It seems apparent that William H. Bandy lived between Middle Fork and Sandy Hook
(then Martinsburg).  In fact, it is said that Bandy Branch was named for William H. Bandy.
The 1870 Elliott County, KY census reveals that William Bandy was born in OH, and
probably in Lawrence County, OH.  He was 26 years of age in 1870.  His wife, Sarah, was 27 and born in KY.  It is believed that she was a Howard, but I am unable to make positive
identification of her parents.  In the 1860 Morgan County, KY census, a Sarrah E. Howard, age 17, was living in the home of Wilson and Emerine Conn.  In the 1850 Morgan County census, Joseph Howard had a daughter Sarah, age 7 years.  Ages given for this Sarah Howard in 1850 and 1860 do correspond with the age 27 she gave in 1870.
In 1870, William and Sarah Bandy had the following children: Mary, age 6; James, 4; Darinda, 2; and George, 11 months.  Information given to the census taker indicated that the first three children were born in OH, with George having been born in KY in July 1869. 

When the census was taken in 1880, William H. Bandy?s family was still living in Elliott
County.  William was 36, and again stated that he was born in OH.  Sarah E., was 37 and born in KY.  Their children were: Mary, age 16; James, 14; Marinda, 13; George, 10; Lucy, 8; John, 5; and Abigail, 2.  In this Census report, Bandy stated that all his children were born in KY.
It is definitely known that William H. Bandy was deceased by the time the 1900 census
was taken.  Sarah Bandy, then age 57, stated that she was a widow and had 10 children living and 3 deceased.  Only two, Henderson, 18, and Stella, 13, were at home with Sarah.
No Bandys are named in the 1910 Elliott County census which leads me to believe they
had moved away from this area.  I have not heard of anyone by that name living in Elliott County since then.
I wonder if William H. Bandy and three of his children are buried somewhere in the
Middle Fork area.


From Elliott County To Oklahoma
By John A. Stegall < johnstegall@hotmail.com

"Coy Kentucky Maid of 37 Summers Comes 1000 Miles to Wed Oklahoma
Parson".
That was the headline to a news item that appeared in the Muskogee, Oklahoma
Times Democrat on Sept. 5, 1908.
When I came across the article recently, my first glance revealed nothing of
interest, but then I saw the name "Horton", followed by "Sandy Hook, KY" and that
really caught my attention.
The article began: "After a two-year courtship by mail and a journey of 1000
miles in dusty 'choo-choo' cars, Miss Rhinda Horton of Sandy Hook, KY was united I
marriage to Rev. Thomas R. Houghton of that place."
The next paragraph described a major problem that the prospective bride
encountered: "It had been arranged that the prospective groom should meet her in St.
Louis and accompany her to Muskogee to secure the marriage license, but fate decreed it
that they should miss connections and the Oklahoma liver had to take the back trail from
the Missouri Metropolis in hot pursuit of the bride, who managed to come on
unattended."
But all ended well, as the article explained: "The marriage license was procured
yesterday afternoon of Mr. Wells, clerk of the county court.  The groom is a Methodist
minister at Warner, aged 61 years, and the bride has spent 37 summers in the Blue Grass
State."
By the time I finished reading the article, my curiosity has been stirred, so to my
records I went to see if there had really been a Rinda Horton in Elliott Co, and sure
enough, there had been!
After a thorough review of my records, I began to suspect that Rinda had been an
aunt of Emery Horton.  When I saw Emery a few days later, I made mention of the article
and asked him if Rinda was his aunt.  That Familiar smile came on Emery's face as he
answered, "She was.  She was Dad's youngest sister."  He continued to tell me that his
aunt Rinda had fallen in love with Thomas Houghton, who had been pastor of the Sandy
Hook Methodist Church.  He said Rinda had slipped off from her parents and went to
Oklahoma to marry Rev. Houghton, who had been reassigned to a church in that state.
I found the name and address of the lady who had the original 1908 news article ,
and suspecting that she might be a Horton descendent, I wrote to her.  In a short time, I
received her reply.  She was indeed a Horton descendant - the only daughter of Thomas
and Rinda Horton Houghton.
Rinda Horton was born on Doctor's Branch in Elliott County and was given the
name, Dorinda Cecile, but the name was soon shortened to "Rinda", the name she
answered to for the rest of her life.  Her parents were Richard Lee and Lillie Greenwood
Horton, both from Virginia.  Rinda was one of their ten children.  Her sisters were: Lucy,
Lettie and Nancy; brothers were: Henderson, William, "Tom", "Wick", and Charlie
(Emery's father).
The story of how Rinda and Thomas Richard Houghton met is an interesting one,
having begun when Rev. Houghton was assigned from WV to pastor the Sandy Hook
Methodist Church in 1905.
The Hortons were stedfast Methodists and attend the Walnut Grove Methodist
Church.  Undoubtedly, they attended the Sandy Hook church from time to time.  Emery
Horton stated that his grandmother Lillie was a "loyal Methodist", and that "her home
was always the preacher's home.  To minister to God's Messengers was her delight and
often she would shout over her work as she prepared a meal of which they were to
partake."