William Walker Nelson and Kissiah Sanosah Grant

Kissiah was just 17 when she married William Nelson, who was 31 years old. She was born September 10, 1839 and grew up on the family farm in Daviess County Missouri, about 50 miles north of Ray County. Her father William Grant, like the Nelson family, was from Smith County in East Tennessee and married Louvenia McFarland on August 20, 1838 in Daviess County. Kissiah had a younger brother George, and a sister Rachel who married Richard Byrd. My mother was convinced that she was related to the famous artic explorer Richard Byrd, but he was born into a well known Virginia family in 1888 and was not connected to our family.

Kissiah is a most unusual name and has variations for various reports and documents. Census reports spelled it “Kezziah” and “Keziah.”

A year after they were married their first son was born in 1857, and named him John W. after William Nelson’s father. They would have 10 more children in the first 26 years of their marriage: George Clabourn in 1859, Sterling Price in 1861, Leonidas in 1864, Cora Alie in 1866, Early A. in 1869, Lavina Belle in 1871, Franklin Yates [our connection] in 1874, Lelia Myrtle in 1876, Clarence D. in 1879, and Laura Daphne, known as “Dap,” in 1882.

William and Kissiah’s children married into local families and nearly all lived within a 30-mile radius of the Ray County home. Most of the families are buried with their parents in the Hickory Grove Cemetery, 8 miles from Richmond, Missouri, on a hill surrounded by hickory nut trees.

Richmond is the largest town in Ray County but my Mother’s families lived closer to the farming community of Hardin, a town that is typical of those in central Missouri. It is located in the rich bottomlands created by the Missouri River. To the north, where Mother’s families lived, are rolling hills with fertile farmland and tiny communities with a general store, school, and a church. Hardin’s population numbered in the hundreds when it was established and never grew larger; even with the advent of the railroad and highway that ran through the town. [Photo below: Kissiah in 1910.]

William Nelson died March 10, 1904 when he was 78 years old. When Kissiah died September 2, 1922, the Hardin paper said of her in the obituary: “We do not know of a woman who was esteemed more highly, nor do we know of one more deserving of esteem. There is not a woman in Ray County who will be more sorely missed.” She was almost 83 years old when she died.

In 1912, lightning killed George Nelson, William and Kissiah’s second oldest son. During a rain storm George and his daughter and his brother had retreated to his barn to watch the storm from the doorway. He was hit by a bolt of lightning that killed him, but his daughter and his brother did not feel even a shock. George was 53 when he died.

The four Nelson brothers made news in a 1923 Hardin Journal newspaper. The headline reads “Overturned in Creek.” It reports of a near fatal accident that occurred on a Saturday night when the Ford touring car driven by Price Nelson overturned at the Bohannan Bridge north of Hardin. In the car were Price, Frank, Clarence and John Nelson. They were returning from Jamestown, Mo where they had been attending the funeral of their mother’s brother, George Grant.

The paper reports: “Price Nelson had complained several times that his eyes were tired and when he started to make the turn at the approach of the bridge, he turned too late and the car rolled down the embankment and came to a stop upside down in the water. The occupants of the back seat succeeded in releasing themselves and then assisted their brothers to escape. They went to the bridge then and after several attempts succeeded in stopping a passing motorist who brought them to Richmond where they were warmed.” No one was hurt except for some bruises in the chest for Price.

Sterling Price Nelson was named after the great Missouri Confederate War General and former Governor of Missouri. Sometime in his younger years he had an accident while riding on a wagon and lost most of one of his ears. When we visited him, Mother would ask us not to stare at the small folds of flesh that remained. With that reminder we found his “ear” even more interesting, but Uncle Price was very patient with us. We remembered that he played the fiddle. He had an oval frame in the living room that had a piece of an American flag. Price, who was born the year the Civil War started, said the flag flew over Fort Sumner during the War. Jack remembers it to be about 8" long and was charred.

Our connection with the Nelson family is Franklin Yates. His given name could have come from a favorite physician in Ray County who was one of the founders and known for his wealth and civic service. Franklin was a very handsome man and he chose as his wife, a woman of beauty and elegance. He was 24 and Laura Hughes Boggess was 22 years old when they married on December 21, 189

The Boggess Families

Laura Hughes Boggess grew up in Hardin and most likely was well acquainted with Franklin and members of the Nelson family. The Boggess family was well known in the community because it had been in Ray County for almost 70 years.

The Boggess family traces their family history back to the Eighteenth Century but there are problems with some of the dates. It is best to start with Joseph, born about 1750 in Fairfax, VA, what is now part of Washington DC. He and his wife Jemima Taylor had eight children, the second, Vincent [our line] was born in 1776 in Culpeper County, VA. In 1800 he married Frances and in 1805 they migrated to the north central part of Kentucky where they had 10 children. The area, west of Lexington, was first part of Franklin County and a few years later became Anderson County.

Their third child, Argyle Taylor [our line], was born in 1810. The family lived in Anderson County until 1837. Vincent’s oldest son, Henry and his wife Lucinda Wall and 5 children migrated to Ray County, Missouri in 1830 and a few years later bought a farm. Back in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, Argyle Taylor married Eva Catherine Biles, daughter of Joseph B. Biles, also of Anderson County on October 30, 1834. The family heard from Argyle’s brother, Henry, about their experience in Missouri with an invitation to join them. Argyle agreed and in 1837 packed his wife Eva, their two year old son Henry C., Eva’s father and sister, and members of the Frazier family.

The Boggess family has this story about the early members of the family: In the early spring of 1837 the Boggess and Frazier families left Lawrenceburg Kentucky on covered wagons drawn by teams of oxen. When they reached St. Charles they took a boat up the Missouri River until they reached Arrow Rock and continued from there on wagons. By the fall of that year they arrived at the Oak Grove community near the Buffalo Settlement in Crooked River, Ray County, Missouri. Among their possessions was $1,100 in bills sewn in a sack of wool.

Earlier that year a large group of Mormons had migrated to Ray County from Caldwell County. After the Mormons attempted to settle in the area they were engaged in a skirmish with a company of Ray County militia on the Crooked River. The Mormons were routed from their positions and forced to leave Ray County. Before they left, Argyle Boggess purchased 400 acres of rich farmland from two of the Mormons.

Once settled in Missouri, Argyle and Eva continued having children. On April 20, 1852 their son and connection with our family, Warfield Walker, was born. In all, they would have six children. There is little information on the Boggess family other than Argyle was a farmer in the Oak Grove community north of Hardin. Argyle Boggess died February 8, 1870 at 60 years old. Eva would move in with Argyle and live their until her death in 1881 at age 71.

On November 27, 1873 Warfield married Mary Elizabeth Reynolds, who grew up on a nearby farm. Mary’s parents were John P. Reynolds and Anna Marie Hughes. The Reynolds family is a real mystery with very little information on their history. The opposite is true for the Hughes family, a wealthy, well educated family who made important contributions to the community. [Photo on right shows Warfield about 20 years old.]

Next page: The Hughes Family