Devine Anderson married Elizabeth Brown in 1847 and is listed in the 1850 US Census with his new wife and infant daughter — and not in his parents’ household. As the 1850 US Census was the first census to list the names of household members beyond the head of household, this has made it difficultContinue reading “Devine Anderson | Sister”
Category Archives: 1815-1880 Westward Expansion
James Brown | Pearce Family Connection, Confirmed
In a previous post, the potential connections between Josiah Pearce and Rachel Pearce, wife of James Brown were explored based on similar migration patterns and the presence of T. J. Brown in both households. Since the publication of that post, a deed has been located in Belmont Count Records (Book X, page 316–317) that confirmContinue reading “James Brown | Pearce Family Connection, Confirmed”
James Brown | 🪚 Woodworking
Miller James Brown (ca. 1802-1867) is said to to have built the first saw-mill in Astoria, Fulton County, Illinois. The History of Fulton County details that “The first saw and grist-mill was built by James Brown. Mr. Brown and others ran it for about twelve years, when it fell into the hands of H. L.Continue reading “James Brown | 🪚 Woodworking”
Hamilton Brown | Murdered
Hamilton Brown was the oldest son of James Brown (ca. 1802-1867) and older brother of Elizabeth (Brown) Anderson. In the 1850 census, Hamilton is listed with his wife Rebecca Ramsey, in the household of James Brown. Hamilton and Rebecca were relative newlyweds, having married in 1849 and Hamilton and his half-brother, Thomas J, were workingContinue reading “Hamilton Brown | Murdered”
James Brown | Pearse Family Connections
Very little is known about the family of James Brown (ca. 1802-1867) outside of his children and his second wife, Rachel Pearse. (Note on spelling: earlier records typically used a Pearse/Pearce spelling; later records typically used a Pierce spelling) A rough outline of Brown’s life can be reconstructed through census records and his daughter’s obituary.Continue reading “James Brown | Pearse Family Connections”
Devine Anderson | Sawmill
Devine Anderson is recorded in the History of McDonough County, Illinois on page 818 as having built a saw mill with J. O. C. Wilson on section 14 of Chalmers Township in 1840. The mill is marked on the 1871 Atlas of McDonough County. The excerpt shows sections 10, 11, 14, and 15 of ChalmersContinue reading “Devine Anderson | Sawmill”
Henrietta Mariah Van Slyke | Orphan
In 1852, Henrietta’s father, Andrew Van Slyke died. In 1857, her mother. Her eldest sister and her husband moved back to Texas to administer the estate and three siblings were sent to lived with three separate guardians. Guardianship was a legal arrangement to manage the property of those considered unable to manage it themselves, eitherContinue reading “Henrietta Mariah Van Slyke | Orphan”
Moses J Baker | Civil War
Samuel Rickner married Permelia Baker in 1832. Rickner, an immigrant from Switzerland, married into a slave-holdinng family that had migrated to Missouri from Kentucky and who in previous generations had migrated from the Albemarle Sound region of North Carolina, all slave-holding states. In the mid 1830s, the Rickner family and Permelia’s brother, Moses J BakerContinue reading “Moses J Baker | Civil War”
George W. Lewis | Enslaver
George Washington Lewis, of Claiborne County, Tennessee, was married twice: first to Sarah “Sally” Bullard who died in 1840 and second to Cyntha Fulps, whose family was from Stokes County, North Carolina. Cyntha’s father wrote his will in February 1850 and in his will transferred the legal authority to enslave Black people to his children:Continue reading “George W. Lewis | Enslaver”
George L. Crookham | Abolitionist
George Lennox Crookham moved to the Ohio frontier in 1799 where he settled and worked the salt works. He was a self-educated man who “used to read and study by the light of the furnace at night” by the salt boiler. (Jackson Standard, 14 Jul 1855, p 2 | newspapers.com) “Jack Oak College” Burned InContinue reading “George L. Crookham | Abolitionist”
Finding the Yellow Bricks 