Ole's Blog

Here is the obituary of my great-grandfather, as printed in the Onawa Sentinel, Aug. 16, 1917, and brought to light last month by Jody Boyd. Note the more usual, but unlikely, spelling of the first name; it is “Stephen” in every other source we know of.

Steven Bennett Myers was born at Sunbury, OH, July 22, 1848 and died Aug 10 1917 aged 69 years and 18 days.

He came to Iowa with his parents in 1854.

He was permitted when a boy of fifteen to accompany his father, who was a quartermaster in the federal army during the civil war and because the father was an officer, the son was allowed to wear a soldier’s uniform. He was wounded at the battle of Helena, Ark. and was left on the field for dead for a period of twenty-four hours. He belonged to Co. C 33d infantry.

He came to Onawa in August 1874 and was married Sept 15, 1875 to Miss Helen Colby, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Harry E. Colby, Sr. Her father being a member of the firm of F. E. Colby & Co., Leading lumber and coal dealers and a prominent pioneer citizen.

Mr. Myers held the position of assistant county auditor. The office at that time being filled by what was termed an assistant instead of a deputy as at present. Mr. Myers was an expert accountant and was often called upon to audit books both public and private.

Seven children were born to Mr & Mrs. Myers of whom four sons and one daughter are living.

The third paragraph is the stunner. Wounded and left for dead on a Civil War battlefield at the age of fifteen! As far as we know (“we” being cousin Gail, sister Bonnie, and myself), no one in the family ever heard that story. Bonnie and Gail are suspicious that it may be “apocryphal” (false or spurious). That is certainly possible, but I am not so quick to write it off.

At first blush, it may seem incredible that such a dramatic “war story” was not passed down from generation to generation. However, consider the present generations of combat veterans, from WWII through the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan conflicts. For every individual who may be eager to tell of his experiences, there are others who are haunted by the traumas, and struggle hard to forget them, in any way they can. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” may be a recent term, even a new concept, but surely the condition itself is as old as the horrors of war.

Cousin Gail points out that Stephen was even less than fifteen, by about two weeks, at the time of the Battle of Helena. Although Gail and Paula’s research do not place him at the battle, there were hints that he did accompany his father at some time during the War. Also, they found that Stephen enrolled in the Naval Academy on August 1, 1864, at the age of “16 years and 0 Months.” He flunked out after one year, fifth from last in his class, with a note in his record specifying “bad conduct, idle habits, and little aptitude for study.”

There are contradictory scenarios suggested by this experience. If Stephen had been seriously wounded a year earlier, he may or may not have had enough time to recover sufficiently to enroll. On the other hand, post-traumatic stress, and the accompanying flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and alienation may have been a factor in his poor performance.

There are also hints in family lore, and a statement in the 1996 MeMe tapes, that Stephen had a drinking problem, another common result of post-traumatic stress. I am studying the Battle of Helena more closely. Stay tuned.

Following up the previous post (on Harry E. and Susan Colby), let us tap into the recent work of Jody Boyd, adding it to information I have previously assembled, to form a brief sketch of my great-grandparents Myers.

The portrait below is from my mother’s collection. I first posted it in The MeMe Tapes series, along with a touching audio clip in which Mother recalls meeting them, and playing with her Grandpa, when she was only three years old. She also related that Helen was a midwife, and that they came to help with the birthing of Mom’s next younger sister, Velma.

Helen was the eldest child of Jody’s “cold-case” subject, Harry Eugene Colby. Here is her obituary:

MON. MRS. MYERS CALLED TO REST

MRS. STEPHEN B. MYERS PASSED AWAY AT HOME OF SON IN UTAH MARCH 12, 1923

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Her Remains Were Brought Here and Funeral Services Held Last Friday – She Was one of the First Settlers of Onawa and was Honored by a Host of Friends.
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Helen Colby Myers was born in St. Charles, Ill., May 22 1850 and died at the home of her son, Henry, in Kenilworth, Utah, Monday morning, March the 12 1923 aged 72 years, 9 months and 18 days.

When but a small child she came with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Colby, Sr., to Monona County, in the year 1856. This part of the country was very wild at that time. She was the oldest child of the family and knew something of the hardships that the early settlers were called upon to endure in that early day. She was here before the town of Onawa existed. She saw it grow from its infancy to its present size. It was here that she grew to womanhood and was educated. She taught school in Monona County for six years and one year in Harrison County.

On September 15, 1875 she was married to Mr. Stephen B. Myers at Onawa, Iowa. Mr. Myers was in the Treasurer’s office for six years and was for years a skilled accountant for several counties. Mr. Myers died August 17, 1917. This was a long and happy union, broken only by the death of the husband about six years ago. They walked down life’s pathway together for more than forty-one years. Mrs. Helen C. Myers left Onawa on December 16 1921 and resided in Utah until the time of her death. She had been under the doctor’s care for some months, but was not thought to be serious. She was up for a while last Sunday, and quietly passed away early Monday morning. Just peacefully went to sleep.

Seven children were born to this union, one dying in infancy and Eugene who served in the Spanish-American War, died in 1912. The living are, Clarence [sic. - actually Lawrence] of Clark S.D., Dan of Zion City Ill., Henry of Kenilworth Utah, Frank of Oakland, Cal., and Lenora B. Splatt of Reno, Nevada. The deceased also leaves two brothers, Frank E. Colby of Sioux City and Harry Colby of Onawa Iowa.

Funeral services were conducted from Park Hotel on Friday afternoon March 16, at 2:30 p.m. in charge of Rev. C.S. Klackner of the Onawa Christian Church and the body was laid to rest in the Onawa cemetery.

Here is a composite photo of the gravestones.

The obituary of Stephen Myers contains a fascinating, previously unknown story, which we will explore in the next post.

The couple’s seven children are:

Harry Eugene Myers (1877-1912)
Lawrence Bennett Myers (1879-1937)
Leonora B. Myers (Splatt) (1881-1974)
Eldridge Bennett Myers (1882-1884)
Dan Dean Myers (1886-1965)
Henry Bennett Myers (1888-?)
Frank Colby Myers (1892-1973)

Back in February, I posted two letters written in 1898 to my grandfather, Dan Myers, by his older brother Gene. I mentioned in passing that the letters had come to me along with copies of family history pages from the Myers family bible. I guess it is about time I posted some of those images.

The original owner of the bible was my third great-grandfather, Lawrence Myers (1794-1829). The leaf showing its ownership and purchase date is in poor condition.That price of $4.25 must have been a hefty chunk of change in 1827. This particular Lawrence Myers was the son of Philip Myers and Martha Bennett Myers. He was born in the Wyoming valley of Pennsylvania, and as a young man, moved west to found the town of Sunbury, Ohio, together with his brother William.

The vital statistics pages are in better condition. Here are some excerpts; direct ancestors of mine are highlighted.So you can keep them straight; Henry B. Myers is the son of Lawrence and Eliza; and Stephen Bennett Myers is Henry’s son.

Dan Dean Myers, son of Stephen and Helen, is my grandfather. The writer had to make a correction; “Dan” is correct, not “Daniel.” Finally my mother, recorded in a different hand, her name badly misspelled, and precise birth date missing (May 23).

The several different handwritings are interesting, but Neither Gail nor I can even guess whose they are, except for the original Lawrence himself, who must have inscribed the ownership page. Since the bible passed from one Lawrence to the next (whether it was a son or a nephew of the previous Lawrence), we can only speculate that it was in most cases one of those Lawrence’s or his spouse.

Skipping over the death records, here are the marriages of four generations of ancestors, all on one page: my grandparents, great, great-great, and third great-grandparents.Once again, a million thanks to Gail Myers and to his brother Lawrence, the current custodian (of course) of the Lawrence Myers bible.