Staggs Family History

My ancestors in the United States

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      Eliza Jane Eubank (1819-1866)

      BIRTH: Abt. 1819
      DEATH: Abt. 1866
      FATHER: John Eubank
      MOTHER: Sally Parrock
      SPOUSE: Josephus Madison Howell (1811–1889)

      Eliza Jane Eubank was born in 1819, the daughter of Sally and John. She had four sons and three daughters with Josephus Madison Howell between 1840 and 1859.

      The Life of Eliza Jane Eubank

      Eliza Jane Eubank’s story begins in the rolling hills of Barren County, Kentucky, where the Eubank and Parrock families had already interwoven themselves into a tight frontier community. Born around 1819 to John Eubank and Sally Parrock, Eliza grew up in a world where kinship networks were everything — cousins married cousins, families migrated together, and survival depended on the strength of those bonds. Her childhood was shaped by the rhythms of early Kentucky farm life, but her future lay further west. When her parents joined the wave of migration into southern Missouri, Eliza went with them, carrying the traditions and resilience of two deeply rooted families.

      In Missouri she met Josephus Madison Howell, a young farmer from Tennessee whose family was helping carve new settlements out of the Ozarks. Their marriage joined two pioneer lineages — the Howells of Tennessee and the Eubank‑Parrock clan of Kentucky. Together they built a household in Oregon County, later Howell County, raising a large family: John Benton, Andrew, Thomas, Sarah, James, Cyntha, and little Frances. Eliza’s life was one of constant motion and responsibility — tending children, managing a frontier home, and supporting Josephus as he served the community as postmaster and Justice of the Peace. The 1850 and 1860 censuses capture her in the thick of motherhood, surrounded by children of every age, the center of a bustling household.

      But the world around her grew darker as Missouri descended into the violence of the Civil War. West Plains was burned, families fled, and the Howell home — like so many others — was caught in the chaos. Sometime between 1860 and 1866, Eliza died, her final years marked by upheaval and uncertainty. She did not live to see her children grown, nor the family’s move into Arkansas. Yet her legacy endured through them: through John Benton, who carried her memory into his old age; through the Eubank‑Parrock connections preserved in family histories; and through the quiet strength she passed down to generations who would never know her name firsthand.

      Legacy of Eliza Jane Eubank

      Eliza Jane (Eubank) Howell lived a frontier woman’s life — demanding, fragile, and deeply rooted in family. Though the records speak softly, the story they reveal is one of endurance, migration, and the quiet heroism of a woman who helped build the world her children inherited.

      Parents

      FATHER: John Eubank
      MOTHER: Sally Parrock

      Married

      Josephus Madison Howell (1811–1889)

      Children

      • John Benton Howell (1840–1920) married Sarah Jane Glenn (1844–1924)Arkansas
      • Andrew W. Howell (1841/2–aft. 1860)
      • Thomas J. Howell (1843–aft. 1870)
      • Sarah J. Howell (1845–aft. 1860)
      • James Howell (1849–aft. 1870)
      • Cyntha A. Howell (1850–aft. 1860)
      • Frances E. Howell (1859–aft. 1860)

      Documents

      • Birth Records
      • Wedding records
        • None
      • Death records
        • None
      • Census Records
        • 1850 United States Federal Census > Missouri > Oregon > District 65 > Name: Eliza J Howell; Gender: Female; Race: White; Residence Age: 31; Birth Date: abt 1819; Birthplace: Kentucky; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 65, Oregon, Missouri, USA; Line Number: 11; Dwelling Number: 207; Family Number: 207; Inferred Spouse: Joseph M Howell; Inferred Child: John B Howell; Andrew W Howell; Thomas J Howell; Sarah J Howell; Household members: Joseph M Howell (farmer, 40), Eliza J Howell (31), John B Howell (11), Andrew W Howell (9), Thomas J Howell (7), Sarah J Howell (5), James KY (1)
        • 1860 United States Federal Census > Missouri > Howell > Name: Eliza J Howell;
          Age: 41; Birth Year: abt 1819; Gender: Female; Race: White; Birth Place: Kentucky; Home in 1860: Howell, Howell, Missouri; Post Office: West Plains; Dwelling Number: 24; Family Number: 24; Occupation: Domestic; Inferred Spouse: J M Howell; Household members: J M Howell (42), Eliza J Howell (41), John B Howell (20), Andrew W Howell (14), Thomas J Howell (16), Sarah J Howell (24), James H Howell (11), Cyntha A Howell (10), Frances E Howell (1)
      • Other

      Relation of Eliza Jane Eubank to Karen Edgar: 3rd great-grandmother

      Page last updated June 16, 2026

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