Hezekiah Stites Chenoweth was the son of Casper Chenoweth and Sarah Cabe, born in New Garden Township, Wayne County, Indiana.
His father died in 1833 when Hez was about six years old, and his mother remarried to Elijah Harris about a year later. He grew up with six siblings and seven half-siblings.
As a young man, he moved from Wayne County to Huntington County, Indiana, where he met, courted, and married Sarah Elizabeth Parker in 1847; the groom was 20 and his bride 19. Hezekiah, like most American men of his day, was a farmer. Their first three sons were born in Huntington County, and the last three in Taylor County, Iowa, to which they had moved about 1855. Hezekiah purchased 160 acres of land in Taylor County and began his life as a farmer, but was drawn by the lure of the call of a potential fortune to be made in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, then in western Kansas Territory. While he shows up on a census record in June 1860 with his family in Iowa, it's possible that he had already left earlier for the gold fields. He probably followed the Platte River route from Iowa to Denver or Golden City.
Family legend is that he wrote a letter home to his wife, informing her that he would soon be on his way back home. That was the last his loved ones heard from him.
Hezekiah never returned to his family from the gold rush. His wife waited, but eventually had to carry on with her life and that of their six sons. She filed papers to have him declared dead, and an Iowa court did so about 1869.
His father died in 1833 when Hez was about six years old, and his mother remarried to Elijah Harris about a year later. He grew up with six siblings and seven half-siblings.
As a young man, he moved from Wayne County to Huntington County, Indiana, where he met, courted, and married Sarah Elizabeth Parker in 1847; the groom was 20 and his bride 19. Hezekiah, like most American men of his day, was a farmer. Their first three sons were born in Huntington County, and the last three in Taylor County, Iowa, to which they had moved about 1855. Hezekiah purchased 160 acres of land in Taylor County and began his life as a farmer, but was drawn by the lure of the call of a potential fortune to be made in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, then in western Kansas Territory. While he shows up on a census record in June 1860 with his family in Iowa, it's possible that he had already left earlier for the gold fields. He probably followed the Platte River route from Iowa to Denver or Golden City.
Family legend is that he wrote a letter home to his wife, informing her that he would soon be on his way back home. That was the last his loved ones heard from him.
Hezekiah never returned to his family from the gold rush. His wife waited, but eventually had to carry on with her life and that of their six sons. She filed papers to have him declared dead, and an Iowa court did so about 1869.
Hezekiah Stites Chenoweth was the son of Casper Chenoweth and Sarah Cabe, born in New Garden Township, Wayne County, Indiana.
His father died in 1833 when Hez was about six years old, and his mother remarried to Elijah Harris about a year later. He grew up with six siblings and seven half-siblings.
As a young man, he moved from Wayne County to Huntington County, Indiana, where he met, courted, and married Sarah Elizabeth Parker in 1847; the groom was 20 and his bride 19. Hezekiah, like most American men of his day, was a farmer. Their first three sons were born in Huntington County, and the last three in Taylor County, Iowa, to which they had moved about 1855. Hezekiah purchased 160 acres of land in Taylor County and began his life as a farmer, but was drawn by the lure of the call of a potential fortune to be made in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, then in western Kansas Territory. While he shows up on a census record in June 1860 with his family in Iowa, it's possible that he had already left earlier for the gold fields. He probably followed the Platte River route from Iowa to Denver or Golden City.
Family legend is that he wrote a letter home to his wife, informing her that he would soon be on his way back home. That was the last his loved ones heard from him.
Hezekiah never returned to his family from the gold rush. His wife waited, but eventually had to carry on with her life and that of their six sons. She filed papers to have him declared dead, and an Iowa court did so about 1869.
His father died in 1833 when Hez was about six years old, and his mother remarried to Elijah Harris about a year later. He grew up with six siblings and seven half-siblings.
As a young man, he moved from Wayne County to Huntington County, Indiana, where he met, courted, and married Sarah Elizabeth Parker in 1847; the groom was 20 and his bride 19. Hezekiah, like most American men of his day, was a farmer. Their first three sons were born in Huntington County, and the last three in Taylor County, Iowa, to which they had moved about 1855. Hezekiah purchased 160 acres of land in Taylor County and began his life as a farmer, but was drawn by the lure of the call of a potential fortune to be made in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, then in western Kansas Territory. While he shows up on a census record in June 1860 with his family in Iowa, it's possible that he had already left earlier for the gold fields. He probably followed the Platte River route from Iowa to Denver or Golden City.
Family legend is that he wrote a letter home to his wife, informing her that he would soon be on his way back home. That was the last his loved ones heard from him.
Hezekiah never returned to his family from the gold rush. His wife waited, but eventually had to carry on with her life and that of their six sons. She filed papers to have him declared dead, and an Iowa court did so about 1869.
Gravesite Details
There is no known grave. Hezekiah probably died en route to his home, or may have been robbed and murdered by thieves before he had a chance to leave. His date of death, and the location of his final resting place are unknown.
