John Joseph Hornor
John Joseph Hornor was born on March 21, 1833, in Morgantown, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), to John and Elizabeth Hornor. His father was a merchant who owned $30,000 of real estate and $30,000 of personal property by 1860. The family moved to Arkansas in the 1830s, and he grew up and attended school in Helena, Arkansas. He graduated from Jackson College in 1852, and he was admitted to the Arkansas bar two years later. He married Bettie Tully on April 14, 1857, and they had at least three children: Virginia, born around 1857; Saline, born around 1859; and Edwin, born around 1862. He worked as a lawyer, and by 1860, he owned $25,000 of real estate and $15,000 of personal property.
He received a commission as a captain in the Confederate army, and he eventually earned a promotion to major. He remained committed to the Confederate war effort. In July 1864, he rejoiced that “Grant has been completely defeated and compelled to fall back. Sherman defeated and falling back also…Peace cannot be far distant.” He closely followed the 1864 presidential election, and in October 1864, he insisted the “chances of Lincoln & McClelland appear to be about equal and it matters little to use which succeeds. I believe the election of either will close the war. The animosity between the parties is so great and they seem to be so equal that either will oppose the acts of the other and they cannot divided long continue the contest.”
He returned to Helena after the war and resumed his work as a lawyer, and by 1870, he owned $1,500 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He served as a delegate to Arkansas’ 1874 constitutional convention. His wife died in 1863, and he married Mary Lyford around 1876. They had at least five children: John, born around 1877; Joseph, born around 1879; Hattie, born around 1879; Mary, born around 1880; and James, born around 1885. He became a bank president in 1891, and by the early 1900s, he was “one of the wealthiest citizens in Helena.” He died in Helena on February 6, 1905.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (2928) | Hornor, John Joseph | 1833-03-21 | 1905-02-06 |
- Conflict Side: Confederacy
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Captain
- Rank out: Major
- Rank highest: Major
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 9
- (8015) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to John S. Hornor, 20 August 18XX
- (8016) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 8 October 1864
- (8037) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 15 July 1864
- (8038) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 1 July 1864
- (8039) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 25 June 1864
- (8061) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to John S. Hornor, 4 June 1864
- (8159) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 14 March 1864
- (8160) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to John S. Hornor, 4 March 1864
- (8161) [writer] ~ John J. Hornor to Hamilton S. Hornor, 18 November 1863
People - Records: 3
Places - Records: 2
SOURCES
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002, available from Ancestry.com; Arkansas Reports: Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of Arkansas from November 1904 to January 1905 (n.p., 1905); The Forrest City (AR) Times, 10 February 1905; John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 15 July 1864, DL1265.008, Nau Collection; John J. Hornor to Mary Hornor, 8 October 1864, DL1265.009, Nau Collection
