Gallagher-Stafford-Jones
I would like to pay a small tribute to three of the greatest people who
touched my life and made a deep impression on me. They spent most of their
lives in Barber County: Julia Feltner Gallagher, Frankie (Gallager Stafford)
Jones, and Hamilton Blaine Jones.
Julia was the mother of Frankie (my mother-in-law). When she was a small
child, she came to barber County from Greenup, Ill. in a covered wagon with
her parents, Archibald and Mary Feltner. She had a twin brother, Jim; a
brother, Arch; and three sisters: Martha (Kinchloe); Angeline (Mathews),
and Ellen (Moffet). They grew up on a farm south of Lake City. There may
have been others, but these I knew best.
Julia married Patrick Gallagher. There were four children who blessed
this home, namely Frankie, Martha, Tom, and James. It was not a happy home
for long, as Pat Gallagher was killed while trying to corral a wild bull.
There was a post office and cemetery near Aetna named Gallagher.
Julia's sister, Ellen Moffett, and her husband died within a short period
of time, leaving three small children; Charley, Edgar, and Ellen (Platt). Her
sister, Angie, wife of Dick Mathews, died; there were four of this family;
Orie, Pearl, Bill, and Frances (English).
Uncle Dick and Aunt Julia, as they were lovingly known, married and made
a Christian home for all three families. They loved them all the same. Bill
Mathews married Carrie Nurse; Ellen married Roy Platt; Frances married Billy
English; Frankie married Mr. Stafford - they had two children, Helen Jessie
(Gaunt) and Luther Stafford. She later married Blaine Jones, who was the
father of Reece Jones. Tom married Pearl Parsons; Martha married Fred Wood.
Jim Gallagher and wife, Mary's daughter, Jewel Talmage, are the only living
members of the Gallagher family.
Frances English lives at Bernice, Oklahoma, from the Mathews family.
Julia's life was spent doing for others. She endured hardships, but her
Christian faith and prayers to her Lord always saw her through with a smile.
Frankie (1880-1936) and Blaine JOnes (1879-1949) reared her children,
Helen and Luther Stafford, and Reece Jones from age nine. They also opened
their hearts and doors to many others. When his mother died and he was only
a baby, Walter Balding was taken into their home and raised as their very
own. He was givien the love of Chrisitan "Parents."
Luther (1903-1950), Helen (1900-1977), and Reece (1905-1975) have all
passed away.
Julia, Frankie, and Blaine were three of the greatest!
Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 184
Submitted by: Myrtle Hunt Stafford Tyler