Re: Question from Ed Grooms re Bruce' books...Boze
I know Iv'e brought this up before but the last Boze to live at Boze mill was not Alex, and Martha was not the only surviving child of James Boze. The last Boze to live at the Boze mill was Levi Boze, youngest brother of Martha Boze Couch. He left with other sisters and surving family at 13 years old and walked behind the milk cow and wagon to Dade county Missouri to live out the war with another sister because soldiers both North and South took all their food and livestock and they abandoned the place. It took 2 weeks to walk there. He and family stayed about 7 years and upon returning they found that Boze mill had been sold for taxes to his brother in law A.P. Couch. The dilema was that when property sells for taxes it is the law to look for family and list the sale in the newspapers so family can have the opportunity to pay the taxes. After 5 years the right to pay the taxes and retain the property is legally lost. It would seem obvious that the person who bought it would know where his brother and sister in laws, the siblings of his wife, were living.The mill was not worth a lot but the timber on the large tract of land that went with it was worth a large sum and the old story was that it made Mr. Couch worth a lot of money. Levi had little choice but to settle close by. He had several children, one of which was Luke, who had several children, one of which was Polk, or Charles as he is known and Polk had one son whose name is Joe. That would be me. Most of Levi's lineage still live within a half days drive from the mill. We didn't fall far from the tree.