Hearne History - Page 312

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to the age of one hundred and twenty years." Her brother, Thomas Farmer, lived neighbor to them at that time, but soon removed to Lincoln Co., Mo., where he left a large family. He was a Methodist minister. The Farmers who lived in western Missouri--some of them near Pleasant Hill--one of whom, Jeremiah Farmer, a Baptist minister--were of the same family. About all of the Owen family were Methodists in faith.

Robert Owen, father of Sally (Owen) Hearne and son of Thomas and Sally Owen, was born in Montgomery Co., Md., Mar. 12, 1777. He married Nancy Foster (who was born in Delaware Jany. 13, 1772) when quite a young man, and settled on a farm ten miles east of Paris, Bourbon Co., Ky., where he lived and prospered till his death, Sept. 27, 1856. His wife died 1851.

Robert Owen was a stern, self-willed man and good citizen. He farmed extensively, handling chiefly cattle. Owned many negro slaves and at the time of his death his estate was worth $60,000, and, strange to say (I am almost ashamed to record it), he gave it all to his three sons and nothing to either of his five daughters. His alleged reason for doing so was, he said, the sons worked and help make the money, but those who knew him best said he desired to keep the property in the Owen name, for his daughters all worked just as hard in their sphere as did the sons. I must also record the fact that while the sons prospered, none of their descendants have any property worth speaking of, while the vast majority of the descendants of the daughters are well-to-do people, and some of them have large wealth. Robert Owen was a soldier in the war with England, 1812-1815, but in what capacity I do not know. He had a large sword in an immense steel scabbard, all weighing five pounds, which he retained. It is the same sword used by his father, Thomas Owen, in the Revolutionary War. It is now in the possession of the writer (W.T.H.) and hangs in his front hall beside an old spinning wheel used by his mother before her death, 1839. The writer is not at all warlike, but he has also a sword bayonet in scabbard used by Scott's Confederate Louisiana Cavalry, lost by them on his farm during a raid around the Federal army, 1862. I have also the army

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Notes:

Thanks to Catherine Bradford for transcribing this page.


Copyright (c) 1999, 2007 Brian Cragun.