John Martin Bearden was born in 1819 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. He married Mary Warren and to this union were born five children: Jackson, Sarah, Mary, Margaret, and Newton J. The family moved by covered wagon to Marion County in 1852, where John Martin spent the remainder of his life. He was a farmer and first settled on Tomahawk Creek in Hampton Township. In the early 1860's, the family moved to a farm on Clabber Creek. John Martin Bearden dictionary 30, 1890, and is buried in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery.
Newton J. Bearden, the youngest of the five children, was the only one to live the remainder of his life in Marion County. He was born in 1849 and was three years old when the family came to this county. At the age of sixteen, he ran away from home and joined the Confederate Army but was later returned home at the request of his father. He married Margaret Hudspeth. His children were: Rev. Robert E. Lee Bearden who married Fannie Davis; Dr. John Bearden who married Retha (unknown); Kate who married Oliver Cox and after his death married Haywood Gaines; Will Bearden who married Lilly Denton; Lula who married Dr. Alonzo Fowler; Walter Bearden who married Della Ott; and Helen who married Harry Krueger.
Early in the 1870's, Newton J. bought land three miles north of Rush and built a log cabin. Later in 1894, he built a frame house on top of a hill overlooking Blue John Creek and lived there until his death in 1924. This house is still standing and is still in the Bearden family. It is now owned by Larry Bearden, who is a great-great-grandson of John Martin Bearden.
Newton J. owned and operated a general mercantile store and post office at Rush from 1879 until 1920 when he retired to the farm. Walter Bearden bought the old home in 1925 and lived there until his death in 1969. His children are Ethel (Bearden) Hall; Fred who married Ruby Hurst; Lou (Bearden) Pickel; and Rosemary (Bearden) Jones.
Reprinted with permission from History of Marion County edited by Earl Berry, copyright 1977.