AMONG THE EARLIEST Hornbacks in what is now Derry township was Joseph Alfred Hornback, a full brother of James
Hopeful, whose death in 1832 was the first white death in that region and whose grave is the oldest in Hornback
cemetery. Joseph Alfred and James Hopeful, accompanied by their half-brother, William Hornback, first looked upon
this region in 1827 when, enduring many hardships, they came out from Kentucky to view the lands here in the Military
Tract.
Joseph Alfred and James Hopeful were sons of Solomon Hormback and Nancy Garner, and half-brothers of William, John
C., Solomon, Jr. and Nancy Hornback who were the children of Solomon Hornback and his second wife, Sally Philips.
Joseph A., James H. and William Hornback, with the families of Joseph and William (James H. was a bachelor), founded
the Hornback settlement in what is now Derry in the year 1829.
True, Tobias Hornback, brother of Solomon, Sr., and a soldier of 1812, had been here in the closing days of Illinois
Territory, in 1818, but how long he dwelt here in the wilderness or what was the nature and extent of his settlement
are unknown. Even his resting place is unidentified. It is believed that he sleeps on or near the site of the present
Taylor-Martin cemetery, inasmuch as his pioneer home was somewhat in that immediate locality.
In Kentucky, before he came to the Illinois country, Joseph Alfred Hornback married Nancy Pierce, daughter of the
line whence came Franklin Pierce, fourteenth president of the United States. The Pierce family came originally
from Tennessee, moving thence to Kentucky where they settled on a plantation in the neighborhood of the Hornbacks.
To the Illinois land came also the parents of Nancy Pierce, both of whom died in Derry township in 1867, Grandmother
Pierce's death occurring at the home of her daughter, Nancy (Pierce) Hornback. Both are buried in Hornback cemetery.
Joseph Alfred Hornback and Nancy Pierce had eleven children, namely, James H., Stephen, Henry, Perry Commodore,
Jane, Ann Mary, Rachel, Emiline, John P. and Francis Hornback. All are dead. Only two are buried in the cemetery
of the Hornbacks. The burials of the others are widely scattered.
James H. Hornback, eldest son of Joseph A. Hornback and Nancy Pierce, in Pike county on October 18, 1852 married
Mary J. Paxson, known in pioneer days as "the flower of the western wilderness."
Mary Paxson it was who, one Sunday morning in the early settlement of old Morgan county (when that county still
included what is now Scott), in a pioneer log school in which the first Sunday school was being held, fulfilled
her promise to the leader of the school that she would bring him a new scholar. On that Sunday morning, a red-letter
morning in the Christian history of the west, Mary, a flower-like child, appeared in the log Sunday school, leading
her backwoods father by the hand. He had never been in a Sunday school before, but somehow he liked it. He liked
the music; the grand old hymns in his soul long after he had left the rude edifice.
This hardened backwoodsman whom little Mary led to Sunday school that morning was Stephen Paxson, who became a
shining light in the Christian history of the west, who established over 1,300 Sunday schools into which 80,000
children were drawn and who was the inspiration for hundreds of preachers who later rode the western circuits.
Stephen Paxson's story, which began as here related, is one of the great stories of Christian history, and is related
elsewhere in this history.
James H. Hornback and Mary Paxson had five children, Joseph A., Stephen P., Ross N., Florence and Jennie B. Hornback.
Of these, only two, the oldest and the youngest, Joseph A. and Jennie B., are living.
Joseph A. Hornback, now 84, a grandson of pioneer Joseph Alfred, resides at Valentine, Nebraska, but at present
is on a county-wide tour among his relatives, being now with his son, Paxson Hornback, and family at McCamey, Texas.
He was born in El Dara, where the telephone office now is, and was 84 on October 19, 1937. He is a versatile violinist
and at 84 plays 300 tunes from memory. He also sings well. In his old age he has made extensive travels, including
in late years a visit to his relatives in Pike county.
Joseph Hornback has four living children, namely, Addie, Jennie, Minnie and Paxson Hornback. Addie (Mrs. McBride)
lives in Nebraska; Jennie (Mrs. Thomson) lives in Placerville, California, where also are her two sons; Minnie
married Charles Lewis and lives in Valentine, Nebraska. She has two daughters, Pauline, a musician, and a married
daughter in Carthage, Missouri. Paxson Hornback and his wife, formerly at Edinburgh, Texas, are now located at
McCamey, in the great oil region. A son died in 1935 at 22; a daughter, Fay, is in the University of Texas.
Joseph A. Hornback and the late Champ Clark, long Speaker of the House in Washington, were boyhood friends in Missouri.
Joseph Hornback loves to tell of the time when he and Champ took their girls for a ride in an old spring wagon
and of how they had a breakdown and he (Joseph) had to "foot the bill" because Champ was "dead broke."
Stephen P. Hornback, second son of James Hornback and Mary Paxson, died at 16 of typhoid fever in Audrain county,
Missouri, and is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery at Middletown, Missouri.
Ross N. Hornback, who was a civil engineer, is buried at Walcanburgh, Colorado. He was married and had one daughter,
but both wife and daughter preceded him in death. He and Charles Hornback (the latter a son of Solomon P. Hornback)
were engineers together on a great surveying project in Colorado. Both died in that state.
Florence Hornback married Lafe Sams and had two sons, Ray and Fay. Ray, married, resides near Broken Bow, Nebraska,
and has two sons; Fay, married, lives at Twin Falls, Idaho, and has one son, Fay, Jr., who is married and has one
child. Florence (Hornback) Sams is buried near Broken Bow, Nebraska.
Jennie B. Hornback married a Williams and resides in southern California. Her husband is dead.
James H. Hornback and Mary Paxson, parents of the above named children, moved from Pike county to Missouri and
thence to Nebraska. Both died and are buried near broken Broken Bow. Two of their children, Joseph A. and Florence,
once attended school in the city of St. Louis, at which time they stayed with their maternal grandparents, Stephen
Paxson, the then great missionary, and his wife, Sarah (Pryor) Paxson.
Stephen Hornback, son of Joseph Alfred and Nancy (Pierce) Hornback, had two children, namely, Stephen, a wanderer,
and May, who married a Tullock and died in Denver, Colorado, in 1926.
Henry Hornback, brother of Stephen, married in Iowa and died in Denver. His widow and three children reside near
Bedford, Iowa.
Perry Commodore Hornback, another son of Joseph and Nancy, on October 9, 1873, married Lutictia Van Pelt, daughter
of Samuel Van Pelt. Justice Solomon P. Hornback performed the ceremony.
Perry C. Hornback had five children who reached maturity: Maude, Etta, Myrtle and Leonard.
Maude married Ben Norman of Springfield, Illinois. She had a large family of children, among them Mildred, Edith,
Elsie, Delia and Lutictia. Mildred (Mrs. Alec Long), the eldest, resides near Springfield and has one daughter,
Evelyn (Mrs. Rudolph).
Etta married Lemuel Wright of Springfield, a son of Soldier Thomas Wright. She died in April, 1920. He died in
June, 1937. They had one daughter, Luella Pearl, born April 7, 1920, who is now in Springfield high school.
Pearl married Julius Klemme, and they live at 2005 East Pine, Springfield. They have two sons, one of whom, Everett,
is with the Franklin Life in Springfield. He married Nora Lenhardt and has a son Donald and a daughter. Pearl's
other son, Eugene Klemme, is in Springfield high. Three little girls have died. Mrs. Klemme is a deaconess in the
Stuart Street Christian church; Eugene sings in the choir.
Myrtle Hornback married H. C. Dean of Springfield, who was for many years with the Illinois State Register, and
their son, H. C., Jr., is now with the advertising department of that newspaper. They had two sons and five daughters.
The oldest son was killed in an automobile accident in 1922. The mother died in 1935 and is buried in Springfield.
Leonard Hornback, the only son of Perry C. to live to maturity, is a decorator in Springfield. He has been twice
married. By his first wife he had two sons, both now in Chicago. By his second marriage there are several children.
Perry Commodore Hornback died at Springfield some 15 years ago and is buried in Oak Ridge cemetery. His widow,
who was 83 on November 19, 1937, resides with her daughter, Mrs. Pearl Klemme, in Springfield.
Anna Hornback, daughter of Joseph Hornback and Nancy Pierce, married John Johnson and their children were Molly,
James and Joseph. They moved to Johnson county, Missouri, and both died and are buried there.
Jane Hornback, sister of Ann, married Willis Hand. They had no children. She died and is buried in Iowa.
Mary Hornback, another sister, a school teacher, married a Mr. Hopkins of Kentucky, but later separated from her
husband. There were no children. Mary died at El Dara at the home of Mrs. Mary Alice (Motley) Solomon, daughter
of Elliott Motley and niece of John B. Gragg. She is buried in Hornback cemetery.
Rachel Hornback, fourth of Joseph's daughters, married Dr. Joseph Stanley of Platteville, Iowa, and they had two
children, Ida and Joseph, Jr. Ida married Asa Terrill at Bedford, Iowa, and they had a daughter, Maud. Mr. Terrill
is dead. Dr. Joseph Stanley, Jr., is an eye, ear and nose specialist, located in St. Joseph, Missouri. Dr. Joseph
Stanley, Sr., is deceased. Rachel died and is buried in Iowa.
Emiline (Emma) Hornback married Dr. Green Stanley in Missouri, and they have two daughters, one of whom resides
with her mother at Long Beach, California, and the other is operating a small hotel in Los Angeles. Dr. Stanley
is dead.
John P. Hornback, son of Joseph A. and Nancy Hornback, died at the age of four on March 24, 1842. He is buried
in Hornback cemetery.
Francis Hornback, another son of Joseph and Nancy, also died young, his death occurring in Derry township May 20,
1844, at the age of two years and one month. He also is buried at Hornback.
Joseph Alfred Hornback, father of the foregoing children, born July 24, 1801, died in Derry township December 31,
1851, aged 50. He is buried in Hornback cemetery.
Most, but not all, of the early Hornbacks and their descendants sleep in the El Dara Hornback cemetery. At the
instance of the older Solomon Hornback's great granddaughter, Mrs. Alice Hornback Berry of Pittsfield, the El Dara
Hornback Cemetery Association was formed in 1932 and a charter obtained from the state secretary. At a meeting
held in El Dara, officers were then elected as follows: J. W. Morehead, president; Mrs. Lizzie Henry, vice president;
Mrs. Alice Hornback berry, secretary; J. R. Easley, treasurer; J. B. Gragg and Mrs. Clara Hornback, trustees.
Among those of the Hornbacks buried elsewhere is Reuben W. Hornback, who is interred in Taylor-Martin cemetery
in Derry township, as is his wife, who was Elizabeth Freeman. Reuben W. was the youngest child of pioneer William
Hornback and his wife, Sallie Wren Landrum. The "W" in his name, according to one record, was for his
mother's maiden name of "Wren"; according to other records the "W" stood for "Washington."
Reuben W. Hornback and Elizabeth Freeman had seven children, namely, Sally Velma, Mary Margaret, Hannah Manetta
(Nettie), William Jordan, Sophia Lenora (Lena), Phylora W. (Lora) and Reuben Guy.
Sally Velma Hornback, born in Derry March 19, 1862, married Aaron Hamilton March 3, 1878, he a son of Jesse and
Rachel Hamilton. They were married at El Dara by the bride's uncle, Justice Solomon P. Hornback, with J. T. Brawley
witnessing. They had six children, namely, Sophia, Freddie, Jesse, Charles, Reuben and Roy Hamilton. Sophia died
in infancy, and Freddie and Jesse both died young. They are buried in Hornback cemetery. Charles, twice married,
resides in Los Angeles, California, as does his brother, Reuben. Roy Hamilton died in California about 1935.
Charles Hamilton by his first marriage had two daughters, Addie and Velma. Both are married. Addie has one son,
Raymond; Velma also has one son. Charles by his second marriage had one son.
Velma Hornback married a second time, her second husband being Andrew Kuhnley. They lived in southern California.
They had two children, Clara and Clifford. Clifford died when small. Clara lives in California. Mr. and Mrs. Kuhnley
both died in southern California, she about 1934. She lived at Belvidere Gardens, and is buried at Compton, California.
Mary Margaret Hornback, born in Derry township August 15, 1864, died unmarried at the home of her sister, Mrs.
A. M. Trautwein, near El Dara June 20, 1933, at the age of 68 years, ten months and five days. She is buried in
Taylor-Martin cemetery.
Hannah Manetta (Nettie) Hornback, a former well-known Pike county school teacher, was born in Derry township May
3, 1867. On July 13, 1884 she married John H. Freeman, then of Vernon county, Missouri, a son of James H. Freeman
and Lucy Jane Hazelrigg. They were married at El Dara by the Reverend L. P. Deatherage, with William Hornback witnessing.
They had two children, Eva and Lloyd Freeman. Eva died in childhood, in Derry township, and is buried in Hornback
cemetery died in babyhood, after the family moved to California.
Nettie Hornback's second husband was William Coulter, by whom she had three children, Olive Anne, Bessie and Reuben.
Bessie is deceased. Reuben, now deceased, married and had three children, Charles, Corlene, and one son who is
dead. Olive Anne married Donald M. Hester and resides at 1320 21st Street in Washington, D. C. Nettie Hornback
Coulter died February 18, 1909.
William Jordan (Jord) Hornback, named for his maternal grandfather, Jordan Freeman, was born February 7, 1869,
and married Laura Belle Harriot, a school teacher, at Central Lake, Michigan. They now reside at 823 East Michigan
Avenue, Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he is with a stove foundry company. They have two sons and two daughters: James
Ralph is with the Ford Motor Company at Detroit, Michigan; Elizabeth, the older daughter, is teaching school at
Lansing, as is also her sister, Laura; William, the youngest son, graduated in 1936 from Ypsilanti high school.
Sophia Lenora (Lena) Hornsback, born November 21, 1872, married Albert M. Trautwein in Pike county on August 23,
1891. The wedding was at the Reuben Hornback home in Derry, with the Reverend George W. Jones officiating and J.
H. Trautwein and R. W. Hornback witnessing. The groom was a son of Frederick Trautwein and Julia A. Moyer. His
paternal grandfather was Bernhard F. Trautwein. The father, Frederick Trautwein, died February 16, 1884 at the
age of 54; the mother died March 29, 1893, aged 72. She was born in Orange county, Indiana, March 6, 1821, the
daughter of Moses and Marcia Moyer of the pioneer Pike county settlement.
Albert M. Trautwein and Lena Hornback are parents of three children, Lora, John Raymond and Mabel E. Trautwein.
Lora Trautwein married Ernest Scribner March 21, 1921, he a son of Jesse and Nellie Scribner. The Scribners reside
at Olinda, California. Their mail address is Box 131, Route 1, Placentia, California. They have three children,
Marilyn, Dickie and Joycelyn Scribner.
John Raymond Trautwein was at Camp Taylor during the World War. On January 10, 1920 he married Miss Blanche Veatrice
Murphy, a daughter of Professor William Murphy and Mabel Thornberry, now residents of Newburg township. They were
married at Barry by the Reverend W. M. Hailey, with Arthur Brown and George B. Hoskins witnessing. To them was
born a son, Raymond Loyd Trautwein, who was accidently drowned in the Mississippi river near Pike Station on August
22, 1936, at the age of 15 years, ten months and 21 days. He was born October 31, 1920. He is buried in Taylor-Martin
cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Trautwein reside in El Dara.
Mabel E. Trautwein married Paul A. Klitz of New Canton, October 15, 1921, he a son of Charles P. Klitz and Louise
Schedel. They were married by the Reverend T. H. Ballarby, with Albert M. Trautwein and Raymond Trautwein witnessing.
Phylora (Lora) W. Hornback, sixth child and fifth daughter of Reuben W. and Elizabeth Freeman Hornback, born February
26, 1876, married Henry Chamberlain December 19, 1895, he a son of Aaron Chamberlain and Harriet Strubinger of
Derry township. They had seven children, namely, Minnie Margaret, Russell, Bertram, Bernice, Edward, Henry, Jr.,
and June Chamberlain.
Minnie Margaret Chamberlain married Fred Muntman of Bluffs, Illinois, October 6, 1921. Mr. Muntman owns and operates
the Muntman store in Bluffs and resides in a fine, newly-remodeled residence near the store. The Muntmans have
no children.
Russell Chamberlain married Mrs. Nellie (Preble) Batis in Jacksonville, Illinois, April 12, 1937. They reside on
his father's farm, four miles northwest of Bluffs in the Illinois bottom.
Bert Chamberlain married La Verne Unland of Meredosia, Illinois, and they reside on a farm adjoining that of his
father, northwest of Bluffs.
Bernice Chamberlain (Bert and Bernice are twins) married Howard Strubinger, a son of Fred M. Strubinger and Jennie
Hart of Barry, and they reside at Good Hope, Illinois, where he is teacher of agriculture in the Good Hope schools.
Edward Chamberlain married Jettie Reynolds of Industry, Illinois, and they reside at Elsberry, Missouri, where
he teaches school.
Henry Chamberlain, Jr., single, is a student in the University of Illinois and lives with his father near Bluffs.
June Chamberlain married Ralph Weber of Jacksonville and they live at Mason City, Illinois, where he operates a
cleaning shop.
Lora (Hornback) Chamberlain, born February 26, 1876, died July 14, 1929 and is buried in Taylor-Martin cemetery
in Derry township. Her husband, Henry Chamberlain, resides on his farm a short distance west of Route 100, four
miles north of Bluffs. His son Russell and wife reside with him.
Reuben Guy Hornback, latest born of the children of Reuben W. Hornback and Elizabeth Freeman, born August 28, 1879,
married Ada Strubinger, daughter of William A. Strubinger and Coloma Taylor, and they reside in Hot Springs, New
Mexico. They have four children, three boys and a girl, namely, R. G., Betty, Billy and Gene, all single.