Simon Peter Hurn 1800's
Copied by ??? Knotts from Goodspeed Publishing
Company’s History of N.E. Arkansas 1889.

The father removed to Georgia when a young man,was
married there,resided until 1850 when he moved to
Arkansas,and located in Randolph County,where he died
in May, 1858 at the age of 60 years of age, followed
by his widow two years later, when about 56 years. She
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he
was a Baptist until a few years before his death,when

He was a lifelong Democrat, a farmer by occupation
and after a lifetime of hard labor he became a wealthy
citizen.His father, James Hurn,who was of Irish birth,
served in the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary
War and was a participant in many battles, being at
Yorktown when Cornwalls surrended. He died in North
Carolina.

The maternal grandfather, James Dunn, was born in
North Carolina, and also served in the American Army
during the Revolution.

The children born to Randall and Nancy Hurn were
as follows: James and Simon Peter, farmer, of Randolph
County, Paul R. a farmer of Washington County, Ark.
Mark, a farmer of Clay County, Ark. Ezekiel, a minister
of the Washington County Primitive Baptist Church;
Parmelia E. wife of James Sammons of Randolph County,
Nancy, wife of Ben F. Tyler, a farmer of this county,
and Leah S. wife of William Kirk of this county. Those
deceased are John and Matthew, who was a minister in the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Randolph County, at
the age of 21 years.

Simon Peter Hurn, our subject, began life for himself as a farmer but
afterwards learned butcher’s trade and stone-mason’s trades at which he
worked for many years. He started without any means, whatever but by
the help of his wife, who was a strict economist and an excellent manager
he has become one of the wealthy men of the county.

In 1861 he enlisted in the Capt. Conner’s Company, Adam’s Regiment
of the confederate States Army, and during his foru years’ service
he was in the battles of Saline, Pilot Knob, Big Blue, and others. He was
a heavy loser by the war, but afterwards managed to make his losses
good.

Sarah Jane Alexander ( Simon P. Hurns wife) was a daughter of John
W. and Mary T. Mastire Alexander and became his wife November 21,
1850. She is a native of the county and was born August 31, 1830,
becoming by Mr. Hurn the mother of eight children; Matilda E., Mary L,
John W., Emily J., Luther D., Peter M., Eliza ann, Leslie B., and Thomas
F, Peter M. died when six years of age. Mr. Hurn and his wife had been
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South for the past 40 years
and he has served the most of this time as steward. Politically he is a
Democrat.