Louisa HUNTER, Richard MEEK OH>ILL>MO>OK
HOPELESSLY LOST HUNTER ORIGIN! OH>ILL>MO.
HOPELESSLY LOST HUNTER ORIGINPLEASE HELP! OH>ILL>MO>OK>KS.
Surnames: Hunter, Meek, Stephens, Roark, Bumgardner, Bradshaw, Kunkleman, and Smith.
Locations: Trenton Ohio, Butler County, Ohio, Vandalia, Illinois in Fayette County, Effingham County, Illinois, Butler and Carter County Missouri, and Beaver County, Oklahoma.
I am sure you will agree with me as a fellow genealogical researcher that a family heritage that is lost is truly a very sad thing.I’m sure you would also concur that if this lost family lineage was of your own personal surname you would feel at least a small sense of loss.At this time I have exhausted all public, governmental, and clan outlets for information.It is my hope that by placing this message on these boards, someone out there with a small scrap of information will see this message and contact me.
I am seeking information for and from the MEEK, HUNTER, STEPHENS, KUNKLEMAN, BRADSHAW, ROARK, BUMGARDNER, and aligned families.Also, I seek information on the children and grandchildren of Ida HUNTER KUNKLEMAN, I seem to be having trouble locating these children.Ida HUNTER and my Grandfather Samuel David HUNTER were the only two children out of the four HUNTER siblings from this family to marry and have children.
Predominately, the ultimate goal of this message is to locate new information about my great-great grandmother Louisa Ellenor HUNTER who is currently the progenitor of my own HUNTER line.She is the end, the end of the line, my brick wall, an enigma!Since 1976 I have been looking for information on my Louisa Ellenor HUNTER, and found little or nothing.I hope you can help me. The best way I can envision to start this despaired search for information is to tell you what I know and go from there.
Louisa Ellenor HUNTER was born on 02 October 1843 in Trenton Ohio. Her family traveled from Butler County, Ohio, too, Vandalia, Illinois in Fayette County, where she was married to a Civil War veteran, a man named Richard MEEK.It is not known if she was married prior to this marriage. Shortly after the marriage to Richard the family moved near Effingham, Illinois and Louisa HUNTER MEEK gave birth to her first son, my great-grandfather James HUNTER in 1863. James Hunter was not the son of Richard Meek.
It was soon after the birth of Louisa’s second son, Samuel Barton MEEK, half brother to James Hunter, who was also born in Effingham, that the family moved to Butler and Carter County Missouri, and this is where Richard MEEK died.Soon after the death of Richard Louisa HUNTER MEEK, married Richard's brother Samuel MEEK and the family moved to Beaver County Oklahoma where they settled and bought land. Shortly thereafter, Louisa HUNTER MEEK developed breast cancer and died in Beaver County, Oklahoma, on 27 April 1892. It is possible that she is buried at Clear Lake Cemetery near or in Beaver County, Oklahoma. Louisa HUNTER MEEK’s second husband, Samuel, settled around Madison, Oklahoma. Louisa HUNTER MEEK’s second son, Samuel Barton MEEK, son of Richard MEEK, andhalf brother to James HUNTER, was a deputy Sheriff in Beaver County, Oklahoma. In Beaver County, Samuel Barton Meek donated land for a schoolhouse to be built. After Louisa HUNTER MEEK’s death, Samuel M. Meek married Edith ELLSWORTH, widow of famous outlaw, Bill DOOLIN.
While in Carter County Missouri and before moving to Beaver County Oklahoma Louisa HUNTER MEEK left her son, James Hunter, with Hezekiah and Caroline BUMGARDNER HUNTER.Hezekiah and Caroline raised James for several years.James remained in the home until shortly after Hezekiah Hunter’s death, and Caroline remarried to Jessie BRADSHAW.Jessie and James did not get along, so James as a very young man ran away from the home.From the time James left the Bradshaw home until he matured into a man he lived with a local SMITH family that took him in.For several years all census, death records, land records, and wills all lead me to believe that Caroline BUMGARDNER HUNTER was indeed James HUNTER’s mother. Because several of the census records for Butler and Carter counties list James in the home of Caroline BUMGARDNER HUNTER then BRADSHAW, I assumed she was his mother, and for several years researched this family.It was only after a chance meeting of a distant cousin that I was shown the error of my research. My cousin sent me records from my own grand uncle written in his own hand, which stated that Louisa HUNTER MEEK was the true mother of my James HUNTER. Interestingly enough, on James HUNTER's Death Certificate under parental information of the deceased the certificate lists as the father of James HUNTER as H. H. HUNTER and lists only Ellen as his mother.I hope you can see why I have always thought that Hezekiah HUNTER was related to James HUNTER? James HUNTER’s son,John HUNTER, gave the parental information to county records.
It is apparent that Louisa HUNTER MEEK had family in both Fayette and Effingham counties in Illinois, because she spent a great deal of time in both counties. If so these families are lost to this line of the HUNTER and MEEK families.About the same time that Louisa Ellenor Hunter appears on the Missouri Censuses so does William Hunter, Charles Hunter, Caroline BUMGARDNER & Hezekiah HUNTER. Most are listed as being from Ohio. I believe it is possible that William Hunter was Louisa’s father, and Hezekiah Hunter, the husband of Caroline Bumgardner was one of Louisa’s brothers, but I have yet to find proof. But why else would Louisa give Hezekiah and Caroline Hunter her son James, if they were not family? She wouldn’t just give her son to anybody, I think it is probable that Hezekiah and Louisa were brother and sister.Here are some cold hard facts of the Hunter, Meek, Bradshaw, and Baumgardner families:
James Hunter’s mother was: LOUISA ELLENOR1 HUNTER was born October 02, 1843 in Trenton, Butler County, Ohio, and died April 27, 1892 in Beaver County, Oklahoma. She married (1) UNKNOWN. She married (2) RICHARD R. MEEK April 08, 1868 in Vandalia, Illinois, Fayette County, son of RICHARD MEEK and CATHERINE SMITH. He was born July 16, 1834 in Ohio, and died February 04, 1870 in Danver, Fayette County, Illinois. She married (3) SAMUEL M. MEEK, (Richard Meek’’s 1834-1870 brother) son of RICHARD MEEK and CATHERINE SMITH. He was born October 18, 1847 in McLean, County, Illinois, and died July 02, 1917 in Drummond, OK..
Child of LOUISA ELLENOR HUNTER and UNKNOWN is:
i. JAMES2 HUNTER1, b. March 12, 1863, Effingham, Illinois; d. July 29, 1958, Ellsinore, Missouri; m. SUFFRONIA (SOPHRONIA) JANE STEPHENS, January 29, 1888, Ellsinore, Carter County, Missouri; b. September 23, 1868, Marble Hill, Bollinger Co., MO; d. November 27, 1947, Joplin, Carter Co., MO.
Child of LOUISA ELLENOR HUNTER and RICHARD MEEK is:
ii. SAMUEL BARTON2 MEEK, b. April 25, 1870, Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois; d. February 20, 1942, Winfield, Kansas; m. MARGARET GERTRUDE HANNA, January 01, 1889, Pleasanton, Kansas; b. June 24, 1837, Metz, Vernon County, Missouri; d. May 09, 1943, Windfield, Cowley County, Kansas.
There is old family chatter about a third son named INDIAN JOE, but I have found nothing to substantiate this.I have no parent or sibling information for Louisa Hunter Meek, all I have is a letters written by my grand uncle William in 1947 stating; " Ellen Hunter and was born in the state of Ohio and married near Effingham, Illinois. Children, James Hunter and Sam B. Meek were born near Effingham, Illinois. Her parents were Hunters and born in Ohio. Five children 3 boys and 2 girls all born in Ohio and nationality English." So, this tells me that Louisa had five siblings.
Listed below is all the information I have on Caroline and the Bumgardner family. I realized a long time ago that if I was to ever locate any information on my own family, I would then have to research the other families surrounding my own. This includes the Bumgardner, Roark, Bradshaw, and Smith families.
1. CAROLINE2 BAUMGARDNER (ANTHONY1) was born 1849 in Ohio or Tennessee, and died October 09, 1927. She married (1) HEZEKIAH HUNTER. She married (2) THORTON HAWTHORNE LACY. She married (3) JESSIE W. BRADSHAW July 01, 1877 in Carter County, Missouri. He died September 24, 1895 in Ellsinore, Missouri.
Notes for HEZEKIAH1 HUNTER He married CAROLINE BAUMGARDNER, daughter of ANTHONY BAUMGARDNER and ELIZABETH DAVIS. She was born 1849 in Ohio or Tennessee, and died October 09, 1927.
Notes for CAROLINE BAUMGARDNER:
Caroline had three other children with Jessie that died in infancy. John, James, and Elizabeth
Bradshaw.
More About THORTON HAWTHORNE LACY:
Fact 1: Third Husband to Caroline.
More About JESSIE W. BRADSHAW:
Fact 1: Brplace Shiloh Cemetary, Carter County , Missouri.
Fact 2: 2nd Husband to Caroline.
More About JESSIE BRADSHAW and CAROLINE BAUMGARDNER:
Marriage: July 01, 1877, Carter County, Missouri
Children of CAROLINE BAUMGARDNER and HEZEKIAH HUNTER are:
i. EDWARD A.3 HUNTER, b. Bet. 1862 - 1966, Ohio or Missouri; m. MARY ANN COLLINS, August 25, 1889.
More About EDWARD HUNTER and MARY COLLINS:
Marriage: August 25, 1889
ii. WILLIAM HUNTER, b. Bet. 1871 - 1872, Ohio or Missouri.
iii. BEDFORD A. HUNTER, b. 1874, Ohio or Missouri.
Children of CAROLINE BAUMGARDNER and THORTON LACY are:
iv. QUILLA3 LACY.
v. CLIFFORD LACY.
vi. JESSIE LACY.
vii. RUFUS LACY.
Children of CAROLINE BAUMGARDNER and JESSIE BRADSHAW are:
viii. MALINDA. BRADSHAW, b. November 22, 1881, Missouri; d. 1973, Poplar Bluff, Missouri; m. JOHN T. ROARK, March 19, 1898, Ellsinore, Missouri; b. 1872, Alabma Or
North Carolina.
Notes for MALINDA BRADSHAW:
Had ten children in all.
More About JOHN ROARK and MALINDA BRADSHAW: Malinda Bradshaw Roark is mentioned in James HUNTER’s obituary as his half sister. (See, I wasn’t the only one confused ;)
Marriage: March 19, 1898, Ellsinore, Missouri
ix. CHARLES BRADSHAW, b. April 24, 1884; d. January 06, 1924.
x. HENRY ARSON BRADSHAW, b. September 23, 1866; d. January 08, 1929.
Does any of this ring any bells?It is my hope that this information will assist you in your research, and by assisting you, you will assist me, whereas you if you can add to this information, or see something that I can’t you will let me know. I have been looking for a long time now, and it is my hope that we can assist each other. This is all the information that I have, would you know of anything else? Can you help me?If you think you have any information please contact me directly!Thank You Very Much for Your Time!
Sincerely,
Berna David Hunter
[email protected]
Gravette, AR.