Military Monday - "The Fighting 20th," the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry

Recently I was putting together a post on my 2nd Great-Grandmother, Cora Ozias. In gathering facts I re-read the obituary for her mother, Christine (Potterf) Ozias.

From The Seneca Tribune dated Thursday, January 26, 1899.

The obituary mentions that two of her sons, Joseph and Ernest, are members of the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry and were currently serving in Manila. Now here is a new military avenue for me to research. I am not familiar with the late 19th century military actions, other than I know that A Message to Garcia was written around this time.

The 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service on May 16, 1898. Joseph W. Ozias and Ernest Ozias, brothers to my 2nd great-grandmother Cora Ozias Kuhn, were assigned to Company H.

A list of the Soldiers in Company H, 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, as printed May 17, 1898 in the Kansas Weekly Capital in Topeka, Kansas 

The Spanish-American War was spurned by America's desire to protect it's western shipping lanes and a long-standing disdain for the treatment displayed by Spain towards its territories. The war was declared in April 1898 and ended four months later. Many historians claim that it was this war that officially made America a global power. America gained the Phillipines, Guam and Puerto Rico as territories from Spain and also annexed Hawaii as a result of war.

 

The 20th was made of volunteers from the state of Kansas. The Fighting 20th, History and Official Souvenir states that the 20th was the first regiment mustered in to service from Kansas where not a single man signed with "his mark." Mustered in May 1898, the unit was sent to San Francisco for training and was there for five months in preparation to head to the Phillipines. Pay close attention to the dates and you will note that the 20th did not participate in the Spanish-American war because by the time they arrived in the Phillipines the war was "officially" over. Following the war, Spain was forced to cede the Phillippines to the United States. This disappointed many Fillipinos and they clashed with American forces for the next three years. Therefore, the eight months the Fighting Twentieth spent in battle were part of the Phillipine Insurrection or the Phillipine-American war.

"Philippine Islands: A regiment of sure shots - the fighting 20th Kansas repelling an attack," call Number: LOT 11522-1, Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Both of the Ozias brothers participated in the regiment's training in San Francisco and both went to the Phillipines. Records show that Ernest Ozias was discharged in Manila and for some unknown reason stayed there.

Following his service, Joseph Ozias stayed active in the Fighting 20th veteran's group serving in various leadership positions. Ernest Ozias was admitted to the Veteran's home in Leavenworth, Kansas, based on his service. Both men also have veteran's headstones.

Joseph Ozias' headstone in Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas. His date of death is unknown.

Ernest Ozias' headstone in Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas

For more information on the Fighting 20th or the Spanish-American war visit the following links:

 

The World of 1898 - The Spanish-American War, a Library of Congress presentation

The Spanish American War, 1898, U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian

Crucible of Empire, The Spanish American War, a collection of information by PBS

The Fighting Twentieth, Kansas GenWeb

From Cradle to Grave - Cora Bell Ozias Kuhn, Part II

Read From Cradle to Grave - Cora Bell Ozias Kuhn, Part I here.

Cora Bell Ozias Kuhn was my second great-grandmother on my paternal side. When we left off from her story it was 1894 and she was recently married to her second husband, James H. Martin. Cora picked up her sons and moved them with her new family to Nebraska for five years. By 1900 the family has moved again to Baldwin City, Kansas.

Martin and Kuhn family 1900 census

The family lives here for the next twenty years. By 1910 all three sons have moved out and Mabel, her step-daughter, is the only child left at home.

Martin Family on 1910 census

This photo was part of a collection of Kuhn family photos I borrowed from a cousin. The only note on the photo is its location. Based on the vehicle, I have to wonder if this is the home of Cora and James Martin.

In 1920, the family is in the same location, but now there is a new child listed: Claude E. Gates. I have found no information regarding this individual, but I assume that he was adopted or that Cora and James were just providing a home for him.

Martin family on 1920 census

Sometime between 1920 and 1925 things went a little off for Cora. In the 1925 Kansas census she is found in Holton, Johnson County, Kansas, but with a new husband: Lemuel B. Wolverton. With them lives a ward, William Felt.

Wolverton family on 1930 census

I have found no information regarding this third marriage for Cora. I do know that James Martin was still alive, so she was not widowed. Another case of irreconcilable differences I assume. And this is where the records for Cora stop. I can not find her or Lemuel Wolverton on the 1940 census. She died February 1, 1953 at the home of her son, F. E. Kuhn, in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. According to her death certificate she had lived in Pleasant Hill for 10 years so she must have moved there sometime around 1943.

Cora is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Pleasant Hill, Missouri

 

Cora went through some trying times in her life. She moved countless times across four different states, dealt with the deaths of many loved ones and reared at least six children. There are no known photos of Cora, which I find odd since she lived into the 1950s. I won't give up hope that there is one somewhere. One thing I noticed about Cora is that throughout her life she used the initial "K." Regardless of who she was married to she maintained her attachment to her first husband, Frank Kuhn. It's possible that she did this for her children, but I like to think that she was maintaining a tie to her first love.

 

Missing items:

 

- Cora on the 1940 census.

- A photo of Cora (I'll reach out to cousins for this one).

Tombstone Tuesday - Frank E. Kuhn

Photo taken by FindAGrave.com volunteer Luella Hinrichsen

Frank E. Kuhn's life was rather short, but eventful. He was born in 1861, married to Cora Bell Ozias in 1882, had two sons (Maurice Elmer and Frank Earl) and then died in 1887 of typhoid fever. Below is an article from the Centralia Journal, describing Frank's eventful final end.

Centralia Journal (Centralia, Kan.) October 21, 1887