His name was sometimes spelled as Otha.
He was the fourth of seven children born to Henry and Mildred (Asher) Back.
When he was about 5 years old, he and his family left their home in Kentucky, and headed west. They settled in Cass County, Missouri, near the town of Wasdesburg.
On April 1, 1865, he was in Kansas. He enlisted to serve in the Civil War, on the Union side, in the 16th Cavalry, Company U. By that time, the war had been going on for about four years. The war ended, eight days after he had enlisted, on April 9, 1865. He mustered out on 5-17-1865, in Leavenworth, Kansas. So, he was only "in the war" for eight days. He saw "no action." His unit was not involved in any battles or skirmishes, during those last eight days. He then returned to Cass County, Missouri. His father died, two years later. Othe was seen in the 1870 Census Report, still living near Wadesburg, with his widowed mother and his younger brother William.
On February 3, 1873, Othe married Matilda Wilson, in Cass County. They then moved to Iowa, where she had been born. (Her parents may have been Benjamin Wilson and Rachel Swabb, who had first lived in Iowa, then moved to Kansas City, sometime before 1861, and then returned to Iowa, by 1870.)
Othe and Matilda had one child: Ida Mae (born 1875), who was born in Iowa. Matilda may have died during the birth of Ida Mae or shortly thereafter.
Othe then married Sarah Hoots Carr (a widow), on December 10, 1878. She was actually 15 years older than Othe, which was quite unusual.
Sarah was the daughter of Cain Hoots and Sarah Latter. She had first married James Carr, around 1853, in Illinois. They had five children, but four of them had died as infants (Joseph, Josephine, James, and Margaret); only their son Henry T. Carr survived to adulthood. Sarah and her husband James Carr had migrated to Cass County, Missouri, in 1868. They had settled in Wadesburg. But James had died in 1877. (Her parents had also migrated to Cass County, around 1870, but her mother soon died, in 1873, and her father died in 1874. They were both buried in the Everett Cemetery, where Sarah would later be buried, next to her first husband James Carr.)
Othe and Sarah were seen in the 1880 Census Report, living in Cass County, Missouri. Othe's 5-year-old daughter Ida Mae was living with them. (Ida Mae apparently later married George Mahon, in Kansas City, on May 8, 1890.) But Othe and Sarah's marriage did not last more than a few years; it was over by 1882.
Othe was seen in the 1882 Kansas City, Missouri Directory, working as a stockman, and living at 1304 St. Louis Avenue. (That was the only directory in which he was ever listed.)
Sarah went back to using the last name of Carr. She was listed in the 1883 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, and living at 2929 Chestnut. She later took in people's laundry. She was also seen in the 1890 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, as "Sarah Carr, widow of John Carr," living at 2816 Montgomery. By 1894, she had moved to Adrian, Missouri, in Bates County, where she spent the remaining years of her life. It was said that she was a devout Christian, although she never belonged to a church. She prayed daily and read her Bible as long as her eyesight would permit. Some of her last words were: "Only God can cure me of this sickness." She was a very generous hearted woman and was never known to turn anyone away from her door who was hungry. She was known as "Aunt Sarah." The attachment between Sarah and her son Henry was very close. For sixty-four years, they had been companions. Every day, the son gave his mother the tenderest attention. The first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night, he visited his mother, whose every want was provided for generously. No sacrifice that would add to her comfort was too great for the son to make willingly and cheerfully. She died in 1922. Her funeral was held at her son's home, on 8th Street. (She lived two doors away.) She was buried in the Everett Cemetery, where her first husband, and her parents, had been buried. (Othe Back's name was not mentioned in her obituary.)
Meanwhile, in 1887, Othe got into a fight with another man who stabbed him several times in the back. And then, around 1888, in Kansas, Othe married for a third time, to Eliza Jane Estella Mead. She was born around 1872 in Wayne County, Iowa, the daughter of Stephen Mead and Rachel Jones. (Rachel's parents were Samuel Jones and Rachel Beal.)
Eliza Jane was known as Estella, when she was a young girl, and Eliza, when she got older. Her parents were from Indiana; they had migrated to Wayne County, Iowa, after their first child, their son, was born. The family soon moved to Kansas, and they were seen in the 1875 Kansas State Census Report; Estella was then 6 years old. But her parents divorced, sometime before 1880. Estella, and her two sisters, Clara and Alice, stayed with their mother; they went back to Wayne County, Iowa and lived with her mother's uncle, Jackson Beal. They were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report. Estella's brother Nind J. stayed with their father, and they stayed in Solomon County, Kansas, and were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report.
But, in May of 1889, Othe apparently abandoned Eliza and went to Kansas City, where he moved in with a woman identified as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," and he had a relationship with her. A newspaper article from June of 1890, reported that Othe had "abandoned his family" in Cass County, and had moved to Kansas City, where he had lived with "Mrs. Ford" (initially mistakenly referred to as "Miss Ford") in a "shanty by the Kaw River, for the past 13 months." The article reported that Othe had a child with Mrs. Ford. The article also reported that Othe had gotten into an argument with Mrs. Ford's mother, Mrs. Jones (Rachel R. Jones, divorced from Stephen Mead), and a man named Nind "N.J." Mead, who was identified as "the brother of Mrs. Ford" tried to stop the argument. Nind was also the brother of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Therefore, "Mrs. L.A. Ford" must have been a sister of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Her two known sisters were Alice "Anna" (who married Moses Casner in 1891), and Clara Olive (who married Anton Line in 1895). So, either Othe had an affair with one of them (who was described as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," or there was another sister, or half-sister, who is not known.
Nind Mead hit Othe in the head with an axe, which caused a deep and serious wound that nearly killed him. The newspaper reported that Othe's skull was split open and "his brains were showing." He was tended to, at the St. Margaret Hospital. He was lucky he wasn't killed. But just as soon as he was sewn up, he abruptly left the hospital, left town, and returned to his wife Eliza, in Cass County.
Othe and Eliza migrated to Arizona, around 1893. They had six children: Alfred, known as "Cuter" (b. about 1889); William, known as "Pretty Bill" (b. about 1892); Lizzie (born about 1894); Alice Rachel, known as Rachel (b. 1896); Marcus (b. 1899); and Lora Mae (b. 3-18-1901).
Othe died, on November 3, 1902, which was only about one and a half years after his daughter Lora Mae was born. Some people said that he was walking home, one very cold night, drunk, and he fell asleep in a haystack, where he later froze to death. That was probably true. The funeral notice for Othe does not indicate the cemetery in Flagstaff, in which he was buried:
On Monday the 3d, at the Methodist Church, the funeral services of Othe Bache was held by J. H. Henry. The deceased was a soldier in the Civil War and was a member of the 16th Kansas Cavalry. He was quite young when he enlisted, served his country well and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He was only 57 years of age at the time of his death and leaves a wife and six children to mourn the loss of husband and father. A large number of citizens, among them quite a number of the G. A. R., attended the services and followed the remains of their comrade and friend to his last resting place. "When the general roll is called, may they all be there."
His widow, Eliza Jane, was unable to care for the four younger children, and so she placed them for adoption. Her two older children, Alfred and William, were old enough to support themselves, and they worked as cowmen.
One year later, Eliza Jane married Nelson Hollingshed, on 10-11-1903. They moved to Utah. They had two children: Jewell (b. 8-13-1902); and Nelson (b. 2-28-1906). Their daughter Jewell later married Elmer Hollingshed, who may have been a distant relative.
But then Nelson died, on April 3, 1910. He had been kicked in the stomach by a cow, two months earlier. Eliza Jane then returnred to Arizona with her two children. In 1912, she married Lilburn Henry Azbill, who was known as Henry Azbill. He and his brother Willis had a long criminal record. It is not known if Eliza was aware of that when she married him.
He was the fourth of seven children born to Henry and Mildred (Asher) Back.
When he was about 5 years old, he and his family left their home in Kentucky, and headed west. They settled in Cass County, Missouri, near the town of Wasdesburg.
On April 1, 1865, he was in Kansas. He enlisted to serve in the Civil War, on the Union side, in the 16th Cavalry, Company U. By that time, the war had been going on for about four years. The war ended, eight days after he had enlisted, on April 9, 1865. He mustered out on 5-17-1865, in Leavenworth, Kansas. So, he was only "in the war" for eight days. He saw "no action." His unit was not involved in any battles or skirmishes, during those last eight days. He then returned to Cass County, Missouri. His father died, two years later. Othe was seen in the 1870 Census Report, still living near Wadesburg, with his widowed mother and his younger brother William.
On February 3, 1873, Othe married Matilda Wilson, in Cass County. They then moved to Iowa, where she had been born. (Her parents may have been Benjamin Wilson and Rachel Swabb, who had first lived in Iowa, then moved to Kansas City, sometime before 1861, and then returned to Iowa, by 1870.)
Othe and Matilda had one child: Ida Mae (born 1875), who was born in Iowa. Matilda may have died during the birth of Ida Mae or shortly thereafter.
Othe then married Sarah Hoots Carr (a widow), on December 10, 1878. She was actually 15 years older than Othe, which was quite unusual.
Sarah was the daughter of Cain Hoots and Sarah Latter. She had first married James Carr, around 1853, in Illinois. They had five children, but four of them had died as infants (Joseph, Josephine, James, and Margaret); only their son Henry T. Carr survived to adulthood. Sarah and her husband James Carr had migrated to Cass County, Missouri, in 1868. They had settled in Wadesburg. But James had died in 1877. (Her parents had also migrated to Cass County, around 1870, but her mother soon died, in 1873, and her father died in 1874. They were both buried in the Everett Cemetery, where Sarah would later be buried, next to her first husband James Carr.)
Othe and Sarah were seen in the 1880 Census Report, living in Cass County, Missouri. Othe's 5-year-old daughter Ida Mae was living with them. (Ida Mae apparently later married George Mahon, in Kansas City, on May 8, 1890.) But Othe and Sarah's marriage did not last more than a few years; it was over by 1882.
Othe was seen in the 1882 Kansas City, Missouri Directory, working as a stockman, and living at 1304 St. Louis Avenue. (That was the only directory in which he was ever listed.)
Sarah went back to using the last name of Carr. She was listed in the 1883 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, and living at 2929 Chestnut. She later took in people's laundry. She was also seen in the 1890 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, as "Sarah Carr, widow of John Carr," living at 2816 Montgomery. By 1894, she had moved to Adrian, Missouri, in Bates County, where she spent the remaining years of her life. It was said that she was a devout Christian, although she never belonged to a church. She prayed daily and read her Bible as long as her eyesight would permit. Some of her last words were: "Only God can cure me of this sickness." She was a very generous hearted woman and was never known to turn anyone away from her door who was hungry. She was known as "Aunt Sarah." The attachment between Sarah and her son Henry was very close. For sixty-four years, they had been companions. Every day, the son gave his mother the tenderest attention. The first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night, he visited his mother, whose every want was provided for generously. No sacrifice that would add to her comfort was too great for the son to make willingly and cheerfully. She died in 1922. Her funeral was held at her son's home, on 8th Street. (She lived two doors away.) She was buried in the Everett Cemetery, where her first husband, and her parents, had been buried. (Othe Back's name was not mentioned in her obituary.)
Meanwhile, in 1887, Othe got into a fight with another man who stabbed him several times in the back. And then, around 1888, in Kansas, Othe married for a third time, to Eliza Jane Estella Mead. She was born around 1872 in Wayne County, Iowa, the daughter of Stephen Mead and Rachel Jones. (Rachel's parents were Samuel Jones and Rachel Beal.)
Eliza Jane was known as Estella, when she was a young girl, and Eliza, when she got older. Her parents were from Indiana; they had migrated to Wayne County, Iowa, after their first child, their son, was born. The family soon moved to Kansas, and they were seen in the 1875 Kansas State Census Report; Estella was then 6 years old. But her parents divorced, sometime before 1880. Estella, and her two sisters, Clara and Alice, stayed with their mother; they went back to Wayne County, Iowa and lived with her mother's uncle, Jackson Beal. They were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report. Estella's brother Nind J. stayed with their father, and they stayed in Solomon County, Kansas, and were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report.
But, in May of 1889, Othe apparently abandoned Eliza and went to Kansas City, where he moved in with a woman identified as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," and he had a relationship with her. A newspaper article from June of 1890, reported that Othe had "abandoned his family" in Cass County, and had moved to Kansas City, where he had lived with "Mrs. Ford" (initially mistakenly referred to as "Miss Ford") in a "shanty by the Kaw River, for the past 13 months." The article reported that Othe had a child with Mrs. Ford. The article also reported that Othe had gotten into an argument with Mrs. Ford's mother, Mrs. Jones (Rachel R. Jones, divorced from Stephen Mead), and a man named Nind "N.J." Mead, who was identified as "the brother of Mrs. Ford" tried to stop the argument. Nind was also the brother of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Therefore, "Mrs. L.A. Ford" must have been a sister of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Her two known sisters were Alice "Anna" (who married Moses Casner in 1891), and Clara Olive (who married Anton Line in 1895). So, either Othe had an affair with one of them (who was described as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," or there was another sister, or half-sister, who is not known.
Nind Mead hit Othe in the head with an axe, which caused a deep and serious wound that nearly killed him. The newspaper reported that Othe's skull was split open and "his brains were showing." He was tended to, at the St. Margaret Hospital. He was lucky he wasn't killed. But just as soon as he was sewn up, he abruptly left the hospital, left town, and returned to his wife Eliza, in Cass County.
Othe and Eliza migrated to Arizona, around 1893. They had six children: Alfred, known as "Cuter" (b. about 1889); William, known as "Pretty Bill" (b. about 1892); Lizzie (born about 1894); Alice Rachel, known as Rachel (b. 1896); Marcus (b. 1899); and Lora Mae (b. 3-18-1901).
Othe died, on November 3, 1902, which was only about one and a half years after his daughter Lora Mae was born. Some people said that he was walking home, one very cold night, drunk, and he fell asleep in a haystack, where he later froze to death. That was probably true. The funeral notice for Othe does not indicate the cemetery in Flagstaff, in which he was buried:
On Monday the 3d, at the Methodist Church, the funeral services of Othe Bache was held by J. H. Henry. The deceased was a soldier in the Civil War and was a member of the 16th Kansas Cavalry. He was quite young when he enlisted, served his country well and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He was only 57 years of age at the time of his death and leaves a wife and six children to mourn the loss of husband and father. A large number of citizens, among them quite a number of the G. A. R., attended the services and followed the remains of their comrade and friend to his last resting place. "When the general roll is called, may they all be there."
His widow, Eliza Jane, was unable to care for the four younger children, and so she placed them for adoption. Her two older children, Alfred and William, were old enough to support themselves, and they worked as cowmen.
One year later, Eliza Jane married Nelson Hollingshed, on 10-11-1903. They moved to Utah. They had two children: Jewell (b. 8-13-1902); and Nelson (b. 2-28-1906). Their daughter Jewell later married Elmer Hollingshed, who may have been a distant relative.
But then Nelson died, on April 3, 1910. He had been kicked in the stomach by a cow, two months earlier. Eliza Jane then returnred to Arizona with her two children. In 1912, she married Lilburn Henry Azbill, who was known as Henry Azbill. He and his brother Willis had a long criminal record. It is not known if Eliza was aware of that when she married him.
His name was sometimes spelled as Otha.
He was the fourth of seven children born to Henry and Mildred (Asher) Back.
When he was about 5 years old, he and his family left their home in Kentucky, and headed west. They settled in Cass County, Missouri, near the town of Wasdesburg.
On April 1, 1865, he was in Kansas. He enlisted to serve in the Civil War, on the Union side, in the 16th Cavalry, Company U. By that time, the war had been going on for about four years. The war ended, eight days after he had enlisted, on April 9, 1865. He mustered out on 5-17-1865, in Leavenworth, Kansas. So, he was only "in the war" for eight days. He saw "no action." His unit was not involved in any battles or skirmishes, during those last eight days. He then returned to Cass County, Missouri. His father died, two years later. Othe was seen in the 1870 Census Report, still living near Wadesburg, with his widowed mother and his younger brother William.
On February 3, 1873, Othe married Matilda Wilson, in Cass County. They then moved to Iowa, where she had been born. (Her parents may have been Benjamin Wilson and Rachel Swabb, who had first lived in Iowa, then moved to Kansas City, sometime before 1861, and then returned to Iowa, by 1870.)
Othe and Matilda had one child: Ida Mae (born 1875), who was born in Iowa. Matilda may have died during the birth of Ida Mae or shortly thereafter.
Othe then married Sarah Hoots Carr (a widow), on December 10, 1878. She was actually 15 years older than Othe, which was quite unusual.
Sarah was the daughter of Cain Hoots and Sarah Latter. She had first married James Carr, around 1853, in Illinois. They had five children, but four of them had died as infants (Joseph, Josephine, James, and Margaret); only their son Henry T. Carr survived to adulthood. Sarah and her husband James Carr had migrated to Cass County, Missouri, in 1868. They had settled in Wadesburg. But James had died in 1877. (Her parents had also migrated to Cass County, around 1870, but her mother soon died, in 1873, and her father died in 1874. They were both buried in the Everett Cemetery, where Sarah would later be buried, next to her first husband James Carr.)
Othe and Sarah were seen in the 1880 Census Report, living in Cass County, Missouri. Othe's 5-year-old daughter Ida Mae was living with them. (Ida Mae apparently later married George Mahon, in Kansas City, on May 8, 1890.) But Othe and Sarah's marriage did not last more than a few years; it was over by 1882.
Othe was seen in the 1882 Kansas City, Missouri Directory, working as a stockman, and living at 1304 St. Louis Avenue. (That was the only directory in which he was ever listed.)
Sarah went back to using the last name of Carr. She was listed in the 1883 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, and living at 2929 Chestnut. She later took in people's laundry. She was also seen in the 1890 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, as "Sarah Carr, widow of John Carr," living at 2816 Montgomery. By 1894, she had moved to Adrian, Missouri, in Bates County, where she spent the remaining years of her life. It was said that she was a devout Christian, although she never belonged to a church. She prayed daily and read her Bible as long as her eyesight would permit. Some of her last words were: "Only God can cure me of this sickness." She was a very generous hearted woman and was never known to turn anyone away from her door who was hungry. She was known as "Aunt Sarah." The attachment between Sarah and her son Henry was very close. For sixty-four years, they had been companions. Every day, the son gave his mother the tenderest attention. The first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night, he visited his mother, whose every want was provided for generously. No sacrifice that would add to her comfort was too great for the son to make willingly and cheerfully. She died in 1922. Her funeral was held at her son's home, on 8th Street. (She lived two doors away.) She was buried in the Everett Cemetery, where her first husband, and her parents, had been buried. (Othe Back's name was not mentioned in her obituary.)
Meanwhile, in 1887, Othe got into a fight with another man who stabbed him several times in the back. And then, around 1888, in Kansas, Othe married for a third time, to Eliza Jane Estella Mead. She was born around 1872 in Wayne County, Iowa, the daughter of Stephen Mead and Rachel Jones. (Rachel's parents were Samuel Jones and Rachel Beal.)
Eliza Jane was known as Estella, when she was a young girl, and Eliza, when she got older. Her parents were from Indiana; they had migrated to Wayne County, Iowa, after their first child, their son, was born. The family soon moved to Kansas, and they were seen in the 1875 Kansas State Census Report; Estella was then 6 years old. But her parents divorced, sometime before 1880. Estella, and her two sisters, Clara and Alice, stayed with their mother; they went back to Wayne County, Iowa and lived with her mother's uncle, Jackson Beal. They were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report. Estella's brother Nind J. stayed with their father, and they stayed in Solomon County, Kansas, and were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report.
But, in May of 1889, Othe apparently abandoned Eliza and went to Kansas City, where he moved in with a woman identified as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," and he had a relationship with her. A newspaper article from June of 1890, reported that Othe had "abandoned his family" in Cass County, and had moved to Kansas City, where he had lived with "Mrs. Ford" (initially mistakenly referred to as "Miss Ford") in a "shanty by the Kaw River, for the past 13 months." The article reported that Othe had a child with Mrs. Ford. The article also reported that Othe had gotten into an argument with Mrs. Ford's mother, Mrs. Jones (Rachel R. Jones, divorced from Stephen Mead), and a man named Nind "N.J." Mead, who was identified as "the brother of Mrs. Ford" tried to stop the argument. Nind was also the brother of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Therefore, "Mrs. L.A. Ford" must have been a sister of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Her two known sisters were Alice "Anna" (who married Moses Casner in 1891), and Clara Olive (who married Anton Line in 1895). So, either Othe had an affair with one of them (who was described as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," or there was another sister, or half-sister, who is not known.
Nind Mead hit Othe in the head with an axe, which caused a deep and serious wound that nearly killed him. The newspaper reported that Othe's skull was split open and "his brains were showing." He was tended to, at the St. Margaret Hospital. He was lucky he wasn't killed. But just as soon as he was sewn up, he abruptly left the hospital, left town, and returned to his wife Eliza, in Cass County.
Othe and Eliza migrated to Arizona, around 1893. They had six children: Alfred, known as "Cuter" (b. about 1889); William, known as "Pretty Bill" (b. about 1892); Lizzie (born about 1894); Alice Rachel, known as Rachel (b. 1896); Marcus (b. 1899); and Lora Mae (b. 3-18-1901).
Othe died, on November 3, 1902, which was only about one and a half years after his daughter Lora Mae was born. Some people said that he was walking home, one very cold night, drunk, and he fell asleep in a haystack, where he later froze to death. That was probably true. The funeral notice for Othe does not indicate the cemetery in Flagstaff, in which he was buried:
On Monday the 3d, at the Methodist Church, the funeral services of Othe Bache was held by J. H. Henry. The deceased was a soldier in the Civil War and was a member of the 16th Kansas Cavalry. He was quite young when he enlisted, served his country well and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He was only 57 years of age at the time of his death and leaves a wife and six children to mourn the loss of husband and father. A large number of citizens, among them quite a number of the G. A. R., attended the services and followed the remains of their comrade and friend to his last resting place. "When the general roll is called, may they all be there."
His widow, Eliza Jane, was unable to care for the four younger children, and so she placed them for adoption. Her two older children, Alfred and William, were old enough to support themselves, and they worked as cowmen.
One year later, Eliza Jane married Nelson Hollingshed, on 10-11-1903. They moved to Utah. They had two children: Jewell (b. 8-13-1902); and Nelson (b. 2-28-1906). Their daughter Jewell later married Elmer Hollingshed, who may have been a distant relative.
But then Nelson died, on April 3, 1910. He had been kicked in the stomach by a cow, two months earlier. Eliza Jane then returnred to Arizona with her two children. In 1912, she married Lilburn Henry Azbill, who was known as Henry Azbill. He and his brother Willis had a long criminal record. It is not known if Eliza was aware of that when she married him.
He was the fourth of seven children born to Henry and Mildred (Asher) Back.
When he was about 5 years old, he and his family left their home in Kentucky, and headed west. They settled in Cass County, Missouri, near the town of Wasdesburg.
On April 1, 1865, he was in Kansas. He enlisted to serve in the Civil War, on the Union side, in the 16th Cavalry, Company U. By that time, the war had been going on for about four years. The war ended, eight days after he had enlisted, on April 9, 1865. He mustered out on 5-17-1865, in Leavenworth, Kansas. So, he was only "in the war" for eight days. He saw "no action." His unit was not involved in any battles or skirmishes, during those last eight days. He then returned to Cass County, Missouri. His father died, two years later. Othe was seen in the 1870 Census Report, still living near Wadesburg, with his widowed mother and his younger brother William.
On February 3, 1873, Othe married Matilda Wilson, in Cass County. They then moved to Iowa, where she had been born. (Her parents may have been Benjamin Wilson and Rachel Swabb, who had first lived in Iowa, then moved to Kansas City, sometime before 1861, and then returned to Iowa, by 1870.)
Othe and Matilda had one child: Ida Mae (born 1875), who was born in Iowa. Matilda may have died during the birth of Ida Mae or shortly thereafter.
Othe then married Sarah Hoots Carr (a widow), on December 10, 1878. She was actually 15 years older than Othe, which was quite unusual.
Sarah was the daughter of Cain Hoots and Sarah Latter. She had first married James Carr, around 1853, in Illinois. They had five children, but four of them had died as infants (Joseph, Josephine, James, and Margaret); only their son Henry T. Carr survived to adulthood. Sarah and her husband James Carr had migrated to Cass County, Missouri, in 1868. They had settled in Wadesburg. But James had died in 1877. (Her parents had also migrated to Cass County, around 1870, but her mother soon died, in 1873, and her father died in 1874. They were both buried in the Everett Cemetery, where Sarah would later be buried, next to her first husband James Carr.)
Othe and Sarah were seen in the 1880 Census Report, living in Cass County, Missouri. Othe's 5-year-old daughter Ida Mae was living with them. (Ida Mae apparently later married George Mahon, in Kansas City, on May 8, 1890.) But Othe and Sarah's marriage did not last more than a few years; it was over by 1882.
Othe was seen in the 1882 Kansas City, Missouri Directory, working as a stockman, and living at 1304 St. Louis Avenue. (That was the only directory in which he was ever listed.)
Sarah went back to using the last name of Carr. She was listed in the 1883 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, and living at 2929 Chestnut. She later took in people's laundry. She was also seen in the 1890 St. Louis, Missouri Directory, as "Sarah Carr, widow of John Carr," living at 2816 Montgomery. By 1894, she had moved to Adrian, Missouri, in Bates County, where she spent the remaining years of her life. It was said that she was a devout Christian, although she never belonged to a church. She prayed daily and read her Bible as long as her eyesight would permit. Some of her last words were: "Only God can cure me of this sickness." She was a very generous hearted woman and was never known to turn anyone away from her door who was hungry. She was known as "Aunt Sarah." The attachment between Sarah and her son Henry was very close. For sixty-four years, they had been companions. Every day, the son gave his mother the tenderest attention. The first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night, he visited his mother, whose every want was provided for generously. No sacrifice that would add to her comfort was too great for the son to make willingly and cheerfully. She died in 1922. Her funeral was held at her son's home, on 8th Street. (She lived two doors away.) She was buried in the Everett Cemetery, where her first husband, and her parents, had been buried. (Othe Back's name was not mentioned in her obituary.)
Meanwhile, in 1887, Othe got into a fight with another man who stabbed him several times in the back. And then, around 1888, in Kansas, Othe married for a third time, to Eliza Jane Estella Mead. She was born around 1872 in Wayne County, Iowa, the daughter of Stephen Mead and Rachel Jones. (Rachel's parents were Samuel Jones and Rachel Beal.)
Eliza Jane was known as Estella, when she was a young girl, and Eliza, when she got older. Her parents were from Indiana; they had migrated to Wayne County, Iowa, after their first child, their son, was born. The family soon moved to Kansas, and they were seen in the 1875 Kansas State Census Report; Estella was then 6 years old. But her parents divorced, sometime before 1880. Estella, and her two sisters, Clara and Alice, stayed with their mother; they went back to Wayne County, Iowa and lived with her mother's uncle, Jackson Beal. They were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report. Estella's brother Nind J. stayed with their father, and they stayed in Solomon County, Kansas, and were seen living there, in the 1880 Census Report.
But, in May of 1889, Othe apparently abandoned Eliza and went to Kansas City, where he moved in with a woman identified as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," and he had a relationship with her. A newspaper article from June of 1890, reported that Othe had "abandoned his family" in Cass County, and had moved to Kansas City, where he had lived with "Mrs. Ford" (initially mistakenly referred to as "Miss Ford") in a "shanty by the Kaw River, for the past 13 months." The article reported that Othe had a child with Mrs. Ford. The article also reported that Othe had gotten into an argument with Mrs. Ford's mother, Mrs. Jones (Rachel R. Jones, divorced from Stephen Mead), and a man named Nind "N.J." Mead, who was identified as "the brother of Mrs. Ford" tried to stop the argument. Nind was also the brother of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Therefore, "Mrs. L.A. Ford" must have been a sister of Othe's wife Eliza (Estella) Mead! Her two known sisters were Alice "Anna" (who married Moses Casner in 1891), and Clara Olive (who married Anton Line in 1895). So, either Othe had an affair with one of them (who was described as "Mrs. L.A. Ford," or there was another sister, or half-sister, who is not known.
Nind Mead hit Othe in the head with an axe, which caused a deep and serious wound that nearly killed him. The newspaper reported that Othe's skull was split open and "his brains were showing." He was tended to, at the St. Margaret Hospital. He was lucky he wasn't killed. But just as soon as he was sewn up, he abruptly left the hospital, left town, and returned to his wife Eliza, in Cass County.
Othe and Eliza migrated to Arizona, around 1893. They had six children: Alfred, known as "Cuter" (b. about 1889); William, known as "Pretty Bill" (b. about 1892); Lizzie (born about 1894); Alice Rachel, known as Rachel (b. 1896); Marcus (b. 1899); and Lora Mae (b. 3-18-1901).
Othe died, on November 3, 1902, which was only about one and a half years after his daughter Lora Mae was born. Some people said that he was walking home, one very cold night, drunk, and he fell asleep in a haystack, where he later froze to death. That was probably true. The funeral notice for Othe does not indicate the cemetery in Flagstaff, in which he was buried:
On Monday the 3d, at the Methodist Church, the funeral services of Othe Bache was held by J. H. Henry. The deceased was a soldier in the Civil War and was a member of the 16th Kansas Cavalry. He was quite young when he enlisted, served his country well and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He was only 57 years of age at the time of his death and leaves a wife and six children to mourn the loss of husband and father. A large number of citizens, among them quite a number of the G. A. R., attended the services and followed the remains of their comrade and friend to his last resting place. "When the general roll is called, may they all be there."
His widow, Eliza Jane, was unable to care for the four younger children, and so she placed them for adoption. Her two older children, Alfred and William, were old enough to support themselves, and they worked as cowmen.
One year later, Eliza Jane married Nelson Hollingshed, on 10-11-1903. They moved to Utah. They had two children: Jewell (b. 8-13-1902); and Nelson (b. 2-28-1906). Their daughter Jewell later married Elmer Hollingshed, who may have been a distant relative.
But then Nelson died, on April 3, 1910. He had been kicked in the stomach by a cow, two months earlier. Eliza Jane then returnred to Arizona with her two children. In 1912, she married Lilburn Henry Azbill, who was known as Henry Azbill. He and his brother Willis had a long criminal record. It is not known if Eliza was aware of that when she married him.
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