Category Archives: Johnson County

Robert Samuel Parkhurst

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Robert Samuel Parkhurst
b. 2 February 1823, Henry County, Kentucky, to John and Abigail (Sellers) Parkhurst
d. 27 June 1911, Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas

m. 18 May 1842, Nineveh Township, Johnson County, Indiana
Lucretia Henry
b. 1822-23, Nineveh Township, Johnson County, Indiana, to John and Elizabeth (Musselman) Henry
d. after 1896, Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas

Children with Lucretia Henry:
• Abigail (b. 1843) married Lewis W. Hudiburg/Heidiburg
• Mary Elizabeth (b. 1844) married Iverson Ellis Utterback
• Matilda (b. 1849) married Richard Harvey DeMott
• Sarah (b. 1849)
• Lucinda Caroline (b. 1854) married William Edward Smith

John and his family moved to Johnson County, Indiana in 1826. As a youth, Robert received little education and except for three years he worked mostly as a farmer. In the fall of 1869, the family moved to Montgomery County, Kansas, where both Robert and Lucretia spent the rest of their lives.

Submitted by:
Jocelyn J. Wickens
Powells Point NC

Peter S. Hunter

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Peter S. Hunter
b. 2 February 1855, Indiana, to Aaron N.B. and Cynthia A. (Ramsey-Lawrence) Hunter
d. 9 March 1929, Ponca City, Oklahoma

m. 9 August 1874, Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana
Nancy E. Davison
b. 6 November 1856, Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana, to Richard and Eveline (Applegate) Davison
d. 27 January 1926, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Children with Nancy E. Davison:
• infant son (b. 1875)
• Willis Reece (1876-1932) married Suda Agness Baker
• Charles Edward (1879-1889)
• James Monroe (1880-1955) married (1) Ruth Stone, (2) Flora Jacobs, (3) Stella Renfro
• Ida May (1882-1952) married James M. Griffen
• Cora V. (1884-1886)
• Clara Edith (1887-1963) married Joseph P. Hogan
• Harry Ellsworth (1889-1908)
• Iva Myrtle (1892-1969) married (1) Jesse Barnes, (2) Charles Kulp
• Howard Anderson (1902-1964) married (1) Pearl Williams, (2) Ida I. Nickles

Submitted by:
Robert S. Hunter
Connersville IN

Lucretia Henry

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Lucretia Henry
b. 1822/23, Nineveh Township, Johnson County, Indiana, to John and Elizabeth (Musselman) Henry
d. after 1896, Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas

m. 18 May 1842, Nineveh Township, Johnson County, Indiana
Robert Samuel Parkhurst
b. 2 February 1823, Henry County, Kentucky
d. 27 June 1911, Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas

Children with Robert Samuel Parkhurst:
• Abigail (b. 1843) married Lewis W. Hudiburg/ Heidiburg
• Mary Elizabeth (b. 1844) married Iverson Ellis Utterback
• Matilda (b. 1849) married Richard Harvey DeMott
• Sarah (b. 1849)
• Lucinda Caroline (b. 1854) married William Edward Smith

Lucretia and Robert’s five girls were all born in Johnson County, Indiana. Robert was a farmer and one of the proprietors of the New York Store in Franklin, the county seat.

In the fall of 1869, Robert, Lucretia, and a colony of 17 families, including all of their daughters and their families, departed Johnson County, Indiana, and drove their teams overland, taking about five weeks to reach Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas, about October 1869. It was still primitive and chaotic, with Indians still in the area and the first winter Robert housed his family in a hay house in which his horses were also sheltered. In the spring he started building a home and other buildings needed for farming. Being one of the pioneers of Independence, much of the land on which the city is built was once owned by him. He accumulated several hundred acres of land in his lifetime and was a stockholder in the First National Bank.

Submitted by:
Jocelyn J. Wickens
Powells Point NC

Margaret Heagans

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Margaret Heagans
b. 20 April 1851, Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, to William and Elizabeth Ann (Kelley) Heagans
d. 17 January 1919, Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois

m. 5 March 1868, Johnson County, Indiana
Robert Simeon Hunt
b. 21 December 1842, Johnson County, Indiana, to William R. and Martha (Terhune) Hunt

Children with Robert Simeon Hunt:
• Dallas (never married)
• Franklin Pierce married (1) Ida Andrews, (2) Sarah Land
• Anna Dale married David Riley Harrell
• Ida Estelle married Charles Richardson
• Homer Herschel married Mary Gertrude Dulgar

Margeret’s granddaughter, Irene Hunt, was a wellknown children’s author. Her book Across Five Aprils is loosely based on the Heagans-Hunt family history, including the story of William Heagan’s joining the Confederate Army. William Heagans, like many who lived in southern Indiana, was a Southern sympathizer; he left his dying wife and five children to join the Confederacy and was never heard from again.

Submitted by:
Irene “Rene” Denother
Alton IL

William Madison Harrell

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William Madison Harrell
b. 30 December 1844, White River Township, Johnson County, Indiana, to Mosses and Margaret (Street) Harrell
d. 19 March 1934, near Anselmo, Custer County, Nebraska

m. 3 August 1865, Peru, Miami County, Indiana
Mary Catherine Hoover
b. 28 August 1840, Miami County, Indiana, to Eli and Sarah (Beaver) Hoover
d. 24 January 1910, near Anselmo, Custer County, Nebraska

Children with Mary Catherine Hoover:
• Louisa Jane (1867-1910) married William Peterson
• Alta Viola (1870-1932) married Thomas Truman Winchester
• John Sherman (1873-1919) married Letha Alma Long

William was the sixth of eleven children. He outlived all of his siblings and three of his own children, dying at the age of 89.

He farmed for a while in Howard County, Indiana, and was part owner of the old Stonebraker Mill on Wildcat Creek. In the early 1880’s, with wife and three children, he left Indiana for Nebraska, where he homesteaded 160 acres about five miles north of Broken Bow, Custer County, Nebraska.

A few years later, he settled on 160 acres about seven miles northwest of Anselmo. Several of his cousins of the Greenbury Rush Street family also lived in the area—there were so many families from Indiana they called it “Hoosier Valley.” There was even a post office named Hoosier at William’s farm for about five years at the turn of the century.

Submitted by:
Ray Duncan Harrell
Centennial CO
E-mail: rayharrell@comcast.net

Joseph Thomas Harrell

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Joseph Thomas Harrell
b. 22 August 1833, Clark County, Indiana
d. 4 June 1906, Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois

m. 12 September 1861, Clark County, Indiana
Anna Catherine Makowsky
b. 17 September 1834, Clark County, Indiana
d. Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois

Children with Anna Catherine Makowsky:
• David Riley
• Parazyde
• Myrtle
• Taber
• Phyletus
• Ann Dale married [–?–] Hunt
• Walden

Joseph Thomas was born in southern Indiana and moved north to Johnson County, Indiana. During the Civil War he served with the Union Army in the 28th Indiana Volunteers, Company H, based in Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky. His one daughter, Parazyde, was named for the Army nurse that took care of Joseph while he was in the Army hospital. Prior to 1892, he emigrated to Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois.

Submitted by:
Irene “Rene” Denother
Alton IL

David Riley Harrell

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David Riley Harrell
b. 30 August 1865, Johnson County, Indiana, to Joseph Thomas and A. Catherine (Makowsky) Harrell
d. 5 December 1837, Alton, Madison County, Illinois

m. 18 August 1892, Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois
Anna Dale Hunt
b. 13 September 1874, Johnson County, Indiana
d. 29 October 1895, Bushton, Coles County, Illinois

Children with Anna Dale Hunt:
• Winifred Columbia married George Baker
• Dallas Thomas married Irene Lois Kaune

David was a carpenter and cabinetmaker that worked between eastern Illinois and western Indiana. He left Indiana prior to 1892 for Hidalgo, Jasper County, Illinois.

Submitted by:
Irene “Rene” Denother
Alton IL

Esther Ann Groseclose

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Esther Ann Groseclose
b. 22 September 1827, White River Township, Johnson County, Indiana, to Jacob and Elizabeth (Lowe) Groseclose
d. 9 October 1871, Cambridge, Story County, Iowa

m. 10 March 1854, Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana
Kennerly Dobyns
b. June 1821, Montgomery County, Virginia
d. about 1888, Bonham, Fannin County, Texas

Children with Kennerly Dobyns:
• John J.
• Elizabeth C.
• Ellen M.
• Martha Elmira “Mattie”

Esther and her husband left Indiana in 1854 or 1855.

Submitted by:
Jane Yoakum Evans
Broken Arrow OK
E-mail: d&jevans@webzone.net

James Dunham

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James Dunham
b. 1 November 1865, Johnson County, Indiana, to Aaron and Emily (Jones) Dunham
d. 15 August 1894, Weatherly, DeKalb County, Missouri

m. 21 September 1884, Missouri
Sarah Ellen McBrayer
b. 23 February 1868, Daviess County, Missouri
d. 18 October 1951, Maysville, DeKalb County, Missouri

Children with Sarah Ellen McBrayer:
• John Henry
• Virgil Preston
• Josephine married [–?–] Chapman

James lived in both Johnson and DeKalb counties in Indiana before moving to Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri.

Submitted by:
Robert B. Lamison, Jr.
Renton WA

David E. Dunham

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David E. Dunham
b. February 1861, Johnson County, Indiana, to Aaron and Emily (Jones) Dunham
d. 12 March 1941, Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri

m. Missouri
Emma Veronica Nolte
b. 13 November 1867, Missouri
d. 4 August 1952, Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri

There were no children of this marriage. David lived in both DeKalb and Johnson counties in Indiana before moving to Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri.

Submitted by:
Robert B. Lamison, Jr.
Renton WA