The Hornes of Perry County, Alabama
I’ve often thought my second great-grandfather, Milo Washington Leonard (also known as Mack or Wash) was a bit of a mystery. His parents were Levi A. Leonard and Mary Ann Horne and married on June 15, 1825, in Bibb County, Alabama. Levi is one my few relatives that was born in Massachusetts but headed to the South as a young man without family. I suspect his journey started through military service in the 1820's. He was appointed as the Justice of the Peace in Bibb County in 1826, served in the military in 1849 Perry County, Alabama as an adjutant for the 3rdDivision, 14th Brigade, 32nd Regiment. Levi’s final census (1850) lists him with two sons (Silas, 12 and Alvin, 7) working as a penmanship teacher in Tuscaloosa County. Of course, I wondered where his wife and Milo was. Unfortunately, Levi passed away from consumption at the age of 60 as recorded on the January 1860 Perry County, Alabama mortality schedule.
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| This ad ran for a few months in "The Independent Monitor" newspaper. Source: Newspapers.com |
Meanwhile in 1850, Mary Ann was enumerated with her parents, Jesse and Mary Horne (nee Duke), along with two brothers named Washington and Andrew. She was found in Perry County, Alabama again in 1860 with her siblings Washington and Elizabeth but her mother had passed away. Jesse died in 1861 and mentioned in his will that two of his heirs, George W. Horne and Mary Leonard, are of unsound mind. A review of the 1860 census confirms this, but the enumerator wrote a comment for Washington Horn and Mary Leonard that said, “Idiotic studying morma”. Strange. Could “morma” be Mormon? There were two heirs mentioned in her father’s will that were living in Utah territory – Thomas and Andrew Horn. Now I am intrigued so onto see what can be discovered about these two brothers.
Thomas is the youngest of Jesse Horne’s children being born about 1831. If this birth year is correct, then he married his bride, Sarah Carpenter, on November 29, 1848, when he was only 17 years old. He is missing from the 1850 census but found in Utah with his family in 1860; however, he united his niece Louanna Leonard in marriage to Theophilus Nixon on November 4th, 1852 in Perry County. This document provides some great information! It states that Thomas is an Elder of the “Mormon Church” and the marriage was performed in the presence of James and Lucindy Rhone (this couple is Louanna’s sister and brother-in-law), Andrew Horne (Thomas' brother), Martin Harrison (this gentleman is most likely the husband of his niece Malinda Carolyn Horne), and Washington Horne (Thomas’ “idiotic” brother).
Now I am amazed at this point. I have spent many hours at Family History Centers (branches of the Family History Library located in Salt Lake City, Utah that is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and peruse their digitized catalog on Familysearch.org. I owe many thanks to the preservation of genealogy records to this organization.
Back to Thomas Horne, he is found in the Church History Biographical Database as a “pioneer”. To earn this designation means travel to Utah was completed by 1868 by wagon or handcart (Source: Mormon Pioneer Emigration Facts, Christine T. Cox, Manager of Visitor and Reference Services, March 2018). He and his family traveled with the Moses Thurston Company that departed on July 3, 1855, from Mormon Grove, Kansas and arrived in Salt Lake Valley on September 19, 1855. Thomas and his wife, Sarah, died just a few days apart in 1914:
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Horne who were taken last August by their daughter Mrs. Matt McDonald to Butte, Montana, were brought here for burial last Wednesday. They had been sick quite a while before they went to Montana, and Mrs. McDonald felt she could give them better care if she had them at her home. They both passed peacefully away only a few days difference between their deaths. Mrs. Horne was 83 years of age and Mr. Horne 82. (Source: The Journal (Logan, Utah), 5 Feb 1914, p. 8).
Were more family members of Jesse Horne affiliated with this faith in Alabama? Yes, his older brother Henry Horne was listed as an Elder of the Five Mile, Perry Alabama branch on 29 Feb 1844. Given that Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism and the Latter-Day Saints movement) and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered by an armed mob at the Carthage Jail in Illinois on June 27th, 1844, then I wonder if many people abandoned this new faith for fear of being harmed. Henry and his family remained in Alabama, and it is hard to ascertain if the Five Mile branch continued.
Now as this story ends, I must say that I would never have known that Levi Leonard and Mary Ann Horne were the parents of Milo Washington Leonard if it had not been for connecting with previous researchers on Ancestry.com. He never appeared on a census record with his parents or siblings. I did find Washington Leonard listed as a 21 year old on the 1860 Tuscaloosa census which is most likely him since he enlisted for the Confederacy at Tuscaloosa, Alabama on September 13, 1861, as a private in Co. K, 20 Reg’t Alabama Infantry. Returning to the probate records of Milo’s grandfather, there was an update of the heirs published on March 18, 1867 that includes a documented connection to his mother and some siblings, “…Silas Leonard living in Perry County, Mack Leonard supposed to be living in Texas, Lucinda Roane widow of James Roane dec’d living in Perry County, & Eliza Brelland wife of Arch Breland living in Mississippi in right of their deceased mother Mary Leonard and all twenty one years of age…]. Did I mention that Milo is known as Mack, Wash, Washington, and M.W.?!
Milo Washington Leonard passed away on April 24, 1907 at the age of 64 in Fannin County Texas and is buried in the Gum Springs Cemetery in Carson. His wife, Mahala Duke Patillo
Pioneer Settler Died Saturday in Carson Community
With the death of Mrs. Mahala Leonard last Saturday afternoon at 4 o’clock at her home near Carson, there was removed from our community one of the oldest as well as one of the best-known residents.
Mrs. Leonard was 83 years of age and had resided in Fannin County over 60 years. She and her husband who died several years ago were identified with the activities of the county in its pioneer days. Mrs. Leonard enjoyed a wide acquaintance over the county and in adjoining counties. She was the last charter member of the Baptist church at Carson having assisted in its organization over a half century ago.
She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. T. J. Welch of Carson and Mrs. Will Brewster of Lockney, Texas, and two sons, D.S. Leonard of Ravenna and T.E. Leonard of Carson. Many grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive her. Deputy Sheriff Jack Leonard of Bonham is her grandson.
Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon, being conducted by Rev. Thos. Reece, Baptist preacher. Interment was at Gum Springs, near Carson. A large number of relatives and friends from various sections of Fannin County were present.
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| Mahala Duke Leonard nee Patillo (from my grandmother's photo collection) |
