4:20 PM 11/21/2004


Benjamin appears on the 1830 Census for Surry County North Carolina. The census lists a male child under the age of five and a female child under the age of five. I believe these children to be Silas & Rebecca. Silas may have been born in Surry County. Benjamin next appears on the 1840 & 1850 Census' for Putnam County Indiana. By 1850 Silas is living next door at the home of Andrew Sigler & Rebecca is still living at home, although it appears she had gotten married prior to 1850. Six more children are born between the 1830's & 1850, John L. Poyner, Asbury Poyner, Sylvester A. Poyner, James Poyner, Joshua Poyner, and Alexander Poyner. I assume Mary passes away after 1850 and before 1853, because Benjamin marries Sarah Justice in 1853. The Justice family was living adjacent to Benjamin on the 1850 Census.

I can't find a record of Benjamin after 1853.

The earliest record I have of Silas Poyner is the 1850 Census for Putnam County, Indiana. He was 21 years old
and his birth place is listed as North Carolina. He was living at the home of Andrew Sigler, adjacent to his father Benjamin Poyner and family. 


Silas married Josephine Wyatt on Dec.17 1850.
I can find no record of a Josephine Poyner in the Census data, however there is a Wyatt family living adjacent to the Poyners in Clinton Indiana in 1850.

Wyatt Family living adjacent to Silas Poyner & family in Clinton, Ind., in 1850
Samuel Wyatt 45 1804 Kentucky Male Clinton, Putnam, IN 
Frances Wyatt 44 1805 Kentucky Female Clinton, Putnam, IN 
Julia A Wyatt 18 1831 Kentucky Female Clinton, Putnam, IN 
Samuel C Wyatt 12 1837 Indiana Male Clinton, Putnam, IN 
Nancy J Wyatt 10 1839 Indiana Female Clinton, Putnam, IN 
Benjamin F Wyatt 6 1843 Indiana Male Clinton, Putnam, IN 
William F Wyatt 2 1847 Indiana Male Clinton, Putnam, IN

The 1860 Census list Josephines birthdate as 1832 in Kentucky. This may be her family. This brings up the question of 
Where was she living in 1850? Is she the Julia Wyatt listed above?

Silas and Josephine Poyner appear on the 1860 Census in Putnam County, Indiana along with their children. Listed on the Census as Perry, Eligh and Silvester. The last name was misspelled as Parnell rather than Poyner.
I can find no record of Josephine after this census. By 1870 Silas has remarried.

Oliver Perry Poyner was born in Greencastle, Putnam Co. Indiana, so I am assuming his brothers Sylvester and Eli were 
born there as well. They remained in Indiana until the mid to late 1860's until migrating to Atchison County, Missouri. 
There father ,Silas Poyner, appears on the 1870 Census for Atchison County with his second wife Sarah and children 
John Poyner, James Poyner and Leander Poyner. Oliver, Sylvester, & Eli do not appear on the census records in 1870.
All three do appear on the 1880 Census in Atchison County Missouri. This census shows Oliver married to his first wife, 
Barbara Ann Fielding (married in 1878, marriage certificate has Barbary Fielding). Sylvester and Eli are single. 

By 1880, Silas has moved to Richland, Jewell County, Kansas with his wife Sarah and children James Poyner, Leander 
Poyner ( I believe he shows up on later census records as Lee Poyner), Willie Poyner, and Emma Poyner.

By 1900, Sylvester is living with his first wife Martha E. Odom (married in 1890) and children Robert H. Poyner, 
Ida Poyner, Ada Poyner & Lloyd Poyner in Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado. Oliver is living in Sutherland, Lincoln 
County, Nebraska with his second wife Martha E. Roberts (married 1890) and children Minerva Poyner, Marian Poyner, 
Alva Poyner, Myrtle Poyner and stepdaughter Lavina. Eli is living in Fairfax, Atchison County, Missouri with his wife 
Harriet and children Arthur B. Poyner, Josephine Poyner (possibly named after his mother Josephine Wyatt) and Willie Poyner. 
Eli dies in December of 1905 of cancer as reported in the Fairfax newspaper. I can find no record of Silas after 1880.

By 1910, Sylvester is married to his second wife Julia Hudson (1st wife Martha Odom married a Jesse Lafferty in Arizona). 
Sylvester & Julia were married in Webb City, Missouri. Oliver was still living in Sutherland Nebraska 
( his son Francis Wyatt Poyner was born in 1908).

By 1920, Sylvester is living in Wagoner Oklahoma with his third wife Sarah Bell Honeycutt and her children George and 
Ada Goodman. Sylvester & Bell had four children: Sylvester B. Poyner, Jewel Dean Poyner, Josephine Poyner (Josie), 
and Mary Poyner ( may have died as an infant). Sylvester died in 1929, in Walnut Ridge Arkansas. 

By 1930, Oliver is still living in Sutherland Nebraska with Martha. They are living next door to their daughter 
Minerva. Oliver died in 1939, and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Sutherland.