Kate Camp Fobes

MRS. KATE CAMP FOBES is a member of an old family of Logan County, and is one of the capable woman officials of the state, serving now in her second term as register of deeds.

Mrs. Fobes was born in Shelby County, Missouri, and she is a direct descendant in the paternal line of Lord Lacey of England. The Camp family from England went to Holland during the days of religious persecution, and from there came at the time of the Pilgrims to the bleak shores of New England. Her grandfather, Clark Camp, was a native of Pennsylvania, and was a pioneer circuit rider and minister of the Baptist Church, preaching over sparsely settled districts in the States of Illinois and Iowa. in which latter State he died. His wife was a Miss Stevens of Pennsylvania.

W. L. Camp, father of Mrs. Fobes, was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, in 1831. He was nine years old when his parents started for the West, going overland and also by boat until they reached Lee County, Illinois, where they settled and developed a tract of new land. Mr. Camp grew up in that county and, when a young man, moved to Tama City, Iowa, where he married and where he was an early merchant. Later, he wont to the frontier of Nebraska and homesteaded a claim, returned to his business in Shelby County, Missouri, was back in Nebraska for a time, and in 1885 identified himself with Logan County, Kansas, about the time the county was organized. His was the first family to locate on the townsite of Oakley and he was identified with various pioneer activities there. In 1898 he was elected clerk of the District Court of Logan County, and was in his third consecutive term in that office when he died at Russell Springs in October, 1903. He had also served as justice of the peace at Oakley for a number of years. He was a republican, for fifty years was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and was a past grand, and was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

W. L. Camp was an honored veteran of the Civil war. He served three years in Company C of the Tenth Iowa Infantry. He fought at Shiloh, Island No. 10, at the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg, and in many other engagements, and once he was taken prisoner. It illustrates the tremendous influence of fraternity when it is stated that his membership in the Odd Fellows Lodge obtained his exchange as a prisoner of war while all his comrades who were captured were sent to the notorious prison pen of Andersonville. Mr. Camp married Orizaba Rawson, who was born in Michigan in 1847 and died at Oakley, Kansas, in 1887. Mrs. Fobes is the youngest of four children. Alaska, the oldest, is now living in Kansas City, Missouri, the widow of S. A. Stream, who was in the real estate brokerage business at Oakley. Mr. and Mrs. Stream were the first couple married in Logan County. Inez Camp, who died in Iowa in 1904, married Delbert Athey. Mollie, who died at Olathe, Colorado, in 1908, was the wife of Z. Fitts, a county officer at Olathe.

Miss Kate Camp was reared and educated at Oakley, attending the high school there. In 1899 she became deputy clerk of the district court under her father, and at his death in 1903 she was appointed by Judge J. H. Reeder to fill out his unexpired term. The capable way in which she administered the office was no doubt the basis of the reputation which brought her to her present official position.

On January 4, 1904, at Russell Springs, Kate Camp became the wife of Frank A. Fobes. Mr. Fobes was born in Holt County, Missouri, and came to Kansas with his parents in the spring of 1886. He grew up on a farm in Logan County, for six years was a merchant at Winona, and after his marriage lived on a farm for two years at Ava, Missouri. He then moved to Kansas City, Kansas, and while in the employ of the Kansas City Street Car Company died December 21, 1913.

After the death of her husband Mrs. Fobes returned to Russell Springs and in 1916 was elected register of deeds. She took office in January, 1917, and in the campaign of 1918 had no opposition for the office. She is a member of the board of stewards in the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a member of Winona Lodge of the Rebekahs. Mrs. Fobes has two children, David Camp, born November 25, 1904, and Esper, born November 18, 1906.

Pages 2129-2130.