Munyon, Hurley & Eva Family

MUNYON, COPPERSMITH, CREES, DAVIDSON

Posted By: Volunteer
Date: 7/22/2019 at 07:52:14

Hurley and Eva Munyon Family
"Reflections of Grand River, Iowa 1881-1981"
Page 248, Clarke Pub. Co. Osceola IA. 1981.

Joseph and Catherine (Coppersmith) Crees settled SE of Grand River on land received from the government (1854). They had 11 children.

Rebecca married John S. Davidson (b. 1834, Wheeling, W. Va.) who came to Decatur Co. as a young man. They settled on a farm near Grand River. John enlisted in Co. I. (note: capital i), 34th Ia. Infantry (8-15-1862) and was mustered out in Houston, Tex. (8-15-1865). Serving in the same regiment from Grand River were N. B. Evans, Peter Brennaman, and J. T. Crees. John and Rebecca retired to Grand River (1896). Upon John's death, Rebecca made her home with daughter, Julia (Mrs. George Munyon). One daughter, Kate Cone, is 97 and maintains her home in Parker, S. Dakota.

The Munyons came from France to the U.S. in the late 1600's or early 1700's. Thomas A. Munyon (p. Wm. and Nancy) was born (1824) in Athens Co., Ohio. He and his wife, Mary Ann (French) came to Decatur co., and settled on a farm E of Grand River where they are now buried. They had 8 children. One of their sons, George (d. Aug., 1927) married Julia Davidson (d. June, 1949) and lived on a farm E of Grand River. They are buried in the Grand River Cemetery.

George and Julia's children were Thomas, Elmer, Joseph, Hurley, John, Edith and Leland. John, a WW I veteran, spent many months in France. Leland graduated from G.R.H.S. (1924) and farmed the home place, later moving to Des Moines where he now lives.

Hurley and Joe purchased a dray business from John Brammer. It was known as Munyon Bros. (1919-1936). They started with horses and wagons but advanced to a Model T truck and later to Internationals and Chevrolets. In later years, Hurley served as janitor of the Grand River School (1938-1948).

Hurley (b. Aug., 1890; d. May 1954) married Eva Jones (b. Apr, 1895; d. Apr, 1951), daughter of George and Alecta (Smith) Jones. Hurley and Eva lived in Grand River (1919-1950) and are buried in the Grand River Cemetery.

Their children were Harry (1915-1926); Hazel (1917-1979); Ada; Larry; Ethelyn; Mary Mae; and Gerald. Hazel married Rex Davis. They farmed near Grand River (1934-1953). Rex now lives at Newton, Ia. Ada and Larry live in Tucson, Az. Ethelyn, Wendell and Howard live in Des Moines. Carl lives near Blair, Ne. Hurley, Jr. lives at Goltry, Ok. Mary Mae lives in Lexington, Ky. Gerald lived in Concord, Ca. until his death in 1976. His wife was Mary Belle Groves (d. 1973). Their 3 sons are operating the B & B Rubber Stamp and Printing Business that they and their father founded.

Four of Hurley and Eva's sons served in the U.S. military, 3 of them in W. W. II. Carl served Dec. 1942-Nov. 1945 with the 7th Army 14th Armored Div., Co. A, 125th Engineers in Fr., Ger., and Czech. Larry served Jan. 1943-Sept. 1945, with the 8th Air Force, 379th Bomb Grp., Kimbolton Air Base, Bedford, Eng.; a tail gunner on Flying fortress B-17 with 35 missions over Fr. and Ger. Gerald served Nov. 1943-Apr. 1946, in the USN, on the LST 236 in the S. Pacific. Hurley, Jr. served Nov. 1945-Oct. 1947, on the USS Merrimac A037 and the USS Springfield CL 66 in the Asiatic Pacific.

Many of Keziah (Morgan) McConnell's (d. Dec. 1882) descendants live in and near Grand River. She came as a widow with 8 children with a wagon train from Jackson Co., Ind., to the Alec Brammer farm. Her sister, Elizabeth (Mrs. Alexander Brammer) also came with her.

Keziah's daughter, Malissa, (Mrs. Robert L. Jones) had 4 children and homesteaded on Sand Creek. Her husband died young.

A son, George W. (d. Dec. 1935), married Alecta Smith (d. Dec. 1914). Her parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Bohall, came by covered wagon (1873) to Decatur Co. from Jackson Co., Ind., settling N of Grand River. He was a Civil War vet. George and Alecta farmed near Sand Creek and later on W of Van Wert (the Barr farm). They are buried in Young Cemetery.

Only 3 of their 7 children grew to adulthood. Sam lived in Grand River in the 1920's, a mechanic at the Ford Garage; Eva; and Wilda Cox, age 80, who lives in Des Moines.

~ Submitted by the children of Hurley and Eva Munyon.

Copied from "Reflections of Grand River, Iowa 1881-1981" by Stacey McDowell Dietiker, June 10, 2001