Charles William Houchins

  General Notes:

In The History of Monroe County, VA, there is an intrguing bit of info rmation from the 1833 Records Books: "Charles Houchins, John Peters, a nd Joel Stodghill keep houses for private entertainment." I'm guessin g that these were boarding houses or taverns. Between 1830 and the mi d 50's, stagecoach travel was suprisingly heavy and small hotels poppe d up everywhere along the roads in the area to provide lodging for th e passengers. Sarah (Houchins) may have helped her parents as a child . Later, her husband, J. Wesley Dunbar, opened the first hotel in Mt.S ummit, Indiana, ("Dunbar House") which she ran for years. In turn, he r daughter, Mahala Dunbar (Spell), ran the "Shady Side Hotel" in New C astle, Henry Co., Indiana with the help of her daughter Alberta Lee "B essie" Spell (Shirk).
Charles Houchins was said to have been very tall, the Houchins were kn own to be exceptionally tall people. He was literate and taught his li ttle girls from his second marriage to Malinda Cupp to read. After hi s first wife Catherine died, he moved to the state of Missouri from Vi rginia taking one son (James) with him, leaving the rest of his childr en to be reared by relatives. He married Malinda Cupp in Missouri, a w oman twice his age and had children with her, all girls, and leaving h er a widow at a young age.

Mercer Co., Census 1850; Charles Houchins, farmer, age 26 b. VA (thisi s a mistake), dwelling#591, family #591, widowed within one year, Sara h 15, b. VA, James 11 b VA, Harvey 7, b. VA, Louisa J, 4 yrs, b. VA,Vi rginia P. 1 yr. b. VA
In The History of Monroe County, VA, there is an intrguing bit of info rmation from the 1833 Records Books: "Charles Houchins, John Peters, a nd Joel Stodghill keep houses for private entertainment." I'm guessin g that these were boarding houses or taverns. Between 1830 and the mi d 50's, stagecoach travel was suprisingly heavy and small hotels poppe d up everywhere along the roads in the area to provide lodging for th e passengers. Sarah (Houchins) may have helped her parents as a child . Later, her husband, J. Wesley Dunbar, opened the first hotel in Mt.S ummit, Indiana, ("Dunbar House") which she ran for years. In turn, he r daughter, Mahala Dunbar (Spell), ran the "Shady Side Hotel" in New C astle, Henry Co., Indiana with the help of her daughter Alberta Lee "B essie" Spell (Shirk).
Charles Houchins was said to have been very tall, the Houchins were kn own to be exceptionally tall people. He was literate and taught his li ttle girls from his second marriage to Malinda Cupp to read. After hi s first wife Catherine died, he moved to the state of Missouri from Vi rginia taking one son (James) with him, leaving the rest of his childr en to be reared by relatives. He married Malinda Cupp in Missouri, a w oman twice his age and had children with her, all girls, and leaving h er a widow at a young age.
In The History of Monroe County, VA, there is an intrguing bit of info rmation from the 1833 Records Books: "Charles Houchins, John Peters, a nd Joel Stodghill keep houses for private entertainment." I'm guessin g that these were boarding houses or taverns. Between 1830 and the mi d 50's, stagecoach travel was suprisingly heavy and small hotels poppe d up everywhere along the roads in the area to provide lodging for th e passengers. Sarah (Houchins) may have helped her parents as a child . Later, her husband, J. Wesley Dunbar, opened the first hotel in Mt.S ummit, Indiana, ("Dunbar House") which she ran for years. In turn, he r daughter, Mahala Dunbar (Spell), ran the "Shady Side Hotel" in New C astle, Henry Co., Indiana with the help of her daughter Alberta Lee "B essie" Spell (Shirk).
Charles Houchins was said to have been very tall, the Houchins were kn own to be exceptionally tall people. He was literate and taught his li ttle girls from his second marriage to Malinda Cupp to read. After hi s first wife Catherine died, he moved to the state of Missouri from Vi rginia taking one son (James) with him, leaving the rest of his childr en to be reared by relatives. He married Malinda Cupp in Missouri, a w oman twice his age and had children with her, all girls, and leaving h er a widow at a young age.

Charles married Catherine Delano Hobbs, daughter of James Hobbs and Sarah E. Dollard, on Jul 8, 1831 in VA. (Catherine Delano Hobbs was born about 1808 in probably Virginia and died in 1850 in Mercer Co., Virginia.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Alt. Marriage, Jul 8, 1831, Virginia.

Charles next married Malinda Cupp in 1855 in Missouri.