William Pratt Claybourn was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, on December 25, 1844. He married Mary Jane Cornelius McMillan (May 11, 1848 - December 5, 1918). In 1877 he managed the agency for Studebaker wagons at Foxville, Illinois, near Walnut Hill. Joseph Monroe Claybourn, his brother, lived with him and worked for him. In about 1881 William moved to a small farm near Mt. Vernon. His wife's health failed, and about in 1884 they, with Sally and Newt Hawkins and about six other families, went in covered wagons to Kansas where they homesteaded about 30 miles south of Garden City.

William Boyer, Claybourn's son-in-law, went to Butte, Montana, which was booming at the time. He sent for the others and returned and removed the families about 1888 or 1889. All of William Claybourn's immediate descendants except two lived in or are buried in Butte. Boyer and William Claybourn were carpenters.

						Joshua Claybourn (Clibborn) 1758 - 1799
				Ephraim Claybourn 12/07/1788 - 05/11/1850
						Sarah
		William Divine Claybourn 08/27/1819 - 02/17/1896
				Mary "Polly" Browning 11/11/1792 - 12/16/1874
						Sally Browning
William Pratt Claybourn 12/25/1844 - 02/11/1900
				Reuben Hawker b. 1794
		Frances Alla Hawker 09/23/1820 - 7/25/1863
				Nancy Hawker b. 1796

Descendants

1. Iva A. Claybourn: Born July 29, 1867. Died 1869.

2. Zorah F. Claybourn Boyer: Born September 25, 1869. Zorah married William St. Clair Boyer (born August 9, 1863) and the couple had ten children:
   1. First born died at birth.
   2. Pearl Boyer: Born December 19, 1888. Died August 6, 1923. Pearl married Walter H. Smith (born February 12, 1888, at Christ's Church, New Zealand) and the couple had four children:
      1. Wallis St. Clair Smith: Born September 14, 1908
      2. John Henry Smith: Born May 18, 1914
      3. Zorah Pearl Smith: Born September 4, 1916
      4. Myrtle Rosena Smith: Born February 6, 1919
   3. Lewis Pratt Boyer: Born July 16, 1890. Lewis married a women named Norah and the pair had a son.
   4. Blanch Boyer: Born March 23, 1892. Blanch married Charles Stapp Martin (born January 25, 1890), but the couple had no children.
   5. Lester St. Clair Boyer: Born April 5, 1894.
   6. Orval Francis Boyer: Born March 27, 1897
   7. Muriel Boyer Buckley: Born June 12, 1899. Muriel married James Raymond Buckley and the couple had two children:
      1. John Raymond Buckley: Born June 26, 1918
      2. James Otto Buckley: Born May 30, 1931
   8. Everett Roosevelt Boyer: Born May 29, 1901. Everett married Mary Farren (born April 4, 1905) and the couple had two children:
      1. Everett Richard Boyer: Born October 1, 1925
      2. William St. Clair Boyer: Born August 9, 1929
   9. Mellville Norris Boyer: Born December 25, 1906
   10. Zorah Genevieve Boyer: Born May 17, 1909

3. Robert E. Claybourn: Born August 27, 1871. Died 1873.

4. John (Jack) Scott CLaybourn: Born April 9, 1874. Died December 5, 1919. Jack Married, but had no children.

5. Archabel A. Claybourn: Born July 7, 1877, but died the same year.

6. Myrtle Pratt Claybourn Daniels: Born July 7, 1877. Died about 1945. Myrtle lived in Oakland, California. Myrtle married on July 9, 1917 to John (Jack) Daniels, who was born in Wales.

7. Harry Lester ("Les") Claybourn: Les was born February 11, 1880. He was an avid baseball player and, according to a newspaper article written after his death, Les started playing when he was old enough to handle a bat. He was a star on the Butte Reduction Works team. After the team was disbanded, Les went to work as stage carpenter at the old Grand Theater. Later he was property man at the Broadway and Empress Theaters. He constructed the ring at the Empress that was later by the Manhattan Athletic Club. Harry married (1st) Mae Harrington, and they had at least two children:
   1. Elton: Lived in Oakland, California
   2. Thelma: Born December 27, 1902. Thelma married Frank Dunn, and they had six children.
      1. Thelma Dunn: Born September 3, 1924
      2. Jennie Dunn: Born July 14, 1926
      3. Frank Dunn: Born June 24, 1928
      4. Margie Dunn: Born October 6, 1930
      5. Eddie Dunn: Born May 15, 1933
      6. Leona Dunn: Born August 7, 1935
   Les later married (2nd) Mrs. Everett E. Claybourn (his sister-in-law), and they had at least one child:
   3. Myrtle

   Les died in 1922 at the age of 41 years old while living at 2721 Goodwin St., Floral Park. A local news article recounts his death - which occurred on the bench during a baseball game - in great detail. Click here to read the article. It notes that Les was survived by five children, so he had at least two more children than are listed here.

8. Everett Elton Claybourn: Born April 19, 1883. Died April 15, 1915. Everett married Maggie Sennet, but the couple had no children. As noted above, Maggie would later marry her brother-in-law Harry. Everett was rated a very good soft shoe dancer.