James Hobart Stairs was born in Bradford, Kentucky, June 1, 1869. He came
     to Sterling, Kansas, with his parents at age 11. After completion of his
     schooling in Sterling he attended Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Peoria,
     Illinois. He graduated in 1891, with a diploma as Watchmaker-Engraver-
     Optometrist. Returning to Kansas, he came to Kiowa with a friend and made
     the Cherokee Strip run into Oklahoma in 1893. They staked a claim south of
     Kiowa. Since they were not farmers by profession, and not realizing the
     value of their land, they decided to sell and move on to Colorado. They
     traded the land for a team of mules and a jug of whiskey. James Hobart 
     stayed in Kiowa. He later purchased two quarters of land southeast of 
     Hazelton, Kansas, which is owned by his daughter, Imogene McClure.
       He was married to Myrtle Bell Sheppard from Fisher, Illinois, January 29,
     1904. Her brother had TB and her parents were traveling west for his health.
     They stopped over in Kiowa and Myrtle met James Hobart and they were married.
     She died April 16, 1955.
       There were five children in the family: Dorothy married Ottie Circle
     (deceased); Hobart Jr. (deceased) married Mary Jane Holser; Donna Lee 
     married Lee Karp; son Willard died at age 2; Imogene married Jay McClure
     (deceased). The grandchildren are as follows: Ott Stairs Circle (deceased);
     Jack H. Circle married Virginia Carden and now lives in Wichita, Kansas; 
     Phoebe Ann McClure marreid Roger Harter of Wichita. Dorothy Sue McClure
     married Derald Johnson, Dodge City; Judy Stairs married Ron Allison,
     Cherokee, Oklahoma; and Letisha Karp married Jere Schwerdtfeger, of Kiowa.
     There are 13 grandchildren. They are: Jack H. Circle Jr., Jan Circle, Sarah
     Circle, Rogena Ann Harter, Kristina Gwen Harter, Jay Grant Harter, Derald
     Oliver Johnson Jr., Deanna Sue Johnson, Don J. Johnson, Rodney Allisons,
     T.J. Allison, Henry Douglas Schwerdtfeger and Jason Dale Schwerdtfeger.
       James Hobart Stairs Sr. established the Stairs Jewelry Store in Kiowa in
     1898. He passed away September 1938, and his son James Hobart Jr. ran the
     store until his death in 1968. The store closed in 1969, a total of 71 years
     in operation.
       In the early 1900's, Hobart Stairs Sr. and Duncan Circle both bought new
     Reo cars, which were the first cars in Kiowa. They were going to sell Reo
     cars and get rich quick, but they never sold a car. Dorothy Circle remembers
     the first trip in the car, and the only trip to Alva, Oklahoma. The car had
     no doors; she had to ride in the front seat with her father, and sister
     Imogene rode with her mother in the back seat, so they wouldn't fall out.
       Hobart Stairs Sr. served as a director of the First National Bank of Kiowa,
     during the depression days. He and the other directors had to put considerable
     money in the bank to keep it from closing. The Bank is now the First Bank of
     Kiowa.
       James Hobart Sr. was well known as a watchmaker and jewelryman and well
     liked by the people of Kiowa.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 436 
     Submitted by: Donna and Lee Karp, Dorothy Circle.