General Notes

[basham.ged]
Caldwell County Missouri History, Page 182
Ozella G Thompson, the older daughter of William Thompson and Rosa E
ll en (Edwards) Thompson was born on the Ward farm near Cowgill on 22 O
ct 190 0. She received a high school education at Dowgill. In 1920, she ma
rried G eroge Dewey Basham, who was born and grew up in Ray County. They l
iv ed on the old home place and later built a new house there.
During the depression years of the 1930s, they lived in Kansas Cit
y, M o. Ozella did sales work and became department head in one of the lar
ger s tores. Dewey was with the livestock commission firm. When his heal
th beg an to fail, they returned to the farm, and he spent a year in Arizo
na a nd a period of time in Texas. Later in the 1940s, they ran a dairy, s
ervi ng the people of the Cowgill area. Ozella became a member of the Cowg
ill C hurch of Christ. She successfully managed the farm for several year
s, car ed for the livestock and built up a good herd of cattle. She suffer
ed a st roke and died March 19, 1977. She was buried in the Thompson pl
ot in the C owgill Cemetery. Caldwell County Missouri History, page 182