Elizabeth Morris was born in Wales on October 9, 1842, a daughter of Richard and Sarah Ann (unknown original surname) Morris. Both parents were born in Wales; Richard in 1816 and Sarah Ann in 1820. They immigrated November 13, 1851 and are shown as living in Squaw Grove Township, DeKalb County, Illinois on the 1860 US Federal Census. I don't know whether they moved to DeKalb County immediately after arriving in the United States. I have next to no information about this family and because the censuses were taken only every 10 years, I don't know when the Morris family moved to Carroll County, or even if they did. Elizabeth Morris could have met Benjamin Horner without having lived in Carroll County herself, but I think it unlikely. Regardless of where she might have been living at the time, Elizabeth Morris married Benjamin Horner in Carroll County, Illinois on March 20, 1868.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (by then calling herself Lizzie) Horner moved to Abilene, Kansas early in 1870, after the December 9, 1869 birth of their first child, Morris Edward Horner, in Lanark, Illinois. The family appears on the 1870 US Federal Census for Grant Township, Dickinson County, Kansas; this census was taken July 27, 1870. The census gives Benjamin Horner's occupation as "teamster." Perhaps that occupation was an indication that they'd just arrived there. If he'd driven a team of horses or oxen from Illinois, he certainly was a teamster.
Benjamin had apparently followed his brother Abraham to the west. According to "The Elder John Forney Family History" by John H. Judy published February 6, 1945 in the edition of the Falls City, Nebraska Journal, Abraham Horner was part of the advance party for a historic wagon train from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska in the spring of 1869. Formed by Church of the Brethren Elder John Forney, who was a brother of Catherine Forney Horner, Abraham and Benjamin Horner's mother, the advance party went overland from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska (Richardson County) in the spring of 1868 and bought 1000 acres of land. Elder John Forney left the advance party there to build houses for their families, and returned to Illinois to form the caravan.
The caravan left Carroll County, Illiois and at more than a mile and a half long it was the largest covered wagon train ever to cross the Missouri River between Kansas City and Omaha. Nearly all the members of the caravan were related by marriage. Benjamin's sister Susannah and her husband Francis Shaffer were on it and they all appear on the same 1870 US Federal Census page for Township M2, Range 16 of Richardson County, Nebraska, the census taken June 14, 1870. John H. Judy's account doesn't state when the caravan left Carroll County, but it arrived at the ferry crossing March 1, 1869. It took 10 days to cross the Missouri River by ferry, which could only accommodate one team and wagon at a time. John H. Judy's account never names Benjamin as being part of the advance party, but implies there were two "Horner boys" in it. If Benjamin was in it, he must have returned to Carroll County with John Forney. Even if he wasn't part of it, he certainly must have been part of the planning.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (Morris) Horner had two more children, both born near Abilene, Kansas: Emma on April 13, 1872 and Harry Huber Horner on September 27, 1875. They bought land in Newbern Township, Dickinson County, Kansas south of Abilene, before June 28, 1880 when the census was taken, and Benjamin farmed it for over 20 years. They belonged to the Brethren Church in Abilene and Benjamin was a deacon. I'm under the impression they were in close contact with their relatives in Falls City, Nebraska. Their closest friends in Abilene were the Landis family, possibly headed by Otis Landis, who may have been distant relatives on the Horner side.
By all accounts, pioneer farming in Kansas was a pretty hard life. Elizabeth (Morris) Horner died on their farm near Abilene (I believe it was there) on February 16, 1897. Her eldest son, Morris, had already moved back to Carroll County, Illinois in 1893, when he'd attended the World's Fair in Chicago. His brother Harry Huber had followed soon afterwards, and Benjamin and Emma left Abilene for Carroll County shortly after 1900, probably before 1903.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (by then calling herself Lizzie) Horner moved to Abilene, Kansas early in 1870, after the December 9, 1869 birth of their first child, Morris Edward Horner, in Lanark, Illinois. The family appears on the 1870 US Federal Census for Grant Township, Dickinson County, Kansas; this census was taken July 27, 1870. The census gives Benjamin Horner's occupation as "teamster." Perhaps that occupation was an indication that they'd just arrived there. If he'd driven a team of horses or oxen from Illinois, he certainly was a teamster.
Benjamin had apparently followed his brother Abraham to the west. According to "The Elder John Forney Family History" by John H. Judy published February 6, 1945 in the edition of the Falls City, Nebraska Journal, Abraham Horner was part of the advance party for a historic wagon train from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska in the spring of 1869. Formed by Church of the Brethren Elder John Forney, who was a brother of Catherine Forney Horner, Abraham and Benjamin Horner's mother, the advance party went overland from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska (Richardson County) in the spring of 1868 and bought 1000 acres of land. Elder John Forney left the advance party there to build houses for their families, and returned to Illinois to form the caravan.
The caravan left Carroll County, Illiois and at more than a mile and a half long it was the largest covered wagon train ever to cross the Missouri River between Kansas City and Omaha. Nearly all the members of the caravan were related by marriage. Benjamin's sister Susannah and her husband Francis Shaffer were on it and they all appear on the same 1870 US Federal Census page for Township M2, Range 16 of Richardson County, Nebraska, the census taken June 14, 1870. John H. Judy's account doesn't state when the caravan left Carroll County, but it arrived at the ferry crossing March 1, 1869. It took 10 days to cross the Missouri River by ferry, which could only accommodate one team and wagon at a time. John H. Judy's account never names Benjamin as being part of the advance party, but implies there were two "Horner boys" in it. If Benjamin was in it, he must have returned to Carroll County with John Forney. Even if he wasn't part of it, he certainly must have been part of the planning.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (Morris) Horner had two more children, both born near Abilene, Kansas: Emma on April 13, 1872 and Harry Huber Horner on September 27, 1875. They bought land in Newbern Township, Dickinson County, Kansas south of Abilene, before June 28, 1880 when the census was taken, and Benjamin farmed it for over 20 years. They belonged to the Brethren Church in Abilene and Benjamin was a deacon. I'm under the impression they were in close contact with their relatives in Falls City, Nebraska. Their closest friends in Abilene were the Landis family, possibly headed by Otis Landis, who may have been distant relatives on the Horner side.
By all accounts, pioneer farming in Kansas was a pretty hard life. Elizabeth (Morris) Horner died on their farm near Abilene (I believe it was there) on February 16, 1897. Her eldest son, Morris, had already moved back to Carroll County, Illinois in 1893, when he'd attended the World's Fair in Chicago. His brother Harry Huber had followed soon afterwards, and Benjamin and Emma left Abilene for Carroll County shortly after 1900, probably before 1903.
Elizabeth Morris was born in Wales on October 9, 1842, a daughter of Richard and Sarah Ann (unknown original surname) Morris. Both parents were born in Wales; Richard in 1816 and Sarah Ann in 1820. They immigrated November 13, 1851 and are shown as living in Squaw Grove Township, DeKalb County, Illinois on the 1860 US Federal Census. I don't know whether they moved to DeKalb County immediately after arriving in the United States. I have next to no information about this family and because the censuses were taken only every 10 years, I don't know when the Morris family moved to Carroll County, or even if they did. Elizabeth Morris could have met Benjamin Horner without having lived in Carroll County herself, but I think it unlikely. Regardless of where she might have been living at the time, Elizabeth Morris married Benjamin Horner in Carroll County, Illinois on March 20, 1868.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (by then calling herself Lizzie) Horner moved to Abilene, Kansas early in 1870, after the December 9, 1869 birth of their first child, Morris Edward Horner, in Lanark, Illinois. The family appears on the 1870 US Federal Census for Grant Township, Dickinson County, Kansas; this census was taken July 27, 1870. The census gives Benjamin Horner's occupation as "teamster." Perhaps that occupation was an indication that they'd just arrived there. If he'd driven a team of horses or oxen from Illinois, he certainly was a teamster.
Benjamin had apparently followed his brother Abraham to the west. According to "The Elder John Forney Family History" by John H. Judy published February 6, 1945 in the edition of the Falls City, Nebraska Journal, Abraham Horner was part of the advance party for a historic wagon train from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska in the spring of 1869. Formed by Church of the Brethren Elder John Forney, who was a brother of Catherine Forney Horner, Abraham and Benjamin Horner's mother, the advance party went overland from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska (Richardson County) in the spring of 1868 and bought 1000 acres of land. Elder John Forney left the advance party there to build houses for their families, and returned to Illinois to form the caravan.
The caravan left Carroll County, Illiois and at more than a mile and a half long it was the largest covered wagon train ever to cross the Missouri River between Kansas City and Omaha. Nearly all the members of the caravan were related by marriage. Benjamin's sister Susannah and her husband Francis Shaffer were on it and they all appear on the same 1870 US Federal Census page for Township M2, Range 16 of Richardson County, Nebraska, the census taken June 14, 1870. John H. Judy's account doesn't state when the caravan left Carroll County, but it arrived at the ferry crossing March 1, 1869. It took 10 days to cross the Missouri River by ferry, which could only accommodate one team and wagon at a time. John H. Judy's account never names Benjamin as being part of the advance party, but implies there were two "Horner boys" in it. If Benjamin was in it, he must have returned to Carroll County with John Forney. Even if he wasn't part of it, he certainly must have been part of the planning.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (Morris) Horner had two more children, both born near Abilene, Kansas: Emma on April 13, 1872 and Harry Huber Horner on September 27, 1875. They bought land in Newbern Township, Dickinson County, Kansas south of Abilene, before June 28, 1880 when the census was taken, and Benjamin farmed it for over 20 years. They belonged to the Brethren Church in Abilene and Benjamin was a deacon. I'm under the impression they were in close contact with their relatives in Falls City, Nebraska. Their closest friends in Abilene were the Landis family, possibly headed by Otis Landis, who may have been distant relatives on the Horner side.
By all accounts, pioneer farming in Kansas was a pretty hard life. Elizabeth (Morris) Horner died on their farm near Abilene (I believe it was there) on February 16, 1897. Her eldest son, Morris, had already moved back to Carroll County, Illinois in 1893, when he'd attended the World's Fair in Chicago. His brother Harry Huber had followed soon afterwards, and Benjamin and Emma left Abilene for Carroll County shortly after 1900, probably before 1903.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (by then calling herself Lizzie) Horner moved to Abilene, Kansas early in 1870, after the December 9, 1869 birth of their first child, Morris Edward Horner, in Lanark, Illinois. The family appears on the 1870 US Federal Census for Grant Township, Dickinson County, Kansas; this census was taken July 27, 1870. The census gives Benjamin Horner's occupation as "teamster." Perhaps that occupation was an indication that they'd just arrived there. If he'd driven a team of horses or oxen from Illinois, he certainly was a teamster.
Benjamin had apparently followed his brother Abraham to the west. According to "The Elder John Forney Family History" by John H. Judy published February 6, 1945 in the edition of the Falls City, Nebraska Journal, Abraham Horner was part of the advance party for a historic wagon train from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska in the spring of 1869. Formed by Church of the Brethren Elder John Forney, who was a brother of Catherine Forney Horner, Abraham and Benjamin Horner's mother, the advance party went overland from Carroll County to Falls City, Nebraska (Richardson County) in the spring of 1868 and bought 1000 acres of land. Elder John Forney left the advance party there to build houses for their families, and returned to Illinois to form the caravan.
The caravan left Carroll County, Illiois and at more than a mile and a half long it was the largest covered wagon train ever to cross the Missouri River between Kansas City and Omaha. Nearly all the members of the caravan were related by marriage. Benjamin's sister Susannah and her husband Francis Shaffer were on it and they all appear on the same 1870 US Federal Census page for Township M2, Range 16 of Richardson County, Nebraska, the census taken June 14, 1870. John H. Judy's account doesn't state when the caravan left Carroll County, but it arrived at the ferry crossing March 1, 1869. It took 10 days to cross the Missouri River by ferry, which could only accommodate one team and wagon at a time. John H. Judy's account never names Benjamin as being part of the advance party, but implies there were two "Horner boys" in it. If Benjamin was in it, he must have returned to Carroll County with John Forney. Even if he wasn't part of it, he certainly must have been part of the planning.
Benjamin and Elizabeth (Morris) Horner had two more children, both born near Abilene, Kansas: Emma on April 13, 1872 and Harry Huber Horner on September 27, 1875. They bought land in Newbern Township, Dickinson County, Kansas south of Abilene, before June 28, 1880 when the census was taken, and Benjamin farmed it for over 20 years. They belonged to the Brethren Church in Abilene and Benjamin was a deacon. I'm under the impression they were in close contact with their relatives in Falls City, Nebraska. Their closest friends in Abilene were the Landis family, possibly headed by Otis Landis, who may have been distant relatives on the Horner side.
By all accounts, pioneer farming in Kansas was a pretty hard life. Elizabeth (Morris) Horner died on their farm near Abilene (I believe it was there) on February 16, 1897. Her eldest son, Morris, had already moved back to Carroll County, Illinois in 1893, when he'd attended the World's Fair in Chicago. His brother Harry Huber had followed soon afterwards, and Benjamin and Emma left Abilene for Carroll County shortly after 1900, probably before 1903.
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