The 1850 Indiana Federal census for Washington Township in the County of Morgan, taken on August 26, 1850 shows Robert Boles age 19 (born about 1831 in Indiana) and Polly A. Boles age 17 (born about 1833 in Indiana; note: Polly is a nickname for Mary) residing with the family of Preston and Mariah Doty (listed as family number 366). Preston Doty was the second husband of Mariah Lee Boles; Mariah Lee married John Boles on January 1, 1824 in Lawrence County, Indiana and after the death of John Boles, she married Preston Doty on January 1, 1841 in Morgan County, Indiana. Robert J. Boles was the son of John and Mariah Lee Boles.
The 1856 Iowa state census for Monroe, Madison County, shows Robert Bowls age 25 (born in Indiana), Mary Ann Bowls age 24 (born in Indiana), John A. Bowls age 3 (born Sept. 1852 in Indiana), James H. Bowls age 2 (born May 27, 1854 in Indiana) and Jeremiah Bowls age 0 (born May 25, 1856 in Iowa).
About 1859 (possibly earlier), the Robert Boles family moved from Monroe, Madison County, Iowa to Monmouth, Shawnee County, Kansas where the following children were born: Andrew Jackson Boles (born about 1859 in Kansas), William Howard Boles (born Oct 27, 1860 in Kansas) and Martha Emiline Boles (born Nov 13, 1863 in Kansas).
The following is from the autobiography of Robert Joseph Bowles (son of James "Harvey" Harvey Bowles, and grandson of James "Jim" Harvey Bowles) written in January 1996:
"My grandfather (James Harvey Bowles) always referred to as Jim was born somewhere in north western Missouri. When he was about 10 or 11 years old some riders came into the yard and called to his father (John). When my great-grandfather came to the door they shot him. How many riders or how many shots were fired I do not know, however those riders became known as John Brown's raiders."
The statement of Robert Joseph Bowles had a couple mistakes (as can sometimes happen when family history is passed on verbally and it is either incorrect or misunderstood). The father of James Harvey Bowles was Robert J. Boles, not John (John Boles was the father of Robert J. Boles; Robert J. Boles was the father of James Harvey Bowles); James Harvey Bowles was born in Indiana, however his brother Jeremiah was born in Iowa a short distance from the north western Missouri state line; it was not John Brown's raiders who killed Robert J. Boles. Robert J. Boles was killed in action during a Civil War battle on October 22, 1864.
Robert J. Boles served as a private in the Kansas State Militia, 2nd Regiment, Company I. The 2nd Kansas Militia Infantry was called into service on October 9, 1864. It was disbanded on October 29, 1864.
Robert J. Boles was killed in action on October 22, 1864 at the Battle of Byram's Ford, also known as the Battle of the Big Blue River, located in Jackson County, Missouri, in what is now known as Kansas City, Missouri.
He is buried in the Topeka Cemetery, Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas.
The 1865 Kansas state census for Monmouth, Shawnee County, Kansas, shows Mary A. Boles age 33, John A. Boles age 13, James H. Boles age 10, Jeremiah Boles age 8, Andrew J. Boles age 6, William H. Boles age 4 and Martha E. Boles age 2.
The 1865 Kansas state census for Big Springs, Douglas County, Kansas, shows the Jacob Yeager family, including son Joseph Yeager age 21 who was a soldier in company H of the 11th regiment, at home from the Civil War and soon to be mustered out of service. Joseph Yeager enlisted on Aug. 15, 1862, was mustered into service on Sept. 15, 1862 and was mustered out of service with the company on Sept. 13, 1865. The Yeager family was located very close to the family of Mary A. Boles, recent widow of Robert Boles.
Joseph Yeager and Mary Ann Boles (widow of Robert Boles) married sometime between 1865 and 1867.
The 1870 Kansas Federal census of Monmouth, Shawnee County, Kansas, shows James Harvey Bowles (son of Mary Ann Boles Yeager) residing as a laborer with the Samuel Elkins family.
The 1870 Kansas Federal census of Lecompton, Douglas County, Kansas, shows John Alexander Boles (son of Mary Ann Boles Yeager) residing with the Jacob Yeager family. Jacob Yeager was the father of Joseph Yeager who married Mary Ann Boles (widow of Robert Boles).
Joseph Yeager and his wife, Mary Ann Boles Yeager (widow of Robert Boles), had left Kansas before 1867 and resided in Indiana through 1871 (or later), where two of their children were born; Mary E. Yeager born in 1867 and Charles Yeager born in May 1871; and in Iowa during 1875 (or later) where their child George Alfred Yeager was born on Sept. 23, 1875.
Joseph Yeager and his wife, Mary Ann Boles Yeager (widow of Robert Boles), had returned to Kansas with their family by 1880.
The 1880 Kansas Federal census for Franklin Township in the County of Lincoln, shows that Joseph Yeager and Mary Ann Boles were married about 1867 (or earlier) with 4 of Mary's children living with them (John Bowles, James Bowles, Jeremiah Bowles and William H. Bowles; Andrew Jackson Boles had perished in a Kansas blizzard about 1870 and Martha Emiline Boles had married James M. Emmons and was living next to the Yeager family) and three children of their own: Mary E. Yeager age 13 who is listed as crippled, Charles Yeager age 10 and George Yeager age 4.
Note about the Boles/Bowls/Bowles family surname: the 1880 Kansas Federal census shows the last name of Mary Ann Boles' (Yeager) children (from her marriage to Robert Boles) to be Bowles. The 1865 Kansas state census shows the last name of Mary Ann Boles and her children to be Boles; the 1856 Iowa state census shows the last name of Robert Boles and his family to be Bowls; and the 1850 Indiana Federal census shows the last name of Robert Boles to be Boles. It seems that all the children of Robert and Mary Boles/Bowls/Bowles eventually chose the surname of Boles except for James Harvey Bowles. It is not known why James Harvey chose the surname of Bowles instead of Boles like the rest of his siblings. The Robert Boles family was listed in various census and other records as being of Irish ancestry.
Martha Emiline Boles (youngest daughter of Robert and Mary Ann Boles) married James M. Emmons on April 4, 1880 in Lincoln, Lincoln County, Kansas. Near Christmas time of 1880, James M. Emmons left in the middle of the night with a wagon full of supplies and disappeared. It is not known what happened to him; if he abandoned his pregnant wife or if he had met with foul play. Martha Emiline Boles Emmons had a son, Robert Harvey Emmons who was born March 12, 1881 in Lincoln County, Kansas.
Robert Harvey Emmons married Estella Ella Harding, raised a large family and eventually settled in Colorado.
Martha Emiline Boles Emmons married James Anderson Kurts about April 1881 in Lincoln County, Kansas. They raised a large family and eventually settled in Colorado.
Of the Robert Boles (born about 1831) family, after the death of her husband (Robert Boles) Mary Ann Boles married Joseph Yeager, continued raising a family and remained in Kansas; John Alexander Boles raised a family and eventually settled in Alberta, Canada; James Harvey Bowles raised a family and remained in Kansas; Jeremiah Boles married Margaret J. Showman (who had 2 daughters from her previous marriage) and remained in Kansas; Andrew Jackson Boles perished in a winter blizzard about 1870 in Kansas; William Howard Boles raised a family and eventually settled in Alberta, Canada; Martha Emiline Boles first married James M. Emmons, then married James Anderson Kurts, continued raising a family and eventually settled in Colorado.
For more information on the Boles/Bowls/Bowles family and related families, we suggest checking our
genealogy page where you can check for persons by last name and first name, see family charts and obtain various reports such as ahnentafel reports.
Also, be sure to check our Bowles family
photo album.