Daniel R. Stark and his spouse, Nancy Hawley, had four children named William Hawley Stark, Sarah Mariah Stark, Prudence Jane Stark, and Esahl “Asa” Lafitte Stark. This branch of Aaron Stark’s [1608 - 1685] descendants would eventually settle in Newton County; a migration beginning in New York State in 1808 and ending with all four of their children living in Newton County by 1846, the year Texas joined the Union.

As a boy, growing up in this region of New York, young Daniel probably was told the stories of how his grandfather, father, and uncles had fought the Indians and Tories during the Revolutionary War, of the hardships endured to win their freedom from England, and of the massacres at the hands of the Indians that had such a profound effect on the lives of his grandfather’s brothers and sisters.

On January 1, 1791, the State of New York laid out tracts of land for those who participated in the Revolutionary War. The tracts of land were located in Onondaga County, New York, which was created in 1794. Manlius township was located southeast of Syracuse and when the tracts were set aside, they were located in the township of Lysander, and were referred to in the deed documents as “Military Tracts.“ Cicero township was created from a division of Lysander township in 1807, located northeast of Syracuse and had Oneida Lake as it's northern boundary. Documentation has shown Asa Stark, Daniel’s younger brother, was born in Manlius, Onondaga County in 1796 and Daniel’s father was documented as living in Manlius, Onondaga County, by the 1800 census taker.³

The streams and lakes of the Mohawk River and Oneida Lake waterway served as a natural inland corridor during the eighteenth century for European exploration and military expansion, becoming a vital transportation link between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes by 1790. The migration route the Asahel Stark family took from Pittstown to Onondaga County was probably on the Mohawk River to Utica, New York and then overland about 40 miles to Onondaga County and the township of Manlius. Because of the “military tracts“ there were many who participated in land speculation, buying up land from those who received the tracts from the State of New York and then selling the land [at a profit, no doubt] to others who were beginning to move west from eastern New York and New England to establish farms. Asahel and his oldest son, Jasper, may have been land speculators, for they participated in many land transactions in the area that would become Cicero Township from 1802 to 1807 involving Lot #73, consisting of 500 acres. Before they moved from the region, Asahel still owned 310 acres of this property, which was mentioned in his will in 1821.⁴

Also living in the region was Samuel Hawley, a Revolutionary soldier who served in the Massachusetts Militia during the war. He was living in Western Massachusetts in West Stockbridge, located on the border with New York, when the war started, and enlisted as a private in the company commanded by Captain Goodall of the line regiment commanded by Colonel R. Putman. He enlisted for three years and Samuel probably participated in battles along the Northern Hudson River, which forms the border between New York and Vermont, for he spent most of his enlistment at West Point on the Hudson River building boats for the war effort which would transport men and supplies to the battlefields near the Mohawk and the Susquehanna Rivers. His occupation at enlistment was recorded as "bloomer", this occupation being that of a iron-worker, which is similar to the occupation we know of as blacksmith. He was discharged in January of 1784 in New York. He had an only daughter named Nancy, who was born in New York before 1789.⁵ Samuel is listed in the Hoosick Township, Albany County, New York census in 1790 with two females in his household. By 1800, he was back in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts with just him and two females, and can then be found living in Onondaga County in the 1810 census.

Hoosick was only a few miles from Pittstown, so there was probably plenty of opportunity for Asahel Stark and Samuel Hawley to have known each other. The name of Samuel’s wife is not know, but Samuel is probably the son of John Hawley and Abigail Sanford of Fairfield County, Connecticut. He is probably the Samuel mentioned in John Hawley’s will, the following transcription taken from "Collections of The New York Historical Society For The Year 1904."⁶

"In the name of God Amen. I, John Hawley, of Salam, Westchester County, being in good health do this 31st day of December, in the year of our Lord, 1770, make this my last Will and Testament. I leave to my loving wife Abigail one third of my house and barn and one third of my lands and of my movables after my "debts is paid" as long as she shall live. The rest of my estate to my children, viz.: John, Henry, Samuel, and Abigail to be divided as follows: to John, being the oldest son, 10 pounds more than the rest of my sons, and then for my sons to be equal, and for my daughter Abigail to have one third as much as one of my sons, I mean that where one of my sons will have nine pounds my daughter shall have three; and my wife's thirds above mentioned to be equally divided with my sons as aforesaid, and my daughter to have one third as much as any son. If I shall have any more children by my wife, if sons, they to be equal with my other sons, if girls, to be equal with my other said daughter. I constitute my wife sole executor. Signed: John Hawley and also Abigail. Witnesses, Gershom Selleck, Nathan Olmsted Jr., Ezekiel Hawley, Jr. Proved, Westchester County, November 6, 1784. Administration granted to Abigail Hawley, New York, December 24, 1784."

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Between 1808 and 1810, Daniel’s father moved further west from Onondaga County to Caledonia, Genesee County, New York, as revealed in the 1810 census for this region. On March 28, 1809, Daniel R. Stark purchased Lots #13 & #14 in section zero of township #11, range #1 from the Holland Land Company.¹ This property was located west of the township of Caledonia in Genesee County in an area that would later become parts of Niagara County, Erie County, and Cattaraugus County. According to the Holland Land Company Records, Daniel was a first purchaser of this land, who paid for the property in full at the time of purchase. Those who paid cash for the land received deeds recorded as, “Table of Original Articles.“ Most purchasers received deeds of debt recorded as, “Article of Agreements”, with a time limit for payment. From this, we can presume Daniel R. Stark paid in full for the property he purchased.² On August 22, 1809, William Hawley Stark was born in Genesee County.³

The Louisiana purchase in 1803 included the vast territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. In 1804 the Territory of Orleans was organized and April 30, 1812 the Territory of Orleans, which had been renamed Louisiana, was admitted to the United States as the 18th State. The land along the Mississippi River in the newly formed State of Louisiana had mostly been settled by the Spanish and French prior to the Louisiana Purchase. However, immediately after the formation of the Territory of Orleans in 1804, large numbers of Americans living north and south of the Ohio River began to move into the new Territory.

Daniel’s older brother, William Stark, probably moved to West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana as early as 1808, where he married Victoria Betencourt March 06, 1808 in the Baton Rouge Catholic Church.⁴ William purchased land in West Baton Rouge Parish in 1809 and his brother Christopher purchased land in the same Parish in 1812 and then later sold land to his brother, John Stark, in 1815.⁵ Therefore, as late as 1815, three of Daniel’s brothers are known to be living in Louisiana. Furthermore, military records show John enlisted in the military and fought in the War of 1812 in the “Battle of New Orleans.”⁶

In 1813, Daniel’s father purchased property in Penfield, Ontario County, New York which was located only a few miles from Caledonia township where he was recorded by the 1810 census taker. On September 20, 1817, Asahel sold this property to Jesse Adams for $1000, which is the last record we have of Asahel in New York State.⁷ By 1820, we find Asahel, along with all of his children, except for Daniel and William, living in Washington County, Indiana.⁸ Daniel and his wife, Nancy, probably lived on their Holland Land Company purchase until the end of 1816. Deed Records from West Baton Rouge Parish show Daniel R. Stark purchased land in 1817 and his brother, Samuel, purchased land from him in 1818. Samuel then sold this land in the same year and is later recorded as having married Sophia Scott in Switzerland County, Indiana November 11, 1819 just after his brother, Christopher, married Nancy Scott, Sophia’s sister, October 2, 1819.⁹ We can place Daniel and Nancy in West Baton Rouge Parish on January 20, 1817 for he personally appeared before Justice of the Peace, Belony Hébert, in the proceedings which declared his brother, John Stark, insane.¹⁰ He signed his name as Daniel R. Stark in this document which was prepared in French and his testimony recounted and incident which occurred in October previous to this date which could place him in Louisiana as early as October of 1816. Daniel and Nancy Stark’s son, Asa Lafitte Stark was most likely born in this Parish June 19, 1817.¹¹

The move to West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, was a trip of some 750 miles as the crow flies from Genesee County. Imagine the logistics of transporting a family and household goods over such a vast distance around 1815. From Genesee County, one would move over land to the Allegheny River, located just south of the county on the New York and Pennsylvania border. The Allegheny then flows from north to south through western Pennsylvania and comes together with the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River, which then flows into the Mississippi. Along this route, the Ohio River passes only 30 miles from the heart of Washington County as the boundaries were defined when Indiana became a State in 1816. At that time, Switzerland County was bordered to the south by the Ohio River. It would not be hard to imagine Daniel and Nancy migrating to Indiana with Daniel’s father and then continuing the trip to Louisiana. It is not known why the brothers, Christopher and Samuel, decided to live in Indiana. Perhaps their brides didn’t want to make the move south, or perhaps the threat of disease in that region changed their minds. For whatever reason, by 1820, we find Daniel and William living in the south while the rest of the family is living in Indiana.

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Daniel R. Stark died suddenly at the age of about 31 years. This tragedy was devastating to Nancy, having just given birth to her fifth child, Amanda. [Could also have been named Matilda.] She had to not only look after the affaires of the family but endure the Louisiana Probate Courts. Documents from the probate proceedings, as we will discover, give us the surname of Daniel’s wife, the names of Daniel’s children, the name of Nancy’s father, and reveal an association with his brother, William Stark.

West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, Probate Packet #85, declares one Daniel R. Stark died June 20, 1820. Nancy “Holly” appeared before Probate Judge Phillip Favrot, requesting:

In Louisiana the legal words "tutor" or "tutorship" were defined as, "assigned the function of guardianship of minor aged children." In most Louisiana guardianship cases involving underage children, a family member or friend of the children who was not the court appointed guardian of the children, would be named and appointed by the presiding judge as “under-tutor” to look after the interest of the named children. The guardian of these underage children would then have to obtain the approval of the court-appointed under-tutor in legal transactions affecting the interest of the children.

The next document in the packet names Daniel's children, for it states: 

In this document, we see that Nancy Holly Stark has been approved to be the guardian of her children.

In 1820, many legal documents used French words and spelling. The judge in these proceedings, Phillip Favrot, was definitely of French descend. The Author believes he used a French spelling for the name Asahel. The "E" in Esahl may have been a French accented "É" which would be pronounced "ay". In French, the "h" is silent. Therefore, the French pronunciation of Esahl may have been "Ay-sal", very similar in sound to the English pronunciation of Asahel. The Author believes his intended name was probably Asahel, the name of his grandfather, as will soon be proven.

We then find Nancy Hawley requested William Stark be named under-tutor to the children. From Judge Phillip Favrot we find a document which says: 

This document illustrates William Stark is probably related to the children, for Nancy has requested he be named under-tutor to her children. In the next document from the packet, we find William accepted the appointment. In this document, Judge Favrot called for a family meeting of the children's relatives and friends to be held September 7, 1820. He states in this document: 

We find in this document that William Stark has been named under-tutor for the children and Samuel Hawley, their grandfather, is named to attend the ordered meeting on behalf of the children. This document provides our first documented link to the children’s grandfather and Nancy Hawley‘s father.

Apparently, as a result of this meeting the Judge writes:

On March 20, 1821, Asahel Stark of Washington County, Indiana, prepared and signed his last will and testament. He willed to his wife, Sarah Starks, 310 acres of "land lying and being in the State of New York, Onondaga County and town of Cicero..." He bequeaths sums of money to sons named Samuel, Asia, Archibald, Christopher, John, and William. He also bequeaths sums of money to his daughters named Polly Brezee, Sally Graves, and Desire Stark and names his wife, Sarah Stark, to be the sole executrix.¹ After the death of her husband, Nancy continued to live in Louisiana with her children. In January of 1822, Daniel’s father died in Indiana and as revealed above, he named all of his living children. Because Daniel had preceded him in death, Daniel was not named, nor was Jasper. Therefore, how can we be certain Daniel was a son of Asahel? For proof, we must establish a relationship to Daniel’s brother, William, and then establish the William Stark living in Louisiana was the same William named in Asahel’s will.

We begin this proof by establishing John R. Stark is the brother of William. In West Baton Rouge Parish is found an 1817 petition which states 

This document clearly reveals William and John are brothers. The Illinois probate records for Sarah Stark, wife of Asahel Stark, show there was an "insane brother" of whom Asa Stark was the guardian.

This document is dated November 17, 1842, which is three years after the death of Sarah. John Stark, declared legally insane in the above 1817 Louisiana probate document was probably placed in the care of his mother, Sarah Stark, when he arrived in Indiana.² The West Baton Rouge Parish petition, along with the Illinois Probate Document provide a link to the insane John Stark of Louisiana and the "insane" brother mentioned in Sarah Stark's Probate Records. If this is true, then one has to conclude the above William Stark is a son of Asahel Stark and his spouse Sarah.

We find a document dated September 5, 1820 in West Baton Rouge Parish, which states William Stark and his wife, Victoria Betencourt, will provide a donation of $2,200 to the children of Nancy Hawley, widow of Daniel R. Stark, with the benefactors of this donation being named William, Muriah, Prudence, Esahl, and Amanda. The text of this document of donation makes this declaration: 

Clearly, this document would seem to imply William Stark has more than a passing interest in the well being of Nancy Hawley’s children, for this is a substantial amount of cash in 1820.

William Stark died May 4, 1822 in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Probate Packet #97 records his estate was inventoried on May 9, 1822. In the inventory papers of William's Estate we find:

The William Stark inventory mentioned a bill of sell of property known to have belonged to Daniel R. Stark, deceased, and left his possessions to his mother, Sarah Stark. Although Daniel R. Stark is not mentioned to be a brother in the inventory, the Author believes they were siblings. Combining the information supplied in all of the above documentation related to Sarah Stark, William Stark, John R. Stark, and Daniel Stark, we can conclude with a high degree of certainty, Daniel R. Stark was the son of Asahel Stark.

Nancy Hawley Holds the Family Together, From Louisiana to Indiana

It is believed, as will be exhibited in a moment, Nancy Hawley married C. H. McGowan, probably after the probate proceedings were completed. Although no marriage record has been found. We find in a 1826 application for a Revolutionary War Pension, Nancy’s father refers to her as “Nancy McGowan.” From the Daniel R. Stark Probate records, we find there was a “C. H. McGowen” who performed the appraisal of Daniel’s property and paid some of the remaining debts from the estate. On May 31, 1826, Samuel Hawley, living in Floyd County, Indiana, petitioned for his Revolutionary War Pension and declared, 

From this, if this Nancy McGowan is the same Nancy Hawley Stark in Louisiana, we find she was married to someone named McGowan before this petition was made. The Author speculates Nancy Hawley probably moved to Indiana to live with her father, presumably after Mr. McGowan died or she obtained a divorce.

Notice the Samuel Hawley Pension Application has names and expected ages for the children of this Nancy McGowan similar to the five named in the Louisiana probate packet of Daniel R. Stark. From Samuel‘s Pension Application, William, age 15, would have been born in 1810 if he turned sixteen after May 31, 1826. As we will find later, William Hawley Stark’s tombstone records he was born in August of 1809.  According to his tombstone record, he would have been sixteen in May of 1826 and turned seventeen in August of 1826. The Maria, age 13, would have been born in 1813. We will find out later that Sarah Mariah Stark, married to John T. Lewis, is 68 years old in the Newton County, Texas 1880 census, placing her birth year as 1812. The Prudence, age 10 would have been born in 1816. We will find the Prudence Stark married to William "Bill" Herrin was reported to be 35 in the 1850 Calcasieu Parish Census placing her birth year as 1815. The Asahel, age 8 years, would have been born in 1818 but if he was born June 19, 1817, he would have turned nine after the application was made. The Asa Stark in the 1860 Newton County Census was 43, placing his year of birth as 1817. Finally, Nancy McGowan, age 37, would have been born in 1789 while the Nancy Hardin [this married name for Nancy Hawley to be proved later] reported to be living with her son, Asa, in the 1850 Jefferson County, Texas census was 62 years of age placing her year of birth as 1788. All of the years match very closely and the given names are approximately the same as those found in the Louisiana, Texas, and Indiana documents.

Note the name Asahel in the pension application instead of Esahl as recorded in the Louisiana documents. This would seem to confirm the intended name for this child was that of his grandfather. We have the name Matilda for the youngest child, who had to have been born before July 20, 1820, the month and year she is mentioned in the Louisiana Probate packet for Daniel Stark. This Matilda is referred to as Amanda in the Louisiana documents. We can only surmise her name may have been Amanda Matilda, the latter name being used by the time of this pension application. After this document, there appears to be no more documentation mentioning the names Amanda or Matilda indicating this child may have died young.

If it is true this was Nancy Hawley, widow of Daniel R. Stark, then sometime after 1822 and before the date of this application Nancy and her children moved to Indiana from Louisiana to live with her father, or perhaps she and her father moved to Indiana to be near the core family of Daniel after William died. Present day Floyd County, Indiana is located in an area that was originally part of Washington County, Harrison County, and Clark County, Indiana. We can presume Nancy and her children were living in fairly close proximity to Daniel’s family, who were known to be living in Washington County.

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On April 22, 1828, the Mississippi Pension Agency in Natchez, Mississippi wrote a letter to James Barbon, Secretary of War, requesting "Samuel Hawley, a pensioner on the rolls of the Indiana Agency makes application as per affidavit enclosed for a transfer to my department in having removed to the state of Mississippi. The pensioner resides in a remote corner of our State and  will call for his pay (which by his statement is ...[Not legible]... since 4 March 1827) in about two months [?hence?], at which time I expect to see notification of his transfer. Signed Most Respectfully, Your ...[Not legible]..."¹ From this statement, we know a pensioner named Samuel Hawley had been living in Indiana until April of 1827. This document reveals he has moved into the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Pension Agency. If this is the same Samuel Hawley, then could his daughter and grandchildren have moved with him and where might they have been living?

Possible proof of where they were living can be found in the Ouachita Parish, Louisiana Marriage Records. Sarah Mariah Stark, most likely the daughter of Nancy Hawley, married John T. Lewis on December 28, 1828. Text from "The Handbook of Texas Online" having a short biography of Samuel Lewis, father of John T. Lewis, states "Samuel S. Lewis, early Texas settler and congressman, was born to John and Sarah Lewis on July 4, 1784, in Virginia. He married Sarah Lemaster in Henry County, Kentucky, on August 7, 1804. They moved to Indiana, where their seven children were born, five in the Indiana Territory and two after it became a State. Lewis founded Orleans, Indiana² and served with the Indiana militia in the War of 1812. In the mid-1820s the family moved to Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, where Lewis became justice of the peace."

John Taylor Lewis reportedly was born in Clark County, Indiana, one of the counties from which Floyd County was created.³ From the birth locations of the children of Samuel Lewis, we know the Lewis family had been living in Indiana until at least 1824. The next record available to the author shows the marriage of John T. Lewis in Ouachita Parish in 1828. One could correctly speculate the Lewis family, along with others, decided to migrate to northeast Louisiana and Samuel Hawley, his daughter, and her children joined this migration south from Indiana. This would have provided the opportunity for Sarah Mariah to meet and later marry John Taylor Lewis.

But we need further proof the family is living in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Carroll Parish was created from parts of Ouachita Parish and Concordia Parish around 1832. In 1877, Carroll Parish was divided into East Carroll Parish and West Carroll Parish. Since parts of the original Carroll Parish were originally in Ouachita Parish, we find a  possible connection to Ouachita Parish in the obituary of Samuel Hawley, believed to be the father of Nancy Hawley, published in the Vicksburg Register (Vicksburg, Mississippi), dated July 2, 1835: "Another Revolutionary Soldier is no more--Died at the upper settlement on Bayou Macon in the Parish of Carroll, State of Louisiana, on the 4th day of June 1835, Samuel Hawley, aged about 80 years⁴, a native of the State of Massachusetts, and once a soldier of the Revolutionary army. Mr. Hawley was a pensioner and lived for several years back thus secluded and remote with his child and respected by all who knew him."

Carroll Parish, formed in 1832 was located in the northeastern part of Louisiana, bordered to the North by Arkansas, [known as the Missouri Territory until Arkansas became a State in 1836], east by the Mississippi River and west by Ouachita Parish. The present day boundary between East Carroll Parish and West Carroll Parish is the tributary called Bayou Macon which is only about 30 miles from Vicksburg, Mississippi. One would probably be correct if they speculated Nancy Hawley was the "child" mentioned in the obituary, for Samuel had only one daughter and no other children.

John Taylor Lewis and Sarah Mariah Stark were reported as living in Bevil District, Mexico in the 1835 census for that region. John was recorded as being 27 years of age while Sarah was 23 years old. They had a daughter named Nancy Jane, age 4, and a son, William M., age 2. Later census records reveal Nancy Jane was born in Louisiana while William M. was born in Texas. If these places of birth are correct, then sometime between 1831 and 1833, John and Sarah moved to the above District of Mexico, which would later become Jasper County, Texas during the Republic of Texas years.

Family tradition relates that not long after the move to Louisiana, Nancy Hawley married Enos Hardin and had a son named Napoleon Bonaparte Hardin. However, Enos Hardin’s Texas Head Right Certificate states “This is to certify that Enos Hardin has appeared before us the Board of Land Commissioners for the County of Jasper and proved according to Law, that he arrived in this County in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty Two and is a single man and entitled to One third of a league of land, upon the condition of paying at the rate of Three Dollars Fifty Cents for every labor of ?Irregable? land, Two Dollars Fifty Cents for every Labor of ?timberable? Or [Not legible] land, One Dollar Twenty Cents for every Labor of Pasture land, for which may be contained in the survey secured to said Hardin by this certificate. Given under our hand this Ninth day of February 1838.”⁵

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Clearly, on the above given date, Enos Hardin is pronounced to be a single man. Therefore, it can be said with some certainty that Nancy and Enos married after February 9, 1838. From the 1860 census for Newton County, Texas, N. B. Hardin, living next door to Asa Stark, was 32 years old, placing his year of birth as 1828. If Nancy married Enos after the above date, then Napoleon would not be her son. We can also say that the marriage probably didn’t occur until after the death of Nancy’s father in 1835, for the Vicksburg obituary clearly reports Samuel “lived for several years back thus secluded and remote with his child and respected by all who knew him.” Therefore, if Enos was living in Texas from 1832 to 1838 and Nancy in Louisiana from 1832 to 1835, they probably would not have had the opportunity to marry before 1835.

Around 1832, Nancy’s son, William Hawley Stark, married Elizabeth T. Zachary of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. No actual record has been found of this marriage and the speculated year of this marriage is based on the birth of their oldest known child, Daniel L. Stark, born November 22, 1832 in Louisiana. We know Elizabeth was the daughter of Benjamin Zachary and Elizabeth Odom of the above-mentioned Parish, because Elizabeth’s brother, Bennett Hiram Zachary, lived next door in Texas and is known to be their son.¹ It is believed William Hawley owned land in Ouachita Parish at the time of Samuel Hawley’s death, for researchers in the Vicksburg area have indicated Samuel Hawley was buried on the land of his grandson, William Hawley Stark and there is a deed of record showing he sold land in West Carroll Parish in November of 1848.² Although this is only speculation, it is believed William Hawley Stark, his mother and grandfather, were probably living on this property, most likely purchased with money William received from his Uncle William Stark in 1822.

On February 4, 1839, William Hawley Stark was appointed Justice of the Peace for Beat 4 in Jasper County, Texas and his brother, A. L. Stark, was made Constable of the same Beat 4 on the same day.³ Therefore, probably sometime in the year 1838, William Hawley Stark and his family, along with his mother, Nancy Hawley, moved from Louisiana to Jasper County, Texas. From census records, we know James Terry Stark was born in Texas before July of 1838 who is known to have been the first child of William Hawley Stark recorded born in Texas. If we can believe these dates of first residency for William Hawley Stark in Jasper County and that his mother, Nancy Hawley, was living with his family, then she probably married Enos Hardin between 1838 and 1841. However, since we have no marriage record, how can we prove Nancy Hardin and Nancy Hawley are the same person?

In the Newton County 1847 Tax Records will be found “William H. Stark, agent for Nancy Hardin, taxes on the 640 acres in the David Pool Survey.” In the same tax year will also be found “Nancy Hardin, agent for Napoleon Hardin, 1,481 acres of the Enos Hardin Survey. “ From these records we find there is a Nancy Hardin living in Newton County. Is she related to William H. Stark, who was her agent for the 1847 tax year? On December 29, 1847, Nancy Hardin, a resident of Newton County, Texas, declared in a document of indenture [given over to work for], that the slave named Ann was assigned  by this binding contract to work for Nancy's grandchildren  named: 

Clearly, the Nancy Hardin in this document is Nancy Hawley, who is the grandmother of the named children described as the children of William H. Stark and Elizabeth Stark. Therefore, we can presume she is the mother of William Hawley Stark since we have already proved his mother’s name was Nancy Hawley from previous documentation. Also from these documents, we can probably say Enos Hardin died sometime before 1847 and Nancy and Napoleon Hardin inherited his land and possessions, which probably included the above mentioned slave, Ann.

We next find Nancy Hardin living with her son, Asa Stark, in Jefferson County, Texas, located south of Newton County. She is reported in the 1850 census for that year as Nancy Hardin, age 63. Also living in the home of Asa Stark is Lamar Herrin, age 11, most likely a child of Nancy’s daughter, Prudence Jane, who married William “Bill” Herrin. In the 1860 census for Newton County, Texas, we find Asa Stark and N. B. Hardin living next door to each other but no record of a Nancy Hardin. Most likely Nancy died between 1850 and 1860. No burial site for Nancy has been found to date. It is possible she was buried in the Lewis Myles Stark Cemetery, for recently it has been proven L. M. Stark’s mother, Elizabeth Zachary, who died in 1859, was buried in this first cemetery for the Stark Family. At the time, this property was owned by William Hawley Stark, and it would seem probable he buried his mother at this cemetery site. In this cemetery are several unmarked depressions, which are likely grave-sites of which one may be the grave of Nancy.

Prudence Jane Stark married William “Bill” Herrin around 1834, probably in either Ouachita Parish or in Carroll Parish. We can only speculate on this year of marriage. It is known from the 1850 census for Calcasieu Parish that their oldest known child, William, was born in 1835 in Louisiana, hence the speculated year of marriage being at least before this birth. Esahl “Asa” Lafitte Stark married Matilda Donaho sometime before July 5, 1838. This marriage probably occurred in Louisiana, but could have been in Jasper County. From the Texas Head Right Certificate issued to Asa , we find “he arrived in this Republic subsequent to the Declaration of Independence say August A. D. One Thousand and Eight Hundred and Thirty-Seven and that he is a married man and is entitled to Twelve Hundred & Eighty acres of land to be surveyed after the 1^st day of August A. D. 1838. Given under our hands at Jasper this 5^th day of July 1838.”

Therefore, all of Nancy’s children were living in close proximity to her in Newton County although William Herrin and Prudence are recorded in the 1850 census for Calcasieu Parish, located just across the Sabine River from Jefferson County, Texas and we also know from Newton County records that on September 30, 1846, Elizabeth Zachary’s brother, Bennett Hiram Zachary, recorded the county’s first cattle brand, the numeral “7” with the cattle bearing for earmarks a crop and slit on the left ear and a crop on the right ear. Later on that same day, cattle brands were recorded for Asa L. Stark, William Herrin, and William H. Stark. Therefore, at least before this date, William Herrin and his spouse, Prudence Jane Stark, were living in Newton County.⁵

Daniel R. Stark and Nancy Hawley started a family in New York in 1808 and over a span of only thirty-eight years, all of this family, accept for Daniel, would be living in an area that would be known as Newton County, Texas by 1846. In their lifetime they witnessed the beginning of a new nation dedicated to liberty for all, saw it’s expansion from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, witnessed the birth of the Republic of Texas, and were there to see their Republic become the 28^th State of the United States of America in 1846. What a trip in a lifetime! May we always remember their hardships, heartaches, and triumphs, for theirs was truly a lifetime of pioneering spirit and adventure.

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