Clarisa
(Barnhouse) Huston
(1850-1935)
Clarisa
(Barnhouse) Huston was born in April 1850 in Fayette County, PA, the daughter of Harrison
and Catherine (Minerd) Barnhouse. She and her husband were pioneers of
Kansas.
Clara was raised in and around East Liberty (Dickerson Run), Fayette County, PA.
On Feb. 23, 1871, when she was the age of 21, Clara married George "Boyd" Huston (1840-1912), the son of William and Rebecca Huston. Boyd "was born and reared on the old Huston farm at Dawson," said the Connellsville Daily Courier. His parents "were among the most prominent and widely known residents of Dawson."
The wedding took place at the home of her parents in East Liberty. At the time, she knew full well that she and her new husband would leave soon and settle in Kansas. A year earlier, Boyd had gone to "the far West" along with Eli Huston and Frank Galley, reported a local newspaper, the Uniontown (PA) Genius of Liberty.
And so shortly after marriage, they traveled to Johnson County, KS, to begin making a home. They settled in the town of Olathe, near Lenexa, about 22 miles to the southeast of Kansas City, MO. They remained in the Johnson County region for the rest of their lives.
The Hustons had seven children, of whom five survived to adulthood -- Frank Huston, Harry Huston, Bertha Huston, Jesse Huston and Etta Huston. One of their children who died young was Marcy Huston, who passed away on Jan. 17, 1881, and is buried beside her parents.
When
Clara's father died in 1875, about four years after her marriage and move to Kansas,
she received the heart-breaking news via telegram. Rushing home, she
"arrived
[from Kansas] on the 6 o'clock train at Dawson ... to attend the burial,"
said the Genius. She was living at Spring Hill, near Lenexa, at the time.
When the federal census was taken in 1880, the Hustons resided in Oxford Township, Johnson County, where Boyd's occupation was given as "farmer" and Clara's as "keeping house." Their four elder children were born during the decade of the 1870s, all in Kansas.
Clara and Boyd returned to their home county of Fayette in September 1891 for a visit with family and friends in Dawson. He told a local correspondent for the Connellsville Courier that "Dawson has grown into a small city during his absence, as he views some of the handsome residences and business houses that have been erected."
The 1900 census shows Boyd, age 59, and Clara, 50, making their home in Oxford Township, with daughter Bertha (28), Harry (21) and Jesse (19) still in the household.
The Hustons returned to Fayette County from time to time to visit her parents and her married sister, Esther (Barnhouse) and Christian Stoner Freed. On several occasions the two couples had their pictures taken together. They gave away these photos to some of their cousins, as evidenced by some of the unexpected places the photos have turned up. Boyd's last visit back home was in about 1908.
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| Clara's 1909 Christmas card to cousin Elizabeth Gallentine in ol' Fayette County |
During these Pennsylvania home-comings, they also enjoyed visiting some of their cousins, including Elizabeth (Minerd) Long Gallentine of Normalville, Fayette County. During the Christmas holidays of 1909, Clara sent a penny postcard of greeting to Elizabeth, providing a rare glimpse of her handwriting and "voice." The note read:
Lenexa, Kan., Dec. Dear cousins one and all. As it is near Christmas time I want to send you greetings. We aught to be so thankful we have been spared another year with our friends. It has ben some time since I wrote. I often think of the nice time we had at your place. Wish I could visit Agan but I can write we are all well. Have had snow since the 5 and real cold. How is Ruemma and all her family. My Best wishes to them all from your Cousin Clara Huston
The Freeds likewise
went to lengths to visit the Hustons. In 1899, the Connellsville
Courier reported that the Freeds had left "for Ottawa, Kan., where they
will be the guests of relatives for a month." Seen at left is a
snapshot of the two couples posing together, with the Hustons seated on a porch
swing, and the Freeds standing behind.
The census of 1910 lists Boyd and Clara, and sons Frank, Harry and Jesse, living under one roof. the sons all were farmers and farm laborers on the home farm.
Boyd passed away at the age of 72 on Dec. 17, 1912. His old hometown newspaper, the Connellsville Courier, reported it on the front page, and said "His many relatives and wide circle of friends in Fayette county will regret to learn of his death."
Clara was still residing in Lenexa in 1922 at the time of death of her sister, Esther Freed. She passed away at the age of 85 in 1935. She was laid to rest beside her husband at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Stanley, Oxford Township.
Click here to visit a national Barnhouse family webpage, with broader information than just for those cousins belonging to our family.
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| Crowded event on unpaved Lenexa street, early 1900s |
Daughter Bertha Huston (1871- ? ) likely never married. She was age 48 and single as enumerated in the federal census of 1920, living with her brother Frank and widowed mother.
Daughter Ella M. Huston (1873- ? ) was married and lived in Johnson County in 1912, but details are not known.
Son Frank Huston (1874-1956) was single as of 1920. That year, he lived in Oxford Township, making a home for his widowed mother, sister Bertha and brother Harry. he passed away at age 82 in 1956, with burial at Pleasant Valley Cemetery.
Son Harry B. Huston (1879-1947) may never have married. He appears on the 1920 census as single at age 41 and living with his widowed mother and siblings. he died in 1947 and is buried at Pleasant Valley Cemetery.
Son Jesse S. Huston (1881-1952) married Abbie M. (?) (1892-1938). He was a decade older than his bride. They had at least three children -- Ralph E. Huston, Boyd E. Huston and Glen T. Huston. When the federal census was taken in 1920, the family lived on a farm in Oxford Township, and as next-door neighbors to his mother and siblings. Their son Boyd (1916-1990) married Mildred M. (1926-1998) on June 10, 1942. Son Glen T. Huston (1917- ? ) married Katherine (1919- ? ). This family is buried at Pleasant Valley Cemetery.
Copyright © 2000, 2007-2008 Mark A. Miner