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Historical records matching Bolivar Walker Harlow
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About Bolivar Walker Harlow
The following overview was written by Leona Grace (Rickard) Lancelot, Bolivar's great-granddaughter. For a remembrance written by son J. J. Harlow, see here; for a newspaper obituary, see here.
Bolivar Walker Harlow, son of Joshua and Betsy (Walker) Harlow, was born in Jackson County, Indiana, March 9, 1826, where he grew to adulthood. In 1850, he joined a caravan of gold seekers and went to California. He accumulated a nice fortune and returned home.
In 1852 he married Lydia Adeline Kelly at Lancaster, Indiana. Bolivar and Lydia had 12 children. In order of their births there was John Joshua 1853, Moses 1854 (drowned at 18 months), Lucy 1857, Agnes 1860 (died at 5 years, cause unknown), William 1862, Charles 1864, Kate 1867, Lora 1869, Ella 1871, Grace 1874, Susan 1876, and Edith 1878. Three years after their marriage, Bolivar and Lydia moved to Adams County, Iowa. They farmed and owned a general store and hardware store. John J., their son, started a publication, The Adams County Gazette.
In the summer of 1885, Bolivar sent his three sons, John, William and Charles to Spivey (Kansas) to investigate the availability of farm land. Spivey was a new town at the end of the Santa Fe Railroad spur line 60 miles southwest of Wichita, Kansas. They found that each person could preempt 160 acres from the government (a type of homesteading). They staked out four 160 acre claims, one for each man, plus one for their sister, Lucy. Thus, they had a full section of land west of Spivey. They built a large one room sod house on Lucy’s farm near the center of the section where the four farms joined. Bolivar and his three daughters, Lucy, Kate and Lora joined the family in August. All seven lived in the one room sod house. Later a lean-to was built as well as a sod house on John’s land so his wife and family could join him. Later, Lydia brought the three remaining daughters, Ella, Grace and Susan. All lived in the sod house. Grace was my grandmother. A few years later, Bolivar had a large two story house built in Spivey. The family moved to town and opened a general merchandise store.
Great-grandfather Harlow was a very religious man. He worked so hard at establishing a church that the local saloon had troubles. As the church crowd grew, the saloon crowd became smaller. The owner put it up for sale. There were no buyers. Bolivar and a few friends bought the building for $50.00 and used the wood to build a church. They built the first church in Spivey, it seated 100 people and served the community for the next 45 years.
About 1910, Bolivar and Lydia returned to Iowa where they lived out their lives. They gave the family home in Spivey to the Methodist church and it became the parsonage for the next 40 years.
The family scattered. Grace Harlow met Edward Alexander Rickard in Spivey. In 1893 they were married in a double ceremony with her sister, Ella and William Patterson at their parent’s home. Ed owned a livery stable, however, shortly after their marriage, he sold it. They bought a half section of land northwest os Spivey. Their children were Maurice Rickard (my father), Mildred Beatrice, Ronald Harlow, Geraldine Lydia, Chester Addison and Lyman Clayton. Two sons died in infancy. Grace took great pride in her family. The Rickards, with their two infant sons, are buried in the Fairview (Nichols) Cemetery.
After a couple of attempts at farming, John Joshua moved to Kingman. His love of writing was strong. In 1888 he took charge of the old Kingman Courier for E.B. Poole, who bought the paper from C.M. Bay. In 1890, The Courier was purchased by Mr. Albaugh of the Leader and the two papers combined. J.J. became an associate editor and reporter and remained until three weeks before his death. He and his wife, Sarah Ellen, had fourteen children. He left a wonderful heritage in writing to them and to us. His stories, articles and editorials were like art…painting a picture of the times. He had a flair for writing. His beautiful works leave us a record of that era. John Joshua Harlow died March 27, 1922 on his 69th birthday but his history of Kingman County lives on. He and the paper are our connecting link between the past and present. The present will soon be the past…oh, too soon.
Sources
- Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
- Year: 1910; Census Place: Carl, Adams, Iowa; Roll: T624_390; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1374403; Name: Bolivar Harlow.
- Ancestry.com. Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
- Name: Lydia A Kelly; Gender: Female; Event Type: Marriage Registration (Marriage); Marriage Date: 3 Mar 1852; Marriage Place: Indiana, United States; Spouse: Bolivar W Harlow; FHL Film Number: 001312982.
- Lancelot, Leona Grace Rickard. "The Bolivar Walker Harlow Family." < link > Retrieved from Ancestry.com, 8 December 2019.
- MyHeritage. Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959. < link > Accessed 8 December 2019.
- Marriage: Mar 7 1852 - Owen; Marriage license: Mar 3 1852; Registration: Owen, Indiana, United States; Husband: Bolivar W Harlow; Wife: Lydia A Kelly; Officiator's Name: John Long; Spouse's Gender: Female; GS Film number: 001312982; Digital Folder Number: 004170555; Image Number: 00068; Number of Images: 1.
- MyHeritage. Iowa, Deaths and Burials, 1850-1990. < link > Accessed 8 December 2019.
- Name: Bolivar W. Harlow; Gender: Male; Birth: Mar 9 1826 - Indiana; Marital status: Married; Death: Oct 31 1912 - Carl Twp, Carl, Adams, Iowa; Burial: Nov 3 1912 - Adams Co., Iowa; Occupation: Farmer; Father: Joc. Harlow; Birth: Unknown; Mother: Betsey Walker; Indexing Project (Batch) Number: B75106-9; System Origin: Iowa-EASy; GS Film number: 1035099; Reference ID: Rn 23.
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Bolivar Walker Harlow's Timeline
| 1826 |
March 9, 1826
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Brownstown, Jackson County, Indiana, United States
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| 1912 |
October 31, 1912
Age 86
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At home, Carl, Adams County, Iowa, United States
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November 3, 1912
Age 86
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Walnut Grove Cemetery, Corning, Adams County, Iowa, United States
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