John W Cobb, Jr. and Nancy Jane (Hodge) Cobb

John and Nancy Cobb, my second great-grandparents on my mother's paternal line, were among only three of my second greats missing a photo in my family tree. The only photo I had was of their grave. They are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in West Plains, Missouri and have a beautiful stone flanked by two huge peonies. The cemetery is lovely and not far from the land where they lived and farmed. 

The grave of John and Nancy Cobb at Evergreen Cemetery in West Plains, Missouri.

Last week I was in Missouri for a family reunion. In talking to my Great Uncle Bobby Cobb, he mentioned he had a picture of John and Nancy. What?! I had never known a photo existed. We made plans to head over to his house on Sunday, less than an hour from the reunion location, and take a look at his pictures. Sure enough, he produced the pictures of John and Nancy Cobb and I was able to photograph them. I wasn't able to keep these, but he sent me home with a box of other old photos. I still have to go through them and get them all scanned. For now, though, I am very happy to introduce John W. Cobb, Jr. and his wife, Nancy Jane Hodge Cobb.

John W. Cobb, Jr. 

Nancy Jane (Hodge) Cobb

The frame was originally a two-part frame hinged together and when closed it clasped tight like a case. Now, after so many years, the two sides have come apart and the clasp is broken. Nancy's photo was stuck firmly in the frame and a gentle attempt to loosen it was unsuccessful. I was afraid I would damage it if I tried harder, so it was left as is. But John's side of the frame came apart easily. I was glad because his photo was partially obscured by the frame and I was able to take it out and photograph the whole thing.

John W. Cobb, Jr.

But that wasn't even the best part. Behind this photo was an older tintype portrait of two men.

The man on the left is believed to be John W. Cobb, Jr.
The man on the right is unknown.

My assumption at the time was that one of the two men must be John. The picture was probably the original picture in the frame and the more recent photo had been added later. It makes sense, too, because the photo of Nancy is a younger likeness of her and matches with the time period of this one. Hers could also be a tintype - like I said, I couldn't get that side of the frame open, so I don't know for sure. Looking at the two men and comparing them to the older photo of John (which only kind-of clearly showed the bottom half of his face), I believe the man on the left to be him. I enlarged the photo for clarification.

Close up of the two men in the tin-type portrait.

Closer still of the man I believe is John W. Cobb, Jr., my second great-grandfather.

So, my family, meet John W. Cobb , Jr. and his wife Nancy. They've been added to my family tree on Ancestry and now there is only one "second great" without a photo.

John W. Cobb, Jr. was born on 12 January 1852 in Lincolnton, Lincoln County, North Carolina to John W. "Jack" Cobb (1817-1880) and Anna Cahoun (Long) Cobb (1824-?). Between 1865 and 1870 the family moved to Grainger County, Tennessee where John met Nancy, daughter of Welcome Hodge (1816-1884) and Isabella (McGoldrick) Hodge (1825-?). John and Nancy married on 2 February 1873 in Grainger County. They were the parent of six children, but only four lived to be counted on a census and reach adulthood. 

• Warrie Glenn Cobb was born in 1883 in Tate Springs, Tennessee
• Anna Belle Cobb was born in 1884 in Morristown, Hamblen County, Tennessee
• Henry Clay "Kay" Cobb was born in 1885 also in Morristown
• Carrie Love Cobb was born in 1889 in Brinkley, Monroe, Arkansas

By 1900 John and Nancy had settled in West Plains, Howell County, Missouri and they lived there the rest of their lives. John died on 24 August 1923 and Nancy on 26 August 1927.

The obituary of John Cobb in the West Plains Journal, 30 Aug 1923, from Newspapers.com

The obituary of Nancy Cobb in the West Plains Journal-Gazette 1 Sep 1927, from Newspapers.com

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.

Velma Love (Cobb) Womack Round 1921-2013

My mom, Velma Louise Cobb, was named after two of her aunts. Her first name came from her father's sister, Velma Love (Cobb) Womack, and her middle name from her mother's sister-in-law, Betty Louise (Kinser) Powell. Mom was called by her middle name Louise throughout her life. She used to joke that it could have been worse, she could have been named "Betty Love". But the jokes were all in good fun, as the two namesake Aunts were extremely close to my mom, and she to them. I was blessed to grow up with both of these great aunts in my life.

It's always been common in families to name children after a family member. Velma, the first child born to Henry Clay "Kay" Cobb and his wife, Hattie Eugene (Nicholas) was named after Kay's little sister, Carrie Love (Cobb) Shofler. Velma, like my mother, was named after a much-loved Aunt with whom she was very close.

Aunt Velma

Velma Love Cobb was born on 3 December 1921 in West Plains, Howell County, Missouri. The family, with the addition of sons LeRoy, John David (J.D.), and Bobby and another daughter, Vera, lived on a rural farm in the Ozarks. The family was poor, but they scraped together enough to survive by working together.

Excerpt from a letter Velma sent me years ago.

We "lived 5 miles South of West Plains, Mo. on the old Cobb farm. John and Nancy Cobb (Dads parents) lived there before us. They were farmers. I was 2 years old when Grandpa died & 6 years when Grandma died. They are buried at Evergreen Cemetery, 3 miles South of the old Cobb place. 8 miles from West Plains. It was a two Room House with a cellar. Mom & Dad raised 5 kids there. When I was 13 years old we moved 10 miles West of West Plains in a bigger House."

After attending the Bolivar Baptist College for a year, Velma married Wayman L Womack on 9 September 1939. They moved to Kansas City where Wayman found work at the Bomber plant before he joined the Army. Velma's dad, Kay, also moved up to Kansas City and took a job at the Bomber plant while her mom stayed in West Plains until the house was sold. Wayman's military service took the young couple to northern California where they welcomed their first child, a daughter they named Carolyn, in 1944. After his service, they settled back into life in Missouri where three sons, Larry, Steve and Gary, completed the family. For many years Velma worked at Katz and Skaggs Drug Store, or simply "the dime store" as we called it.

The Cobb kids in July of 1957.
Back: Bobby, LeRoy, and J.D.
Front: Vera and Velma.

When I was a child in the 1970s, I remember Velma and Wayman's house in North Kansas City. They lived next door to Velma's mom, Hattie. They later moved to a home on Lake Waukomis where visitors could fish or go boating on the lake. Family gatherings were important to my Aunt Velma and I fondly remember lots of special times with cousins there. Wayman died in 1980 and Velma married Harry Round in 1988. They enjoyed more than twenty-five years together before Velma passed away in 2013.

Aunt Velma loved reminiscing about the past as she looked at old photographs and our Cobb family reunions were something she truly enjoyed. Since the late 1990s, we've been getting together every few years for a long weekend. Even though she was one of the eldest family members there, she would never relax and let the younger ones do the work preparing the food and setting it out. She insisted on helping. We all learned to just give her something to do because she wasn't going to stop asking how she could help. We always spend a reunion afternoon playing BINGO and that's when we miss Velma the most. She really enjoyed BINGO - especially when she was winning!

Velma never lost her thick Ozarks accent or the odd phrases she had learned as a child. I can still hear her voice as I read her words in the old letters she wrote to me to share some of her stories:

"One of the most scary things I can remember is we had a Tornado when we lived in the 2 Room house at West Plains. It blowed our Chicken House away, Blowed our orchard up by the roots, Tree on the House, Blowed window lights out, We got under the Bed. None of us got hurt. J.D. was 11 yrs old he was praying. When I was growing up My Mother would buy enough flour with the same pattern & make me a dress, Table Cloths & sheets & curtains. My Brother & I used to take a basket of eggs, walk to the Country Store & exchange them for things we needed. We used to walk Three miles to Church & Three miles back. My dad never owned a car. He had 2 mules & wagon. It took them all day to go to town & buy Groceries. We had kerosene lamps. I used orange crates to nail on the wall to put dishes in. We made curtains out of flour sacks."

Cordelia Francis (Hammond) Nicholas Dye (1877-1970)

Cordelia Francis Hammond was my 2nd great-grandmother. She died when I was 4 years old and I have no memory of her. I asked my great aunt Velma, Cordelia's granddaughter, to tell me about her grandma. Aunt Velma wrote the following and mailed it to me several years ago:

Cordia was daughter of Thomas & Martha Hawkins Hammonds. Cordelia Francis Hammond (nicknamed Cordia) was born March 5, 1877 - passed away June 7, 1970 she was 93 years old, plus three months & two days. She was married at Pouhatan, Arkansas to David Lincoln Nicholas. She later married Joseph Dye at West Plains, Mo. She was born in Howell County, Mo. Cordia & Joseph Dye lived at Koshkonong, Mo. 18 miles east of West Plains, Mo. on 63 Highway, she lived with my mother in Kansas City her last few years until she got where she couldn't take care of her. She died in a nursing home in Independence, Mo. a suburb of Kansas City, Mo. Cordia had one brother Willie Hammonds lived at Sturkie, Arkansas, one sister Gracie Lemmons of Phoenix, Arizona. 10 grandchildren, four step-grand kids, 28 great grandchildren, & 16  great great grandchildren.

Cordia and Joseph are buried in Koshknong, Mo. Cemetery. We go Decorate their graves every year. Cordia was a nurse during the war, she put a string of asfidity around her neck & never did get a disease. They lived close to Railroad Tracks in Koshkonong. I used to visit when I was a child, I would run hide every time a train came by. When she lived at my mothers she had to have peaches for supper every night. Grandpa Dye had a Service Station in Koshkonong. He was married before, then his wife died. Her picture is hanging in Bobs front room. Joseph Dye died in 1956. I don't know much about Grandpa Dye but he was a great man. We loved him.

Cordia Hammonds & Dave Nicholas got married but I don't know when. They had 4 daughters Belle, Hattie & Beulah. They had a small daughter to die, I didn't know her name.

Researching Cordelia, I found that most of what Velma wrote was accurate. I enjoyed the little extras, like the peaches for supper. Cordia was living with her daughter Hattie Cobb, who happened to grow and can the best peaches ever, so no wonder she wanted them each evening. 

My favorite photo of Cordia. It's an undated postcard print.

The first evidence I can find of Cordia is in the 1880 census. She was listed with her family in South Fork Township, Howell County, Missouri. The birthdates and birthplaces of the children tell us that the family came to Howell County between 1875 (a daughter's birth in Arkansas) and 1877 (Cordia's birth in Missouri).

The 1890 census records were destroyed in a fire, so that year isn't available to use for documenting the family.  I do know that Thomas and Martha had additional children after 1880. Siblings Willie and Grace were listed in Cordia's obituary and I found records for children born as late as 1897.

I found Cordia's marriage record in 1893 to David Lincoln Nicholas. It's difficult to read, but interesting to note they were under the age of eighteen and their fathers both had to consent to the marriage. They are listed as living in Moody, Howell County, Missouri.

Ancestry.com, Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002, Image 259/280, accessed 14 Sep 2017.

I haven't been able to locate Cordia and David in the 1900 census. I need to take some time and look through the images page by page because it's possible the name was hard to read and they were indexed incorrectly. I found them in 1910 on the census records living next door to Cordia's oldest brother John and his family in Washington, Fulton, Arkansas. It was here that their daughters were born. 

• Nora Belle Nicholas was born on April 3, 1897 (married David Ward)
• Hattie Eugene Nicholas was born on June 3, 1899
• Beulah M. Nicholas was born on October 9, 1901 (married Walter Wallace)
• and that infant daughter Aunt Velma mentioned was born and died before 1910. She is sort of listed on this census. It asks how many children the mother has had (4) and how many are living (3).

The family was still in Washington, Fulton, Arkansas in 1920, though Hattie was the only child still at home. The two older daughters had married and started their own families. Daughter Beulah and her husband were living right next door. Hattie followed suit soon after, when she married Henry Clay "Kay" Cobb in 1921. Aunt Velma mentioned in her notes that Cordia was a nurse during the war. Because of her age, I assume World War I, though I really don't know. If that's the case, she may have been out of the house for some of the time right before this census. I had never heard of "asfidity" so I had to look it up. I found this blog post that explains the folk remedy. Apparently people believed that wearing certain herbs would ward off the flu, polio, and other illnesses. The herbs were kept in a bag that was either pinned inside the clothes or worn on a string around the neck. So now we all know.

Sometime between 1920 and 1923, Cordia and David Nicholas were divorced. No one alive seems to know why. In 1923, Cordia married Joseph Dye, a widow seventeen years her senior. His first wife had died young and he had her portrait made for $300, so the story goes. Cordia wouldn't allow it to hang in their home, so he hung it in his office. Like my aunt Velma mentioned, the portrait now hangs in the living room at Bobby Cobb's home in central Missouri. I photographed it when I was there to visit in July. It has a big elaborate frame that I sadly didn't capture in my picture. $300 back then, in rural Missouri, was a bunch of cash to spend on a wall portrait. It's really spectacular. Uncle Bob said his Grandpa Dye wanted to be sure that the portrait was always taken care of and hung where it could be seen. Uncle Bob promised he would see to it. Even though she was not a blood relation, it's a sweet love story and a promise is a promise.

Portrait of  Sarah Rainwater Dye, 1st wife of Joseph Dye, as it hangs in the home of Bobby Cobb.

While at my Uncle Bob's this summer, he also brought out an envelope with a handwritten note documenting the marriage of Cordia and Joseph along with their marriage certificate. I just had my phone, which was almost dead, so I quickly snapped a photo of the note before it died completely (see below). Cordia and Joe lived in Koshkonong, Missouri, a little town along the highway. Velma said Joe owned a service station. Uncle Bob remembers that he had a business of some kind and that's where Sarah's portrait was kept. In 1930, on the census, they were recorded living on Luyster Street and he was a "buyer" of "ties". Railroad ties? I looked at a map and Luyster is a long street that intersects with Hwy 63. The railroad runs closest to the street on the highway end of Luyster. Aunt Velma remembers the scary trains, so their farm must of been in that area.

"J. F. Dye and Corda F. Hammond was married April 25 (27 is written below 25) 1923"
Handwritten note possessed by Bobby Cobb, unknown by whom written.

Cordia was widowed in 1944 when her husband Joseph Dye passed. She lived until 1970 and from what I understand was quite eccentric. My mom and her sister both recall going to visit at their great-grandma Cordia's home, but they weren't permitted in the house. They would wait on the front steps where they were allowed to eat grapes from the vines that grew there. Another vivid memory was the view inside her home from the front door. In her later years, Cordia became what we know now as a "hoarder". She didn't throw things away and from her front door all one could see was a narrow path down a hall. Things, papers and magazines and who knows what, were stacked along both walls. When my mom told me the story, she said it was a good thing that house never caught fire.

Later, when she was unable to care for herself, Cordia went to live with her daughter Hattie. Cordia was a quiet woman. In fact, my aunt doesn't remember ever hearing her great-grandmother speak. Sadly, she was just kind of in the background. Peaches, however, was something my aunt did remember. She thinks Cordia had a bowl of Hattie's peaches at every meal!

5 generations - Cordia Dye, Hattie Cobb, LeRoy Cobb, Louise Cavanaugh & Shannon Cavanaugh (me).
Taken in Kansas City at Hattie's home in 1967. 

Cordia died in 1970 in Independence, Missouri. I think Aunt Velma may have copied some of the information she sent me from this funeral card as it matches up with her note (above), even the error in death year for Joseph Dye.

Obituary from the back of Cordia's funeral card.

Cordia Dye's funeral card .

Pallbearers at Cordia's funeral were grandsons J. D. Cobb, Bobby Cobb and Roy Cobb (Hattie's sons), Wayman Womack (husband of Hattie's daughter Velma), Jewell Ward (Belle's son), Gary Proffitt (husband of Belle's daughter Virginia), and T. J. Waters (husband of Beulah's daughter Imogene).

The grave of Cordia, not Pauline, and Joseph Dye in Koshkonong Cemetery, Koshkonong, MO.
Photo taken July 2017.

I know this is the grave of Cordia and Joseph Dye. The dates are her birth and death date. Joseph's dates are correct. It's the grave Aunt Velma decorated every year in Koshkonong. I haven't figured out for sure where the name Pauline comes from. I have an idea, though. I scribbled the name Cordia...

Cordia, scribbled, could maybe be mistaken for Pauline...

...and I think I can see how maybe if the name was sloppily written it might have been mistaken for Pauline by the cemetery. I don't have a copy of Cordia's death certificate. It won't be available online until 2020 as Missouri makes digital copies available 50 years after death, so we can look at it then and see if my theory pans out!

Hattie Eugene (Nicholas) Cobb (1899-1977)

My mother’s paternal grandmother was Hattie Eugene (Nicholas) Cobb. I was a pre-teen girl when she passed away and remember many fun times spent at her home in Kansas City, Missouri in the 1970s.

Hattie Cobb in the early 1970s.
Photo from my personal collection.

Hattie was born on 3 June 1899 in Missouri. Her oldest daughter told me once that her birthplace was Marquad, Madison County, Missouri, according to an entry in a family bible. Her parents were David Lincoln Nicholas (1874-1961) and Cordelia “Cordia” Francis Hammond (1877-1970). Hattie was one of four daughters born to the couple, though one died as an infant. Her sister, Nora Belle (called Belle), was born in 1897 and younger sister Beulah came in 1903. Both of those sisters were born in Arkansas.

In the 1910 census, Hattie is living with her family in Washington, Fulton County, Arkansas. In the home next door was her mother’s brother John Hammond and his family, with several cousins near Hattie’s age. The Nicholas and Hammond children, along with a few other neighbors, attended a small school together. I believe the following photo was taken between 1912 and 1915; Hattie is holding the sign that reads “Grammar School”. I think Beulah is to her right and Belle to her left, but I’m not certain.

 "Grammar School" probably taken in Washington, Fulton, Arkansas about 1912-15. Hattie is the girl holding the sign. Photo from my personal collection.

In 1920, the family is still in the same home, but sister Beulah and her husband, Walter Wallace, were living in the neighboring home. Soon Hattie would also marry, walking down the aisle with Henry Clay “Kay” Cobb on 5 February 1921. By December of that first year of marriage, the Cobbs were in West Plains, Howell County, Missouri, welcoming daughter Velma Love. Son John David arrived in 1923, Leroy in 1927, Bobby Clay in 1929, and the baby Vera in 1933. They lived about 5 miles south of West Plains on the old Cobb farm that Kay’s parents owned before them.

Several years ago, Velma wrote out some of her early memories for me in a letter. This is an excerpt about her childhood, “One of the most scary things I can remember is we had a Tornado when we lived in the 2 room house at West Plains. It blowed our chicken house away, blowed our orchard up by roots, tree on the house, blowed window lights out, we got under the bed. None of us got hurt. J.D. was 11 years old he was praying. When I was growing up my mother would buy enough flour with the same pattern & make me a dress, tablecloths & sheets & curtains. My brother and I used to take a basket of eggs, walk to the country store & exchange them for things we needed. We used to walk three miles to church & three miles back. My dad never owned a car. He had 2 mules and a wagon. It took them all day to go to town and buy groceries. We had kerosene lamps. I used orange crates to nail on the wall to put dishes in. We made curtains [for the crates] out of flour sacks.”

Hattie’s parent's marriage ended in divorce. Her mother remarried by 1923. Cordia’s new husband, Joseph Dye, was a widow. The children all adored him as a grandfather. The Dyes had a home in Koshkonong (18 miles East of West Plains) near the railroad tracks. Hattie’s father remarried in 1932. David and his wife Gainie lived in Fulton County, Arkansas.

Left to right; Hattie, her daughter Vera, son J.D., son Bobby, son Leroy and unknown boy. Photo taken about 1939, from my personal collection.

The 1930 census lists the family in Howell, Howell, Missouri on West Plains and Lanton Road. This would be the old Cobb Farm. They moved in about 1934 to the Spring Creek community, also in Howell County, into a larger home to accommodate the family. Kay was still farming.  Soon after daughter Velma married Wayman Womack in 1939, she and her husband moved to Kansas City where he was employed at the Bomber plant before he joined the Army. Kay came to Kansas City to work at the plant, too, while Hattie stayed back until she sold the farm and then moved up with the younger kids. Hattie’s two oldest sons, J.D. and LeRoy, were both in the service during WWII along with her son-in-law Wayman. I’m sure there was a lot of worry on her mind until all three were home safe. After the war, when Kay’s job at the plant ended, he worked as a plumber before retiring. Hattie worked for a time in a Made-Rite sandwich shop. The couple also had a small farm on the property and sold some produce for extra income. The grandkids were sometimes recruited to peddle the fruit and vegetables. My mother hated doing it, but enjoyed the time in the summer with her cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Cobb’s house.

Hattie holding her granddaughter Louise in 1947.
Photo from my personal collection.

Kay died at home in 1968. Hattie remained there until she died in 1977. They are buried in Howell Memorial Park Cemetery near West Plains, Missouri.

Five Generations. Unknown what paper this was in. I'm the child on my mother's lap.
From my personal collection.

Every summer when I was a little girl I remember picnics at Great Grandma Cobb’s house. Big quilts laid out on the ground with watermelons holding them in place, picnic tables, searing hot metal lawn chairs, and cousins having a lot of fun. There were peach trees and tomato plants that we could pick from and eat if we wanted to. Often the women would be in the tiny kitchen canning peaches, a family favorite. Great Grandma Cobb always wore an apron when she was cooking and she made some fantastic food in that little kitchen. When I entertain, it's her example that I follow. Nothing fancy, just bring as much family together as you can, as often as you can, and the good times just naturally happen.

Setting up for a picnic in the early 1970s at Hattie's house in Kansas City, Missouri.
Photo from my personal collection.