William Romulus Cobb (or Papa, as everyone always called him) was born May 31, 1858 in Kentucky. He married Mary Ashanna Messenger on September 20, 1883 at the Messenger Home, Doniphan County, Kansas. He died November 10, 1943 in Dodge City, Kansas and was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Greensburg. His parents were Samuel Cobb and Adelia Woodville Hanks Cobb. (An interesting side-line from the Family Group Record: W. R. Cobb always told his children that he was born in Hardin County, Kentucky. In notes written by Nannie Cobb Martin, W. R.�s sister, states that he was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky.) Obituary: W.R. Cobb.
Mary Ashanna (Messenger) Cobb (called Mama by family members) was born December 16, 1861 in Nevada, Missouri to Loring Ashley and Anna Gallagher Messenger. She died July 3, 1938 in Greensburg and is buried beside her husband in Greensburg.
Here are dates/information about their children:
Wilna Samuel Cobb was born June 24, 1884 in Doniphan, Kansas. He and
Maude Mae Ferrin were married on February 12, 1905 in theFerrin Home , Wilmore, Kansas. He then married Lena Sedelia Mahany on November 6, 1912 in Fruita, Colorado. (my information also notes the name "Ethel" under "other marriages", but there are no details of that marriage.) He died on November 20, 1962 in San Diego, California and was buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in San Diego on November 23, 1962.Mable Lorel Cobb was born March 6, 1886 on the Cobb Ranch, Kiowa County, Kansas and died February 5, 1887. She is also buried in Greensburg.
Walter Loring Cobb was born February 10, 1888 on the Cobb Ranch, Kiowa County, Kansas and died June 16, 1905, also at the Cobb Ranch. He is buried in Greensburg. (His obituary gives his middle name, apparently in error, as "Loren".)
Coila Maude Cobb was born October 10, 1889 on the Cobb Ranch. On March 8, 1910, she was married to William John Taves in Collegeport, Texas. She died on April 8, 1981 in Alamosa, Colorado and was buried in Alamosa Cemetery on April 13, 1981. Their son, Cpl. William Henry Taves, U.S. Army, was killed in Italy on July 12, 1945.
Edith Lily Cobb was born June 25, 1892 at the Cobb Ranch. She married Carlton Winthrop Northrup on February 7, 1910 in Greensburg and died on March 11, 1978. There is no location as to where she died, but I would suspect it was in Alamosa, where they had lived for years, and that is where she is buried.
Ethel Anna Cobb was born September 10, 1894 on the Cobb Ranch. She married Roy Harrison Smith on July 23, 1913 in Greensburg and died on December 14, 1974, also in Greensburg. She was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Greensburg on December 17, 1974 (and it snowed that day!)
Helen May Cobb was born October 9, 1899 on the Cobb Ranch. On May 18, 1919, she was married to Charles Belmont Ihloff on the Cobb Ranch. She died January 31, 1997 in Dodge City, Kansas and was buried on February 3, 1998 at Fairmount Cemetery, Jetmore, Kansas.
Grace Rowene Cobb was born July 20, 1901 on the Cobb Ranch. On November 25, 1920, she married Claude Paxton in Greensburg. She died December 27, 1969 in Greensburg, Kansas and was buried on December 30, 1969 in Rest Lawn Cemetery, El Paso Texas.
Verne William Cobb was born November 29, 1903 at the Cobb Ranch and married Myrtle D. Douglass on February 2, 1930. He died December 28, 1972 in Greensburg and was buried at Fairview Cemetery on December 30, 1972.
John Ray Cobb was born August 29, 1906 in Greensburg, Kansas. On July 26, 1928, he married Mollie Marie Bollinger in Greensburg. He died August 30, 1991 in Farmington, New Mexico and was buried in El Paso Cemetery, El Paso, Texas.
Thanks to Nancy Smith for contributing this history and these photos to this web site!Email from Nancy Smith to Jerry Ferrin, 30 June 2004:
"I had to send you this picture and let you know that we are related, almost! The picture is of the William Romulus and Mary Ashanna (Messenger) Cobb Family; Ethel is my dad's mother, which makes Wilna (who was married to your great-aunt, Maude Ferrin) my great-uncle! I've labeled it so you will know who is who! We don't know much about Wilna, as he moved to California early on - probably after his divorce from Maude.
We had a Cobb family reunion in Greensburg over Labor Day weekend, 2001. Two of Wilna�s grandsons, Roy Wendell and Malcom L. Cobb, made the trip from California,. Everyone was asked to write a short synopsis of how they were related to William and Mary. Later, we all received copies.
Malcom wrote the following:
Malcom L. Cobb is visiting Greensburg for the first time in 64 years as a descendent of W. R. and Mary Ashanna Cobb, early pioneers of Greensburg. Malcom�s grandfather, Wilna S. Cobb, was the first son of W. R. and Mary. Wilna left Greensburg to pursue the life of a cowboy. During that time, he met and married Lena Mahaney, who gave birth to three children, William, Ellen and Roy (Malcom�s father). Roy, his youngest son, was born on April 29, 1917 at the W. R. Cobb family home in Greensburg. As a boy, Roy lived in various locations and eventually settled in Calipatria, California with his brother William and their father, Wilna.Roy went on to marry his high school sweetheart, Naoma Hinsley in 1936. Malcom arrived in 1937. During that first year of Malcom�s life, his great-grandparents, W. R. and Mary Cobb, made their only trip from Greensburg to California to visit their son Wilna, grandsons Roy and William, and Malcom. One year later, Mary Ashanna died at her home in Greensburg.
Malcom has lived in California throughout his life. He married Shirley Rodick in 1958, and raised their two daughters, Catherine and Carrie Cobb. He remarried in 1985 to Suzette Murray Cobb. After retiring from California State Government service in 1999, he completed the Greensburg, KS heritage circle by returning to his roots at the Cobb Family Reunion on August 30, 2001."
Roy�s writing said:
"Born September 14, 1940, I was named Roy Wendell Cobb by my mother, Naoma Margaret Hinsley-Cobb and father, Roy Frederick Cobb. My father, born April 29, 1914, was the youngest child of grandparents Wilna Samuel Cobb and Lena Sedelia Mahany-Cobb. My grandfather, Wilna, was the first of eleven children, born June 24, 1884 from the union of William Romulus Cobb and Mary Ashanna Messenger-Cobb."
The Western Star, February 17, 1905. MARRIED: COBB-FERRIN
MARRIED - At the home of the bride's parents near Wilmore, Kans., on Sunday, February 12, 1905, by Rev. E. A. Powell of the U. B. church, Wilna S. Cobb and Miss Maude M. Ferrin.
The ceremony was performed at high noon in the presence of the immediate relatives and a number of the friends of the bride and groom. A few minutes before 12 o'clock, Mrs. W. D. Smith played a beautiful wedding march. The bridal couple stood under the enlarged portrait of the bride in the tastefully decorated parlor. The entire ceremony was very pretty and impressive. After congratulations had been extended, all partook of a bounteous dinner which had been prepared in a faultless manner. On Monday an elegant infair dinner was made in honor of the bride and groom at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Cobb, and the occasion was one of much enjoyment for all present.
The bride is the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Loren Ferrin of Powell-tp, who are among Comanche-co's most highly respected citizens. She possesses in large measure those qualities which contribute to beautiful womanhood, purity, modesty, refinement and a kind disposition. That she will continue to be true to the ideals she has already formed is the united belief and expectation of her many friends. The groom is the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Cobb, whose home is 12 miles north of Coldwater. He is one of Kiowa-co's worthy young men. Industrious and honorable and always devoted to the faithful performance of duty, he has won many friends in this county and in Kiowa-co., all of whom unite at this time in wishing him and his estimable bride many happy and prosperous days. Following is a list of the presents received.
Mr. and Mrs. Loren Ferrin, bedroom dresser. Ernest Ferrin, water pitcher. Nellie Ferrin, lace curtains. Mrs. Mary Wagner, bed spread. Mrs. Arthur Ferrin, bread raiser. Miss Cora Ferrin, vegetable dishes. Miss Hazel Ferrin, berry set. Fred Ferrin, vases. Earl Ferrin, table cloth. Miss Carrie Ferrin and Lew Baker, rug. Miss Mabel Zimmerman, napkins. Mrs. Emma Trummel, bureau scarf. Alva Trummel, cream pitcher and sugar bowl. Orda Trummel, rocking chair. Miss Grace Trummel, silver sugar shell. Miss Maggie Roberts, sliver butter knife. Geo. H. Sombart, set silver spoons. Lute Yullie, set silver teaspoons. Marshall Barlow, tea set. Miss Ethel Baker, pair towels. Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Cobb, dinner set. Walter Loren Cobb, parlor lamp. Miss Maude Cobb, pair towels. Marenus Hagaman, decorated water set. Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Smith, pictures. Miss Geraldine Thompson, ruby glass water set. Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Hagaman, framed marriage certificate. Miss India Fisher, sofa pillow. Dan Fisher, berry set. Mrs. Mulholland, pair linen towels. Louie Mulholland, initial silver teaspoons. Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Burkhall, set napkins. Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Hollaway, fruit dish. Mrs. C. B. Rose, sofa pillow.
From left: John, Wilna and Verne Cobb at the family farm in Kiowa County, Kansas.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Smith.
From left: Billie (Mrs. Walter) Smith with her daughters Linda, Ruth and Nancy. Photo taken 1969 in their home (originally built as the Loren & Alcana Ferrin home) in Wilmore, Kansas. Photo courtesy of Nancy Smith.
"This photo is of Wilna Cobb, my cousins Darold and Kenneth Davis, Thad (Wilna's grandson (although we don�t know who he belongs to!) and me. It was taken at my grandparents farmhouse located 10 miles south of Greensburg. I'd guess by looking that it was taken around 1952 or 1953, since I'm in a stroller! Darold and Kenneth are the two oldest sons of my dad�s sister, Marjorie, who married Dale Davis of Greensburg on May 6, 1994. Besides the two sons mentioned, they have one other son, Robert." -- Nancy Smith, 30 June 2004.
Related histories:
- William Romulus COBB
Surnames: Cobb, Ihloff, Messenger, Milldrum, Northrup, Paxton, Smith & Taves.
- Mary Ashanna (Messenger) COBB
Surnames: Cobb, Fleener, Ihloff, Messenger, Milldrum, Northrup, Paxton, Smith & Taves.
- Walter Loring "Tommy" COBB
Surnames: Cobb & Powell.
- William Romulus & Mary Ashanna (Messenger) COBB
Surnames: Bollinger, Cobb, Douglass, Ferrin, Gallagher, Hanks, Hinsley, Ihloff, Mahaney, Messenger, Murray, Northrup, Paxton, Rodick, Smith & Taves.
- Walter SMITH "Sermons in Song" record album.
Surnames: Brower, Burnett, Down, Evans, Miller, Pharris and Smith.
- Ethel Anna (Cobb) SMITH
Surnames: Cobb, Davis, Hayse, Ihloff, Northrup, Smith, Taves & Walz.
- Cpl. William Henry TAVES, U.S. Army.
Surnames: Behler, Cobb, Cooper, Moore, Northup, Paxton, Smith & Taves.
Offsite links:
Seeing the Inside of a Tornado Mr. William Cobb, resident of Greensburg and owner of a number of farms in Kiowa County, said that the tornado crossed one of his pastures of buffalo-grass sod and that it plowed a furrow a mile long, in places from 4 to 6 feet deep, and that the whole thing looked like "where there had been a grading for a railroad." The dirt was piled along the side of the furrow, just as if thrown there by hand or plow or dragged there by scrapers. It was reported that farmers used scrapers and horses to level up the ground where the tornado had disturbed it. (The tornado described was on June 22, 1928.)
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