The Family of Jesse Radford of Kentucky and Arkansas

Jesse Radford was born July 25th, 1842 in Clay County, Kentucky to Nathaniel Radford and his wife. He married first Grace "Gracy" Holland, daughter of Richard Holland and Margaret Hensley, on 26 Jan 1865 in Clay County, Kentucky. In the 1870 Census, you can find him in Clay County with his wife, Gracy, 4 children, and a Mary J. Bowling. This Mary J. Bowling is his niece by marriage, as she is the daughter of James Bowling and Gracy's sister Delilah Radford. Sometime around this time, Mary became Jesse's mistress. (Please note that her name was not Mary Jane "Mahala" Bowling, nor did her name ever have "Mahala" in it. You can find one of my earlier blogs on this subject here: http://thesaltofamerica.blogspot.com/2012/05/mary-jane-bowling-is-not-mahala-bowling.html) They had several children together, while Jesse was simultaneously having children with his wife, Gracy. It's clear Jesse's wife and children knew full and well that he was having children with Mary, but why Gracy seemingly consented to this relationship, we may never know.

In about 1880, Jesse's mistress, Mary, married her 1st cousin, Solomon Hensley, who was a son of Benjamin Hensley and Margaret Holland, sister of Gracy and Delilah; they didn't go far though, as in the 1880 Census they are shown just 2 households away from Jesse's household, which included all but one of the children he and Mary had had together. Interestingly, despite her marriage to Hensley, it appears Mary may have continued to bear Jesse's children; it appears she gave birth to Mahala shortly before or after her marriage to Solomon, and then gave birth to Clark a few months later. However, if we are to presume that her affair with Jesse ended when she married Solomon, then the most likely course of events would be that she gave birth to Mahala, became pregnant with Clark, and then married Solomon and gave birth after her marriage. No children born between Mary Jane and Hensley have been identified. Around 1883, Jesse and his family moved to the Boston Mountains region of northwest Arkansas. It appears that Solomon and Mary came along to Arkansas with them, as well as much of the Holland clan, including Gracy's siblings Spencer, Richard, Nancy, Henderson, and David.

Jesse served as a Private in the 8th Kentucky Infantry (UN) during the Civil War, so a lot of information about what happened after they moved to Arkansas can be found in his large pension file. Grace died in late November or early December of 1886; different witnesses gave different approximate dates within the same range. Multiple witnesses gave the date as December 2nd, so that's the date I have down in my records. She was most likely buried in the Radford-Freewill Cemetery in Rad Star, Madison County, Arkansas, where Jesse was buried 30 years later, and which is located on Jesse's original homestead. According to descendants of Mary Jane Bowling, she apparently died about 1888 in Madison County, and is buried in the Radford-Freewill Cemetery, but no hard documentation has been found to corroborate this. However, it is most likely correct, as her husband Solomon married one of she and Jesse's daughters, Serena, in 1889 (according to the 1900 Census).

On March 3rd, 1887, just 4 months after Grace's death, Jesse married Sarah "Sally" Eversole, daughter of Joseph Eversole and Lucy Huff. She was the sister of his daughter Eliza's husband, Robert Eversole. According to the pension file, she and Jesse had 4 children together, one of whom died in infancy. Jesse received a pension for a number of years. He passed away on June 12th, 1917 in Boston Township, Madison County, and is buried in Radford's Freewill Cemetery with a Union headstone. Sally then applied for a Widow's pension, which she acquired only after providing a ton of information about her life, which can be found in Jesse's pension file.

Now we get to the most complicated question about Jesse Radford: How many children did he have? Well, it's hard to say, and we will probably never have a complete, perfect list of children for him between his two wives and his mistress, but I am going to attempt to compile as complete a list as possible. I found a post made over 10 years ago by a descendant of Jesse's daughter Polly, which claimed Jesse had 23 children. (http://genforum.genealogy.com/radford/messages/306.html). Then I acquired a book put together by Robert L. Sims entitled Holland-Hollon-Hollen-Hollan - A Compilation of Many of the Descendants of Richard Holland Born 1800 in North Carolina and Elizabeth Margaret Peggy Hensley Born 1802 in North Carolina. He cites a researcher named Sheryl Holland who claimed that "Jesse had 24 children with Gracey and Mary Jane." Now I don't know if she meant to say "and Sally" or if this total is meant to exclude the 4 children he had with Sally Eversole, but if I had to make a solid bet, it would be that she meant he had 24 children total between his two wives and his mistress.

On April 11th, 1915 as a part of his pension application, Jesse himself made out a list of what should have been ALL of his children, living or dead. However, he only included his "legitimate" children, aka the children he fathered with either Grace Holland or Sally Eversole. He does not list any of his illegitimate children. On top of that, he appears to have missed a couple of his legitimate children as well who died young, at least according to Census records. However, that could simply be on account that by that time he was an old man and possibly couldn't remember the names of his many children, especially the ones who died as infants.

So after sorting through Jesse's list of children from his pension, all of Jesse's and Mary Jane's Census records, Sims's book, and my great grandmother's family bible [henceforth referred to as "Marks Bible"] in which she named as many of her aunts and uncles as she could by memory (with what appears to be one error), I have put together a list of what appears to be 24 different children that Jesse fathered. I will list them all here in this format:

No. - Name - Approximate Year of Birth - Mother - Sources/Notes

The list Jesse made himself included notes whether each child he listed was living or dead as of April 11th, 1915, so if they were on Jesse's list, I will include a note as to whether they were living at the time Jesse made his list. (Please note that Margaret's, Davy's, and Fanny's approximate years of birth are complete guesses based only on their places on Jesse's list, which he appears to have attempted to make chronological, but was off in a couple of places.)

[This list was amended in Dec. 2016 to reflect updated information; the list of children was reduced from 25 to 24.]

1. Sally Radford - 1865 - Grace Holland - 1870 Census, 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Dead)
2. Margaret Radford - 1866 - Grace Holland - Jesse's list (Dead)
3. Eliza Radford - 1867 - Grace Holland - 1870 Census, 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Living). In the 1870 Census, appears to be listed as "Malissey Ann" or "Malisseyann", indicating that "Eliza" may have been a shortening of "Melissa" or "Meliza". Her father calls her "Lizy". In adulthood, she gave her year of birth as 1866, but unless she was a twin to Margaret, she was more likely born in 1867. The other possibility is that Sally was born 9 months after January 1865 (September, 1865), and Margaret was born less than 9 months later as a stillbirth, and then Eliza was born December, 1866. But I don't think Jesse would have listed Margaret as one of his children if she had been stillborn, so it is most likely that Sally was born 1865, Margaret in 1866, and Eliza in 1867.
4. Nancy Radford - 1869 - Grace Holland - 1870 Census, 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Living)
5. Nathaniel Radford - 1870 - Grace Holland - 1870 Census, 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's List (Living)
6. Serena Bowling Radford - 1871 - Mary Bowling - 1880 Census
7. Rebecca Radford - 1872 - Grace Holland - 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Dead)
8. Polly Radford - 1874 - Grace Holland - 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Living)
9. Elizabeth Bowling Radford - 1874 - Mary Bowling - She is in Mary's household in 1880 Census; her birth record does not list father. She is born during the same timeframe as Mary's other children, so there is no reason to doubt she is Jesse's child as her siblings are. What became of her is unknown.
10. Dillard Radford - 1875 - Grace Holland - 1880 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Living)
11. Wright Bowling Radford - 1876 - Mary Bowling - 1880 Census
12. Henry B. Radford - 1877 - Grace Holland - 1880 Census, Marks bible, Jesse's list (Living). Jesse lists him as living, but I have not found any information on him anywhere after the 1880 Census. Sims's book and some online trees say he married a woman named "Carrie", but the Henry B. Radford who married a "Carrie" and was the same age as our Henry and who was from Kentucky was a black man, as proven by multiple census records.
13. Mary Ellen Bowling Radford - 1878 - 1880 Census, Marks Bible. Her mother being Mary Boling conflicts with many genealogies who give her as Grace's daughter, but I base this assertion on Jesse not naming Mary as his legitimate child in his pension. I know she was listed as Mary E. Radford in the 1880 Census, indicating she was legitimate while the other illegitimate childrens' surnames were Bowling, but Serena is listed as a Radford, but she was a Boling, and Mahala and Sallie are listed as a Bowling, even though they were Grace's children. Sally calls her "Mary Ellen Burns" [her married surname] in Jesse's pension records, giving us her middle name.
14. Henderson Bowling Radford - 1878 - Mary Bowling - 1880 Census
15. Mahalia "Haley" "Halia" "Hallie" Radford - 1880 - Grace Holland - Jesse's list (Dead), 1880 Census. She is living with Eliza in the 1910 Census and listed as her husband Robert's sister-in-law. What's interesting here is that she is listed as a Bowling in the 1880 Census, but appears to be listed as a legitimate child in Jesse's pension, unlike Clark, Serena, Mary, and the others. I believe she must have been legitimate. It is also interesting that in Jesse's list he lists her as dead, but in Tom's obituary in 1943, she is listed as a surviving sibling.
16. Eliga Radford - 1881 - Grace Holland - 1900 Census, 1910 Census, Jesse's list (Living).
17. Clark Bowling Radford - 1881 - Mary Bowling - Marks Bible
18. Syrus Radford - 1883 - Grace Holland - 1900 Census, Marks Bible, Jesse's list (Living)
19. Thomas Radford - 1885 - Grace Holland - 1900 Census, Jesse's list (Living)
20. Davy Radford - 1886 - Grace Holland - Jesse's list (Dead)
21. James Robert - 1887 - Sally Eversole - 1900 Census, Jesse's list (Living)
22. Hannah Elizabeth - 1891 - Sally Eversole - 1900 Census, 1910 Census, Jesse's list (Living)
23. Fanny - 1892 - Sally Eversole - Jesse's list (Dead)
24. John Jackson - 1894 - Sally Eversole - 1900 Census, 1910 Census, Jesse's list (Living)

If anyone has any additional information for me, please contact me.

Mary Jane Bowling is NOT Mahala Bowling, and there are 2 different Mahala's

I originally wrote this on May 18th, 2012.


This is being written to prove to other researchers who care to have accurate information in their tree that:

1. Mary Jane Bowling, the mistress of Jesse Radford and wife of Solomon Hensley

2. Mahala Bowling, wife of George Hensley

3. Mahala Boling, wife of Simon Pfaff

Are THREE, DISTINCT, DIFFERENT individuals. Dozens and dozens of family trees here on Ancestry.com and other places online have combined these three people’s information at will, some even forming the conclusion that all 3 were the same people, though most confuse number’s 1 and 2, or number’s 2 and 3. All over the internet and on Ancestry, researchers have listed Jesse Radford’s mistress as Mary Jane “Mahala” Bowling, but with a little bit of research, one can find that Mary Jane’s name was never Mahala, and though they both married Hensley men, they were still not the same person.

The number 1 best piece of evidence differentiating these 3 women is the 1880 Census, where all 3 appear in different households.

1. MARY JANE BOWLING – Was the daughter of JAMES BOWLING and DELILAH HOLLAND. She was born 15 Mar 1854 in Clay County (Source: Kentucky Birth Records, 1852-1910 – Ancestry.com). She is found in the 1860 Census in her parents’ household in Clay County, Kentucky. She is found in the 1870 Census in the household of her aunt and uncle, Jesse and Grace Holland Radford in Precinct 4, Clay County, Kentucky. It is then she began having children with Jesse as his mistress; she had at least 6 that we know of. In 1880, while apparently pregnant with another child of Jesse’s (Mahala), she married a Solomon Hensley, a cousin of the Holland family. She is found in the 1880 Census in Leslie County, Kentucky, just 2 households from Jesse and Grace, with Solomon and a daughter she had with Jesse, Elizabeth. 2 months prior to the 1880 Census, she’d given birth to Mahala, another child with Jesse. And apparently their affair did not end even though she married, as she gave birth to Clark Levy in 1881. No children between Mary Jane and Solomon have been identified or found. Supposedly, Mary Jane moved to Arkansas with the Radford’s and Holland’s, and died there around 1888. As best as we can tell, Clark was her last child with Jesse. (We assume he was Jesse’s and not Hensley’s because he went by the last name Radford; his death record lists his parents as Jesse Radford and Mary Boland, which is one of the many misspellings of Bowling that are out there.)

2. MAHALA BOWLING – Was the daughter of ADDISON [Adam] BOWLING and ELIZA BENGE. She was born about 1858, four years after Mary Jane. She is found in the 1860 Census in the household of her parents in Clay County, Kentucky. She is found in her parents’ household again in 1870 in Precinct 2, Clay County, Kentucky. She married George Hensley on 27 Mar 1877 in Clay County, Kentucky (Source: Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 – FamilySearch.org). Her name appears on her son Alfred’s birth record on 29 Mar 1878 in Clay County as “Mahaly Bowlin” (Source: Kentucky Birth Records, 1852-1910 – Ancestry.com). George must have died by 1880, because in the 1880 Census she is still in her parents’ household in Pigeon Roost, Clay County, Kentucky, without George, but with Alfred and another son, Newton. Newton is shown to be 4 months old. This is important, because should anyone continue to insist that Mahala and Mary Jane were the same person, they could ask themselves how the same woman could have Newton Bowling and Mahala Bowling with 2 different father’s only 2 months apart. Clearly, this is not possible, so clearly, these are 2 different women.

3. MAHALA BOWLING – Was the daughter of JOHN BOWLING and ORAH ASHER. She was born in September of 1870, at least 11 years after the birth of the previously discussed Mahala Bowling (Source: 1900 Census). She is found in the 1880 Census in a household with her siblings, with her sister Lucinda Bowling as the head of the household. Despite the 10 year age difference between she and the previously mentioned Mahala Bowling, many researchers contend that the other Mahala married Simon Pfaff, but it was this Mahala who married Simon Pfaff, as evidenced by the clear significant difference in their ages.



So please, use this information as a guide. Do not apply Mary Jane’s and Mahala’s information to one another, and do not apply Mahala wife of Simon Pfaff’s information to Mahala wife of George Hensley’s information. If anyone would like to argue any of these points, please feel free to contact me, but I’m quite certain this information is accurate. Thank you.