John Wesley "Wes" Bales was the third child of William "Riley" Bales, a farmer and veteran of the Civil War, and his first wife, Martha (Towell) Bales.
Wes was born in 1849 in Richland, Iowa. When he was 20 years old, he moved to a community called Dinsmore, in Madison Township, Mercer County, Missouri, which once had a post office on County Road D, near US Highway 136. Almost no trace of this place now survives.
He married Margaret Elizabeth Thogmatin (also spelled "Margret") a native of nearby Modena, Missouri, on 27 February 1871. Their first four children were born in Dinsmore. The Bales lived in Modena from about 1877 to 1881; Richland, Iowa from about 1882 to 1886; in Goshen, Mercer County, Missouri from about 1886 to 1888; and in Harris, Sullivan County, Missouri from about 1889 to 1903.
In about 1881, about 4 years after the death of his father, Wes and his wife raised his youngest brothers Riley "Elmer" Bales and Charles Albert Bales, and his half-sister Mary Frances (Bales) McNutt. (Note: His infant half-sister Lulu 'Pearl' (Bales) Towell was raised by her mother.)
Wes worked as a farmer and laborer until he returned from Iowa to Missouri in 1886. He then worked as a quarrymen and laborer who built the route for the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City (QO&KC) Railroad across north central Missouri. About 3 years later, he bought a home in Harris where he worked as a brick maker. (Note: His two eldest daughters, Alice and Mandy, died of tuberculosis at Wes and Margaret's home in Harris in 1894, according to notes written by his granddaughter, Sarah (Moss) Hall. In 1896, his daughter Rose Bales married Fred Davis at their home in Harris, as well.)
At age 54, in 1903, Wes, Margaret, and their 10 year-old adopted grandson, Cecil Ernest "Pete" Moss (son of their deceased daughter Alice), crossed 1,700 miles of plains, deserts, and the Rocky Mountains from Missouri in one of the last horse-drawn covered wagon trains to make the arduous trip West. They first settled in the Glade district of the Horse Heaven Hills, near the former community of Plainview, Washington, which no longer exists. (It was located in far southeastern Yakima County, about 20 miles due south of Mabton.) They led a hardscrabble life as dryland wheat farmers for several years, before settling closer to Mabton.
Wes and Margaret raised of nine children of their own (in addition to the four related children they raiised, noted above):
1.) America Alice (Bales) Moss (1872 - 1894)
2.) Mary Amanda "Mandy" Bales (1873 - 1894)
3.) Edgar Bert Bales (1875 - 1956)
4.) Rose Bell (Bales) Davis (1876 - 1971)
5.) Bertha P. (Bales) Scoles (1880 - 1903)
6.) William Harvey "Bill" Bales (1877 - 1958)
7.) Jesse Richard Bales (1883 - 1911
8.) Max P. Bales (1885 - 1903)
9.) Cora Lee Bales (1887 - 1904)
Wes was known for his sharp wit - though he had little education, his ingenuity, and being hard worker. He had a special love of music, and any chance he got, he enjoyed playing his fiddle and mandolin -- his two most prized possessions. His two instruments have been passed down though his family with fond memories of his life. (See photos.)
Wes died at age 76 in 1925, and was interred at Prosser Pioneer Cemetery (formerly I.O.O.F. Cemetery). His wife Margaret rests next to him.
Wes was born in 1849 in Richland, Iowa. When he was 20 years old, he moved to a community called Dinsmore, in Madison Township, Mercer County, Missouri, which once had a post office on County Road D, near US Highway 136. Almost no trace of this place now survives.
He married Margaret Elizabeth Thogmatin (also spelled "Margret") a native of nearby Modena, Missouri, on 27 February 1871. Their first four children were born in Dinsmore. The Bales lived in Modena from about 1877 to 1881; Richland, Iowa from about 1882 to 1886; in Goshen, Mercer County, Missouri from about 1886 to 1888; and in Harris, Sullivan County, Missouri from about 1889 to 1903.
In about 1881, about 4 years after the death of his father, Wes and his wife raised his youngest brothers Riley "Elmer" Bales and Charles Albert Bales, and his half-sister Mary Frances (Bales) McNutt. (Note: His infant half-sister Lulu 'Pearl' (Bales) Towell was raised by her mother.)
Wes worked as a farmer and laborer until he returned from Iowa to Missouri in 1886. He then worked as a quarrymen and laborer who built the route for the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City (QO&KC) Railroad across north central Missouri. About 3 years later, he bought a home in Harris where he worked as a brick maker. (Note: His two eldest daughters, Alice and Mandy, died of tuberculosis at Wes and Margaret's home in Harris in 1894, according to notes written by his granddaughter, Sarah (Moss) Hall. In 1896, his daughter Rose Bales married Fred Davis at their home in Harris, as well.)
At age 54, in 1903, Wes, Margaret, and their 10 year-old adopted grandson, Cecil Ernest "Pete" Moss (son of their deceased daughter Alice), crossed 1,700 miles of plains, deserts, and the Rocky Mountains from Missouri in one of the last horse-drawn covered wagon trains to make the arduous trip West. They first settled in the Glade district of the Horse Heaven Hills, near the former community of Plainview, Washington, which no longer exists. (It was located in far southeastern Yakima County, about 20 miles due south of Mabton.) They led a hardscrabble life as dryland wheat farmers for several years, before settling closer to Mabton.
Wes and Margaret raised of nine children of their own (in addition to the four related children they raiised, noted above):
1.) America Alice (Bales) Moss (1872 - 1894)
2.) Mary Amanda "Mandy" Bales (1873 - 1894)
3.) Edgar Bert Bales (1875 - 1956)
4.) Rose Bell (Bales) Davis (1876 - 1971)
5.) Bertha P. (Bales) Scoles (1880 - 1903)
6.) William Harvey "Bill" Bales (1877 - 1958)
7.) Jesse Richard Bales (1883 - 1911
8.) Max P. Bales (1885 - 1903)
9.) Cora Lee Bales (1887 - 1904)
Wes was known for his sharp wit - though he had little education, his ingenuity, and being hard worker. He had a special love of music, and any chance he got, he enjoyed playing his fiddle and mandolin -- his two most prized possessions. His two instruments have been passed down though his family with fond memories of his life. (See photos.)
Wes died at age 76 in 1925, and was interred at Prosser Pioneer Cemetery (formerly I.O.O.F. Cemetery). His wife Margaret rests next to him.
John Wesley "Wes" Bales was the third child of William "Riley" Bales, a farmer and veteran of the Civil War, and his first wife, Martha (Towell) Bales.
Wes was born in 1849 in Richland, Iowa. When he was 20 years old, he moved to a community called Dinsmore, in Madison Township, Mercer County, Missouri, which once had a post office on County Road D, near US Highway 136. Almost no trace of this place now survives.
He married Margaret Elizabeth Thogmatin (also spelled "Margret") a native of nearby Modena, Missouri, on 27 February 1871. Their first four children were born in Dinsmore. The Bales lived in Modena from about 1877 to 1881; Richland, Iowa from about 1882 to 1886; in Goshen, Mercer County, Missouri from about 1886 to 1888; and in Harris, Sullivan County, Missouri from about 1889 to 1903.
In about 1881, about 4 years after the death of his father, Wes and his wife raised his youngest brothers Riley "Elmer" Bales and Charles Albert Bales, and his half-sister Mary Frances (Bales) McNutt. (Note: His infant half-sister Lulu 'Pearl' (Bales) Towell was raised by her mother.)
Wes worked as a farmer and laborer until he returned from Iowa to Missouri in 1886. He then worked as a quarrymen and laborer who built the route for the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City (QO&KC) Railroad across north central Missouri. About 3 years later, he bought a home in Harris where he worked as a brick maker. (Note: His two eldest daughters, Alice and Mandy, died of tuberculosis at Wes and Margaret's home in Harris in 1894, according to notes written by his granddaughter, Sarah (Moss) Hall. In 1896, his daughter Rose Bales married Fred Davis at their home in Harris, as well.)
At age 54, in 1903, Wes, Margaret, and their 10 year-old adopted grandson, Cecil Ernest "Pete" Moss (son of their deceased daughter Alice), crossed 1,700 miles of plains, deserts, and the Rocky Mountains from Missouri in one of the last horse-drawn covered wagon trains to make the arduous trip West. They first settled in the Glade district of the Horse Heaven Hills, near the former community of Plainview, Washington, which no longer exists. (It was located in far southeastern Yakima County, about 20 miles due south of Mabton.) They led a hardscrabble life as dryland wheat farmers for several years, before settling closer to Mabton.
Wes and Margaret raised of nine children of their own (in addition to the four related children they raiised, noted above):
1.) America Alice (Bales) Moss (1872 - 1894)
2.) Mary Amanda "Mandy" Bales (1873 - 1894)
3.) Edgar Bert Bales (1875 - 1956)
4.) Rose Bell (Bales) Davis (1876 - 1971)
5.) Bertha P. (Bales) Scoles (1880 - 1903)
6.) William Harvey "Bill" Bales (1877 - 1958)
7.) Jesse Richard Bales (1883 - 1911
8.) Max P. Bales (1885 - 1903)
9.) Cora Lee Bales (1887 - 1904)
Wes was known for his sharp wit - though he had little education, his ingenuity, and being hard worker. He had a special love of music, and any chance he got, he enjoyed playing his fiddle and mandolin -- his two most prized possessions. His two instruments have been passed down though his family with fond memories of his life. (See photos.)
Wes died at age 76 in 1925, and was interred at Prosser Pioneer Cemetery (formerly I.O.O.F. Cemetery). His wife Margaret rests next to him.
Wes was born in 1849 in Richland, Iowa. When he was 20 years old, he moved to a community called Dinsmore, in Madison Township, Mercer County, Missouri, which once had a post office on County Road D, near US Highway 136. Almost no trace of this place now survives.
He married Margaret Elizabeth Thogmatin (also spelled "Margret") a native of nearby Modena, Missouri, on 27 February 1871. Their first four children were born in Dinsmore. The Bales lived in Modena from about 1877 to 1881; Richland, Iowa from about 1882 to 1886; in Goshen, Mercer County, Missouri from about 1886 to 1888; and in Harris, Sullivan County, Missouri from about 1889 to 1903.
In about 1881, about 4 years after the death of his father, Wes and his wife raised his youngest brothers Riley "Elmer" Bales and Charles Albert Bales, and his half-sister Mary Frances (Bales) McNutt. (Note: His infant half-sister Lulu 'Pearl' (Bales) Towell was raised by her mother.)
Wes worked as a farmer and laborer until he returned from Iowa to Missouri in 1886. He then worked as a quarrymen and laborer who built the route for the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City (QO&KC) Railroad across north central Missouri. About 3 years later, he bought a home in Harris where he worked as a brick maker. (Note: His two eldest daughters, Alice and Mandy, died of tuberculosis at Wes and Margaret's home in Harris in 1894, according to notes written by his granddaughter, Sarah (Moss) Hall. In 1896, his daughter Rose Bales married Fred Davis at their home in Harris, as well.)
At age 54, in 1903, Wes, Margaret, and their 10 year-old adopted grandson, Cecil Ernest "Pete" Moss (son of their deceased daughter Alice), crossed 1,700 miles of plains, deserts, and the Rocky Mountains from Missouri in one of the last horse-drawn covered wagon trains to make the arduous trip West. They first settled in the Glade district of the Horse Heaven Hills, near the former community of Plainview, Washington, which no longer exists. (It was located in far southeastern Yakima County, about 20 miles due south of Mabton.) They led a hardscrabble life as dryland wheat farmers for several years, before settling closer to Mabton.
Wes and Margaret raised of nine children of their own (in addition to the four related children they raiised, noted above):
1.) America Alice (Bales) Moss (1872 - 1894)
2.) Mary Amanda "Mandy" Bales (1873 - 1894)
3.) Edgar Bert Bales (1875 - 1956)
4.) Rose Bell (Bales) Davis (1876 - 1971)
5.) Bertha P. (Bales) Scoles (1880 - 1903)
6.) William Harvey "Bill" Bales (1877 - 1958)
7.) Jesse Richard Bales (1883 - 1911
8.) Max P. Bales (1885 - 1903)
9.) Cora Lee Bales (1887 - 1904)
Wes was known for his sharp wit - though he had little education, his ingenuity, and being hard worker. He had a special love of music, and any chance he got, he enjoyed playing his fiddle and mandolin -- his two most prized possessions. His two instruments have been passed down though his family with fond memories of his life. (See photos.)
Wes died at age 76 in 1925, and was interred at Prosser Pioneer Cemetery (formerly I.O.O.F. Cemetery). His wife Margaret rests next to him.
Gravesite Details
The headstone of Wes and Margaret Bales has the images of a four horse-drawn covered wagon, and a fiddle, that Wes loved to play.
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