tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-288948012024-03-14T04:50:03.158-05:00LOGAN COUNTY GENEALOGYSolving the Mysteries of our HistoryGenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-69571818022683844552011-07-10T13:50:00.000-05:002011-07-10T13:50:08.664-05:00Expand the View 2<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is my maternal grandfather's mother's line.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eliza S. "Lida" Harding [1869-1942] m. William H. Downing [1863-1903] m. John Rupp [1878-1935]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">do</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Benjamin Harding [1836-1915] m. Mary Ellen Clark [1847-1914]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Daniel Harding [1798-1869] m. Elizabeth Wilson [1801-1884]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">John Bennett Hardin [?-1849] probable but not sufficiently proven - his ancestors are known should proof surface</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My maternal grandfather's maternal grandmother's line.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mary Ellen Clark [1847-1914] m. Benjamin Harding [1836-1915]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">do</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rev. Richard Winans Clark [1808-1854] m. Margaret Ann Clark [1808-1867]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rev. David Clark [1776-1847] m. Rachel Rutter [? - c 1803] m. Sarah Winans [1788-1843]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Clark [1737-c 1802] m. Sarah Winans [1737-1807]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Margaret Ann Clark was the daughter of Rev. David Clark's brother John Winans Clark [1779-1859] m. Ann "Nancy" Isgrig [1783-1867]. The Isgrig line can be traced back to William Isgrig, son of William and Ann. William Isgrig was transported from Old Bailey in London to Maryland in 1740 instead of being hanged for stealing after his boss testified on his behalf. This record is online.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Winans go way back and include early New Englanders as well as early Dutch. The ancestry of David Clark is 100% unproven. It's a very common name. A fantasy version can be found online. My theory is he came from Scotland and brought the passion for the Methodist religion his descendants carried west with him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know nothing about Elizabeth Wilson except she also came from Virginia but they were married in Ohio. They had at least 13 children, most of whom apparently did not reach adulthood. One, Wilson, appears to be buried at Laenna with his wife Christena. I have no clue.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My maternal grandfather's paternal grandmother's line.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Delilah J. Downing [1842-1909] m. William N. Downing [1839-1865] m. David Shellhammer [1830-1912]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">do</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Robert Downing [1793-1887] m. Jane Morrow [1802-1882]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">John Downing [1762-1838] m. Hannah Frakes [1766-1842]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">James Downing [?-?] m. Nancy Gardner [?-?]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">brick wall</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Several Morrow children married Downings and Shoups [sister of John Downing] in Ohio. The Morrows were from New York. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hannah Frakes was the daughter of Robert Frakes, born in England about 1746, who married Mary Dawson in Pennsylvania about 1766. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some Downing, Frakes, Shoup and other families traveled from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Illinois together or in tandem.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-59088308927817232672011-07-10T10:34:00.000-05:002011-07-10T10:34:45.325-05:00Expand the View<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently had a lengthy email correspondence with another transplanted Logan County native. We have different backgrounds and no ancestors in common but when we started talking our ancestors, collaterals and their families brushed at so many spots that I learned new things.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This indicates to me it would be worthwhile to expand our somewhat limited view and see what turns up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you have any connection to these lines or think you might - or know anything that might be interesting - I want to hear from you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is my maternal grandfather's direct male line [with spouses]. This is what is used for most DNA, which will come up later. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ellis Downing [1888-1978] m L. Ethel Ryan [1892-1975]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">William H. Downing [1863-1903] m. Eliza S. Harding [1869-1942]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">William N. Downing [1839-1865] m. Delilah J. Downing [1842-1909]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Samuel Downing [1794-1866] m. Margaret Matthews [1797-1836] m. Mary Matthews Day [1800-1847]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">George Downing [1867-1848] m. Elizabeth Bennett [1772-1802] m. Winifred Downing [1778-1841]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Timothy Downing [c 1744-c 1800] m. unknown m. Mary Chenoweth [1749-after 1791]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">brick wall</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Samuel Downing came to Logan County with his second wife Mary Matthews. Samuel was born in Maryland, lived many years in Ohio and came to Illinois. Mary was born in Ohio. Samuel's first wife Margaret was Mary's sister. Samuel's brother Thomas, members of his assorted families and various members of the Matthews family also came to Logan County. According to family history John Matthews, father of Margaret, Mary and others, was born in Ulster, Ireland. This is important.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Samuel's father and grandfather were also born in Maryland.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Note that there are two Downing-Downing marriages. Delilah is the daughter of Robert, son of John, all of Logan County. John came from "Virginia" which, at the time, could be about anywhere. Before his father James he is a blank.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Winifred is the daughter of Joseph, another Downing line living in Pike County, Ohio, but Joseph came there from Maryland. Before that he is a blank.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To the best of anyone's knowledge and all research to date, these three lines are not related.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enter DNA. DNA testing indicates that all three [and one or two others tested] have a common ancestor back about the above Timothy's grandfather. This totally ruins my theory that they came by UFO, a theory which conveniently explains some relatives. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Further, testing indicates they came from Ulster. It appears likely, from research in yet another DNA matched line which my ancestors did not marry, that this common ancestor came in through District 96, South Carolina. This will come up again. Sarah Kirby and Humphrey Scroggin were married there. But that's another line.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See, we already have circles.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-70430630274005940542011-02-13T16:05:00.000-06:002011-02-13T16:05:59.212-06:00Illinois State Archives Databases<a href="http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/databases.html">Illinois State Archives Databases</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-17628191303903575492010-12-27T15:27:00.000-06:002010-12-27T15:27:43.258-06:0010,000 Ancestors<a href="http://genealogysleuth.org/10,000%20Ancestors.htm">10,000 Ancestors</a><div><br /></div><div>Let me know how it goes.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-35675274826750048122010-12-26T10:24:00.001-06:002011-07-10T10:36:05.879-05:0010,000 Dead People<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For several years I have been working on a massive database of, basically, burials in south Logan County. It includes cemeteries from Hurlbut, Elkhart, Mt. Pulaski, Lake Fork, Laenna and Aetna Townships and two in Chester. Elkhart is not complete. I frivolously named it "10,000 Dead People." Otherwise it gets a bit too close.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is more than just a list of the burials. Jane DeWitt, who set up the original list, looked up these people in various sources and added information to the basic list. I have reduced it to the number of columns which fit on a landscape page. I have added information. There may be a maiden name, date of death and maybe birth, spouse, parents, cause of death, military, occupation and assorted other information.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has taken forever to get it into a format that can be used on the web and then get it into consistent columns. I am still cleaning up columns. It is very time consuming. As I try to clean up each row I get distracted. I knew many of these people. It includes people very close to me. Further, as a genealogist, I want to add information. Finally I gave up, stopped adding information and just worked on consistent columns - all the military in the military column, etc.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point I am approximately one third done. Rather than wait until I am done I am going to be putting it online as it is and then continue working on it. I anticipate it will be up by January 1, 2011.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I anticipate there are many, many errors. Some are caused by the manipulations the file has gone through. Some are caused by errors in previous transcriptions. Some are caused by using old books with bad or faint handwriting. There was reliance on old histories which, as we know, were not necessarily accurate to begin with. If you see something in the database that you believe is incorrect do not hesitate to let me know. Please include why you believe it to be incorrect. Ideally the final corrected version will include citations where appropriate.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ideally I will eventually link names to other things - printed obits, photos, printed bios, etc. I don't know if that is feasible at this point but I hope it is.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stay tuned.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-84206666054021631832010-10-25T19:53:00.000-05:002010-10-25T19:53:35.697-05:00The Biographical record of Logan ... - Google Books<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=rCIWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=logan+county+illinois&hl=en&ei=riXGTKwghPrwBsbspckP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false">The Biographical record of Logan ... - Google Books</a><div><br /></div><div>From Google books and a free download. See if your ancestor's biography is in this 1901 book. There are live links to some but not all of the biographies.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-66820102507161772042010-08-22T12:02:00.000-05:002010-08-22T12:02:28.440-05:00What's in a Name<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Elkhart Historical Society presents “What’s in a name?” Mike Starasta, director of the McKinstry Library at Lincoln College, on September 24, 2010. Starasta is an experienced genealogist with expertise on researching archives and using libraries, genealogical websites, genealogical databases and local organizations to develop family trees. Topics include using </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">researching archives, libraries, genealogical web sites, databases and local organizations to find your family history. In addition, Starasta will discuss the genealogy of some of the founding families of Elkhart – Gillett, Shockey, Latham and Oglesby. Reservations are required.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More information on their website: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.elkharthistoricalsociety.org/">http://www.elkharthistoricalsociety.org/</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-67317679895585148332010-07-18T11:26:00.000-05:002010-07-18T11:26:23.439-05:00Web ArchiveThe <a href="http://www.archive.org/">Web Archive</a> is a very useful tool. I suggest bookmarking it and checking it periodically.<br />
<br />
Do a search for "logan county" illinois. Write it just like that including the quotes. Since the last time I checked they have the 1860 and 1870 census. They are long downloads since they put the entire state in one file but it is worth it. They also have some of the old histories, maybe one you are looking for.<br />
<br />
It is free.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-31937409443765956962010-05-23T12:12:00.000-05:002010-05-23T12:12:12.569-05:00Before Logan County was formed it was Sangamon County. Except for land records for information on Logan County between the first settlement in 1819 until 1839 you must look in Sangamon County records. Most Sangamon County records for that period are housed at <a href="http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/iradholdings.html">IRAD</a> including Board of Supervisors' records and files, various Circuit Court files, election records, marriage records, probate records.<br />
<br />
Do not rule out any records. From the election records I found the following list of voters for Union Precinct [a precinct name I was not familiar with] on August 2, 1824:<br />
<br />
Charles Counsel<br />
Job Burden<br />
Jacob Bryan<br />
Mathew Rogers<br />
Oliver W. Kellogg<br />
Levi Cantrill<br />
Archibald Constant<br />
William Carpenter<br />
Andrew Cline<br />
Samuel Rhodes<br />
Nathan Hussey<br />
Joshua Sayles<br />
Humphrey Taylor<br />
Thomas Brock<br />
John Orendorff<br />
George Power<br />
Robert Evans<br />
Joseph Beedle<br />
William Brock<br />
Gardner Randolph<br />
Joseph W. Center<br />
Daniel Harper<br />
Evans Brittin<br />
Isace Morgan<br />
Robert McClelland<br />
Jonathan Hodge<br />
Jeharias Lankston<br />
Samuel Carman<br />
John Hendricks<br />
James W. Estill<br />
Thomas Strawbridge<br />
Richard Wright<br />
William Estill<br />
John Stevenson<br />
Hezekiah Davis<br />
Edward Davis<br />
William Johnson<br />
Jacob Dean<br />
William Willcoxan<br />
Nathan Kenneda<br />
Hezekiah Briggs<br />
Jesse Sutton<br />
John Renhart<br />
Peyton Mitchel<br />
Meredith Cooper<br />
Thomas Briggs<br />
James Stewart<br />
Hiram Robins<br />
Bostin Finder <br />
Garret Elkins<br />
John Sutton<br />
James Strawbridge<br />
Stephen Phelps<br />
Ambrose Cooper<br />
Thomas Branson<br />
Martin Porter<br />
Christopher Orendorff<br />
Samuel Carpenter<br />
James Williams<br />
Wyatt Cantrall<br />
John Dorson<br />
John Clin<br />
Cornelius Vandeventer<br />
John W. Taylor<br />
William Strawbridge<br />
Andrew Branson<br />
Eli Branson<br />
Jojin Branson, Jr.<br />
Isiah Stillman<br />
William A. Hodge<br />
Joseph Woods<br />
Philip Smith<br />
Washington Turley<br />
John Woods<br />
David L. Taylor<br />
Stephen Stillman<br />
George Borders<br />
Charles Hayes<br />
Robert Downing<br />
John Branson<br />
James W. Chapman<br />
Alexis Phelps<br />
Henry Cooper<br />
Robert Buckles<br />
Enoch Smith<br />
Benjamin Briggs<br />
Jeremiah Birks<br />
James Turley<br />
Alexander McNaghtin<br />
Abraham Musick<br />
John Simpson<br />
William Prockter<br />
Charles Turley<br />
David Riddle<br />
Levi Millard<br />
James Garvin<br />
Janes Sayles<br />
James Morrow<br />
John Brook<br />
James Latham<br />
David Hughs<br />
Nicholas Moore<br />
Joshua Dean<br />
Myron Phelps<br />
Landa Hurst<br />
Thomas Prim<br />
James C Stevenson<br />
James Stringfield<br />
Henry Holland<br />
Abraham Hathaway<br />
John Dixson<br />
John Porter<br />
Thomas Constant<br />
Peter Vanburgen<br />
Willima Lofton<br />
Ezra Knapp<br />
John Stevenson<br />
Charles Smith<br />
David England<br />
Samuel McClure<br />
John Prim<br />
Robert McClure<br />
John Buckles<br />
John Strode <br />
<br />
I don't know where Union Precinct was but I recognize a lot of Logan County names including ancestors and collaterals who were living along Salt Creek at that time as well as people living in the south end of the county in the Lake Ford area. Presumably at that time polling places were few and far between.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0Logan County, Illinois, USA40.061338 -89.322695439.798574 -89.7896144 40.324101999999996 -88.8557764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-20763503737840419592010-05-02T16:09:00.000-05:002010-05-02T16:09:36.993-05:00New Relative LocatedI have a relative I have never met who, like me, is a double Downing. We are descendants of one of the three marriages of children of Robert Downing to children of Samuel Downing. Although these families settled within a mile or so of each other on Salt Creek they were not related prior to the marriages.<br />
<br />
My "cousin" said he'd like to find out more about his wife's genealogy. Her ancestors are also from Logan County. I said send me what you have, you never know, I might know something that would help. Her ancestors lived in Lincoln so it was a long shot. He did.<br />
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Imagine my surprise when I read his list of names. His wife is also related to me. Her ancestor Charity Bowman was a sister to my ancestor Hannah Bowman. Both ladies, along with their mother, are buried at Steenbergen Cemetery.<br />
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It's a small world.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-65546628431593879362009-09-26T19:26:00.002-05:002009-09-26T19:32:45.628-05:00Unidentified Photos - Maybe Lucases<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIu8Jc4nkbA-6o6pUqtsj4t318amT0mZjfNeciIw6RRv-cUgTeBiKqC_4Xx-zNGk5iBsawcJVnmw6oFWbMWuhUEBk1pN62HAnYOMR6qiAc2g16LUennrrtBb3zUbqFJ6qJy9d9Q/s1600-h/Lucas+7.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIu8Jc4nkbA-6o6pUqtsj4t318amT0mZjfNeciIw6RRv-cUgTeBiKqC_4Xx-zNGk5iBsawcJVnmw6oFWbMWuhUEBk1pN62HAnYOMR6qiAc2g16LUennrrtBb3zUbqFJ6qJy9d9Q/s400/Lucas+7.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385937437580931906" /></a><br /><br />Do you know this couple? How about the child below?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7g7SlH6qIZcXTUxQTRfvSZvA9T8YWl5oRxEA4rpP57JRZFEnI9g8SpGL_lgyj45kepv3MAqGoNsnFGmUspOdc_03Q_VrlxfGLQw4FYcNgNfMTccGzLsENuHnLWQTGxSV28LgZ_Q/s1600-h/Lucas+4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7g7SlH6qIZcXTUxQTRfvSZvA9T8YWl5oRxEA4rpP57JRZFEnI9g8SpGL_lgyj45kepv3MAqGoNsnFGmUspOdc_03Q_VrlxfGLQw4FYcNgNfMTccGzLsENuHnLWQTGxSV28LgZ_Q/s400/Lucas+4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385937267251022418" /></a><br /><br />These are some of the unidentified pictures at the Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society in Lincoln, Illinois. Someone said they thought these and several more were Lucases. Abraham and Marcy Kelsey Lucas were prolific and their children took after them so there are thousands of Lucas descendants. I don't know these. If you have a clue let me know.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-41000610084060578872009-09-15T20:28:00.004-05:002009-09-15T20:35:34.408-05:00Charles Harper, Choctaw Indian, in Logan CountySeveral years ago I received this story from Valerie Anlage of Maryland. It is about her ancestor Charles Harper, a Choctaw Indian who settled in Logan County. The narrative includes John Andrew and Esther Jane Scroggin Buckles, my ancestors.<br /><br />"In 1903 many of my ancestors applied to the Dawes Commission for identification as Missisippi Choctaws with the hopes of obtaining land in Oklahoma. They all claimed to be descendants of Charles HARPER, a full-blooded Choctaw Indian. One of the applicants requested that the Commission secure testimonies from Esther Jane (SCROGGIN) and John BUCKELS, aged 75 and 80 years respectively, of Mt. Pulaski, Illinois in support of his application. <br /><br />"That the testimony of the said witnesses is material to affiants claim; that each of said witnesses if present would testify that he and she knew Charles Harper, through whom petitioner...claim(s) (his) Indian blood; that they also knew the wife of Charles Harper, and the children of Charles Harper and his wife, and many of their grand children and great grand children; that Charles Harper and his wife lived together as man and wife and were known and respected as such in the community in which they lived; that Charles Harper was a full-blood Choctaw Indian..."<br /><br />Other witnesses named include Leonard K Scroggins, aged 83 of Mt. Pulaski, Polly Ridgeway and Robert Cass, each over 80, both of Buffalo Hart Grove, and Lydia Burke, also over 80 and living in Cornland.<br /><br />As far as I know, Charles HARPER arrived in what would become Logan County in 1828.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-5252879500456265792009-09-06T15:38:00.005-05:002009-09-06T16:09:10.270-05:00A New VaccineWe are thinking about swine flu vaccine. In the early 1950s polio was the deadly threat. In Logan County there was a woman who had worked tirelessly for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis - you know it as the March of Dimes - since its founding in 1938. When the Salk vaccine was made available in 1953 and shots were to begin they chose Ethel Ryan Downing to select the first first or second grader in Logan County to receive the shot. Before she could chose it was discovered one of her many grandchildren was in fact a first grader at Mt. Pulaski. She didn't want to chose him, feeling it was selfish, but the organization insisted.<br /><br />Thus it was that on his mother's birthday in 1953, Ethel Downing's grandson Terry, dressed in his cowboy shirt, got the first polio vaccine in Logan County, followed closely by all the other first and second graders in the county.<br /><br />No one knew why she was so devoted to that particular cause. Her husband Ellis said she volunteered for so many organizations but that one had a real hold on her. He didn't know why either. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt but Ethel was a staunch Republican. She knew no one with polio. She continued to work for the organization until polio was conquered. They didn't forget her. When she died in 1975 one of the biggest wreaths came from the March of Dimes.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-28262181620768804952009-06-06T16:35:00.005-05:002009-06-06T17:22:29.034-05:00Samuel Day and FamilySamuel Day was the son of Mary "Polly" Matthews and her husband Thomas Day. They were married May 5, 1821, in Ohio and he died in a flood four months later in August. Samuel was born March 6, 1822. Mary's sister Margaret was married to Samuel Downing. They had six children before she died in 1836. Mary and Samuel wed 16 months later and had two children, William Nelson and John Clark. The whole group migrated to Logan County and settled along the south side of Salt Creek on the Chester/Mt. Pulaski Township border. Also in the group were various Matthews, sometimes spelled Mathews. Mary died in 1847 and was buried in Downing Cemetery. <br /><br />In 1850 Samuel is living four farms from Samuel, his uncle and stepfather, with his wife Sarah. In 1855 he is living next to Samuel. There are eight in his household. In 1860 there is a Samuel Day living in Lincoln. In the 1862 Military Census he is in Madison Precinct. In 1870 this Samuel Day is living in Aetna Township with wife Sarah, sons Thomas, 19, and John, 13, and daughters Lydia, 5, and Axey, 1/2 year. Neither he nor Sarah are in the 1880 census in Logan County or anywhere else that I could find.<br /><br />Thomas is the only child who could have been counted in 1855. That leaves a total of eight children unaccounted for. What happened to this family?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-90754494320397614342009-06-05T19:17:00.003-05:002009-06-05T19:29:15.221-05:00A Happy Group in Mt. Pulaski<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-zzH0wO7COVKrsZj_Qa0_UZRK3sueAqZvfxq8-1Er1DsJebm-7Ae-94YzvCk5078uEbApG9u_baivlDJOhiSXWse5Xs8TGSAcWzHoBp6N-2CmR65RPHlCw7DgucQJ3pP9JJwiw/s1600-h/1930+Mt.+Pulaski+Christian+Church+event+maybe.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-zzH0wO7COVKrsZj_Qa0_UZRK3sueAqZvfxq8-1Er1DsJebm-7Ae-94YzvCk5078uEbApG9u_baivlDJOhiSXWse5Xs8TGSAcWzHoBp6N-2CmR65RPHlCw7DgucQJ3pP9JJwiw/s400/1930+Mt.+Pulaski+Christian+Church+event+maybe.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344002300350682130" /></a><br /><br />This group of people happily posing for the camera raises so many questions. The people I can identify, which is only a handful, are all residents of Mt. Pulaski, all related in the same line and all members of the Christian Church. Since there are so few that can be identified none of those connections is necessarily the correct one. Several items, including the ages of the known people, indicate the picture was taken about 1930.<br /><br />A couple years two of those I can identify were still living. Although side by side [they were cousins] in this picture they didn't have the same story about the picture. <br /><br />If you see this picture and can identify any of the people please let me know.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-90414450912069795432009-04-24T14:06:00.005-05:002009-04-24T14:38:40.366-05:00Where is Amanda Allender Beidler?Henry M. Beidler was the brother of Samuel “Linn” Lindamuth Beidler of Mt. Pulaski and Dr. Jacob Hoke Beidler of Lincoln. Descendants of S. Linn Beidler owned the newspaper in Mt. Pulaski for decades.<br /><br />Henry married Amanda J. Allender and they had one child, Henry Roy Biedler. Amanda died in August 1888. They were divorced at the time but Henry handled her estate. Apparently Henry thought one Frank Spears, who apparently played a part in their divorce, murdered his former wife. He put a notice in the paper saying he was having her body exhumed and an autopsy performed to find the actual cause of death.<br /><br />Within days of this notice in December 1888 Frank Spears' son shot and killed Henry Beidler. Amanda's body disappeared before the autopsy could be done. Apparently Henry had feared someone would try to snatch the body as he had hired guards to watch over her for two days.<br /><br />Henry ended up in the mausoleum but what happened to Amanda? That's what the descendant wants to know. Research has not located any newspaper accounts saying her body was ever located. Remember, his family owned the local newspaper. That may or may not be related to the silence. Was she located and quietly buried in the mausoleum? Was the <a href="http://southlogancounty.blogspot.com/2009/04/who-is-buried-in-biedlers-mausoleum.html">break-in at the mausoleum</a> an attempt to steal her body again?<br /><br />Can you help solve this mystery?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-94683046600647282009-02-25T19:02:00.001-06:002009-02-25T19:05:22.145-06:00Vital Records and AlternatesIn 1900 only 18 states [including future states] registered vital records. It was not mandatory in all of those, but it was encouraged. <br /><br />Thus you might find vital records in Vermont back to 1779, Massachusetts 1842, New Jersey 1843, Connecticut 1859, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Virginia 1853, Delaware 1861, Florida 1865, Michigan 1867, Arizona, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York 1880, Illinois 1887, Maine 1892, North Dakota 1893, Maryland 1898.<br /><br />Illinois did not mandate the registration of vital records with the state until 1916. Marriage records were always kept but birth and death were not. Logan County has marriage records back to 1857 but marriage records also exist for 1820-1839 under Sangamon County at IRAD. The only missing records are those for 1839-1856 due to the courthouse fire.<br /><br />Logan has sporadic birth and death records dating to 1878. Probate records go back to 1855 and, again, there are earlier records at IRAD. Deeds go back to 1829. Court records date to 1857. Initial land purchases from the beginning are at the Bureau of Land Management.<br /><br />The 1855 Illinois State Census for Logan County exists as well as the federal census records for all years. There is also the 1862 Military Census. Remember that Logan County is covered in the 1830 Sangamon County federal census. Census images for 1830 Sangamon, 1840 and 1850 Logan are online free along with lists for the 1855 Logan County state census and the 1862 military census. Go to the <a href="http://logan.ilgenweb.net">Logan County ILGenWeb</a> site for links.<br /><br />Cemetery lists for many cemeteries are online at the Logan County site. The Decatur Genealogical Society has cemetery listings made in the 1960s and early 1970 for most cemeteries in books which they sell quite reasonably. The Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society has some cemetery books and several history books with name indexes.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-54512112435244820222009-02-15T20:32:00.006-06:002009-02-15T20:55:17.464-06:00Mystery PicturesLast year I scanned all the paper. Bits and pieces keep showing up but, for the most part, I am current on scanning my documents. See <a href="http://genealogysleuth.blogspot.com/2007/12/swimming-in-paper.html">Ancestor Hunting</a> if you are interested in the details of how I did it.<br /><br />Pictures are another story. I mentioned late in the series that the pictures were not done. They are still not done. In the interim one of my brothers [who never used a computer until very recently] has taken all the pictures he had and scanned them. Yes, he put me to shame. He has the same problem we all do -- we don't know who a lot of these people are. <br /><br />If the picture is from my lifetime I can make a pretty good guess and probably find someone who agrees or recognizes themselves. Before that it is a guess. It may be an educated guess but it is often a guess. Further, others may disagree and there is no way to determine the truth. I need to work out some details [posting multiple pictures is not my greatest skill] but I think I will do it. If it works maybe other pictures can be added.<br /> <br />So I was thinking, almost all of my pictures came from Logan County so maybe posting them on a web site with a Logan County connection will help identify some of them. Maybe it would encourage me to get cracking on the scanning too.<br /><br />In the interim, do you know these people? I know a couple people so I can safely say it is about 1905-1909.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9RmbvoCq4qWe7cEr63lHLM9wA6Ijo7IkQpv66X_xItFl5gZ5W_sXMaBTEfxvMTOnV3GBOHfERNhuZVDIvINax4jEGDURvg7pWNLI-_lsk8nPgIEAxMAdbv3k5UvKDyYvWX15BA/s1600-h/Brookers,+Downings+and+who+knows+compressed.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9RmbvoCq4qWe7cEr63lHLM9wA6Ijo7IkQpv66X_xItFl5gZ5W_sXMaBTEfxvMTOnV3GBOHfERNhuZVDIvINax4jEGDURvg7pWNLI-_lsk8nPgIEAxMAdbv3k5UvKDyYvWX15BA/s320/Brookers,+Downings+and+who+knows+compressed.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303222640638399090" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-55935861773384435482009-01-11T18:02:00.004-06:002009-01-11T18:54:30.780-06:00Where's Callie?<span style="font-weight:bold;">The Case of the Missing Poet<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Decatur Daily News, Decatur, Il, Thursday, 30 July 1914<br /><br />WRITER OF VERSE DIES<br />Miss Callie Harcourt of Chestnut, well known in this locality for her writing of verses, died suddenly Wednesday morning at her home.</span><br /><br />That's all the researcher knows. His original question was why couldn't he find her listed at Laenna Cemetery in Chestnut. <br /><br />Callie's father Stillwell, who was still alive at the time of Callie's death, is buried there. He died July 11, 1926. Also buried at Laenna are G. W. and Caroline Harcourt. The dates on their stones would lead me to think they are Stillwell's parents, Callie's grandparents. Caroline died in 1922, days short of her 88th birthday. Callie clearly had surviving family members.<br /><br />A search of my records seems to indicate Callie is not buried at Laenna nor anywhere else in the county.<br /><br />Upon inquiry, the research stated Stillwell was a piano tuner and salesman for the Kimball Piano Company in Chicago. He held a number of patents for improvement to the piano. The mother is not buried at Laenna with the father or elsewhere. Mercedes or Martha, as she sometimes went by, disappeared from family records about the same frame as Callie's death. Phillip, Callie's brother was born in Chicago; Dorothy, her sister, as born in Missouri; Callie was born in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The Stillwell Harcourt family moved a great deal at the turn of the century. Callie's siblings are not buried at Laenna.<br /><br />It would seem there was a divorce -- or at least Stillwell and Mercedes split -- about the time of Callie's death. Perhaps it was the precipitating event.<br /><br />Death certificates were not mandatory in Illinois until 1916.<br /><br />Where's Callie?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-33727227824890214592009-01-05T18:52:00.005-06:002009-01-05T19:28:26.531-06:00MARRIAGE RECORDS IN HIDING<span style="font-family:verdana;">A common question is "why can't I find my ancestor's birth/death/marriage certificate?"<br /><br />The answer to no birth or death certificate is generally simple. The State of Illinois did not MANDATE such records prior to 1916. After that it is a bigger issue and the subject of a different post.<br /><br />Marriage records were always required and yet many times they cannot be located.<br /><br />Obviously, they may not have gotten married where you think they got married. For Illinois marriages prior to 1900 researchers are in luck. The State Archives database, online, free and searchable, lists most marriages prior to 1900. You do not have to know the exact year. You can search by bride or groom's name, then by county or statewide.<br /><br />Start your search here: <a href="http://www.ilsos.gov/GenealogyMWeb/marrsrch.html">http://www.ilsos.gov/GenealogyMWeb/marrsrch.html</a><br /><br />The State Archives volunteers are working on 1900-1915.<br /><br />My great grandparents have no marriage record in Illinois. I have searched statewide by their real names and assorted different spellings. I have been to the county courthouse in the county where one would assume they married and checked the county courthouse where his obit says they married. There were no courthouse fires between then and now.<br /><br />Their first child was born more than nine months after the marriage, almost two years before if you believe the one census that lists it, the 1890 census being lost. [I don't.] I can think of no reason to hide or otherwise destroy the record.<br /><br />They married in the winter, Valentine's Day. There is a formal portrait of the couple, probably not taken on the wedding day but undoubtedly shortly thereafter, before her first pregnancy was visible.<br /><br />Less than 20 years later he was dead and she was left with four sons. There are court records certifying her as the widow. So where the heck is that marriage certificate?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Perhaps the minister lost the return before he had a chance to turn it in. Perhaps the clerk lost it. Perhaps it was lost sometime in the next 100 years that passed before anyone noticed it could not be found. Maybe <gasp> they weren't ever legally married. I find that idea intriguing although if it true I don't think they or anyone else in the family knew it.<br /><br />This is one of those mysteries I don't think we will ever solve.<br /></gasp></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-61366117566118353132008-12-27T12:18:00.004-06:002008-12-27T12:35:06.221-06:00IN THE BEGINNING<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Much time has passed since I started this. Two other blogs relating to this area's genealogy have materialized in the interim. <a href="http://genealogysleuth.blogspot.com/">Ancestor Hunting</a> is mostly about my ancestors and things I learn about genealogy research. <a href="http://southlogancounty.blogspot.com/">Graveyards of South Logan County</a> is about cemeteries, generally but not necessarily located in Logan County. I admit it -- I forgot I had this one too. It happens.<br /><br />This will be about genealogy questions relating to Logan County, Illinois, but not necessarily related to me or my ancestors. I get questions from researchers. I run across something interesting while researching. I confess, I am easily distracted by something interesting. It may be a fact. It may be a question without an answer. Whatever, it is interesting.<br /><br />If you have an interesting genealogical question or fact relating to genealogy in Logan County, Illinois, email me.<br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28894801.post-1148853492697991472006-05-28T16:56:00.000-05:002006-05-28T16:58:12.696-05:00WhyThe Genealogy Guys suggested blogging research information. I'm willing to give it a try although I should point out that I was not good at keeping a diary or a journal.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><hr /> <a href="http://www.logancountygenealogy.blogspot.com">Logan County Genealogy</a></div>GenealogySleuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705616773781389391noreply@blogger.com0