Photo from my mother's photo album
Harvey Edward/Edgar Bash
His Grandfather--
Harvey E. (Edward or Edgar) Bash was the grandson of Henry Bersch/Bash, who immigrated to the United States from the Hessen\Darmstadt area of Germany in 1844 at the age of 22, arriving in the United States on May 1, 1844. He filed his Naturalization Petition in Whitley County, Indiana. In 1848, he married Mary M. "Mollie" Hager in Whitley County. During the years that followed they also lived in Kosciusko and Wabash Counties in Indiana. Henry served his new country during the Civil War, entering Company "I" -152 Regiment of Indiana Infantry Volunteers on 8 Feb. 1865, at age 43 and was discharged Aug. 30, 1865.
His Parents --
Harvey was born to William Frank Bash and Elizabeth Rebecca (Edmonds) Bash who were married in Wabash County, Indiana in 1869. He was the 3rd of 8 children. Willie H. born March 31, 1872, Charley W. born Dec. 31, 1872, Harvey E. born Feb. 12, 1874, Clara Alice born Feb. 1876, Laura M. born Sept. 26, 1879, Editha Dalton (my grandmother) born Aug. 27, 1881, Earl Wayne born Aug. 9, 1883 and Ross born Dec. 22, 1885. William Frank Bash served his country
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Harvey E. Bash
during the Civil war, enlisting in the 152 Regiment Indiana Volunteers and served until the close of the Civil War. Their two oldest son, Willie H. and Charley W. died 5 days apart on Sept. 16 and Sept. 21, 1874. Less than a year later, Harvey's father passed away on Aug. 22, 1885, 4 months before Ross was born. Then on Dec. 29, 1891 tragedy struck this family, when Ross who was playing near the rairoad tracks, fell under a train and the train wheels ran over him.
His Family --
Harvey married Virginia V. Hiltz, also a native of Indiana, about May 1898. We do not know if they were married in Indiana or Kansas but in 1900 they were living in Montgomery County, Cherry Township, Kansas where their two oldest children were born, Clara Jenness in March 1899 and Elwood F. on Apr. 12, 1902. Sometime between 1900 and 1904 they moved to Douglas County, Ava, Missouri where their 3rd child, Everett V. was born on Nov. 12, 1904.
Landowner, Civic Leader & Businessman --
Harvey was a businessman, landowner & civic leader. In June of 1907, a group of businessmen including Harvey, formed a corporation for the purpose of erecting a building for the canning of tomatoes, the Ava Canning Company. It was incorporated for $2,000 and divided into 400 shares of $5.00 each. J. H. Murray was elected president and general manager, J. A. G. Reynolds, vice president, A. P. Miller, treasurer, and H. E. Bash, secretary. The board of directors were J. H. Murray, Ben J. Smith, J. A. G. Reynolds, H. E.Bash and Joe Davis. The factory was located on the southwest corner of the picnic grounds.
On July 1, 1907 the Basher post office was established about 7 miles east of Ava and named for -- "Harve Bash, who owned the land where the post office was located at the junction of Highway 76 and 'U' -- discontinued March 31, 1920".
Ava was reincorported on November 7 or 8, 1908 as a city of the fourth class and the court appointed officers to hold office until the annual city election April 1, 1909. Appointed were George R. Curry, Mayor, Charles H. Coble, Collector and James M. Miller, Marshal, H. E. Bash, M. Olsen, W. F. Reynolds and Paul Coleman Aldermen.
In October of 1909 a "horseless carriage" made its appearance on the Ava square and the October 21, 1909 issue of the Douglas County Herald featured a picture of the automobile. Caption under the picture states, "H. E. Bash and Rev. George R. Curry in one of the first automobiles on the streets of Ava. The Ozark Real Estate & Abstract office behind was located at the rear of the Citizens Bank when it was located on the northwest corner of the Ava square." The car was an International two-cylinder, high wheel chain-driven machine. H. E. Bash and Rev. George R. Curry together with Charles H. Coble operated the Ozark Real Estate Company.
Sometime around 1911, Harvey owned his own Tie Company. Excerpts from the Reeves Family History recounted by Dorothy Reeves Kerr Turner, stated that in the winter of 1911, her Uncle Enoch Davis and her Papa cut ties for the railroad and hauled them to Ava to Mr. H. E. Bash's tie yard. A Feb. 29, 1912 news item taken from the December 1999 Douglas County Historical Society Journal further states, "That H. E. Bash Tie Co. is doing a big business the last few weeks in the way of shipping and buying ties. Recently in light days they shipped out 22 cars of ties. The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad have just contracted for 100 cars and they will be shipped out at the rate of 4 or 5 cars per day or as fast as they can be loaded." In 1922 the railroad was declared not safe for heavy freight and income not sufficient for road repairs and freight stopped. On August 4, 1922 Ava businessmen bought the railroad and a fifty-ton locomotive and repaired the tracks. They were ready to begin moving freight on October 27th and Harve Bash resumed buying ties.
World War I was in progress in 1918 and Harvey registered for the draft Sept.12, 1918. At that time he was 45 years of age. He was never called for active duty.
Sometime after 1922 Harvey and his wife Elizabeth moved to Springfield in Greene County, Missouri. According to his wife's obituary, he was a district manager of the Western Tie Company for many years.
Their children --
Their daughter, Janness, graduated in 1918 from the Ava High School. She was a school teacher and married Elmer O. Sellers on Jan. 26, 1924 in Jackson, Missouri. Elmer registered for the draft in Douglas County, Missouri on May 28, 1917 and served as a soldier with Battery C, 342nd F. A. Army of Occupation, during WWI in Woldsfield, Germany.
Elwood married Lola M. and they lived in the Bakersville, Los Angeles & Santa Barbara, California areas. Elwood died at Santa Barbara, California on Feb. 14, 1969 at the age of 66 and his wife, Lola died at Nipomo, Sanb Luis Obispo, California on Sept. 30, 1993 at the age of 85.
Everett moved to Springfield and married Mildred M. on about 1929. They had one son, Robert. Everett was a machinist for the Frisco Railroad. He died on May 10, 1962 at 57 years of age at the Frisco Hospital in St. Louis after an illness of three and a half months. His wife, Mildred was a school teacher. She died Apr. 25, 1997 at 92 years of age at the Springfield's St. John's Regional Health Center. Everett, Mildred and their son Robert are all buried in the White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Springfield.
Their final days --
Elizabeth Bash died of cancer at her home in Springfield, MO on Feb. 12, 1931 at the age of 68 years, 8 months, 21 days. She is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery. Harvey married Myra Cantrell on Sept. 21, 1931 in Jasper County, Carthage, MO. They resided in Springfield, where Harvey died of heart problems on Mary 30, 1936 at the age of 62 years, 1 month and 18 days old. He is buried in Greenlawn cemetery beside his first wife, Elizabeth.
Sources:
Historical Society Whitley County, Columbia City, Indiana Genealogical Naturalization Records, Part Two
Whitley County Marriages, 2 September 1838 through 31 December 1850, General Material from The
Hoosier Kin, Vol. 4 with Index
Death notice for Mrs. Mary Bash, North Manchester Journal, June 23, 1881
American Civil war Soldier, Ancestry.com
William F. Bash, Wabash County, Indiana Biographies B, 1884 History of Wabash County, Indiana,
Page 286
Death notice of Frank Bash, North Manchester Journal, Wabash Co., Indiana, Aug. 27, 1885
Ross Bash Death, The Wabash Times, Jan. 1,1892 & North Manchester Journal, Dec. 31, 1891
Journal of the Douglas County (MO) Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc., Issues July 1974, page 3; May
1986, p. 11; December 1991, page 13; December 1996, page 26; December 1999, page 21; Summer
2004, page 17; Winter 2006, page 29 & Winter 2003, page 6
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com
Missouri State Board of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics Certificates of Death
Obituaries from the "Leader" and "Daily News", Springfield, Missouri Newspaper Items, Springfield Green
County Library
Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com
Family Search™ U.S. Social Security Death Index
Family Search™ International Genealogical Individual Record
Marriage License & Marriage Records, State of Missouri
U. S. Federal Census 1900 - 1930, Ancestry.com
City Directory, Santa Mana, California
Names and Places by Barbara DeVore, Douglas County Museum, Ava, Missouri
"Basher Church", Ava, Missouri library
Douglas County Missouri History & Families, 1857-1995, Douglas County Historical Society
©copyright 2008 by Zelda Capehart All Rights Reserved
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The information on this website has been compiled from many sources. We have tried to document and verify all information as much as possible and will continue to do so. If you find an error or have additional information please contact us.
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