The Duncans and the Hortons

My Great Grandmother Sadie Duncan McKenrick front Row Left, Next to her is her sister Alice holding Ethel McKenrick (Chandler), her sister Dolly 2nd Row Left , and next to her I believe is sister Lillian (Ethel's mother).  I think their Mother, My Great Great Grandmother Alice Horton Duncan is in the center. I do not  know know who the older lady is...Alice Horton's mother died in 1865-long before this was taken!  (But Alice certainly looks like her!!)  Eating Bananas!

Time for a Maternal Post...I have decided to do the Duncans, who married into the McKenricks and the Hortons who married into the Duncans.  I only know about 2 or 3 generations of each of these families., so would love to break down the Brick Walls we have here.  (I truly believe that there are some families that just do not want to be found!!) I do have a lot of photos of the Duncans, especially my Great Grandmother's generation-she and her siblings.  I have none of the Hortons except Alice Horton Duncan, my Great great grandmother.  The Duncan lineage goes Me (1), Mom, Barbara McKenrick (2), Grandpa William F. McKenrick (3), Great Grandmother Sadie Duncan (4), Great Great Grandfather Matthew Elliot Duncan (5), Great Great Great Grandfather James K. Duncan (6).  The Horton lineage is the same thru (4), Great Great Grandmother Alice Agnes Horton (Married Mathew Elliot Duncan) (5), Great Great Great Grandfather Amos Shepardson Horton (6).

   James K. Duncan, born in Scotland in 1811, died in Lee County, Illinois after 1880 and before 1900.  20 years is a long stretch but that is what happens when 1 year's Census Records (1890) are destroyed by fire.  James was alive, age 67,  on the 1880 and not on the 1900 so he died somewhere in that interval.   I also do not find his wife on the 1900 Census, but she may have remarried and I do not know what her new last name would be.

James first shows up on the 1860 Census for Dixon, Lee County, Illinois.  He is married, birthplace is Scotland.  He was born in 1811.  His Occupation is listed as "Gardener"  He and his wife Sarah have 3 sons Elliot age 8,  Walker age 5 and James age 4.   Sarah (no last name) was born in Pennsylvania so I assume they married in the States or Canada, not Scotland.
I found a James Duncan who was 30 years old in 1841 so he was born about 1811; born in Scotland.  He was an Immigrant aboard  the ship James Edward, sailing from Liverpool, England to New York..  He was a Farmer and his final destination is listed as Canada.  I do not know if this is our Great Great Great Grandfather Duncan or if it another man.  James Duncan is a rather commonplace Scots name and they do not give me enough identifying information to say for sure.

James Duncan in left hand column, third down, age 31, Occupation Farmer, from Scotland, Final destination Canada.

The children listed on the 1860 Census are Mathew Elliot, our Great Great Grandfather, his brothers Joseph Walker (wonder if their Mother's maiden name was either Elliot or Walker) and James.
On the 1870 Census, the children and Sarah are gone.  I do find (Joseph) Walker, unmarried on the 1880 Census, living nearby, but I do not find James in the Dixon area.  There are many James Duncans in Illinois and all the States but I do not have enough identifying information to state that one of them is our Uncle.  I also do not find on the 1870 Census, our grandfather Mathew Elliot in Lee County, Illinois or Clinton County, Iowa which is where he lived later.

Wife and Mother Sarah is also a bit of a problem.  She was born in 1827 in Pennsylvania-she is on the 1860 Census with her husband and sons but is not on the 1870.  James Sr. is alone with Walker living in the area on a farm, working as a Farm laborer.   However on the 1880, James Sr. has a wife, named Margaret, born in 1827 in Pennsylvania.  Is this the same woman as Sarah or a 2nd wife with the same birth year and place??  The early Censii do not really give enough information!

 Matthew Elliot (1852-1922) married Alice Agnes Horton (1 March 1852-12 May 1919) in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois in about 1872

I can't find them with their respective families on the 1870 Census but in 1880 they were living in Clinton, Clinton County, Iowa with 3 children, Alice, Our Great Grandmother Sarah Ann (Sadie) and James C.  There also was a boy George W. who was born in 1872, but he is not with the family here and of course there is no 1890 Census.  I have no idea where he is or if there is a story behind his missing.  He lived to adulthood, dying in 1947, unmarried,  in Camanche, Iowa.  Matthew and Alice went one to have several other children.  Alice died in 1919 and is buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Camanche, IA; Matthew died in 1927 and is buried with his wife.  There are still many Descendants of Mathew Elliot and Alice Horton Duncan living in the Clinton-Camanche Iowa area.

Matthew and Alice Duncan in the Ozarks probably shortly before her death in 1919.

Somewhere between 1880 and 1900-that big empty 20 years without a Census, the Duncan Family moved to the Ozarks and are found on the Census for Missouri, Clark County, Arkansas in 1900 and 1910.  Mother Alice died in 1919 and in 1920, we find Widower Matthew back in Clinton, County, IA.  Their daughter Sadie (Sarah) married Frank McKenrick (Francis Henry McKenrick) ( 1874-1961) in 1894,and her sister Dolly (Mary Evelyn) had married Frank Willis in 1900, and neither of them is on the 1900 Census in Arkansas with the Family.  So my guess is that both adult daughters stayed behind in Camanche, Iowa.

Dolly (Evelyn), Lillian and Sarah (Sadie) mour Great Grandmother and 2 of her sisters.  Lillian was the mother of Ethel Chandler

The Duncan Boys-I do not know for sure who is whom.  I think the Center back row is Jimmy (James ) but I am not sure and don't know if Grandma Mac told me that or not.(??)  The others in no particular order would be George W., John Elliot, Charles and William.  (Based on the later in life photo below of John Elliot, I think he may be back row, right)

Duncan Girls-Sarah (Sadie), Mary Evelyn (Dolly) and  (I am guessing) Alice

On the Mississippi    Myrtle Beans was a friend-I do not know if Minnie is Margaret Duncan.  Henry Boldt was married to the Minnie in this photo.  I cannot uncover anything about daughter Margaret Duncan

John Elliot Duncan and wife Vernice Green Duncan

Alice Agnes Horton was the daughter of Amos Shepardson Horton and Margaret Powell.  She was born in Canada; her Father was, according to the Censii, born in either Massachusetts or Prussia.  2 out of 3 Census Reports list Massachusetts as does his Military Record and his son's DeathCertificate, so that is what I am going with.  Her Mother was born in Wales.  I have a Marriage Record for an Amos Horton and Ann Powell which is probably them, marrying in Ontario Canada in 1848.

Alice A. Horton (1852-1919)

Wedding record of Parents of Alice A. Horton, Amos Horton and Ann (Margaret) Powell 22 Oct 1848

Amos Shepardson Horton served in the Union Army.  He enlisted in Company I, Illinois 89th Infantry Regiment on 25 Aug 1862.Mustered out on 04 Mar 1863; he was 54 years old. He was discharged for disability.  He is buried in Dixon-his tombstone calls him Rev. Amos S. Horton; on the Census Records he was usually listed as a farmer, so I am not sure what the "Rev." title is about.

Mom always told me that Edward Everett Horton, the actor who narrated "Fractured Fairytales" on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle  Show" was related to our Hortons.  I have tried but have not been able to prove or disprove this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Everett_Horton

Edward Everett Horton, a cousin??

Amos' wife Margaret Ann Powell (or Ann Margaret) died between 1862 and 1870.  Her youngest child, Amos Nathaniel was born in 1862 and on the 1870 Census, Amos Sr. is alone with 2 sons.  That year the census did not list Marital Status but one would infer that the wife died.  I find no Gravesite Record for her.  Amos died on 5 August 1880 and is buried in Dixon, Illinois.