Henry Clay "Kay" Cobb, 1885-1968

Number 12 on my pedigree chart is my Great-Grandfather Henry Clay Cobb, known as Kay by his friends and family. He was born on the first of September, 1885, in Morristown, Tennessee to John Cobb, Jr. and Nancy (Hodges) Cobb, one of seven children born to them. Only Kay and three of his siblings, Warrie, Belle and Love, lived to adulthood. As a child, his parents called him by his middle name Clay. One of his sisters wasn't able to pronounce the  "L" and called him Kay. Soon everyone else was calling him by the name and it stuck.

Kay Cobb, his son LeRoy Cobb, and LeRoy's daughter Louise.
The photo was taken about 1949-1950.

In 1889, when Kay was about four years old, his family moved from Tennessee to Howell County, Missouri, settling on a farm four miles outside of West Plains. As a child, he enjoyed playing baseball and running around with some of the other boys from the area - but only after the chores at home were done. He was an ornery kid and seemed to find trouble at social events.

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 21 Sep 1905
image clipped from Newspapers.com

His brother once said that Kay ended up in a fight at every dance he attended. There were a lot of dances, as that was the most popular way for everyone in the community to get together and socialize. The boys traveled to attend dances in neighboring communities as well, which is how Kay would later meet the young woman he would marry. In the meantime, when he wasn't working or at a dance, he spent his free time hustling. He loved to gamble and often won. Billiards, cards, chicken fights, and sporting events were all bet upon. By the time Kay was an adult, he knew just about everyone for miles around. He knew who was making moonshine, and he knew just the type of people who were buying it, so bootlegging became another way for him to make a little cash.

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 7 Aug 1913
image clipped from Newspapers.com

Kay registered for the draft when WWI broke out, and he really wanted to go and fight but was denied the chance. His parents were elderly and relied on him for help on the farm and his only living brother, Warrie, was blind. While most of his friends went away to war, Kay stayed and worked the farm with his father.

Front of Kay Cobb's WWI Draft Registration card, Ancestry.com.

Back of the draft registration card, Ancestry.com.

After the war, at a dance in Sturkie, Arkansas, a young woman named Hattie Nicholas caught his eye. After that first meeting, Kay was regularly hitching up his pony & wagon for trips to Sturkie, sixteen miles from the farm. He'd stay as late as was proper and then point the pony towards home. Then he'd crawl in the bed of the wagon and go to sleep! The horse knew the way and always got him home safely. John Cobb would find Kay asleep in the wagon, out in the middle of the yard, on many mornings. He'd wake him up and tell him it was time to help with the chores. When Kay decided he wanted to marry Hattie, he built a small house on his parent's land, went down to Sturkie where the wedding took place on the 5th of February, 1921, and brought her home to the farm. In December of that year, their first child, a daughter they called Velma Love, was born.

Though he was now a family man, Kay's bootlegging continued. He was in even higher demand since Prohibition had begun.

"The 18th Amendment only forbade the “manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating liquors”—not their consumption. By law, any wine, beer or spirits Americans had stashed away in January 1920 were theirs to keep and enjoy in the privacy of their homes."

https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-should-know-about-prohibition

Prohibition laws were in effect for 13 years, from 1920-1933. During this time, Kay Cobb was in trouble with the law a few times, allegedly for selling homemade wine. But, according to Kay, he never made homemade wine. He admittedly bought and sold moonshine, but told his sons that he never made any kind of liquor. He sold moonshine to the Sheriff, the Judges, local doctors, and attorneys. Because of his local connections, his little bootlegging side gig was overlooked by the local authorities. It was the Feds who wanted him and who Kay suspected of planting the wine.

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 28 Dec 1922
image clipped from Newspapers.com

In August of 1923, Kay and Hattie had their first son, John David (J.D.) and a few weeks later, Kay's father died. Now Kay was responsible for not only his growing household but also that of his mother and his sister Belle. Money was tight, so he continued to hustle. He worked the farm, took odd jobs in town including running the duckpin bowling at the pool hall, and continued to sell moonshine the whole time. In the spring of 1925, he again had some trouble with the law. Convicted of selling wine based on witness testimony, he appealed the conviction and was acquitted of the charges. 

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 12 Mar 1925
image clipped from Newspapers.com

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 30 Apr 1925
image clipped from Newspapers.com

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 4 Jun 1925
image clipped from Newspapers.com

Kay's son Bobby remembers his father telling him that while he was jailed, the Sheriff allowed him to leave at night to go home to his family as long as he was back by morning. One night, in particular, Kay was allowed to leave jail to attend a big dance and was given the key to the jail so he could let himself back in. The Sheriff made it clear that Kay had to be back in his cell by sunup. Somehow, Kay lost the key at the dance and had to walk several miles to the Sheriff's house to get another key and he just barely made it back to jail before sunrise.

Over the next several years, life moved along for Kay and his family. Son LeRoy was born in April of 1927, in August of that year Kay's mom, Nancy, died, and then son Bobby was welcomed in February of 1929. In 1930 there was some excitement when Kay's nephew Glenn, the son of his brother Warrie, came into town. Glenn, just 16 years old, was in trouble for stealing a motorcycle and was found and arrested at the Cobb farm. It wouldn't be the only time that Glenn tried to escape the law by hiding out at the Cobb farm. Bobby remembers his dad telling a story about hiding Glenn for a week in a cave at the back of their property once.

Soon the excitement would be centered around Kay and his bootlegging again. In June of 1932 officers found liquor buried on the farm and he was convicted and fined $75. Kay claimed that someone had "planted" it.

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 16 Jun 1932
image clipped from Newspapers.com

The truth is, Kay had planted the liquor. He devised a sneaky plan for selling liquor. On the front part of the property, just off the road, was a cornfield. When someone made a purchase they would be given information to find the bottle, sort of a treasure map. For example, 7 rows of corn into the field and down 14 stalks. The purchaser would find a bottle buried between the 14th and 15th stalks of corn. Kay and Hattie kept track of where the liquor was buried on a calendar.

The year 1933 began with hope for the future. Prohibition was coming to an end and the Cobb's were expecting another child, due in the late summer. On the afternoon of May 1st, the cyclone hit.

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 4 May 1933
image clipped from Newspapers.com

Kay's daughter Velma remembered the storm and told the story years later of hiding under the bed with her brother J.D. while he prayed. They all survived the storm and a few months later, in August, Hattie delivered a daughter they named Vera Mae. The storm caused a lot of damage and may be the reason they decided to sell the farm. That was put on hold, though, as once again, Kay was facing charges relating to liquor. This time he was charged with possession and found himself in the county jail for a bit where he was one of several prisoners put to work chopping wood for the needy.

The Journal-Gazette, West Plains, MO, 9 Nov 1933
image clipped from Newspapers.com

Prohibition ended in December of 1933 and soon after that, the Cobb's were able to sell the old farm and purchase 85-acres. The new farm was located 13 miles west of West Plains, in the community of Pottersville, and was bought for $900.00. Besides farming, Kay needed to find other ways to support the family and found work with the WPA when it was created in 1935. He worked as a timekeeper and would leave home around 4AM and work until well after dark. As a timekeeper, a job similar to being a foreman, he was responsible for clocking the men in and out of work. Occasionally he would fudge the records and allow a few men to go squirrel hunting on the clock, provided they share their bounty with him. The government man that oversaw the workers never noticed a man or two missing. On the rare days when Kay was at home with his family, at the end of the day, after chores and after supper was cleaned up, he could be found on the front porch playing his banjo and singing with the children.

The children of Kay and Hattie Cobb
back, J.D. and Velma
front, Bobby, Vera and LeRoy
photo taken about 1938

The second World War was looming and the Cobb's would soon make some big changes. Kay's draft registration says he was working for Fraser-Brace Construction of Weldon Springs. It wasn't long after this that he was working at the Kansas City Bomber Plant in Fairfax helping to produce B-25 bombers. Hattie sold the farm and brought the younger kids with her up to Kansas City. Kay used the proceeds from the farm to buy a 22-apartment rooming house which supplemented the families income. 

WWII draft registration card for Kay Cobb, image from Ancestry.com

Kay's sons J.D. and Roy joined the Navy during the war and his son-in-law Wayman signed up for the Army. With extra money from the room rents at the boarding house and wages from the bomber plant, Kay purchased $2100.00 in war bonds and the Kansas City Star wrote an article about him. In the article, he said he wanted to do it because he had 2 boys and his son-in-law in the military and he wanted this war over as quickly as possible so they could all come home safe.

Kay and Hattie Cobb

After the war, Kay found work in the Kansas City Stockyards for American Royal. He worked as a plumber and was especially busy during horse shows and rodeos when the drains in the horse stalls would often clog up. After several years living in downtown Kansas City, the Cobbs found a home in the 'burbs. Kay planted a big garden that included rows and rows of tomatoes and raised roosters and chickens. He raised the roosters for his son Bobby to take to the chicken fights in Kansas. Kay always enjoyed sports and, besides the chicken fights, he would go to see a baseball game or a wrestling match any time he had a chance. 

Kay Cobb with his son Bobby, about 1952

Kay was proud of his garden, especially the tomatoes, and often enlisted the help of his kids and grandkids to sell them and then used the extra money for family vacations. The kids got to keep a little bit of the money and learned some lessons on selling and getting along with the public. Every Sunday Kay and Hattie had all the family over for a big dinner. The four oldest kids were all nearby, so their families were regular guests. Vera and her family had moved out of state and were only able to visit once or twice a year. In the summer, the meals were held outside on the lawn, picnic style. 

Kay and Hattie Cobb, seated, with their children about 1957.
L to R, Vera, Bobby, LeRoy, J.D. and Velma.

When Kay retired he spent even more time in his garden. He added flowers and gourds and kept a row of peach trees neatly pruned. Extended family would often come over for the day and help with planting or harvesting while the little kids played in the yard. 

Kay Cobb, son LeRoy, granddaughter Louise, and great-granddaughter Shannon.
Four generation photo was taken on August 13, 1967, at Kay's home in N. Kansas City.

On the morning of September 26, 1968, Hattie woke up to find Kay still beside her. She tried but was unable to wake him. He had died in his sleep. His body was transported to West Plains where his funeral was held. He was buried in Howell Memorial Park Cemetery in Pomona where Hattie joined him in 1977.

Kay Cobb's obituary as printed in a West Plains newspaper.

The grave of Kay and Hattie Cobb,
Howell Memorial Park Cemetery, West Plains, Missouri.