Hardy Family

My great grandfather Robert Morgan Hardy was born in Bay Minette Alabama in 1890 the son of William Shephard Hardy Jr and Talulah Johnson. I will talk about his wife Lula Bell Pyburn in another post.

Robert Morgan Hardy and Lula had four children, Evelyne Virginia, Dorothy Jean, Robert Burns and Milton Oliver Hardy.

William Shephard Hardy Jr was born about 1861 in Santa Rosa county, Florida and he died in 1925 in Mississippi. He was a logger or worked in turpentine his whole life. While he was a young child, his father was a soldier and a prisoner in the Civil War. After the war, the logging industry in Santa Rosa and Escambia county Florida had decimated the forest and his family moved to Baldwin county, Alabama. William Shephard Hardy Jr was always called Shep like his father. Shep met and married Talulah Johnson in Santa Rosa county. I posted about Talulah's questionable relationships here.

DNA circles show that we are descended from the Johnson's and Parkers, so I am going to skip Talulah's parents and go straight to her grandparents. It's possible Talulah's mother is a Diamond.

 Talulah's grandparents were William Burton Johnson and Elizabeth Parker who moved to Conecuh county Alabama around 1820. William Burton Johnson  was born in 1783 and died in 1846 in Conecuh. The children of William Burton Johnson and Elizabeth Parker were Peter Lazarus, William Washington, Mary, Matilda, George Nolan and Samuel Christopher Johnson.

 His father was also William B. Johnson and his mother whose first name is unknown is a Vaughn or Vaughan (makes me wonder if they are connected to my family in Geneva/Holmes who are Vaughan's). His father died  in 1820 in Conecuh, and was born around 1760 being a son of William Johnson born 1725 and died 1819 in Union County, South Carolina and Susannah Anderson.

William Burton Johnson's brother George Washington Johnson and sister Mary Johnson Young both raised families in Conecuh as well. Several of Elizabeth Parker's siblings were also nearby, her siblings are too numerous to post. Elizabeth Parkers parents were Samuel and Polly Parker and they were cousins of some degree. Elizabeth Parker Johnson was born 1796 and she died in 1870 in Santa Rosa county, Florida. Her father Samuel was born 1765 in Maryland and he died in 1840 in Covington county, Alabama. Her mother Polly Parker was born in 1774 in Maryland and died in 1861 in Covington county, Alabama.

Shep Jr and Talulah had the following children, Houston Benjamin, Sarah Mattie, Lela Viola, Robert Morgan, Jody Price, Willie Burnzy, Iva Lee, Aden Fleming and Emma Mable Hardy.

William Shephard Hardy Jr was the son of William Shephard Hardy Sr and Sarah Nelson. William Shephard Hardy Sr was born about 1837 in Coffee county, Alabama, the son of Gardner Hardy and Harriet. I think that Harriet may be a daughter of or relative of Ephraim King who is living nearby. I blogged about Gardner Hardy's parents here. There are actually several posts on the Hardy's throughout the years, some in 2014 and in 2016 if you want to take a look.

Shep Sr was a character. He ran a logging operation with John Wesley Hardin. He died while jumping from one train to another in Baldwin county, Alabama. He served in a unit in the Civil War that was transferred to Tennessee. He was captured and spent time at Rock Island during the war.

Sarah Nelson was a daughter of Leonard Nelson and Lurena Hudgens. She was born about 1843 and died in 1926. She and Shep Sr had the following children, Harriet Elizabeth, James T. Robert Henry, Shep Jr, Nancy Jane, Laura Texana Ada, Araguelifa Lila, Ebenezar and Ella Ida Hardy.

The siblings of Shep Sr are Rebecca E, Harriet, Jane, Sarah Frances, Robert H, Mary E, Martha and Ephraim Hardy. I did cover a lot of these folks in detail in a blog in 2014.

Leonard Nelson who was born around 1800 and died between 1850 and 1860. He is most likely the son of John Nelson who lived and died in Conecuh around the same time as Leonard. Leonard Nelson and his wife Lurena had the following children, Thomas Milbourne, Ansel, Mary A, William, Josiah Joseph, Sarah, and Zelphia/Zilphia Nelson.

Lurena Hudgens was the daughter of Ansel Hudgens and Betsy Hamlin.She was born about 1805 and died after 1860.