History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois : "centennial record", Part 72

Author: Power, John Carroll, 1819-1894; Power, S. A. (Sarah A.), 1824-; Old Settlers' Society of Sangamon County (Ill.)
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : E.A. Wilson & Co.
Number of Pages: 824

USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois : "centennial record" > Part 72

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EARLY SETTLERS OF

WILLIAM T., KATE, and

MARY, and reside in Springfield.

From 1839 to 1868 Mr. Lewis was en- gaged in manufacturing carriages and wagons. He served the city as alderman, from 1862 to 1864, and from IS6S to 1873. He was elected mayor, in April, 1874, serving a term of one year. Obed Lewis and family reside in Springfield.

LEWIS, SAMUEL, born Feb. 16, 1767, in Pennsylvania, about sixteen miles above Philadelphia, on the Dela- ware river. He crossed the Allegheny mountains on horseback five times, and was married on the Kanawha river, West Virginia, about 1799, to Sally Floro, who was born there in 1785. They moved in IS14, to St. Francis county, Mo., and from there to Sangamon county, Ill., ar- riving May, IS30, in what is now Cotton Hill township. They had children in West Virginia, in Missouri, and in San- gamon county, making a total of fifteen. In June, 1844, Mr. Lewis moved his fam- ily to Delaware county, Iowa. Mrs. Sally Lewis died there in 1847, aged sixty-two years. Her mother lived to be one hundred and six years of age, and was living at Strawberry, Texas, at the time of her daughter's death. Samuel Lewis died in Iowa, Aug. 9, 1867, being in his one hundred and first year. His mother lived to be one hundred and fourteen years old. Of their fifteen children, six only are living-four of them in Iowa. One only resides in Illinois, the seventh child.

ALFRED, born March 26, IS23, in St. Francis county, Missouri, raised in Sangamon county, married March 14, 1850, in Loami, to Eliza J. Abell, a granddaughter of Adam Barger. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had nine children in Sangamon county, four of whom died young. SARAH S., MARIA A., JOHN S., LOUISA F. and CORNE- LIA E. J. live with their parents. Al- fred Lewis made his home in Sangamon county, near Breckinridge mill, until the fall of 1872, when he moved to Taylor- ville for the purpose of educating his children, and now resides there. He carries the first month's wages he ever earned in his pocket to the present time. It is in the shape of a watch.

LEWIS, MARIA, sister to Alfred, born April 6, 1815, married in Missouri to William Cooper. He died Sept., 1836, in Sangamon county, leaving four child- ren, two of whom are living in Benton county, Mo. His widow married Hamil- ton McCoy. See his name.

LEWIS, LEVI D., born Aug. 26, ISOI, near Morristown, N. J. Eliza Sutton was born Feb. 4, 1S04, at the same place. They were there married Aug. 13, 1823, and had six children, one of whom died, aged five years. The family moved to Springfield, Ill., in Nov., IS35, where they had one child. Of their six children-

WILLIAM C. B., born Sept. II, 1824, in New Jersey, went as musician in an Illinois regiment, to the Mexican war, returned, and died Oct. 6, 1847, in Spring- field.

SARAH, born July 30, 1826, near Morristown, N. J., married in Springfield to Reuben Coon, who was born July 22, IS21, in New Jersey. They had eight children in Springfield, one of whom died young. LEVI L., born June 11, 1849, married in Springfield, Jan. S, 1872, to Mary J. Tully, who was born Jan. S, IS55, at Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. L. L. Coon is engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes, in Springfield. ANN ELIZA, born July 27, 1851, married in Springfield, Feb. 25, 1873, to William H. Billington, who was born March 31, 1849, in Shrewsbury, England. They have one child, LINA MAY, and reside in Spring- field. Mr. Billington is conductor on the T. W. & W. railroad. FRANKLIN P., born May 12, 1853, is farming. CHAR- LEY, LINA, SUSAN and GEORGE reside with their mother. Mr. Reuben Coon was for several years engaged in the leather trade, and the manufacture of boots and shoes. He died, Nov. 7, 1871, and his widow and children reside in Springfield, Illinois.

MARY E., horn Sept. 19, 1834, in N. J., married in Springfield, in 1853, to Thomas H. Palladay. She died 'May IS, IS55.

GAMES S., born Feb. 10, 1837, in Springfield, was married March 27, 1862, to Mary A. Smith, in Monmouth, War- ren county, Ill., and reside there.

JOHN BERGEN, born Nov. 15, 1843, in Springfield, married in Nov.,

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SANGAMON COUNTY.

IS71, near Monmouth, Ill., to Eliza Smith, and resides at Lenox, Iowa.

Levi D. Lewis was connected with his brothers, Joseph and Thomas, in the boot and shoe business for several years. In 1849 he went to California, and died there Feb. 24, IS50. Mrs. Eliza Lewis resides with her daughter, Mrs. Coon, in Springfield.

LEWIS, THOMAS, born July 9, ISOS, near Baskingridge, Somerset county, New Jersey, was married at New Brunswick, N. J., April 4, 1832, to Mar- garet A. VanNorstrand, who was born in Somerset county, N. J., Oct. 4, iSio. In July, 1836, Mr. Lewis took a trip West, with the view of selecting a future home. After passing through Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, he selected Springfield, Ill., and returned to New Jersey for his fami- ly, consisting of his wife and two child- ren. They started West June 9, 1837, in company with Mr. Lewis' two brothers, John and Eliphalet C., with their families; his sister, Susan A., and his brother-in law, C. VanNostrand, in all twenty- seven persons. They arrived in Spring- field. Aug. 1, 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had five children; one died in in- faney. Of the others-

ADALINE, born Sept. 12, IS33, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, married in Springfield March, IS5S, to Stephen D. Ayres, who was born May 20, IS29, in Trumansburg, N. J. They have six chil- dren living. WILLIAM J., NETTIE, LEWIS C., STELLA, ALBERT T. and OLIVE. S. D. Ayres and family reside in Cairo, Illinois.

WILLIAM T., born Sept. 25, IS36, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, was married April 20, 1862, in Macon county, Ill., to Sarah C. Sprouse, who was born April 20, IS43. They have six children living-CHARLES A., SARAH M., EDWARD P., OWEN, STELLA A. and ANNIE. W. T. Lewis and family reside in Chilicothe, Missouri.

CHARLES H., born Aug. 12, 1839, in Springfield, Ill., died Feb. 6, IS55.

ALBERT, born Ang. 1, 1849, in Springfield, is unmarried, and resides in Cairo, Illinois.

Thomas Lewis had nine brothers and one sister. His brothers all died, each leaving a widow. For several years Mr.

Lewis had nine widowed sisters-in-law, and eight are still living. His brothers, Eliphalet C. and John, settled in Warren county, Ill., and died there. Thomas Lewis has been an active, energetic busi- ness man all his life. He lived in Spring- field until 1875, when he moved to Cairo, Ill., where he now resides-1876.

LEWIS, SUSAN, born April 19, 1814, in New Jersey, the only sister of Thomas Lewis, was married in Spring- field, Ill., to Henry VanHoff. Sce his name. Mr. VanHhff died, and his widow married Rev. J. G. Bergen. See his name.

LIGHTFOOT, HENRY F., was born Feb. 22, 1787, near Madison Court House, Virginia, and was there married Feb. 21, 1S11, to Mary T. Jones, who was born Jan. 6, 1792, at the same place. They moved to Adair county, Ky., where they had three children, and from there to Warren county, near Bowl- ing Green, where three children were horn; thence to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving Oct. 23, 1830, near Springfield. Two children were born in Sangamon county. Of their children-

JOHN A., born Sept. 3, 1814, in Adair county, Ky., was married Sept. 24, 183S, to Susan J. Jones. She died Sept. 5, 1844, in Chester, Ill., leaving one child, HENRY F., who was born Sept. 1, 1840, at Georgetown, Randolph county, Ill. He was married in the fall of 1864, at Rock Island, Ill., to Fannie F. Kelly. H. F. Lightfoot died in St. Louis, leaving two children, HENRY W., and , who live with their mother in St. Louis, Mo. John A. Lightfoot married Cornelia Sig- ler. She died, leaving three children, CHARLES W., MARY A. and SU- SAN M., with their relatives in Jackson- ville, Ill. J. A. Lightfoot is employed in the U. S. Custom House at New Orleans.

GOODRICH, born April 19, 1817, in Adair county, Ky., married in Sangamon county Dec. 1, 1842, to Nancy Callerman. They had eight living children. MARY E., born Sept. IS, IS47, married Sept. 2, 186S, to John F. Fagan. See his name. ELIZABETH J., born June 22, IS49, married Sept. 6, 1870, to Richard T. Lewis, who was born April IS, 183S, in Delaware county, Ohio, came to Sanga- mon county in IS44. He enlisted at Springfield, Sept. 28, 1861, in Co. G, 10th

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EARLY SETTLERS OF

Ill. Cav., for three years. Re-enlisted as a veteran Dec. 12, 1863; served until the end of the rebellion, and was honor- ably discharged Nov., 1865, at San An- tonia, Texas, and mustered out at Springfield Jan. 6, 1866. He resides at Elkhart, Logan county, Illinois. JAMES R., born April 17, 1852, married Dec. 24, 1873, to Julia A. Plunkett, and live near Marysville, Nodaway county, Mo. SU- SAN M. married Jan. 8, 1874, to John L. Callerman, Jun. See his name. JOHN L., JUDITH L., ALICE B. and JULIA ANN live with their parents, three miles north of Springfield, Illinois.

DOLLY A., born Feb. 9, 1820, in Adair county, Ky., married Dec. 6, 1839, to Peter Lanterman. See his name.

MARGARET S., born Nov. 16, 1822, in Kentucky, married in Sangamon county to Philip F. Lightfoot. They had two ehildren. REUBEN enlisted in 1862, for three years, in Co. A, 38th Ill. Inf. He was wounded at the battle of Stone's river, and died Jan. 4, 1863. GABRIEL lives near Springfield, Ill. Mrs. Margaret S. Lightfoot died Dec. 15, IS47, while on a visit in Alabama.

ROBERT S., born March 13, IS25, in Kentucky, came to Sangamon county with his parents, went to California soon after the discovery of gold, and died there.

ELIZABETH M. married in San- gamon county to Henry Shuck, and died, leaving one child, ANNIE, who lives with her father in Springfield.

PHILIP H., born August 24, 1829, in Kentucky, died in Sangamon county in his seventh year.

GABRIEL M., born August 8, 1832, died March 12, 1846.

Henry F. Lightfoot died Feb. 10, 1846, while on a visit to Kentucky. near Dan- ville. His widow died Oct., 1858, in San- gamon county.

LILLARD, THOMAS, born in North Carolina, married there to Tem- perance Dunean. They moved to Ten- nesee with her father, and from there to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving in 1830 in what is now Woodside township. Mrs. Lillard died, and he married again, and moved to Missouri, taking all except two of his children-

MARTHA A. married William Jones, Jun. See his name.

The other is the wife of Burril McKin- ney, and lives in Wisconsin.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, was born Feb. 12, ISog, in that part of Hardin, which is now Larue county, Ky. He was taken by his parents, in his eighth year, to Spencer county, Indiana. His mother died there, and his father returned to Kentucky, and married again. In 1830 the family moved to Macon county, Ill., and spent the winter of the "deep snow" there. In the spring of 1831, Abraham Lincoln passed through Springfield and went to New Salem, near where Peters- burg, Menard county, now stands. He labored at boat building, rail making and like employments, also clerking in a store, until the Black Hawk war came on, when he was elected captain of a volunteer company. After the war he was elected to the Legislature four times. He studied surveying and practiced that, usually in summer, after having spent the winter in the legislature. During all the intervals between other employments for gaining a livelihood, he studied law, and when quali- fied to practice he sold his surveying im- plements, and in 1837 moved to Spring- field He was married in Springfield, Nov. 4, 1842, to Mary Todd. They had four children-

EDDIE, WILLIE and THOMAS (Tad) are all dead.

ROBERT T., born in Springfield, graduated at Harvard College, married in Washington, D. C., to the daughter of Senator Harlan, of Iowa, is now a practic- ing lawyer in Chicago.

Abraham Lincoln was elected, in 1846, Representative in Congress, serving one term of two years. From the close of that term until 1854, he "practiced law more assiduously than ever before." Dur- ing that time he took but little interest in politics, but the repeal of the Missouri compromise aroused him to the encroach- ments of slavery, and he united with kin- dred spirits in organizing the Republican party, at Bloomington; Ill., in 1856. In IS58 he was a candidate for United States Senator to succeed Stephen A. Douglas, whose term was drawing to a close. Contrary to the usual custom with candidates for that office, instead of aiming to influence the members of the legisla- ture, by whose votes the choice is made, the contest was brought directly before

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the people, in order to influence their ac- tion in choosing members of the legisla- ture, who were to choose a United States Senator. That led to seven joint debates between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, in different parts of the State of Illi- noi3. Mr. Douglas was elected as his own successor, but Mr. Lincoln's speeches in that campaign gave him a national repu- tation, and proved that his understanding of the slavery question was more clear and comprehensive than that of any other man in the nation. That led to his being chosen by the Republican National Con- vention, assembled in Chicago, in June, 1860, as the candidate of that party for the office of President of the United States. He was elected in November of that year. When he took his seat at Washington, D. C., March 4, 1861, he found fifteen States in armed rebellion against his authority, the treasury of the nation empty, its arsenals plundered, and its ships of war scattered to the most re- mote parts of the globe. War-cruel, bloody and relentless, followed. He was re-elected President in November, 1864, and when he took the oath of office for the second time, March 4, 1865, the armed hosts of the rebellion had almost melted away, and in his heart he was beginning to sing the glad anthem of " Peace on earth and good will to men," when he was shot by the hand of an assassin on the evening of April 14, and breathed his last on the morning of April 15, 1865, at the capital of the nation.

His remains, accompanied by a large delegation of the most distinguished men of the nation, civilians, statesmen and sol- diers, occupying a railroad train of nine cars, were conveyed to his former home. For twelve days and nights the train moved on, and was hailed everywhere more like a triumphal procession than a funeral cortege. May 4, 1865, his body was deposited in the receiving tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illi- nois.

A grateful people have erected to his memory a monument, and upon it placed his statue, in bronze, of heroic size. It was unveiled Oct. 15, 1874, in the pres- ence of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, at their eighth annual re-union, with a host of citizens, making an assem- blage of about twenty-five thousand per- -58

sons. When the four groups of statuary, representing the Infantry, Cavalry, Artil- lery and Navy, are put in position on the monument, the total cost will be about two hundred and twelve thousand dollars.

Mrs. Lincoln resides with her sister, Mrs. Edwards, in Springfield, Illinois .- July, 1876.

The following are the only words Mr. Lincoln ever wrote concerning himself or his ancestors. They were not intended for publication, but were written as an act of personal regard for an old friend, and placed in the hands of Hon. Jesse W. Fell, of Bloomington, Ill., in December, IS59. It is very properly termed by Mr. Fell, the

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

"I was born Feb. 12, ISog, in Hardin county, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished fami- lies-second families-perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon counties, Illinois. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham county, Va., to Kentucky about 17SI or '2, where, a year or two later, he was killed by In- dians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the for- est. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks county, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more definite than a similarity of christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like.

" My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and he grew up literally without education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so-called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher, beyond "readin', writin' and cipherin'" to the rule of three. If a straggler, supposed to understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood,

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he was looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to exeite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age, I did not know much; still, some- how I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little ad- vance I now have upon this store of education, I have picked up from time to time, under the pressure of necessity.

" I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in Macon county. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sanga- mon, now in Menard county, where I remained a year, as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came the Black Hawk war, and I was elected a captain of volunteers, a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went the campaign, was elated; ran for the legislature the same year-1832-and was beaten, the only time I ever have been beaten by the people. The next, and three succeeding biennial elections, I was elected to the legislature. I was not a candidate afterwards. During this legis- lative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846, I was once elected to the lower house of congress; was not a candidate for re-election. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics, and generally on the Whig elec- toral tickets, making active canvasses; I was losing interest in polities, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.

" If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am in height, six feet four inches, nearly, lean in flesh, weighing on. an average one hun- dred and eighty pounds, dark complexion, with coarse black hair and gray eyes; no other marks or brands recollected.

" Yours, very truly, "A. LINCOLN."

Hon. F. W. Fell.

During the war to suppress the rebel- lion, as is well known, Mr. Lincoln was frequently waited upon by delegations from religious bodies. Among others, a

large number of women belonging to the Society of Friends gave him a call. One of their number, the widow of Joseph John Gurney, a distinguished Quaker preacher of England, wrote him a letter. The fol- lowing is Mr. Lincoln's reply. It will be highly prized, because it contains such em- phatic and unequivocal expressions of his belief in the overruling providence of God.

" EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 1864.

" Eliza P. Gurney :

"MY ESTEEMED FRIEND-I have not forgotten-probably never s !. all forget- the very impressive occasion when your- self and friends visited me, on a Sabbath forenoon, two years ago; nr has your kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever been forgotten. In all, it has been your purpose to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good Christian people of this country for their constant prayers and consolations; and to . no one of them, more than yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail; though we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in ad- vance. We hoped for a happy termina- tion of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled other- wise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error therein. Mean- while, we must work earnestly in the best light He gives us, trusting that so work- ing still conduces to the great ends He or- dains. Surely, He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no mor- tal could stay.

" Your people, the Friends, have had, and are having, a very great trial. On principle and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by war. In this hard dilemma, some have chosen one horn and some the other. For those appealing to me on conseientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you believe this, I doubt not; and believing it, I shall still receive, for our country and myself, your earnest prayers to our Father in Heaven.

" Your sincere friend, "A. LINCOLN."

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LINDLEY, SIMON, was born Jan. 20, 1769, in Orange county, N. C. Anna Standley was born Feb. 3, 1766, in Kent county, Del. Her parents moved to Pendleton District, S. C. Simon Lindley and Anna Standley were there married, July 14, 1789. Their home was in Orange county, N. C., until four children were born, and they moved to Christian county, Ky., where they had three child- ren. In the fall of 1Soy they moved to Madison county, Ill., and the next spring to what is now Bond county. All was quiet there for about three years, but in the latter part of 1St the Indians became hostile, and began to murder the settlers and stcal property. Mr. Lindley was warned by a very old, whitehaired Indian, of the threatened danger. Then the set- tlers united in building a fort or stockade, about two and a half miles from where Greenville now stands. They lived in that fortification during the whole time the war with Great Britain was raging. They could not have held their ground and provided for their families, but the soldiers who were stationed there guarded the men while they worked in the fields. They lived that way four years, many of their members being murdered. The In- dians continued to swarm about them in greater numbers, and they abandoned the fort, and all went back to the vicinity of Edwardsville, in September, 1814, and the next spring, 1815, a treaty was made, in consequence of which, hostilities ceased. Mr. Lindley remained near Ed- wardsville four or five years, and moved to what became Sangamon county, arriv- ing April 14, 1820, in what is now Chat- ham township. The farm is now owned by the heirs of Benjamin F. Darnielle. Of his seven children-

JOHN, born Jan. 23, 1791, in North Caroliaa, married twice, and died in Mad- ison county, Illinois.

JOSEPH, born Jan. 7, 1793, in North Carolina, married in Bond county to Nancy Hicks, moved to Sangamon county, then to Tennessee, and from there to Freestone county, Texas.

MARY, born May 11, 1795, married George Bridges, raised a family, and died in St. Clair county.

SARAH, born Dec. 4, 1797, married Allen Bridges. They raised a family and live in Polk county, Mo.

SIMON, Fun., born August 16, 1799, in Christian county, Ky., came to Sanga- mon county with his parents, went to South America when a young man, mar- ried there, and has not been heard of for several years.

ELIZABETH, born Sept. 3, 1803, in Christian county, Ky., married July 30, 1826, in Sangamon county, to Samuel Harbour. See his name.

ANNA, born May 9, 1806, married April 13, 1826, to Thomas Greenwood. Sce his name.

Simon Lindley died August 30, 1827, and his widow died Jan. 23, 1849, both near where they settled in 1820.

Simon Lindiey was a minister of the Regular, or Predestinarian Baptist church. In July, 1821, himself and wife, John Bridges and wife, united with others for the purpose of keeping up worship, and on the second Saturday in June, 1826, the Liberty Baptist church, on Lick creek, was organized by Elders William Crow, Thomas Ray and Micajah Rowland, and brethren Austin Sims and Peter Robeson. There were thirteen members :-

Males.

John Morris,

John Hilyard, WVm. D. Morris, Levi Harbour, Polly Harbour,

Simon Lindley,

Polly Hilyard,

Joseph Hilyard,

Clarinda Morris.

Morris Hilyard.

Females.

Ruth Greenwood, Elizabeth Hilyard, Clarissa Huffmaster,

The church worships now in a school house in Curran township, and is under the pastoral care of Elder C. C. Pur- vines.

Mr. Lindley was a very eccentric man, and many anecdotes are related of him, both in connection with his preaching and in private life. Mr. Lindley was also a man of liberal education. He was educated at some college in Philadelphia, but whether he was a graduate or not, I cannot say. After the town of Spring- field was laid out, there was a discrepancy between the surveyors of that and the former town of Calhoun, and Mr. Lind- ley was called on to re-survey it and har- monize the differences, which he did, to the satisfaction of all parties.

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History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois : "centennial record", Part 72

Author: Power, John Carroll, 1819-1894; Power, S. A. (Sarah A.), 1824-; Old Settlers' Society of Sangamon County (Ill.) Publication date: 1876 Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : E.A. Wilson & Co. Number of Pages: 824

Author: Power, John Carroll, 1819-1894; Power, S. A. (Sarah A.), 1824-; Old Settlers' Society of Sangamon County (Ill.)
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : E.A. Wilson & Co.
Number of Pages: 824