John was born in 1789 in Stokes Co., NC, the son of David Hunter and his wife Dorcas Shelton, who had both been born in Virginia.
He married on 18 Jul 1812 in Stokes Co., NC to Elizabeth Jean, daughter of Rev. William Jean (or Jeans) and his wife Elizabeth Goode.
John and Elizabeth were members of the Baptist church.
John went into business for himself running a distillery and their family grew. He also apparently farmed, perhaps to grow the grain he distilled.
1820 census, Stokes Co., NC, p. 321
John Hunter Jr.
One male aged 26-44 - John
One female aged 26-44 - Elizabeth
One male aged 10-15 - David?
Two males aged under 10 - William and ?
One female aged under 10 - Nancy
[two members of the family are engaged in agriculture]
The 1830 census shows them with five children and four slaves, a man and three little girls.
1830 census, Stokes Co., NC
John F. Hunter
One male aged 40-49 - John
One female aged 30-39 - Elizabeth
One female aged 15-19 - household help? A relative?
One male aged 10-14 - William?
One female aged 10-14 - Nancy
One female aged 5-9 - Elizabeth
Two females under 5 - Matilda and Berilla
One male slave aged 20-29
Two female slaves aged 10-13
One female slave aged under 10
At the age of forty-five in 1835, John gave up the distillery business and he and Elizabeth went west to settle in the brand new frontier settlement of Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO. They may have gone at the urging of their married sons, who also went. An old family story says that Elizabeth arrived at her new home in a ‘grand buggy with matched white horses."
[Source: "Jackson County Pioneers," by Pearl Wilcox.]
"Lone Jack – there have been many things for which Lone Jack, the queen town of Van Buren township, has been noted – the Civil War battle, the pioneer churches, the old Porter Seminary, the historic cool spring, and the solitary blackjack oak for which the town was named.
The jack oak tree stood on the high prairie ridge until after the Civil War. It was a conspicuous landmark located at the intersection of two Indian trails, or traces as they were ofttimes called. The Osage and Kaw Indians followed a path southeast and northwest by the lone tree. The old missionary road from Lexington to Harmony Mission in Bates County followed the Indian path which passed the lone tree in a southwest and northeast direction.
Those first pioneers endured the wearying toil of all on the frontier. They felled trees, claimed land, braved isolation, and built homes and schools... The first school in the immediate vicinity of Lone Jack was a building which stood on the ground of the cemetery east of town. Warham Easley, John Snow, Galen Cave, Charles Hopper, John Patton, and Samuel Yankee employed John C. Roberts for the entire teaching term for $200. This was a few years prior to 1842, since in that year the first free school was opened in the township. A district six miles square was organized under the school law of 1836. The two schools standing at that time were abandoned and a new one was built near the center of the district on the John Hunter farm.
Van Buren township was organized in 1837, and all official business was carried on at Beattie's store... His store was spoken of as Lone Jack store, and the country around was called Lone Jack neighborhood simply because of the blackjack tree."
1838 Sep 7 - John took out patents on 280 acres of land in five tracts in Jackson county, registered at the land office at Lexington in neighboring Lafayette county. The same day, his father-in-law William Jean took out land at the same office, only he bought in Lafayette County where he and his wife settled.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 acres 047N - 029W SW¼SW¼ Sec 28 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W SE¼SE¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 aces 047N - 029W W½SW¼ Sec 33 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W NW¼NW¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 acres 047N - 029W E½NW¼ Sec. 29 entered at Lexington
In 1840, John and Elizabeth are living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Married son William is nearby with his bride, no children yet.John's younger brother David lives almost next door. John and Elizabeth now have only one slave, a woman in her twenties:
1840 Jackson Co., MO census, pg 082
John Hunter
One male age 40-49 - John
One female age 40-49 - Elizabeth Jean
Two females age 15-19 - Matilda? And who?
One female age 10-14 - Berilla
One male age 5-9 - John David
One female slave aged 24-29
[two persons in agriculture]
In 1850, John and Elizabeth are doing well financially and living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Son William was next door. They had four slaves:
1850 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 355
John Hunter, 63, farmer, real estate $4000, NC
Elizabeth, 59, NC
Berilla, 21, NC
David, 19, NC
4 slaves on p. 35 of slave schedule:
25-year-old woman
5-year-old girl
4-year-old girl
2-year-old boy
In 1860, they living near son John D. and his wife, and are still doing very well financially.
Next door to Martin Rice, who is next door to John S. & Nancy (Hunter) Cave. Now, on the eve of the Civil War, they owned seven slaves:
1860 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, Lone Jack, p. 245
John Hunter, 71, farmer, real $3900 pers. $4680, NC
Elizabeth, 67, NC
Berilda, 27, NC
7 slaves
[same house; different household]
John D. Hunter, 25, farmer 300 940 NC
Julia, 22, IN
Thomas Todd, 25, school teacher, AL
The Civil War - John and Elizabeth were prosperous and the heads of a growing family. They were also slave holders and Southerners. They supported the Confederate cause and suffered for it. Along with their relatives, friends, and neighbors, they were ordered to leave their home on short notice in September 1863. As they were packing to go with the help of two of their married sons and others, Union troops acting on a tip from a neighbor that the family had met with and given aid to Quantrill on his way into Kansas massacre the townsmen of Lawrence, rode up and arrested six of the group, including son William and John, son-in-law John Cave, and grandson Andrew Owsley, only seventeen years old. The soldiers took the men a short way away and shot them without trial. The family was forced to bury them hastily in order to continue with their own evacuation.
There are two stories as to who found them. One says that Jane Cave (the widow of a cousin?) and Patsy Potter found them when they went looking for a horse that had been taken from Jane. Another says that John Hunter had followed the group and heard the shots.
From the "Biography of Benjamin Potter" by Lillian L. Cave
"There was no time to take the bodies to the cemetery. John Hunter dug shallow graves close to where they fell. He was helped by a neighbor who still remained (Martin Rice, the man who had turned them in). Nancy brought quilts from her house with which to wrap the bodies of her husband and brothers and they quickly laid them in the ground and filled in the graves before they had to hurry away, still fearful that the troops might return. It was her and John's twenty-seventh wedding anniversary, and she was seven months pregnant with their ninth child."
From the "Kansas City Star," undated
"Tragic Story behind Lone Jack Monument
Inside a short concrete barrier about ten feet square, a marble monument stands over the shallow graves of six southerners killed on Sept. 6, 1863. It is between two fields on a farm one and one-half miles east of Lone Jack, MO.
Moss and the wear of nearly 100 years have blemished the obelisk. It rises just above the tall weeds around it. The monument is on the E.E. Colebank farm. Colebank, who has lived there 14 years, said the monument has few visitors anymore. "Many people around here have already seen it," he said. "And it's not too easy to find."
(inscribed)
Confederate Cemetery
John D. Hunter, born 9-28-1831 D 9-6-1863
Andrew W. Ousley, died 9-6-1863, age 17 years
Benjamin Potter, born 5-17-1788, died 9-6-1863
John S. Cave, born 9-18-1809, died 9-6-1863
Wm J. Hunter, died 9-6-1863, age 48 years
Wm C. Tate, born 1-23-1831, died 9-6-1863"
We don't know for sure where John and Elizabeth went during the evacuation, but their daughter Nancy Cave, now widowed and pregnant with her ninth child, headed into nearby Johnson County. It seems likely that John and Elizabeth also headed that way and possibly they went to stay with John's brother David Hunter and his family on their farm.
After the war, John and Elizabeth returned to their home, but we don't know what condition it was in. Their slaves were legally freed on 1 Jan 1965, but daughter Berilla continued living at home and helping her parents.
They had a full house in 1870. In addition to Berilla, they had their orphaned granddaughters Mary and Laura living with them, their widowed daughter-in-law Judy (Potter) Hunter, her sister Patty, and Judy's daughter Mary Hunter:
1870 census, Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 124
J. W. Hunter, 81, farmer, $4800, $800, NC
Elizabeth, 71, NC
Barilla, 38, NC
Mary Bradley, 23, MO
Laura Bradley, 21, MO
Judy Hunter, 30, IN
Patty Potter, 31, IN
Mary E. Hunter, 6, MO
Elizabeth died in 1878. In 1880, John had his daughters Berilla and Nancy living with and taking care of him:
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, p. 180C
John Hunter, 92, retired farmer, NC VA VA
Barilla, dau., 41, keeping house, NC NC NC
Nancy Cave, dau., 61, NC NC NC
John died in 1886 and was buried next to Elizabeth.
John Hunter's 1881 biography excerpted from THE HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, 1912, By: William Z. Hickman:
"Farmer, section 29. Our subject is not only one of the oldest settlers, but one of the oldest men now living in Jackson County. He is a native of Stokes County, North Carolina, and was born March 26, 1789. He was a son of David and Dorothy Hunter, both natives of Virgina. He lived in Stokes County until nearly forty-five years of age, and then moved to Missouri. After he attained his majority, he commenced business for himself, running a distillery, and continued in said business until 1835, when he came to Missouri, and on April 8, 1836, he located upon the farm he now occupies. Mr. Hunter suffered more hardships and trials during the War than any of his neighbors. On the morning of September 6, 1863, a company of Federals of Colburn and Clark's command came to his place, as he was about moving out of the county under Order N. 11, and took two of his sons (William and David), one son-in-law, one grandson, one cousin, and another man, and taking them a very short distance from the house, shot them all dead, and left the bodies lying on the ground; and this aged father, with only the assistance of his neighbor Martin Rice, hastily buried the bodies, without shroud or coffin, by merely covering them up with quilts and placing them in the ground. (It is not the biographer's place to comment in this connection upon this sad affair, as it is fully treated of in another part of this volume.) Mr. Hunter was married on July 18, 1812, to Elizabeth Jeans, she have been born May 14, 1792. By this union nine children were born, three of whom are still living: Nancy, the widow of John Cave, one of the six shot, as above mentioned; Matilda, the wife of David Ousley, and Berrilla, born Apr 8, 1831, and the only one of the children now at home. There she desires to remain and with care and affection, soothe as much as possible her deeply bereaved and venerable father, while he remains on earth. Mrs. Hunter died October 25, 1879. Mr. Hunter has been a member of the Baptist Church for a great many years, and clerk of the church since 1852. Mr. Hunter is now in the ninety-third year of his age, and for one that has passed through so much suffering, is still in remarkable health and vigor of intellect."
John's obituary - Vital Historical Records, P.H. Times, Sep 2, 1886
"Mr. John Hunter, one of the pioneers of Jackson Co., died Sunday night at his home near Lone Jack, age 97 yrs. He had been a resident of the county for fifty years. 8-29-86." [The above biography was then published with the obituary.]
John Hunter's children:
***************
1. David Hunter?, b.c. 1810, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; d. by 1881. There was an unaccounted for boy b. 1806-1810 on the 1820 census in John's household. John's 1881 biography stated that he had nine children, only three of whom were still living in that year.
***************
2. Son Hunter, b. 1811-1820, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; died or moved out of the house by 1830, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC;
This boy was listed on the 1820, but not 1830 census. His father's 1881 census stated he was the father of nine children altogether, only three of whom survived in 1881.
***************
3. William Jean Hunter, b. 1815, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 11 Jul 1839, Cass Co., MO to Maria Spainhour [daughter of Jack and Susanna Spainhour]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, aged 48, shot by Union troops; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
4. Nancy Hunter, b. 6 Jun 1819, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 6 Sep 1836, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to John S. Cave b. 18 Sep 1809, Orange Co., VA; d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO]; she d. 15 Dec 1905, Warrensburg, Johnson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
5. Elizabeth Hunter, b.c. 1821, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. c. 1843, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to Thomas A. Bradley [b. 1824 VA]; she d. c. 1854, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
6. Evaline Hunter?, born and died probably by 1830.
A daughter named Evaline has been included on old lists of John and Elizabeth's children between Elizabeth and Matilda, but so far hasn't shown up on any surviving records. They did have a ninth, unknown child, who was deceased by 1881 as stated in John's biography that year.
***************
7. Matilda Hunter, b. 15 Nov 1824, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 23 Jun 1844, Jackson Co., MO to David Owsley [b. 27 Feb 1823, Claiborne Co., TN; d. 20 Jun 1864, Allatoona, GA as a Confederate soldier]; she d. 13 Nov 1900, probably Cass Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
In 1850, they were living in Cass Co., MO.
In 1860, the eve of the Civil War, they were living in Lone Jack and had five children:
1860 Jackson Co., MO, Lone Jack, p. 247
David Owsley, 37, TN
Matilda, 30, NC
Andrew W., 14, MO
John W., 11, MO
Melchagy, 6, MO
Nancy E., 5, MO
Robert, 2, MO
David left home to serve as a Confederate soldier and died 20 Jun 1864 at Allatoona, GA from wounds sustained in battle. For more about him, see link:
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=tsmith&id=I47183
In 1870, Matilda was living with her five children still at home in Lees Summit:
1870 Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 136
Matilda Ousley, 45, NC
John, 23, MO
Kija (male), 20,
Nancy, 16
Robert, 13
David, 8
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 180C
M.V. Owsley, 26, farmer, MO TN NC
S.A., 22, wife, KY KY KY
Matilda, 54, mother, NC -- --
D.S.J., 17, brother, MO NC NC
1900, she was living with her son, John, in Polk Township, Cass County:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
Matilda Hunter's children:
1) Andrew Wilson Owsley, b. 1846, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO, age 17, one of the six men shot by Union troops during the execution of General Order #11; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre Cemetery (Confederate Cemetery).
2) John Winfer Owsley, b. 1849, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; 1900 living Cass Co., MO. No known children.
1900 - he was unmarried and taking care of his mother:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO [niece, daughter of David Owsley]
3) William Jean Owsley, b. 13 Dec 1851, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. by 1860, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
4) Malkijah Von Owsley, b. 3 Aug 1853, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 18 Nov 1875 to Sarah A. Shawhan [b. Mar 1854, MO]; d. 31 Dec 1902, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
1900 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 230
[not very legible; indexed as Matthew]
Malkijah Owsley, b. Aug 1853, m'd 25 yrs, MO TN NC
Sarah, b. Mar 1854, 6 chdn; 6 living, MO MO MO
Charles D., b. Jun 1884
Claude E., b. Aug 1886
Clara M., b. Jan 1888
Nancy A?, b. Feb 1891
John H., b. Feb 1894
Laura L., b. May 1896
1910 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 293
Sally Owsley, 52, widow, KY KY KY
Claud E., 23, MO MO KY
Clara, 22, MO
John H.,17, MO
Laura L., 14, MO
Malkijah Owsley's children:
i. Charles D. Owsley, b. Jun 1884.
ii. Claude E. Owsley, b. Aug 1886; m. Rosella ___ [b. 1889, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Rosella and children Claude G. [b. 1914] and Troy [b. 1919].
iii. Clara M. Owsley, b. Jan 1888
iv. Nancy A. Owsley, b. Feb 1891
v. John H. Owsley, b. Feb 1894; m. Virginia C. ___ [b. 1899, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Virginia and daughter Ruth E. [b. 1919].
vi. Laura L. Owsley, b. May 1896
5) Nancy Elizabeth Owsley, b. 1855, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO.
6) Richard Zacariah Owsley, d. by 1870?
7) Robert Owsley, b. 1858, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. 1879, KS.
this from article by Larry Sullivan.
"Just before leaving, (Spring of 1879, left for KS) Bob spoke crossly to his aged mother. I said to him, "You shouldn't do that, you are going away and may never see her again;" his answer was, "Yes, I will, I am going to get rich and take good care of my mother." (Bob died in KS 3 months after leaving MO.)
from "Autobiography of John M. Tate"; written in 1943
8) David Stonewall J. Owsley, b. 1862, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 8 Dec 1890, Independence, Jackson Co., MO to Nettie A. Kemper; he and wife both died by 1900?
David Stonewall J. Owsley's child:
i. Matilda Kemper, b. 1892, MO; 1900 was living with her uncle and grandmother in Cass Co., MO:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
***************
8. Berilla Hunter, b. 8 Apr 1829, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; never married; d. 1895, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA; buried Westminster Memorial Park, Orange Co., CA.
***************
9. John David Hunter, b. 28 Sep 1831, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; m. Juda Potter [b. Apr 23, 1838 Bedford, Indiana; d. Apr 27, 1919; daughter of Benjamin Potter and Mary Hays. Juda went back to Indiana after 1870 and married William Taylor]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lonejack, Jackson Co., MO, age 31; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
He married on 18 Jul 1812 in Stokes Co., NC to Elizabeth Jean, daughter of Rev. William Jean (or Jeans) and his wife Elizabeth Goode.
John and Elizabeth were members of the Baptist church.
John went into business for himself running a distillery and their family grew. He also apparently farmed, perhaps to grow the grain he distilled.
1820 census, Stokes Co., NC, p. 321
John Hunter Jr.
One male aged 26-44 - John
One female aged 26-44 - Elizabeth
One male aged 10-15 - David?
Two males aged under 10 - William and ?
One female aged under 10 - Nancy
[two members of the family are engaged in agriculture]
The 1830 census shows them with five children and four slaves, a man and three little girls.
1830 census, Stokes Co., NC
John F. Hunter
One male aged 40-49 - John
One female aged 30-39 - Elizabeth
One female aged 15-19 - household help? A relative?
One male aged 10-14 - William?
One female aged 10-14 - Nancy
One female aged 5-9 - Elizabeth
Two females under 5 - Matilda and Berilla
One male slave aged 20-29
Two female slaves aged 10-13
One female slave aged under 10
At the age of forty-five in 1835, John gave up the distillery business and he and Elizabeth went west to settle in the brand new frontier settlement of Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO. They may have gone at the urging of their married sons, who also went. An old family story says that Elizabeth arrived at her new home in a ‘grand buggy with matched white horses."
[Source: "Jackson County Pioneers," by Pearl Wilcox.]
"Lone Jack – there have been many things for which Lone Jack, the queen town of Van Buren township, has been noted – the Civil War battle, the pioneer churches, the old Porter Seminary, the historic cool spring, and the solitary blackjack oak for which the town was named.
The jack oak tree stood on the high prairie ridge until after the Civil War. It was a conspicuous landmark located at the intersection of two Indian trails, or traces as they were ofttimes called. The Osage and Kaw Indians followed a path southeast and northwest by the lone tree. The old missionary road from Lexington to Harmony Mission in Bates County followed the Indian path which passed the lone tree in a southwest and northeast direction.
Those first pioneers endured the wearying toil of all on the frontier. They felled trees, claimed land, braved isolation, and built homes and schools... The first school in the immediate vicinity of Lone Jack was a building which stood on the ground of the cemetery east of town. Warham Easley, John Snow, Galen Cave, Charles Hopper, John Patton, and Samuel Yankee employed John C. Roberts for the entire teaching term for $200. This was a few years prior to 1842, since in that year the first free school was opened in the township. A district six miles square was organized under the school law of 1836. The two schools standing at that time were abandoned and a new one was built near the center of the district on the John Hunter farm.
Van Buren township was organized in 1837, and all official business was carried on at Beattie's store... His store was spoken of as Lone Jack store, and the country around was called Lone Jack neighborhood simply because of the blackjack tree."
1838 Sep 7 - John took out patents on 280 acres of land in five tracts in Jackson county, registered at the land office at Lexington in neighboring Lafayette county. The same day, his father-in-law William Jean took out land at the same office, only he bought in Lafayette County where he and his wife settled.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 acres 047N - 029W SW¼SW¼ Sec 28 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W SE¼SE¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 aces 047N - 029W W½SW¼ Sec 33 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W NW¼NW¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 acres 047N - 029W E½NW¼ Sec. 29 entered at Lexington
In 1840, John and Elizabeth are living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Married son William is nearby with his bride, no children yet.John's younger brother David lives almost next door. John and Elizabeth now have only one slave, a woman in her twenties:
1840 Jackson Co., MO census, pg 082
John Hunter
One male age 40-49 - John
One female age 40-49 - Elizabeth Jean
Two females age 15-19 - Matilda? And who?
One female age 10-14 - Berilla
One male age 5-9 - John David
One female slave aged 24-29
[two persons in agriculture]
In 1850, John and Elizabeth are doing well financially and living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Son William was next door. They had four slaves:
1850 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 355
John Hunter, 63, farmer, real estate $4000, NC
Elizabeth, 59, NC
Berilla, 21, NC
David, 19, NC
4 slaves on p. 35 of slave schedule:
25-year-old woman
5-year-old girl
4-year-old girl
2-year-old boy
In 1860, they living near son John D. and his wife, and are still doing very well financially.
Next door to Martin Rice, who is next door to John S. & Nancy (Hunter) Cave. Now, on the eve of the Civil War, they owned seven slaves:
1860 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, Lone Jack, p. 245
John Hunter, 71, farmer, real $3900 pers. $4680, NC
Elizabeth, 67, NC
Berilda, 27, NC
7 slaves
[same house; different household]
John D. Hunter, 25, farmer 300 940 NC
Julia, 22, IN
Thomas Todd, 25, school teacher, AL
The Civil War - John and Elizabeth were prosperous and the heads of a growing family. They were also slave holders and Southerners. They supported the Confederate cause and suffered for it. Along with their relatives, friends, and neighbors, they were ordered to leave their home on short notice in September 1863. As they were packing to go with the help of two of their married sons and others, Union troops acting on a tip from a neighbor that the family had met with and given aid to Quantrill on his way into Kansas massacre the townsmen of Lawrence, rode up and arrested six of the group, including son William and John, son-in-law John Cave, and grandson Andrew Owsley, only seventeen years old. The soldiers took the men a short way away and shot them without trial. The family was forced to bury them hastily in order to continue with their own evacuation.
There are two stories as to who found them. One says that Jane Cave (the widow of a cousin?) and Patsy Potter found them when they went looking for a horse that had been taken from Jane. Another says that John Hunter had followed the group and heard the shots.
From the "Biography of Benjamin Potter" by Lillian L. Cave
"There was no time to take the bodies to the cemetery. John Hunter dug shallow graves close to where they fell. He was helped by a neighbor who still remained (Martin Rice, the man who had turned them in). Nancy brought quilts from her house with which to wrap the bodies of her husband and brothers and they quickly laid them in the ground and filled in the graves before they had to hurry away, still fearful that the troops might return. It was her and John's twenty-seventh wedding anniversary, and she was seven months pregnant with their ninth child."
From the "Kansas City Star," undated
"Tragic Story behind Lone Jack Monument
Inside a short concrete barrier about ten feet square, a marble monument stands over the shallow graves of six southerners killed on Sept. 6, 1863. It is between two fields on a farm one and one-half miles east of Lone Jack, MO.
Moss and the wear of nearly 100 years have blemished the obelisk. It rises just above the tall weeds around it. The monument is on the E.E. Colebank farm. Colebank, who has lived there 14 years, said the monument has few visitors anymore. "Many people around here have already seen it," he said. "And it's not too easy to find."
(inscribed)
Confederate Cemetery
John D. Hunter, born 9-28-1831 D 9-6-1863
Andrew W. Ousley, died 9-6-1863, age 17 years
Benjamin Potter, born 5-17-1788, died 9-6-1863
John S. Cave, born 9-18-1809, died 9-6-1863
Wm J. Hunter, died 9-6-1863, age 48 years
Wm C. Tate, born 1-23-1831, died 9-6-1863"
We don't know for sure where John and Elizabeth went during the evacuation, but their daughter Nancy Cave, now widowed and pregnant with her ninth child, headed into nearby Johnson County. It seems likely that John and Elizabeth also headed that way and possibly they went to stay with John's brother David Hunter and his family on their farm.
After the war, John and Elizabeth returned to their home, but we don't know what condition it was in. Their slaves were legally freed on 1 Jan 1965, but daughter Berilla continued living at home and helping her parents.
They had a full house in 1870. In addition to Berilla, they had their orphaned granddaughters Mary and Laura living with them, their widowed daughter-in-law Judy (Potter) Hunter, her sister Patty, and Judy's daughter Mary Hunter:
1870 census, Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 124
J. W. Hunter, 81, farmer, $4800, $800, NC
Elizabeth, 71, NC
Barilla, 38, NC
Mary Bradley, 23, MO
Laura Bradley, 21, MO
Judy Hunter, 30, IN
Patty Potter, 31, IN
Mary E. Hunter, 6, MO
Elizabeth died in 1878. In 1880, John had his daughters Berilla and Nancy living with and taking care of him:
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, p. 180C
John Hunter, 92, retired farmer, NC VA VA
Barilla, dau., 41, keeping house, NC NC NC
Nancy Cave, dau., 61, NC NC NC
John died in 1886 and was buried next to Elizabeth.
John Hunter's 1881 biography excerpted from THE HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, 1912, By: William Z. Hickman:
"Farmer, section 29. Our subject is not only one of the oldest settlers, but one of the oldest men now living in Jackson County. He is a native of Stokes County, North Carolina, and was born March 26, 1789. He was a son of David and Dorothy Hunter, both natives of Virgina. He lived in Stokes County until nearly forty-five years of age, and then moved to Missouri. After he attained his majority, he commenced business for himself, running a distillery, and continued in said business until 1835, when he came to Missouri, and on April 8, 1836, he located upon the farm he now occupies. Mr. Hunter suffered more hardships and trials during the War than any of his neighbors. On the morning of September 6, 1863, a company of Federals of Colburn and Clark's command came to his place, as he was about moving out of the county under Order N. 11, and took two of his sons (William and David), one son-in-law, one grandson, one cousin, and another man, and taking them a very short distance from the house, shot them all dead, and left the bodies lying on the ground; and this aged father, with only the assistance of his neighbor Martin Rice, hastily buried the bodies, without shroud or coffin, by merely covering them up with quilts and placing them in the ground. (It is not the biographer's place to comment in this connection upon this sad affair, as it is fully treated of in another part of this volume.) Mr. Hunter was married on July 18, 1812, to Elizabeth Jeans, she have been born May 14, 1792. By this union nine children were born, three of whom are still living: Nancy, the widow of John Cave, one of the six shot, as above mentioned; Matilda, the wife of David Ousley, and Berrilla, born Apr 8, 1831, and the only one of the children now at home. There she desires to remain and with care and affection, soothe as much as possible her deeply bereaved and venerable father, while he remains on earth. Mrs. Hunter died October 25, 1879. Mr. Hunter has been a member of the Baptist Church for a great many years, and clerk of the church since 1852. Mr. Hunter is now in the ninety-third year of his age, and for one that has passed through so much suffering, is still in remarkable health and vigor of intellect."
John's obituary - Vital Historical Records, P.H. Times, Sep 2, 1886
"Mr. John Hunter, one of the pioneers of Jackson Co., died Sunday night at his home near Lone Jack, age 97 yrs. He had been a resident of the county for fifty years. 8-29-86." [The above biography was then published with the obituary.]
John Hunter's children:
***************
1. David Hunter?, b.c. 1810, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; d. by 1881. There was an unaccounted for boy b. 1806-1810 on the 1820 census in John's household. John's 1881 biography stated that he had nine children, only three of whom were still living in that year.
***************
2. Son Hunter, b. 1811-1820, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; died or moved out of the house by 1830, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC;
This boy was listed on the 1820, but not 1830 census. His father's 1881 census stated he was the father of nine children altogether, only three of whom survived in 1881.
***************
3. William Jean Hunter, b. 1815, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 11 Jul 1839, Cass Co., MO to Maria Spainhour [daughter of Jack and Susanna Spainhour]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, aged 48, shot by Union troops; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
4. Nancy Hunter, b. 6 Jun 1819, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 6 Sep 1836, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to John S. Cave b. 18 Sep 1809, Orange Co., VA; d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO]; she d. 15 Dec 1905, Warrensburg, Johnson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
5. Elizabeth Hunter, b.c. 1821, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. c. 1843, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to Thomas A. Bradley [b. 1824 VA]; she d. c. 1854, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
6. Evaline Hunter?, born and died probably by 1830.
A daughter named Evaline has been included on old lists of John and Elizabeth's children between Elizabeth and Matilda, but so far hasn't shown up on any surviving records. They did have a ninth, unknown child, who was deceased by 1881 as stated in John's biography that year.
***************
7. Matilda Hunter, b. 15 Nov 1824, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 23 Jun 1844, Jackson Co., MO to David Owsley [b. 27 Feb 1823, Claiborne Co., TN; d. 20 Jun 1864, Allatoona, GA as a Confederate soldier]; she d. 13 Nov 1900, probably Cass Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
In 1850, they were living in Cass Co., MO.
In 1860, the eve of the Civil War, they were living in Lone Jack and had five children:
1860 Jackson Co., MO, Lone Jack, p. 247
David Owsley, 37, TN
Matilda, 30, NC
Andrew W., 14, MO
John W., 11, MO
Melchagy, 6, MO
Nancy E., 5, MO
Robert, 2, MO
David left home to serve as a Confederate soldier and died 20 Jun 1864 at Allatoona, GA from wounds sustained in battle. For more about him, see link:
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=tsmith&id=I47183
In 1870, Matilda was living with her five children still at home in Lees Summit:
1870 Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 136
Matilda Ousley, 45, NC
John, 23, MO
Kija (male), 20,
Nancy, 16
Robert, 13
David, 8
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 180C
M.V. Owsley, 26, farmer, MO TN NC
S.A., 22, wife, KY KY KY
Matilda, 54, mother, NC -- --
D.S.J., 17, brother, MO NC NC
1900, she was living with her son, John, in Polk Township, Cass County:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
Matilda Hunter's children:
1) Andrew Wilson Owsley, b. 1846, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO, age 17, one of the six men shot by Union troops during the execution of General Order #11; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre Cemetery (Confederate Cemetery).
2) John Winfer Owsley, b. 1849, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; 1900 living Cass Co., MO. No known children.
1900 - he was unmarried and taking care of his mother:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO [niece, daughter of David Owsley]
3) William Jean Owsley, b. 13 Dec 1851, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. by 1860, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
4) Malkijah Von Owsley, b. 3 Aug 1853, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 18 Nov 1875 to Sarah A. Shawhan [b. Mar 1854, MO]; d. 31 Dec 1902, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
1900 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 230
[not very legible; indexed as Matthew]
Malkijah Owsley, b. Aug 1853, m'd 25 yrs, MO TN NC
Sarah, b. Mar 1854, 6 chdn; 6 living, MO MO MO
Charles D., b. Jun 1884
Claude E., b. Aug 1886
Clara M., b. Jan 1888
Nancy A?, b. Feb 1891
John H., b. Feb 1894
Laura L., b. May 1896
1910 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 293
Sally Owsley, 52, widow, KY KY KY
Claud E., 23, MO MO KY
Clara, 22, MO
John H.,17, MO
Laura L., 14, MO
Malkijah Owsley's children:
i. Charles D. Owsley, b. Jun 1884.
ii. Claude E. Owsley, b. Aug 1886; m. Rosella ___ [b. 1889, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Rosella and children Claude G. [b. 1914] and Troy [b. 1919].
iii. Clara M. Owsley, b. Jan 1888
iv. Nancy A. Owsley, b. Feb 1891
v. John H. Owsley, b. Feb 1894; m. Virginia C. ___ [b. 1899, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Virginia and daughter Ruth E. [b. 1919].
vi. Laura L. Owsley, b. May 1896
5) Nancy Elizabeth Owsley, b. 1855, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO.
6) Richard Zacariah Owsley, d. by 1870?
7) Robert Owsley, b. 1858, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. 1879, KS.
this from article by Larry Sullivan.
"Just before leaving, (Spring of 1879, left for KS) Bob spoke crossly to his aged mother. I said to him, "You shouldn't do that, you are going away and may never see her again;" his answer was, "Yes, I will, I am going to get rich and take good care of my mother." (Bob died in KS 3 months after leaving MO.)
from "Autobiography of John M. Tate"; written in 1943
8) David Stonewall J. Owsley, b. 1862, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 8 Dec 1890, Independence, Jackson Co., MO to Nettie A. Kemper; he and wife both died by 1900?
David Stonewall J. Owsley's child:
i. Matilda Kemper, b. 1892, MO; 1900 was living with her uncle and grandmother in Cass Co., MO:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
***************
8. Berilla Hunter, b. 8 Apr 1829, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; never married; d. 1895, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA; buried Westminster Memorial Park, Orange Co., CA.
***************
9. John David Hunter, b. 28 Sep 1831, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; m. Juda Potter [b. Apr 23, 1838 Bedford, Indiana; d. Apr 27, 1919; daughter of Benjamin Potter and Mary Hays. Juda went back to Indiana after 1870 and married William Taylor]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lonejack, Jackson Co., MO, age 31; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
John was born in 1789 in Stokes Co., NC, the son of David Hunter and his wife Dorcas Shelton, who had both been born in Virginia.
He married on 18 Jul 1812 in Stokes Co., NC to Elizabeth Jean, daughter of Rev. William Jean (or Jeans) and his wife Elizabeth Goode.
John and Elizabeth were members of the Baptist church.
John went into business for himself running a distillery and their family grew. He also apparently farmed, perhaps to grow the grain he distilled.
1820 census, Stokes Co., NC, p. 321
John Hunter Jr.
One male aged 26-44 - John
One female aged 26-44 - Elizabeth
One male aged 10-15 - David?
Two males aged under 10 - William and ?
One female aged under 10 - Nancy
[two members of the family are engaged in agriculture]
The 1830 census shows them with five children and four slaves, a man and three little girls.
1830 census, Stokes Co., NC
John F. Hunter
One male aged 40-49 - John
One female aged 30-39 - Elizabeth
One female aged 15-19 - household help? A relative?
One male aged 10-14 - William?
One female aged 10-14 - Nancy
One female aged 5-9 - Elizabeth
Two females under 5 - Matilda and Berilla
One male slave aged 20-29
Two female slaves aged 10-13
One female slave aged under 10
At the age of forty-five in 1835, John gave up the distillery business and he and Elizabeth went west to settle in the brand new frontier settlement of Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO. They may have gone at the urging of their married sons, who also went. An old family story says that Elizabeth arrived at her new home in a ‘grand buggy with matched white horses."
[Source: "Jackson County Pioneers," by Pearl Wilcox.]
"Lone Jack – there have been many things for which Lone Jack, the queen town of Van Buren township, has been noted – the Civil War battle, the pioneer churches, the old Porter Seminary, the historic cool spring, and the solitary blackjack oak for which the town was named.
The jack oak tree stood on the high prairie ridge until after the Civil War. It was a conspicuous landmark located at the intersection of two Indian trails, or traces as they were ofttimes called. The Osage and Kaw Indians followed a path southeast and northwest by the lone tree. The old missionary road from Lexington to Harmony Mission in Bates County followed the Indian path which passed the lone tree in a southwest and northeast direction.
Those first pioneers endured the wearying toil of all on the frontier. They felled trees, claimed land, braved isolation, and built homes and schools... The first school in the immediate vicinity of Lone Jack was a building which stood on the ground of the cemetery east of town. Warham Easley, John Snow, Galen Cave, Charles Hopper, John Patton, and Samuel Yankee employed John C. Roberts for the entire teaching term for $200. This was a few years prior to 1842, since in that year the first free school was opened in the township. A district six miles square was organized under the school law of 1836. The two schools standing at that time were abandoned and a new one was built near the center of the district on the John Hunter farm.
Van Buren township was organized in 1837, and all official business was carried on at Beattie's store... His store was spoken of as Lone Jack store, and the country around was called Lone Jack neighborhood simply because of the blackjack tree."
1838 Sep 7 - John took out patents on 280 acres of land in five tracts in Jackson county, registered at the land office at Lexington in neighboring Lafayette county. The same day, his father-in-law William Jean took out land at the same office, only he bought in Lafayette County where he and his wife settled.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 acres 047N - 029W SW¼SW¼ Sec 28 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W SE¼SE¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 aces 047N - 029W W½SW¼ Sec 33 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W NW¼NW¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 acres 047N - 029W E½NW¼ Sec. 29 entered at Lexington
In 1840, John and Elizabeth are living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Married son William is nearby with his bride, no children yet.John's younger brother David lives almost next door. John and Elizabeth now have only one slave, a woman in her twenties:
1840 Jackson Co., MO census, pg 082
John Hunter
One male age 40-49 - John
One female age 40-49 - Elizabeth Jean
Two females age 15-19 - Matilda? And who?
One female age 10-14 - Berilla
One male age 5-9 - John David
One female slave aged 24-29
[two persons in agriculture]
In 1850, John and Elizabeth are doing well financially and living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Son William was next door. They had four slaves:
1850 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 355
John Hunter, 63, farmer, real estate $4000, NC
Elizabeth, 59, NC
Berilla, 21, NC
David, 19, NC
4 slaves on p. 35 of slave schedule:
25-year-old woman
5-year-old girl
4-year-old girl
2-year-old boy
In 1860, they living near son John D. and his wife, and are still doing very well financially.
Next door to Martin Rice, who is next door to John S. & Nancy (Hunter) Cave. Now, on the eve of the Civil War, they owned seven slaves:
1860 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, Lone Jack, p. 245
John Hunter, 71, farmer, real $3900 pers. $4680, NC
Elizabeth, 67, NC
Berilda, 27, NC
7 slaves
[same house; different household]
John D. Hunter, 25, farmer 300 940 NC
Julia, 22, IN
Thomas Todd, 25, school teacher, AL
The Civil War - John and Elizabeth were prosperous and the heads of a growing family. They were also slave holders and Southerners. They supported the Confederate cause and suffered for it. Along with their relatives, friends, and neighbors, they were ordered to leave their home on short notice in September 1863. As they were packing to go with the help of two of their married sons and others, Union troops acting on a tip from a neighbor that the family had met with and given aid to Quantrill on his way into Kansas massacre the townsmen of Lawrence, rode up and arrested six of the group, including son William and John, son-in-law John Cave, and grandson Andrew Owsley, only seventeen years old. The soldiers took the men a short way away and shot them without trial. The family was forced to bury them hastily in order to continue with their own evacuation.
There are two stories as to who found them. One says that Jane Cave (the widow of a cousin?) and Patsy Potter found them when they went looking for a horse that had been taken from Jane. Another says that John Hunter had followed the group and heard the shots.
From the "Biography of Benjamin Potter" by Lillian L. Cave
"There was no time to take the bodies to the cemetery. John Hunter dug shallow graves close to where they fell. He was helped by a neighbor who still remained (Martin Rice, the man who had turned them in). Nancy brought quilts from her house with which to wrap the bodies of her husband and brothers and they quickly laid them in the ground and filled in the graves before they had to hurry away, still fearful that the troops might return. It was her and John's twenty-seventh wedding anniversary, and she was seven months pregnant with their ninth child."
From the "Kansas City Star," undated
"Tragic Story behind Lone Jack Monument
Inside a short concrete barrier about ten feet square, a marble monument stands over the shallow graves of six southerners killed on Sept. 6, 1863. It is between two fields on a farm one and one-half miles east of Lone Jack, MO.
Moss and the wear of nearly 100 years have blemished the obelisk. It rises just above the tall weeds around it. The monument is on the E.E. Colebank farm. Colebank, who has lived there 14 years, said the monument has few visitors anymore. "Many people around here have already seen it," he said. "And it's not too easy to find."
(inscribed)
Confederate Cemetery
John D. Hunter, born 9-28-1831 D 9-6-1863
Andrew W. Ousley, died 9-6-1863, age 17 years
Benjamin Potter, born 5-17-1788, died 9-6-1863
John S. Cave, born 9-18-1809, died 9-6-1863
Wm J. Hunter, died 9-6-1863, age 48 years
Wm C. Tate, born 1-23-1831, died 9-6-1863"
We don't know for sure where John and Elizabeth went during the evacuation, but their daughter Nancy Cave, now widowed and pregnant with her ninth child, headed into nearby Johnson County. It seems likely that John and Elizabeth also headed that way and possibly they went to stay with John's brother David Hunter and his family on their farm.
After the war, John and Elizabeth returned to their home, but we don't know what condition it was in. Their slaves were legally freed on 1 Jan 1965, but daughter Berilla continued living at home and helping her parents.
They had a full house in 1870. In addition to Berilla, they had their orphaned granddaughters Mary and Laura living with them, their widowed daughter-in-law Judy (Potter) Hunter, her sister Patty, and Judy's daughter Mary Hunter:
1870 census, Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 124
J. W. Hunter, 81, farmer, $4800, $800, NC
Elizabeth, 71, NC
Barilla, 38, NC
Mary Bradley, 23, MO
Laura Bradley, 21, MO
Judy Hunter, 30, IN
Patty Potter, 31, IN
Mary E. Hunter, 6, MO
Elizabeth died in 1878. In 1880, John had his daughters Berilla and Nancy living with and taking care of him:
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, p. 180C
John Hunter, 92, retired farmer, NC VA VA
Barilla, dau., 41, keeping house, NC NC NC
Nancy Cave, dau., 61, NC NC NC
John died in 1886 and was buried next to Elizabeth.
John Hunter's 1881 biography excerpted from THE HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, 1912, By: William Z. Hickman:
"Farmer, section 29. Our subject is not only one of the oldest settlers, but one of the oldest men now living in Jackson County. He is a native of Stokes County, North Carolina, and was born March 26, 1789. He was a son of David and Dorothy Hunter, both natives of Virgina. He lived in Stokes County until nearly forty-five years of age, and then moved to Missouri. After he attained his majority, he commenced business for himself, running a distillery, and continued in said business until 1835, when he came to Missouri, and on April 8, 1836, he located upon the farm he now occupies. Mr. Hunter suffered more hardships and trials during the War than any of his neighbors. On the morning of September 6, 1863, a company of Federals of Colburn and Clark's command came to his place, as he was about moving out of the county under Order N. 11, and took two of his sons (William and David), one son-in-law, one grandson, one cousin, and another man, and taking them a very short distance from the house, shot them all dead, and left the bodies lying on the ground; and this aged father, with only the assistance of his neighbor Martin Rice, hastily buried the bodies, without shroud or coffin, by merely covering them up with quilts and placing them in the ground. (It is not the biographer's place to comment in this connection upon this sad affair, as it is fully treated of in another part of this volume.) Mr. Hunter was married on July 18, 1812, to Elizabeth Jeans, she have been born May 14, 1792. By this union nine children were born, three of whom are still living: Nancy, the widow of John Cave, one of the six shot, as above mentioned; Matilda, the wife of David Ousley, and Berrilla, born Apr 8, 1831, and the only one of the children now at home. There she desires to remain and with care and affection, soothe as much as possible her deeply bereaved and venerable father, while he remains on earth. Mrs. Hunter died October 25, 1879. Mr. Hunter has been a member of the Baptist Church for a great many years, and clerk of the church since 1852. Mr. Hunter is now in the ninety-third year of his age, and for one that has passed through so much suffering, is still in remarkable health and vigor of intellect."
John's obituary - Vital Historical Records, P.H. Times, Sep 2, 1886
"Mr. John Hunter, one of the pioneers of Jackson Co., died Sunday night at his home near Lone Jack, age 97 yrs. He had been a resident of the county for fifty years. 8-29-86." [The above biography was then published with the obituary.]
John Hunter's children:
***************
1. David Hunter?, b.c. 1810, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; d. by 1881. There was an unaccounted for boy b. 1806-1810 on the 1820 census in John's household. John's 1881 biography stated that he had nine children, only three of whom were still living in that year.
***************
2. Son Hunter, b. 1811-1820, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; died or moved out of the house by 1830, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC;
This boy was listed on the 1820, but not 1830 census. His father's 1881 census stated he was the father of nine children altogether, only three of whom survived in 1881.
***************
3. William Jean Hunter, b. 1815, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 11 Jul 1839, Cass Co., MO to Maria Spainhour [daughter of Jack and Susanna Spainhour]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, aged 48, shot by Union troops; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
4. Nancy Hunter, b. 6 Jun 1819, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 6 Sep 1836, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to John S. Cave b. 18 Sep 1809, Orange Co., VA; d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO]; she d. 15 Dec 1905, Warrensburg, Johnson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
5. Elizabeth Hunter, b.c. 1821, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. c. 1843, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to Thomas A. Bradley [b. 1824 VA]; she d. c. 1854, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
6. Evaline Hunter?, born and died probably by 1830.
A daughter named Evaline has been included on old lists of John and Elizabeth's children between Elizabeth and Matilda, but so far hasn't shown up on any surviving records. They did have a ninth, unknown child, who was deceased by 1881 as stated in John's biography that year.
***************
7. Matilda Hunter, b. 15 Nov 1824, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 23 Jun 1844, Jackson Co., MO to David Owsley [b. 27 Feb 1823, Claiborne Co., TN; d. 20 Jun 1864, Allatoona, GA as a Confederate soldier]; she d. 13 Nov 1900, probably Cass Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
In 1850, they were living in Cass Co., MO.
In 1860, the eve of the Civil War, they were living in Lone Jack and had five children:
1860 Jackson Co., MO, Lone Jack, p. 247
David Owsley, 37, TN
Matilda, 30, NC
Andrew W., 14, MO
John W., 11, MO
Melchagy, 6, MO
Nancy E., 5, MO
Robert, 2, MO
David left home to serve as a Confederate soldier and died 20 Jun 1864 at Allatoona, GA from wounds sustained in battle. For more about him, see link:
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=tsmith&id=I47183
In 1870, Matilda was living with her five children still at home in Lees Summit:
1870 Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 136
Matilda Ousley, 45, NC
John, 23, MO
Kija (male), 20,
Nancy, 16
Robert, 13
David, 8
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 180C
M.V. Owsley, 26, farmer, MO TN NC
S.A., 22, wife, KY KY KY
Matilda, 54, mother, NC -- --
D.S.J., 17, brother, MO NC NC
1900, she was living with her son, John, in Polk Township, Cass County:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
Matilda Hunter's children:
1) Andrew Wilson Owsley, b. 1846, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO, age 17, one of the six men shot by Union troops during the execution of General Order #11; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre Cemetery (Confederate Cemetery).
2) John Winfer Owsley, b. 1849, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; 1900 living Cass Co., MO. No known children.
1900 - he was unmarried and taking care of his mother:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO [niece, daughter of David Owsley]
3) William Jean Owsley, b. 13 Dec 1851, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. by 1860, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
4) Malkijah Von Owsley, b. 3 Aug 1853, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 18 Nov 1875 to Sarah A. Shawhan [b. Mar 1854, MO]; d. 31 Dec 1902, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
1900 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 230
[not very legible; indexed as Matthew]
Malkijah Owsley, b. Aug 1853, m'd 25 yrs, MO TN NC
Sarah, b. Mar 1854, 6 chdn; 6 living, MO MO MO
Charles D., b. Jun 1884
Claude E., b. Aug 1886
Clara M., b. Jan 1888
Nancy A?, b. Feb 1891
John H., b. Feb 1894
Laura L., b. May 1896
1910 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 293
Sally Owsley, 52, widow, KY KY KY
Claud E., 23, MO MO KY
Clara, 22, MO
John H.,17, MO
Laura L., 14, MO
Malkijah Owsley's children:
i. Charles D. Owsley, b. Jun 1884.
ii. Claude E. Owsley, b. Aug 1886; m. Rosella ___ [b. 1889, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Rosella and children Claude G. [b. 1914] and Troy [b. 1919].
iii. Clara M. Owsley, b. Jan 1888
iv. Nancy A. Owsley, b. Feb 1891
v. John H. Owsley, b. Feb 1894; m. Virginia C. ___ [b. 1899, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Virginia and daughter Ruth E. [b. 1919].
vi. Laura L. Owsley, b. May 1896
5) Nancy Elizabeth Owsley, b. 1855, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO.
6) Richard Zacariah Owsley, d. by 1870?
7) Robert Owsley, b. 1858, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. 1879, KS.
this from article by Larry Sullivan.
"Just before leaving, (Spring of 1879, left for KS) Bob spoke crossly to his aged mother. I said to him, "You shouldn't do that, you are going away and may never see her again;" his answer was, "Yes, I will, I am going to get rich and take good care of my mother." (Bob died in KS 3 months after leaving MO.)
from "Autobiography of John M. Tate"; written in 1943
8) David Stonewall J. Owsley, b. 1862, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 8 Dec 1890, Independence, Jackson Co., MO to Nettie A. Kemper; he and wife both died by 1900?
David Stonewall J. Owsley's child:
i. Matilda Kemper, b. 1892, MO; 1900 was living with her uncle and grandmother in Cass Co., MO:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
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8. Berilla Hunter, b. 8 Apr 1829, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; never married; d. 1895, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA; buried Westminster Memorial Park, Orange Co., CA.
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9. John David Hunter, b. 28 Sep 1831, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; m. Juda Potter [b. Apr 23, 1838 Bedford, Indiana; d. Apr 27, 1919; daughter of Benjamin Potter and Mary Hays. Juda went back to Indiana after 1870 and married William Taylor]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lonejack, Jackson Co., MO, age 31; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
He married on 18 Jul 1812 in Stokes Co., NC to Elizabeth Jean, daughter of Rev. William Jean (or Jeans) and his wife Elizabeth Goode.
John and Elizabeth were members of the Baptist church.
John went into business for himself running a distillery and their family grew. He also apparently farmed, perhaps to grow the grain he distilled.
1820 census, Stokes Co., NC, p. 321
John Hunter Jr.
One male aged 26-44 - John
One female aged 26-44 - Elizabeth
One male aged 10-15 - David?
Two males aged under 10 - William and ?
One female aged under 10 - Nancy
[two members of the family are engaged in agriculture]
The 1830 census shows them with five children and four slaves, a man and three little girls.
1830 census, Stokes Co., NC
John F. Hunter
One male aged 40-49 - John
One female aged 30-39 - Elizabeth
One female aged 15-19 - household help? A relative?
One male aged 10-14 - William?
One female aged 10-14 - Nancy
One female aged 5-9 - Elizabeth
Two females under 5 - Matilda and Berilla
One male slave aged 20-29
Two female slaves aged 10-13
One female slave aged under 10
At the age of forty-five in 1835, John gave up the distillery business and he and Elizabeth went west to settle in the brand new frontier settlement of Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO. They may have gone at the urging of their married sons, who also went. An old family story says that Elizabeth arrived at her new home in a ‘grand buggy with matched white horses."
[Source: "Jackson County Pioneers," by Pearl Wilcox.]
"Lone Jack – there have been many things for which Lone Jack, the queen town of Van Buren township, has been noted – the Civil War battle, the pioneer churches, the old Porter Seminary, the historic cool spring, and the solitary blackjack oak for which the town was named.
The jack oak tree stood on the high prairie ridge until after the Civil War. It was a conspicuous landmark located at the intersection of two Indian trails, or traces as they were ofttimes called. The Osage and Kaw Indians followed a path southeast and northwest by the lone tree. The old missionary road from Lexington to Harmony Mission in Bates County followed the Indian path which passed the lone tree in a southwest and northeast direction.
Those first pioneers endured the wearying toil of all on the frontier. They felled trees, claimed land, braved isolation, and built homes and schools... The first school in the immediate vicinity of Lone Jack was a building which stood on the ground of the cemetery east of town. Warham Easley, John Snow, Galen Cave, Charles Hopper, John Patton, and Samuel Yankee employed John C. Roberts for the entire teaching term for $200. This was a few years prior to 1842, since in that year the first free school was opened in the township. A district six miles square was organized under the school law of 1836. The two schools standing at that time were abandoned and a new one was built near the center of the district on the John Hunter farm.
Van Buren township was organized in 1837, and all official business was carried on at Beattie's store... His store was spoken of as Lone Jack store, and the country around was called Lone Jack neighborhood simply because of the blackjack tree."
1838 Sep 7 - John took out patents on 280 acres of land in five tracts in Jackson county, registered at the land office at Lexington in neighboring Lafayette county. The same day, his father-in-law William Jean took out land at the same office, only he bought in Lafayette County where he and his wife settled.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 acres 047N - 029W SW¼SW¼ Sec 28 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W SE¼SE¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 aces 047N - 029W W½SW¼ Sec 33 entered at Lexington.
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 40 aces 047N - 029W NW¼NW¼ Sec 29 entered at Lexington
9/7/1838 - HUNTER, JOHN - Jackson Co., MO - 80 acres 047N - 029W E½NW¼ Sec. 29 entered at Lexington
In 1840, John and Elizabeth are living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Married son William is nearby with his bride, no children yet.John's younger brother David lives almost next door. John and Elizabeth now have only one slave, a woman in her twenties:
1840 Jackson Co., MO census, pg 082
John Hunter
One male age 40-49 - John
One female age 40-49 - Elizabeth Jean
Two females age 15-19 - Matilda? And who?
One female age 10-14 - Berilla
One male age 5-9 - John David
One female slave aged 24-29
[two persons in agriculture]
In 1850, John and Elizabeth are doing well financially and living next door to their eldest child, Nancy Cave, and her family. Son William was next door. They had four slaves:
1850 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 355
John Hunter, 63, farmer, real estate $4000, NC
Elizabeth, 59, NC
Berilla, 21, NC
David, 19, NC
4 slaves on p. 35 of slave schedule:
25-year-old woman
5-year-old girl
4-year-old girl
2-year-old boy
In 1860, they living near son John D. and his wife, and are still doing very well financially.
Next door to Martin Rice, who is next door to John S. & Nancy (Hunter) Cave. Now, on the eve of the Civil War, they owned seven slaves:
1860 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, Lone Jack, p. 245
John Hunter, 71, farmer, real $3900 pers. $4680, NC
Elizabeth, 67, NC
Berilda, 27, NC
7 slaves
[same house; different household]
John D. Hunter, 25, farmer 300 940 NC
Julia, 22, IN
Thomas Todd, 25, school teacher, AL
The Civil War - John and Elizabeth were prosperous and the heads of a growing family. They were also slave holders and Southerners. They supported the Confederate cause and suffered for it. Along with their relatives, friends, and neighbors, they were ordered to leave their home on short notice in September 1863. As they were packing to go with the help of two of their married sons and others, Union troops acting on a tip from a neighbor that the family had met with and given aid to Quantrill on his way into Kansas massacre the townsmen of Lawrence, rode up and arrested six of the group, including son William and John, son-in-law John Cave, and grandson Andrew Owsley, only seventeen years old. The soldiers took the men a short way away and shot them without trial. The family was forced to bury them hastily in order to continue with their own evacuation.
There are two stories as to who found them. One says that Jane Cave (the widow of a cousin?) and Patsy Potter found them when they went looking for a horse that had been taken from Jane. Another says that John Hunter had followed the group and heard the shots.
From the "Biography of Benjamin Potter" by Lillian L. Cave
"There was no time to take the bodies to the cemetery. John Hunter dug shallow graves close to where they fell. He was helped by a neighbor who still remained (Martin Rice, the man who had turned them in). Nancy brought quilts from her house with which to wrap the bodies of her husband and brothers and they quickly laid them in the ground and filled in the graves before they had to hurry away, still fearful that the troops might return. It was her and John's twenty-seventh wedding anniversary, and she was seven months pregnant with their ninth child."
From the "Kansas City Star," undated
"Tragic Story behind Lone Jack Monument
Inside a short concrete barrier about ten feet square, a marble monument stands over the shallow graves of six southerners killed on Sept. 6, 1863. It is between two fields on a farm one and one-half miles east of Lone Jack, MO.
Moss and the wear of nearly 100 years have blemished the obelisk. It rises just above the tall weeds around it. The monument is on the E.E. Colebank farm. Colebank, who has lived there 14 years, said the monument has few visitors anymore. "Many people around here have already seen it," he said. "And it's not too easy to find."
(inscribed)
Confederate Cemetery
John D. Hunter, born 9-28-1831 D 9-6-1863
Andrew W. Ousley, died 9-6-1863, age 17 years
Benjamin Potter, born 5-17-1788, died 9-6-1863
John S. Cave, born 9-18-1809, died 9-6-1863
Wm J. Hunter, died 9-6-1863, age 48 years
Wm C. Tate, born 1-23-1831, died 9-6-1863"
We don't know for sure where John and Elizabeth went during the evacuation, but their daughter Nancy Cave, now widowed and pregnant with her ninth child, headed into nearby Johnson County. It seems likely that John and Elizabeth also headed that way and possibly they went to stay with John's brother David Hunter and his family on their farm.
After the war, John and Elizabeth returned to their home, but we don't know what condition it was in. Their slaves were legally freed on 1 Jan 1965, but daughter Berilla continued living at home and helping her parents.
They had a full house in 1870. In addition to Berilla, they had their orphaned granddaughters Mary and Laura living with them, their widowed daughter-in-law Judy (Potter) Hunter, her sister Patty, and Judy's daughter Mary Hunter:
1870 census, Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 124
J. W. Hunter, 81, farmer, $4800, $800, NC
Elizabeth, 71, NC
Barilla, 38, NC
Mary Bradley, 23, MO
Laura Bradley, 21, MO
Judy Hunter, 30, IN
Patty Potter, 31, IN
Mary E. Hunter, 6, MO
Elizabeth died in 1878. In 1880, John had his daughters Berilla and Nancy living with and taking care of him:
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren township, p. 180C
John Hunter, 92, retired farmer, NC VA VA
Barilla, dau., 41, keeping house, NC NC NC
Nancy Cave, dau., 61, NC NC NC
John died in 1886 and was buried next to Elizabeth.
John Hunter's 1881 biography excerpted from THE HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, 1912, By: William Z. Hickman:
"Farmer, section 29. Our subject is not only one of the oldest settlers, but one of the oldest men now living in Jackson County. He is a native of Stokes County, North Carolina, and was born March 26, 1789. He was a son of David and Dorothy Hunter, both natives of Virgina. He lived in Stokes County until nearly forty-five years of age, and then moved to Missouri. After he attained his majority, he commenced business for himself, running a distillery, and continued in said business until 1835, when he came to Missouri, and on April 8, 1836, he located upon the farm he now occupies. Mr. Hunter suffered more hardships and trials during the War than any of his neighbors. On the morning of September 6, 1863, a company of Federals of Colburn and Clark's command came to his place, as he was about moving out of the county under Order N. 11, and took two of his sons (William and David), one son-in-law, one grandson, one cousin, and another man, and taking them a very short distance from the house, shot them all dead, and left the bodies lying on the ground; and this aged father, with only the assistance of his neighbor Martin Rice, hastily buried the bodies, without shroud or coffin, by merely covering them up with quilts and placing them in the ground. (It is not the biographer's place to comment in this connection upon this sad affair, as it is fully treated of in another part of this volume.) Mr. Hunter was married on July 18, 1812, to Elizabeth Jeans, she have been born May 14, 1792. By this union nine children were born, three of whom are still living: Nancy, the widow of John Cave, one of the six shot, as above mentioned; Matilda, the wife of David Ousley, and Berrilla, born Apr 8, 1831, and the only one of the children now at home. There she desires to remain and with care and affection, soothe as much as possible her deeply bereaved and venerable father, while he remains on earth. Mrs. Hunter died October 25, 1879. Mr. Hunter has been a member of the Baptist Church for a great many years, and clerk of the church since 1852. Mr. Hunter is now in the ninety-third year of his age, and for one that has passed through so much suffering, is still in remarkable health and vigor of intellect."
John's obituary - Vital Historical Records, P.H. Times, Sep 2, 1886
"Mr. John Hunter, one of the pioneers of Jackson Co., died Sunday night at his home near Lone Jack, age 97 yrs. He had been a resident of the county for fifty years. 8-29-86." [The above biography was then published with the obituary.]
John Hunter's children:
***************
1. David Hunter?, b.c. 1810, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; d. by 1881. There was an unaccounted for boy b. 1806-1810 on the 1820 census in John's household. John's 1881 biography stated that he had nine children, only three of whom were still living in that year.
***************
2. Son Hunter, b. 1811-1820, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; died or moved out of the house by 1830, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC;
This boy was listed on the 1820, but not 1830 census. His father's 1881 census stated he was the father of nine children altogether, only three of whom survived in 1881.
***************
3. William Jean Hunter, b. 1815, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 11 Jul 1839, Cass Co., MO to Maria Spainhour [daughter of Jack and Susanna Spainhour]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, aged 48, shot by Union troops; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
***************
4. Nancy Hunter, b. 6 Jun 1819, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 6 Sep 1836, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to John S. Cave b. 18 Sep 1809, Orange Co., VA; d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO]; she d. 15 Dec 1905, Warrensburg, Johnson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
5. Elizabeth Hunter, b.c. 1821, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. c. 1843, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO to Thomas A. Bradley [b. 1824 VA]; she d. c. 1854, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
***************
6. Evaline Hunter?, born and died probably by 1830.
A daughter named Evaline has been included on old lists of John and Elizabeth's children between Elizabeth and Matilda, but so far hasn't shown up on any surviving records. They did have a ninth, unknown child, who was deceased by 1881 as stated in John's biography that year.
***************
7. Matilda Hunter, b. 15 Nov 1824, Yadkin, Stokes Co., NC; m. 23 Jun 1844, Jackson Co., MO to David Owsley [b. 27 Feb 1823, Claiborne Co., TN; d. 20 Jun 1864, Allatoona, GA as a Confederate soldier]; she d. 13 Nov 1900, probably Cass Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
In 1850, they were living in Cass Co., MO.
In 1860, the eve of the Civil War, they were living in Lone Jack and had five children:
1860 Jackson Co., MO, Lone Jack, p. 247
David Owsley, 37, TN
Matilda, 30, NC
Andrew W., 14, MO
John W., 11, MO
Melchagy, 6, MO
Nancy E., 5, MO
Robert, 2, MO
David left home to serve as a Confederate soldier and died 20 Jun 1864 at Allatoona, GA from wounds sustained in battle. For more about him, see link:
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=tsmith&id=I47183
In 1870, Matilda was living with her five children still at home in Lees Summit:
1870 Jackson Co., MO, Lees Summit, p. 136
Matilda Ousley, 45, NC
John, 23, MO
Kija (male), 20,
Nancy, 16
Robert, 13
David, 8
1880 census, Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Township, p. 180C
M.V. Owsley, 26, farmer, MO TN NC
S.A., 22, wife, KY KY KY
Matilda, 54, mother, NC -- --
D.S.J., 17, brother, MO NC NC
1900, she was living with her son, John, in Polk Township, Cass County:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
Matilda Hunter's children:
1) Andrew Wilson Owsley, b. 1846, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO, age 17, one of the six men shot by Union troops during the execution of General Order #11; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre Cemetery (Confederate Cemetery).
2) John Winfer Owsley, b. 1849, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; 1900 living Cass Co., MO. No known children.
1900 - he was unmarried and taking care of his mother:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO [niece, daughter of David Owsley]
3) William Jean Owsley, b. 13 Dec 1851, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. by 1860, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
4) Malkijah Von Owsley, b. 3 Aug 1853, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 18 Nov 1875 to Sarah A. Shawhan [b. Mar 1854, MO]; d. 31 Dec 1902, Jackson Co., MO; buried Lone Jack cemetery.
1900 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 230
[not very legible; indexed as Matthew]
Malkijah Owsley, b. Aug 1853, m'd 25 yrs, MO TN NC
Sarah, b. Mar 1854, 6 chdn; 6 living, MO MO MO
Charles D., b. Jun 1884
Claude E., b. Aug 1886
Clara M., b. Jan 1888
Nancy A?, b. Feb 1891
John H., b. Feb 1894
Laura L., b. May 1896
1910 Jackson Co., MO, Van Buren Twp., p. 293
Sally Owsley, 52, widow, KY KY KY
Claud E., 23, MO MO KY
Clara, 22, MO
John H.,17, MO
Laura L., 14, MO
Malkijah Owsley's children:
i. Charles D. Owsley, b. Jun 1884.
ii. Claude E. Owsley, b. Aug 1886; m. Rosella ___ [b. 1889, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Rosella and children Claude G. [b. 1914] and Troy [b. 1919].
iii. Clara M. Owsley, b. Jan 1888
iv. Nancy A. Owsley, b. Feb 1891
v. John H. Owsley, b. Feb 1894; m. Virginia C. ___ [b. 1899, MO]; 1920 he was living in Blue Springs, Jackson Co., MO with wife Virginia and daughter Ruth E. [b. 1919].
vi. Laura L. Owsley, b. May 1896
5) Nancy Elizabeth Owsley, b. 1855, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO.
6) Richard Zacariah Owsley, d. by 1870?
7) Robert Owsley, b. 1858, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; d. 1879, KS.
this from article by Larry Sullivan.
"Just before leaving, (Spring of 1879, left for KS) Bob spoke crossly to his aged mother. I said to him, "You shouldn't do that, you are going away and may never see her again;" his answer was, "Yes, I will, I am going to get rich and take good care of my mother." (Bob died in KS 3 months after leaving MO.)
from "Autobiography of John M. Tate"; written in 1943
8) David Stonewall J. Owsley, b. 1862, Lone Jack, Jackson Co., MO; m. 8 Dec 1890, Independence, Jackson Co., MO to Nettie A. Kemper; he and wife both died by 1900?
David Stonewall J. Owsley's child:
i. Matilda Kemper, b. 1892, MO; 1900 was living with her uncle and grandmother in Cass Co., MO:
1900 census, Cass Co., MO, Polk Township, p. 199
[indexed as "Omsley"]
John W. Owsley, b. Jul 1848, 51, MO TN NC, farmer
Matilda, b. 1822, 78, 7 chdn; 4 living, NC NC NC
Matilda Kemper, 18, single, MO MO MO
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8. Berilla Hunter, b. 8 Apr 1829, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; never married; d. 1895, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA; buried Westminster Memorial Park, Orange Co., CA.
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9. John David Hunter, b. 28 Sep 1831, Yadkins, Stokes Co., NC; m. Juda Potter [b. Apr 23, 1838 Bedford, Indiana; d. Apr 27, 1919; daughter of Benjamin Potter and Mary Hays. Juda went back to Indiana after 1870 and married William Taylor]; he d. 6 Sep 1863, Lonejack, Jackson Co., MO, age 31; buried Lone Jack Civil War Massacre cemetery.
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