Major John Brown Auxier
1817 - 1890
Major John Brown Auxier
1817 - 1890
John Brown Auxier rose to prominence because he was talented and highly successful in many fields, including politics, community affairs, the military, the Methodist Church, and as a farmer, miller, and surveyor. At the age of 25, he was appointed to be the first surveyor of the newly organized Johnson County, Kentucky which was formed from parts of Floyd, Lawrence, and Morgan Counties. John B. Auxier was one of the first trustees of Paintsville, the county seat of Johnson County.
During his 15 years as surveyor, John acquired approximately 10,000 acres of land for fees, half of which is in present day Martin County. He served from 1855 to 1857 as State Representative for Floyd and Johnson Counties. In 1861 and 1862, as the Big Sandy Valley was experiencing the first effects of the Civil War, there was no doubt which side John B. Auxier was going to support. His brother, Nathaniel Auxier, was already speaking out for the Union. Dr. David Auxier/Stephen R. Preston Brackett
As John B. Auxier attended chores at his mill one day, down the road marched a group of Confederate soldiers, escorting wagon loads of corn. They demanded he grind it. Auxier, as pro-Union as if he had been wearing Northern blue, declared his mill was out of order. The Confederates insisted he must repair it. Auxier descended to the machinery recessed under the mill floor, pretended to be at work and quietly slipped a stone into the works of the crude turbine. Ascending to the mill proper, he demonstrated to the discomfited rebels that the machinery was inoperative. They took the corn away, muttering in their suspicion of the miller. A few days later a friend brought Auxier news. The Confederate had become firmly convinced he had sabotaged his own mill. A confederate officer was openly vowing to get him. Auxier decided that it was time for action. He organized a company of men in which two of his nephews, David Valentine Auxier and George Washington Auxier enlisted. John B. Auxier was named Captain of what afterward was known as Company A, 39th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. Henry Scalf
After the war John B. Auxier returned to the farm and community affairs. He served as Deputy U.S. Marshall, and as an enumerator in the 1870 and 1880 census reports for those years. John B. Auxier was buried with Masonic honors at his family cemetery. Dr. David Auxier/Stephen R. Preston Brackett
On May 30, 1839 John B. Auxier married Angeline Jones Mayo, the daughter of Lewis Mayo and Miriah Jones. They were the parents of;
1. Henrietta Auxier who died at age 33.
2. Benajmin Francis Auxier who died at age 22.
3. Rebecca Ann Auxier who died at age 23.
4. 
Mariah
Jane Auxier who married Hezekiah Brown.
5. Angeline Auxier who married George Ballard Preston.
After the death of Angeline Mayo Auxier. John B. Auxier married for the second time to Mary Ann Tisley Grayson. They were the parents of;
1. Sarah C. Auxier who married Washington Pinson.
2. Samuel Buchanan Auxier who married Levina Webb.
3. Alvin Elijah Auxier who married Mary Louisa Ford.
4. Margaret Auxier who died at age 2.
5. Henry Jefferson Auxier who married Millie Alice Burchett.
6. Nathaniel Lincoln Auxier who married Mary Borders.
7. James Sheridan Auxier who married Edith Webb.