Susan Ann (Gowens) Sims (1854 - 1955)

Born 18 Jan 1854 in Cooper, Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Clay Hunt — married 4 Feb 1875 (to Feb 1899) in Missouri, United States

Wife of John Sims — married 1 Jan 1901 in Morgan, Missouri, United States

Died 1 Mar 1955 at age 101 in Florence, Morgan, Missouri, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Nicolette Toussaint [send private message]

Biography

Susan was born on January 18, 1854, in Cooper, Missouri, the daughter of William Gowens and Martha Owen^[1]. Susie Ann lived to be 101 years old!

Susie was one 13 children, collectively confirmed by the 1860 and 1880 census rolls for Kelly, Cooper, Missouri:

• Coleman Bruce Gowens 1847–1932
• Mary Gowen 1848–1850 (died young)
• James Thomas Gowens 1850–1859
• Susan Ann "Susie" Gowens (Hunt/Sims) 1854–1955
• William "Henry" Gowen Jr. 1855–1926
• Abigail Florence Gowen 1857–1888
• Terry (Terence) E Gowens (Goins) 1859–1911
• Ellen Arabel "Belle" Gowens (Hirst/Klein) 1862–1945
• Louella Thomas Gowens (Lossee) 1865–1942
• Uralee/Euralee "Lee" Gowen (Tellman/Sullivan/McMillan) 1867–1945
• Martha Jane Gowens 1869–1970
• Leatha/Leif Richard Gowens 1870–1944
• Joseph Shelby "Joe" Gowen 1874–1945

Aunt Susie's great-great grandaughter (Myra Jean/Dean Toussaint Devine) remembers Aunt Susie telling of Susie's father, William Henry Gowens, taking Susie to see Abraham Lincoln as child. (Lincoln came to Missouri only once, during the debate over the Kansas/Missouri compromise, so this occurred in 1859.)

Marriage and Children

Susan Ann married Henry Clay Hunt^[2]. and they had the following children together (from Ancestry.com trees and unless noted, need further documentation before they are confirmed and given WikiTree profiles):

• Wesley Harrison Hunt 1878–1944
• Nora Belle Hunt Klein 1879–1957 (confirmed by obituary)
• Estella F. Hunt Woodrum 1881– (confirmed by obituary)
• Luela T Hunt 1884–1974
• Johnnie B Hunt 1886–1973 (confirmed by obituary)
• Charles Patrick Hunt 1896–1973 (confirmed by obituary)
• Daniel B Hunt, birthdate unknown–1930

Susie Ann married John Sims on January 1, 1901, in Morgan, Missouri after her children were grown^[3].

Susie Ann died on March 1, 1955, in Florence, Missouri, at the age of 101, and was buried in Versailles, Missouri.

Text of Obituary

Mrs. Susie A. Sims Mrs. Susie A Suns, 101 died at her home in Florence at 6:30 am Tuesday.

She was born in Cooper County .Ian. 18. 1854, the daughter of the late Henri and Martha Gowens.

She was first married to Clay Hunt. They were the parents of seven children.

Her second marriage was to John Sims. Her marriage to Mr. Sims came after her children had established homes of their own.

Mr. Sims, residing at Akinsville for many years, died in 1916 and she had lived on a farm with a daughter, Mrs. Nora Klein, and family near Florence.

More recently, she made her home with a son. J. B, Hunt, and Mrs. Hunt.

She was a member of the Mt Carmel Baptist Church in Morgan County.

Her 101st birthday was celebrated in January.

She is survived by four children:

• C. P. Hunt. Sedalia
• J B Hunt. Florence
• Mrs. Nora Klein, Florence, and
• Mrs. Ella Woodrum, Abilene, Texas, and

23 grandchildren: and several great grandchildren.

Mrs Sims was the last member of a family of 11 children. Funeral services will be held Thursday at the Mt. Carmel Church.

The body is at the Richards’ Funeral Home m Tiipton. Burial will be in the Mt. Carmel Church Cemetery.

Susie Ann & Lincoln's Visit to Missouri

Family lore, passed to Myra Toussaint Devine, daughter of Mamie L. Gowens and granddaughter of Terry E A Gowins, was that Great Aunt Susie told of being taken to a big event by her father. Hundreds of people had gathered to hear Abraham Lincoln speak.

Susie was too small to see over the crowd, so Susie's dad William hoisted up on his shoulders so she could see the president. She was probably about 5 at the time, because this likely took place in November 30, 1859, when Lincoln arrived at the St. Joseph, Missouri, train station.

Lincoln crossed the Missouri River by ferry and entered the town of Elwood, Kansas. In the evening he delivered a speech at the Great Western Hotel condemning the institution of slavery.

Daniel Wilder, editor of the Elwood newspaper, drove Lincoln to that town on Nov. 30. He later wrote of Lincoln, "They were legs you could fold up. The knees stood up like the hind joints of a Kansas grasshopper's legs. He wore a hat of stovepipe shape. . . . The buttons were off his shirt."

Kansas Connection: John Brown

Lincoln was already a national figure when he came to Kansas in 1859. This was one year after his famous debates with Stephen Douglas, when both were running for a U.S. Senate post from Illinois.^[4]

Lincoln's supporters invited him to visit Kansas because of his political influence. They hoped his presence would boost their chances in the territorial elections. Why did Lincoln accept the invitation to Kansas?

• He was testing the political waters leading up to the 1860 presidential election.

* Kansas was a national story due to violent clashes between anti- and proslavery supporters.

• Lincoln was interested in building contacts for his law firm and his campaign.

Lincoln's visit to Kansas coincided with the hanging of John Brown in Virginia. Earlier in the year, Brown had been fighting for the abolition of slavery. His violent methods were controversial. After Kansas, Brown went to Harpers Ferry where he raided a federal arsenal. He was hanged for treason in Virginia on December 2, 1859, the very day Lincoln was speaking in Kansas.

Lincoln's comments on this pivotal national event reflect his belief that the slavery question could be solved peacefully. This was just 16 months before the Civil War began.

"We have a means provided for the expression of our belief in regard to slavery—it is through the ballot box--the peaceful method provided by the Constitution. John Brown has shown great courage, rare unselfishness . . . But no man, north or south, can approve of violence and crime." --Abraham Lincoln, Elwood, Kansas, November 30, 1859

As Lincoln spoke in Atchison the evening Brown was hanged, he was asked about secession. Lincoln declared secession would be treason, and said, "If they [southerners] attempt to put their threats into execution we will hang them as they have hanged old John Brown today."

Research Notes

From Ancestry.com family trees, confirmed by census records, these are Susie's likely siblings. Those without notes need to be further documented.

• Coleman Bruce Gowens 1847–1932 (confirmed by 1860 census)
• Mary Gowen 1848–1850 (died as infant)
• James Thomas Gowens 1850–1859 (confirmed by 1860 census)
• William "Henry" Gowen Jr 1855–1926 (confirmed by 1860 census)
• Abigail Florence Gowen 1857–1888
• Terry (Terence) E Gowens (Goins) 1859–1911
• Ellen Arabel "Belle" Gowens (Hirst/Klein) 1862–1945
• Louella Thomas Gowens (Lossee) 1865–1942 (confirmed by 1880 census)
• Uralee/Euralee "Lee" Gowen (Tellman/Sullivan/McMillan) 1867–1945 (confirmed by 1880 census)
• Martha Jane Gowens 1869–1970 (confirmed by 1880 census)
• Leatha Richmond Gowens 1870–1944 (confirmed by 1880 census)
• Joseph Shelby "Joe" Gowen 1874–1945 (confirmed by 1880 census)

The 1860 Census for Moniteau, Missouri records the following family unit, confirming all the above children born prior to 1860:

WM H, 38, farmer (William Henry) MJ, 28, female (Martha Jane) JT, 9, male, born 1851 (James Thomas) CB, 14, male born 1847 (Coleman Bruce) SA, 6, female, born 1854 (Susie Ann) WH, 5, born 1855 (William Henry) AF, female (Abigail Florence) Terry E, 1, male, born 1859 (Terry E.)

The 1880 Census for Kelly, Cooper, Missouri shows the later children in this family unit:

William Gowen Age 60 Martha Gowen Age 47 Luella Gowen Age 16 Euralee Gowen Age 14 Martha Gowen Age 11 Lay Gowen Age 9 (Leatha Gowen) Joseph Gowen Age 8 (Joseph Shelby)

Sources

1. ↑ Newspaper obituary
2. ↑ Newspaper obituary
3. ↑ Newspaper obituary
4. ↑ Historical info from the Kansas Historical Society: https://www.kshs.org/p/lincoln-in-kansas-part-2/15758

• 1860 US Census, Missouri: Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 47 Range 14, Moniteau, Missouri; Page: 647; Family History Library Film: 803634

• 1880 US Census, Missouri: Year: 1880; Census Place: Kelly, Cooper, Missouri; Roll: 683; Page: 350A; Enumeration District: 140

• 1920 US Census, Missouri: Year: 1920; Census Place: Willow Fork, Moniteau, Missouri; Roll: T625_935; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 118

• Daughter Ella Lou Woodrum death certificate: "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K38C-F8W : 20 February 2021), Susie Gowan in entry for Lou Ella Hunt Woodrum, 04 May 1974; citing certificate number 37845, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,243,198.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK6-42S6 : 20 May 2020), Susie, 1955; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• Missouri Death Record - see image