Sometimes things aren’t as they are portrayed – even when it comes to family.
Jury-Hartnett Family
On February 12, 1873, great-great grandpa John C. Jury’s sister Eleanor “Ellen” married Thomas Hartnett in Hiattville , Kansas. Ellen and Thomas initially lived in Hiattville and Thomas worked as a farmer and a section foreman for the MK&T Railroad.
During the 1870s and 1880s, Ellen gave birth to three children, two sons and a daughter with their oldest son John being the first child born in Hiattville. Then in 1890, the family moved to a farm north of Hiattvile. By 1905, that farm included 235 acres and had been greatly improved.
Long Lost Half-Brother
In the spring of 1908, a man about 60 years of age arrived in Hiattville claiming to be the half-brother of Thomas. He seemed to know information on the family and knew that Thomas’ half-brother had disappeared over 20 years earlier.
I believe this half-brother was Richard Hartnett. Richard had lived with Thomas and Ellen early in their marriage. Richard was younger than Thomas and had been born in New York while Thomas was born in Ireland. However, Richard soon married and moved away.
Despite the details the man provided, Thomas was skeptical that this man was really his half-brother. Still, Thomas allowed him to stay with the family. He seemed to be harmless. However, sometimes he did not seem to be completely all together mentally and he often talked about starting a logging camp.
One day an address in Oregon was found in his pocket, which would tie in well with logging. Thus, an inquiry was made of officials in that town. It was found that no one with the name Hartnett was known there. However, a man had left that town in the spring that perfectly matched the description of Thomas’ visitor. His name as they knew it was James Ward.
By mid-summer, James’ secret was out and his mental health had declined. Thomas took him to Fort Scott and the old man was so frail that he had to be half-carried into the courthouse. On that day, his mind was not good and he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) provide any details of his life, including who he really was.
The Real Half-Brother
At the time that the supposed half-brother arrived in Hiattville, Richard was living with his family in Seattle, Washington. After he had married, he had worked with the railroad and moved to Parsons, Kansas. Later, he did various jobs living in Stewartsville, Missouri (north of Kansas City) and Netawakce, Kansas (north of Topeka) before finally settling in Seattle in 1890.
Apparently, Richard didn’t keep in contact with Thomas over the years. However, it appears that James, who had recently lived in a neighboring state, had come in contact with Richard and/or his family. James had learned enough about the family to not be an complete obvious fraud.
The Reunion Ends
In the end, the judge sent James to the State Hospital. But, why had he decided to impersonate Thomas’ half-brother? And, why had he made a journey all the way to Kansas from the Pacific Northwest? No one will ever know.