Nancy Katherine Cox Brumley was my great-grandmother. She was born in September 1870 in Bedford, Lincoln, Missouri. She went by Katie most of the time. Her parents were Ralph H C Cox and Nancy Elizabeth Baugh. She was the last child out of nine children born to this family; Sarah Elizabeth, Thomas Henry, Sophia Jane, Jessie M, Mary Ellen, James William, Ralph H, and Annie Perlina.
The Missouri 1880 Census says, her family had moved to Maries County, Missouri. Katie was twenty-four years old when on January 13, 1895, she married my great-grandfather, Isaac Walter Brumley also of Maries County. On the marriage license record, it states that Willis Brumley had to give consent for Isaac Walter to marry because he was underage at the time.
They started their family by the birth of my grandfather, John Leo Brumley in 1895 and then five other siblings came afterward; William Ralph, Thomas Clinton, Nancy Beatrice (Bea), Henry Elmer Raymond and Walter Willis Brumley.
Over the years the family resided in Maries, Osage, and Pulaski Counties in Missouri. Walter worked odd jobs and finally was able to get a position working for the railroad.
Katie became ill either in 1912 or before and whatever her symptoms they were bad enough that someone had to admit her into the hospital. The informant on the certificate doesn’t know some of the basic information. So the person who admitted Katie was probably not a relative or Walter. She was diagnosed with Pellagra, a horrible disease back in the day. Pellagra is caused by a lack of Niacin or Vitamin B-3 and has symptoms of dementia, diarrhea, and dermatitis and left untreated can be fatal.
She entered the Missouri State Hospital #3 on July 9, 1912. It is unclear why Walter didn’t admit her to the hospital unless he was out of town working on the railroad. Most of the information was unknown. She was there one month and eighteen days and died on August 28, 1912, at the age of forty-two years old.
The mystery surrounding her death has been a long-standing question for years as my mother and I have looked for her gravesite with no luck. Two unknown relatives that we discovered in the early 1980’s did not even want to discuss it with us as we were gathering genealogy information. All they told us was where she was at, at the time of her death. Mental illness was not talked about in the last century as it is today. People did not want other people to know they had someone in their family with mental illness. My mother and I had to convince our two cousins, Effie, and Edna that it was ok to talk about this with us. So even back in the 1980’s, it was still a taboo subject with the elderly relatives living in the Ozark area.
At the bottom of the death certificate, it says place of burial was Dixon, Pulaski, Missouri. Relatives have stated that she was buried in Fairview Cemetery near Laquey and Hanna, Missouri I have no evidence that she is buried in this cemetery. There is a cemetery at the State Hospital but very few records of who is buried on the hospital grounds. My mother, Nancy Gertrude Brumley Weik was unable to find her grave several years ago when she traveled with her sister and brothers to locate her burial place. So it remains a mystery for now. My aunt, Shirley Ann Brumley Stevens also tried to locate her remains with no luck.
I have started up my blog again and would appreciate any feedback from family or friends. Also, if there is anyone out there who can share more information about Nancy Katherine (Katie) Cox Brumley I would love to hear from you.
Thank you.
Brumley Family Branches 
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