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Carlos Irwin Percival was born Carlos Irwin Bissell on 21 October 1874 in Pawnee City, Nebraska, the eldest son of A. C. Bissell and the only child born to him by his first wife, Mary E. Wood.[1]
Carlos' parents were no longer married when he reached the age of 3, and on 29 September 1877, his mother remarried William Marcus Scofield.[2] In the 1880 US Census, Carlos was living with his mother and stepfather in Pawnee City.[3] Meanwhile, Carlos' father was living in Jefferson County, Nebraska.[4]
Carlos' mother is presumed to have died shortly thereafter, although no record of her death has yet been found. In 1883, Carlos was adopted by his aunt, Louisa Isabel (Bissell) Percival and her husband, Stephen Bailey Percival when he was 8 years old, and he went to live with them on S.B.'s farm in Grant Twp., Washington, Kansas.[5]
Carlos' adoptive mother Louisa passed away on 11 September 1884, leaving Carlos to be raised by his adoptive father S.B. Percival who remarried Susan (Blosser) Percival.[5][6] According to his daughter, Hazel Kelly, Carlos was made to work hard on his uncle's farm, and was never quite treated as an equal to S.B.'s biological children.[7]
During the years 1887-1889, Carlos was a student in district No. 44, Washington County, Kansas. A series of attendance reports prepared by his teacher, Lizzie Nixon, were published in the Washington Republican. In these reports, Carlos is listed as "Carlos Percival"; he had already assumed his uncle's surname.[8] Interestingly, there are a number of "Bissell" children listed in this same class; it turns out that his father, A.C. Bissell had remarried and moved nearby, and these were his stepchildren, children of his new wife Selina (Tatro) Percival from her first marriage to Miles Covey, who had assumed the name "Bissell." It is interesting to note that Carlos did not go back to live with his father, but instead continued to live with his uncle.[5]
On 4 June 1894, Carlos was issued a license to marry Miss Lula Agnes Towns, the daughter of John Towns and Jane (Anglin) Towns, and on 5 June they were married at the home of the bride's father in Mill Creek Twp., Washington County, Kansas by Rev. Amos Conn Holland, a Baptist Minister.[1][9]
Carlos and Lula continued to live in the vicinity of the town of Haddam in Washington County until 1909 when the family moved to a large wheat farm a mile and a half outside of the town of Palco in Rooks County, Kansas.[10][11] After a tumultuous childhood, Carlos finally found stability, living in Northampton Township for many many years.
On 11 May 1911, Carlos was named in the will of his adoptive father. He received five dollars, while the other children each received a 1/5 share of the estate (including Daisy, S. B.'s step-daughter).[12]
On 9 January 1946 he passed away at St. Anthony's Hospital in Hays, Kansas at the age of 71, after celebrating 51 years of marriage with his wife Lula.[1] He was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Ellis, Kansas.[13]
Children of Carlos Irwin Percival and Lula (Towns) Percival:
Memoriam - Carlos I. Percival
Funeral services for Carlos I. Percival, a resident for many years of Palco community, was held at the township hall, Palco, Kansas, January 12, with Rev. Wm. A. Swagerty, pastor of the Church of God officiating. The Mosher Bros. funeral home was in charge, and burial was made at Ellis, Kansas.
Carlos Irwin Percival, was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, October 21, 1874 and departed this life on January 9, 1946 at the age of 71 years, 2 months and 19 days at St. Anthony's hospital, in Hays, Kansas, after an illness of several months. He was united in marriage to Lula A. Towns on June 4, 1895. to this union four children were born: Clifford Percival of Smolan, Kans., Mrs. Hazel Kelly of Canon City, Colo., Mrs. Elsie McCurdy of Ellis, Kans., and Mrs. Elva McCurdy of Ellis, Kans. Carlos was baptized in the Christian church at Haddam, Kans., at the age of 20 years. He was a member of the Modern Woodsmen of America and a member of the Masonic lodge of Plainville, Kansas, in which he was a faithful member and worker. He was engaged in farming near Palco for 30 years, moving to Palco with his wife in the fall of 1938. He leaves to mourn their loss, his wife, his four children, nine grandchildren, one great-grandchild, a half-brother, Charley Bissell, of Denver, Colo., and a host of other relatives and friends.
The circumstances surrounding Carlos' mother's death and his adoption by S. B. Percival remain somewhat of a mystery. As noted above, he was living with his step-father and biological mother in 1880. Family oral tradition has it that Carlos was orphaned; however, at the time of his adoption in 1883, both his biological father and step-father were still living. In April of 1883, his step-father, Marc Scofield, was part of a large migration of settlers who entered lands in Marlar Township, Jerauld County, Dakota Territory (which became the state of South Dakota in 1889). Carlos was adopted in 1883 at age 8 (therefore before he turned 9 on 21 Oct). It would therefore make sense if the mother had died on the trip to Dakota, and Carlos was sent to his aunt and uncle in Kansas who had agreed to take him in. However, supporting documentation for this theory has yet to be found.
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Categories: Mount Hope Cemetery, Ellis, Kansas