Willie & Nellie Moats – Fairmount Cemetery, Hodgeman, Kansas

There are two non-descript headstones in Fairmount Cemetery. The first one reads: Nellie Moats Died May 17, 1887. An identical headstone next to Nellie’s is her brother, Willie. His reads: Willie Moats Died May 6, 1887. There are no other Moats headstones in Hodgeman County.

Their parents are John S. and Sarah Goodwin Moats. John was born in Ohio while Sarah was born in Indiana. After serving in the Civil War, John and Sarah both ended up in Iowa where they were married. For the next few years, the family lived in eastern Kansas and Nebraska. The Hodgeman county newspapers show that the family spent little time here; just 3 years.

Their father died in 1920 and is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Their mother remarried in 1911 and is buried in Neelands Cemetery, St. John, Stafford, Kansas.

Note: John Stewart Moats (1848-1920) served in the US Civil War. At the age of 19, he enlisted as a soldier in Co E. Regiment 9 Iowa. Pvt. Moats’ discharge papers listed his disability as “diseased lungs”. His disability pay was $8.00/month. These health issues could explain why the family came to Kansas.