of the journey had its difficulties.

ON THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL

The first tasks the migrants worked on were the routine work chores required for the overland trip. Activities which were critical for the teamsters to understand were learning to hitch and unhitch their livestock, to keep the wagons in good running order, and to make sure that their animals obtained the water and food they needed to survive. They also learned very quickly to spread out in several columns so that they raised less dust, so that fewer of them had to breathe the choking air.

All migrants had to learn to get along with their fellow emigrants, to agree on rules they would all follow on the journey, and that they had to efficiently set up and break camp every night and morning. It was explained that all tasks would be rotated in the spirit of fairness. The wagon train members learned to travel six out of seven days, in an effort to conserve energy for the most difficult sections to trail. Definite hardships would come at the end of the overland trail when the Forty-Niners's would have to cross the mountains before the winter snows.

Wagons usually measured four feet wide by twelve feet long. Into these forty-eight square feet were put the supplies and tools for traveling the trail. Migrants also carried a few of the necessities for finding their fortunes in the gold fields. However the emphasis was on transporting critical tools and food. There was no place for bringing family treasures, heirlooms and heavy or bulky comfort items. While on the trail both inside and under the wagon was utilized as a shelter.

One letter written by a Forty-Niner made the following suggestions for making the trip overland by wagon:

No wagons should be taken on the road heavier than a light two horse wagon; it should be…made of the best timber, especially the running gears. The spindles must be not too large, so as to turn stiffly on the axle; but when raised and well greased with black lead and tallow, you should be able to turn the wheels as you do the rim of a spinning wheel. The bed and tongue, and other parts, should be light in proportion. To each team there should be not less than four yoke of oxen: five are none too many…To each team there should be four hands, and not less than three…1,600 pounds are all that should be put on (your wagon).

The oxen should not be less than five years old nor more than seven; in no case will four year old steers hold out…Your yokes should…be of the lightest material - lynn timber is the best…The bows must not be too tight, if they are, your steers will be found to swell up as tight as a drum head. To each man 125 pounds of bacon and 125 pounds of flour is an abundance. On half of his bacon had better be in hams, for the sake of his health; it is much better to eat on the road. The emigrant ought to eat as little greasy food as possible to keep of the scurvy. Risen bread is much better than lard and saleratus biscuit… A plenty of pickles, 1/4 bushel of onions, and ½ bushel of beans to each man, is not too much. Vinegar should be used every day.

To each man 80 pounds of rice, and three quarters of a bushel of apple or peach fruit…Bacon hams are much less objectionable than greasy sides (Wyman, pp. 88-90).

William HUDSPETH arrived in Jackson County, Missouri in 1828. He brought with him his children, slaves, race horses, fox hounds and game chickens. During the War of 1812 William HUDSPETH served as a Major from Warren County, Kentucky in the 22 Militia, Warren County, Kentucky. William HUDSPETH had five sons that went to the California gold fields at the same time that John C. COMBS and party made their trip. They were Thomas Jefferson, Benoni Morgan, Robert Nichols, Silas Bourke, and George Washington HUDSPETH (Ford. pp. 4-5)[see Chart 7 & 8].

Thomas Jefferson HUDSPETH died of typhus fever 16 NOV 1849 in the vicinity of Sutter's Fort. His widow Cynthia had a difficult time rearing her family after the death of her husband. Her house was burned in 1863 by the Kansas Redlegs. Order Number 11 forced her to move to Ray County, Missouri to escape persecution during the Civil War (Ford. p. 4).

Benoni "Ben" Morgan HUDSPETH died 16 NOV 1850 in the California Gold Fields. He was the Captain of the HUDSPETH 1849 wagon train. Benoni HUDSPETH was buried at Sutter's Fort. This is the vicinity Marcus SCHOLL stated where their party was staying for the winter in his letter to his family. Benoni HUDSPETH was with the John Charles FREMONT third California expedition of 1845-47. John C. FREMONT hired Kit CARSON as his guide for this expedition [see Note 33]. Benoni HUDSPETH was enrolled in the California Battalion and was a 2nd Lieutenant in Company A, but became a captain in Company C when a second battalion was created. It was during this tour of duty that HUDSPETH became familiar with a cutoff on the California Trail which became known as the Hudspeth Cutoff. Benoni HUDSPETH never married (Ford. p. 5).

George Washington HUDSPETH made two trips to Mexico and served with Colonel DONIPHAN's Regiment during the Mexican War [see Note 34]. He made two trips to the gold fields with his brothers. George HUDSPETH returned to Jackson County, Missouri and became a prominent farmer. He was the local school director for over twenty years (Ford. p. 5).

Silas Bourke HUDSPETH made two trips to the California Gold Fields. The second trip was with his two brothers George and Robert. Silas HUDSPETH settled on a farm in Buckner, Missouri after his return from his second California venture. He never married (Ford. p. 5).

Robert Nichols HUDSPETH also made two trips to the Gold Fields in California. He served with Captain William QUANTRILL during the Civil War. Four of his nephews also served in the same Confederate guerilla unit - Benjamin MORROW, George MORROW, Joel Rufus HUDSPETH and William Napoleon "Babe" HUDSPETH. Robert HUDSPETH never married (Ford. p. 5).

The family Bible of the Ben MORROW family was bought with three dollars that Jesse JAMES gave Mrs. (Amanda (MARSH)) MORROW for fixing breakfast for him and other members of his band one morning (Ford. p. 103).

Ben MORROW went through the Civil War with Jesse JAMES. He identified him when he was shot and killed. He was a pall bearer at the funerals of both Jesse and Frank JAMES (Ford. p. 104).

The exact date that the HUDSPETH team left Independence was 24 APR 1849. However, based on a letter written by Thomas HUDSPETH, dated 23 OCT 1849, a case could be made that the Boone HAYS party and the Ben HUDSPETH team arrived about the same time, and both parties stayed the winter fifty miles east of SUTTER's Fort. Therefore the route both teams followed can be traced by the letters and correspondence that various party members sent home even with seven days difference in their starting dates.

Members in the Boone HAYS wagon train consisted of sixty men and nineteen wagons. The wagons were fitted out with four yoke of oxen, 800 pounds of bacon, 800 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of sugar, 100 pounds of coffee, three years of clothing, rifles, shotguns, pistols, knives, cooking utensils mining tools and tents. According to letters written after the 1849 journey to California, these wagons were too heavy. John C. and Fielding A. COMBS probably outfitted and traveled in the same wagon. It is possible that Dr. Augustus B. CALDWELL was also part of this wagon component since he was connected to the COMBS family [see Chart 5 & 6].

The HAYS party left on 1 MAY 1849 from Independence, Missouri. The wagon train followed the Independence Road to the Oregon Trail. The two trails meet at Alcove Springs [see Note 35]. This junction marked the end of the 172 miles of the Independence Road. The HAYS party would have camped at Alcove Springs until their group could ford the Blue River. The migrants would have then proceeded to Fort Kearney [see Note 36]. Fifteen days after the HAYS group left Independence, they had traveled 200 miles. According to a letter written by Marcus SCHOLL to his father Septimus, the HAYS wagon train had arrived at Fort Kearney on 23 MAY 1849.

When the HAYS group left Fort Kearney, they proceeded along the Oregon Trail, crossing the South Platte River at spot known as Lower Ford. They then continued west on the trail passing Ash Hollow [see Note 37]. California bound travelers rested amid this rustic setting and repaired wagons and harness while their mules and oxen grazed. Emigrant guidebooks of the period indicated that Ash Hollow Springs provided the best water of any stop along the Overland Trail.

After leaving Ash Hollow the migrants passed Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, and Scott's Bluff. Scott's Bluff would be the last natural feature to guide their way along the trail until they arrived at Fort Laramie [see Notes 38, 39 & 40].

Fort Laramie (and before it Fort John) was a major stop for immigrants traveling westward along the Oregon Trail. It was a resupply point where they could pause to replenish their supplies, repair their wagons, and perhaps even trade for fresh draft animals with which to continue their journey. At this point in the travel migrants often had to decide which of their cherished possessions might have to be left behind in order that their oxen or mules could handle the rougher trail that lay ahead. They were now nearly 700 miles from Missouri.

Glistening snow on Laramie Peak symbolized the higher elevations west of Fort Laramie. The terrain became more rugged, fording operations more dangerous, feed less certain, and in the parched region beyond, where the trail veered from the North Platte, the waters became deadly (Parke, p. 15).

HAYS wagon train left Fort Laramie between the first and third of July heading for the Continental Divide [see Note 41]. Once leaving Fort Laramie cholera ceased to plague the migrants, but there were the problems associated with diet, water and drownings from the dangerous fording operations. Traveling along the trail in the hot summer, the HAYS party passed the famous Independence Rock. Independence Rock was an important landmark for the California travelers and others traveling westward. Because it was a prominent and unusual landmark, it was easy to find, and provided something to look forward to. It also is near the spot where the travelers first came to the Sweetwater River after leaving the North Platte River and passing a mostly dry and difficult stage of their journey [see Note 42].

Devil's Gate was the next geological feature passed along the trail. It was also a prominent landmark for migrant traveling to the west. As like Independence Rock, many traveler's names were carved in the "Great Register of the Desert" [see Note 43]. After a short stop at Devil's Gate the wagon train continued to follow the upstream of the Sweetwarer River. The Sweetwater River was forded several times until the HAYS party made their subtle incline to South Pass.

South Pass was an emotional and symbolic importance for the migrants along the trail. The Fourth of July was celebrated by the overland travelers somewhere close to South Pass [see Note 44]. At South Pass the travelers had traveled 864 miles from Independence, Missouri. The migrants now entered the great, arid interior of the American West. The next 1,000 miles tested teams and individual perseverance. Beset by hot days, chilly nights, swirling dust, the HAYS party had to cope with an environment unlike anything they had previously known on the sagebrush plains [see Note 45].

Just west of South Pass was Sublette's Cutoff. Sublette's Cutoff crossed a barren, arid stretch of country. This part of the trail consisted of fifty of the 104 miles, where there was no water and little grass. Those who chose this grueling route and lived, had saved 61 miles and a week of travel. Oxen teams survived on local vegetation, which is one of the main reasons why this method of travel was selected over mules and horses. However, oxen do not perform well in hot weather. Sublette's Cutoff was a gamble for the overland travelers with oxen. However it did lead to the Green River where the HAYS party could refresh and refit before entering the mountains.

The end of Sublette's Cutoff joined the Oregon Trail southeast of Soda Springs. At this point the HAYS wagon train proceeded to a spot just west of Soda Springs [see Note 46]. It was at this parting point that the HAYS party proceeded on the HUDSPETH Cutoff. This marked the parting point for those traveling to Oregon and those heading for the gold fields in California. The Hudspeth Trail took the migrants to Cassia Creek [see Note 47]. This route bypassed Fort Hall and was thought to be a shorter and faster route to California [see Note 48].

When they left the main trail west of Soda Springs, they thought they would save considerable miles and arrive at the headwaters of the Humboldt. To their surprise, they were still in the Raft River drainage when they again came upon the trail from Fort Hall. They actually had saved about 25 miles, but had crossed four mountain ranges and a number of lower, but difficult divides. At least one wagon train divided when they came to the juncture, with half the group going via Fort Hall and the remainder taking the Hudspeth Cutoff. When the cutoff group arrived at the reunion, the Fort Hall group was already there. So the Cutoff may not have provided any savings in time for most of the travelers (Elison).

The HUDSPETH wagon train reached the beginning of the Hudspeth Trail on 19 JUL 1849. The group started from Independence, Missouri with 40 Wagons and 100 men. There were 70 wagons, mainly with ox teams, and about 250 people, when they left Soda Springs. Wagons joined the HUDSPETH party later on the trail. The HUDSPETH group reached the end of the 132 miles of the Hudspeth Trail on 15 JUL 1849 (Elison). Even if the HAYS party did not travel with the HUDSPETH's, they did use the HUDSPETH Trail along with almost every group that traveled the trail.

Once the HAYS party crossed the Cassia Creek, they proceeded southwest fording the Raft River. Once across the Raft River they traveled along the trail passing the jumbled City of Rocks, cut through to Thousand Springs Valley, and finally reaching the headwaters of the Humboldt River [see Notes 49 & 50]. . The landmarks along the Humboldt River were less distinct and less identifiable than those on previous points along the trail. However there were two guiding points that were very memorable. One was the Humboldt Sink and the other was the Forty Mile Desert. The quality of the water at Humboldt Sink was regressed, and the grass was heavily impregnated with salt [see Note 51]. The sun blistered both man and animals on the Forty Mile Desert. The desert had deep sand, sharp volcanic cinders, and choking dust. This section of the trail was covered with bloating animal carcasses, and was the final resting place of many California bound migrants (Parke, p. 25).

These severe strains had heavy physical and emotional effects, and many companies suffered death, crippling defections, and even complete disintegration. Conditions along the winding river frequently produced faulty thinking, and even when the decisions were sound the means of carrying them out were often lacking. The trek along the Humboldt was an ordeal long remembered (Parke, p. 25).

The end of this leg of the journey lead to Mormon Station. Mormon Station was established in 1849 as a trading post for the gold hunters heading for California. It is located in the Carson Valley where a strip of meadow along the banks of the river was used by the Forty-Niners to rest their stock and buy vegetables from the Mormons.

After leaving Mormon Station the HAYS party then proceeded to Carson Canyon. A letter written 15 FEB 1850 to J.P. TAYLOR from his brother, gave a very good picture of this part of the overland journey [see Note 52]:

We thought we had seen the elephant but were mistaken. But at the mountain we saw him, good! A canyon of five miles. The worst roads ever man took wagons over - if you would know what sort of road this is, just imagine you see five miles of road strewed with stones, varying in size from a whiskey barrel to that of a hogshead - the wagons having to run over these by more short turns than man ever saw - after you have made it out as bad as you think it could be, then just think it is three times as bad, and you will have a faint idea of how bad it is (Wyman. p. 73).

Another account of Carson Pass told how the wagons had to be handled to get out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains [see Note 53]:

We were compelled to force our wagons over, around, and through many of these places by manual labor, the turns being too short to be made with the team hitched on… We have to lift our wagons around frequently and make a square tack to the right or left (Farquhar, pp. 66-67).

The teams started making their final descent on the steep and treacherous slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Several of the teams had to let down their wagons on the mountain sides by ropes. They also placed logs between the spokes of the rear wheels in a effort to slow the wagons on the gradients. The HUDSPETH party traveled to Placer, where they wintered. On 8 SEP 1849 the HAYS party arrived 50 miles east of SUTTER's Fort [see Note 54]. Eliza WALKER wrote her sister on 15 JAN 1850 informing her of the HAYS team arrival in California.

They had very good luck in going out, never had one hour sickness from the time they started out. Got all their ox out safe. They had stopped 50 miles east of Sacramento City and intended wintering there (Giulvezan, p. 37).

PROSPECTING IN CALIFORNIA

On 3 FEB 1850 Nelson SCHOLL wrote his sister and brother-in-law Rodney M. HINDE about the California migrants. In his letter he gives an account on what transpired upon their arrival in California:

I will give you some California news. We got a letter from Marcus and Cousin Cyrus a day or two. They got to California…safe and sound without the loss of an ox or anything else. They are in the Sierra Nevada Mountains 50 miles east of SUTTER's Fort in a small mining village called Weaversville. The second letter stated they had put up a comfortable cabin and had just commenced regular digging. They had been there two months and done all this work and laid in their winter provisions and had about $700 betwixt them (Giulvezan, p. 38)[see Note 55].

The gold fever hysteria dwindled as the reality of the situation became apparent to the Independence Forty-Niners. Digging for gold was hard, dirty work. John C. COMBS, Fielding A. COMBS, Marcus SCHOLL and other members of their group would dig the dirt and put it into sacks. They would then carry the sacks on their backs 200 to 600 yards and wash out the gold in a pan.

They make from $5.00 to $8.00 per day. They say it is the hardest work they ever did. They are very much dissatisfied and say if they do not do any better when the rainy season sets in, they will come home this coming summer. They say that what they get will not justify them staying there (Giulvezan, p. 38).

The average reported amount of gold mined per day was 1 ounce. This equated to $16.00 and was considered the break-even point by the miners. Therefore the HAYS party was acquiring less than the average amount of gold found in 1849-1850, which would explain why the Independence contingent was dissatisfied (Wyman, p. 78).

Boone HAYS was keeping a boarding house and a grocery store and was not working in the gold fields [see Note 56]. He was making $3.00 a day per person, plus the selling of supplies to the miners (Giulvezan, p. 38). Dr. Augustus B. CALDWELL and Fielding A. COMBS were probably making their money as medical practicians since they could profit $30.00 per day (Wyman. p. 158). If a miner could make $20.00 a day they would annually realize from $1,500, and $3,500 at $25 per day. A doctor could profit $6,110 in one year (Wyman, p. 146).

WHY DID THEY RISK THEIR LIVES?

So how were the COMBS, CALDWELLs, SCHOLLs, and HUDSPETH enticed to risk their lives, endure the long overland journey, jeopardize their health and work harder than they had work before in their lives? Local newspapers had a big influence on developing the facade of the "Gold Rush." In January and February 1849 local newspapers starting running feature articles with bold headings about the discovery of gold in California.

GOLD! GOLD!! GOLD!!! There is a later arrival from California, bring intelligence that a region of gold richer than any yet known has been discovered, north of the former placer. The US store ship Lexington was to leave for the U. States with about $500,000 in gold dust on board
(The Weekly Tribune, 16 FEB 1849).

In February and early March the local newspapers started publishing articles about California, the gold, the weather and the success of "striking it rich." These pieces were somewhat stretched, if not completely fabricated. The following is a conversation between a supposedly newspaper reporter, by the name Dan MARBLE, and a stranger just back from the California gold fields:

Marble was in Boston the other day, and strolling along the wharves, when he met a tall, gant looking figure… "Halloo! My friend, where are you from?" "Jes' from Californey, stranger." "Ah, indeed! And you can tell us then whether it's true about that gold?" Somewhat anxiously interrogated Dan in reply. "True as you live! And a darned sight more - for no man out of Californey really does live." "Then why did you come back?" "Back? Why to get my family. Fact is, stranger, a man there gets so powerful rich that he becomes conetous of himself - and if he ain't very keenful, will cut his own throat to rob himself. The root of all evil, you know - there's a little too much of it, and I left for a while - partly on that account." "Oh, did you, eh?" "Yes - and between you and me - that's the only way a man can die in that blessed land." "Healthy climate, I suppose?" "Healthy! It ain't any thing else. Why, stranger, youn can choose any climate you like - hot or cold - and that without travelin' more than fifteen miles. Just think o' that the next cold mornin' when you git out 0' bed. There's a mountain there - the Sawyer Navayday, they call it - with a valley on each side of it - the one hot the other cold…"
(The Weekly Tribune, 2 MAR 1849, p. 4).

You may contend that this was written for entertainment and not for providing information about the gold fields. You could have a case if it was not for the fact that men started advertising their property for sale in early March so they could get to California to make their fortunes in gold (The Weekly Tribune, 9 MAR 1849, p. 3)(Morison & Commager, p. 601).

Being determined to visit the Gold Region in California, I now offer my land and other property for sale. Persons wishing to speculate will find it to their interest to visit Richfield, at which place I can be found. Those wishing to purchase will make early application, as I am ready to sell.
THOMAS WILLIAMS (Richfield)

In March of 1849 the local newspapers started running advertisements concerning the purchase of overland travel guide books, the transporting of freight to California by ship, and organizing overland wagon trains (The Weekly Tribune, 23 MAR 1849)(Ford, p. 142). Ware's Emigrant Guide to California could have been the guide book that was used by the HAYS wagon train. This guide book was advertised in a number of major newspapers around Independence, Missouri during this era (The Weekly Tribune, 23 MAR 1849)[see Note 57].

CALIFORNIA GUIDE BOOKS WARE'S EMIGRANT GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA, containing every point of information for the emigrant, accompanied by a large Map, and full of directions for testing and assaying gold and other ores. Price 60 cents; and 75 cents in cloth.
JOHN HALSALL St. Louis

In late March and early April 1849 the newspapers ran articles that dealt with various concerns. One of these was how to obtain mail while in California (The Weekly Tribune, 23 MAR 1849). Another article gave a 1832 recipe for curing cholera, a major concern among the emigrants staying in the wagon train camps in St. Joseph and Independence, Missouri [see Note 58]. But the articles which probably had the biggest impact on Dr. Fielding COMBS and Dr. A.B. CALDWELL were the ones that suggested that specific skills were in demand in CALIFORNIA. Some of these skills were in such demand that fortunes could be made without mining for gold. Due to the illnesses and the deplorable health conditions of most of the miners, medical doctors were in demand (The Weekly Tribune, 6 APR 1849, p. 1)(Wyman, p. 20 & 126)(Bailey, 376).

ORDER NUMBER 11

WHAT IS ORDER NUMBER 11?

Missourians were continually being subjected to the abusiveness of the Kansas Jayhawkers and Redleg raiders, the regular Federal troops and Unionist Missouri Militia. These units prowled the Missouri side of the border, stealing, burning and looting. As the fighting rose in intensity, Union troops increasingly gunned down individuals and families who they believed supported Rebel guerrillas. The Unionist attacks were so vicious that, rather than suppressing Rebel activity, they actually drove many Missourians into the bushwhacker bands (Welch). Most of the guerrilla members were farm boys. They were generally the children of the northwestern Missouri families who had been subjected to the brutality of the Federal soldiers or Kansas volunteers.

One of these bands was organized and commanded by William Clarke QUANTRILL. He was the leader of the Confederate guerrilla band known as QUANTRILL's Raiders. Independence, Missouri was a target for QUANTRILL. In August his unit captured the town and a force of Union troops. Shortly after, QUANTRILL and his men were sworn into the Confederate Army, and he was given the rank of captain.

Major General Henry W. HALLECK made a proclamation that citizens would not be able to claim neutrality during the Rebellion. The indication was that if you were not for the Union you were considered against it. General HALLECK also decreed that any civilian caught in arms would be tried and executed. This was later extended to regular Confederate soldiers captured in Missouri. occasionally townspeople were chosen at random for the murder of some local Union man, meeting the same retribution. This infuriated the repressed Missourians and caused the Rebel guerrilla units to increase in participation (Davis & Wiley, p. 821).

In AUG 1863 QUANTRILL led a force of 450 raiders into Lawrence, Kansas. The account of the Lawrence attack was narrated by Revered Richard CORDLEY and published in Blackburn's Gazetteer of Kansas:

Riding all night, they reached Lawrence at daybreak. They dashed into the town with a yell, shooting at everybody they saw. The surprise was complete. The hotel, and every point where a rally would be possible, was seized at once, and the ruffians then began the work of destruction. Some of the citizens escaped into the fields and ravines, and some into the woods, but the larger portion could not escape at all. Numbers of these were shot down as they were found, and often brutally mangled. In many cases the bodies were left in the burning buildings and were consumed. The Rebels entered the place about five o'clock, and left between nine and ten. Troops for the relief of the town were within six miles when the Rebels went out. One hundred and forty-three were left dead in the streets, and about thirty desperately wounded. The main street was On the 20th of August, a body of between three and four hundred crossed the State line at sundown. all burned but two stores. Thus, about seventy-five business houses were destroyed, and nearly one hundred residences. They destroyed something near two millions of property, left eighty widows and two hundred and fifty orphans, as the result of their four hours' work. Scenes of brutality were enacted, which have never been surpassed in savage warfare. The picture is redeemed only by the fact that women and children were in no case hurt (Wilder).

The Lawrence Massacre led to swift Federal retribution. Brigadier General Thomas EWING issued his famed Order Number 11 in response to the Lawrence raid. Order Number 11 virtually stripped the population from a four-county area in Missouri along the Kansas-Missouri boundary [see Note 59]. It required everyone more than a mile outside of a major town to move from the region. "Whether Confederate, Union, or neutral in sympathies, people were forced to abandon their homes, possessions, and livelihoods" (Davis & Wiley, p. 823). Union troops forced the residents of the four Missouri border counties onto the open prairie while Kansas volunteers, or Jayhawkers, looted and burned everything they left behind.

At last came the Order Number 11, Southern sympathizers were ordered to leave the country. Family after family loaded all they could carry and hurried away…It was a land of the dead more fearsome than the pioneer country had been. The empty houses and deserted fields were ghostly. One saw before him the work of many hands but no human sound was heard. Frightened, half starved cats and dogs haunted the desolate homes (Chiles, p. 7).

Order Number 11 was an attempt to defuse the guerrilla war in Missouri. No food, no forage, no warm change of clothing, no temporary shelter, no human being of his kind would be there to great him. Instead, the Missouri border was destined to become a veritable wasteland. Even trees and nature's green grass would be changed into blackened monuments to a once flourishing farmland (Moon, p. 18). Order Number 11 destroyed antebellum mansions and the last of a southern lifestyle.

Kansas militants had experienced four years of border warfare with the Missourian secessionists and slave holders. There were deep rooted hostilities between these groups. This is apparent in an article written by a civilian Union supporter living in Kansas City during the hostilities of the Civil War (Liberty Tribune, 28 AUG 1863, p. 2, column 1)(Liberty Tribune, 28 AUG 1863, p. 2, column 2):

Under Order Number 11 the families of the bushwhackers along the border are pulling up stakes and taking their way south. Drive these families all out, and the bushwhackers, if properly followed up in the field, will soon leave too (Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce, 29 AUG 1863, p. 2).

However it was loyal and disloyal citizens of Jackson, Cass, Bates and Vernon counties that had to pack their wagons and drive into the larger towns like Kansas City and Independence. These families lived "miserably on government bounty as the Creeks and Seminole had been doing since the winter of 1861" (Monaghan, p. 289). But Captain QUANTRILL was successfully operating just outside the boundaries establish by Order Number 11. Sympathetic individuals were able to be located through out Missouri, due to the harsh treatment of the Federal soldiers. Another factor that also provided souther support in southern Missouri counties was due to the copperhead press publishing harrowing stories about the abusive and rude Union soldiers and Kansas Volunteers (Monaghan, p. 289).

WHICH COMBS' WERE SUBJECT TO ORDER NUMBER 11?

Were any of the ten children of Dr. Ennis COMBS effected by Order Number 11? Caroline "Polly" HAWES moved to California in 1853 with her sister Mary Ann CALDWELL. They were in California during the Civil War. Therefore Order Number 11 would not have had any impact on Caroline HAWES or her family.

James H. COMBS would have been effected by Order Number 11. He was a farmer in Jackson County, Missouri when Order Number 11 was enacted. There is no doubt that he and his family had to move to some other county since he was a known slave owner and a Confederate sympathizer. According to the provisions of the General Order he would have had to leave Jackson County, Missouri. There is one documented account where James H. COMBS was supporting Rebel activities of QUANTRILL's Raiders. He was specifically observed assisting Frank JAMES during an escape into Jackson County, Missouri during the Civil War.

John Cuthbert COMBS was also a slave owner, and living in Cass County, Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War. Cass County was one of the four counties listed in Order Number 11. Therefore John C. COMBS would have had to leave Cass County and move his family to some other location.

Sarah E. STEVENSON was living in Mason County, Kentucky at the beginning of the Civil War. At one time she was the owner of at least one slave, which was given to her as a gift from her father. Sarah E. STEVENSON's husband was supporting the Union cause at the beginning of the Civil War, and not the views of the Confederacy. Order Number 11 did not have an effect on this daughter of Dr. Ennis COMBS.

Dr. Edward Mark COMBS was living in Lewisport, Hancock County, Kentucky during the Civil War. Order number 11 would have had no effect on him or his family. He was a slave owner (Kentucky 1860 Slave Schedule - Hancock County, p. 85B) .

Silas Evan COMBS was a slave owner. He is listed in the Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule for Jackson County as owning two Black male slaves, ages four and five (Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule, Jackson County. p. 354, column 1, lines 34-35). At the start of the Civil War Silas COMBS was residing in Jackson County, Missouri. Order Number 11 would have required Silas E. COMBS to move his family out of Jackson County.

Mary Ann CALDWELL and her family were living in Santa Clara County, California during the Civil War. The family did possess slaves in the 1850's, but must have sold them prior to moving to California. Order Number 11 had no effect on this family.

Evan Ennis COMBS Jr. was a slave owner. He is recorded on the Missouri 1860 Lafayette County Slave Schedule as owning one Black male slave, age 14. In 1860 Ennis COMBS was still residing with his Aunt Sallie (COMBS) EVANS. She is also listed on the 1860 Slave Schedule as having thirteen slaves (Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule - Lafayette County. p. 438, 2d column, lines 16-29). Order Number 11 did not pertain to Lafayette County, Missouri so it did not have any impact on Evan Ennis COMBS family or his Aunt Sallie EVANS.

Fielding A. COMBS was also a slave owner. The 1860 Saline County records demonstrate that Fielding A. COMBS had two Black female slaves, ages thirteen and fourteen. Also recorded on the Slave Schedule was a notation that Fielding A. COMBS also had a separate house for his slaves (Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule, Saline County. p. 357, 2nd column, lines 22-23). Order Number 11 did not apply to Saline County, Missouri. Therefore Dr. Fielding A. COMBS was not affected by this decree, with the possible exception of allowing impressed family members to live with him during the Federal military proclamation.

Of the ten children of Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS, the families that were subject to the stipulates of Order Number 11 were John Cuthbert COMBS, Silas Evan COMBS, and James H. COMBS. Since all three were slave owners, they would not have been reimbursed by the Federal government for their monetary losses when the Union forces implemented the provisions of the dictum. The three brothers probably did not return to their homes until March 1865.

HOW WERE THE SOUTHERN SYMPATHIZERS TREATED?

William HUDSPETH was a very large slave owner in Jackson County, Missouri. The Missouri 1850 Slave Schedule indicates that he owned twenty-six slaves (Missouri 1850 Slave Schedule, Jackson County. p. 245, lines 14-39). William HUDSPETH's family of eleven children lived in the same section of Jackson County, Missouri as did Silas and James H. COMBS. Using the narratives that exist about the HUDSPETH's when Order Number 11 was issued, a picture can be constructed as to the actions and the tone of the times.

Major General SCHOFIELD issued his General Order Number 86, which was issued on the same day as Order Number 11. It proclaimed that he "will order the destruction or seizure of all houses, barns and provisions and other property belonging to disloyal persons in those portions of the State which are made the haunts of guerrillas" (Liberty Tribune, p. 1, column 2). General Order 86 authorized the amount and type of force that could be applied to the civilian population. Order Number 11 stipulated the amount of time that would be allotted for compliance with the provisions of the order.

Capt(ain) Palmer…seeing what the Rebels had done, he set fire to and burned several houses of those known to be bushwhackers…(Liberty Tribune, 28 AUG 1863, p. 1, column 3).

Joel Ephriam HUDSPETH went to Texas with his property, mules and his slaves (24th General Assembly, pp. 215-216). His brother, Nathan Beal HUDSPETH, who was a medical doctor, and his family also were in Texas [see Note 60][see Chart 9].

Thomas Jefferson HUDSPETH's widow was ordered to Independence in 1863 by the Union Military Command. While she was in Independence members of the Kansas Volunteers burned her house, looted, and destroyed her property. Since she lived in the rural section of Jackson County, Missouri she had to leave the county. She took her family and stayed at a place south of Richmond, in Ray County, Missouri (Ford, p. 4)[see Note 61]. One of Cynthia (HAMBRIGHT) HUDSPETH's children, William, had to swim the Missouri River from Jackson County to Ray County to escape the Union soldiers. He stayed in Ray County, Missouri until the family returned in March of 1865 (Ford, p. 83).

One day, when her mother (Cynthia HUDSPETH) had been called to Independence, soldiers came and burned the home…Sallie (HUDSPETH) came running out of the house with her saddle. The soldiers took it away from her and threw it back into the burning house. She ran in and brought it out a second time, but was grabbed and held so she couldn't save it again [see Note 62].

A son of Thomas J. HUDSPETH, Thomas B. HUDSPETH, was forced to leave Jackson County, Missouri due to the decree issued in Order Number 11. He did not want to leave his uncles hounds, so he selected the best ones and took them with him to North Grand River. He stayed at this location until after the Civil War (Ford, p. 89).

Sylvia (HUDSPETH) MORROW had two sons who rode with Captain QUANTRILL - Benjamin and George. George was killed ln one of the Confederate guerrilla encounters. The farm of Jesse and Sylvia MORROW was within the limits established by Order Number 11. They had to vacate their farm and forfeit their property to the Union soldiers. Jesse MORROW moved his family to Carrol County, Missouri (Ford, p. 103).

Joseph W. HUDSPETH died 1 JAN 1860. His son Joel Rufus HUDSPETH served under General PRICE, Confederate States of America. Another son, William Napolean "Babe" HUDSPETH, was a member of QUANTRILL's Raiders. Benoni Morgan HUDSPETH died in the California "Gold Fields" in 1850. Malinda Paralee HUDSPETH was living on her fathers farm when Order Number 11 was issued. She moved to Ray County, Missouri with other brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

Robert Nichols HUDSPETH rode with Captain QUANTRILL. He owned property in Jackson County, Missouri. Since he was a known Confederate Rebel, his property would have been seized under the provisions of Order Number 11[see Chart 10].

The COMBS' that were reared in Jackson County, Missouri lived in the same neighborhood as the HUDSPETH's. The families were well acquainted and held very similar political views. Both families were known to own slaves, placed value on owning land, and positioned themselves politically. If one uses the narrative description as to how the HUDSPETH's were treated, it is very plausible that the COMBS' were treated in the same manner.

Where did these COMBS families go after the proclamation issued within Order Number 11? It's not known. But they had to leave Jackson and Cass counties. As described by Thomas B. HUDSPETH upon his return to Jackson County, Missouri in March 1865, "there were but a few houses left standing in the country at that time, and it looked like a wilderness" (Ford, p. 90). Their property would have been confiscated, their slaves freed, and the houses probably burned to the ground.

Nelson SCHOLL had a son by the name of Boone SCHOLL. He was six foot three inches tall and was engaged in freighting across the plains. He was a teamster along with Linville HAYS prior to the Civil War. Boone SCHOLL was shot and killed on the old Wornall Road when "Jawhawkers…were intimidating and attempting to rob John B. WORNALL" (Doerschuck, p. 5). He was taken to his Aunt Elizabeth WALLACE's home by Boone MUIR and Dick BERRY. Elizabeth SCHOLL and another one of Boone SCHOLL's aunts rode to Cass County in the night with infants on their laps. Boone SCHOLL died before his mother, Harriet SCHOLL, and his aunts could return from Cass County, Missouri. Boone MUIR was a member of QUANTRILL's guerrillas and took part in taking the Union Army flag at Westport with Colonel Upton HAYS, Cole YOUNGER, Dick YAGER, Virgil MILLER andWilliam YOUNG. This is the flag that was stitched into Upton HAYS' jacket as lining (Edwards, pp. 94-95)[see Note 63].

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

Tell me and I will forget
Show me and I might remember
Involve me and I will understand
• • • • Chinese Proverb • • • •

We learn about things when we break them into smaller parts and analyze the smaller segments. In 1735 Carl von Linne, a Swede, began classifying living things. He put man into a genus category termed Homo, and the species titled sapiens. He separated man from the other primates within the class Mammalia. The reasoning for this separation was based on the premise that man could reason. Man has the great gift of a developed brain. The brain allows man to think and to reason. But this marvelous benefit must be developed or there is a failure to communicate effectively.

Significance is forged through an appreciation and a building of ones knowledge. We use many forms of expression to create meaning - art, music, rituals, icons, and stories are just a few examples. There are many families that make dinner a ritual, or center the activities with kin around food. Specific times of the year are associated with specific foods, preparations and presentations. These rituals create significance within the family, as well as convey concepts about who they are.

There are also those families that employ "magnet art" as means of expression. Magnet art is typically those crayon drawings that are attached to the refrigerator door. After a period of time these works of art are usually placed in storage, periodically retrieved and the moments relived in private as the tears form in your eyes. If only those moments could be saved.

Stories are just as important as food, rituals, music and even magnet art. They provide a means of developing the character, establishing what is right or wrong, and teaching things that develop the soul (Proverb 1:1-7).

What we write is not nonsense. It is not lofty or impractical. The true nonsense or impracticality is not understanding what hardships and dedication that has preceded our existence. Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS lived in an area that is almost void of his very presence, or the presence of his family members. If this story is not told we loose a connection with the magic - the enlightenment of the COMBS community - the family.

Often it seems impossible to find the necessary information on which to build a narrative. As ethical researchers one tries to find information that suggests an obvious step-by-step approach to a valid conclusion. But there are other times when one must use a surrogate to make a point about the lives of family members [see Chart 11].

On 19 OCT 1847 Septimus SCHOLL lost a son to measles. He wrote Rodney M. HINDE about this experience which demonstrates the emotion of the family at this time:

Joseph was not here. He departed this life on the 27th of September of measles. Oh God, give me fortitude to bear up under my loss. I cannot step out of doors nor even raise my head but I see something Joe has had a hand in doing or making, for he was a good obedient boy and an enterprising and industrious, and there was little done only what he had a full share in performing, in fact I see or hear but little but what places him full in my imagination. But - he is not here. The sound of clarinet, the elder fife, the wild geese, the brant (a small, black-necked wild goose), the prairie hen has become almost death to me to hear them, they being his favorite pursuits - laboring hard five days and a half in the week to get an opportunity to spend a few hours a Saturday evening in his favorite sports, for he was truly industrious. In losing of him I lost a staff and prop of my latter days. Oh God, give me fortitude to bear up under such an affliction and forgive me if I should regret an occurrence which I have no control over, for the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed is the name of the Lord. They buried him in the garden about 60 yards off the house, dressed in a suit of black with gloves &c. On - his coffin covered with black velvet and trimmed inside with white. The neighbors and friends attended and aided in rendering the last services to a departed friend (Giulvezan, p. 23).

On 12 JAN 1848 Septimus SCHOLL wrote a second letter to Rodney M. HINDE with a continuation of the death of his son, Joseph:

When I got home I found our family in a condition which I leave you to judge, having buried Joseph and little Peter (a very young slave boy that was buried next to Joseph who died of measles) three weeks. What was here was enjoying tolerable health, though most of them having had the measles. Joseph was sick three weeks complaining as usual in cases of measles until a few days before he died, being very little trouble only a few days, the measles having fell on his bowels which Dr. Combs (Dr. Ennis COMBS) and Caldwell could not check, both tending on him, but terminated in death in a few days - very unexpected to his friends and acquaintances (Giulvezan, p. 25).

It's not necessary to have a list of the COMBS', HINDE'S or EVANS' that attended the services for Joseph SCHOLL. Most of them would have been present at the burial. You can feel the grief in Septimus SCHOLL'S account of his sons death. Special effort was taken by the family for his burial at the end of the garden. Joseph SCHOLL does not appear on any burial list in Jackson County, Missouri. In checking the area where the farm was located, no monument could be located for either Joseph or Peter.

Who we are is a compilation of the various family units and the decisions that were made by these individuals. Where we live, family values, expectations are all linked to these associations. Some of our ideals are passed on from one generation to the next without knowing where these ideas and concepts originated. It is these thoughts and notions that a model is developed that is the central core of the individual.

NOTES:

1. Boonesborough is located in Madison County, Kentucky. It's located on the Ford USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 375430N; Longitude - 0841619W.
2. Montgomery County, named for General Richard Montgomery, was formed from Clark County in 1797. It is located on the eastern edge of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. The current county seat, Mount Sterling, was established in 1793 as "Little Mountain Town" but the surveyor changed the name to Sterling. At one time there was a large Indian mound in the area -- the "little mountain".
3. Children of Septimus SCHOLL (b. 21 NOV 1789, KY; d: 11 AUG 1849, MO) and Sally MILLER (b: 11 DEC 1813): Marcus SCHOLL (b. 5 NOV 1826, KY) married Evaline O. COLLINS (m: 21 MAR 1851) Daniel Boone SCHOLL (b: 17 OCT 1817, KY; d: 19 JAN 1902, TN) married Julia Ann DAVIS, Alice CLARK, Sarah L. HIGGINS Nelson SCHOLL (b: 23 MAY 1815, KY; d: 23 DEC 1890, Index, Cass County, MO) married Harriet BOONE (m: 10 FEB 1836, KY) Joseph SCHOLL (d. 1847) Cyrus Rector SCHOLL (b: 18 NOV 1824; d. 28 AUG 1872) married Mary Jane MARQUIS (m: 3 OCT 1852) Catherine "Kitty" SCHOLL (b: 16 APR 1820; d: 15 DEC 1874) m. Rodney Martin HINDE (b: 1811; d: 1867)(m: 20 MAY 1840) Rodney Martin HINDE is the brother of Mary "Polly" S. HINDE who is married to Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS. Elizabeth "Eliza" SCHOLL (b. OCT 1823; d: 1910) married John WALLACE (m: 25 SEP 1845, MO)
4. Marshall (county seat) is located in Saline County, Missouri. It is located on the Marshall South USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 390723N; Longitude - 0931148W.
5. Orearville is located in Saline County, Missouri. It is located on the Slater USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 391018N; Longitude - 0930427W.
6. Garden City is located in Cass County, Missouri. It is located on the Garden City USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 383340N; Longitude - 0941128W.
7. William WADDELL moved his family to Lexington, Missouri in 1849, where he established another store. In 1853 he established a partnership with William RUSSELL, forming the firm of Waddell and Russell. The two men became involved in contracting delivers for military supplies to Fort Riley. On January 1, 1855 they signed an agreement with Alexander MAJORS, forming the firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell. This venture become one of the biggest freighting operations in the country. The firm then took on the task of establishing the Pony Express. The firm never obtained the Federal contracts that they expected and creditors could not be paid off. Consequently the Company sold out to Wells Fargo and William HOLLADAY. William WADDELL died in 1872 a broken man and was never able to recoup his losses.
8. Daryl Combs from San Pedro, CA provided me with his personnel COMBS data base for Dr. Ennis COMBS in 1997. He has Mary "Polly" COMBS death as about 1838. I have no information that supports this date, but Daryl probably has a document that may support this statement.
9. In the Ennis COMBS Sr. probate file #37, dated 11 JUL 1857, Ann CATLETT is recorded as having a deed agreement with Ennis COMBS Sr. George Henry CATLETT is listed as well as G. C. CATLETT and Henry C. CATLETT. A list of deeds and financial agreements are listed as belonging to Susan CATLETT prior to her marriage and now part of the Ennis COMBS estate.
10. Ann CATLETT is believed to be the sister of Susan N. COMBS. Dr. D. CATLETT is believed to be the brother of Susan N. COMBS. This is only speculation since there is no documentation to support these assumptions.
11. H. CATLETT is listed as owning seven slaves and J. C. CATLETT has twelve in the Missouri 1860 Slave Schedule for Buchanan County, Missouri.
12. The 1850 Missouri Federal Census for Andrew County lists a Mollie A. CATLETT. She is enumerated as being 66 years of age, and born in Virginia. A Susan CATLETT is also recorded at this residence, age 30, born in Kentucky. Another individual listed is Henson CATLETT, age 26, born in Kentucky. Susan N. COMBS would be about 50 years of age in 1850. It's possible that this is Susan N. COMBS since she is buried with her mother in the Todd Cemetery in Andrew County, Missouri.
13. Redwood City (county seat) is located in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the Palo Alto USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 372907N; Longitude - 1221407W. Caroline COMBS date of birth is calculated using her death notice and not the Combs Bible record.
14. William COMBS was an original land owner in Fort Osage Township, Jackson County, Missouri. His wife Margaret is the daughter of Jesse ROBERTS, Green County, Kentucky. William is the son of William COMBS, Green County, Kentucky. No connect has been made between the Dr. Evan Ennis COMBS family and the William COMBS clan.
15. Sarah Waddell CALLAWAY was the daughter of James Anderson CALLAWAY (1796-1855) and Cassa Ann WADDELL (1819-68). William WADDELL was an uncle who lived in Lexington, Missouri.
16. Monrovia is located in Los Angeles County, California. It is located on the Azusa USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 340853N; Longitude - 1175953W, El Monte USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude 340632N; Longitude - 1180024W, & Mount Wilson USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 340905N; Longitude - 1180033W.
17. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 75, page 248. Miss Belle COMBS. DAR ID Number: 74671 Born in Lafayette County, Mo. Descendant of Col. James CALLAWAY. Daughter of Ennis COMBS (b. 1837) and Sarah W. CALLAWAY (b. 1840), his wife, m.1858. Granddaughter of James Anderson CALLAWAY (1796-1855) and Cassa Ann WADDELL (1819-68), his wife, m. 1839. Gr-granddaughter of Thomas CALLAWAY (1789-1877) and Lucinda ANDERSON (1796-1863), his wife, m. 1811. Gr-gr-granddaughter of James CALLAWAY and Elizabeth EARLY (1759-96), his 2nd wife, m. 1777. James CALLAWAY (1737-1809) was county lieutenant, 1780, of Bedford County. He was detailed by Washington to manufacture cannon. He was born and died in Bedford County, Va. Also Nos. 41699, 68554 (McNutt).
18. Newtonia is located in Newton County, Missouri. It is located on the Newtonia USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 365236N; Longitude - 0941107W.
19. William Milton SCHOLL was a Captain of Company B, William's Regiment, Missouri Cavalry, C.S.A. Captain SCHOLL was surrendered by General E. Kirby SMITH C.S.A., 16 JUN 1865. William Milton SCHOLL is the brother of Lydia (SCHOLL) HAYS, the wife of Boone HAYS.
20. Cyrus R. SCHOLL enlisted 30 NOV 1862 and was promoted to First Sergeant in Company E, 10th Missouri Cavalry, C.S.A. He was captured at Irontown, Missouri and taken to Gratiot Street Military Prison, St. Louis, Missouri on 13 OCT 1864. He was then transferred to the Federal Military Prison at Alton, Illinois on 6 DEC 1864. He died as a prisoner of war 10 FEB 1865 of pneumonia.
21. Daniel A. MUIR was a Sergeant in Company K, 12th Missouri Cavalry, C.S.A. He was paroled 14 JUN 1865 after the surrender of General E. Kirby SMITH at New Orleans, Louisiana.
22. Two sources show the birth date for Dr. Edward Mark COMBS as 7 FEB 1818. The text Kentucky Cemetery Records, v. 1, page 117, line 9, by the Kentucky Records Research Committee (1960) shows an incorrect date of 7 FEB 1848.
23. One source has Fielding A. COMBS date of birth as 10 AUG 1825. This is consistent with the established dates of birth for other family members, and the 1900 California census. Caroline COMBS date of birth published in the PREWITT family Bible is not consistent with census data and her death notice. Based on this information it appears that Caroline COMBS was born in 1826 and not the published 1828.
24. One source has Howard M. as a doctor, another source has James E. as a doctor. One of them or both of them are medical professionals but a second souce has not been obtained to verify the facts. The Musser Letters contains a specific statement that James E. COMBS was a dentist.
25. Walker & Wilson have the date of marriage 24 NOV 1835. Boyd has the marriage date as 25 NOV 1835. The Bible records were used as the best source at this time.
26. Williams & Williams have Mary CALDWELL as being deceased. One will find this in error since Mary CALDWELL appears in the 1850 US Census in Montgomery County, Kentucky, as well as the 1860 US Census in Santa Clara County, California.
27. This child would be Mary S. COMBS based on date of letter and birth order.
28. All of the extraction from the SCHOLL letters were transcribed as they were found in the original. No errors were corrected. Additional comments are placed inside of parentheses and were not part of the original documents.
29. Immigrants used the phrase "seeing the elephant "to describe the natural wonders they experienced on the road west. Chimney Rock was, for most travelers, their first encounter with the amazing curiosities collectively referred to as "the elephant." This strange spire served as a milepost and heralded the astounding landscape ahead.
30. Boone HAYS was the grandson of Daniel BOONE and Rebecca (BRYAN) BOONE. In 1798 Daniel BOONE entered and applied for a grant of 2,000 acres in Upper Louisiana Territory and emigrated with many of his friends, including William and Boone HAYS. Boone HAYS is the oldest son of William HAYS. William HAYS is the husband of Susannah BOONE, the eldest daughter of Daniel BOONE. William HAYS served in General BRADDOCK's Army. He served under Lord DUNMORE in 1774, Governor of Virginia, and fought in the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782 (Doerschuck, pp. 1-2). William HAYS was promoted to the rank of Captain.
31. Franklin Williams was brought up on a farm in Jackson County, Missouri. At the age of nineteen years, he and his brother Jefferson were seized by the gold fever joining a company in which were two of their cousins, Richard Lewis and Joshua Lewis. The wagons were drawn by oxen, four yoke to each, and there were besides three driving horses. This train, the noted Hudspeth train, well provisioned, left Missouri April 24, 1849, followed the Old Oregon Trail, taking Sublette Cutoff, traveling through Goose Lake country, and arriving in California on September 15, 1849 (Guinn, pp. 921-923). This is a one week difference in the California arrival dates as recorded in overland accounts of the trip.
32. The American River was named by John SUTTER in 1839. John SUTTER selected a point at which it flows into the Sacramento River as the site for his headquarters, and it was called Fort SUTTER. Fort SUTTER was located at the center of the vast land holdings he called Nueva Helvetica, after his homeland. In 1848 gold was discovered on the South Fork of the American River at SUTTER's Mill, near Coloma.
33. Robert CARSON was the brother of Kit CARSON and lived 16 miles east of Marshall, Saline County, Missouri in the town of Arrow Rock. When Kit ran away from home, the Boonslick hills in Howard County, it was with his brother Robert who taught him his frontier cunning and tactics in combating Indian savages (Rainey, pp. 81-82).
34. Active recruitment took place for men to volunteer for the Mexican War. The following is an example of this form of conscription: "To Volunteers. The undersigned having procured from the "Commissioner of Pensions," at Washington, the necessary forms and instructions are prepared to obtain Volunteers in the Mexican War, Bounty Land Warrants, or Treasury Script without delay. They will also attend to the settlement of claims by the widows and heirs of deceased volunteers, and act in all cases where an Attorney or an agent are required. Davis & Forbis, attorneys at law. Office in the Court House over the office of the Circuit Clerk, Platte City, Missouri. July 31, 1847 (The Weekly Tribune, 12 MAY 1848)."
35. Alcove Spring is located in Marshall County, Kansas. It is located on the Marysville USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 394539N; Longitude - 0964040W.
36. Fort Kearney is also known as Fort Childs by many of the overland travelers. Some of the letters written in 1849 & 1850 refer to Fort Kearney as Fort Childs.
37. Ash Hollow is located in Garden County, Nebraska. It is located on the Ruthton USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 411753N; Longitude - 1020710W & the Lewellen USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 411755N; Longitude - 1020735W.
38. Courthouse Rock (a summit) is located in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. It is located on the Courthouse Rock USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 413550N; Longitude - 1030656W.
39. Chimney Rock (a summit) is located in Morrill County, Nebraska. It is located on the South Bayard USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 414214N; Longitude - 1032052W.
40. Scotts Bluff (a summit) is located in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. It is located on the Scotts Bluff South USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 415017N; Longitude - 1034150W.
41. The historical Fort Laramie is located in Goshen County, Wyoming. It is located on the Fort Laramie USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 421205N; Longitude - 1043330W.
42. The rock is a huge, rounded feature that covers approximately 24 acres. It is well over 100 feet high at the two ends. It's more than a mile to walk all the way around. Since the rock is worn smooth by the weather and erosion, it provided a convenient place for travelers to leave an inscription. Many frontier journals describe the rock as being covered by multi-colored painted inscriptions and etchings, earning the rock a nickname of "the register of the desert." The paint has long ago worn off, but those travelers who had the foresight to scratch or engrave their names and dates are still memorialized. Independence Rock (a summit) has an elevation of 6028 feet. It is located in Natrona County, Wyomong. It is located on the Independence Rock USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 422939N; Longitude: 1070755W.
43. Devils Gate (a geological gap) is located in Natrona County, Wyoming. It is located on the Independence Rock USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 422656N; Longitude - 1071235W.
44. South Pass (a gap) is located in Fremont County, Wyoming. It is located on the Pacific Springs USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 422212N; Longitude - 1085446W.
45. According to several sources the real danger on the overland passage was cholera. With its soaring fevers, chronic dysentery and ghastly death from dehydration. Cholera was rampant all across the United States in 1849, and quickly spread through the California bound wagon trains.
46. Soda Springs is located in Caribou County, Idaho. It is located on the Soda Springs USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map:Latitude - 423916N; Longitude - 1113614W.
47. Cassia Creek crossing is in Cassia County, Idaho. It is located on the Malta USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 422052N; Longitude - 1132115W.
48. Benoni M. Hudspeth and John J. Myers were the two individuals who lead the first wagons on a new branch of the California Trail, which left the main trail near Soda Springs and rejoined the main trail near Malta, Idaho.
49. City Of Rocks (a geologic pillar with an elevation of 6,267feet) is located in Cassia County, Idaho. It is located on the Almo USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 420515N; Longitude: 1134200W.
50. Thousand Springs Valley (was also called Hot Springs Valley in overland journals) is located in Elko County, Nevada. It is located on Chicken Springs USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 413423N; Longitude - 1142606W. Knoll Mountain SE USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 413254N; Longitude - 1143001W. Wine Cup Ranch NE USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 413000N; Longitude - 1143203W. Wine Cup Ranch USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 412617N; Longitude - 1143730W. Wilkins USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 412516N; Longitude - 1144500W. Melandco USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 412230N; Longitude - 1145147W. Summer Camp USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 412005N; Longitude - 1145341W.
51. Humboldt Sink (a basin) is located in Churchill and Pershing Counties, Nevada. This feature is also known as Humboldt Valley & Unknown Lake. It is located on Lovelock Indian Caves USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 395822N; Longitude 1183623W. Ocala USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 395736N; Longitude -1183852W. Toulon Peak USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 400053N; Longitude 1183830W. Granite Point USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 400058N; Longitude - 1183600W.
52. Mormon Station was located in Douglas County, Nevada. It was renamed Genoa in 1855. Mormon Station was also referred to as Carson Valley. It is located on the Genoa USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 390016N; Longitude - 1195046W.
53. Carson Pass (a mountain gap) is located in Alpine County, California. It is located on the Carson Pass USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 384138N; Longitude - 1195915W.
54. Sutter's Fort is located in Sacramento County, California. It is located on the Sacramento East USGS 7.5' x 7.5' Map: Latitude - 383420N; Longitude - 1212811W. in 1841, Sutter expanded his settlement when the Russians abandoned Fort Ross, their outpost north of San Francisco, and offered to sell it to him for thirty thousand dollars. Paying with a note he never honored, Sutter practically dismantled the fort and moved its equipment, livestock and buildings to the Sacramento Valley.
55. The exact site where the HAYS party first wintered in California has not been identified. Letters state that the were in Weaverville and Weaversville. Both of these locations were stated as being 50 miles east of Sacramento. No site can be found in texts for a mining town of this name at the stated location. A settlement that was an old mining town by the name of Weaverville is located in Trinity County and approximately 200 miles northwest of the stated location by the various SCHOLL letters. There is no indication that the HAYS party ever moved to the northern gold fields. In a letter written by A.M. WILLIAMS 31 FEB 1851, he states that "…2100 miles from Council Bluffs, to Weavertown, the first mines, and fifty miles from there to the Sacramento" (Wyman, p. 124).
56. A contest entry written about Septimus SCHOLL made the following comment in the narrative: "Boone HAYS' wife, who was suing him for divorce, could not prove any of the allegations against him so (she) finally obtained nothing from him and (she) has left for where he found her (Clarl County, Kentucky)" (Voegtli, p. 137). Another account of the incident was stated by Septimus SCHOLL in a letter dated JUN 1847: "Boone HAYS and wife have not yet settled their controversy. She is drawing $100 a year on separate maintenance but no final decision by the Court is yet obtained" (Giulvezan, p. 23).
57. There were other guide book's that could have been purchased: Bryant's What I Saw in California, price $1.25; Emory's Overland Journey from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego, price 25 cents; and the California Guide Book, price 50 cents (The Weekly Tribune, 23 MAR 1849).
58. Recipe - One and a half ounce of the spirits of wine; one quarter of an ounce of camphor dissolved in the wine. Get a small phial of spirits of hartshorn.

    Directions - First, give a teaspoonful of hartshorn in a wine glass of water. Begin immediately and give five drops of spirits of wine, (camphor) filling the teaspoon with cold water - add a little sugar; repeat this every five minutes until you have given three doses. Then wait fifteen minutes, and commence as before, and continue half an hour, unless there is returning heat; should this be the case, give one dose more, and the cure is effected. Let patients perspire freely, as on this the life depends, but add no additional clothing (The Weekly Tribune, 19 JAN 1849).

59. GENERAL ORDER NUMBER 11 Head Quarters District of the Border Kansas City, Missouri, August 25, 1863.

    1. All persons living in Jackson, Cass and Bates counties, Missouri, and in that part of Vernon included in this district, except those living within one mile of the limits of Independence, Hickman's Mills, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville, and except those in that part of Kaw township, Jackson County, north of Brush Creek and west of the Big Blue, are hereby ordered to remove from their present places of residence within fifteen days from the date hereof. Those who, within that time, establish their loyalty to the satisfaction of the commanding officer of the military station nearest their present places of residence, will receive from him certificates stating the fact of their loyalty and the names of the witnesses by whom it can be shown. All who receive such certificates will be permitted to remove to any military station in this district, or to any part of the State of Kansas, except the counties on the eastern border of the State. All others shall remove out of this district. Officers commanding companies and detachments serving in the counties named, will see that this paragraph is promptly obeyed.
    2. All grain and hay in the field or under shelter, in the districts which the inhabitants are required to remove, within reach of military stations, after the 9th day of September next, will be taken to such stations, and turned over to the proper officers there; and report of the amount so turned over made to District Head Quarters, specifying the names of all loyal owners, and the amount of such produce taken from them. All grain and hay found in such district after the 9th day of September next, not convenient to such stations, will be destroyed.
    3. The provisions of General Orders Number 10 from these headquarters will be at once vigorously executed by officers commanding in the parts of the district, and at the stations, not subject to the operation of Paragraph I of this Order - and especially in the towns of Independence, Westport and Kansas City.
    4. Paragraph 3, General Order Number 10, is revoked as to all who have borne arms against the Government in this district since the 20th day of August, 1863.

    By order of Brigadier General Ewing H. HANNAHS, Adjutant (Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce, 4 SEP 1863, p. 3)(Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce, 6 SEP 1863, p. 4)(The Liberty Tribune, 28 AUG 1863, p. 1).

60. Nathan HUDSPETH graduated from the same medical school as Fielding A. and Edward Mark COMBS graduated from,Transylvania College. Nathan HUDSPETH graduated several years prior to the COMBS brothers.
61. Cynthia HUDSPETH returned to Jackson County, Missouri in March 1865. She rebuilt her home on the old foundation of the original structure. The family Bible was hid from the Union Army during the Civil War. The military would ask for family Bibles to see the names and ages of the males listed in the family. The HUDSPETH Bible was removed from the rubble by one of Cynthia HUDSPETH's slaves. The Bible was last known to be in the possession of a great granddaughter who lived in Hickman Mills, Missouri in 1966.
62. This story is about Sallie Adelaide (HUDSPETH) TRUITT. When this event took place she would have been about twenty-seven years old. The HUDSPETH family Bible that was found in the rubble from the fire was used at her funeral. Sallie TRUITT died east of Buckner, Missouri 18 OCT 1921 (Ford, p. 89).
63. Captain R.H. ADAMS was the Commander of Company K, Twelfth Missouri Cavalry, C.S.A. and had the following MUIR's in that unit: First Lieutenant Hezekiah P. MUIR, Sergeant Daniel A. MUIR, Sergeant George W. MUIR, Private J.F. MUIR, and Private W.H. MUIR. Boone MUIR was a member of Quantrill's Raiders.

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