James T[homas]. HALEY married [1864 in Kentucky] Nancy W. COOK and started to Iowa with four children after the Civil War. On the way to Iowa, the father died and was buried in Missouri in 1876. James T. fought in the Civil War and carried a bullet in his hip to his grave. [Nancy's obituary stated that the family went to Illinois in 1869 where they stayed for 12 years before moving to Missouri where James died in 1880. Nancy was born in Rockcastle County, Kentucky on June 9, 1842, and died on May 16, 1925. She was interred at Marshalltown Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA.]

Nancy, with her children, came on and settled in Ringgold County near Benton, Iowa. The children were William Thomas, Linsey (Bud), Robert E., and Elizabeth G. William Thomas was fourteen years old when he came to Benton.

William (Tom) married [November 14, 1888] Emmaline THARP, and they had two sons and two daughters, Arthur, Otto, Bessie, and Dorothy, deceased. Linsey (Bud) married Elizabeth REYNOLDS. They had no children. Robert was a bachelor, and Elizabeth died at an early age.

[Elizabeth C. HALEY was born at Mt. Sterling, Illinois on June 22, 1875, and died at the age of 15 on February 9, 1891. Robert E. HALEY was born in 1873 and died in 1920. They were interred at Marshalltown Cemetery, Ringgold County, Iowa.]

Tom lost his arm in a buzz saw accident in early married life, but that never stopped him from working.

The home place was south of Benton. In later years, Tom and Emma lived in Benton, where he passed away in May of 1942. and Elizabeth G.

[William Thomas "Tom" HALEY was born in Fayette County, Kentucky on October 18, 1865. His gravestone give his death date as April 5, 1940. Emmaline "Emma" (THARP) HALEY was born on October 4, 1868, and died in December of 1962. They were interred at Marshalltown Cemetery, Ringgold County, Iowa.]

Emma (Grandma HALEY as everyone called her) always had a big garden and pretty flowers. Her dinner was always ready at twelve o'clock noon for whoever dropped in. She was happy making quilts and having her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren drop in.

Most all the HALEY families are buried in Marshalltown Cemetery, northeast of Benton.

SOURCE: 1887 - Benton, Iowa Centennial - 1987. Pp. 172-73.Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library, Mount Ayr IA

Transcriptions and notes by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012

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