Susan Neff Boggs (1837-1906)

      My maternal great-grandfather's first wife, Daisy, is difficult to trace. Records show her with varying names. Census sheets list her as both "daughter" and adopted daughter. The potential for error in censuses can be high due to the many volunteers who've transcribed notes from enumerators. But clues can be helpful when taken as a whole. A wider picture is needed. And Daisy's mother Susan is the focus of this post.

      Susan was born October 23, 1837 in Dayton, Ohio to David and Susan Margaret (Waitman) Neff. I believe she was their sixth of seven children. After the death of his first wife (and mother of 12 children!), Lemasters Martin Boggs, age 70, married 41 year old Susan in Franklin, Iowa, about 1878. By the 1880 census, Susan and Lemaster appear with a three year old named "Daisy Johnson" in their household. She is described as "daughter" yet both her parents' birth locations are listed as "unknown."

      Did Susan have Daisy with an earlier husband or is Daisy a foundling they adopted?

      Iowa's 1885 State Census finds Susan and Lemasters, and daughter Daisy here as "Anna D." age 7:

                    Household Member - Name - Age
                    Lemaster M Boggs 75
                    Susan Boggs 47
                    Anna D Boggs 7  
                    Amanda Houseman 23 (housekeeper)

      From an 1885 Iowa newspaper article:

      Lemasters left Susan a widow in 1899. She apparently moved to Morgan County, Missouri where she is living in rural Haw Creek at the time of the 1900 Federal Census. She is "head of household" white, female, born in Oct 1837, age 62, and living with:

                    John Coffee, boarder, white, male, born Feb 1876, age 24.
                    Daisy Coffee, adopted daughter, white, female, born May 1878, age 22.
                    Guy Price, grandson, white, male, born Jan 1897, age 3.
                    Umareela Coffee, granddaughter, white, female, Dec 1897, age 2.


      Notice a few irregularities? Daisy and John appear to be married--and were so on November 21, 1897. But contrary to custom, Susan does not refer to John as son-in-law to the census taker--but "boarder." Daisy is back to being listed as adopted daughter. Susan's three year old grandson has a different surname than his two year old sister. But both children have the same birth year. And why the name Price for little three year old Guy? He was born January of 1896. Was Daisy married prior to her 1897 marriage to John Coffee? A search in this county finds an "Elwyn Price" living in nearby Versailles, and his 26 year old son, Guy Price. A Morgan County history of notable figures described Elwyn Price as a "stockholder and director of the Bank of Versailles." Was there a relation? Or did Daisy--on a whim, name her child after the banker's son? Oh, the joy of deciphering censuses!

      By 1905 Susan is living in Kansas City, Missouri. A city directory page shows her name, marital status as widowed, first name of husband, and her residence address:

                    Boggs Susan wid Lamaster M r 4115 Flora

      Susan Boggs passed away the next year, and her grave is in the Elmwood Cemetery, Kansas City. Just recently Ancestry.com/ uploaded new probate cases, and Susan Boggs' case was among them. 38 pages' worth. Only a few are shared below. Click on each within the gallery to view or to enlarge. She died intestate (without a will) at age 68.


and these three final pages:

--"Missouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988" via Ancestry.com/ originally from "Kansas City, Missouri and Jackson County, Missouri Probate Records and Case Files, 1853-1955." Woo hoo! Don't you love new databases!

--Neff/Boggs marriage date: via researcher Ed Woodyard