Henry Benjamin Boggs

HENRY BENJAMIN BOGGS. A work devoted to the history of Cherokee County and the men to whom she owes her marvelous development, would be incomplete without mention of Henry Benjamin Boggs, a prominent farmer, living on the southwest quarter of section 7, township 33, range 23, in Salamanca township. Mr. Boggs came to the county March 20, 1875, from the State of North Carolina, where he was born September 11, 1851, in Alamance County.

The family of which Mr. Boggs is a worthy member, has been represented in North Carolina since the earliest colonial days. His parents were Allen and Caroline (Isley) Boggs, both of whom died when he was a child. In the family were one brother and two sisters, all of whom came to Cherokee County. They were as follows: Jerry A., a former merchant, but now a clerk for a coal company at Weir City: Cornelia Ann, who married Henry Isley, and died at Weir City in 1902; and Mary Jane, deceased in 1882, who was the wife of J. Pickering, also deceased.

Mr. Boggs remained in his native State until he was 23 years of age. He passed his boyhood on a farm, and was later apprenticed to the carpenter s trade. As before stated, he came to Cherokee County, in the spring of 1875, drawn by the possibilities here existing for the poor man. He located first in Sheridan township, but after two years, rented land in section 9 in Salamanca township, where he remained about five years, and then purchased from the railroad company the east half of the northeast quarter of section 8. This farm remained his home until 1895, when he sold it and purchased the piece of land on which he now resides. Mr. Boggs, since coming to the county, also resided for a period of two and a half years in Columbus, during which time he was engaged in carpenter work and bridge building. Indeed he has at various times made use of his knowledge of carpentry, since coming to his present location, having assisted in the construction of the Laflin-Rand powder mills. The different farms with which Mr. Boggs has had to do have all shown the marks of his industry and intelligent management, in their improved condition. He is looked upon as one of the best farmers in the county.

During his residence in Cherokee County, the subject of this sketch has always been alive to the interests of the different communities in which he has resided. His hand and his purse have been at the disposal of his neighbors, when it came to the building of school house or church, or any other improvement which had for its object the betterment of society. Not an office seeker, he has never yet shirked the duties of the minor and unsalaried offices in the township and school district. He was for 11 years a member of the School Board in District No. 74, and has for the past eight years been a member of the School Board of his home district, No. 101. He was also a member of the board of trustees of Salamanca township, having been clerk of the board for several years. In matters of business, Mr. Boggs is wide awake and up-to-date, hailing the advance of each new idea with a helping hand. He was actively interested in securing the advantages of a telephone system in his neighborhood, and was secretary of what was known as the Sherwin Junction Telephone Company. Mr. Boggs has been quite a traveler, having been across the continent to Portland, Oregon,—up to Vancouver Island, going via Seattle, Washington. and returning to Kansas by way of Spokane, Washington, and visiting other points of interest.

In political action, Mr. Boggs inclines to the Democratic party, although he demands clean men and sound principles; otherwise he reserves the right to vote independently. He is a firm believer in the fraternal principle, and has been a potent factor in building up the A. H. T. A., serving his local lodge as president. In Masonry, also, he has taken a deep interest, and at present is serving as master of Prudence Lodge, No. 100, of Columbus.

Mr. Boggs was married in 1877 in Cherokee County. Prior to that period, Mrs. Boggs was Barbara J. Isley. She is a native of North Carolina, from which State her parents moved, about 1867, to Kansas. They first located in Lyon County, but after a short period came to Cherokee. To Mrs. Boggs five children have been born, namely: John A., Dora, Elmer, Gertrude and Jerry S., of whom the three last named live at home. John A., the eldest son, who has passed his majority, has traveled extensivelv on the Pacific Coast, and was for a year in the employ of the Central Coal & Coke Company at Bonanza, Arkansas. Dora, the elder of the two daughters, is the wife of Edward Best; they reside at home with Mr. Boggs, together with their little daughter, Gertrude. Gertrude, the younger daughter, is a member of the class of 1905 in the County High School at Columbus.

The foregoing will serve to acquaint the reader with the standing of the subject of this sketch in Cherokee County. Both he and his family receive, as they merit, the highest esteem of all citizens of the county.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Carolyn Ward, instructor from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 5/5/97.