MY FORTNER FAMILY

Malinda (Patton?) Fortner is as far back as I can go with our Fortner Line. She was born in 1808 in Kentucky and died at what is now Hollister, Missouri in 1881.

Our first official record of her is the 1850 census, in Effington County, Illinois, date of entry was August 22, 1850. Malinda was recorded as a widow, with her two children, Louisa, 14 years old and Jacob, 4 years old. Both children were born in Illinois.

The 1860 census found them in Shelby County, Illinois. This time it was just Malinda and Jacob. Louisa would have been 24 years old at this time and was probably married.

Malinda applied for a homestead in Taney County, Missouri during 1868, on the land that downtown Hollister, Missouri now stands. Jacob Married Malissa (Hopper) McCord in 1870 and homesteaded next to his Mother. Malissa's first husband abandoned her during the Civil War.

In 1880 and 1881 Jacob J. Fortner and his wife and children showed up in the Springfield, Missouri, City Directory on an undeveloped lot. It was the custom in Springfield for travelers to camp out on empty lots while seeking medical attention and I think this is why they were there. The family had several children die from decease probably from the cold river valley of Turkey Creek.

Approximately 1884 the family moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for health reasons.

They then moved to Aurora, Missouri around 1887. Jacob and Mallissa Fortner's son Amon Jese Fortner married Dora Estella Banks on April 26, 1902.

Amon, Jacobs son, left by train to California on March 19, 1907. He eventually settled in Pomona, California at a small ranch that he called "The Little Ozarks". Later in life he wrote short stories about his childhood life in the Ozarks. A short biography of Amon J. Fortner can be found in the book "The Surprising Ozarks" By: Joe Clayton.

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E-mail:rdfortner@worldnet.att.net