Could that be a Bowie (pronounced Boo-ie, and not like the rock star David Bow-ie) Knife
that Merit's holding along with the pistol?
Merit is NOT related to the Horner family, except
that his sister, Victoria, married a Horner, and his brother, Perish/Parish, married one, too. So, Merit's descendants
are not blood relatives of the HORNERS, only being related through specific Branum links.
FRONT ROW: ( L - R) Missouri Horner (Married James Allred,
December 24, 1874), her mother Victoria Cougin Branum Horner, wife of John Z. Horner, not John C. Horner as reported in some genealogical reports.
She was called "Vic," known as "Aunt Vic." She is often mistakenly referrfed to by others as
Victorine, but that wasn't her name. Her parents were Angelique (sometimes written and Angeline) Tirard and Michael
Branum (see below for more).
The Gentleman in the picture next to Aunt Vic was her
son Tecumseh (Tecumsy) Horner, who never married. He is not to be confused with Victoria's brother, Tecumseh Branum,
my great-great uncle.
BACK ROW: The
Stanley Children. Benjamin F. Stanley (1852) married Malinda Horner, sister of Missouri.The young man in the middle
is Ben and Malinda's son Luther Jenkins "Bud" Stanley. The girls are their daughters Rosetta (right)
and Lou N. Victoria "Aunt Vic" and John Z. Horner were their grandparents. The date of the picture is
unknown.
John Z. was the son of Russell Horner (1797, Grainger,
TN - 1888, near Hornersville, MO) brother of Dr. William Harrison Horner, Sr. (1821 TN - 1864, near Hornersville,
MO). Dr. Horner is buried in the Horner Cemetery North of Hornersville. W.H., Sr. and Russell were the sons of
"Captain" John Horner, Sr. and Elizabeth Russell from Randolph County, North Carolina, but the family
migrated to Tennessee about the same time (early 1800s) that the Branum family migrated to Missouri. Captain John
was the son of William Horner, Sr. and Elizabeth Alred. Some have one "L" and some have two.
According to Fredalene Cooper Horner, Grainger Co. is
now Perry Co, TN, and "Captain" Horner owned an "Ordinary," which could have been a tavern,
and/or an inn. His wife's parents were George and Elizabeth Bean Russell. George was killed while hunting with
Daniel Boone. Both George and Elizabeth were born in Virginia.
THIS FRIST SENTENCE CORRECTED 12/24/04 - Dr. Horner's g-grandfather was George Horner, Sr. (born about 1726 on the Atlantic
Eastern Shore at about the Maryland/Virginia line), who migrated to Orange County, North Carolina. His grandmother's
name is unknown. The Branums and Horners first met when the Branums were also in North Carolina before migrating
North through Virginia.
See Vic and John's tombstone>>
Picture from Sally Victorene Branum Buehler
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Aunt Vic was the daughter of Michael
Branum and Angelique Tirard, who was called "The Terror." No marriage documents have been found. Aunt
Vic was a sister to Merit, Tecumseh, Perish, etc., and the great grandmother of Victorene "Aunt Reeny"
(pronounced "ree-nee" with long "e") Horner who married Aunt Vic's nephew M.C. "Cull"
Branum, the parents of my father Ernest.
Note: Grandmother Branum actually wrote her name as Victor
Reny, but everyone called her Reeny. It's possible her name was actually the French name Victor Renée, or
Victoria Renée, since her great grandmother was French, and her grandmother's name was Victoria.
So, Victoria Cougin Branum Horner was my great-great grandmother
as her son Elijah L. Horner married Martha Allred, whose daughter Victorine "Reeny" was my paternal grandmother.
Aunt Vic was also my great-great aunt on my paternal grandfather's side (M. C. "Cull" Branum). Thus,
Elijah was my great grandfather on grandmother's side and my third cousin on grandfather's side.
Confused? You ain't seen nothing yet. Read on.
Victoria and John Z's daughter Missouri Horner became
James Allred's second wife in 1872, after his first wife Elizabeth White had died, and their descendants moved
to Central Florida, where some still live. I am named after their daughter Nellie who married Monroe Collins. The
Collins' only son was Delbert, now deceased. His surviving son Melvin "Pete" still lives on Collins Road
near Haines City, approximately where Nellie and Monroe's house once stood on Lake Lowry. Nellie and Reeny were
first cousins, and I was born in the Collins' house when it was in an orange grove between Haines City and Lake
Worth, but the house was moved into Haines City sometime before Aunt Nellie died. It was next to the Methodist
Church.
James Allred's first wife was Elizabeth White, and their
daughter Martha, married Victoria and John Z.'s son Elijah L. Horner. James' sister Hannah Allred married Elizabeth
White's brother, also named Elijah. There were a lot of brothers and sisters marrying the other's brothers and
sisters. So now, through James Allred who married my third cousin Missouri Horner, and whose daughter by Elizabeth
White married my third cousin Elijah Horner (my great-grandparents), I have a whole gang of distant White cousins
I never knew about, and James Allred was my great-great grandfather.(*See below)
It all began when Victoria Branum married John Z. Horner, son of Russell W. Horner, who was the brother of Dr.
William Harrison Horner, Sr. who is credited as founder of Hornersville, MO.(** See below) Russell and Dr. Horner's
parents were John Horner, Sr. and Elizabeth Russell of Perry County, TN.
Okay, a recap plus one more. Victoria Cougin Branum and
John Z. Horner's son Elijah L. Horner married Martha Allred, and they were the parents of my grandmother Victorene
"Aunt Reeny" Horner Branum and her sister Mary Jane Horner Hill. My grandmother called her grandmother,
Marthy Ann.
Now, Caleb T. Horner, like William Harrison Horner, Jr.,
was the son of Dr. William Harrison Horner, Sr., and Caleb was the father of Mary Caroline Horner, wife
of Perish Branum, son of Michael and Angelique. Mary Caroline and Perish were my great grandparents, being the
parents of my grandfather, M.C. "Cull" Branum. For more on William Harrison Horner, Jr., (see page for
his daughter Amanda). Thus, William Harrison Horner, Jr., was my g-g-g uncle.
KEEPING IT ALL IN THE FAMILY, FOLKS! Will supply more
at a later date.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* My thanks to Cousin Melissa Sims for helping me get all this straight.
To visit the White Family Page contact Melissa Sims.
** Although it was Dr. William Harrison Horner, Sr., and his father
John's money that purchased at least 1,000 acres of swamp land on the Little River in what is now Dunklin County,
MO, it was Sr.'s son William H. Horner, Jr., and Sr.s brother Russell who came to the area first. They established
a fur trading post, known as Horner's Trading Post, located on what is now Hornersville's Main S, where Main Street
deadends at the Little River.
Dr. Horner came from Tennessee later. He drew the plans for the layout
of the little town, which had become known as Horner's Town in the 1830s. The town was re-named Hornersville in
honor of Dr. Horner after the plans were finalized in 1842, and the town officially founded. Hornersville, however,
was not incorporated until 1896, when it was incorporated as a village, according to Elzora Kinsolving (1900--1971),
daughter of Rosa Ella Black and T. B. Kinsolving, see Ella's mother's page (Amanda).
Amanda was the daughter of William Harrison Horner, Jr., who along with
his Uncle Russell founded the Horner Trading Post. So, Amanda and Mary Caroline (my great grandmother) were first
cousins, making me Amanda's fourth cousin.
ALSO, there are many errors in Fredalene Cooper Horner's A Horner Legacy where my family
is concerned. She has Victoria Branum's husband as John C. Horner. Not so. Her husband was John Z. Click the stone
link above
to see pictures of their tombstones. When I was very little, I took naps using her grave (they used to be mounded)
as a pillow. My Grandmother Reeny Branum owned the Horner Cemetery for many years where Victoria and John, Dr.
Horner and others are buried. So, please don't blindly trust what you read about the Branum and Horner families,
and that's especially true for census records. They were notorious for lying to the census takers, because they
were protecting their Indian, and illigitimate connections.
Daughter of William Harrison Horner, Jr., and Almedia Edmonson, his second wife.
W.H. Jr., was the son of Dr. William Harrison Horner, Sr., nephew of Russell, and brother of Caleb.
click it to see gravestone.)
