VARNER-L Archives

Archiver > VARNER > 1999-08 > 0935807769


From: "Cheryl Walker" <>
Subject: Re: [VARNER-L] Polly Varner - Rockingham Co. NC
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 21:36:09 -0500


Are you sure it was Rockingham County and not Old Rowan, NC?

Anyway, that's my great...aunt Polly. Do you have more data on Hardy?

Polly's parents were John Varner and Rebecca Davis, who married in Rowan
County, North Carolina May 4, 1784. John's father was also John Varner,
wife unknown, who was the youngest son of Hans Adam Werner who landed in
America in 1732. I haven't started on Rebecca Davis' family yet. Polly and
her parents lived in the area of Rowan County which became Davidson County
in 1823.

Polly's brother, William Varner (1802-1871), was my ggggrandfather. He
followed Polly and Hardy to Gibson County, purchasing his first piece of
land there in 1840, just down the road a bit from a bunch of Harrisons. I
would like to know more about Polly and Hardy, the only known children of
theirs were listed in the 1850 census which is on-line on the Gibson County
genealogy webpage http://www.rootsweb.com/~tngibson/

It seems that Aunt Polly and Uncle Hardy moved to Gibson County, Tennessee
where Polly's niece's husband H.J. Markham shot and killed one of Hardy's
kinfolk, Elisha Harrison (I'd like to know if or how they were related) May
1, 1882.

Here's the newspaper account, but I STILL haven't found out what happened at
the trial!

Cheryl (Varner) Walker
Oklahoma City, OK

MILAN EXCHANGE, MILAN, TENNESSEE, MAY 6, 1882
[Front Page]
SHOT DEAD IN THE ROAD
Last Monday evening, three miles north of Trenton, Elisha Harrison was found
dead in the Trenton and Dyer Station road, about 7 o'clock, with a pistol
shot wound in the left side. A coroner's jury was summoned, Esq H. C.
Pearce presiding, and the following state of facts was developed:

Elisha Harrison had been postmaster at Dyer Station for some years past and
up to last winter and fall, when he was removed. He had made threats before
the day of the killing against all concerned in having him removed, and on
that day said in Trenton that he intended "cursing out the whole set," and
mentioned the name of H. J. Marcum as one of those he intended cursing out.
Late in the evening Harrison left town on horseback and is supposed to have
stopped on the road where the killing took place and hitched his horse and
then went to meet Marcum as he came up, and he was found about fifty yards
from his horse, back towards Trenton, and his hat was found midway between
his horse and his body. Harrison was found with an open knife in his pocket
with the point down.

Suspicion pointed at once to Marcum. He left Trenton with some plow handles
he had bought in town, was overtaken by a man named Kelly, who took him in
his buggy until their roads separated, about half a mile from the place
where Harrison was found dead.

A gentleman living near the place of the killing heard some loud talking and
soon afterwards heard a pistol shot. He went down the road and saw a man he
didn't know walking rapidly away with plow handles on his shoulder. Marcum
has since given himself up, but we have not heard the result of the trial.

This thread: