John Bratton Junkin (1806-1901)

D5 John Bratton Junkin, born 6 Aug 1806; died 21 Aug 1901, Chicago, Ill. John Bratton was much interested in family history, collected material, and became quite an authority on his ancestors. Unfortunately much of the material was destroyed at the time of his death. He was the most studious of the three brothers, reading extensively and owning many books for that time. He also had an oil painting of the original Junkin mill which his sister Jane had commissioned done. The author remembers seeing it in her grandparents' home when she was small, but the picture seems to have disappeared over the years.

At the time of the California gold rush, John Bratton Junkin in company with his friends John Holliday and George Smith, a brother of Andrew Junkin's wife Sarah, went by pack train to the West. The journey was long and difficult, but the lure of gold was strong, and adventure appealed to the men. Enroute tragedy overtook them as George Smith was killed in an Indian attack. The two Johns continued to their destination although the journey was filled with hardships, particularly the last week when food was rationed to two biscuits daily. The men were unsuccessful in their quest for gold and soon returned to Illinois. Prior to his death, Mr. Junkin was stricken with paralysis and was cared for by his niece, Mary Holliday Carr, In her home in Chicago. He was buried in the Kirkwood, Ill., cemetery beside the Hollidays with whom he lived for many years.

1. Everts, History of the Juanita and Susquehanna Valley Pennsylvania, 1 66, Vol. I, pp 613-14.
2. Junkin, Laura Gayle. The Descendants of Joseph Junkin I and Elizabeth Wallace, September 1976.
3. National Historical Society, History of the Juanita Valley, 1936, Vol. 1, p 269.
4. Robinson, Richard D. and Elisabeth C. Repassing at My Side...A Story of the Junkins. 1975, Southern Printing County, Blacksburg, Virginia.