21 Dec 2009

Horner Family History

atilda Horner, the eldest child of Ephraim and Drusilla Jane Horner, relocated to Kansas only months after her marriage. Both she and her new husband were from families that had already been allied for several generations and had moved together from Pennsylvania to her native state of Ohio.

Matilda Horner

Matilda Horner was born 28 Feb 1846 in Winchester, Adams County, Ohio, and she married Aaron Randolph "Coosie" Eylar on 17 Dec 1872 at her father's home in Winchester.
Matilda Horner
Wedding Photo,
1872 The couple moved the following March to Wolf River Township, Doniphan County, Kansas, where Coosie already had family. He died 31 Jul 1917, and Matilda died 03 Dec 1927 while living with their son, Alfred. Both were buried in the Denton Cemetery near Denton, Kansas. They had the following children:

1. Calvin LeRoy (1877-1944).
2. Lida Elizabeth (1880-1921).
3. Alfred Lewis (1886-1959).
4. [See Eylar Family History for more details on these children.]

Ohio

Ephraim Horner, Jr. was born 10 May 1811 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and his wife, Drusilla Jane Swearingen, was born in the same county on 25 Mar 1816. Drusilla was a daughter of Thomas Swearingen and Rebecca Gillespie. After the Horner and Eylar families had moved to Adams County, Ohio, the two wed there on 25 May 1844. Drusilla died in 1887, and Ephraim died 11 May 1888 in Adams County, Ohio.
Drusilla Jane
Swearingen,
bef. 1887 Their children were:

1. Matilda (1846-1927) previously discussed.
2. Nancy (c.1848-1883).
3. Hester Susan (1850).
4. William Louis (1852) who married Mary Ann Marshall.
5. John T. (1854) who married a woman named Alice.
6. Calvin Ephraim (1856-1936) who first married Almira Jane Wright 1877 and second Ada E. Hendrickson 1895.
7. Laura Louise (1860) who married Richard Lanter 1889.

Kindred Families

Long before their own marriage, Matilda’s and Coosie‘s families were already intertwined through marriages into the Lawrence family. About 1784, John Lawrence (or possibly Lorentz) and his wife, Catharine, moved from the Baltimore area to Luzerne Township, Fayette County,
Horner Family Migration to Kansas
1. Baltimore County, Maryland [now Harford County]
2. Fayette County, Pennsylvania
3. Adams & Brown Counties, Ohio
4. Doniphan County, Kansas Pennsylvania, where the Samuel Fenton family also lived on adjoining land. Samuel and John probably both served in the same militia during the Revolutionary War. Samuel was a Captain in the Cumberland County Militia in Pennsylvania, and John was probably the same John Lawrence who served there as a Sergeant.

The first definite family tie came when Jeremiah Fenton, Jr., Samuel’s brother, married one of John’s daughters, Rosannah Lawrence, c.1789. However, this connection probably goes even further, because Jeremiah and Rosannah were reportedly first cousins, which would also make Samuel one too. Since it is known that Rosannah’s mother was of German descent, she is not a sister of Jeremiah’s father. So the most likely scenario is that her mother was a sister of either John Lawrence or his wife.

The second known connection is through the Horner family. The father of Ephraim Horner, Jr. was Ephraim Horner, Sr. He was born 17 Dec 1776 in Maryland, probably in Harford County. He married Catherine Lawrence 4 May 1797 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. She was another of John Lawrence’s daughters, born 15 Sep 1772. Catherine died 25 Apr 1859, and Ephraim died 9 Mar 1867. Their children were:

1. William (1798-1859) who married a woman named Margaret.
2. Mary (1800-1873) who married a Mr. Chandler.
3. Susannah (c.1802).
4. Elizabeth (1804-1883) who married Robert Fleming.
5. John (1805-1873) who first married Sarah Jane Bridge and second Catherine Belle Bridge.
6. Bennet (1807-1860) who first married Ruhanna Fenton and second Rosannah Fenton.
7. Ephraim Jr. (1811-1888) previously discussed.
8. Nancy.

The easier part of working out what this means is the fact that Matilda is a greatgranddaughter of John Lawrence. Coosie’s side is more complex. As was explained in the Eylar Family History, Coosie’s father was married to two different Elizabeth Fentons who were cousins. The first was another direct descendant of John Lawrence, however, Coosie is a son of the second wife who descends from Samuel Fenton. Therefore his older half brothers and sisters are Matilda’s second cousins. Coosie, on the other hand, may or may not have been her third cousin once removed. When all is said and done, even if this was the case, it wouldn’t have been worth a mention at the time.

William Horner

William Horner was the father of Ephraim, Sr. William was born c.1750 in Harford County, Maryland, which was part of Baltimore County before 1773. He married Susannah Mitchell who was born 12 Aug 1754 in the same county. There is a family tradition among a part of the Horner family that still lives in Pennsylvania. Because John Lawrence wanted to have good neighbors, he requested that William Horner relocate as he had done. William and his family did join John in Luzerne Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where Susannah died 7 Nov 1810, and William died 9 Jun 1829. Both were buried in East Millsboro, Pennsylvania. Their children were:

1. James (c.1774-c.1816) who married a woman named Priscilla.
2. Ephraim (1776-1867) previously discussed.
3. Sarah (1779-1861) who married Cyrus Moore c.1803.
4. Thomas (1781-1857) who first married Sarah West and second married his widowed sister-in-law, Mary Thomas.
5. William (1783-1859) who married Mary Keys.
6. Hannah (c.1786-1816) who married John Hupp.
7. Benedict Mitchell (c.1788) who married Martha Moredock.
8. Amos (c.1792-c.1843) who first married Nancy Snively and second Mary Thomas. Mary remarried to Thomas after Amos' death.
9. Harriet (1796-1881) who married Jonathan Preston.
10. Bennet who married Mary Stull.
11. Elizabeth who married John Snyder Pringle.

Thomas Horner

The only generation known prior to this is that of Thomas Horner. Thomas was born in Joppa, Harford County, Maryland, c.1700. He married Grace Preston in St. Georges Parish in the same county on 27 Oct 1741. Grace was also born in this county c.1709, and both died here c.1756. Their following children were all born in Harford County as well:

1. Sarah (1741) who married Robert Cook.
2. Casandra (1743).
3. James (c.1747-1808).
4. William (c.1750-1829) previously discussed.

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Links

• Ephraim Horner, Sr. {fam group, lineage, fam hist}
• Ephraim Horner, Jr. {fam group, lineage, fam hist}
• Matilda Horner {fam group, lineage, fam hist}
• Aaron Randolph "Coosie" Eylar {fam group, lineage, fam hist}