Person:Francis Dowell (7)

1910 U.S. Census shows Frank, age 39, living in Wellsford Twp., Kiowa Co., KS, with wife Eva, age 32, and son Millard, age 4, daughter, Mary, age 2. Came to Wellsford, KS with his family in 1885. A family story is that Frank, in connection with running the Wellsford, KS, Dowell family drugstore, was being investigated for the illegal sale of liquor. Suspecting that arrest may be imminent, he dressed in women's clothes as a disguise, bought a ticket at the railroad station and transported himself to Missoula, MT where his brother Ed lived. Ed was the Missoula postmaster and Frank served as his assistant for five years until things "blew over" back home and he returned to marry Eva Thomas in 1905. While Frank, my grandfather, never mentioned this incident, he did often talk about witnessing the John L. Sullivan/Gentleman Jim Corbett heavyweight title fight in Missoula. (SFT). Marriage date per announcement in SFT file. Built the Dowell farmhouse south of Wellsford, KS, in 1911.