USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Sandwich > History of the Somonauk United Presbyterian church near Sandwich, De Kalb County, Illinois : with ancestral lines of the early members > Part 6
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On Tuesday Afternoon, ca. Ist. 1864, are cordially invited to attend.
COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
A. STEWART & LADY. JAN, McCLALLEN & LADY, ROBT. GRAHAM & LADY. ----
JOHN WALKER & LADY.
W. J. DOBBIN & LADY. JOHN BOYD & LADY. JAS, HENRY LADY.
A. S. DOBBIN & LADY.
Wu. PATILA & LALI.
LATER CHURCH RECORDS
Dr. Moffett resigned his charge over the Somonauk church, November 27, 1877. Only time can reveal the full results of the great work he did for the community, during the seventeen years of his pastorate. As had his predecessor, he had built his own house, but on the church property donated by George Beveridge. When he left Somonauk the church members pur- chased the house from him at its full value. The present manse stands upon the site.
In the fall of 1878 the Rev. David Stewart Kennedy was called to take the oversight of the flock. Mr. Kennedy, like his predecessors, was an excellent preacher and pastor. He was especially attentive to the sick and to the old people. Having been a chaplain in the Union army of the Civil War, he had had considerable experience in caring for the sick and wounded, which made him very helpful in after life in cases of sick- ness or accident. In his fourteen years as minister, nearly two hundred names were added to the church roll.
In December of 1893, Dr. Kennedy, because of ill health, was released from his pastorate by the Presbytery.
After a vacancy of one year, the Rev. A. C. Hastings was called to become the pastor. He accepted and was installed by the Presbytery early in 1895. Mr. Hastings was aggressive in his methods of work and he strengthened the brethren and the church.
March 18, 1896, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the church. The Rev. Mr. Hastings and his people spared no pains in planning to celebrate the event with both interest and profit. The first pastor, the venerable Rev. R. W. French, was present and in his usual happy mood. Many former members attended, some coming from other states. The Rev. D. Irons, of Xenia, Ohio, gave a timely address. Dr. Alexander Gilchrist, a product of the church, gave an address in keeping with the occasion. Dr. Jesse Johnston of the Theological Seminary, at Xenia, Ohio, delivered an exceed-
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SOMONAUK CHURCH
ingly helpful address in the evening from the text, " Even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." Visiting members from other places testified feelingly to the way the church had nourished and sheltered them in their youth.
Mr. Hastings was released from his charge at Somonauk, September 1, 1903, after having rendered fruitful service for eight years and seven months.
The Rev. Joseph A. Speer was called and installed in the spring of 1904. He was a young man of unusual courage in serving the truth as he saw it and was aggressive in his methods.
It was during his pastorate that instrumental music was first installed to assist in the praise service. The members were divided on the expedience of putting in an organ or piano. It was mutually agreed to leave the question to a vote of the mem- bers and abide by the majority. A day was set to meet at the church and cast the vote. The attendance was good and a large majority voted for the innovation and a small pipe organ was placed in the church.
After four years of valuable service, Mr. Speer demitted his charge here, in June, 1908. He was followed in May, 1909, by the Rev. John Acheson, who officiated over the church eight years and three months.
The Rev. W. H. Hemphill was next called and took up the work in the spring of 1918. After serving the people two years he was released at his request in the spring of 1920.
The following autumn the Rev. H. L. Henderson was secured. It was during his pastorate that the seventy-fifth anni- versary of Somonauk church was celebrated. While March 18, 1921, was the exact date, August 26, 27 and 28, the same year, was the time chosen for the ceremonies. Everything seemed to work together for the success of the event, even the weather and the state of the roads were favorable.
70
-
The Parsonage
Schoolhouse, Built About 1862 Opposite the Church
LATER CHURCH RECORDS
A. J. Boyle, a member of the session, gave an address of welcome the first evening, Friday, the 26th. W. J. French, of Waterloo, Iowa, a former member, made the response. Mr. French opened his address by asking those who lived in Som- onauk to rise, then he asked the homecomers to rise. The latter were almost equal in number to the former. Saturday morning the Rev. J. A. Speer led the devotional exercises. Then J. B. Robinson read a brief history of the church. Many addresses and reminiscences were given, reviving old and happy memories of former days. However, it is conceded that the climax was reached Sabbath morning when a son of the congregation, the Rev. A. J. Randles, of New Castle, Pennsylvania, delivered an eloquent and most forceful sermon, taking for his text Deut. 1:6, " The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, ye have dwelt long enough in this mount." We can imagine the happiness and profit of such a gathering.
Among those assembled in the church on this occasion, the most interesting figure was that of the venerable Mrs. Mar- garet Graham McCleery, born in 1837, who had been a mem- ber of the first Sabbath School class, held about 1851 in the first church building. Mrs. McCleery lived to be present at the dedication of the tablet.
Mr. Henderson, after a successful pastorate of nearly three years, resigned September 15, 1923. Two months later the present pastor, the Rev. Frederick S. Bull, accepted the call of the congregation and is doing excellent work.
Only less important to the work of the church than the pastors were the Ruling Elders, and their names should not be forgotten. They are:
Elected March 18, 1846: William Patten, David Miller Dobbin.
Elected 1850: Joseph A. Thompson.
March 5, 1854: Elijah Stewart, Isaac Graham.
February 28, 1857: Thomas Graham, Smith Mercer, Andrew Beveridge.
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SOMONAUK CHURCH
December 18, 1867: William Armstrong, Peter C. Mc- Clellan, Andrew Randles, Joseph T. Fulton.
March 24, 1883: T. H. Robinson, William D. McCleery, Thomas J. McElhenney.
March 11, 1896: Ward McAllister, George Howison, William G. Ferguson, Frank Richey.
May 15, 1907: Charles H. White, William J. Randles, James A. McCleery, Raymond McCleery.
May 5, 1916: T. H. Robinson, Charles H. White, A. J. Boyle, Wells E. Fay.
Acting Ruling Elders at the present time, 1927: Ward McAllister, James A. McCleery, Charles H. White, Wells E. Fay, T. H. Robinson.
Teaching Elder, the Rev. Fred S. Bull.
The sons and daughters of Somonauk church who have entered the ministry are:
Samuel J. Stewart, Russell Graham, William J. McAllister, Alexander Gilchrist, Jesse Beitel, John A. Mahaffy, Archie L. Graham, Andrew Randles, Carlisle McCleery, Andrew J. Cole, Elsie Mitchell.
In secular life the sons and daughters of the founders of Somonauk church have carried their share of the burdens and rewards of their day. Some have been outstanding figures in the educational, political and business world; all have been worthy of the sacrifice and example of their forefathers. Although many of them have left the early settlement on Somonauk Creek, they still hold reverently the memory of life under the influence and teaching of the Somonauk United Presbyterian Church.
Somonauk United Presbyterian Church, after eighty-one years of service, still carries on the tradition of its founders. The pioneers who dared the wilderness, cleared the land, developed the state, and founded the church, died many years ago. They lie in Oak Mound Cemetery.
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Dedication of the Tablet
O N the afternoon of September 5, 1925, a notable event took place at the Somonauk United Presbyterian Church. This was the occasion of the dedication of a bronze tablet, given by James A. Patten and Henry J. Patten to commemorate the erection of the first cabin built by a white man in De Kalb County, in 1834, and the organization of the church in 1846.
A suitable boulder, long sought for the monument, was finally found on the bank of Big Rock Creek, ten miles away. With difficulty it was moved to the other bank, when the ice was frozen deep. There it was loaded on skids made of two large logs, and trailed behind a powerful gasoline truck to its place at the northwest corner of the churchyard. It was no easy task for the chosen group of men from the church to move the monster boulder, as it weighs about seven tons. It was decided to place the boulder monument on the northwest cor- ner of the churchyard, by the roadside, where it is conspicuous and where the bronze tablet can be easily read from the much- traveled highway, rather than on the exact site of the cabin, which stood across Somonauk Creek a few yards north of the bridge. The inscription reads:
SOMONAUK UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ORGANIZED MARCH 18, 1846, IN THE CABIN OF GEORGE BEVERIDGE FIRST CHURCH BUILDING ERECTED IN 1852, SECOND IN 1875. FIRST PASTOR, R. W. FRENCH, 1849-59; SECOND PASTOR, W. T. MOFFETT, 1861-77; THIRD PASTOR, D. S. KENNEDY 1878-93.
ORIGINAL CHURCH MEMBERS: DAVID M. DOBBIN AND WILLIAM PATTEN, ELDERS; GEORGE BEVERIDGE, ANN HOY BEVERIDGE, ISABEL BEVERIDGE FRENCH, JONATHAN
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SOMONAUK CHURCH
FRENCH, ANN EDGAR FRENCH, SARAH FRENCH, MARGARET BLACK HOWISON, MARY ROBERTSON PATTEN, ELIZABETH PRATT PATTEN, ISABEL WILLIAMSON ROBERTSON, DR. JOHN SHANKLAND, ANN DOBBIN TELFORD, JOHN WALKER, NANCY WALLS WALKER, JAMES WALKER. FIRST NEW MEM- BERS: WILLIAM ROBERTSON, MARY FRENCH DOBBIN, ALEX- ANDER FRENCH, ROBERT PATTEN, ALEXANDER R. PATTEN, AGNES BEVERIDGE AND DANIEL BOYD.
ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER ACROSS THE BRIDGE, A SMALL LOG CABIN, THE FIRST BUILDING ERECTED BY A WHITE MAN IN DE KALB COUNTY, WAS BUILT IN THE SPRING OF 1834, BY AN UNKNOWN TRAPPER. ABANDONED IN THE AUTUMN, USED DURING THE WINTER BY ONE ROBINSON, THE NEXT YEAR KEPT AS A TAVERN BY JAMES ROOT. USED AS A STATION ON THE MAIL ROUTE INAUGU- RATED IN 1834 BETWEEN CHICAGO AND GALENA. LATER OCCUPIED BY JOHN EASTABROOKS. IN 1842 BECAME THE HOME OF GEORGE BEVERIDGE (1785-1870) AND HIS WIFE, ANN HOY (1788-1865). A STATION ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD WHERE RUNAWAY SLAVES WERE CONCEALED AND FORWARDED ON TO CANADA.
ERECTED UNDER THE JOINT AUSPICES OF THE CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
On the afternoon of the dedication a large part of the com- munity, together with visitors from a dozen states, as well as the members, gathered at the church. As was the case at the 75th anniversary gathering, Margaret Graham McCleery was the eldest representative of the pioneer members present, and in the register provided for that purpose she signed her name at the head of the list in a clear, legible hand. This was per- haps Mrs. McCleery's last appearance in public as she died August 16, 1926, at the age of eighty-nine years.
James A. Patten, of Evanston, Illinois, presided. Dr. J. M. Lewis, of Sandwich, led the audience in the invocation, after
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SOMONAUK UNITED: PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ORGANIZED MARCH 18, 1848 IN.THE CABIN OF GEORGE BEVERIDGE FIRST CHURCH BUILDING ERECTED IN 1852. SECOND IN 1875, FIRST, PASTOR, R. W. FRENCH 1849-59, SECOND PASTOR. W. T. MOFFETT .1861-77 THIRD PASTOR, D. S. KENNEDY 1878-93 ORIGINAL CHURCH MEMBERS: DAVID M. DOBBIN AND WILLIAM PATTEN, ELDERS: GEORGE BEVERIDGE. ANN HOY BEVERIDGE. ISABEL BEVERIDGE FRENCH, JONATHAN FRENCH. ANN EDGAR FRENCH. SARAH FRENCH, MARGARET. BLACK HOWISON, MARY ROBERTSON PATTEN ELIZABETH PRATT PATTEN, ISABEL WILLIAMSON, ROBERTSON, DR. JOHN SHANKLAND, ANN DOBBIN TELFORD. JOHN WALKER, NANCY WALLS WALKER, JAMES WALKER. FIRST NEW MEMBERS: WILLIAM ROBERTSON, MARY FRENCH DOBBIN, ALEXANDER FRENCH. ROBERT PATTEN. ALEXANDER R. PATTEN, AGNES BEVERIDGE AND. DANIEL BOYD
ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER ACROSS THE BRIDGE, A SMALL LOG CABIN. THE FIRST BUILDING ERECTED BY A WHITE MAN IN DE KALB COUNTY, WAS BUILT IN THE SPRING OF 1834 BY AN UNKNOWN TRAPPER. ABANDONED IN THE AUTUMN, USED DURING THE WINTER BY ONE ROBINSON, THE NEXT YEAR KEPT AS A TAVERN BY JAMES ROOT. USED AS A STATION ON THE MAIL ROUTE INAUGURATED IN 1834 BETWEEN CHICAGO AND GALENA LATER ODOURLED BY JOHN EASTERBROOKS. IN 1842 BECAME THE HOME OF GEORGE BEVERIDGE, 1785-1870 AND HIS WIFE ANN HOY, 1788-1885. A STATION OF THE UNDER GROUND RAILROAD WHERE RUNAWAY SLAVES WERE CONCEALED AND FORWARDED ON TO CANADA
ERECTED UNDER THE JOINT AUSPICES OF THE CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
Church Tablet, Dedicated September 5, 1925
DEDICATION OF THE TABLET
which, a choir of seven of the community men sang "For Friends So True." Then the pastor of the church, the Rev. Frederick S. Bull, extended greetings and gave the introductory address.
He was followed by Dr. T. H. McMichael, president of Monmouth College, whose subject was " The Early Settlers," and Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, president of both the Chicago and Illinois Historical societies, who spoke on " The Underground Railroad." After songs sung by Mrs. Helen Greenfield, James A. Patten spoke on the meaning of the memorial tablet, after which he and Henry J. Patten led the audience to the spot where the boulder and its tablet stood covered with an American flag. The ceremony of unveiling the monument was performed by James A. Patten. After a moment of silence the assemblage joined in singing the One Hundredth Psalm in meter to the tune " Old Hundred ":
All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell, Come ye before Him and rejoice.
Know that the Lord is God indeed; Without our aid he did us make; We are His flock, He doth us feed And for His sheep He doth us take.
O, enter then His gates with joy, Within His courts His praise proclaim; Let thankful songs your tongues employ, O, bless and magnify His name.
Because the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure.
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ANCESTRAL LINES
The Armstrong Family
"Armstrong, the name of a famous border family which chiefly inhabited Lidderdale. According to tradition, the orig- inal surname was Fairburn, and belonged to the armour bearer of an ancient King of Scotland who, having his horse killed under him, was straightway remounted by Fairburn on his own horse. For this timely assistance, the king rewarded him with lands on the border and, in allusion to the manner in which so important a service was performed - Fairburn having taken the King by the thigh, and set him at once in the saddle - his royal master gave him the name of Armstrong. "Amongst the clans on the Scottish side of the border the Armstrongs were formerly one of the most numerous.
" They possessed the greater part of Lidderdale, which forms the southern district of Roxburyshire and of the de- batable land. All along the banks of the Liddle the ruins of their ancient fortresses may still be traced.
" The habitual depredations of this border race had ren- dered them so active and daring and at the same time so cau- tious and circumspect, that they seldom failed either in their attacks or in securing their prey. Even when assailed by superior numbers they baffled every assault by abandoning their dwell- ings and retiring with their families into thick woods and deep morasses, accessible by paths known only to themselves." -Anderson, "Scottish Nation."
DAVID (1) ARMSTRONG was born in Scotland in 1770 and when very young was taken by his parents to Ballibay, County Monaghan, Ireland. In 1786 he left his home in Ireland and came to America, and a year later joined Dr. Clark's colony in Salem, Washington County, New York. He was a resident of that county for seventy years.
In 1807 he purchased land in Argyle and continued to reside there until his removal to Hebron about 1828. He was for
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SOMONAUK CHURCH
many years a ruling elder in the Hebron United Presbyterian Church. In 1856 he came west with his son John (2) and family, settling in De Kalb County, Illinois, where he died in his son's home near Sandwich, February 13, 1866, aged ninety-six years.
David Armstrong married first, about 1799, Elizabeth He married a second wife late in life.
-
Children by first marriage, born in Argyle, N. Y .:
i. Robert C. (2), born Nov. 11, 1800.
ii. William, born Jan. 20, 1804.
iii. Dr. Thomas.
iv. David, died in Albuquerque, N. M.
v. John, born Feb. 2, 1813.
vi. Jane, married Anson Parks.
vii. Another daughter.
ROBERT C. (2) ARMSTRONG, born November 11, 1800; died in Sandwich, Illinois, July 12, 1873; married -, Rebecca Hall, of North Argyle, New York; born March
24, 1805; died in Waterloo, Iowa, November 16, 1886. Children :
i. John (3), of North Argyle, N. Y.
ii. Mary Ann, married - Irving, of Sterling Valley, N. Y.
iii. Elizabeth, born Aug. 29, 1828; died near Hinckley, Ill., Dec. 4, 1880; married W. Henry Carr. Children :
i. Robert (4) Carr, a lawyer and judge in Iowa.
ii. Lucretia Carr, married James Blair Dobbin, son of David Miller Dobbin.
iii. Mary Carr, married David Jones, of Hinck- ley, Ill.
WILLIAM (2) ARMSTRONG, born January 20, 1804; died in Somonauk, Illinois, February 15, 1880, having moved
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THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY
there with his family in 1867; married Phoebe (3) McClellan of Hebron, New York; born August 14, 1808; died in Somon- auk township, January 31, 1894. He was a ruling elder in both Hebron (New York) and Somonauk (Illinois) United Presbyterian churches.
Children, born in Hebron, N. Y .:
i. William Thomas (3), married his cousin Mary Arm- strong, daughter of David and Jane (McEachron) Armstrong, of Sandwich, Ill.
ii. David James, born May 13, 1843; died in Sand- wich, Ill., Dec. 6, 1921; married Dec. 27, 1876, Anna Pamelia Robertson, daughter of William (3) and Anna Pamelia (Henry) Robertson. Children :
i. William W. (4), born July 3, 1880.
ii. Henry A., born Jan. 31, 1882; died Feb. 11, 1920.
iii. D. Le Roy, born Sept. 17, 1888.
iii. John Alexander (3), born -; died Dec. -, 1921; married first, Puella, daughter of Thomas White; born July 11, 1846; died Jan. 4, 1872; married second, Isabel Cole.
Child by first wife:
i. Carrie (4).
DR. THOMAS (2) ARMSTRONG, of Sandwich, Illinois, married first, Joanna Terry.
Children :
i. Shubael Terry (3), of Sycamore.
ii. Addison.
iii. Anna, married Dr. Solon White. Their son, Dr. Max S. White, is dean of men in the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Thomas Armstrong married second, Augusta, daugh- ter of Luther Kent, of Sandwich, Illinois.
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SOMONAUK CHURCH
JOHN (2) ARMSTRONG, born February 2, 1813; died in his home near Sandwich, Illinois, October 25, 1885; mar- ried in Hebron, Washington County, New York, Jane A. Beat- tie; born September 13, 1813; died October 25, 1890; daugh- ter of James and Sarah Beattie (born in Salem, New York, in 1774), who were married March 19, 1795. James Beattie's father, Thomas (2) Beattie, born in Ireland in 1747, was a soldier in the Revolution. Thomas (1) Beattie, the grand- father, and family came from Ballibay, County Monaghan, Ireland, with Dr. Clark's congregation and settled in Salem in 1767.
Children:
i. Hannah (3), died in infancy.
ii. Sarah E., married Jan. 1, 1875, Henry J. Faxon.
iii. John J., born Feb. 26, 1838.
JOHN J. (3) ARMSTRONG, born February 26, 1838; married first, Mary, daughter of George and Hester Hough; she died March 28, 1864.
Child:
i. George L. (4), of Naperville, Ill .; born May 16, 1863; married in 1884, Fannie Hummiston. One daughter, Mary, married Arthur Wegner, of Tur- tle Lake, Wis.
John J. Armstrong married second, December 4, 1866, Caroline Antoinette Fraser, daughter of William and Mary (Faxon) Fraser. He served in Company H, 156th regiment of Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War.
Children :
i. Winfred J. (4), born Jan. 28, 1869, at the old home- stead near Sandwich, Ill., the home of six genera- tions of Armstrongs; married Nov. 27, 1891, Ma- thilde C. Stoffregen, born in Plano, Ill.
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THE BEVERIDGE FAMILY
Children:
i. Gladys Fredrica (5), born Dec. 20, 1892; married Oct. 4, 1917, William Harry Fraser. Child :
i. William Armstrong (6) Fraser.
ii. Carl Berwyn, born Mar. 21, 1899; married Mar. 20, 1920, Ailleen Wright, daughter of Edgar and Ann Wright.
Children :
i. Beverly Ann (6).
ii. Donald.
iii. Myrl Winifred, born Oct. 17, 1901; married Sept. 28, 1921, Marshall Heeg. Child :
i. Bonnie Myrl (6) Heeg, born June 4, 1923.
ii. Edyth Mae, born Mar. 18, 1877; married Nov. 26, 1902, Harry E. Olsen.
Child :
i. Sterling Maynard (5) Olsen, born May 1, 1905.
The Beveridge Family
The origin of the Beveridge name is obscure. It is not English, for the name has always been rare in England; neither is it pure Scottish, as it does not appear in the old Scottish records. There was a noted English bishop, William Beveridge, who was born in 1638. Little is known of him except that his father and grandfather were both clergymen. About the same time there were Jesuit priests named Beveridge connected with the College of Douay, and a Colonel or Count Beveridge, who appears to have been a foreign officer in the service of Wil- liam III. The late Senator Albert J. Beveridge said he had seen the name of a Beveridge on the walls of one of the prison rooms of London Tower where the prisoner was confined "for obstinacy in religious opinions."
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SOMONAUK CHURCH
The name first appears in the Scottish records in the 15th century in the counties of Firth, Fife and Kinross on the east coast. The name at first was spelled in various ways, Beveridge and Belfrage being the most common variations and fre- quently used for the same individual. Since about 1700 the name has been as now, Beveridge. There is good reason to think the name is of Flemish origin, as there was a Flemish colony in Perth where the name was first found, and the name was soon common here among the weavers of the inland towns and the fishers, traders and saltmakers of the coast. The prefix "bever" is common in Holland. One family of Beveridges has a crest in which a beaver's head has a prominent place, suggest- ing that the name may have been beaver-ridge, meaning beaver hill.
The earliest authentic records of the family so far discov- ered are in the parish records of Auctermuchty, County Fife, where we find that on August 22, 1718, John Lourie and Ann Gilmore were married. In 1721 we find that Janet Lourie, daughter of John Lourie and Ann Gilmore, was bap- tized. There are also the records of the baptizing of seven other children of this family. March 2, 1745, we have this record in the neighboring town of Strathmiglo: "George Bev- eridge, weaver in this parish, and Janet Lourie, daughter of John Lourie, tenant in Galoway, were proclaimed in mar- riage." To George Beveridge and Janet Lourie were born four children. We do not have the exact dates of their births, but from their ages at the time of their deaths it would appear that Matthew was born in 1750, Andrew in 1752, and Ann in 1755. Another daughter, who never left Scotland, married a man named Thompson. Matthew never left Scotland, but lived and died in Strathmiglo, following the trade of a weaver all his life.
We have no record of the birth or birthplace of George Beveridge, but in a letter from a Mrs. Miller of Columbia,
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THE BEVERIDGE FAMILY
Ohio, a descendant of his eldest son Matthew, it is stated that his father's name was Matthew, and that Matthew's father was George Beveridge. This was following the old Scottish cus- tom of naming the eldest son for his paternal grandfather. We have no record of the death of George Beveridge, but it was when his children were young, for we have the record of the marriage of his widow to George Fotheringham in 1762. Janet Fotheringham, their only daughter, came to this country and married the Reverend Thomas Beveridge, who may have been a distant relative of her mother's first husband. They had a large number of descendants, including the late Mrs. G. H. Robertson, of Sandwich, Illinois.
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