David Parkhurst
b. 15 November 1783, Morris County, New Jersey, to Ezekiel and Abiel (Hathaway) Parkhurst
d. 6 September 1858, Effingham County, Illinois
m. about 1800, Kentucky or Tennessee
Jane Jenkins
b. about 1784, North Carolina, to Roderick and Nancy (Pack) Jenkins
d. 8 September 1858, Effingham County, Illinois
Children with Jane Jenkins:
- William (b. bet. 1801/1804-bet. 1870/1880) married (1) Rebecca Russell, (2) Martha Jane Taylor
- Ezekiel (1808-aft. 1879) married (1) Mary Dias/Dies, (2) Aletha McClanahan
- Abigail (b. bet. 1804/1810) married (1) Asa Russell, (2) Micajah Kittell/Kitchell
- [–?–] (b. bet. 1804/1810-bet. 1820/1830)
- Cynthia (1809-1891) married Mark Mitchell
- Mahala Jane (1811-1874) married David S. Mitchell
- Roderick (1814-1863) married Charlotte Knight
- Tryphenia (1816-bet. 1865/1868) married Major Mitchell
- Mary (1820-bet. 1870/1875) married (1) Jacob Legan, (2) Andrew J. Davis
- John W. (1823-1862) married (1) Mary Ann Nay, (2) Nancy [–?–]
David and Jane Parkhurst immigrated to Indiana in 1836 from Smith County, Tennessee. They resided at Nineveh, Johnson County, Indiana, and then moved in 1851 to Effingham County, Illinois.
Jane’s mother was either full-blooded or onehalf Cherokee Indian and was said to have had a very bad temper.
The family of Ezekiel Parkhurst, David’s son, had a rather turbulent life. Cousins in Tennessee maintain that Ezekiel’s second wife murdered him after 1870 in Smith County, Tennessee, by putting poison in his coffee. She left quickly for Chicago after his death and was never charged with the crime. Later, one of Ezekiel’s sons, John C. Parkhurst, married Martha Younger, purported to be a sister of the Younger brothers who rode with the Jesse James gang. Another of Ezekiel’s sons, Robert S. Parkhurst, moved to Missouri, where his second wife, it is said, stabbed him to death, took his money, and escaped to Texas. Apparently Ezekiel’s family had a streak of bad luck, especially with second wives.
Submitted by:
Yvonne Parkhurst
Tacoma WA