A recent census lookup request on this list for James C. Hurst reminded me that James was one of the rare Hursts who was born and died in Claiborne but who was not a descendant of John "Mill Creek" Hurst. Mill Creek and many of his 16 children moved from the Shenandoah Valley through SW Virginia and on to Claiborne about 1800. Most of the Hursts in Claiborne since then have been his descendants. However, a few Hursts in Claiborne were descended from Mill Creek's brother Absalom Hurst and Absalom's son John Hurst. (Descendants of Absalom's other documented son, William "Big Bill" Hurst, stayed in VA until they too moved on to West VA and TN; my grandfather moved to Hawkins County, TN, in 1886.) Absalom's son John, who married Mary "Molly" McCarty, stayed in Wythe and Pulaski counties himself, as did his son Thomas, whose descendants still live mainly in the Hiwassee area of Pulaski and in Mercer County, WV. His other sons moved on to Claiborne. (Please excuse me if I concentrate on the sons and even leave out some of them who perhaps died young. I'm also giving most of the space to those who migrated out of Claiborne. Also, I have not included Jeremiah Hurst, who might have been another son of Absalom.) John's eldest son William was in Claiborne early enough so that all his children were probably born there - at least in TN. William died in Claiborne. His eldest son Jimmie Robert Hurst stayed in Claiborne at least until his second wife died in 1865, but died in Madison County, Arkansas. Jimmie's sons Hugh C. and David Humphrey had earlier moved to Arkansas. William's second son Eldridge Hurst was still in Claiborne in 1870. Another son of William, Rev. Calloway L. Hurst moved to Dallas, TX, by 1880, taking his son William Ellison, but was in Grapevine, Tarrant County, TX, when he died. William Ellison ended up in Philadelphia, PA. William's next son Daniel M. Hurst was one of those who moved back to Pulaski after the Civil War, taking his son William T. Hurst. William's youngest son Roland Hurst moved to nearby Hawkins County by 1880, but moved to Hamblen County by 1891. I have seen conflicting information about John's next son Jesse Hurst; one theory has him remaining in Claiborne. Skipping by John's son Thomas who stayed with him in Pulaski, the next one was "Squire" John Hurst, who was the major contributor of this group. Squire's eldest son Samuel was probably born in Pulaski and definitely died there, but was in Claiborne from about 1842 until after the Civil War. All but the last of his sons were born in Claiborne. My theory is that many of his sons were in the Confederate service and might not have felt welcome in Republican East TN after the War. In any event, they did not return to the Hiwassee area of Pulaski south of the New River, but founded a group I call the "Newbern Hursts" after their community north of the river. Samuel's eldest son William F. actually moved directly to Denton County, TX. The next son Garrett went with Samuel to Pulaski, but in 1870 moved on to Cooke County, TX. One source has Samuel's next son Estell also moving to Cooke County. Samuel's sons Jackson, Milton and Samuel all moved with him to Newbern and stayed there. Son Albert M. was born in VA. [For an example of how bad Internet sources can be, one has all of Samuel's children born in New Mexico!] Squire John's next son Leroy Hurst moved to Denton County, TX, before 1880, but his son Ross stayed in Claiborne. Ross's sons John Milton, Charles D., William C. and Arthur all moved to Bell County, KY, which is right across the Cumberland Gap from Claiborne. Squire's next son Milton died fairly young in Claiborne, but left two sons, Marshall and Gordon, who moved with their widowed mother to Lyon County, KS, by 1870. Marshall Hurst moved on to Morris County, KS, and then to San Diego County, CA, by 1920. Gordon Hurst moved to Franklin County, KS, by 1910. Next comes Squire's son James C. Hurst, the cause of this message, who stayed in Claiborne, as did all his sons Allen, Hugh, John, Neil, Douglass and James. Allen had 16 children, of whom most stayed in Claiborne. Allen's son Garrett ended up in Tippecanoe County, IN, after living in White County, IN. Son Landaws (also listed as Lon, Lonnie, Loney, and Lawn D.) also moved to White County. Son Herman died in Claiborne, but was in Wayne County, MI, in 1930. Squire's next son Floyd Hurst probably died fairly young. His wife Charity Breeding, of Hurst descent herself, died about 1859. Floyd was living with another family in 1860, while his son Sterling F. and daughter Charity L. show up next living with their maternal grandparents in Pulaski County in 1870. Sterling was back in Hawkins County by 1900. Squire's youngest son John Hurst was in Grainger County, TN, by 1880, but was in Hamblen by 1891. John is buried right across the road from his cousin Roland. I lived in Hamblen for 24 years, but only discovered the graves of these not-that-distant cousins last year. For some reason the descendants of Absalom Hurst who ended up in Hamblen soon "daughtered out," so any Hursts there now are likely from his brother John "Mill Creek." Rev. Mark Hurst was the next son of John and Molly. Mark lived out his life in Claiborne, but some of his sons moved on. Hillery Hurst was in Josh Bell (later just "Bell") County, KY, in 1870, and in Sumner County, KS, by 1900. Garrett Hurst apparently had trouble settling down. He was in Jefferson County, TN, in 1870, Sumner County, KS, in 1880 and 1900, and Cimarron County, OK, in 1910. He was back in Sumner when he died. Mark's son Levi, by his second wife, was in Cimarron County, OK, by 1910, and Harper County, KS, in 1920. So I hope this quick tour showed that, even though outnumbered by the John "Mill Creek" Hurst descendants in Claiborne, Absalom's progeny multiplied and either stayed in Claiborne or moved on to KY, TX, KS, OK, CA, to other East TN counties, or back to VA. I find it interesting that they did not move to Middle or West TN, just to a few counties not far from Claiborne. They did not move to Sevier County, TN, where I guess the large Hurst population has to be attributed to Mill Creek descendants. With a couple of exceptions, they did not contribute to the large Hurst population in Indiana - those were often from Mill Creek or his and Absalom's first cousin Capt. John Hurst, who had settled at a very early date in Greene County, TN, before moving on first to KY then IN. Those who know me will be amazed that I have gotten this far without mentioning DNA. Actually, every Hurst man I have listed should have had nearly identical Y-chromosome DNA. We have not had any tests done by any of the Absalom descendants who lived in Claiborne. Bill Hurst