Following is a short summary of the life of Capt. Ezekiel K. Counts and his wife, Harriet before they moved to Texas. Their life in Texas and links to their children will be shown under the name Kountz.
Ezekiel K. Counts, born on February 3, 1828, in Russell Co, VA, was the 4th of John "Jackie" and Phoebe (McReynolds) Counts's eight children. He met Harriet S. Lindamoode, the daughter of Benjamin & Rebecca (Schaeffer) Lindamode whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Holland. She was born on June 2, 1830, on Beaver Creek, Washington Co. Her parents had died and left her and her two sisters, Louisa and Rebecca Anne, orphaned. Russell County court records show that they chose Francis Browning as their legal guardian on Jan. 7, 1845.
Ezekiel, age 20, and Harriet, 18, were married on Feb. 10, 1848, afterwards going to live on Frying Pan Creek in what was then Buchanan Co., VA. Later, in 1880, it was incorporated into the newly-formed Dickenson Co. Their nearest neighbors were Ezekiel's sister Rebecca and her husband, Abednigo Kiser. In 1840 her father had given them a tract of virgin mountain land at the mouth of Priest Fork of Frying Pan Creek, and Abednigo had built a sturdy two story log cabin that was still standing in 1933.
Ezekiel, a young energetic farmer, was elected to serve as constable of the community in July 1849, which he served several terms. Harriet gave birth to their first child , Susan Worley, on November 20, 1849. The following summer, on July 2, 1850, Ezekiel asked the county court for permission to change the location of the Sandlick Dumps Creek Public Road through his farm.
Harriet gave birth to three more children: John Cook, born October 14, 1850; Benjamin F., February 10, 1853 (died in infancy); and Christopher Columbus, January 15, 1855. Ezekiel bought a tract of land from his brother-in-law, Abednigo, on September 9, 1856, to enlarge his farming operations. The following year, on the Fourth of July, their daughter, Elizabeth Lumira, was born. It was some time after this that they moved to TN.
On July 12, 1860, they were living in the Panther Creek District of Hancock Co, TN. By this time two children, Susan and Benjamin, had died. Ezekiel, age 32, was working as a physician. It is doubtful that he had obtained any type of formal medical training. Interestingly, his older brother, Joshua, had died during a cholera epidemic while attending a college in Louisville or possibly in Cincinnati to study medicine. One day his roommate left him well in their room and returned shortly to find him dead.
Ezekiel could be considered fairly successful by this time. His personal estate was valued at $1250 and the value of his real estate was $3100. It was here that Harriet gave birth to their son, Isaac Newton, on August 20, 1860. They moved back to Russell Co, VA, around the beginning of the Civil War. His mother died on Feb. 17, 1861. She was preparing breakfast and had gone to the fireplace to arrange the pot rack, when she died instantly and fell to the floor. She was buried on their farm.
Ezekiel's sympathies were on the side of the Confederacy when the Civil War broke out. He organized a company of Confederate soldiers at Sandlick in June 1862. His son, Sebastian, was born the following year on January 9, 1863. This year also marked the death of his father, who was buried beside his mother on his parent's farm.
The State Line was abolished on February 28, 1863, and his company was reorganized into Company E, Virginia 21st Cavalry Regiment under Col. William E Peters. Ezekiel, age 37, was mustered into service as a private at Sandlick on March 28, 1863. In his record he was described as being 6 ft. tall with black hair. He was promoted to full Captain on April 1, 1863. His son, John, who turned 13 on October 14, 1850, joined his father's unit and served as a dispatch bearer and helped take care of the horses.
He fought in Logan and McDowell counties of WV, Southwest VA, and Eastern TN. A nephew described him as "brainy and resolute but nearly too quick tempered." Ezekiel became known by the Union side as "Devil Zeke." He and his men were bravely determined to win the war and didn't hesitate to scout the country side and exchange gunfire with any Unionists they found.
In the history of the 21st Virginia Cavalry, Ezekiel was reported to have deserted to the Yankees and his company disbanded. He actually left the 21st Virginia Cavalry, but his company remained intact and operated as guerillas in Buchanan, Russell, and Wise counties.
Toward the end of the war Ezekiel moved to Logan County, West Virginia. It was around this time that he decided to spell his last name Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of the name.
On April 1, 1865, he sold his interest in fifty acres of their father's estate in Russell County to his brother, John W. Counts. He had made plans to move to Meeker Co, MN, with his brother, Canaan, and other VA settlers. Their wagon train started out on a flatboat trip at the Tug River going to the Big sandy, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and then Minnesota rivers. In the spring of 1866, the group of settlers organized a town in Meeker Co, called "New Virginia." Canaan was the supervisor of the newly organized town, and Ezekiel was a clerk and teacher. He is said to have stayed here two years before moving with his family to KS.
Some sources claim that Ezekiel was enumerated in the Federal Census of Montgomery Co, KS, in July 1870 as a merchant and had a personal wealth of $1200. An extensive search of the 1870 census shows no records supporting this. However, in September 1930, Ezekiel's son, John Cook, verifies that they had indeed lived in KS. He said that his father moved the family to Southeastern Kansas in the spring of 1869, settled among the Osage Indians, and put up a store and traded with them. This was about three miles north of Coffeyville, in Montgomery county. Later they owned and operated a store at Kelloch, on the L.L. & G.R.R.
John said from there the family moved directly to Kimble County in May or early June in 1875, which at that time was unorganized; that there was no town of Junction, not even a house, where the present county seat of Kimble county is located.
Ezekiel, who had an adventurous nature and his descendants claim that his wandering proclivities prevented him from attaining high office or much wealth.
His life in TX will be shown under his memorial titled, "Ezekiel Kountz."
Some Sources:
Some Descendants of John Counts of Glade Hollow 1722 - 1977, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1978.
Pioneer Recollections, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1995.
Families of Kimble County, Kimble County, by Historical Commission, Junction, TX, 1985.
Frontier Times, Vol. 7, No. 12, September 1930, Published at Bandera, TX.
Ancestry.com military collection
∼Sometime after the Civil War Capt. Ezekiel Counts changed the spelling of his last name to Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of this name.
He has two memorials in Junction Cemetery: one under the name of Counts and this one, under Kountz, which is dedicated to the time he and his family lived in Texas.
The earliest account of the family moving to Kimble County, Texas, has been provided in an article about Ezekiel and Harriet's son, John, in the booklet, Frontier Times, published in September 1930. It tells about the family moving from Kelloch, KS, directly to Kimble Co, TX, in May or the early part of June in 1875. At that time Junction wasn't there; it was only vacant land with no houses. An article from another Frontier Times, published in May 1928, verifies this assertion. In it Nicholas Patterson, who married Ezekiel and Harriet's daughter, Elizabeth, said that he and his family his family had moved to Kimble County a few days before Christmas, 1875. The first people they met was the family of Dr. E.K. Kountz, who had preceded them by a few months. Other descendants, over the years, have had recollections of the family moving to Texas at an earlier time, and they may very well be right, but this is the nature of this type of study.
They had actually planned to go all the way to Mexico, about 100 miles further, but Harriet insisted that this was as far as she was going to follow him. Her adamant attitude persuaded him they should settle down in Kimble County.
Ezekiel bought the old James Bradbury property on the South Llano River, Harriet is said to have "fallen in love" with the Bradbury house. It was about two miles above where the Junction Court house was later built. James's house and land had become available sometime after he had been killed by Indians in 1872 near Teacup Mountain. His death occurred while leading a posse and met up with the Indians who had murdered Jim Sewell in the Moore settlement.
Additionally Ezekiel bought some school land extending up the South Llano Valley from the present Junction Cemetery to the B.L. Smith place and west beyond "The Nobs." (In 1889, a flood destroyed most of their barns and partially wrecked their home, so they moved to higher ground.) The hilly terrain of Kimble County made it more suitable for ranching than farming, so raising cattle and sheep dominated the economy.
That April, John and his brother, Christopher, were employed as trail hands to take a herd of cattle to Dodge City, Kansas. After leaving Dodge City they went to a few other places to take care of unfinished business.
Kimble County was created in January 22, 1858, and was officially organized on January 3, 1876. Ezekiel and his son, John, were present at the this historic meeting. Ezekiel was elected as the first County and District Clerk and M.J. Denman, the first surveyor. Harriet later became the first post master of Junction.
Isaac, who was 16 years old, and his 12 year old brother, Sebastian, were out herding a small bunch of sheep on a hillside near their home on the Christmas Eve, 1876, when a band of renegade Comanche Indians rode up and shot Isaac. Sebastian somehow managed to escape, but just barely. More about that time in which a posse formed by Ezekiel and the subsequent help of Texas rangers during a chase to capture the murderous Indians is told in some detail in Isaac's memorial.
Ezekiel hauled lumber from Austin and built a store on the southeast corner of Junction square. It was used as a general store, a drug store, a doctor's office, and as Harriet's post office. She had been using her own home during her duties as a post master. This was the first wooden building erected in Junction.
As more people moved to Kimble County Ezekiel, like in the past, felt the urge to move to a new frontier that was less crowed. They had been intending to move to Mexico, but when they got to Kimble County, Harriet had informed him that she had followed him as far as she was going to
What motivated Ezekiel to make a trip to Bracketville in Kinney County, Texas, is unknown. The little town that had been established around 1851, was going through a period of exceptional prosperity. At this time Fort Clark was filled with thousands of soldiers. The town had grown rapidly, and many business buildings constructed of limestone blocks, which were quarried nearby, had been established. Sheep ranching had gradually replaced cattle ranching during the 1870's, and by 1880, sheep outnumbered cattle by about eight to one. Kinney County became an important source of wool.
While there Ezekiel learned that they needed more doctors in Fort Clark to care for the soldiers, so he wrote to Harriet to see if she would be willing to move there. She agreed, but let him know that she thought this should be their last home.
In 1879 they sold their store, and Harriet gave up her job as Post Master, and moved to Brackettville in 1880. This was the year that devastating floods hit, causing some of the residents to move to a higher elevation.
Ezekiel died and was buried in Brackettville in December 1881. It would be interesting to know if it was from something he had contracted from one of his patients. Harriet died in Junction on September 26, 1890, was buried in Junction cemetery near where their house once stood. Some time later, Ezekiel's body was brought back to Junction and buried by Harriet and their son, Isaac.
Ezekiel K. Counts, born on February 3, 1828, in Russell Co, VA, was the 4th of John "Jackie" and Phoebe (McReynolds) Counts's eight children. He met Harriet S. Lindamoode, the daughter of Benjamin & Rebecca (Schaeffer) Lindamode whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Holland. She was born on June 2, 1830, on Beaver Creek, Washington Co. Her parents had died and left her and her two sisters, Louisa and Rebecca Anne, orphaned. Russell County court records show that they chose Francis Browning as their legal guardian on Jan. 7, 1845.
Ezekiel, age 20, and Harriet, 18, were married on Feb. 10, 1848, afterwards going to live on Frying Pan Creek in what was then Buchanan Co., VA. Later, in 1880, it was incorporated into the newly-formed Dickenson Co. Their nearest neighbors were Ezekiel's sister Rebecca and her husband, Abednigo Kiser. In 1840 her father had given them a tract of virgin mountain land at the mouth of Priest Fork of Frying Pan Creek, and Abednigo had built a sturdy two story log cabin that was still standing in 1933.
Ezekiel, a young energetic farmer, was elected to serve as constable of the community in July 1849, which he served several terms. Harriet gave birth to their first child , Susan Worley, on November 20, 1849. The following summer, on July 2, 1850, Ezekiel asked the county court for permission to change the location of the Sandlick Dumps Creek Public Road through his farm.
Harriet gave birth to three more children: John Cook, born October 14, 1850; Benjamin F., February 10, 1853 (died in infancy); and Christopher Columbus, January 15, 1855. Ezekiel bought a tract of land from his brother-in-law, Abednigo, on September 9, 1856, to enlarge his farming operations. The following year, on the Fourth of July, their daughter, Elizabeth Lumira, was born. It was some time after this that they moved to TN.
On July 12, 1860, they were living in the Panther Creek District of Hancock Co, TN. By this time two children, Susan and Benjamin, had died. Ezekiel, age 32, was working as a physician. It is doubtful that he had obtained any type of formal medical training. Interestingly, his older brother, Joshua, had died during a cholera epidemic while attending a college in Louisville or possibly in Cincinnati to study medicine. One day his roommate left him well in their room and returned shortly to find him dead.
Ezekiel could be considered fairly successful by this time. His personal estate was valued at $1250 and the value of his real estate was $3100. It was here that Harriet gave birth to their son, Isaac Newton, on August 20, 1860. They moved back to Russell Co, VA, around the beginning of the Civil War. His mother died on Feb. 17, 1861. She was preparing breakfast and had gone to the fireplace to arrange the pot rack, when she died instantly and fell to the floor. She was buried on their farm.
Ezekiel's sympathies were on the side of the Confederacy when the Civil War broke out. He organized a company of Confederate soldiers at Sandlick in June 1862. His son, Sebastian, was born the following year on January 9, 1863. This year also marked the death of his father, who was buried beside his mother on his parent's farm.
The State Line was abolished on February 28, 1863, and his company was reorganized into Company E, Virginia 21st Cavalry Regiment under Col. William E Peters. Ezekiel, age 37, was mustered into service as a private at Sandlick on March 28, 1863. In his record he was described as being 6 ft. tall with black hair. He was promoted to full Captain on April 1, 1863. His son, John, who turned 13 on October 14, 1850, joined his father's unit and served as a dispatch bearer and helped take care of the horses.
He fought in Logan and McDowell counties of WV, Southwest VA, and Eastern TN. A nephew described him as "brainy and resolute but nearly too quick tempered." Ezekiel became known by the Union side as "Devil Zeke." He and his men were bravely determined to win the war and didn't hesitate to scout the country side and exchange gunfire with any Unionists they found.
In the history of the 21st Virginia Cavalry, Ezekiel was reported to have deserted to the Yankees and his company disbanded. He actually left the 21st Virginia Cavalry, but his company remained intact and operated as guerillas in Buchanan, Russell, and Wise counties.
Toward the end of the war Ezekiel moved to Logan County, West Virginia. It was around this time that he decided to spell his last name Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of the name.
On April 1, 1865, he sold his interest in fifty acres of their father's estate in Russell County to his brother, John W. Counts. He had made plans to move to Meeker Co, MN, with his brother, Canaan, and other VA settlers. Their wagon train started out on a flatboat trip at the Tug River going to the Big sandy, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and then Minnesota rivers. In the spring of 1866, the group of settlers organized a town in Meeker Co, called "New Virginia." Canaan was the supervisor of the newly organized town, and Ezekiel was a clerk and teacher. He is said to have stayed here two years before moving with his family to KS.
Some sources claim that Ezekiel was enumerated in the Federal Census of Montgomery Co, KS, in July 1870 as a merchant and had a personal wealth of $1200. An extensive search of the 1870 census shows no records supporting this. However, in September 1930, Ezekiel's son, John Cook, verifies that they had indeed lived in KS. He said that his father moved the family to Southeastern Kansas in the spring of 1869, settled among the Osage Indians, and put up a store and traded with them. This was about three miles north of Coffeyville, in Montgomery county. Later they owned and operated a store at Kelloch, on the L.L. & G.R.R.
John said from there the family moved directly to Kimble County in May or early June in 1875, which at that time was unorganized; that there was no town of Junction, not even a house, where the present county seat of Kimble county is located.
Ezekiel, who had an adventurous nature and his descendants claim that his wandering proclivities prevented him from attaining high office or much wealth.
His life in TX will be shown under his memorial titled, "Ezekiel Kountz."
Some Sources:
Some Descendants of John Counts of Glade Hollow 1722 - 1977, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1978.
Pioneer Recollections, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1995.
Families of Kimble County, Kimble County, by Historical Commission, Junction, TX, 1985.
Frontier Times, Vol. 7, No. 12, September 1930, Published at Bandera, TX.
Ancestry.com military collection
∼Sometime after the Civil War Capt. Ezekiel Counts changed the spelling of his last name to Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of this name.
He has two memorials in Junction Cemetery: one under the name of Counts and this one, under Kountz, which is dedicated to the time he and his family lived in Texas.
The earliest account of the family moving to Kimble County, Texas, has been provided in an article about Ezekiel and Harriet's son, John, in the booklet, Frontier Times, published in September 1930. It tells about the family moving from Kelloch, KS, directly to Kimble Co, TX, in May or the early part of June in 1875. At that time Junction wasn't there; it was only vacant land with no houses. An article from another Frontier Times, published in May 1928, verifies this assertion. In it Nicholas Patterson, who married Ezekiel and Harriet's daughter, Elizabeth, said that he and his family his family had moved to Kimble County a few days before Christmas, 1875. The first people they met was the family of Dr. E.K. Kountz, who had preceded them by a few months. Other descendants, over the years, have had recollections of the family moving to Texas at an earlier time, and they may very well be right, but this is the nature of this type of study.
They had actually planned to go all the way to Mexico, about 100 miles further, but Harriet insisted that this was as far as she was going to follow him. Her adamant attitude persuaded him they should settle down in Kimble County.
Ezekiel bought the old James Bradbury property on the South Llano River, Harriet is said to have "fallen in love" with the Bradbury house. It was about two miles above where the Junction Court house was later built. James's house and land had become available sometime after he had been killed by Indians in 1872 near Teacup Mountain. His death occurred while leading a posse and met up with the Indians who had murdered Jim Sewell in the Moore settlement.
Additionally Ezekiel bought some school land extending up the South Llano Valley from the present Junction Cemetery to the B.L. Smith place and west beyond "The Nobs." (In 1889, a flood destroyed most of their barns and partially wrecked their home, so they moved to higher ground.) The hilly terrain of Kimble County made it more suitable for ranching than farming, so raising cattle and sheep dominated the economy.
That April, John and his brother, Christopher, were employed as trail hands to take a herd of cattle to Dodge City, Kansas. After leaving Dodge City they went to a few other places to take care of unfinished business.
Kimble County was created in January 22, 1858, and was officially organized on January 3, 1876. Ezekiel and his son, John, were present at the this historic meeting. Ezekiel was elected as the first County and District Clerk and M.J. Denman, the first surveyor. Harriet later became the first post master of Junction.
Isaac, who was 16 years old, and his 12 year old brother, Sebastian, were out herding a small bunch of sheep on a hillside near their home on the Christmas Eve, 1876, when a band of renegade Comanche Indians rode up and shot Isaac. Sebastian somehow managed to escape, but just barely. More about that time in which a posse formed by Ezekiel and the subsequent help of Texas rangers during a chase to capture the murderous Indians is told in some detail in Isaac's memorial.
Ezekiel hauled lumber from Austin and built a store on the southeast corner of Junction square. It was used as a general store, a drug store, a doctor's office, and as Harriet's post office. She had been using her own home during her duties as a post master. This was the first wooden building erected in Junction.
As more people moved to Kimble County Ezekiel, like in the past, felt the urge to move to a new frontier that was less crowed. They had been intending to move to Mexico, but when they got to Kimble County, Harriet had informed him that she had followed him as far as she was going to
What motivated Ezekiel to make a trip to Bracketville in Kinney County, Texas, is unknown. The little town that had been established around 1851, was going through a period of exceptional prosperity. At this time Fort Clark was filled with thousands of soldiers. The town had grown rapidly, and many business buildings constructed of limestone blocks, which were quarried nearby, had been established. Sheep ranching had gradually replaced cattle ranching during the 1870's, and by 1880, sheep outnumbered cattle by about eight to one. Kinney County became an important source of wool.
While there Ezekiel learned that they needed more doctors in Fort Clark to care for the soldiers, so he wrote to Harriet to see if she would be willing to move there. She agreed, but let him know that she thought this should be their last home.
In 1879 they sold their store, and Harriet gave up her job as Post Master, and moved to Brackettville in 1880. This was the year that devastating floods hit, causing some of the residents to move to a higher elevation.
Ezekiel died and was buried in Brackettville in December 1881. It would be interesting to know if it was from something he had contracted from one of his patients. Harriet died in Junction on September 26, 1890, was buried in Junction cemetery near where their house once stood. Some time later, Ezekiel's body was brought back to Junction and buried by Harriet and their son, Isaac.
Following is a short summary of the life of Capt. Ezekiel K. Counts and his wife, Harriet before they moved to Texas. Their life in Texas and links to their children will be shown under the name Kountz.
Ezekiel K. Counts, born on February 3, 1828, in Russell Co, VA, was the 4th of John "Jackie" and Phoebe (McReynolds) Counts's eight children. He met Harriet S. Lindamoode, the daughter of Benjamin & Rebecca (Schaeffer) Lindamode whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Holland. She was born on June 2, 1830, on Beaver Creek, Washington Co. Her parents had died and left her and her two sisters, Louisa and Rebecca Anne, orphaned. Russell County court records show that they chose Francis Browning as their legal guardian on Jan. 7, 1845.
Ezekiel, age 20, and Harriet, 18, were married on Feb. 10, 1848, afterwards going to live on Frying Pan Creek in what was then Buchanan Co., VA. Later, in 1880, it was incorporated into the newly-formed Dickenson Co. Their nearest neighbors were Ezekiel's sister Rebecca and her husband, Abednigo Kiser. In 1840 her father had given them a tract of virgin mountain land at the mouth of Priest Fork of Frying Pan Creek, and Abednigo had built a sturdy two story log cabin that was still standing in 1933.
Ezekiel, a young energetic farmer, was elected to serve as constable of the community in July 1849, which he served several terms. Harriet gave birth to their first child , Susan Worley, on November 20, 1849. The following summer, on July 2, 1850, Ezekiel asked the county court for permission to change the location of the Sandlick Dumps Creek Public Road through his farm.
Harriet gave birth to three more children: John Cook, born October 14, 1850; Benjamin F., February 10, 1853 (died in infancy); and Christopher Columbus, January 15, 1855. Ezekiel bought a tract of land from his brother-in-law, Abednigo, on September 9, 1856, to enlarge his farming operations. The following year, on the Fourth of July, their daughter, Elizabeth Lumira, was born. It was some time after this that they moved to TN.
On July 12, 1860, they were living in the Panther Creek District of Hancock Co, TN. By this time two children, Susan and Benjamin, had died. Ezekiel, age 32, was working as a physician. It is doubtful that he had obtained any type of formal medical training. Interestingly, his older brother, Joshua, had died during a cholera epidemic while attending a college in Louisville or possibly in Cincinnati to study medicine. One day his roommate left him well in their room and returned shortly to find him dead.
Ezekiel could be considered fairly successful by this time. His personal estate was valued at $1250 and the value of his real estate was $3100. It was here that Harriet gave birth to their son, Isaac Newton, on August 20, 1860. They moved back to Russell Co, VA, around the beginning of the Civil War. His mother died on Feb. 17, 1861. She was preparing breakfast and had gone to the fireplace to arrange the pot rack, when she died instantly and fell to the floor. She was buried on their farm.
Ezekiel's sympathies were on the side of the Confederacy when the Civil War broke out. He organized a company of Confederate soldiers at Sandlick in June 1862. His son, Sebastian, was born the following year on January 9, 1863. This year also marked the death of his father, who was buried beside his mother on his parent's farm.
The State Line was abolished on February 28, 1863, and his company was reorganized into Company E, Virginia 21st Cavalry Regiment under Col. William E Peters. Ezekiel, age 37, was mustered into service as a private at Sandlick on March 28, 1863. In his record he was described as being 6 ft. tall with black hair. He was promoted to full Captain on April 1, 1863. His son, John, who turned 13 on October 14, 1850, joined his father's unit and served as a dispatch bearer and helped take care of the horses.
He fought in Logan and McDowell counties of WV, Southwest VA, and Eastern TN. A nephew described him as "brainy and resolute but nearly too quick tempered." Ezekiel became known by the Union side as "Devil Zeke." He and his men were bravely determined to win the war and didn't hesitate to scout the country side and exchange gunfire with any Unionists they found.
In the history of the 21st Virginia Cavalry, Ezekiel was reported to have deserted to the Yankees and his company disbanded. He actually left the 21st Virginia Cavalry, but his company remained intact and operated as guerillas in Buchanan, Russell, and Wise counties.
Toward the end of the war Ezekiel moved to Logan County, West Virginia. It was around this time that he decided to spell his last name Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of the name.
On April 1, 1865, he sold his interest in fifty acres of their father's estate in Russell County to his brother, John W. Counts. He had made plans to move to Meeker Co, MN, with his brother, Canaan, and other VA settlers. Their wagon train started out on a flatboat trip at the Tug River going to the Big sandy, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and then Minnesota rivers. In the spring of 1866, the group of settlers organized a town in Meeker Co, called "New Virginia." Canaan was the supervisor of the newly organized town, and Ezekiel was a clerk and teacher. He is said to have stayed here two years before moving with his family to KS.
Some sources claim that Ezekiel was enumerated in the Federal Census of Montgomery Co, KS, in July 1870 as a merchant and had a personal wealth of $1200. An extensive search of the 1870 census shows no records supporting this. However, in September 1930, Ezekiel's son, John Cook, verifies that they had indeed lived in KS. He said that his father moved the family to Southeastern Kansas in the spring of 1869, settled among the Osage Indians, and put up a store and traded with them. This was about three miles north of Coffeyville, in Montgomery county. Later they owned and operated a store at Kelloch, on the L.L. & G.R.R.
John said from there the family moved directly to Kimble County in May or early June in 1875, which at that time was unorganized; that there was no town of Junction, not even a house, where the present county seat of Kimble county is located.
Ezekiel, who had an adventurous nature and his descendants claim that his wandering proclivities prevented him from attaining high office or much wealth.
His life in TX will be shown under his memorial titled, "Ezekiel Kountz."
Some Sources:
Some Descendants of John Counts of Glade Hollow 1722 - 1977, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1978.
Pioneer Recollections, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1995.
Families of Kimble County, Kimble County, by Historical Commission, Junction, TX, 1985.
Frontier Times, Vol. 7, No. 12, September 1930, Published at Bandera, TX.
Ancestry.com military collection
∼Sometime after the Civil War Capt. Ezekiel Counts changed the spelling of his last name to Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of this name.
He has two memorials in Junction Cemetery: one under the name of Counts and this one, under Kountz, which is dedicated to the time he and his family lived in Texas.
The earliest account of the family moving to Kimble County, Texas, has been provided in an article about Ezekiel and Harriet's son, John, in the booklet, Frontier Times, published in September 1930. It tells about the family moving from Kelloch, KS, directly to Kimble Co, TX, in May or the early part of June in 1875. At that time Junction wasn't there; it was only vacant land with no houses. An article from another Frontier Times, published in May 1928, verifies this assertion. In it Nicholas Patterson, who married Ezekiel and Harriet's daughter, Elizabeth, said that he and his family his family had moved to Kimble County a few days before Christmas, 1875. The first people they met was the family of Dr. E.K. Kountz, who had preceded them by a few months. Other descendants, over the years, have had recollections of the family moving to Texas at an earlier time, and they may very well be right, but this is the nature of this type of study.
They had actually planned to go all the way to Mexico, about 100 miles further, but Harriet insisted that this was as far as she was going to follow him. Her adamant attitude persuaded him they should settle down in Kimble County.
Ezekiel bought the old James Bradbury property on the South Llano River, Harriet is said to have "fallen in love" with the Bradbury house. It was about two miles above where the Junction Court house was later built. James's house and land had become available sometime after he had been killed by Indians in 1872 near Teacup Mountain. His death occurred while leading a posse and met up with the Indians who had murdered Jim Sewell in the Moore settlement.
Additionally Ezekiel bought some school land extending up the South Llano Valley from the present Junction Cemetery to the B.L. Smith place and west beyond "The Nobs." (In 1889, a flood destroyed most of their barns and partially wrecked their home, so they moved to higher ground.) The hilly terrain of Kimble County made it more suitable for ranching than farming, so raising cattle and sheep dominated the economy.
That April, John and his brother, Christopher, were employed as trail hands to take a herd of cattle to Dodge City, Kansas. After leaving Dodge City they went to a few other places to take care of unfinished business.
Kimble County was created in January 22, 1858, and was officially organized on January 3, 1876. Ezekiel and his son, John, were present at the this historic meeting. Ezekiel was elected as the first County and District Clerk and M.J. Denman, the first surveyor. Harriet later became the first post master of Junction.
Isaac, who was 16 years old, and his 12 year old brother, Sebastian, were out herding a small bunch of sheep on a hillside near their home on the Christmas Eve, 1876, when a band of renegade Comanche Indians rode up and shot Isaac. Sebastian somehow managed to escape, but just barely. More about that time in which a posse formed by Ezekiel and the subsequent help of Texas rangers during a chase to capture the murderous Indians is told in some detail in Isaac's memorial.
Ezekiel hauled lumber from Austin and built a store on the southeast corner of Junction square. It was used as a general store, a drug store, a doctor's office, and as Harriet's post office. She had been using her own home during her duties as a post master. This was the first wooden building erected in Junction.
As more people moved to Kimble County Ezekiel, like in the past, felt the urge to move to a new frontier that was less crowed. They had been intending to move to Mexico, but when they got to Kimble County, Harriet had informed him that she had followed him as far as she was going to
What motivated Ezekiel to make a trip to Bracketville in Kinney County, Texas, is unknown. The little town that had been established around 1851, was going through a period of exceptional prosperity. At this time Fort Clark was filled with thousands of soldiers. The town had grown rapidly, and many business buildings constructed of limestone blocks, which were quarried nearby, had been established. Sheep ranching had gradually replaced cattle ranching during the 1870's, and by 1880, sheep outnumbered cattle by about eight to one. Kinney County became an important source of wool.
While there Ezekiel learned that they needed more doctors in Fort Clark to care for the soldiers, so he wrote to Harriet to see if she would be willing to move there. She agreed, but let him know that she thought this should be their last home.
In 1879 they sold their store, and Harriet gave up her job as Post Master, and moved to Brackettville in 1880. This was the year that devastating floods hit, causing some of the residents to move to a higher elevation.
Ezekiel died and was buried in Brackettville in December 1881. It would be interesting to know if it was from something he had contracted from one of his patients. Harriet died in Junction on September 26, 1890, was buried in Junction cemetery near where their house once stood. Some time later, Ezekiel's body was brought back to Junction and buried by Harriet and their son, Isaac.
Ezekiel K. Counts, born on February 3, 1828, in Russell Co, VA, was the 4th of John "Jackie" and Phoebe (McReynolds) Counts's eight children. He met Harriet S. Lindamoode, the daughter of Benjamin & Rebecca (Schaeffer) Lindamode whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Holland. She was born on June 2, 1830, on Beaver Creek, Washington Co. Her parents had died and left her and her two sisters, Louisa and Rebecca Anne, orphaned. Russell County court records show that they chose Francis Browning as their legal guardian on Jan. 7, 1845.
Ezekiel, age 20, and Harriet, 18, were married on Feb. 10, 1848, afterwards going to live on Frying Pan Creek in what was then Buchanan Co., VA. Later, in 1880, it was incorporated into the newly-formed Dickenson Co. Their nearest neighbors were Ezekiel's sister Rebecca and her husband, Abednigo Kiser. In 1840 her father had given them a tract of virgin mountain land at the mouth of Priest Fork of Frying Pan Creek, and Abednigo had built a sturdy two story log cabin that was still standing in 1933.
Ezekiel, a young energetic farmer, was elected to serve as constable of the community in July 1849, which he served several terms. Harriet gave birth to their first child , Susan Worley, on November 20, 1849. The following summer, on July 2, 1850, Ezekiel asked the county court for permission to change the location of the Sandlick Dumps Creek Public Road through his farm.
Harriet gave birth to three more children: John Cook, born October 14, 1850; Benjamin F., February 10, 1853 (died in infancy); and Christopher Columbus, January 15, 1855. Ezekiel bought a tract of land from his brother-in-law, Abednigo, on September 9, 1856, to enlarge his farming operations. The following year, on the Fourth of July, their daughter, Elizabeth Lumira, was born. It was some time after this that they moved to TN.
On July 12, 1860, they were living in the Panther Creek District of Hancock Co, TN. By this time two children, Susan and Benjamin, had died. Ezekiel, age 32, was working as a physician. It is doubtful that he had obtained any type of formal medical training. Interestingly, his older brother, Joshua, had died during a cholera epidemic while attending a college in Louisville or possibly in Cincinnati to study medicine. One day his roommate left him well in their room and returned shortly to find him dead.
Ezekiel could be considered fairly successful by this time. His personal estate was valued at $1250 and the value of his real estate was $3100. It was here that Harriet gave birth to their son, Isaac Newton, on August 20, 1860. They moved back to Russell Co, VA, around the beginning of the Civil War. His mother died on Feb. 17, 1861. She was preparing breakfast and had gone to the fireplace to arrange the pot rack, when she died instantly and fell to the floor. She was buried on their farm.
Ezekiel's sympathies were on the side of the Confederacy when the Civil War broke out. He organized a company of Confederate soldiers at Sandlick in June 1862. His son, Sebastian, was born the following year on January 9, 1863. This year also marked the death of his father, who was buried beside his mother on his parent's farm.
The State Line was abolished on February 28, 1863, and his company was reorganized into Company E, Virginia 21st Cavalry Regiment under Col. William E Peters. Ezekiel, age 37, was mustered into service as a private at Sandlick on March 28, 1863. In his record he was described as being 6 ft. tall with black hair. He was promoted to full Captain on April 1, 1863. His son, John, who turned 13 on October 14, 1850, joined his father's unit and served as a dispatch bearer and helped take care of the horses.
He fought in Logan and McDowell counties of WV, Southwest VA, and Eastern TN. A nephew described him as "brainy and resolute but nearly too quick tempered." Ezekiel became known by the Union side as "Devil Zeke." He and his men were bravely determined to win the war and didn't hesitate to scout the country side and exchange gunfire with any Unionists they found.
In the history of the 21st Virginia Cavalry, Ezekiel was reported to have deserted to the Yankees and his company disbanded. He actually left the 21st Virginia Cavalry, but his company remained intact and operated as guerillas in Buchanan, Russell, and Wise counties.
Toward the end of the war Ezekiel moved to Logan County, West Virginia. It was around this time that he decided to spell his last name Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of the name.
On April 1, 1865, he sold his interest in fifty acres of their father's estate in Russell County to his brother, John W. Counts. He had made plans to move to Meeker Co, MN, with his brother, Canaan, and other VA settlers. Their wagon train started out on a flatboat trip at the Tug River going to the Big sandy, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and then Minnesota rivers. In the spring of 1866, the group of settlers organized a town in Meeker Co, called "New Virginia." Canaan was the supervisor of the newly organized town, and Ezekiel was a clerk and teacher. He is said to have stayed here two years before moving with his family to KS.
Some sources claim that Ezekiel was enumerated in the Federal Census of Montgomery Co, KS, in July 1870 as a merchant and had a personal wealth of $1200. An extensive search of the 1870 census shows no records supporting this. However, in September 1930, Ezekiel's son, John Cook, verifies that they had indeed lived in KS. He said that his father moved the family to Southeastern Kansas in the spring of 1869, settled among the Osage Indians, and put up a store and traded with them. This was about three miles north of Coffeyville, in Montgomery county. Later they owned and operated a store at Kelloch, on the L.L. & G.R.R.
John said from there the family moved directly to Kimble County in May or early June in 1875, which at that time was unorganized; that there was no town of Junction, not even a house, where the present county seat of Kimble county is located.
Ezekiel, who had an adventurous nature and his descendants claim that his wandering proclivities prevented him from attaining high office or much wealth.
His life in TX will be shown under his memorial titled, "Ezekiel Kountz."
Some Sources:
Some Descendants of John Counts of Glade Hollow 1722 - 1977, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1978.
Pioneer Recollections, published by Hetty Swindall Sutherland, Clintwood, VA, 1995.
Families of Kimble County, Kimble County, by Historical Commission, Junction, TX, 1985.
Frontier Times, Vol. 7, No. 12, September 1930, Published at Bandera, TX.
Ancestry.com military collection
∼Sometime after the Civil War Capt. Ezekiel Counts changed the spelling of his last name to Kountz, which he claimed was the original German spelling of this name.
He has two memorials in Junction Cemetery: one under the name of Counts and this one, under Kountz, which is dedicated to the time he and his family lived in Texas.
The earliest account of the family moving to Kimble County, Texas, has been provided in an article about Ezekiel and Harriet's son, John, in the booklet, Frontier Times, published in September 1930. It tells about the family moving from Kelloch, KS, directly to Kimble Co, TX, in May or the early part of June in 1875. At that time Junction wasn't there; it was only vacant land with no houses. An article from another Frontier Times, published in May 1928, verifies this assertion. In it Nicholas Patterson, who married Ezekiel and Harriet's daughter, Elizabeth, said that he and his family his family had moved to Kimble County a few days before Christmas, 1875. The first people they met was the family of Dr. E.K. Kountz, who had preceded them by a few months. Other descendants, over the years, have had recollections of the family moving to Texas at an earlier time, and they may very well be right, but this is the nature of this type of study.
They had actually planned to go all the way to Mexico, about 100 miles further, but Harriet insisted that this was as far as she was going to follow him. Her adamant attitude persuaded him they should settle down in Kimble County.
Ezekiel bought the old James Bradbury property on the South Llano River, Harriet is said to have "fallen in love" with the Bradbury house. It was about two miles above where the Junction Court house was later built. James's house and land had become available sometime after he had been killed by Indians in 1872 near Teacup Mountain. His death occurred while leading a posse and met up with the Indians who had murdered Jim Sewell in the Moore settlement.
Additionally Ezekiel bought some school land extending up the South Llano Valley from the present Junction Cemetery to the B.L. Smith place and west beyond "The Nobs." (In 1889, a flood destroyed most of their barns and partially wrecked their home, so they moved to higher ground.) The hilly terrain of Kimble County made it more suitable for ranching than farming, so raising cattle and sheep dominated the economy.
That April, John and his brother, Christopher, were employed as trail hands to take a herd of cattle to Dodge City, Kansas. After leaving Dodge City they went to a few other places to take care of unfinished business.
Kimble County was created in January 22, 1858, and was officially organized on January 3, 1876. Ezekiel and his son, John, were present at the this historic meeting. Ezekiel was elected as the first County and District Clerk and M.J. Denman, the first surveyor. Harriet later became the first post master of Junction.
Isaac, who was 16 years old, and his 12 year old brother, Sebastian, were out herding a small bunch of sheep on a hillside near their home on the Christmas Eve, 1876, when a band of renegade Comanche Indians rode up and shot Isaac. Sebastian somehow managed to escape, but just barely. More about that time in which a posse formed by Ezekiel and the subsequent help of Texas rangers during a chase to capture the murderous Indians is told in some detail in Isaac's memorial.
Ezekiel hauled lumber from Austin and built a store on the southeast corner of Junction square. It was used as a general store, a drug store, a doctor's office, and as Harriet's post office. She had been using her own home during her duties as a post master. This was the first wooden building erected in Junction.
As more people moved to Kimble County Ezekiel, like in the past, felt the urge to move to a new frontier that was less crowed. They had been intending to move to Mexico, but when they got to Kimble County, Harriet had informed him that she had followed him as far as she was going to
What motivated Ezekiel to make a trip to Bracketville in Kinney County, Texas, is unknown. The little town that had been established around 1851, was going through a period of exceptional prosperity. At this time Fort Clark was filled with thousands of soldiers. The town had grown rapidly, and many business buildings constructed of limestone blocks, which were quarried nearby, had been established. Sheep ranching had gradually replaced cattle ranching during the 1870's, and by 1880, sheep outnumbered cattle by about eight to one. Kinney County became an important source of wool.
While there Ezekiel learned that they needed more doctors in Fort Clark to care for the soldiers, so he wrote to Harriet to see if she would be willing to move there. She agreed, but let him know that she thought this should be their last home.
In 1879 they sold their store, and Harriet gave up her job as Post Master, and moved to Brackettville in 1880. This was the year that devastating floods hit, causing some of the residents to move to a higher elevation.
Ezekiel died and was buried in Brackettville in December 1881. It would be interesting to know if it was from something he had contracted from one of his patients. Harriet died in Junction on September 26, 1890, was buried in Junction cemetery near where their house once stood. Some time later, Ezekiel's body was brought back to Junction and buried by Harriet and their son, Isaac.
Family Members
Siblings
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
