It is not known whether or not Ira and his first wife, Amanda had any children. All that is known about Amanda Murfes is that she married Ira in 1839. By 1850, Ira was married to Eliza Garrett.
The 1850 Census shows Ira and Eliza living in Pike County, Alabama with two known children – James, age 5 and Mary, age 2. The other people listed on this Census are believed to be Ira’s sister, her daughter, and Eliza’s younger brothers. There is a either IW or JW Raburn, age 4, listed. It is not known if this is Ira’s son or perhaps Ira’s sister’s child. (J’s and I’s were similar in writing style during that time, so sometimes it’s difficult to determine which letter it is.)
James Wiley Rabren married Lucrecia Fuqua. They had at least one daughter, Dorothea, who married James Wilson Little. Not to be confused with Ira’s brother also named James, this James W. Rabren was born in Laurel Hill, Florida and was in the Civil War on the Confederate side. James had ties to Covington County, Alabama and Florida also.
The Mary listed is believed to be daughter Mary Jane who married a Charles W. Johnson. They had at least one son, Charles Ira Johnson. Much like Ira, Mary Jane and Charles lived in Covington, Alabama and Florida.
By 1860, there were five more children listed on the Census of Clarke, Mississippi. They were: Henry Joseph, age 10, possibly Green T. or “Tom,” age 8, – the initials are unclear on this one as well. Caroline Elizabeth, age 6, William, age 4, and L.A., age 2, (L.A. could possibly be Nancy Ann). Why there would be L.A. is unknown. But the age fits with Nancy ann’s known birth information.
Henry Joseph Rabren was born about 1850 and married Martha Ann Fuqua. They had several children and resided in the Andalusia, Alabama area.
Green T. Rabren was born in 1852 in Florida. There was a Thomas Rabern found in the Walton County, Florida Census of 1880. It is not known if this is him or not. But the age does fit and the spelling of his last name (Rabern). He is listed as widowed. There are two children below him who would be presumed to be his – Lizer Ann E., and 5, and Henry J. (Or F), Age 2. This would fit with his mother’s name and his brother’s name. Circumstantial evidence that adds to the thought this could be Ira and Eliza’s son.
Caroline Elizabeth Rabren was born in 1854. She married Thomas Jefferson Brown. They had several children and resided in the Andalusia area.
William Jasper Rabren was born in 1856. Not much is known about him. It may require further research.
Nancy Ann Rabren was born in 1858. She married James Eastman Reynolds and they had several children. They also lived in the Andalusia, Alabama and Florida area.
The 1870 Census shows one more child was born to Ira and Eliza. This was Daniel Damascus Rabren. Daniel was born in about 1854. He married Mary Magdalene Fuqua and they had a lot of children also. They resided in the Andalusia and Evergreen area of Alabama.
As previously noted, some of Ira’s children require further research as not much is known about them. It could reveal further details or clues as to Ira’s background and parentage.
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