Elizabeth
(Minard)
Van Horn
( ? -1824?)
Elizabeth (Minard) Van Horn, perhaps also known as 'Rebeckah,' was born in the early 1800s in either Western Pennsylvania or Maryland, the daughter of John and Mary Magdalena (Kohl) Minard Sr.
She and her parents later moved to a large farm near Scio, Harrison County, OH.
In September 1823, Elizabeth married Samuel Van Horn (1801-1886), a farmer. They are believed to have had a daughter, Rebeckah Ruth Van Horn (also spelled 'Vaughn' in some old records).
There, the record falls silent for a time.
Thirteen months later, on Oct. 19, 1824, Samuel wed Elizabeth’s sister Sophia. The ceremony was conducted by John Hurless, a justice of the peace. Our belief is that Elizabeth may have died shortly after marriage, perhaps of the effects of childbirth, and that her sister married the grieving widower.
Samuel and Sophia went on to have a large family of 11 children.
The fate of daughter Rebeckah Ruth is lost to history, except that she lived at least into her 20s, if not longer. In 1856, when her grandfather John Minard Sr. wrote a will-like deed, he acknowledged that she was the "daughter of Rebeckah Vaughn" [Van Horn] and stipulated that she was to receive $80 within two years of his death. This deed is on file today in the courthouse of Harrison County, OH.
Copyright © 2001-2003 Mark A. Miner